Catching Alfaretta"s hand more firmly she drew that frightened girl along with her to the edge of the pond and to a little boat that was moored there. Both lake and boat were merely toylike in proportion and the bottom of the pond was pebble-strewn and plainly visible through the clear, shallow water.
"He ain"t--he--ain"t--he can"t--you could see--him--He isn"t--Oh! Dolly, Dolly Doodles! I"m sick! It makes me feel terrible queer!" wailed Alfaretta. "But Jim can"t--Jim can"t be drowned! _He can"t!_"
"Yes he can, too. Shut up. Help me untie that rope. Get in. Take an oar.
Row--row, I tell you," snapped Dorothy, distraught.
"I can"t. I da.s.sent! I never touched to row an oar in my life. Not in my whole life long, and--I--I shan"t do it now!" retorted the mountaineer with equal crispness.
But she had no need to try. The whole party had followed Dorothy to the water"s edge and had divined her intent. Not one believed that Jim was drowned, though they could have given no good reason for this disbelief.
Only that was too horrible. Such a thing would not have been permitted!
Yet Herbert, as the best oarsman there and also as the loyal friend of the missing lad, a.s.sumed the place Alfy would not take. Without a word he did what Dorothy desired. He slipped the painter from its post, helped the girl to take her seat in the little "Dorothy," even smiling as he observed that it had been named for her, and quietly pushed out from sh.o.r.e.
It was just as Alfy had said: the bottom of the lake was clearly visible everywhere, and no frightful object marred its beauty. Dorothy was utterly quiet now but her searching gaze never lifted from the water, as Herbert patiently rowed around and around. The group on the bank waited also in silence, though certain after that first circuit of the pond that Jim was not there.
When they had gone around several times, and had crossed and criss-crossed in obedience to Dorothy"s nod, Herbert brought the boat back to the little landing and helped Dorothy out.
"He isn"t there, Gray Lady. May I go to the doctor?"
"Surely. I"ll go with you. And don"t look so tragic, darling. The boy will certainly be found. There will nothing else be done at San Leon until he is. Both my husband and myself agree on that point--that Jim Barlow"s safety is our first consideration. He will probably be found near at hand, although--"
"Hasn"t he been looked for "near at hand," then, dear Gray Lady?"
"Certainly. At the beginning. We didn"t think he could have wandered far, yet when they failed to find him on the home-grounds, the searchers spread out in all directions. Here is the doctor coming now, if you wish to speak with him."
"Thank you, I do."
The gentleman came toward them and Dorothy ran to meet him.
"Oh! sir, have you found him?"
A negative shake of the head answered her. Then she plied him with all sorts of questions: how long could a sick boy live exposed to the night air, as Jim had been; without food or medicine; and couldn"t he think of some place that n.o.body else had searched, so she might go and try it?
He laid his hand upon her head and gently asked:
"Was he your brother, little girl?"
"No. I haven"t any brother. I haven"t anybody but Jim, that has known me always, seems if, and--and dear Doctor, won"t you please, please find him?"
Clasping her hands about his arm she looked up piteously into his face, and his own grew pitiful as he answered:
"I will do my utmost. What I hope is that he will wander back, of his own will, just as he wandered away. Be sure I shall keep a sharp lookout, but it is Mr. Ford"s wish that I do not leave the home-place till--at present. If he is found, I mean _when_ he is found, he will need my care and it wouldn"t do for me to be away then. Else I should have gone out with one of the searching parties."
That "when he is found" was rea.s.suring. Evidently, the doctor expected the speedy return of the lad and all were relieved, even Dorothy.
Alfaretta expressed her own feeling by saying:
"Out here in this Colorado, seems if there wasn"t anything but folks gettin" lost and other folks searching for "em. I never heard anything like it," she finished with a sigh.
The sigh was echoed by all the rest; then Mrs. Ford suggested:
"Let us have luncheon now, then call on Lemuel to give us our first lesson in rifle-firing." She a.s.sumed a cheerfulness she did not really feel, but felt that the happiness of so many should not be spoiled by the absence of one.
"Oh! Lady Gray, will you practice with us?" asked Leslie, eagerly.
"To be sure. I"m going to "play pretend," as children say, that I"m just as young as any of you. In my busy life I"ve not had much time for "playing" but I mean to make up for lost time. Come, I"m sure that Wun Sing has made something nice for us. He--"
"Wun Sing! _Wun Sing?_ Why that was the name of Aunt Betty"s cook at _El Paraiso_! How odd that yours should have the same name!" exclaimed Dorothy, forgetting her troubles for the moment.
"Not so odd, dearie, because it is the same man. He came to Mr. Ford one day while we were still in San Diego and confessed his regret for his behavior at Mrs. Calvert"s home. And my good Daniel can never turn his back upon any penitent; so the result is the Chinaman reigns in our kitchen here. Doubtless he"ll be pleased to see Alfaretta who taught him so many fine dishes."
"Oh! good! May we go see him, Mrs. Ford?" demanded that young person, eager not only to see Wun Sing because he was one more familiar acquaintance but because she wished to settle a few old scores. "I"m so glad! I"ll make him toe the mark here, see if I don"t. Come on, Dolly Doodles, he"s an old friend of yours, too."
Alfy"s eagerness infected even anxious Dorothy and gave an agreeable turn to the thoughts of all. So, at a nod of consent, the girls sped along the cloister, seeking the great kitchen and the salaaming grinning Chinaman within it.
"Oh! how good you look, Wunny! Same old purple sack! same old shoes; same old twisted cue around your same old shiny black head! Same old nasty messes cooking! and same old Alfaretta to get after you with a sharp stick!" cried Leslie bursting in with all the others.
Even Dorothy was laughing now, Jim quite forgot, while the cook held such a reception as had never been his before. Leslie went through some formal introductions, beginning with the lady of the mansion and ending with Miss Milliken, who had followed unseen till now.
Wun Sing"s back must have ached, so often and so low he bowed, while his tongue mumbled compliments to the most gracious and honorable visitors; but a look of real delight was on his swarthy face and one of great affection for smiling Alfaretta.
"My heart! Ain"t it just grand to find an old friend up here on the mountains! I declare, it does beat the Dutch!" and to this, her expression of greatest wonderment, Leslie added his own:
"Just downright rippin"! He"s worth all he costs just to make our Dolly forget that horrid Jim Barlow. I can"t forgive him for running away and stirring up all this mess, sending Dad off on a tiresome ride and spoiling sport this way. He was good enough, I"d have treated him decent, all right, but I wish now he"d never been heard of."
But the most of this was whispered in his mother"s ear, as he stood beside her, his hand upon her shoulder, in that familiar, loving att.i.tude which always made her so happy.
Then she demanded of the proud _chef_ how soon he could have lunch ready, and he replied with another gesture of profound respect:
"Light away, this instlant! By my honorable forefathers it is fittee for the most bleautiful!"
Then he bowed them out of the place and they wandered to the pretty room where the meal would be served, and which because of its simple, cloister-like effect, Helena at once named "The Refectory."
It had been a trifling incident, but it had had a happy effect. All tongues were talking now, planning, antic.i.p.ating, wondering over the things they meant to do and to learn; while a man was sent across to the "Barracks" to tell Lemuel that they would like to begin their rifle lessons that afternoon.
Mrs. Ford suggested naps for everybody, on account of their previous long journeys but none wished to sleep just then.
"How can anybody be tired in this glorious air?" asked Helena, burying her nose in a beautiful bunch of wild flowers somebody had placed beside her plate.
Even Miss Milliken was wide awake now and as happy as she ever could be anywhere. Her one complaint was that it was "so far from civilization."
"But you knew that, Milly, before you came. Mamma stated everything to you as plainly as could be. You knew you were going to an isolated ranch on a mountain, so how could you expect daily papers, visitors, and such things? You"ve always said you loved quiet and, now you"ve got it, do be satisfied," begged Helena. She was really fond of the nervous little governess but sometimes lost patience with her.
"Yes, dear, but suppose--suppose something happened? Illness at home, or something serious."
Lady Gray gently interposed, and made, also, her little speech. It was her first and last advice, or request, to her guests and most of them were impressed by it.
"Dear Miss Milliken, don"t be troubled by "being so far from civilization." You aren"t that, at all. My husband has brought civilization with him. I am amazed at all he has accomplished. We have a telegraph line--that he found necessary for his business, but that can be used by any of us. Bad news travels fast. Be sure if "anything happens" we shall hear of it all too soon. And now I have but one suggestion to make for our life together, and I mean to apply it to myself first of all. It is: Let us put everything unpleasant under our feet, as far as possible, and each do his and her share to make this a wholly joyous summer. I"m inclined to "worry" and it"s a most unfortunate inclination. This is the first time I have had a chance to make a "home" for Daniel and Leslie and I want it to be perfect. Will you all help me? Will you all take my dear husband"s words for a summer text and make life at this dear San Leon a synonym of "Peace and Good Will"?"
Lady Gray"s beautiful face was very earnest, there was even a suspicion of tears in her long-lashed eyes, but they did not fall, and, after a moment"s silence, Leslie sprang to his feet with a: