The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of Cabin Island (Hardy Boys Mystery Stories # 8 - Revised Text)

Okay, if the title to this book looks familiar, it should.  Just a couple of months ago, at the urging of some friends, I read the original version of this book, which was published nearly 100 years ago in 1929.  Approximately forty years after its initial publication, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, during the course of its revisions project, revised this particular book.  Andrew Svenson, best known for his own series, The Happy Hollisters, was given the task of writing the revised version of this title, reducing the story from 25 chapters down to 20 and the page count from 214 down to 178.   In some cases, the Syndicate merely cut out dialogue or certain scenes to reduce the length; however, in this instance, instead of simply shortening the story, Svenson gives readers what I would call a "re-imagining" of the story.

 

In both the original and the revised texts of The Mystery of Cabin Island,  Frank and Joe Hardy, along with their friends, Chet and Biff, investigate some mysterious goings-on at a cabin owned by Elroy Jefferson, a wealthy man whose automobile the boys had recovered when they solved a previous mystery involving car thieves. But, other than that basic premise, the remaining adventures are changed, sometimes in rather drastic ways.  The opening of the revised edition removes a rather large chunk of story from the original text, where the boys visit Cabin Island long before they get permission from Mr. Jefferson to stay there with their friends over the Christmas holidays.  In the revised, the first page reveals the boys have received permission to stay on the island as a "reward" for recovering the older man's car, and not only that, but Mr. Jefferson also has a mystery he wishes the boys to solve.  Thus, while the original had a somewhat slow build-up, the revised jumps right into the heart of the story, letting readers know from the very first page that Frank and Joe were going to be solving a mystery at Cabin Island!

 

Chapter after chapter, page after page, more and more of the story is changed in ways that seem to emphasize action more than anything else.  In the original, the boys did not face a run-in with another ice boat until the end of the second chapter; however, in this version, the ice boat handled by Tad Carson and Ike Nash runs them down in the first chapter (with a nice, two-page spread line illustration that seems to be a redux of the frontis piece from the original text).  And for those who remember the second ice boat incident in the original, where poor Chet could not gain control of his boat, it might surprise you to discover that in this revised version, it is the vile Mr. Hanleigh and Tad Carson who purposely attack the Hardys' boat, knocking them out onto the ice along with old Mr. Jefferson!  Poor Mr. Jefferson is injured, and the Hardys end up taking him back to the cabin, where he spends the night - a scene that never took place in the original.

 

There are quite a few other differences that deviate from the original tale.  One major difference is the fact that Mr. Jefferson has a grandson in this revised text, who disappeared and is the center of the mystery that Mr. Jefferson asks the boys to solve.  And in the original story, the boys learn about Mr. Jefferson's stolen stamps from the general store owner, Amos Grice, while in this version, Mr. Jefferson himself relates the story of the stolen medals to Frank and Joe - and yes, that's another revision. Perhaps by the late 1960s, stolen stamps would not seem as valuable to stolen medals, so the Syndicate changed the object of the theft - which creates another big change, as a "ghost" that is scene on the island (mostly by Chet) turns out to be the representative of the great Shah Ali, who has come to seek out Mr. Jefferson in the hopes of buying back one of the medals in his possession (or, rather, in his former possession, since the medals are missing).

 

One incident in the original text that I am actually glad they removed was the fox hunting chapter, where the boys hunt down and kill some foxes that Mr. Grice believes stole some of his chickens.  In the original, the Hardys use the rifles given them as Christmas presents by their parents; in the revised, the boys receive much needed snowshoes instead and there is no mention of stolen chickens or fox hunting.  And speaking of Christmas, that is yet one more revision in the text - in the original story, the boys spend Christmas day together in the cabin; in the revised tale, the boys spend Christmas morning with their families, and they do not head out to Cabin Island until after Christmas.  And the climactic scene where the tree comes crashing down on the cabin in the original?  Nope, it is removed from the revised, and the boys instead merely face a fierce snow storm that breaks through the windows, sending snow and cold into the cabin.

 

There is one difference that I found made the story a bit more challenging for the boys, and that involves the cryptogram.  In the original, the code to solve the cryptic message was simply reversing the alphabet:  to wit, A = Z, B = Y, C = X, and so on.  In this revised version, however, Svenson gives Frank and Joe (and the reader) and much more challenging solution, as the code actually makes use of the thief's name - John Paul Sparewell, Houseman (i.e., A = J, B = O, C = H, D = N, and so on).  I found that to be a much more creative solution, which would explain why the boys had such difficulty in solving the puzzle.  In the original, the solution proved way too easy and basically made the Hardys look inept, in that they could not have deciphered such a simple code.

 

Something I found both books to have in common is the illustrations of the ice boats.  In the original text, the plain frontis piece (by artist Ausott) shows Frank, Joe, and Chet in their iceboat, which has very little room for anything other than the three of them.  In the revised text, the frontis piece, as well as the two-page spread on pages 8 and 9 show ice boats with barely room for the riders - the frontis has only Frank and Joe with room for no one or nothing else; and the two page spread shows all four boys in the boat (and it is supposed to be the same boat, so how did they manage that?) with no extra room.  So this begs the question - how did these four boys fit into the ice boat, along with all of their gear, clothes, and the boxes of food that Chet brought, when those illustrations make the boat appear to have very little free space, if any at all?!  Artistic license, I suppose...

 

While I cannot say that either of the Cabin Island texts were overly enjoyable (remember, I am not much of a Hardy Boys fan to begin with), I can say that the original text offers up a richer tale with stronger characterization.  The revised text seems to focus more on fast-paced action, with constant accidents, danger, scares, and such, relying on the action to move the story rather than the mystery itself.  I think I prefer Svenson's Happy Hollisters' series far more than I did this Hardy Boys tale.

 

RATING:  5 handsome, gleaming medals out of 10 for the attempt at re-imagining a 1920s mystery for the 1960s (leaving one to wonder what a re-imagining of this tale for the 2000s would look like?)

The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of Cabin Island (Hardy Boys Mystery Stories # 8 - Original Text)

Yes, believe it or not, I can now say I have actually read a vintage Hardy Boys book.  Growing up, I did not like the Hardy Boys, because to me, they were more adventure stories than they were mystery stories.  I was more interested in haunted houses, spooky staircases, dark attics, hidden rooms, and the like.  These were the type of mysteries I could find in the Nancy Drew books.  In recent years, yes, I've been reading the recently published Hardy Boys Adventures series, and they have not been half-bad.  Yet, I just have not been able to bring myself to go back and read those original adventures of Frank and Joe Hardy, as I simply did not have the interest.  But with the Christmas holidays, I have been urged (I would say "bullied," but in today's climate, people would jump on that and take it completely the wrong way!) to read one particular Hardy Boys book that is set during that time, and I had no other choice ... so I did!

The Mystery of Cabin Island is the eighth book in the Hardy Boys series, published back in 1929 (the year before Nancy Drew made her debut).  It was written by Leslie McFarlane based on an outline provided by Edward Stratemeyer, and it could have been more aptly subtitled, "The Hardy Boys and their Ice Boat Adventures."  The boys spend an inordinate amount of time in this book traveling in their ice boats, nearly getting run down twice by other ice boats (one from some rivals, one from their friends), and it seems the ice boats are their only means of travel between "Cabin Island" and the mainland of Bayport.  The frontis piece of the edition I have of this book is even an illustration (by someone named "Auscott") of their rivals' ice boat "booming down on the smaller craft at terrific speed" (p. 16).  It is interesting to note that this scene takes place so early in the book - normally the frontis piece of series books depicts a scene from much later in the story.  I also have to wonder at McFarlane's choice of words, since just a few paragraphs before on the previous page, he describes the boat as "hurtling forward at terrific speed" (p. 15), then reiterates the same phrase when ending the chapter with "booming down ... at terrific speed" (p. 16).  Perhaps he forgot his thesaurus when he was writing that day (sorry Pam!).

 

The story centers around the isolated cabin that stands on Cabin Island, owned by one Elroy Jefferson.  The boys visit the island with their friend Chet Morton, only to be warned away by a man they later learn is Mr. Hanleigh - a rather pushy man intent on buying the island from Mr. Jefferson.  The boys befriend Mr. Jefferson, who it turns out was one of the people that they helped save his valuable car in a previous book (The Shore Road Mystery), and he graciously allows the boys and their friends to camp out at the cabin over the Christmas break from school.  Something odd about the planning of his trip is that Chet first mentions the idea of camping out over the Christmas holidays at the beginning of the story (p 3); yet, a few chapters later, Biff Hooper makes the suggestion of a camping trip over the holidays, and the Hardys say they will think about it and discuss it with Chet (pp. 30-31) - why would they need to discuss something with Chet who already approached them with the idea?  Had they already forgotten Chet's suggestion?  Or had McFarlane forgotten already that he wrote that earlier scene?

The mystery, such as it is, comes into play after Frank, Joe, Chet and Biff take up residence in the cabin and all of their food supply is stolen!  They do eventually locate the food hidden behind some rocks on the shore beneath the cabin, along with a small notebook that contains a message written in code.  Personally, I found the code rather simple to crack, but the boys spend a number of chapters trying to figure it out (I suppose if they solved it too early, it would not make for an exciting story).  It is obvious the notebook belonged to Mr. Hanleigh, who keeps returning to the island, looking for something in the cabin.  The cover even depicts one of those instances when the boys spy the man sneaking into the cabin (pp. 113-14).  It ultimately turns out that a valuable stamp collection stolen from Mr. Jefferson many years ago was hidden in the cabin by the thief, and Mr. Hanleigh is determined to get his hands on it.  As the coded message reveals, the box containing the stamps is located somewhere near or in the chimney (which seems to be a common thing in children's series books - check out The Wooden Shoe Mystery and The Missing Formula to see what I mean).  McFarlane does provide a rather dramatic climax to the story, when a tree collapses on the cabin during a horrific snow storm, destroying the chimney and revealing the hidden location of the box (pp. 195-99).

While the mystery itself was not overly thrilling and seemed to be a smaller portion of the story, I do have to say the book contains quite a few dated references in it (and considering it was published in 1929, one would have to expect it to!).  The most obvious one was when the Hardys discover the notebook, and Frank find written on one of the pages "October, 1917") - to which he exclaims, "Why, that's eleven years ago" (p. 101).  This is the first actual date reference I've seen in any of these series books, where a character specifically sets the date (since that eleven years would place the story in 1928, the year prior to the publication date).  It was my understanding that the Syndicate specifically avoided these type of references, so as to not fully date the books; but, perhaps, since this was still while Edward Stratemeyer was in charge, he was not as stringent about these type of things as his daughters became.  There is also the reference to Frank and Joe receiving "two small caliber rifles, each with a box of ammunition" for Christmas presents from their father (p. 46).  You would DEFINITELY not see rifles given to teenagers as gifts in today's books, that's for sure!

There's also the overuse of the word "queer" in the book (which, back in the time when this book was written, would have meant "strange" or "odd" - it did not have the same connotation that it does today).  In just a few paragraphs, one of the characters refers to Elroy Jefferson as "very queer" and "a queer old chap," even saying he had "a heart of gold, specially where boys is concerned.  But queer - mighty queer in some ways..." (p. 86).  People reading those lines today would probably have an entirely different take on what was meant!  And speaking of word use, McFarlane used a rather interesting term to describe poor Biff - he was described as "pugilistically inclined" (p. 79), which refers to someone fighting with his fists, specifically used when talking about boxers.  I have to wonder how many young people would have known what that word meant - heck, I did not even know what it meant until I looked it up!  Then there's the reference to the two foxes killed by Frank and Biff in the story - McFarlane writes that "the boys cut the brushes from the two foxes ... and placed the prizes in a place of honor above the fireplace" (p. 132).  I honestly cannot figure out exactly what the author is referring to here.  I was unable to find a definition for the phrase "cut the brushes" in this context (most of what I found referred to cutting paint brushes); speaking with my friend Pam, who is a McFarlane expert, it seems "cut the brushes" refers to the fact that the boys cut off the fox tails and kept them as trophies of their catch.  I had never heard this before, so perhaps it is a Canadian turn of phrase.

McFarlane also makes reference in the story to Edgar Allen Poe's short story, "The Gold-Bug" (p. 105).  That particular story involves the deciphering of a secret message (written as a cryptogram) that is supposed to lead the characters to a buried treasure. He clearly used this as a comparison to the Hardys attempting to figure out the cryptogram written in the notebook they discovered.  Frank even tries to follow the character's suggestion in the story of looking for the most frequently appearing letter in the message and substituting it with the letter "e," which is said to be the most frequently used letter in the English language (p. 105) - sadly, though, that substitution method did not work for the Hardys.  At least McFarlane did not make it too easy on them (although, in reality, the solution to the code is fairly simple - reversing the alphabet, i.e. A=Z, B=Y, C=X, and so on).

The only other thing I thought was note-worthy was the fact that Chapter XX in the book has an entire change in the point of view.  That particular chapter is told completely through the eyes of Mr. Hanleigh, as he faces difficulties with his henchmen, Carson and Nash, who have been ferrying him back and forth to Cabin Island aboard their own ice boat.  It is rather fun to read part of the story from the villain's point of view, as you see how easily he gets riled up and how he intends to double-cross his own men!

While I understand that a number of Hardy Boys fans like this particular volume, I have to admit that I did not find it all that great.  Sure, it has plenty of adventure in it, but I like mystery, and the book fell rather short on that (in my opinion).  I tried to go into it with an open mind, and not let my distaste for the Hardy Boys series to color my reading of the story; but, I suppose, I'm just not a Hardy Boys fan, and for me, this story is a reminder why I prefer Nancy Drew and the other female sleuths to boys' series such as this.

RATING:  6 precious rosewood boxes out of 10 for giving me a cryptogram to solve (I love those type of puzzles!) and showing how dangerous ice boating can be!

The Hardy Boys: The Skyfire Puzzle (Hardy Boys Mystery Stories # 85)

I figured it was about time to change things up a bit with the vintage children's series books that I read, and I thought I might take a look at some books set in Florida - starting with one of the Hardy Boys Mystery Stories.  Now, anyone who knows me knows that I have never really been a fan of the Hardy Boys.  Growing up, I preferred Nancy Drew because I felt her books were more mystery and the Hardy Boys' books were more adventure - and I loved the mystery.  Yes, I have read and fairly enjoyed the most recent iteration of the Hardy Boys (Hardy Boys Adventures); but they are a far cry from the original books.  However, if I was going to choose a Hardy Boys to read, I guess one set in my own home state would be a good one to choose - at least, so I thought.

The Skyfire Puzzle was published in 1985 by Simon & Schuster, and was the last Hardy Boys book published before the series was put on hiatus for two-and-a-half years so that S&S could start up the new Hardy Boys Case Files aimed at an older audience.  Written by Neal Barrett, Jr. (who apparently also wrote book 83, The Swamp Monster), the book is definitely a precursor to that Case Files series, as it features some much more adult themes and violence.  The Hardys are bit more intense in this story, they have a lot more high-tech equipment, and there is a level of romance, similar to what I saw in the wo Nancy Drew books that were published at the same time.  

The story actually opens similar to the first reboot series, The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers - the boys are smack-dab in the middle of an adventure, and the reader is thrown into the middle of it.  In this instance, Frank and Joe are with their father and Chet in the Georgia swamps, trying to capture some corporate criminals; but these criminals mean business, and they turn the tables on the young detectives, going after them with machine guns and trying to run them down with their cruiser.  It is not until they get back to their hotel that the boys (and the readers!) are introduced to the real mystery.  Harry Stone, head of NASA security at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida (p. 21) has tracked them down, as he needs the Hardys' help.  The upcoming launch of the shuttle, Skyfire, is being plagued with trouble, and Stone's capabilities as head of security is being questioned.  The shuttle is set to launch the very expensive Longeye telescope satellite into space, and if the launch doesn't go off, or worse, if something truly disastrous happens, it could result in a huge financial loss to the company financing it all. Enter: Nat Cramer and Pete McConnel - Cramer is the project specialist for the company that developed the telescope, and McConnel is his own personal security agent.  They are supposed to be working hand-in-hand with Stone, but at every turn, it seems all evidence is pointing to Stone's inability to prevent the sabotage, and McConnel is only too happy to point that out.

The mystery itself is not really that difficult to figure out, even though the author does try to mislead the reader by having Stone, as well as Stone's assistant Lew Gorman, framed for a lot of the problems that are plaguing the shuttle launch.  There is even the red herring of an international agent who is spotted on the scene.  Ultimately, Frank and Joe are invited to go up in the shuttle when a few of the civilians intended to go back out at the last minute (how fortunate for the Hardys, eh?).  It is rather unrealistic how quickly they are "trained" in how to adapt to a space mission like this, although there is a somewhat suspenseful scene when Joe is trapped in a centrifugal force module that is accelerating beyond what a normal body can take (p. 58).  In the big finale, Frank actually has to take a spacewalk in order to confront the villain and get him to confess to what is really going on here.  The last chapter is basically nine pages of dialogue as Frank and Joe give an overly detailed explanation of the villains' plans, how they pulled off what they did, and their ultimate goals in their criminal activity.  

I was hoping there would be more details of Florida and Kennedy Space Center in the book than what there was.  There is a quick mention of Mosquito Lagoon as they drive past it (p. 26) - the lagoon is a part of the Canaveral National Seashore.  As far as the Space Center itself, the boys visit the NASA centrifuge lab (p. 50), tour a detailed mock-up of the shuttle (p. 84), and see the Vehicle Assembly Building (p. 86); but otherwise, there are no accurate descriptions or details about the facility itself, raising questions as to whether the author had actually ever been there or was simply writing the story based on general information gleaned about the Center from research.  The boys do visit a restaurant called "Champs Elysees," named after a famous boulevard in Paris, but there is no real restaurant by that name in Florida; the only French restaurant in the area is Cafe Margaux, which does not match the description of the restaurant in the book.

There are a few interesting tidbits I picked up on while reading the book.  Early in the story, Joe is using a remote controlled airplane to try and spy, and the plane is called Blackhawk.  I smiled at this reference, as the Blackhawks are a team of World War II pilots from Quality Comics, and later DC Comics.  I also thought it odd they indicate Joe's weight as 155 pounds (p. 54).  I'm not sure if I've ever read a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book where any of the characters' weight is specifically given.  Finally, one of the astronauts on the plane is named Brett Hilton (p. 133).  The second I saw that name, my mind immediately went to Bret King and Chip Hilton, two series books characters, and I wondered if the author was merely giving a quick nod to the two mostly forgotten names.

 

The book was originally published by Simon & Schuster under the Wanderer imprint, with cover art by Richard Williams.  This book, and the previous one, were the first two to feature the "checkerboard" cover format that lasted for a number of volumes.  This particular cover shows Frank and Joe in the shuttle, apparently when they were using the shuttle's computer to try and gain information about the criminals.  When Simon & Schuster moved away from the Wanderer imprint, the book was re-published with later printings under the Minstrel imprint with new cover art by Paul Bachem.  This second cover art features Joe working the controls, while Frank is outside in space, taken somewhat from the climactic scenes when Frank goes out to confront the villain.  I was fortunate enough a few years back to purchase the original cover art by Bachem, and it's interesting to note the original art has the artist's signature, but when Simon & Schuster used the art, they removed the signature on the actual cover of the book.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the character of Harry Stone.  When he first appears in the story, the author is quick to point out that the Hardys had already met Mr. Stone previously when they assisted him in a previous mystery, Sky Sabotage.  That was only six books previous to this one, being published just two years prior in 1983.  I did not even realize there was another Hardy Boys book set at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and particularly one so close to this one.  I will admit I took a quick run through of that book, and the Florida references are not only more vague than this book, but they are also erroneous in their distance from one place to the other.  In that book, the boys follow a suspect from Kennedy Space Center to Gainesville and then on to "Fantasieworld" (an obvious pseudonym for Disney World) with a chase that only takes them a few hours round trip.  This is wholly unrealistic, as it would take more than two hours from KSC to Gainesville, and then another hour and a half from Gainesville to Disney - and that same amount of time to get back!  I did chuckle, though, at there references to a number of things within the amusement park:  the Outer Space Planet (a/k/a Space Mountain); the Deep Sea Submarine Ride (a/k/a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea); the Bear Dance (a/k/a the Country Bear Jamboree); the Island Pirates boat ride (a/k/a the Pirates of the Caribbean); and the Haunted House (a/k/a the Haunted Mansion) (p. 107-08).  There is even discussion of the "network of underground tunnels" that the staff use (p. 108), although Disney employees I have known have confirmed it is not really under ground; rather, it is the first story, with the actual park built above it on the second story.  In any event, the book has the boys travel to Lake Okeechobee (p 158), with a brief reference to Stuart, Florida (p. 159), which is on the East Coast of Florida, just east of Lake Okeechobee.  As I only skimmed this book, I can't really say with any certainty whether I would have enjoyed it.

I suppose the fact that I am not a big Hardy Boys fan, my opinion of the book was probably tainted from the beginning.  Did I hate the story?  No, not at all.  Did I enjoy it?  There were moments that I thought were enjoyable.  But did I find it to be a good mystery with a lot of suspense?  I would have to say no.  As I said above, the villains are easy to spot from the moment they first appear, and all of the intense scenes of gunfire and sabotage are sort of dulled by the fact you know the Hardys and their friends are not going to be seriously hurt.  And, of course, I was really hoping for more details about Florida and Kennedy Space Center than what I got.  I guess this just reminds me why I'm not a big fan of the Hardy Boys.

RATING:  5 shiny disks filled with hallucinogenic crystals out of 10 for at least putting Florida and Kennedy Space Center somewhat in the spotlight for the world to read!