The Second Girl Detective Megapack: 23 Classic Mystery Novels for Girls

by Julia K. Duncan

  “They’re furious at me,” she thought. “I don’t want them to stop coming to the village. I’d better not say another word.” She glanced over at Florence, who was motioning to her to leave. “Florence has come to the same conclusion. Time we’re leaving this place.”

  She walked over to Florence, and after both had bade the woman and her children “Adios,” they started off down the road toward their car.

  “Those men are watching us,” Jo Ann remarked a few minutes later, after a swift backward glance over her shoulder. “I don’t want them to get so angry that they’ll stop coming to the village, do you?”

  “No. That’s why I told the woman I could buy only a part of their pottery.” A satisfied smile passed over Florence’s face. “I hope that’ll force those men to pay more. They’re very anxious to keep on buying here, because this village makes unusually good pottery.”

  “Their designs are beautiful. I think they’ll keep on coming here.” Jo Ann looked back over her shoulder again before adding, “They’re still watching us. Did you notice how that taller one kept staring at me?”

  Florence nodded. “It made me wonder if he’d seen you when you so foolishly ran up the side of that gully.”

  “But how was I going to be able to recognize them if I hadn’t seen them?”

  When they reached their car, Peggy began hurling questions at them.

  “Florence’ll tell you everything,” Jo Ann said as she started the car quickly and turned up the rough road toward the city, adding, “I’m heading toward the city so those men won’t know where we live.”

  After she had gone a short distance, she wound back out of the village by the rough back streets. When she finally cut back onto the main road, she threw an anxious look back up the road toward the village. There was no sign of a car to be seen.

  “We fooled them,” she said, well pleased.

  “I believe we did,” agreed Florence. “They probably think we live in the city.”

  When, two hours later, the girls and the two boys reached the mine, the girls had completely recovered from their nervousness over their encounter with the smugglers.

  Florence was enthusiastic over the attractive appearance and cleanliness of the great stone house, which of course delighted Miss Prudence.

  “While you are here, Florence,” she said, “we’ll all have to make a trip to the city to buy materials for draperies and couch and pillow covers to brighten up this gloomy old house. It still reminds me of a barracks, even if it is clean.”

  “I think that’ll be fine,” approved Florence, exchanging pleased glances with Jo Ann and Peggy. “We all love to go to the city.”

  Of the three Jo Ann was the most delighted. She must get to the city and find the mystery man, especially now that she had some more information about the smugglers. “Can’t we go tomorrow, Miss Prudence?” she asked eagerly.

  Miss Prudence shook her head. “No. I want to finish all the cleaning first.”

  “But the house is spotless now,” Jo Ann protested.

  “The kitchen is a downright disgrace. Why Maria insists on using that old fireplace to cook on when she has this new range, I can’t understand. It makes such a mess. I told her I wanted that fireplace closed up. I want some shelves put up, too. There isn’t any place to store our supplies. This kitchen wasn’t built for convenience. It’s big as all outdoors, but there’s no place to put anything.”

  “Poor Maria!” thought Jo Ann. “She’ll never understand Miss Prudence’s ideas of a modern kitchen. She feels that the kitchen is her domain and won’t like any interference. We’ll have all we can do to keep peace in the family.”

  “We’ll have to take Florence around the camp tomorrow and show her all the improvements,” Peggy spoke up. She turned to Florence. “Mr. Eldridge’s had all the miners’ ugly little shacks replaced with stone houses built of the natural stone from the quarry.”

  “Yes, I noticed a few of them as we came up. I’m so glad. It worried me to see the contrast between those horrible shacks and this great stone house.”

  “You’ll be delighted to see the modern machinery they’ve put in the mine, too,” Jo Ann put in. “They use electricity now for a good deal of the work, and that makes it lots easier on the miners—less dangerous, too. Mr. Eldridge’s promised to show us around tomorrow.”

  “Fine.” Florence’s face was aglow on hearing of these improvements. She was as happy as the other girls to hear how the drudgery and squalor had been removed from the miners’ lives since Mr. Eldridge had taken over the management of the mining company of which Carlitos was the chief stockholder. As all three girls owned stock in the company—a gift for their share in recovering the mine for him—they felt a personal responsibility for improving conditions.

  “Don’t you want to go with us on our ride about the camp tomorrow?” Jo Ann asked Miss Prudence.

  “Yes, I’ve been wanting to ever since I came, but I’ve been so busy, you know. I’ll get an early start at cleaning tomorrow morning, so I can go with you.”

  An amused expression slipped into each girl’s face at the familiar words “an early start.”

  So it was that, immediately after the siesta hour, the girls and Miss Prudence set out on horseback on a general inspection trip of the mining camp.

  “We won’t have time to go down into the mine this time,” Miss Prudence said as they rode off. “Ed says that he wants us to go all through it soon, though.”

  “We’re very anxious to go down into the mine, aren’t we, girls?” said Jo Ann.

  “We surely are,” both replied.

  With the greatest satisfaction Jo Ann and Peggy pointed out the rows of neat, substantial limestone houses, each one very homelike with flowers and vines.

  “The Mexicans love beauty,” Florence remarked to Miss Prudence as they passed a house one side of which was covered with a bougainvillea vine aflame with pinkish purple flowers. The tiny yard was a riot of color, too.

  “Yes, I’ve noticed that they are very fond of flowers,” Miss Prudence agreed. “Carlitos told me today that Maria had asked him if I’d brought some flower seed with me—that she wanted to see if she could grow some new kinds of flowers.”

  Jo Ann, who had been listening to their conversation, now called out, “That reminds me, let’s dig up some ferns and cactus—that kind that has bright red blossoms—this afternoon and plant them in our pottery jars. And let’s make a rock garden in the patio, too, and plant all the different kinds of cacti we can find.”

  “A grand idea,” the girls agreed, and Miss Prudence nodded approvingly.

  As they approached the mine opening, Jo Ann proudly pointed out the electric tram-cars which were used to carry the ore down the steep incline, instead of the burros, as formerly. “The biggest improvement of all, though, is the way they get the ore out of the mine. Mr. Eldridge has promised to take us down there some time soon.”

  After leaving the mine they rode a short distance on up the beautiful winding mountain trail, then reluctantly turned at Miss Prudence’s suggestion and started homeward. Before leaving the trail, however, they persuaded her to wait while they dismounted and dug up some cactus and resurrection plants.

  “This cactus’ll look lovely in that big jar with the cactus design on it,” Peggy explained to Miss Prudence. “And you’ll love to watch these resurrection plants. You can keep them out of water for months, till they’re dried, dead-looking balls, then put them into water, and they’ll unfold and become green and beautiful again.”

  Once again, when they were crossing the crystal clear stream that ran near the house, they begged Miss Prudence to halt. “Wait for us while we dig up some of these exquisite wild maidenhair ferns,” Jo Ann urged, an appeal that the other two promptly echoed.

  “All right,” Miss Prudence agreed, halting under the shade of a rocky cliff over which trickled a tiny silver ribbon of water into a fern-edged pool.

  Peggy began pulling up some of the ferns close by, but
Jo Ann remarked, “I can’t bear to spoil the beauty of this pool by taking any more of these ferns. Let’s go up the stream a little farther, Florence.”

  Jo Ann and Florence walked on along the stream in silent admiration and soon disappeared around a great moss-covered boulder.

  Suddenly Florence caught sight of a short chunky figure of a man just ahead. She gasped aloud. Simultaneously Jo Ann’s lower jaw dropped, and her eyes opened wide. The next instant the man clambered up the side of the cliff and disappeared.

  “One of the smugglers!” whispered Jo Ann, finally recovering her speech. “He was spying on us.”

  “The one that grabbed the olla from you,” Florence breathed. “Let’s hurry back.”

  The girls wheeled about and ran back down the stream.

  CHAPTER XIII

  THE POTTERY WOMAN’S WARNING

  On coming in sight of Miss Prudence and Peggy, the two girls checked their steps.

  “Let’s don’t mention seeing that man before Miss Prudence,” Jo Ann warned. “No use alarming her.”

  “All right,” Florence agreed. “He didn’t act as if he were dangerous, anyway. He ran, too.”

  “He didn’t want us to see him—to recognize him. What’s he doing here?”

  Florence shook her head, puzzled. “I can’t imagine. The pottery woman said they always went on to the city after getting the pottery.”

  All at once it dawned upon Jo Ann that they had not got any ferns and would soon be back at the pool empty-handed. “Miss Prudence’ll wonder why we didn’t get some ferns,” she said. “Let’s stop this minute and pull up some.”

  “All right.”

  In a few more minutes they had carefully pulled up some clumps of the daintiest maidenhair specimens in sight and had wrapped elephant-ear leaves about their roots to keep the leaf mold from falling off.

  When they neared the pool Peggy called out, “What’d you see to make you come flying back so fast—a rattlesnake or a boa constrictor?”

  “Er—neither,” Florence replied.

  To her and Jo Ann’s relief Miss Prudence asked quickly, “Are there really boa constrictors around here? Did you ever see one here?”

  “Not right here,” Florence replied guardedly.

  “Close here?”

  “Well—fifty miles or so to the south.”

  “Hop on your horses and let’s go this minute.” Miss Prudence tapped her boot against her mount’s flank and started riding down the path.

  In a few minutes the three girls were following.

  After Miss Prudence had gone out of hearing distance, Peggy rode over close to Jo Ann and demanded, “What did you girls see to scare you that way?”

  Jo Ann leaned over and whispered, “One of the smugglers!”

  Peggy gave a little sudden start that made her horse quiver responsively. “Gol-ly!” she ejaculated. “What’d he come up here for?”

  “That’s what Florence and I want to know.”

  By the time the girls had reached the house, Miss Prudence had dismounted and had gone inside.

  As they were walking along the corridor to their room Maria hurried out of the kitchen, an excited gleam in her black eyes.

  After a swift glance around to assure herself that Miss Prudence was not in sight she called to Florence in a low voice and motioned for all three of them to come there. As they drew near she went on excitedly, “There is a woman here from San Geronimo to see you. She say she has something to tell the señoritas who bought her ollas a few days back. It is very important, she say.”

  “A woman from San Geronimo to—” Florence checked her flow of Spanish to relay the message in English to Peggy and Jo Ann.

  “She must think it’s important to come ’way up here,” Jo Ann murmured to Florence as they followed Maria and Peggy into the kitchen. “Do you suppose it could be something about those—”

  Before she could finish her sentence, they were inside the kitchen. There sitting beside the door talking to José was the woman from whom Jo Ann had bought the pottery.

  On seeing Jo and Florence the woman rose and hurried over to meet them. With her words tumbling over each other in her excitement, she began talking to Florence. So rapid was her Spanish that Jo Ann could catch only a few words now and then. One thing she was sure of, however, was that the woman was frightened. But why? She could stand the suspense no longer and broke in, “What is it, Florence? What’s the trouble?”

  Florence turned and explained quickly to her and Peggy, “She says she heard the smugglers threaten to get even with you and me.”

  Jo Ann’s eyes flew open, but she repressed the frightened exclamation on the tip of her tongue.

  “Her oldest girl overheard one of the men tell the other that they’d find out at Pedro’s store where we lived,” Florence went on; “then that he’d drive on with the load of pottery and let him wait around here for a while.”

  “So that’s why that man’s here—to get even with us!” Jo Ann exclaimed. “That means we’ll have to be extremely careful for a few days. Did she say when the other man’d be back at the village?”

  “No, but I’ll ask her.”

  After questioning her closely Florence relayed her answers to the girls. “She doesn’t know. Says she thinks he’ll come one day soon—maybe about this time next week.”

  “The vague mañana,” Peggy summed up. “That means we’ll be sitting on top of a volcano for no telling how long.”

  “I’m so thankful we know of the volcano’s existence,” Jo Ann replied. She smiled over at the woman with a “Muchas gracias. You have been very kind to walk all this way to tell us about the man.”

  Florence, too, joined in thanking her, then began talking to the anxious-faced Maria. She could see she was worried even more than they themselves. “Don’t worry, Maria. José won’t let anything happen to us. Will you, José?”

  “No, no, Miss Florencita. I will take care of you. But you and Miss Jo and Miss Peggy must be very careful. Stay here at the house unless I am with you. Shall I tell Mr. Eldridge about this?”

  “No—well, not yet, anyway.” Jo Ann put in hastily. She must get the information to the mystery man, and if she stayed a prisoner in this house all the time, she couldn’t get the chance. Mr. Eldridge might not even want her and the girls and Miss Prudence to go to the city, if he knew about this man’s threat.

  “José, you haven’t gone after the mail yet, have you?” Florence asked.

  José shook his head. “I am leaving soon.”

  “Get a burro so this woman can ride home. She must be very tired. I’m sure Mr. Eldridge will not object.”

  “Bien. I get the burro.” He gestured to the woman. “Come with me.”

  “Wait just a minute, José,” spoke up Jo Ann. “I want to give her something for her children.”

  She ran to her room and reappeared in a moment carrying a large box of caramels. She handed them to the woman, saying, “Here are some dulces for your children. We will come back next week for some more ollas. You will have some ready then?”

  The woman nodded.

  Both Maria and the girls felt relieved after the woman and José had gone without Miss Prudence’s seeing her.

  “I’d have had to tell Miss Prudence everything from A to Z about that woman if she’d seen her,” declared Jo Ann. She turned to Maria. “You must not let Miss Prudence know anything about what this woman said. Sabe?”

  “No—I will not. I know nothing,” Maria replied with emphasis, then shrugging her shoulders added, “Miss Prudencia no speak the Spanish. I no speak the English.”

  “Even if they did speak the same language, Maria wouldn’t confide in her,” Jo Ann thought. “They can’t understand each other. Neither one knows how good and kind the other is. Why is it that women living under the same roof are so often antagonistic to each other?”

  Almost the same moment Miss Prudence entered the kitchen, gave Maria a few orders, with Florence as interpreter, then added in a suspic
ious tone, “I noticed a Mexican woman just leaving the house with a box in her hands. What did Maria give her?”

  “Nothing,” Florence replied quickly. “Jo Ann gave her a box of caramels for her children. She’s the woman Jo Ann bought the jars from. I’m going to get some more from her and from the other villagers and ship them to my friend in St. Louis, who has a curio shop.”

  When Miss Prudence changed the subject to a discussion of the menu for supper, all three girls were relieved.

  CHAPTER XIV

  JO ANN’S SEARCH

  It was not till after they had gone to bed that night that the girls had an opportunity to talk over the woman’s story and Jo Ann’s and Florence’s discovery of the smuggler’s presence.

  “I’m certainly glad you had my bed put in your room,” Florence remarked, reaching over across the narrow space that separated her bed from the girls’ double one and patting Jo Ann’s hand. “I’d be scared to sleep in one of these huge old rooms by myself—especially knowing about that smuggler’s being around here.”

  “I’m as tall as he is, so I’m not scared of him,” grinned Jo Ann. “If I were as small and lilylike and fragile-looking as you, I might be uneasy.”

  “Stop teasing me that way,” laughed Florence, “or I’ll roll over between you two for protection.”

  Just as they were about to drop off to sleep, Jo Ann murmured drowsily, “If Miss Prudence dares to come in and wake me up early in the morning with ‘we’ll have to get an early start’—at something or other, I’m—I’m going to—” She hesitated.

  “I’m going to what?” jibed Peggy.

  “I’m going to fire my pillow at her, then turn over and go back to sleep.”

  Peggy giggled. “Uh-huh! I see you firing a pillow at her.”

  As it happened, Miss Prudence did enter their room early the next morning to waken them, but instead of hurling a pillow Jo Ann listened gladly to her plan for an “early start.”