Impostor

To the relief of everyone aboard the Primrose, the small boat returned from the island in less than an hour.

“What’s the report? ” Nancy asked eagerly as Captain Stryver climbed aboard the Primrose, followed by Ned and Bill.

“This side of the island seems to be deserted, ” the captain replied. “We did find considerable evidence of digging, though.”

“Oh dear! ” Nancy exclaimed. “That means someone has reached the spot ahead of us! And Snorky has escaped! ”

“What! ” Stryver shouted, and went off to get more details.

Nancy said to Ned, “Snorky has probably joined Spike and maybe others on the island.”

A few minutes later Captain Stryver came topside and said all the men except Mr. Smith would go back to the island in search of the fugitive.

“When it’s safe for you girls to land, I’ll let you know.”

Mrs. Chatham, Mrs. Smith, Nancy, and the other girls remained on deck. Anxiously they watched the men go ashore, then vanish behind a fringe of palms.

Mrs. Chatham walked the deck nervously. “Oh, I wish they’d return! ” she said over and over.

“Listen! ” Nancy cried suddenly. “I thought I heard someone shout! ”

“So did II” agreed Ellen, who was standing beside her.

A moment later the watchers saw several men on the beach. Seizing the binoculars, Nancy adjusted them to her eyes.

“They’ve caught Snorky! ” she exclaimed. “Another man, too. I think he’s Spike Doty.”

“Who’s that in the white suit? ” Mrs. Chatham asked. She had observed him join the group on the beach.

Nancy replied, “His big hat is pulled too low for me to get a good look at him.”

As she watched intently Nancy could tell that the newcomer was arguing with Captain Stryver. He seemed to be ordering the Primrose party away from the island. This was substantiated by Ned and a sailor when they rowed back to the yacht a few minutes later.

“That Heyborn fellow in white claims he owns the island, ” Ned explained. “He won’t permit us to land or to dig.”

“But there’s been a lot of digging on the island already, ” Nancy said in quick protest.

“He claims he knew nothing about it. We’ve caught Snorky, and that other guy in the blue jeans may be the one who robbed the Smith home, ” Ned declared. “I came back to get Nancy and Ellen for a positive identification.”

The two girls set off for the island with Ned. Heyborn had disappeared before their arrival. One glance satisfied them that Snorky’s companion was indeed Spike Doty.

Captain Stryver said, “Mr. Heyborn, the owner of the island, volunteered to look after the prisoners, but I declined the offer. I don’t entirely trust him.”

He lowered his voice when he saw the man in the white suit returning. Darkness was coming on, and although Nancy tried her best, she could not obtain a good view of the bearded man’s face buried under a low-brimmed hat.

“Please let us search, ” Ellen pleaded. “It means so much to Mrs. Chatham and my family.”

“Sorry, I can’t allow that, ” he said irritably.

Ned and Ellen would have pressed the matter further but Nancy gave them a warning glance.

“I can see your point of view, ” she said to the owner. “We’ll leave at once.”

Her friends stared, aghast. A few minutes later, on their way to the yacht, they demanded an explanation.

“I wanted to throw him off the track, ” Nancy told them. “I don’t believe he’s the owner of Little Palm Island. He must be a pal of Snorky and Spike.”

Ellen was thoroughly alarmed. “We must do something to stop him then. But what? ”

“I have a little plan, ” Nancy said.

She proposed that a few of them wait until after dark, then steal back to the island and investigate.

“Where does Mr. Heyborn live? ” she asked Ned. “He must have some kind of a house in the woods.”

“It’s a cabin, ” Ned replied. “We saw it from a distance while we were chasing Spike and Snorky among the trees.”

“Then we should begin there, ” Nancy stated. “Maybe Bill will go with us.”

Ellen, who was somewhat timid, did not care to be included in the adventure. Bill Tomlin, however, was enthusiastic.

“Nothing would suit me better than to round up that gang, ” he said.

In a short while the trio quietly launched a boat. With muffled oars they rowed to the beach as thick clouds scudded overhead, obscuring the moon.

“No sign of anyone around, ” Ned whispered as the boat grated on the beach. “All the same, we’d better be on our guard.”

After camouflaging their craft with palm leaves, the three moved stealthily through the tropical woods. Presently they came to a worn path which led them to a one-story building made of palmetto logs.

“That’s the place, ” Ned told his companions. “Now what? ”

“Somehow we must look inside, ” Nancy whispered to the boys. “I suspect that the real owner of the island may have been taken prisoner by the man who claims to be Heyborn. And I’ll bet that the impostor is here, too.”

Moving to the rear of the cabin, flashlights off, the three paused beside a window. Nancy pressed her face against the screen.

“Let me have your flashlight, Ned, ” she whispered. “I think a woman is lying on the bed, bound and gagged.”

“Maybe it’s Mrs. Heyborn, ” he replied.

Nancy flashed the beam, drawing in her breath at what she saw. A sleeping woman lay on the bed, her ankles tied together and chained to one of the posts!