Although the stampede had ended, the animals were now herding up around the old ranch buildings. Mr. Hardy raised the flashlight and signaled twice. A moment later the plane straightened out and droned off westward. Then it turned, and came swooping down at terrific speed close to the ground, its motor wide open.
66 The cattle bellowed with fear. As the roaring monster of the sky swooped toward them, not fifty feet from the earth, the steers suddenly broke and fled. In a moment the earth was again echoing to the thunderous trample of hoofs. The plane banked sharply, for the pilot did not want to get too far above the herd and turn them back again. He swung around to the rear of the living ma.s.s and came speeding ahead once more. In less than a minute the animals, routed, plunged back up the slope. "When the last of them had vanished over the top of the ridge, the airplane settled down to earth, b.u.mped heavily, righted itself, and came to a stop.
Fenton Hardy and the boys hastened out of the deserted building that had been such a providential refuge. Their pilot, a bronzed, weatherbeaten young man, stood waiting for them.
"That"s the first time I"ve ever tried riding herd from the air," he remarked. "I didn"t expect it would work, but I thought I"d try it anyway."
"It worked, sure enough," said Joe. "I"ll bet they won"t come back this way in a hurry."
The travelers took their places. In a few moments the idling motor again broke into a roar, the plane went rolling over the level field, took off, and climbed steadily into the sky.
67 Frank and Joe were tense with excitement. As the nose of the ship turned southward they gazed toward the stars shining above the mysterious horizon.
"On to Mexico!" shouted Frank.
The flight itself was uneventful. The boys experienced a thrill when they flew over the Bio Grande, the great river shining like silver in the moonlight, and realized that they were at last over foreign soil. The plane landed on the outskirts of a small town shortly after daybreak and refuelled, then took off at once on the second leg of its journey.
Within a few hours Juan began to show signs of excitement, evidently recognizing country that was familiar to him. It was all strange and wonderful to Frank and Joe.
The voyagers pa.s.sed over a great desert where millions of acres of sand lay beneath the sun, broken here and there by marshes, lakes and b.u.t.tes of reddish rock. Then the aridity gave way to subtropical vegetation and high towering hills, with great gorges through which tumbled mountain streams. Finally they approached the foothills of the sierras, and in the distance lay a city.
This was their destination! It seemed only a few minutes from the time the metropolis appeared in view that the plane was b.u.mping to a stop in a field on the outskirts.
68 Now that his long adventure was at an end, Juan was impatient to get home. He could scarcely wait while Mr. Hardy gave instructions to the pilot, and Frank went away to find a taxi. "When the four finally drove through the sunlit streets, Juan was as excited as a child.
"Soon I shall be home!" he exclaimed in delight. "You shall meet my father, my mother and my sister Dolores. Ah! There is the wall of our hacienda. I hacienda. I can see the roof. The big can see the roof. The big trees. Drive faster-faster------"
He had the door open, and was out of the car before it stopped.
"Hi, Rafael!" he called to a sleepy looking servant near the gate.
Then followed a torrential command in his own language, which brought the astonished man over to take charge of the luggage. Juan grabbed Frank and Joe each by an arm.
"Come! You are my guests," he cried. "" "" Come, Seiior Hardy. Oh, I am so glad to be Come, Seiior Hardy. Oh, I am so glad to be home."
There was tremendous excitement when Juan reached the great, shady hacienda hacienda beyond the wall. A tall, sunburned gentleman with white mustaches and a goatee leaped up from a chair on the veranda, cast aside his newspaper, and rushed at Juan with an incredulous cry of joy. A stout, handsome, dark-haired woman flung 69 open the door, gazed at Juan as if he were a ghost, then burst into tears while she hugged him affectionately. A moment later a beautiful young girl in a white dress came running down the garden path.
"Juan!" she cried joyously, and threw her arms about him.
There was so much tumult and rejoicing that no one paid any attention to Fenton Hardy and his sons until at last Seiior Marcheta turned toward them. His expression, however, did not indicate that he welcomed them with enthusiasm.
He made a stiff little bow.
"You will pardon me, Senors," he said. "You will understand that it will be impossible for me to offer you the hospitality of my home, after what you have done. Will you please oblige me by leaving at once?"
He beckoned to the Mexican servant coming Up the walk with the luggage.
"Eafael! Show these people to the gate."
CHAPTER IX.
THE SYMBOL AGAIN.
fenton hardy and the boys were amused as *well as embarra.s.sed. It was evident that Juan"s father took it for granted that they were in some way connected with the kidnapers.
However, Juan himself soon, cleared up the mistake.
"" You are wrong, Father!" he cried. "" These are my friends. If it had not been for them, I would not be at home with you now. They have been very good to me."
Senor Marcheta became very agitated, bowed profoundly, and broke into a torrent of apologies. Juan, in his own language, explained to his mother and sister. Frank and Joe were astonished to hear the names "Dolores" and "Pedro" repeated several times in the voluble conversation. The close a.s.sociation of the two words recalled to them the partly destroyed letter that had been found in Pedro Vincenzo"s room, back in faraway Bayport.
When the Marchetas had heard Juan"s story, their demeanors underwent a distinct change.
The father apologized again and agvtin for his mistake, and warmly thanked Mr. Hardy and the boys for all they had done for his son.
"You will stay with us?" be begged earnestly. "You will do us the kindnecs of accepting our hospitality while you are in Mexico?"*
Mr. Hardy explained that they were in the country on confidential business that might take them far afield. For the present, however, he gratefully accepted the offer. The servant Bafael was instantly ordered to carry the luggage into the house.
Juan told the story of his abduction, explaining how he had escaped from his captors in New York and had started back to Mexico alone. It was soon evident that Senor Mar-cheta was very proud of his son"s initiative and courage. As for the abductors, he vowed that he would some day bring them to justice.
"I was right!" he exclaimed. "Pedro Pancho is a rascal. Dolores," he said to his daughter, "I was wise when I forbade him to come here."
"Is this Pedro Pancho known by another fcarne?" asked Frank.
"It is possible," said Senor Marcheta. "He *wished to pay court to my daughter, but it came to my ears that he had been mixed up in dishonest dealings above the border. He is an unscrupulous rogue, and I should not be sur72 prised to hear that he called himself by another name."
"Vincenzo, for instance?" suggested Joe.
The Marchetas knew Pedro Pancho only by the t.i.tle under which he had appeared at their home. Frank took the partly burned letter from his pocket and handed it over to Senor Marcheta.
"Perhaps that is in your handwriting," he remarked.
The Mexican examined the missive. As he did so, his eyes widened, and he gasped in astonishment.
"But this is magic!" he exclaimed. "How did you come by this? You arrive here from the United States, you are strangers, you have never met me before-and you hand me a letter in my own writing!"
"It is yours, then?" demanded Mr. Hardy eagerly.
"Indeed it is. I wrote this letter to that rascal Pedro Pancho."
"I thought so," said Frank. "I think there is no doubt but that Pedro Pancho and Pedro Vincenzo are one and the same person."
"This is all very strange," observed Juan"s mother, mystified. "Where did you find that letter?"
"Please tell us," begged Dolores.
Fenton Hardy, however, seldom confided in 73 anyone when he was working on a case. Now he explained politely that he was a detective and that while his business in Mexico concerned Pedro Vincenzo, or Pancho, it was of a confidential nature.
"Perhaps we can tell you the whole story after I have located this fellow Pedro," he said.
"I shall be glad to help you," declared Senor Marcheta. "It is possible that he may be bold enough to come here."
It was arranged that the Hardys make the Marcheta home their headquarters while in Mexico, and that for the time being Frank and Joe remain for a visit with Juan. Mr. Hardy explained that he himself wished to run down certain clues that would take him away on a short flying trip. This would not last more than two or three days at the most, however.
"Come," said Juan to the Hardy boys, "you must wash and change after your journey.
Then I will show you about the grounds."
Senor Marcheta was evidently wealthy, for the big house was luxuriously furnished. The room to which Frank and Joe were a.s.signed was one of the finest they had ever seen. Juan let them use cool linen suits from his own substantial wardrobe until the Hardys should be able to purchase new clothes of their own. As all the boys were almost of a size, there was no trouble about the fit. Juan was plainly 74 delighted that his new acquaintances were to remain for a visit and left nothing undone to add to their comfort.
Mr. Hardy remained at the Marcheta home that night, but left early the following morning.
The boys might have felt disappointed in being left behind, had not the warm hospitality of the Marchetas done much to make them forget the adventures they might be missing.
Besides, they planned to do a little detective work on their own account.
A few hours after their father"s departure Frank and Joe began to explore the grounds, delighting in the well-kept garden with its plants and flowers that were so strange to Northern eyes. At the back of the house they came upon a small doorway, partly hidden by vines and creepers. Here they made an astonishing discovery.
In the woodwork of the door was branded a familiar symbol-the letter P in a fire of blazing f.a.gots!
The Hardy boys were utterly astounded. They could scarcely believe their eyes as they gazed at that sinister mark.
"Why, it"s the same one!" gasped Joe.
"It can"t be!"
They went closer and examined the peculiar 75 symbol. In every detail it was identical with the branded sign they had seen before.
"Perhaps it"s been here for a long time/" Frank suggested. "Run and find Juan. We"ll ask him."
"When Joe brought the Mexican lad to the scene a few minutes later, the latter was quite as surprised as were the Hardy boys.
"I have never seen it before," he said. ""What does it mean?"
"I"m sure it means that Pedro Vincenzo has been here," said Frank, without offering any further explanation. "Do you think the mark might have been placed here while you were away?"
"It is the door of the servants" entrance. Eafael will know."
Eafael, the domestic who had met them at the gate the previous day, was promptly summoned. "When he saw the symbol, his eyes grew round with amazement. He spoke rapidly to Juan in his own language.
"He says the mark was not there last night," Juan interpreted.
Frank and Joe did not want to alarm the Marchetas unduly, so they said nothing more about Pedro Vincenzo and his possible connection with the strange figure on the door.
"May have been somebody playing a prao* tical joke," remarked Frank.
76 "It may be a sign to ward off evil spirits," Juan suggested doubtfully. "Perhaps I should tell my father."
The Hardy boys dissuaded him from this course, however. They managed to distract Juan"s attention to some other topic. Later, however, they discussed the matter alone and agreed that the mark could have but one meaning. Either Pedro Vincenzo or some member of a possible gang of his had been on the grounds of the Marcheta home within the past twelve hours.
"It may not have been Pedro," Frank pointed out. "The mark may be the symbol of a band. Just the same, it means that we"ll have to keep our eyes open."
"Perhaps one of the servants is in league *with him."
"That"s what we"ll have to find out. We"ll keep a watch on the place tonight.""
"Perhaps we ought to tell Sefior Marcheta after all," Joe suggested.
Frank thought, however, that it might only cause their kindly host unnecessary alarm.
Then, too, if any servants should be involved, he would be sure to know of any action that the Hardys might take.
"If Pedro Vincenzo has been here and there is any chance that he will be back, we want to take him by surprise if we can," Frank said.
77 "After dark tonight we"ll go out quietly ancstand guard."
Long after the Marcheta family retired that night two shadowy figures stole silently down the great staircase of the hacienda. hacienda. Frank and Joe made not the slightest sound as they let Frank and Joe made not the slightest sound as they let themselves carefully out the front door into the velvety darkness.
"You watch the main gate," Frank whispered to his brother. "I"ll keep an eye on the servants" entrance."
Joe disappeared into the gloom of the garden and made his way toward the gate.
Frank flitted around the side of the house like a ghost, stole through the garden, and worked his way through the grounds until he came in sight of the door where they had found the strange and sinister mark. Behind a heavy clump of bushes he halted, and sat down to watch.
Long minutes pa.s.sed. Beyond the wall Frank could hear the faint noises of the city. But the garden itself was wrapped in silence. The heavy perfume of flowers pervaded the darkness.
At length he heard a rustle among the trees. Across a patch of moonlight there stole a dark figure. Frank"s heart beat rapidly with excitement as he saw that the intruder was moving quickly toward the door.
It might be only one of the servants return78 ing late, he reflected. However, there was something so stealthy in the man"s demeanor that Frank quickly discarded that notion. The man was enveloped in a dark cloak and wore a huge, broad-brimmed hat that hid his face from view.
Furtively the intruder glided up toward the door. He turned, looked from side to side, and groped beneath his cloak. The moonlight shone full upon his face for a moment.
Frank stifled an involuntary cry.
It was Pedro Vincenzo!
A second later the face vanished as the man crouched down in front of the door. Frank heard the rasp of a key in the lock.
The boy got cautiously to his feet. One of the bushes rustled, and he saw Vincenzo wheel about with a muttered exclamation and stare intently in the lad"s direction.
Frank remained perfectly still. Apparently the man did not see him concealed by the shadows at the side of the house. Vincenzo turned again and once more tried the key in the lock.