CHAPTER X A SOILED YELLOWED ENVELOPE
The next morning, when they were at the breakfast table, Jo Ann suggestedthat they go down to the goat ranch to see if they could get some milk totake to Pepito. "Do you want to go this time, Peg?"
"We-ell, if I thought I'd get to see your mysterious boy, I'd go."
"I don't think you'd see him, because he and the father are going back upthe mountain to finish making their charcoal."
"Well, I'll stay here, then. You two go on."
After they had washed the dishes and finished their other tasks, Florenceand Jo Ann set out toward the goat ranch, Jo Ann swinging a bucket on herarm.
When they came in sight of the little pink adobe house, Florenceremarked, "While we're here getting the milk, I believe I'll see if I canbuy some corn to take to the cave family for their _tortillas_."
"Good idea," approved Jo Ann.
After they had exchanged greetings with the woman at the house, Florenceasked about the milk and corn, explaining their reason for wanting them.
"Poor little boy," the woman exclaimed. "I give you some milk to take tohim. It is not the kind of milk you get--it's goat's milk."
Florence explained her answers to Jo Ann, adding, "That'll suit Pepitobetter, anyway. He's probably never tasted cow's milk."
After the woman had filled the bucket and had given them several ears ofcorn, they started off toward the cave.
As they neared the cave opening, Florence remarked, "The family's herethis time. I smell food cooking. I'm glad we brought that down lastnight, aren't you?"
Jo Ann nodded an emphatic assent.
In a few more moments they stepped into the entrance of the cave.
The mother looked up quickly, then smiled broadly as she recognized thegirls. "Ah, good morning, friends."
"How's Pepito this morning?" Florence asked a moment later.
"Much better." Her face was beaming. "He ate much of the food that youbrought."
"That's fine. We brought you some corn for your _tortillas_ and some milkfor Pepito. He must eat lots and drink much milk, then he will getstrong."
The mother caught hold of Florence's hand, saying, "A thousand thanks,senorita."
With a smile of greeting to the family, Jo Ann crossed over to Pepito,who was lying on the _petate_ beside the baby watching his grandmotherknot a long slender fiber rope.
"What are you doing?" Jo Ann asked the grandmother curiously, after shehad talked a moment.
"Making bags for the charcoal," she replied.
"But how can you----" she began, then, not knowing the word for carry,she called over to Florence, "Does she mean they're going to carrycharcoal in that thing? I should think it'd fall through such big holes."
Florence came over beside Jo Ann and smilingly translated her questioninto Spanish.
"No, it won't fall through," Pepito replied earnestly. He raised up andtook the partly finished bag from his grandmother and held it up for JoAnn to see. "The charcoal is big. We pack it with much care, and it nofall through these holes," he added, shaking his head.
"They fasten a large bag of charcoal on each side of the burro so thatall you can see is his long ears sticking out between the bags," Florenceexplained. "It looks as if the bags of charcoal were walking down theroad."
After watching how deftly the grandmother's gnarled old hands tied theknots in the wiry rope, Jo Ann said, "I'd like to have a hammock madelike that. Ask her, Florence, if she could make me a long strip that Icould use for a hammock. Tell her I'll buy it from her."
"All right. You catch hold of one end of the strip and I the other, andwe'll show her exactly what you mean."
After Florence had translated Jo Ann's request and the two girls haddemonstrated their meaning by gestures, the grandmother's brown wrinkledface began to beam. She took the strip from them, saying, "_Si, si._ Iunderstand. I finish this one for you. You have been so good--you give usback our Pepito."
"Oh, but you need these bags for the charcoal right away," put in Jo Ann,who had caught the meaning of the grandmother's words. "Tell her I'm notin a hurry for the hammock. I can wait till after they sell thecharcoal."
After Florence had passed this remark on, the grandmother replied, "Imake you one. When my son sell the charcoal, he will bring me more rope."
After talking for a few minutes more Jo Ann remarked to Florence, "Askthe mother something more about Carlitos, now. If he isn't their child,ask her where they got him and what nationality he is--he doesn'tunderstand English."
Florence began to laugh. "Hold on! I can't ask all of those questions atonce. I'm a little dubious about asking any at all. They don't seem tolike to talk about him."
"Yes, I know, but I've got to find out about him."
"We-ell, I'll see what I can find out, but I can't promise you much."
Florence walked back to the mother, who was cooking beans over the firein the middle of the cave. After chatting with her awhile she tactfullybrought up the subject of Carlitos. "How long has Carlitos lived withyou?"
"Oh, for a long time. He is as one of our family."
"How old was he when you took him?"
"Like Rosita over there." The mother gestured toward the smaller one ofthe two little girls.
Florence glanced over at the child, who, she judged, must be about a yearand a half old. So Carlitos had been with this family about seven years,she thought. "Where is his mother?" she asked.
"Ah, she died and left her baby with me. I was his nurse."
"That was too bad. Wasn't there any relative to take him?"
The woman shook her head. "No one."
The thought darted through Florence's mind that perhaps after allCarlitos was American or English. Since he had been so young when he wastaken into this family, he could not have remembered any of his nativelanguage.
"Was his mother an American?" she asked.
"Yes, and she was so good to me and so beautiful. She had eyes of bluejust like Carlitos'."
Just then Jo Ann crossed over to Florence's side. "Did I hear right? Didshe say Carlitos was an American?"
"Yes."
"So I was right at first about his not being a Mexican. What else did shesay?"
Florence quickly recounted all that the mother had told her.
When she had finished, Jo Ann said, "Well, there's something queer abouta beautiful American woman leaving her baby with an ignorant Indiannurse. Ask her where his father is. That child's bound to have somerelatives somewhere. Looks strange to me that, as poor as this family is,they'd keep Carlitos when they can hardly feed their own children."
"Well, all right, I'll ask her. She doesn't seem to mind talking abouthim today as much as she did yesterday."
Florence turned to the mother. "Why did you have to keep Carlitos whenyou have so many children? Where was his father?"
The woman shook her head. "I don't know. He no come back."
"Where did he go?"
"To the mine. The beautiful American woman go every day to watch for herhusband, but he no come. It was cold, and she got sick. She had muchcough, and one day she died."
To the girls' surprise the woman walked over to the grandmother and begantalking in a low, rapid voice. The grandmother nodded and smiled over atthe girls.
"She said something about us, or the grandmother wouldn't have lookedover at us that way," said Jo Ann. "At least she's smiling--that'sencouraging."
They noticed the woman go over into a dark recess, then come backshortly. In the light of the fire they could see that she held a soiledyellowed envelope in her hand.
On coming closer the woman said earnestly, "You are American like his_mama_ and _papa_. You have been good to us like they were." She touchedFlorence on the cheek first, then Jo Ann. "And you are beautiful like his_mama_."
She held up a sealed envelope. "His _mama_ give this to me. I keep it forCarlitos. When he get big, I give it to him."
Florence took the env
elope into her hand. She uttered a little gasp."Why, this is a letter! It is addressed to a man in New York." She readthe name out loud. "Mr. E. P. Eldridge."
"Well, for Pete's sake!" exclaimed Jo Ann. "Why didn't she mail that?"
Not stopping to listen to Jo Ann, Florence asked the woman quickly, "IsCarlitos' name Eldridge--Carlitos Eldridge?"
The woman hesitated a moment; then, after Florence had repeated the nameEldridge several times, she nodded her head. "Yes, I think that was thename. It has been many years--I forget."
"This is a letter. Why didn't you put it in the mail?"
The woman looked blank at this question.
"Didn't Carlitos' mother tell you to put this in the mail?" Florenceasked.
"No. His _mama_ speak very little Spanish. She only been in Mexico alittle time. When she was dying she give this to me and tell me, 'No letbig mean man get this.'"
"Who was the big mean man?" Florence asked, puzzled at this new turn inher story.
The woman broke into a confused account which Florence later translatedto Jo Ann. "I can't make out exactly what she's talking about, but shesays some big man who had something to do with the mine was mean toCarlitos' mother after her husband had disappeared. She said they wereall afraid of him."
"But that's no excuse for her not mailing the letter," Jo Ann said.
"All she understood was to keep this from that man," Florence explained."She'd never seen a letter before in her life. She couldn't read orwrite. And the American woman couldn't explain it to her, you know. Theonly other people at this mine were Indian peons like themselves, sothere was no one she could go to."
"It's hard to realize that she didn't know what a letter was when she sawone," Jo Ann remarked, then looked down at the envelope with renewedinterest. "I wish we dared to open this and read it, but of course wecan't do that."
"No; the only thing for us to do is to mail it now."
"I'm not so sure of that," Jo Ann replied quickly. "It might get lost. Ithas to be carried so far before it even gets to a postoffice. Besides,it's about seven years since this letter was written. Why not write aletter to this address explaining the situation?"
Florence pondered over this plan a moment, then spoke up briskly: "I havea better idea than that. I'll write to Daddy and explain it all to himand have him telegraph to this Mr. Eldridge in New York. That'll savelots of time."
"You're right, it certainly will."
Florence turned and explained to the woman that she and Jo Ann were goingto send word to this man whose name was written on the envelope. "It mayhelp Carlitos," she ended.
"Ah, you are so good to want to help Carlitos," the woman exclaimed.
"I wish we could find something to write this address on, but we can't,"said Florence. "We must look at it very carefully so as to be sure we getit right."
Both girls read and reread the address, then repeated it aloud to eachother.
"Now let's hurry and get home before we forget it," said Jo Ann.
After a hasty "_Adios_" to the family, the two hurried out of the cave.