Helen Randolph

“ As soon as they had passed over the middle of the bridge, the girls and Carlitos, to Miss Prudence’s evident disapproval, exclaimed joyously, “We’re in Mexico now! Viva Mexico! Viva Mexico!”
As both Florence and Carlitos spoke Spanish fluently, it did not take them long to answer the questions asked by the customs officials on the Mexican side, and so they were soon permitted to drive on. They had not left the river far behind before the vegetation began to change again to the typical desert varieties, mesquite, chaparral, cacti—especially the prickly pear and many other thorn-bearing kinds. ”

“ No sooner had this plan entered her mind than she hurried to Florence’s side, whispered a few words, and waited only long enough to catch her emphatic “All right,” then rushed back to the pottery booth as fast as she could zigzag her way through the crowded passageways. ”

“ Jo Ann replied, cheered immensely by the girls’ assurance that the smugglers were dropping behind in the race.
“Good old Jo—and good old Jitters,” praised Florence. “They can’t be beaten.”
“Don’t brag too soon,” Jo Ann found time to say in short, clipped sentences.
She was determined to keep Jitters running at the greatest speed possible, and yet not be reckless in making the many sharp curves. With mind and eyes ever alert, she watched the road. She must be ready for any emergency.
Florence and Peggy kept turning every minute or two to watch the pursuing car. ”

“ With a broad smile Peggy remarked low-voiced to Jo Ann, “Don’t forget that you drew Miss Prudence for your roommate tonight. I heard her say she always rises at five-thirty, so I see where you’ll have to get up with the chickens.”
“If I have to get up at that ghastly hour, I’ll wake you and Florence, too. It’ll be specially good for you to get up early. As Miss Prudence said last night, ‘Remember, the early bird catches the worm’!” ”

“ Florence caught Jo Ann by the hand and pulled her along as fast as she could through the maze of thorny plants. “You have entirely too much curiosity.”
“It’s enough to make anyone wonder, to find a car hidden in such a desolate spot. Maybe”—she whispered her next word—“smugglers’ve hidden it there. ”

“ When Jo Ann turned into the street leading to the market, Florence remarked, “It’ll be no use trying to find a parking place in front of the market. It’s always full. You’ll save time by parking in the first empty place you find within a reasonable distance. I’ve wasted as much as half an hour hunting for a parking place down here.”
“We mustn’t waste any time anyway,” Peggy put in. “We have lots of things to buy for Miss Prudence, and I’ve a little shopping I want to do, too. We can be doing our buying while Jo hunts up her mystery man.” ”

“ Peggy’s hazel eyes gazed admiringly upon their old battered Ford.
“And look where she’s carrying us: to Mexico! All the way to the land of mystery and romance!”
“I can hardly wait to get back down there again. I wonder if we’ll run into as thrilling adventures as we did last summer when we were visiting Florence.”
Peggy smiled. “You will. You’re always getting out of one mystery only to tumble headlong into another.”
[9]
Jo Ann nodded toward the prim, erect, gray-haired woman on the front seat beside Florence and murmured, “Miss Prudence’ll keep me on my good behavior this time. ”

“ By this time Miss Prudence was talking to the service-station man about the road.
“I think the road’s okay, but”—he nodded toward a man in uniform—“he’ll know. He’s a coast guard and goes back and forth often that way. He’s waiting to catch a ride to Brownsville now.”
Miss Prudence inspected the tall blond young man closely, then remarked low-voiced, “It might be a good idea to have him go with us: coast guards are used to protecting people.”
“I hope she asks him to ride with us,” Jo Ann whispered to Florence. “He might know about the mystery man, since he’s been riding in the car with him.” ”

“ At the first break in their conversation Jo Ann quickly recounted to the guard the strange telephone conversation she had overheard in the hotel and ended tentatively, “I believe that man I overheard was one of those men whose car you were in.”
“You’re probably right,” the guard replied. “I’d never seen either of those men before they picked me up, but they told me they’d been chasing some smugglers who’d been bringing in dope and gold across the Mexican border. I shouldn’t like to be in those men’s shoes. Those smugglers belong to a desperate gang who’re as cold-blooded as snakes. ”

“ After José had squeezed into the back seat and they were driving off, Peggy remarked to Florence, “What puzzles me is how are you going to get the pottery shipped after you get it packed? There’s no railroad and no truck service here. Someone’ll have to take it to the city. How’re you going to get it to the city?”
“I thought we’d drive in ourselves if—if——”
“We can’t let there be any ifs about it,” broke in Jo Ann crisply. “We’ve got to get to the city tomorrow. I’ve got to get word to the mystery man to be on the lookout for the smugglers Friday.” ”

“ Jo Ann smiled to herself. Miss Prudence was as curious to know about smuggling methods as she was. “She’ll consent—after she objects a while.”
Jo Ann was right. Finally, after protesting a few more minutes, Miss Prudence gave her permission, and all five followed the guard below the bridge. Blinded by the sudden change from the lighted street, they stumbled along in the darkness, half terrified at their daring.
“The river’s very low now,” the guard explained. “Anyone can manage to crawl down the bank and get out a long way under the bridge and hide. ”

“ Peggy waved both arms vigorously, a gesture that was answered equally enthusiastically by Florence.
As soon as the three girls had exchanged the warmest of greetings and Florence and her baggage were settled in the car, Jo Ann broke into an account of having seen the smugglers’ car, and all the other details.
Florence was indignant over the ridiculously low price the men were paying the villagers for their pottery. “You’re right, Jo. Those men are thieves,” she said. ”

“ Miss Prudence, however, believed with St. Paul that he who would not work should not eat and soon had everybody in the household stepping lively.
“I wish that soap and other supplies’d come today,” she said, frowning as she took out the last bar of soap. “The supplies are very low. I can’t plan a decent meal in this house without those things.”
“Peggy and I’ll go to the village for them this afternoon,” Jo Ann offered eagerly. “We can drive the car and make better time than José can in the oxcart.” ”

“ 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. ”

“ When they finally reached Jitters’ House in the late afternoon, they found José waiting for them.
“I wonder why he happened to come?” Peggy remarked curiously on seeing him standing beside the shed. The next instant she realized that he must be uneasy because of the pottery woman’s account of the smugglers’ threats. “He’s come as an extra protection for us,” she thought.
“It’s good of him,” Jo Ann put in, and Florence added, “He’s always thoughtful and kind.” ”

“ 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.” ”

“ Florence nodded. “That’s true. Everybody naturally gravitates toward the Plaza. It’s the very heart of the city.”
Long after Florence had left to go to Miss Prudence’s room and Peggy was sound asleep, Jo Ann lay wide awake pondering over plans for getting back to the city and for finding the mystery man. She had to leave early tomorrow with the others, as all arrangements had been made for Florence’s father and Carlitos’s uncle, Mr. Eldridge, to meet them at a small village on the way to the mine. ”

“ There was silence for a moment; then Florence spoke up: “I have my doubts if Mr. Eldridge’ll take us into the mine in the daytime. The miners are very superstitious about women going into the mine, he said. They think every time a woman goes in, something terrible always happens—an awful explosion or a cave-in, killing one or more of the miners.”
Jo Ann nodded understandingly. “That’s so. I’d forgotten about that. We’ll ask him to take us tonight, then.”
As soon as Mr. Eldridge came in to lunch, all three girls greeted him with requests to show them through the mine that night. ”

“ My Pepito!” He sprang out of the car, ran over and greeted his uncle hastily, then flew over to the grinning little Mexican and threw his arms affectionately about him.
“Who is that child?” Miss Prudence demanded of Jo Ann after they had all exchanged greetings with Mr. Eldridge.
“That’s Pepito, his foster brother—the son of the nurse who took care of Carlitos so many years. They love each other like real brothers.”
“We-ell, I suppose they should feel that way,” Miss Prudence said slowly. “After all, all the peoples of the earth are ‘of one blood’—so the Good Book says.” ”

“ Florence remarked finally, “we’ll be in town before we realize it.”
Jo Ann laughed. “Speeding in Jitters? Impossible. That old car in front of us isn’t built for speeding, either. It’s been keeping ahead at about the same distance for the last hour.”
“So I’ve noticed,” said Peggy. “It must be of the same year’s vintage as Jitters.”
“If she is, Jitters can beat her. I’m going to step on it and see if I can’t gain on her.” With that Jo Ann stepped on the gas, and soon their car was lessening the distance between it and the car ahead. ”

“ Florence said. “Mr. Eldridge promised me he’d take us through it while I’m here this time. When he comes in to lunch, let’s beg him to take us down into it this afternoon.”
“Fine!” approved Jo Ann. “I’ve been eager to see how the malacate works now that it’s run by electricity.”
“What’s a malacate, and what does it do?” Peggy asked curiously.
“It’s a windlass arrangement that draws the ore up out of the mine. A rawhide bag is tied to the end of a long cable and let down into the shaft. Using electricity is a vast improvement over the old way.” ”

“ Florence whispered, eying the curious onlookers, who were waiting to see what the Americanas were going to do.
No sooner had the girls started off down the street than Florence remembered about the two little boys carrying their packages. She glanced around and saw them following close behind, the packages piled up in their arms almost as high as their chins. “Gracious!” she exclaimed. “We can’t have them following us everywhere. We’d better have them take the packages back to the market and leave them there for a while. Walk slowly, and I’ll catch up with you in a shake.” ”

“ Miss Prudence spoke up quickly: “We’re not going to follow anybody who’s expecting to be murdered any minute. We’d better go the Brownsville road. Back to that filling station and ask if the road’s good.”
[30]
Jo Ann obediently backed the car to the filling station, though a queer feeling now possessed her that she ought to have kept on the Laredo road. “I can’t help feeling as worried over that man as if I’d known him for a long time,” she told herself. “I wonder if I’ll ever see him again.” ”