Rawley
("The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure")

Rawley was among the most diabolical criminals that the boys encountered in their adventures. His plot to drill a tunnel into a bank vault was elaborate, and his capture of the boys provides several intense chapters in the mystery.

Rawley distinguishes himself in "Vanishing Treasure" as a villain who has waited a long time to pull off the big crime. Having grown up in Miss Agawam's neighborhood, he was one of her gnomes who used to go to her house with the other kids to hear her read stories. His father helped build the bank next to her house, and Rawley knew that the bank vault did not have alarms on the walls that were underground. So he bided his time waiting for the ideal moment to dig through to the bank vault and rob the contents with no one knowing a robbery was occurring until it was over.

Of course, the Three Investigators get involved and thwart the plot. Rawley, however, turns out to be interesting because he keeps trying to convince Jupe to join forces with him because of Jupe's intelligence. Despite this apparent admiration for Jupiter, Rawley is still cold-hearted as he plans to kill the boys if they didn't go along with him.

The night when Jupe and Pete are captured by Rawley and the midgets represents one of the most detailed nights in the Three Investigators series. From the attempted escape by the boys down the minaret to their abduction after the robbery, the suspense builds up to the point where the reader genuinely asks, "Now how are they going to get out of this one?"

But of course they always do.

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