Ward and Chuck brought in a half-dozen bales of hay for makeshift benches, and a number of folding tables and chairs for the more conventional guests. Paper streamers and more flowers were draped from the rafters to finish the effect, and the barn was quite festive by the time Nancy and her friends were through. They were feeling quite pleased with themselves as they drove back to the resort to have dinner and change for the party, which was scheduled to begin at seven sharp.
Dinner was a very simple meal, and they ate by the pool so they wouldn’t get in Maria’s way as she finished fixing the food for Ward and Chuck to take to the barn. Mr. McGuire, a friendly, white-haired man with a white mustache, was now happily settled in a lounge chair, his wrist still in a cast and his knee resting comfortably on a padded cushion.
As soon as Nancy filled her plate, he signaled her to his side. “I want to hear all about your finding Big Jake’s journal,” he said. “Chuck barely mentioned it on the way home. He was too busy telling me about your adventures in the canyon at the end of Leaning Tree Ravine.”
“That’s a strange name for that ravine,” Nancy observed. “I don’t remember seeing a single tree, let alone one that was leaning.”
“It was named for an old palo verde tree that died years ago, I think.” Mr. McGuire laughed. “The story was that when the tree was blown over, the roots were full of gold. ”
“Gold?” Nancy raised an eyebrow.
He shook his head. “I don’t believe it either. Most of the washes and ravines have names like that and stories to go with them. We may change that one to Golden Gulch, however, if there is a pocket of gold in the cliffs of the canyon.”
“That would be quite appropriate,” Nancy told him. “I hope it works out.”
“Now, what about the Kachina you saw? Tell me all about it. What was it like?”
“Well, to begin with, it was the Cloud Kachina, or at least it looked like the Cloud Kachina painting.” Nancy did her best to tell him everything that she’d seen and heard that night.
Once she’d completed her story, Mr. McGuire began describing his experience with the same spirit. When he finished, he asked, “Do you think that was the solution? Finding the journal, I mean. Have you routed our resident ghost?”
Nancy sighed and put down her fork. “I’m afraid not. ”
“What do you mean? Have you seen the thing again?”
Nancy shook her head. “I haven’t, but George and Bess saw a Kachina on the ridge outside last night, and I’ve heard the chanting every night I’ve been here.” The young sleuth sighed. “I don’t know what it means, but I’m sure there is more to this mystery, and I’m still trying to solve it. ”
“Well, you just watch yourself,” Mr. McGuire told her. “I don’t want you to end up in the hospital the way I did. You have taken altogether too many chances already.”
“I’ll be careful,” Nancy assured him. The conversation was ended by Heather’s announcement that they had less than an hour to get ready for their guests.
The moment she entered her room, Nancy sensed a change. She looked around quickly, seeking a reason for the feeling. At first, everything seemed to be in order. Then she saw that the bedspread had been disturbed.
Remembering the incident with the scorpion, Nancy approached the bed cautiously, not sure what to expect. However, when she eased the spread back, no dangerous creature awaited her. Instead, she found a feather lying in the fold of the heavy material!
It was very old and slightly dusty, and when Nancy picked it up, she gasped. She recognized it as being from the headdress of the Kachina spirit she had followed in the hall!
18
Barn Dance
Nancy stood quite still, her heart pounding. Then she heard the soft sounds of chanting once again. She ran quickly to the window, then to the hall, but there was no sign of the Kachina spirit in either place.
Disappointed, Nancy sat down on the bed. She realized the feather was a message or perhaps a summons, but she had no idea what it meant!
Swallowing a sigh, she placed the feather carefully in the drawer of her bedside table and turned her attention to what she had come to her room to do. She had to get dressed—the celebration was about to begin!
Nancy donned the blue-and-white gingham peasant dress that she’d bought while they were in Apache Junction shopping for decorations, and studied her reflection in the mirror. The square neckline with its feminine, white ruffles was very becoming, and the blue ribbon sash made her waist look tiny above the full, swinging skirt. White sandals and a white crocheted shawl completed the outfit, and she felt very festive.
Nancy had already decided not to mention the feather when she stepped out of her room. She smiled easily at Bess and George, who were waiting in the hall. Both girls were clad in dresses similar in style to Nancy’s—George’s in shades of gold and brown, Bess’s in a rose that brought out the pink in her cheeks.
Bess twirled on her toes. “Don’t you just
feel
like dancing in a dress like this?”
Nancy laughed. “You’d feel like dancing in jeans and cowboy boots,” she teased.
“Well, of course I would,” Bess admitted, “but this is better. I hope Chuck likes it. ”
Nancy laughed. “I know he will.”
“Let’s go,” Heather called from the lobby. “I hope you don’t mind walking. It’s only a little more than half a mile, and both our vehicles are loaded with food.”
“Lead the way,” Nancy told her.
The path they followed was clear of rocks and led up to a ridge, then wound gently down the other side to where the barn sat near the road. As they descended the hill, Nancy could see the jeep and the station wagon at the rear door of the barn, while several other cars were already parked in front of the well-lit, old building.
Lanterns glowed in all the windows and light spilled out the open doors. As the girls drew closer, they could hear the sounds of the band tuning up their fiddles and guitars.
Floyd, Tim, Diana, and the rest of their companions from the night of the barbecue were waiting near their cars. As soon as they had greeted the girls, they all went inside. Once they began dancing, they were joined by dozens of other couples.
It was a fine party, but different from any Nancy had ever attended. Whole families arrived, some bringing food which was delivered to what had once been the feed or tack room of the barn.
Babies were settled in baskets on the hay bales, while children Ngyun’s age and younger ran in and out, laughing and playing. Everyone seemed to know and like everyone else, and they all greeted Mr. McGuire warmly and congratulated Nancy on solving the mystery that had surrounded Ngyun and the theft of the turquoise jewelry.
The music the band played was a mixture of country-western tunes, square dances, modern pop, and old favorites—something to please everyone. Nancy found herself with a different partner for every dance and had to plead exhaustion before she was allowed to stop.
Floyd escorted her to the punch bowl which rested on a table opposite the small bandstand, and poured a glass for each of them.
“How do you like our country dance, Nancy?” he asked.
“I love it,” Nancy admitted enthusiastically, “but I don’t know where some of the people get all their energy. That older couple out there hasn’t missed a single dance—fast or slow.”
Floyd laughed. “They’re my grandparents, and you can bet they’ll stay on the floor all night. They are members of a championship square dance club, so they’re in terrific shape.”
Bess and Chuck came over to join them. Bess accepted a glass of punch, then asked, “When do they serve all the goodies I saw Maria fixing?”
Chuck laughed. “Bess, your appetite is incredible!” Then he looked at his watch. “In about half an hour,” he said. “We try to serve the food early enough so the children can eat before they wander out to the cars to sleep.”
“Is that what happens?” Nancy asked. “I wondered, with so many children here.”
“Everyone brings blankets, and when the younger ones get sleepy, their parents just settle them in their cars.”
“Sounds simple enough,” Bess observed.
Chuck nodded. “Well, a couple of times people have gotten home and discovered they have the wrong child, but since everyone knows everybody else, they just settle it with a phone call and trade back in the morning.”
Nancy and Bess giggled, then Floyd took Nancy’s empty punch glass and set it on the table before whirling her back out onto the dance floor. The time passed pleasantly, and when the feast was spread out, they were ready to do it justice. The hard exercise on the dance floor had whetted every appetite.
Later, however, when the music grew slower and the crowd had thinned a little, Nancy slipped outside alone for a breath of air. The night was clear, and though the moon was no longer full, it was still quite large enough to give plenty of light to the now familiar desert landscape.
She moved away from the barn into the quiet of the desert, hearing the distant howling of coyotes as they serenaded the moon in their own fashion. Just then, a movement on the ridge that hid the resort from her view caught her eye.
Nancy’s heart pounded as she recognized her guide from the previous night, the Cloud Kachina! It moved with ghostly grace along the rough ground. The moonlight glinted on the white feathers that adorned its colorful face mask, giving it almost a halo effect.
Nancy gasped as it seemed to turn her way and gesture with one red, yellow, and white-painted arm. It wanted her to follow it!
Everything else forgotten, and totally without fear, Nancy turned her steps in that direction, cutting across the rougher ground to save time as she hurried after the apparition. As she neared the top of the ridge, the spirit vanished from her view, and for a moment she was afraid that she had misunderstood the signal and perhaps frightened it. However, when she reached the crest, she could see it ahead of her, drifting unhurriedly toward the resort.
Breathless with excitement, the young detective followed the ghostly spirit as it skirted the old, stone structure. It led her around the front, into the shadows on the side of the building opposite from where her room was located.
Few lights were burning in the windows on this end of the building. However, the moonlight on the white feathers made the Kachina visible even as it ventured into the brush and trees that grew in thorny profusion near the wall.
Nancy stopped, unsure what to do. The Kachina halted, too, barely noticeable behind the mesquite and cactus that protected the wall of the building. Once again, the arm signaled for her to approach. Nancy obeyed slowly, feeling in her dress pocket for the matches she’d put there when she’d helped Maria light the candles on the serving table.
“Too bad you spirits don’t supply flashlights,” she told the apparition as she approached, making her way cautiously, not wanting to snag her new dress on any of the thorny plants.
The Kachina remained in place till Nancy was almost close enough to touch it. Suddenly, it was gone! Nancy hesitated, then carefully lit a match. The light helped only a little, but she did catch a glimpse of color low on the wall before the match sputtered out.
The next one lasted longer as she held it down near the ground so she could see what was painted on the wall. A fierce-looking Kachina stared back at her from the slits of its black mask, and Nancy shivered though the night was mild.
Several more matches showed no further clues. There was only a single painting and it was too dark for her to study it. She finally left the shadows of the house.
She’d wanted a clue, and now the Kachina spirit had given her one! The only trouble was, she had no idea what it might mean. With a sigh, she started back toward the barn, aware that her friends might have missed her and that they would worry if they had.
Floyd was waiting for her when she reached the foot of the hill. “I’ve been watching for you,” he told her. “Where were you?”
“Out to get some air,” Nancy said, deciding not to mention the ghost just yet. “Did I miss anything?
“Not much. The band took a break and Mr. McGuire gave a little speech, explaining to everyone what happened. He praised you for your excellent sleuthing, and Ngyun for his bravery. The boy really loved it; he’s quite the star of the evening.”
Nancy laughed. “He deserves it after all he’s been through.”
“Well, he does share the limelight with you, Nancy!”
Nancy blushed. “My job isn’t done yet,” she said. “I haven’t solved the Kachina’s secret yet!”
“You will,” Floyd said with a chuckle. “And I bet it won’t take long, either.”
“I’m certainly going to try,” Nancy replied, thinking of the painting her elusive guide had shown her tonight. Tomorrow, in daylight, perhaps she’d be able to make some sense out of the strange, little Kachina with its ferocious appearance!
19
A Ghost Beckons
After she got into bed that night, Nancy opened the drawer of the bedside table and took out the feather. She held it lightly, studying it, wondering what the morning would bring, then she laid it gently on the other pillow before she went to sleep.
Thanks to her impatience, she woke early in spite of the late night. When she was dressed, she armed herself with some stout clippers from the pool storage shed and made her way around to the far side of the old, stone building.
It took her several minutes to locate the small painting. Once she did, she spent nearly half an hour clearing away the worst of the growth in front of it. Even when she’d finished, she wasn’t surprised that no one had found the painting before. It was in a hidden spot, shielded by the very unevenness of the wall itself. If it hadn’t been for her guide, she would never have found it.
Suddenly, there was a sound behind her, and she whirled around, startled.