CHAPTER V
THE SWIMMING HOLE
THEY sat up late that evening waiting for Alec to come with the mail.Mrs. Clyde and Blue Bonnet were somewhat uneasy, for they knew he hadintended to be back in time for their late supper; and when teno'clock came and no Alec or Shady appeared, they grew openly anxious.
Uncle Cliff refused to share their worry. "Shady's no tenderfoot," hescoffed, "and holding up the mail has gone out of fashion in theseparts."
Blue Bonnet had no fear of hold-ups and did not care to express hersuspicion that the ride had proved too much for Alec. She found reasonto reproach herself: a forty-mile ride for a delicate boy like him wasa foolish undertaking and she should have realized it. She had riddenthat distance herself innumerable times; but she had practically beenreared in the saddle and had lived all her life in this land of greatdistances. It was very different with Alec. The day of their picnic inWoodford came back to her, and again she saw the boy, worn out by amuch shorter ride, lying white and unconscious before the fire in thehunter's cabin. She grew almost provoked with her grandmother forhaving insisted upon her practising instead of riding to Jonah as shehad wished. If she had gone along, she at least would have known whatto do for Alec in an emergency.
At eleven the moon came up, and rising out of the prairiesimultaneously with the golden disk, came Shady, riding alone. A rapidfire of questions greeted him as he came up with the mail.
"Left the young fella at Kooch's," he explained briefly.
"What was the matter?" asked Blue Bonnet anxiously.
"Well, ye see--it was this way,--" Shady paused and then stoodawkwardly shifting his sombrero from hand to hand. Blue Bonnet guessedinstantly that Alec had sworn the cowboy to secrecy concerning thereal reason for his non-appearance, and she refrained from furtherquestioning. But her grandmother took alarm.
"Is he hurt--or ill?" Mrs. Clyde asked quickly.
For a moment Shady avoided her eyes, then resolutely squaring hisshoulders he lied boldly: "No, Senora,--the mare went lame on him.He'll be over in the morning."
Mrs. Clyde drew a quick breath of relief; but Blue Bonnet was not soeasily reassured. That Kooch had a dozen horses which Alec might haveridden if Strawberry was really disabled, was something hergrandmother did not know; but the little Texan, used all her life tothe easy give and take of ranch life, understood at once that Alec'sreal reason for staying at the Dutchman's was quite different from theone Shady had so glibly given. She knew better, however, than to pressthe cowboy, and let him go off to the cook-house without attempting toget at the truth.
"Grammy Kooch will take good care of him," said Uncle Joe; and withher fears thus set at rest, Mrs. Clyde proposed an adjournment to thehouse to read their letters.
The next morning Blue Bonnet was up before any one else in the housewas stirring, and, dressing without arousing any of the otheroccupants of the nursery, she stole out of the house and made her wayto the stable. Some of the Mexicans were already up, feeding the stockand doing the "chores," and one of them saddled Firefly. None of themwondered at Blue Bonnet's early appearance, for since her infancy shehad ridden whenever the fancy took her, and now as she dashed out ofthe corral with Don and Solomon racing madly after her, the mengrinned with satisfaction that the Senorita had returned to the ranchunchanged.
As she neared the Kooch ranch she saw a solitary horseman emergingfrom the gate. He was not looking towards her, and after a moment'sscrutiny she began to whistle "All the Blue Bonnets." With a start ofsurprise Alec glanced up the road and at once galloped towards her.
"Is it really you?" he asked, hardly believing his eyes.
"Nae ither!" she laughed, turning Firefly and falling in with thestrawberry mare--whose four legs, she noted, were as sound as ever.
"Well, you are an early bird."
"Lucky you're not a worm,--I'm hungry enough to eat one!" she saidgaily. Under cover of the jest she stole a quick look at him. Yes, inspite of the sunburn he looked worn out and ill; he needed to rest andbe taken care of. She refrained from asking how he felt and insteadkept up a steady fire of nonsense, describing their dull day at theranch without him. If Alec had felt any resentment at her coming forhim, it melted under her light treatment of the situation; and by thetime they reached the little "rio" he was more like his usual,interested self.
"I think I'd like to follow up this cree--er--river, I mean," heremarked, looking up the winding, willow-grown course.
"Not before breakfast, thank you!"
"Well, I didn't mean right this minute, but sometime," he corrected.
"We will, surely. I want to introduce you to the lovely spots of theranch, just as you showed me the charming places about Woodford. Itwill be different from following the brook as we used to do there,but I think you'll like it. There are picnic places along SanFranciscito that can't be beat."
"San Frances_cheeto_?" he echoed; "where's that?"
"That's the name of this river," she replied loftily.
Alec threw back his head and laughed. "The name's bigger than thestream!" he declared.
"It has advantages over the brook, as you'll see. One of them is theswimming hole. Do you swim?"
Alec's eyes glistened. "I'm ready to learn."
"Well, get Shady to teach you. I'm going to make the girls learn. Youboys and we girls will have the pool on alternate days,--won't it befun?"
"The best ever. This is the first I've heard of it."
"I wanted some things for surprises," Blue Bonnet declared. "Isn't itodd your being here and seeing everything I used to talk about? It wasa novelty then, but after this I won't have anything left to describeto you. What do you suppose we will talk about on our first jaunt bythe brook next spring?"
Alec's face changed oddly. "Maybe there won't be any jaunt by thebrook next spring--for me," he said, looking away from her startledeyes.
"Why, what do you mean?" she asked, and then wished she had notspoken, for she was suddenly afraid of his answer.
"I may not be,--you can't always tell," he stammered, looking as if hewanted to take it all back. "Let's not talk about it now, please," hebegged, and Blue Bonnet gladly let the subject drop.
She rode on in silence the rest of the way, depressed and miserable.Alec's words were a revelation; she had not dreamed he felt so ill anddoubtful of living. She had thought he would grow strong and well atthe ranch, and already he was worse and spoke of his case as hopeless.
They were greeted with a loud outcry from the girls, who were perchedon the top bar of the corral gate awaiting them. They had beensomewhat startled upon arising to find Blue Bonnet gone, but Firefly'sabsence from his stall had explained her disappearance.
"Hurry up,--we're starving!" they cried; and Alec and Blue Bonnet,responding gaily, dismounted and hastened to the house with the rest,both glad to escape questions in the general hilarity and press ofhunger.
"Grandmother," said Blue Bonnet later in the day; "I'm worried aboutAlec." It was just after the siesta, and seeing her grandmothersitting alone in her chosen seat under the magnolia, she had gone outfor a chat. They were seldom alone these days.
"He does look tired," Mrs. Clyde admitted; "but it is natural heshould after that long ride."
"It isn't that." Blue Bonnet shook her head. "I'm afraid he's--gotsomething."
"Got something?" her grandmother repeated in puzzled surprise.
"_Has_ something, if you object to 'got.' Has something the matterwith him, I mean,--serious, you know."
Then she repeated the conversation she had had with Alec that morning.Mrs. Clyde listened in silence, but her eyes were troubled when BlueBonnet finished.
"It may not be so bad as Alec imagines," she said with a forcedhopefulness. "He has been outgrowing his strength, and beingovertired, too, makes him despondent."
In spite of her words, from that time on Mrs. Clyde was more observantof the boy, and the moment she saw the first signs of fatigue shewould make some tactful suggestion for his benefit, relieving him ofthe
necessity of saying he was tired, yet bringing about thepossibility of rest. And often with her own hands she would concoctsome nourishing dish, hardly so piquant as Gertrudis' red-hotcreations, but rather more healthful for a growing boy. Neither shenor Blue Bonnet voiced their fears to the other girls nor to any ofthe men, but, with a silent understanding, ministered quietly to thefrail boy's needs.
A few days later the girls crossed the meadow to the pool for theirfirst lesson in swimming. It was an odd little bunch that sat on thebank dabbling their toes in the limpid water. The hastily improvisedbathing-suits they wore were of every style and color, and they lookedas gay as a flock of parrots in their bright-hued raiment. Blue Bonnetdove off the big boulder in the middle, to the great envy of theothers, who only consented to get wet all over after much persuasionand the threat of a forcible ducking.
Sarah took the whole thing as seriously as she did most things."Everybody should learn to swim," she announced authoritatively as shesat contemplating a plunge. "Some day we might have a chance to crossthe ocean, and then we'd wish we knew how."
"Do you mean to swim across the ocean?" demanded Blue Bonnet wickedly.
"Of course not," replied Sarah, unruffled. "But in case of shipwreck,you know, it's well to be prepared. I believe it should be studied asa science,--get the stroke, then do it. It's like bicycle riding, theysay: when you once learn how to keep your balance you never forget."
Blue Bonnet demonstrated the stroke again and again, while the othergirls watched and imitated as they sat or sprawled on the grassybank. Sarah bent her whole mind to the acquiring of the proper armaction; lay face-down and kicked scientifically; then, convinced ofher preparation for the feat, boldly entered the water.
"Good for you, Sallikins!" cried Blue Bonnet. "The others must beafraid of getting their feet wet." Then she sang tauntingly:
"Mother, may I go out to swim? Yes, my darling daughter, Hang your clothes on a hickory limb-- But don't go near the water!"
Thus challenged, Kitty stepped shrinkingly into the cold water. "IfSarah will swim from me to you, I'll try it after her," she bargained.It was perhaps a distance of three yards from where she stood,waist-deep, to the big rock whereon Blue Bonnet was perched, laughingat them; but the Hellespont could hardly have loomed wider to theanxious eyes of Hero, than did this narrow channel now appear to thefour novices.
"All right," agreed Sarah with dogged determination. She shut hereyes, screwed up her face, spread her arms, struck out with her feetand started. If a hippopotamus had suddenly slipped off the bank therecould hardly have been a greater splash; Sarah kicked madly, puffing,panting, and churning the water into foam. All to no avail. Beforeshe had gone a yard she sank like a paving-stone to the bottom of thepool. Blue Bonnet, convulsed with laughter, went down after her, butit took the combined efforts of herself and Kitty to bring thestruggling Sarah to the surface. Sputtering and choking and muchpuzzled over the failure of her scientific method, Sarah retired tothe bank to get her breath.
"Kitty's turn," she said inexorably as soon as she could speak.
Kitty found the bottom no less speedily, but scrambled up by herselfand went at it again until she was able to progress almost two feetbefore going down to "call on the fishes," as Blue Bonnet said. Itremained for Debby to cover herself with glory. Disdaining science andthe instructions of the teacher, she took a lesson from Nature andstruck out like a puppy. Straight to Blue Bonnet she swam, struggledup on the big boulder beside her, gasping and breathless, butdelighted at her own success.
"Bravo!" cried the girls, quite overcome with admiration.
Emboldened by her triumph the others tried again and again, and whilenot wildly successful were so far encouraged that they lost theirfirst great fear of the water. And that, as every swimmer knows, isthe first step towards victory.
"After you've all learned," said Blue Bonnet a little later, as theyall sat on the veranda rail drying their hair, "we'll go over to thereservoir above Jonah some time and have a real swim. That is, ifGrandmother's willing." She was glad she had remembered to add thatlast provision; it would have won an approving look from Aunt Lucinda.
"Then we'll have to have real suits," remarked Kitty, beginning thenand there to plan a fetching costume for the occasion. "I'll writehome for one right away."
When the plan was laid before Senora she made a brilliant suggestion."Why not make your own suits? We may be able to find material inJonah, and Benita and I will superintend."
Sarah beamed delightedly, but Blue Bonnet looked doubtful. "Will it beas hard as knitting a shawl?" she asked, ignoring the giggles herquestion provoked.
"Lots harder, you goose," said Kitty. "But if you begin it you'llprobably have it finished for you by the same person who did theshawl."
"Then I don't mind!" Blue Bonnet agreed promptly. "We'll go to Jonahto-morrow--" adding before the words were fairly said, "--may we,Grandmother?"
"Perhaps," was all she said; but her eyes held more encouragement.