“Clear his name?” Nancy frowned. “I don’t understand. If he’s been doing all these things, how can I help?”
Heather turned her eyes back to the roadside, with its palm and citrus trees. “I guess what I’m asking is that you investigate what has happened,” she said, now gazing at Nancy. “You see, Ngyun claims that he only lit the one signal fire, and he denies leaving gates open and all the other little things he’s supposed to have done. Maria believes him and, well, we really need to know. If he isn’t telling her the truth, Ward says she will simply have to send Ngyun back to his mother’s people.”
“I’ll do my best,” Nancy promised, thinking that her vacation on the ranch was already promising to be a very busy one.
“How soon will we get to the ranch?” George asked, changing the subject.
“Oh, we still have quite a drive, Chuck answered. “Kachina Resort is near the Superstition Mountains.” He pointed toward the east, where rugged cliffs rose out of the desert landscape.
“The Superstitions,” Bess murmured. “Isn’t there supposed to be some kind of lost mine in those mountains?”
“The Lost Dutchman Mine,” Chuck confirmed, smiling at her. “You’ll find people in Apache Junction selling maps to it.”
“What is Apache Junction?” George asked.
“That’s the little town closest to the ranch,” Heather answered.
“Oh.” Bess’s round face lost a little of its usually happy expression. “I didn’t realize we were going to be so far out in the country,” she said.
“Don’t worry, we won’t let the Kachina get you,” Chuck teased.
“I wasn’t afraid,” Bess protested. “It just seems sort of wild out here.”
“We felt that way at first, too,” Heather said. “But we’ve come to love the area now.” She opened the car window. “This is my favorite time of year, too. Smell the orange blossoms.”
The heavy odor drifted in on the light, spring breeze. “Orange blossoms,” Bess whispered. “How romantic. ”
“It really is a business,” Chuck corrected. “Those groves ahead are all citrus trees. A month ago, they were still loaded with oranges and grapefruit, but most of it has been picked and sold by now. We have quite a few trees on the ranch, too, so you girls can pick your own grapefruit for breakfast if you like. ”
“I can hardly wait,” Bess said, then blushed as George and Nancy laughed.
“I’m sure Maria will have something much more substantial prepared for us,” Heather assured her. “I told her we’d wait and have dinner at the resort.”
George and Bess greeted the news enthusiastically, but Nancy’s mind was already on what lay ahead. Investigating a ghostly Indian figure had seemed an interesting challenge, even after the threatening letter arrived, but now that it had actually harmed someone, the whole mystery was much more serious. And, of course, there was the boy Ngyun to be considered, too. Determining his guilt or innocence in the accidents around the area could have very grave consequences for him.
“Nancy,” Heather broke into her thoughts. “I’m sorry to meet you with so much bad news. It’s just that having the resort means everything to all of us, and this talk of a curse could ruin us before we even start.”
“Then we’ll just have to stop it, won’t we?” Nancy told her, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt at the moment.
Suddenly, when they were rounding a curve, a speeding car from the opposite direction swerved from its lane and came at them head on!
3
Horse Thief
Chuck had no choice but to wrench the wheel to the right and drive off the road. The girls screamed in fright as the car teetered precariously on two wheels for an instant as they moved off the hard surface. The road at this point dropped down a stony incline for a few feet until it evened out in a field overgrown with scrubby weeds.
Finally, the station wagon stalled and came to a halt in the field. Chuck’s hands were still tightly clamped around the steering wheel, and he let out a deep sigh.
“That driver must have been out of his mind, coming straight at us like that!” he complained.
Bess, who had been holding on to her cousin’s arm, let go and shook her head in despair. Is that how people drive around here? she wondered.
“I think that man forced us off the road deliberately,” Nancy declared. “He wanted us to have an accident!”
“I agree,” Heather said. “But why would anyone do such a thing?”
“Maybe it has something to do with the Kachina doll mystery,” Nancy said, thinking of the threatening note she had received before leaving River Heights.
“I don’t know,” Chuck said. “It doesn’t make sense. Did anyone get the license number?”
No one had, it all had happened too fast.
“Well, let’s see if we can get this car started again,” Chuck said. After a few attempts, the engine turned over, and he drove along the field to a spot almost level with the road, and eased the car back onto it. Once they were again on their way, his shaken passengers calmed down.
Though the signs of habitation grew more sparse after they left Mesa, Arizona, the desert never really became desolate, for there were homes scattered throughout the area. Nancy was fascinated by the tall saguaro cactus, with their branching arms so often lifted toward the cloudless, blue sky. Since it was spring, many of them wore crowns of creamy flowers.
The road narrowed and Chuck turned off onto a gravel lane. “Homestretch,” he announced. “The ranch starts as we cross the cattleguard. You can see the house just over there.”
Nancy followed his pointing finger, and her gasp was echoed by Bess and George. “It looks like a castle!” she exclaimed.
Heather laughed. “That’s what I said the first time I saw it.”
“It’s really more of a fortress,” Chuck said. “Those walls are several feet thick, and most of the windows weren’t put in till just the last fifty or sixty years. When it was originally built, this was still Indian country and Mr. Harris meant to be safe inside. ”
“It looks like a part of the mountains,” George observed.
“Much of the rock used in the building did come from the Superstitions,” Heather acknowledged. “We decided not to change anything about the outside. I think it’s more impressive just the way it is, don’t you?”
“It’s fantastic,” Bess breathed. “I had no idea it would be anything like this.”
“What are the other buildings?” Nancy asked, forcing her gaze away from the weathered, golden-beige walls of the huge, old house.
“The low one on the right with the corrals is the stable,” Heather began. “The smaller ones on the other side are extra guest cottages. There is a pool house behind the main building, and a pool, of course. There will be tennis courts and a racquetball court, but we don’t have them done yet.” She sighed. “We haven’t even finished the interiors of the cottages.”
“It’s quite a big undertaking,” Nancy acknowledged. “Do you have much help?”
“Just Maria in the house. Ward, Maria’s husband, helps when he can, and Mr. Henry has let his sons Sam and Joe work for us part-time.” She smiled. “Mr. Henry is our nearest neighbor. His ranch is the Circle H over that way.” She pointed away from the mountains. “He’s been very helpful.”
“We’ll be able to have ten to fifteen guests in the house itself,” Chuck explained, “and when we get through, we should have room for as many as twenty in the cottages.”
“What exactly will you do here?” George asked as they rode along the drive between lacy, pale green trees that were full of tiny, yellow flowers. “I mean, this isn’t a dude ranch, is it?”
Chuck shook his head. “We’re calling it a health resort. What we plan to do is offer a place for people to come who want healthy outdoor exercise and a proper diet.”
“Diet?” Bess’s voice wasn’t exactly filled with joy. Everyone laughed and she quickly joined in.
“It’s not g
oing to be just for losing weight,” Heather explained, “although Maria is a dietician and will set up menus for people who do want to shed some pounds. I’ve studied at a studio in Mesa so I can teach aerobic dancing and rhythm fitness classes, and, if things go well, someday we may be able to put in a golf course. To start, we’ll have hiking in the Superstitions, horseback riding, of course, and swimming. We hope to have a sauna ready by fall, and there will be racquetball and tennis. When people come, we’ll treat them individually, setting up whatever kind of diet and exercise program they want.”
“It sounds wonderful,” Nancy said. “Just different enough from the ordinary resort to attract attention, but offering what more and more people are interested in—a healthy vacation.”
Heather smiled at the compliment, then her happiness faded. “Healthy if we can get rid of the curse,” she amended. “We can’t take in a single guest if there really is some ancient apparition stalking our halls.”
Chuck snorted derisively as he followed the rough driveway along the side of the old building, which was shadowed now by the thick growth of mesquite bushes and cactus. As they rounded the end of the dun-colored building, Nancy gasped in surprise. The scene ahead was totally unexpected.
A low hedge marked the line between the arid grandeur of the cactus and the dusty desert and a lush, green lawn, flowering bushes, and citrus trees, which scented the warm air. A large pool gleamed aqua in the center of the spreading gardens. A lovely, white building rose behind it, which Nancy assumed was the pool house and home of the future sauna.
“It’s lovely!” she exclaimed.
“Water in the desert,” Chuck explained. “We thought the contrast would be interesting for our guests.”
“Shocking is more like it,” George told him.
“It’s like a sudden oasis,” Bess agreed.
Chuck stopped the station wagon and everyone climbed out.
“Oh, I’m so glad we brought our bathing suits,” Bess said. “We can lie by the pool and go home with lovely tans.”
“You give them the tour, Sis,” Chuck said. “I’ll take the luggage in and tell Maria we’re home.”
“We hope to build three more cottages over there,” Heather began. “They can accommodate as many as six people each, so we’ll have families. It’s tentative now. I mean, we can adapt our plans as we go along. Find out what our guests like best and try to supply it.”
“Nothing could be lovelier than this,” Nancy told her honestly. “I mean, driving up and seeing everything so completely desert and cactus, then coming around the corner to this garden. I love both aspects and I’m sure your guests will, too.”
“We’ll have pool parties and cookouts and maybe overnight rides into the desert or mountains, too,” Heather went on. “Grandfather knows the area very well and he’s been showing Chuck and me all the old trails into the mountains.”
Bess sighed. “I’d love to come back when you have a lot of handsome guests to ride with.”
Heather’s green eyes gleamed as she winked at Nancy. “Won’t you enjoy riding with Chuck?” she asked innocently. “I thought you liked him.”
Bess blushed, then dimpled as she realized that she was being teased. “You’re all terrible,” she told them. “None of you has an ounce of romance.”
“Well, right at the moment ...” Heather began, then stopped as a door opened in the rear of the massive, stone building.
“Heather, oh, Heather, I’m so glad you’re home.” An Indian woman of about thirty came out into the dying sunlight. She was neatly clad in a bright, cotton print dress, and her black hair was fastened back on her neck. She would have been pretty had her expression been less troubled.
“Maria, what is it?” Heather asked, then quickly made introductions as they met on the white stone path that led from the concrete apron of the pool to the rear door of the main building.
“It’s Ngyun,” Maria began. “Mr. Henry just came by to ask if by any chance Ngyun had come home with an Appaloosa filly. ”
“What?” Heather asked.
Maria looked uncomfortable. “It seems that one is missing from the J Bar T Ranch, and someone called Mr. Henry and told him they’d seen a boy leading the horse in this direction.” She paused, then added, “A boy on a black and white pinto. ”
“Well, has he come home with the filly?” Heather asked.
Maria sighed. “He hasn’t come home at all. You know how upset he was about your grandfather’s fall last night. Well, this morning he made himself a lunch and rode out. I haven’t seen him since.”
“Did Mr. Henry say where he was seen?” Heather asked.
Maria shook her head.
“It’s not quite dinner time yet, so suppose I show my guests to their rooms. Then maybe Chuck and I can drive around and see if we can locate him,” Heather said soothingly. “But don’t worry so, Maria, Cochise isn’t the only pinto horse around and Ngyun isn’t the only boy in the area, either.”
Maria smiled, but there was no happiness in her face.
“We could help you search,” Nancy offered quickly. “We don’t know the area, but the more pairs of eyes looking ...” She stopped as the sound of hoofbeats came from the front of the looming building.
In a moment, a boy on a black and white pinto trotted into view. Trailing behind, held firmly by a lead rope, was a dark bay filly, whose haunches displayed the distinctive white blanket with brown spots of an Appaloosa. The boy guided the pinto right up to the hedge before stopping him.
“Hi,” he called. “Look what I find running in desert. She pretty.”
“Oh, Ngyun,” Maria wailed. “Why ...”
Nancy stopped the woman with a light hand on her arm. “You found the filly in the desert?” she asked, stepping forward, then introducing herself.
Ngyun smiled at her shyly, then nodded. “I know she belong someone, but I afraid she get in road if I not catch her. Bring her here safe.”
Heather looked at Nancy, then nodded slightly. “Why don’t you take the filly and Cochise down to the stable,” she suggested to the boy. “I’ll go inside and call the J Bar T and tell them you found their missing horse.”
The boy, who was small for twelve, nodded and turned the pinto around easily. As he rode away, Maria shook her head. “They’ll call him a horse thief, won’t they?” she asked no one in particular.
Heather offered no argument as Nancy and her friends followed her and Maria toward the imposing, old house. As they stepped into the shadow of the building, Nancy shivered though the day was still warm. There was, she sensed, trouble ahead!
4
Dangerous Warning
The inside of the huge building was surprising. One door led from the rear entry to a large yet cozy-looking room filled with sofas and chairs grouped for conversation or, in one corner, around a television set. A second door, the one they entered through, led into a very modern kitchen, which was filled with delicious scents.
Bess stopped and sniffed appreciatively. “This is even better than the orange blossoms,” she observed.
“Dinner will be ready in about an hour,” Maria said with a grateful smile. “I was working on it when Mr. Henry arrived.”
“You just go ahead with what you were doing, Maria,” Heather told her. “I’ll talk to Mr. Henry after I call the people at the J Bar T ”
Maria nodded. “Thank you, Heather,” she murmured.
Nancy, Bess, and George followed Heather out of the kitchen into an airy dining room. There were several tables scattered around the big room that would accommodate four or six people each, but Nancy could see that there was space for twice as many. The walls were decorated with small, Indian rugs and blankets plus a number of paintings of western and desert scenes. Indian baskets holding dried flower arrangements decorated the side tables, giving the entire room a friendly, western atmosphere.
“I’ll show you to your rooms before I take care of things for Maria,” Heather began. “I’m just sorry that all this h
as come up right now. I was hoping we could have a nice, quiet evening, but ... ”
“You don’t really think the boy took the filly, do you?” George asked.
Heather sighed. “I don’t want to,” she replied, “but there have been so many incidents. Everything seemed fine at first, but after he started riding so much ...”
“He’s a cute boy,” Bess said. “And he certainly speaks English well for having been here such a short time.”
“His mother speaks some English and she insisted that he learn it, too. Also, he’s trying hard to be like his father, though he can’t remember him too well. He was barely three when Kyle was killed. ” Heather led them into a large hall and Nancy gasped with delight.
“Are these the Kachinas?” Bess asked breathlessly.
“Our private gallery,” Heather confirmed, her tone a mixture of pride and resignation as she pointed to the beautifully decorated walls of the hall. “And home of our resident ghost, I guess.”
“Now, Heather, you don’t really believe all those stories, do you?” The man who stepped into the long hall of Kachinas from the other side was tall, well-muscled, and weathered.
“Mr. Henry!” Heather said. “I was just coming to talk to you.” She told quickly about Ngyun’s appearance with the filly and his explanation of how it had come into his care.
“I’ll take the filly to the J Bar T Ranch,” Mr. Henry said, “and I’ll report everything to them.”
Only when that was settled did Heather remember her guests. She quickly introduced Nancy, George, and Bess to the rancher.
“So you’re the sleuth that Chuck and Heather are counting on to capture their ghost,” Mr. Henry said, shaking Nancy’s hand firmly. “I had no idea you’d be so young, Miss Drew, or so pretty.”
Nancy blushed, unsure what to say.
“She’ll do it, too,” George said firmly. “No ghost is safe around Nancy.”
“I’m certainly going to do my best to solve the mystery here,” Nancy agreed. “I want to help Heather and Chuck make this resort a success. ”
“We all do,” Mr. Henry assured her. “That’s why I’m concerned about the boy. He’s causing a lot of trouble in the area, and Heather, you’re going to need the good will of your neighbors if you want this resort to work.”
The Kachina Doll Mystery Page 2