The Ranch Girls at Home Again

  CHAPTER VI

  THAT SAME AFTERNOON

  SINCE a short time after lunch Jean Bruce had been alone at the RainbowLodge, except for the presence of Aunt Ellen and the housemaid. For atabout two o'clock Jim and Ruth, Frieda and the baby had driven off topay a long visit to some old-time friends. For Ruth had not entirelyrecovered her strength since the baby's birth and therefore Jim wasunwilling to have her far away from him.

  But Jean was not lonely, or at least not for the first few hours. Shehad letters to write--one to her New York friend, Margaret Belknap, andanother to her adored Princess, who had never wavered in her interestand affection for the American girl since Jean's visit to her in Rome.

  Then, at about four o'clock, Jean strolled over to look at their newhouse, which seemed to have been making tremendous strides in the lastfew days, now that the outside had been entirely completed. She had oneor two suggestions that she wished to make to the architect about herown room and this was the best hour for having a talk with him, as shehappened to know that he had been spending most of the day with his men.The architect did not superintend their house building more than two orthree times a week. Determined to have their new home as beautiful andas harmonious as possible, the girls, Jim and Ruth had decided uponemploying the most distinguished architect in that part of the country.Theodore Parker was a Wyoming man with his central office in Laramie,and yet his work on public buildings and his creation of certain typesof houses for western millionaires had given him a reputation throughoutthe country. So it was scarcely possible to expect him to devote a largeportion of his valuable time even to the construction of "RainbowCastle." For Jean's laughing title for their new home had somehow clungto it.

  The place would probably be almost, if not quite, as beautiful as many apalace, Jean thought, as she slowly approached the front entrance. Thiswas to have a flight of broad, low stone steps leading up to it, whilethe base of the house would be banked with low, close-growing evergreenshrubs.

  For the outdoor work on their estate the girls had not consulted alandscape gardener, but they had studied many books and pictures ofbeautiful gardens and had then developed certain ideas of their own. Inorder to keep the view of the rolling prairies to the distant line ofhills several miles beyond, the slope before the house was to be leftunchanged. Here and there were flower beds in the carefully planted andtended blue grass lawn, which with constant watering and top soil mightbe persuaded to grow. But on either side and toward the back of themodified colonial mansion were to be the real gardens. Although theflowers had not yet been planted, bushes had been set out that werelater to form green and blossoming aisles. In the preceding autumn adozen or more large evergreen trees had been transplanted from thenearby forests, and zealously tended all through the winter, so thatalready they showed signs of growth.

  Jean's interview with Mr. Parker was entirely satisfactory and the girlwould have liked to linger and talk at greater length with the big,purposeful man, who seemed to bring to one of the noblest of all theprofessions the spirit of the artist, and the executive ability of thebusiness man. But Mr. Parker was plainly too busy to give her more thana few minutes of his attention, although in their conversation they didwander from her errand far enough to permit their discussing a few oftheir impressions of Europe. And, oddly enough, the architect who hadstudied in Paris and traveled a great deal, had never been to Italy, themother of much that is most beautiful in modern architecture.

  A man of about thirty-five or six, Jean imagined he must be as shereturned to the Lodge, and assuredly extremely good-looking, with hisiron-gray hair, dark eyes and smooth face. One could hardly helpwondering why he had never married.

  At home once more, Jean suddenly had a sensation of feeling deserted andforlorn. What could she do to amuse herself? Although she insisted upondenying it to her family, certainly there were occasions lately whentheir former life did seem dull and uninteresting to her. Yet perhapsJack was right in thinking that this was due to her paying no specialregard to the things that were happening on the ranch itself. Shouldshe take a walk now, or go down to Rainbow Mine to see if anything wasgoing on? Ralph Merrit was still away, certainly for an unaccountablygreat length of time! And undoubtedly there was some kind of troublebrewing among the workers in the mine, though what it was Jean had notthe remotest idea. Yet Jack and Jim had been plainly annoyed andconcerned over some disturbance, otherwise so many consultations betweenthem and their workmen would have been unnecessary.

  But at the present moment Jean did not find the subject of the mine ofsufficient interest to persuade her to walk down to it in an effort tomake her own investigations. Things would clear up soon enough withouther troubling. For there had to be friction every once and a while whereso many people were employed.

  Yawning several times, Jean finally dropped into a hammock that had beenswung for Ruth on the porch at Rainbow Lodge. She was holding a magazinein her hand and reading it fitfully.

  Probably Jean would have assured you that she was wearing the oldest andsimplest dress in her entire wardrobe and that she really had not madeany kind of toilet for the afternoon. Yet with Jean Bruce prettyclothes and a graceful and pleasing fashion of wearing them were secondnature. It is true her pale pink cashmere frock was not new and was madein a straight piece with no trimming save a round lace collar and agirdle of broad pink silk ribbon. Yet Jean had wound a ribbon of thesame color about her dark brown hair, until her usual pallor seemed tobe warmed by its glow.

  For a half moment she must have fallen asleep, for she was awakened bythinking she heard some one coming toward the Lodge. The next momentRalph Merrit stood beside her.

  He looked entirely unlike himself; his clothes were untidy; he seemednot to have slept for a number of nights; his face was worn and drawn.Jean was startled into sudden pity and interest. For Ralph had alwaysseemed so capable and so efficient and if things worried him, he hadalways kept them to himself.

  Now as Jean struggled to her feet he only said: "How do you do, Jean.Will you tell me, please, whether Mr. Colter is at home or whether I maybe apt to find him anywhere about the ranch?"

  But Jean's eyes questioned, although her lips as yet said nothing, andthe young man flushed.

  "I must beg your pardon for my appearance," he began awkwardly, "but Ihave been doing some rather hard traveling and I have not yet been to myown quarters to fix up. I had no idea of running across you." Ralphstared hard for a moment at the dainty girl slowly rising out of thehammock and then at himself. She was like the inside of a sea shell inher pink costume with her white skin and the pretty detached air she sooften wore.

  Ralph laughed uncomfortably and not very mirthfully.

  "Won't you wait a minute, please?" Jean asked quietly. "Jim is not hereand won't be for some little time perhaps. But I have an idea that youare hungry as well as tired and I have been longing for some one todrink afternoon tea with me." And before her companion could reply thegirl disappeared.

  Ralph Merrit fingered his hat uncertainly. He did not wish to remain andyet it would seem singularly ungracious to have Jean return and find himvanished. And since he had a confession to make, why not begin with herto whom it would be hardest to say it?

  Ralph dropped into a chair on one side of a small rustic table and Jeanand the tea party had both arrived before he lifted his eyes again.Under the influence of the tea, strawberries and cream and Aunt Ellen'shot scones, with Jean making herself as charming as she knew how to be,Ralph could not help forgetting for a few moments the things that wereweighing upon him, while he enjoyed the gifts that the fates provided.

  And Jean was truly kind, for she was shocked as well as a little bitfrightened by Ralph's appearance. Naturally she was not unaware that hehad once cared for her, even though he had not recently revealed it inany open fashion. And of course Jean felt that she had always regardedRalph with the sincerest friendship.

  She was hoping now that he would tell her what was worrying him as asign that their old friendship was y
et alive, when Ralph spoke.

  "Jean, I might as well tell you now as a little later," he began, "itcan't be delayed for any length of time at best. I am going to have tosay good-bye to you all pretty soon."

  Jean's hand shook a little, so that she first set down her teacup.

  "You mean that you are having to go home for a visit. I hope nothing hashappened to your mother or sister; I was afraid you were feelingtroubled," the girl answered.

  With the old decision that she remembered the young man shook his head.

  "No, it is not that," he returned, "but simply that I am going to resignmy position as engineer of Rainbow Mine. Fact of the matter is, I am notmaking good. The men don't like me, don't want to work under me, andthings are in a muddle anyhow. My staying on would only embarrass Jimand Miss Ralston." (Ralph only called Jack by her grown-up title when hewas considering her as his employer.)

  "So you are going to quit just because things at the mine are no longerplain sailing. Is it because you have had a better position offered you?Then of course I am sure, even though it makes everything much harderfor them, Jack and Jim would neither of them wish to stand in your way,"Jean answered with intentional cruelty.

  And the young man understood her. "That is not fair, Jean; you knowthose are not my reasons," he declared. "I am leaving to _save_ Jim andJack the trouble, not to make things more difficult. If I clear out themen will quiet down and perhaps they will get hold of some otherengineer who will understand the present situation better. The truth isour old gold supply is giving out and we have got to find a differentmethod of getting at the gold deeper down. I have been away studying howthis might be done for the past ten days, but I have not yet made up mymind."

  "Then stay on until you can decide, Ralph," Jean replied quietly, "or atleast until you are certain that you don't know what to do. Surely youmust know the situation at the Rainbow Mine better than any one else. Ihave been guessing that both Jim and Jack were worried, but you knowthey won't go back on you until the very last minute and not then unlessyou say the word. So I don't think I would let the other miners frightenme away. It seems to me that a man will never be able to manage othermen if he turns and runs at the first approach of a storm. I shouldnever have believed this of you, Ralph, of all people!"

  With a little, quickly suppressed sound that was almost a groan Ralphsuddenly dropped his head. "But a man isn't fit to govern other men ifhe can't govern himself, Jean," he answered.

  Even the color of her pink gown did not now hide the pallor of thegirl's cheeks.

  "What are you talking about, Ralph Merrit?" she demanded a littleunsteadily. "You behave as though you had robbed a bank or taken morethan your share of gold out of the mine. I wish you would not be soabsurd--I do hate uncomfortable people."

  The man got up. "I am sorry, Jean, and I did not mean to trouble youwith my personal confession," he went on, "though I thought it only fairthat I should tell Jim Colter. No, I have not been robbing anyone exceptmyself and my own family, though the men may be saying even that of mesoon," he added bitterly. "But the truth is that I have been speculatinguntil I have lost every red cent that I have earned and I don't think aman who has been as big a fool as I have has the right to try and holddown a job the size of mine."

  "You have been speculating!" The girl repeated the words almostfoolishly, as though not understanding at first what they meant. Thenshe flushed angrily. "Ralph, what a perfect goose you have been! Forgoodness sake tell me what ever induced a sensible, level-headed fellowlike we all believed you were to do such a stupid thing?" Jean demanded.

  But this was the one question which of all the questions in the worldRalph Merrit could never answer Jean truthfully.

  "Hush, never mind!" Jean interrupted hurriedly, for she could see whather companion had evidently not yet observed and that was that anotherman was at this moment approaching the house. His face had looked uglyand forbidding, but at the sight of Jean he raised his hat.

  The girl recognized him as John Raines, a man of about fifty years ofage and a kind of leader and spokesman among the other miners.

  "Beg your pardon, Miss," he began stiffly, "but having just heard thatMr. Merrit has returned to the ranch, I want to ask him if he will comeand have a little talk with some of us men. We've been waiting for thistalk for a considerable time."

  Ralph stepped down from the porch at once. "Certainly, I will comealong with you now," he answered quietly. And then turning to Jean andwith a gesture asking that she excuse him, the young man followed theolder one. And Jean could not but notice how slender and boyish and,yes, how spent he looked as he walked behind the big, heavy miner, witharms and chest so powerful that he seemed able actually to have crushedthe slighter man like a great bear, had he so desired.

  What could the miners be wishing with Ralph that they must see him atonce, now when they knew that Jim Colter was not on the ranch?

  Without trying to answer the question herself and only lingering longenough to fasten a dark coat over her light frock Jean hurried after thetwo figures, taking care, however, that neither of them became consciousof her presence.