“She wants to talk to me?” Jupe asked, a little surprised.

His Aunt Mathilda and his Uncle Titus had given him a home since he was four years old, when his parents were killed in an automobile accident. Jupe was still grateful for that, and he was fond of both Titus and Mathilda. But now that he was seventeen, they no longer played the important part in his life they once had.

A few years ago summonses from Aunt Mathilda had been as frequent as homework assignments. They had usually meant one thing — work. She had endless jobs for him to do in the salvage yard. But recently Jupe had computerized the inventory in exchange for freedom from those chores. So a call from Aunt Mathilda these days was as rare as girlfriends for Jupe.

“No. She just had a message for you,” Bob said. “There’s someone over at the house who wants to talk to you.”

“Who?” Jupe asked.

“Name of Rice.” Bob smiled. “Something to do with that puzzle contest you auditioned for.”

“Yeah?” Jupe felt his interest rise. He hadn’t forgotten about the crossword contest. He never forgot anything. But he had been so busy trying to lose weight that he hadn’t thought much about it lately.

Now he might have a chance to find out who was putting up the dough for those two weeks in Mexico.

The Three Investigators decided they all should meet Mr. Rice. They were crossing the road outside the junkyard when a man appeared on the porch of the Jones house.

He was tall and lean. In his late thirties, Jupe guessed. And he looked like quite a dude in his designer jeans and hand-tooled cowboy boots. He had an expensive Stetson cocked at an angle on his head. As the Investigators approached him he took it off and waved it in greeting.

“Hi. I’m Dustin Rice.”

He looked at the three guys in turn. “So which of you is the lucky one?” he asked. “No, don’t tell me. See if I can guess.”

He turned to Pete and smiled at him. “Just for fun, let me hear your voice, friend. Say. ” He hesitated. “Say, ‘South of the border, down Mexico way.’ ”

“South of the border, down Mexico way,” Pete obliged him grudgingly. He wasn’t much taken with Dustin Rice.

Rice shook his head. He waved his Stetson at Bob.

“Now you.”

“Mouth of disorder, brown Mexico day,” Bob said. He had never liked the song anyway, and he didn’t feel like taking orders from this cowboy.

Dustin Rice managed to keep smiling. He looked at Jupe. Jupe looked back at him.

His first impression of this man was that he was slightly unreal. His jaunty smile and breezy manner weren’t altogether convincing. He reminded Jupe of someone walking a tightrope, carefully planning his next step.

“Would you mind letting me hear you say it?” he asked Jupe.

“South of the border, down Mexico way.”

The effect was astonishing. Rice’s eyes brightened with excitement. He stepped forward and shook Jupe’s hand.

“My friends call me Dusty,” he said. “You must be Jupiter Jones and your aunt says they call you Jupe. It’s my great pleasure to tell you you’ve won the grand prize in my crossword puzzle contest! A free visit to my ranch.” His smile broadened. “Down Mexico way. And I’m looking forward to having you there as my guest, Jupe, and. ”

His voice trailed away. Jupe was holding up his hand like a traffic cop at a busy intersection.

Given his height and weight, Jupe was not a naturally imposing figure. But he had the remarkable ability of asserting his authority when he felt like it.

He felt like it now. He wasn’t going to let Dustin Rice take it for granted that the dream of Jupe’s life was to spend two weeks on a Mexican ranch hopping on and off horses. He had some questions he wanted answered first.

He said so.

“Shoot,” Dusty agreed. “Ask me anything you like.”

“How many other people won this grand prize?”

“None. Only you. You were the only winner.”

“I was the only one who got all the answers right?”

Dusty hesitated a second. “Sure,” he said.

Jupe nodded thoughtfully. He knew that was a lie. Pete and Bob had sent in exactly the same answers as he had. Why was Dusty holding back the real reason Jupe had been chosen as the winner? And why couldn’t a girl enter or win? The Investigator tucked those questions away in his mind. They’d be answered later when he had more information.

“Where’s the money coming from?” he asked next. “Who’s paying for everything?”

“I am.”

“What for?”

“Publicity. Publicity for my ranch.” Dustin Rice put his Stetson back on. It seemed to give him more confidence. “I’m planning to turn the place into a summer camp for guys like you. And I’m hoping to get a good write-up about the contest in the Sunday papers.”

That did make some sense to Jupe. Barely.

He was about to go on with his questions, but his attention was distracted for a moment. A blue car, a Chevy, was approaching the house. It slowed as it came nearer and at first Jupe thought it was going to stop. Then it suddenly gained speed again and drove out of sight. The sun had been shining on the windshield and Jupe hadn’t been able to see the driver clearly. He had made out that it was a woman. A woman with blond hair, wearing dark glasses.

He turned back to Dusty.

“If I accept this grand prize,” he said, “is it okay if my two friends here come with me?”

Dusty frowned. “You mean I’d have to pay their expenses too?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I mean,” Jupe said firmly.

Dusty took off his Stetson and thoughtfully twisted the brim. He began to talk about bus fares, food at the ranch.

Jupe let him talk. He had already made up his mind to turn down the prize unless Pete and Bob were included. This puzzle contest was becoming a promising case for the Three Investigators. And the Three Investigators were a team.

Dusty was still going on about money, adding up how much more everything would cost if Jupe’s friends.

“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to give the prize to somebody else,” Jupe interrupted him.

Dusty shifted his feet, looking down at his hand-tooled boots.

“You win, big guy,” he agreed. “I guess I can swing it.”

Bob reached out and touched Jupe’s arm. “Let’s take ten,” he suggested. He walked off the porch, followed by his two friends.

“You really want to do this, Jupe?” he asked as soon as they were out of hearing.

Jupe did. The thought of not pursuing this case was agony to him. “Absolutely,” he said. “Something really weird is going on if this guy is willing to pay for three vacations. Don’t you want to know why?”

“Well. ” Bob had been working so hard these past few weeks, he felt he could do with a change of scene. Sax would be leaving on a trip to Hawaii as soon as the rock concert was over. There would be nothing to keep Bob in California while his boss was away. He’d just miss a few of his karate lessons.

“Okay,” he said. “Deal me in. Anytime after the concert Thursday night.”

Jupe and Bob both looked at Pete. It was up to him now.

“I don’t know,” Pete said. “I’m kind of afraid that if I leave town, Kelly might forget all about me.”

“She might miss you, too,” Bob pointed out.

“Yeah, maybe.” Pete remembered a line he had once seen on a greeting card: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” The idea of Kelly with a fonder heart, a Kelly who would never stand him up again, was very appealing.

“Oh, okay,” he said. “I guess I can keep sending her cards and things so she’ll know I’m still alive.”

Dustin Rice couldn’t hide his relief when the Three Investigators returned to the porch and told him they had decided to accept his grand prize.

He gave them a map of northern Mexico, showing them how to get to Lareto, the town nearest to his ranch. After a bit of haggling, he also handed over six hundred dollars in cash for their expenses on the trip. Dusty gave them his phone number so they could call him once they crossed the border. He would pick them up in Lareto. The three guys watched the rancher climb into his Jeep with its Mexican plates. Then they went back to their tasks in the junkyard.