ANCIENT RUINS AND MODERN ROMANCE

It had been unanimously agreed that all would wait at Bishops Lodge until Sandy got back from Santa FÉ, then all would ride to Taos Pueblo together. Therefore Tally was told to stay in bed as long as he liked and not get up for breakfast, but it was not necessary to advise the girls, as they had no idea of going to bed at two o’clock and getting up at dawn, when there would be nowhere to go. Hence every one slept in the morning.

At a very late breakfast it was hastily decided to drive out in an automobile to the Nambe Indian Reservation where Burt could collect such information as might prove to be valuable for his articles in the paper. They could all be back at the Lodge in the afternoon by the time Sandy was expected. The horses and burros would have rested twelve or more hours then, and could resume the trail.

This plan was carried out, and when the party returned to the Lodge they were delighted to find the Ranger had arrived shortly before them.

“Hello, friends!” called Sandy coming out to the large porch. “I know you’re all glad to see me feeling so well and happy.”

The scouts laughed and crowded around him, asking for particulars of the arrest. Also they were eager to know what the New Yorkers did after the outlaws were in jail—and what became of the splendid horses?

“Gee, I’m glad I am rested and had dinner,” retorted Sandy. “All those questions to answer at once.”

“Save yourself, Sandy,” laughed Mrs. Vernon. “Because I’m going to make the girls go up and gather their belongings. Gilly says we will take the trail in half-an-hour and camp out to-night.”

“Of course you will come with us?” said Julie.

“I want to,” returned Sandy, his eyes telling the girl how much he really did want to. “But I must have a word with the Captain alone, before I decide.”

Therefore the Captain stepped aside and heard what the Ranger had to say. After a serious talk the two of them entered the Lodge.

“You girls can scoot to your rooms and get your doo-dabs, can’t you?” asked Mr. Gilroy.

So they went in, but saw nothing of the Captain or Sandy, as they passed through the main hall. Shortly after they had gone to their rooms, Mrs. Vernon and Sandy, with two strange young men of Sandy’s age, came out and spoke to Mr. Vernon and Mr. Gilroy. Hearing the proposition, Mr. Gilroy said:

“As you say, Captain. It’s your party, you know.”

Therefore the scouts discovered upon their return to the entrance of the Lodge that two fine-looking young college graduates had been added to the party. And to their astonishment, and to Tally’s joy, these men owned and rode the two thoroughbred horses which the Indian had found and brought back. They had been well cared for in the stable at the Lodge the previous night, and now were fresh as ever and ready to go on.

Victor Adair, one of the two strangers, was dark, slender and most entertaining, once he became acquainted. His friend and traveling companion Godfrey Chase, was very blond and good-natured, but not as quick-witted as his chum.

“Do we take the trail to Tesuque Creek, thence to the pueblo of Tesuque?” asked Sandy, when all were ready to start.

“You know best, Sandy. We’ll follow,” said Mr. Gilroy.

“All right then, Tesuque Pueblo is not far, and after visiting there we may have time to jog along to Cuyamunque where we can pitch camp for the night,” outlined Sandy.

At Tesuque the scouts found few Spaniards; the citizens mostly were pure-blooded Indians. The natives make strange pottery which is for sale, so Mrs. Vernon purchased many curious animal forms of images, called “gods.” The prehistoric pueblo proved to be interesting, and Burt and Julie found the visit to be worth the trouble; he gathered some splendid copy for his article in his paper, and the scout secured several excellent photographs for her work.

They did not attempt to go farther that night than the fine camp-site at the forks of Tesuque Creek. Tally made every one go to work and, soon, they were settled as if camp had been established for a week.

That night was a merry one around the camp fire. Singing, tale-telling, and star-gazing, to say nothing of the chaff that pleases young folks, made the time fly until Mr. Gilroy said it was time to say good-night.

The following morning the riders resumed the trail and, quite naturally, paired off as best suited them. Sandy rode with Julie, Mr. Gilroy and Betty; Adair and Joan followed; then Hester and Chase. Mrs. Vernon rode with Burt, and Mr. Vernon with Tally.

The trail led through Cuyamunque, before branching to a north-easterly direction to touch at Nambe; the two young men recently added to the scout-party had not seen the old Indian village, so now they visited the ancient ceremonial kiva, and then went up the rocky gorge to see Nambe Falls. Thence they rode by Escondillo, and Julie got several good pictures of the old buildings.

The road now took them through sandstone hills cast in weird shapes. Later they stopped at Sanctuario to visit its quaint chapel, then continued on to Chimayo where Mrs. Vernon and Mr. Gilroy purchased a number of very fine blankets woven on primitive looms by the natives. That night they camped on the Truchas river, where it crossed the trail, and in the morning they resumed trailing in an easterly direction to Trampas then northly to Taos. It was twilight when they reached Ranchos de Taos where rest and a good supper proved to be most welcome.

Mrs. Vernon had had to keep a vigilant eye on the flirtatious young men who fully appreciated four sweet, pretty girls, because she was bound to deliver her young charges heart whole to their mothers. But the scouts had no concern over such fears, and thus enjoyed to the full the companionship of the well-bred college boys.

The Pueblo of Taos, divided by the Taos River, proved to be most interesting, its great walls rising on the river-sides to the height of seven stories, two stories higher than the famous Zuria pueblo.

Julie and her friends took many splendid pictures of this ancient fastness of the Taos Indians: the seven kivas; the adobe wall with is loop-holes which surrounds the village of more than four hundred natives; the ever artistic groups of Indians; and other appealing pictures.

Young Adair and his friend Chase had planned to follow the trail from Taos to Las Vegas, but now they changed their itinerary. Mrs. Vernon understood why, but Betty said innocently: “Maybe they’re afraid to take such a long trail alone, Verny; you see, they are perfectly safe with a party like ours.”

“Well, Betty, I’m not so sure of that!”

“Oh, Verny! you know that not one of us would steal their horses,” exclaimed Betty, shocked at the Captain’s words.

“No, not their horses, Betty, but how about their hearts?

“Verny! What do you mean,” gasped the girl, turning to look at the convulsed faces of her scout chums. At the look on her face they lost all control and burst into laughter. But their very merriment assured Mrs. Vernon that they had no sentimental ideas concerning the young men.

On the ride back to Santa FÉ the scout-party followed the Rio Grande River, stopping over night at San Juan and Santa Cruz, and from the latter place riding out to visit the great Puye Ruins. It is located upon the Pajarito plateau, and is said to have 1600 rooms. It is built in terraces similar to those at Taos. The caves and shrines are well preserved and many prehistoric implements have been excavated from the sands of centuries.

The scouts had a very pleasant visit, because the inhabitants were friendly and hospitable. Riding down-trail from EspaÑola they camped at San Ildefonso, where the Pojoaque River and the Rio Grande intersect. The remaining twenty-seven miles to Santa FÉ they proposed to make the next day. As this ride to Taos, with all the side-trips the scouts had made, was a long though interesting one, the girls were most willing to give the horses a good rest once they arrived in Santa FÉ.

“The animals may rest in peace, but we, with the sight-seeing germ, ‘go on forever,’” complained Joan, stretching her lithe young form.

“You do not have to, you know,” retorted Julie, “You may stable yourself for a rest, if you prefer it to ‘going on’ with us.”

“Not much! I don’t want to be left out of any fun,” laughed Joan. “But I sure will be thankful to be left out of that saddle for a few days.”

“Oh, as for that, we’ll all be thankful for that dispensation,” added Mrs. Vernon.

Mr. Gilroy rode up to the girls at this moment and said: “Captain, Sandy tells me that he knows of a first-class little ranch house just on the outskirts of Santa FÉ where our party can be accommodated in an unostentatious way. We won’t have to consider dressing for meals or pay attention to style. What say you?”

“I should prefer it to any hotel in the city,” replied Mrs. Vernon. “How about you, girls.”

“Is Sandy and his friends going on to a hotel in the city?” asked Julie.

Mr. Gilroy chuckled. “No, they plan to stop at Belnap Ranch, that’s why they seem so anxious to have you stay there.”

“Then we’ll stop at Belnap Ranch—just to spare our nerves the rack of trying to keep up with tourists at a city hotel,” was Joan’s emphatic reply.

It was with hopes centered upon the fun to be had in the next few days’ visit at Belnap Ranch that the young folks rode forward to the slight elevation from which they could get a good view of Santa FÉ. Sandy acted as official information bureau now. He pointed out the Museum, the Old Palace, the Cathedral which was started in 1612, the San Miguel Church, centuries old, and then he directed their attention to the up-to-date churches, hotels and business buildings. Finally they turned and rode on down to Belnap’s Ranch House.

“What narrow streets the city seems to have,” commented Joan.

“Queer, isn’t it, with so much vacant land adjacent to the town?” added Julie.

“How different it will seem from the mountains,” added Hester.

“You have not really seen Santa FÉ, my dears,” said Mrs. Vernon. “Wait till you have gotten into the spirit of this ancient city and then judge.”

“The Captain is right. Once you feel the spirit of the ‘City of the Holy Faith,’ and know its history, you will doubtless decide it is the most alluring place you have visited this summer,” said Mr. Vernon.

“While Verny and I go out to assist Tally with the horses and burros, you scouts may as well go about and get a look at things,” suggested Mr. Glroy.

But Mrs. Vernon hastily interpolated: “Not till after every one has washed, and brushed away the dust and stains of travel; then we’ll meet on the piazza and decide what to do.”

“Will the police arrest us for going about the streets in riding breeches?” questioned Betty, fearfully.

“If the Indians wander in and out of town with scarcely enough on to cover their bodies, I doubt if any one will stop to notice our togs,” laughed Joan.

“I shouldn’t advise you to try the main streets and visit the stores, or stop to see the Museum and the Cathedral,” laughed Mr. Vernon.

Then the scouts hurried to the low-ceiled rooms they were to occupy, and were soon ridding themselves of the signs of the long trail.