“It’s really fun,” Jo Ann declared as she swished the foamy suds about with her broom.
Miss Prudence, a towel over her head and her long skirts tucked up and pinned in the back, bustled about superintending the girls, Maria and her oldest daughters, and the two boys.
Maria was horrified that Miss Prudence should set Carlitos, the chief owner of the silver mine and the house, to doing such menial tasks as carrying water from the stream back of the house. Miss Prudence, however, believed with St. Paul that he who would not work should not eat and soon had everybody in the household stepping lively.
“I wish that soap and other supplies’d come today,” she said, frowning as she took out the last bar of soap. “The supplies are very low. I can’t plan a decent meal in this house without those things.”
“Peggy and I’ll go to the village for them this afternoon,” Jo Ann offered eagerly. “We can drive the car and make better time than José can in the oxcart.”
Miss Prudence hesitated a moment, then replied, “Well, if José can go with you, I believe you’d better go.”
“Fine! I’m sure Mr. Eldridge’ll let José go. He sends him there frequently for the mail—every other day, I believe.”
Jo Ann was right in this surmise. Mr. Eldridge promptly agreed to let José accompany the girls to the village. “José can take two burros along to carry the supplies,” he added, “and he won’t need the oxcart at all.”
So it was that shortly after lunch the two girls and José started on horseback but changed into the automobile when they reached the foot of the mountain.
On reaching the village they drove straight to Pedro’s store to see if the supplies had come. On finding that they had arrived, José set to work to load them into the car. While he was busy at that task, Jo Ann and Peggy walked back to the adobe shack where Jo Ann had seen the smugglers’ car.