Curse of the Ruins Read Free

battery into the back of one of the pieces and handed it to Shala. “Here, you take the transmitter and go into Katie’s room and hide.”
    “Is anybody listening to me? We don’t have time for this.” Katie tapped her fingernails impatiently on the headboard.
    “It won’t take long.” Sam waited a few minutes after Shala had gone through the connecting door. Then he pushed a black buttonon the piece he was holding. They could hear a loud buzzing noise like a ringing doorbell.
    Sam picked up the device and stood in the doorway between the two rooms. He opened it and pushed the button again. This time it rang even more loudly. “No contest,” Sam called. “You’re under the bed.”
    Shala crawled out. “That thing is great! It’s small enough so that you could put it anywhere—in your wallet, on your dog, or even on an unsuspecting person.”
    “That’s the idea. It’s still got a few bugs, though. I’m trying to increase the range of the transmitter and also put in an optional detector. See this light? Hopefully, when I’m finished you’ll have the choice of either hearing the buzzer or seeing a small red flash when it picks up the signal.”
    “Are we through playing yet?” Katie was standing in the doorway. “Because if we are, I suggest we do something useful, like go look for Dad.”
    Shala handed the transmitter to Sam. “The main thing is not to panic. If we’re going to help Uncle William, we have to go over thiswhole thing logically, starting from the beginning. How did he wind up down here anyway?”
    Katie sat on the edge of the bed. “About six months ago Dad was asked to come to New Mexico to take a look at some ancient ruins that were recently discovered in the wilderness. El Debajo is considered a fantastic find. The only problem is, it has to be handled carefully because of local Native American beliefs. The group sponsoring him knows that Dad has dealt with these sensitive types of situations before, and that’s why they hired him.”
    “How many people are on your father’s team?” Shala asked.
    “The advance team is usually five archaeologists, including Dad. Normally he picks his own people, but this time there was a hitch. The government got involved and insisted that he work with a couple of their experts. So right now there are only three of them. More will come down if Dad thinks the site is worth it.” Katie frowned. “Dad told me that the government was afraid to let too many people inthe ruins at once. This area has had a rash of kidnappings lately. It’s so close to the border, it’s easy for the bad guys to run to Mexico and hide from the authorities.”
    Sam put his invention on the table. “You think Dad’s been kidnapped?”
    “At this point we can’t be sure of anything.” Shala rubbed his temples, trying to concentrate. “The odds are against it. According to the registration clerk, Uncle William has been gone for several days. That’s long enough for a ransom note to turn up if some-body was holding him for money. No, there has to be another reason.”
    Katie started pacing again. “If he hasn’t been kidnapped, then where is he?”
    There was a soft tap on the door.
    “Who’s there?” Shala called.
    No one answered, but the knob turned and Pepe slid inside the room, quickly closing the door behind him.
    “How’d you do that?” Sam asked. “We had that door locked.”
    “I have many talents.” Pepe smiled pleasantly. “My cousin Pancho taught me everythingabout locks. At times it can be very useful.”
    “I bet. Did you find out anything about our father?” Katie asked.
    “
Sí
. I have information in which you will be interested.” Pepe kept his voice low. “Your father and his companions have been working at the Debajo ruins for several months. They often came into San Marcos for supplies. Professor Crockett was last seen here almost three weeks ago. But he and his friends have not been in town since.”
    “Where are they?” Sam