CHAPTER IX
THE FIRST TREE FALLS
"Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
Elizabeth Secrest eyed her brother seriously.
"Yes, Beth. I know that you are thinking about the money, and I don'tblame you. You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if Islash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's theuse?' But Beth, there is a method in my madness, and if we get a livablehouse up, next summer you can bring some of the girls, charge them areasonable price for room, and board, too, or let them cook forthemselves. Then I ought to make a little money out of the launch.There's a little colony only a few miles away, if we don't get enoughpeople here to pay."
"It is a pity to spoil our woods with people," said Beth.
"But we'll make the camp ourselves," urged Dalton, "and have only nicefolks. How would a girls' camp strike you, and I might have a few boyssomewhere?"
"No, thanks. I get enough of that in school time."
"Poor Beth! But suppose we manage it so you do not have to teach duringthe year. If I got some one to play chaperon and run the affairs, wouldyou be hostess and perhaps teach a class of girls in sketching orsomething in your line?"
"Dal, I'd hate it. Wait till Leslie grows up a little further to try allthat. You wouldn't like it yourself."
"I'd like anything that took you out of the school room. But I haveanother plan for that. All right, Beth; but just the same, we'll goahead now. There are possibilities here. I promise you to spend aslittle as possible and to do as much of the work myself as I can."
"I don't want you to kill yourself and not to have any of the fun,fishing and all." Beth had a sympathetic voice that always carried moremeaning than her words themselves.
"I have already had a great time with that, and I shall again, later.But you know how I like this sort of thing. I'd like to be a bigcontractor some day. The first tree comes down to-morrow morning!"
Dalton had another reason for working steadily at their camp. Theexperience with the man who had tried to set fire to their lumber hadmade quite an impression. Dalton had talked it over with Leslie, whothought that it might be the Eyrie which could be especiallyobjectionable, since it had the view of the bay and any operationsthere.
"You don't suppose, Dal, that they could think us spying?"
"They might think that we would report them if we saw anything unusual;but if they think that we are here on purpose it will reassure them whenwe build a larger and more permanent home,--unless all this comes fromMr. Ives, and he is really determined to get us away, for some reason."
"We girls are going to try to find out."
"Don't use Peggy unless she wants to be in it, whether her father isconcerned or not."
"What do you think of me, Dal Secrest! Peggy shall know everything thatwe know, if she lends herself to our investigating. She wasthunderstruck when she found out about our having an abstract of title,and Mr. Ives' name not even mentioned."
Dalton nodded. "Peggy is an unusually nice girl, but she is considerablyyounger and hasn't much judgment. Don't let her get into trouble athome, if you can help it. As for me, I'm going to be right on the jobmost of the time, and while we are putting up the log house, I'll keep aman to sleep right here in camp. I would sleep in the Eyrie now, towatch it, if it were not for being farther away from you girls."
"How about our sleeping there, then? With the padlock off, they willknow that someone is inside, and there will be enough air with that onewindow open on the side of the ocean."
"Someone might climb up on the roof," laughed Dalton.
"Yes, but I'd like to see them climb out and into the window. There's asheer drop of I don't know how many feet. And one thing, I don't see howthey could set fire to the Eyrie."
Dalton did not tell Leslie of what he had been afraid, namely that Eyrieand rocks might be blown up with dynamite. But he finally consented tohave the girls move over to the Eyrie, which suited Beth; nor did sheknow how many times Dalton wakened at first and came over to see ifEyrie and girls were safe.
But Dalton Secrest was not easily moved from any purpose that he wasconvinced to be a wise one. The first tree fell by his ax at theappointed time. All the girls, Peggy included, were on hand to watchoperations, and Jack arrived, from an errand to the village, just intime. "There!" said Dalton, leaning on his ax, "that's done!"
The girls, warned away before the tree fell, came around to look at it."Doesn't it seem a pity to cut any tree down!" Leslie exclaimed.
"Yes, it does," Dalton acknowledged, "but you need not be afraid. Iappreciate this woods perhaps more than you do, Leslie. But you noticethat the trees are all growing too thickly here. I shall cut two moreout." To illustrate, Dalton gave a sharp blow with the ax to one of thetrees which he had marked.
"Have you another ax, Dalton?" Jack inquired. "What is the matter withmy taking a hand in this?"
"Only the fact that your host, Mr. Ives, does not want us to buildhere," frankly Dalton replied.
"What is the matter with him?" asked Jack, not much impressed with thenews. He took the ax from Dalton's hand and applied it to the base ofthe tree with some skill. Peggy jumped up and down like some littlechild and clapped her hands.
Dalton rubbed his hands and stood back to rest a little. Leslie watchedJack with some admiration. They were just beginning to get acquaintedwith Jack, who was not as talkative as Peggy, but manly and capable.Leslie had an idea that he was not from as wealthy a home as SteepleRocks, though he seemed to have clothes for all occasions. She was gladthat he was related to Peggy and not to Mr. Ives. It would be hard tolike anybody that really belonged to Mr. Ives, she thought, though shewas conscious that she might not be quite fair to the suave gentleman,so unpleasant had been their relations.
"Go on, Jack; that was good," Peggy was saying. "It will be such fun towatch a real log house go up. Didn't the pioneers always help eachother?"
"I fancy not when a man was building on land belonging to someone else!"
All of the young people were startled at this new voice which came frombehind them, as they faced the tree and Jack. They turned to see a tall,straight man of possibly sixty years, looking coldly upon the scene.
"Count Herschfeld!" exclaimed Jack.
Peggy shrugged her shoulders. "I rather think there isn't anything ofthe sort here," said she.
Dalton tossed aside the ax, which Jack had half unconsciously handedhim, and stepped forward. "And who may you be?" he asked quietly,setting his lips firmly as he stopped speaking.
"Introduce us, Peggy," sneeringly said the older man.
Peggy threw back her head and stepped from beside Sarita toward Dalton."This is Count Herschfeld, Dalton. Count Herschfeld, this is my friend,Dalton Secrest, who is building on his _own land_! Miss Elizabeth, CountHerschfeld,--Miss Leslie and Miss Sarita--" Peggy began to beembarrassed with the number of introductions. She was not very old, andElizabeth put an arm around her, as she stepped forward in greatsurprise.
"Are you visiting at Steeple Rocks, Count Herschfeld?" Elizabethinquired, starting to put out her hand, then remembering that his firstremark had not been friendly. What could it mean? She glanced at thefaces around her. Jack, frowning, was leaning against the tree. Saritaand Leslie had drawn together and were looking at the Count withanything but friendly expressions. It seemed as if they were not assurprised as she.
"You could scarcely call it visiting, Miss Secrest. I conduct Mr. Ives'business affairs very largely."
"I see. Can we do anything for you this morning?"
"Most certainly; you can order your brother to refrain from cutting anymore of Mr. Ives' trees, and I am sorry to inform you, as Mr. Ivesinformed you some time ago, that we should like to have you withdrawfrom these woods."
"But they _belong_ to us, Count Herschfeld. There must be some gravemistake on your part. My father purchased this land, which is dulyrecorded and we hold deed and abstract of title in
the usual way. Myfather was a lawyer, sir, and it is not very likely that he would accepta doubtful title." Beth's voice sounded very courteous and sweet, butshe was as dignified as she was in the school room.
"Good old Beth," whispered Leslie to Sarita. "She knew all about it allthe time. We could have saved ourselves all that trouble if we had toldher!"
"But you did it to save _her_ the worry. It's a joke on us, all thesame!"
What would the Count say next, Leslie thought. He could not haveexpected them to be so sure of their rights.
With a sneering smile on his face, Count Herschfeld stood there, bracinghimself now with his walking stick. "I have no doubt that you thinkyourselves within your rights," began he, but Dalton stepped up to himwith a card on which he had been scribbling while Beth talked.
"Here is the address of our lawyer, Count Herschfeld," said Dalton. "Youmay wish to telegraph him. I want to have no trouble over this, butneither do I propose to be hindered. I have looked up the recordspurposely before beginning to build. We are not harming any one, CountHerschfeld, and we want to be let alone. I hope that we shall not beobliged to seek any protection from the law!" Dalton spoke strongly andmeaningly.
Count Herschfeld lifted his eyebrows at that, but the sneer on his faceremained. "I will report what you say to Mr. Ives," he replied, "alsothe felling of the trees."
"Mean old thing!" Peggy cried, as the Count disappeared through thetrees. "Probably he'll tell about our being here and Jack's helping! Hecouldn't have heard the chopping clear from Steeple Rocks, could he?"
"No, Peggy," said Dalton. "Beth, we'll have to tell you what happenedbefore. It's a good joke on us. We have spent lots of time and troublefinding out, and here you knew all about the abstract of title andeverything."
"It was my business to know, Dal. Why didn't you tell me?" Elizabeth wasquite amazed that she had not been informed at first.
"Mr. Ives came right over, and you were so worn out that we didn't havethe heart to give you anything to worry about. That was all. Write toJim, Beth, and hurry up his coming!"
"I'd scarcely like to do that, Dal,"--but Elizabeth was smiling."Suppose we just go right on, as you have been doing, Dal. We have theright of it. I am surprised that a man of Mr. Ives' wealth and positionshould do this. Do you know, Peggy, why he thinks he owns this land?"
"I don't think that he thinks he owns it," replied Peggy, her cheeks redwith excitement. "He wants you to go away, and I don't think that he isvery smart about it, either. He might know that you would know what youare about."
"Why should he want us to go away, Peggy?" queried the still amazedElizabeth. "What harm could we do here? Does he want all this woods andcountry about the bay to himself?"
"Something like that," Peggy agreed. "He was fussing at Mother, for'bringing so many guests' to the place, and he said that he came here toget 'away from civilization.' Seems to me, though, that he makes a greatmany trips back into it!"
"Perhaps he is obliged to," kindly said Beth. "What is his business,Peggy?"
"I don't know. He doesn't drink, if that is what you are thinking. Hehas wines for those foreigners, friends of his, and the 'Counts' thatare always coming, but he never takes any to amount to anything."
"Oh, Peggy, I never thought of such a thing. Please consider thatquestion unasked!" Beth had not given possible smuggling any thought.
"I don't care, Miss Beth. I'm worried myself about all this."
"Cheer up, Peggy," said Jack. "Your dad and these folks will let theirlawyers fix it all up, and meanwhile we'll have all the fun we want."
"Unless Dad takes a notion to keep us at home!"
"Here goes for the other tree," said Jack, picking up the ax again.
Leaving the two boys engaged in their task, the rest strolled from thewoods to the rocks, where Beth disappeared into the Eyrie, which she wasfitting up to her taste. The other girls went down to the launch, theSea Crest, in which they were soon speeding out upon the bay.
"Every morning," said Peggy, "Jack will bring me over, either throughthe woods or in our launch. I'm going to say a little something toMother, so she will avoid the subject with Dad, and perhaps she willhelp us to come. She sometimes does when Dad is unreasonable."
Leslie did not quite know whether she approved of this or not. Any formof deceit was abhorrent to Leslie and she liked Peggy too much to wanther concerned in it. The situation at Steeple Rocks did not seem veryadmirable, to tell the truth.