The Mystery of Carlitos

  CHAPTER VII THE CHARCOAL MAKER

  Peggy and Jo Ann continued to wait silently for the stealthy appearanceof the bear. Myriads of tiny stars winked down at them as they watchedthe full round moon sail slowly across the deep sapphire sky. Now andthen the chirp of a near-by cricket or the croak of a frog could be heardabove the constant splashing of the river.

  In their hasty preparations for the bear hunt they had forgotten theirsweaters, and now they shivered a little, both from excitement and thechill mountain air. The jagged edges of the rock felt anything butcomfortable, and their muscles ached from sitting in one position solong. Jo Ann felt dizzy from trying to watch the light high on themountain side and the dark shadows below her at one and the same time.Was there some connection between this new mystery and the mystery of theblue-eyed boy? she wondered.

  When the girls felt they could keep still no longer, Juan stepped outfrom the shadows and called up to them in Spanish, "The bear no cometonight."

  Jo Ann shook her head. "No, I don't think he's coming either. Come on,Peg," she said, turning around on the ledge. "Let's get down and stretchour legs."

  Stiffly the two girls scrambled down the pole and began kicking andstretching in an effort to relax their cramped muscles.

  Juan began jabbering rapidly in Spanish, and Jo Ann stopped a moment tolisten. "The bear no have _hambre_ tonight," he told her.

  She gazed at him questioningly. "_Hombre?_ Man?" she repeated. "_No sabe_[I do not understand]."

  Juan shook his head and began rubbing his hand over his stomach. "No--no_hombre_, _h-ambre_."

  Jo Ann's face broke into a smile, "Ah, _si_," she replied, then turningto Peggy she explained: "He's trying to tell us that the bear isn'thungry tonight."

  "I guess he's right," agreed Peggy. "Anyway, I've had enough. I'm goingto the house."

  She started off but had only gone a few steps when she realized Jo Annwas not following. "Aren't you coming, Jo?" she called to her.

  "Yes, in a minute. I want to ask Juan about that light." Pointing to thelight, she asked, "What is it, Juan?"

  "Ah, that. It is the light of a _carbonero_."

  "But what is a _carbonero_?" she asked again.

  Juan rattled off more Spanish, but Jo Ann shook her head.

  "Oh, well, I'll ask Florence," she said to herself, then turned to followPeggy. "_Buenas noches_, Juan," she called back to him. "Tomorrow nightwe watch again, _sabe_?"

  Juan nodded his head, "_Si_, senorita."

  The two girls hurried back to the house, and on entering they foundFlorence and her mother fast asleep. They quickly slipped into theirpajamas and snuggled up under the warm blankets. Peggy, worn out fromtheir long vigil, soon fell asleep, but Jo Ann kept wondering about thelight. Why was it there? And why did it flare up and die down as it had?The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that it hadsomething to do with the blue-eyed boy. She would climb the mountain thenext day and find the answer to these questions, she decided. If thatreally was a signal light, she was going to find out what it was allabout. Finally, when the faint rose of dawn was beginning to show in theeast, Jo Ann drifted off to sleep.

  It seemed to her that she had scarcely closed her eyes when she wasconscious of someone calling, "Jo, Jo, wake up. If you want any breakfastyou'll have to hurry."

  There was a strong aroma of coffee and the clatter of dishes being placedon the table. Jo Ann opened her eyes and stared around in surprise as shesaw Peggy putting the finishing touches to the breakfast table andFlorence helping her mother to her chair.

  She sprang quickly out of bed. "Why didn't you wake me sooner? I didn'tmean to sleep so late. I don't know what made me----"

  She stopped suddenly. The events of the night before flashed through hermind: the bear hunt, the mysterious light, the trip of investigation shehad planned up the mountain. If she were to accomplish all she wanted todo today, she had no time to waste.

  After a brief sketchy toilet, she slipped into her place at the table andbegan eating rapidly, scarcely conscious of the food she was putting intoher mouth. In spite of Peggy's and Florence's pointed remarks, she ate inunruffled silence, her mind apparently a million miles away. "Jo's on thetrail of another mystery," Peggy laughingly remarked to Florence and Mrs.Blackwell.

  Just then Jo Ann looked up and asked, "What does _carbonero_ mean,Florence?"

  "A maker of charcoal." Florence smiled. "I know why you're asking thatquestion. Peggy told me all about your mysterious light and how youkilled the big bad bear." She laughed teasingly, then added, "That lightwas just from a charcoal maker's fire." Jo Ann felt a wave ofdisappointment sweep over her. She had been so sure there was somemystery about the light and that it would lead her to the blue-eyed boy,and now Florence said it was only the light of a charcoal maker's fire."Every now and then an Indian family will go up in the mountains and staythere several days to make charcoal; then they carry it to the villagesto sell."

  At these words a sudden new idea leaped into Jo Ann's mind. It was sosimple that she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before.

  "Girls, I believe I've solved the mystery!" she exclaimed. "That Mexicanfamily of the cave have gone up there on the mountain to make charcoal.I'm on their trail again."

  "I shouldn't wonder but that you're right," agreed Florence. "That wouldexplain why those two boys were gathering wood the other afternoon. Theywere going to use it to make charcoal."

  Jo Ann burst out impulsively, "I'm going up there on the mountain and seeif that really is our family of the cave. Who wants to go with me?"

  "I think you're probably going on a wild-goose chase, but I'll go withyou," Florence replied. "It'll not be any easy matter to locate thefamily, even if we can see the smoke from their fire." She turned to hermother, "You don't object, do you, if we go up there?"

  Mrs. Blackwell hesitated a moment, then answered, "Oh, I think it'll beall right for you to go if you'll be very careful and be back beforedark." She smiled over at Jo Ann. "I know you'll never be satisfied tillyou find out if your blue-eyed boy's up there."

  "It won't take us long," Jo Ann said confidently. "That light didn't lookas if it were very far away."

  Florence and her mother exchanged amused glances, and then Florenceremarked, "We'd better take some lunch with us. It's lots farther thanyou think, Jo."

  "I'm not going," spoke up Peggy. "I'm going to stay here with Mrs.Blackwell."

  Jo Ann sprang up from the table. "Well, let's get busy this minute andget our work done and get started." She began stacking the disheshurriedly.

  A few minutes later she was washing the dishes so vigorously thatFlorence prophesied there wouldn't be enough left unbroken to set thetable for supper. In a surprisingly short time they had finished thedishes, packed the lunch, and were ready to start.

  "I believe I'll carry the gun along," Jo Ann remarked. "We might see arabbit or squirrel--or something."

  Soon the two girls were winding their way up a donkey trail that led upthe mountain side. From the very first they kept stopping now and then toscan the mountain for the smoke from the charcoal maker's fire.

  Finally Jo Ann cried triumphantly, "I see it! Look, right up there!"

  "Yes, that's it!"

  Both girls began searching for a path leading toward the spiral of smoke.

  "I know they couldn't have climbed up this steep place," Jo Ann remarked."They'd have had to be human flies to do that. That old grandmother andthe little children couldn't possibly have made it up here."

  "Well, the only thing to do is to follow this trail a little farther andsee if we can't find some trace of the way they did go." Florence startedalong the path, Jo Ann close at her heels.

  "What on earth made them go to such an outlandish place to make theircharcoal, Florence? It looks as if they could've found a much betterplace."

  "Well, you see, the Indian has no way to cut his wood except with amachete--that's just a big, long butch
er knife. He hunts for the fallenlimbs and trees that don't require much chopping."

  "Believe me, if I were a charcoal maker, I'd hunt an easier place toreach than that."

  After they had walked for some distance without noticing any sign ofanother path leading up the mountain, Jo Ann called, "Say, I believewe've gone too far. We must've missed their path. That smoke's back of usnow."

  "You're right. So it is. We'll have to turn around and go back. If wedon't find that path soon, I think we'd better go back home. The sun isterrifically hot now."

  They began retracing their steps, searching more carefully than before.

  "That family would've been bound to leave some sort of a trail," Jo Annkept saying.

  When at last they reached the spot where they had first seen the smoke,Florence said in a discouraged tone, "How about giving it up and goingback home now? I'm tired and hot."

  "Not yet," Jo Ann urged as she wiped the perspiration from her forehead."Let's sit down in the shade of this cliff and rest for a while, and thenwe'll feel more like going on." She dropped down on the ground and leanedback against the cool rock.

  Wearily Florence followed her example and began fanning herself with herhat.

  After she had rested a few minutes, Jo Ann rose, saying, "I'm going totake another look around here while you rest awhile longer."

  She wandered down the trail a short distance beyond the cliff, searchingfor a place where it would be possible to climb up the mountain side. "Ifwe can't find their path, then I'm going to find another way to get upthere," she told herself determinedly.

  A few minutes later she started up the steep bank, steadying herself nowand then by catching hold of the scrubby bushes growing out of thecrevices of the rocks. After climbing about twenty-five or thirty feetshe found herself on a rocky ledge above the cliff.

  Her eyes suddenly began to twinkle. "I believe I'll slip around thisledge till I'm right above Florence and drop a pebble or two on her, justfor fun."

  As she was slipping quietly along the ledge she heard a faint moaningsound. She stopped instantly and listened. "What on earth is that? Soundslike someone in distress. Just suppose it's a wild animal!" She strainedher ears again to listen. Once more the moaning sound floated down to hera little more distinctly.

  "That's a human being!" she told herself excitedly. "I believe it's morethan one person. Sounds as if there must be several in distress. I wonderif it could be that family from the cave in some kind of trouble."

  She leaned over the edge of the cliff and called down excitedly,"Florence! Oh, Florence!"

  "Where are you?" Florence called back in a surprised voice.

  "Right over you."

  Florence stepped out hastily and stared up at Jo Ann. "How did you evermanage to get----"

  "Did you hear that queer moaning sound a minute ago?" Jo Ann broke in.

  "Why, no--what----"

  "I believe someone's in terrible trouble. Come on up here and let's seeif we can find them. Be sure to bring the gun."

  "How can I get up there?" Florence asked hesitatingly.

  "Go down the trail a little way, and I'll show you."

  In a few minutes Jo Ann was helping to pull Florence up the bank. Nosooner had she reached the ledge than Jo Ann ejaculated, "Listen! There'sthat sound again."

  Florence's eyes stretched to their widest as the cry of distress reachedher ears.

  "Mercy! That's awful," she murmured, low voiced.

  "That sound's coming from right up there!" Jo Ann pointed almost straightabove. "Come on, I believe we can get up around this way."