"I'm almost sure of it," said Gary. He passed a hand over the lighter area of the terrain. "I wonder how many thousands and thousands of tons of rock may be atop the Lost Espectro?"
"It won't hurt to look," said Sue courageously.
"Who said anything about you going?" demanded Tuck.
Again the fingernails were inspected. "When I tell the story about how two rough, tough juniors from Cottonwood Wells Union High School tangled with a little slip of a girl and darned near got whipped this summer, I wonder how your standing will be?"
"You wouldn't!" said Tuck.
"Just you try me, Mister Tucker C. Browne!"
"She would too," said Tuck to Gary.
A cold anger grew within Gary. "All right," he said harshly. "I'm sick of her poking her nose into everything we do. If she wants to risk it, I don't care! We're going back into that canyon today."
"When?" asked Tuck.
"I'm not sleepy. How can you sleep at a time like this?'"
"Who said anything about sleeping? I was hoping you'd want to go right now."
Gary rolled the derrotero and the photograph together and wrapped them in plastic sheeting. "I don't want to stay around here any longer than I have to."
Sue grinned and the lantern light glistened on her braces.
"No wonder, the way you characters have been keeping house. What a mess!"
Tuck raised his eyes toward the ceiling. "Lord," he breathed, "make me strong. We didn't mess up the house, Sue! It was that way when we got back. Somebody must have been searching for the derrotero."
"Oh," she said in a small, weak voice.
"Now do you want to stay behind?" asked Tuck.
"No," she said firmly.
"Well," he said in resignation, "I have only one deep consolation. Being a female, you'll probably get married some day to some unfortunate male, which means you have to change your name from Browne to whatever his name is, which makes me, as your beloved first cousin, happy indeed!"
"Enough of that," said Gary. "This is no class picnic we're going on. It might be dangerous in there. It's bad enough that Tuck and I are taking this chance, Sue, without involving you too. You've been a big help and we appreciate it, but you're going to have to take orders from us. Is that clear?"
"I like taking orders from you, Gary," she said.
Tuck grunted and rolled his eyes up. "We have to have one leader. I nominate Gary Cole. Any seconds?"
"I second the nomination," said Sue.
"Motion made and seconded. Any objections? None? Those in favor say aye. Aye!"
"Aye!" said Sue.
"Motion made and carried. All hail, Leader!"
"That means you have to take orders from me too," said Gary with a grin.
Tuck frowned. "I never thought of it that way."
"Let's get moving. We'll need our gear, digging tools, rope, food, guns, and one blanket apiece."
"Why?" asked Sue.
"We might have to stay in there overnight."
She smiled weakly. "Oh," she said.
"Well take the jeep toward the highway, then cut east on the old gravel road," said Gary. "We can leave the jeep about a mile from the canyon mouth and walk in. It will still be dark. We can make the water hole about dawn. You still sure you want to come along, Sue?"
"Absolutely."
"On your head be it," said Tuck.
They wasted no time thereafter. While they were loading the jeep, Lobo, as though conjured up by magic, appeared in the dimness and jumped casually into the back seat. Gary started the jeep and drove out to the road, turned left, and headed for the highway. Before he reached the main highway he shut off the headlights, then turned left onto the old gravel road. They wouldn't be fooling anyone who might have watched them leave the house, but the desert was wide and dark, so the chance was worth taking that they might get away with it. Gary really didn't care as much as he thought he would. He was sure they were on the right trail this time. The next day or two would decide if the mine was buried forever, or if the Lost Espectro really could be found.
11
Into the Heart of the Espectros
The water hole was a sheet of smooth pewter-colored liquid in the faint cold light of dawn.
Something splashed in the water and then came the scurrying of small feet on the hard ground and a rustling in the brush as some small animal fled from the pool. The concentric ripples spread smoothly and began to lap softly on the shore. The faint musical sound died away and the canyon was as quiet as before.
Tuck took up position as guard in the thick tangle where he could see both rims of the canyon. Gary placed Sue near the water hole and told Lobo to stay with her. Gary pushed on, scanning the wall of the eastern side. There was nothing to be seen. Two hundred yards beyond the water hole he came to a huge, tiptilted slab of rock which forced him to step down into a deep hollow. He was about to pass on when he saw the carving beneath the slab. He crouched to see it clearly. It was the familiar equilateral triangle with the curved line sprouting from the tip, pointing onward, indicating the treasure trail was around a bend or curve.
Gary stepped up out of the hole. The huge slab had obviously been moved by great brute force from its original position to lie so. He walked up the canyon in the pale watery light. Beyond him there was no indication of a curve or bend to the right, as the symbol indicated, nor was there even a bend or curve to the left. The canyon here was as straight as a mine drift. It was then that he noticed the formation of the canyon wall. It was made up of tumbled and shattered rock, bleached wood, and tangled brush. He compared it to the rock of the west wall, which was darker and smooth, almost as though it had been polished. It was quite evident then that the bend or curve indicated by the symbol no longer existed; it had been filled in by huge masses of fallen rock and earth.
He scanned the walls, both old and new, and saw no symbols. He turned and trudged back toward the water hole. He squatted at the edge of it and looked at the slightly disturbed surface of the water right where the rock wall met it. "Go get Tuck," he said to Sue. "You take guard. Don't do anything if you see anything suspicious. Let us know."
She hurried off. Tuck scrambled through the brush and squatted beside Gary. "Speak, O Leader," he said.
Gary told him of his deduction. Tuck nodded wisely. Gary dabbled a hand in the cool water. "You said it might have been possible for the land changes to have forced the water that used to run down the canyon of the arrastres into this canyon, Tuck," he said quietly. "Supposing we could trace the source of this water? Maybe it might lead us to the Lost Espectros."
"That's loco," said Tuck. He looked up at the towering canyon wall above them. "We can't get over that."
"Maybe we can go under it," said Gary. He stood up and peeled off his shirt. "I'm going for a swim."
Tuck watched him with wide eyes as he stripped to his shorts and waded into the pool. Gary walked to the wall and began to feel along it under the surface of the water. His hands probed into nothingness. He took several deep breaths, held the last one, and submerged, leaving a series of ripples that lapped at Tuck's feet. Tuck Browne closed his eyes and prayed for the first time in a long while.
Gary rose a little and his head struck solid rock. He dived down again, felt his knees scrape the rough gravel bottom, and then came cautiously upward again. When his head broke the water, he found himself in a domed cavern illuminated from some dim source ahead of him. He swam slowly to the side of the cavern and crawled out onto a narrow ledge, shivering from mingled cold and fear. He realized now that his swim had been a very short one. He could hardly be more than twenty feet from where he had started. It had seemed such a long one, but all out of proportion as when one's tongue explores a tooth cavity and magnifies it tremendously.