THE MYSTERY
OF THE HAUNTED
HOUSE
by
AUTHOR B
Chapter 1
The Chapters
It was early morning, Friday, October 30th. Laura Hardy was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for her two sons. She brushed back her blonde hair with a frown. This was one of those times that she wished her hair wasn’t so curly. Laura had pulled her hair back but there was always a stubborn strand of hair that got loose. Hearing someone walk into the kitchen, she looked up and smiled at her sister-in-law.
Gertrude Hardy was the spinster sister of Laura’s husband, Fenton Hardy. Gertrude was several years older than her brother; she was a tall, slightly thin woman with a commanding presence. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a severe bun. Although her _expression was stern, Gertrude was a very caring person who had a hard time showing her emotions.
“The boys should be coming down for breakfast – although I may have to check on Joe! That boy could sleep through a tornado!”
Laura had to agree, her youngest not only could sleep through anything, but he could also fall asleep at the drop of a hat! Gertrude was pouring milk into a glass when Frank came down for breakfast. He gave his mom and aunt a morning kiss and sat down at the small kitchen table.
Frank with his dark brown hair and eyes, was the spitting image of his father. Although only fifteen, he was nearly 6’1”. He had a lean build, a quiet, calm demeanor and a very protective streak when it came to his younger brother.
There was a loud thumping noise as Joe Hardy made his entrance. Blonde, blue-eyed Joe had his mother’s coloring. But there was no mistaking that he was Fenton’s son. He had the same fierce temper as his father, the curve of his jaw-line and his smile. An inch shorter than his older brother, Joe had a more muscular build.
“Dad still not back yet?” asked Frank.
Fenton Hardy was a world-renowned private detective; he had been gone for several days on a case.
“He called late last night; he should be back tomorrow. Just in time to pass out the candy for Halloween.” Laura replied. The phone rang just then; being close to it, she waved Gertrude away to answer.
“Hello, Hardy residence….good morning, Catherine…that’s right, I forgot about that…no, I’m sure Joe won’t mind, and you know Chet and Iola are always welcome here…Good bye!”
Joe was about to take a bite of his toast when he heard his mother mention Iola’s name. He could feel himself starting to blush when he heard Frank snicker quietly. “What – what won’t I mind?” he gulped.
“I forgot you have an early dismissal today. Mrs. Morton won’t be able to pick up Chet and Iola after school. Frank, make sure Chet rides the bus with you. Joe you’ll be walking Iola back here.”
“Joe and Iola sitting in a tree….k-i-s-s-i-n-g…first comes love…”
“Mooom!” Joe wailed as he glared at Frank.
“Frank, stop teasing your brother,” Laura chided as she ruffled her youngest son’s hair.
As the brothers took their dishes over to the sink, Frank couldn’t stop himself and made kissing noises and batted his eyes at Joe. Frank gave out a yelp and jumped back, when he turned around he saw his Aunt Gertrude with a kitchen towel in her hand. She gave him a stern stare.
“Didn’t I hear your mother telling you not to tease your brother?”
“Sorry auntie, couldn’t help myself! I’m sorry, Joe.”
Joe gave his aunt a grateful smile as he grabbed his book bag. He waved good bye to Frank, who waited for his school bus. Frank had started high school and Joe was in his last year of junior high. The junior high school was within walking distance of his home.
A he walked to school, Joe’s thoughts were of Iola. He had known the young girl since he was five years old. But Joe never thought of Iola as a girl because she liked doing the same things he did! Like climbing trees, playing baseball, getting dirty in the mud! Lately though…Joe was no longer seeing Iola as “one of the guys”.
For one thing, she smelled a lot better than a guy! When she smiled her face just seemed to glow! And the way she looked at him made Joe’s heart race. Then there was the thing with her lips! For some reason Joe found himself staring at her lips and wondering what it would be like to….
“Hey Joe!”
Joe let out a yelp; he turned to see his friend Biff Hooper. Like Joe, Biff had blonde hair and blue eyes. Strangers sometimes thought the two teens were brothers, as they looked so much alike.
“Sheesh, Biff – give me a heart attack why don’t you?!”
“Sorry, but I’ve been calling you for almost two minutes!”
Joe blushed, thinking of the reason why he hadn’t heard Biff. Luckily Biff didn’t notice his friend’s discomfort.
“Do you think Mr. McRaney will still give us that math test?”
“I hope not! I totally forgot the test was today!”
“Then you better hope he doesn’t! Hey, you want to toss the ball around after school?”
“I can’t…I’m supposed to take Iola back to the house.”
“Oh? Maybe I should leave you two alone?”
“Cut it out Biff!” Joe growled.
Biff grabbed Joe and got him in a headlock; he playfully messed up Joe’s hair and then let him go.
“I can tell you like her, Joe – the same way I can tell she likes you, too.”
“She’s just a friend – how do you know she likes me?”
“Biff shook his head as he laughed softly. “Sometimes Joe, you can be really dense.”
Joe was glad that Biff would be walking part of the way with him and Iola. He was feeling very tongue-tied and hadn’t been able to string two sentences together. Biff had been doing much of the talking.
“I can’t wait for the Halloween party tomorrow night! Do you have a costume, Joe?”
A huge grin crossed Joe’s face. “I found this cool wolf mask! I’m going as a werewolf!”
“Instead of a werewolf how ‘bout just being ‘The Big Bad Wolf’?” Iola suggested. “I’m going as Little Red Riding Hood.”
Joe balked. “And have everyone think we’re going together!”
Biff rolled his eyes in exasperation; Iola scowled at Joe.
“Sorry – I didn’t realize how offensive that would be!”
Iola started to walk faster and sped ahead of the two boys.
“Real smooth, Joe. I’ll see you tomorrow night!” Biff waved as he turned the corner to head for home.
Joe let out a sigh as he ran after Iola; he found her standing in front of the old Miller house. The original owners had long since passed away. Mr. Morton, Iola’s father, was a realtor. His company owned the property and he was letting the teens use it for their Halloween party. Chet had promised that they would clean it up afterwards.
“Iola, I’m sorry…”
“Joe, I think there someone in the house. I thought I saw the curtain move.”
“Maybe your dad came by to check on the house and forgot to close a window?”
“You’re probably right.”
Iola had dropped her book bag on the ground; she bent down to pick it up, Joe seeing the bag, also bent down.
“Ow!” Both teens cried out. First Iola and then Joe began to laugh, as they rubbed the tops of their heads.
“Let me carry that for you,” said Joe. He smiled shyly at her. “I – I really wouldn’t mind if – well, if we went to the party together.”
Just seeing the smile on Iola’s face made it all worthwhile.
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.