As before, they rode down the mountain, then left their horses and the burro at the rough thatched shed where their car was stored.

"Let's give this shed a name," Peggy suggested as they climbed into the car.

"All right," Jo Ann agreed. "How about calling it Jitters' House? That's what it is now. It's the first time the garage was so far away that I had to ride horseback to get to it."

Peggy smiled. "Hereafter, then, this is Jitters' House."

On nearing the Mexican woman's shack Jo Ann began looking eagerly to see if the pottery were still piled up beside it.

"Good!" she exclaimed. "The pottery's still there. That means the men haven't----" She stopped in the middle of her sentence. José was beginning to understand English much better now that he was staying at Mr. Eldridge's home, and so might be able to get an inkling of what she was talking about.

As it was, Peggy understood, since Jo Ann had been worrying all the way down the mountain lest the pottery and the men should be gone.

Jo Ann drove straight to Pedro's store, the scheduled meeting place again, as it had been the day they had all driven from the city. There was no sign of Florence's small trim figure to be seen outside the store or inside.

"Maybe we're too early," Peggy suggested.

"We have to wait for the mail, anyway--it hasn't come yet, Pedro said," Jo Ann replied. "If there isn't a letter from her, we'll know she's coming and will wait till she appears. This delay suits me to a T."

"Don't I know it! You're just aching for those old smugglers to appear while we're here. I hope they don't."

Undisturbed, Jo Ann went on, "While we're waiting, let's you and me go back to that shack and find out if any of the family knows exactly when the men are coming after the pottery."

"We-ell, I s'pose there couldn't be any danger about asking a few questions."

Peggy climbed back into the car with Jo Ann, leaving José squatting on the sidewalk smoking his corn-shuck cigarette and chatting with a group of his peon friends.

When they stopped in front of the shack, they noticed a little dark-eyed girl, the tallest of the stair-step children she had seen 

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