The Mystery of Carlitos Read online

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  [Frontispiece: _Jo Ann could see that the man and Carlitos werestill crouched around the fire._]

  THE MYSTERY OF CARLITOS

  HELEN RANDOLPH

  THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY Akron, Ohio New York

  _Mexican Mystery Series_ by Helen Randolph

  The Secret of Casa Grande The Mystery of Carlitos Crossed Trails in Mexico

  Copyright, MCMXXXVI The Saalfield Publishing Company _Printed in the United States of America_

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER PAGE I. The Mysterious Blue-Eyed Boy 7 II. Neighbors in the Cave 19 III. An Unwelcome Visitor 33 IV. The Cave Family Disappears 44 V. Footprints 55 VI. A Mysterious Light 69 VII. The Charcoal Maker 86 VIII. Friends at Last 100 IX. "I'm Going to Solve the Mystery" 111 X. A Soiled Yellowed Envelope 122 XI. The Bear Returns 135 XII. Jo Ann's Trophy 149 XIII. Jose's Strange Story 161 XIV. _The Pinata_ 171 XV. "Carlitos--Gone!" 181 XVI. On a Dangerous Trail 196 XVII. A Startling Cry 206 XVIII. Prisoners 218 XIX. A Daring Plan 229 XX. The New Hope Mine 239

  CHAPTER I THE MYSTERIOUS BLUE-EYED BOY

  Jo Ann jerked the crude, hand-made chair off the oxcart and set it downin the shade of the thatched roof of the house.

  "Your throne's ready, Your Majesty," she called over gaily to the pale,worn-looking Mrs. Blackwell whose daughter Florence was helping her offthe burro.

  "Whoever heard of a throne looking like that?" laughed the slender,hazel-eyed girl beside Jo Ann. "Wait a minute." She spread a brightrainbow-hued Mexican blanket over the chair. "Now that looks more like athrone."

  Jo Ann nodded her dark curly bob. "You're right, Peg--as usual." Sheturned to Mrs. Blackwell. "I know you're dead tired. That long automobiletrip over the rough roads was bad enough, but the ride up the mountain onthat poky donkey was worse yet."

  "Poky's the word," put in Florence, her blue eyes twinkling. "That burro,or donkey as you call it, is all Mexican--slow but sure."

  Just as she had finished speaking, the burro flapped his ears, threw backhis head, and brayed such a knowing "heehaw" that the girls laughedmerrily and even Mrs. Blackwell smiled broadly.

  As Mrs. Blackwell dropped down in the chair, Jo Ann remarked to her, "Noqueen ever had a more beautiful kingdom to look upon from her throne thanyou have."

  "It's marvelous!" exclaimed Peggy as all four gazed over the far-flungview stretching out before them: rugged, cloud-tipped mountain peaks, thedeep valley covered with tropical growth, and a gleaming, silverwaterfall to their right.

  "Gracious!" broke in Florence finally. "We'll never get the housestraightened at this rate. And will you look at that driver! I believehe's sound asleep. He hasn't taken a single thing off the cart yet."

  As Jo Ann reluctantly turned away, she called over to Peggy, "We'll havethree or four weeks to enjoy all this beauty--let's get busy now and helpFlorence straighten up the house. You just sit here, Mrs. Blackwell, anddraw in deep breaths of this invigorating air," she added. "Dr. Blackwellsaid you weren't to turn your hand to do a thing."

  "You girls wait on me as if I were a complete invalid. Although I amtired now, I know I'm going to regain my strength rapidly up here."

  While Florence gave orders in Spanish to the driver and the boy in chargeof the burros, Jo Ann and Peggy went inside the small, one-room housewhich was built from stone cut from the mountain side.

  While they were waiting for the equipment to be brought in, the girlslooked about the room curiously.

  "Isn't this the queerest little house!" Peggy exclaimed. "Not a singlewindow in it. It's built exactly like the little adobe huts the peonslive in."

  "Florence said they bought the place from a Mexican--anyone'd know thatat a glance." Jo Ann walked over across the room to the back door andlooked outside. "This must be that funny little kitchen Florence told usabout," she said, gesturing to a small stone building about fifteen feetbeyond.

  Just then the driver sauntered in and piled some cots and bedding in thecenter of the cement floor.

  Jo Ann wheeled about. "Come on, Peg, let's sweep out the house and makeup the cots. We can do that much, at least."

  By the time they had the cots made up, the Mexicans had finishedunloading and were starting off leisurely down the trail behind theoxcart and burros.

  "Let's stop working now and eat our lunch," called Florence from thekitchen door. "It's siesta time right now, and it'll do all of us good totake a nap."

  Peggy grinned over at Florence. "Maybe Jo Ann'll take a siesta up here.Remember the trouble she got into up on the roof in town during a siestahour?"

  "Don't worry about me this time. There's no mysterious window in thishouse for me to investigate, as there was there."

  "I bet we won't be here three days before you'll find some mystery tosolve, Sherlock," teased Peggy.

  "Well, Sherlock's too hungry to look for mysteries now. Let's eat."

  "That's what I say," agreed Florence. "You girls unpack the eats while Igo to the spring for some cool water."

  After they had eaten their lunch and had their siestas, the girls workedanother hour putting down rugs, arranging gay pillows and blankets on thecots, and making a dressing table out of a packing box.

  "Before we start straightening out things in the kitchen, I believe I'dbetter go down to the goat ranch," Florence remarked. "I want to see if Ican make arrangements to get milk there every day."

  "You mean--goat's milk?" Peggy asked in dismay, stopping in the middle ofslipping a gay cretonne cover on a pillow.

  Florence's eyes twinkled roguishly. "Well, what's the matter with goat'smilk? That's what the Mexicans use. When in Mexico do as the Mexicansdo." Seeing the sick-looking expression on both Peggy's and Jo Ann'sfaces, she hastened to explain: "I was just teasing. They raise the goatsfor market. The natives are as fond of goat's meat as they are of themilk. They had a cow at this ranch when we were here last year, and----"

  "Let's hope they still have that cow," put in Peggy quickly.

  "So say I," added Jo Ann emphatically.

  Florence picked up the bucket from the rough board table. "Do either ofyou girls want to go with me?"

  "Jo, I know you're just dying to get out of doors and tramp a bit," Peggyremarked. "You go with Florence, and I'll stay here with Mrs. Blackwell."

  "Fine! I'd love it."

  "We won't be gone long," Florence told her mother as she and Jo Annstarted out the door.

  A few minutes later they disappea
red down a winding trail back of thehouse. About halfway down the trail Jo Ann halted a moment to enjoy thebeautiful scenery. "This is the life for me!" she exclaimed. "I had agood time in the city, but give me the outdoors. I can hardly wait tobegin exploring these mountains."

  About ten minutes later they came in sight of a little pink adobe hutperched on a narrow ledge jutting out from the steep rocky cliff. Itlooked to Jo Ann as if the hut might topple off any minute and fall intothe valley below.

  "That's the goat ranch," explained Florence.

  "The goat ranch! All I see is a hut and a stone wall. Why'd they build ahouse way up there instead of in that fertile valley?"

  "I suppose it's because that steep cliff back of the hut saved them fromso much work in making an enclosure for their goats."

  "I don't see any goats. Where are they?"

  "The little goat herder takes them out every morning to graze on thescrubby mesquite that grows on the mountain side. Goats love to climb,you know. I've even seen one on top of an adobe hut."

  The girls followed the trail across a narrow ravine and up to the house.

  Just then several dogs began barking, and a black-eyed, olive-skinnedMexican woman and two scantily dressed, barefooted children appeared inthe doorway.

  The next moment the woman's face lit at sight of Florence. "Florencita!"she cried, then went on in a rapid flow of Spanish to ask her numerousquestions about her family.

  As soon as Florence had answered these questions she inquired if theystill owned the cow.

  The woman nodded assent and urged her and Jo Ann to sit down and resttill Pablito brought the cow and she could milk.

  Florence shook her head and handing her the bucket asked if it would bepossible for her to send the milk up later by one of the children.

  "_Si_, Florencita. _Muy bien_," she agreed, smiling.

  As the girls turned to go, the woman reached down and picked a fragrant,waxy-white flower from the jasmine growing in a pot by the door. "Foryour mama," she explained, handing it to Florence.

  With a word of thanks and an "_Adios_" to her and the children, the girlsstarted back down the trail.

  "Let's go home the long way through the valley," suggested Florence whenthey reached the ravine. "There's a cave down this way that I want toshow you."

  "Fine! The longer the way, the better. That cave sounds interesting,too."

  Slipping and sliding down the rocky mountain side, they soon reached thebroad valley; then they followed the path around the base of the cliff,stopping now and then to gather ferns and flowers.

  When they came to a sparkling, crystal-clear spring bubbling out fromunder the rocks, Jo Ann dropped to her knees and drank thirstily of theicy cold water.

  While Florence was drinking, Jo Ann heard a snapping of twigs near by.She wheeled about and, peering through the bushes, saw two small boysgathering wood. One of them was bent over by the weight of a large bundleof the wood, held in place on his back by a rope passed across hisforehead; the other was chopping sticks with a machete, a long heavyknife. At first glance Jo Ann thought they must be twins, as they weredressed alike in the loose white trousers and blouse worn by the peon.

  A few minutes later the boys stepped back into the narrow trail, but onseeing the girls they quickly moved to one side to let them pass.

  With a smile, Florence greeted the boys with the customary salutation,"_buenos tardes_." Their little brown faces under their frayed strawsombreros grinned back at the girls as they returned the greeting; thenthey turned and went on down the trail.

  As soon as they were out of sight Jo Ann exclaimed, "That's the firstblue-eyed Mexican I've seen! I didn't know they ever had blue eyes."

  "They don't! What do you mean?"

  "Didn't you notice that one of those boys had dark-blue eyes?"

  "No."

  "Well, he did."

  "They were both dressed alike, and dirty and ragged. All I noticed washow frail-looking the one was who had the bundle of wood on his back. Icouldn't help wondering why the other boy, who looked stronger, didn'ttake part of the load."

  "That's the one with the blue eyes. Do they belong to the family at thegoat ranch?"

  "No, I've never seen them before. You must be mistaken about the boy'shaving blue eyes."

  Jo Ann shook her head vigorously. "I'm positive his eyes were blue--hisfeatures were finer too, but his face was so dirty I couldn't tell muchabout them."

  Florence smiled. "You've a fine imagination, Jo--trying to find anothermystery already."

  "I didn't try to find this mystery. It bumped right into me. If that boylives around here, I'm going to find out more about him."

  At Jo Ann's emphatic words, Florence laughed merrily. "All right, butdon't start now. If we're going to stop at the cave, we'll have tohurry."