The Hardy Boys

Previously on Hardy Boys...

Hey, hey, hey. We believe you about what happened on the Astghik.

Does this mean anything to you?

That symbol?

There's something inside!

It's a box!

That's what got everyone killed.

I lied.

Oh... Oh. Oh, are you all right, sir?

He took my bag.

Guy got on a plane with this fake mustache,

and then jumped off at 10,000 feet.

Oh, you're home. You're the guy that jumped out of that plane.

You're a fugitive. Guilty.

- What'd you steal? - The less you know, the better.

Have you retrieved the item?

The buyer is losing patience.

If what was in that box is that important,

they'll come after me again.

A box of your mom's things came today.

The Strange Tales of Bridgeport.

Joe, Mom signed this out the day that she died.

Somebody killed Mom.

The day she died, she was talking about that boat that sank.

The Astghik.

This is the symbol Ern found on the box.

I believe that she was investigating...

What was she doing in Bridgeport?

There's pages missing.

- "Tragedy at Demon's Paw"? - Frank!

We just have to figure out how this is all connected.

Frank, are you even listening to me?

Frank! Hmm? What's up?

I was asking where you think that kid Ern disappeared to.

Uh, I don't know.

Callie said his girlfriend's missing, too.

Maybe they're in hiding, or maybe they skipped town.

I would, too, if some seven‐foot‐tall maniac was after me.

Uh, I gotta go to Wilt's. First day, new job.

You're gonna do great.

Yikes. I mean, Joe, you cooked!

Yep.

Runny eggs. Extra runny.

Those are all yours. Thanks.

Uh, we'll talk later. Yep.

Oh, boy. Okay, um...

Just back in the pan for one more minute.

What's wrong with 'em?

Medium rare.

Sorry I'm late, Wilt.

What? Oh, uh, no problem.

Uh, here. Suit up.

Nice, huh?

I am going to the back to finish this chapter.

You put on a fresh pot of coffee.

Oh, hey, Wilt, I don't actually‐‐

Nice hat.

Gee, thanks.

Either one of you know how to work a coffee machine?

Why am I not surprised by this?

Yeah, we got coffee in the city.

Just don't know how‐‐ You gonna help me or not?

You just put the water up top, and then...

Dump it in there. Yeah.

Where's Wilt?

I don't know. He's in the back, reading some romance novel.

That's cute.

I guess he's‐‐ He's in charge, I guess.

Promotion.

He's the manager now. Store manager. Hmm.

What is it?

If I said something about Demon's Paw, would you know what I'm talking about?

Yeah. Yeah, that's the name of the hill right next to my farm.

Okay, 'cause I found...

I found this book.

‐ The Strange Tales of Bridgeport. ‐ Mm‐hmm.

There's a chapter missing.

"The Tragedy at Demon's Paw," written by Anya Kowalsky.

Isn't she, like, the, the palm reader?

It's like‐‐ No, no. She's a tarot card reader.

She always has a booth set up at the carnival.

Yeah, we were actually thinking about going, but you know, it's...

Cheesy rides and cheesy foods‐‐ It's cursed.

It's cursed. The carnival is not cursed.

People have died there before. It's gotta be at least a little cursed.

Okay, that's just because the rides are death traps.

Okay, what's the big deal about this book, anyways?

This is the last book that my mom took out...

...the day that...

...she, um...

I just want to know why she'd come to Bridgeport for this.

Well, we should go to the carnival and find this Anya woman.

You can ask her what the story's about.

Yeah. That'd be great. I'll meet you there after my shift.

- Cool. - Cool.

Sweet. Thanks, guys.

So, can we get that coffee now?

Cream and sugar?

I'll let you make it.

Joe, let's go! Carnival time!

Joe!

Oh, no.

No, no, no, no, no, no...

Aw...

Hey, you ready? We're gonna be late for the carnival.

Aunt Trudy, I could have been naked!

I think it's gonna be a good turnout this year.

I think we need to talk about boundaries.

What's that?

What's what?

Did you make this?

Yeah. Sorta.

It's just an art project I'm working on.

It's interesting.

Thanks.

Scary, though.

Didn't know you were so crafty.

Okay. We're leaving in five minutes.

Five minutes.

We're gonna have so much fun. How many carnivals have you been to?

- Uh, do arcades count? - No, they don't.

Okay, fine. Ah!

Do they have food there? I'm getting hungry.

- Yeah. Everything. - Oh, yeah, uh...

Okay that'll be our first stop.

This place is... vintage.

Bridgeport, man.

So where to first? The Zipper, or the house of oddities?

Do you guys know where the tarot card reader is?

Her tent is usually by the roller coaster.

So let's go there first.

Pretty desperate to see your future, huh?

I'm more interested in the past.

Hi. Can I please get, uh, ten tickets? Thank you.

All right, so here's five for you, five for me.

Don't spend it all in one place. Hi.

Hey, you. Hi.

Hi.

Are you here in official capacity, or just...

looking for midway miscreants?

Here with my own miscreant.

Okay, what do you want to do first? We've got, um, butter sculptures,

pig races... Wow. How do you choose?

I'm gonna play some games.

Me, too.

Here's five bucks. Have fun. See you later.

See ya.

Do I get five bucks?

Mm.

Don't eat everything all at once!

Can't make any promises!

They seem to be getting along.

Yeah, it's nice to see Joe having some fun.

You hungry?

Yeah, I could eat.

Come on. I'll buy you a corn dog.

I love corn dogs.

So you're gonna give up? You're gonna quit?

Yeah, I'm all out of money.

Could have had it. So close. Yeah.

Thanks, anyway. Whatever.

Why don't you go find your parents. Get some more money.

This doesn't look that tough.

Coin toss is impossible.

That's why the prizes are so big. No one ever wins.

Oh, ho, ho!

Is it rigged?

It is not rigged. Right, ladies and gentlemen?

It is not rigged.

It is easily winnable. Probably. Maybe.

It's easily winnable. Why don't you give it a go?

You don't know unless you try. You wanna try it?

All right.

There you go.

Nice one, young fella.

Oh, whoa. That's the first win all day.

All right. A winner.

Really? This is it?

How do I get one of these big things?

Well, in order to win that, you're gonna have to win three times.

Some say that that's impossible.

But I'll be happy to take your money if you wanna play again.

‐ I have enough tickets. ‐ Okey‐dokey.

Here we go. We've got a contender here, folks.

Woo‐hoo‐hoo‐hoo!

Ladies and gentlemen,

we have a gambler here! Whoa!

Big gambler.

Oh, he's going for three in a row, everyone!

So, good luck!

Don't worry, Hardy. No pressure.

It's not like literally everyone here is watching you.

Shut up. I'm focusing.

Big gambler. Big gambler. Good luck.

Let's see if he can do it!

Go for it.

Playing for the big one!

A winner!

Woo!

Wow! Ha!