Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach Page A

it. I want to talk to her.”
    â€œMe too.”
    â€œSo then we should go to the cemetery and see what she has to say.”
    â€œYeah,” Henry agreed. “Hey—you said you had something to tell me. What was it?”
    â€œOh, right, I do.” Delilah took a breath. “It’s nothing compared to yours, but I was reading that library book I brought home, the one on Arizona legends, and it has some true stories too—or at least, the true stories the legends are based on. And one of them is about this guy, Adolph Ruth.”
    Henry had clamped the phone so close to his ear, it felt hot. “That name…”
    â€œIt was in the historical society booklet, I’m pretty sure. One of the first disappearances on the mountain.”
    â€œWhat happened to him?” Henry tried to remember.
    â€œOh, the usual. He was missing for six months, then his skull was found with two bullet holes in it,” Delilah recited calmly. “But here’s the interesting part: he was a treasure hunter, and he was looking for the Lost Dutchman’s Mine.”
    â€œDid he find it?” Henry asked eagerly.
    â€œNobody knows for sure. But a year after Adolph Ruth’s skull was found, they discovered more human remains with a lot of his belongings, including his checkbook. And there was a note inside, which said he’d discovered the mine! At the bottom, it had the words ‘ veni, vidi, vici. ’”
    Henry listened blankly. How could there still be so many words he didn’t know? “Is that a foreign language? What does it mean?”
    On the other end of the line, he could hear the door unlatch and an impatient, “Delilah! Are you still on the phone? It’s past your bedtime.”
    Delilah’s faint apology followed. “Okay, I’ll say good-bye.”
    â€œNow, please.” The door clicked shut.
    â€œI have to go,” Delilah said reluctantly.
    â€œBut what does it mean?”
    â€œIt’s Latin for ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’ But listen to this: everybody at the time thought it meant he’d discovered the gold.”
    â€œWow!” Henry exclaimed. “Adolph Ruth. We have to find out more about him.”
    â€œWe have to find out more about a lot of people, including the three Texas boys,” Delilah countered. She must have shifted position on the bed, because he could hear her mattress springs squeaking. “I really do have to hang up,” she said. “But, Henry … what was it like?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThe mountain. What was it like up there?”
    â€œOh…” Henry hesitated. How could he describe it? “It was—well, it was really spooky, actually,” he said slowly. “Quiet, with lots of trees and a weird feeling. Almost like someone else was up there. Watching us.”
    â€œThat does sound spooky,” Delilah said. “Maybe Superstition Mountain really is haunted. You think?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Henry said. “That’s what we’ll ask Sara Delgado.”

CHAPTER 17
    AT THE CEMETERY
    T HE NEXT MORNING, the boys rushed through breakfast, not even bothering to squabble over the plastic toy at the bottom of the Cheerios box. They knew where the cemetery was: on the other side of the neighborhood, surrounded by desert, an easy bike ride away. The bigger challenge was getting out the door without interference from Mrs. Barker.
    â€œWhat’s up?” their mother asked suspiciously. “Why the big hurry?”
    â€œNo reason,” Simon said.
    As they scrambled to put on their shoes, she continued to watch them. “Have you made your beds?”
    â€œYes,” they chorused.
    â€œFed Josie?”
    â€œI did,” Henry answered.
    â€œStraightened your rooms? Because if I go back there and find clothes on the floor—”
    â€œMom! Can we go, please?” Henry begged.
    â€œGo