at talking to him myself. Perhaps I could get Marcheta to give me some useful information.â
âAnd Joe and I can check on the fishermanâs story,â Frank suggested. âIf we can track down the sub, you can be certain the trail will lead us to Cardillo ...â
âAnd Tremmer!â Joe interjected.
âExactly what I had in mind,â Mr. Hardy said. âYour lead is strong enough to make it worth the try. But since Iâm working with the investigators of the Securities Exchange Commission, Iâll have to get their okay.â
Next morning Mr. Hardy made a telephone call to a man in New York. He then joined his sons at breakfast to tell them that he had been given the green light to go to Mexico. Frank and Joe let out a loud cheer.
âFiddlesticks!â Aunt Gertrude snapped as she placed a heaping platter of hot wheatcakes on the table. âRushing off to the ends of the earth again! I just donât know what to make of this family.â
âTheyâre certainly on the go,â Mrs. Hardy said, serving the griddlecakes.
Joe laughed. âMexico isnât so far off.â
âBut enough to cause your mother and me a lot of worry,â Aunt Gertrude retorted. âI should think thereâd be plenty for detectives to do right around here.â
Mr. Hardy planned to use his own sleek, single-engine airplane for the trip. He instructed his sons, both fliers themselves, to contact Jack Wayne, their pilot, to make arrangements. âLetâs try to get off today,â he said.
Joe rushed to the telephone. Soon he had Wayne on the line.
âMazatlan, Mexico, you say? Hold on while I get my air charts.â There was a brief silence, then the pilotâs voice came on again. âAs I see it, weâll have to make two refueling stops. The first at Memphis, Tennessee, and the second at Brownsville, Texas.â
âHow long do you estimate the entire trip will take?â Joe asked.
âRoughly, about fourteen hours of flight time to Mazatlan,â Jack replied. âIf we leave within the next couple of hours, we can be in Brownsville by eleven or twelve oâclock tonight, Texas time. Then weâll hole up there till morning. Itâll not only give us a chance to get some sleep, but also we wonât have to tackle those Mexican mountain ranges in the dark.â
âGood! Weâll see you at Bayport field as soon as we pack.â
âOne more thing,â the pilot added in conclusion. âMexico requires that everybody have a tourist card to visit the country. Also, Iâll have to file a special flight plan to Mazatlan. But we can take care of all that in Brownsville.â
Frank rushed into the room just as Joe finished his telephone call. âGuess what?â he said. âDad suggested we ask Chet to go along.â
âGreat idea!â
Chet readily accepted and received permission from his father.
The Hardys began packing. Finally they were ready to leave for the airport. Mrs. Hardy kissed her husband and sons as they said good-by. She was aware of the dangers involved in their work, but seldom allowed her concern to be known to them.
Aunt Gertrude shook her head dolefully. âNo good will come of this! Mark my words!â she prophesied. âBut please be careful,â she added, pecking the embarrassed boys on their cheeks.
Chet was ready when the Hardys drove up, and soon the group arrived at Bayport field. They found Jack Wayne seated in the plane. Within minutes the craft took off. The weather was exceptionally clear, and the terrain below presented a vivid picture in the sparkling sunlight.
The refueling was made without incident, and it was nearly midnight when the Hardy plane touched down on the runway at Brownsville. Jack and the others wasted no time checking in at a nearby hotel.
After breakfast the next morning they went directly to the Mexican Tourist Bureau to obtain their tourist