"Dixon, Franklin W - Hardy Boys 037 - The Ghost At Skeleton Rock (Original)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dixon Franklin W)

home?
Presently the farmhouse loomed up against the night sky. The windows were dark.
"I don't like this," Frank said grimly.
CHAPTER V
A Startling Discovery
FRANK jammed on the brakes and the convertible lurched to a halt in the Morions'
driveway. The boys jumped out and sprinted up the front-porch steps.
As Joe rang the doorbell, Frank noticed that the front door stood slightly ajar.
"It's open!" he whispered.
Fearful of some danger, Frank and Joe cautiously entered the hall. Like all the
rest of the house, the living room was shrouded in darkness. Frank, in the lead,
groped for the light switch.
Joe's scalp bristled when he heard some faint, whimpering noises. The sounds
were muffled and scarcely seemed human.
Frank found the light switch and clicked it on. As the room leaped into
brilliance, both boys exclaimed aloud.
Chet, Iola, and Mr. and Mrs. Morion were lying on the floor, bound and gagged!
"Jumpin' catfish!" Joe gulped.
The Hardys rushed forward and quickly started to untie the victims.
"Oh, my gracious! Thank you, thank you!" Chet's mother gasped as Frank removed
her gag and undid the ropes.
"Luckily none of you were harmed, Mrs. Morton," he replied. Gently he helped her
to her feet and then to the sofa.
Chet, however, was not so grateful. "I thought you fellows promised me there
wouldn't be any rough stuff on this easel" he grumbled while Joe worked on a
knot.
"What happened?" Frank asked.
The story tumbled out in a confused babble as the whole Morton family gave the
details. They had been watching a television show in their living room when two
masked men burst in. The intruders had tied up the Mortons, then searched the
house and made off with something tucked under one man's arm.
"I'm willing to bet they're the same ones who held up the novelty shop this
afternoon," Chet asserted. "One was a tall man and the other short. The tall
guy's ears stuck out!"
Frank and Joe looked at each other in dismay. "I guess that means they took
Hugo," said Joe.
Frank nodded, then said to the Mortons, "Please check and make sure what was
stolen."
The family scattered through the rooms of the rambling farmhouse to inspect the
results of the burglary. Iola was the first to report.
"I know one thing they took!" she cried out, running downstairs from her
bedroom.
"What?" asked Joe.
"One of my big puppets. It looked something like Chet's new dummy—even wore a
purple turban,"
"Hot dog!" Joe snapped his fingers, "I'll bet those burglars were in such a
hurry they grabbed the wrong doll!"
The boys' hopes skyrocketed, but Frank added cautiously, "Let's not count our
chickens till we hear from Chet."
The words were hardly spoken when Chet came lumbering joyfully onto the scene.