"

Obediently, Bob and Frank filed into the room and sat down in deep
leather armchairs, while Mr. Temple sat back in a swinging chair by
his broad, flat-topped desk. Selecting a cigar from the humidor at his
elbow, he lighted it and puffed thoughtfully several moments before
addressing the chums.

"First of all," he said at the conclusion of this period of silence,
"I've decided that we will not notify the police of this affair."

"Why not, Dad?" demanded Bob in surprise.

"We want to keep this matter to ourselves until we can see more
clearly what it means," explained Mr. Temple. "We recovered what was
stolen, anyhow. But more than that, I begin to suspect there is
something more behind all this than mere business rivalry between the
independent oil operators and the Trust."

"What do you mean, Uncle George?" asked Frank, puzzled.

"Well, boys, I'll tell you," said Mr. Temple, speaking deliberately
and thoughtfully. "In the first place I know the men at the head of
the so-called Octopus. They are keen business men and quick to seize
every legitimate advantage. But they are above such unscrupulous
tactics as this.

"I know the signs point to them as the instigator of our troubles at
Mr. Hampton's camp and then here today. But those signs point to
something else, too. If you will recall, Jack said the fellows who
raided the Hamptons today, or rather tried to do so but failed, were
Mexicans. And this man who entered the Hampton house today was a
Mexican, too. What was his name, Frank?"

"Morales. Jose Morales," said Frank, promptly.

"Yes, Jose Morales," said Mr. Temple. "Well, I believe that certain
Mexicans are responsible for our troubles, and not our business
rivals, at all."

"What in the world?" said Bob, puzzled.

"But why, Uncle George?" demanded Frank.

"In order to make trouble between the United States and Mexico," said
Mr. Temple, promptly.

"Oh," said Bob, "I begin to see what you're driving at. You mean,
then, that by attacking the independents in the Southwest these
Mexicans would get us so stirred up that Uncle Sam would take a hand
to protect our properties, and might even send troops to the border?"

"That's exactly what I mean, Bob," said Mr. Temple approvingly.

"But in that case, Uncle George," demanded Frank, "why wouldn't the
Mexicans be making trouble for the Octopus, too?"

"Because, Frank," explained the older man, "the properties throughout
the region where we are located a