Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter seventeen of The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter seventeen,
The Search of the Tower. When the Hardy boys reached
Tower Mansion that morning, the door was answered by Herd
Applegate himself. The tall, stooped gentleman peered at them through
(00:24):
his thick lensed glasses. In one hand he held a
sheet of stamps, for it was his custom to devote
the mornings to his collection. Yes, he said testily, for
he was annoyed at being disturbed.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
What do you boys want here at this hour of day?
Speaker 3 (00:44):
You remember us, don't you?
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Asked Frank politely.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
We're mister Hardy's sons, and.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
And Hardy the detective, Are you his boys? Yes, sir, well,
what do you want?
Speaker 4 (00:58):
We'd like to take a look through the old tower,
if you don't mind. We've got a new clue about
the robbery you had here a while ago.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Want to look through the old tower? Of all the impudence,
what do you want to look through the tower for?
And what has that got to do with the robbery.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
We have evidence that leads us to believe the jewels
and bonds were hidden in the tower by the thief.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh you have evidence, have you?
Speaker 1 (01:24):
The old man peered at them very closely.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
It's that rascal Robinson, all warrant. He hid the stuff there,
and now he's put you up to going and finding it,
just to clear himself.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
The hardy boys had not considered the affair in this light,
and they gazed at mister Applegate in consternation. At last,
Joe found his tongue.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Mister Robinson isn't mixed up in this at all.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
He said.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
The real thief was found. He said the stuff was
hidden in the old tower. If you will just let
us take a look around, we'll find it for you.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
You who was the real thief?
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Then we can't tell you just now, sir, wait till
we find the stolen goods, and we'll tell you the
whole story.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Mister Applegate took off his glasses and wiped them with
his handkerchief. He glared at the boys suspiciously for a
few moments. Then he called out, ado yah. A high
cracked voice from the dim regions of the hallway answered.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
What do you want?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Come here a minute.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
There was a rustle of skirts, and then Adelia Applegate
made and sister of the owner of Tower mansion appeared.
She was a faded blonde woman of thin features, and
she was dressed in a gown of a fashion fifteen
years back in which every color of the spectrum fought
(02:51):
for supremacy. What's the matter now, she demanded, Can't a.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Body sit down and do a bit of sewing without
you hollering at them?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
These boys want to look through the old tower.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
What for? Up to some mischief? I'll be bound.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
They think they can find the bonds and jewels?
Speaker 5 (03:13):
Oh they do do?
Speaker 1 (03:14):
They sniffed the woman.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
And what would the bonds and jewels be doing in
the old tower?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
We have evidence that they were hidden there after the.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Robbery, replied Frank. Miss Applegate sniffed again and viewed the
boys with Frank's suspicion, as if.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
Any thief would be fool enough to hide them right
in the house he robbed.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
These are mister Hardy's.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Boys, explained herd Applegate.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Here's the big detective.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
You know, all detectives, said Miss Applegate.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Are nosy and always prying into other people's affairs.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
We're just trying to help you put in Joe politely.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
Go ahead, then go ahead.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Miss Applegate with a sigh.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Come around at this hour in the morning, disturbing. Honest folks,
go ahead and tear the old tower to pieces if
you like, I'll be bound. You won't find anything. It's
all foolishness. You won't find anything.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Consent having been given heard, Applegate led the way through
the gloomy halls and corridors of the mansion toward the
old tower. He was inclined to share his sister's view
that the boys' search would be in vain.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Might as well say yourselves the.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Trouble, he declared.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
You won't find anything in the old tower. If anything
was hidden there, it's been taken away by this time.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
We'll make a try at it. Anyways, mister Applegate.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Don't ask me to help you. I've got better things
to do. Just got some new stamps in this morning,
and you interrupted me when I was sorting them out.
I've got to get back to my work.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
The man led the way into a corridor that was
heavy with dust. It had not been in use for
a long time, and it was bare and unfurnished. Leading
off this corridor was a heavy door. It was unlocked,
and when mister Applegate opened it the boys saw that
a flight of stairs lay beyond there you are.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Those stairs lead up into the tower. Search away. You
won't find anything.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
I hope we do, mister Applegate, said Frank, And I'm
pretty sure we shall.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yes, boys are always going to do wonders. Go ahead,
live and learn. Waste your time.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
And with this parting shot heard Applegate turned and hobbled
back along the corridor, the sheet of stamps still in
his gnarled hand. He was muttering to himself as he departed.
The hardy boys looked at one another.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Not very encouraging, is he Frank, Not a bit of it.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
But it will be so much the better for us
if we get the stuff back for him, he won't
think we were wasting our time.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
Then let's get up into the tower. I'm anxious to start.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
The tower was about five stories in height, as compared
with the rest of the mansion, which had but three stories.
The lower floor was empty, the floors and walls were
heavy with dust. Frank and Joe first examined the stairs
carefully for footprints, but there were none to be seen.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
That seems queer, remarked Frank. If Jackie had been in
here within the past month. You'd think his footprints would
still show by the appearance of this dust. There hasn't
been anyone in the tower for at least a year.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Perhaps the dust collects more quickly than we think. It
may have covered his footprints over even within a couple
of weeks.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
An inspection of the ground floor revealed the fact that
there was no place where the loot could have been
hidden save on the stairs, and there was nothing in
that place of concealment. Accordingly, the hardy boys ascended to
the next floor, finding themselves in a room as drab
and bear as the one they had just left. Here again,
(07:14):
the dust lay heavy, and the murky windows were thick
with cobwebs. There was an atmosphere of age and decay
about the entire place. It seemed to have been abandoned
for years. Nothing here, said Frank. After a quick glance around,
on we go, they made their way up to the
(07:35):
next floor, after again poking about under the stairs, but
again without success. The next room was a duplicate of
the first. It was bare and cheerless, deep in dust.
There was not the slightest sign of a hiding place,
much less was there any indication that another human being
(07:56):
had been in the tower for years.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Doesn't look very promising, Frank. Still, he may have gone
right to the top of the tower.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So the search continued until at last the hardy boys
had reached the top of the tower. Here they emerged
into the open air, coming through a trap door that
led through the roof from the upper room. They were
now standing on a platform, and far below them lay
the city of Bayport. To the east was Barmet Bay,
(08:26):
the waters sparkling in the sun. The platform was quite bare,
the stone walls gave no opportunity of a hiding place.
Their search had been in vain.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
We were fooled, I guess, Frank admitted, there hasn't been
any one in this tower for years. I knew it
as soon as I saw there were no footprints.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
The boys gazed moodily down over the city, and then
down over the grounds of tower mansion. The roofs of
the mansion itself were far below, and directly across from
them rose the heavy bulk of the new tower.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
Do you think he might have meant the new tower.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Exclaimed Joe.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Suddenly, Dad said he specified the old one, but he
may have been mistaken.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
In the darkness and everything. Perhaps he didn't know the difference.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
That's possible too. It's certain that he didn't hide anything
in this tower at any rate, although why he should
say the old tower.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Let's ask mister Applegate if we can search the new
tower too.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
What a fine chance we have. He'll crow over us
now in real earnest. When we go back and tell
him we didn't find anything, he'll say, I told you so.
And if we try to get into the new tower,
he'll just laugh at us.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
It's worth trying anyway. We could tell him the whole
story about Jackly that ought to convince him.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Disappointed, the hardy boys descended through the trap door and
then made their way down through the tower, until at
last they were in the long, gloomy hall again. Their
clothes were covered with dust, and their hands and faces
were grimy. Slowly they trudged back into the main part
of the mansion again, and there they met Adelia Applegate,
(10:13):
who popped out of a doorway as they were passing
and cackled with delight.
Speaker 5 (10:18):
So these are the fine boys who were going to
find the stolen stuff for us.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Eh, she exclaimed in her cracked voice.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
So these are the boys who were sure it was
hidden in the old tower. Well, well, and they didn't
find anything after all.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
I'm afraid we didn't, Miss Applegate.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Frank answered with a smile.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
But if you and mister Applegate will let us tell
our story, I think we can convince you that we
really thought the stuff was hidden there. Even yet, I
believe it is hidden somewhere in the mansion, probably in
the new tower.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
In the new tower, she sniffed, absurd. I suppose you
want to go poking around through the there now.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
If it wouldn't be too much trouble.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
It would be too much trouble. Indeed, she shrilled, I
shan't have any boys rummaging all through my house on
a wild goose chase like this. You'd better leave right
away and forget all this nonsense.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Her voice had attracted the attention of herd Applegate, who
came hobbling out of his study at that moment.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Now it's the better, he.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Demanded, Then, seeing the boys, his face became creased in
a triumphant smile.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Aha, so you didn't find anything after all.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
He began to chuckle, immensely pleased with himself.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I told you so.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
End of chapter seventeen
Chapter seventeen of The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter seventeen,
The Search of the Tower. When the Hardy boys reached
Tower Mansion that morning, the door was answered by Herd
Applegate himself. The tall, stooped gentleman peered at them through
(00:24):
his thick lensed glasses. In one hand he held a
sheet of stamps, for it was his custom to devote
the mornings to his collection. Yes, he said testily, for
he was annoyed at being disturbed.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
What do you boys want here at this hour of day?
Speaker 3 (00:44):
You remember us, don't you?
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Asked Frank politely.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
We're mister Hardy's sons, and.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
And Hardy the detective, Are you his boys? Yes, sir, well,
what do you want?
Speaker 4 (00:58):
We'd like to take a look through the old tower,
if you don't mind. We've got a new clue about
the robbery you had here a while ago.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Want to look through the old tower? Of all the impudence,
what do you want to look through the tower for?
And what has that got to do with the robbery.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
We have evidence that leads us to believe the jewels
and bonds were hidden in the tower by the thief.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh you have evidence, have you?
Speaker 1 (01:24):
The old man peered at them very closely.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
It's that rascal Robinson, all warrant. He hid the stuff there,
and now he's put you up to going and finding it,
just to clear himself.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
The hardy boys had not considered the affair in this light,
and they gazed at mister Applegate in consternation. At last,
Joe found his tongue.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Mister Robinson isn't mixed up in this at all.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
He said.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
The real thief was found. He said the stuff was
hidden in the old tower. If you will just let
us take a look around, we'll find it for you.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
You who was the real thief?
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Then we can't tell you just now, sir, wait till
we find the stolen goods, and we'll tell you the
whole story.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Mister Applegate took off his glasses and wiped them with
his handkerchief. He glared at the boys suspiciously for a
few moments. Then he called out, ado yah. A high
cracked voice from the dim regions of the hallway answered.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
What do you want?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Come here a minute.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
There was a rustle of skirts, and then Adelia Applegate
made and sister of the owner of Tower mansion appeared.
She was a faded blonde woman of thin features, and
she was dressed in a gown of a fashion fifteen
years back in which every color of the spectrum fought
(02:51):
for supremacy. What's the matter now, she demanded, Can't a.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Body sit down and do a bit of sewing without
you hollering at them?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
These boys want to look through the old tower.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
What for? Up to some mischief? I'll be bound.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
They think they can find the bonds and jewels?
Speaker 5 (03:13):
Oh they do do?
Speaker 1 (03:14):
They sniffed the woman.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
And what would the bonds and jewels be doing in
the old tower?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
We have evidence that they were hidden there after the.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Robbery, replied Frank. Miss Applegate sniffed again and viewed the
boys with Frank's suspicion, as if.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
Any thief would be fool enough to hide them right
in the house he robbed.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
These are mister Hardy's.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Boys, explained herd Applegate.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Here's the big detective.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
You know, all detectives, said Miss Applegate.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Are nosy and always prying into other people's affairs.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
We're just trying to help you put in Joe politely.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
Go ahead, then go ahead.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Miss Applegate with a sigh.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Come around at this hour in the morning, disturbing. Honest folks,
go ahead and tear the old tower to pieces if
you like, I'll be bound. You won't find anything. It's
all foolishness. You won't find anything.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Consent having been given heard, Applegate led the way through
the gloomy halls and corridors of the mansion toward the
old tower. He was inclined to share his sister's view
that the boys' search would be in vain.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Might as well say yourselves the.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Trouble, he declared.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
You won't find anything in the old tower. If anything
was hidden there, it's been taken away by this time.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
We'll make a try at it. Anyways, mister Applegate.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Don't ask me to help you. I've got better things
to do. Just got some new stamps in this morning,
and you interrupted me when I was sorting them out.
I've got to get back to my work.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
The man led the way into a corridor that was
heavy with dust. It had not been in use for
a long time, and it was bare and unfurnished. Leading
off this corridor was a heavy door. It was unlocked,
and when mister Applegate opened it the boys saw that
a flight of stairs lay beyond there you are.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Those stairs lead up into the tower. Search away. You
won't find anything.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
I hope we do, mister Applegate, said Frank, And I'm
pretty sure we shall.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yes, boys are always going to do wonders. Go ahead,
live and learn. Waste your time.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
And with this parting shot heard Applegate turned and hobbled
back along the corridor, the sheet of stamps still in
his gnarled hand. He was muttering to himself as he departed.
The hardy boys looked at one another.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Not very encouraging, is he Frank, Not a bit of it.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
But it will be so much the better for us
if we get the stuff back for him, he won't
think we were wasting our time.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
Then let's get up into the tower. I'm anxious to start.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
The tower was about five stories in height, as compared
with the rest of the mansion, which had but three stories.
The lower floor was empty, the floors and walls were
heavy with dust. Frank and Joe first examined the stairs
carefully for footprints, but there were none to be seen.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
That seems queer, remarked Frank. If Jackie had been in
here within the past month. You'd think his footprints would
still show by the appearance of this dust. There hasn't
been anyone in the tower for at least a year.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Perhaps the dust collects more quickly than we think. It
may have covered his footprints over even within a couple
of weeks.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
An inspection of the ground floor revealed the fact that
there was no place where the loot could have been
hidden save on the stairs, and there was nothing in
that place of concealment. Accordingly, the hardy boys ascended to
the next floor, finding themselves in a room as drab
and bear as the one they had just left. Here again,
(07:14):
the dust lay heavy, and the murky windows were thick
with cobwebs. There was an atmosphere of age and decay
about the entire place. It seemed to have been abandoned
for years. Nothing here, said Frank. After a quick glance around,
on we go, they made their way up to the
(07:35):
next floor, after again poking about under the stairs, but
again without success. The next room was a duplicate of
the first. It was bare and cheerless, deep in dust.
There was not the slightest sign of a hiding place,
much less was there any indication that another human being
(07:56):
had been in the tower for years.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Doesn't look very promising, Frank. Still, he may have gone
right to the top of the tower.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So the search continued until at last the hardy boys
had reached the top of the tower. Here they emerged
into the open air, coming through a trap door that
led through the roof from the upper room. They were
now standing on a platform, and far below them lay
the city of Bayport. To the east was Barmet Bay,
(08:26):
the waters sparkling in the sun. The platform was quite bare,
the stone walls gave no opportunity of a hiding place.
Their search had been in vain.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
We were fooled, I guess, Frank admitted, there hasn't been
any one in this tower for years. I knew it
as soon as I saw there were no footprints.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
The boys gazed moodily down over the city, and then
down over the grounds of tower mansion. The roofs of
the mansion itself were far below, and directly across from
them rose the heavy bulk of the new tower.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
Do you think he might have meant the new tower.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Exclaimed Joe.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Suddenly, Dad said he specified the old one, but he
may have been mistaken.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
In the darkness and everything. Perhaps he didn't know the difference.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
That's possible too. It's certain that he didn't hide anything
in this tower at any rate, although why he should
say the old tower.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Let's ask mister Applegate if we can search the new
tower too.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
What a fine chance we have. He'll crow over us
now in real earnest. When we go back and tell
him we didn't find anything, he'll say, I told you so.
And if we try to get into the new tower,
he'll just laugh at us.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
It's worth trying anyway. We could tell him the whole
story about Jackly that ought to convince him.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Disappointed, the hardy boys descended through the trap door and
then made their way down through the tower, until at
last they were in the long, gloomy hall again. Their
clothes were covered with dust, and their hands and faces
were grimy. Slowly they trudged back into the main part
of the mansion again, and there they met Adelia Applegate,
(10:13):
who popped out of a doorway as they were passing
and cackled with delight.
Speaker 5 (10:18):
So these are the fine boys who were going to
find the stolen stuff for us.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Eh, she exclaimed in her cracked voice.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
So these are the boys who were sure it was
hidden in the old tower. Well, well, and they didn't
find anything after all.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
I'm afraid we didn't, Miss Applegate.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Frank answered with a smile.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
But if you and mister Applegate will let us tell
our story, I think we can convince you that we
really thought the stuff was hidden there. Even yet, I
believe it is hidden somewhere in the mansion, probably in
the new tower.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
In the new tower, she sniffed, absurd. I suppose you
want to go poking around through the there now.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
If it wouldn't be too much trouble.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
It would be too much trouble. Indeed, she shrilled, I
shan't have any boys rummaging all through my house on
a wild goose chase like this. You'd better leave right
away and forget all this nonsense.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Her voice had attracted the attention of herd Applegate, who
came hobbling out of his study at that moment.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Now it's the better, he.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Demanded, Then, seeing the boys, his face became creased in
a triumphant smile.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Aha, so you didn't find anything after all.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
He began to chuckle, immensely pleased with himself.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I told you so.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
End of chapter seventeen
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