The Secret Agent on Flight 101 (16 page)

Joe stiffened. “Hey! Did you see that?” he whispered excitedly. “That old man was walking on his injured leg! I'll bet he's a fake.”

“I saw it too,” Frank replied. He bolted out of his seat and called, “Wait a minute! We want to talk to you!”

The man stopped abruptly. Then he swung one of his crutches at Frank as the youth darted toward him. The other elderly man sprang from his seat and dealt him a blow with his cane that sent him stumbling up the aisle.

“Steward,” bellowed the man with the cast, “keep these guys away from me!”

“That voice!” Joe yelled. “It's Hexton's!”

The steward was about to pounce on Frank, when Chet cried out, “This man's wanted by the police!”

Frank leaped at Hexton as the magician again swung his crutch. The young sleuth ducked and lunged forward, crashing into his opponent's midriff. As Hexton fell, his cast struck a seat and broke open. From it, a cascade of jewels spilled into the aisle. At the same moment several men poured in through the passenger door.

Among them was Kenneth Dell. “Looks as if you fellows already have things under control.”

Chet picked up two sections of the cast. “It's light plastic,” he said, “and looks as if it's made to come apart.”

Frank yanked the magician to his feet, and whipped a wig from the man's head. Then he ripped off Hexton's false eyebrows and whiskers.

Joe whistled. “Amazing what a little disguise can do to change a man's appearance!”

“You're right!” said the other elderly man.

“We want to thank you, sir, for your help,” Joe said gratefully.

“That's all right, Joe,” the man replied, chuckling.

Joe! As the boys looked on in amazement, the man removed his dark glasses and a false beard.

“Dad!” the young sleuths exclaimed, overjoyed to see their father.

Then Frank whispered to him, “So you were the secret agent for SKOOL on Flight 101!”

“Yes,” Mr. Hardy said quietly. His “aged” slouch was gone, and he pulled himself to his full height. “Sorry to keep my whereabouts a secret. But the job was so dangerous I couldn't risk telling anybody where I was.”

“You never were in South Africa?”

“No.”

Hexton was livid. “You haven't heard the last of me!” he snarled.

“Save your breath,” Joe retorted. “You'll need it when the authorities begin questioning you and the other members of UGLI.”

Federal agents arrived to take custody of Hexton. The boys learned that Mr. Hardy had cabled Dell to have the agents on hand because he suspected who the “injured” passenger was.

“I wanted him captured on U.S. soil,” the detective said.

“Tell us, Dad,” Frank asked eagerly, “how Hexton managed to spirit you away in that vanishing-man device?”

“It was quite a simple trick,” Mr. Hardy explained. “The bottom of the plank I was strapped to was a highly polished mirror. After setting it in the frame, the frame was rotated so the mirror side of the plank was angled toward the audience. In this position, it reflected the roof of the enclosure, which was made of the same material as the draperies forming the rear wall. To an observer it looked as if the plank had vanished, including the subject. Meanwhile, a man of the same size and build wearing the identical clothes appeared from the wings.”

“That was Lou, then,” said Joe. “Bert's double. Chet, old pal, you were right about the trick.

Chet beamed modestly. “It was nothing.”

“In my case,” Mr. Hardy went on, “Bleeker was hiding in a secret compartment in the base of the device. When Hexton closed the curtain, he popped up and jabbed me with a needle containing a powerful drug. UGLI members always carry these hypodermics for emergencies. I passed out in seconds.”

“How did you escape from the lighthouse?” Joe asked.

Fenton Hardy grinned. “I had a lucky break,” he said. “Vordo and Bleeker handcuffed me to the metal railing of the spiral stairway, with my hands behind my back. Fortunately I spotted a short piece of baling wire on the floor. It was a tough job, but I managed to get the wire to stick to the heel of my shoe. Then I bent my leg back far enough so I could reach the wire with my fingers.”

“And you picked the lock of your handcuffs!” Joe guessed.

“Yes,” Mr. Hardy replied. “It took me hours. Then I sneaked out while Vordo and Bleeker were sleeping and borrowed their dinghy. I had almost reached the mainland when I heard their powerboat coming from the islet. So I capsized the dinghy and swam the rest of the way.”

Frank grinned. “You hoped Vordo and Bleeker would find it and think you had drowned.”

“Exactly,” his father answered. “At least it would keep them guessing.”

Mr. Hardy then described his investigations of the Great Circle stewards he suspected. “I used several disguises including a blond wig.”

Chet asked him why he had tripped Ross with the cane.

“I thought maybe he had a small package of jewels in his sleeve or under his coat, and it might fall out when he fell. But I was wrong. I also slipped the note into Joe's suitcase.”

“What about Mazer, the pilot of the helioplane?” Joe inquired.

“I believe he was a victim of circumstances,” Dell replied. “The authorities are going to let him off with a year's suspension of his pilot's license.”

The group got out of the plane and Mr. Dell said good-by. “See you on the next case, Fenton,” he called, and hurried off.

Frank and Joe fervently hoped they might be included, but first they were called upon to solve the
Mystery of the Whale Tattoo.

“Now, fellows,” Mr. Hardy said with a grin, “I suggest we call Jack Wayne and have him fly all us SKOOL boys home.”

“SKOOL
boys?
What do you mean?” Chet asked.

The secret agent grinned. “I think you've all earned places in the organization as junior members!”