Clive Cussler Read Online Free PDF

hound that he was, his legs came down on the soft leather seats followed by his fat, round body. There was a great thud when he landed, and the boat rocked in the water. Slightly stunned but finding himself all in one piece, Floopy immediately ran to the stern and pulled in the mooring line. Then he rushed to the bow and pulled that line in as well.
    No sooner had he jumped down into the cockpit than Hotsy Totsy moved away from the dock and over the dark waters of the bay in the direction the phantom boat had vanished.

6 Alcatraz Island

    When the black boat came toward the shore of Alcatraz Island, the boss's henchmen opened the doors to the old ferry boathouse. After the boat was moored against the dock inside, the doors were closed and it was as if the phantom craft had never been.
    Once they were on the dock, the henchmen removed the blankets from around the children. Casey and Lacey knew it was hopeless to struggle; it had been a tiring day and they had to fight to keep from falling asleep. They stumbled as they were pushed by the Boss and his henchmen out of the ferry boathouse and under the catwalks and guard towers.
    Lacey turned and saw a full moon setting beyond the Golden Gate Bridge across the bay. A light breeze moved the waves, and she could hear the bell on a buoy somewhere on the black water. She wondered what would become of Floopy and Hotsy Totsy if she and Casey never returned.
    "Where are you taking us?" demanded Casey, coming back on track.
    "To the main cell house. I've got a nice little cell all picked out for you," snarled the Boss. "Plenty of rust and grime. Plenty of old rot. Plenty of rats. A famous gangster by the name of Al Capone used to live in it."
    "Who was Al Capone?" asked Casey.
    "A very bad man who was the crime lord of Chicago many years ago." The Boss paused to snicker evilly. "You'll soon be wishing you was back in your beds at home. Oh, and I almost forgot. There are no meals here."
    "You want us to starve?" asked Lacey, growing angry.
    "Yes, and I'll enjoy every minute of it."
    "But why?"
    "For getting me and my gang thrown in jail when you flew that old ratty airplane into Gold City, Nevada. I had a good thing going there, forcing the townspeople to mine gold, but you brats had to interfere and call in the cavalry, who arrested us and threw us in a jail in the middle of the desert. And then there was my brother, the Chief, and his gang of bandits, who you brats and that stupid dog also got thrown in jail. You're all going to pay for that."
    Casey stood tall and looked the Boss in the eye. "What if we escape?"
    The Boss smiled like a fox. "No one ever escaped from Alcatraz and lived to tell about it."
    "How did you escape from jail?"
    "My henchmen and I carved fake guns out of wood and coated them with black shoe polish. We fooled the guards, who surrendered, locked them in our cells and made off in the warden's fast car."
    "Why are you here?" asked Casey. "The police will look for you on the island."
    "Alcatraz is deserted. The government closed it down for restoration, which hasn't begun yet. There's no one on the island but us."
    "At least Floopy got away," Lacey said testily.
    The Boss rubbed his hands and grinned fiendishly. "I'll catch him tomorrow."
    "You'll never find Floopy, much less catch him," Lacey said defiantly.
    "I'll get him," snarled the Boss. "Just you wait and see."
    "What will you do with him?" Casey demanded.
    The Boss laughed wickedly. "Just you wait and see."

7 Locked in a Dungeon

    The Boss had kept his word. Casey and Lacey were locked in a smelly and dirty cell. There was a moldy bunk with a mattress, but they kicked it on the floor rather than lie on it and sat on the rusty springs. This was an event the twins never thought would happen in their wildest imaginations. They had assumed the Boss and his henchmen were still in jail, along with his brother, the Chief, and his bandits.
    "This place is awful," said Lacey as she pulled her sweater over her