“Actually,” Jennifer said, “There are three of us. Not two.”  

Frank and Joe looked at Jennifer, and then the other girl. Jennifer said, “That’s my sister, Lisa.”  

“Our brother is with our dad.” Jennifer motioned for Frank and Joe to follow her inside.  

Lisa moved toward them and followed them inside. Frank said once they were inside, “We didn’t know you were twins.”  

“We’re triplets,” Jennifer said. “I know our father told your dad there were three of us.”  

“But he never said you were triplets,” Joe said. “We didn’t know.”  

Frank looked at Joe. He was staring at Lisa. He could see Joe was interested, even though he had said a couple hour earlier he wanted to wrap the case up so he could get back before Vanessa returned to Bayport.  

“Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable,” Jennifer said. “Dad should be here soon.”  

“So,” Lisa said sitting down at the kitchen table beside Joe. “What’s it like where you live?”  

Frank tuned out what Joe and Lisa were talking about. He looked around the kitchen. There was a stove on one wall with a sink across the kitchen. A table and chairs separated the sink and stove. Across from the door was a refrigerator. There were cabinets lining the walls through the kitchen.  

Frank looked at Jennifer. “Fill us in on what’s going on.”  

“Cattle are disappearing from the ranch. We expect to lose one or two cattle every year due to sickness and even a few to wild animals. But we’re missing a hundred cattle. Someone has to be taking them.”  

“Could the cattle be lost?” Frank asked.  

“It’s not possible. We searched for them.”  

“Did you search the entire area?”  

“Wed did,” a deep voice said.  

Frank and Joe looked at the door. A man was standing there with a teenage boy. The man had gray hair and a gray beard, with his brown eyes. They boy had short brown hair and hazel eyes. They figured the older man was Glenn.  

“Sorry it took us so long to get here,” Glenn said. “This is my son, Kevin. I’m glad you two are here.”  

“It’s nice to meet you,” Frank said.  

Glenn continued on as if he hadn’t heard Frank. “I’m not sure you’ll be able to solve this. I wish Fenton had been able to come.”  

“He’ll come as soon as he can,” Frank said. “He’s wrapping up another case.” Glen sat down at the table with them. Frank asked, “What can you tell us?”  

“It started several weeks ago,” Glenn said. “At first, I though some cattle got loose, but we searched everywhere. We came up empty.”  

“Do you really think the cattle were stolen?” Frank asked.  

“It’s the only answer.”  

“Is there anyone around who would want to steal your cattle?”  

“Our neighbor William,” Glenn said.  

“Who is William?” Joe asked.  

“William is an elderly man,” Glenn said. “He has a cattle ranch next door. Both of us are competing for land and to get a fair share at the market.”  

“Do you really think he’s capable of stealing the cattle?”  

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Glenn said.  

“We’ll have to talk to William and check the area. That’s the only way we will be able to solve this.”  

“You can look around tomorrow. One of the kids will show you around.”  

“I’d be glad to show them around,” Lisa said.  

Frank said Joe and Lisa were staring at one another again. Glenn said, “I’ll choose. In the meantime, Kevin will show you where you can put your things.”  

Frank and Joe followed Kevin up to the floor. He led them into a room with two beds. There was a single dresser between the beds. There was one window in the room. The walls had paneling. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling.  

Kevin sat down on the bed as Frank and Joe unpacked. Frank asked, “How long have you been working on the ranch?”  

“All my life,” Kevin said. “Ranching will be part of my future.”  

“It doesn’t look like Lisa enjoys ranching,” Joe said.  

“Lisa hates it,” Kevin said. “But she won’t tell Dad. She doesn’t want to hurt his feelings. She’ll probably go away to college and never come back.”  

“Is Jennifer into ranching?” Frank asked.  

“Jen is into business. I know she’ll stay.” Kevin smiled. “You two are following in your father’s footsteps.”  

“We enjoy what we’re doing.”  

At that moment they heard the floor creak. All three of them looked at the door. Lisa was leaning against the doorframe.  

“What do you want?” Kevin asked.  

“Dinner will be ready shortly,” she said, looking at Joe. Lisa didn’t look like she was going anywhere.  

“Don’t you have something else to do?” Kevin asked.  

“Nothing,” Lisa answered.  

“Lisa!” Glenn yelled. “Come down here!”  

Lisa rolled her eyes and turned away from the door leaving them alone.  

Kevin looked at Joe. “Lisa has eyes for you.”  

“She just wants to know about other parts of the world,” Joe said.  

“That’s not it,” Kevin said, grinning.  

“So,” Frank said, deciding it was time to change the subject. “Do you really think William is stealing the cattle?”  

“My dad believes so,” Kevin answered.  

“What do you think, Kevin?”  

“I don’t think so. William is an old guy. He has an efficient ranch. He wouldn’t steal from us. He’s not a thief.”  

“Then why does your dad believe William is stealing cattle?”  

“The two of them have been fighting for years. My Dad blames William for my mom’s death.”  

“What happened?” Joe asked, softly.  

“Williams car got loose. He didn’t set the emergency brake. My mom was jogging and got him by his car. She never saw the car coming. She died instantly.”  

“We’re sorry about your mom,” Frank said.  

Kevin looked at Frank. “Deep down, I known William is innocent, but my dad blames him. They haven’t talked since Mom’s death. If the two come near one another, they argue.”  

“Dinner!” Glenn yelled.  

“Thanks for talking with us,” Frank said.  

“No problem,” Kevin said and the three of them went down to dinner.

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.