“That would explain why the light seemed to disappear as it got closer to land. A boat could not enter that cave, not even at high tide,” Harry said slowly. “However, it might have been possible for crates of bottles to be pulled in.”
“It wouldn’t be easy,” Silas said.
“No, it wouldn’t, but IF a pulley system was rigged up, it might have been possible.”
“Maybe, but how would you do that in the cave?”
Harry rubbed his chin. “That will require some thought… and maybe some research.”
“I can do some thinking,” Silas said, getting to his feet, “but I’ll leave the research to you. Meanwhile, I’ll see if Bingo and Ben know anything more about it.”
“You do that, and I’ll talk to Joe,” Harry replied. “He might know something too.”
Silas nodded and left
Bertie had been quiet through all this but she had been listening. “Would it have been possible to tie one end of a rope to an arrow and shoot the arrow into the cave?”
Harry looked at her. “It would take an expert marksman and someone would have to set up the rigging inside. We didn’t see anything to suggest that kind of work.”
“But you weren’t looking for signs of that at the time,” she pointed out.
“They would need a pulley inside the cave. But they’d also need a way to secure the rope on the outside, to access it each time they arrived.” He picked up his jacket. “Good idea, Bertie. Thanks. Now, I DO need to see Joe. I might not be back before lunch.”
“No problem,” she said. “I’ll lock up.”
********************
As Harry pulled the truck out of the driveway, his phone rang and he pushed the button on the Bluetooth device. He still frowned at the thought of so much technology, but he was all for anything that enabled safer driving. “Hello, Silas. What’s up?”
“Where are you?” Silas asked.
“Going to see Joe. Something on your mind?”
“Yeah, remember that old stake and piece of rope we found in the cave?”
Harry was speechless for a few seconds.
“Hogan? You there?”
“Sorry, yeah, I almost managed to forget about that.” The purpose of that old stake and rope had haunted him for several weeks before he managed to put it out of his mind.
“You might not want to do that. There may be more behind that old stake than we had thought.”
“What have you got, Silas?”
“What are you doing for lunch?”
“Don’t know yet.”
“Pick up some fresh rolls to go with the chili I have on the stove and come for lunch.”
“Sounds good.”
“You might want to bring Joe too, since he was with us at the start of this.”
Harry chuckled. “Will do. See you in a bit.”
********************
