by Roy J. Snell
CHAPTER XIV JO ANN'S SEARCH
It was not till after they had gone to bed that night that the girls hadan opportunity to talk over the woman's story and Jo Ann's and Florence'sdiscovery 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 thegirls' double one and patting Jo Ann's hand. "I'd be scared to sleep inone of these huge old rooms by myself--especially knowing about thatsmuggler's being around here."
"I'm as tall as he is, so I'm not scared of him," grinned Jo Ann. "If Iwere as small and lilylike and fragile-looking as you, I might beuneasy."
"Stop teasing me that way," laughed Florence, "or I'll roll over betweenyou 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 morningwith 'we'll have to get an early start'--at something or other, I'm--I'mgoing 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 tosleep."
Peggy giggled. "Uh-huh! I see you firing a pillow at her."
As it happened, Miss Prudence did enter their room early the next morningto waken them, but instead of hurling a pillow Jo Ann listened gladly toher plan for an "early start."
"Going to the city--this morning?" she repeated, wide awake as soon asthe phrase "going to the city" had entered her brain. "That's fine! Surewe'll be ready by the time you are." Seeing that Peggy was sufficientlyawake now to take in the plan for a trip to the city, she asked, "You'llbe ready, won't you, Peg?"
"Yes, indeed. Reach over and wake Florence. Tweak her ear or her nose."
Florence protested vigorously at this manner of being wakened but quicklysubsided when Jo Ann told her about the trip.
An hour later they were dressed and mounted on their horses, as wereCarlitos and Miss Prudence. Jose tied the two bags to his saddle, whichwere the only pieces of luggage they were taking, since they were to stayonly one night.
"Remember, Carlitos," his uncle said smilingly on telling him good-bye,"you'll be the man of the party after you reach Jitters' House. That's asfar as Jose'll go, you know."
When they reached Jitters' House, Jose placed the bags in the car whilethe girls and Miss Prudence changed from their riding clothes intooutfits more suitable for wear in the city. Miss Prudence was neatnessitself in her sheer black dress, while the three girls looked fresh andlovely in their linen suits and crisp dainty blouses, topped off by pertlittle hats.
"I'm so glad the band will play on the Plaza tonight," Peggy remarkedafter she had slipped into the front seat beside Jo Ann, who was at thewheel.
"I'm glad, too, but not for that reason," Jo Ann replied. "You want topromenade, while I want to watch for----" She left her sentenceunfinished, but Peggy knew that it was the mystery man for whom she wouldbe looking.
When they neared the shack where the pottery woman lived, Jo Ann lookedeagerly to see if there were any signs of the smugglers or their car."Nothing doing," she said finally.
On nearing the city Florence took the wheel on account of her knowledgeof the city. After eating a late lunch, they started out on theirshopping tour to buy draperies and other materials.
Everywhere she went, whether in the car or afoot, Jo Ann kept looking forthe mystery man. Every stalwart male of the mystery man's approximateheight whom she caught sight of she studied intently, hoping that itwould be he. She begrudged the time spent inside shops buying cretonnesand draperies, as she felt she would never find him in such places.
"Maybe he'll be on that same corner of the Plaza again," she comfortedherself later that evening after a fruitless search.
As soon as the band began playing, all three girls made straight for thePlaza and began promenading along with the gay groups of Mexican girls,while Miss Prudence and Carlitos sat watching from a bench on the outsideof the square.
As before, Jo Ann had eyes only for stalwart onlookers who might turn outto be the mystery man. Peggy, however, kept on the inside of the line.
When they had strolled about the square the second time, Peggy suddenlyuttered an exclamation of surprise, "There he is! There he is!"
"Where? Where?" Jo Ann asked eagerly.
"There--see? That tall, dark-haired, handsome boy with the big blackeyes!"
"Oh, gosh!" Jo Ann ejaculated disgustedly when she realized Peggy had notmeant the mystery man but the tall youth with whom she had exchangedsmiles the other time she had promenaded.
She was still more discouraged and disgusted after a whole evening ofstrolling around the Plaza with no sign of the mystery man.
"I'm afraid this trip's going to be a complete flop, after all," sheremarked to Peggy. "I might as well have gone to the hotel when MissPrudence and Carlitos did."
"Miss Prudence was an angel to let us stay so long, wasn't she?" Peggysmiled.
Jo Ann nodded indifferently. Peggy might be thrilled over exchangingsmiles with a handsome Mexican boy, but not she.
The next morning, as soon as they left the hotel to finish theirshopping, Jo Ann began to search for the mystery man again, but in vain.
"The last thing we'll do is to go to the market," Miss Prudence announcedon leaving the department store a little later.
"Let's go to the big market near the center of the city," Florencesuggested. "You can buy every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginablethere."
"The mystery man wouldn't be doing any marketing," Jo Ann thoughtwearily. "It'll be no use to look for him there."
All at once a sudden thought struck her. If he should have any inklingabout the smugglers hiding the dope or gold, or whatever stuff it was, injars and vases, he might stay around the pottery booths where the potterycould be bought so cheaply. She brightened visibly at this idea.
As soon as they reached the market, she left the others with MissPrudence in front of one of the vegetable stands and wandered back towhere she had remembered seeing the pottery booth. Eagerly her eyes rovedhere, there, and all around the booths near by. That broad-shouldered manstanding----She caught her breath. It was the mystery man!
"He's alive! He's alive!" rang through her mind; then the words, "Now'smy chance to talk to him."
All at once it occurred to her that it would be an embarrassing situationall around if Miss Prudence should appear while she was talking to thisstranger. "Before I say a word to him, I'll slip back to tell Florence tokeep Miss Prudence and Carlitos away from the pottery booth for a while,"she thought quickly.
No sooner had this plan entered her mind than she hurried to Florence'sside, whispered a few words, and waited only long enough to catch heremphatic "All right," then rushed back to the pottery booth as fast asshe could zigzag her way through the crowded passageways.
When she caught sight of the stalwart figure again, she gave a sigh ofrelief and hastened over toward him.
As she drew near, the man shot a piercing glance at her, then a gleam ofunmistakable recognition shone in his keen gray eyes.
"He hasn't forgotten me," she thought. "That makes it easier."
She began speaking in a low voice: "You're trying to catch a band ofsmugglers, aren't you?"
The man gave an involuntary start but controlled his features. "Whatmakes you think that?" he countered.
"From what I overheard you say in the hotel--I didn't mean toeavesdrop--and from a bit of information I got from--" she started to say"from a coast guard" but changed to--"from somebody else."
"Was that somebody else a smuggler?" he asked in a carefully light tone.
"No--no." There was a hint of impatience in Jo Ann's voice. He was tryingto throw her off the track. She'd go straight to the point now. "I'veaccidentally run across some information about some smugglers that mayhelp you," she said.
An alert expression replaced the half smile on the man's face as heasked, "Wh
at is that you think you've discovered?"
Quickly Jo Ann recounted her and Florence's discovery of the hidden carwith the pottery and the baskets near the border, the smugglers'conversation, and their seeing them again at the village, ending with,"I'm sure that must've been gold in that jar I lifted. It was so veryheavy."
"It looks as if you've discovered one set of them," he said thoughtfully."They're only two of a large gang, though. The ringleaders stay on theother side."
"Was it the ringleaders you'd been pursuing in Texas?" she asked,low-voiced.
He nodded. "Dangerous men they are. If we can catch them we can break upthe gang. I'm going to keep an eye open for cars loaded with baskets andpottery. If I can follow them to the border I may be able to catch theleaders. Tell me exactly where you discovered that hidden car."
Jo Ann went on to describe as accurately as possible the location of thegully in which she and Florence had found the car.
"Do you happen to know the license number of their car?"
"Yes." As she gave the number, he jotted it down in a notebook.
"Anything else about the car to distinguish it?"
Jo Ann went on to tell of the battered places in the radiator.
"And now give me a detailed description of the men."
Racking her brain for every item that would be helpful, she describedtheir appearance and clothes, from the braided leather strips about theirsombreros to a peculiar squint in the left eye of the taller man.
"Good. You're a close observer, I wish you could find out exactly whenthey'll leave San Geronimo next week. If you could, I could wire my menacross the border. Maybe together we might round up the ringleaders. If Idon't get them soon, they'll----"
He halted abruptly, but Jo Ann knew instinctively that he had been goingto add "get me." That was what he had said over the telephone in thehotel. She must--must get him that information if possible.
"I don't want to mix you girls up in this affair, and if you can't getthe information without endangering yourselves, don't do it."
Jo Ann's eyes began to gleam determinedly. "I'll get it. As soon as wefind out exactly when the men're starting from the village, I'll get wordto you. If I can't come, I'll write you--but where?"
The man took a card from his pocket and after writing on it handed it toher, saying, "Write me in care of general delivery. I had decided toleave in the morning, but now, since you've given me this very valuableinformation, I'll wait till I hear from you. If you should come back tothe city, you'll find me somewhere around this pottery booth in thedaytime and near the Plaza at night."
Jo Ann was about to ask some more questions when she caught a glimpse ofMiss Prudence and the girls coming down the crowded aisle. "I've got togo this instant," she said and hurried around back of the booth, meetingthem in the main aisle.
"I hadn't missed you till a moment ago," Miss Prudence remarked to her."What've you been buying?"
"Nothing--yet. I want to get a pair of Mexican sandals to use for bedroomslippers. Have you seen any here?"
"Yes; they're at a booth on the extreme left," Florence put in quickly."I'll show you. Come on, Peg. We'll meet you and Carlitos at that firstfruit booth, Miss Prudence, in a few minutes."