Hardy Boys #14 Hidden Harbor and #15 Sinister Sign Post

In the original text of Hardy Boys #14, The Hidden Harbor Mystery, the Hardy boys and Chet barely survive a sinking ship while sailing home along the east coast.  Before the accident with the ship, the boys speak to Mr. Blackstone, who later accuses them of stealing his money.  The boys must clear themselves of the charge.

This book was outlined by Edna Stratemeyer Squier, and the story has her fingerprints all over it.  The entire plot is crazy from start to finish.  A group of black men has a secret society, and they kidnap an insane man.  A bunch of people later search for the insane man, planning to lynch him.  Yikes.

Speaking of lynching, the culprit leaves the boys a warning note attached to a rope, threatening to lynch them.  Chapter 23 is titled " 'Lynch Him!' "

This is a wild book.  The boys get on a derelict boat, which is highly dangerous.  Later, Frank steals some personal papers from a man and takes them to his father.  We are talking about actual theft.

I actually enjoy crazy books, if they interest me.  This book highly interested me, and I greatly enjoyed it.

In the original text of Hardy Boys #15, The Sinister Sign Post, a man named Vilnoff plans to blow up Bayport.  Meanwhile, a valuable racehorse is stolen, and the boys search for it.

On page 175, the Hardy boys are following a path that they believe will lead to the villain.  They hear noises from behind them, which indicates that someone is following them.  Suddenly, they discover a trapdoor in the middle of the path.  Joe suggests, "Maybe we could hide here until they pass."  Frank yanks the door open, and a foreigner hurls angry words at the boys.  What did they think would happen? 

I greatly enjoyed most of the story, but I felt it got rather stupid towards the end, so I lost interest.