Balloon Blow-Up (7 page)

“I know,” Frank sighed. “We'd better keep this and return it to Kit.”

He was about to slip the watch into his pocket when—

BEEP, BEEEEEEP!

The brothers looked down at something shiny.

“It looks like a pocketknife,” Frank said.

Carefully Joe picked it up. It
was
a pocketknife—with green fibers stuck to the blade!

“Green like the Green Crawler,” Frank said. “The balloon could have been cut with this knife, but whose is it?”

“Let's ask Dad to run a fingerprint test on it!” Joe said.

“Not enough time,” Frank said. “The parade starts in less than two hours.”

“But what if the balloon ripper tries again?” Joe asked. “At the parade?”

“Don't even think of going to that parade,” Frank said. “If Kevin or Lynn sees us, they'll send us straight home.”

“Unless . . . no one sees us,” Joe said with a slow smile. “Frank, I have an idea!”

I
t was Sunday afternoon, and it was time for Frank and Joe to go undercover again. Covering their heads and faces were rubber Green Crawler masks.

“Hey, Frank?” Joe asked, his voice muffled under the rubber. “Do you think we look like balloon handlers?”

“The most important thing is that we don't look like ourselves,” Frank replied. “We're lucky the party shop had leftover masks from Halloween.”

“We'll be luckier if we find the real balloon ripper,” Joe said.

The brothers reached Bay Street. A crowd stood in front of Snyder's Department Store, waiting for the parade to kick off.

“My nose itches!” Joe complained. “And I can't scratch it under this mask!”

“Tough it out,” Frank whispered through his own mask. “We can't let anyone know it's us.”

“Frank, Joe, over here!” Chet's voice called.

The brothers froze. They turned to see Chet waving from the crowd.

“How did you know it was us?” Frank asked.

“We're wearing masks,” Joe added.

“You're also wearing the same sneakers you always wear,” Chet said, pointing down at their feet.

“Oh,” Joe said.

“Don't let anyone know we're here, Chet,” Frank warned. “We're not supposed to be in the parade.”

Chet wrinkled his nose with surprise.

“But Joe won the contest!” Chet said. “You're supposed to be balloon handlers!”

“We'll explain later,” Frank said, looking around. “Where is the balloon, anyway?”

“It's around the corner,” Chet said. “I got a peek of it, and it's awesome!”

They were joined by Iola, who was carrying two cups of hot chocolate. She looked down at the brothers' feet and said, “Hi, Frank. Hi, Joe.”

Joe rolled his eyes behind his mask. “So much for undercover.”

Frank and Joe walked past the crowd and turned the corner. As Chet had said, the block was lined with parade floats, clowns, and the Bayport Boomerangs. Behind the band was the Green Crawler balloon, weighted down by sandbags. Even on the ground, it towered over everything.

“It
is
awesome!” Frank exclaimed.

As they were approaching the balloon, Joe glanced down an alley. There was a red motorbike leaning against a wall.

“Frank, look!” Joe said.

The brothers slipped into the alley to examine the bike. It looked exactly like the bike that had almost run them over.

“So the driver
is
in the parade,” Frank decided. “But who is it?”

Joe examined the helmet for a name. All he found was a decal above the visor. The decal looked like an insect.

“Maybe it's a grasshopper,” Joe wondered.

Frank didn't look at the sticker. He tugged at Joe's arm and said, “Come on. We've got to get to that balloon!”

No one tried to stop Frank and Joe as they walked toward the Green Crawler balloon. The masks were doing the trick.

Joe gazed up at the balloon. “It's bigger than our house!” he exclaimed.

Standing around the balloon were the handlers. Most were not wearing their masks or handler gloves yet.

“There's Brett,” Frank whispered.

Brett was standing off to the side. His eyes darted back and forth as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“What's he looking for?” Joe whispered.

Suddenly Frank noticed something on Brett's hand. “Joe,” he hissed. “Brett's tattoo —it's a praying mantis!”

“You said the guy who played Mo Mantis had a praying mantis tattoo,” Joe said. “Could that guy have been Brett?”

The brothers inched over to Brett. Joe checked out the tattoo and gasped.

“Frank!” Joe hissed. “That wasn't a grasshopper sticker I saw on the motorcycle helmet. It was a praying mantis!”

“So that was Brett's bike in the alley,” Frank whispered. “And it was Brett who tried to run us over!”

“I don't get it,” Joe whispered. “If Brett is Mo Mantis, why is he working as a balloon handler?”

Brett began walking slowly toward the balloon. Something was sticking out of his back pocket.

“Brett's got something in his back pocket. It looks like scissors!” Joe said. “Let's follow him.”

Frank and Joe carefully followed Brett around the balloon. Brett stopped beside the Green Crawler's giant head. There were no other handlers nearby.

The brothers stood back, secretly watching Brett. He pulled out his scissors and pointed them at the balloon. But before he could jab—

“Stop!” Joe yelled.

Frank and Joe pulled off their masks as they ran toward Brett. When Brett saw them, he scowled.

“What are you kids doing here?” Brett demanded. “I thought you were sacked.”

“What's with the scissors?” Joe asked. “Can't find your pocketknife?”

“What about a pocketknife?” Brett demanded.

“We found one right where the balloon was, in the park,” Frank replied. “It had green stuff on it.”

“FYI,” Joe added.

“Where is it?” Brett demanded angrily. “Give me back my knife!”

“Your knife, huh?” Joe asked. “Was that a confession?”

Brett growled under his breath as he took a step toward Frank and Joe. Before the brothers could call for help, they heard a voice shout, “Brett Marshall, stop right there. And drop those scissors!”

The brothers turned to see Lynn, Kevin, and Mitch Snyder of Snyder's Department Store. The three were dressed as toy soldiers for the parade.

“What's going on?” Lynn asked.

“We have to get that balloon off the ground in ten minutes!” Kevin exclaimed.

“The Green Crawler balloon will never get off the ground if Brett has his way,” Frank said.

“Or should we say . . . Mo Mantis?” Joe said.

The three stared at Brett.

“Was that you playing Mo Mantis at the mall?” Mitch asked.

Brett's eyes lit up at the mention of Mo. “That was me under that mask!” he said proudly.

Joe turned to Kevin, Lynn, and Mitch. “We found Brett's pocketknife in the park,” he said. “We think he ripped the Green Crawler balloon!”

“Brett?” Lynn said, folding her arms. “Do you have something to tell us?”

Brett's face turned redder and redder, until he finally said, “Yeah, I slashed that dumb balloon, and I'd do it again!”

“Why?” Kevin cried.

“Because the Mo Mantis balloon should be in the parade, not the Green Crawler,” Brett explained. “The bigger a star Mo is, the bigger a star I am.”

“Is that why you volunteered as a handler?” Lynn asked. “So you could get at the balloon?”

Brett nodded. “I ripped the balloon while we were spreading it out on the grass,” he said. “I hadn't planned on losing my pocketknife.”

“Did you plan on running us over with your motorbike?” Frank asked angrily.

“You were in my way!” Brett growled.

Joe saw Lynn motion to two guys wearing shades. They were Dash and Boris, Taylor Smyth's bodyguards.

“Tell the cops about it, balloon boy,” Dash said as he grabbed Brett's arm.

“Let's go,” Boris said, grabbing his other arm, “so these nice people can have a parade.”

Clowns, balloon handlers, dancers, and the Bayport Boomerangs stepped back as the bodyguards led Brett away.

“Mo Mantis rules!” Brett shouted. “The Green Crawler drools!”

Joe looked up at Kevin. “Does this mean there'll be no more Mo Mantis in the movies?” he asked.

“Don't worry, Joe,” Lynn said, and chuckled. “They'll just get another guy to play the villain.”

“How about Adam Ackerman?” Frank joked.

“Okay, everybody!” Lynn called to the handlers. “Let's get the Green Crawler off the ground!”

While handlers untied the Green Crawler balloon, Kevin thanked Frank and Joe for their help.

“No problem.” Joe smiled. “You can tell Kit we found her watch, too.”

The brothers were turning to leave when Kevin called, “Wait! Aren't you guys going to join the other handlers?”

“You mean in the parade?” Frank asked, surprised.

“Sure!” Kevin said. “The Green Crawler may save the world from Mo Mantis, but you saved the parade.”

“Does that make us superheroes too?” Joe asked.

“I don't know about that,” Kevin said, smiling. “But you two are
super
detectives.”

Frank's and Joe's balloon handler gloves thumped as they high-fived. They were back in the Fall Fest parade. And the minute they got back to their tree house, they would write on the board in huge letters . . .

Secret Files Case #13: Solved!

CATCH UP ON ALL THE HARDY BOYS
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SECRET FILES

^#
1 Trouble at the Arcade

^#
2 The Missing Mitt

^#
3 Mystery Map

^#
4 Hopping Mad

^#
5 A Monster of a Mystery

^#
6 The Bicycle Thief

^#
7 The Disappearing Dog

^#
8 Sports Sabotage

^#
9 The Great Coaster Caper

^#
10 A Rockin' Mystery

^#
11 Robot Rumble

^#
12 Lights, Camera . . . Zombies!

^#
13 Balloon Blow-Up