Book 2 Slideshow

 

 

It has been a lot of fun putting together these pictures of the Hardy Boys' adventures. For the grand finale, enjoy all the pictures in order for The House on the Cliff!

Book 2, Ch. 20

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 20: The Smuggler's Request
 

 

The Hardys silently creep forward and attack Snattman from behind, knocking his gun out of the window! They catch him in a tight grip as the Coast Guard and police take over the house. All the remaining smugglers march out with their hands up! In a few moments, Chet and all the boys have joined the Hardys, along with Officers Bertram, Brown and Ryder.
 

Suddenly Frank and Joe add up that the man Jones whom they had rescued at sea is actually an undercover Coastguardsman, now being held prisoner on Captain Foster’s boat. While a search is made for Jones, whose real name is Ayres, Snattman admits he is Old Man Pollitt’s nephew. He thought the house would be perfect for a smuggling operation, but he confesses a change of heart. He announces that he will now ask if he may use the old place as a home for troubled boys instead!
 

As news of Ayres being found reaches the Hardys, the last unexplained detail is also cleared up. Mr. Hardy explains he was kidnapped when he tried to shake a shadower and instead walked into Snattman’s men on the road. Mr. Hardy thanks the boys and all their friends for solving the case and saving his life. Little does he know how soon Frank and Joe will again be entangled in another amazing mystery!

 

 

 

Book 2, Ch. 19

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 19: The Chase

 

 

In a thrilling showdown, the drugs are cast overboard by the smugglers, but Biff is in the water in seconds, retrieving the valuable bag. The smugglers are arrested and handcuffed!

Meanwhile, Chet and Tony have led Officer Bertram back to the cave. Two men in a boat have just entered the tunnel ahead of them! Cunningly these smugglers elude the searchers and escape into the cliff. An all-out search is conducted of the cave and the woodshed above it at the Pollitt place. By this time, state troopers have arrived and surround the house.

Suddenly Snattman appears in a second-floor window! Waving a gun, he announces he will kill all three of his hostages – the Hardys! – unless his men are allowed to escape. Shut in their attic prison, the Hardys have spent the last hour using two small knives to hack at the wood bars nailed across the door. Finally, the door opens!

 

 

 

Book 2, Ch. 18

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 18: Coast Guard Action

 

 

Meanwhile Chet and Tony reach the Coast Guard, only to run into Biff, Phil and Jerry! The five boys quickly fill in Chief Robinson with the whole story of the smugglers, Snattman and Ali Singh. They warn the Chief that Ali may pitch more stolen drugs overboard when the Marco Polo docks in Bayport. Within minutes, Chief Petty Officer Brown is powering a boat toward the Marco Polo, 16 miles offshore, with Biff, Jerry and Phil riding along! Quietly the boys watch and wait. Suddenly a hatch opens, and something is dumped in the water! By the light cast from the hatch, the boys see a long net appear and scoop up the mysterious package. The Coast Guard boat roars to life!

Book 2, Ch. 17

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 17: Hostages

 

 

 

 

The trio runs stealthily across the lawn toward the road, only to hear a shout, “The Hardys have escaped!” Smugglers appear from every direction, combing the woods and yard with their lights! Their father quickly instructs Frank and Joe to lie facedown in the woods. They are not spotted! Once the men have passed, the Hardys make a run for the empty house. They take refuge in the secret attic the boys discovered earlier. Inching up the creaky stair, the detectives hear voices downstairs! Another search is organized through every room, and ends without mention of the attic. But to their dismay, minutes later they hear Klein reenter the room and show Snattman right to the attic door! It opens and Snattman advances into the attic. Caught in the brilliant beam of his flashlight, the Hardys are cornered! “You are my hostages!” the cunning smuggler announces. Only if his criminal gang escapes from the police will Snattman release the detectives alive!

Book 2, Ch. 16

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 16: Quick Work

 

 

 

 

Discouraged at their predicament, Frank and Joe are amazed to see their father working off his ropes. Through quick thinking, the senior detective kept his muscles flexed while being tied up. Now his bonds are slightly loose and he wriggles out of them! As Mr. Hardy tiptoes over to release the boys, a creaking board wakes the sleeping guard, Malloy. The detective flings himself onto the smuggler and gags him, and a silent struggle ensues. The two roll across the floor, exchanging punches, until Mr. Hardy manages to grab Malloy’s gun. At the boys’ prompting, he also seizes the guard’s knife, and hurriedly cuts Joe’s ropes away. After Joe releases Frank’s bonds, the boys tie Malloy up with the same ropes on the cot. Free again, the trio decides to sneak down to meet the Coast Guard, who should be on the way. But no sooner have they entered the stairway then they hear voices approaching from below! The Hardys quickly turn and ascend more stairs to a trap door, which Mr. Hardy knows to lead out into the woodshed on the Pollitt property. After heaving the logs off the top of the trapdoor, the detectives steal silently out of the woodshed into the dark, shadowy yard.

 

 

 

Book 2, Ch. 15

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 15: Dire Threats

 

 

 

 

Snattman, elated with his catch, debates coldly with his henchmen about how to dispose of the Hardys. Red evilly suggests getting rid of them at once, but the other smugglers have second thoughts. Finally, one gangster proposes turning them over to a friend of Ali Singh’s for a one-way trip into the ocean. Snattman likes the idea! He takes his gang upstairs to load up another shipment of loot, leaving a smuggler named Malloy to guard the Hardys. The discouraged detectives try to distract the guard by talking, but he snaps at them, “Shut up!” There seems to be no way to escape!

Book 2, Ch. 14

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 14: Captured

 

 

 

As Frank and Joe continue to listen from their hiding place, they realize it is Snattman threatening their father! The ruthless criminal vows to starve Mr. Hardy to death unless the detective writes a note telling his boys and the police to get off the case. Mr. Hardy vows that he will die first! He declares to Snattman that the police will soon catch his entire gang. Frustrated, Snattman leaves in disgust. Quickly Frank and Joe speed down the hall and into the room where Mr. Hardy is lying bound hand and foot. They hack at the thick rope as the exhausted detective gulps down a candy bar Joe finds in his pocket. Just as Mr. Hardy is freed, they hear footsteps! Barely able to stand, Mr. Hardy struggles to walk -- as the door opens and the light is snapped on! Bolting down the back stairway, the three are stopped at the bottom by the smuggler and his two henchmen. The fight seems to be going their way when suddenly more members of the gang appear. Before they know what is happening, the three detectives are captured and tied up -- in the same room where Mr. Hardy was, moments ago, set free!

Book 2, Ch. 13

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 13: A Startling Discovery

 

 

 

 

Peeking out from behind the crates, the Hardys are horrified to hear the two smugglers discussing taking the very bolt of silk which conceals them! At the last minute, however, the criminals pick up only a package of drugs and depart. Leaving the cave, Frank and Joe cautiously trek down the dark corridor and up another flight of stairs, across a landing, and up still more endless stone steps. Finally another closed door appears. On the other side, they can hear voices and footsteps. A distant door slams, and several men pass behind the door. Ears pressed to the door, the boys make out a cruel voice taunting an apparent prisoner. The man, evidently the group’s leader, threatens him with starvation unless he writes a note immediately. The captive says no. Could it be their father? Or Jones, or another hostage? Suddenly, they hear the leader shout, “Write that note, Hardy, or you’ll be sorry!”

Book 2, Ch. 12

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 12: The Secret Passage

 

 

 

 

Slippery rocks make climbing along the shore treacherous, but Frank and Joe finally reach the tunnel’s mouth. After wading through the narrow tunnel, they search the edge of the pond for a secret entrance in the vine-covered cliff walls. At last, Frank spies a door concealed by artificial branches! It opens into a long passageway filled with water, with a tiny dock. The rowboat is tied to it! As they reach the other end of the passageway, the boys discover a stone stairway, which leads upward to a heavy door cut into the wall of rock. Forcing open the door, they enter a gloomy cave piled full of boxes, packages, and fabric bolts. Smuggled goods? Their sharp eyes spot an exit door, hidden ingeniously by boxes set on a swinging ledge. Frank opens that door into another stone corridor, only to hear voices approaching! Hurriedly replacing the boxes, the brothers barely have time to dart behind a bolt of silk draped over some cartons before the cave door is opened. A floodlight goes on, and footsteps approach the boxes behind which the Hardys are concealed!

Book 2, Ch. 11

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 11: Cliff Watchers

 

 

 

 

The Hardys are now certain they’re on the right track. They decide to keep surveillance on the house and tunnel from their boat. After another hair-raising incident when barbed wire from a floating log almost destroys the Napoli’s propeller, Tony serves sandwiches for supper. At last, soon after nightfall, they spot a motorboat emerging through the tunnel. After apparently meeting a rowboat, the motor craft races out to sea. Meanwhile, the breathless detectives catch snatches of conversation from the now approaching rowboat. One man is uneasy, but the other reassures him that they’ve taken care of all the squealers, and tonight will be the big get away! Frank quickly decides he and Joe will follow the rowboat on foot through the tunnel, while Chet and Tony hurry back to Bayport and bring the Coast Guard. The Hardys slip into the water and the Napoli speeds away. Swimming to shore, they head for the dark tunnel entrance.

Book 2, Ch. 10

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 10: A Watery Tunnel

 

 

 

 

Early next morning finds the teen sleuths down at the waterfront to get an update from Pretzel Pete. He’s heard that the Marco Polo is docking at 5 am tomorrow, and suspected smuggler Ali Singh is on her crew! More anxious than ever, Frank and Joe are soon out on the ocean with Chet and Tony in the Napoli. Eagerly searching the rocky cliff below the Pollitt house for a secret entrance, the boys fail to notice the dangerous rocks jutting out from below. But Tony’s expert steering narrowly saves them from a collision! Breathing a sigh of relief, Frank suddenly spots an opening in the cliff! The Napoli easily slips through the long narrow tunnel, revealing a large pond surrounded by thicketed cliffs. But they’re not alone! Eyeing them cruelly from the shore, a sinister man shouts “Get out!”, backing up his command with a pistol. Quickly retreating through the tunnel, the detectives question the man’s strong response. Could this have been Snattman himself?

Book 2, Ch. 9

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 9: Plan of Attack

 

 

 

 

Frank slyly asks for a drink and his plan works. He is taken into the kitchen, and he examines the cap as he passes it hanging by the door. On the way back out, the cap is gone. Frank leads the teen detectives away from the house, then tells them he’s sure the cap belongs to his father. Even worse, it is covered with bloodstains! Alarmed, the boys return and confront Red and his two cohorts. Red admits he found the cap on the road, but he knows nothing else about it! Remounting their motorcycles, the detectives speed back to Bayport, where Chief Collig says he will notify the State Police, since the Pollitt place is located outside of Bayport. Later that evening, Frank and Joe reassure their mother that Mr. Hardy will be found. The boy sleuths ponder the clues they have about the smuggling outfit and the house on the cliff. Could the smugglers be connected to the old Pollitt place? How would they reach the house from the harbor below? The boys decide they will get Tony’s motorboat and find out!

Book 2, Ch. 8

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 8: A Cap on a Peg

 

 

 

 

Sam, the truck driver, announces to the worried Mrs. Hardy that he actually saw Mr. Hardy walking down the road near the Pollitt place on Monday, the same day Mr. Hardy left! Excitedly Frank and Joe set out for the Pollitt place. At Mrs. Hardy’s insistence, they take along Tony, Phil, Chet and Biff. Arriving at the old place, the sleuths creep silently up the lane. To their surprise, the house has been repaired! A woman is hanging clothes on a clothesline, while a man gathers wood from the woodshed. The group of boys approaches to question the couple, when another stout, red-haired man appears from the kitchen door. Quite grumpily the two men and women deny knowing anything about the missing Mr. Hardy. They inform the boys they do not like snoopers! However, it is too late – Frank has spotted a brown cap hanging inside the kitchen door, identical to the hat his father was wearing when he disappeared!

 

Book 2, Ch. 7

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 7: The Hidden Trail

 

 

 

 

As soon as they are up the next day, Frank and Joe rush down to the waterfront to find Pretzel Pete. When Pete hears the brothers are looking for their dad, he soon has them hidden in a warehouse, eating pretzels. He passes them a tip about Ali Singh, an East Indian sailor who is thought to be a smuggler! Pete reports that Ali Singh has come ashore for a secret meeting with his gang, supposedly in a deserted farmhouse on Hillcrest. Where Hillcrest is, Pete has no idea.

 

 

With many thanks, Frank and Joe rush off on their motorcycles to the shore road. They pass many roads, but no Hillcrest, until they see a car emerge from the woods. Sure enough, going into the woods is a road marked Hillcrest! Excitedly they discover a farmhouse, but it is completely empty, from the tiny cellar to the loft on top. At last the detectives discover a piece of torn cloth marked Polo! Hoping that their father has escaped, Frank and Joe bike to the police station. Their old friend Chief Collig examines the scrap of cloth and identifies it. It is torn from a towel from the Marco Polo, a passenger ship that docks in Bayport!

 

 

By now, the whole town has heard that Fenton Hardy is missing, and Mrs. Hardy is beside herself. The next morning, the whole family is surprised by a young man who knocks on the door and announces that he may be able to help them find Mr. Hardy!

Book 2, Ch. 6

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 6: The Strange Message

 

 

 

 

The three Hardys race to their car to pursue the four kidnappers and Jones, but they are too late. Dejected, they return to say goodbye to the Kanes. The next morning, Fenton Hardy is off on the case before the brothers get up. Frank and Joe begin to wonder if maybe the Pollitt place is tied in with the smugglers ring. They decide to wait until Wednesday, the day that summer vacation begins! If their father has not returned, they will begin to investigate their hunch. However, on Tuesday afternoon, they find their mother very worried by a note she has received in the mail, signed by her husband. The note informs her that he will not be home for several days. However, it does not contain the secret sign they have agreed he will always include with his signature. Frank and Joe are alarmed. Did someone forge the note? Has their father been captured? Fenton Hardy could be in danger!

Book 2, Ch. 5

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 5: Pretzel Pete

 

 

 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Hardy finally convince the eager detectives to quickly eat their supper before going to question Jones. Meanwhile Mr. Hardy receives a call that another drug shipment has arrived at a warehouse in Indiana with half the shipment stolen! The package passed through Bayport but nothing was suspected until it was opened at the warehouse. However, one of Mr. Hardy’s food vendor contacts down on the waterfront, aptly named Pretzel Pete, reports that Snattman has been in the area. Mr. Hardy also goes on to explain to Frank and Joe that the nephew who is heir to the Pollitt place is actually a wanted criminal himself! Chances are he will not turn up to claim the house. Even more anxious to question Jones, the brothers set off with their father for the Kane farmhouse. It is completely dark! Alarmed, the three venture into the house, only to find the kitchen wrecked, and the Kanes sitting in the living room --- bound and gagged! They are soon free. The angry farmer and his wife report that Jones has been kidnapped!

Book 2, Ch. 4

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 4: The Rescue

Quickly the four boys dash to the rescue! Joe and Biff plunge into the surf to swim to the drowning man, while Frank and Chet commandeer an old rowboat. In a desperate effort, Joe dives for the victim, and at last he is pulled into the boat! Quickly rowing back to shore, the four detectives carry him to a nearby farmhouse, where he is revived by friendly Farmer Kane and his wife. The patient wakes up for a moment, only to announce that he does not want the police called, and that his name is Bill Jones!

Out in the living room, the boys gobble up Mrs. Kane’s delightful lemon pie, as they discuss the fact that Bill Jones is obviously a false name. Mr. Kane reveals that he knew Felix Pollitt, the owner of the old Pollitt place. Pollitt had a nephew who should inherit the dilapidated mansion. Mrs. Kane adds that recent visitors have reported moans and groans coming from the old house. She believes it’s all a prank! As the Hardy brothers finally return home, dropping off their tired friends, they agree that they will check out the mysterious Pollitt noises once again. Mr. Hardy is impressed by their hard work and wonders if “Jones” is a smuggler who was being chased by another smuggler. The boys excitedly jump from their chairs, eager to go and question Jones before he gets away!

Book 2, Ch. 3

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 3: Landslide!

Thanks to the tools Chet pulls out of his pocket, the boys are soon able to get the motorcycle running again. Still no clue to the thief! Heading for home, they are ready for a break from the excitement, but it is not to be. Just as Joe rounds a curve on the rocky hillside, he hears an ominous noise behind him. Look out! A landslide is pouring down the hillside onto Frank and Chet! The two riders emerge shaken and bruised from their dusty bath. Getting back on the bikes, the tired detectives are distracted yet again – in the distance across the ocean to their left, they spot two racing speedboats. To their astonishment, the man in the second boat hurls something into the boat in front. Seconds later, the first boat blows up, hurling the occupant into the water! As the second boat races away, the stranded swimmer struggles to stay afloat!

Book 2, Ch. 2

The House on the Cliff

Chapter 2: Thief at Work

Sliding through a library window, the four boys quickly search the dilapidated house. No one! But behind a door in a bedroom closet are hidden stairs to the attic. All four rush to the attic, only to find it empty – and themselves locked in! With a heave-ho, they break down the door and race back to the telescope, wondering if someone meant to trap them and steal it. The telescope is still there! But oddly enough, both eyepieces have been removed! Angrily the boys search the house one more time, but turn up nothing. As they prepare to give up in disappointment, they hear ghostly laughter from somewhere below the cliff top. Again they see nothing. Chet is more than ready to leave this scary scene, and soon they are on their way home on the motorcycles. But the day isn’t over yet! Frank’s motorcycle splutters to a stop. Both he and Joe have toolboxes along for emergencies, but when they open the boxes, the tools are .  . . gone!!