The Phantom Town Mystery by Carol Norton
CHAPTER XXIX AN OLD LETTER
The next day, directly after breakfast, Mary and Dora began to expectsomeone to arrive. The roof of the front porch was railed around and whenthey had made their bed and tidied their room they stepped out of thedoor-like window and stood there gazing about them. From that highelevation they had a view of the road coming from Tombstone as it climbedto the tableland and also they could see for miles across the desertvalley toward the _Bar N_ ranch.
"Who do you think will be the first to arrive?" Dora asked as she slippedan arm about her friend's waist.
Mary shook her head without replying. Then, because her conscience hadbeen troubling her, Dora said impulsively, "Mary, dear, I didn't mean,last night, that Harry Hulbert says nice things to you without meaningthem. No one could help thinking you're--"
Mary laughed and put a finger on her friend's lips. "Now, who'sflattering?" Then, excitedly, "I hear a car, but I don't see it."
"There it is, by the post office," Dora pointed, then, in a tone ofdisappointment, "Oh, it's only that funny little Jap vegetable man fromFairbanks."
A moment later, when they were looking in different directions, they bothexclaimed in chorus, "Here come Jerry and Dick!"
"There's the Deputy Sheriff's little car."
In through the window they leaped, down the front stairway they trippedand were standing in the graveled walk between the red and goldborder-beds when the two cars arrived, Jerry's in the lead.
Mary's heart was heavy, though she tried to smile brightly, when she sawthat Etta Dooley was again on the front seat with Jerry. Dick, this time,was quite alone. Harry Hulbert, although in the rear, leaped out andbounded to Mary so quickly that he reached her first.
Her welcome, though friendly, lacked the eager graciousness of the daybefore. Harry, however, did not seem to notice it. "I've got thetranslation here," he said, waving the old yellow envelope.
Jerry got out of his car, turned to speak to Etta and then walked towardthe waiting group. Dick had already disappeared into the house in searchof his mother.
Etta, remaining in the car, called, "Good morning" to the girls. Jerryexplained, "I haven't told Etta the whole story, just the part aboutLittle Bodil and the rock house. She was so interested, I told her we'dbe glad to have her go with us."
Mary smiled at him rather wistfully, Dora thought. Then she walked to theside of the car and said, "Won't you get out, Etta, while we read theletter?"
Jerry, who had followed her, said, "Dick wanted us to wait till we got tothe rock house before we read the letter. Can you girls go now?"
"Yes, I'll get my hat." Mary turned to go indoors. Dora went with her andthey were back almost at once to find Jerry beside Etta, with Dickwaiting to help Dora to her usual place in the rumble.
Harry, his rather thin face alight with pleasure, took Mary's arm and,giving it a slight pressure, exclaimed in a low voice, "The gods arekind! I hardly dared hope that your old friends would let me have youtoday. I've thought of you every minute since I left you last night."
Mary, seated at his side in the small car, turned serious eyes towardhim. "Harry," she said almost pleadingly, "please don't talk to me thatway. I--I'd rather you wouldn't."
An expression of sadness for a moment put out the eager light in hiseyes, then, good sportsman that he was, he said, "Very well, Mary. Ithink I understand."
After that his conversation was interesting, but general, until theyreached the towering rock gate where Jerry's car was standing, waiting.
"What a lonely, awesome spot this is!" Harry exclaimed.
"If you think _this_ is awesome," Mary laughed, "wait until we passthrough those gates."
Jerry climbed out, helped Etta, then turned to call, "Don't get off theroad, Harry. The sand's so soft we'd have a time pulling you out."
Dora and Dick leaped from the rumble and were joined by Mary and Harry."We walk the rest of the way," Dick told the air scout, "and believe meit's hard going."
Mary glanced ahead, saw Jerry assisting Etta as in former times he hadassisted her when her feet sank ankle deep in the soft, white sand. Harrygallantly took her arm to aid her. Mary smiled at him wanly. "Thank you,"she said. "I wish I were the self-reliant athletic type like Dora. Shenever needs help."
Harry bit his lip to keep from saying aloud what he thought. Before hecould think of something else to say, Dick looked back and called to him,"Were you ever any place where there was such a deathlike stillness asthere is in this small walled-in spot?"
Harry shook his head. "Never!" he replied. Then, glad of theinterruption, he asked, "That's the rock house, up there, isn't it?"
Dick nodded. "That's where the poor old fellow they called 'Lucky Loon'buried himself alive, if there's any truth in the yarn."
"Believe me, that would take more courage than I've got," Harry declaredwith a shudder.
Jerry, glancing back, and finding that he and Etta were quite far ahead,turned and waited, still holding his companion's arm.
Etta's intelligent face _never_ had seemed more attractive to Mary. Themelancholy expression, which the girls had noticed, especially, the daythey had called upon her, had vanished. Her eyes were bright withinterest.
They walked on in a close group. "I'm simply wild to know what's in theletter Little Bodil translated," Dora exclaimed.
Dick laughed. "I suppose we will call that dignified Sister Theresa'Little Bodil' till the end of time," he said.
When they reached the foot of the leaning rock, which had one time beenthe stairway to the rock house, they gathered about Jerry who was openingthe yellowed envelope. Intense interest and excitement was expressed ineach face.
Sister Theresa had written a liberal translation between the almost fadedlines of her dead brother's letter.
"Dear Little Bodil--
"In my heart I feel you are alive. I have hunted all over Arizona, New Mexico and across the border. No one has heard of you. I can't search any longer.
"Before I die I want to tell you where my gold is. Silas Harvey will tell you where my rock house is. Secret entrance--"
Jerry paused and looked in dismay at the interested listeners.
"What's up?" Dick asked.
"The old writing was so faded Sister Theresa couldn't make it out."
"How terrible!" Dora cried. "How to get _into_ the rock house is the_very thing_ we need to know."
"Well, at least we know there _is_ a secret entrance," Mary told them."Isn't there any more of the translation, Jerry?"
The cowboy had turned a page. He nodded. "Yes, here's something but Ireckon it won't help much. There are only a few words." He read, "Findmoney--walled in--turquoise eye." Jerry looked from one to the other andsaid, "That's all. Doesn't help out much, does it?"
Mary took the letter. "Here's a note at the bottom. Sister Theresa wrote,'I am sorry I could not make out the entire message. I do hope this muchwill aid you in finding the money if it has not been stolen.'"
"Well," Dick was looking along the base of the almost perpendicular cliffon which the rock house stood, "I vote we start in hunting for a secretentrance."
"O. K.," Harry said. "Let's divide our forces, one going to the right andthe other to the left."
Jerry, as though it were the natural thing to do, said to Etta, "Shall_we_ go this way?"
Mary turned and started in the opposite direction. Harry was quick tofollow her. Dora and Dick remained standing directly under the rockhouse. Dora said, "I'm puzzled! _Not_ about the secret entrance but aboutMary and Jerry."
"Oh, that'll come out all right." It was plain that Dick wasn't givingromance much thought, for he added, "I'm going in between the main cliffand this broken off piece."
Dora, going to his side, peered into the crack. The winds of many yearshad blown sand into it. She was surprised to see Dick start pulling thesand away from the wall.
"Have you a hunch?" she asked with interest.
"No, not
"You may have one," Dora said, "if you want to go back to the road. I sawa shovel and an axe fastened under the Deputy Sheriff's car."
Jerry and Etta, having found nothing, were returning.
"What are you uncovering, Dick?" the cowboy called.
"Say, fetch a shovel, will you?" was the answer he received. "Dora saysthere's one under the 'Dep's' car."
"Righto." The cowboy's long legs carried him rapidly toward the rockgate. He had returned with the shovel just as Mary and Harry came up.They had found nothing that could possibly be a secret entrance.
"What's your reasoning, Dick, old man?" Jerry asked as he handed him theshovel.
"Well, there's _something_ here that caught and held the sand," Dickreplied. "It may not be what we're looking for but I'm curious to knowwhat it is."