Tabitha\'s Vacation
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Ruth Alberta Brown >> Tabitha\'s Vacation
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"Not tell?" ventured Inez.
"And eat all the candy ourselves?" added Irene.
There was a moment's pause while three active brains worked furiously.
Then Susie sighed, "I b'lieve he's right. Tabitha would never trust us
again. We better keep still about the whole thing."
"Then we'll have to hurry and clear up this mess," said Irene. "We can
hide the candy until later, but this table would give everything away."
So the trio flew to work again, put away the remains of the tramp's
dinner, washed the telltale dishes, and had the kitchen in its usual
spick and span order when the rest of the large family returned an hour
later from their sojourn to the river. If their consciences pricked
them a little for their deception, they said nothing, not even to each
other; and it was several days before the young housekeeper discovered
their secret.
CHAPTER XI
IN THE CANYON
The next day was Saturday, and the morning dawned so hot and sultry
that almost before the old kitchen clock struck five, the restless
eaglets were stirring once more.
"Now's the time I wish we didn't live so far up the mountain," sighed
Mercedes, mopping her perspiring face on her sleeve as she struggled to
button the dress she had just donned.
"Yes, summer's an awful trial here in this house," agreed Susie, trying
to decide whether to put on her shoes and stockings and suffer from the
heat in that manner, or to go bare-footed and burn her tender soles on
the hot sands.
"Le's do down to the river to-day," lisped Janie, lifting eager eyes to
scan the dark face bending over, as Tabitha patiently brushed the
tangled curls into smooth ringlets.
"Oh, let's!" seconded the twins.
"You know we had to stay at home yesterday when the rest of you went,"
wheedled Inez.
"And 'twould have been awful lonesome," began Irene, "if it hadn't been
for that----"
"Ice-cream," hastily interposed Susie, giving the little blunderbus a
warning glance. "Can't we go, Tabitha? It would be so much cooler
there."
"I don't see how we can manage it," answered the flushed housekeeper,
glancing longingly out of the window down the yellow ribbon of a road
which wound its way in and out among the rocks and yuccas on its way to
the muddy Colorado, seven miles away. "The assayer will be wanting his
horses to-day and it's too far to walk."
"Can't we hire a team from the stables?" proposed Inez.
"And pay ten dollars a day for it?" scoffed Mercedes. "Where are you
going to get your money to foot the bill?"
"Then let's catch enough burros to lug us all," suggested the
resourceful Susie. "No one would care. They run loose on the desert
all the time."
Tabitha shook her head slowly, although her eyes gleamed appreciatively
at the plan. If only Rosslyn and Janie were older! How she would
enjoy such a frolic as Susie's suggestion would mean.
Only Gloriana remained discreetly silent.
She shuddered whenever she recalled her first and only ride on one of
the wicked little beasts,--that wild New Years Even when she and
Tabitha had tried to keep Mr. McKittrick's claims from being
jumped,--and she drew an audible sigh of relief at Tabitha's decision.
But the next instant her heart sank within her, for with a scurry of
feet in the narrow hallway, the door of the room was unceremoniously
flung open, and two eager, boyish faces peered in.
"I say, Tab," began Billiard, so excited he could hardly refrain from
shouting his news, "your Uncle Decker is out here----"
"And he's brung a whole--flock--of burros," broke in Toady, so anxious
to tell part of the good news that he could not stop for choice of
words.
"Saddled," Billiard hurried on, trying to beat Toady to the climax.
"For us!" cried the smaller boy.
"To ride to the canyon on!" bellowed the two as with one voice.
"Really?" gasped Tabitha.
"How perfectly scrumptious!" squealed the tribe of McKittrick.
"But Janie and Rosslyn," faltered Gloriana faintly. "Aren't they too
small----"
"Oh, he's got a buckboard, too," grinned Billiard, who had recently
discovered the red-haired maid's poor little secret; but forbore to
make unkind remarks about it because he himself stood somewhat in awe
of the sleepy-eyed demons of the desert, since one had unexpectedly
kicked him when he was trying to mount. "He drove in for some
provisions, and your father told him to bring us all back with him, and
we're to _camp_ at the mines until Monday. Won't that be great?
Whoop-ee!" He leaped into the air, cracked his heels together and came
down with a resounding thump which shook the whole house and made the
dishes in the pantry rattle.
But no word of reproof was uttered, for Tabitha had seized the
half-dressed, half-combed Janie in her arms, and rushed from the room.
It seemed impossible that anyone could have come up that narrow, rocky
trail to the Eagles' Nest with a half dozen or more burros and a
buckboard without her having heard them, but there they were lined up
by the kitchen steps,--seven sleepy-eyed, wicked little burros, saddled
and bridled, and a pair of small, wiry mustangs hitched to a light
wagon, and driven by Decker Simmons, Mr. Catt's partner.
"Why, Uncle Decker!" Tabitha began.
"Didn't we tell you he was here?" exulted the two boys who had followed
her.
"But--but--" she stammered.
"But she didn't b'lieve us," crowed Toady.
"I thought you must be mistaken," she confessed, "for I could not
imagine anyone so crazy as to want _ten_ children under foot at a mine.
Whatever possessed Dad, Uncle Decker?"
The man laughed good-naturedly. "Thought we all needed a vacation, I
reckon," he answered. "Are you anywhere near ready? Better hurry.
Sun will soon be unmercifully hot, and the canyon isn't exactly within
walking distance. Can't I help?"
"No, thanks. It won't take us long----"
"We're ready now," announced the procession of girls crowded around her.
"Mercy finished Janie's hair while you stood here gabbing. Glory
packed up what duds we'd need, and Billiard's got the house all locked
up. Who's to take which burro?"
"Makes no difference," answered the man, chuckling at the despatch with
which preparations for the outing were made. "Put the little tikes in
here with me, and any of the rest of you who perfer the buckboard can
pile in. That red--the girl with the game hip--you better ride with
us, too."
This suited Gloriana perfectly, and she lost no time in making herself
comfortable among the leather cushions with Rosslyn and Janie beside
her; but the rest of the party declined that method of transportation,
and mounted the animals standing patiently in the scant shade of the
porch. In less time than it takes to tell, the hilarious procession
was on its way to the canyon, and the baking town was left behind.
"Let's race," cried Billiard, who was mounted on an innocent-looking,
lazy beast.
"Come on!" cried Susie, giving her animal a prod with a sharp stick she
had snatched from the woodpile as they clattered out of the yard; and
away they flew, shouting and flapping reins, urging the stolid little
burros out of their poky gait into a surprised run.
But the race came to an abrupt and unexpected end. Susie's mount
seemed more ambitious than its mates, or else the youthful rider goaded
it to desperation; for, with a mighty spurt, it took the lead, and shot
three lengths ahead of the rest, cantering off across the desert as if
racing were its daily delight. Rosy-cheeked Susie glanced back over
her shoulder, waved the sharp stick triumphantly in the air, and
jeered, "Yah, yah! Why don't you come along? Has you burro gone to
sleep?"
This was too much for Billiard, and grabbing a needle-pointed Spanish
bayonet frond from the hands of his brother, he gave the brown-coated
beast beneath him a vicious stab, as he yelled in disgust, "Giddap, you
old demon! Wake up and stretch your legs a lit----"
Brownie awoke into surprising activity, leaped forward with unseating
suddenness, planted his forefeet firmly among the rocks, and with one
deliberate, energetic kick, sent Billiard flying through the air. The
watchers behind held their breath in terror. Would the boy be killed
for his folly? Then a wild shout of laughter rose from eight throats.
But who could have resisted it? For the luckless Billiard, after
turning a summersault high in the air, fell astraddle the neck of
Toady's burro, and slipped to the ground in a sprawling heap, while the
second startled beast bolted across the desert with its plucky rider
still clinging to its back.
The dazed Billiard picked himself up from the ground considerably
shaken but not hurt, and gazing ruefully first after his own fleeing
burro, and then after Toady's, now far in advance of Susie's little
animal, remarked, "Well, the old thing has got _some_ ginger in him
after all! Do you suppose I can ever catch him?"
"I'll help," quickly volunteered Tabitha, trying hard to suppress her
mirth, so meek and woebegone was the tumbled figure standing in the
roadway; and with a nimble spring she landed beside him, tethering her
burro to a yucca, growing close at hand. Mercedes and the twins
followed her example, but it was a lively chase they had before the
unruly animal was finally captured, and the party continued its
journey, reaching their destination without further mishap.
Gloriana was disappointed at first, as she looked about her while her
companions were dismounting, for she had expected to see a canyon like
those lovely spots hidden among the San Bernardino hills; but this
place was no different from the rocky, barren mountains surrounding
Silver Bow. However, there was little time for lamentations, for with
surprising ingenuity, Mr. Catt had arranged a delightful program for
the two days the young folks were in camp, and not a moment of the
brief holiday was dull even for Rosslyn and Janie. So it was with
reluctant hearts that the party mounted their burros Monday morning for
their return trip.
"Where are the boys?" inquired Mercedes curiously, as she sprang nimbly
into her saddle and gathered up the reins ready to start.
"Susie isn't here, either," said Tabitha, pausing in her task of
packing to count noses. "They must be in the tent. I saw them not
very long ago. Dad, are the boys ready?"
"Haven't seen them," he answered emerging from one of the tents with a
light grip and dumping it into the back of the buckboard.
"I saw Billiard and Toady whispering something to Susie just as the
wagon drove up," tattled Inez, provoked to think she had not been
included in the secret, "and they all ran off that way." She pointed
up the mountainside, where the mesquite and cacti grew thickest, and
huge boulders made climbing difficult.
"What in the world possessed them to go off like that?" fretted
Tabitha, impatient at the unexpected delay.
"Bet I know," Irene piped up. "They prob'ly went for a last look at
the puppies."
"Puppies!" cried the others in amazement. "Where are there any puppies
about here?"
"Quite a piece up there on the other side,--they weren't going to tell
the rest of us, but I happened to find them myself."
"Here they come now," Rosslyn excitedly interrupted; and sure enough,
the trio had appeared on the hillcrest, each tugging something which
squirmed and twisted, and snarled and yapped until their flushed,
panting owners could scarcely hold them.
"Holy snakes!" ejaculated Decker Simmons.
Mr. Catt whistled. The rest of the party stared.
"What in creation have you got, Susie McKittrick?" demanded Mercedes,
with all the severity her gentle nature could muster, as the three
children came within speaking distance, Susie in advance.
"A pup," gasped the red-faced girl, taking a fresh grip on the
wriggling, sharp-nosed little animal, half hidden in the torn skirt of
her dress. "Isn't he cute? See what bright eyes he's got."
"And see how you've snagged your clothes," said Irene reprovingly.
"And scratched your face," added Inez, glad now that she had not been a
party in the expedition.
"That's nothing to what Billiard's did to him," Susie retorted sharply,
nettled at her reception. "He picked out the prettiest of the bunch
for Tabitha. We told him how much you used to want a dog all your own,
Kitty. But it's the wildest thing I ever saw. Here he comes now.
Billiard, didn't you choose your pup for Tabitha?"
"Would you accept it?" he panted somewhat shyly, embarrassed and a
little provoked that Susie should have announced his intentions the
first thing. "I--I got the handsomest fellow of them all, but I pretty
near had to club it to death before it would come along peaceably."
"But Billiard," gasped Tabitha, finding her tongue at last, "that isn't
a pup!"
"What is it then?" Susie bristled so aggressively that she forgot to
keep a tight hold on her unwilling prisoner, and with a final scratch
and yap of exultation, it freed itself from her arms, and darted away
among the sagebrush.
"A coyote."
"No!" Toady dropped his as if it were poison, and lifted startled eyes
to Tabitha's face.
"You're fooling!" cried Susie in exasperation over her loss.
"Dad, Uncle Decker, isn't that a baby coyote?"
Both men nodded silently, a look of amusement flickering about their
lips.
"But--but--" spluttered Billiard, still hugging his half-smothered
treasure to his bosom. "It--they _look_ like pups."
"Yes, they do, but you found them pretty frisky for pups, didn't you?"
"They _were_ pretty lively," admitted the older boy slowly.
"And as scratchy as--" began Toady.
"As _cats_," finished Susie, angry at Tabitha for calling the animals
coyotes, angry at her sisters for laughing, and angry at herself for
not knowing the truth of the matter without being told.
"That's so, too," agreed Mr. Catt amiably. "It beats me how you ever
managed to catch them."
"It was a job," sighed Billiard regretfully, freeing the pretty little
ball wrapped so snugly in his coat, and watching it skulk away after
its two brothers. "We had some empty sacks----"
"But they weren't much good," Susie broke in contemptuously. "If it
hadn't been for that can of meat we swiped, we'd never have caught 'em.
They bite like everything, as well as scratch."
"Yes," said Billiard mournfully, taking the reins from Tabitha's hands
and mounting his burro, "and we had all our pains for nothing."
"Not quite," whispered Tabitha sympathetically. "I understand, and I'm
glad you took such trouble for me. But hurry. It's late already, and
will be terribly hot before we reach home."
So the party said good-bye to the canyon and set out briskly on their
long ride back to Silver Bow, but Tabitha was exultant, for Billiard,
unruly, rebellious Billiard was at last completely won.
CHAPTER XII
THE BANK OF SILVER BOW IS ROBBED
"It must have rained here since we left," observed Toady, as they drew
near the town.
"Why?" asked Irene curiously.
"'Cause there's a puddle of water in that hollow rock and unless it had
rained, how would it get there?"
"By Jove, the lad is right," muttered Decker Simmons to himself.
"Queer we didn't get any at the canyon, though. Wonder what's the
trouble ahead. Town seems excited. Do you suppose the new postmaster
has embezzled his funds already?"
"Uncle Decker," Tabitha's voice interrupted his meditations.
"Yes?"
"Something must have happened in town while we were gone."
"Why?"
"Main street is full of people and the bank platform is black with
them. Do you suppose there is another run on the bank, or can it have
failed?"
"Why, so 'tis!" ejaculated the man, noting for the first time what
Tabitha's keen eyes had seen,--that the greater crowd of the people
were gathered in front of the Silver Bow Bank. "Wonder what's up."
"Hello, Simmons," called Dawley, the grocer, from his position in the
doorway of his store. "You don't look as if you'd heard the news."
"No. Let's have it." The whole party halted and waited curiously.
"Bank robbed."
"You don't say so! When?"
"Saturday night."
"Get much?"
"Don't know yet, but reckon 'twas only a few hundred. Brinkley lost a
lot of provisions, too, but fortunately his safe was empty."
"Well, I declare! Any clue?"
"Not so far. Rain wiped out all tracks that might have been made. Had
a corker of a thunderstorm that night."
"Well, well! Now what do you think of that! What steps are you taking
toward the capture of the thieves?"
"Posse out scouring the desert."
"Humph!"
"Well, what else can we do without clues?"
"_Find_ some clues. You'll never catch the rascals by scouring the
desert with a handful of men. They must have gone into camp close by,
or they would never have stocked up. Bet they are new at the business.
_Must_ be to make a mistake like that. I'd laugh if they had never
left town." And gathering up the reins, he drove on, followed by the
cavalcade of burros.
The children were greatly excited. Burglaries in that lonely little
desert town were unheard of, and this novel experience furnished food
for their lively imaginations to feed upon. Tabitha was particularly
impressed, for never before in her short life had a robbery occurred so
near home, and she could think of little else. A reward of two hundred
dollars had been offered for the capture of the thieves, and as soon as
the little brood in the Eagles' Nest heard of this, they began to amuse
themselves by telling how they would spend the money if by chance they
could win the reward.
"I'd buy me a pony," said Toady, as they sat on the shady side of the
house discussing the all-absorbing topic. "Ma said she never should
get us another after Spotty kicked her when she struck it with the
whip."
"I'd save it towards a motorcycle," declared Billiard boastfully. "No
ponies for mine! With another hundred I could get a dandy machine, and
then wouldn't you see me spinning about the country just as I pleased!"
"It would almost pay for another term at Ivy Hall," sighed Mercedes,
who, though she never mentioned the matter, knew that the family purse
was too flat to permit of her returning to her beloved school with the
coming of September.
"I'd buy a little house in Los Angeles and go there to live," said
Irene. "It must be pretty where there are real trees and flowers the
year around."
"It's not your turn," Susie objected. "I'd buy--I'd buy--what _would_
I buy? There are so many things I want, but I b'lieve I'd go
travelling. Two hundred dollars would take me quite a piece, and I'd
see lots of big cities."
"And I'd go along," breathed Inez in ecstasy, "and we'd beat our way
back on freight cars."
"Ho! That wouldn't be any fun," scoffed Rosslyn. "I'd buy candy, 'n'
ice-cream, 'n' peanuts, 'n' popcorn."
"And a doctor," laughed Mercedes.
There was a pause, and seven pair of eyes turned expectantly toward
Gloriana, who, perceiving the look, said shyly, "There are probably
heaps of things I'd like to get for myself now and then, but I think
the most of my two hundred would go to Granny Conover for taking care
of me all those years. I'd like to see her have plenty of money to do
as she pleased with before she dies."
"Wouldn't that be splendid?" cried the children, who were never tired
of hearing the pitiful tale of Gloriana's life.
"Now, Tabitha," suggested Billiard. "Why, where _is_ Tabitha?"
"Gone to put Janie to bed, I guess," said Toady, seeing that the
youngest member of the family was also missing. "It's her nap time."
But in reality, Tabitha was far down the mountainside, speeding like a
deer in pursuit of a tiny, white-clad figure toddling in and out among
the sagebrush and greasewood toward a forbidden playground, where,
half-hidden by rocks and rubbish, were several unprotected prospect
holes, mysterious and alluring to the investigative baby eyes. Even as
Tabitha came within calling distance of the child, Janie discovered
that she was being pursued, and quickened her steps into a run,
heedless of the path she was taking, until with a shrill cry of fright,
she slipped over the brink of one of the very holes she had stolen away
to visit, and disappeared from sight.
"O, God, don't let her be killed!" prayed the black-eyed girl, and her
feet fairly flew over the uneven ground, till she, too, reached the
edge of the deep excavation. But before she could discover the plight
of the runaway, she felt the ground give way beneath her feet, and
echoing Janie's cry of alarm, she, too, shot out of sight.
Fortunately, however, little sand fell with her, and as by a miracle,
she landed free and clear of the frightened, sobbing, but unhurt figure
crouching in the opposite corner.
Scrambling to her feet, she seized the scared baby in her arms,
exclaiming over and over again, "Janie, Janie, are you sure you aren't
killed?" till at length she had soothed the child's fright and had
coaxed her into laughing again. "Now, Miss Mischief," she cried,
setting the baby down and beginning to investigate their prison, "we
must find some way out of this place. 'Tisn't very deep, to be sure;
but the sides seem pretty crumbly, so I don't dare to climb out. I
reckon we'll have to shout. Help, help, help!"
They screamed themselves hoarse, but no one came to answer their call,
and Janie began to wail dismally, for the minutes seemed like hours to
her, and she was tired and cross. "Never mind, honey," Tabitha
comforted. "If they don't find us around the house by supper time,
they will know something has gone wrong and send General to find us.
Now let's amuse ourselves for a while, and then we'll shout again.
Here is a stick. See if you can dig a deeper hole than I can. Why,
what's this?"
Stooping over to pick up a fragment of redwood bark at her feet, she
uncovered a small bag, which rattled as she touched it; and as she
untied the drawstring, a shower of glittering gold pieces fell into her
lap.
"Pennies!" cried Janie, making a dive for a share of the shining coins.
"Yes, dear, gold pennies, but Janie mustn't touch," answered Tabitha,
busily sorting the money into various piles according to its
denomination. "It doesn't belong to us, and we must take it to the--
Say, Janie McKittrick, what will you bet this isn't the money stolen
from the bank Saturday night? Mr. Dawley said they got only a few
hundred. Let's count it. One, two, three, four, five hundred dollars.
Janie, that's just what we've found! The robbers didn't dare take it
with them, and so hid it here, thinking it would be absolutely safe."
"Well, Tabitha Catt! Of all things! Look, girls, she's as calm and
cool as if she had gone on a picnic, instead of tumbling into a
prospect hole."
So intent had the two prisoners become in their find that neither had
heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and as breathless Susie's
voice rang out above their heads, both started guiltily.
"Why, how did you know where to look for us?" cried Tabitha, bouncing
to her feet, and slipping the bag out of sight, lest the children see
and ask questions.
"Well, when we couldn't find you about the house anywhere, Glory
remembered that Janie had slipped off down the trail while we were
talking, and so we decided that you must have chased her. Then Mercy
happened to think of these holes. Janie is always possessed to play
down here, and has run away three times before; so we came down to
look, and here you are in the very first one," explained Susie.
"You hauled us out of the abandoned mine one day, and now we are going
to fish you out of a prospect hole," exulted Billiard, much relieved to
find the two girls unhurt, but unable to resist crowing a little over
their mishap.
"How?" asked Tabitha, a frown of anxiety gathering in her forehead.
"Don't get too near the edge there, or some of you may join us in our
retreat. You must go for help. You can't get us out all alone."
"Mercy has gone for the assayer," began Inez.
"And here he is now," Billiard interrupted. "He has got a long board
and a rope. Stand back, Irene, so you won't be in the way. There,
now, Tabby, tie up the baby, and we'll lift her out first."
In a surprisingly short time, both girls were hoisted from the sultry
pit and landed laughing gaily among their mates.
"Well," said the assayer, shaking his gray head in a puzzled fashion,
"I don't understand how you kids work the stunt."
"What stunt?" they all inquired.
"Why, tumbling into every hole you come across and not getting hurt.
You aren't hurt, are you?"
"No, indeed!"
"And Kitty finded a whole sack full of gold pennies down there, but her
won't div Janie any," volunteered the baby quite unexpectedly.
"She--what?"
"Gold pennies!"
"What does she mean?"
The children lifted questioning eyes to Tabitha's crimson face, and
even the assayer looked down at her curiously. She had not meant to
let the children know about the money; at least, not until she had
consulted older and wiser heads than theirs; but now that Janie had
betrayed her secret, she displayed her find, and explained how it had
come into her possession.
The assayer's eyes grew thoughtful, as he examined each coin minutely,
and counted the treasure, to make sure that Tabitha's figures were
right. "What shall you do with it?" he finally asked, as he dropped
the last piece into the sack and returned it to Tabitha.
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