Crossed Trails in Mexico / Mexican Mystery Stories #3

orse than another cleaning is some pretty cretonne for curtains and pillows, and some of the lovely Mexican pottery and bright-colored blankets. I could stop at the village and buy the pottery and

stery man-if I can find him. Find

for this trip to the city, sh

hose smugglers had grabbed her-she'd jerk away from him! She sprang out of bed with a leap tha

Jo Ann," she said apologetically. "

"I must've been dreaming. I thought one of those--" She stopped abruptly. She must not say a wor

dence began again, "but I thought

y, who was sitting up in bed now, rubbing her eyes s

start at giving this house a thorough cleaning," Miss

ean to me-very clea

Prudence raised her eyebrows skeptically-"a peon housekeeper's

ome-some fumigating stuff-formaldehyde, isn't

s he's ordered more, and a lot of supplies that should have come to the village yesterday. He thinks they'll come today surely. I'll

s is gay cretonne draperies and pillows, bright-colored blankets to throw over the chests and couches, and some of the lovely Mexican ollas.

think about

e up Peggy, coming to Jo Ann's aid. She knew how Jo Ann's heart was set on getti

we'll

tent themselves with

n't given up hope yet of going to the city soon. I'm going to try to persuade Miss Prudence

abruptly by saying, "I hate to have her hurt Maria

to Maria, but she'll never be able to under

Prudence's "cleaning spree," as Jo Ann called it. While Peggy poured the soapy water ov

clared as she swished the fo

ked up and pinned in the back, bustled about superintending

o doing such menial tasks as carrying water from the stream back of the house. Miss Prudence, however, believed

ning as she took out the last bar of soap. "The supplies are very

rnoon," Jo Ann offered eagerly. "We can drive the ca

hen replied, "Well, if José can go

sé go. He sends him there frequently f

osé accompany the girls to the village. "José can take two burros along

d José started on horseback but changed into the au

finding that they had arrived, José set to work to load them into the car. While he was busy at t

the battered old c

ut about the smugglers without their bei

eared at the door. Peeping from behind her skirts were several other small, half-clad, hungry-looking children. As quickly as she

h sorrow that I cannot sell them to you. Two men

obile I saw here near

oman

"Can you not get more jars for these men by the time they come bac

time to make the ollas, and the men say

Florence comes on one of those days, so we'll

ese jars. They're lovely." She picked up two jars, each attr

ion to the woman. "How mu

of each-an absurdly small amount, no

pay you for them?" Jo

he woma

o Peggy, adding, "Those men

the woman, saying, "They do not pay you enough. I

d for my children." She hesitated a moment, then added, "Bien, I will let you have t

a friend who purchased Mexican curios for a firm in the States. She would tell Florence about this woman's pottery. "I

remarked as they were starting away, "I'm glad you paid that woman more for the ollas, but I'm afraid those men'll

ut I'm glad just the same that I could help that famil

ly do," Pe