"But this passenger is bound for Hollyrock," said the conductor. "You can't take him off now."
"Alright," said Barney. "Just find a doctor for him when he gets there."
"We wish him a rapid recovery," said Fred, "and the best of luck." At last Fred and Barney, who had been stuck on the train for what was only four hours, although their adventure had made it seem longer, finally got to Texarock, where a rest with Avery Hardrock – Fred's uncle, whom he called Uncle Tex – and a refreshing meal would do them good.
"Howdy, lads!" said an elderly man driving by. "Need a lift?"
"Uncle Tex!" cried Fred. "Great to see you!"
After a short uncle-nephew embrace, Fred and Barney got in Tex's car and headed to Hardrock Hacienda, his ranch near the Gulf of Mexirock. "What's on the menu tonight, Tex?" asked Barney.
"Got a surprise for both of you," he said. "Betcha can hardly wait for it."
Fred and Barney soon found out that Wilma and Betty were both already there. "How did you get here?" asked Barney.
"We drove all the way to Texarock while you were on the train," said Wilma.
"As soon as you left," said Betty, "I received a phone call from a man named Rupert Hexenstein. He told us where you were headed and I informed Wilma about it. We came early just to surprise you."
"Well, at least we can be reunited again," said Fred happily.
Soon they heard a barking dinosaur in the distance. "You didn't tell us you brought Dino," said Barney.
"That wasn't the surprise I was talking about," said Uncle Tex. "Johnny Southrock is in town."
"You mean the Johnny Southrock?" asked Fred.
"Yes siree," said Uncle Tex. "That's the one, and his band is at Phil Headstone's Buckin' Broncosaurus."
"I absolutely love his music," cried Barney. "We need to meet him in person."
Everybody was just about ready to go when a dagger flew out of nowhere. "Everybody duck!" Wilma screeched.
They all did so, but the dagger snatched Uncle Tex's hat and pinned it to the wall. "Nasty fiends," he muttered as he grabbed his hat. "They all wanna snatch my herd."
"I beg to differ," said Barney. "Fred is on a treasure hunt, and we've had one adventure after another today."
Betty seized the dagger and looked carefully at it. Although she held it by the hilt, she looked at the blade and saw a message etched on it. "'Another event shall change the course of your quest,'" she read. "Do you know who threw this, Fred?"
"Not to my knowledge," said Fred, "but I bet it's another peril."
At the Buckin' Broncosaurus, Fred and company met the legendary Johnny Southrock, leader of the blues sextet known as the Johnny Southrock Combo. "My friend and I need your help, Johnny," Barney said. "We want to avoid being noticed."
"I have the perfect plan for you," said the bandleader. "If you can play with us, I'd be more than glad to help you out."
"We have the suspicion," whispered Wilma, "that somebody is coming after Fred. My friend Betty and I would like to play, too."
"No issue, madam," said Johnny cautiously. "Meet us in the dressing rooms after dinner."
The plan worked brilliantly. Fred was actually quite talented at keyboard instruments, and Barney played an excellent flute in his high school orchestra. As for their wives, Wilma wasn't a great singer, but she certainly played the cocalophone in her middle and high school years; and Betty proved a superb guitarist, though more on the acoustic side.
The manager of the Buckin' Broncosaurus, Phil Headstone, agreed to this, and the poster on the front of the place read:
"JOHNNY SOUTHROCK COMBO
JOHNNY SOUTHROCK, piano
RAY LITHOCEROS, guitar and banjo
CHRISTINE ROCKMAN, trumpet and clarinet
THELMA PETROFORSS, alto and tenor saxophones
MARTIN STONEHENGE, bass
RUDOLPH IRONSTONE, drums
TONIGHT ONLY! JOHNNY HAS SPECIAL GUESTS FROM HIS NATIVE BEDROCK™:
FRED FLINTSTONE, organ
BARNEY RUBBLE, flute and trombone
WILMA SLAGHOOPLE, cocalophone
ELIZABETH McBRICKER, acoustic guitar"
"So now I know what they're doing," said Tex.
As soon as the five of them had finished their meals, all but Tex went to the dressing room to get ready. Fred and Barney came out in what could pass for Stone Age versions of the suits worn by the Beatles in 1964, while Wilma and Betty just wore white blouses and black skirts.
"Ladies and gentlemen," cried Phil as he opened the curtain, "the Johnny Southrock Combo!"
Applause burst out from every corner of the room, but at the bar stood another thug, drinking a beer with the foam all over. Although none of them knew it, this man had thrown the same dagger at Hardrock Hacienda. His plan, if he could get to it, was to kill Fred and tell his boss – Sir Richard Pitchblende, who had also hired the thugs in Bedrock™ and on the Dino Express – about the treasure; but he couldn't tell whether the organist was Fred or, as with Agent Rock Slag many years earlier, a doppelgänger. As the music – almost all of it instrumental – droned on through the night, he waited for his opportunity to strike. It wasn't until 10:30 that he got what he wanted. Fred sang:
"There's a town I know where the hipsters go called Bedrock/Twitch! Twitch!/When you get an itch to do the Twitch in Bedrock/Twitch! Twitch!/'Cause the twitch is fine, have yourself a time in Bedrock/Twitch! Twitch!"
The thug came up with another dagger in his hand. Carefully watching where Fred sat, he saw an open clearing with nothing obstructing him and, as Fred stood up, threw it at him. Had Fred still been seated, he would not have noticed it; but when he saw the sharp weapon headed for his body – and in particular his chest – he made a bold and very dangerous move. As the dagger spun towards him, he jumped up and grabbed it by the blade; but when he set it down on the organ, Wilma, Barney and Betty saw that his palm was completely unharmed.
"Stop that man!" he cried, pointing at the thug. Johnny saw this, too, and although he did not make a prompt action, he dialed the police as soon as he left the stage.
When the police arrived on the scene, Uncle Tex told the two policemen what had happened. "My nephew has seen people like these all over the place," Tex said. "I have no clue what they're up to."
"How did he grab the blade and remain uninjured?" asked one policeman.
"That's a good question," said Tex, "but I don't know. I do remember when he was on his high-school baseball team, where he played shortstop."
"I suppose," said the other policeman as he took the thug into the car, "that it takes a knife thrower to recognize a knife catcher."
"Let's hope no other trouble comes your way," said Barney. "I just wonder if the cowasaurus herd is doing alright."
"Oh, relax, Barney," said Fred. "I got Dino to watch them until we got back."
"Let's get back to the Hacienda, pals," said Tex. "I'm totally bushed."
"So are we," yawned Betty. "I need some shuteye."
"Don't we all!" Wilma sighed as they packed into the car. It was almost 11:30 when they returned. The whole herd was still there, fast asleep; but Dino was still wide awake, searching for potential scoundrels.
"Thank you for helping us out, Fred!" Uncle Tex said. "Dino should get some shuteye, too."
As usual, Fred delivered his famous catchphrase as he stepped into the hacienda: "YABBA-DABBA-DOO™!"