The Tower Treasure: The Hardy Boys Book 1

By Franklin W. Dixon

Match wits with the amateur sleuths of the teen mystery series The Hardy Boys! Readers of all ages will enjoy the classic first book from 1927, The Tower Treasure. Brothers Frank and Joe Hardy investigate the murmurs of a dying man who claims to have “secreted” his loot in the dilapidated towers of a mansion. Written by a group of ghostwriters under the name Franklin W. Dixon, the popular series has sold more than seventy million copies. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Release date: Jun 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9780486850986

Franklin W. Dixon

Franklin W. Dixon is the author of the ever-popular Hardy Boys books.

Book preview

e9780486849850_cover.jpg

Book 1

Franklin W. Dixon

Dover Publications

Garden City, New York

Bibliographical Note

This Dover edition, first published in 2022, is an unabridged republication of the work, first published by Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York, in 1927. Readers should be forewarned that the text contains racial and cultural references of the era in which it was written and may be deemed offensive by today’s standards.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Dixon, Franklin W., author.

Title: The tower treasure / Franklin W. Dixon.

Description: Dover edition. | Garden City, New York : Dover Publications, 2022. | Series: The Hardy Boys book 1 | This Dover edition, first published in 2022, is an unabridged republication of the work, first published by Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York, in 1927. | Summary: Brothers Frank and Joe Hardy investigate the murmurs of a dying man who claims to have ‘secreted’ his loot in the dilapidated towers of a mansion—Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021050351 | ISBN 9780486849850 (trade paperback)

Classification: LCC PZ7.D644 To 2022 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021050351

Manufactured in the United States of America

www.doverpublications.com

Contents

CHAPTER I The Speed Demon

CHAPTER II The Stolen Roadster

CHAPTER III Traces of the Thief

CHAPTER IV The Hold-Up

CHAPTER V Chet’s Auto Horn

CHAPTER VI Tire Tracks

CHAPTER VII The Mansion Robbery

CHAPTER VIII The Arrest

CHAPTER IX Red Hair

CHAPTER X An Important Discovery

CHAPTER XI Mr. Hardy Investigates

CHAPTER XII Days of Waiting

CHAPTER XIII In Poor Quarters

CHAPTER XIV Red Jackley

CHAPTER XV The Chief Gets a Bomb

CHAPTER XVI A Confession

CHAPTER XVII The Search of the Tower

CHAPTER XVIII The New Tower

CHAPTER XIX The Mystery Deepens

CHAPTER XX The Flash in the Tower

CHAPTER XXI A New Idea

CHAPTER XXII The Search

CHAPTER XXIII Adelia Applegate’s Compliment

CHAPTER XXIV The Last of the Tower Case

CHAPTER I

THE SPEED DEMON

"AFTER THE help we gave dad on that forgery case I guess he’ll begin to think we could be detectives when we grow up."

Why shouldn’t we? Isn’t he one of the most famous detectives in the country? And aren’t we his sons? If the profession was good enough for him to follow it should be good enough for us.

Two bright-eyed boys on motorcycles were speeding along a shore road in the sunshine of a morning in spring. It was Saturday and they were enjoying a holiday from the Bayport high school. The day was ideal for a motorcycle trip and the lads were combining business with pleasure by going on an errand to a near-by village for their father.

The older of the two boys was a tall, dark youth, about sixteen years of age. His name was Frank Hardy. The other boy, his companion on the motorcycle trip, was his brother Joe, a year younger.

While there was a certain resemblance between the two lads, chiefly in the firm yet good-humored expression of their mouths, in some respects they differed greatly in appearance. While Frank was dark, with straight, black hair and brown eyes, his brother was pink-cheeked, with fair, curly hair and blue eyes.

These were the Hardy boys, sons of Fenton Hardy, an internationally famous detective who had made a name for himself in the years he had spent on the New York police force and who was now, at the age of forty, handling his own practice. The Hardy family lived in Bayport, a city of about fifty thousand inhabitants, located on Barmet Bay, three miles in from the Atlantic, and here the Hardy boys attended high school and dreamed of the days when they, too, should be detectives like their father.

As they sped along the narrow shore road, with the waves breaking on the rocks far below, they discussed their chances of winning over their parents to agreement with their ambition to follow in the footsteps of their father. Like most boys, they speculated frequently on the occupation they should follow when they grew up, and it had always seemed to them that nothing offered so many possibilities of adventure and excite­ment as the career of a detective.

But whenever we mention it to dad he just laughs at us, said Joe Hardy. Tells us to wait until we’re through school and then we can think about being detectives.

Well, at least he’s more encouraging than mother, remarked Frank. She comes out plump and plain and says she wants one of us to be a doctor and the other a lawyer.

What a fine lawyer either of us would make! sniffed Joe. Or a doctor, either! We were both cut out to be detectives and dad knows it.

As I was saying, the help we gave him in that forgery case proves it. He didn’t say much, but I’ll bet he’s been thinking a lot.

"Of course we didn’t actually do very much in that case," Joe pointed out.

But we suggested something that led to a clue, didn’t we? That’s as much a part of detective work as anything else. Dad himself admitted he would never have thought of examining the city tax receipts for that forged signature. It was just a lucky idea on our part, but it proved to him that we can use our heads for something more than to hang our hats on.

Oh, I guess he’s convinced all right. Once we get out of school he’ll probably give his permission. Why, this is a good sign right now, isn’t it? He asked us to deliver these papers for him in Willowville. He’s letting us help him.

I’d rather get in on a real, good mystery, said Frank. It’s all right to help dad, but if there’s no more excitement in it than delivering papers I’d rather start in studying to be a lawyer and be done with it.

Never mind, Frank, comforted his brother. We may get a mystery all of our own to solve some day.

If we do we’ll show that Fenton Hardy’s sons are worthy of his name. Oh boy, but what wouldn’t I give to be as famous as dad! Why, some of the biggest cases in the country are turned over to him. That forgery case, for instance. Fifty thousand dollars had been stolen right from under the noses of the city officials and all the auditors and city detectives and private detectives they called in had to admit that it was too deep for them.

Then they called in dad and he cleared it up in three days. Once he got suspicious of that slick bookkeeper whom nobody had been suspecting at all, it was all over but the shouting. Got a confession out of him and everything.

It was smooth work. I’m glad our suggestion helped him. The case certainly got a lot of attention in the papers.

"And here we are, said Joe, plugging along the shore road on a measly little errand to deliver some legal papers at Willowville. I’d rather be on the track of some diamond thieves or smugglers—or something."

Well, we have to be satisfied, I suppose, replied Frank, leaning farther over the handlebars. Perhaps dad may give us a chance on a real case some time.

"Some time! I want to be on a real case now!"

The motorcycles roared along the narrow road that skirted the bay. An embankment of tumbled rocks and boulders sloped steeply to the water below, and on the other side of the road was a steep cliff. The roadway itself was narrow, although it was wide enough to permit two cars to meet and pass, and it wound about in frequent curves and turnings. It was a road that was not often traveled, for Willowville was only a small village and this shore road was an offshoot of the main highways to the north and the west.

The Hardy boys dropped their discussion of the probability that some day they would become detectives, and for a while they rode on in silence, occupied with the difficulties of keeping to the road. For the road at this point was dangerous, very rough and rutty, and it sloped sharply upward so that the embankment leading to the ocean far below became steeper and steeper.

I shouldn’t want to go over the edge around here, remarked Frank, as he glanced down the rugged slope.

It’s a hundred-foot drop. You’d be smashed to pieces before you ever hit the shore.

I’ll say! It’s best to stay in close to the cliff. These curves are bad medicine.

The motorcycles took the next curve neatly, and then the boys confronted a long, steep slope. The rocky cliffs frowned on one side, and the embankment jutted far down to the tumbling waves below, so that the road was a mere ribbon before them.

Once we get to the top of the hill we’ll be all right. It’s all smooth sailing from there to Willowville, remarked Frank, as the motorcycles commenced the climb.

Just then, above the sharp put-put of their own motors, they heard the high humming roar of an automobile approaching at great speed. The car was not yet in sight, but there was no mistaking the fact that it was coursing along with the cut-out open and with no regard for the speed laws.

What idiot is driving like that on this kind of road! exclaimed Frank. They looked back.

Even as he spoke the automobile flashed into sight.

It came around the curve behind and so swiftly did the driver take the dangerous turn that two wheels were off the ground as the car shot into view. A cloud of dust and stones arose, the car veered violently from left to right, and then it roared at headlong speed down the slope.

The boys glimpsed a tense figure at the wheel. How he kept the car on the road was a miracle, for the racing automobile swung from side to side. At one moment it would be in imminent danger of crashing over the embankment, down on the rocks below; the next instant the car would be over on the other side of the road, grazing the cliff.

He’ll run us down! shouted Joe, in alarm. The idiot!

Indeed, the position of the two lads was perilous.

The roadway was narrow enough at any time, and this speeding car was taking up every inch of space. In a great cloud of dust it bore directly down on the two motorcyclists. It seemed to leap through the air. The front wheels left a rut, the rear of the car skidded violently about. By a twist of the wheel the driver pulled the car back into the roadway again just as it seemed about to plunge over the embankment. It shot over toward the cliff, swerved back again into the middle of the roadway, and then shot ahead at terrific speed.

Frank and Joe edged their motorcycles as far to the right of the road as they dared. To their horror they saw that the car was skidding again.

The driver made no attempt to slacken speed.

The automobile came hurtling toward them!

CHAPTER II

THE STOLEN ROADSTER

THE AUTO brakes squealed.

The driver of the oncoming car swung the wheel viciously about. For a moment it appeared that the wheels would not respond. Then they gripped the gravel and the automobile swerved, then shot past.

Bits of sand and gravel were flung about the two boys as they crouched by their motorcycles at the edge of the embankment. The car had missed them only by inches!

Frank caught a glimpse of the driver, who turned about at that moment and, in spite of the speed at which the automobile was traveling and in spite of the perils of the road, shouted some­thing they could not catch at them and shook his fist.

The car was traveling at too great a speed to enable the lad to distinguish the driver’s features, but he saw that the man was hatless and that he had a shock of red hair blowing in the wind.

Then the automobile disappeared from sight around the curve ahead, roaring away in a cloud of dust.

The road hog! gasped Joe, as

Reviews for The Tower Treasure

[vintage1series1lisa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to the audio version of this book. Loved it, loved the simpleness that reminded me of my childhood

[cliffburns · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Yes, as a kid I was a rabid Hardy Boys fan--and I tried to infect my sons with the meme but as soon as I pointed out (innocently) that all the brothers' adventures seem to take place the same summer, when Frank was eighteen and Joe, his fair-haired sibling, was seventeen, they seemed to lose all interest. Cynical little punters...

[adamjohn_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fenton Hardy, famous New York detective, now lives in Bayport with his wife, and two sons: Frank and Joe, that are having their first case trying to find stolentreasure.

[richardr.b4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The best boy mystery ever! The sons of Fenton Hardy, the great detective, go on their first mystery that includes thievery, a set-up, and extreme dangers. Frank and Joe Hardy are the sons of the Fenton Hardy. Frank being the oldest at 18 by 1 year. Joe being 17 years old. Their friend's, Tony Prito, father is being set up for the crime by a notorious thief named John "Red" Jackley. A notorious thief known for wearing red wigs as a disguise. The thief stole securities and jewelry from the Applegates. The thief stole Chets car as a getaway car. They find John "Red" Jackley. He is dying so he tells he hid it in the old tower. Everyone thinks it is hidden in the applegates mansion old tower. Yet the Hardy boys find out he meant the old train station tower. They search under a pieces of wood and find the securities and jewels.

[annawaffles · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was pretty funny comparing this to the Nancy Drew I just read. Serious boy book/girl book stuff here, down to the motorcycles and dating habits. I'm glad I read this, but I don't think I'll read more from this series any time soon.

[dwwilkin_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nostalgia. When I was a young man, or younger than a young man, I delved and consumed Hardy Boy books as if they were the best thing ever. I remember that they had a section of these for sale in May Company in the mall. And if the next book in the series wasn't there on the shelf, we were devastated, and needed to bug our parents to come back again and again to get it. Maybe even travel over to another bookstore and hope that they might have it. Bookstores were not everywhere when I was unable to drive myself. Much as they are becoming again.First books in a series, a long series, do their best to introduce the various characters that will be in the series. This does that. It also gives us a little caper to follow through on. Perhaps an enticement that will make us love mysteries for the remainder of our lives. From the perspective of a child this is done, and probably done well. Though I imagine that the age at which one appreciates this has trended younger. And now as an adult, reading many mysteries and even writing a few, know about trying to pull the reader along, this does not hold for an adult.It works as a piece of Nostalgia and another time, another era, a remembrance for me of when I was young and clamoring for more of the series. But as an adult, perhaps something to share with a 'Tweener. But for it's own sake, there are much more tales with depth that I as an adult are more captivated by.

[dwarfplanet9_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

i loved the entire series. after blazing through them all, i moved on to read the entire Nancy Drew series.

[hadden_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A swell book! I picked it up at a library sale, and realized I have not read this book since I was thirteen, over fifty years ago. It is still a good story, about some good chums, their roadsters, and solving mysteries with the help of their detective father. A nice way to spend some time, reading about old chums, indeed!

[glenajo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This audio edition of the original Hardy Boy #1: The Tower Treasure is an interesting read. Brothers Frank and Joe Hardy are the sons of an attorney that often solves mysteries. Their friend’s car is stolen and they are off to discover the thief when another friend’s father is accused of steeling a treasure. I loved listening to the story for many reasons, first because my older brother had several of the series that I enjoyed in the 60s. The story was fun and enjoyable still, but the setting clues that I missed before really interested me. The books refer to the stolen car as a jalopy and continually rib friend Bif for his size and his love of fattening food. It was interesting to see the differences in today’s culture.The book encourages teens to endeavor to succeed and employ good character traits in their daily lives. The characters, even under stress, choose to be honest and respect the adults in their community.

[zacswic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Hardy Boys is about Joe and Frank Hardy who find out that the tower mansion has been robbed. Are they the ones who can find out this case? well you will find out all about it in this book. I recommend this book to all detectives world wide and kids who really love mystery.

[elenchus_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Hardy Boys may be too difficult a read for W alone but he seems to have little trouble following as I read aloud. Both Hardy Boys and Three Investigators occurred to me as alternatives after he didn't take to Encyclopedia Brown. Chapters are short, often contrived to end as cliffhangers, there's a good bit of dialogue (though so, so stilted I almost laugh as I read it), and the occasional full-page illustrations keep his interest.I read nearly all of the original novels as a kid, over 50 of them, and now recall next to nothing apart from recognizing titles. Forgotten these were written in the 1920s, evidently set in the same time period, yet (I agree with R) the narrative reads like a squeaky clean take on 1950s high school. So fair enough: it would be exceedingly easy to criticise these books on multiple fronts. For now, W's enthusiasm is all I need to continue. //This first case has the Boys in Bayport (location unspecified), apart from a brief trip to NYC with their father, and we're introduced to several characters from town as well as friends, townsfolk, and neighbours.I wonder how important it was to begin with the first novel. I vaguely recall the relevant "introductory" information is repeated in each novel, and wonder if any chronology is followed (knowing that the Boys planned to build a "crime lab" in the garage, for instance, or that they work part time at the local grocers). I suspect we could pick up any book in any order and not get much out of knowing of prior cases (or miss much if we skipped one).

[krizia_lazaro_3 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Thank you Netgalley and Dove Publication for the free ebook copy in exchange for a review. The Hardy Boys was a trend when I was young along with Nancy Drew. Being a girl, my mom buys me Nancy Drew so this is my first dabble into the Hardy Boys. It feels like a Nancy Drew mystery. It is perfect for middle grade students but not exactly for adults. Spoilers ahead! I have some questions about the theft that was left unanswered. The ending was also a let down, no confrontations or whatever. It was okay but lacks excitement.

[ghost_boy-691444 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read some more Hardy Boys...finally. Only took me 15ish years to read some of the others. We only have 3 books in the house. I'm not sure I'll read the rest, but I would like to some day. These are mostly a quick read. Yes, these are dated, they were dated when I read them, but I still like the books. One reason I like the Hardy Boys is like Harry Potter and the Unicorn Chronicles, this book got me into reading. You can blame the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew for my liking to detective fiction. These days, I like more mature mystery stuff, but reading light stuff isn't a bad thing either.