A Bolting Mare

There was no time to warn her friends. Nancy grabbed Bess and George by their arms and threw them and herself out of the path of the falling cactus. They all three stumbled and fell sprawling on the ground as the saguaro crashed to earth where they had been standing.

“What happened? ” George gasped. “How...? ”

“I saw it falling, ” Nancy explained. “I guess I must have loosened the soil at the bottom while I was searching for clues.” She stopped, not sure that she believed her own words.

Bess shivered. “This place really is haunted, ” she observed. “Let’s get back to the resort.”

Nancy nodded, realizing that there was nothing else to be done here. Only the promise of the afternoon ride and the evening barbecue under the stars lifted her spirits from the unfamiliar feeling of confusion that both cases had brought her so far.

When the girls returned to the ranch and reported their experience to Chuck and Heather, he apologized for having neglected to warn them about the danger of the burned cactus.

“I’ve been wanting to pull it down, ” Chuck said. “But I just forgot about it after Grandfather was hurt. I’m glad you acted so quickly, Nancy.”

“No one blames you, ” Nancy assured him. “And I don’t think it just happened to fall down all by itself, although I was digging in the ashes around it.”

“You mean—? ” Bess stared at her friend in shock. The thought that someone might have toppled the cactus to hurt the girls had not occurred to her earlier.

Nancy nodded. “Could be another attempt of our unknown enemy to get rid of us. Unfortunately, I have no way to prove it.”

Heather’s face was worried, but she tried to cheer up her friends. “Well, whatever the reason was that the cactus fell, I think you should all relax by the pool now, ” she said. “Save your energy for tonight.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, ” Bess agreed.

When time for the barbecue ride came, Nancy, Bess, and George were delighted to discover that the other guests were four young, male friends of Chuck’s and a pert brunette that Heather introduced as Diana. Chuck had the horses saddled and waiting, and as soon as they finished the introductions, everyone went to the stable to mount up for the ride.

Chuck, with Bess riding beside him, took the lead, and Nancy quickly found herself alongside a dark-haired young man called Floyd Jerrett. He proved to be a pleasant companion as he pointed out the various formations among the weathered and somewhat overwhelming rock cliffs of the ever-closer Superstition Mountains.

“Did you ever go up there to look for the Lost Dutchman Mine? ” Nancy asked.

Floyd laughed. “Everyone around here does, ” he answered. “I’ve ridden or hiked over most of the mountains since I was seven or eight. That’s when I used to go out weekends with my father. We have even come across gold up there.”

“From the mine? ” Nancy was impressed.

“Oh, no, nothing that exciting. There are some small pockets of gold or short veins of it that wash out or are uncovered by the winter rains and floods. We’ve found nuggets and gold dust in the washes.”

“If you girls are going to be here long enough, perhaps we can go prospecting, ” Tim, one of the other young men, suggested, smiling shyly at George. “We might find something, you never know. ”

“With Nancy’s talent as a detective, we could even find the Dutchman’s mine, ” Heather suggested from the rear of the group where she was riding with Diana’s brother Paul.

“I can supply the maps, ” Diana offered with a giggle. “I must have twenty-five and they’re all different.”

“And all genuine, ” her date, Jerry Blake, added.

“Thanks, but I think I have quite enough mysteries at the moment, ” Nancy said, laughing easily.

“Nancy has seen our resident ghost, ” Heather told everyone.

Discussion of the Kachina spirit and the various stories about the old house kept them all busy as they rode up into the rugged mountains, following narrow trails that were flanked by sheer cliffs on one side and rather frightening, rocky slides on the other. Though Nancy loved to ride and found her bright chestnut mare Dancer a pleasure to handle, she was glad when the trail finally dropped down into a small canyon rich with trees and flowers. They reined in near the small stream that was fed by a spring.

The ranch jeep was parked at the mouth of the canyon, and the sweet scents of food already filled the air as the young people dismounted and walked over to where Maria and her strong, dark-eyed husband were working at a small campfire. Nancy looked around and was disappointed not to find Ngyun in sight, but just as she opened her mouth to inquire about the boy, a flash of black and white appeared between the trees and he rode up to them.

Maria and Ward Tomiche greeted Ngyun with what looked like relief. When he rode to where the horses were tied, Nancy joined him. Talking to the boy was difficult at first, for he was very shy, but when she asked him about his horse, his attitude changed.

“He mine, ” Ngyun said. “Really mine. My grandfather say I have any horse in big herd. I take Cochise. He beautiful.”

“You ride very well, too, ” Nancy told him. “Did your grandfather teach you? ”

“Some, ” Ngyun answered. “We not see him much now. Uncle Ward and Aunt Maria help and Chuck. They say I like real Indian.”

Nancy let the boy talk on, asking him questions about where he went and what he did. There was no hesitation in his answers, she noted. If he was lying or covering up, he was far better at it than any adult she’d ever questioned. His almond eyes fairly glowed as he talked about the deer and the wild, piglike creatures called javelina that he’d seen in the washes leading from the mountains into the desert.

“When I learn to use bow and arrows good, I hunt them, ” he said. “Grandfather say he bring home dinner with bow and arrows.”

“Don’t get too close to the javelina, ” Ward cautioned from the fire, where he was helping Maria set out the various dishes of food. “They may look like long-haired pigs, but they have very sharp tusks and nasty dispositions. They can be dangerous.”

“Dinner is ready, ” Heather announced before either Ngyun or Nancy could say another word.

Never had food tasted so good. There were mounds of barbecued ribs dripping with a delicious sauce. Beans, both the traditional, baked kind and the Mexican, refried variety, were offered. There were taco chips and a green mound of guacamole dip made from avocados and onions and cottage cheese. Fresh fruits and vegetables were set out in cold water, and there was plenty of icy soda to drink.

“Don’t you love our fancy china? ” Heather teased, passing out battered, tin pie plates and sturdy eating utensils as well as bandana-sized napkins.

“Everything is just perfect, ” George assured her as she began heaping food on her plate. “The high sides on the pie plates keep the food where it is supposed to be.”

Bess sampled the refried beans, which were delicately spiced with bits of hot peppers and onions. “Oh, this is heavenly, ” she told Maria. “But if you’re going to feed your guests like this, I don’t think they’ll be losing any weight.”

Chuck looked up with innocent eyes. “Oh, didn’t Heather tell you, we have a new method of dieting. We feed you like this, but then you have to hike back to the ranch.”

Mock groans were followed by loud protest, and everyone relaxed on the grass to eat, talking contentedly of past and future rides, picnics, and barbecues. Only when the plates had been scraped clean did Bess sigh and say, “I know I shouldn’t ask after all that food, but is there dessert? ”

There was general laughter, but when Maria nodded, everyone turned toward her. “Indian Fry Bread, ” she announced. “I’ve brought the dough out and I’ll fry it here, then you put either powdered sugar or honey inside. It makes a perfect dessert. ”

“Fried bread? ” Bess looked dubious, but when she received the first piece and dutifully poured on the honey, her expression changed. “Why, it’s wonderful! ” she exclaimed. “I must find out how to make it. Everyone at home will be fascinated.”

Once the food was gone, Chuck and the other young men gathered more of the nearby dead wood—fallen limbs, trees, and bushes that hadn’t come back to life with spring’s magic. The campfire blazed as the sun suddenly slipped beneath the horizon, plunging them quickly into night.

Ward produced a guitar from the jeep and Chuck began to play while Bess looked at him dreamily. The familiar melody soon had everyone singing along. Nancy leaned her head back, staring up at the stars, thinking how lovely and peaceful everything seemed.

“Once the moon is up, we’ll have to start back, ” Chuck told them between songs.

“Not the way we came, I hope, ” Bess murmured. “I’d be afraid of missing that trail in the dark.”

“No, we’ll take an easier route, ” Heather promised. “We don’t want any trouble.”

While they sang, Nancy noticed that Ward and Maria had packed up all the supplies, and once the jeep was loaded, they left the canyon. Ngyun vanished, too, not waiting to ride back with them through the cooling, night air.

“I’m glad you told us to tie our jackets behind our saddles, Heather, ” Nancy said, pulling hers on before she mounted Dancer. “It feels good now.”

“The desert can be quite cold at night, ” Heather agreed. “Even in the summer, it cools off once the sun goes down.”

They were quiet as they rode back, following the edge of a wash that led through the rough hills. Nancy was so deep in thought, trying to decide what to do about the Kachina spirit, that she didn’t notice when the mare slowed a little. Dancer dropped behind the other horses to nibble at a tuft of grass growing on the rough hillside the trail was skirting.

Suddenly, the silence of the desert night was broken by a rattling, and Dancer whinnied, nearly unseating the young sleuth. Though she’d lost a stirrup, Nancy clenched her knees to the mare’s sides, trying to keep her moving forward on the trail. But the horse was too terrified. In a moment, they were slipping and sliding down the rocky slope toward the bottom of the wash.

Frightened, Nancy grabbed the saddle horn and did her best to stay still in the saddle so as not to throw the mare off-balance as she skidded toward the hard-baked earth below. Rocks and other debris fell with them, and she could hear the shouts of the others, but at the moment everything depended on the mare’s surefootedness.

Dancer’s plunging ended as she stumbled to her knees, nearly throwing Nancy over her head. Still the terrified mare didn’t stop. She scrambled back to her feet and leaped forward, with Nancy hanging on for dear life!