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diff --git a/44060-0.txt b/44060-0.txt index f4671eb..d48a47d 100644 --- a/44060-0.txt +++ b/44060-0.txt @@ -1,40 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mystery of Carlitos, by -Helen Randolph and Virginia Fairfax and Helen A. Ripley - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Mystery of Carlitos - Mexican Mystery Stories #2 - -Author: Helen Randolph - Virginia Fairfax - Helen A. Ripley - -Release Date: October 31, 2013 [EBook #44060] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY OF CARLITOS *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44060 *** [Frontispiece: _Jo Ann could see that the man and Carlitos were still crouched around the fire._] @@ -5066,359 +5030,4 @@ Hope Mine from now on.” End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mystery of Carlitos, by Helen Randolph and Virginia Fairfax and Helen A. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Mystery of Carlitos - Mexican Mystery Stories #2 - -Author: Helen Randolph - Virginia Fairfax - Helen A. Ripley - -Release Date: October 31, 2013 [EBook #44060] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY OF CARLITOS *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -[Frontispiece: _Jo Ann could see that the man and Carlitos were -still crouched around the fire._] - - - - - THE MYSTERY OF - CARLITOS - - - HELEN RANDOLPH - - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Akron, Ohio New York - - _Mexican Mystery Series_ - by Helen Randolph - - The Secret of Casa Grande - The Mystery of Carlitos - Crossed Trails in Mexico - - - Copyright, MCMXXXVI - The Saalfield Publishing Company - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. The Mysterious Blue-Eyed Boy 7 - II. Neighbors in the Cave 19 - III. An Unwelcome Visitor 33 - IV. The Cave Family Disappears 44 - V. Footprints 55 - VI. A Mysterious Light 69 - VII. The Charcoal Maker 86 - VIII. Friends at Last 100 - IX. "I'm Going to Solve the Mystery" 111 - X. A Soiled Yellowed Envelope 122 - XI. The Bear Returns 135 - XII. Jo Ann's Trophy 149 - XIII. Jos's Strange Story 161 - XIV. _The Piata_ 171 - XV. "Carlitos--Gone!" 181 - XVI. On a Dangerous Trail 196 - XVII. A Startling Cry 206 - XVIII. Prisoners 218 - XIX. A Daring Plan 229 - XX. The New Hope Mine 239 - - - - - CHAPTER I - THE MYSTERIOUS BLUE-EYED BOY - - -Jo Ann jerked the crude, hand-made chair off the oxcart and set it down -in the shade of the thatched roof of the house. - -"Your throne's ready, Your Majesty," she called over gaily to the pale, -worn-looking Mrs. Blackwell whose daughter Florence was helping her off -the burro. - -"Whoever heard of a throne looking like that?" laughed the slender, -hazel-eyed girl beside Jo Ann. "Wait a minute." She spread a bright -rainbow-hued Mexican blanket over the chair. "Now that looks more like a -throne." - -Jo Ann nodded her dark curly bob. "You're right, Peg--as usual." She -turned to Mrs. Blackwell. "I know you're dead tired. That long automobile -trip over the rough roads was bad enough, but the ride up the mountain on -that poky donkey was worse yet." - -"Poky's the word," put in Florence, her blue eyes twinkling. "That burro, -or donkey as you call it, is all Mexican--slow but sure." - -Just as she had finished speaking, the burro flapped his ears, threw back -his head, and brayed such a knowing "heehaw" that the girls laughed -merrily and even Mrs. Blackwell smiled broadly. - -As Mrs. Blackwell dropped down in the chair, Jo Ann remarked to her, "No -queen ever had a more beautiful kingdom to look upon from her throne than -you have." - -"It's marvelous!" exclaimed Peggy as all four gazed over the far-flung -view stretching out before them: rugged, cloud-tipped mountain peaks, the -deep valley covered with tropical growth, and a gleaming, silver -waterfall to their right. - -"Gracious!" broke in Florence finally. "We'll never get the house -straightened at this rate. And will you look at that driver! I believe -he's sound asleep. He hasn't taken a single thing off the cart yet." - -As Jo Ann reluctantly turned away, she called over to Peggy, "We'll have -three or four weeks to enjoy all this beauty--let's get busy now and help -Florence straighten up the house. You just sit here, Mrs. Blackwell, and -draw in deep breaths of this invigorating air," she added. "Dr. Blackwell -said you weren't to turn your hand to do a thing." - -"You girls wait on me as if I were a complete invalid. Although I am -tired now, I know I'm going to regain my strength rapidly up here." - -While Florence gave orders in Spanish to the driver and the boy in charge -of the burros, Jo Ann and Peggy went inside the small, one-room house -which was built from stone cut from the mountain side. - -While they were waiting for the equipment to be brought in, the girls -looked about the room curiously. - -"Isn't this the queerest little house!" Peggy exclaimed. "Not a single -window in it. It's built exactly like the little adobe huts the peons -live in." - -"Florence said they bought the place from a Mexican--anyone'd know that -at a glance." Jo Ann walked over across the room to the back door and -looked outside. "This must be that funny little kitchen Florence told us -about," she said, gesturing to a small stone building about fifteen feet -beyond. - -Just then the driver sauntered in and piled some cots and bedding in the -center of the cement floor. - -Jo Ann wheeled about. "Come on, Peg, let's sweep out the house and make -up the cots. We can do that much, at least." - -By the time they had the cots made up, the Mexicans had finished -unloading and were starting off leisurely down the trail behind the -oxcart and burros. - -"Let's stop working now and eat our lunch," called Florence from the -kitchen door. "It's siesta time right now, and it'll do all of us good to -take a nap." - -Peggy grinned over at Florence. "Maybe Jo Ann'll take a siesta up here. -Remember the trouble she got into up on the roof in town during a siesta -hour?" - -"Don't worry about me this time. There's no mysterious window in this -house for me to investigate, as there was there." - -"I bet we won't be here three days before you'll find some mystery to -solve, Sherlock," teased Peggy. - -"Well, Sherlock's too hungry to look for mysteries now. Let's eat." - -"That's what I say," agreed Florence. "You girls unpack the eats while I -go to the spring for some cool water." - -After they had eaten their lunch and had their siestas, the girls worked -another hour putting down rugs, arranging gay pillows and blankets on the -cots, and making a dressing table out of a packing box. - -"Before we start straightening out things in the kitchen, I believe I'd -better go down to the goat ranch," Florence remarked. "I want to see if I -can make arrangements to get milk there every day." - -"You mean--goat's milk?" Peggy asked in dismay, stopping in the middle of -slipping a gay cretonne cover on a pillow. - -Florence's eyes twinkled roguishly. "Well, what's the matter with goat's -milk? That's what the Mexicans use. When in Mexico do as the Mexicans -do." Seeing the sick-looking expression on both Peggy's and Jo Ann's -faces, she hastened to explain: "I was just teasing. They raise the goats -for market. The natives are as fond of goat's meat as they are of the -milk. They had a cow at this ranch when we were here last year, and----" - -"Let's hope they still have that cow," put in Peggy quickly. - -"So say I," added Jo Ann emphatically. - -Florence picked up the bucket from the rough board table. "Do either of -you girls want to go with me?" - -"Jo, I know you're just dying to get out of doors and tramp a bit," Peggy -remarked. "You go with Florence, and I'll stay here with Mrs. Blackwell." - -"Fine! I'd love it." - -"We won't be gone long," Florence told her mother as she and Jo Ann -started out the door. - -A few minutes later they disappeared down a winding trail back of the -house. About halfway down the trail Jo Ann halted a moment to enjoy the -beautiful scenery. "This is the life for me!" she exclaimed. "I had a -good time in the city, but give me the outdoors. I can hardly wait to -begin exploring these mountains." - -About ten minutes later they came in sight of a little pink adobe hut -perched on a narrow ledge jutting out from the steep rocky cliff. It -looked to Jo Ann as if the hut might topple off any minute and fall into -the valley below. - -"That's the goat ranch," explained Florence. - -"The goat ranch! All I see is a hut and a stone wall. Why'd they build a -house way up there instead of in that fertile valley?" - -"I suppose it's because that steep cliff back of the hut saved them from -so much work in making an enclosure for their goats." - -"I don't see any goats. Where are they?" - -"The little goat herder takes them out every morning to graze on the -scrubby mesquite that grows on the mountain side. Goats love to climb, -you know. I've even seen one on top of an adobe hut." - -The girls followed the trail across a narrow ravine and up to the house. - -Just then several dogs began barking, and a black-eyed, olive-skinned -Mexican woman and two scantily dressed, barefooted children appeared in -the doorway. - -The next moment the woman's face lit at sight of Florence. "Florencita!" -she cried, then went on in a rapid flow of Spanish to ask her numerous -questions about her family. - -As soon as Florence had answered these questions she inquired if they -still owned the cow. - -The woman nodded assent and urged her and Jo Ann to sit down and rest -till Pablito brought the cow and she could milk. - -Florence shook her head and handing her the bucket asked if it would be -possible for her to send the milk up later by one of the children. - -"_S_, Florencita. _Muy bien_," she agreed, smiling. - -As the girls turned to go, the woman reached down and picked a fragrant, -waxy-white flower from the jasmine growing in a pot by the door. "For -your mama," she explained, handing it to Florence. - -With a word of thanks and an "_Adios_" to her and the children, the girls -started back down the trail. - -"Let's go home the long way through the valley," suggested Florence when -they reached the ravine. "There's a cave down this way that I want to -show you." - -"Fine! The longer the way, the better. That cave sounds interesting, -too." - -Slipping and sliding down the rocky mountain side, they soon reached the -broad valley; then they followed the path around the base of the cliff, -stopping now and then to gather ferns and flowers. - -When they came to a sparkling, crystal-clear spring bubbling out from -under the rocks, Jo Ann dropped to her knees and drank thirstily of the -icy cold water. - -While Florence was drinking, Jo Ann heard a snapping of twigs near by. -She wheeled about and, peering through the bushes, saw two small boys -gathering wood. One of them was bent over by the weight of a large bundle -of the wood, held in place on his back by a rope passed across his -forehead; the other was chopping sticks with a machete, a long heavy -knife. At first glance Jo Ann thought they must be twins, as they were -dressed alike in the loose white trousers and blouse worn by the peon. - -A few minutes later the boys stepped back into the narrow trail, but on -seeing the girls they quickly moved to one side to let them pass. - -With a smile, Florence greeted the boys with the customary salutation, -"_buenos tardes_." Their little brown faces under their frayed straw -sombreros grinned back at the girls as they returned the greeting; then -they turned and went on down the trail. - -As soon as they were out of sight Jo Ann exclaimed, "That's the first -blue-eyed Mexican I've seen! I didn't know they ever had blue eyes." - -"They don't! What do you mean?" - -"Didn't you notice that one of those boys had dark-blue eyes?" - -"No." - -"Well, he did." - -"They were both dressed alike, and dirty and ragged. All I noticed was -how frail-looking the one was who had the bundle of wood on his back. I -couldn't help wondering why the other boy, who looked stronger, didn't -take part of the load." - -"That's the one with the blue eyes. Do they belong to the family at the -goat ranch?" - -"No, I've never seen them before. You must be mistaken about the boy's -having blue eyes." - -Jo Ann shook her head vigorously. "I'm positive his eyes were blue--his -features were finer too, but his face was so dirty I couldn't tell much -about them." - -Florence smiled. "You've a fine imagination, Jo--trying to find another -mystery already." - -"I didn't try to find this mystery. It bumped right into me. If that boy -lives around here, I'm going to find out more about him." - -At Jo Ann's emphatic words, Florence laughed merrily. "All right, but -don't start now. If we're going to stop at the cave, we'll have to -hurry." - - - - - CHAPTER II - NEIGHBORS IN THE CAVE - - -The two girls hurried along the trail, and a few minutes later Florence -pointed to a dark, shadowy place about fifty feet up the side of the -cliff. "There's the cave I was telling you about." - -"All I can see through the bushes is a black hole under some rocks. Can -we climb up there? I'd like to explore it." - -"Yes, there's a path leading up to it. It isn't very large and won't take -you long to look it over." - -After rounding a curve in the trail, Florence led the way up the winding -path toward the cave. - -"That's strange!" she exclaimed a moment later. "There's a burro tied -right outside the entrance. Someone must be in there." - -"And I smell smoke from a campfire, don't you?" asked Jo Ann in a low -voice as she moved over closer to Florence. "Do you suppose we'd better -go on?" - -"Yes, I think it'll be all right. If we have neighbors, I want to see -what sort of people they are." - -Just then they saw, silhouetted against the dark cave entrance, the bent -form of an old woman leaning on a stick. On coming closer the girls were -able to make out the features of a brown, wrinkled face, which was almost -hidden by the folds of the black shawl-like _rebosa_ about her head and -shoulders. - -"_Buenos tardes_," greeted Florence, then went on to explain in Spanish -that they had come up to see the cave, not knowing that it was occupied. - -While Florence was talking to the old woman, Jo Ann was peering into the -dark opening beyond. By the light of the fire in the middle of the floor -she could see a woman kneeling by a stone _metate_ grinding corn for -_tortillas_, and near by, lying on a straw mat on the floor, was a tiny -naked baby. - -Just then several little stair-step children ran to peer up at the -visitors from behind their grandmother. Jo Ann took some of the flowers -from her bouquet and offered one to each of them. With smiles spreading -over their thin, grimy faces, they reached out timidly for the flowers, -then drew back behind their grandmother again. - -"What is your name?" Jo Ann asked the largest of the children in her best -Spanish, but either the child could not understand or else she was too -timid to reply. - -Hearing a slight noise behind her, Jo Ann turned in time to see the two -boys she had noticed gathering wood. The one with the heavy burden on his -back passed on into the cave without looking around, but the other -hesitated and stared up at her curiously before disappearing into the dim -interior. In that short interval Jo Ann had an opportunity to see that -his eyes were unmistakably a deep blue; moreover, she noticed that, -although his skin was brown, it was not as dark as the other boy's and -the little girls'. - -While she was pondering over this difference, Florence reached over and -touched her on the arm. "Come on, Jo, we'd better go now. We'll come down -again sometime." - -Both girls waved good-by to the children, then started off down the -trail. "Did you notice those boys as they came in?" Jo Ann asked. "One of -them has blue eyes, just as I said." - -"I was so busy talking to the grandmother that I didn't see them till -they had passed on into the shadows. Evidently they belong to this -family." - -"Well, that blue-eyed one certainly doesn't look as if he belongs to -them. There's something strange about him. Do you suppose they live in -that cave? They didn't have a stick of furniture--not even a bed or table -or chair or anything." - -"Oh, that doesn't matter to the peons. They never sleep on a bed, and -they eat off the floor. But those people did look awfully poor. I don't -believe they had a thing for supper but those _tortillas_ the woman was -making." - -"Let's come down here tomorrow and bring them something. Those children -looked half starved to me." - -"We'll do that very thing, but if we're going to eat tonight, we'd better -be getting back to camp. Mother and Peg'll wonder what's happened to us." - -"And we haven't finished straightening up the kitchen, either," Jo Ann -sighed. "How about cooking supper in that outdoor fireplace? It's too -gorgeous up here to stay in the house any more than absolutely -necessary." - -"All right. That's what I'd planned to do anyway." - -"Isn't this the road we came up this morning?" Jo Ann asked a moment -later, as they came to a cart road winding back and forth up the steep -mountain side. - -"Yes, we're almost home. If it weren't for the trees, we could see the -house from here. There's a short cut straight up the mountain." She -pointed to a narrow path between the trees and rocks. "Since you're so -fond of climbing, we'll take that and be back at the house before you -know it." - -In a short time they arrived at the house, puffing and panting from the -exertion of their steep climb. - -"Did you--think we--were never--coming?" asked Florence, dropping down -beside her mother, who was lying on a cot out in front of the house; -then, without waiting for an answer, she asked, "Have they brought the -milk yet?" - -Her mother nodded. "Just a few minutes ago. Did you and Jo Ann have a -nice walk?" - -"Yes, indeed! It seemed so good to be tramping over the mountains again." -Florence smiled. "I had to recount the family history from A to Z to the -woman at the goat ranch, and she said it gave her much sorrow to learn of -your illness. She and all the children'll probably be up to see you -tomorrow. Here's a jasmine she sent you--we picked the fern down by a -spring." She sniffed the fragrant perfume a moment, then handed the -dainty spray to her mother. - -"And while we were at the spring," put in Jo Ann, "we saw two little -Mexican boys gathering wood; and I'm sure one of them had blue eyes." - -"Yes, Jo thinks she's on the trail of another mystery," laughed Florence. - -"Oh dear," sighed Peggy with a roguish twinkle in her eyes. "I told you -we wouldn't be here three days before she'd find a mystery, and here it's -hardly been that many hours." - -"Then, when we were at the cave," Jo Ann went on, unruffled by Peggy's -teasing, "the boys came in, and I got a good look at that one's eyes, and -they were blue--a deep, deep blue--bluer than yours, Florence." - -"Well, what's your solution?" grinned Peggy. "Has your blue-eyed boy been -kidnaped, or is he a prince in disguise?" - -"I'll tell you later. Give me a little time, and I'll find out. Florence -and I are going down to the cave tomorrow to carry some food to those -children--there were several thin, dirty, half-starved little ones there. -Come along, Peg, and if that boy is there, you can see for yourself that -his eyes are blue. I hope he is--I want to prove to you and Florence that -I'm not color blind." - -"I'm 'most as hungry as those children looked," put in Florence. "Let's -get supper." - -Jo Ann sprang up. "I'm a swell fire-builder. I'll build the fire this -minute--in the outdoor fireplace." - -"No, you won't. I've beat you to it," laughed Peggy. - -As they went through the house, Jo Ann noticed that a gay red-and-white -checked cloth had been spread on the table and places set for four. "You -have been busy, haven't you?" she said motioning toward the table. - -"Sure. Mrs. Blackwell told me what to do with things, and I've -straightened up the kitchen and put some rice on to cook for supper." - -Just as they reached the kitchen door, Florence came up and slipped her -arm around Peggy affectionately, "Peg, you're a grand person to have -around; Jo's been dreading straightening this kitchen all the way home." -She smiled over at Jo Ann, then went on to the kitchen and took several -articles out of a box near the door. "Here, Jo, if you'll fry the bacon -and scramble some eggs, I'll make some real Mexican _chocolate_; then if -you'll open this jar of preserves, Peg, we'll have supper ready in a -jiffy." - -"Even that won't be soon enough to suit me," laughed Jo Ann. "That climb -up the mountain and this invigorating air have made me hungry as a bear." - -In a very short time supper was ready, and as Jo Ann placed the platter -of bacon and eggs on the table, she called over to Peggy, "Catch hold of -the other end of this table and let's carry it outside. That sunset's -just too gorgeous to miss, and then Mrs. Blackwell won't have to walk so -far, either." - -Carefully Peggy and Jo Ann carried the table out in front of the house -and set it down near Mrs. Blackwell's cot; then Florence brought a chair -and placed it at the head of the table. - -"The banquet is served, Your Majesty." She turned to help her mother into -the chair. - -"No banquet hall was ever as beautiful as this." Jo Ann waved her hand -toward the deep purple valley, the gold-tipped mountain peaks, and the -rainbow-hued canopy overhead. "And listen--the music of the little -mountain folk singing their farewells to the sun!" - -"You surely have a good, imagination, Jo," commented Peggy, laughing. "It -is perfectly grand, but all I can hear is the croaking of bullfrogs." - -"Your appreciation of the beauties of nature seems to be sadly lacking." -She smiled condescendingly at Peggy, then turned to Mrs. Blackwell. "I -don't wonder that the doctor at the sanitarium, and your husband, too, -ordered you up here to recuperate after your long illness. You couldn't -help but get well here." - -Mrs. Blackwell nodded assent. "Yes, this is a wonderful place to rest. I -really begin to feel stronger already--and with three such thoughtful -girls to look after me I'm sure I shall be as well as ever in a few -weeks." - -"I'm so glad you're here with us and not 'way off there at that -sanitarium," said Florence, reaching over to squeeze her mother's hand. -"We're going to take such good care of you that you'll just have to get -well." - -Tired out from the busy, strenuous day, they lingered long over their -supper, watching the ever changing colors of the slow tropical sunset. -Carmine melted into rose, amber, violet, finally fading away into a soft -tender green. Deep purple shadows settled over the mountains as the -colors faded, and a slender crescent of a moon peeped down at them from a -star-flecked sky. - -Suddenly the spell was broken as Florence jumped to her feet. "Gracious! -I forgot all about fixing that box down at the spring to keep our milk -and butter in. Does anyone know where my flashlight is?" - -"Yes, I put it on the dressing table right beside your cot. I'll get it." -Peggy jumped up and ran inside the house. A moment later she returned -with the flashlight and handed it to Florence. - -"I'll go with you and fix the box if you'll tell me what to do," offered -Jo Ann. - -"First we'd better light some candles so we can see what we're doing," -Florence said as the three of them went into the kitchen. She dived down -into the box and brought out two tallow candles and handed them to Jo -Ann. "When you get those lit, Peg and I'll put the milk and butter in -jars." - -"What'll I do with them now I've got them lit, Florence--hold them?" -grinned Jo Ann a moment later, holding a lighted candle in each hand. - -"Stick them on these lids and put them on the table. Here's the box I'd -planned to use. We'll put the things in it and then carry it down to the -spring." - -"The spring! Do you mean that spring where we saw the two boys--my -blue-eyed boy?" Jo Ann asked. - -"Of course not, silly. I mean the spring back of the house where we get -our drinking water. There're springs all over these mountains." - -They placed the things in the box, then, with Florence leading the way -with the flashlight, they carried it to the near-by spring. - -After they had moved several stones aside, they placed the jars of milk -and butter in the icy water, placed the package of bacon on top of the -jars and then turned the box over all. - -"Pile some stones around the box and put this big one on top, and then -our refrigerator'll be fixed," Florence said. - -As soon as they returned to the house and had washed the dishes, they -began getting ready for bed. - -"I didn't realize how tired I was till now. I won't need any rocking -tonight, I'm sure," Jo Ann said as she crawled under the blankets. - -Her thoughts drifted back to the blue-eyed boy. Who was he, and why was -he with those peons? There must be some mystery back of it all. Could it -be possible that he had been kidnaped as Peggy had jokingly suggested? -"I'm going down there early tomorrow morning and find out more about it," -she told herself before dropping off to sleep. - - - - - CHAPTER III - AN UNWELCOME VISITOR - - -When Jo Ann opened her eyes the next morning, the sun was already shining -through the open doorway. She lay still a moment and tried to think why -she had wanted to get up early. What had she planned to do? Then it all -came back to her. She was going down to the cave to find out more about -the blue-eyed boy. - -She threw back the covers and sprang up quickly, but the next moment she -dropped back with a stifled groan. - -"What's the matter, Jo?" whispered Peggy. "You're not stiff or sore, are -you?" - -"Oh no--of course not! I just groaned for the fun of it." - -"That's the reason I didn't want to go with you girls down to the goat -ranch yesterday. I knew I wouldn't be able to move today if I did. I'm -going to take my climbing in smaller doses, so it won't be so painful." - -Just then they heard a groan from the other end of the room, and both -girls raised up on their elbows to look over at Florence. - -"Are you sore too?" Jo Ann called out loud when she saw that Mrs. -Blackwell was also awake now. - -"I'll say I am! It's agony to move. We'll have to climb some more today -to get limbered up." - -"That's exactly what we're going to do just as soon as breakfast's over. -You remember we planned to take some food to those children down at the -cave. I want to show you and Peggy my blue-eyed boy, too." - -Peggy laughed. "I surely hope you get to satisfy your curiosity about -him--we won't have a minute's peace till you do." - -"Well, if we're going down there this morning, we'd better roll out." -Florence screwed up her face and began slowly crawling out of bed. - -Peggy smiled at the ridiculous contortions Jo Ann and Florence went -through as they got up and began dressing. - -Finally Jo Ann picked up a shoe and pitched it across at her. "You will -laugh at me, will you?" she said good-naturedly. "Roll out yourself, or -I'll pour some cold water in your face." - -Jo Ann finished dressing first, and as she went out the door she called -back, "I'll make the fire while you girls finish dressing; then it won't -take us long to get breakfast." - -A few minutes later she was joined by Peggy and Florence, and all three -girls set to work getting the breakfast started. - -"I'll set the table," offered Peggy. - -"And I'll get the things from our refrigerator at the spring," added Jo -Ann, and started off stiff-legged down the path. "The walk'll help to -limber me up." - -"Jo ought to have a prize for her graceful walk," smiled Peggy as she -started into the house to set the table, while Florence went for some -wood to replenish the fire. - -A few minutes later Jo Ann came running back empty-handed, her sore -muscles forgotten. "Our food's gone--everything's gone!" she called -excitedly to Florence. - -The wood dropped from Florence's hands and sent up a shower of sparks as -it fell into the fire. "Gone!" she gasped. "Are you sure you looked in -the right place?" - -"Sure. The box's turned over, and there's nothing under it." - -By this time Peggy, hearing the excitement, rushed out of the house, and -all three girls raced back to the spring, then stood staring at the -overturned box. - -"What do you think happened?" asked Jo Ann. "Do you suppose someone stole -the things and left the box there so it'd look as if a dog had done it?" - -"I hardly think so," replied Florence thoughtfully. "There's no one up -here who'd----" She stopped abruptly. - -"Could it have been those people down at the cave who----" began Jo Ann; -then the next moment she answered her own question: "No, I know they -didn't do it. They're poor, but I don't believe they'd steal." - -Peggy looked over at Jo Ann. "How do you know? You can't prove it." - -Dropping to her knees beside the spring Jo Ann began examining the -moss-covered stones. "The moss is scraped off this rock where something -heavy stepped on it, but then we could've done that last night when we -put the things in here." - -Florence turned and started back toward the house. "It won't do any good -to stand here talking about it. Come on, we'll find something else to -cook in place of the bacon for breakfast. It's a good thing we brought -some canned milk along for an emergency, but we'll have to do without -butter for several days, till I can get some sent out from the city." - -Jo Ann ran to catch up with Peggy and Florence. "Why can't you get some -butter from the people down at the goat ranch?" she asked. - -Florence laughed. "Why, they probably wouldn't even know what I was -talking about." - -"Don't they use butter?" - -"No, the peons never use it." - -"Well, then, let's get extra milk and make it ourselves." - -"How? We haven't a churn." - -"I've seen my mother make butter by stirring the cream in a bowl or jar," -Jo Ann explained. - -Just then they reached the house, and all three ran on inside and began -telling Mrs. Blackwell of their loss. - -"Mrs. Blackwell, what is your opinion about the mysterious visitor--was -he man or beast?" asked Jo Ann finally. - -"I couldn't say, of course, but it seems to me an animal would hardly -carry off the glass jars of milk and butter." - -Jo Ann stared at Mrs. Blackwell a moment. "I hadn't thought of that," she -said, then turned and went on outside. - -Peggy glanced over at Florence. "Everything seems to point to those -people as the guilty parties, doesn't it? Jo hates to admit it, though." - -"Oh well, it wasn't much, and anyway, we can't prove that they are the -guilty ones. Let's forget about it and see what we can find for -breakfast." She got up and went out in the kitchen with Jo Ann. - -A few minutes later Peggy joined them, and before long they had the -emergency breakfast ready: coffee, dry cereal with canned milk, batter -cakes with brown sugar syrup, and oranges. - -"This isn't half bad, if you ask me," bragged Peggy as they sat down to -the table. - -Jo Ann grinned. "Just see who fixed it! Why, we're the best cooks for -miles around." - -"That isn't saying much, is it?" smiled Florence, then all four laughed -merrily as they caught Florence's hidden meaning. - -As soon as the breakfast things were cleared away and the house -straightened up, Jo Ann asked, "Florence, do you and Peg still want to go -down to the cave with me?" - -"Why, of course. Come on, let's see what we can find to carry to those -children." - -The three girls hastened to the kitchen, and Florence began searching -through the provision box for something to take to the children at the -cave. - -"Here're some _frijoles_--that's their principal food, and I know they'll -like them. We'll put in some rice, and with these onions and garlic and -this can of tomatoes they can make _sopa de aroz_--a kind of stew." As -Florence handed the things to Jo Ann and Peggy, they packed them in a -split-cane basket. - -She looked about the kitchen a moment, then reached over on the table and -picked up a bag of oranges and handed it to Jo Ann. "Here're some -oranges. They ought to have some fruit, too. There're only half a dozen -in there, but that'll be enough for each of the children to have one -apiece. Let's take these batter cakes we had left from breakfast. They'll -love them. They'll think they're some kind of a cake. We'll put in this -cone of brown sugar and tell the woman how to make syrup--but they'll -very likely eat the sugar as it is, thinking it's candy." - -"I wonder if I couldn't get milk from the goat ranch for them," put in Jo -Ann. "I'm going to see about it the next time we go down there." - -When they had finished, Jo Ann picked up the basket and followed Florence -and Peggy out on the front porch, where Mrs. Blackwell was lying in a -hammock stretched between two of the crude peeled posts supporting the -thatched roof. - -Florence leaned over to drop a kiss on her mother's pale cheek. "Do you -mind if we leave you alone for a little while? We're going down to the -cave to carry some food to those poor little children--we won't be gone -over half an hour." - -"I want to prove to Florence and Peg that I'm right about that blue-eyed -boy," added Jo Ann. "Maybe we'll be able to find out something that'll -throw some light on the mystery of his blue eyes." - -Mrs. Blackwell smiled. "You girls run along--I'll take a nap while you're -gone. I'm very glad you're adopting those children. From what you've told -me they must be badly in need of a helping hand. You see evidences of -real poverty down here among the peons, and yet, as a general thing, -they're very happy." As they started off down the trail she called, "Jo, -I wish you luck in solving the mystery of your blue-eyed boy." - -Florence and Jo Ann found it very painful going down the steep path. -Their leg muscles were still stiff and sore from their long tramp over -the mountain side the day before. They were glad when they reached the -foot of the cliff and started on a smooth wooded trail around its base. - -At the first curve they stopped to gaze across the broad valley -stretching out before them. - -"Isn't this glorious!" Jo Ann exclaimed. "We almost beat the sun up--down -here, didn't we?" - -"Yes, it wasn't much ahead of us," agreed Peggy, "and doesn't the air -smell good?" - -All three girls drew in deep breaths of the fragrant, woodsy odor of leaf -mold and dew-kissed ferns. - -A few minutes later they turned and hurried along the trail till they -reached the narrow, unused path leading up to the cave. As they came in -sight of it, Jo Ann stopped abruptly and stood staring before her. - -"What's the idea of stopping so suddenly?" Peggy demanded, as she bumped -into Jo Ann. - -"What's the matter?" chimed in Florence, crowding up behind Peggy and -trying unsuccessfully to look over their shoulders. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - THE CAVE FAMILY DISAPPEARS - - -Jo Ann pointed to the rugged arched opening before her. "Look! The -donkey's gone and there's no sign of anyone. I don't believe that -family's here now." - -Quickly all three girls walked on to the cave and stood staring inside. -With the rays of the morning sun shining directly on the entrance, they -could easily see into the farthest corners. - -"There's not a soul here!" finally ejaculated Jo Ann. "They're gone--bag -and baggage." - -"But it's strange they'd leave so suddenly," put in Florence. "They -must've left before daylight." - -Peggy stepped inside the cave and kicked the pile of ashes with her foot. -"There hasn't been a fire here for hours--these ashes are as cold as -charity." - -Jo Ann sighed as she set the basket down on the floor. "Those poor little -children won't get any of this food, after all. Isn't that a shame?" She -turned to Florence. "Do you suppose our coming here yesterday had -anything to do with their leaving so suddenly?" - -Florence shook her head. "No, I hardly think so. Now and then an Indian -family spends the night here when they're on their way farther up the -mountain." - -"If they intended to leave so early, then why were those two boys -gathering wood yesterday? They couldn't have burned all of it in such a -short time." - -Florence shook her head. "I don't know." - -"Maybe I was right, after all, about the blue-eyed boy having been -kidnaped," put in Peggy. - -Silently the three girls stared around the cave, each busy with her own -thoughts. - -A few minutes later Jo Ann reached down and picked up the basket. "Come -on, let's see if we can find which way they went. They couldn't've got -very far with the old grandmother and all those little children. Maybe we -can overtake them and give them these things--then they'll know we want -to be friends." - -In the damp earth of the narrow path they could see distinctly the prints -of bare feet and the small half-moons made by the donkey. They easily -followed the trail till they came to the rocky cart road up which they -had ridden the day before. - -Here Jo Ann and Peggy dropped to their knees and began examining the -tracks in the dust. - -"Now which way do you suppose they went?" queried Jo Ann. "These tracks -could have been made here yesterday by our donkeys and the peon driver." - -"The tracks seem to go in both directions, and they're so indistinct it'd -be impossible to follow a trail. You might as well give up, Jo." - -Florence smiled over at Jo Ann. "I believe the blue-eyed Mexican boy is -one mystery you won't be able to solve. You'll have to use your detective -ability in finding out what became of our milk and butter." She hesitated -a moment, then continued thoughtfully, "If those people followed this -road up the mountain they'd pass within about fifty feet of our box at -the spring." - -Peggy's eyes widened. "Oh, do you suppose they really did get our things, -then?" - -Jo Ann jumped quickly to her feet. "Well, since they're gone, I hope they -did get them. Those little children need the milk and butter much more -than we do--only I hate to think of their having stolen them." She -glanced down at the basket. "I wish we could have given them this -food--they need it so badly. I wanted to see that boy again, too." - -"It won't do any good to stand here in the sun talking about it," -Florence called over to Peggy and Jo Ann. "Come on. Let's drop the whole -business and go home--it's almost time to start getting dinner, anyway." - -"Maybe Mrs. Blackwell can help us explain the mystery of their sudden -departure," Jo Ann remarked as she picked up the basket and started off -behind Florence, while Peggy brought up the rear. - -The three disappointed girls began slowly climbing in single file up the -steep, narrow, winding path to the camp. Bending forward like saplings -blown by the wind, they trudged silently up the trail, Jo Ann carrying -the basket on first one arm, then the other. - -When they were within a short distance of the top of the cliff Florence -suddenly leaped backward, gasping, "Ugh! A snake!" - -She bumped against Jo Ann with such force that the basket was knocked -from her hands and rolled clattering down the mountain side. Unmindful of -the basket, Florence kept pushing Jo Ann down the narrow trail. - -The next moment Jo Ann stumbled and half fell against Peggy. -Simultaneously a terrified shriek rent the air. Jo Ann wheeled about in -time to see Peggy swaying dangerously over the outer edge of the cliff. - -With eyes dilated with horror she saw her clutch wildly at a stunted tree -growing out of the rocky ledge. The next instant Jo Ann reached out to -grab Peggy. Her fingers touched her skirt, but before she could grasp it, -the tree suddenly swayed outward over the cliff under Peggy's weight. - -Involuntarily Jo Ann shut her eyes tightly. "Oh, Peg'll be killed!" she -thought frantically. - -The snapping of branches and the crashing of rocks down the mountain side -came to her ears. Was Peg falling--falling---- - -She forced her eyelids open. Thank goodness! Peg was alive! Hanging to -the tree. But oh, that awful abyss she was hanging over! She must help -her out of that terrible plight if humanly possible. The tree might pull -out by the roots at any moment. - -"Hold on, Peg!" she cried. "We'll help you!" - -To Jo Ann's great joy, Peggy began cautiously inching her way along the -bent tree trunk. - -"Just a little nearer and I can reach you," encouraged Jo Ann. She called -over to Florence. "Grab hold of me and steady me while I pull Peg." - -Years--ages passed, it seemed to Jo Ann, as she leaned forward with -outstretched hands. The instant Peggy's feet barely touched the rocky -ledge she reached down and pulled her safely over the edge. - -With tears rolling down her cheeks, Florence threw her arms about Peggy. -"Oh, Peg, you might've been killed! And it was all my fault!" - -"Well--I--wasn't--killed." Peggy took a step backward and leaned against -the bank for support. "I--feel--shaky, though." - -"No wonder," agreed Jo Ann. "I'm wobbly-kneed, too." - -"What--in the world--got into you girls--to push that way?" - -"I saw a snake--a huge snake, right across our path, and I almost stepped -on it," answered Florence. She cupped her hands to make a circle. "He was -that big around. He was so long I couldn't see either his head or his -tail." - -Peggy uttered a little gasp of surprise. - -"You're imagining things, Florence," put in the practical Jo Ann. "You -know perfectly well there're no snakes that big--except boa constrictors -in the jungles." - -"But he was huge. I wouldn't have been so frightened by a smaller one. -I've never seen one this large here before. He must be at least eight or -ten feet long." - -A little twinkle entered Peggy's eyes. "You girls ought to be even now. -Jo insists a Mexican boy has blue eyes, and you insist you saw a huge boa -constrictor right in sight of the house." - -"If that snake's still there--and I imagine it is--I'll prove to you that -I'm right." - -Both Peggy and Jo Ann drew back slightly, and Peggy spoke up. "I, for -one, am not going back up this trail with any kind of snake--big or -little--waiting for me." - -"How're we ever going to get to the house, then?" asked Jo Ann. "Will we -have to go back down to the cart road and walk all the way around the -mountain? Why, that's miles, and in this hot sun!" - -"I think I know a place where we can manage to climb up the cliff," -Florence told them. "How about it? Want to try it?" - -"Sure," replied Jo Ann. "'Most anything'd be better than walking miles -out of the way when the house is only a few hundred yards from here." - -Florence led the way back down the trail a short distance, then began -climbing the sheer surface of the cliff. By sticking their toes in the -crevices of the rock and catching hold of the scraggly shrubs growing in -the cracks, all three finally reached the top of the cliff. - -After they had walked along the ledge for a short distance, Florence -remarked, "I think we ought to be able to see the snake from here--if -it's still there." - -Cautiously she pulled the bushes aside and peered down on the path. - -"Ugh! There he is--right in the same place!" - -Peggy and Jo Ann leaned over to look. - -"See that big black thing that looks like a log?" - -Jo Ann gasped, "Gosh! What a snake!" - -"That's the biggest one I ever saw, except in a zoo," declared Peggy, -wide-eyed. - -Florence pointed to the snake. "See those bumps in him. He's probably had -some squirrels or rabbits for his dinner and is lying there in the sun -digesting them." - -"I didn't dream there were such snakes around here," Jo Ann added. - -Before they started for the house, all three girls picked up stones and -pitched them down at the snake. When one of the stones struck him, the -huge reptile slowly disappeared over the edge of the path. - -"It's a good thing you saw it in time," said Jo Ann. "I'd hate to have -that terrible thing get after me in a place like that, where I couldn't -run." - -As they hastened across the mesa to the house, Florence remarked, "Maybe -we'd better not tell Mother how big that snake was--she'll worry every -time we're out of sight, if we do." - -"All right," Jo Ann and Peggy agreed. - - - - - CHAPTER V - FOOTPRINTS - - -When the girls neared the house they were surprised to hear several -people talking in Spanish. Perhaps the family from the cave have come up -the mountain by the cart road, Jo Ann thought, and have stopped to talk -to Mrs. Blackwell. But a moment later a shadow of disappointment crossed -her face as she recognized the woman and children from the goat ranch. - -"For a moment I thought it was those people from the cave with the -blue-eyed boy," Jo Ann said in a low voice to Peggy. - -Peggy shook her auburn head. "Forget it, Jo. There's no such luck." - -The girls exchanged greetings in Spanish with the visitors, then dropped -down on the floor beside the two little girls. Jo Ann, in her poor -Spanish, attempted to carry on a conversation with the children, while -Peggy looked on, amused. - -She was interrupted a few minutes later by Mrs. Blackwell. "Girls, Mara -says a bear carried off one of their pigs last night. Isn't that too bad? -They had them in an enclosure against the cliff just back of the house -here." - -Jo Ann jumped quickly to her feet. "I bet that's what got our things at -the spring. A bear! Why didn't we think of that before?" - -"We've never been bothered with one before," put in Florence. - -"Mara's husband, Juan, said the continued drouth up in the mountains has -caused the wild animals to come down into the valley in search of food," -Mrs. Blackwell continued. "The bear had evidently followed the river, -because they found tracks up the ravine." - -Mara, who had been watching the expression on their faces intently, now -began to shake her head and to talk rapidly in Spanish. - -"She says that bears like much the pork," translated Florence for the -girls' benefit. "She's afraid he'll come back for the rest of the pigs, -and she doesn't know what to do to keep him away." - -"What to do!" exclaimed Jo Ann. "Why, shoot him, of course." - -Mrs. Blackwell smiled. "I doubt if Juan has ever owned a gun. About the -only weapon the peon ever uses is a stiletto, and it would not be an easy -matter to kill a bear with a stiletto--or even with a machete." - -Peggy shivered as if she were cold. "I should say it wouldn't. I'd hate -to get that close to one, especially a real wild bear! It gives me the -creeps to think about it." - -"I've got a grand idea," burst out Jo Ann. "Why can't we go on a bear -hunt? We have a gun, and I can shoot." - -"I can shoot pretty good, too," added Peggy. "Daddy taught me when we -lived in the country. I killed a possum once when he got in our -henhouse." - -Jo Ann smiled. "He probably just played possum when he heard the report -of your gun, and you thought he was dead. They'll do that sometimes." - -"No, I killed him--sure enough." - -"Well, that's not like killing a bear--a real, live, wild, grizzly bear." - -"They don't have grizzly bears down here, silly." - -"How do you know they don't?" retorted Jo Ann. "Grizzlies are found in -the mountains of North America, and this is North America, isn't it? -Besides, you haven't seen his tracks." - -As the argument continued, Florence explained to Mara and the children -what it was about. The two little girls stared wide eyed at Jo Ann and -Peggy. They had never in all their lives heard of a girl's going out to -hunt a bear. They decided a gun must be one of those terrible things -which their grandmother had told them about. A stick which shot forth a -deadly fire that killed everything before it. She had warned them never -to touch a fire stick and to hide if they saw anyone with one. - -Peggy burst out just then with, "Well, young lady, you're not going on a -bear hunt without me, that's sure." - -Mrs. Blackwell stared at Jo Ann and Peggy in horrified amazement. "Girls! -What are you talking about? A bear hunt! The idea!" - -"But, Mrs. Blackwell, we wouldn't be in any danger," protested Jo Ann. -"We'd hide in a safe place and watch for the bear; then, when he came for -another pig, we'd shoot him--that's all." - -"I'm afraid, my dear, that it wouldn't be as simple as that." - -Florence, seeing the worried expression on her mother's face, changed the -subject. "The bear must've smelled the bacon, and that's the reason he -found our box at the spring. By the way, I wonder what time it is." She -got up and walked to the door. As she looked in at the clock sitting on -their improvised dressing table, she gasped, "Good gracious! I had no -idea it was so late. If we're going to have any dinner around here today, -I'll have to start the fire this very minute." - -She went on through the house toward the kitchen, Peggy and Jo Ann -following a moment later. - -"I'll build the fire, Florence," offered Jo Ann, taking the wood out of -her hands. "I'll have it burning before you and Peg get something ready -to cook on it--and I'll start it Mexican fashion, too." - -"Don't be too sure, Jo," teased Peggy. "Suppose there aren't any live -coals left?" - -"We'll see." - -Peggy and Florence disappeared into the kitchen, and Jo Ann placed her -armful of wood down beside the outdoor fireplace. She stirred the coals -left from their breakfast fire then carefully laid several small pieces -of wood over them. Leaning down, she began blowing on the coals as she -had seen the peon women do. Soon, to her delight, tiny flames began -licking at the wood. She kept on blowing a few minutes longer, then sat -back on her heels to look with satisfaction at the fire which was now -burning brightly in the fireplace. - -"When in Mexico do as the Mexicans do," she called gaily to Florence and -Peggy. "I'm getting good. I beat you, and I didn't have to use a match, -either. Now bring on your dinner." - -"You didn't beat us much. Here, put these potatoes on to boil," Peggy -replied as she handed a pot of potatoes to Jo Ann. "I used the last of -the water over them. Hadn't I better get some more?" - -Jo Ann stopped in the act of setting the pot of potatoes over the fire as -a thought suddenly flashed into her mind. "I'll get the water," she -offered quickly. She put the pot down and hurried to the kitchen for the -bucket. A moment later she disappeared down the path to the spring. - -Jo must be up to something, thought Peggy. - -When Jo Ann reached the spring, she set the bucket down on a rock and -stood gazing at the overturned box which they had so proudly called their -refrigerator the night before. If a real live bear had been the thief, -then what had he done with the jars of milk and butter? she asked -herself. "I'm going to see if I can find a clue. There ought to be tracks -somewhere around here." - -She began looking among the ferns and rocks along the bank of the river -beyond the spring in search of some sign of the marauder. Carefully she -examined every track. Here were their own tracks made the night before, -and the tiny footprints of a squirrel, but not a sign of big padded -footprints made by a large, heavy animal. - -Still unwilling to give up, she jumped from stone to stone across the -swiftly flowing stream, and began searching the opposite bank. A moment -later, with a cry of satisfaction, she dropped to her knees and began -examining some huge tracks in the soft earth. - -"It was a bear, all right!" she exclaimed out loud. "Here's where he -crossed the river--but, gee, what a big one!" Instinctively she glanced -all around as though expecting to see the bear. "I bet he smelled our -bacon and crossed right here." She began slowly jumping back over the -stones, watching for any sign left by the recent thief. - -When in midstream she caught a glimpse of a familiar-looking object a -short distance ahead. So suddenly did she stop that she lost her balance -and toppled off into the swiftly rushing stream. - -Gasping from her sudden plunge into the icy water, she scrambled back up -on the rock. "Gosh, that water's cold!" she shivered. "But since I'm -already wet I might as well go on and see if my eyes are deceiving me." - -With the water foaming about her knees, she carefully picked her way down -the stream to a large boulder hidden under an overhanging tree. Then, -reaching down, she picked up the object that had been wedged between the -boulder and the bank. - -"Just as I thought," she said to herself. "Here's our jar of butter. It -won't do anyone any good because the jar's broken and there might be -glass in the butter, but at least I have proof now that those people at -the cave didn't steal our things--I can show Florence and Peg the bear -tracks, too." - -She hastened back up the stream to the spring, and forgetting the bucket -of water she had come after, ran on to the house. So eager was she to -tell the girls of her discovery that she did not notice that her wet -skirt was flapping about her legs and the water sloshing in her shoes. - -"Why, Jo, what in the world's happened?" began Peggy as she saw the -bedraggled figure running toward her. "Did you see the bear?" - -"No, but I found his tracks! And look what else I found!" she held up the -broken jar, partly filled with butter. "I told you those people at the -cave didn't get our things." - -On hearing the noise, Florence ran from the kitchen. "What on earth----" -she began, then saw what Jo Ann was holding in her hand. "Where did you -find that?" - -While Jo Ann was explaining the details of her discovery, they heard a -slight noise behind them and, turning, saw Mrs. Blackwell standing in the -doorway. "I heard all this chatter and had to find out what it was about. -You're a real Sherlock, I see, Jo--you've solved the mystery." - -"Yes," beamed Jo Ann, "and I've proved that I was right about the people -at the cave not stealing our things." - -After they had talked a few minutes longer, Florence asked, "What'd you -do with the bucket of water, Jo? I want to make Mother's tea, so we can -have dinner." - -Jo Ann stared in blank amazement a moment, then said sheepishly, "I -forgot it. I was so excited about my discovery that I forgot all about -it. I'll bring it in a minute." - -She was off like a shot and a few minutes later returned with the bucket -of water. "I'm sorry I kept dinner waiting so long," she told them, as -she set the bucket on the table, "but I'm glad I've solved that mystery. -I'm going to solve the other one, too, before I stop." - -Peggy grinned mischievously. "Which mystery do you mean, Jo? The -disappearance of those people at the cave or the mystery of the blue-eyed -boy?" - -"Both. Just give me time." - -"Dinner's ready," Florence called shortly afterwards as she came from the -kitchen with a pot of tea, which she placed on the table beside her -mother's plate. - -"Be there in a minute," called back Jo Ann. "I'm simply starving." - -She took a plain little print dress out of her bag, then jerked off her -wet clothes. "Can I--may I--eat barefooted?" she asked in a muffled voice -as she pulled the dress over her head. "It'll take too long to put on -shoes and stockings." - -"When in Mexico do as the peons do," quoted Peggy, laughing. "That's your -motto, is it? You'll probably want to use the floor for your table and -your fingers for knives and forks, too." - -"No; I haven't any _tortillas_ to use for knife and fork as they do. Only -my feet are peon, anyway, and you can't see them under the table." Jo Ann -slipped quickly into her place at the table where the others were already -seated. - -Mrs. Blackwell laughed gaily. "You girls are as good as a tonic," she -declared a little later. "I haven't laughed so much for months. I feel -much stronger today, too. I think I'll take a short walk later on when it -gets cooler." - -Florence beamed as she leaned over and squeezed her mother's hand. "I -knew you'd get well up here. I'm going to write Daddy this very afternoon -and tell him what a good patient you are and how much better you look -already." - -"You can do that right after dinner," put in Jo Ann. "I'm going to wash -the dishes to make up for running away and leaving you and Peg to get -dinner alone. I promise to be good after this." - -"You mean till next time," laughed Florence. - -"Well, of course, when there's something important----" began Jo Ann. - -"We understand, Jo," smiled Mrs. Blackwell. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - A MYSTERIOUS LIGHT - - -As soon as they had finished eating and the girls had stacked the dishes -and carried them to the kitchen, Jo Ann turned to Florence. "Now get out -of here, young lady. I told you I was going to wash the dishes. You go -and write that letter to your father." - -She caught Florence by the shoulders and playfully pushed her out of the -kitchen and across the yard. - -"Peg, I might let you wipe the dishes if you'll promise to be good," she -told her as she returned to the kitchen. - -"That's really quite considerate of you, my dear," smilingly retorted -Peggy. "I appreciate the honor very much." - -Gay chatter accompanied the rattle and clatter of dishes as the two girls -made quick work of their dishwashing. As they worked, their conversation -drifted back to the subject of the bear and the pigs. - -"I can't imagine living out in a wild, lonesome place like this and not -owning a gun, can you, Peg?" asked Jo Ann. Without waiting for an answer -she went on: "It'd be a shame to let that old bear come back and get the -rest of those pigs when we have a gun and know how to shoot it. I'm going -down there this afternoon and look the place over. If I can find a ledge -or some place where I can be practically out of danger, I'm going to give -Mr. Bear a warmer reception than he's looking for." - -"I'm not very keen about a bear hunt myself, but if you go, I'm going -with you. I have my doubts about Mrs. Blackwell's letting us go, though." - -Jo Ann let her hands lie idly in the soapy dishwater while she pondered -over how to meet Mrs. Blackwell's objections. "I wonder," she said -finally, "if she would be willing to let us go if we get Mara's -husband--Juan--to go with us. I believe she would. I heard her say that -she thought Juan was one of the most dependable, trustworthy peons she -ever knew. We'd be safe enough if he'd go with us, because he'd have his -dagger--stiletto, I believe it's called. The Mexicans're mighty keen and -quick about using them, I've heard. Of course, no one's planning to get -at such close quarters with a bear, but if worst came to worst----" - -"Don't mention such a thing," protested Peggy. "It scares me just to -think about it. I'd run for the nearest tree." - -"You would! Don't you know that's the worst thing you could do? Never -turn your back on a bear. He's not likely to attack you, if you hold your -ground." - -"Well, if you think I'm going to stand perfectly still and let Mr. Bear -look me over and decide whether he likes nice juicy white meat as his -diet, you're mistaken. Nothing doing, Jo." - -"Don't be silly. I'd shoot him before he got near you, anyway." - -"But suppose you missed him?" - -"Quit talking such foolishness and wipe the rest of those dishes. Let's -hurry and finish in a jiffy and go on down to the enclosure where they -have the pigs and look about for the safest spot in which to wait for Mr. -Bear." - -"Well, I s'pose it won't do any harm to go down and look, but I believe -Mrs. Blackwell won't let----" - -"Don't be a wet blanket, Peg. I'm going to ask her right now, and you'll -soon see that she will." Jo Ann hastily took her hands out of the -dishwater, dried them, and then went over to the door of the bedroom. In -another moment she came back. "Mrs. Blackwell's asleep, so I'll have to -wait to ask her. Florence is sound asleep too. I'm sure Mrs. Blackwell -wouldn't object to our going down now just to look at the enclosure." - -"Do you know where it is?" - -"Not exactly, but I think I can find it. We'll follow the path down -toward the goat ranch." - -They finished the dishes and put the kitchen in order, then slipped -quietly around to the back of the house. - -"Here's the path, Peg. Follow me." Jo Ann led the way down the path she -and Florence had taken the afternoon before. - -As they neared the goat ranch Jo Ann began looking for some sign which -might lead them to the enclosure. - -"It's bound to be up this way somewhere," Jo Ann said finally. "Let's -follow this ravine a little ways." - -"But suppose we get lost." - -"We can turn around and go back, can't we?" - -They followed a narrow path leading into the cool, shady depths of a deep -ravine, a rugged, precipitous wall towering on their right. - -"What a beau-ti-ful place," breathed Peggy, a few minutes later, as they -stopped to rest and cool off. - -"Listen! Doesn't that sound to you like the roar of water?" asked Jo Ann. -"The river must not be far away." - -Both girls listened a moment. "It surely does," agreed Peggy, "but how -could that be?" - -"We must've gone around in a circle and'll come out not far from our -spring. Come on, let's see." - -They started eagerly up the steep narrow path. A moment later they were -startled by the sound of a shrill squeal above the roar of the river. - -"Oh, do you suppose the bear's after another pig?" whispered Peggy, -grabbing Jo Ann by the arm. "What'll we do?" - -"I don't know. I wish I'd brought the gun." - -"Let's go back," begged Peggy, but Jo Ann shook her head. "Wait a -minute." - -They listened intently a moment, then, to their relief, the squeals -changed to contented grunts. - -Jo Ann laughed. "Juan must be feeding the pigs, but it did frighten me -for a minute." - -A moment later they came in sight of a crude enclosure built against the -overhanging wall of the cliff. Tall poles were lashed together around a -recess in the wall, making a small circular pen. The next moment they -spied Juan working at strengthening a weak place in the wall. It appeared -impenetrable, as it was, to them, and they wondered that any animal, even -one as large as a bear, could break through such a barricade. - -Juan turned from his work as he saw the girls approaching. After the -customary salutation he went on in Spanish. "The bear very bad--very -ferocious. He like much the pig." - -Jo Ann nodded her head. "_S, s_--but why can't we shoot him? I'll kill -him for you." - -Juan shook his head and looked puzzled, and Jo Ann realized he had not -understood a word she had said. - -She racked her brain for a way to make her meaning clear to him. Finally -she picked up a stick and, after pointing to herself, put it to her -shoulder and pretended to pull a trigger. "Pling! See! _El oso muerto_ -[The bear dead]." - -Juan smiled approval; then, jabbering rapidly, he pointed to himself and -shook his head. - -"No--not you," Jo Ann tried again, motioning to herself. "Me! See--I'll -shoot him!" - -Finally, after several attempts, she succeeded in making him understand. - -But Juan shook his head. "The Seora no like," he said. - -"I know," agreed Jo Ann, "but if you come with Peg and me"--she pointed -to each of them--"I think it'll be all right." - -For a while Peggy enjoyed watching the pantomime, interrupted now and -then with a few English and Spanish words. Never before had she seen -anyone go to so much trouble to make herself understood. Jo Ann certainly -was a determined person. - -After a little, however, Peggy became restless and began gathering some -of the dainty little ferns growing at the base of the cliff. She wandered -over to the bank of the mountain stream and stood for a few moments -watching the water as it rushed and tumbled down the rocky gorge. Then -her thoughts drifted back to the bear. She wondered if he could be hiding -somewhere near, waiting for a chance to steal another pig. - -She glanced nervously about, then called over to Jo Ann, "Aren't you -ready to go? They'll be wondering what's become of us." - -"Yes, I'm ready," Jo Ann called back. "Everything's all set for the -surprise party tonight. See that ledge up there?" She pointed to a narrow -ledge about fifteen feet straight up the side of the cliff. "That's where -you and I are going to wait for Mr. Bear. We couldn't be in any danger -there--unless you got scared and tumbled off." - -"But how're we going to get up there?" Peggy asked quickly. "I'm not a -bird or a lizard." - -"That's easy. Juan's going to cut notches in a pole for us to climb up -on," explained Jo Ann. "But come on, I've got lots to do to get ready for -tonight." - -She turned and called to Juan, "Don't you forget." - -He nodded his head vigorously to reassure her, and then she and Peggy -started down the path for home. - -"Where on earth have you girls been?" Florence called to them. - -"Exploring," Jo Ann called back. - -As soon as they reached the porch Jo Ann began talking as rapidly as her -tongue could fly, explaining about Juan's consent to help them on their -bear hunt, the ledge above the enclosure where they could wait in safety, -and the other details of her plans. She ended with a vigorous appeal to -Mrs. Blackwell: "You'll let us go, won't you, now that Juan's consented -to go with us and that we'll be in no danger? We've got to help Juan kill -that bear before he gets the rest of the pigs." - -Mrs. Blackwell was silent for several moments before answering. After -what seemed to Jo Ann to be an age, she said slowly, "If Juan'll be with -you--and if you'll promise not to take any unnecessary risks, I'll let -you two go." - -"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Blackwell. That's grand!" cried Jo Ann. - -"I'll see that Jo Ann doesn't do anything rash," put in Peggy. - -Florence smiled over at Jo Ann. "Maybe you won't be so enthusiastic by -the time that bear hugs you. I'm glad I'm going to stay here with -Mother." - -Jo Ann merely smiled back at Florence and caught Peggy by the arm. "Come -on, let's go in and get our things ready for the hunt." - -The two girls went on into the house, and Jo Ann quickly opened her bag -and took out several garments and handed them to Peggy. "We'll need these -knickers. We can't be bothered with skirts flapping about our legs -tonight," she said. - -"No, we surely can't. They'd be a terrible nuisance." - -"Get the flashlight, and I'll get the gun. This is a peach of a gun," Jo -Ann added a moment later, running her hand lovingly over the polished -surface of the stock. "I wish it were mine." - -"Why? Is it different from any other gun?" Peggy asked. - -"Different! I should say it is. It's two guns in one, a double-barrel -shotgun and a 30-30 rifle. This little barrel underneath is the rifle -barrel." She opened a box and held it out to Peggy. "See what -vicious-looking cartridges you shoot in it. They'll blow a hole clear -through that bear." - -Peggy's eyes opened wide in surprise. "I've never seen a gun like that -before." - -"I never have, either. They're very expensive. Florence said her father -ordered this one so he wouldn't have to carry two guns when he went -hunting. You see, in the mountains you never know whether you'll run into -wild turkeys or mountain lions, and with this gun you're ready for -anything. I want to get started as early as possible tonight." - -They hurried outdoors, built the fire and began preparations for supper. - -Later that evening, after the supper things were cleared away, they sat -out under the stars, watching a full round moon rise from behind the -mountain range across the valley. As it rose higher and higher the -shadows began to disappear, and soon it was almost as light as day. - -Jo Ann was very thankful for the bright moonlight. It made their daring -adventure seem a little less dangerous. Now that it was so light she -decided it was time to leave. She sprang up, saying, "I believe it's -light enough for us to see now, Peg. Come on; let's change our clothes -and get started." - -In a few more minutes two knicker-clad figures disappeared down the path. - -When they neared the deep gorge which had looked so beautiful to them -that afternoon, the girls began to feel a little nervous. They peered at -every shadow, almost expecting it to rush at them. Jo Ann held the gun -ready to throw it into position in a second. She had the safety on, but -the gun was loaded, ready to use. Peggy stayed as close behind her as she -possibly could without getting in her way. - -When they saw Juan coming to meet them they breathed a sigh of relief. He -wore the usual white trousers and loose white shirt of the peon, and they -made him look like a ghost walking in the moonlight. But Jo Ann and Peggy -were not afraid of ghosts just now. They were looking for something big -and black and terrifying. - -Jo Ann started to speak, but Juan motioned to her to be quiet. He led -them to the base of the cliff, then pointed to the crude notched pole -which he had placed against the ledge. - -A few minutes later both girls had climbed up the narrow rocky ledge and -were wriggling about trying to find a comfortable position. Statue-like -Juan took his place just below. Jo Ann held the gun across her lap, ready -to throw it into position in an instant. - -The moonlight, filtering through the trees, cast grotesque shadows on the -ground below them. Several times Jo Ann was sure she saw a dark hulk -shambling toward the enclosure, only to discover it was the shadow of a -tree swaying in the night breeze. She strained her eyes till they hurt, -trying to peer into the dark depths of the ravine from which they -expected the bear to appear. - -In the excitement of making plans for the bear hunt, Jo Ann had forgotten -about the blue-eyed boy, but now her mind drifted back to him and the -mysterious way in which he and the rest of the family had disappeared. It -was almost as though the earth had opened and swallowed them, she -thought. She went over the events of the last two days in her mind and -tried to plan some course of action. She did not intend to leave one -stone unturned that might help in solving the mystery. - -While she sat there dreaming, she was startled by a tiny stone hitting -her on the arm. She glanced around quickly and saw Peggy pointing -questioningly to the high range of mountains on their right. With -difficulty Jo Ann turned partly around on the ledge. A tiny light -flickering against the blackness of the mountains caught and held her -attention. For a moment she thought it was a star falling; then she -noticed that it did not move. What could it be? She looked at Peggy and -shook her head to indicate that she did not know what it was. - -For a while they watched the light. There was something mysterious about -the way it flared up brightly then almost flickered out, only to brighten -up again. That could not be a campfire, she decided. Florence had said no -one lived up on the side of that mountain. It was too wild for -habitation. At that distance a tiny campfire could scarcely be seen. - -Suddenly a thought flashed through her mind. It was a signal light. -Someone was trying to send a message across the valley. Perhaps the -blue-eyed boy _had_ been kidnaped, after all, and that was why the family -had disappeared so suddenly. - -She turned to tell this to Peggy, then realized she must not talk. The -next instant she was half ashamed for being so suspicious. If that boy -had been kidnaped, she felt sure those people had not done it--they were -merely tools in the employ of someone else, she decided. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - THE CHARCOAL MAKER - - -Peggy and Jo Ann continued to wait silently for the stealthy appearance -of the bear. Myriads of tiny stars winked down at them as they watched -the full round moon sail slowly across the deep sapphire sky. Now and -then the chirp of a near-by cricket or the croak of a frog could be heard -above the constant splashing of the river. - -In their hasty preparations for the bear hunt they had forgotten their -sweaters, and now they shivered a little, both from excitement and the -chill mountain air. The jagged edges of the rock felt anything but -comfortable, and their muscles ached from sitting in one position so -long. Jo Ann felt dizzy from trying to watch the light high on the -mountain side and the dark shadows below her at one and the same time. -Was there some connection between this new mystery and the mystery of the -blue-eyed boy? she wondered. - -When the girls felt they could keep still no longer, Juan stepped out -from the shadows and called up to them in Spanish, "The bear no come -tonight." - -Jo Ann shook her head. "No, I don't think he's coming either. Come on, -Peg," she said, turning around on the ledge. "Let's get down and stretch -our legs." - -Stiffly the two girls scrambled down the pole and began kicking and -stretching in an effort to relax their cramped muscles. - -Juan began jabbering rapidly in Spanish, and Jo Ann stopped a moment to -listen. "The bear no have _hambre_ tonight," he told her. - -She gazed at him questioningly. "_Hombre?_ Man?" she repeated. "_No sabe_ -[I do not understand]." - -Juan shook his head and began rubbing his hand over his stomach. "No--no -_hombre_, _h-ambre_." - -Jo Ann's face broke into a smile, "Ah, _s_," she replied, then turning -to Peggy she explained: "He's trying to tell us that the bear isn't -hungry tonight." - -"I guess he's right," agreed Peggy. "Anyway, I've had enough. I'm going -to the house." - -She started off but had only gone a few steps when she realized Jo Ann -was not following. "Aren't you coming, Jo?" she called to her. - -"Yes, in a minute. I want to ask Juan about that light." Pointing to the -light, she asked, "What is it, Juan?" - -"Ah, that. It is the light of a _carbonero_." - -"But what is a _carbonero_?" she asked again. - -Juan rattled off more Spanish, but Jo Ann shook her head. - -"Oh, well, I'll ask Florence," she said to herself, then turned to follow -Peggy. "_Buenas noches_, Juan," she called back to him. "Tomorrow night -we watch again, _sabe_?" - -Juan nodded his head, "_S_, seorita." - -The two girls hurried back to the house, and on entering they found -Florence and her mother fast asleep. They quickly slipped into their -pajamas and snuggled up under the warm blankets. Peggy, worn out from -their long vigil, soon fell asleep, but Jo Ann kept wondering about the -light. Why was it there? And why did it flare up and die down as it had? -The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that it had -something to do with the blue-eyed boy. She would climb the mountain the -next day and find the answer to these questions, she decided. If that -really was a signal light, she was going to find out what it was all -about. Finally, when the faint rose of dawn was beginning to show in the -east, Jo Ann drifted off to sleep. - -It seemed to her that she had scarcely closed her eyes when she was -conscious of someone calling, "Jo, Jo, wake up. If you want any breakfast -you'll have to hurry." - -There was a strong aroma of coffee and the clatter of dishes being placed -on the table. Jo Ann opened her eyes and stared around in surprise as she -saw Peggy putting the finishing touches to the breakfast table and -Florence helping her mother to her chair. - -She sprang quickly out of bed. "Why didn't you wake me sooner? I didn't -mean to sleep so late. I don't know what made me----" - -She stopped suddenly. The events of the night before flashed through her -mind: the bear hunt, the mysterious light, the trip of investigation she -had planned up the mountain. If she were to accomplish all she wanted to -do today, she had no time to waste. - -After a brief sketchy toilet, she slipped into her place at the table and -began eating rapidly, scarcely conscious of the food she was putting into -her mouth. In spite of Peggy's and Florence's pointed remarks, she ate in -unruffled silence, her mind apparently a million miles away. "Jo's on the -trail of another mystery," Peggy laughingly remarked to Florence and Mrs. -Blackwell. - -Just then Jo Ann looked up and asked, "What does _carbonero_ mean, -Florence?" - -"A maker of charcoal." Florence smiled. "I know why you're asking that -question. Peggy told me all about your mysterious light and how you -killed the big bad bear." She laughed teasingly, then added, "That light -was just from a charcoal maker's fire." Jo Ann felt a wave of -disappointment sweep over her. She had been so sure there was some -mystery about the light and that it would lead her to the blue-eyed boy, -and now Florence said it was only the light of a charcoal maker's fire. -"Every now and then an Indian family will go up in the mountains and stay -there several days to make charcoal; then they carry it to the villages -to sell." - -At these words a sudden new idea leaped into Jo Ann's mind. It was so -simple that she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. - -"Girls, I believe I've solved the mystery!" she exclaimed. "That Mexican -family of the cave have gone up there on the mountain to make charcoal. -I'm on their trail again." - -"I shouldn't wonder but that you're right," agreed Florence. "That would -explain why those two boys were gathering wood the other afternoon. They -were going to use it to make charcoal." - -Jo Ann burst out impulsively, "I'm going up there on the mountain and see -if that really is our family of the cave. Who wants to go with me?" - -"I think you're probably going on a wild-goose chase, but I'll go with -you," Florence replied. "It'll not be any easy matter to locate the -family, even if we can see the smoke from their fire." She turned to her -mother, "You don't object, do you, if we go up there?" - -Mrs. Blackwell hesitated a moment, then answered, "Oh, I think it'll be -all right for you to go if you'll be very careful and be back before -dark." She smiled over at Jo Ann. "I know you'll never be satisfied till -you find out if your blue-eyed boy's up there." - -"It won't take us long," Jo Ann said confidently. "That light didn't look -as if it were very far away." - -Florence and her mother exchanged amused glances, and then Florence -remarked, "We'd better take some lunch with us. It's lots farther than -you think, Jo." - -"I'm not going," spoke up Peggy. "I'm going to stay here with Mrs. -Blackwell." - -Jo Ann sprang up from the table. "Well, let's get busy this minute and -get our work done and get started." She began stacking the dishes -hurriedly. - -A few minutes later she was washing the dishes so vigorously that -Florence prophesied there wouldn't be enough left unbroken to set the -table for supper. In a surprisingly short time they had finished the -dishes, packed the lunch, and were ready to start. - -"I believe I'll carry the gun along," Jo Ann remarked. "We might see a -rabbit or squirrel--or something." - -Soon the two girls were winding their way up a donkey trail that led up -the mountain side. From the very first they kept stopping now and then to -scan the mountain for the smoke from the charcoal maker's fire. - -Finally Jo Ann cried triumphantly, "I see it! Look, right up there!" - -"Yes, that's it!" - -Both girls began searching for a path leading toward the spiral of smoke. - -"I know they couldn't have climbed up this steep place," Jo Ann remarked. -"They'd have had to be human flies to do that. That old grandmother and -the little children couldn't possibly have made it up here." - -"Well, the only thing to do is to follow this trail a little farther and -see if we can't find some trace of the way they did go." Florence started -along the path, Jo Ann close at her heels. - -"What on earth made them go to such an outlandish place to make their -charcoal, Florence? It looks as if they could've found a much better -place." - -"Well, you see, the Indian has no way to cut his wood except with a -machete--that's just a big, long butcher knife. He hunts for the fallen -limbs and trees that don't require much chopping." - -"Believe me, if I were a charcoal maker, I'd hunt an easier place to -reach than that." - -After they had walked for some distance without noticing any sign of -another path leading up the mountain, Jo Ann called, "Say, I believe -we've gone too far. We must've missed their path. That smoke's back of us -now." - -"You're right. So it is. We'll have to turn around and go back. If we -don't find that path soon, I think we'd better go back home. The sun is -terrifically hot now." - -They began retracing their steps, searching more carefully than before. - -"That family would've been bound to leave some sort of a trail," Jo Ann -kept saying. - -When at last they reached the spot where they had first seen the smoke, -Florence said in a discouraged tone, "How about giving it up and going -back home now? I'm tired and hot." - -"Not yet," Jo Ann urged as she wiped the perspiration from her forehead. -"Let's sit down in the shade of this cliff and rest for a while, and then -we'll feel more like going on." She dropped down on the ground and leaned -back against the cool rock. - -Wearily Florence followed her example and began fanning herself with her -hat. - -After she had rested a few minutes, Jo Ann rose, saying, "I'm going to -take another look around here while you rest awhile longer." - -She wandered down the trail a short distance beyond the cliff, searching -for a place where it would be possible to climb up the mountain side. "If -we can't find their path, then I'm going to find another way to get up -there," she told herself determinedly. - -A few minutes later she started up the steep bank, steadying herself now -and then by catching hold of the scrubby bushes growing out of the -crevices of the rocks. After climbing about twenty-five or thirty feet -she found herself on a rocky ledge above the cliff. - -Her eyes suddenly began to twinkle. "I believe I'll slip around this -ledge till I'm right above Florence and drop a pebble or two on her, just -for fun." - -As she was slipping quietly along the ledge she heard a faint moaning -sound. She stopped instantly and listened. "What on earth is that? Sounds -like someone in distress. Just suppose it's a wild animal!" She strained -her ears again to listen. Once more the moaning sound floated down to her -a little more distinctly. - -"That's a human being!" she told herself excitedly. "I believe it's more -than one person. Sounds as if there must be several in distress. I wonder -if it could be that family from the cave in some kind of trouble." - -She leaned over the edge of the cliff and called down excitedly, -"Florence! Oh, Florence!" - -"Where are you?" Florence called back in a surprised voice. - -"Right over you." - -Florence stepped out hastily and stared up at Jo Ann. "How did you ever -manage to get----" - -"Did you hear that queer moaning sound a minute ago?" Jo Ann broke in. - -"Why, no--what----" - -"I believe someone's in terrible trouble. Come on up here and let's see -if we can find them. Be sure to bring the gun." - -"How can I get up there?" Florence asked hesitatingly. - -"Go down the trail a little way, and I'll show you." - -In a few minutes Jo Ann was helping to pull Florence up the bank. No -sooner had she reached the ledge than Jo Ann ejaculated, "Listen! There's -that sound again." - -Florence's eyes stretched to their widest as the cry of distress reached -her ears. - -"Mercy! That's awful," she murmured, low voiced. - -"That sound's coming from right up there!" Jo Ann pointed almost straight -above. "Come on, I believe we can get up around this way." - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - FRIENDS AT LAST - - -Jo Ann started climbing the steep bank, Florence following as closely as -possible. After they had struggled upward a short distance, Jo Ann caught -sight of a faintly marked trail which showed signs of having been used -recently. - -"Here's the way they went!" she exclaimed. "We're on the right track at -last." - -"I believe you're right, because it seems to be winding up toward that -smoke," Florence agreed. - -Just as she had finished speaking the moaning sounded again, more clearly -than ever. - -"Let's hurry!" cried Jo Ann. - -After starting up the faintly marked path, the girls were able to make -much better time. Without wasting a moment in conversation they hurried -on as fast as they could go. A few minutes later at a turn in the path -they came in sight of a crude shelter of boughs thrown up in a hurried -fashion against the steep face of rock. - -Simultaneously the piteous wailing of several voices burst upon their -ears with such heart-rending sadness that involuntarily both girls were -filled with sympathy. - -The next moment, through an open space in the shelter, Jo Ann saw the -white-clad figure of a boy stretched out on the floor. Huddled around him -were two women and several little girls, their heads bowed and their -faces almost concealed by their black _rebosas_. - -Catching Florence by the hand, Jo Ann quickly led her to the entrance of -the shack. As they stepped inside, the mourners raised startled eyes. - -Immediately the two girls recognized the two women as the mother and -grandmother they had seen in the cave. Swiftly then Jo Ann's eyes flew to -the still, white-clad figure lying on a mat on the ground. - -"He's dead!" flashed through her mind as she dropped on her knees and -placed a comforting hand on the mother's shoulder. - -Before she could think of a single Spanish word of sympathy, the poor -mother began wailing, "_A Dios!_ My son--my Pepito! He is dead!" - -Over and over she intoned this lament, along with the groaning of the -grandmother and the little girls. - -"How could that boy have died so suddenly?" Jo Ann thought. "He looked -frail and undernourished, but----" - -Her train of thought was broken by hearing Florence begin questioning the -mother. She listened intently to see if she could discover what they were -saying. She could catch only a few words now and then, but she understood -the mother to say that the boy had died that morning. He and the other -boy had gone higher up on the mountain the night before to help the -father to gather the wood and start the fire for making the charcoal. The -boy had taken sick suddenly--the father had brought him down and he had -died soon afterwards. - -Before the mother had finished speaking, Jo Ann saw Florence kneel down -beside the still figure of the boy and feel first his pulse then touch -his forehead and cheek. - -"How strange!" Jo Ann thought. "He's dead--why is she doing that?" - -The next moment Florence exclaimed, "Jo, find me a piece of glass this -instant! Hurry!" - -"Why on earth does she want a piece of glass?" Jo Ann thought, but -without stopping to question she began looking about the scantily -furnished hut. - -"There's no sign of any kind of glass here. Won't this do instead?" she -asked a moment later as she handed her a small glazed pottery mug. - -"It'll have to do. Break it--I want only a small piece." - -"Why do----" Jo Ann checked the question at the end of her tongue and -quickly broke the mug against the stone _metate_, then handed her one of -the pieces. - -Wide eyed, she watched Florence place the piece of pottery, glazed side -down, over the boy's mouth. After a short interval she saw her take it up -and examine it. - -"Look here, Jo! There's a tiny speck of moisture on this! Don't you see -it?" Florence exclaimed excitedly. - -"Yes, but----" - -"That means he's not dead! There's a fighting chance for him yet." She -turned and repeated this to the mother. - -"Let's try artificial respiration," Jo Ann put in excitedly. "I know how! -I can help you." - -Florence nodded assent as she began lifting the thin little arms up and -down, being careful to press them against his sides each time. While she -was doing this, the mother and grandmother were mumbling their prayers, -the tears rolling down their cheeks. - -After Florence had worked for several minutes, she heard sudden footsteps -back of her, then a deep voice demanding, "What are you doing? My son is -dead. Why are you disturbing him?" - -She turned about quickly and saw a dark, grimy, bearded man and behind -him the blue-eyed boy. With a gesture to Jo Ann to continue the -artificial respiration, Florence rose and began explaining why she -thought the boy was alive. She picked up the piece of pottery, saying, -"Look! I'll show you." - -Just as she was placing it over the boy's mouth, she noticed a tiny -flickering of his eyelids. "See!" she cried triumphantly, pointing to his -eyelids. "He _is_ alive!" - -A look of mingled joy and awe came over the man's face. "_Madre de Dios!_ -My son lives!" he cried. "You are an angel of mercy. You have brought him -back to life!" - -"_S, Pap!_ They have performed a miracle!" the mother agreed, smiling -through her tears. - -Florence placed her hand over his heart, then she looked up at the -parents, saying, "His heart very bad. It is necessary that you take him -down from here immediately. It is too high up here." - -"_Si--s_, seorita. Whatever you say I will do," the father said. - -Florence and Jo Ann lifted the boy gently and placed him, head lowered -slightly, over his father's shoulder. - -As he began to shift the child into a more upright position, Florence -spoke up quickly, "No, no--you carry him like this, and the blood will -run to his head--then he will get better more quickly." - -"_Bien_," the father assented, and started down the path at the easy -rhythmical pace of the peon, Florence and Jo Ann following closely. - -When they had gone a short distance, the mother caught up with them. "I -come with my Pepito," she said. - -"Florence, what made you think that boy might not be dead?" Jo Ann asked -a moment later. - -"Daddy has told me of several cases like that one. Some people, he said, -could not stand the high altitude. That boy was frail and undernourished -to begin with, and I figured that the hard work and the high altitude -combined were too much for him." - -"How did you happen to think of putting that piece of pottery over his -mouth?" - -"Well, there's a law in this country that requires a corpse to be buried -within a few hours after death. Daddy told me that several times he has -used a piece of glass in this way to prove to the officials that a -patient was not really dead." - -"It's a blessing you knew about that. I've never seen people more -helpless in my life than those poor peons." - -"Daddy says most peons know nothing of modern medicine and are ignorant -of some of the simplest remedies." - -By this time they had reached a cool, shady spot beside a spring, and -Florence called to the father to stop. "Put him down here." - -No sooner had he laid the boy on the ground than she and Jo Ann began -bathing his face with their dampened handkerchiefs. - -"One minute, seorita. I bring you water," spoke up the father. He lined -the deep crown of his hat with large green leaves and filled it with -water, then brought it over to the girls. - -Florence dipped her hands into the water and let it drip gently on the -boy's face and neck. - -As soon as the cold water touched his face the boy's eyelids fluttered -open. - -Florence turned to the father. "Bring me more water--I want to give him a -drink." - -With a nod of assent, the man stooped down, broke off a large leaf from -an elephant's-ear plant near by and folded it into a cup which he quickly -filled with water. - -Florence then lifted the boy's head slightly and held it while Jo Ann -held the improvised cup to his lips. After she had laid him down again, -his eyes opened wider, and he stared blankly at the girls for a moment. - -Then his gaze fell upon his mother, and he murmured faintly, -"_Mi--Ma-m!_" - -With a cry of joy, she exclaimed. "Ah, my Pepito. You have come back to -me!" - -"It is necessary that we be very careful," Florence cautioned the -parents. "The boy must not talk yet. After he rests longer, then he can -talk." - -"_Bien!_ Just as you say." The tears began to flow down the father's -cheeks again as he added in a choked voice, "If it had not been for you, -seoritas, my Pepito would have been buried. Carlitos and I were digging -his grave when you came." - -A shudder of horror swept over both girls as they realized how narrow had -been the escape from such a tragedy. - -"You must not take your little boy back up on the mountain," Florence -went on. "He will be sick again, if you do." - -"Ask him to move his family down to the cave," spoke up Jo Ann eagerly. -The thought darted through her mind, "I could find out about the -blue-eyed boy, then." - -"Good idea!" Florence replied, then translated her suggestion to the -father. - -He hesitated a moment then began haltingly, "But my charcoal----" - -The mother broke in rapidly, "You can come Up here and make your -charcoal. We will stay at the cave." - -"But--who----" A strange expression of fear passed over his face as he -glanced at the girls, then at his wife. - -She stepped over hastily to his side and began talking to him in a low -tone. - -Surprised at these strange actions, the girls looked questioningly at -each other. - -As Florence turned to see how the boy was faring, she overheard the -mother say, "It will be all right, _Pap_. These are our friends." - - - - - CHAPTER IX - "I'M GOING TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY" - - -Jo Ann, who had been watching the play of expressions on their faces -intently, now experienced a feeling of relief as she saw the father nod -and smile. - -He then addressed Florence, "_Bien._ I go bring my family. You wait -here." - -"All right," Florence agreed. - -After the father had left, Jo Ann remarked, "Now that the boy is so much -better we can take time to eat our lunch while we're waiting for the -father to bring the rest of the family down. I'm beginning to get -hungry." - -Florence glanced up at the sun and noted its position. "Why, it must be -after two o'clock! No wonder you're hungry. The suspense has been too -great for us to think of ourselves." - -"Yes, this has been the most exciting experience I've ever been through. -It does seem almost like a miracle, doesn't it?" Her gaze fell on the -boy, whose great black eyes were glancing from one face to the other. - -Florence picked up the package containing their lunch and offered some to -the mother. - -After a moment's hesitation she took out a small chocolate cake, looked -at it curiously, then bit off a tiny piece. Her face beamed. "Ah, cak! -For my Pepito." She leaned over and touched the cake to the boy's mouth. - -Florence spoke up quickly, "No, no. You eat that one. That kind very bad -for Pepito. I'll give him one of these." She picked up a graham cracker -and handed it to the mother to give to him. - -No sooner had the boy tasted the cracker than he began to eat rapidly, as -if he were very hungry. - -"I believe that child was about starved," said Jo Ann. "He must have been -weak from lack of food to begin with." - -"He's probably not had anything to eat except some cold _tortillas_ since -we saw them the other day." - -"Let's not eat another bite," said Jo Ann quickly. "Let's save the rest -of our lunch for those children. I'm hungry, but I'm not half as hungry -as they must be. I can wait to eat till we get back home." She handed the -rest of the lunch over to the mother saying, "For your children." - -"Ah, _gracias_, seoritas. You are too good," the mother said, smiling. -In a rapid flow of Spanish she began telling Florence that they had been -traveling for days and had had very little food. "When _Pap_ make the -charcoal, then we will have food." - -In the pause that followed, Florence told Jo Ann what the woman had said. - -"It's strange they came away up here to make the charcoal. It looks as if -they'd have stopped sooner," Jo Ann remarked. "Hurry up and ask her about -the blue-eyed boy, Carlitos. Ask her if he and Pepito are twins." - -The mother shook her head when Florence asked, "Which is the older -one--Carlitos?" - -"No. Pepito." - -"They don't look a bit alike." - -A strange expression passed over the woman's face; then she said slowly, -"Carlitos is not my child." - -Jo Ann caught this last remark and spoke up eagerly: "Ask her if he is -related to her family." - -When Florence obediently asked this question, the mother merely shook her -head without saying a word. - -"Ask her if his eyes aren't a deep blue, just as I said," put in Jo Ann. - -"No, I can see she doesn't want to talk about him. You can find that out -for yourself in a few minutes. He'll be coming down with the family -soon." - -"Well, believe me, I'm more convinced than ever that there is something -strange about that boy, and I'm going to solve the mystery." - -"You'll have plenty of time to do your investigating while they're back -in the cave." - -Shortly afterward they heard the clatter of the donkey's feet on the -trail, and soon the family arrived at the spring. The mother ran to meet -them and quickly divided the girls' lunch among them; then she took the -baby from the father's arms and sat down with it beside Pepito again. - -While the hungry children were eating, Jo Ann got a good look at -Carlitos's eyes. "See, Florence," she murmured. "I was right. The boy's -eyes are a beautiful deep blue." - -"Yes, you're right. His eyes are blue and his features are finely cut. -He's entirely different from the others." - -Noticing that the father was watching them closely, Florence changed the -subject by saying, "It's time we were starting home this minute if we're -going to get there before dark, as we promised." She turned to the -father. "Are you ready to start?" - -"_S_, seorita," he replied, then stooped down quickly and picked up -Pepito, who was struggling to rise to his feet. - -In a few more minutes the long procession started down the narrow trail, -the father with Pepito at the head, and Jo Ann in the rear with Carlitos -and one of the little girls. - -Florence smiled as she noticed that Jo Ann was beside the blue-eyed boy -and trying to talk to him. - -It did not take Jo Ann long to discover that Carlitos knew no English. -"He can't be an American, then," she thought. "He's probably a German or -some other kind of a foreigner." She asked him a few questions in her -broken Spanish but, as it was very difficult for him to understand her, -she gave up trying to talk finally and turned her attention to the little -girl, who kept looking up at her adoringly. - -When at last they drew near their house, Florence pointed it out to the -father, saying, "This is where we live. We will have to leave you now. -You must be very careful with Pepito, remember. Don't let him go back up -the mountain with you." - -The man nodded a vigorous assent. "All right, seorita. We will take much -care of Pepito." - -Jo Ann spoke up eagerly just then: "Florence, tell them that we'll come -down to the cave tomorrow to see how Pepito is getting along." - -After Florence had translated this message, the two girls called, -"_Adios!_" to the family and a special one to Pepito, then hurried on to -the house. - -No sooner had they greeted Mrs. Blackwell and Peggy than they began -recounting their adventures excitedly. - -When Florence told of discovering that Pepito was still alive, both her -listeners gasped in amazement. - -"I'm so thankful you girls knew what to do and could save that boy from -being buried alive," Mrs. Blackwell said, after Jo Ann and Florence had -finished their entire story. - -"And I am, too," agreed Peggy. - -"It was a good thing we carried a lunch along with us," Jo Ann added. -"Those poor children were almost starved. They'd had hardly anything to -eat for days. You should have seen the way they gobbled up the cakes we -gave them--even Pepito." - -"If you gave your lunch to the children, you must be very hungry by this -time," Mrs. Blackwell said. - -"Oh, we are," both replied together. - -Peggy smiled. "I thought you'd be about starved, so I have supper all -ready. Maybe you'll be too excited to eat, though, Jo, since you've -discovered that there really is a mystery about the blue-eyed boy." - -"Not so you'd notice it. We'll be ready to eat as soon as we wash our -hands and faces," Jo Ann said, rising. As she started toward the door she -suddenly stopped and wheeled about. "I just thought of something! Those -poor little children won't have a thing to eat tonight or in the morning. -All their possessions were in those little bundles on the burro." - -"That's so." Florence drew a long sigh. "Well, I certainly can't enjoy my -supper knowing that they're not going to have any." She turned to Peggy. -"What have you got for supper that we can take to them?" - -"Well--I made a lot of potato salad, for one thing." - -Florence shook her head. "They wouldn't like that, I'm sure. They've -probably never tasted any." - -"Well, we know they like beans and rice and tomatoes," put in Jo Ann. "We -can take those." - -"Why not take a box of crackers, Florence?" Mrs. Blackwell suggested. -"They can eat them while they're waiting for the other things to cook." - -"All right." Florence at once began helping Jo Ann to gather up the food, -and soon the two girls were starting down the short cut to the cave. - -"Hurry up, or it'll be dark," Mrs. Blackwell called after them. - -"She needn't worry," smiled Jo Ann. "We'll step on it. We've got to go -right past where we saw that snake yesterday." - -Florence's brows drew together in a frown, but she replied determinedly, -"I'm not going to let that stop me. We can watch more closely this time. -I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have yesterday." - -"Snake or no snake, I'm not going to drop this food down the mountain as -I did my basket yesterday." - -Cautiously they made their way down the steep path. When they reached the -base of the cliff and started around toward the cave, they heard the -sound of voices. - -"There's the family," exclaimed Jo Ann. "If we run we can catch up with -them and won't have to go all the way to the cave." - -They started off at a swift pace and soon reached the little procession. - -Florence called to the mother, "Wait a minute. We've brought you some -things to eat." She and Jo Ann handed the packages to the mother and -Carlitos. - -The mother's face broke into a wide smile. "_Muchas gracias_, seoritas," -she said as she took the packages. - -The grandmother and the father also joined in thanking the girls. - -As they turned to leave, Florence remarked to the father, "We'll help to -look after the family while you go up and make your charcoal. We'll come -again tomorrow. We hope Pepito will be much better by then." - -The man's face broke into a smile. "Our friends, you are most kind. We -have much gratitude." - - - - - CHAPTER X - A SOILED YELLOWED ENVELOPE - - -The next morning, when they were at the breakfast table, Jo Ann suggested -that they go down to the goat ranch to see if they could get some milk to -take to Pepito. "Do you want to go this time, Peg?" - -"We-ell, if I thought I'd get to see your mysterious boy, I'd go." - -"I don't think you'd see him, because he and the father are going back up -the mountain to finish making their charcoal." - -"Well, I'll stay here, then. You two go on." - -After they had washed the dishes and finished their other tasks, Florence -and Jo Ann set out toward the goat ranch, Jo Ann swinging a bucket on her -arm. - -When they came in sight of the little pink adobe house, Florence -remarked, "While we're here getting the milk, I believe I'll see if I can -buy some corn to take to the cave family for their _tortillas_." - -"Good idea," approved Jo Ann. - -After they had exchanged greetings with the woman at the house, Florence -asked about the milk and corn, explaining their reason for wanting them. - -"Poor little boy," the woman exclaimed. "I give you some milk to take to -him. It is not the kind of milk you get--it's goat's milk." - -Florence explained her answers to Jo Ann, adding, "That'll suit Pepito -better, anyway. He's probably never tasted cow's milk." - -After the woman had filled the bucket and had given them several ears of -corn, they started off toward the cave. - -As they neared the cave opening, Florence remarked, "The family's here -this time. I smell food cooking. I'm glad we brought that down last -night, aren't you?" - -Jo Ann nodded an emphatic assent. - -In a few more moments they stepped into the entrance of the cave. - -The mother looked up quickly, then smiled broadly as she recognized the -girls. "Ah, good morning, friends." - -"How's Pepito this morning?" Florence asked a moment later. - -"Much better." Her face was beaming. "He ate much of the food that you -brought." - -"That's fine. We brought you some corn for your _tortillas_ and some milk -for Pepito. He must eat lots and drink much milk, then he will get -strong." - -The mother caught hold of Florence's hand, saying, "A thousand thanks, -seorita." - -With a smile of greeting to the family, Jo Ann crossed over to Pepito, -who was lying on the _petate_ beside the baby watching his grandmother -knot a long slender fiber rope. - -"What are you doing?" Jo Ann asked the grandmother curiously, after she -had talked a moment. - -"Making bags for the charcoal," she replied. - -"But how can you----" she began, then, not knowing the word for carry, -she called over to Florence, "Does she mean they're going to carry -charcoal in that thing? I should think it'd fall through such big holes." - -Florence came over beside Jo Ann and smilingly translated her question -into Spanish. - -"No, it won't fall through," Pepito replied earnestly. He raised up and -took the partly finished bag from his grandmother and held it up for Jo -Ann to see. "The charcoal is big. We pack it with much care, and it no -fall through these holes," he added, shaking his head. - -"They fasten a large bag of charcoal on each side of the burro so that -all you can see is his long ears sticking out between the bags," Florence -explained. "It looks as if the bags of charcoal were walking down the -road." - -After watching how deftly the grandmother's gnarled old hands tied the -knots in the wiry rope, Jo Ann said, "I'd like to have a hammock made -like that. Ask her, Florence, if she could make me a long strip that I -could use for a hammock. Tell her I'll buy it from her." - -"All right. You catch hold of one end of the strip and I the other, and -we'll show her exactly what you mean." - -After Florence had translated Jo Ann's request and the two girls had -demonstrated their meaning by gestures, the grandmother's brown wrinkled -face began to beam. She took the strip from them, saying, "_S, s._ I -understand. I finish this one for you. You have been so good--you give us -back our Pepito." - -"Oh, but you need these bags for the charcoal right away," put in Jo Ann, -who had caught the meaning of the grandmother's words. "Tell her I'm not -in a hurry for the hammock. I can wait till after they sell the -charcoal." - -After Florence had passed this remark on, the grandmother replied, "I -make you one. When my son sell the charcoal, he will bring me more rope." - -After talking for a few minutes more Jo Ann remarked to Florence, "Ask -the mother something more about Carlitos, now. If he isn't their child, -ask her where they got him and what nationality he is--he doesn't -understand English." - -Florence began to laugh. "Hold on! I can't ask all of those questions at -once. I'm a little dubious about asking any at all. They don't seem to -like to talk about him." - -"Yes, I know, but I've got to find out about him." - -"We-ell, I'll see what I can find out, but I can't promise you much." - -Florence walked back to the mother, who was cooking beans over the fire -in the middle of the cave. After chatting with her awhile she tactfully -brought up the subject of Carlitos. "How long has Carlitos lived with -you?" - -"Oh, for a long time. He is as one of our family." - -"How old was he when you took him?" - -"Like Rosita over there." The mother gestured toward the smaller one of -the two little girls. - -Florence glanced over at the child, who, she judged, must be about a year -and a half old. So Carlitos had been with this family about seven years, -she thought. "Where is his mother?" she asked. - -"Ah, she died and left her baby with me. I was his nurse." - -"That was too bad. Wasn't there any relative to take him?" - -The woman shook her head. "No one." - -The thought darted through Florence's mind that perhaps after all -Carlitos was American or English. Since he had been so young when he was -taken into this family, he could not have remembered any of his native -language. - -"Was his mother an American?" she asked. - -"Yes, and she was so good to me and so beautiful. She had eyes of blue -just like Carlitos'." - -Just then Jo Ann crossed over to Florence's side. "Did I hear right? Did -she say Carlitos was an American?" - -"Yes." - -"So I was right at first about his not being a Mexican. What else did she -say?" - -Florence quickly recounted all that the mother had told her. - -When she had finished, Jo Ann said, "Well, there's something queer about -a beautiful American woman leaving her baby with an ignorant Indian -nurse. Ask her where his father is. That child's bound to have some -relatives somewhere. Looks strange to me that, as poor as this family is, -they'd keep Carlitos when they can hardly feed their own children." - -"Well, all right, I'll ask her. She doesn't seem to mind talking about -him today as much as she did yesterday." - -Florence turned to the mother. "Why did you have to keep Carlitos when -you have so many children? Where was his father?" - -The woman shook her head. "I don't know. He no come back." - -"Where did he go?" - -"To the mine. The beautiful American woman go every day to watch for her -husband, but he no come. It was cold, and she got sick. She had much -cough, and one day she died." - -To the girls' surprise the woman walked over to the grandmother and began -talking in a low, rapid voice. The grandmother nodded and smiled over at -the girls. - -"She said something about us, or the grandmother wouldn't have looked -over at us that way," said Jo Ann. "At least she's smiling--that's -encouraging." - -They noticed the woman go over into a dark recess, then come back -shortly. In the light of the fire they could see that she held a soiled -yellowed envelope in her hand. - -On coming closer the woman said earnestly, "You are American like his -_mam_ and _pap_. You have been good to us like they were." She touched -Florence on the cheek first, then Jo Ann. "And you are beautiful like his -_mam_." - -She held up a sealed envelope. "His _mam_ give this to me. I keep it for -Carlitos. When he get big, I give it to him." - -Florence took the envelope into her hand. She uttered a little gasp. -"Why, this is a letter! It is addressed to a man in New York." She read -the name out loud. "Mr. E. P. Eldridge." - -"Well, for Pete's sake!" exclaimed Jo Ann. "Why didn't she mail that?" - -Not stopping to listen to Jo Ann, Florence asked the woman quickly, "Is -Carlitos' name Eldridge--Carlitos Eldridge?" - -The woman hesitated a moment; then, after Florence had repeated the name -Eldridge several times, she nodded her head. "Yes, I think that was the -name. It has been many years--I forget." - -"This is a letter. Why didn't you put it in the mail?" - -The woman looked blank at this question. - -"Didn't Carlitos' mother tell you to put this in the mail?" Florence -asked. - -"No. His _mam_ speak very little Spanish. She only been in Mexico a -little time. When she was dying she give this to me and tell me, 'No let -big mean man get this.'" - -"Who was the big mean man?" Florence asked, puzzled at this new turn in -her story. - -The woman broke into a confused account which Florence later translated -to Jo Ann. "I can't make out exactly what she's talking about, but she -says some big man who had something to do with the mine was mean to -Carlitos' mother after her husband had disappeared. She said they were -all afraid of him." - -"But that's no excuse for her not mailing the letter," Jo Ann said. - -"All she understood was to keep this from that man," Florence explained. -"She'd never seen a letter before in her life. She couldn't read or -write. And the American woman couldn't explain it to her, you know. The -only other people at this mine were Indian peons like themselves, so -there was no one she could go to." - -"It's hard to realize that she didn't know what a letter was when she saw -one," Jo Ann remarked, then looked down at the envelope with renewed -interest. "I wish we dared to open this and read it, but of course we -can't do that." - -"No; the only thing for us to do is to mail it now." - -"I'm not so sure of that," Jo Ann replied quickly. "It might get lost. It -has to be carried so far before it even gets to a postoffice. Besides, -it's about seven years since this letter was written. Why not write a -letter to this address explaining the situation?" - -Florence pondered over this plan a moment, then spoke up briskly: "I have -a better idea than that. I'll write to Daddy and explain it all to him -and have him telegraph to this Mr. Eldridge in New York. That'll save -lots of time." - -"You're right, it certainly will." - -Florence turned and explained to the woman that she and Jo Ann were going -to send word to this man whose name was written on the envelope. "It may -help Carlitos," she ended. - -"Ah, you are so good to want to help Carlitos," the woman exclaimed. - -"I wish we could find something to write this address on, but we can't," -said Florence. "We must look at it very carefully so as to be sure we get -it right." - -Both girls read and reread the address, then repeated it aloud to each -other. - -"Now let's hurry and get home before we forget it," said Jo Ann. - -After a hasty "_Adios_" to the family, the two hurried out of the cave. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - THE BEAR RETURNS - - -When the girls reached the house, almost breathless from their rapid -climb, Jo Ann immediately burst out, "I was right! There is a -mystery--about the blue-eyed boy!" - -"Wait a minute, Jo," put in Florence. "Let's get that address down first -of all." She grabbed up a piece of paper and scribbled down the address, -then showed it to Jo Ann. "Is this right?" - -Jo Ann studied it carefully. "Yes, I'm sure it is." She turned back to -Peggy and Mrs. Blackwell. "That boy's an American! He's an orphan." - -"Why, I thought you said he couldn't speak English!" exclaimed Peggy. - -"I did--and he can't. He was left with this family when he was a baby, -and so naturally doesn't know anything but Spanish. This Indian woman, -Mara, was his mother's servant while she was up at the mine." - -"That sounds as if the boy must have come from a well-to-do family." - -"I'm sure he did," Jo Ann replied, and Florence added, "I gathered from -what Mara said that his father was either the owner of the mine or had -an interest in it." - -"Suppose you tell us the whole story from beginning to end, Florence," -suggested Peggy. "It sounds so unlikely that an American boy of good -family would be left with poor ignorant Indians like this." - -"I haven't got it straight in my mind either. It's a mystery all right--a -mystery that's far from being solved. I'll tell you all we found out." -Florence recounted all that Mara had told her and showed both her mother -and Peggy the piece of paper with the address which they had seen on the -envelope at the cave. - -"Jo and I think we ought to write to Daddy at once and ask him to -telegraph to this Mr. Eldridge," she ended. "What do you think of that -plan, Mother?" - -"I believe it'd be a wise thing," Mrs. Blackwell answered thoughtfully. -"It'd save a great deal of time, I'm sure." - -"I know it would. Fortunately today's the day we get our mail. I'll write -my letter right away and when the man comes, I'll give it to him to take -back. We won't get our mail again till next Tuesday--four whole days to -wait before we can hear from Daddy!" - -"He ought to have some interesting information for us by that time," put -in Jo Ann. - -While Florence busied herself with writing the letter to her father, Jo -Ann kept up a steady chatter about the mystery of the blue-eyed boy. "I'd -certainly like to find out more about that man that Mara kept calling -the 'mean man.' What reason could he have had for having been so hateful -to Carlitos' mother? From what Mara said everybody else liked her. -Another thing I want to know is why his father disappeared so suddenly -and where he went. A mystery within a mystery." - -Peggy smiled. "You ought to be satisfied this time, Jo. It'll keep you -busy for a long time if you untangle all this mix-up." - -About a half hour later, Jo Ann caught sight of a man with a big sombrero -riding a burro leisurely up the cart road toward the house. - -"Somebody's coming," she called to Florence. "Is it the man that brings -the mail?" - -Florence came running out on the porch. "Yes--that's the one. He's -bringing us some groceries, too." - -"Let's run down and meet him. I can't wait to see if I have any letters." - -The three girls tore off down the road. - -"Got any mail for us?" Florence asked on nearing the rider. - -The man nodded his head. "Ah, many letters!" - -"Give them to me," Florence cried in Spanish, then added to Peggy and Jo -Ann, "I know Mother and I'll have one from Dad." - -"And I ought to have two or three!" exclaimed Peggy. - -"Here too," added Jo Ann. - -The Indian slipped off the back of his burro and slowly began untying one -of the bundles. - -"I wish he'd hurry," grumbled Jo Ann. "He's the slowest thing I ever -saw." - -"Just have patience. You can't hurry him." - -"One thing's certain, none of the mail could've been lost out of that -bundle--it's tied so tightly," smiled Peggy. - -Finally the man handed a bunch of letters and papers to Florence, and she -sorted them out quickly and gave Peggy and Jo Ann their share; then all -three hurried back to the house. Several minutes later the man brought in -the groceries and other articles that they had ordered sent out from the -city. - -Florence gave him the letter she had just written to her father, saying, -"Be very careful--don't lose this letter. It's _very_ important." - -"_S_, seorita, I _sabe_! I'll be careful." The man nodded, then went -back to his burro. - -As soon as the girls had finished reading their mail, they picked up -their groceries and carried them out to the kitchen. - -When Jo Ann unwrapped the butter and the bacon, she remarked, "What'll we -do with these things? We won't dare put them in our refrigerator box down -at the spring. That old bear would be sure to find them again. We've just -got to get him. I was too excited over saving Pepito yesterday to think -about anything else. But we must watch again tonight for that bear. He'll -be getting hungry by this time and'll come back for another pig. Your -mother'll let us go, won't she, Florence?" - -"I imagine so." - -"Well, if we go, I'm going to take a sweater and a cushion," spoke up -Peggy. "I got cold the other night, and it was so uncomfortable sitting -on that rough hard ledge." - -The other two began to laugh, and Jo Ann added, "Whoever heard of taking -a cushion on a bear hunt?" - -"If you get too comfortable, you'll go to sleep and tumble off the -ledge," put in Florence. "Then the bear won't have to break into the pen -for his supper." - -"Not with Jo around," Peggy laughed teasingly. "Why, she's such a good -shot she'd have the bear killed before he could take a step toward me!" - -Jo Ann grinned. "You just wait till I get a chance to demonstrate my -marksmanship, Peg. I'll show you that I am a good shot." - -"Changing the subject--what're we going to do with this butter and -bacon?" Florence queried, looking at the two packages on the table. - -"Let's don't leave the bacon in the kitchen," Peggy cut in. "The bear -might smell it and come snooping around here." - -"How about putting both the bacon and butter in jars and hiding them down -in the water under a rock?" suggested Jo Ann. "That way he could neither -smell nor see the food." - -"Good plan," approved Florence. - -"She does get a brilliant idea once in a blue moon," laughed Peggy. - -They set to work at once to carry out Jo Ann's plan and soon had the -bacon and butter safely hidden down in the stream just below the spring. - -After the girls had eaten their midday meal and washed the dishes, they -stretched out on their cots for a siesta. - -Jo Ann called over to Peggy teasingly, "Be sure to take a long nap today. -I don't want you to go to sleep and tumble off the ledge tonight. You'd -make so much noise that you'd scare the bear away, and I want to get him -tonight sure." - -"You'll need plenty of sleep yourself to keep your eyes open to watch for -him." - -Florence called over, "You both'd better stop talking and go on to sleep, -or you'll both tumble off the ledge." - -Shortly after dark that evening Peggy and Jo Ann started off toward the -enclosure where the pigs were kept. - -"We certainly need the flashlight tonight," Peggy remarked. "It's dark, -isn't it? The moon isn't up nearly so high as it was the other night." - -They had not gone far till they spied the white-clad figure of Juan -coming toward them. - -"I certainly am glad to see him," exclaimed Peggy. "I've been dreading -crossing that ravine. It's so dark and spooky down there." - -"I'm not sorry to see him myself," admitted Jo Ann. - -When Juan drew near, he motioned to them to be quiet. In a low voice he -said to Jo Ann, "I think the bear come tonight." - -"What'd he say?" asked Peggy curiously. - -"I don't know for sure, but it was something about the bear." - -Juan turned and led the way to the enclosure. As he drew near he pointed -over to it, saying something about the pigs and the bear. - -"I believe he's saying something about the pigs being restless," Jo Ann -told Peggy in a low voice. "Don't you hear them? They didn't do that way -the other night. Sometimes animals know instinctively when danger's near, -and I believe those pigs do." - -"Well, let's hurry and get up on that ledge before the bear comes," Peggy -whispered. - -They climbed up the notched pole as rapidly as they could and settled -themselves on the ledge, Jo Ann with her gun cocked, lying across her -lap. Juan remained below at the foot of the pole, as he had before. - -For what seemed an interminable time to them they sat perfectly still -waiting for the coming of the bear. Every now and then Jo Ann would fancy -that she saw a dark shadow moving below and would raise her gun, only to -discover that it was merely the shadow of a tree swaying in the breeze. -She noticed, too, that the pigs were growing more restless. "That old -bear must be prowling around near here," she thought. She leaned over and -strained her eyes to peer into the darkness of the ravine beyond the -moonlit space directly below her. - -Not long afterwards she heard a slight cracking sound. She peered -instantly in the direction from which it had come. Her eyes widened as -she saw a black shaggy head rear up above the enclosure, one paw tearing -at the poles. - -Simultaneously she heard Peggy gasp in fright. - -Jo Ann raised her gun, waiting to get a good aim before pulling the -trigger. "I mustn't miss him. I've got to kill him the first shot," she -told herself. "If I miss, he'll get back in those dark shadows, and I -can't see him then." - -Just then there was a loud crashing noise. The bear's head dropped out of -sight as he pulled out one of the poles. - -A few seconds later the bear reared up again and Jo Ann saw a long black -arm reach through the narrow opening. Just as he was jerking out another -pole she pulled the trigger. - -Almost simultaneously with the report of the gun Jo Ann heard a deep -growl, then the thud of a heavy body falling. A few moments later she was -amazed to see a dark hulk shamble off toward the darkness. - -Instantly she pulled the trigger again. "Oh, shucks! I've missed him!" -she thought. - -After the reverberations had died away she turned to Peggy. "I'm sure I -hit him. He must be wounded or he wouldn't have fallen so hard." - -"I heard him make a queer choking noise, above the squealing of the -pigs!" Peggy declared excitedly. - -Just then Juan called up, "You hit him! You hit him!" - -"_S, s._ I think so too," Jo Ann replied. - -The three listened intently to the snapping of branches and the clatter -of loosened stones as the bear made his way up the ravine. When the -sounds finally died away, Peggy started climbing down the pole. When she -was about halfway down there sounded a loud crashing, and she hurriedly -scrambled back up the pole to the ledge. - -"I believe the bear's coming back again," she cried. - -After listening intently for a few moments, Jo Ann said, "No, I don't -think he's coming back. I believe he's wounded--badly wounded." She -called down to Juan. "Is it all right for us to come down now?" - -"_S_, seoritas," he called back. "The bear gone." He waved his hand in -the direction of the ravine. - -The girls cautiously climbed down the pole. - -Jo Ann reloaded her gun and, holding it in readiness, she made her way -with Juan and Peggy to the hole the bear had torn in the enclosure. - -"Shine your flashlight down here, Peg," she ordered. The next moment she -exclaimed, "Oh, look, here's some blood! I knew I hit him!" - -"You certainly did!" Peggy cried. - -"_S_, seorita, you much good!" Juan ejaculated, then began jabbering so -fast that Jo Ann could not understand a single word. He kept gesturing -toward the trickle of blood leading toward the ravine. - -Jo Ann shook her head. "Not tonight, Juan. _Maana_ we go." - -"_S, maana_," he agreed and then set to work repairing the hole the -bear had torn in the enclosure, while Peggy held the flashlight for him. - -"I believe it'll be a long time before Mr. Bear comes back here," Jo Ann -declared in a satisfied tone. - -As soon as Juan had finished, the girls, with a "_Buenas noches_," to -him, started off toward the house. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - JO ANN'S TROPHY - - -When Jo Ann and Peggy reached the house, Florence met them at the door. -"My, I'm glad to see you!" she exclaimed. "Ever since we heard those -shots, Mother and I've been worried. Did you kill the bear?" - -"I'm not sure. I know I wounded him, because I saw the blood on the -ground," Jo Ann replied, "and I kind of believe I killed him. We heard -him shamble off up the ravine, but I don't believe he went very far." - -"Judging by that stream of blood, I feel sure he couldn't have lasted -long," Peggy added. - -"That's fine!" praised Florence. "Now Juan won't lose any more of his -pigs." - -"As soon as it's daylight, I want to follow his trail and see if I can -find him," Jo Ann said. "Peggy wants to go, too." - -"You're not going to leave me behind this time," Florence put in, -smiling. "I'm going with you." - -"O. K.," Peggy and Jo Ann agreed together, and Jo Ann added, "Whoever -wakes up first in the morning calls the other two." - -Shortly after the first faint rays of dawn had appeared the three girls -set off down to the enclosure, Jo Ann carrying the gun as before. On -reaching it they picked up the bloodstained trail and followed it up the -ravine. - -After they had gone a short distance, the trail led to the bank of the -stream. - -"Look here!" Jo Ann exclaimed. "Here's a great big spot of blood. This -must be the place where we heard him stop last night." - -Florence pointed down to the prints made by the bear's paw. "Poor thing! -He was trying to stop his wound with mud." - -Jo Ann's and Peggy's eyes widened in surprise. "I never heard of such a -thing!" declared Peggy. - -"I never did either," said Jo Ann. "I didn't know bears had that much -sense." - -"Daddy told me they did it, and he's had a good deal of experience -hunting. You can see for yourself how the bear scraped up the mud here." - -"He succeeded pretty well in stopping the flow of blood," observed Jo -Ann. "The trail isn't nearly as plain now." - -They followed the faint marks upward a short distance. Suddenly they -heard something moving just ahead of them. They stopped instantly. Jo Ann -threw the gun to her shoulder, then cautiously crept around a boulder so -she could get a better view. - -Just at that moment she saw Juan rise up to his feet. - -"Oh, Juan!" she cried. "I thought you were the bear! I nearly shot you." - -Juan did not understand a word of what Jo Ann had said, but he pointed -excitedly, "Look! Here is the bear! You killed him!" - -The three girls hurriedly climbed up beside Juan. Their eyes widened in -amazement as they saw the size of the shaggy black animal lying on the -ground before them. - -"My, isn't he immense!" gasped Florence. - -"No wonder he could tear down those poles so easily," Jo Ann remarked. - -"If I'd known he was that big I'd have been scared to death!" exclaimed -Peggy. - -Hunter-like, Jo Ann stooped down and pointed to the bullet wound in the -animal's left side. "See! Here's where my bullet came out. I hit him in -the right shoulder when he was reaching for that other pole." - -"I can breathe much more freely now that he's actually dead," put in -Peggy. - -"Isn't he a beauty," Jo Ann admired. "It's too bad I had to kill him, but -we just couldn't have him prowling around here. I'm going to have a -bearskin rug to take home with me now, to show what a good hunter I am. -Florence, I wish you'd tell Juan to skin him for me. Tell him to be -careful about skinning the feet and to be sure to leave on the claws." - -Florence quickly relayed Jo Ann's request to Juan, and he nodded assent, -"_Bien_, seoritas," and went on in a rapid flow of Spanish. - -"He wants to know if we want some of the meat," Florence translated to -the girls. - -Peggy tilted her nose disdainfully. "Bear meat! That doesn't sound good -to me." - -"I never have tasted bear steak," Jo Ann put in. "I'd like to try it, -wouldn't you, Florence?" - -"We might try a little. I'll tell him to cut us off a small piece." - -"Oh, tell him to take a great big piece to the cave family." - -"That's a fine idea!" Florence praised. "They'll have a feast. That'll -probably be the first meat they've had in many a day." - -After Florence had delivered this message to Juan and they had exclaimed -over the size of the bear again, they turned around and set off for the -house. - -When they came near they saw Mrs. Blackwell waiting for them on the -porch. - -"Oh, Mother!" Florence called. "Jo got the bear all right! You just ought -to see him. He's huge!" - -"He must've been the old granddaddy of all the bears in this part of the -country," Peggy added impressively. - -Mrs. Blackwell smiled. "Well, I'm relieved to hear that. I've been -worried every time you girls've been out of sight." - -Every now and then the rest of the day the girls' conversation would -drift back to the subject of the bear. - -The next morning, when they were eating breakfast, Jo Ann suggested that -they go down to the cave and see how the family was getting along. - -"That's a good idea," agreed Florence. "I hope they haven't let Pepito -eat too much of that bear meat." - -"We'll get to see Carlitos again, and the father, Jos," Jo Ann added. "I -have lots of questions that I want to ask Jos. I believe he can tell us -more about Carlitos than Mara could. I want to find out more about that -big mean man that she kept referring to." - -"Well, I'm going without fail this time," put in Peggy. "I want to see -that wonderful blue-eyed boy." - -"We'll hardly have time to go this morning--we got up so late. Let's have -lunch a little earlier so we'll have a long time this afternoon to stay -with the cave family," suggested Florence. - -Mrs. Blackwell spoke up, smiling: "I'm as curious as Peggy is to see the -blue-eyed boy. I wonder if you couldn't bring him up here and let me take -a look at him. I'd like to see Pepito too." - -"All right, we'll do that very thing," Jo Ann replied. - -"Pepito'll probably not be strong enough to come yet," Florence said -quickly. "We'll see how he is today, and maybe he'll be able to make the -trip up here in a few more days." - -Jo Ann's eyes began to shine. "I know what let's do! As soon as Pepito's -well enough to come, let's have a little party for the cave children and -the ones at the goat ranch." She asked hastily, "Would that disturb you -too much, Mrs. Blackwell?" - -Mrs. Blackwell shook her head. "No; I'd love to have a party for them. I -doubt if they've ever had one in all their lives." - -"I feel sure they haven't," agreed Florence, "and it'll be almost as much -fun for us as it will be for them. Don't you think so, Peggy?" - -"Indeed I do. I'm strong for the party." - -Just after they had sat down to eat their lunch, a few hours later, they -heard the clattering sound of hoofbeats coming down the road. "Listen! -That isn't a burro--sounds like a horse!" exclaimed Florence. "Who in the -world would be riding a horse around here? I'm going to see who's -coming." - -She sprang up and started to the door, the other two quickly following -her example. They had not watched long before they saw a horse and rider -appear over the edge of the mesa. - -A few minutes later Florence suddenly cried excitedly, "Why, it's Daddy!" -Off she flew down the trail, fleet as a deer, to meet him. Peggy turned -to Mrs. Blackwell and passed on the good news of Dr. Blackwell's coming. - -"Oh, I'm so glad!" ejaculated Mrs. Blackwell, her eyes sparkling. She -hurried out on the porch and waited eagerly for him and Florence. - -As soon as the first greetings had been exchanged, Dr. Blackwell gazed -down at his wife appraisingly and remarked, "How well you look! You're -recuperating much more rapidly than I'd thought possible." - -"With this invigorating mountain air and such good nurses I couldn't help -but get well in a hurry," Mrs. Blackwell replied, with a smile that -included all three girls. - -In a little break in the conversation Florence spoke up, "You're just in -time for lunch, Daddy. We had just sat down to the table. Come on before -everything gets cold." - -"I won't need a second invitation. I'm terribly hungry after that long -hot ride," Dr. Blackwell replied as he escorted his wife to the table. - -No sooner were they all seated than Jo Ann asked Dr. Blackwell, "Did you -send that telegram to that Mr. Eldridge?" - -He nodded. "Yes, I sent it, but I got word there was no one by that name -at that address." - -"Oh, that's terrible!" exclaimed Jo Ann. "I was so in hopes we could find -some of Carlitos' relatives. What'll we do now?" - -"I've already written to the chief of police to see if he can trace this -Mr. Eldridge," Dr. Blackwell replied. He smiled over at Florence. "I -couldn't make much out of part of your letter--I couldn't get the -connection between a blue-eyed boy in the poor Indian family and the man -in New York. Suppose you girls start at the beginning and tell me all you -know about them." - -Florence nodded over at Jo Ann. "It's your story. You tell it. You're the -one who discovered the blue-eyed boy and became interested in him." - -"All right." Jo Ann plunged into an account of seeing Carlitos and Pepito -the first time, then on till she came to the trip up the mountain. She -stopped and smiled over at Florence. "It's your turn now. You were the -star actor and doctor in this part of the story." - -Florence obediently took up the account where Jo Ann had broken off. - -Dr. Blackwell listened attentively to their every word, and when they had -finished he praised both girls highly, Jo Ann for her detective ability, -and Florence for her first-aid skill in saving the boy's life. "I'd like -to see this sick boy while I'm up here and give him a thorough -examination. And I certainly want to see the blue-eyed boy. I'm as -interested in his story as you are. All the time you've been talking -about this mysterious boy I've been racking my brain to recall a rumor I -heard some time ago about an American who was down here searching for a -brother whom he had not heard from for several years. I was wondering if -there could possibly be any connection between him and your story. When I -go back to the city, I'll see if I can find out anything more about this -man." - -"We'd already planned to go down to see the cave family this afternoon, -and so we'll take you with us," spoke up Florence. "It's not very far to -the cave." - -Dr. Blackwell looked over questioningly at his wife, saying, "I don't -like to go off and leave you." - -"That'll be all right," Mrs. Blackwell replied. "I always take a nap -right after lunch." She smiled and added, "Your orders, you know." - -Dr. Blackwell turned to Florence again. "I'll go with you girls while -your mother's taking her nap, but I won't stay long." - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - JOS'S STRANGE STORY - - -A short time later the three girls and Dr. Blackwell went down to the -cave, reaching there just as the family were finishing their feast of -bear meat and the other food the girls had given them. - -"Let me go in and talk to them first and tell them who you are, Dad," -Florence murmured. - -She walked on inside and quickly explained to Jos that her father, who -was a doctor, had come down to see how Pepito was getting along. - -Jos stepped forward and politely shook hands with Dr. Blackwell; then -each member of his family timidly followed his example. - -"I'm much interested in your son Pepito," Dr. Blackwell told Jos in his -fluent Spanish. "I'd like to see if there's anything I can do to help -him." - -Jos hesitated a moment, then began apologetically, "I no have money -and----" - -With a little gesture of his hand Dr. Blackwell dismissed this objection. -"That's all right. I don't want money." - -On hearing this Jos turned and called Pepito to his side. - -Knowing the nature of the Indian so well, Dr. Blackwell realized that he -must win Pepito's confidence first before he could make a complete -examination. - -While he was busy with Pepito, Mara called the three girls to the back -of the cave. She gestured proudly to the baby lying in a rope hammock. -"See, my Pepito fix this like you say." - -Jo Ann smiled approvingly. "That was clever of Pepito to use my idea of a -charcoal bag for a hammock, wasn't it, girls?" - -"It was clever of him to fasten it to these stalactites, too," added -Peggy. "Aren't they beautiful? They're so white and sparkling back here -where the smoke hasn't reached them. Stalactites always remind me of big -icicles hanging from the roof." - -Noticing Carlitos at her side just then, Jo Ann remarked to Florence, -"Before you forget it, you'd better tell Carlitos and the other children -about the party." - -"All right." As Florence knew that the word party had no meaning for the -children she began explaining about the cakes and _dulces_ that she and -the girls would have up at the house for them. Immediately their faces -began to beam. - -"Oh, seorita, we'll be most happy to come!" Carlitos explained, acting -as spokesman for the younger children. - -As soon as Dr. Blackwell had completed the examination of Pepito, he came -over beside the girls. With the keenest interest he eyed Carlitos and -talked to him for a few minutes; then he turned to Florence and said, -"I'm going back to your mother now, but you girls may stay as long as you -like." - -"We'll be along in a little while," Florence replied. "We're not quite -ready to leave." - -After he had given the parents a few directions about caring for Pepito, -he bade them all "_Adios_" and left. - -No sooner had he gone than Jo Ann suggested to Florence that she ask Jos -about the part the big mean boss had played in Carlitos' life. "Ask him -what made that man so mean to Carlitos' mother and if he has any idea -what became of his father." - -"Well, I'll do my best, but first I want to tell Mara about Daddy's not -being able to find that Mr. Eldridge." - -After Florence had talked to Mara a few minutes, she began questioning -Jos. Jo Ann listened intently to their conversation, but Jos talked so -rapidly that she could catch only a word now and then. Finally, -discouraged, she remarked to Peggy, "Why is it that foreigners always -talk so much faster than Americans?" - -Peggy laughed. "It does sound that way, but I suppose they really don't." - -In spite of her failure to understand much, Jo Ann persisted in listening -and watching the expression on their faces. All at once she saw -Florence's eyes widen as if in surprise. "What is it, Florence?" she -broke out impulsively. "What did he tell you then?" - -Florence turned quickly. "Oh, he said this mean boss was plotting to get -rid of Carlitos! That's why he took his family away from that mine and -has been hiding up here in the mountains." - -"But why did that man want to get rid of Carlitos?" Jo Ann asked quickly. - -"I can't figure that out yet. He said that this mean boss had given -orders for all the boys who were large enough to help at the mine. Jos -and Mara sent Pepito up to work but kept Carlitos away--they were afraid -the man would mistreat him." - -"But why should this man want to mistreat Carlitos?" Jo Ann queried -curiously. - -"One reason, Jos said, was that this man had been so mean to Carlitos' -mother. They had also suspected that he'd had something to do with the -disappearance of his father and so were afraid to let him know that they -even had Carlitos. Jos said they moved 'way back up in the mountains to -keep him from finding out about Carlitos. Jos himself kept on working at -the mine, though. All went well till one day when Pepito was sick and -couldn't go to work and Carlitos slipped off to the mine and took his -place, because he was afraid the boss would beat Pepito when he -returned." - -"That man must've been a terrible creature," put in Jo Ann indignantly. -"But go on. What happened?" - -"Well, while Carlitos was working at the mine, the boss saw him and -became suspicious about him. He asked Jos all kinds of questions about -Carlitos, but Jos wouldn't answer. He just shrugged his shoulders, threw -up his hands and kept saying, 'No _sabe_.' That made the boss furious, as -well as more suspicious, and he ordered Jos to make Carlitos work all -the time thereafter. That evening, when Jos was leaving the mine, he -chanced to overhear one of the miners bragging to another about the easy -money he was going to get from the boss for kidnaping the blue-eyed boy -for him. Jos was immediately terrified, because he knew that the boy was -Carlitos." - -"Horrible!" Jo Ann ejaculated. - -Florence turned back to Jos, and after talking to him again she -translated to Jo Ann and Peggy, "Jos said on hearing this that he rushed -home and told Mara and the grandmother that they must all leave -immediately. They packed up their few possessions on the burro and left -that very night. They wandered over the mountains then till they came -here." - -"Isn't that terrible!" exclaimed Jo Ann. "That man's a demon. I feel sure -he had something to do with the disappearance of Carlitos' father. Ask -Jos, Florence, what Carlitos' father did at the mine--if he was the -owner and if this mean boss had been in his employ." - -"Well." Once more Florence translated Jo Ann's questions to Jos. All -eagerness, the two girls waited for his reply. - -This time Jo Ann was able to catch the answer. Her eyes shone with -excitement as she broke out, "That's why that mean boss wanted to get rid -of Carlitos. Carlitos is by rights the owner of the mine!" - -"You're right--he is!" Florence exclaimed. - -"Gee, Jo, you've run into a thrilling mystery this time, sure enough!" -Peggy burst out in an excited voice. - -"I feel sure this mean boss was responsible for the disappearance of -Carlitos' father, too," Jo Ann went on. "He wanted to keep the control of -the mine in his own hands. He wanted to get rid of Carlitos so there'd be -no possible chance of anyone's ever claiming the mine. Ask Jos, -Florence, how long Carlitos' father had lived at the mine--where the mine -is and what the name of it is." - -Florence nodded. "All right." - -After talking with Jos a few minutes, she explained to Jo Ann, "Don -Carlos--that's what Jos calls Carlitos' father, had come down from the -United States to inspect his mine and had been there only a short time. I -gathered from what he said that Don Carlos had not liked the way the -Mexican boss was handling things and had dismissed him. It was only a -short time after that, he said, that Don Carlos disappeared and the boss -took charge of the mine again." - -"That proves to me that the boss did steal the mine," Jo Ann said in an -emphatic tone. "Doesn't it sound that way to you, Peg?" - -"Yes, it does." Peggy shook her head dubiously and added, "You'll never -be able to unravel this mystery--it's too complicated for you." - -"Jos said it was a silver mine and that they called it La Esperanza," -Florence went on. "He couldn't tell me where it was. All he did was to -wave his hand toward the range of mountains across the valley and said it -was beyond that. He could find it himself, of course. I asked him how -they carried out the silver ore from the mine--if there weren't a -railroad near--and he looked blank and then shook his head and said they -carried it out on burros." - -"That's certainly a poky way to carry the ore," observed Jo Ann. "It -looks as if they ought to be able to build a railroad." - -"But it might be too steep for a railroad. And this is Mexico, remember. -Labor's cheaper than modern machinery. Come on, let's hurry up to the -house and talk it all over with Daddy before he leaves." - -"All right," Peggy agreed. - -As the girls started off, Florence called over her shoulder to the -children, "Don't forget to come to my house _maana_." - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - THE PIATA - - -Early the next morning the three girls began making preparations for the -party for the little Mexican children. - -"I'll make some fudge," suggested Peggy. - -"That'll be something new to them," Florence told her. "I can make some -molasses candy out of this brown sugar. Maybe they'll know what that is." - -"I think we ought to have some kind of cakes, too," put in Jo Ann. "I can -make pretty good doughnuts. Do you think the children would like them, -Florence?" - -"I'm sure they would. They won't know what they are, but they'll like -them. I doubt if these children even know what candy is. Living out in -the mountains as they have, they've probably never tasted many sweets. I -know this party will be a real treat to them and their mothers, too." - -When they had finished their cooking, Florence remarked, "Now we must -decorate the _olla_ for the _piata_." - -Peggy smiled. "I know what an _olla_ is--it's just a big earthen water -jar, but what is a _pin_--_pin_--or whatever you called it?" - -"That's what I'm wondering, too," added Jo Ann. - -"Well, when we fill this _olla_"--she pointed to the big pottery jar on -the table--"with the candy and doughnuts and decorate the outside with -gay colors, then it'll be called a _piata_." - -"What do you do with it then?" queried Jo Ann. - -"Hang it up by a rope and blindfold the children and let them see which -one can break it; then they all scramble for the contents." - -The girls laughed, and Peggy added, "Sounds like a lot of fun. What're we -going to decorate the _olla_ with?" - -"The only thing I can think of is to cut some colored pictures out of -magazines and paste them on it. Can you think of anything better?" - -Both girls shook their heads. - -Soon the three had selected the brightest advertisements from some -magazines and had decorated the jar till it looked quite festive. - -That afternoon, before they had finished their siestas, the guests began -to arrive. First were the children from the goat ranch with their mother; -then shortly afterwards Mara and the grandmother with their line of -little stairsteps. - -Jo Ann noticed at once that Carlitos was missing and asked Florence to -inquire about him. - -A moment later Florence explained to Jo Ann that Carlitos had gone up on -the mountain with Jos to get the charcoal. "Mara says they'll be down -later--they'll stop on their way down with the charcoal." - -"Let's wait to have the _piata_ game till Carlitos gets here," Jo Ann -suggested to Florence. "I don't want him to miss that. Let's show them -how to play some simple game like drop the handkerchief while we're -waiting." - -Florence smiled dubiously. "We can try it, but I'm sure they've never -played it before." - -In spite of their strenuous efforts to start the game, they failed, as -the children merely stared timidly with their big black eyes, not seeming -to know how to enter into the fun. - -"These are the quietest children I've ever seen in all my life," Jo Ann -declared. "Don't they ever play, Florence?" - -"Very seldom. They work most of the time. The older ones take care of the -babies and help their mothers. I believe we'd better go ahead with the -_piata_. It'll take them a long time to break the _olla_, and maybe -Carlitos'll be here before anyone succeeds." - -Florence blindfolded the largest one of the little girls and handed her a -stick, then turned her around several times. "Now see if you can break -the _piata_." - -The girl took a few steps, then timidly struck out with her stick, only -to miss the _piata_ by several feet. - -"Don't be afraid," called Pepito. "Go closer." - -Florence smiled. "No, she gets only one turn this time. You come on, -Pepito, and try." - -With his black eyes shining Pepito stepped forward to be blindfolded. Jo -Ann was delighted to see how much stronger he seemed to be and was as -pleased as he when he hit the _piata_, even though he did not succeed in -breaking it. - -Jo Ann and Peggy clapped their hands in applause, and the little Mexican -children, thinking that was part of the game, timidly followed their -example. - -Before all of the children had had a turn in trying to hit the _piata_, -Carlitos came running up to the porch, his hands and face streaked with -the black charcoal dust. - -Pepito pointed up to the _piata_. "Look, Carlitos, a _piata_! And I hit -it!" He went on rapidly to explain about the game. - -With the keenest interest the three girls watched Carlitos' face brighten -and his blue eyes sparkle bluer than ever against the black of his face. - -"I'll break it for you, Pepito," he replied confidently. - -Peggy turned to Jo Ann and Florence, smiling. "Say, Jo, your little -blue-eyed Mexican seems to have turned into a little nigger. Don't you -think you'd better introduce him to some soap and water before the -refreshments?" - -"Not a bad idea," Florence replied. "Jo, take him back and show him how -to use the soap." - -Jo Ann's eyes stretched to their widest. "Show him how to use soap! What -do you mean?" - -"He's probably never seen toilet soap before." - -"Gracious! To think of an American boy living like that--not even having -seen toilet soap!" - -After she had demonstrated to Carlitos how to wash his hands with soap, -she watched almost unbelievingly his evident delight in the white foamy -suds and its magic effect. - -"I've got to get that boy back to civilization. Something must be done -right away," she told herself. - -As soon as he had finished, they hurried back to the porch, and Florence -placed the blindfold on Carlitos. As he started toward the _piata_ -Pepito called eagerly, "Hit it hard, Carlitos--very hard!" - -With almost uncanny accuracy, Carlitos neared the _piata_, then struck -out vigorously. - -There was a crashing sound as the pottery vessel cracked open and the -contents scattered over the floor. - -Carlitos jerked the blindfold off, while the children uttered little -squeals of mingled excitement and delight. - -Smiling, Florence pointed to the scattered sweets. "Go get them!" she -exclaimed. - -The children needed no more urging. Straightway they began scurrying -about, their black eyes shining with delight as they picked up the candy -and cakes and tasted them. With their usual unselfishness they took some -of them over to their mothers and the grandmother. - -Just then Jo Ann noticed Jos leaning against a near-by tree, a pleased -expression on his face as he watched the children's fun. "Come on and get -some _dulces_," she called to him. - -Smiling, he came over to the porch and took the sweets Jo Ann offered. - -While both the older people and the children were enjoying the treat, Jo -Ann went out to examine the huge bags of charcoal that almost completely -covered the small burro. She laughed aloud as she noticed that only his -ears and his feet were visible. - -"It's a good thing that charcoal's light, or that burro'd never be able -to get to town with that load," she thought. - -When she went back to the porch she told Jos, chiefly by gestures, that -she was glad he had made so much charcoal. "When are you going to take it -to the village to sell?" she asked him. - -"_Maana_ in the _maana_," he replied. - -"That means early in the morning, doesn't it?" she asked Florence. - -Florence nodded. - -Jo Ann put her hand on Carlitos' shoulder. "Are the boys going with you, -Jos?" - -Jos shook his head. "No, I think it better that they do not go." - -Shortly after the children had finished eating their refreshments, each -one politely thanked the girls and offered a grimy, sticky little hand in -a farewell shake. - -As Mara was leaving with her family she remarked to Florence again, "You -have much kindness, seoritas--like Carlitos' _mam_. I have much joy -that he has friends _Americanos_ now." - -After they had all left Jo Ann said determinedly, "We've simply got to -find Carlitos' relatives right away. Mara and Jos are as kind to him as -they can be--they treat him as if he were their own child--but they're so -pitifully poor and ignorant." - -Florence shook her head dubiously. "I wish we could find some of his -relatives, but it looks as if we're up against a stone wall now. We've -done everything we could." - -"Oh, Jo'll solve the mystery--she'll climb right over the stone wall," -laughed Peggy. "She's great on climbing." - -The next day, when the girls were busily preparing dinner on the outdoor -fireplace, Jo Ann happened to glance down the road. "Good gracious!" she -exclaimed. "Is that Pepito, running like that? It is! Why, he oughtn't to -run like that." - -She rushed out to meet him. "No, no, Pepito! You mustn't run like that," -she called to him. - -Gasping for breath, Pepito ejaculated, "Carlitos! Oh, Carlitos!" - - - - - CHAPTER XV - "CARLITOS--GONE!" - - -Before Jo Ann could ask any more questions Florence and Peggy came flying -out. - -"What is the matter, Pepito?" Florence asked quickly. "Why were you -running so hard?" - -"Car--li--tos--gone!" he panted, his eyes filled with tears. - -"Gone!" Florence repeated. She wheeled about. "Girls, he says Carlitos is -gone--lost!" - -She turned back. "How could he be lost? What's happened?" - -Realizing how exhausted Pepito was from running, Florence led him up to -the porch and made him sit down. "Rest a few minutes, then tell me what's -happened," she ordered. - -After he had partially regained his breath, he began telling between sobs -that Carlitos and the burro had been stolen. Carlitos, he said, had -begged Jos to let him go to town to help sell the charcoal and that -while there both he and the burro had disappeared. - -Florence rapidly translated his broken story to the impatient girls. - -"Carlitos stolen!" Jo Ann repeated, puzzled. "Does he mean kidnaped?" - -"Sounds like it." Florence began questioning Pepito again. "Where is your -_pap_ now?" - -"At the cave. When _mi pap_ tell us that Carlitos is lost, I come to -you. You can help us find Carlitos." - -Florence repeated his words to the girls, saying, "Poor child, he thinks -we can help them because we did before." - -"We've got to help," Jo Ann spoke up emphatically. "We've got to find -Carlitos. Let's go down to the cave right now and talk to Jos and find -out exactly what's happened. Tell Pepito to stay here and rest while we -go to the cave." - -When Florence suggested to him that he stay and rest, Pepito shook his -head. "No, no, seorita. I go with you." - -Before starting to the cave Florence ran inside to tell her mother what -had happened. "Peggy says she'll stay and finish getting dinner while Jo -and I go down and find out the details from Jos." - -"All right," her mother replied. "I hope they'll be able to find Carlitos -before night." - -By the time Florence came back, Jo Ann was hurrying down the trail, -Pepito following. Suddenly realizing that Pepito must not walk so -rapidly, Jo Ann checked her pace, although she could hardly wait to find -out from Jos what had really happened. - -"I wonder if it's possible that Carlitos has been kidnaped," she thought -anxiously. "That mean mine boss tried to get him once--maybe he's had -something to do with his disappearance." - -Just then Florence caught up with her and began talking over this new -trouble. "We'll have to do something to help find Carlitos, Jo. Had it -occurred to you that that mean boss might've had a hand in his -disappearance?" - -Jo Ann nodded. "I was just thinking that very same thing. The fact that -Carlitos is the rightful owner of the mine would give him a reason for -wanting to get him out of the way." - -"That sounds terrible," Florence shuddered, "but it's possible, all -right." - -As they neared the cave, the girls could hear the mother and grandmother -talking rapidly in shrill excited voices. On entering they saw Jos -crouched disconsolately in a corner, his face buried in his hands. - -They stepped across to his side, and Florence began quickly, "Jos, -Pepito has told us about Carlitos. Tell us all about what happened to -him--how he disappeared--and where you saw him last. Maybe we can help -you find him." - -Jos raised his head, his dark troubled eyes lighting a little at sight -of the two girls who had helped to save his son's life only a few days -before. - -"Ah, _Pap_," put in Mara just then. "The seoritas--our friends--they -will help us find Carlitos." - -"We hope we'll be able to help," Florence told them earnestly. - -Brokenly then Jos began by telling how after several efforts he had -succeeded in selling only a few _centavos'_ worth of the charcoal, and so -he decided to exchange some of it for food. Leaving Carlitos outside to -watch the burro, he had gone into the little general store of the -village. After he had bargained with the storekeeper to exchange corn, -_frijoles_ and coffee for a bag of charcoal, he had hurried out to get -it. - -To his amazement Carlitos and the burro were not in sight. Thinking they -might have wandered down the street, he started off to look for them. -They were nowhere to be seen, and after he had searched in vain all over -the few streets of the village, he was in despair. Finally, after -inquiring of several people, he found a man who said he'd seen a boy and -a man go by driving a burro--only there were no bags of charcoal on the -burro. - -"I search much then, but I cannot find Carlitos or the burro," he ended -sorrowfully. "I have much fear that harm has come to Carlitos." - -As soon as Jos had stopped talking, Florence translated his story to Jo -Ann. - -When she reached the part about the man's having seen a boy and a man -driving a burro without any charcoal, Jo Ann spoke up quickly, "Maybe -that boy was Carlitos." - -Florence turned back to Jos. "Do you suppose that boy was Carlitos who -was helping to drive the burro?" - -Jos shook his head. "No, no. The man say this boy hit much the burro. -Carlitos no hit our burro." - -Jo Ann, who had caught the meaning of Jos's words, put in, "Florence, -maybe the man was making the boy hit the burro so he could hurry him out -of the village. He probably wanted the burro too." - -When Florence translated this idea to Jos, he replied, "I thought of -that too. I try to find them, but it was impossible. I hunt for many -hours, but I find nothing." He shook his head mournfully. "Carlitos -gone--the burro gone--the charcoal gone--no have money to buy food for my -children. Ah _Dios_, it is terrible!" - -"I believe it's that man from the mine who's back of it all," Jo Ann -declared again. "He could easily have taken the charcoal off the burro -and hidden it, and have frightened Carlitos into going with him." - -"That's true," agreed Florence. "He might've forced him to go at the -point of a gun. That mean boss wouldn't stop at anything." - -"Well, we must do something about it right now. Let's go to the village -and see if we can't find out more about that man and boy. Will your -mother let us go to the village with Jos?" - -"Yes, I'm sure she will. It's not so far there." She turned to Jos and -said, "We want you to go back to the village with us and see if we can -find out something more about Carlitos. Go to the goat ranch and tell -Juan to let us have two burros. We'll go up to the house to tell my -mother and then meet you at the cart road." - -Jos nodded assent. "_Bien_, seorita, I go immediately." - -The girls hurried up to the house, and Florence quickly explained their -plans to her mother. - -"I think it'll be all right for you to go," Mrs. Blackwell replied. "I -hope you can find Carlitos, but be very careful. That man is probably -capable of doing anything." - -"Oh, Mrs. Blackwell, he can't be more dangerous than that bear," put in -Jo Ann. "We'll be careful. I believe I'll take the gun along. I'll feel -safer." - -"No, let's take the pistol instead," Florence put in. "The gun's too -heavy." She took a pistol out of her bag and handed it to Jo Ann, then -they set off down the trail and a little later found Jos at the road -waiting for them with the burros. - -Jo Ann hesitated a moment before getting on her burro. "This is my first -experience riding without a saddle or a bridle." - -"Oh, it's easy after you get used to it," Florence encouraged. "You guide -a burro, you know, by hitting him on the neck with a stick." She sprang -up nimbly onto the pack on the donkey's back. - -After Jo Ann had mounted on her burro she remarked, smiling, "This -burro's so small and my legs're so long that they almost drag on the -ground." - -"Sit farther back, the way the Mexicans do," Florence called back. "It's -much easier riding that way." - -Jos followed, walking closely behind Jo Ann, having no difficulty in -keeping up with the donkey's pace. - -"Isn't there any way to make these animals go faster?" Jo Ann called to -Florence impatiently a few minutes later. - -"They'll trot a little ways, but they really make as good time by keeping -their steady pace. Remember you're in Mexico, Jo." - -As soon as the three had reached the village, Jos took the girls to the -store in front of which he had left Carlitos and the charcoal-laden burro -a few hours before. "I know this storekeeper," Florence told Jo Ann. -"He'll probably know if any strangers have been in the village lately. -His store's a meeting place for everybody in the village, and he hears -all the gossip." - -She went inside and began questioning the storekeeper. "Have you heard of -any strangers being in the village in the last day or two besides this -man?" She pointed to Jos. - -The storekeeper nodded his head, "_S_, seorita. I saw a man this -morning that I have never seen before. He bought some cigarettes from -me." - -"Did he come in before this man--Jos--did?" - -"_S._ He said he was looking for a family that had lived at a mining -camp across the mountains." - -Florence gave a little start. "Did he say why he wanted to find this -family?" - -"He say they were his friends." The storekeeper shrugged his shoulders -Mexican fashion and added, "I tell him I know nothing, and then he -leave." - -Florence hurriedly recounted this information to Jo Ann, ending -indignantly, "I believe that man was either the mean boss or someone he'd -sent to get Carlitos. Jos knows what the boss looks like, so we can find -out if the stranger was he." She wheeled around to Jos and asked, -"What'd that mean boss look like?" - -"Very fat." Jos gestured with his hands to indicate a Santa Claus -figure, then twisted an imaginary mustache, adding, "and a big black -mustache." He turned to the storekeeper. "Did that man look like that?" - -The storekeeper shook his head. "No. He very small--no mustache." - -"I'm glad it's not the boss," exclaimed Jo Ann. - -"I am, too," Florence agreed. She turned to Jos and said, "Take us down -the street now where that man you talked to said he saw the strange man -and the boy driving the burro." - -While Jos was guiding them to this street which led to the outskirts of -the village, Florence caught sight of a familiar figure standing in an -open doorway. "Wait a minute," she explained. "There's a woman I know. -I'll ask if she saw them pass." - -Florence hurried across the street and began explaining to the woman -about their search for Carlitos and the burro. "Have you seen anybody of -his description or heard anything about him?" - -The woman shook her head, "No." - -Florence's face fell. "Well, have you heard about anyone's finding any -bags of charcoal? This boy's burro was carrying two bags of charcoal when -he came to the village." - -The woman's black eyes lit with interest. "_S_, seorita. Adela, the -woman who lives at the corner, told me she had found two bags of charcoal -in her yard this morning. She did not know how they got there." - -"Will you take us to her house and ask her to let us see the bags of -charcoal? This man"--she nodded over at Jos--"will know if they're his -bags. His mother made them herself." - -The woman readily agreed to go with them, and in a few minutes they were -shown the bags of charcoal. - -A gleam of recognition immediately shone in Jos's eyes. "_S_, seorita. -These are the bags made by my mother." His voice changed to a mournful -note. "That boy was Carlitos. That man was making him beat the burro--he -throw this charcoal over the wall. He very bad _hombre_." - -Jo Ann, who had caught the meaning of Jos's words, put in quickly, -"We've got to find that man and get Carlitos away from him. There's no -telling what he'll do to him." - -"But Jos said he followed him for some distance out this way." Florence -wheeled about. "Jos," she asked, "which direction do you go to get to -that mine you came from?" - -"You follow this road." He gestured toward the winding road leading -across the valley to the range of mountains. - -Jo Ann spoke up impatiently, "Let's start after Carlitos this minute. If -we could find some horses to ride, we could overtake that man and -Carlitos even if they did have several hours' start. That man wouldn't -have taken the burro if he hadn't intended using it. I know he can't be -traveling fast with a burro along. Come on, let's see if we can find some -horses." - -"We can get some horses here, I'm sure. Dad always gets his horse here -when he comes to see us--a burro's too slow for him." Florence stopped a -moment, then added hastily, "I believe I'll call Dad--I can phone to him -from here--and tell him what's happened and----" - -"Oh, Florence," Jo Ann broke in, "ask him if we can't go straight on to -the mine. Tell him we'll take Jos with us, and tell him if we don't -follow that man and Carlitos at once we'll never see Carlitos again!" - -"Well, all right. Come on. We'll go back to the store--that's where the -only telephone in the village is. Come on, Jos." - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - ON A DANGEROUS TRAIL - - -As Florence led the way back to the store, she told Jos of their plans -to get the horses and follow the man and Carlitos. "Can you guide us -across the mountains to the mine?" - -"_S_, seorita, I _sabe_. I take you there." - -A few minutes later the three were back at the store, and Florence had -succeeded in getting her father on the telephone. It was anything but -easy for her to make him understand at first about Carlitos' -disappearance and their desire to hunt for him. When she finally made the -situation clear, a note of excitement came into his voice. - -"I'm glad you've phoned," he told her, "because I've just got in touch -with a man by the name of Eldridge who, I believe, is Carlitos' uncle. -Ask Jos again the name of that mine Carlitos' father owned, and get him -to tell you as nearly as possible where it is. I want to be sure that -that is the mine and Carlitos the boy that this man Eldridge has been -hunting." - -Florence quickly turned to Jos. "Didn't you say the name of the mine was -La Esperanza?" - -"_S_," Jos nodded. - -"Tell me again how you get there." - -With many gestures Jos told her as nearly as he could where the mine was -located. "Over that mountain to the east," he kept saying, pointing to -the range beyond. - -As soon as Florence repeated Jos's answer to her father, he replied that -he would telegraph at once to Mr. Eldridge. The name and location of the -mine, he said, corresponded with what he had told him. - -"But, Daddy," Florence put in, in a pleading tone, "if we don't find -Carlitos right away I'm afraid it'll be too late. We're afraid that mean -boss'll do something terrible to him--maybe kill him. We're sure the boss -is back of this kidnaping. The reason Jos left the mine was to keep that -man from getting Carlitos. We must go right now and hunt for him. We know -the kidnaper has started toward the mine with him." - -"Tell your father if we get horses we're sure we can overtake the man and -Carlitos, because they had only a burro," burst out Jo Ann eagerly. - -Florence nodded and repeated her words over the telephone. - -After a momentary silence Dr. Blackwell answered slowly, "Well, as soon -as I send the telegram to Mr. Eldridge, I'll start for the mine too. I'm -sure I can get there before you do, as I've found an Indian guide who -knows where it is. I want to be there before you arrive, in case any -trouble should come up. I can't have you girls risking your necks, even -to save Carlitos." - -"Oh, I'm so glad you'll be there!" Florence replied. - -Jo Ann's eyes shone as she heard Florence's answer. She knew that meant -that they could start following the kidnaper and Carlitos right away. As -soon as Florence put up the receiver, she caught her by the hand, saying, -"Let's hurry as fast's we can and get the horses." - -"Not yet. I've got to write a note to Mother first and give it to the man -who brings our mail. He can take the burros back to Juan, too." - -While Florence was still speaking, Jo Ann began looking about impatiently -for some paper. "I can't get used to stores not having wrapping paper as -they do back home," she said. A few moments later the storekeeper -unearthed a scrap of soiled brown paper and proudly handed it to -Florence. - -She hastily scratched a few lines to her mother, explaining the situation -and the new plan. - -To Jo Ann's annoyance a half hour passed before they could find the man -who carried the mail and arrange to get the horses and everything else -they needed. - -When, at last, they were actually mounted on the horses and had started -off down the road, Jo Ann gave a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness we're on -the way at last. Let's ride fast now, because we'll have to slow down -when we reach the mountain." - -She tapped her horse sharply on his neck with her switch, and off she -galloped, Florence and Jos following closely. - -When they reached the foot of the mountain, Florence called to Jo Ann, -"We'll have to let Jos lead the way from now on. He says we leave the -road here." - -Somewhat reluctantly Jo Ann checked her horse's pace to allow Jos to -lead. Slowly and in single file they began winding their way up a rocky -trail. After about an hour's climb it became so steep and narrow that -even Jo Ann, experienced rider that she was, began to grow nervous. - -With the towering wall of rock on her right and the deep canyon below, -she realized that if her horse should make a single misstep it might be -fatal. She shuddered at the thought of how easy it would be for the -kidnaper to make away with Carlitos in such a place as this. One little -push would mean death. - -"Florence," she called back, "I've been thinking how easy it'd be to make -away with anyone in such a wild, lonesome spot. You don't think that -man'd push Carlitos off this precipice, do you?" - -"No, no," Florence called back quickly. "I'm sure he'll take him on to -the mine. That mean boss wouldn't pay him a large sum of money till he -was sure he had the right boy." - -"I believe you're right." Encouraged by Florence's words, Jo Ann rode on -in better spirits. "If that kidnaper takes Carlitos clear to the mine, -then we'll be sure to overtake them," she thought. - -About half an hour later, as the horses were struggling up an unusually -steep place, Jo Ann suddenly cried out a sharp, "Jos, stop!" - -Startled, Jos checked his horse and looked back. - -Jo Ann pointed down at a boy's hat caught on a sharp point of rock -jutting out from the edge of the cliff. "See! Carlitos' hat!" - -"_Ay Dios!_ I have fear that it is the hat of Carlitos." He leaped off -his horse and began hunting about for a stick with which to reach the -hat. Finally, having found a long stick, he leaned over as far as he -dared and carefully worked the stick up under the frayed edge of the hat. -Both girls sprang off their horses to watch his efforts. - -When at last he had the hat in his hands, he exclaimed, "_Dios mio!_ It -is his hat!" He pointed to the cord around the crown. "The grandmother -made this cord for him." - -Jo Ann suddenly gasped and pointed down into the abyss-like gorge. "Oh, -Jos, do you think Carlitos----" She broke off in the middle of her -sentence, shuddering at the thought of Carlitos hurled down over the -jagged rocks to the bottom of the gorge hundreds of feet below. - -Florence broke in quickly, "Maybe his hat just blew off. If he had fallen -over, we ought to be able to see some sign of loosened rocks or broken -bushes where he slipped." - -She and Jo Ann, as well as Jos, began searching for some sign along the -edge of the precipice. After a few moments Jo Ann walked up the trail a -short distance and, leaning over, examined the path. - -All at once her face lit. "Florence! Jos! Come here--look!" she called. - -At the joyous note in Jo Ann's voice both Florence and Jos came up to -her side and stared down at the footprints in the limestone dust. - -"See," she said. "These small prints were made by Carlitos' bare feet. -They're just his size." - -"_S, s_," Jos agreed. He pointed to some larger footprints beside -them. "And these are made by the sandals of the man who is taking him -off. And here're the burro's marks." - -Both Jo Ann and Florence drew deep sighs of relief. "I feel more certain -than ever now that the man'll take him clear to the mine." - -The next moment Jo Ann frowned and pointed to the ground a few feet -ahead. "That rascal made Carlitos get off the burro so he could ride. -See! There're no signs of his footprints from there on--just Carlitos' -and the burro's." - -"I believe you're right," Florence agreed. "I wonder if it's very far to -the mine now." She turned to Jos, "How much farther is it to the mine?" - -"Three or four more hours and we'll be there." - -"I didn't think it was that far. Why, it'll be dark before we get there." -There was a note of anxiety in Florence's voice. - -Jo Ann shivered. "How in the world will we ever get over this trail in -the dark? It's scary enough in the daylight. Let's hurry and get going." - -Soon all three were on their horses again and climbing steadily upward. -After they had ridden about an hour, the trail began to drop downward. - -"Wh--ew!" Jo Ann ejaculated. "I've ridden horses in lots of places, but -nothing like this toboggan slide." - -Just as she was finishing this sentence, Jos's horse dropped back on his -haunches, his four feet braced together, and began sliding in the loose -gravel of the almost perpendicular incline. - -Both girls caught their breath. - -The next moment Jo Ann felt her horse begin to slide. A feeling of horror -overwhelmed her. She realized that she had no control over him -whatsoever. Would her horse and Florence's be able to keep from slipping -over the edge of that horrible precipice? - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - A STARTLING CRY - - -It seemed to Jo Ann that years passed before her horse came to a stop. -She drew a quick breath of relief, then turned about quickly to see if -Florence were safe. - -"Thank goodness!" she ejaculated as she saw that Florence's horse, though -still slipping, was over the worst of the incline, and that Florence was -hanging on pluckily. - -"O--oh, Jos!" Jo Ann ejaculated. "This is terrible!" - -"_S, s_," Jos agreed, watching Florence anxiously. - -Shortly after Florence's horse had come to a safe halt, she called out -between gasps, "Jos--are there--any more--places--this bad?" - -"No, seorita. This is the worst." - -In spite of the fact that their horses were getting tired they urged them -on, as darkness was beginning to settle down over the mountains. - -"I thought surely we'd have caught up with Carlitos and that man by this -time," thought Jo Ann. "The poor child must be nearly dead, walking so -fast. I'm tired, and we've been riding all the way." - -When she saw how swiftly the shadows were deepening, she wondered how -they would ever be able to follow the trail from now on. But they must. - -"If that mean boss ever gets his hands on Carlitos, that'll be the last -we'll ever see of him," she thought. "That boss wants to keep the mine, -and he won't stop at anything to have his way." - -After they had ridden for about an hour, the darkness grew so thick that -it was almost impenetrable. - -Jo Ann called back in a low anxious voice to Florence, "I can't see a -thing--it's so black. I'm glad, though, the trail's not so dangerous -along here. It must be almost time for the moon to be up." - -"I'm sure it is," Florence answered, then called to Jos, "Isn't it time -for the moon to come up?" - -"_S_, seorita, but I have much fear there will be no moon tonight. I -think there will be a storm." - -Even as he was speaking the girls saw a flash of lightning and heard the -distant rumbling of thunder. A few moments later great drops of rain -began to pelt into their faces as a gust of wind blew against them. With -almost incredible swiftness the storm broke in all its fury. Blinding -flashes of lightning darted in every direction, deafening rolls of -thunder echoed and re-echoed over the mountains. - -Never had Jo Ann heard such thunder--it growled and raged like some -horrible monster. The rain began sweeping down in torrents, lashing them -furiously. - -In a brilliant flash of lightning Jo Ann was horrified to see streams of -water rushing down the mountain side carrying stones and debris. She -realized at once that they were in grave danger. - -The next moment Jos was beside her. Without a word he caught her horse's -bridle and began leading him over the treacherous, slippery trail. - -"Is Florence coming----" she began, but her words were drowned by the -storm. - -In a few more moments Jos turned off the trail and started leading the -horse almost straight up the rocky mountain side. - -"What--where are you going?" Jo Ann gasped, unheard. - -When her horse had climbed a little farther, lightning illuminated the -darkness enough to show her an overhanging ledge of rock jutting out just -ahead of them. - -Instantly she grasped Jos's plan. Here was a shelter--a refuge from the -storm! - -As soon as he had led her up under the cliff she sprang off her horse, -crying, "Get Florence! Hurry!" - -"_S, s_," he nodded. - -With that Jos was off again down the trail. After what seemed to Jo Ann -an endless time, he reappeared leading Florence's horse and his own. - -The moment Florence leaped off her horse Jo Ann caught her in a warm -embrace. - -"Oh, Florence, I'm so thankful you're safe!" - -"And I'm thankful we're all safe." - -"If only we had Carlitos here with us, too! Oh, Florence, where do you -suppose he is now? He might get washed off the trail if that man forces -him on in this storm." - -"I believe that kidnaper'll do exactly what Jos is doing--seek refuge -till the storm checks," Florence comforted. - -"I hope so. He and Carlitos might be under just such a rocky ledge as -this right now. What puzzles me is how they could've got this far without -our overtaking them." - -As soon as Jos had tied the horses to some scrubby bushes he hurried -over to Florence's side and shouted, "I go now to look for Carlitos. We -are getting near the mine, and I must find him." - -"But, Jos, the storm is terrible. Wait a little while." - -After the rain had checked a little, Jos turned to Florence and said, -"Wait for me here, _sabe_? I go now." With that he started off and -disappeared in the darkness once more. - -"Oh, if he can just find Carlitos!" Jo Ann said wistfully. - -She drew back hastily against the rocky wall in an effort to escape a -sudden gust of rain, as did Florence. - -"This isn't as good a shelter as I thought," Florence gasped. "The -wind--must be changing--to another direction. It's cold, too." - -"Yes, it is. Let's move over farther this way." - -"All right." - -Keeping close to the wall they made their way farther on around a sharp -projecting rock, which protected them a little better. - -After they had stood there several minutes, an unusually brilliant -lightning flash lighted the surrounding blackness long enough for them to -see that back to their right was what appeared to be the opening of a -cave. - -"If that's a cave back there and we can get in it, we'll be entirely out -of the rain," Jo Ann told herself as she wiped her rain-drenched face on -her sleeve. - -When at last the thunder's reverberations were beginning to die away, she -leaned over closer to Florence and said, "Did you see that cave-like -opening back there on your right?" - -"Yes." - -"Let's go on back and see if it is a cave." - -"No--no. There might be a bear--or some other animal in it." - -"That's right! I didn't think of that." - -In a sudden lull in the rain and thunder just then a wailing sound -floated to them. - -Both girls uttered little gasps of fright. - -That was the cry of a human being! The same thought struck them--could -that be Carlitos? - -Jo Ann leaned over and whispered excitedly in Florence's ear, "That -sounds like Carlitos' voice. Do you think----?" She halted to listen to -the wailing notes again. "I believe that is Carlitos! It's a boy's -voice!" - -"You're right--it is. There probably wouldn't be any other child up here -in this wild place on a night like this." - -"Let's slip up closer and see if we can tell whether it's Carlitos. If it -is, we've got to get him." - -"But that man! We couldn't get Carlitos away from him without Jos to -help us." - -Jo Ann caught Florence's hand in hers. "Come on. Let's slip on up closer -and see if we can find out for sure if it's Carlitos." - -Together they stealthily crept along the wall till they could see two -figures crouched about a small fire on the floor of the cave. - -Jo Ann squeezed Florence's hand tightly to indicate to her that she had -recognized Carlitos. Quickly Florence returned the pressure, then began -pulling her backwards. - -Jo Ann obediently turned, and silently the two girls retraced their steps -out of hearing distance. - -"We've got to get Carlitos away from that man right away," Jo Ann -whispered excitedly. - -"But Jos isn't here to----" - -"I'm afraid to wait for him. That man might leave with Carlitos before he -gets back. I'm going to get the rope and pistol out of the saddle-bag, -and we can capture that man ourselves." - -"Oh, but, Jo!" Florence's voice was filled with horror. - -"All you'll have to do'll be to hold the gun on him while I tie him." - -"Oh, Jo! Let's wait for Jos." - -"No. You wait here while I get the things." - -Without waiting to hear Florence's whispered protest, she hurried back to -the horses and returned with the pistol and rope. - -As she handed Florence the pistol she whispered, "Don't get so excited -you forget to throw off the safety. As soon as I fix my rope, we'll be -ready." - -She hastily tied a slipknot in the rope, then ordered, "Come on. Stay -right behind me and hold that gun on the man. We'll wait till it thunders -again, so he won't hear us." - -Slowly and cautiously they slipped on toward the cave. Jo Ann could see -that the man and Carlitos were still crouched around the fire. - -When they had gone as close as they dared, they waited till there was a -loud crash of thunder. Immediately Jo Ann crept forward till she was -directly behind the man. - -With amazing swiftness she dropped the noose over the man's head and down -over his shoulders, then jerked back on the rope. Automatically his hand -flew toward his stiletto as he leaped forward. But the rope -tightened--his arms were pinioned to his sides. He wheeled partly around -only to find he was looking into the barrel of a 32-caliber automatic. - -"Stand still or I'll shoot," Florence ordered in Spanish. "Carlitos--get -back. You might get hurt." - -Jo Ann quickly slipped a loop of the rope over the man's right hand and -drew it behind his back, then his left, and tied the two together -securely. - -"Tell him to lie down on the ground now," Jo Ann said. - -Florence quickly repeated the order. - -The man's eyes blazed angrily. "No--no. I no----" His protest was lost in -a clap of thunder. - -"Do as you're told or I'll shoot," Florence commanded a moment later. - -As the man made no move, Jo Ann quickly gave him a hard shove and sent -him sprawling headlong on the ground. - -"You do what we tell you," she scolded in English as she jerked the rope -about his feet and began tying them together. "What do you mean by -running off with this little boy?" - -As soon as she had finished tying him, she remarked to Florence, "Ask him -where he's taking Carlitos and what he was going to do with him." - -Just as Florence had begun asking him these questions, Carlitos suddenly -cried out in terror and pointed to the entrance. - -The same instant Florence felt a strong hand clutch her shoulder as the -gun was snatched out of her hand. - -At Carlitos' cry of terror Jo Ann's gaze turned toward the cave entrance. -Then cold fear clutched her heart as she saw towering over Florence a -great hulk of a man with a long mustache who she instinctively felt must -be the mean boss. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - PRISONERS - - -Before Jo Ann could spring to her feet, Carlitos was crouching behind her -crying piteously, "_El jefe! El jefe!_" - -Jo Ann immediately recognized the name "_el jefe_" as meaning the boss. -She was right. That man was the mean boss! - -Just then the boss broke into a burst of coarse derisive laughter that -sent shivers down her spine. "Ah, the seoritas _muy bravo_! They bind -the peon who thinks he's a man but has not the strength of a woman." - -It seemed to Jo Ann that the boss's huge body almost filled the narrow -opening as he stood there with Florence's gun aimed directly toward them. -What could she do now? How could they save themselves and Carlitos? Oh, -why hadn't she taken Florence's advice and waited for Jos before coming -in here! If only Jos would come now! - -A sudden idea flashed into her mind. When the boss stooped over to untie -the peon, maybe she'd have a chance to slip his gun out of his holster; -then she'd watch her chance to take him by surprise. - -Her thoughts were broken into by the boss seizing Florence roughly by the -arm and starting toward her. - -"Here's my chance to get his gun," Jo Ann thought, feeling sure that he -was going to untie the peon now. - -To her consternation, instead of untying the peon, he kicked him -viciously and snarled, "You no good--you let the seoritas bind you -up--now I leave you here for the wild beasts to gnaw on your bones." - -Although Jo Ann could not understand all that he said, she realized -immediately that he was going to leave the peon here to die. "What a -beast that man is," she thought. - -"Get on out--all of you," the boss growled, pushing Carlitos roughly in -front of the girls and pointing his gun menacingly. - -When the peon saw them all starting out of the cave, leaving him there -alone, bound and helpless, he began struggling and rolling about, trying -to free himself. - -"Don't leave me here! You can't leave me! I did what you told me. I -brought the boy back. Where is the money you promised me?" - -"The wild animals cannot eat money," the boss flung back, then laughed -callously. - -Jo Ann gasped in horror as she caught the meaning of his cruel words. -"That man isn't human. No wonder Jos with his family had fled from the -mine." - -With the peon's piteous cries ringing in their ears the two girls -silently walked on in front of the boss. - -"Go and get on your horses--_pronto_," the boss ordered. - -As Carlitos whimpered softly, Jo Ann caught hold of his hand to silence -and comfort him. - -Too terrified even to speak to each other, the three stumbled along in -the darkness around the ledge. Instead of three horses, they found four. - -"One must belong to the boss," Jo Ann thought. "I wonder if he has -guessed that Jos came with us." She caught her breath as a new fear -overwhelmed her. Had he already found Jos and made away with him--pushed -him over the precipice, perhaps? - -"Go on, _pronto_!" the boss growled. - -In a brilliant flash of lightning Jo Ann saw Carlitos struggling to reach -the horn of his saddle. She leaned over quickly and half lifted, half -pushed him up on the horse. - -"_Infante!_ Can you not ride without Pancho?" the boss growled -tauntingly. - -"He must think that the peon and Carlitos came here on a horse," Jo Ann -thought with a feeling of relief, as she mounted one of the other horses. -"That means he must not have seen Jos or know that he's with us. But -where can Jos be now? Could he have slipped on the trail and fallen over -a precipice?" - -"_Andale--mas pronto!_" ordered the gruff voice again. - -"He's in a big hurry to get away from here," thought Jo Ann. "He -evidently has some strong reason for rushing us this way. I'm going to -delay him in every way I can so Dr. Blackwell'll be sure to be at the -mine before we get there. If he isn't there----" She shuddered at the -thought of what might happen to Florence, Carlitos, and herself. - -Just then the boss broke into such a rapid flow of Spanish that Jo Ann -could catch only a word or two. - -At his threats Florence shook so she could hardly get on her horse. He -would kill all of them, he had said, if any one of them tried to escape. - -"We no _sabe_," Jo Ann spoke up. "We _Americanos_--no _sabe_." - -The emphasis Jo Ann had placed on the word "we" made Florence understand -at once that she did not want her to let the man know that she could -speak or understand Spanish. Though she could not guess Jo's reason, she -decided to pretend not to understand him. - -Just as they were about to start off down to the trail Jo Ann heard the -faint but heartrending cry of the deserted peon. - -"Suppose the boss should tie us and leave us to die of thirst and -starvation like that," she said to herself. "Perhaps that's what he did -to Carlitos' father, Jos said no one knew what had become of him." - -"I'm glad I'm first," she thought a moment later. "That'll give me a -better chance to delay him." - -On reaching the trail, she deliberately turned her horse back in the -direction from which they had just come. That would delay them a little -bit. - -The horses of both Carlitos and Florence followed her lead. - -No sooner did the boss realize that they were going in the wrong -direction than he roared out angrily, "Wait! That's not the direction to -go!" - -Jo Ann paid no attention to this gruff command but kept on. - -A few moments later her horse was stopped by being crowded against the -rocky wall. Then she felt her arm seized in a vise-like grip and heard -the boss's shouts in her ear. A flash of lightning showed her his -anger-contorted face only a few inches from her own. - -Though she was terrified, she controlled herself enough to cry out, "No -_sabe_. No _sabe_." - -"I make you _sabe_!" He blocked the trail in front of her with his horse, -then leaped off and grabbed her horse's bridle and turned him around. As -he struck him sharply with his quirt, the animal leaped forward. - -Instantly she realized the danger of pushing one of the other horses off -the narrow trail and drew back on the reins in time to avert a disaster. - -With Florence in the lead they set off toward the mine. - -"At least I made him waste a little time," Jo Ann thought, "but if he -finds out I'm deliberately trying to delay him there's no telling what -he'll do. He's the meanest man I ever saw." - -Having come to an unusually slippery stretch she could think only of the -danger of riding on the treacherous winding mountain trail in the -darkness. One thing lifted her flagging spirits. The storm was -abating--abating almost as rapidly as it had begun. "Now if only the -moon'll come up," she thought. - -Shortly afterwards she noted a light shining from behind the fast-sailing -storm clouds. Even as she looked, the moon came into full view, lighting -up the mountain side. - -"Thank goodness!" she exclaimed to herself. At least they could see where -they were going now. It would be safer traveling for Jos, too. But where -was he? Would they meet him soon? But if they did, what would the boss do -to him? He might treat him as badly as he had the peon. - -Even as she was wondering, Jos was struggling up a steep bank not far -below the cave. In his haste to get back to the girls he had, Indian -fashion, left the trail and had struck straight up the mountain side, -scaling almost perpendicular rocks and pulling himself up by anything -that offered a finger hold. - -Just before reaching the rocky ledge under which he had left the girls -and the horses, he heard a wailing sound that made him stop as rigid as -if frozen. Who was that? What was the matter? The seoritas! He must get -to them at once. - -Cautiously but rapidly he crawled up to the ledge. As soon as he saw -there was no sign of the girls or the horses there, his eyes widened in -horror. What had happened to them? That cry--but that was a man's voice. - -All at once it flashed through his mind that it might be the very man he -had been hunting. Was Carlitos there with him? The seoritas---- - -Just then the cry, half wailing, half groaning, sounded again. - -Silently Jos started in the direction of the cry. That might be only a -trap, and he must not be caught. - -When he neared the cave he saw through the opening the dying embers of a -fire. By its faint glow he could make out the figure of a man struggling -and rolling about on the ground. - -As soon as Jos saw that the man was tied and that there was no one else -in the cave, he called out, "What is your trouble? Who are you?" - -At the sound of Jos's voice the man instantly stopped struggling. "Come -and release me! Release me!" - -Jos made no move to enter, "Who are you?" he demanded again. "Who tied -you?" - -"Two seoritas tie me up. Then that man take them away--and leave me here -to die. Release me! I kill him!" - -Immediately Jos knew that this must be the man who had stolen Carlitos. -"Where is the boy--Carlitos? What have you done with him?" he demanded -sharply. - -"_El jefe_ take him. Release me and I go kill _el jefe_. He no give me -the money he promised. And he leave me here for the animals to eat." - -"Did he take the seoritas to the mine?" - -"S--I think so." - -After Jos had asked him a few more questions the man promised to show -him a short cut to the mine so they could overtake the boss and his -prisoners. "I help you get the seoritas and the boy." Convinced, -finally, that the man was in earnest, Jos quickly untied the rope that -bound him and coiled it over his arm. - -A few minutes later the two men set off together down the steep, rocky -mountain side. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - A DARING PLAN - - -In spite of all Jo Ann's efforts to slow their progress down the trail, -she met with little success. Every time she slowed her horse the boss -would ride up close behind and strike her horse with his quirt. - -When the first faint rays of dawn were tingeing the eastern sky, the boss -suddenly ordered them to stop. Pointing down into a dark ravine, he -indicated by signs that they were to leave the trail and ride into it. -Involuntarily Jo Ann gasped. The steepness of the sharp descent terrified -her. Even more alarming was the thought that this was the place where he -had planned to leave them as he had the peon back in the cave. - -If Dr. Blackwell or Jos should come along this trail they never would -think of hunting down there for them. "Unless I leave some clue up here -on the trail," she told herself. - -When both Jo Ann and Florence kept repeating, "No _sabe_--no _sabe_," to -all of his commands, the boss, with an angry, "Follow me, _pronto_," -started his horse down into the ravine. He glanced over his shoulder to -see if they were following. - -In the short interval in which he was not looking at them, Jo Ann jerked -off her belt and tossed it back on the trail. "If Jos or Dr. Blackwell -sees that, they'll search all around here," she thought. - -Slipping and sliding over sharp rocks and scrubby mesquite bushes they -finally succeeded in reaching the bottom of the ravine. - -After they had ridden some distance out of sight of the trail, the boss -leaped off his horse and ordered them to follow his example. - -For an instant it seemed to Jo Ann that her heart had stopped beating; -then it began pounding away so rapidly that she had difficulty in -breathing. - -Was this to be the end? Was this silent dark ravine the spot where -Florence and Carlitos and she were to be left to die? - -As soon as they had all dismounted, the boss gestured to them to take the -saddles off their horses. - -"No _sabe_--no _sabe_," Jo Ann began repeating. - -The next instant the boss growled and raised his quirt threateningly. - -Without another protest she pulled the saddle off and then helped -Carlitos remove his. - -"_Mas pronto_," the boss kept commanding. - -As soon as they had removed the saddles, he indicated some bushes near by -under which they were to hide them; that done, he had all three tie their -horses a little farther down the ravine. - -"He's trying to cover up all trace of us," Jo Ann thought, shaking. "He -must be going to make away with us now. Poor Florence! Poor Carlitos! -What can I do? Isn't there something I can do?" - -To her amazement just then the boss gestured to them to climb back up on -the trail. What was he going to do with them now? Where was he taking -them? - -On reaching the trail he urged them on forward as fast as they could -walk. Not long afterward they came to a little rise in the trail from -which they could see in the valley below a huge white stone house -outlined against the dark gray background of the mountains. Involuntarily -the girls stopped to stare down at it in surprise. - -"Who'd ever think of seeing such a palace as that way out here!" Jo Ann -exclaimed. - -For once the boss forgot to urge them on. He pointed down proudly to the -house. "My _casa_. It cost me _mucho dinero_," he bragged, then gestured -to some tiny shacks on the mountain side. "I no live like the peons." - -"No wonder he can have such a fine house," Jo Ann thought. "He stole the -mine from Carlitos' father in the first place and makes the peons live in -little old shacks." - -By this time the boss had leaped off his horse and had tied it to a -near-by bush. He turned back to the girls and Carlitos. "Move along. -_Pronto!_" he ordered, gesturing up to a narrow path cut into the steep -mountain side. - -Jo Ann intuitively realized that this path led to the mine. A feeling of -terror swept over her again. This must be the end! He was taking them up -to the mine to make away with them there so no one would know what had -become of them. That was why he was hurrying them so fast--so he'd get -rid of them before it was daylight and the men came to work. What would -he do with them? If he left them bound as he had the peon in the cave, -some of the workmen would be sure to find them. - -A sudden thought flashed into her mind that left her panic-stricken. In -nearly all mines, she'd heard, there were old, deep unused shafts. Was it -possible that he was going to leave them in one of those old shafts? If -he did, no one in the world would ever find a trace of them. She must -fight to the very last. There must be something she could do. Dr. -Blackwell--where was he? He had said he would get here ahead of them. He -might be down there in the valley waiting for them this very minute, she -told herself. - -By this time they had reached a spot in the path directly above the -house. "One could almost throw a stone down into the patio of that house -from here," she thought. "If I could only attract the attention of -someone down there. He seems to be trying so hard to get us up here -without anyone's seeing us." - -A daring plan darted into her mind. She'd risk the boss's anger. No -matter what he did, it could not be as bad as what awaited them at the -mine. The next instant she began to put this plan into action. - -She stumbled and with a piercing shriek fell prostrate, pushing several -large stones over the edge of the trail. As they rolled down the mountain -side, loosening other stones on their way, they made a terrific crashing -noise. - -"Oh, my foot! My foot!" she groaned, grabbing her ankle. - -Florence was at her side the next moment. "Oh, Jo Ann! Are you hurt -badly?" - -Before Jo Ann could answer, the boss was standing over her, shaking his -quirt threateningly. "What you mean? You make too much noise. Move -on--_pronto_." - -Jo Ann shook her head, crying again, "My foot!" - -As he started to strike her with his quirt she turned over and began -crawling on hands and knees. - -"Oh, if only Dr. Blackwell or someone heard those rocks and would come to -our rescue," she thought. "My crawling this way will delay us some. I -wish, though, that I dared tell Florence that I'm not hurt. She's so -worried because she thinks I've really sprained my ankle." - -Every few moments she kept looking back toward the boss as an excuse to -get a view of the valley. - -"Surely, if Dr. Blackwell's down there and heard all that noise, he'd -look up here and see us," she thought. "If I don't see somebody soon, -I'll risk knocking some more stones over." She slowed her crawling pace. - -"_Mas pronto!_" came the growling command, then she felt a sharp lick -across her back. Only her thick sweater kept her from being cut by the -boss's quirt. - -In spite of this, she ventured to look around again a few moments later. -To her unbounded relief she caught a glimpse of three men on horses -riding rapidly toward the foot of the trail. They were not dressed like -Indians, she noticed. The rider ahead looked as if he might be Dr. -Blackwell. Oh, if only he were! If he could only get to them right away. -"That black hole up ahead on the path--that must be the opening to the -mine," she thought. - -Just then Carlitos exclaimed in a frightened voice, "_La mina_ [The -mine]!" - -Terrified at the sight of this black yawning hole so close above them, Jo -Ann cried out frantically, "Florence, stop! Don't go any farther." - -At her sharp command Florence halted, white-faced and trembling. The next -instant she reached out to catch hold of Carlitos. - -The boss burst forth in such a rapid flow of Spanish that neither one of -the girls could understand a word. His face was so distorted with rage -that Florence and Carlitos huddled together against the rocky wall, -frozen with fear. - -As the boss raised his quirt to strike her, Jo Ann caught a glimpse of a -white-clothed man stealthily slipping along the trail close behind him. -Instantly she recognized the man as Jos. "I must keep the boss from -knowing Jos is behind him," she thought quickly. - -"No, I won't go on!" she cried, and jumped to her feet just in time to -dodge a blow from his quirt. - -As he lurched forward to strike again, she saw a coil of rope sail -through the air and fall over his head and shoulders. The next instant -his arms were pinioned to his sides. - -Before the boss could realize what had happened, Jos and the peon sprang -forward and threw him down on the ground. With deft fingers they bound -him securely. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - THE NEW HOPE MINE - - -Everything had happened so quickly that Florence and Carlitos were still -standing motionless by the wall. - -While Jos and the peon held the boss, Jo Ann cautiously led Florence and -Carlitos past him. So fiercely was he roaring that shivers ran down their -spines. - -Jo Ann scarcely drew a long breath till all three of them were out of his -reach. Even then she was terrified for Jos and the peon. Would they be -able to get him down that narrow trail without danger to themselves? - -A few moments later, as the three rounded a curve, they saw Dr. Blackwell -running up the trail toward them. - -"Oh, Daddy! Daddy!" Florence cried. - -The next moment she was in her father's arms. - -"How thankful I am that I've found you girls and Carlitos alive!" he -exclaimed, hugging her tightly. "I was frantic when I got here and didn't -find you." - -Now that she realized that Dr. Blackwell was here and they were all safe, -Jo Ann felt such a surge of weakness creep over her that she leaned -against the wall for support. Now she could relax--all the responsibility -was the doctor's from now on. - -Just then two other men came running up the trail, one of them wearing -the uniform of a _rurale_. - -"Tell the officer to go up and help Jos and the peon," Florence told her -father. "They have the mean boss tied, but----" - -"He's so terrible--so savage, he's liable to escape yet," Jo Ann put in. -"Tell him to hurry." - -The _rurale_ hurriedly slipped past them and rushed on up the narrow -trail. - -Dr. Blackwell now turned to the tall thin man who had been standing -quietly behind him. "Girls, this is Mr. Eldridge, Carlitos' uncle. He -reached the village about the same time I did." - -Florence turned and in rapid Spanish explained to Carlitos that this was -his uncle. - -Carlitos' blue eyes widened in amazement. "My uncle!" he repeated, gazing -past them to the tall man. Slowly then the boy edged around the girls -toward his uncle. - -Mr. Eldridge reached out and took Carlitos' hand in his. "I'm so -happy--happy that I've found you at last," he said in English. "I've -searched for years for you." - -Carlitos stared blankly, not understanding a single word. Florence turned -to Carlitos and translated what his uncle had said. - -Immediately Carlitos' face began to brighten. - -"It seems terrible that my own nephew can't understand his native -language," Mr. Eldridge remarked. - -"We'd better hurry on down off this narrow trail," put in Dr. Blackwell. -He turned around and led the way down, the others following in single -file. - -As soon as they neared the great white house, Dr. Blackwell explained -that they had better go on inside and wait till the men brought the boss -down. "Mr. Eldridge wants to question him about Carlitos' father and -mother. There are also several things about the mine he'd like to find -out." - -When the girls saw the three men bringing the boss in, they slipped out -into the patio. - -"I've seen all I want to of that terrible creature," declared Jo Ann. "I -never want to lay eyes on him again." - -"Neither do I," agreed Florence. - -"Aren't you thrilled over Carlitos' finding his uncle and his prospect of -getting the mine back? Just think how his life'll be changed now! From -poverty to comfort. And now he'll have his uncle to look after him and -see that he has all the advantages he should." - -"I'm just as happy as can be over his good fortune. And Jos's and his -family's, too, because I'm sure Mr. Eldridge'll help them for taking care -of Carlitos and saving his life." - -While they were waiting, Jo Ann began to gaze about, noticing the number -of rooms, each opening onto the patio. "Isn't this a strange place? And -this is Carlitos' house now. Some contrast with the cave he's been living -in, isn't it? Let's take a look around." - -The two girls walked down the corridor to the first open door and peered -in. - -"My stars!" gasped Jo Ann. "A grand piano! What do you know about that! -And look what's tied to one of the legs--a fighting rooster!" - -"Oh yes, that man'd be sure to have some fighting roosters. Cock -fighting's one of the principal amusements down here. That's a strange -place to keep the rooster, though." - -They wandered on down to the next open door, and to Jo Ann's utter -amazement there was another piano with a rooster tied to one of the legs. - -"Am I seeing double?" she exclaimed. - -"That's typical of the peon. They're very fond of music and of cock -fighting." - -After going to three more rooms and finding three more pianos and each -with a rooster tied to it, Jo Ann exclaimed, amazed, "Is that man crazy? -That's the funniest thing I ever heard of in all my life." - -Florence was not nearly as surprised. "It's just his idea of wealth," she -explained. "Those are his most valued possessions." - -Just then Dr. Blackwell stepped out in the corridor and called to them to -come to the office. "Mr. Eldridge wants to talk to you girls," he said. - -"I hope we won't see that mean boss again," Jo Ann remarked as she and -Florence started to the office. - -On entering they glanced hurriedly about to see if he were there. - -Dr. Blackwell spoke up quickly. "The men have gone with their prisoner. -They're taking him on to the city to turn him over to the authorities -there." - -"Did you find out anything about what happened to Carlitos' father before -he left?" Jo Ann asked the doctor. - -"Yes, the peon told us that he knew that the boss had made away with him -by pushing him down into a deep unused shaft." - -"That's awful!" Jo Ann exclaimed, a look of horror in her eyes. "And -that's what he was going to do with us, too." - -"That's where we might be right now if you hadn't come to our rescue, -Dad," Florence added. "But let's don't talk about it any more. I can't -bear to think of it." - -Jo Ann caught her by the hand and led her over to Carlitos' side. "Tell -him how happy we are that his uncle has found him at last." - -As soon as Florence had translated these words to Carlitos, Mr. Eldridge -moved over closer to the three. "If it had not been for you girls, I -never would have found my boy," he said patting Carlitos' shoulder -affectionately. "You risked your lives for him, and I'll never cease to -be grateful to you. Since, with your help, we've got the mine back for -Carlitos, we want you to have a share in it. As soon as I get back to the -city I'm going to send each of you several shares of the stock." - -"Oh, thank you!" Jo Ann cried. "But we really don't deserve it." - -"That's so good of you and Carlitos," Florence added. She turned to -Carlitos then and told him how glad she and Jo Ann were to be partners -with him in his mine. "We want always to be your friends," she ended. - -"Don't forget the other seorita," Carlitos said, shining eyed. "I want -her to be a partner in my mine, too. Tell my uncle that." - -Florence turned and repeated this to Mr. Eldridge. - -He smiled back at her, then at Dr. Blackwell. "We have already arranged -for her to have some shares also. I'm going to see that Jos and his -family are well taken care of the rest of their lives, too. They have -been so good to my boy." - -"That'll be fine!" exclaimed both girls together. - -Jo Ann pressed Florence's hand. "I'm so glad! They deserve to, after all -they've been through." - -Jo Ann squeezed Florence's hand tightly, her eyes like twin stars. -"Didn't you say that Esperanza means hope? It'll mean new hope now for -Carlitos and Jos and his family--and for us too. Let's call it the New -Hope Mine from now on." - -"A grand idea!" - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original--this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---Added a list of the Mexican Mystery Series. - ---Added a Table of Contents. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mystery of Carlitos, by -Helen Randolph and Virginia Fairfax and Helen A. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - -</pre> - +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44060 ***</div> </body> </html> diff --git a/44060.txt b/44060.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 245a65d..0000000 --- a/44060.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5426 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mystery of Carlitos, by -Helen Randolph and Virginia Fairfax and Helen A. Ripley - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Mystery of Carlitos - Mexican Mystery Stories #2 - -Author: Helen Randolph - Virginia Fairfax - Helen A. Ripley - -Release Date: October 31, 2013 [EBook #44060] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY OF CARLITOS *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -[Frontispiece: _Jo Ann could see that the man and Carlitos were -still crouched around the fire._] - - - - - THE MYSTERY OF - CARLITOS - - - HELEN RANDOLPH - - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Akron, Ohio New York - - _Mexican Mystery Series_ - by Helen Randolph - - The Secret of Casa Grande - The Mystery of Carlitos - Crossed Trails in Mexico - - - Copyright, MCMXXXVI - The Saalfield Publishing Company - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. The Mysterious Blue-Eyed Boy 7 - II. Neighbors in the Cave 19 - III. An Unwelcome Visitor 33 - IV. The Cave Family Disappears 44 - V. Footprints 55 - VI. A Mysterious Light 69 - VII. The Charcoal Maker 86 - VIII. Friends at Last 100 - IX. "I'm Going to Solve the Mystery" 111 - X. A Soiled Yellowed Envelope 122 - XI. The Bear Returns 135 - XII. Jo Ann's Trophy 149 - XIII. Jose's Strange Story 161 - XIV. _The Pinata_ 171 - XV. "Carlitos--Gone!" 181 - XVI. On a Dangerous Trail 196 - XVII. A Startling Cry 206 - XVIII. Prisoners 218 - XIX. A Daring Plan 229 - XX. The New Hope Mine 239 - - - - - CHAPTER I - THE MYSTERIOUS BLUE-EYED BOY - - -Jo Ann jerked the crude, hand-made chair off the oxcart and set it down -in the shade of the thatched roof of the house. - -"Your throne's ready, Your Majesty," she called over gaily to the pale, -worn-looking Mrs. Blackwell whose daughter Florence was helping her off -the burro. - -"Whoever heard of a throne looking like that?" laughed the slender, -hazel-eyed girl beside Jo Ann. "Wait a minute." She spread a bright -rainbow-hued Mexican blanket over the chair. "Now that looks more like a -throne." - -Jo Ann nodded her dark curly bob. "You're right, Peg--as usual." She -turned to Mrs. Blackwell. "I know you're dead tired. That long automobile -trip over the rough roads was bad enough, but the ride up the mountain on -that poky donkey was worse yet." - -"Poky's the word," put in Florence, her blue eyes twinkling. "That burro, -or donkey as you call it, is all Mexican--slow but sure." - -Just as she had finished speaking, the burro flapped his ears, threw back -his head, and brayed such a knowing "heehaw" that the girls laughed -merrily and even Mrs. Blackwell smiled broadly. - -As Mrs. Blackwell dropped down in the chair, Jo Ann remarked to her, "No -queen ever had a more beautiful kingdom to look upon from her throne than -you have." - -"It's marvelous!" exclaimed Peggy as all four gazed over the far-flung -view stretching out before them: rugged, cloud-tipped mountain peaks, the -deep valley covered with tropical growth, and a gleaming, silver -waterfall to their right. - -"Gracious!" broke in Florence finally. "We'll never get the house -straightened at this rate. And will you look at that driver! I believe -he's sound asleep. He hasn't taken a single thing off the cart yet." - -As Jo Ann reluctantly turned away, she called over to Peggy, "We'll have -three or four weeks to enjoy all this beauty--let's get busy now and help -Florence straighten up the house. You just sit here, Mrs. Blackwell, and -draw in deep breaths of this invigorating air," she added. "Dr. Blackwell -said you weren't to turn your hand to do a thing." - -"You girls wait on me as if I were a complete invalid. Although I am -tired now, I know I'm going to regain my strength rapidly up here." - -While Florence gave orders in Spanish to the driver and the boy in charge -of the burros, Jo Ann and Peggy went inside the small, one-room house -which was built from stone cut from the mountain side. - -While they were waiting for the equipment to be brought in, the girls -looked about the room curiously. - -"Isn't this the queerest little house!" Peggy exclaimed. "Not a single -window in it. It's built exactly like the little adobe huts the peons -live in." - -"Florence said they bought the place from a Mexican--anyone'd know that -at a glance." Jo Ann walked over across the room to the back door and -looked outside. "This must be that funny little kitchen Florence told us -about," she said, gesturing to a small stone building about fifteen feet -beyond. - -Just then the driver sauntered in and piled some cots and bedding in the -center of the cement floor. - -Jo Ann wheeled about. "Come on, Peg, let's sweep out the house and make -up the cots. We can do that much, at least." - -By the time they had the cots made up, the Mexicans had finished -unloading and were starting off leisurely down the trail behind the -oxcart and burros. - -"Let's stop working now and eat our lunch," called Florence from the -kitchen door. "It's siesta time right now, and it'll do all of us good to -take a nap." - -Peggy grinned over at Florence. "Maybe Jo Ann'll take a siesta up here. -Remember the trouble she got into up on the roof in town during a siesta -hour?" - -"Don't worry about me this time. There's no mysterious window in this -house for me to investigate, as there was there." - -"I bet we won't be here three days before you'll find some mystery to -solve, Sherlock," teased Peggy. - -"Well, Sherlock's too hungry to look for mysteries now. Let's eat." - -"That's what I say," agreed Florence. "You girls unpack the eats while I -go to the spring for some cool water." - -After they had eaten their lunch and had their siestas, the girls worked -another hour putting down rugs, arranging gay pillows and blankets on the -cots, and making a dressing table out of a packing box. - -"Before we start straightening out things in the kitchen, I believe I'd -better go down to the goat ranch," Florence remarked. "I want to see if I -can make arrangements to get milk there every day." - -"You mean--goat's milk?" Peggy asked in dismay, stopping in the middle of -slipping a gay cretonne cover on a pillow. - -Florence's eyes twinkled roguishly. "Well, what's the matter with goat's -milk? That's what the Mexicans use. When in Mexico do as the Mexicans -do." Seeing the sick-looking expression on both Peggy's and Jo Ann's -faces, she hastened to explain: "I was just teasing. They raise the goats -for market. The natives are as fond of goat's meat as they are of the -milk. They had a cow at this ranch when we were here last year, and----" - -"Let's hope they still have that cow," put in Peggy quickly. - -"So say I," added Jo Ann emphatically. - -Florence picked up the bucket from the rough board table. "Do either of -you girls want to go with me?" - -"Jo, I know you're just dying to get out of doors and tramp a bit," Peggy -remarked. "You go with Florence, and I'll stay here with Mrs. Blackwell." - -"Fine! I'd love it." - -"We won't be gone long," Florence told her mother as she and Jo Ann -started out the door. - -A few minutes later they disappeared down a winding trail back of the -house. About halfway down the trail Jo Ann halted a moment to enjoy the -beautiful scenery. "This is the life for me!" she exclaimed. "I had a -good time in the city, but give me the outdoors. I can hardly wait to -begin exploring these mountains." - -About ten minutes later they came in sight of a little pink adobe hut -perched on a narrow ledge jutting out from the steep rocky cliff. It -looked to Jo Ann as if the hut might topple off any minute and fall into -the valley below. - -"That's the goat ranch," explained Florence. - -"The goat ranch! All I see is a hut and a stone wall. Why'd they build a -house way up there instead of in that fertile valley?" - -"I suppose it's because that steep cliff back of the hut saved them from -so much work in making an enclosure for their goats." - -"I don't see any goats. Where are they?" - -"The little goat herder takes them out every morning to graze on the -scrubby mesquite that grows on the mountain side. Goats love to climb, -you know. I've even seen one on top of an adobe hut." - -The girls followed the trail across a narrow ravine and up to the house. - -Just then several dogs began barking, and a black-eyed, olive-skinned -Mexican woman and two scantily dressed, barefooted children appeared in -the doorway. - -The next moment the woman's face lit at sight of Florence. "Florencita!" -she cried, then went on in a rapid flow of Spanish to ask her numerous -questions about her family. - -As soon as Florence had answered these questions she inquired if they -still owned the cow. - -The woman nodded assent and urged her and Jo Ann to sit down and rest -till Pablito brought the cow and she could milk. - -Florence shook her head and handing her the bucket asked if it would be -possible for her to send the milk up later by one of the children. - -"_Si_, Florencita. _Muy bien_," she agreed, smiling. - -As the girls turned to go, the woman reached down and picked a fragrant, -waxy-white flower from the jasmine growing in a pot by the door. "For -your mama," she explained, handing it to Florence. - -With a word of thanks and an "_Adios_" to her and the children, the girls -started back down the trail. - -"Let's go home the long way through the valley," suggested Florence when -they reached the ravine. "There's a cave down this way that I want to -show you." - -"Fine! The longer the way, the better. That cave sounds interesting, -too." - -Slipping and sliding down the rocky mountain side, they soon reached the -broad valley; then they followed the path around the base of the cliff, -stopping now and then to gather ferns and flowers. - -When they came to a sparkling, crystal-clear spring bubbling out from -under the rocks, Jo Ann dropped to her knees and drank thirstily of the -icy cold water. - -While Florence was drinking, Jo Ann heard a snapping of twigs near by. -She wheeled about and, peering through the bushes, saw two small boys -gathering wood. One of them was bent over by the weight of a large bundle -of the wood, held in place on his back by a rope passed across his -forehead; the other was chopping sticks with a machete, a long heavy -knife. At first glance Jo Ann thought they must be twins, as they were -dressed alike in the loose white trousers and blouse worn by the peon. - -A few minutes later the boys stepped back into the narrow trail, but on -seeing the girls they quickly moved to one side to let them pass. - -With a smile, Florence greeted the boys with the customary salutation, -"_buenos tardes_." Their little brown faces under their frayed straw -sombreros grinned back at the girls as they returned the greeting; then -they turned and went on down the trail. - -As soon as they were out of sight Jo Ann exclaimed, "That's the first -blue-eyed Mexican I've seen! I didn't know they ever had blue eyes." - -"They don't! What do you mean?" - -"Didn't you notice that one of those boys had dark-blue eyes?" - -"No." - -"Well, he did." - -"They were both dressed alike, and dirty and ragged. All I noticed was -how frail-looking the one was who had the bundle of wood on his back. I -couldn't help wondering why the other boy, who looked stronger, didn't -take part of the load." - -"That's the one with the blue eyes. Do they belong to the family at the -goat ranch?" - -"No, I've never seen them before. You must be mistaken about the boy's -having blue eyes." - -Jo Ann shook her head vigorously. "I'm positive his eyes were blue--his -features were finer too, but his face was so dirty I couldn't tell much -about them." - -Florence smiled. "You've a fine imagination, Jo--trying to find another -mystery already." - -"I didn't try to find this mystery. It bumped right into me. If that boy -lives around here, I'm going to find out more about him." - -At Jo Ann's emphatic words, Florence laughed merrily. "All right, but -don't start now. If we're going to stop at the cave, we'll have to -hurry." - - - - - CHAPTER II - NEIGHBORS IN THE CAVE - - -The two girls hurried along the trail, and a few minutes later Florence -pointed to a dark, shadowy place about fifty feet up the side of the -cliff. "There's the cave I was telling you about." - -"All I can see through the bushes is a black hole under some rocks. Can -we climb up there? I'd like to explore it." - -"Yes, there's a path leading up to it. It isn't very large and won't take -you long to look it over." - -After rounding a curve in the trail, Florence led the way up the winding -path toward the cave. - -"That's strange!" she exclaimed a moment later. "There's a burro tied -right outside the entrance. Someone must be in there." - -"And I smell smoke from a campfire, don't you?" asked Jo Ann in a low -voice as she moved over closer to Florence. "Do you suppose we'd better -go on?" - -"Yes, I think it'll be all right. If we have neighbors, I want to see -what sort of people they are." - -Just then they saw, silhouetted against the dark cave entrance, the bent -form of an old woman leaning on a stick. On coming closer the girls were -able to make out the features of a brown, wrinkled face, which was almost -hidden by the folds of the black shawl-like _rebosa_ about her head and -shoulders. - -"_Buenos tardes_," greeted Florence, then went on to explain in Spanish -that they had come up to see the cave, not knowing that it was occupied. - -While Florence was talking to the old woman, Jo Ann was peering into the -dark opening beyond. By the light of the fire in the middle of the floor -she could see a woman kneeling by a stone _metate_ grinding corn for -_tortillas_, and near by, lying on a straw mat on the floor, was a tiny -naked baby. - -Just then several little stair-step children ran to peer up at the -visitors from behind their grandmother. Jo Ann took some of the flowers -from her bouquet and offered one to each of them. With smiles spreading -over their thin, grimy faces, they reached out timidly for the flowers, -then drew back behind their grandmother again. - -"What is your name?" Jo Ann asked the largest of the children in her best -Spanish, but either the child could not understand or else she was too -timid to reply. - -Hearing a slight noise behind her, Jo Ann turned in time to see the two -boys she had noticed gathering wood. The one with the heavy burden on his -back passed on into the cave without looking around, but the other -hesitated and stared up at her curiously before disappearing into the dim -interior. In that short interval Jo Ann had an opportunity to see that -his eyes were unmistakably a deep blue; moreover, she noticed that, -although his skin was brown, it was not as dark as the other boy's and -the little girls'. - -While she was pondering over this difference, Florence reached over and -touched her on the arm. "Come on, Jo, we'd better go now. We'll come down -again sometime." - -Both girls waved good-by to the children, then started off down the -trail. "Did you notice those boys as they came in?" Jo Ann asked. "One of -them has blue eyes, just as I said." - -"I was so busy talking to the grandmother that I didn't see them till -they had passed on into the shadows. Evidently they belong to this -family." - -"Well, that blue-eyed one certainly doesn't look as if he belongs to -them. There's something strange about him. Do you suppose they live in -that cave? They didn't have a stick of furniture--not even a bed or table -or chair or anything." - -"Oh, that doesn't matter to the peons. They never sleep on a bed, and -they eat off the floor. But those people did look awfully poor. I don't -believe they had a thing for supper but those _tortillas_ the woman was -making." - -"Let's come down here tomorrow and bring them something. Those children -looked half starved to me." - -"We'll do that very thing, but if we're going to eat tonight, we'd better -be getting back to camp. Mother and Peg'll wonder what's happened to us." - -"And we haven't finished straightening up the kitchen, either," Jo Ann -sighed. "How about cooking supper in that outdoor fireplace? It's too -gorgeous up here to stay in the house any more than absolutely -necessary." - -"All right. That's what I'd planned to do anyway." - -"Isn't this the road we came up this morning?" Jo Ann asked a moment -later, as they came to a cart road winding back and forth up the steep -mountain side. - -"Yes, we're almost home. If it weren't for the trees, we could see the -house from here. There's a short cut straight up the mountain." She -pointed to a narrow path between the trees and rocks. "Since you're so -fond of climbing, we'll take that and be back at the house before you -know it." - -In a short time they arrived at the house, puffing and panting from the -exertion of their steep climb. - -"Did you--think we--were never--coming?" asked Florence, dropping down -beside her mother, who was lying on a cot out in front of the house; -then, without waiting for an answer, she asked, "Have they brought the -milk yet?" - -Her mother nodded. "Just a few minutes ago. Did you and Jo Ann have a -nice walk?" - -"Yes, indeed! It seemed so good to be tramping over the mountains again." -Florence smiled. "I had to recount the family history from A to Z to the -woman at the goat ranch, and she said it gave her much sorrow to learn of -your illness. She and all the children'll probably be up to see you -tomorrow. Here's a jasmine she sent you--we picked the fern down by a -spring." She sniffed the fragrant perfume a moment, then handed the -dainty spray to her mother. - -"And while we were at the spring," put in Jo Ann, "we saw two little -Mexican boys gathering wood; and I'm sure one of them had blue eyes." - -"Yes, Jo thinks she's on the trail of another mystery," laughed Florence. - -"Oh dear," sighed Peggy with a roguish twinkle in her eyes. "I told you -we wouldn't be here three days before she'd find a mystery, and here it's -hardly been that many hours." - -"Then, when we were at the cave," Jo Ann went on, unruffled by Peggy's -teasing, "the boys came in, and I got a good look at that one's eyes, and -they were blue--a deep, deep blue--bluer than yours, Florence." - -"Well, what's your solution?" grinned Peggy. "Has your blue-eyed boy been -kidnaped, or is he a prince in disguise?" - -"I'll tell you later. Give me a little time, and I'll find out. Florence -and I are going down to the cave tomorrow to carry some food to those -children--there were several thin, dirty, half-starved little ones there. -Come along, Peg, and if that boy is there, you can see for yourself that -his eyes are blue. I hope he is--I want to prove to you and Florence that -I'm not color blind." - -"I'm 'most as hungry as those children looked," put in Florence. "Let's -get supper." - -Jo Ann sprang up. "I'm a swell fire-builder. I'll build the fire this -minute--in the outdoor fireplace." - -"No, you won't. I've beat you to it," laughed Peggy. - -As they went through the house, Jo Ann noticed that a gay red-and-white -checked cloth had been spread on the table and places set for four. "You -have been busy, haven't you?" she said motioning toward the table. - -"Sure. Mrs. Blackwell told me what to do with things, and I've -straightened up the kitchen and put some rice on to cook for supper." - -Just as they reached the kitchen door, Florence came up and slipped her -arm around Peggy affectionately, "Peg, you're a grand person to have -around; Jo's been dreading straightening this kitchen all the way home." -She smiled over at Jo Ann, then went on to the kitchen and took several -articles out of a box near the door. "Here, Jo, if you'll fry the bacon -and scramble some eggs, I'll make some real Mexican _chocolate_; then if -you'll open this jar of preserves, Peg, we'll have supper ready in a -jiffy." - -"Even that won't be soon enough to suit me," laughed Jo Ann. "That climb -up the mountain and this invigorating air have made me hungry as a bear." - -In a very short time supper was ready, and as Jo Ann placed the platter -of bacon and eggs on the table, she called over to Peggy, "Catch hold of -the other end of this table and let's carry it outside. That sunset's -just too gorgeous to miss, and then Mrs. Blackwell won't have to walk so -far, either." - -Carefully Peggy and Jo Ann carried the table out in front of the house -and set it down near Mrs. Blackwell's cot; then Florence brought a chair -and placed it at the head of the table. - -"The banquet is served, Your Majesty." She turned to help her mother into -the chair. - -"No banquet hall was ever as beautiful as this." Jo Ann waved her hand -toward the deep purple valley, the gold-tipped mountain peaks, and the -rainbow-hued canopy overhead. "And listen--the music of the little -mountain folk singing their farewells to the sun!" - -"You surely have a good, imagination, Jo," commented Peggy, laughing. "It -is perfectly grand, but all I can hear is the croaking of bullfrogs." - -"Your appreciation of the beauties of nature seems to be sadly lacking." -She smiled condescendingly at Peggy, then turned to Mrs. Blackwell. "I -don't wonder that the doctor at the sanitarium, and your husband, too, -ordered you up here to recuperate after your long illness. You couldn't -help but get well here." - -Mrs. Blackwell nodded assent. "Yes, this is a wonderful place to rest. I -really begin to feel stronger already--and with three such thoughtful -girls to look after me I'm sure I shall be as well as ever in a few -weeks." - -"I'm so glad you're here with us and not 'way off there at that -sanitarium," said Florence, reaching over to squeeze her mother's hand. -"We're going to take such good care of you that you'll just have to get -well." - -Tired out from the busy, strenuous day, they lingered long over their -supper, watching the ever changing colors of the slow tropical sunset. -Carmine melted into rose, amber, violet, finally fading away into a soft -tender green. Deep purple shadows settled over the mountains as the -colors faded, and a slender crescent of a moon peeped down at them from a -star-flecked sky. - -Suddenly the spell was broken as Florence jumped to her feet. "Gracious! -I forgot all about fixing that box down at the spring to keep our milk -and butter in. Does anyone know where my flashlight is?" - -"Yes, I put it on the dressing table right beside your cot. I'll get it." -Peggy jumped up and ran inside the house. A moment later she returned -with the flashlight and handed it to Florence. - -"I'll go with you and fix the box if you'll tell me what to do," offered -Jo Ann. - -"First we'd better light some candles so we can see what we're doing," -Florence said as the three of them went into the kitchen. She dived down -into the box and brought out two tallow candles and handed them to Jo -Ann. "When you get those lit, Peg and I'll put the milk and butter in -jars." - -"What'll I do with them now I've got them lit, Florence--hold them?" -grinned Jo Ann a moment later, holding a lighted candle in each hand. - -"Stick them on these lids and put them on the table. Here's the box I'd -planned to use. We'll put the things in it and then carry it down to the -spring." - -"The spring! Do you mean that spring where we saw the two boys--my -blue-eyed boy?" Jo Ann asked. - -"Of course not, silly. I mean the spring back of the house where we get -our drinking water. There're springs all over these mountains." - -They placed the things in the box, then, with Florence leading the way -with the flashlight, they carried it to the near-by spring. - -After they had moved several stones aside, they placed the jars of milk -and butter in the icy water, placed the package of bacon on top of the -jars and then turned the box over all. - -"Pile some stones around the box and put this big one on top, and then -our refrigerator'll be fixed," Florence said. - -As soon as they returned to the house and had washed the dishes, they -began getting ready for bed. - -"I didn't realize how tired I was till now. I won't need any rocking -tonight, I'm sure," Jo Ann said as she crawled under the blankets. - -Her thoughts drifted back to the blue-eyed boy. Who was he, and why was -he with those peons? There must be some mystery back of it all. Could it -be possible that he had been kidnaped as Peggy had jokingly suggested? -"I'm going down there early tomorrow morning and find out more about it," -she told herself before dropping off to sleep. - - - - - CHAPTER III - AN UNWELCOME VISITOR - - -When Jo Ann opened her eyes the next morning, the sun was already shining -through the open doorway. She lay still a moment and tried to think why -she had wanted to get up early. What had she planned to do? Then it all -came back to her. She was going down to the cave to find out more about -the blue-eyed boy. - -She threw back the covers and sprang up quickly, but the next moment she -dropped back with a stifled groan. - -"What's the matter, Jo?" whispered Peggy. "You're not stiff or sore, are -you?" - -"Oh no--of course not! I just groaned for the fun of it." - -"That's the reason I didn't want to go with you girls down to the goat -ranch yesterday. I knew I wouldn't be able to move today if I did. I'm -going to take my climbing in smaller doses, so it won't be so painful." - -Just then they heard a groan from the other end of the room, and both -girls raised up on their elbows to look over at Florence. - -"Are you sore too?" Jo Ann called out loud when she saw that Mrs. -Blackwell was also awake now. - -"I'll say I am! It's agony to move. We'll have to climb some more today -to get limbered up." - -"That's exactly what we're going to do just as soon as breakfast's over. -You remember we planned to take some food to those children down at the -cave. I want to show you and Peggy my blue-eyed boy, too." - -Peggy laughed. "I surely hope you get to satisfy your curiosity about -him--we won't have a minute's peace till you do." - -"Well, if we're going down there this morning, we'd better roll out." -Florence screwed up her face and began slowly crawling out of bed. - -Peggy smiled at the ridiculous contortions Jo Ann and Florence went -through as they got up and began dressing. - -Finally Jo Ann picked up a shoe and pitched it across at her. "You will -laugh at me, will you?" she said good-naturedly. "Roll out yourself, or -I'll pour some cold water in your face." - -Jo Ann finished dressing first, and as she went out the door she called -back, "I'll make the fire while you girls finish dressing; then it won't -take us long to get breakfast." - -A few minutes later she was joined by Peggy and Florence, and all three -girls set to work getting the breakfast started. - -"I'll set the table," offered Peggy. - -"And I'll get the things from our refrigerator at the spring," added Jo -Ann, and started off stiff-legged down the path. "The walk'll help to -limber me up." - -"Jo ought to have a prize for her graceful walk," smiled Peggy as she -started into the house to set the table, while Florence went for some -wood to replenish the fire. - -A few minutes later Jo Ann came running back empty-handed, her sore -muscles forgotten. "Our food's gone--everything's gone!" she called -excitedly to Florence. - -The wood dropped from Florence's hands and sent up a shower of sparks as -it fell into the fire. "Gone!" she gasped. "Are you sure you looked in -the right place?" - -"Sure. The box's turned over, and there's nothing under it." - -By this time Peggy, hearing the excitement, rushed out of the house, and -all three girls raced back to the spring, then stood staring at the -overturned box. - -"What do you think happened?" asked Jo Ann. "Do you suppose someone stole -the things and left the box there so it'd look as if a dog had done it?" - -"I hardly think so," replied Florence thoughtfully. "There's no one up -here who'd----" She stopped abruptly. - -"Could it have been those people down at the cave who----" began Jo Ann; -then the next moment she answered her own question: "No, I know they -didn't do it. They're poor, but I don't believe they'd steal." - -Peggy looked over at Jo Ann. "How do you know? You can't prove it." - -Dropping to her knees beside the spring Jo Ann began examining the -moss-covered stones. "The moss is scraped off this rock where something -heavy stepped on it, but then we could've done that last night when we -put the things in here." - -Florence turned and started back toward the house. "It won't do any good -to stand here talking about it. Come on, we'll find something else to -cook in place of the bacon for breakfast. It's a good thing we brought -some canned milk along for an emergency, but we'll have to do without -butter for several days, till I can get some sent out from the city." - -Jo Ann ran to catch up with Peggy and Florence. "Why can't you get some -butter from the people down at the goat ranch?" she asked. - -Florence laughed. "Why, they probably wouldn't even know what I was -talking about." - -"Don't they use butter?" - -"No, the peons never use it." - -"Well, then, let's get extra milk and make it ourselves." - -"How? We haven't a churn." - -"I've seen my mother make butter by stirring the cream in a bowl or jar," -Jo Ann explained. - -Just then they reached the house, and all three ran on inside and began -telling Mrs. Blackwell of their loss. - -"Mrs. Blackwell, what is your opinion about the mysterious visitor--was -he man or beast?" asked Jo Ann finally. - -"I couldn't say, of course, but it seems to me an animal would hardly -carry off the glass jars of milk and butter." - -Jo Ann stared at Mrs. Blackwell a moment. "I hadn't thought of that," she -said, then turned and went on outside. - -Peggy glanced over at Florence. "Everything seems to point to those -people as the guilty parties, doesn't it? Jo hates to admit it, though." - -"Oh well, it wasn't much, and anyway, we can't prove that they are the -guilty ones. Let's forget about it and see what we can find for -breakfast." She got up and went out in the kitchen with Jo Ann. - -A few minutes later Peggy joined them, and before long they had the -emergency breakfast ready: coffee, dry cereal with canned milk, batter -cakes with brown sugar syrup, and oranges. - -"This isn't half bad, if you ask me," bragged Peggy as they sat down to -the table. - -Jo Ann grinned. "Just see who fixed it! Why, we're the best cooks for -miles around." - -"That isn't saying much, is it?" smiled Florence, then all four laughed -merrily as they caught Florence's hidden meaning. - -As soon as the breakfast things were cleared away and the house -straightened up, Jo Ann asked, "Florence, do you and Peg still want to go -down to the cave with me?" - -"Why, of course. Come on, let's see what we can find to carry to those -children." - -The three girls hastened to the kitchen, and Florence began searching -through the provision box for something to take to the children at the -cave. - -"Here're some _frijoles_--that's their principal food, and I know they'll -like them. We'll put in some rice, and with these onions and garlic and -this can of tomatoes they can make _sopa de aroz_--a kind of stew." As -Florence handed the things to Jo Ann and Peggy, they packed them in a -split-cane basket. - -She looked about the kitchen a moment, then reached over on the table and -picked up a bag of oranges and handed it to Jo Ann. "Here're some -oranges. They ought to have some fruit, too. There're only half a dozen -in there, but that'll be enough for each of the children to have one -apiece. Let's take these batter cakes we had left from breakfast. They'll -love them. They'll think they're some kind of a cake. We'll put in this -cone of brown sugar and tell the woman how to make syrup--but they'll -very likely eat the sugar as it is, thinking it's candy." - -"I wonder if I couldn't get milk from the goat ranch for them," put in Jo -Ann. "I'm going to see about it the next time we go down there." - -When they had finished, Jo Ann picked up the basket and followed Florence -and Peggy out on the front porch, where Mrs. Blackwell was lying in a -hammock stretched between two of the crude peeled posts supporting the -thatched roof. - -Florence leaned over to drop a kiss on her mother's pale cheek. "Do you -mind if we leave you alone for a little while? We're going down to the -cave to carry some food to those poor little children--we won't be gone -over half an hour." - -"I want to prove to Florence and Peg that I'm right about that blue-eyed -boy," added Jo Ann. "Maybe we'll be able to find out something that'll -throw some light on the mystery of his blue eyes." - -Mrs. Blackwell smiled. "You girls run along--I'll take a nap while you're -gone. I'm very glad you're adopting those children. From what you've told -me they must be badly in need of a helping hand. You see evidences of -real poverty down here among the peons, and yet, as a general thing, -they're very happy." As they started off down the trail she called, "Jo, -I wish you luck in solving the mystery of your blue-eyed boy." - -Florence and Jo Ann found it very painful going down the steep path. -Their leg muscles were still stiff and sore from their long tramp over -the mountain side the day before. They were glad when they reached the -foot of the cliff and started on a smooth wooded trail around its base. - -At the first curve they stopped to gaze across the broad valley -stretching out before them. - -"Isn't this glorious!" Jo Ann exclaimed. "We almost beat the sun up--down -here, didn't we?" - -"Yes, it wasn't much ahead of us," agreed Peggy, "and doesn't the air -smell good?" - -All three girls drew in deep breaths of the fragrant, woodsy odor of leaf -mold and dew-kissed ferns. - -A few minutes later they turned and hurried along the trail till they -reached the narrow, unused path leading up to the cave. As they came in -sight of it, Jo Ann stopped abruptly and stood staring before her. - -"What's the idea of stopping so suddenly?" Peggy demanded, as she bumped -into Jo Ann. - -"What's the matter?" chimed in Florence, crowding up behind Peggy and -trying unsuccessfully to look over their shoulders. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - THE CAVE FAMILY DISAPPEARS - - -Jo Ann pointed to the rugged arched opening before her. "Look! The -donkey's gone and there's no sign of anyone. I don't believe that -family's here now." - -Quickly all three girls walked on to the cave and stood staring inside. -With the rays of the morning sun shining directly on the entrance, they -could easily see into the farthest corners. - -"There's not a soul here!" finally ejaculated Jo Ann. "They're gone--bag -and baggage." - -"But it's strange they'd leave so suddenly," put in Florence. "They -must've left before daylight." - -Peggy stepped inside the cave and kicked the pile of ashes with her foot. -"There hasn't been a fire here for hours--these ashes are as cold as -charity." - -Jo Ann sighed as she set the basket down on the floor. "Those poor little -children won't get any of this food, after all. Isn't that a shame?" She -turned to Florence. "Do you suppose our coming here yesterday had -anything to do with their leaving so suddenly?" - -Florence shook her head. "No, I hardly think so. Now and then an Indian -family spends the night here when they're on their way farther up the -mountain." - -"If they intended to leave so early, then why were those two boys -gathering wood yesterday? They couldn't have burned all of it in such a -short time." - -Florence shook her head. "I don't know." - -"Maybe I was right, after all, about the blue-eyed boy having been -kidnaped," put in Peggy. - -Silently the three girls stared around the cave, each busy with her own -thoughts. - -A few minutes later Jo Ann reached down and picked up the basket. "Come -on, let's see if we can find which way they went. They couldn't've got -very far with the old grandmother and all those little children. Maybe we -can overtake them and give them these things--then they'll know we want -to be friends." - -In the damp earth of the narrow path they could see distinctly the prints -of bare feet and the small half-moons made by the donkey. They easily -followed the trail till they came to the rocky cart road up which they -had ridden the day before. - -Here Jo Ann and Peggy dropped to their knees and began examining the -tracks in the dust. - -"Now which way do you suppose they went?" queried Jo Ann. "These tracks -could have been made here yesterday by our donkeys and the peon driver." - -"The tracks seem to go in both directions, and they're so indistinct it'd -be impossible to follow a trail. You might as well give up, Jo." - -Florence smiled over at Jo Ann. "I believe the blue-eyed Mexican boy is -one mystery you won't be able to solve. You'll have to use your detective -ability in finding out what became of our milk and butter." She hesitated -a moment, then continued thoughtfully, "If those people followed this -road up the mountain they'd pass within about fifty feet of our box at -the spring." - -Peggy's eyes widened. "Oh, do you suppose they really did get our things, -then?" - -Jo Ann jumped quickly to her feet. "Well, since they're gone, I hope they -did get them. Those little children need the milk and butter much more -than we do--only I hate to think of their having stolen them." She -glanced down at the basket. "I wish we could have given them this -food--they need it so badly. I wanted to see that boy again, too." - -"It won't do any good to stand here in the sun talking about it," -Florence called over to Peggy and Jo Ann. "Come on. Let's drop the whole -business and go home--it's almost time to start getting dinner, anyway." - -"Maybe Mrs. Blackwell can help us explain the mystery of their sudden -departure," Jo Ann remarked as she picked up the basket and started off -behind Florence, while Peggy brought up the rear. - -The three disappointed girls began slowly climbing in single file up the -steep, narrow, winding path to the camp. Bending forward like saplings -blown by the wind, they trudged silently up the trail, Jo Ann carrying -the basket on first one arm, then the other. - -When they were within a short distance of the top of the cliff Florence -suddenly leaped backward, gasping, "Ugh! A snake!" - -She bumped against Jo Ann with such force that the basket was knocked -from her hands and rolled clattering down the mountain side. Unmindful of -the basket, Florence kept pushing Jo Ann down the narrow trail. - -The next moment Jo Ann stumbled and half fell against Peggy. -Simultaneously a terrified shriek rent the air. Jo Ann wheeled about in -time to see Peggy swaying dangerously over the outer edge of the cliff. - -With eyes dilated with horror she saw her clutch wildly at a stunted tree -growing out of the rocky ledge. The next instant Jo Ann reached out to -grab Peggy. Her fingers touched her skirt, but before she could grasp it, -the tree suddenly swayed outward over the cliff under Peggy's weight. - -Involuntarily Jo Ann shut her eyes tightly. "Oh, Peg'll be killed!" she -thought frantically. - -The snapping of branches and the crashing of rocks down the mountain side -came to her ears. Was Peg falling--falling---- - -She forced her eyelids open. Thank goodness! Peg was alive! Hanging to -the tree. But oh, that awful abyss she was hanging over! She must help -her out of that terrible plight if humanly possible. The tree might pull -out by the roots at any moment. - -"Hold on, Peg!" she cried. "We'll help you!" - -To Jo Ann's great joy, Peggy began cautiously inching her way along the -bent tree trunk. - -"Just a little nearer and I can reach you," encouraged Jo Ann. She called -over to Florence. "Grab hold of me and steady me while I pull Peg." - -Years--ages passed, it seemed to Jo Ann, as she leaned forward with -outstretched hands. The instant Peggy's feet barely touched the rocky -ledge she reached down and pulled her safely over the edge. - -With tears rolling down her cheeks, Florence threw her arms about Peggy. -"Oh, Peg, you might've been killed! And it was all my fault!" - -"Well--I--wasn't--killed." Peggy took a step backward and leaned against -the bank for support. "I--feel--shaky, though." - -"No wonder," agreed Jo Ann. "I'm wobbly-kneed, too." - -"What--in the world--got into you girls--to push that way?" - -"I saw a snake--a huge snake, right across our path, and I almost stepped -on it," answered Florence. She cupped her hands to make a circle. "He was -that big around. He was so long I couldn't see either his head or his -tail." - -Peggy uttered a little gasp of surprise. - -"You're imagining things, Florence," put in the practical Jo Ann. "You -know perfectly well there're no snakes that big--except boa constrictors -in the jungles." - -"But he was huge. I wouldn't have been so frightened by a smaller one. -I've never seen one this large here before. He must be at least eight or -ten feet long." - -A little twinkle entered Peggy's eyes. "You girls ought to be even now. -Jo insists a Mexican boy has blue eyes, and you insist you saw a huge boa -constrictor right in sight of the house." - -"If that snake's still there--and I imagine it is--I'll prove to you that -I'm right." - -Both Peggy and Jo Ann drew back slightly, and Peggy spoke up. "I, for -one, am not going back up this trail with any kind of snake--big or -little--waiting for me." - -"How're we ever going to get to the house, then?" asked Jo Ann. "Will we -have to go back down to the cart road and walk all the way around the -mountain? Why, that's miles, and in this hot sun!" - -"I think I know a place where we can manage to climb up the cliff," -Florence told them. "How about it? Want to try it?" - -"Sure," replied Jo Ann. "'Most anything'd be better than walking miles -out of the way when the house is only a few hundred yards from here." - -Florence led the way back down the trail a short distance, then began -climbing the sheer surface of the cliff. By sticking their toes in the -crevices of the rock and catching hold of the scraggly shrubs growing in -the cracks, all three finally reached the top of the cliff. - -After they had walked along the ledge for a short distance, Florence -remarked, "I think we ought to be able to see the snake from here--if -it's still there." - -Cautiously she pulled the bushes aside and peered down on the path. - -"Ugh! There he is--right in the same place!" - -Peggy and Jo Ann leaned over to look. - -"See that big black thing that looks like a log?" - -Jo Ann gasped, "Gosh! What a snake!" - -"That's the biggest one I ever saw, except in a zoo," declared Peggy, -wide-eyed. - -Florence pointed to the snake. "See those bumps in him. He's probably had -some squirrels or rabbits for his dinner and is lying there in the sun -digesting them." - -"I didn't dream there were such snakes around here," Jo Ann added. - -Before they started for the house, all three girls picked up stones and -pitched them down at the snake. When one of the stones struck him, the -huge reptile slowly disappeared over the edge of the path. - -"It's a good thing you saw it in time," said Jo Ann. "I'd hate to have -that terrible thing get after me in a place like that, where I couldn't -run." - -As they hastened across the mesa to the house, Florence remarked, "Maybe -we'd better not tell Mother how big that snake was--she'll worry every -time we're out of sight, if we do." - -"All right," Jo Ann and Peggy agreed. - - - - - CHAPTER V - FOOTPRINTS - - -When the girls neared the house they were surprised to hear several -people talking in Spanish. Perhaps the family from the cave have come up -the mountain by the cart road, Jo Ann thought, and have stopped to talk -to Mrs. Blackwell. But a moment later a shadow of disappointment crossed -her face as she recognized the woman and children from the goat ranch. - -"For a moment I thought it was those people from the cave with the -blue-eyed boy," Jo Ann said in a low voice to Peggy. - -Peggy shook her auburn head. "Forget it, Jo. There's no such luck." - -The girls exchanged greetings in Spanish with the visitors, then dropped -down on the floor beside the two little girls. Jo Ann, in her poor -Spanish, attempted to carry on a conversation with the children, while -Peggy looked on, amused. - -She was interrupted a few minutes later by Mrs. Blackwell. "Girls, Maria -says a bear carried off one of their pigs last night. Isn't that too bad? -They had them in an enclosure against the cliff just back of the house -here." - -Jo Ann jumped quickly to her feet. "I bet that's what got our things at -the spring. A bear! Why didn't we think of that before?" - -"We've never been bothered with one before," put in Florence. - -"Maria's husband, Juan, said the continued drouth up in the mountains has -caused the wild animals to come down into the valley in search of food," -Mrs. Blackwell continued. "The bear had evidently followed the river, -because they found tracks up the ravine." - -Maria, who had been watching the expression on their faces intently, now -began to shake her head and to talk rapidly in Spanish. - -"She says that bears like much the pork," translated Florence for the -girls' benefit. "She's afraid he'll come back for the rest of the pigs, -and she doesn't know what to do to keep him away." - -"What to do!" exclaimed Jo Ann. "Why, shoot him, of course." - -Mrs. Blackwell smiled. "I doubt if Juan has ever owned a gun. About the -only weapon the peon ever uses is a stiletto, and it would not be an easy -matter to kill a bear with a stiletto--or even with a machete." - -Peggy shivered as if she were cold. "I should say it wouldn't. I'd hate -to get that close to one, especially a real wild bear! It gives me the -creeps to think about it." - -"I've got a grand idea," burst out Jo Ann. "Why can't we go on a bear -hunt? We have a gun, and I can shoot." - -"I can shoot pretty good, too," added Peggy. "Daddy taught me when we -lived in the country. I killed a possum once when he got in our -henhouse." - -Jo Ann smiled. "He probably just played possum when he heard the report -of your gun, and you thought he was dead. They'll do that sometimes." - -"No, I killed him--sure enough." - -"Well, that's not like killing a bear--a real, live, wild, grizzly bear." - -"They don't have grizzly bears down here, silly." - -"How do you know they don't?" retorted Jo Ann. "Grizzlies are found in -the mountains of North America, and this is North America, isn't it? -Besides, you haven't seen his tracks." - -As the argument continued, Florence explained to Maria and the children -what it was about. The two little girls stared wide eyed at Jo Ann and -Peggy. They had never in all their lives heard of a girl's going out to -hunt a bear. They decided a gun must be one of those terrible things -which their grandmother had told them about. A stick which shot forth a -deadly fire that killed everything before it. She had warned them never -to touch a fire stick and to hide if they saw anyone with one. - -Peggy burst out just then with, "Well, young lady, you're not going on a -bear hunt without me, that's sure." - -Mrs. Blackwell stared at Jo Ann and Peggy in horrified amazement. "Girls! -What are you talking about? A bear hunt! The idea!" - -"But, Mrs. Blackwell, we wouldn't be in any danger," protested Jo Ann. -"We'd hide in a safe place and watch for the bear; then, when he came for -another pig, we'd shoot him--that's all." - -"I'm afraid, my dear, that it wouldn't be as simple as that." - -Florence, seeing the worried expression on her mother's face, changed the -subject. "The bear must've smelled the bacon, and that's the reason he -found our box at the spring. By the way, I wonder what time it is." She -got up and walked to the door. As she looked in at the clock sitting on -their improvised dressing table, she gasped, "Good gracious! I had no -idea it was so late. If we're going to have any dinner around here today, -I'll have to start the fire this very minute." - -She went on through the house toward the kitchen, Peggy and Jo Ann -following a moment later. - -"I'll build the fire, Florence," offered Jo Ann, taking the wood out of -her hands. "I'll have it burning before you and Peg get something ready -to cook on it--and I'll start it Mexican fashion, too." - -"Don't be too sure, Jo," teased Peggy. "Suppose there aren't any live -coals left?" - -"We'll see." - -Peggy and Florence disappeared into the kitchen, and Jo Ann placed her -armful of wood down beside the outdoor fireplace. She stirred the coals -left from their breakfast fire then carefully laid several small pieces -of wood over them. Leaning down, she began blowing on the coals as she -had seen the peon women do. Soon, to her delight, tiny flames began -licking at the wood. She kept on blowing a few minutes longer, then sat -back on her heels to look with satisfaction at the fire which was now -burning brightly in the fireplace. - -"When in Mexico do as the Mexicans do," she called gaily to Florence and -Peggy. "I'm getting good. I beat you, and I didn't have to use a match, -either. Now bring on your dinner." - -"You didn't beat us much. Here, put these potatoes on to boil," Peggy -replied as she handed a pot of potatoes to Jo Ann. "I used the last of -the water over them. Hadn't I better get some more?" - -Jo Ann stopped in the act of setting the pot of potatoes over the fire as -a thought suddenly flashed into her mind. "I'll get the water," she -offered quickly. She put the pot down and hurried to the kitchen for the -bucket. A moment later she disappeared down the path to the spring. - -Jo must be up to something, thought Peggy. - -When Jo Ann reached the spring, she set the bucket down on a rock and -stood gazing at the overturned box which they had so proudly called their -refrigerator the night before. If a real live bear had been the thief, -then what had he done with the jars of milk and butter? she asked -herself. "I'm going to see if I can find a clue. There ought to be tracks -somewhere around here." - -She began looking among the ferns and rocks along the bank of the river -beyond the spring in search of some sign of the marauder. Carefully she -examined every track. Here were their own tracks made the night before, -and the tiny footprints of a squirrel, but not a sign of big padded -footprints made by a large, heavy animal. - -Still unwilling to give up, she jumped from stone to stone across the -swiftly flowing stream, and began searching the opposite bank. A moment -later, with a cry of satisfaction, she dropped to her knees and began -examining some huge tracks in the soft earth. - -"It was a bear, all right!" she exclaimed out loud. "Here's where he -crossed the river--but, gee, what a big one!" Instinctively she glanced -all around as though expecting to see the bear. "I bet he smelled our -bacon and crossed right here." She began slowly jumping back over the -stones, watching for any sign left by the recent thief. - -When in midstream she caught a glimpse of a familiar-looking object a -short distance ahead. So suddenly did she stop that she lost her balance -and toppled off into the swiftly rushing stream. - -Gasping from her sudden plunge into the icy water, she scrambled back up -on the rock. "Gosh, that water's cold!" she shivered. "But since I'm -already wet I might as well go on and see if my eyes are deceiving me." - -With the water foaming about her knees, she carefully picked her way down -the stream to a large boulder hidden under an overhanging tree. Then, -reaching down, she picked up the object that had been wedged between the -boulder and the bank. - -"Just as I thought," she said to herself. "Here's our jar of butter. It -won't do anyone any good because the jar's broken and there might be -glass in the butter, but at least I have proof now that those people at -the cave didn't steal our things--I can show Florence and Peg the bear -tracks, too." - -She hastened back up the stream to the spring, and forgetting the bucket -of water she had come after, ran on to the house. So eager was she to -tell the girls of her discovery that she did not notice that her wet -skirt was flapping about her legs and the water sloshing in her shoes. - -"Why, Jo, what in the world's happened?" began Peggy as she saw the -bedraggled figure running toward her. "Did you see the bear?" - -"No, but I found his tracks! And look what else I found!" she held up the -broken jar, partly filled with butter. "I told you those people at the -cave didn't get our things." - -On hearing the noise, Florence ran from the kitchen. "What on earth----" -she began, then saw what Jo Ann was holding in her hand. "Where did you -find that?" - -While Jo Ann was explaining the details of her discovery, they heard a -slight noise behind them and, turning, saw Mrs. Blackwell standing in the -doorway. "I heard all this chatter and had to find out what it was about. -You're a real Sherlock, I see, Jo--you've solved the mystery." - -"Yes," beamed Jo Ann, "and I've proved that I was right about the people -at the cave not stealing our things." - -After they had talked a few minutes longer, Florence asked, "What'd you -do with the bucket of water, Jo? I want to make Mother's tea, so we can -have dinner." - -Jo Ann stared in blank amazement a moment, then said sheepishly, "I -forgot it. I was so excited about my discovery that I forgot all about -it. I'll bring it in a minute." - -She was off like a shot and a few minutes later returned with the bucket -of water. "I'm sorry I kept dinner waiting so long," she told them, as -she set the bucket on the table, "but I'm glad I've solved that mystery. -I'm going to solve the other one, too, before I stop." - -Peggy grinned mischievously. "Which mystery do you mean, Jo? The -disappearance of those people at the cave or the mystery of the blue-eyed -boy?" - -"Both. Just give me time." - -"Dinner's ready," Florence called shortly afterwards as she came from the -kitchen with a pot of tea, which she placed on the table beside her -mother's plate. - -"Be there in a minute," called back Jo Ann. "I'm simply starving." - -She took a plain little print dress out of her bag, then jerked off her -wet clothes. "Can I--may I--eat barefooted?" she asked in a muffled voice -as she pulled the dress over her head. "It'll take too long to put on -shoes and stockings." - -"When in Mexico do as the peons do," quoted Peggy, laughing. "That's your -motto, is it? You'll probably want to use the floor for your table and -your fingers for knives and forks, too." - -"No; I haven't any _tortillas_ to use for knife and fork as they do. Only -my feet are peon, anyway, and you can't see them under the table." Jo Ann -slipped quickly into her place at the table where the others were already -seated. - -Mrs. Blackwell laughed gaily. "You girls are as good as a tonic," she -declared a little later. "I haven't laughed so much for months. I feel -much stronger today, too. I think I'll take a short walk later on when it -gets cooler." - -Florence beamed as she leaned over and squeezed her mother's hand. "I -knew you'd get well up here. I'm going to write Daddy this very afternoon -and tell him what a good patient you are and how much better you look -already." - -"You can do that right after dinner," put in Jo Ann. "I'm going to wash -the dishes to make up for running away and leaving you and Peg to get -dinner alone. I promise to be good after this." - -"You mean till next time," laughed Florence. - -"Well, of course, when there's something important----" began Jo Ann. - -"We understand, Jo," smiled Mrs. Blackwell. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - A MYSTERIOUS LIGHT - - -As soon as they had finished eating and the girls had stacked the dishes -and carried them to the kitchen, Jo Ann turned to Florence. "Now get out -of here, young lady. I told you I was going to wash the dishes. You go -and write that letter to your father." - -She caught Florence by the shoulders and playfully pushed her out of the -kitchen and across the yard. - -"Peg, I might let you wipe the dishes if you'll promise to be good," she -told her as she returned to the kitchen. - -"That's really quite considerate of you, my dear," smilingly retorted -Peggy. "I appreciate the honor very much." - -Gay chatter accompanied the rattle and clatter of dishes as the two girls -made quick work of their dishwashing. As they worked, their conversation -drifted back to the subject of the bear and the pigs. - -"I can't imagine living out in a wild, lonesome place like this and not -owning a gun, can you, Peg?" asked Jo Ann. Without waiting for an answer -she went on: "It'd be a shame to let that old bear come back and get the -rest of those pigs when we have a gun and know how to shoot it. I'm going -down there this afternoon and look the place over. If I can find a ledge -or some place where I can be practically out of danger, I'm going to give -Mr. Bear a warmer reception than he's looking for." - -"I'm not very keen about a bear hunt myself, but if you go, I'm going -with you. I have my doubts about Mrs. Blackwell's letting us go, though." - -Jo Ann let her hands lie idly in the soapy dishwater while she pondered -over how to meet Mrs. Blackwell's objections. "I wonder," she said -finally, "if she would be willing to let us go if we get Maria's -husband--Juan--to go with us. I believe she would. I heard her say that -she thought Juan was one of the most dependable, trustworthy peons she -ever knew. We'd be safe enough if he'd go with us, because he'd have his -dagger--stiletto, I believe it's called. The Mexicans're mighty keen and -quick about using them, I've heard. Of course, no one's planning to get -at such close quarters with a bear, but if worst came to worst----" - -"Don't mention such a thing," protested Peggy. "It scares me just to -think about it. I'd run for the nearest tree." - -"You would! Don't you know that's the worst thing you could do? Never -turn your back on a bear. He's not likely to attack you, if you hold your -ground." - -"Well, if you think I'm going to stand perfectly still and let Mr. Bear -look me over and decide whether he likes nice juicy white meat as his -diet, you're mistaken. Nothing doing, Jo." - -"Don't be silly. I'd shoot him before he got near you, anyway." - -"But suppose you missed him?" - -"Quit talking such foolishness and wipe the rest of those dishes. Let's -hurry and finish in a jiffy and go on down to the enclosure where they -have the pigs and look about for the safest spot in which to wait for Mr. -Bear." - -"Well, I s'pose it won't do any harm to go down and look, but I believe -Mrs. Blackwell won't let----" - -"Don't be a wet blanket, Peg. I'm going to ask her right now, and you'll -soon see that she will." Jo Ann hastily took her hands out of the -dishwater, dried them, and then went over to the door of the bedroom. In -another moment she came back. "Mrs. Blackwell's asleep, so I'll have to -wait to ask her. Florence is sound asleep too. I'm sure Mrs. Blackwell -wouldn't object to our going down now just to look at the enclosure." - -"Do you know where it is?" - -"Not exactly, but I think I can find it. We'll follow the path down -toward the goat ranch." - -They finished the dishes and put the kitchen in order, then slipped -quietly around to the back of the house. - -"Here's the path, Peg. Follow me." Jo Ann led the way down the path she -and Florence had taken the afternoon before. - -As they neared the goat ranch Jo Ann began looking for some sign which -might lead them to the enclosure. - -"It's bound to be up this way somewhere," Jo Ann said finally. "Let's -follow this ravine a little ways." - -"But suppose we get lost." - -"We can turn around and go back, can't we?" - -They followed a narrow path leading into the cool, shady depths of a deep -ravine, a rugged, precipitous wall towering on their right. - -"What a beau-ti-ful place," breathed Peggy, a few minutes later, as they -stopped to rest and cool off. - -"Listen! Doesn't that sound to you like the roar of water?" asked Jo Ann. -"The river must not be far away." - -Both girls listened a moment. "It surely does," agreed Peggy, "but how -could that be?" - -"We must've gone around in a circle and'll come out not far from our -spring. Come on, let's see." - -They started eagerly up the steep narrow path. A moment later they were -startled by the sound of a shrill squeal above the roar of the river. - -"Oh, do you suppose the bear's after another pig?" whispered Peggy, -grabbing Jo Ann by the arm. "What'll we do?" - -"I don't know. I wish I'd brought the gun." - -"Let's go back," begged Peggy, but Jo Ann shook her head. "Wait a -minute." - -They listened intently a moment, then, to their relief, the squeals -changed to contented grunts. - -Jo Ann laughed. "Juan must be feeding the pigs, but it did frighten me -for a minute." - -A moment later they came in sight of a crude enclosure built against the -overhanging wall of the cliff. Tall poles were lashed together around a -recess in the wall, making a small circular pen. The next moment they -spied Juan working at strengthening a weak place in the wall. It appeared -impenetrable, as it was, to them, and they wondered that any animal, even -one as large as a bear, could break through such a barricade. - -Juan turned from his work as he saw the girls approaching. After the -customary salutation he went on in Spanish. "The bear very bad--very -ferocious. He like much the pig." - -Jo Ann nodded her head. "_Si, si_--but why can't we shoot him? I'll kill -him for you." - -Juan shook his head and looked puzzled, and Jo Ann realized he had not -understood a word she had said. - -She racked her brain for a way to make her meaning clear to him. Finally -she picked up a stick and, after pointing to herself, put it to her -shoulder and pretended to pull a trigger. "Pling! See! _El oso muerto_ -[The bear dead]." - -Juan smiled approval; then, jabbering rapidly, he pointed to himself and -shook his head. - -"No--not you," Jo Ann tried again, motioning to herself. "Me! See--I'll -shoot him!" - -Finally, after several attempts, she succeeded in making him understand. - -But Juan shook his head. "The Senora no like," he said. - -"I know," agreed Jo Ann, "but if you come with Peg and me"--she pointed -to each of them--"I think it'll be all right." - -For a while Peggy enjoyed watching the pantomime, interrupted now and -then with a few English and Spanish words. Never before had she seen -anyone go to so much trouble to make herself understood. Jo Ann certainly -was a determined person. - -After a little, however, Peggy became restless and began gathering some -of the dainty little ferns growing at the base of the cliff. She wandered -over to the bank of the mountain stream and stood for a few moments -watching the water as it rushed and tumbled down the rocky gorge. Then -her thoughts drifted back to the bear. She wondered if he could be hiding -somewhere near, waiting for a chance to steal another pig. - -She glanced nervously about, then called over to Jo Ann, "Aren't you -ready to go? They'll be wondering what's become of us." - -"Yes, I'm ready," Jo Ann called back. "Everything's all set for the -surprise party tonight. See that ledge up there?" She pointed to a narrow -ledge about fifteen feet straight up the side of the cliff. "That's where -you and I are going to wait for Mr. Bear. We couldn't be in any danger -there--unless you got scared and tumbled off." - -"But how're we going to get up there?" Peggy asked quickly. "I'm not a -bird or a lizard." - -"That's easy. Juan's going to cut notches in a pole for us to climb up -on," explained Jo Ann. "But come on, I've got lots to do to get ready for -tonight." - -She turned and called to Juan, "Don't you forget." - -He nodded his head vigorously to reassure her, and then she and Peggy -started down the path for home. - -"Where on earth have you girls been?" Florence called to them. - -"Exploring," Jo Ann called back. - -As soon as they reached the porch Jo Ann began talking as rapidly as her -tongue could fly, explaining about Juan's consent to help them on their -bear hunt, the ledge above the enclosure where they could wait in safety, -and the other details of her plans. She ended with a vigorous appeal to -Mrs. Blackwell: "You'll let us go, won't you, now that Juan's consented -to go with us and that we'll be in no danger? We've got to help Juan kill -that bear before he gets the rest of the pigs." - -Mrs. Blackwell was silent for several moments before answering. After -what seemed to Jo Ann to be an age, she said slowly, "If Juan'll be with -you--and if you'll promise not to take any unnecessary risks, I'll let -you two go." - -"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Blackwell. That's grand!" cried Jo Ann. - -"I'll see that Jo Ann doesn't do anything rash," put in Peggy. - -Florence smiled over at Jo Ann. "Maybe you won't be so enthusiastic by -the time that bear hugs you. I'm glad I'm going to stay here with -Mother." - -Jo Ann merely smiled back at Florence and caught Peggy by the arm. "Come -on, let's go in and get our things ready for the hunt." - -The two girls went on into the house, and Jo Ann quickly opened her bag -and took out several garments and handed them to Peggy. "We'll need these -knickers. We can't be bothered with skirts flapping about our legs -tonight," she said. - -"No, we surely can't. They'd be a terrible nuisance." - -"Get the flashlight, and I'll get the gun. This is a peach of a gun," Jo -Ann added a moment later, running her hand lovingly over the polished -surface of the stock. "I wish it were mine." - -"Why? Is it different from any other gun?" Peggy asked. - -"Different! I should say it is. It's two guns in one, a double-barrel -shotgun and a 30-30 rifle. This little barrel underneath is the rifle -barrel." She opened a box and held it out to Peggy. "See what -vicious-looking cartridges you shoot in it. They'll blow a hole clear -through that bear." - -Peggy's eyes opened wide in surprise. "I've never seen a gun like that -before." - -"I never have, either. They're very expensive. Florence said her father -ordered this one so he wouldn't have to carry two guns when he went -hunting. You see, in the mountains you never know whether you'll run into -wild turkeys or mountain lions, and with this gun you're ready for -anything. I want to get started as early as possible tonight." - -They hurried outdoors, built the fire and began preparations for supper. - -Later that evening, after the supper things were cleared away, they sat -out under the stars, watching a full round moon rise from behind the -mountain range across the valley. As it rose higher and higher the -shadows began to disappear, and soon it was almost as light as day. - -Jo Ann was very thankful for the bright moonlight. It made their daring -adventure seem a little less dangerous. Now that it was so light she -decided it was time to leave. She sprang up, saying, "I believe it's -light enough for us to see now, Peg. Come on; let's change our clothes -and get started." - -In a few more minutes two knicker-clad figures disappeared down the path. - -When they neared the deep gorge which had looked so beautiful to them -that afternoon, the girls began to feel a little nervous. They peered at -every shadow, almost expecting it to rush at them. Jo Ann held the gun -ready to throw it into position in a second. She had the safety on, but -the gun was loaded, ready to use. Peggy stayed as close behind her as she -possibly could without getting in her way. - -When they saw Juan coming to meet them they breathed a sigh of relief. He -wore the usual white trousers and loose white shirt of the peon, and they -made him look like a ghost walking in the moonlight. But Jo Ann and Peggy -were not afraid of ghosts just now. They were looking for something big -and black and terrifying. - -Jo Ann started to speak, but Juan motioned to her to be quiet. He led -them to the base of the cliff, then pointed to the crude notched pole -which he had placed against the ledge. - -A few minutes later both girls had climbed up the narrow rocky ledge and -were wriggling about trying to find a comfortable position. Statue-like -Juan took his place just below. Jo Ann held the gun across her lap, ready -to throw it into position in an instant. - -The moonlight, filtering through the trees, cast grotesque shadows on the -ground below them. Several times Jo Ann was sure she saw a dark hulk -shambling toward the enclosure, only to discover it was the shadow of a -tree swaying in the night breeze. She strained her eyes till they hurt, -trying to peer into the dark depths of the ravine from which they -expected the bear to appear. - -In the excitement of making plans for the bear hunt, Jo Ann had forgotten -about the blue-eyed boy, but now her mind drifted back to him and the -mysterious way in which he and the rest of the family had disappeared. It -was almost as though the earth had opened and swallowed them, she -thought. She went over the events of the last two days in her mind and -tried to plan some course of action. She did not intend to leave one -stone unturned that might help in solving the mystery. - -While she sat there dreaming, she was startled by a tiny stone hitting -her on the arm. She glanced around quickly and saw Peggy pointing -questioningly to the high range of mountains on their right. With -difficulty Jo Ann turned partly around on the ledge. A tiny light -flickering against the blackness of the mountains caught and held her -attention. For a moment she thought it was a star falling; then she -noticed that it did not move. What could it be? She looked at Peggy and -shook her head to indicate that she did not know what it was. - -For a while they watched the light. There was something mysterious about -the way it flared up brightly then almost flickered out, only to brighten -up again. That could not be a campfire, she decided. Florence had said no -one lived up on the side of that mountain. It was too wild for -habitation. At that distance a tiny campfire could scarcely be seen. - -Suddenly a thought flashed through her mind. It was a signal light. -Someone was trying to send a message across the valley. Perhaps the -blue-eyed boy _had_ been kidnaped, after all, and that was why the family -had disappeared so suddenly. - -She turned to tell this to Peggy, then realized she must not talk. The -next instant she was half ashamed for being so suspicious. If that boy -had been kidnaped, she felt sure those people had not done it--they were -merely tools in the employ of someone else, she decided. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - THE CHARCOAL MAKER - - -Peggy and Jo Ann continued to wait silently for the stealthy appearance -of the bear. Myriads of tiny stars winked down at them as they watched -the full round moon sail slowly across the deep sapphire sky. Now and -then the chirp of a near-by cricket or the croak of a frog could be heard -above the constant splashing of the river. - -In their hasty preparations for the bear hunt they had forgotten their -sweaters, and now they shivered a little, both from excitement and the -chill mountain air. The jagged edges of the rock felt anything but -comfortable, and their muscles ached from sitting in one position so -long. Jo Ann felt dizzy from trying to watch the light high on the -mountain side and the dark shadows below her at one and the same time. -Was there some connection between this new mystery and the mystery of the -blue-eyed boy? she wondered. - -When the girls felt they could keep still no longer, Juan stepped out -from the shadows and called up to them in Spanish, "The bear no come -tonight." - -Jo Ann shook her head. "No, I don't think he's coming either. Come on, -Peg," she said, turning around on the ledge. "Let's get down and stretch -our legs." - -Stiffly the two girls scrambled down the pole and began kicking and -stretching in an effort to relax their cramped muscles. - -Juan began jabbering rapidly in Spanish, and Jo Ann stopped a moment to -listen. "The bear no have _hambre_ tonight," he told her. - -She gazed at him questioningly. "_Hombre?_ Man?" she repeated. "_No sabe_ -[I do not understand]." - -Juan shook his head and began rubbing his hand over his stomach. "No--no -_hombre_, _h-ambre_." - -Jo Ann's face broke into a smile, "Ah, _si_," she replied, then turning -to Peggy she explained: "He's trying to tell us that the bear isn't -hungry tonight." - -"I guess he's right," agreed Peggy. "Anyway, I've had enough. I'm going -to the house." - -She started off but had only gone a few steps when she realized Jo Ann -was not following. "Aren't you coming, Jo?" she called to her. - -"Yes, in a minute. I want to ask Juan about that light." Pointing to the -light, she asked, "What is it, Juan?" - -"Ah, that. It is the light of a _carbonero_." - -"But what is a _carbonero_?" she asked again. - -Juan rattled off more Spanish, but Jo Ann shook her head. - -"Oh, well, I'll ask Florence," she said to herself, then turned to follow -Peggy. "_Buenas noches_, Juan," she called back to him. "Tomorrow night -we watch again, _sabe_?" - -Juan nodded his head, "_Si_, senorita." - -The two girls hurried back to the house, and on entering they found -Florence and her mother fast asleep. They quickly slipped into their -pajamas and snuggled up under the warm blankets. Peggy, worn out from -their long vigil, soon fell asleep, but Jo Ann kept wondering about the -light. Why was it there? And why did it flare up and die down as it had? -The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that it had -something to do with the blue-eyed boy. She would climb the mountain the -next day and find the answer to these questions, she decided. If that -really was a signal light, she was going to find out what it was all -about. Finally, when the faint rose of dawn was beginning to show in the -east, Jo Ann drifted off to sleep. - -It seemed to her that she had scarcely closed her eyes when she was -conscious of someone calling, "Jo, Jo, wake up. If you want any breakfast -you'll have to hurry." - -There was a strong aroma of coffee and the clatter of dishes being placed -on the table. Jo Ann opened her eyes and stared around in surprise as she -saw Peggy putting the finishing touches to the breakfast table and -Florence helping her mother to her chair. - -She sprang quickly out of bed. "Why didn't you wake me sooner? I didn't -mean to sleep so late. I don't know what made me----" - -She stopped suddenly. The events of the night before flashed through her -mind: the bear hunt, the mysterious light, the trip of investigation she -had planned up the mountain. If she were to accomplish all she wanted to -do today, she had no time to waste. - -After a brief sketchy toilet, she slipped into her place at the table and -began eating rapidly, scarcely conscious of the food she was putting into -her mouth. In spite of Peggy's and Florence's pointed remarks, she ate in -unruffled silence, her mind apparently a million miles away. "Jo's on the -trail of another mystery," Peggy laughingly remarked to Florence and Mrs. -Blackwell. - -Just then Jo Ann looked up and asked, "What does _carbonero_ mean, -Florence?" - -"A maker of charcoal." Florence smiled. "I know why you're asking that -question. Peggy told me all about your mysterious light and how you -killed the big bad bear." She laughed teasingly, then added, "That light -was just from a charcoal maker's fire." Jo Ann felt a wave of -disappointment sweep over her. She had been so sure there was some -mystery about the light and that it would lead her to the blue-eyed boy, -and now Florence said it was only the light of a charcoal maker's fire. -"Every now and then an Indian family will go up in the mountains and stay -there several days to make charcoal; then they carry it to the villages -to sell." - -At these words a sudden new idea leaped into Jo Ann's mind. It was so -simple that she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. - -"Girls, I believe I've solved the mystery!" she exclaimed. "That Mexican -family of the cave have gone up there on the mountain to make charcoal. -I'm on their trail again." - -"I shouldn't wonder but that you're right," agreed Florence. "That would -explain why those two boys were gathering wood the other afternoon. They -were going to use it to make charcoal." - -Jo Ann burst out impulsively, "I'm going up there on the mountain and see -if that really is our family of the cave. Who wants to go with me?" - -"I think you're probably going on a wild-goose chase, but I'll go with -you," Florence replied. "It'll not be any easy matter to locate the -family, even if we can see the smoke from their fire." She turned to her -mother, "You don't object, do you, if we go up there?" - -Mrs. Blackwell hesitated a moment, then answered, "Oh, I think it'll be -all right for you to go if you'll be very careful and be back before -dark." She smiled over at Jo Ann. "I know you'll never be satisfied till -you find out if your blue-eyed boy's up there." - -"It won't take us long," Jo Ann said confidently. "That light didn't look -as if it were very far away." - -Florence and her mother exchanged amused glances, and then Florence -remarked, "We'd better take some lunch with us. It's lots farther than -you think, Jo." - -"I'm not going," spoke up Peggy. "I'm going to stay here with Mrs. -Blackwell." - -Jo Ann sprang up from the table. "Well, let's get busy this minute and -get our work done and get started." She began stacking the dishes -hurriedly. - -A few minutes later she was washing the dishes so vigorously that -Florence prophesied there wouldn't be enough left unbroken to set the -table for supper. In a surprisingly short time they had finished the -dishes, packed the lunch, and were ready to start. - -"I believe I'll carry the gun along," Jo Ann remarked. "We might see a -rabbit or squirrel--or something." - -Soon the two girls were winding their way up a donkey trail that led up -the mountain side. From the very first they kept stopping now and then to -scan the mountain for the smoke from the charcoal maker's fire. - -Finally Jo Ann cried triumphantly, "I see it! Look, right up there!" - -"Yes, that's it!" - -Both girls began searching for a path leading toward the spiral of smoke. - -"I know they couldn't have climbed up this steep place," Jo Ann remarked. -"They'd have had to be human flies to do that. That old grandmother and -the little children couldn't possibly have made it up here." - -"Well, the only thing to do is to follow this trail a little farther and -see if we can't find some trace of the way they did go." Florence started -along the path, Jo Ann close at her heels. - -"What on earth made them go to such an outlandish place to make their -charcoal, Florence? It looks as if they could've found a much better -place." - -"Well, you see, the Indian has no way to cut his wood except with a -machete--that's just a big, long butcher knife. He hunts for the fallen -limbs and trees that don't require much chopping." - -"Believe me, if I were a charcoal maker, I'd hunt an easier place to -reach than that." - -After they had walked for some distance without noticing any sign of -another path leading up the mountain, Jo Ann called, "Say, I believe -we've gone too far. We must've missed their path. That smoke's back of us -now." - -"You're right. So it is. We'll have to turn around and go back. If we -don't find that path soon, I think we'd better go back home. The sun is -terrifically hot now." - -They began retracing their steps, searching more carefully than before. - -"That family would've been bound to leave some sort of a trail," Jo Ann -kept saying. - -When at last they reached the spot where they had first seen the smoke, -Florence said in a discouraged tone, "How about giving it up and going -back home now? I'm tired and hot." - -"Not yet," Jo Ann urged as she wiped the perspiration from her forehead. -"Let's sit down in the shade of this cliff and rest for a while, and then -we'll feel more like going on." She dropped down on the ground and leaned -back against the cool rock. - -Wearily Florence followed her example and began fanning herself with her -hat. - -After she had rested a few minutes, Jo Ann rose, saying, "I'm going to -take another look around here while you rest awhile longer." - -She wandered down the trail a short distance beyond the cliff, searching -for a place where it would be possible to climb up the mountain side. "If -we can't find their path, then I'm going to find another way to get up -there," she told herself determinedly. - -A few minutes later she started up the steep bank, steadying herself now -and then by catching hold of the scrubby bushes growing out of the -crevices of the rocks. After climbing about twenty-five or thirty feet -she found herself on a rocky ledge above the cliff. - -Her eyes suddenly began to twinkle. "I believe I'll slip around this -ledge till I'm right above Florence and drop a pebble or two on her, just -for fun." - -As she was slipping quietly along the ledge she heard a faint moaning -sound. She stopped instantly and listened. "What on earth is that? Sounds -like someone in distress. Just suppose it's a wild animal!" She strained -her ears again to listen. Once more the moaning sound floated down to her -a little more distinctly. - -"That's a human being!" she told herself excitedly. "I believe it's more -than one person. Sounds as if there must be several in distress. I wonder -if it could be that family from the cave in some kind of trouble." - -She leaned over the edge of the cliff and called down excitedly, -"Florence! Oh, Florence!" - -"Where are you?" Florence called back in a surprised voice. - -"Right over you." - -Florence stepped out hastily and stared up at Jo Ann. "How did you ever -manage to get----" - -"Did you hear that queer moaning sound a minute ago?" Jo Ann broke in. - -"Why, no--what----" - -"I believe someone's in terrible trouble. Come on up here and let's see -if we can find them. Be sure to bring the gun." - -"How can I get up there?" Florence asked hesitatingly. - -"Go down the trail a little way, and I'll show you." - -In a few minutes Jo Ann was helping to pull Florence up the bank. No -sooner had she reached the ledge than Jo Ann ejaculated, "Listen! There's -that sound again." - -Florence's eyes stretched to their widest as the cry of distress reached -her ears. - -"Mercy! That's awful," she murmured, low voiced. - -"That sound's coming from right up there!" Jo Ann pointed almost straight -above. "Come on, I believe we can get up around this way." - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - FRIENDS AT LAST - - -Jo Ann started climbing the steep bank, Florence following as closely as -possible. After they had struggled upward a short distance, Jo Ann caught -sight of a faintly marked trail which showed signs of having been used -recently. - -"Here's the way they went!" she exclaimed. "We're on the right track at -last." - -"I believe you're right, because it seems to be winding up toward that -smoke," Florence agreed. - -Just as she had finished speaking the moaning sounded again, more clearly -than ever. - -"Let's hurry!" cried Jo Ann. - -After starting up the faintly marked path, the girls were able to make -much better time. Without wasting a moment in conversation they hurried -on as fast as they could go. A few minutes later at a turn in the path -they came in sight of a crude shelter of boughs thrown up in a hurried -fashion against the steep face of rock. - -Simultaneously the piteous wailing of several voices burst upon their -ears with such heart-rending sadness that involuntarily both girls were -filled with sympathy. - -The next moment, through an open space in the shelter, Jo Ann saw the -white-clad figure of a boy stretched out on the floor. Huddled around him -were two women and several little girls, their heads bowed and their -faces almost concealed by their black _rebosas_. - -Catching Florence by the hand, Jo Ann quickly led her to the entrance of -the shack. As they stepped inside, the mourners raised startled eyes. - -Immediately the two girls recognized the two women as the mother and -grandmother they had seen in the cave. Swiftly then Jo Ann's eyes flew to -the still, white-clad figure lying on a mat on the ground. - -"He's dead!" flashed through her mind as she dropped on her knees and -placed a comforting hand on the mother's shoulder. - -Before she could think of a single Spanish word of sympathy, the poor -mother began wailing, "_A Dios!_ My son--my Pepito! He is dead!" - -Over and over she intoned this lament, along with the groaning of the -grandmother and the little girls. - -"How could that boy have died so suddenly?" Jo Ann thought. "He looked -frail and undernourished, but----" - -Her train of thought was broken by hearing Florence begin questioning the -mother. She listened intently to see if she could discover what they were -saying. She could catch only a few words now and then, but she understood -the mother to say that the boy had died that morning. He and the other -boy had gone higher up on the mountain the night before to help the -father to gather the wood and start the fire for making the charcoal. The -boy had taken sick suddenly--the father had brought him down and he had -died soon afterwards. - -Before the mother had finished speaking, Jo Ann saw Florence kneel down -beside the still figure of the boy and feel first his pulse then touch -his forehead and cheek. - -"How strange!" Jo Ann thought. "He's dead--why is she doing that?" - -The next moment Florence exclaimed, "Jo, find me a piece of glass this -instant! Hurry!" - -"Why on earth does she want a piece of glass?" Jo Ann thought, but -without stopping to question she began looking about the scantily -furnished hut. - -"There's no sign of any kind of glass here. Won't this do instead?" she -asked a moment later as she handed her a small glazed pottery mug. - -"It'll have to do. Break it--I want only a small piece." - -"Why do----" Jo Ann checked the question at the end of her tongue and -quickly broke the mug against the stone _metate_, then handed her one of -the pieces. - -Wide eyed, she watched Florence place the piece of pottery, glazed side -down, over the boy's mouth. After a short interval she saw her take it up -and examine it. - -"Look here, Jo! There's a tiny speck of moisture on this! Don't you see -it?" Florence exclaimed excitedly. - -"Yes, but----" - -"That means he's not dead! There's a fighting chance for him yet." She -turned and repeated this to the mother. - -"Let's try artificial respiration," Jo Ann put in excitedly. "I know how! -I can help you." - -Florence nodded assent as she began lifting the thin little arms up and -down, being careful to press them against his sides each time. While she -was doing this, the mother and grandmother were mumbling their prayers, -the tears rolling down their cheeks. - -After Florence had worked for several minutes, she heard sudden footsteps -back of her, then a deep voice demanding, "What are you doing? My son is -dead. Why are you disturbing him?" - -She turned about quickly and saw a dark, grimy, bearded man and behind -him the blue-eyed boy. With a gesture to Jo Ann to continue the -artificial respiration, Florence rose and began explaining why she -thought the boy was alive. She picked up the piece of pottery, saying, -"Look! I'll show you." - -Just as she was placing it over the boy's mouth, she noticed a tiny -flickering of his eyelids. "See!" she cried triumphantly, pointing to his -eyelids. "He _is_ alive!" - -A look of mingled joy and awe came over the man's face. "_Madre de Dios!_ -My son lives!" he cried. "You are an angel of mercy. You have brought him -back to life!" - -"_Si, Papa!_ They have performed a miracle!" the mother agreed, smiling -through her tears. - -Florence placed her hand over his heart, then she looked up at the -parents, saying, "His heart very bad. It is necessary that you take him -down from here immediately. It is too high up here." - -"_Si--si_, senorita. Whatever you say I will do," the father said. - -Florence and Jo Ann lifted the boy gently and placed him, head lowered -slightly, over his father's shoulder. - -As he began to shift the child into a more upright position, Florence -spoke up quickly, "No, no--you carry him like this, and the blood will -run to his head--then he will get better more quickly." - -"_Bien_," the father assented, and started down the path at the easy -rhythmical pace of the peon, Florence and Jo Ann following closely. - -When they had gone a short distance, the mother caught up with them. "I -come with my Pepito," she said. - -"Florence, what made you think that boy might not be dead?" Jo Ann asked -a moment later. - -"Daddy has told me of several cases like that one. Some people, he said, -could not stand the high altitude. That boy was frail and undernourished -to begin with, and I figured that the hard work and the high altitude -combined were too much for him." - -"How did you happen to think of putting that piece of pottery over his -mouth?" - -"Well, there's a law in this country that requires a corpse to be buried -within a few hours after death. Daddy told me that several times he has -used a piece of glass in this way to prove to the officials that a -patient was not really dead." - -"It's a blessing you knew about that. I've never seen people more -helpless in my life than those poor peons." - -"Daddy says most peons know nothing of modern medicine and are ignorant -of some of the simplest remedies." - -By this time they had reached a cool, shady spot beside a spring, and -Florence called to the father to stop. "Put him down here." - -No sooner had he laid the boy on the ground than she and Jo Ann began -bathing his face with their dampened handkerchiefs. - -"One minute, senorita. I bring you water," spoke up the father. He lined -the deep crown of his hat with large green leaves and filled it with -water, then brought it over to the girls. - -Florence dipped her hands into the water and let it drip gently on the -boy's face and neck. - -As soon as the cold water touched his face the boy's eyelids fluttered -open. - -Florence turned to the father. "Bring me more water--I want to give him a -drink." - -With a nod of assent, the man stooped down, broke off a large leaf from -an elephant's-ear plant near by and folded it into a cup which he quickly -filled with water. - -Florence then lifted the boy's head slightly and held it while Jo Ann -held the improvised cup to his lips. After she had laid him down again, -his eyes opened wider, and he stared blankly at the girls for a moment. - -Then his gaze fell upon his mother, and he murmured faintly, -"_Mi--Ma-ma!_" - -With a cry of joy, she exclaimed. "Ah, my Pepito. You have come back to -me!" - -"It is necessary that we be very careful," Florence cautioned the -parents. "The boy must not talk yet. After he rests longer, then he can -talk." - -"_Bien!_ Just as you say." The tears began to flow down the father's -cheeks again as he added in a choked voice, "If it had not been for you, -senoritas, my Pepito would have been buried. Carlitos and I were digging -his grave when you came." - -A shudder of horror swept over both girls as they realized how narrow had -been the escape from such a tragedy. - -"You must not take your little boy back up on the mountain," Florence -went on. "He will be sick again, if you do." - -"Ask him to move his family down to the cave," spoke up Jo Ann eagerly. -The thought darted through her mind, "I could find out about the -blue-eyed boy, then." - -"Good idea!" Florence replied, then translated her suggestion to the -father. - -He hesitated a moment then began haltingly, "But my charcoal----" - -The mother broke in rapidly, "You can come Up here and make your -charcoal. We will stay at the cave." - -"But--who----" A strange expression of fear passed over his face as he -glanced at the girls, then at his wife. - -She stepped over hastily to his side and began talking to him in a low -tone. - -Surprised at these strange actions, the girls looked questioningly at -each other. - -As Florence turned to see how the boy was faring, she overheard the -mother say, "It will be all right, _Papa_. These are our friends." - - - - - CHAPTER IX - "I'M GOING TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY" - - -Jo Ann, who had been watching the play of expressions on their faces -intently, now experienced a feeling of relief as she saw the father nod -and smile. - -He then addressed Florence, "_Bien._ I go bring my family. You wait -here." - -"All right," Florence agreed. - -After the father had left, Jo Ann remarked, "Now that the boy is so much -better we can take time to eat our lunch while we're waiting for the -father to bring the rest of the family down. I'm beginning to get -hungry." - -Florence glanced up at the sun and noted its position. "Why, it must be -after two o'clock! No wonder you're hungry. The suspense has been too -great for us to think of ourselves." - -"Yes, this has been the most exciting experience I've ever been through. -It does seem almost like a miracle, doesn't it?" Her gaze fell on the -boy, whose great black eyes were glancing from one face to the other. - -Florence picked up the package containing their lunch and offered some to -the mother. - -After a moment's hesitation she took out a small chocolate cake, looked -at it curiously, then bit off a tiny piece. Her face beamed. "Ah, cake! -For my Pepito." She leaned over and touched the cake to the boy's mouth. - -Florence spoke up quickly, "No, no. You eat that one. That kind very bad -for Pepito. I'll give him one of these." She picked up a graham cracker -and handed it to the mother to give to him. - -No sooner had the boy tasted the cracker than he began to eat rapidly, as -if he were very hungry. - -"I believe that child was about starved," said Jo Ann. "He must have been -weak from lack of food to begin with." - -"He's probably not had anything to eat except some cold _tortillas_ since -we saw them the other day." - -"Let's not eat another bite," said Jo Ann quickly. "Let's save the rest -of our lunch for those children. I'm hungry, but I'm not half as hungry -as they must be. I can wait to eat till we get back home." She handed the -rest of the lunch over to the mother saying, "For your children." - -"Ah, _gracias_, senoritas. You are too good," the mother said, smiling. -In a rapid flow of Spanish she began telling Florence that they had been -traveling for days and had had very little food. "When _Papa_ make the -charcoal, then we will have food." - -In the pause that followed, Florence told Jo Ann what the woman had said. - -"It's strange they came away up here to make the charcoal. It looks as if -they'd have stopped sooner," Jo Ann remarked. "Hurry up and ask her about -the blue-eyed boy, Carlitos. Ask her if he and Pepito are twins." - -The mother shook her head when Florence asked, "Which is the older -one--Carlitos?" - -"No. Pepito." - -"They don't look a bit alike." - -A strange expression passed over the woman's face; then she said slowly, -"Carlitos is not my child." - -Jo Ann caught this last remark and spoke up eagerly: "Ask her if he is -related to her family." - -When Florence obediently asked this question, the mother merely shook her -head without saying a word. - -"Ask her if his eyes aren't a deep blue, just as I said," put in Jo Ann. - -"No, I can see she doesn't want to talk about him. You can find that out -for yourself in a few minutes. He'll be coming down with the family -soon." - -"Well, believe me, I'm more convinced than ever that there is something -strange about that boy, and I'm going to solve the mystery." - -"You'll have plenty of time to do your investigating while they're back -in the cave." - -Shortly afterward they heard the clatter of the donkey's feet on the -trail, and soon the family arrived at the spring. The mother ran to meet -them and quickly divided the girls' lunch among them; then she took the -baby from the father's arms and sat down with it beside Pepito again. - -While the hungry children were eating, Jo Ann got a good look at -Carlitos's eyes. "See, Florence," she murmured. "I was right. The boy's -eyes are a beautiful deep blue." - -"Yes, you're right. His eyes are blue and his features are finely cut. -He's entirely different from the others." - -Noticing that the father was watching them closely, Florence changed the -subject by saying, "It's time we were starting home this minute if we're -going to get there before dark, as we promised." She turned to the -father. "Are you ready to start?" - -"_Si_, senorita," he replied, then stooped down quickly and picked up -Pepito, who was struggling to rise to his feet. - -In a few more minutes the long procession started down the narrow trail, -the father with Pepito at the head, and Jo Ann in the rear with Carlitos -and one of the little girls. - -Florence smiled as she noticed that Jo Ann was beside the blue-eyed boy -and trying to talk to him. - -It did not take Jo Ann long to discover that Carlitos knew no English. -"He can't be an American, then," she thought. "He's probably a German or -some other kind of a foreigner." She asked him a few questions in her -broken Spanish but, as it was very difficult for him to understand her, -she gave up trying to talk finally and turned her attention to the little -girl, who kept looking up at her adoringly. - -When at last they drew near their house, Florence pointed it out to the -father, saying, "This is where we live. We will have to leave you now. -You must be very careful with Pepito, remember. Don't let him go back up -the mountain with you." - -The man nodded a vigorous assent. "All right, senorita. We will take much -care of Pepito." - -Jo Ann spoke up eagerly just then: "Florence, tell them that we'll come -down to the cave tomorrow to see how Pepito is getting along." - -After Florence had translated this message, the two girls called, -"_Adios!_" to the family and a special one to Pepito, then hurried on to -the house. - -No sooner had they greeted Mrs. Blackwell and Peggy than they began -recounting their adventures excitedly. - -When Florence told of discovering that Pepito was still alive, both her -listeners gasped in amazement. - -"I'm so thankful you girls knew what to do and could save that boy from -being buried alive," Mrs. Blackwell said, after Jo Ann and Florence had -finished their entire story. - -"And I am, too," agreed Peggy. - -"It was a good thing we carried a lunch along with us," Jo Ann added. -"Those poor children were almost starved. They'd had hardly anything to -eat for days. You should have seen the way they gobbled up the cakes we -gave them--even Pepito." - -"If you gave your lunch to the children, you must be very hungry by this -time," Mrs. Blackwell said. - -"Oh, we are," both replied together. - -Peggy smiled. "I thought you'd be about starved, so I have supper all -ready. Maybe you'll be too excited to eat, though, Jo, since you've -discovered that there really is a mystery about the blue-eyed boy." - -"Not so you'd notice it. We'll be ready to eat as soon as we wash our -hands and faces," Jo Ann said, rising. As she started toward the door she -suddenly stopped and wheeled about. "I just thought of something! Those -poor little children won't have a thing to eat tonight or in the morning. -All their possessions were in those little bundles on the burro." - -"That's so." Florence drew a long sigh. "Well, I certainly can't enjoy my -supper knowing that they're not going to have any." She turned to Peggy. -"What have you got for supper that we can take to them?" - -"Well--I made a lot of potato salad, for one thing." - -Florence shook her head. "They wouldn't like that, I'm sure. They've -probably never tasted any." - -"Well, we know they like beans and rice and tomatoes," put in Jo Ann. "We -can take those." - -"Why not take a box of crackers, Florence?" Mrs. Blackwell suggested. -"They can eat them while they're waiting for the other things to cook." - -"All right." Florence at once began helping Jo Ann to gather up the food, -and soon the two girls were starting down the short cut to the cave. - -"Hurry up, or it'll be dark," Mrs. Blackwell called after them. - -"She needn't worry," smiled Jo Ann. "We'll step on it. We've got to go -right past where we saw that snake yesterday." - -Florence's brows drew together in a frown, but she replied determinedly, -"I'm not going to let that stop me. We can watch more closely this time. -I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have yesterday." - -"Snake or no snake, I'm not going to drop this food down the mountain as -I did my basket yesterday." - -Cautiously they made their way down the steep path. When they reached the -base of the cliff and started around toward the cave, they heard the -sound of voices. - -"There's the family," exclaimed Jo Ann. "If we run we can catch up with -them and won't have to go all the way to the cave." - -They started off at a swift pace and soon reached the little procession. - -Florence called to the mother, "Wait a minute. We've brought you some -things to eat." She and Jo Ann handed the packages to the mother and -Carlitos. - -The mother's face broke into a wide smile. "_Muchas gracias_, senoritas," -she said as she took the packages. - -The grandmother and the father also joined in thanking the girls. - -As they turned to leave, Florence remarked to the father, "We'll help to -look after the family while you go up and make your charcoal. We'll come -again tomorrow. We hope Pepito will be much better by then." - -The man's face broke into a smile. "Our friends, you are most kind. We -have much gratitude." - - - - - CHAPTER X - A SOILED YELLOWED ENVELOPE - - -The next morning, when they were at the breakfast table, Jo Ann suggested -that they go down to the goat ranch to see if they could get some milk to -take to Pepito. "Do you want to go this time, Peg?" - -"We-ell, if I thought I'd get to see your mysterious boy, I'd go." - -"I don't think you'd see him, because he and the father are going back up -the mountain to finish making their charcoal." - -"Well, I'll stay here, then. You two go on." - -After they had washed the dishes and finished their other tasks, Florence -and Jo Ann set out toward the goat ranch, Jo Ann swinging a bucket on her -arm. - -When they came in sight of the little pink adobe house, Florence -remarked, "While we're here getting the milk, I believe I'll see if I can -buy some corn to take to the cave family for their _tortillas_." - -"Good idea," approved Jo Ann. - -After they had exchanged greetings with the woman at the house, Florence -asked about the milk and corn, explaining their reason for wanting them. - -"Poor little boy," the woman exclaimed. "I give you some milk to take to -him. It is not the kind of milk you get--it's goat's milk." - -Florence explained her answers to Jo Ann, adding, "That'll suit Pepito -better, anyway. He's probably never tasted cow's milk." - -After the woman had filled the bucket and had given them several ears of -corn, they started off toward the cave. - -As they neared the cave opening, Florence remarked, "The family's here -this time. I smell food cooking. I'm glad we brought that down last -night, aren't you?" - -Jo Ann nodded an emphatic assent. - -In a few more moments they stepped into the entrance of the cave. - -The mother looked up quickly, then smiled broadly as she recognized the -girls. "Ah, good morning, friends." - -"How's Pepito this morning?" Florence asked a moment later. - -"Much better." Her face was beaming. "He ate much of the food that you -brought." - -"That's fine. We brought you some corn for your _tortillas_ and some milk -for Pepito. He must eat lots and drink much milk, then he will get -strong." - -The mother caught hold of Florence's hand, saying, "A thousand thanks, -senorita." - -With a smile of greeting to the family, Jo Ann crossed over to Pepito, -who was lying on the _petate_ beside the baby watching his grandmother -knot a long slender fiber rope. - -"What are you doing?" Jo Ann asked the grandmother curiously, after she -had talked a moment. - -"Making bags for the charcoal," she replied. - -"But how can you----" she began, then, not knowing the word for carry, -she called over to Florence, "Does she mean they're going to carry -charcoal in that thing? I should think it'd fall through such big holes." - -Florence came over beside Jo Ann and smilingly translated her question -into Spanish. - -"No, it won't fall through," Pepito replied earnestly. He raised up and -took the partly finished bag from his grandmother and held it up for Jo -Ann to see. "The charcoal is big. We pack it with much care, and it no -fall through these holes," he added, shaking his head. - -"They fasten a large bag of charcoal on each side of the burro so that -all you can see is his long ears sticking out between the bags," Florence -explained. "It looks as if the bags of charcoal were walking down the -road." - -After watching how deftly the grandmother's gnarled old hands tied the -knots in the wiry rope, Jo Ann said, "I'd like to have a hammock made -like that. Ask her, Florence, if she could make me a long strip that I -could use for a hammock. Tell her I'll buy it from her." - -"All right. You catch hold of one end of the strip and I the other, and -we'll show her exactly what you mean." - -After Florence had translated Jo Ann's request and the two girls had -demonstrated their meaning by gestures, the grandmother's brown wrinkled -face began to beam. She took the strip from them, saying, "_Si, si._ I -understand. I finish this one for you. You have been so good--you give us -back our Pepito." - -"Oh, but you need these bags for the charcoal right away," put in Jo Ann, -who had caught the meaning of the grandmother's words. "Tell her I'm not -in a hurry for the hammock. I can wait till after they sell the -charcoal." - -After Florence had passed this remark on, the grandmother replied, "I -make you one. When my son sell the charcoal, he will bring me more rope." - -After talking for a few minutes more Jo Ann remarked to Florence, "Ask -the mother something more about Carlitos, now. If he isn't their child, -ask her where they got him and what nationality he is--he doesn't -understand English." - -Florence began to laugh. "Hold on! I can't ask all of those questions at -once. I'm a little dubious about asking any at all. They don't seem to -like to talk about him." - -"Yes, I know, but I've got to find out about him." - -"We-ell, I'll see what I can find out, but I can't promise you much." - -Florence walked back to the mother, who was cooking beans over the fire -in the middle of the cave. After chatting with her awhile she tactfully -brought up the subject of Carlitos. "How long has Carlitos lived with -you?" - -"Oh, for a long time. He is as one of our family." - -"How old was he when you took him?" - -"Like Rosita over there." The mother gestured toward the smaller one of -the two little girls. - -Florence glanced over at the child, who, she judged, must be about a year -and a half old. So Carlitos had been with this family about seven years, -she thought. "Where is his mother?" she asked. - -"Ah, she died and left her baby with me. I was his nurse." - -"That was too bad. Wasn't there any relative to take him?" - -The woman shook her head. "No one." - -The thought darted through Florence's mind that perhaps after all -Carlitos was American or English. Since he had been so young when he was -taken into this family, he could not have remembered any of his native -language. - -"Was his mother an American?" she asked. - -"Yes, and she was so good to me and so beautiful. She had eyes of blue -just like Carlitos'." - -Just then Jo Ann crossed over to Florence's side. "Did I hear right? Did -she say Carlitos was an American?" - -"Yes." - -"So I was right at first about his not being a Mexican. What else did she -say?" - -Florence quickly recounted all that the mother had told her. - -When she had finished, Jo Ann said, "Well, there's something queer about -a beautiful American woman leaving her baby with an ignorant Indian -nurse. Ask her where his father is. That child's bound to have some -relatives somewhere. Looks strange to me that, as poor as this family is, -they'd keep Carlitos when they can hardly feed their own children." - -"Well, all right, I'll ask her. She doesn't seem to mind talking about -him today as much as she did yesterday." - -Florence turned to the mother. "Why did you have to keep Carlitos when -you have so many children? Where was his father?" - -The woman shook her head. "I don't know. He no come back." - -"Where did he go?" - -"To the mine. The beautiful American woman go every day to watch for her -husband, but he no come. It was cold, and she got sick. She had much -cough, and one day she died." - -To the girls' surprise the woman walked over to the grandmother and began -talking in a low, rapid voice. The grandmother nodded and smiled over at -the girls. - -"She said something about us, or the grandmother wouldn't have looked -over at us that way," said Jo Ann. "At least she's smiling--that's -encouraging." - -They noticed the woman go over into a dark recess, then come back -shortly. In the light of the fire they could see that she held a soiled -yellowed envelope in her hand. - -On coming closer the woman said earnestly, "You are American like his -_mama_ and _papa_. You have been good to us like they were." She touched -Florence on the cheek first, then Jo Ann. "And you are beautiful like his -_mama_." - -She held up a sealed envelope. "His _mama_ give this to me. I keep it for -Carlitos. When he get big, I give it to him." - -Florence took the envelope into her hand. She uttered a little gasp. -"Why, this is a letter! It is addressed to a man in New York." She read -the name out loud. "Mr. E. P. Eldridge." - -"Well, for Pete's sake!" exclaimed Jo Ann. "Why didn't she mail that?" - -Not stopping to listen to Jo Ann, Florence asked the woman quickly, "Is -Carlitos' name Eldridge--Carlitos Eldridge?" - -The woman hesitated a moment; then, after Florence had repeated the name -Eldridge several times, she nodded her head. "Yes, I think that was the -name. It has been many years--I forget." - -"This is a letter. Why didn't you put it in the mail?" - -The woman looked blank at this question. - -"Didn't Carlitos' mother tell you to put this in the mail?" Florence -asked. - -"No. His _mama_ speak very little Spanish. She only been in Mexico a -little time. When she was dying she give this to me and tell me, 'No let -big mean man get this.'" - -"Who was the big mean man?" Florence asked, puzzled at this new turn in -her story. - -The woman broke into a confused account which Florence later translated -to Jo Ann. "I can't make out exactly what she's talking about, but she -says some big man who had something to do with the mine was mean to -Carlitos' mother after her husband had disappeared. She said they were -all afraid of him." - -"But that's no excuse for her not mailing the letter," Jo Ann said. - -"All she understood was to keep this from that man," Florence explained. -"She'd never seen a letter before in her life. She couldn't read or -write. And the American woman couldn't explain it to her, you know. The -only other people at this mine were Indian peons like themselves, so -there was no one she could go to." - -"It's hard to realize that she didn't know what a letter was when she saw -one," Jo Ann remarked, then looked down at the envelope with renewed -interest. "I wish we dared to open this and read it, but of course we -can't do that." - -"No; the only thing for us to do is to mail it now." - -"I'm not so sure of that," Jo Ann replied quickly. "It might get lost. It -has to be carried so far before it even gets to a postoffice. Besides, -it's about seven years since this letter was written. Why not write a -letter to this address explaining the situation?" - -Florence pondered over this plan a moment, then spoke up briskly: "I have -a better idea than that. I'll write to Daddy and explain it all to him -and have him telegraph to this Mr. Eldridge in New York. That'll save -lots of time." - -"You're right, it certainly will." - -Florence turned and explained to the woman that she and Jo Ann were going -to send word to this man whose name was written on the envelope. "It may -help Carlitos," she ended. - -"Ah, you are so good to want to help Carlitos," the woman exclaimed. - -"I wish we could find something to write this address on, but we can't," -said Florence. "We must look at it very carefully so as to be sure we get -it right." - -Both girls read and reread the address, then repeated it aloud to each -other. - -"Now let's hurry and get home before we forget it," said Jo Ann. - -After a hasty "_Adios_" to the family, the two hurried out of the cave. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - THE BEAR RETURNS - - -When the girls reached the house, almost breathless from their rapid -climb, Jo Ann immediately burst out, "I was right! There is a -mystery--about the blue-eyed boy!" - -"Wait a minute, Jo," put in Florence. "Let's get that address down first -of all." She grabbed up a piece of paper and scribbled down the address, -then showed it to Jo Ann. "Is this right?" - -Jo Ann studied it carefully. "Yes, I'm sure it is." She turned back to -Peggy and Mrs. Blackwell. "That boy's an American! He's an orphan." - -"Why, I thought you said he couldn't speak English!" exclaimed Peggy. - -"I did--and he can't. He was left with this family when he was a baby, -and so naturally doesn't know anything but Spanish. This Indian woman, -Maria, was his mother's servant while she was up at the mine." - -"That sounds as if the boy must have come from a well-to-do family." - -"I'm sure he did," Jo Ann replied, and Florence added, "I gathered from -what Maria said that his father was either the owner of the mine or had -an interest in it." - -"Suppose you tell us the whole story from beginning to end, Florence," -suggested Peggy. "It sounds so unlikely that an American boy of good -family would be left with poor ignorant Indians like this." - -"I haven't got it straight in my mind either. It's a mystery all right--a -mystery that's far from being solved. I'll tell you all we found out." -Florence recounted all that Maria had told her and showed both her mother -and Peggy the piece of paper with the address which they had seen on the -envelope at the cave. - -"Jo and I think we ought to write to Daddy at once and ask him to -telegraph to this Mr. Eldridge," she ended. "What do you think of that -plan, Mother?" - -"I believe it'd be a wise thing," Mrs. Blackwell answered thoughtfully. -"It'd save a great deal of time, I'm sure." - -"I know it would. Fortunately today's the day we get our mail. I'll write -my letter right away and when the man comes, I'll give it to him to take -back. We won't get our mail again till next Tuesday--four whole days to -wait before we can hear from Daddy!" - -"He ought to have some interesting information for us by that time," put -in Jo Ann. - -While Florence busied herself with writing the letter to her father, Jo -Ann kept up a steady chatter about the mystery of the blue-eyed boy. "I'd -certainly like to find out more about that man that Maria kept calling -the 'mean man.' What reason could he have had for having been so hateful -to Carlitos' mother? From what Maria said everybody else liked her. -Another thing I want to know is why his father disappeared so suddenly -and where he went. A mystery within a mystery." - -Peggy smiled. "You ought to be satisfied this time, Jo. It'll keep you -busy for a long time if you untangle all this mix-up." - -About a half hour later, Jo Ann caught sight of a man with a big sombrero -riding a burro leisurely up the cart road toward the house. - -"Somebody's coming," she called to Florence. "Is it the man that brings -the mail?" - -Florence came running out on the porch. "Yes--that's the one. He's -bringing us some groceries, too." - -"Let's run down and meet him. I can't wait to see if I have any letters." - -The three girls tore off down the road. - -"Got any mail for us?" Florence asked on nearing the rider. - -The man nodded his head. "Ah, many letters!" - -"Give them to me," Florence cried in Spanish, then added to Peggy and Jo -Ann, "I know Mother and I'll have one from Dad." - -"And I ought to have two or three!" exclaimed Peggy. - -"Here too," added Jo Ann. - -The Indian slipped off the back of his burro and slowly began untying one -of the bundles. - -"I wish he'd hurry," grumbled Jo Ann. "He's the slowest thing I ever -saw." - -"Just have patience. You can't hurry him." - -"One thing's certain, none of the mail could've been lost out of that -bundle--it's tied so tightly," smiled Peggy. - -Finally the man handed a bunch of letters and papers to Florence, and she -sorted them out quickly and gave Peggy and Jo Ann their share; then all -three hurried back to the house. Several minutes later the man brought in -the groceries and other articles that they had ordered sent out from the -city. - -Florence gave him the letter she had just written to her father, saying, -"Be very careful--don't lose this letter. It's _very_ important." - -"_Si_, senorita, I _sabe_! I'll be careful." The man nodded, then went -back to his burro. - -As soon as the girls had finished reading their mail, they picked up -their groceries and carried them out to the kitchen. - -When Jo Ann unwrapped the butter and the bacon, she remarked, "What'll we -do with these things? We won't dare put them in our refrigerator box down -at the spring. That old bear would be sure to find them again. We've just -got to get him. I was too excited over saving Pepito yesterday to think -about anything else. But we must watch again tonight for that bear. He'll -be getting hungry by this time and'll come back for another pig. Your -mother'll let us go, won't she, Florence?" - -"I imagine so." - -"Well, if we go, I'm going to take a sweater and a cushion," spoke up -Peggy. "I got cold the other night, and it was so uncomfortable sitting -on that rough hard ledge." - -The other two began to laugh, and Jo Ann added, "Whoever heard of taking -a cushion on a bear hunt?" - -"If you get too comfortable, you'll go to sleep and tumble off the -ledge," put in Florence. "Then the bear won't have to break into the pen -for his supper." - -"Not with Jo around," Peggy laughed teasingly. "Why, she's such a good -shot she'd have the bear killed before he could take a step toward me!" - -Jo Ann grinned. "You just wait till I get a chance to demonstrate my -marksmanship, Peg. I'll show you that I am a good shot." - -"Changing the subject--what're we going to do with this butter and -bacon?" Florence queried, looking at the two packages on the table. - -"Let's don't leave the bacon in the kitchen," Peggy cut in. "The bear -might smell it and come snooping around here." - -"How about putting both the bacon and butter in jars and hiding them down -in the water under a rock?" suggested Jo Ann. "That way he could neither -smell nor see the food." - -"Good plan," approved Florence. - -"She does get a brilliant idea once in a blue moon," laughed Peggy. - -They set to work at once to carry out Jo Ann's plan and soon had the -bacon and butter safely hidden down in the stream just below the spring. - -After the girls had eaten their midday meal and washed the dishes, they -stretched out on their cots for a siesta. - -Jo Ann called over to Peggy teasingly, "Be sure to take a long nap today. -I don't want you to go to sleep and tumble off the ledge tonight. You'd -make so much noise that you'd scare the bear away, and I want to get him -tonight sure." - -"You'll need plenty of sleep yourself to keep your eyes open to watch for -him." - -Florence called over, "You both'd better stop talking and go on to sleep, -or you'll both tumble off the ledge." - -Shortly after dark that evening Peggy and Jo Ann started off toward the -enclosure where the pigs were kept. - -"We certainly need the flashlight tonight," Peggy remarked. "It's dark, -isn't it? The moon isn't up nearly so high as it was the other night." - -They had not gone far till they spied the white-clad figure of Juan -coming toward them. - -"I certainly am glad to see him," exclaimed Peggy. "I've been dreading -crossing that ravine. It's so dark and spooky down there." - -"I'm not sorry to see him myself," admitted Jo Ann. - -When Juan drew near, he motioned to them to be quiet. In a low voice he -said to Jo Ann, "I think the bear come tonight." - -"What'd he say?" asked Peggy curiously. - -"I don't know for sure, but it was something about the bear." - -Juan turned and led the way to the enclosure. As he drew near he pointed -over to it, saying something about the pigs and the bear. - -"I believe he's saying something about the pigs being restless," Jo Ann -told Peggy in a low voice. "Don't you hear them? They didn't do that way -the other night. Sometimes animals know instinctively when danger's near, -and I believe those pigs do." - -"Well, let's hurry and get up on that ledge before the bear comes," Peggy -whispered. - -They climbed up the notched pole as rapidly as they could and settled -themselves on the ledge, Jo Ann with her gun cocked, lying across her -lap. Juan remained below at the foot of the pole, as he had before. - -For what seemed an interminable time to them they sat perfectly still -waiting for the coming of the bear. Every now and then Jo Ann would fancy -that she saw a dark shadow moving below and would raise her gun, only to -discover that it was merely the shadow of a tree swaying in the breeze. -She noticed, too, that the pigs were growing more restless. "That old -bear must be prowling around near here," she thought. She leaned over and -strained her eyes to peer into the darkness of the ravine beyond the -moonlit space directly below her. - -Not long afterwards she heard a slight cracking sound. She peered -instantly in the direction from which it had come. Her eyes widened as -she saw a black shaggy head rear up above the enclosure, one paw tearing -at the poles. - -Simultaneously she heard Peggy gasp in fright. - -Jo Ann raised her gun, waiting to get a good aim before pulling the -trigger. "I mustn't miss him. I've got to kill him the first shot," she -told herself. "If I miss, he'll get back in those dark shadows, and I -can't see him then." - -Just then there was a loud crashing noise. The bear's head dropped out of -sight as he pulled out one of the poles. - -A few seconds later the bear reared up again and Jo Ann saw a long black -arm reach through the narrow opening. Just as he was jerking out another -pole she pulled the trigger. - -Almost simultaneously with the report of the gun Jo Ann heard a deep -growl, then the thud of a heavy body falling. A few moments later she was -amazed to see a dark hulk shamble off toward the darkness. - -Instantly she pulled the trigger again. "Oh, shucks! I've missed him!" -she thought. - -After the reverberations had died away she turned to Peggy. "I'm sure I -hit him. He must be wounded or he wouldn't have fallen so hard." - -"I heard him make a queer choking noise, above the squealing of the -pigs!" Peggy declared excitedly. - -Just then Juan called up, "You hit him! You hit him!" - -"_Si, si._ I think so too," Jo Ann replied. - -The three listened intently to the snapping of branches and the clatter -of loosened stones as the bear made his way up the ravine. When the -sounds finally died away, Peggy started climbing down the pole. When she -was about halfway down there sounded a loud crashing, and she hurriedly -scrambled back up the pole to the ledge. - -"I believe the bear's coming back again," she cried. - -After listening intently for a few moments, Jo Ann said, "No, I don't -think he's coming back. I believe he's wounded--badly wounded." She -called down to Juan. "Is it all right for us to come down now?" - -"_Si_, senoritas," he called back. "The bear gone." He waved his hand in -the direction of the ravine. - -The girls cautiously climbed down the pole. - -Jo Ann reloaded her gun and, holding it in readiness, she made her way -with Juan and Peggy to the hole the bear had torn in the enclosure. - -"Shine your flashlight down here, Peg," she ordered. The next moment she -exclaimed, "Oh, look, here's some blood! I knew I hit him!" - -"You certainly did!" Peggy cried. - -"_Si_, senorita, you much good!" Juan ejaculated, then began jabbering so -fast that Jo Ann could not understand a single word. He kept gesturing -toward the trickle of blood leading toward the ravine. - -Jo Ann shook her head. "Not tonight, Juan. _Manana_ we go." - -"_Si, manana_," he agreed and then set to work repairing the hole the -bear had torn in the enclosure, while Peggy held the flashlight for him. - -"I believe it'll be a long time before Mr. Bear comes back here," Jo Ann -declared in a satisfied tone. - -As soon as Juan had finished, the girls, with a "_Buenas noches_," to -him, started off toward the house. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - JO ANN'S TROPHY - - -When Jo Ann and Peggy reached the house, Florence met them at the door. -"My, I'm glad to see you!" she exclaimed. "Ever since we heard those -shots, Mother and I've been worried. Did you kill the bear?" - -"I'm not sure. I know I wounded him, because I saw the blood on the -ground," Jo Ann replied, "and I kind of believe I killed him. We heard -him shamble off up the ravine, but I don't believe he went very far." - -"Judging by that stream of blood, I feel sure he couldn't have lasted -long," Peggy added. - -"That's fine!" praised Florence. "Now Juan won't lose any more of his -pigs." - -"As soon as it's daylight, I want to follow his trail and see if I can -find him," Jo Ann said. "Peggy wants to go, too." - -"You're not going to leave me behind this time," Florence put in, -smiling. "I'm going with you." - -"O. K.," Peggy and Jo Ann agreed together, and Jo Ann added, "Whoever -wakes up first in the morning calls the other two." - -Shortly after the first faint rays of dawn had appeared the three girls -set off down to the enclosure, Jo Ann carrying the gun as before. On -reaching it they picked up the bloodstained trail and followed it up the -ravine. - -After they had gone a short distance, the trail led to the bank of the -stream. - -"Look here!" Jo Ann exclaimed. "Here's a great big spot of blood. This -must be the place where we heard him stop last night." - -Florence pointed down to the prints made by the bear's paw. "Poor thing! -He was trying to stop his wound with mud." - -Jo Ann's and Peggy's eyes widened in surprise. "I never heard of such a -thing!" declared Peggy. - -"I never did either," said Jo Ann. "I didn't know bears had that much -sense." - -"Daddy told me they did it, and he's had a good deal of experience -hunting. You can see for yourself how the bear scraped up the mud here." - -"He succeeded pretty well in stopping the flow of blood," observed Jo -Ann. "The trail isn't nearly as plain now." - -They followed the faint marks upward a short distance. Suddenly they -heard something moving just ahead of them. They stopped instantly. Jo Ann -threw the gun to her shoulder, then cautiously crept around a boulder so -she could get a better view. - -Just at that moment she saw Juan rise up to his feet. - -"Oh, Juan!" she cried. "I thought you were the bear! I nearly shot you." - -Juan did not understand a word of what Jo Ann had said, but he pointed -excitedly, "Look! Here is the bear! You killed him!" - -The three girls hurriedly climbed up beside Juan. Their eyes widened in -amazement as they saw the size of the shaggy black animal lying on the -ground before them. - -"My, isn't he immense!" gasped Florence. - -"No wonder he could tear down those poles so easily," Jo Ann remarked. - -"If I'd known he was that big I'd have been scared to death!" exclaimed -Peggy. - -Hunter-like, Jo Ann stooped down and pointed to the bullet wound in the -animal's left side. "See! Here's where my bullet came out. I hit him in -the right shoulder when he was reaching for that other pole." - -"I can breathe much more freely now that he's actually dead," put in -Peggy. - -"Isn't he a beauty," Jo Ann admired. "It's too bad I had to kill him, but -we just couldn't have him prowling around here. I'm going to have a -bearskin rug to take home with me now, to show what a good hunter I am. -Florence, I wish you'd tell Juan to skin him for me. Tell him to be -careful about skinning the feet and to be sure to leave on the claws." - -Florence quickly relayed Jo Ann's request to Juan, and he nodded assent, -"_Bien_, senoritas," and went on in a rapid flow of Spanish. - -"He wants to know if we want some of the meat," Florence translated to -the girls. - -Peggy tilted her nose disdainfully. "Bear meat! That doesn't sound good -to me." - -"I never have tasted bear steak," Jo Ann put in. "I'd like to try it, -wouldn't you, Florence?" - -"We might try a little. I'll tell him to cut us off a small piece." - -"Oh, tell him to take a great big piece to the cave family." - -"That's a fine idea!" Florence praised. "They'll have a feast. That'll -probably be the first meat they've had in many a day." - -After Florence had delivered this message to Juan and they had exclaimed -over the size of the bear again, they turned around and set off for the -house. - -When they came near they saw Mrs. Blackwell waiting for them on the -porch. - -"Oh, Mother!" Florence called. "Jo got the bear all right! You just ought -to see him. He's huge!" - -"He must've been the old granddaddy of all the bears in this part of the -country," Peggy added impressively. - -Mrs. Blackwell smiled. "Well, I'm relieved to hear that. I've been -worried every time you girls've been out of sight." - -Every now and then the rest of the day the girls' conversation would -drift back to the subject of the bear. - -The next morning, when they were eating breakfast, Jo Ann suggested that -they go down to the cave and see how the family was getting along. - -"That's a good idea," agreed Florence. "I hope they haven't let Pepito -eat too much of that bear meat." - -"We'll get to see Carlitos again, and the father, Jose," Jo Ann added. "I -have lots of questions that I want to ask Jose. I believe he can tell us -more about Carlitos than Maria could. I want to find out more about that -big mean man that she kept referring to." - -"Well, I'm going without fail this time," put in Peggy. "I want to see -that wonderful blue-eyed boy." - -"We'll hardly have time to go this morning--we got up so late. Let's have -lunch a little earlier so we'll have a long time this afternoon to stay -with the cave family," suggested Florence. - -Mrs. Blackwell spoke up, smiling: "I'm as curious as Peggy is to see the -blue-eyed boy. I wonder if you couldn't bring him up here and let me take -a look at him. I'd like to see Pepito too." - -"All right, we'll do that very thing," Jo Ann replied. - -"Pepito'll probably not be strong enough to come yet," Florence said -quickly. "We'll see how he is today, and maybe he'll be able to make the -trip up here in a few more days." - -Jo Ann's eyes began to shine. "I know what let's do! As soon as Pepito's -well enough to come, let's have a little party for the cave children and -the ones at the goat ranch." She asked hastily, "Would that disturb you -too much, Mrs. Blackwell?" - -Mrs. Blackwell shook her head. "No; I'd love to have a party for them. I -doubt if they've ever had one in all their lives." - -"I feel sure they haven't," agreed Florence, "and it'll be almost as much -fun for us as it will be for them. Don't you think so, Peggy?" - -"Indeed I do. I'm strong for the party." - -Just after they had sat down to eat their lunch, a few hours later, they -heard the clattering sound of hoofbeats coming down the road. "Listen! -That isn't a burro--sounds like a horse!" exclaimed Florence. "Who in the -world would be riding a horse around here? I'm going to see who's -coming." - -She sprang up and started to the door, the other two quickly following -her example. They had not watched long before they saw a horse and rider -appear over the edge of the mesa. - -A few minutes later Florence suddenly cried excitedly, "Why, it's Daddy!" -Off she flew down the trail, fleet as a deer, to meet him. Peggy turned -to Mrs. Blackwell and passed on the good news of Dr. Blackwell's coming. - -"Oh, I'm so glad!" ejaculated Mrs. Blackwell, her eyes sparkling. She -hurried out on the porch and waited eagerly for him and Florence. - -As soon as the first greetings had been exchanged, Dr. Blackwell gazed -down at his wife appraisingly and remarked, "How well you look! You're -recuperating much more rapidly than I'd thought possible." - -"With this invigorating mountain air and such good nurses I couldn't help -but get well in a hurry," Mrs. Blackwell replied, with a smile that -included all three girls. - -In a little break in the conversation Florence spoke up, "You're just in -time for lunch, Daddy. We had just sat down to the table. Come on before -everything gets cold." - -"I won't need a second invitation. I'm terribly hungry after that long -hot ride," Dr. Blackwell replied as he escorted his wife to the table. - -No sooner were they all seated than Jo Ann asked Dr. Blackwell, "Did you -send that telegram to that Mr. Eldridge?" - -He nodded. "Yes, I sent it, but I got word there was no one by that name -at that address." - -"Oh, that's terrible!" exclaimed Jo Ann. "I was so in hopes we could find -some of Carlitos' relatives. What'll we do now?" - -"I've already written to the chief of police to see if he can trace this -Mr. Eldridge," Dr. Blackwell replied. He smiled over at Florence. "I -couldn't make much out of part of your letter--I couldn't get the -connection between a blue-eyed boy in the poor Indian family and the man -in New York. Suppose you girls start at the beginning and tell me all you -know about them." - -Florence nodded over at Jo Ann. "It's your story. You tell it. You're the -one who discovered the blue-eyed boy and became interested in him." - -"All right." Jo Ann plunged into an account of seeing Carlitos and Pepito -the first time, then on till she came to the trip up the mountain. She -stopped and smiled over at Florence. "It's your turn now. You were the -star actor and doctor in this part of the story." - -Florence obediently took up the account where Jo Ann had broken off. - -Dr. Blackwell listened attentively to their every word, and when they had -finished he praised both girls highly, Jo Ann for her detective ability, -and Florence for her first-aid skill in saving the boy's life. "I'd like -to see this sick boy while I'm up here and give him a thorough -examination. And I certainly want to see the blue-eyed boy. I'm as -interested in his story as you are. All the time you've been talking -about this mysterious boy I've been racking my brain to recall a rumor I -heard some time ago about an American who was down here searching for a -brother whom he had not heard from for several years. I was wondering if -there could possibly be any connection between him and your story. When I -go back to the city, I'll see if I can find out anything more about this -man." - -"We'd already planned to go down to see the cave family this afternoon, -and so we'll take you with us," spoke up Florence. "It's not very far to -the cave." - -Dr. Blackwell looked over questioningly at his wife, saying, "I don't -like to go off and leave you." - -"That'll be all right," Mrs. Blackwell replied. "I always take a nap -right after lunch." She smiled and added, "Your orders, you know." - -Dr. Blackwell turned to Florence again. "I'll go with you girls while -your mother's taking her nap, but I won't stay long." - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - JOSE'S STRANGE STORY - - -A short time later the three girls and Dr. Blackwell went down to the -cave, reaching there just as the family were finishing their feast of -bear meat and the other food the girls had given them. - -"Let me go in and talk to them first and tell them who you are, Dad," -Florence murmured. - -She walked on inside and quickly explained to Jose that her father, who -was a doctor, had come down to see how Pepito was getting along. - -Jose stepped forward and politely shook hands with Dr. Blackwell; then -each member of his family timidly followed his example. - -"I'm much interested in your son Pepito," Dr. Blackwell told Jose in his -fluent Spanish. "I'd like to see if there's anything I can do to help -him." - -Jose hesitated a moment, then began apologetically, "I no have money -and----" - -With a little gesture of his hand Dr. Blackwell dismissed this objection. -"That's all right. I don't want money." - -On hearing this Jose turned and called Pepito to his side. - -Knowing the nature of the Indian so well, Dr. Blackwell realized that he -must win Pepito's confidence first before he could make a complete -examination. - -While he was busy with Pepito, Maria called the three girls to the back -of the cave. She gestured proudly to the baby lying in a rope hammock. -"See, my Pepito fix this like you say." - -Jo Ann smiled approvingly. "That was clever of Pepito to use my idea of a -charcoal bag for a hammock, wasn't it, girls?" - -"It was clever of him to fasten it to these stalactites, too," added -Peggy. "Aren't they beautiful? They're so white and sparkling back here -where the smoke hasn't reached them. Stalactites always remind me of big -icicles hanging from the roof." - -Noticing Carlitos at her side just then, Jo Ann remarked to Florence, -"Before you forget it, you'd better tell Carlitos and the other children -about the party." - -"All right." As Florence knew that the word party had no meaning for the -children she began explaining about the cakes and _dulces_ that she and -the girls would have up at the house for them. Immediately their faces -began to beam. - -"Oh, senorita, we'll be most happy to come!" Carlitos explained, acting -as spokesman for the younger children. - -As soon as Dr. Blackwell had completed the examination of Pepito, he came -over beside the girls. With the keenest interest he eyed Carlitos and -talked to him for a few minutes; then he turned to Florence and said, -"I'm going back to your mother now, but you girls may stay as long as you -like." - -"We'll be along in a little while," Florence replied. "We're not quite -ready to leave." - -After he had given the parents a few directions about caring for Pepito, -he bade them all "_Adios_" and left. - -No sooner had he gone than Jo Ann suggested to Florence that she ask Jose -about the part the big mean boss had played in Carlitos' life. "Ask him -what made that man so mean to Carlitos' mother and if he has any idea -what became of his father." - -"Well, I'll do my best, but first I want to tell Maria about Daddy's not -being able to find that Mr. Eldridge." - -After Florence had talked to Maria a few minutes, she began questioning -Jose. Jo Ann listened intently to their conversation, but Jose talked so -rapidly that she could catch only a word now and then. Finally, -discouraged, she remarked to Peggy, "Why is it that foreigners always -talk so much faster than Americans?" - -Peggy laughed. "It does sound that way, but I suppose they really don't." - -In spite of her failure to understand much, Jo Ann persisted in listening -and watching the expression on their faces. All at once she saw -Florence's eyes widen as if in surprise. "What is it, Florence?" she -broke out impulsively. "What did he tell you then?" - -Florence turned quickly. "Oh, he said this mean boss was plotting to get -rid of Carlitos! That's why he took his family away from that mine and -has been hiding up here in the mountains." - -"But why did that man want to get rid of Carlitos?" Jo Ann asked quickly. - -"I can't figure that out yet. He said that this mean boss had given -orders for all the boys who were large enough to help at the mine. Jose -and Maria sent Pepito up to work but kept Carlitos away--they were afraid -the man would mistreat him." - -"But why should this man want to mistreat Carlitos?" Jo Ann queried -curiously. - -"One reason, Jose said, was that this man had been so mean to Carlitos' -mother. They had also suspected that he'd had something to do with the -disappearance of his father and so were afraid to let him know that they -even had Carlitos. Jose said they moved 'way back up in the mountains to -keep him from finding out about Carlitos. Jose himself kept on working at -the mine, though. All went well till one day when Pepito was sick and -couldn't go to work and Carlitos slipped off to the mine and took his -place, because he was afraid the boss would beat Pepito when he -returned." - -"That man must've been a terrible creature," put in Jo Ann indignantly. -"But go on. What happened?" - -"Well, while Carlitos was working at the mine, the boss saw him and -became suspicious about him. He asked Jose all kinds of questions about -Carlitos, but Jose wouldn't answer. He just shrugged his shoulders, threw -up his hands and kept saying, 'No _sabe_.' That made the boss furious, as -well as more suspicious, and he ordered Jose to make Carlitos work all -the time thereafter. That evening, when Jose was leaving the mine, he -chanced to overhear one of the miners bragging to another about the easy -money he was going to get from the boss for kidnaping the blue-eyed boy -for him. Jose was immediately terrified, because he knew that the boy was -Carlitos." - -"Horrible!" Jo Ann ejaculated. - -Florence turned back to Jose, and after talking to him again she -translated to Jo Ann and Peggy, "Jose said on hearing this that he rushed -home and told Maria and the grandmother that they must all leave -immediately. They packed up their few possessions on the burro and left -that very night. They wandered over the mountains then till they came -here." - -"Isn't that terrible!" exclaimed Jo Ann. "That man's a demon. I feel sure -he had something to do with the disappearance of Carlitos' father. Ask -Jose, Florence, what Carlitos' father did at the mine--if he was the -owner and if this mean boss had been in his employ." - -"Well." Once more Florence translated Jo Ann's questions to Jose. All -eagerness, the two girls waited for his reply. - -This time Jo Ann was able to catch the answer. Her eyes shone with -excitement as she broke out, "That's why that mean boss wanted to get rid -of Carlitos. Carlitos is by rights the owner of the mine!" - -"You're right--he is!" Florence exclaimed. - -"Gee, Jo, you've run into a thrilling mystery this time, sure enough!" -Peggy burst out in an excited voice. - -"I feel sure this mean boss was responsible for the disappearance of -Carlitos' father, too," Jo Ann went on. "He wanted to keep the control of -the mine in his own hands. He wanted to get rid of Carlitos so there'd be -no possible chance of anyone's ever claiming the mine. Ask Jose, -Florence, how long Carlitos' father had lived at the mine--where the mine -is and what the name of it is." - -Florence nodded. "All right." - -After talking with Jose a few minutes, she explained to Jo Ann, "Don -Carlos--that's what Jose calls Carlitos' father, had come down from the -United States to inspect his mine and had been there only a short time. I -gathered from what he said that Don Carlos had not liked the way the -Mexican boss was handling things and had dismissed him. It was only a -short time after that, he said, that Don Carlos disappeared and the boss -took charge of the mine again." - -"That proves to me that the boss did steal the mine," Jo Ann said in an -emphatic tone. "Doesn't it sound that way to you, Peg?" - -"Yes, it does." Peggy shook her head dubiously and added, "You'll never -be able to unravel this mystery--it's too complicated for you." - -"Jose said it was a silver mine and that they called it La Esperanza," -Florence went on. "He couldn't tell me where it was. All he did was to -wave his hand toward the range of mountains across the valley and said it -was beyond that. He could find it himself, of course. I asked him how -they carried out the silver ore from the mine--if there weren't a -railroad near--and he looked blank and then shook his head and said they -carried it out on burros." - -"That's certainly a poky way to carry the ore," observed Jo Ann. "It -looks as if they ought to be able to build a railroad." - -"But it might be too steep for a railroad. And this is Mexico, remember. -Labor's cheaper than modern machinery. Come on, let's hurry up to the -house and talk it all over with Daddy before he leaves." - -"All right," Peggy agreed. - -As the girls started off, Florence called over her shoulder to the -children, "Don't forget to come to my house _manana_." - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - THE PINATA - - -Early the next morning the three girls began making preparations for the -party for the little Mexican children. - -"I'll make some fudge," suggested Peggy. - -"That'll be something new to them," Florence told her. "I can make some -molasses candy out of this brown sugar. Maybe they'll know what that is." - -"I think we ought to have some kind of cakes, too," put in Jo Ann. "I can -make pretty good doughnuts. Do you think the children would like them, -Florence?" - -"I'm sure they would. They won't know what they are, but they'll like -them. I doubt if these children even know what candy is. Living out in -the mountains as they have, they've probably never tasted many sweets. I -know this party will be a real treat to them and their mothers, too." - -When they had finished their cooking, Florence remarked, "Now we must -decorate the _olla_ for the _pinata_." - -Peggy smiled. "I know what an _olla_ is--it's just a big earthen water -jar, but what is a _pin_--_pin_--or whatever you called it?" - -"That's what I'm wondering, too," added Jo Ann. - -"Well, when we fill this _olla_"--she pointed to the big pottery jar on -the table--"with the candy and doughnuts and decorate the outside with -gay colors, then it'll be called a _pinata_." - -"What do you do with it then?" queried Jo Ann. - -"Hang it up by a rope and blindfold the children and let them see which -one can break it; then they all scramble for the contents." - -The girls laughed, and Peggy added, "Sounds like a lot of fun. What're we -going to decorate the _olla_ with?" - -"The only thing I can think of is to cut some colored pictures out of -magazines and paste them on it. Can you think of anything better?" - -Both girls shook their heads. - -Soon the three had selected the brightest advertisements from some -magazines and had decorated the jar till it looked quite festive. - -That afternoon, before they had finished their siestas, the guests began -to arrive. First were the children from the goat ranch with their mother; -then shortly afterwards Maria and the grandmother with their line of -little stairsteps. - -Jo Ann noticed at once that Carlitos was missing and asked Florence to -inquire about him. - -A moment later Florence explained to Jo Ann that Carlitos had gone up on -the mountain with Jose to get the charcoal. "Maria says they'll be down -later--they'll stop on their way down with the charcoal." - -"Let's wait to have the _pinata_ game till Carlitos gets here," Jo Ann -suggested to Florence. "I don't want him to miss that. Let's show them -how to play some simple game like drop the handkerchief while we're -waiting." - -Florence smiled dubiously. "We can try it, but I'm sure they've never -played it before." - -In spite of their strenuous efforts to start the game, they failed, as -the children merely stared timidly with their big black eyes, not seeming -to know how to enter into the fun. - -"These are the quietest children I've ever seen in all my life," Jo Ann -declared. "Don't they ever play, Florence?" - -"Very seldom. They work most of the time. The older ones take care of the -babies and help their mothers. I believe we'd better go ahead with the -_pinata_. It'll take them a long time to break the _olla_, and maybe -Carlitos'll be here before anyone succeeds." - -Florence blindfolded the largest one of the little girls and handed her a -stick, then turned her around several times. "Now see if you can break -the _pinata_." - -The girl took a few steps, then timidly struck out with her stick, only -to miss the _pinata_ by several feet. - -"Don't be afraid," called Pepito. "Go closer." - -Florence smiled. "No, she gets only one turn this time. You come on, -Pepito, and try." - -With his black eyes shining Pepito stepped forward to be blindfolded. Jo -Ann was delighted to see how much stronger he seemed to be and was as -pleased as he when he hit the _pinata_, even though he did not succeed in -breaking it. - -Jo Ann and Peggy clapped their hands in applause, and the little Mexican -children, thinking that was part of the game, timidly followed their -example. - -Before all of the children had had a turn in trying to hit the _pinata_, -Carlitos came running up to the porch, his hands and face streaked with -the black charcoal dust. - -Pepito pointed up to the _pinata_. "Look, Carlitos, a _pinata_! And I hit -it!" He went on rapidly to explain about the game. - -With the keenest interest the three girls watched Carlitos' face brighten -and his blue eyes sparkle bluer than ever against the black of his face. - -"I'll break it for you, Pepito," he replied confidently. - -Peggy turned to Jo Ann and Florence, smiling. "Say, Jo, your little -blue-eyed Mexican seems to have turned into a little nigger. Don't you -think you'd better introduce him to some soap and water before the -refreshments?" - -"Not a bad idea," Florence replied. "Jo, take him back and show him how -to use the soap." - -Jo Ann's eyes stretched to their widest. "Show him how to use soap! What -do you mean?" - -"He's probably never seen toilet soap before." - -"Gracious! To think of an American boy living like that--not even having -seen toilet soap!" - -After she had demonstrated to Carlitos how to wash his hands with soap, -she watched almost unbelievingly his evident delight in the white foamy -suds and its magic effect. - -"I've got to get that boy back to civilization. Something must be done -right away," she told herself. - -As soon as he had finished, they hurried back to the porch, and Florence -placed the blindfold on Carlitos. As he started toward the _pinata_ -Pepito called eagerly, "Hit it hard, Carlitos--very hard!" - -With almost uncanny accuracy, Carlitos neared the _pinata_, then struck -out vigorously. - -There was a crashing sound as the pottery vessel cracked open and the -contents scattered over the floor. - -Carlitos jerked the blindfold off, while the children uttered little -squeals of mingled excitement and delight. - -Smiling, Florence pointed to the scattered sweets. "Go get them!" she -exclaimed. - -The children needed no more urging. Straightway they began scurrying -about, their black eyes shining with delight as they picked up the candy -and cakes and tasted them. With their usual unselfishness they took some -of them over to their mothers and the grandmother. - -Just then Jo Ann noticed Jose leaning against a near-by tree, a pleased -expression on his face as he watched the children's fun. "Come on and get -some _dulces_," she called to him. - -Smiling, he came over to the porch and took the sweets Jo Ann offered. - -While both the older people and the children were enjoying the treat, Jo -Ann went out to examine the huge bags of charcoal that almost completely -covered the small burro. She laughed aloud as she noticed that only his -ears and his feet were visible. - -"It's a good thing that charcoal's light, or that burro'd never be able -to get to town with that load," she thought. - -When she went back to the porch she told Jose, chiefly by gestures, that -she was glad he had made so much charcoal. "When are you going to take it -to the village to sell?" she asked him. - -"_Manana_ in the _manana_," he replied. - -"That means early in the morning, doesn't it?" she asked Florence. - -Florence nodded. - -Jo Ann put her hand on Carlitos' shoulder. "Are the boys going with you, -Jose?" - -Jose shook his head. "No, I think it better that they do not go." - -Shortly after the children had finished eating their refreshments, each -one politely thanked the girls and offered a grimy, sticky little hand in -a farewell shake. - -As Maria was leaving with her family she remarked to Florence again, "You -have much kindness, senoritas--like Carlitos' _mama_. I have much joy -that he has friends _Americanos_ now." - -After they had all left Jo Ann said determinedly, "We've simply got to -find Carlitos' relatives right away. Maria and Jose are as kind to him as -they can be--they treat him as if he were their own child--but they're so -pitifully poor and ignorant." - -Florence shook her head dubiously. "I wish we could find some of his -relatives, but it looks as if we're up against a stone wall now. We've -done everything we could." - -"Oh, Jo'll solve the mystery--she'll climb right over the stone wall," -laughed Peggy. "She's great on climbing." - -The next day, when the girls were busily preparing dinner on the outdoor -fireplace, Jo Ann happened to glance down the road. "Good gracious!" she -exclaimed. "Is that Pepito, running like that? It is! Why, he oughtn't to -run like that." - -She rushed out to meet him. "No, no, Pepito! You mustn't run like that," -she called to him. - -Gasping for breath, Pepito ejaculated, "Carlitos! Oh, Carlitos!" - - - - - CHAPTER XV - "CARLITOS--GONE!" - - -Before Jo Ann could ask any more questions Florence and Peggy came flying -out. - -"What is the matter, Pepito?" Florence asked quickly. "Why were you -running so hard?" - -"Car--li--tos--gone!" he panted, his eyes filled with tears. - -"Gone!" Florence repeated. She wheeled about. "Girls, he says Carlitos is -gone--lost!" - -She turned back. "How could he be lost? What's happened?" - -Realizing how exhausted Pepito was from running, Florence led him up to -the porch and made him sit down. "Rest a few minutes, then tell me what's -happened," she ordered. - -After he had partially regained his breath, he began telling between sobs -that Carlitos and the burro had been stolen. Carlitos, he said, had -begged Jose to let him go to town to help sell the charcoal and that -while there both he and the burro had disappeared. - -Florence rapidly translated his broken story to the impatient girls. - -"Carlitos stolen!" Jo Ann repeated, puzzled. "Does he mean kidnaped?" - -"Sounds like it." Florence began questioning Pepito again. "Where is your -_papa_ now?" - -"At the cave. When _mi papa_ tell us that Carlitos is lost, I come to -you. You can help us find Carlitos." - -Florence repeated his words to the girls, saying, "Poor child, he thinks -we can help them because we did before." - -"We've got to help," Jo Ann spoke up emphatically. "We've got to find -Carlitos. Let's go down to the cave right now and talk to Jose and find -out exactly what's happened. Tell Pepito to stay here and rest while we -go to the cave." - -When Florence suggested to him that he stay and rest, Pepito shook his -head. "No, no, senorita. I go with you." - -Before starting to the cave Florence ran inside to tell her mother what -had happened. "Peggy says she'll stay and finish getting dinner while Jo -and I go down and find out the details from Jose." - -"All right," her mother replied. "I hope they'll be able to find Carlitos -before night." - -By the time Florence came back, Jo Ann was hurrying down the trail, -Pepito following. Suddenly realizing that Pepito must not walk so -rapidly, Jo Ann checked her pace, although she could hardly wait to find -out from Jose what had really happened. - -"I wonder if it's possible that Carlitos has been kidnaped," she thought -anxiously. "That mean mine boss tried to get him once--maybe he's had -something to do with his disappearance." - -Just then Florence caught up with her and began talking over this new -trouble. "We'll have to do something to help find Carlitos, Jo. Had it -occurred to you that that mean boss might've had a hand in his -disappearance?" - -Jo Ann nodded. "I was just thinking that very same thing. The fact that -Carlitos is the rightful owner of the mine would give him a reason for -wanting to get him out of the way." - -"That sounds terrible," Florence shuddered, "but it's possible, all -right." - -As they neared the cave, the girls could hear the mother and grandmother -talking rapidly in shrill excited voices. On entering they saw Jose -crouched disconsolately in a corner, his face buried in his hands. - -They stepped across to his side, and Florence began quickly, "Jose, -Pepito has told us about Carlitos. Tell us all about what happened to -him--how he disappeared--and where you saw him last. Maybe we can help -you find him." - -Jose raised his head, his dark troubled eyes lighting a little at sight -of the two girls who had helped to save his son's life only a few days -before. - -"Ah, _Papa_," put in Maria just then. "The senoritas--our friends--they -will help us find Carlitos." - -"We hope we'll be able to help," Florence told them earnestly. - -Brokenly then Jose began by telling how after several efforts he had -succeeded in selling only a few _centavos'_ worth of the charcoal, and so -he decided to exchange some of it for food. Leaving Carlitos outside to -watch the burro, he had gone into the little general store of the -village. After he had bargained with the storekeeper to exchange corn, -_frijoles_ and coffee for a bag of charcoal, he had hurried out to get -it. - -To his amazement Carlitos and the burro were not in sight. Thinking they -might have wandered down the street, he started off to look for them. -They were nowhere to be seen, and after he had searched in vain all over -the few streets of the village, he was in despair. Finally, after -inquiring of several people, he found a man who said he'd seen a boy and -a man go by driving a burro--only there were no bags of charcoal on the -burro. - -"I search much then, but I cannot find Carlitos or the burro," he ended -sorrowfully. "I have much fear that harm has come to Carlitos." - -As soon as Jose had stopped talking, Florence translated his story to Jo -Ann. - -When she reached the part about the man's having seen a boy and a man -driving a burro without any charcoal, Jo Ann spoke up quickly, "Maybe -that boy was Carlitos." - -Florence turned back to Jose. "Do you suppose that boy was Carlitos who -was helping to drive the burro?" - -Jose shook his head. "No, no. The man say this boy hit much the burro. -Carlitos no hit our burro." - -Jo Ann, who had caught the meaning of Jose's words, put in, "Florence, -maybe the man was making the boy hit the burro so he could hurry him out -of the village. He probably wanted the burro too." - -When Florence translated this idea to Jose, he replied, "I thought of -that too. I try to find them, but it was impossible. I hunt for many -hours, but I find nothing." He shook his head mournfully. "Carlitos -gone--the burro gone--the charcoal gone--no have money to buy food for my -children. Ah _Dios_, it is terrible!" - -"I believe it's that man from the mine who's back of it all," Jo Ann -declared again. "He could easily have taken the charcoal off the burro -and hidden it, and have frightened Carlitos into going with him." - -"That's true," agreed Florence. "He might've forced him to go at the -point of a gun. That mean boss wouldn't stop at anything." - -"Well, we must do something about it right now. Let's go to the village -and see if we can't find out more about that man and boy. Will your -mother let us go to the village with Jose?" - -"Yes, I'm sure she will. It's not so far there." She turned to Jose and -said, "We want you to go back to the village with us and see if we can -find out something more about Carlitos. Go to the goat ranch and tell -Juan to let us have two burros. We'll go up to the house to tell my -mother and then meet you at the cart road." - -Jose nodded assent. "_Bien_, senorita, I go immediately." - -The girls hurried up to the house, and Florence quickly explained their -plans to her mother. - -"I think it'll be all right for you to go," Mrs. Blackwell replied. "I -hope you can find Carlitos, but be very careful. That man is probably -capable of doing anything." - -"Oh, Mrs. Blackwell, he can't be more dangerous than that bear," put in -Jo Ann. "We'll be careful. I believe I'll take the gun along. I'll feel -safer." - -"No, let's take the pistol instead," Florence put in. "The gun's too -heavy." She took a pistol out of her bag and handed it to Jo Ann, then -they set off down the trail and a little later found Jose at the road -waiting for them with the burros. - -Jo Ann hesitated a moment before getting on her burro. "This is my first -experience riding without a saddle or a bridle." - -"Oh, it's easy after you get used to it," Florence encouraged. "You guide -a burro, you know, by hitting him on the neck with a stick." She sprang -up nimbly onto the pack on the donkey's back. - -After Jo Ann had mounted on her burro she remarked, smiling, "This -burro's so small and my legs're so long that they almost drag on the -ground." - -"Sit farther back, the way the Mexicans do," Florence called back. "It's -much easier riding that way." - -Jose followed, walking closely behind Jo Ann, having no difficulty in -keeping up with the donkey's pace. - -"Isn't there any way to make these animals go faster?" Jo Ann called to -Florence impatiently a few minutes later. - -"They'll trot a little ways, but they really make as good time by keeping -their steady pace. Remember you're in Mexico, Jo." - -As soon as the three had reached the village, Jose took the girls to the -store in front of which he had left Carlitos and the charcoal-laden burro -a few hours before. "I know this storekeeper," Florence told Jo Ann. -"He'll probably know if any strangers have been in the village lately. -His store's a meeting place for everybody in the village, and he hears -all the gossip." - -She went inside and began questioning the storekeeper. "Have you heard of -any strangers being in the village in the last day or two besides this -man?" She pointed to Jose. - -The storekeeper nodded his head, "_Si_, senorita. I saw a man this -morning that I have never seen before. He bought some cigarettes from -me." - -"Did he come in before this man--Jose--did?" - -"_Si._ He said he was looking for a family that had lived at a mining -camp across the mountains." - -Florence gave a little start. "Did he say why he wanted to find this -family?" - -"He say they were his friends." The storekeeper shrugged his shoulders -Mexican fashion and added, "I tell him I know nothing, and then he -leave." - -Florence hurriedly recounted this information to Jo Ann, ending -indignantly, "I believe that man was either the mean boss or someone he'd -sent to get Carlitos. Jose knows what the boss looks like, so we can find -out if the stranger was he." She wheeled around to Jose and asked, -"What'd that mean boss look like?" - -"Very fat." Jose gestured with his hands to indicate a Santa Claus -figure, then twisted an imaginary mustache, adding, "and a big black -mustache." He turned to the storekeeper. "Did that man look like that?" - -The storekeeper shook his head. "No. He very small--no mustache." - -"I'm glad it's not the boss," exclaimed Jo Ann. - -"I am, too," Florence agreed. She turned to Jose and said, "Take us down -the street now where that man you talked to said he saw the strange man -and the boy driving the burro." - -While Jose was guiding them to this street which led to the outskirts of -the village, Florence caught sight of a familiar figure standing in an -open doorway. "Wait a minute," she explained. "There's a woman I know. -I'll ask if she saw them pass." - -Florence hurried across the street and began explaining to the woman -about their search for Carlitos and the burro. "Have you seen anybody of -his description or heard anything about him?" - -The woman shook her head, "No." - -Florence's face fell. "Well, have you heard about anyone's finding any -bags of charcoal? This boy's burro was carrying two bags of charcoal when -he came to the village." - -The woman's black eyes lit with interest. "_Si_, senorita. Adela, the -woman who lives at the corner, told me she had found two bags of charcoal -in her yard this morning. She did not know how they got there." - -"Will you take us to her house and ask her to let us see the bags of -charcoal? This man"--she nodded over at Jose--"will know if they're his -bags. His mother made them herself." - -The woman readily agreed to go with them, and in a few minutes they were -shown the bags of charcoal. - -A gleam of recognition immediately shone in Jose's eyes. "_Si_, senorita. -These are the bags made by my mother." His voice changed to a mournful -note. "That boy was Carlitos. That man was making him beat the burro--he -throw this charcoal over the wall. He very bad _hombre_." - -Jo Ann, who had caught the meaning of Jose's words, put in quickly, -"We've got to find that man and get Carlitos away from him. There's no -telling what he'll do to him." - -"But Jose said he followed him for some distance out this way." Florence -wheeled about. "Jose," she asked, "which direction do you go to get to -that mine you came from?" - -"You follow this road." He gestured toward the winding road leading -across the valley to the range of mountains. - -Jo Ann spoke up impatiently, "Let's start after Carlitos this minute. If -we could find some horses to ride, we could overtake that man and -Carlitos even if they did have several hours' start. That man wouldn't -have taken the burro if he hadn't intended using it. I know he can't be -traveling fast with a burro along. Come on, let's see if we can find some -horses." - -"We can get some horses here, I'm sure. Dad always gets his horse here -when he comes to see us--a burro's too slow for him." Florence stopped a -moment, then added hastily, "I believe I'll call Dad--I can phone to him -from here--and tell him what's happened and----" - -"Oh, Florence," Jo Ann broke in, "ask him if we can't go straight on to -the mine. Tell him we'll take Jose with us, and tell him if we don't -follow that man and Carlitos at once we'll never see Carlitos again!" - -"Well, all right. Come on. We'll go back to the store--that's where the -only telephone in the village is. Come on, Jose." - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - ON A DANGEROUS TRAIL - - -As Florence led the way back to the store, she told Jose of their plans -to get the horses and follow the man and Carlitos. "Can you guide us -across the mountains to the mine?" - -"_Si_, senorita, I _sabe_. I take you there." - -A few minutes later the three were back at the store, and Florence had -succeeded in getting her father on the telephone. It was anything but -easy for her to make him understand at first about Carlitos' -disappearance and their desire to hunt for him. When she finally made the -situation clear, a note of excitement came into his voice. - -"I'm glad you've phoned," he told her, "because I've just got in touch -with a man by the name of Eldridge who, I believe, is Carlitos' uncle. -Ask Jose again the name of that mine Carlitos' father owned, and get him -to tell you as nearly as possible where it is. I want to be sure that -that is the mine and Carlitos the boy that this man Eldridge has been -hunting." - -Florence quickly turned to Jose. "Didn't you say the name of the mine was -La Esperanza?" - -"_Si_," Jose nodded. - -"Tell me again how you get there." - -With many gestures Jose told her as nearly as he could where the mine was -located. "Over that mountain to the east," he kept saying, pointing to -the range beyond. - -As soon as Florence repeated Jose's answer to her father, he replied that -he would telegraph at once to Mr. Eldridge. The name and location of the -mine, he said, corresponded with what he had told him. - -"But, Daddy," Florence put in, in a pleading tone, "if we don't find -Carlitos right away I'm afraid it'll be too late. We're afraid that mean -boss'll do something terrible to him--maybe kill him. We're sure the boss -is back of this kidnaping. The reason Jose left the mine was to keep that -man from getting Carlitos. We must go right now and hunt for him. We know -the kidnaper has started toward the mine with him." - -"Tell your father if we get horses we're sure we can overtake the man and -Carlitos, because they had only a burro," burst out Jo Ann eagerly. - -Florence nodded and repeated her words over the telephone. - -After a momentary silence Dr. Blackwell answered slowly, "Well, as soon -as I send the telegram to Mr. Eldridge, I'll start for the mine too. I'm -sure I can get there before you do, as I've found an Indian guide who -knows where it is. I want to be there before you arrive, in case any -trouble should come up. I can't have you girls risking your necks, even -to save Carlitos." - -"Oh, I'm so glad you'll be there!" Florence replied. - -Jo Ann's eyes shone as she heard Florence's answer. She knew that meant -that they could start following the kidnaper and Carlitos right away. As -soon as Florence put up the receiver, she caught her by the hand, saying, -"Let's hurry as fast's we can and get the horses." - -"Not yet. I've got to write a note to Mother first and give it to the man -who brings our mail. He can take the burros back to Juan, too." - -While Florence was still speaking, Jo Ann began looking about impatiently -for some paper. "I can't get used to stores not having wrapping paper as -they do back home," she said. A few moments later the storekeeper -unearthed a scrap of soiled brown paper and proudly handed it to -Florence. - -She hastily scratched a few lines to her mother, explaining the situation -and the new plan. - -To Jo Ann's annoyance a half hour passed before they could find the man -who carried the mail and arrange to get the horses and everything else -they needed. - -When, at last, they were actually mounted on the horses and had started -off down the road, Jo Ann gave a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness we're on -the way at last. Let's ride fast now, because we'll have to slow down -when we reach the mountain." - -She tapped her horse sharply on his neck with her switch, and off she -galloped, Florence and Jose following closely. - -When they reached the foot of the mountain, Florence called to Jo Ann, -"We'll have to let Jose lead the way from now on. He says we leave the -road here." - -Somewhat reluctantly Jo Ann checked her horse's pace to allow Jose to -lead. Slowly and in single file they began winding their way up a rocky -trail. After about an hour's climb it became so steep and narrow that -even Jo Ann, experienced rider that she was, began to grow nervous. - -With the towering wall of rock on her right and the deep canyon below, -she realized that if her horse should make a single misstep it might be -fatal. She shuddered at the thought of how easy it would be for the -kidnaper to make away with Carlitos in such a place as this. One little -push would mean death. - -"Florence," she called back, "I've been thinking how easy it'd be to make -away with anyone in such a wild, lonesome spot. You don't think that -man'd push Carlitos off this precipice, do you?" - -"No, no," Florence called back quickly. "I'm sure he'll take him on to -the mine. That mean boss wouldn't pay him a large sum of money till he -was sure he had the right boy." - -"I believe you're right." Encouraged by Florence's words, Jo Ann rode on -in better spirits. "If that kidnaper takes Carlitos clear to the mine, -then we'll be sure to overtake them," she thought. - -About half an hour later, as the horses were struggling up an unusually -steep place, Jo Ann suddenly cried out a sharp, "Jose, stop!" - -Startled, Jose checked his horse and looked back. - -Jo Ann pointed down at a boy's hat caught on a sharp point of rock -jutting out from the edge of the cliff. "See! Carlitos' hat!" - -"_Ay Dios!_ I have fear that it is the hat of Carlitos." He leaped off -his horse and began hunting about for a stick with which to reach the -hat. Finally, having found a long stick, he leaned over as far as he -dared and carefully worked the stick up under the frayed edge of the hat. -Both girls sprang off their horses to watch his efforts. - -When at last he had the hat in his hands, he exclaimed, "_Dios mio!_ It -is his hat!" He pointed to the cord around the crown. "The grandmother -made this cord for him." - -Jo Ann suddenly gasped and pointed down into the abyss-like gorge. "Oh, -Jose, do you think Carlitos----" She broke off in the middle of her -sentence, shuddering at the thought of Carlitos hurled down over the -jagged rocks to the bottom of the gorge hundreds of feet below. - -Florence broke in quickly, "Maybe his hat just blew off. If he had fallen -over, we ought to be able to see some sign of loosened rocks or broken -bushes where he slipped." - -She and Jo Ann, as well as Jose, began searching for some sign along the -edge of the precipice. After a few moments Jo Ann walked up the trail a -short distance and, leaning over, examined the path. - -All at once her face lit. "Florence! Jose! Come here--look!" she called. - -At the joyous note in Jo Ann's voice both Florence and Jose came up to -her side and stared down at the footprints in the limestone dust. - -"See," she said. "These small prints were made by Carlitos' bare feet. -They're just his size." - -"_Si, si_," Jose agreed. He pointed to some larger footprints beside -them. "And these are made by the sandals of the man who is taking him -off. And here're the burro's marks." - -Both Jo Ann and Florence drew deep sighs of relief. "I feel more certain -than ever now that the man'll take him clear to the mine." - -The next moment Jo Ann frowned and pointed to the ground a few feet -ahead. "That rascal made Carlitos get off the burro so he could ride. -See! There're no signs of his footprints from there on--just Carlitos' -and the burro's." - -"I believe you're right," Florence agreed. "I wonder if it's very far to -the mine now." She turned to Jose, "How much farther is it to the mine?" - -"Three or four more hours and we'll be there." - -"I didn't think it was that far. Why, it'll be dark before we get there." -There was a note of anxiety in Florence's voice. - -Jo Ann shivered. "How in the world will we ever get over this trail in -the dark? It's scary enough in the daylight. Let's hurry and get going." - -Soon all three were on their horses again and climbing steadily upward. -After they had ridden about an hour, the trail began to drop downward. - -"Wh--ew!" Jo Ann ejaculated. "I've ridden horses in lots of places, but -nothing like this toboggan slide." - -Just as she was finishing this sentence, Jose's horse dropped back on his -haunches, his four feet braced together, and began sliding in the loose -gravel of the almost perpendicular incline. - -Both girls caught their breath. - -The next moment Jo Ann felt her horse begin to slide. A feeling of horror -overwhelmed her. She realized that she had no control over him -whatsoever. Would her horse and Florence's be able to keep from slipping -over the edge of that horrible precipice? - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - A STARTLING CRY - - -It seemed to Jo Ann that years passed before her horse came to a stop. -She drew a quick breath of relief, then turned about quickly to see if -Florence were safe. - -"Thank goodness!" she ejaculated as she saw that Florence's horse, though -still slipping, was over the worst of the incline, and that Florence was -hanging on pluckily. - -"O--oh, Jose!" Jo Ann ejaculated. "This is terrible!" - -"_Si, si_," Jose agreed, watching Florence anxiously. - -Shortly after Florence's horse had come to a safe halt, she called out -between gasps, "Jose--are there--any more--places--this bad?" - -"No, senorita. This is the worst." - -In spite of the fact that their horses were getting tired they urged them -on, as darkness was beginning to settle down over the mountains. - -"I thought surely we'd have caught up with Carlitos and that man by this -time," thought Jo Ann. "The poor child must be nearly dead, walking so -fast. I'm tired, and we've been riding all the way." - -When she saw how swiftly the shadows were deepening, she wondered how -they would ever be able to follow the trail from now on. But they must. - -"If that mean boss ever gets his hands on Carlitos, that'll be the last -we'll ever see of him," she thought. "That boss wants to keep the mine, -and he won't stop at anything to have his way." - -After they had ridden for about an hour, the darkness grew so thick that -it was almost impenetrable. - -Jo Ann called back in a low anxious voice to Florence, "I can't see a -thing--it's so black. I'm glad, though, the trail's not so dangerous -along here. It must be almost time for the moon to be up." - -"I'm sure it is," Florence answered, then called to Jose, "Isn't it time -for the moon to come up?" - -"_Si_, senorita, but I have much fear there will be no moon tonight. I -think there will be a storm." - -Even as he was speaking the girls saw a flash of lightning and heard the -distant rumbling of thunder. A few moments later great drops of rain -began to pelt into their faces as a gust of wind blew against them. With -almost incredible swiftness the storm broke in all its fury. Blinding -flashes of lightning darted in every direction, deafening rolls of -thunder echoed and re-echoed over the mountains. - -Never had Jo Ann heard such thunder--it growled and raged like some -horrible monster. The rain began sweeping down in torrents, lashing them -furiously. - -In a brilliant flash of lightning Jo Ann was horrified to see streams of -water rushing down the mountain side carrying stones and debris. She -realized at once that they were in grave danger. - -The next moment Jose was beside her. Without a word he caught her horse's -bridle and began leading him over the treacherous, slippery trail. - -"Is Florence coming----" she began, but her words were drowned by the -storm. - -In a few more moments Jose turned off the trail and started leading the -horse almost straight up the rocky mountain side. - -"What--where are you going?" Jo Ann gasped, unheard. - -When her horse had climbed a little farther, lightning illuminated the -darkness enough to show her an overhanging ledge of rock jutting out just -ahead of them. - -Instantly she grasped Jose's plan. Here was a shelter--a refuge from the -storm! - -As soon as he had led her up under the cliff she sprang off her horse, -crying, "Get Florence! Hurry!" - -"_Si, si_," he nodded. - -With that Jose was off again down the trail. After what seemed to Jo Ann -an endless time, he reappeared leading Florence's horse and his own. - -The moment Florence leaped off her horse Jo Ann caught her in a warm -embrace. - -"Oh, Florence, I'm so thankful you're safe!" - -"And I'm thankful we're all safe." - -"If only we had Carlitos here with us, too! Oh, Florence, where do you -suppose he is now? He might get washed off the trail if that man forces -him on in this storm." - -"I believe that kidnaper'll do exactly what Jose is doing--seek refuge -till the storm checks," Florence comforted. - -"I hope so. He and Carlitos might be under just such a rocky ledge as -this right now. What puzzles me is how they could've got this far without -our overtaking them." - -As soon as Jose had tied the horses to some scrubby bushes he hurried -over to Florence's side and shouted, "I go now to look for Carlitos. We -are getting near the mine, and I must find him." - -"But, Jose, the storm is terrible. Wait a little while." - -After the rain had checked a little, Jose turned to Florence and said, -"Wait for me here, _sabe_? I go now." With that he started off and -disappeared in the darkness once more. - -"Oh, if he can just find Carlitos!" Jo Ann said wistfully. - -She drew back hastily against the rocky wall in an effort to escape a -sudden gust of rain, as did Florence. - -"This isn't as good a shelter as I thought," Florence gasped. "The -wind--must be changing--to another direction. It's cold, too." - -"Yes, it is. Let's move over farther this way." - -"All right." - -Keeping close to the wall they made their way farther on around a sharp -projecting rock, which protected them a little better. - -After they had stood there several minutes, an unusually brilliant -lightning flash lighted the surrounding blackness long enough for them to -see that back to their right was what appeared to be the opening of a -cave. - -"If that's a cave back there and we can get in it, we'll be entirely out -of the rain," Jo Ann told herself as she wiped her rain-drenched face on -her sleeve. - -When at last the thunder's reverberations were beginning to die away, she -leaned over closer to Florence and said, "Did you see that cave-like -opening back there on your right?" - -"Yes." - -"Let's go on back and see if it is a cave." - -"No--no. There might be a bear--or some other animal in it." - -"That's right! I didn't think of that." - -In a sudden lull in the rain and thunder just then a wailing sound -floated to them. - -Both girls uttered little gasps of fright. - -That was the cry of a human being! The same thought struck them--could -that be Carlitos? - -Jo Ann leaned over and whispered excitedly in Florence's ear, "That -sounds like Carlitos' voice. Do you think----?" She halted to listen to -the wailing notes again. "I believe that is Carlitos! It's a boy's -voice!" - -"You're right--it is. There probably wouldn't be any other child up here -in this wild place on a night like this." - -"Let's slip up closer and see if we can tell whether it's Carlitos. If it -is, we've got to get him." - -"But that man! We couldn't get Carlitos away from him without Jose to -help us." - -Jo Ann caught Florence's hand in hers. "Come on. Let's slip on up closer -and see if we can find out for sure if it's Carlitos." - -Together they stealthily crept along the wall till they could see two -figures crouched about a small fire on the floor of the cave. - -Jo Ann squeezed Florence's hand tightly to indicate to her that she had -recognized Carlitos. Quickly Florence returned the pressure, then began -pulling her backwards. - -Jo Ann obediently turned, and silently the two girls retraced their steps -out of hearing distance. - -"We've got to get Carlitos away from that man right away," Jo Ann -whispered excitedly. - -"But Jose isn't here to----" - -"I'm afraid to wait for him. That man might leave with Carlitos before he -gets back. I'm going to get the rope and pistol out of the saddle-bag, -and we can capture that man ourselves." - -"Oh, but, Jo!" Florence's voice was filled with horror. - -"All you'll have to do'll be to hold the gun on him while I tie him." - -"Oh, Jo! Let's wait for Jose." - -"No. You wait here while I get the things." - -Without waiting to hear Florence's whispered protest, she hurried back to -the horses and returned with the pistol and rope. - -As she handed Florence the pistol she whispered, "Don't get so excited -you forget to throw off the safety. As soon as I fix my rope, we'll be -ready." - -She hastily tied a slipknot in the rope, then ordered, "Come on. Stay -right behind me and hold that gun on the man. We'll wait till it thunders -again, so he won't hear us." - -Slowly and cautiously they slipped on toward the cave. Jo Ann could see -that the man and Carlitos were still crouched around the fire. - -When they had gone as close as they dared, they waited till there was a -loud crash of thunder. Immediately Jo Ann crept forward till she was -directly behind the man. - -With amazing swiftness she dropped the noose over the man's head and down -over his shoulders, then jerked back on the rope. Automatically his hand -flew toward his stiletto as he leaped forward. But the rope -tightened--his arms were pinioned to his sides. He wheeled partly around -only to find he was looking into the barrel of a 32-caliber automatic. - -"Stand still or I'll shoot," Florence ordered in Spanish. "Carlitos--get -back. You might get hurt." - -Jo Ann quickly slipped a loop of the rope over the man's right hand and -drew it behind his back, then his left, and tied the two together -securely. - -"Tell him to lie down on the ground now," Jo Ann said. - -Florence quickly repeated the order. - -The man's eyes blazed angrily. "No--no. I no----" His protest was lost in -a clap of thunder. - -"Do as you're told or I'll shoot," Florence commanded a moment later. - -As the man made no move, Jo Ann quickly gave him a hard shove and sent -him sprawling headlong on the ground. - -"You do what we tell you," she scolded in English as she jerked the rope -about his feet and began tying them together. "What do you mean by -running off with this little boy?" - -As soon as she had finished tying him, she remarked to Florence, "Ask him -where he's taking Carlitos and what he was going to do with him." - -Just as Florence had begun asking him these questions, Carlitos suddenly -cried out in terror and pointed to the entrance. - -The same instant Florence felt a strong hand clutch her shoulder as the -gun was snatched out of her hand. - -At Carlitos' cry of terror Jo Ann's gaze turned toward the cave entrance. -Then cold fear clutched her heart as she saw towering over Florence a -great hulk of a man with a long mustache who she instinctively felt must -be the mean boss. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - PRISONERS - - -Before Jo Ann could spring to her feet, Carlitos was crouching behind her -crying piteously, "_El jefe! El jefe!_" - -Jo Ann immediately recognized the name "_el jefe_" as meaning the boss. -She was right. That man was the mean boss! - -Just then the boss broke into a burst of coarse derisive laughter that -sent shivers down her spine. "Ah, the senoritas _muy bravo_! They bind -the peon who thinks he's a man but has not the strength of a woman." - -It seemed to Jo Ann that the boss's huge body almost filled the narrow -opening as he stood there with Florence's gun aimed directly toward them. -What could she do now? How could they save themselves and Carlitos? Oh, -why hadn't she taken Florence's advice and waited for Jose before coming -in here! If only Jose would come now! - -A sudden idea flashed into her mind. When the boss stooped over to untie -the peon, maybe she'd have a chance to slip his gun out of his holster; -then she'd watch her chance to take him by surprise. - -Her thoughts were broken into by the boss seizing Florence roughly by the -arm and starting toward her. - -"Here's my chance to get his gun," Jo Ann thought, feeling sure that he -was going to untie the peon now. - -To her consternation, instead of untying the peon, he kicked him -viciously and snarled, "You no good--you let the senoritas bind you -up--now I leave you here for the wild beasts to gnaw on your bones." - -Although Jo Ann could not understand all that he said, she realized -immediately that he was going to leave the peon here to die. "What a -beast that man is," she thought. - -"Get on out--all of you," the boss growled, pushing Carlitos roughly in -front of the girls and pointing his gun menacingly. - -When the peon saw them all starting out of the cave, leaving him there -alone, bound and helpless, he began struggling and rolling about, trying -to free himself. - -"Don't leave me here! You can't leave me! I did what you told me. I -brought the boy back. Where is the money you promised me?" - -"The wild animals cannot eat money," the boss flung back, then laughed -callously. - -Jo Ann gasped in horror as she caught the meaning of his cruel words. -"That man isn't human. No wonder Jose with his family had fled from the -mine." - -With the peon's piteous cries ringing in their ears the two girls -silently walked on in front of the boss. - -"Go and get on your horses--_pronto_," the boss ordered. - -As Carlitos whimpered softly, Jo Ann caught hold of his hand to silence -and comfort him. - -Too terrified even to speak to each other, the three stumbled along in -the darkness around the ledge. Instead of three horses, they found four. - -"One must belong to the boss," Jo Ann thought. "I wonder if he has -guessed that Jose came with us." She caught her breath as a new fear -overwhelmed her. Had he already found Jose and made away with him--pushed -him over the precipice, perhaps? - -"Go on, _pronto_!" the boss growled. - -In a brilliant flash of lightning Jo Ann saw Carlitos struggling to reach -the horn of his saddle. She leaned over quickly and half lifted, half -pushed him up on the horse. - -"_Infante!_ Can you not ride without Pancho?" the boss growled -tauntingly. - -"He must think that the peon and Carlitos came here on a horse," Jo Ann -thought with a feeling of relief, as she mounted one of the other horses. -"That means he must not have seen Jose or know that he's with us. But -where can Jose be now? Could he have slipped on the trail and fallen over -a precipice?" - -"_Andale--mas pronto!_" ordered the gruff voice again. - -"He's in a big hurry to get away from here," thought Jo Ann. "He -evidently has some strong reason for rushing us this way. I'm going to -delay him in every way I can so Dr. Blackwell'll be sure to be at the -mine before we get there. If he isn't there----" She shuddered at the -thought of what might happen to Florence, Carlitos, and herself. - -Just then the boss broke into such a rapid flow of Spanish that Jo Ann -could catch only a word or two. - -At his threats Florence shook so she could hardly get on her horse. He -would kill all of them, he had said, if any one of them tried to escape. - -"We no _sabe_," Jo Ann spoke up. "We _Americanos_--no _sabe_." - -The emphasis Jo Ann had placed on the word "we" made Florence understand -at once that she did not want her to let the man know that she could -speak or understand Spanish. Though she could not guess Jo's reason, she -decided to pretend not to understand him. - -Just as they were about to start off down to the trail Jo Ann heard the -faint but heartrending cry of the deserted peon. - -"Suppose the boss should tie us and leave us to die of thirst and -starvation like that," she said to herself. "Perhaps that's what he did -to Carlitos' father, Jose said no one knew what had become of him." - -"I'm glad I'm first," she thought a moment later. "That'll give me a -better chance to delay him." - -On reaching the trail, she deliberately turned her horse back in the -direction from which they had just come. That would delay them a little -bit. - -The horses of both Carlitos and Florence followed her lead. - -No sooner did the boss realize that they were going in the wrong -direction than he roared out angrily, "Wait! That's not the direction to -go!" - -Jo Ann paid no attention to this gruff command but kept on. - -A few moments later her horse was stopped by being crowded against the -rocky wall. Then she felt her arm seized in a vise-like grip and heard -the boss's shouts in her ear. A flash of lightning showed her his -anger-contorted face only a few inches from her own. - -Though she was terrified, she controlled herself enough to cry out, "No -_sabe_. No _sabe_." - -"I make you _sabe_!" He blocked the trail in front of her with his horse, -then leaped off and grabbed her horse's bridle and turned him around. As -he struck him sharply with his quirt, the animal leaped forward. - -Instantly she realized the danger of pushing one of the other horses off -the narrow trail and drew back on the reins in time to avert a disaster. - -With Florence in the lead they set off toward the mine. - -"At least I made him waste a little time," Jo Ann thought, "but if he -finds out I'm deliberately trying to delay him there's no telling what -he'll do. He's the meanest man I ever saw." - -Having come to an unusually slippery stretch she could think only of the -danger of riding on the treacherous winding mountain trail in the -darkness. One thing lifted her flagging spirits. The storm was -abating--abating almost as rapidly as it had begun. "Now if only the -moon'll come up," she thought. - -Shortly afterwards she noted a light shining from behind the fast-sailing -storm clouds. Even as she looked, the moon came into full view, lighting -up the mountain side. - -"Thank goodness!" she exclaimed to herself. At least they could see where -they were going now. It would be safer traveling for Jose, too. But where -was he? Would they meet him soon? But if they did, what would the boss do -to him? He might treat him as badly as he had the peon. - -Even as she was wondering, Jose was struggling up a steep bank not far -below the cave. In his haste to get back to the girls he had, Indian -fashion, left the trail and had struck straight up the mountain side, -scaling almost perpendicular rocks and pulling himself up by anything -that offered a finger hold. - -Just before reaching the rocky ledge under which he had left the girls -and the horses, he heard a wailing sound that made him stop as rigid as -if frozen. Who was that? What was the matter? The senoritas! He must get -to them at once. - -Cautiously but rapidly he crawled up to the ledge. As soon as he saw -there was no sign of the girls or the horses there, his eyes widened in -horror. What had happened to them? That cry--but that was a man's voice. - -All at once it flashed through his mind that it might be the very man he -had been hunting. Was Carlitos there with him? The senoritas---- - -Just then the cry, half wailing, half groaning, sounded again. - -Silently Jose started in the direction of the cry. That might be only a -trap, and he must not be caught. - -When he neared the cave he saw through the opening the dying embers of a -fire. By its faint glow he could make out the figure of a man struggling -and rolling about on the ground. - -As soon as Jose saw that the man was tied and that there was no one else -in the cave, he called out, "What is your trouble? Who are you?" - -At the sound of Jose's voice the man instantly stopped struggling. "Come -and release me! Release me!" - -Jose made no move to enter, "Who are you?" he demanded again. "Who tied -you?" - -"Two senoritas tie me up. Then that man take them away--and leave me here -to die. Release me! I kill him!" - -Immediately Jose knew that this must be the man who had stolen Carlitos. -"Where is the boy--Carlitos? What have you done with him?" he demanded -sharply. - -"_El jefe_ take him. Release me and I go kill _el jefe_. He no give me -the money he promised. And he leave me here for the animals to eat." - -"Did he take the senoritas to the mine?" - -"Si--I think so." - -After Jose had asked him a few more questions the man promised to show -him a short cut to the mine so they could overtake the boss and his -prisoners. "I help you get the senoritas and the boy." Convinced, -finally, that the man was in earnest, Jose quickly untied the rope that -bound him and coiled it over his arm. - -A few minutes later the two men set off together down the steep, rocky -mountain side. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - A DARING PLAN - - -In spite of all Jo Ann's efforts to slow their progress down the trail, -she met with little success. Every time she slowed her horse the boss -would ride up close behind and strike her horse with his quirt. - -When the first faint rays of dawn were tingeing the eastern sky, the boss -suddenly ordered them to stop. Pointing down into a dark ravine, he -indicated by signs that they were to leave the trail and ride into it. -Involuntarily Jo Ann gasped. The steepness of the sharp descent terrified -her. Even more alarming was the thought that this was the place where he -had planned to leave them as he had the peon back in the cave. - -If Dr. Blackwell or Jose should come along this trail they never would -think of hunting down there for them. "Unless I leave some clue up here -on the trail," she told herself. - -When both Jo Ann and Florence kept repeating, "No _sabe_--no _sabe_," to -all of his commands, the boss, with an angry, "Follow me, _pronto_," -started his horse down into the ravine. He glanced over his shoulder to -see if they were following. - -In the short interval in which he was not looking at them, Jo Ann jerked -off her belt and tossed it back on the trail. "If Jose or Dr. Blackwell -sees that, they'll search all around here," she thought. - -Slipping and sliding over sharp rocks and scrubby mesquite bushes they -finally succeeded in reaching the bottom of the ravine. - -After they had ridden some distance out of sight of the trail, the boss -leaped off his horse and ordered them to follow his example. - -For an instant it seemed to Jo Ann that her heart had stopped beating; -then it began pounding away so rapidly that she had difficulty in -breathing. - -Was this to be the end? Was this silent dark ravine the spot where -Florence and Carlitos and she were to be left to die? - -As soon as they had all dismounted, the boss gestured to them to take the -saddles off their horses. - -"No _sabe_--no _sabe_," Jo Ann began repeating. - -The next instant the boss growled and raised his quirt threateningly. - -Without another protest she pulled the saddle off and then helped -Carlitos remove his. - -"_Mas pronto_," the boss kept commanding. - -As soon as they had removed the saddles, he indicated some bushes near by -under which they were to hide them; that done, he had all three tie their -horses a little farther down the ravine. - -"He's trying to cover up all trace of us," Jo Ann thought, shaking. "He -must be going to make away with us now. Poor Florence! Poor Carlitos! -What can I do? Isn't there something I can do?" - -To her amazement just then the boss gestured to them to climb back up on -the trail. What was he going to do with them now? Where was he taking -them? - -On reaching the trail he urged them on forward as fast as they could -walk. Not long afterward they came to a little rise in the trail from -which they could see in the valley below a huge white stone house -outlined against the dark gray background of the mountains. Involuntarily -the girls stopped to stare down at it in surprise. - -"Who'd ever think of seeing such a palace as that way out here!" Jo Ann -exclaimed. - -For once the boss forgot to urge them on. He pointed down proudly to the -house. "My _casa_. It cost me _mucho dinero_," he bragged, then gestured -to some tiny shacks on the mountain side. "I no live like the peons." - -"No wonder he can have such a fine house," Jo Ann thought. "He stole the -mine from Carlitos' father in the first place and makes the peons live in -little old shacks." - -By this time the boss had leaped off his horse and had tied it to a -near-by bush. He turned back to the girls and Carlitos. "Move along. -_Pronto!_" he ordered, gesturing up to a narrow path cut into the steep -mountain side. - -Jo Ann intuitively realized that this path led to the mine. A feeling of -terror swept over her again. This must be the end! He was taking them up -to the mine to make away with them there so no one would know what had -become of them. That was why he was hurrying them so fast--so he'd get -rid of them before it was daylight and the men came to work. What would -he do with them? If he left them bound as he had the peon in the cave, -some of the workmen would be sure to find them. - -A sudden thought flashed into her mind that left her panic-stricken. In -nearly all mines, she'd heard, there were old, deep unused shafts. Was it -possible that he was going to leave them in one of those old shafts? If -he did, no one in the world would ever find a trace of them. She must -fight to the very last. There must be something she could do. Dr. -Blackwell--where was he? He had said he would get here ahead of them. He -might be down there in the valley waiting for them this very minute, she -told herself. - -By this time they had reached a spot in the path directly above the -house. "One could almost throw a stone down into the patio of that house -from here," she thought. "If I could only attract the attention of -someone down there. He seems to be trying so hard to get us up here -without anyone's seeing us." - -A daring plan darted into her mind. She'd risk the boss's anger. No -matter what he did, it could not be as bad as what awaited them at the -mine. The next instant she began to put this plan into action. - -She stumbled and with a piercing shriek fell prostrate, pushing several -large stones over the edge of the trail. As they rolled down the mountain -side, loosening other stones on their way, they made a terrific crashing -noise. - -"Oh, my foot! My foot!" she groaned, grabbing her ankle. - -Florence was at her side the next moment. "Oh, Jo Ann! Are you hurt -badly?" - -Before Jo Ann could answer, the boss was standing over her, shaking his -quirt threateningly. "What you mean? You make too much noise. Move -on--_pronto_." - -Jo Ann shook her head, crying again, "My foot!" - -As he started to strike her with his quirt she turned over and began -crawling on hands and knees. - -"Oh, if only Dr. Blackwell or someone heard those rocks and would come to -our rescue," she thought. "My crawling this way will delay us some. I -wish, though, that I dared tell Florence that I'm not hurt. She's so -worried because she thinks I've really sprained my ankle." - -Every few moments she kept looking back toward the boss as an excuse to -get a view of the valley. - -"Surely, if Dr. Blackwell's down there and heard all that noise, he'd -look up here and see us," she thought. "If I don't see somebody soon, -I'll risk knocking some more stones over." She slowed her crawling pace. - -"_Mas pronto!_" came the growling command, then she felt a sharp lick -across her back. Only her thick sweater kept her from being cut by the -boss's quirt. - -In spite of this, she ventured to look around again a few moments later. -To her unbounded relief she caught a glimpse of three men on horses -riding rapidly toward the foot of the trail. They were not dressed like -Indians, she noticed. The rider ahead looked as if he might be Dr. -Blackwell. Oh, if only he were! If he could only get to them right away. -"That black hole up ahead on the path--that must be the opening to the -mine," she thought. - -Just then Carlitos exclaimed in a frightened voice, "_La mina_ [The -mine]!" - -Terrified at the sight of this black yawning hole so close above them, Jo -Ann cried out frantically, "Florence, stop! Don't go any farther." - -At her sharp command Florence halted, white-faced and trembling. The next -instant she reached out to catch hold of Carlitos. - -The boss burst forth in such a rapid flow of Spanish that neither one of -the girls could understand a word. His face was so distorted with rage -that Florence and Carlitos huddled together against the rocky wall, -frozen with fear. - -As the boss raised his quirt to strike her, Jo Ann caught a glimpse of a -white-clothed man stealthily slipping along the trail close behind him. -Instantly she recognized the man as Jose. "I must keep the boss from -knowing Jose is behind him," she thought quickly. - -"No, I won't go on!" she cried, and jumped to her feet just in time to -dodge a blow from his quirt. - -As he lurched forward to strike again, she saw a coil of rope sail -through the air and fall over his head and shoulders. The next instant -his arms were pinioned to his sides. - -Before the boss could realize what had happened, Jose and the peon sprang -forward and threw him down on the ground. With deft fingers they bound -him securely. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - THE NEW HOPE MINE - - -Everything had happened so quickly that Florence and Carlitos were still -standing motionless by the wall. - -While Jose and the peon held the boss, Jo Ann cautiously led Florence and -Carlitos past him. So fiercely was he roaring that shivers ran down their -spines. - -Jo Ann scarcely drew a long breath till all three of them were out of his -reach. Even then she was terrified for Jose and the peon. Would they be -able to get him down that narrow trail without danger to themselves? - -A few moments later, as the three rounded a curve, they saw Dr. Blackwell -running up the trail toward them. - -"Oh, Daddy! Daddy!" Florence cried. - -The next moment she was in her father's arms. - -"How thankful I am that I've found you girls and Carlitos alive!" he -exclaimed, hugging her tightly. "I was frantic when I got here and didn't -find you." - -Now that she realized that Dr. Blackwell was here and they were all safe, -Jo Ann felt such a surge of weakness creep over her that she leaned -against the wall for support. Now she could relax--all the responsibility -was the doctor's from now on. - -Just then two other men came running up the trail, one of them wearing -the uniform of a _rurale_. - -"Tell the officer to go up and help Jose and the peon," Florence told her -father. "They have the mean boss tied, but----" - -"He's so terrible--so savage, he's liable to escape yet," Jo Ann put in. -"Tell him to hurry." - -The _rurale_ hurriedly slipped past them and rushed on up the narrow -trail. - -Dr. Blackwell now turned to the tall thin man who had been standing -quietly behind him. "Girls, this is Mr. Eldridge, Carlitos' uncle. He -reached the village about the same time I did." - -Florence turned and in rapid Spanish explained to Carlitos that this was -his uncle. - -Carlitos' blue eyes widened in amazement. "My uncle!" he repeated, gazing -past them to the tall man. Slowly then the boy edged around the girls -toward his uncle. - -Mr. Eldridge reached out and took Carlitos' hand in his. "I'm so -happy--happy that I've found you at last," he said in English. "I've -searched for years for you." - -Carlitos stared blankly, not understanding a single word. Florence turned -to Carlitos and translated what his uncle had said. - -Immediately Carlitos' face began to brighten. - -"It seems terrible that my own nephew can't understand his native -language," Mr. Eldridge remarked. - -"We'd better hurry on down off this narrow trail," put in Dr. Blackwell. -He turned around and led the way down, the others following in single -file. - -As soon as they neared the great white house, Dr. Blackwell explained -that they had better go on inside and wait till the men brought the boss -down. "Mr. Eldridge wants to question him about Carlitos' father and -mother. There are also several things about the mine he'd like to find -out." - -When the girls saw the three men bringing the boss in, they slipped out -into the patio. - -"I've seen all I want to of that terrible creature," declared Jo Ann. "I -never want to lay eyes on him again." - -"Neither do I," agreed Florence. - -"Aren't you thrilled over Carlitos' finding his uncle and his prospect of -getting the mine back? Just think how his life'll be changed now! From -poverty to comfort. And now he'll have his uncle to look after him and -see that he has all the advantages he should." - -"I'm just as happy as can be over his good fortune. And Jose's and his -family's, too, because I'm sure Mr. Eldridge'll help them for taking care -of Carlitos and saving his life." - -While they were waiting, Jo Ann began to gaze about, noticing the number -of rooms, each opening onto the patio. "Isn't this a strange place? And -this is Carlitos' house now. Some contrast with the cave he's been living -in, isn't it? Let's take a look around." - -The two girls walked down the corridor to the first open door and peered -in. - -"My stars!" gasped Jo Ann. "A grand piano! What do you know about that! -And look what's tied to one of the legs--a fighting rooster!" - -"Oh yes, that man'd be sure to have some fighting roosters. Cock -fighting's one of the principal amusements down here. That's a strange -place to keep the rooster, though." - -They wandered on down to the next open door, and to Jo Ann's utter -amazement there was another piano with a rooster tied to one of the legs. - -"Am I seeing double?" she exclaimed. - -"That's typical of the peon. They're very fond of music and of cock -fighting." - -After going to three more rooms and finding three more pianos and each -with a rooster tied to it, Jo Ann exclaimed, amazed, "Is that man crazy? -That's the funniest thing I ever heard of in all my life." - -Florence was not nearly as surprised. "It's just his idea of wealth," she -explained. "Those are his most valued possessions." - -Just then Dr. Blackwell stepped out in the corridor and called to them to -come to the office. "Mr. Eldridge wants to talk to you girls," he said. - -"I hope we won't see that mean boss again," Jo Ann remarked as she and -Florence started to the office. - -On entering they glanced hurriedly about to see if he were there. - -Dr. Blackwell spoke up quickly. "The men have gone with their prisoner. -They're taking him on to the city to turn him over to the authorities -there." - -"Did you find out anything about what happened to Carlitos' father before -he left?" Jo Ann asked the doctor. - -"Yes, the peon told us that he knew that the boss had made away with him -by pushing him down into a deep unused shaft." - -"That's awful!" Jo Ann exclaimed, a look of horror in her eyes. "And -that's what he was going to do with us, too." - -"That's where we might be right now if you hadn't come to our rescue, -Dad," Florence added. "But let's don't talk about it any more. I can't -bear to think of it." - -Jo Ann caught her by the hand and led her over to Carlitos' side. "Tell -him how happy we are that his uncle has found him at last." - -As soon as Florence had translated these words to Carlitos, Mr. Eldridge -moved over closer to the three. "If it had not been for you girls, I -never would have found my boy," he said patting Carlitos' shoulder -affectionately. "You risked your lives for him, and I'll never cease to -be grateful to you. Since, with your help, we've got the mine back for -Carlitos, we want you to have a share in it. As soon as I get back to the -city I'm going to send each of you several shares of the stock." - -"Oh, thank you!" Jo Ann cried. "But we really don't deserve it." - -"That's so good of you and Carlitos," Florence added. She turned to -Carlitos then and told him how glad she and Jo Ann were to be partners -with him in his mine. "We want always to be your friends," she ended. - -"Don't forget the other senorita," Carlitos said, shining eyed. "I want -her to be a partner in my mine, too. Tell my uncle that." - -Florence turned and repeated this to Mr. Eldridge. - -He smiled back at her, then at Dr. Blackwell. "We have already arranged -for her to have some shares also. I'm going to see that Jose and his -family are well taken care of the rest of their lives, too. They have -been so good to my boy." - -"That'll be fine!" exclaimed both girls together. - -Jo Ann pressed Florence's hand. "I'm so glad! They deserve to, after all -they've been through." - -Jo Ann squeezed Florence's hand tightly, her eyes like twin stars. -"Didn't you say that Esperanza means hope? It'll mean new hope now for -Carlitos and Jose and his family--and for us too. Let's call it the New -Hope Mine from now on." - -"A grand idea!" - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original--this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---Added a list of the Mexican Mystery Series. - ---Added a Table of Contents. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mystery of Carlitos, by -Helen Randolph and Virginia Fairfax and Helen A. 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