Hardy Boys Revised Text #23 Melted Coins and #24 Short-Wave Mystery

In the revised text of Hardy Boys #23, The Melted Coins, Frank and Joe believe that Chet has been swindled by a fake college and travel to Zoar College to check on the school.  The boys also investigate the theft of an important Seneca Indian relic, the Spoon Mouth mask, which was made from some melted coins.

On page 12, the boys have gone to the top of a high-rise building that is under construction.  Joe immediately sets off across a beam to speak to a man, and the wind nearly blows him off the beam to his death.  How stupid!  For just a moment, I felt that I was reading the second Power Boys book, which takes place in a similar setting.  Joe's lack of judgment is just like something the Power Boys would do.

The premise is far less stupid than in the original.  However, the part about the melted coins is still a little stupid.  This time, some coins owned by the Indians melted and somehow formed the shape of Spoon Mouth, which became an important good luck charm.  It's implausible.

I really enjoyed the setting of this book and greatly enjoyed all of this story.  Since I did not just read the original text, I'm not sure which story I enjoyed more.  They are both very good.

In the revised text of Hardy Boys #24, The Short-Wave Mystery, Frank and Joe investigate the theft of a a bunch of stuffed animals from an auction.  Meanwhile, the boys hear mysterious sounds over the short-wave radio, and Chet has become interested in taxidermy.

One of the flaws in the original text is that the street urchins go to school, but the Hardy Boys stay at home all day listening to the radio for messages.  The revised text makes a point of mentioning school for the Hardys several times as well as having them work on homework.  In this book, they don't stay at home all day until the street urchins arrive.

I decided not to read the second half of the book.  The story is too similar to the original text, and I did not find the part I read to be that interesting.