Jo Ann studied it carefully. “Yes, I’m sure it is.” She turned back to Peggy and Mrs. Blackwell. “That boy’s an American! He’s an orphan.”
“Why, I thought you said he couldn’t speak English!” exclaimed Peggy.
“I did—and he can’t. He was left with this family when he was a baby, and so naturally doesn’t know anything but Spanish. This Indian woman, María, was his mother’s servant while she was up at the mine.”
“That sounds as if the boy must have come from a well-to-do family.”
“I’m sure he did,” Jo Ann replied, and Florence added, “I gathered from what María said that his father was either the owner of the mine or had an interest in it.”
“Suppose you tell us the whole story from beginning to end, Florence,” suggested Peggy. “It sounds so unlikely that an American boy of good family would be left with poor ignorant Indians like this.”
“I haven’t got it straight in my mind either. It’s a mystery all right—a mystery that’s far from being solved. I’ll tell you all we found out.” Florence recounted all that María had told her and showed both her mother and Peggy the piece of paper with the address which they had seen on the envelope at the cave.
“Jo and I think we ought to write to Daddy at once and ask him to telegraph to this Mr. Eldridge,” she ended. “What do you think of that plan, Mother?”
“I believe it’d be a wise thing,” Mrs. Blackwell answered thoughtfully. “It’d save a great deal of time, I’m sure.”
“I know it would. Fortunately today’s the day we get our mail. I’ll write my letter right away and when the man comes, I’ll give it to him to take back. We won’t get our mail again till next Tuesday—four whole days to wait before we can hear from Daddy!”