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Mysterious Plans






 

When the Hardy boys left the hotel they saw Ollie Jacobs about a block away, walking quickly down the street toward the outskirts of the village. As unobtrusively as possible, they followed him. They soon found that there was little need for caution, as Ollie Jacobs evidently had no suspicion that he was observed, and not once did he look back.

Leaving the sidewalk, their quarry struck out along a country road in the direction of an abandoned house. Here, instead of passing by, he vaulted the fence, crossed the unkempt yard, and disappeared into the building.

" We'll have to go carefully, " said Frank. " I'll bet he's meeting the others there."

" That's where he intends to get the eight thousand dollars, I suppose."

" Chances are, they're watching. We'd better go around by the back way."

At the end of the street, therefore, the Hardy keys did not follow the road, but instead made a detour through the fields, coming around at the rear of the old house. There they made their way carefully across the yard. They knew that they risked detection in so doing, but they were obliged to take this chance.

Luck was with them. They crossed the yard in safety, evidently unobserved by anyone in the house.

They crouched beneath a window and listened. From inside the house they could hear human voices. Frank raised himself slightly and peeped through the window. The room was empty. The voices seemed to be from the front of the house.

He gestured to Joe, and silently they crept on to the next window. Here they had better luck. The window was partly open and they could clearly hear the voices of the men in the room beyond.

The first voice they heard was that of Ollie Jacobs.

" Well, " he was saying, " I guess we can each chip in and make up that money. The plane is waiting for us."

A familiar voice answered:

" Eight thousand dollars is a lot of dough, But it will be worth it in the long run."

Frank and Joe exchanged glances. They recognized the voice. Giles Ducroy!

" Are you sure the plane is all right? " demanded the third man–Newt Pipps.

" It's old, but it's plenty good enough for our purpose, " returned Jacobs. " She'll hold four or five men."

" I don't want to go flying in some old rattletrap that'll bust all to pieces in mid-air and kill us all, " demurred Newt.

" Don't worry. I'll be in charge of the plane, " declared Ducroy. " I could fly a baby carriage if it had wings. Your precious neck is safe enough."

" Well, here's twenty-five hundred dollars, " said Jacobs. " That's my share."

" And here's mine, " said Newt.

" And I'll make up the other three thousand, " said Ducroy. " You never spent money any better. If this pans out all right it will bring us fifty thousand dollars at least."

" You say it's the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth? " asked Ollie Jacobs.

" Yes, " answered Ducroy. " Pay day is on.the first of the month, and they always send the money a day or two ahead."

" It'll be a big haul if we get away with it, " declared Newt Pipps. " But it's certainly risky."

" You've got to take chances to make big money, " Ducroy answered. " Fifty thousand dollars isn't to be sneezed at."

" I'm satisfied, " said Ollie Jacobs. " I think we can get away with it. Fifty thousand dollars looks mighty good to me. I think we ought to go right over to the farm, buy this plane, and start out."

" Where do we go first? " asked Newt.

" There's an airport about thirty miles from here, " Ducroy said. " It's just a small flying field-the Riverside Field, they call it. We can take the plane there and wait until everything is ready."

'' What if we 're caught? '' asked Newt. '' The police in Bayport are on the lookout for us, you know that. If they find out where we are, it will ruin everything."

" We have the plane, haven't we? If they find out where we are, we'll simply fly somewhere else, and dodge them. I have everything all figured out. We'll be quite safe."

" Then let's get going, " said Ollie Jacobs impatiently. " We're just wasting time by arguing here."

There was a scuffling of feet, then the slam of a door. After a few moments the Hardy boys peeped around the side of the house and saw the three men going down the road in the direction of the village.

" It looks as if we've stumbled on something, " said Joe, " I wonder what they're going to do with that, airplane. One thing is certain-there's something in the wind for the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth of this month."

" What date is this? "

" The twenty-sixth." Frank watched the receding figures of the men. " I suppose we ought to follow them."

Joe demurred.

" Why should we? There's no chance of losing them now. We know the name of the airport they're bound for, and we can go there in the car and wait for them."

" That's right. We'll go on to Riverside Field and keep an eye on them from there. But first of all, I think we ought to call up dad and let him know what we've learned."

Joe agreed that this was a sound suggestion. The boys waited until the trio were out of sight, then hastened on toward the village. Their first concern was a telephone, and as they did not want to go to the hotel, in case some of Ollie Jacobs' friends might be within earshot, they lost some time seeking the telephone exchange, which they finally located in the rear of the post office.

There they put through a call to their father in Bayport. After a wait of about ten minutes, the call was answered. The operator turned to them.

" Mr. Hardy is not at home. Will anyone else do? "

" Anyone at that number, " assented Frank.

He picked up the receiver and heard his mother's voice.

" Hello, Mother. This is Frank calling."

" Yes, Frank. Where are you? "

" We're at a little village just outside the city. Where is Dad? "

" He left for New York an hour ago, " answered Mrs. Hardy. " He just received a telegram calling him to New York on special business."

Frank was disappointed.

" That's tough luck. We had some news for him. Well, we'll just have to carry on alone. If we're not home to-night, don't worry about us. We've picked up some information that may clear up all this fix we're in."

" Don't stay away too long, Frank, " said Mrs. Hardy. " The police were making inquiries a little while ago."

" The police? Why? "

" They think you may have run away. They're afraid you have jumped bail."

This news came as a stunning shock to Frank.

" Why, that's nonsense! " he exclaimed hotly. " We'll be back as soon as we can, and if they make any more inquiries you can tell them so. And when we do come back, they won't have any further excuse for holding us, for we'll have the real mail robbers with us."

''I hope you are right, Frank. If your father comes back, I'll tell him you called."

" All right, Mother. And don't worry about ns. We'll be back home as soon as we can get away."

Frank hung up the receiver and paid the cost of the call. When he turned toward Joe, however, he found his brother standing in the door, gazing up at the sky.

" They're away already! " exclaimed Joe excitedly. " Look! "

Frank ran to the door. Joe was pointing up at the clouds. High above them soared an airplane, drumming its way toward the south.

" I saw it rise, " said Joe. " It took off from one of those farms back of the village. It's Ducroy's crowd, sure as guns."

" On their way to the flying field already. Well, we'd better be moving."

They hurried down the street toward the hotel, where they had left the roadster. On the way, Frank told Joe the result of his telephone call. Joe too was disappointed that they had not been able to get in touch with Fenton Hardy.

" It means we have to play a lone hand, that's all. What do you think we should do next, Frank? "

" I think we ought to tell the authorities." " We'll warn them to watch the airplane hangars on the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth, " said Joe. " But we mustn't lose sight of Ducroy and his cronies."

They looked back. The airplane was merely a blur in the distance. The boys realized that they had no time to lose. They scrambled into the roadster. Frank threw in the clutch and the car shot forward. Within a few minutes they were speeding down a road toward the south in the direction of the Riverside Field.

 


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