Meg Mackintosh Solves Seven American History Mysteries (13 page)

Mr. Gonzales knew all the ranch hands who helped them saddle their horses. Then he led Gramps, Meg, and Peter down the trail winding through cacti and pinon trees. It was sunny but not too hot.

“I never knew there were so many colorful plants in the desert,” Meg said. She patted her horse. “I could ride all day!”

As they approached his old family home, Mr. Gonzales explained that the buildings and surrounding walls were made of adobe.

Peter trotted up to an old wooden gate, but it was jammed shut. Then they heard someone call out. It was Mr. Gonzales' cousin. She was surprised but pleased to greet visitors as she led them through the more modern gate.

“This is my cousin Lucia,” Mr. Gonzales said, introducing them. “These are my new friends. They are detectives trying to solve a historical mystery. It might have something to do with Great-Grandmother.”

“How fascinating.” Lucia's eyes lit up. “I do have some things of great-grandmother's I can show you.” She disappeared through a dark oak door and returned a few minutes later with a small ornate box. It was made of carved wood with gilt designs along the edges.

“It looks like a miniature treasure chest,” whispered Peter.

“My mother told me this was a little collection of things Great-Grandmother found around the ranch. They're really nothing of importance, but I hate to throw them out.” She lifted out the objects. There were three items wrapped in a piece of red-and-white striped cloth.

“Just an old button, a piece of turquoise, and a broken piece of pottery,” said Peter.

“These aren't just broken pieces,” exclaimed Mr. Gonzales. “This is an ancient piece of Pueblo pottery! And this silver button has Spanish on it.”

“Wow!” said Peter. “Those are really old. What about this piece of turquoise?”

“That looks like a Mexican design,” added Lucia.

“So each artifact is from a different group of people who lived here!” suggested Peter. “I think your great-grandmother was some kind of history buff!”

“Or archaeologist,” added Meg as she looked over her research notes on Pecos. “Too bad there isn't anything from the American Civil War. There was a battle near here.”

“That's right,” said Lucia. “I remember my father telling me that Union soldiers hid at the ranch.”

“Meg, ‘
cuatro partes de artefactos historico
' … four artifacts of history!” Peter exclaimed.

“But there are only three,” said Meg. “One's missing!”

“Think again!” said Peter. “There are four artifacts of history here! Look at this piece of red-and-white striped cloth.”

“So, it looks like an old tablecloth circa 1950,” Meg quipped.

“Ten-to-one it's a piece of a United States flag! It was probably torn in battle when the Union soldiers were here,” said Peter.

“I think you're on to something, Peter,” said Gramps as he studied the remnant. “When was the battle?”

“The Battle of Glorietta Pass was in 1862,” Meg read from her notes.

“Great-grandmother Joya was born about 1850,” said Lucia. “She would have been about twelve. Our ancestors built this ranch like a fortress. Remember that old South Gate in the walled courtyard around the stables? It has been jammed shut for as long as anyone can remember. Father said Joya let the soldiers in through that gate at the last minute before the Confederates arrived and then she locked it in the nick of time. But then the key was lost. We've kept that gate shut all these years.”

“Your old key,” said Mr. Gonzales. “It could be for a gate like this.”

Meg fumbled in her knapsack, pulling out the old key. “Let's try it!”

They hurried to the ancient adobe wall. Lucia fit the key into the old lock and twisted it. The old lock clunked open, but the door wouldn't budge. They pushed so hard that the lock casing fell down in between the boards of the hollow door.

Peter stuck his hand inside the gap to retrieve the pieces. “There's something inside here.” As he pulled, one panel of wood fell away. Hidden inside the hollow door was a rolled-up piece of cloth. It was red-and-white striped with blue stars. Where one corner had been ripped, Joya's piece fit in.

“It's the American flag!” exclaimed Peter. “The soldiers must have hid it here during the battle.Do you think the flag has been jamming the lock all these years.”

“Maybe they left it here for Joya in thanks for saving them!” said Lucia.

“Now there are
cinquo artefactos
for your family collection, including the key,” said Meg. “Another history mystery solved.”

“Amazing,” said Mr. Gonzales. “Allow me to cut your silhouettes in thanks.” And he did.

“San Francisco here we come,” said Peter Mackintosh as he gazed at the map.

“How many miles is it from Santa Fe?” Meg asked her brother.

“It's about 1,200 miles,” said Peter. “It depends on which way we want to go and where we want to stop. There's so much to see.”

“Jot down the places you'd like to visit and we'll make a plan,” suggested their grandfather. Meg, Peter, and Gramps were traveling across the country solving history mysteries.

Peter started a list and marked a route on the map.

“While you do that, I'll take a look at my notes,” Meg said as she chewed the tip of her pencil. “Hmmm,
The San Francisco Riddle
. I wonder what this mystery is about.”

Meg thought about the artifacts. “This lantern is interesting,” said Meg as she examined it with her magnifying glass. “It's made of a metal,” she observed, “oil must have been poured in the base and then burned with this withered wick.”

“What kind of a design is that?” She showed it to Peter.

“Clean it off and we'll have a better idea.” He tossed her a paper towel.

Meg rubbed he lantern softly. “Maybe a genie will appear, and I'll be granted three wishes!” she joked.

“Let's wish that Gramps will stop in all of the places on my list,” said Peter.

“Look!” said Meg. “I think it's a Chinese character. Xu Ming sounds Chinese. I think we know who the history mystery child is!”

“And the Chinese character might be a clue to our destination once we're in San Francisco,” said Peter as he showed Meg a map of the city.

“Chinatown!” exclaimed Meg. “I can hardly wait!”

“There are lots of exciting places to see on our way,” said Gramps. “We'll try to cover as much of Peter's list as we can.”

Gramps was right. All of the National Parks were exciting. But a few days later, when they headed into the city limits of San Francisco, Meg and Peter were happy to return to their investigation.

“Here's the clue from the professor,” said Gramps.

“It's a riddle,” Meg said, puzzling over the clue.

“The twin has the gold. Maybe Xu Ming had a twin brother?”

“Where do we start?” asked Peter.

“We start by parking the minivan and taking a trolley,” said Gramps. “Driving up and down these hills is exasperating!”

While Gramps found a place to park, Peter opened his history book to do some research on Chinese immigration to America. Meg continued to puzzle over the riddle.

“Maybe the lantern has something to do with the gold rush,” suggested Meg.

“Or building the railroads,” said Peter. “It could have been used to light tunnels they were digging.”

“Or gold mines?” said Meg.

“Or both,” said Gramps. “Many Chinese came to California to look for gold, like everyone else did. Some left their families behind in China with plans to return with their fortune. But when the gold rush ended, they stayed on to help build the railroads.”

Meg thought hard, then reread the clue. “'Look within to be told.' There's got to be a clue inside this lantern somewhere,” she said. She undid the stopper that once held in the oil, but couldn't detect anything inside.

“Wait a minute,” she mumbled, turning the lantern over. “These tin columns seem hollow.” Sure enough, she was able to undo a circle of tin on the base that opened up to a hollow shaft. Inside was a rolled-up piece of paper.

“It looks like a Chinese scroll.” Said Peter, amazed.

Meg unrolled the thin paper, but she couldn't read the message. “It's in Chinese.”

“Come on,” Peter said, practically pushing her out the door of the minivan. “Let's go to Chinatown and find someone to translate.”

“It says, ‘Ming Brothers switch lanterns',” the conductor told them. They thanked him as they spun off the trolley in Chinatown.

“That's the same symbol that's on the lantern. This lantern obviously belonged to the Ming family!” Peter asserted.

“I'm still trying to figure out what ‘strike' and ‘spike' have to do with the mystery,” said Meg, scratching her head.

Peter found a phone booth and pulled out the local directory. “Gee, there are so many Mings.”