When Trujillo announced that he was indeed the lad portrayed in the
painting, now grown, Betsy Clossen was overjoyed that she had
unraveled the mystery as she had so desired. Notwithstanding the
fact that the Spanish youth closely resembled the portrait of the
boy in the picture hanging directly above his head, not one of the
other young people had observed this.
“Oh, I am so glad!” Babs joyfully exclaimed. “Now you will take all
this furniture away, won’t you? Because it really belongs to your
family, you know. Mrs. Dartley said that Don Carlos Spinoza asked
permission to leave this room furnished, promising to remove
everything in it at his first opportunity. That being so long ago we
feared no one was ever coming to claim it.”
Before the Spanish lad could reply, Peyton asked: “Trujillo, why did
you not tell me at once who you were?”
“Merely because I did not know that I had reached the ranch which
had formerly belonged to my grandfather. I believed it to be miles
north of here. But, let me begin at the beginning of my story. When
we left this place years ago with my grandfather, Don Carlos
Spinoza, we all went to Spain, where we remained until recently. The
sudden death of my grandfather followed by a financial crash left my
mother, sister and me almost penniless. It was then that mother told
me that I, as the only living grandson, was really the owner of a
large estate in Mexico, which had been a gift to my ancestors from
the king of Spain and that this land grant could not be confiscated
nor sold except with the signed consent of the heir thereto.
“When I inquired why they had left this rich heritage, for the
estate is in Sonora and the mines are of great value, mother told
me, for the first time, that we had been political exiles from
Mexico. However, she believed that the government had been
completely changed and that we might now return with safety and take
possession of the land of our fathers. Soon after this we set sail
for America, and my mother and sister are now in Mexico awaiting my
return.”
“But Trujillo, even yet I do not understand the reason for your
sojourn here as my overseer,” Peyton said.
The Spanish youth smiled. “No, but you will as I continue my story.
When we reached Mexico City we were welcomed by old friends of the
family, who informed us that soon after our flight our estate had
been confiscated and occupied by the political enemies of my
grandfather. On looking into the matter I found that this family had
papers proving, (or so it would seem), that the land grant had
really belonged to their ancestors and had been usurped by my great
grandfather.
“It was evident that we could not disprove their claim, as we had no
papers whatever to show. Then it was that my mother recalled her
father’s futile effort on the day that he died to tell her of the
location of some very important papers. So overcome had she been
with grief that she had been unable to heed even the little he could
say, and so, when later she tried to recall what my grandfather had
endeavored to tell her, she could not.
“It was then that I determined to ride across the desert, finding,
if I could, the ranch to which my grandfather had fled when he
became a political exile. I doubt if I would ever have found my way
here had it not been that I was driven far from the trail I was
following by the wild blizzard which you will recall. I at once
accepted your offer, partly because I needed money to send to my
mother, and also because I thought I might learn something which
would enable me to locate the ranch formerly belonging to my
grandfather. When you told me that you had recently come from the
East and had obtained the ranch from the Dartleys, in whose family
it had been for many years, I did not question you more, not
dreaming that this was the place for which I was searching.
“The letter which Pinez was concealing was from my mother telling me
that she had suddenly recalled what her father had said in his last
hour. ‘The land grant—Three Cross.’
“Of course I had often heard you speak of this place as The Three
Cross Ranch and now, when I enter this room for the first time and
find myself surrounded with portraits of my family, I realize that
this is where the lost papers are to be found.”
“Trujillo, why was Pinez searching for those papers?” It was
Margaret who spoke. The Spanish youth turned toward her as he
replied: “I believe his plan was to find them and then hold them
until I offered him a large reward.” Then smiling directly at Betsy,
he added: “Senorita, since you so cleverly discovered my identity,
will you not also discover for me the hiding place of my land
grant?”
The little would-be detective felt greatly honored to be chosen as
aide to the handsome Spanish youth, and she determined to make every
effort to find the hidden papers.