Title: What Happened At Midnight
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~
CHAPTER.1.
BURGLARS
"WHAT an assignment! And from our own Dad!" Serena Hardy grinned at her sister Raye as the two girls slipped into ripple soled shoes and put on dark jackets.
"First time we've ever been asked to play burglar," Raye answered with a chuckle. A few days before, their father, an ace detective and Andrew Wright, an inventor, had left for California to hunt for Wright's valuable stolen antique plane. Because they would be delayed in returning, the inventor had requested the sisters to "break into" his home and retrieve a top- secret invention before thieves took it. "A little second-story work around midnight," Serena mused, "and all because Mr. Wright left his keys insides the house and locked everything but that one bedroom window with a broken lock."
"Then invention must be something super or Dad and Mr. Wright wouldn't have asked us to guard it with our lives," Raye remarked. " I wonder what it is." "Dad gave us permission to find out. Say, suppose we can't locate that secret compartment we think is in Mr. Wright's desk before those thieves arrive?" Serena asked. " I wish Dad could have given us all the details before the call was cut off and we couldn't get it back." Serena, who had blond hair , was a year younger than her dark-haired, eighteen year old sister Raye. Both solved many mysteries, some of them for their father. Ken Hardy had told the girls on the telephone that just before Mr. Wright had left Bayport, where they all lived, he had been threatened by a mysterious gang. They had learned about the invention from a worker in a factory that made some of the parts. He had a confidence placed in him.
The caller had told Mr. Wright that if he did not voluntarily turn over his invention before a certain time, " visitors" would come for it. The date they had set was the following day! " Mr. Wright didn't have time to put the invention in a safe-deposit box , so he hid it in his study," Ken Hardy had said. " He's afraid the thieves may break into his house, so he has alerted the police to be there tomorrow morning. But he's worried and he wants you girls to get the small box containing the invention before then. Don't leave it at our house when you're not there. Keep it with you at all times but well hidden."
Raye and Serena relayed on the conversation to their pretty, understanding mother, and to Aunt Ikuko, their father's maiden sister who lived with them. She was inclined to be critical of her nieces involvement in detective work. Instantly she said, " Be burglars! The idea! Why, suppose you fall off that house-!" "Ikuko, please!" Mrs. Hardy broke in. " Don't even mention such a possibility. I know the girls will be careful."
"Of course," said Serena. " Let's go, Raye!" The sisters hurried to the garage where their shiny convertible gleamed in the light of a street lamp on the corner of High and Elm streets. Raye took the wheel and drove to within a block of Mr. Wright's rambling, old- fashioned house. The girls walked to it and were glad to see that the building stood deep in the shadows. They reconnoitered the grounds in silence. No one was around. Finally Raye whispered, " I guess out best bet to the second floor is that trellis. It looks sturdy. We'll go across the roof over the kitchen door and edge around the unlocked window." "I'll stay close by and hold on to your legs until you make," Serena answered.
They followed each other up the trellis and a crossed the narrow roof. Fortunately there was not much of a pitch to it. Serena crouched and grabbed her sister's right leg. " All set," she announced in a whisper. Raye stretched over to the window ledge but could not reach the top of the sash to raise it. "Give me a little push upward," She murmured to Serena, who hoisted her sister until her fingers could reach the top of the sash.
The window lifted easily. Raye pulled herself sideways through it. " Your turn, Serena." She reached out grasped her sister's outstretched hands. Serena, a little shorter than Raye, found she could not reach the window with out swinging precariously in space. If Raye couldn't hold her sister's weight, she would be dragged outside. Both girls would plunge to the ground!
" No use being silly about this," Raye said. " I'll open the rear door for you." Serena was about to climb down the trellis when a strong light suddenly lit the area.
"A car!" Raye exclaimed as the driver beamed a searchlight on their side of the street. " Maybe the thieves are in it! Duck!" Raye quickly closed the window, while Serena flattened herself face down on the roof. She did not stand up until the area was in darkness again. Then she hurried down the trellis and through the rear door.
"Close call!" said Raye. Serena nodded. " I thought maybe it was a police car, but I guess not. It had no revolving top light. Her sister agreed. "I'm sure Mr. Wright's enemies are casing this place!"
"Yes. And they'll probably be back soon! We'd better get moving." Holding their flashlights low to the floor, the boys sped up the stairs and found Mr. Wright's study. A large walnut desk stood in the center of the room. Raye and Serena walked to the front of it, where there were drawers left and right of a wide kneehole.
"The secret compartment maybe in one of them," Serena suggested. "They're not locked," Raye whispered in amazement. The girls searched diligently, lifting aside letters and other papers. They found nothing. "Now what?" Serena asked. Raye had an idea. " I'll look in the kneehole while you hunt for a moveable panels on the outside of the desk."
Again there was silence as the two girls began to finger the woodwork. Minutes went by, then Serena said, " I've found something that moves." Raye crawled out of and watched her sister slide open a panel, revealing a long, narrow space. "Anything in it?" Raye asked. Serena beamed her flashlight inside. A look of disappointment came over her face. "Nothing," she announced. " There might have been at some time, though."
" You mean the invention?"
"Maybe. How are you making out?"
" Something in the kneehole looks suspicious," Raye answered. Just then the girls heard the crash of glass and immediately clicked off their flashlights. Someone had broken a windowpane, and at this moment was no doubt reaching inside for the lock. Any minute one or more men might mount the stairs and enter the study! The girls looked for a hiding place. There were no drapes, sofa, or large chairs, and no closet.
" Let's hide in the kneehole," Raye whispered, " then use our hand signals." Sometime before this, the Hardys had devised a series of hand signals. One hard squeeze meant , "Let's Attack!" Two indicated caution. Long, short, long meant, " We'd better scram." An ordinary handshake was, " Agreed." "If there aren't more than two men, let's attack," Serena said in a barely audible tone.
"Okay."
Quickly the two crawled into the kneehole and pulled the desk chair into place. The girls were well hidden when they heard footsteps on the stairs, then voices. " No failing this time or Shorty'll take us on our own last ride," said a man with a nasal voice. Raye and Serena wondered if the men had tried to break in earlier but failed.
The man's companion spoke in a lower tones of disgust. " Oh, you'd believe Shorty invented fire if he told you he did. He ain't so great. Takes orders from the boss, don't he?" The other did not reply. The two men entered the room and beamed flashlights around. " Where did Wright say he kept the invention?" the deep-tone man asked.
"I got in late on the conversation when I tapped that telephone call to the Hardy House," the other answered. " But I did hear the words 'secret compartment .' Where would that be? the desk?" Raye and Serena froze. Were they about to be discovered?
"No, not the desk," the other man said. " The safe." For the first time the girls notice small safe standing against the wall opposite of them. Raye and Serena were fearful the men would detect their hiding place, but the attention of the burglars was focused on the safe. In a moment they squatted and the girls got a good glimpse of their faces. Both were swarthy and hard-looking.
At that moment the tower clock of the town hall began to strike. It was midnight! The men waited until the echo of the twelfth stoke died away, then one with the nasal twang put his ear up to the dial of the safe and began to turn the knob.
After a few moments his companion asked impatiently, "What's the matter? That safecrakin' ear of yours turned into tin?"
" Tumblers are noiseless," the other said. " Guess we'll have to blow it." He began to take some wire from his pocket.
Raye and Serena were trapped. If the door was blown off, it might head right in their direction! Quickly Serena felt for Raye's hand and gave it a hard squeeze, meaning, " Let's attack!" Instantly Raye answered with the " Agreed!" handshake. In a flash Serena flung the desk chair at the two men, then the girls jumped them!
CHAPTER.1.
BURGLARS
"WHAT an assignment! And from our own Dad!" Serena Hardy grinned at her sister Raye as the two girls slipped into ripple soled shoes and put on dark jackets.
"First time we've ever been asked to play burglar," Raye answered with a chuckle. A few days before, their father, an ace detective and Andrew Wright, an inventor, had left for California to hunt for Wright's valuable stolen antique plane. Because they would be delayed in returning, the inventor had requested the sisters to "break into" his home and retrieve a top- secret invention before thieves took it. "A little second-story work around midnight," Serena mused, "and all because Mr. Wright left his keys insides the house and locked everything but that one bedroom window with a broken lock."
"Then invention must be something super or Dad and Mr. Wright wouldn't have asked us to guard it with our lives," Raye remarked. " I wonder what it is." "Dad gave us permission to find out. Say, suppose we can't locate that secret compartment we think is in Mr. Wright's desk before those thieves arrive?" Serena asked. " I wish Dad could have given us all the details before the call was cut off and we couldn't get it back." Serena, who had blond hair , was a year younger than her dark-haired, eighteen year old sister Raye. Both solved many mysteries, some of them for their father. Ken Hardy had told the girls on the telephone that just before Mr. Wright had left Bayport, where they all lived, he had been threatened by a mysterious gang. They had learned about the invention from a worker in a factory that made some of the parts. He had a confidence placed in him.
The caller had told Mr. Wright that if he did not voluntarily turn over his invention before a certain time, " visitors" would come for it. The date they had set was the following day! " Mr. Wright didn't have time to put the invention in a safe-deposit box , so he hid it in his study," Ken Hardy had said. " He's afraid the thieves may break into his house, so he has alerted the police to be there tomorrow morning. But he's worried and he wants you girls to get the small box containing the invention before then. Don't leave it at our house when you're not there. Keep it with you at all times but well hidden."
Raye and Serena relayed on the conversation to their pretty, understanding mother, and to Aunt Ikuko, their father's maiden sister who lived with them. She was inclined to be critical of her nieces involvement in detective work. Instantly she said, " Be burglars! The idea! Why, suppose you fall off that house-!" "Ikuko, please!" Mrs. Hardy broke in. " Don't even mention such a possibility. I know the girls will be careful."
"Of course," said Serena. " Let's go, Raye!" The sisters hurried to the garage where their shiny convertible gleamed in the light of a street lamp on the corner of High and Elm streets. Raye took the wheel and drove to within a block of Mr. Wright's rambling, old- fashioned house. The girls walked to it and were glad to see that the building stood deep in the shadows. They reconnoitered the grounds in silence. No one was around. Finally Raye whispered, " I guess out best bet to the second floor is that trellis. It looks sturdy. We'll go across the roof over the kitchen door and edge around the unlocked window." "I'll stay close by and hold on to your legs until you make," Serena answered.
They followed each other up the trellis and a crossed the narrow roof. Fortunately there was not much of a pitch to it. Serena crouched and grabbed her sister's right leg. " All set," she announced in a whisper. Raye stretched over to the window ledge but could not reach the top of the sash to raise it. "Give me a little push upward," She murmured to Serena, who hoisted her sister until her fingers could reach the top of the sash.
The window lifted easily. Raye pulled herself sideways through it. " Your turn, Serena." She reached out grasped her sister's outstretched hands. Serena, a little shorter than Raye, found she could not reach the window with out swinging precariously in space. If Raye couldn't hold her sister's weight, she would be dragged outside. Both girls would plunge to the ground!
" No use being silly about this," Raye said. " I'll open the rear door for you." Serena was about to climb down the trellis when a strong light suddenly lit the area.
"A car!" Raye exclaimed as the driver beamed a searchlight on their side of the street. " Maybe the thieves are in it! Duck!" Raye quickly closed the window, while Serena flattened herself face down on the roof. She did not stand up until the area was in darkness again. Then she hurried down the trellis and through the rear door.
"Close call!" said Raye. Serena nodded. " I thought maybe it was a police car, but I guess not. It had no revolving top light. Her sister agreed. "I'm sure Mr. Wright's enemies are casing this place!"
"Yes. And they'll probably be back soon! We'd better get moving." Holding their flashlights low to the floor, the boys sped up the stairs and found Mr. Wright's study. A large walnut desk stood in the center of the room. Raye and Serena walked to the front of it, where there were drawers left and right of a wide kneehole.
"The secret compartment maybe in one of them," Serena suggested. "They're not locked," Raye whispered in amazement. The girls searched diligently, lifting aside letters and other papers. They found nothing. "Now what?" Serena asked. Raye had an idea. " I'll look in the kneehole while you hunt for a moveable panels on the outside of the desk."
Again there was silence as the two girls began to finger the woodwork. Minutes went by, then Serena said, " I've found something that moves." Raye crawled out of and watched her sister slide open a panel, revealing a long, narrow space. "Anything in it?" Raye asked. Serena beamed her flashlight inside. A look of disappointment came over her face. "Nothing," she announced. " There might have been at some time, though."
" You mean the invention?"
"Maybe. How are you making out?"
" Something in the kneehole looks suspicious," Raye answered. Just then the girls heard the crash of glass and immediately clicked off their flashlights. Someone had broken a windowpane, and at this moment was no doubt reaching inside for the lock. Any minute one or more men might mount the stairs and enter the study! The girls looked for a hiding place. There were no drapes, sofa, or large chairs, and no closet.
" Let's hide in the kneehole," Raye whispered, " then use our hand signals." Sometime before this, the Hardys had devised a series of hand signals. One hard squeeze meant , "Let's Attack!" Two indicated caution. Long, short, long meant, " We'd better scram." An ordinary handshake was, " Agreed." "If there aren't more than two men, let's attack," Serena said in a barely audible tone.
"Okay."
Quickly the two crawled into the kneehole and pulled the desk chair into place. The girls were well hidden when they heard footsteps on the stairs, then voices. " No failing this time or Shorty'll take us on our own last ride," said a man with a nasal voice. Raye and Serena wondered if the men had tried to break in earlier but failed.
The man's companion spoke in a lower tones of disgust. " Oh, you'd believe Shorty invented fire if he told you he did. He ain't so great. Takes orders from the boss, don't he?" The other did not reply. The two men entered the room and beamed flashlights around. " Where did Wright say he kept the invention?" the deep-tone man asked.
"I got in late on the conversation when I tapped that telephone call to the Hardy House," the other answered. " But I did hear the words 'secret compartment .' Where would that be? the desk?" Raye and Serena froze. Were they about to be discovered?
"No, not the desk," the other man said. " The safe." For the first time the girls notice small safe standing against the wall opposite of them. Raye and Serena were fearful the men would detect their hiding place, but the attention of the burglars was focused on the safe. In a moment they squatted and the girls got a good glimpse of their faces. Both were swarthy and hard-looking.
At that moment the tower clock of the town hall began to strike. It was midnight! The men waited until the echo of the twelfth stoke died away, then one with the nasal twang put his ear up to the dial of the safe and began to turn the knob.
After a few moments his companion asked impatiently, "What's the matter? That safecrakin' ear of yours turned into tin?"
" Tumblers are noiseless," the other said. " Guess we'll have to blow it." He began to take some wire from his pocket.
Raye and Serena were trapped. If the door was blown off, it might head right in their direction! Quickly Serena felt for Raye's hand and gave it a hard squeeze, meaning, " Let's attack!" Instantly Raye answered with the " Agreed!" handshake. In a flash Serena flung the desk chair at the two men, then the girls jumped them!