CHAPTER XVI
They met Livingston and his charge just as they reached the dimly markedtrail that led up a gulch toward Sydney's camp. At the invitationextended for dinner the sheep-man drove up the coulee and followed theriders.
William, the cook, greeted his guests with a generous smile, thenproceeded to do a great amount of hustling about preparing for the meal,which he promised would be an excellent one. Being a round-up cook ofmuch experience, he soon set before them such an assortment of ediblesas would have dumfounded the uninitiated.
The afternoon passed off pleasantly. Hope was unusually vivacious, andSydney full of amusing small talk, principally concerning his sundryadventures and impressions during his brief absence from camp.
They all felt the grief of the German girl, and each showed his sympathyin a different manner. Sydney talked, often in an aimless, senselessway, but obviously to divert the unhappy girl. Hope filled each pause,concluded every description with rich drollery and mimicry, whileLivingston's quiet attentiveness betokened the deepest compassion. EvenWilliam gave her many smiles and made numerous witty remarks, which werewholly lost upon her.
"You're in a very bad crowd of people, Miss Louisa," said Sydney. "Butafter awhile you'll be so much like us that you won't notice how bad weare!"
"Shame on you, Sydney!" exclaimed Hope. "Louisa never could be bad!"Then to the girl: "The truth is, _he's_ the only bad one in the wholeoutfit, so don't let him make you think that the rest of us are bad,too!"
"You are all _so_ goot," said Louisa, in great earnestness.
"Now listen to that!" cried Sydney. "That's the first time anybody everaccused _me_ of being good! I'll get a gold medal and hang it aboutyour neck, Miss Louisa, and I'll be your faithful servant from now on."
"And you'll bring her fresh flowers every day, and maybe you couldborrow Mr. Livingston's buggy since you haven't one of your own. Butdon't soar too high, Sydney, she doesn't know you yet!" returned hiscousin.
"But _you_ like him," said Louisa, "and daat iss--vat you calls'em--_recommend_ enough!"
They were all surprised by this first flash of the real Louisa, theLouisa of sunshine and mirth, whom Sorrow had so soon branded.
It was the first time Sydney had heard her utter anything but thebriefest monosyllables. He looked at her, astonished. For an instantsilence reigned, then Hope, with sudden abandonment, threw her armsabout her, exclaiming:
"Oh, you're the dearest thing I ever saw! Isn't she, Syd?" And then, asif ashamed of her impulsiveness, she jumped up and laughingly left thetent. A few moments later she put her head inside, remarking: "Thetrout haven't begun to feed yet. I'd like to know how we are going toput in the time waiting for them! It's too hot for anything in there,and it won't be a bit of use to try to fish for an hour, at least. Allof you come outside."
"Yes," said Carter, rising lazily to his feet. "I've discovered a smallEden down there under the willows, along the creek. All green and mossyand pepperminty, but the snake's never showed up yet. Come on, we'll allgo down there."
He led the way along the steep bank of the small creek and down itsopposite side until a parting in the willow brush revealed one ofNature's hidden glories, a small glen, shady and beautiful. From itsvery center sprang a tiny spring, forming a clear, glassy pool of waterwhich narrowed into a tiny trickling rill that went creeping through thegrass-carpeted arbor to the larger stream beyond.
It was beautifully inviting, and Hope sank down upon a mossy cushionwith an exclamation of delight.
"Now, how am I for an entertainer?" asked Sydney gayly. Hope turned herdark eyes upon him, then about the little arbor.
"Wait," she said softly, "don't talk for a minute--don't even breathe.This is glorious!" Then after a brief pause, continued: "There, thespell's passed! This place is no longer enchanting, but lovely and cool,just the same, and is a whole lot better than that roasting tent upthere. What became of the twins? Probably they are more attracted byWilliam's mode of entertainment than yours, Syd!" She turned toLivingston and smiled. "William has two regular customers already, youknow. I am afraid to think what will happen if he camps here allsummer."
"I am inclined to add my name to the list if he entertains such charmingones every day," replied the sheep-man.
"I meant the _boys_," said Hope in all seriousness.
Sydney laughed outright.
"How do you know but what he meant the boys, too?" he asked. She lookedat him with an assumption of surprise. "A girl never makes such amistake as that," she said. "It was a very pretty compliment."
"Worthy of O'Hara," he put in.
"Worthy of Mr. Livingston," she declared. "O'Hara's compliments are notso delicate. They are beautifully worded, but unconvincing."
"I believe she's actually giving you credit for extreme honesty!"exclaimed Carter.
"I sincerely trust so," replied his friend heartily. "It would be a mostpleasing compliment."
"Well, I should say it would be the biggest one _she_ ever paid anyone!You're the first one Hope ever credited with honesty. You can sit for anhour and tell her a great long story and she'll never give you thesatisfaction of knowing for sure whether she believes you or not. Thechances are she don't. She'll take your assertions, weigh every word,and then draw her own conclusions."
"You only know from your own experience," demurred Hope. "All peoplehaven't your habit of departing from the truth, you know." Then toLivingston: "Really, he can tell a terrible whopper with the straightestface imaginable! He only proves to you how well I know him. Last summerhe told a girl a ridiculous story about snakes. It was her first visitat the ranch, and for several days I thought something was the matterwith her brain. Every time she heard a grasshopper buzz anywhere nearshe would give a shriek and turn deathly pale. She finally told me thatshe feared rattlesnakes because Sydney had told her that that particularbuzz was the snake's death rattle and that something or somebody wasdoomed for sure, that if the snake couldn't get the human victim it hadset its eyes upon, it crept into a prairie-dog hole and got one of them.Of course that is only a sample of his very foolish yarns, which no onebut an ignorant person would think of believing."
"I remember," laughed Sydney. "That was that fair Lily Cresmond. She gotup and had breakfast with me at six o'clock this morning. Poor girl!I'm afraid I've put my foot in it this time!"
"For goodness' sake, did she propose to you?" asked Hope, aghast.
"Not that I'm aware of!" answered Sydney. "No, it's worse than that. Sheasked me to tell her really and truly why _you_ weren't at home thissummer. She crossed her heart, hoped to die she'd never breathe a wordof it to a living, human creature, so I told her that it pained me totell the sad story, but last season Freddie Rosehill had shown you suchevident admiration that your father had become thoroughly alarmed andthought it best to keep you out of his way for the present. But Isuggested that you might face paternal wrath and come back just for onelook at the dear little boy."
"Sydney, you never did!" gasped Hope. "_How could you?_"
"Freddie came trotting out for his morning constitutional just as I wasriding away," he continued, "and he waved his cane in the air andactually _ran_ down to the corral to say good-by. I really believe heliked me for once because I was leaving, and he very gingerly askedabout you, and naturally was visibly relieved when I assured him thatyou would probably not be home while he was there. Talk about yourjoshers!" he said to Livingston. "Hope had the little Englishman so hedidn't know his soul was his own! She'd take him out on the prairie andlose him, have him pop away for an hour at a stuffed chicken tied to thetop of a tree, shoot bullets through his hat by mistake, and about amillion other things too blood-curdling to mention. He didn't want torefuse my aunt's invitation to join the party at the ranch every summer,but his days and nights were spent in mortal terror of this dignifieddaughter of the house. And I must say there wasn't much love lostbetween them."
"A brainless little fop!" commented Hope.
"Well, it seems he had sense enoug
h to catch that oldest Cresmond girl,Lily, whose ears I filled with the pathetic story; but I didn't know itthen, that's the fun of it! He held out his fat little hand to me whenI started out this morning and said: 'I want your congratulations. Lilyhas promised to be my Lady.' 'You don't say so,' I said. 'Lord, but whata haul you've made, Rosehill!' 'Yes,' said he, 'she's a beauty!' 'And amillion or so from her papa'll set you up in housekeeping in great shapeover in Old England. I certainly congratulate you!' said I. He didn'tseem to have anything more to say, so I rode off, and do you know Inever once thought of what I'd told that girl about him liking you untilI was halfway here."
"Oh, Syd, what have you done!" cried Hope. "You ought to go right backto the ranch and fix it up for them. It might be real serious!"
"Don't worry; they'll fix it up between them, just give 'em time,"laughed Sydney. "But then I shouldn't like to be the cause of breakingup such a match. I sure wouldn't!"
"I should say not! It would be terrible!" agreed Hope.
"No, I wouldn't like it on my conscience," continued Sydney, "to breakup such a good match by my thoughtless words. It would be too bad tospoil two families!"
"I quite agree with you, excepting the lady, whom I do not know,"remarked Livingston. "But I have met Rosehill. He is, in my estimation,a worthless specimen of English aristocracy."
"Oh, they're mostly all alike, a mighty poor outfit all through, fromthe ones I've known! But I guess they'll manage to fix it up amongthemselves," laughed Hope.
At this remark Livingston looked oddly at the girl, then the brushcrackled near them, followed by the appearance of one of the twins, who,smiling victoriously, held up for inspection a small string of trout.
"And here we've been wasting our time when we might have been fishinginstead!" exclaimed Hope, springing up from her mossy couch and minutelyexamining the string of fish.
"You'll find fishing tackle, all you want, up at camp. William'll showyou," remarked Sydney. "For my part I shall stay here and gatherstrawberry leaves for Miss Louisa to make into wreaths. Isn't this one adaisy? It's too warm to fish, anyway," he concluded.
"You shall not decide for her, Syd," declared Hope. "Which would yourather do, Louisa?"
The German girl shook her head, smiling a little. "It is very warm," shesaid.
"Then you shall stay with Sydney," decided Hope. "But I am only going tofish a little while, anyway, because I've got something else I want todo." She looked up at Livingston, who had come near her, and laughed."Yes, you may go with me if you will show me how to cast a fly. Sydneysays you are an expert fisherman, but I don't know the first thing aboutit. We will walk up the creek and fish down, because the boys arefishing down here." She called to the boy, who was walking toward thestream: "I'll be ready to go home in about an hour, wait for me!" Henodded in reply. "Come on," she said to Livingston.
They had fished in silence some minutes, far up the stream at an openpoint where several other smaller streams joined this, forming a broadgroup of tiny, gravelly islands.
"I do think," said the girl finally, "that this is great sport, though Icannot haul them out like you do. Now it must be luck--nothing more, forwe both have exactly the same kind of flies."
"You leave your fly too long in the water," said the man. "You shouldcast more--like this."
"But I can't for the life of me get the hang of it," she exclaimed,making a desperate attempt.
"Not like that," said Livingston. "Look, this is the way. There, you'vecaught yourself!"
"Yes, how foolish," laughed the girl. "It's in there to stay, too!"
"Wait, I will assist you," he said, leaping across the stream whichseparated them, and coming to her side.
"I think I can get it out all right," she said, throwing down her pole,and using on the entangled hook more force than discretion. She laughedin a half-vexed manner at her attempts, while Livingston stood nearwatching, his eyes earnest, intent, his face illumed by a soft, boyishsmile of quiet enjoyment.
"If I had another hook I'd cut this off and leave it in there," shesaid, "but the fishing is too fine to leave now. No, wait a minute,"motioning him back with the disengaged hand while she tugged vigorouslyat the hook with the other. "I can do it. If only the material in thiswaist wasn't so strong, I might tear it out. How perfectly idiotic of meto do such a thing, anyway!" Her cheeks were aflame with the exertion."You see," she continued, still twisting her neck and looking downsideways at the shoulder of her gown where the hook was imbedded, "Idon't want to break it because we'd have to go way back to the camp andstart in over, and then it would be too late in the day. I don't seewhat possessed that fish to get away with my other hook! But this goodssimply won't tear!"
"There's no other way," declared Livingston, with conviction. "You willhave to let me help you. I'll cut it out. See," he scrutinized the hookvery closely, while Hope threw down her arms in despair, "it's only heldby a few threads. If you don't mind doing a little mending, I willperform the operation in a moment to your entire satisfaction."
"Well, hurry, please, because we are certainly wasting good time andlots of fish."
"If all time were but wasted like this," he exclaimed softly, prolongingthe task.
She knew that he was taking undue advantage of the situation and thatshe was strangely glad of it, recklessly glad, in her own fashion. Shehad never looked at him so closely before. In this position he could notsee her. She noticed his broad, white forehead, and felt a strong desireto touch the hair that dropped over it, then admonished herself forfeeling glad at his slowness.
From the hillside above them a man on a piebald horse watched the sceneinterestedly. Without warning the girl's eyes lifted suddenly from thesoft, brown hair so near, and met those of the rider above.Livingston's head was bent close to her own, so that he did not see theleering, grinning face that peered down at them, but Hope caught thelook direct, and all, and more, than it seemed to imply. Her eyesglittered with anger. Like a flash her hand sought her blouse and for aninstant the bright sunlight gleamed upon a small weapon. As quickly theman wheeled his horse and disappeared behind the hill. With a deep flushthe girl hid the little revolver as Livingston, ignorant of the scene,triumphantly held up for inspection the rescued fishhook.
"Making love, by the holy smoke," chuckled Shorty Smith to himself,spurring up his piebald horse and heading off a stray calf. "So that'swhat she does 'longside o' teachin' kids!"