Mildred smiled but blushed deeply at the question.
"Would my money be enough to pay his mortgages?" she inquired.
"Perhaps," said Beth, "but that would be foolish. He would soon be in debt again."
"No, no!" protested Patsy. "I"m sure he will reform if-"
"If Mildred marries him?"
"Yes."
Mildred seemed troubled.
"The best way," declared Beth, "would be to have Mildred keep her money in her own name, and help out in case of emergency."
Mildred approved that, and being pressed by the two girls she frankly confided to them that she would accept Mr. Runyon when he came for his answer.
Runyon appeared on the third day and Arthur met him and told him the good news of the finding of Mildred"s inheritance. But the effect of this discovery on the big rancher was to overwhelm him with despair.
"She will never marry me now," he a.s.serted in doleful tones, "and I"d rather die than ask her. It would be beastly to take such an advantage of the poor child. When she was poor, I could offer her a home with good grace, but now that she"s rolling in gold the jig is up! If you"ll tell me, where I can find old Miguel, I"ll strangle the villain. Why in thunder couldn"t he hold his tongue?"
Arthur laughingly replied that money wouldn"t make a particle of difference with a girl like Mildred, but Runyon would not listen and remained disconsolate. He stayed at the ranch, but moped around with a woe-begone countenance and refused to speak with anyone.
Patsy and Beth skillfully contrived several opportunities for Runyon to approach Mildred, but he ignored all chances and preferred to remain miserable. The day pa.s.sed without his demanding his answer. Mildred had been bright and expectant and the girls read her disappointment when her unaccountable wooer delayed putting his fortune to the test.
The next day he was no more cheerful, but rather seemed to have acc.u.mulated an added gloom. He sought a garden bench and smoked innumerable cigars in solitary grief. If anyone approached, Runyon would retreat to the shrubbery. At mealtime he was likewise silent but consumed enormous quant.i.ties of food, which made Patsy accuse him of being an impostor.
"No regulation lover," she said to him, "ever had an appet.i.te. The novels all say so. Therefore you can"t love Mildred a bit."
Runyon groaned, cast her a reproachful glance and went on eating.
Several days pa.s.sed without his asking Mildred for her answer, and now the absurd situation began to get on all their nerves. Mildred herself grew impatient and watched from the nursery window the garden bench on which Runyon sat gloomily in his perpetual cloud of smoke.
"He"ll make himself sick, with those black cigars, I"m sure," observed Patsy, on one occasion.
"And he can"t afford to smoke so many," added Beth. "Unless this thing stops, he"ll soon have to take out a new mortgage."
"Or sell some lemons," added Patsy.
"I believe," said Mildred slowly, as if summoning her courage, "I will speak to him myself. Don"t you think that would be best?"
"Of course," approved Patsy. "Runyon is a big baby, and needs a nurse more than little Jane. I"ll hold Toodlums, Mildred, while you sally forth and take the bull by the horns."
Mildred looked at Beth for counsel.
"Unless you speak to him," said that young lady, "you will never get together. Moreover, the rest of us will grow mad or idiotic. So, for all our sakes, you"d better take Mr. Runyon in hand. You"ll have to manage him afterward, anyhow, so the sooner you begin the better."
Mildred handed little Jane to Patsy and left the nursery. Through the window the other girls watched her approach Mr. Runyon and stand before him. At once he stood up and threw away his cigar, but his face was toward them and they could see that he did not speak.
Mildred, however, was talking very earnestly. Runyon shook his head. He turned half away. Then he swung sharply around and caught the girl in his arms.
"Come, Beth," said Patsy; "let"s go and tell Louise."