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Rh chums, he had witnessed the alarm clock parade from a convenient corner across the street and was now limply making his way toward the Hardys' barn, pausing every now and then to burst into shrieks of laughter at the remembrance of Riley's undignified flight.

But when the Hardy boys and their chums reached the house they found their father hastening down the front steps.

"I just had a telephone message from the police station," he said.

"What's the matter?" asked Frank, while the other lads looked at one another guiltily. Had Riley reported them?

"Paul Blum has escaped from jail," said Fenton Hardy.