When they returned to Bayport the boys lost no time in reaching home. Fenton Hardy was enjoying one of his rare afternoons of leisure in reading, but he put his book aside when the boys rushed into the library.
"Did Mr. Jones talk?" he asked quickly, seeing by their expressions that something unusual had happened.
"We didn't have a chance to see him!" exclaimed Joe.
"What's the matter? Did he clear out?"
"He was kidnapped!"
"Kidnapped!"
"Four men broke into the farmhouse and took him away," said Frank hurriedly.
Then he proceeded to tell the story of the strange events of the morning at the Kane farm, prompted occasionally by Joe.
Mr. Hardy was deeply interested.
"There's only one theory I can think of," he said, at last. "This Jones, or whatever his name is, must have belonged to a gang and either squealed on them or threatened to do so. They tried to get rid of him and he escaped in the motorboat, but they thought they had finished him in the explosion. Then they found out that you had rescued him, so they went to the farmhouse and took him away before he had a chance to talk."
"Do you think they are smugglers?"
