The Haunted Fort
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Author | Franklin W. Dixon |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | The Hardy Boys |
| Genre(s) | Children's literature/Young adult literature |
| Publisher | Grosset & Dunlap |
| Released | 1965 |
| Pages | 176 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-448-08944-0 |
| Preceded by | The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior |
| Followed by | The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge |
The Haunted Fort is Volume 44 in the original Hardy Boys book series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
The story starts with the boys' friend Chet Morton who is going off to attend a summer art school in New England. He calls on the Hardy Boys to solve the mystery of the theft of two valuable oil paintings in the area of Millwood. The Hardy Boys accept the proposal and go along with Chet to the Millwood school. In the school, they meet a millionaire - Mr. Davenport, who owns a fort, known as Senandaga. The fort is believed to be haunted and the Hardy Boys think that the Haunted fort may have something to do we the theft of the paintings.
The Hardy Boys and Chet are told that Mr. Davenport's ancestor, known as the prisoner-painter was held prisoner in Senandaga and he made 17 paintings of the outside view of Senandaga. Out of seventeen, 3 have been stolen. It is believed that a treasure, which contains a chain of solid gold is hidden in the fort, the clue to find them is in the paintings of the prisoner-painter. The Hardy Boys investigate the case. Many times, their car, boat and jeeps are sabotaged, usually in with the intent to kill them. But, the Hardy Boys escape every time.
As the story progresses, all the paintings are stolen by someone who wants the clue to find the chain, except one, which is kept with Mr. Davenport. Soon the Hardy Boys & Chet find the clue in that one painting and search the fort. During which, they see a ghost walking on water. The Hardy Boys have a number of suspects - example: a strange English hermit who lives alone on an island, a critic named Chauncy Gilman who hates Mr. Davenport, a student of the school named Ronnie Rush & a French Sculpting teacher named Renee Folette.
While searching, they and Mr. Davenport are caught and are held captive in a dungeon. In the end, they find the gold chain, fight the villains, and solve the mystery.
Note: Many Hardy Boys enthusiasts consider this novel to be one of the weakest of the series. However, the original cover art by Rudy Nappi is generally regarded as one of his finest.
