"Dixon, Franklin W - Hardy Boys 044 - The Haunted Fort (b)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dixon Franklin W)

That evening, as dusk fell, the boys sat on the bank, wondering whether they would hear the eerie drumbeats again.

"I'd like to know if that French flag was lowered at sundown," Joe commented.

"By the same ghost, maybe," Frank said, grinning.

Chet was not amused. "Aw, fellows!" He shivered. "Can't we talk about something-er-cheerful?"

The only sound was lapping water, ruffled by a chilly breeze. Chet glanced out over the lake to the grayish islands, huddled like waiting phantom ships. Dim lights were visible across the water, but to the south, where the fort lay, all was black.

Suddenly Chet stiffened. Out on the water, about fifty yards from where the boys sat, something broke the surface, then disappeared!

Rooted to his place, Chet blinked and looked again, his eyes as big as half dollars.

"What's the matter?" Joe asked. "Do you-?"

He broke off with a gasp as all three stared in disbelief.

A speck of white showed on the dark water. Then an immense, curved black shadow loomed larger and larger, gliding, waving toward them.

Chet stuttered with fear as the shadow drew near. It had a long neck and a huge glistening head, gaping jaws and long sharp teeth!

CHAPTER XII.

A Strange Tomahawk.

JUMPING up, Chet screamed. "A sea monster!"

In a burst of foam, the phantasmal creature sank beneath the surface and again emerged, its white eyes gleaming above moving jaws.

Frank and Joe dashed along the bank until they were abreast of the weird figure. It seemed at least thirty feet in length!

"It's a serpent!" Joe cried out.

They watched for the monster to surface. Then a subdued, drawling laugh broke the silence. Chet, terrified, had caught up to the brothers. The three stopped short as two figures emerged from the nearby woods.

"Mr. Davenport!" Joe burst out, recognizing one of them.

"Frank! Joe! Chester!" The art patron grinned. "I reckon I must ask your forgiveness for being victimized by my Crown Lake monster!"

He introduced the tall, lean man with him as Mr. Ashbach, the Cedartown carpenter.

"You mean that thing we just saw was artificial?" Joe asked.

The carpenter chuckled. "Joe," he said, "we had to test it on somebody, and we figured you young detectives were as tough a test as anybody."

Mr. Davenport nodded. "Now you know what my building project is!"

Still mystified, the boys noticed wires in the men's hands trailing off into the water. They began reeling in and soon the "serpent" broke the surface. A minute later it lay on the shore. The boys walked around the huge object.