Hardy Boys Mystery Series by 46

Author:46 [46]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Published: 2010-08-23T01:10:54.057000+00:00

CHAPTER XII

A Startling Welcome

amazed and perplexed by the call, the Hardys agreed to meet the helioplane pilot the

following day at their home.

"Why should he want to come here?" Joe asked. "If he's an UGLI agent, you'd think this

is the last place he'd visit."

"It's sure strange," Frank agreed. "I can't wait to hear what he has to say. In any case, I

think we should notify Dell to have him followed when he leaves here."

"Right." Joe telephoned the SKOOL man.

Late the following morning Stan Mazer arrived at the Hardy home. He was a

middle-aged man, of medium height and slender build, and had a troubled expression.

"I'm Mazer," he announced.

The Hardys led him into the living room and they all sat down.

90

A Startling Welcome 91

"You're the pilot of Hexton's helioplane?" Frank asked.

"That's right," Mazer answered. "I was hired about two months ago." He shifted

nervously in his chair. "I needed a job so badly I snapped it up without question. But I didn't

know it was connected with anything illegal."

"Weren't you ever suspicious?" Joe asked.

"Yes, from time to time, but I wasn't sure. Actually I closed my mind to the whole situation

until you tried to stop my take-off."

"It was a pretty unnerving experience," Frank said dryly.

Mazer apologized. "I didn't know you were clinging to the tail until you were thrown

clear," he explained. "I wanted to get out and help you, but Vordo forced me to take off."

"What about the day we chased you and Tim-ken?" Joe said. "You turned right into us.

We nearly collided!"

"I didn't know that was you," Mazer said, surprised. "I thought it was some hot-shot pilot

wanting to play games. I pulled that maneuver hoping I'd throw a scare into him. Sorry."

When Frank asked Mazer where he had taken Vordo and his cohorts, the pilot replied,

"To a large airport near New York City. When we landed, Vordo and his companions

deplaned and disappeared-I had no idea where."

Mazer said that while he was parking the helio92 The Secret Agent on Flight 101

plane, he was confronted by a Federal agent, who told him that all FAA offices had

been alerted to be on the lookout for the aircraft. To his surprise, the registration papers

turned out to have been obtained under a fictitious name and address.

"The agent immediately impounded the plane," Mazer said, "and my pilot's license was

revoked pending a hearing."

The Hardys asked him if he knew anything about their father's being kidnapped.

"I know nothing about that," he insisted, "although I did suspect something strange was

going on in the lighthouse."

"In what way?" Joe asked.

"I was never allowed to enter," the pilot answered, "or even to remain long on the islet

after delivering my passengers."

Frank pretended to be suspicious of the story. "Are you going to tell us you don't belong

to the same secret criminal organization Hexton does? He wouldn't let you work for him if

you didn't."

"What do you mean?" Mazer asked, and his amazement seemed genuine. "I never

heard about any criminal organization and I'm certainly not a member!"

Joe asked him, "How did you learn who we are, and where to

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