The next morning, Frank and Joe woke to banging on the door. Frank struggled to his feet and moved to the door. He pulled the door open. Jennifer was standing there.  

“Breakfast is in 10 minutes,” Jennifer said.  

She turned and made her way down the hall.  

Frank turned and looked at Joe, who was staring at him. Joe said, “Jennifer needs to relax.”  

“Something is on her mind.” Frank moved back into the room. “Get dressed. We need to solve this case.”  

They both quickly dressed and went downstairs. They went into the kitchen and saw Glenn, Kevin and Jennifer already seated at the table.  

As they sat down, Glenn asked, “Where’s Lisa?”  

At that moment, Lisa walked into the kitchen. She had on a pair of short shorts and a half shirt. She also was wearing a pair of black heels.  

She sat down at the table as Glenn asked, “What are you wearing?”  

“Clothes,” Lisa answered and they started eating.  

When they were almost finished, Glenn said, “Jennifer will give you a tour of the ranch.”  

“I wanted to show them around,” Lisa complained.  

“You’re not dressed to show them around.”  

“I can change.”  

“The decision is made,” Glenn said. “There’s plenty of work here that needs to be done. You’ll have plenty of time to do that.”  

“Why do I have to do it?” Lisa asked. “Why can’t Kevin do it?”  

“Kevin is going into town,” Glenn said. “You get the house, Lisa. Jennifer is giving them the tour.”  

“It’s not fair,” Lisa grumbled.  

* * * * *  

After breakfast, Frank and Joe helped Jennifer saddle the horses. Frank got on a black stallion. Joe’s was brown. Jennifer rode a brown and white mare. They rode onto the ranch with Jennifer leading the way. Frank followed close behind with Joe right on his heels.  

The ranch had several hills. They rode along the fence as Jennifer pointed out different areas. As they rode along, Frank searched the ground looking for prints, or anything that would help them with the case.  

They reached the top of the hill and brought the horses to a stop. From the top of the hill, they could look out across the land. They could easily see the property that belonged to Glenn and his family.  

“That house over there,” Jennifer said pointing in the other direction, “belongs to William. The fence keeps ours herds separate.”  

Frank and Joe looked at the farm. They could see a house and barn. William’s cattle were grazing close to the barn.  

As he loosened his hold on the reins, Frank asked, “Do you really think William is stealing your cattle?”  

Jennifer looked at Frank. “I’m not sure. It’s possible.”  

Frank looked down at William’s house. He glanced at Jennifer. He had a feeling she was hiding something. He felt it had to be something important.  

As he was about to ask Jennifer what was bothering her, they heard a gunshot.  

Frank’s horse went up on its hind legs. He realized he didn’t have a hold on his reins just before he fell off the horse. He hit his head and blacked out.

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.