CHAPTER XIV A Call for Aid
The trail leading to the promontory was overgrown with weeds and brush.For a minute after she plunged into the forest Madge feared that she hadlost her chum. She could not see Enid and only a faint crackling ofsticks far ahead convinced her that she had taken the right path. At therisk of being heard, she hurried faster.
Soon she caught a glimpse of Enid's white dress through the trees andslackened her pace. Apparently, Enid had sensed that she was beingfollowed, for unexpectedly, she wheeled about and looked intently towardthe very spot where Madge stood.
She observed nothing amiss and went on again, walking faster, as thougheager to be finished with an unpleasant ordeal. Madge exercised morecaution in trailing her, for she did not wish to ruin her carefully laidplans by being detected.
Enid walked directly to a large white birch tree. She glanced sharplyabout but there was no other person within sight.
Madge approached within fifty yards and secreted herself in the bushes.It was too dark to see her watch but she knew it must be midnight. Wouldthe kidnappers fail to keep the appointment?
Enid was obviously ill at ease. She moved about, looking first in onedirection, then another, and clutched her package tightly in her arms.
Madge felt none too secure in her own hiding place. She could wellimagine what might happen to her should she be discovered. The verysilence was disturbing. She could almost feel that hostile eyes werewatching her every move.
She waited five minutes, ten, and then from among the trees a tall figuresuddenly emerged. Enid was so startled that she uttered a smotheredscream and nearly dropped her package.
Madge could not see the man's face but she noted that he wore a turban onhis head and knew that he must be a native of India.
"Did you bring the Zudi Drum?" she heard him demand in a guttural voice.
"I will give it to you when you assure me that my father is safe and willbe released," Enid responded.
Madge failed to catch the man's reply, but from the tone of his voice,she inferred he was threatening Enid. He advanced a step as though totake the package by force. Enid retreated. Then, apparently realizingthat resistance was useless, she halted.
"I'll give you the drum but you must promise to release my fatherimmediately."
The man took the package from her, roughly grasping her arm as she pulledaway.
"Not so fast," he muttered. "Think I'll let you get away and bring thepolice down on us? You come with me!"
Enid uttered no cry, but she struggled frantically to free herself.Involuntarily, Madge started forward to aid her friend, then checkedherself. Undoubtedly, the kidnapper was armed and likely other companionswere hiding nearby. To expose herself might ruin every chance of arescue. Deliberately, she waited.
"Come along quietly and you'll not be harmed," she heard the man tellEnid. "Resist and it will be the worse for you."
He held her arms so that she could not have escaped had she tried. Shepermitted him to lead her away.
"Where is he taking her?" Madge thought, torn by indecision. "Shall Ifollow or try to get aid?"
After a moment of frantic debate, she decided upon the latter course.Slipping quietly through the brush until she was a short distance away,she raced madly toward the beach. She reached the motor boat and gropedfor the rockets which she had stored under the seat.
The first match was wet and went out. She struck a dozen without success.Then as she was about to despair, one lighted and she touched off therocket. It shot into the sky, leaving a trailing arch of fire whichdisintegrated into a shower of stars and vanished.
Madge tried to touch off a second rocket but could find no match whichwould light. Fearful of delaying so long that she would lose track ofEnid and her captor, she gave it up and darted back into the woods.
At the white birch she found the trail which the two had taken. Beforefollowing it, she dropped her handkerchief as a clue for Rex, should hefind it difficult to discover which way she had gone.
She had hurried some distance before a crashing of bushes directly ahead,warned her that she was overtaking Enid and her captor.
She followed more cautiously, taking pains to mark the trail well. At oneturn she dropped her scarf, and a little farther on, broke twigs andplaced stones in such fashion that they indicated the way she had gone.
"Rex may not notice," she thought anxiously, "even if he has aflashlight. If it were Jack, he'd be looking for signs, but Rex hasn'tbeen trained to it."
It was well that Madge had marked the trail, for the kidnapper wasleading her deep into the forest. She wondered where he could be takingEnid and was fearful for her chum. If only Rex brought aid in time!
At last she beheld a clearing just ahead, and reaching the edge of it,dared not leave the security of the trees. She noticed a small,tumbledown cottage which stood at the edge of a ravine. The kidnapper ledEnid toward the house and tried to force her to enter.
"No! I'll wait here for my father!" she cried. "Keep your promise. Youhave the Zudi Drum--now free my father."
"He is inside," the man told her. "If you wish to see him, you mustenter."
Enid hesitated, beside herself with doubt and suspicion. Then the desireto find her father overshadowed all else, and she reluctantly entered thehouse. Instantly, the door slammed shut.
"They have her now!" Madge thought in alarm. "She walked straight intotheir trap."
For a full minute she stood at the edge of the clearing, trying to decidewhat was best to do. Should she return to the beach there to await Rexand the authorities or attempt to find out what was transpiring insidethe house?
"Rex may not have seen my signal rocket," she told herself anxiously. "Inthat case, help will never come. If it comes to the worst I must make aneffort to save Enid myself."
Convinced that it would never do to leave the scene, she stealthily movedacross the clearing. Once she paused to look back toward the forest,feeling that someone was following her.
The windows of the house had been darkened and in only one room was therea sign of a light. Madge tiptoed across the porch and tried to peerinside. The crack between the bottom of the curtain and the window sillwas too small to permit even a glimpse. She could hear a faint murmur ofvoices inside but was unable to distinguish a word.
"It's possible the men really mean to release Mr. Burnett," sheconsidered. "If they intend to keep their promise, Enid should be comingout in a minute or so."
Then she thought of the Zudi Drum Bowl and the substitution she and Rexhad made. If the package were opened, Enid would be involved in even moredifficulties.
"I'm partially responsible," Madge charged herself. "It's up to me to gether out of this."
She waited a few minutes upon the porch until she was convinced that Enidwas not to be released. Then, as her fears gained the upper hand, shemade a tour of the cottage, hoping to find some aperture which wouldpermit her to see what was going on inside.
The windows were all above her head save for the one opening off theporch and the curtains had been carefully drawn. However, at the rear ofthe house, she found a door which seemed to lead down a flight of stairsto the cellar. She tried the door and found it unlocked.
Without an instant's thought for her own safety, she cautiously raised upthe door. It creaked alarmingly on its rusty hinges. After waiting abrief space to make sure that the sound had not called attention to herpresence, she quietly slipped inside and lowered the door after her.
It was pitch dark within and the cellar gave off an unpleasant, damp,musty odor. Madge crept down the stairs one at a time taking care not tomake the slightest sound. At the bottom she found a second door whichopened readily at a turn of the handle.
A heap of rubbish had been left just inside and in groping about, Madgestumbled over it.
"Now I've done it!" she told herself.
The flooring above was thin and the sound of masculine voices reached herears distin
ctly.
"What was that?" she heard some one ask. "Thought that sound came fromthe basement."
Madge barely had time to flatten herself against the wall before aninside door directly above her opened. The beam of a lantern was flashedabout the room. It missed her by a scant two feet.
"Guess it must have been a cat," the man muttered and closed the door.
Madge breathed a sigh of relief and for several minutes dared not move.Then she summoned her courage, and quietly crept up the stairs leading tothe interior of the house.
Suddenly she was startled to hear Enid's cry:
"Let us go as you promised! You have the Zudi Drum. What more do youwant?"
Unable to bear the suspense of not knowing what was transpiring within,Madge reached up and slowly turned the door knob. She pushed the dooropen a tiny crack and peered into the room.
The sight caused her to gasp.
Mr. Burnett, his face pale and drawn, lay upon a sagging couch at one endof the room. His arms and legs were bound. Enid stood beside him, facingthe kidnappers defiantly.
Besides the man who had met Enid at the white birch, there were threeothers in the room. Two of them Madge had never seen before. They wereIndian natives, dressed in strange costumes befitting their race. Thethird man had his back turned to the cellar door. As he moved, Madge sawhis face distinctly. It was the boatman who had taken her to The Flora onthe day of her arrival!
"I knew it!" she told herself excitedly. "The entire affair is clear tome now. Enid and her father are in very grave danger."
Madge was convinced that she was dealing with a fanatical group of ZudiDrum worshipers who sought retribution for the loss of their trophy. Howan organization which was thought no longer to exist, had traced the drumto Mr. Burnett, she had no way of knowing. And matters at hand were toopressing to consider any question save a means of securing the immediaterelease of her friends. From the cruel faces of the kidnappers she readthat the return of the Zudi Drum was not all they wanted. They intendedto inflict punishment upon their victims.
"Enid, dear, you shouldn't have come," she heard Mr. Burnett say to hisdaughter. And then to the kidnappers, "Let her go free and I'll give youanything you ask."
"So you're ready to come to terms now, are you?" was the cool retort."It's too late. We gave you your chance and you refused to turn over theZudi Drum."
"I told you I would be willing to give up the drum, providing you couldestablish ownership. All this threatening and kidnapping and violencegoes against my grain."
"You and your daughter shall both pay for taking the drum away fromIndia," came the solemn announcement.
"Enid had nothing to do with it," Mr. Burnett returned earnestly. "Howwas I to know the drum had been stolen? I purchased it from a reputableantique dealer and paid a good price for it. Will you let my daughtergo?"
The spokesman for the three smiled. At a signal from him, the other twofell upon Enid and before she could make a move, securely bound her handsand feet. Mr. Burnett struggled to free himself and only succeeded indrawing his bonds tighter until they cut deeply into his flesh. Hegroaned and fell back on the couch.
"Now we'll have a look at the Zudi Drum," the spokesman declared.
Madge held her breath as he picked up the wrapped package. What would hedo to Enid and her father when the deception was discovered?
The Indian cut the strings and the paper fell away. A cry of rage escapedhim.
"Tricked!" he exclaimed, his face convulsed with anger and hatred. "Ah,you shall pay for this!"
"It's a mistake!" Enid cried. "I had the drum when I left The Floratonight. Don't hold me responsible for something I didn't do!"
The men paid not the slightest attention to her excuses. They moved tothe other end of the room and conversed in a tongue which Madge had neverheard before, but from the vehemence with which they spoke, she guessedthat they were plotting a cruel punishment for Enid and her father.
"Oh, this is dreadful!" she thought. "I can't bear it to stay here and donothing. Why doesn't Rex come?"
Abruptly the three natives left the room above and a minute later, Madgeheard them moving about on the second floor.
"They've gone up there for something," she told herself. "If I don't saveEnid and Mr. Burnett now, I'll lose my chance. I can't wait for Rex. Hemay not get here until it is too late!"
With a courage born of desperation, she quietly opened the door andslipped into the room. At sight of her Enid stifled a scream. Madge heldup a warning hand, and with a hasty glance directed toward the stairsleading to the second floor, snatched up a knife lying upon the table.Enid was nearest her and with several sharp thrusts with the blade, shehad cut Enid's bonds and set her free.
She turned to aid Mr. Burnett. Just at that moment, she heard footstepson the stairs.
"Go!" Mr. Burnett whispered tensely. "It's your only chance!"
Madge wheeled about but already escape was cut off. The door was blockedby the three natives.