Chapter 5 THE HIDDEN CAR

Once they were in the car and on their way, winding along the Rio Grande and breathing in the fresh, invigorating morning air, they felt better about having had to start so early.

"We'll make the city early this afternoon, at this rate," Peggy remarked. "That'll give us time to do a little sightseeing. I wish we didn't have to go clear to Laredo before we cross the river. I'm eager to get on Mexican soil right away."

"That's the way with me," Jo Ann added. "I wish there were a short cut somewhere. It seems as if there ought to be."

When, two hours later, they stopped at a filling station in a little town to get some gas, and Jo Ann made this same remark to the service man, he looked puzzled and merely nodded his head. Florence, realizing that he understood little English, began questioning him in Spanish.

All smiles on hearing his native language, he answered at once, "Sí, there is a bridge you can cross here. They are putting in a new highway across the desert, which joins the main highway from Laredo."

"Bien. I think we shall go that way," Florence replied. "It will save us much time, will it not?"

"Sí-a little. It is about a hundred kilometers less, that way."

Florence smiled. "That is very good." Now that she was so close to the country where her parents lived she was growing more and more eager to get home.

"That desert road doesn't sound good to me," Miss Prudence put in, shaking her gray head vigorously. "It's probably impassable. Ask him if it's any worse than this one. I certainly don't want to get stranded in the desert."

Florence obediently relayed her question.

"If there isn't any rain"-the man grinned and shrugged his shoulders-"you can drive through all right."

Florence translated to Miss Prudence what he had said and added, "The rainy season doesn't begin till September. We're not likely to have rain. Look at the sky!" She gestured to the cloudless expanse of blue above them.

"It's so dry and hot now it's hard to believe it ever rains in this forsaken country." Miss Prudence hesitated a moment, then went on, "If we'll save that much distance through this awful country, maybe we'd better try it."

"Grand!" ejaculated all three girls together.

"Ah, how good!" sang out Carlitos in Spanish.

While Miss Prudence was still pointing out the country's bad points, Jo Ann followed the man's directions and turned into the side road leading across the toll bridge. With little difficulty she steered the car down the narrow road, not stopping till they reached the bridge.

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.

Miss Prudence expressed her opinion by saying in a disgusted tone, "Desolation itself. I never saw so much land going to waste."

"But just think how fertile and productive the land is after it's irrigated," observed Florence.

Miss Prudence passed over Florence's comment without a word and went on to scold about the condition of the road. "And that man called this a good road. I'd call it a series of gullies. It's practically impassable. If it should rain--"

"It won't, don't worry," comforted Florence.

On account of the many washed-out places in the road, Jo Ann found that she had to drive in low gear frequently. As a result the engine soon became overheated and steam began to pour out in jets from the radiator.

"Oh, gee!" she ejaculated. "I'll have to stop now and get some water and put it in the radiator." She drew her brows together into a frown. "Where'll I get the water? We haven't a drop with us. Of all the tenderfeet, I'm the biggest and greenest."

"We'll have to drive all the way back to the river-or maybe we can find a water hole down toward the river. We might walk down that gully a piece and see." Florence pointed to the deep cut leading toward the river.

"All right." Jo Ann drew the car up to one side of the road and stopped.

"What's the matter?" Miss Prudence called out anxiously.

"Nothing except our radiator's thirsty. I'm going down here and see if I can find some water for it." She reached down and picked up a tin bucket off the floor. "Who wants to go with me?"

"I'll go," Florence replied.

After eying the thick thorny vegetation on all sides, Peggy shook her head. "Not I. I'd feel as if I were being electrocuted, walking through all those thorns and stickers."

As Jo Ann and Florence were picking their way gingerly along the rocky gully, Jo Ann exclaimed, "Why, look! Here're some automobile tracks, and here's one that looks as if it'd been made just recently. I can't imagine anyone's being able to get much farther down here."

"Nor I."

When they had gone several yards farther, Jo Ann noticed that the car tracks led up the sloping left side of the gully. All at once she spied a car hidden behind some bushes up on the edge of the gully.

"Look, there's the car!" she exclaimed, low-voiced, pointing to it. "Up there behind that mesquite. Looks as if someone's tried to hide it there. Something queer about that-suspicious. I'd like to go up and peek inside it."

"Well, I for one am not going up to investigate." 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. I'm going up and--"

"Oh, please don't-please--" Florence tugged at Jo Ann's arm, but in vain.

Jo Ann turned back and started up the slope.

"Well, if you're bound to go, I might as well go, too. I'm not going to stay here alone." After this whispered reply Florence began following her.

Without speaking another word the two girls climbed on up the slope. Cautiously they peeked through the mesquite and chaparral to see if they could notice anyone in or around the car.

As soon as they were satisfied that there was no one in sight, Jo Ann made her way up to the old Ford and peered inside, Florence close behind.

Both girls opened their eyes wide on seeing the quantities of pottery and baskets piled in the back of the car.

Just as Jo Ann was about to whisper to Florence that she believed the car belonged to smugglers, she suddenly noticed that there was steam jetting out from the radiator. She pointed meaningly to the steam.

Florence caught the point immediately. Since the engine was still hot the car must have been hidden there only a few minutes before. Without saying a word she indicated to Jo Ann that they must hurry away.

Jo Ann lingered for one long keen-eyed look at the battered old car and especially at the license tag. She was determined to be able to identify the car if she should see it again. She felt that there was something mysterious about its being hidden there. A moment later she followed Florence back down the slope. Silently they continued on down the gully.

On noticing a path leading upward a few yards ahead on the left, Jo Ann opened her lips to remark about it. Before she could utter a word, a man's angry voice floated down, speaking rapidly in Spanish. What was it he was saying? Something about--

Florence caught hold of her hand in a convulsive clutch, and she turned to see Florence's eyes dilated in terror.

Simultaneously a second voice sounded, with an even more angry ring in it.

"Hurry! Let's run!" Florence breathed.

To Florence's consternation, Jo Ann darted straight up the path. Just before reaching the top she halted and peered cautiously in the direction of the men's voices, then scurried silently back.

Together the two ran up the gully, not even halting when thorns tore Florence's skirt and scratched a red gash in one of Jo Ann's legs.

"Those men must've said something terrible to scare Florence this way," Jo Ann thought as she ran. "All I could make out were the words 'money' and 'thief.'"

On the two rushed, with only a hurried glance backward now and then.

When at last, panting and puffing, they reached the road, Jo Ann gasped, "What'd-they say?"

"The first one said-'he's a thief-cheating us-I'm going to kill him.'"

"Wh-ew!" Jo Ann ejaculated while Florence was catching her breath. "The other-what'd he say?"

"He said, 'I'll help-you kill him.' Then he said-something about some packages weighing more than his enemy had paid them for."

"Did he say what was in the packages?"

"No."

"I believe those men are smugglers, don't you?"

Florence nodded. "I feel sure they are."

"Do you suppose they belong to that gang of smugglers the mystery man was after?"

"Hard to say."

"I believe I'll know those men if I ever see them again-their car, too." Jo Ann threw another hasty glance over her shoulder. "We'd better get away from this place soon as possible."

"But the engine's so hot-and we haven't any water."

"Here's hoping the engine's cooled off by now."

When they reached the car, Jo Ann glanced anxiously to see if the steam were still rising.

"Thank goodness!" she murmured as she saw there was no sign of misty vapor rising from the radiator. "We'll get away from this spot in a hurry."

When they reached the car, Peggy called out, "We'd decided you'd tumbled into a water hole or the Rio Grande and drowned. What kept you so long?"

"Er-we--" began Florence.

Jo Ann broke in hurriedly with, "We couldn't find any water."

"What'll we do?" Miss Prudence spoke up quickly. "We can't go on without water, can we?"

"Yes, the engine's cooled enough by now."

"But it would be the height of folly to start out on a desert road without water."

By that time Jo Ann had started the car, but not before both she and Florence had looked anxiously toward the gully.

"Something happened down in that gully that scared them," Peggy told herself knowingly on noticing their anxious side glances and the excited expression in their eyes. "As soon as I get them off to themselves, I'm going to find out."