Free The Message in the Hollow Oak by Carolyn Keene Page B

said. “I’m Captain Boge.”
    Ned introduced the visitors, and the captain led them into a galley. A pretty, middle-aged woman in a pink housedress was taking a pan of hot rolls from a shiny oven.
    “This is our cook Mattie,” said the captain. The woman chuckled. “I’m everything,” she said. “Housemother and nurse, too. If you want anything let me know. And help yourselves to cake and fruit any time.” She pointed to the food on the side counter.
    “Oh, my diet!” moaned Bess.
    The captain led his passengers to an upper deck and showed them a deluxe double bedroom with its own adjoining lounge and bath.
    “This is for the girls,” he said. “You boys will use your sleeping bags on the afterdeck.” He grinned. “If it rains you can duck into the engine room.”
    “This is great,” said George. “I never knew towboats were so beautiful.”
    After freshening up and changing to pants suits, the girls joined the boys in the pilot house. Captain Boge was there. Before they could speak to him, the boat was suddenly shaken by a terrific jolt.
    “Nothing to worry about,” the captain assured them. “We’re shaping up, that’s all.”
    From the wide front window he pointed to a tugboat maneuvering the huge barges into position. Fascinated, the visitors watched the sure-footed crew roping them securely together.
    “We call this wiring ‘em up,” said the captain. “It takes a long time because we have to be sure they all fit together and will ride without bucking.”
    At twilight the job was finished. The towboat started slowly upstream, pushing fifteen barges ahead of it, three abreast. Some were empty, others filled with grain and coal.
    Looking behind, the boys noted where the blue-gray water of the Ohio met the muddy Mississippi. “That’s quite a sight,” Dave remarked.
    Ahead were low tree-lined banks. Soon these vanished into darkness.
    Here and there the young people saw the lights of small towns or a brilliantly lighted cement plant on the shore. Now and then the red and green lights of another boat approached and the captain blew a deafening blast on his horn. At midnight the weary passengers went to bed.
    Around noon the next day Captain Boge said they were near Cave in Rock. He pointed out a quarry on the Illinois shore. “I’m leaving my bow barges off there, and taking on two others, so I’ll be tied up a couple of hours. If you want to visit the cave, go out to that first barge and jump off when it’s against the dock.” He gave them directions to the rocky cavern.
    The visitors followed his advice and walked along the edge from one barge to another until they came to the end. When this barge was maneuvered into place, the passengers jumped off and started for Cave in Rock. They walked along the tree-lined bank. When it became rocky they climbed upward and soon emerged from the woods a few yards from the mammoth cave.
    Nancy suddenly put up her hand for everyone to halt. “Listen!” she said. “I think I hear a cry for help.”

CHAPTER XII
    Rewarding Search
    As the eight friends stood listening, the cry was repeated.
    “That sounds as if it came from up there somewhere,” said Nancy. She pointed to the top of the bluff above the cave.
    The group hurried up a series of stone steps at one side of the huge opening to the cliff top. Nobody was around.
    The searchers fanned out and looked in the surrounding woods but found no one, and finally met again at the foot of the steps.
    “Somebody else may have discovered the person who needed help,” Nancy suggested.
    Ned looked at her searchingly. “Do you suppose the cry was made to get us up to the bluff and keep us away from Cave in Rock until someone who didn’t want to be seen got out of there?”
    Nancy agreed that this was possible. “But how could anyone know we were coming?” she asked.
    Just then they saw a boy of fourteen racing across the top of the cliff and yelling. Apparently he was shouting to a