CHAPTER VII

An Exciting Identification

instinctively the three boys backed up until they felt a wall behind them.

"What do you expect us to talk about?" Frank demanded, to gain time.

"About Grafton," snarled the fake bellman. "How much do you know? Come on-talk!"

The two brawny henchmen, Ringer and Caesar, advanced menacingly from the window, while the bellman moved in from the door.

"Quarterback sneak left!" Frank called, dropping to a football player's crouch.

Catching the signal, Chet, who played center for Bayport High, lowered one shoulder and plunged forward into the advancing Ringer. At the same instant Joe unleashed a body block that sent Caesar crashing backward into a desk. Frank, meanwhile, rushed the surprised bellman and threw him to the floor.

60

An Exciting Identification 61

Caught off guard, the intruders fought back viciously for a few moments. But the agility and speed of the boys more than made up for the size and strength of their attackers. Caesar was groggy from his fall, and Ringer gasped for breath.

The bellman was the first to struggle to his feet. "Clear out!" he cried to his companions, knocking Chet off Ringer. Caesar was able to free himself, and the three men fled out the door. The boys went after them, but the men rushed into a service elevator. Apparently the bellman had left the door open for a quick getaway. The door slammed and the car shot downward.

"We'd never catch 'em by racing down the stairs," Joe panted.

"No," Frank agreed. "And they'll lose themselves in the street before we can overtake them."

"They didn't get away scot free, though," Chet announced after the boys reached their room. "The man I blocked out dropped this. It may be a valuable clue."

Frank took the carefully folded paper from Chet and spread it out. "Why, this is a copy of our flight plan from Ely the to Los Angeles! One of their gang must have sneaked into the airport office and copied the original. That's how they trailed us here."

"And we thought we had fooled them into thinking we'd gone back East!" said Chet, dismayed.

62 Mystery of the Desert Giant

Frank nodded. "They outsmarted us this time. There's no question about it, we're up against a bunch of dangerous and well-organized criminals! Let's talk to the police."

At headquarters the young sleuths reported their progress. They learned that Grafton's secretary had reported the threats against her.

"You Hardys have turned up more on this case in one afternoon than we have in three months," the detective in charge asserted with admiration. He took down Joe's description of the bellman and the two strong-arm henchmen. "How do you plan to proceed from here?"

Frank analyzed the situation briefly. "We have two working hunches. First, there's the rock we found. Grafton and Wetherby might have been after minerals or semiprecious stones when this gang caught them. The other possibility is that they slipped away in a boat, probably to Mexico, since Wetherby was keen about life below the border."

"Then our first job is to hunt for more clues in the desert around the giant," Joe reasoned. "After that, we'd better hire a boat and make the trip down the river ourselves, right from where Grafton and Wetherby would have started."

"Logical reasoning," the detective said. "I wish you luck."

As the youths left headquarters, Chet exclaimed

An Exciting Identification 63

eagerly, "Well, if we go down the river, we'll have a chance to fish. I've heard the Colorado bass are really something."

"Good idea, Chet," Joe agreed. "If we look like fishermen, we may be able to shake this gang off our trail."

"We'll need permits to enter Mexico," Frank observed. "Best place to get them is here in Los Angeles."

They headed for the Mexican consulate, where they presented their birth certificates and were given entrance cards, then all three boys obtained fishing licenses in a sporting-goods store. Soon they were air-borne again and on their way back to Riverside County Airport. They would stop at Blythe to see about renting a boat in a couple of days.

When they landed in Blythe, a brief taxi ride brought them to the town's water front. As they strolled along the river, Chet began to dawdle.

"Aren't we forgetting something awfully important? What about meals on this trip down the river? We'll need food for a month, at least."

The stocky lad had come to a full stop in front of a large market. With evident satisfaction, he contemplated the wonderful variety of foods through the broad glass window.

"Some detectives travel on their stomachs!" Joe laughed. "All right, Chet, you buy provisions while Frank and I hire a boat."

64 Mystery of the Desert Giant

The excellent climate made Blythe a year-round fisherman's paradise, and the Hardy brothers found numerous docks along the river. They stepped onto one, looking for a suitable boat.

A graceful red-and-white craft, with two powerful outboard motors mounted on her stern, caught Joe's eye. "Plenty of power in an emergency," he commented. "Never know when we might need it!"

"Is this boat for rent?" Frank asked the proprietor, a long-legged old-timer wearing tight-fitting dungarees.

"Reckon she is." The man, whittling a stick, hardly glanced at the boys or the boat.

"Could we keep her for as long as a month?"

"Reckon so."

"Could you let us have her in a day or two?"

"Reckon I could."

"All right," Frank concluded. "We'll get in touch with you when we're ready. Is it a deal?"

"Reckon it is."

Joe laughed. "Talkative old buzzard. Not like our friend Mrs. Watson!"

As the Hardys returned to the market, Frank and Joe were amazed to see a great heap of brown food bundles seemingly walking toward them on legs of its own! Perched on top of the pile was a familiar bright sombrero, and out of the heap of packages came a familiar voice.

"Hi!"

An Exciting Identification 65

Then, without warning, the mountain o£ parcels exploded. Packages flew in every direction, and rained down upon the shoulders of Frank and Joe and other passers-by. Chet Morton, who had been invisible behind the heap except for his legs and sombrero, raced down the street crying:

"Stop, thief!"

Frank and Joe hastily rescued some of the food from the street, as their friend, some distance away, brought down his man in a flying tackle.

"Give me back my money!" they heard Chet bellow as he dragged the man to his feet.

The brothers hurried over with the parcels of food.

"It's that counterfeit-check man, Van Buskirk!" Chet told them excitedly. He held the short young man by the collar and every now and then gave him a shake.

"Say, what is this, anyway?" the man protested, recovering himself. All at once he recognized Chet. "It's you again. What do you want with me?"

"I want the money you swindled from me with that phony check!"

The man looked surprised. "What do you mean? That check was all right. It was a government check."

"Yes? You tell that to the police, Mr. Innocence," answered Chet sarcastically. "You've probably got a whole bushel of them. What are you doing here in Blythe, anyhow?"

66 Mystery of the Desert Giant

"I have a perfect right to be here. I live in Blythe!"

"Tell that to the police, too!" retorted the angry Chet.

At Blythe police headquarters Al Van Buskirk continued to maintain his innocence.

"Yes-he lives in Blythe all right," the desk sergeant spoke up. "I've seen him around town."

"Then what was he doing in Los Angeles?" Chet wanted to know.

"Listen, it must all be a mistake." Van Buskirk answered the question himself in a worried voice. "I've been ill for a while and out of regular work. All I could find was a walk-on part in that movie. When it was finished I came back here."

The man turned to Chet. "I'm sorry if I caused you to lose your money. I was taken in myself. I sold a valuable gold watch for that check!"

"Here in Blythe?" asked the officer quickly.

"No, in Los Angeles."

"Can you remember what the check passer looked like?"

"A little taller than I am, and a few years older. A spry, wiry fellow. I remember thinking he might work in some hotel, because his pants had a stripe down the side like a uniform."

Joe, on a hunch, pulled the photograph of the phony bellman from his pocket. "Al, by any chance, was this man the bad-check passer?"

An Exciting Identification 67

Van Buskirk gazed at the picture. "It sure looks like him. Yes, that's the man! Say, where in Pete's name did you get this?"

Joe smiled. "We've been doing a little sleuthing, that's all," he answered noncommittally.

The sergeant was amazed and asked to keep the photograph. Joe handed it over. The officer now took something from his desk drawer. "Did the check you received look anything like this one?"

Both Chet and Al Van Buskirk declared, "Same thing exactly!"

The officer nodded. "This was turned in last week by the Blythe bank. Seems to be a brand-new racket."

"Officer, may my brother and I look at that check, too?" Frank inquired abruptly, again recalling the government fraud case on which their father was working. The boys examined the check and nodded to each other, but did not mention Mr. Hardy's investigation.

"Van Buskirk's story seems to check out all right, Morton," the sergeant said.

Al turned to Chet. "I'm sorry, I've already spent your money to pay bills, but I'll give you a note for the amount and pay you as soon as I can," he offered.

"That's fair enough," Chet agreed. "After all, you were fooled, too."

As the four left the police station, the Hardys

68 Mystery of the Desert Giant

and Chet said good-by to the actor and at Frank's suggestion headed for a hardware store to purchase digging tools to use in the desert.

"I don't feel satisfied with our examination of the desert giants," he explained. "I'd like to do a little digging out there before we start down the river. I have a hunch we may find a buried clue," he said.

"Not a body!" Chet quavered.

"I hope not," said Joe. "You mean, Frank, a cache of valuable rocks or something Grafton may have managed to hide out there before he left?"

"Right."

After the purchase, the three friends took a taxi to the airport, told Gene Smith their plan, and stowed the equipment and food in the plane.

As the monoplane soared toward the desert giant, the boys discussed the exciting new developments in the case.

Presently Frank said worriedly, "I just thought of a new angle. Suppose Grafton was attacked or kidnaped?"

"Good night!" Chet exclaimed.

"Or suppose he's mixed up in some kind of racket?" Frank went on.

"How terrible for Mrs. Grafton and her boys, and Mr. Brownlee, too!" Chet remarked.

Suddenly Joe asserted, "Grafton that kind of person? I don't believe it!"