“Scratch the window with it,” Jupiter said.
“What?” Pete said, surprised. “You know it won’t — ”
“Go ahead,” Jupiter urged, a smug expression on his round face.
Pete went to the window and scratched the small stone over the glass. It cut into glass almost as easily as a knife cutting into butter. Pete let out a low whistle.
“Jupe!” Bob exclaimed. “You mean that’s a — ”
“Diamond,” Jupiter finished. “Yes, I think that’s exactly what it is. A rough, uncut diamond. And a pretty big one. I think its quality isn’t good, probably no more than an industrial stone. But it is a diamond.”
“You mean El Diablo’s Cave is a diamond mine? Here in California?” Bob asked sceptically.
“Well, there have been rumours, I think, and — ”
That was as far as he got. A vigorous knock on the bedroom door interrupted him, and Mrs. Dalton’s voice called, “Up and at ’em, boys! Breakfast’s on the table. We’ll have no late sleeping here!”
Everything else was forgotten for the moment as the boys realized how hungry they were. They dressed and were in the big ranch kitchen five minutes later. Mr. Dalton and Professor Walsh smiled at them.
“Well, I see that Moaning Valley and its mystery have not affected your appetites, boys,” Professor Walsh commented.
Mrs. Dalton bustled around the roomy, bright kitchen and soon the boys were digging into stacks of buckwheat cakes and ham, and drinking mugs of cold fresh milk.
“You boys ready to do some work today?” Mr. Dalton asked.
“Of course they are,” Mrs. Dalton said. “Why not take them up to the north meadow for the haying?”
“Good idea,” Mr. Dalton agreed. “Later they can help round up some mavericks.”
The boys, who had done some reading on ranch life, knew that “mavericks” were cattle that had strayed from the main herd into remote parts of the range.
“Did you boys have a good walk on the beach last night?” Professor Walsh asked. “What did you find?”
“We had an interesting expedition,” Jupiter answered. “And we met a rather odd old man. He called himself Ben Jackson. Who is he, sir?”
“Old Ben and his partner, Waldo Turner, are prospectors,” Mr. Dalton explained. “I imagine they’ve looked for gold and silver and precious stones all over the West in their day.”
“According to local gossip they came here many years ago,” Mrs. Dalton added, “when there was a rumour that gold had been found. Of course, there never was any gold, but apparently Old Ben and Waldo never gave up. They have a shack on our land, and still consider themselves prospectors. They don’t seem to like to have visitors, but they don’t mind getting handouts from the ranchers around here. Of course, we call it a grubstake. They wouldn’t take charity.”
“They’re quite famous local characters,” Professor Walsh put in.
“They can really tell you stories,” Mr. Dalton smiled, “Of course, they’re somewhat eccentric, and most of their stories are just tall tales. For example, they’ll tell you about fighting the Indians, but I doubt if they ever did.”
“Gosh, you mean all that was a lie?” Pete exclaimed.
Before Mr. Dalton could reply, the back door of the kitchen burst open. The foreman, Luke Hardin, came in hurriedly.
“They just found young Castro out in Moanin’ Valley,” Hardin said grimly.
“Castro?” Mr. Dalton looked worried.
“Got thrown from his horse last night while he was riding herd on some strays. Lay there all night,” said Hardin.
“Is he all right?” Mrs. Dalton asked.
“Doc says he’s okay. They took him over to the hospital in Santa Carla.”
“I’ll go and see him right away!” Mr. Dalton jumped up.
“The men are kind of shook up,” Hardin added, his face dark. “Two more told me they’re going to quit. Castro was out in Moanin’ Valley and says he saw something moving. He took a look. Whatever it was spooked his horse. He was thrown and the horse ran off. He’s all bruised up and his ankle’s sprained.”
The Daltons looked at each other in despair. Jupiter spoke up.
“Was the horse a big black one, Mr. Hardin?” he asked.
“That’s right — Big Ebony. A good horse. Came back to the corral on his own this morning, so we knew to look for young Castro.”
Mr. Dalton spoke sharply. “Did you boys see Big Ebony last night?”
“Yes sir,” Jupiter said. “A big black horse without a rider.”
“You must always report a riderless horse on a ranch, boys,” Mr. Dalton said severely. “We would have found Castro sooner.”
“We would have, sir,” Jupe explained, “but we saw a man following him and assumed that he was the rider. He was a tall man, with a scar on his right cheek and an eye patch.”
Mr. Dalton shook his head. “Never heard of a man like that.”
“Tall and an eye patch?” Professor Walsh inquired. “Sounds menacing, but definitely not El Diablo, eh? He wasn’t tall, and he didn’t wear an eye patch.”
Mr. Dalton started for the door. “Luke, get the men calmed down if you can. I’ll join you in the north meadow after I see Castro. And I think I’ll talk to the sheriff about that man the boys say they saw.”
Jupiter spoke up again. “If you’re going into town, sir, perhaps you would take me? I have to return to Rocky Beach today.”
“Why, Jupiter, you’re not leaving us?” Mrs. Dalton asked.
“Oh, no,” Jupiter assured her. “It’s only that we need our scuba equipment. We saw some reefs offshore last night which look excellent for collecting specimens for our marine biology studies.”
Bob and Pete stared at Jupe. They did not remember that they had, seen any reefs, or that they were conducting marine biology studies. But they said nothing. They had learned not to question Jupiter when he had some scheme in mind.
“I’m afraid I don’t have time today to take you down,” Mr. Dalton said, “and I can’t spare a man or a truck. You’d better wait a few days.”
“That’s quite all right, sir,” Jupiter said. “If you’ll take me into town I’ll get the bus down. Someone will drive me back.”
“Better hurry up and get ready, then,” Mr. Dalton told him as he went out the door.
Mrs. Dalton looked at Bob and Pete. “I’m afraid you boys had better find something to do, too. With this trouble, Mr. Dalton won’t have time to work with you today.”
“We will, ma’am,” Bob assured her.
The boys went back to their room while Jupiter gathered what he needed for his return to Rocky Beach. As he packed, he revealed what he had in mind for Bob and Pete while he was gone.
“I want you to go into Santa Carla and buy a dozen large, plain candles,” Jupe said, “and three Mexican sombreros. With the Fiesta in Santa Carla there should be plenty of hats to buy. Tell Mr. and Mrs. Dalton you are going in to see the Fiesta parade.”
“Three sombreros?” Pete repeated.
“Right,” said Jupiter, without further explanation. “Then go to the library. Bob, I want you to learn all you can about the history of Devil Mountain and Moaning Valley. I mean all the exact details, not just legends.”
“I’ll find out all I can,” Bob assured the First Investigator. “What are you really going to Rocky Beach for?”
“To get the scuba equipment, as I said,” Jupiter replied, “and to take the diamond into Los Angeles to have it examined by an expert.”
Mr. Dalton called from below. “Jupiter! Ready?”
The boys hurried down, and Jupiter climbed into the cab of the pickup truck. As Bob and Pete watched him ride off, they realized that they still didn’t know what Jupe was planning to do with the scuba equipment.
After helping Mrs. Dalton in the kitchen for an hour or so, Bob borrowed Mrs. Dalton’s library card, and the two boys started off for Santa Carla on their bicycles.