CHAPTER XII
_DOUBLE DEALING_
An anxious group was waiting for the girls to arrive in camp. MaPatten had run over to make her daily call on Mrs. Breckenridge. EvenTang and the two Chinese hoys were watching eagerly and scowling towardthe tempestuous sky. A thunder and lightning storm in the hills wasnot a thing to laugh at. A flash! A roar! And a large mass of rockwas cleft apart as if a mighty hammer had struck it.
Tommy Sharpe and Seedy Saunders had saddled their horses and gone insearch of the girls as soon as the storm threatened, but not knowing inwhich direction they had headed, it was like hunting for a needle in ahay stack.
They did find Professor Gillette, however, soaked to the skin, abedraggled, shivering figure that set the boys laughing in spite of thepathetic look of the old man. They helped him up the hill to thePatten household where he could be taken care of, and once more went insearch of the girls.
But it was not until the storm was over and the girls were climbing upthe last trail to the ranch that Tommy spied them.
"There they are, Seedy! They're safe!" Tommy's voice trembled withemotion. The mountain | storms still terrified the boy, although hehad experienced so many of them.
By the time the girls reached the house, the strain they had undergonewas beginning to wear off and they were able to laugh at theiradventure. That all except Joy, who shuddered whenever she thought ofit and turned pale when the women asked excited questions.
"I hate these mountains," whispered Joy to Shirley. "I wish I weregoing home tomorrow!"
"Why, Joy Evans, you know you don't." Shirley put her arm around thefrightened girl. "You're having a grand time here, and the fun is justbeginning. You're not going to quit over the first unpleasant thingthat happens to you. That's not playing the game. What would LadyBetty Merriweather do?"
Joy laughed in spite of herself. "We always used to ask that questionwhen we were in Lynnwood. Lady Betty meant a lot to us, didn't she? Iguess she wouldn't have cried and taken on the way I did down there onthe cliff."
"Do you remember," said Shirley softly, "how Lady Betty rode throughthe night to help her wounded husband? That was bravery!"
"But that was so long ago. The Revolutionary War seems like a storyand not real life," Joy said with a toss of her head. "Maybe it didn'thappen at all."
Lady Betty Merriweather had been the first owner of the MerriweatherEstate, Bet's home on the Hudson, and from an old picture of her thatadorned the great entrance hall of the Manor, the girls had come tofeel that she was their friend and companion, an ideal for them to liveup to.
"Anyway," continued Joy, "she liked horses. And I don't. And I don'tlike their old cactus plants with their sharp needles that seem to jumpat you. And the sun is cruel. It bites. And even the mountains lookhard and angry as if they wanted to do you a mean turn.--And thatstorm! Did you ever see anything more terrifying? I thought the dayof judgment had come. I don't believe Lady Betty would have been anybraver than I was. Well, not much braver!"
Shirley laughed softly. "Joy dear, how you exaggerate things! Arizonais wonderful. Did you ever see such glorious sunsets? I'm crazy aboutthem."
"The sunrises are just as wonderful!" interrupted Bet. "And I'mwondering who is going to be game enough to start to Saugus beforedaylight some morning. Kit says we will have to take an early start ifwe are to make the trip in one day."
"Why are we going there?" asked Joy.
"To record our claims. We _could_ mail the filled-in blanks but it'slots more exciting to take them. And it's good experience for us.Besides the County Recorder should get acquainted with us, for somedaywe'll own a great big mine and be people of importance."
The girls laughed at Bet's seriousness.
"Are you going to say you don't want to go?" Bet asked in a vexed tone.
"Of course we'll go!" assented Enid. "We're The Merriweather Girls;one for all and all for one! What day do we start?"
"Why not go tomorrow, if our folks agree? I'm anxious to see thoseclaims put on record," said Shirley, "and the sooner business mattersare attended to, the better for everyone. And just think, girls, it'sour second business venture. Shirley's Shop was a success and stillis, for mother is keeping it going, and she said in her last letterthat she was not doing badly at all."
"Shirley's Shop was a success and the Merriweather Mining Company willbe, too," Bet declared. "It _must_ be a success."
"It will be!" determined Enid.
Only Joy did not share their optimism. "I think the storm was a badomen, don't you, Kit? It's hoodooed!"
"Joy Evans!" cried Bet her eyes flashing. "Half an hour ago I wouldhave let you say that, but now if the creek were near, in you'd go!"
Joy laughed and got beyond the reach of Bet's hand, then said impishly:"As for boys, I think they are simply wonderful! Mexican boys havebeautiful eyes and Phil Gordon always smiles at you, Bet."
For answer Bet ran into the house and slammed the door to her own room.Joy had wept after the storm, and thus relaxed her nerve tension butBet had not had any such relief. As a result of the strain she foundherself irritated by Joy's nonsense and got out of the way to avoid aquarrel.
It was two days later when the girls started on their trip to Saugus.The first faint flush of dawn was in the sky as they set out, theexhilarating air acting as a stimulant. Even the horses seemed to feelit as they tossed their heads and pawed the ground when the girls weregetting ready to start. The restless animals were as eager to be offas their riders, and at the first touch of the reins they sprangforward as if for a race.
"Take it easy, Powder," laughed Kit as she tightened the rein and drewup the horse's head. "You have a full day to show how clever you are."Kit talked to the pony as if it were a human being and the horse seemedto respond to whatever mood she was in. He slowed to a prancing trot,high-stepping along the level like a spirited race horse.
Kit leaned over and patted his neck with pride as she called: "Look,Bet, isn't he a beauty?"
"He is!--That is in looks. But I don't like his disposition. You arewelcome to ride him." Bet laughed aloud in her joy as she made herpony dance along the trail.
"But if Powder didn't act up like a perfect fiend at times, I'd bebored to death with him. I like them naughty. I hate a horse withoutany spirit. Powder keeps me on my toes all the time." Kit ran herfinger along the horse's mane and with a spring Powder reared andbucked, and did all the things that an untamed bronco would do when hewas first introduced to the saddle.
"You can have it all to yourself," said Bet, as Kit finally brought herquieted horse to a standstill. "I like riding, but I don't want to bea bronco buster."
Although they planned on being in the town by noon, the girls carried alunch strapped to their saddles. A rest and a bite to eat along theway was half the fun and they had not gone more than a mile before Joywas digging into the little bag that hung from the horn of her saddle.
By ten o'clock when the other girls were ready for a rest and somethingto eat, Joy was down to the bottom of the bag.
"Never mind, Joy, you can have half of mine. Mother always puts upenough for an army."
"Aren't we ever going to get there?" complained Joy, as she squatted inthe scant shade of a mesquite tree and ate some fudge.
"Five miles more!" Kit announced.
"I'll never be able to do it! If they only had a change of scenery, Iwouldn't be so bored. And those tall, smokestack cactus make me sick."
"Smokestack cactus!" snapped Kit with contempt. "If you'd only takeenough interest to learn the names of the trees and things you see, youwouldn't be so bored."
"Well, what are they called?"
"Sahuara. And if that word is too big for you to remember, call themGiant Cactus."
Suddenly Bet shook Joy by the arm. "Keep quiet and watch that roadrunner. Isn't he a beauty?"
The bird had risen and poised above the mesa, then with flutteringwings darted downward. There was a
rattling brr, and the girls knewwhat was happening. The road runner was attacking a rattlesnake.
"That bird isn't much of a sport," declared Bet, watching the littledrama with eager eyes. "It doesn't give the snake a fighting chance.I feel sorry for it."
Kit laughed. "Don't waste your sympathy on rattlesnakes. Takesomething worthy of your respect."
Kit watched the struggle with little emotion but the other girls turnedaway not wanting to see the end of the uneven fight.
"Let's go," said Enid, jumping to her feet. "I've seen enough."
An hour later when the girls were entering the little desert town ofSaugus, and just as they came to the first adobe houses, they saw ahorseback rider coming toward them. As he rode nearer the man wavedthem a greeting.
"It's Kie Wicks! And he's good-natured," grunted Kit suspiciously."Wonder what he's doing over here today? Up to some meanness, I know,otherwise he wouldn't be so cordial to us."
"Well his meanness doesn't concern us," answered Bet.
"You can't be sure of that. He's probably bought up some second handfood stuff that he plans to work off on the ranchers during the summer."
"And what's your errand over this way?" inquired Kie Wicks bluntly.
"I came to visit an ice cream parlor and go to a movie," chuckled Joy.
But Kit did not deign to answer the man. She dug her spurs intoPowder's sides and he leaped past the rider and raced toward the town.
"That fellow looks as if he had been taking advantage of someone.Wasn't he feeling good? On top of the world! The old cheat!"blustered Kit, as she dismounted at the stables where they were toleave their horses for a rest and a good feed.
The girls took their time, went leisurely about the town, ate theirlunch at the Grand Palace Hotel and later went to the County RecordingOffice.
"Why, that's funny!" said the clerk, giving them a searching look."Those same claims were recorded not more than an hour ago. Man by thename of Ramon Salazar. What are you trying to do, jump his claims?"
"Why, we wouldn't do such a thing," exclaimed Bet indignantly.
"Was Ramon here in person?" asked Kit.
"No, he sent the papers in by a neighbor," returned the young man. "Afellow by the name of Kie Wicks."
"Kie Wicks!" That explained everything.
The girls suddenly wilted. All their sparkle was gone as they watchedthe clerk checking over the descriptions with the ones already recorded.
"You have one here that has not been recorded," the clerk announcedwhen he had finally finished the checking.
"Wonder how he happened to leave out that one?" snapped Kit.
Bet held out her hand for the blank. "Let's see which one it is. Oh,girls, what a shame! It's the most unpromising claim of all. That'sthe last one we located, the one we called, 'Little Orphan Annie.'It's too mean for anything." There were tears of disappointment andanger in Bet's eyes.
"Do you want it recorded?" The girls heard the clerk's voice but itseemed to come from far away.
"What's the use of one claim? You can't make a mine out of just onemiserable claim!"
"I don't care, I want it anyway!" Bet shrugged her shoulders defiantly.
"I told you there was a hoodoo on those claims," Joy spoke cheerfully,as much as to say, "I told you so."
Joy's pessimism was all that was needed to decide Bet.
"Yes, we'll record it, and we'll be locating some more soon," sheannounced with determination. "We are not going to let Kie Wicks andRamon Salazar beat us. We'll get even with them somehow."
"They wouldn't have dared to do this if we were men. Just because weare girls, they think they'll get away with it."
"Oh, by all means!" Joy taunted provokingly, "Be sure to locate somemore claims and let that man take them away from us again."
Bet turned her back on Joy and watched the clerk as he put the blankthrough the usual routine and then turned to leave the office. TheMerriweather Girls were the owners of one very unpromising copper claim.
They dragged wearily out into the fierce sunlight. There was adiscouraged droop to their shoulders, but Bet suddenly straightened.Her eyes were flashing as she said:
"I have a hunch! Something tells me that we are not down and out onthis deal."
Joy squatted on the steps of the General Mining Supply Company's officeand laughed. "You ought to win with a disposition like that, BetBaxter. I don't admire your judgment, but I do like your spunk. I'mwith you. I'll never say a discouraging word again."
"I don't know why, but somehow that Little Orphan Annie claim is goingto help us win out!"
"But how?" whispered Kit to herself.