"Now, listen to me," said Evelyn, "I have a plan. We will get back over on Lysol Lane, and go in one of those all-night bars, and I"ll telephone to Tony, a taxi driver I know, where to meet us."
"Do you think it will work?" asked Pearl.
"It"s got to," said Mickey, as they started.
"Now, you two stand around the corner--I"ll stagger in this dump, as though nothing had happened, and use the phone."
"Can"t I go with you?"
"No, you stay with Mickey--if they see all three of us they will be sure to suspect something, and I don"t crave to get mixed up in this mess--stand back there in the dark," as she put on her best drunken smile and staggered into the place.
"Hi, Senor--can a lady use your phone?"
"Si, Senorita--right this way," he led her over to the phone booth in the corner.
"Gracia, Senor," as she went in and closed the door, lifted the receiver--"El Paso operator, please--h.e.l.lo--El Paso operator--give me Main Eight-Eight--Yeah--h.e.l.lo, all-night taxi? Let me talk to Tony.
What--Oh, that"s you, Tony? Listen, get a load of this--this is Ev, you know--yeah--take one of the plain cars you got there, and cruise along the Smelter Road near the Southern Pacific bridge, and look out for three of us. No--no--no--it"s not liquor--don"t ask questions over the phone--make it snappy--good-bye." She hung up the receiver, and staggered out of the booth. "Adios, Senor," as she went out the door and around the corner, to Mickey and Pearl.
"I just heard the ambulance and the police wagon going up the street,"
said Mickey.
"Tony is going to meet us up on the Smelter Road," said Evelyn. "We"ll go down these side streets until we get to the river, and then we"ll follow the levee on around to where it is only about twenty feet wide, and about three feet deep. I know the very place. We won"t have any trouble if we hurry--come on." So saying, they started for the river, down dark alleys and side streets, of which there are plenty in Juarez.
They stumbled on through the darkness, half running, sometimes walking.
"I"m sure I hear someone following us," said Pearl, as they neared the river.
"Your life ain"t worth two cents over here in this section at this hour of the night," answered Evelyn.
"Let"s run," said Mickey, as they started on down the levee.
"How far is this place you know about, Ev?" asked Pearl, out of breath, as they slowed to a fast walk again.
"About a mile or more," answered Evelyn, "But it"s our only chance."
It seemed like ten miles to the three, as they ran stumbling through the darkness, when a flare lit up the sky ahead of them to the right.
"What"s that?" asked Pearl.
"Thank Heaven, it"s the smelter," said Mickey. "We are almost there."
"Here"s the place I mean," said Evelyn, as she pointed to a very narrow place in the river. "Now, let"s all take hands, and hold tight. The only thing we have to be careful of is the quicksands--they are as treacherous as h.e.l.l," as they started to wade into the river.
"Watch your step," said Evelyn.
"Jees--that water is cold--hold tight to my hand, Pearl, and don"t let go," said Mickey, as she took hold of Pearl, who was in the middle.
"We are in the midst of a lot of quicksand here--I can"t seem to find bottom any further than I am standing. Let go of me, Pearl, and I"ll wade around a bit and see if I can find a more solid place."
"Oh, G.o.d--now, Ev, don"t do that. Don"t let go at all here in the water--we will all wade together."
"Hold tight, then, and we will wade up the side here a ways, and maybe we will find more solid bottom," as they started up the side of the stream.
Slowly they waded in until they were in about five feet of the bank.
"I think we are going to make it all right," said Evelyn, as she was almost jerked off her feet by Pearl falling to her knees in the water, and Mickey went out of sight.
"Hold on to me," gasped Pearl, "I"ve still got hold of her--she is in a sand-hole," as she rose to her feet, pulling Mickey"s head above water, helping her to get solid footing again.
Evelyn reached back and took hold of Mickey"s free hand, and slowly they reached the bank and climbed out on solid ground again.
"Are you all right, Mickey?" came from Evelyn and Pearl at the same time.
"Yeah--I"m O. K., but I"d been a goner if Pearl hadn"t had a good hold on me. That hole I fell in back there didn"t have no bottom, at least, I didn"t feel any--My G.o.d, what a night," as she stooped over and felt of her stockings to see if her money was still there. "Yeah, I still got my money, but I"ll have to dry it, but wet money is better than no money."
"Listen--what is that I hear? It sounds--there it is--somebody trying to catch another car--it"s the police siren and it"s coming this way as sure as you"re born," said Evelyn, "I"ll go up near the road and see if I see anything of Tony. You watch me and when you see me motion to you, come a-running, because if we are caught at this, it will be just too bad," as she started toward the road.
"Stoop down," said Mickey, "We will keep low to the ground and go as close to the road as we can, so we won"t have far to run when Ev motions."
Bright lights came into sight, of a speeding car coming from town, as Evelyn came up on the edge of the road, and as the car came near her, its brakes began to scream, as lights following it came into view, with the shrieking of the police siren.
"Quick, get in," said the voice of a man, as the car came to a stop.
"The cops are wise."
"Oh, Jees, where are Pearl and Mickey?" as she jerked the door of the car open.
"Here," as they came alongside of Evelyn.
Tony shifted the gears of the car, and was moving, as the three pulled and helped each other in, the other car nearing, with the siren screaming louder and louder. Tony shot into the night. "Lay down on the floor, girls, and get ready for the ride of your life. If I can beat the cops to the fork of the Mesa road, we have a chance--if not--we are jail-house bound for some time to come."
"What the h.e.l.l are we pa.s.sing that"s throwing all that light," asked Pearl.
"It"s some cement company," answered Evelyn, as they went into darkness again.
"Hey, Tony, how do you think they found out about this?" asked Mickey.
"One of them lousy telephone operators tipped them off, that is the only way they could have found out--the dirty fluzey."
"Good G.o.d--I hope we get away from them all right," murmured Pearl, as the car lurched and shot through the deepening dark.
"Are we leaving them behind yet, Tony?"
"Not yet we ain"t, not till we get off these curves, but when we get on that straight stretch of road, I"ll leave "em plenty far behind."
"Hey, Tony," said Evelyn, as she got up on her knees, with her hands on the back of the front seat, "You don"t think they could have sent a car out on the Mesa road, maybe to head us off, do you?"
"Well, that"s a chance we got to take, but I don"t think they would have had time even if they had thought, which they probably didn"t--but I"ll tell you something--we gotta leave that bunch quick when we hit that straight piece of road, if we don"t they will try to shoot the rear tires off. You girls stay on the floor, in case they do shoot."
"O. K., Tony," said Evelyn, as she got back down on the floor.