CHAPTER VII
TWO LETTERS GO EAST
After Agatha retired that night Rosalind sat for a long time writing at alittle desk in the private car. She was tingling with excitement over adiscovery she had made, and was yearning for a confidante. Since it hadnot been her habit to confide in Agatha, she did the next best thing,which was to indite a letter to her chum, Ruth Gresham. In one place shewrote:
"Do you remember Hester Keyes' love affair of ten years ago? You certainlymust remember it! If you cannot, permit me to brush the dust offorgetfulness away. You cannot forget the night you met William Kinkaid?Of course you cannot forget that, for when you are Mrs. Kinkaid--Butthere! I won't poke fun at you. But I think every married person needs totreasure every shred of romance against inevitable hum-drum days. Isn'tthat a sad sentiment? But I want to get ahead with my reminder."
There followed much detail, having to do with Hester Keyes' party, towhich neither Rosalind nor Ruth Gresham had been invited, for reasonswhich Rosalind presently made obvious. She continued:
"Of course, custom does not permit girls of fourteen to figure prominentlyat 'coming-out' parties, but after one is there and is relegated to astair-landing, one may use one's eyes without restriction. Do you remembermy pointing out Hester Keyes' 'fellow'? But of course you didn't pay muchattention to him after Billy Kinkaid sailed into your vision! But I enviedHester Keyes her eighteen years--and Trevison Brandon! He had the blackesteyes and hair! And he simply adored Hester! It made me feel positivelysavage when I heard shortly afterward that she had thrown him over--afterhis father cut him off--to take up with that fellow Harvey--I never couldremember his first name. And she married Harvey--and regretted it, untilHarvey died.
"Ruth, Trevison Brandon is out here. He calls himself 'Brand' Trevison. Imet him two days ago, and I did not recognize him, he has changed so much.He puzzled me quite a little; but not even when I heard his name did Iconnect him with the man I had seen at Hester's party. Ten years is _such_a long time, isn't it? And I never did have much of a memory for names.But today he went with me to a certain ranch--Blakeley's--which, by theway, _father is going to buy_--and on the way we became very muchacquainted, and he told me about his love affair. I placed him instantly,then, and why I didn't keel over was, I suppose, because of the curiousbig saddles they have out here, with enormous wooden _stirrups_ on them. Ican hear you exclaim over that plural, but there are no side-saddles. Thatis how it came that I was unchaperoned--Agatha won't take liberties withthem, the saddles. Thank Heaven!"
There followed much more, with only one further reference to Trevison:
"He must be nearly thirty now, but he doesn't look it, he's so boyish. Igather, though, that he is regarded as a _man_ out here, where, Iunderstand, manhood is measured by something besides mere appearances. Heowns acres and acres of land--some of it has coal on it; and he is sure tobe enormously wealthy, some day. But I am twenty-four, myself."
The startling irrelevance of this sentence at first surprised RuthGresham, and then caused her eyes to brighten understandingly, as she readthe letter a few days later. She remarked, musingly:
"The inevitable hum-drum days, eh? And yet most people long for them."
Another letter was written when the one to Ruth was completed. It was toJ. Chalfant Benham.
"DEAR DADDY:
"The West is a golden paradise. I could live here many, many years. I visited Mr. Blakeley today. He calls his ranch the Bar B. We wouldn't have to change the brand, would we? Trevison says the ranch is worth all Blakeley asks for it. Mr. Blakeley says we can take possession immediately, so I have decided to stay here. Mrs. Blakeley has invited me, and I am going to have my things taken over tomorrow. Since the Blakeley's are anxious to sell out and return South, don't you think you had better conclude the deal at once?
"Lovingly, "ROSALIND."