grappled for the pail. Duke jerked it away and flung it at Joe. The bucket narrowly missed him, slamming against the wall.
The water splashed over onto the flames with a hissing sound.
'You young fools! I'll get you for this!' Duke picked up the chair and raised it over his head. But Frank swung a right-hand haymaker. It caught Duke in the solar plexus and he went down in a
heap.
'He's out cold!' Joe cried, whipped off his shirt, and finally smothered the flames. 'What a sock that was!'
Duke moaned and stirred. Swiftly the boys felt around until they found the cut ropes. Panting, they bound their prisoner's hands and feet.
'That should hold him,' said Joe as the boys stood up.
'Now, let's see where we are,' Frank suggested.
Cautiously he opened the shack door and the brothers slipped outside.
'It's the edge of Shantytown,' Joe whispered after a quick look around.
Across a whitish stretch of sand they could see the dark shacks and beyond them a red glare
from beach fires. A nearly full moon sailed in and out of heavy clouds.
Suddenly a figure detached itself from the shadow of the shanties and glided quickly across the sand toward them. Fists ready, Frank and Joe set themselves for a fight!
'Put up your hands!' came a firm command. 'You're under arrest!'
At the same moment, moonlight fell upon a familiar face. 'Pat Muster!' Frank exclaimed joyfully. 'Are we glad to see you!'
Pat Muster was a plain-clothes man on the Bayport police force. The brawny, red-haired man
turned his flashlight on the bruised, disheveled boys. 'So you fought your way out, eh?' he said, putting away his revolver. 'Too bad you didn't yell for help. My men and I were staked out by the shacks, keeping an eye on this place.'
Frank grinned ruefully. 'I wish we'd known that. We didn't call out, because we were afraid of bringing more of the gang.'
'Where's our father?' Joe asked.
'He took a squad of police and followed Stark and the other fellow. The chief went back to headquarters.'
'I see,' said Frank. 'When you didn't close in at the store, we thought the plan had backfired.'
'Your father suggested that we follow you, on the chance of locating the rest of the gang. Sorry I left you in the shack so long,' he added. 'I was hoping some more of these tough birds would turn up and we'd make a bigger haul.'
'We have one of them for you,' Joe said, 'all trussed up and ready to go.'
Pat Muster chuckled. 'I've got to hand it to you, boys,' he said. 'You always deliver the goods!'
He turned toward the shanties and gave a low whistle. Here and there a half dozen figures
appeared from the shadows and crossed to join the boys and Muster at the shack.
'Wait here,' the officer ordered his men. He and the Hardys entered the shanty. The detective beamed his flashlight on the prone figure of Duke, who blinked and scowled.
'Now that you're awake,' Frank said, 'you'd be smart to tell us where our missing chums are.'
The man glared and did not answer.
'Don't waste time on him,' Joe advised. 'Let's search this place. Maybe the bank loot is hidden here.'
Frank and Joe borrowed flashlights from two of the men outside and began to help Detective
Muster.
They inspected the crude walls and flooring. Finally, they stood up, disappointed.
'Nothing,' Frank said, 'and there's no other place to hide anything except in the little stove.'
At this, Duke darted an apprehensive look at the stove. In two quick strides Frank reached it, lifted the stove lid, and plunged his hand inside.
'There's something here!' he exclaimed. He pulled out a limp object. 'A rubber mask! I think there are morel' he added quickly, reaching in again. One after another, he brought out four additional false faces.
Joe whistled. 'The bank robbers' masks! What a find! This shack must have been their
headquarters-for a time, at least!'
'Great work, Frank!' Detective Muster congratulated him. 'There'll probably be plenty of fingerprints on those masks.' He pulled a large folded paper sack from his pocket and opened it. 'Drop them in here.'
The detective summoned two of his men to unbind the prisoner Then they handcuffed Duke
and led him to the police cars hidden in the pines on the other side of Shore Road. Muster and the boys followed.
When they reached headquarters, Chief Collig sent the rubber masks to his lab for immediate
fingerprint analysis. Finally he turned to the Hardys. 'Letting yourselves be kidnaped was a daring stunt, boys. But you got results.' He looked at Duke, who sat beside him, scowling.
Frank drew the chief aside and asked quietly, 'How about Dad and his men? Have they located Chet and Biff?'
The chief shook his head. 'They should have radioed in by now,' he replied. 'Let's see what we can get out of the prisoner.' He walked over and stood in front of Duke. 'If you know what's good for you-' he began but was interrupted by a clatter of feet outside.
The next moment Ben Stark and Moran, handcuffed together, entered the chief's office,
followed by Fenton Hardy and two policemen. 'Dad!' cried Joe. 'Did you find Chet and Biff?'
'No,' said his father quietly. 'Are you boys all right? You look as if you'd had a rough time.'
'We're okay,' Frank assured his father quickly. 'Tell us your story.'
'We followed Stark and Moran from Shantytown,' his father explained. 'They drove down to the docks and sat there, apparently waiting for a boat. When it didn't show up, they headed
back to Shantytown.
So did we. As soon as I saw that Pat was missing from his station, I knew you boys and your
guard had been brought here. We arrested these two right in the shack.'
'Do Stark and Moran know where Biff and Chet are?' Joe asked.
'I think they know all right,' Fenton Hardy said grimly. 'But they're not talking.'
Frank and Joe looked disappointed.
'Cheer up,' Chief Collig advised them. 'You've done a terrific job. We can hold these three on a charge of kidnaping you. After we've checked the prints on the masks you found, we'll probably be able to identify them conclusively as the bank robbers.'
After the sullen prisoners were taken away. Frank and Joe told their father and the police what had
happened to them. Then the Hardys left the station and piled into the detective's car.
'We'll pick up our motorcycles tomorrow,' Frank said.
When they reached home, the three shared a late supper of cold chicken, milk, and apple pie.
Then they went straight to bed.
The next morning, as the boys were coming downstairs to breakfast, the telephone rang. 'I'll get it,' said Mr. Hardy, picking up the receiver.
A few minutes later he joined the boys in the dining room. 'That was Chief Collig,' the detective announced. 'The fingerprints of Ben Stark, Fritz Stark, Duke, and Moran-all wanted by the police-were on the masks. One set of prints is unidentified.'
'They probably belong to the big bald fellow,' said Frank. 'The one Mr. Caine mentioned.'
'Caine!' exclaimed their father. 'In all the excitement I forgot to tell you that Mr. Caine phoned yesterday just after you left for the costume shop. He wants you to call him.'
At this news the boys hurried to the hall and Frank dialed the long-distance call to Northport. In a few seconds Frank was speaking to the friendly dock manager.
'You remember those fellows who rented the Black Cat from me?' he asked. 'Well, one of 'em left an empty
