weight. Both fully realized their peril.
'We can't give up now!' said Frank, and scrambled over the surface of the
roof until he reached the trap door. Joe followed. They unlatched and raised
the door, then peered down into the recesses of the abandoned water tank. It
was about seven feet in depth and twelve in diameter.
Frank lowered himself through the opening, but clung to the rim until he was
sure, from feeling around with his feet, that the floor would not break
through. 'It's okay,' he told Joe, who followed his brother inside.
Eagerly the boys peered about the dim interior. The place seemed to be partly
filled with rubbish. There was a quantity of old lumber, miscellaneous bits of
steel rails, battered tin pails, and crowbars, all piled in helter-skelter fashion.
At first glance there was no sign of the Applegates' stolen possessions.
'The jewels and bonds must be here somewhere,' Joe declared. 'But if
Jackley did put the stuff here, he wouldn't have left it right out in the open.
It's probably hidden under some of this junk.'
Frank pulled out a flashlight and swung it around. In its glow Joe began to
hunt frantically, casting aside the old pails and pieces of lumber. One entire
half of the tower was searched without result. Frank turned the flashlight to
the far side and noted that a number of boards had been piled up in a rather
orderly crisscrossed manner. 'Joe,' said Frank, 'I'd say these boards hadn't
been thrown here accidentally. It sure looks as if somebody had placed them
deliberately to hide something underneath.' 'You're right.'
Like a terrier after a bone, Joe dived toward the pile. Hastily he pulled away
the boards.
Revealed in the neat little hiding place lay a bag. It was an ordinary gunny
sack, but as Joe dragged it out he felt sure that the search for the Applegate
property had come to an end. 'This must be it!' he exulted. 'The Tower
treasure!' Frank smothered a whoop of joy.
Joe carried the sack into the light beneath the trap door.
'Hurry up! Open it!' Frank urged.
With trembling fingers Joe began to untie the cord around the sack. There
were many knots, and as Joe worked at them, Frank fidgeted nervously.
'Let me try,' he said impatiently.
At last, with both Hardys working on the stubborn knots, the cord was untied
and the bag gaped open. Joe plunged one hand into it and withdrew an
old-fashioned bracelet of precious stones.
'Jewelry!'
'How about the securities?'
Again Joe groped into the sack. His fingers encountered a bulky packet.
When he pulled it out, the boys exclaimed in unison:
'The bonds!'
The bundle of papers, held together by an elastic band, proved to be the
securities. The first of the documents was a negotiable bond for one thousand
dollars issued by the city of Bayport.
'Mr. Applegate's property!' Frank cried out triumphantly. 'Joe, do you
realize what this means? We've solved the mystery!'
The brothers looked at each other almost unbelievingly, then each slapped
the other on the back. 'We did it! We did it!' Joe cried out jubilantly.
Frank grinned. 'And without old Smuff,' he said.
'Now Mr. Robinson's cleared for sure!' Joe exclaimed. 'That's the best part
of solving this mystery.'
'You're right!'
The boys rejoiced over their discovery for another full minute, then decided
to hurry back to Bayport with the precious sack.
'You go down first, Frank,' said Joe. 'I'll toss the sack to you and then
come myself.'
He picked up the bag and was about to hoist it to his shoulders when both
boys heard a sound on the roof of the tower. They looked up to see an
evil-looking, unshaven man peering down at them.
'Halt!' he ordered.
'Who are you?' Frank asked.
'They call me Hobo Johnny,' the man replied. 'This here is my quarters and
anything in it belongs to me. You got no right in my room. You can't take
anything away. And t'anks for finding the wad. I never thought to look
around.'
Joe, taken aback a moment, now said, 'You may sleep here, but this is
railroad property. You don't own what's in this tower. Now go on down the
ladder, so we can leave.'
'So you're going to fight, eh?' Hobo Johnny said in an ugly tone. 'I'll see
about that!'
Without warning the trap door was slammed shut and locked from the
outside!
CHAPTER XX
The Escape
'LET us out of here!' Frank shouted at Hobo Johnny.
'You can't get away with this!' Joe yelled.
The man on the water tower roof gave a loud guffaw. 'You think I ain't got
no brains. Well, I got enough to know when I'm well off. I ain't in no hurry to
collect that treasure you found in the tower. A few days from now will be all
right for me to sell it.'
'A few days from now?' Joe exclaimed, horrified. 'By that time we'll be
suffocated or die of starvation.'
Frank put an arm around his impulsive brother's shoulder. In a low tone he
said, 'We won't do either, Joe. I don't think it's going to be too hard to get
out of here. If not by the trap door, we'll hack our way out through one side
of the tank.'
Joe calmed down and both boys became silent. This seemed to worry Hobo
Johnny, who called down, 'What're you guys up to?'
No answer.
'Okay. I'm leaving you now, but I'll be back for that treasure. Don't try any
funny stuff or you'll get hurt!'
The man on the roof waited a few moments for an answer. Receiving none,
he shuffled across the tower to the ladder.
'I hope he doesn't break all the rungs,' said Joe worriedly. 'We won't be
able to get down.'
Again Frank patted his brother on the shoulder. 'I noticed an iron pipe
running from the top of this tower to the bottom,' he said. 'If necessary, we
