Crossed Trails in Mexico Mexican Mystery Stories #3 — Background and Themes

Carlitos had been too busy viewing the scenery to talk, but at Jo Ann's words he opened his blue eyes wide and asked in broken English, "Butter ball--what is dat?"

Both Jo Ann and Peggy exchanged smiles. It seemed strange to them that Carlitos could not understand the most commonplace phrases, yet when they stopped to think that he had spoken Spanish altogether till he had come to the States last fall, they marveled that he talked as well as he did.

While Jo Ann was explaining to him the meaning of the words "butter ball," Peggy was mentally reviewing his strange life. When he was about a year old his parents had come from New Jersey to a remote Mexican village where his father, Charles Eldridge, owned a silver mine. A few months later Mr. Eldridge had met his death at the hands of a treacherous Mexican foreman, and shortly afterwards Mrs. Eldridge had died from the combined effects of shock and pneumonia, leaving the tiny Carlitos in the care of a poor ignorant Indian nurse. The foreman, who had taken possession of the mine, then tried to kidnap Carlitos, the rightful heir. Alarmed at this threatened danger, the nurse had fled across the mountains with Carlitos and her family where they were befriended by Jo Ann, Florence, and herself. Due to their efforts Carlitos's uncle, Edward Eldridge, had been found and the mine restored to Carlitos. So dismayed had his uncle been at finding that his nephew could not speak English that he had sent him to Massachusetts to live with his aunt, Miss Prudence Eldridge.

Peggy smiled to herself as her thoughts wandered around to the New England spinster aunt who had come down by train with Carlitos to Mississippi and was accompanying them the rest of the way to Mexico. Miss Prudence's never-ceasing astonishment at having a half-grown nephew who was just learning to speak English was a source of amusement to her and Florence and Jo Ann.

Just then Carlitos broke into an excited exclamation: "We come to big city! See--big high houses!"

"Fine!" Jo Ann ejaculated. "That must be Houston. We've made much better time than I thought. We'll be there by seven o'clock."

With a broad smile Peggy remarked low-voiced to Jo Ann, "Don't forget that you drew Miss Prudence for your roommate tonight. I heard her say she always rises at five-thirty, so I see where you'll have to get up with the chickens."

"If I have to get up at that ghastly hour, I'll wake you and Florence, too. It'll be specially good for you to get up early. As Miss Prudence said last night, 'Remember, the early bird catches the worm'!"

Peggy made a funny little grimace. "But I don't want to catch worms--I don't like 'em."

"You'll have to acquire a taste for them then," Jo Ann retorted between giggles. A moment later she added, "We really ought to get an early start tomorrow morning, sure enough, since we may go by way of Brownsville."

On reaching the city a half hour later, they drove straight to one of the larger hotels.

"I just adore going into strange hotels," remarked Peggy, starting to get out of the car.

Miss Prudence turned in time to see her rising and said quickly, "You girls wait here while I go in and look around. One can't be too particular about the kind of hotel one chooses, even to stay for a few hours."

Disappointed, Peggy dropped back into her seat.

"Never mind, Peg, when we get to Mexico she'll let Florence and us take the lead, since she's never been there before."

In a few minutes the girls saw Miss Prudence returning, followed closely by a porter.

"Come on," she called out briskly to them. "I've registered for us all."

She hurried them on inside the hotel and into the elevator so rapidly that Peggy declared afterwards that she wouldn't have known she was in a hotel if she hadn't seen a bellboy.

When the porter stopped at the first room and asked which baggage he was to carry in, Miss Prudence pointed to her suitcase, then hesitated a half second.

Peggy grasped this opportunity to put in, "Jo says she's going to be your roommate this time."

Miss Prudence smiled over at Jo Ann. "Fine. Carlitos's room connects with ours; then you and Florence have the one next to his. All of you hurry and get cleaned up, now, so we can get something to eat right away. Then we'll come straight up and go to bed. We have to get an early start in the morning, you know."

The three girls exchanged swift glances but did not protest.