He spoke softly to the sheriff, who was waiting just outside.
“All clear; come on!”
With one bound the sheriff was inside and like Bob he had his rifle ready for instant action.
Squinting between cracks in the wall, the sheriff watched the action in the lagoon. The plane smacked the surface of the water sharply and came to rest several hundred feet from the end of the old pier. The men waiting there put out in a motorboat, making directly for the plane, which was bobbing around on the waves which it had stirred up in the quiet waters.
Chapter XXXIV
IN THE SHANTY
★
Sheriff McCurdy turned from the wall and watched Bob open the door to the second room. He saw the young federal agent drop to his knees and his gun clatter while a choked sob escaped from Bob’s lips.
The sheriff crossed the room in several bounds and bent down over Bob, who was kneeling beside the bound and gagged figure of a man.
Without asking questions, the sheriff handed Bob a knife and the ropes and gag were slashed.
“Uncle Merritt, Uncle Merritt,” cried Bob. “Speak to me.” There was desperation in his voice.
Merritt Hughes opened his eyes and tried to smile. His lips and tongue were swollen from the gag, but the expression in his eyes gave Bob courage.