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A Confession · The Tower Treasure

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  Chapter sixteen of The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon. This LibriVox recording
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  is in the public domain. Chapter sixteen a confession. Riley ordered the chief,
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  see that package on the counter of the fruit stand, Go and get
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  it, and pour a pail of water over it. Huh, exclaimed Riley,
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  gaping pour a pail of water over it. Riley took off his helmet
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  and scratched his head. He began to wonder if his chief's brain had been
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  affected by the heat. Don't stand there staring at me, snapped Kleig.
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  Hurry up and obey orders. This is the meanest job I ever got,
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  observed con Riley. But he ambled across the street, wondering why a crowd
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  of people had collected for word had quickly spread that a bomb had been found
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  under Roco's fruit stand. And when he reached the package, he inspected it,
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  wonderingly, maybe she blowe him all to deby. Bitz suggested Rocco.
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  Fearfully, he has insurance, consoled the chief. We'll give him a good
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  funeral, observed Smuff. Con Riley hunted around the fruit stand until he found
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  a pail, and then he went up the street until he located a tap.
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  Finally, with a pail full of water, he went back to the
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  fruit stand, dumped the water over the package, and stood awaiting further orders.
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  Soak it again, roared the Chief, who was taking no chances.
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  Con Riley sighed, but did as he was told. For five minutes,
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  he was kept busy dumping innumerable pails of water over the package, and only
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  then did Chief Collig and Detective Smuff venture forth. Then, with fear and
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  trembling, Chief Collig handed the package to Smuff and bade him open it.
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  Smuff's hands were shaking so that he could scarcely tear apart the coverings from the
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  water soaked parcel. The Chief withdrew to a safe distance. Con Riley,
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  who had just been told by a friend that he had been pouring water over
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  a live bomb, was trying to achieve a sickly smile as the crowd congratulated
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  him on his bravery. Detective Smuff opened the package, the coverings fell away.
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  The cardboard box, dripping with water, tumbled apart. A bright object
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  fell to the pavement with a clatter. Everybody jumped, but there was no
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  cause for fear. The bright object was nothing more harmful than an old alarm
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  clock. The Hardy boys and their chums, mingling with the crowd, roared
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  with laughter, and when the crowd saw how Chief Collig and his assistance had
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  been duped, they joined in the merriment. On alarm clock, roared someone
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  they thought an alarm clock was a bomb. Pouring water over an alarm clock.
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  Chief Collig and Smuff returned to the police station with all the dignity they
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  could muster under the circumstances. The crowd howled and whooped with laughter. The
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  Hardy boys went home smile piling. The seven o'clock train had left an hour
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  before. Their father was making the trip to the city without the interference of
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  the Chief and his assistant, Smuff. Fenton Hardy returned home late that night,
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  and at the breakfast table next morning, he was in high spirits solved
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  another mystery, asked Missus Hardy gaily as she poured the coffee. She seldom
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  asked questions about her husband's work, being of a gentle nature that instinctively shrank
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  from any discussion of crime. It frequently distressed her that mister Hardy's occupation should
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  be one that meant terms of imprisonment for those whom his cunning and cleverness had
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  brought to justice. But her husband's attitude this morning was so unmistakably jubilant that
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  she was glad for his sake if he had scored another success practically solved,
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  My dear, if you'd care to hear all about it, not me,
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  You know, I don't care to hear about these terrible things. Well,
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  the boys shall hear of it, then they are interested. If they'll come
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  into my den after breakfast, I'll tell them all about it. That means
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  you succeeded, Frank said, Eat your bacon and eggs, and don't be
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  impatient. After breakfast, the boys went with their father into the den off
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  the library, eagerly awaiting news of his mission. Of the previous evening.
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  They had not told him how Chief College and Detective Smuff had missed the train,
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  but they were shrewdly certain that their efforts in this respect had been of
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  considerable assistance to mister Hardy. First of all, said the detective Jackly is
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  dead. Did he confess you're not very sympathetic for the poor fellow, Yes,
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  he confessed. Fortunately, Chief Colling and Detective Smuff didn't show up.
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  Fenton Hardy saw that Joe and Frank glanced at one another, and he smiled
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  quietly. I have an idea that you two scamps no more about that than
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  you would care to tell. However, they failed to show up, and
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  I had a clear field ahead of me. I saw Jack just before he
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  died, and I questioned him about the tower robbery. He admitted it.
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  He admitted everything he said. He came to Bayport with the intention of robbing
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  the ticket office. When he failed in that attempt, he decided to hang
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  around for a few days, and then he hit upon Tower Mansion as his
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  next effort. He entered the place and opened the safe. Then he took
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  the jewels and the bonds. What did he do with the lute? That's
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  what I'm coming to. I had quite a time making jackly confess to the
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  tower affair, and it was not until he was on the point of death
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  that he admitted it. Then he said, yes, I took the stuff,
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  but I couldn't get away with it. You can get it back easily.
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  I hid it in the old tower. That was all he said.
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  He became unconscious and then died in a few minutes, just why he couldn't
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  get away with the loot and why he hid it in the tower? I
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  don't know. He didn't have time to tell me, but he said it
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  was hidden in the old tower. Why we'll find it in no time,
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  exclaimed Frank. Tower mansion has two towers, the old and the new.
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  We'll search the old tower. The story seems likely enough, said mister Hardy.
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  Jacklee would gain nothing by lying about it when he was on his deathbed.
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  He probably became frightened after he committed the robbery and hid it in the
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  old tower until he saw the coast was clear and he was able to get
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  away. Then, no doubt he decided to hide the stuff there and take
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  a chance on coming back for it some time after the affair had blown over.
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  That was why he couldn't be traced through the jewels in the bonds.
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  Joe said, they were never disposed of at all. They've been lying in
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  the old tower all this time. I tried to get him to tell me
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  in just what part of the tower lo was hidden, continued Finton Hardy,
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  But he died before he could say any more. I hid it in the
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  old tower. He just managed to gasp that out before he became unconscious.
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  It shouldn't be hard to find the stuff now that we have a general idea
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  of where it is. Frank pointed out, probably he didn't hide it very
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  carefully. The old tower has been unoccupied for a long time and it is
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  rarely entered. The stuff would be as safe there as if he had hidden
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  it miles away. Joe got up from his chair. I think we ought
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  to get busy and go search the old tower right away. Oh boy,
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  if we can only hand Old Applegate his jewels and bonds this morning and clear
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  mister Robinson, let's start. I'll leave it to you boys to make the
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  search, said mister Hardy with a smile. I've no doubt the stuff will
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  be easily recovered, and you can have the satisfaction of turning it over to
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  mister Applegate. I guess you can get along without me in this case from
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  now on. We wouldn't have got very far if it hadn't been for you,
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  and I wouldn't have got very far if it hadn't been for you.
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  So we're even smiled. Mister Hardy. Be on your way then, and
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  good luck to you. We'll find it. Never fear promised Frank putting on
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  his cap. I hope the applegates don't throw us out when we ask to
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  be allowed to look around in the old Tower. Just tell them you have
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  a pretty good clue to where the bonds and rules are hidden, and they'll
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  let you search to your heart's content. Mister Hardy advised, come on,
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  then, Joe, we'll have that thousand dollars reward before the morning is over.
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  Their father glanced at them shrewdly. Don't count your chickens before they are
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  hatched, he said, And then as the boys hastened out of the den,
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  he called after them. Also, you might remember the old proverb that
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  there is many a slip between the cup and the lip. But the Hardy
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  boys scarcely hurt him. So eager were they to begin searching the old Tower,
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  and so confident were they that the mystery was about to be cleared up
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  end of Chapter sixteen,