FREE ESSAY ON THE SHORE ROAD MYSTERY

THE SHORE ROAD MYSTERY

The Shore Road Mystery
The Hardy boys, Frank and Joe, were taking a casual drive down Shore Road when they heard
a report about a stolen car. Frank and Joe raced towards the scene and actually saw the
stolen car. Suddenly, a big red produce truck came right into the middle of the road. The
boys had no choice but to slam on their breaks. They ended up crashing into a fence and
were dazed but uninjured. The driver came out of the truck and apologized. Something
seems fishy about that guy. Said Frank. They both returned home that night trying not to
let their mother see their cuts and bruises.
The next morning a friend of the Hardys , Jack Dodd, called and told the Hardys to come
quickly. The police were looking for a suspect who had stolen a car. The police thought
they found their man. They found Jack Dodd's fishing rod in the trunk of one of the
stolen cars. Jack insisted that he had not put it there and that he was being framed. The
cops handcuffed Jack and his father and took them down to headquarters. Later that night
Chief Colling came to the Hardy's home telling them that the Dodds had taken off in their
station wagon. The Hardys had known the Dodds for a very long time and it just didn't
seen like them to break the law.
The Hardys went back into their secret fort in the garage to think things through. They
asked themselves if anyone had ever held a grudge against the Dodds. Then they thought of
Ray Slagel. He was the man that the Dodds hired but had done such a poor job with their
farming equipment that they had to fire him. They decided to check out the area where
most of the cars were being stolen... Shore Road. They stumbled upon a local drifter, a
friend of the Hardys, named Scratch. Scratch said that he had seen a man that looked like
the photo of Slagel that they showed him. He was pulling out of the woods with a nice
looking car. That night they returned and were thinking of better ways to check the area.
Frank thought of calling Larry Dillion a pilot and long time friend of the Hardys. He
agreed with their thoughts so far on the case and said he'd pick them up at eight. Their
friend Chet Morton was riding with them. Once they were in the air about twenty minutes
they started to hear gun shots. Finally they figured out the shots were being fired at
them! After a long and exciting day they finally arrived home and went to bed. In the
middle of the night they heard over their police radios that another car was being stolen
and was heading up Shore Road. The Hardys decided to take chase because they were far
enough ahead of Shore Road to catch up to the car. Sure enough, they saw the tan sedan
buzzing along the road with no cops in sight. What puzzled the Hardys is that the car
pulled right into the city of Bayport. Joe got out the binoculars and saw that the man
was Ray Slagel. Slagel must have seen the Hardy boys because he started to get into the
car and head back up Shore Road. The Hardys were in pursuit when a whole herd of cattle
came out into the middle of the road. It was the same place where they were stopped last
time and it was the same man who was driving the red produce truck! Something just wasn't
right about that place and person. Frank said while leaving the scene. As the Hardys were
driving back to their homes that night they saw a huge net coming from Shore Road Cliff
to the bottom of the cliff. On this spider-net they saw a man dressed in black coming up
the net. The Hardys did not know what it was but decided to mind their own business. The
next day the Hardys planned to do a stake out on Shore Road that night. They had no luck
but decided to do it another night. The next day Jack and Mr. Dodd, supposedly, called
Frank and told him to meet them at Saucer Rock. Frank decided to go there even if it was
a trick. Once Frank arrived he waited for about fifteen minutes when he heard the
rumbling of an engine coming towards him! A car with a brick on the gas pedal would have
hit him if he hadn't dodged it at the last second. Joe, shaken up, returned home with the
exciting news. Later that night the boys decided to take their boat, the Sleuth, out to
see where that spider-web led to. When the Hardys were on the water for a good hour they
spotted a secret place where cars were pulling in. They thought of the ultimate plan and
returned home.
The next day they went out and bought a flashy new car just like the ones the Shore Road
thieves were stealing. They were going to park it on Shore Road and hide in the truck.
They told their friend Chet Morton if they weren't home in an hour to send the police to
the place he pointed out to him on the map. The Hardys parked the car and hid in the
trunk and within five minutes they heard someone hot-wiring the car. They were off! Frank
and Joe made a little slit in the trunk so they could see outside. Their theory was
right. The car was turning down into the secret cove near the spiders-net. The instant
the car pulled into the secret cove the Hardys popped the trunk and tried to jump the
men. The others were much stronger than Frank and Joe. They out powered them and tied
them up next to the Dodds! Frank and Joe figured out that they were kidnapped and were
forced to make the phone call that almost cost Joe his life. After talking to Slagel the
Hardys also figured out that he had all the stolen cars repainted and shipped overseas in
exchange for guns. Frank then assumed that they were the ones shooting at their plane.
After a short time, the cops and the FBI came rushing through the makeshift doors
announcing the thieves arrest and freed the Hardy boys as well as the Dodds.
The Shore Road mystery was solved and everyone was happy especially the Hardy boys but
they still couldn't wait for the next mystery to unravel.
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