Free The Short-Wave Mystery by Franklin W. Dixon

to answer his greeting and invited the stout youth inside. The two boys found Joe looking excited as they entered the dining room.
    â€œTake a look at this, Frank! I think we’ve got something this time!” Joe pointed to the latest result which he had written down:
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    RAID LEK PLANT NEW SETUP.
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    â€œWhat gives?” Chet inquired. “You guys working on another mystery or something?”
    â€œWe’re trying to crack a code message.” As Frank explained, Chet’s eyes took on a sudden gleam of interest.
    â€œLek plant ... Hey! That could mean the Lektrex plant where Biff Hooper’s working!” the stout lad exclaimed.
    Biff Hooper, a high school chum, had recently taken a weekend job as watchman at an electronics company. Its factory was located near Willow River outside Bayport. Joe and Frank looked at Chet in astonishment.
    â€œMorton, you’re a genius!” Joe said. “Lektrex just added a new addition, didn’t it, Frank?”
    â€œThat’s right—which would explain the ‘new setup’ part of the message!”
    The Hardy boys were impatient to report their discovery to their father. When he arrived home that evening, Mr. Hardy listened keenly as Frank and Joe told how they had decoded the message.
    â€œHmm. That’s pretty convincing,” the detective said. “It certainly seems more than a coincidence that you found each of the message-words in the correct page and column. But are you sure this is the only possible translation?”
    â€œWe’ve tried other arrangements, Dad, just to double-check,” Frank said. “For instance, we tried taking words that come before the code words. But this is the only version that makes any sense.”
    Mr. Hardy paced about the room. “ ‘Raid’ sounds as if they’re planning a robbery,” he mused. “But the industrial spy gang has never done that. They seem to have gleaned their trade secrets by inside leaks.”
    â€œMaybe that’s what this message means, Dad,” Joe suggested. “It could be an order to some inside man at Lektrex to snitch data about what’s going on in the new plant wing.”
    The detective nodded slowly. “Yes, that may be it. I’d better get in touch with Jason Warner right away. He’s the president.”
    Mr. Hardy telephoned and managed to reach the company official at his home. When he hung up, the detective told Frank and Joe, “Warner didn’t seem much alarmed. He’ll see us at four o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”
    The next day the Hardy boys drove from school to the Lektrex plant. They met their father in the lobby. A secretary ushered them into a conference room adjoining the president’s office.
    Jason Warner, brisk and gray-haired, shook hands with the Hardys and invited them to sit down. “Good of you to take so much trouble on our account,” he said. “I’d like to hear more about this spy threat.”
    Frank and Joe explained the code message. Mr. Hardy gave a brief rundown on the other industrial espionage cases he had investigated.
    Warner smiled and said skeptically, “This whole thing sounds pretty far-fetched to me. We’ve never had any trouble at Lektrex.”
    â€œExactly what is going on in your new plant wing?” Fenton Hardy inquired.
    â€œWe’re producing a new type of thin-film circuitry,” Warner replied. “It’s fairly confidential, but the same electronics engineers who design our other products are working on it.”
    â€œThey’ve all undergone security checks?”
    â€œAbsolutely! I’m confident none of them would do anything underhanded.” The Lektrex president frowned and drummed his fingers on the conference table. “However, to make absolutely certain, I’d like to engage you to double-check the clearance on all our key personnel.”
    â€œVery well,” Mr. Hardy