"All I"ve held out on you, Jim, is the exact location, so far as I know it. I"ll spill that to you now, best I can. Then you can play out your string your way and I can play it out my way. As Juarez tipped me off, you"ve got three peaks to sail by; whether it"s the three we saw first or the ones right off here, back of the house, I don"t know any more than you do. But it ought to be easy tellin" when a man"s on the spot. The middle peak ought to be a good fifty feet higher than the others and flat lookin" on top. In a ravine, between the tall boy and the one at the left, Juarez said there was a lot of scrub trees and brush. He said plow through the brush, keepin" to the up edge when you can get to it, until you come to about the middle of the patch. There a man would find a lot of loose rock, boulders that looked like they"d slid off the mountain. This rock, and the Lord knows how much of it there is, covers the hole that the old priest"s writin" said that loot was in. And that"s the yarn, every d.a.m.n" word of it."
"If it"s the place back of the house," said Kendric, "it"ll be a night job, all of it. It"s not a half mile off and plain sight from here.
Now, what"s the likelihood of Escobar having been there ahead of us?"
"Escobar"s out of the runnin"." Barlow"s eyes glinted with his satisfaction. "He"s corked up here tighter"n a fly in a bottle. He isn"t allowed to stick nose outside the walls after dark; and he isn"t allowed to ride out of sight in the daytime. Those are little Escobar"s orders. And, by cracky, I"ll bet he minds "em."
"Who told you all that?"
"She did."
"What"s she close-herding him for?"
"Doesn"t trust him; can you blame her? She"s takin" her chances, and she knows it, plannin" the big things ahead. And she"s not missin" a bet."
"And more," remarked Kendric drily, "she hankers for the loot herself?"
"She wouldn"t know a thing about it," protested Barlow. "Escobar would keep his mouth shut; he"s wise hog enough for that."
"But she does know, Twisty. She knows that Escobar knifed Juarez; she knows why; she knows pretty nearly as much about the thing as we know."
"She knows a lot of things," mused Barlow. But he shook his head: "She"s shootin" high, Headlong; no penny-ante game for her! Not that what we"re lookin" for sounds little; but it ain"t in her path and she"s not turnin" aside for anything. And she"s the richest lady in Mexico right now. Those pearls of hers, man, are worth over a hundred thousand dollars, or I"m a fool. I saw them again tonight; she let me have them in my hands. And that ruby; did you see it? Why, kings can"t sport stones like that in their best Sunday crowns."
"She contends that she is a descendent of the old Mexican kings,"
offered Kendric coolly. "And any treasure, left by the Montezumas, she claims by right of inheritance!"
"She couldn"t get across with a claim like that, could she? Not in any law court, Jim?"
"Not unless the jurors were all men and she could get them off alone, one at a time, and whisper in their ears," grunted Kendric.
Barlow laughed and they dropped the subject. Kendric told Barlow what he had learned during the evening; how the walls were sentinelled and how at the present moment under the same roof with them was an American girl, held for ransom.
"And, according to Escobar," he concluded, watching his old friend"s face, "the trick is put over with the connivance of Miss Castelmar.
This would seem to be one of the headquarters of the great national game!"
"Well?" snapped the sailor. "What of it? If you can get away with a game like that it pays big and fast. And who the devil sent you and me down this way to preach righteousness? It"s their business--but, cut-throat cur that that little bandit hop o" my thumb is, I don"t believe a word he says."
"And if you did believe, it would be just the same?" There was a queer note in his voice. "Well, Twisty, old mate, I guess you"ve said it.
Our trail forks. Good night."
"Good night," growled Barlow. Each went into his own bedroom; the doors closed after them.
For a couple of hours Kendric sat in the dark by his window, staring out into the gardens, pondering. Of two things he was certain: He was not going to remain shut up in the Hacienda Montezuma if there was a way to break for the open; and he was not going to leave Lower California without his share of the buried treasure or at least without knowing that the tale was a lie. And, little by little, a third consideration forced itself in with its place with these matters; he could not get out of his mind the picture of the "poor little kid of a girl" in Escobar"s hands. Like any other strong man, Kendric had a quick sympathy and pity for the weak and abused. Never, he thought, had he seen an individual less equipped to contend with such forces than was the little American girl.
"What I"d like," he thought longingly, "would be to make a break for the border; to round up about twenty of the boys and to swoop down on this place like a gale out of h.e.l.l! Clean "em for fair, pick the little Gordon girl up and race back to the border with her. If it wasn"t so blamed far----"
But he realized, even while he let his angry fancies run, that he was dreaming impossibilities. He knew, also, that to take up the matter through the regular diplomatic channels would be a process too infinitely slow to suit the situation. It was either a single-handed job for Jim Kendric, or else it was up to the girl"s father to pay down the twenty-five thousand dollars.
"I"d give a good deal for a talk with old Bruce West," he told himself.
"His outfit lies close in to these diggings; wonder if he has any American boys working for him? Why, a dozen of us, or a half dozen, would stand this place on end! Yes; I"d like to see Bruce."
A score of reasons flocked to him why it was desirable to see young West. The boy was a friend, and it would be a joy just to grip him by the hand again after three years; Bruce had written to him to come and now that events had led him so near, he should grant the request; Bruce was having his own troubles, no doubt against the lawlessness of Escobar, Rios and the rest. And finally, he and Bruce might work things together so that both should derive benefit. Bruce might be in a position to befriend Gordon"s little daughter.
So much did Kendric dwell on the subject that night that it claimed his first thoughts when he woke in the early dawn. And therefore, when Zoraida"s message was handed to him at the breakfast table, he stared at it with puzzled eyes asking himself if the amazing creature had read his thoughts through thick walls of adobe.
The message was typewritten, even to the signature. It said:
"No doubt Senor Kendric would like to see his old friend Senor West.
If he will only set his signature below what follows he will be given a horse, permission to ride and instructions as to direction. Zoraida."
And below were the words, with date and a dotted line for him to sign:
"I pledge my word, as a gentleman, to Zoraida Castelmar, that I will return to her at Hacienda Montezuma not later than daybreak twenty-four hours from now. . . ."
"A take or leave proposition, clean cut," he comprehended promptly.
And as promptly he decided to take it. The maid who had brought him the paper was offering pen and ink. He accepted and wrote swiftly: "Jim Kendric."
"Has Barlow breakfasted yet?" he asked, returning to his coffee.
"An hour ago, Senor. He has gone out."
"Alone?"
"No, senor. With La Senorita Zoraida."
"Hm," said Kendric. "And Rios? And Escobar?"
"Senor Rios went to bed late; it is his custom, senor." The girl looked as though she could tell him more but, with a quick glance over her shoulder, contented herself with saying only: "Senor Escobar is with the men outside."
"And the American girl? Miss Gordon?"
"Asleep still, senor."
"Has Escobar been near her?"
"No, senor. She has been alone except for me and Rosita. _La pobrecita_," she added, almost in a whisper. "She is so frightened."
"Be kind to her," said Kendric. He, too, looked over his shoulder. In his pocket were the few fifty-dollar bills left to him from his oil shares. "What is your name?"
"Juanita," she told him.
"All right, Juanita; take this." He slipped a bill along the tablecloth toward her. "Give Rosita half, you keep half. And be kind to Miss Gordon."
"Oh, senor!" she cried, as in protest. But she took the bank note.
Kendric felt better for the transaction; he finished his breakfast with rare appet.i.te.
"Now," he cried, jumping up, "for the horse. Is it ready?"