Part 4 (1/2)

The boys sat down to discuss the evening's happenings in whispered tones. The more they thought of the strange events of the past hour, the more they were convinced that Mr.

Grable's troubles lay very close to home.

”I think Archibald Jenkins will bear watching,” said Frank.

Joe agreed. '' He's not a very loyal a.s.sistant, leaving that big hole for the valuable moths to escape through,'' he added. '' If Jenkins broke the gla.s.s by accident, why would he run away?”

”It's my opinion something frightened him,” said Frank.

Joe nodded. ”You mean the burglar? Maybe. If so, he's a fine kind of guard. On the other hand, it might be that he and the burglar were about to do some thieving, when one of them broke the gla.s.s by accident, and both ran away.''

”We can try to keep an eye on Archibald,” said Joe, ”but that won't be easy, because he he is keeping an eye on us.” us.”

The boys crept quietly up the stairs to bed, thankful that Aunt Gertrude was not sitting up waiting for them. But there was no escaping that watchful lady at breakfast. She had fire in her eyes.

45 ”At what outrageous hour,” she demanded sternly,'' did you two come in last night ?''

”It was pretty late, Aunt Gertrude,” admitted Frank meekly.

”Late!” she snorted. ”It must have been mighty near morning. What will Mrs. Trumpet think of the Hardy family if you boys go gallivanting around the countryside until all hours?”

Mrs. Trumper came into the dining room just then, carrying a great platter of ham and eggs.

”Wait until they've worked at the S. E. F. for a few days,” she chuckled. ”They'll be so tired, they'll want to be in bed at sundown.”

”What's the S. E. FJ” asked Aunt Gertrude.

”The State Experimental Farm, of course. That's what everyone calls it hereabouts.”

Mrs. Trumper looked up at the clock. ”And I think these lads had better hurry and eat their breakfast. We don't want them to be late.”

The very thought that the Hardy boys might be late for their first morning at work agitated Aunt Gertrude so much that she forgot to ask them why they had been so late getting to bed the previous night. She hovered over them like a motherly hen, while they ate generous quant.i.ties of ham, eggs and hot cakes. Then she sent them on their way with a perfect hurricane of advice against getting their feet wet, and standing out in the hot sun!

Frank and Joe returned the horses to the 46 8. E. F. stables. On foot they found the under-water farming section without difficulty, and reported to the foreman in charge of all work in that area. He was a lanky, elderly man named Warren, who nodded briefly when they introduced themselves.

”The S. E. F. director told me about you.” He summoned a short, s.h.a.ggy-haired man in high boots and overalls. ”Boots! Come over here a minute.”

It appeared that ”Boots” was the s.h.a.ggy-haired man's nickname. His rubber boots were so huge that they seemed to be a good three-quarters of his costume. He shambled over, and at first sight, the Hardys had a feeling that they and Boots were not going to get along.

The man stared at them in a surly manner and grunted: ”Yeah?”

”These lads are going to work in your underwater section,” said Warren. ”I'll be away a few days, so I'll turn them over to you. Show them what they're to do, will you?”

The foreman hurried away. The s.h.a.ggy-haired man inspected the boys grumpily.

”So!” he muttered. ”I'm to be nursemaid to a couple of kids, am I?”

”If you'll just tell us what we're to do,” smiled Frank, ”I think you'll find we can perform a full day's work.”

Boots gestured toward a long row of metal tanks, half full of water. '' They put chemicals and stuff in there,'' he grunted. '' Plants grow.

47 Also weeds.” He jerked his thumb toward some hip boots hanging from the wall of a near-by shed. ”You put them on over them overalls and you pull weeds.”

The Hardy boys each picked out a pair and put them on. Then they waited for further instructions. The man sat down on the edge of a tank and regarded them sourly.

”Well,” he said, ”get to work.”

”Which are the weeds and which are the plants?” Frank asked.

Boots sniffed disagreeably. '' I knew you two wouldn't be any good the minute I laid eyes on you. If you don't know the difference between weeds and good plants, what are you workin' here for?”

Frank and Joe saw that they were not going to get far with the unpleasant man. He had taken a dislike to them from the beginning, and it was evident that he had made up his mind not to give them any help. The younger boy climbed into the nearest tank and began pulling at the slimy weeds.

”Now look what you're doing!” shouted Boots angrily.

”I'm pulling weeds.”

”You're pullin' up good plants.”

”Well, then, how are we to know the difference?” spoke up Frank.

”You won't be here long enough to make it worth while showing you anything,” grumbled the man.

48 ”Is that so?” said Frank, climbing into the tank beside his brother. ”We'll just have to hope we clean out weeds instead of plants.”

Boots scowled. It was evident that he thought the boys would give up. But they went to work industriously, pulling up everything that looked like a weed.

”Now you see here,” growled Boots angrily, ”I'm not going to have these good plants pulled up. Get out of that tank, both of you.”

”It's your job to show us the right way to do this work,'' Joe reminded him. ” If we 're doing it wrong, it's not our fault.''

'' We '11 see about that,'' stormed Boots. ” I '11 tell the director to fire the pair of you.''

He strode away, muttering to himself. The Hardy boys watched him go. Then Joe climbed slowly out of the tank.

”I still think I'm right about those weeds,” he said. ”The big green vines are the good plants.''

Frank clambered out. ”I think Boots is bluffing. I don't believe he went to get the director at all.”

”He certainly doesn't want us here. He deliberately tried to make us angry so we'd quit.”

”He'll have to try harder.” said Joe quietly. ”We came here to work and n.o.body is going to stop us!”

He was just about to enter the tank again, when the boys heard a wild yell a little distance away.

”Whoa, there! Whoa!” roared a man's voice. And someone else shouted, ”Look out!