The Mystery of the Headless Horse (10 page)

Jupiter said quietly, “Are you sure, Second? Perhaps it’s not that big a rock. Let’s see if we can move it.”

The four boys managed to squeeze into the narrow space of the old entrance hole. Pete counted to three, and they all heaved at the rock that had slipped across the opening.

“Ooofff!” Pete grunted.

“Owww!” Diego’s feet slid out from under him and he fell.

Bob and Jupiter pushed with all their strength.

The rock didn’t even move a millimetre.

“It’s no use, First,” Bob wailed.

“We might as well try to move the whole ridge,” Pete added.

They crawled back out of the hole and sat glumly on the floor of the cave.

“There’s no reason to panic,” Jupiter said calmly. “Even if we can’t get out right away, our families will be looking for us by tomorrow morning, and Pico can tell them about Condor Castle. We couldn’t hear words, but we heard the voices out there okay, so we’ll hear searchers and they’ll hear us.”

“Well,” Bob said ruefully, “I guess our folks are kind of used to emergencies by now.”

Pete groaned. “You mean we’re going to stay here all night?”

“If we must,” Jupiter said cheerfully. “It’s not a bad cave. We’re nice and dry, and there’s plenty of air in here. As a matter of fact, I noticed the good air when we first came in. Since the entrance was buried a long time, there must be holes or cracks in the rock to let in air. In fact, there might be some other way out. I suggest we start looking for one right now.”

“I agree with Jupiter,” Diego said. “And if we keep moving, we’ll stay warmer.”

While Bob shone his torch slowly all around, Jupiter, Diego and, Pete studied the walls and ceiling of the small outer cave. They found no other way out.

“But the wall over here to the left of the blocked entrance seems to be dirt,” Jupiter said, “and it’s kind of damp. We might be able to dig our way out of here.”

“If we had the right tools, which we don’t,” Pete pointed out. “Besides, the wall curves inwards over there. No telling how thick it is.”

Jupiter nodded. “I suggest we go back into the large cave first, and see if we can find an alternative exit.”

“We searched all over in there, First,” Bob objected.

“True, but let’s try again. Anyway, I want to take another look at those words Don Sebastián wrote.”

He led them back through the narrow passage into the cave with the skeletons. The skulls leered ominously at the boys, seeming to mock them. With Bob holding the flashlight again, the boys worked slowly all around the walls of the larger cave. There were definite currents of air from somewhere but no exits.

“I guess it’s stay and wait for help,” Bob said, “or dig back in the small cave.”

“Some choice!” Pete moaned. “I don’t want to stay, and I don’t feel like digging.”

“If we’re going to stay all night,” Jupiter said, “I suggest we put our minds to work on our puzzle. Ashes… Dust… Rain… Ocean.”

“It’s still gibberish to me,” Pete said flatly.

“Unintelligible perhaps,” Jupiter declared, “but I’m certain it’s not gibberish. Let’s take another look at the words.”

In the small cul-de-sac, they squatted and looked again at the four Spanish words. Jupiter studied them thoughtfully.

“Diego was right about the four words not being evenly spaced,” the stocky leader said. “ ‘Ashes’ stands alone, and so does ‘Dust’, but ‘Rain’ and ‘Ocean’ are closer together. There could even be a mark between them, sort of like a dash, as if Don Sebastián wanted them to be read together. So the message might really read: ’Ashes… Dust… Rain-Ocean.’ Now what does that tell us, fellows?”

“Nothing,” Pete said promptly.

Diego said, “The rain and ocean are both water?”

“Yes.” Jupiter nodded. “That’s one thing they are.”

“Maybe that rain and ocean are really the same thing?” Bob suggested. “I mean, we know that rain really comes from water vapour rising from the ocean. It turns to water again in the sky, and falls as rain to make rivers and things.”

“All right,” Jupiter agreed. “The rain comes from the ocean, and then goes back to the ocean. How does that connect to dust or ashes?”

“Dust could come from ashes,” Diego said. “But I guess it doesn’t have to.”

“Ashes don’t come from dust,” Pete pointed out. “No way.”

“No,” Jupiter said slowly. “Keep on thinking, fellows. There must be some connection, some common clue, in the four words. What single message could they all have given to José?”

None of the other boys said anything.

“Well,” the stocky leader said at last, “keep trying, and meanwhile we’ll go back to the small cave and see if we can dig our way out.”

“We can use those old rifles for digging,” Pete said.

Bob looked into his saddlebag of tools. “Not much of use in here, but we could hack at the dirt with my screwdriver.”

Back in the outer cave, the boys examined the softened dirt to the left of the blocked entrance. It was damp and sticky.

“It’s been raining a whole week,” Pete pointed out, “and this dirt is just damp. There must be a lot of it between us and the outside. Well,” he added with a grin, “let’s find out!”

Using the old gun barrels, the screwdriver, and some small, flat rocks they found, the boys started to dig. At first the adobe soil was stiff and lumpy and tended to stick. Then, as the boys dug deeper, the soil got wetter. Every time they dug a foot, the heavy clay oozed back, and they had to dig faster to make any headway. And every few feet they struck rocks and boulders that had to be dug out before they could move on.

They sweated in the cave, and their faces and clothes became smeared with the heavy adobe soil. As the hours passed they grew tired and hungry. Finally they were too exhausted to keep digging. They fell asleep and didn’t wake up till dawn — dawn by their watches. In the cave it was still night. The batteries in Bob’s torch were giving out, and there wasn’t much light to see by. All four boys went back to work even harder.

It was seven-thirty when Pete cried out.

“I see light!” he yelled.

Frantically, with renewed vigour, they all plunged into the narrow hole they had made and dug like mad. The opening, and the welcome light, grew larger, and then they were through! Babbling happily, they crawled out one by one and stood in the rain on the open slope of the high ridge.

“Wow!” Pete cried, “listen to the noise!”

The violent roar of the flooded creek seemed to shake the whole countryside. Diego pointed towards the dam.

“Half the dam’s collapsed!” he cried, “and — ”

“The whole mound’s gone now!” Bob saw.

“Look!” Jupiter exclaimed, pointing down into the arroyo.

Below them, the arroyo that went down to the hacienda a mile away wasn’t an arroyo any more. It was a deep, raging creek. The mass of water sweeping over the broken dam had washed out the mound that separated the creek from the arroyo. Now the torrent of water flowed down towards the sea not in one creek but in two!

“Gosh, the water must be running right past your hacienda now,” Bob said to Diego.

On the steep slope of the ridge, Jupiter’s eyes suddenly gleamed.

“Fellows!” he said, almost in wonder. “That’s the answer!”

“What answer, First?” Pete and Bob cried.

Jupiter started to speak, but suddenly pointed along the ridge in the direction of the distant county road.

“Some men coming!” he exclaimed. “If it’s those cowboys —!”

Pete shaded his eyes. Four men were running towards them along the trail through the ridges to the south — the same trail that the boys had taken to the hacienda after fighting the brush fire a week ago.

“It’s my dad and Mr. Andrews!” Pete said. “They’re with the sheriff and Chief Reynolds!”

The four boys ran down the ridge to meet the men.

“Pete!” Mr. Crenshaw cried. “Are you all okay?”

“We’re fine, Dad,” Pete said, grinning at his father.

Mr. Andrews fumed. “What were you doing out here all night!”

“We couldn’t help it, Dad,” Bob said, and told him about being trapped in the cave. “The mudslide opened it and then closed it on us. But we found out what happened to Don Sebastián Alvaro and those three American soldiers!”

“And solved another old mystery.” Chief Reynolds smiled.

“But worried their parents half to death!” the sheriff said sternly. “Pico Alvaro told us about your wild-goose chase trying to help save his ranch, and we’ve all been looking for you half the night! Your uncle, Jupiter Jones, is with his two helpers and Mr. Norris and his men, searching the other side of the creek! You had better tell us just how you got into that cave!”

“Yes, sir,” Pete said. “We — ”

Jupiter broke in. “We’ll explain on the way to the hacienda, sir. I don’t want my uncle to be worried any further. Could you radio him and the others to meet us at the burned hacienda?”

“All right, but you had better have a good story. I can’t have reckless boys running loose in my back country!”

The sheriff used his walkie-talkie to instruct everyone to meet at the Alvaro hacienda, and the boys told their story as they walked down the trail through the ridges. They described their search for the sword and their troubles with the three cowboys. By the time they had finished, the group had reached the county road, crossed the bridge over the former arroyo, and arrived at the hacienda.

Uncle Titus, with Hans and Hans’s brother, Konrad, were already there. Behind him, Mr. Norris stood near the Norris ranch wagon with Skinny, the manager Cody, and two other men.

A deputy sheriff waited in the sheriff’s car. Uncle Titus hurried up to Jupiter. “Jupiter? Are you all right? Is everyone?”

“We’re all okay, Uncle Titus.”

Skinny walked up with Mr. Norris and Cody.

“Boy, how dumb can you guys get?” Skinny sneered.

“That’s enough, Skinner,” Mr. Norris snapped. “I’m glad you’re all safe, boys.”

“Now tell us,” the sheriff said, “why were those three men chasing you?”

“Because they framed Pico for starting the brush fire,” Pete said eagerly, “and maybe burned the hacienda!”

Cody snorted. “Alvaro started the fire. He’s too irresponsible to own a ranch around here.”

“After tomorrow he won’t.” Skinny laughed.

Mr. Norris snapped, “I told you to be quiet, Skinner! You too, Cody.” He looked at Jupiter. “Can you prove that Pico Alvaro didn’t cause the brush fire, Jones?”

“We know he didn’t, Mr. Norris,” Jupiter said. “Pico had his hat at three p.m. that day, when he was with us at the central school. Since the sheriff has said that the campfire was started before three p.m., Pico couldn’t have lost his hat at that campfire.”

Bob put in, “Skinny — I mean Skinner, sir, and Mr. Cody must have seen Pico with the hat at school, too!”

“I don’t remember him wearing any hat,” Skinny said.

“Because he wasn’t,” Cody added.

“He was, sir,” Jupiter said firmly. “And he had it on when we arrived at the hacienda later that afternoon. He hung it on a peg in the barn, and when the brush fire started he ran out and left it. It should have burned with the barn, but it didn’t. Those three cowboys came to the barn while everyone was at the brush fire, stole the hat, and put it near that campfire to frame Pico.”

“You can’t prove that,” Cody growled. “Why would those cowboys frame Alvaro — if there even are any cowboys?”

Jupiter ignored the manager. “They framed Pico because they really built that illegal campfire. I’m pretty sure they burned the barn and hacienda, too.”

“Can you prove it, Jupiter?” Chief Reynolds asked.

“And where do we find these cowboys?” the sheriff said.

“I think you can find them on the Norris ranch.”

Mr. Norris said angrily, “Are you saying that I’m involved with those men and what they may have done, young man?”

“No, sir, I don’t think you knew anything about them. But someone here did and does. They didn’t go to the Alvaro barn alone to get the hat, did they, Skinny?”

“Skinner?” Mr. Norris stared at his son.

“He’s crazy, Dad!” Skinny cried.

Jupiter reached into his pocket, and held up the set of car keys. “We found these keys in the barn. Those cowboys were looking for them, and that’s why they were chasing us — to get the keys. The keys were dropped when Pico’s hat was taken. I think you’ll find that they belong to the Norris ranch wagon!”

“Our wagon?” Mr. Norris cried.

“I’m sure of it, sir,” Jupiter said. “I’ll try them, or maybe Skinner will show us his set so we can compare.”

“Skinner?” Mr. Norris stared at his son again.

“I–I — ” Skinny stammered, and suddenly glared at Cody. “I gave them to Cody, Dad! He told me he lost his at the brush fire! He didn’t tell me — ”

“You rotten coward!” Cody raged. “Okay, the keys are my set to the ranch wagon. I dropped them in that barn getting the Mex’s hat, and Skinny knew all about it!”

Everyone looked at the stocky ranch manager.

“Those dumb cowboys are friends of mine,” the manager said angrily. “They’re in trouble, and I owed ’em a favour, so they came to me. I let them camp and hide out on Mr. Norris’s place. The idiots built campfires when I told ’em not to, and got the brush fire started. I knew if Mr. Norris found out the truth he’d fire me, so we went to the Alvaro place and I spotted Pico’s hat in the barn. We took it, and put it out near the campfire later. Only I dropped my lousy keys in the barn!”

The sheriff said grimly, “Why didn’t you look for them then?”

“I was in a hurry to plant the hat,” Cody said uneasily, “and we were afraid of being spotted, and — ”

“And the barn was already on fire, I’ll bet!” Pete cried.

“Yeh,” Cody said miserably. “It wasn’t me, you know? I didn’t mean to cause any damage, or hurt anyone. I just wanted to keep Mr. Norris from finding out about Cap, Pike, and Tulsa camping on his land and starting that brush fire. But those stupid saddle-tramps heard me say we wanted the Alvaro ranch and thought they were helping me by setting the barn and hacienda on fire! I didn’t know until too late, and my keys were inside the barn!”

“You know you’ve been trying to stop us from helping the Alvaros,” Bob said angrily. “You and Skinny! Snooping, listening at windows, trying to scare us!”

“That was just doing my job!” Cody protested.

“A job,” Mr. Norris snapped, “you no longer have! Go and get your belongings, Cody. You’re through as of now!” He glared at Skinny. “I’ll talk to you later, young man!”

“He can get his things,” the sheriff said, “but my deputy will go with him. He’s under arrest for framing Pico Alvaro, and maybe for arson, too.”

The sheriff and his deputy took Cody away to their car. Mr. Norris ordered Skinny to the ranch wagon and faced the boys.

“I want the Alvaro ranch, and I’m going to get it,” he said bluntly. “But I never intended to get it by dishonesty. I’m sorry.”

Before Chief Reynolds went to his car, he smiled.

“You’ve cleared an innocent man, boys. Pico will be released from jail immediately. Well done!”

As everyone else left the hacienda yard, Uncle Titus looked at his watch and told Hans and Konrad to bring up the salvage-yard truck.

“It’s time you four got cleaned up and had some food,” he said to the Investigators and Diego “Then we’ll see if you’re in shape to go to school.”

“But first we must remain out here another fifteen minutes,” Jupiter said. “I think that’s just time enough.”

“Stay out here?” Uncle Titus said, puzzled. “Why, Jupiter?”

“Time enough for what, First?” Bob said.

“Why, to stop Mr. Norris from getting the Alvaro ranch, of course,” Jupiter said a little pompously. “To find the Cortés Sword!”

“I forgot!” Diego cried. “You said you had the answer.”

“And I do,” Jupiter proclaimed. “Follow me.”

He walked towards the county road with the boys and Uncle Titus behind him. The rain had stopped, and the morning sun was trying to break through the clouds. As the group neared the bridge over the arroyo, Jupiter stopped.

“Do you remember that entry in the American lieutenant’s journal? The one that said he’d seen Don Sebastián on a ridge across the creek with a horse and a sword?”

“Sure,” Pete said. “The entry that was all wrong, because coming from the hacienda there isn’t any ridge across the creek.”

“There is now,” Jupiter said triumphantly, “and there was in 1846. Look!”

Beyond the arroyo, which was now a raging creek, the statue of the headless horse stood out clearly on its high ridge!

“In 1846 and before,” Jupiter reasoned, “there must have been two branches of Santa Inez Creek. We couldn’t tell that on the old maps we saw because an arroyo and a creek look the same on a map. But in 1846, when the lieutenant was here, the arroyo was a creek, too. At some point, a landslide on the ridge by the old dam formed that mound and blocked off one branch of the creek. Maybe the same earthquake that buried the cave caused the landslide, too. Anyway, half the creek became an arroyo, and its been dry ever since. Everyone forgot that it ever had been a creek.”

“So that lieutenant was right!” said Bob. “He saw Don Sebastián on a ridge across Santa Inez Creek. He saw him at the statue, and thought it was a real horse as he was a stranger and didn’t know about the statue!”

“Exactly, Records.”

Jupiter led the others across the bridge and started to climb the steep ridge. Pete stared at the headless horse standing against the now clearing sky.

“Don Sebastián must have been hiding the sword cover when that lieutenant saw him,” the Second Investigator said. “So you think there’s some clue we missed at the statue, First?”

“Ashes… Dust… Rain-Ocean,” the stout leader of the team intoned. “I was convinced it was Don Sebastián’s last message to his son José, and it was! Think, fellows! The rain comes from the ocean, and goes back to the ocean in the end. What do ashes go back to? What does dust go back to? They were very religious people, the Spanish Californians. They — ”

“Ashes to ashes!” Diego cried.

“And dust to dust,” Bob echoed. “The phrase from the church’s burial service! It means that in the end everything goes back to where it came from. Where it began!”

“Yes!” Jupiter crowed. “Don Sebastián, badly wounded, had only a short time. He wrote a clue he was sure José would understand at once. He knew José would realize that he had tried to save the sword from the Americans, and wrote those four words to tell José where it was — back where it had begun. With Cortés himself!”

Reaching the top of the ridge, they all looked at the headless horse with its bearded wooden rider proudly staring out over the Alvaro land.

“You mean,” Uncle Titus said, “that the sword is hidden in the statue after all? Just like the cover?”

“But we searched the statue,” Diego protested. “There isn’t anywhere to hide a sword!”

“Don’t say he buried it!” Pete groaned. “I’ve had more digging than I want for another hundred years!”

“No, Second,” Jupiter said, “I don’t think any digging will be necessary. Remember how we wondered from the start about why Don Sebastián would separate the sword from its leather cover? The cover protected the valuable sword yet for some reason he separated them. Well, now I know the reason!”

“Why, Jupe!”

“Tell us!”

“Where is the sword, First!”

Jupiter grinned. “Remember that pot of black paint in the cave that Don Sebastián wrote the message with? Well, he used that paint for something else, too. He really returned the sword to where it had started. It’s not hidden in the statue, it’s hidden on the statue!”

The stout leader reached up and pulled at the wooden sword hanging at the side of the wooden figure of Cortés. It came off in his hands with a ripping of nails, and as it hit the side of the headless horse it clanged! Jupiter took out his pocket knife and scraped at the black surface of the scabbard just as a dazzling sun broke through the clouds.

When Jupiter had scraped, a long row of gems glowed red and blue and green and diamond white against silver metal!

“The Cortés Sword,” Jupiter said, holding it up to the sun.