The Mystery of the Lost Mine

  Luis inspected her sketches. “Not bad. These seem fairly accurate. Nice work, Violet.”

  Pleased, Violet stashed her drawings into the backpack containing their food.

  Henry strapped on the backpack and passed out the canteens. “If we hurry, we’ll be at the stables by six.”

  Rex was waiting for them. Their horses had been saddled and fed. Each horse carried extra water rations.

  “Have a good ride,” Rex said, waving them off.

  After a while they passed a sign that said “Peralta Canyon Trail.”

  “We’re on the right track,” Luis commented.

  Once more they rode single file with Luis in the lead and Henry at the rear. They stopped once to eat their breakfast and again to drink and check their bearings.

  “Are we almost there?” asked Benny.

  Violet got out her maps. “I see Weaver’s Needle,” she said, pointing to the heart-shaped formation in the distance.

  Luis nodded. “Soon we’ll have to leave our horses and hike in.”

  After a while the trail ended, narrowing to a path that vanished in the brush. They tied the horses to the trees, and began climbing on foot.

  “I keep thinking about old Jake out here. He must be really tough,” Henry said.

  “I hope he’s all right,” said Jessie.

  Benny slowed his pace. “I don’t see Weaver’s Needle anymore,” he said to Luis.

  “That’s because we’re getting closer,” Luis said.

  Violet couldn’t believe how quiet it was up here. Earlier the mountains echoed with birdcalls. Now the hills were completely silent.

  Luis explained, “It’s the heat. Animals and birds go under cover during the day. They come out to feed after sundown or in the early morning.”

  “I wish I could find some cover.” Benny slumped down on a stone. His cheeks were pink.

  “Watch out!” Luis cried. He checked the boulder Benny sat on. “Always look before you sit down. A rattler could be sunning itself.”

  Benny jumped. “I sure don’t want to sit on a snake!”

  Henry had climbed over the next rise. “Hey, look what I found!”

  The others hurried over the hill at the urgency in Henry’s voice.

  Henry stood in the middle of a small campsite. Charred sticks smoked from a recent fire. Paper cups and trash littered the area.

  Violet picked up a coffee cup. “Is this Jake’s camp? The fire is still warm. He’s probably nearby.”

  Luis kicked at the smoldering ashes. “Jake is too smart to leave a mess like this. Anyone with wilderness experience would smother the fire with sand. And Jake would never leave trash.”

  “Then whose camp is it?” Benny asked.

  “Somebody who obviously doesn’t care.” Henry was disgusted by all the trash lying around.

  Jessie felt eyes boring into her. Looking up, she caught a glimpse of a tall figure in the rocks high above.

  “Maybe it’s his camp!”

  Luis cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hey, up there!”

  “Halloo!” Henry yelled. His voice bounced around the canyon.

  But the figure disappeared into the rocks.

  “Whoever it was,” Benny said, “he didn’t want to be found.”

  “We might as well eat,” Jessie said. Henry shrugged off the backpack and Jessie began taking out rolls and cheese.

  No one was very hungry. They were all disappointed they hadn’t found Jake or his camp.

  Violet couldn’t stop thinking about the figure on the rocks. “That person we saw wasn’t Jake,” she said firmly.

  “How do you know?” Henry asked, chewing a cookie.

  “Because Jake isn’t tall. And that person was tall.”

  “Like Tom,” Jessie said thoughtfully.

  “Or Mr. Clark,” Luis added.

  “Or,” Henry said, “Mr. Tobias.”

  “Why would Mr. Tobias be out in these hills?” asked Violet. “He’s always in his trailer.”

  Henry began picking up trash to stuff in his backpack. “Maybe he’s not always in his trailer. Maybe he just wants us to think he is.”

  A pebble rolled down the rock wall. Henry froze. “He’s still up there.”

  “What is he doing?” Jessie asked fearfully. “Why won’t he answer us?”

  “He’s trying to scare us,” Benny said.

  “Well, it’s working.” Violet put her camera back in its case. She didn’t feel like taking pictures.

  “Violet’s right,” said Luis. “I think we should head back to camp.”

  “But we didn’t find the mine,” Benny cried.

  “Or Jake,” Violet said sadly.

  CHAPTER 7

  Lost!

  “Tacos,” declared Benny, “are the very best part of Arizona.” He crunched his fourth beef taco happily.

  “They are good,” agreed Jessie, adding shredded lettuce to her chicken taco. “Mr. McCrae, it was really nice of you to take us out to dinner.”

  Across the table, Gerald McCrae chomped chips and salsa. “I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate finishing work on my cabin. James deserves a real Tex-Mex meal.”

  Grandfather refilled Violet’s iced tea glass from the frosty pitcher. “It felt good to work in the open air. And I’m so glad my grandchildren had a chance to see the West.”

  “Are we leaving?” Benny asked, concerned. They hadn’t found Jake yet. Or really looked for the Lost Dutchman’s mine.

  “Not until the end of the week,” Grandfather replied. “There are still a few things to be done on the cabin. Then Gerald will drive us to Phoenix and we’ll fly home.”

  “And you’ll take your RV to the cabin,” Henry said to Mr. McCrae. “We’ve sure enjoyed it.”

  “I’ll come visit you in Greenfield,” said Mr. McCrae. “And you can borrow the RV again sometime.”

  Benny would miss the New Boxcar. It was neat living in that miniature house on wheels.

  “How about fried ice cream for dessert?” Mr. McCrae suggested.

  “How can they fry ice cream?” Benny wanted to know. “Wouldn’t it melt?”

  But when the toasted, coconut-covered ball was set in front of him, he didn’t speak until the glass dish was scraped clean.

  “Are you going on the evening hike with us?” Violet asked Grandfather as they drove back to RV Haven.

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Grandfather replied. “The desert at night is beautiful.”

  The Aldens piled out of Mr. McCrae’s Jeep in front of the Chuck Wagon.

  “See you tomorrow morning,” Gerald McCrae said to Grandfather, pulling away.

  Grandfather went ahead to unlock the RV. “Since we’re hiking in the desert, we’ll all need warmer clothing,” he told them.

  Janine Crawford was closing the restaurant. The dinner shift was over.

  “Did Jake come in today?” Jessie anxiously asked the waitress.

  Janine jingled the large bunch of keys she carried. “I don’t think so. To tell you the truth, I was too busy to notice.”

  “Wasn’t Tom around to help?” Violet asked.

  Janine made a snorting sound. “Is that man ever around when there’s work to be done?”

  “He’s guiding the hike tonight, isn’t he?” Benny said. He didn’t want to miss seeing the desert at night.

  Janine got into her car. “Don’t worry. If it’s something fun, Tom will be there.”

  “She doesn’t like him very much, does she?” Henry observed as Janine’s car pulled away, crunching gravel.

  Violet noticed something about the waitress. “Janine is tall,” she said. “As tall as any man. Do you suppose she was the person we saw on the rocks today?”

  Henry nodded. “Good point, Violet. We can’t say for sure if the prowler or the stranger in the hills was a man.”

  “All I know,” Benny said, “is that Jake hasn’t shown up in two whole days.”

  “Sounds to me like the threat in Jake’s note came t
rue. I think Jake’s in trouble,” Jessie said.

  Back in the RV, the children got ready for the hike. Jessie and Violet tied sweaters around their waists. Henry and Benny changed into long-sleeved shirts. Since Benny’s shirt didn’t have a pocket on the front, he tucked his lucky rock into his jeans pocket.

  They all gathered at the recreation center. The Clarks and the Garcias were already waiting, along with several other people from the campground. Luis joined the Aldens.

  Tom Parker strode into the lounge area. He wore soft, knee-high boots and a long, suede duster with fringed sleeves. His silver belt buckle sported a large turquoise stone that matched the stone in his string tie. His cowboy hat was black, with a jaunty white feather.

  “Wow,” breathed Benny. He gazed longingly at Tom’s boots. More than ever, he wished he were a cowboy.

  “Don’t you look handsome,” Mrs. Clark teased. “Like a real guide from the Old West.”

  Tom tipped his hat gallantly. “Thank you, ma’am. All right, pardners! Let’s hit the trail!”

  The group moved outside to the western end of the campground. From the pavement they struck off on a path bordered with white pebbles.

  Violet held Grandfather’s hand. “Look at the sunset,” she said. “I count five shades of purple.”

  “It is spectacular,” Grandfather agreed.

  She looked back once, at the trailers and RVs bathed in lavender light. She saw a pale, ghostly face in the window of the silver Airstream.

  It was Mr. Tobias. He wouldn’t even leave his trailer to go on a hike. He didn’t seem to like people at all. Why was he so unsociable?

  As the sun disappeared over the horizon, Tom talked about the desert.

  “As soon as the sun goes down,” he said in a lecturing tone, “small animals come out to feed. It’s too hot during the day, so kangaroo rats and mice sleep. But when they come out, so do their enemies.”

  Jessie slipped her arms into her sweater. “What kind of enemies?” she asked him.

  “Foxes,” he replied. “Coyotes. Scorpions and gila monsters.”

  “Monsters? There are monsters out here?” Benny reached into his pocket and touched his lucky rock.

  Luis reassured him. “A gila monster is a large lizard. Don’t worry. It moves very slowly. And it eats insects.”

  Mr. Clark asked Tom a question about the various cacti growing beside the trail.

  “The saguaro cactus lives to be hundreds of years old,” Tom said knowledgeably. “It grows a branch every twenty years.”

  “Twenty years!” Mrs. Clark was impressed.

  Henry exchanged a look with Luis. “Didn’t you tell us the saguaro grows an arm every fifty years?”

  Luis nodded. “I hate to say it, but Tom is wrong.”

  Jessie was wondering why Tom sounded as if he was reading from a textbook. He had dropped his easygoing speech and his tone was stiff.

  It was nearly dark when the group stopped at a circle of large, flat stones. In the center was a small, charred pit.

  “Gather brush,” Tom ordered everyone. “Soon we’ll have a roaring fire. Then I’ll tell you some tall tales.”

  Benny was proud to gather the most brush. “Are you going to start a fire with two sticks?” he asked Tom eagerly.

  Tom knelt over the pit. “Takes too long, Benny,” he said. “Besides, there’s no sun to create a spark.” With a lighter, he nervously flicked at the brushpile again and again.

  The fire would not catch.

  “Can I try?” offered Mr. Garcia. “I’ve had a lot of experience with balky campfires.”

  “So have I!” Tom barked. “I’ve lived in Arizona all my life—I know how to start a fire.”

  Mr. Garcia backed away, taking a seat next to his wife.

  Finally a flame licked over the brush. “Sorry,” Tom said to Mr. Garcia. “I guess the wind wasn’t right.”

  “There is no wind,” Violet whispered to Henry as they all found a seat around the fire.

  “I know,” Henry said. “It’s perfectly still tonight.”

  Tom was definitely acting strangely.

  “How about a story?” asked one of the other campers.

  “Do you know one?” Tom joked. But he seemed distracted, as if he couldn’t think of a story of tell.

  Benny raised his hand and waved it. “Tom, tell us about the Lost Dutchman’s mine.” That was a story they would all enjoy.

  In the leaping firelight, Tom’s face twisted. “I don’t know that story, Benny. Maybe you could share it with us.”

  Jessie’s jaw dropped. A native Arizonan like Tom didn’t know the legend of the Lost Dutchman’s mine?

  Grandfather came to the rescue. He told a long, funny tale that made everyone laugh.

  Benny was tired from that morning’s long ride in the hills. He leaned against Jessie’s shoulder and dozed off.

  Henry, who was sitting next to Violet, gently nudged her.

  “Look out there,” he whispered. “Do you see anything strange?”

  Violet stared beyond the fire. The last light of the day silhouetted cacti and rocks on the ridge. Then she saw it, an armless saguaro. Or was it a man?

  “That cactus,” she whispered back. “It looks like a person!”

  “I wonder if it’s the prowler,” Henry said. “Watching us. Two of our suspects are right here, Mr. Clark and Tom. That leaves Mr. Tobias.”

  “And Janine,” Violet said, reminding him the mysterious stranger could be a woman. “Maybe it’s just a person-shaped cactus.”

  “You could be right. The night plays tricks on our eyes.” But the more Henry stared at the “cactus,” the more he was certain it was human.

  Across the circle, Mr. Clark let out a big yawn. “Well, I think it’s about time to head on back to the bunkhouse.”

  “I agree,” said Grandfather. “We all have another busy day tomorrow.”

  Very busy, thought Jessie. Time was running out. They would have to find Jake.

  Mrs. Clark came over. “Oh, your little brother fell asleep. He’s so cute. Here, let me help you with him.”

  “That’s okay,” Jessie said, shaking Benny awake. “We’re fine.”

  But Mrs. Clark insisted on taking Benny’s arm and helping him to his feet.

  After a while, the cool desert air woke Benny up completely. He reached into his pocket to touch his lucky rock.

  The pocket was empty.

  “My rock!” he exclaimed. “I can’t find it!”

  “Not your lucky rock?” Jessie cried. “Oh, Benny!”

  Benny turned all his pockets inside out. “It’s missing!”

  “You mean that shiny rock?” said Mrs. Clark. “Oh, it’s probably back at the trailer. Or the restaurant. You could have left it anywhere.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Benny insisted. “I put it in my pocket before we left for the hike. And now it’s gone!”

  It was too dark to search the area. Grandfather and the others were waiting for him.

  Benny slipped his hand nervously into Jessie’s. He didn’t trust Mrs. Clark.

  When he first showed her his gold rock, she had eyed it enviously. It was obvious she liked pretty things from all the shiny jewelry she wore.

  Could Mrs. Clark have stolen his lucky rock?

  CHAPTER 8

  The Storm

  “One more day,” Grandfather announced at breakfast the next morning. “Gerald and I have only one more day of work, then his cabin will be finished. We’ll spend tomorrow relaxing, and then we’ll head back home Saturday.”

  Henry and Jessie looked at each other. One more day. That’s all they had to find Jake.

  A beep outside indicated Gerald was there to pick up Grandfather. He left in the battered orange Jeep.

  The restaurant wasn’t very busy this morning. Mr. Tobias was never at breakfast, and the Clarks, sitting at their regular table, seemed unusually quiet. Jessie noticed that Mrs. Clark wasn’t wearing any of her flashy jewelry. Mr. Clark looked as if he hadn’t
slept.

  Even more odd, Tom didn’t come in to greet the guests.

  “He’d better be fixing the pool filter,” Janine said, when Henry asked about Tom. “I’ve been after him over a week.”

  Luis breezed in. “Has Jake been in yet?” he asked anxiously.

  Violet shook her head. “We haven’t seen him.”

  Jessie told Luis that they were only staying until Saturday.

  “We want to look for Jake,” Henry added. “We’re afraid something has happened to him, especially since he got that threatening note.”

  Luis agreed. “It’s still pretty early. I’m sure our horses will be available.”

  They split up to pack food and water for the expedition.

  At Mountain Shadows Stables, Rex seemed glad to see them.

  “Benny,” he said, “Ginger has been pining away for you. Now she’ll perk up.”

  In no time he had the horses saddled and ready to go.

  “Here, Ginger,” Benny crooned to the pony. “I brought you some sugar.” He felt in his pocket for the sugar cube he saved from breakfast. His fingers missed the warm, familiar shape of his lucky rock.

  Violet sensed her brother’s sadness. “Maybe you’ll find another rock like the one you lost,” she said.

  “Maybe.” Benny knew they wouldn’t have much time to search for lucky rocks, not if they had to look for Jake.

  They followed the Peralta Canyon Trail. When the trail ended, they left their horses securely tied and watered them.

  “Let’s try another way to Weaver’s Needle,” Luis said, referring to Violet’s map drawings. “Maybe this time we’ll find Jake’s camp.”

  It was a long, hot climb. The Aldens and Luis stopped often to gulp from their canteens.

  Benny scampered ahead of the others. He had a strong feeling there was something important just beyond that next group of boulders.

  Suddenly Benny shrieked. “Hey, I found it!”

  Jessie looked back at Violet. “Do you think he’s found the mine?”

  “Knowing Benny,” said Violet, “a lost mine wouldn’t stay lost for long.”

  But they were wrong.

  Just beyond an outcropping of rock, a campsite was nestled in a small canyon. A sleeping bag lay unrolled in the dirt. Pans and a tin coffeepot were scattered about.