A Figure in Hiding - Plot Summary (original Edition)

Plot Summary (original Edition)

The boys (Frank, Joe, & Chet) go see a movie called "A Figure in Hiding" at the local Rialto Theater. After the film is over, the Rialto is robbed with the thief getting away with $900. Then the boys go to the Bayport Hotel and meet up with their father, Fenton Hardy. They spy on a pair of men (Rip Sinder and Spotty Lemuel) in the room next door who are part of a cruel gang called the "Eye Syndicate", ran by a bogus doctor named Doc Grafton. While Sinder and Lemuel are doing Grafton's business, Sinder's adopted daughter barges in and begs him to come home. Spotty, trying to get her to leave, reveals to her that she was adopted, something that Sinder had kept secret from her. This works, and Virginia runs away in a fit of despair and sorrow. Not long after that, the police mistakenly arrest their friend Chet for the robbery. Really, it was Nick Cordoza, of whom the boys found in his car unconscious. Chet runs away to Boston instead of going back home due to a note supposedly from the Hardy's to go there. Later, their father devises a plan to trap Grafton by telling one of his clients (Henry Zatta) to pay him with marked bills. However, the plan falls apart after the boys and Grafton get into a fight, causing the quack to escape without the $500 in marked money. Eventually, the boys meet Virginia at an auto garage, where they chase her to Grafton's hideout. Grafton and his mute assistant Zeb drug them and attempt to bury them alive, but the drugs wears off too fast and a fight ensues. The boys are able to make it out of his cellar, and the police show up to arrest Grafton and his lackeys. After the case is solved, it is revealed that Dr. Grafton's name was revealed to be Paul Zane, Mr. Zatta's son.