by Roy J. Snell
CHAPTER XX MORE TROUBLES
As soon as she drew near, Florence burst out excitedly, "Our car'sstolen!"
Jo Ann's and Peggy's eyes stretched to their widest, and their lower jawsdropped.
Jo Ann was the first to recover from the shock. "Our car's stolen! Why,who could've----Oh, it must've been the smugglers!"
"I'm sure it was," Florence replied. "The newsboy described one of themexactly--the taller one."
Peggy gasped audibly. "That settles it, then."
"He hit the boy--knocked him down--then they drove off in our car."
"I don't understand why the smuggler should've hit the boy," put in JoAnn bewilderedly. "What'd the boy have to do with the affair?"
Florence and Peggy exchanged glances, then Florence answered, "I hiredthe boy to watch our car while we went to the market. The lock on the carwouldn't work. I'm to blame."
"Oh--I'm beginning to see now." The bewildered expression on Jo Ann'sface slipped away, and a look of determination took its place. "We've gotto get our car back right away." She drew her brows together into alittle frowning line of concentration.
"Hadn't we better report it to the police?" Peggy asked.
Jo Ann shook her head. "Not yet. Maybe later. I believe we'd better huntup the mystery man and tell----" She halted abruptly. "But maybe he'sleft the city already. I hope not. I want to tell him our car's licensenumber, so he can follow it--especially since the smugglers might'vediscarded their car entirely. But maybe one of them might drive ours andthe other one their car. Come on. We'll plan what to do as we walk." Shecaught Florence with one hand and Peggy with the other.
"But where're we going?" queried Peggy.
"Anywhere so we can get away from this crowd," Florence whispered, eyingthe curious onlookers, who were waiting to see what the _Americanas_ weregoing to do.
No sooner had the girls started off down the street than Florenceremembered about the two little boys carrying their packages. She glancedaround and saw them following close behind, the packages piled up intheir arms almost as high as their chins. "Gracious!" she exclaimed. "Wecan't have them following us everywhere. We'd better have them take thepackages back to the market and leave them there for a while. Walkslowly, and I'll catch up with you in a shake."
She wheeled about, gave a quick order in Spanish to the boys, and thenaccompanied them to the market. After leaving the packages at the samebooth where they had waited before and paying the boys a few _centavos_,she flew back to the girls.
"I've decided to go to the telephone exchange first," Jo Ann announced toher quickly. "Where is it?"
"One block down, then turn to the right and go about a block and a half."
"Let's step on it." Jo Ann strode off in what Peggy always called her"long-legged gallop," which meant that both she and Florence had to taketwo or three steps to Jo Ann's one.
Having caught up with Jo Ann by running, Florence asked, "Why--areyou--going to the exchange?"
"'Cause I feel sure that he was going to do some long-distancephoning--and he started off in this direction." With that she gallopedoff faster than ever.
"People'll think we're crazy--running--along like this," puffed Peggy.
Florence nodded assent "They're saying, 'Ah, those--queer _Americanas_!'"
The two girls reached the exchange at last in time for Florence to helpJo Ann question one of the operators. The man they had described, theoperator replied, had left only a few minutes before.
"Where did he go?" Jo Ann asked quickly.
The operator shook her head. "That I do not know."
"Now where?" Peggy asked Jo Ann curiously.
"To the telegraph office. He'd probably have to telegraph, too, to someof the inspectors. Where's the telegraph office, Florence?"
"Go back to the corner where we just turned. It's a block past themarket."
"Oh, gosh!" Jo Ann exploded. "Just my luck to go to the wrong placefirst. Come on."
Off she rushed out of the building and soon was several yards ahead ofthe other two. By the time she had reached the telegraph office, she waspanting, her cheeks a brilliant scarlet with beads of perspirationrunning down them.
Just as she dashed in, she bumped into a man hurrying out.
"Oh--I--beg your----" she began, then gasped, "Oh, it's _you_! I've--beenhunting--for you!"
"What's happened?" the mystery man asked, guiding her outside, away fromthe curious stare of the people in the office.
As quickly as she could manage in her breathless state, she recountedwhat had happened.
"Glad you found me in time," he replied. "I was just ready to leave inpursuit. What's your car's number?" He jerked out a notebook from hispocket and jotted down the number she gave him. "I'll try to get your carback to you," he added then. "About your getting home this afternoon----"
He broke off in the middle of his sentence and turned to the tall, erectMexican man standing back of him, whom Jo Ann now noticed for the firsttime. "Gonzales, I want you to drive this girl and her friends to theirhome out beyond San Geronimo. She'll tell you how to get there, if youdon't know." He turned again to Jo Ann, saying, "This is Juan Gonzales,my right-hand man; Gonzales, this is my right-hand girl, Miss Jo AnnCutrer. Take good care of her." He addressed Jo Ann again: "He's acareful driver. I'll write to you as soon as I can." With an "Adios" hehurried on to the curb, sprang into a tan roadster, and drove offrapidly.
By that time Peggy and Florence had come puffing up, and afterintroducing Mr. Gonzales to them, Jo Ann explained that he was to drivethem home. Florence, with her knowledge of Mexicans and their language,talked for a few minutes in Spanish with the stranger before agreeing tothis plan. Having decided that he was a gentleman and trustworthy, shetold Jo Ann that she, for one, thought they ought to be starting backhome shortly. "As soon as we get our packages at the market, we'll beready, won't we?"
"I have a few things I'd like to get," spoke up Peggy.
"How long will it take you to finish your shopping?" Mr. Gonzales askedin excellent English, surprising them all so that there was a moment'ssilence before Peggy answered, "I'll be ready in about fifteen or twentyminutes. You girls will be too, won't you?"
Both nodded assent.
"Very well, I'll have Mr. Andrews's other car here waiting by that timefor you."
"Mr. Andrews's car?" Jo Ann repeated puzzledly, then smiled. "You meanthe mystery man's car. We've called him the mystery man so long that I'dforgotten for the moment that he'd told me his name was Andrews. I'll tryto remember that hereafter."
The girls hurried off to finish their shopping and in about a quarter ofan hour were back at the corner. Almost at the same minute Mr. Gonzalesdrove up in a sedan, and the girls climbed into the back seat, pilingtheir packages on the floor.
Jo Ann noted with satisfaction that Mr. Gonzales was a careful driver,weaving in and out the traffic with ease and taking no unnecessary risks.Having arrived at this conclusion she relaxed somewhat and began talkingover their exciting experiences with the girls. "One thing I'm thankfulfor is that we three paid for Jitters ourselves," she remarked. "Wouldn'tit be terrible if, say, Miss Prudence, had been a part owner? Wouldn'tyou hate to tell her about the car's having been stolen?"
Both nodded emphatically, and Florence added, "I've been wondering ifwe'd better tell her. I rather think not. She'd get all stirred up overit, and besides, the mystery man'll probably get Jitters back to us in afew days. How about keeping quiet about it for a while?"
"I'm in favor of keeping mum till we hear from Mr. Andrews," Peggy putin. "If he writes he couldn't find the car, why, of course, we'll have totell Miss Prudence and Mr. Eldridge then."
"When Jose meets us at Jitters' House this afternoon," Jo Ann broke in,"he'll know something's wrong at once. He'll want to know what's becomeof Jitters."
"We'll tell him the truth and ask him to say nothing about it for a fewdays--till we tell him he may," Florence suggested. "He alread
y knowsabout those men being angry at us for getting the pottery they'd plannedto buy. That reminds me, I feel mighty bad about losing that pottery. I'dwritten my friend I was shipping it, and she'll be expecting it."
"Mr. Andrews may recover it when--or if--he finds our car," Peggyremarked.
"I certainly hope he recovers both the car and the pottery," Jo Ann saidwith a sigh. "When I think of that gang of smugglers he's fighting--well,I just get scared stiff. I'm afraid they're going to kill him before it'sall over."
"Let's try not to worry," advised Florence.
When they finally reached Jitters' House, they found Jose waiting forthem with the horses. His black eyes widened in surprise on seeing themgetting out of a strange car.
After the girls had thanked Mr. Gonzales and he had started off towardthe city, Florence told the mystified Jose what had happened, ending, "Donot tell anyone about the car's having been stolen."
"I will not tell," he promised.
As the rest of the family had finished eating dinner by the time thegirls had reached the house, they ate alone and thus escaped beingquestioned as much as they would have been otherwise. Shortly afterwardthey went on to their bedroom. So engrossed were they still in talkingover their adventures that it was late before they could composethemselves and go to sleep.
The next day lagged snail-like to the girls. All three went about theirhousehold tasks with an air of subdued suspense.
Over and over Jo Ann found herself wondering about the mystery man. Washe still alive? Perhaps even now he was lying badly injured--dying insome remote gully in the desert. Had that awful presentiment he'd hadabout losing his life--had it actually come to pass, or was it about to?She shuddered at these gloomy thoughts.
Noticing how worried Jo Ann looked, both girls realized that it was themystery man's fate more than the loss of the car that was troubling her.They both tried to take her mind off this subject, and Peggy even tried abit of teasing finally in her effort to make her less pessimistic.
"You're going around here with such a long face that your chin almosttouches the floor," she told her. "Miss Prudence'll be wondering what'sthe matter."
"She's already asked me if you're sick, Jo," Florence added. "She saidyou looked so pale and peaked that she'd about decided she'd better giveyou some of her iron-strychnine tonic."
"Ugh!" Jo Ann ejaculated, grimacing. "That's the vilest-tasting stuff inthe whole world. I'd better turn up the corners of my mouth into a grinright now." In spite of these words, her lower lip trembled threateninglyas she added, "When you know some person's life is in danger, you can'thelp thinking and worrying about it."
"Snap out of the dumps," Peggy ordered. "I hear Miss Prudence coming. Ifeel it in my bones that she's bringing her bottle of tonic."
Jo Ann obediently tried to force her lips into the semblance of a smile.Peggy's and Florence's lips curved upward without any difficulty whenthey saw Miss Prudence enter, actually carrying a bottle.
Jo Ann eyed the bottle askance a moment; then her face brightened into areal smile as she read the label, "Furniture Polish."
"You girls don't seem to know what to do with yourselves this morning,"Miss Prudence said briskly, "so I've decided to give you some extrawork--polishing the furniture."
