Again Frank and Joe protested that the ex-caretaker did not hobnob with criminals. Nevertheless, the Hardys were puzzled, disappointed, and alarmed. Their search had only resulted in implicating Mr. Robinson more deeply in the mystery.
Back in the hallway of the main house they met Adelia Applegate, who crowed triumphantly when she saw the search party returning empty-handed. “Didn’t I tell you?” she cried. “Hurd Applegate, you’ve let these boys make a fool of you!”
She escorted the Hardys to the front door, while her brother, shaking his head perplexedly, went back to his study.
“We sure messed things up, Frank,” Joe declared, as they walked toward their motorcycles. “I feel like a dud rocket.”
“Me too.”
They hurried home to tell their father the disappointing news. Fenton Hardy was amazed to hear that the stolen valuables had not been located in either tower. “You’re sure you went over the place thoroughly?”
“Every inch of it. There wasn’t a sign of the loot. From the dust in the old tower, I’d say no one had been there for ages,” Frank replied.
“Strange,” the detective muttered. “I’m sure Jackley wasn’t lying. He had absolutely nothing to gain by deceiving me. ‘I hid it in the old tower.’ Those were his very words. And what could he mean but the old tower of Tower Mansion? And why should he be so careful to say the old tower? Since he was familiar with Bayport, he probably knew that the mansion has two towers, the old and the new.”
“Of course, it may be that we didn’t search thoroughly enough,” Joe remarked. “The loot could be hidden under the flooring or behind a movable wall panel. We didn’t look there.”
“That’s the only solution,” Mr. Hardy agreed. “I’m still not satisfied that the stolen property isn’t there. I’m going to ask Applegate to permit another search of both towers. And now, I think your mother wants you to do an errand downtown.”