Free Chessmen of Doom by John Bellairs

silly island sometime! Of course, he may take the chessmen with him when he goes, but there's always the chance that he'll leave them at the cabin the way he did the night you two paid your visit. We should find out where he gets his supplies. It'll probably be at the general store in Stone Arabia, because it's close to the lake. I'll get friendly with the owner and see if I can get him to tell me when Ugly puss usually comes to town. Then we can borrow a motorboat and go zipping on out to the island. How does that sound?"
    Johnny tried to smile, but he just couldn't manage it. He thought the plan was crummy, and he also thought that Fergie and the professor were out of their minds for suggesting it. However, he knew that he would have to go along, because the other two were exceptionally strong-willed people. If something went wrong, they would all get killed together.
    Days passed, and the professor laid the groundwork for his plan. He got into a friendly checker game with Mr. Blodgett, the owner of the general store in Stone Arabia, and managed to find out that the nasty man was named Edmund S tally brass, and he was a man of very regular habits. Every Monday afternoon he came into town for supplies, and he spent the evening playing cards in the back room of a local tavern. He never went home till ten or eleven o'clock. So, on the very next Monday afternoon, around four o'clock, the professor set out to rent another motorboat. He had decided that Mike Flynn's prices were too high, so he went to another boathouse about a quarter of the way around the lake from Mr. Flynn's place. Rain was falling and the wind was whistling in the trees as the professor's car jolted down the muddy track that led to Higbee's Landing. The professor was wearing his yellow slicker and black rubber rain hat, and he was in high spirits. The boys wore plastic raincoats and were hatless. Both smiled bravely, but inside they were very tense—their stomachs were knotted up with fear. The professor guessed the boys' thoughts, and he tried to cheer them up.
    "Come, gentlemen!" he said jauntily. "Banish dull care and worry! This is going to be a breeze! Out to the island we go, we snatch old Nasty's chessmen, and back we come. Easy as pie!"
    "Yeah. Right you are, Prof," muttered Fergie without enthusiasm. He had been having second thoughts about this expedition lately, and it wouldn't have taken much talking to make him decide to stay home.
    "We're with you all the way," said Johnny tonelessly. At present he was wishing that he were back in Duston Heights.
    "Thank you both for your enthusiastic support," said the professor. "I can go by myself, if you wish."
    Johnny opened his mouth to say that he wouldn't mind staying behind, but then he saw Fergie's grim expression. If anyone suggested that Fergie was a coward, he would plunge headlong into an adventure, no matter how dangerous it was.
    "I'm not stayin' home!" said Fergie stubbornly. "An' neither is John—are you, John baby?"
    Johnny shook his head and stared dully at the wagging windshield wipers. He was in up to his neck, whether he wanted to be or not.
    The boys waited in the car while the professor talked to Mr. Higbee. Soon he came back, all smiles and good humor. It turned out that he had gotten a better deal from Mr. Higbee than he had gotten from Mike Flynn. So the boys piled out of the car and followed the professor down to the sagging dock, where a small white boat with an Evinrude outboard motor waited. The boys climbed in while the professor settled himself in the stern and adjusted the spark of the engine. With a grand flourish he pulled the cord, and a loud droning sound began. With an excited gleam in his eye the professor began to sing "The Skye Boat Song." It was about the time the future King Charles II of England was taken by fishing boat to the lonely Isle of Skye so that his enemies would not be able to seize him. Johnny knew the words too, and he sang along:
    Â 
    Speed,