The Mystery of the Blazing Cliffs - M. V. Carey [13]
Fifteen minutes later they saw the fence, grey-white in the moonlight beyond the dark hedge of oleanders. The boys crept up to the hedge, and standing in the shadows of the bushes, they cautiously looked over them. Now they could see the road beyond the hedge, and the dark undergrowth of the wilderness on the other side of the road. They watched, and they waited.
For a minute or two nothing moved on the road. But then there were headlights. A jeep came along slowly. A searchlight was mounted on the jeep, and the boys had to duck to avoid the beam that swept across the hedge and then swung to the south to probe the wilderness there.
As the jeep passed, a beam of light flashed from the cliffs far to the west of the gate. It danced along the edge of Barron’s property.
“Someone’s up there watching the fence,” said Bob.
Jupiter sighed. “Probably one of Barron’s men.”
“He might spot us if we try to go over the fence,” Pete observed, “and there’s a guard near the gate. I can see him from here.”
The jeep turned and came back past the gate. It stopped in the road near the spot where the boys waited. Again the watcher on the hillside sent his light stabbing through the night.
It rested on the men in the jeep. There were three of them. One looked up towards the cliff, then took his rifle from his shoulder and checked it, as if to be sure it was loaded. After a moment the jeep rolled on. It topped a small rise and then dipped out of sight in the hollow beyond it.
“Why would Barron’s men stop us if we go over the fence?” Bob asked reasonably.
“Why would they bother? Doesn’t Mr. Barron just want to keep people from coming in?”
“Probably,” said Jupiter, “but if Barron’s guards see us, they might make some noise that would attract the attention of the soldiers.”
“Well, would they care?” said Bob. “We’re just pedestrians. We wouldn’t get in the way of any military vehicles on the road.”
“But suppose it isn’t really military vehicles the lieutenant is concerned about,” Jupe countered. “Suppose what he really wants is to keep the staff of Rancho Valverde bottled up?”
“You sound like Mr. Barron,” said Pete, “and I think he’s nuts!”
“Perhaps he is, but I feel he’s right about one thing,” said Jupe. “The lieutenant’s main interest is the ranch, not the road. He’d probably keep us from leaving. But if we can get across the road into that wilderness area, we could get away.”
“Hold it!” cried Pete. “We’re only a few miles from the main highway, but if it’s a few miles of scrub brush, you can count me out! We’d be cut to ribbons in the dark!”
“You’re probably right,” said Jupe. “Okay. When I looked at the map before we left Rocky Beach, I saw another road. It’s to the north of the ranch. If we could climb the cliffs, we could get to it easily.”
Pete turned and stared at the nearest line of cliffs, to the west. The moon was high now, and the cliffs looked bleak as they loomed up in the ghostly light. There were black shadows in the places where gullies and ravines broke the surface.
“Okay,” said Pete. “We can go out over the cliffs. But not at night, Jupe. Not without a flashlight. It’s too steep and the light’s too tricky. One mistake there could be our last.”
“True,” said Jupiter. “All right. Let’s go back to the ranch, get some rest, then start out at first light.”
The boys began to walk back through the citrus groves towards the ranch house. It was easier going now, with the moonlight and the lamps in the houses ahead to show them their path. When they were a hundred yards or so from the Barron house they got back on to the lane.
“Jupe?” Konrad came around the corner of the ranch house. “Jupe, are you there?” he called. “Pete? Bob?”
“We’re here, Konrad,” said Jupe.
“Why did you not come into the house?” asked Konrad. “Where did you go? I have been looking for you.”
The back door of the Barron house opened and Charles Barron came out. “Who’s wandering around out here?” he called.
“It’s only us, Mr. Barron,” said Pete.
And then he saw a sudden,