About
Frank and Joe Hardy encounter a perplexing set of mysteries when they agree to help their friend Jack Dodd and his father locate a family treasure.
Read one section at a time, then discuss the questions to review understanding. These questions are a starting place for conversation, not a complete test of the chapter.
Chapter 1
Comprehension questions
What mysterious happenings went on in this chapter?
Page 1 — Someone was stealing cars; Jack’s boat hit something in the water that caused a hole; Jack said he had a 300 year old mystery his family wanted help with; their friend’s car was also stolen
1
Chapter 2
Comprehension questions
Define what a pun is.
Page 13 — The usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound
13
What was the emergency at Jack’s farm?
Page 18 — Jack and his dad were being accused of stealing the cars
18
What evidence did the police have?
Page 18 — The car was on their property, they police received a “tip-off” that they were the ashore Road thieves; Jack’s fishing pole was in the trunk of the car
18
Chapter 3
Comprehension questions
How did the Dodd’s get out of prison?
Page 21 — Mr. Hardy helped them post bail
21
Summarize the other mystery the Dodd’s need helped with.
Page 22 — The Pilgrim mystery; their ancestor left the Plymouth Colony with his family in a boat in search of a horseshoe-shaped inlet ((Barmet Bay); there was a storm and a bottle with a message; they want to find out what happened to their ancestor, if he made it to the inlet and/or if he perished in the storm; there’s a treasure chest of gems and journals
22
Chapter 4
Comprehension questions
Why do the boys think that the Dodd’s might have been kidnapped?
Page 29 — They were planning on being at the trial the next day; the boys were going to go over to the farm and discuss the Pilgrim mystery
29
Why wouldn’t the boys allow the New York businessman to talk?
Page 35 — They didn’t want to be pulled into a scam; they didn’t believe him
35
Describe what happened at the boat house.
Page 37 — The boys were attacked
37
Chapter 5
Comprehension questions
How does the beginning of this chapter remind you of what Mr. Hardy is working on?
Page 39 — The boys were gassed, and their father is also studying gasses
39
What are the three mysteries the boys are solving and why do they think they’re all connected?
Page 44 — The Dodd’s missing, the stolen cars, the Pilgrim mystery; the thieves could have kidnapped the Dodd’s because of the Pilgrim treasure
44
What’s happens in this chapter to conclude that things are getting dangerous?
Page 42 — The boys receive letters from people complaining they’re support for the Dodd’s and a grenade was thrown into their clubhouse window
42
Chapter 6
Comprehension questions
What do you think the brown flecks of paint are?
Page 53 — The paint from the car
53
Why do you think there is a crash?
Page 53 — Listen to your child’s answer
53
Chapter 7
Comprehension questions
How is Chet’s study of plants coming in handy in this chapter?
Page 57 — Hopefully Chet can identify the leaf in the Pilgrim mystery
57
Explain what getting “a birds-eye view” means.
Page 61 — Flying in an airplane and seeing the ground as a bird sees it
61
Why did the boys think the last car in chapter 7 could be “a bite”?
Page 65 — The car was racing wildly
65
Chapter 8
Comprehension questions
Why is George Birnham suspicious?
Page 70 — He blocked the boys two different times from being able to chase a car; he said he didn’t have a phone, but is in the phone book; his car was the first one stolen; his land was given to him by a member of the Dodd family
70
Why is it a good thing that the boys checked out the fire before reporting it?
Page 73 — Scratch was knocked unconscious in the middle of the fire and would have died if they had called the police first
73
Chapter 9
Comprehension questions
What happened in this chapter?
Page 77 — The boys took some friends swimming in a cove; one of the girls dove under the water and someone underwater threw a net around her; Frank saved her; that night two boys watched the intersection while two others went onto the Birnham farm; Slagel came and talked to the farmer and left; the farmer climbed into his big tractor and drive it at the boys camping in the field
77
Chapter 10
Comprehension questions
Name two strange things that happened in this chapter.
Page 89 — Slagel threatened the boys with a blade on the bottom of his cane; the boys found a note Slagel had telegraphed; the boys saw the spider human climbing a net; there was a fine steel-wire net string across the road the boys ran into
89
Chapter 11
Comprehension questions
What’s a concussion?
Page 94 — A brain injury caused by a blow to the head
94
Did the boys find anything strange as they took their boat out on the water?
Page 99 — They found rope netting; Tony saw a spider-man on the same cliff as the boys; heard a strange scraping noise under their boat; saw Carlton Melliman looking at them through binoculars
99
Chapter 12
Comprehension questions
Who did the boys meet in the chapter?
Page 106 — Martin Dobb, Jack’s uncle
106
Why was he sneaking around and why did he keep himself disguised?
Page 107 — So, he could go unnoticed while he figured out the Pilgrim’s clue
107
Chapter 13
Comprehension questions
What was Chet’s job in this chapter and what did he find?
Page 115 — To reconnaissance Birnham’s produce truck; he found tire tracks in the back of the truck and heard that Slagel was going to finish off the Hardy boys
115
Chapter 14
Comprehension questions
Why do you think the boys got sleepy?
Page 125 — Listen to your child’s answer
125
Chapter 15
Comprehension questions
What decoy were the boys going to use to trick Slagel?
Page 130 — They were going to buy a car
130
What happened to the boys in this chapter?
Page 132 — They followed the barge in their boat; Frank jumped out and swam to the barge; when he got there, someone hit him over the head, and he fell back into the water; Joe was there and got him back to their boat; someone in a diving suit came aboard their boat and knocked Chet out; Joe was ready to fight him at the end of the chapter
132
Chapter 16
Comprehension questions
Why were the boys relieved when Tony swam back up to the surface after looking at the Dodd’s boat?
Page 137 — They were worried the Dodd’s had been in the boat when it sank, but they weren’t
137
Why are the boys leaving to Harpertown?
Page 138 — Slagel threatened them and told them to leave town for 5 days; they’re going to purchase a car
138
Chapter 17
Comprehension questions
How many tries did it take to get Slagel to steal the car? Why?
Page 147 — Two; the first time the car wouldn’t start
147
Chapter 18
Comprehension questions
Did the Trojan horse plan work? How?
Page 156 — Yes; it got the boys to the hide out; they found the Dodd’s and figured out the operation
156
Chapter 19
Comprehension questions
Did Chet come to the rescue with the police? Why, or why not?
Page 165 — No, he was captured before he could get them
165
Chapter 20
Comprehension questions
Did the car mystery have any correlation to the Pilgrim mystery?
Page 174 — No
174
How did solving the car mystery help them solve the Pilgrim mystery?
Page 175 — After solving the car mystery, they were in the right place to find the mysterious leaf and the treasure chest full of jewels and journals
175
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