his lungs.
Gradually the light approached them. Frank clambered back into the Sleuth as a Harbor Police
boat, making its scheduled rounds, pulled alongside.
'You're just in time!' Frank gasped to the sergeant in charge. 'We're exhausted.'
'I can see that. You run out of gas?' the police officer asked.
'Worse than that. Foul play,' Frank replied.
'Tough luck,' the sergeant said. 'You can tell your story when we get to town.'
The officer gave orders to his crew, and a tow-line was put on the Sleuth. The boys were given blankets to throw around themselves.
When the two crafts reached the Harbor Police pier, the boys went inside and gave a full
account of what had happened to them and asked that the report be relayed to Chief Collig.
'We'll give you some gas,' said the sergeant who had rescued the boys. 'Then do you think you can make it home alone?'
'Yes, thank you.'
A half hour later the boys, tired and disappointed, cycled home. Their mother and aunt gasped
with dismay at the sight of the weary boys in the water-sodden clothing. Joe and Frank,
however, made light of the evening's experience.
'We ran out of gas,' Joe explained, 'and had to swim back with the Sleuth'
Aunt Gertrude sniffed skeptically. 'Humph! It must have been some long ride to use up all that fuel!' She hustled off to make hot chocolate.
Mrs. Hardy told the boys that their father had left the house an hour before and would be away overnight working on his case. Again Frank and Joe wondered about it. And did the attack
tonight have any connection with either case?
After a hot bath and a good night's sleep, Frank and Joe were eager to continue their search for clues to the bowman, the counterfeiters, and the writer of the first warning note to Mr. Hardy.
Breakfast over, Frank and Joe went to the lab and dusted the archer's finger guard. To the
brothers'
delight they lifted one clear print.
'We'll take this to Chief Collig on our way to the paper company in Bridgeport,' Frank decided.
Just before they left, Chet telephoned. 'Guess what!' he said to Frank, who answered. 'I have an appointment at Elekton to see about a job!'
'How'd you do it?' Frank asked, amazed. 'You sure work fast.'
Chet laughed. 'I decided to telephone on my own,' he explained. 'The man in the personnel office told me there might be something available on a part-time basis. How about that?'
'Swell,' Frank said. 'The vacancy must have come up since yesterday.'
'Funny thing,' Chet added, 'The personnel manager asked me if I'd applied before. I said No, though the guard had phoned about me yesterday. The manager said he didn't remember this,
but that somebody
else in the office might have taken the call.'
Chet became more and more excited as he talked about the prospect of getting a job in the
Elekton laboratory. 'I'm going to make a lot of money and-'
'Don't get your hopes up too high,' Frank cautioned his friend. 'Elekton is such a top-secret outfit they might not hire anyone on a part-time basis for lab work. But you might get
something else.'
'Well see,' Chet replied optimistically.
'Joe and I have something special to show you,' Frank told him. 'After you have your interview, meet us at the north end of the Bayport waterfront.'
Chet begged to know why, but Frank kept the news about the Sleuth a secret, 'You'll see soon enough,'
he said.
'Okay, then. So long!'
The Hardys hopped on their motorcycles and rode to police headquarters. They talked to Chief
Collig in detail about the attack on them, and left the bowman's fingerprint for him to trace.
'Good work, boys,' he said. 'I'll let you know what I find out.'
Frank and Joe had decided not to mention to him the green truck and its possible connection
with the counterfeiters until they had more proof.
The boys mounted their motorcycles and rode to Bridgeport. They easily located the Quality
Paper Company, and inquired there for Mr. Evans, the sales manager, with whom they had
talked the day before.
When Frank and Joe entered his office and identified themselves, Mr. Evans looked at the
brothers curiously. But he was most cooperative in answering their questions.
'No,' Mr. Evans said, 'we don't sell our star watermark paper to retail stores in this vicinity. All our purchasers are large industrial companies. Here is a list.' He handed a printed sheet across the desk to Frank.
The boys were disappointed not to have obtained any individual's name. Nevertheless, Frank
and Joe read the list carefully. Several names, including Elekton Controls Limited, were familiar to them. The warning note could have come from any one of thousands of employees of any of
the firms.
'I guess there's no clue here to the man we want to locate,' Frank said to Mr. Evans.
The boys thanked him. As they started to leave, he called them back.
'Are you boys, by any chance, related to Mr. Fenton Hardy?' he asked.
Joe, puzzled, nodded. 'He's our father. Why?'
'Quite a coincidence,' Mr, Evans said. 'Mr. Hardy was here a little while ago.'
'He was!' Frank exclaimed in surprise. The brothers exchanged glances, wondering what mission their father had been on.
'Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned Mr. Hardy's visit,' Mr. Evans said.
'That's all right,' Joe assured him. 'If Dad had wanted the visit kept secret, he would have told you.'
When the boys were outside again, Frank said, 'I hope Dad will be home. I'd like to find out what brought him here.'
Frank and Joe rode directly home and were glad to see Mr. Hardy's sedan in the driveway. The
boys rushed into the house.
They found the detective in his study, talking on the telephone. The boys paused next to the
partly open door.
'. . . the same eight-and-one pattern, I believe,' their father was saying. . . . 'Yes-I'll be there. . .
.
Good-by.'
Frank knocked and the boys entered the room. Mr. Hardy greeted them warmly. He was
startled when Joe told him, 'We know where you've been this morning, Dad.'
'Were you two shadowing me?' the detective joked.
'Not exactly.' Frank grinned, and explained why they had visited the Quality Paper Company.
'Good idea,' said the detective. 'Did you learn anything?'
'No,' Joe replied glumly, then asked suddenly, 'Dad, did you go to Quality Paper in connection with the warning note on the arrow?'
Mr. Hardy admitted that he had gone there to investigate the watermark. 'I believe I did find a clue to confirm a suspicion of mine. But I'm not sure yet where it will lead.'
The boys sensed that their father's trip had been linked to his secret case. 'If it was to help us on the counterfeiting mystery, he'd say so,' Frank thought. 'And he hasn't mentioned Elekton, so I guess he doesn't suspect any of that company's employees.'
Mr. Hardy changed the subject. He looked at his sons quizzically. 'What's this I hear from Aunt Gertrude
