The Ranch Girls' Pot of Gold

by Margaret Vandercook

  CHAPTER XIII

  ENTERING WONDERLAND

  "The Forest of Arcady, Jim," Jean called gayly from her seat on the backof her pony. She and Olive, with Ralph Merrit walking beside them, hadjust climbed a steep road that led across the Continental Divide intothe great park of the Yellowstone, called Yellowstone by the Indiansmany years ago, because its river ran like melted gold between massivestone walls, shading from palest lemon to a deep orange glow.

  Behind its outriders the ranch girls' caravan moved slowly upward. Theyhad been passing through tall pine forests that shut them in to acathedral gloom, but beyond and farther down the hill Jean had justcaught sight of a grove of quaking aspen trees with the sky above themshining as bright as sunny Italy. The grove looked like a great umbrellashop with its parasols open on parade, for the trees had circular greentops growing high above the ground, and their straight, slender trunkswere like white umbrella handles.

  Jim cracked his whip in answer to Jean's speech and Jack waved her hatfrom the place next him; just behind them Ruth clutched at Frieda andCarlos to keep them from falling into the road in their efforts to seeeverything at once. Away to the right they could catch a faint glimpseof one of the long arms of Yellowstone Lake, and they meant to reach ahotel on its northern banks by twilight.

  For the past ten days the caravan party had been moving almost steadilyonward. Twice only had they stopped at small towns for mail, to buyfresh provisions and to get rid of some of the stains of travel.However, the entire party looked like a troupe of Spanish gypsies, someof them fair-haired and blue-eyed as the old Castilians, others dark asthe Moors, but all with their complexions tanned to varying shades ofbrown from their weeks in the open air.

  "Nature's Wonderland!" Jack spouted rapturously in the language of aguidebook. "Really, Ruth, the Park is even more beautiful than wedreamed, isn't it?"

  But Jack ceased talking abruptly and Jim reined in his horses on astretch of level road, while Olive and Jean slid gently down from theirponies' backs. The noise of their approach had frightened a band ofalmost a hundred antelopes, who were browsing in a near-by forest, andnow they started off in a long, galloping run single file through thetrees to a fertile green valley below.

  When the deer were out of sight, Frieda flung a dimpled brown arm aboutJim's neck. She wore a yellow straw bonnet with a blue ribbon on it,tied under her chin. Ruth had purchased the bonnet in one of the townswhere they spent the night, for each member of the expedition was wearyof crawling down from the wagon to pick up Frieda's lost hat. "Do let'srest here a few minutes, Jim," Frieda urged. "The horses have stopped,anyhow, and my legs are so tired dangling from the seat."

  Ruth had let go her hold on the children for a few minutes, and withoutwaiting for Jim's consent, by some sort of silent signal they bothslipped over the wagon wheels and danced away. For hours they had beenpassing by every variety of beautiful wild flower, but this minuteFrieda and Carlos discovered an isolated hill crowned with jagged rocksand covered with bitter-root, whose delicate blossoms made the groundlook like a carpet studded with small pink stars, leading to a giant'scastle in the air.

  It was not yet time for luncheon, but the caravaners were always hungry,and Ruth, Jean and Olive dragged a basket of sandwiches out of thewagon, while Jim Colter and Ralph Merrit led the horses away to searchfor water.

  "Better look after the children, Jack," Ruth suggested carelessly.

  Jack moved slowly toward the pink hill. She could see that Carlos hadrun lightly up it and was now crowing proudly from the peak of one ofthe highest rocks, while poor Frieda was crawling laboriously after him,fired with ambition and envy. Jack stopped a minute to laugh. Her smallsister was so round and chubby, that even though she clung to the shrubsas she struggled upward, every now and then she would slip back almostas far as she had gone on.

  "Don't try to go any farther, Frieda; come back to me," Jack criedwarningly. But Carlos had leaped to another higher crag and wasbeckoning his companion to follow him, so Frieda either didn't hear orwouldn't heed her elder sister; neither did she look upward toward thegoal "to which she would ascend." Carlos vanished around another rockand was out of sight; he did not think to mention that there was a flatplatform back of the first big rock and that it was already occupied.Suddenly from her position near the bottom of the hill, Jack saw an oldgoat thrust his head out over this rock and survey Frieda, with the longgray beard and the glittering eye of "The Ancient Mariner." He wasevidently an old time resident of the Park and had no intention ofsharing his retreat with an outside intruder.

  "Frieda!" Jack halloed, now frightened and running up the hill as fastas she could, but she could hardly hope to come to the rescue in time.

  Blue-eyed Frieda had crawled up the side of the crag toward the spotwhere the goat awaited her. Instead of a shout of triumph she gave ahorrified gasp of terror, never having intended to invade the castle ofthe particular ogre she now beheld.

  At this moment a tourist, who had been wandering idly around surveyingthe scenery, saw the little girl and the goat. He laughed and movedquickly in their direction. Jack was also doing her level best to arrivebefore the tragedy, but the old goat preferred not to wait. He took afew steps forward, hunching his shoulders and sidling along, then with asnort of dignified rage and a shove of his shaggy gray head, he struckpoor Frieda in the middle of her small person and sent her over the sideof the rock down the hill, where she landed in a bed of the covetedbitter-root blossoms.

  "If you won't cry, little girl, I'll give you something I have in mypocket," a strange gentleman said hurriedly, just as Frieda opened hermouth to bewail her misfortune. Not only was she injured in herfeelings; she was hurt in other places as well, and her new bonnethopelessly smashed in on one side. Too surprised to do anything butchoke for a few seconds, Frieda let her preserver set her up on theground and brush off some of the sand and twigs. He seemed a middle-agedman, quite as old as Jim, with iron-gray hair and dark eyes, and such afunny expression through his glasses, it was hard to tell whether he wassmiling or sympathetic.

  Jack now appeared and saw that her small sister was not seriously hurt.Just as she started to thank her rescuer a vision of what they had justseen flashed between them. Swiftly Jack's gray eyes darkened, her lipscurved and she burst into a peal of gay laughter, which the strangerechoed until he had to take out his handkerchief to wipe his eyeglasses.

  Frieda gazed at them both indignantly, then the tears which had beennobly held back rushed down her pink cheeks like the streams from aspouting geyser.

  "Oh, dear me, now you are crying and I told you I would give yousomething if you wouldn't!" the tourist remarked hastily. Down in hispocket went his hand, and before Frieda's and Jack's amazed eyes weredisplayed a handful of bright jewels, topaz and jasper, agate andgarnets.

  Jack shook her head decisively. "No, thank you," she said. "You are verykind, but they are much too valuable for Frieda to accept. We must saygood-by; our friends are signaling us."

  Mr. Peter Drummond laughed good-humoredly. "Please let her haveone--they are not of value," he begged. "I just have a fancy for prettystones, like a small boy, and these have all been found in the state ofWyoming." Frieda's small hand closed suddenly over a shining bit ofyellow jasper. Jack blushed, but there was no time for argument. Carloshad already sped down the hill and Jim was shouting to them. From thetop of their caravan, as it took up its forward march, Jack and Friedabeheld the distinguished stranger still watching them, and waved theirhandkerchiefs to him in farewell.

  Just before sunset the caravaners arrived in front of the hotel wherethey intended to spend the night. Yellowstone Lake lay a wonderful sheetof clear water at one side of them, but the travelers were weary ofscenery and far more interested in the guests who crowded the hotelverandah. The women wore pretty afternoon toilets and the men whiteflannels, as though they were visitors at fashionable Newport homesinstead of travelers in the heart of a wilderness.

  "Great heavens, Ruth!" Jean murmured, as they dismou
nted and stood closetogether in a frightened group, "my legs feel as though they were goingto give way under me and I am as bedraggled as any beggar maid. Howeverare we going to have the courage to march across that wretched porchwith all those people staring at us?"

  "I don't know myself, Jean. I had no idea we would find so many visitorshere," Ruth replied, vainly trying to straighten her traveling hat,which was considerably the worse for wear. Indeed the caravan party didlook almost as disreputable as they felt in their dusty, travel-wornclothes, now brought into sudden contrast with well-dressed people.

  Jack lifted her chin in her usual haughty fashion, assuming a courageshe did not feel. "Oh, well, we can't stand here in the road allevening," she argued. "Jim and Mr. Merrit must see that the horses andwagon are put up somewhere, so come on, Olive, let's lead the way. Atleast we can be grateful that we don't know anyone here and no one knowsus."

  Elderly ladies raised their lorgnettes to stare at the newcomers andsome young people whispered together.

  "There they come, mother," a young girl cried excitedly. "I told you wewould get here before they did!"

  Jack and Olive had just mounted the verandah steps with Carlos, and Ruthand Jean, each holding Frieda's hand, were following close behind, whenthere was a soft rustle of silk across the piazza and Mrs. Harmon andher son Donald, whom the caravan party had left safe at Rainbow Lodge,stood before them. A minute later a servant wheeled Elizabeth over in abig chair.

  "We just couldn't bear not to see the Yellowstone Park too," Elizabethexplained fervently. "Don and I talked of nothing else after you wentaway in your wonderful caravan, and at last father said mother couldbring us here. It took us only a day to make the trip that has taken youmore than two weeks. Aren't you glad to see us?"

  Jack kissed Elizabeth hurriedly, while the rest of the party shook handswith Mrs. Harmon and Donald. The girls were too dazed with surprise andfatigue to know whether they were glad or sorry to see the acquaintancesto whom they had rented their beloved home. Ruth thought Mrs. Harmon'smanner a little constrained when she spoke to them.

  "We don't want to haunt you, Miss Drew," she apologized, "but we were soclose to this marvelous park it seemed a pity for us to miss it, and Donand Elizabeth are so in love with your ranch girls they believe theywill enjoy it twice as much with you here. We came on after Beth had aletter from Miss Ralston telling her about the time you expected toarrive."

  There was one member of the caravan party who had no hesitation inexpressing his views of the unexpected appearance of the three membersof the Harmon family. Jim was frankly displeased. "It wasn't enough torent them our Lodge for the summer and have them drive me plumb crazywith questions before I got away," he complained to Ruth as soon as shebroke the news to him, "but now we have got to tote 'em over the wholeof the Yellowstone. I guess they must think I'm the original Cooks' Tourman," he growled, forgetting his newly acquired English in his badtemper.

  But Ruth laughed sympathetically. "Never mind, Mr. Jim," she returned."I am sorry myself that we can't have our trip to ourselves, but I hopepleasure will somehow come out of the presence of the Harmons here."

  So far as Ruth or any member of the Rainbow Ranch family could see formany months to come not good, but great evil grew out of the entrance ofthese new acquaintances into their lives.