The Great Airport Mystery by Franklin W. Dixon Read Free Book Online Page A

away from the plane at any time?” Frank asked Randy.
    â€œOnly for a few minutes when I went to get a mechanic.”
    The Hardys stared into the empty cabin.
    â€œThose valuable pictures!” Frank burst out. “Our films! They’ve been stolen!”

CHAPTER VIII
    Masked Attacker
    THERE was a moment of thunderstruck silence. Who had stolen the Hardys’ camera and films and why?
    Randy was apologetic, saying he felt responsible for leaving the plane unattended. “I’ll pay for the loss,” he declared.
    â€œWe wouldn’t consider it,” Frank said, shaking his head. “Besides, it’s not so much the camera we’re worried about.”
    â€œThe films?”
    â€œRight,” Joe added quickly. He cast a glance at his brother. “You probably have the same suspicion I do, Frank. The thief might have wanted to prevent us from developing those pictures.”
    â€œThen why did he take the camera too?” was Randy’s next query.
    â€œBecause he figured there was more exposed film in it,” Frank explained.
    â€œGood reasoning,” Randy agreed.
    The boys recalled the small crowd that had collected on the ramp when their plane taxied in. Jerry Madden had been among them. Perhaps, Frank thought, he might know who some of the other onlookers were. The young detectives returned to the Stanwide hangar to question Jerry.
    â€œI recognized only two faces in the crowd,” said Jerry, after the boys told him about the theft. “Mike Zimm, the mechanic, and Aaron Lieber, a copilot mechanic, who seems to be a special pal of Lance Peterson’s.”
    â€œZimm again.” Frank’s eyes narrowed. “Odd, the way he keeps popping up in our case.”
    â€œSure is,” said Joe. “I’ll bet that snoopy mechanic is somehow mixed up in the platinum business, but why would he want our films?”
    The Hardys finally decided to trail Zimm and Lieber when the two men quit work for the day. Frank asked Jerry for a description of Lieber, then requested the pilot to check the men’s lockers for the stolen camera.
    â€œThey keep them locked,” Jerry said. “Everyone around here does. But the doors have slats a little wider than is usual. Maybe I can peer in through the openings. I’ll try after Zimm and Lieber leave.”
    The Hardys hurried from the hangar. Frank hid behind some engine crates a short distance away. Joe, at his brother’s direction, went to the airport terminal building to telephone Chet Morton and another friend, Biff Hooper. Their pals’ help might come in handy if the Hardys ran into trouble while tailing Zimm and Lieber.
    It was not long before Joe returned. “We’re in luck,” he said. “Chet can use his father’s produce delivery truck, which will be a good cover-up. He’s starting for the airport immediately, and will pick up Biff on the way. I told Chet to wait for us near our car in the visitors’ parking lot.”
    Nearly half an hour passed before Zimm and a thin, bony-faced man with beady eyes emerged from the Stanwide hangar. “Aaron Lieber,” muttered Frank. The young sleuths watched the men carefully. Neither of them carried anything, and the aerial camera was too bulky to be hidden beneath their coats. The pair stopped for a few minutes and talked in low tones, then got into separate cars and drove off.
    Frank and Joe dashed to the visitors’ parking lot. There they recognized the Mortons’ farm truck and ran to it. Behind the wheel was the Hardys’ stout chum, and seated next to him, was tall, lanky Biff Hooper. Biff was an energetic boy, who prided himself on his boxing ability.
    â€œThere’s no time to lose!” Frank declared. “Joe, you go with Chet in the truck and follow Lieber. I’ll take Biff with me in our car and tail Zimm!”
    The two vehicles drove off and headed toward the airport exit, through which the