The Masked Monkey Read Online Free PDF Page A

the window. Nobody was in sight.
    â€œIt’s all your fault!” Miss Hopkins cried angrily. “When you barged in you must have frightened Mrs. Retson. If anything happens to my patient I’ll hold you responsible!” She pointed to the door. “Please leave immediately!”
    â€œWe’re leaving,” Frank assured her. “But we’ll be back!”
    As the boys went down the stairs, Frank said, “We’d better alert Retson that his wife is missing.”
    â€œWhy don’t we look for her first?” Joe suggested. “If we tell him now, Hopkins might convince him it was our fault.”
    â€œOkay. Let’s make a quick search around the premises,” Frank agreed.
    The boys left the house by the same route they had come in. They were about to split up when a loud cry echoed through the night air. A single word rang in their ears—a woman’s voice screaming:
    â€œGraham!”
    Startled, Joe asked, “Where did that come from?”
    â€œThe waterfall. Come on!”
    Frank pushed through the bushes and raced among the trees with Joe at his heels. The roar of the falls became louder with every step.
    They turned up a narrow ravine. In the moonlight they saw the water spilling over the edge of a rocky cliff. It plunged into a churning whirlpool, from which a stream with a strong current coursed along the side of Granite Rock.
    The Hardys moved toward the falls by stepping gingerly from rock to rock, struggling to keep their balance. “Once in that whirlpool,” Frank warned, “and it could be the last swim we ever take. Watch your footing, Joe!”
    The younger boy halted suddenly and pointed to the top of the waterfall. “Look!” he yelled.
    High above them on a boulder near the edge of the drop stood the ghostly figure of a woman. Her head was held high. Her body was tense. She stared into the distance.
    The boys wiped the spray from their eyes for a better look, but a rising wind whipped a scarf across the woman’s face, concealing her features.
    Frank was galvanized by the sight. “Joe, that woman may look like a wraith, but I’ll bet she’s Mrs. Retson. I’m going to introduce myself.”
    The boys leaped over the rocky terrain. Suddenly Frank, who was slightly behind Joe, lost hisbalance, clutched at the air, and fell into the water with a heavy splash.
    The whirlpool took hold of Frank, bouncing him around like a cork. Desperately he struggled to escape from the swirling mass of water. A moment later he was thrown to one side. His head struck a rock with a thud and he blacked out.
    Joe saw his brother go under, bob up, and float downstream. Frantically he dashed along the bank. Scrambling at breakneck speed across the boulders, he reached the spot where Frank was hurtling along helplessly toward certain death. Ahead was another drop full of razor-sharp rocks!
    In the nick of time Joe reached down, grabbed Frank by the shirt collar, and dragged him to safety.
    Frank lay quiet and Joe quickly applied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until his brother regained consciousness. He gasped as he came around, “Thanks for fishing me out!”
    Joe grinned. “As you said, this is no place for a swim.”
    Frank struggled to his feet. “The wraith—is she still up there?”
    Both boys glanced toward the rock where the woman had been standing. A dense cloud covering the moon left the entire falls in darkness.
    â€œShe’s probably gone by now,” said Joe. “No use looking for her in this murk. We both might slip into the whirlpool next time.”
    â€œJoe, I didn’t slip,” Frank replied somberly.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œSomebody pushed me!”
    â€œDid you see who it was?” Joe’s voice was tense.
    â€œNo. But I think it was a man, judging by the force of the shove. He must have been lurking on the bank when I came along.”
    â€œWell, I didn’t see