The Secret of the Tarascan Ruins
by
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Juanita screamed a warning just in time for Jorge to pull back.
“Watch out, the ledge is falling!” She yelled with all her strength as the rushing water ate into the narrow ledge. “Hurry!” she yelled over the thundering waterfall.
Jorge wound the rope under Fernando's arms and yelled for Pedro and Rafael to crank the winch that pulled the rope. Very slowly the rope became taunt and with a cry of pain, Fernando was pulled up the cliff face. A lariat snaked down beside Jorge, and Pedro motioned to him to put on the loop. Jorge quickly ducked inside the loop and swung out beside Fernando, holding him close and trying to keep him from bumping against the rocks. As they neared the top, he realized that Fiesta was carefully pulling the rope taunt as a good quarter horse should. He hopped over the edge of the cliff face and grabbed Fernando to keep his injured leg from hitting against the ledge. Leora jumped off Fiesta and ran over to them.
“Get me some sticks,” she called to Elena, who instead stood on the edge of the cliff and cried,
“Where's Carlos?
Rafael ran back to the winch and started letting the rope out. He looked over the edge of the cliff and called out anxiously, “Carlos? Can you hear me?”
Juanita watched from the path that led up from the pool. With each gush of water more of the ancient cliff path crumbled and fell into the whirling pond beneath the waterfall. Carlos appeared at the mouth of the cave, tying something inside his jacket. He stepped out onto the path, but a sudden tremor warned him just in time to pull back as that piece crumbled and fell out into pool two floors below. He started to untie the rope that bound him to the tree when a sudden creaking sound shocked him. The tree was slowly falling into the waterfall! No longer trying to untie the wet knot, he quickly pulled out his pocket knife and started sawing at the rope.
Juanita watched fearfully as one by one the roots that held the tree to the cliffside pulled out and the tree leaned farther and farther over the waterfall. Carlos was still frantically sawing as the tree began to gather momentum, and, as the last roots gave way, suddenly dropped down into the deep pool below, pulling a desperate Carlos down with it, still sawing at the last threads.
He plunged deep into the water and for a heart-stopping minute, Juanita could see no sign of him. Suddenly a dark head appeared and Carlos grabbed onto the trunk of the tree. She was already urging a reluctant Guayaba down the path when he waved to her.
Using the wrist movement she had practiced while watching Rafael and Pedro, she tossed the rope out into the whirling pool. It fell short and she quickly pulled it back in. The tree was no longer whirling around the middle of the pool, but was already being carried toward the mouth of the river and the rocks being battered by the new rushing flood. This time she couldn't fail, she must get the rope to Carlos before he was carried into the rapids.
She carefully took an extra precious second to calm herself and, as if in slow motion, whirled the loop over her head and tossed it neatly upon his outstretched arm. He pushed himself away from the tree and swam against the flood towar
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About the Book
In this third book in the Palo Alto Adventure series, Carlos discovers the secret of the underground river with a dangerous trip inside the waterfall tunnel.
Elena and Rafael's Great-aunt Elena tells them about a family secret that has been hidden for over 60 years and that would have further united Juanita's family with the Palmas, owners of the historical Hacienda Palo Alto.
Gertrudes, the old family cook, tells them of her adventures during the Mexican Revolution, including facing a firing squad!
While the TV Company is filming them again "discovering" the treasure cavern, Leora, Juanita, Luisito, Pedro and Rafael make another discovery that shakes the archeological world.
Juanita watches her cousin Manuel riding Lucifer and winning a berth on the Mexican Olympic show jumping team where his brother Rogelio and Azar already had a secure place. She and her cousins enjoy a grand ball at the Jockey Club and the next day disaster strikes.
A renowned archeologist arrives from the El Paso/Ciudad Juárez border to supervise their find and his children; Nicolas and Mariana, join the
En éste tercer libro de la serie de Aventuras Palo Alto, Carlos descubre el secreto del río subterráneo en un viaje peligroso dentro del túnel de la cascada.
La tía abuela de Rafael y Elena les cuenta un secreto familiar que ha sido guardado durante más de 60 años y hubiera unido más a la familia de Juanita con los Palma, dueños de la histórica Hacienda Palo Alto.
Gertrudis, la vieja cocinera de la familia, les cuenta de sus aventuras durante la Revolución, ¡incluyendo cuando se enfrentó a un pelotón de fusilamiento!
Mientras que la compañía de televisión está filmándolos otra vez "descubriendo" la caverna del tesoro, Leora, Juanita, Luisito, Pedro y Rafael hacen otro descubrimiento que sacude al mundo arqueológico.
Juanita observa a su primo Manuel, montando a Lucifer, colocarse en el equipo Olímpico Mexicano donde su hermano Rogelio con Azar estaba en 1er lugar. Juanita y sus primos se divierten en el gran baile del Jockey Club y al siguiente sucede una tragedia.
Un arqueólogo famoso llega de la frontera Ciudad Juárez/El Paso para supervisar el descubrimiento y sus hijos, Nicolás y Mariana, se juntan con los amigos de Palo Alto. Un segundo desastre les cae y una serie de eventos sorpresivos descubre el antiguo misterio entre las dos familias.
About the Author
About the author:
B. Palma lives in Mexico City where she is Head of two Montessori schools.
Her husband’s tales of growing up on his family’s haciendas and her adventurous youth in the Mexican countryside are woven into all of the Palo Alto adventures.
Their lifetime love of horses is reflected by their years of equestrian show jumping.
She recently had an article published in the centennial issue of the Montessori Life magazine.
A similar article will be published in the Alpha Delta Kappa International Teacher's Sorority's biannual journal; The Kappan
Recently she was awarded the Mexican National Press Circle's Special Award for Educational Merit, 2008
Her Elementary School has been acknowledged as a model school for the State of Mexico
Her next book, And Then, takes the young adventurers of her books ten years later where their childhood friendships grow into the beginning of lifetime relationships.