The other two began to laugh, and Jo Ann added, “Whoever heard of taking a cushion on a bear hunt?”
“If you get too comfortable, you’ll go to sleep and tumble off the ledge,” put in Florence. “Then the bear won’t have to break into the pen for his supper.”
“Not with Jo around,” Peggy laughed teasingly. “Why, she’s such a good shot she’d have the bear killed before he could take a step toward me!”
Jo Ann grinned. “You just wait till I get a chance to demonstrate my marksmanship, Peg. I’ll show you that I am a good shot.”
“Changing the subject—what’re we going to do with this butter and bacon?” Florence queried, looking at the two packages on the table.
“Let’s don’t leave the bacon in the kitchen,” Peggy cut in. “The bear might smell it and come snooping around here.”
“How about putting both the bacon and butter in jars and hiding them down in the water under a rock?” suggested Jo Ann. “That way he could neither smell nor see the food.”
“Good plan,” approved Florence.
“She does get a brilliant idea once in a blue moon,” laughed Peggy.
They set to work at once to carry out Jo Ann’s plan and soon had the bacon and butter safely hidden down in the stream just below the spring.
After the girls had eaten their midday meal and washed the dishes, they stretched out on their cots for a siesta.
Jo Ann called over to Peggy teasingly, “Be sure to take a long nap today. I don’t want you to go to sleep and tumble off the ledge tonight. You’d make so much noise that you’d scare the bear away, and I want to get him tonight sure.”
“You’ll need plenty of sleep yourself to keep your eyes open to watch for him.”
Florence called over, “You both’d better stop talking and go on to sleep, or you’ll both tumble off the ledge.”
Shortly after dark that evening Peggy and Jo Ann started off toward the enclosure where the pigs were kept.
“We certainly need the flashlight tonight,” Peggy remarked. “It’s dark, isn’t it? The moon isn’t up nearly so high as it was the other night.”
They had not gone far till they spied the white-clad figure of Juan coming toward them.
“I certainly am glad to see him,” exclaimed Peggy. “I’ve been dreading crossing that ravine. It’s so dark and spooky down there.”
“I’m not sorry to see him myself,” admitted Jo Ann.
When Juan drew near, he motioned to them to be quiet. In a low voice he said to Jo Ann, “I think the bear come tonight.”
“What’d he say?” asked Peggy curiously.
“I don’t know for sure, but it was something about the bear.”
Juan turned and led the way to the enclosure. As he drew near he pointed over to it, saying something about the pigs and the bear.
“I believe he’s saying something about the pigs being restless,” Jo Ann told Peggy in a low voice. “Don’t you hear them? They didn’t do that way the other night. Sometimes animals know instinctively when danger’s near, and I believe those pigs do.”
“Well, let’s hurry and get up on that ledge before the bear comes,” Peggy whispered.
They climbed up the notched pole as rapidly as they could and settled themselves on the ledge, Jo Ann with her gun cocked, lying across her lap. Juan remained below at the foot of the pole, as he had before.
For what seemed an interminable time to them they sat perfectly still waiting for the coming of the bear. Every now and then Jo Ann would fancy that she saw a dark shadow moving below and would raise her gun, only to discover that it was merely the shadow of a tree swaying in the breeze. She noticed, too, that the pigs were growing more restless. “That old bear must be prowling around near here,” she thought. She leaned over and strained her eyes to peer into the darkness of the ravine beyond the moonlit space directly below her.
Not long afterwards she heard a slight cracking sound. She peered instantly in the direction from which it had come. Her eyes widened as she saw a black shaggy head rear up above the enclosure, one paw tearing at the poles.
Simultaneously she heard Peggy gasp in fright.
Jo Ann raised her gun, waiting to get a good aim before pulling the trigger. “I mustn’t miss him. I’ve got to kill him the first shot,” she told herself. “If I miss, he’ll get back in those dark shadows, and I can’t see him then.”
Just then there was a loud crashing noise. The bear’s head dropped out of sight as he pulled out one of the poles.
A few seconds later the bear reared up again and Jo Ann saw a long black arm reach through the narrow opening. Just as he was jerking out another pole she pulled the trigger.
Almost simultaneously with the report of the gun Jo Ann heard a deep growl, then the thud of a heavy body falling. A few moments later she was amazed to see a dark hulk shamble off toward the darkness.
Instantly she pulled the trigger again. “Oh, shucks! I’ve missed him!” she thought.
After the reverberations had died away she turned to Peggy. “I’m sure I hit him. He must be wounded or he wouldn’t have fallen so hard.”
“I heard him make a queer choking noise, above the squealing of the pigs!” Peggy declared excitedly.
Just then Juan called up, “You hit him! You hit him!”
“Sí, sí. I think so too,” Jo Ann replied.
The three listened intently to the snapping of branches and the clatter of loosened stones as the bear made his way up the ravine. When the sounds finally died away, Peggy started climbing down the pole. When she was about halfway down there sounded a loud crashing, and she hurriedly scrambled back up the pole to the ledge.
“I believe the bear’s coming back again,” she cried.
After listening intently for a few moments, Jo Ann said, “No, I don’t think he’s coming back. I believe he’s wounded—badly wounded.” She called down to Juan. “Is it all right for us to come down now?”
“Sí, señoritas,” he called back. “The bear gone.” He waved his hand in the direction of the ravine.
The girls cautiously climbed down the pole.
Jo Ann reloaded her gun and, holding it in readiness, she made her way with Juan and Peggy to the hole the bear had torn in the enclosure.
“Shine your flashlight down here, Peg,” she ordered. The next moment she exclaimed, “Oh, look, here’s some blood! I knew I hit him!”
“You certainly did!” Peggy cried.
“Sí, señorita, you much good!” Juan ejaculated, then began jabbering so fast that Jo Ann could not understand a single word. He kept gesturing toward the trickle of blood leading toward the ravine.
Jo Ann shook her head. “Not tonight, Juan. Mañana we go.”
“Sí, mañana,” he agreed and then set to work repairing the hole the bear had torn in the enclosure, while Peggy held the flashlight for him.
“I believe it’ll be a long time before Mr. Bear comes back here,” Jo Ann declared in a satisfied tone.
As soon as Juan had finished, the girls, with a “Buenas noches,” to him, started off toward the house.
CHAPTER XII
JO ANN’S TROPHY
When Jo Ann and Peggy reached the house, Florence met them at the door. “My, I’m glad to see you!” she exclaimed. “Ever since we heard those shots, Mother and I’ve been worried. Did you kill the bear?”
“I’m not sure. I know I wounded him, because I saw the blood on the ground,” Jo Ann replied, “and I kind of believe I killed him. We heard him shamble off up the ravine, but I don’t believe he went very far.”
“Judging by that stream of blood, I feel sure he couldn’t have lasted long,” Peggy added.
“That’s fine!” praised Florence. “Now Juan won’t lose any more of his pigs.”
“As soon as it’s daylight, I want to follow his trail and see if I can find him,” Jo Ann said. “Peggy wants to go, too.”
“You’re not going to leave me behind this time,” Florence put in, smiling
. “I’m going with you.”
“O. K.,” Peggy and Jo Ann agreed together, and Jo Ann added, “Whoever wakes up first in the morning calls the other two.”
Shortly after the first faint rays of dawn had appeared the three girls set off down to the enclosure, Jo Ann carrying the gun as before. On reaching it they picked up the bloodstained trail and followed it up the ravine.
After they had gone a short distance, the trail led to the bank of the stream.
“Look here!” Jo Ann exclaimed. “Here’s a great big spot of blood. This must be the place where we heard him stop last night.”
Florence pointed down to the prints made by the bear’s paw. “Poor thing! He was trying to stop his wound with mud.”
Jo Ann’s and Peggy’s eyes widened in surprise. “I never heard of such a thing!” declared Peggy.
“I never did either,” said Jo Ann. “I didn’t know bears had that much sense.”
“Daddy told me they did it, and he’s had a good deal of experience hunting. You can see for yourself how the bear scraped up the mud here.”
“He succeeded pretty well in stopping the flow of blood,” observed Jo Ann. “The trail isn’t nearly as plain now.”
They followed the faint marks upward a short distance. Suddenly they heard something moving just ahead of them. They stopped instantly. Jo Ann threw the gun to her shoulder, then cautiously crept around a boulder so she could get a better view.
Just at that moment she saw Juan rise up to his feet.
“Oh, Juan!” she cried. “I thought you were the bear! I nearly shot you.”
Juan did not understand a word of what Jo Ann had said, but he pointed excitedly, “Look! Here is the bear! You killed him!”
The three girls hurriedly climbed up beside Juan. Their eyes widened in amazement as they saw the size of the shaggy black animal lying on the ground before them.
“My, isn’t he immense!” gasped Florence.
“No wonder he could tear down those poles so easily,” Jo Ann remarked.
“If I’d known he was that big I’d have been scared to death!” exclaimed Peggy.
Hunter-like, Jo Ann stooped down and pointed to the bullet wound in the animal’s left side. “See! Here’s where my bullet came out. I hit him in the right shoulder when he was reaching for that other pole.”
“I can breathe much more freely now that he’s actually dead,” put in Peggy.
“Isn’t he a beauty,” Jo Ann admired. “It’s too bad I had to kill him, but we just couldn’t have him prowling around here. I’m going to have a bearskin rug to take home with me now, to show what a good hunter I am. Florence, I wish you’d tell Juan to skin him for me. Tell him to be careful about skinning the feet and to be sure to leave on the claws.”
Florence quickly relayed Jo Ann’s request to Juan, and he nodded assent, “Bien, señoritas,” and went on in a rapid flow of Spanish.
“He wants to know if we want some of the meat,” Florence translated to the girls.
Peggy tilted her nose disdainfully. “Bear meat! That doesn’t sound good to me.”
“I never have tasted bear steak,” Jo Ann put in. “I’d like to try it, wouldn’t you, Florence?”
“We might try a little. I’ll tell him to cut us off a small piece.”
“Oh, tell him to take a great big piece to the cave family.”
“That’s a fine idea!” Florence praised. “They’ll have a feast. That’ll probably be the first meat they’ve had in many a day.”
After Florence had delivered this message to Juan and they had exclaimed over the size of the bear again, they turned around and set off for the house.
When they came near they saw Mrs. Blackwell waiting for them on the porch.
“Oh, Mother!” Florence called. “Jo got the bear all right! You just ought to see him. He’s huge!”
“He must’ve been the old granddaddy of all the bears in this part of the country,” Peggy added impressively.
Mrs. Blackwell smiled. “Well, I’m relieved to hear that. I’ve been worried every time you girls’ve been out of sight.”
Every now and then the rest of the day the girls’ conversation would drift back to the subject of the bear.
The next morning, when they were eating breakfast, Jo Ann suggested that they go down to the cave and see how the family was getting along.
“That’s a good idea,” agreed Florence. “I hope they haven’t let Pepito eat too much of that bear meat.”
“We’ll get to see Carlitos again, and the father, José,” Jo Ann added. “I have lots of questions that I want to ask José. I believe he can tell us more about Carlitos than María could. I want to find out more about that big mean man that she kept referring to.”
“Well, I’m going without fail this time,” put in Peggy. “I want to see that wonderful blue-eyed boy.”
“We’ll hardly have time to go this morning—we got up so late. Let’s have lunch a little earlier so we’ll have a long time this afternoon to stay with the cave family,” suggested Florence.
Mrs. Blackwell spoke up, smiling: “I’m as curious as Peggy is to see the blue-eyed boy. I wonder if you couldn’t bring him up here and let me take a look at him. I’d like to see Pepito too.”
“All right, we’ll do that very thing,” Jo Ann replied.
“Pepito’ll probably not be strong enough to come yet,” Florence said quickly. “We’ll see how he is today, and maybe he’ll be able to make the trip up here in a few more days.”
Jo Ann’s eyes began to shine. “I know what let’s do! As soon as Pepito’s well enough to come, let’s have a little party for the cave children and the ones at the goat ranch.” She asked hastily, “Would that disturb you too much, Mrs. Blackwell?”
Mrs. Blackwell shook her head. “No; I’d love to have a party for them. I doubt if they’ve ever had one in all their lives.”
“I feel sure they haven’t,” agreed Florence, “and it’ll be almost as much fun for us as it will be for them. Don’t you think so, Peggy?”
“Indeed I do. I’m strong for the party.”
Just after they had sat down to eat their lunch, a few hours later, they heard the clattering sound of hoofbeats coming down the road. “Listen! That isn’t a burro—sounds like a horse!” exclaimed Florence. “Who in the world would be riding a horse around here? I’m going to see who’s coming.”
She sprang up and started to the door, the other two quickly following her example. They had not watched long before they saw a horse and rider appear over the edge of the mesa.
A few minutes later Florence suddenly cried excitedly, “Why, it’s Daddy!” Off she flew down the trail, fleet as a deer, to meet him. Peggy turned to Mrs. Blackwell and passed on the good news of Dr. Blackwell’s coming.
“Oh, I’m so glad!” ejaculated Mrs. Blackwell, her eyes sparkling. She hurried out on the porch and waited eagerly for him and Florence.
As soon as the first greetings had been exchanged, Dr. Blackwell gazed down at his wife appraisingly and remarked, “How well you look! You’re recuperating much more rapidly than I’d thought possible.”
“With this invigorating mountain air and such good nurses I couldn’t help but get well in a hurry,” Mrs. Blackwell replied, with a smile that included all three girls.
In a little break in the conversation Florence spoke up, “You’re just in time for lunch, Daddy. We had just sat down to the table. Come on before everything gets cold.”
“I won’t need a second invitation. I’m terribly hungry after that long hot ride,” Dr. Blackwell replied as he escorted his wife to the table.
No sooner were they all seated than Jo Ann asked Dr. Blackwell, “Did you send that telegram to that Mr. Eldridge?”
He nodded. “Yes, I sent it, but I got word there was no one by that name at that address.”
“Oh, that’s terrible!” exclaimed Jo Ann. “I was so in hopes we could find some of Carlitos’ relatives. What’ll we do now?”
�
��I’ve already written to the chief of police to see if he can trace this Mr. Eldridge,” Dr. Blackwell replied. He smiled over at Florence. “I couldn’t make much out of part of your letter—I couldn’t get the connection between a blue-eyed boy in the poor Indian family and the man in New York. Suppose you girls start at the beginning and tell me all you know about them.”
Florence nodded over at Jo Ann. “It’s your story. You tell it. You’re the one who discovered the blue-eyed boy and became interested in him.”
“All right.” Jo Ann plunged into an account of seeing Carlitos and Pepito the first time, then on till she came to the trip up the mountain. She stopped and smiled over at Florence. “It’s your turn now. You were the star actor and doctor in this part of the story.”
Florence obediently took up the account where Jo Ann had broken off.
Dr. Blackwell listened attentively to their every word, and when they had finished he praised both girls highly, Jo Ann for her detective ability, and Florence for her first-aid skill in saving the boy’s life. “I’d like to see this sick boy while I’m up here and give him a thorough examination. And I certainly want to see the blue-eyed boy. I’m as interested in his story as you are. All the time you’ve been talking about this mysterious boy I’ve been racking my brain to recall a rumor I heard some time ago about an American who was down here searching for a brother whom he had not heard from for several years. I was wondering if there could possibly be any connection between him and your story. When I go back to the city, I’ll see if I can find out anything more about this man.”
“We’d already planned to go down to see the cave family this afternoon, and so we’ll take you with us,” spoke up Florence. “It’s not very far to the cave.”
Dr. Blackwell looked over questioningly at his wife, saying, “I don’t like to go off and leave you.”
“That’ll be all right,” Mrs. Blackwell replied. “I always take a nap right after lunch.” She smiled and added, “Your orders, you know.”
Dr. Blackwell turned to Florence again. “I’ll go with you girls while your mother’s taking her nap, but I won’t stay long.”
The Second Girl Detective Megapack: 23 Classic Mystery Novels for Girls Page 79