Not a bad book either in its revised edit or original edition. The Hardy boys tackle the case of some robberies around Bayport, when their father is put out of commission by a rogue sniper. Their trail leads them to Crowhead ranch in New Mexico, run by their cousin, Ruth. The first (and last) time any of the extended Hardy family is mentioned, aside from Aunt Gertrude.
Of course there is a mystery there, too. As she has been losing staff from her ranch. The boys fly out and with the help of some friendly cowboys, solve the mystery.
This is mainly remembered for me, by the travails of getting this sorted out. The original text wasn't half bad, it just needed proof reading and formatting and in one case, removing half a chapter, where it had been printed twice.
The remake though is another matter. It's not like the later condensed edits where most of the chapters remain the same but with occasional extension of sentences and the occasional extended paragraphs to bump it up to 25 chapters. This is more like a considered rewrite where half the sentences remain the same but the rest is either all new material or rewritten from the original, but saying the same thing.
Also in this is Pye the Navajo. He is written much more considerately in the modern edit. The original has him speaking in a "heap big stereotype" style of speech. Quite frankly it got on my tits after a while and that sort of stuff never bothers me.
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