Roy shook his head. "Believe it or not, his people came from around here."
The Hardys stared as the rancher went on.
"The Hicks family homesteaded in this area, back when the original oil survey was made, more than fifty years back. They went bust, but there was some kind of family legend about their being cheated out of the land and the oil under it."
Roy sighed. "Seems Hicks was telling the story one night in a bar and Nat overheard. He figured if the story turned out to be true, there was a lot of money to be made. So they formed a partnership of sorts."
Joe shook his head. "I think Nat got more than he bargained for. Hicks is more than a little crazy."
Frank nodded. "From the way they acted last night, those two looked ready to kill each other."
"Nat's already talked his head off," Roy agreed. "So Bobby's got a pretty good idea of what happened. Old Nat went off and got the mineral leases for the federal land. But they wanted me off so I wouldn't find out what they were up to. Wilkin and Hicks set out to make ranching that land real unprofitable - they figured I'd decide not to renew my grazing lease."
"That was probably after they'd started the seismographic tests, and figured out about the salt dome," Frank said. "They knew most of the oil was on Roy's property, so they were doing the final tests to figure where to drill and siphon off the oil."
"And Jerry caught them in the act," Joe said.
"That's right," Roy told them. "They grabbed him, then panicked and stashed him in that abandoned shack. turned his horse loose in the sand hills to make it look like he was thrown."
"I guess they were afraid I'd see their test holes when I flew over in the ultralight that first day, looking for Jerry," Frank said. "That's when Nat took a shot at me with the three-oh- three, cutting the rudder cable."
Roy nodded. "After that, they decided to lay low for a couple of days, until the heat was off. But they were pressed for time - Hicks was setting up a deal with a wildcat oil company to get in there and start stealing the oil."
"So, when Nat heard that the search was called off, they set off their last test?" Joe said.
"Right," Frank said. "We heard the blast, and thought it was thunder, but Hicks got it into his head that we were onto them and decided to eliminate us."
"That explains the dynamite in the stove, and the bomb in the truck." Joe shuddered. "He came pretty close, didn't he?"
"Let's not forget that near miss in the truck, on the road to Charlie's," Frank told him. "What I'd like to know, though, was how Charlie figured in all this."
"His main concern seems to have been that sacred place of his up on the caprock," Roy said. "Well, he doesn't need to worry about that as long as I'm alive. I plan to fence it off and leave it to him and his people."
Frank gave him an appraising look. "And what about the oil? What are you going to do about that?"
Roy stroked his chin. "Haven't decided yet. It's been there millions of years. And as far as I'm concerned, it can stay there a while longer." He scowled. "I don't like the idea of a bunch of oil patchers running all over my land, digging it up, fouling what little water we've got, scaring the cows, busting down the fences." He grinned crookedly. "Speaking of fences, I've got a few to mend myself - with Owens."
At that moment, Joe heard the blare of a jeep horn and a cloud of dust appeared over the ridge, trailing a candy-apple-colored jeep.
"Here comes Tinkerbell," he said with a grin.
Roy stuck out his hand. "Come back during hunting season if you like. Give my best to Charlie if you run into him, and tell him he's got nothing to worry about. And thanks again for everything. Have a good trip home."
The boys loaded their luggage into the jeep, and the three of them took off.
Barbara's long dark hair was flying in the breeze as she drove along the road. "Sorry I'm late, guys," she said.
"I didn't much mind," Frank said. "But Joe was getting a little antsy."
The look Joe gave his brother could have reduced him to a cinder. He still hadn't come up with anything to say when Tinkerbell rolled quietly into Charlie's yard. The old man was dozing in the sun near his front door, his hat pulled down over his eyes. When he heard the jeep, he rose slowly to meet them.
"Tell him what Roy said about the sacred land," Joe urged Barbara.
In a warm and gentle voice, Barbara began to speak to the old man in Spanish. His face remained expressionless, but there was a light in his eyes. When she finished, he replied with a few soft phrases.
"He says to thank Senor Roy for his understanding," she said. "He says it is good when people understand one another."
"I guess you can't expect him to say, 'thank you' for something that's already his," Joe said with a shrug.
"But we can say thanks to him for all the help he gave us," Frank said. "We wouldn't be around if it weren't for him.
Barbara translated, and Charlie gave them a slight smile.
"Ask him why he didn't tell us more the first night," Frank asked. "He could have saved us some digging."
Barbara spoke to the old man briefly, and he replied.
"He says he didn't know who you were at first. You might have been evil."
"How did he know about the other things?" Joe demanded. "The telephone call, for instance." He shook his head. "That was weird."
Barbara spoke to him again.
This time, the old man only smiled broadly.
The End.
Frank and Joe's next case:
The Hardys investigate a curious series of gangland killings. Crime kingpin Josh Moran is dead and buried, but his murderous legacy lives on. In his will, he left $10 million to be divided among his enemies. The catch is that the money will be paid in three months - to those who survive.
Frank and Joe find themselves in a deadly race against time, for one of the beneficiaries of Moran's blood money is a former detective for the NYPD - their own father, Fenton Hardy. The brother detectives must unmask the triggerman before the dead man's hit list reaches into their own family ... in Blood Money, Case #32 in The Hardy Boys Casefiles®.
Without a Trace Page 10