The Mystery of Carlitos

  CHAPTER III AN UNWELCOME VISITOR

  When Jo Ann opened her eyes the next morning, the sun was already shiningthrough the open doorway. She lay still a moment and tried to think whyshe had wanted to get up early. What had she planned to do? Then it allcame back to her. She was going down to the cave to find out more aboutthe blue-eyed boy.

  She threw back the covers and sprang up quickly, but the next moment shedropped back with a stifled groan.

  "What's the matter, Jo?" whispered Peggy. "You're not stiff or sore, areyou?"

  "Oh no--of course not! I just groaned for the fun of it."

  "That's the reason I didn't want to go with you girls down to the goatranch yesterday. I knew I wouldn't be able to move today if I did. I'mgoing to take my climbing in smaller doses, so it won't be so painful."

  Just then they heard a groan from the other end of the room, and bothgirls raised up on their elbows to look over at Florence.

  "Are you sore too?" Jo Ann called out loud when she saw that Mrs.Blackwell was also awake now.

  "I'll say I am! It's agony to move. We'll have to climb some more todayto get limbered up."

  "That's exactly what we're going to do just as soon as breakfast's over.You remember we planned to take some food to those children down at thecave. I want to show you and Peggy my blue-eyed boy, too."

  Peggy laughed. "I surely hope you get to satisfy your curiosity abouthim--we won't have a minute's peace till you do."

  "Well, if we're going down there this morning, we'd better roll out."Florence screwed up her face and began slowly crawling out of bed.

  Peggy smiled at the ridiculous contortions Jo Ann and Florence wentthrough as they got up and began dressing.

  Finally Jo Ann picked up a shoe and pitched it across at her. "You willlaugh at me, will you?" she said good-naturedly. "Roll out yourself, orI'll pour some cold water in your face."

  Jo Ann finished dressing first, and as she went out the door she calledback, "I'll make the fire while you girls finish dressing; then it won'ttake us long to get breakfast."

  A few minutes later she was joined by Peggy and Florence, and all threegirls set to work getting the breakfast started.

  "I'll set the table," offered Peggy.

  "And I'll get the things from our refrigerator at the spring," added JoAnn, and started off stiff-legged down the path. "The walk'll help tolimber me up."

  "Jo ought to have a prize for her graceful walk," smiled Peggy as shestarted into the house to set the table, while Florence went for somewood to replenish the fire.

  A few minutes later Jo Ann came running back empty-handed, her soremuscles forgotten. "Our food's gone--everything's gone!" she calledexcitedly to Florence.

  The wood dropped from Florence's hands and sent up a shower of sparks asit fell into the fire. "Gone!" she gasped. "Are you sure you looked inthe right place?"

  "Sure. The box's turned over, and there's nothing under it."

  By this time Peggy, hearing the excitement, rushed out of the house, andall three girls raced back to the spring, then stood staring at theoverturned box.

  "What do you think happened?" asked Jo Ann. "Do you suppose someone stolethe things and left the box there so it'd look as if a dog had done it?"

  "I hardly think so," replied Florence thoughtfully. "There's no one uphere who'd----" She stopped abruptly.

  "Could it have been those people down at the cave who----" began Jo Ann;then the next moment she answered her own question: "No, I know theydidn't do it. They're poor, but I don't believe they'd steal."

  Peggy looked over at Jo Ann. "How do you know? You can't prove it."

  Dropping to her knees beside the spring Jo Ann began examining themoss-covered stones. "The moss is scraped off this rock where somethingheavy stepped on it, but then we could've done that last night when weput the things in here."

  Florence turned and started back toward the house. "It won't do any goodto stand here talking about it. Come on, we'll find something else tocook in place of the bacon for breakfast. It's a good thing we broughtsome canned milk along for an emergency, but we'll have to do withoutbutter for several days, till I can get some sent out from the city."

  Jo Ann ran to catch up with Peggy and Florence. "Why can't you get somebutter from the people down at the goat ranch?" she asked.

  Florence laughed. "Why, they probably wouldn't even know what I wastalking about."

  "Don't they use butter?"

  "No, the peons never use it."

  "Well, then, let's get extra milk and make it ourselves."

  "How? We haven't a churn."

  "I've seen my mother make butter by stirring the cream in a bowl or jar,"Jo Ann explained.

  Just then they reached the house, and all three ran on inside and begantelling Mrs. Blackwell of their loss.

  "Mrs. Blackwell, what is your opinion about the mysterious visitor--washe man or beast?" asked Jo Ann finally.

  "I couldn't say, of course, but it seems to me an animal would hardlycarry off the glass jars of milk and butter."

  Jo Ann stared at Mrs. Blackwell a moment. "I hadn't thought of that," shesaid, then turned and went on outside.

  Peggy glanced over at Florence. "Everything seems to point to thosepeople as the guilty parties, doesn't it? Jo hates to admit it, though."

  "Oh well, it wasn't much, and anyway, we can't prove that they are theguilty ones. Let's forget about it and see what we can find forbreakfast." She got up and went out in the kitchen with Jo Ann.

  A few minutes later Peggy joined them, and before long they had theemergency breakfast ready: coffee, dry cereal with canned milk, battercakes with brown sugar syrup, and oranges.

  "This isn't half bad, if you ask me," bragged Peggy as they sat down tothe table.

  Jo Ann grinned. "Just see who fixed it! Why, we're the best cooks formiles around."

  "That isn't saying much, is it?" smiled Florence, then all four laughedmerrily as they caught Florence's hidden meaning.

  As soon as the breakfast things were cleared away and the housestraightened up, Jo Ann asked, "Florence, do you and Peg still want to godown to the cave with me?"

  "Why, of course. Come on, let's see what we can find to carry to thosechildren."

  The three girls hastened to the kitchen, and Florence began searchingthrough the provision box for something to take to the children at thecave.

  "Here're some _frijoles_--that's their principal food, and I know they'lllike them. We'll put in some rice, and with these onions and garlic andthis can of tomatoes they can make _sopa de aroz_--a kind of stew." AsFlorence handed the things to Jo Ann and Peggy, they packed them in asplit-cane basket.

  She looked about the kitchen a moment, then reached over on the table andpicked up a bag of oranges and handed it to Jo Ann. "Here're someoranges. They ought to have some fruit, too. There're only half a dozenin there, but that'll be enough for each of the children to have oneapiece. Let's take these batter cakes we had left from breakfast. They'lllove them. They'll think they're some kind of a cake. We'll put in thiscone of brown sugar and tell the woman how to make syrup--but they'llvery likely eat the sugar as it is, thinking it's candy."

  "I wonder if I couldn't get milk from the goat ranch for them," put in JoAnn. "I'm going to see about it the next time we go down there."

  When they had finished, Jo Ann picked up the basket and followed Florenceand Peggy out on the front porch, where Mrs. Blackwell was lying in ahammock stretched between two of the crude peeled posts supporting thethatched roof.

  Florence leaned over to drop a kiss on her mother's pale cheek. "Do youmind if we leave you alone for a little while? We're going down to thecave to carry some food to those poor little children--we won't be goneover half an hour."

  "I want to prove to Florence and Peg that I'm right about that blue-eyedboy," added Jo Ann. "Maybe we'll be able to find out something that'llthrow some light on the mystery of his blue eyes."

  Mrs. B
lackwell smiled. "You girls run along--I'll take a nap while you'regone. I'm very glad you're adopting those children. From what you've toldme they must be badly in need of a helping hand. You see evidences ofreal poverty down here among the peons, and yet, as a general thing,they're very happy." As they started off down the trail she called, "Jo,I wish you luck in solving the mystery of your blue-eyed boy."

  Florence and Jo Ann found it very painful going down the steep path.Their leg muscles were still stiff and sore from their long tramp overthe mountain side the day before. They were glad when they reached thefoot of the cliff and started on a smooth wooded trail around its base.

  At the first curve they stopped to gaze across the broad valleystretching out before them.

  "Isn't this glorious!" Jo Ann exclaimed. "We almost beat the sun up--downhere, didn't we?"

  "Yes, it wasn't much ahead of us," agreed Peggy, "and doesn't the airsmell good?"

  All three girls drew in deep breaths of the fragrant, woodsy odor of leafmold and dew-kissed ferns.

  A few minutes later they turned and hurried along the trail till theyreached the narrow, unused path leading up to the cave. As they came insight of it, Jo Ann stopped abruptly and stood staring before her.

  "What's the idea of stopping so suddenly?" Peggy demanded, as she bumpedinto Jo Ann.

  "What's the matter?" chimed in Florence, crowding up behind Peggy andtrying unsuccessfully to look over their shoulders.