“I know the shortest way to the market now, and that’s where we want to go first,” Jo Ann declared. “I’ve got to find the mystery man at once, so he can get on the smugglers’ trail.”
“It won’t be easy for him to follow them even then,” Peggy said thoughtfully. “Can’t they go around the city some way?”
“No, that’s the only road till they get to the edge of the city,” replied Florence. “They’ll probably not come up into the main part.”
“I imagine the mystery man’ll phone or telegraph to the officers on both sides of the border to be on the lookout,” put in Jo Ann. “They could catch more of the gang that way.”
When Jo Ann turned into the street leading to the market, Florence remarked, “It’ll be no use trying to find a parking place in front of the market. It’s always full. You’ll save time by parking in the first empty place you find within a reasonable distance. I’ve wasted as much as half an hour hunting for a parking place down here.”
“We mustn’t waste any time anyway,” Peggy put in. “We have lots of things to buy for Miss Prudence, and I’ve a little shopping I want to do, too. We can be doing our buying while Jo hunts up her mystery man.”
At quite a little distance from the market Jo Ann found a parking place. No sooner had she stopped the car than she sprang out, saying, “I’ll meet you at that same booth in front, where we waited the other day.”
Off she rushed down the street, her fast-flying steps causing more than one Mexican to say smilingly, “Americana.”
When Peggy tried to lock the car a few moments later, she found that she couldn’t. “Something’s gone wrong with it,” she said, handing the key to Florence. “See if you can make it work.”
After several unsuccessful efforts Florence slipped the keys into her purse, saying, “Oh, let’s don’t worry any more about trying to lock it. We can get a boy to watch the car for us.” Hardly had she finished speaking than she caught a glimpse of the newsboy with whom Carlitos had been so friendly. “Here’s the very boy!” she exclaimed, gesturing to him to come to her.