But ain’t no one living there now as far as I know. Not a soul.”
Tom was tempted to ask about the seaplanes, but fearing he would arouse the suspicions of the fisherman, he simply thanked the man, and the two boys walked along the dock to the street.
“Boy, it does look like a hotel!” Bud exclaimed, as a huge three-story weather-beaten frame house loomed on the right side of the wooded road.
“It’s closed up-just as the fisherman said,” Bud remarked.
The two boys walked around the place but saw nothing unusual.
“Let’s go down this path to the water,” Tom suggested, “and see if there’s anything there.”
They walked down the pine-needled slope which led to another cove. The path ended on a pier that extended about a hundred feet into the inlet. A sheet-metal hut stood on the dock about halfway out.
“Let’s see what’s in that shack,” Bud proposed.
The boys had just started forward when sudden footsteps sounded behind them and a gruff voice commanded:
“Don’t ye move!”
CHAPTER 4
THE FIRST TEST
STARTLED by the ominous command to halt, Tom and Bud stood motionless. The strange voice growled:
“Turn around! Quick!”
The boys obeyed and pivoted to face an elderly man who carried a shotgun.
“Git goin’ up that path!” he ordered, walking in a wide circle to get behind them.
“Just a minute,” Tom protested. “We’re not-”
“Hold your tongue, boy!” the man barked. “Mr. Gray’s got me hired to keep strangers off his place. Now git goin’!”
Tom thought fast. “Haven’t you heard the bad news about Arthur Gray?” he asked, looking at the caretaker over his shoulder.