Books: Polly of Pebbly Pit
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Lillian Elizabeth Roy >> Polly of Pebbly Pit
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The lawyer soon returned with a package held closely under his arm. He
sat down and opened the papers before his visitors.
"Here's th' rough plan of the claim and here's Montresor's letter that
was found after he was buried--you know, Sam."
"What letter is that, Father?" wondered Polly.
"We never told you about it, as it wouldn't have helped any one then,
but now you shall read it."
"Where was it found?"
"In the pocket of an old hunting coat when we tried to find some clew
to his family and home address. But the top of the letter had been torn
away so we never knew for whom it was meant."
Polly took the closely written sheet and read the letter penned by her
old friend on the mountains.
"At last I can say to you all, that my education was not wasted as you
claimed. I have made good! I am a rich, rich man, as I write these
words. I have discovered a gold mine that will prove to be worth
millions. I refrained from writing as you had requested, until I had
_good_ news. Now I can write.
"In the years I have spent on these mountains, I felt sure I would
strike gold, as every sign in rock and sand formation, of the sides of
the peaks, are favorable to gold deposits. To-day I proved my mining
education to be of some worth, for it helped to guide me to a ledge,
where the red-gold is so rich that it seems to run deep into the rocks,
yet quite easy to mine.
"I had great difficulty in reaching the place and, afterwards, when
darkness fell over the place, I had to trust to the horse to find a
spot to camp. I left my claims staked out and marked as we used to do
in the Klondike, and to-morrow morning I shall ride directly to Oak
Creek to file the papers and have an assay on the ore. I am now writing
by the light of the camp-fire with grizzlies prowling about and
panthers howling to get at me and the horse. But my ring of fire is
security for us.
"I haven't the slightest idea of where this camp is but I will scout
around in the morning and then write you again after I return from my
trip to Oak Creek.
"You must understand how happy I am, to be able to pay off my
obligations and take my rightful place in the world with my family. God
grant that this blessing of wealth bestowed upon me after all these
years of separation and disgrace, charged against me, who am innocent,
will be the last of my sufferings. I have never heard from the
traitorous friend who caused me this ruin, and now it matters little!"
Polly looked up at this point and said:
"He must have finished this after the land-slide, Daddy."
"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 to
Polly, 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 along
Top 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. _Now_ when 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 on
Top 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.
CHAPTER XVII
SARY'S AMBITIONS
"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 John
Brewster 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," remarked
Eleanor to Polly, as they rode behind the others along the road to
Pebbly 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!" planned
Eleanor. "Anne would have her choice, John. Bob would be supremely
happy if she could flirt with Tom for a time, and you and I would have
Jim 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 company _so_ much!"
Eleanor could not deny herself the mean little satisfaction in saying:
"Yes, Bob met him once, at our house, and _tried_ to 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."
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