Read Online The Stone Idol by Franklin W. Dixon - Free Book Online

he would operate out of the Antarctic. But every other possibility failed, which means he must be stationed at Byrd Base or Outpost I.”
    â€œIf that’s the case, I’m glad you’re here,” said Muller in a hearty tone. “I’ll pretend you’re new members of my scientific team.”
    â€œSigmund, why don’t you show Frank and Joe around?” Langton suggested.
    â€œI’ll be glad to,” Muller agreed as the admiral and Fenton Hardy returned to Langton’s office. Muller took the boys into one wing of the building, which housed the science department of the base.
    In the first laboratory, a number of long columns of frozen earth were laid out on a table side by side. Several men were working on them.
    â€œThese are core samples from the crust of the Antarctic Continent,” Muller explained. “They tell us about the age of the Antarctic. We know it’s been here for many millions of years.”
    In other laboratories, scientists were carrying out experiments in physics and chemistry. An aquarium held fish from the Antarctic Sea. Storerooms oocupied the end of the wing. They were filled with scientific instruments, samples of earth and rock, and stuffed birds, seals, and fish.
    Muller introduced Frank and Joe to the staff as they moved from one room to another. The Hardys kept their eyes open for clues, but saw nothing to indicate that a crook was hiding at Byrd Base.
    Finally Muller pointed to piles of heavy clothing on the shelves of a storeroom. “Now you’d better get into these,” he said. “We’re going outside.”
    â€œI don’t see any furs,” Joe commented as they dressed.
    Their host laughed. “People wore furs back in the days of Admiral Byrd. Today we have special clothing designed by navy experts. You’ll find those parkas as warm as a sealskin coat, and much lighter and more comfortable.”
    Pulling the hoods of their jackets over their heads, the three emerged from the building. A cold wind blew in their faces and momentarily took their breath away.
    A meteorologist atop a steel scaffolding was knocking ice off a weathervane to allow the instrument to move freely in the wind. Other workers were releasing a weather balloon, which drifted upward, blowing wildly to and fro.
    â€œThe balloon is filled with helium,” the leader of the group explained. “It’ll reach the upper atmosphere and tell us how the winds blow around the South Pole. The temperature sometimes hits one hundred below zero.”
    After some discussion of the eons during which the Antarctic turned from a warm area into a frigid wilderness, Muller conducted the Hardys on a walk through the snow down to the shore. They stopped at a point where a cliff dipped in rugged contours into water filled with ice floes.
    On one side, the terrain rose and fell in a series of low hills. On the other side, it stretched out in a level plain where the Hardys could see moving black patches against the white background of the ice.
    â€œPenguins!” Frank and Joe exclaimed in unison.
    â€œCome on for a closer look,” Muller invited.
    The three walked down into the penguin rookery. It contained hundreds of the black and white Antarctic birds. Some were roosting on the ice, others waddled around in an upright position, still others dived into the water.
    The waddling birds made the Hardys laugh. Joe pointed to a penguin about three feet tall advancing toward them. Its color pattern gave it the appearance of wearing a white shirt and black coat. It moved in a shuffling walk.
    â€œThat one’s as funny as a clown at the circus,” Joe commented. “I think I’ll take a picture of it.”
    He pulled his miniature camera out of his pocket. Moving forward, he dropped to one knee and started to focus on the approaching bird.
    Suddenly the penguin thrust its neck forward and opened its beak menacingly. It rushed forward with an