Page:The House On The Cliff.pdf/207

 and then footsteps clattered on the stairs as Joe went on.

He reached the door that opened into the chamber where his father had been a prisoner, but on entering the room he found it empty. There were evidences of hasty flight and the door on the far side of the room was wide open.

"Secret passages, eh!" exclaimed one of the officers, as he came into the room. He was a state trooper in uniform.

Joe led the way out through the opposite door and down the stairs that led toward the bottom of the cliff. The trooper who had spoken illuminated the way with his flashlight and they clattered on down the stairs until they recahedreached [sic] the storage room. Here, everything was in confusion. The escaping smugglers had evidently endeavored to take with them what goods they could, probably the smaller packages containing drugs, for boxes and parcels were overturned and strewn about the floor.

"You seem to know this place pretty well," said one of the troopers, as Joe led the way across to the opposite door and stepped out onto the landing.

"I've been here before—got in this way," he answered. "There's a water cave below this passage. They've probably made their getaway in the boat."