Frank Hardy gives an overview of their latest case.
Iola Morton is caught making crank calls to the Hardy house. Frank and Joe meet a boy who is a stranger in town.
Iola Morton's purse is stolen. The Hardy's chase the culprit onto Silas Applegates property.
Frank and Joe return that night to search the grounds, where they find some tools that were stolen from their home. It appears that Perry is the thief and Applegate tells the boy he'll have to leave, prompting the upset youth to run away.
Leonard Martin provides an introduction to the continuing series and an overview of bonus features.
Joe finds Perry hiding in the bushes and Perry gives him a gold doubloon to hold, then turns himself in.
The young detectives learn that the doubloon might be part of a treasure once said to be owned by Applegate.
The Hardy's return the next night to dig up the grounds, but someone else has had the same idea, for the grounds are full of holes. Applegate finds them at work, but instead of chasing them away, he invites them inside to tell them about the treasure.
Family legends say that the treasure was booty from the War of 1812 and was awarded to his great-grandfather. The chest, which once held 3,000 doubloons worth $40 each, is empty now, for someone stole the coins ten years ago. Most of the town doesn't believe the treasure ever existed, for Applegate had refused to show it to anyone, so he's glad the boys believe his story. However, his pleasure sours when he sees all the holes in his yard, and he blames Frank and Joe for the destruction.
Told by their father to stay away from Applegate's, the boys send Iola back to retrieve their shovel.
Someone locks Iola in the Applegate storeroom at the base of the mansion's tower and she must be rescued by Frank and Joe. They also find Jackley in the storeroom, unconscious and tied up.
Iola claims to have heard footsteps in the tower, which Applegate says has been closed up for years, so Fenton Hardy decides to investigate.
The tower is a shambles, as if someone has been systematically tearing it apart. Fenton spots a shadowy figure and gives chase, finally catching the man in the garden.
Applegate identifies the prisoner as Boles, his former gardener, and the police take him away for questioning.
The next day, they take Boles to his rooming house to search it. There, he switches shoes, claiming his feet hurt.
the first pair of shoes they found concealed another doubloon and a note that Boles knew a detailed search would reveal.
The second note was written by a man named Jenkins, who was arrested shortly after the treasure disappeared, and the boys turn it over to the police. Word of the note gets around town and a horde of greedy searchers descends on Applegate's house, ready to tear it apart to find the gold. The police keep them outside and begin their own search, but the doubloons are nowhere inside the tower.
The police bring Boles to the tower to help with the search.
Frank and Joe, vowing not to give up, follow Boles when he's released on bail and trailing him back to his rooming house. While they wait outside, Boles is attacked by Jackley, who used to be Jenkins' cellmate. He tries to force Boles to reveal where the gold is hidden but he is unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Joe suspects the coins may be in another tower, so when Frank spots a rundown railroad water tower, the boys decide to search it.
Meanwhile, Joe suspects the coins may be in another tower, so when Frank spots a rundown railroad water tower, the boys decide to search it. Jackley spots them as they make the climb up the tower.
Joe's theory is right, for the gold is hidden inside. Jackley rushes there pretending to help, but he reveals his true nature and the boys fight him off. A passing police patrol spots them and arrests Jackley, and the gold is finally returned to a grateful Applegate.
Joe introduces the the boys latest mystery, in this cleverly done overview.
A year has passed since the boys solved their first big case and Joe is once again bored with life. Frank has become interested in girls, much to Joe's disgust, and refuses to play at detective games. Things change when Joe is sent on an errand to the countryside, for he discovers a "haunted" farm.
Although the place is deserted, someone is taking care of the animals that still live there. Joe convinces Frank that something unusual is going on and the two sleuths search the house, where they meet the ghost.
In reality, the ""ghost"" is an elderly man who claims he is looking after the animals as a favor to the deceased owner, a farmer named Lacey.
Frank and Joe learn that the farm is to be sold to pay back taxes, and the animals will be sold to a slaughterhouse.
The old man surprisingly produces a will signed by Lacey that arranges for the care of the animals, and the boys happily return home.
The man named Fred is trying to sell all the animals on the farm to a butcher. He is supposedly legally entitled.
Joe discovers the will is a fake, and the boys rush back to the farm to confront the old man.
The Old Man confesses that he is really the missing Lacey and had faked his death so he could use his insurance money to care for the animals.
Frank and Joe narrowly save the animals from being killed.
The boys are brought in after the police discover they removed the animals to avoid them being slaughtered.
Lacey confesses everything to get Frank and Joe out of trouble.
Iola discovers Lacey ahs had somthing all along to save his farm.
The animals get loose on the men who came to collect them, just in time to - as the boys and Iola arrive with the proof Lacey can afford his taxes to save them.
Lacey has a fortune in old books and manuscripts. Ample money to take care of him and his animals for the rest of their lives.
Leonard Maltin narrates this documentary on how Jackson Gillis adapted the "The Tower Treasure" to The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure. Features Disney TV historian Bill Cotter as the resident expert, but surprisingly has no footage or even photos of Gillis.
Leonard Maltin interviews Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk about their experience filming the Hardy Boys. Tommy gives Leonard a worse time than Harry Carry Jr did on the Spin and Marty DVD; by the end, Leonard is plainly grimacing and longing for the fadeout.
The Fun With Music Day that introduced the Hardy Boys is shown in its entirety. A newsreel precedes Darlene and Bobby in "Amusement Park". The Hardy Boys introduction follows, then a Doddism, followed by the Mousekartoon, "Mickey's Rival".
