So the Ghost at Skeleton Rock. Or the Hardys do Puerto Rico. This is the first book I ever wrote up as a sort of review for English class at school. Not the first Hardy Boys story I read (Melted Coins). But the first sort of review I did. Can remember Chet taking up ventriloquism as his hobby of the day.
PLOT
Fenton Hardy gives them a cryptic message about finding a Hugo purple turban, which just so coincides with Chet Morton picking up ventriloquism as a hobby. His doll from the toy shop is almost hijacked by thugs when he comes to collect it, and when they finally pick it up they find a coded message for Cabezona N in the Spanish instructions.
A few more clues brings them to Puerto Rico, via the small island of Tropicale. The Cabezona clue largely brings them to the pineapple growing regions to the south as there is a Punta Cabezona there along with a sugar central (processing plant). They find that the plane leads due north, and as a hunch hire a boat and find that there is a small island being used by a Durling Hamilton leader of the bad guys as base. Although charming he tries to get the local Carib Indians to kill off the boys and when that fails sabotages his boat and then gets them to sail back to Puerto Rico for help and watches them sink.
So where actually is Skeleton Rock then, and what about that ghost?
19 chapters in we finally find out that Skeleton Rock exists in the extreme north of Hamilton's island as a dread place of ritual for the Caribs. The ghost of a long dead Cacique actually a projection is being used to scare the Indians into compliance.
Differences?
So far there are a few text edits to certain phrases and spellings in the English version, from the US original. But as it's based on the rewrite and the text file I have that purports to be original has fuck all differences between this and my UK copy, I'd like to get my hands on an original to see what edits were made (if any).
Edit. UK version Here and Original version here
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