The Missing Chums
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| Author | Franklin W. Dixon |
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| Series | The Hardy Boys |
| Genre(s) | Children's literature/Young adult literature |
| Publisher | Grosset & Dunlap |
| Released | March 1, 1930 |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-448-08904-1 |
| Preceded by | The Secret of the Old Mill |
| Followed by | Hunting for Hidden Gold |
The Missing Chums is volume 4 in the original Hardy Boys book series published by Grosset & Dunlap. The book ranks 108th on Publisher's Weekly's All-Time Bestselling Children's Book List with 1,189,973 copies sold as of 2001. [1]
The plot concerns the disappearance of the Boys' chums, Chet and Biff, when they take a motorboat trip down the coast. When Frank and Joe find them, they were all captured. In the end, they win over the bad guys on mysterious Blacksnake Island.
At the beginning of the book the boys take their new boat, the Sleuth, out on the bay. While they are cruising on the bay another boat nearly rams them. They would have chased the boat but the steering on the Sleuth broke, and the boys ended up going around in circles. It turns out that the boat that nearly rammed them had a purpose for doing so, that we do not discover until the end of the book.
Soon after, the boys prepare to go to Callie Shaw's costume party. They encounter another mystery as it appears that men in Mr. French's costume shop appear to be threatening Mr. French.
Returning home the boys frighten their Aunt Gertrude with their costumes. Aunt Gertrude is yet another recurring character in the series. Soon the boys are off to the costume party on their motorcycles. On the way they realize that the bank is being robbed. They follow the criminals until they lose them at the docks, where they hop into a boat and escape into the fog.
After notifying the U.S. Coast Guard, the boys gain permission from Chief Collig to search for the criminals in the Sleuth, but the boys discover the Sleuth has been stolen! The boys search for the bank robbers in Tony Prito's boat, the Napoli, but are unable to find them in the thickening fog. The boys return home, explain to their father everything they saw at the bank and during the chase, and then head out to the costume party.
The next day the boys awaken to learn that Chet Morton and Biff Hooper never made it home from the party. The boys not only have to learn who stole the Sleuth, but where their missing friends went, and who robbed the bank. As the story develops the boys learn that expensive radios that may have been stolen are turning up. Lastly, a hermit on a tiny island with a shotgun threatens the boys. Soon they resuce their friends and escape.
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