They went to the back door and rapped again and again. Still there was no answer. Frank tried the doorknob and found that the door swung open.
"They didn't lock the place up, anyway," he said. "Let's go in. If Jones is upstairs we'll go up and see him. Mr. Kane won't mind. Probably they didn't expect callers to-day."
They went into the kitchen and here they were surprised by the scene of disorder that greeted their gaze. The previous day they had been impressed by the neatness of the room, for Mrs. Kane was evidently the soul of tidiness. Now the kitchen looked as though an earthquake had shaken it.
Pots and pans were strewn about the floor. The table had been overturned. A chair lay upside down in a corner. A few cups and saucers lay in shattered bits beside the stove. The wood-box had been upset and the wood was scattered about. One window curtain had been partly torn from its fastenings.
"What on earth has happened here!" Frank exclaimed, in profound astonishment.
"Looks as if a cyclone came through."
"There's something queer about this! There's been a fight or a struggle of some kind here. Let's see what the rest of the house looks like."
The Hardy boys rushed into the next room.
