Whether Tom hit the secret spring, or whether he broke the mechanism, he did not stop to find out. A door flew open, revealing a passage, and down this our hero ran. A second door confronted him--an ordinary door, fastened with a padlock on the outside. A few blows sufficed to break this, and a moment later Tom had burst into the secret room where his chums were prisoners.
Thus Jack, Bert and Dick greeted their chum--clasping Tom by the hands. He held them off and looked closely at them. There were marks of suffering and privation on their faces.
“You’ve had a hard time,” said Tom gently.
“You bet we have!” declared Jack, with conviction. “We are almost starved, and worried to death.”
“And those sneaks, Sam Heller and Nick Johnson, have been standing guard over us, and insulting us,” added Bert. “If ever they come back to Elmwood Hall--”
“Don’t worry. They won’t dare show their faces there after this,” declared Jack.
“But what about them?” asked Tom. “Where are they? I haven’t seen a soul. Have they found the treasure and left?”
“I don’t believe so,” answered Dick. “They were around this morning.”
“What about Skeel and the hermit?” asked Tom.
“Oh, they’re around too,” said Jack. “They’re close after that treasure, or think they are. My! but they’re hot against you for getting that plan! It was the only one they had, it seems, and they’ve been working in the dark without it. That’s why they captured us. They thought they’d get you, too, I guess, and that you’d have the plan. You managed to keep out of their clutches, but they got us.”
“By sneaking up!” said Bert bitterly. “Say, that hermit is stronger than I gave him credit for. He tackled me, and Skeel went for Jack. Then Sam and Nick handled Dick.”
“They wouldn’t have, only they stunned me with a blow first,” declared the village lad.
“Anyhow, they got us,” went on Jack, “and brought us here. We’ve been here ever since. What happened to you, Tom?”
“Lots of things. I’ve got my boat back.” And Tom told his chums of his adventures. “We’ll soon be out of here,” he added. “I have the boat hidden, and we’ll make a quick run back to camp.”
“I’m willing to let it go,” said Tom. “I don’t believe there is any. But if there is--”
“Hark!” interrupted Jack. “Someone is coming!”