"Now just a minute!" Joe interrupted. "It was an accident. No sense getting upset about this!"
"Can I be of any help?" the boys heard someone say. They looked round to see a lanky young man walking towards them. He had rust-coloured hair and leathery skin that was deeply tanned.
"What are you b.u.t.ting in for?" snapped the stranger.
"This boy didn"t step on you intentionally," the young man insisted. "I saw the whole thing. You were trying to listen to their conversation and got too close."
The tall stranger was about to say something, but hesitated. For a moment he glared at Chet and his companions, then stamped out of the lobby, swinging his briefcase.
Frank and Joe looked at each other. Why had the man been listening to their conversation? Did he belong to the gang they had been warned about?
Meanwhile, Chet was saying, "Thanks for your help, Mr-"
"My name is Cole Weber," the young man introduced himself. "I"m president of the Central Antique Aeroplane Club. We own the exhibit and are taking it to several airports. We"re trying to encourage public interest in vintage aircraft."
"Sounds like a great club," Joe remarked.
"We think so," Weber said. "The majority of the models you see here are replicas of real aeroplanes owned and operated by our members."
"You mean that some of those old crates still fly?" Chet asked.
Weber grinned. "Well . . . we don"t think of them as crates. When properly rebuilt, most antique planes are as safe and reliable as the day they were originally made. I own one myself. It"s outside on the ramp.
Would you like to see it?"
"Would we?" Joe exclaimed.
Mr Weber led the boys to the airport ramp. A short distance ahead stood an orange-and-white biplane.
The boys peered into the two open c.o.c.kpits.
"This is cool!" Joe declared.
The pilot smiled. "Compared to modern planes, mine doesn"t have many instruments. But since we fly the antiques only for fun, we don"t need elaborate equipment, such as that required for all-weather operations."
The boys looked closely at the diagonal pattern of wires stretching between the wings. Then they examined the plane"s radial engine and the long, slender wooden propeller.
"How many pa.s.sengers can you carry?" Frank asked.
"Two in the front c.o.c.kpit," Weber answered. "Say! Would two of you like to go for a ride?"
The boys" eyes widened with excitement. Then Frank and Joe remembered the sleuthing they had promised to do for their father.
"Thanks just the same," Frank said, "but I"m afraid Joe and I can"t go this time."
"But I"d like to," Chet spoke up. "Say, fellows, could you drive me to the farm afterwards?"
"Farm?" Weber interrupted. "Are there any level stretches of ground in the area?"
"Plenty of them. Why?"
"I"ll fly you home if you"d like."
Chet tingled with excitement. "Great! Thanks."
The flier opened the baggage compartment and took out a parachute, helmet, and goggles. "Put these on and climb into the front c.o.c.kpit."
"Mr Weber, do you know Mr Malcolm Wright?" Frank asked.
"Yes, indeed. He"s a member of our club."
"Did you hear that his antique plane was stolen?" Joe put in.
Weber nodded. "Too bad. I understand he has some secret invention he was trying out in the plane. I hope that wasn"t stolen too."
The boys caught their breath in astonishment but said nothing. They had not heard this. Weber did not seem to notice. He donned his own parachute and summoned a mechanic to twirl the propeller and start the engine. Then he climbed into the rear c.o.c.kpit.
"Brakes on! Switch off!" the mechanic called.
"Brakes on! Switch off!" Weber echoed.
The mechanic pulled the propeller through several times. Then he stepped back and yelled: "Contact!"
"Contact!" the pilot responded.
The engine caught on the first try. A staccato popping developed into a steady roar. Chet"s goggled face turned towards the Hardys. He waved wildly as Weber taxied out for take-off.
"See you at the party!" Chet shouted over the roar of the engine.
Minutes later the plane, looking like a box kite, was climbing above the Bayport field. As the Hardys turned to leave, Frank caught his brother"s arm.
"There"s that man Chet stepped on! He"s watching us from the doorway! This time I mean to find out why." Frank started to run. "Come on, Joe!"
CHAPTER IV.
The Cold Trail As soon as the man saw Frank and Joe, he turned to hurry off. In doing so, he b.u.mped into the frame of the door and dropped his briefcase, which burst open. At a distance the boys could not read any of the printing on the letters that fell out, but one had red and blue stripes at the top.
The tall, blond man s.n.a.t.c.hed up the papers and stuffed them into the briefcase. He quickly zipped it shut and began to run.
"He sure isn"t on the level," Joe remarked, "or he wouldn"t race off like that. We can"t let him get away!"
The stranger"s long legs and agility helped him cover a wide stretch in a short time. Before the Hardys could catch up to him, he reached the exit and jumped into a waiting car which zoomed off.
Frank and Joe stopped short, puzzled. Was the man afraid of them? And if so, why?
"Maybe that briefcase had something to do with his running off," Frank said.
The boys went inside the terminal building. They continued to look at the planes while keeping their eyes open for any other suspicious characters. They saw none and finally returned home.
"You must be hungry," said Mrs Hardy. "I have hot apple pie, but it"s getting cold."
Joe patted her shoulder. "Shall we eat dessert first?" he teased.
Later the boys went upstairs to change for Chet"s barn dance. Both put on jeans, plaid shirts, and big straw hats. They packed overnight bags, then joined their mother who was waiting to be driven to her friend"s home.
Just before leaving the house, Frank heard a signal from their private short-wave set. "Dad must be calling," he said, and raced upstairs to Mr Hardy"s study.
"FH home," he said into the mike. "Over."
"Frank," said his father, "how"s everything?"
"Okay, Dad. How about you?"
"Fair," the detective said. "But I have a new lead to follow. You won"t be able to get in touch with me for a couple of days. Did you get my message from the ham operator?"
"Yes, Dad." Frank told him all that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, including the wire-tapping.
Mr Hardy whistled. "Then the gang knew where you were going."
"Shall Joe and I tell Chief Collig we were the first burglars?" Frank asked.
"I guess you"d better," the detective agreed. "But warn him the information is confidential and don"t tell him what the invention is you were after."
He now explained that he had been tipped off by Chicago police that a gang suspected of robbery there had suddenly vanished. A "squealer" had reported they were out to "get" the Hardy detectives. The boys"
father did not know why, but surmised it might concern Mr Wright"s invention.
"And now let me speak to your mother," Mr Hardy said.
Half an hour later Frank and Joe stopped at Chief Collig"s home and made their report. The chief burst into laughter. "So you"re the ones who knocked out those men. I guess they had a real scare. They haven"t talked since."
By the time the boys reached the Mortons" farm with Callie Shaw, the dance was under way. A Bayport High School group was playing.
"Hi, masterminds!" Chet shouted as the Hardys strolled in. "I thought you"d never get here. Boy! Wait till I tell you about my flight!" He began to describe the adventure, supplementing his words with swooping motions of both hands.
His sister Iola joined Callie and the boys. She was a slim, darkhaired girl and very pretty. "Hi, Joe, Frank, Callie!" Then hearing her brother, she said laughingly, "Oh no! Is Chet talking about his flight again? He hasn"t stopped since he landed."
"You just don"t know anything about real flying," her brother said, "until you"ve been in one of those old biplanes."
"Our turn"s next," Joe reminded him The following hours pa.s.sed quickly When it was time for supper, Joe and Iola decided to eat outside.
They filled their paper plates with sandwiches, chocolate cake and cups of lemonade, and went to sip on the steps of the Mortons" front veranda.
As they ate, Iota glanced towards the driveway in which many of the guests had parked their cars. The Hardys" convertible was near the end of the long queue.
Suddenly Iota touched Joe"s arm. "What"s the matter?" he asked.
"I saw someone lurking behind your car," Iota replied. "Yes, There he is."
Joe peered into the darkness. He saw a man, his hat pulled low, pop up from behind the car, then duck down again. At once the young detective sprang to his feet and ran towards the mysterious figure. The fellow might be after the secret radio!
"Who are you?" he shouted, seeing the boot lid rise and the light go on. "What are you doing?"
The intruder ran from behind the car and disappeared into the darkness. Joe dashed after him.
"Keep your distance or you"ll get hurt!" the man shouted. But Joe went on.
Iola screamed for help. Frank, Chet, and their cla.s.smates, Biff Hooper and Jerry Gilroy, raced from the barn.
"What"s wrong?" Frank asked.
"We saw a man lurking behind your car," Iota answered in a trembling voice. "Joe ran after him through the woods but was warned away."
At once Frank and his companions rushed in that direction. The boys had not gone far when they heard a m.u.f.fled cry for help, followed by the roar of a car speeding off.
Coming to a halt, Frank signalled to his friends for silence. The sounds of the car faded away. Everything was still, except the big grandfather clock in the hall of the Morton home. It began to strike. Midnight! Frank thought of what had happened just twenty-four hours earlier.
"Joe!" he shouted. "Joe! Where are you?"
His call went unanswered. The young detective stood frozen in his tracks. Had his brother become the victim of the gang?
By this time everyone at the party had raced outside to learn what had happened. They joined in a frantic search but without success.
"I"m afraid he was kidnapped," Frank said grimly.
"In the car we heard roar off?" Biff Hooper asked.
"Yes."
Jerry Gilroy chimed in, "But by whom? And for what reason?"
"I don"t know," Frank said. He turned and rushed back to the convertible. Seeing the boot open, he immediately looked in the tyre well. The secret radio was still there.
"Joe must have blocked an attempted theft and been taken away so that he couldn"t identify the man,"
Frank thought.
He slammed the boot shut, asked his friends to guard the car, and ran to the house. He scooped up the telephone and dialed the home number of Chief Collig.
"What!" the officer exclaimed when Frank told him about Joe"s probable kidnapping. "I"ll call the FBI and also get some of my own men out there right away! And I"ll come myself."
He and three officers arrived shortly and were given a briefing.