The Masked Monkey

The Tower Treasure

The House on the Cliff

The Secret of the Old Mill

The Missing Chums

Hunting for Hidden Gold

The Shore Road Mystery

The Secret of the Caves

The Mystery of Cabin Island

The Great Airport Mystery

What Happened at Midnight

While the Clock Ticked

Footprints Under the Window

The Mark on the Door

The Hidden Harbor Mystery

The Sinister Signpost

A Figure in Hiding

The Secret Warning

The Twisted Claw

The Disappearing Floor

The Mystery of the Flying Express

The Clue of the Broken Blade

The Flickering Torch Mystery

The Melted Coins

The Short-Wave Mystery

The Secret Panel

The Phantom Freighter

The Secret of Skull Mountain

The Sign of the Crooked Arrow

The Secret of the Lost Tunnel

The Wailing Siren Mystery

The Secret of Wildcat Swamp

The Crisscross Shadow

The Yellow Feather Mystery

The Hooded Hawk Mystery

The Clue in the Embers

The Secret of Pirates' Hill

The Ghost at Skeleton Rock

The Mystery at Devil's Paw

The Mystery of the Chinese Junk

Mystery of the Desert Giant

The Clue of the Screeching Owl

The Viking Symbol Mystery

The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior

The Haunted Fort

The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge

The Secret Agent on Flight 101

Mystery of the Whale Tattoo

The Arctic Patrol Mystery

The Bombay Boomerang

Danger of Vampire Trail

The Masked Monkey

The Shattered Helmet

The Clue of the Hissing Serpent

The Mysterious Caravan

The Witch master's Key

The Jungle Pyramid

The Firebird Rocket

The Sting of the Scorpion

Hardy Boys Detective Handbook

The Hardy Boys Back-to-Back The Tower Treasure/The House on the Cliff

Celebrate 60 Years with the World's Greatest Super Sleuths!

THE MASKED MONKEY

FRANK and Joe Hardy are called upon to find a wealthy industrialist's son who has mysteriously disappeared.

Did Graham Retson flee from his home because he was at odds with his father, or was he kidnapped? Finding the answer turns into something more dangerous and larger in scope than Frank and Joe ever bargained for. The only clue in the case leads the two young detectives to South America, where the intrigues of evil adversaries almost cost them their lives. Involved in this complex mystery are a fierce-looking monkey trained to be a killer, a school of voracious, man-eating piranhas, a ruthless gang of passport thieves, and a cleverly operated change-your-identity mill for criminals.

Only through their courage and perseverance do the Hardys solve one of the toughest cases they have ever tackled.

“I have to get out of here!” Frank thought

The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories
^®

THE MASKED MONKEY

BY

FRANKLIN W. DIXON

GROSSET & DUNLAP

Publishers • New York

A member of The Putnam & Grosset Group

P
RINTED ON
R
ECYCLED
P
APER

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

       I   A P
UZZLING
D
ISAPPEARANCE

      II   B
OUNCING
B
ALLS

     III   C
ARELESS
T
ALK

     IV   A G
HOSTLY
F
IGURE

      V   A
WAY
TO
B
RAZIL

     VI   U
NDERGROUND
V
OODOO

    VII   B
URU'S
V
ISION

   VIII   F
ISH
B
AIT

     IX   A C
URIOUS
N
UMBER
S
EVEN

      X   A
DRIFT
ON
THE
A
MAZON

     XI   D
ANGEROUS
S
TRANGER

    XII   T
HE
M
ONKEY
M
ASK

   XIII   O
NE
M
ORE
C
HANCE

   XIV   B
IG
D
EAL
FOR
C
HET

    XV   M
IDNIGHT
P
URSUIT

   XVI   T
HE
A
MBUSH

  XVII   G
OLF
B
ALL
A
RTILLERY

 XVIII   B
AD
N
EWS

   XIX   A T
ELLTALE
B
UG

    XX   U
NMASKING
THE
G
ANG

“Y
OU
mean your eighteen-year-old son drew fifty thousand dollars from his bank account and then disappeared?” dark-haired Frank Hardy asked incredulously. His blond brother Joe, sitting beside him on a sofa, also looked bewildered.

The two teen-age investigators from Bayport were in the posh office of J. G. Retson, owner of a stone quarry near Granite City. He sat behind his desk, rocking nervously in a high-backed chair.

“Yes!” Retson answered Frank's question. “That's exactly what I mean. The fifty grand is gone, and so is Graham.”

“And you want us to find him?”

“That's right!” Retson declared, striking the desk with his fist. “Find him and bring him back home. Tell him he can be anything he wants to be. He has my word on that.”

“Sounds as if there's been a family quarrel,” Joe observed.

Retson threw his hands in the air with a pained expression. “Graham and I didn't understand each other as a father and son should,” he confessed. “He had some weird ideas I didn't go along with. But things will be different when he gets home. I won't try to change him any more.”

The industrialist paused. All choked up, he pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed at his eyes.

The Hardy boys felt embarrassed. They waited silently until Retson regained his composure.

“We'll do our best,” Joe assured him. “But we'll need some clues. How long has Graham been missing?”

Retson folded his handkerchief and replaced it in his pocket. “Two months,” he replied.

“You must have made some effort to find him in that time,” Frank said.

“Of course. I went to the Granite City police when he didn't come home after a few days.”

“Any results?” Joe asked.

“Nothing. Every lead petered out. Chief Carton calls it the most baffling case he's ever worked on. And he's cracked some big ones.”

Frank stared out the window while he puzzled over the mysterious disappearance of Graham Retson. Then he remarked, “Sir, you obviously
think we might succeed where the police failed. Why us?”

“I know your reputation as detectives,” Retson replied. “According to the papers, you've helped your father on many of his cases.”

Retson was referring to Fenton Hardy, the renowned detective, who had been a member of the New York City police force before becoming a private investigator. Frank, eighteen years old, and Joe, a year younger, were well experienced in tracking down criminals. Their first case was
The Tower Treasure
, and their latest success,
Danger on Vampire Trail.
But this seemed to be a different kind of mystery.