CHAPTER IX

The Dust Devil

the big cat looked at the Hardys out of yellow eyes. Its tail flicked in anger. Powerful muscles quivered along the tawny flank.

"Run!" Frank yelled.

Whirling, he made it back down the steep hillside in half a dozen leaps. Joe followed. Grabbing the tools the brothers had left at the bottom, the boys spun around to defend themselves.

The commotion had wakened Chet who jumped to his feet with a "Good-night!" and dashed off.

But the big wildcat did not follow the boys. Apparently satisfied that its snarl had frightened her enemies away, the animal leaped down from the ledge and entered the cave.

"That's probably a female who has young ones inside the cave," Frank said. "No wonder she was so angry."

is

76 Mystery of the Desert Giant

"We found out what we wanted to know, anyhow," said Joe. "Nobody's been hiding in there."

The three boys trekked through the woods, keeping their eyes open for any kind of clue to the missing men. They came to a tumble-down shack and searched it thoroughly. They found nothing suspicious.

By this time Chet had had enough sleuthing for the day. To convince his chums of this, he said, "We've been out of sight of the plane more than two hours."

"It's locked," Frank said as he tramped on ahead.

Next, Chet tried the power of suggestion. "This may be a wooded area, but it's sure hot in here." He sighed. "Picture yourselves in a nice, air-conditioned drugstore right now-with a tall frosted milk shake. And then a nice, cool swim!"

Doggedly Frank and Joe pushed on. Suddenly the resourceful Chet thought of a new tactic. "Suppose somebody breaks into our plane and steals it while we waste our time in here?"

As if in answer to this suggestion, the drone of a single-engine airplane was heard in the sky above them. Frantic, the boys raced down to the edge of the forest and peered skyward.

"It's ours!" Chet cried out.

At that instant the craft disappeared, swallowed up by a cloud. When the plane reappeared in the distance, they could hardly see it.

The Dust Devil 77

"No-it's not ours," Frank reassured the others at last. "I don't like it, though. What's he circling us for? Could be a spy!"

He hastily pulled out a pencil and jotted down the registration number which was printed in large figures on the underside of the plane's wing.

"You win, Chet," Frank conceded. "Let's get back to our own ship-fast."

Less than half an hour of brisk hiking brought the boys back within sight of their plane. At the same time, they saw a weird and frightening sight. A huge spiral-shaped cone of sand-filled air was blowing across the desert at great speed. It was headed in their direction.

"Wh-what's that?" Chet cried out.

"A dust devil," Frank answered grimly. "And it's a devil all right-more like a young tornado. It'll turn our plane over and smash the wings! Come on! We've got to push the plane out of the way!"

The boys dropped their tools and made a wild dash out into the desert. Could they reach the spot ahead of the dust devil, and if they did, would they succeed in moving the plane to safety?

"Faster!" Joe yelled.

When the boys reached the plane, the dust devil was still a hundred yards away, but advancing rapidly. Frank and Joe grabbed the wing struts on either side of the fuselage while Chet stationed himself at the tail.

78 Mystery of the Desert Giant

"Now! Push!" Frank cried out.

They shoved with all their strength. The combined effort started the plane rolling. It gathered momentum. When the craft was fifty feet from its starting point, the dust devil whirled by, just missing the boys and the plane!

"Whew!" Chet exclaimed, then dropped, breathless, to the ground. "What next?"

Joe, relieved, grinned. "Don't be so impatient, pal. You'll have plenty of surprises."

"I don't doubt that," his chum answered.

The boys retrieved their tools and canteens, then climbed aboard.

"I guess we'd better not leave the plane unguarded again," Frank declared.

"Suppose we go back to Ely the and get ready for our expedition downriver," Joe proposed.

They made a quick flight back to Riverside County Airport. While Joe and Chet unloaded, Frank went over to Gene Smith's office.

"Can you tell me who is flying this ship?" he inquired, producing the number of the plane that had circled above them. "It was hanging around today up near the giants."

Gene studied the paper and checked some forms on his desk. "Let's see. . . . That's a couple of scientists from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Taking photographs of those big drawings on the desert."

Relieved by the information, Frank rejoined

The Dust Devil 79

his partners. A taxi carried the boys back to the comfortable motel where they had stayed before. The surprised but happy manager greeted them.

"Couldn't stay away, I see, boys!" he declared triumphantly. "Nobody can resist this climate. Have you tried our fishing yet?"

"No." Joe laughed. "But I guess we will tomorrow."

That evening in their room Frank and Joe studied maps of the winding Colorado River, which flowed through the state of Sonora in Mexico.

"How long will it take us to reach Mexico, do you think?" Joe asked his brother.

"Hard to say," Frank returned. "The distance is only about a hundred miles. But look at this river! Islands, sand bars, and three major dams to portage around."

"Imperial Dam is the first one," Joe noted. "That's about eighty miles from Blythe. Laguna Dam is right after that, then there's Morelos Dam on the Mexican side of the border!"

"The thing that worries me," Frank said slowly, "is having all of us away from here. Dad may show up!"

"Say," Chet spoke up, "how about my staying here? I can look around for any clues and maybe use my camera. That boat trip sounds a little rough for a landlubber!"

The problem was solved.

80 Mystery of the Desert Giant

Soon after dawn the following morning, Frank and Joe waved good-by to Chet and the taciturn old-timer from whom they had rented their boat. They also had rented fishing rods and equipment, and had laid in a supply of bait, food, and general supplies.

Joe took the tiller first. The two powerful out-boards, yoked together, were managed by a single lever. Joe headed the red-and-white craft slowly out toward the channel.

At this hour of day the river was brown in color, its surface glassy smooth. The regular, muffled sound of their motors hardly disturbed the quiet that hung over the water. Now and then ripples shaped like round, expanding targets appeared as a fish gently broke the surface to feed.

Frank, seated forward in the boat, rigged one of the rods with a spinner and dropped the line over the side. Joe saw the flashing lure, catching light from the sky, disappear astern as his brother let his line run out.

Within minutes the supple rod was bending and bucking in Frank's hands. Twenty yards astern a silvery fish leaped into the air, twitching madly, and then dropped below the surface again.

"Bass," commented Joe softly. "Play him easy."

Soon Frank brought the exhausted fish, which had broken water five more times, to the side of the boat, where Joe netted it.

The Dust Devil 81

"Four pounds, anyway," declared Joe appreciatively. "He'll do for lunch!"

Once out in the channel, Joe opened the throttle. The prow of the boat rose as it sped forward. The boys rounded some islands and passed under the Blythe highway bridge.

All morning Frank and Joe scanned the shore on both sides for any possible clues to the missing men or the boys' enemies. They noted the high bluffs across from Ripley, where they knew two of the giant effigies lay. The familiar area yielded no new lead from this fresh vantage point.

Shortly before noon the boys put in to shore. Frank made a small, hot fire and cooked the big bass for their lunch.

"We ought to be near Imperial Dam," Joe remarked. "We've been on the water over five hours."

A short run after lunch brought them to the wide, calm water above Imperial Dam. They put into a dock on the California side, where they were met by a big friendly man wearing a red polo shirt and a blue baseball cap.

"Howdy, boys. Going on down the river? I've got a truck waiting here. Be glad to carry you down below the dam I"

"Swell," Frank agreed. "But first we'd like some information. We're looking for a number of men wanted by the police."

As the young sleuth had hoped, his announce-

82 Mystery of the Desert Giant

ment brought forward several people-fishermen, boat-dock proprietors, and truckers.

"Wanted by the police? What did they look like?" the first trucker asked.

One by one, Frank gave careful descriptions of Grafton, Wetherby, the man who had posed as a bellman, and the two rough-speaking, strong-arm men.

"Waal," drawled one old fisherman, "I been coming here every day for twelve years, and I never seen any of them."

"The first two would probably be together- one is very skinny." Joe tried to prod their memories. "And the big men are called Ringer and Caesar."

The circle of men shook their heads.

"Nope."

" Traid not."

"Me neither."

Discouraged, Frank and Joe helped the friendly trucker to load their boat and secure it onto a rack. After the craft was launched again below the dam, Frank paid the man, and the boys pushed off once more.

This time Frank took the tiller, and Joe looked keenly about him from the front of the boat. Abruptly, as the craft headed down the middle of the river, Joe jumped to his feet and pointed excitedly to the Arizona shore.

"Look!" he cried. "The bellman!"