The three Hardys transferred their work to the new tower. All this time Hurd Applegate had been looking on in silence. From the corners of their eyes, the Hardys could catch an expression of satisfaction on the elderly man’s face.
Mr. Hardy glanced at his wrist watch, then said, “Well, boys, I guess this is our last try.” He indicated another spot a few feet away. “You fellows must get cleaned up and go to school.”
Undaunted by their failures so far, Frank and Joe dug in with a will. In a few moments they had uncovered another small chest.
“Wow, this one is heavy!” Frank said as he lifted it from the hole.
“Then maybe-maybe it’s the stolen property!” Joe exclaimed.
Even Mr. Applegate showed keen interest this time and leaned over to raise the lid himself. The box contained several sacks.
“The jewels!” Joe cried out.
“And that flat-shaped sack could contain the securities!” Frank said enthusiastically.
Mr. Applegate picked up one of the circular bags and quickly untied the string wound about the top. His face took on a look of utter disgust. “Seeds!” he fairly shouted.
Mr. Hardy had already picked up the flat sack. He looked almost as disappointed as Mr. Apple-gate. “Flower catalogs!” he exclaimed. “They seem to be in various foreign languages.”
“Oh, Robinson was always sending for things from all over the world,” the Tower Mansion owner remarked. “I told him to destroy them. He paid too much attention to that stuff when he might have been doing something useful. I suppose he buried the catalogs, so I wouldn’t find them.”
After a long breath the elderly man went on, “Well, we’ve reached the end of the line. You Hardys haven’t proved a thing, but you’ve certainly torn up my house and grounds.”
The three sleuths had to admit this was true but told him they were still fired by two hopes: to clear Mr. Robinson of the charge against him, and to find the stolen property. As they put their spades back into the Hardy car, Mr. Applegate invited them into the house to wash and have a bite to eat.
“I guess you boys could do with a second breakfast,” he added, and the brothers thought, “Maybe at times Mr. Applegate isn’t such a bad sort.”
They accepted the invitation and enjoyed the meal of waffles and honey. Their father then drove them to Bayport High.
Frank and Joe had no sooner stepped from the car than they heard their names called. Turning, they saw Iola Morton and Callie Shaw coming toward them.
“Hi, boys!”
“Hi, girls!”
“Say, did you hear what happened early this morning?” Callie asked.
“No. School called off for today?” Joe asked eagerly.
“I wish it were.” Callie sobered. “It’s about Mr. Robinson. He’s been arrested again!”
“No!” The Hardys stared at Callie, thunderstruck. “Why?” Frank demanded.
Iola took up the story, saying that she and Chet had heard the bad news on the radio that morning. They had stopped at the Robinsons’ home, when their father brought them to school, to find out more about what had happened.
“It seems that Chief Collig has an idea Mr. Robinson was in league with the thief Jackley, that man your father got the confession from. So he arrested him. Poor Mrs. Robinson! She doesn’t know what to do.”
“And Mr. Robinson had just managed to find another job,” Callie said sadly. “Oh, can’t you boys do something?”
“We’re working on the case as hard as we can,” Frank replied, and told the girls about their sleuthing the evening before and early that morning. At that moment the school bell rang and the young people had to separate.
Frank and Joe were deeply concerned by what they had just heard. At lunch they met Jerry, Phil, Tony, and Chet Morton and told them the news. “This is tough on Slim,” Phil remarked.
“Tough on the whole family,” Chet declared.
The boys discussed the situation from all angles and racked their brains for some way in which they could help the Robinsons. They concluded that only the actual discovery of the stolen jewels and bonds would clear Mr. Robinson of the suspicion which hung over him.
“That means there’s only one thing to do,” Frank said. “We must find that loot!”
After school he and Joe played baseball for the required period, then went directly home. They had no heart for further sports activities. It was a dull, gloomy day, indicative of rain and this did not raise the boys’ spirits.
Frank, who was restless, finally suggested, “Let’s take a walk.”
“Maybe it’ll help clear the cobwebs from our brains,” Joe agreed.
They told their mother they would be home by suppertime, then set off. The brothers walked mile after mile, and then, as they turned back, they were drawn as if by magnets to Tower Mansion.
“This place is beginning to haunt me,” said Joe, as they walked up the driveway.
Suddenly Frank caught his brother’s arm. “I just had an idea. Maybe Jackley in his deathbed confession was confused and meant some other robbery he committed. Besides, at some time in every mystery the most innocent-seeming people become suspect. What proof is there that the Applegates haven’t pulled a hoax? For reasons of their own they might say that the things had been stolen from their safe. Don’t forget that Dad didn’t find any fingerprints on it except Mr. Applegate’s.”
“Frank, you’ve got a point there. That man and his sister act so mean sometimes, I wouldn’t put it past them to be trying to cheat the insurance company,” said Joe.
“Exactly,” his brother agreed. “For the moment, let’s play it this way. We’ll pretend they’re suspects and do a little spying about this place.”
Instantly the boys left the roadway and disappeared among the shrubbery that lined it. Making their way cautiously, they moved forward toward Tower Mansion. The place was in darkness with the exception of three lighted rooms on the first floor.
“What’s your idea, Frank?” his brother whispered. “To learn something that might tell us whether or not the Applegates are implicated in the robbery?”
“Yes. Maybe we’ll get a clue if we keep our eyes and ears open.”
The boys walked forward in silence. They approached the mansion from the end where the old tower stood. Somewhere, not far from them, they suddenly heard footsteps on the gravel walk. In a flash the brothers dodged behind a tree. The footsteps came closer and the boys waited to see who was approaching. Was it one of the Applegates, or someone else?
Before they could find out, the person’s footsteps receded and the boys emerged from their hiding place. Suddenly a glaring light was beamed directly on them.
It came from the top room of the old tower!
CHAPTER XVIII
A Startling Deduction
“DUCK!” Frank ordered in a hoarse whisper, quickly dropping to the ground.
Instantly Joe threw himself face down alongside his brother.
“You think the person with the flashlight in the tower saw us?” Frank asked.
“He could have, but maybe not. We sure went down fast.”
The strong flashlight was not trained on them again. It was beamed out a window of the tower in another direction, then turned off.
“Well, what say?” Joe asked. “Shall we go on up to the mansion and continue our sleuthing?”
Frank was of the opinion that if they did, they might get into trouble. Even if they had not been recognized, the person in the tower probably had spotted them.
“I’d like to find out who was in the tower,” Joe argued. “It’s just possible that the Applegates don’t know anything about him.”