happened to you. Come on to the hotel. We're leaving for the mine in a few minutes."

Reluctantly Carlitos parted with his newsboy friend. As soon as they had brought Carlitos to the hotel room and Miss Prudence had delivered him a strong lecture, she urged them all to hurry and pack their few belongings and leave at once. 

"You know it's a long hard trip to the mine, and I certainly don't want to be riding horseback on that steep, rocky mountain trail after dark."

"We don't either," said Jo Ann quickly. "Florence and I had one experience riding in the mountains in the dark and through a terrible storm, too, and we don't want another, do we, Florence?"

"No, indeed."

After leaving the city Florence slipped over to let Jo Ann drive. "You're a better chauffeur than I am and always make better time. We must get back to the mine before dark, especially since we saw----"

She left her sentence unfinished, but Jo Ann knew that she meant the smuggler they had seen near the mine.

When they finally reached Jitters' House in the late afternoon, they found José waiting for them.

"I wonder why he happened to come?" Peggy remarked curiously on seeing him standing beside the shed. The next instant she realized that he must be uneasy because of the pottery woman's account of the smugglers' threats. "He's come as an extra protection for us," she thought.

"It's good of him," Jo Ann put in, and Florence added, "He's always thoughtful and kind."

Carlitos was delighted to see him. Another male was a welcome change after having to stay with women for two days. That was one reason he had felt that he must slip off with the newsboy awhile, though he couldn't have explained that in words. He was eager to tell José all about his trip, too.

Even Miss Prudence expressed appreciation of José's coming, adding, "He's as thoughtful as he can be."

Jo Ann was the first one of the group to finish changing into riding clothes. She hurried back to the shed where José was still waiting, as she was anxious to know how things had been running at the mine, and especially if he had seen anything of the smuggler hanging around. She had described the smuggler so carefully to him that he would be able to recognize him.

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