“Isn’t that terrible!” exclaimed Jo Ann. “That man’s a demon. I feel sure he had something to do with the disappearance of Carlitos’ father. Ask José, Florence, what Carlitos’ father did at the mine—if he was the owner and if this mean boss had been in his employ.”
“Well.” Once more Florence translated Jo Ann’s questions to José. All eagerness, the two girls waited for his reply.
This time Jo Ann was able to catch the answer. Her eyes shone with excitement as she broke out, “That’s why that mean boss wanted to get rid of Carlitos. Carlitos is by rights the owner of the mine!”
“You’re right—he is!” Florence exclaimed.
“Gee, Jo, you’ve run into a thrilling mystery this time, sure enough!” Peggy burst out in an excited voice.
“I feel sure this mean boss was responsible for the disappearance of Carlitos’ father, too,” Jo Ann went on. “He wanted to keep the control of the mine in his own hands. He wanted to get rid of Carlitos so there’d be no possible chance of anyone’s ever claiming the mine. Ask José, Florence, how long Carlitos’ father had lived at the mine—where the mine is and what the name of it is.”
Florence nodded. “All right.”
After talking with José a few minutes, she explained to Jo Ann, “Don Carlos—that’s what José calls Carlitos’ father, had come down from the United States to inspect his mine and had been there only a short time. I gathered from what he said that Don Carlos had not liked the way the Mexican boss was handling things and had dismissed him. It was only a short time after that, he said, that Don Carlos disappeared and the boss took charge of the mine again.”
“That proves to me that the boss did steal the mine,” Jo Ann said in an emphatic tone. “Doesn’t it sound that way to you, Peg?”
“Yes, it does.” Peggy shook her head dubiously and added, “You’ll never be able to unravel this mystery—it’s too complicated for you.”