CHAPTER XIV
Red Jackley
It was another week before Fenton Hardy returned to Bayport.
Contrary to the expectations of the boys, he did not arrive from New York. Instead, he came home early one morning, having reached the city by a train from the west. He had sent no advance notice of his arrival, and the first his sons knew of it was when a servant told them that their father had reached the house in the early hours of the morning, plainly careworn and travel-stained. He had gone immediately to bed, leaving orders that he was on no account to be disturbed.
This was at breakfast, and although the boys were wild with impatience to learn the outcome of their father's trip, they were obliged to curb their curiosity. Mr. Hardy was still sleeping when they left for school that morning and, to their surprise, he was asleep when they came back home for lunch.
"He must be mighty tired!" remarked Joe. "I wonder where on earth he came from?"
"Probably been up all night. When dad gets hard at work on a case he forgets all about sleep. I'll bet he found something."
"Hope so. But I wish he'd wake up and tell us. I hate to go back to school without knowing."
But Mr. Hardy had not awakened by the time the boys set out for school again, although they lingered until they were in danger of being late.
All afternoon they were tormented by curiosity. Where had their father been? What had he discovered? As soon as school was out they fled down the steps, broke away from a group of boys anxious to get up a baseball game, and shattered all records in their race for home.