Read Online The Secret Agent on Flight 101 by Franklin W. Dixon - Free Book Online

fugitive could go no farther. He was trapped and turned to face his pursuers. He threw a punch but missed. Frank countered with a blow to the stomach that sent the man sprawling. In a flash, Joe and Chet were on him and Wilkes was pinned helplessly to the metal grating of the catwalk.
    â€œLet go of me!” he screeched.
    Frank motioned the other two off, then dragged the man to his feet. “Hexton kidnapped our father, didn’t he?”
    â€œYes. But I had nothing to do with it!”
    â€œWhere are they keeping him?”
    â€œHe was here.”
    â€œWas?”
    â€œWell, he’s gone!”
    â€œWhere?”
    â€œI don’t know. Mr. Hardy escaped more than five days ago. Those SKOOL men are pretty smart!”

CHAPTER X
    Wing Signal
    THE boys were dumfounded. “What do you mean our dad escaped?” Joe asked. “How?”
    â€œI don’t know. I wasn’t here.”
    Frank believed that Wilkes was telling the truth. But where could their father be? And why hadn’t he been in touch with them?
    The Hardys tied Wilkes securely to a chair. Then Frank, Joe, and Chet settled down to wait out the storm.
    While the wind and rain beat against the lighthouse, Frank and Joe questioned Wilkes further. Their prisoner said he did not know the whereabouts of Hexton, nor just what sort of an operation he was running.
    â€œI’m a new man in the outfit. The magician hasn’t taken me into his confidence,” he added.
    â€œSo you’re just learning the UGLI business,” Frank remarked. Wilkes nodded.
    He admitted that the metal drums which the Hardys had spotted contained airplane fuel, but now were empty. This was confirmed by Joe’s thorough search as soon as the rain subsided and the sun burst through the broken clouds.
    â€œOkay, Wilkes,” Frank said tersely when his brother returned. “You told the truth about the drums. What about the helioplane?”
    The man’s jaw dropped. “Wh-what’d you mean—helioplane?”
    â€œYou know all right!” Joe said. “So far, we’ve made things easy for you, Wilkes, but if you don’t tell the whole story, we’ll have you charged as an accomplice to a kidnapping!”
    â€œNo, no!” he whined, blanching a sickly white.
    â€œI saw the plane land here twice. Both times it stayed a few minutes, then took off again.”
    â€œWere there any passengers aboard?”
    â€œJust one guy wearing some kind of uniform.” The man began to perspire freely. “Hexton will kill me if he finds out I told you.”
    â€œDon’t worry about him,” Chet said. “The Hardys will take care of that crooked magician.”
    Just then they heard an airplane and rushed outside. Looking up, they saw their own plane coming in from the west. It dived and made a low pass over the islet “The signal!” Frank exclaimed. “Vordo and Bleeker must be on their way back!”
    â€œLet’s wait and nab ’em,” Joe suggested.
    Frank was about to answer when Jack Wayne headed in toward the islet again. He made another low pass, but this time the boys saw a small object drop from the plane. It bounced along the rocky surface and rolled to a stop close by. It was a metal box with a message inside:
    Vordo and Bleeker on way back! Have two other men with them. Believe they are armed. Suggest you leave immediately. Head north before turning toward mainland to avoid their boat.
    â€œLet’s get out of here fast!” Chet said.
    â€œI don’t like the idea of running,” Frank said, “but the odds are against us. We’ll go back to the mainland and notify the police.”
    Pushing the reluctant Wilkes before them, the boys hastened to their motorboat. Luckily it was undamaged by the storm. A quick check of the fuel, however, showed they could not take the northerly course Jack had suggested.
    â€œWe have just enough gas to make shore,”