Mystery of the Lost Mine (3 page)

No one had the energy to walk over to the Chuck Wagon for lunch, so they fixed a picnic of turkey sandwiches, chips, and chocolate cookies.

“You know what would feel great right now?” Henry said, fanning himself with a map of Arizona.

“A whole swimming pool of ice cubes?” Benny guessed. His cheeks were still pink from the heat.

Henry laughed. “Close! A dip in a mountain lake.”

Luis looked at the Aldens sprawled all over the furniture. “Well . . . the pool’s open.”

“The pool!” Jessie and Henry exclaimed at once.

Henry smacked his forehead. “We forgot all about the recreation center.”

Benny was out the door in a flash.

After a reviving swim in the pool and three games of paddle tennis, the children collapsed in the lounge, which was furnished with comfortable leather chairs.

Benny pulled out his shiny rock and studied it in the slanting afternoon light.

Jessie hugged her knees. “Do you think there really is gold in the Superstition Mountains?” Jessie asked Luis.

“My parents laugh at the old legend,” Luis replied, “but I think there is a lost treasure up there.”

“Do you think
we
can find it?” Benny asked.

“Find what?” At that moment, Tom Parker came in, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Clark.

The Clarks were dressed for swimming. Tom was in his usual cowboy gear. He slouched on the sofa, propping his boots on the wagon wheel coffee table.

“Find what?” Tom asked again.

Henry shot Benny a warning glance. “Uh—we were wondering if we could find our way to the riding stables.”

Tom gave him a quizzical look. “Well, it’s as easy as finding the nose on your face. Just hike down the road a piece. Can’t miss it.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun!” Mrs. Clark squealed. “Can we rent horses and ride around here, Jim?”

Mr. Clark smiled at her. “But you don’t ride.”

“That’s okay,” Tom put in. “The animals at the stables are trail horses. Riding one of those gentle horses is like sitting in your living room.”

Jessie was relieved. The Aldens hadn’t ridden very much, either.

Luis stood up. “I guess my folks are back now. I’d better check in with them.”

When he left, the Clarks settled into a couple of leather chairs. Mrs. Clark pointed to the rock Benny was polishing with the hem of his shirt.

“Looks like you struck gold, young man,” she said.

“It’s not
real gold
,” Benny corrected. “I’m going to carry it in my pocket forever.”

Tom leaned over to examine Benny’s nugget more closely. “That’s a mighty fine specimen. Where did you find it?”

Just then the door opened with a bang. Janine marched in. She looked angry.

“
There
you are.” She glared accusingly at Tom. “You promised to unpack those boxes that were delivered this morning.”

“So I did.” Tom got up from the sofa. “By the way,” he added to the Clarks, “my offer for an evening stroll in the desert still stands. Anytime you’re ready, just holler.”

He left, slamming the door. The Clarks got up, too, and headed over to the pool.

Benny turned to Henry. “I wasn’t going to tell anyone about the mine. I can keep a secret.” He paused. “Except from Grandfather.”

“Grandfather’s okay,” said Henry. “We can tell him. But nobody else.”

Violet noticed something about Mrs. Clark. Earlier she had said she was looking for her earring outside the Garcias’ trailer. At the time, she had on gold chains.

This afternoon, when she was going swimming, she wore a red stone pendant on a long silver chain, dangling earrings, and an armful of thin, silver bangles. She sure had a large selection of expensive jewelry.

Violet said to Jessie, “Isn’t Mrs. Clark wearing a lot of jewelry to go swimming?”

Jessie nodded. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

“I was wondering about Tom and Janine,” said Henry. “She’s always yelling at him to do some work.”

“Don’t mention the word ‘work.’ ” Grandfather came in then, smiling.

Benny ran over to him. “You’re back early today!”

“Yes, we’re putting a new roof on his cabin, but it became too hot, so we knocked off early.” He smiled at his grandchildren. “What have you been doing?”

They all spoke at once. Benny had to tell Grandfather about his fool’s gold. Henry asked if they could rent horses tomorrow. Jessie told him about the sights of the desert. Violet mentioned she had taken some great pictures.

“Hold it! Hold it!” James Alden put his hand up. “How about dinner first, and then we’ll discuss horses and fool’s gold.”

After a hearty supper of beef stew and cherry pie topped with ice cream, the Aldens went back to their RV.

“Do you believe there really is a lost mine?” Henry asked Grandfather. They had talked about the legend during dinner.

“That story has been around over a hundred years,” Grandfather replied. “There must be some truth to it.”

Violet was drawing the stone maps. She had a good memory and remembered most of the details. “Then the mine is really out there?”

Grandfather patted her shoulder. “Gold makes people act strangely. People
want
to believe a fabulous gold mine exists.”

Benny looked up at Grandfather.
He
believed the mine existed. And he wanted to find it.

“I want you all to have a good time in Arizona,” Grandfather told them, “but please be careful.”

It was bedtime. Everyone said good night.

In the little bedroom she shared with Violet, Jessie had trouble getting to sleep. Light was shining in her eyes.

She reached up to adjust the blinds. The light was coming from Mr. Tobias’s trailer. Didn’t that man ever go to bed?

Then Jessie saw something that made her heart skip a beat. A shadowy figure prowled around the Garcias’ RV. The person seemed to be testing the window latches.

She was about to wake Violet when the figure melted into the desert darkness.

T
he next morning, after Grandfather left early to help Mr. McCrae, the Aldens walked over to the Chuck Wagon. They shared a table in the corner with Luis.

Over a hearty rancher’s breakfast of flapjacks and sausage, they discussed the prowler Jessie had seen around the Garcias’ RV.

“Maybe it was Mr. or Mrs. Garcia,” Henry suggested.

Luis shook his head. “No, we were all in bed.”

“Maybe it was Mr. Clark,” said Violet. “Or Mr. Tobias. He’s always up late.”

“But why would he be checking the windows in the Garcias’ RV?” asked Jessie.

“Maybe,” said Benny, “it was somebody else.”

Henry looked at him. “Like who?”

“Somebody who isn’t staying at this campground.”

Jessie said, “RV Haven is several miles from the nearest town, right? There aren’t any houses around. If the prowler isn’t from the campground, then he—or she—would have to be from the mountains.”

“Maybe Janine Crawford knows if anyone else lives around here,” Henry said.

Janine hurried by just then with a pot of coffee.

“Excuse me, Janine.” Henry used his politest tone. “Does anyone live out here? I mean, not on the campground.”

“Nobody with a grain of sense,” she snapped, slapping their check on the table. She left, her mood as sour as ever.

“Well,
that
was no help,” Violet remarked.

Tom stopped by their table. “Going gold hunting today?”

“We’re going
riding
,” Henry replied cautiously.

Tom laughed, went over to the counter, and poured himself a cup of coffee.

“How did he know we’re looking for the mine?” Henry asked Luis.

Luis shrugged. “It’s kind of a joke around here. The mine is no secret. Remember, lots of people have looked.”

Violet was quiet. She noticed that the Clarks, who sat across from them in a booth, kept getting up and passing their table. First Mr. Clark got up for a copy of the daily newspaper. Then Mrs. Clark walked by to get a bottle of catsup. Mr. Clark rose again to refill his coffee cup.

“Is it my imagination, or are the Clarks listening to us?” Violet said in a hushed voice.

“Violet’s right,” said Jessie. “They keep getting up and going right by our table. I think Tom Parker was listening, too, when we were talking about the prowler.”

“Let’s not mention the prowler to anyone,” Henry advised. “Not until we find out more. Right now, everyone is a suspect.”

Benny blissfully scooped up his last bite of hotcake. “Another mystery! We didn’t have to find one—it found us!”

As they were making plans to rent trail horses, the door burst open.

Old Jake tottered into the restaurant. His battered felt hat was covered with dust. His clothes looked more rumpled than ever.

Jake glanced around, as if searching for a friendly face. His gray eyes rested on the Aldens. He headed in their direction.

“You loaned me some money,” he said to Henry. “You seem like decent kids.”

“Why don’t you sit down?” Henry offered. Jake acted as though he had something important on his mind.

“Thankee.” Jake pulled up an extra chair. He stuck out a calloused hand. “Name’s Jake.”

Henry shook his hand. “I’m Henry Alden. This is my sister Jessie, my sister Violet, and that’s my brother, Benny. And our friend Luis Garcia.”

Jake nodded at each in turn. “Nice to make your acquaintance.” Suddenly lowering his voice, Jake asked, “Can you keep a secret?”

“Yeah!” Benny replied immediately. “What is it?” Old Jake must have found the Lost Dutchman’s mine!

Jake pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. “When I got up this morning to start my campfire, I found this.” He smoothed the paper on the table. Crudely cut-out letters spelled a single sentence.

Henry picked up the paper. “Looks like somebody wrote this using letters cut out of a flyer or something. But it’s in Spanish. I can’t read it.”

“I can.” Luis studied the note. “It says, ‘This path is dangerous.’ ”

“What does that mean?” asked Violet.

“It means I’d better watch my back,” Jake said, stuffing the note into his pocket.

“Who would send you that letter?” Luis wanted to know.

“Good question.” Jake sighed. “When you’re a prospector, there’s always somebody trying to jump your claim.”

“Then you
have
found the mine!” Benny exclaimed. “Where is it? We won’t tell anyone, promise!”

But Jake clammed up. With a gruff “Thanks for your help,” he pushed back his chair and hurried into the store section.

Janine followed Jake, grumbling, “Where is Tom? He’s never around when I have to deal with difficult customers.”

Suddenly Jessie thought of something. “Jake!” she cried. “He lives in the hills. Could he be the prowler I saw last night?”

“It’s something to think about,” Henry said. “Jake is certainly a strange character.”

The Garcias came in then.

“You early birds!” Mrs. Garcia teased as Violet gave up her seat. “Please don’t get up.”

“We were leaving anyway,” Violet said.

“We’re going horseback riding.”

“Mr. Garcia, if someone
did
find the

Dutchman’s mine, how would they say it was theirs?” Henry asked.

“Well, you’re supposed to file a claim with the local government,” Mr. Garcia replied.

“But no one is permitted to stake a claim on federally protected land,” added Luis’s mother. “The Superstition Mountains are part of the Tonto National Forest. If anyone is digging in those hills, they are breaking the law.”

Jessie and Henry looked at each other. Jake talked as if he had been digging in the hills. Was he in trouble with the law?

They discussed this as they hiked to the stables.

“Jake might not know he’s breaking the law,” Violet said. “Someone should tell him.”

“He’s been living in this area a long time,” Henry said. “Seems like he would know.”

“But what if he found the mine?” Benny asked. “Suppose he’s already found the gold? Would he have to put it back?”

No one could answer that question. They were silent the rest of the way to the Mountain Shadows Stables.

A young man came out of the small office. “I’m Rex. Looks like you youngsters aim to go riding.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Luis. “Do you have five saddle horses available?”

“Right this way.” The man took them into the dim stables.

Violet loved the smell of hay and horses. She thought her horse was beautiful.

“What’s his name?” she asked.

“Dusty,” Rex replied. He brought out three horses for Luis, Jessie, and Henry. Then he led out a pony for Benny.

“This is Ginger,” Rex told Benny. “If you give her a lump of sugar, she’ll love you forever.” He handed Benny a sugar cube.

Benny fed the sugar to Ginger. Her lips were soft and damp. “She tickles!” He giggled.

Then Rex saddled the horses and helped the children mount them.

Riding his cream-colored horse over the rocky ground, Henry felt like a cowboy from the Old West. “Which way is Weaver’s Needle?” he asked Luis.

Luis studied the compass he had brought. “That way,” he said, pointing. “I don’t know how far it is, though. Let’s give it a try.”

He led his horse to the beginning of the trail. The horses formed a single file with Luis at the head. Benny was next, followed by Jessie and Violet. Henry brought up the rear.