“Well, what do we do now?” Joe asked in disgust as the dog continued to growl menacingly.
“Wait to be rescued,” Frank replied tersely.
A moment later they saw a bobbing light coming in their direction and presently Mr. Applegate appeared. He looked ,at the boys in complete astonishment.
“You fellows never give up, do you?” he remarked. “What have you been doing-more digging?”
The brothers did not reply at once. They were embarrassed at having been discovered, but relieved that the man did not suspect what they had really intended to do. The owner of Tower Mansion took their lack of response to mean he was right.
“I’m just not going to have any more of my grounds ruined,” he said gruffly. “I’ve borrowed this watchdog, Rex, and he’s going to keep everybody away. If you have any reason for wanting to see me, you’d better phone first, and I’ll keep Rex chained.”
“Who was up in the tower with a flashlight?” Frank asked the elderly man.
“My sister. She got it into her head that maybe she was smarter than you fellows and could find the stolen stuff in the old tower, but she didn’t!” Frank and Joe suppressed grins as he went on. “And then Adelia decided to flash that high-powered flashlight around the grounds, thinking we might have a lot of curious visitors because of the publicity. Apparently she picked you up.”
The boys laughed. “Yes, she did,” Frank admitted. “Between her and Rex, I guess you needn’t worry about any prowlers.”
Frank and Joe said good night to Hurd Applegate and started down the driveway. This time the dog did not follow them. He remained at the man’s side until the Hardys were out of sight.