Though the boys kept a vigilant watch all through the night, nothing occurred to disturb the tranquility of Winnsocket Lodge. Truem sat on the shore, hoping the smugglers would enter the secret passage, but not a boat of any description came near the island. He felt at times an almost uncontrollable desire to search for the passage anyway, as that shore of the island was covered with rocks and trailing vines, any of which might hide the entrance. But to successfully prosecute his search he would need a light, and this might arouse the suspicion of the smugglers.

In the meantime, Tom, Pod and Fleet sat on the basement steps, waiting a signal from Truem that the men were in the passage, or another message from Bert through the speaking tube. Bert, however, was being kept away from the tube, they felt sure, and would find no way of communicating with his chums again.

Chot and Hoki sat on the broad verandah, ready to dash at a moment’s notice down to the river’s edge, and enter Fleet’s canoe.

In this way the night was passed. Hoki served breakfast at sun-up, and again the boys took turns sleeping, with a cold plunge in the bath-tub on awaking. By night they were in fine fettle again, and felt no effects from the loss of sleep the night before.

The same plan was followed again, the lights being extinguished early in the evening, the boys assuming the same positions, except that Pod was stationed at a small window in the back hall, looking out toward where Truem was keeping watch on the shore, as well as toward the north island.

About eleven-thirty Pod heard the soft splash of oars, mingled with the sound of voices, wafted indistinctly to him over the water.

“I think they’re coming fellows!” he cried, dashing back to the stairway on which sat Tom and Fleet.

“What makes you think so?” queried Tom.

“I can hear voices and the splash of oars.”

“Well, tell Chot and Hoki, then come back here with us.”

Pod sprang to obey, and a moment later Chot and the Jap were moving silently down the slope toward the water’s edge.

“We’ll work silently around the end of the island, and may have an opportunity to help Truem,” said Chot, in a whisper, and Hoki gave his hand a squeeze to signify that he understood.

In the meantime, let us see what Truem was doing. He had heard the first faint splash of oars, and he crouched low behind some shrubbery, trying to make out the form of the boat, which he knew was heading straight for Winnsocket Lodge. The splash of oars became louder, and voices more distinct, but as yet he could make out nothing in the darkness.

Finally, however, a dark object came indistinctly before his vision, and soon he could make out the outline of a big rowboat, moving almost directly toward him. As near as he could judge the boat had three occupants, but this was merely guesswork on his part, because in the uncertainty of the darkness, he saw at times more, and at times less.

But a few minutes elapsed before the boat was drawn up against the bank. Then Truem saw the forms of four men leap out. One of them held a painter with which he made the boat fast to a stake.

The smugglers stood talking in low tones for the space of a minute, though to the excited Truem it seemed a great deal longer. Then they moved up the shore a few yards, and disappeared, one after the other, behind two large rocks which were practically covered with shrubbery.

Just at this moment the canoe containing Chot and Hoki came softly around the end of the island. For a moment Truem was uncertain as to whether the new arrivals were friends or enemies. Then he recognized the outlines of Fleet’s canoe, and a feeling of relief swept over him.

“Sh!” he called, in a low tone, as the canoe came up to the bank. “They’ve just entered the passage.”

“Did you see where it was?” asked Chot.

“Yes.”

“Did they leave a guard in their boat?”

“No.”

“Wait a second, then. Hoki, you stay here. Sit still and hold the canoe to the bank, for I may come back in a hurry.” Chot leaped ashore as he spoke. “Come on, Truem; show me where they went and perhaps I can help you bottle them up.”

“This way,” said Truem, as he moved silently up the shore to the point where he had seen the men disappear.

“Wait, now,” said Chot. “I’ve got a little pocket light that I found in the lodge. I believe we’ll be safe in using it.”

But almost as he spoke both he and Truem observed something which caused them to stare in silent amazement. A crack of yellow light was to be seen among the vines, and pushing them aside, they saw a long, straight passage leading on a slight incline toward the lodge. On the ceiling was a row of lights which made the passageway almost as light as day.

“Well, what do you think of that?” cried Truem.

“Another illustration of the ingenuity of our friend, Mr. Lawrence,” Chot replied.

“How are we going to block the passageway?” whispered Truem.

“I don’t see any way to block it,” said Chot; “there’s no sign of a door, and it would take all night to fill it with rocks—and even then they could easily work their way out. I don’t see anything to do, Truem, but follow them up the passageway and place them between two fires, and if the smugglers go as far as the basement, they’ll find themselves covered by the revolvers of the boys. Coming in the nature of a surprise, that should accomplish the result we most desire. But should they escape and come back down the passageway, another surprise will be awaiting them, and we’ll cover them from this end.”

“What about Hoki?”

“Let him stay in the canoe. I shall probably go to the north island after this fracas is over.”

Silently Chot and Truem stole up the passageway toward the house, admiring the construction of the place as they went. It was at least six feet in height, made entirely of concrete, and about fifty feet in length.

They could see the entire length of the passageway up to where it took a sharp turn, as they judged, directly under the lodge. The smugglers were nowhere in sight.

“They must have gone into a room of some sort, either next to or under the basement,” whispered Chot.

This impression was confirmed a moment later when they came to a huge oak door which effectually blocked the passage.

“Why, this is just what we’re looking for,” said Truem. “See here, Chot; we can fasten this from the outside, and the smugglers can never get out unless they batter it down, and they won’t try that if we let them know we’re waiting out here for them.”

“A good idea,” said Chot. “Can you fasten it?”

Truem nodded and fastened the door by means of a massive hook. Then the boys sat down on the stone floor of the tunnel to await developments.

In the meantime, the boys in the basement were waiting expectantly for the coming of the smugglers. They had seen Chot and Hoki leave the lodge, and knew the time was approaching for the capture they had planned.

What bothered them greatly, was the way the smugglers would enter the basement, and to guard against a surprise, they decided to separate; so Pod was stationed on the steps leading above in easy reach of the electric button, Fleet crouched in the corner near where the canned fruit was stored, and Tom in another corner back of the stairway and a few feet beyond the speaking tube.

The boys pictured in their minds a plan of the cellar and the relative positions of each other, then Tom gave the signal for lights out and Pod turned the button which flooded the cellar with darkness. On the cry, “Lights!” from Tom, he was to turn the button again, when the boys would cover the smugglers with their revolvers and demand their surrender.

Their plan thoroughly mapped out in this fashion, they became silent.

Some minutes passed before they had any sign of the approach of the smugglers. Then they heard the creaking of door hinges. Just where this door was located they could not determine, but it seemed beneath the basement. Then they could hear voices discussing something in low tones.

Then, suddenly, Tom heard a low, scraping sound almost at his side, where a large empty vinegar barrel had stood, and reaching out his hand to touch the barrel, he felt it move slowly upward!

There was, then, an opening in the floor of the basement, not the walls, which the barrel had at least partly concealed. He drew back against the wall, so that the smugglers would not brush against him in making their ascent into the basement.

“It’s dark as pitch,” he heard a voice say. “But I’ll get a light. The kids are all asleep long ago. Bill, you make for the stairway and switch on the lights. We want to get out of this as soon as we can.”

There was a grunted response to this, and the boys could hear the man called Bill tip-toeing toward the stairway. Pod and Fleet had heard the conversation, and knowing that they were prepared to act, when he heard the footfalls of the man, Bill, on the bottom step, Tom called quickly:

“Lights!”

Pod snapped the button, and instantly the basement was flooded with a yellow glow.

“Hands up!” cried the three boys in unison, as they covered the three men who appeared before them. The fourth man had been only partly through the trap-door when the lights came on, and he dropped quickly back, pulling the trap shut behind him.

Pod found himself covering the burly Bill, who had paused with one foot on the steps. Fleet took the man nearest him, evidently the leader of the little party, and Tom covered the other man who was near the trap-door, and not more than four feet away from him.

For a few seconds, following the command of the boys, there was complete silence. It was broken by a laugh from the man whom Fleet was covering.

“Well, it looks like you’d made a good haul this time, kids,” he said. “Just what can we do for you?”

“Stand right still until we tell you to move,” said Fleet.

“This is a nice mess!” growled the fellow called Bill.

“A bloomin’ bad one, say I,” said the man Tom was covering, speaking with a slight accent that marked him at once for an Englishman.

“Sorry you gentlemen find yourselves in such a predicament,” said Tom, “but there have been altogether too many mysteries about this lodge to suit us.”

“What you going to do with us?” queried Bill.

“Never mind; you’ll learn that soon enough. How many more are there of you?”

“There’s six in the room below and four more in the passageway,” said the leader, lying glibly. “So you’d better let us go, and take a sneak while you can. We’ll get the best of you in the end.”

“There’s only one more in your party,” said Tom, making a shrewd guess, “and I guess we’ll find a way to get him.”

“Oh, you won’t get any of the others,” said Bill. “They’re out on the river by this time. Don’t you s’pose we leave things clear for our escape when we come over here?”

“You are no doubt deluding yourselves into believing that your friend below will get safely back to the other island,” said Tom, “but it happens that we have three of our boys at the other end of the tunnel, all heavily armed. Now, figure it out, if you can.”

“And somebody’s getting in his fine work,” cried Fleet, as the dull sound of a revolver shot came to them from below.