CHAPTER IV

A Warning

A huge angry lizard, nearly two feet long, had raised its head and was advancing slowly toward Frank. The reptile's forked purple tongue darted menacingly from its mouth.

Frank danced back out of reach and waved his companions to a halt. "Nearly stepped on it," he said, as the lizard, hissing sharply, came on. The thick, dark-purplish body was blotched with bright yellow and covered with warts.

"Wow!" Chet's eyes popped. "What is it-a baby crocodile?"

"Gila monster," returned Frank, still watching the lizard closely. "Stay back. They're slow as turtles in a race, but I wouldn't get near those fangs. Their bite is poisonous." At this news Chet jumped backward an extra yard.

Finally the monster stopped its advance and stood regarding the boys out of cold, ugly eyes.

"Trying to scare us." Joe chuckled.

32

A Warning 33

"He's succeeding," declared Chet. "Let's get out of here!"

Frank and Joe looked at each other, their eyes twinkling.

"Chet," Frank said, "you go back. Joe and I will find out what that glittering thing is."

Nervously the chunky boy considered the expanse of desert between him and the blue airplane. No telling how many Gila monsters he might meet!

"Alone?" he asked blankly.

"Sure. Go on. Wait for us at the plane."

Wistfully, Chet considered the distance again. "No," he protested in a forced hearty voice, "your folks would never forgive me if I let you down."

The Gila monster disappeared under a bush and the three boys started forward again. Ahead of them the unknown object flashed in the sunlight. After walking for some time, they did not appear to be much closer. All three boys were wearing moccasins, and the heat from the broiling sand made their feet uncomfortably warm.

"Say, do you think that thing is moving away from us?" Chet complained. He took out a gaudy handkerchief and began to mop his face.

"It's tied to the tail of a Gila monster!" Joe teased, and Frank added, "Out here you can see twenty miles instead of two or three miles as we can at home."

34 Mystery of the Desert Giant

As the boys finally approached the mysterious glittering object, they saw that it was a twelve-inch, round, metallic rock which caught and reflected the sun's rays.

Joe rushed forward to investigate. He found the big rock studded with lovely solid-colored stones. Some were dark red, others a rich brown, a few deep green. Nature had placed these stones in the rock like jewels.

"That's beautiful, Joe," said Frank, as he came up. "What is it? Some kind of quartz?"

Back in Bayport, Joe Hardy had an extensive collection of rocks and stones. Now he carefully examined their find.

"Jasper, I'd say. Very fine specimens, too."

As slow-moving Chet joined them, he said, "Say, that stuff looks valuable. Are they precious stones?"

"Well, they're not exactly diamonds." Joe laughed. "But they are valuable, and no mistake."

After a quick search the boys concluded that there were no similar rocks nearby.

"That's strange. Where did this one come from? It doesn't look as if it belonged here," Joe mused.

Meanwhile, Frank had been examining the ground nearby. "You know," he announced, "this rock might have had something to do with Grafton's disappearance."

"How?" Chet asked.

A Warning 35

"There may be other valuable stones containing jasper around here. Maybe Grafton and Wetherby spotted some from the air and landed to pick them up."

Chet nodded. "After they had gathered them, some thugs stole the stones and got rid of Grafton and Wetherby." The boy looked around him uneasily.

"That could be," Joe agreed. "But somehow I don't think so. However, they may be prisoners."

"Well, fellows, this sun isn't growing any cooler while we stand here. I vote we head back to the plane and take this rock along with us," Frank suggested.

He hoisted the big stone to his shoulder, and the three started back. Now it was their blue plane that appeared to be much closer than it really was. Again they walked for some time without seeming to make progress.

"I'll take a turn," Joe offered.

The heavy burden was shifted to his shoulder, and they went on. Finally, his face wet with perspiration, he called, "Your turn, Chet. Get a soft spot ready on your shoulder!"

With sighs and groans, the valuable rock was transferred to the beefy shoulder of Chet Morton.

"Why did we bring this old thing!" he grumbled. "How do we know it's valuable?" he demanded two minutes later.

For answer, Joe simply winked at his brother.

36 Mystery of the Desert Giant

"This stone weighs twelve tons," protested the burdened boy. "Isn't my turn up yet? It's driving me into the ground!" Chet declared a dozen steps later.

Suppressing their laughter, Frank and Joe walked behind. Suddenly, at a signal, they sang out together:

"Gila monster!"

"Where? Where? Oh-I see him!" The stone, in spite of its great weight, was sent flying forward through the air, and Chet Morton, showing great agility for a boy his size, went sprinting in the opposite direction.

The Hardy brothers enjoyed their joke so thoroughly that for a moment they did not notice anything else. The heavy stone, however, had suddenly disappeared. "Hey! What happened to the rock?" Joe cried out.

"Guess it went in that hole," Frank said.

"Serves you both right!" Chet called. "You and your Gila monsters!"

"Why, Chet, you mean you didn't see any monster? Then why did you run?" Joe teased.

"Well ... I guess I made a little mistake," mumbled their friend.

"You sure did. You let that valuable stone roll into a hole. To make up for it, you're elected to get the stone out."

Chet was agreeable but soon found he could not do it alone as the hole was narrow and deep.

A Warning 37

Perspiring and breathing heavily, he begged for help. Laughing, the resourceful Hardys took off their belts and improvised a cradle in which to drag the rock back to the surface. From there, Frank and Joe took turns carrying it to the plane.

By the time the plane had landed at Riverside County Airport, it was after five o'clock.

"Just about suppertime," noted Chet with satisfaction. "A swim and a steak-"

Gene Smith came out on the field to meet them. "Hello, boys! What luck?" he called.

Chet told him about the Gila monster. Smith grinned and said, "I once made a pet out of one of those critters. Used to drink milk out of a saucer, and jump in my lap like a house cat."

"Really?" Chet gulped.

"Sure," Smith went on, with a straight face. "I taught that Gila to whistle. But it could only whistle one tune. I got tired of 'Dixie,' so I got rid of him."

The boys laughed, then showed him the jasper-studded rock. "This is all we discovered."

"Urn, lucky find. We call that stuff Chinese jade. It's picked up now and then."

"Do you think Graf ton and Wetherby could have been after other pieces, lost their way, and perhaps injured themselves in the mountains?" Joe asked.

Smith shrugged. "Could be. But it's a long walk."

38 Mystery of the Desert Giant

"We have a favor to ask," put in Frank. "Wil-lard Grafton's ship is here. May we check it for clues?"

"Help yourself. She's at the back of the far hangar over there. When you're through I'll run you into town."

"Thanks." Frank covered the jasper stone and locked the plane. The boys hurried over to Grafton's craft, a handsome red-and-white ship, with seats for four in the cabin. One of the cabin doors hung open.

"Funny they don't keep it locked," Joe remarked.

While Frank checked the instrument panel and Chet looked in the baggage area, Joe opened a little compartment similar to the glove compartment in an automobile. A penciled note on a scrap of yellow paper was all he found.

"Here's something!" Joe cried, waving the note.

Frank and Chet crowded near him to read over Joe's shoulder:

take warning hardys. roses are red. violets are blue. we fixed grafton. we'll fix you. get out while the getting is good.