The Tower Treasure: The Hardy Boys

By Franklin W. Dixon and Ingall Nocturne

The Tower Treasure: The Hardy Boys Mystery Series
(Original Text Edition) (Bauer World Press)

Embark on the adventure of a lifetime with Frank and Joe Hardy in "The Tower Treasure," the inaugural installment of the timeless series The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories, in its original text.

When the valuable Tower Mansion jewel collection vanishes without a trace, two young detectives are thrust into a whirlwind investigation. With determination and sagacity, the brothers uncover a web of deceit and betrayal lurking beneath the surface of their tranquil town. In a race against time, Frank and Joe navigate treacherous twists and turns, following cryptic clues that lead them closer to the heart of the mystery, But as they edge nearer to the truth, they realise that unraveling the secrets of the Tower Treasure could cost them everything.

Join the Hardy Boys on a gripping journey fraught with danger, suspense, and the unbreakable bonds of brotherhood.

About the Publisher: Bauer World Press makes available a broad curation of classic literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume showcases the most accurate original text, insightful introductions, historical context, and other valuable features to fuel the pursuit of greater understanding.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bauer World Press
• Release date: Mar 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798990180215

Franklin W. Dixon

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

Book preview

This book is affectionately dedicated to my Mother whose interest in this, as in all my endeavours, was never less than my own.

About the Publisher

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Bauer Press gladly makes available a plenitude of literary treasures hailing from around the globe. In each accessible volume, Bauer upholds its dedication to erudition by furnishing only the most authentic and original texts. These include introductions by venerated authorities, elucidative notes, and many other features to encourage exploration, should you so wish. By offering the long-forgotten writings of distant epochs, as well as celebrated literary masterpieces, Bauer Press endeavours not only to enhance the pleasure of reading today, but to revivify the voices of antiquity; lest their tales, admonitions, and wisdom be lost on us forever. Unwavering commitment to research and accuracy spans the breadth of our works, each edition augmented with commentary and context. Written on the page nothing is forgotten, forgotten only is the page on which 'twas written.

The Tower Treasure

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The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories

Written by Franklin W.  Dixon

Preface by Ingall Nocturne

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Bauer World Press is a division of the Bauer Media Company. Bauer World Press furthers the Company's objective of excellence in historical research, education, and knowledge by publishing digital and paperback content worldwide. Preface and Illustrations © Bauer Media Company 2024.The moral rights of the authors have been asserted. First published as a Bauer World Press paperback 2024. Published as a Bauer World Press eBook 2024. Original publication by Grosset & Dunlap 1927. All original additions are copyright 2024 by Bauer World Press and may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, by any form or any means, without the prior permission in writing of Bauer World Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organisation. 

Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be directed to [e-mail]

All rights reserved.

ISBN 979-8-9901802-1-5

Published in the United States of America

Preface

It is perhaps tenable that the enterprising spirit of Frank and Joe Hardy are due greater approbation for their impact on youth culture, both in America and abroad, than they are paid credit. Well-crafted stories often possess the indispensable luxury of providing young readers with early intimations of Order, Resolve, Sincerity, and Justice.

They can illuminate answers to questions that we ourselves struggle to articulate. They can deter us from the path of the dissolute - and knavish.  When mettle is subverted by timidity, it is the Resolution of The Hardy Boys we seek to retain.    

While this is all well and good, one who tends toward historical enquiry may default to a format-question: How did The Hardy Boys come to be?

The author, Franklin W. Dixon, won't be providing much commentary on the subject, as Franklin W. Dixon never actually existed. The pseudonym is most notably an amalgamation of two individuals, Edward Stratemeyer and Charles Leslie McFarlane, although many more could rightfully assert their imprint upon the name. 

In the early years of the twentieth century Stratemeyer and McFarlane were but a few, nevertheless impactful, individuals who comprised what was known as the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Edward and his colleagues cultivated outlines and character descriptions, while McFarlane and others would implement story, ultimately penning the finished novel.

The Stratemeyer Syndicate realised widespread success with series like The Rover Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, Dave Porter, Tom Swift, and Baseball Joe. Upon the 1927 release of The Hardy Boys, and its counterpart series debuting in 1930, Nancy Drew, the Stratemeyer Syndicate would take the American public by storm, dominating the market as titans of juvenile fiction.  

The story for Edward Stratemeyer, however, was cut short. His sudden passing in 1930 engendered his two daughters, Harriet and Edna, to assume the reigns of the family business.  Edna stepped down from the business after a few short years, leaving Harriet to continue building the Syndicate into a powerhouse that would come to define nearly a century of American youth literature.

It was during the early 1960s that the Syndicate's publishers, with the countenance of a storm and the subtlety of a thunderclap, demanded Harriet and her team rewrite the early iterations of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. The publisher's cited complaints of bias, a desired simplification of vocabulary, and more attention paid to continuous action than prolonged suspense.

These measures were in response to a changing social climate, a more concise American vocabulary, and ultimately in order to appeal to the decreased attention span of modern readers. Not only were Harriet and her team to adjust their previous stories, but all future mysteries were to be conceived with these qualities imparted.

Though Harriet vehemently remonstrated their suggestions, she was eventually compelled to oblige. The original stories were rewritten, condensed, and on occasion, entire plots changed altogether. Readers as well as writers felt their beloved series had been, by no half-measures, gutted and eviscerated.

The series eventually recouped lost sales that would simultaneously see The Hardy Boys become jeunesse dorée. Their genesis was adjusted to be of a wealthier stock. One supposed intent could be that it was to grant them easier access to higher-stakes mysteries and carry an upscale respectability, even if to the point of importunity. The public decried these unwelcome alterations, citing that it unabashedly ripped Frank and Joe Hardy from the relatability of the everyday-boy for whom the series was originally crafted.

The text that follows is that of the 1927 First Edition. It is the text that Edward, Charles, Harriet, and many others fought to keep in the hands of their loyal readers.

And now - it's in yours.

Your Friend,

Ingall Nocturne

The Tower Treasure

Contents

1.The Speed Demon

2.The Stolen Roadster

3.Traces of the Thief

4.The Hold-Up

5.Chet's Auto Horn

6.Tire Tracks

7.The Mansion Robbery

8.The Arrest

9.Red Hair

10.An Important Discovery

11.Mr. Hardy Investigates

12.Days of Waiting

13.In Poor Quarters

14.Red Jackley

15.The Chief Gets a Bomb

16.A Confession

17.The Search of the Tower

18.The New Tower

19.The Mystery Deepens

20.The Flash in the Tower

21.A New Idea

22.The Search

23.Adelia Applegate's Compliment

24.The Last of the Tower Case

Chapter 1

The Speed Demon

"A fter 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