CHAPTER VIII
THE EYRIE
True to the arrangement, Dalton's man arrived the next morning with twotrucks instead of one and another man to assist. They were real NewEnglanders, with speech quaint to these young people. The head man toldthe girls that the shack would be up by night. They thought that he wasjoking, but if it had not been for a few hindrances it might have beenaccomplished. It was necessary, however, to fasten it very securely tothe rocks, for lack of much foundation, though Sarita declared that itfulfilled every requirement of a house founded upon the rock.
It was surprising how much two men with Dalton's trained assistancecould accomplish in one day, and they left for home well satisfied withwhat had been done. As some more lumber was needed the men drove thetrucks back to town, but they promised to come early and expected tostay the next night and, indeed, until the Eyrie was completed.
Neither Jack nor Peggy put in an appearance, but the girls scarcelythought about it, in the excitement of the growing building. Leslie hadtold Sarita and Dalton about her having seen the launch move towardSteeple Rocks, and both girls related what had happened before toDalton. He said little, but seemed to agree with them in regard to thepossibilities.
That night it was the girls who retired before Dalton. He was fussingaround, as Leslie expressed it, seeing that tools were under cover andeverything about their materials in order, when they left him and wentinto their tent.
Remembering what warnings had been given him, Dalton felt a littleuneasy, now that they were actually launched in building, though in sosmall a way. He hoped that no one had discovered the undertaking so far.
Finally he went to bed and slept till some time past midnight when hewoke with an uneasy feeling. The surf was booming beyond the camp andthe rocks. He heard an owl hooting in the woods. Then he thought heheard sounds as if someone or something was moving through the thicketsor brushing by the bushes along the path. It would be hard to make one'sway through this grove without some noise.
Again he heard the cracking of a stick. Reaching for his gun, Daltonsprang out of his cot and peered through the flap of his tent. A darkfigure was stealthily entering the camp, making its way toward the pileof lumber. It was carrying something. This was placed against the lumberand a match was lit.
Dalton waited no longer. He stepped out from his tent, directed his guntoward the stars, away from the tents, and fired. Crack! The shotreverberated among the rocks and the intruder lost no time in gettingout of range and sight. Dalton smiled grimly as he ran in apparentpursuit, but really to see that the dropped match had gone out. Hedarted behind the lumber, then, not knowing but the shot might bereturned. The sounds of someone crashing through the woods came to himand he came to the conclusion that he had successfully frightened awayhis enemy. Most likely he would not want to be identified, Daltonthought. There was not much danger that there would be any battle now.
"Oh, Dal! What is the matter? What--are you hurt?"
Here was Leslie, coming from the door of his tent, where she hadevidently gone first to find him.
"Here, Sis,--get back to bed _instanter!_ No, nobody is shot. I'm sorrythat I had to wake you all up, but somebody was trying to set fire toour lumber and I had to scare him away. Did you hear him smashingthrough the woods?"
"Yes, and I thought that he had shot you. I was glad to see your cotempty, then I was afraid that you were shot out in the woods!"
"Go back and tell the girls what happened. We'll not be bothered againto-night; besides, I'll stay awake till daylight. You sleep on and wakeme up when the men come, if I oversleep."
"All right. I don't think that Beth even woke up. Her nerves certainlyhave gotten cured. Sarita is awake, though. I told her I'd find out.Want my flashlight, Dal?"
"No, thank you, Les. I have my own if I need it."
"Well, don't stay where you might get hurt, then."
"No. I'm going back to the tent again, but I'll have to sneak around alittle from time to time. Don't worry if you hear me."
Fortunately for Dalton, Leslie wakened early and roused her brother whenthe workmen arrived. Such progress was made that in a few days theentire Eyrie was complete, "lookout," stone wall and all. There wasplenty of material for the wall. Boulders near at hand were pried androlled into position and smaller stones were lifted to place above, allsecured by mortar, like a brick wall. The roof, with the little windowthat looked toward the sea and above the rocks, took some little time,for it must be made weather-proof. But so small a shelter was soonfinished. Elizabeth promised herself much fun in their finishing theinside to their liking. It was to be their watch tower as well as "TheArtist's Retreat," Leslie declared.
"I'll give you a day or two more of my valuable time," said Dalton, "toput up shelves and make the step that we need at the door, then I'mgoing to begin on the trees. The men have another job and that is whythey were willing to work overtime every day and finish this. If Idecide to stay here all winter by myself, I'll have this plastered. Butthis boarding up will do this summer.
"The other man that I engaged for the log house can come pretty soon. Myplans are fine unless something interferes. I think that I will reportto Mr. Ives the matter of the man who tried to set fire to our lumber. Ican't think that he would want that to happen. A fire here would spreadto his own woods. Trust a man to look after his own interests, even ifhe is willing that something should happen to us. I don't think that hewas concerned in it. It is hard to understand, unless Bill or someoneworks on his own in smuggling."
"You are sure that it is smuggling, Dal?"
"What else could it be?"
Then at last came Peggy and Jack, the very day after the Eyrie wascompleted, coming in the Ives' launch and docking where they had leftLeslie. Up by the rocky steps they climbed, not seeing Sarita andLeslie, who were peering at them over the rocks.
"Welcome to our Eyrie!" cried Leslie as they reached the top.
"Oh, hello, girls," Peggy returned. "You almost scared me. I didn't knowthat you were so close. We just had to come as soon as we could to seewhat you have been doing. Have you built your Eyrie, then, or startedit?"
"Just come on a little way and then turn around to your right. Couldn'tyou see the little lookout window from the bay?"
"Didn't notice it. Oh, how cute! And you are making the step of stones,too, with concrete."
Peggy ran around to where Dalton was on his knees, pointing up the stepin front of the Eyrie door. He was so absorbed in his work that he didnot look up for a moment. Then he lifted his face and saw Peggy.
"Yes; this is home-made concrete. Let's hope that it will last. Wherehave you been, Peggy? Leslie told us that we might expect you over sometime ago. You have missed all the excitement of our firsthome-building."
"I know it. It's been so stupid, except for our playing tennis andcruising around a little. Jack is perishing for someone old enough forhim to have real fun with. The rest of our guests are too old and Iguess that they are all leaving anyhow. We couldn't come, you know.Well, yes, we _could_, but Dad was home, and I didn't want to riskhaving an order not to come over at all. So I told Jack that we'd justwait and say nothing till Dad left. Mother said that he was going awayagain, and we made no remarks at all.
"But now Dad is gone and we can have that beach party. Leslie told you,I suppose, that she told me about Dad's claiming to own your land."
Dalton was rather surprised at the way in which Peggy put it, but heanswered her seriously. "Yes, Leslie told us about the visit she hadwith you. I hope that we shall not have any trouble with Mr. Ives. Wehave had word that we have an abstract of title, so we shall not leave,of course. But I scarcely think that it would be the thing for us to goto Steeple Rocks when he might not want us there. It is very kind foryour mother to invite us, but you must remember that she does not knowanything about it all. Can't you continue to come here instead? Yougirls can have all kinds of fun together."
"But we like y
ou, too. Didn't you rescue, me from a--stony grave? I want_you_ to see Steeple Rocks."
"And I confess that there is no place I should rather see." Dalton wason his feet now, replacing the boards by which they could enter theEyrie door without setting foot upon the wide step, just completed.
Jack, Sarita and Leslie came up now, for an introduction between Jackand Dalton, and to peep within the one large room of the Eyrie. It wasstill quite primitive, with a sliding bar on the inside of the door tomake it secure at night, and a hasp, staple and padlock on the outside,but the boards had been neatly fitted together, perpendicularly, and therafters were not unpleasant to the eye. Already the girls had decoratedthem with spruce, and a bouquet of wild flowers stood upon the longshelf which Dalton had put up.
"We can't have any fireplace here," said Leslie, "but we shall in ourbigger house."
"Who knows?" Dalton inquired. "We may enlarge this place sometime andmake what Father expected it to be."
"Sure enough, who knows?" quoted Peggy. "I believe that Dalton will doanything he wants to do!"
Dalton gave Peggy a big brotherly smile. "Thanks," he said. "I'm goingto try, but things do not always turn out as you expect, Peggy."
"I should say they don't!"