"All these letters are addressed to Frank Hardy!" declared the astonished gangster. "What d'you know about that!"
With a sudden movement, Pete grasped Joe by the collar and held him while he turned his pockets inside out. Finally, with an air of triumph, he produced Joe's membership card in a Bayport athletic association, on which his name was written in full.
"Joe Hardy!" he read. "Why, these are the real Hardy boys!"
The gangsters looked at one another with crestfallen expressions, but their momentary astonishment at realization of their mistake was quickly changed to rejoicing.
"I told you we weren't the Hardys," put in Chet. "I told you all along that you were making a mistake."
"Shut up!" ordered Red. "Yes, men, we made a mistake, all right. We didn't have the Hardy boys after all. But now we have got 'em! I'll say this is a piece of luck! We've got the whole caboodle now."
Meanwhile one of the men had been going more thoroughly through the boys' pockets. Now he grunted.
"Armed! Would you believe it? Brats like these!"
"Take the guns away," came the order from Red.
"What'll we do with the others?" demanded one of the gangsters.