The next morning, as the brothers were dressing in their room at home, Frank remarked, “There’s a great deal about this case that hasn’t come to the surface yet. It’s just possible that the man who stole Chet Morton’s car may have had something to do with the theft.”
Joe agreed. “He was a criminal—that much is certain. He stole an automobile and he tried to hold up the ticket office, so why not another robbery?”
“Right, Joe. I just realized that we never inspected Chet’s car for any dues to the thief, so let’s do it.”
The stout boy did not bring his jalopy to school that day, so the Hardys had to submerge their curiosity until classes and baseball practice were over. Then, when Mrs. Morton picked up Chet and Iola, Frank and Joe went home with them.
“I’ll look under the seats,” Joe offered.
“And I’ll search the trunk compartment.” Frank walked to the back of the car and raised the cover. He began rooting under rags, papers, and discarded schoolbooks. Presently he gave a cry of victory.
“Here it is! The best evidence in the world!”
Joe and Chet rushed to his side as he held up a man’s red wig.
Frank said excitedly, “Maybe there’s a clue in this hair piece!”
An examination failed to reveal any, but Frank said he would like to show the wig to his father. He covered it with a handkerchief and put it carefully in an inner pocket. Chet drove the Hardys home. They assumed that their father was in his study on the second floor, and rushed up there and into the room without ceremony.
“Dad, we’ve found a clue!” Joe cried. Then he stepped back, embarrassed, as he realized there was someone else in the room.
“Sorry!” said Frank. The boys would have retreated, but Mr. Hardy’s visitor turned around and they saw that he was Perry Robinson.
“It’s only me,” said Slim. “Don’t go.”
“Hi, Slim!”
“Perry has been trying to shed a little more light on the Tower robbery,” explained Mr. Hardy. “But what is this clue you’re talking about?”
“It might concern the robbery,” replied Frank. “It’s about the red-haired man.” He took the wig from his pocket and told where he had found it.
Mr. Hardy’s interest was kindled at once. “This seems to link up a pretty good chain of evidence. The man who passed you on the shore road wrecked the car he was driving, then stole Chet’s, and afterward tried to hold up the ticket office. When he failed there, he tried another and more successful robbery at the Tower.”
“Do you really think the wig might help us solve the Tower robbery?” asked Perry, taking hope.
“Possibly.”
“I was just telling your father,” Slim went on, “that I saw a strange man lurking around the grounds of the mansion two days before the robbery. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, and in the shock of Dad’s arrest I forgot about it.”
“Did you get a good look at him? Could you describe him?” Frank asked.
“I’m afraid I can’t. It was in the evening. I was sitting by a window, studying, and happened to look up. I saw this fellow moving about among the trees. Later, I heard one of the dogs barking in another part of the grounds. Shortly afterward, I saw someone running across the lawn. I thought he was just a tramp.”
“Did he wear a hat or a cap?”
“As near as I can remember, it was a cap. His clothes were dark.”
“And you couldn’t see his face?”
“No.”
“Well, it’s not much to go on,” said Mr. Hardy, “but it might be linked up with Frank and Joe’s idea that the man who stole the jalopy may still have been hanging around Bayport.” The detective thought deeply for a few moments. “I’ll bring all these facts to Mr. Applegate’s attention, and I’m also going to have a talk with the police authorities. I feel they haven’t enough evidence to warrant holding your father, Perry.”
“Do you think you can have him released?” the boy asked eagerly.
“I’m sure of it. In fact, I believe Mr. Applegate is beginning to realize now that he made a mistake.”
“It will be wonderful if we can have Dad back with us again,” said Perry. “Of course things won’t be the same for him. He’ll be under a cloud of suspicion as long as this mystery isn’t cleared up. I suppose Mr. Applegate won’t employ him or anyone else.”
“All the more reason why we should get busy and clear up the affair,” Frank said quickly, and Joe added, “Slim, we’ll do all we can to help your father.”
CHAPTER VIII
An Important Discovery
WHEN the Hardy boys were on their way home from school the next afternoon they noticed that a crowd had collected in the vestibule of the post office and were staring at the bulletin board.
“Wonder what’s up now?” said Joe, pushing his way forward through the crowd with the agility of an eel. Frank was not slow in following.
On the board was a large poster. The ink on it was scarcely dry. At the top, in enormous black letters, it read:
$1000 REWARD
Underneath, in slightly smaller type, was the following:
The above reward will be paid for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons who broke into Tower Mansion and stole jewels and securities from a safe in the library.
The reward was being offered by Hurd Applegate.
“Why, that must mean the charge against Mr. Robinson has been dropped!” exclaimed Joe.
“It looks like it. Let’s see if we can find Slim.”
All about them people were commenting on the size of the reward, and there were many expressions of envy for the person who would be fortunate enough to solve the mystery.
“A thousand dollars!” said Frank, as the brothers made their way out of the post office. “That’s a lot of money, Joe.”
“I’ll say it is.”
“And there’s no reason why we haven’t as good a chance of earning it as anyone else.”
“I suppose Dad and the police are barred from the reward, for it’s their duty to find the thief if they can. But if we track him down we can get the money. It’ll be a good sum to add to our college fund.”
“Let’s go! Say, there’s Slim now.”
Perry Robinson was coming down the street toward them. He looked much happier than he had the previous evening, and when he saw the Hardy boys his face lighted up.
“Dad is free,” he told them. “Thanks to your father, the charge has been dropped.”
“I’m sure glad to hear that!” exclaimed Joe. “I see a reward is being offered.”
“Your father convinced Mr. Applegate that it must have been an outside job. And the work of a professional thief. Chief Collig admitted there wasn’t much evidence against Dad, so they let him go. It’s a great relief. My mother and sisters were almost crazy with worry.”
“No wonder,” commented Frank. “What’s your father going to do now?”
“I don’t know,” Slim admitted. “Of course, we’ve had to move from the Tower Mansion estate. Mr. Applegate said that even though the charge had been dropped, he wasn’t altogether convinced in his own mind that Dad hadn’t had something to do with the theft. So he dismissed him.”
“That’s tough luck. But your dad will be able to get another job somewhere,” Frank said consolingly.
“I’m not so sure about that. People aren’t likely to employ a man who’s been suspected of stealing. Dad tried two or three places this afternoon, but he was turned down.”
The Hardys were silent. They felt very sorry for the Robinsons and were determined to do what they could to help them.
“We’ve rented a small house just outside the city,” Slim went on. “It’s cheap and the neighborhood is kind of bad, but we’ll have to get along.”
Frank and Joe admired Slim. There was no false pride about him. He faced the facts as they came, and made the best of them. “But if Dad doesn’t get a job, it will mean that I’ll have to go to work full time.
”
“Why, Slim—you’d have to quit school!” Joe cried out.
“I can’t help that. I wouldn’t want to, for you know I was trying for a scholarship. But—”
The brothers realized how much it would mean to their chum if he had to leave school. Perry Robinson was an ambitious boy and one of the top ten in his class. He had always wanted to continue his studies and go on to a university, and his teachers had predicted a brilliant career for him as an engineer. Now it seemed that all his ambitions for a high school diploma and a college education would have to be given up because of this misfortune.
Frank put an arm around Slim’s shoulders. “Chin up,” he said with a warm smile. “Joe and I are going to plug away at this affair until we get to the bottom of it!”
“It’s mighty good of you fellows,” Slim said gratefully. “I won’t forget it in a hurry.” He tried to smile, but it was evident that the boy was deeply worried. When he walked away it was not with the light, carefree step which the Hardys associated with him.
“What’s the first move, Frank?” Joe asked.
“We’d better get a full description of those jewels. Perhaps the thief tried to pawn them. Let’s try all the pawnshops and see what we can find out.”
“Good idea, even if the police have already done it.” Frank grinned. Then he sobered. “Do you think Applegate will give us a list?”
“We won’t have to ask him. Dad should have that information.”
“Let’s find out right now.”
When the boys returned home, they found their father waiting for them. “I have news for you,” he said. “Your theory about the wrecked auto being stolen has been confirmed. Collig phoned just now and told me the true ownership had been traced by the engine number. Car belongs to a man over in Thornton.”
“Good. That’s one more strike against the thief,” Joe declared.
But a moment later the boys met with disappointment when they asked their father for a list of the stolen jewels.
“I’m willing to give you all the information I have,” said Fenton Hardy, “but I’m afraid it won’t be of much use. Furthermore, I’ll bet I can tell just what you’re going to do.”
“What?”
“Make the rounds of the pawnshops to see if any of the jewels have been turned in.”
The Hardy boys looked at each other in amazement. “I might have guessed,” said Frank.
Their father smiled. “Not an hour after I was called in on the case I had a full description of all those jewels in every pawnshop in the city. More than that, the description has been sent to jewelry firms and pawnshops in other cities near here, and also the New York police. Here’s a duplicate list if you want it, but you’ll just be wasting time calling at the shops. All the dealers are on the lookout for the jewels.”
Mechanically, Frank took the list. “And I thought it was such a bright idea!”
“It is a bright idea. But it has been used before. Most jewel robberies are solved in just this manner—by tracing the thief when he tries to get rid of the gems.”
“Well,” said Joe gloomily, “I guess that plan is all shot to pieces. Come on, Frank. We’ll think of something else.”
“Out for the reward?” asked Mr. Hardy, chuckling.
“Yes. And we’ll get it, too!”
“I hope you do. But you can’t ask me to help you any more than I’ve done. It’s my case, too, remember. So from now on, you boys and I are rivals!”
“It’s a go!”
“More power to you!” Mr. Hardy smiled and returned to his desk.
He had a sheaf of reports from shops and agencies in various parts of the state, through which he had been trying to trace the stolen jewels and securities, but in every case the report was the same. There had been no lead to the gems or the bonds taken from Tower Mansion.
When the boys left their father’s study they went outside and sat on the back-porch steps.
“What shall we do now?” asked Joe.
“I don’t know. Dad sure took the wind out of our sails that time, didn’t he?”
“I’ll say he did. But it was just as well. He saved us a lot of trouble.”
“Yes, we might have been going around in circles,” Frank conceded.
Joe wagged his head. “It looks as if Dad has the inside track on the case—in the city, anyway.”
“What have you got in mind?” Joe asked.
“To concentrate on the country. We started out to find the thief because he stole Chet’s car. Let’s start all over again from that point.”
“Meaning?”
“Mr. Red Wig may have come back to the woods expecting to use Chet’s car again, and—”
“Frank, you’re a genius! You figure the guy may have left a clue by accident.”
“Exactly.”
Fired with enthusiasm once more, the brothers called to Mrs. Hardy where they were going, then set off on their motorcycles. After parking them at the picnic site, the brothers once more set off for the isolated spot where the jalopy had been hidden.
Everything looked the same as it had before, but Frank and Joe examined the ground carefully for new footprints. They found none, but Joe pointed out six-inch circular marks at regular intervals.
Frank and Joe examined the circular marks
“They’re just the size of a man’s stride,” he remarked, “and I didn’t notice them before.”
“I didn’t either,” said Frank. “Do you suppose that thief tied pads onto his shoes to keep him from making footprints?”
“Let’s see where they lead.”
The boys followed the circular marks through the thicket. They had not gone far when their eyes lighted up with excitement.
“Another clue!” Joe yelled. “And this time a swell one!”
CHAPTER IX
Rival Detectives
“MAYBE,” Frank said with a grin, “Dad will take us into his camp when he sees these!”
“Just a minute,” Joe spoke up. “I thought we were rivals now, and you and I have to solve this mystery alone to earn the reward.”
Frank held up a man’s battered felt hat and an old jacket. “If these belong to that thief, I think we’ve earned the money already!”
He felt through the pockets of the jacket, but they were empty. “No clue here,” he said.
“This hat has a label, though—New York City store,” said Joe.
“And the coat, too,” Frank added. “Same shop. Well, one thing is sure. If they do belong to the thief, he never meant to leave them. The labels are a dead giveaway.”
“He must have been frightened off,” Joe concluded. “Maybe when he found that Chet’s jalopy was gone, he felt he’d better scram, and forgot the coat and hat.”
“What I’d like to know,” Frank said, “is whether some hairs from that red wig may be in the hat.”
Joe grinned. “Bright boy.” He carried the hat to a spot where the sunlight filtered down through the trees and looked intently at the inside, even turning down the band. “Yowee! Success!” he yelled.
Frank gazed at two short strands of red hair. They looked exactly like those in the wig which the boys had found.
Joe sighed. “I guess we’ll have to tell Dad about this. He has the wig.”
“Right.”
Frank and Joe hurried home, clutching their precious clues firmly. Mr. Hardy was still in his study when his sons returned. The detective looked up, frankly surprised to see them home so soon. There was the suspicion of a twinkle in his eyes.
“What! More clues!” he exclaimed. “You’re really on the job.”
“You bet we have more clues!” cried Frank eagerly. He told the boys’ story and laid the hat and jacket on a table. “We’re turning these over to you.”
“But I thought you two were working on this case as my rivals.”
“To tell the truth,” said Frank, “we don’t know what to do with the clue we’ve found. It leads to New York City.”
Mr.
Hardy leaned forward in his desk chair as Frank pointed out the labels and the two strands of red hair.
“And besides,” Frank went on, “I guess the only way to prove that the thief owns these clothes is by comparing the hairs in the hat with the red wig. And Joe and I don’t have the wig.”
With a grin the detective went to his files and brought it out. “Chief Collig left this here.”
The strands of hair were compared and matched perfectly!
“You boys have certainly made fine progress,” Mr. Hardy praised his sons. He smiled. “And since you have, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Chief Collig asked me to see what I could figure out of the wig. He says there’s no maker’s name on it.”
“And there isn’t?” Joe asked.
His father’s eyes twinkled once more. “I guess Collig’s assistants weren’t very thorough. At any rate, I discovered there’s an inner lining and on that is the maker’s name. He’s in New York City and I was just thinking about flying there to talk to him. Now you boys have given me a double incentive for going.”
Frank and Joe beamed with pleasure, then suddenly their faces clouded.
“What’s the matter?” Mr. Hardy asked them.
Joe answered. “It looks as if you’re going to solve the case all alone.”
“Nothing of the sort,” the detective replied. “The person who bought the wig may not have given his name. The hat may have been purchased a long time ago, and it isn’t likely that the clerk who sold it will remember who bought it. The same with the jacket.”
Frank and Joe brightened. “Then the case is far from solved,” Frank said.
“All these are good leads, however,” Mr. Hardy said. “There is always the chance that the store may not be far from where the suspect lives. Though it’s a slim chance, we can’t afford to overlook anything. I’ll take these articles to the city and see what I can do. It may mean everything and it may mean nothing. Don’t be disappointed if I come back empty-handed. And don’t be surprised if I come back with some valuable information.”
The Tower Treasure Page 5