Free The Pentagon Spy by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

Frank gasped. “The one who grabbed the Galloping Rider from Joe and ran off with it!”
    Just then the telephone rang. Mrs. Smith said it was another call for the Hardys.
    â€œMust be Dad again,” Frank guessed and took the receiver while Joe stood close enough to listen in.
    A weird, squeaky voice warned, “Hardys, beware of the hex!”

10
    Danger in the Driveway
    The phone clicked off. Frank held it in his hand for a moment, puzzled. Then he hung up and turned to Joe. “Did you recognize the voice?”
    Joe shook his head. “Sounded like a real weirdo. I never heard anything like it.”
    â€œNeither have I. But it seems as if the weather vane gang will stop at nothing to get rid of us!”
    â€œWhich means we’d better keep our eyes open from here on out. They might send a hit man to take us off the case—permanently.”
    When the boys reported the warning to Chet and Hammerley, the two were perplexed.
    â€œI don’t know anyone with the kind of voice you describe,” Hammerley said. “Could it be a hoax?”
    Frank shrugged. “We’ll have to solve the case before we can answer that.”
    Next morning, Chet received a phone call from Iola. She informed him that he had been chosen to represent Bayport High in a state archery competition. Knowing how badly he wanted to compete, Frank and Joe persuaded their friend to participate.
    â€œWe’ll be meeting Dad,” Joe pointed out. “He’ll back us up.”
    â€œJust win the honors for good old Bayport,” Frank added. “You can come to Washington with us and then catch a plane home.”
    After breakfast, the boys went outside to their rented car, which a farmhand had brought around the driveway and parked in front of the house. They were standing beside the car talking to Hammerley, when Crow Morven drove a pickup truck to the top of an incline leading into the driveway. The foreman jumped out of the vehicle and approached the group.
    Suddenly the pickup began to move. Gathering speed, it hurtled down the slope directly toward the boys!
    Frank saw it and barely had time to shout a warning. Chet and Hammerley dived into the bushes bordering the driveway, while Joe, who stood closest to the pickup’s path, leaped onto the vehicle and wrenched the door open. He slid behind the wheel and managed to put on the brakes.
    Morven had run behind the truck and was shouting excitedly. When he reached the group, Frank glared at him. “You aimed that pickup at us!”
    â€œI forgot to put the brake on. It wasn’t intentional, believe me!” the foreman insisted. But he grinned evilly as he spoke.
    Chet waved a fist under his nose. “Next time, it’ll be intentional. And I mean a collision of your nose and my fist!”
    Hammerley watched the heated exchange with a worried frown. “Crow, I’m sure you didn’t mean to hurt anybody, but you must be more careful in the future.”
    â€œSure, Mr. Hammerley,” Morven replied and walked away.
    Joe parked the vehicle, then returned to his friends. They got into their car, said good-bye to the farmer, and drove off with Joe behind the wheel. About three miles down the road they saw a horse and carriage racing toward them. Afraid of an accident, Joe pulled to the right and stopped, letting the engine idle. The horse came to a halt in a cloud of dust as the driver tugged hard on its reins. It was the same wild-eyed woman with unkempt hair blowing in the wind, who had spoken to them previously!
    â€œIt’s Mad Maggie!” Frank exclaimed.
    â€œJa, Mad Maggie!” she shouted. “And my friend is with me, see?”
    She lifted a birdcage from the seat beside her and held it up. A large horned owl stared at the boys from between the bars.
    â€œIs that a witch’s owl?” Joe wanted to know.
    â€œJa, it is.”
    â€œDoes it talk?”
    â€œJa, it talks. Listen.” Leaning