CHAPTER XV "CARLITOS--GONE!"
Before Jo Ann could ask any more questions Florence and Peggy came flyingout.
"What is the matter, Pepito?" Florence asked quickly. "Why were yourunning so hard?"
"Car--li--tos--gone!" he panted, his eyes filled with tears.
"Gone!" Florence repeated. She wheeled about. "Girls, he says Carlitos isgone--lost!"
She turned back. "How could he be lost? What's happened?"
Realizing how exhausted Pepito was from running, Florence led him up tothe porch and made him sit down. "Rest a few minutes, then tell me what'shappened," she ordered.
After he had partially regained his breath, he began telling between sobsthat Carlitos and the burro had been stolen. Carlitos, he said, hadbegged Jose to let him go to town to help sell the charcoal and thatwhile there both he and the burro had disappeared.
Florence rapidly translated his broken story to the impatient girls.
"Carlitos stolen!" Jo Ann repeated, puzzled. "Does he mean kidnaped?"
"Sounds like it." Florence began questioning Pepito again. "Where is your_papa_ now?"
"At the cave. When _mi papa_ tell us that Carlitos is lost, I come toyou. You can help us find Carlitos."
Florence repeated his words to the girls, saying, "Poor child, he thinkswe can help them because we did before."
"We've got to help," Jo Ann spoke up emphatically. "We've got to findCarlitos. Let's go down to the cave right now and talk to Jose and findout exactly what's happened. Tell Pepito to stay here and rest while wego to the cave."
When Florence suggested to him that he stay and rest, Pepito shook hishead. "No, no, senorita. I go with you."
Before starting to the cave Florence ran inside to tell her mother whathad happened. "Peggy says she'll stay and finish getting dinner while Joand I go down and find out the details from Jose."
"All right," her mother replied. "I hope they'll be able to find Carlitosbefore night."
By the time Florence came back, Jo Ann was hurrying down the trail,Pepito following. Suddenly realizing that Pepito must not walk sorapidly, Jo Ann checked her pace, although she could hardly wait to findout from Jose what had really happened.
"I wonder if it's possible that Carlitos has been kidnaped," she thoughtanxiously. "That mean mine boss tried to get him once--maybe he's hadsomething to do with his disappearance."
Just then Florence caught up with her and began talking over this newtrouble. "We'll have to do something to help find Carlitos, Jo. Had itoccurred to you that that mean boss might've had a hand in hisdisappearance?"
Jo Ann nodded. "I was just thinking that very same thing. The fact thatCarlitos is the rightful owner of the mine would give him a reason forwanting to get him out of the way."
"That sounds terrible," Florence shuddered, "but it's possible, allright."
As they neared the cave, the girls could hear the mother and grandmothertalking rapidly in shrill excited voices. On entering they saw Josecrouched disconsolately in a corner, his face buried in his hands.
They stepped across to his side, and Florence began quickly, "Jose,Pepito has told us about Carlitos. Tell us all about what happened tohim--how he disappeared--and where you saw him last. Maybe we can helpyou find him."
Jose raised his head, his dark troubled eyes lighting a little at sightof the two girls who had helped to save his son's life only a few daysbefore.
"Ah, _Papa_," put in Maria just then. "The senoritas--our friends--theywill help us find Carlitos."
"We hope we'll be able to help," Florence told them earnestly.
Brokenly then Jose began by telling how after several efforts he hadsucceeded in selling only a few _centavos'_ worth of the charcoal, and sohe decided to exchange some of it for food. Leaving Carlitos outside towatch the burro, he had gone into the little general store of thevillage. After he had bargained with the storekeeper to exchange corn,_frijoles_ and coffee for a bag of charcoal, he had hurried out to getit.
To his amazement Carlitos and the burro were not in sight. Thinking theymight have wandered down the street, he started off to look for them.They were nowhere to be seen, and after he had searched in vain all overthe few streets of the village, he was in despair. Finally, afterinquiring of several people, he found a man who said he'd seen a boy anda man go by driving a burro--only there were no bags of charcoal on theburro.
"I search much then, but I cannot find Carlitos or the burro," he endedsorrowfully. "I have much fear that harm has come to Carlitos."
As soon as Jose had stopped talking, Florence translated his story to JoAnn.
When she reached the part about the man's having seen a boy and a mandriving a burro without any charcoal, Jo Ann spoke up quickly, "Maybethat boy was Carlitos."
Florence turned back to Jose. "Do you suppose that boy was Carlitos whowas helping to drive the burro?"
Jose shook his head. "No, no. The man say this boy hit much the burro.Carlitos no hit our burro."
Jo Ann, who had caught the meaning of Jose's words, put in, "Florence,maybe the man was making the boy hit the burro so he could hurry him outof the village. He probably wanted the burro too."
When Florence translated this idea to Jose, he replied, "I thought ofthat too. I try to find them, but it was impossible. I hunt for manyhours, but I find nothing." He shook his head mournfully. "Carlitosgone--the burro gone--the charcoal gone--no have money to buy food for mychildren. Ah _Dios_, it is terrible!"
"I believe it's that man from the mine who's back of it all," Jo Anndeclared again. "He could easily have taken the charcoal off the burroand hidden it, and have frightened Carlitos into going with him."
"That's true," agreed Florence. "He might've forced him to go at thepoint of a gun. That mean boss wouldn't stop at anything."
"Well, we must do something about it right now. Let's go to the villageand see if we can't find out more about that man and boy. Will yourmother let us go to the village with Jose?"
"Yes, I'm sure she will. It's not so far there." She turned to Jose andsaid, "We want you to go back to the village with us and see if we canfind out something more about Carlitos. Go to the goat ranch and tellJuan to let us have two burros. We'll go up to the house to tell mymother and then meet you at the cart road."
Jose nodded assent. "_Bien_, senorita, I go immediately."
The girls hurried up to the house, and Florence quickly explained theirplans to her mother.
"I think it'll be all right for you to go," Mrs. Blackwell replied. "Ihope you can find Carlitos, but be very careful. That man is probablycapable of doing anything."
"Oh, Mrs. Blackwell, he can't be more dangerous than that bear," put inJo Ann. "We'll be careful. I believe I'll take the gun along. I'll feelsafer."
"No, let's take the pistol instead," Florence put in. "The gun's tooheavy." She took a pistol out of her bag and handed it to Jo Ann, thenthey set off down the trail and a little later found Jose at the roadwaiting for them with the burros.
Jo Ann hesitated a moment before getting on her burro. "This is my firstexperience riding without a saddle or a bridle."
"Oh, it's easy after you get used to it," Florence encouraged. "You guidea burro, you know, by hitting him on the neck with a stick." She sprangup nimbly onto the pack on the donkey's back.
After Jo Ann had mounted on her burro she remarked, smiling, "Thisburro's so small and my legs're so long that they almost drag on theground."
"Sit farther back, the way the Mexicans do," Florence called back. "It'smuch easier riding that way."
Jose followed, walking closely behind Jo Ann, having no difficulty inkeeping up with the donkey's pace.
"Isn't there any way to make these animals go faster?" Jo Ann called toFlorence impatiently a few minutes later.
"They'll trot a little ways, but they really make as good time by keepingtheir steady pace. Remember you're in Mexico, Jo."
As soon as the three had reached the vil
lage, Jose took the girls to thestore in front of which he had left Carlitos and the charcoal-laden burroa few hours before. "I know this storekeeper," Florence told Jo Ann."He'll probably know if any strangers have been in the village lately.His store's a meeting place for everybody in the village, and he hearsall the gossip."
She went inside and began questioning the storekeeper. "Have you heard ofany strangers being in the village in the last day or two besides thisman?" She pointed to Jose.
The storekeeper nodded his head, "_Si_, senorita. I saw a man thismorning that I have never seen before. He bought some cigarettes fromme."
"Did he come in before this man--Jose--did?"
"_Si._ He said he was looking for a family that had lived at a miningcamp across the mountains."
Florence gave a little start. "Did he say why he wanted to find thisfamily?"
"He say they were his friends." The storekeeper shrugged his shouldersMexican fashion and added, "I tell him I know nothing, and then heleave."
Florence hurriedly recounted this information to Jo Ann, endingindignantly, "I believe that man was either the mean boss or someone he'dsent to get Carlitos. Jose knows what the boss looks like, so we can findout if the stranger was he." She wheeled around to Jose and asked,"What'd that mean boss look like?"
"Very fat." Jose gestured with his hands to indicate a Santa Clausfigure, then twisted an imaginary mustache, adding, "and a big blackmustache." He turned to the storekeeper. "Did that man look like that?"
The storekeeper shook his head. "No. He very small--no mustache."
"I'm glad it's not the boss," exclaimed Jo Ann.
"I am, too," Florence agreed. She turned to Jose and said, "Take us downthe street now where that man you talked to said he saw the strange manand the boy driving the burro."
While Jose was guiding them to this street which led to the outskirts ofthe village, Florence caught sight of a familiar figure standing in anopen doorway. "Wait a minute," she explained. "There's a woman I know.I'll ask if she saw them pass."
Florence hurried across the street and began explaining to the womanabout their search for Carlitos and the burro. "Have you seen anybody ofhis description or heard anything about him?"
The woman shook her head, "No."
Florence's face fell. "Well, have you heard about anyone's finding anybags of charcoal? This boy's burro was carrying two bags of charcoal whenhe came to the village."
The woman's black eyes lit with interest. "_Si_, senorita. Adela, thewoman who lives at the corner, told me she had found two bags of charcoalin her yard this morning. She did not know how they got there."
"Will you take us to her house and ask her to let us see the bags ofcharcoal? This man"--she nodded over at Jose--"will know if they're hisbags. His mother made them herself."
The woman readily agreed to go with them, and in a few minutes they wereshown the bags of charcoal.
A gleam of recognition immediately shone in Jose's eyes. "_Si_, senorita.These are the bags made by my mother." His voice changed to a mournfulnote. "That boy was Carlitos. That man was making him beat the burro--hethrow this charcoal over the wall. He very bad _hombre_."
Jo Ann, who had caught the meaning of Jose's words, put in quickly,"We've got to find that man and get Carlitos away from him. There's notelling what he'll do to him."
"But Jose said he followed him for some distance out this way." Florencewheeled about. "Jose," she asked, "which direction do you go to get tothat mine you came from?"
"You follow this road." He gestured toward the winding road leadingacross the valley to the range of mountains.
Jo Ann spoke up impatiently, "Let's start after Carlitos this minute. Ifwe could find some horses to ride, we could overtake that man andCarlitos even if they did have several hours' start. That man wouldn'thave taken the burro if he hadn't intended using it. I know he can't betraveling fast with a burro along. Come on, let's see if we can find somehorses."
"We can get some horses here, I'm sure. Dad always gets his horse herewhen he comes to see us--a burro's too slow for him." Florence stopped amoment, then added hastily, "I believe I'll call Dad--I can phone to himfrom here--and tell him what's happened and----"
"Oh, Florence," Jo Ann broke in, "ask him if we can't go straight on tothe mine. Tell him we'll take Jose with us, and tell him if we don'tfollow that man and Carlitos at once we'll never see Carlitos again!"
"Well, all right. Come on. We'll go back to the store--that's where theonly telephone in the village is. Come on, Jose."