The Disappearing Floor

The Disappearing Floor
Author(s)	Franklin W. Dixon
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	The Hardy Boys
Genre(s)	Young adult literature
Publisher	Grosset & Dunlap
Publication date	May 1, 1940
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	192 pp
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	The Twisted Claw
Followed by	The Mystery of the Flying Express

The Disappearing Floor is Volume 19 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap.

This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by John Button in 1940.^[1] Between 1959 and 1973 the first 38 volumes of this series were systematically revised as part of a project directed by Harriet Adams, Edward Stratemeyer's daughter.^[2] The original version of this book was rewritten in 1964 by James D. Lawrence^[1] resulting in two different stories with the same title.

UK version published by William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. as The Mystery of the Disappearing Floor, Volume 5, in 1971.^{[citation needed]}

Plot summary (revised edition)

The Hardy boys are asked by their father, Fenton Hardy, to assist him in solving a case involving notorious jewel thief and his accomplices. Initially, they spot the man’s car and attempt to follow it until the car drops a purple smoke bomb and the Hardys are forced to pull over. While returning home from the car chase they happen across their friend Chet Morton who was in the woods rock collecting when he heard weird screams. When the three pals go to investigate they find a strangely tiled floor in the woods and nearby an injured man who suddenly revives and runs off. Their adventure continues with a stolen amethyst, a bomb damaging their boat the Sleuth, and a savage looking hound which turns out to be an electrified scare device.

When Aunt Gertrude hears where the boys found Chet, she tells them that they were close to Old Man Perth’s house where strange deaths have happened. The owner, Jerome Perth, was a business tycoon who made many enemies due to his swindles. When he died his nephew, Clarence Perth, inherited the house. Shortly after moving in, the servants awoke during the night to him screaming and he was found on the floor of his bedroom with a fractured skull. The door and the windows of the room were all locked from the inside, so the mystery of how he died was never solved.

The Hardy boys identify a pilot who may be helping the thieves and so they walk into his hanger to examine his plane. Armed with a miniature camera Joe snapped a picture of a map found in the plane. This led them to a cabin hidden in the woods in a small bight named Tigers Bight. Unfortunately the boys don’t have a chance to investigate the cabin as their family friend Jack Wayne crashes his plane Skyhappy Sal nearby and is injured. After rescuing Jack the boys return to the Perth mansion where they find the jewel thieves hiding out and tricking a professor into making a ‘freeze ray gun’ for them.

After more investigating and Hardy boys manage to figure out that Clarence died by accident due to the 'disappearing floor' in his bedroom. Unfortunately the boys are captured before they can tell any one, but luckily the jewel thief likes to brag so he tells them all about how the gang has used the freeze ray guns to stun security guards and steal the jewels. He even tells them about a swindle where they rigged an elevator to go to the wrong floor where they had set up a fake office in order to receive a special shipment of diamonds without anyone becoming suspicious until they were safely far away. Eventually Fenton Hardy shows up and rescues his boys and arrests the thieves.

Plot summary (original edition)

While Frank and Joe help their father locate a notorious jewel thief, they also explore the mysterious death of a tycoon's nephew years before.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

In the television series, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, the story is completely rewritten. In it, the boys are asked by their father to help him keep surveillance on an employee of a technology firm who have hired for a case. However, their participation is complicated when they follow him to an isolated property and are beset with a number of strange experiences, beginning with a UFO sighting, that make them doubt their senses.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Keeline, James D. "Who Wrote the Hardy Boys? Secrets from the Syndicate Files Revealed". http://www.keeline.com/Hardy_Boys.pdf. 
2. ^ http://www.hardyboysonline.net/content.php?page=series-canon-revisions