The entire attitude of the group changed and a young man who had been in the background stepped forward.
“I saw such a boat just about mid-forenoon,” he said. “It was coming up from the south, and coming fast, maybe forty an hour, but I didn’t see it put in any place.”
A radio in one of the fishing shacks screeched as though in agony and the owner of the set hurried away to tune it down.
“Somebody ought to break that thing up; it’s been doing that all afternoon,” grunted another fisherman.
“Did it work all right before?” asked Bob.
“Sure. But this afternoon something went wrong and we can’t get anything.”
Bob knew then that the end of the trail was nearing.
“Tell me this: Are there any old estates near here which have been recently occupied?”
The owner of the radio, who had shut it off, rejoined the group in time to hear Bob’s question, and it was he who replied.
“There’s the old Haskins place about five miles up the shore,” he said. “Someone’s been around there for the last month or so. I went up one day to try and sell some provisions, but they ordered me off.”