Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch

  CHAPTER XII--ANOTHER DISAPPEARANCE

  For a time the three stood regarding one another with startled eyes.Then Arthur gasped: "Great heaven! what fools we've been."

  "Come!" cried Patsy. "The nursery."

  They rushed down the corridors to the staircase and thence into thecourt. The door of the nursery stood ajar and Arthur first entered andlighted a lamp.

  The light fell full upon the face of a man seated in a low rocking chairand holding a half smoked cigarette in his mouth. He was fast asleep. Itwas old Miguel, the ranchero.

  Arthur shook his shoulder, savagely, and the man wakened and rubbed hiseyes. Then, seeing who had disturbed him, he quickly rose and made hischaracteristic low, sweeping bow.

  "What are you doing here?" demanded Weldon, angry and suspicious.

  "I am look for Mees Jane," returned the old man calmly.

  "In your sleep? Come, get out of here."

  "Wait a minute, Arthur," said Beth, reading Miguel's face. "He knowssomething."

  Arthur looked at the man critically, reflecting that there must be areason for his presence in the nursery. Miguel had been fond of babyJane. Was he merely disconsolate over her loss, or--did he really "knowsomething"?

  "Miguel once told me," said Patsy, speaking slowly, "that he used tolive in this house, in Cristoval's time, and knows it thoroughly."

  The old man bowed.

  "I theenk," said he, "perhaps we find Mees Jane here--not somewhereelse."

  "Why do you think that, Miguel?"

  It was Patsy who questioned him. He mused a bit before replying.

  "The old senor--the father of my Senor Cristoval--was strange mans,"said he. "He make thees house a funny way. Come; I show you."

  He led the way to the little room adjoining, the one Inez had occupied.In one corner of the floor was a square hole, with steps leading down toa sort of blind pocket. Holding a lamp in one hand Miguel descended thesteps and pushed against a block of adobe that formed part of the outerwall. It swung inward, disclosing a cavity about four feet in width andfully six feet high. The interior could be plainly seen from the room,by stooping close to the floor. There were shelves in the cavity andupon one of them stood a jar of milk.

  "Oh," cried Patsy, clasping her hands together. "I told you the wall washollow!"

  Arthur followed Miguel down the steps. He took the lamp and examined thelittle room. All the walls that formed it seemed solid.

  Miguel was holding the block that served as a door. He released hishold, when Arthur had again ascended, and the block swung back intoplace.

  As they returned to the nursery, Weldon asked:

  "Do you know of any other rooms in the wall, Miguel?"

  The man shook his head, uncertainly.

  "I know there be other rooms in thees wall," said he, "for SenorCristoval have told me so. Hees father make the places to keep thingssafe from robbers--perhaps to hide from others, too. But where suchplaces are ees the secret of the Cristovals. The room I show you ees allI know about. I thought that was secret, too; but no; the New York nursetell Inez of that room, an' Inez she keep Mees Jane's milk there, to becool."

  "Mildred told of the room!" exclaimed Arthur in astonishment.

  "Yes," said Beth, "she used to visit this house as a girl, whenCristoval lived here, and she must have known some of the secret rooms."

  "Ah, that ees what I theenk," agreed old Miguel. "There ees more room inthees wall; that I know. If thees Mildreed know one room, she may knowmore. So I theenk she and Inez have go into some room of the wall an'take Mees Jane with them. Some way, they cannot get out again."

  "Exactly!" cried Patsy triumphantly. "They are somewhere in that wall,imprisoned, and the major really heard the baby cry."

  "But--Miguel, Miguel!" pleaded Arthur, earnestly, "can't you rememberhow the wall opens? Think! Think carefully."

  "I do theenk, Meest Weld; I theenk till I go sleep, an' you find mehere."

  "Now, let's do some thinking ourselves," suggested Beth. "The openingthat leads into the wall must be from this very room. Miguel thinks so,too, and that's why he came here. Let us examine the wall."

  They undertook to do this, holding the lamps close to the adobe blocksand inspecting every crack. The cement used in joining the blocks hadcrumbled away at the outer edges in almost every instance, and it wasimpossible to tell if any block was removable or not. Miguel or Arthurpushed hard against every block in the room, from those nearest thefloor to those far above their heads; but not one yielded a hair'sbreadth.

  "Suppose we go outside," said Patsy. "Perhaps there is some window, orgrating, that will give us a clue."

  So they took old Miguel's lantern and went into the garden where theycould view the outer side of the wall. A tangle of climbing vines grewagainst the wing, but there was no window or other opening on the firstfloor. Above, on the second floor, were two windows, one of whichadmitted light and air to the blue room.

  "How about the other window?" asked Beth.

  "That," said Arthur, "must be in an unused room at the end of thecorridor. We have never furnished it."

  "I think it might be well to examine that room," suggested Patsy.

  So they reentered the house and, followed by Miguel, ascended to thesecond floor. The door of the library was ajar and those seated there,seeing Arthur and the girls pass, came trooping out to ask what theywere doing.

  Patsy briefly explained the new theory they had conceived to account forthe disappearance of baby and the two nurses, and the idea was sostartling that all became eager to join in the investigation.

  They invaded the vacant room in a body, several of the men carryinglamps. It was in size and shape a duplicate of the blue room, with itsone window deeply embedded in the wall, the surface of the embrasurebeing covered with heavy redwood planks.

  From the fact that this room lay directly over the small one occupied byInez, in which was the wall cavity they had recently explored, theyconceived the idea that the wall here might also be hollow. Poundingupon it, however, had no effect in determining this, for kiln-bakedadobe is not resonant and it was impossible to discover from any surfaceindication whether there were eight feet of closely set blocks or less.Careful search for any sign of an opening proved futile.

  Finally old Miguel said:

  "Next room was room of Senor Cristoval. Eet was room hees father livein, too; the old senor who build thees part of house. If there ees wayto get in wall, from upstairs, it ees there."

  "To be sure," said practical Beth, catching at the suggestion; "it wasthere that Major Doyle heard the baby cry."

  So on they all trooped into the blue room, where the wall was likewisecarefully inspected. While this was being done Rudolph looked at hiswatch and found it was after four o'clock.

  "It will soon be daylight," said he to his wife. "What a night it hasbeen! It seems a month since we arrived here and found Toodlums gone."

  Old Miguel had been silent and unobtrusive in the vacant room, but herehe was as eager in testing the wall as any one of them.

  "You see, it's this way," Patsy was saying; "if the major could hearbaby cry, through this wall, those inside could hear us, if we called tothem. Who among us has the clearest, the most penetrating voice?"

  "Suppose _I_ try?" squeaked Runyon, earnestly; but those who consideredthe remark at all merely gave him scornful looks.

  "Let Rudolph call," said Helen. "I think his voice might penetrate thepyramids of Egypt."

  Rudolph went close to the wall and shouted:

  "Hello, there! Baby! I-nez!--eh--eh--what's the other girl's name?"

  "Mildred," said Beth.

  "Mil-dred!" shouted Dolph; "Mil-dred!"

  He paused between each name, which he roared so loudly that he nearlydeafened those in the room, and everyone listened intently for aresponse.

  No answer.

  "Perhaps they're asleep--worn out," said Uncle John. No one now seemedto doubt that the missing ones were imprisoned in the wall.

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p; "Let Beth try," suggested Patsy.

  Beth had a clear, bell-like voice and from where she stood she calledout the names of Inez and Mildred. Then, in the stillness that followed,came a muffled cry in return--a cry that set all their nerves quiveringwith excitement.

  The mystery was solved at last.

  Beth repeated the call and now the answer was clearer, though stillindistinguishable. It was a voice, indeed, but whose voice they couldnot tell. But now, to their astonishment, came another sound, quiteclear and distinct--the wail of a baby voice.

  "That settles it!" cried the major, triumphantly. "Was I right, orwrong? Was it a nightmare, or was I crazy?"

  "Neither one, my dear sir," replied the doctor. "You declared you hearda ghost."

  Arthur was capering about in frantic joy.

  "She's alive--my baby is alive!" he exclaimed.

  "And probably she was sound asleep until your infernal yelling awakenedher," added the major.

  "It wasn't _our_ yelling," said Uncle John, as delighted as even thefather could be; "it was the yelling of whoever is inside, there, thatfrightened the baby. Thank goodness the dear child could sleep duringall these weary hours, when we have been wearing our hearts out withanxiety."

  "We have yet cause for anxiety," declared Patsy, "for little Jane is notrescued yet, by any means, and presently the poor thing will become veryhungry and suffer for lack of food. We now know where baby is, but wecan't get at her; nor can Mildred or Inez find a way to get her out, orthey would have done so long ago."

  "Very true," agreed Helen Hahn, gravely. "Unless we can soon find a wayto get to them, all three will starve."

  "Why, we will pull down the wall!" cried Arthur.

  "Dynamite it!" piped Bul Run.

  "Be sensible!" counseled Uncle John sternly. "We are wasting precioustime. Miguel," turning to the ranchero, "get some of your men, withpicks and crowbars, and fetch them here quickly."

  The Mexican, who seemed bewildered by the discovery of the missing ones,although he had himself been the first to suspect where they were,started at once to obey this order. When he had gone, Patsy said:

  "Of course there is some easy way to get inside the wall, and to get outagain. Are we so stupid that none of us can penetrate the secret of thecunning Spaniard who built this place?"

  The challenge merely led them to regard one another with perplexedlooks.

  "The fact that they're alive, after all these hours," said young Hahn,"is proof that they are supplied with air, and plenty of it. Then thereis an opening, somewhere or other."

  "Also," added Arthur, reflectively, "they are now opposite the secondstory rooms, when they must have entered the hollow wall at the firstfloor--perhaps from the nursery. That proves there is a stairway, or atleast a ladder, inside."

  At this moment a maid entered to say that Mrs. Weldon had awakened andwas calling hysterically for her baby. The doctor and Patsy at oncehurried to Louise's bedside, where the girl said:

  "Don't worry, dear. Little Jane has been found and is now in this veryhouse. So try to be quiet and go to sleep again."

  "Bring her to me; bring my darling at once!" begged Louise. But thedoctor now interfered.

  "I don't wish to disturb baby at present," he said positively. "I thinkthe child is sleeping. You have been quite ill, Mrs. Weldon, and I mustinsist on your remaining quiet. Here; drink this, if you please."

  Louise, reassured, drank the potion and presently sank into anotherdoze. Dr. Knox remained beside her for a time but Patsy hurried back tothe blue room, eager to assist in the rescue of the prisoners.

  "I'm afraid we're a stupid lot," Uncle John was saying as she entered;"or else the Spanish don was remarkably clever. We know the wall ishollow, and we know there's an opening, yet we can't solve the riddle."

  But here came Miguel and two strong men laden with steel bars, coldchisels and picks. For a time it was a quandary where to attack thewall, but Arthur finally chose the place just back of the bed and badethe men begin their work.

  The adobe proved harder than the hardest brick. Old Miguel knew that itmust be broken away bit by bit, for he was not unacquainted with thematerial, yet even under his skillful direction the work progressed withaggravating slowness.

  Daylight gradually crept into the room and rendered lamps unnecessary.The morning discovered a very disheveled, heavy-eyed group, not a singlemember of which was willing to retire from the fascinating scene ofrescue.

  Patsy went away to arouse Sing Fing and the servants, some of whom shefound had remained awake all night. In half an hour steaming hot coffeewas brought to the blue room and gratefully consumed by the wearywatchers. Breakfast of a substantial character would soon be ready andit was agreed that part of them should eat at one time while the othersremained to watch and to call them promptly if anything new developed.

  Arthur, too nervous to stand idly by, insisted on attacking the wall inanother place and Runyon assisted him, the latter's strength and musclewinning the admiration of all observers. He worked fiercely for a time,driving in the bar with stalwart blows and chipping off huge pieces ofadobe. Then, dripping with perspiration, he retired in favor of Arthurand rested by taking a seat in the window, where the cool morning aircould fan him.

  Patsy noticed Runyon in this position, his back against the redwoodplanks and his legs stretched out on the window-seat; but the work onthe wall drew her attention, as it did that of everyone else.

  Suddenly there was a crash and a loud report--followed by a shrillcry--and as every eye turned to the window they found that Runyon'sgreat body had absolutely disappeared. A rush was made to the window,but he did not seem to have fallen out. There was no sign of him at all.As if by magic, he was gone.

  While they stood amazed and half frightened by the marvel of the thing,Patsy recovered sufficiently to say:

  "Quick--let us get below! He must be under those rose vines, perhapscrushed and badly hurt."

  So they made for the door and flocked downstairs and out into thegarden. The vines seemed undisturbed. When the men pushed them asidethere was no evidence of the big rancher to be seen. In fact, they wereall convinced that Runyon had not fallen out of the window.

  Slowly they returned to the blue room, where the major exclaimed, withpositive emphasis:

  "This room is haunted. Don't talk to me! There's no other explanation.If we don't watch out, we'll all disappear--and that'll be the end ofus!"