“Where do you suppose we are now, Jo?” called Peggy some minutes later.
“I don’t know for sure, of course, but I think we’re headed toward the old church. I had an idea we’d find something like this.”
“I believe you’re right,” agreed Florence. “This tunnel must’ve been used for a secret exit through the church.”
“I think it’s more than just an exit,” declared Jo Ann. “They would never have made this tunnel this broad and high or lined it with stone if it were to be used merely as a way of escape.”
“What else could it’ve been used for, then—and who do you suppose ever had it made in the first place?” Florence asked curiously.
“I believe your house used to be closely connected with the church in some way—maybe it was used as a home for the priests. Back in the days when these buildings were erected, they were always having wars and revolutions. This tunnel would make it possible for the priests to get over to the church, no matter what was going on outside. Then just think what an excellent place this would be to hide anyone or anything! I believe it was used as a hiding place in war times as well as an——” She stopped suddenly. “Oh, here’s another tunnel!” she exclaimed as she peered into another large opening in the side of the passageway. “And this one goes on farther.”
“It looks as if there’s a network of passages,” put in Peggy excitedly as she and Florence crowded near Jo Ann to see this discovery. “I wonder where they go and what they were for.”
“We’ll explore them and find out; but we must be careful not to get lost,” cautioned Jo Ann. “No one’d ever know what had happened to us. They’d think we’d just evaporated in thin air.”
“Ugh!” shuddered Peggy. “Don’t even mention such a thing. It gives me the creeps.”
“Oh, look, here’s a little niche in the wall!” exclaimed Florence. “And look—what is this?” she asked, holding up a queer-shaped piece of dark metal.
“It looks like some sort of a candle holder to me,” Peggy volunteered. “The priests must have kept candles there to use when going back and forth through the——” She stopped abruptly and sprang back, shrieking. Something black and winged had struck her in the face.
The next moment Florence cried excitedly, “What is that awful thing?” She slapped madly at a passing object, then began to sneeze violently.
For a few moments the air was white with dust about the girls as they huddled together, choking and gasping.
“That’s—just—bats!” gasped Jo Ann at last, as the air became clearer. “We frightened—them.”
“You mean—they—frightened us,” corrected Peggy. “Aren’t we brave, though?”
“I’ll admit I was startled at first,” acknowledged Florence. “I couldn’t imagine what those horrid flapping things were.”
Before venturing any further they looked anxiously all around, but to their relief they could see no more of the terrifying little creatures.
“Which way shall we go?” asked Jo Ann. “Straight ahead, or shall we see where this side tunnel leads?”
“I’ll tell you what to do,” suggested Peggy. “While you and Florence explore that side passage, I’ll wait here in this main tunnel. That way you can’t get lost—and if you get frightened, just call me, and I’ll answer so you’ll know how to get back.”
“Are you sure you won’t be afraid?” asked Jo Ann. “We won’t be gone long.”
“Why, of course I’m not afraid,” bragged Peggy. “Anyway, there’s nothing to be afraid of—except those miserable bats, and we’ve frightened them away.”
“All right, then,” agreed Jo Ann. “You be sure to stay right here.”
Peggy grinned. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be all right. It’s you two who’re going into the unknown.”
Standing in the opening where the tunnels joined, she watched Florence and Jo Ann disappear into the darkness. Finally only a dim light flickered in the distance, then vanished altogether. She was alone—alone with the dust of the centuries about her.
Jo Ann’s voice floated back just then with surprising clearness. “Everything all right?”
“Okay,” Peggy called back, more cheerfully than she felt.
When Jo Ann and Florence had gone only a short distance, they noticed the tunnel curved so that they could not see Peggy’s light.
“Poor Peg’s alone now—she can’t even see our lights,” said Florence. “I almost wish we hadn’t left her back there.”
“If she’ll stay right where we left her, she ought to be all right. But this is the darkest place I was ever in—spooky, too.”
They walked slowly, stopping every now and then to examine the sides and top of the tunnel.
Jo Ann suddenly pointed to the top. “Look up there! There’s a crack.”
“Let’s go back—that looks scary to me!” Florence exclaimed quickly. “It might cave in.”
“No, that small a crack couldn’t be dangerous. Come on.”
Jo Ann started on again, and reluctantly Florence followed. In spite of her seeming indifference to danger, Jo Ann was really examining the walls and top more cautiously than ever.
“Here’s another crack!” she exclaimed a few minutes later. “Maybe there’s been an earthquake near here. They do have earthquakes down here sometimes, don’t they?”
“Yes, now and then—slight ones,” Florence replied. “Don’t you think we’d better go back? Poor Peg may be getting lonesome, and we told her we wouldn’t be gone long.”
Jo Ann half smiled. “Maybe she is, but let’s go a little farther. Surely we’ll come to the end of this tunnel soon.”
“There’s no telling how long it is—it might be miles long. Let’s go back.”
“In a minute. I see something ahead—something whitish. Maybe it’s a little opening and the moonlight’s shining through.” Jo Ann stopped and pointed directly ahead.
“Oh, I do see it!” Florence exclaimed. “It does look white.”
Eagerly Jo Ann led the way onward, but not without watching for anything that might be dangerous. When they had gone a few yards farther, she suddenly cried, “Why, it’s a cave-in!”
“You see—I told you we’d better go back. Come on.” Florence turned around and started toward the entrance. When she had gone only a few steps she noticed that Jo Ann was not following her. Looking back, she saw her leaning over, examining the pile of debris and fallen stones.
“Look! The tunnel’s almost blocked by this cave-in!” Jo Ann called. “There’s only a small opening left over here on one side.”
“Well, we can’t go any farther, so let’s get out before it caves in some more,” insisted Florence.
“I don’t believe there’s any danger of that. Look at the dust on these stones. They’ve been here for years and years. Maybe a cannon ball shattered this part of the tunnel in one of the wars.”
“Maybe so, but I’ll feel better when we get away from here.” A moment later she cried out in alarm on seeing Jo Ann climb up toward the hole. “Jo, you mustn’t crawl in there!”
“Why not? I want to see if this is the end of the tunnel. There isn’t any danger. These stones are solid. See, I’ve felt every one of them.” Jo Ann pushed first one stone, then another, to show that there was no danger of their slipping; then with her flashlight ahead of her she thrust her head and shoulders into the opening.
To her disappointment she could see only a short distance. Eager to see as far as possible, she wriggled carefully over the jagged stones, farther into the opening, and held her flashlight at arm’s length.
“Oh, this is nothing but a little cave-in!” she called back in a muffled tone. “The tunnel goes on a long way. There’s no sign of the end of it. Let’s crawl on through.”
“No indeed, I’m not going in that hole,” Florence replied promptly. “And you’d better get out right a——”
A muffled shriek from Jo Ann broke into her sentence. “Oh, I’ve dropped my flashlight on the other side! Now I’ve—” she stopped to cough violently—“I’ve got to crawl through—and get it.”
“Don’t crawl clear through—you might not be able to get back!” Florence’s voice was full of anxiety. “Let me hold your feet while you reach for the flashlight.” Without waiting for an answer she grasped Jo Ann’s feet firmly.
Slowly then Jo Ann wriggled still farther into the hole. The farther she crawled, the nearer Florence was pulled to the opening. With a sudden jerk Jo Ann reached over to get her flashlight. In her effort she threw Florence against the pile of debris and stirred up the fine dust, which set both of them to coughing and struggling for air.
“Hurry up—and—crawl—out,” begged Florence between gasps.
“Coming—this instant. Pull me—back. I—can’t—make it—by myself.”
Florence laid down her flashlight and began pulling at Jo Ann’s feet.
“Pull harder,” Jo Ann grunted.
“I’m pulling—as hard as I can.”
“I haven’t budged. Pull again—and I’ll wiggle as hard as I can. These sharp stones hurt like fury.”
Once more Florence braced herself and pulled with all her strength. The next moment one of Jo Ann’s oxfords slipped off, and Florence was sent sprawling backward on the floor. In the cloud of dust that arose, Florence caught a glimpse of Jo Ann’s feet disappearing in the hole.
But Jo Ann and Florence were not the only ones who were having their troubles. Peggy, too, was having her share. No sooner had the girls’ lights disappeared than she began to get restless. Everything looked so much more gloomy and alarming in the faint glow of one flashlight. When she threw its rays directly in front, they penetrated the darkness only a short distance and cast eerie shadows on the walls near by.
“It’s silly to get scared of the dark and shadows this way,” she scolded herself.
With an effort she tried to concentrate on the persons who had built these tunnels. Patient people they must have been to cut these passages through solid stone with their old crude tools. They were probably Indian workmen, experienced in cutting stone. It must have taken them years and years to make these.
All at once it seemed to her that the shadow on her right took the form of a crouching Indian.
“Here I am being silly again,” she thought. “It’s because I’m standing still here that I’m nervous. It’s lonesome as well as scary, staying still in a spooky place like this.”
Looking around for something to divert her mind, she noticed the queer-shaped piece of metal in the niche and wondered what Florence had done with the other one. “Perhaps she dropped it when the bats frightened her,” she thought.
She cast the rays of her light over the floor till she finally found the piece of metal, then placed it back in the niche with its mate. “Jo and I can use one of these for a candle holder on the little table beside our bed, and Florence can use the other,” she decided.
Not seeing anything else of interest, she grew more restless than ever. “I wonder where this tunnel leads. I believe I’ll walk down it a little way. Florence and Jo probably won’t be back for several minutes. There’s no sign of their lights yet. I won’t go but a few steps. They might call, and I couldn’t hear them.”
She walked slowly a short distance, looking carefully on all sides. When she had gone about twelve feet she came to a narrow opening on her right.
She stopped and peered into it as far as her light would permit. “This place is certainly a network of passages,” she thought. “I wonder what this narrow one’s for.”
Her curiosity aroused, she turned into this new passage and kept straight ahead for a little way. Then as she flashed her light about, she caught a glimpse of another opening, to her left. Glancing into this opening, she saw at the farther end what appeared to be a door half ajar.
Her eyes began to shine. “Surely I’ll find something important behind that door,” she thought. “It’d be a rich joke on Jo and Florence if I should be the one to make some great discovery.”
With her heart thumping rapidly she walked down to the door, peeped in, then cautiously opened the door wider and stepped inside. To her great disappointment the room was absolutely bare.
“Just my luck!” she groaned. “I thought surely I was going to find something interesting to show the girls.”
Disgusted, she hurried out of the room and back to the passage, then turned quickly to her left and hastened on.
“One more turn, and I’ll be back in the main tunnel,” she told herself.
When she had gone a short distance, she discovered that the passage apparently ended a few feet ahead.
“Why, this isn’t the way I came!” she cried in alarm. Her heart seemed to leap up into her throat, and her eyes dilated in horror. “Why, I’m lost! Lost!”
The next moment she ordered herself sternly, “Don’t lose your head! Go back and retrace your steps to that opening. You’ve taken the wrong turn—that’s all.”
With a fresh grip on her emotions she wheeled about and walked to the opening from which she had just emerged.
“Oh, here’s where I made my mistake!” she exclaimed in relief. “I turned to the left instead of the right. What a stupid I was!”
She started on again and kept straight ahead till she reached the entrance to the main tunnel.
As her light shone on the wall directly in front of her she suddenly halted in surprise. There, a little to her right, was a recess in the wall with a long, solid-looking panel in the back.
“That’s strange!” she thought. “I wonder what that panel’s for.”
She flashed her light straight into the recess this time. In the circle of light a black metal ring stood out distinctly. Could this queer-looking panel be a door? If it were, then there was another room here only a few feet from her.
Timidly she caught hold of the metal ring the next moment and pulled; to her disappointment, the panel did not move.
“There must be a reason for this ring and this panel,” she told herself. “I’ll try again, harder.”
Putting her shoulder against the panel, she pushed with all her strength. There was a sudden, loud, grating noise; then the door swung open with such force that she lost her balance and fell full length on the floor.
Her first thought was about her flashlight. What a terrible plight she would be in if it were broken! Trembling with anxiety, she pressed the button of her light. Out flashed its rays as brightly as ever. Half curiously, half timidly she stared into the lighted area.
The next instant her eyes dilated in terror. What was that horrible-looking creature directly in front of her!
“O-o-oh!” she shrieked. “Jo! Jo!”
After that one shriek her throat contracted with fright, and she lay as if paralyzed.
That horrible thing was so near she could almost touch it. Was it man—or beast—some prehistoric animal? She had never—not even in her wildest imagination—seen anything like this hideous monster. It stood in an upright position like a man and had long scrawny arms and legs, and huge frightful claws which seemed to be reaching out to grab her. Its head was hunched between its shoulders, and over the whole thing was a long, scraggly, hairlike covering.
With eyes fastened on the creature Peggy waited breathlessly. If only the thing would move or do something! Anything would be better than this suspense. But still it stood—motionless. If only she could manage to slide or crawl out of the room! But that monster would be sure to follow stealthily. Yet she must do something. Shemustget out of this room.
Forcing her eyes for a second from the monster, she glanced toward the door. The next instant she shuddered in fresh terror. There beside the door, almost at her feet, loomed another monster, taller and more horrible than the first.
Almost simultaneously there came a soft thudding sound from the tunnel. What could that be? Some other menace? It was getting nearer—nearer.
Suddenly above the thudding sounded a high-pitched voice—Jo Ann’s voice! Jo and Florence were running to her rescue! They had heard her scream.
“You must get out of this room this instant and warn the girls of their danger,” she commanded herself sternly.
Carefully, slowly, almost without seeming to move, she backed feet first toward the door. To reach it she had to pass so close to this other taller and more horrible creature that she would almost touch it. She held her breath. Already she could feel the clutch of those clawlike hands.
Steeling herself, she inched her body a little nearer. Out of the corner of her eye she watched those threatening claws. Brown leathery claws they were—dried—wrinkled—ghastly.
All at once the reason for their ghastly appearance darted into her mind—the hideous creatures weredead!
With a cry of relief she sprang to her feet and stumbled through the door. Just as she stepped into the tunnel, Jo Ann and Florence rushed up, panting.
“Peg—what’s—the matter?” Jo Ann cried, throwing her arms around Peggy. “I was afraid something dreadful——”
“What did happen, Peg?” urged Florence between gasps for breath as she flashed her light full upon Peggy.
Struggling to make her voice sound natural, Peggy replied slowly, “I—was—just scared. I’m—sorry—I frightened you.”
“What frightened you?” Jo Ann put in quickly. “You’re white as a ghost.”
“That’s what I’ve been seeing—ghosts! Ugh!” Peggy shivered.
“This is no time for foolishness. What scared you?”
“Peep through that door and see for yourself, then,” Peggy replied.
All curiosity, Jo Ann turned quickly toward the open door, Florence at her heels. The next moment both girls drew back with cries of fright.
“Horrible!” ejaculated Florence.
“Horrible!” echoed Jo Ann. “No wonder you were frightened, Peg,” she added quickly. “They’re only mummies, but if I hadn’t read about them I’d have been paralyzed. But what made you come up here after you said you’d stay where we left you?”
“I got tired waiting for you—I thought you’d never come—so I decided to explore this tunnel a little way. I got lost for a while; and then on my way back I found this door. It wouldn’t open at first, so I pushed hard—and then I tumbled head foremost into that room. When I turned on my light and saw those horrible creatures—well, I ’most died from fright. I thought they were alive.”
“You poor child,” comforted Florence. “We should never have left you alone.”
“What made you two stay so long?”
“We went farther than we expected, and Jo got stuck in a hole.”
Peggy turned to Jo Ann. “You would do something like that! What kind of a hole was it?”
“Just a little opening in a cave-in. I wanted to see what was on the other side. I dropped my flashlight over there and got stuck trying to get it.”
“I had to pull her out—I had a time doing it,” Florence added.
“That wasn’t nearly as much trouble as I got into,” said Peggy with a gesture toward the door. “How’d those hideous things ever get in there?”
“I don’t know, I’m sure,” replied Jo Ann. “I’ve read that they’ve been found in some parts of Mexico, and that they’re different from the ancient Egyptian mummies in that no preservatives were used. The air in certain parts of this country has such drying qualities in it that centuries ago people discovered that they could keep bodies perfectly without the use of preservatives.”
“Ugh! They don’t look perfect to me,” put in Peggy.
Jo Ann stepped to the door, saying, “I’d like to examine those mummies more closely, but——“
“That’s the way we feel, don’t we, Florence?” Peggy said with a half smile as she and Florence crowded into the doorway. “What is that whitish stuff on them?” she asked the next moment.
“I imagine they were wrapped in a sort of shroud when they were put in there,” said Jo Ann, “but it’s almost evaporated.”
“Why do you suppose they’re standing straight up, Jo?” Peggy queried curiously. “I should think they’d be in coffins, or something.”
Jo Ann shook her head dubiously. “Some ancient custom, perhaps.”
“Didn’t you start out to find the family skeleton, Jo?” asked Florence, with a twinkle in her eyes. “It seems to me Peggy found it, and all of its ancestors, for you.”
Peggy shuddered. “It’s a good thing I didn’t know there were so many mummies in this room. Let’s get away from here. I’ve seen enough of these horrible-looking things to last me a lifetime. You have, too, haven’t you, Florence?”
Florence nodded an emphatic assent and added, “Surely you’ve looked at them long enough, Jo. Come on.”
Reluctantly Jo Ann turned to leave. “I’d like to go inside and look over the room, but since you insist, I s’pose I’ll have to go.”
Peggy took a few steps down the passage, calling back over her shoulder, “Shut the door, Jo. I found it closed, so we’d better leave it that way.”
“All right.” Jo Ann caught hold of the ring and pulled on it, but the door would not budge.
After pulling on it several more times without success she called out, “The door’s stuck—I’ll have to try pushing. Catch hold of the ring and pull, Peg, while I push, and, Florence, you shine your light in here so I can see,” she added as she stepped into the room.
Bracing herself against the wall, she slipped her arm into the narrow space behind the door and began pushing. With one wary glance at the ghostly figures back of her, Peggy pulled vigorously on the ring.
Suddenly the door gave a loud grating noise and swung so quickly that Peggy lost her balance and fell back against the mummies. With a terrified shriek she sprang back.
At the same instant Jo Ann felt something hard bump against her leg as she tumbled back against the wall. Guessing what had happened to Peggy, she reached for her flashlight hanging to her belt. No sooner had she flashed on the light than Peggy was by her side, shivering and pale with fright.
“Ugh! I fell against those hideous mummies!” she exclaimed. “Let’s get out of here this instant.”
“Something struck me, too,” said Jo Ann, glancing down in the corner back of the door.
There before her eyes lay several large candelabra.
“Oh, look here, Peg!” she cried excitedly.
“They’re just old iron candlesticks,” Peggy replied shortly. “Come on.”
Not heeding Peggy’s words, Jo Ann reached down and picked up one of them and began examining it closely. “I believe this is gold—a golden candelabrum!” she exclaimed admiringly. “Look at the lovely design on the base—and aren’t the branches beautifully shaped!”
Just then Florence peered around the half-open door and called out, “What’s happened to you two? Why don’t you come on out?”
“We’ve made a wonderful discovery,” replied Jo Ann. “Come here and see.”
As soon as Florence came inside Jo Ann pointed triumphantly to the candelabra. “They’re gold—maybe solid gold!”
After a moment’s tribute of silence Florence remarked, “They’re beautiful. I don’t believe they’re all gold; those darker ones are probably silver and tarnished with age.” She reached down and lifted one of the duller-looking candelabra. “It certainly is heavy. Isn’t this design on the base exquisite?” As she placed it back on the floor she added, “I believe all these belong to the church.”
“Probably they were hidden here long ago during some war or revolution and then forgotten,” Jo Ann said thoughtfully. “Maybe the persons who put them here were killed, and so——” She stopped abruptly, then began again, “I shouldn’t wonder if there were more valuable things hidden down here. I want to see, too, if there aren’t steps leading up to the church. Come on.”
Past the ghostly figures the three girls made their way, nervous shivers running up and down their spines in spite of the fact that they knew these figures would not harm them.
As they threw the rays from their lights on the rear wall of the room, Jo Ann suddenly halted. “This wall’s different from the others,” she announced. “It looks as if it’s made of stone panels.”
“It certainly does,” agreed Florence.
Eagerly Jo Ann began examining one of the panels, testing it to see if it would move. Following her example, Peggy and Florence began trying to move the ones nearest them. Each panel, they discovered, had a slight depression carved in the top, which served as a fingerhold.
After they had worked for several minutes without success, Peggy said disgustedly, “Let’s stop this foolishness and get out of this awful room. These panels look like vaults or tombs—like the ones we saw in that old St. Roch’s Cemetery in New Orleans. I’ve seen enough spooks and family skeletons to do me for ages.” She tugged at Jo Ann’s arm impatiently.
Almost simultaneously Jo Ann exclaimed, “Oh, I’ve found a panel that moves! Shine your light this way, Peg, while Florence helps me to shove it up.”
Together Jo Ann and Florence pushed vigorously on the panel.
“Fine! It’s moving!” ejaculated Jo Ann finally. “Once more, Florence—hard, now!”
Peggy threw the rays from her flashlight directly into the narrow crack now appearing below the stone. “Oh, I see something—something white! Push the stone up a little higher, can’t you?” Turning suddenly to Florence, she ordered, “You hold the light and let me push. I’m stronger than you.”
In a few more moments there was a loud grating sound as the stone moved, and the crack below widened several inches.
“There’s something in there, all right,” agreed Florence. “If you promise not to let that stone drop on my hand, I’ll reach in and get it. Can you hold it?”
“Let’s get a better hold first!” cried Jo Ann. “My hand’s slipping. Now, are you ready, Peg?”
“Okay.”
Quickly Florence reached through the crack. “Feels like a box!” she exclaimed excitedly. “But I can’t get it out. There’s a roll of paper or something, too.”
“We’ll push a little harder,” said Jo Ann. “Push, Peg—with all your might. Now—can you—get hold—of them?”
“I’ve got them!” Florence’s voice was triumphant. “Hold it just another second so I can see if there’s anything else.” She flashed the light into the opening again.
“Hurry!” cut in Peggy. “We can’t—hold this thing—much longer. It weighs a ton.”
“I can’t see anything else,” Florence said a moment later. “Let it go.”
With sighs of relief Jo Ann and Peggy let the slab drop into place.
“Whew—that stone was heavy!” gasped Peggy. She glanced disappointedly at the small black box and roll of paper which Florence held in her hand. “And all that hard work for nothing but a little insignificant-looking box and a piece of paper! I told you these were nothing but grave vaults. Let’s get out of this cemetery.”
After one last glance around the room Jo Ann followed Peggy and Florence to the door.
“I’m glad the door’s not stuck this time,” she remarked as she pulled it shut.
As she turned to join the girls Florence called, “Look right down this passage, Jo. There’s another cave-in.”
Flashing her light in that direction, Jo Ann exclaimed, “You’re right—that is a cave-in. There’ve been steps there, too. This must’ve been the passage leading up into the church. It looks as if the whole side of the building has fallen down.”
“I know where we are, then,” Florence put in. “We’re right under that section of the church that’s partly in ruins. That’s the reason no one’s been down here in years and years.”
Now that her curiosity was satisfied about the passage to the church, Jo Ann turned to Florence. “You still have the box and the paper you took out of that vault, haven’t you?”
“Yes, but they don’t look at all interesting or valuable.”
With one glance at the dull black box Jo Ann reached out and took the roll of papers from Florence.
“Oh dear,” she sighed a moment later, “they’re all in Spanish, of course. This is the queerest writing—all fancy flourishes and curly-cues. I can’t make anything out of it, can you, Florence?”
Florence looked down at the papers a moment, then shook her head. “All that I can make out of it is that it’s some kind of old record.”
“Let me have a look at the box, then. Maybe it’ll explain something.”
As Florence handed it to Jo Ann she remarked, “If you can find out anything from this old black box, you’re a good one.”
“I thoroughly agree with you. It doesn’t look at all interesting.” Jo Ann turned the box from side to side. “It’s unusually heavy, though, for such a small box.” She shook it vigorously. “Listen! There’s something inside that makes a little rattling noise.”
“It can’t be anything much—not in that small box,” commented Peggy.
“I wish we could open it,” said Jo Ann, studying the box while Florence held the light. “It must have a secret spring—there’s no sign of a keyhole.”
“A secret spring!” Peggy’s interest was instantly aroused. “Let me see it, will you?”
When Peggy reached out to take the box, its weight took her by surprise, and she let it slip out of her hands and fall crashing to the floor.
Dropping down on their knees, Jo Ann and Peggy reached for the box at the same time.
“O—oh!” gasped Jo Ann, her voice quivering with excitement.
“O—oh!” echoed Peggy.
“What is it?” Florence asked quickly as she leaned over their shoulders.
Spellbound the three girls gazed before them. The insignificant black box lay on its side, wide open, part of its contents spilled out on the floor. There was the gleam of old gold and the brilliant sparkle and flash of fire. All the colors of the rainbow seemed reflected in that circle of light.
“How perfectly magnificent!” ejaculated Peggy in an awed voice.
“Wonderful! An old jewel case!” exclaimed Jo Ann, entranced by the beauty before her.
“Gorgeous!” added Florence.
One by one, as though afraid of touching them, the girls picked up the jewels from the floor. Rings set with precious stones—diamonds, rubies, sapphires, opals gorgeous as the sunset—necklaces, earrings, and chains of gold. Queer, antique-looking, all of them.
“Isn’t this the loveliest thing you ever laid your eyes on!” cried Peggy, holding up a filigree necklace of such delicate workmanship that it resembled a piece of fine old lace.
“It’s exquisite,” agreed Florence.
“And look at this ring—isn’t it the most beautiful one you ever saw?” Jo Ann held up a ring that had one large exquisite opal circled by tiny diamonds. “I love opals. The opal’s my birthstone. When my ship comes in—if it ever does—I’ll try to buy me a ring just like this.”
“It is lovely. They all are—the diamonds, rubies, all of them,” added Florence. “They must be very valuable. I wonder why they were hidden here. Oh!” she cried suddenly, an expression of horror passing over her face. “These belong to the church. We can’t take them—that’d be stealing. We must put them right back where we found them this minute.”
“Not I,” said Peggy emphatically.
“What would be the sense of leaving these things hidden for another century or more?” put in Jo Ann quickly.
“I don’t know, but I still feel that we’ll be stealing if we take them,” insisted Florence.
“I know what we’d better do!” exclaimed Jo Ann as a sudden solution of the problem occurred to her. “We can take them to Señor Rodriguez and let him dispose of them in the proper legal manner. Don’t you think that would be best?”
“Yes—perhaps so,” slowly agreed Florence. “He ought to know what would be right.”
While Florence and Jo Ann had been arguing about what to do with the pieces of jewelry, Peggy was putting them back in the black box.
“I can’t get all these things back in this box,” she sighed finally. “How in the world did they ever get so much in such a small box?”
“Wait! Don’t close it. We might not be able to get it open again.” Jo Ann reached over and took the box. “Let me tie this string around it so nothing’ll spill out.”
In a few minutes the box was securely tied. Holding it tightly, Jo Ann hastened back to the entrance to the tunnel, the other girls following closely.
At the very moment that Peggy was lying terror-stricken at the feet of the mummies Dr. Blackwell had just made an alarming discovery.
He had been wakened from a deep peaceful sleep by the sound of vigorous knocking on the outer door and had quickly scrambled out of bed and into his clothes. He well knew that this knocking meant that someone was in distress and needed his professional services. Louder and louder had come the sound. Fearing that everyone in the house would be awakened, he had hurried down to answer the door.
When he had not seen Florence at the head of the stairs, waiting to bolt the door as usual, he had gone to her room and found it empty and the beds undisturbed. Immediately he had run from room to room, calling the girls, but had heard only the echoes of his own worried voice. All three girls had utterly disappeared!
A terrible fear swept over him—they had been kidnaped! But no, that was impossible, he told himself the next moment. Three strong, healthy girls could not be carried off without making a sound.
What should he do? Call the police? Something must be done immediately, but there was so much red tape connected with governmental affairs in this country that it would be hours before anything could be done. Perhaps it would be better to call his good friend Señor Rodriguez. He would advise him the best steps to take.
Quickly, his hand shaking so he could scarcely write, he scribbled a note to the Señor. It was almost illegible, but the words, “Come at once” were plain, and that was all that was necessary.
Rushing down the stairs, he hurried past the man waiting at the door, without speaking. The man stared after him in blank amazement. What was the matter? Was theDoctor Americano loco?
On across the street ran Dr. Blackwell to the corner of the Plaza, where a taxi could be found at any hour of the day or night.
He shook the sleeping taxi driver by the shoulder. “Hombre, hombre, wake up! Take this letter to the Señor Rodriguez and bring him back with you.Muy pronto, sabe?”
The lazy, easy-going Mexican straightened in surprise. He had carried this American doctor on many an urgent call, but he had never seen him so nervous and excited before. This must be something very important. Very well, he would showel doctorhow he could hurry. There was a roar, the grinding of gears, and the car was off like a shot.
In an amazingly short time Señor Rodriguez rushed into the office. He found Dr. Blackwell slumped in a chair, his face in his hands.
“Doctor, what has happened? What is the matter?” he asked in Spanish.
In a few halting words Dr. Blackwell told him of the girls’ disappearance. “What shall I do, señor?” he ended, his voice vibrant with emotion.
Before the amazed Señor could take in the situation and answer this question, there was the sound of light, flying feet on the balcony floor.
The next moment, after one swift glance at her father, Florence dropped on her knees at his feet, exclaiming, “Daddy! Are you sick?”
Startled at the sound of her voice, Dr. Blackwell almost jumped out of his chair. “Florence!” he cried. “Florence!”
“What’s the matter, Daddy?” she asked anxiously.
In the moment of silence that followed her question she turned to Señor Rodriguez. “Tell me what’s happened, señor.”
“Where’d you come from?” Dr. Blackwell put in before the Señor could speak. “How’d you get here? Oh, child, I’ve been so frightened and worried! I thought something terrible had happened to you and the girls. Where are they?”
“Right here,” answered Jo Ann, who had just come running in with Peggy. “Don’t—blame Florence—it’s really—all my fault.”
“Why, Dad, there’s nothing the matter with us—we’re all right,” said Florence, rising. “We just went up on the roof and——”
“Whatareyou girls talking about?” he demanded, noticing for the first time their disreputable appearance—their grimy faces, Jo’s bloodstained shirt, and their knickers. “What have you been doing?”
“We’ve been solving the mystery,” eagerly explained Florence.
“What mystery?”
“Why, the mystery of that strange little window in the back of the house.”
“But how did you get out of the house without unbolting the door? You know better than to go out at this hour of night.”
“Don’t scold, Dad,” begged Florence. “We haven’t been down on the street. We climbed through the little window and found a tunnel under the street.”
“A tunnel!” he repeated, bewildered. “What in the world are you talking about?”
“Why, there’s a long tunnel that starts under the back of our house and goes under the street, clear to the church—and I don’t know how much farther—there’s a regular network of passages, and——”