The Poetry of Distress

by Ken Maage

"Frank and Joe looked back once at the blackened building, outlined against the twilight sky. Wisps of smoke still curled from the torn out windows. It was a gloomy, silent trio that drove to the Hardy Home."

I start this essay with a quote directly from chapter 13 of Hardy Boys volume 3, "The Secret of the Old Mill," because it stands to communicate better than I could the art of Franklin W. Dixon. Many volumes have we read and analyzed here in the Hardy Boys Literary Society. Many have we extolled for the virtue of raising the sights of young readers to the glorious helpfulness of honesty, courage and adventure displayed in Frank and Joe. And on several occasions this author has pointed out the literary craftsmanship that satisfies the soul of the reader.

But everything of beauty I have seen in other Hardy Boys novels pales in comparison to the shining jewel, that is 3.13 (volume 3, chapter 13). Dixon evokes such emotion in the reader that one is left...stunned.

For a picture of the large context in which we find 3:13, Frank and Joe have just witnessed an explosion at a laboratory and are the first to arrive on the scene of destruction. "The series of explosive sounds had died away, but the damage appeared to be extensive."

Before Dixon allows us to share in the boys' predicament he brings us to the point of saying to oneself "phew." It is a good thing the Hardy Boys weren't anywhere near the building when it exploded. Then Dixon uses that powerful influence he has over the readers emotion. From a feeling of relief for the boys' safety, he turns it to concern---for Frank and Joe's father! What follows is one of the most tense, dramatic and emotionally charged chapter in possibly the entire series! "I wish we could find out whether or not dad's at [the lab]... Frank whispered to Joe. At this point the boys heard the scream of sirens." From a whisper to a scream. Amazing.

Time and time again in this chapter, Dixon opens the door of relief, hinting that Fenton Hardy is fine, then slams the door. Is Frank and Joe's father alive or dead?!? We are not told.

Now perhaps a well-read fan will be saying, "Of course he's okay! Fenton Hardy never gets hurt!" To those let me say to look in the cover of your book and tell me what number you see there: three. Now place yourself in the shoes of a reader new to the series. If this is only the third book you've read, your confidence in Mr. Hardy's safety would be far from complete. You might actually be quite scared. Page after page in this chapter the reader is given a scenario where someone could tell them that everything will be all right but doesn't. The police chief cannot say he's seen their father, the fire chief says they can't know what caused the blaze. After the blaze is under control, Dixon says they "entered the laboratory building to look for any possible victims." (Dixon, 107)

But the thing that gives this chapter its real power is when the teenage sleuths return home where they must not allow their fears to upset "the women." "The evening dragged on, tension mounting every minute." (Dixon, 110)

Even after the end of the chapter when a phone call is revealed as merely a wrong number, we are left with a profound sense of the boys' anxiety. One of the most striking examples of Franklin W. Dixon's ability to elicit whatever emotions he chooses in his readers. Again I must say, Oh Dixon, show us your craft!