Read The Disappearing Floor Online
Authors: Franklin W. Dixon
The Disappearing Floor (5 page)
“Humph! No doubt there'll always be gullible simpletons!” said a peppery voice. Aunt Gertrude planted herself in an easy chair and began darning socks. “Don't mind me.” She sniffed. “Just go right on with your wild talk.”
Frank and Joe exchanged grins, knowing their aunt was eager to hear more. She looked gratified when Frank repeated the information he had gleaned from the
Bayport Times.
Bayport Times.
“Yes, I remember now about Perth's nephew,” Miss Hardy said reminiscently. “Poor fellow! Almost seemed as if Fate had marked him out to pay for his uncle's misdeeds.”
At dinner Frank and Joe were silent and thoughtful. Neither believed that the weird screams they had heard near the Perth mansion could have been made by the nephew's ghost. Nevertheless, it was an eerie notion!
“I'd like to go back to that mansion,” Joe said as the family finished dessert. “I have a hunch we'll find some answers thereâabout the ghost and Strang too.”
Frank agreed. “We'll go as soon as it's dark.”
Two hours later the brothers climbed into their convertible and headed toward the outskirts of Bayport. Their tires hummed in the still, moonlit night air and wispy clouds covered the sky. When they turned onto the dirt lane, Frank switched off their headlights and soon afterward pulled in close to a screen of shrubbery.
“Better take our flashlights,” Joe murmured.
The boys got out and headed up the slope. In the distance they could see a few gleams of light from the house.
“Come on! Don't argue with it!” Frank muttered
“Someone's in the haunted house!” Joe remarked. “Maybe Strang. We'd better watch our step!”
The Hardys threaded their way among the trees and underbrush. Suddenly a ferocious snarl made them whirl to the left.
A huge, savage-looking hound stood facing them, its eyes glowing in the dark like coals of fire!
Again it snarled, and seemed about to spring at the two intruders!
Again it snarled, and seemed about to spring at the two intruders!
“Come on! Don't argue with it!” Frank muttered. He started to back away hastily, but Joe clutched his arm.
“Wait, Frank! That thing's not aliveâit's just a mechanical dummy!”
Incredulous, Frank did a double-take. Then he realized that Joe was right. “Well, I'll be a moldy dog biscuit!” he gasped. “That hound sure looks real enough to bite your head off!”
“We must have crossed an invisible beam that made it light up and snarl,” Joe surmised. He reached out a hand to touch the device, as if to reassure himself that the “dog” was not flesh and blood.
“Hold it, Joe!” Frank jerked his brother's hand away. “That thing looks like metalâit may be electrically charged.”
Stripping off his belt, Frank held the leather end and swung the buckle lightly against the mechanical hound. A hissing blue-white spark illuminated the darkness as metal touched metal!
“Wow!” Joe gasped. “That really would have given me a jolt! Say, Frank, do you suppose the guy we found here could have been shocked unconscious by some electrified gadget?”
“Sounds like a good guess. And that gives us another reason for watching our step.”
More cautiously than ever, the Hardys approached the old mansion. The house, covered with fading clapboards, was fronted by a low veranda and topped off with turrets and decaying latticework. Ragged clumps of shrubbery grew close to the walls.
“Let's try those lighted windows on the first floor,” Frank suggested.
The boys crept close enough to peer inside. Bookshelves, a desk, chairs, a bureau, and a bed lined the walls of the room.
“This must have been Jerome Perth's bedroom-study,” Joe whispered.
He brought his face up closer to the pane for a better view, then gave a cry of astonishment. “Frank, look!
The room has no floor!”
The room has no floor!”
CHAPTER VI
Symbol in Brass
FOR a moment Frank thought his brother must be joking. Then he, too, put his face to the window-pane.
Beneath the room's furniture he could see only gaping darkness!
Beneath the room's furniture he could see only gaping darkness!
“This is crazy!” Frank muttered. “That furniture can't just stand in mid-air!”
“If only we could see better,” Joe said, flattening his nose against the glass in an effort to peer downward. Suddenly Frank gave a warning hiss and yanked Joe into a crouched position.
“What's wrong?” Joe whispered.
Frank pointed off beyond the rear of the house. In the distance a tiny light could be seen moving among the trees. The boys shrank back into the shadows of some shrubbery.
As they waited, Joe's eyes fell on what looked like an old coin. It was lying on the ground in the patch of light outside the window. Joe reached out and pocketed it.
Meanwhile, the oncoming beam was zigzagging slowly about the grounds. Minutes went by. A night breeze sighed eerily among the hemlocks and cypresses. Bit by bit, the light moved closer to the boys' hiding place.
Frank strained his eyes in the darkness. Suddenly his scalp prickled. “Joe!” he gasped. “Do you see what I do?”
“I sure do!” Joe gulped.
The light was being carried by a ghostly white-robed figure!
But common sense told the boys the figure must be human.
But common sense told the boys the figure must be human.
“This is our chance to lay that spook story to rest once and for all,” Frank whispered.
Joe glanced at his brother. “You mean we rush the ghost?”
“Rightâbut not yet. Wait till I give the word.”
The white figure flitted along, pausing every so often amidst the tall underbrush. For a time it seemed to be approaching the house. Then the light moved off in another direction.
Frank put his mouth close to Joe's ear. “Let's sneak up and take Mr. Spook by surprise now!”
Silent as shadows, the Hardys darted out from the shrubbery. Moving with swift steps, they closed in toward the phantom figure. But Joe, overeager, caught his foot in a tangle of underbrush and thudded to the ground.
The “ghost” whirled, evidently startled by the noise. The flashlight it was carrying raked the two boys, then winked out abruptly. An instant later the figure had slipped away into the darkness!
Frank halted only long enough to make sure his brother was unhurt, then raced in pursuit. Joe scrambled to his feet.
By now the white-robed figure was nowhere to be seen. Then Joe suddenly glimpsed something pale among the trees. Was the spook trying to evade them by doubling back toward the house? Joe sprinted to intercept it.
He saw the phantom figure pass between two trees. Instantly the faint ringing of an alarm bell could be heard from inside the mansion!
“There must be another electronic-eye beam between those trees!” Joe realized.
Floodlights blazed on around the house. The front door burst open and three men dashed outside. The ghost, meanwhile, had veered to the left and was disappearing into the darkness againâthis time toward the road, but away from the Hardys' car.
Joe halted, uncertain what to do next. If he continued the pursuit, he would risk being cut off by the men from the house before he could get back to the convertible.
“For all I know, they may be the ones who blew up our boat!” he said to himself.
As the men came closer, Joe made a fast decision and darted off among the trees. A moment later he was startled by a rustle of shrubbery close by. A shadowy figure was running alongside him! “You okay, Joe?”
“Yes. But wow! Don't give me heart failure like that!”
The sounds of pursuit grew fainter and presently the two boys reached sloping ground and headed toward their car.
Both boys hopped into the convertible. Frank keyed the starter and the engine came alive with a roar. Spinning the wheel, he sent the car zooming down the lane. “Talk about fast getawaysâ!” Joe panted as they reached the highway.
“Did you get a look at those men from the house?” Frank asked.
“Not too good a look, but I think one of them may have been Noel Strang.”
As the brothers came in the kitchen door of the Hardy home, they heard a loud buzz from the basement.
“The short-wave radio signal!” Frank exclaimed. He and Joe hurried downstairs and switched on the powerful set which the Hardys used for secret communications.
“Fenton H. calling Bayport. Come in, please.” The last words swelled to stronger volume as Joe tuned the receiver.
“Bayport to Fenton,” Frank said. “We read you loud and clear!”
“Good! I hoped I'd catch you boys in.”
“How'd that telephone tip pan out?” Frank inquired eagerly.
“It hasn't so far,” Mr. Hardy reported. “The
Wanda
didn't arrive until six this evening. Its passengers are all wealthy people, and there's a fair amount of jewelry aboard. But as yet we haven't turned up a single clue that might indicate a robbery is planned.”
Wanda
didn't arrive until six this evening. Its passengers are all wealthy people, and there's a fair amount of jewelry aboard. But as yet we haven't turned up a single clue that might indicate a robbery is planned.”
“Do you think the tip was phony?”
“Too early to tell yet. The police have a dragnet out but they haven't spotted any likely suspects. Of course it's possible the jewel thieves called off the job for some reason.”
“Dad, it's also possible the gang wants you stymied there in East Hampton while they prepare to pull a job somewhere else,” Frank pointed out.
“That's what I'm afraid of,” Mr. Hardy agreed. “Meanwhile, Sam and I can't do much. What's the picture there in Bayport?”
Frank rapidly briefed his father on the day's developments. Mr. Hardy was stunned to hear about the bombing of the
Sleuth
and the attack on Joe at Filmer's Gemstone Shop. Also, he was intrigued by the Motor Vehicle Bureau's report.
Sleuth
and the attack on Joe at Filmer's Gemstone Shop. Also, he was intrigued by the Motor Vehicle Bureau's report.
“I'm sure I've heard that name, Aden Darrow, but I can't place it,” the detective said. “Try checking my criminal file.”
After a hasty conference with his operative, Sam Radley, Mr. Hardy added, “Son, the way things are popping there in Bayport, I think Sam had better fly back and help you boys with your investigation. I'll get hold of Jack Wayne. He should be able to land Sam there by midnight.”
“Okay, Dad. We'll meet Sam at the airport.”
After signing off, Frank and Joe hurried upstairs to their father's study. A thorough check of his file revealed no criminal listed under the name of Darrow.
“Dad must've been mistaken,” Joe concluded.
Mrs. Hardy and Aunt Gertrude were watching a movie on television. The brothers joined them.
“I suppose you boys would like a snack,” their aunt said after the program ended.
“We wouldn't object,” Frank replied with a grin.
As Miss Hardy went out to the kitchen, Joe suddenly remembered the coin he had picked up near the mansion window. As he examined it the young sleuth gave a cry of excitement.
“Frank! Take a look at this!”
The coin appeared to be a brass lucky piece. On both sides it bore the design of a dragon!
“Wow! The same design Chet saw on that tiled square!” Frank exclaimed.
The boys began to discuss their new clue excitedly. Mrs. Hardy also looked at the lucky piece and pointed out the design of a violet above the dragon's head. Soon Aunt Gertrude returned to the living room, carrying a tray of sandwiches, cookies, and milk. She, too, became curious and asked to see the brass coin.
“Why, this belonged to old Jerome Perth!” she announced triumphantly.
“How do you know?” Joe asked.
“From the designâthat's how,” Aunt Gertrude retorted. “It was his personal trademark.”
“Aunty, you're wonderful!” Frank exclaimed.
“That swindling old reprobate used to hand out these pieces right and left,” she went on. “Especially when anyone asked him to contribute to charity! Used to say these would bring the holder luck, which was more important than money.” Miss Hardy sniffed. “The dragon was appropriate!”
“Well, since this is the design Chet describedâthe one he saw on the tiled squareâwe know he didn't imagine it,” Joe said to Frank.
“But we still don't know its purpose,” Frank pointed out.
Mrs. Hardy and Aunt Gertrude were keenly interested when they heard of Chet's experience. Mrs. Hardy puckered her brow thoughtfully. “Gertrude, wasn't there once a summerhouse near the Perth mansion?” she asked.
“I believe there was, Laura. Seems to me it fell into neglect and was torn down. Why?”
“I was just wondering if that tiled surface might have been the floor of the summerhouse.”
Joe snapped his fingers excitedly. “I'll bet you've hit it, Mother!” he exclaimed.
Frank nodded in agreement. “But in that case, why couldn't we find it this morning?” he mused.
Before anyone could answer, the TV late news came on. “A bulletin just handed me,” said the newscaster, “states that a daring jewel robbery was pulled in Chicago at ten o'clock tonight. More than one hundred thousand dollars' worth of uncut gems were stolen from the Spyker Jewelry Company. No further details as yet.”
Other books
Pilgrim by S.J. Bryant
Where the Bones are Buried by Jeanne Matthews
The Crowfield Demon by Pat Walsh
Possessed by Kayla Smith
The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes
dEaDINBURGH: Origins (Din Eidyn Corpus Book 3) by Wilson, Mark
The Mysterious Maid-Servant by Barbara Cartland
The Healing by Jonathan Odell
The World as We Know It by Krusie, Curtis
Broken Souls by Stephen Blackmoore