Mystery of the Whale Tattoo by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Detective and mystery stories, Juvenile Fiction, Mystery and detective stories, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Boys & Men, Hardy boys (Fictitious characters)
ISBN: 9780448089478
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 1968-04-15T00:03:25+00:00

CHAPTER XI

The Eavesdroppers

"are you joking?" Joe asked. "Spike Marlin. Turn it around and you get marlinespike, the tool used in rope splicing."

"It struck me the same way," Captain Flint replied. "But that's what he said his name was."

"Fine alias for a guy with a sense of humor," Frank said, and asked the captain where Marlin was from or where he was going. Flint did not know. "Was there anything unusual about him, anything that might help us to identify him?" Frank asked.

"Not much. His clothes were worn, but pretty nondescript. I did notice an anchor tattoo on the back of his left hand. He might have been a seaman, but I wouldn't swear to it."

"Those are pretty good clues," Joe said. "Thanks a lot."

The boys left to scan the area, trying to pick up Tim Varney's trail. They had no luck, so they

91

92 Mystery of the Whale Tattoo

returned to Mrs. Snow's in the late afternoon. After supper they headed back to the seaport.

They searched in seamen's meeting houses and in cheap restaurants, and questioned proprietors of stores and clerks at hotel desks. But their efforts were fruitless. Several persons readily admitted to knowing Varney, but no one had seen him for the last few days or knew where he might be found.

Finally the trio stopped at a drugstore and ordered sodas.

"Boy, these are really good!" Joe said after the first cooling gulp.

"Good! My friend, they're superb!" Chet responded. He finished his soda before the Hardys were halfway done and ordered another. After the gurgling sound of the straw reaching bottom, Chet gave the Hardys a plaintive look. "Fellows," he said, "it's not that I'm trying to get out of work or anything, but these sodas are the best I've ever tasted."

"What are you trying to say, Chet?" Joe asked.

The chubby boy wore a sheepish expression. "Well, if you guys think you might be able to do without me for a while, I'd sure like to stick around and do some real justice to that artist who makes these ice-cream dreams."

"Look, Chet," Joe said. "We were planning on having you lead us in a couple of double-time laps around the block."

Chet raised his hands in mock horror, and

The Eavesdroppers 93

Frank added, "Okay. If we run into any trouble, we'll come back and get you. Otherwise plan on meeting us here in an hour."

Frank and Joe left the drugstore and continued their search. Darkness was falling and the moon was visible only as a dim, thin crescent above a layer of black wind-driven clouds.

"Do you think Tim Varney has gone into hiding?" Joe asked.

"It's a possibility. I- Wait a minute! Over there by the grocery store, Joe!"

Joe squinted against the blackness, focusing his eyes on the figure that was moving furtively along the other side of the street. "That's our man, all right."

"Into this doorway, quick," Frank said. "Give him a chance to get a bit of a lead, then we'll follow him."

Varney glanced nervously around, as if to make sure that he was not being followed.

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