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

The two boys exchanged glances. "He could be the man we're looking for," Frank
remarked.
Joe nodded. "Let's check with Chief Collig."
As head of the Bayport Police Department, Chief Collig had cooperated with the
Hardys on many of their cases. When Frank telephoned him, the chief said that he
was acquainted with The Great Hugo and had had complaints about him,
"He's as phony as a nine-dollar bill, but so far we haven't enough evidence to
take him in."
Frank thanked the chief, hung up, and passed the information to his brother.
"Come on! Let's go have a look at Hugo!" Joe urged.
Frank backed the car out of the drive and headed for Route 10, North of town,
they sighted a bright, orange-colored tent just off the road.
"There it is," Frank murmured, slowing down. The tent bore a sign reading:
THE GREAT HUGO
WORLD-FAMOUS MYSTIC
Private Readings by Appointment
Near the tent stood a house trailer of the same orange color. It was hitched to
a battered but powerful-looking black hardtop coup6 of an expensive make.
Frank parked the convertible under a tree and the boys walked toward the tent.
As they were about to enter, a man, at least six and a half feet tall, and with
an extremely large head, loomed up in front of them, barring the way.
His swarthy, hook-nosed face gave the man a menacing air. But what jolted both
boys were his clothes. He wore baggy trousers, Oriental slippers with pointed,
curled-up toes, and a purple turban!
"What is it you wish?" he demanded in a deep, harsh voice.
"We came to have our fortunes told," Joe said evenly.
"I do not tell fortunes—I am only Abdul, a helper," the man grunted. "You wait
outside. I go see if The Great Hugo will receive you."
Abdul entered the tent, dropping the flap across the entrance. Tense with
excitement, the young detectives waited, but not for long. A moment later Abdul
reappeared.
"I bring good news! The Great Hugo will see you at once!" he announced.
He drew aside the tent flap, bowed low, and invited the boys to enter.
Cautiously they stepped into the gloomy interior. The walls of the tent were
hung with dark draperies. Only the pale glow of a shaded lamp suffused the
gloom. Soft rugs lay underfoot.
At a table covered with a silver-fringed black velvet cloth sat a slim, short
man with a pointed brown beard. Before him on the table lay a crystal ball.
"So—you have come to have your fortunes told," he murmured. "Please be seated."
As the boys sank down onto two leather hassocks, Hugo's queer yellowish eyes
seemed to be sizing them up shrewdly.
Stalling for time in order to observe the place carefully, Frank said, "Before
you start, sir, perhaps you'd better tell us how much it's going to cost."
The Great Hugo waved his hand carelessly. "My usual fee is five dollars. But
since I am not busy today I will take you both for two dollars."
The boys reached for their wallets and produced one dollar apiece. Hugo whisked
the bills out of sight, then concentrated his gaze on the crystal ball. In a few
moments he seemed to go into a trance.
"I see an airplane—a trip over water," the fortuneteller said in a droning
voice. "The scene in the crystal ball is changing. ... I see trouble! Danger!"