Tag Archives: Chet Morton

28: THE SIGN OF THE CROOKED ARROW

 

28

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Andrew E. Svenson in 1949.  His first since revising 23: The Melted Coins (which I gave an 8) and before that 7: The Secret of the Caves (which only got a 5).  Mr. Svenson will end up writing several of the later volumes.

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1970 by Priscilla Baker-Carr, who will be revising most of the rest as we go along.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  Yellow and red are back!  A bit abstract, not actually an event from the book, but thematically accurate.  Mid-level Nappi.

Setting: Bayport and then New Mexico.  Unlike Hunting for Hidden Gold, written originally in 1928, and very much reflecting the Old West in spirit, this one is very much a product of mid-century Americana.  In the late-40s and early-50s, the U.S. went Western mad, so this is very much a Frank-and-Joe-go-West story.  But unlike the Old West setting in Hidden Gold, this is more dude ranch western living.  

Where’s Fenton This Time?: He gets his sorry self shot by an arrow and spends lots of time in the hospital and then recuperating in bed.  In fact, this is why Frank and Joe have to fill in when his sister needs help on her New Mexico ranch.  Don’t worry, he wouldn’t miss his Chapter XX appearance, typically by air.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, of course.  Iola appears briefly.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Judo.  Yup, gets used.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: After three desserts in the last one, Gertrude had to rest a bit. Don’t worry, the boys get good western cooking.  Chet even eats too much to go riding.  What, like that surprises you?

Plot: Some crooks who knock people out and rob them decide to take their stuff made in New Mexico and travel to, oh, lemme think, what would be a good place to be swindlers?  How about Bayport, all the way across the country, and thick with crack detectives?  Yeah, that’s the idea.  And then they are forced to try to prevent Frank and Joe from going to New Mexico. Hint to crooks: If you hadn’t been stupid enough to set up shop in Bayport, Frank and Joe wouldn’t have a clue you exist!  Anyway, their aunt in New Mexico needs help because her ranch hands start going missing.  Yes, it’s all tightly connected.  And hint to readers: if you ever get invited to ride in a plane with the Hardy Boys, decline with extreme prejudice.  Guaranteed your plane will be tampered with and require an emergency landing.  The FAA should ban these books.

Review:  Not bad, not great.  Amazing coincidence as usual, a bit tiring with all the cliched western speech, amazing how Frank and Joe are expert at everything that the ranch hands spend their living at, but the mystery is interesting, and it keeps you guessing.  And hey, if a kid learns a bit about modern cowboy life, why not?  But remember how I keep drawing parallels with Scooby Doo?  Check out this line from the book: “I would’ve gotten the car, too, if it hadn’t been for you Hardys.”  I’m telling you, the Hardy Boys got there first…

Score: 7

27: THE SECRET OF SKULL MOUNTAIN

27

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: George Waller Jr. in 1948.  This is Mr. Waller’s only entry into the canon.  Mr. Waller, step on down, this is your book.

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1966 by David Grambs, and the first one he revised since #6, The Shore Road Mystery (which I liked a lot and gave a 9) and #12, Footprints Under the Window (which I thought was merely OK, and just gave a 6).

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  Classic Nappi, great action moment with a landslide coming down the mountain, and Joe carrying a skull.  All described in the book, folks.

Setting: Bayport, and surroundings.  We never travel too far.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Hanging around house waiting for word from Chicago, or headed to Chicago, because while the interesting crooks get to be rounded up by his boys, it’s Fenton who takes down an entire syndicate.  Show-off.  But he shows up at the end like the sheriff does at the end of each Scooby Doo episode.  Speaking of which, isn’t this a classic Scooby Doo title, The Secret of Skull Mountain?  Can you just see Shaggy’s legs quivering as he hears the gang’s plans to travel there?

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, the third Hardy Boy by this point considering how often they include him, and how often he includes himself for Aunt Gertrude’s fine meals, making himself her personal gourmand.  Then there is Biff and Callie and Iola.  Fans of Callie Shaw: this is your book.  She gets to do some detective work and does a fine job of it.  I’m not kidding, she actually does well.  Frank should be proud.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: No hobby this time.  You’d think his fly fishing from the last book would come in handy by the lake in this book, but noooooo….

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Your patience has been rewarded!  Not one, not two, but three different specific desserts are mentioned here: “generous slices of cherry pie,” as well as apple cake and a seven-layer chocolate nut cake that the boys use to bribe Chet into coming to Skull Mountain.  No, seriously, that’s how they convince Chet.  What?  It works.  Meanwhile Gertrude gets in a snide remark about how the Hardy house is “worse than a railroad station!  People racing in and out any time they please, expecting Laura and me to run a twenty-four hour restaurant service!”  You tell ’em, Gertrude!  You probably had to put down your copy of The Feminine Mystique to cook these beasts their food on demand — nah, she loves it, especially Chet who actually shows appreciation for the grub.

Plot: Something’s wrong with the water supply in Bayport, and the planned new dam that will be up on the lake by Skull Mountain is running into all kinds of resistance.  And a suspicious plumber is up to something.  And it’s amazing how people start acting all hillbilly just a few miles outside of Bayport which is, I remind you, in New York State.

Review:  Good job, Mr. Waller Jr. and Mr. Grambs.   This is classic Hardy Boys, a good mystery that is actually quite straightforward, a scientist is kidnapped, locals are threatening but of mixed motive, the bad guys are suitably rough, and the story moves along.  Plus Frank gets to have a solo adventure in the bay that is quite physically challenging.  And at the end the boys figure it out themselves, and they defeat the bad guys themselves.  Plus the cover is good, and Callie helps out, and Chet does a good job.  I will note that it’s always amazing how these boys will plunge into dangerous situations with little regard for personal safety, just as long as they can solve the mystery they will jump right in.  I hope we never get The Dante’s Inferno Mystery or these boys will be plunging into something they won’t get out of so easily.

Score: 9

26: THE PHANTOM FREIGHTER

 

 

26Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Amy McFarlane in 1947.  Yes, wife of Leslie McFarlane.  We’ve had Harriet Adams as the author several times, and she is their daughter, but this is the one and only book written by Amy.

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1970 by Priscilla Baker-Carr.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  Wow, I always hated this cover, and still do.  The yellow is so overwhelming, and the ghostly effect of the ship is so faint, it just repels me.  If you are a yellow admirer, and you’ve been waiting breathlessly for this cover to finally get reviewed, you now hate me.

Setting: Bayport, and seemingly every port within driving distance, and then at the end of the book a sea voyage.  But it takes until the end of the book for that to happen.  Because once again, crooks who so cleverly come up with an intricate scheme to rob people, pick Bayport and Aunt Gertrude as the scene and victim of the crime.  That’s just asking for trouble…

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Hanging around the edges as usual.  He’s always working on some other angle, hears about the boys and the clues they uncover, gets enthusiastic about what they got done, then goes back to his usual dead ends.  But hey, this time at the end he comes sailing to the rescue.  Literally.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, with Callie and Iola popping up briefly, Tony Prito, and Biff has graduated to the point where even Gertrude recommends him to provide muscle.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Fly fishing ties.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Strawberry shortcake, baby!

Plot: An older gentleman contacts the boys, says he has a mystery, but first book me a vacation the three of us will take and I’ll tell you about the mystery later.  Meanwhile somebody is intercepting delivery packages and selling what they steal to stores.  And then there is the report of a phantom freighter out on the water.

Review:  Not bad, Amy.  You learned a lot from your husband, and you created a typical Hardy Boys story.  Where I have a problem, however, is the idea of the older guy trying to get the Hardys to go on vacation with him.  Amy paints it as Frank and Joe being bemused by the man, but I didn’t buy it.  I saw little in this guy’s attitude that made me want to spend time with him.  As for the bad guys, man, 2/3 of the book is them trying to keep Frank and Joe off any ship in port.  When will bad buys learn that trying to stop Frank and Joe from doing something is the fastest way to get them suspicious of you.  Silly smugglers, tricks are for rabbits and kids, not crooks.

Score: 7

25: THE SECRET PANEL

 

25

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Harriet S. Adams in 1946.  No more Leslie McFarlane.  But this is the same Ms. Adams who rewrote both books 1 and 2, so she’s not new to this game.

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1969 by Priscilla Baker-Carr.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  More orange than red, and Frank is really letting down the side by wearing blue, but I quibble.  This is a great cover, full of action and menace.  Look at the threatening shadow on the wall!  Nicely done.

Setting: Bayport, and seemingly 10 minutes drive in every direction from there.  Read the book to get that.  You know what astounds me?  The crooks in this story move from city to city for their nefarious deeds.  They set up in a new city, pick a local hideout, steal and then move on.  So here’s my question: If Bayport is world famous for harboring the world-famous detective, Fenton Hardy, and his sharp sons who are also world famous, what idiot crook thinks that’s the spot for them to set up?

Where’s Fenton This Time?: He’s good this time.  He’s on the sidelines doing his thing, but when the boys get into a very serious scrape, we see Fenton on his game.  He cooly and methodically figures out how to save his sons.  It’s exciting to finally seeing the master in action.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, with Callie and Iola popping up a few times, and they even help out in the case briefly.  Phil gets mentioned once but does not actually appear.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: He bought a boat.  Which he promptly loses.  Then never buys another one again.  Natch.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Nothing.  Evidently Bayport has run out of flour or something…

Plot: A house with no visible locks, and a man who is supposed to have died showing up looking very much alive.  Add some crooks who decide to make the lockless house their hangout, and you’ve got trouble, right here in Bayport city.

Review:  A nice one.  There’s a marvelously creepy scene where one brother hears the other say, “let’s go” as they are exploring a deserted house.  Only it wasn’t the other brother saying it.  And the person saying it has no idea the brothers are present.  Very well done scene.  Nice exploration of locksmithing, Fenton gets to shine, it all takes place in Bayport, the secret panel is a rough fate to experience.  I like this one.

Score: 8

24: THE SHORT-WAVE MYSTERY

 

24

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Leslie McFarlane in 1945.  And yes, as World War II comes to an end, so does the great Mr. McFarlane’s participation in this series comes to a close.  This is the last Hardy Boys book he wrote, so let me take a moment and thank him for wonderful childhood memories.  Yes, I know, his originals were 25 chapters and written in a more complex manner than the revisions, and what I’m reviewing are the revisions.  But he gave us the Hardy Boys, and for that I am thankful.

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1966 by Priscilla Baker-Carr.  Just as we say goodbye to Leslie McFarlane, we now say hello to Ms. Carr for she will be revising most of the next dozen or so books.  Ms. Carr, you are now in the spotlight.  Welcome.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  The red and yellow habit is being carried on by Joe.  This steps back from the recent abstract covers and returns to the classic look: Frank and Joe staring at danger.  This one is a night scene with blowing snow, Frank using his short-wave radio, Joe peering in at some nefarious doings.  Great cover.

Setting: Bayport, and briefly Canada.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: He’s got his routine down pat: be part of some related part of the case that keeps him out of his kid’s hair until he’s needed in chapter XX on Deus Ex Machina airlines.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, with Biff, Tony, Phil, Callie and Iola showing up a bit.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Taxidermy.  No, he won’t use it after this book.  His closet must be stuffed with old hobby tools…

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Made some nice meals, but no pie.  I’m getting impatient.  And hungry.

Plot: Some strange short-wave transmissions get picked up by Frank and Joe, and some business espionage, and missing jewels, and stuffed animal heads that carry a secret, and juvenile delinquents that Frank and Joe take care of (hi, 1966).  Yes, it all ties together.

Review:  Classic Hardy Boys.  A good mystery involving code words, Chet’s hobby is the center of the Bayport universe, the stuffed animal plot is fun and clever.  It moves.  It works.

Score: 7

23: THE MELTED COINS

23

 

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Leslie McFarlane in 1944.

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1970 by Andrew E. Svenson, one of two he revised, and the second since book 7, The Secret of the Caves.  But Mr. Svenson starts to write his own books soon, but his originals were written about twenty years earlier and were then rewritten by others about the time Mr. Svenson was revising this book.  Confused yet?  Imagine how Mrs. Svenson must have felt when Andy explained it to her.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  Red and green, somewhat abstract, with Joe holding the secret contents of the briefcase from Pulp Fiction.  And a big, crooked mask looming over them that as a kid I found very helpful in picturing what they were talking about in the book.  A nice, bold cover.

Setting: Upstate New York.  You do know that Bayport is in New York for real, right? Well, they travel to various places upstate, including Niagara Falls.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Stage left.  He’s off on a different angle of the same case, and then at the end he literally solves Frank and Joe’s case for them while staying offstage until the very end.  Very odd to have it happen that way, making for a bit of an anti-climax climax as the boys wait around waiting to hear if dear old dad wraps up their case for them.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, with Biff and Tony making the most deus ex machina entrance of all time and then disappearing again to go fishing.  I’m not kidding.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Eating corn soup, evidently.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: None, but she makes a brief appearance to make a salami and cream cheese sandwich for Chet.  Why that kind?  It’s needed later as a clue, so it had to be a weird sandwich that would stand out.

Plot: A Native American mask goes missing, the boys try to find it, while immersing themselves in the community.

Review:  It’s not bad overall.  In fact, despite the unfortunate use of “redskins” (and by a Native American character at that!) that can be chalked up to the ignorance of its time, this book tries hard to be fair to them.  They get nuanced characters, prejudice on both sides is shown to be pointless and harmful, and respect is shown to the culture.  As for the mystery, it’s limited, but interesting, and the bad guys are not the typical ones.  It’s a fun book.

Score: 8

22: THE FLICKERING TORCH MYSTERY

22

 

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Leslie McFarlane in 1943. After five in a row of John Button, and five I was not especially fond of, the master is back with only two more to his name yet to come.

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1971 by Vincent Buranelli, the second revision he did along with his later originals. I didn’t care for his other revision, The Mystery of the Flying Express, giving that one a very low 4 score. Will Mr. Buranelli do better with a McFarlane?

Cover: Rudy Nappi. Is there red and yellow? A little, but this is green on purple and oh, so 70s I could just ease on down the road with a funky song in my heart. This is like a James Bond poster if they wanted to imply Sean Connery was really hitting the good stuff this time. Very dated, but the use of color is striking, and it certainly symbolizes the plot.

Setting: Bayport, and nearby.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Working another angle on the case with Sam Radley, but he shows up and helps out here and there. Mostly in the series recently he’s been there to say, no, he can’t do that dangerous step, but sure, the boys can, just be careful, OK? What does he think an 18- and 17-year-old will say to that question?

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, Callie and Iola, Biff and Tony, Phil, the whole band, and yes, I mean band. Just like in 1971 Josie and the Pussycats were a band, and the Archies were a band, now the Hardy Boys are a band. This is not as egregious as it could be because there are other books where the boys are into playing music, but man, this Bayport band formed quickly. I’m just sayin’.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Building airplanes. Say what?! I mean, c’mon, play fair with the reader, willya? We get it. This is a plot about airplane parts, so you needed Chet to build an airplane. But he never showed interest in flying before, and he doesn’t remain interested afterward. I call shenanigans.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: No dessert for you!

Plot: A plane crashes upon approach to an airport, there is a plant with a tower that flickers flames, there is a nightclub called The Flickering Torch, basically this plot is whatever they needed it to be. This book is  known for its radical change from original version to this revised version. Mr. Buranelli wanted to show the boys being cool, so it’s folk rock to the rescue. Uh huh…

Review:  Has its moments, but this one is dated from its too-70s cover to the type of music they play to the way the audience reacts to the music to the ridiculous lengths the bad guys go to foil the Hardy Boys. And where was Jack Wayne in a story all about flying? But I give it an extra point for the end fate of Frank who is drugged and planned to be pushed out a plane into the ocean. Way to show hostility toward the characters, Mr. Author!

Score: 6

21: THE CLUE OF THE BROKEN BLADE

 

21

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: John Button in 1942, the fifth of his five books in a row.  Mr. Button is now done with the Hardy Boys.

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1969 by Richard Deming, the only one he did.  Mr. Deming, this is your book.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  Is there red and yellow?  Not really.  We seem to be going into the abstract period now, and this one is blue, blue, blue.  Frank and Joe fence, someone stares at them behind a mask, and a broken blade reminds us of the title.  It’s OK, well made.  I’m not as big a fan of the abstract ones.

Setting: Bayport, and California, this is Frank and Joe go to Hollywood, sorta, which is nothing like Frankie Goes to Hollywood.  Just sayin’.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Oh, he goes on vacation with the missus until they both show up in the most unlikeliest of places.  Fans of Laura Hardy — this is your book.  She actually gets to help.  Briefly.  Then the Hardy Boys syndicate shuts her down real quick and we get back to normal.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet (honorary Hardy Boy at this stage), Callie and Iola, Biff and Tony.  Only Chet gets the big part, and no, I’m not making fun of his weight, which is more than I can say for Frank and Joe for whom no occasion is so solemn as to prevent them from making fun of Chet’s weight.  Way to show empathy, boys…

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Fencing, as is also the hobby of Frank and Joe and Biff and Tony, not one of whom ever fences again, but they are expert enough in this book to get hired on the spot as fencers and trusted enough to run a fencing school by themselves.  Mr. Deming, we figured out your interest in life, and you crammed it into the plot.  Still, if you have a kid who likes the idea of fencing, this is his book!  But don’t turn your back on that kid…

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: “Pieces” of rhubarb pie, three of them for Chet.  Aunt Gertrude never made fun of Chet…

Plot: An inheritance inscribed on a blade, but the blade has been missing for decades.  Wanna bet the boys find it by chapter XX?  Hey, Frank and Joe, we never found Jimmy Hoffa, wanna take a crack at it?  Anyway, the clues lead to Hollywood, an odd screenwriter, a movie being made, and enough crooks running around to baffle anyone trying to make sense why this case is that important.  Mostly everyone fences.  Yeah, we get it, Mr. Deming, fencing is cool, or something.

Review:  Eh.  I’m a little tired of the boys getting on a case involving, say, broccoli, and then suddenly every crook in town is suddenly into broccoli, and willing to kill to keep you from discovering they like broccoli.  Hey, I think I smell a new Hardy Boy mystery: The Clue of the Overcooked Broccoli.

Score: 5

20: MYSTERY OF THE FLYING EXPRESS

20

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: John Button in 1941, the fourth of his five books in a row.

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1970 by Vincent Buranelli, one of two he would revise, though he also wrote five of the later books entirely on his own..   

Cover: Back to Rudy Nappi.  Is there red and yellow?  Well, lots of red all right, but the only yellow is Joe’s hair.  This is the first of the abstract covers.  We have Frank and Joe in the foreground, the Flying Express in the background, a zodiac chart over the boat, and abstract red everywhere.

Setting: Bayport, and Providence, a long ferry ride away to the south.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Up to his usual business, elsewhere most of the time, calling on Sam Radley to go back and forth as needed.  He shows up now and then.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, Callie and Iola.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Horoscopes, as if the cover didn’t give it away.  Sorry, this hobby annoyed me.  We have no indication he has this interest before this book, and it’s completely dropped after this book.  This isn’t like picking up archaeology or oil painting.  You can believe someone might dabble with that for a while and then quit.  But astrology is a mindset.  Chet is so incredibly into this mindset in this book, it’s jarring that it gets dropped.  This is bad writing.  Forcing a character to take on something that makes no sense for him to take on.  Oh well, as Frank says in the book, “The solar system isn’t all that concerned about our doings here at Cape Cutlass.  Saturn is millions of miles away.  I doubt that it’s going to interfere with our little airplane.”  Amen, Frank.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: “Big slices of rhubarb-and-strawberry pie.”  Yum!

Plot: Makes no sense.  The owner of the hydrofoil Flying Express wants to set up a ferry service between Bayport and Providence.  Competing businesses don’t want him to.  Attempted murder attempts follow repeatedly.  Wait, what?!  They can’t just offer a better ferry service, they have to try to KILL PEOPLE?  What nonsense.

Review:  Horoscopes everywhere, a plot that makes no sense, Joe says “groovy” at one point (holy ’60s, Batman!), I’m sorry this one is not for me.  At one point Chet takes an old dress (long story) and simply tosses it into the ocean!  I’m sorry, but in 1970 there was enough of an environmental awareness that this strikes me as a clunker of a move.  Hey, Chet, why are you polluting the ocean when there are garbage cans right over there?  Meh, this is my least favorite Hardy Boys book.

Score: 4

19 THE DISAPPEARING FLOOR

19

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: John Button in 1940, the third of his five books in a row.

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1966 by James D. Lawrence, the last of his three revisions.   

Cover: John Leone, his third and last cover with Rudy Nappi taking over again for the rest of the series.  As usual, Frank and Joe are wearing red and yellow (in fact, Joe is himself wearing red and yellow — way to take one for the team, Joe!).  Night scene, old house, ghostly figure approaching — yup, still in Scooby Doo territory here.  I’m telling you, Scooby Doo owes a debt to the Hardy Boys.  Let’s see, if Chet is Shaggy, and Frank is Fred, and Callie and Iola are . . . naaah, it’s not THAT much of a pattern.

Setting: Bayport, nothing but Bayport and its surroundings.  Why go anywhere else when major international criminal enterprises decide Bayport is a happening place?

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Chicago mostly, waiting for a break in the case that never comes.  Even when he makes his usual Chapter XX appearance, this time he doesn’t save the day.  Frank and Joe have it all wrapped up by then.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, Callie and Iola, Tony.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Nuttin’.  Well, being scared, but willing to help.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Lemon pie.  But Gerty is described as making other pies that the boys are too busy to eat, so who knows, maybe the author would have described more pies if they had stuck around.

Plot: Jewel thieves in Bayport.  I know!  As if there could be any jewels left in town by this point!  Plus an old house in the middle of nowhere that has a floor that disappears.  Plus blood-curdling (I believe that would be the appropriate cliche) screams in the night, a dog that growls, someone whose dying words talk about “…the floor,” yes, it’s a humdinger of a Scooby Doo mystery here.

Review:  I like this one.  Good mysteries involving a laughably elaborate plan to fool someone into going to the 6th floor of a building instead of the 5th floor (think Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol – see folks, all of modern fiction derives from the Hardy Boys), a floor that appears and then disappears, suitably tough jewel thieves, high stakes action, a mysterious message from Jack Wayne as he seems to be flying for the bad guys, and it’s all in Bayport with Chet around to get spooked by the ghost.  Oh, right, that ghost.  You don’t really think it’s a ghost, do you?  Remember, Scooby Doo territory here!

Score: 8