The Mystery of the Nervous Lion, стр. 22

“Not a sound,” Pete whispered. “Maybe he’s already found the diamonds and cleared out.”

Jupe pushed his lower lip out. “We’ll have to go in, anyway. We owe it to Mike to explain.”

Bob and Pete nodded agreement. Jupe took a step forward and stopped.

“What’s wrong?” whispered Bob.

“I thought I heard something,” Jupe said. “Maybe we’d better check the cage area before we go in.”

He turned and the others followed him into the shadows of the clearing.

“Seems quiet,” Jupe said. “I don’t see — ”

He was interrupted as something heavy was thrown over his head. Bob and Pete were caught the same way. The boys were grasped by strong hands. Their cries were muffled, and although they struggled and kicked, they could not get away from their surprise attackers. Helpless, they were carried along in total darkness.

18

Trapped!

Covered by a heavy blanket, The Three Investigators were unable to make out the voices of their abductors. They were bouncing as if they were being carried over rough terrain. One of their carriers stumbled and complained loudly. Another voice curtly cut him off.

The caravan halted. Ropes were lashed round them. They felt themselves being lifted again and then heaved headlong on to a springy surface. A heavy door thunked shut.

“That oughta keep ’em out of the way,” a voice said.

They heard receding footsteps and then silence. They struggled to straighten themselves, pausing as they heard another sound.

Whup-whup-whup — pp!

They felt themselves being jerked forward, then rocked back abruptly. There was a whining sound and a heavy crunch as if something had grabbed them from both sides. The whining sound became a groan. Suddenly they felt the odd sensation of being lifted.

“Goodness!” Bob exclaimed. “Are we riding in something?”

“Apparently,” Jupe said. “And I don’t like the sound of it. We’d better work fast. Try to slip the blanket off first. That way we won’t suffocate, and we may be able to see where we are — and be heard!”

Following Jupe’s directions, they pushed and pulled in turn. Gradually the heavy blanket over them was tugged down.

“Use your fingers,” Jupe urged. “Keep pulling down and rolling the blanket under you.”

They struggled to get free, their hearts thumping wildly as they heard the menacing sounds all around them. Something chattered and roared beneath them, and from above they heard groaning, creaking sounds that sent chills down their spines.

Suddenly they were rocking in a wide swinging arc.

“It’s the claw!” Pete yelled.

In a last convulsive movement the boys jerked the blanket down from their heads.

They gasped.

Straight ahead they saw nothing but the sky.

Far below was the spread of junked cars in the scrap yard.

At either side were the huge metal talons of the giant claw, gripping the old car that they rode in. They were trapped in the air — and headed for the metal shredder! They began to yell for help, but the huge machine in the shed below started to chatter and scream, roaring out a series of deafening sounds.

Pete shook his head. “No chance! We can’t compete with that monster. Not even if we yell our heads off!”

“Apparently the crane operator can’t see us either,” Jupe cried. “We’ve got to get out of these ropes so we can attract his attention!”

They struggled and rocked but the ropes held tight.

They heard a shrill whistle. Abruptly the giant claw dropped. Then, with a sickening lurch, they were falling to the ground.

They bounced as they hit. Almost immediately, they were jerked forward. They stopped, rocked, and were jerked forward again.

“We’re on the conveyor belt now!” Jupe said. “We don’t have much time. Come on — the metal shredding process takes place right ahead!”

Again they struggled, but it was to no avail.

Relentlessly the conveyor belt advanced.

They yelled again, but their voices sounded puny in the yard’s roar. “Kick the doors!” Jupe yelled. “Maybe we can knock them open.”

They tried to obey but their efforts were futile. The ropes lashed around them were too tight. Tied together as they were, they were unable to use their legs. They thrashed about uselessly, and fell back, exhausted.

“It’s no use!” Pete gasped. “Our only hope is that somebody working the metal shredder inside sees us in time.”

“I doubt that,” Jupe said. “A processing machine like this is usually run by a computer. It’s not a question of our not being metal. The car we’re in is! The selective scanner couldn’t possibly reject us until it was too late!”

“You’re not kidding,” a voice said.

They stared incredulously into the cold eyes of the hatchet-faced man!

“Get the door on the other side, Dobbsie,” Hatchet-Face said.

Surprisingly, his touch was gentle, although they felt the strength in his hands as he lifted them out. As they rolled on the ground, the car they had been riding in jerked forward.

Staring wide-eyed, they saw it disappear into the shed, to be lost in a cloud of steam. Heavy clanking sounds reverberated and the machine inside screamed.

Jupe turned with a tremendous sigh of relief to the two men. His expression changed suddenly.

Dobbsie was holding a long-bladed knife!

“Be reasonable!” Hatchet-Face said cajolingly. “We have to cut those ropes off you kids, don’t we?”

Jupe nodded dumbly. He looked at Bob and Pete. They returned his mystified glance.

The beady-eyed man bent and slashed deftly with his knife. In a moment they were free.

As they rubbed their arms and legs to regain circulation, the hatchet-faced man looked down coldly at them. “Looks as if we got here just in time,” he rasped. “What happened?”

“Somebody threw a blanket over us, tied us up, and threw us in a car,” said Jupe. “I don’t know if we were intended for the metal shredder, or not. We’re grateful to you for preventing us having to find out.”

“Any idea who did it?”

Jupe shook his head. “It happened too fast. We were rounding the corner of Jim Hall’s house — ” He stopped abruptly and glanced at the men. “How did you know we were trapped in the car?”

The hatchet-faced man sighed and looked over Jupe’s head at the other man. “We happened to be in the yard. Dobbsie here thought he saw a moving kicking bundle being thrown into a car at the far end. That’s a bit unusual, so we went to investigate. Whoever did it ran off before we could get over. Then the claw got you and dumped you on the conveyor track. We couldn’t get the crane operator’s attention or stop the belt moving. So we had to do it the hard way and drag you out ourselves.”

Pete shivered. “I can’t believe he would have done that to us. I just can’t believe it!”

“Who, kid?” asked the hatchet-faced man. “And what do you kids know that’s so dangerous somebody nearly had you killed because of it?”

Jupe lifted his head. “We’re conducting an investigation,” he said. “We have our suspicions but we’re not at liberty yet to divulge any names.”

The hatchet-faced man grinned. “Oh, you’re not, eh? Maybe we should have kept out of it and let you continue your investigations — ” he pointed to the throbbing shed “ — in there!”

Jupe cocked his head. “As a matter of fact,” he said, “both the actions of you and your friend have aroused our suspicions, too. But I don’t suppose you have anything to do with the diamond smuggling, or else you wouldn’t have rescued us.”

Hatchet-Face looked at Dobbsie. “What’d I tell you? The kid is wise to the operation!” He looked down and laughed at Jupe. “I suppose you can tell us where they are, too.”

“I suppose I can,” Jupe said slowly. “But I won’t.”

Hatchet-Face jerked his head at the other man. “Come on, Dobbsie. We’re wasting time. While we’re here yakking, they could be getting away.”