"Too late then." Adair MacKenzie was not to be mollified now. "Be all burned up before then by these confounded Mexican chiles. Must have a million varieties. Find them in everything. Afraid even to order ice-cream. Probably comes with a special chile sauce on it. Somebody ought to teach these Mexicans how to eat. Do it myself if I had time.

Always think that when I come here. Teach them that and how to build roads," he added as the car b.u.mped over the highway.

"Anyway, we're coming into some sort of civilized city, now." He looked about himself with some degree of satisfaction, for as Walker had proceeded with his account of the legend of the two famous volcanoes, the car had been progressing toward the city. Now it was on the outskirts and Nan and Bess, Grace and Amelia and Laura were craning their necks so as not to miss one single sight.

"How nice it would be," Amelia remarked to the group after she had missed something that Walker had pointed out on the side of the road opposite to the one she had been watching, "to have a face on all sides of your head so that you could see all ways at once."

"Well, all I can say is," Laura returned dryly, "that you are doing pretty well with the one that you have. You might have missed the old flower woman back there, but you are certainly making up for it now."

With this she laughed and pushed Amelia's head, that was now blocking her own line of vision, out of the way.

"Such pretty young girls," Nan remarked as the car stopped at a crossroad to let a half dozen Mexicans cross the street.

"Aren't they though?" Bess agreed. "One of them looked just like Juanita. Remember?"

Of course Nan remembered the girl that had been involved in the hidden treasure plot that was recounted in the story "Nan Sherwood at Rose Ranch." The thought of her now brought Rhoda back to mind and her mother, and with it a return of the anxiety they had felt at not having heard recently from their friend.

CHAPTER XII

LINDA RIGGS TURNS UP

Adair MacKenzie was quick to note the change in their mood. "Wells Fargo and Co., Madero 14." He gave instructions to the chauffeur, and then turned to Nan. "It's the American Express of this country," he explained in a tone that indicated that they had no right to call it other than the "American Express". "We'll pick up mail there. You see."

"What have you done to the old man?" Walker Jamieson questioned as he helped Nan out of the car a few minutes later. "Why, Alice," he continued, a.s.sisting her too, "he's practically putty in her hands."

"I know," Alice smiled as she took Nan's arm and walked along beside her. "It is amazing and I'm almost jealous. I thought that I was the only one in the world that could manage him." She looked fondly in the direction of Adair MacKenzie who had already pa.s.sed through the door and was at the counter inside demanding his mail.

"See, what did I tell you?" He asked triumphantly when they all entered together. "There's a whole bunch of mail here. See." He held up a truly large package of letters, letters from home for each of the girls. As they all crowded around him, he teased them by delaying the process of handing them out.

"Let's see, this one looks interesting, mighty interesting." He lingered over the address. "But the writing isn't very clear."

Alice reached for it as though to help him out. He raised his arm high.

"No, it's not for you," he shook his head at her. "This mailman always delivers his mail to the proper person. Now, stand back all of you, while I look again."

"This is as bad or worse than it is at school when they distribute mail, isn't it?" Laura nudged Nan. "But look, isn't the old duck getting a kick out of it all?"

Nan nodded. There was only one thing that she was really impatient about. She wanted to know now, right away, whether there was any word from Rhoda. She felt as though she couldn't stand it a moment longer not to know.

"Please, Cousin Adair," she begged, "is there anything there at all from Rhoda?"

"Yes, father, tell us quickly," Alice chimed in.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Adair MacKenzie was immediately all contrition. "H-m-m, wait." He leafed quickly through the pack.

"Yes, there is something," he admitted at last. "It's addressed to Nan." With this he handed a yellow telegram over to her. "Take it easily," he advised, while they all waited anxiously for Nan to open it. She tore the seal, pulled the message out, dropped it in her nervousness, and then when it was restored to her hands, read it slowly to herself.

At long last she looked up. "It's--" she caught her breath before she could continue--"all right. Rhoda's mother is going to get well." Saying this, she pa.s.sed the telegram over to Bess and Laura, and then, before she realized at all what was happening, her eyes welled up with tears.

"Why, Nan, darling!" Alice exclaimed, "don't cry. Everything's all right now. Come," she drew from her own purse a pretty white handkerchief and wiped Nan's tears away, "you'll have us all in tears."

Nan took the handkerchief away from her and wiped her own eyes, hard.

Then she smiled. "Don't mind me," she laughed. "I'm just an old silly.

Please, cousin Adair, what's in the rest of that package."

"Yes, what's in it?" Even Adair MacKenzie sounded as though he had lost possession of himself for a moment. Now, he collected himself again and took the party in his hands, as he had had it before. "Too much stalling around here," he grumbled to no one in particular, and then went on with the distribution of the mail.

The letters from home were fun to get, fun to read, and fun to share.

Each one was read and re-read a dozen times by the girl that received it, and then it was pa.s.sed around and enjoyed by all the others. There were letters from their mothers and fathers and letters from their friends. There was a round robin from their pals at school.

Though all of them had news, this last had the choicest bits.

"Do you know that," it began, "Professor Krenner and Dr. Beulah Prescott are going to be married before the summer is over?"

"Nan," Bess stopped Nan who was reading the bit aloud to the others, "is it true? Did I hear you right?"

"I guess you did," Nan's eyes looked merry now. She of all the girls had been the only one who knew that this announcement was coming. Beloved by Dr. Beulah and the best student and most wide-awake person that had ever come to Dr. Krenner's attention, she had been in their confidence before school had closed.

The romance between the Princ.i.p.al of Lakeview and one of its most scholarly instructors had blossomed the summer the two had escorted the present group of girls on their European trip. Professor Krenner joined the party in London, just before the coronation. There he and Dr.

Prescott learned of the million and one things they had in common. Nan knew of this, knew too that the wedding was to take place in the chapel at Lakeview just before school opened. Already, she had planned to attend.

Now, she went on with the reading of the round robin. "Do you know," she continued, "that the old boathouse where we had that grand party on Bess's twenty-five dollars, is going to be pulled down and a big new one built?

"That the dormitories are being redecorated and that corridor four where we have rooms is going to have all the walls done over and that serapes will look especially nice hanging on them?

"And that, and this is the biggest piece of news of all, Linda Riggs is someplace in Mexico?"

"No!" the exclamation was Bess's. If it was possible to say that one girl in the room disliked the proud Linda more than the rest, Bess was that girl.

"I hate her. I just hate her." Bess had said vehemently many times. And well she might, for often in the days that followed the registration of Bess and Nan at Lakeview, Linda had purposely embarra.s.sed and humiliated them. At first, Bess, because she naturally coveted wealth, and Linda was a very wealthy girl, had tried to make friends with "Her Highness"

as Laura dubbed Linda. But her efforts always ended disastrously.

Nan, as all those who have followed the fortunes of the young girl know, time and again tried to help Linda. Once or twice she was instrumental in saving her life. But despite this, whenever Linda was in a position to do so, she managed to belittle Nan, to snub her rudely, to make her just as uncomfortable as she possibly could.

So Nan and Bess had particular reasons for disliking the girl who had even been expelled from school for one bit of meanness that caused an explosion which might easily have cost the lives of many of the Lakeview Hall students. Linda, in other words, was cordially hated by most of the students of the fashionable boarding school.

Now, the news that she was in Mexico brought consternation to the group.

"It's just as I've always said," Bess fumed. "It's impossible to go anyplace without having her turn up."

"Probably likes you and just won't admit it." Laura could well afford to add fuel to the flame. Linda generally avoided her.

"She doesn't like me and you know it, Laura Polk," Bess exclaimed. "Why she had to come down here when there's all the rest of the world for her to travel in, I don't know. But you can just be sure of this, no good will come of it."

"Sh! Bess," Nan warned as she looked over to one side where Adair MacKenzie, Alice, and Walker Jamieson were deep in consultation.

"I'm sorry, Nan," Bess lowered her voice, "but I just don't seem to be able to control myself when that girl comes to mind. She's caused us so much unhappiness that I can't stand her."