"Yes, daughter: read on and you will see," replied Mr. Brewster, gently.
"The curse still pursues me. I have not written to conclude this letter since the night I started it, as hard luck again is my lot.
"I filed the claim and showed the ore but different laws prevail in Colorado, and I found I must register the nearest survey corners and sections to my mine to obtain a legal ownership; however my plans and specifications were sufficient to protect me from claim-jumpers.
"That afternoon, a storm came over the mountains and lasted three days. It blew, and poured, and snowed, until it seemed as if all the furies in Hades were let loose. Then it cleared again and I started out with my dog and horse to visit my mine and make satisfactory corners and plans for filing.
"A great land-slide had occurred during that storm and the entire mountain-side was changed. Canyons, cliffs, and mine are gone. Wiped away as if they had never existed. Of course, I know the gold is still there but buried under tons of earth and trash. It will take longer and cost more to unearth, that is all.
"But I will have to locate the place anew as I have no bearings to work from, so I propose starting from Top Notch Trail and have Patsy help me find it on the down-side, as near as I can remember from the camping-spot of that night where I first wrote this letter:
"I am reserving this until I find the mine, then I will mail it at once. Now that I have definite grounds to work on, my enthusiasm is equal to carry me through any difficulties in my pathway."
"Oh, father, how sad!" wept Polly, handing the letter to Anne, to read to the other two girls.
"We know the rest, Polly. And that is why we never had you read this. Now that we can prove the poor old man was sane, we will try to establish his reputation for all concerned," said Mr. Brewster.
"Why didn't you try to find his family when he died?" asked Polly, frowning at what she considered an oversight.
"We did. Every newspaper of reputation carried an advertisement, but Ah think, now, that the old man assumed another name than his rightful one. That is why we never had a reply to our ads," replied Mr. Simms.
Eleanor was elated at the romance of this experience, and turned toPolly, exclaiming:
"Oh, Poll! S'posing we meet Montresor's son some day, and you fall in love with him without knowing who he is! Then it will all come out when he visits your parents to ask for you, and he will get his share of the mine, anyway!"
Anne laughed heartily at such nonsense but Polly rather favored such an ending, so her mother and father quickly interrupted the romance by saying:
"Come, come, sign papers and wind up this affair!"
Mr. Simms said the assay was more than satisfactory, and "Choko's Find" was filed as the discovery of "Marybelle Brewster, daughter of Sam and Mary Brewster of Pebbly Pit."
"Who's Marybelle Brewster?" wondered Eleanor, surprised.
"It's me, but no one knows it!" laughed Polly.
"Sam, when do you reckon you-all ought to go back to the mine and investigate?" said Mr. Simms.
"We-all plan to ride there early in the morning. Will you-all try to come with us?"
"Ah'd like it first-rate. Ah haven't had my regular fishing trip this year and this will answer," replied Simms, eagerly.
"Then be shore to meet us at seven or eight o'clock at the Pine Tree just by the corduroy roadway," said Mr. Brewster.
"Sam, better get away before that! We won't be the only riders alongTop Notch trail the moment this 'find' gets wind!" warned Simms.
"He's right, Sam! Let's start from the farm at day-break and meet Mr.Simms at five or six," advised Mrs. Brewster.
"Right! Make it six, Simms, and see if the coroner and sheriff want an outing." Mr. Brewster's voice sounded interesting.
Just as the lawyer opened the door for the ladies to leave, a handsome young man of about eighteen came down the road. It was evident, in every way, that he was a "tenderfoot" newly arrived. Probably just came in on the noon local from Denver.
"I'm looking for Carew's Camp, sir. That cowboy over at the box-car said you might tell me how to reach it."
"Oh, that's the surveyin' crew for the government. Ah reckon you'll have quite a jaunt afore night to reach there. They're working about twenty mile from here—up on the Yellow Jacket Pass road," replied Simms, studying the surprised face closely.
"Ah saw Carew's driver stopping at Jake's when we drove by, Simms," said Mr. Brewster at this moment.
"If you-all can find Jake, that will be the way to arrive—take a reserved seat beside him,"' chuckled Simms.
The youth was shy before so many pretty girls, so he took off his cap to acknowledge the obligation, and would have backed away had not Simms asked a very strange question.
"Young man, you look exactly like an old friend I knew in these parts, some years back. So like, that I must ask you your name."
The stranger flushed and stammered: "I am Kenneth Evans, from New York."
Simms frowned when he heard the name and turned to Sam Brewster: "Did you ever see anything to beat that likeness to the man we were just talking about?"
Polly had noticed the resemblance as did her father, but nothing more was said at that time, as so much remained to be attended to before the ride on the morrow.
"Well, Boy, be sure to drop in and have a talk with me the next time you are in town. My friend was from your way, too, and who knows but we-all can hook up a relationship, eh?" said Simms, holding out his hand to young Evans.
"I'll be glad to do that," responded Kenneth, heartily.
Mrs. Brewster's kindly heart was touched by the utter forlornness expressed in the youth's face when he heard how far away the surveyor's camp was located, so she addressed him directly.
"Did you want to reach Carew to-night, or can you come home with us and get a fresh start for camp, in the morning?"
"I was supposed to report to Carew yesterday, but I lost the train at Chicago, and that made me late all along the line of train-connections," explained young Evans, smiling more cheerfully. "I thank you just the same, for inviting me to join your circle, but I really feel that I must find this man Jake and get away."
"Well, young man," now abetted Mr. Brewster, "do as you think best, but that won't prevent you from riding over to Pebbly Pit any day you can get away from work, and having dinner with us."
The young man was surprised at such hearty hospitality shown an utter stranger, but he had heard of western generosity and he now felt that he had met such types of westerners. Just now, Mr. Simms called out quickly: "There goes Jake! Hey,Jake!Ah say—J-A-K-E!"
The man called Jake halted as he was crossing the muddy road, and looked towards the group which stood in front of Simms' office. Simms waved his wide-brimmed hat to denote that he was wanted, so the driver turned and slouched along the side of the road until he was within a few feet of the lawyer, before the latter explained.
"We-all got a fine young Tenderfoot here, for you, Jake, and Ah just wanted to warn you to handle him with care or these pretty gals of Pebbly Pit will call you to account for him. Boys are scarcer than hen's teeth, since the war, you know, and our gals are having a hard time raking the country to find such a swain as young Evans."
Mr. Simms' frivolous talk made the girls smile, and Kenneth Evans began to feel more at ease. But Jake was replying to the attorney's explanation, and he listened to what was said.
"Ah come all the way from camp, yistiddy, and no kid to be seen. Then the boss sent me back to-day to meet this local train but he ain't come yet.Nowwhen he shows up, he can walk to Carew's Camp, fur all I care! I'm going back, right off."
"Lookin' for a kid, eh? What sort of one is he?" teased Mr. Simms.
"Augh, Jim Latimer says he was bigger'n him, but a blondy. And he said he looked a Tenderfoot all through. I asked Red Mike if a feller stopped at his eatin' place for a snack, but Mike tole me he ain't seen no stranger in Oak Crick, this week," Jake grumbled.
"Did you say Jim Latimer?" exclaimed Eleanor, eagerly.
Jake turned to stare at the girl, and young Evans brightened visibly, then he said: "Do you know Jim?"
"Do you know him?" chorused several voices, Polly and her parents joining the chorus.
"Do I know Jim?" repeated Kenneth, laughing like his old merry self. "I should say I did! Why, Jim and I went through school together, back East, and it's Jim who got me in this Crew so I can get experience and money at the same time."
"Well, this is great!" exclaimed Sam Brewster. "You see my boy John goes to college with Tom Latimer, at Chicago, and that's how we met Jim—his brother gave him a letter of introduction to bring us when he came out here to work with Carew. I knew the Boss of the survey crew, and Jim has been over to Pebbly Pit on Sundays. So now you must get him to show you the way."
This happy discovery, of having a mutual friend, completed Kenneth's feeling of ease and confidence, and he was soon talking unrestrainedly about the Latimers—what splendid people they were. How Jim's father was trying to save his (Ken's) father from having a very valuable patent stolen by a ring of rascals in New York City. And how Mr. Latimer's brother who was a large financier on Wall Street, was financing the lawsuit, and the stock-company that was formed on the value of the patent.
During the time it took for Kenneth to enlarge on the merits of the Latimers, Jake grew restless. He shifted his weight from one cowhide booted leg to the other, and finally he heaved a doleful sigh. Then he drew attention to himself.
"Ef we-all ain't goin' to get started mighty soon, thar's no use in gettin' off, to-night. Mike gen'ally has a dance to his ristrant at night, on pay-day, and he can put us up, all right."
Mr. Brewster hurriedly took his watch from his pocket and Mr. Simms turned to look at the old banjo clock in his office, and both men quickly said in one voice: "Oh, no, Jake! You have plenty of time to get off and make camp before dark."
But the suggestion made by the driver, to stop over-night in Oak Creek, was the means of hustling Kenneth Evans along his way. The entire party walked with him, down the road, towards the shed where Jake had the lumbering camp-wagon; and there they waited while Jake drove back to the baggage room to find his passenger's trunk.
During the driver's absence, Simms explained to the young stranger why he was so anxious about getting the man from Carew's Camp away from Oak Creek that afternoon.
"You see, my boy, these nights about this burg when the miners and cow-boys have had their pay, are one Bedlam. Decent folks lock their doors and windows and never show a light that might attract any insanely drunken miner. That's why I want you far on your road to camp before these rough foreigners come to town. Jake would revel in a wild night of it, but he'd get fired when Carew heard of it."
The young man smiled but the girls were anxious to make the most of the few minutes left before Jake returned for the Tenderfoot, so Eleanor began the moment Simms concluded.
"When do you suppose Jim Latimer and you can come to Pebbly Pit to call?"
"Never having met the Boss of the Crew, and not being acquainted with distances from camp to the ranch, I couldn't say. But Jim ought to be able to judge, and to decide on a day. We could then write you, couldn't we?"
"Don't forget, Nolla, that we have our hands full of important work onTop Notch Trail, for an indefinite time," was Polly's warning.
"Oh, I didn't forget that, but it won't keep us busy more than a few days," returned Eleanor.
"That reminds me, Simms! Did you say you would take care of that wire to John?" asked Mr. Brewster, turning to the lawyer. "Yes; I'll send a trustworthy man down the line when the train comes back for Denver, and he can send his message couched so that no wise guy will understand what it means, from some telegraph office a distance from Oak Creek," said Simms.
"That's a wise plan. And get him off as soon as possible so John will get the word and start home without delay," added Mrs. Brewster.
Jake drove up beside the group at this moment, and sat waiting for Kenneth to say good-by to his new friends. The girls reminded him again to be sure and have Jim bring him to the ranch and visit, as soon as it could be arranged, then the great heavy wagon rolled away with the first good-looking young man the girls had seen since they left Denver.
"Dear me!" sighed Eleanor. "That boy makes me think of civilization again."
Her companions laughed at her expression, and Polly said: "He's awfully nice, isn't he?"
"Yes, but not half as nice as Jim Latimer," added Eleanor. "Oh, I think he is. Jim just takes everything for granted, whether you agree with him or not," rejoined Polly.
"Jim Latimer is only a child! Now his brother Tom is what I should call wonderful! Not only handsome, but desirable, as well," remarked Barbara, with more spirit than she usually showed in the younger girls' conversation.
Eleanor smiled knowingly, and said: "If Tom was poverty stricken, maybe you wouldn't find him so desirable."
"Why would any one care for a poverty-stricken friend?" asked Barbara, wonderingly. But Anne hurriedly changed the subject.
"How long do you think it might take, before John gets that message,Mr. Brewster?"
"Oh, he ought to be within hailing distance of his camp and he'd get the wire when he went for meals, or to sleep. Allowing until morning for it to reach him, and another day for him to pack up and travel, he ought to be in Oak Creek the day after to-morrow."
Every one but Simms watched Anne's face to see her blush, or smile joyously, but Simms was not aware of any tender feelings on the part of the pretty teacher for John Brewster, so he abruptly suggested a plan.
"Ah wouldn't wait around the ranch for John's coming, Sam. If the women folks are going up to Top Notch Trail with us, all well and good, but waiting about until John and the engineer gets home will be risky business for the claim. Before to-morrow, every thief in Oak Creek, and for miles around, will be wise to that gold vein, and most of them will want to sneak up there and try to jump the claim."
"Oh, no, we won't postpone going up there to guard the spot!" explained Anne, anxiously. "I was wondering how long it would take that expert engineer to arrive on the ground and render a reliable verdict about the mine."
Eleanor tittered. "Sure! That is all. Anne never dreamed that JohnBrewster might accompany the expert!"
"That will do from you, Nolla!" came reprovingly from Anne. But the girls all laughed at her annoyance.
Having concluded all the business necessary in connection with filing and signing papers, and arranging details about the trip back to the mine on the following day, the ranch party said good-by to Mr. Simms, and started on the long ride to Pebbly Pit.
The sole subject of conversation between the elder Brewsters and Barbara was the gold mine and the possibilities of it. The engrossing thought that kept Anne so quiet was the unexpected and imminent visit of John to Pebbly Pit. But the topic that now enthused Polly and Eleanor was the arrival of Kenneth Evans, and his acquaintance with Jim Latimer, the pleasant young man who had spent a Sunday at the ranch just before the city girls had arrived.
"I wish those boys could join our party up to the cave," remarkedEleanor to Polly, as they rode behind the others along the road toPebbly Pit.
"So do I. But they are camping too far from us, for that. We are almost directly opposite their camp site, using Oak Creek as a central point. But the Government Survey plans will work them along to Yellow Jacket Pass, and from that point, along the wilderness, until they reach Buffalo Park and the Top Notch Trail where we were the other day. But they won't reach that part of the work until late this season," explained Polly.
"Tom Latimer brought his younger brother Jim to see us in Chicago, when Jim was on his way west, but I never thought he would be so near me, this summer, as to be able to see him. Had I dreamed of such being the case, I would have paid more attention to him at the time. I said to myself, at that visit, 'Oh, we'll never meet again, so why waste time over him?'"
Polly laughed at Eleanor's frank confession, and added: "Well, when Tom wrote mother that his little brother would be near enough to Pebbly Pit to permit him to ride over now and then for a visit, we sent word, at once, for Carew to give him Sundays off to come and have dinner with us. But he has only been over once. Now that this friend is in camp with him, maybe he'll come oftener."
"If John would only bring Tom with him, wouldn't it be fine!" plannedEleanor. "Anne would have her choice, John. Bob would be supremelyhappy if she could flirt with Tom for a time, and you and I would haveJim and Ken Evans."
Polly glanced at Eleanor in surprise, and said: "Why, Nolla! I wouldn't like that at all. It will be lots more fun if we all go about together for a good time. But John is coming to see about the mine—not to enjoy himself."
"You don't think, do you, that having Anne Stewart right in reach, that he's going to spend all his time working that mine? He's going to divide time so that more than half of it will be given to Anne. Then he'll work double-quick on the mine business to catch up on his work," was Eleanor's precocious statement.
Polly said nothing to this, as she had much food for thought given her in Eleanor's words. Rather than pursue a subject that roused her jealousy because of her brother John, she spurred her horse to gallop forward to join the others of the party.
"Father, what did you say in your telegram to John?" asked Polly, when she slowed up beside Sam Brewster.
"Simms and I had to be careful what we said, so no one on the wire would get wise as to our real meaning, so I wrote out: 'Fine party on at the ranch. Big doings that Tom and you must be in on. Also bring your friend who came with you the time we talked about mining Rainbow Cliffs. Do not delay but start immediately, as the girls have the time of their lives set down for day after to-morrow. Don't write or wire, but come on receiving this message.' You see, that was the only way I could think of to get John off without letting others in on the secret. Every one in these parts knows the city girls are with us, and they'll not wonder at our having the boys come home for a visit."
When Sam Brewster concluded his explanation, Anne was smiling happily, and Barbara lifted her head a bit higher as she said: "How nice it will be to see Tom Latimer again, his companysomuch!"
Eleanor could not deny herself the mean little satisfaction in saying: "Yes, Bob met him once, at our house, andtriedto meet him several times after that, at various social gatherings in Chicago."
But Polly pinched her friend's arm for silence, as the two horses crowded close together to pass on a narrow ledge of the trail that ran up to the Cliffs.
"If Tom comes with John, and that expert engineer comes, too, mother, I don't see where we are going to put them up."
"We were planning that as we rode along, just now," said Mrs. Brewster. "I think we can put up cot-beds, temporarily, in the loft over the first barn, where father keeps his account books and other business papers. Or we can pitch the large tent under the trees over by the terrace, and they can camp there. It will be far more comfortable, in either place, than they will have up on Top Notch, or what they have been having in the movable camp with the engineers, all this summer."
"Finding sleeping quarters for the boys is the least of our worries now," laughed Sam Brewster. "Keeping off claim-jumpers and guarding the cave from miners who would steal the gold as fast as they could pick it, or blow it out of the rock, is more concern for us than any other problem, at present."
"Well, we won't lack for excitement if all you fear is justly founded, eh?" laughed Eleanor, plainly showing how thoroughly she was enjoying the experience and its promised thrills.
"Even a westerner, immune to thrills, would have a few entirely new ones in this experience," chuckled Mr. Brewster. "But let a few city gals like you three, and a quiet little mouse like Polly, jump right into such a game as this promises to be, and there will be nothing left for you to thrill over, after that, in everyday life."
"If only Jim Latimer and Ken Evans could be at the ranch to go with us when we start for the cave," said Eleanor for the second time. This time her remark caused Mr. Brewster to think.
Then he said: "It is queer how that boy resembled our old friend Montresor. If we only knew what part of the East Montresor came from. I have always said he was not traveling under his own name, but probably was using a family name to hide behind."
"Yes, and that may explain the reason we never had any reply to our widely circulated advertisements for his relatives," added Mrs. Brewster.
"If Montresor really was related to this young man, father, he surely would have said something when Mr. Simms mentioned the resemblance, and asked the stranger if he knew of a relative being in Colorado," said Polly.
"Montresor had white hair, it is true, but that did not say that he was an old man. He was prematurely wrinkled from worry and hardships, but he was not much more than forty, I should say," ventured Mr. Brewster.
"What are you leading up to, Sam?" asked Mrs. Brewster.
"I was just thinking, aloud, that Montresor could have had a son as old, or as young, as this Kenneth Evans. If he had gone to the Klondike, as we believed, the boy would have been too young to remember his dad very distinctly. Who knows what drove Old Montresor away from home, to seek adventure or gold so far north as in the Klondike? He and his wife may have separated through some misunderstanding such as that letter would lead us to infer, and his eastern relatives may have kept all facts or news of him from this boy. The poor man's pride and determination to prove himself innocent of some wrong kept him from communicating with his people; we know that from his own letter. So I would not be greatly surprised if we eventually learn that Kenneth Evans is really a son of Montresor's."
"Oh, Mr. Brewster! Isn't that exactly what I said to you before, when you hushed me up!" declared Eleanor, delighted over her romantic vision.
"I hushed you up because you went on weaving stuff that dreams are made of—not because you hinted that this youth might be Montresor's son," corrected Sam Brewster.
The others laughed at Eleanor, and as they rode past the Cliffs, now glimmering faintly in the rays of the new moon rising over the edge of the old crater, Polly said with a sigh:
"Thank goodness, we are almost home in time for supper."
The materialistic craving in Polly for a good meal was so different from Eleanor's dreams of romance for her friend that the two elder Brewsters felt relieved to hear the exclamation. Soon afterwards, the riders drew rein at the porch where Jeb was awaiting the return of the party.
"Wall, did you-all find out if the mine was the same as Old ManMontresor's claim?" asked Jeb, eagerly, as they dismounted.
"What's that, Jeb?" asked Sam Brewster, frowningly.
"Why, Sary says you-all went to Oak Crick to file papers and make sure that Montresor's claim is the same mine like Polly discovered up on the Trail. Ain't it so?" wondered Jeb, curiously.
The two elder Brewsters exchanged glances, and the girls had to laugh at having been completely fooled by clever Sary Dodd. Then Mr. Brewster thought best to make a clean breast of the entire matter.
"Well, we were not sure when we left Pebbly Pit, this morning, whether this claim was good or not. So we did not say a word about it to either Sary or you, but she must have overheard us speaking about it, last night."
"Yeh—that's what she said to me. She had to wait so long fer you-all to come to supper, last night, that she coulden' help hearin' what was said. She says it will be a grand day fer her and me when you-all get this mine goin'. Sary figgers that you-all won't stay in Oak Crick, ner on a ranch, once you have all this money; 'cause Polly'll make you-all go to some fine city to live," explained Jeb, innocently.
"Huh! Is that so!" sneered Sam Brewster, angrily.
Jeb was gathering up the reins of the horses as he spoke, and now he turned to wonder at his master's tone. Mrs. Brewster was about to say something conciliatory, when Sary rushed out of the side door.
"Ah was jus' comin' to see who rode up, when Ah hearn Jeb talk. Now lissun to me, whiles Ah explains how-come Ah spoke: Me and Jeb was sittin' over dinner, this noon, when Ah says to him, 'Ef the Brewsters plan to leave Pebbly Pit, Jeb, will you-all stay on and wuk the ranch fer 'em, or buy it outright?' Now wasn't that a most natchul thing to ask?"
Sary's apparent guilelessness made the girls stare and her mistress smile understandingly. "Of course, Sary—go on."
"Wall, then, Jeb diden' know a thing about the gold mine ner what you-all rode to Oak Crick fer, so Ah hed to explain. He was that flabbergasted! My, Ah feared he'd keel over right at table. So Ah hurried to brace him up wid puttin' an ambitious idee in his head. That's how-come Ah mentioned his takin' over Pebbly Pit."
Here Jeb interpolated: "But you-all said, Sary, that no self-respecking woman could remain on the ranch ef all the ladies left. And you told me a man needed a help-mate on such a big place."
Sary frowned down on meek little Jeb, but her displeasure was wasted, for Jeb was too earnestly concerned over his master's future plans to see the widow's expression. The girls were so intensely amused over this new development in Sary's affairs that they forgot about their own ambitions for the time being.
"Of course, Ah said that!" affirmed Sary, when all other escape by excuses seemed vain. "Ah also said to Jeb that now he was callin' on me evenin's, and by such ways showin' the public like-as-how he was courtin' me, it was the right thing to do to marry afore you-all leave the ranch. Then we both could pitch in and do fer your interests, as well as fer our own, what two folks separate can't do as well. See?"
Every one could see plainly what Sary meant, and no one had the heart to ruin her romance by trying to show Jeb that he was a doomed Benedict if he allowed himself to be so beguiled by a scheming widow.
"Jeb, if there's any one on earth who can make me leave Pebbly Pit, let me know who it is, and Ah'll mighty soon fight it out with him!" declared Sam Brewster, fervently.
Mrs. Brewster and the girls laughed at his intensity, but Jeb's face lighted up with relief, while Sary's clouded with doubt. Then Jeb led the horses away, and a happy whistle sounded from his lips as he marched towards the barn. And Sary stood looking after his receding form as if she was seeing her future happiness vanish, also.
The weary riders went indoors, and after Mrs. Brewster had removed her riding togs, she went to the kitchen to see what was ready for supper. To her joy, she found Sary had prepared an unusually tempting meal, and had everything in readiness to serve. The table had been set in the living-room, as it was too dark to eat under the trees; and soon after the girls had washed and changed their clothes, all sat down to enjoy the well-cooked and carefully seasoned viands.
Sary and Jeb had had supper,a la tete-a-tete, more than an hour before the riders got home, so Sary gave her attention to waiting on the famished family. As she served and passed dishes, she conversed volubly about the mine, and the claim, and the trouble so much work would make for Mr. Brewster, if he kept on with the ranch at the same time.
"Not at all, Sary. Ah shall have nothing to do with the work at the mine. John and his engineers will look after all that. But this does not mean that Jeb must always remain a hired man. If the time comes when he wants to settle down at Pebbly Pit and take to himself a spouse, Ah shall be the first man to reach out a hand to help him on in life. He shall have certain parts of the ranch to work on shares, if he prefers that, and he can build a good home for himself down on the road that runs by the pastures."
"You-all ain't sayin' this in a joke, be yuh, Sam Brewster?" askedSary, breathlessly.
"No, indeed, Sary. Ah want Jeb to make a good match, that's all. He seldom goes away from the ranch, other than driving to Oak Creek, and he does not have opportunity to see or meet girls. So Ah am seriously thinking of giving him a vacation, very soon, and sending him to Denver for a week or two, just to give him a chance to get acquainted with other women; and then he'll be able to judge what sort of a girl will suit him best for a wife."
Sary gasped fearfully at this unexpected plan of Sam Brewster's, and her grasp on the soup ladle relaxed so that it fell to the floor with a ringing echo. But she paid no attention to it: she stood with mouth open staring at the master of Pebbly Pit.
Mrs. Brewster felt sincerely sorry for her, but the four girls had to smother their laughter behind the dinner napkins. Then Sary found her power of speech.
"Why, Sam Brewster! You-all can't mean that! Send dear, innocent Jeb to such a wicked city as Denver, all alone, to be caught by them ravenin' wolves? Ain't you hear'n tell of flirty gals what goes about vampin' nice young men jus' fer a good time? Like as not our Jeb'll get lassoed by one of 'em, and she'll marry him fer his money, er git it all away from him afore she lets him go. Ah've seen it all, over and over again, in the movies at Oak Crick!" Sary almost wept as she described the lamentable case of Jeb if he was permitted to visit Denver, alone.
"Don't worry over Jeb, Sary. He hasn't gone yet," said Mrs. Brewster, sending her husband a signal to keep quiet.
Sary went out of the room, and when Polly called for a cup, no one replied. So she had to jump up and go to the kitchen for her own cup, but the kitchen was empty—no Sary to be seen, anywhere. Polly reported this discovery when she came back to the table, and Mrs. Brewster spoke impatiently to her husband.
"You haven't any judgment about love affairs, Sam! Don't you know that you are actually throwing Jeb at Sary's head by saying such things, as you did—about giving Jeb enough vacation to allow him to go to the city and find a pretty girl for himself?"
Mr. Brewster sat back in his chair and dropped his fork upon the table in surprise. He turned wondering eyes at his wife as he said: "Ah only said that to show Sary that she must bide her time with Jeb, and give him a chance to make an honest choice for a wife."
"That's what youwantedto do, Sam, but what you actually accomplished was to give Sary a fright over having Jeb get out of her snare, and now she'll move heaven and earth to consummate her own schemes to get Jeb. I wouldn't be one bit surprised if we should find out that she is, even now, helping Jeb at the barn and trying to wheedle him into an out and out proposal. There!" was Mrs. Brewster's reply.
At that, Sam Brewster jumped up, and without asking to be excused, rushed away and down the road that led to the barns. Mrs. Brewster, with the girls, laughed at his sudden departure, and when supper was over, with the master of the house still absent, they all cleared away the meal and piled up the dishes for Sary to wash in the morning. Then Mr. Brewster came back.
"Well, Mary! You must have second sight, is all Ah can say. Sary was out helping Jeb with the horses, sure enough. And Ah overheard her sayin', when Ah came up to the door: 'Jeb, if you-all ever has time to go visitin' to Denver, or any such place, it would be a fine honeymoon for me and you, woulden' it?'"
As Mr. Brewster repeated Sary's words, he glanced at his wife, but every one laughed heartily at his expression and Sary's clever anticipation of Jeb's vacation. Mrs. Brewster wagged her head wisely, as she said:
"Didn't I tell you so, Sam? Now Sary will have no rest, nor indeed give poor Jeb any peace of mind, until she has him firmly attached to her by vows. Once the bans are announced at church, she knows Jeb will not try to dodge them and his responsibility."
"Well, Mary, after this experience Ah swear Ah shall have nothing more to do in trying to break up any matches. No, not even if my own children plan to marry without having due time to judge what is best for them!" His sigh of sacrifice in such a dire case made all eyes turn to Anne, and her companions laughed teasingly at her blush.
"Now, girls—all off to bed at once, if you expect to go with us at daybreak," was Mrs. Brewster's advice that cut the conversation short.
"I have no objections to tumbling into bed," confessed Polly.
"Nor I. If it were not for that ride to-morrow, I could sleep all day," added Eleanor, hiding a yawn.
"Ah will set the Big Ben to-night, I think," said Mr. Brewster, "so that we will not miss Simms and his party at Lone Pine Blaze in the morning."
"Who besides Simms is going with us, father?" asked Polly.
"Why, my old pal the Sheriff, and his men; Simms and a few of his best friends, and Rattle-snake Mike as a guide."
"Oh, really! Why, it will be a large party, won't it?" cried Polly, delightedly.
"We'll need a large party, Ah'm thinking, girls, if our surmises are right. In fact, the Sheriff plans to send an extra posse up by a different trail, in order to head off any strange-acting or unfamiliar-looking men who might happen to meet them on this unfrequented ride along Top Notch Trail."
"My! It makes me tingle deliciously at thought of the fun we will have if we have to fight for the mine," said Eleanor.
"I don't think we women ought to go if there is the least danger," whimpered Barbara, glancing from one to the other in the group.
"You can stay at home and chaperone Sary," said Eleanor.
"I'll do nothing of the kind, Eleanor Maynard! If you and the others go, I shall go too!" declared Barbara, jealously.
"Well, no one in this family will go unless you all get into bed inside of the next five minutes," said Mr. Brewster. "Don't take time to use cold cream and wrinkle plasters this night."
Laughingly, the girls said good-night and left the two adult Brewsters alone. The moment the door closed upon the last girl, Mrs. Brewster made sure that Sary was in her room with the door closed, and then she tiptoed back to join her husband. She spoke in a whisper.
"Sam, do you really think there will be any danger of claim-jumpers, to-morrow, on Top Notch?"
"There's always trouble where gold is to be had," returned Mr.Brewster, seriously.
"But I mean, do you apprehend it and thus asked the Sheriff and his men to ride with us?"
"Simms and the Sheriff think so. It was his idea to prepare against any surprises along the road, and after we get there. But it was the Sheriff's idea to get Rattlesnake Mike to guide us, and hire him to cook while we are in camp. Mike is an honest Indian, you know, Mary, and we may need one who is as good a woodsman as he is."
"Well, Sam, if I thought there was to be the slightest risk to these girls, in any way whatever, I should refuse to allow them to go to-morrow," declared Mrs. Brewster.
"You don't think that I would consent to have Polly go if I thought there was to be any trouble do you? All the gold in the earth wouldn't bribe me to do such a foolish thing."
"I thought you may belittle any risk we might run. You are so accustomed to these ruffians at Oak Creek, but three city girls are different from western ranchmen. Even Polly and I are better seasoned for the adventures we may encounter than Anne and her friends," was Mrs. Brewster's reply.
"Well, if you feel the least nervous over this trip you had better remain at home with the girls. Ah reckon we-all can readily find the cave by the descriptions Polly gave us, and by the claim she staked. Then, too, Rattlesnake Mike can guide us to any spot on the mountaintop."
"I don't want to deprive the girls of any safe adventure we may experience, Sam, nor do I want them to run risks. So we had better wait and leave it entirely to them, if you feel sure nothing would happen through an encounter with ruffians," said Mrs. Brewster.
"Oh, if that is what worries you, Mary, rest your mind on that score. No one will attack such a large party, especially when the Sheriff and his men are in the party."
"Well, then, Sam, we'll get out the supplies you need to take for the excursion, and then you can catch a few hours' sleep."
But it will take another book to tell what actually did happen there and on Grizzly Slide; and who Ken proved to be; and whether John Brewster loved Anne Stewart, or Tom Latimer fell a victim to Barbara's blandishments. All these queries are answered in the second volume called: "Polly and Eleanor."
End of Project Gutenberg's Polly of Pebbly Pit, by Lillian Elizabeth Roy