CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE KEN'S OLD FRIEND
"Ken, you've been doing some growing since we put the highway throughyour canyon two years ago." The young man, with folded arms, stoodsmiling down at the boy, who grinned back as he replied with enthusiasm,"If I can keep right on till I'm big as you are, I'll like it mightywell."
"I believe you'll make it," Frederick Edrington declared as he seatedhimself upon a boulder near and continued to look approvingly at thelad. "You remember what I used to tell you about getting what you want?"
The boy nodded his red-brown mop of hair. "Yeah," he said, lapsingunconsciously into the speech of the mountaineers. "First fix a definitegoal, it doesn't matter how far ahead or how rough the road in between,and then keep going toward it."
"Even if you slip back two steps for every one that you forge ahead,"his companion put in.
Ken laughed. "Gee, I hope it won't be as hard as all that for me to getto be a civil engineer."
The eyes of the older man lighted. "Still holding that for a goal, boy?"he asked, his voice showing his real pleasure.
Ken nodded. "Bet I am," he replied.
"Worked hard at math?" was the next query. "Pretty quick at doing sums?"
Ken flushed. "I don't know as I'm a crackerjack at it, but I told MissBayley all about how I want to grow up to be just like you, and when shefound I wanted to get along faster in arithmetic, she stayed afterschool to help me whenever the sums were extra hard. I say, Mr.Edrington, our new teacher, she's a trump!"
The young civil engineer, who had been leaning back, hands locked behindhis head, sat up with sudden interest.
"Kind of a thin, skinny, old-maid sort of a person, is she?" he askedwith a smile lurking away back in his gray eyes.
"Indeed she is not!" Ken retorted loyally. "Miss Bayley, next to mymother, is the most beautiful woman that ever lived at Woodford's oranywhere in all the world I guess. Even queens couldn't be nicer, andshe isn't thin or homely, though I guess she is pretty old." Then he dughis bare toes in the dry pine-needles as he added, looking at his friendspeculatively, "I guess she's nearly as old as you are."
Mr. Edrington's amused laughter rang out. "Poor girl, if she's thatancient, she'd better be saving her pennies, for she'll soon be readyfor the Old Ladies' Home."
Ken, solemn-eyed, watched the speaker. "She isn't that old," he said. "Iknow, for there's an old folks' home over toward Genoa, but the peopleare bent and sort of hobble and lean on sticks when they walk. I guess,come to think of it, maybe Miss Bayley isn't what you'd call real oldyet." Then his face lighted with admiration. "Gee, but she's a goodsport, though! She held the pig for me the first day she came to ourhouse while I made the pen, and she didn't squeal at all."
"Lucky pig!" the young man commented.
This went over the head of the boy, who remarked laughingly, "The pigdidn't think so. He wriggled so hard, trying to get away, and you justshould have heard him squeal. But, gee, didn't that prove teacher is abrick? Most girls, except Dixie, would have said they wouldn't eventouch a little pig. They aren't much good, girls aren't, except Dixieand--well, Carol, she's doin' better."
Mr. Edrington steered the conversation into channels in which he wasinterested.
"Any newcomers down at the inn?" he inquired, looking closely at thelad. The boy shook his head. "Don't think so," he said, "none that I'veheard of. Why?"
"Well, I was hoping that there were none," was the non-committal reply.Then he added, "Open an ear, old pal, for if you swear to secrecy, I'mgoing to tell you why I'm here."
"Cross my heart and hope to die if I ever do tell," the boy promised sosolemnly that the young man wanted to smile, but thought best to acceptthe oath as seriously as it had been made.
"Well, it sounds foolish, I know, but I'm hiding from an aunt of minewho wants me to marry an heiress, and since the girl herself agrees withmy aunt, I knew my only safety lay in flight. Everywhere I went I waspursued by this elderly relative, who, having brought me up since myparents died, thinks that she owns me body and soul. I do feel a sinceredepth of gratitude toward her, but prefer to pay it in some other waythan by marrying the girl of her choice, an alliance with whom, I havebeen assured every day for the past year, would greatly add to my fameand fortune."
As he paused the boy looked up sympathetically. "Gee, I don't wonder youhid," he commented. "You wouldn't catch me getting married. I'd heapsrather go to sea, maybe to China, or do something exciting."
"H-m! A very sensible decision, my lad, and yet the sea of matrimony,I've been told, is not without its exciting adventures." Then the civilengineer laughed. "Romance is a little beyond your comprehension, andI'm glad it is. It will be a relief to hear about something else for atime. I'm not in love, never was in love, and don't believe I ever shallbe in love."
Why was it, at that very moment, and quite without will of his own,Frederick Edrington saw in his memory a slim young girl standingsilhouetted against a gleaming morning sky, with arms outflung andcurling brown hair blown about a face so lovely that it had haunted himevery hour, waking or sleeping, that had passed since he had firstbeheld the vision?
"I say, Ken," he suddenly remarked, "that new teacher of yours, has shesoft curly, brown hair, and does she wear a khaki hiking-suit--shortskirt and bloomers?"
The boy nodded, then exclaimed as he suddenly recalled something: "Geewhiz! Mr. Edrington, I clean forgot it was teacher who started me out onthis hunt for you. 'Course she didn't know it was you, but the othermorning, when she climbed to the top of the Little Peak trail to see thesun rise, she saw a camp-fire, and she asked me if I could guess whomight have made it. I sort of hoped it was a sheep-rustler, and MissBayley--gee, but she's a sport, all right--let me out of school earlythat day so I could go up and see who was there, and then it was I sawsmoke over here, and thought I'd climb up and see who it might be. Ifound a piece of a letter in the ashes that day, and one word was'engineering.' It made me hope,--how I did hope,--maybe it was you,"then, triumphantly, "and it was."
"Rather is, son," was the reply. Then the young man rose as he remarked."Wish you could stay till the snow falls."
The boy's eyes opened wide. "Mr. Edrington," he exclaimed, "you aren'tgoing to stay up here all winter, are you? Why, you'll be frozen stiff."
The young man laughed as he knelt to skin the small deer. But he spokewith decision. "I shall stay in this impenetrable fastness until I hearthat the lovely Marlita Arden has married a certain Lord Dunsbury, whoreally wants her, or wants her millions, I don't know which, nor do Icare. Marlita thinks that she loves me, but nevertheless she will soondecide that it is better to have a titled spouse than a humble engineer,and until she does reach that decision the name of Frederick Edringtonwill be found among those reported missing; missing, anyway, fromfashionable Washington society, where he has had to be more or lessactive for the past two years."
"Well," Ken said rather wistfully, "if you're going to stay, I kind o'wish I could stay, too, but I don't know how Dixie could get on withoutme to bring the wood and make the fires, and--" The boy's face suddenlybrightened, and, leaping up, he did his wild Indian dance. Then, landingin front of the astonished onlooker, he concluded with a whoop: "I say,Mr. Edrington, if you want to hide, I know where's the best place, andyou could be right with me, with us, I mean."
"Where?" the young man was curious.
"In our loft bedroom. Dixie and Carol'd just as soon sleep down-stairs,and you could sleep up there and have a rope-ladder that you could drawup, and no aunts could ever find you. Then, between stages, you'd besafe enough and could go where you'd like. Oh, I say, Mr. Edrington,will you come?"
The young man held out his big hand and grasped the smaller freckledone. "Maybe later I'll take you up on that," he said, "but at presentI'm using this location as a problem in mining engineering--just forpractice-work, old man." Then he smiled speculatively. "But I'll promisethis: If the lovely Marlita has not wed this Lord Dunsbury by the timethe f
irst snow comes, I'll drop down to Woodford's, and take up my abodein your loft room, and thanks, old pal, for wanting me."
Then, as it was mid-afternoon, the boy thought he'd better be startingback, and the engineer pointed out a much easier way of descent, whichhe had discovered. "I'll come next Saturday again, Mr. Edrington. Isthere anything I can pack up for you?"
"Yes, son. Bring me a Reno paper if you can get hold of one, and a bookto read, history preferred; and, by the way, kid, remember yourhope-to-die promise. You might tell your teacher that a hairy old hermitnamed Rattlesnake Sam lives on the mountain, and that he it was whobuilt the fire that she saw."
The boy grinned his appreciation. "All right," he said, "I'm game." Thenhe started away, looking back with a longing to stay, but his loyallittle heart knew that Dixie would have need of his services, and so hehurried down the trail and reached Woodford's in half the time it hadtaken to make the ascent.