Mystery of the Whale Tattoo

Table of Contents

 

 

ONE exciting event follows another when Frank and Joe Hardy are hired to apprehend the pickpockets who have been plaguing Solo's Super Carnival. When their friends Tony Prito and Biff Hooper exhibit a stuffed whale dug up at a construction project, they all but put the carnival out of business.

Other unforeseen problems ensue when the teen-age sleuths become involved in their father's latest case. Fenton Hardy is tracking down a priceless ivory idol stolen from a Hong Kong
art collector.
A postcard clue found at the carnival leads Frank and Joe and their buddy Chet
Morton to the historic
seaport
town
of Mystic in Connecticut, to a seaman's home in New York City, to a stunning discovery in Los Angeles.

In this thrilling mystery the young detectives pit their wits against a gang of thieves whose bizarre identification, a three-part whale tattoo, proves to be a nearly insolvable riddle.

Copyright
1996, 1968 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

All rights reserved. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., a member of The Putnam & Grosset
Group, New York. Published simultaneously in Canada. S.A.
THE HARDY
BOYS
^®
is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Grosset & Dunlap, Inc.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-12750

eISBN : 978-1-101-07660-6

JOE Hardy studied the photograph in his hand and frowned, then burst out laughing.

“What a weirdo!” exclaimed the blond seventeen-year-old boy. “Take a look at him, Frank!”

He gave the snapshot to his dark-haired brother, who was eighteen. Both boys, sons of Fenton Hardy, the famous private detective, had hurried into the living room at the call of their Aunt Gertrude. She had just opened an envelope which contained the snapshot and a letter.

Frank gazed at the man in the picture. His head was topped with a shock of light-colored hair, and his cheeks and chin were hidden beneath a full, flowing beard.

“Sure is a freak,” Frank commented.

“That's not the way to talk about a relative, especially when he's coming to visit,” Aunt Gertrude said sternly, trying to hide a smile.

She was a tall, sharp-featured woman who wore metal-rimmed spectacles. Her prim visage was deceptive, though, for beneath her forbidding appearance she was really one of the kindest persons one could ever hope to meet.

“A relative?” Joe burst out. “You're kidding!”

“I am not! That's Elmer Hardy, a second cousin to your father and me,” their aunt corrected. “Too bad Fenton's not at home,” she added.

Mr. Hardy was on a tricky undercover assignment in New York City, where as a young man he had achieved an enviable record on the police force. That was before he had come to Bayport to start his own detective agency. Now Frank and Joe were following in their father's footsteps as astute young sleuths.

The news about Elmer Hardy's proposed visit stirred their curiosity.

“How come we've never heard of him?” Joe asked.

“Well, you see nobody in the family has set eyes on him for thirty years,” Aunt Gertrude explained, “ever since the day he ran away to sea. Elmer always was a bit of a wild one.”

Frank shook his head. “Thirty years is a long time to go without hearing from someone.”

“Oh, we've exchanged a few letters over the years. Right from the start he's had a standing invitation to come and visit us, and that's just what he's going to do.”

“Great!” Joe said. “I'll bet he can tell some terrific sea tales.”

Aunt Gertrude consulted Elmer Hardy's letter. “He'll be arriving in about two weeks, perhaps sooner if he can manage it.”

“May I keep the picture a while, so I can show it to Chet?” Joe asked.

“Yes,” Aunt Gertrude said. “But mind now, you boys get all that laughing out of your system before Elmer arrives.” She waggled a finger at them to emphasize her point.

“Yes, ma'am!” Frank and Joe grinned.

The telephone rang. Frank picked it up. “Hello?” His eyes widened. “Just a second, Dad.” He put his hand over the mouthpiece. “Joe, Dad's run into some problems. Get on the extension in his study.”

Frank waited while his brother raced up the stairs to the second floor. It was highly unusual for Mr. Hardy to contact his family while working undercover and both boys were on the alert.

Joe picked up the extension. “Okay, Dad, go ahead.”

“I'll try to make this brief,” Mr. Hardy told his sons. “I want you to find someone for me, if it's at all possible. I'll give you the background so listen carefully.”

“All right. Shoot!” Joe said.

Fenton Hardy explained that his quest was for a life-sized statue known as the “Ivory Idol,” carved in the shape of a six-armed deity during the Ming dynasty. Ten years ago a gang of merchant sailors had stolen the Ivory Idol from the internationally famous Dudley-Harris collection in Hong Kong.

“There were reliable reports,” Mr. Hardy said, “that the statue arrived in the United States a few months after its theft, but the police failed to turn up the slightest trace of it.”

Frank and Joe jotted down the pertinent bits of information in pocket-sized notebooks, as their father went on, “One month ago R. R. Dunn, the famous New York art collector, received a note saying he could purchase the Ivory Idol for his private collection.”

“Wow! So it turned up!” Joe exclaimed.

“Not quite yet. The price is fifty thousand dollars, and the thieves are asking a ten-thousand-dollar advance to cover their ‘expenses.' ”

“Who sent the note?” Frank asked.

“It's signed
Blackright,
nothing more,” Mr. Hardy answered.

The detective went on to say that R. R. Dunn, as an honest collector, had notified Mr. Dudley-Harris immediately. The latter called the police and also engaged the services of Mr. Hardy.

“Any clues so far?” Joe inquired impatiently.

“Yes. An informer contacted the police last night and said that he knew something about Blackright. But the price he asked for his information was too high. Furthermore, he wanted a huge reward if Blackright was apprehended.”

“Quite a wheeler-dealer!” said Frank.

There was a slight pause, then Mr. Hardy continued earnestly. “Now here's the crux of the matter. That phone call was traced to Bayport.”

“What?” Joe exclaimed.

“Yes. To be precise, from a phone booth in the north quadrant of the fairgrounds. I want you boys to stake out the place.”

“That's going to be a little rough,” Frank said. “Solo's Super Carnival came to town yesterday and set up at the fairgrounds. They're opening tonight. No telling how many people have used that particular phone.”

“Oh? I see,” Mr. Hardy said. “Perhaps the man we want is connected with the carnival.”

Frank and Joe tingled with excitement. They had often helped their father on important cases and had gained some renown with their clever solutions.

The Tower Treasure
was their first successful case, and not long ago they had solved the mystery of
The Secret Agent on Flight 101.

“Dad, we'll go to the fairgrounds right away,” Joe said.

“But wait. I have a word of advice,” Mr. Hardy said seriously. “This may be a dangerous gang with a lot at stake. Take no unnecessary chances.”