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diff --git a/43699-0.txt b/43699-0.txt index c971e96..d12af98 100644 --- a/43699-0.txt +++ b/43699-0.txt @@ -1,36 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Phantom Town Mystery, by Carol Norton - -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 Phantom Town Mystery - -Author: Carol Norton - -Release Date: September 12, 2013 [EBook #43699] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM TOWN MYSTERY *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43699 *** [Frontispiece: _On all sides there were deserted adobe houses in varying degrees of ruin._] @@ -6212,360 +6180,4 @@ graduate next June.” End of Project Gutenberg's The Phantom Town Mystery, by Carol Norton -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM TOWN MYSTERY *** - -***** This file should be named 43699-0.txt or 43699-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/6/9/43699/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. 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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 Phantom Town Mystery - -Author: Carol Norton - -Release Date: September 12, 2013 [EBook #43699] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM TOWN MYSTERY *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - -[Frontispiece: _On all sides there were deserted adobe houses in -varying degrees of ruin._] - - - - - THE PHANTOM - TOWN MYSTERY - - - By CAROL NORTON - - - Author _of_ - - "The Phantom Yacht," "Bobs, A Girl Detective," - "The Seven Sleuths' Club," "The Phantom - Town," Etc. - - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Akron, Ohio New York - - Copyright MCMXXXIII - The Saalfield Publishing Company - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - I Lucky Loon 7 - II The Ghost Town 15 - III The Missing Friends 24 - IV "Desperate Dick" 32 - V Poor Little Bodil 40 - VI The Evil-eye Turquoise 48 - VII Middle of the Night 56 - VIII Singing Cowboys 64 - IX A Vagabond Family 72 - X A Lonely Mountain Road 80 - XI The Skeleton Stage Coach 88 - XII A Narrow Escape 95 - XIII A Sand Storm 103 - XIV "A.'S and N. E.'S." 111 - XV In the Barn Loft 119 - XVI Searching For Clues 127 - XVII A Wooden Doll 135 - XVIII A Strange Hostess 143 - XIX A Gun Shot 151 - XX Introducing an Air Scout 160 - XXI A Possible Clue 168 - XXII An Interesting Arrival 176 - XXIII A Silver Plane 184 - XXIV A Long Night Watch 192 - XXV A Cry for Help 200 - XXVI Is It a Clue? 208 - XXVII It Was a Clue 215 - XXVIII A New Complication 222 - XXIX An Old Letter 230 - XXX Secret Entrance to the Rock House 238 - XXXI A Wonderful Secret Told 246 - - - - - THE PHANTOM TOWN - MYSTERY - - - - - CHAPTER I - LUCKY LOON - - -A whirl of gleaming sand and dust on a cross desert road in Arizona. The -four galloping objects turned off the road, horses rearing, riders -laughing; the two Eastern girls flushed, excited; the pale college -student exultant; the cowboy guide enjoying their pleasure. A warm, -sage-scented wind carried the cloud of dust away from them down into the -valley. - -"That was glorious sport, wasn't it, Mary?" Dora Bellman's olive-tinted -face was glowing joyfully. "Wouldn't our equestrian teacher back in -Sunnybank Seminary be properly proud of us?" - -Lovely Mary Moore, delicately fashioned, fair as her friend was dark, -nodded beamingly, too out of breath for the moment to speak. - -Jerry Newcomb in his picturesque cowboy garb, blue handkerchief knotted -about his neck, looked admiringly at the smaller girl. - -"I reckon you two'll want to ride in the rodeo. I never saw Easterners -get saddle-broke on cow ponies as quick as you have." Then his gray eyes -smiled at the other boy, tall, thin, pale, who was wiping dust from his -shell-rimmed glasses. "Dick Farley, I reckon you've ridden before." - -Dick flashed a radiant smile which made his rather plain face momentarily -good-looking. "Some," he said, "when I was a kid on Granddad's farm just -out of Boston." - -Jerry, a little ahead, was leading them slowly across soft shimmering -sand toward a narrow entrance in cliff-like rocks. - -Dora protested, "Mary _ought_ to know how to ride a cow pony since she -was born right here on the desert while I have always lived on the Hudson -River until two weeks ago." - -"Even so," Mary retaliated brightly, "but, as you know, I left here when -I was eight to go East to school and since I have _never_ been back, I -haven't much advantage over you." - -The cowboy turned in his saddle and there was a tender light in his eyes -as he looked at the younger girl. "I'm sure glad something fetched you -back, Mary, though I'm mighty sorry it was your dad's illness that did -it." - -Dora, glancing at the pretty face of her best friend, saw the frank, -friendly smile she gave the cowboy. To herself she thought,--"Jerry -certainly thinks Mary is the sweetest thing he ever saw, but _she_ only -thinks of him as a nice boy who once, long ago, was her childhood -playmate." - -They had reached the narrow entrance in the wall of rocks. It was a -mysterious looking spot; a giant gateway leading, the girls knew not -where. On the gleaming sand near the entrance lay a half-buried skeleton. -It looked as though it might have been that of a man rather than a beast. -The girls exchanged startled glances, but, as Jerry was riding -unconcernedly through the gateway, they silently followed. - -"What a dramatic sort of place!" Dora exclaimed in an awed voice as she -gazed about her. - -They were on a floor of sand that was circled about by low mountains, -grim, gray, uninviting. Here and there in crevices a twisted dwarf tree -clung, its roots exposed. There was a death-like silence in the place. -Even the soft rush of wind over the desert outside could not be heard. - -Mary shuddered and rode closer to the cowboy. "Jerry," she said, "_why_ -have you brought us here? Is there something that you want to show us?" - -The cowboy nodded. "You recollect that Dora was saying how she wished -there was a mystery she could solve--" he began, when he was interrupted. - -"Oh, Jerry," Dora's dark eyes glowed with anticipation, "is there -_really_ a mystery here--in this awfully bleak place? What? Where? I -don't see anything at all but those almost straight up and down cliffs -and--" - -There was an exultant exclamation from Dick Farley. Perhaps his strong -spectacles gave him clearer sight. - -"I see a house, honest Injun, I do, or something that looks powerfully -like one." He turned questioning eyes toward the cowboy. - -"Righto! You're clever, old man!" Jerry Newcomb told him. "Don't tell -where it is. See if the girls can find it." - -For a long silent moment Mary and Dora sat in their saddles turning their -gaze slowly about the low circling mountains. - -Dora's excited cry told the others that she saw it, and Mary, noting the -direction of her friend's gaze, saw, high on a narrow ledge, what looked -like a wall made of small rocks with openings that might have been meant -for two windows and a door. The flat roof could not be seen from the -floor of the desert. - -"How perfectly thrilling!" Dora cried. "What was it, Jerry, an Indian -cliff dwelling?" - -The cowboy shook his head. "Let's ride up closer," he said. He led the -way to the very base of the low mountain. The ledge, which had one time -been the front yard of the house, had been cracked by the elements and -leaned outward, leaving a crevice of about twenty feet. There were no -steps leading up to the house. It was, as far as the three Easterners -could see, without a way of approach. - -Dick Farley rode about examining the spot from all angles. "Jerry," he -said at last, "if it isn't an Indian dwelling, who did live there? Surely -_not_ a white family!" - -The cowboy shook his head. "Not a family. Only a man, Danish, but he was -white all right. Sven Pedersen was his name but everyone called him -'Lucky Loon.' The name fitted him on two counts. Lucky because he struck -it rich so often, and he certainly was 'loony' if that means crazy." - -"What did he do?" Mary asked, her blue eyes wide and a little terrified. - -"Sven Pedersen had a secret--Dad said--and that was why he took to -hoarding all the wealth he got out of his gold and turquoise mines. My -father was a boy then. He says he hasn't any doubt but that old rock -house up yonder is plastered with gold and turquoise." - -Dora asked in amazement, "Doesn't anybody know? Hasn't anyone _ever_ -climbed up there to see?" - -"No one that I've heard tell about," Jerry said. "No one cared to risk -his life doing it, I reckon." Then, seeming to feel that he had -sufficiently aroused his listeners' curiosity, the cowboy went on to -explain. "As Sven Pedersen grew old, he got queerer and queerer. He took -a notion that he was going to be killed for his money, so after he'd -built that rock house, he shut himself up in it, and if any intruder so -much as rode through that gateway in the rocks over there, bang would go -his gun and the horse would drop dead. He was sure-shot all right, Sven -Pedersen was." - -Dick Farley's large eyes glanced from the high house out to the gate in -the wall of rock. "I bet the rider of the dead horse scuttled away mighty -quick," he said. - -"I reckon he did," Jerry agreed when Dora exclaimed in a tone of horror: -"He must have shot a man once anyway. Mary and I saw the half-buried -skeleton of one out by the gate. We were sure we did." - -"Maybe so," Jerry went on explaining. "You see no one could tell whether -the Lucky Loon was in his house or out of it; no one ever saw him in the -door or on the ledge, but they found out soon enough when they heard his -gun bang." - -"How did he get his food and water?" Dick asked. - -"Maybe there's a spring on the mountain," Dora suggested. - -"Nary a spring," the cowboy told them. "These mountains and the desert -around here are bone dry. That's why there's so many skeletons of cows -hereabout. Some reckoned that he rode away nights to a town where he -wasn't known. He might have stayed away for days and got back in the -night without anyone knowing." - -"But, Jerry, what happened to him in the end? Does anybody know? Did he -go away?" Dora and Dick were questioning when Mary cried in sudden alarm, -"Oh, Jerry, he _isn't_ here _now_, is he?" - -It was Dora who replied, "Of course not, Mary. You _know_ Jerry wouldn't -bring us in here if there was any danger of our being shot." - -"I reckon Sven Pedersen's been dead this long time back," the cowboy told -them. "Father was a kid when Lucky Loon was old. Dad says he and some -other kids watched around the gate rocks, taking turns for almost a week. -They reckoned if the old hermit _had_ gone away, they'd like to climb up -there and find the Evil Eye Turquoise Sven had boasted so much about -before he shut himself up." - -"_Did_ they climb up there?" - -"_What_ was the eye?" - -"One question at a time, please," Jerry told the eager girls. "No, they -didn't go. Dad said it was his turn to watch one night. There was a -cutting wind and since it was very dark, he thought he'd just slip inside -of the rock gate where the blowing sand wouldn't hit him. Dad got sort of -sleepy, after a time, crouched down on the sand, when suddenly he heard a -gun bang. He leaped out of the gate, up on his horse and galloped for -home. He laughs when he tells that story. He reckons now that he'd -dreamed the shot since Sven Pedersen never _was_ seen again and that was -thirty years ago." The cowboy had looked at his watch. "Jumping Steers!" -he exclaimed. "Most milking time and here I'm fifteen miles from the -ranch. Dick, will you ride home with the girls?" - -Jerry had whirled his horse's head and had started for the gateway, the -others quickly following. Dick, at the end, was just passing through the -gate when they distinctly heard the report of a gun. - - - - - CHAPTER II - THE GHOST TOWN - - -Safely outside of the wall of rocks, the four young people drew their -restless horses to a standstill. Mary's nettlesome brown pony was hard to -quiet until Jerry reached out a strong brown hand and patted its head. - -Mary lifted startled blue eyes. "Jerry, _what_ do you make of that?" she -asked. "We _couldn't_ have imagined that gun shot and surely the horses -heard it also." - -Jerry's smile was reassuring. "'Twas the story that frightened you girls, -I reckon," he said, glancing about and up and down the road as he spoke. -"It's hunters out after quail or rabbits, more'n like." - -Then, seeing that Mary still glanced anxiously back at the gate in the -rock wall, Dick said sensibly, "Of course you girls _know_ that Sven -Pedersen _couldn't_ be in that high house. He _must_ have been dead for -years if he was old when Jerry's father was a boy." - -"Of course," Dora, less inclined to be imaginative, replied. Then to the -cowboy she said in her practical matter-of-fact way, "Hurry along home to -your milking, Jerry, and Dick, don't you bother to come with us. Now that -you're working on the Newcomb ranch you ought to be there. It's only a -few miles up over this sunshiny road to Gleeson. We aren't the least bit -afraid to ride home alone, are we?" She smiled at her friend. - -Mary, not wishing to appear foolishly timid, said, in as courageous a -voice as she could muster, "Of course we're not afraid. Goodbye, boys, -we'll see you tomorrow." - -Turning the heads of their horses up a gently ascending mountain road, -the girls cantered away. At a bend, Mary glanced back. The boys were -sitting just where they had left them. Jerry's sombrero and Dick's cap -waved, then, feeling assured that the girls were all right, the boys went -at a gallop down the road and across the desert valley to the Newcomb -ranch which nestled at the base of the Chiricahua range. - -"They're nice boys, aren't they?" Mary said. "I've always wished I had a -brother and I do believe Jerry is going to be just like one." - -Aloud Dora replied, "I have noticed that sometimes he calls you 'Little -Sister.'" To herself she thought: "Oh, Mary, how _blind_ you are!" - -Dreamily the younger girl was saying--"That's because we were playmates -when we were little so very long ago." - -"Oh my, how ancient we are!" Dora said teasingly. "Please remember that -you are only one year younger than I am and I refuse to be called -elderly." - -Mary smiled faintly but it was evident that she was still thinking of the -past, when she had been a little girl with golden curls that hung to her -waist; a wonderfully pretty, wistful little girl. When she spoke, she -said, "It's only natural that Jerry should call me 'Little Sister.' Our -mothers were like sisters when they were girl brides. I've told you how -they both came from the East just as we have. My mother met Dad in Bisbee -where he was a mining engineer, and Jerry's mother taught a little desert -school over near the Newcomb ranch. She didn't teach long though, for -that very first vacation she married Jerry's cowboy father. After that -Mother and Mrs. Newcomb were good friends, naturally, being brides and -neighbors." - -Dora laughed. "Twenty-five miles apart wouldn't be called _close_ -neighbors in Sunnybank-on-the-Hudson where I come from," she said. - -Mary, not heeding the interruption, kept on. "When Jerry and I were -little, we were playmates. I spent days at the ranch sometimes," her -sweet face was very sad as she ended with, "until Mother died when I was -eight." - -"Then you came East to boarding-school and became like a sister to me," -Dora said tenderly. "Oh, Mary, when you came West to be with your dear -sick dad, I wonder if you know what it meant to me to be allowed to come -with you." - -"I know what it means to _me_ to have you, Dodo, so I 'spect it means the -same to you," was the affectionate reply. - -For a time the girls cantered along in thoughtful silence. The rutty road -was leading up toward the tableland on which stood the now nearly -deserted old mining-town of Gleeson. - -Far below them the desert valley stretched many miles southward to the -Mexican border. The girls could see a distant blue haze that was the -smoke from the Douglas copper smelters. - -The late afternoon sun lay in floods of silver light on the sandy road -ahead of them. It was very still. Not a sound was to be heard. Now and -then a rabbit darted past silently. - -"How peaceful this hour is on the desert," Mary began, glancing at her -friend who was riding so close at her side. Noticing that Dora was deep -in thought, she asked lightly, "Won't you say it out loud?" - -"Why, of course. I was just wondering why Jerry hurried us away so fast -from Lucky Loon's rock house." - -"Because he had to do the milking," Mary replied simply. - -Dora nodded. "So he _said_." Then she hastened to add, "Oh, don't think -I'm inferring that Jerry told an untruth, but you know that some evenings -he has stayed with us for supper and--" - -Mary glanced up startled. "Dora Bellman," she said, "do you think maybe -there _was_ someone up in that rock house watching us all the time we -were there; someone who fired the gun just as we were leaving to warn us -to keep away?" - -Dora, seeing her friend's pale face, was sorry that she had wondered -aloud. "Of course not!" she said brightly. "That's impossible!" Then to -change the subject, she started another. "Jerry didn't have time to tell -us about the Evil Eye Turquoise, did he?" - -"Dora, do you know what _I_ think?" Mary exclaimed as one who had made an -important discovery. "I don't believe he will tell us about that. I acted -so like a scare-cat all the time we were there, he won't ever take us -there again and he probably won't tell us the story either." - -"Then I'll find it out some other way," Dora declared. "I'm crazy about -mysteries as you know, and, if there _really is one_ about that rock -house, I want to try to solve it." - -She said no more about it just then, as they had reached the old ghost -town of Gleeson. They turned up a side street toward mountain peaks that -were about a mile away. On their right was the corner general store and -post office. A crumbling old adobe building it was, with a rotting wooden -porch, on which stood a row of armchairs. In the long ago days when the -town had been teeming with life, picturesque looking miners and ranchers -had sat there tilted back, smoking pipes and swapping yarns. Today the -chairs were empty. - -An old man, shriveled, gray-bearded, unkempt, but with kind gray eyes, -deep-sunken under shaggy brows, stood in the open door. He smiled out at -them in a friendly way, then beckoned with a bony finger. - -"I do believe Mr. Harvey has a letter for us," Dora said. - -The old man had shuffled into the dark well of his store. A moment later -he reappeared with several letters and a newspaper. - -"Good!" Dora exclaimed as she rode close to the porch. "Thanks a lot," -she called brightly up to the old man who was handing the packet down -over the sagging wooden rail. - -His friendly, toothless smile was directed at the smaller girl. "Heerd -tell as how yer pa's sittin' up agin, Miss Mary," he said. "Mis' Farley, -yer nurse woman, came down ter mail some letters a spell back." Then, -before Mary could reply, he continued in his shrill, wavering voice, -"That thar pale fellar wi' specs on is her son, ain't he?" - -"Yes, Mr. Harvey. Dick is Mrs. Farley's son." Mary took time, in a -friendly way, to satisfy the old man's curiosity. "Dick has been going to -the Arizona State University this winter to be near his mother. She's a -widow and he's her only son. Her husband was a doctor and they lived back -in Boston before he died." - -"Dew tell!" the old man wagged his head sympathetically. "I seen the -young fellar ridin' around wi' Jerry Newcomb." - -"Dick's working on the Newcomb ranch this summer," Mary said, as she -started to ride on. - -"Ho! Ho!" the old man cackled. "Tenderfoot if ever thar was un. What's -Jerry reckonin' that young fellar kin do? Bustin' broncs?" - -Mary smiled in appreciation of the old man's joke. "No, Jerry won't -expect Dick to do _that_ right at first. He's official fence-mender just -at present." - -Dora defended the absent boy. "Mr. Harvey, you wait until Dick has been -on the desert long enough to get a coat of tan; he _may_ surprise you." - -"Wall, mabbe! mabbe!" the old storekeeper chuckled to himself as the -girls, waving back at him, galloped away up the road in the little dead -town. - -On either side there were deserted adobe houses in varying degrees of -ruin, some with broken windows and doors, others with sagging roofs and -crumbling walls. - -The only sign of life was in three small adobes where poor Mexican -families lived. Broken windows in two of the houses were stuffed with -rags; the door yards were littered with rubbish. Unkempt children played -in front of the middle house. The third adobe was neat and well kept. In -it lived the Lopez family. Carmelita, the wife and mother, had long been -cook for Mary Moore's father. - -A bright, black-eyed Mexican boy of about ten ran out to the road as the -girls approached. "Come on, Emanuel," Mary sang down to him. "You may put -up our horses and earn a dime." - -The small boy's white teeth flashed in a delighted grin. His brown feet -raced so fast, that, by the time the girls were dismounting before the -big square two-storied adobe near the mountains, Emanuel was there to -lead their horses around back. - -Mary glanced affectionately at the old place with its flower-edged walk, -its broad porch and adobe pillars. Here her mother had come as a bride; -here Mary had been born. Eight happy years they had spent together before -her mother died. After Mary had been taken East to school, her father had -returned, and here he had spent the winters, going back to Sunnybank each -summer to be with his little girl. - -Hurrying up the steps, Mary skipped into a pleasant living-room, where, -near a wide window that was letting in a flood of light from the setting -sun, sat her fine-looking father, pale after his long illness, but -growing stronger every day. - -"Oh, Daddy dear!" Mary's voice was vibrant with love. "You've waited up -for me, haven't you?" She dropped to her knees beside the invalid chair -and pressed her flushed face to his gray, drawn cheek. - -Then, glancing up at the nurse who had appeared from her father's -bedroom, she asked eagerly, "May I tell Dad an adventure we've had?" - -Mrs. Farley, middle-aged, kind-faced, shook her head, smiling down at the -girl. "Not tonight, please. Won't tomorrow do?" - -Mary sprang up, saying brightly, "I reckon it will have to." Then, -stooping, she kissed her father as she whispered tenderly, "Rest well, -darling. We're hoping you know all about--" then, little girl fashion, -she clapped her hand on her mouth, mumbling, "Oh, I most disobeyed and -_told_ our adventure. See you tomorrow, Daddy." - - - - - CHAPTER III - THE MISSING FRIENDS - - -Upstairs, in Mary's room which was furnished as it had been when she had -been there as a child, curly maple set with blue hangings, the two girls -changed from riding habits to house dresses. Mary wore a softly clinging -blue while Dora donned her favorite and most becoming cherry color. - -"One might think that we are expecting company tonight." Mary was peering -into the oval glass as she spoke, arranging her fascinating golden curls -above small shell-like ears. - -"Which, of course, we are _not_." Dora had brushed her black bob, -boy-fashion, slick to her head. "There being no near neighbors to drop -in." Then suddenly she exclaimed, "Oh, for goodness sakes alive, I -completely forgot that letter. It's for both of us from Polly and Patsy. -I've been wondering why they didn't write and tell us where they had -decided to spend their summer vacation." - -Dora sprang up to search for the letter in a pocket of her riding habit. -Mary sat near a window in a curly maple rocker as she said dreamily: "If -we hadn't come West, we would have been with them--that is, if they went -to Camp Winnichook up in the Adirondacks the way we had planned all -winter." - -Dora, holding the letter unopened, sat near her friend and smiled at her -reminiscently as she said, "We plan and plan and plan for the future, -don't we, and then we do something exactly different, and _most_ -unexpected, but _I_ wouldn't give up being out here on the desert and -living in a ghost town for all the fun Patsy and Polly may be having--" - -Mary laughingly interrupted. "Do read the letter and let's see if they -really _did_ go there. Perhaps--" - -"Yes, they did." Dora had unfolded a large, boyish-looking sheet of -paper. "Camp Winnichook," she announced, then she read the rather -indolent scrawl. "Dear Cowgirls,"--it began-- - -"Patsy has just come in from a swim. She's drying her bathing suit by -lying on the sand in front of the cabin in the sun. Her red hair, which -_she_ calls 'a wind blown mop,' looks, at present, like a mop that has -just finished doing the kitchen floor. Last winter, you recall, she had a -_few_ red freckles on her saucy pug nose, but now she wears them all over -her face and arms and even on her back. She's a sight to behold!" - -There were spatters on the paper that might have been water. The type of -penmanship changed. A jerky, uneven handwriting seemed to ejaculate -indignantly, "Don't you kids believe a word of it. I'm a dazzling -beauty--as ever! It's Polly whose looks are ruined--if she ever had any. -She won't play tennis and she _won't_ swim and she _will_ eat chocolate -drops--you know the finish, and she wasn't any too slim last year when -she _had_ to do gym." - -The first penmanship took up the tale. "I had to forcibly push Patsy -away. She's gone in to dress now, so I'll hurry and get this letter into -an envelope and sealed before she gets back because I want to tell on -her. - -"You know Pat has always said she was a boy hater, and the more the boys -from Wales Military Academy rushed her, the more she would shrug her -shoulders and 'pouff!' about them, but she's met her Waterloo. There's a -flying field near our camp and a boy named Harry Hulbert is there -studying to be a pilot. Pat and I strolled over to the field one day and -ever since she caught sight of that tall, slim chap all done up in his -flying togs, she's been wild to meet him. I wouldn't be surprised if -she's even hoping that his machine will crash some day right in front of -our cabin so that she can bind up his wounds and--" - -Once again the jerky, uneven writing seemed to exclaim, "Silly gilly! -_That's what_ Polly is! It isn't the flier, it's the flying that _I'm_ -crazy about. I _do_ wish I knew that Harry Hulbert, but not for any -sentimental reasons, believe me. Pouff--for all of 'em! But fly I'm going -to!! In truth, if you girls stay West until the end of vacation, you -_may_ see an airplane landing in your ghost town--me piloting!!!???" - -Then came a wide space and when the writing began again, it was dated -three days later and was Polly's lazy scrawl. "It's to laugh!" she began. -"But, to explain. If you wish hard enough for anything, it's _bound_ to -happen. Not that Harry Hulbert's plane crashed in front of our cabin but -it was forced down when Patsy and I were out in her little green car far -from human habitation. Of course we hadn't gone riding _just_ because we -_saw_ that particular little silver plane practicing up in the air--oh, -no--not at all!" - -Patsy's jerky scribble interrupted. "She's a mean, horrid, -misrepresenting person, Polly Perkins is! She knows perfectly well we -_had_ to go to the village to get a pound of butter for our camp mother, -and wasn't it only _polite_ for us to give that poor stranded boy a lift? -He _is_ a real decent sort, even though the only thing _he's_ crazy about -is flying, but we _did_ learn something about him. His father has some -sort of a government position in Arizona, where _you_ are, no less. I -mean, in the same state, and when Harry gets his pilot's license, he is -to be a flying scout, he told us. He said it will be an awfully exciting -life. When there has been a holdup out there on a stage or a train and -the bandits leap on to their horses and flee across the border, Harry is -to pursue them in his little silver plane and see where they go. Then -he'll circle back to where a posse is waiting, notify them, and so the -bandits will be captured. Won't that be simply too thrilling for words? -Oh, _why_ wasn't I born a boy? I could have been Patrick, then, instead -of Patsy. Believe me, when Harry Hulbert gets his license, and it won't -be long now--he's _that_ good--don't I wish I could be a stowaway in his -plane! We'd have to leave Polly here though. She's so heavy, the plane -wouldn't be able to get off of the ground." - -The lazy scrawl concluded the epistle. "If Patsy goes West, so do I, but -I'll go by train. I have no romantic urge to take to the air with slim, -goggle-eyed young men with a purpose in life. - -"Our camp mother (nice Mrs. Higgins, Jane's aunt, came with us this year) -is calling us to lunch, and right after that Pat and I are going to town -to mail this. Pat wants me to say that when _her_ friend Mister Harry -Hulbert _does_ fly West, she'll give him a letter of introduction to you -two and I calls that right generous of her considering--" - -"Pouff!" came a brief interruption. Then "Goodbye. We're signing off. -Patsy Ordelle and Polly Perkins of the famous Sunnybank Seminary -Quadralettes." - -"What a jolly letter!" Mary said. "Wouldn't it be fun if the missing -members of our little clan could be here with us. Patsy is as wild about -mystery stories as you are and this ghost town just teems with them." - -A rich, musical voice drifted up from the back porch, "Seoritas!" - -"Oh, good! There's Carmelita calling us to supper, and _am I hungry_?" -Dora tossed the letter on the dresser and slipping an arm about her -friend, she gave her a little impulsive hug. - -"I don't envy Pat and Poll, not the least little mite," she said as they -went down the broad front stairway together. "It _is_ lovely at Camp -Winnichook as we well know, since we've been there with them the past -three summers, but the desert has a lure for me that the little blue lake -in the mountains never did have." - -"I know," Mary agreed. "Those mountains are more like pretty hills. -There's nothing grim or grand about them." - -They entered a large, pleasant kitchen, in one corner of which, between -two windows, was a table spread with a red cloth. A good-looking -middle-aged Mexican woman, dressed in bright colors, stood at the stove -preparing to dish up their meal. "_Buenos dias, nias_," she said in her -deep, musical voice. - -"Good evening, Carmelita," the girls replied, and then, when they had -been served generous portions of the Americanized Mexican dish which the -girls called "tamale pie," Dora flashed at the smiling cook a pleased -glance as she said, "_Muchas gracias, Seora_." - -Then to Mary, "It doesn't take long to use up all the Spanish _I_ know. -Let's take a vow that when we go back to Sunnybank Seminary next fall we -will add Spanish to--" A wistful expression in her friend's face caused -Dora to pause and exclaim in real alarm, "Mary Moore, do you think, -because of your dad, that you _won't_ be able to go back East to school? -You have only one year more before you graduate. You know how we four of -'The Quadralettes' have counted on graduating together." - -Mary smiled brightly. "Of course, I expect to go and take Dad with me." -Her momentary wistful doubting had passed. - -They had finished their supper and were rising when Carmelita, who had -been out on the back porch, hurried in and began a rapid chattering in -her own language. The mystified girls could not understand one word. But, -as the Mexican woman kept pointing out toward the road, they felt sure -that someone was coming toward the house, nor were they wrong. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - "DESPERATE DICK" - - -Skipping to the vine-covered back porch, the two girls peered through the -deepening dusk at the approaching car. In it were two boys. - -"One of them resembles Jerry," Mary said, "but the other one is also a -cowboy, so it can't be Dick." - -"It is Dick!" Dora exclaimed gleefully. "Jerry must have loaned him some -cowboy togs." - -"Oh, Happy Days!" Mary exulted. "Now we can ask Jerry about that Evil Eye -Turquoise and all the rest of the story about poor Mr. Lucky Loon." - -"If there is any rest to it," Dora remarked. "Look!" she interrupted -herself to point laughingly at the little car that was rattling toward -them. "Dick is waving his sombrero. He wants us to be sure and take -notice of it!" - -"Isn't he proud though?" Mary chuckled. "His face fairly shines." - -Then, as the small car drew up near the porch, the girls clapped their -hands gaily, and yet quietly, remembering that Mary's invalid father -might be asleep. - -"Oh, Dick," Dora exclaimed, not trying to hide her admiration, "your -mother must see her to-be-physician son. You make a regular screen-star -cowboy, doesn't he, Mary?" - -Before the other girl could reply, Dick, who had leaped to the ground, -struck a ridiculous pose as he said in a deep, dramatic voice, "Dick, the -Desperate Range Rider." - -Dora's infectious laugh rang out. "Your big, dark eyes look so solemn -through those shell-rimmed glasses, Mr. Desperate Dick, that somehow you -fail to strike terror into our hearts," she bantered. - -Then Mary smiled up at Jerry, who was standing near her. Half teasingly -she asked, "To what do we owe the honor of this visit? When we parted -this afternoon, you called 'we'll see you tomorrow.'" - -Jerry glanced at the other boy, mischievous twinkles in his gray eyes. -"You might as well 'fess up, old man. Truth is, Dick couldn't wait until -tomorrow to let you girls admire him in his cowboy togs." - -"Villain!" Dick tried to glower at his betraying friend, but ended by -beaming upon him with a most friendly grin. "I suppose I _had_ to _rope_ -you and drag you over here quite against your will." - -Jerry's smile at the curly-headed little girl at his side revealed, more -than words, the real reason of his coming. What he said was, "Mom had a -letter she wanted mailed and--er--as long as Dick wanted to show off, I -reckoned--" - -"Oh, Jerry," Mary caught his arm, "it really doesn't matter in the least -_why_ you came. I was wild to see you--" then, when the tall cowboy began -to glow with pride, Mary quite spoiled her compliment by hurrying to add, -"Oh, it wasn't _you_ that I wanted to see." Jerry pretended to be greatly -crestfallen, so she laughingly added, "Of course I'm _always_ glad to see -you, Big Brother, but--" - -"Goodness!" Dora rushed to her friend's rescue. "You're getting all -tangled up." Then to Jerry, "Mary and I are wild to know more about that -awfully desolate stone house you showed us this afternoon and about the -Evil Eye Turquoise--" - -"Yes, and about poor Mr. Lucky Loon--" Mary put in. - -"Rather a contradictory description, isn't it?" Dick asked. "How can a -man be poor and lucky all in one sentence?" - -"I'll tell you what." Jerry had a plan to suggest. "Let's go down to the -store and get old Silas Harvey to tell us all that he knows about Lucky -Loon. I reckon he'd loosen up for you girls, but he never would for me. -He knows more than any other living person about that rock house and the -mystery of Sven Pedersen's life--" - -"Oh, good!" Mary's animated face was lovely to look upon in the -starlight. Jerry's eyes would have told her so, had she read them aright, -but her thoughts were not of herself. - -"Let's walk down," she suggested. "It's such a lovely night." Then she -added, "Wait here while Dora and I go up to our room and put on our -sweater coats." - -"You'll need them!" Dick commented. "Even in June these desert nights are -nippy." - -The girls, hand in hand, fairly danced through the wide lower hall, but -so softly that no sound could penetrate the closed door beyond which -Mary's father slept. - -They did not need to light the kerosene lamp. The two long door-like -windows in Mary's room were letting in a flood of soft, silvery -starlight. Dora found her flash and her jaunty green sweater coat. "It -looks better with this cherry-colored dress than my pink one," she -chattered, "and your yellow coat looks too sweet for anything with that -blue dress. Happy Days, but doesn't Jerry think you're too pretty to be -real? His eyes almost eat you up--" - -"Silly!" Mary retorted. "It's utterly impossible for Jerry and me to fall -in love with each other. Goodness, didn't we play together when we were -babies?" Her tone seemed to imply that no more could possibly be said -upon the subject. - -"No one is so blind as he who will not see," Dora sing-songed her trite -quotation, then, fearing that Mary would not like so much teasing, she -slipped a loving arm about her and gave her a little contrite hug. "I'll -promise to join the blind hereafter, if you think I'm seeing too much, -Mary dear," she promised. - -"I think you're _imagining_ too much," was the laughing rejoinder. "Now, -let's tiptoe downstairs, and oh, I must tap at the sitting-room door and -tell nice Mrs. Farley where we are going." - -Just before Mary tapped, however, the door opened softly and Dick -appeared, his mother closely following, her rather tired brown eyes -adoring him. "Haven't I the nicest cowboy son?" she asked the girls, -glancing from one to the other impartially. - -It was Dora who replied, "We think so, Mrs. Farley." - -"However," the mother leaned forward to kiss the boy's pale cheek, "I'll -not be entirely satisfied until you're as brown as Jerry." - -"Has Dick told you that we girls are going?--" Mary began. - -Mrs. Farley nodded pleasantly. "Down to the post office? Yes, I hope -you'll find that ancient storekeeper in a garrulous mood. Good night!" - -Jerry was seated on the top step of the back porch waiting for them. They -caught a dreamy far-away expression in his gray eyes. He was looking -across the shimmering distance to the Chiricahua Mountains, and thinking -of the time when he would build, on his own five hundred acres, a home -for someone. He glanced up almost guiltily when Mary's finger tips gave -him a light caress on his sun-tanned cheek. - -"Brother Jerry," she teased, "are you star-dreaming?" - -He sprang to his feet. "I reckon I _was_ dreaming, sure enough, Little -Sister," he confessed. - -Mary slipped her slim, white hand under his khaki-covered arm, and, -smiling up at him with frank friendship, she said, "The road down the -hill is so rough and hobbly, I'm going to hang on to you, may I?" - -Dora did not hear the cowboy's low spoken reply, for Dick was speaking to -her, but to herself she thought, "Some day a miracle will be performed -and she who is now blind will see, and great will be the revelation." -Then, self-rebuking and aloud, "Oh, Dick, forgive me, what were you -saying? I reckon, as Jerry says, that I was thinking of something else." - -"Not very complimentary to your present companion." Dick pretended to be -quite downcast about it. "I merely asked if I might aid you over the -ruts--" - -Dora laughed gleefully. "Dick," she said in a low voice, "I'm going to -tell you what I was thinking. I was wondering why Mary doesn't notice -that Jerry likes her extra-special." Dick's eyes were wide in the -starlight. "Does he? I hadn't noticed it." - -Dora laughed and changed the subject. "Oh, Dick, isn't this the -shudderin'est, spookiest place there ever was?" - -They had passed the three small adobe huts that were occupied by Mexican -families and were among the old crumbling houses, which, in the dim -light, looked more haunted than they had in the day. - -"I suppose that each one holds memories of sudden riches won, and many of -them have secrets of tragedies,--_murders_ even, maybe." Dora shuddered -and drew closer to Dick. - -"You _are_ imaginative tonight," he said, smiling at her startled, -olive-tinted face. "It's quite a leap, though, from romance to gunfights -and--" - -Mary turned to call back to them, "Jerry and I have it all planned, just -what we are to do. I'm to ask some innocent question and, Dora, you're to -help me out, but we mustn't appear _too_ interested or too prying, Jerry -says, or for some reason, quite unknown, old Mr. Harvey will put on the -clam act. Shh! Here we are! Good, there's a light. Now Jerry is to speak -his piece first and I am to chime in. Then, Dora, you take your cue from -me." - -Dick whispered close to his companion's ear, "I evidently haven't a -speaking part in the tragedy or comedy about to be enacted." - -Dora giggled. "You can be scenery," she teased, recalling to Dick the -forgotten fact that he was wearing a cowboy outfit for the first time and -feeling rather awkward in it. - -Jerry opened the door, a jangling bell rang; then he stepped aside and -let Mary enter first. - - - - - CHAPTER V - POOR LITTLE BODIL - - -Old Mr. Harvey was dozing in a tilted armchair close to his stove. He sat -up with a start when his discordant-toned bell rang, and blinked into the -half-darkness near the door. The smoked chimney on his hanging kerosene -lamp in the middle of the room and near the ceiling did little to -illumine the place. When he saw who his visitors were, he gave his queer -cackling laugh, "Wall, I'll be dinged ef I wa'n't a dreamin' I was back -in holdup days and that some of them thar bandits was bustin' in to clean -out my stock." Then, as he rose, almost creakingly, he said, -disparagingly, as he glanced about at the dust and cobweb-covered -shelves, "Not as how they'd find onythin' _now_ worth the totin' away." - -Having, by that time, gone around back of his long counter, he peered -through misty spectacles at Mary. "Is thar suthin' I could be gettin' fer -yo', Little Miss?" he asked. - -Jerry stepped forward and placed a half dollar on the counter. "Stamps, -please, Mr. Harvey," he said. "I reckon that's all we're wanting tonight, -thanks." - -The cowboy put the stamps in his pocket, dropped his mother's letter in a -slot, and turned, as though he were about to leave, but Mary detained him -with: - -"Oh, Jerry, you don't have to hurry away, do you? I thought," her sweet -appealing smile turned toward the old man, "that perhaps Mr. Harvey might -be willing to tell us a story if we stayed awhile." - -"Sho' as shootin'!" the unkempt old man seemed pleased indeed to walk -into Mary's trap. "Yo' set here, Little Miss." It was his own chair by -the stove he was offering. - -"No, indeed!" Mary protested. "That one just fits you. Jerry and Dick are -bringing some in from the porch." - -The boys sat on the counter. The girls, trying to hide triumphant smiles, -drew their chairs close to the stove. Old Mr. Harvey put in another -stick. Then, chewing on an end of gray whisker, he peered over his -glasses at Mary a moment, before asking, "Was thar anythin' special yo' -wanted to hear tell about?" - -Mary leaned forward, her pretty face animated: "Oh, yes, Mr. Harvey. This -afternoon Dora and I saw that small stone house that's built so it's -almost hidden on a cliff of the mountains. Can you tell us anything about -the man who built it; _why_ he did it and what became of him?" - -The old man's shaggy brows drew together thoughtfully. He seemed to -hesitate. Mary glanced at Dora, who said with eager interest, "Oh, _that -would_ be a thrilling story, I'm sure. I'd just love to hear it." - -Wisely the boys, who were not in the line of the old man's vision, said -nothing. In fact, he seemed to have forgotten their presence. - -The storekeeper was silent for so long, staring straight ahead of him at -the stove, that the girls thought they, also, had been forgotten. Then -suddenly he looked up and smiled toothlessly at Mary, nodding his grizzly -head many times before he spoke. - -"Wall," he said at last, almost as though he were speaking to an unseen -presence, "I reckon Sven Pedersen wouldn't want to hold me to secrecy no -longer--thirty year back 'tis, sence he--" suddenly he paused and held up -a bony, shaky hand. "You didn't hear no gun shot, did you?" - -The girls had heard nothing. They glanced almost fearfully up at the -boys. Jerry shook his head and put a finger to his lips. - -The girls understood that he thought it wise that the old man continue to -forget their presence. - -"Wall, I reckon the wind's risin' an' suthin' loose banged. Thar's plenty -loose, that's sartin." Then, turning rather blankly toward Mary, he asked -in a child-like manner, "What was we talkin' about?" - -Mary drew her chair closer and smiled confidingly at him. "You were going -to tell us, Mr. Harvey, _why_ Mr. Pedersen built that rock house and--" - -"Sho'! Sho'! So I was. It was forty year last Christmas he come to -Gleeson. A tall, skinny fellar he was, not so very old nor so young -neither. It was an awful blizzardy night an' thar wa'n't nobody at all -out in the streets. I was jest reckonin' as how I'd turn in, when the -door bust open an' the wind tore things offen the shelves. I had to help -get it shet. Then I looked at what had blown in. He looked like a fellar -that was most starved an' more'n half crazy. His palish blue eyes was -wild. I sot him down in this here chair by the fire an' staked him to -some hot grub. I'd seen half-starved critters eat. He snapped at the grub -jest that-a-way. When he'd et till I reckoned as how he'd bust, he sank -down in that chair an' dod blast it, ef he didn't start snorin', an' he -hadn't sed nothin', nohow. Wall, I seen as how he wa'n't goin' to wake, -so I lay down on my bunk wi' my clothes on, sort o' sleepin' wi' one eye -open, not knowin' what sort of a loon I was givin' shelter to. - -"The blizzard kep' on all the next day an' the next. Not a gol-darned -soul come to the store, so me'n' and him had plenty o' time to get to -knowin' each other. - -"Arter he'd drunk some hot coffee, he unloosed his tongue, though what he -sed was so half-forrin, I wa'n't quick to cotch onto his meanin's. - -"The heft o' his yarn was like this. He an' his little sister, Bodil, he -named her, had come from Denmark to New York. Thar he'd picked up some o' -Ameriky's way o' talking, an' enuf money to git West. Some Danish fellar -had tol' him about these here rich-quick mines, so he'd took a stage an' -fetched Bodil." - -The old man paused, and Mary, leaning forward, put her hand on his arm. -"Oh, Mr. Harvey, tell us about that little girl. How old was she and what -happened to her?" - -The old man's head shook sadly. "Bad enuf things happened to her, I -reckon. She must o' been a purty little critter. Chiny blue eyes, Sven -Pedersen sed she had, an' hair like yellar cornsilk when it fust comes -out. She was the apple o' his eye. The only livin' thing he keered for. I -sho' was plumb sorry fer him." - -"But _do_ tell us what happened to her?" Mary urged, fearing that the old -man's thought was wandering. - -"Wall, 'pears like the stage was held up on a mount'in road nigh here; -the wust road in the country hereabouts. Thar wa'n't no passengers but -Sven Pedersen an' Little Bodil; the long journey bein' about to an end. -That thar blizzard was a threatenin' an' the stage driver was hurryin' -his hosses, hopin' to get over the mountain afore it struck, when up rode -three men. One of 'em shot the driver, another of 'em dragged out a bag -of gold ore; then they fired over the hosses' heads. Skeered and rarin', -them hosses plunged over the cliff, an' down that stage crashed into the -wust gulch thar is in these here parts. - -"Sven saw his little sister throwed out into the road. Then, as the stage -keeled over, he jumped an' cotched onto some scrub tree growin' out o' -the cliff. It tuk him a long spell to climb back to the road. He was -loony wild wi' worryin' about Little Bodil. He ran to whar he'd seen her -throwed out. _She wa'n't thar._ He hunted an' called, but thar wa'n't no -answer. Then he reckoned as how that thar third bandit had whirled back -an' carried her off." - -"Oh, Mr. Harvey, how terrible!" There were tears in Mary's eyes. "Wasn't -she _ever_ found?" - -The old man shook his head sadly. "Sven Pedersen follered them bandits -afoot all night an' nex' day but they was a horseback an' he couldn't -even get sight o' them. Then the blizzard struck an' he staggered in -here, bein' as he saw my light. Arter that he went prospectin' all around -these here mount'ins an' he struck it rich. That cliff, whar he built him -a rock house, was one of his claims." - -"I suppose he never stopped hunting for poor Little Bodil." Mary's voice -was tender with sympathy. - -"Yo' reckon right, little gal. Whenever Sven Pedersen heerd tell of a -holdup anywhar in the state, he'd join the posse that was huntin' 'em but -it warn't no use, nohow. Bodil was plumb gone. Sven Pedersen never made -no friend but me. His palish blue eyes allays kept that wild look, an', -as time went on an' he piled up gold an' turquoise, he got to be dubbed -'Lucky Loon.'" - -The old man paused and started to nod his shaggy gray head so many times -that Dora, fearing he would nod himself to sleep, asked, "Mr. Harvey, -_what_ was his Evil Eye Turquoise?" - -"Hey?" The old man glanced up suspiciously. "So yo'd heerd tell about -_that_." Then he cackled his queer, cracked laugh. "I heerd about it, but -I'd allays reckoned thar wa'n't no sech thing. I cal'lated Sven Pedersen -made up that thar yarn to keep folks from climbin' up ter his rock house -an' stealin' his gold an' turquoise, if be that's whar he kept it. I -reckon as how that's the heft o' _that_ yarn an' yet, I dunno, I dunno. -Mabbe thar was suthin' to it. Mabbe thar was." - -"Oh, Mr. Harvey, we'd like awfully well to hear the story whether it's -true or not, unless," Mary said solicitously, "unless you're too sleepy -to tell it." - -The old man sat up and opened his eyes wide. "Sleepy, _me_ sleepy? Never -was waked up more! Wall, this here is the heft of that tale." - - - - - CHAPTER VI - THE EVIL-EYE TURQUOISE - - -The old man continued: - -"Sven Pedersen hisself never tol' me nothin' about that Evil Eye -Turquoise o' his'n. _That's_ why I cal'late it was a yarn he used to -skeer off onweloome visitors to his rock house, bein' as thar was spells -when he was away fer days, huntin' fer Bodil. - -"I heerd it was a big eye-shaped rock with a round center that was more -green than it was blue. Hangers-on in the store here used to spec'late -'bout it. Some reckoned, ef 'twas true that Sven _had_ found a green-blue -turquoise big as a coffee cup, it'd be wurth a lot o' money, but I dunno, -I dunno!" - -Dora recalled Mr. Harvey's wandering thoughts by asking, "It must have -been very beautiful, but _why_ was it called 'Evil Eye?'" - -The old man shook his head. "Thar was folks who'd believe onythin' in -them days," he said. "I reckon thar still is. Superstitious, yo'd call -it, so, when Sven Pedersen tol' yarns 'bout that green-blue eye o' his'n, -thar _was_ them as swallowed 'em whule." - -"Tell us one of the yarns," Mary urged. - -"Wall, Lucky Loon tol' 'round at the camps, as how he'd put that thar -turquoise eye into the inside wall o' his house jest whar it could keep -watchin' the door, an' ef onyone tried to climb in, that thar eye'd _see_ -'em!" - -"But what if it did," Dora laughed. "Was there ever anyone superstitious -enough to believe that the eye could _hurt_ them?" - -The old man nodded, looking at her solemnly. "Sven Pedersen tol' 'round -that 'twas a demon eye, an' that whatever it looked at, 'ceptin' hisself, -'d keel over paralyzed. Wall, mabbe it's hard to believe, but them -miners, bad as some of 'em was, warn't takin' no chances till 'long come -a tenderfoot fellar from the East. He heern the yarn, an' he laffed at -the whule outfit of 'em. He opined as how he'd come West to get rich -quick, an' he reckoned cleanin' out that rock house o' its gold an' -turquoise'd be a sight easier than gettin' it out o' the earth wi' pick -an' shovel. Yessir, that fellar did a power o' a lot o' boastin', but yo' -kin better believe, 'twa'n't when Lucky Loon was in hearin'." - -Dora glanced up at the two boys sitting so silently on the counter back -of the old man. She saw that they were both listening with interest. The -story was evidently as new to Jerry as to the others. Dick motioned to -Dora to ask another question as the old man had paused. - -"Oh, Mr. Harvey," she leaned forward to ask, "did that bragging boy -actually try to rob Mr. Pedersen?" - -"He sure sartin did," the storekeeper replied. "He watched over the rocks -o' nights till he'd seen Lucky Loon ridin' off, and, jedging by the pack -he was totin', that fellar cal'lated he was goin' on one of them long -rides he took, off'n' on, hunting for Bodil. Wall, arter a time, he -climbed up, draggin' a bag he'd tuk along to put the gold in. He peered -into the rock house door an' _thar_ was that eye, jest as Sven had said, -in the wall opposite, an' it was glarin' green like a cat's eye in the -dark." - -The old man stopped talking and swayed his shaggy head back and forth for -a long minute before he satisfied his listeners' curiosity. Dora found -herself clutching Mary's hand but neither of them spoke. - -"The nex' day," the old man continued, "cowboys ridin' out on the road -heerd screamin'. Then it stopped an' they couldn't place it nohow. Arter -a time they heerd it agin. Thinkin' as how Lucky Loon was hurt mabbe, -they rode in through his gate an' found that young tenderfoot fellar -writhin' around at the foot o' the cliff. He was paralyzed, sure sartin, -an' arter he'd tol' about seein' that thar turquoise eye, he give up the -ghost. _That_ much is true. They fetched the tenderfoot fellar in here to -my store an' I seen the wild, skeered look in his eyes. Wall, arter that, -Sven Pedersen didn't have no more need to worry about his house bein' -robbed." - -"Oh-o-o! I should think not." Mary shuddered, then she glanced at her -wrist watch, thinking that they ought to go. Nine o'clock, and Mr. -Harvey's store was always dark before that. They were keeping him up, but -before she could suggest leaving, she heard Dora asking still another -question. - -"Mr. Harvey, when did poor Mr. Lucky Loon die?" - -There was actually a startled expression in the deeply sunken eyes of the -old man. He turned in his chair and looked up at Jerry. After all, he had -_not_ forgotten the boys. In an awed voice he asked: "Jerry, did yo' ever -hear tell how old Sven Pedersen give up the ghost?" - -The tall cowboy shook his head. "No, Mr. Harvey. I've asked Dad but he -said it was a mystery that he reckoned never would be solved." - -"It wa'n't never any mystery to _me_," the old man told them, "but I'd -been swore to secrecy. Sven Pedersen said he'd come back an' hant my -store if I ever tol', but I reckon thar's no sech thing as hants. Anyhow -I ain't never _seen a_ ghost, though thar _is_ folks as calls this here -town hanted." - -Mary turned startled eyes around to question Jerry. That boy said -seriously, "Mr. Harvey, we'd like awfully well to know what happened to -Mr. Pedersen, but we wouldn't want your store to be haunted if you -believe--" - -"I _don'_ believe nothin' o' the sort." The old man seemed to scorn the -inference. Turning, he beckoned to the boys. "Stan' up close, sort o'. I -won't tell it loud; than mabbe it won't be heern by nobody but you-uns." - -Jerry stood close back of Mary's chair. Dick sat on his heels next to -Dora. The wind that had rattled loose boards had gone down. Not a sound -was to be heard. The fire in the stove had burned to ashes. The room was -getting cold but the girls did not notice. With wide, almost startled -eyes they were watching the old man who was again chewing on an end of -his gray beard. - -Suddenly he cupped an ear with one palsied hand and seemed to be -listening intently. Mary clutched Dora's arm. She expected the old man to -ask them if they heard a gun shot, but he didn't. He dropped his arm and -commenced in a matter-of-fact tone. - -"Fer the las' year o' his life, Sven Pedersen give up minin'. He reckoned -as how he'd never find his sister an' he'd jest been pilin' up wealth to -give to her, he sed. He used to spec'late about poor Bodil a lot. She'd -be a young woman now, he'd say, sad like, _if_ them bandits let her live. -Then thar was times when he'd hope she'd died ruther than be fetched up -by robbers. He didn't talk much about anythin' else. Folks never knew -whar he went to do his buyin'; thot as how he'd go off to Bisbee, but -'twa'n't so. He come here arter midnight so's not to be seen. He tol' me -if, chance be, Bodil was alive an' showed up arter he was dead, he wanted -her to have his gold. He writ a letter in that furrin tongue o' his an' -give it to me. I got it yit. In it he tol' Bodil _whar_ he'd got his -fortin hid." The old man paused and blinked his eyes hard. - -Mary asked softly, "But she never came, did she, Mr. Harvey? That poor -Little Bodil with the china-blue eyes and the corn-silk hair." - -"No, she never come, an' I cal'late she never will. Lucky Loon didn't -reckon she would, really, but he hung on till he felt death comin'. Then -he tol' me what he was a plannin' to do to hisself." The old man glanced -anxiously at Jerry, who stood with his hands on Mary's shoulders. "It's a -mighty gruesome story, the rest o' it, Jerry lad. Do you reckon it'd -better be tol'?" - -It was Dora who replied, "Oh, _please_, Mr. Harvey! We girls aren't a -mite scary. It's only a story to us, you know. It all happened so long -ago." - -"Wall, as I was sayin', Sven Pedersen knew he hadn't long to live, so one -night thar was a blizzard threatenin'--an' it turned into as bad a one as -when he furst blowed into my store years back. Whar was I?" He looked -blankly at Mary who prompted with, "So one night when he felt that he was -soon to die--" - -"Sven come to me an' swore me to keep it secret what he was goin' to do. -He sed that back of his house an' opening into it, he had a vault. He'd -jest left room for hisself to creep into it. Then he was goin' to wall it -up, an' lay hisself down an' die." - -"Oh, how terrible!" Dora exclaimed. "Surely he didn't _do_ that?" - -The old man sighed. "Fur as I know he did. I seen as how he was white as -a ghost an' coughin' suthin' awful. I tol' him to stay at the store till -the blizzard blew over. It commonly lasted three days, but out he went -an' I never seen him sence." - -"Poor Lucky Loon!" Mary said commiseratingly. - -"An' poor Little Bodil," Dora began, when she glanced at the old man who -had suddenly sat erect, staring into a dark corner. - -"Oh, Mr. Harvey," Mary whispered, "_do_ you see that ghost?" - -They all looked and saw a flickering light. Then Jerry, glancing up at -the hanging lamp, saw that the kerosene had burned out. One more flicker -and the store was in darkness. Mary screamed and clung to Jerry, but -Dora, remembering her flash, turned it on. - -Dick, matter-of-factly, glanced about, saw the oil can, pulled down the -lamp, refilled it, and relighted it. - -"Thank ye! Thank ye!" the old man said. "I reckon that's about all thar -is to hants anyhow. I never had no reason to believe in ghosts an' ain't -a-goin' to start in now. Wall, must yo' be goin'? Drop in tomorrer an' ef -I kin find it, I'll show yo' that yellar ol' letter Lucky Loon left fer -his gal." - - - - - CHAPTER VII - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT - - -It was midnight when Mary Moore awoke with a start and sat up, staring -about her wild-eyed. "Where am I? Where am I?" her terrorized cry, low -though it was, wakened Dora, who, sitting up, caught her friend in a -close embrace. - -"Mary," she whispered reassuringly, "Mary, you're here with me. We're in -bed in your very own room. Did you have a nightmare?" - -In the dim starlight, Dora saw how pale and startled was the face of her -friend. Mary's big blue eyes looked about the room wildly as though she -expected to see someone lurking in the dark corners. - -"There's no one here," Dora assured her. "See, I'll prove it to you." She -reached for her flash which she had left on a small table near her head. -The round disc of light danced from corner to corner of the dark room. -The pale blue muslin curtains, waving in the breeze at open windows, -_looked_ like ghosts, perhaps but Mary knew what they were. Still she was -not satisfied. - -"Dora," she whispered, clinging to her friend's arm, "are you sure the -window at the top of the outside stairway is locked? Terribly sure?" - -"Of course. I locked it the last thing, but I'll get up and see." Dora -slipped out of bed and crossed the room. The long door-like window was -securely fastened. The other two windows were open at the top only. No -one could possibly have entered that way. - -"Try the hall door," Mary pleaded, "and would you mind, awfully, if I -asked you to look in the clothes closet?" - -Dora had no sense of fear as she was convinced that Mary had been -dreaming some wild thing, and she didn't much wonder, after the gruesome -story they had heard the night before. - -"Now, are you satisfied?" Dora climbed back into bed and replaced the -flash on the table. - -"I suppose I am." Mary permitted herself to be covered again with the -downy blue quilt. "But it did seem so terribly real, and yet, now that I -come to think, it didn't have anything at all to do with this room. We -were in some bleak place I had never seen before. It was the queerest -dream, Dora. In the beginning you and I went out all alone for a -horseback ride. The road looked familiar enough. It was just like the -road from Gleeson down to the Douglas valley highway. We were cantering -along, oh, just as we have lots of times, when suddenly the scene -changed--you know the way it does in dreams--and we were in the wildest -kind of a mountain country. It was terrifyingly lonely. We couldn't see -anything but bleak, grim mountain ranges rising about us for miles and -miles around. Some of them were so high the peaks were white with snow. I -remember one peak especially. It looked like a huge woman ghost with two -smaller peaks, like children ghosts, clinging to her hands. - -"The sand was unearthly white and covered with human skeletons as though -there had been a battle once long ago. We rode around wildly trying to -find an opening so that we could escape. Then a terribly uncanny thing -happened. One of those skeletons rose up right ahead of us and pointed -directly toward that mountain with the three ghost-like snow-covered -peaks. But our horses wouldn't go that way, they were terrorized when -they saw that hollow-eyed skeleton, waving his bony arms in front of -them. They reared--then whirled around and galloped so fast we were both -of us thrown off and _that's_ when I woke up." - -"Gracious goodness," Dora exclaimed with a shudder. "That _was_ a -nightmare! For cricket's sakes, let's talk about something pleasant so -that when you go to sleep again, you won't have another such _awful_ -dream. Now, let me see, _what_ shall we talk about?" - -"Do you know, Dora," Mary's voice was tense with emotion, "I keep -wondering and wondering about that poor Little Bodil. If she were carried -off by a robber, _what_ do you suppose he would do with her?" - -"Well, it all depends on what kind of a bandit he was," Dora said -matter-of-factly. "If he were a good robber like Robin Hood, he would -have sent her away to a boarding-school somewhere to be educated, since -she was only ten years old. Then he would have reformed, and when she was -sixteen and very beautiful with her china-blue eyes and corn-silk-yellow -hair, he would have married her." - -"How I do hope something like that _did_ happen." Mary's voice sounded -more natural, the tenseness and terror were gone, so Dora kept on, "I -think they probably bought a ranch in--er--some beautiful valley in -Mexico, or some remote place where Robin Hood wouldn't be known and lived -happily ever after." - -"I wonder if they had any children." Mary spoke as though she really -believed that Dora was unraveling the mystery. "If they had a boy and a -girl, suppose, they would be our age since poor Bodil would be about -fifty years old now." - -Dora laughed. "Well, we probably never will know what became of that poor -little Danish girl so we might as well accept my theory as any other. -Let's try to sleep now." - -Mary was silent for several moments, and Dora was just deciding that her -services as a pacifier were over and that she might try to go to sleep -herself, when Mary whispered, "Dodo, do _you_ believe that story about -the Evil Eye Turquoise?" - -Dora sighed softly. Here was another subject with scary possibilities. -"Well, not exactly," she acknowledged. "I don't doubt but that the -thieving tenderfoot _did_ fall over the cliff and _was_ paralyzed, -because he hit his head against a rock or something, but I think it was -his own fear of the Evil Eye Turquoise which made him fall and not any -demon power the eye really had." - -"Of course, that _does_ seem sensible," Mary agreed. Again she was quiet -and this time Dora was really dozing when she heard in a shuddery voice, -"Oh-oo, Dora, I do try awfully hard to keep from thinking of that poor -Sven Pedersen after he'd walled himself into his tomb and lay down to -die. What if he lived a long time. I've read about people being buried -alive and--" - -"Blue Moons, Mary! What awful things you do think about!" Dora was a bit -provoked. She was really sleepy, and thought she had earned a good rest -for the remaining hours of the night. "Lots of animals creep away into -far corners of dark caves when they know they're going to die. That's -better than lying around helpless somewhere, and have wolves tearing you -to pieces or vultures swirling around over you, dropping lower and lower, -waiting for you to take your last breath. For my part, I think Sven -Pedersen did a very sensible thing. In that way he was sure of a decent -burial. Now, Mary dear, much as I love you, if you so much as peep again -tonight, I'm going to take my pillow and go into the spare front bedroom -and leave you all to your lonely." - -"Hark! What was that noise? Didn't it sound to you like rattling bones?" -Again Mary clutched her friend's arm. - -Dora gave up. "Sort of," she agreed. "The wind is rising again." Then she -made one more desperate effort to lead Mary's thoughts into pleasanter -channels. "Wouldn't it be great fun if Polly and Patsy could come West -while we're here?" she began. "I wonder how Jerry and Dick would like -them." - -"How could anyone _help_ liking them? Our red-headed Pat is so pert and -funny, while roly-poly Poll is so altogether lovable." Mary was actually -smiling as she thought of their far away pals. Then suddenly she -exclaimed, "Dora Bellman, that new friend of Pat's, Harry Hulbert, you -know; he really and truly is coming West soon, isn't he?" - -"Why, yes!" Dora was recalling what Pat had written. "Oh, Mary," she -exclaimed with new interest, "when he is a scout, hunting for bandits and -train robbers and--" - -Mary sat up and seized her friend's arm. "I know what you're going to -say," she put in gleefully. "This Harry Hulbert _may_ be able to help -solve the mystery of Bodil's disappearance. But that's too much to hope." - -Dora laughingly agreed. "How wild one's imagination is in the middle of -the night," she said. - -"Middle of the night," Mary repeated as she looked out of the nearest -window. "There's a dim light in the East and we haven't had half of our -sleep out yet." - -Long-suffering Dora thought, "That certainly isn't _my_ fault." Aloud she -said, "Well, let's make up for lost time." - -She nestled down and Mary cuddled close. Sleepily she had the last word. -"I hope Harry Hulbert will come, and--and--Pat--" - -At seven o'clock Carmelita's deep, musical voice called, but there was no -answer. The two sound-asleep girls had not heard. At ten o'clock they -were awakened by a low whistling below their open windows. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - SINGING COWBOYS - - -"What was that?" Mary sat up in bed, blinked her eyes hard to get them -open, then leaped out, and, keeping hidden, peeped down into the door -yard. Near the back porch stood Jerry Newcomb's dilapidated old car, gray -with sand. Two cowboys stood beside it, evidently more intent upon an -examination of the machinery under the hood than they were of the house. -Although they were whistling, to attract attention, they pretended to be -patiently waiting. Carmelita had informed Jerry that the girls still -slept. - -Mary pirouetted back into the room, her blue eyes dancing. "The boys are -going to take us somewhere, I'm just _ever_ so sure," she told the girl, -who, sitting on the side of the bed, was sleepily yawning. - -"Goodness, _why_ did they come so early?" Dora asked drowsily. - -"Early!" Mary laughed at her and pointed at the little blue clock on the -curly maple dresser. "Dora Bellman, did you ever sleep so late before in -all your life?" - -"Yeah." Dora seemed provokingly indifferent to the fact that the boys -waited below, and that, perhaps, oh, ever so much more than likely, they -were going adventuring. "Once, you remember that time after a school -dance when the boys from the Wales Military Academy--" - -Mary skipped over to the bedside and pulled her friend to her feet. "Oh, -_please_ do hurry!" she begged. "I feel in my bones that the boys are -going somewhere to try to solve the mystery and that they want to take us -with them." - -Dora's dark eyes stared stupidly, or tried hard to give that impression. -"What mystery?" she asked, indifferently, as she began to dress. - -"I refuse to answer." Mary was peering into the long oval mirror brushing -her short golden curls. Her lovely face was aglow with eager interest. -"There is only _one_ mystery that we are curious about as you know -perfectly well and that is what became of poor Little Bodil Pedersen." - -Although Mary was looking at it, she was not even conscious of her own -fair reflection. She glanced in the mirror, back at her friend, and saw -her grinning in wicked glee. - -Whirling, brush in hand, Mary demanded, "What _is_ so funny, Dora? You -aren't acting a bit natural this morning. What made you grin that way?" - -"I just happened to think of something. Oh, maybe it isn't so awfully -funny, but it's sort of uncanny at that. I was thinking that, pretty as -_you_ are on the outside, you've got a hollow, staring-eyed skeleton -inside of you and that if I had X-ray eyes--" - -Mary, with a horrified glance at her teasing friend, stuffed her fingers -into her ears. "You're terrible!" She shuddered. - -Dora contritely caught Mary's hands and drew them down. - -"Belovedest," she exclaimed, "I'm just as thrilled as you are at the -prospect of going buggy riding with two nice cowboys whether we find poor -Little lost Bodil (who is probably a fat old woman now) or solve any -other mystery that may be lying around loose." - -Mary was still pouting. "It doesn't sound a bit like you to pretend--" - -Dora rushed in with, "_That's_ all it is, believe me! There, now I'm -dressed, all but topping off. What do you think we'd better wear?" - -"Let's put on our kimonas until we find out where we're going, then we'll -know better _what_ to wear. Jerry may have an errand over in Douglas and, -if so, we'd want to dress up." - -Mary's Japanese kimona was one of her treasures. It was heavy blue silk -with flowers of gold trailing all over it. Dora's laughing, olive-tinted -face reflected a glow from her cherry-colored silk kimona with its border -of white chrysanthemums. - -Carmelita, who was in the act of reheating the breakfast for the girls, -who she felt sure would soon be coming, stared at them open-eyed and -mouthed when she saw them tripping through the kitchen. - -In very uncertain Spanish they called "Good morning" to her, then burst -upon the boys' astonished vision. - -Dick, snatching off his sombrero, held it to his heart while he made a -deep bow. Jerry, bounding forward, caught Mary's two small hands in his. -Then he held her from him as he looked at her with the same reverent -admiration that he would have given a rarely lovely picture. - -"I don't know a word of Japanese," Dick despaired, "so how can I make my -meaning clear?" His big, dark eyes smiled at Dora, who gaily retorted, -"We didn't know that our prize costumes would strike you boys dumb. If we -had, we wouldn't have worn them, would we, Mary?" - -"I'll say not," that little maid replied. "We're wild to know _why_ -you've come when you _should_ be roping steers or mending fences, if that -is what cowboys do in the middle of the morning." - -"Oh, we're going to explain our presence all right. We made it up while -we came along--" Dick began, when Jerry interrupted with, "You girls have -heard range-ridin' songs, I reckon, haven't you?" - -"Oh, no," they said together. - -"That is, not real ones," Dora explained. "We've heard them in the -talkies." - -"Well, this is a real one all right. Just fresh from the--er--" Dick -glanced sideways at Jerry who began in a low sing-song voice: - -"Two cowboys in the middle of the night," - -Dick joined in: - - "Did their work and they did it right. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - Coma, coma, coma, - Kee, kee, kee." - -"That," said Dick with a flourish of the hand which still held his -sombrero, "is why we have time to play today." - -The girls had been appreciative listeners. "Oh, isn't there any more to -it?" Dora cried "I thought cowboy songs went on and on; forty verses or -more." - -"So they do!" Jerry agreed. "But I reckon _this_ one is too new to be -that long, but there is another verse," he acknowledged. - -Then in a rollicking way they sang: - - "Two cowboys who were jolly and gay - Wished to go adventuring the next day. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - Coma, coma, coma, - Kee, kee, kee." - -Then, acting out the words by a little strutting, they sang lustily: - - "Two cowboys who were brave and bold - Took two girls in a rattletrap old. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - And that's _all_ of it - If you'll come with me." - -Dick bowed to Dora and Jerry beamed upon Mary. - -"Oh, Happy Days! We're keen to go," Dora told them, "but _where_?" - -The answer was another sing-song: - - "The two cowboys were on mystery bent. - They went somewhere, but _you'll_ know where they went - If you'll come, come, coma, - Come in our old 'bus, - Come, come, coma, - _Come with us_." - -Carmelita, who had appeared in the kitchen door, started chattering in -Spanish and Jerry laughingly translated, rather freely, and not quite as -the truly deferential cook had intended. "Carmelita asks me to tell you -girls that she has reheated your breakfast for the last time and that if -you don't come in now and eat it, she's going to give it to the cat." - -"Oho!" Mary pointed an accusing finger at him. "I _know_ you are making -it up. Carmelita wouldn't have said that, because there _is_ no cat." -Then graciously, she added, "Won't you singing cowboys come in and have a -cup of coffee, if there is any?" - -Jerry asked Carmelita if there was enough of a snack for two starved -cowboys who had breakfasted at daybreak and that good-natured Mexican -woman declared that there was batter enough to make stacks more cakes if -Jerry wanted to fry them. _She_ had butter to churn down in the cooling -cellar. - -Mary insisted that she be the one to fry the cakes, but Jerry and Dick -insisted equally, that she should not, dressed up like a Japanese -princess. - -"Grease spatters wouldn't look well tangled up in that gold vine," Jerry -told her. - -With skill and despatch, Jerry flipped cakes and Dick served them. Then, -while the girls went upstairs to don their hiking suits with the short -divided skirts, the boys ate small mountains of the cakes. - -"Verse five!" Dick mumbled with his mouth full. - - "Two cowboys with a big appetite - They could eat flapjacks all day and all night. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - Those cowboys, Jerry, - Are You and me." - -Back of them a laughing voice chanted, "Verse six." - - "Two cowgirls are ready for a lark. - Oho-ho, so let us embark. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee." - -Dick and Jerry sprang up and joined the chorus with: - - "We'll coma, coma, coma - With glee, glee, glee." - - - - - CHAPTER IX - A VAGABOND FAMILY - - -Jerry assisted Mary up onto the front seat without question, then slipped -in under the wheel. Dora climbed nimbly to her customary place in the -rumble. Dick leaped in beside her. His frank, friendly smile told his -pleasure in her companionship. - -Dora's happy smile, equally frank and friendly, preceded her eager -question, "Where are we going, Dick? I'm bursting with curiosity. Of -course I know it's some sort of a picnic." She nodded toward the covered -hamper at their feet. "But, surely there's more to it than just a lark. -You boys wouldn't have worked all night, if you really did, that you -might just play today, would you?" - -Dick leaned toward his companion and said in a low voice, "Shh! It's a -dire secret! We are on a mysterious mission bent." - -Dora laughed at his caution. "This car of Jerry's makes so many rattling -noises, we could shout and not be heard. But do stop 'nonsensing,' as my -grandfather used to say, and reveal all." - -Dick sobered at once. "Well," he began, "it's this way. Last night, after -we left you girls, Jerry was telling me about a family of poor squatters, -as we'd call them back East. Some months ago they came from no one knows -where, in an old rattletrap wagon drawn by a bony white horse. Jerry was -riding fences near the highway when they passed. He said he never had -seen such a forlorn looking outfit. The wagon was hung all over with pots -and pans, a washtub, and, oh, you know, the absolute necessities of life. -In the wagon, on the front seat, was a woman so thin and pale Jerry knew -she must be almost dead with the white plague. She had a baby girl in her -lap. The father, Jerry said, had a look in his eyes that would haunt the -hardest-hearted criminal. It was a gentle-desperate expression, if you -get what I mean. Two boys about ten sat in the back of the wagon, -hollow-eyed skeletons, covered with sickly yellow skin, while seated on a -low chair in the wagon was an older girl staring straight ahead of her in -a wild sort of a way." - -"The poor things!" Dora exclaimed when Dick paused. "What became of -them?" - -"Well, the outfit stopped near where Jerry was riding and the man hailed -him. 'Friend,' he called, 'is there anywhere we could get water for our -horse? It's most petered out.' - -"Jerry told them that about a mile, straight ahead, they would find a -side road leading toward the mountains. If they would turn there, they -would come to a rushing stream. They could have all the water they -wished. And then, Jerry said, feeling so terribly sorry for them, he -added on an impulse, 'There's a herder's shack close by. Stay all night -in it if you want. It's my father's land and you're welcome.'" - -Dora turned an eager face toward the speaker. "Dick," she said, "I -believe I can tell you what happened next. That poor family stayed all -night in that herder's shack and they _never left_." - -Dick nodded. "Are you a mind reader?" he asked, his big, dark eyes -smiling at her through the shell-rimmed glasses. - -"No-o. I don't believe that I am." Then eagerly, "But _do_ tell me what -_possible_ connection that poor family can have with this expedition of -ours." - -"Isn't that like a girl?" Dick teased. "You want to hear the last -chapter, before you know what happened to lead up to it. I'll return to -the morning after. Jerry said he had thought of the family all the -afternoon, and that night when he got home, he told his mother, who, as -you know, has a heart of gold." - -"Oh, Dick!" Dora interrupted. "Gold may be precious, but it isn't as -tender and kind, always, as the heart of Jerry's mother." - -"Be that as it may," the boy continued, "Mrs. Newcomb packed a -hamper--this very one now reposing at our feet, I suppose--with all -manner of good things and she had Jerry harness up as soon as he'd eaten -and take her to call on their unexpected guests. They found the woman -lying on the one mattress, coughing pitifully, and the others gazing at -her, the little ones frightened, and huddled, the older girl on her knees -rubbing her mother's hands. The father stood looking down with such -despair in his eyes, Mrs. Newcomb said, as she had never before seen. - -"'There'd ought to be a doctor here,' she said at once, but the woman on -the mattress smiled up at her feebly and shook her head. 'I'm going on -now,' she said in a low voice, 'and I'd go on gladly,--I'm _so_ tired--if -I knew my children had a roof over their heads and--and--,' then a fit of -coughing came. When it passed, the woman lay looking up at Jerry's -mother, her dim eyes pleading, and Mrs. Newcomb knelt beside her and took -her almost lifeless hand and said, 'Do not worry, dear friend, your -children shall have a roof over their heads and food.' Then the mother -smiled at her loved ones, closed her eyes and went on." - -There were tears in Dora's eyes, and she frankly wiped them away with her -handkerchief. Unashamed, Dick said, "That's just how I felt when Jerry -told me about the Dooleys. That's their name. Of course, Mrs. Newcomb -kept her word. That little shack is in a lovely spot near the stream with -big cottonwood trees around it. After the funeral, Mr. Newcomb told the -father that he and the boys could cut down some of the small cottonwoods -upstream, leaving every third one, and build another room, so they put up -a lean-to. Then he gave them a cow to milk and the boys started a -vegetable garden. Mr. Dooley does odd jobs on the ranch, though he isn't -strong enough for hard riding, and the girl Etta mothers the baby and the -little boys." - -"Have we reached that last chapter?" Dora asked. "The one I was trying to -hear before we got to it? In other words, may I now know how this -terribly tragic story links up with our today's adventuring?" - -"You sure may," Dick said. "It's this way. The Newcombs, generous as they -have been, can't afford to keep those children clothed and fed. Moreover -they ought to go to school next fall and between now and then, some money -_must_ be found and so--" - -"Oh! Oh! I see!" Dora glowed at him. "Jerry thinks that it is a cruel -shame to have this poor family in desperate need when Mr. Lucky Loon has -a tomb full of gold helping no one." - -Dick smiled. "Now I'm _sure_ you're a mind reader. Although," he -corrected, "Jerry didn't just put it that way. But what he _did_ say was -that if we could find out definitely that Bodil Pedersen is dead and that -there is no one else to claim that buried treasure, perhaps the old -storekeeper, Mr. Silas Harvey, _might_ give us the letter he has, telling -where it is hidden." - -"Did Jerry think the money might be used for that poor family?" Dora -asked. - -Dick nodded. "He did, if Mr. Harvey consented. Jerry feels, and so do I, -that if Bodil Pedersen hasn't turned up in thirty years, she probably -never will. Of course it would be by the merest chance that she would -drift into this isolated mountain town, anyway, even if she _is_ alive, -which Jerry thinks is very doubtful." - -Dora was thoughtful for a moment. "Did Mr. Pedersen advertise in the -papers for his lost sister?" - -"We wondered about that and this morning we asked Mr. Newcomb. He said he -distinctly remembered the story in the Douglas paper, and that afterwards -it was copied all over the state." - -"Goodness!" Dora suddenly ejaculated as she glanced about her. "I've been -so terribly interested in that poor family, I hardly noticed where we -were going. We've crossed the desert road and here we are right at the -mountains." - -"How bleak and grim this range is," Dick said, then, turning to look back -across the desert valley to a low wooded range in the purple distance, he -added, "_Those_ mountains across there, where the Newcomb ranch is, are -lots more friendly and likeable, aren't they? They seem to have pleasant -things to tell about their past, but these mountains--" the boy paused. - -"Oh, I know." Dora actually shuddered. "These seem cruel as though they -_wanted_ people who tried to cross over them to die of thirst, or to be -hurled over their precipices, or--" suddenly her tone became one of -alarm. "Dick, did _you_ know we were going up into these _awful_ -mountains?" - -Her companion nodded, his expression serious. "Yes, I knew it," he -confessed, "but I also know that Jerry wouldn't take us up here if he -weren't sure that we'd be safe." - -"Of course," Dora agreed, "but wow! isn't the road narrow and rutty, and -_are_ we going straight up?" - -Dick laughed, for the girl, unconsciously, had clutched his khaki-covered -arm. "If those are questions needing answers," he replied, "I'll say, -_Believe me_, yes. Ha, here's a place wide enough for a car to pass. -Jerry's stopping." - -When the rattling of the little old car was stilled, Jerry and Mary -turned and smiled back at the other two. "Don't be scared, Dora," Mary -called. "Jerry says that no one ever crosses this old road now. It's been -abandoned since the valley highway was built." - -"That's right!" The cowboy's cheerful voice assured the two in back that -he was in no way alarmed. "I reckoned we'd let our 'tin Cayuse' rest a -bit and get his breath before we do the cliff-climbing stunt that's -waitin' us just around this curve." - -Dora thought, "Mary's just as scared as I am. I _know_ she is. She's -white as a ghost, but she doesn't want Jerry to think she doesn't trust -him to take care of her." - -Dick broke in with, "Say, when does this outfit eat?" - -"Fine idea!" Jerry agreed heartily. "Dora, open up the grub box and hand -it around, will you? I reckon we'll need fortifyin' for what's going to -happen next." - - - - - CHAPTER X - A LONELY MOUNTAIN ROAD - - -While the four young people ate the delicious chicken sandwiches which -Mrs. Newcomb had prepared for them and drank creamy milk poured into -aluminum cups from a big thermos bottle, they sat gazing silently about -them, awed by the terrific majesty of the scene, the girls not entirely -unafraid. Below them was a sheer drop of hundreds of feet to a desert -floor which was most uneven, having been cut up by torrents, which, -during each heavy rain, were hurled down the mountain sides. - -The effect of the desert for miles beyond was that of a little "Grand -Canyon." Dora, thoughtfully gazing at it, said,--"In a few centuries, -other girls and boys will stand here, perhaps, and by _that_ time those -canyons will be worn deep as the real Grand Canyon is today, won't they, -Jerry?" - -"I reckon that's right," the cowboy replied. - -Then Mary asked, "Jerry, is this old dangerous mountain road the _very_ -same one that the stages used to cross years ago?" - -Jerry nodded, but before he could speak, Mary, shining-eyed, rushed on -with, "Oh, Dora, I _know_ why the boys have brought us here! _This_ is -the road where the three bandits held up the stage that Sven Pedersen and -poor Little Bodil were riding in." - -"Of course it is!" Dora generously refrained from telling her friend that -she had been convinced of _that_ fact ever since they began climbing the -grade. - -Glowing blue eyes turned toward the cowboy. "Oh, Jerry, have you any idea -where the exact spot was; where the bandits shot the driver, I mean, and -where the horses plunged over the cliff and where that poor little girl -was thrown out into the road?" Excitement had made her breathless. - -Jerry's admiring gray eyes smiled down at the eagerly chattering girl. "I -reckon I know close to the spot. Silas Harvey said it was just at the top -of Devil's Drop, and--" - -Mary interrupted, horror in her tone, "Oh, Jerry, _what_ a dreadful name! -_What_ is it? _Where_ is it?" She was gazing about, her eyes startled. -The road disappeared fifty feet ahead of them around a sharp curve. For -answer Jerry started the motor, then, joltingly and with cautious -slowness, the small car crept toward the curve. Unconsciously the girls -were almost holding their breath as they gazed unblinkingly out of -staring eyes at the wall of rock around which the road was winding. - -When they saw "Devil's Drop," a bare, granite peak, up the near side of -which the old road climbed at an angle which seemed but slightly off the -perpendicular, Mary, with a little half sob, covered her eyes. - -Jerry, terribly self-rebuking, wished sincerely that he and Dick had come -alone. He was sure that the road was safe, for he and his father had -crossed it since the last heavy rain. Mr. Newcomb had a mining claim -which could be reached by no other road. So it was with confidence that -Jerry tried to allay Mary's fears. "Little Sister," he said, "please -trust me when I tell you that the grade _looks_ a lot worse than it is. -I'd turn back if I could, but it wouldn't be safe to try." - -Mary, ashamed of her momentary lack of faith in Jerry's good judgment, -put down her hands and smiled up into his anxious face. - -"Jerry," she said, "I'm going to shut my eyes tight until we are up top. -You tell me, won't you, when the worst is over?" - -Dora had made no sound, but Dick, glancing at her, saw that she was -staring down at the hamper at her feet as though she saw something there -that fascinated her. He, also, feared that the girls should have been -left at home. Nor was he himself altogether fearless. Having spent his -boyhood in and around Boston, he was unused to perilous mountain rides -and he was glad when the car came to a jolting stop and Jerry's voice, -relief evident in its tone, sang out, "We're up top, and all the rest of -our ride will be going down." - -Mary opened her eyes and saw that the road had widened on what seemed to -be a large ledge. Jerry climbed out and put huge stones in front and back -of the wheels, then he held out his hand. - -"Here's where we start hunting for clues," he said, smiling, but at the -same time scanning his companion's face hoping that all traces of fear -had vanished. - -Dora and Dick went to the outer edge of the road. "Such a view!" Dora -cried, flinging her arms wide to take in the magnitude of it. - -"Describe it, who can?" - -"I'll try!" Dick replied. "A bleak, barren, cruel desert lay miles below -them like a naked, bony skeleton of sand and rock." - -Mary, clinging to the cowboy's arm, joined the others but kept well back -from the edge. "Jerry," she said in an awed voice, "do you think--was -this the very spot, do you suppose, where the stage was held up?" - -"I reckon so," Jerry replied, "as near as I could figure out from what -Silas Harvey said." - -Dora turned. "Then somewhere along here was where poor Little Bodil was -thrown into the road." - -The cowboy nodded. A saw-tooth peak rose just beyond them. - -Dora, gazing at it, speculated aloud: "_Could_ a wild beast have slunk -around the curve there snatched the child and dashed away with it to its -cave?" - -"We'll probably never know," Dick replied. "That could have happened, -couldn't it Jerry?" - -"I reckon so," the cowboy began, when Mary caught his arm again. "Oh, -Jerry," she cried, "_are_ there wild animals now--I mean living here in -these mountains?" - -The cowboy glanced at Dick before he replied. "None, Little Sister, that -will hurt _you_. Don't think about them." - -But Mary persisted. "At least _tell me_ what wild animal lives around -here that might have dragged Little Bodil to its lair." - -Jerry, realizing that there was nothing else to do, said in as -indifferent a tone as he could, "I reckon there _may_ be a mountain lion -or so up here, and a puma perhaps. That's sort of a big cat, but _it's_ a -coward all right! Gets away every time if it can." He hoped that would -satisfy Mary but instead she looked up at the grim peak above them, her -eyes startled, searching. "I saw a picture once, oh, I remember it was in -my biology book, of a huge catlike creature crouched on a ledge. It was -about to spring on a goat that was on the mountain below it. Underneath -the picture was printed, 'The Puma springs from ledges down upon its -unsuspecting prey.' I remember it because it both fascinated and -terrorized me." - -"Mary," the cowboy took both her hands and smiled into her wide blue -eyes, "will it make you feel better about wild animals attacking us if I -tell you that Dick and I are both carrying concealed weapons?" - -Mary smiled up at Jerry as she said, "You think I'm a silly, I _know_ you -do, and I don't blame you. I'm not going to be fearful of anything again -today." Then, as she glanced down the steep road up which they had come, -she returned the conversation to the subject from which they had so far -digressed. "Jerry, which way do you suppose the three bandits came?" - -"I reckon they came around the sharp curve over there. They could hide -and not be seen by the driver of the stage until he was almost upon -them." - -Anxiously Mary asked, "There wouldn't be any bandits on _this_ road -_these_ days, would there?" - -It was Dora who answered, "Mary Moore, you _know_ there wouldn't be. -Jerry told us that this road is abandoned by practically all travelers." -Then turning to the cowboy, Dora excitedly exclaimed, "Why, Jerry, if -_this_ is the spot where the stage was held up and where the horses -plunged off the road, don't you think it's possible _something_ may be -left of the stage, something that _we_ could find?" - -"That's what I reckoned," the cowboy said slowly. "Dick and I were -planning to climb down the side of the cliff here and see what we could -unearth, but I reckon we'd better give up and go home. Dick, you and I -can come back some other time--alone." - -"Oh, no!" Dora pleaded. "Mary and I are all over being afraid. We have on -our divided skirts, and, if it's safe for you to climb down Devil's Drop, -why, it's safe for us, isn't it, Mary?" - -"If Jerry says so," was the trusting reply accompanied by an equally -trusting glance from sweet blue eyes. - -Instead of answering, Jerry beckoned Dick over to the edge of the steep -drop. It was not a sheer descent. Every few feet down there was a narrow -ledge, almost like uneven stairs. There were scrubby growths in crevices -to which the girls could cling. About one hundred feet down there was a -wide-flung ledge and then another descent, how perilous that was they -could not discern from where they stood. - -"We could get the girls down to that first wide ledge easily enough," -Dick said, "if you think we ought." - -Jerry spoke in a low voice which, the girls could not hear. "I'm terribly -sorry we brought them. My plan was to have them sit in the car up here in -the road while we went down to hunt for a skeleton of that old stage -coach, but now that Mary's afraid of a wild animal attacking them, we -just can't leave them alone. They don't either of them know how to use a -gun. I reckon what we _ought_ to do is go back home and--" - -Dick shook his head. "They won't let us now," he said, and he was right, -for the girls, tired of waiting, skipped toward them saying in a -sing-song, "Verse seven!" - - "_Two_ cowgirls whom _nothing_ can stop - Are now going over the Devil's Drop. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - You may come along if - You're brave as we." - -"Great!" Dick laughed, applauding. - -"Well, only down as far as the wide ledge," Jerry told them. "That will -be easy going, I reckon, and safe." He held out his strong brown hand to -Mary, and, leading the way, he began the descent. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - THE SKELETON STAGE COACH - - -Mary, slender, light of foot, sprang like a gazelle from step to step -feeling safe, since Jerry towered in front of her. The firm clasp of his -big hand on her small white one made her feel protected and cared for and -she was really enjoying the adventure. - -Dora, athletic of build and sure-footed, refused Dick's proffered aid, -depending on the scraggly growths in the crevices for support until they -reached a spot where only prickly-pear cactus grew. - -"Now, Miss Independent," Dick laughingly called up to her, "you would -better put one hand on my shoulder and let me be your human staff." - -This plan proved successful until, in the descent, they came to a spot -where the ledge below was farther than the girls could step. Jerry held -up his arms and lifted Mary down. That was not a difficult feat since she -was but a featherweight. Dora, broad shouldered for a girl and heavily -built, was more of a problem. The boys finally made steps for her, Jerry -offering his shoulders and Dick his bent back. - -Dora, flushed, excited, glanced at the ledge above as she exclaimed, -"Getting up again will be even more difficult." - -"We won't cross bridges until we get to them," Dick began, then added, -"or climb mountains either. Going down at present requires our entire -attention." - -But the narrow ledge-steps continued to be accommodatingly close for -about fifteen feet; then another sheer descent was covered by repeating -their former tactics. - -"There, now we're on the wide ledge," Mary said, "and we can't see a -single thing that's beneath us." Then she cried out as a sudden alarming -thought came to her. "Oh, Jerry, _what_ if our weight should cause a -rock-slide, or whatever it's called, and we all were plunged--" - -"Pull in on fancy's rein, Little Sister!" the cowboy begged. "You may be -sure I examined the formation of this ledge before I lifted you down upon -it." Then, turning to Dora, he said, "I reckon you and Mary'd better stay -close to the mountain while Dick and I worm ourselves, Indian fashion, to -the very edge where we can see what's down below." - -"Righto!" Dora slipped an arm about Mary and together they stood and -watched the boys lying face downward and wriggling their long bodies over -the flat, stone ledge. - -Dora noticed how slim and frail Dick's form looked and how sinewy and -strong was Jerry. - -The edge reached, the boys gazed down, but almost instantly Jerry had -whirled to an upright position and the watching girls could not tell -whether his expression was more of terror than of exultation. Surely -there was a mingling of both. - -Dick, who had backed several feet before sitting upright, was frankly -shocked by what he had seen. - -For a moment neither of them spoke. "Boys!" Dora cried. "The stage coach -is down there, isn't it? But since you expected to find it, _why_ are you -so startled?" - -Jerry was the first to reply. "Well, it's pretty awful to see what's left -of a tragedy like that. I reckon you girls would better not look." - -"I won't, if you don't want me to," Mary agreed, "but _do_ tell us about -it. After all these years, what _can_ there be left?" - -Jerry glanced at Dick, who, always pale, was actually white. - -"I'll confess it rather got me, just at first," the Eastern boy -acknowledged. - -Dora, impatient at the slowness of the revelation, and eager to see for -herself what shocking thing was over the ledge, started to walk toward -the edge, but Dick, realizing her intention, sprang up and caught her -arm. "Let us tell you first what we saw, Dora," he pleaded, "and then, if -you still want to see it, we won't prevent you. It won't be so much of a -shock when you are prepared." - -"Well?" Dora stood waiting. - -The boys were on their feet. Jerry began. "When the horses reared and -plunged off the road, they must have rolled with the stage over and -over." - -"That's right," Dick excitedly took up the tale, "and when the coach -struck this wide ledge, it bounded, I should say, off into space and was -caught in a wide crevice about twenty-five feet straight down below -here." - -"Oh, Jerry," Mary cried, "is the driver or the horses--" - -The cowboy nodded vehemently. "That's just it. That's the terribly -gruesome part. The skeletons of the horses are hanging in the harness and -that poor driver--his skeleton, I mean, still sits in his seat--" - -"The uncanny thing about it," Dick rushed in, "is that his leather suit -is still on his skeleton, and his fur cap, though bedraggled from the -weather, is still on his bony head." - -"But his eyes are the worst!" Jerry shuddered, although seeing skeletons -was no new thing to him. "Those gaping sockets are looking right up -toward this ledge as though he had died gazing up toward the road hoping -help would come to him." - -Suddenly Mary threw her arms about Dora and began to sob. Jerry, again -self-rebuking, cried in alarm, "Oh, Little Sister, I reckon I'm a brute -to shock you that-a-way." - -Dora had noticed that in times of excitement Jerry fell into the lingo of -the cowboy. - -Mary straightened and smiled through her tears. "Oh, I'm so sorry for -that poor man, but I must remember that it all happened years ago and -that _now_ we are really bent on a mission of charity." Then, smiling up -at Jerry, she held out a hand to him as she said, "_That's_ the big thing -for us to remember, isn't it? First of all, we want, if possible, to find -out if poor Little Bodil is alive and if we're sure, oh, just _ever_ so -sure, that she is dead, we want to get the gold and turquoise from Mr. -Pedersen's rock house for the Dooleys." - -Her listeners were sure that Mary was talking about their good purpose -that she might quiet her nerves. It evidently had the desired effect, -for, quite naturally, she asked, "If there is nothing beneath this ledge -but space, how can you boys get down to the stage coach to search for -clues? That's what you planned doing, wasn't it?" - -Jerry nodded and gazed thoughtfully into the sweet face uplifted to his, -though hardly seeing it. He was thinking what would be best for them to -do. - -"Dick," he said finally, "you stay here with the girls. I'm going back up -to the car to get my rope. I reckon if you three will hold one end of it, -I can slide down on it to that crevice and--" - -"Oh no, no, Jerry, don't, _please don't_!" Mary caught his khaki-covered -arm wildly. "You would never get over the shock of being so close to that -ghastly skeleton and if the rope should slip--" she covered her eyes with -her hands. Then, as she heard the boys speaking together in low tones, -she looked at them. "Jerry," she said contritely, "I'm sorry I go to -pieces so easily today. Of course I know you would not suggest going if -you weren't sure that it would be absolutely safe. Get the rope if you -want to. I'm going to try hard to be as brave as Dora is." Then she added -wistfully, "Maybe if you weren't my Big Brother, I wouldn't care so -much." - -Sudden joy leaped to Jerry's eyes. How he had hoped that Mary cared a -little, oh, even a _very_ little, for him, but usually she treated him in -the same frank, friendly way that she did Dick. - -Dora, watching, thought, "That settles it. Jerry will not go. The Dooleys -and Little Bodil are nothing to him compared to one second's anxiety for -his Sister Mary." - -And it did seem for a long moment that Jerry was going to give up the -entire plan. Dick, realizing this, plunged in with, "I say, old man, I -know how to go down a rope. That used to be one of my favorite pastimes -when I was a youngster and lived near a fire station. The good-natured -firemen would let us kids slide down their slippery pole but we had to do -some tall scurrying when the alarm sounded." - -Jerry looked at his friend for several thoughtful seconds before he -spoke. What he said was, "I reckon you're right, Dick, but my reason is -this. I'm strong-armed and you're not. Throwing the rope and pulling -cantankerous steers around, gives a fellow an iron muscle. And you're -lighter too, a lot, so I reckon I'd better be on the end that has to be -held. Now that's settled, you stay here with the girls while I go up to -the car and get my rope." - - - - - CHAPTER XII - A NARROW ESCAPE - - -The long rope with which Jerry had captured many a wild cow was dropped -over the outer edge of the wide ledge. Since the distance was not more -than twenty-five feet, the lariat reached nearly to the crevice. Looking -around, Jerry found a projecting rock about which he wound the upper end -of the rope, but he did not trust it alone. He threw himself face -downward and grasped the knot that was nearest the edge in a firm clasp. -He told the girls he would not need their assistance at first, but that, -if he shouted, they were to both seize the rope near the rock and pull -with all their strength. - -Dick, making light of the feat he was about to perform, tossed his -sombrero to one side, and then, with his hand on his heart, he made a -gallant bow to the girls. - -Dora and Mary, standing close to the rock around which the rope was -twined, clung to each other nervously. They tried to smile encouragingly -toward the pretending acrobat, but they were too anxious to put much -brightness into the effort. - -"Kick off your boots," Jerry said in a low voice; "you'll be able to -cling to the knots better in stocking feet." - -"Sort of an anti-climax." Dick's large brown eyes laughed through the -shell-rimmed glasses as he removed his boots. "There, _now_ I do the -renowned disappearing act. I'd feel more heroic if I were about to rescue -someone." - -"Dick isn't the least bit afraid, is he, Jerry?" Mary asked in a -whispered voice as though she did not want the boy who had gone over the -ledge to be conscious of the fear that she felt. - -"He's all right," Jerry reported a second later. "He's going down the -rope as nimbly as a monkey." - -"Will there be room on the edge of that crevice for him to stand when he -_does_ get down?" was Mary's next question. - -There was a long moment's silence, then Jerry turned his head and smiled -reassuringly. "He's down! Oh, yes, there's ten feet or more for him to -walk on. He's got hold of the front wheel of the old coach." The cowboy's -voice changed to a warning shout, "I say, Dick, down there! _Don't try_ -to get aboard! The whole thing might crumble and take you to the bottom -of that pit." - -The girls could hear a faint shout from below. Dick evidently had assured -Jerry that he would be cautious. - -"I wish we could come over where you are, Jerry," Dora said. "I'd like to -watch Dick." - -"Stay where you are, please." The order, without the last word, would -have sounded abrupt. "Er--I may need your help with the rope. Keep -alert." - -"I couldn't be alerter if I tried," Mary said in a low voice to her -companion. "Every nerve in my whole body is so tense I'm afraid something -will snap or--" - -"Great Jumping Jehoshaphat!" - -Jerry's startled ejaculation and sudden leap to his knees caused the -girls to cry in alarm, "Did Dick fall? Oh! Oh! What has happened?" - -Jerry turned toward them and shook his head. "Sorry I hollered out that -way. Nothing happened that matters any." - -"But something did, and if you don't tell us, we'll come over there and -see for ourselves." Dora's tone was so determined that Jerry said, "Sure -I'll tell you. When Dick took hold of the front wheel of the stage, he -must have jarred the seat, for, all at once, the driver's skeleton -collapsed and toppled off and down into that deep crevice. Well, that'll -be more comfortable for an eternal resting place, I reckon, than sitting -upright was, the way he's been doing this forty years past." Then he -called, "Hey, down there, _what_ did you say? I didn't hear. Your voice -is blown off toward the Little Grand Canyon, I reckon." Jerry sat -intently listening, one big brown hand cupped about his right ear. The -girls could hear Dick's voice coming faintly from below. Jerry showed -signs of excited interest. The girls exchanged wondering glances but did -not speak until the cowboy turned toward them. - -"Dick says there's a small, child-size trunk under the driver's seat. -Whizzle! I wish I were down there. Together we might be able to get it -out." Leaping to his feet, Jerry went to the rock around which the rope -was tied. "_That_ ought to hold all right!" There was a glint of -determination in his gray eyes, but it wavered as he glanced at Mary who -stood watching him, but saying not a word. "There isn't anything _here_ -to frighten you girls, is there?" He seemed to be imploring the smaller -girl to tell him to go. "It's this-a-way. If there is a child-size box or -trunk in the stage coach still, it was probably Little Bodil's, and don't -you see, Mary, how _important_ it is for us to get it. Why, I reckon a -clue would be there all right." - -Mary held out a small white hand. "Go along, Big Brother," she said, "if -you're sure the rock will hold the rope with your weight on it." - -"Shall we help the rock by holding onto the rope as well?" It was -practical Dora who asked that question. - -"Yes!" Jerry's expression brightened. "I wish you would." - -Dora thought, "Mr. Cowboy, I know _just_ what _you_ are thinking. You're -afraid we _might_ go over to the edge and perhaps fall off, but that if -you tell us to hold onto the rope here by the rock, you expect we'll stay -put, but you're mistaken. As soon as I know you're safely down, I'm going -to crawl over the ledge and peer down." - -While Dora was thus planning, she and Mary held to the highest knot in -the rope, and Jerry, having removed his boots, went over the edge without -the grand flourish that Dick had made. - -"Oh, I can't, _can't_ hold it!" Mary exclaimed, and then Dora realized -that the younger girl had been trying to hold Jerry's weight. - -"Don't!" she ejaculated. "The rock can hold him. Just keep your hands -lightly on the knot and pull _only_ if the rope starts slipping." - -It seemed but a few moments before the girls heard, as from far below, a -reassuring call, "All's well!" - -At once Dora let go her hold on the rope and dropped face downward as the -boys had done. Mary was not to be left behind. Cautiously, they wormed -their way to the edge of the cliff and peered over, being careful to keep -hidden. Only their hair and eyes were over the edge, and the boys, intent -on examining the skeleton stage coach, did not once glance up. - -"Oh-oo!" Mary shuddered. "That black crevice looks as though it went down -into the mountain a mile or more." - -"Maybe it does!" Dora whispered. "Jerry said that it's more than a mile -from here to the floor of the desert. The crack in the mountain may go -all the way down." - -"Oh, I _do_ wish the boys wouldn't go so close to the edge of it!" Mary -whispered frantically. "Dora Bellman, if Dick or Jerry slipped into that -awful place--" - -Dora's interrupting voice was impatient. "_Please_ don't start -_imagining_ terrible things. Those boys value their own lives as much as -we possibly can. Look! See how very cautiously they're taking hold of the -driver's seat and testing its strength. Blue Moons!" It was Dora's turn -to be horrified. "Jerry is lifting Dick. My, aren't his arms powerful? -Now Dick is resting his left hand on the top of the seat and pulling on -that box with his right." - -Mary clutched Dora's arms, but neither spoke a word as they watched the -movements of the boys with startled, staring eyes. - -"It's coming slowly." Dora's voice was tense. "Hark! Didn't you hear a -creak as though something about the stage had snapped suddenly?" - -"Thanks be!" The words were a shout of relief. "The box is out, but oh, -Mary! _Not a second_ too soon! The skeleton stage coach is collapsing! It -has dropped right down out of sight." - -The two girls sat up with one accord and stared at each other, their -faces white. - -Mary was the first to speak. Her tone was reproachful. "And yet _you_ -were _so_ sure the boys would do nothing to endanger their lives. If that -crash had happened one minute sooner, they would both have gone down with -it. Dick couldn't have leaped back in time, and Jerry would have lost his -balance, and you needn't tell me I'm using my imagination, either, for -you _know_ it's true." - -There was no denying that the boys had had a most narrow escape and Dora -willingly acknowledged that they had taken a greater risk than she had -supposed they would. - -"As though finding that lost Bodil, or even getting money to help the -Dooleys, was worth endangering _their_ lives," Mary continued with such a -show of indignation that Dora actually laughed. "Since it's all over, -let's forget it. I'm terribly thrilled about the box. I feel just as sure -as the boys do that there will be something in it that will be a clue, or -at least, lead to one." - -"Listen," Mary said. "The boys are calling to us. See, the rope is -swaying." - -Lying flat again, Dora peered over and called, "What do you want?" - -Jerry replied, "We're tying the box to the rope. Can you two girls pull -it up? Don't stand near the edge to do it." - -"Wait!" Dick called. Then he said something to Jerry that the girls -couldn't hear. Dora saw the cowboy laugh and pound on his head. "He's -calling himself a dumb-bell, looks like," she whispered to Mary. Then -Jerry's voice, "I'll take back that order. You stand by the rock, will -you, and grab the rope if it starts to slip. Dick will climb up and help -lift the box. He's such a light weight, he and the box together won't be -any heavier than I am." - -The girls went back to the rock and saw that the rope held. They knelt by -it in readiness to seize it if it slipped. They could tell by the -tightening of the rope that Dick was ascending. In another moment, he -sprang over the edge, pulled up the box without asking the girls for -assistance, then dropped the rope down again. Soon they were joined by a -beaming Jerry. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - A SAND STORM - - -The return to the car was not without difficulties. At the spot where the -natural steps were not close together, Jerry, finding the merest toe-hold -in the cliff and only the scraggliest growth to which he could cling, -did, however, manage to reach the step above. He then dropped one end of -the rope down and Dick ascended nimbly. Then, Jerry made a swing of the -lariat. Mary, flushed and laughing up at him, sat in it and was slowly -lifted to the ledge above. This, being narrow, could hold no more than -three. So Mary climbed still higher, then turned and watched, while Dora -was lifted in the swing. The girls were told to return to the car while -the boys tied the box on the end of the rope and drew it up over the -sheer place. - -From the road, Mary looked out far across the desert. "How queer the air -looks, doesn't it?" she said, pointing to what seemed to be a huge yellow -cloud of sand which was moving rapidly across the floor of the desert and -shutting out the Little Grand Canyon from their view. - -Jerry, with the small trunk on one shoulder joined them; Dick, whirling -the lariat playfully, was not far behind. - -Mary again pointed. "What is that far below there, Jerry? Is it a wind -storm?" - -"I reckon that's what it is," Jerry said. "Carrying enough sand with it -to change things up a little. But more'n like, it will blow itself away -before we get down to the valley road." He seemed little concerned about -it and the girls, in their curiosity about the small trunk, also forgot -it. Where they stood, in a flood of late warm afternoon sun, there was -not a breath of air stirring. - -"What a queer little trunk," Mary said, touching the battered top of it -with an investigating finger. "What is it made of, Jerry?" - -"You've got me guessing," the cowboy replied. "Some kind of a thick -animal skin, I reckon, stretched over a frame. It tightened as it dried. -Shouldn't you say so, Dick?" - -The boy addressed was helping to lash the small box on the running board -of the car. "It looks like a home-made affair to me," he said. "Probably -they brought it over from Scandinavia." - -Dora was peering around it. "There isn't a lock," she observed. "I -suppose whatever it was tied with rotted away long ago." Then, as another -thought came, "Oh, Jerry, if we had waited, maybe even a week, the stage -coach might have crumbled, don't you think? It couldn't have stayed -together much longer." - -"Righto!" the cowboy continued. Then, with a quick glance at Dick, he -said, "Now that it's over, I'm thankful it has gone,--the stage coach, I -mean. Dick and I might have been tempted to come back and look for more -clues, and believe me, we came within _one_ of going to the bottom, but -Jumping Steers! we didn't, and it sure was some exciting adventure, -wasn't it, old man?" - -Before Dick could reply, Mary said emphatically, "I wouldn't have _let_ -you come back again, Jerry. You call me 'Little Sister,' and brothers -_always_ have to _obey_, don't they, Dora?" - -But her friend laughingly denied, "Not _my_ small brother, believe me, -NO. When I want him to do a thing, I ask the opposite." - -Jerry had seemed to be too intent on tying knots securely to have heard, -but when he turned, his gray eyes smiled at the smaller girl, adoring -her. "_This_ Big Brother is the exception which proves the rule," he -quoted. "Command, Little Sister, and I will obey." - -"Bravo!" Dora teased. Then, to the other girl, "Please command that we -start for home. I'm wild to get there so that we may look through the -trunk." - -Jerry removed the rocks that held the wheels. Dick was glancing about the -part of the road where the small car stood. "Do you plan turning here, -Jerry?" he asked. "I was wondering, because I heard you say it would be -miles out of our way, if we kept going straight on over the mountain." - -Before answering, Jerry stood, looking, not at the road, but down at the -valley sand storm which had not decreased in density. In fact it had -widened and was hiding the lower part of the mountain on which they -stood. - -"How much gas have we, Dick?" Jerry asked, making no comment on the sand -storm. - -"About four gallons. And another five in the storage can." - -"Good!" Again Jerry's gray eyes looked thoughtfully about. They seemed to -be measuring the width of the road between the peak at their right and -the edge of the descent at the left. Dick stepped back and through -narrowed lids, he also estimated the distance. - -"A leetle more than twice the width of the car," he guessed. "Say, old -man," Dick stepped eagerly toward the cowboy, "let _me_ turn it, will -you? Back East, one of the crazy things we did at school was to have -contests on car turning. I was pretty durn good at it then. Could turn -around on a dime, so to speak." Still Jerry hesitated. "But you don't -know _this_ car--" he began, when Dick interrupted swaggeringly, to try -to make the girls think the feat would be less serious than it really -would be. "Why, my dear _vaquero_, a wild car is as docile with me as a -wild broncho would be with you--knows the master's touch and all that." - -Then, as Jerry still hesitated, Dick leaped up under the wheel and called -to the girls: "Stand back, if you please, and make room for the world -famous--" the engine was starting, the car slowly turning. Dick did not -finish his joking speech. He directed all his thought and skill to the -turning of the car. There was a tense silence broken by Dora. - -"Why, there was lots of room after all!" she cried admiringly. - -"Gee whizzle!" Jerry had expected Dick to give up. "I reckon you didn't -rate yourself any too high when you were boasting about your skill." - -He helped Mary up to her seat, then took the place Dick had relinquished -to climb in back with Dora. Slowly the small car started down the road -which they had ascended hours before. - -"What thrilling adventures and narrow escapes we have had today!" Dora -exclaimed, loud enough for Jerry to hear. - -"I reckon they're not all over yet," the cowboy replied,--then wished he -had not spoken. - -"What do you suppose Jerry means?" Dora asked in a low voice of Dick. - -The boy's first reply was a shrug of his shoulders. "Nothing, really; at -least I don't think he does." Then, as they rounded an outflung curve in -the road and he saw the dull yellow flying cloud far below them, Dick -added, as though suddenly understanding, "Oho, I savvy. Jerry is thinking -of the sand storm." - -"But, of course, it _can't_ climb the mountain and equally, of course, -Jerry won't run right out into it," Dora said. Dick agreed, then asked: - -"But _what_ if the sand storm lasted for hours and we had to stay in the -mountain all night, wouldn't that be another adventure, and if we should -hear pumas prowling around the car wishing to devour us, wouldn't that be -a narrow escape?" - -Dora laughed. "Do you know, Dick, when I first met you, I thought you -were as solemn as an owl. I didn't dream that you were, I mean, _are_ a -humorist." - -"Thanks for not saying clown." Dick seemed so ridiculously grateful that -Dora laughed again. - -"You remind me of Harold Lloyd," she said, "and I hope you think that's a -compliment. He looks through his shell-rimmed glasses just as solemnly as -you do when he's saying the funniest things." - -Instead of replying, Dick peered curiously ahead. "I reckon the 'another -adventure or narrow escape' is about to happen," he said in a low voice -close to Dora's ear. "Leastwise our vehicle is slowing to a stop." - -Jerry, making sure that the front wheels were safely wedged against the -mountain, turned and inquired, "Dick, can you and Dora hear a roaring -noise?" - -"Now that the car has stopped rattling, I can," Dick replied. - -"It's the sand storm, isn't it?" Dora leaned forward to ask. - -"Yes." Jerry glanced back, troubled. "There are two valley roads forking -off just below here. One goes over toward the Chiricahua Mountains where -our ranch is, the other toward Gleeson where we have to go to take the -girls. Now what I want to say is this. Our road is clear, but the Gleeson -road is in the path of the sand storm. Of course, if the wind should -change, it might catch us, but I reckon our best chance is to race across -the open valley to _Bar N_ ranch. You girls would have to stay all night, -but Mother'd like that powerful well. We could telephone to Gleeson so -your dad wouldn't worry." - -Mary, who had been listening with anxious eyes, now put in, "But, Jerry, -wouldn't that sand storm cut down the wires? I'd hate to have Dad anxious -if there was any possible way of getting home--" - -"I have it," Dick announced. "If, after we reach the ranch, we find we -can't communicate with your home, Jerry and I will ride over there on -horseback. The sand storm will surely be blown away by then." His -questioning glance turned toward Jerry. - -"Sure thing," the cowboy replied. "Now, girls, hold tight! We're going to -drop down to the cross valley road. It's smooth and hard and we're going -to beat the world's record." - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - "A.'S AND N. E.'S." - - -The girls held tight as they had been commanded, their nerves taut and -tense. Jerry's prophecy that they might yet have another thrilling -adventure and narrow escape filled them with a sort of startled -expectancy. They could not see the forking valley roads until they had -dropped down the last steep descent of the mountain and were almost upon -them. Jerry unconsciously uttered an exclamation of relief. The road that -went straight as a taut lariat across miles of flat, sandy waste was -glistening in the late afternoon sun. The distant Chiricahua range, at -the foot of which nestled the Newcomb ranch, was hung with a misty lilac -haze. Peace seemed to pervade the scene and yet they could all four -distinctly hear a dull ominous roar. - -Before starting to "beat the world's record," Jerry stopped the car and -listened. His desert-trained ear could surely discern the direction of -the roaring sound. They were still too close to the mountain to see the -desert on their right or left. - -Turning to Dick, he asked, "Is there any water left in the canteen?" - -"Yes," the other boy replied, sensing the seriousness of the request, -"about a gallon, I should say. It's right here at our feet." - -"Good! Have the top loose so that you can drench our handkerchiefs at a -split second's notice. Have them ready, girls." - -"Why, Jerry," Mary's expression was one of excited animation, "do you -expect the sand storm to overtake us?" - -"No, I really don't." The cowboy was starting the engine again. "But it's -always wise to take precautions." Then, addressing the small car, "Now, -little old 'tin Cayuse,' show your stuff." - -The start was so sudden and so violent that Dora was thrown forward. Dick -drew her back and they smiled at each other glowingly. - -"Life is a jolly lark today, isn't it, so full of a.'s and n. e.'s." - -"I suppose you mean adventures and narrow escapes." Dora straightened her -small hat that had been twisted awry. Then, as they sped away from the -shelter of the grim, gray towering mountain, they all four looked quickly -to the right and left. The desert lay dreaming in the sun. To the far -south of them the air was full of a sinister yellow wall of flying sand -and dust. It was surely headed in the opposite direction. Jerry did not -doubt it and since he did not, the girls and Dick had no sense of fear. -The ominous roaring sound had lessened, although, of course, they could -hear little when that small car was speeding, its own squeaks and rattles -having been increased. - -Mary turned a face flushed with excitement and called back to Dora, "Ten -miles! Only ten more to go." - -It was a perfect road, recently completed. There was almost no sand on it -and very few dips. - -Dick waved up toward a low circling vulture. "That fellow's eyes are -popping out in amazement, more than likely," he shouted to Dora. - -She laughed back, holding tight to her hat. "He probably thinks this is -some new kind of a stampede." - -Again Mary's pretty glowing face appeared in the opening back of the -front seat. "Fifteen miles! Only five more to go." - -Dick's expression became anxious. He said, close to Dora's ear, "If Jerry -feels so sure that the sand storm is headed toward Mexico, I don't think -he ought to race this little machine. He may know a lot more than I do -about busting bronchos, but--" - -An explosion interrupted Dick's remark, then the car zigzagged wildly -from side to side. Jerry turned off the spark and the gas. Dick, without -thought, leaped out onto the running board and put his weight over the -wheel with the blow-out in its tire. - -Almost miraculously the car stayed in the road. The girls had been -wonderful. White and terrorized, yet neither had clutched at her -companion, nor hindered his doing what was best for their safety. - -When the car stopped, the front right tire was almost off the road. The -girls, quivering with excitement, got out and exclaimed simultaneously, -"Another adventure and narrow escape!" - -Dick, knowing better than the girls how truly narrow their escape had -been, stepped forward, his dark eyes serious, and extended a hand to the -cowboy. "Jerry," he said earnestly, "I won't say again that I probably -know more about managing cars than you do. If it hadn't been for your -quick thinking and skill, we would surely have turned turtle in the sand -and if the spark had been on, the car might have gone up in flames." - -But Jerry would not accept the compliment. He shook his head as he -removed his sombrero and wiped beads of moisture from his forehead. -"Dick," he said, "thanks just the same, but I reckon I was needlessly -reckless. I wasn't right sure about the sand storm, just at first, but -later when I saw that it was heading south all right, I kept on -speeding." - -Turning to the smaller girl who stood very still; seemingly calm, though -her lips quivered when she tried to smile, the cowboy said contritely, -"Little Sister, if you won't stop trusting me, I'll swear to never again -take any such needless risks." - -Dora, watching the two, thought, "It matters such a terrible lot to Jerry -what Mary thinks about him. Some day she's going to wake up and realize -that he loves her." - -Dick was removing his coat, and Jerry, evidently satisfied with Mary's -low-spoken reply, turned to get tools out from under the front seat. - -Half an hour later the small car was again on its way. The sun was -setting behind the mountains where so recently they had been. - -Mary looked back at them. Grim and dark and forbidding they were, deep in -shadow, but the peaks were aglow with flame color. The floor of the -desert valley about them was like a sea of shimmering golden water; the -ripples and dunes of sand were like glistening waves. - -"Such a gloriousness!" Dora exclaimed, turning a radiant face toward her -companion. - -"I can see the color of it in your eyes," the boy told her, and a sudden -admiration in his own dark eyes caused Dora to think that Dick was really -seeing her for the first time. - -It was lilac dusk when the small car drove along the lane of cottonwood -trees and stopped at one side of the _Bar N_ ranch house. - -Mrs. Newcomb's round pleasant face looked out of a kitchen window, then -her apron-covered person appeared in the open side door. Her arms were -held out to welcome Mary. - -"My dear, my dear," she said tenderly, "how glad I am that you blew over -to _Bar N_." - -"We almost literally _did_ blow over," Mary laughingly replied. "That is, -we were running away from a sand storm." Then, suddenly serious, she -asked, "Oh, Aunt Molly, may I use your telephone at once? Dad doesn't -know that I'm here and he will be expecting us back for supper." - -"Of course, dear. You know where it is, in the living-room." Then, when -Mary had skipped away, Dora following her, Mrs. Newcomb asked, "Has there -been a sand storm in the valley? I hadn't heard about it." - -Jerry was about to drive the small car around to the old barn and so Dick -replied, "Yes, Mrs. Newcomb. That's what Jerry called it. We first saw it -on the other side of the range back of Gleeson. Later we saw it far away -to the south. It didn't cross this part of the valley at all, but Jerry -thought we'd better not try the Gleeson road." - -"He was wise. I hope the wires aren't down." - -The good woman's anxiety was quickly ended by the reappearance of the -girls. "All's well!" Mary announced. Then to Dick, "Your mother answered -the phone. She said that they had heard the roaring and had seen some -dust in the air but that the storm had passed around our tableland." - -"Well, you girls had quite an adventure and perhaps a narrow escape as -well." Little did Mrs. Newcomb realize that she was repeating the phrase -they had so often used that day. "Now, Mary, you take your friend to the -spare room and get ready for supper. Your Uncle Henry will be in from -riding the range pronto, and starved as a lean wolf, no doubt. He's been -gone since sun-up and he won't take along what he ought for his -mid-lunch." - -The girls were about to leave the kitchen when Jerry called to Dick and -away he went into the gathering darkness. - -"The boys sleep in the bunk house out by the corral," Mrs. Newcomb -explained. "They'll be back, I reckon, soon as you're ready." - -The spare room was large, square, with a small fireplace in it. The bed -was an old-fashioned four-poster and looked luxuriously comfortable. - -A table, a dresser, two chairs of dark wood and a bright rag rug -completed the furnishings. - -"How quiet it is," Mary said. "There isn't a neighbor nearer than those -Dooleys and Jerry said they are way over in the canyon." - -Dora, wondering if Mary could be contented if she became Jerry's wife, -some day in the future, asked, "Would _you_ like to live on a ranch, do -you think?" - -Innocently, Mary replied as she lighted the kerosene lamp on the bureau, -"Why, yes, I'm sure I would, if Dad could be with me." - -Dora sighed as she thought, "Poor Jerry. She's still blind and I _did_ -think today that her eyes were opened." - - - - - CHAPTER XV - IN THE BARN LOFT - - -"Jerry, what did you do with the box?" Mary managed to whisper as the -cowboy drew out a chair for her at the supper table. - -"In the old barn loft, snug and safe," he replied. Then he sat beside -her. Dora and Dick, on the opposite side of the long table, beamed -across, eager anticipation in their eyes. Although they had not heard the -few words their friends had spoken, they felt sure that they had been -about Little Bodil's box. - -"We won't wait for your father, Jerry," Mrs. Newcomb had said. "He may -have gone in somewhere for shelter if he happened to be riding in the -path of the storm." - -The kerosene lamp hanging above the middle of the table had a -cherry-colored shade and cast a cheerful glow over the simple meal of -warmed-over chicken, baked potatoes, corn bread, sage honey and creamy -milk, big pitchers of it, one at each end of the table. For dessert there -was apple sauce and chocolate layer cake. - -Mr. Newcomb came in before they were through, tall, sinewy, his kind -brown face deeply furrowed by wind and sun. His eyes brightened with real -pleasure when he saw the guests. Dora, he had met before, and Mary he had -known since she was a little girl. - -He shook hands with both of them. "Wall, wall, if that sand storm sent -you girls this-a-way, I figger it did some good after all." - -Jerry glanced at his father anxiously when he was seated at the end of -the table opposite his wife. - -"Dad, do you reckon any of our cattle were hit by it?" he asked. - -The older man helped himself to the food Mary passed him, before he -replied, "No-o, I reckon not. I was riding the high pasture when I heerd -the roaring. I went out on Lookout Point and stood there watching, till -the dust got so thick I had to make for the canyon." - -It was Dick who spoke. "There aren't many cows pastured down on the floor -of the valley, anyway, are there, Mr. Newcomb? There's so much sand and -only an occasional clump of grass, it surely isn't good pasture." - -"You're right," the cowman agreed, "but there's a few poor men struggling -along, tryin' to eke out an existence down thar. I reckon they was hit -hard. I knew a man, once, who had a well and was tryin' to raise a -garden. One of them sand storms swooped over it, and, after it was gone, -he couldn't find nary a vegetable. Either they'd been pulled up by the -roots and blown away or else they was buried so deep, he couldn't dig -down to them." - -"Oh, Uncle Henry," Mary smiled toward him brightly, "I see a twinkle in -your eye. Now confess, isn't that a sand-story?" - -"No, it's true enough," the cowman replied, when Jerry exclaimed: "Dad, I -know a bigger one than that. You remember that man from the East, -tenderfoot if ever there was one, who started to build him a house on the -Neal crossroad? He heard the storm coming so he jumped on his horse and -rode into Neal as though demons were after him. When the wind stopped -blowing, he went back to look for his house and there, where it had been, -stood the beginning of a sand hill. The adobe walls of his unfinished -house had caught so much sand, they were completely covered. That was -years ago. Now there's a good-sized sand hill on that very spot with -yucca growing on it." - -"Poor man, it was the burial of his dreams," Dora said sympathetically. - -"He left for the East the next day," Jerry finished his tale, "and--" - -"Lived happily ever after, I hope," Mary put in. - -Mrs. Newcomb said pleasantly, "If you young people have finished your -meal, don't wait for us. Jerry told me you're going out to the loft in -the old barn for a secret meeting about something." - -"We'd like to help you, Aunt Mollie, if--" - -"No 'ifs' to it, Mary dear." The older woman gazed lovingly at the girl. -"Your Uncle Henry and I visit quite a long spell evenings over our tea. -It's the only leisure time that we have together." - -Jerry lighted a couple of lanterns, and the girls, after having gone to -their room for their sweater coats, joined the boys on the wide, back, -screened-in porch. - -"I'll go ahead," Jerry said, "and Dick will bring up the rear. We'll be -the lantern bearers. Now, don't you girls leave the path." - -"Why all the precautions?" Dora asked gaily, but Mary knew. - -"Rattlesnakes may be abroad." She shuddered. "Have you seen one yet this -summer, Jerry?" - -"Yes, this morning, and a mighty ugly one too; coiled up asleep in the -chicken yard. I shot it, all right, but didn't kill it. Before I could -fire again, it had crawled under the old barn." - -"Oh-oo gracious! That's where we're going, isn't it?" Dora peered into -the darkness on either side of the path. - -"I suppose it had a mate equally big and ugly under the barn?" Mary's -statement was also a question. - -Dick replied, "Undoubtedly, but if they stay _under_ the barn and don't -try to climb up to the loft, they won't trouble us any." - -Mary, glancing up at the sky that was like soft, dark blue velvet studded -with luminous stars, exclaimed, "How wonderfully clear the air is, and -how still. You never would dream that a sand storm had--" - -She stopped suddenly, for Dora had gripped her arm from the back. -"Listen! Didn't you hear a--" - -"Gun shot?" Dick supplied gaily. "Now that we're about to open up Little -Bodil's box, I certainly expect to hear one. You know we heard a gun -fired, or thought we did, when we passed through the gate in front of -Lucky Loon's rock house, and again when old Silas Harvey was telling us -the story. Was that what you thought you heard, Dora?" - -"No, it was not," that maiden replied indignantly. "I thought I heard a -rattle." She had stopped still in the path to listen, but, as Jerry and -Mary had continued walking toward the old barn, Dora decided that she had -been mistaken and skipped along to catch up. Dick, sorry that he had -teased her, evidently at an inopportune time, ran after her with the -lantern. "Please forgive me," he pleaded, "and don't rush along that way -where the path is dark." - -Jerry turned to call, "We're going in the side door, Dick." Then -anxiously, "You girls can climb a wall ladder, can't you?" - -"Of course we can," Dora replied spiritedly. "We're regular acrobats in -our gym at school." - -Having reached the barn, Dick opened a low door, then holding the lantern -high, that the girls might see the step, he assisted them both over the -sill and followed closely. - -Mary was standing in the small leather-scented harness-room, looking -about the old wooden floor with an anxious expression. - -"I was wondering," she explained when the light from a lantern flashed in -her face, "if there are any holes in the floor large enough for those -rattlers to crawl through." - -"I'm sorry I mentioned that ugly old fellow," Jerry said contritely, "and -yet we do have to be constantly on the watch, but we're safe enough now. -Here's the wall ladder and the little loft storeroom is just above us. -The only hard part is at the top where one of the cross bars is missing." - -Dick suggested, "We boys can go up first and reach a hand down to the -girls when they come to that step." - -"Righto," Jerry said. "I'll leave my lantern on the floor here. You take -yours up, old man. Then we'll have illumination in both places." - -The girls had worn their knickers under their short skirts as they always -did when they went on a hike or a mountain climb and so they went up the -rough wall ladder as nimbly as the boys had done. The last step was more -difficult, but, with the help of strong arms they soon stood on the floor -of the low loft room. All manner of discarded tools, harness and boxes -were piled about the walls. - -Dora was curious. "Jerry, _why_ did you select this out-of-the-way place -for Bodil's trunk?" - -"Because I reckoned no one would disturb us. The Dooley twins overrun the -old barn sometimes but they can't climb up here with the top board -missing." - -The battered leather box lay in the middle of the room and the two girls -looking down at it had a strangely uncanny feeling. Jerry evidently had -not, for he was about to lift the lid when Mary caught his arm, -exclaiming, "Big Brother, _what_ was it Silas Harvey said about a ghost? -I mean, didn't Mr. Pedersen threaten to haunt----" - -The interruption was the crackling report of a gun that was very close to -them. - -"Great heavens, _what_ was that?" Mary screamed and clung to Jerry -terrified. - -"It wasn't a ghost who fired that shot," the cowboy told them. "It was -someone just outside the barn. Don't be frightened, girls. It can't be -anyone who wants to harm us. Wait, I'll call out the window here." - -Jerry pulled open a wooden blind and shouted, "_Who's_ there?" - -His father's voice replied, "Lucky I happened along when I did. An ugly -rattler was wriggling, half dead from a wound, right along the path here -and its mate was coiled in a sage bush watching it." - -Dora seized Dick's arm. "I heard it!" she cried excitedly. "_That's_ what -I heard when you began to--" - -"Aw, I say, Dora," Dick was truly remorseful, "I'm terribly sorry. I just -didn't want you to be using your imagination and frightening yourself -needlessly." - -Mary sank down on a dusty old box. "I'm absolutely limp," she said. "Now, -if a ghost appears when we open that trunk, I'll simply collapse." - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - SEARCHING FOR CLUES - - -The four young people in the loft listened as Mr. Newcomb closed the gate -to the hen-yard, then, when they heard him leaving, Jerry said, "I reckon -we're alone now, so let's get ahead with the box opening ceremony." - -"Oh, Big Brother," Mary, quite recovered from her recent fright, -exclaimed. "Let's make a _real ceremony_ of it, shall we? Let's kneel on -the floor; you boys at the sides and we girls at the ends. There now, -let's all lift at once and together." - -"Wait!" Dora cried, detaining them. "Just to add to the suspense, let's -each tell what we expect to find in the box." - -Mary looked across at her friend vaguely. "Why, I'm sure I don't know. -What do _you_ hope that we'll find, Jerry?" - -"I reckon what we _want_ to find is something that will help us locate -Little Bodil," the cowboy replied. - -"And yet," Dick put in wisely, "since Little Bodil was thrown from the -stage coach forty years ago, how can _anything_ that was already _in_ her -trunk prove to us whether she was devoured by wild animals or carried -away by bandits?" - -"Oh-oo!" Mary shuddered. "I don't know _which_ would be worse." - -Dora was agreeing with Dick. "You're right of course," she said -thoughtfully, "but, nevertheless I've a hunch that we'll find something -that will, in some roundabout way, prove to us whether Little Bodil is -dead or alive." - -"Now, if _that's_ settled, let the ceremony proceed," Jerry announced. In -the dim lantern light Mary's fair face and Dora's olive-tinted glowed -with excited animation as they took hold of the trunk ends. - -The top, however, did not come off as readily as they had anticipated. -The many winter storms and the burning summer heat to which the box had -been exposed had warped the cover, binding it tight. Jerry, glancing -about the room, found a broken tool which he could use as a wedge. With -it he loosened the cover. Then it was easily removed. - -The first emotion was one of disappointment. The small trunk contained -little, nothing at all, the young people decided, that could be -considered as a clue. There was a plaid woolen dress for a child of about -eight or ten and the coarsest of home-made underwear, knit stockings and -a small pair of carpet slippers with patched soles. - -A hand-carved wooden doll, in a plaid dress, which evidently had been -made by the child, had been lovingly wrapped in a small red shawl. -Lastly, tied up in a quilted blue bonnet with the strings, was a carved -wooden bowl and spoon. - -In the flickering lantern light, the expression on the four faces changed -from eager excitement to genuine disappointment. - -"Not a clue among them," Dora announced dramatically. - -"Not a line of writing of any kind, is there?" Mary was confident that -she knew the answer to her question before she asked it. - -Dick was closely scrutinizing the empty leather box. "Usually in mystery -stories," he looked up from his inspection to say, "there's a lining in -the trunk and the lost will, or, what have you, is safely reposing under -it, but unfortunately Little Bodil's trunk has no lining nor hide-it-away -places of any kind." - -Mary was holding the small doll near to the lantern and the others saw -tears in her pitying blue eyes. Suddenly she held the doll comfortingly -close as she said, a sob in her voice, "Poor little old wooden dollie, -all these long years you've been waiting, wondering, perhaps, why Little -Bodil didn't take you out and mother you." - -"Like Eugene Fields' 'Little Toy Dog,'" Dora said, looking lovingly at -her friend. Then, "Mary, you can write the sweetest verses. Someday when -we're back at school, write about Little Bodil's wooden doll. It may make -you famous." Then she modified, "At least it will help you fill space in -'The Sunnybank Say-So.'" - -"Promise to send me a copy if she does," Jerry said. - -Dick, who had not been listening, had at last given up hope of finding a -scrap of writing. He had felt in the small pocket of the plaid dress and -had closely examined the quilted hood. - -"Well," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, "since there isn't a clue to be -found, shall we put the things back into the trunk and go in?" - -"I reckon we might as well," Jerry acquiesced. "We'll have to be up early -tomorrow so that we can drive the girls over to Gleeson along about -noon." - -Dora was examining the hand-carved wooden bowl and long wooden spoon. "I -wonder if Little Bodil's father made this leaf pattern on the handle," -she said, then began, jokingly, "If I were a trance medium, I would say, -as I hold this article, I feel the presence of someone who, when alive in -the flesh, dearly loved the child, Little Bodil. This someone, this -spirit presence that we cannot see with our outward eyes, wishes very -much to help us find a clue." Dora's voice had become mysteriously low. - -Lifting her eyes slowly from the wooden bowl, she gazed intently at a -dark corner where junk was piled. - -Mary's gaze followed. "Goodness, Dora!" she implored nervously, "don't -stare that way into space. Anyone would think that you saw someone and--" - -"I'm not sure but that I do see something." Dora's tone had changed to -one of startled seriousness. "Jerry," she continued, pointing toward the -dark corner, "don't _you_ see a palely luminous object over there?" - -"I reckon I do," the cowboy agreed. "But one thing I'm sure is, it can't -be a ghost since there isn't any such thing." - -"How do we know that--" Dora began when Mary, clutching her friend's arm, -whispered excitedly, "I see it now! Oh, Jerry, if it isn't a ghost, -_what_ is it?" - -"We'll soon know." There was no fear in the cowboy's voice as he leaped -to his feet and walked toward the corner. The girls watched breathlessly -expecting to see the apparition fade into darkness, but, if anything, it -seemed clearer, as Jerry approached it. - -His hearty laugh dispelled their fears before he explained, "The moon is -rising. That's moonlight coming in through a long crack in the wall." -Then, with a shrug which told his disbelief in _all_ things supernatural, -he dismissed the subject with, "I reckon _that's_ as near being a ghost -as anything ever is." - -Mary was tenderly placing the coarse little undergarments back into the -small trunk. Dora less sentimental than her friend, nevertheless felt a -pitying sadness in her heart as she refolded the little plaid dress and -laid it on top. Before closing the box, Mary, still on her knees, looked -up at Jerry, her eyes luminous. "Big Brother," she said, "do _you_ think -Little Bodil would mind if I kept her doll? It's a funny, homely little -thing with only a wooden heart, but I can't get over feeling that it's -lonesome and needs comforting." - -Jerry's gray eyes were very gentle as he looked down at the girl. His -voice was a bit husky as he replied, "I reckon Little Bodil would be -grateful to you if she knew. She probably set a store by that doll baby." - -He held out a strong brown hand to help her to rise and there was a -tenderness in the clasp. - -Dora had not packed the wooden bowl and spoon. "I would so like to keep -these," she said, adding hastily, "Of course, if Little Bodil is found, -I'll give them back to her. Don't you think it would be all right?" - -"Sure thing!" Dick replied. Stooping, he picked up the worn little carpet -slippers, saying, "You overlooked these, girls, while you were packing." - -"Oh, so we did." Dora reached up a hand to take them, then she hesitated, -inquiring, "Why don't you and Jerry each take one for a keepsake, or -don't boys care for such things?" Dick took one of the slippers and -dropped it, unconcernedly, into a deep leather pocket. The other slipper -he handed to Jerry who stowed it away. The boys replaced the cover of the -box, not without difficulty, and then they all four stood for a silent -moment looking down at it with varying emotions. Mary spoke in a small -awed voice. "What shall we do with the little box?" - -"I reckoned we'd leave it here," Jerry began, then asked, "What were -_you_ thinking about it?" - -"I was wondering," Mary said, looking from one to another with large -star-like eyes, "if it wouldn't be a good plan to take the box up to the -rock house and leave it _there_." - -"Why, Mary Moore," Dora was frankly amazed, "you wouldn't _dare_ climb up -there and be looked at by that Evil Eye Turquoise, would you?" - -Before Mary could reply, Jerry said, "The plan is a good one, all right, -but we'd better leave it here, I reckon, till we know if there's any way -to get up to the rock house. The cliff that broke off in front of it used -to be Mr. Pedersen's stairway." - -Mary agreed and so they ascended the wall ladder. As they stood in the -harness-room below, Mary said in a low voice, "Although we have _not_ -found a clue, that trunk has done one thing; it has made me feel in my -heart that Little Bodil was a _real_ child. Before, it seemed to me more -like a fanciful story. Now, more than ever, I hope that _somewhere_ we -will find a clue that will someday prove to us that no harm came to the -little girl." - -Jerry had picked up the second lantern and, taking Mary's arm, he led her -through the low door and along the dark path. Neither spoke. Dora and -Dick followed, walking single file. Dora, remembering the dead snakes, -glanced about, but Mr. Newcomb had thoughtfully buried them, not wishing -the girls to be needlessly startled. - -At the kitchen door, the boys said good night and returned to their bunk -house out near the corral. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - A WOODEN DOLL - - -The girls, with the lantern Jerry had given them, tip-toed through the -darkened hall to their bedroom. Mary placed the lantern on the table, -and, after having kissed the little wooden doll good night, she put it to -bed on a cushioned chair. She smiled wistfully up at Dora. "What is there -about even a poor forlorn homely wooden doll that stirs in one's heart a -sort of mother love?" - -"I guess you've answered your own question," Dora replied in her -matter-of-fact tone. "I never felt that way about dolls. In fact, I never -owned one after the cradle-age." Then, fearing that Mary would think that -she was critical of her sentiment, she hurried on to say, "I always -wanted tom-boy, noisy toys that I could romp around with." Then, gazing -lovingly at Mary, she added, "Someday you'll make a wonderful mother. I -hope you'll want to name one of your little girls after me. How would -Dorabelle do?" - -"Fine!" Mary smiled her approval of the name. "There must be four girls -so that the oldest may have my mother's name and the other three be -called Dorabelle, Patsy and Polly. What's more, I hope each one will grow -up to be just like her name-mother, if there is any such thing." - -A few moments later, when they were nestled in the soft bed, Dora asked -in a low voice, "What kind of a man would you like to marry?" - -Mary's thoughts had again wandered back to Little Bodil and so she -replied indifferently, "Oh, I don't know. I've never thought that far. I -_do_ want a home and children, someday, of course, but first, for a -_long_ time, I hope, I'm going to keep house for Daddy." - -Dora was more than ever convinced that Mary thought of the cowboy merely -as the Big Brother, which so frequently she called him. However, before -entirely giving up, she asked, "If you have little boys, what will you -name _them_?" - -Mary laughed, not at all suspecting her friend's real reason for all the -questioning. "That's an easy one to answer," she said artlessly. "The -oldest, of course, will be named after Dad. The other two--if--why, Dick -and Jerry will do as well as any, and yet," she paused and seemed to -think a bit, then merrily she said, "Dora, let's postpone all this -christening for ten years at least. The fond father of the brood may want -to have a finger in the pie." - -Dora thought, "Mary's voice sounds amused. Maybe she's wise to my -scheming. I'd better soft pedal it, if I'm ever going to get at the -truth." - -Aloud she said with elaborate indifference--yawning to add to the effect, -"Oh, well, it really doesn't matter. After all I had quite forgotten our -agreement to both remain old maids, me to teach school and you to keep -house for me." Again she yawned, saying sleepily, "Good night and -pleasant dreams." - -It was daybreak when the girls woke up. Already there were sounds of -activity within and without. Barnyard fowls were clamoring, each in its -own way, for the breakfast which Dick was carrying to them. - -Jerry--in the cow corral--was milking under difficulties as a long-legged -calf was noisily demanding a share. - -From the kitchen came faintly the clatter of dishes, a sizzling sound and -a most appetizing fragrance of coffee, bacon and frying potatoes. - -"Let's get up and surprise the boys," Mary whispered. - -This they did and were in time to help pleased Mrs. Newcomb carry in the -hot viands. - -Jerry and Dick welcomed them with delighted grins and Mr. Newcomb gave -them each a fatherly pat as he passed. - -"How will you girls spend the morning?" Jerry inquired. "Dick and I have -branding to do and I reckon you wouldn't care to 'spectate' as an old -cowboy we once had used to say." - -Mary shuddered. "I _certainly do not_," she declared. "I hope branding -doesn't hurt the poor calf half as much as it would hurt _me_ to watch -it." - -"The thing that gets me," Dick, still a tenderfoot, commented, "is the -smell of burning hair and flesh. I can't get used to it." Then, glancing -half apologetically toward Mrs. Newcomb, he said, "Not a very nice -breakfast subject, is it?" - -Placidly that good woman replied, "On a ranch one gets used to -unappetizing subjects--sort of like nurses do in hospitals, I suppose. -During meals is about all the time cowmen have to talk over what they've -been doing and make plans." - -"You haven't told us yet what you'd like to do this morning," Jerry said, -as he glanced fondly at the curly, sun-gold head close to his shoulder. - -Mary replied, with a quick eager glance at the older woman, "Aunt Mollie, -can't you make use of two very capable young women? We can sweep and dust -and--" - -"No need to!" was the laughing reply. "Yesterday was clean-up day." - -"I can do some wicked churning," Dora assured their hostess. - -"No sour cream ready, dearie." Then, realizing that the girls truly -wished to be of assistance, Mrs. Newcomb turned brightly toward her son. -"Jerry, I wish you'd saddle a couple of horses before you go. I'd like to -send a parcel over to Etta Dooley. What's more, I'd like Mary and Dora to -meet Etta. She's about your age, dear." She had turned toward Mary. "A -fine girl, we think, but a mighty lonesome one, yet _never_ a word of -complaint. She has four to cook for--five counting herself--and beside -that, there's the patching and the cleaning. Then in between times she's -studying to try to pass the Douglas high school examinations, hoping -someday to be a teacher. You'll both like Etta. Don't you think they -will, Jerry?" - -"Why, I reckon she's likeable," the cowboy said indifferently. He was -thinking how much more enthusiasm he could have put into that reply if -his mother had asked, "Etta will like Mary, won't she, Jerry?" Rising, he -smiled down at the girl of whom he was thinking. "I'll go and saddle -Dusky for you," he told her. "She's as easy riding as a rocking horse and -as pretty a creature as we ever had on _Bar N_." - -When the boys were gone, the girls insisted on washing the breakfast -dishes. Then they made their beds. As they expected, they found the -saddled ponies waiting for them near the side door. - -Mrs. Newcomb gave Mary a flat, soft parcel. "Slip it over your saddle -horn, dear," she suggested, "and tell Etta that the flannel in the parcel -is for her to make into nighties for Baby Bess." - -Dusky was as beautiful a horse as Jerry had said. Graceful, -slender-limbed, with a coat of soft gray-black velvet--the color of dusk. -Dora's mount was named "Old Reliable." Mrs. Newcomb smoothed its near -flank lovingly. "I used to ride this one all over the range, and even -into town, when we were both younger," she told them. - -The girls cantered leisurely down the cottonwood shaded lane and then -turned, not toward the right which led to the highway, but toward the -left on a rough canyon road that ascended gradually up a low tree-covered -mountain. - -Brambly bushes grew along the trail showing that the ground was not -entirely dry. A curve in the road revealed the reason. A wide, stony -creek-bed was ahead of them, and, in the middle of it, was a -crystal-clear, rushing stream. - -The horses waded through the water spatteringly. Old Reliable seemed not -to notice the little whirlpools at his feet, but Dusky put back his ears -and did a bit of side stepping. Mary, unafraid, spoke gently and patted -his glossy neck. With a graceful leap, the bank was reached. There was a -steep scramble for both horses; loose rock rattled down to the brook bed. - -When they were on the rutty, climbing road again, Dora laughingly -remarked, "Dusky already knows the voice of his mistress." If there was a -hidden meaning in Dora's remark, Mary did not notice it, for what she -said was, "Dora, who would ever expect a cowboy to be poetic, but Jerry -surely was when he named this horse, don't you think so?" - -"Yeah!" Dora replied inelegantly. To herself she thought, "That may be a -hopeful sign, thinking Jerry is a poet in cowboy guise." - -"It's lovely up this canyon road, isn't it?" All unconsciously Mary was -gazing about her, contentedly drinking in the beauty of the cool, -shadowy, rocky places on either side. Aspen, ash and cottonwood trees -grew tall, their long roots drawing moisture from the tumbling brook. - -Half a mile up the canyon there was a clearing, and in it stood a very -old log hut with adobe-filled cracks. A lean-to on one side had recently -been put up. In a small, fenced-in yard were a dozen hens, and down -nearer the brook was a garden patch. Two small, red-headed boys in -overalls were there busily weeding. Near them, on a grassy plot, a -spotted cow was tethered. Back of the house, hanging on a line, was a -rather nondescript wash, but, nevertheless, it was clean. - -The front door stood open but no one was in sight. Mary and Dora, leaving -the road, turned their horses toward the small house. - -"I feel sort of queer," Mary said, "sort of story-bookish--coming to call -on a strange girl in this romantic canyon and--" - -"Sh-ss!" Dora warned. "Someone's coming to the door." - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - A STRANGE HOSTESS - - -Etta Dooley, evidently unused to receiving calls, stood in the open door, -her rather sad mouth and her fine hazel eyes unsmiling. Her plain brown -cloth dress hid the graceful lines of her young form. She was wondering -and waiting. - -Mary and Dora dismounted, and, as the red-headed, ten-year-old twins had -come pell-mell from the garden, Mary, smiling down at them in her -captivating way, asked them not to let the horses wander far from the -house. Then, with the same irresistible smile, she approached the still -silent, solemn girl. - -"Good morning, Etta," Mary said brightly, pretending not to notice the -other girl's rather disconcerting gaze. "We are friends of Mrs. Newcomb, -and she wanted us to become acquainted with you. I am Mary Moore. I live -in Gleeson across the valley and Dora Bellman is my best friend from the -East." - -Etta's serious face lighted for a brief moment with a rather melancholy -smile as she acknowledged the introduction. - -Dora thought, "Poor girl, if _that's_ the best she can do, how cruel life -must have been to her, yet she isn't any older than we are, I am sure. I -wish we could make her forget for a moment. I'd like to see her really -smile." - -Etta had stepped to one side and was saying in her grave, musical voice, -"Won't you come in?" Then a dark red flush suffused her tanned face as -she added, not without embarrassment, "Though there aren't two safe -chairs for you to sit on. The children made them, such as they are, out -of boxes." - -Mary, ever able to blithely cope with any situation, exclaimed sincerely, -"Oh, Etta, it's so gloriously lovely outdoors today, let's sit here. I'll -take the stump and you two may have the fallen tree." - -Then, as Etta glanced back into the room, half hesitating, Mary asked, -"Were you busy about something?" - -"Nothing special," Etta replied. "I wanted to see if we had wakened Baby -Bess. She sleeps late and I like to have her." Again the hazel eyes were -sad. The reason was given. "She hasn't been well since Mother died." -There was a sudden fierce tenderness in her voice as she added, "I can't -lose Baby Bess. She's so like our mother." - -Then, as though amazed at her own unusual show of feeling before -strangers, Etta sank down on the log and shut herself away from them -behind a wall of reserve. - -But Mary, baffled though she momentarily was, knew that Aunt Mollie was -counting on the good their friendship would do Etta, and so, glancing -about, she exclaimed, "I love that rushing brook! It seems so happy, -sparkling in the sun and singing all the time." - -Dora helped out with, "This surely is a beauty spot here under the trees. -It's the prettiest place I've seen since I've been in Arizona." - -"I like it," Etta said, then with unexpected tenseness she added, "I'd -love it, oh, _how_ I'd love it, if it were our own and not _charity_." - -Dora thought, "Now we're getting at the down-deepness of things. Poor, -but so proud! I wonder who in the world these Dooleys are. The name -doesn't suggest nobility." But aloud she asked no questions. One just -didn't ask Etta about her personal affairs. - -Dora groped for something that she could say that would start the -conversational ball rolling, but, for once, she had a most unusual dearth -of ideas. - -Luckily there came a welcome break in the silence which was becoming -embarrassing to the kindly intentioned visitors. - -A sweet trilling baby-voice called, "Etta, I'se 'wake." - -Instantly their strange hostess was on her feet, her eyes love-lighted, -her voice eager. "I'll bring her out. It's warm here in the sunshine." - -While Etta was gone, Mary and Dora exchanged despairing glances which -seemed to say, "We've come to a hurdle that we can't jump over." Aloud -they said nothing, for, almost at once Etta reappeared. In her arms was a -two-year-old; a pretty child with sleep-flushed cheeks, corn-flower blue -eyes and tousled hair as yellow as cornsilk. Etta's expression told her -love and pride in her little darling. - -Baby Bess gazed unsmilingly at Dora as though she knew that here was -someone who did not care for dolls, then she turned to look at Mary. -Instantly she leaned toward her and held out both chubby arms, her sudden -smile sweet and trusting. - -Dora, watching Etta, saw a fleeting change of expression. What was it? -Could Etta be jealous? But no, it wasn't that, for she gave Mary her -first real smile of friendship. - -"Baby Bess likes you," she said. "That means you must be _very_ nice. -Would you like to hold her?" - -"Humph!" Dora thought as she watched Mary reseating herself on the stump -and gathering the small child into her arms, "I reckon then I'm _not_ -nice." - -After that, with the child contentedly nestling in Mary's arms, the ice -melted in the conversational stream. Of her own accord Etta spoke of -school. She asked how far along the girls were and astonished them by -telling what she was doing, subjects far in advance of them. - -Then came the surprising information that her father and mother had both -been college graduates and had taught her. She had never attended a -school. She in turn taught the twins. Then, in a burst of confidence -which Dora rightly guessed was very foreign to her reserved nature, Etta -said, "My father lost a fortune four years ago. He made very unwise -investments. After that Mother's health failed and we came West. Dad did -not know how to earn money. He grew old very suddenly," then, once again, -despair made her face far older than her years. She threw her arms wide. -"All this tells the rest of our story." - -Mary's blue eyes held tears of sympathy which she hid in the child's -yellow curls. Etta would not want sympathy. - -Luckily at that moment there came a welcome interruption. A gay hallooing -lower down the road announced the approach of Dick and Jerry. - -Dora could see Etta rebuilding her wall of reserve. She acknowledged the -introduction to Dick with a formal, unsmiling bow. Baby Bess kept the -situation from becoming awkward by welcoming Jerry with delighted crows -and leaps. The tall cowboy, his sombrero pushed back on his head, took -her in his strong hands and lifted her high. The child's gurgling excited -laughter was like the rippling laughter of the mountain brook. After a -few moments Jerry gave the baby to Etta. The twins came around a clump of -cottonwood trees leading the horses, their freckled faces bright with -wide grins, their Irish blue eyes laughing. Not for them the anxiety and -sorrow that so crushed their big sister. - -Jerry tossed them coins to pay them for the care they had taken of the -ponies. Dora, glancing quickly at Etta, saw that the troubled expression -was again brooding in her eyes. - -Later, when Mary and Dora had said goodbye to their new friend and were -riding away up the canyon road, Dora said, "Jerry, doesn't it seem queer -to you that the boys are so different from their sister? I should almost -think that _she_ belonged to an entirely different family." - -"A changeling, perhaps," Dick suggested. - -"Me no sabe," the cowboy replied lightly. He was thinking of a very -pleasant dream of his own just then. - -Mary said with fervor, "Anyway, _whoever_ she is, I think she is a -darling girl and the baby is adorable. I wish that we lived nearer that -we might see her oftener, Dora." Then, before her friend could reply, -Mary added brightly, "Oh, Jerry, I know where you are taking us. You want -to show Dick your own five hundred acres, don't you? It's the loveliest -spot in all the country round, I think." - -Jerry's gray eyes brightened. "That's what I _hoped_ you would think, -Little Sister," he said in a low voice, which the other two, following, -could not hear. - -They had gone about half a mile up the winding, slowly climbing road when -Jerry stopped. The mountain had flattened out in a wide grass-covered -tableland moistened by many underground springs. - -Jerry waved his left hand. "This all was blue and yellow with wild -flowers after the spring rains," he told them. Mary turned her horse off -the road and went to the edge of the hurrying brook. - -"See, Dick," she called, "this is where Jerry is going to build him a -house some day. His granddad willed it to him. It takes in the part of -the canyon where the Dooleys are, doesn't it?" - -"Close to it," Jerry replied. "Their garden is on my line, but Dad and I -will never put up fences." - -"Of course not!" Dora exclaimed. "Since you are the only child, it will -all be yours." - -"There's a jolly fine view from here," Dick said admiringly as he sat on -his horse gazing across the valley to the far range beyond Gleeson. - -As they rode back down the valley Dora was thinking, "How can Mary help -knowing that Jerry hopes that _she_ will be the one to live in the house -he plans building?" Then, with a little shrug, her thought ended with, -"Oh well, and oh well, the future will reveal all." - -Down the road Mary was saying, "Jerry, I didn't give that flannel to -Etta. I just couldn't. I was afraid she would think that we had come -_only_ for charitable reasons. Of course we did in the beginning, but, -afterwards, I was _so_ glad something had given me a chance to meet her." - -A solution was offered by the sudden appearance of the twins by the -roadside. - -Jerry, slipping the parcel from Mary's saddle horn, tossed it down, -calling, "This is for Baby Bess, tell Sister Etta." - -Mary flashed him a bright, relieved smile as they went on down the canyon -road. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - A GUN SHOT - - -Early that afternoon Jerry and Dick drove the small car around to the -side door of the ranch house and hallooed for the girls, who appeared, -one on either side of a beaming Aunt Mollie. - -"We've had a wonderful time, you dear." Mary kissed the older woman's -tanned cheek lovingly. - -"Spiffy-fine!" Dora's dark glowing eyes seconded the enthusiasm of the -remark. "Please ask us again." - -"Any time, no one _could_ be more welcome, and make it soon." After the -girls had run down to the car, Mrs. Newcomb turned back into the kitchen -where she was keeping Mr. Newcomb's mid-day meal warm as he had not yet -returned from riding the range. - -The boys leaped out and Jerry opened the front door with a flourish. He -glanced at Mary suspiciously. "You girls look as though you were plotting -mischief." - -"Not that," Mary denied. "We've just been composing Verse Eight for our -Cowboy Song. You know they have to be forty verses long. Ready, Dora?" - -Then together they laughingly sang-- - - "Two jolly girls and cowboys twain - Start out adventuring once again. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - Come, come, coma, - Come with we." - -"Not so hot!" Dick commented. "Wait till I've had time to cook up one. -Jerry, we'll do Verse Nine after awhile." - -"Drive fast enough to cool us, won't you, Jerry, for it surely _is_ -torrid today," Dora urged as she sprang nimbly into the rumble followed -by Dick. "You two have your heads sheltered but we poor exposed pussons -are likely to have frizzled brains." - -Dick, sinking down as comfortably as possible in the rather cramped -quarters, grinned at his companion affably. "Luckily for us Jerry didn't -hear that or he would have sprung that old one, 'what makes you think you -have any?'" - -Dora turned toward him rather blankly. "Any what?" she questioned, then -added quickly, "Oh, of course, brains. I was wondering what those cows, -that are watching us so intently, think that we are." - -"Some four-headed, square-bodied fierce animal that rattles all its bones -when it runs, I suspect, and if they could hear Jerry's horn, they'd take -to the high timber up around the Dooleys' clearing." - -Suddenly Dora became serious. "Dick," she said, "isn't that Etta a -strange, interesting girl? Would you call her beautiful?" - -"I wouldn't call her at all," Dick said sententiously; "I'm quite -satisfied with my present companion." - -Ignoring his facetiousness, Dora continued, "Etta told us that her father -lost a fortune four years ago. He evidently had inherited it. He couldn't -have made it himself, because, when it was lost, he was simply helpless. -He didn't know how to work and earn more. That implies that he belonged -to a rich family, doesn't it?" - -"Possibly. In fact probably," Dick agreed, looking with mock solemnity -through his shell-rimmed glasses at the interested, olive-tinted face of -his companion. "Is all this leading somewhere? Do you think that there -_may_ be rich relatives who ought to be notified of the Dooleys' plight?" - -Dora laughed as she acknowledged that she hadn't thought that far. -"Aren't you afraid we'll get sort of mixed up if we try to solve two -mysteries at once?" Dick continued. "You know we're already hot on the -trail of a clue that will unravel the Lucky Loon--Little Bodil mystery." - -Dora turned brightly toward him. "Dick Farley," she announced, as one who -had made an important discovery, "here _is_ something! Little Bodil is -described as having had deep blue eyes and cornsilk yellow hair." - -"Sure thing, what of it? Etta's hair is dark brown." - -"I'm talking about that Baby Bess, silly!" Dora told him. "Surely you -noticed that she had--" - -"Hair and eyes? Sure thing!" Dick finished her sentence jokingly, "but, -according to my rather limited observation of the infant terrible, it -usually starts life with blue eyes and yellow hair. Now are you going to -tell me that this baby and Little Bodil have another similarity?" - -Dora had turned and was looking out over the desert valley, which, for -the past half hour, they had been crossing. Dick thought she was offended -by his good-natured raillery, but, if she had been, she thought better of -it and replied, "I had not noticed any other similarity." - -"Well, neither had I," Dick, wishing to mollify her, confessed, "except -that both of their names start with B." - -The small car had turned on the cross road which led toward Gleeson. As -they neared the high cliff-like gate which was the entrance to the -box-shaped sandy front yard of Mr. Pedergen's rock house and tomb, Dick -leaned forward and called, "Hi there, Jerry! Dora suggests that we stop -and visit Lucky Loon's estate. We aren't in any particular hurry, are -we?" - -The rattling of the car was stilled as Jerry drew to one side of the road -and stopped. He got out and glanced up at the sun. It still was high in a -gleaming blue sky. "It's hours yet before milking time," he replied. Then -to Mary, "What is _your_ wish, Little Sister?" - -Dora thought, "_Never_ a brother in all this world puts so much -tenderness into _that_ name. Leastwise _mine_ don't!" - -Mary had evidently replied that she would like to revisit the rock house, -for Jerry was assisting her from the car. Dick had learned from past -experience that Dora scorned assistance. Two girls could _not_ be more -unlike. - -Before they entered the rock gate, Dick implored with pretended -earnestness, "For Pete's sake, don't any of you imagine you hear a gun -shot, will you?" - -"Not unless we really _do_ hear one," Mary said. - -Dora, to be impish, declared, "I'm prophesying that we _will_ hear a gun -fired before we leave this enclosure." - -The sand was deep and the walking was hard. Jerry, with a hand under -Mary's right elbow, helped her along, but Dora ploughed alone, with Dick, -making no better headway, at her side. - -"When we first visited this place," Dora began, "I felt that there was -sort of a deathlike atmosphere about it. It's so terribly still and with -bleached skeletons lying around. Now that I _know_ it is Lucky Loon's -tomb," she glanced up at the rock house and shuddered, "it seems more -uncanny than ever." - -Dick, having left the others, wandered along the base of the cliff on -which stood the rock house. The front of it had broken away leaving a -wide gap at the top. - -"Here's where Lucky Loon went up, I suppose." Dick pointed to irregular -steps that seemed to have been hewn out of the leaning rock. "We _could_ -go up these stairs to the top of this rock, but nothing short of a -mountain goat could leap that chasm." - -"I reckon you're right," Jerry agreed. - -Dick was regarding the gap speculatively. "If a fellow could throw a rope -from the top of this leaning rock over to the house and make it secure -somehow--" - -Dora teasingly interrupted, "I didn't know, Doctor Dick, that _you_ could -walk a tight rope." - -"Oh sure, I can do anything I set out to!" was the joking reply. -"However, I meant to walk across it with my hands." - -"It can't be done." The cowboy shook his head. - -"Anyhow," Dick declared, "you all wait here while I see how far up these -old stairs I can climb. From the top I can better estimate how big a goat -will be required to carry me over." - -"Dick," Mary laughed, "I never knew you to be so nonsensical." - -Dora tried to detain him, saying, "If you succeed in climbing up to the -top of this leaning rock, you _might_ be directly opposite the open door -of the rock house." - -"Well, what of it!" Dick was puzzled, for Dora's expression was serious -and almost fearful. - -"That Evil Eye Turquoise _might_ look right out at you!" - -"Surely _you_ don't believe _that_ yarn!" Dick smiled down at her from -the first step, for he had started to climb. He reached up to catch at a -higher step with one hand when he uttered a terrorized scream and fairly -dropped back to the ground, his arm held out. Clinging to his coat -sleeve, perilously close to his wrist, was a huge lizard, a Gila Monster, -thick-bodied, hideously mottled, dull-yellow, orange-red, dead-black. It -had a blunt head and short legs that were clawing the air. The girls -echoed Dick's scream. Jerry, leaping forward, gave a warning cry. "_Don't -drop your arm!_" Then the quick command, "_Girls, get back of me!_" -Whipping out his gun, he fired. The ugly reptile dropped to the sand, its -muscles convulsing. - -Dora ran to Dick and pulled back his sleeve. "Thank heavens," she cried, -"he didn't touch your wrist." - -"I reckon you've had a narrow escape all right, old man," Jerry declared, -his tone one of great relief. Then, self-rebukingly, "I ought to have -warned you. _Never_ put your feet or your hands _anywhere_ that you can't -see." - -"Do you suppose there's any poison in my coat sleeve?" Dick asked -anxiously. - -"No, I reckon not," the cowboy said. "A Gila Monster packs his poison in -his lower jaw and he has to turn over on his back before he can get it -into a wound he makes." Then, glancing at Mary and seeing that she still -looked white and was trembling, he exclaimed, "Come, let's go. I reckon -it's too hot in here at this hour." - -Dora, hardly knowing that she did so, clung to Dick's arm as they waded -through the sand to the gate. - -"Oh, how I do hope we'll never, _never_ have to come to this awful place -again," Mary said. "To think that Dick might have lost his life here." - -"Well, I didn't!" Dick replied. Then, with an effort at levity, he added, -"Dora, _you won_! We _did_ hear a gun shot." - - - - - CHAPTER XX - INTRODUCING AN AIR SCOUT - - -As they were nearing Gleeson, Dick leaned forward and called, "Jerry, -Dora and I were wondering if we ought to tell old Silas Harvey that we -have found Little Bodil's trunk?" - -Not until the small car had climbed the last ascending stretch of road to -the tableland and had stopped in front of the ancient corner store did he -receive a reply. Then, jumping out, Jerry said in a low voice, "Mary and -I have been talking it over and we reckon that we'd better wait awhile -before telling." Then to the girl on the front seat, "Shall I get your -mail?" - -"And mine! And mine!" a chorus from the rumble. - -There were letters and papers but one that especially pleased the girls. - -"Another bulgy-budget from Polly and Patsy," Dora exulted. - -"They're our two best friends back East at Sunnybank-on-the-Hudson where -I live." This she explained to Dick as the little car started to rattle -up the hill road through the deserted ghost town. - -"I can tell you the rest," Dick recited. "Polly is fat and jolly and eats -chocolates by the box. Patsy is clever, red-headed and a boy-hater. Have -I got it right? Anyway I'm sure that's what you said the first time you -told me about them. Oh, yes--all together you call yourselves 'The -Quadralettes.'" - -"Righto. Go to the head of the class. Although you did draw one minus. -Patsy is no longer a boy-hater. She's met her conqueror. Or at least so -their last letter reported. I'm wild to get home so that we may read -this." Then leaning forward, she called through the opening in the old -top which covered the front seat, "Jerry, can't you boys stay awhile? I'd -like to share this letter with you and Dick." - -"Oh, yes, please do," Mary seconded brightly. "I'm sure it isn't time yet -to milk that cow." This was teasingly added, remembering what Jerry had -said soon after the noon hour. - -"You don't have to plead, Little Sister," Jerry smiled down into the -eager, upturned face that looked so fair to him; "if it was time to milk -the cow, I reckon I'd let the calf do it. We only need milk enough for -the family and this morning Bossie was extra generous." - -When the Moore house was reached, Mary, anxious to see her dad, hurried -indoors and went directly to his room. He had just awakened from his nap -and looked so much better that Mary exclaimed gladly, "Dad, you'll be -sitting out on the porch next week. I'm just ever so sure that you will." -Then, to the nurse who had entered, "Oh, Mrs. Farley, isn't Dad -wonderfully improved? Don't you think he'll be well enough to go back -East with me in October when school opens?" - -"I'm sure of it!" the kind woman replied, then, dismissing the girl, she -added, "It's time for the alcohol rub, dearie. Come back at four and you -may read to your dad until supper time." - -"Oh, I surely will." For a long moment Mary's rosebud cheek pressed the -thin wan one she so loved, then she slipped away. - -Dick had spoken with his mother a brief moment when Mary had first gone -in and she had been pleased to see the deepening tan on his face. The boy -had not told her of his recent narrow escape, as Jerry had called it when -the Gila Monster had set its cruel jaws on his coat sleeve. Brave as he -was, Dick could not recall the terror of that moment without experiencing -it all over again. He was sure he would have nightmares about it for a -long time to come. - -When Dora tripped down from upstairs where she had been to tidy up, she -found Dick waiting for her in the lower hall. - -"Where are the two Erries?" she asked, then laughed as he looked -mystified. "Mary and Jerry. Of course if it were spelled Merry, it would -be better." - -"In the kitchen," Dick replied. "I was told to guide you thence." - -They heard spoons rattling in glasses. "Oh, good!" Dora exclaimed. "That -sounds like a nice, cool drink." - -Nor was she wrong. There at the table in the shady corner of the kitchen -stood Mary mixing fruit juices she had poured from cans which Jerry had -opened. - -"Yum! Yum!" Dora exclaimed in high appreciation. "What is better than -pineapple and strawberry juice and cold water from the spring cellar?" - -"Sounds good to me," Dick said, smacking his lips with anticipatory -relish. - -Mary called over her shoulder, "Dora, fetch some of Carmelita's cookie -snaps." Then, as she placed the four tall glasses around the table, she -added, "Sit wherever you want to. When the party is over, we'll read the -letter." The refreshment lived up to its name and tasted even better than -it looked. Dick, being on the outside, cleared away the things and Dora -opened the letter. - -The languid scrawl which so fitted Polly's indolent personality was first -in evidence, "Dear Absent Ones," Dora read aloud-- - -"Greetings from Camp Winnichook in the Adirondacks--(so cool that we have -to wear our sweater coats)--to the sizzling sands of desert Arizona." - -Then Patsy's quick, jerky penmanship interrupted. "Crickets, just reading -that made me wipe my freckled brow. Ain't it awful? Those reddish brown -dots that were so piquant on my pert pug nose have soared to my brow, -spread to my ears, and dived to my chin. But, even with my beauty thus -blemished, H. H. thinks I'm--" - -Big sprawling words cut in with, "It must be a case of love them and -leave them then, for his winged lordship is about to fly away." There was -a blot of ink at that point as though there had been a struggle over the -pen. Evidently Patsy had won, as her small scratchy penmanship followed. -"Since H. H. is _my_ friend, I consider it my sacred right to reveal all. -Harry Hulbert, surely you remember all about him and his perfectly spiffy -silver plane, which honestly looks like a big seagull. Oh, misery! I'm -getting all tangled up. What I'm trying to say is that we had told you -that he's studying to be a pilot and that when he got his papers, he was -to fly West and be an air scout. Well, he's had 'em and he's done gone! -The whole object of this epistle is to introduce you to Harry before he -drops down upon you. Heavens, I hope he won't do it literally. Wouldn't -it be awful to have an airplane crash through your roof?" - -Dora paused and looked glowingly across at Mary. "This flying Apollo is -coming to Gleeson, I judge." - -Mary replied, "I'm terribly disappointed. Of course I knew it _couldn't_ -happen, but I _did_ wish, if _he_ came, he could bring Patsy and Polly -along with him." - -Jerry asked, "What's this flying seagull going to do when he gets here?" - -"He's going to be attached to the border patrol," Mary replied. "When -there's been a holdup, of a train or a stage, I suppose, Harry Hulbert is -to fly over that region and watch for the escaping bandits." - -"Jolly!" Dick ejaculated. "That sounds like a great kind of an adventure -to me. Jerry, let's welcome him like a long lost brother; then, at least, -he'll take us up in his Seagull." - -Before the cowboy could reply Dora had continued reading, "Polly has told -you that I'm goofy about H. H. but don't you believe a word of it. I -picked him out for _you_, Mary, so take him and be grateful." - -Dora wanted to look up at Jerry, but was afraid it would be too pointed, -so she turned a page and exclaimed with interest, "Aha, _here_ we have -him in person. The Seagull's photograph no less." - -It was an amusing snapshot. Under it was written, "Patsy Ordelle -introducing Harry Hulbert to Mary Moore and Dora Bellman--also the ship." - -A pert, pretty girl with windblown hair and laughing eyes was pointing -toward the youth at her side, who, dressed in flying togs, stood by his -ship. He was making a bow, evidently to acknowledge the introduction, and -so his face was not fully revealed. This was remedied by another snapshot -of the boy alone standing with one hand on his graceful silver plane. -Although not good looking, really, he had a fine, sensitive face, was -slenderly built and had keen alert eyes. - -"Now I'll turn the mike over to Polly," the pert handwriting ended. The -languid scrawl took up the tale. - -"Guess I was wrong about Pat's being dippy about the silver aviator. He's -been gone two days and she's been canoeing with 'The Poet' from -'Crow's-Nest-Camp' up in the hills from dawn till dark and even by -moonlight. For a once-was boy-hater, she's going some. - -"Well, say hello to Harry for us. He really is a decent kid. Write us the -minute he lands. Wish I'd thought to send you a batch of fudge I'd made. -Nuts are just crowded in it. Oh, well, up so near the sun it would -probably have melted. Tra-la for now. - - From Poll and Pat." - -Mary looked thoughtfully at, Jerry. "If Harry Hulbert left the Atlantic -coast two days before this letter started, he must be in Arizona by now." - -"I reckon so. A mail pilot makes it in less than three days." - -Dora thought, "Poor Jerry, I 'reckon' _he_ didn't like that part about H. -H. being donated to his Mary, but he isn't going to say so, not Jerry!" - -A small clock on the kitchen shelf back of the big stove made four little -tingling noises. Mary sprang up. Holding out her hand to the cowboy, she -said, "Stay for supper if you think the calf can milk the cow. I'm going -to read to Dad for an hour. Then I'll be back again." - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - A POSSIBLE CLUE - - -At five, which was the invalid's supper hour, Mary emerged from the -living-room and heard excited voices from behind the closed door of her -father's study across the hall. - -Dora, who had been listening for her friend's footsteps, threw the door -wide. Her olive-tinted face told Mary that something had happened even -before Jerry exclaimed: "Little Sister, come here and see what Dick has -found. We think it's a clue." - -"A clue about Little Bodil _here_ in Dad's study?" Mary's voice was -amazed and doubting. - -"Oh, it's something Dick himself brought into the house. Don't tell," -Dora implored the boys. "See if Mary can guess." - -The fair girl gazed thoughtfully at the other three. Dick, beaming upon -her, was holding something behind his back. - -"Hmm. Let me see." Mary put one slim white finger against her head, as -though trying to think deeply. Then she laughed merrily. "I'd like to -seem terribly dumb and drag out the suspense for you all, but, of course, -it's as plain as the sun on a clear day. Dick only kept _one_ thing from -the trunk, and that one thing was a small carpet slipper. But I don't see -how _that_ could possibly be a clue." - -"Very well, my dear young lady, we will show you." Dick handed the -slipper to her. "First, thrust your dainty fingers into its toe. Do you -find a clue there?" - -"No, I do not." Mary was frankly curious. - -"Now, turn the slipper over. What do you see?" - -Mary turned the small worn slipper wonderingly and reported, "A loose -patch." Then, gleefully, "Oh, I know, Dick, that patch is some kind of -coarse paper and on the inside of it, there's writing. Is that it? Have I -guessed right?" - -"Well," Dick confessed, "you know now as much as we do. We were just -about to remove the patch when you came in. Jerry, let me take your -knife. I left mine on a fence post over at _Bar N_." - -The four young people stood close to one of the long windows while Dick -cut the coarse thread that held the patch. - -"Oh, do hurry!" Dora begged. "Your fingers are all thumbs. Here, let me -do that." But Dick shook his head, saying boyishly, "It's my slipper, -isn't it?" - -"One more stitch and we shall know all," Jerry said, then, smiling across -at Mary, he asked, "What do _you_ reckon that we will know?" - -"I can't guess what's _in_ the letter, of course," that little maid -replied, "but it _can't_ be anything that will tell us whether the child -was eaten up by wild animals or carried off by bandits." - -The ragged piece of brown paper, which had evidently been torn from a -package wrapping, was removed and opened. Although there had been writing -on it at one time, it was so blurred that it was hard to decipher. Mary -found a magnifying glass in her father's desk. Dora, Dick and Jerry stood -with their heads together back of the younger girl's chair, and when they -thought they had figured a word out correctly, Mary, seated at the desk, -wrote it down. After half an hour, they had made out only two words of -the message and had guessed at the blurred signature. - - "lonesome--write--Miss Burger, - Gray Bluffs, - New Mexico." - -There were several other words which they could not make out. - -Mary took the letter, spread it on the desk before her and gazed intently -at it through the magnifying glass. Then, smiling up at the others, a -twinkle in her eyes, she said, "This is it--perhaps. - - 'Dear Little Bodil, - - When you reach the strange place where you are going, you may be - lonesome. If you are, do write often to your good friend, - - Miss Burger.'" - -"Well, I reckon that'll do pretty nigh as well as anything else," Jerry -said. Then, glancing out of the window at the late afternoon sun, he -grinningly announced that since the calf, by that time, had milked the -cow, he and Dick would accept Mary's previously given invitation and stay -for supper. - -"Oh, Jerry!" Mary stood up and caught hold of the cowboy's arm. "I know -by the gleam in your eyes that you think this bit of paper _may_ be a -clue worth following up." - -"Yes, I sure do," was the earnest reply. "I reckon this Miss Burger, if -we got the name right, was a friend to the little girl somewhere, -sometime." - -"Shall we write to her now?" Mary dropped back into the desk chair. "If -she's living, she will surely answer." - -"But," Dick was not yet convinced that it was a helpful clue, "_how_ can -Miss Burger know--" - -"Stupid!" Dora interrupted. "Of course Miss Burger _won't_ know whether -Little Bodil was eaten by wild animals or carried off by bandits, but -_if_ the child lived, it's more than likely, isn't it, that she _did_ -write and tell this friend." - -"True enough!" Dick agreed. "But, Lady Sleuth, if Bodil wrote Miss Burger -telling where _she_ was, isn't it likely that Mr. Pedersen also wrote the -same woman telling where _he_ was, and presto, his long search would be -over. He would have found his child." - -"Oh, of course, Dick! You weren't stupid after all." Dora was properly -apologetic. Then, she added ruefully, "Since this clue isn't any good, we -got thrilled up over it for nothing at all." - -Jerry spoke in his slow drawl. "I cain't be sure the clue is no good -until we've heard from this Miss Burger." - -"Well spoken, old man," Dick commended. "If we could send a night-letter, -we _might_ have an answer at once, if--" - -"That 'if' looms large," Dora commented dubiously. "There isn't a -telegraph office in _this_ ghost town, and, moreover, Miss Burger may not -be alive and if she is, wouldn't she be _awfully_ ancient?" - -"Not necessarily," Mary replied, glancing up at the others thoughtfully. -"If Little Bodil _is_ alive, she will be about fifty. This Miss Burger -may have been a very young woman." - -"About that night telegram," Jerry said. "We can have one sent out of -Tombstone up to nine o'clock. What, say that we ride over there as soon -as we've had supper." - -"Great!" Dick ejaculated. "There'll be a full moon to light us home -again." - -Mary sprang up and clapped her hands gleefully. "It will be jolly fun -anyway. And it _may_ be a good clue. Come on now, let's storm the kitchen -and help Carmelita. We ought to start as soon as we can." - - * * * * * * * * - -It was early twilight when the faithful little car (that always seemed -just about to fall apart but which never did) drew up in front of the -combination blacksmith shop-oil station on the edge of Gleeson. - -Seth Tully, one of the grizzled, leathery old-timers, hobbled out of a -small, crumbling adobe building. It was evident that he was much excited -about something and eager to have someone to talk to. - -"Howdy, folks," he began in his high, uncertain, falsetto voice, "I -reckon as you-all heerd how a freight train was held up last night over -in Dead Hoss Gulch." Then, seeing the boys' amazement and the girls' -dismay, he went on exultingly, "Yes, siree! Thar was bags of rich ore in -one o' them cars--the hindmost one, an', time take it, if them thar -bandits wa'n't wise to it. The train allays goes durn slow along that -steep grade climbing up out o' the gulch. Well, sir, _what_ did them -bandits do?" The old man was becoming dramatic in his delight at having -such thrilled listeners. "Dum blast it, if a parcel of 'em didn't hold up -the engineer and another parcel of 'em cut loose that hind car. _Crash_ -it went back'ards down that thar grade, jumped the track and smashed to -smithers." - -"Oh, Mr. Tully," Mary cried, "_was_ anyone killed?" - -The old man shook his head. "Nope, the guard wa'n't kilt, but them -bandits reckoned as how he was, 'totherwise they'd have plugged him. He -come to, but they'd cleared out, the whule pack of 'em, an' they'd tuk -the ore with 'em." - -Dora, watching the old man's glittering, pale-blue eyes that were -deep-sunken under shaggy brows, thought that he seemed actually pleased -about it all, nor was she wrong as his next remark showed. - -"Say, Jerry-kid, that thar holdup smacks o' old times. It was gettin' too -gol-darned quiet around these here parts. Needed suthin' like this to -sort o' liven us up." He ended with a cackling laugh that made Mary -shudder. - -When they were again rattling along the lonely, rutty road which led to -Tombstone, the nearest town of any size, Mary, nestling close to Jerry, -asked, "Big Brother, is Dead Horse Gulch near here?" - -"No, Little Sister, it isn't, and, as for the bandits, they're over the -border in Mexico by now, I reckon. Don't you go to worrying about -_them_!" - -In the rumble seat, a glowing-eyed Dora was saying: "Dick Farley, _what_ -if this should be the _same_ robber gang--oh, I'm trying to say--" - -"I get you!" Dick put in. "You're wondering if the three bandits who held -up the stage and may have kidnapped Little Bodil are _in_ this gang. I -doubt it. They'd be _old_ fellows by now. It takes young blood to do -deeds of daring." - -Dora's eyes were still glowing. "Dick," she said prophetically, "I have a -hunch that _this_ robbery is going to do a lot to help us solve the -mystery about Little Bodil. I _may_ be wrong, but, _you_ may be -surprised." - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - AN INTERESTING ARRIVAL - - -The road to Tombstone was narrow, rutty and lonesome. Every now and then -it dipped down into a gravelly wash, arroyos in the making, that were, -year after year, being deepened by the torrents that rushed down the -not-distant mountain sides after a cloudburst. Along the banks of these -dry creek-beds grew low cottonwood trees, making shelters behind which -bandits _might_ lurk if they were so inclined. But the girls, having been -assured by Jerry that the train robbers had long since crossed the -Mexican border, were not really fearful. For once, even Mary was not -using her imagination to a frightening extent. - -"Big Brother," she said, "I was just thinking about that aviator friend -of Patsy's. Don't you think it must be wonderful to be flying at night up -under those lovely white stars? They look so close to the earth here in -Arizona as though Harry Hulbert might almost have to weave his way among -them." - -Jerry, evidently more desirous of talking of stars than of the aviator of -the "Seagull," stated matter-of-factly, "It's the clear air here that -makes the stars look so large and close--sort of like lanterns hung in a -blue-black roof over our heads." - -Just then a huge star shot across the heavens leaving a trail of fire. -Mary whirled to call back, "Oh, Dora, did you wish on that shooting -star?" - -"Nope! Didn't see it!" was the laconic reply. - -"Did you?" Jerry asked in a low voice. How he hoped Mary had echoed _his_ -wish, but what she said was, "Yes, I hoped the Seagull would make a safe -landing. It must be terribly dangerous landing among so many mountain -peaks, or, one might even be forced down in the middle of a barren -stretch of desert, oh, miles from water or anyone!" - -If Jerry were disappointed, he made no comment. Dora leaned forward to -call, "From the top of the next little hill we'd ought to be able to see -the lights of Tombstone, hadn't we, Jerry?" - -"I reckon we will, lest be the power plant's out of commission." - -The rather feeble lights of the rattly old car did little to illumine the -well of darkness in which they were riding. The wash they were crossing -was wide and deep and the girls were both glad when they climbed that -last little hill and were nearer the stars again. From the top, they -could see the black wall of mountains to the distant right of them, which -Jerry had called "The Dragoons." A desert valley at its foot stretched -away for many miles shimmering in the starlight. Not far ahead of them -was a cluster of sand hills--"the silver hills"--on which stood the small -mining-town of Tombstone. The power plant was in order, as was evidenced -by the twinkling of lights. A friendly group of them marked the main -street, and scattered lights, farther and farther apart, were shining -from the windows of homes. Down the little hill the car dropped, then -began the last long climb up to the town. - -On the main street there were unshaven, roughly dressed men, some from -the range, others from the mines, loitering about in front of a lighted -pool hall. They were talking, some of them excitedly, about the recent -train robbery. Jerry drew his car to the curb and leaped out. Three young -cowboys called a greeting to him. He replied in a friendly way, but -turned at once to assist Mary. Dick and Dora followed the other two into -a low adobe building labeled "Post Office." A light was burning in a -small back room. Jerry opened the door and entered. A middle-aged man, -whose gauntness suggested that he had come there to be cured of the -"white plague," smiled affably. "Evening, Jerry-boy," he said. "Wait till -I get this message. The wires are keeping hot tonight along of that train -robbery." - -The uneven clicking of the instrument ended; the man scribbled a few -words, called a lounging boy from a dark corner and dispatched him to -Sheriff Goode. Jerry introduced his companions to Mr. Hale, then -explained the object of their visit. - -Mr. Hale shook his head. "Well, that's just too bad," he said. "I happen -to know that Gray Bluffs country well. Stopped off when I first came -West, health-hunting, but it didn't agree with me there; nothing like -this Tombstone shine and air to make sick lungs well." - -His tanned face and bright eyes told his enthusiasm, but he added -quickly, "_That_ won't interest you any. What I started to say is that -Gray Bluffs isn't a real town, that is not _now_. It was, of course, when -they first found gold in the bluffs, but it petered out, the post office -moved to another place and so did the folks who'd lived there." - -"Did you ever hear of a woman named Burger over there?" Jerry asked. - -"Sure! That was the name of the postmistress, Miss Kate Burger. She died, -though, along about five years ago." - -Just then the instrument began an excited clicking. The operator turned -his attention to it. "Say, that's great!" he ejaculated as though -addressing whoever was sending the message. - -"Oh, Mr. Hale, _have_ they caught the robbers?" Mary asked eagerly. - -"No, not that." The man was scribbling rapidly. "Say, hasn't that -kid--oh, here you are, Trombone. Take this back to the Deputy Sheriff's -office. Dep's been loco all day." Then to the interested listeners, he -explained, "He'd been promised the help of an air scout from the East; -thought maybe he'd had a smashup; was due this morning early. Well, that -last message was from the head office of the border patrol. The air scout -will be along any time now." - -"Oh, Mr. Hale, is his name Harry Hulbert?" Mary, her pretty cheeks -flushed, listened eagerly for the answer. - -"Don't know! Haven't heard! Say, Jerry." The man looked up quickly, and -Dora thought she'd never seen such keen, eagle-like eyes. "You boys had -better drop out the back way if you can. Dep Goode is rounding up all the -able-bodied fellows he can find for the next posse that's to start as -soon as this air pilot does a little scouting." - -Mary, suddenly panicky at the idea, caught the cowboy's arm. "Oh, Big -Brother," she cried, forgetting that the name would sound strange to a -man who knew that Jerry had no sisters, "can't we get away somehow before -we're seen?" - -Jerry looked at her tenderly, but shook his head. "No, I cain't dodge my -duty. I _must_ volunteer!" Then, to the other boy, "Dick, you drive the -girls back to Gleeson, will you? I reckon the Deputy Sheriff'll let you -off. He isn't after tenderfoot help, meaning no harm, they'd be more of a -hindrance." - -Dick flushed, but knowing that Jerry always meant whatever he said in the -kindest way, he expressed his disappointment. "Oh, I say, Jerry, can't I -come back after I've taken the girls home? I'd like awfully well to hang -around and watch what happens. I'll promise not to get underfoot or be in -the way." - -Before Jerry could reply, Mary caught his coat sleeve and exclaimed, her -eyes like stars, "Hark, don't you hear an airplane?" - -They all listened and heard distinctly from above the hum of a motor. -Dick sprang toward the door. "Come on, everyone, let's be among those -present on the reception committee," he said. Then, remembering his -manners, he stepped back and held the door open for the girls to pass -out. - -"Good night, Mr. Hale, and thanks a lot," Mary called with her sweetest -smile. - -"Hope you'll all drop in again." The man had only time to nod before his -attention was again called to the busy little instrument. - -Out in the street, there were many more men. As the news of the robbery -had spread by horseback riders and remote ranch telephones, men had -galloped into town eager to offer their services. Now they all stood or -sat their horses, silent, for the most part, as they watched the great -silver bird which was slowly circling round and round over their heads. - -The moon had risen above distant peaks and was high enough to make the -street dimly lighted. - -"Oh, it _must_ be Harry!" Mary whispered excitedly as she clutched -Jerry's arm not knowing that she did so. "That plane _is_ as silvery as a -seagull, just as Patsy and Polly wrote us." - -"Wonder why he doesn't land," Dick commented. - -"I reckon there isn't but one safe landing place in this town, and that's -right here where the crowd is standing. This square, out front of the -post office, has been landed on before now." - -"See! Something's falling from the plane." Dora pointed upward. "It's a -small something! What _can_ it be?" - -The object fell like a plummet and landed at their feet. "It's an -aluminum bottle. Oh, look! There's a note attached to it." Dora picked it -up. - -"Here comes Deputy Sheriff Goode," Jerry told the others. "Give it to me! -I'll hand it to him." - -The Deputy Sheriff's restless horse did not stop prancing while the man -opened and read the note. Then he flung it to the ground, pocketing the -small bottle. - -Dick, feeling sure that the message had not been of a private nature, -picked it up and with the aid of his flash he read: "Whirl a lantern, -will you, where I'm supposed to land. A. S. H. H." - -"A. S. means air scout, of course," Dick said. - -"And H. H. is Harry Hulbert. Oh, Dora, think of our meeting Patsy's -aviator." Mary's eyes were shining with excitement. - -Jerry could not help hearing Dora's reply. "_Not_ Patsy's!" was said -teasingly. "Remember _this_ young hero was chosen for _you_." - -"Oh, silly!" Mary retorted, but her rebuke did not seem to be voicing -displeasure. - -"Move back! Move back everyone! Scuttle! Five seconds to clear this -square!" Cowmen on horseback were acting as mounted police and were so -effective that in short order the big square was vacant and ready for the -landing. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - A SILVER PLANE - - -There was an almost breathless silence for a moment as the small silver -plane swooped gracefully down and made an easy landing; then the -enthusiasm of the crowd burst forth in shouts of welcome. - -"Say, Kid, _you're_ all right!" - -"That's the kind of a cayuse to be riding!" - -"A silver airship for the silver city!" - -"Hurrah for the skidder of the skies!" - -Horses on the outskirts of the crowd, unused to such commotion, reared -and pranced on their hind legs. Then, seeming to believe that something -_might_ be lacking in the warmth of their welcome, a cowboy shot off his -gun into the air. Instantly Deputy Sheriff Goode shouted for silence. - -"Nixy on that!" he commanded. "All of you fellows get to shootin' an' we -won't do much creepin' up on the gang." - -"Goodness!" Mary said to Jerry. "He must think those bandits are hiding -somewhere _near here_. They couldn't possibly hear the shooting if they -were over the border in Mexico, could they?" - -The cowboy shook his head. "It's just that he doesn't want to take any -chances, I reckon." Then, generously, he added, "You girls will want to -meet Harry Hulbert, won't you? He's talking to the 'Dep' now. -Jehoshaphat! That's too bad. He's going right up again." - -"I guess the Deputy Sheriff wants Harry to start in scouting and not -waste time visiting with girls," Dora remarked. - -"Back! Back everyone!" the deputized cowboys rode around the square, -clearing it again, for the curious and interested crowd had pressed close -to the plane. - -"There, up she goes! Whoopee!" Some cowboy shouted in Mary's ear. "Me for -the air!" he waved his sombrero so close that it fanned her cheek. - -"Ain't that the plumb-beatenest way to go places?" another cowboy was -actually addressing Dora in such a friendly manner that she replied in -like spirit, "Yes, it's great!" - -Jerry turned to Dick. "Take the girls back to where we left the car, will -you? I'm going to speak to Goode. Be over in a minute." - -"Oh, Big Brother," Mary caught his hand, "don't do anything that _might_ -be dangerous, will you? It would be terrible for your mother if anything -happened to you." - -Hope and love had, for a moment, lighted the cowboy's eyes, but the last -part of Mary's importuning had seemed to be entirely for another, and so, -as he turned away, Jerry's heart was heavy. - -Mary's gaze, he noticed, had quickly turned from him up to the sky where -a silver plane was still discernible riding toward the moon. - -Dick took an arm of each girl and the crowd made a path for them. - -"I like these cowmen and boys, don't you, Dora?" Mary had climbed into -the rumble with her friend. "They have such nice, kind faces and they're -so picturesque with their wide hats and colored shirts and -handkerchiefs." - -Dora nodded. "There's a boy over there on horseback. See his leather -chaps are fringed and he has spurs on his boots." - -"They act as though this was some sort of a celebration, don't they, -Dick?" - -The boy was leaning against the car watching the milling throng which was -being augmented in numbers by newcomers riding in from the dark desert. - -"What's the big show?" A weazened, grizzly-headed man in tattered clothes -had suddenly appeared at Dick's side. He had a canvas-covered roll -strapped to his back and carried a stout stick. His pinched face was -starved-looking and his eyes were feverishly bright. - -Dick explained what was happening and, without a word, the queer creature -scuttled out of sight in the crowd. - -"That poor man!" Mary exclaimed sympathetically. "What _can_ he be?" - -"Don't ask me," Dick replied. "I haven't been out here long enough to -know all the types." - -A pleasant voice said, "That's a typical desert rat. He digs around and -sometimes finds a little gold, but mostly he lives on sand, I reckon." - -Mary recognized the speaker as a clerk in the grocery store. Before she -could ask more about the poor unfortunate, someone hailed their informant -and he hurried away. - -Jerry returned and his face was grave. "I hardly know what to say," he -began. "I don't want to frighten you girls unnecessarily, but Deputy -Sheriff Goode thinks it would be unwise for you to return over that -lonely road to Gleeson tonight, or, at least not until the hiding place -of the bandits has been discovered." - -"Oh, Jerry!" Mary's one thought was concern for her father. "I _must_ let -Dad know that I am safe and that I may not be home at once. Won't you -please telephone him? You will know best what to say." - -"Yes, I'll be back in a minute." They watched him pushing his way toward -the one drug store in the town. - -Mary turned toward Dick. "Now, what does _that_ mean, do you suppose?" - -"I think it merely means that the 'Dep' isn't sure that the robbers _did_ -cross into Mexico. He thinks they may be hiding nearer here than that." - -"I thought as much," Dora commented, "when he was so upset because a -cowboy started shooting." - -Jerry was not gone long. "I explained to your mother, Dick. She said Mr. -Moore is asleep and that she will not waken him. Her advice is that you -girls take a room in the little old hotel here and wait until morning." - -The girls were relieved as they had neither of them relished the idea of -returning over that desolately lonesome road with bandits at large. - -Jerry was continuing. "Mrs. Goode runs the hotel and she's just as nice -and friendly as she can be. The mothering sort. Dick, you stay here in -the car, will you, while I escort the girls across the road?" - -"With the greatest of pleasure!" the Eastern boy said. - -Dora teased, as she permitted him to assist her out of the rumble. "You -ought _not_ to say that you're pleased to have us _leave_ you." - -"Not _that_; NEVER!" Dick assured her, then in a low voice he confided, -"I've been wild to be _in_ on all this, and if I'd been sent home with -you girls, I--" - -Dora laughingly interrupted. "You might have been _in_ it more than any -of the others." She shuddered at the thought. "We three might have--" - -"_Now_, who's using her imagination?" Mary inquired. Then, after scanning -the heavens, she added, "Big Brother, the Seagull has flown entirely out -of sight, hasn't it?" - -"I reckon it has. Back in a minute, Dick." - -Mary and Dora were thrilled with excitement and thought all that was -transpiring a high adventure, although they _were_ a little troubled, -fearing that the three boys in whom they were interested might be in -danger before the night was over. - -The old adobe two-story building to which Jerry led the girls was across -the wide square from the post office. The large office was filled with -people, most of them women of the town who had gathered there. Many had -come from the lonely outskirts. They had been afraid to stay alone in -their homes while their men were bandit-hunting. - -Jerry soon saw the pleasant face of the rather short, plump Mrs. Goode. -He led the girls to her and explained their presence. - -"So _you_ are Mary Moore grown up!" the woman said kindly. "I knew your -mother well when she came here as a bride. Everyone loved her in these -parts; they sure did." Then, to the tall cowboy who stood waiting, -although impatient to be away, she assured him, "I'll take good care of -them, don't fear!" - -"I know you will. Good night, Mary and Dora." The cowboy held out a hand -to each then was gone. - -Dora thought, "Oho, _something has_ happened. There was no tenderness in -_that_ parting. Hum-m, what can it be? Ah, I believe I see light!" - -Mary was saying, "I do hope that Harry Hulbert is all right. Isn't it the -most heroic thing that he is doing?" - -"Who's he, dearie?" Mrs. Goode, having heard, asked. "Oh, yes, the sky -pilot. A nice face he has. I gave him a cup of coffee. His manners are -the best ever. Well, come along upstairs. I'll give you the front corner -room where you can watch the goings-on, if you'd like that." - -"Oh yes, please do, Mrs. Goode. I never was more thrilled in all my -days." It was Dora speaking. "I know that I won't sleep a single mite, -will you, Mary?" - -"I don't intend to try," that fair maid replied as they followed up the -broad carpeted stairway and entered a plainly furnished hotel room. There -were two large windows overlooking the square below and the girls, having -said good night to their hostess, went at once to look down upon the -crowd. - -The men had divided into small groups and were talking earnestly -together. A group of younger cowboys just in front of the hotel, were -making merry. One of them strummed a guitar and several of them flung -themselves about dancing wildly, improvising as they went along. Their -efforts were applauded hilariously. - -"No one would guess that they thought they _might_ be going to battle -with bandits before morning," Mary said. Then she looked up at the -moon-shimmered sky. For a long time she gazed intently at one spot. - -"Is that a pale star or is it the little silver plane coming nearer?" she -asked. - -Dora watched the faintly glittering object, then exclaimed glowingly, "It -surely _is_ the Seagull. Oh, Mary, _do_ you suppose Harry Hulbert has -located those bandits?" - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - A LONG NIGHT WATCH - - -Someone in the crowd saw the approaching plane. A shout went up which was -augmented to a roar of welcome. Once again a space was cleared; this time -without the command from the Deputy Sheriff. - -The girls threw open the window and leaned out as the plane landed and -the men closed in about it. How they wished they could hear what was -being said. They saw Harry Hulbert leap out and, by his excited gestures, -the girls were sure that he had made some discovery which he considered -important. - -"He seems to be pointing toward 'The Dragoons.'" Mary looked over the -scattered buildings of the town, across the gray desert to the dull red -cliffs that loomed dark in the moonlight. - -Dora caught her friend's arm and held it tight. "Mary Moore," she cried, -"if we had gone home tonight, we would have passed the side road that -leads to 'The Dragoons,' wouldn't we?" - -Mary nodded, but said nothing. She knew what her friend was thinking. - -"Watch what they're doing now. The sheriff is having the men who are -armed show their guns. Here come boys from the jail bringing more -firearms." Mary turned a face, white with alarm. "Oh, Dora, don't you -wish this was all over? Look, Jerry and Dick and Harry are getting up on -horseback. I do hope Harry knows how to ride. Good gracious, Dora, those -three boys are going with the sheriff to lead the posse. Isn't that -terrible?" - -"I don't know as it is," was the surprisingly calm reply. "Naturally -Harry would be the one to lead the men to the place where he saw the -bandits hiding." - -Women in the office of the hotel, seeing that their men were about to -ride away, rushed out to bid them goodbye. - -The young boys and old men were not taken. After the others were gone, -there was an almost deathlike stillness down in the square. The women -returned indoors. Old men, many of them gray-bearded, stood in groups on -the sidewalks talking in low tones and shaking their grizzled heads -ominously. The boys trooped over to the pool hall. The proprietor had -been among the men who had ridden away and so the boys could play without -charge which they did gleefully. - -Mary sank down on a low rocker near the window and her sweet blue eyes -were tragic as she gazed up at her friend. "Dora," she said "if you were -a boy, would you have dared to ride into a robber's den the way--" - -"Sure thing," was the brief reply. Dora still stood gazing at the desert -valley. Although the road disappeared from their sight when it first -dipped down from the town, she knew that the riders would again be -visible as they crossed to "The Dragoons." - -"If we can see them crossing the valley, so can the bandits," she said, -thinking aloud. "Of course, the robbers must have look-outs if that's -what men are called who spy around to warn the others of danger." - -"There they are! There they are!" Mary leaped to her feet to point. Dark -distant objects were moving rapidly across the moonlit sands of the -valley. - -Suddenly Mary turned, a new alarm expressed in her face. "Dora," she -cried, "now that only old men and boys are left here to protect this -town, what if the bandits should circle around and rob the stores and the -post office--" - -"And carry off the beautiful young damsels," Dora laughingly added, "like -a chapter out of an old-time story-book." - -"It may be amusing to you," Mary seemed actually hurt, "but things _do_ -happen even _now_ that are worse than anything I ever read in a book." - -"Righto! Ah agrees, as Sambo says." Dora turned and slipped an arm about -her friend, and then, as though trying to change her thought, she went -on, "I wonder if that old darky and Marthy, his wife, will be working at -Sunnybank Seminary next fall when we go back." - -"That all seems so far away and so long ago, almost like a dream," Mary -replied, as she gazed down at the silver plane which had been left in the -care of the old men. They were walking around it now, looking it over -with frank curiosity. - -Dora tried again. "How I do wish Patsy and Polly were here! Pat, -especially, would get a great 'kick,' as she'd call it, out of all this -excitement." - -"More than I am, no doubt," Mary confessed. "My imagination is getting -wilder and wilder every minute. I'm expecting something awful to happen -right here and--what was that?" She jumped and put her hand on her heart. - -"Someone knocked on the door." Dora went to open it. Mrs. Goode, looking -anxious in spite of her smile, said, "Don't you girls want something to -eat? It's almost midnight and you must be hungry." - -"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Goode, I suppose we are hungry. We're so terribly -nervous, I don't know as we could eat, really." - -"Well, try, dearies. Here's Washita with a tray." - -Washita was an Indian girl with black, furtive eyes and a red woolen -dress. She also had red rags twined in with her long black braids. She -carried a tray into the room. Silently, she placed it on a table and -glided out. Mary shuddered unconsciously. "Indians give me the -'shilly-shivers' as Pat says." - -"Washita is harmless. I've had her for two years now. She's almost the -last of a powerful tribe of Apaches which, long ago, had 'The Dragoons' -for their fortress," Mrs. Goode was explaining, when Mary begged, "Oh, do -tell us what you think the outcome of this raid will be. You know we have -three dear friends in the posse." - -Dora thought, "Aha! Harry Hulbert is a dear friend, is he, even before we -have met him." - -Mrs. Goode was replying. "I have a husband and two dearly loved sons -among those men, but, they _must_ do their duty. The life of a sheriff's -wife is one of constant fear. I am feeling sure, though, that they will -all come back soon with their captives. The jail is ready for the -bandits. Now I must go back to the office. If you want me, ring the bell. -I'll send Washita up for the tray--" - -"Oh, Mrs. Goode, please don't! Somehow she startles me." It was Mary -imploring, although she knew her fears were foolish. - -Mrs. Goode merely replied, "All right, dear. The tray can wait until -morning." - -Dora moved the kerosene lamp from the bureau to the small table. Then -they sat down and nibbled at the chicken sandwiches which had been -temptingly made. The milk was creamy and Dora succeeded in finishing her -share. - -Mary, carrying a half-eaten sandwich, went to the window and looked -across the desert. She whirled and beckoned, then pointed. "Don't you see -a horseman galloping this way?" - -"I do see some object that seems to be coming pretty fast," Dora -conceded. "Now it's out of sight below the silver hills." - -Almost breathless they waited until the horseman again appeared. "He's -probably the bearer of some sort of message," Dora decided when the man -leaped from his horse and ran into the hotel. - -Mary had put the partly eaten sandwich back on her plate and sat with -clenched hands waiting--hoping that they would soon learn the news which -the man brought. - -"Don't expect the worst," Dora begged. - -Although Mary was hoping there would come a knock at their door, she -jumped again when she heard it. Once more it was Dora who went to admit -their caller. A young cowboy, hot and panting, stood there holding out an -envelope. - -"The writin' ain't in it, it's on the back of it," he informed them. - -It had evidently been an old letter Dick had found in his pocket as it -bore his name on the envelope. The scribbled note was: - -"We're all right. The worst is over. Surprised the men while they were -all drunk except the sentinels. We're fetching them in. Be back by -daybreak. Better get some sleep now." Dick's name was signed to it. - -"Thanks be." Mary finished her sandwich when the cowboy was gone, while -Dora, who was turning back the bedspread, said, "We'll take Dick's advice -and go to sleep or at least try to." - -"Well, I'll lie down," Mary was removing her shoes as she spoke, "but I -don't expect to sleep a wink." - -They removed their outer clothing, then drew a quilt up over them. The -boys from the pool room had crossed to hear the news and many of them -returned to their homes with their mothers. They evidently believed -implicitly that all of the bandits had been captured and so they had -nothing to fear. - -The humming of voices in the office was stilled and soon there were no -sounds in the street below. - -Dora, no longer anxious, went to sleep quickly and although Mary had been -sure she wouldn't sleep at all, at daybreak they neither of them heard -the men returning. It was hours later when there came a rap on their -door. Mary sat up looking about wildly. "Who's there?" she called, almost -fearfully, then remembering that all was well, she jumped up and opened -the door a crack. Mrs. Goode smiled in at her. "Dearie," she said, "Jerry -sent me up to ask if you girls will come down to breakfast now." - -"Of course we will. Thanks a lot." Still Dora slept on. Mary shook her -laughingly as she said, "Wake up, Dodo! The hour is here at last when we -are to meet Pat's aviator." - -Dora sprang out of bed and hurriedly dressed. "I feel in my bones," she -prophesied, "that you and I will _share_ in some excitement today. See if -we don't!" - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - A CRY FOR HELP - - -The three boys glanced toward the stairway as the girls descended. Dick -advanced to meet them, then introduced the tall, lithe young stranger as -the "hero of the hour." - -Harry Hulbert's rather greenish-blue eyes had a humorous twinkle which -softened their keenness. He looked down at the girls with sincere -pleasure in his rather thin face. - -"This is great!" he exclaimed. "I've heard so much about you from your -friends Patsy and Polly that I feel well acquainted with both Miss Moore -and Miss Bellman." - -"Oh, don't 'Miss' us, _please_!" Dora begged. "It makes me feel old as -the hills." - -"Then I won't until I'm far away," he replied gallantly. "I'm really -awfully glad to be able to say Mary and Dora." - -Harry's glance at the fairer, younger girl was undeniably admiring and -Dora thought, "I wonder if _he knows_ that Pat has given him to Mary. -Poor Jerry, he looks sort of miserable." Aloud Dora exclaimed, "Dick, do -lead us to the dining-room. I'm famished." - -The cafe was in a low, adjoining building. There had been no pretense at -beautifying the place. It was plain and bare but clean and sun-flooded. - -It was late and whoever may have breakfasted there had long since gone so -the young people had the place to themselves. They chose a table for six -though there were but five of them. Harry was at one end with Mary at his -right. He had led her to that place without question. Dick escorted Dora -to the opposite end and sat beside her. Jerry took the seat across from -Mary, at Harry's left. - -"He's a trump!" Dora thought as she noted how unselfishly Jerry played -the gracious host. - -Mrs. Goode took their order, and Washita silently, and, with what to Mary -seemed like stealthy movements, served it. - -While they were eating, the curious girls begged to hear all that had -happened, but Dick said, "Why drag it out? Harry saw and we all -conquered. Not a gun was fired, not a drop of blood was spilled. The bags -of ore were discovered and are now locked up in the cellar of the jail." - -"Oh, Jerry," Mary exclaimed instinctively turning to her older -acquaintance, "how can you be sure that the bandits were _all_ captured? -Couldn't one or two of them have been away scouting or something?" - -"That we can't tell for sure, of course, but I reckon we got them all." -Then turning to Dick, he added, "We'd better be getting back to _Bar N_ -soon as we can." - -Mary, flushed and shining-eyed, leaned toward the young aviator. "You're -going to fly over to Gleeson, aren't you, so that we may get really -acquainted?" - -"I'd like to, awfully well, but Jerry tells me that there isn't a safe -landing anywhere for miles around." - -"Aha," Dora thought, "Jerry scores there." But she was wrong, for the -cowboy was saying generously, "I'm sure Deputy Sheriff Goode will loan -you a car. He has two little ones besides the town ambulance. I'd ask you -to ride with us but my rattletrap will only hold four." - -Jerry's suggestion was carried out. Deputy Sheriff Goode had a small car -he was glad to loan to Harry. The proprietor of the pool hall agreed to -watch the "Seagull" and warn all curious boys to stay away from it. - -"I won't be able to stay long," Harry told them. "I'll have to fly back -to headquarters in Tucson this afternoon to report." Then, glancing at -Mary, invitation in his eyes, he asked, "Must I ride all alone in this -borrowed flivver?" - -"Of course not! I'll ride with you if the others are willing. I mean," -Mary actually blushed in her confusion, "if you would like to have me." - -For answer Harry took her arm and led her across to the small car which -stood waiting in front of the hotel. "We'll follow where you lead, -Jerry," he called to the cowboy. - -"Righto!" - -Since Dora was already in the rumble, Dick climbed in beside her and -Jerry started his small car and turned toward the valley road. Dora said -not one word but the glance her dark eyes gave her companion spoke -volumes. His equally silent reply was understanding and eloquent. - -Harry had a moment's difficulty in starting his borrowed car and they did -not overtake the others until they were out of the town and about to dip -down into the desert valley. Then, when Jerry's car was not far ahead, -the young aviator slowed down and smiled at Mary in the friendliest way. - -"So this is actually _you_," he said. His tone inferred that it was hard -to believe. "Pat had a picture of you in a fluffy white dress. That -photographer was an artist all right. He caught the sunlight on your hair -so that, to _me_, you looked, honestly, just like an angel from heaven -come down. I thought the girl who had posed for _that_ picture must be -the earth's sweetest." - -Wild roses could not have been pinker than Mary's cheeks. She protested, -"You mustn't flatter me that way. I _might_ believe it." - -"I rather hoped you _would_ believe it," the boy said earnestly, then -abruptly he changed the subject. "This is a great country, isn't it? And -to think that _you_ were born here. It's all so rough and rugged, it's -hard to picture a frail flower--" - -Mary laughingly interrupted. "You should see the exquisite blossoms that -grow on a thorny cactus plant," she told him. Then, seeing that Jerry had -stopped his car and was waiting for them to come alongside, she -exclaimed, "I wonder what Big Brother wants. We're close to the side -road, aren't we, where you turned last night when you went over to 'The -Dragoons?'" - -"I believe we are," Harry replied absently, then asked, "Why do you call -Jerry Newcomb 'Big Brother?'" - -"Oh, because we were playmates years ago when we were small and I've -always called his mother 'Aunt Mollie.' He takes good care of me just -like a real brother," she ended rather lamely. - -Harry was bringing his small car to a standstill near the other. He -leaned close to Mary and said in a low voice, "I'm glad it's _only_ -brother." - -Although the occupants of the other car could not hear the words, they -had seen the almost affectionate way in which the words had been spoken. - -Dora thought, "Aviators are evidently lightning workers." - -Jerry's expression did not reveal his thoughts. He spoke to both Dick and -Harry. "I did something last night, I reckon, I _never_ did before. I -laid my six shooter down on a rock and in all the excitement I plumb -forgot it. Would you mind if we went up this road a piece--" - -"Oh, Jerry," Dora cried, "can't we go with you all the way and see where -you found the bandits?" Then, as the cowboy hesitated, Dick said, "I -think it would be perfectly _safe_ to go, don't you?" - -"I reckon so." Jerry was about to start his car when Mary called, "Jerry -Newcomb, I never once thought to ask you or Dick if there were any _old_ -men among those bandits, I mean, any who _might_ have been the ones who -held up the stage and kidnapped Little Bodil." - -Jerry replied, "I reckon not. They were too young." Then he turned his -car into the side road. - -Harry, following, exclaimed, "What's all this about a kidnapping? It -sounds interesting." - -Mary was glad to have something to talk about which could not possibly -suggest a compliment to her. She found it embarrassing to be so much -admired by a boy who was almost a stranger to her. She told the story -briefly, but from the beginning, and Harry was an appreciative listener. -"That's a bang-up good mystery yarn!" he said. "I'd like mighty well to -be along when Jerry and Dick climb up into that rock house. Gruesome, -isn't it, knowing that the old duffer buried himself alive? Clever, -that's what he was, to make up a yarn about an Evil Eye Turquoise that -would keep thieves all these years away from his gold." - -The side road into the mountains was in worse condition than the one they -had left, and so, for some moments, Harry was silent that he might give -all his attention to guiding the car over an especially dangerous spot. -Then he turned and smiled at Mary. "And so _you_ had hoped that one of -those bandits who were captured last night _might_ have been Bodil's -kidnapper. That would hardly be possible. Such things don't happen in -real life and, also, as you say, the little girl may have been dragged -away to the lair of a mountain lion." - -Mary's attention had been attracted by the car ahead. "Jerry's stopping -again," she said. - -Harry put on the brakes. The cowboy had leaped out and was coming back -toward them. "I don't believe we'd better try to go any further along -this road," he told them. "Harry, if you will stay with the girls, Dick -and I will--" - -"Hark, Big Brother, _what_ was that?" Mary held up a finger and listened -intently. On their left was a deep brush-tangled arroyo. They all heard -distinctly a low moan that seemed to form the word "Help." - -The boys looked at each other puzzled and wondering. Jerry's hand slipped -instinctively to his holster and, finding it empty, he held out his hand -for Dick's gun. Then he went cautiously to the rock-piled edge of the -arroyo. Dora asked, "Does Jerry think it's one of the bandits, do you -suppose, who tried to get away and was hurt somehow?" - -"Probably," Dick replied. He leaped out to the road and Harry joined him. -They watched Jerry's every move, ready to go to him if he beckoned. -Suddenly Mary screamed and Harry leaped back to her. They had heard the -report of a gun although Jerry had not fired. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI - IS IT A CLUE? - - -The shot undeniably had been fired from the brush-tangled arroyo. Jerry -stepped back that he might not be a helpless target while he conferred -with the other boys. - -"I cain't understand it at all," he said. "If we missed getting one of -the bandits, he wouldn't be staying around here. By this time, he'd be -miles away." - -"You're right about that," Dick agreed. "My theory is that the man who -called for help was the one who fired the shot." - -Harry said, "Don't you think that possibly someone is hurt and fearing -that his call wasn't heard, he fired his gun to attract our attention? He -may have heard our cars climbing the grade. They made noise enough." - -Jerry, feeling convinced that this was more than likely a fact, went -again to the edge of the arroyo, and, keeping hidden behind the jagged -pile of rocks, he looked intently through the dark tangle to the dry -creek in the arroyo bottom. As his eyes became accustomed to the dimness -he saw the figure of an old man lying on his back, one leg bent under -him, his arms thrown out helplessly. One hand held a gun. Undeniably he -it was who had fired the shot. - -Without waiting to inform the others of his decision, Jerry leaped over -the rocks and crashed through the brush. Dick and Harry followed a second -later. - -As they stood looking down at the wan face of a very old man their hearts -were touched. - -"Poor fellow," Jerry said, kneeling and lifting the hand that held the -gun. "I reckon firing that shot was the last act he did in this life." - -"I'm not so sure." Dick had opened the old man's torn shirt and was -listening to his heart. "He's still alive. Hadn't we better get him back -to Tombstone to a doctor?" - -For answer the boys lifted the stranger who was lighter than they had -dreamed possible and carried him slowly back up to the road. The girls, -awed and silent, asked if they could help, but Jerry shook his head. At -his suggestion the old man was placed at his side. The girls rolled their -sweater coats to place under his head and shoulders. Dick, from the back, -through a tear in the curtain, held him in position. - -Turning the cars was difficult but not impossible. Awed and in silence -they returned to town. - -Dr. Conrad, luckily, was in his office in a small adobe building near the -hotel. The old man was still breathing when he was carried in and laid on -a couch. Restoratives quickly applied were effective and soon the tired -sunken eyes opened. The unkempt grizzled head turned restlessly, then -pleadingly he asked, "Jackie, have you seen him?" - -There was such a yearning eagerness in the old man's face that Mary hated -to have to shake her head and say, "No." - -Jerry asked, "Who is Jackie?" But the old man did not reply. As though -the effort had been too much for him, he closed his eyes and rested. - -Dick exclaimed eagerly, "Jerry, you know that young boy we brought over -with the bandits. Couldn't we ask Deputy Sheriff Goode to bring him over -here? He would know if this old man belongs to the robber band, although -that boy certainly didn't look like a criminal." - -The plan seemed a good one and was carried out. The boy, fair-haired and -about nine years old, cried out when he saw the old man and running to -him, threw himself down beside the lounge and sobbed, "Granddad! -Granddad! Oh, _do_ wake up. I'm so glad you found me. I thought _this_ -time they'd make away with me for sure." - -Slowly a smile spread over the wan features. The sunken eyes opened and -looked directly at the tear-wet face of the boy. "Jackie," the old man -said, and there was infinite love in his voice. "Thank God you're safe! -They've ruined me. They _mustn't_ ruin you. Go to Sister Theresa. Hide -there." For a long moment he breathed heavily, his gaze on the face of -the boy he so loved. Then he made another effort to speak. "I'm dying, -Jackie. I give you to Sister Theresa. Goodbye. Be--a--good boy." - -The girls, unable to keep back their tears, turned away, but Mary, -hearing the child's pitiful sobs, went over to him and, kneeling at his -side, put a comforting arm about him. Trustingly he leaned his head -against her shoulder and clung to her as though he knew she must be a -friend. - -Later, when the boy's grief had been quieted, the young people, at the -doctor's suggestion, took him into another room and questioned him. - -"How had he happened to be with the robber band?" - -"Who was his grandfather?" - -"Where would they find Sister Theresa that they might take him there as -his granddad had requested?" - -Still in the loving shelter of Mary's arm, the boy, at first chokingly, -then more clearly, told all that he knew. His grandfather, he said, had -been a marked man by that robber band. He had done something _years ago_ -to turn them against him, Jackie didn't know what. They had robbed him. -They had destroyed his ranch and his cattle. They had stolen Jackie once -before, but he had gotten away that time, but this time they had watched -him too closely. Granddad had been hunting for him. - -Sister Theresa? She was a nun and lived in a convent on the Papago -reservation up to the north, quite far to the north, Jackie thought. - -Deputy Sheriff Goode came in and listened to what Jerry had to tell him -of the child's story. He nodded solemnly. "I know that good woman," he -said; "she is one of the world's best. I reckon the kid's telling the -truth. If you have the time, Jerry, I wish you'd take him over there -right away." - -The combination ambulance and police car was brought out. That it was -seldom used was evidenced by the sand on the seats and floor. Jerry drove -it to a gas station and had the tank filled. Jackie, who clung to Mary as -though she alone could understand his grief, nestled close to her in the -big car. - -Harry said to Jerry, "Old man, I think I'd better fly over. The Papago -reservation is close to Tucson, isn't it, and I must turn in a report. -Then I'll join you all and come back with you perhaps." - -"Oh, please do!" Mary called to him. "I want you to meet the nicest dad -in the world. He'll be so interested in hearing about your trip from the -East." - -A crowd of townspeople had gathered in the square and silently watched as -the big police car started and the "Seagull" took to the air. - -As they were rumbling along, Dora, across from Mary, silently pointed at -the boy. "He's asleep, little dear," she said softly. - -Dick was on the driver's seat with Jerry. - -"Dora," Mary whispered, "how tangled up things are. We _were_ hunting for -one child and find another. Something seems always to lead us farther -away from solving the mystery of poor Little Bodil." - -"I know," Dora agreed, "but after all, we could hardly expect, I suppose, -after all these years, to unravel _that_ mystery." - -It was not a long ride. The road was smooth and hard. The car rolled -along so rapidly that the forty miles were covered in less than an hour. -Dora, looking out of the opening in the back of the wagon, was delighted -when she saw tepees along the roadside. Also, there were small adobe -shacks with yucca stalk fences and drying ears of corn and red peppers in -strings hanging over them. - -"Oh, how fascinating this place is!" she whispered. "Do look! There's a -Papago family. The mother has her baby strapped to her back." The convent -was an unpretentious rambling adobe building painted a glistening white. -Jerry turned in through an arched adobe gate over which stood a wooden -cross. - -At a side door he stopped, got out and, climbing a few steps, pulled on a -rope which hung there. Almost at once the door was opened by a -sweet-faced nun who smiled a welcome. Jerry asked, "May we speak with -Sister Theresa?" - -"Yes, will you come in?" Then, glancing out at the car and seeing the two -girls, she added hospitably, "all of you." - -Jerry lifted out the sleeping boy and carried him into the long, cool -waiting room. The sister who had opened the door had gone to call Sister -Theresa and so she did not see the child. - -Mary glanced skyward before she entered the convent and, seeing the -silver plane circling about, wondered if Harry would be able to land. -Evidently he decided that it would be unwise, for he was dropping the -small aluminum bottle once again. Mary ran to the spot where it fell and -read the note. "Unsafe to land on the sand. Will return to Tombstone and -wait for you there." - -Dora glanced at Mary's face and saw an expression which told her -disappointment. Once again she thought, "Poor Jerry!" - -Dick, who had waited for them, said, "He's a wise bird, that Harry -Hulbert. He takes no chances." Then they three went indoors and joined -Jerry who, seated on a bench, held the sleeping child. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII - IT WAS A CLUE - - -Jackie wakened and opened wondering eyes at the moment when a kind-faced -woman in nun's garb entered from an inner corridor. With a glad cry he -slipped from Jerry and ran with arms outstretched. - -The young people rose and waited, sure that this woman, who had stooped -to comfort the sobbing child, must be the Sister Theresa to whom he had -been given. She was evidently questioning him and brokenly he was telling -that the robbers had carried him off and that Granddad was dead. - -She lifted a sorrowful face toward the strange young people and without -questioning their identity, she said, "It was very kind of you all to -bring Jackie to me. Did Mr. Weston send me a message?" - -Jerry, realizing that formal introductions were unnecessary at a time -like this, replied, "Yes, Sister Theresa. The old man was so nearly dead -when we found him in an arroyo over near 'The Dragoons' that he could say -little. However, he _did_ give Jackie to you." - -The nun had seated herself and had motioned the others to do likewise. -The boy, standing at her side, was looking up into her face with -tear-filled, anxious eyes. - -"Poor little fellow," she said. "His life has been full of fear, but now, -if those tormentors of his grandfather are in prison, he will be free of -the constant dread of being kidnapped." - -"Sister Theresa," Mary leaned forward to ask, "_why_ did those cruel men -wish to harm so helpless a child?" - -The nun shook her head sadly. "It is a long story," she said, "and one -that causes me much pain to recall, but I will tell you. Years ago this -good man, who had the largest cattle ranch in these parts, was riding -over the mountains carrying about his person large sums of money. He was -overtaken by two highwaymen, who, after robbing him, forced him to -continue with them over a lonely mountain road. When they were at a high -spot, they heard a stage coming and they forced Mr. Weston to hide with -them around a curve. When the stage was almost upon them, the bandits -rode out, shot the driver and stole the bags of gold they found. The -frightened horses plunged over a cliff taking with it the dead driver and -one man passenger. A child, that man's sister, was thrown into the road. -The bandits thought only of escape, and, for a time, they forgot their -captive. Seeing a chance to get away, he turned his horse and galloped -back toward his ranch. Finding the child in the road, he took time to -snatch her up and take her with him. He brought her to this convent where -she has been ever since." - -The listeners, who, one and all had guessed the speaker's true identity, -could hardly wait until she had finished to ask if she were the long lost -Little Bodil. - -Tense emotion brought tears to the woman's kind eyes. "My dears," she -said, looking from one to another of them. "My dears, _can_ you tell me -of my brother, Sven Pedersen? I have always thought that he must have -been killed when the stage plunged over the cliff. At first I hoped this -was not true, but when he never came to find me--" - -Mary interrupted, "Oh, Sister Theresa, your brother never stopped trying -to find you." - -Jerry said, "He advertised in newspapers." - -The nun shook her head. "We do not take newspapers here and Mr. Weston, -who had a nervous collapse for a long time, was not permitted to read. -Yes, that accounts for it. My poor brother! How needlessly he grieved." - -Jerry and Dick exchanged glances and Dick's lips formed the word "money." - -The cowboy said, "Sister Theresa, from the tale of an old storekeeper in -Gleeson, who knew your brother well, we have learned that he has a letter -for you written in Danish which tells where he left some money for you." - -"I shall be glad to have the letter," the woman said, her face -lightening, "not because of the money which I will use for others, as we -here take the vow of poverty, but because of some message I am sure the -letter will contain." - -Mary, thinking of the Dooleys, wanted to ask if the money might, part of -it at least, be used for _them_ but she thought better of it. - -The nun, looking tenderly down at the boy who still nestled close to her, -said lovingly, "Poor Little Jackie, how I wish I _could_ keep him here -with me, but that would not be permitted since he is a boy." As though -inspired, she told them, "If that money is found, I will give a good part -of it to someone who will make a happy home for this little fellow." - -Mary also was inspired. "Oh, Sister Theresa," how eagerly she spoke. "I -know the very nicest family and they're in great need. Caring for Jackie -would be a godsend to them and bring great happiness into _his_ life, I'm -sure of that." - -Then she told--with Jerry's help--all that she knew of Etta Dooley and -her family. - -The nun turned to the cowboy. "I like what you tell me about that little -family. If there is money to pay her, I would like to see your friend -Etta." She was rising as she spoke. A muffled gong was ringing in the -inner corridor. The young people also rose. - -"I am sure Etta will come, Sister Theresa," Mary said. - -Jerry promised to try to bring the letter on the morrow. The nun, smiling -graciously at them all, held out her hand to first one and then another, -saying, "Thank you and goodbye." The little boy echoed, "Goodbye." He was -to remain with Sister Theresa until she had met and approved of Etta -Dooley. - -As the young people were about to leave the convent, the young nun who -had admitted them appeared and said, "Sister Theresa invites you to -lunch. It is long after the noon hour." - -She turned, not waiting for a possible refusal and so they followed her -through a side door, along a narrow corridor which ended in descending -steps. They found themselves in a bare basement room. There were plain -wooden tables, clean and white, with benches on both sides. No one was in -evidence as the noon meal had been cleared away. The young nun motioned -them to a table, then glided away to the kitchen. She soon returned with -four bowls of simple vegetable soup, glasses of milk and a plain coarse -brown bread without butter. - -"I hadn't realized how starved I am!" Dora said when they were alone. - -"Isn't it too story-bookish for anything, our finding Little Bodil at -last?" Mary exclaimed as she ate with a relish the appetizing soup. - -"Righto. It sure is," Jerry agreed. - -Dick asked, "Do you think Etta Dooley will be too proud to take the -money?" - -"I don't," Mary said with conviction. "She won't suspect that we had -_wanted_ to find some way of giving her the money. She'll think that our -first thought had been to recommend a good home for Jackie. That will -make it all right with her, I'm sure." - -Dora glanced at Jerry somewhat anxiously. "They can stay where they are, -can't they? Etta said that if it weren't for her feeling of being -dependent on charity, she would simply love being there." - -Jerry nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sure Dad will be glad to have them. I -reckon he hasn't any other plans for that cabin. We could lease them, say -three acres, and if they paid a little rent that would make Etta feel -independent." - -Dora added her thought, "If Etta passes those examinations she's going to -take in Douglas, maybe she could be teacher in that little school near -your ranch, Jerry." - -The cowboy's face brightened. "Say, that's a bingo-fine idea! That school -had to close because we hadn't any children. All we need are eight -youngsters to reopen it. Let's see, there are the twins, Jackie will make -three." Then, anxiously he glanced at Mary. "How soon can Baby Bess go to -school?" - -"She'd _have_ to go if Etta did," was the laughing reply. - -Dora suggested, "Couldn't there be a kindergarten department?" - -"I reckon so." The cowboy's face was troubled. "Four kids aren't eight." - -Dick, remembering something Mr. Newcomb told his wife, inquired, "Jerry, -your dad asked your mother if she minded having a cowboy next winter who -had a wife and six children." - -"Jolly-O!" Dora cried. "What did Mrs. Newcomb say?" - -It was Mary who replied, "You know what dear, big-hearted Aunt Mollie -would say. I can almost hear her tell Uncle Henry that 'the more the -merrier.'" - -"Of course," Jerry told them, "even if we can work the school plan, the -salary is mighty small. It wouldn't more than pay their grocery bill but -it'll help all right, along with--" - -Mary caught the cowboy's arm, her expression alarmed. "Jerry, _what_ if -there _isn't_ any money in that rock house after our planning?" - -"Tomorrow we will know," Dick said. Then, as the young nun reappeared, -they arose and thanked her for the good meal. Dora noticed that as Dick -passed out he dropped a coin in a little box labeled, FOR THE POOR. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII - A NEW COMPLICATION - - -In the lumbering old police ambulance, the four young people returned to -Tombstone and found Harry Hulbert sitting in a rocker on the hotel porch -waiting for them. He ran toward them waving his cap boyishly. The -"Seagull" reposed in the middle of the square surrounded by interested -and curious cowboys who had ridden in from the range for the mail. Many -of them had come from far and had heard nothing of the "Seagull's" part -in the recent raid. - -"Where do we go from here?" Harry asked when he had learned of the -morning adventure. - -"If you can take Mr. Goode's small car," Mary began, but Harry -interrupted with, "Can't be done! They're both out, one gone to Bisbee -and the other to Nogales." - -"Oh, Big Brother," Mary exclaimed, "couldn't Harry sit in the front side -door of your car? We girls used to ride that way at school sometimes." - -"Sure thing!" the cowboy agreed. "All aboard, let's get going." - -Mary smiled up at him happily. "If the calf has been milking the cow all -this time, it--" - -Jerry shook his head. "No such luck--for the calf. Mother can milk in an -emergency." - -The ride to Gleeson was a merry one. Harry sat, literally, at Mary's -feet, looking up at her admiringly and directing his conversation to her -almost entirely. Jerry was very silent. No one but Dora noticed that. -When Gleeson was reached, the small car stopped in front of the store and -they all rushed in and astounded the old storekeeper with their exultant -shout, "We've found Little Bodil!" - -"'Tain't so!" He stared at them unbelievingly. "Arter all these years! -Wall, wall! I'll be dum-blasted! So Little Bodil is one o' them -nun-women." While he talked, he went behind his counter, took an old -cigar box from a high shelf, opened it and held out an envelope, yellowed -with age. He handed it to Jerry. "Take it to Little Bodil. I'll be cu'ros -to hear what all's in it." - -"So are we, Mr. Harvey," Mary began, then exclaimed contritely, "Oh, how -terrible of us. We haven't introduced the hero of the hour. Mr. Silas -Harvey, this is the air scout who located the train robbers, Harry -Hulbert. He seems like an old friend to us, doesn't he, Jerry?" - -"Sure thing!" the cowboy replied, then glancing at the old dust-covered -clock, he quickly added, "Dick, I reckon I must be getting along over to -_Bar N_." - -"Goodbye, Mr. Harvey. Glad to have met you." Harry shook hands with the -old man. - -When they were outside the post office, the air scout turned to the -cowboy. "Jerry, can't I be your letter carrier?" he asked. "While I was -waiting for you in Tombstone I enquired about the stage. I can get back -there in about an hour. Then I must fly to Tucson for a meeting at -headquarters tonight. I can motor out to the convent and be back here -tomorrow morning with the letter translated." - -"Sounds all right to me," Jerry said. - -"And during the hour that you have to wait for the stage," Mary turned -brightly toward Harry, "you may become acquainted with the nicest dad in -the world." - -Forgetting the presence of the others, Harry replied, "Is _that_ why his -daughter is the nicest girl in the world?" - -Mary flushed bewitchingly, but it was evident that she was embarrassed. - -Jerry drove them up to the Moore house, waited while Dick bounded indoors -to speak to his mother, then they two rode away, promising to return as -soon as they could the next day. - -Dora, who had been watching Jerry's face, knew that he had been deeply -hurt, but she was sure he would not say anything to influence Mary. Dora -thought, "He wants her to choose the one of them who would make her -happier, I suppose. Believe me, it wouldn't take _me_ long to decide." - -Mr. Moore had heard nothing of the robbery or the raid. Mrs. Farley had -not wished to cause him a moment's anxiety about the safety of his -idolized daughter. She had told him that the girls were spending the -night with Mrs. Goode in Tombstone, and, since the wife of the Deputy -Sheriff had been a close friend of Mary's mother, he had thought little -of it. Even now that it was all over, they decided to merely introduce -Harry as a friend of Patsy and Polly, who had come West to be attached to -the border patrol. - -Mr. Moore welcomed the boy gladly, and, for half an hour, they talked -together of the East and the West. Mary and Dora slipped away and -returned with lemonade and a plate of Carmelita's cookie-snaps. - -Then the two girls walked down to the cross road with Harry and waited -until he climbed aboard the funny old 'bus and rode away. - -He bent low over Mary at the last moment. Dora had not heard his -whispered words, but she knew by the sudden flush that they had been -complimentary. - -Arm in arm they turned and walked back up the gently ascending hill-road -toward their home. - -"How do you like the newcomer?" Dora tried to make her voice sound -indifferent. - -Mary laughingly confessed, "I'd really like him lots better if he didn't -flatter me so much." - -Dora replied, "I know how you feel. I'd heaps rather have a boy be just a -good pal. It makes a person feel, oh, as if she were the sort of a girl a -boy thought he had to make love to, or she wouldn't be having a good -time. I've known steens of them, fine fellows really, who came over from -Wales Military to our dances. They thought the only way they could put it -over big was to flatter their partners. You know _that_ as well as I do. -Why, we Quadralettes have compared notes time and again and found the -same boy had said the same complimentary thing to all four of us." Mary -made no reply, so Dora continued, "Dick and Jerry are the sort of boy -friends I like. They treat us as if we could be talked to about something -besides ourselves. I tell you, the girl who can win the love of Jerry -Newcomb is going to win one of the finest men who walks on this green -earth." - -Dora's tone was so earnest that Mary laughed. "Goodness!" she teased. -"Why all this eloquence? There isn't any green earth around here for -Jerry to walk on. It's all sand." - -Suddenly Dora changed the subject. "Why do you suppose Little Bodil is -called Sister Theresa?" she asked. - -Mary replied rather absently, "Oh, I think they give up their own and -choose a saint's name. Anyhow, I've heard they do." - -It was evident she was thinking deeply of something else. - -Her thoughtfulness continued until after supper. - -"What a wonderful moonlight night!" Dora said as the two girls seated -themselves on the top step of the front porch to gaze out across the -shimmering desert valley, below the tableland on which they lived. "I -wish Jerry and Dick would come and take us for a ride." Hardly had she -said the words when they saw a dark object scudding along on the valley -road. - -"Somebody _is_ coming toward Gleeson from the _Bar N_ ranch way," Mary -said, and Dora noted that her voice was eager, as though she wanted, -_very much wanted_, to see her silent cowboy lover. - -For a long time they sat watching the narrow strip of cross road beyond -the post office. If the car turned, it would surely be coming to the -Moore place. If it passed, it would be going on to Tombstone probably. It -turned. More slowly it climbed the grade. - -"It's the little 'tin Cayuse,' all right," Dora said. She was watching -the eager light in Mary's face, lovely in the moonlight. Then, suddenly -its brightness was shadowed, went out. Dora saw the reason. On the front -seat with Jerry was another girl, a glowing-eyed, truly beautiful girl, -Etta Dooley. In the rumble with Dick were two freckle-faced boys, the -twins. Their ruddy faces were glowing with grins of delight. "Hurray!" -they shouted as the small car stopped near the front porch. "We're out -moonlight riding." - -Dick quieted them, remembering that Mr. Moore might be asleep. Mary, -looking pale in the silver light, went down to the car and asked Etta if -she wouldn't get out. "No, thank you," that maiden replied, "I've left -Baby Bess with Aunt Mollie and we've been gone more than an hour now, I -do believe." - -"It hasn't seemed that long, has it?" Jerry was actually looking at Etta -and not at Mary. - -"Oh, indeed not!" was the happily given reply. "It's a treat for the -twins and me to fly through space. Once upon a time I had a little car of -my own, but that seems _ages_ ago." - -This did not seem like the same Etta Dooley who had been so reserved when -the girls had called at her cabin home. _What_ had happened to change -her, Dora wondered. - -When the car turned and the small boys, remembering to be quiet, had -nevertheless performed gleeful antics, Mary went up the steps and into -the house. - -"I'm going to bed," she said and her voice sounded tired. - -Dora, wickedly pleased, could not let well enough alone. "I didn't know -that Etta was so well acquainted as to call Jerry's mother Aunt Mollie." -She wisely did not add her next thought, "You'll have to look to your -laurels, Mary-mine. Etta's a mighty attractive girl and she simply loves -the _Bar N_ ranch." - -When Dora spoke again, it was on an entirely different subject. "Isn't it -wonderful, Mary, to think that we've solved the mystery of Little Bodil -and that tomorrow, perhaps, the boys are going to defy that Evil Eye -Turquoise." - -"I suppose so," Mary replied indifferently. Dora turned out the light and -with a shrug got into bed with her friend. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX - AN OLD LETTER - - -The next day, directly after breakfast, Mary and Dora began to expect -someone to arrive. The roof of the front porch was railed around and when -they had made their bed and tidied their room they stepped out of the -door-like window and stood there gazing about them. From that high -elevation they had a view of the road coming from Tombstone as it climbed -to the tableland and also they could see for miles across the desert -valley toward the _Bar N_ ranch. - -"Who do you think will be the first to arrive?" Dora asked as she slipped -an arm about her friend's waist. - -Mary shook her head without replying. Then, because her conscience had -been troubling her, Dora said impulsively, "Mary, dear, I didn't mean, -last night, that Harry Hulbert says nice things to you without meaning -them. No one could help thinking you're--" - -Mary laughed and put a finger on her friend's lips. "Now, who's -flattering?" Then, excitedly, "I hear a car, but I don't see it." - -"There it is, by the post office," Dora pointed, then, in a tone of -disappointment, "Oh, it's only that funny little Jap vegetable man from -Fairbanks." - -A moment later, when they were looking in different directions, they both -exclaimed in chorus, "Here come Jerry and Dick!" - -"There's the Deputy Sheriff's little car." - -In through the window they leaped, down the front stairway they tripped -and were standing in the graveled walk between the red and gold -border-beds when the two cars arrived, Jerry's in the lead. - -Mary's heart was heavy, though she tried to smile brightly, when she saw -that Etta Dooley was again on the front seat with Jerry. Dick, this time, -was quite alone. Harry Hulbert, although in the rear, leaped out and -bounded to Mary so quickly that he reached her first. - -Her welcome, though friendly, lacked the eager graciousness of the day -before. Harry, however, did not seem to notice it. "I've got the -translation here," he said, waving the old yellow envelope. - -Jerry got out of his car, turned to speak to Etta and then walked toward -the waiting group. Dick had already disappeared into the house in search -of his mother. - -Etta, remaining in the car, called, "Good morning" to the girls. Jerry -explained, "I haven't told Etta the whole story, just the part about -Little Bodil and the rock house. She was so interested, I told her we'd -be glad to have her go with us." - -Mary smiled at him rather wistfully, Dora thought. Then she walked to the -side of the car and said, "Won't you get out, Etta, while we read the -letter?" - -Jerry, who had followed her, said, "Dick wanted us to wait till we got to -the rock house before we read the letter. Can you girls go now?" - -"Yes, I'll get my hat." Mary turned to go indoors. Dora went with her and -they were back almost at once to find Jerry beside Etta, with Dick -waiting to help Dora to her usual place in the rumble. - -Harry, his rather thin face alight with pleasure, took Mary's arm and, -giving it a slight pressure, exclaimed in a low voice, "The gods are -kind! I hardly dared hope that your old friends would let me have you -today. I've thought of you every minute since I left you last night." - -Mary, seated at his side in the small car, turned serious eyes toward -him. "Harry," she said almost pleadingly, "please don't talk to me that -way. I--I'd rather you wouldn't." - -An expression of sadness for a moment put out the eager light in his -eyes, then, good sportsman that he was, he said, "Very well, Mary. I -think I understand." - -After that his conversation was interesting, but general, until they -reached the towering rock gate where Jerry's car was standing, waiting. - -"What a lonely, awesome spot this is!" Harry exclaimed. - -"If you think _this_ is awesome," Mary laughed, "wait until we pass -through those gates." - -Jerry climbed out, helped Etta, then turned to call, "Don't get off the -road, Harry. The sand's so soft we'd have a time pulling you out." - -Dora and Dick leaped from the rumble and were joined by Mary and Harry. -"We walk the rest of the way," Dick told the air scout, "and believe me -it's hard going." - -Mary glanced ahead, saw Jerry assisting Etta as in former times he had -assisted her when her feet sank ankle deep in the soft, white sand. Harry -gallantly took her arm to aid her. Mary smiled at him wanly. "Thank you," -she said. "I wish I were the self-reliant athletic type like Dora. She -never needs help." - -Harry bit his lip to keep from saying aloud what he thought. Before he -could think of something else to say, Dick looked back and called to him, -"Were you ever any place where there was such a deathlike stillness as -there is in this small walled-in spot?" - -Harry shook his head. "Never!" he replied. Then, glad of the -interruption, he asked, "That's the rock house, up there, isn't it?" - -Dick nodded. "That's where the poor old fellow they called 'Lucky Loon' -buried himself alive, if there's any truth in the yarn." - -"Believe me, that would take more courage than I've got," Harry declared -with a shudder. - -Jerry, glancing back, and finding that he and Etta were quite far ahead, -turned and waited, still holding his companion's arm. - -Etta's intelligent face _never_ had seemed more attractive to Mary. The -melancholy expression, which the girls had noticed, especially, the day -they had called upon her, had vanished. Her eyes were bright with -interest. - -They walked on in a close group. "I'm simply wild to know what's in the -letter Little Bodil translated," Dora exclaimed. - -Dick laughed. "I suppose we will call that dignified Sister Theresa -'Little Bodil' till the end of time," he said. - -When they reached the foot of the leaning rock, which had one time been -the stairway to the rock house, they gathered about Jerry who was opening -the yellowed envelope. Intense interest and excitement was expressed in -each face. - -Sister Theresa had written a liberal translation between the almost faded -lines of her dead brother's letter. - - "Dear Little Bodil-- - - "In my heart I feel you are alive. I have hunted all over Arizona, New - Mexico and across the border. No one has heard of you. I can't search - any longer. - - "Before I die I want to tell you where my gold is. Silas Harvey will - tell you where my rock house is. Secret entrance--" - -Jerry paused and looked in dismay at the interested listeners. - -"What's up?" Dick asked. - -"The old writing was so faded Sister Theresa couldn't make it out." - -"How terrible!" Dora cried. "How to get _into_ the rock house is the -_very thing_ we need to know." - -"Well, at least we know there _is_ a secret entrance," Mary told them. -"Isn't there any more of the translation, Jerry?" - -The cowboy had turned a page. He nodded. "Yes, here's something but I -reckon it won't help much. There are only a few words." He read, "Find -money--walled in--turquoise eye." Jerry looked from one to the other and -said, "That's all. Doesn't help out much, does it?" - -Mary took the letter. "Here's a note at the bottom. Sister Theresa wrote, -'I am sorry I could not make out the entire message. I do hope this much -will aid you in finding the money if it has not been stolen.'" - -"Well," Dick was looking along the base of the almost perpendicular cliff -on which the rock house stood, "I vote we start in hunting for a secret -entrance." - -"O. K.," Harry said. "Let's divide our forces, one going to the right and -the other to the left." - -Jerry, as though it were the natural thing to do, said to Etta, "Shall -_we_ go this way?" - -Mary turned and started in the opposite direction. Harry was quick to -follow her. Dora and Dick remained standing directly under the rock -house. Dora said, "I'm puzzled! _Not_ about the secret entrance but about -Mary and Jerry." - -"Oh, that'll come out all right." It was plain that Dick wasn't giving -romance much thought, for he added, "I'm going in between the main cliff -and this broken off piece." - -Dora, going to his side, peered into the crack. The winds of many years -had blown sand into it. She was surprised to see Dick start pulling the -sand away from the wall. - -"Have you a hunch?" she asked with interest. - -"No, not really," he told her. Then remarked, "Wish I had a shovel." - -"You may have one," Dora said, "if you want to go back to the road. I saw -a shovel and an axe fastened under the Deputy Sheriff's car." - -Jerry and Etta, having found nothing, were returning. - -"What are you uncovering, Dick?" the cowboy called. - -"Say, fetch a shovel, will you?" was the answer he received. "Dora says -there's one under the 'Dep's' car." - -"Righto." The cowboy's long legs carried him rapidly toward the rock -gate. He had returned with the shovel just as Mary and Harry came up. -They had found nothing that could possibly be a secret entrance. - -"What's your reasoning, Dick, old man?" Jerry asked as he handed him the -shovel. - -"Well, there's _something_ here that caught and held the sand," Dick -replied. "It may not be what we're looking for but I'm curious to know -what it is." - - - - - CHAPTER XXX - SECRET ENTRANCE TO THE ROCK HOUSE - - -The boys took turns in throwing the sand out of the crack. The faces of -the three girls, standing idly near, expressed different emotions. Mary's -sweet sensitive mouth and tender eyes were wistful, almost sad. She was -not thinking of the secret entrance. Dora, watching her, was troubled and -wished she knew just what Mary was thinking. Etta, alone, watched the -boys as they threw shovelsful of sand out of the crack. Her eyes shone -with a new light. Dora, glancing at her, wondered if she were watching -Jerry's splendid strength as he hurled the sand. Once he caught her -encouraging glance and smiled at her. - -Etta turned and, seeing Mary beside her, she slipped an arm about her. -With a fleeting return of her old seriousness, she said, "You girls can't -know what it means to me to be included in all this. I've been so lonely -for companions of my own age." - -Mary was about to say that she was glad, also, when a shout from the boys -attracted their attention. They hurried toward the crack where the three -diggers stood intently examining something they had uncovered. - -It was a huge stone about three feet round which leaned against a hole in -the base of the cliff. - -"That hole _must_ be the secret entrance." Dick glowed around with the -pride of discovery. "The rock caught and held the sand, you see," he -explained to the girls. - -"Not so fast, old man." Harry Hulbert was measuring the space between the -rock and the hole. "If Mr. Pedersen buried himself alive up there in his -rock house, he _had_ to have room to crawl _into_ his entrance. You'll -all agree to that." - -They silently nodded, then Jerry said, "I reckon Sven Pedersen was very -thin, sick as he was." - -Etta alertly suggested, "I think the hole might have been uncovered then, -but that the weight of the sand has gradually pushed the rock down -against the opening." - -"Righto!" Jerry's smile was approving. - -Dora remarked, "Since we are not hunting for the old man's bones, isn't -the important question whether or not this hole leads up into the rock -house?" - -"And the only way to find out is to get this stone out of the way," Dick -told them. "Now everybody push." - -It was a difficult task and after what seemed a long hard effort, there -was barely room for one of the boys to get in. - -Jerry crawled into the hole but backed out almost at once. - -"It's black as a pocket," he reported. "It would be foolhardy to go in -until we have a light." - -"I'll get one," Dick volunteered. "The Deputy Sheriff has a powerful -flash in his car. Back in a minute." - -While he was gone, Jerry told his impressions of the hole. - -"It seems to be a slanting tunnel, not high enough to stand in. I reckon -that at some past time it was made by rushing water, it's worn so -smooth." - -"Oh, Jerry, please don't go in there all alone." It was Mary imploring. -"I'm smaller than you are. Let me go with you." - -Jerry's grateful glance was infinitely tender and so was his voice as he -replied, "Little Sister, I'll be careful not to run into danger." - -Again he crawled into the hole. The watching young people saw the flash -of the light, then they heard his voice sounding uncanny and far off. -"The tunnel goes up, sort of like a waterfall. I reckon I can climb it -all right, but don't anybody try to follow me, lest-be I'm gone too long; -more than fifteen minutes, say." - -The color left Mary's face and she clung to Dora, but she tried not to -let the others see how truly anxious she was. - -"One minute." Dick was looking at his watch. - -Harry on his knees peered up into the darkness, but could not even see -Jerry's light. - -"Five minutes," Dick reported. - -Mary asked tremulously, "That couldn't be the cave of a mountain lion or -a puma or a--" - -"Nixy on that!" Dick replied emphatically. "No wild animal, not even my -friend, a Gila Monster, would care to try to climb _that_ smooth toboggan -slide. Puzzle to me is how Jerry is doing it." - -"Hark!" Mary whispered, holding up one finger. "Did you hear--" - -Dick plunged in with "a gun shot?" - -"Not at all!" Mary flared at him. She ran to the hole and knelt by it and -listened. "I thought I heard Jerry call far, _far_ away," she said as she -stood up and went back to stand by Dora. - -"Ten minutes." Dick glanced from his watch to Harry. "Go back a way, will -you, and look up at the rock house. If Jerry called, maybe it was from up -there." - -Mary, no longer trying to hide her anxiety, ran beyond the leaning ledge -and looked up. How her face shone with joy and relief! - -"It's Jerry!" she cried, beckoning the others. "He's up there standing in -the door." - -Harry cupped one hand about his ear. "What say, Jerry? All right. Sure -thing." - -"What did he say?" Jerry had disappeared in the house when the others -joined Mary and Harry. - -"He said there's an old wire ladder contraption that he's going to drop -down to us," Harry explained as Jerry reappeared on the ledge. Gradually -a wire-rope ladder slid down the steep cliff. - -"Dick, you and Harry come on up," Jerry called. "It's safe all right." - -"You girls won't mind being left alone, will you?" Harry asked in his -chivalrous way, of all of them, although he looked at Mary. - -"No, indeed," she replied. "Go along." - -The boys went up the swaying ladder so easily that Mary, usually the less -courageous one of the two, said to Dora, "I'm going up. Catch me if I -fall." - -The three boys were in the rock house and did not know that the girls had -climbed the ladder until they saw them standing near the open door. - -Jerry leaped toward them. "Little Sister," he said, "_what_ if you had -fallen?" - -Dora thought complacently, "Well, I guess _that_ lover's misunderstanding -is patched up all right. It didn't matter, evidently, whether or not Etta -fell, and as for Dora Bellman--" she laughed and shrugged her broad, -capable shoulders. - -Mary was asking, "Has anyone seen the Evil Eye Turquoise?" - -"Not yet. Come, let's look for it," the cowboy called, adding, as he -turned to his neighbor, "Etta, I didn't tell you that part of the story, -did I?" - -Smilingly, and evidently untroubled by the recent by-play between the -cowboy and Mary, she replied in the negative. So, standing near the open -door, they all told parts of the tale to the interested listener. - -"But if something terrible _always_ happens when that turquoise eye looks -at an intruder," Etta said, "aren't you afraid something terrible will -happen now?" - -"I reckon I _would_, if I believed the yarn," Jerry replied. "Let's see! -Where was it?" - -"In the back wall, gazing _straight out_ of the front door," Mary -reminded him. - -"Well, it isn't there _now_ anyway." Harry fearlessly had crossed the -small bare room to investigate. - -"But it must have been there," Dick insisted. "Don't you remember that -Smart Aleky fellow who _did_ climb up and who really _did_ fall over the -cliff, paralyzed, when he saw the Evil Eye?" - -"I reckon we do," Jerry agreed. Having found a stout stick cane in one -corner, he poked it into the sand that covered the floor. - -"Hi-ho!" he cried. "I see what's happened. The Eye fell off of the wall -and is buried here in the sand." - -"Bully for you!" Dick shouted, and before any of them could stop him, he -had seized the fateful stone and had turned the flashlight full upon it. -Mary screamed and clutched Dora, but they had all looked at the Eye and -_it_ had looked at them, yet nothing had happened. - -Dora, secretly proud of Dick's courage, asked, "What is it made of?" - -"You impostor!" Dick hissed at the Eye. "You are only adobe with a blue -stone in your middle." Then calmly he pocketed it as he grinningly -announced, "Nobody objecting, I'm going to keep it for Lucky Stone and a -paper weight." - -"Ugh!" Mary shuddered. "You're welcome to it." - -Dora was asking, "Where do you think we'd better look for the money?" - -"In the old codger's tomb, I should say." Harry was greatly enjoying his -share in this rather uncanny adventure. - -They all agreed that the walled-in tomb would be the most likely place to -find the treasure. - -Jerry looked anxiously at the three girls who stood close together -watching, wide-eyed. "I reckon you all ought to have stayed down below," -he told them. - -Dora replied courageously, "Oh, don't mind us. Open up the tomb if you -want. There won't be anything but a skeleton, and we see those every day -on the desert." - -Harry and Dick, prying around, discovered a large stone that was loose, -but when it was lifted out, they found only a small niche. _In it was an -iron box which the boys removed. Then they replaced the stone._ After all -they had not needed to open up the tomb. - -When they all had descended the wire-rope ladder, they left it hanging, -believing that some day they might want to revisit the rock house. - -"Now," Jerry said, "let's take the box to Sister Theresa." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI - A WONDERFUL SECRET TOLD - - -The boys took turns carrying the heavy box back to the cars and the girls -walked three abreast, laughing joyfully in their efforts to keep each -other from stumbling in the sand. They whispered together just before -they passed through the rock gate and when the boys turned toward them, -after having stored the box safely under the seat of the Deputy Sheriff's -car, Mary made a bow and said, "We've forgotten what verse it is, but -we'll sing for you anyway." Then merrily Dora and Etta joined her: - - "Three girl sleuths you now behold - Who have helped you find the gems and gold. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - To Phantom Town - For a cup of tea." - -"Which means," Mary interpreted, "that it's noon by the sun and I'm sure -we're all hungry. I told Carmelita to make an extra large tamale pie." -Then, before anyone could reply, Mary added mischievously: "Dick, I'm -going to ride in the rumble with you." - -Harry chivalrously bowed to the girl nearest him, saying, "May I have the -pleasure?" It was Etta and she flashed him a bright smile of acceptance. - -"Poor Jerry!" Dora condoned as she took the seat beside the cowboy. "Some -imp has got into Mary." But the glance that he gave her was far more -pleased than disturbed. - -Carmelita welcomed them at the kitchen door with a beaming smile that -revealed her gleaming white teeth. Jerry introduced the air scout who -surprised the girls by replying in perfect Spanish. - -"I'm green with envy!" Dora told him. "I'm going to study Spanish next -fall if it's taught at our Sunnybank Seminary." - -"So you two are going back East to school this fall," Harry said as they -seated themselves around the kitchen table, cheerful with its red cloth -and steaming tamale pie. - -"Yes," Mary nodded brightly. "Dad is well enough to go with me, Mrs. -Farley says. Jerry has one more year over at the State University and -Dick is going back East to study medicine. Oh, I forgot to say that Mrs. -Farley is going to stay with us and help me take care of Dad. We three -are going to rent a little house near Dora's home." - -The conversation changed to the box. "I'm eager to know what is in it," -Mary said. - -"I wanted Little Bodil to be the one to open it," Jerry explained. - -"How shall we get it to her?" Etta asked. - -"I have a suggestion," Harry said. "It will end the suspense sooner than -any other way." - -"What? Do tell us!" came in eager chorus. - -"Guess," Harry turned to Mary. - -"_You_ will take the box in your Seagull." - -"Right you are," Harry told her. Then to Jerry, "If Etta would like to -fly over with me, I'd be glad to have company." - -"Oh, I'd love to fly," Etta said, "but I ought not to be the one; surely -you, Mary, or Dora--" - -"We can all go up later," said Jerry. - -As they were about to start, Jerry drew Harry aside and said: "You -understand we want Etta to believe the plan comes from Sister Theresa." - -Harry nodded. When he was in the car, Jerry called: "When you come back, -you can land in the barnyard at _Bar N_. We'll all be there." - -"Oh, what _fun_ that will be!" Mary flashed a bright smile at Jerry; then -taking Dora by the hand, she skipped indoors. - -When they rejoined Jerry and Dick, after telling Mrs. Farley where they -were going, the cowboy assisted the fair shining-eyed girl up on the -front seat and sat beside her. - -There was wistfulness in Jerry's tones when he spoke. "I reckon you're -mighty pleased that your dad's well enough to go back East." - -Mary's eyes were glad bits of June blue skies. "Pleased isn't a joyful -enough word." - -When they came to the long road that crossed over the desert for many -miles without a curve, she whispered, "Jerry, let's fly across." - -The cowboy shook his head. "I reckon you've forgotten what happened once -before--" - -"No, I haven't." Then suddenly changing the subject, she asked, "How long -before the Seagull will get to _Bar N_, do you suppose?" - -"I reckon soon after we do," Jerry said. Dick scanned the sky. Far away -there was a speck growing larger. Lower and lower the circling Seagull -dropped, then landed gracefully and easily. Before the others could reach -them, Harry had helped Etta out of the pit. A small boy clambered out -without help. - -"All is well!" Dora said to Dick. "Sister Theresa has given little Jack -to Etta." - -"Oh, it was simply too wonderful for words," Etta told the girls. "We -went so high that the mountain ranges looked like, well, a row of tents, -maybe." Then, as Jackie nestled close to her, she told what had happened. -"There was real gold money in that box and Government bonds and beautiful -blue gems. Harry took it all to the bank that looks after the convent's -finances, and, oh, I guess you're wondering why little Jack is here. -Sister Theresa asked me if I'd be willing to let him live with us." - -"I'm ever so glad for the little fellow," Mary hurried to say. "And now," -she added, whirling to look from one to another, "if no one is too tired, -I want to ride up to Jerry's own ranch. I want to look at the view from -there before I go." - -Dora and Dick exchanged puzzled glances. They were sure that Mary's -flushed excitement had something to do with her plan, but _what_? Harry -was enthusiastic as they rode in the shade of the trees. "_What_ a place -for a summer home," he exclaimed, "so cool and restful." - -Mary and Jerry were some distance ahead. They reached the far-flung ledge -where the cowboy had said he someday planned to build a house. Riding -close to him, the fair girl asked, "Big Brother, _when_ are you going to -build a house here?" - -"Never," the cowboy said, "unless someday _you'll_ be willing to make a -real home of it." - -Mary put a frail hand on the brown one that held the reins. "Please start -the house," she said in a low happy voice. "I'll be ready as soon as I -graduate next June." - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Preserved the copyright notice from the printed edition, although this - book is in the public domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected a few typos (but left nonstandard spelling and - dialect as is). - ---Rearranged front matter to a more-logical streaming order and added a - Table of Contents. - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Phantom Town Mystery, by Carol Norton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM TOWN MYSTERY *** - -***** This file should be named 43699-8.txt or 43699-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/6/9/43699/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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 Phantom Town Mystery - -Author: Carol Norton - -Release Date: September 12, 2013 [EBook #43699] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM TOWN MYSTERY *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43699 ***</div> <div class="img"> <img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="The Phantom Town Mystery" width="500" height="759" /> @@ -7314,380 +7278,6 @@ soon as I graduate next June.”</p> <li>Silently corrected a few typos (but left nonstandard spelling and dialect as is).</li> <li>Rearranged front matter to a more-logical streaming order and added a Table of Contents.</li></ul> - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Phantom Town Mystery, by Carol Norton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM TOWN MYSTERY *** - -***** This file should be named 43699-h.htm or 43699-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/6/9/43699/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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 43699 ***</div> </body> </html> diff --git a/43699.txt b/43699.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 21cd494..0000000 --- a/43699.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6574 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Phantom Town Mystery, by Carol Norton - -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 Phantom Town Mystery - -Author: Carol Norton - -Release Date: September 12, 2013 [EBook #43699] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM TOWN MYSTERY *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - -[Frontispiece: _On all sides there were deserted adobe houses in -varying degrees of ruin._] - - - - - THE PHANTOM - TOWN MYSTERY - - - By CAROL NORTON - - - Author _of_ - - "The Phantom Yacht," "Bobs, A Girl Detective," - "The Seven Sleuths' Club," "The Phantom - Town," Etc. - - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Akron, Ohio New York - - Copyright MCMXXXIII - The Saalfield Publishing Company - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - I Lucky Loon 7 - II The Ghost Town 15 - III The Missing Friends 24 - IV "Desperate Dick" 32 - V Poor Little Bodil 40 - VI The Evil-eye Turquoise 48 - VII Middle of the Night 56 - VIII Singing Cowboys 64 - IX A Vagabond Family 72 - X A Lonely Mountain Road 80 - XI The Skeleton Stage Coach 88 - XII A Narrow Escape 95 - XIII A Sand Storm 103 - XIV "A.'S and N. E.'S." 111 - XV In the Barn Loft 119 - XVI Searching For Clues 127 - XVII A Wooden Doll 135 - XVIII A Strange Hostess 143 - XIX A Gun Shot 151 - XX Introducing an Air Scout 160 - XXI A Possible Clue 168 - XXII An Interesting Arrival 176 - XXIII A Silver Plane 184 - XXIV A Long Night Watch 192 - XXV A Cry for Help 200 - XXVI Is It a Clue? 208 - XXVII It Was a Clue 215 - XXVIII A New Complication 222 - XXIX An Old Letter 230 - XXX Secret Entrance to the Rock House 238 - XXXI A Wonderful Secret Told 246 - - - - - THE PHANTOM TOWN - MYSTERY - - - - - CHAPTER I - LUCKY LOON - - -A whirl of gleaming sand and dust on a cross desert road in Arizona. The -four galloping objects turned off the road, horses rearing, riders -laughing; the two Eastern girls flushed, excited; the pale college -student exultant; the cowboy guide enjoying their pleasure. A warm, -sage-scented wind carried the cloud of dust away from them down into the -valley. - -"That was glorious sport, wasn't it, Mary?" Dora Bellman's olive-tinted -face was glowing joyfully. "Wouldn't our equestrian teacher back in -Sunnybank Seminary be properly proud of us?" - -Lovely Mary Moore, delicately fashioned, fair as her friend was dark, -nodded beamingly, too out of breath for the moment to speak. - -Jerry Newcomb in his picturesque cowboy garb, blue handkerchief knotted -about his neck, looked admiringly at the smaller girl. - -"I reckon you two'll want to ride in the rodeo. I never saw Easterners -get saddle-broke on cow ponies as quick as you have." Then his gray eyes -smiled at the other boy, tall, thin, pale, who was wiping dust from his -shell-rimmed glasses. "Dick Farley, I reckon you've ridden before." - -Dick flashed a radiant smile which made his rather plain face momentarily -good-looking. "Some," he said, "when I was a kid on Granddad's farm just -out of Boston." - -Jerry, a little ahead, was leading them slowly across soft shimmering -sand toward a narrow entrance in cliff-like rocks. - -Dora protested, "Mary _ought_ to know how to ride a cow pony since she -was born right here on the desert while I have always lived on the Hudson -River until two weeks ago." - -"Even so," Mary retaliated brightly, "but, as you know, I left here when -I was eight to go East to school and since I have _never_ been back, I -haven't much advantage over you." - -The cowboy turned in his saddle and there was a tender light in his eyes -as he looked at the younger girl. "I'm sure glad something fetched you -back, Mary, though I'm mighty sorry it was your dad's illness that did -it." - -Dora, glancing at the pretty face of her best friend, saw the frank, -friendly smile she gave the cowboy. To herself she thought,--"Jerry -certainly thinks Mary is the sweetest thing he ever saw, but _she_ only -thinks of him as a nice boy who once, long ago, was her childhood -playmate." - -They had reached the narrow entrance in the wall of rocks. It was a -mysterious looking spot; a giant gateway leading, the girls knew not -where. On the gleaming sand near the entrance lay a half-buried skeleton. -It looked as though it might have been that of a man rather than a beast. -The girls exchanged startled glances, but, as Jerry was riding -unconcernedly through the gateway, they silently followed. - -"What a dramatic sort of place!" Dora exclaimed in an awed voice as she -gazed about her. - -They were on a floor of sand that was circled about by low mountains, -grim, gray, uninviting. Here and there in crevices a twisted dwarf tree -clung, its roots exposed. There was a death-like silence in the place. -Even the soft rush of wind over the desert outside could not be heard. - -Mary shuddered and rode closer to the cowboy. "Jerry," she said, "_why_ -have you brought us here? Is there something that you want to show us?" - -The cowboy nodded. "You recollect that Dora was saying how she wished -there was a mystery she could solve--" he began, when he was interrupted. - -"Oh, Jerry," Dora's dark eyes glowed with anticipation, "is there -_really_ a mystery here--in this awfully bleak place? What? Where? I -don't see anything at all but those almost straight up and down cliffs -and--" - -There was an exultant exclamation from Dick Farley. Perhaps his strong -spectacles gave him clearer sight. - -"I see a house, honest Injun, I do, or something that looks powerfully -like one." He turned questioning eyes toward the cowboy. - -"Righto! You're clever, old man!" Jerry Newcomb told him. "Don't tell -where it is. See if the girls can find it." - -For a long silent moment Mary and Dora sat in their saddles turning their -gaze slowly about the low circling mountains. - -Dora's excited cry told the others that she saw it, and Mary, noting the -direction of her friend's gaze, saw, high on a narrow ledge, what looked -like a wall made of small rocks with openings that might have been meant -for two windows and a door. The flat roof could not be seen from the -floor of the desert. - -"How perfectly thrilling!" Dora cried. "What was it, Jerry, an Indian -cliff dwelling?" - -The cowboy shook his head. "Let's ride up closer," he said. He led the -way to the very base of the low mountain. The ledge, which had one time -been the front yard of the house, had been cracked by the elements and -leaned outward, leaving a crevice of about twenty feet. There were no -steps leading up to the house. It was, as far as the three Easterners -could see, without a way of approach. - -Dick Farley rode about examining the spot from all angles. "Jerry," he -said at last, "if it isn't an Indian dwelling, who did live there? Surely -_not_ a white family!" - -The cowboy shook his head. "Not a family. Only a man, Danish, but he was -white all right. Sven Pedersen was his name but everyone called him -'Lucky Loon.' The name fitted him on two counts. Lucky because he struck -it rich so often, and he certainly was 'loony' if that means crazy." - -"What did he do?" Mary asked, her blue eyes wide and a little terrified. - -"Sven Pedersen had a secret--Dad said--and that was why he took to -hoarding all the wealth he got out of his gold and turquoise mines. My -father was a boy then. He says he hasn't any doubt but that old rock -house up yonder is plastered with gold and turquoise." - -Dora asked in amazement, "Doesn't anybody know? Hasn't anyone _ever_ -climbed up there to see?" - -"No one that I've heard tell about," Jerry said. "No one cared to risk -his life doing it, I reckon." Then, seeming to feel that he had -sufficiently aroused his listeners' curiosity, the cowboy went on to -explain. "As Sven Pedersen grew old, he got queerer and queerer. He took -a notion that he was going to be killed for his money, so after he'd -built that rock house, he shut himself up in it, and if any intruder so -much as rode through that gateway in the rocks over there, bang would go -his gun and the horse would drop dead. He was sure-shot all right, Sven -Pedersen was." - -Dick Farley's large eyes glanced from the high house out to the gate in -the wall of rock. "I bet the rider of the dead horse scuttled away mighty -quick," he said. - -"I reckon he did," Jerry agreed when Dora exclaimed in a tone of horror: -"He must have shot a man once anyway. Mary and I saw the half-buried -skeleton of one out by the gate. We were sure we did." - -"Maybe so," Jerry went on explaining. "You see no one could tell whether -the Lucky Loon was in his house or out of it; no one ever saw him in the -door or on the ledge, but they found out soon enough when they heard his -gun bang." - -"How did he get his food and water?" Dick asked. - -"Maybe there's a spring on the mountain," Dora suggested. - -"Nary a spring," the cowboy told them. "These mountains and the desert -around here are bone dry. That's why there's so many skeletons of cows -hereabout. Some reckoned that he rode away nights to a town where he -wasn't known. He might have stayed away for days and got back in the -night without anyone knowing." - -"But, Jerry, what happened to him in the end? Does anybody know? Did he -go away?" Dora and Dick were questioning when Mary cried in sudden alarm, -"Oh, Jerry, he _isn't_ here _now_, is he?" - -It was Dora who replied, "Of course not, Mary. You _know_ Jerry wouldn't -bring us in here if there was any danger of our being shot." - -"I reckon Sven Pedersen's been dead this long time back," the cowboy told -them. "Father was a kid when Lucky Loon was old. Dad says he and some -other kids watched around the gate rocks, taking turns for almost a week. -They reckoned if the old hermit _had_ gone away, they'd like to climb up -there and find the Evil Eye Turquoise Sven had boasted so much about -before he shut himself up." - -"_Did_ they climb up there?" - -"_What_ was the eye?" - -"One question at a time, please," Jerry told the eager girls. "No, they -didn't go. Dad said it was his turn to watch one night. There was a -cutting wind and since it was very dark, he thought he'd just slip inside -of the rock gate where the blowing sand wouldn't hit him. Dad got sort of -sleepy, after a time, crouched down on the sand, when suddenly he heard a -gun bang. He leaped out of the gate, up on his horse and galloped for -home. He laughs when he tells that story. He reckons now that he'd -dreamed the shot since Sven Pedersen never _was_ seen again and that was -thirty years ago." The cowboy had looked at his watch. "Jumping Steers!" -he exclaimed. "Most milking time and here I'm fifteen miles from the -ranch. Dick, will you ride home with the girls?" - -Jerry had whirled his horse's head and had started for the gateway, the -others quickly following. Dick, at the end, was just passing through the -gate when they distinctly heard the report of a gun. - - - - - CHAPTER II - THE GHOST TOWN - - -Safely outside of the wall of rocks, the four young people drew their -restless horses to a standstill. Mary's nettlesome brown pony was hard to -quiet until Jerry reached out a strong brown hand and patted its head. - -Mary lifted startled blue eyes. "Jerry, _what_ do you make of that?" she -asked. "We _couldn't_ have imagined that gun shot and surely the horses -heard it also." - -Jerry's smile was reassuring. "'Twas the story that frightened you girls, -I reckon," he said, glancing about and up and down the road as he spoke. -"It's hunters out after quail or rabbits, more'n like." - -Then, seeing that Mary still glanced anxiously back at the gate in the -rock wall, Dick said sensibly, "Of course you girls _know_ that Sven -Pedersen _couldn't_ be in that high house. He _must_ have been dead for -years if he was old when Jerry's father was a boy." - -"Of course," Dora, less inclined to be imaginative, replied. Then to the -cowboy she said in her practical matter-of-fact way, "Hurry along home to -your milking, Jerry, and Dick, don't you bother to come with us. Now that -you're working on the Newcomb ranch you ought to be there. It's only a -few miles up over this sunshiny road to Gleeson. We aren't the least bit -afraid to ride home alone, are we?" She smiled at her friend. - -Mary, not wishing to appear foolishly timid, said, in as courageous a -voice as she could muster, "Of course we're not afraid. Goodbye, boys, -we'll see you tomorrow." - -Turning the heads of their horses up a gently ascending mountain road, -the girls cantered away. At a bend, Mary glanced back. The boys were -sitting just where they had left them. Jerry's sombrero and Dick's cap -waved, then, feeling assured that the girls were all right, the boys went -at a gallop down the road and across the desert valley to the Newcomb -ranch which nestled at the base of the Chiricahua range. - -"They're nice boys, aren't they?" Mary said. "I've always wished I had a -brother and I do believe Jerry is going to be just like one." - -Aloud Dora replied, "I have noticed that sometimes he calls you 'Little -Sister.'" To herself she thought: "Oh, Mary, how _blind_ you are!" - -Dreamily the younger girl was saying--"That's because we were playmates -when we were little so very long ago." - -"Oh my, how ancient we are!" Dora said teasingly. "Please remember that -you are only one year younger than I am and I refuse to be called -elderly." - -Mary smiled faintly but it was evident that she was still thinking of the -past, when she had been a little girl with golden curls that hung to her -waist; a wonderfully pretty, wistful little girl. When she spoke, she -said, "It's only natural that Jerry should call me 'Little Sister.' Our -mothers were like sisters when they were girl brides. I've told you how -they both came from the East just as we have. My mother met Dad in Bisbee -where he was a mining engineer, and Jerry's mother taught a little desert -school over near the Newcomb ranch. She didn't teach long though, for -that very first vacation she married Jerry's cowboy father. After that -Mother and Mrs. Newcomb were good friends, naturally, being brides and -neighbors." - -Dora laughed. "Twenty-five miles apart wouldn't be called _close_ -neighbors in Sunnybank-on-the-Hudson where I come from," she said. - -Mary, not heeding the interruption, kept on. "When Jerry and I were -little, we were playmates. I spent days at the ranch sometimes," her -sweet face was very sad as she ended with, "until Mother died when I was -eight." - -"Then you came East to boarding-school and became like a sister to me," -Dora said tenderly. "Oh, Mary, when you came West to be with your dear -sick dad, I wonder if you know what it meant to me to be allowed to come -with you." - -"I know what it means to _me_ to have you, Dodo, so I 'spect it means the -same to you," was the affectionate reply. - -For a time the girls cantered along in thoughtful silence. The rutty road -was leading up toward the tableland on which stood the now nearly -deserted old mining-town of Gleeson. - -Far below them the desert valley stretched many miles southward to the -Mexican border. The girls could see a distant blue haze that was the -smoke from the Douglas copper smelters. - -The late afternoon sun lay in floods of silver light on the sandy road -ahead of them. It was very still. Not a sound was to be heard. Now and -then a rabbit darted past silently. - -"How peaceful this hour is on the desert," Mary began, glancing at her -friend who was riding so close at her side. Noticing that Dora was deep -in thought, she asked lightly, "Won't you say it out loud?" - -"Why, of course. I was just wondering why Jerry hurried us away so fast -from Lucky Loon's rock house." - -"Because he had to do the milking," Mary replied simply. - -Dora nodded. "So he _said_." Then she hastened to add, "Oh, don't think -I'm inferring that Jerry told an untruth, but you know that some evenings -he has stayed with us for supper and--" - -Mary glanced up startled. "Dora Bellman," she said, "do you think maybe -there _was_ someone up in that rock house watching us all the time we -were there; someone who fired the gun just as we were leaving to warn us -to keep away?" - -Dora, seeing her friend's pale face, was sorry that she had wondered -aloud. "Of course not!" she said brightly. "That's impossible!" Then to -change the subject, she started another. "Jerry didn't have time to tell -us about the Evil Eye Turquoise, did he?" - -"Dora, do you know what _I_ think?" Mary exclaimed as one who had made an -important discovery. "I don't believe he will tell us about that. I acted -so like a scare-cat all the time we were there, he won't ever take us -there again and he probably won't tell us the story either." - -"Then I'll find it out some other way," Dora declared. "I'm crazy about -mysteries as you know, and, if there _really is one_ about that rock -house, I want to try to solve it." - -She said no more about it just then, as they had reached the old ghost -town of Gleeson. They turned up a side street toward mountain peaks that -were about a mile away. On their right was the corner general store and -post office. A crumbling old adobe building it was, with a rotting wooden -porch, on which stood a row of armchairs. In the long ago days when the -town had been teeming with life, picturesque looking miners and ranchers -had sat there tilted back, smoking pipes and swapping yarns. Today the -chairs were empty. - -An old man, shriveled, gray-bearded, unkempt, but with kind gray eyes, -deep-sunken under shaggy brows, stood in the open door. He smiled out at -them in a friendly way, then beckoned with a bony finger. - -"I do believe Mr. Harvey has a letter for us," Dora said. - -The old man had shuffled into the dark well of his store. A moment later -he reappeared with several letters and a newspaper. - -"Good!" Dora exclaimed as she rode close to the porch. "Thanks a lot," -she called brightly up to the old man who was handing the packet down -over the sagging wooden rail. - -His friendly, toothless smile was directed at the smaller girl. "Heerd -tell as how yer pa's sittin' up agin, Miss Mary," he said. "Mis' Farley, -yer nurse woman, came down ter mail some letters a spell back." Then, -before Mary could reply, he continued in his shrill, wavering voice, -"That thar pale fellar wi' specs on is her son, ain't he?" - -"Yes, Mr. Harvey. Dick is Mrs. Farley's son." Mary took time, in a -friendly way, to satisfy the old man's curiosity. "Dick has been going to -the Arizona State University this winter to be near his mother. She's a -widow and he's her only son. Her husband was a doctor and they lived back -in Boston before he died." - -"Dew tell!" the old man wagged his head sympathetically. "I seen the -young fellar ridin' around wi' Jerry Newcomb." - -"Dick's working on the Newcomb ranch this summer," Mary said, as she -started to ride on. - -"Ho! Ho!" the old man cackled. "Tenderfoot if ever thar was un. What's -Jerry reckonin' that young fellar kin do? Bustin' broncs?" - -Mary smiled in appreciation of the old man's joke. "No, Jerry won't -expect Dick to do _that_ right at first. He's official fence-mender just -at present." - -Dora defended the absent boy. "Mr. Harvey, you wait until Dick has been -on the desert long enough to get a coat of tan; he _may_ surprise you." - -"Wall, mabbe! mabbe!" the old storekeeper chuckled to himself as the -girls, waving back at him, galloped away up the road in the little dead -town. - -On either side there were deserted adobe houses in varying degrees of -ruin, some with broken windows and doors, others with sagging roofs and -crumbling walls. - -The only sign of life was in three small adobes where poor Mexican -families lived. Broken windows in two of the houses were stuffed with -rags; the door yards were littered with rubbish. Unkempt children played -in front of the middle house. The third adobe was neat and well kept. In -it lived the Lopez family. Carmelita, the wife and mother, had long been -cook for Mary Moore's father. - -A bright, black-eyed Mexican boy of about ten ran out to the road as the -girls approached. "Come on, Emanuel," Mary sang down to him. "You may put -up our horses and earn a dime." - -The small boy's white teeth flashed in a delighted grin. His brown feet -raced so fast, that, by the time the girls were dismounting before the -big square two-storied adobe near the mountains, Emanuel was there to -lead their horses around back. - -Mary glanced affectionately at the old place with its flower-edged walk, -its broad porch and adobe pillars. Here her mother had come as a bride; -here Mary had been born. Eight happy years they had spent together before -her mother died. After Mary had been taken East to school, her father had -returned, and here he had spent the winters, going back to Sunnybank each -summer to be with his little girl. - -Hurrying up the steps, Mary skipped into a pleasant living-room, where, -near a wide window that was letting in a flood of light from the setting -sun, sat her fine-looking father, pale after his long illness, but -growing stronger every day. - -"Oh, Daddy dear!" Mary's voice was vibrant with love. "You've waited up -for me, haven't you?" She dropped to her knees beside the invalid chair -and pressed her flushed face to his gray, drawn cheek. - -Then, glancing up at the nurse who had appeared from her father's -bedroom, she asked eagerly, "May I tell Dad an adventure we've had?" - -Mrs. Farley, middle-aged, kind-faced, shook her head, smiling down at the -girl. "Not tonight, please. Won't tomorrow do?" - -Mary sprang up, saying brightly, "I reckon it will have to." Then, -stooping, she kissed her father as she whispered tenderly, "Rest well, -darling. We're hoping you know all about--" then, little girl fashion, -she clapped her hand on her mouth, mumbling, "Oh, I most disobeyed and -_told_ our adventure. See you tomorrow, Daddy." - - - - - CHAPTER III - THE MISSING FRIENDS - - -Upstairs, in Mary's room which was furnished as it had been when she had -been there as a child, curly maple set with blue hangings, the two girls -changed from riding habits to house dresses. Mary wore a softly clinging -blue while Dora donned her favorite and most becoming cherry color. - -"One might think that we are expecting company tonight." Mary was peering -into the oval glass as she spoke, arranging her fascinating golden curls -above small shell-like ears. - -"Which, of course, we are _not_." Dora had brushed her black bob, -boy-fashion, slick to her head. "There being no near neighbors to drop -in." Then suddenly she exclaimed, "Oh, for goodness sakes alive, I -completely forgot that letter. It's for both of us from Polly and Patsy. -I've been wondering why they didn't write and tell us where they had -decided to spend their summer vacation." - -Dora sprang up to search for the letter in a pocket of her riding habit. -Mary sat near a window in a curly maple rocker as she said dreamily: "If -we hadn't come West, we would have been with them--that is, if they went -to Camp Winnichook up in the Adirondacks the way we had planned all -winter." - -Dora, holding the letter unopened, sat near her friend and smiled at her -reminiscently as she said, "We plan and plan and plan for the future, -don't we, and then we do something exactly different, and _most_ -unexpected, but _I_ wouldn't give up being out here on the desert and -living in a ghost town for all the fun Patsy and Polly may be having--" - -Mary laughingly interrupted. "Do read the letter and let's see if they -really _did_ go there. Perhaps--" - -"Yes, they did." Dora had unfolded a large, boyish-looking sheet of -paper. "Camp Winnichook," she announced, then she read the rather -indolent scrawl. "Dear Cowgirls,"--it began-- - -"Patsy has just come in from a swim. She's drying her bathing suit by -lying on the sand in front of the cabin in the sun. Her red hair, which -_she_ calls 'a wind blown mop,' looks, at present, like a mop that has -just finished doing the kitchen floor. Last winter, you recall, she had a -_few_ red freckles on her saucy pug nose, but now she wears them all over -her face and arms and even on her back. She's a sight to behold!" - -There were spatters on the paper that might have been water. The type of -penmanship changed. A jerky, uneven handwriting seemed to ejaculate -indignantly, "Don't you kids believe a word of it. I'm a dazzling -beauty--as ever! It's Polly whose looks are ruined--if she ever had any. -She won't play tennis and she _won't_ swim and she _will_ eat chocolate -drops--you know the finish, and she wasn't any too slim last year when -she _had_ to do gym." - -The first penmanship took up the tale. "I had to forcibly push Patsy -away. She's gone in to dress now, so I'll hurry and get this letter into -an envelope and sealed before she gets back because I want to tell on -her. - -"You know Pat has always said she was a boy hater, and the more the boys -from Wales Military Academy rushed her, the more she would shrug her -shoulders and 'pouff!' about them, but she's met her Waterloo. There's a -flying field near our camp and a boy named Harry Hulbert is there -studying to be a pilot. Pat and I strolled over to the field one day and -ever since she caught sight of that tall, slim chap all done up in his -flying togs, she's been wild to meet him. I wouldn't be surprised if -she's even hoping that his machine will crash some day right in front of -our cabin so that she can bind up his wounds and--" - -Once again the jerky, uneven writing seemed to exclaim, "Silly gilly! -_That's what_ Polly is! It isn't the flier, it's the flying that _I'm_ -crazy about. I _do_ wish I knew that Harry Hulbert, but not for any -sentimental reasons, believe me. Pouff--for all of 'em! But fly I'm going -to!! In truth, if you girls stay West until the end of vacation, you -_may_ see an airplane landing in your ghost town--me piloting!!!???" - -Then came a wide space and when the writing began again, it was dated -three days later and was Polly's lazy scrawl. "It's to laugh!" she began. -"But, to explain. If you wish hard enough for anything, it's _bound_ to -happen. Not that Harry Hulbert's plane crashed in front of our cabin but -it was forced down when Patsy and I were out in her little green car far -from human habitation. Of course we hadn't gone riding _just_ because we -_saw_ that particular little silver plane practicing up in the air--oh, -no--not at all!" - -Patsy's jerky scribble interrupted. "She's a mean, horrid, -misrepresenting person, Polly Perkins is! She knows perfectly well we -_had_ to go to the village to get a pound of butter for our camp mother, -and wasn't it only _polite_ for us to give that poor stranded boy a lift? -He _is_ a real decent sort, even though the only thing _he's_ crazy about -is flying, but we _did_ learn something about him. His father has some -sort of a government position in Arizona, where _you_ are, no less. I -mean, in the same state, and when Harry gets his pilot's license, he is -to be a flying scout, he told us. He said it will be an awfully exciting -life. When there has been a holdup out there on a stage or a train and -the bandits leap on to their horses and flee across the border, Harry is -to pursue them in his little silver plane and see where they go. Then -he'll circle back to where a posse is waiting, notify them, and so the -bandits will be captured. Won't that be simply too thrilling for words? -Oh, _why_ wasn't I born a boy? I could have been Patrick, then, instead -of Patsy. Believe me, when Harry Hulbert gets his license, and it won't -be long now--he's _that_ good--don't I wish I could be a stowaway in his -plane! We'd have to leave Polly here though. She's so heavy, the plane -wouldn't be able to get off of the ground." - -The lazy scrawl concluded the epistle. "If Patsy goes West, so do I, but -I'll go by train. I have no romantic urge to take to the air with slim, -goggle-eyed young men with a purpose in life. - -"Our camp mother (nice Mrs. Higgins, Jane's aunt, came with us this year) -is calling us to lunch, and right after that Pat and I are going to town -to mail this. Pat wants me to say that when _her_ friend Mister Harry -Hulbert _does_ fly West, she'll give him a letter of introduction to you -two and I calls that right generous of her considering--" - -"Pouff!" came a brief interruption. Then "Goodbye. We're signing off. -Patsy Ordelle and Polly Perkins of the famous Sunnybank Seminary -Quadralettes." - -"What a jolly letter!" Mary said. "Wouldn't it be fun if the missing -members of our little clan could be here with us. Patsy is as wild about -mystery stories as you are and this ghost town just teems with them." - -A rich, musical voice drifted up from the back porch, "Senoritas!" - -"Oh, good! There's Carmelita calling us to supper, and _am I hungry_?" -Dora tossed the letter on the dresser and slipping an arm about her -friend, she gave her a little impulsive hug. - -"I don't envy Pat and Poll, not the least little mite," she said as they -went down the broad front stairway together. "It _is_ lovely at Camp -Winnichook as we well know, since we've been there with them the past -three summers, but the desert has a lure for me that the little blue lake -in the mountains never did have." - -"I know," Mary agreed. "Those mountains are more like pretty hills. -There's nothing grim or grand about them." - -They entered a large, pleasant kitchen, in one corner of which, between -two windows, was a table spread with a red cloth. A good-looking -middle-aged Mexican woman, dressed in bright colors, stood at the stove -preparing to dish up their meal. "_Buenos dias, ninas_," she said in her -deep, musical voice. - -"Good evening, Carmelita," the girls replied, and then, when they had -been served generous portions of the Americanized Mexican dish which the -girls called "tamale pie," Dora flashed at the smiling cook a pleased -glance as she said, "_Muchas gracias, Senora_." - -Then to Mary, "It doesn't take long to use up all the Spanish _I_ know. -Let's take a vow that when we go back to Sunnybank Seminary next fall we -will add Spanish to--" A wistful expression in her friend's face caused -Dora to pause and exclaim in real alarm, "Mary Moore, do you think, -because of your dad, that you _won't_ be able to go back East to school? -You have only one year more before you graduate. You know how we four of -'The Quadralettes' have counted on graduating together." - -Mary smiled brightly. "Of course, I expect to go and take Dad with me." -Her momentary wistful doubting had passed. - -They had finished their supper and were rising when Carmelita, who had -been out on the back porch, hurried in and began a rapid chattering in -her own language. The mystified girls could not understand one word. But, -as the Mexican woman kept pointing out toward the road, they felt sure -that someone was coming toward the house, nor were they wrong. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - "DESPERATE DICK" - - -Skipping to the vine-covered back porch, the two girls peered through the -deepening dusk at the approaching car. In it were two boys. - -"One of them resembles Jerry," Mary said, "but the other one is also a -cowboy, so it can't be Dick." - -"It is Dick!" Dora exclaimed gleefully. "Jerry must have loaned him some -cowboy togs." - -"Oh, Happy Days!" Mary exulted. "Now we can ask Jerry about that Evil Eye -Turquoise and all the rest of the story about poor Mr. Lucky Loon." - -"If there is any rest to it," Dora remarked. "Look!" she interrupted -herself to point laughingly at the little car that was rattling toward -them. "Dick is waving his sombrero. He wants us to be sure and take -notice of it!" - -"Isn't he proud though?" Mary chuckled. "His face fairly shines." - -Then, as the small car drew up near the porch, the girls clapped their -hands gaily, and yet quietly, remembering that Mary's invalid father -might be asleep. - -"Oh, Dick," Dora exclaimed, not trying to hide her admiration, "your -mother must see her to-be-physician son. You make a regular screen-star -cowboy, doesn't he, Mary?" - -Before the other girl could reply, Dick, who had leaped to the ground, -struck a ridiculous pose as he said in a deep, dramatic voice, "Dick, the -Desperate Range Rider." - -Dora's infectious laugh rang out. "Your big, dark eyes look so solemn -through those shell-rimmed glasses, Mr. Desperate Dick, that somehow you -fail to strike terror into our hearts," she bantered. - -Then Mary smiled up at Jerry, who was standing near her. Half teasingly -she asked, "To what do we owe the honor of this visit? When we parted -this afternoon, you called 'we'll see you tomorrow.'" - -Jerry glanced at the other boy, mischievous twinkles in his gray eyes. -"You might as well 'fess up, old man. Truth is, Dick couldn't wait until -tomorrow to let you girls admire him in his cowboy togs." - -"Villain!" Dick tried to glower at his betraying friend, but ended by -beaming upon him with a most friendly grin. "I suppose I _had_ to _rope_ -you and drag you over here quite against your will." - -Jerry's smile at the curly-headed little girl at his side revealed, more -than words, the real reason of his coming. What he said was, "Mom had a -letter she wanted mailed and--er--as long as Dick wanted to show off, I -reckoned--" - -"Oh, Jerry," Mary caught his arm, "it really doesn't matter in the least -_why_ you came. I was wild to see you--" then, when the tall cowboy began -to glow with pride, Mary quite spoiled her compliment by hurrying to add, -"Oh, it wasn't _you_ that I wanted to see." Jerry pretended to be greatly -crestfallen, so she laughingly added, "Of course I'm _always_ glad to see -you, Big Brother, but--" - -"Goodness!" Dora rushed to her friend's rescue. "You're getting all -tangled up." Then to Jerry, "Mary and I are wild to know more about that -awfully desolate stone house you showed us this afternoon and about the -Evil Eye Turquoise--" - -"Yes, and about poor Mr. Lucky Loon--" Mary put in. - -"Rather a contradictory description, isn't it?" Dick asked. "How can a -man be poor and lucky all in one sentence?" - -"I'll tell you what." Jerry had a plan to suggest. "Let's go down to the -store and get old Silas Harvey to tell us all that he knows about Lucky -Loon. I reckon he'd loosen up for you girls, but he never would for me. -He knows more than any other living person about that rock house and the -mystery of Sven Pedersen's life--" - -"Oh, good!" Mary's animated face was lovely to look upon in the -starlight. Jerry's eyes would have told her so, had she read them aright, -but her thoughts were not of herself. - -"Let's walk down," she suggested. "It's such a lovely night." Then she -added, "Wait here while Dora and I go up to our room and put on our -sweater coats." - -"You'll need them!" Dick commented. "Even in June these desert nights are -nippy." - -The girls, hand in hand, fairly danced through the wide lower hall, but -so softly that no sound could penetrate the closed door beyond which -Mary's father slept. - -They did not need to light the kerosene lamp. The two long door-like -windows in Mary's room were letting in a flood of soft, silvery -starlight. Dora found her flash and her jaunty green sweater coat. "It -looks better with this cherry-colored dress than my pink one," she -chattered, "and your yellow coat looks too sweet for anything with that -blue dress. Happy Days, but doesn't Jerry think you're too pretty to be -real? His eyes almost eat you up--" - -"Silly!" Mary retorted. "It's utterly impossible for Jerry and me to fall -in love with each other. Goodness, didn't we play together when we were -babies?" Her tone seemed to imply that no more could possibly be said -upon the subject. - -"No one is so blind as he who will not see," Dora sing-songed her trite -quotation, then, fearing that Mary would not like so much teasing, she -slipped a loving arm about her and gave her a little contrite hug. "I'll -promise to join the blind hereafter, if you think I'm seeing too much, -Mary dear," she promised. - -"I think you're _imagining_ too much," was the laughing rejoinder. "Now, -let's tiptoe downstairs, and oh, I must tap at the sitting-room door and -tell nice Mrs. Farley where we are going." - -Just before Mary tapped, however, the door opened softly and Dick -appeared, his mother closely following, her rather tired brown eyes -adoring him. "Haven't I the nicest cowboy son?" she asked the girls, -glancing from one to the other impartially. - -It was Dora who replied, "We think so, Mrs. Farley." - -"However," the mother leaned forward to kiss the boy's pale cheek, "I'll -not be entirely satisfied until you're as brown as Jerry." - -"Has Dick told you that we girls are going?--" Mary began. - -Mrs. Farley nodded pleasantly. "Down to the post office? Yes, I hope -you'll find that ancient storekeeper in a garrulous mood. Good night!" - -Jerry was seated on the top step of the back porch waiting for them. They -caught a dreamy far-away expression in his gray eyes. He was looking -across the shimmering distance to the Chiricahua Mountains, and thinking -of the time when he would build, on his own five hundred acres, a home -for someone. He glanced up almost guiltily when Mary's finger tips gave -him a light caress on his sun-tanned cheek. - -"Brother Jerry," she teased, "are you star-dreaming?" - -He sprang to his feet. "I reckon I _was_ dreaming, sure enough, Little -Sister," he confessed. - -Mary slipped her slim, white hand under his khaki-covered arm, and, -smiling up at him with frank friendship, she said, "The road down the -hill is so rough and hobbly, I'm going to hang on to you, may I?" - -Dora did not hear the cowboy's low spoken reply, for Dick was speaking to -her, but to herself she thought, "Some day a miracle will be performed -and she who is now blind will see, and great will be the revelation." -Then, self-rebuking and aloud, "Oh, Dick, forgive me, what were you -saying? I reckon, as Jerry says, that I was thinking of something else." - -"Not very complimentary to your present companion." Dick pretended to be -quite downcast about it. "I merely asked if I might aid you over the -ruts--" - -Dora laughed gleefully. "Dick," she said in a low voice, "I'm going to -tell you what I was thinking. I was wondering why Mary doesn't notice -that Jerry likes her extra-special." Dick's eyes were wide in the -starlight. "Does he? I hadn't noticed it." - -Dora laughed and changed the subject. "Oh, Dick, isn't this the -shudderin'est, spookiest place there ever was?" - -They had passed the three small adobe huts that were occupied by Mexican -families and were among the old crumbling houses, which, in the dim -light, looked more haunted than they had in the day. - -"I suppose that each one holds memories of sudden riches won, and many of -them have secrets of tragedies,--_murders_ even, maybe." Dora shuddered -and drew closer to Dick. - -"You _are_ imaginative tonight," he said, smiling at her startled, -olive-tinted face. "It's quite a leap, though, from romance to gunfights -and--" - -Mary turned to call back to them, "Jerry and I have it all planned, just -what we are to do. I'm to ask some innocent question and, Dora, you're to -help me out, but we mustn't appear _too_ interested or too prying, Jerry -says, or for some reason, quite unknown, old Mr. Harvey will put on the -clam act. Shh! Here we are! Good, there's a light. Now Jerry is to speak -his piece first and I am to chime in. Then, Dora, you take your cue from -me." - -Dick whispered close to his companion's ear, "I evidently haven't a -speaking part in the tragedy or comedy about to be enacted." - -Dora giggled. "You can be scenery," she teased, recalling to Dick the -forgotten fact that he was wearing a cowboy outfit for the first time and -feeling rather awkward in it. - -Jerry opened the door, a jangling bell rang; then he stepped aside and -let Mary enter first. - - - - - CHAPTER V - POOR LITTLE BODIL - - -Old Mr. Harvey was dozing in a tilted armchair close to his stove. He sat -up with a start when his discordant-toned bell rang, and blinked into the -half-darkness near the door. The smoked chimney on his hanging kerosene -lamp in the middle of the room and near the ceiling did little to -illumine the place. When he saw who his visitors were, he gave his queer -cackling laugh, "Wall, I'll be dinged ef I wa'n't a dreamin' I was back -in holdup days and that some of them thar bandits was bustin' in to clean -out my stock." Then, as he rose, almost creakingly, he said, -disparagingly, as he glanced about at the dust and cobweb-covered -shelves, "Not as how they'd find onythin' _now_ worth the totin' away." - -Having, by that time, gone around back of his long counter, he peered -through misty spectacles at Mary. "Is thar suthin' I could be gettin' fer -yo', Little Miss?" he asked. - -Jerry stepped forward and placed a half dollar on the counter. "Stamps, -please, Mr. Harvey," he said. "I reckon that's all we're wanting tonight, -thanks." - -The cowboy put the stamps in his pocket, dropped his mother's letter in a -slot, and turned, as though he were about to leave, but Mary detained him -with: - -"Oh, Jerry, you don't have to hurry away, do you? I thought," her sweet -appealing smile turned toward the old man, "that perhaps Mr. Harvey might -be willing to tell us a story if we stayed awhile." - -"Sho' as shootin'!" the unkempt old man seemed pleased indeed to walk -into Mary's trap. "Yo' set here, Little Miss." It was his own chair by -the stove he was offering. - -"No, indeed!" Mary protested. "That one just fits you. Jerry and Dick are -bringing some in from the porch." - -The boys sat on the counter. The girls, trying to hide triumphant smiles, -drew their chairs close to the stove. Old Mr. Harvey put in another -stick. Then, chewing on an end of gray whisker, he peered over his -glasses at Mary a moment, before asking, "Was thar anythin' special yo' -wanted to hear tell about?" - -Mary leaned forward, her pretty face animated: "Oh, yes, Mr. Harvey. This -afternoon Dora and I saw that small stone house that's built so it's -almost hidden on a cliff of the mountains. Can you tell us anything about -the man who built it; _why_ he did it and what became of him?" - -The old man's shaggy brows drew together thoughtfully. He seemed to -hesitate. Mary glanced at Dora, who said with eager interest, "Oh, _that -would_ be a thrilling story, I'm sure. I'd just love to hear it." - -Wisely the boys, who were not in the line of the old man's vision, said -nothing. In fact, he seemed to have forgotten their presence. - -The storekeeper was silent for so long, staring straight ahead of him at -the stove, that the girls thought they, also, had been forgotten. Then -suddenly he looked up and smiled toothlessly at Mary, nodding his grizzly -head many times before he spoke. - -"Wall," he said at last, almost as though he were speaking to an unseen -presence, "I reckon Sven Pedersen wouldn't want to hold me to secrecy no -longer--thirty year back 'tis, sence he--" suddenly he paused and held up -a bony, shaky hand. "You didn't hear no gun shot, did you?" - -The girls had heard nothing. They glanced almost fearfully up at the -boys. Jerry shook his head and put a finger to his lips. - -The girls understood that he thought it wise that the old man continue to -forget their presence. - -"Wall, I reckon the wind's risin' an' suthin' loose banged. Thar's plenty -loose, that's sartin." Then, turning rather blankly toward Mary, he asked -in a child-like manner, "What was we talkin' about?" - -Mary drew her chair closer and smiled confidingly at him. "You were going -to tell us, Mr. Harvey, _why_ Mr. Pedersen built that rock house and--" - -"Sho'! Sho'! So I was. It was forty year last Christmas he come to -Gleeson. A tall, skinny fellar he was, not so very old nor so young -neither. It was an awful blizzardy night an' thar wa'n't nobody at all -out in the streets. I was jest reckonin' as how I'd turn in, when the -door bust open an' the wind tore things offen the shelves. I had to help -get it shet. Then I looked at what had blown in. He looked like a fellar -that was most starved an' more'n half crazy. His palish blue eyes was -wild. I sot him down in this here chair by the fire an' staked him to -some hot grub. I'd seen half-starved critters eat. He snapped at the grub -jest that-a-way. When he'd et till I reckoned as how he'd bust, he sank -down in that chair an' dod blast it, ef he didn't start snorin', an' he -hadn't sed nothin', nohow. Wall, I seen as how he wa'n't goin' to wake, -so I lay down on my bunk wi' my clothes on, sort o' sleepin' wi' one eye -open, not knowin' what sort of a loon I was givin' shelter to. - -"The blizzard kep' on all the next day an' the next. Not a gol-darned -soul come to the store, so me'n' and him had plenty o' time to get to -knowin' each other. - -"Arter he'd drunk some hot coffee, he unloosed his tongue, though what he -sed was so half-forrin, I wa'n't quick to cotch onto his meanin's. - -"The heft o' his yarn was like this. He an' his little sister, Bodil, he -named her, had come from Denmark to New York. Thar he'd picked up some o' -Ameriky's way o' talking, an' enuf money to git West. Some Danish fellar -had tol' him about these here rich-quick mines, so he'd took a stage an' -fetched Bodil." - -The old man paused, and Mary, leaning forward, put her hand on his arm. -"Oh, Mr. Harvey, tell us about that little girl. How old was she and what -happened to her?" - -The old man's head shook sadly. "Bad enuf things happened to her, I -reckon. She must o' been a purty little critter. Chiny blue eyes, Sven -Pedersen sed she had, an' hair like yellar cornsilk when it fust comes -out. She was the apple o' his eye. The only livin' thing he keered for. I -sho' was plumb sorry fer him." - -"But _do_ tell us what happened to her?" Mary urged, fearing that the old -man's thought was wandering. - -"Wall, 'pears like the stage was held up on a mount'in road nigh here; -the wust road in the country hereabouts. Thar wa'n't no passengers but -Sven Pedersen an' Little Bodil; the long journey bein' about to an end. -That thar blizzard was a threatenin' an' the stage driver was hurryin' -his hosses, hopin' to get over the mountain afore it struck, when up rode -three men. One of 'em shot the driver, another of 'em dragged out a bag -of gold ore; then they fired over the hosses' heads. Skeered and rarin', -them hosses plunged over the cliff, an' down that stage crashed into the -wust gulch thar is in these here parts. - -"Sven saw his little sister throwed out into the road. Then, as the stage -keeled over, he jumped an' cotched onto some scrub tree growin' out o' -the cliff. It tuk him a long spell to climb back to the road. He was -loony wild wi' worryin' about Little Bodil. He ran to whar he'd seen her -throwed out. _She wa'n't thar._ He hunted an' called, but thar wa'n't no -answer. Then he reckoned as how that thar third bandit had whirled back -an' carried her off." - -"Oh, Mr. Harvey, how terrible!" There were tears in Mary's eyes. "Wasn't -she _ever_ found?" - -The old man shook his head sadly. "Sven Pedersen follered them bandits -afoot all night an' nex' day but they was a horseback an' he couldn't -even get sight o' them. Then the blizzard struck an' he staggered in -here, bein' as he saw my light. Arter that he went prospectin' all around -these here mount'ins an' he struck it rich. That cliff, whar he built him -a rock house, was one of his claims." - -"I suppose he never stopped hunting for poor Little Bodil." Mary's voice -was tender with sympathy. - -"Yo' reckon right, little gal. Whenever Sven Pedersen heerd tell of a -holdup anywhar in the state, he'd join the posse that was huntin' 'em but -it warn't no use, nohow. Bodil was plumb gone. Sven Pedersen never made -no friend but me. His palish blue eyes allays kept that wild look, an', -as time went on an' he piled up gold an' turquoise, he got to be dubbed -'Lucky Loon.'" - -The old man paused and started to nod his shaggy gray head so many times -that Dora, fearing he would nod himself to sleep, asked, "Mr. Harvey, -_what_ was his Evil Eye Turquoise?" - -"Hey?" The old man glanced up suspiciously. "So yo'd heerd tell about -_that_." Then he cackled his queer, cracked laugh. "I heerd about it, but -I'd allays reckoned thar wa'n't no sech thing. I cal'lated Sven Pedersen -made up that thar yarn to keep folks from climbin' up ter his rock house -an' stealin' his gold an' turquoise, if be that's whar he kept it. I -reckon as how that's the heft o' _that_ yarn an' yet, I dunno, I dunno. -Mabbe thar was suthin' to it. Mabbe thar was." - -"Oh, Mr. Harvey, we'd like awfully well to hear the story whether it's -true or not, unless," Mary said solicitously, "unless you're too sleepy -to tell it." - -The old man sat up and opened his eyes wide. "Sleepy, _me_ sleepy? Never -was waked up more! Wall, this here is the heft of that tale." - - - - - CHAPTER VI - THE EVIL-EYE TURQUOISE - - -The old man continued: - -"Sven Pedersen hisself never tol' me nothin' about that Evil Eye -Turquoise o' his'n. _That's_ why I cal'late it was a yarn he used to -skeer off onweloome visitors to his rock house, bein' as thar was spells -when he was away fer days, huntin' fer Bodil. - -"I heerd it was a big eye-shaped rock with a round center that was more -green than it was blue. Hangers-on in the store here used to spec'late -'bout it. Some reckoned, ef 'twas true that Sven _had_ found a green-blue -turquoise big as a coffee cup, it'd be wurth a lot o' money, but I dunno, -I dunno!" - -Dora recalled Mr. Harvey's wandering thoughts by asking, "It must have -been very beautiful, but _why_ was it called 'Evil Eye?'" - -The old man shook his head. "Thar was folks who'd believe onythin' in -them days," he said. "I reckon thar still is. Superstitious, yo'd call -it, so, when Sven Pedersen tol' yarns 'bout that green-blue eye o' his'n, -thar _was_ them as swallowed 'em whule." - -"Tell us one of the yarns," Mary urged. - -"Wall, Lucky Loon tol' 'round at the camps, as how he'd put that thar -turquoise eye into the inside wall o' his house jest whar it could keep -watchin' the door, an' ef onyone tried to climb in, that thar eye'd _see_ -'em!" - -"But what if it did," Dora laughed. "Was there ever anyone superstitious -enough to believe that the eye could _hurt_ them?" - -The old man nodded, looking at her solemnly. "Sven Pedersen tol' 'round -that 'twas a demon eye, an' that whatever it looked at, 'ceptin' hisself, -'d keel over paralyzed. Wall, mabbe it's hard to believe, but them -miners, bad as some of 'em was, warn't takin' no chances till 'long come -a tenderfoot fellar from the East. He heern the yarn, an' he laffed at -the whule outfit of 'em. He opined as how he'd come West to get rich -quick, an' he reckoned cleanin' out that rock house o' its gold an' -turquoise'd be a sight easier than gettin' it out o' the earth wi' pick -an' shovel. Yessir, that fellar did a power o' a lot o' boastin', but yo' -kin better believe, 'twa'n't when Lucky Loon was in hearin'." - -Dora glanced up at the two boys sitting so silently on the counter back -of the old man. She saw that they were both listening with interest. The -story was evidently as new to Jerry as to the others. Dick motioned to -Dora to ask another question as the old man had paused. - -"Oh, Mr. Harvey," she leaned forward to ask, "did that bragging boy -actually try to rob Mr. Pedersen?" - -"He sure sartin did," the storekeeper replied. "He watched over the rocks -o' nights till he'd seen Lucky Loon ridin' off, and, jedging by the pack -he was totin', that fellar cal'lated he was goin' on one of them long -rides he took, off'n' on, hunting for Bodil. Wall, arter a time, he -climbed up, draggin' a bag he'd tuk along to put the gold in. He peered -into the rock house door an' _thar_ was that eye, jest as Sven had said, -in the wall opposite, an' it was glarin' green like a cat's eye in the -dark." - -The old man stopped talking and swayed his shaggy head back and forth for -a long minute before he satisfied his listeners' curiosity. Dora found -herself clutching Mary's hand but neither of them spoke. - -"The nex' day," the old man continued, "cowboys ridin' out on the road -heerd screamin'. Then it stopped an' they couldn't place it nohow. Arter -a time they heerd it agin. Thinkin' as how Lucky Loon was hurt mabbe, -they rode in through his gate an' found that young tenderfoot fellar -writhin' around at the foot o' the cliff. He was paralyzed, sure sartin, -an' arter he'd tol' about seein' that thar turquoise eye, he give up the -ghost. _That_ much is true. They fetched the tenderfoot fellar in here to -my store an' I seen the wild, skeered look in his eyes. Wall, arter that, -Sven Pedersen didn't have no more need to worry about his house bein' -robbed." - -"Oh-o-o! I should think not." Mary shuddered, then she glanced at her -wrist watch, thinking that they ought to go. Nine o'clock, and Mr. -Harvey's store was always dark before that. They were keeping him up, but -before she could suggest leaving, she heard Dora asking still another -question. - -"Mr. Harvey, when did poor Mr. Lucky Loon die?" - -There was actually a startled expression in the deeply sunken eyes of the -old man. He turned in his chair and looked up at Jerry. After all, he had -_not_ forgotten the boys. In an awed voice he asked: "Jerry, did yo' ever -hear tell how old Sven Pedersen give up the ghost?" - -The tall cowboy shook his head. "No, Mr. Harvey. I've asked Dad but he -said it was a mystery that he reckoned never would be solved." - -"It wa'n't never any mystery to _me_," the old man told them, "but I'd -been swore to secrecy. Sven Pedersen said he'd come back an' hant my -store if I ever tol', but I reckon thar's no sech thing as hants. Anyhow -I ain't never _seen a_ ghost, though thar _is_ folks as calls this here -town hanted." - -Mary turned startled eyes around to question Jerry. That boy said -seriously, "Mr. Harvey, we'd like awfully well to know what happened to -Mr. Pedersen, but we wouldn't want your store to be haunted if you -believe--" - -"I _don'_ believe nothin' o' the sort." The old man seemed to scorn the -inference. Turning, he beckoned to the boys. "Stan' up close, sort o'. I -won't tell it loud; than mabbe it won't be heern by nobody but you-uns." - -Jerry stood close back of Mary's chair. Dick sat on his heels next to -Dora. The wind that had rattled loose boards had gone down. Not a sound -was to be heard. The fire in the stove had burned to ashes. The room was -getting cold but the girls did not notice. With wide, almost startled -eyes they were watching the old man who was again chewing on an end of -his gray beard. - -Suddenly he cupped an ear with one palsied hand and seemed to be -listening intently. Mary clutched Dora's arm. She expected the old man to -ask them if they heard a gun shot, but he didn't. He dropped his arm and -commenced in a matter-of-fact tone. - -"Fer the las' year o' his life, Sven Pedersen give up minin'. He reckoned -as how he'd never find his sister an' he'd jest been pilin' up wealth to -give to her, he sed. He used to spec'late about poor Bodil a lot. She'd -be a young woman now, he'd say, sad like, _if_ them bandits let her live. -Then thar was times when he'd hope she'd died ruther than be fetched up -by robbers. He didn't talk much about anythin' else. Folks never knew -whar he went to do his buyin'; thot as how he'd go off to Bisbee, but -'twa'n't so. He come here arter midnight so's not to be seen. He tol' me -if, chance be, Bodil was alive an' showed up arter he was dead, he wanted -her to have his gold. He writ a letter in that furrin tongue o' his an' -give it to me. I got it yit. In it he tol' Bodil _whar_ he'd got his -fortin hid." The old man paused and blinked his eyes hard. - -Mary asked softly, "But she never came, did she, Mr. Harvey? That poor -Little Bodil with the china-blue eyes and the corn-silk hair." - -"No, she never come, an' I cal'late she never will. Lucky Loon didn't -reckon she would, really, but he hung on till he felt death comin'. Then -he tol' me what he was a plannin' to do to hisself." The old man glanced -anxiously at Jerry, who stood with his hands on Mary's shoulders. "It's a -mighty gruesome story, the rest o' it, Jerry lad. Do you reckon it'd -better be tol'?" - -It was Dora who replied, "Oh, _please_, Mr. Harvey! We girls aren't a -mite scary. It's only a story to us, you know. It all happened so long -ago." - -"Wall, as I was sayin', Sven Pedersen knew he hadn't long to live, so one -night thar was a blizzard threatenin'--an' it turned into as bad a one as -when he furst blowed into my store years back. Whar was I?" He looked -blankly at Mary who prompted with, "So one night when he felt that he was -soon to die--" - -"Sven come to me an' swore me to keep it secret what he was goin' to do. -He sed that back of his house an' opening into it, he had a vault. He'd -jest left room for hisself to creep into it. Then he was goin' to wall it -up, an' lay hisself down an' die." - -"Oh, how terrible!" Dora exclaimed. "Surely he didn't _do_ that?" - -The old man sighed. "Fur as I know he did. I seen as how he was white as -a ghost an' coughin' suthin' awful. I tol' him to stay at the store till -the blizzard blew over. It commonly lasted three days, but out he went -an' I never seen him sence." - -"Poor Lucky Loon!" Mary said commiseratingly. - -"An' poor Little Bodil," Dora began, when she glanced at the old man who -had suddenly sat erect, staring into a dark corner. - -"Oh, Mr. Harvey," Mary whispered, "_do_ you see that ghost?" - -They all looked and saw a flickering light. Then Jerry, glancing up at -the hanging lamp, saw that the kerosene had burned out. One more flicker -and the store was in darkness. Mary screamed and clung to Jerry, but -Dora, remembering her flash, turned it on. - -Dick, matter-of-factly, glanced about, saw the oil can, pulled down the -lamp, refilled it, and relighted it. - -"Thank ye! Thank ye!" the old man said. "I reckon that's about all thar -is to hants anyhow. I never had no reason to believe in ghosts an' ain't -a-goin' to start in now. Wall, must yo' be goin'? Drop in tomorrer an' ef -I kin find it, I'll show yo' that yellar ol' letter Lucky Loon left fer -his gal." - - - - - CHAPTER VII - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT - - -It was midnight when Mary Moore awoke with a start and sat up, staring -about her wild-eyed. "Where am I? Where am I?" her terrorized cry, low -though it was, wakened Dora, who, sitting up, caught her friend in a -close embrace. - -"Mary," she whispered reassuringly, "Mary, you're here with me. We're in -bed in your very own room. Did you have a nightmare?" - -In the dim starlight, Dora saw how pale and startled was the face of her -friend. Mary's big blue eyes looked about the room wildly as though she -expected to see someone lurking in the dark corners. - -"There's no one here," Dora assured her. "See, I'll prove it to you." She -reached for her flash which she had left on a small table near her head. -The round disc of light danced from corner to corner of the dark room. -The pale blue muslin curtains, waving in the breeze at open windows, -_looked_ like ghosts, perhaps but Mary knew what they were. Still she was -not satisfied. - -"Dora," she whispered, clinging to her friend's arm, "are you sure the -window at the top of the outside stairway is locked? Terribly sure?" - -"Of course. I locked it the last thing, but I'll get up and see." Dora -slipped out of bed and crossed the room. The long door-like window was -securely fastened. The other two windows were open at the top only. No -one could possibly have entered that way. - -"Try the hall door," Mary pleaded, "and would you mind, awfully, if I -asked you to look in the clothes closet?" - -Dora had no sense of fear as she was convinced that Mary had been -dreaming some wild thing, and she didn't much wonder, after the gruesome -story they had heard the night before. - -"Now, are you satisfied?" Dora climbed back into bed and replaced the -flash on the table. - -"I suppose I am." Mary permitted herself to be covered again with the -downy blue quilt. "But it did seem so terribly real, and yet, now that I -come to think, it didn't have anything at all to do with this room. We -were in some bleak place I had never seen before. It was the queerest -dream, Dora. In the beginning you and I went out all alone for a -horseback ride. The road looked familiar enough. It was just like the -road from Gleeson down to the Douglas valley highway. We were cantering -along, oh, just as we have lots of times, when suddenly the scene -changed--you know the way it does in dreams--and we were in the wildest -kind of a mountain country. It was terrifyingly lonely. We couldn't see -anything but bleak, grim mountain ranges rising about us for miles and -miles around. Some of them were so high the peaks were white with snow. I -remember one peak especially. It looked like a huge woman ghost with two -smaller peaks, like children ghosts, clinging to her hands. - -"The sand was unearthly white and covered with human skeletons as though -there had been a battle once long ago. We rode around wildly trying to -find an opening so that we could escape. Then a terribly uncanny thing -happened. One of those skeletons rose up right ahead of us and pointed -directly toward that mountain with the three ghost-like snow-covered -peaks. But our horses wouldn't go that way, they were terrorized when -they saw that hollow-eyed skeleton, waving his bony arms in front of -them. They reared--then whirled around and galloped so fast we were both -of us thrown off and _that's_ when I woke up." - -"Gracious goodness," Dora exclaimed with a shudder. "That _was_ a -nightmare! For cricket's sakes, let's talk about something pleasant so -that when you go to sleep again, you won't have another such _awful_ -dream. Now, let me see, _what_ shall we talk about?" - -"Do you know, Dora," Mary's voice was tense with emotion, "I keep -wondering and wondering about that poor Little Bodil. If she were carried -off by a robber, _what_ do you suppose he would do with her?" - -"Well, it all depends on what kind of a bandit he was," Dora said -matter-of-factly. "If he were a good robber like Robin Hood, he would -have sent her away to a boarding-school somewhere to be educated, since -she was only ten years old. Then he would have reformed, and when she was -sixteen and very beautiful with her china-blue eyes and corn-silk-yellow -hair, he would have married her." - -"How I do hope something like that _did_ happen." Mary's voice sounded -more natural, the tenseness and terror were gone, so Dora kept on, "I -think they probably bought a ranch in--er--some beautiful valley in -Mexico, or some remote place where Robin Hood wouldn't be known and lived -happily ever after." - -"I wonder if they had any children." Mary spoke as though she really -believed that Dora was unraveling the mystery. "If they had a boy and a -girl, suppose, they would be our age since poor Bodil would be about -fifty years old now." - -Dora laughed. "Well, we probably never will know what became of that poor -little Danish girl so we might as well accept my theory as any other. -Let's try to sleep now." - -Mary was silent for several moments, and Dora was just deciding that her -services as a pacifier were over and that she might try to go to sleep -herself, when Mary whispered, "Dodo, do _you_ believe that story about -the Evil Eye Turquoise?" - -Dora sighed softly. Here was another subject with scary possibilities. -"Well, not exactly," she acknowledged. "I don't doubt but that the -thieving tenderfoot _did_ fall over the cliff and _was_ paralyzed, -because he hit his head against a rock or something, but I think it was -his own fear of the Evil Eye Turquoise which made him fall and not any -demon power the eye really had." - -"Of course, that _does_ seem sensible," Mary agreed. Again she was quiet -and this time Dora was really dozing when she heard in a shuddery voice, -"Oh-oo, Dora, I do try awfully hard to keep from thinking of that poor -Sven Pedersen after he'd walled himself into his tomb and lay down to -die. What if he lived a long time. I've read about people being buried -alive and--" - -"Blue Moons, Mary! What awful things you do think about!" Dora was a bit -provoked. She was really sleepy, and thought she had earned a good rest -for the remaining hours of the night. "Lots of animals creep away into -far corners of dark caves when they know they're going to die. That's -better than lying around helpless somewhere, and have wolves tearing you -to pieces or vultures swirling around over you, dropping lower and lower, -waiting for you to take your last breath. For my part, I think Sven -Pedersen did a very sensible thing. In that way he was sure of a decent -burial. Now, Mary dear, much as I love you, if you so much as peep again -tonight, I'm going to take my pillow and go into the spare front bedroom -and leave you all to your lonely." - -"Hark! What was that noise? Didn't it sound to you like rattling bones?" -Again Mary clutched her friend's arm. - -Dora gave up. "Sort of," she agreed. "The wind is rising again." Then she -made one more desperate effort to lead Mary's thoughts into pleasanter -channels. "Wouldn't it be great fun if Polly and Patsy could come West -while we're here?" she began. "I wonder how Jerry and Dick would like -them." - -"How could anyone _help_ liking them? Our red-headed Pat is so pert and -funny, while roly-poly Poll is so altogether lovable." Mary was actually -smiling as she thought of their far away pals. Then suddenly she -exclaimed, "Dora Bellman, that new friend of Pat's, Harry Hulbert, you -know; he really and truly is coming West soon, isn't he?" - -"Why, yes!" Dora was recalling what Pat had written. "Oh, Mary," she -exclaimed with new interest, "when he is a scout, hunting for bandits and -train robbers and--" - -Mary sat up and seized her friend's arm. "I know what you're going to -say," she put in gleefully. "This Harry Hulbert _may_ be able to help -solve the mystery of Bodil's disappearance. But that's too much to hope." - -Dora laughingly agreed. "How wild one's imagination is in the middle of -the night," she said. - -"Middle of the night," Mary repeated as she looked out of the nearest -window. "There's a dim light in the East and we haven't had half of our -sleep out yet." - -Long-suffering Dora thought, "That certainly isn't _my_ fault." Aloud she -said, "Well, let's make up for lost time." - -She nestled down and Mary cuddled close. Sleepily she had the last word. -"I hope Harry Hulbert will come, and--and--Pat--" - -At seven o'clock Carmelita's deep, musical voice called, but there was no -answer. The two sound-asleep girls had not heard. At ten o'clock they -were awakened by a low whistling below their open windows. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - SINGING COWBOYS - - -"What was that?" Mary sat up in bed, blinked her eyes hard to get them -open, then leaped out, and, keeping hidden, peeped down into the door -yard. Near the back porch stood Jerry Newcomb's dilapidated old car, gray -with sand. Two cowboys stood beside it, evidently more intent upon an -examination of the machinery under the hood than they were of the house. -Although they were whistling, to attract attention, they pretended to be -patiently waiting. Carmelita had informed Jerry that the girls still -slept. - -Mary pirouetted back into the room, her blue eyes dancing. "The boys are -going to take us somewhere, I'm just _ever_ so sure," she told the girl, -who, sitting on the side of the bed, was sleepily yawning. - -"Goodness, _why_ did they come so early?" Dora asked drowsily. - -"Early!" Mary laughed at her and pointed at the little blue clock on the -curly maple dresser. "Dora Bellman, did you ever sleep so late before in -all your life?" - -"Yeah." Dora seemed provokingly indifferent to the fact that the boys -waited below, and that, perhaps, oh, ever so much more than likely, they -were going adventuring. "Once, you remember that time after a school -dance when the boys from the Wales Military Academy--" - -Mary skipped over to the bedside and pulled her friend to her feet. "Oh, -_please_ do hurry!" she begged. "I feel in my bones that the boys are -going somewhere to try to solve the mystery and that they want to take us -with them." - -Dora's dark eyes stared stupidly, or tried hard to give that impression. -"What mystery?" she asked, indifferently, as she began to dress. - -"I refuse to answer." Mary was peering into the long oval mirror brushing -her short golden curls. Her lovely face was aglow with eager interest. -"There is only _one_ mystery that we are curious about as you know -perfectly well and that is what became of poor Little Bodil Pedersen." - -Although Mary was looking at it, she was not even conscious of her own -fair reflection. She glanced in the mirror, back at her friend, and saw -her grinning in wicked glee. - -Whirling, brush in hand, Mary demanded, "What _is_ so funny, Dora? You -aren't acting a bit natural this morning. What made you grin that way?" - -"I just happened to think of something. Oh, maybe it isn't so awfully -funny, but it's sort of uncanny at that. I was thinking that, pretty as -_you_ are on the outside, you've got a hollow, staring-eyed skeleton -inside of you and that if I had X-ray eyes--" - -Mary, with a horrified glance at her teasing friend, stuffed her fingers -into her ears. "You're terrible!" She shuddered. - -Dora contritely caught Mary's hands and drew them down. - -"Belovedest," she exclaimed, "I'm just as thrilled as you are at the -prospect of going buggy riding with two nice cowboys whether we find poor -Little lost Bodil (who is probably a fat old woman now) or solve any -other mystery that may be lying around loose." - -Mary was still pouting. "It doesn't sound a bit like you to pretend--" - -Dora rushed in with, "_That's_ all it is, believe me! There, now I'm -dressed, all but topping off. What do you think we'd better wear?" - -"Let's put on our kimonas until we find out where we're going, then we'll -know better _what_ to wear. Jerry may have an errand over in Douglas and, -if so, we'd want to dress up." - -Mary's Japanese kimona was one of her treasures. It was heavy blue silk -with flowers of gold trailing all over it. Dora's laughing, olive-tinted -face reflected a glow from her cherry-colored silk kimona with its border -of white chrysanthemums. - -Carmelita, who was in the act of reheating the breakfast for the girls, -who she felt sure would soon be coming, stared at them open-eyed and -mouthed when she saw them tripping through the kitchen. - -In very uncertain Spanish they called "Good morning" to her, then burst -upon the boys' astonished vision. - -Dick, snatching off his sombrero, held it to his heart while he made a -deep bow. Jerry, bounding forward, caught Mary's two small hands in his. -Then he held her from him as he looked at her with the same reverent -admiration that he would have given a rarely lovely picture. - -"I don't know a word of Japanese," Dick despaired, "so how can I make my -meaning clear?" His big, dark eyes smiled at Dora, who gaily retorted, -"We didn't know that our prize costumes would strike you boys dumb. If we -had, we wouldn't have worn them, would we, Mary?" - -"I'll say not," that little maid replied. "We're wild to know _why_ -you've come when you _should_ be roping steers or mending fences, if that -is what cowboys do in the middle of the morning." - -"Oh, we're going to explain our presence all right. We made it up while -we came along--" Dick began, when Jerry interrupted with, "You girls have -heard range-ridin' songs, I reckon, haven't you?" - -"Oh, no," they said together. - -"That is, not real ones," Dora explained. "We've heard them in the -talkies." - -"Well, this is a real one all right. Just fresh from the--er--" Dick -glanced sideways at Jerry who began in a low sing-song voice: - -"Two cowboys in the middle of the night," - -Dick joined in: - - "Did their work and they did it right. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - Coma, coma, coma, - Kee, kee, kee." - -"That," said Dick with a flourish of the hand which still held his -sombrero, "is why we have time to play today." - -The girls had been appreciative listeners. "Oh, isn't there any more to -it?" Dora cried "I thought cowboy songs went on and on; forty verses or -more." - -"So they do!" Jerry agreed. "But I reckon _this_ one is too new to be -that long, but there is another verse," he acknowledged. - -Then in a rollicking way they sang: - - "Two cowboys who were jolly and gay - Wished to go adventuring the next day. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - Coma, coma, coma, - Kee, kee, kee." - -Then, acting out the words by a little strutting, they sang lustily: - - "Two cowboys who were brave and bold - Took two girls in a rattletrap old. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - And that's _all_ of it - If you'll come with me." - -Dick bowed to Dora and Jerry beamed upon Mary. - -"Oh, Happy Days! We're keen to go," Dora told them, "but _where_?" - -The answer was another sing-song: - - "The two cowboys were on mystery bent. - They went somewhere, but _you'll_ know where they went - If you'll come, come, coma, - Come in our old 'bus, - Come, come, coma, - _Come with us_." - -Carmelita, who had appeared in the kitchen door, started chattering in -Spanish and Jerry laughingly translated, rather freely, and not quite as -the truly deferential cook had intended. "Carmelita asks me to tell you -girls that she has reheated your breakfast for the last time and that if -you don't come in now and eat it, she's going to give it to the cat." - -"Oho!" Mary pointed an accusing finger at him. "I _know_ you are making -it up. Carmelita wouldn't have said that, because there _is_ no cat." -Then graciously, she added, "Won't you singing cowboys come in and have a -cup of coffee, if there is any?" - -Jerry asked Carmelita if there was enough of a snack for two starved -cowboys who had breakfasted at daybreak and that good-natured Mexican -woman declared that there was batter enough to make stacks more cakes if -Jerry wanted to fry them. _She_ had butter to churn down in the cooling -cellar. - -Mary insisted that she be the one to fry the cakes, but Jerry and Dick -insisted equally, that she should not, dressed up like a Japanese -princess. - -"Grease spatters wouldn't look well tangled up in that gold vine," Jerry -told her. - -With skill and despatch, Jerry flipped cakes and Dick served them. Then, -while the girls went upstairs to don their hiking suits with the short -divided skirts, the boys ate small mountains of the cakes. - -"Verse five!" Dick mumbled with his mouth full. - - "Two cowboys with a big appetite - They could eat flapjacks all day and all night. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - Those cowboys, Jerry, - Are You and me." - -Back of them a laughing voice chanted, "Verse six." - - "Two cowgirls are ready for a lark. - Oho-ho, so let us embark. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee." - -Dick and Jerry sprang up and joined the chorus with: - - "We'll coma, coma, coma - With glee, glee, glee." - - - - - CHAPTER IX - A VAGABOND FAMILY - - -Jerry assisted Mary up onto the front seat without question, then slipped -in under the wheel. Dora climbed nimbly to her customary place in the -rumble. Dick leaped in beside her. His frank, friendly smile told his -pleasure in her companionship. - -Dora's happy smile, equally frank and friendly, preceded her eager -question, "Where are we going, Dick? I'm bursting with curiosity. Of -course I know it's some sort of a picnic." She nodded toward the covered -hamper at their feet. "But, surely there's more to it than just a lark. -You boys wouldn't have worked all night, if you really did, that you -might just play today, would you?" - -Dick leaned toward his companion and said in a low voice, "Shh! It's a -dire secret! We are on a mysterious mission bent." - -Dora laughed at his caution. "This car of Jerry's makes so many rattling -noises, we could shout and not be heard. But do stop 'nonsensing,' as my -grandfather used to say, and reveal all." - -Dick sobered at once. "Well," he began, "it's this way. Last night, after -we left you girls, Jerry was telling me about a family of poor squatters, -as we'd call them back East. Some months ago they came from no one knows -where, in an old rattletrap wagon drawn by a bony white horse. Jerry was -riding fences near the highway when they passed. He said he never had -seen such a forlorn looking outfit. The wagon was hung all over with pots -and pans, a washtub, and, oh, you know, the absolute necessities of life. -In the wagon, on the front seat, was a woman so thin and pale Jerry knew -she must be almost dead with the white plague. She had a baby girl in her -lap. The father, Jerry said, had a look in his eyes that would haunt the -hardest-hearted criminal. It was a gentle-desperate expression, if you -get what I mean. Two boys about ten sat in the back of the wagon, -hollow-eyed skeletons, covered with sickly yellow skin, while seated on a -low chair in the wagon was an older girl staring straight ahead of her in -a wild sort of a way." - -"The poor things!" Dora exclaimed when Dick paused. "What became of -them?" - -"Well, the outfit stopped near where Jerry was riding and the man hailed -him. 'Friend,' he called, 'is there anywhere we could get water for our -horse? It's most petered out.' - -"Jerry told them that about a mile, straight ahead, they would find a -side road leading toward the mountains. If they would turn there, they -would come to a rushing stream. They could have all the water they -wished. And then, Jerry said, feeling so terribly sorry for them, he -added on an impulse, 'There's a herder's shack close by. Stay all night -in it if you want. It's my father's land and you're welcome.'" - -Dora turned an eager face toward the speaker. "Dick," she said, "I -believe I can tell you what happened next. That poor family stayed all -night in that herder's shack and they _never left_." - -Dick nodded. "Are you a mind reader?" he asked, his big, dark eyes -smiling at her through the shell-rimmed glasses. - -"No-o. I don't believe that I am." Then eagerly, "But _do_ tell me what -_possible_ connection that poor family can have with this expedition of -ours." - -"Isn't that like a girl?" Dick teased. "You want to hear the last -chapter, before you know what happened to lead up to it. I'll return to -the morning after. Jerry said he had thought of the family all the -afternoon, and that night when he got home, he told his mother, who, as -you know, has a heart of gold." - -"Oh, Dick!" Dora interrupted. "Gold may be precious, but it isn't as -tender and kind, always, as the heart of Jerry's mother." - -"Be that as it may," the boy continued, "Mrs. Newcomb packed a -hamper--this very one now reposing at our feet, I suppose--with all -manner of good things and she had Jerry harness up as soon as he'd eaten -and take her to call on their unexpected guests. They found the woman -lying on the one mattress, coughing pitifully, and the others gazing at -her, the little ones frightened, and huddled, the older girl on her knees -rubbing her mother's hands. The father stood looking down with such -despair in his eyes, Mrs. Newcomb said, as she had never before seen. - -"'There'd ought to be a doctor here,' she said at once, but the woman on -the mattress smiled up at her feebly and shook her head. 'I'm going on -now,' she said in a low voice, 'and I'd go on gladly,--I'm _so_ tired--if -I knew my children had a roof over their heads and--and--,' then a fit of -coughing came. When it passed, the woman lay looking up at Jerry's -mother, her dim eyes pleading, and Mrs. Newcomb knelt beside her and took -her almost lifeless hand and said, 'Do not worry, dear friend, your -children shall have a roof over their heads and food.' Then the mother -smiled at her loved ones, closed her eyes and went on." - -There were tears in Dora's eyes, and she frankly wiped them away with her -handkerchief. Unashamed, Dick said, "That's just how I felt when Jerry -told me about the Dooleys. That's their name. Of course, Mrs. Newcomb -kept her word. That little shack is in a lovely spot near the stream with -big cottonwood trees around it. After the funeral, Mr. Newcomb told the -father that he and the boys could cut down some of the small cottonwoods -upstream, leaving every third one, and build another room, so they put up -a lean-to. Then he gave them a cow to milk and the boys started a -vegetable garden. Mr. Dooley does odd jobs on the ranch, though he isn't -strong enough for hard riding, and the girl Etta mothers the baby and the -little boys." - -"Have we reached that last chapter?" Dora asked. "The one I was trying to -hear before we got to it? In other words, may I now know how this -terribly tragic story links up with our today's adventuring?" - -"You sure may," Dick said. "It's this way. The Newcombs, generous as they -have been, can't afford to keep those children clothed and fed. Moreover -they ought to go to school next fall and between now and then, some money -_must_ be found and so--" - -"Oh! Oh! I see!" Dora glowed at him. "Jerry thinks that it is a cruel -shame to have this poor family in desperate need when Mr. Lucky Loon has -a tomb full of gold helping no one." - -Dick smiled. "Now I'm _sure_ you're a mind reader. Although," he -corrected, "Jerry didn't just put it that way. But what he _did_ say was -that if we could find out definitely that Bodil Pedersen is dead and that -there is no one else to claim that buried treasure, perhaps the old -storekeeper, Mr. Silas Harvey, _might_ give us the letter he has, telling -where it is hidden." - -"Did Jerry think the money might be used for that poor family?" Dora -asked. - -Dick nodded. "He did, if Mr. Harvey consented. Jerry feels, and so do I, -that if Bodil Pedersen hasn't turned up in thirty years, she probably -never will. Of course it would be by the merest chance that she would -drift into this isolated mountain town, anyway, even if she _is_ alive, -which Jerry thinks is very doubtful." - -Dora was thoughtful for a moment. "Did Mr. Pedersen advertise in the -papers for his lost sister?" - -"We wondered about that and this morning we asked Mr. Newcomb. He said he -distinctly remembered the story in the Douglas paper, and that afterwards -it was copied all over the state." - -"Goodness!" Dora suddenly ejaculated as she glanced about her. "I've been -so terribly interested in that poor family, I hardly noticed where we -were going. We've crossed the desert road and here we are right at the -mountains." - -"How bleak and grim this range is," Dick said, then, turning to look back -across the desert valley to a low wooded range in the purple distance, he -added, "_Those_ mountains across there, where the Newcomb ranch is, are -lots more friendly and likeable, aren't they? They seem to have pleasant -things to tell about their past, but these mountains--" the boy paused. - -"Oh, I know." Dora actually shuddered. "These seem cruel as though they -_wanted_ people who tried to cross over them to die of thirst, or to be -hurled over their precipices, or--" suddenly her tone became one of -alarm. "Dick, did _you_ know we were going up into these _awful_ -mountains?" - -Her companion nodded, his expression serious. "Yes, I knew it," he -confessed, "but I also know that Jerry wouldn't take us up here if he -weren't sure that we'd be safe." - -"Of course," Dora agreed, "but wow! isn't the road narrow and rutty, and -_are_ we going straight up?" - -Dick laughed, for the girl, unconsciously, had clutched his khaki-covered -arm. "If those are questions needing answers," he replied, "I'll say, -_Believe me_, yes. Ha, here's a place wide enough for a car to pass. -Jerry's stopping." - -When the rattling of the little old car was stilled, Jerry and Mary -turned and smiled back at the other two. "Don't be scared, Dora," Mary -called. "Jerry says that no one ever crosses this old road now. It's been -abandoned since the valley highway was built." - -"That's right!" The cowboy's cheerful voice assured the two in back that -he was in no way alarmed. "I reckoned we'd let our 'tin Cayuse' rest a -bit and get his breath before we do the cliff-climbing stunt that's -waitin' us just around this curve." - -Dora thought, "Mary's just as scared as I am. I _know_ she is. She's -white as a ghost, but she doesn't want Jerry to think she doesn't trust -him to take care of her." - -Dick broke in with, "Say, when does this outfit eat?" - -"Fine idea!" Jerry agreed heartily. "Dora, open up the grub box and hand -it around, will you? I reckon we'll need fortifyin' for what's going to -happen next." - - - - - CHAPTER X - A LONELY MOUNTAIN ROAD - - -While the four young people ate the delicious chicken sandwiches which -Mrs. Newcomb had prepared for them and drank creamy milk poured into -aluminum cups from a big thermos bottle, they sat gazing silently about -them, awed by the terrific majesty of the scene, the girls not entirely -unafraid. Below them was a sheer drop of hundreds of feet to a desert -floor which was most uneven, having been cut up by torrents, which, -during each heavy rain, were hurled down the mountain sides. - -The effect of the desert for miles beyond was that of a little "Grand -Canyon." Dora, thoughtfully gazing at it, said,--"In a few centuries, -other girls and boys will stand here, perhaps, and by _that_ time those -canyons will be worn deep as the real Grand Canyon is today, won't they, -Jerry?" - -"I reckon that's right," the cowboy replied. - -Then Mary asked, "Jerry, is this old dangerous mountain road the _very_ -same one that the stages used to cross years ago?" - -Jerry nodded, but before he could speak, Mary, shining-eyed, rushed on -with, "Oh, Dora, I _know_ why the boys have brought us here! _This_ is -the road where the three bandits held up the stage that Sven Pedersen and -poor Little Bodil were riding in." - -"Of course it is!" Dora generously refrained from telling her friend that -she had been convinced of _that_ fact ever since they began climbing the -grade. - -Glowing blue eyes turned toward the cowboy. "Oh, Jerry, have you any idea -where the exact spot was; where the bandits shot the driver, I mean, and -where the horses plunged over the cliff and where that poor little girl -was thrown out into the road?" Excitement had made her breathless. - -Jerry's admiring gray eyes smiled down at the eagerly chattering girl. "I -reckon I know close to the spot. Silas Harvey said it was just at the top -of Devil's Drop, and--" - -Mary interrupted, horror in her tone, "Oh, Jerry, _what_ a dreadful name! -_What_ is it? _Where_ is it?" She was gazing about, her eyes startled. -The road disappeared fifty feet ahead of them around a sharp curve. For -answer Jerry started the motor, then, joltingly and with cautious -slowness, the small car crept toward the curve. Unconsciously the girls -were almost holding their breath as they gazed unblinkingly out of -staring eyes at the wall of rock around which the road was winding. - -When they saw "Devil's Drop," a bare, granite peak, up the near side of -which the old road climbed at an angle which seemed but slightly off the -perpendicular, Mary, with a little half sob, covered her eyes. - -Jerry, terribly self-rebuking, wished sincerely that he and Dick had come -alone. He was sure that the road was safe, for he and his father had -crossed it since the last heavy rain. Mr. Newcomb had a mining claim -which could be reached by no other road. So it was with confidence that -Jerry tried to allay Mary's fears. "Little Sister," he said, "please -trust me when I tell you that the grade _looks_ a lot worse than it is. -I'd turn back if I could, but it wouldn't be safe to try." - -Mary, ashamed of her momentary lack of faith in Jerry's good judgment, -put down her hands and smiled up into his anxious face. - -"Jerry," she said, "I'm going to shut my eyes tight until we are up top. -You tell me, won't you, when the worst is over?" - -Dora had made no sound, but Dick, glancing at her, saw that she was -staring down at the hamper at her feet as though she saw something there -that fascinated her. He, also, feared that the girls should have been -left at home. Nor was he himself altogether fearless. Having spent his -boyhood in and around Boston, he was unused to perilous mountain rides -and he was glad when the car came to a jolting stop and Jerry's voice, -relief evident in its tone, sang out, "We're up top, and all the rest of -our ride will be going down." - -Mary opened her eyes and saw that the road had widened on what seemed to -be a large ledge. Jerry climbed out and put huge stones in front and back -of the wheels, then he held out his hand. - -"Here's where we start hunting for clues," he said, smiling, but at the -same time scanning his companion's face hoping that all traces of fear -had vanished. - -Dora and Dick went to the outer edge of the road. "Such a view!" Dora -cried, flinging her arms wide to take in the magnitude of it. - -"Describe it, who can?" - -"I'll try!" Dick replied. "A bleak, barren, cruel desert lay miles below -them like a naked, bony skeleton of sand and rock." - -Mary, clinging to the cowboy's arm, joined the others but kept well back -from the edge. "Jerry," she said in an awed voice, "do you think--was -this the very spot, do you suppose, where the stage was held up?" - -"I reckon so," Jerry replied, "as near as I could figure out from what -Silas Harvey said." - -Dora turned. "Then somewhere along here was where poor Little Bodil was -thrown into the road." - -The cowboy nodded. A saw-tooth peak rose just beyond them. - -Dora, gazing at it, speculated aloud: "_Could_ a wild beast have slunk -around the curve there snatched the child and dashed away with it to its -cave?" - -"We'll probably never know," Dick replied. "That could have happened, -couldn't it Jerry?" - -"I reckon so," the cowboy began, when Mary caught his arm again. "Oh, -Jerry," she cried, "_are_ there wild animals now--I mean living here in -these mountains?" - -The cowboy glanced at Dick before he replied. "None, Little Sister, that -will hurt _you_. Don't think about them." - -But Mary persisted. "At least _tell me_ what wild animal lives around -here that might have dragged Little Bodil to its lair." - -Jerry, realizing that there was nothing else to do, said in as -indifferent a tone as he could, "I reckon there _may_ be a mountain lion -or so up here, and a puma perhaps. That's sort of a big cat, but _it's_ a -coward all right! Gets away every time if it can." He hoped that would -satisfy Mary but instead she looked up at the grim peak above them, her -eyes startled, searching. "I saw a picture once, oh, I remember it was in -my biology book, of a huge catlike creature crouched on a ledge. It was -about to spring on a goat that was on the mountain below it. Underneath -the picture was printed, 'The Puma springs from ledges down upon its -unsuspecting prey.' I remember it because it both fascinated and -terrorized me." - -"Mary," the cowboy took both her hands and smiled into her wide blue -eyes, "will it make you feel better about wild animals attacking us if I -tell you that Dick and I are both carrying concealed weapons?" - -Mary smiled up at Jerry as she said, "You think I'm a silly, I _know_ you -do, and I don't blame you. I'm not going to be fearful of anything again -today." Then, as she glanced down the steep road up which they had come, -she returned the conversation to the subject from which they had so far -digressed. "Jerry, which way do you suppose the three bandits came?" - -"I reckon they came around the sharp curve over there. They could hide -and not be seen by the driver of the stage until he was almost upon -them." - -Anxiously Mary asked, "There wouldn't be any bandits on _this_ road -_these_ days, would there?" - -It was Dora who answered, "Mary Moore, you _know_ there wouldn't be. -Jerry told us that this road is abandoned by practically all travelers." -Then turning to the cowboy, Dora excitedly exclaimed, "Why, Jerry, if -_this_ is the spot where the stage was held up and where the horses -plunged off the road, don't you think it's possible _something_ may be -left of the stage, something that _we_ could find?" - -"That's what I reckoned," the cowboy said slowly. "Dick and I were -planning to climb down the side of the cliff here and see what we could -unearth, but I reckon we'd better give up and go home. Dick, you and I -can come back some other time--alone." - -"Oh, no!" Dora pleaded. "Mary and I are all over being afraid. We have on -our divided skirts, and, if it's safe for you to climb down Devil's Drop, -why, it's safe for us, isn't it, Mary?" - -"If Jerry says so," was the trusting reply accompanied by an equally -trusting glance from sweet blue eyes. - -Instead of answering, Jerry beckoned Dick over to the edge of the steep -drop. It was not a sheer descent. Every few feet down there was a narrow -ledge, almost like uneven stairs. There were scrubby growths in crevices -to which the girls could cling. About one hundred feet down there was a -wide-flung ledge and then another descent, how perilous that was they -could not discern from where they stood. - -"We could get the girls down to that first wide ledge easily enough," -Dick said, "if you think we ought." - -Jerry spoke in a low voice which, the girls could not hear. "I'm terribly -sorry we brought them. My plan was to have them sit in the car up here in -the road while we went down to hunt for a skeleton of that old stage -coach, but now that Mary's afraid of a wild animal attacking them, we -just can't leave them alone. They don't either of them know how to use a -gun. I reckon what we _ought_ to do is go back home and--" - -Dick shook his head. "They won't let us now," he said, and he was right, -for the girls, tired of waiting, skipped toward them saying in a -sing-song, "Verse seven!" - - "_Two_ cowgirls whom _nothing_ can stop - Are now going over the Devil's Drop. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - You may come along if - You're brave as we." - -"Great!" Dick laughed, applauding. - -"Well, only down as far as the wide ledge," Jerry told them. "That will -be easy going, I reckon, and safe." He held out his strong brown hand to -Mary, and, leading the way, he began the descent. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - THE SKELETON STAGE COACH - - -Mary, slender, light of foot, sprang like a gazelle from step to step -feeling safe, since Jerry towered in front of her. The firm clasp of his -big hand on her small white one made her feel protected and cared for and -she was really enjoying the adventure. - -Dora, athletic of build and sure-footed, refused Dick's proffered aid, -depending on the scraggly growths in the crevices for support until they -reached a spot where only prickly-pear cactus grew. - -"Now, Miss Independent," Dick laughingly called up to her, "you would -better put one hand on my shoulder and let me be your human staff." - -This plan proved successful until, in the descent, they came to a spot -where the ledge below was farther than the girls could step. Jerry held -up his arms and lifted Mary down. That was not a difficult feat since she -was but a featherweight. Dora, broad shouldered for a girl and heavily -built, was more of a problem. The boys finally made steps for her, Jerry -offering his shoulders and Dick his bent back. - -Dora, flushed, excited, glanced at the ledge above as she exclaimed, -"Getting up again will be even more difficult." - -"We won't cross bridges until we get to them," Dick began, then added, -"or climb mountains either. Going down at present requires our entire -attention." - -But the narrow ledge-steps continued to be accommodatingly close for -about fifteen feet; then another sheer descent was covered by repeating -their former tactics. - -"There, now we're on the wide ledge," Mary said, "and we can't see a -single thing that's beneath us." Then she cried out as a sudden alarming -thought came to her. "Oh, Jerry, _what_ if our weight should cause a -rock-slide, or whatever it's called, and we all were plunged--" - -"Pull in on fancy's rein, Little Sister!" the cowboy begged. "You may be -sure I examined the formation of this ledge before I lifted you down upon -it." Then, turning to Dora, he said, "I reckon you and Mary'd better stay -close to the mountain while Dick and I worm ourselves, Indian fashion, to -the very edge where we can see what's down below." - -"Righto!" Dora slipped an arm about Mary and together they stood and -watched the boys lying face downward and wriggling their long bodies over -the flat, stone ledge. - -Dora noticed how slim and frail Dick's form looked and how sinewy and -strong was Jerry. - -The edge reached, the boys gazed down, but almost instantly Jerry had -whirled to an upright position and the watching girls could not tell -whether his expression was more of terror than of exultation. Surely -there was a mingling of both. - -Dick, who had backed several feet before sitting upright, was frankly -shocked by what he had seen. - -For a moment neither of them spoke. "Boys!" Dora cried. "The stage coach -is down there, isn't it? But since you expected to find it, _why_ are you -so startled?" - -Jerry was the first to reply. "Well, it's pretty awful to see what's left -of a tragedy like that. I reckon you girls would better not look." - -"I won't, if you don't want me to," Mary agreed, "but _do_ tell us about -it. After all these years, what _can_ there be left?" - -Jerry glanced at Dick, who, always pale, was actually white. - -"I'll confess it rather got me, just at first," the Eastern boy -acknowledged. - -Dora, impatient at the slowness of the revelation, and eager to see for -herself what shocking thing was over the ledge, started to walk toward -the edge, but Dick, realizing her intention, sprang up and caught her -arm. "Let us tell you first what we saw, Dora," he pleaded, "and then, if -you still want to see it, we won't prevent you. It won't be so much of a -shock when you are prepared." - -"Well?" Dora stood waiting. - -The boys were on their feet. Jerry began. "When the horses reared and -plunged off the road, they must have rolled with the stage over and -over." - -"That's right," Dick excitedly took up the tale, "and when the coach -struck this wide ledge, it bounded, I should say, off into space and was -caught in a wide crevice about twenty-five feet straight down below -here." - -"Oh, Jerry," Mary cried, "is the driver or the horses--" - -The cowboy nodded vehemently. "That's just it. That's the terribly -gruesome part. The skeletons of the horses are hanging in the harness and -that poor driver--his skeleton, I mean, still sits in his seat--" - -"The uncanny thing about it," Dick rushed in, "is that his leather suit -is still on his skeleton, and his fur cap, though bedraggled from the -weather, is still on his bony head." - -"But his eyes are the worst!" Jerry shuddered, although seeing skeletons -was no new thing to him. "Those gaping sockets are looking right up -toward this ledge as though he had died gazing up toward the road hoping -help would come to him." - -Suddenly Mary threw her arms about Dora and began to sob. Jerry, again -self-rebuking, cried in alarm, "Oh, Little Sister, I reckon I'm a brute -to shock you that-a-way." - -Dora had noticed that in times of excitement Jerry fell into the lingo of -the cowboy. - -Mary straightened and smiled through her tears. "Oh, I'm so sorry for -that poor man, but I must remember that it all happened years ago and -that _now_ we are really bent on a mission of charity." Then, smiling up -at Jerry, she held out a hand to him as she said, "_That's_ the big thing -for us to remember, isn't it? First of all, we want, if possible, to find -out if poor Little Bodil is alive and if we're sure, oh, just _ever_ so -sure, that she is dead, we want to get the gold and turquoise from Mr. -Pedersen's rock house for the Dooleys." - -Her listeners were sure that Mary was talking about their good purpose -that she might quiet her nerves. It evidently had the desired effect, -for, quite naturally, she asked, "If there is nothing beneath this ledge -but space, how can you boys get down to the stage coach to search for -clues? That's what you planned doing, wasn't it?" - -Jerry nodded and gazed thoughtfully into the sweet face uplifted to his, -though hardly seeing it. He was thinking what would be best for them to -do. - -"Dick," he said finally, "you stay here with the girls. I'm going back up -to the car to get my rope. I reckon if you three will hold one end of it, -I can slide down on it to that crevice and--" - -"Oh no, no, Jerry, don't, _please don't_!" Mary caught his khaki-covered -arm wildly. "You would never get over the shock of being so close to that -ghastly skeleton and if the rope should slip--" she covered her eyes with -her hands. Then, as she heard the boys speaking together in low tones, -she looked at them. "Jerry," she said contritely, "I'm sorry I go to -pieces so easily today. Of course I know you would not suggest going if -you weren't sure that it would be absolutely safe. Get the rope if you -want to. I'm going to try hard to be as brave as Dora is." Then she added -wistfully, "Maybe if you weren't my Big Brother, I wouldn't care so -much." - -Sudden joy leaped to Jerry's eyes. How he had hoped that Mary cared a -little, oh, even a _very_ little, for him, but usually she treated him in -the same frank, friendly way that she did Dick. - -Dora, watching, thought, "That settles it. Jerry will not go. The Dooleys -and Little Bodil are nothing to him compared to one second's anxiety for -his Sister Mary." - -And it did seem for a long moment that Jerry was going to give up the -entire plan. Dick, realizing this, plunged in with, "I say, old man, I -know how to go down a rope. That used to be one of my favorite pastimes -when I was a youngster and lived near a fire station. The good-natured -firemen would let us kids slide down their slippery pole but we had to do -some tall scurrying when the alarm sounded." - -Jerry looked at his friend for several thoughtful seconds before he -spoke. What he said was, "I reckon you're right, Dick, but my reason is -this. I'm strong-armed and you're not. Throwing the rope and pulling -cantankerous steers around, gives a fellow an iron muscle. And you're -lighter too, a lot, so I reckon I'd better be on the end that has to be -held. Now that's settled, you stay here with the girls while I go up to -the car and get my rope." - - - - - CHAPTER XII - A NARROW ESCAPE - - -The long rope with which Jerry had captured many a wild cow was dropped -over the outer edge of the wide ledge. Since the distance was not more -than twenty-five feet, the lariat reached nearly to the crevice. Looking -around, Jerry found a projecting rock about which he wound the upper end -of the rope, but he did not trust it alone. He threw himself face -downward and grasped the knot that was nearest the edge in a firm clasp. -He told the girls he would not need their assistance at first, but that, -if he shouted, they were to both seize the rope near the rock and pull -with all their strength. - -Dick, making light of the feat he was about to perform, tossed his -sombrero to one side, and then, with his hand on his heart, he made a -gallant bow to the girls. - -Dora and Mary, standing close to the rock around which the rope was -twined, clung to each other nervously. They tried to smile encouragingly -toward the pretending acrobat, but they were too anxious to put much -brightness into the effort. - -"Kick off your boots," Jerry said in a low voice; "you'll be able to -cling to the knots better in stocking feet." - -"Sort of an anti-climax." Dick's large brown eyes laughed through the -shell-rimmed glasses as he removed his boots. "There, _now_ I do the -renowned disappearing act. I'd feel more heroic if I were about to rescue -someone." - -"Dick isn't the least bit afraid, is he, Jerry?" Mary asked in a -whispered voice as though she did not want the boy who had gone over the -ledge to be conscious of the fear that she felt. - -"He's all right," Jerry reported a second later. "He's going down the -rope as nimbly as a monkey." - -"Will there be room on the edge of that crevice for him to stand when he -_does_ get down?" was Mary's next question. - -There was a long moment's silence, then Jerry turned his head and smiled -reassuringly. "He's down! Oh, yes, there's ten feet or more for him to -walk on. He's got hold of the front wheel of the old coach." The cowboy's -voice changed to a warning shout, "I say, Dick, down there! _Don't try_ -to get aboard! The whole thing might crumble and take you to the bottom -of that pit." - -The girls could hear a faint shout from below. Dick evidently had assured -Jerry that he would be cautious. - -"I wish we could come over where you are, Jerry," Dora said. "I'd like to -watch Dick." - -"Stay where you are, please." The order, without the last word, would -have sounded abrupt. "Er--I may need your help with the rope. Keep -alert." - -"I couldn't be alerter if I tried," Mary said in a low voice to her -companion. "Every nerve in my whole body is so tense I'm afraid something -will snap or--" - -"Great Jumping Jehoshaphat!" - -Jerry's startled ejaculation and sudden leap to his knees caused the -girls to cry in alarm, "Did Dick fall? Oh! Oh! What has happened?" - -Jerry turned toward them and shook his head. "Sorry I hollered out that -way. Nothing happened that matters any." - -"But something did, and if you don't tell us, we'll come over there and -see for ourselves." Dora's tone was so determined that Jerry said, "Sure -I'll tell you. When Dick took hold of the front wheel of the stage, he -must have jarred the seat, for, all at once, the driver's skeleton -collapsed and toppled off and down into that deep crevice. Well, that'll -be more comfortable for an eternal resting place, I reckon, than sitting -upright was, the way he's been doing this forty years past." Then he -called, "Hey, down there, _what_ did you say? I didn't hear. Your voice -is blown off toward the Little Grand Canyon, I reckon." Jerry sat -intently listening, one big brown hand cupped about his right ear. The -girls could hear Dick's voice coming faintly from below. Jerry showed -signs of excited interest. The girls exchanged wondering glances but did -not speak until the cowboy turned toward them. - -"Dick says there's a small, child-size trunk under the driver's seat. -Whizzle! I wish I were down there. Together we might be able to get it -out." Leaping to his feet, Jerry went to the rock around which the rope -was tied. "_That_ ought to hold all right!" There was a glint of -determination in his gray eyes, but it wavered as he glanced at Mary who -stood watching him, but saying not a word. "There isn't anything _here_ -to frighten you girls, is there?" He seemed to be imploring the smaller -girl to tell him to go. "It's this-a-way. If there is a child-size box or -trunk in the stage coach still, it was probably Little Bodil's, and don't -you see, Mary, how _important_ it is for us to get it. Why, I reckon a -clue would be there all right." - -Mary held out a small white hand. "Go along, Big Brother," she said, "if -you're sure the rock will hold the rope with your weight on it." - -"Shall we help the rock by holding onto the rope as well?" It was -practical Dora who asked that question. - -"Yes!" Jerry's expression brightened. "I wish you would." - -Dora thought, "Mr. Cowboy, I know _just_ what _you_ are thinking. You're -afraid we _might_ go over to the edge and perhaps fall off, but that if -you tell us to hold onto the rope here by the rock, you expect we'll stay -put, but you're mistaken. As soon as I know you're safely down, I'm going -to crawl over the ledge and peer down." - -While Dora was thus planning, she and Mary held to the highest knot in -the rope, and Jerry, having removed his boots, went over the edge without -the grand flourish that Dick had made. - -"Oh, I can't, _can't_ hold it!" Mary exclaimed, and then Dora realized -that the younger girl had been trying to hold Jerry's weight. - -"Don't!" she ejaculated. "The rock can hold him. Just keep your hands -lightly on the knot and pull _only_ if the rope starts slipping." - -It seemed but a few moments before the girls heard, as from far below, a -reassuring call, "All's well!" - -At once Dora let go her hold on the rope and dropped face downward as the -boys had done. Mary was not to be left behind. Cautiously, they wormed -their way to the edge of the cliff and peered over, being careful to keep -hidden. Only their hair and eyes were over the edge, and the boys, intent -on examining the skeleton stage coach, did not once glance up. - -"Oh-oo!" Mary shuddered. "That black crevice looks as though it went down -into the mountain a mile or more." - -"Maybe it does!" Dora whispered. "Jerry said that it's more than a mile -from here to the floor of the desert. The crack in the mountain may go -all the way down." - -"Oh, I _do_ wish the boys wouldn't go so close to the edge of it!" Mary -whispered frantically. "Dora Bellman, if Dick or Jerry slipped into that -awful place--" - -Dora's interrupting voice was impatient. "_Please_ don't start -_imagining_ terrible things. Those boys value their own lives as much as -we possibly can. Look! See how very cautiously they're taking hold of the -driver's seat and testing its strength. Blue Moons!" It was Dora's turn -to be horrified. "Jerry is lifting Dick. My, aren't his arms powerful? -Now Dick is resting his left hand on the top of the seat and pulling on -that box with his right." - -Mary clutched Dora's arms, but neither spoke a word as they watched the -movements of the boys with startled, staring eyes. - -"It's coming slowly." Dora's voice was tense. "Hark! Didn't you hear a -creak as though something about the stage had snapped suddenly?" - -"Thanks be!" The words were a shout of relief. "The box is out, but oh, -Mary! _Not a second_ too soon! The skeleton stage coach is collapsing! It -has dropped right down out of sight." - -The two girls sat up with one accord and stared at each other, their -faces white. - -Mary was the first to speak. Her tone was reproachful. "And yet _you_ -were _so_ sure the boys would do nothing to endanger their lives. If that -crash had happened one minute sooner, they would both have gone down with -it. Dick couldn't have leaped back in time, and Jerry would have lost his -balance, and you needn't tell me I'm using my imagination, either, for -you _know_ it's true." - -There was no denying that the boys had had a most narrow escape and Dora -willingly acknowledged that they had taken a greater risk than she had -supposed they would. - -"As though finding that lost Bodil, or even getting money to help the -Dooleys, was worth endangering _their_ lives," Mary continued with such a -show of indignation that Dora actually laughed. "Since it's all over, -let's forget it. I'm terribly thrilled about the box. I feel just as sure -as the boys do that there will be something in it that will be a clue, or -at least, lead to one." - -"Listen," Mary said. "The boys are calling to us. See, the rope is -swaying." - -Lying flat again, Dora peered over and called, "What do you want?" - -Jerry replied, "We're tying the box to the rope. Can you two girls pull -it up? Don't stand near the edge to do it." - -"Wait!" Dick called. Then he said something to Jerry that the girls -couldn't hear. Dora saw the cowboy laugh and pound on his head. "He's -calling himself a dumb-bell, looks like," she whispered to Mary. Then -Jerry's voice, "I'll take back that order. You stand by the rock, will -you, and grab the rope if it starts to slip. Dick will climb up and help -lift the box. He's such a light weight, he and the box together won't be -any heavier than I am." - -The girls went back to the rock and saw that the rope held. They knelt by -it in readiness to seize it if it slipped. They could tell by the -tightening of the rope that Dick was ascending. In another moment, he -sprang over the edge, pulled up the box without asking the girls for -assistance, then dropped the rope down again. Soon they were joined by a -beaming Jerry. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - A SAND STORM - - -The return to the car was not without difficulties. At the spot where the -natural steps were not close together, Jerry, finding the merest toe-hold -in the cliff and only the scraggliest growth to which he could cling, -did, however, manage to reach the step above. He then dropped one end of -the rope down and Dick ascended nimbly. Then, Jerry made a swing of the -lariat. Mary, flushed and laughing up at him, sat in it and was slowly -lifted to the ledge above. This, being narrow, could hold no more than -three. So Mary climbed still higher, then turned and watched, while Dora -was lifted in the swing. The girls were told to return to the car while -the boys tied the box on the end of the rope and drew it up over the -sheer place. - -From the road, Mary looked out far across the desert. "How queer the air -looks, doesn't it?" she said, pointing to what seemed to be a huge yellow -cloud of sand which was moving rapidly across the floor of the desert and -shutting out the Little Grand Canyon from their view. - -Jerry, with the small trunk on one shoulder joined them; Dick, whirling -the lariat playfully, was not far behind. - -Mary again pointed. "What is that far below there, Jerry? Is it a wind -storm?" - -"I reckon that's what it is," Jerry said. "Carrying enough sand with it -to change things up a little. But more'n like, it will blow itself away -before we get down to the valley road." He seemed little concerned about -it and the girls, in their curiosity about the small trunk, also forgot -it. Where they stood, in a flood of late warm afternoon sun, there was -not a breath of air stirring. - -"What a queer little trunk," Mary said, touching the battered top of it -with an investigating finger. "What is it made of, Jerry?" - -"You've got me guessing," the cowboy replied. "Some kind of a thick -animal skin, I reckon, stretched over a frame. It tightened as it dried. -Shouldn't you say so, Dick?" - -The boy addressed was helping to lash the small box on the running board -of the car. "It looks like a home-made affair to me," he said. "Probably -they brought it over from Scandinavia." - -Dora was peering around it. "There isn't a lock," she observed. "I -suppose whatever it was tied with rotted away long ago." Then, as another -thought came, "Oh, Jerry, if we had waited, maybe even a week, the stage -coach might have crumbled, don't you think? It couldn't have stayed -together much longer." - -"Righto!" the cowboy continued. Then, with a quick glance at Dick, he -said, "Now that it's over, I'm thankful it has gone,--the stage coach, I -mean. Dick and I might have been tempted to come back and look for more -clues, and believe me, we came within _one_ of going to the bottom, but -Jumping Steers! we didn't, and it sure was some exciting adventure, -wasn't it, old man?" - -Before Dick could reply, Mary said emphatically, "I wouldn't have _let_ -you come back again, Jerry. You call me 'Little Sister,' and brothers -_always_ have to _obey_, don't they, Dora?" - -But her friend laughingly denied, "Not _my_ small brother, believe me, -NO. When I want him to do a thing, I ask the opposite." - -Jerry had seemed to be too intent on tying knots securely to have heard, -but when he turned, his gray eyes smiled at the smaller girl, adoring -her. "_This_ Big Brother is the exception which proves the rule," he -quoted. "Command, Little Sister, and I will obey." - -"Bravo!" Dora teased. Then, to the other girl, "Please command that we -start for home. I'm wild to get there so that we may look through the -trunk." - -Jerry removed the rocks that held the wheels. Dick was glancing about the -part of the road where the small car stood. "Do you plan turning here, -Jerry?" he asked. "I was wondering, because I heard you say it would be -miles out of our way, if we kept going straight on over the mountain." - -Before answering, Jerry stood, looking, not at the road, but down at the -valley sand storm which had not decreased in density. In fact it had -widened and was hiding the lower part of the mountain on which they -stood. - -"How much gas have we, Dick?" Jerry asked, making no comment on the sand -storm. - -"About four gallons. And another five in the storage can." - -"Good!" Again Jerry's gray eyes looked thoughtfully about. They seemed to -be measuring the width of the road between the peak at their right and -the edge of the descent at the left. Dick stepped back and through -narrowed lids, he also estimated the distance. - -"A leetle more than twice the width of the car," he guessed. "Say, old -man," Dick stepped eagerly toward the cowboy, "let _me_ turn it, will -you? Back East, one of the crazy things we did at school was to have -contests on car turning. I was pretty durn good at it then. Could turn -around on a dime, so to speak." Still Jerry hesitated. "But you don't -know _this_ car--" he began, when Dick interrupted swaggeringly, to try -to make the girls think the feat would be less serious than it really -would be. "Why, my dear _vaquero_, a wild car is as docile with me as a -wild broncho would be with you--knows the master's touch and all that." - -Then, as Jerry still hesitated, Dick leaped up under the wheel and called -to the girls: "Stand back, if you please, and make room for the world -famous--" the engine was starting, the car slowly turning. Dick did not -finish his joking speech. He directed all his thought and skill to the -turning of the car. There was a tense silence broken by Dora. - -"Why, there was lots of room after all!" she cried admiringly. - -"Gee whizzle!" Jerry had expected Dick to give up. "I reckon you didn't -rate yourself any too high when you were boasting about your skill." - -He helped Mary up to her seat, then took the place Dick had relinquished -to climb in back with Dora. Slowly the small car started down the road -which they had ascended hours before. - -"What thrilling adventures and narrow escapes we have had today!" Dora -exclaimed, loud enough for Jerry to hear. - -"I reckon they're not all over yet," the cowboy replied,--then wished he -had not spoken. - -"What do you suppose Jerry means?" Dora asked in a low voice of Dick. - -The boy's first reply was a shrug of his shoulders. "Nothing, really; at -least I don't think he does." Then, as they rounded an outflung curve in -the road and he saw the dull yellow flying cloud far below them, Dick -added, as though suddenly understanding, "Oho, I savvy. Jerry is thinking -of the sand storm." - -"But, of course, it _can't_ climb the mountain and equally, of course, -Jerry won't run right out into it," Dora said. Dick agreed, then asked: - -"But _what_ if the sand storm lasted for hours and we had to stay in the -mountain all night, wouldn't that be another adventure, and if we should -hear pumas prowling around the car wishing to devour us, wouldn't that be -a narrow escape?" - -Dora laughed. "Do you know, Dick, when I first met you, I thought you -were as solemn as an owl. I didn't dream that you were, I mean, _are_ a -humorist." - -"Thanks for not saying clown." Dick seemed so ridiculously grateful that -Dora laughed again. - -"You remind me of Harold Lloyd," she said, "and I hope you think that's a -compliment. He looks through his shell-rimmed glasses just as solemnly as -you do when he's saying the funniest things." - -Instead of replying, Dick peered curiously ahead. "I reckon the 'another -adventure or narrow escape' is about to happen," he said in a low voice -close to Dora's ear. "Leastwise our vehicle is slowing to a stop." - -Jerry, making sure that the front wheels were safely wedged against the -mountain, turned and inquired, "Dick, can you and Dora hear a roaring -noise?" - -"Now that the car has stopped rattling, I can," Dick replied. - -"It's the sand storm, isn't it?" Dora leaned forward to ask. - -"Yes." Jerry glanced back, troubled. "There are two valley roads forking -off just below here. One goes over toward the Chiricahua Mountains where -our ranch is, the other toward Gleeson where we have to go to take the -girls. Now what I want to say is this. Our road is clear, but the Gleeson -road is in the path of the sand storm. Of course, if the wind should -change, it might catch us, but I reckon our best chance is to race across -the open valley to _Bar N_ ranch. You girls would have to stay all night, -but Mother'd like that powerful well. We could telephone to Gleeson so -your dad wouldn't worry." - -Mary, who had been listening with anxious eyes, now put in, "But, Jerry, -wouldn't that sand storm cut down the wires? I'd hate to have Dad anxious -if there was any possible way of getting home--" - -"I have it," Dick announced. "If, after we reach the ranch, we find we -can't communicate with your home, Jerry and I will ride over there on -horseback. The sand storm will surely be blown away by then." His -questioning glance turned toward Jerry. - -"Sure thing," the cowboy replied. "Now, girls, hold tight! We're going to -drop down to the cross valley road. It's smooth and hard and we're going -to beat the world's record." - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - "A.'S AND N. E.'S." - - -The girls held tight as they had been commanded, their nerves taut and -tense. Jerry's prophecy that they might yet have another thrilling -adventure and narrow escape filled them with a sort of startled -expectancy. They could not see the forking valley roads until they had -dropped down the last steep descent of the mountain and were almost upon -them. Jerry unconsciously uttered an exclamation of relief. The road that -went straight as a taut lariat across miles of flat, sandy waste was -glistening in the late afternoon sun. The distant Chiricahua range, at -the foot of which nestled the Newcomb ranch, was hung with a misty lilac -haze. Peace seemed to pervade the scene and yet they could all four -distinctly hear a dull ominous roar. - -Before starting to "beat the world's record," Jerry stopped the car and -listened. His desert-trained ear could surely discern the direction of -the roaring sound. They were still too close to the mountain to see the -desert on their right or left. - -Turning to Dick, he asked, "Is there any water left in the canteen?" - -"Yes," the other boy replied, sensing the seriousness of the request, -"about a gallon, I should say. It's right here at our feet." - -"Good! Have the top loose so that you can drench our handkerchiefs at a -split second's notice. Have them ready, girls." - -"Why, Jerry," Mary's expression was one of excited animation, "do you -expect the sand storm to overtake us?" - -"No, I really don't." The cowboy was starting the engine again. "But it's -always wise to take precautions." Then, addressing the small car, "Now, -little old 'tin Cayuse,' show your stuff." - -The start was so sudden and so violent that Dora was thrown forward. Dick -drew her back and they smiled at each other glowingly. - -"Life is a jolly lark today, isn't it, so full of a.'s and n. e.'s." - -"I suppose you mean adventures and narrow escapes." Dora straightened her -small hat that had been twisted awry. Then, as they sped away from the -shelter of the grim, gray towering mountain, they all four looked quickly -to the right and left. The desert lay dreaming in the sun. To the far -south of them the air was full of a sinister yellow wall of flying sand -and dust. It was surely headed in the opposite direction. Jerry did not -doubt it and since he did not, the girls and Dick had no sense of fear. -The ominous roaring sound had lessened, although, of course, they could -hear little when that small car was speeding, its own squeaks and rattles -having been increased. - -Mary turned a face flushed with excitement and called back to Dora, "Ten -miles! Only ten more to go." - -It was a perfect road, recently completed. There was almost no sand on it -and very few dips. - -Dick waved up toward a low circling vulture. "That fellow's eyes are -popping out in amazement, more than likely," he shouted to Dora. - -She laughed back, holding tight to her hat. "He probably thinks this is -some new kind of a stampede." - -Again Mary's pretty glowing face appeared in the opening back of the -front seat. "Fifteen miles! Only five more to go." - -Dick's expression became anxious. He said, close to Dora's ear, "If Jerry -feels so sure that the sand storm is headed toward Mexico, I don't think -he ought to race this little machine. He may know a lot more than I do -about busting bronchos, but--" - -An explosion interrupted Dick's remark, then the car zigzagged wildly -from side to side. Jerry turned off the spark and the gas. Dick, without -thought, leaped out onto the running board and put his weight over the -wheel with the blow-out in its tire. - -Almost miraculously the car stayed in the road. The girls had been -wonderful. White and terrorized, yet neither had clutched at her -companion, nor hindered his doing what was best for their safety. - -When the car stopped, the front right tire was almost off the road. The -girls, quivering with excitement, got out and exclaimed simultaneously, -"Another adventure and narrow escape!" - -Dick, knowing better than the girls how truly narrow their escape had -been, stepped forward, his dark eyes serious, and extended a hand to the -cowboy. "Jerry," he said earnestly, "I won't say again that I probably -know more about managing cars than you do. If it hadn't been for your -quick thinking and skill, we would surely have turned turtle in the sand -and if the spark had been on, the car might have gone up in flames." - -But Jerry would not accept the compliment. He shook his head as he -removed his sombrero and wiped beads of moisture from his forehead. -"Dick," he said, "thanks just the same, but I reckon I was needlessly -reckless. I wasn't right sure about the sand storm, just at first, but -later when I saw that it was heading south all right, I kept on -speeding." - -Turning to the smaller girl who stood very still; seemingly calm, though -her lips quivered when she tried to smile, the cowboy said contritely, -"Little Sister, if you won't stop trusting me, I'll swear to never again -take any such needless risks." - -Dora, watching the two, thought, "It matters such a terrible lot to Jerry -what Mary thinks about him. Some day she's going to wake up and realize -that he loves her." - -Dick was removing his coat, and Jerry, evidently satisfied with Mary's -low-spoken reply, turned to get tools out from under the front seat. - -Half an hour later the small car was again on its way. The sun was -setting behind the mountains where so recently they had been. - -Mary looked back at them. Grim and dark and forbidding they were, deep in -shadow, but the peaks were aglow with flame color. The floor of the -desert valley about them was like a sea of shimmering golden water; the -ripples and dunes of sand were like glistening waves. - -"Such a gloriousness!" Dora exclaimed, turning a radiant face toward her -companion. - -"I can see the color of it in your eyes," the boy told her, and a sudden -admiration in his own dark eyes caused Dora to think that Dick was really -seeing her for the first time. - -It was lilac dusk when the small car drove along the lane of cottonwood -trees and stopped at one side of the _Bar N_ ranch house. - -Mrs. Newcomb's round pleasant face looked out of a kitchen window, then -her apron-covered person appeared in the open side door. Her arms were -held out to welcome Mary. - -"My dear, my dear," she said tenderly, "how glad I am that you blew over -to _Bar N_." - -"We almost literally _did_ blow over," Mary laughingly replied. "That is, -we were running away from a sand storm." Then, suddenly serious, she -asked, "Oh, Aunt Molly, may I use your telephone at once? Dad doesn't -know that I'm here and he will be expecting us back for supper." - -"Of course, dear. You know where it is, in the living-room." Then, when -Mary had skipped away, Dora following her, Mrs. Newcomb asked, "Has there -been a sand storm in the valley? I hadn't heard about it." - -Jerry was about to drive the small car around to the old barn and so Dick -replied, "Yes, Mrs. Newcomb. That's what Jerry called it. We first saw it -on the other side of the range back of Gleeson. Later we saw it far away -to the south. It didn't cross this part of the valley at all, but Jerry -thought we'd better not try the Gleeson road." - -"He was wise. I hope the wires aren't down." - -The good woman's anxiety was quickly ended by the reappearance of the -girls. "All's well!" Mary announced. Then to Dick, "Your mother answered -the phone. She said that they had heard the roaring and had seen some -dust in the air but that the storm had passed around our tableland." - -"Well, you girls had quite an adventure and perhaps a narrow escape as -well." Little did Mrs. Newcomb realize that she was repeating the phrase -they had so often used that day. "Now, Mary, you take your friend to the -spare room and get ready for supper. Your Uncle Henry will be in from -riding the range pronto, and starved as a lean wolf, no doubt. He's been -gone since sun-up and he won't take along what he ought for his -mid-lunch." - -The girls were about to leave the kitchen when Jerry called to Dick and -away he went into the gathering darkness. - -"The boys sleep in the bunk house out by the corral," Mrs. Newcomb -explained. "They'll be back, I reckon, soon as you're ready." - -The spare room was large, square, with a small fireplace in it. The bed -was an old-fashioned four-poster and looked luxuriously comfortable. - -A table, a dresser, two chairs of dark wood and a bright rag rug -completed the furnishings. - -"How quiet it is," Mary said. "There isn't a neighbor nearer than those -Dooleys and Jerry said they are way over in the canyon." - -Dora, wondering if Mary could be contented if she became Jerry's wife, -some day in the future, asked, "Would _you_ like to live on a ranch, do -you think?" - -Innocently, Mary replied as she lighted the kerosene lamp on the bureau, -"Why, yes, I'm sure I would, if Dad could be with me." - -Dora sighed as she thought, "Poor Jerry. She's still blind and I _did_ -think today that her eyes were opened." - - - - - CHAPTER XV - IN THE BARN LOFT - - -"Jerry, what did you do with the box?" Mary managed to whisper as the -cowboy drew out a chair for her at the supper table. - -"In the old barn loft, snug and safe," he replied. Then he sat beside -her. Dora and Dick, on the opposite side of the long table, beamed -across, eager anticipation in their eyes. Although they had not heard the -few words their friends had spoken, they felt sure that they had been -about Little Bodil's box. - -"We won't wait for your father, Jerry," Mrs. Newcomb had said. "He may -have gone in somewhere for shelter if he happened to be riding in the -path of the storm." - -The kerosene lamp hanging above the middle of the table had a -cherry-colored shade and cast a cheerful glow over the simple meal of -warmed-over chicken, baked potatoes, corn bread, sage honey and creamy -milk, big pitchers of it, one at each end of the table. For dessert there -was apple sauce and chocolate layer cake. - -Mr. Newcomb came in before they were through, tall, sinewy, his kind -brown face deeply furrowed by wind and sun. His eyes brightened with real -pleasure when he saw the guests. Dora, he had met before, and Mary he had -known since she was a little girl. - -He shook hands with both of them. "Wall, wall, if that sand storm sent -you girls this-a-way, I figger it did some good after all." - -Jerry glanced at his father anxiously when he was seated at the end of -the table opposite his wife. - -"Dad, do you reckon any of our cattle were hit by it?" he asked. - -The older man helped himself to the food Mary passed him, before he -replied, "No-o, I reckon not. I was riding the high pasture when I heerd -the roaring. I went out on Lookout Point and stood there watching, till -the dust got so thick I had to make for the canyon." - -It was Dick who spoke. "There aren't many cows pastured down on the floor -of the valley, anyway, are there, Mr. Newcomb? There's so much sand and -only an occasional clump of grass, it surely isn't good pasture." - -"You're right," the cowman agreed, "but there's a few poor men struggling -along, tryin' to eke out an existence down thar. I reckon they was hit -hard. I knew a man, once, who had a well and was tryin' to raise a -garden. One of them sand storms swooped over it, and, after it was gone, -he couldn't find nary a vegetable. Either they'd been pulled up by the -roots and blown away or else they was buried so deep, he couldn't dig -down to them." - -"Oh, Uncle Henry," Mary smiled toward him brightly, "I see a twinkle in -your eye. Now confess, isn't that a sand-story?" - -"No, it's true enough," the cowman replied, when Jerry exclaimed: "Dad, I -know a bigger one than that. You remember that man from the East, -tenderfoot if ever there was one, who started to build him a house on the -Neal crossroad? He heard the storm coming so he jumped on his horse and -rode into Neal as though demons were after him. When the wind stopped -blowing, he went back to look for his house and there, where it had been, -stood the beginning of a sand hill. The adobe walls of his unfinished -house had caught so much sand, they were completely covered. That was -years ago. Now there's a good-sized sand hill on that very spot with -yucca growing on it." - -"Poor man, it was the burial of his dreams," Dora said sympathetically. - -"He left for the East the next day," Jerry finished his tale, "and--" - -"Lived happily ever after, I hope," Mary put in. - -Mrs. Newcomb said pleasantly, "If you young people have finished your -meal, don't wait for us. Jerry told me you're going out to the loft in -the old barn for a secret meeting about something." - -"We'd like to help you, Aunt Mollie, if--" - -"No 'ifs' to it, Mary dear." The older woman gazed lovingly at the girl. -"Your Uncle Henry and I visit quite a long spell evenings over our tea. -It's the only leisure time that we have together." - -Jerry lighted a couple of lanterns, and the girls, after having gone to -their room for their sweater coats, joined the boys on the wide, back, -screened-in porch. - -"I'll go ahead," Jerry said, "and Dick will bring up the rear. We'll be -the lantern bearers. Now, don't you girls leave the path." - -"Why all the precautions?" Dora asked gaily, but Mary knew. - -"Rattlesnakes may be abroad." She shuddered. "Have you seen one yet this -summer, Jerry?" - -"Yes, this morning, and a mighty ugly one too; coiled up asleep in the -chicken yard. I shot it, all right, but didn't kill it. Before I could -fire again, it had crawled under the old barn." - -"Oh-oo gracious! That's where we're going, isn't it?" Dora peered into -the darkness on either side of the path. - -"I suppose it had a mate equally big and ugly under the barn?" Mary's -statement was also a question. - -Dick replied, "Undoubtedly, but if they stay _under_ the barn and don't -try to climb up to the loft, they won't trouble us any." - -Mary, glancing up at the sky that was like soft, dark blue velvet studded -with luminous stars, exclaimed, "How wonderfully clear the air is, and -how still. You never would dream that a sand storm had--" - -She stopped suddenly, for Dora had gripped her arm from the back. -"Listen! Didn't you hear a--" - -"Gun shot?" Dick supplied gaily. "Now that we're about to open up Little -Bodil's box, I certainly expect to hear one. You know we heard a gun -fired, or thought we did, when we passed through the gate in front of -Lucky Loon's rock house, and again when old Silas Harvey was telling us -the story. Was that what you thought you heard, Dora?" - -"No, it was not," that maiden replied indignantly. "I thought I heard a -rattle." She had stopped still in the path to listen, but, as Jerry and -Mary had continued walking toward the old barn, Dora decided that she had -been mistaken and skipped along to catch up. Dick, sorry that he had -teased her, evidently at an inopportune time, ran after her with the -lantern. "Please forgive me," he pleaded, "and don't rush along that way -where the path is dark." - -Jerry turned to call, "We're going in the side door, Dick." Then -anxiously, "You girls can climb a wall ladder, can't you?" - -"Of course we can," Dora replied spiritedly. "We're regular acrobats in -our gym at school." - -Having reached the barn, Dick opened a low door, then holding the lantern -high, that the girls might see the step, he assisted them both over the -sill and followed closely. - -Mary was standing in the small leather-scented harness-room, looking -about the old wooden floor with an anxious expression. - -"I was wondering," she explained when the light from a lantern flashed in -her face, "if there are any holes in the floor large enough for those -rattlers to crawl through." - -"I'm sorry I mentioned that ugly old fellow," Jerry said contritely, "and -yet we do have to be constantly on the watch, but we're safe enough now. -Here's the wall ladder and the little loft storeroom is just above us. -The only hard part is at the top where one of the cross bars is missing." - -Dick suggested, "We boys can go up first and reach a hand down to the -girls when they come to that step." - -"Righto," Jerry said. "I'll leave my lantern on the floor here. You take -yours up, old man. Then we'll have illumination in both places." - -The girls had worn their knickers under their short skirts as they always -did when they went on a hike or a mountain climb and so they went up the -rough wall ladder as nimbly as the boys had done. The last step was more -difficult, but, with the help of strong arms they soon stood on the floor -of the low loft room. All manner of discarded tools, harness and boxes -were piled about the walls. - -Dora was curious. "Jerry, _why_ did you select this out-of-the-way place -for Bodil's trunk?" - -"Because I reckoned no one would disturb us. The Dooley twins overrun the -old barn sometimes but they can't climb up here with the top board -missing." - -The battered leather box lay in the middle of the room and the two girls -looking down at it had a strangely uncanny feeling. Jerry evidently had -not, for he was about to lift the lid when Mary caught his arm, -exclaiming, "Big Brother, _what_ was it Silas Harvey said about a ghost? -I mean, didn't Mr. Pedersen threaten to haunt----" - -The interruption was the crackling report of a gun that was very close to -them. - -"Great heavens, _what_ was that?" Mary screamed and clung to Jerry -terrified. - -"It wasn't a ghost who fired that shot," the cowboy told them. "It was -someone just outside the barn. Don't be frightened, girls. It can't be -anyone who wants to harm us. Wait, I'll call out the window here." - -Jerry pulled open a wooden blind and shouted, "_Who's_ there?" - -His father's voice replied, "Lucky I happened along when I did. An ugly -rattler was wriggling, half dead from a wound, right along the path here -and its mate was coiled in a sage bush watching it." - -Dora seized Dick's arm. "I heard it!" she cried excitedly. "_That's_ what -I heard when you began to--" - -"Aw, I say, Dora," Dick was truly remorseful, "I'm terribly sorry. I just -didn't want you to be using your imagination and frightening yourself -needlessly." - -Mary sank down on a dusty old box. "I'm absolutely limp," she said. "Now, -if a ghost appears when we open that trunk, I'll simply collapse." - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - SEARCHING FOR CLUES - - -The four young people in the loft listened as Mr. Newcomb closed the gate -to the hen-yard, then, when they heard him leaving, Jerry said, "I reckon -we're alone now, so let's get ahead with the box opening ceremony." - -"Oh, Big Brother," Mary, quite recovered from her recent fright, -exclaimed. "Let's make a _real ceremony_ of it, shall we? Let's kneel on -the floor; you boys at the sides and we girls at the ends. There now, -let's all lift at once and together." - -"Wait!" Dora cried, detaining them. "Just to add to the suspense, let's -each tell what we expect to find in the box." - -Mary looked across at her friend vaguely. "Why, I'm sure I don't know. -What do _you_ hope that we'll find, Jerry?" - -"I reckon what we _want_ to find is something that will help us locate -Little Bodil," the cowboy replied. - -"And yet," Dick put in wisely, "since Little Bodil was thrown from the -stage coach forty years ago, how can _anything_ that was already _in_ her -trunk prove to us whether she was devoured by wild animals or carried -away by bandits?" - -"Oh-oo!" Mary shuddered. "I don't know _which_ would be worse." - -Dora was agreeing with Dick. "You're right of course," she said -thoughtfully, "but, nevertheless I've a hunch that we'll find something -that will, in some roundabout way, prove to us whether Little Bodil is -dead or alive." - -"Now, if _that's_ settled, let the ceremony proceed," Jerry announced. In -the dim lantern light Mary's fair face and Dora's olive-tinted glowed -with excited animation as they took hold of the trunk ends. - -The top, however, did not come off as readily as they had anticipated. -The many winter storms and the burning summer heat to which the box had -been exposed had warped the cover, binding it tight. Jerry, glancing -about the room, found a broken tool which he could use as a wedge. With -it he loosened the cover. Then it was easily removed. - -The first emotion was one of disappointment. The small trunk contained -little, nothing at all, the young people decided, that could be -considered as a clue. There was a plaid woolen dress for a child of about -eight or ten and the coarsest of home-made underwear, knit stockings and -a small pair of carpet slippers with patched soles. - -A hand-carved wooden doll, in a plaid dress, which evidently had been -made by the child, had been lovingly wrapped in a small red shawl. -Lastly, tied up in a quilted blue bonnet with the strings, was a carved -wooden bowl and spoon. - -In the flickering lantern light, the expression on the four faces changed -from eager excitement to genuine disappointment. - -"Not a clue among them," Dora announced dramatically. - -"Not a line of writing of any kind, is there?" Mary was confident that -she knew the answer to her question before she asked it. - -Dick was closely scrutinizing the empty leather box. "Usually in mystery -stories," he looked up from his inspection to say, "there's a lining in -the trunk and the lost will, or, what have you, is safely reposing under -it, but unfortunately Little Bodil's trunk has no lining nor hide-it-away -places of any kind." - -Mary was holding the small doll near to the lantern and the others saw -tears in her pitying blue eyes. Suddenly she held the doll comfortingly -close as she said, a sob in her voice, "Poor little old wooden dollie, -all these long years you've been waiting, wondering, perhaps, why Little -Bodil didn't take you out and mother you." - -"Like Eugene Fields' 'Little Toy Dog,'" Dora said, looking lovingly at -her friend. Then, "Mary, you can write the sweetest verses. Someday when -we're back at school, write about Little Bodil's wooden doll. It may make -you famous." Then she modified, "At least it will help you fill space in -'The Sunnybank Say-So.'" - -"Promise to send me a copy if she does," Jerry said. - -Dick, who had not been listening, had at last given up hope of finding a -scrap of writing. He had felt in the small pocket of the plaid dress and -had closely examined the quilted hood. - -"Well," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, "since there isn't a clue to be -found, shall we put the things back into the trunk and go in?" - -"I reckon we might as well," Jerry acquiesced. "We'll have to be up early -tomorrow so that we can drive the girls over to Gleeson along about -noon." - -Dora was examining the hand-carved wooden bowl and long wooden spoon. "I -wonder if Little Bodil's father made this leaf pattern on the handle," -she said, then began, jokingly, "If I were a trance medium, I would say, -as I hold this article, I feel the presence of someone who, when alive in -the flesh, dearly loved the child, Little Bodil. This someone, this -spirit presence that we cannot see with our outward eyes, wishes very -much to help us find a clue." Dora's voice had become mysteriously low. - -Lifting her eyes slowly from the wooden bowl, she gazed intently at a -dark corner where junk was piled. - -Mary's gaze followed. "Goodness, Dora!" she implored nervously, "don't -stare that way into space. Anyone would think that you saw someone and--" - -"I'm not sure but that I do see something." Dora's tone had changed to -one of startled seriousness. "Jerry," she continued, pointing toward the -dark corner, "don't _you_ see a palely luminous object over there?" - -"I reckon I do," the cowboy agreed. "But one thing I'm sure is, it can't -be a ghost since there isn't any such thing." - -"How do we know that--" Dora began when Mary, clutching her friend's arm, -whispered excitedly, "I see it now! Oh, Jerry, if it isn't a ghost, -_what_ is it?" - -"We'll soon know." There was no fear in the cowboy's voice as he leaped -to his feet and walked toward the corner. The girls watched breathlessly -expecting to see the apparition fade into darkness, but, if anything, it -seemed clearer, as Jerry approached it. - -His hearty laugh dispelled their fears before he explained, "The moon is -rising. That's moonlight coming in through a long crack in the wall." -Then, with a shrug which told his disbelief in _all_ things supernatural, -he dismissed the subject with, "I reckon _that's_ as near being a ghost -as anything ever is." - -Mary was tenderly placing the coarse little undergarments back into the -small trunk. Dora less sentimental than her friend, nevertheless felt a -pitying sadness in her heart as she refolded the little plaid dress and -laid it on top. Before closing the box, Mary, still on her knees, looked -up at Jerry, her eyes luminous. "Big Brother," she said, "do _you_ think -Little Bodil would mind if I kept her doll? It's a funny, homely little -thing with only a wooden heart, but I can't get over feeling that it's -lonesome and needs comforting." - -Jerry's gray eyes were very gentle as he looked down at the girl. His -voice was a bit husky as he replied, "I reckon Little Bodil would be -grateful to you if she knew. She probably set a store by that doll baby." - -He held out a strong brown hand to help her to rise and there was a -tenderness in the clasp. - -Dora had not packed the wooden bowl and spoon. "I would so like to keep -these," she said, adding hastily, "Of course, if Little Bodil is found, -I'll give them back to her. Don't you think it would be all right?" - -"Sure thing!" Dick replied. Stooping, he picked up the worn little carpet -slippers, saying, "You overlooked these, girls, while you were packing." - -"Oh, so we did." Dora reached up a hand to take them, then she hesitated, -inquiring, "Why don't you and Jerry each take one for a keepsake, or -don't boys care for such things?" Dick took one of the slippers and -dropped it, unconcernedly, into a deep leather pocket. The other slipper -he handed to Jerry who stowed it away. The boys replaced the cover of the -box, not without difficulty, and then they all four stood for a silent -moment looking down at it with varying emotions. Mary spoke in a small -awed voice. "What shall we do with the little box?" - -"I reckoned we'd leave it here," Jerry began, then asked, "What were -_you_ thinking about it?" - -"I was wondering," Mary said, looking from one to another with large -star-like eyes, "if it wouldn't be a good plan to take the box up to the -rock house and leave it _there_." - -"Why, Mary Moore," Dora was frankly amazed, "you wouldn't _dare_ climb up -there and be looked at by that Evil Eye Turquoise, would you?" - -Before Mary could reply, Jerry said, "The plan is a good one, all right, -but we'd better leave it here, I reckon, till we know if there's any way -to get up to the rock house. The cliff that broke off in front of it used -to be Mr. Pedersen's stairway." - -Mary agreed and so they ascended the wall ladder. As they stood in the -harness-room below, Mary said in a low voice, "Although we have _not_ -found a clue, that trunk has done one thing; it has made me feel in my -heart that Little Bodil was a _real_ child. Before, it seemed to me more -like a fanciful story. Now, more than ever, I hope that _somewhere_ we -will find a clue that will someday prove to us that no harm came to the -little girl." - -Jerry had picked up the second lantern and, taking Mary's arm, he led her -through the low door and along the dark path. Neither spoke. Dora and -Dick followed, walking single file. Dora, remembering the dead snakes, -glanced about, but Mr. Newcomb had thoughtfully buried them, not wishing -the girls to be needlessly startled. - -At the kitchen door, the boys said good night and returned to their bunk -house out near the corral. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - A WOODEN DOLL - - -The girls, with the lantern Jerry had given them, tip-toed through the -darkened hall to their bedroom. Mary placed the lantern on the table, -and, after having kissed the little wooden doll good night, she put it to -bed on a cushioned chair. She smiled wistfully up at Dora. "What is there -about even a poor forlorn homely wooden doll that stirs in one's heart a -sort of mother love?" - -"I guess you've answered your own question," Dora replied in her -matter-of-fact tone. "I never felt that way about dolls. In fact, I never -owned one after the cradle-age." Then, fearing that Mary would think that -she was critical of her sentiment, she hurried on to say, "I always -wanted tom-boy, noisy toys that I could romp around with." Then, gazing -lovingly at Mary, she added, "Someday you'll make a wonderful mother. I -hope you'll want to name one of your little girls after me. How would -Dorabelle do?" - -"Fine!" Mary smiled her approval of the name. "There must be four girls -so that the oldest may have my mother's name and the other three be -called Dorabelle, Patsy and Polly. What's more, I hope each one will grow -up to be just like her name-mother, if there is any such thing." - -A few moments later, when they were nestled in the soft bed, Dora asked -in a low voice, "What kind of a man would you like to marry?" - -Mary's thoughts had again wandered back to Little Bodil and so she -replied indifferently, "Oh, I don't know. I've never thought that far. I -_do_ want a home and children, someday, of course, but first, for a -_long_ time, I hope, I'm going to keep house for Daddy." - -Dora was more than ever convinced that Mary thought of the cowboy merely -as the Big Brother, which so frequently she called him. However, before -entirely giving up, she asked, "If you have little boys, what will you -name _them_?" - -Mary laughed, not at all suspecting her friend's real reason for all the -questioning. "That's an easy one to answer," she said artlessly. "The -oldest, of course, will be named after Dad. The other two--if--why, Dick -and Jerry will do as well as any, and yet," she paused and seemed to -think a bit, then merrily she said, "Dora, let's postpone all this -christening for ten years at least. The fond father of the brood may want -to have a finger in the pie." - -Dora thought, "Mary's voice sounds amused. Maybe she's wise to my -scheming. I'd better soft pedal it, if I'm ever going to get at the -truth." - -Aloud she said with elaborate indifference--yawning to add to the effect, -"Oh, well, it really doesn't matter. After all I had quite forgotten our -agreement to both remain old maids, me to teach school and you to keep -house for me." Again she yawned, saying sleepily, "Good night and -pleasant dreams." - -It was daybreak when the girls woke up. Already there were sounds of -activity within and without. Barnyard fowls were clamoring, each in its -own way, for the breakfast which Dick was carrying to them. - -Jerry--in the cow corral--was milking under difficulties as a long-legged -calf was noisily demanding a share. - -From the kitchen came faintly the clatter of dishes, a sizzling sound and -a most appetizing fragrance of coffee, bacon and frying potatoes. - -"Let's get up and surprise the boys," Mary whispered. - -This they did and were in time to help pleased Mrs. Newcomb carry in the -hot viands. - -Jerry and Dick welcomed them with delighted grins and Mr. Newcomb gave -them each a fatherly pat as he passed. - -"How will you girls spend the morning?" Jerry inquired. "Dick and I have -branding to do and I reckon you wouldn't care to 'spectate' as an old -cowboy we once had used to say." - -Mary shuddered. "I _certainly do not_," she declared. "I hope branding -doesn't hurt the poor calf half as much as it would hurt _me_ to watch -it." - -"The thing that gets me," Dick, still a tenderfoot, commented, "is the -smell of burning hair and flesh. I can't get used to it." Then, glancing -half apologetically toward Mrs. Newcomb, he said, "Not a very nice -breakfast subject, is it?" - -Placidly that good woman replied, "On a ranch one gets used to -unappetizing subjects--sort of like nurses do in hospitals, I suppose. -During meals is about all the time cowmen have to talk over what they've -been doing and make plans." - -"You haven't told us yet what you'd like to do this morning," Jerry said, -as he glanced fondly at the curly, sun-gold head close to his shoulder. - -Mary replied, with a quick eager glance at the older woman, "Aunt Mollie, -can't you make use of two very capable young women? We can sweep and dust -and--" - -"No need to!" was the laughing reply. "Yesterday was clean-up day." - -"I can do some wicked churning," Dora assured their hostess. - -"No sour cream ready, dearie." Then, realizing that the girls truly -wished to be of assistance, Mrs. Newcomb turned brightly toward her son. -"Jerry, I wish you'd saddle a couple of horses before you go. I'd like to -send a parcel over to Etta Dooley. What's more, I'd like Mary and Dora to -meet Etta. She's about your age, dear." She had turned toward Mary. "A -fine girl, we think, but a mighty lonesome one, yet _never_ a word of -complaint. She has four to cook for--five counting herself--and beside -that, there's the patching and the cleaning. Then in between times she's -studying to try to pass the Douglas high school examinations, hoping -someday to be a teacher. You'll both like Etta. Don't you think they -will, Jerry?" - -"Why, I reckon she's likeable," the cowboy said indifferently. He was -thinking how much more enthusiasm he could have put into that reply if -his mother had asked, "Etta will like Mary, won't she, Jerry?" Rising, he -smiled down at the girl of whom he was thinking. "I'll go and saddle -Dusky for you," he told her. "She's as easy riding as a rocking horse and -as pretty a creature as we ever had on _Bar N_." - -When the boys were gone, the girls insisted on washing the breakfast -dishes. Then they made their beds. As they expected, they found the -saddled ponies waiting for them near the side door. - -Mrs. Newcomb gave Mary a flat, soft parcel. "Slip it over your saddle -horn, dear," she suggested, "and tell Etta that the flannel in the parcel -is for her to make into nighties for Baby Bess." - -Dusky was as beautiful a horse as Jerry had said. Graceful, -slender-limbed, with a coat of soft gray-black velvet--the color of dusk. -Dora's mount was named "Old Reliable." Mrs. Newcomb smoothed its near -flank lovingly. "I used to ride this one all over the range, and even -into town, when we were both younger," she told them. - -The girls cantered leisurely down the cottonwood shaded lane and then -turned, not toward the right which led to the highway, but toward the -left on a rough canyon road that ascended gradually up a low tree-covered -mountain. - -Brambly bushes grew along the trail showing that the ground was not -entirely dry. A curve in the road revealed the reason. A wide, stony -creek-bed was ahead of them, and, in the middle of it, was a -crystal-clear, rushing stream. - -The horses waded through the water spatteringly. Old Reliable seemed not -to notice the little whirlpools at his feet, but Dusky put back his ears -and did a bit of side stepping. Mary, unafraid, spoke gently and patted -his glossy neck. With a graceful leap, the bank was reached. There was a -steep scramble for both horses; loose rock rattled down to the brook bed. - -When they were on the rutty, climbing road again, Dora laughingly -remarked, "Dusky already knows the voice of his mistress." If there was a -hidden meaning in Dora's remark, Mary did not notice it, for what she -said was, "Dora, who would ever expect a cowboy to be poetic, but Jerry -surely was when he named this horse, don't you think so?" - -"Yeah!" Dora replied inelegantly. To herself she thought, "That may be a -hopeful sign, thinking Jerry is a poet in cowboy guise." - -"It's lovely up this canyon road, isn't it?" All unconsciously Mary was -gazing about her, contentedly drinking in the beauty of the cool, -shadowy, rocky places on either side. Aspen, ash and cottonwood trees -grew tall, their long roots drawing moisture from the tumbling brook. - -Half a mile up the canyon there was a clearing, and in it stood a very -old log hut with adobe-filled cracks. A lean-to on one side had recently -been put up. In a small, fenced-in yard were a dozen hens, and down -nearer the brook was a garden patch. Two small, red-headed boys in -overalls were there busily weeding. Near them, on a grassy plot, a -spotted cow was tethered. Back of the house, hanging on a line, was a -rather nondescript wash, but, nevertheless, it was clean. - -The front door stood open but no one was in sight. Mary and Dora, leaving -the road, turned their horses toward the small house. - -"I feel sort of queer," Mary said, "sort of story-bookish--coming to call -on a strange girl in this romantic canyon and--" - -"Sh-ss!" Dora warned. "Someone's coming to the door." - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - A STRANGE HOSTESS - - -Etta Dooley, evidently unused to receiving calls, stood in the open door, -her rather sad mouth and her fine hazel eyes unsmiling. Her plain brown -cloth dress hid the graceful lines of her young form. She was wondering -and waiting. - -Mary and Dora dismounted, and, as the red-headed, ten-year-old twins had -come pell-mell from the garden, Mary, smiling down at them in her -captivating way, asked them not to let the horses wander far from the -house. Then, with the same irresistible smile, she approached the still -silent, solemn girl. - -"Good morning, Etta," Mary said brightly, pretending not to notice the -other girl's rather disconcerting gaze. "We are friends of Mrs. Newcomb, -and she wanted us to become acquainted with you. I am Mary Moore. I live -in Gleeson across the valley and Dora Bellman is my best friend from the -East." - -Etta's serious face lighted for a brief moment with a rather melancholy -smile as she acknowledged the introduction. - -Dora thought, "Poor girl, if _that's_ the best she can do, how cruel life -must have been to her, yet she isn't any older than we are, I am sure. I -wish we could make her forget for a moment. I'd like to see her really -smile." - -Etta had stepped to one side and was saying in her grave, musical voice, -"Won't you come in?" Then a dark red flush suffused her tanned face as -she added, not without embarrassment, "Though there aren't two safe -chairs for you to sit on. The children made them, such as they are, out -of boxes." - -Mary, ever able to blithely cope with any situation, exclaimed sincerely, -"Oh, Etta, it's so gloriously lovely outdoors today, let's sit here. I'll -take the stump and you two may have the fallen tree." - -Then, as Etta glanced back into the room, half hesitating, Mary asked, -"Were you busy about something?" - -"Nothing special," Etta replied. "I wanted to see if we had wakened Baby -Bess. She sleeps late and I like to have her." Again the hazel eyes were -sad. The reason was given. "She hasn't been well since Mother died." -There was a sudden fierce tenderness in her voice as she added, "I can't -lose Baby Bess. She's so like our mother." - -Then, as though amazed at her own unusual show of feeling before -strangers, Etta sank down on the log and shut herself away from them -behind a wall of reserve. - -But Mary, baffled though she momentarily was, knew that Aunt Mollie was -counting on the good their friendship would do Etta, and so, glancing -about, she exclaimed, "I love that rushing brook! It seems so happy, -sparkling in the sun and singing all the time." - -Dora helped out with, "This surely is a beauty spot here under the trees. -It's the prettiest place I've seen since I've been in Arizona." - -"I like it," Etta said, then with unexpected tenseness she added, "I'd -love it, oh, _how_ I'd love it, if it were our own and not _charity_." - -Dora thought, "Now we're getting at the down-deepness of things. Poor, -but so proud! I wonder who in the world these Dooleys are. The name -doesn't suggest nobility." But aloud she asked no questions. One just -didn't ask Etta about her personal affairs. - -Dora groped for something that she could say that would start the -conversational ball rolling, but, for once, she had a most unusual dearth -of ideas. - -Luckily there came a welcome break in the silence which was becoming -embarrassing to the kindly intentioned visitors. - -A sweet trilling baby-voice called, "Etta, I'se 'wake." - -Instantly their strange hostess was on her feet, her eyes love-lighted, -her voice eager. "I'll bring her out. It's warm here in the sunshine." - -While Etta was gone, Mary and Dora exchanged despairing glances which -seemed to say, "We've come to a hurdle that we can't jump over." Aloud -they said nothing, for, almost at once Etta reappeared. In her arms was a -two-year-old; a pretty child with sleep-flushed cheeks, corn-flower blue -eyes and tousled hair as yellow as cornsilk. Etta's expression told her -love and pride in her little darling. - -Baby Bess gazed unsmilingly at Dora as though she knew that here was -someone who did not care for dolls, then she turned to look at Mary. -Instantly she leaned toward her and held out both chubby arms, her sudden -smile sweet and trusting. - -Dora, watching Etta, saw a fleeting change of expression. What was it? -Could Etta be jealous? But no, it wasn't that, for she gave Mary her -first real smile of friendship. - -"Baby Bess likes you," she said. "That means you must be _very_ nice. -Would you like to hold her?" - -"Humph!" Dora thought as she watched Mary reseating herself on the stump -and gathering the small child into her arms, "I reckon then I'm _not_ -nice." - -After that, with the child contentedly nestling in Mary's arms, the ice -melted in the conversational stream. Of her own accord Etta spoke of -school. She asked how far along the girls were and astonished them by -telling what she was doing, subjects far in advance of them. - -Then came the surprising information that her father and mother had both -been college graduates and had taught her. She had never attended a -school. She in turn taught the twins. Then, in a burst of confidence -which Dora rightly guessed was very foreign to her reserved nature, Etta -said, "My father lost a fortune four years ago. He made very unwise -investments. After that Mother's health failed and we came West. Dad did -not know how to earn money. He grew old very suddenly," then, once again, -despair made her face far older than her years. She threw her arms wide. -"All this tells the rest of our story." - -Mary's blue eyes held tears of sympathy which she hid in the child's -yellow curls. Etta would not want sympathy. - -Luckily at that moment there came a welcome interruption. A gay hallooing -lower down the road announced the approach of Dick and Jerry. - -Dora could see Etta rebuilding her wall of reserve. She acknowledged the -introduction to Dick with a formal, unsmiling bow. Baby Bess kept the -situation from becoming awkward by welcoming Jerry with delighted crows -and leaps. The tall cowboy, his sombrero pushed back on his head, took -her in his strong hands and lifted her high. The child's gurgling excited -laughter was like the rippling laughter of the mountain brook. After a -few moments Jerry gave the baby to Etta. The twins came around a clump of -cottonwood trees leading the horses, their freckled faces bright with -wide grins, their Irish blue eyes laughing. Not for them the anxiety and -sorrow that so crushed their big sister. - -Jerry tossed them coins to pay them for the care they had taken of the -ponies. Dora, glancing quickly at Etta, saw that the troubled expression -was again brooding in her eyes. - -Later, when Mary and Dora had said goodbye to their new friend and were -riding away up the canyon road, Dora said, "Jerry, doesn't it seem queer -to you that the boys are so different from their sister? I should almost -think that _she_ belonged to an entirely different family." - -"A changeling, perhaps," Dick suggested. - -"Me no sabe," the cowboy replied lightly. He was thinking of a very -pleasant dream of his own just then. - -Mary said with fervor, "Anyway, _whoever_ she is, I think she is a -darling girl and the baby is adorable. I wish that we lived nearer that -we might see her oftener, Dora." Then, before her friend could reply, -Mary added brightly, "Oh, Jerry, I know where you are taking us. You want -to show Dick your own five hundred acres, don't you? It's the loveliest -spot in all the country round, I think." - -Jerry's gray eyes brightened. "That's what I _hoped_ you would think, -Little Sister," he said in a low voice, which the other two, following, -could not hear. - -They had gone about half a mile up the winding, slowly climbing road when -Jerry stopped. The mountain had flattened out in a wide grass-covered -tableland moistened by many underground springs. - -Jerry waved his left hand. "This all was blue and yellow with wild -flowers after the spring rains," he told them. Mary turned her horse off -the road and went to the edge of the hurrying brook. - -"See, Dick," she called, "this is where Jerry is going to build him a -house some day. His granddad willed it to him. It takes in the part of -the canyon where the Dooleys are, doesn't it?" - -"Close to it," Jerry replied. "Their garden is on my line, but Dad and I -will never put up fences." - -"Of course not!" Dora exclaimed. "Since you are the only child, it will -all be yours." - -"There's a jolly fine view from here," Dick said admiringly as he sat on -his horse gazing across the valley to the far range beyond Gleeson. - -As they rode back down the valley Dora was thinking, "How can Mary help -knowing that Jerry hopes that _she_ will be the one to live in the house -he plans building?" Then, with a little shrug, her thought ended with, -"Oh well, and oh well, the future will reveal all." - -Down the road Mary was saying, "Jerry, I didn't give that flannel to -Etta. I just couldn't. I was afraid she would think that we had come -_only_ for charitable reasons. Of course we did in the beginning, but, -afterwards, I was _so_ glad something had given me a chance to meet her." - -A solution was offered by the sudden appearance of the twins by the -roadside. - -Jerry, slipping the parcel from Mary's saddle horn, tossed it down, -calling, "This is for Baby Bess, tell Sister Etta." - -Mary flashed him a bright, relieved smile as they went on down the canyon -road. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - A GUN SHOT - - -Early that afternoon Jerry and Dick drove the small car around to the -side door of the ranch house and hallooed for the girls, who appeared, -one on either side of a beaming Aunt Mollie. - -"We've had a wonderful time, you dear." Mary kissed the older woman's -tanned cheek lovingly. - -"Spiffy-fine!" Dora's dark glowing eyes seconded the enthusiasm of the -remark. "Please ask us again." - -"Any time, no one _could_ be more welcome, and make it soon." After the -girls had run down to the car, Mrs. Newcomb turned back into the kitchen -where she was keeping Mr. Newcomb's mid-day meal warm as he had not yet -returned from riding the range. - -The boys leaped out and Jerry opened the front door with a flourish. He -glanced at Mary suspiciously. "You girls look as though you were plotting -mischief." - -"Not that," Mary denied. "We've just been composing Verse Eight for our -Cowboy Song. You know they have to be forty verses long. Ready, Dora?" - -Then together they laughingly sang-- - - "Two jolly girls and cowboys twain - Start out adventuring once again. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - Come, come, coma, - Come with we." - -"Not so hot!" Dick commented. "Wait till I've had time to cook up one. -Jerry, we'll do Verse Nine after awhile." - -"Drive fast enough to cool us, won't you, Jerry, for it surely _is_ -torrid today," Dora urged as she sprang nimbly into the rumble followed -by Dick. "You two have your heads sheltered but we poor exposed pussons -are likely to have frizzled brains." - -Dick, sinking down as comfortably as possible in the rather cramped -quarters, grinned at his companion affably. "Luckily for us Jerry didn't -hear that or he would have sprung that old one, 'what makes you think you -have any?'" - -Dora turned toward him rather blankly. "Any what?" she questioned, then -added quickly, "Oh, of course, brains. I was wondering what those cows, -that are watching us so intently, think that we are." - -"Some four-headed, square-bodied fierce animal that rattles all its bones -when it runs, I suspect, and if they could hear Jerry's horn, they'd take -to the high timber up around the Dooleys' clearing." - -Suddenly Dora became serious. "Dick," she said, "isn't that Etta a -strange, interesting girl? Would you call her beautiful?" - -"I wouldn't call her at all," Dick said sententiously; "I'm quite -satisfied with my present companion." - -Ignoring his facetiousness, Dora continued, "Etta told us that her father -lost a fortune four years ago. He evidently had inherited it. He couldn't -have made it himself, because, when it was lost, he was simply helpless. -He didn't know how to work and earn more. That implies that he belonged -to a rich family, doesn't it?" - -"Possibly. In fact probably," Dick agreed, looking with mock solemnity -through his shell-rimmed glasses at the interested, olive-tinted face of -his companion. "Is all this leading somewhere? Do you think that there -_may_ be rich relatives who ought to be notified of the Dooleys' plight?" - -Dora laughed as she acknowledged that she hadn't thought that far. -"Aren't you afraid we'll get sort of mixed up if we try to solve two -mysteries at once?" Dick continued. "You know we're already hot on the -trail of a clue that will unravel the Lucky Loon--Little Bodil mystery." - -Dora turned brightly toward him. "Dick Farley," she announced, as one who -had made an important discovery, "here _is_ something! Little Bodil is -described as having had deep blue eyes and cornsilk yellow hair." - -"Sure thing, what of it? Etta's hair is dark brown." - -"I'm talking about that Baby Bess, silly!" Dora told him. "Surely you -noticed that she had--" - -"Hair and eyes? Sure thing!" Dick finished her sentence jokingly, "but, -according to my rather limited observation of the infant terrible, it -usually starts life with blue eyes and yellow hair. Now are you going to -tell me that this baby and Little Bodil have another similarity?" - -Dora had turned and was looking out over the desert valley, which, for -the past half hour, they had been crossing. Dick thought she was offended -by his good-natured raillery, but, if she had been, she thought better of -it and replied, "I had not noticed any other similarity." - -"Well, neither had I," Dick, wishing to mollify her, confessed, "except -that both of their names start with B." - -The small car had turned on the cross road which led toward Gleeson. As -they neared the high cliff-like gate which was the entrance to the -box-shaped sandy front yard of Mr. Pedergen's rock house and tomb, Dick -leaned forward and called, "Hi there, Jerry! Dora suggests that we stop -and visit Lucky Loon's estate. We aren't in any particular hurry, are -we?" - -The rattling of the car was stilled as Jerry drew to one side of the road -and stopped. He got out and glanced up at the sun. It still was high in a -gleaming blue sky. "It's hours yet before milking time," he replied. Then -to Mary, "What is _your_ wish, Little Sister?" - -Dora thought, "_Never_ a brother in all this world puts so much -tenderness into _that_ name. Leastwise _mine_ don't!" - -Mary had evidently replied that she would like to revisit the rock house, -for Jerry was assisting her from the car. Dick had learned from past -experience that Dora scorned assistance. Two girls could _not_ be more -unlike. - -Before they entered the rock gate, Dick implored with pretended -earnestness, "For Pete's sake, don't any of you imagine you hear a gun -shot, will you?" - -"Not unless we really _do_ hear one," Mary said. - -Dora, to be impish, declared, "I'm prophesying that we _will_ hear a gun -fired before we leave this enclosure." - -The sand was deep and the walking was hard. Jerry, with a hand under -Mary's right elbow, helped her along, but Dora ploughed alone, with Dick, -making no better headway, at her side. - -"When we first visited this place," Dora began, "I felt that there was -sort of a deathlike atmosphere about it. It's so terribly still and with -bleached skeletons lying around. Now that I _know_ it is Lucky Loon's -tomb," she glanced up at the rock house and shuddered, "it seems more -uncanny than ever." - -Dick, having left the others, wandered along the base of the cliff on -which stood the rock house. The front of it had broken away leaving a -wide gap at the top. - -"Here's where Lucky Loon went up, I suppose." Dick pointed to irregular -steps that seemed to have been hewn out of the leaning rock. "We _could_ -go up these stairs to the top of this rock, but nothing short of a -mountain goat could leap that chasm." - -"I reckon you're right," Jerry agreed. - -Dick was regarding the gap speculatively. "If a fellow could throw a rope -from the top of this leaning rock over to the house and make it secure -somehow--" - -Dora teasingly interrupted, "I didn't know, Doctor Dick, that _you_ could -walk a tight rope." - -"Oh sure, I can do anything I set out to!" was the joking reply. -"However, I meant to walk across it with my hands." - -"It can't be done." The cowboy shook his head. - -"Anyhow," Dick declared, "you all wait here while I see how far up these -old stairs I can climb. From the top I can better estimate how big a goat -will be required to carry me over." - -"Dick," Mary laughed, "I never knew you to be so nonsensical." - -Dora tried to detain him, saying, "If you succeed in climbing up to the -top of this leaning rock, you _might_ be directly opposite the open door -of the rock house." - -"Well, what of it!" Dick was puzzled, for Dora's expression was serious -and almost fearful. - -"That Evil Eye Turquoise _might_ look right out at you!" - -"Surely _you_ don't believe _that_ yarn!" Dick smiled down at her from -the first step, for he had started to climb. He reached up to catch at a -higher step with one hand when he uttered a terrorized scream and fairly -dropped back to the ground, his arm held out. Clinging to his coat -sleeve, perilously close to his wrist, was a huge lizard, a Gila Monster, -thick-bodied, hideously mottled, dull-yellow, orange-red, dead-black. It -had a blunt head and short legs that were clawing the air. The girls -echoed Dick's scream. Jerry, leaping forward, gave a warning cry. "_Don't -drop your arm!_" Then the quick command, "_Girls, get back of me!_" -Whipping out his gun, he fired. The ugly reptile dropped to the sand, its -muscles convulsing. - -Dora ran to Dick and pulled back his sleeve. "Thank heavens," she cried, -"he didn't touch your wrist." - -"I reckon you've had a narrow escape all right, old man," Jerry declared, -his tone one of great relief. Then, self-rebukingly, "I ought to have -warned you. _Never_ put your feet or your hands _anywhere_ that you can't -see." - -"Do you suppose there's any poison in my coat sleeve?" Dick asked -anxiously. - -"No, I reckon not," the cowboy said. "A Gila Monster packs his poison in -his lower jaw and he has to turn over on his back before he can get it -into a wound he makes." Then, glancing at Mary and seeing that she still -looked white and was trembling, he exclaimed, "Come, let's go. I reckon -it's too hot in here at this hour." - -Dora, hardly knowing that she did so, clung to Dick's arm as they waded -through the sand to the gate. - -"Oh, how I do hope we'll never, _never_ have to come to this awful place -again," Mary said. "To think that Dick might have lost his life here." - -"Well, I didn't!" Dick replied. Then, with an effort at levity, he added, -"Dora, _you won_! We _did_ hear a gun shot." - - - - - CHAPTER XX - INTRODUCING AN AIR SCOUT - - -As they were nearing Gleeson, Dick leaned forward and called, "Jerry, -Dora and I were wondering if we ought to tell old Silas Harvey that we -have found Little Bodil's trunk?" - -Not until the small car had climbed the last ascending stretch of road to -the tableland and had stopped in front of the ancient corner store did he -receive a reply. Then, jumping out, Jerry said in a low voice, "Mary and -I have been talking it over and we reckon that we'd better wait awhile -before telling." Then to the girl on the front seat, "Shall I get your -mail?" - -"And mine! And mine!" a chorus from the rumble. - -There were letters and papers but one that especially pleased the girls. - -"Another bulgy-budget from Polly and Patsy," Dora exulted. - -"They're our two best friends back East at Sunnybank-on-the-Hudson where -I live." This she explained to Dick as the little car started to rattle -up the hill road through the deserted ghost town. - -"I can tell you the rest," Dick recited. "Polly is fat and jolly and eats -chocolates by the box. Patsy is clever, red-headed and a boy-hater. Have -I got it right? Anyway I'm sure that's what you said the first time you -told me about them. Oh, yes--all together you call yourselves 'The -Quadralettes.'" - -"Righto. Go to the head of the class. Although you did draw one minus. -Patsy is no longer a boy-hater. She's met her conqueror. Or at least so -their last letter reported. I'm wild to get home so that we may read -this." Then leaning forward, she called through the opening in the old -top which covered the front seat, "Jerry, can't you boys stay awhile? I'd -like to share this letter with you and Dick." - -"Oh, yes, please do," Mary seconded brightly. "I'm sure it isn't time yet -to milk that cow." This was teasingly added, remembering what Jerry had -said soon after the noon hour. - -"You don't have to plead, Little Sister," Jerry smiled down into the -eager, upturned face that looked so fair to him; "if it was time to milk -the cow, I reckon I'd let the calf do it. We only need milk enough for -the family and this morning Bossie was extra generous." - -When the Moore house was reached, Mary, anxious to see her dad, hurried -indoors and went directly to his room. He had just awakened from his nap -and looked so much better that Mary exclaimed gladly, "Dad, you'll be -sitting out on the porch next week. I'm just ever so sure that you will." -Then, to the nurse who had entered, "Oh, Mrs. Farley, isn't Dad -wonderfully improved? Don't you think he'll be well enough to go back -East with me in October when school opens?" - -"I'm sure of it!" the kind woman replied, then, dismissing the girl, she -added, "It's time for the alcohol rub, dearie. Come back at four and you -may read to your dad until supper time." - -"Oh, I surely will." For a long moment Mary's rosebud cheek pressed the -thin wan one she so loved, then she slipped away. - -Dick had spoken with his mother a brief moment when Mary had first gone -in and she had been pleased to see the deepening tan on his face. The boy -had not told her of his recent narrow escape, as Jerry had called it when -the Gila Monster had set its cruel jaws on his coat sleeve. Brave as he -was, Dick could not recall the terror of that moment without experiencing -it all over again. He was sure he would have nightmares about it for a -long time to come. - -When Dora tripped down from upstairs where she had been to tidy up, she -found Dick waiting for her in the lower hall. - -"Where are the two Erries?" she asked, then laughed as he looked -mystified. "Mary and Jerry. Of course if it were spelled Merry, it would -be better." - -"In the kitchen," Dick replied. "I was told to guide you thence." - -They heard spoons rattling in glasses. "Oh, good!" Dora exclaimed. "That -sounds like a nice, cool drink." - -Nor was she wrong. There at the table in the shady corner of the kitchen -stood Mary mixing fruit juices she had poured from cans which Jerry had -opened. - -"Yum! Yum!" Dora exclaimed in high appreciation. "What is better than -pineapple and strawberry juice and cold water from the spring cellar?" - -"Sounds good to me," Dick said, smacking his lips with anticipatory -relish. - -Mary called over her shoulder, "Dora, fetch some of Carmelita's cookie -snaps." Then, as she placed the four tall glasses around the table, she -added, "Sit wherever you want to. When the party is over, we'll read the -letter." The refreshment lived up to its name and tasted even better than -it looked. Dick, being on the outside, cleared away the things and Dora -opened the letter. - -The languid scrawl which so fitted Polly's indolent personality was first -in evidence, "Dear Absent Ones," Dora read aloud-- - -"Greetings from Camp Winnichook in the Adirondacks--(so cool that we have -to wear our sweater coats)--to the sizzling sands of desert Arizona." - -Then Patsy's quick, jerky penmanship interrupted. "Crickets, just reading -that made me wipe my freckled brow. Ain't it awful? Those reddish brown -dots that were so piquant on my pert pug nose have soared to my brow, -spread to my ears, and dived to my chin. But, even with my beauty thus -blemished, H. H. thinks I'm--" - -Big sprawling words cut in with, "It must be a case of love them and -leave them then, for his winged lordship is about to fly away." There was -a blot of ink at that point as though there had been a struggle over the -pen. Evidently Patsy had won, as her small scratchy penmanship followed. -"Since H. H. is _my_ friend, I consider it my sacred right to reveal all. -Harry Hulbert, surely you remember all about him and his perfectly spiffy -silver plane, which honestly looks like a big seagull. Oh, misery! I'm -getting all tangled up. What I'm trying to say is that we had told you -that he's studying to be a pilot and that when he got his papers, he was -to fly West and be an air scout. Well, he's had 'em and he's done gone! -The whole object of this epistle is to introduce you to Harry before he -drops down upon you. Heavens, I hope he won't do it literally. Wouldn't -it be awful to have an airplane crash through your roof?" - -Dora paused and looked glowingly across at Mary. "This flying Apollo is -coming to Gleeson, I judge." - -Mary replied, "I'm terribly disappointed. Of course I knew it _couldn't_ -happen, but I _did_ wish, if _he_ came, he could bring Patsy and Polly -along with him." - -Jerry asked, "What's this flying seagull going to do when he gets here?" - -"He's going to be attached to the border patrol," Mary replied. "When -there's been a holdup, of a train or a stage, I suppose, Harry Hulbert is -to fly over that region and watch for the escaping bandits." - -"Jolly!" Dick ejaculated. "That sounds like a great kind of an adventure -to me. Jerry, let's welcome him like a long lost brother; then, at least, -he'll take us up in his Seagull." - -Before the cowboy could reply Dora had continued reading, "Polly has told -you that I'm goofy about H. H. but don't you believe a word of it. I -picked him out for _you_, Mary, so take him and be grateful." - -Dora wanted to look up at Jerry, but was afraid it would be too pointed, -so she turned a page and exclaimed with interest, "Aha, _here_ we have -him in person. The Seagull's photograph no less." - -It was an amusing snapshot. Under it was written, "Patsy Ordelle -introducing Harry Hulbert to Mary Moore and Dora Bellman--also the ship." - -A pert, pretty girl with windblown hair and laughing eyes was pointing -toward the youth at her side, who, dressed in flying togs, stood by his -ship. He was making a bow, evidently to acknowledge the introduction, and -so his face was not fully revealed. This was remedied by another snapshot -of the boy alone standing with one hand on his graceful silver plane. -Although not good looking, really, he had a fine, sensitive face, was -slenderly built and had keen alert eyes. - -"Now I'll turn the mike over to Polly," the pert handwriting ended. The -languid scrawl took up the tale. - -"Guess I was wrong about Pat's being dippy about the silver aviator. He's -been gone two days and she's been canoeing with 'The Poet' from -'Crow's-Nest-Camp' up in the hills from dawn till dark and even by -moonlight. For a once-was boy-hater, she's going some. - -"Well, say hello to Harry for us. He really is a decent kid. Write us the -minute he lands. Wish I'd thought to send you a batch of fudge I'd made. -Nuts are just crowded in it. Oh, well, up so near the sun it would -probably have melted. Tra-la for now. - - From Poll and Pat." - -Mary looked thoughtfully at, Jerry. "If Harry Hulbert left the Atlantic -coast two days before this letter started, he must be in Arizona by now." - -"I reckon so. A mail pilot makes it in less than three days." - -Dora thought, "Poor Jerry, I 'reckon' _he_ didn't like that part about H. -H. being donated to his Mary, but he isn't going to say so, not Jerry!" - -A small clock on the kitchen shelf back of the big stove made four little -tingling noises. Mary sprang up. Holding out her hand to the cowboy, she -said, "Stay for supper if you think the calf can milk the cow. I'm going -to read to Dad for an hour. Then I'll be back again." - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - A POSSIBLE CLUE - - -At five, which was the invalid's supper hour, Mary emerged from the -living-room and heard excited voices from behind the closed door of her -father's study across the hall. - -Dora, who had been listening for her friend's footsteps, threw the door -wide. Her olive-tinted face told Mary that something had happened even -before Jerry exclaimed: "Little Sister, come here and see what Dick has -found. We think it's a clue." - -"A clue about Little Bodil _here_ in Dad's study?" Mary's voice was -amazed and doubting. - -"Oh, it's something Dick himself brought into the house. Don't tell," -Dora implored the boys. "See if Mary can guess." - -The fair girl gazed thoughtfully at the other three. Dick, beaming upon -her, was holding something behind his back. - -"Hmm. Let me see." Mary put one slim white finger against her head, as -though trying to think deeply. Then she laughed merrily. "I'd like to -seem terribly dumb and drag out the suspense for you all, but, of course, -it's as plain as the sun on a clear day. Dick only kept _one_ thing from -the trunk, and that one thing was a small carpet slipper. But I don't see -how _that_ could possibly be a clue." - -"Very well, my dear young lady, we will show you." Dick handed the -slipper to her. "First, thrust your dainty fingers into its toe. Do you -find a clue there?" - -"No, I do not." Mary was frankly curious. - -"Now, turn the slipper over. What do you see?" - -Mary turned the small worn slipper wonderingly and reported, "A loose -patch." Then, gleefully, "Oh, I know, Dick, that patch is some kind of -coarse paper and on the inside of it, there's writing. Is that it? Have I -guessed right?" - -"Well," Dick confessed, "you know now as much as we do. We were just -about to remove the patch when you came in. Jerry, let me take your -knife. I left mine on a fence post over at _Bar N_." - -The four young people stood close to one of the long windows while Dick -cut the coarse thread that held the patch. - -"Oh, do hurry!" Dora begged. "Your fingers are all thumbs. Here, let me -do that." But Dick shook his head, saying boyishly, "It's my slipper, -isn't it?" - -"One more stitch and we shall know all," Jerry said, then, smiling across -at Mary, he asked, "What do _you_ reckon that we will know?" - -"I can't guess what's _in_ the letter, of course," that little maid -replied, "but it _can't_ be anything that will tell us whether the child -was eaten up by wild animals or carried off by bandits." - -The ragged piece of brown paper, which had evidently been torn from a -package wrapping, was removed and opened. Although there had been writing -on it at one time, it was so blurred that it was hard to decipher. Mary -found a magnifying glass in her father's desk. Dora, Dick and Jerry stood -with their heads together back of the younger girl's chair, and when they -thought they had figured a word out correctly, Mary, seated at the desk, -wrote it down. After half an hour, they had made out only two words of -the message and had guessed at the blurred signature. - - "lonesome--write--Miss Burger, - Gray Bluffs, - New Mexico." - -There were several other words which they could not make out. - -Mary took the letter, spread it on the desk before her and gazed intently -at it through the magnifying glass. Then, smiling up at the others, a -twinkle in her eyes, she said, "This is it--perhaps. - - 'Dear Little Bodil, - - When you reach the strange place where you are going, you may be - lonesome. If you are, do write often to your good friend, - - Miss Burger.'" - -"Well, I reckon that'll do pretty nigh as well as anything else," Jerry -said. Then, glancing out of the window at the late afternoon sun, he -grinningly announced that since the calf, by that time, had milked the -cow, he and Dick would accept Mary's previously given invitation and stay -for supper. - -"Oh, Jerry!" Mary stood up and caught hold of the cowboy's arm. "I know -by the gleam in your eyes that you think this bit of paper _may_ be a -clue worth following up." - -"Yes, I sure do," was the earnest reply. "I reckon this Miss Burger, if -we got the name right, was a friend to the little girl somewhere, -sometime." - -"Shall we write to her now?" Mary dropped back into the desk chair. "If -she's living, she will surely answer." - -"But," Dick was not yet convinced that it was a helpful clue, "_how_ can -Miss Burger know--" - -"Stupid!" Dora interrupted. "Of course Miss Burger _won't_ know whether -Little Bodil was eaten by wild animals or carried off by bandits, but -_if_ the child lived, it's more than likely, isn't it, that she _did_ -write and tell this friend." - -"True enough!" Dick agreed. "But, Lady Sleuth, if Bodil wrote Miss Burger -telling where _she_ was, isn't it likely that Mr. Pedersen also wrote the -same woman telling where _he_ was, and presto, his long search would be -over. He would have found his child." - -"Oh, of course, Dick! You weren't stupid after all." Dora was properly -apologetic. Then, she added ruefully, "Since this clue isn't any good, we -got thrilled up over it for nothing at all." - -Jerry spoke in his slow drawl. "I cain't be sure the clue is no good -until we've heard from this Miss Burger." - -"Well spoken, old man," Dick commended. "If we could send a night-letter, -we _might_ have an answer at once, if--" - -"That 'if' looms large," Dora commented dubiously. "There isn't a -telegraph office in _this_ ghost town, and, moreover, Miss Burger may not -be alive and if she is, wouldn't she be _awfully_ ancient?" - -"Not necessarily," Mary replied, glancing up at the others thoughtfully. -"If Little Bodil _is_ alive, she will be about fifty. This Miss Burger -may have been a very young woman." - -"About that night telegram," Jerry said. "We can have one sent out of -Tombstone up to nine o'clock. What, say that we ride over there as soon -as we've had supper." - -"Great!" Dick ejaculated. "There'll be a full moon to light us home -again." - -Mary sprang up and clapped her hands gleefully. "It will be jolly fun -anyway. And it _may_ be a good clue. Come on now, let's storm the kitchen -and help Carmelita. We ought to start as soon as we can." - - * * * * * * * * - -It was early twilight when the faithful little car (that always seemed -just about to fall apart but which never did) drew up in front of the -combination blacksmith shop-oil station on the edge of Gleeson. - -Seth Tully, one of the grizzled, leathery old-timers, hobbled out of a -small, crumbling adobe building. It was evident that he was much excited -about something and eager to have someone to talk to. - -"Howdy, folks," he began in his high, uncertain, falsetto voice, "I -reckon as you-all heerd how a freight train was held up last night over -in Dead Hoss Gulch." Then, seeing the boys' amazement and the girls' -dismay, he went on exultingly, "Yes, siree! Thar was bags of rich ore in -one o' them cars--the hindmost one, an', time take it, if them thar -bandits wa'n't wise to it. The train allays goes durn slow along that -steep grade climbing up out o' the gulch. Well, sir, _what_ did them -bandits do?" The old man was becoming dramatic in his delight at having -such thrilled listeners. "Dum blast it, if a parcel of 'em didn't hold up -the engineer and another parcel of 'em cut loose that hind car. _Crash_ -it went back'ards down that thar grade, jumped the track and smashed to -smithers." - -"Oh, Mr. Tully," Mary cried, "_was_ anyone killed?" - -The old man shook his head. "Nope, the guard wa'n't kilt, but them -bandits reckoned as how he was, 'totherwise they'd have plugged him. He -come to, but they'd cleared out, the whule pack of 'em, an' they'd tuk -the ore with 'em." - -Dora, watching the old man's glittering, pale-blue eyes that were -deep-sunken under shaggy brows, thought that he seemed actually pleased -about it all, nor was she wrong as his next remark showed. - -"Say, Jerry-kid, that thar holdup smacks o' old times. It was gettin' too -gol-darned quiet around these here parts. Needed suthin' like this to -sort o' liven us up." He ended with a cackling laugh that made Mary -shudder. - -When they were again rattling along the lonely, rutty road which led to -Tombstone, the nearest town of any size, Mary, nestling close to Jerry, -asked, "Big Brother, is Dead Horse Gulch near here?" - -"No, Little Sister, it isn't, and, as for the bandits, they're over the -border in Mexico by now, I reckon. Don't you go to worrying about -_them_!" - -In the rumble seat, a glowing-eyed Dora was saying: "Dick Farley, _what_ -if this should be the _same_ robber gang--oh, I'm trying to say--" - -"I get you!" Dick put in. "You're wondering if the three bandits who held -up the stage and may have kidnapped Little Bodil are _in_ this gang. I -doubt it. They'd be _old_ fellows by now. It takes young blood to do -deeds of daring." - -Dora's eyes were still glowing. "Dick," she said prophetically, "I have a -hunch that _this_ robbery is going to do a lot to help us solve the -mystery about Little Bodil. I _may_ be wrong, but, _you_ may be -surprised." - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - AN INTERESTING ARRIVAL - - -The road to Tombstone was narrow, rutty and lonesome. Every now and then -it dipped down into a gravelly wash, arroyos in the making, that were, -year after year, being deepened by the torrents that rushed down the -not-distant mountain sides after a cloudburst. Along the banks of these -dry creek-beds grew low cottonwood trees, making shelters behind which -bandits _might_ lurk if they were so inclined. But the girls, having been -assured by Jerry that the train robbers had long since crossed the -Mexican border, were not really fearful. For once, even Mary was not -using her imagination to a frightening extent. - -"Big Brother," she said, "I was just thinking about that aviator friend -of Patsy's. Don't you think it must be wonderful to be flying at night up -under those lovely white stars? They look so close to the earth here in -Arizona as though Harry Hulbert might almost have to weave his way among -them." - -Jerry, evidently more desirous of talking of stars than of the aviator of -the "Seagull," stated matter-of-factly, "It's the clear air here that -makes the stars look so large and close--sort of like lanterns hung in a -blue-black roof over our heads." - -Just then a huge star shot across the heavens leaving a trail of fire. -Mary whirled to call back, "Oh, Dora, did you wish on that shooting -star?" - -"Nope! Didn't see it!" was the laconic reply. - -"Did you?" Jerry asked in a low voice. How he hoped Mary had echoed _his_ -wish, but what she said was, "Yes, I hoped the Seagull would make a safe -landing. It must be terribly dangerous landing among so many mountain -peaks, or, one might even be forced down in the middle of a barren -stretch of desert, oh, miles from water or anyone!" - -If Jerry were disappointed, he made no comment. Dora leaned forward to -call, "From the top of the next little hill we'd ought to be able to see -the lights of Tombstone, hadn't we, Jerry?" - -"I reckon we will, lest be the power plant's out of commission." - -The rather feeble lights of the rattly old car did little to illumine the -well of darkness in which they were riding. The wash they were crossing -was wide and deep and the girls were both glad when they climbed that -last little hill and were nearer the stars again. From the top, they -could see the black wall of mountains to the distant right of them, which -Jerry had called "The Dragoons." A desert valley at its foot stretched -away for many miles shimmering in the starlight. Not far ahead of them -was a cluster of sand hills--"the silver hills"--on which stood the small -mining-town of Tombstone. The power plant was in order, as was evidenced -by the twinkling of lights. A friendly group of them marked the main -street, and scattered lights, farther and farther apart, were shining -from the windows of homes. Down the little hill the car dropped, then -began the last long climb up to the town. - -On the main street there were unshaven, roughly dressed men, some from -the range, others from the mines, loitering about in front of a lighted -pool hall. They were talking, some of them excitedly, about the recent -train robbery. Jerry drew his car to the curb and leaped out. Three young -cowboys called a greeting to him. He replied in a friendly way, but -turned at once to assist Mary. Dick and Dora followed the other two into -a low adobe building labeled "Post Office." A light was burning in a -small back room. Jerry opened the door and entered. A middle-aged man, -whose gauntness suggested that he had come there to be cured of the -"white plague," smiled affably. "Evening, Jerry-boy," he said. "Wait till -I get this message. The wires are keeping hot tonight along of that train -robbery." - -The uneven clicking of the instrument ended; the man scribbled a few -words, called a lounging boy from a dark corner and dispatched him to -Sheriff Goode. Jerry introduced his companions to Mr. Hale, then -explained the object of their visit. - -Mr. Hale shook his head. "Well, that's just too bad," he said. "I happen -to know that Gray Bluffs country well. Stopped off when I first came -West, health-hunting, but it didn't agree with me there; nothing like -this Tombstone shine and air to make sick lungs well." - -His tanned face and bright eyes told his enthusiasm, but he added -quickly, "_That_ won't interest you any. What I started to say is that -Gray Bluffs isn't a real town, that is not _now_. It was, of course, when -they first found gold in the bluffs, but it petered out, the post office -moved to another place and so did the folks who'd lived there." - -"Did you ever hear of a woman named Burger over there?" Jerry asked. - -"Sure! That was the name of the postmistress, Miss Kate Burger. She died, -though, along about five years ago." - -Just then the instrument began an excited clicking. The operator turned -his attention to it. "Say, that's great!" he ejaculated as though -addressing whoever was sending the message. - -"Oh, Mr. Hale, _have_ they caught the robbers?" Mary asked eagerly. - -"No, not that." The man was scribbling rapidly. "Say, hasn't that -kid--oh, here you are, Trombone. Take this back to the Deputy Sheriff's -office. Dep's been loco all day." Then to the interested listeners, he -explained, "He'd been promised the help of an air scout from the East; -thought maybe he'd had a smashup; was due this morning early. Well, that -last message was from the head office of the border patrol. The air scout -will be along any time now." - -"Oh, Mr. Hale, is his name Harry Hulbert?" Mary, her pretty cheeks -flushed, listened eagerly for the answer. - -"Don't know! Haven't heard! Say, Jerry." The man looked up quickly, and -Dora thought she'd never seen such keen, eagle-like eyes. "You boys had -better drop out the back way if you can. Dep Goode is rounding up all the -able-bodied fellows he can find for the next posse that's to start as -soon as this air pilot does a little scouting." - -Mary, suddenly panicky at the idea, caught the cowboy's arm. "Oh, Big -Brother," she cried, forgetting that the name would sound strange to a -man who knew that Jerry had no sisters, "can't we get away somehow before -we're seen?" - -Jerry looked at her tenderly, but shook his head. "No, I cain't dodge my -duty. I _must_ volunteer!" Then, to the other boy, "Dick, you drive the -girls back to Gleeson, will you? I reckon the Deputy Sheriff'll let you -off. He isn't after tenderfoot help, meaning no harm, they'd be more of a -hindrance." - -Dick flushed, but knowing that Jerry always meant whatever he said in the -kindest way, he expressed his disappointment. "Oh, I say, Jerry, can't I -come back after I've taken the girls home? I'd like awfully well to hang -around and watch what happens. I'll promise not to get underfoot or be in -the way." - -Before Jerry could reply, Mary caught his coat sleeve and exclaimed, her -eyes like stars, "Hark, don't you hear an airplane?" - -They all listened and heard distinctly from above the hum of a motor. -Dick sprang toward the door. "Come on, everyone, let's be among those -present on the reception committee," he said. Then, remembering his -manners, he stepped back and held the door open for the girls to pass -out. - -"Good night, Mr. Hale, and thanks a lot," Mary called with her sweetest -smile. - -"Hope you'll all drop in again." The man had only time to nod before his -attention was again called to the busy little instrument. - -Out in the street, there were many more men. As the news of the robbery -had spread by horseback riders and remote ranch telephones, men had -galloped into town eager to offer their services. Now they all stood or -sat their horses, silent, for the most part, as they watched the great -silver bird which was slowly circling round and round over their heads. - -The moon had risen above distant peaks and was high enough to make the -street dimly lighted. - -"Oh, it _must_ be Harry!" Mary whispered excitedly as she clutched -Jerry's arm not knowing that she did so. "That plane _is_ as silvery as a -seagull, just as Patsy and Polly wrote us." - -"Wonder why he doesn't land," Dick commented. - -"I reckon there isn't but one safe landing place in this town, and that's -right here where the crowd is standing. This square, out front of the -post office, has been landed on before now." - -"See! Something's falling from the plane." Dora pointed upward. "It's a -small something! What _can_ it be?" - -The object fell like a plummet and landed at their feet. "It's an -aluminum bottle. Oh, look! There's a note attached to it." Dora picked it -up. - -"Here comes Deputy Sheriff Goode," Jerry told the others. "Give it to me! -I'll hand it to him." - -The Deputy Sheriff's restless horse did not stop prancing while the man -opened and read the note. Then he flung it to the ground, pocketing the -small bottle. - -Dick, feeling sure that the message had not been of a private nature, -picked it up and with the aid of his flash he read: "Whirl a lantern, -will you, where I'm supposed to land. A. S. H. H." - -"A. S. means air scout, of course," Dick said. - -"And H. H. is Harry Hulbert. Oh, Dora, think of our meeting Patsy's -aviator." Mary's eyes were shining with excitement. - -Jerry could not help hearing Dora's reply. "_Not_ Patsy's!" was said -teasingly. "Remember _this_ young hero was chosen for _you_." - -"Oh, silly!" Mary retorted, but her rebuke did not seem to be voicing -displeasure. - -"Move back! Move back everyone! Scuttle! Five seconds to clear this -square!" Cowmen on horseback were acting as mounted police and were so -effective that in short order the big square was vacant and ready for the -landing. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - A SILVER PLANE - - -There was an almost breathless silence for a moment as the small silver -plane swooped gracefully down and made an easy landing; then the -enthusiasm of the crowd burst forth in shouts of welcome. - -"Say, Kid, _you're_ all right!" - -"That's the kind of a cayuse to be riding!" - -"A silver airship for the silver city!" - -"Hurrah for the skidder of the skies!" - -Horses on the outskirts of the crowd, unused to such commotion, reared -and pranced on their hind legs. Then, seeming to believe that something -_might_ be lacking in the warmth of their welcome, a cowboy shot off his -gun into the air. Instantly Deputy Sheriff Goode shouted for silence. - -"Nixy on that!" he commanded. "All of you fellows get to shootin' an' we -won't do much creepin' up on the gang." - -"Goodness!" Mary said to Jerry. "He must think those bandits are hiding -somewhere _near here_. They couldn't possibly hear the shooting if they -were over the border in Mexico, could they?" - -The cowboy shook his head. "It's just that he doesn't want to take any -chances, I reckon." Then, generously, he added, "You girls will want to -meet Harry Hulbert, won't you? He's talking to the 'Dep' now. -Jehoshaphat! That's too bad. He's going right up again." - -"I guess the Deputy Sheriff wants Harry to start in scouting and not -waste time visiting with girls," Dora remarked. - -"Back! Back everyone!" the deputized cowboys rode around the square, -clearing it again, for the curious and interested crowd had pressed close -to the plane. - -"There, up she goes! Whoopee!" Some cowboy shouted in Mary's ear. "Me for -the air!" he waved his sombrero so close that it fanned her cheek. - -"Ain't that the plumb-beatenest way to go places?" another cowboy was -actually addressing Dora in such a friendly manner that she replied in -like spirit, "Yes, it's great!" - -Jerry turned to Dick. "Take the girls back to where we left the car, will -you? I'm going to speak to Goode. Be over in a minute." - -"Oh, Big Brother," Mary caught his hand, "don't do anything that _might_ -be dangerous, will you? It would be terrible for your mother if anything -happened to you." - -Hope and love had, for a moment, lighted the cowboy's eyes, but the last -part of Mary's importuning had seemed to be entirely for another, and so, -as he turned away, Jerry's heart was heavy. - -Mary's gaze, he noticed, had quickly turned from him up to the sky where -a silver plane was still discernible riding toward the moon. - -Dick took an arm of each girl and the crowd made a path for them. - -"I like these cowmen and boys, don't you, Dora?" Mary had climbed into -the rumble with her friend. "They have such nice, kind faces and they're -so picturesque with their wide hats and colored shirts and -handkerchiefs." - -Dora nodded. "There's a boy over there on horseback. See his leather -chaps are fringed and he has spurs on his boots." - -"They act as though this was some sort of a celebration, don't they, -Dick?" - -The boy was leaning against the car watching the milling throng which was -being augmented in numbers by newcomers riding in from the dark desert. - -"What's the big show?" A weazened, grizzly-headed man in tattered clothes -had suddenly appeared at Dick's side. He had a canvas-covered roll -strapped to his back and carried a stout stick. His pinched face was -starved-looking and his eyes were feverishly bright. - -Dick explained what was happening and, without a word, the queer creature -scuttled out of sight in the crowd. - -"That poor man!" Mary exclaimed sympathetically. "What _can_ he be?" - -"Don't ask me," Dick replied. "I haven't been out here long enough to -know all the types." - -A pleasant voice said, "That's a typical desert rat. He digs around and -sometimes finds a little gold, but mostly he lives on sand, I reckon." - -Mary recognized the speaker as a clerk in the grocery store. Before she -could ask more about the poor unfortunate, someone hailed their informant -and he hurried away. - -Jerry returned and his face was grave. "I hardly know what to say," he -began. "I don't want to frighten you girls unnecessarily, but Deputy -Sheriff Goode thinks it would be unwise for you to return over that -lonely road to Gleeson tonight, or, at least not until the hiding place -of the bandits has been discovered." - -"Oh, Jerry!" Mary's one thought was concern for her father. "I _must_ let -Dad know that I am safe and that I may not be home at once. Won't you -please telephone him? You will know best what to say." - -"Yes, I'll be back in a minute." They watched him pushing his way toward -the one drug store in the town. - -Mary turned toward Dick. "Now, what does _that_ mean, do you suppose?" - -"I think it merely means that the 'Dep' isn't sure that the robbers _did_ -cross into Mexico. He thinks they may be hiding nearer here than that." - -"I thought as much," Dora commented, "when he was so upset because a -cowboy started shooting." - -Jerry was not gone long. "I explained to your mother, Dick. She said Mr. -Moore is asleep and that she will not waken him. Her advice is that you -girls take a room in the little old hotel here and wait until morning." - -The girls were relieved as they had neither of them relished the idea of -returning over that desolately lonesome road with bandits at large. - -Jerry was continuing. "Mrs. Goode runs the hotel and she's just as nice -and friendly as she can be. The mothering sort. Dick, you stay here in -the car, will you, while I escort the girls across the road?" - -"With the greatest of pleasure!" the Eastern boy said. - -Dora teased, as she permitted him to assist her out of the rumble. "You -ought _not_ to say that you're pleased to have us _leave_ you." - -"Not _that_; NEVER!" Dick assured her, then in a low voice he confided, -"I've been wild to be _in_ on all this, and if I'd been sent home with -you girls, I--" - -Dora laughingly interrupted. "You might have been _in_ it more than any -of the others." She shuddered at the thought. "We three might have--" - -"_Now_, who's using her imagination?" Mary inquired. Then, after scanning -the heavens, she added, "Big Brother, the Seagull has flown entirely out -of sight, hasn't it?" - -"I reckon it has. Back in a minute, Dick." - -Mary and Dora were thrilled with excitement and thought all that was -transpiring a high adventure, although they _were_ a little troubled, -fearing that the three boys in whom they were interested might be in -danger before the night was over. - -The old adobe two-story building to which Jerry led the girls was across -the wide square from the post office. The large office was filled with -people, most of them women of the town who had gathered there. Many had -come from the lonely outskirts. They had been afraid to stay alone in -their homes while their men were bandit-hunting. - -Jerry soon saw the pleasant face of the rather short, plump Mrs. Goode. -He led the girls to her and explained their presence. - -"So _you_ are Mary Moore grown up!" the woman said kindly. "I knew your -mother well when she came here as a bride. Everyone loved her in these -parts; they sure did." Then, to the tall cowboy who stood waiting, -although impatient to be away, she assured him, "I'll take good care of -them, don't fear!" - -"I know you will. Good night, Mary and Dora." The cowboy held out a hand -to each then was gone. - -Dora thought, "Oho, _something has_ happened. There was no tenderness in -_that_ parting. Hum-m, what can it be? Ah, I believe I see light!" - -Mary was saying, "I do hope that Harry Hulbert is all right. Isn't it the -most heroic thing that he is doing?" - -"Who's he, dearie?" Mrs. Goode, having heard, asked. "Oh, yes, the sky -pilot. A nice face he has. I gave him a cup of coffee. His manners are -the best ever. Well, come along upstairs. I'll give you the front corner -room where you can watch the goings-on, if you'd like that." - -"Oh yes, please do, Mrs. Goode. I never was more thrilled in all my -days." It was Dora speaking. "I know that I won't sleep a single mite, -will you, Mary?" - -"I don't intend to try," that fair maid replied as they followed up the -broad carpeted stairway and entered a plainly furnished hotel room. There -were two large windows overlooking the square below and the girls, having -said good night to their hostess, went at once to look down upon the -crowd. - -The men had divided into small groups and were talking earnestly -together. A group of younger cowboys just in front of the hotel, were -making merry. One of them strummed a guitar and several of them flung -themselves about dancing wildly, improvising as they went along. Their -efforts were applauded hilariously. - -"No one would guess that they thought they _might_ be going to battle -with bandits before morning," Mary said. Then she looked up at the -moon-shimmered sky. For a long time she gazed intently at one spot. - -"Is that a pale star or is it the little silver plane coming nearer?" she -asked. - -Dora watched the faintly glittering object, then exclaimed glowingly, "It -surely _is_ the Seagull. Oh, Mary, _do_ you suppose Harry Hulbert has -located those bandits?" - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - A LONG NIGHT WATCH - - -Someone in the crowd saw the approaching plane. A shout went up which was -augmented to a roar of welcome. Once again a space was cleared; this time -without the command from the Deputy Sheriff. - -The girls threw open the window and leaned out as the plane landed and -the men closed in about it. How they wished they could hear what was -being said. They saw Harry Hulbert leap out and, by his excited gestures, -the girls were sure that he had made some discovery which he considered -important. - -"He seems to be pointing toward 'The Dragoons.'" Mary looked over the -scattered buildings of the town, across the gray desert to the dull red -cliffs that loomed dark in the moonlight. - -Dora caught her friend's arm and held it tight. "Mary Moore," she cried, -"if we had gone home tonight, we would have passed the side road that -leads to 'The Dragoons,' wouldn't we?" - -Mary nodded, but said nothing. She knew what her friend was thinking. - -"Watch what they're doing now. The sheriff is having the men who are -armed show their guns. Here come boys from the jail bringing more -firearms." Mary turned a face, white with alarm. "Oh, Dora, don't you -wish this was all over? Look, Jerry and Dick and Harry are getting up on -horseback. I do hope Harry knows how to ride. Good gracious, Dora, those -three boys are going with the sheriff to lead the posse. Isn't that -terrible?" - -"I don't know as it is," was the surprisingly calm reply. "Naturally -Harry would be the one to lead the men to the place where he saw the -bandits hiding." - -Women in the office of the hotel, seeing that their men were about to -ride away, rushed out to bid them goodbye. - -The young boys and old men were not taken. After the others were gone, -there was an almost deathlike stillness down in the square. The women -returned indoors. Old men, many of them gray-bearded, stood in groups on -the sidewalks talking in low tones and shaking their grizzled heads -ominously. The boys trooped over to the pool hall. The proprietor had -been among the men who had ridden away and so the boys could play without -charge which they did gleefully. - -Mary sank down on a low rocker near the window and her sweet blue eyes -were tragic as she gazed up at her friend. "Dora," she said "if you were -a boy, would you have dared to ride into a robber's den the way--" - -"Sure thing," was the brief reply. Dora still stood gazing at the desert -valley. Although the road disappeared from their sight when it first -dipped down from the town, she knew that the riders would again be -visible as they crossed to "The Dragoons." - -"If we can see them crossing the valley, so can the bandits," she said, -thinking aloud. "Of course, the robbers must have look-outs if that's -what men are called who spy around to warn the others of danger." - -"There they are! There they are!" Mary leaped to her feet to point. Dark -distant objects were moving rapidly across the moonlit sands of the -valley. - -Suddenly Mary turned, a new alarm expressed in her face. "Dora," she -cried, "now that only old men and boys are left here to protect this -town, what if the bandits should circle around and rob the stores and the -post office--" - -"And carry off the beautiful young damsels," Dora laughingly added, "like -a chapter out of an old-time story-book." - -"It may be amusing to you," Mary seemed actually hurt, "but things _do_ -happen even _now_ that are worse than anything I ever read in a book." - -"Righto! Ah agrees, as Sambo says." Dora turned and slipped an arm about -her friend, and then, as though trying to change her thought, she went -on, "I wonder if that old darky and Marthy, his wife, will be working at -Sunnybank Seminary next fall when we go back." - -"That all seems so far away and so long ago, almost like a dream," Mary -replied, as she gazed down at the silver plane which had been left in the -care of the old men. They were walking around it now, looking it over -with frank curiosity. - -Dora tried again. "How I do wish Patsy and Polly were here! Pat, -especially, would get a great 'kick,' as she'd call it, out of all this -excitement." - -"More than I am, no doubt," Mary confessed. "My imagination is getting -wilder and wilder every minute. I'm expecting something awful to happen -right here and--what was that?" She jumped and put her hand on her heart. - -"Someone knocked on the door." Dora went to open it. Mrs. Goode, looking -anxious in spite of her smile, said, "Don't you girls want something to -eat? It's almost midnight and you must be hungry." - -"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Goode, I suppose we are hungry. We're so terribly -nervous, I don't know as we could eat, really." - -"Well, try, dearies. Here's Washita with a tray." - -Washita was an Indian girl with black, furtive eyes and a red woolen -dress. She also had red rags twined in with her long black braids. She -carried a tray into the room. Silently, she placed it on a table and -glided out. Mary shuddered unconsciously. "Indians give me the -'shilly-shivers' as Pat says." - -"Washita is harmless. I've had her for two years now. She's almost the -last of a powerful tribe of Apaches which, long ago, had 'The Dragoons' -for their fortress," Mrs. Goode was explaining, when Mary begged, "Oh, do -tell us what you think the outcome of this raid will be. You know we have -three dear friends in the posse." - -Dora thought, "Aha! Harry Hulbert is a dear friend, is he, even before we -have met him." - -Mrs. Goode was replying. "I have a husband and two dearly loved sons -among those men, but, they _must_ do their duty. The life of a sheriff's -wife is one of constant fear. I am feeling sure, though, that they will -all come back soon with their captives. The jail is ready for the -bandits. Now I must go back to the office. If you want me, ring the bell. -I'll send Washita up for the tray--" - -"Oh, Mrs. Goode, please don't! Somehow she startles me." It was Mary -imploring, although she knew her fears were foolish. - -Mrs. Goode merely replied, "All right, dear. The tray can wait until -morning." - -Dora moved the kerosene lamp from the bureau to the small table. Then -they sat down and nibbled at the chicken sandwiches which had been -temptingly made. The milk was creamy and Dora succeeded in finishing her -share. - -Mary, carrying a half-eaten sandwich, went to the window and looked -across the desert. She whirled and beckoned, then pointed. "Don't you see -a horseman galloping this way?" - -"I do see some object that seems to be coming pretty fast," Dora -conceded. "Now it's out of sight below the silver hills." - -Almost breathless they waited until the horseman again appeared. "He's -probably the bearer of some sort of message," Dora decided when the man -leaped from his horse and ran into the hotel. - -Mary had put the partly eaten sandwich back on her plate and sat with -clenched hands waiting--hoping that they would soon learn the news which -the man brought. - -"Don't expect the worst," Dora begged. - -Although Mary was hoping there would come a knock at their door, she -jumped again when she heard it. Once more it was Dora who went to admit -their caller. A young cowboy, hot and panting, stood there holding out an -envelope. - -"The writin' ain't in it, it's on the back of it," he informed them. - -It had evidently been an old letter Dick had found in his pocket as it -bore his name on the envelope. The scribbled note was: - -"We're all right. The worst is over. Surprised the men while they were -all drunk except the sentinels. We're fetching them in. Be back by -daybreak. Better get some sleep now." Dick's name was signed to it. - -"Thanks be." Mary finished her sandwich when the cowboy was gone, while -Dora, who was turning back the bedspread, said, "We'll take Dick's advice -and go to sleep or at least try to." - -"Well, I'll lie down," Mary was removing her shoes as she spoke, "but I -don't expect to sleep a wink." - -They removed their outer clothing, then drew a quilt up over them. The -boys from the pool room had crossed to hear the news and many of them -returned to their homes with their mothers. They evidently believed -implicitly that all of the bandits had been captured and so they had -nothing to fear. - -The humming of voices in the office was stilled and soon there were no -sounds in the street below. - -Dora, no longer anxious, went to sleep quickly and although Mary had been -sure she wouldn't sleep at all, at daybreak they neither of them heard -the men returning. It was hours later when there came a rap on their -door. Mary sat up looking about wildly. "Who's there?" she called, almost -fearfully, then remembering that all was well, she jumped up and opened -the door a crack. Mrs. Goode smiled in at her. "Dearie," she said, "Jerry -sent me up to ask if you girls will come down to breakfast now." - -"Of course we will. Thanks a lot." Still Dora slept on. Mary shook her -laughingly as she said, "Wake up, Dodo! The hour is here at last when we -are to meet Pat's aviator." - -Dora sprang out of bed and hurriedly dressed. "I feel in my bones," she -prophesied, "that you and I will _share_ in some excitement today. See if -we don't!" - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - A CRY FOR HELP - - -The three boys glanced toward the stairway as the girls descended. Dick -advanced to meet them, then introduced the tall, lithe young stranger as -the "hero of the hour." - -Harry Hulbert's rather greenish-blue eyes had a humorous twinkle which -softened their keenness. He looked down at the girls with sincere -pleasure in his rather thin face. - -"This is great!" he exclaimed. "I've heard so much about you from your -friends Patsy and Polly that I feel well acquainted with both Miss Moore -and Miss Bellman." - -"Oh, don't 'Miss' us, _please_!" Dora begged. "It makes me feel old as -the hills." - -"Then I won't until I'm far away," he replied gallantly. "I'm really -awfully glad to be able to say Mary and Dora." - -Harry's glance at the fairer, younger girl was undeniably admiring and -Dora thought, "I wonder if _he knows_ that Pat has given him to Mary. -Poor Jerry, he looks sort of miserable." Aloud Dora exclaimed, "Dick, do -lead us to the dining-room. I'm famished." - -The cafe was in a low, adjoining building. There had been no pretense at -beautifying the place. It was plain and bare but clean and sun-flooded. - -It was late and whoever may have breakfasted there had long since gone so -the young people had the place to themselves. They chose a table for six -though there were but five of them. Harry was at one end with Mary at his -right. He had led her to that place without question. Dick escorted Dora -to the opposite end and sat beside her. Jerry took the seat across from -Mary, at Harry's left. - -"He's a trump!" Dora thought as she noted how unselfishly Jerry played -the gracious host. - -Mrs. Goode took their order, and Washita silently, and, with what to Mary -seemed like stealthy movements, served it. - -While they were eating, the curious girls begged to hear all that had -happened, but Dick said, "Why drag it out? Harry saw and we all -conquered. Not a gun was fired, not a drop of blood was spilled. The bags -of ore were discovered and are now locked up in the cellar of the jail." - -"Oh, Jerry," Mary exclaimed instinctively turning to her older -acquaintance, "how can you be sure that the bandits were _all_ captured? -Couldn't one or two of them have been away scouting or something?" - -"That we can't tell for sure, of course, but I reckon we got them all." -Then turning to Dick, he added, "We'd better be getting back to _Bar N_ -soon as we can." - -Mary, flushed and shining-eyed, leaned toward the young aviator. "You're -going to fly over to Gleeson, aren't you, so that we may get really -acquainted?" - -"I'd like to, awfully well, but Jerry tells me that there isn't a safe -landing anywhere for miles around." - -"Aha," Dora thought, "Jerry scores there." But she was wrong, for the -cowboy was saying generously, "I'm sure Deputy Sheriff Goode will loan -you a car. He has two little ones besides the town ambulance. I'd ask you -to ride with us but my rattletrap will only hold four." - -Jerry's suggestion was carried out. Deputy Sheriff Goode had a small car -he was glad to loan to Harry. The proprietor of the pool hall agreed to -watch the "Seagull" and warn all curious boys to stay away from it. - -"I won't be able to stay long," Harry told them. "I'll have to fly back -to headquarters in Tucson this afternoon to report." Then, glancing at -Mary, invitation in his eyes, he asked, "Must I ride all alone in this -borrowed flivver?" - -"Of course not! I'll ride with you if the others are willing. I mean," -Mary actually blushed in her confusion, "if you would like to have me." - -For answer Harry took her arm and led her across to the small car which -stood waiting in front of the hotel. "We'll follow where you lead, -Jerry," he called to the cowboy. - -"Righto!" - -Since Dora was already in the rumble, Dick climbed in beside her and -Jerry started his small car and turned toward the valley road. Dora said -not one word but the glance her dark eyes gave her companion spoke -volumes. His equally silent reply was understanding and eloquent. - -Harry had a moment's difficulty in starting his borrowed car and they did -not overtake the others until they were out of the town and about to dip -down into the desert valley. Then, when Jerry's car was not far ahead, -the young aviator slowed down and smiled at Mary in the friendliest way. - -"So this is actually _you_," he said. His tone inferred that it was hard -to believe. "Pat had a picture of you in a fluffy white dress. That -photographer was an artist all right. He caught the sunlight on your hair -so that, to _me_, you looked, honestly, just like an angel from heaven -come down. I thought the girl who had posed for _that_ picture must be -the earth's sweetest." - -Wild roses could not have been pinker than Mary's cheeks. She protested, -"You mustn't flatter me that way. I _might_ believe it." - -"I rather hoped you _would_ believe it," the boy said earnestly, then -abruptly he changed the subject. "This is a great country, isn't it? And -to think that _you_ were born here. It's all so rough and rugged, it's -hard to picture a frail flower--" - -Mary laughingly interrupted. "You should see the exquisite blossoms that -grow on a thorny cactus plant," she told him. Then, seeing that Jerry had -stopped his car and was waiting for them to come alongside, she -exclaimed, "I wonder what Big Brother wants. We're close to the side -road, aren't we, where you turned last night when you went over to 'The -Dragoons?'" - -"I believe we are," Harry replied absently, then asked, "Why do you call -Jerry Newcomb 'Big Brother?'" - -"Oh, because we were playmates years ago when we were small and I've -always called his mother 'Aunt Mollie.' He takes good care of me just -like a real brother," she ended rather lamely. - -Harry was bringing his small car to a standstill near the other. He -leaned close to Mary and said in a low voice, "I'm glad it's _only_ -brother." - -Although the occupants of the other car could not hear the words, they -had seen the almost affectionate way in which the words had been spoken. - -Dora thought, "Aviators are evidently lightning workers." - -Jerry's expression did not reveal his thoughts. He spoke to both Dick and -Harry. "I did something last night, I reckon, I _never_ did before. I -laid my six shooter down on a rock and in all the excitement I plumb -forgot it. Would you mind if we went up this road a piece--" - -"Oh, Jerry," Dora cried, "can't we go with you all the way and see where -you found the bandits?" Then, as the cowboy hesitated, Dick said, "I -think it would be perfectly _safe_ to go, don't you?" - -"I reckon so." Jerry was about to start his car when Mary called, "Jerry -Newcomb, I never once thought to ask you or Dick if there were any _old_ -men among those bandits, I mean, any who _might_ have been the ones who -held up the stage and kidnapped Little Bodil." - -Jerry replied, "I reckon not. They were too young." Then he turned his -car into the side road. - -Harry, following, exclaimed, "What's all this about a kidnapping? It -sounds interesting." - -Mary was glad to have something to talk about which could not possibly -suggest a compliment to her. She found it embarrassing to be so much -admired by a boy who was almost a stranger to her. She told the story -briefly, but from the beginning, and Harry was an appreciative listener. -"That's a bang-up good mystery yarn!" he said. "I'd like mighty well to -be along when Jerry and Dick climb up into that rock house. Gruesome, -isn't it, knowing that the old duffer buried himself alive? Clever, -that's what he was, to make up a yarn about an Evil Eye Turquoise that -would keep thieves all these years away from his gold." - -The side road into the mountains was in worse condition than the one they -had left, and so, for some moments, Harry was silent that he might give -all his attention to guiding the car over an especially dangerous spot. -Then he turned and smiled at Mary. "And so _you_ had hoped that one of -those bandits who were captured last night _might_ have been Bodil's -kidnapper. That would hardly be possible. Such things don't happen in -real life and, also, as you say, the little girl may have been dragged -away to the lair of a mountain lion." - -Mary's attention had been attracted by the car ahead. "Jerry's stopping -again," she said. - -Harry put on the brakes. The cowboy had leaped out and was coming back -toward them. "I don't believe we'd better try to go any further along -this road," he told them. "Harry, if you will stay with the girls, Dick -and I will--" - -"Hark, Big Brother, _what_ was that?" Mary held up a finger and listened -intently. On their left was a deep brush-tangled arroyo. They all heard -distinctly a low moan that seemed to form the word "Help." - -The boys looked at each other puzzled and wondering. Jerry's hand slipped -instinctively to his holster and, finding it empty, he held out his hand -for Dick's gun. Then he went cautiously to the rock-piled edge of the -arroyo. Dora asked, "Does Jerry think it's one of the bandits, do you -suppose, who tried to get away and was hurt somehow?" - -"Probably," Dick replied. He leaped out to the road and Harry joined him. -They watched Jerry's every move, ready to go to him if he beckoned. -Suddenly Mary screamed and Harry leaped back to her. They had heard the -report of a gun although Jerry had not fired. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI - IS IT A CLUE? - - -The shot undeniably had been fired from the brush-tangled arroyo. Jerry -stepped back that he might not be a helpless target while he conferred -with the other boys. - -"I cain't understand it at all," he said. "If we missed getting one of -the bandits, he wouldn't be staying around here. By this time, he'd be -miles away." - -"You're right about that," Dick agreed. "My theory is that the man who -called for help was the one who fired the shot." - -Harry said, "Don't you think that possibly someone is hurt and fearing -that his call wasn't heard, he fired his gun to attract our attention? He -may have heard our cars climbing the grade. They made noise enough." - -Jerry, feeling convinced that this was more than likely a fact, went -again to the edge of the arroyo, and, keeping hidden behind the jagged -pile of rocks, he looked intently through the dark tangle to the dry -creek in the arroyo bottom. As his eyes became accustomed to the dimness -he saw the figure of an old man lying on his back, one leg bent under -him, his arms thrown out helplessly. One hand held a gun. Undeniably he -it was who had fired the shot. - -Without waiting to inform the others of his decision, Jerry leaped over -the rocks and crashed through the brush. Dick and Harry followed a second -later. - -As they stood looking down at the wan face of a very old man their hearts -were touched. - -"Poor fellow," Jerry said, kneeling and lifting the hand that held the -gun. "I reckon firing that shot was the last act he did in this life." - -"I'm not so sure." Dick had opened the old man's torn shirt and was -listening to his heart. "He's still alive. Hadn't we better get him back -to Tombstone to a doctor?" - -For answer the boys lifted the stranger who was lighter than they had -dreamed possible and carried him slowly back up to the road. The girls, -awed and silent, asked if they could help, but Jerry shook his head. At -his suggestion the old man was placed at his side. The girls rolled their -sweater coats to place under his head and shoulders. Dick, from the back, -through a tear in the curtain, held him in position. - -Turning the cars was difficult but not impossible. Awed and in silence -they returned to town. - -Dr. Conrad, luckily, was in his office in a small adobe building near the -hotel. The old man was still breathing when he was carried in and laid on -a couch. Restoratives quickly applied were effective and soon the tired -sunken eyes opened. The unkempt grizzled head turned restlessly, then -pleadingly he asked, "Jackie, have you seen him?" - -There was such a yearning eagerness in the old man's face that Mary hated -to have to shake her head and say, "No." - -Jerry asked, "Who is Jackie?" But the old man did not reply. As though -the effort had been too much for him, he closed his eyes and rested. - -Dick exclaimed eagerly, "Jerry, you know that young boy we brought over -with the bandits. Couldn't we ask Deputy Sheriff Goode to bring him over -here? He would know if this old man belongs to the robber band, although -that boy certainly didn't look like a criminal." - -The plan seemed a good one and was carried out. The boy, fair-haired and -about nine years old, cried out when he saw the old man and running to -him, threw himself down beside the lounge and sobbed, "Granddad! -Granddad! Oh, _do_ wake up. I'm so glad you found me. I thought _this_ -time they'd make away with me for sure." - -Slowly a smile spread over the wan features. The sunken eyes opened and -looked directly at the tear-wet face of the boy. "Jackie," the old man -said, and there was infinite love in his voice. "Thank God you're safe! -They've ruined me. They _mustn't_ ruin you. Go to Sister Theresa. Hide -there." For a long moment he breathed heavily, his gaze on the face of -the boy he so loved. Then he made another effort to speak. "I'm dying, -Jackie. I give you to Sister Theresa. Goodbye. Be--a--good boy." - -The girls, unable to keep back their tears, turned away, but Mary, -hearing the child's pitiful sobs, went over to him and, kneeling at his -side, put a comforting arm about him. Trustingly he leaned his head -against her shoulder and clung to her as though he knew she must be a -friend. - -Later, when the boy's grief had been quieted, the young people, at the -doctor's suggestion, took him into another room and questioned him. - -"How had he happened to be with the robber band?" - -"Who was his grandfather?" - -"Where would they find Sister Theresa that they might take him there as -his granddad had requested?" - -Still in the loving shelter of Mary's arm, the boy, at first chokingly, -then more clearly, told all that he knew. His grandfather, he said, had -been a marked man by that robber band. He had done something _years ago_ -to turn them against him, Jackie didn't know what. They had robbed him. -They had destroyed his ranch and his cattle. They had stolen Jackie once -before, but he had gotten away that time, but this time they had watched -him too closely. Granddad had been hunting for him. - -Sister Theresa? She was a nun and lived in a convent on the Papago -reservation up to the north, quite far to the north, Jackie thought. - -Deputy Sheriff Goode came in and listened to what Jerry had to tell him -of the child's story. He nodded solemnly. "I know that good woman," he -said; "she is one of the world's best. I reckon the kid's telling the -truth. If you have the time, Jerry, I wish you'd take him over there -right away." - -The combination ambulance and police car was brought out. That it was -seldom used was evidenced by the sand on the seats and floor. Jerry drove -it to a gas station and had the tank filled. Jackie, who clung to Mary as -though she alone could understand his grief, nestled close to her in the -big car. - -Harry said to Jerry, "Old man, I think I'd better fly over. The Papago -reservation is close to Tucson, isn't it, and I must turn in a report. -Then I'll join you all and come back with you perhaps." - -"Oh, please do!" Mary called to him. "I want you to meet the nicest dad -in the world. He'll be so interested in hearing about your trip from the -East." - -A crowd of townspeople had gathered in the square and silently watched as -the big police car started and the "Seagull" took to the air. - -As they were rumbling along, Dora, across from Mary, silently pointed at -the boy. "He's asleep, little dear," she said softly. - -Dick was on the driver's seat with Jerry. - -"Dora," Mary whispered, "how tangled up things are. We _were_ hunting for -one child and find another. Something seems always to lead us farther -away from solving the mystery of poor Little Bodil." - -"I know," Dora agreed, "but after all, we could hardly expect, I suppose, -after all these years, to unravel _that_ mystery." - -It was not a long ride. The road was smooth and hard. The car rolled -along so rapidly that the forty miles were covered in less than an hour. -Dora, looking out of the opening in the back of the wagon, was delighted -when she saw tepees along the roadside. Also, there were small adobe -shacks with yucca stalk fences and drying ears of corn and red peppers in -strings hanging over them. - -"Oh, how fascinating this place is!" she whispered. "Do look! There's a -Papago family. The mother has her baby strapped to her back." The convent -was an unpretentious rambling adobe building painted a glistening white. -Jerry turned in through an arched adobe gate over which stood a wooden -cross. - -At a side door he stopped, got out and, climbing a few steps, pulled on a -rope which hung there. Almost at once the door was opened by a -sweet-faced nun who smiled a welcome. Jerry asked, "May we speak with -Sister Theresa?" - -"Yes, will you come in?" Then, glancing out at the car and seeing the two -girls, she added hospitably, "all of you." - -Jerry lifted out the sleeping boy and carried him into the long, cool -waiting room. The sister who had opened the door had gone to call Sister -Theresa and so she did not see the child. - -Mary glanced skyward before she entered the convent and, seeing the -silver plane circling about, wondered if Harry would be able to land. -Evidently he decided that it would be unwise, for he was dropping the -small aluminum bottle once again. Mary ran to the spot where it fell and -read the note. "Unsafe to land on the sand. Will return to Tombstone and -wait for you there." - -Dora glanced at Mary's face and saw an expression which told her -disappointment. Once again she thought, "Poor Jerry!" - -Dick, who had waited for them, said, "He's a wise bird, that Harry -Hulbert. He takes no chances." Then they three went indoors and joined -Jerry who, seated on a bench, held the sleeping child. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII - IT WAS A CLUE - - -Jackie wakened and opened wondering eyes at the moment when a kind-faced -woman in nun's garb entered from an inner corridor. With a glad cry he -slipped from Jerry and ran with arms outstretched. - -The young people rose and waited, sure that this woman, who had stooped -to comfort the sobbing child, must be the Sister Theresa to whom he had -been given. She was evidently questioning him and brokenly he was telling -that the robbers had carried him off and that Granddad was dead. - -She lifted a sorrowful face toward the strange young people and without -questioning their identity, she said, "It was very kind of you all to -bring Jackie to me. Did Mr. Weston send me a message?" - -Jerry, realizing that formal introductions were unnecessary at a time -like this, replied, "Yes, Sister Theresa. The old man was so nearly dead -when we found him in an arroyo over near 'The Dragoons' that he could say -little. However, he _did_ give Jackie to you." - -The nun had seated herself and had motioned the others to do likewise. -The boy, standing at her side, was looking up into her face with -tear-filled, anxious eyes. - -"Poor little fellow," she said. "His life has been full of fear, but now, -if those tormentors of his grandfather are in prison, he will be free of -the constant dread of being kidnapped." - -"Sister Theresa," Mary leaned forward to ask, "_why_ did those cruel men -wish to harm so helpless a child?" - -The nun shook her head sadly. "It is a long story," she said, "and one -that causes me much pain to recall, but I will tell you. Years ago this -good man, who had the largest cattle ranch in these parts, was riding -over the mountains carrying about his person large sums of money. He was -overtaken by two highwaymen, who, after robbing him, forced him to -continue with them over a lonely mountain road. When they were at a high -spot, they heard a stage coming and they forced Mr. Weston to hide with -them around a curve. When the stage was almost upon them, the bandits -rode out, shot the driver and stole the bags of gold they found. The -frightened horses plunged over a cliff taking with it the dead driver and -one man passenger. A child, that man's sister, was thrown into the road. -The bandits thought only of escape, and, for a time, they forgot their -captive. Seeing a chance to get away, he turned his horse and galloped -back toward his ranch. Finding the child in the road, he took time to -snatch her up and take her with him. He brought her to this convent where -she has been ever since." - -The listeners, who, one and all had guessed the speaker's true identity, -could hardly wait until she had finished to ask if she were the long lost -Little Bodil. - -Tense emotion brought tears to the woman's kind eyes. "My dears," she -said, looking from one to another of them. "My dears, _can_ you tell me -of my brother, Sven Pedersen? I have always thought that he must have -been killed when the stage plunged over the cliff. At first I hoped this -was not true, but when he never came to find me--" - -Mary interrupted, "Oh, Sister Theresa, your brother never stopped trying -to find you." - -Jerry said, "He advertised in newspapers." - -The nun shook her head. "We do not take newspapers here and Mr. Weston, -who had a nervous collapse for a long time, was not permitted to read. -Yes, that accounts for it. My poor brother! How needlessly he grieved." - -Jerry and Dick exchanged glances and Dick's lips formed the word "money." - -The cowboy said, "Sister Theresa, from the tale of an old storekeeper in -Gleeson, who knew your brother well, we have learned that he has a letter -for you written in Danish which tells where he left some money for you." - -"I shall be glad to have the letter," the woman said, her face -lightening, "not because of the money which I will use for others, as we -here take the vow of poverty, but because of some message I am sure the -letter will contain." - -Mary, thinking of the Dooleys, wanted to ask if the money might, part of -it at least, be used for _them_ but she thought better of it. - -The nun, looking tenderly down at the boy who still nestled close to her, -said lovingly, "Poor Little Jackie, how I wish I _could_ keep him here -with me, but that would not be permitted since he is a boy." As though -inspired, she told them, "If that money is found, I will give a good part -of it to someone who will make a happy home for this little fellow." - -Mary also was inspired. "Oh, Sister Theresa," how eagerly she spoke. "I -know the very nicest family and they're in great need. Caring for Jackie -would be a godsend to them and bring great happiness into _his_ life, I'm -sure of that." - -Then she told--with Jerry's help--all that she knew of Etta Dooley and -her family. - -The nun turned to the cowboy. "I like what you tell me about that little -family. If there is money to pay her, I would like to see your friend -Etta." She was rising as she spoke. A muffled gong was ringing in the -inner corridor. The young people also rose. - -"I am sure Etta will come, Sister Theresa," Mary said. - -Jerry promised to try to bring the letter on the morrow. The nun, smiling -graciously at them all, held out her hand to first one and then another, -saying, "Thank you and goodbye." The little boy echoed, "Goodbye." He was -to remain with Sister Theresa until she had met and approved of Etta -Dooley. - -As the young people were about to leave the convent, the young nun who -had admitted them appeared and said, "Sister Theresa invites you to -lunch. It is long after the noon hour." - -She turned, not waiting for a possible refusal and so they followed her -through a side door, along a narrow corridor which ended in descending -steps. They found themselves in a bare basement room. There were plain -wooden tables, clean and white, with benches on both sides. No one was in -evidence as the noon meal had been cleared away. The young nun motioned -them to a table, then glided away to the kitchen. She soon returned with -four bowls of simple vegetable soup, glasses of milk and a plain coarse -brown bread without butter. - -"I hadn't realized how starved I am!" Dora said when they were alone. - -"Isn't it too story-bookish for anything, our finding Little Bodil at -last?" Mary exclaimed as she ate with a relish the appetizing soup. - -"Righto. It sure is," Jerry agreed. - -Dick asked, "Do you think Etta Dooley will be too proud to take the -money?" - -"I don't," Mary said with conviction. "She won't suspect that we had -_wanted_ to find some way of giving her the money. She'll think that our -first thought had been to recommend a good home for Jackie. That will -make it all right with her, I'm sure." - -Dora glanced at Jerry somewhat anxiously. "They can stay where they are, -can't they? Etta said that if it weren't for her feeling of being -dependent on charity, she would simply love being there." - -Jerry nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sure Dad will be glad to have them. I -reckon he hasn't any other plans for that cabin. We could lease them, say -three acres, and if they paid a little rent that would make Etta feel -independent." - -Dora added her thought, "If Etta passes those examinations she's going to -take in Douglas, maybe she could be teacher in that little school near -your ranch, Jerry." - -The cowboy's face brightened. "Say, that's a bingo-fine idea! That school -had to close because we hadn't any children. All we need are eight -youngsters to reopen it. Let's see, there are the twins, Jackie will make -three." Then, anxiously he glanced at Mary. "How soon can Baby Bess go to -school?" - -"She'd _have_ to go if Etta did," was the laughing reply. - -Dora suggested, "Couldn't there be a kindergarten department?" - -"I reckon so." The cowboy's face was troubled. "Four kids aren't eight." - -Dick, remembering something Mr. Newcomb told his wife, inquired, "Jerry, -your dad asked your mother if she minded having a cowboy next winter who -had a wife and six children." - -"Jolly-O!" Dora cried. "What did Mrs. Newcomb say?" - -It was Mary who replied, "You know what dear, big-hearted Aunt Mollie -would say. I can almost hear her tell Uncle Henry that 'the more the -merrier.'" - -"Of course," Jerry told them, "even if we can work the school plan, the -salary is mighty small. It wouldn't more than pay their grocery bill but -it'll help all right, along with--" - -Mary caught the cowboy's arm, her expression alarmed. "Jerry, _what_ if -there _isn't_ any money in that rock house after our planning?" - -"Tomorrow we will know," Dick said. Then, as the young nun reappeared, -they arose and thanked her for the good meal. Dora noticed that as Dick -passed out he dropped a coin in a little box labeled, FOR THE POOR. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII - A NEW COMPLICATION - - -In the lumbering old police ambulance, the four young people returned to -Tombstone and found Harry Hulbert sitting in a rocker on the hotel porch -waiting for them. He ran toward them waving his cap boyishly. The -"Seagull" reposed in the middle of the square surrounded by interested -and curious cowboys who had ridden in from the range for the mail. Many -of them had come from far and had heard nothing of the "Seagull's" part -in the recent raid. - -"Where do we go from here?" Harry asked when he had learned of the -morning adventure. - -"If you can take Mr. Goode's small car," Mary began, but Harry -interrupted with, "Can't be done! They're both out, one gone to Bisbee -and the other to Nogales." - -"Oh, Big Brother," Mary exclaimed, "couldn't Harry sit in the front side -door of your car? We girls used to ride that way at school sometimes." - -"Sure thing!" the cowboy agreed. "All aboard, let's get going." - -Mary smiled up at him happily. "If the calf has been milking the cow all -this time, it--" - -Jerry shook his head. "No such luck--for the calf. Mother can milk in an -emergency." - -The ride to Gleeson was a merry one. Harry sat, literally, at Mary's -feet, looking up at her admiringly and directing his conversation to her -almost entirely. Jerry was very silent. No one but Dora noticed that. -When Gleeson was reached, the small car stopped in front of the store and -they all rushed in and astounded the old storekeeper with their exultant -shout, "We've found Little Bodil!" - -"'Tain't so!" He stared at them unbelievingly. "Arter all these years! -Wall, wall! I'll be dum-blasted! So Little Bodil is one o' them -nun-women." While he talked, he went behind his counter, took an old -cigar box from a high shelf, opened it and held out an envelope, yellowed -with age. He handed it to Jerry. "Take it to Little Bodil. I'll be cu'ros -to hear what all's in it." - -"So are we, Mr. Harvey," Mary began, then exclaimed contritely, "Oh, how -terrible of us. We haven't introduced the hero of the hour. Mr. Silas -Harvey, this is the air scout who located the train robbers, Harry -Hulbert. He seems like an old friend to us, doesn't he, Jerry?" - -"Sure thing!" the cowboy replied, then glancing at the old dust-covered -clock, he quickly added, "Dick, I reckon I must be getting along over to -_Bar N_." - -"Goodbye, Mr. Harvey. Glad to have met you." Harry shook hands with the -old man. - -When they were outside the post office, the air scout turned to the -cowboy. "Jerry, can't I be your letter carrier?" he asked. "While I was -waiting for you in Tombstone I enquired about the stage. I can get back -there in about an hour. Then I must fly to Tucson for a meeting at -headquarters tonight. I can motor out to the convent and be back here -tomorrow morning with the letter translated." - -"Sounds all right to me," Jerry said. - -"And during the hour that you have to wait for the stage," Mary turned -brightly toward Harry, "you may become acquainted with the nicest dad in -the world." - -Forgetting the presence of the others, Harry replied, "Is _that_ why his -daughter is the nicest girl in the world?" - -Mary flushed bewitchingly, but it was evident that she was embarrassed. - -Jerry drove them up to the Moore house, waited while Dick bounded indoors -to speak to his mother, then they two rode away, promising to return as -soon as they could the next day. - -Dora, who had been watching Jerry's face, knew that he had been deeply -hurt, but she was sure he would not say anything to influence Mary. Dora -thought, "He wants her to choose the one of them who would make her -happier, I suppose. Believe me, it wouldn't take _me_ long to decide." - -Mr. Moore had heard nothing of the robbery or the raid. Mrs. Farley had -not wished to cause him a moment's anxiety about the safety of his -idolized daughter. She had told him that the girls were spending the -night with Mrs. Goode in Tombstone, and, since the wife of the Deputy -Sheriff had been a close friend of Mary's mother, he had thought little -of it. Even now that it was all over, they decided to merely introduce -Harry as a friend of Patsy and Polly, who had come West to be attached to -the border patrol. - -Mr. Moore welcomed the boy gladly, and, for half an hour, they talked -together of the East and the West. Mary and Dora slipped away and -returned with lemonade and a plate of Carmelita's cookie-snaps. - -Then the two girls walked down to the cross road with Harry and waited -until he climbed aboard the funny old 'bus and rode away. - -He bent low over Mary at the last moment. Dora had not heard his -whispered words, but she knew by the sudden flush that they had been -complimentary. - -Arm in arm they turned and walked back up the gently ascending hill-road -toward their home. - -"How do you like the newcomer?" Dora tried to make her voice sound -indifferent. - -Mary laughingly confessed, "I'd really like him lots better if he didn't -flatter me so much." - -Dora replied, "I know how you feel. I'd heaps rather have a boy be just a -good pal. It makes a person feel, oh, as if she were the sort of a girl a -boy thought he had to make love to, or she wouldn't be having a good -time. I've known steens of them, fine fellows really, who came over from -Wales Military to our dances. They thought the only way they could put it -over big was to flatter their partners. You know _that_ as well as I do. -Why, we Quadralettes have compared notes time and again and found the -same boy had said the same complimentary thing to all four of us." Mary -made no reply, so Dora continued, "Dick and Jerry are the sort of boy -friends I like. They treat us as if we could be talked to about something -besides ourselves. I tell you, the girl who can win the love of Jerry -Newcomb is going to win one of the finest men who walks on this green -earth." - -Dora's tone was so earnest that Mary laughed. "Goodness!" she teased. -"Why all this eloquence? There isn't any green earth around here for -Jerry to walk on. It's all sand." - -Suddenly Dora changed the subject. "Why do you suppose Little Bodil is -called Sister Theresa?" she asked. - -Mary replied rather absently, "Oh, I think they give up their own and -choose a saint's name. Anyhow, I've heard they do." - -It was evident she was thinking deeply of something else. - -Her thoughtfulness continued until after supper. - -"What a wonderful moonlight night!" Dora said as the two girls seated -themselves on the top step of the front porch to gaze out across the -shimmering desert valley, below the tableland on which they lived. "I -wish Jerry and Dick would come and take us for a ride." Hardly had she -said the words when they saw a dark object scudding along on the valley -road. - -"Somebody _is_ coming toward Gleeson from the _Bar N_ ranch way," Mary -said, and Dora noted that her voice was eager, as though she wanted, -_very much wanted_, to see her silent cowboy lover. - -For a long time they sat watching the narrow strip of cross road beyond -the post office. If the car turned, it would surely be coming to the -Moore place. If it passed, it would be going on to Tombstone probably. It -turned. More slowly it climbed the grade. - -"It's the little 'tin Cayuse,' all right," Dora said. She was watching -the eager light in Mary's face, lovely in the moonlight. Then, suddenly -its brightness was shadowed, went out. Dora saw the reason. On the front -seat with Jerry was another girl, a glowing-eyed, truly beautiful girl, -Etta Dooley. In the rumble with Dick were two freckle-faced boys, the -twins. Their ruddy faces were glowing with grins of delight. "Hurray!" -they shouted as the small car stopped near the front porch. "We're out -moonlight riding." - -Dick quieted them, remembering that Mr. Moore might be asleep. Mary, -looking pale in the silver light, went down to the car and asked Etta if -she wouldn't get out. "No, thank you," that maiden replied, "I've left -Baby Bess with Aunt Mollie and we've been gone more than an hour now, I -do believe." - -"It hasn't seemed that long, has it?" Jerry was actually looking at Etta -and not at Mary. - -"Oh, indeed not!" was the happily given reply. "It's a treat for the -twins and me to fly through space. Once upon a time I had a little car of -my own, but that seems _ages_ ago." - -This did not seem like the same Etta Dooley who had been so reserved when -the girls had called at her cabin home. _What_ had happened to change -her, Dora wondered. - -When the car turned and the small boys, remembering to be quiet, had -nevertheless performed gleeful antics, Mary went up the steps and into -the house. - -"I'm going to bed," she said and her voice sounded tired. - -Dora, wickedly pleased, could not let well enough alone. "I didn't know -that Etta was so well acquainted as to call Jerry's mother Aunt Mollie." -She wisely did not add her next thought, "You'll have to look to your -laurels, Mary-mine. Etta's a mighty attractive girl and she simply loves -the _Bar N_ ranch." - -When Dora spoke again, it was on an entirely different subject. "Isn't it -wonderful, Mary, to think that we've solved the mystery of Little Bodil -and that tomorrow, perhaps, the boys are going to defy that Evil Eye -Turquoise." - -"I suppose so," Mary replied indifferently. Dora turned out the light and -with a shrug got into bed with her friend. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX - AN OLD LETTER - - -The next day, directly after breakfast, Mary and Dora began to expect -someone to arrive. The roof of the front porch was railed around and when -they had made their bed and tidied their room they stepped out of the -door-like window and stood there gazing about them. From that high -elevation they had a view of the road coming from Tombstone as it climbed -to the tableland and also they could see for miles across the desert -valley toward the _Bar N_ ranch. - -"Who do you think will be the first to arrive?" Dora asked as she slipped -an arm about her friend's waist. - -Mary shook her head without replying. Then, because her conscience had -been troubling her, Dora said impulsively, "Mary, dear, I didn't mean, -last night, that Harry Hulbert says nice things to you without meaning -them. No one could help thinking you're--" - -Mary laughed and put a finger on her friend's lips. "Now, who's -flattering?" Then, excitedly, "I hear a car, but I don't see it." - -"There it is, by the post office," Dora pointed, then, in a tone of -disappointment, "Oh, it's only that funny little Jap vegetable man from -Fairbanks." - -A moment later, when they were looking in different directions, they both -exclaimed in chorus, "Here come Jerry and Dick!" - -"There's the Deputy Sheriff's little car." - -In through the window they leaped, down the front stairway they tripped -and were standing in the graveled walk between the red and gold -border-beds when the two cars arrived, Jerry's in the lead. - -Mary's heart was heavy, though she tried to smile brightly, when she saw -that Etta Dooley was again on the front seat with Jerry. Dick, this time, -was quite alone. Harry Hulbert, although in the rear, leaped out and -bounded to Mary so quickly that he reached her first. - -Her welcome, though friendly, lacked the eager graciousness of the day -before. Harry, however, did not seem to notice it. "I've got the -translation here," he said, waving the old yellow envelope. - -Jerry got out of his car, turned to speak to Etta and then walked toward -the waiting group. Dick had already disappeared into the house in search -of his mother. - -Etta, remaining in the car, called, "Good morning" to the girls. Jerry -explained, "I haven't told Etta the whole story, just the part about -Little Bodil and the rock house. She was so interested, I told her we'd -be glad to have her go with us." - -Mary smiled at him rather wistfully, Dora thought. Then she walked to the -side of the car and said, "Won't you get out, Etta, while we read the -letter?" - -Jerry, who had followed her, said, "Dick wanted us to wait till we got to -the rock house before we read the letter. Can you girls go now?" - -"Yes, I'll get my hat." Mary turned to go indoors. Dora went with her and -they were back almost at once to find Jerry beside Etta, with Dick -waiting to help Dora to her usual place in the rumble. - -Harry, his rather thin face alight with pleasure, took Mary's arm and, -giving it a slight pressure, exclaimed in a low voice, "The gods are -kind! I hardly dared hope that your old friends would let me have you -today. I've thought of you every minute since I left you last night." - -Mary, seated at his side in the small car, turned serious eyes toward -him. "Harry," she said almost pleadingly, "please don't talk to me that -way. I--I'd rather you wouldn't." - -An expression of sadness for a moment put out the eager light in his -eyes, then, good sportsman that he was, he said, "Very well, Mary. I -think I understand." - -After that his conversation was interesting, but general, until they -reached the towering rock gate where Jerry's car was standing, waiting. - -"What a lonely, awesome spot this is!" Harry exclaimed. - -"If you think _this_ is awesome," Mary laughed, "wait until we pass -through those gates." - -Jerry climbed out, helped Etta, then turned to call, "Don't get off the -road, Harry. The sand's so soft we'd have a time pulling you out." - -Dora and Dick leaped from the rumble and were joined by Mary and Harry. -"We walk the rest of the way," Dick told the air scout, "and believe me -it's hard going." - -Mary glanced ahead, saw Jerry assisting Etta as in former times he had -assisted her when her feet sank ankle deep in the soft, white sand. Harry -gallantly took her arm to aid her. Mary smiled at him wanly. "Thank you," -she said. "I wish I were the self-reliant athletic type like Dora. She -never needs help." - -Harry bit his lip to keep from saying aloud what he thought. Before he -could think of something else to say, Dick looked back and called to him, -"Were you ever any place where there was such a deathlike stillness as -there is in this small walled-in spot?" - -Harry shook his head. "Never!" he replied. Then, glad of the -interruption, he asked, "That's the rock house, up there, isn't it?" - -Dick nodded. "That's where the poor old fellow they called 'Lucky Loon' -buried himself alive, if there's any truth in the yarn." - -"Believe me, that would take more courage than I've got," Harry declared -with a shudder. - -Jerry, glancing back, and finding that he and Etta were quite far ahead, -turned and waited, still holding his companion's arm. - -Etta's intelligent face _never_ had seemed more attractive to Mary. The -melancholy expression, which the girls had noticed, especially, the day -they had called upon her, had vanished. Her eyes were bright with -interest. - -They walked on in a close group. "I'm simply wild to know what's in the -letter Little Bodil translated," Dora exclaimed. - -Dick laughed. "I suppose we will call that dignified Sister Theresa -'Little Bodil' till the end of time," he said. - -When they reached the foot of the leaning rock, which had one time been -the stairway to the rock house, they gathered about Jerry who was opening -the yellowed envelope. Intense interest and excitement was expressed in -each face. - -Sister Theresa had written a liberal translation between the almost faded -lines of her dead brother's letter. - - "Dear Little Bodil-- - - "In my heart I feel you are alive. I have hunted all over Arizona, New - Mexico and across the border. No one has heard of you. I can't search - any longer. - - "Before I die I want to tell you where my gold is. Silas Harvey will - tell you where my rock house is. Secret entrance--" - -Jerry paused and looked in dismay at the interested listeners. - -"What's up?" Dick asked. - -"The old writing was so faded Sister Theresa couldn't make it out." - -"How terrible!" Dora cried. "How to get _into_ the rock house is the -_very thing_ we need to know." - -"Well, at least we know there _is_ a secret entrance," Mary told them. -"Isn't there any more of the translation, Jerry?" - -The cowboy had turned a page. He nodded. "Yes, here's something but I -reckon it won't help much. There are only a few words." He read, "Find -money--walled in--turquoise eye." Jerry looked from one to the other and -said, "That's all. Doesn't help out much, does it?" - -Mary took the letter. "Here's a note at the bottom. Sister Theresa wrote, -'I am sorry I could not make out the entire message. I do hope this much -will aid you in finding the money if it has not been stolen.'" - -"Well," Dick was looking along the base of the almost perpendicular cliff -on which the rock house stood, "I vote we start in hunting for a secret -entrance." - -"O. K.," Harry said. "Let's divide our forces, one going to the right and -the other to the left." - -Jerry, as though it were the natural thing to do, said to Etta, "Shall -_we_ go this way?" - -Mary turned and started in the opposite direction. Harry was quick to -follow her. Dora and Dick remained standing directly under the rock -house. Dora said, "I'm puzzled! _Not_ about the secret entrance but about -Mary and Jerry." - -"Oh, that'll come out all right." It was plain that Dick wasn't giving -romance much thought, for he added, "I'm going in between the main cliff -and this broken off piece." - -Dora, going to his side, peered into the crack. The winds of many years -had blown sand into it. She was surprised to see Dick start pulling the -sand away from the wall. - -"Have you a hunch?" she asked with interest. - -"No, not really," he told her. Then remarked, "Wish I had a shovel." - -"You may have one," Dora said, "if you want to go back to the road. I saw -a shovel and an axe fastened under the Deputy Sheriff's car." - -Jerry and Etta, having found nothing, were returning. - -"What are you uncovering, Dick?" the cowboy called. - -"Say, fetch a shovel, will you?" was the answer he received. "Dora says -there's one under the 'Dep's' car." - -"Righto." The cowboy's long legs carried him rapidly toward the rock -gate. He had returned with the shovel just as Mary and Harry came up. -They had found nothing that could possibly be a secret entrance. - -"What's your reasoning, Dick, old man?" Jerry asked as he handed him the -shovel. - -"Well, there's _something_ here that caught and held the sand," Dick -replied. "It may not be what we're looking for but I'm curious to know -what it is." - - - - - CHAPTER XXX - SECRET ENTRANCE TO THE ROCK HOUSE - - -The boys took turns in throwing the sand out of the crack. The faces of -the three girls, standing idly near, expressed different emotions. Mary's -sweet sensitive mouth and tender eyes were wistful, almost sad. She was -not thinking of the secret entrance. Dora, watching her, was troubled and -wished she knew just what Mary was thinking. Etta, alone, watched the -boys as they threw shovelsful of sand out of the crack. Her eyes shone -with a new light. Dora, glancing at her, wondered if she were watching -Jerry's splendid strength as he hurled the sand. Once he caught her -encouraging glance and smiled at her. - -Etta turned and, seeing Mary beside her, she slipped an arm about her. -With a fleeting return of her old seriousness, she said, "You girls can't -know what it means to me to be included in all this. I've been so lonely -for companions of my own age." - -Mary was about to say that she was glad, also, when a shout from the boys -attracted their attention. They hurried toward the crack where the three -diggers stood intently examining something they had uncovered. - -It was a huge stone about three feet round which leaned against a hole in -the base of the cliff. - -"That hole _must_ be the secret entrance." Dick glowed around with the -pride of discovery. "The rock caught and held the sand, you see," he -explained to the girls. - -"Not so fast, old man." Harry Hulbert was measuring the space between the -rock and the hole. "If Mr. Pedersen buried himself alive up there in his -rock house, he _had_ to have room to crawl _into_ his entrance. You'll -all agree to that." - -They silently nodded, then Jerry said, "I reckon Sven Pedersen was very -thin, sick as he was." - -Etta alertly suggested, "I think the hole might have been uncovered then, -but that the weight of the sand has gradually pushed the rock down -against the opening." - -"Righto!" Jerry's smile was approving. - -Dora remarked, "Since we are not hunting for the old man's bones, isn't -the important question whether or not this hole leads up into the rock -house?" - -"And the only way to find out is to get this stone out of the way," Dick -told them. "Now everybody push." - -It was a difficult task and after what seemed a long hard effort, there -was barely room for one of the boys to get in. - -Jerry crawled into the hole but backed out almost at once. - -"It's black as a pocket," he reported. "It would be foolhardy to go in -until we have a light." - -"I'll get one," Dick volunteered. "The Deputy Sheriff has a powerful -flash in his car. Back in a minute." - -While he was gone, Jerry told his impressions of the hole. - -"It seems to be a slanting tunnel, not high enough to stand in. I reckon -that at some past time it was made by rushing water, it's worn so -smooth." - -"Oh, Jerry, please don't go in there all alone." It was Mary imploring. -"I'm smaller than you are. Let me go with you." - -Jerry's grateful glance was infinitely tender and so was his voice as he -replied, "Little Sister, I'll be careful not to run into danger." - -Again he crawled into the hole. The watching young people saw the flash -of the light, then they heard his voice sounding uncanny and far off. -"The tunnel goes up, sort of like a waterfall. I reckon I can climb it -all right, but don't anybody try to follow me, lest-be I'm gone too long; -more than fifteen minutes, say." - -The color left Mary's face and she clung to Dora, but she tried not to -let the others see how truly anxious she was. - -"One minute." Dick was looking at his watch. - -Harry on his knees peered up into the darkness, but could not even see -Jerry's light. - -"Five minutes," Dick reported. - -Mary asked tremulously, "That couldn't be the cave of a mountain lion or -a puma or a--" - -"Nixy on that!" Dick replied emphatically. "No wild animal, not even my -friend, a Gila Monster, would care to try to climb _that_ smooth toboggan -slide. Puzzle to me is how Jerry is doing it." - -"Hark!" Mary whispered, holding up one finger. "Did you hear--" - -Dick plunged in with "a gun shot?" - -"Not at all!" Mary flared at him. She ran to the hole and knelt by it and -listened. "I thought I heard Jerry call far, _far_ away," she said as she -stood up and went back to stand by Dora. - -"Ten minutes." Dick glanced from his watch to Harry. "Go back a way, will -you, and look up at the rock house. If Jerry called, maybe it was from up -there." - -Mary, no longer trying to hide her anxiety, ran beyond the leaning ledge -and looked up. How her face shone with joy and relief! - -"It's Jerry!" she cried, beckoning the others. "He's up there standing in -the door." - -Harry cupped one hand about his ear. "What say, Jerry? All right. Sure -thing." - -"What did he say?" Jerry had disappeared in the house when the others -joined Mary and Harry. - -"He said there's an old wire ladder contraption that he's going to drop -down to us," Harry explained as Jerry reappeared on the ledge. Gradually -a wire-rope ladder slid down the steep cliff. - -"Dick, you and Harry come on up," Jerry called. "It's safe all right." - -"You girls won't mind being left alone, will you?" Harry asked in his -chivalrous way, of all of them, although he looked at Mary. - -"No, indeed," she replied. "Go along." - -The boys went up the swaying ladder so easily that Mary, usually the less -courageous one of the two, said to Dora, "I'm going up. Catch me if I -fall." - -The three boys were in the rock house and did not know that the girls had -climbed the ladder until they saw them standing near the open door. - -Jerry leaped toward them. "Little Sister," he said, "_what_ if you had -fallen?" - -Dora thought complacently, "Well, I guess _that_ lover's misunderstanding -is patched up all right. It didn't matter, evidently, whether or not Etta -fell, and as for Dora Bellman--" she laughed and shrugged her broad, -capable shoulders. - -Mary was asking, "Has anyone seen the Evil Eye Turquoise?" - -"Not yet. Come, let's look for it," the cowboy called, adding, as he -turned to his neighbor, "Etta, I didn't tell you that part of the story, -did I?" - -Smilingly, and evidently untroubled by the recent by-play between the -cowboy and Mary, she replied in the negative. So, standing near the open -door, they all told parts of the tale to the interested listener. - -"But if something terrible _always_ happens when that turquoise eye looks -at an intruder," Etta said, "aren't you afraid something terrible will -happen now?" - -"I reckon I _would_, if I believed the yarn," Jerry replied. "Let's see! -Where was it?" - -"In the back wall, gazing _straight out_ of the front door," Mary -reminded him. - -"Well, it isn't there _now_ anyway." Harry fearlessly had crossed the -small bare room to investigate. - -"But it must have been there," Dick insisted. "Don't you remember that -Smart Aleky fellow who _did_ climb up and who really _did_ fall over the -cliff, paralyzed, when he saw the Evil Eye?" - -"I reckon we do," Jerry agreed. Having found a stout stick cane in one -corner, he poked it into the sand that covered the floor. - -"Hi-ho!" he cried. "I see what's happened. The Eye fell off of the wall -and is buried here in the sand." - -"Bully for you!" Dick shouted, and before any of them could stop him, he -had seized the fateful stone and had turned the flashlight full upon it. -Mary screamed and clutched Dora, but they had all looked at the Eye and -_it_ had looked at them, yet nothing had happened. - -Dora, secretly proud of Dick's courage, asked, "What is it made of?" - -"You impostor!" Dick hissed at the Eye. "You are only adobe with a blue -stone in your middle." Then calmly he pocketed it as he grinningly -announced, "Nobody objecting, I'm going to keep it for Lucky Stone and a -paper weight." - -"Ugh!" Mary shuddered. "You're welcome to it." - -Dora was asking, "Where do you think we'd better look for the money?" - -"In the old codger's tomb, I should say." Harry was greatly enjoying his -share in this rather uncanny adventure. - -They all agreed that the walled-in tomb would be the most likely place to -find the treasure. - -Jerry looked anxiously at the three girls who stood close together -watching, wide-eyed. "I reckon you all ought to have stayed down below," -he told them. - -Dora replied courageously, "Oh, don't mind us. Open up the tomb if you -want. There won't be anything but a skeleton, and we see those every day -on the desert." - -Harry and Dick, prying around, discovered a large stone that was loose, -but when it was lifted out, they found only a small niche. _In it was an -iron box which the boys removed. Then they replaced the stone._ After all -they had not needed to open up the tomb. - -When they all had descended the wire-rope ladder, they left it hanging, -believing that some day they might want to revisit the rock house. - -"Now," Jerry said, "let's take the box to Sister Theresa." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI - A WONDERFUL SECRET TOLD - - -The boys took turns carrying the heavy box back to the cars and the girls -walked three abreast, laughing joyfully in their efforts to keep each -other from stumbling in the sand. They whispered together just before -they passed through the rock gate and when the boys turned toward them, -after having stored the box safely under the seat of the Deputy Sheriff's -car, Mary made a bow and said, "We've forgotten what verse it is, but -we'll sing for you anyway." Then merrily Dora and Etta joined her: - - "Three girl sleuths you now behold - Who have helped you find the gems and gold. - Come, come, coma, - Coma, coma, kee. - To Phantom Town - For a cup of tea." - -"Which means," Mary interpreted, "that it's noon by the sun and I'm sure -we're all hungry. I told Carmelita to make an extra large tamale pie." -Then, before anyone could reply, Mary added mischievously: "Dick, I'm -going to ride in the rumble with you." - -Harry chivalrously bowed to the girl nearest him, saying, "May I have the -pleasure?" It was Etta and she flashed him a bright smile of acceptance. - -"Poor Jerry!" Dora condoned as she took the seat beside the cowboy. "Some -imp has got into Mary." But the glance that he gave her was far more -pleased than disturbed. - -Carmelita welcomed them at the kitchen door with a beaming smile that -revealed her gleaming white teeth. Jerry introduced the air scout who -surprised the girls by replying in perfect Spanish. - -"I'm green with envy!" Dora told him. "I'm going to study Spanish next -fall if it's taught at our Sunnybank Seminary." - -"So you two are going back East to school this fall," Harry said as they -seated themselves around the kitchen table, cheerful with its red cloth -and steaming tamale pie. - -"Yes," Mary nodded brightly. "Dad is well enough to go with me, Mrs. -Farley says. Jerry has one more year over at the State University and -Dick is going back East to study medicine. Oh, I forgot to say that Mrs. -Farley is going to stay with us and help me take care of Dad. We three -are going to rent a little house near Dora's home." - -The conversation changed to the box. "I'm eager to know what is in it," -Mary said. - -"I wanted Little Bodil to be the one to open it," Jerry explained. - -"How shall we get it to her?" Etta asked. - -"I have a suggestion," Harry said. "It will end the suspense sooner than -any other way." - -"What? Do tell us!" came in eager chorus. - -"Guess," Harry turned to Mary. - -"_You_ will take the box in your Seagull." - -"Right you are," Harry told her. Then to Jerry, "If Etta would like to -fly over with me, I'd be glad to have company." - -"Oh, I'd love to fly," Etta said, "but I ought not to be the one; surely -you, Mary, or Dora--" - -"We can all go up later," said Jerry. - -As they were about to start, Jerry drew Harry aside and said: "You -understand we want Etta to believe the plan comes from Sister Theresa." - -Harry nodded. When he was in the car, Jerry called: "When you come back, -you can land in the barnyard at _Bar N_. We'll all be there." - -"Oh, what _fun_ that will be!" Mary flashed a bright smile at Jerry; then -taking Dora by the hand, she skipped indoors. - -When they rejoined Jerry and Dick, after telling Mrs. Farley where they -were going, the cowboy assisted the fair shining-eyed girl up on the -front seat and sat beside her. - -There was wistfulness in Jerry's tones when he spoke. "I reckon you're -mighty pleased that your dad's well enough to go back East." - -Mary's eyes were glad bits of June blue skies. "Pleased isn't a joyful -enough word." - -When they came to the long road that crossed over the desert for many -miles without a curve, she whispered, "Jerry, let's fly across." - -The cowboy shook his head. "I reckon you've forgotten what happened once -before--" - -"No, I haven't." Then suddenly changing the subject, she asked, "How long -before the Seagull will get to _Bar N_, do you suppose?" - -"I reckon soon after we do," Jerry said. Dick scanned the sky. Far away -there was a speck growing larger. Lower and lower the circling Seagull -dropped, then landed gracefully and easily. Before the others could reach -them, Harry had helped Etta out of the pit. A small boy clambered out -without help. - -"All is well!" Dora said to Dick. "Sister Theresa has given little Jack -to Etta." - -"Oh, it was simply too wonderful for words," Etta told the girls. "We -went so high that the mountain ranges looked like, well, a row of tents, -maybe." Then, as Jackie nestled close to her, she told what had happened. -"There was real gold money in that box and Government bonds and beautiful -blue gems. Harry took it all to the bank that looks after the convent's -finances, and, oh, I guess you're wondering why little Jack is here. -Sister Theresa asked me if I'd be willing to let him live with us." - -"I'm ever so glad for the little fellow," Mary hurried to say. "And now," -she added, whirling to look from one to another, "if no one is too tired, -I want to ride up to Jerry's own ranch. I want to look at the view from -there before I go." - -Dora and Dick exchanged puzzled glances. They were sure that Mary's -flushed excitement had something to do with her plan, but _what_? Harry -was enthusiastic as they rode in the shade of the trees. "_What_ a place -for a summer home," he exclaimed, "so cool and restful." - -Mary and Jerry were some distance ahead. They reached the far-flung ledge -where the cowboy had said he someday planned to build a house. Riding -close to him, the fair girl asked, "Big Brother, _when_ are you going to -build a house here?" - -"Never," the cowboy said, "unless someday _you'll_ be willing to make a -real home of it." - -Mary put a frail hand on the brown one that held the reins. "Please start -the house," she said in a low happy voice. "I'll be ready as soon as I -graduate next June." - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Preserved the copyright notice from the printed edition, although this - book is in the public domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected a few typos (but left nonstandard spelling and - dialect as is). - ---Rearranged front matter to a more-logical streaming order and added a - Table of Contents. - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Phantom Town Mystery, by Carol Norton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM TOWN MYSTERY *** - -***** This file should be named 43699.txt or 43699.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/6/9/43699/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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