The Shore Road Mystery Essay, Research Paper

The Shore Road Mystery

The Hardy boys, Frank and Joe, were taking a casual drive down Shore Road when they heard a report about a stolen car. Frank and Joe raced towards the scene and actually saw the stolen car. Suddenly, a big red produce truck came right into the middle of the road. The boys had no choice but to slam on their breaks. They ended up crashing into a fence and were dazed but uninjured. The driver came out of the truck and apologized. “Something seems fishy about that guy.” Said Frank. They both returned home that night trying not to let their mother see their cuts and bruises.

The next morning a friend of the Hardys , Jack Dodd, called and told the Hardys to come quickly. The police were looking for a suspect who had stolen a car. The police thought they found their man. They found Jack Dodd’s fishing rod in the trunk of one of the stolen cars. Jack insisted that he had not put it there and that he was being framed. The cops handcuffed Jack and his father and took them down to headquarters. Later that night Chief Colling came to the Hardy’s home telling them that the Dodds had taken off in their station wagon. The Hardys had known the Dodds for a very long time and it just didn’t seen like them to break the law.

The Hardys went back into their secret fort in the garage to think things through. They asked themselves if anyone had ever held a grudge against the Dodds. Then they thought of Ray Slagel. He was the man that the Dodds hired but had done such a poor job with their farming equipment that they had to fire him. They decided to check out the area where most of the cars were being stolen? Shore Road. They stumbled upon a local drifter, a friend of the Hardys, named Scratch. Scratch said that he had seen a man that looked like the photo of Slagel that they showed him. He was pulling out of the woods with a nice looking car. That night they returned and were thinking of better ways to check the area. Frank thought of calling Larry Dillion a pilot and long time friend of the Hardys. He agreed with their thoughts so far on the case and said he’d pick them up at eight. Their friend Chet Morton was riding with them. Once they were in the air about twenty minutes they started to hear gun shots. Finally they figured out the shots were being fired at them! After a long and exciting day they finally arrived home and went to bed. In the middle of the night they heard over their police radios that another car was being stolen and was heading up Shore Road. The Hardys decided to take chase because they were far enough ahead of Shore Road to catch up to the car. Sure enough, they saw the tan sedan buzzing along the road with no cops in sight. What puzzled the Hardys is that the car pulled right into the city of Bayport. Joe got out the binoculars and saw that the man was Ray Slagel. Slagel must have seen the Hardy boys because he started to get into the car and head back up Shore Road. The Hardys were in pursuit when a whole herd of cattle came out into the middle of the road. It was the same place where they were stopped last time and it was the same man who was driving the red produce truck! “Something just wasn’t right about that place and person.” Frank said while leaving the scene. As the Hardys were driving back to their homes that night they saw a huge net coming from Shore Road Cliff to the bottom of the cliff. On this “spider-net” they saw a man dressed in black coming up the net. The Hardys did not know what it was but decided to mind their own business. The next day the Hardys planned to do a stake out on Shore Road that night. They had no luck but decided to do it another night. The next day Jack and Mr. Dodd, supposedly, called Frank and told him to meet them at Saucer Rock. Frank decided to go there even if it was a trick. Once Frank arrived he waited for about fifteen minutes when he heard the rumbling of an engine coming towards him! A car with a brick on the gas pedal would have hit him if he hadn’t dodged it at the last second. Joe, shaken up, returned home with the exciting news. Later that night the boys decided to take their boat, the Sleuth, out to see where that “spider-web” led to. When the Hardys were on the water for a good hour they spotted a secret place where cars were pulling in. They thought of the ultimate plan and returned home.

The next day they went out and bought a flashy new car just like the ones the Shore Road thieves were stealing. They were going to park it on Shore Road and hide in the truck. They told their friend Chet Morton if they weren’t home in an hour to send the police to the place he pointed out to him on the map. The Hardys parked the car and hid in the trunk and within five minutes they heard someone hot-wiring the car. They were off! Frank and Joe made a little slit in the trunk so they could see outside. Their theory was right. The car was turning down into the secret cove near the “spiders-net”. The instant the car pulled into the secret cove the Hardys popped the trunk and tried to jump the men. The others were much stronger than Frank and Joe. They out powered them and tied them up next to the Dodds! Frank and Joe figured out that they were kidnapped and were forced to make the phone call that almost cost Joe his life. After talking to Slagel the Hardys also figured out that he had all the stolen cars repainted and shipped overseas in exchange for guns. Frank then assumed that they were the ones shooting at their plane. After a short time, the cops and the FBI came rushing through the makeshift doors announcing the thieves arrest and freed the Hardy boys as well as the Dodds.

The Shore Road mystery was solved and everyone was happy especially the Hardy boys but they still couldn’t wait for the next mystery to unravel.

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