The Mystery of Smugglers Cove (The Mystery Series, Book 1) (18 page)

He was just in time. Rocky appeared at the entrance of the cave and scoured the beach with his torch. The light bounced off the cliff wall near where Joe was hiding, but as he was behind the rock, Rocky couldn’t see him.

Rocky called out to the men down the beach. “Dan! Louis!” He walked over to meet them.

Joe stood up. Now was his chance. He turned towards Smugglers Cove but was shocked to see a torch light bobbing to and fro. Someone was coming towards him!

He couldn’t go that way and he couldn’t stay where he was. He suddenly remembered the alcove that he and Will had hid in previously. He left the cliff and climbed up the rocks.

The full moon provided him with some light to see, which was handy as it would have been almost impossible to climb up the rocks, along the little walkway, past the window, and into the alcove in complete darkness.

Joe sat down and waited. There was nothing he could do now except sit and watch the men below. They had started searching the beach and the caves, and he just hoped that they didn’t climb up to where he was.

Time passed. The search stopped and a group of men gathered near the waters edge. He heard the voices of the others and, glancing below, saw that they were being led to the dingy.

This caught Joe by surprise. He had assumed that the crooks would have just tied them up and left them in the caves, but now it looked as though they were going to be taken with them. He was shocked. Utterly shocked. Although he knew that the men were going to
France
, he didn’t know which part.

He realised that Mr Spencer must have heard something when the two men had been drinking in the cave. Thinking back, he remembered that he did hear a French name but couldn’t recall what it was. This was why the men were taking them as prisoners. They didn’t want them to report to the police where they were going to be landing.

Joe stood up and peered down as he saw his friends climb into the small craft. Wanting to get a better view, he headed down the rocks and made his way along the cliff until he was close by. He watched in horror as the dinghy headed out into the water. He didn’t want to stand there and do nothing, but what could he do? He started to run towards Smugglers Cove but stopped as he realised that he had no idea how to contact the inspector and even if he did, he wouldn’t get to the beach within twenty minutes. And any longer than that would be too late.

Joe glanced back and saw the remaining men sitting on the beach. Only a few boxes were in sight.
They must be waiting for the dinghy to return.
He sat down and tried to think of a plan.

After a few minutes, he had come up with only one option. It was a wild idea, but one so wild that it might just actually work. He hadn’t worked out the finer details yet, but he knew what he had to do first.

Joe crept along the beach until he was quite a distance from the men. He then headed closer to the water’s edge. Once there, he waited.

Five minutes passed before he caught sight of the dinghy approaching. He walked into the water until it was chest height and then, slowly but surely, waded towards the men.

Once he was close, he descended lower into the water. He didn’t want to take any chances with the men seeing him, though he was pretty confident that they would be busy looking towards the approaching craft.

Joe paused as he moved closer. He watched as Rocky joined Constable Howard in the boat and took the oars. Dan loaded the remaining boxes in, tied them down, and pushed the small craft out into the water before also jumping aboard.

Now was the moment that Joe had been waiting for. He waded towards the craft as quickly as he could. He had been hoping the men would use a rope to tie down the boxes, and he had kept his eyes glued to the leftover rope Dan had thrown to the back of the dinghy. Luckily, the end of it had fallen off the side and was now dragging in the water.

Joe rushed through the water as fast as he could as the craft, now powered by the strong arms of Rocky, headed out of the cove.

Joe thought he could keep up, but the dinghy began to pull away. Desperation shot through his head as he realised that, if he failed to grab the rope, it would be all over. This was his very last chance.

Strength he never knew he possessed shot through him and he swam towards the small craft faster than he had ever swam before. His arms yelled out in pain and his legs burnt in agony, but he was determined. He was not going to let his sisters down. No one, not even fully grown men could defeat him. Not now, not ever.

Approaching the craft, he reached out for the lone piece of rope. Closer, closer, until he finally clutched it in his hand. Just like that, all his strength seemed to be zapped from him and he stopped swimming. He clutched onto the rope with both hands and held on tight as it unravelled a number of feet before it pulled tight.

The waves lapped at Joe’s face as he held on. His arms were burning. As the dinghy travelled farther into the cove, he realised what he had got himself into.

If he were to let go now, he would be all alone in the middle of the cove. And, with exhaustion almost upon him, there would be no chance of him being able to swim back to the beach. This was a scary thought.

Joe didn’t know how he managed to keep hanging on, minute after minute, but he did. He caught a glimpse of a big boat moored at the entrance of the cove and he knew that he was nearly at his destination.

He was happy that he had reached the vessel, though now the next part of his wild plan had to be put into action.

Waiting until the last possible minute, Joe let go of the rope as the dinghy came to a stop. He swam away and headed towards the stern of the boat. He was looking for the rope ladder that he had climbed the other time he was on the boat.

He was tired out and his swimming strokes were smaller than before, but he kept on going.
Not long to go now
, he thought.

He reached the stern and stopped in amazement. No ladder could be seen. And, for that matter, no rowboat. Fear struck him.
Where could it be? Surely the men hadn’t pulled it up?
Was his plan going to come undone now?

Joe glanced back at the dinghy and saw that it was nearly on the deck. A moment later, he heard a strange sound. He dog paddled while he waited to see what it was and realised, as a metal object came out of the water, that it was the anchor being pulled up.

Joe’s heart froze in fear. He had been fairly optimistic about the plan when he started, but now, with the vessel getting ready to set sail and no rope ladder, he would be left all alone in the choppy and wild waters. And, with his arms and legs almost at the point of exhaustion, there was no way that he would be able to swim even a quarter of the way to the shore.

With a sick feeling, Joe realised that it was all over. He had come so close to saving those he loved the most, but now, with no options left, he was going to die a lonely death. And it would all be for nothing.

Joe frowned as something occurred to him. He swam around the stern to the other side and smiled. In front of him lay the rope ladder. The men hadn’t pulled it up at all! He had been looking on the wrong side.

He quickly swam over to it and climbed up. He was just in time. A moment later, the boat was underway, slowly chugging away from the coast.

Once on deck, Joe paused. He could hear voices, but they were some distance away. Staying close to the railing, he walked along the deck. He passed several rooms and looked through the windows but learnt nothing of interest.

Joe continued towards the front of the vessel. He could hear voices as he approached the bridge and saw that Constable Howard was in the wheelhouse.

Suddenly, the door next to the wheelhouse opened and out stepped a crewmember. He entered the wheelhouse and began speaking to Constable Howard.

Not wanting to be seen, Joe decided to head back, having noted that the room from which the man had emerged was the radio room.

Joe headed to the middle of the boat and saw a hatch, which, he presumed, would lead to the cabins below deck. He quietly opened it and listened. There were faint voices. He hurried down the stairs, closing the hatch behind him.

Once in the hallway, he could hear voices coming from one direction. He couldn’t risk going that way, so he headed the other way, stopping beside each cabin door to see if it was locked.

A minute later, he found a room that had a key in it. He turned the key and opened the door. Joe smiled as he saw the others tied up and sitting in the small cabin. They couldn’t believe their eyes.

Sarah smiled as she quietly yelled out, “Joe!”

Amy shook her head, stunned. “Golly, how on earth did you get here?”

Joe smiled as he closed the door. “It wasn’t easy.”

Will grinned from ear to ear. “You’re the best.”

Mr Spencer was also smiling. “I don’t know how you did it, Joe, but well done. Now untie us and let’s see if we can get off this boat.”

Joe untied Mr Spencer. Once he was free, the two of them went to work on the others. Just as the last person was freed, footsteps sounded nearby.

“Quiet!” Mr Spencer said. They waited in silence as the footsteps got closer and closer. To Joe’s dismay, they stopped directly outside the door. He heard a click.

Mr Spencer rushed forward and reached out for the door handle, but it was too late. He slumped and turned around. “He locked it.”

Joe slammed his fist upon the bed, angry. “I should have taken the key out.”

Mr Spencer shook his head as he sat down on the bed. “He must have decided to check the door and found that it was unlocked. So, even if you had taken the key, I’m sure he would have noticed and come in. At least we’re untied now.”

“But what good is that if we can’t escape?” Sarah cried.

“I should have just used the radio to call for help,” Joe said.

“The radio?” Mr Spencer asked.

“Yes, I saw it on the way here,” Joe replied. “Why?”

“We can use it to contact Inspector Price,” Mr Spencer said eagerly. “Once he knows that we are heading to Toulville, he’ll contact his French counterpart. Then, as we enter the harbour, the police will surround us.”

“But how do we get to the radio?” Amy asked.

Mr Spencer smile softened. “Well, I haven’t got an answer to that at the moment.”

Amy stood up and walked over to the small porthole. “If only this porthole wasn’t so dirty. Then at least we could see out.”

“Open it then,” Mr Spencer muttered.

As Amy did so, Will suddenly smiled. “Of course.” He headed over to where Amy was and looked through the porthole. He glanced up and saw that a rope ladder, the same one that Joe climbed up, was nearby. It was perfect. Well, nearly perfect.

Will turned to the others. “One of us can go through the porthole, use the ladder to climb up onto the deck, and radio for help.”

Mr Spencer quickly stood up. “That’s a brilliant idea. Why didn’t we think of it sooner?” He strode towards the porthole, glanced out, and saw the ladder. He tried putting his arms out and reaching for it, but it was no use. His size prevented him from leaning out far enough. “I’m afraid I can’t go. It will have to be someone smaller.”

“I’ll try,” Will said. He was okay with putting his head out, but when the others took hold of his legs and pushed him out in an effort to reach out and grab onto the rope ladder, his hips couldn’t fit through the hole.

They pulled Will back in and Joe tried. But he also failed. Amy was the next to try and she was nearly successful, but not quite. The others pulled her back and Sarah tried.