Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter nineteen of The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter nineteen,
The Mystery Deepens. Fenton Hardy was dumbfounded when his sons
returned to him with the news that the lute had
been found in neither the Old tower nor the new
(00:24):
So implicitly had he believed in the dying confession of
Red Jackly that he had not even bothered to join
in the search, preferring to let his sons have the
satisfaction of recovering the stolen goods that he was positive
were hidden in the old tower.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And you're sure you searched the place thoroughly.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
He asked, for the third time.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Every inch of it. There was nothing in the old tower.
No one has been there in weeks, answered Frank.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
How could you.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Tell by the dust it hadn't been disturbed. There wasn't
a footprint of any kind.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
But you searched anyway.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
When he went through the tower from top to bottom,
Frank replied, it wasn't any use. No one had been there.
So then we thought Jacklie might have been mistaken, and
that he had left the stuff in the other tower.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
And applegate lets you search that as well.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
And Fenton Hardy's eyes twinkled.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Not until we had told him our reasons. We told
him about Jacklie, and then he became enthusiastic and even
helped us in the search. But we didn't find anything, strange,
muttered the detective.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I know Jacke wasn't lying. He had nothing to gain
by deceiving me, absolutely nothing. He was in real earnest.
If ever a man was I hid it in the
old tower. Those were his words. He would have told
me more if he had been able. And what could
he mean? But the old tower of Tower mansion. Why
(02:00):
should he be so careful to say the old tower?
Everyone knows the mansion has two towers, the old and
the new.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Of course, it may be that we didn't search thoroughly enough.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Joe said, the stuff may be.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Hidden in the flooring or behind the walls.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
That's the only solution I can think.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Of, replied Fenton Hardy.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I'm not satisfied yet that the loot isn't there. I'm
going to get in touch with Applegate and ask permission
for a real thorough search of both towers. It's to
his interest as well as mine.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Applegate thinks It's possible exactly hid the stuff, all right,
but that Robinson found it and sold it, said Frank.
He hinted that he was of the opinion that Robinson
was in league with the thief.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
It does look rather bad, mister Hardy admitted, one can't
blame Applegate very much for thinking Robinson found the stuff
after it was hidden made away with it.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Robinson wouldn't do that, cried Joe. He's too honest.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
I don't think he would do it either. But sometimes
if a man is in need of money and temptation
is placed in his way, he gives in. I'd hate
to believe that of Robinson, for that stuff isn't found
in the tower. I'll have to admit that looks very
much as if he were mixed up in it.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
The interview with their father left the Hearty boys feeling
far from cheerful, for they saw that mister Robinson was
now more deeply involved in the affair than before. On
the face of it, circumstances seemed to be against the
caretaker just the same, said Frank, as the boys left
(03:47):
the house and went down the street.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
I don't believe Jackly ever hid the stuff in the tower.
If he had ever so much as opened the tower door,
he would have left some marks in the dust and
we would have seen them. So I don't believe Robinson
and came along later and got the loot.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
As we saw it. The dust in the tower hadn't
been disturbed in weeks. Why there was even dust on
the doorknob when mister Applegate let us in.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Then why should Jackly say he hid the stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
There, exclaimed Frank, puzzled.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Don't ask me. I'm as much in the dark as
you are.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
When the boys reached the business section of the city,
they found that already Jackly's confession had become common property.
People were discussing the deathbed confession on the street corners,
and newsboys were busy selling copies of papers in which
the story of the criminal's last statement was featured on
(04:43):
the front page under black headlines. Policeman con Riley was
ambling along Main Street in the morning sunshine, swinging his
club with the air of a man without a care
in the world. When he saw the boys, he frowned,
for there was no love lost between the Hardies and
the Bayport Police Department.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
Well, he grunted, I hear you got the stuff back.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I wish we had said, Frank, what said the constable
brightening up at once?
Speaker 5 (05:21):
You didn't get it. I thought it said in the
paper this morning that this fellow jackly told where he
had hidden it. He did, and you can't find it, oh.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Con Riley indulged in a hearty laugh.
Speaker 5 (05:37):
What a fine detective your father is. Didn't Jacklye say
the stuff was hidden in the old tower? What more
does he want?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Our father didn't search for the stuff, retorted Frank. We did,
and it wasn't there. Jackie must have made a mistake.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
It wasn't there, exclaimed Riley in high delight.
Speaker 5 (06:01):
That's a good one. That's the best I've heard in years.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
He chuckled exceedingly and slapped his knee.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
Jackie put a good one over on your father that time.
The stuff wasn't there.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Riley wiped the tears from his eyes and went on
his way, trying to laugh and at the same time
retained his dignity as an officer of the law. The joke,
he decided, was too good to keep, so as he
proceeded back toward the police station, there to edify Chief
Colleague and Detective Smuff with the tail, he buttonholed various
(06:44):
passers by and poured the story into their willing ears.
It was not long before the yarn had spread throughout
the city with that swiftness peculiar to stories spread by
word of mouth, and in the telling the story was exaggerated,
the net effect being that Fenton Hardy was made to
(07:05):
look ridiculous by believing a false confession. Highly colored accounts
of the boy's search of the old tower quickly spread,
and throughout the day they were subjected to many caustic
and sarcastic inquiries on the part of friends and acquaintances alike.
They took all these remarks in good part, although they
(07:27):
did not enjoy their sudden prominence. Never mind, said Frank.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
We'll show them yet.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
I hope they find that stuff when they searched the
towers again, added Joe, then the people will have to
eat crow. It'll be our turn to laugh.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yes, agreed Frank, but just now our laughter seems to
be in a far distant future.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
When they returned home, they found that Fenton Hardy had
been busy in the meantime and had convinced heard applegate
that a thorough search of the towers would be advisable. True,
he had not accomplished this without a great deal of
opposition on the part of Adelia, and without misgivings on
the herd Applegate himself, who had by that time come
(08:13):
to the conclusion that Robinson had indeed been mixed up
in the affair all along. In this conviction, he was
sustained by Chief Colleague, who had paid a call at
the Applegate home as soon as Riley had told him
of the vain search of the towers.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
The Chief says, Robinson is behind it, and I'm beginning
to think he's right.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Said Applegate.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
But how about the confession, mister Hardy asked.
Speaker 6 (08:42):
The Chief says, that's all a blind Jacky did it
to protect Robinson. They were both working together.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
I know it looks bad for Robinson, but I don't
think he would hurt to give the towers another thorough search.
I was the one who heard Jacklly make the confession,
and I don't believe he was lying. I believe he
was trying to tell me all he knew.
Speaker 6 (09:05):
Maybe maybe I think he was too smart for you,
mister Hardy, and everybody else thinks so too. It was
all the hopes.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I'll believe that after I've searched the towers inside and out.
Speaker 6 (09:21):
Well, go ahead, go as far as you like, but
I don't think you'll find that treasure.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
With that, mister Hardy was content. He made preparations for
a search of the towers, although Adelia Applegate Flatley declared
that the detective was making a laughingstock of her and
her brother, and that if the nonsense continued, she would
leave Tower Mansion forever and carry out her oft expressed
(09:51):
intention of going to one of the south Sea Islands
as a missionary in spite of the protestations of the
worthy la. However, the search was carried out. The old
Tower was visited first, and for the greater part of
the following morning. The place was searched from top to bottom.
(10:12):
Even the floors were torn up in places in the
quest for some secret hiding place in which Jackie might
have left the loot. But although Fenton Hardy, accompanied by
the boys and heard Applegate, who soon became infected with
the dogged enthusiasm of the others and lent every assistance
(10:32):
in his power, hunted throughout the old tower in every
conceivable place, the missing jewels and bonds were not recovered.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Nothing left but to search the new.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Tower, mister Hardy commented briefly when the search was over,
and throughout the whole afternoon, the new Tower was the
scene of a search that was as thorough as it
was fruitless. Walls and partitions were tapped, floors were sounded,
Furniture was minutely examined. Not an inch of space escaped
(11:08):
the minute scrutiny of the detective and his helpers. But
as the search wore on and a lute still evaded discovery,
the chagrin of Fenton Hardy deepened, and heard Applegate finally
lost his temper.
Speaker 6 (11:24):
A hoax, he declared, a hoax from start to finish.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
The man was in earnest.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
The detective insisted, I don't.
Speaker 6 (11:34):
Know where is the stuff.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Someone else may have found it. That's the only explanation
I can think of.
Speaker 6 (11:42):
Who else could have taken it?
Speaker 1 (11:44):
But Robinson to this, mister Hardy was silent. In spite
of his knowledge of and liking for the man. He
was beginning to suspect that the caretaker may have had
a hand in the affair after all.
Speaker 6 (11:59):
Either that or oh Jacklee simply told that y aren't
to sheil Robinson declared Applegate.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I'm not going to give up the search.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yet, said mister Hardy patiently.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Perhaps the lute was hidden somewhere about the grounds.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
So the grounds of Tower Mansion, particularly in the vicinity
of the two towers, were thoroughly searched. The shrubbery was inspected,
but to no avail. The search continued until sundown, and
by that time Adelia Applegate was pale with wrath for
the place. As she expressed, it had been turned upside down.
(12:41):
Heard Applegate was outspoken in his rage and disappointment, while
Fentenhardi was deeply chagrined. As for the boys, although they
had expected that the additional search would be without success,
they shared their father's bewilderment.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
I can't unders stand it, admitted the detective. I could
have sworn that Jackley was in earnest when he made
that confession. He knew he was near death, that he
had nothing to gain by concealment. I can't understand it
at all.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
And there the mystery remained deeper than it had ever been.
End of Chapter nineteen
Chapter nineteen of The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter nineteen,
The Mystery Deepens. Fenton Hardy was dumbfounded when his sons
returned to him with the news that the lute had
been found in neither the Old tower nor the new
(00:24):
So implicitly had he believed in the dying confession of
Red Jackly that he had not even bothered to join
in the search, preferring to let his sons have the
satisfaction of recovering the stolen goods that he was positive
were hidden in the old tower.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And you're sure you searched the place thoroughly.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
He asked, for the third time.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Every inch of it. There was nothing in the old tower.
No one has been there in weeks, answered Frank.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
How could you.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Tell by the dust it hadn't been disturbed. There wasn't
a footprint of any kind.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
But you searched anyway.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
When he went through the tower from top to bottom,
Frank replied, it wasn't any use. No one had been there.
So then we thought Jacklie might have been mistaken, and
that he had left the stuff in the other tower.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
And applegate lets you search that as well.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
And Fenton Hardy's eyes twinkled.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Not until we had told him our reasons. We told
him about Jacklie, and then he became enthusiastic and even
helped us in the search. But we didn't find anything, strange,
muttered the detective.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I know Jacke wasn't lying. He had nothing to gain
by deceiving me, absolutely nothing. He was in real earnest.
If ever a man was I hid it in the
old tower. Those were his words. He would have told
me more if he had been able. And what could
he mean? But the old tower of Tower mansion. Why
(02:00):
should he be so careful to say the old tower?
Everyone knows the mansion has two towers, the old and
the new.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Of course, it may be that we didn't search thoroughly enough.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Joe said, the stuff may be.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Hidden in the flooring or behind the walls.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
That's the only solution I can think.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Of, replied Fenton Hardy.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I'm not satisfied yet that the loot isn't there. I'm
going to get in touch with Applegate and ask permission
for a real thorough search of both towers. It's to
his interest as well as mine.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Applegate thinks It's possible exactly hid the stuff, all right,
but that Robinson found it and sold it, said Frank.
He hinted that he was of the opinion that Robinson
was in league with the thief.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
It does look rather bad, mister Hardy admitted, one can't
blame Applegate very much for thinking Robinson found the stuff
after it was hidden made away with it.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Robinson wouldn't do that, cried Joe. He's too honest.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
I don't think he would do it either. But sometimes
if a man is in need of money and temptation
is placed in his way, he gives in. I'd hate
to believe that of Robinson, for that stuff isn't found
in the tower. I'll have to admit that looks very
much as if he were mixed up in it.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
The interview with their father left the Hearty boys feeling
far from cheerful, for they saw that mister Robinson was
now more deeply involved in the affair than before. On
the face of it, circumstances seemed to be against the
caretaker just the same, said Frank, as the boys left
(03:47):
the house and went down the street.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
I don't believe Jackly ever hid the stuff in the tower.
If he had ever so much as opened the tower door,
he would have left some marks in the dust and
we would have seen them. So I don't believe Robinson
and came along later and got the loot.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
As we saw it. The dust in the tower hadn't
been disturbed in weeks. Why there was even dust on
the doorknob when mister Applegate let us in.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Then why should Jackly say he hid the stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
There, exclaimed Frank, puzzled.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Don't ask me. I'm as much in the dark as
you are.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
When the boys reached the business section of the city,
they found that already Jackly's confession had become common property.
People were discussing the deathbed confession on the street corners,
and newsboys were busy selling copies of papers in which
the story of the criminal's last statement was featured on
(04:43):
the front page under black headlines. Policeman con Riley was
ambling along Main Street in the morning sunshine, swinging his
club with the air of a man without a care
in the world. When he saw the boys, he frowned,
for there was no love lost between the Hardies and
the Bayport Police Department.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
Well, he grunted, I hear you got the stuff back.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I wish we had said, Frank, what said the constable
brightening up at once?
Speaker 5 (05:21):
You didn't get it. I thought it said in the
paper this morning that this fellow jackly told where he
had hidden it. He did, and you can't find it, oh.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Con Riley indulged in a hearty laugh.
Speaker 5 (05:37):
What a fine detective your father is. Didn't Jacklye say
the stuff was hidden in the old tower? What more
does he want?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Our father didn't search for the stuff, retorted Frank. We did,
and it wasn't there. Jackie must have made a mistake.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
It wasn't there, exclaimed Riley in high delight.
Speaker 5 (06:01):
That's a good one. That's the best I've heard in years.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
He chuckled exceedingly and slapped his knee.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
Jackie put a good one over on your father that time.
The stuff wasn't there.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Riley wiped the tears from his eyes and went on
his way, trying to laugh and at the same time
retained his dignity as an officer of the law. The joke,
he decided, was too good to keep, so as he
proceeded back toward the police station, there to edify Chief
Colleague and Detective Smuff with the tail, he buttonholed various
(06:44):
passers by and poured the story into their willing ears.
It was not long before the yarn had spread throughout
the city with that swiftness peculiar to stories spread by
word of mouth, and in the telling the story was exaggerated,
the net effect being that Fenton Hardy was made to
(07:05):
look ridiculous by believing a false confession. Highly colored accounts
of the boy's search of the old tower quickly spread,
and throughout the day they were subjected to many caustic
and sarcastic inquiries on the part of friends and acquaintances alike.
They took all these remarks in good part, although they
(07:27):
did not enjoy their sudden prominence. Never mind, said Frank.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
We'll show them yet.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
I hope they find that stuff when they searched the
towers again, added Joe, then the people will have to
eat crow. It'll be our turn to laugh.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yes, agreed Frank, but just now our laughter seems to
be in a far distant future.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
When they returned home, they found that Fenton Hardy had
been busy in the meantime and had convinced heard applegate
that a thorough search of the towers would be advisable. True,
he had not accomplished this without a great deal of
opposition on the part of Adelia, and without misgivings on
the herd Applegate himself, who had by that time come
(08:13):
to the conclusion that Robinson had indeed been mixed up
in the affair all along. In this conviction, he was
sustained by Chief Colleague, who had paid a call at
the Applegate home as soon as Riley had told him
of the vain search of the towers.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
The Chief says, Robinson is behind it, and I'm beginning
to think he's right.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Said Applegate.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
But how about the confession, mister Hardy asked.
Speaker 6 (08:42):
The Chief says, that's all a blind Jacky did it
to protect Robinson. They were both working together.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
I know it looks bad for Robinson, but I don't
think he would hurt to give the towers another thorough search.
I was the one who heard Jacklly make the confession,
and I don't believe he was lying. I believe he
was trying to tell me all he knew.
Speaker 6 (09:05):
Maybe maybe I think he was too smart for you,
mister Hardy, and everybody else thinks so too. It was
all the hopes.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I'll believe that after I've searched the towers inside and out.
Speaker 6 (09:21):
Well, go ahead, go as far as you like, but
I don't think you'll find that treasure.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
With that, mister Hardy was content. He made preparations for
a search of the towers, although Adelia Applegate Flatley declared
that the detective was making a laughingstock of her and
her brother, and that if the nonsense continued, she would
leave Tower Mansion forever and carry out her oft expressed
(09:51):
intention of going to one of the south Sea Islands
as a missionary in spite of the protestations of the
worthy la. However, the search was carried out. The old
Tower was visited first, and for the greater part of
the following morning. The place was searched from top to bottom.
(10:12):
Even the floors were torn up in places in the
quest for some secret hiding place in which Jackie might
have left the loot. But although Fenton Hardy, accompanied by
the boys and heard Applegate, who soon became infected with
the dogged enthusiasm of the others and lent every assistance
(10:32):
in his power, hunted throughout the old tower in every
conceivable place, the missing jewels and bonds were not recovered.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Nothing left but to search the new.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Tower, mister Hardy commented briefly when the search was over,
and throughout the whole afternoon, the new Tower was the
scene of a search that was as thorough as it
was fruitless. Walls and partitions were tapped, floors were sounded,
Furniture was minutely examined. Not an inch of space escaped
(11:08):
the minute scrutiny of the detective and his helpers. But
as the search wore on and a lute still evaded discovery,
the chagrin of Fenton Hardy deepened, and heard Applegate finally
lost his temper.
Speaker 6 (11:24):
A hoax, he declared, a hoax from start to finish.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
The man was in earnest.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
The detective insisted, I don't.
Speaker 6 (11:34):
Know where is the stuff.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Someone else may have found it. That's the only explanation
I can think of.
Speaker 6 (11:42):
Who else could have taken it?
Speaker 1 (11:44):
But Robinson to this, mister Hardy was silent. In spite
of his knowledge of and liking for the man. He
was beginning to suspect that the caretaker may have had
a hand in the affair after all.
Speaker 6 (11:59):
Either that or oh Jacklee simply told that y aren't
to sheil Robinson declared Applegate.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I'm not going to give up the search.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yet, said mister Hardy patiently.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Perhaps the lute was hidden somewhere about the grounds.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
So the grounds of Tower Mansion, particularly in the vicinity
of the two towers, were thoroughly searched. The shrubbery was inspected,
but to no avail. The search continued until sundown, and
by that time Adelia Applegate was pale with wrath for
the place. As she expressed, it had been turned upside down.
(12:41):
Heard Applegate was outspoken in his rage and disappointment, while
Fentenhardi was deeply chagrined. As for the boys, although they
had expected that the additional search would be without success,
they shared their father's bewilderment.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
I can't unders stand it, admitted the detective. I could
have sworn that Jackley was in earnest when he made
that confession. He knew he was near death, that he
had nothing to gain by concealment. I can't understand it
at all.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
And there the mystery remained deeper than it had ever been.
End of Chapter nineteen
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.