A Figure in Hiding Read Online Free Page A

about to knock on the back door when Frank stopped him.
    â€œWhat’s the matter?”
    â€œI don’t know exactly, Joe, but there’s something about this setup I don’t—”
    He broke off with a cry of alarm as two figures sprang at them out of the darkness! Both boys were seized and rough hands were clamped over their mouths!

CHAPTER IV
    Muscle Man
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    THE brothers struggled wildly to break loose from the steely hands that clutched them and dug into their faces. As the two boys twisted around, they saw that the thugs were wearing nylon stocking masks drawn tightly over their heads.
    Joe managed to brace himself long enough to deliver a stinging kick on the left shin of his foe. The man yelped with pain and loosened his hold. Joe promptly jerked his face free and let out a volley of piercing yells.
    â€œHelp! ... Help! ... Help!”
    Frank’s attacker was a thickset, barrel-chested brute. The man was scrabbling at Frank’s pockets as if groping for the glass eye, which gave Frank an opportunity to wrench one arm loose. He swung a chopping right hook that caught his assailant on the side of the head.
    Furious, the man let go of Frank and dealt him a stunning backhand cuff that left the boy’s right ear ringing. But Frank, too, was able to shout for help.
    The Hardys’ cries seemed to throw their attackers into a frenzy. Joe’s opponent had tried to rip his pockets, but now bent all his efforts on silencing the youth. The other man clutched Frank’s neck in his huge paws and tried to throttle his yells. The brothers fought back like wildcats, kicking, punching, and clawing.
    Suddenly a police siren shrilled nearby. Brakes screeched to a halt and footsteps came pounding up the drive. The thugs hurled the boys aside and raced across the yard. Vaulting a back fence, they vanished into the night. Two policemen dashed up to Frank and Joe.
    â€œThey went that way!” Frank panted. “A couple of masked men!” The officers plunged in pursuit.
    â€œHey, Frank! Let’s not forget that kid out front!” Joe exclaimed.
    The boys ran around to the front of the house, but the “lookout” had disappeared. By now, neighbors’ doors were opening and heads were popping out of windows along the street. The officers soon came running back.
    One said to the Hardys, “Hop in with us and we may be able to nail those hoods before they get too far away.”
    Joe went with the driver while the other policeman accompanied Frank in the convertible. On the way, each of the boys gave an account of what had happened and the police driver turned in a radio alarm.
    Frank kept in touch with the prowl car via the Hardys’ own two-way radio. The searchers sped up and down streets, crisscrossing the whole surrounding area. But after the officers had stopped to question a number of people, the pursuit was finally given up.
    â€œHow did you get to us so fast?” Joe asked the police driver.
    â€œChief Collig told us to go to 25 Malabar Road and pick up a man calling himself Lambert for questioning,” the driver replied. “Some neighbor must have heard you two yelling, because we got another emergency call on the. way.”
    The car returned to the scene of the attack and the policemen entered the house, using a strip of celluloid to open the door lock. The place proved to be empty. Frank and Joe were asked to accompany the two officers to police headquarters and report to the chief.
    Collig, a big, grizzled veteran of the Bayport force, listened intently to the boys’ story. “You think this whole caper was arranged by Spotty Lemuel, alias Lambert, to get hold of the glass eye?” he asked.
    â€œSure looks that way,” Frank said. “Assuming he was the one who conked Bill Braxton, he must have heard enough of the phone conversation to guess that we had the eye. He also knew we were already looking for him, so he