The Secret of the Caves (16 page)

It was also revealed that Pierre Dumont, the spies' chief man in the U. S. came from a French-speaking part of the world and had applied for U. S. citizenship. Marcel had worked under him abroad and was merely a strong-arm dupe. The woman shopkeeper at the Palais Paris was found to be innocent of any wrongdoing.

“And what about the foreign caps?” Joe asked.

“A careless mistake on the saboteurs' part,” Fenton Hardy answered.

The boys learned that the henchman who had dropped his cap at the radar site also had posed later as the newspaper reporter. The same foreigner also had set the boathouse fire.

Mr. Hardy smiled proudly. “You boys were really on the ball!”

“And I'd say that the U. S. Government is in debt to all of you who worked on this case,” Agent Alberts added.

The
Bayport Times
had already bannerlined the Hardys' feat, and the telephone rang with congratulatory messages all day.

That evening Mrs. Hardy was hostess at a get-together in the detectives' home. Happy, ex cited voices filled the living room as Laura Hardy and Aunt Gertrude served refreshments. In the midst of the gaiety, a telegram was received by the Hardy boys. It came from Kenworthy College and stated that the fraternity had expelled Cadmus Quill. The message also contained an apology to the Hardys, and congratulations on their patriotic efforts.

Then Joe turned on the record player. Chet, usually bashful with girls, asked Mary Todd to dance, and soon the living room was a blur of motion as the young people gyrated to the latest steps.

“I guess your brother wasn't planning to get married after all,” Chet said.

“What!”

“Oh, nothing. Just another one of Quill's lies.”

When the music was over, Mrs. Hardy smilingly called for attention. The young folks gathered in a circle, and Aunt Gertrude emerged majestically from the kitchen, carrying a spinning wheel.

Frank and Joe gaped in surprise. “Is that the one we bought?” Joe burst out.

Aunt Gertrude pursed her lips and looked proud. “Indeed it is,” she said. “I put it all together myself. And I might add it's a rare antique you two found!”

When the claps and cheers died down, Frank Hardy spoke up. “Then you
are
in favor of our detective work,” he said.

Aunt Gertrude's answer could not be heard amid the laughter that followed, nor could the boys foresee that their next big adventure would be
The Mystery of Cabin Island.