A FAMILIAR FACE
It was with the keenest relief that Jo Ann managed to start the car and
drive away before the men appeared. She was not alone in feeling
relieved.
Florence's taut body relaxed, and she remarked, in a low tone, "That was
a narrow escape. If those men'd seen us, no telling----" She left her
sentence unfinished.
Jo Ann nodded understandingly. Those men would have been more angry than
ever if they had known that she and Florence had been listening to them
and peeking into their car. It was too bad she and Florence couldn't have
got some water, but she would far rather run the risk of finding water
elsewhere than for those men to have discovered them there.
Florence seemed to have read her thoughts as she remarked the next
moment, "Surely we'll be able to find some water soon. We've just got to
get some before we go much farther."
The engine soon began to boil again, and Jo Ann was almost in despair.
"Now what'll we do?"
The next instant Florence cried excitedly, "There's a water carrier! We
can get water from him."
"You mean that donkey cart jogging ahead there with the barrel on it?"
"Yes. The Mexican's carrying water to some ranch house or village, and
maybe we can get him to sell us some."
In a flurry of dust Jo Ann stopped the car beside the cart, and Florence
called out in Spanish to the old wrinkled water carrier, "_Buenos tardes,
señor_. Will you sell us a little water?"
At the sound of Florence's voice the lazy burro promptly stopped, and the
man stood peering at them from under his big sombrero.
"See," Florence went on, "we need water for our car. Will you sell us
some?"
"_Muy bien._" He nodded his head and reached for the bucket Jo Ann was
holding out to him.
"Thank my stars someone knows where to get water in this awful desert!"
Miss Prudence exclaimed, feeling relieved at sight of the water. "Do you
suppose that is the only way the people have of getting water out here,
Florence?"
"Probably so."
"Well, I'd certainly hate to live here! Imagine having to drink that
water! And washing dishes and clothes in a thimbleful of water wouldn't
suit me at all, either. I have the whole Atlantic Ocean right at the edge
of my home in Massachusetts."
Florence smiled at the contrast of life in the desert and on the
seacoast.
After they had filled the radiator and their thermos jug with the
precious fluid, they drove off, the girls and Carlitos all calling a
smiling "_adios_" to the water carrier.
A little later, at the old stone house on the edge of the village, they
were halted and their passports examined. As they were waiting for one of
the men to look over the papers Carlitos and Florence talked in Spanish
to the other man. Jo Ann half smiled to herself as she noticed Miss
Prudence's evident disapproval at seeing Carlitos's delight on finding
someone with whom to speak Spanish.
Catching Jo Ann's expression, Miss Prudence remarked crisply, "I can't
get used to having a foreigner for a nephew. I have my doubts if he'll
ever get to be a genuine American."
"I wish I knew Spanish as well as he does. I love the language--it's
beautiful," Jo Ann replied. "I'd be glad, if I were you, that he knows
it; maybe he'll soon be speaking English as easily as Spanish."
"I hope so."
As Jo Ann drove the car slowly through the narrow streets of the quaint
old village, the girls gazed interestedly at the adobe and stone houses
and the picturesque church with its bell tower. From behind half-closed
doors they caught glimpses of dark, eager faces peering at them. A moment
later the road sloped down an abrupt hill, and there was nothing to be
seen but the bleak expanse of desert.
"There's a weird beauty about the desert," Peggy commented thoughtfully
to Florence as she gazed at the vast stretch of silvery grays and tawny
browns which were rolled out before them and silhouetted against the deep
blue of the sky.
"I've decided there's no spot on earth where there isn't beauty of some
description. I agree with you that the desert has its share of
loveliness."
"And it has its share of washes and gullies too," spoke up Miss Prudence
as the car suddenly dipped into a deep cut which jolted them vigorously
from side to side.
About an hour later, Carlitos suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, look--the
mountains! See, over there!"
The other four stared in the southwesterly direction in which he was
pointing, and soon all were able to distinguish the low irregular purple
line of mountains.
"The sight of those mountains thrills me," declared Florence with a
joyous exultation that the other girls and Carlitos shared. "Just think!
Back of that line there's another higher range, then another."
From then on they watched the mountains become more and more distinct,
the deep purple changing into a soft, mauve-tinted gray, while the
distant ranges gradually came into view, their lofty majestic peaks
cloud-wreathed.
When at last they reached the main paved highway, Miss Prudence's
expression brightened. "Thank my stars we're on a good road at last!"
"Oh boy! What a road!" cried Jo Ann as she turned into the smooth-paved
highway.
The miles seemed to fly by, and almost before she realized it they had
reached the first mountain range and begun to climb the walled-in highway
which wound back and forth up the mountain side.
So intent was Jo Ann upon keeping the car close to the cliffs, she could
catch only fleeting glimpses of the valley below and of the road beyond
as it threaded its way higher and higher. The other four, however, had
plenty of time to drink in the majestic beauty of the scenery.
Several times Miss Prudence became alarmed over Jo Ann's ability to
manage Jitters and started to caution her, but each time Peggy broke in
with such warm praises of Jo Ann's driving that she subsided. "Jo never
lets her nerves run away with her," Peggy declared. "She always keeps her
head in emergencies, like the good scout that she is."
"She may be able to keep her nerves from running away, but can she keep
this old Ford from running amuck?" Miss Prudence came back sharply.
"Sure. Jitters is hitting on all four--humming along like a--well, maybe
not like a Cadillac, exactly, but at least like a much better car."
In spite of Peggy's encouragement Miss Prudence did not cease to be
nervous till they reached a more level stretch.
When at last they came in sight of the city, the girls' and Carlitos's
excitement reached the boiling point.
"Now I can speak de Spanish in de city," exulted Carlitos, oblivious of
Miss Prudence's frown.
"Oh, don't you hope the band plays tonight so we can promenade around the
Plaza?" exclaimed Peggy. "That's the most fun! The lovely music--those
beautiful dark-eyed señoritas--and, oh, those handsome men! Light of my
eyes! Pride of my heart!" Peggy placed her hand over her heart in a
ridiculously exaggerated gesture that sent Florence into peals of
laughter.
Suddenly remembering that Peggy's exaggerated acting might have been
misunderstood by Miss Prudence, Florence hastily checked her mirth and
remarked, "Peggy doesn't mean anything by her raving. She's perfectly
harmless."
On nearing the outskirts of the city Miss Prudence suggested to Florence
that, as she was familiar with the hotels, she choose the best one and
drive directly to it. "When I say choose the best one, I mean the most
modern one," she explained.
"There's a beautiful new one just built recently that I know you'll
like," Florence replied, then added, "I'd better drive the rest of the
way, as I'm familiar with the city and the narrow one-way streets."
Jo Ann stopped the car saying, "I'm glad to turn the wheel over to you.
I'd get all mixed up on the one-way streets and go in the wrong direction
every time, since all the signs are in Spanish."
With eyes eager and shining, the four young people viewed the streets,
the shops and houses, and the crowds in the downtown section.
When Florence stopped the car in front of the city's most modern hotel,
Miss Prudence went with Florence and Peggy to see about rooms while Jo
Ann stayed in the car with Carlitos.
A smiling little black-eyed Mexican newsboy ran up to the car to try to
sell them a paper, and Carlitos promptly bought one; not that he wanted
to read it, but because he wanted to talk to a real Mexican boy once
more. He was still chatting with him in a lively flow of Spanish when
Miss Prudence came back. At first she frowned in disapproval, then began
to smile. "I might as well be resigned to having a little Mexican for a
nephew," she remarked to Jo Ann. "Carlitos loves Mexican people and their
language."
"I do, too," Jo Ann replied. "Spanish is such a beautiful language, and
the people here--why, there aren't any friendlier, more smiling people
anywhere in the world."
As soon as they had gone up to their cheerful, airy hotel rooms, bathed
and dressed, it was time for supper. At Florence's suggestion they went
to an old restaurant with a more distinctive Mexican atmosphere and
cookery than the hotel had. The girls, as well as Carlitos, thoroughly
enjoyed ordering from a menu card written in both Spanish and English.
Miss Prudence smiled whimsically as she glanced at the card and remarked
to Florence and Carlitos, "You two may order your food in Spanish, but
not I." Her smile suddenly disappeared on noticing the high prices:
"Scrambled eggs--forty cents," she read. "Why, that's terrible!"
"But that's in Mexican money," laughed Florence. "That's only about
thirteen cents in American."
Miss Prudence nodded. "O-oh! I see. I'd forgotten about that."
It was a delicious meal that the alert, polite waiter brought them, and
even Miss Prudence, who at first was dubious about Mexican cookery's
comparing favorably with New England's, praised it enthusiastically.
Florence and Carlitos, though, enjoyed it most of all.
"That _chocolaté_ is the best I've had since I left Mexico last fall,"
Florence declared, while Carlitos was all smiles over the _frijoles_ and
_chile con carne_.
When they left the restaurant, it was twilight, and they could hear the
band in the little park, or plaza, as it was called, playing an old
Mexican air.
"Oh, let's go to the Plaza now and promenade!" exclaimed Peggy eagerly.
"I adore walking around and around the square with the crowds."
"Yes, let's," agreed Florence. "You want to go, too, don't you, Jo Ann?"
"Of course. I may let you girls do the strolling around while I sit on
one of the spectators' benches and----"
"Pooh!" scoffed Peggy. "You're no Methuselah. You'll have to promenade
too. When you're in Mexico, do as the Mexicans do, my dear." Realizing
that Miss Prudence had not given her consent to their plan, she began
explaining how the Mexican girls walked slowly round and round the
square, while the boys walked equally as slowly on the inside in the
opposite direction, exchanging smiles and a few words now and then but
not stopping. "And chaperons! I never saw so many. You won't have seen
Mexico unless you see this scene."
Miss Prudence smiled. "That being the case, I'll have to go with you."
As soon as they had reached the Plaza, Miss Prudence and Carlitos found
seats, and the three girls joined the laughing, dark-eyed señoritas,
mingling with them and feeling a warm kinship--a oneness with them.
Jo Ann, having been the one on the outside, found her attention centered
on the spectators sitting or standing near the curb rather than on the
boys on the inside of the Plaza.
Just as she reached one of the corners, she caught a sudden glimpse of a
familiar face in the crowd in the background. Her heart leaped. There was
the mystery man! The very man to whom she had listened in the hotel in
Houston. Thank goodness, he hadn't lost his life!
As she slowed her steps to look over her shoulder at him to assure
herself that she was not mistaken, Florence pulled her along saying, "No
fair stopping--you're blocking the line."
"Yes, but I just saw the mystery man on that corner, and I----"
"Jo! I declare you must have that man on your mind. You're probably
imagining that it's he. Someone resembling him, perhaps it was."
"No--no! It was he. When we get back around to that corner I'll point him
out to you."
"Who's that you're going to point out, Jo?" broke in Peggy.
"The mystery man! I've just seen him. I wish you didn't have to keep
going in the same direction."
Jo Ann could scarcely wait to get back to that corner. It seemed miles
around the square to her this time. When at last she reached the corner
again, she gazed eagerly about for the stalwart, keen-eyed stranger, but
he was not to be seen anywhere.
"Oh, shoot! He's gone!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "And I wanted to tell
him about those smugglers we saw back there in the desert."