The Shore Road Mystery/Chapter 23

The capture and subsequent trial of the automobile thieves provided Bayport with one of its biggest sensations in many a day. Although some of the gang stubbornly insisted on their innocence, the evidence against them was so complete that the state had no trouble in securing prosecutions against them all, and they were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in the state penitentiary.

The man, Clancy, was arrested in Atlantic City and was convicted with the rest of the gang, on charges of receiving and disposing of stolen property. The Bayport police notified Atlantic City detectives, and Clancy's arrest was accomplished within an hour after the other members of the gang were lodged in the cells.

Gus Montrose was questioned by detectives shortly after the triumphant procession reached the city. This was done at the request of Mr. Dodd, who was anxious that he and Jack ​should be cleared of all suspicion in connection with the thefts as quickly as possible.

Montrose saw that the game was up. He admitted that his former employer knew nothing of the stolen cars.

"It was while I was working for Mr. Dodd that I found the caves in the bluffs," he confessed. "I used to go down to the beach a lot to fish, and one day I found the opening into the tunnel and explored the big cave. I thought at the time that it would be a good place to hide stolen goods. Then one day I met Sam. He had just been released from the pen and we got to talking together and he said he thought there would be good money to be picked up stealin' cars."

"Where did you pick up the rest of the crowd?"

"Sam's friends, mostly. When I told Sam about the caves in the bluffs, he said it was just what we needed and he asked me if there was any roads in. I said there wasn't, but we could make roads in and out through the gullies, and cover 'em up. Then I told him about the old private road through to the back townships. He come with me and we looked the place over and he said it was just right. He wrote to some of his friends and they come on here and we started to work."

​"That was when you quit your job at the Dodd place?"

"I didn't want to quit, for I figgered people wouldn't be so likely to think I was mixed up with the car stealin' if I kept on workin', but it took up so much of my time that Mr. Dodd let me go."

"Who did the actual car stealing?"

"The rest of the fellows. My job was to keep my eyes open for good chances. People would see me goin' along the Shore Road and think nothin' of it, but if any of the other boys went out, somebody might see 'em and think it queer, because they was strangers. Mostly I stayed down on the beach fishin', and kept watchin' the road for places people parked their cars. Then I'd signal to Dan or one of the others and they'd come and drive the car away."

"Fishing!" exclaimed Jack Dodd. "I'll bet that's how my rod disappeared."

"I took it, after your father fired me," Montrose admitted.

"How did it come to get into the car found behind Dodd's barn?" one of the detectives demanded.

"That was a car Dan had stolen; but the owner chased him in another car and he couldn't get down the gully without bein' seen. Dan had picked me up and I had the rod with me. ​He drove the car up behind the barn and hid it there and we got back to the cave on foot. I left the rod in the car."

"Well, that explains everything," the detective remarked. He turned to Mr. Dodd. "There shouldn't be any difficulty withdrawing the charges against you and your son."

"It takes a big load off my mind," declared the farmer. "It was a terrible worry to have that hangin' over our heads when we knew we were innocent."

"You must admit that the circumstances looked bad. We only did what we thought was our duty."

"I suppose so. Well, if the charges are withdrawn we won't say anything more about it."

Withdrawal of the charges was a formality that was soon executed.

In the week following, both Mr. Dodd and Jack were congratulated by scores of people on having been cleared of all suspicion in connection with the Shore Road mystery. The bail money was returned to Mr. Hardy and the boys.

Frank and Joe Hardy were the real heroes of the case. Their good work in discovering the hiding place of the auto thieves and in notifying the police in time to capture the gang, earned them praise from all quarters. The Bayport newspaper gave much space to the af​fair and the story of the lads' adventures in the cave provided thrilling reading.

"Some detectives, Frank and Joe!" commented Biff.

"Headliners—right on the front page," came from Chet.

"Well, they deserve it, don't they?" put in another high school student.

"They certainly do," answered Chet.

"And to think Jack Dodd and his dad are cleared," went on Biff. "That's the best yet."

"Jack's smiling like a basket of chips," said Tony. "Mouth all on a broad grin."

So the talk ran on among the boys.

The girls were equally enthusiastic.

"Oh, I think Frank and Joe are too wonderful for anything," remarked Callie Shaw, who had always been looked on with favor by Frank.

"I never thought Joe could be so brave," breathed Iola Morton.

"They are sure a pair of heroes," said Paula Robinson.

"I really think they ought to be in a book," added Tessie, her twin.

Even the Applegates, for whom the Hardy boys had solved the mystery of the tower treasure, had their word of commendation.

"As brave as the knights of old," said Miss Adelia.

​"If I had my say, I'd print a stamp in their honor," said Hurd Applegate, who was an expert on stamp collecting.

The new roadster became famous in Bayport as the car that had lured the auto thieves to their downfall. Motorists in general were able to breathe easier when they learned that the gang had been rounded up. A little to their embarrassment and much to their delight, at a banquet of the Automobile Club, Frank and Joe were the guests of honor.

"I am sure," said the president of the club, in a speech, "that the automobile owners of the city are grateful to these two boys for the courage and ingenuity they displayed in running down the gang when even the organized police had failed. They ran grave risks, for they were dealing with desperate and experienced criminals. If the hiding place had not been discovered, it seems likely that the thefts might have continued for some time and it is certain that none of the cars would have been recovered. As it is, all the automobiles have been located and returned to their owners, as well as all the stolen goods. As you all know, various rewards were offered by this association and by a number of the car owners, and to these rewards the Hardy boys are justly entitled. I have great pleasure, then, in presenting them with the sum of fifteen hundred dol​lars, comprising the three separate rewards of five hundred dollars each."

Amid cheers, two checks for $750 were presented to Frank and Joe.

Mr. Hardy, who was present at the banquet, beamed with pleasure. But when he returned home with the lads he invited them into his study and closed the door.

Wondering what was coming, the boys faced their father.

"I think you've had enough congratulations for one week," he said to his sons. "Don't let it turn your heads."

"We won't, Dad," they promised.

"It was a good idea, hiding in that locker," their father remarked. "It was a good idea and it worked out very well. There was only one thing wrong with it."

"What was that?" asked Frank.

"It was too dangerous."

"Too dangerous?"

"You took too many chances, dealing with a gang like that. Don't try anything like that again or I may have to hunt up my old shaving strop."

But Fenton Hardy smiled indulgently as he spoke.

"He wasn't real mad," whispered Joe, as he and his brother left their father. "He was only a little bit provoked."

​"Well, it really was dangerous—hiding in that locker," admitted Frank. "Those thieves might have caught us like rats in a trap."

"I wonder if we'll have any more such thrilling adventures," mused Joe.

Additional thrilling adventures were still in store for the brothers, and what some of them were will be related in another volume, to be entitled, "The Hardy Boys: The Secret of the Caves."

In that volume we shall meet all our old friends again and learn how a peculiar accident led up to a most unlooked-for climax.

The reception Frank and Joe received at the Automobile Club was tame in comparison to the way they were greeted by their chums.

"The biggest little detectives in the world," was the way Chet expressed himself.

"They can't be beat!" came from Tony Prito.

"But it's nothing to what I expect them to do in the future," was Biff Hooper's comment.