THE EDGE OF THE WORLD THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Cottage Home looked as if it had just stepped out of the majestic Rockies to get a better view of the morning sun. THE EDGE OF THE WORLD BY EDITH BLINN Illustrations by Norma L. Virgin NEW YORK BRITTON PUBLISHING COMPANY Copyright, 1919, by BmrrroH PUBLISHING Made in U. S. A. All rig hit reserved CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I COTTAGE HOME 1 II MOTHER LEE 7 III HER WESTERN WORLD 13 IV THE ANT HILL 22 V HER FLEDGELINGS 26 VI FORDING THE BIG THOMPSON 33 VII VALLEY ROSE 42 VIII CHRISTMAS AND MOTHER WINTERS ... 50 IX AN ECCENTRIC GUEST 59 X THE LONE COYOTE 67 XI FORREST AND FERN 76 XII HER EAGLE EYE .81 XIII THE WITCHERY OP THE FOREST .... 95 XIV FROM THE SANDHILLS 102 XV HEARTS CORRALLED 108 XVI CHOKECHERRYING 120 XVII THE BOY TRAMP 128 XVIII PRINCE ARTHUR 139 XIX THE WIND JUST BLEW HER IN . . . .148 XX THE SPIDER AND THE LADY-BUG .... 152 XXI MOTHER LEE'S NEST BUILDER 163 2134380 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XXII NIGHT'S MAGIC MELODIES ...... 171 XXIII BACK IN THE HARNESS 187 XXIV THE THUNDERBOLT 193 XXV THE HOURS THEY WATCHED 200 XXVI REVEREND KNIGHT 298 XXVII THE MOSS-COVERED ROCK ...... 217 XXVIII A CHILD OF THE MOONBEAMS 224 XXIX A LITTLE BROWN CASTLE 231 XXX HER LIFE'S SUNSET 239 XXXI OUT OF THE RUT 250 XXXII THE BURIAL OF SWEET WILLIAM . . . .258 XXXIII HER WILL WAS LAW . . ..... .266 XXXIV HER MIND'S ACTIVITY . . ... . .275 XXXV MIGNONETTES ...... v . . 283 XXXVI CROSSING MEDICINE Bow . . . > . . 291 EPILOGUE . , .1 -. . 303 MOTHER LEE SO MOTHERLY THE EDGE OF THE WORLD CHAPTER I COTTAGE HOME "T* M OTHER LEE! Mother Lee!" ^L / exclaimed several excited chil- ^L/ dren, as they came running and JL T JL tumbling in their anxiety to reach a kitchen door. Mother Lee, an old little woman of Yankee type, came out upon the porch and looked calmly over her steel-rimmed glasses at a chattering group of breathless children. "Hush up! Ev'ry last one of you, hush up ! " she sharply commanded. During the brief silence that followed, pant- ing, fanning and nudging went on among the children, their eyes snapping expectantly as they waited to see which of them Mother Lee would select as spokesman. "Now, what ails you?" addressing the oldest. "They've taken Mrs. Barnes to the hospital and Mr. Barnes can't be found. The Marshal i 2 THE EDGE OF THE WOBLD lias all of their children. We just know he is going to put them in the * cooler.' Can't you take care of them, Mother Lee! Can't you take them in with us I ' ' "In ev'ry home there's always room for more. Go tell the Marshal to fetch them chil- dren to me ! ' ' While awaiting the return of the children Mother Lee took a firm stand. With pride and independence she slowly surveyed a graphic surrounding a picturesque scene The Edge Of The World or The Jumping Off Place as it was called, where from the mouth of a steep, rugged, gigantic canyon, a mountain road, in all its natural roughness, bordered the uncertain banks of the Big Thompson, an irregular moun- tain stream, and followed it on, on down into a valley of rolling hills of sand and sage-brush, where it branched off in various directions to the scattered ranches dotted here and there over a vast expanse of sun-baked, alkalied land. From the entrance to the canyon and at the foot of a dense and almost perpendicular forest of stately pine, stretched a small plateau of smooth, level lawn that looked as clean as if it had been swept with a broom. Not a trace of flower or shrubbery marred its smoothness. On one corner of the lawn stood a large, white barn sheltered from the winter's draught by the wall of pine. On the other, and overlooking a small mountain town, stood a one-room, white-washed COTTAGE HOME 3 jail, half buried in the soil. A bright red, brick driveway led from the mountain road to a two- story, white frame house with green shutters, over the kitchen door of which hung a sign : COTTAGE HOME Welcome To those who need comfort and rest. All in all Cottage Home looked as if it had just stepped out of the great, majestic Rockies, not only to welcome its guests but to get a bet- ter view of the morning sun. The interior of Cottage Home had much the same clean kept appearance as the exterior: Not even a mirror, a picture, draperies nor lace curtains. No rockers nor lounging sofas. Not a book, a magazine ; not even a newspaper was to be seen. In the centre of the kitchen stood a large cook stove. Close to it was a long pine table. On a south window-sill sat a little brown sewing basket; an old alarm clock with an occasional squeak in its tick ; a pair of field-glasses and a tomato can filled with matches. Back of the stove was an old-fashioned cradle; a wood-box and a row of clean lanterns. Adjoining was a spacious corner room used for emergencies, such as weddings, and funerals and cases of typhoid. In the dining-room was a long table covered with a dark blue checkered 4 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD cloth and surrounded by plain wooden chairs. Each of the uncarpeted upstairs rooms con- sisted of a clean bed; a solitary chair and a hook on the inside of each door. Such were the cold, clear eccentricities of Mother Lee, the sole owner of Cottage Home, and a "Hard-Shelled Baptist," as she often called herself. The title "Mother" had been given to her early in life when she was placed at the head of a family of brothers and sisters. Later she was mother to a large family of her own, and still later she was not only a "Mother" to grand- children and mountain waifs, but "Mother" to everybody who chanced to come along. She was educated, having taught school on the frontiers; was a close observer and a good reader of human nature. Her active little body was constantly on the move from five o'clock in the morning until ten at night. If she were not cooking a meal or mending something, she was listening to some one's tale of woe or giving advice or scolding or telling stories to her "fledgelings," as she called the children to whom she gave shelter. Her one mission on earth, so it seemed to her, was her interest in others. She was almost fiendish at times in others' personal concerns. She was so shrewd, so keen in her detection, that she bore the fa- miliar sobriquet of "Hawk Eye." In many things she was contrary, yet philosophic. COTTAGE HOME 5 Should some one close a shutter, she would im- mediately open it, and sing in an off key : "Lift the curtain of your window, Always open wide your heart." Although there was a key in every door, Mother Lee would never allow one to be turned. " Locked doors create suspicion," she would say. During the day every one, even her " fledge- lings" had access to her bank which was beneath the oilcloth covering on the edge of the kitchen table. But at night her scanty deposits were transferred to the match can which she always carried to her bed, frequently remarking: * * No use leaving temptations around for them rum-hounds. ' ' The patrons of Cottage Home were the weather-beaten giants of a rugged open world ; the sturdy wood-choppers from the timberlands ; the mountain trappers with their musk and skunk scented clothing; the robust Swedes from the stone quarries and plaster mills; the tall, raw-boned ranchers from the valley below; an occasional stranger and frequently a tramp. The one conspicuous characteristic was the speechless silence of those giants who con- stantly came and went. The nearest approach to a word from any one of them was a grunt of recognition now and then, accompanied by a quick, snappy nod of the head, if he were not 6 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD too deeply absorbed in himself, and nine chances out of ten he was. "When people live alone in a silent world, they forget how to talk. Besides, 'Silence is Golden,' " said Mother Lee more than once to some talkative stranger, in explaining away the mysterious silence of her guests who always entered by way of the kitchen, received from her a plate of steaming food and a large cup of coffee and in mute attitude lumbered to the dining-room where each, apparently uncon- scious of the others at the table, gulped down his meal, after which he gathered up his empty dishes, returned with them to the kitchen and without comment deposited in the bank beneath the oilcloth the amount he felt inclined to pay, it being one of Mother Lee 's peculiarities, never to place a valuation upon what she did for others. * ' Cast thy bread upon the waters and it floats back to you," she was often heard to say. CHAPTER MOTHEK G OD is like a great, big, good farmer. With his broad, strong shoulders and powerful hands he has scat- _ _ tered over this earth of ours, this beautiful garden of flowers and trees which he has so graciously loaned to us, his five human seeds : the Indian, the Mongolian, the Malayan, the Ethiopian and the Caucasian. Like all seeds, they are planted and come forth from the dark, the unknown, and develop into dear, helpless sprouts, with bright eyes, smooth skin and chubby, restless hands and feet. .We call them babies our babies. 7 ' The low-measured voice of Mother Lee floated out in sweet monotone through an open kitchen window, followed by the faint, rapid clicks of her knitting needles. A stray sun-ray shot down in fiery heat from a noonday sky and plainly portrayed Mother Lee's blue- veined, knotted hands manipulating the steel knitting needles that sent dancing re- flections upon the white, plastered wall as they rapidly wove the red woolen yarn. 7 8 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD She had stopped speaking to look over her glasses at a group of little faces, attentive in expression. She resumed: ''This mighty God-farmer never eats, never sleeps, nor weeps but travels along facing all kinds of hardships. In storm and in sunshine he is always at his post. He selects from his golden pan the most perfect seeds he can find and with a mighty sweep of his hand he scatters them to the four winds, the east, the west, the north and the south. At first when his world was young, his task was an easy one. But when those little seeds took root and multiplied he was forced to accept a help-mate, the Devil, by name. "This help-mate soon proved to be a very bad farmer for he would pick out all the small, withered, polluted seeds and laugh with mockery to see them sprout and grow in the dark, hid- den places the God-farmer had forgotten about. "But you must glance at a full grown person to understand which farmer sowed that seed because all those bright-eyed, smooth-skinned, chubby-handed babies give us no clue. Out of their tender and innocent years leaps a spark that kindles the flame, may it be good or evil, love or hatred, kindness or cruelty. That babe must grow up to prove its worth.'* Again Mother Lee ceased speaking and peered down over her glasses. Several tiny MOTHER LEE 9 shoulders jerked forcibly back, while a look of fear shone in the circle of excited eyes. "But there is a medicine that can cure all such cases. Not a medicine that we take with a spoon but a medicine we have in our brains a medicine which acts like magic when we un- derstand how to use it a great tonic we must all learn about. ' ' A general dragging of chairs over a bare floor and a profusion of nudging and worming closer, caused quite a commotion which Mother Lee quickly put an end to by saying as she looked at the sun : "Come scamper! It's dinner time" lay- ing aside her knitting and starting to prepare dinner. "Keep in mind what I've told you," and reaching out, she took from a knife-box a pair of well-worn shears and began cutting pieces of beefsteak into a hot skillet. The sizzling of beefsteak, the constant slamming of the screen door, the rattling of heavy china dishes and the voiceless caravan of giants, lumbering over the carpetless floor on their way to and from the dining-room, held sway for the next half hour. As the kitchen door slammed behind the last of Mother Lee's departing guests, there was a general rush. Her hungry little "fledgelings" crowded around the long pine table. She cuffed them about until she had them all seated and choking down the food she placed before them. 10 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "The one who eats the most mush and milk gets the biggest piece of pie," she said with a twinkle in her blue eyes. When Mother Lee put away most of the pie, the older children washed the dishes while the younger ones took up lighter tasks. A chubby, freckled little fellow, known as " Prince " Arthur, crossed the big kitchen and resumed his daily chore of cleaning lanterns. "Guess I won't have to bother with old Joe's lantern this week." "How's that?" asked Mother Lee, overhear- ing the remark. "He's in the 'cooler' again." "Serves him right. He should keep sober." Then after a pause: "Has he had any water to-day?" "I started to give him some, but the Marshal stopped me. Said : * Let him be punished. ' ' "Well, the Marshal hasn't the whole say. The 'cooler's' on my property." Just then a low wail brought Mother Lee peeringly to the door. "What in thunderation is that?" "It's Joe, hollering for a drink." "Let him holler holler his head off," going to the stove and putting some loaves of bread into the oven. "He's one of the bad farmer's seeds, isn't he, Mother Lee?" questioned one of the children. MOTHEE LEE 11 "Rum-hounds are all bad," she answered scowlingly. "Can't he learn about the tonic?" "We're never too old to learn, and we'll teach him a lesson right now. Go fetch me the long- necked bottle ! ' ' "I'll get it," cried several, bounding out of the kitchen, closely followed by Mother Lee. "Here it is, filled with water." "What ails you? He can't drink this." "That's mine," called a small voice from the doorway. "I'm making hair-snakes." "Yes, Babe won't have any tail left if you keep on making hair-snakes," broke in one of the older boys. Mother Lee emptied the bottle, filled it with fresh water and, followed by several of her "fledgelings," went to a small, barred window of the white-washed jail where a red face, fringed in by shaggy, grey hair and whiskers, was peering eagerly out. She pushed the neck of the bottle through the grating and only a gurgling sound could be heard. "God bless you, Mother!" was old Joe's hoarse whisper of thanks when she withdrew the empty bottle. "Don't call me Mother, you sot!" "I swear this is my last offence, Mother. Get me released and I'll work like a trooper." "Let me tell you, Joe Smith, you had better let it be your last. That wasn't water you 12 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD drank. That's a new discovery, and if you ever touch another drop of rum you'll drop dead in your tracks." "What!" " Don't 'what' me! I'm telling you the truth." "God! But will it stop the craving!" "No, but a big, juicy onion will. The next time you feel you must have a drink, you just eat an onion. It will give you instant relief and you won't want rum." 1 ' God bless you, Mother ! I '11 try. ' > "There's no try about it. Nothing left but death or an onion." Turning abruptly, she made her way across the lawn, picking up empty flasks and tossing them in a heap as she went along. "Voting a town dry will never keep booze from rum-hounds. The only way to stop drink- ing is to stop making the stuff. Go fetch my shawl and hat and I'll see the Marshal. The * cooler' is chilly at night old Joe has the rheumatism." CHAPTER in HER WESTERN WORLD BIG Dave Berkley was a lumberman. He had lived among the giant pines all his life. He was a powerful fellow but his head was as empty as his life. His parents died when he was a small boy. His mules were his only living com- panions for years, until he had met a quarter- bred squaw and married her after a fashion. She lived long enough to give him a son and a taste of what human life really was. The birth of his son had been the only big event of his life. His excitement was so great that he went out and picked a bunch of wildflowers and placed them in a tin cup beside his wife's bunk. But the next morning when she lay dead, he was at a complete loss as to what to do. Alone with a dead wife and a live child to look after ! He did not hesitate long. He just knew he had a duty to perform so he hewed out one of the largest spruce trunks and with trembling hands placed his dead wife of the forest into it and buried her not far from his cabin door. It was all he could do under the circumstances. As for the child, of course, he had no place for it, so 13 14 THE EDGE OF THE WOKLD he bundled it up and held it in one arm while he drove down the rough canyon road to Cottage Home. The only thought that entered his mind, was, that the earth was for the dead and a live mother for a live babe and Mother Lee was the only "Mother" he knew the only one he would trust with his treasure, his little son, Forrest. That was the name his wife had given their child before she died. "A man like me ain't got much knowledge 'bout babies. Take him and rear him the very best you can and I'll haul all your wood, free of charge, for the rest of my life." The bargain was settled and little Forrest was put in the home-made cradle back of the big cook stove, in the kitchen, where he remained until he was able to waddle about, and later to follow the other children out into the open air. He grew rapidly and became more handsome every day. His big brown eyes and heavy black hair, cropped to his little square shoulders, were commented upon by every one. His brown skin was as smooth as velvet. His pronounced love for his father was his greatest characteristic. A sort of mental communion seemed to pass be- tween him and the big man of the mountains, for, often with a start, little Forrest would bound up from his play and shout : "Pop's nigh due! Pop's coming!" and nothing could stop his flying little feet up the hot dusty road to the mouth of the canyon HER WESTERN WORLD 15 always returning on the very top of a load of logs. Once or twice every month Dave Berkley made the trip down out of the mountains for a fresh stock of provisions, mostly jams and home-made bread from Cottage Home. His one room cabin was built of logs. Its roof and floor was of dirt. There was a small window at either end and a wooden door in front. The bunk, table and chairs he had hewn out of rough slabs from the saw-mill. The only piece of purchased furniture was the sheet-iron stove which rested on stones that were partly buried in the dirt floor. When Big Dave was not working among the giant pines, he was either smoking his pipe at the cabin door or sleeping upon his bunk. He ate from the same white, enameled plate three times a day. Sometimes, when he scraped the leavings to a chained coyote that paced rest- lessly at the corner of the cabin, the long, slender tongue of the hungry beast would touch the plate in her eagerness to get the scraps. Big Dave would only laugh and say: "What's the diff> ol' Pard? Your tongue's as clean as mine." He never varied in his daily routine. He would crawl from his bunk at sunrise, build a fire, put on the coffee pot and then go out and feed the mules. Returning, he would drink his black coffee and eat his half-cooked bacon and beans. It was always the rattling chain at the corner of the cabin that reminded him to feed the half-starved coyote. All day Big Dave kept on felling trees. At sundown, both man and mules returned, tired and sweaty. The clinking of the log-chains dragging at the heels of the mules, and an occa- sional curse, were always glad tidings to the lone coyote, dancing and pulling at her chain her red tongue gleaming against her white teeth. As the first shadows of night crept in among those tall, giant pines, Big Dave always sat tilted back against the logs, at the door of his cabin, quietly puffing his pipe while the coyote restlessly paced. He was never lonesome never knew what lonesomeness was. He never thought of having a garden never thought of having chickens nor a cow nor having hogs. The coyote was a captive of his squaw wife who had picked it up when it was very young, chained it to the cabin and nursed it to full growth. Big Dave never thought of turning it loose ; simply fed and watered it and let it pace in its own short, furrowed path. A visit to Cottage Home, apparently, was the one real pleasure in Big Dave's life. But not so. It was simply something that was part of himself. He never kissed his child never thought of kissing him. But his big, rough HER WESTERN WORLD 17 hands were always gentle when he caught up the little brown tot from the hot, dusty road and seated him on the top of a load of ties. But little Forrest was of a different nature. His longing eyes always looked in the direction of the steep, rugged road which led up into the mysterious mountains. Why was he not al- lowed to accompany his father up there? He had never heard any one speak of his mother. All he had been told was that he had been brought down from the mountains. Constantly cherishing the hope that he would some day ex- plore them, he grew into a tall, straight lad of fourteen. His studious mind made him quiet of disposition and he seemed to stand apart from the rest of the children, always listening to their questions which Mother Lee promptly answered. ''Yes, I'm sure all you children are from the God- farmer's pan, and He planted you, For- rest, to grow into a big man with bigger ideas than your father has," said Mother Lee as she turned to him. * ' Your father has no gumption whatsoever. He could have been the biggest timber man in this country, but he says he just cuts enough logs to keep the wolf from the door. Forrest means something big and noble. Away up there in them mountains are hundreds and hundreds of small trees. They are going to grow up with you and give you a chance to earn all the money your father should have earned. You must study the different kinds of forests, 18 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD then learn the many species of trees ; their best usages and real values. That's why I have given you charge of the wood-pile." Mother Lee began poking about the wood-box. "Go fetch me a pitch knot!" Forrest hurried out and soon returned with several and stood watching her until she finished poking one of them into the fire. "Who's that man out there?" Mother Lee was peering through the kitchen window. Forrest followed her gaze and promptly answered : ' * That 's a tramp I put to work about an hour ago." She secretly smiled as she viewed a good-sized pile of kindling wood. "Do you find trouble getting men to cut your wood ? ' ' ' l Nope, the tracks are full of them. ' ' "Oh! You go and look them up." "Yep. That is, I put up a sign just over the hill, near the tracks, about the size of the one you have over your door, and on it I wrote: ' Come over to Cottage Home and cut wood for a meal.' ' "Well! I see you're beginning to exercise your mentality. You should. Bosses should have good manners and good thinking brains." "Section bosses haven't." "But I want you to be an educated sort of a HER WESTERN WORLD 19 boss one who works in fine clothes and good offices. Go ask that man if he wants boiled beef or eggs." "Oh, he wants beefsteak," letting his small, slender hand go to his own stomach. "He'll get soup. How many times have I told you that a starved stomach needs liquid food?" Forrest sauntered out to the wood-pile and after a moment's observation, said: "You're a pretty old seed, aren't you?" The tottering old man let the ax rest on a half split log, and with a shaky hand, mopped his brow with a piece of bandanna. "Pretty old seed is right, lad. Not much good, now never was." ' ' Oh, I beg your pardon. I have no doubt but that you came from the golden pan. The only trouble is, you didn't grow up right." For a second the blear eyes of the old man rested upon the earnest face of the boy. "God, lad I guess not. My life's been all wrong." "You're not dead yet." "Might as well be. The world has little use for the old and helpless." "You're not helpless. You've split more wood than the last man, and he was lots younger than you." The old man quickly raised the ax above his head. "Did you always cut wood?" "No. I'm a painter by trade." "Painter? Can you paint a house?" "I can paint anything." "You just paint Mother Lee r s house and she'll let you stick here as long as you live." The old man laid aside the ax and sat down upon a log, earnestly viewing Cottage Home. He slowly answered : " It 's a bargain. I think we '11 come out about even on the job." ' l Come on into the house ! We '11 talk it over with Mother Lee. She'll consent, I know," and with shoulders thrown back, Forrest proudly led the old man into the kitchen. Mother Lee, after listening to the boy and sizing up the old man in general, said: "I think when he's fed up he may be able to do the work. ' ' "I assure you, madame, it's only starvation." "Don't dictate to me! Look at your face. You've been a rum-hound all your life." ' ' We 'd better give him the onion cure, ' ' broke in Forrest. The old man turned and stared at the boy uncomprehendingly. 1 * We '11 give him soup. Wash your hands and face in that bucket of suds, then sit down here ! ' ' The old man obeyed. "What's your name?" HER WESTEEN WORLD 21 "As far back as I remember, they called me * Sweet William.' " Mother Lee closely scrutinised the old man, half expecting him to smile, but his seriousness caused her to exclaim : "You don't look like Sweet William to me," then turning abruptly, she continued: "I thought I saw Old Joe outside." "Here I am, Mother," answered Joe, enter- ing the kitchen. "I got the cook's job at the ditch camp." "Well, take this grub and be off before that rum notion gets a hold on you again. ' ' "God forbid! That last onion must have come from the pits of Hell," and old Joe shook his head as he went out. Sweet William, who had finished his meal, stole cautiously from the kitchen. Mother Lee, waiting until he reached the porch, said coldly : "If you intend to make this your home, get rid of that bottle in your hip pocket ! ' ' Sweet William grunted and then hobbled off to the main road. With a sudden impulse he flung the flask against a protruding boulder, and with pronounced determination threw back his bent shoulders and began to retrace his steps. From the kitchen window Mother Lee had been watching. A smile of satisfaction crossed her face as she saw Sweet William pause at the woodpile and mathematically survey the house. CHAPTER IV THE ANT HILL fetch me a bucket of water from the big ditch!" Mother Lee spoke sharply as she stepped out onto the porch and looked at Harry, who was a past master at feigning illness to get out of going to school. He started at her sharp command but con- tinued his boyish prank of dripping honey from a slice of bread onto the end of a stick. "Do you hear me?" "Y-e-s," drawled Harry. 4 'Then heed me!" Harry arose, crowding the rest of the bread into his mouth, caught up a bucket and sauntered off. Mother Lee's attention was then drawn to Brunell, the general storekeeper, who was com- ing toward her with a determined step. "No use of you bringing that bill again. I'll pay it when I get good and ready. In the first place you had no right to let them loafers use my name. ' ' Brunell paused, said nothing, turned and started away. 22 THE ANT HILL 23 " Might as well take my order while you're here. It '11 pay you for your trouble. ' ' Brunell turned, walked back and listened while Mother Lee read off a list of what she wanted. Harry, who, in the meanwhile had gone for the water, had returned as far as the big red-ant pile, the most conspicuous and celebrated spot in the dooryard. It was a perfect pyramid of red, blue, white, and gold sand. Mother Lee called it a symbol a great little city of hard-working people. It was looked upon as a sorrowful city where danger always lurked. It was a city many times destroyed and as many times rebuilt. But Mother Lee ruled that it must remain. It was there first long before she took posses- sion of the premises, and possession to her was nine points of the law. The ants lived up to their tradition. They were continually encountering disastrous condi- tions, but they battled like Romans and clung right on to their own little world. There were the weekly floods from the washtubs that swept the city away. Mother Lee called them Babylon floods, and declared that all the good ants would be saved to rebuild the city the bad would be washed away. And it was always as Mother predicted. The ants would come right back with renewed energy 24 THE EDGE OP THE WORLD and determination and re-establish their mound. Another impending menace to their progress, and one that they feared most dreadfully, was their common enemy, the big, leather-breasted toad, whose beady black eyes never blinked, but whose long needle-tongue snapped them up one at a time until a hundred or more little workers had vanished from their midst. They grieved their loss, always, but went on with their work, coming and going, circling about seeking and finding the objects of their daily wants. Then there were the mischievous pranks of the children which never failed to precipitate the ants into a turmoil of excitement that sub- sided only when they were left to themselves to work out their own salvation. But all in all there was plenty to counter- balance their struggles in life. There was the beehive just outside their city limits. And dead bees were delicious, even if it were an all day's laborious task of tugging, pushing and pulling over miniature miles of blades of grass at a transparent silvery wing of the soft, velvety body of a freshly killed bee. Then, too, the first ray of the morning's sun touched the pinnacle of their graveled world and warmed its entrance, where they poured out, a vast army of them, eager and ready to work and to welcome a new day. The ant hill was in a tranquil state at peace with the world in general when Harry THE ANT HTLL 25 strolled up, set down his bucket and gently lowered his honey tipped stick until it pene- trated the summit. The ants fought, crowded and tumbled desperately for their share of the honey-feast. But without warning they were swung high in the air. Some fell off but most of them clung triumphantly to the stick. Harry, as he stood admiring the surging, wriggling mass of red, was suddenly struck with an idea. He mischievously rammed the stick into the bucket of water. All excitement he dropped to his knees and was soon deeply absorbed his mind trans- forming the water-bucket into an ocean the struggling ants into struggling sailors whose ship had floundered and gone down. The shrill voice of Mother Lee brought Harry to his feet with a bound. With a quick scoop of his hand he tried to skim the struggling ants from the surface of the water. A scream brought Mother Lee hastily down the brick driveway to the boy's side. " Thunderation ! How many times have I told you to let them ants be?" grabbing the boy and the bucket and hurrying into the house. Later when Harry came from the kitchen onto the porch, blinking his eyes, relieved of pain, Mother Lee's voice followed. ''It's always the case! When you meddle you must expect trouble." CHAPTER V HEB FLEDGELINGS LL the human seeds which the good and bad farmers have planted upon this beautiful earth grow up to be people. Our bodies are like houses, or rather like homes, because in each lives a master called *F you yourself. This little master, %' has the power to grow up and make his home beautiful or he can grow up neglectful and make his home a human wreck. Come! Stand in line!" and Mother Lee stopped her knitting long enough to see that they obeyed. "Each little shaver, here, has a body, and that body is a home for his little master, 'I.' Now each little home has all kinds of rooms. Here in your brain is where the little master, 'I,' always remains on his throne, for he is king and he must do all the planning for his little home, your bodies. Your eyes are his windows out of which he peeps and sees every- thing that's going on. Your ears are his tele- phone through which he can hear all sounds. Your nose is the means whereby he gets his air. Your mouth is the instrument with which he 26 HER FLEDGELINGS 27 speaks out his thoughts and commands, also through which he gets his food. Your arms and legs are his servants, and must do his bidding. If he thinks, * Hurry,' your feet just fly along. If he thinks, 'Stop,' your feet are still. What- ever he wants those little servants to do he thinks about and they immediately obey. When this little master becomes tired, it is night and he closes up your eyes, his windows, and he goes to sleep. That is when your body sleeps. "But in the morning he awakens and opens up his house to begin his work for the day. When he is very small, he must learn many things. He must learn just what kind of amusement to put into his parlour, which is your heart, and just what kind of food he must put into his kitchen which is your stomach. The one thing he has to study most is, how he is going to spend his life when he grows up and has the right to do as he pleases in this beautiful world garden. "What great achievement is he going to accomplish? First of all, while he is very young, he must learn to read, write and spell. The little master, 'I,' in each one of you chil- dren is learning to do that. "But the great trouble with this little master is, that when very young, he wants to waste all his time at play. And if he isn't taught by the older and more experienced, he will be very 28 THE EDGE OF THE WOBLD unhappy. Each of you must watch the home of your little master, and the way to do it is to watch yourselves every minute, and learn to accept only faith, courage, harmony, cheerful- ness and kindness. These are the principal things for joys. Then you must dress your master, *!,' U P ia garments of ambition, will- power, vitality, determination and assurance. "It doesn't matter to the good God-farmer whether his seeds are planted in a garden of wealth or on a desert, just so long as they get three ingredients: sunshine, pure food and plenty of fresh air." Mother Lee ceased speaking and purposely remained silent for a few moments. She looked down over the steel rims of her glasses and saw ten earnest little faces, ranging from eight to fifteen years, looking up at her. "Ambition is the first thing you must con- sider ; the desire to do a big, worthy life 's work. First of all you must ask the little master, 'I,' what it would like to do. Then he will sit up on his throne in your brain and he will think and think and soon he will answer, and his little home will tremble all over with the vibration of his great voice. His faithful servants, your little hands and feet, will brace up and be ready to do their part. But before you act before you do anything that you really want to do, you must first consult this little master, 'I.' Just ask yourself: 'Is this desire to benefit or injure She had stopped speaking to look, over her glasses, at ;i of little faces attentive in expression. HER FLEDGELINGS 29 me I ' He will again sit on his throne and think and think. If he doesn't know, he must get real busy and find out from older and more expe- rienced masters the grown-ups in the world. The master, %' here in Forrest, has already selected his endeavour. He is going to be an expert on lumber. Here 's Teddy he wants to be a doctor. Mary wants to be a nurse. She likes to take medicine and she is gentle and kind. Dick will be a baker, I know, because he is so fond of cake. l Prince* Arthur," giving the boy a pat on his chubby, freckled cheek "will some day ride away on his white horse and do some great deed. Here 's Sam, a chip of the old block. He will join his father down among the sage-brush hills and raise cattle for the market. Milt wants to be a trapper, but it's because he doesn't like books. Maybe he will later change his desire. Howard and the rest are still too young. They must grow up more. At present you all must keep your little houses perfectly clean. Go now and wash your faces and comb the rat-tails out of the back of your hair, and don't 'scrap* over that basin. Form in line! March ! Take your turn ! ' ' Mother Lee arose from her chair at the window and began pulling pots and pans toward the front of the stove. The evening meal was over before dusk and Mother Lee, as was her custom, made the rounds of the yard, followed by several of her 30 THE EDGE OP THE WORLD " fledgelings, " to see that everything was in order. She stopped at the " cooler" door and called out: "Who 'sin there?" ' * Grimes ! Get me out ! Get me out of this hole!" "It's daddy again," whispered Mary, cling- ing to Mother Lee 's skirt. "Why does he let his master, 'I,' always get drunk?" asked "Prince" Arthur. "Because he never took any will-power into his home, ' ' promptly answered Mother Lee. "I think the Devil has something to do with his seed, don't you?" spoke up Forrest. "Yes, he's a polluted seed, all right." "Don't you think the onion cure would save him?" earnestly asked another. "No, he's past the onion. Snakes is about all that will cure him." "Snakes?" exclaimed several in a breath. "What kind of a cure is that?" questioned Forrest. "Snakes is what whiskey brings into the system, or rather into the home. They chase the master, *!,' all over until he is scared out of his wits," and Mother Lee caught up the youngest of the Grimes children and held it up to the bars. "Look at your baby here! It is actually afraid of you. For shame ! You, the father of such a beautiful child! Oh, come away! It's HER FLEDGELINGS 31 only a waste of breath to talk to such a sot" and she put the child down roughly and started toward the house murmuring : "If there is any chance at all, I'll cure that rum-hound yet." When bedtime came, Mother Lee put the chil- dren to bed in the room adjoining the kitchen, and then went out, telling no one where she was going. She cut across a field and followed a trail over a hill to the tracks, down the tracks, over a trestle and down a steep embankment where she deliberately set fire to an old shack. She stood long enough to see it burst into flames, then retraced her steps. "Such rookeries are only crime breeders and old Grimes will never take them children back into that filth." She entered her kitchen as unconcerned as if nothing had happened. The red glare against the dark sky excited the children. Their many questions led Mother Lee to say : "Maybe it's the good God-farmer getting rid of some of the Devil's work." They all watched through the curtainless win- dow until the illumination against the sky had died down to complete darkness, then they stole quietly to their beds, followed shortly by Mother Lee, who began telling them an Indian tale, full of excitement. Gradually each child crawled tremblingly from his bed into the big centre one, and not until Mother Lee was nearly smothered 32 THE EDGE OF THE WOELD beneath the weight of so many little bodies, did she speak up a little sternly : "There are no live Indians in stories. Scamper back to your beds ! ' ' Mother Lee well knew the effect her story would have upon the children but it was her way to gain affection from them. Their confidence in her was to her the most endearing tribute that could be paid her. CHAPTER VI FORDING THE BIG THOMPSON so. This is a Holiday. We'll make good use of it and kill two birds with one stone. We'll take some grub out to the ranch and pick us some berries." After a half hour of excited preparation, Mother Lee sat surrounded by her younger "fledgelings" in an old-fashioned buck-board. She brought a well-worn whip down forcibly upon the broad back of a lazy, grey mare. A sudden lunge and an almost stubborn stop was the result. "Het up, Babe," urged Mother Lee, as she jerked the lines. After exhausting a good part of her patience she finally persuaded Babe to start off in a slow trot. On down the road they jolted along. The older children, playing and scampering along behind, easily kept up to the rig. They were on their way to Dakota's ranch. Dakota, or "Decatur," as Mother Lee called him, was her oldest son. There was nothing along the way to disturb 33 the peace and tranquility of the journey until they came to the Big Thompson which they had to ford. "I just know Babe is going to lie down." ' * No she won 't. We '11 keep her up, ' ' shouted Forrest, searching the bank for a club. "Het up, Babe," and Mother Lee pushed on the lines. "You can drink all the water you want but keep on your feet." Babe put her ears forward and snorted her appreciation as she took a sudden leap into the middle of the stream, jerking the buck-board over protruding boulders, and all but dumped Mother Lee and the children sprawling ahead of her. She then let her nose float in the cold, clear water. Forrest and his companions, who had waded to their knees, stood beside Babe with uplifted sticks. "Don't hit 'er unless she starts to lie down," commanded Mother Lee. "Pull up on the lines! Quick!" "Hold tight to her head!" "Ah there she goes." Without the least warning Babe went down upon her knees. "Het up, Babe! Het up!" But the coaxing and pounding upon her back, made no difference to Babe. She took her bath despite the excited protests. Then, with an ef- fort she regained her feet and nearly shook the FORDING THE BIG THOMPSON 35 harness and buck-board loose from her. With another lunge she reached the opposite bank, and stopped again. From former experiences Mother Lee knew just what Babe would do next, so she gripped the smaller children with one arm and with the other hand held a tight rein on the unruly mare who bounded forward up the steep embankment and began running down the road at top speed for a quarter of a mile leaving the older children far behind in a cloud of dust. And just as Mother Lee also expected, Babe came to another decided stop. The exhilarating chill of the cold bath, which always sent the blood of youth teeming through Babe's veins, was of short duration for there she stood after her frolic, puffing and panting in the middle of the road. She looked back out of the corner of her eye at Mother Lee, as much as to say : "Well are you still there?" For the rest of the journey, Babe jogged peacefully along enjoying the breath of the al- falfa fields. Mother Lee sat erect and kept the chil- dren from bouncing out of the rig, for Babe, whether from malice or mischievousness invar- iably picked out all the rough spots along the road. Babe stopped at the big gate and indicated her impatience by switching her tail and nod- 36 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD ding her head as she waited for Forrest to shove back the bars. Then she pricked up her ears and trotted to the barn door, indifferent to the ducks, turkeys and chickens flying in all di- rections. A day on the ranch was a treat to the children because Dakota always had some surprise for their amusement, such as planting trees ; weed- ing the garden ; putting a new straw roof on the barn or stacking wheat in the heat of the sun, which was always counteracted by a feast of watermelon in the shade. Goose-berrying also afforded plenty of pleasure even though the bushes were full of thorns. The day's visit at the ranch was shortened because Babe was not to be trusted after dark. Moreover, when she was filled with alfalfa, she took more time covering ground. Nothing could move her out of a walk. Mother Lee did not worry about Babe on their return for she knew that the three and a half mile trip to the ranch, together with the morn- ing's escapade, had taken all the ginger out of her. Babe simply nosed and caressed the sur- face of the water and went on until she reached Cottage Home, with Mother Lee and the children as tired as she was, herself. For the next two hours, until sundown, Cot- tage Home was like a busy bee hive. The children noiselessly did the chores allotted to them. Forrest, finishing first, turned to view FORDING THE BIG THOMPSON 37 the half-painted house and said to Sweet William : 4 * You '11 get through before frost sets in, all right!" "If I don't, what of it?" "You'll have to live through the winter and finish in the spring." Then, after a pause : "Don't you like it here?" disappointment in his tone. "Best place I've struck in my wanderings." "Then stick around. Mother Lee will want her barn painted next. You must never lose sight of her. Of course it's different with Mary, here, and the rest of us," alluding to Old Grimes' thirteen-year-old daughter, who had just stepped up and stopped beside Forrest, "We have to map out our futures, don't we, Mary?" "I've already mapped out mine. I'm going to a big city and become a prima donna." "A what?" "I'm going on the stage." "No, you're not. Girls are not supposed to go out into the world alone. They should stay at home and learn to be wise and raise the babies the God-farmer gives them. Only men who are brave should go out into the world and work for the women the God-farmer has given them. Mother Lee knows. She knows every- thing, and she says: 'When the big, wicked 38 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD corral broke and let out many pretty little girls to do as they pleased, it was a pity, because the world has lost so many pretty, little mothers. Thousands and thousands have just rushed out into the world of carelessness and destroyed their pretty selves. Now, you 're not going to do that.' " "I can take care of myself." "No, you can't. I heard that the name of Mary was an unfortunate one and that lots of Marys were led astray because they haven't much will-power." "Oh " and a half angry flash dilated her blue eyes. "I feel sure the God- farmer intended me to look after you until you are married to some- body, and that's what I'm going to do if I have to lick somebody to do it," and Forrest caught her shoulders and pushed her around the corner, authoritatively adding : "You don't need to go to any city to learn acting. Mrs. Noble, at the Bee ranch, was a circus woman once and she can teach you all the tricks you'll need. I'll go and ask her about it to-morrow." "Can I go with you?" "First, we'd better go and talk it over with Mother Lee." "Some notions come into our minds just like some of them bucking bronchos come into Sam FORDING THE BIG THOMPSON 39 Ditmar's life," said Mother Lee after listening with a half amused smile playing about the corners of her mouth, "and if they once buck us off, we might as well give up the ghost. What you must do is to get into the saddle of this notion and stick to its back until you have conquered it. Cutting up capers on high ropes is not ladylike, nor is it talent. Forrest is right. The God-farmer gave little girls the greatest of all talents. The biggest achieve- ment for a little girl is to grow up to be a good mother. There isn't a grander talent for a woman. All else in her life is secondary and the world needs mothers good mothers, oh, so very, very badly. Good mothers who love to sew and play house in a big fashion and take good care of their husbands ; cook them whole- some food, that they may always be strong to work for their families. That's the talent you want to look after. Grow up with it and your name will go down as a heroine in the pages of God's great book." Mother Lee stopped speaking and arose from a seat beside a moonlit window. Sitting in semi-darkness was a frequent oc- currence with Mother Lee. She often said to the children : "With no light on the inside we can see better what's happening on the outside, besides we curtail expenses. The lantern on the gate-post gives plenty of light when there is no moon." 40 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD A murmur of joy broke from the lips of the younger children when they saw Mother Lee build a fire, put on a large iron pot into which she stirred a ladle of lard and several hand- fuls of popcorn. The popping of the corn claimed all their attention until a voice from the kitchen door called out : "Hello, Mother 1" Mother Lee looked steadily over her glasses for a few seconds. "It's Sam Ditmar." "That's who it is," opening the screen door and coming in. Mother Lee turned her attention to her task until all the corn was popped and she had poured it into a large dish pan, which the children had placed in the middle of the floor. With the popcorn she handed each a red apple, saying : "When you're finished, scamper to bed!" "Sit down!" she commanded to the caller who stood in the doorway. Sam Ditmar dropped into the nearest chair and let his wide-brimmed cowboy hat slip to the floor. Crossing his legs, he settled back with a broad smile on his clean-shaven face. "How've you been, Mother?" "All right, but you're not." "Yes, I am." "I say you're not. What's on your mind?" eyeing him more keenly. FOBBING THE BIG THOMPSON 41 He looked at the children. "They'll not hear a word you say." He rubbed his hands briskly over hia face as if to control his feelings. "Out with it! Silence is no good for a troubled conscience." "Rose left me this morning/' As he spoke he stood up and looked out of the window to conceal his grief. "Where are the children?" "Out in the wagon, asleep." "Go fetch them in!" Mother Lee called one of the older boys from the floor and placed a lantern in his hand. "Go help Sam put the horses in the stable!" s CHAPTER VALLEY BOSE AM DITMAR lived on a ranch in a small half -dirt cabin without a tree or a blade of grass within a mile of it. He was scarcely past his twentieth year, yet he looked much older. His wife, too, was very young, and they had three children, the baby just crawling. "I agree now, she was right. I shouldn't have kept her out there," slowly answered Sam the next morning as he sat with Mother Lee in the kitchen. "The keeping was correct, but you should have improved your home. Aren 't you clearing good money off of your cattle?" "Yes, but I am banking it until we've saved enough. Then, we intend to go to the city to live." "What ails you, Sam Ditmar? You and Rose were both born on a ranch in the sand- hills. Neither of you have blood for the city. That's a foolish whim. What you need is a better home and better surroundings for your children. Now you leave them with me and you go down there and plant trees, rose bushes and 42 VALLEY ROSE 43 everything that will make the place look re- spectable. Fix up the old shack and put some pretty things in it. I know her likes better than you do. Every man should think of all them little comforts for a woman if he expects her to do his drudgery. A wife's life is more or less monotonous and it is up to the husband to do all he can to make variety. In the evening suppose you are tired hitch up the horses and take her for a drive as you used to do before you married her. Annie, here, is old enough to take care of the baby. Make a sweetheart of Valley Kose and you will always have her." "You talk as if she'll come back." "Of course she will, come half way. She loves you and she will soon miss her children. Now, go and see what you can do. ' ' Mother Lee finished stirring a pot of corn- meal mush. Sam Ditmar sat in a studious attitude while his baby crawled about his knees. "I'll do it!" "If the risk isn't worth it you had better stay where you are at a standstill." "It is! I love her!" "Then put some back-bone into your system and get a move on yourself!" Sam sat for another few moments, playing with the baby's hand. "Well, what's the matter?" "I don't know how to begin." 44 THH EDGE OF THE WORLD "Go up to Brunell's and stock up with house- hold furnishings ! He '11 know what to sell you. Then go to the nursery and buy some trees and berry bushes! Get some vines, and cover up that old shack of yours, even if they do draw mosquitoes ! You can get rid of them by burn- ing smudges at night like the rest of us do. Put up a swing for the children and a hammock for her! Get her some fancy work, a sewing machine and some material to make her children's clothes, and above all things, keep away from her! Let her come to you and be ready to receive her but don't make over her! Let her make over you! She isn't the kind to let other people raise her children. Put your energy into fixing up your home, not in wonder- ing whether she is coming back! You're a type of man that can hold any woman if you only cultivate a get-up. Let her do a little of your planning and you do a little less banking! A woman who is allowed to handle money is not half as apt to spend it as the one who is stinted.'* Sam Ditmar took up his hat, threw back his shoulders and left the house. He went to Brunell's and did exactly what Mother Lee had told him to do, and with a somewhat cheerful heart, started along back over the rough, hilly road to his dark and lonely shack. He shivered, for it was the first time he had ever entered the big gate that he did not see Rose, or hear some VALLEY KOSB 45 word of welcome from her. But he had done as Mother Lee advised. After putting up and feeding his horses, he went to the house carry- ing a bundle. He did not remember what it contained but he knew it was something he had ordered for Rose. Several times he attempted to whistle but a lump formed in his throat in spite of his efforts to master his feelings, and his hand trembled as he struck a match and lit a small, well-cleaned lamp. He looked around half expecting that his thoughts were only a bad dream and that she would pop out from some corner to surprise him, but only the empty, dingy, mud-coloured walls frowned back in mockery at him. He shook as if suddenly brought to his senses. Why had he not seen the coldness of every- thing before? How she must have suffered in such a mud hole ! And his children his pretty children living like grasshoppers I Another shiver shook his frame from head to foot. What silence ! He had never noticed it before. Not a sound to break the stillness. He rushed to the door and opened it. Outside, the night was as black as ink. What was he going to do? He could never pass a night alone in bed, nor even in the cabin. His first thought was to re- turn to the stable. There was no consolation there! But something must be done or he would go insane. Finally, almost at distrac- tion's end he grabbed a lantern and lit it. He made up his mind that he would spend the night planting the trees and shrubbery, and so, with all the intensity of his nature he took his spade and lantern, and started to work. While Sam Ditmar began digging his first hole, down there among the lonely sage-brush hills, a happy little "Hoo! Hoo!" brought Mother Lee to her kitchen door where she saw a girlish, white figure on a buck-skin pony. "It's Rose! I've come all the way from Dad's ranch," bounding off her horse. "May I stop with you to-night?" "Yes. You're just in time to stop your baby's yelling. Hand the reins of the horse over to one of the boys! Let him put him in the stable." "What do you " rushing into the house and to the crib back of the stove. * * Where 's Sam? ' ' "Shot himself, maybe. What possessed you to rear up in your harness?" Grabbing up the child, the young mother cuddled it to her breast, and after a few minutes of weeping, answered : "I just went out of my head down there in that hot, barren country. Sam has kept me there for over two years on promises. He is getting more miserly every day. We just eat, sleep and wait. I couldn't stand it. Oh, God, what is there in a desert woman's life? Alkali and sage-brush." "How about your husband and children?" VALLEY ROSE 47 "They don't bring you comfort when you cannot do anything for them. Oh, when I see a green world big enough to hold us all, why, oh, why, does Sam insist on keeping us down there in that hot sand, year in and year out? I shall never go back. Dad's ranch is bad enough, but that Hell-hole is beyond my en- durance. I cannot! I cannot! Oh, I'm so cold and tired and hungry and faint. I just worried so, I had to come to you. I have no one I could look to for advice. ' ' "Well, don't you go back. Pile in here with your young ones and keep out of Sam's sight, until he promises to do better. No human being was ever expected to live in such a wilderness when God has given us plenty of seed and sprouts to give colour to, other than the grey of death." Again the young mother hugged her baby, then went eagerly to the bed and looked for her two other children. * 'Which are mine ? They all look alike in this bed." "That's because I gave them all a bath and combed their hair straight back. Those are yours. No these two over here." The twitching of eyelids was the only re- sponse to the mother's kisses. "Come now, drink some coffee! There's plenty on the stove. You can crawl in beside them later." Sad and heavy at heart, Rose did as Mother Lee commanded and a little later found a corner in the big bed upon which she curled and sobbed herself to sleep. Mother Lee, always the last to retire, wound the old alarm clock, scraped the silver money from the table ledge into the match can and carried it to her bedside. Then, after much lifting and straining she moved a couple of children farther back on the pillows and changed the positions of two others at the foot of the bed. She stretched out on the front edge and breathed a sigh of comfort, that another day had passed and she had done her duty. A light knock on the kitchen screen door brought her to a sitting position. " Who's there?" she called. Another knock brought her to the door. "Who is it!" "Grimes." * Well ! What do you want ? ' ' "It's raining, and since my shack burned I haven't any home." "Are you sober?" "Haven't touched a drop." "Blow your breath in here!" A face was pressed against the screen and Mother Lee, after sniffing said: "Go sleep in the stable! The beds are all full, here." "Thanks, Mother." VALLEY ROSE 49 " Don't strike any matches and don't wake the horses or they'll paw all night! Take the last cot up in the loft! Good night." ' ' Good night ! I go to work on the big ditch in the morning." "Thank your God for that." Mother Lee waited until all was quiet, then, a little feebly, felt her way back and after going through the same manoeuvres of clearing her portion of the bed, again stretched out and was soon asleep. CHAPTER VIII CHRISTMAS AND MOTHER WINTERS C HEISTMAS day was like all other days to the grown-ups about Cottage Home. The coming and going con- tinued just the same. But all day long there was a bright, expectant look on the face of every child, for Mother Lee had whis- pered to them early in the morning that when night came and when the snow was the thickest and all was quiet, Mother Winters, who was always a day late at Cottage Home, would arrive and tramp around the house and leave a gift for each of them on the outer window sill. "Fetch my shawl and bonnet," called out Mother Lee, late in the afternoon. "Pm going downtown and pay a bill." She made her way along the short cut, to the General Store and purchased a number of gar- ments which she ordered put up in separate parcels. On her way back she buried them in the snow, very close to the "cooler," and, re- turning to the house, resumed her duties. The day had passed like a charm. Every 66 CHKISTMAS 51 child was on its good behaviour, when Mother Lee put on the big iron pot. But, instead of the usual popcorn, she poured in a can of New Orleans molasses, a little vinegar and a lump of butter. There was a murmur of delight from her " fledgelings" as they watched the pro- cedure. Later when the taffy had been partly cooled and ready to pull, Mother Lee divided it into equal portions and put every child to work, say- ing: "Stand with your faces to the wall. Don't talk or look until you hear the voice of Mother Winters. I'm going out to welcome her and tell her how many of you there are. ' ' The children formed in line with their faces to the wall. The kitchen door opened and closed and Mother Lee waded out through the darkness and snow to where she had hidden the parcels. Upon her return she smiled at the silence within. She wound a white sheet about herself, groaned and made peculiar noises, then began tramping around the house in the deep snow. * ' Oh, I can 't pull taffy I I want to see Mother Winters!" "But you nras'n't peek," whispered Forrest, stationing himself between the window and one of the other children. " Listen! Do you hear that noise? She's piling our Christmas presents on the window." "Oh, let's see!" "No, I sha'n't!" By a quick movement, the persistent child evaded Forrest's interference and cried out, jumping up and down : "Look! She's all white! Like the snow! Oh, she must be cold. Let's call her in.'* "No, you sha'n't! You are disobeying Mother Lee." "Quick! Pull your taffy. I hear her com- ing!" The door opened softly and Mother Lee en- tered as gently as she had gone out. "Has Mother Winters been here yet?" she asked. "Sure! Look there in that window," and a cluster of sticky fingers pointed in one direction. "Come all of you, wash your hands and you, Forrest, take a lantern and fetch in them presents!" Forrest quickly obeyed and soon returned with a number of icy parcels. "Which is which? I don't see any names!" The children dropped to their hands and knees upon the floor about the bundles as For- rest broke the twine of each parcel. "They're all alike." "Mother Winters is like Mother Lee. She never shows partiality. ' ' t ( Gee whiz ! If they ain 't the sweaters we 've been wanting that was in Brunell 's window. ' ' CHRISTMAS 53 "Do you suppose that Mother Winters heard us say that we wanted them?" "Of course! Every time you send out a Christmas wish into the air, she hears you." A heavy scraping of feet at the door disturbed the whole interest within. "It's Pop!' 7 cried Forrest, standing still, but showing a world of pleasure in his handsome dark features as the door pushed open. "Caught in a blizzard. Didn't think I'd be able to get here," said Old Dave, as he pulled off his sheep-skin coat and hung it behind the stove. He pulled up a chair and put his half frozen feet upon the hot hearth. The steam from his rubber overshoes drew Mother Lee's attention. "Get your feet down! Don't you know better?" Old Dave glanced up with an expression of pain. "What ails you!" * * Guess my feet r s froze. ' ' "Off with them shoes and socks! Forrest, take the dish-pan and fill it with snow!" Like a flash Forrest responded. "What fur?" a stubborn look coming into Old Dave 's face as Forrest returned with a pan of snow. "Put your feet in!" scolded Mother Lee. * * What fur ? ' ' hesitating. "To take the frost out." A grunt was his answer and Forrest dropped on his knees and covered his father's feet with snow. ' ' There now. Is that cold ? ' ' "Naw!" expressing surprise at finding his feet numb. "Well ! If you had left them on that hearth a few moments longer you'd have fixed them." As the numbness gradually left his feet his face began to twitch with pain. He looked up at Mother Lee inquiringly. "What's the matter!" "They hurt!" "Well! That's a good sign. The blood's coming back into them. You've had them in there long enough, so come and eat your sup- per." Old Dave pulled his feet out of the snow with no pretence of drying them and started drawing on his wet socks. ' ' Don 't do that ! Here, put these on ! " reach- ing out and taking his old ones. "It's no wonder your feet are nearly frozen in those wet cotton socks," and she put the socks into the stove. Old Dave obeyed and began to eat from a steaming plate which Mother Lee had already placed upon the hearth. Forrest scarcely moved from the back of his father's chair. His large, hungry eyes were watching his father's every move. CHRISTMAS 55 "It's been in my mind to take * Chuck* up with me when the weather breaks." 1 1 Oh, Pop ! Will you ! ' ' Forrest 's lips were almost against his father's cheek. "I don't think you had better take him for another year. He'll be finished with grammar school then. ' ' "Just as you say," picking up his empty dish and starting toward the table, but Mother Lee snatched it from his rough hands. "Here, here, you children, scamper to bed!" Forrest lingered, but after a sharp glance from Mother Lee he promptly followed the others. When Mother Lee found herself alone with Old Dave, she asked: "What's the idea of taking Forrest away from school?" "Ain't he had enough?" "No. He can't get enough nobody can. He should be kept studying until he is twenty, at least." Old Dave looked blankly at Mother Lee. "What does he want schooling fur, I never had any." "You show it." "Can't see any use in it. I've made up my mind to take up another quarter section and I want help." From a half opened door, Forrest strained 56 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD his ears to catch every word that passed be- tween them. His one desire was to go with his father. Ever since he could remember he longed for the forest; for the density of the giant pines ; the open nights with the stars ; the cold icy creeks. The blood of his dark skinned mother rose to command and he felt that he must go. " You will find him a greater help to you later on if he gets a schooling." Old Dave stared at the stove for a few sec- onds, then, without further comment, arose and took a lantern. "Well, are you going to leave him in school or take him with you?" "I'll leave it to Chuck." Mother Lee turned and called out: "Come from behind that door I" Forrest eagerly came back into the kitchen, his eyes dancing in his excitement. "You heard your father, now what do you want to do?" * * Go with him. I want to go up there in the mountains. I can keep up my studies just the same." Old Dave looked at the boy and without a word sauntered upstairs. Forrest remained standing and closely watched Mother Lee as she went about the kitchen adjusting things in her usual way before retiring. Sinking down on the floor beside her he burst into sobs. CHEISTMAS 57 "Are you angry with me, Mother Lee?" "No." But the tone of her voice did not satisfy him. "I've been thinking for a long time how I could make money for you instead of going to school and spending your money." "Go to bed, Forrest!" "Are you angry with me?" "Go to bed!" The boy obeyed and Mother Lee entered the adjoining room and retired for the night. An hour later a soft boyish voice came through the dark to her ear. "Mother Lee!" "What is it?" "I can't sleep." "Why not?" The boy arose and came to her bedside. Sinking down upon the floor beside her he burst out in sobs. 1 ' Forrest ! What ails you ? ' ' "I shall never go away with Father when it is against your will. ' ' "But you've promised your father that you would go, and it isn't principle to go back on your word." "I would rather go back on my word than dis- appoint you. ' ' Mother Lee remained silent, secretly enjoying the affection the boy held for her. It was worth a great deal to her to know that those about 58 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD her respected her, and were willing to do her bidding. She placed her hand on his head and an- swered : "You are not going to disappoint me. We'll try out the mountains and see how it works. ' ' * ' Oh, Mother Lee ! You are so good, ' ' catch- ing her wrinkled hand and covering it with kisses. She was a little startled at his enthusiasm. She had never seen him so excited before and she spoke before thinking: "It's the blood of your mother that keeps you stirred up for them mountains, and sooner or later you will wind up there, anyhow, so it's best, I suppose, for you to get an early training. Now go to bed, and to-morrow we will talk it over." Forrest went back to bed, but like Mother Lee, he lay awake, thinking, the greater part of the night. CHAPTER IX AN ECCENTKIC GUEST ALOUD firm knock scattered the chil- dren and Mother Lee called out: "Come in." The knock was repeated. "Some stranger, Forrest. Go to the door!" Forrest swung the door wide open, stepped back and Mother Lee got a full view of a group standing framed in by the door casing. She quickly observed a small man of the Eng- lish type. His faded tan clothing was as wrinkled as his face. His light derby hat with its flat top and narrow, rolling brim sat loosely upon a mass of rather long, wiry grey hair. The hat, as he talked, kept bobbing as if it were on springs. His thin, clean-shaven face and hollow, sunken eyes did not improve the looks of his hawk-like profile. Beside him, and ap- parently very tired, stood a thin small woman, also of the English type and two young daughters, as fair and delicate in appearance as their mother. About them were several grips, shawls in straps and a lunch basket. "How do you do? Come in!" spoke Mother Lee. 59 60 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "Is this a lodging house?" asked the English- man in a thin sharp voice. "My home is not a lodging house, but it is open to the public. Do you wish to stay over night?" "Exactly. Perhaps a fortnight," gathering up two heavy, leather cases with surprising strength. Forrest stepped forward and caught up an- other which the daughters had been carrying. "Did you walk from the station?" "Exactly! I saw no conveyance." "Come this way!" and Mother Lee led the family to the big square room. "This room has held many circus troups. I take it for granted that that is your business." "No, madam, you're mistaken. We're tour- ists. This is my wife and these are my daughters." "I see. Well, you can all bunk in here. You and your wife may sleep in this bed and the two girls can take the single ones." "What's that?" contracting a pair of shaggy eyebrows. "I prefer my own room, and fur- nished, if you please." "Furnished?" "Yes, yes. A carpet, a settee, and these windows covered." "We don't have any such superfluous orna- ments about here. We are satisfied with what we get and we double up if necessary. If you AN ECCENTRIC GUEST 61 don't want to sleep with your wife you can go upstairs and double up with one of the Swedes from the stone-quarry, and the girls can stay here with their mother. She looks like a woman used to putting up with all sorts of conditions. ' ' ' ' What 's this ? Double up ? " "Yes, sleep with him." "No, no." "Well, then, Forrest, show him up to the attic room. ' ' "Yes. Marion, Fern and I can manage very nicely. Let Father have his own room." ' ' What is this, a ladder ? ' ' gazing up an almost perpendicular stairway. "No, the ladder is in the stable," and Mother Lee, returning to the kitchen, displayed no further interest. "He wants to know if you have a room with running water," said Forrest a moment later. Mother Lee thought a moment. "I guess he means a pump. No. Tell him the nearest running water we have is the big ditch back of the house." "What brings such people up here?" asked Forrest. "Curiosity, I suppose." The younger of the daughters, the image of her mother, came timidly into the kitchen. "Please may I have a towel and some warm water? Mother is not at all well." "Of course, my child. Take that wash pan, 62 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD and there is plenty of hot water in the kettle, on the stove!" " Thank you. " ' ' She looks as if she were about ready to cry, ' ' whispered Forrest, as the girl disappeared into the room. 1 'Who could help it around such a lunatic. But who's driving in?" hearing the sound of wheels on the brick driveway. Forrest looked out. "It's Sam Ditmar." At the mention of the name, a small girl jumped up from the floor in the corner of the kitchen and ran to her mother. "Daddy has come to take us home." "It's about time he was showing up," spoke Mother Lee indifferently. The news brought Rose into the kitchen and to the window. "It's Sam all right," she said with uneasiness in her voice, yet her eyes had a look of stubborn- ness. "Don't fly up in your harness! It's your place to be reasonable. He has come more than half way. ' ' "He doesn't love me or he never would have stayed away all this time." ' ' Better not judge the man until you 've heard his verdict." Mother Lee smiled inwardly when she saw the pouting expression of "Valley Rose" as she had AN ECCENTRIC GUEST 63 always been called, who stooped full of motherly feeling and picked up her baby and nestled it to her breast. The action, through instinct, caused the other children to cry, and by the time Sam reached the kitchen door, the young mother had rushed with her children to the adjoining room. The sound of feet upon the porch brought Mother Lee to the door. "Hello, Sam!" "Howdy, Mother!" said Sam with a broad smile. "SamDitmar! Where have you been? It's nigh on to a year since you were here." "Working like a trooper, and I am as happy as a lark. Got shade trees growing, and a new house. The new ditch runs through my ranch and in another year I will have the prettiest place in the whole valley." "What put that notion in your head?" said Mother Lee, giving him a sly wink and nodding her head toward the adjoining room. Sam understood and he burst forth enthusi- astically. "My wife! My Rose! God, Mother, how I've missed her. But I just made up my mind to punish myself for the years I have neglected her. What a selfish thing a man is when he lives solely in that future stuff ! You certainly opened my eyes when you told me that all we possess and can ever possess is only loaned to us during our stay on earth. God, how true! 64 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD How blind we can be to deny ourselves all things necessary to happiness! Will Rose ever for- give me? Where is she? She doesn't know that I've been with her constantly in thought. She doesn't know that I have stolen up here on my horse many times to catch a glimpse of her through the windows and to throw kisses to her and the little ones. I did not worry about her when I found out she was here with you. ' ' Another wink, and a toss of Mother Lee's head sent Sam to the adjoining room with a single bound. The next instant nothing could be heard save cries of joy and loud kisses. Mother Lee continued her work about the kitchen, satisfied. After supper, she and the children went as far as the stable to see the reunited family start out for home. Sam managed to squeeze Mother Lee 's hand ; all but kissed her as he whispered : "God bless you." The English family, after finishing their even- ing meal, carried their chairs with them and were about to congregate on the dining-room porch. They were commenting on the scenery when Mother Lee approached and eyed them coldly, vexed at the unusual liberty they had taken. "Have you any knowledge of what land sells AN ECCENTRIC GUEST 65 for about here?" called out the shrill voiced Englishman. "I ought to ! I've been here all my life. " "Would you mind giving me an estimate?" "Not at all if you come and sit in the kitchen where I can finish my work. Besides I don't think the paint on this porch is dry yet," and she snatched the chairs and dragged them back into the dining-room before the English family had fully comprehended her meaning. "We'll take a stroll up the drive, Father," spoke Marion. "By all means," waving them away. "You go along with them, Forrest! It will soon be dark. They're not used to the moun- tains yet," and Mother Lee led the eccentric Englishman to the kitchen. "What kind of land are you looking for?" "Land where there is solitude." "You'll find plenty of that down yonder in them sand-hills, or up there above timberline. Which do you want, the sun or the shade ? ' ' "Doesn't matter, so long as there is solitude. I want to be alone away from the noisy prattle of the world, so I can write write write " "The * cooler' is what you want," and she scrutinised him suspiciously. "I want land and lots of it a vast expanse," waving his hand in a sweeping gesture, ' ' where I can found an estate " "Are you going to squat?" 66 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "Squat? Squat? Explain what do you mean by squat?" 11 Squat means to stake out a claim for your- self and hang on to it for dear life without pay- ing for it. ' ' "No, I don't want to * squat.' I want to buy and pay for my land. I have plenty of money. ' ' "Well, I'd advise you to squat right here and wait until Old Dave comes down from them mountains. He '11 sell you more land than you '11 want. He's property poor." "Will it give rest to a tired soul?" "If it doesn't there's a grave-yard up there that will." "Not that not that I only want to be alone." "What about your wife and children?" "It is not for them. It's for the craving of my soul. I must be alone apart from the world where I can write write write " "What do you write, prose or poetry?" "Both." "It is the 'cooler' you want," and again Mother Lee eyed him critically. CHAPTER X THE LONE COYOTE AS the great yellow moon came up at midnight, it sent its mellow light caressingly down through the top of the dense forest wherever it could penetrate to kiss gently its lovemate, the ma- jestic silence, the queen of night. In one of the illuminated spots at the corner of Old Dave 's cabin, was the entrance to a dug- out, the home of his lone coyote. The only sign of life was the iridescent glistening of her rest- less eyes, which shone from the small black cavern, into which she had crawled after an un- usual fright late in the afternoon. It happened, when Old Dave had returned at sundown and while she was prancing in her usual delight, that her chain snapped and sent her sprawling out of her furrowed path. It had so frightened her that she remained in her den afraid to venture out. Even the scraps from Dave 's plate did not persuade her to risk herself. But the midnight moon and the great silence gave her confidence. Inch by inch she crawled out on the surface of the cool earth and timidly gained her feet. Something prompted her to shake her shaggy 87 68 THE EDGE OF THE WOELD coat, and the remaining part of the chain struck hard against her yellow breast. It startled her, and she tried to lick it away with her long red tongue, but the action only brought her greater annoyance and she again viciously shook her shaggy self. After a pause she lifted her head, scented the air and bravely stepped out of the furrowed path only to spring back and tremble. The next instant she affectionately nosed the corner of the dugout, where hung the rest of her chain. Her grief, apparently, was so great that in- stinct prompted her to do something she had never done before. She sat back on her hind legs and put her nose high in the air and began howling as if her heart were broken. Big Dave stirred upon his pillow, but he was too tired to be entirely awakened, and the lone coyote continued her lonely howls until dawn drove her back into the furthest corner of her dugout. There she remained all day until the moon encouraged her to come out and devour the scraps that Big Dave had mechanically scraped to her without so much as a glance in her direction. She explored a little more in her freedom. The newness of it all again sent her voice out in low, appealing howls. Like a wire- less distress call, sent out in the silence of night, her pealing voice reached a receiving station, far below, where the grey, colourless sky and the sand and sage-brush hills blended into a dry, THE LONE COYOTE 69 dusty, crusted ridge of broken crags ; where the same yellow moon lit up a weird world of loneli- ness, the home of a pack of wild coyotes. It was there and on the very highest ledge of a rock, that their leader, a great brown coyote, was silhouetted against the sky, as motionless as if he were a part of the jagged pedestal upon which he stood. His ears were alert for any sound that might disturb the silence. His pierc- ing eyes searched the moonlit country about him for the slightest move of the sage-brush or a shadow of a prairie dog or rabbit upon which he could appease the hunger that had been gnawing at his vitals for days. Suddenly, there broke in upon the silence, a sound which brought him to immediate action. He quickly drew in his lolling tongue and his great sinewy body became rigid with the desire to kill. It was the shrill distress call of the female of his kin that he had heard which caused him to fall back on his haunches, put his nose high in the air and send out into the stillness of night his answer to assure her that her call had been heard. He bounded from the rock and trotted off across the barren country for miles, until he came to the edge of the dense forest. The fantastic shadows made him hesitate with fear and sniff the air. He knew that beyond those shadows lived man, and man was his one great enemy. He well knew, from former experience 70 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD and from seeing other members of his pack come in contact with men that his endeavour to assist her would mean death to them both unless he could cunningly contrive some scheme which would enable him to assist her without entering into combat with his great enemy. Again came the shrill cry and again the big brown coyote sat back on his haunches and sent forth his answer. Another wave of cowardly fear surged through his veins. He arose and snarled viciously at the moon and the dark forest before him. He was mad with desire to protect but those great dark shadows, which mocked and tantalised him, drove him back a few yards into his open world. Another plain- tive call from the darkness of the forest and he bristled his back with a determination to go forth and investigate. His slender body glided swiftly up through the shadows, his eyes flash- ing like tiny search lights in every direction. Suddenly there came a storm, a dense black- ness. The thunder rattled and shook the forest. The lightning flashed in streaks of fire and the rain came down in torrents. But the big, brown king put back his ears and sailed swiftly on. Now and then he stopped to sniff the air and listen to the low wailing voice which was still calling him. At last he reached a clearing where Big Dave's cabin stood. The storm had suddenly ceased and the moon had reappeared. The lone THE LONE COYOTE 71 coyote no longer called. Only her glistening eyes were visible from the entrance to her en- trenchment. She had spied the great brown fellow and her heart fluttered with fear and excitement. Her king shook the rain from his shaggy coat and trotted closer but stopped as he saw a warning in the two fiery eyes of the lone coyote who snarled and showed her teeth as he ap- proached. Suddenly, he turned and trotted away a short distance, sniffed the air and gave a low, pleasing whine. His appeal brought her to the mouth of her den and she began to crouch and whine. Her king trotted closer to her. Still, some distance apart, they stood eyeing each other until daybreak drove the great brown fellow back over his course. He reached the sage-brush hills just in time to avoid the morn- ing sun. The lone coyote whined and followed a short distance after the fleeing figure, but she soon returned, shaking with excitement, and entered her dugout. The next evening when darkness had set in and safety was assured, she once more sent out her cry, and watched patiently through the opening. A thrill tingled her thin body as she saw her king again stand in the clearing. Her fear lessened as he came closer. Again he went away and again the following night he returned. During those majestic nightly visits there 72 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD sprang between them an endearing friendship. She awaited his coming and she divided her scraps with him. He drank from her water pan and she ventured out of her furrowed path and followed him about the clearing. Then a night came, a night when the moon was again yellow and full, and the forest was enchanting with its charms. Her big brown king came trotting up and kissed her, and, his magnetic influence overpowered her. She fol- lowed him through the dark forest, on, through the shadows and out into an open world. At first she was frightened but the low coaxing of her king encouraged her on. The remaining links of the chain that had so long held her a captive, jingled at her breast as they trotted on over a world she had never known. Tired and frightened, she at last reached the sage- brush ledge, and to her astonishment, the home of her people. She crouched behind her big brown king and eyed his pack with curiosity. She trembled when she heard them send forth a volley of howls which she understood was their dislike for her. But her king held them at bay and she soon found refuge in a dugout similar to her own, and, which she soon learned was his home, and she was to be his mate. To her, strange days followed; days of ter- rific heat. She looked out timidly over a dry, dusty world. She suffered and panted in her hot dry home in the daytime, but at night she THE LONE COYOTE 73 followed her king with the rest of the pack in search of food. Many a hair-raising adventure they encountered but still she kept within a few inches of her king. An occasional rabbit or prairie chicken made up their scanty feasts. Hunger sometimes drove them to the scattered ranches in search of sheep. Then there came to her the last and most thrilling trip. It was when the frost began to gather upon the barren world. It was when her great king's pack began to feel winter's starvation coming on. It was during wild-duck season when the best they could do was to howl and snap viciously at the air as a flock of ducks flew overhead, on their way to the alkali swamps below. It was at night when the moon hung low in the western sky. Hunger had driven her king's pack to the low, boggy land where they had scented fresh blood, which added to their ferocity. With lowered heads they snapped and snarled and growled at the earth as they rushed along, following a tiny trail of blood. They bounded over the open country and soon sighted, at the brow of a hill, a lone hunter with a gun and a string of ducks over his shoulders. The scent of blood maddened them caused them to forget all fear of hunter and gun as they rushed over the frosty ground. The hunter, hearing the snarling pack behind, broke into a run. In his scramble to crawl through a barbed wire fence he left some feathers and one duck behind. In a snarling heap the pack stopped to devour it, giving the hunter a greater gain. Her king, who was in the lead, seemed to know and rushed onward, followed by the hungry pack, again snapping at the empty air. Breathless and panting, she tried to keep pace with him but he seemed to have forgotten her. The others snapped and tore at her flesh. Moaning and wailing she kept on until she realised that they had reached man's door. The blood-thirsty pack sat back on their haunches and gave out a wail of disappoint- ment, for they knew that a door barred their entrance. And then, as if scenting danger, they wheeled and started swiftly back, her great brown king still in the lead. She was unable to keep pace and panting for breath she fell far behind. She was not urged on as were the others by fear, for she was accustomed to man. A sharp crack of a shot sounded in the still morning air and she felt a pain in her side. She tried to keep going, but she began to feel faint staggered about and soon sank to the dust. She howled for help but the pack rushed madly on without hearing her. She licked the wound, that she might gain strength to follow her great king, but a second shot rang out. An- other sharp pain and her head fell limply to the ground. Her glassy eyes gradually centred upon Dakota's smiling, triumphant face. THE LONE COYOTE 75 Her great brown king never came back. He knew what had happened. Night after night, when the moon was in its yellow robe, he stood out upon his stony ledge and sent out into the clear night, the call for his lost mate. CHAPTER XI FORBEST AND FEEX IT had been arranged that the thin little woman, Mrs. Dale, and her two daughters were to remain with Mother Lee while the father went with Old Dave to look over the land. Mother Lee gave a sigh of relief when she watched the men drive away. There was some- thing about the eccentric man that she would like to have changed, but she knew she had not the power to do so and she satisfied herself by saying: "When a man's crazy he's crazy all over." The older daughter remained the greater part of the time in the large corner room with her mother, but the younger, Fern, found more pleasure with the children outdoors. "Forrest! Why do you stand and stare at that little girl?" "Don't know unless it's because she's so beautiful. She's just like an angel." Mother Lee stopped in the midst of her cook- ing crossed to the window and looked out. 76 FORREST AND FEEN 77 "Yes, Forrest, you are right. She is just like an angel. She's as dainty and delicate as the plant whose name she bears." "Fern!" Forrest said slowly. "I never thought of her that way." A sudden uplifting of a pair of blue eyes and a happy toss of yellow curls caused Forrest to step closer to the window. "Come away, Forrest. It isn't polite to stare that way!" He slowly backed away, saying : ' 1 1 just want to stand and look at her all the time." "The first thing you know, you will be dream- ing about her." "I have already." "Ha, ha !" chuckled Mother Lee. "It isn't wrong to dream of angels, is it?" studying the smile upon Mother Lee's face. "I thought real angels were only found in Heaven!" her smile broadening. "Couldn't just one slip through and come to earth?" asked Forrest. "Perhaps so. Who knows. Heaven ought to open up and let out an angel for each of us." "Do you suppose she is intended to be my angel?" The earnestness of the boy's voice caused Mother Lee to stop and stare at him. It flashed to her mind that Forrest had more than a boy's instinct. 78 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD 1 ' Fifteen years old. Why, Forrest ! You are entirely too young to think of a girl." A deep flush suffused his fine features and his slender, brown hand went to his throat. He looked as if he was ready to cry. "Forrest, you can't deceive Mother Lee. You are in love with this tender, green little Fern!" Forrest attempted to hide his face but Mother Lee quickly drew his hands down. "What's the matter with you? Are you ashamed of it? Only guilty, evil thoughts make people hide their faces." An inky fire flashed from Forrest's eyes as he straightened up and looked at Mother Lee. "No, ma'am! I never had bad thoughts. I just don't know what is the matter with me." "I know what ails you. It is not wrong for you to love this dear little creature, but you must know for sure the truth of the matter. When the God Farmer sowed the human seeds, he got two natures mixed up a little, Love and Infatuation, and sometimes the little master within you has a hard task differentiating be- tween them. Love is the purest and dearest nature in our lives, but Infatuation is a curse, in time. When the God Farmer began plant- ing his human seeds he took great care to split each one. One half he called male and the other female, and he laughed when he thought what a fretful time those little halves would FORREST AND FERN 79 have finding each other again. So he mixed up all the halves with other ingredients one of which was wisdom, and planted them, as you already know, to grow up into man and woman. But the development of this wisdom is not com- plete until within the twentieth year. That is when the real Love is supposed to blossom into rosy colours of understanding, but beware of Infatuation. It acts like Love. It makes your heart palpitate and so on. Forrest, I want you to be very careful and study your feelings toward this little girl, this tender little leaf which the God Farmer intends for some good mate." Forrest straightened back his shoulders and folded his arms across his chest and listened, a habit he had acquired when a very small boy. " You have yet a few years to decide, because it 's more than likely you will be thrown a great deal in her company, as her father will buy part of your father's land and there the old fossil will build that towering mansion he talks about. You will soon go and join your father, and perhaps there will be many times that you will be lonely. Then is when Infatuation will do its work, and throw temptation in your way. The animal nature in you, which is more or less prevalent in all mankind, may try to force you to destroy that little bud. Oh, you will know. You are a bright boy and you know right from wrong, and if the slightest trace of evil enters 80 THE EDGE OF THE WOELD your mind, go hide your face from the world until you are master of yourself again then come forth with a clean mind." The kitchen door opened slowly and the sunny face of Fern appeared. "Am I intruding! " "No, come in," answered Mother Lee. There was a light, airy and dainty perfume about Fern's well dressed little figure that did not escape Forrest. He quickly pushed back his blue-black hair and buttoned his coat. A proud look came into Mother Lee's eyes. She was struck forcibly by the perfection of the two their harmony of years the absolute contrast of their complexions the strength of Forrest's limbs, the delicacy of hers the clean, pure exchange of glances their innocence the unfathomed depths of their slumbering future. Forrest quickly offered Fern a chair but she thanked him politely with her eyes and told him that she was going to her mother. He watched her disappear into the big corner room. Mother Lee turned her attention to her work, for her mind was quite satisfied, that if ever there existed a perfect affinity in two human seeds, it truly existed in these slumbering buds of sweet innocence. CHAPTER HER EAGLE EYE IT all happened just as Mother Lee had predicted. The Englishman after shrewd calculation, brought a deal to a close with Old Dave and had much the better of the bargain. He spent several weeks about Cottage Home where he talked "building" to every one until Mother Lee's patience gave way and she at last told him that he would most likely have to send back to England for competent craftsmen to lay out his estate, but his wife and older daughter finally persuaded him to patronise home in- dustry. In the course of time a small army of work- men entered the forest and transformed a wild, uncultivated land into skilfully decorated grounds, walled in by tall, rugged, sweet-scented pines. In the centre of the grounds they erected a large stone house. It was a happy moment for Mother Lee when she was told that the Dales were ready to take possession of their new home. "Six weeks more with that madman in the 81 82 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD house would have been my finish. I haven't any use for a person who can't be moulded over," scolded Mother Lee, more to herself as she grabbed up some of his luggage and piled it into a surrey to hasten their departure. "Good riddance to bad rubbish!" she said as she watched him drive away. "And God pity the rest of you ! ' ' waving her hand to the mother and daughters. "The old reprobate! Who's that coming?" and Mother Lee lowered her voice and looked toward the road. "It's another stranger. A man," spoke up Forrest. "It never rains but what it pours. How-do- you-do, sir!" "Is this a boarding house?" "My home is open to you. What do you want?" keenly eyeing a tall, clean cut young man, her mind instantly associating him with one of the stylish figures she had noticed in a catalogue of men's clothing. "I want to stay over night. I'm expecting my wife in the morning," said he and Mother Lee's eyes grew keener. That evening at the supper table she frowned at the polished lingo of the talkative young stranger. "That man bears watching," she said to Forrest a little later. When bedtime came she handed him a lantern and pointed up the stairs to his room. HER EAGLE EYE 83 " Never mind me, Mother," having heard everyone else call her Mother. "You're old and should be in bed. I think I '11 sit out on the porch awhile. I'm not used to such early hours. " Mother Lee did not answer him for her mind was made up. She retired but did not go to sleep until after midnight after the young man had noisily entered the house, leaving a trail of cigarette smoke behind him on his way to the stairs. "Douse your lantern and leave it outside your door and don't smoke that hop in the house." "Douse it? Don't think I understand." ' ' This way ! ' ' and she reached out from her bed and illustrated her meaning. "Oh, I see! A new wrinkle." "No. It's the oldest and safest. Good- night, ' ' and she pulled the covers closer about her. "I never felt more at home. It seems the same as when I used to pass my mother's bed at night." "This is just the same as your mother's home as long as you behave yourself." "Of course. Goodnight." For another few moments all was quiet, then a volley of curses brought Mother Lee to the stairway. "What's the matter up there?" 84 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "This damn lantern won't douse.'* "Bring it to me!" The young man in white pajamas and bare feet, cautiously worked his way partly down the steep stairs. Mother Lee snatched the lantern and with a slight jerk extinguished the light. "Now go to bed in the dark!" The young man did so without complaint. The next day toward noon brought to the kitchen door a very timid, brown eyed girl, plainly dressed, who asked of Mother Lee : "Is my husband here yet?" "A strange man stopped here last night. He is now at the railroad station to meet his wife. ' ' "That's him. But I couldn't come that way I mean I had a chance to come across with a ranchman." "Step in!" The girl's cheeks had grown rosy red, and she nervously bit her lips. "Do you think he will be back here again?" "Why not? Husbands generally look after their wives. Take off your wraps and have a cup of coffee. You look tired." "No, I'm not tired." "Just worried about your husband?" "Yes." "Evidently you haven't been married long." "No, not long." "It strikes me that you live about here." HER EAGLE EYE 85 "Oh, no. I I'm from the city." "You're from the sand-hills down yonder." "Oh, no, I'm not." "Drink your coffee before your husband comes back." The girl tried to obey but she choked from nervousness. Mother Lee turned and began working about the stove. "Maybe you would like to shell some peas for dinner while you're sitting there at the win- dow. ' ' "I'll be glad to," taking the pan from Mother Lee. "What kind of work did you do before you got married," quizzed Mother Lee a little later. "I I was a factory girl." Mother Lee smiled faintly down at the bowed head of the young woman. It was some mo- ments before she again ventured. "Your wedding ring has been worn pretty thin, hasn't it?" The girl's cheeks turned scarlet. She was slow, answering. She finally said: "It's not a new one. Francis said it once belonged to his mother." "Yes. He spoke of his mother last night." * ' Did he ? What did he say ? " * ' Haven 't you met her ? ' ' "No but I'm going to" "When?" 86 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD * 'Right away. There 's where he 's taking me now. ' ' The girl finished shelling the peas and went to the door just as a flock of hungry children from school came rushing up to the porch. "Perhaps I had better go to the station " "No, one of the children will do that" and Mother Lee glanced at "Prince" Arthur who quickly responded. When dinner was over and Mother Lee had started to prepare the children's meal, she stopped long enough to watch the greeting be- tween the girl and the young man, which was enthusiastic enough on her part but rather in- different on his. He pulled her out onto the porch and began talking to her in an undertone. Mother Lee interrupted and ordered them to their dinner. During the afternoon she caught an occa- sional glimpse of the young couple who seemed to be avoiding her as much as possible. Once the young woman came into the kitchen for a glass of water. "Francis has gone to the station to see if his horses are here," she said to Mother Lee. "Is he a horse trainer?" "Oh, no, a horse trader. He's been coming up to father's ranch " The young woman's embarrassment was noticeable. HEE EAGLE EYE 87 "There, there! I knew you were a girl not used to lies. You don't need to be afraid of me. It's no sin to be secretly married." "You won't give us away, will you?" "Certainly not." "Francis is nervous. He wants to get away to-night, but the horses aren't here. He's afraid dad will stop us." "How old are you?" "Seventeen." Mother Lee walked away and said no more. As the purple shades of night were deepening in the western sky, Mother Lee sat resting. Forrest stood back of her chair, watching. "Have you anything that needs mending?" "No. All my clothes are packed." "When is your father coming after you?" * ' To-morrow. ' ' "Well, my boy, your life work begins. I think I have given you a good foundation to stand on, so put it to a good, practical use." "You dear Mother Lee! I shall always be guided by you." "Here comes that unusual couple." Mother Lee stirred a little and moved her chair back from the door. She saw by the sudden familiar manner of the young man that he was quite at ease. "Won't you stay up and have some popcorn with us?" 88 THE EDGE OF THE WOULD "No, I thank yon. My wife and I are tired and want to go to our room." Mother Lee was not looking at the young man. She was studying the features of the girl. "Oh! Let us stay and have some corn!" pleaded the girl. "Certainly. Haul up your chairs and join me and my fledgelings. You see I have quite a party of them," and a line of sparkling eyes with quick, bashful glances were upon her. The corn was popped and as they ate, Mother Lee told stories of incidents, simple and amus- ing, amid numerous interruptions by some silent men entering, going behind the stove 1 and taking their lanterns and sauntering upstairs to bed. The children had finished their popcorn and Mother Lee was busy sending them to their beds. A satisfied smile began to settle about the mouth of the young man, while a pale nervous- ness took possession of the girl. Mother Lee seemingly saw neither nor did she pretend to hear the low scolding he was pouring into the girl's ears. "Well, I guess we'll say goodnight to you, Mother," spoke up the young man, and he went as the others had done, back of the stove for a lantern. "You and your wife take that big, corner spare room." The young girl rose but sat down again: HER EAGLE EYE 89 then rose and took a step but returned to her seat. A low sound in her throat caused the lantern to jerk in the young man's hand but he con- cealed his temper by saying : "You're never ready to go to bed. Come on." The girl, white as death, arose and held out her hand. He took her arm firmly and led her to the door. "Good night, Mother," he called back. Mother Lee stood speechless and watched them critically until the door closed. A cry of: "Oh, Francis," suddenly died down to sobs, mingling with a low coaxing voice. The sobs lessened and the coaxing increased, until Mother Lee stepped forward and knocked loudly upon the door. "Have you gone to bed, yet!" "No!" came the startled voice of the girl. "Are you undressed?" "No." "Open the door!" A few seconds of silence passed. "Come out here, young lady! I want to speak to you." The voice of Mother Lee was commanding. Some more silent moments passed during which she listened to an excited inaudible whispering within. At last the door opened and the girl, livid with fright, came out and fell 90 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD limply against the wall, confronting Mother Lee. "I jnst had a couple of Swedes come in and I'm short of beds. I want to know if you would double up with me to-night and let one of the Swedes sleep with your husband?" "I'm sure he won't mind. We'll ask him," almost pushing Mother Lee into the room. The young man stood very near a window and as Mother Lee thought, ready to leap through it. The girl repeated Mother Lee 's request. "By all means," breaking into a relieved laugh. "I thought the house was being raided." "There'll be no occasion for that," and she caught the girl's arm, pushed her out of the room and slammed the door. A little later she waylaid one of the Swedes, and to his bewilder- ment, pushed him toward the big corner room and told him to double up with the young man. The natural colour came back into the girl's face. She quickly undressed and crawled into bed ahead of Mother Lee. Neither slept much during the night and both were glad when day- light came. Mother Lee arose a little earlier than usual and close beeide her stood the young girl, dress- ing. It was easily seen that she was used to the HER EAGLE EYE 91 kitchen. She went about, helping Mother Lee prepare breakfast. A few busy hours passed and the door lead- ing out of the big corner room finally opened. A new pallor came into the girl's face. She looked timidly at the young man who said, firmly: "Well, good morning! Thought you'd come and wake me up ! " He took the cup of coffee, some hot pancakes and went to the dining-room as he had pre- viously done. "Would you mind taking this bran to the cow f ' ' asked Mother Lee. * ' My back is lame. ' ' The girl expressed delight as she took the pan and went to the corral. Mother Lee went straight to the dining-room. "Where's your marriage certificate?" The young man sprang back in his seat. "She's got it!" "No, she hasn't! And that wedding ring of your mother's is not enough. You're not mar- ried to that girl!" "Well, suppose I'm not. I will be when I reach the city." "What's the matter with the Marshal doing the job up right now?" "No Marshal for me." "Well, this one will or you'll go into that 'cooler'! Now I advise you to finish your 92 THE EDGE OF THE WOKLD breakfast and go right down and fetch him here." Jerking himself about, the young man thought for a second. "Hurry up! That train you're going on is nigh due.'* "All right, Mother. Keep quiet about it and I will." "Well, you had better ! You untrained horse thief!" "Hush up! I'm off." "Better take your satchel along with you, now. Your wife 's will be heavy enough for the next trip, besides I want to send some lunch," speaking loud enough for the young girl to hear. He snatched up his satchel and hurried down the short cut to the station. "Where is Francis going?" asked the girl half frightened as she hastily entered with the empty pan. "He's gone on a very important errand," and Mother Lee turned indifferently to her work. A while later the girl looked eagerly at the clock : "Where do you suppose Francis is?" she asked. "I expect he's busy." "But the train we are to leave on is due!" "A man seldom forgets his wife." HEE EAGLE EYE 93 Something suddenly caused the girl to break down in tears. Mother Lee pretended not to notice it. She pattered over the kitchen floor, talking about the new family on Old Dave's land. Noon came, the busy hour. Lunch was over and the children had gone back to school. Mother Lee again found herself alone with the young girl. "If I wasn't afraid I'd go to the station and see what Francis is doing." "I would! No one need know your business. Just go and reconnoiter a bit." The girl flushed with uneasiness, put on her hat and hurried toward the station. Mother Lee 's square jaws came together with satisfaction. Later, she watched the slender form of the girl returning slowly down the avenue to the porch. The girl was crying when she entered the kitchen. "He's gone! Took the train without me!" "Perhaps he missed his calculation and in- tends to send for you. You had better take off that wedding ring and return home until he comes after you, then you politely say to that feller, that if he wants you for his wife he must have a public ceremony and the right sort. Decatur's hitching up. He goes down your way. Jump in with him and go home. Here ! Fetch this fresh bread out to him." 94 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD The girl reluctantly obeyed and Mother Lee muttered as ehe again entered the kitchen: "Such scoundrels should be tarred and feathered I" CHAPTER THE WITCHERY OF THE FOHBffT I HE Dales moved into their new home and began their new life in the usual way. The delicate mother, more or less an invalid, spent most of her time sun room especially built for her com- fort, either dreaming, sleeping or brooding over the future welfare of her daughters. Marie wore pretty gowns, read books, or played piano most of the time, while Fern, who seemed obsessed with an uncontrollable desire for the witchery of the forest, waded through musty scented, dead leaves day after day, al- ways in search of some new hidden nook of unmolested tanglewood. Mr. Dale, the eccentric Englishman, spent practically all of his time far above the heads of his family in his tower-room, pouring out his soul's ravings upon sheets of white paper; his only exercise being his spasmodic spells of rushing down the spiral stair at the completion of some piece of prose or poetry. In a high- pitched, excited voice he would pour out his literary gems, as he called them, into the ears 95 96 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD of his patient wife and daughter, Marie. He considered Fern too young to understand his deep thinking. If by chance his wife were asleep or Marie were not about, he would corner the two servants and bewilder them with his uncomprehended recitals. The summer passed into what they considered a beautiful winter. For two months they were snowed in completely cut off from outside communications. To them it was a novelty. Their cellar was well stocked and they had plenty of fuel to keep the big stone house warm. Mrs. Dale slept the greater part of the stormy days, Marie continued her reading and piano playing. She also wrote many letters which she piled up for mailing, the while fretting because she was unable to receive answers to her pre- vious correspondence which she knew had been piling up at the town post-office. She never would have been satisfied had she not settled her mind upon returning East to marry the man of her choice, a law student at one of the uni- versities. But Fern, quite the contrary, was like a caged little animal. When not at her studies, she was first at one window and then at another, looking out upon the white world. She often amused her mother by pulling aside the lace curtains and calling her attention to the beautiful draw- ings by Jack Frost upon the window panes ; or pointing out white, diamond glittering castles THE WITCHERY OF THE FOEEST 97 and fairy lands among the crisp, snow-covered branches of the spruce trees. A sort of dread passed over the household whenever the tower-door squeaked. It was al- ways the forerunner of a siege of painful listen- ing to a language far beyond comprehension a language of elegance of euphony. The moment the eccentric master entered everyone was prepared to praise and sanction whatever he uttered. Past experience had taught them to do this. Spring was gradually approaching. Fern grew restless and longed to see Forrest who had come into her young life like a something she had lost and found and was afraid of losing again. His brown eyes had trailed her through- out the winter in all her dreams. She had loved to sit before the open grate and think of them. They had constantly popped up in her text-book. They had held her reflectively at the dining table. They had been the real cause of her going so often to the window. She had con- stantly wondered if they would come again in reality to console her. The storms of winter had passed and the breath of spring had thawed away the pretty pictures and pooled the grounds with melting snow. At last the pools had disappeared and sweet-scented June had set in, giving Fern free- dom and a playmate in Forrest. But woe to the advance angel of a year who 98 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD opened the eyes of the elders and caused them to close the gateway of innocent childhood. Fern was given to understand by her mother and sister that there were duties for her to per- form and that she was no longer a child with nothing at all to do but to roam the forest. She must wear longer dresses and tie her curls back in a more womanly fashion. She must take up needle-work and other accomplishments more in keeping with a girl of her age. Fern's future had a gloomy outlook until she had seen Forrest and learned that he, too, had less time to squander as he willed, for he was forced to put in a full day working at his fath- er's side. Only now and then had he a chance to steal through the dense thicket to the opening to see her, perhaps to meet her along the trail, or at the moss covered rock, their favourite tryst- ing place. Then it was always at a time when Old Dave drove away with a load of ties or tele- graph poles. Forrest with hungry eyes waited for his father to take these occasional trips and as each heavy load disappeared down the steep road to- ward the valley, he would wash his hands and face, wet and comb his raven black hair straight back until it glistened. He would then take from a chest beneath his bunk, a clean blue flan- nel shirt and a well worn tie. He would hur- riedly dress. With sleeves rolled above his THE WITCHERY OF THE FOREST 99 brown elbows, chest exposed and bare-headed, always, he would bound like a young tiger over fallen trees, through tangled underbrush until he ran across Fern, if it took him the whole of the way to the clearing on her father's ground. 11 Maybe you'd like to see the new tree I've found," or "Maybe this and maybe that," or whatever came into his mind, Forrest would give as an excuse for his coming. At first Marie went along with Forrest and Fern much to her own dislike and discomfort, but her main object was to ascertain if the pure childlike innocence still existed in their young minds. After accompanying them on two or three occasions, Marie was satisfied that her little sister was absolutely safe with the big, good-natured brown boy, whose whole mind was upon the different species of trees and their usages. Forrest was never free from the influence of Mother Lee the spell of her early training. Her words always guided him. "There's a time for work. There's a time for play. There's a time for sleep. Never allow one to crowd the other. Give each their allotted space." So when Forrest cut trees, he allowed nothing but the thought of trees to enter his mind. And when it was time for sleep he forced himself to sleep. And when the hour came for pleasure, for relaxation, he liberated himself. But al- 100 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD ways at the very summit of his pleasure-moun- tain, Fern was there beckoning him to climb to her play ground. Once he said to her with a boy's enthusiasm: "I hope that only the big storms of winter separate us." "What else could?" she asked. "Death is about the only thing I can think of right now." "Mercy, don't talk of such evil things." "Death is not evil." "Anything is that would separate us." * ' Then we 're united until death do us part, ' ' said Forrest, quoting Mother Lee. "That's it, and I'm sure he will never find us in this pretty forest to separate us." "Of course not. The good God-farmer is too anxious to see the scattered halves of his human seeds find each other." "Human seeds? What do you mean?" "The kind the God-farmer sprinkles upon this earth from his Golden pan. You and me and everybody." "Oh!" "Listen!" and Forrest went into the min- utest detail of Mother Lee's version of human seeds and the divided halves scattered upon the earth. "So then, we count for just one seed." "Yes, that's it." THE WITCHERY OF THE FOREST 101 "And now that we have found each other, what are we going to do?" asked Fern. "Just wait, grow up and get married." "I'm grown now, so Marie tells me." * ' So am I. I think next year we can talk more about it. But this year I must still think of trees; and you, of your needle-work," and Forrest persistently changed the subject much to Fern's disappointment. But he was her mas- ter and she had to obey. CHAPTER XIV FROM THE SANDHILLS OFTEN, very often when evening shadows had covered up another day, Mother Lee would step out on the back porch after her work was finished and let her tired eyes rest upon the steep, rugged road which led up among the great world of trees. At that hour she felt a slight pang of reproach against the dark forest which had so graciously given and so ruthlessly taken from her one of the dearest rays of sunshine in her life. She knew that the real boy spirit of Forrest had come and gone forever. A realisation came to her during one of her spells of loneliness, however, when a small boy came up to her sobbing. Mother Lee, after some questioning learned that the boy had lost one of his favourite rabbits. "Hush up! Nothing upon this earth was ever made for us to always keep. Nothing solely belongs to us. It is only ours while we have the power to hold it in our possession. God just loaned them to us for a little while. There is never a thing taken out of our lives that we cannot replace with something else, if 102 FROM THE SANDHILLS 103 we learn to appreciate through memory the good and the joy we have had out of the thing we have lost. You have had lots of good times with that little rabbit. Now it's gone. So you must find another, or something else to take its place. God's will must be done. What hap- pened to the rabbit?" "It dug out and Brunell's dog eat it up!" " Well, that's the dog's way of doing things." "But dogs have no right to eat rabbits." "We haven't either, but we do." "But we cook *em." "That's no credit to us. We take the rab- bit's life just the same. It's only a little more civilisation on our part, that's all. As long as we kill and eat rabbits why should we find fault with a dog? Now go and get fifteen cents ' worth of beefsteak for breakfast and tell Honus to throw in a calf's liver. Who's that coming down the road?" "Bob Saunders," answered the boy. "Wonder what ails Bob? This is an unusual hour for him." Mother Lee turned and en- tered the kitchen and put a piece of wood in the stove. "Hello, Mother! Don't fix me anything to eat." "What ails you?" * ' Sick of living ! I 've nothing to live for. ' ' ' ' Shut up your trap ! A healthy young man with the luck you've had in the last five years ! 104 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Everything on your ranch paid for. All stocked up and every inch of your eighty acres under cultivation. What in the name of com- mon sense do you want ? ' ' "God knows!" and the young man dropped wearily into a chair. Mother Lee stood looking at him. He was, in her eyes, an ideal man. His shoulders were broad. He had a well developed chest. His face still held the softness of youth, despite its week's growth of beard. He was carelessly groomed, a button off here and there. And there were numerous barbed wire snags visible in his clothing. His hands were large but well shaped and in general lines expressed gentle- ness. "You want a woman a wife. That's what you want." The young man nearly jumped out of his chair. "Nothing to be ashamed of. What have you been working these five years for, cultivating that ranch? Surely not for yourself alone." After an awkward period Mother Lee turned abruptly upon him. "Why don't you get married?" "Good reason why. Don't know any woman." "Well, why don't you get acquainted?" "Don't know how. It's a cinch you can't go out and buy them like cattle." FROM THE SANDHILLS 105 "If you didn't hoard yourself away on that ranch so much you'd get lots of 'em." " Could you get me a woman, Mother?" ' * I ? Well, I '11 be switched ! A good looking feller like you! Stick around town and go to that Oprey House dance and you'll have all you want to select from." Bob Saunders thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No use. I haven't the nerve. Don't know how to dance, neither." Mother Lee's attention was drawn to some- thing else, and Bob Saunders slipped her mind until the next day. With a little twinkle in her eye she said: " Heard you were hanging around the Oprey House last night ! ' ' Bob became painfully embarrassed. "Well, didn't you teil me to?" said he. * ' No. I told you to mix in. It matters little, being you didn't fix up. If you want to catch a woman's eye you want to spruce up more than you do, ' ' then after a pause : * ' Come to think of it, I have the woman for you." "Who? Where?" 1 ' Down among the sand-hills, with her folks. And she's as anxious to get married as you are. I'll have her come here and visit. She's used to a ranch and knows how to do housework. You'd make an ideal couple." Bob Saunders mopped his brow and settled 106 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD down in a more comfortable, listening attitude, with his strong eyes restlessly following Mother Lee about the kitchen. Suddenly she stopped speaking and looked out the window. ''It's about time for Bardoff to pass. Here ! One of you children go out and watch for him. ' ' "What for?" asked Bob, slightly suspicious of her intentions. "I'll have him go fetch Idy Hutchins in to- morrow." With a bound, Bob made a rush for the door and did not stop until he reached the barn. But Mother Lee paid no attention to him. When Bardoff stopped she went out to the wagon with a loaf of hot bread and gave him instructions, knowing that he would go and get the young woman, rain or shine. Bob Saunders, although he kept well out of Mother Lee's sight, patiently waited for Bar- doff 's return the next day. From the barn loft window he watched a young woman climb from the wagon and hurry into Cottage Home. "Haven't felt well these past few days," greeted Mother Lee. "Thought you wouldn't mind staying in town a few days." "I'm awfully glad you sent for me. I'm so lonesome down there. I want someone to talk to. Mother is so peculiar in some things." "That's a mistake in most mothers. The majority of girls that go wrong have their FROM THE SANDHILLS 107 mothers to blame for their lack of teaching. They are forbidden company at home. Con- sequently, girls steal out and meet fellers. They go alone and under cover because they are afraid of their mothers.*' "What you say is true, Mother Lee. That's why I acted the way I did with Francis. Mother always refused me company, and my loneliness made me take up with him." "That scoundrel had bad intentions, Idy. What you want is a nice feller in your own class. Some nice young man with a good ranch, well stocked. There 's a lot of nice ranchers up north of here with good rigs, where you could get into civilisation now and then. There's a fine young man here, now just come in who is crazy to get married. He 's everything a girl could wish for. What's nicer than a good hus- band and your own home?" The girl's cheeks reddened and Mother Lee had only to glance at her to know what was going through her mind. "You set your cap for him and you'll never be lonesome or have to go back to the sand- hills." The girl had removed her travelling dress and donned a calico one in its stead, while she still listened to Mother Lee : "You peel them taters and at noon you size him up. See if what I say isn't about right." CHAPTER XV HEABTS CORRALLED NOTHING was more interesting to Mother Lee than the marrying of a young couple. When Bob Saunders entered Cottage Home for dinner he looked as "clean as a whistle " as Mother Lee termed it in her mind. His face was shaven, his hair cut, and his boots glistened. Ida, following Mother Lee's instruction, handed Bob his steaming plate and cup of coffee. "He's good looking, isn't he?" whispered Ida. "He's handsome, inside and out." "Does he really want to get married?" "He does, but he's bashful and it's up to you to prod him up." "What can I do?" "Just act as if you had always known him and call him by his first name." Ida kept glancing toward the dining-room door. Mother Lee smiled as she, through the corner of her eye, saw an exchange of glances. 108 HEAETS CORRALLED 109 Bob Saunders was nearing the door and Ida was still looking at him when Mother Lee called out: "Say, Bob, what are you going to do to- night?" " Nothing. " "Would you mind driving out to Decatur's ranch for me?" "What for ? " a disappointed tone in his voice. "I want to send out some clean clothes. You can hitch Babe to the buck-board." "Won't to-morrow do?" "No, to-night." "All right," his voice being drowned by the slamming of the screen door. Mother Lee continued her work. The matter did not come up again until after supper. It was nearly dark and Bob had been more than once at the kitchen door where, each time, he came face to face with Ida who tried to engage him in bits of conversation. "Have you hitched up Babe yet?" called out Mother Lee. "Been hitched for an hour." "Well, here then! Take this bundle along." Bob accepted the bundle indifferently. "Better slip on your hat and ride out with him, Idy. It's a beautiful night and it won't do you any harm." The bundle shot from Bob's hand. The sur- prise overwhelmed him. He hurried to the 110 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD stable, and a few moments later drove up with the irritable grey mare. "Now, Babe, keep your feet when you come to the Big Thompson." "She'll do that all right," spoke up Bob in a cheerful tone as he took the bundle from Ida and stepped aside for her to climb into the rig alone. "We'll take good care of Babe," called back Bob. "See that you do and don't linger at the ranch!" Mother Lee stood on the porch and smiled to herself as she watched them drive away. "Another good job started," she muttered. Her eyes then raised to the inky forest and she remained motionless until the calls of the impatient children brought her back into the kitchen. "Tell us a story." * ' That 's exactly what I intend to do. I 'm go- ing to tell you about Dread, ' ' and she took a seat beside the window. "Dread is a great big monster with a thou- sand legs. He is always behind you and fol- lows you wherever you go. You cannot run away from him, dodge nor escape him. When once he gets the upper hand he can do so much damage to you. When he gets those thousand legs wound about you, you get indigestion right away, and the little master, 'I,' within your HEARTS CORRALLED 111 brain becomes so tired that he is ready to lie down and die. What a shame that you let such a creature destroy your young lives when you have dominion over all things; the power to avoid this monster altogether. How? The simplest way in the world. Dread begins to follow you as soon as you are born and many people have gone through life without recognis- ing him. But the time has come when he must be obliterated from your lives, and the only sure cure is : the moment you have a task to per- form, go at once and do it. In that way you can overpower this hideous monster. If you have a duty to perform, don't hesitate! Get it over with as soon as possible. "It is not for you to shiver and tremble, but learn to get a strong, firm grasp on yourself and face any duty like a soldier of God. You must always have your storm coats ready, to face any kind of weather as you walk forth into the blind future, and never put off for a second anything you have to do. Come! Brace up and use your sabres and fight. Don't let Dread get a hold on you. Don't try to crawl out of your share of work but pitch right in and before you know it, the time will come when Dread will grow weary of following you and will die by the wayside." Mother Lee stirred a little from her cramped position beneath the weight of several leaning children and in a changed tone of voice ordered 112 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD them to bed. As they left her side, one by one, she called out : "To-morrow, let one and all of you start a new day by fighting off this big monster, Dread." An hour later found Mother Lee still in her chair, patiently watching for the return of the two she had brought together and had so adroitly sent on the night errand. She quickly arose at the first sound of their return and went out and stood on the porch as they entered the drive-way. The clear young voices coming in advance through the night air sent their message of hap- piness to her. She returned to the kitchen sat- isfied that another of God's matches had been perfected. The next morning Mother Lee sent Ida up- stairs on an errand and kept Bob in the kitchen just long enough to ask : "Well, what are the prospects?" Bob grew nervous and shoved his hands into his hip pockets. "I'm satisfied. Is she!" he answered. "Don't you think that's for you to find out?" 1 * You do it, Mother. You have the faculty of bringing deals to a close. It will take me six months, and I'm satisfied to hook up at once." "My!" called Mother Lee. "Idy!" "Yes, ma'am." HEARTS CORRALLED 113 "Come down stairs! Here! Come back, Bob!" Bob Saunders was hurrying out of the door. * ' One would think you were going to be mur- dered." Bob re-entered the kitchen just as Ida made her appearance. * * I feel a little weak, Idy. Come and mix this bread for me." Ida obeyed and Mother Lee sat down and be- gan looking over some mending. "Why should people fear marriage! It's the most common occurrence we have on earth. Where the greatest trouble lies is in too much calculation. Impulse comes with the first meet- ing of two people and if that impulse is natural and favourable it will never change in a thou- sand years. Why put off, and add on worry? Courtship is all right for the rich who place no value on time, but we poor people must plan differently. Marriage, at every angle, is a lot- tery. Man was created for woman, and woman for man. Why blush and try to hide your feel- ings ? If God ever mated two people, he mated you two. It was His will that you should meet and it is His will that you unite and spend the rest of your lives together. Idy, here, is a good housekeeper and you, Bob, are a good pro- vider." Ida's face had grown red, apparently from her exertion and her listening at the same time, 114 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD while Bob, still bashful, looked earnestly toward the girl. "You are both young and healthy and can do much for your country. Good people and good children are always needed in God's world. Divide that dough into seven loaves. What kind of a house have you, Bob?" "It ain't good enough for a woman to live in," nervously pulling at the linen collar about his neck. "Has it a good roof?" "Oh, yes!" "Well, it's eight months until the real cold weather sets in. Couldn 't you and Idy put your heads together and have a house put up to your mutual liking?" "Sure! If she's willing." "Oh, Mother Lee! You talk so plain," and Ida attempted to hide her face from Bob. "How else should I talk? God's bargains should be talked plainly, and you and Bob are God's children the same as the rest of us." "How shall I let my people know?" "Decatur '11 be here in the morning." "Oh, I don't want to go home!" protested Ida. "Well then, send word to your folks," and Mother Lee arose and began putting the pans of dough on the back of the stove. "Go wash your hands, and while the coast is clear you can write your note." HEARTS CORRALLED 115 Ida quickly obeyed and clearing away one side of the bench-like table, she took ink and paper and began. Looking suddenly up, her eyes met Bob's. Her face grew scarlet. Bob turned suddenly and looked out of the door. "Oh, I can't think what to say!" shyly com- plained Ida. "Go help her, Bob! Don't stand there like a ninny-hammer ! ' ' Bob tossed his hat into a corner and went quickly to Ida 's aid and sat down beside her on the chair which she willingly shared with him. Mother Lee pretended that she did not see them as she went about her work, but her heart beat with secret joy as she witnessed the pret- tiest and purest of love scenes. Now and then she caught a drift of their joint letter. "How do you spell your name, Bob?" 1 ' B-o-b S-a-u-n-d-e-r-s. ' ' A few seconds of silence followed. "How do you spell love?" "Golly, I've never spelled it before. Put it down L u v I guess that's clear enough." "L-o-v-e," spelled Mother Lee. "Love!" they both repeated as they looked into each other 's eyes. Mother Lee watched the true meaning of the word sink slowly into their young hearts. Ida was the first to let her eyes turn away. 116 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "You ain't going to cry, are you?" earnestly asked Bob. "No. We must finish our letter." For the next few moments Ida slowly worked her pen over the half blank page, then she whis- pered : ' ' How do you spell husband ! ' ' "H u s b e n," answered Bob, proudly in an undertone. After another brief silence they turned to- ward Mother Lee. "The letter's finished. Now what must we do?" "Bob must go and see the marshal." "What for?" "The license, of course." "Oh " and again Bob's nerves got the bet- ter of him. "What ails you I It's the same as paying your taxes only you ask for a marriage license instead." * * We 'd better wait till after dinner, ' ? quickly added Bob. "Go at once and don't backwater! This is a joint affair and nobody's business. After you have seen the marshal, hunt up the Baptist Minister. Better go along with him, Idy. He 's liable to get things all balled up." Ida, in a business sort of fashion, went and changed her dress and soon returned. "Come on, Bob! We won't blunder." HEARTS CORRALLED 117 Something in Ida's cheerful, confident laugh changed the whole aspect of the affair and Bob grew brave. He even grew so brave as to catch her hand and hurry her along the red-brick walk. A smile of extreme contentment crossed Mother Lee 's wrinkled face and her eyes lit up with an expression of joy for she knew that only good could come from such a marriage. She turned her attention back to the kitchen, but in spite of her well controlled matter-of-fact man- ner, she more than once caught herself peering down the red-brick walk. At last she was satis- fied. She greeted them on their return. "How'd you make out?" "He misunderstood, and married us right up." * ' So much the better. Now, Idy, pitch in and help me with the dinner and Bob, you go kill a couple of chickens and we '11 have the wedding feast and the regular dinner the same time." At sundown, Mother Lee called Bob Saund- ers to one side and asked him if he had plenty of everything on the ranch. Bob wasn't sure. "Idy!" suddenly called out Mother Lee, "I think you and Bob had better get ready and drive out to the ranch and look things over. A woman will know what's needed better than a man. Start right in and get your heads to- gether and fix up for the winter. ' ' 118 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Before she had finished speaking, Ida had started for the adjoining room to change her dress and Bob had his hand upon the latch. A half hour later Mother Lee went out to see them off. ' ' Here, take this beefsteak, this bread and this pot of beans, and I think you 'd better take this extra blanket. When you get out a ways, wrap it about your shoulders, Idy! It's kinda chilly, out." "Good night, Mother Lee," they called out from far down the road. "Come back in a day or two." "We will." As the last sound of the wagon wheels died away in the silence of night, Mother Lee still stood in the middle of the brick driveway. She experienced a strange shiver as she, for the first time, realised the swiftness of the meeting and marriage of the two young people. "Why not?" she murmured. "A girl's life is a lottery anyway you put it. A hurried up marriage is a thousand times better than a run- away match at any rate." With a perfectly contented mind, Mother Lee looked at the heavens which flashed a million clear stars. She then let her eyes lower to the dark outline of the forest. A dozen faces, the ones in which she had the greatest personal in- terest, floated across her vision. She hesitated just long enough to wonder how they were all HEARTS CORRALLED 119 faring when her attention was suddenly drawn to a number of anxious children looking up at her. " Where have they gone, Mother Lee?" "Out to Bob's ranch to build up a home where they can take good care of all the little human seeds the good God-farmer allots them." She turned abruptly and was followed into the kitchen by a happy little flock her "fledge- lings." CHAPTER XVI CHOKECHERRYING ON a lofty shelf of black rock, Forrest stood a tall, straight figure, clad in brown corduroy, with face and arms equally as brown. He looked down into a sea of mist. The dark forms of the cling- ing boulders which nature had chiselled into mysterious shapes grew fainter and fainter un- til he could see them no longer. Far below from beneath the vapour slowly ascended a ball of fire. As it crept higher and higher it looked to Forrest like a mighty opal. Wavering in its ascent, it dipped and redipped beneath the misty surface until its fiery brim slashed through, and when the gaping wound closed in, it seemed to him as if the sun were afloat on a sea of blood. For a few seconds only, it rested its active body. Then as if by sudden impulse it sprang into the clear blue sky, leaving behind reflections which drove away the remaining mist, and unsealed a world of green, velvety valleys and the purple peaks beyond. Although a sunrise in the mountains always left a strong impression upon Forrest's mind, 120 CHOKECHEKRYING 121 there was still a deeper feeling of joy tingling through his young veins. He was to meet Fern. While he waited on the ledge of rock, Fern drowsily aroused her- self with a feeling of dread in raising her eyes toward the east lest she should see too soon what the day had in store for her. Suspense at last caught up her gaze and carried it unwillingly to the sky. The greeting there was like a magic touch. It brought her hastily from her bed. Her eyes lingered a moment to catch the effect. A path paved with pure, white clouds, dappled with rosy-red, was over-hung by a canopy of the bluest sky. The dark green trees on either side of the gorge leading down into the valley, were like great black figures pushed aside by the glare of the approaching light which flooded the imprisoned space that distance had narrowed to a funnel-shape. Slowly it came like an advance guard, flourishing its rays in warning gestures to announce the coming of the sun, the world's royal and most welcome guest. It filled her with enthusiasm for the day would be fair and bright. She thought only of the programme which Forrest and she had planned. Chokecherry season had begun and it was their intention to get an early start. So she hur- riedly dressed and went to the breakfast table where she divided her time between eating and preparing a lunch. She finished both on her way to her mother's room. 122 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD She was about to enter when she overheard her sister say: "Fern must not go chokecherrying to- day. " She waited to hear no more but rushed to her own room. "Come! Come, Miss Fern! The sun is high!" She sprang to the window and waved her hand in frightened gestures to silence the re- peating of the words, but the thick foliage pre- vented Forrest seeing her, and he continued to call even louder than before. Fern grew fran- tic in her excitement, so eager was she to let him know that something had gone wrong within the home, and seizing the first object her hands fell upon, a flower pot, she hurled it through the open window. She watched it go tearing down among the branches of the trees until she heard it strike. A tin pail went rattling along the gravel walk. Half fearful of what she had done, she rushed from her room down the stairs and out of the house into the grounds. She saw Forrest leaning against a tree, with a handker- chief to his forehead. She stood motionless as he came toward her. "I'm sorry, Miss Fern, I called you." "Then you know why I threw the jar?" she asked. "Yes! You meant to warn me. What was the matter?" CHOKECHEEEYING 123 "Let's hurry away. Sister doesn't want me to go chokecherrying. ' ' Fern was frightened for Forrest could not check the blood that ran down his cheek and stained his shirt. He tried to console her by saying: "Scratches bleed more than deep cuts. Water will stop it," and they started off to the spring. Fern sank upon the trunk of a fallen tree and watched Forrest bathe the wound until it stopped bleeding. Forrest then took up the lunch basket and they started down into a mountain valley. They waded through patches of wild flowers which permeated the air with perfume, and they groped their way beneath restless quaken-asps until they reached the creek. They sank upon its grassy bank. While they ate their lunch they wove a basket from the tender shoots of the weeping willows. When it was finished they crossed on a fallen tree to the opposite side of the creek where the boughs of the chokecherry trees were touching the ground from the weight of the ripened fruit. While they heaped their baskets they ate and ate, until their lips and throats were puckered. They laughed and chatted as the moments went galloping by. Forrest unconsciously caught the hour of the day by the sun. They were startled. He grabbed up the baskets 124 THE EDGE OF THE WOKLD and they started back by way of a cattle trail, and as they hurried along a shadow of melan- choly stole gradually over them. It was a sen- sation that neither understood. They just looked sad and hurried along and watched the sun grow larger as it sank lower and lower, un- til it reached the purple peaks in the distance, where it seemed to rest long enough to lift a mighty shield, studded with glittering jewels of various shades, to protect itself from the per- sistent darkness. All at once it disappeared, leaving behind a crimson trail that streaked the western horizon. They were crossing a barren stretch of land, dotted here and there with red and yellow cac- ti. Scarcely had they reached its centre when they were confronted with a sight that almost paralysed them with fright. Tearing toward them, maddened by the heat and coming like the wind in a cloud of dust, with lowered head and foaming jaws, bellowing and snorting as he tore up the earth, was a wild-eyed mountain bull. For one brief moment Fern lost control of her- self, but no sooner had she regained her sense of reason than she felt herself jerked from her feet and rushed through the air. As she hung flabbily over Forrest's shoulder, her eyes felt as if they were being dragged from their sock- ets. With every step of Forrest's flying feet, Fern felt that the next would be their last, so closely were they pursued by the bull. The next CHOKECHERRYING 125 instant she felt herself flying through space, but when she regained her feet she found that a wire fence stood between her and danger. She had been saved. Saved, only to suffer a greater torture, for a fierce battle was being fought be- fore her eyes. The gruesome sight turned seconds into hours, and she crawled on her hands and knees to the side of the fence to separate if possible, the two objects which seemed moulded into one shapeless mass of moving flesh that plunged and leaped into the air, only to fall back again upon the ground in the deadly struggle. As great clouds of dust rose high above their heads, a heavy wail fell from Forrest's lips. There was a parting of the two objects. With a groan of exhaustion Forrest sank to his knees. His head dropped heavily upon his breast and blood trickled down his cheek. But he had scarcely time to catch his breath before the mad bull was again dashing at him. For- rest sprang to one side and with all his might sank his hunting knife into the white breast of the infuriated beast. The dust again encircled them, but Fern well knew the meaning of the low bellow that rent the air and went echoing far into the canyon beyond. Slowly the dust was disappearing. Slowly Fern arose to her feet and more slowly still she drew her hand across her eyes a second time, perhaps to brush away the scene, but it 126 THE EDGE OF THE WOELD only made it more vivid. She would have wel- comed death, gladly, to what she saw. The mountain shadows were slowly creeping toward two forms stretched out upon the field. The massive head and shoulders of the bull lay motionless across the muscular form of Forrest, and from two wounds, the one dyeing the white breast of the bull, the other standing out in a red, glaring line across the forehead of Forrest trickled their lifeblood. Crawling through the fence, Fern hurried to Forrest and fell upon her knees. She wiped the blood from his wound with her handkerchief and began to weep, for from every indication he was dead. With all her strength she struggled to lift the carcass that pinned Forrest's body to the earth, but its great head only rolled back to glare at her with its glassy eyeballs. A loneliness, caused by Forrest's silence, crept over her. A yearning burned deep within her breast. She did not want to speak. She threw her arms about his neck and closed her eyes. She, too, wanted to die to go with him. But suspense prompted her to turn searchingly to the western sky, still red from the glow of a glorious sunset. "Till death do us part," she uttered aloud, repeating Forrest's words. Forrest stirred. She glanced at him, quickly. He was looking at her. CHOKECHERRYING 127 "Are you hurt, Miss Fern?" "Oh, no, but you are." "I'm all right," he said smilingly as he started to release himself. She saw that he was too weak and quickly seized the dead bull by the horns, lifted its head enough to let Forrest worm out and stagger to his feet. He raised his hand wearily to the painful wound on his forehead. A mist came into Fern's eyes and in a choked voice she tried to tell him how sorry she was for throwing the flower-pot. With a touch of seriousness he said as soon as he was rested : "Bull-fighting and your tears are both new to me. Somehow I would rather fight a bull than see you cry. ' ' Only once did they glance back at the lifeless form of the bull stretched out upon the ground and soon to be devoured by the starving coyotes. They journeyed along, crawling over fallen timber, frightened birds from their nests, rous- ing the scolding little chipmunks, pushing boul- ders over steep embankments to hear their sounds go echoing through the mountains. All this they did as children would do, forgetting their sorrows, for they were only children after all. CHAPTER THE BOY TBAMP 4 < "W" "W" ELLO, Mother ! ' I "Who is it?" "You strike a light and take M JL a look at me. " "Come in!" and Mother Lee pushed aside a number of children from her chair at the win- dow. "It's daddy!" whispered Mary Grimes. Mother Lee crossed the kitchen and struck a match. After lighting the only lamp in the house she peered blinkingly at a rather short, neatly dressed man. "Well, I'll be switched! What happened to you?" "Come to my senses, that's all. I've kept off the stuff since you saw me last ; got a good job ; foreman at the new water-works, and I'm mar- ried again." "Well, what do you want here?" "My children." Mary seized her two younger brothers and stood defying her father. "It's about time. Will this woman be good to them?" 128 THE BOY TRAMP 129 "You know the Wilson girls ?" "I do." "It's the oldest one." "She's the proper caper. She'll make you toe the mark. Are you keeping house?" "Got a dandy home of our own at the new reservoir." "Going to take the children with you to- night?" "Thought I would less comment, don't you think?" Mary began to sob and seeing their sister in grief, the brothers burst into tears. "Hush up!" commanded Mother Lee. "You're not going to that shack on the big ditch but to a good home, near enough to visit me often," and Mother Lee helped Mary bundle up their belongings, and later assisted the children into a four seated carriage. "Is this your rig?" "Yes." ' "You deserve credit, Grimes." "The credit belongs to you, Mother. You did it all." "No, you're mistaken. It's the little bit of good in you that had to come out. Goodnight and God protect them children," mopping their wet, sobbing faces with a cloth she had in her hand. 4 ' Hush up ! One would think that Satan was taking you off. Your father has promised me 130 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD he 'd be good to yon. You go and watch and see that he keeps his promise," chucking the youngest under the chin. The grating of wheels on the brick driveway drowned the crying of the children and the dark- ness hid their appealing gestures but Mother Lee knew without seeing, all that was going on. She stood for a long time, very still, for to her another ray of sunshine had passed out of her life. She spoke aloud: "Hold no regrets for them that go Out of your life, perhaps to stay, Fill up the space that's in your heart And pray for them that's on their way." Mother Lee had become so used to the con- stant changing of faces that it seemed perfectly natural for old ones to go and new ones to come. In fact that was the only interest the only pleasure she had encountered in life. It was all she had to look forward to to keep her up and ever working. The sun was the first to greet her in the morning and the moon and stars the last at night. All else came in between and the more she could crowd into a day the bet- ter satisfied she was. The young about her al- ways kept her young in ideas and active of body. No adversity ever arose in which she did not take an interest and in some shape or form changed it for the better. She was never too tired to listen to and advise those who came to THE BOY TRAMP 131 her for advice. So the empty space in her heart for the Grimes children was filled the very next morning when a tired, haggard-faced youth knocked at the kitchen door and with his coat collar turned up, partly covering his face, asked for something to eat. " Walk in, sir!" The youth hesitated. "No, ma'am. I'd rather have it out here." Mother Lee peered steadily at him, then opened the screen door and commanded : "Come in the house and wait on yourself! I've no time." He entered timidly and looked searchingly about. Spying a crust of fresh bread on the hearth, he seized it and began choking it down. Mother Lee snatched the crust from his hand. ' * Here ! Drink this cup of broth and let the bread alone!" The youth took the cup and drank the broth in one swallow, then looked eagerly for more. "That's all you'll get for awhile. Go over there in that corner and sit down and rest your- self!" He looked toward the door. Mother Lee guessed his intention and said: "Get over there out of sight ! You're safe." He obeyed. "Why do you keep that filthy rag to your face? Here! Take this one and throw that in the stove!" 132 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD The exchange was done so quickly that Mother Lee did not see the lower part of the youth's face, but not quick enough to prevent her from reading the frightened expression in his eyes. She dipped out a few more spoonfuls of broth into the cup and handed it to him. "Here! Drink this, and then take that blanket and pillow and crawl in behind the stove and go to sleep ! When you wake up I will give you something to eat." His eyes again grew wild. He looked toward the door. "Have no fear. No one comes here until noon and you can be gone by then. I'll bring no harm to you." He stared into her eyes for a few seconds and the something he saw there caused him to lower his head and burst into tears. "Come, Come! Your brain is tired. You need rest." She half assisted him to the dark corner of the kitchen, and spread the blanket and laid the pillow down. "Crawl in and cover up!" He did as he was told and soon was asleep. Mother Lee went about her work, now and then stopping long enough to look into the cor- ner. The youth had turned in his sleep so that his face was fully exposed. THE BOY TRAMP 133 Mother Lee studied it closely, but detected no trace of crime. "Only a pale wayward son of some good mother," she argued to herself. The youth's nerves jerked and his body often turned restlessly. Once he called out: "I didn't do it! I tell you, I didn't do it!" That was sufficient evidence for Mother Lee, so she quietly waited for him to awaken. It was long after sundown and the chores had been finished. The children were curiously staring back of the stove when Mother Lee, with another cup of broth stooped down and roughly aroused the sleeper to a sitting position. "Come! Drink this!" He reluctantly obeyed before he was fully awake. After she had placed the cup on the table he started up but fell back crying: "I'm sick! I can't go any farther. Let me die!" He again sank into a sleep. Mother Lee pulled open his shirt from about his throat and roughly washed his face and hands. She noticed from his clothing that he had come from a reformatory and she knew that he must have walked all the way, judging from the worn condition of his shoes which she had one of the children remove. "He's a fugitive from justice, but we'll let him rest till morning." 134 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD The children looked up and smiled their inno- cent sanction. Mother Lee wound the little battered alarm- clock and joined the children and soon they were all nestled in the big bed while she mechanically told a goodnight story. Her mind trailed from place to place and she wondered if all were well here and there. Her last thought was of Forrest. She had seen him but a few times since he left her. She often felt lonesome for him but she never complained beyond her thoughts. The new face back of the stove gave her much interest and twice during the night she arose and went and looked at the sleeping youth, sleeping off complete ex- haustion. She knew for she felt regularity in his pulse. As daylight broke in through the curtainless windows Mother Lee had already started the fire, and the sliding of pots and pans on the stove awoke the youth. He sat up and stared at her. "Go wash your face and hands and fetch me in an armful of wood ! Since my boy Forrest has gone there's no regularity in the wood box." The youth quickly responded but he staggered from weakness. Mother Lee pretended not to have noticed it. "It's the only way to get him on his feet," she thought. THE BOY TRAMP 135 She made him a bowl of gruel and milk which he ate with eagerness and asked for more. * * Starved stomachs must not be crammed. ' ' For hours the youth sat in the kitchen humped up in a chair never lifting his eyes. If anyone entered he would suddenly disappear behind the stove. Once he was caught unawares and Mother Lee pushed his head down back of the stove. She did this more to gain his confidence. As the day wore into another night and as the youth was regaining his strength he eagerly accepted the protectorate of Mother Lee. His big, haunting eyes followed her every movement, fully assured that she was his friend. The kitchen had gradually grown dark and quiet. The children had gathered around Mother Lee who, at last, took a seat at the win- dow and looked out on the moonlit world. "When the God-farmer planted his human seeds he didn't expect them all to come out per- fect, but he did expect them to join helping hands with one another. Some of us are sure to fall by the wayside and get caught in the storm, but there is no storm too great for us to weather if we make up our minds." Mother Lee turned her head in the direction of the dark corner. "Come, boy! Fetch your chair over here with us." He gladly accepted the invitation. 136 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "What is your name?" "Homer Wright." "Homer, you're all right." The thought crossed Mother Lee's mind that he was willing to do right and that was all that was necessary. After a moment's pause, Mother Lee con- tinued her story. "We have many storms in our lives. Some- times only shadows and other times terrible storms come along and drive us out into the world away from our friends but never our enemies. We do something that makes us sorry. Perhaps we sin unconsciously and are driven away through fright. Sometimes we are falsely accused and have to suffer because we cannot make our positions clear in the eyes of others. Sometimes we wilfully do a terrible thing and rush away to avoid punishment. But there's one thing you must remember. It doesn't matter how cloudy or stormy life may be, there's always a bit of sunshine ready to pop through." "How?" eagerly asked the youth. "In many ways. It depends much upon the sin. The best and surest way is to undo it if such a thing can be done. Stolen money with interest can be replaced and the storm wiped out if there is a conscience back of it. If we harm some person, time heals all wounds and the judgment day will take care of the rest." THE BOY TKAMP 137 Mother Lee 's reasoning was too deep for the younger children. They were nodding drowsily and she stopped speaking long enough to send them to bed. ' * There is no cure, for a troubled conscience, like a clean breast. Now, Homer, tell me what is on your mind. Whatever it is I will help you. Come, out with it!" For a time the youth sat silently. 4 ' Are your parents living ? ' ' "No," and the youth's nerves started to twitch. "How old are you?" "Sixteen." "You ran away from the reform school?" The youth sprang to his feet. "Don't be afraid! I'll never send you back. Out with it, I say! Didn't you run away from the reform school?" "Yes." "How long have you been there?" "Most all my life." "You don't look like a bad boy." "I'm not, but the school " "Don't find fault with them schools. You show good manners. Go out on the porch and fetch in that biggest tub!" Mother Lee waited until he had placed the tub where she had directed. Pouring a kettle full of boiling water into it, she said : "Now cool that down with water from the 138 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD cistern, then strip off, take a bath and put on them clean clothes ! Don't mind me I Besides, the moon is going behind a cloud." Mother Lee left the kitchen. A while later the youth called out: "I'm finished." "Well, dump the water out on the lawn ! ' ' After the youth poured out the water and turned the tub upside down on the porch he neatly rolled back the sleeves of an undershirt almost double his size and stood waiting. "To-night you sleep upstairs. Take any room you find vacant ! Climb out early in the morning! I want you to go up in the hills to- morrow and take some fresh grub up to Hank Hopkins.' 1 CHAPTER PRINCE ABTHTJB Wl AT a strapping fellow you have grown to be!" proudly exclaimed Mother Lee as "Prince" Arthur entered the kitchen after an absence of several months. "Prince" Arthur scanned his well developed muscles made stronger because of his seven years outdoor life on Dakota 's ranch. He smiled but said nothing as he took a steaming plate from her hand. "He was the quietest and most unassuming of all my * fledgelings '; a chubby little fellow, strong as a young ox. He went about his busi- ness systematically; did his chores; ate his meals and studied his lessons with amazing reg- ularity and was always the most ardent of listen- ers to my bedtime stories. When his father, who is my youngest son, separated from his wife, he brought me that boy, almost a baby, to raise, then went up there in them hills with them wood-choppers and worked like a trooper, with his health all gone. Through study and listen- ing that boy in there has developed a mind of his 139 140 THE EDGE OF THE WOELD own. I predicted that he would be a great rail- road man, but he has mapped out his own career. Got his mind set on music. When he was a little shaver he used to walk three miles and a half to the Bee ranch to practice just one hour on their old tin-pan pianer. Every day after school just as regular as I wind my clock I used to see him heading off over them hills. My, how time flies! That boy's a man already!'* Mother Lee had been speaking to a small, stooped woman, who sat drinking a bowl of coffee at the hearth, and who had stopped in to rest before taking a basket of garden flowers to the little clay cemetery over the hill. Mother Lee scanned the flowers out of the corner of her eye and looked over her glasses at the woman, who seemed to have nothing else to do but place flowers on graves. "I suppose you raise them flowers pur- posely." "Yes. And I do take much pleasure in placing them on those poor, forsaken graves. Nothing will grow there. I asked the Marshal the other day if it wasn't possible to haul dirt up there." "I suppose he told you it would be cheaper to move the gravest" answered Mother Lee. ' ' That 's exactly what he told me. How 'd you know?" and the little old woman peered up quizzically from her bowl of coffee. "I know the Marshal," was the quick reply. PRINCE ARTHUR 141 Mother Lee wasted no more of her time with the neighbour, but it crossed her mind, never- theless, that perhaps it was just as well that someone did look after the dead, for several of the Lees lay up there in the clay. Washday was the most exciting day of the week. It always happened on Saturday when the children were home from school. Mother Lee would build an extra hot fire, put on a big copper boiler and with a twinkle in her eye, call out : "Peel off!" That was the commanding declaration, and like the ant hill suddenly disturbed, her family of "fledgelings" scampered about excitedly. They jostled with pans, tubs, washboards, buckets, mops and brooms. The smaller chil- dren carried soft water from the big ditch, while the older ones dove into the tubs of hot suds. The tots carried the garment as soon as washed to Mother Lee who stood stirring with a broom- handle in the big copper boiler, cleverly conceal- ing the laboriousness of a washday by trans- forming the wash scene into a queen's palace or a general's battlefield, interrupting with the stern command of : "More elbow grease and less soap." At the conclusion of washday, when the buckets and mops were put into execution on the big kitchen floor, the real fun began. Mother 142 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Lee called it the bombarding of her fort. Bare feet and mops went flying about the floor mis- chievously. The work was fast and furious. Then came the cleaning up of the great day ; the clearing of the battlefield. Tubs, mops, wash- boards and buckets were put in their proper places and Mother Lee in the midst of it all was the first to speak. "God bless the hands of invention. We have done a week's work in one day. What in thunderation is that?" Never before had the children seen Mother Lee more frightened. "It's a threshing-machine. They're driving it into my yard. Go stop them ! ' ' But before Mother Lee could finish her com- mand the big, black object had rattled up the drive and stopped in the barn yard. The frightened snorts from a couple of farm horses that hung their heads over the half door of the barn, expressed much the same surprise as had Mother Lee, who with several children hurried out where she met a party of tired and hun- gry tourists in a seven passenger automo- bile. Mother Lee was not a person to express her ignorance, and while she talked to them about accommodations, she eyed keenly the first auto- mobile she had ever seen. "These roads out here are not cut out for automobiles," said one of the men of the party, PRINCE AKTHUK 143 a little later, as Mother Lee prepared their supper. "Them roads were cut out for horses and wagons." "We're looking for a hotel site," the same man continued. Mother Lee gave him a sharp glance for when any one mentioned hotels she felt they were infringing on her rights. ' ' Oh, not like this ! A million dollar affair ! You see, we've got the dope that that road out there, leading up into the mountains will soon be opened to the public." "It always has been a public road and my place here has accommodated all who have travelled it for the last forty years." ' ' Oh, your trade will increase, if the new park which is to be opened is a success. You will see a constant stream of automobiles passing your door." "Passing is right. Doesn't matter to me what they do. I have all the people I want. I have no time for butterfly trade," eyeing con- temptuously an unobserving little blonde who had previously expressed her dislike for the accommodations of Cottage Home. "I see that you cater more to the common people., the ranch men and " "I cater only to my own people; the people who belong to this country. Here ! Take this and go to the dining-room," and Mother Lee 144 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD pushed a steaming plate into his hand. * ' You'll find a knife and fork at the end of the table, and here's your cup of coffee. Where's the rest of your party!" 1 1 On the porch. You see I 'm only the chauf- feur and they'll be sore to find I've been seived first." "Well, I don't know how you differentiate among yourselves but you will all be served alike here," and Mother Lee with the coffee pot still in her hand went to the door and called out: "Come in and get your plates!" The curious little party of four men and a woman filed into the kitchen. "Well, what absurdity! Carry your own dinner to the table ? Not I ! ' ' setting down the plate that she had taken from Mother Lee's hand. "Yes Miss, or Mrs. ; that has always been the custom of my house and I believe in my forty years ' experience you are the first to criti- cise my custom. I heard your comments about my sign above the door. I saw your distaste- ful frown at the sight of my beds. The nights are quite chilly and the houses are few and far between. Now if you care for shelter, respect my roof. I don't care a rap for your money, nor was I placed on earth to accommodate you unless you come half way. My motto is : l God helps them who help themselves,' " again hold- ing the plate to the astonished blonde, adding PRINCE ARTHUR 145 in a lower tone : ' ' You look so nice. Why don 't you act accordingly? I'm disappointed in you." The young woman accepted her dinner and carried it indignantly to the dining-room with- out further question. "Yes, she belongs to the human seed family," spoke Mother Lee in answer to a child's inquiry, "but she grew up in one of them nice gardens where her master, 'I,' was only taught to paint and keep pretty the outside of her house. She has fine qualities within but they have never been developed. She has only clothed her mas- ter, 'I,' in selfishness, and non-consideration. I never want to find such a garment in your little homes. If circumstances permit you to some day step upon the velvet carpets of some rich man's home, don't ridicule it. Don't hurt his feelings. Keep quiet and put up with it." Mother Lee paused at the window and looked out. Her sharp ears had caught the sound of feet on the brick walk. After closely studying the outline of the bent form, she said, as she recognised the General Store-keeper: "Here comes old Brunell with his antedilu- vian bill." CHAPTER XIX THE WIND JUST BLEW HER IN EVERYBODY from the mountains to the valleys was mighty glad that a hard, steady, cold winter was at last over, and one by one the great, silent men from the outside world shed their bungle- some, bearskin coats and furlined rubber boots. The children gladly cast aside their woolen stockings and mittens, and for the last time that winter unwound their two-yard mufflers from their throats. The heavy snows melted away from the white capped mountains and the water came rushing and roaring down out of the mouth of the can- yon, overflowing the banks of the Big Thompson. And Cottage Home was once more surrounded by a clean, green plateau of smooth lawn. Again Mother Lee could look across the low sand-hills and see green spots of alfalfa loom- ing up in the distance and from the location of each particular spot that dotted the vast ex- panse of open country, she well knew its owner. Bob and Ida with their first-born perched up upon the seat between them were again glad to drive down from the north over alkali roads to 146 THE WIND JUST BLEW HER IN 147 visit with Mother Lee and stock up at the Gen- eral Store. Sam Ditmar and Rose came up from the sand- hills in their new surrey with their children all dressed alike in pretty, blue-checked gingham frocks which Rose proudly admitted she had made and cross-stitched in "Flor-de-lee" de- signs. Dakota, with his new tanned Stetson hat and blind indifference to all about him, silently came and as silently went with his grub-box tucked full, and his two barrels of mineral water from the town 's artesian well. " Prince" Arthur, who with his father, had rented on shares an old, deserted ranch and had begun a year's crop on a scanty start, athletic- ally walked in across the open country to Cottage Home for exercise, as he gave the others to un- derstand, when in reality it was to spare his tired plow-horses the long trip. It was also in his mind to walk a mile or so out of his way to stop for a little practice on the old square piano at the Bee ranch. Bardoff, fatter and rounder than ever, pulled up his shaggy team to a stop in front of Cottage Home and climbed out of his rickety lumber- wagon as he cheerfully scented the odour of fresh bread. Young Homer Wright, "Homer the Great," as Mother Lee had nicknamed him, gladly stole down from the mountains to talk over his fu- 148 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD ture with her and take back a fresh supply of grub and clothing for the trappers. Sweet William, who seemed to have come from nowhere and who apparently lived for the sole privilege of painting Mother Lee's house, barn and fence, came out of his winter shell for his sun-bath on the wood-pile. The Swedes from the stone-quarries and plaster-mills came in afoot for a new supply of shoes and alcohol. Old Dave, in his shabby sheep-skin coat, drove down from the timberlands to the barn, un- hitched and fed his horses and lumbered into the kitchen. "How's s Forrest?" was Mother Lee's first question. Old Dave shrugged his shoulders with indif- ference. " Chuck's all right. Big as a bear 'nd strong as an ox." While Old Dave ate his dinner, Mother Lee wrapped up some clean clothes, a few cookies and a number of apples in a bundle for Forrest and had one of the children tie it to Old Dave 's wagon-seat, she never relying on his memory for anything. From a servant who had come down for mail and provisions, Mother Lee learned that the Dales were still in the land of the living. The medium of everybody's welfare, first doing this and then doing something else, help- THE WIND JUST BLEW HER IN 149 ing, scolding, and advising each in turn, Mother Lee kept the ball a-rolling as she trotted along in her busy life. "Work, eat and sleep and feed them moss- backed hermits/' she said, "is what has made my wheel of life go 'round and 'round for these three score years and ten." A new member of interest had come into her life. "The cold winter winds just blew her in," was Mother Lee's explanation of the sudden appearance of Maud, a buxom lass in her teens. But Mother Lee knew she had come of a no- good family that had been driven from a neigh- bouring town. Maud was strong and used to hard work. She could turn out the heaviest kind of a washing in less time than anyone who ever put a foot inside Cottage Home. Work to her was like play, so Mother Lee contrived a scheme that gave Maud an opportunity to make some extra money and start a bank account. She had her take in the washings such as the white shirts, collars and cuffs of the town bachelors, the marshal ; the druggist, who was also the doctor and dentist; the General Storekeeper and the saloon-keeper, when the town wasn't dry. All this Maud did during her spare time, and she found much pleasure watching her small change grow into half dollars and into dollars now and then. 150 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD After she had been well established in Cottage Home and was like one of the family, Mother Lee's eagle eye observed that Bardoff was coming along and stopping before Cottage Home more frequently than was his custom, and it was not the odour of fresh bread, either, that attracted him. ' 'The old fossil!" Mother Lee remarked one day to one of his friends. "He's old enough to be Maud's grandfather." Bardoff heard of the remark and for a long time his wagon would rattle at full speed past Cottage Home as if the Devil was in hot pur- suit. As time wore on and the odour of fresh bread began to predominate, Bardoff discarded his grievance and again pulled up before Cottage Home, but he avoided Maud who faithfully con- tinued to iron shirts and save money. Mother Lee grew very fond of Maud, who had a sad expressionless face. Her thin, light hair was always combed back from her high, broad forehead a forehead made to appear still higher by the absence of eyebrows but a fore- head which Mother Lee often said "was full of good, sound horse-sense." Her lips were thick and ordinarily expressed hatred of her- self and the world in general, yet there was never a grain of hatred in her make-up. The only beauty in her face, was in her large, honest blue eyes, so filled with kindness and love for THE WIND JUST BLEW HER IN 151 everything. Her large, raw-boned joints and her big red hands provoked many a colloquial remark, such as : 1 ' She 's a strappin ' heifer, isn 't she ! ' ' But such unkind expressions never disturbed Maud in the least. She would only smile, and look at Mother Lee who never failed to comfort her by saying: " Never mind, Maud will yet put you all in the shade." CHAPTER XX THE SPIDEB AND THE LADY-BUG OLD Dave's trips down the mountain road with his loads of ties were more eagerly watched by Forrest than ever before. He scarcely waited for his father to start away before he arranged his toilet and prepared to spend an afternoon with Fern. The cold winter months that had separated them produced quite a change in Fern, to For- rest's way of thinking. She appeared much older. Her dresses were longer and her curls were brushed and tied in a silky knot at the back of her head. She had grown more re- served. In fact there was something about her that worried him. It often popped up in his mind to ask her if she had changed her views about, "till death do us part," but for some un- known reason he could never muster up the courage to ask the question. The very sight of her pretty eyes looking into his or the glimpse of her delicate form tripping along ahead of him made him fearful that her answer might be worse than death. At every opportunity he would unconsciously scrutinise her. 152 THE SPIDER AND THE LADY-BUG 153 ' * What makes you look at me so ? " she often asked. He would quickly shift his eyes. He wanted to say, " because I love you," but again he was afraid and just said something of no importance. Sometimes she poised so charmingly upon the moss-covered rock, that he was on the point of seizing her in his arms to kiss her, but his will- power always predominated, yet with such dif- ficulty at times that his face would turn pale and Fern would ask: "Are you ill?" He would laugh away her anxiety or divert her attention to some new subject of no particu- lar interest. He was glad when he knew the material part of himself, as he fully understood from Mother Lee's teachings, was conquerable. What right had he to seize Fern and kiss her without her permission, just because she was so beautiful to him, when as yet, they had only the solemn agreement of their childhood! "Death do us part" did not necessarily mean that she was to be his wife. He had yet to ask her the question and that was the question he started out with, every time he watched his father drive down to the valley, and that was the question he always brought back, unasked. What was it that had so overcome his determi- nation? Surely, there was not a streak of cowardice in him. He feared nothing. He was prepared to face any kind of storm for he had 154 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD not forgotten Mother Lee's teaching on Fear. Yet his tongue clung to the roof of his mouth whenever he stood beside her or walked with her along the tangled banks of the mountain stream. It was then he did not want to talk. He wanted only to pour forth his feelings in actions; just to hold her in his arms; just to kiss her beautiful face, her hair, her hands which were so small and white. But Fern, to the contrary, held quite a differ- ent opinion of Forrest's behaviour. She no- ticed that he no longer caught her hands and playfully helped her over boulders. He was so pensive. He never talked of the trees nor the sunsets, nor any of the things he used to talk about ; and it seemed so easy for her to drive a smile from his face with some careless phrase or action. But she believed she liked him best whenever a touch of sadness crept into his features. It always sank deeper into her young heart. She believed she liked him best when he was serious when he stood before her with his eyes cast down. Somehow she felt that he, at times, was a part of herself. The last winter's imprisonment behind snow banks had disclosed many revelations in life to Fern, who had spent much of her time reading love stories in books and magazines. And her serious talks with Marie about engagements and marriages had given her the mind of a woman. Day after day before the fire-place, she had THE SPIDER AND THE LADY-BUG 155 built air-castles ; dreamed of the big brown boy and what the following summer would bring to them surely, an engagement like that of her sister's. So, when the snow-banks had melted away and had brought back the sunshine, the forest, and its love-nooks, and the big brown boy, Fern naturally expected some encourage- ment on his part. But as the spring wore into summer she began to misunderstand him. She fancied he no longer cared for her. Yet why did he come to her? Why did he look at her with that expression of love in his eyes? Why did he linger and hesitate before her at their partings? What else could she do except to wait for his coming and wonder why all the "whys" continued. As Old Dave sat blankly jolting on his load of ties as he drove down the picturesque moun- tain road, never hearing nor seeing the rushing and noisy clear waters of the creek that followed all the way down like a playful companion, Forrest and Fern entered one of their favourite haunts, the Seventh Trail. An occasional sun- beam greeted them as they wandered along the path of witchery which led them to various nooks. They sauntered along, sometimes side by side, sometimes Forrest in the lead. Fern's bright eyes expressed keen delight as she fully depended on Forrest for every move and turn they made. lUpon the moss-covered rock, the omen of 156 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Forrest's fear, Fern perched herself and poised her head until her tempting lips almost touched hfs. For once he was powerless to fight off the spell that instantaneously maddened his young brain. Without warning or permission he kissed her. Her blue eyes opened with surprise and flashed resentment as she sprang down from the moss-covered rock. Forrest shame- fully covered his face with his hands and stood embarrassed, so long that Fern finally said : "Well, don't you think we'd better go?" still slightly offended at the deliberate way he went about kissing her. "I want to apologise, Miss Fern. I'm sorry I lost control of myself." "I'll forgive you, but don't you ever dare do that again." They wandered up and down trails, some of which led to parts of the forest they had never visited before. At last they grew tired and stopped to rest beside a tiny stream which flowed from an icy spring that bubbled from be- neath a boulder. Its course was almost hidden among the long grasses. With its frail but per- sistent force, it had furrowed a narrow channel and because of its lasting patience, time alone had contributed a bed of pebbles over which it flowed. It was so narrow that Fern could have bridged it with her hand, and so shallow that she found pleasure peering into its wee depths to catch a glimpse of the little coloured stones that THE SPIDER AND THE LADY-BUG 157 glared at the offending sunlight as they stum- bled along in their stubborn resistance. Forrest and Fern unconsciously began watch- ing a lady-bug descend from her lofty home in the tree bark to sip at the water 's edge and then skip lightly across its rippling surface to the tall grass on the opposite side. They likewise watched her neighbour, a big black spider, descend on his silken thread from his dwelling in a wild rosebush to the tiny stream to play at his old game of skipping up the rippling sur- face and resting on his oars and floating down again. A dozen times or more he made the tiny trip, then suddenly he leaped upward and the next instant the fair lady-bug was wriggling in his grasp. After the struggle had subsided he started up a long blade of grass to his castle in the rosebush. "Poor, harmless little lady-bug, " whispered Forrest. "How it fought for its freedom!'* "But see!" cried Fern, pointing to the spider's home. "See what a beautiful castle it will have to live in. Much nicer than the rough tree bark." Forrest shuddered as he contrasted his be- haviour toward Fern a little while before with that of the big black spider and the lady-bug. "It's only beautiful to look at, Miss Fern, for deep within that web are the remains of many unfortunate lady-bugs. This one is being dragged against its will to that spider's home. 158 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Its frail body will be devoured because it was not given the strength to defend itself against its powerful enemy." "Why are not the strong given the power to protect instead of the power to destroy?" and adding thoughtfully: "Like you protect me, Forrest." Forrest hung his head and his cheeks burned with shame. Fern seized a long branch and with one down- ward stroke, swept away the beautiful castle in the rosebush. For a long time they patiently watched. At last Fern aroused Forrest, saying: "I hope something has happened to him. He was so cruel." Then almost instantly, forgetting her last re- mark, she added: "Do you know, Forrest, when first I saw that spider he reminded me of you because he was so big and strong. It was no more trouble for him to carry that lady-bug than it would be for you to carry me. But now that I know he is so cruel I don't think that he is a bit like you. You could never be cruel like that spider, even if you were he and I were the lady-bug." Forrest did not answer promptly. After a moment's reflection he said: "Would it not be better for us to part for awhile better for us both?" THE SPIDER AND THE LADY-BUG 159 He saw that she did not comprehend, so he quickly added : "I'm older than you, Miss Fern. I know of certain dangers that you perhaps do not. We must not meet alone in the forest again. Some day when I can ask you " A prolonged silence caused Fern to follow his gaze into the tiny stream. Suddenly Forrest aroused himself. "Nothing is the same. We are no longer children." His voice choked. A strange impulse caused Fern to search his eyes, but something in their expression kept her silent, and she sat in a gloomy mood, idly watch- ing him. He began to arrange the wild flowers into a star, but when his design was finished the star was imbedded in the centre of a heart. As Fern took it from his extended hand she held it up with a feeling of disappointment. * ' You haven 't used the prettiest ones. Look ! There are only two kinds here." There was a touch of pathos in Forrest 'a voice as he answered: "When I began, Miss Fern, the sky was blue, the same shade as the larkspur in the star. But now the sky bleeds, like these little flowers, re- sembling a bleeding heart. ' ' As he spoke he raised his brown face to where 160 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD the setting sun had sunk behind a crest of clouds and dyed them scarlet. Without follow- ing his gaze Fern laughed a little mischievously and said: "I can't see the bleeding heart in the sky, Forrest, but I can see it in your eyes." Her innocent words startled him and brought his gaze straight into her eyes. "Can you? Then you will know how hard it will be for me to watch the sunset until my prison sentence is over and I can come back to you.'* She looked at him uncomprehendingly. He caught her hands: "Do you care for me after what I did this afternoon ? ' ' "I love you Forrest, so I can't blame you." Her words came so swiftly from her lips that she blushed. Forrest earnestly continued : "If I stay away and build a home here in the forest as beautiful as you thought the big black spider's was, will you come and share it with me? Will you be my wife?" "Yes. But you will not have to stay away, will you?*' "That is what I intend doing. I'm never coming into your presence again until until I atone for my misbehaviour this afternoon." Something in his firm decision held her silent. They were both silent. The silence between THE SPIDER AND THE LADY-BUG 161 them grew awkward. They arose and started on. Several times their eyes met, but neither of them tried to speak. Her heart was constantly urging her to say something, yet she could find no words to express her feelings. Side by side they journeyed on until the trail narrowed down, then Forrest led the way and she followed close at his heels. Again they reached the moss-cov- ered rock which divided the trail, one branch leading through a dense thicket, the other to her home. Still silent, as Forrest led her to the en- trance of her father's grounds, they gazed at the lead coloured sky. Seemingly, they had been warned of the lateness of the hour, for Forrest turned suddenly and held out his hand a movement Fern knew so well. It was his way of bidding her good night. "It will take four years to do all that I want to do before we can marry. In four years from to-day, I shall be at the moss-covered rock wait- ing for you. I know I shall be there, because I am not going to fail in my purpose." "Four years! That seems so very, very far away," softly spoke Fern. "It must be so, otherwise I'd be a failure in your eyes as well as in Mother Lee's." He paused as Mother Lee's words flashed across his mind. " 'The God-farmer has made you big and strong, Forrest, to do big things ! ' then again "We must act just like the people in Mother 162 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Lee's fairy stories. I'll be the knight to ride away on my steed and find a castle for my princ- ess, and then I shall ride back in triumph and take her home as my queen." A pleasing smile burst through Fern's tears as Forrest spoke while caressing her hand. ' ' Of course we will send our thoughts to meet here in the forest but you must stay home with your mother and learn well, what a girl should know and I must stick to Pop and work and be a man. Until then four years from to-day at sunrise, I shall return, and if the God-farmer has not mismated his seeds we shall meet to marry and never part again. Good-by until then. Good-by I shall come." Fern's hands fell limply from his grasp and Forrest turned and like a young frightened deer leaped through the underbrush and was gone. CHAPTER XXI MOTHEB LEE'S NEST BUTLDEKS THE twilight found Old Dave puffing automatically at his pipe beside the door of his cabin his chair tilted back and his head resting lazily on a protruding log. His brain was a blank as usual. He only knew that he shared the cabin with his son and that was all there was to it. But Forrest, a counterpart of his father in physique, was a magnet of thinking, planning, scheming, in the pure and perfect coherence of Mother Lee's training. He had given him- self four years to accomplish a purpose and that purpose was to build an ideal home and to bring to that home the little girl of smiles and pretty sayings. He had decided upon a spot. It was on his father's land. During the day- time while he worked with his father he selected choice logs and granite rocks and laid them aside until the day's work was done. He then car- ried them on his strong shoulders to the place of his sacred dream. His father often looked on indifferently but 163 164 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD never asked what his son's intentions were, not even when he saw the foundation looming up on the top of a round, smooth knoll a founda- tion which had taken Forrest the greater part of the summer to construct. Forrest continued however, keeping his ideas secretly within his breast, but he found some of his work impossible to perform for the want of proper tools, so he went down from the moun- tains to pour out his plans and his grievances to Mother Lee. " Necessity is the mother of invention. Go fetch Ward's catalogue and we'll look it over. If them tools don't cost too much, we'll just send away for them." Forrest brought the catalogue and together they looked over the illustrations, but the prices were beyond their limited means, and Forrest said: "I could make that one, myself, if I had the steel." ' ' There 's lots of steel along the railroad track, and those timber spikes make dandy chisels," spoke up one of the younger boys. "That's a bully suggestion. All I'll need to buy then, will be a few good knives," added Forrest, thoughtfully. "You write your letter to Ward and I'll rob the match can," Mother Lee answered cheer- fully. Forrest's face, still boyish, lit up with a smile MOTHER LEE'S NEST BUILDERS 165 of satisfaction. He knew that Mother Lee would help him. It was not within him to ask any favours from his father. Somehow he could never get acquainted with him, as much as he longed to do so. His father had never of- fered him money. In fact he had never seen his father with any. Old Dave's expenses were very small. The price of a load of ties kept Forrest and him several months in both food and clothing. He had in no way changed his mode of living. He still did his cooking. The only difference was, he cooked a little more and shoved part of it onto another plate. At times it was scanty and Forrest's young and vigorous appetite craved for more but he never asked for it simply tight- ened his leather belt and convinced himself that he was satisfied. Sundays and week-days were alike to Old Dave and naturally Forrest believed as his fa- ther believed, so he took advantage of the day- light that belonged to him, and worked after hours upon his home. Three hundred and sixty-five days, and four times that amount was the extent of time he allotted himself. Many and many a night these figures blazed in his young brain while he lay on his back resting and listening to the deep snores of his father, who always fell into a sound sleep as soon as his head touched his pillow. It was never with regret that he thought of 166 the long days ahead of him, but with a calcula- tive mind. He planned to work on the exterior of his house during the summer months and on the interior during the winter. So when winter again flashed its chilly garments of icy snows, Forrest was always found, during the one hour of daylight before darkness set in, carrying some piece of furniture that had been built from one of his chosen logs, and designed partly from illustrations and partly from ideas of his own. Old Dave, when the nights were too cold, sat tilted against the logs on the inside of the cabin. The only sound that disturbed the silence was the smacking of his lips as he puffed his pipe, and the cutting and scraping of Forrest's knife on some block of wood. Forrest's heart swelled with delight when he had finished his first piece of carving. He had secretly clipped from an old magazine which little Fern had unconsciously carried from her home, a coloured illustration of a furnished house, an illustration which she with much in- terest, pointed out to him. He was determined to follow out every detail of the illustration. He had previously shown it to Mother Lee and she felt positive that he could duplicate it. But still he was in doubt. He explained to her that he did not know how he was going to duplicate the draperies, the books, the china and the rich carpets. Mother Lee was positive that if he could carve MOTHER LEE'S NEST BUILDERS 167 out the picture frames and make the book cases and the china closet, the rest would come. " Where there's a will there's a way." Her words pleased him and sent him back up into the mountains to work with greater en- thusiasm. After Forrest had gone, Mother Lee pon- dered over his predicament. In her mind she did not know how he was going to accomplish his aim, but she felt, to one so faithful as For- rest, all things would come and that nothing was too good. Often, through the quiet of twilight, she sent a prayer up among those dark, shadowy trees to the cabin where she knew Forrest sat diligently absorbed in his most sacred task. "Hello!" came a sweet, girlish voice into the kitchen. It was like the soft sweet voice of a fright- ened child. Mother Lee glanced up quickly. It was three o'clock in the afternoon, the time she always sat down to scrape and eat an apple. "Upon my soul! Come in, girl!" The screen door opened quickly and Fern with soiled dress and streaks of charcoal on her face, entered. "I ran away for a little while I walked and walked then a man came along and I rode on a load of ties, but I just had to come I had to see you." Breathless from excitement Fern brushed off her dress and sat down and waited for Mother Lee to speak. 1 'See me? What about?" Mother Lee's voice was so encouraging that Fern broke forth enthus ; astically. "It's about Forrest I'm so lonesome. He stays away we're engaged aren't engaged people allowed to see each other? Why does Forrest stay away ? What is he building on that beautiful little hill?" "How do you know that he is building?" Fern flushed. "I've been watching him, every day. Oh, he doesn't know," and she opened wide her eyes to better express her meaning. "He never comes to see me any more but I go to see him and manage to get close enough to peep at him. What is he building on that hill?" "A greenhouse for his little Fern, where she can always live; and he's building it with his own hands. He wants it to be as perfect and as beautiful as his love is for her." "Oh! How I wish I could help him. Don't you think that if I go to him he will let me? " "No. That is not your place. Besides, you would rob him of the credit." Fern's heavy lashes closed over her eyes and two tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. Mother Lee's active mind never failed to ex- ert itself when the subject was relevant to worh. MOTHER LEE'S NEST BUILDERS 169 The illustration which Forrest had shown her came vividly before her eyes, and she spoke up in a matter-of-fact way. ' * There 's plenty that you can do. Were you taught to use a needle?" "Yes." 1 'Well, get busy and do the woman's part of it. Make them fancy winder curtains and all them extra things that is out of a man's line of work. ' ' Fern sprang to her feet and clapped her hands with delight. ' * Oh, how wonderful you are to think of that, " and she rushed toward the door. "How are you going to get back home!" "I'll run all the way." "Up hill? Sit down and wait for Bardoff. He'll take you most of the way." Mother Lee arose and resumed her work. "How's the altitude agreeing with your fa- ther?" * ' We seldom see him. He lives in the tower. ' ' "A mighty good place for him. Here comes Bardoff. Better jump out and catch him." "Good-bye!" called back Fern as she ran. "Good-bye!" answered Mother Lee, who smiled triumphantly. She saw a solution of what seemed to her, a short while before, an im- possibility the positive completion of For- rest's undertaking, and she said to Maud, who stood ironing shirts : 170 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "It's no harm to put that extravagant no- tion in her young head because them Dales have plenty of money and it's no use letting it get coated with verdigris." CHAPTER XXII NIGHT'S MAGIC MELODIES OUT in the hot baked fields, the second summer on the new ranch, " Prince " Arthur did the work of two men. His father had contracted an illness in the spring an illness from which he could never recover, and it was firmly decided between father and son that it would be better to keep the news from Mother Lee and much better that he remain on the ranch rather than go into town and give her all that extra work. Mother Lee had always sent out what was needed and " Prince" Arthur did the rest. He worked with the quiet and steadiness of his sturdy nature, and the young healthy blood that surged through his veins gave him sufficient strength. His muscles stood out and his hands became calloused, yet, at the end of each day, despite the heavy drudgery, he never neglected to let the soft, tender strains of music pour from his inner soul. When his work was done and supper was over "Prince" Arthur sat at his piano, first oiling and rubbing his hands thor- oughly, then far into the night his music floated 171 172 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD out across that vast open country. Those heavy, beautiful classics of Liszt, Beethoven, Wagner, and other great masters poured forth like magic, so wonderfully well were they exe- cuted by the large, powerful hands of the farm boy, but they failed to arouse any enthusiasm among the cold, indifferent ranchers whose homes the music too often penetrated. To the contrary, the ranchers were more or less dis- turbed. "The boy's crazy! He spent his whole last year's saving and bought that cussed piano to hammer like mad," said one. "Perhaps he does it to forget that his father's dying," answered another. When finally these remarks reached ' ' Prince ' ' Arthur's ears, a satirical smile crossed his stern features. However, there was a warmth and comfort in that little one room cabin where stood an old wooden bed upon which lay the stricken father. The piano was backed up against the foot of the bed and it was there that the tall, athletic son sat night after night bent almost double in his eager effort to master music far beyond him. The purpose in his young mind was not to for- get that his father was dying, but to please him as he lay there drugged beyond all feeling of pain, yet conscious enough to hear and enjoy the music. It also served a double purpose, for "Prince" Arthur received a great deal of prac- NIGHT'S MAGIC MELODIES 173 tice and it saved him the monotony of sitting idly at the bedside, which was to him next to an impossibility, he being so very active. All through those hot days in the wheat fields, he felt a soothing consolation Music! The coming of the evening and those few hours at the piano ! The only real enjoyment of his life ! This dominating consolation kept up his great strength, and, because of its hypnotic influence he never knew he worked; never knew the hot sun poured down upon him ; never knew that he only half ate his meals and slept less than six hours out of every twenty-four. John Wesley, the father, lay there, never fully realising his own suffering. He slept in the daytime so that his son could go out in the field to work. He lay awake the greater part of the night that he might visit with his son the son he so idolised; that he might hear the music which carried his mind back over his past dissipated life ; a life he had forfeited to the city barrooms and concert halls for so little in re- turn. The one thing he most regretted was the separation from his wife and family. He, the son of that wonderful teacher, Mother Lee ! He did not let "Prince" Arthur know, as he lay there in that semi-stupor, the battles of regret that were waging within his sick brain, nor did he let him know how he censured his soul and inwardly suffered, realising his lost opportunities. He just wore a smile and told 174 THE EDGE OF THE WOBLD him nothing. It would have been pitiful to have witnessed his idolisation of that son, "Prince" Arthur. "Lot of heavy stuff, boy. My hearing is not so good." "Prince" Arthur, as he wiped the mutton tal- low from his calloused hands, looked keenly at the pale, thin face on the bed. "You haven't eaten your supper yet." "Haven't any appetite." "You haven't eaten, to-day." The father did not answer but moistened his parched lips with his tongue. "Better drink this milk hadn't you?" "To-morrow," and the father smiled. "Prince" Arthur said no more and sat down to the piano. He ran his fingers up and down the keyboard in a little scale practice, then drifted into the Hungarian Ehapsodies, stum- bling like a tired horse over a rough road, yet to the layman's ears it was wonderfully played. In the midst of it he stood up, walked to the bed and looked at the sick man. "Keep it up, boy! Why did you stop ?" The father's voice was very low. "Prince" Arthur understood. He returned and leaped into thundering scale work. From that into Mendelssohn's Spring Song and drifted along for several hours in heart throb- bing melodies to clashes of the major chords. He arose again and looked abruptly at the sick NIGHT'S MAGIC MELODIES 175 man. He spoke but received no answer. He took up a lantern from a box beside the piano and held it close to his father's face. Satisfied that he was asleep, " Prince" Arthur moved everything necessary for the sick man's comfort close to the bedside, and, after turning the light still lower, hung the lantern on the wall of the cabin and crawled into a bunk. Mother Lee knew nothing of the real situation at the ranch until after the wheat had been thrashed and sold to the mills and " Prince" Arthur had brought in the last load of alfalfa. Several hogs had been sold to the butcher, and the potatoes and winter vegetables had been gathered and put into Mother Lee 's cellar. "Nothing left on the ranch, of importance, ex- cept dad and the piano." "Well, when do they come in?" smiled Mother Lee as she looked over her glasses. "Don't know," was "Prince" Arthur's quick response, as he hurried out of the kitchen. "What ails that boy!" stepping to the door and looking after him. "Maybe he didn't get much out of the ranch this year. No it's not money. It's something else. I've a hunch that something serious has happened or is going to happen." She seemed to be talking more to herself than to a small boy who stood beside her. Later in the evening she said aloud: "If that ranch wasn't so far I'd" 176 THE EDGE OF THE WOBLD She did not finish her sentence but stood in the middle of the kitchen with her eyes squinted in thought. * * That boy hasn't said a word about his father for some time. I feel it in my bones that some- thing has gone wrong. ' ' Mother Lee knew that her youngest son was ailing ; knew that he had the incurable Bright 's disease. It did not take her long to determine the true situation. She knew that the father and the son were of the same calibre. She knew that they kept their burdens and complaints to themselves, and she knew that the only way she would learn the truth was to send some one out to the ranch or go there herself. 1 'Are you going to the hills to-night, Hank!" "Yep." "Are you, Frank?" f 1 1 'm going with Hank. ' ' The two passed on into the dining room. Her oldest son, Dakota, came in. "I'm worried about Wesley. Are you too busy to take a trip out to his ranch? " "Oh, you're always worrying about some- thing. His son's with him, ain't he! No, I ain't got no time." He, too, took his plate and passed into the dining room. "There's * Sweet William' out there. Maybe he will go for you," spoke Paul, a boy of eleven, Mother Lee's newly adopted companion. NIGHT'S MAGIC MELODIES 177 She looked out of the window to the wood-pile. "No. He'd get lost and freeze to death." "I can go for you. I can ride Babe. " Mother Lee looked at Paul as if she were about to sanction his offer, then shook her head. "No," she answered, and went on with her work. As the last trace of twilight disappeared, Mother Lee stood on the porch. Most of her work was finished for the day and she seemed de- bating whether to continue or take a trip to the ranch, herself. Paul stood close beside her. He seemed to know that the trip would be taken and he wanted to be in on it, if possible. "Oh, look! The moon! It's going to be as bright as day. ' ' Mother Lee looked over the ridge beyond the lowlands and saw the yellow moon four times its natural size. She entered the kitchen with- out speaking and put two younger children to bed, the babies of the Hawkins who had gone up in the mountains to make some improvements on their timber claim. "Shall I hook up Babe?" asked Paul. * ' No. Fetch my juliettes ! ' ' "Which? The newest ones?" "No, the next." Paul obeyed. ' ' Now fetch my heavy skirt and go easy about it!" 178 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD The boy rushed on tiptoes to a closet and after much pawing among the heavy coats came forth with the garment. Mother Lee, who had put on her shoes, began putting the skirt on over her house dress. ' ' Go fetch my shawl ! ' ' Again the boy flew back over the uncarpeted floor, stumbled against a bed post and went sprawling. The children awoke, and began jab- bering and Mother Lee appeared in the doorway. "If you do that again, I'll put you to bed.'* Paul, a little shame-faced, yet with a pleading expression, had returned with a man's hat and a shawl. Mother Lee motioned to him to bring a lantern and the two left the house. The only sound was the grating of gravel beneath their feet. As Paul swung open the barn door, the horses stirred restlessly within, and a snort of indigna- tion came from Old Babe when she discovered that she was to be the victim. Mother Lee held the lantern in one hand above her head while she timidly assisted Paul with the other. Their whispered arguments as to which piece of harness went on first provoked a thrill of mystery and Babe, sensitive to vibration, be- gan trembling and snorting. "Better fetch her out in the yard where we can get at her." The boy obeyed, and at each attempt to get the NIGHT'S MAGIC MELODIES 179 bit in Babe 's mouth, her head tossed higher and higher. Mother Lee grabbed the bridle and laboured until her arms ached. "Stand on that box over there!'* she com- manded. They led the mare to the side of the box, but Paul's sudden appearance on the top of it sent Babe prancing and snorting about the barnyard, Mother Lee still hanging on to the halter. "Whoa, you heifer What ails you? Climb up in that buckboard and I'll lead her to you." Paul was obedient. He held the bridle in place and with much straining and grunting, succeeded in opening Babe's mouth for the bit. After another effort to get her between the shafts, stubborn Babe was finally conquered. "Het up, Babe!" Mother Lee's voice was gentle and the old grey mare trotted out into the main road. Paul held the lantern while Mother Lee loosely held the reins and Babe trotted, then walked down into the valley below. On and on they crept like a dot on that wide open country. The howling of coyotes frightened Paul who had spent most of his life in the city. "Will they get us?" "What?" "The wolves." "Where's the wolves?" "I don't know, but can't you hear them?" "No. My attention is on this blamed mare. What ails her? She keeps trying to go that way. Het up, Babe!" giving the mare a free rein. With a wilful start, Babe took the bit between her teeth and went her way. " There's something wrong. I think she sees water.*' "Can't you steer her? Let me try," Paul having had one experience with Babe in cross- ing the Big Thompson. "Keep your hands off them lines! If she's going to lie down, I " Mother Lee did not finish her sentence. "Is that water ahead?" "No, it's the road," answered Paul. "The what?" Mother Lee looked back. "Well, I'll be switched. Babe knows more about it than we do. ' ' The moon came out from behind a haze, high and bright, and the rough road stretched out before them. The white, alkali beds on either side glistened like snow, and the silence about them was like a hush of death. Babe no longer trotted. It was all she could do to make her way along the boggy road. Sometimes she stepped into holes above her hoofs, and the gushing sounds kept Mother Lee ever on the lookout for a stream of water. Babe once more gained a footing on dry land and NIGHT'S MAGIC MELODIES 181 both she and Mother Lee sighed with relief. * ' The ranch must be at the brow of that hill, ' ' said Mother Lee to herself, looking ahead. At the top they stopped and looked about as Babe panted and rested. Mother Lee fancied she heard music. They cocked their ears to listen. Paul was sure he heard it. Babe voluntarily moved on. A little farther along the road, a stronger breeze carried, more distinctly, the clear notes of a piano. 11 Strange!" breathed Mother Lee. " What's strange?" and Paul expressed un- easiness. He had more than once, during the trip, wished that he were back home between the blankets. ' * That music. It sounds more like the harps of Angels." 11 Maybe it is," and Paul searched the skies. "It's nigh midnight. Look at the moon!" Paul cuddled closer to Mother Lee. The word midnight sent chills through his small body. The vibration of music increased and Babe continued, shying now and then at some trivial object along the road which she did not fancy. Suddenly her ears shot forward and she began whinnying as she quickened her pace. "Now what ails her?" A distant whinny responded through the crisp night air. 182 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "We're near the ranch. 'Prince* Arthur has one of Babe's colts." Around the bend of a clump of cottonwoods they saw a faint light. "What in the world ails that boy playing that pianer this time of night?" Babe, who had covered the last mile at a live- lier clip, seemed as anxious as her driver to in- vestigate the meaning of it all. She suddenly came to a halt at the big gate. Paul jumped out and opened it and like thieves of night, Mother Lee, followed closely by the boy stole up to the cabin and looked in. At first she saw nothing unusual about the man stretched out upon the bed his face being shaded from the direct light of the lantern nor about "Prince" Arthur, who sat doubled over on the piano stool pounding out soulful music from the white keyboard. But as she stood there, listening, she formed an excuse for the lateness of the hour. His great love of music his father's love of it their summer's work finished! They were celebrating the event. The older man, not so strong that evening, had gone to bed that he might better enjoy his son's playing. Mother Lee nudged Paul, who was craning his neck to see over the window ledge. "We'll go in," she whispered. They knocked lightly on the door several times, with no response. NIGHT'S MAGIC MELODIES 183 "Has that boy lost his hearing?" she scolded as she pushed her way in, only to start at the great volume of music that burst forth from within. She walked around the corner of the piano which had hid her from "Prince" Arthur's view. He looked dazedly at her. His large hands dropped from the keys. There was a dead si- lence. "Mother Lee," he muttered. "Yes," she answered, looking toward the bed. "Doesn't that pianer annoy your father when he is sleeping?" "Prince" Arthur turned his back more squarely to the bed and did not answer. Mother Lee stared at him, then went to her son. She leaned over the silent man and touched his face. She did not start in horror, but quickly looked at the boy. "He's dead!" Her words drove "Prince" Arthur out into the night. She did not call him back. She knew his grief had over-powered him. She moved about as if she wanted to work but did not know how to be- gin. She pulled down the covering over the piano, repiled a few dishes which lay on the table. Paul, all eyes, clung close to her. "What ails you?" feeling that she must say something to break the stillness. 184 THE EDGE OF THE WOKLD 4 "Go fetch 'Prince' Arthur back!" "I'm afraid." "Of what?" Paul pointed toward the Ved. " Afraid of the de " She choked, but straighi-ened up. 1 * This is no time for fear. We are alone and must do our duty." She went to the door and called out : ' ' Arthur, if you have any common sense left, hook up a team and drive for help ! ' ' She closed the cabin door. She knew her words had been heard and that he would obey. She made coffee and drank some filled up the bowl again and told Paul to help himself. She crossed the room to the bed and covered the face of her son. Her hands trembled but no tears came to her eyes. She had never known weakness but a deeper and more heart rending grief ached within. Her love was unfaltering for all who entered her life, yet there was no external power to portray her love and so she forced herself to look upon the death of her son as if he had just gone away. "A journey from whence no traveller re- turns. ' ' The words came from her lips with a sort of satisfaction. "You have suffered, my son. You have paid the debt for the destruction of that which God hath given you so perfect health " NIGHT'S MAGIC MELODIES 185 She paused, then added in a lower voice : "Round is the world, it runs on wheels, Death is a thing that everyone feels. If health were a thing that money could buy The rich would '-e and the poor would die." She looked about as if to receive an answer, only to see Paul asleep at the end of the table. She arose, half carried, half dragged him to the opposite bed, covered him up and went back to await the return of ' * Prince ' ' Arthur. Daylight, in cold, colourless grey, crept in to where she still sat nodding in a hard, straight- backed chair, very near the bedside of her dead son. She shivered a little and drew a blanket a little more closely about her shoulders, but soon she became thoroughly awakened and began fix- ing the fire. She made a fresh pot of coffee and at sight of ' ' Prince ' ' Arthur returning with several ranchmen, began cooking breakfast. With grave faces they slowly wrapped the body in blankets and carefully placed it in a wagon. With "Prince" Arthur at the lines, they drove to town, Mother Lee in advance in the buckboard with Paul, driving Old Babe. To any one except Mother Lee, it would have been a pathetic sight to have looked back at the rough lumber wagon, knowing that it carried the remains of a dead relative. But she had laid many of her family to rest in the little clay 186 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD cemetery over the hill. It was all the same to her, whether a relative or a stranger, so long as they figured some way in her life, she acted as she felt she should. " There's no place for a weakling in time of trouble.*' Her son had to be buried and she must take the initiative. The less commotion the better she felt about it. "Het up, Babe! This is no place to linger," and a broken whip fell firmly down upon the old grey's back. Babe gave several little starts then slowed to a walk as Mother Lee drifted into another trail of dreams. She lived over the youth and ad- ventures of her son, her own boy, whose roving nature had been beyond her understanding. His early years spent from beneath her wings had lost her the opportunity to govern his life. "Now, all's over. Now he's dead, and to think I named him John Wesley. ' ' CHAPTER XXIH BACK IN THE HARNESS MOTHER LEE had everybody back in "harness," as she termed it, when the funeral of her son was over, except "Prince" Arthur. He had moved his piano into Cottage Home but never touched it. In fact no one was interested enough in music to inspire him. He soon be- came restless. He often went in, sat down at the instrument and opened it with every intention of playing. The next instant he would jump up, close the piano with a bang, mutter some- thing unintelligible and walk out of the house. "That boy is a chip of the old block," said Mother Lee one day. "He's as nervous as a hornet. He '11 warm this earth before he '11 set- tle down." And just as she had predicted, "Prince" Arthur, a few weeks later, secretly sewed his silver savings in different parts of his clothing and caught a night freight out of town and out of her life. She knew he was going knew nothing could stop him. But she felt he had one advantage. He would surely abstain from 187 188 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD alcoholic drinks which had been the cause of his father's death. She smiled sadly whenever she looked at his piano, with its canvas cover sewed down just as he had left it. She was sure he never wanted any one to touch it and no one would, while she kept it beneath her roof. "A talent lost," she muttered. A wave of loneliness often passed over her as time went on. "Prince" Arthur had always been very dear to her. He had never expressed the love and affection that Forrest had, yet there was that blood relation the son of her son. But, she was one who never wasted her time over bygones. Her mind was too much oc- cupied with the present. To her, " Homer the Great," who had come to her door so mysteri- ously, had grown into a beautiful character. In many ways, he was another Forrest. His first visit to the trappers was the begin- ning of his new life and an honest one, too. That was her first consideration of him. He made his home with the trappers, but he often stole down to call on her as well as to cast a shy glance toward Maud, who, with pride, wore several medals that had been given to her by the town bachelors for being the best shirt ironer in the community. Maud, through Mother Lee's suggestion, was putting away her money for a trousseau to be used as soon as she was old enough to marry somebody who would be willing to marry her. BACK IN THE HAENESS 189 And it looked very much to Mother Lee as if the time were not far off. 4 'Homer the Great " was very much in ear- nest about his future. He had become a clever trader and managed to get more money for his furs than any of the other trappers. " That's because he has an object in life. He wants to marry you, Maud, and I think you had better put on long dresses and put up your hair." Maud blushed, but was thankful for the sug- gestion, for she was tired of hearing the one word "legs" called after her wherever she went. Mother Lee counted over the shirt money. "Four dollars! Go up to Brunell's and get six yards of woolen goods! Make yourself a long dress. If there isn't enough money here, have it charged on my old bill." Maud put a shawl over her head and hurried out. Another match started with impending assur- ance, settled in Mother Lee 's mind. She let her thoughts drift to Forrest and Fern. She had not seen either of them for some time. She knew, however, that they were working like two little beavers for the most important event in their lives. They seemed to be the only perfect emblems of youth, in man and woman, that stood firm in her life's category. They were just what her inner soul wanted the vast hu- 190 THE EDGE OP THE WORLD inanity to be, and it was a joy to her to feel that God had given her that pleasure that great, great pleasure of witnessing such a perfection in life. She thought of dozens and dozens of married couples who were happily mated but there seemed to be something about Forrest and Fern more spiritual than material more like the un- blighted buds of Heaven. And her one prayer was that God would be extremely generous that some day He would bestow a gracious bless- ing upon her by just letting her hold a child in her arms, the image of them both. Old Dave, more slovenly than ever, entered the kitchen during one of her semi-dreams. She looked at him and unconsciously said : "How true! The most perfect sprout some- times comes from the muck. How's Forrest!" "All right, fur's I know." "What's he doing?" "Working alongside me most the time." "What's he building on top of the hill?" "Durn'd if I know pig pen, maybe." Mother Lee felt inclined to box Old Dave's ears but she curbed her temper, and continued : "It's a new house." "What furl Ain't the old one all right?" "Perhaps. But how near finished is the new net" "Durn'd if I know. It's got a roof, and all whacked up in sections inside." BACK IN THE HAENESS 191 ' * Booms ! How many ? ' ' "Ain't enough to house all them pigs he's got." "Well, I found out what I wanted to know. Forrest has that house nigh finished." Old Dave looked up at her with a pair of dull eyes which peered out of a face of bushy, snarly whiskers. He was used to hearing her talk without understanding her so he tossed a buB- dle of pine-cones into the wood-box and without removing his hat or washing the charcoal from his hands, took his plate and went to the dining- room where sat a half dozen others, just a little more human. 1 ' Something ails that old bunch of blankness. He's staggering!" Mother Lee was looking out of the window into the barn yard. "He didn't eat his dinner," she continued. "Nope," and one of the mountain giants walked out of the kitchen, mechanically, climbed into his rough wagon and drove away. Mother Lee went out into the barn-yard, a lit- tle suspicious that Old Dave had been drinking. "What ails you? " she quickly asked. "Don't know Dizzy." "Been boozin'?" "Naw " She saw at a glance that he was suffering. "Better go to the Drug Store and see the doc- tor." 192 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "Naw " The word was more like a hateful snarl as he pulled himself together and began hitching up his team to his old lumber rack. Mother Lee said no more but as she picked up a few dry corn-cobs she kept her eye upon the unsteady movements of Old Dave. ''Better stay in town to-night I" "Naw" He dragged himself upon the seat and with- out turning, drove away. As she watched him drive out of the yard, she shook her head. "He'll die witkhis boots on." CHAPTER XXIV THE THUNDERBOLT FEEN was the little beaver that Mother Lee had called her. She spent a few hours each day in her mother's sun-room where she cop- ied the perfect stitches of her mother's needle. Like Forrest, Fern took many ideas from magazine illustrations and her little treasures began to multiply. Table linens of the finest quality for which Mrs. Dale had secretly sent away but had laughingly said, "Come from the skies," Fern daintily hemstitched and mono- grammed. She designed draperies of heavy silk, and embroidered Grecian figures, birds, and butterflies with gold thread and delicate floss. Sofa-pillows, she filled with wild rose petals. She bordered the rich Brusseled net curtains with a crocheted web of Irish lace. When Forrest was at work felling trees she stole timidly to the little house on the hill and with sparkling eyes and panting breath, went from room to room selecting shades that she thought were most suitable. Taking. the mea- surement for each hanging drapery, she would 193 194 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD steal back through the rich, cool, perfumed forest to her own room to again delve into her earnest and pleasing work. Many times the sad mother looked down at her beautiful daughter and thought of a flower almost too precious to last so delicate, so ten- der, so sweet, so earnest and so lovable. " As long as she lives not a shadow must pass over her young life ! ' ' was always her final de- cision. " Don't you ever get tired, little Fern!" she asked her daughter one day. "Oh, no, I couldn't when I see that dear little home Forrest is building. How I wish, dear mother, that you could come and peep at it with me." "Forrest is a lovely boy and I hope that I shall live to see you both happily married." * ' Oh, you darling ! ' ' Fern dropped her work and crossed to her mother. "You shall share many, many days of my pleasure." After kissing her affectionately she went back to her work. Holding up a small dainty blue comforter of soft silk, she said : "This is for the little room the little strang- er's room, who, Mother Lee says, may come along and join our home." Mrs. Dale laughed at the frank simplicity of her daughter and answered: THE THUNDERBOLT 195 "It will surely match his eyes." "Blue! Oh, I should rather they would be brown," smiled back the daughter in a play- ful pout. There was a quick exchange of warning ges- tures and the secret work was promptly con- cealed. Marie entered the room. She was more of the stern, cold type of her father a person of importance. She flourished a large diamond engagement ring. Her marriage was to take place soon, but her trousseau had to be made abroad, and her home in the East had to be fin- ished and ready for occupation, before the wed- ding. She would have nothing to do with such trivials as hemstitching and hand-embroidering. She laughed at the very idea of it. That was why the tiny blue comforter was concealed. Keeping her plans from her sister was an easy matter for Fern, but sometimes she felt it was not fair to Forrest that she should know all his secret and he know nothing of hers. Mother Lee, however, thought it was just the "proper caper." When the time came, a little Fairy God could happen along during Forrest's absence and by adjusting things properly, a tired and gloomy heart could be made very happy. She also told Fern how much Forrest fretted about the furnishings of that little "Castle." For several weeks Forrest had his mind set on a large pine tree the largest he had seen. 196 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD He tried to persuade his father to cut it down but Old Dave thought there was too much work attached to it besides it was no good for ties. But Forrest had been working on a dining- room set and the base of that tree was exactly the size of the table top he had planned. He could use it solid and carve some legs for it. Mother Lee told him one day, to keep on want- ing it, and something would surely happen that would gratify his wish. And it came to pass as Mother Lee had pre- dicted. One morning, after an electric storm had partly uprooted the forest during the night, Old Dave and his son made their way among the thick pine trees. "Here's your dum'd ole tree, down," indif- ferently called Old Dave. A thrill of joy flashed over Forrest and he could scarcely wait for the day to pass. That evening he sawed out a portion of the tree, and found it to be just what he wanted. The grain was perfect. Several weeks later his table was complete and he stood admiring it. Old Dave who hap- pened to come along, stopped to scrutinize it. "What's it furl" ' "A table for the dining-room." "Huh!" and he went on into the cabin for the night. But quite a different pair of eyes viewed it the next day a pair of laughing blue eyes filled THE THUNDERBOLT 197 with pride and admiration. The next instant a tape measure went flying across the top. " What a beautiful doily I must make to orna- ment such a marvelous piece of work," cried Fern as she rushed home with more news for her mother 's waiting ears. Much calculation followed. Nothing from the illustrated catalogue was good enough, so the greater part of the night Fern lay awake, plan- ning something original. At last an idea came to her and she could hardly wait until morn- ing, to hegin her work. Mrs. Dale praised her daughter's idea and patiently watched her at work. She never told Fern, although she wanted to many times, what a pleasure it was, to have her lonely mornings filled with such a sunny, cheerful companion. While mother and daughter were deeply en- grossed in a new piece of needlework, a scream brought them to their feet. Marie rushed in, white as death, and stam- mered something unintelligible about her father. Mrs. Dale tottered toward the door as Fern rushed past, calling out : " Where is he?" "In his tower," cried Marie between her sobs. Fern waited for no more, but hurried up the winding stairs and stood excitedly in the door- way. She did not know what had happened un- til the housekeeper, who had followed her, rushed to the side of Mr. Dale and said: 198 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "He's dead." Fern could not believe it, for he sat erect, with one hand across his half written sheet of paper. The floor was white with scattered manuscript. She did not wait to investigate, but hurried down the stairs with but one thought in her mind she must bear up and look after her mother and Marie. She found them clasped in each other's arms, weeping. She, too, began to cry, not because of her own grief, so much as that of her mother's and sister's. They had gone through many years of tribu- lations with their father. His selfish eccentrici- ties had given them much distress. It seemed as if they had lived only to yield to his whimsi- cal moods. That was why Marie had sought an early engagement, having lost all patience with her hum-drum life. She had fretted a little over her mother's welfare until Fern became en- gaged to Forrest. That settled all difficulties. She was quite satisfied that Fern was old enough to look after the comfort of their mother, whose health would be far better there in the moun- tains than in a noisy city. Her father was the least of her troubles. "He could live in his tower as long as he liked" she often repeated to her mother * ' and sing his blank verse to the pines. * They '11 have more consideration for them than the out- side world' " finishing her remarks by quot- ing her father. THE THUNDERBOLT 199 Mrs. Dale attempted to alter her daughter's way of thinking, but it was useless. Marie had a mind of her own, and, like her father, intended to use it to suit herself. But the one thing had happened that they least expected. They were at a loss what to do. They simply stared at one another and re- mained shut up in the sun room, made dark by heavy blinds, while the two servants took charge of the funeral of the little headstrong man whose neck Mother Lee had more than once wanted to wring. "Maybe the angels will have more patience with him than I had/' said she, when she heard the news. CHAPTER XXV THE HOURS THEY WATCHED FACTS, sometimes, are stranger than fiction. At Uast, that was the con- fronting si# ,#ion that Mother Lee had to confe^ with, as Forrest sat in the kitchen with hi^'iee buried in his hands. She looked at him, tJI .away. She busied her- self about the stove ^^iking an unusual noise. Somehow the sorrow that bowed the head of the one so strangely near her own soul, completely unnerved her. She was at a loss to know what to say or do. She could stand the suspense no longer. "Why sit there like a bump on a log? We all must go, sometime. Sweet William is past his sixties and it's time he shuffled off before he's helpless and in the way" sending a sharp glance out of the window, where a little old man sat on the woodpile. "Look at that old Moss- back ! Who '11 bother about him when I 'm gone. You'll miss your father but you must learn to look upon death as I have had to, all my life. I've seen them come and go died with his boots on, I suppose?" 200 THE HOURS THEY WATCHED 201 Forrest sighed. 1 1 Come, take off your coat and eat your din- ner ! ' ' Forrest obeyed. " Wonder how Fern takes her father's death 1" * ' What ? ' ' and Forrest pushed back his plate and stared at Mother Lee. "Didn't you hear that Dale was dead?" "No," and Forres sprang from the table. "A week ago to-day ie picked up his pencil and pad and hit the f .1 across the range for the other side. I into rl sending you up word, but news is so hard tc iver." "And Fern how is ,o? I ought to " "No, you hadn't ought to she's all right." "I don't think I can stand another year." "Don't you dare break that pledge. I want you strong not a weakling. You have stuck it out well. One more year and them four beau- tiful years will carve a foundation for your whole life. ' ' Forrest stood with folded arms and looked out of the window. His mind, in spite of his sorrow, called him back to the moss-covered rock upon which they had spent many happy hours, weaving flowers, reading love stories the moss- covered rock where he would, in another year, hold her in his arms kiss her ! Mother Lee easily read his thoughts from the exultant look that gradually lit up his counte- 202 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD nance. She did not disturb him but went to the door and whispered to one of the mountaineers : "It's a duty you owe your feller man. Hitch up and go fetch Old Dave down!" With a grunt, the mountaineer retraced his steps to the barn where he joined another, equally as unneighbourly. Mother Lee watched until she had been con- vinced that they intended to carry out her com- mand, then she returned to the kitchen. Forrest had come out of his daydream and was again restless. "What shall I do, first?" 1 ' Help Maud wash them dishes 1 Your father will be taken care of." Forrest pressed his lips firmly together and began washing the dishes for Mother Lee as he had done many times before. "Where is Paul?" having missed the boy during the noon hour. Mother Lee did not answer but an angry ex- pression clouded her face. "What did he do?" "Nothing himself, but he got in with some young hoodlums and the marshal had him sent to the reform school along with the others. ' ' "Couldn't you have prevented it?" "No, not with this new numskull of a marshal. But I'm going to take a trip up to Golden, my- self. If them head-officials are half way intelli- THE HOURS THEY WATCHED 203 gent they'll know he's a good boy and will re- lease him." "You can't take that trip on the train. You're too . You've never been on a train." ' ' Yes, I have. I followed the building of that railroad for two years and cooked for section hands years ago. I guess I haven't forgotten how to ride in a caboose. That boy has to be saved at any cost." Forrest shook his head. "It seems with all your wonderful influence and teachings, no one could ever stray from your fold." 1 1 That problem is beyond all human calcula- tion. There is something deep down in the hearts of us all that cannot be regulated by edu- cation. Like a snake in the grass that some- thing is likely to spring up and sting the hand of its closest friend. We do it every day and more often unconsciously. Paul is not a bad boy at heart but he has had no training. It was the last thought in his mind to bring trouble to me. I have always made a study of human seeds, and the cultivation of them, and I've come to one conclusion: It all hinges on just how the old stocks send forth their sprouts. I've had the raising of many kinds of young sprouts and no difference how carefully they are cultivated, they grow up to be counterparts of the old stock from which they sprouted. Look at the batch 204 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD of weeds I've had to contend with all my life. Look at that old withered sunflower out there, now, on that woodpile, absorbing the sun! A lily is a lily a weed is a weed education is cul- tivation. It just brightens the outside. You are a son of Mother Earth, pure and simple. You came from up there in them mountains. Paul is a son of God only knows. He came from the city the masses. At the beginning it takes only a spoonful of coal-oil to spoil a barrel of molasses. At the beginning it takes only one grain of carelessness to spoil a human life. Careful, tender raising helps, but that which is born within, no teachings can fully overcome. It's the very, very beginning that counts. A young couple uniting in marriage should begin like a good farmer on a new piece of land. First, fence in that land from all outside claim, then plough it and smooth out the roughness un- til it lays out in perfection. Then with much care and calculation sow the right kind of seed. Such farmers will naturally harrow, water and tend those young sprouts until at last they are rewarded by beholding a golden crop. It's the carelessness in scattering human seeds upon this earth that brings about so much discontent the root of all evil. Prepare the lives of your chil- dren! Don't let them prepare yours! Build for advancement ! Don 't let advancement build for you! I don't mean by that, for an acorn to build for a strawberry ; but let there be per- THE HOUES THEY WATCHED 205 f ection in each individual seed. It takes variety to keep our dear world moving on and it's vari- ety we want, but, better variety. If I can live to see just one living specimen of what I feel God intended the human race to be I shall be more than satisfied. "Forrest, I have placed you upon an exalted pedestal. I want you to stand out in my eternal memories a monument to my teachings, because I have, I'm sure, selected a perfect foundation upon which to build. Our daughters, we cuddle to us, and call them pretty things. But our sons ! We are so proud of our sons. We want to see them go forth and create big things. And any honest, honourable work is a big thing in a mother's eye." Forrest stood motionless as a statue. His brown eyes, with so much of the wild deer's depth within them, slowly centred upon her. She was so small, so frail, as she stood beside him yet powerful and big within, he thought. "Dear Mother Lee, so motherly! I thank only you for what I am," and with the whole affection of his young heart he caressed her with the true feeling of a son. He kissed her lips the second time in his twenty-three years. His warm, young blood had often craved for motherly affection but the apparent cold indif- ference of Mother Lee had seldom encouraged him further than a pat on the hand or a boy's squeeze. 206 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD " Don't you think I ought to take that trip to Golden?" asked Forrest, later in the day. "No, I'll go to-morrow no, not until after we bury Old Dave." Mother Lee did not look toward Forrest, but walked to the big square corner room and opened the windows. At dusk, she, Maud and Forrest arose at the sound of a heavy wagon driving into the yard. * * Here they come. ' ' Forrest paled. "Your father with his own hands, all alone, chiselled out a log and buried your mother, the Lord knows where up in them mountains. New let's see you show some of your father's gump- tion." The words worked as Mother Lee had ex- pected. Forrest threw back his broad shoulders and helped carry the blanketed form into the big corner room. "Here's a black wedding suit a Swede left for his board-bill," and Mother Lee pawed about a dark closet and brought forth an evening dress suit. There was an unusual silence as night fell over Cottage Home. Forrest and Mother Lee sat alone in the kitchen. The moon was new and the lantern on the gate post swung in the wind and sent a fantastic glare, now and then, across the kitchen floor. The wood fire in the THE HOURS THEY WATCHED 207 cook stove crackled and sent forth the only com- fortable feeling into the gloomy surroundings. Mother Lee put on the big iron pot and poured in the lard and corn. "Why are you popping all that corn?" asked Forrest. "For the children." "What children?" Mother Lee looked about, a little dazed. It was the first time Forrest had ever seen her baffled, and a pang struck his heart. She laughed, a little annoyed. "That's so the children have gone. Haw- kins took theirs home last night. That left me alone. Well, you eat what you can and some one else can finish it to-morrow. ' ' CHAPTER XXVI Di BBVEEEND KNIGHT A FEELING of independence and re- sponsibility took possession of For- rest the moment he returned to his cabin among the giant pines. Al- though he was lonely for several days he made up his mind that he must get used to it and re- sume his work. He looked with profound satisfaction upon his new home. The outer walls were built from heavy blocks of pine rustic in architecture and rested on a solid foundation of stone and cement. The last window-pane had been placed in its hand-carved casement and the hand-carved doors had all been hung. The interior was di- vided into several rooms. A large, stone fire- place almost took up one side of the dining- room. In the centre of the dining-room was the beautifully carved round-table surrounded by six chairs to match, with their one pieced backs, carved in butterfly designs. At one end of the sitting-room stood an elegantly carved bookcase, without books. A staircase, leading to the pretty little rooms above, was made from a part 208 BEVEREND KNIGHT 209 of the trunk of the fallen tree and like the rest was beautifully carved. Upon the white canvas walls hung handsomely carved picture-frames, without pictures, and mirror-frames without mirrors. But Fern had taken their measure- ments an I had provided for each in turn. The winter would season the wood and a coat or two of varnish in the spring would bring out the natural grain. His home was about ready. He had six months to start a bank account and Mother Lee had told him that that must be his last consideration but the most important. When he was prepared for the rainy day, he was prepared to support a wife and family. Six months in which to work and save enough money! Forrest thought earnestly. He had put in days and months at hard work beside his father and had seen him cart away a great many loads of ties and telegraph poles from their timber claim but had seen no money in return. What prospects had he, then? The question troubled him extremely, until he finally deter- mined to learn his fate before much of his limited time had been squandered. He immedi- ately wrote to both the Railroad and Telegraph companies and had been informed that he could continue supplying them with ties and telegraph poles at the same figures his father had supplied them. To his surprise, he saw where his father should have accumulated a large sum of money. He said to Mother Lee, with indignation : 210 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "Pop has been robbed because of his igno- rance." An answer to his second letter, from each com- pany, with an enclosed itemised statement of the money paid David Berkley proved otherwise. He had been well paid. It was a startling sur- prise to Forrest, who asked : "What did he do with all that money!" "What did he do with the money he got from that old fossil, Dale?" "I'm sure I don't know." "Well, it's a cinch he never spent it. It must be about somewhere, but you '11 earn every dollar of it before you'll find it." "I don't want it. I can earn my own money plenty of it, too. Besides, I can give you enough so you can take a rest stop cooking." "Rest? Stop cooking?" A twinkle came into Mother Lee's eye. "I'll lay down the big spoon some day and surprise you. ' ' A moment later she turned toward Forrest. * * Got a letter from ' Prince ' Arthur, ' ' a smile playing about the corners of her mouth. "And how about him?" spoke up Forrest, en- thusiastically. ' ' He 's herding sheep, way down South, for a widow with a single daughter. Both love music and are willing to make him master of their do- minion if he can play the pianer. He has sent for his. God love him! Here's the check to EEVEREND KNIGHT 211 pay for the freight and here's an extra bill slipped in for me." "Fifty bucks," whispered Forrest, in sur- prise; "that's a month's salary." Just then a tottering old man entered, making a lot of noise, and dropped several pieces of wood into the woodbox. Forrest laughed, and called out : "When are you going to paint the house again!" "Next spring," came a squeaking voice, as Sweet William tottered out without looking to- ward Forrest. "He'll be painting his tombstone next, the old century plant." "Whose clothes are you packing?" Forrest had watched Mother Lee carefully place several garments into a telescope, where lay a bag of cookies and a few apples. "I'm going up to the school, to-morrow. I promised Paul I'd be back again and see him." "Won't they release him?" * ' No. They say I 'm too old to look after him. Whatever put that notion into their heads is more than I know. I Ve written a letter to some of his relatives in the East. They'll most likely send for him. ' ' Forrest returned home, much elated. All the way up the mountains he sang and whistled and talked to his horses. A future, all golden, loomed up before him. The first load of ties would start a bank account. He built a sleigh, and when the snow came, bundled up and worked at every possible oppor- tunity. Closer and closer he was approaching spring, and the great hour that thrilled him in anticipation. His dreams were of her in all her youthful beauty in all her womanly charms. He dreamed of their meeting-place the moss covered rock the hour when the sun would burst forth in a carpet of gold; when the wild flowers were filling the air with their fragrance, and the song birds were building their nests. Such were his hours of pleasure the hours that kept loneliness away from his young soul. When the icy winds howled and moaned through the pines, he threw back his shoulders, for he understood that she, too, was patiently waiting, not very far away. His thoughts often drifted to Mother Lee. Her life of persever- ance was such a wonderful lesson to him. He had never heard her complain. She always had some reason for every condition and always had a way to live through it. He fancied he saw her bending indifferently over typhoid cases from the stone quarry. He fancied he again saw her filling the patients ' empty glasses with milk and going to the sick room, returning a few moments later to resume her duties in the kitchen. He pictured her once more taking in strange chil- KEVEREND KNIGHT 213 dren from any one who chanced along and put- ting them to bed with those already under her wing. He often smiled as he recalled her cold, stern, authoritative manner and how, when a boy, he thought her the most severe person in the world. But what a depth he had, at last, fathomed in her. A sacrificing kindness far beyond his power to describe! He watched her again, through memory, scolding some drunkard through fhe bars of the "cooler," or at her kitchen door, giving them black coffee, or a strong onion, to make them sober. Forrest often caught himself laughing over some amusing incident that popped up in her daily life. Cats, dogs, birds, or flowers were never allowed upon her premises. Anything superfluous or of no vital use was burned in the stove. Many a cob-pipe hit the red-hot coals before its owner could protest. Marbles, jump- ing-ropes, kites, rubber balls and every conceiv- able object that looked like a toy, had to be kept carefully out of sight, or it met its fate in the stove. These and many other recollections en- tertained Forrest during his evening hours in the lonesome cabin. But these consoling dreams always terminated with a prevailing something that he could not shake off. Sometimes he felt that Mother Lee was looking very old and weak and could not keep up much longer. Other times her strange sayings, of taking her long trip across Medicine Bow Eange, was not exactly like herself. His blood ran cold at the thought of anything hap- pening to Mother Lee. He loved her so deeply. And the rest could never get along without her. When these gloomy thoughts took possession of him he would assure himself that an extra load of ties was of no consequence. His main purpose was to see Mother Lee and enquire about her health. But she always avoided answering him by speaking of some newcomer himself or of his future. "You must get one of them automobiles." Automobiles had become quite common to Mother Lee, having seen a great many pass her home and turn up the mountain road. "Yes. It's in my mind that as soon as I have a thousand dollars in the bank, I'll have one. One of those little black ones." ' ' How much have you saved ? ' ' "Four hundred and ninety-five dollars." " In five months ?" 1 1 This is March, I started in November. ' ' "My, how old Father Time rushes things lately ! Old Grimes came in here the other day and introduced a young lady the prettiest face, outside of Fern's, I have ever seen and who do you suppose it was?" "Mary, no doubt," smiled Forrest. "Mary's right, and she's now a woman." EEVEEEND KNIGHT 215 "You forget, Mother Lee, that she's only a couple of years younger than I. ' ' Mother Lee looked steadily at him. It was then he noticed, more than ever, how she had aged. "You were never small you were always big to me always a man." ' ' But I had to enlarge my ' Home ' to keep in- side of myself, ' ' patting his chest and laughing with satisfaction. "Yes, you have developed. How-do-you-do, sir." Her attention was drawn to the red brick walk, down which came a tall, black clothed figure. "How-do-you-do, madam. Can I get accom- modations for the night ? ' * "Come in, sir!" The tall, straight, dark figure moved into the kitchen like a spirit his wide, flat, black hat in his hand. "You 're sick!" The man sat down, quickly. "I am, but I don't know what ails me." "I do. You've walking typhoid. Where did you come from?" He looked at her searchingly, then slowly an- swered : "I don't remember." * ' You 'r e a minister. ' ' "Yes, a Baptist." 216 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "Then you come from the skies. " "Skies?" raising his tired looking face heavenward as he tried to comprehend her meaning. "Never mind racking your brains. I prayed for you, and the good Lord has directed your steps among us. We need a minister. Come, get to bed and rest thy weary bones I" He followed her to the big room. "I've several duties for that man to per- form, ' ' she told Forrest upon her return to the kitchen. "Maud's wedding, which has been shoved about for the past six months your wedding in June and if I haven't missed my guess, a funeral sermon very shortly," looking over her glasses toward the wood pile. Forrest could not help smiling. "He refuses to come in. Says he was born in the open world and that was where he intended to die." Mother Lee went with a cup of milk to the sick minister. Forrest arose and put on his coat to return to his cabin. On his way up the mountain road he looked back to see Mother Lee still watching him from the porch. "My wedding in June," he repeated, with a feeling of suppressed joy. CHAPTER XXVII THE MOSS-COVERED BOCK THE dawn of their great day had come. The day of Forrest's and Fern's ap- pointment the day they had set to meet at the moss-covered rock the fifteenth day of May the sweetest of the moun- tain seasons. Forrest had hardly slept and at the very first ray of light was up dressing. After a clean shave he bathed his face in cold water and brushed his heavy, blue-black hair smoothly back. He fastened a new silk tie loosely about the collar of his blue flannel shirt and donned a new pair of brown corduroy trousers. He was a fine looking fellow who, in spite of his care- less attire, had a clean cut personality. He was an ever-ready-sort-of-fellow, and any woman from a princess down to a servant-girl, would not want him different. Long before sunrise he was at the moss-covered rock. He stood with a thumping heart and with his eyes centred along the trail which led to Fern's home. So sure was he that she would come, he uncon- sciously started down the trail to meet her. 217 218 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD The breaking of twigs drove him hastily for- ward. The sun suddenly lit up the trail like a carpet of gold. With flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, Fern made her appearance. Forrest rushed toward her with his arms out- stretched and she, panting from her excitement and hurried walk, was, a moment later, in his embrace. "At last the prison bars have opened. What torture I've suffered, away from you! Only God knows how I've prayed for this hour this hour, when I could honestly hold you in my arms, my darling little Fern." With no resistance she allowed him to cover her face with kisses. He then caught her up in his arms and car- ried her to the moss-covered rock. "Just think what it means to me, Fern. You're going to be my wife. All mine, forever ! And we are going to live together you and I to do as we please to love to work to live!" He had seated himself upon the moss-covered rock, still holding her in his arms. For a long- time he sat with his face pressed close to hers. Fern had no desire to move or speak. She did not want to awake from that love spell that she had never thought could so forcefully por- tray itself in Forrest. She was glad he could make love like that and that he had deliberately n The sun suddenly lit up the trail like a carpet of gold. THE MOSS-COVERED ROCK 219 taken the situation in his own hands. She had pictured an awkward meeting, wherein neither would have the courage to advance. After a long embrace, Forrest loosened his strong arms and let her worm herself down upon the rock beside him. They talked over their plans. Forrest told her he had everything ready. ' ' That is all I can do. You must do the rest, later." The thought prompted them to look into each other's eyes and again embrace with the purest of love's kisses. "Oh, I'm going to be a good little wife and help you do all the fixing " His arms drew her so tightly to him that she was unable to finish speaking. For hours they talked and kissed and dreamed. They were startled out of their love entrancement, however, by the noonday mark. "I promised mother I would bring you as soon as possible. Hadn 't we better go to her I ' ' Forrest seemed absent-minded. He was look- ing down at her with his hands still clinging to hers. Again, without warning, he seized her up in his arms and kissed her repeatedly. "Dear, dear Forrest you are so strong you are squeezing out my breath," panted Fern, laughingly. "Forgive me, I'm so full of love. I've been adding it up, so awfully long, that I feel I'll 220 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD burst if I don't exhaust some of it, at least." "I was saying, hadn't we better go to mother!" " Mother!" The word awoke him and he answered : "Yes, we will go to mother. I want to assure her of what I'm going to do for you and how I 'm going to steal you away from her dearest and prettiest Fern of the forest." Together, they started toward her home and just before reaching the clearing, Forrest stopped and caressed her again. Mrs. Dale, watching through the window of her room spied them and rang for luncheon to be served. The happy pair bounded into the room, and Forrest's affection, with but little encourage- ment, asserted itself. Mrs. Dale's sweet, motherly welcome brought him to her side and he kissed her repeatedly, from the warmth of his young heart 1 ' Mother ! " he whispered. Mrs. Dale, as he voiced the one word, "mother," let her heart go out to him more spontaneously than she had ever felt it go out to either of her daughters. "My son!" she answered. "I'm proud to give my daughter to you." ' ' Thank you, mother ! You will never regret it." A dainty luncheon was served but Forrest and THE MOSS-COVERED EOCK 221 Fern were too full of love to relish it. They scarcely tasted the food, and Mrs. Dale com- mented upon it. Neither of them seemed to hear her, they were so absorbed in one another. "Mother, I think Forrest and I should go to Mother Lee. I'm sure she will be looking for us." "I'll go get my horse and meet you at the cross-roads," spoke up Forrest. He was restless. To remain indoors and be quiet was beyond his nature. Mrs. Dale smiled. She plainly detected his nervousness and suggested that it would be no more than right for them to go. Forrest kissed her before leaving. Fern hurried to her room to change from her pretty ruffled dress to a white flannel riding skirt, a white sweater and cap. She was ready and waiting on her little white pony with its flowing mane and tail decorated with blue rib- bons when Forrest dashed up on his spirited black, so full of life and restlessness. * * My ! What a beautiful horse ! ' ' "I bought him purposely to ride with you. It's the first time he's had a saddle on." "He is just like his master big and strong," laughed Fern. "And just as restless," answered Forrest. "I know he feels as I do. He wants to get everywhere at the same time." They fell in, side-by-side, Fern's little white 222 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD pony trotting proudly along, while Forrest held in his snorting, wild-eyed "Jet/' as he called him. Mother Lee was standing at the kitchen door as they came down the mountain road. She had never seen a prettier sight. "Love, strength, innocence and perfection," she muttered. Forrest alighted and assisted Fern from her saddle, stealing a kiss as he did so, and then led the two horses into the barn-yard. Fern hurried to Mother Lee and whispered her great joy. "Come in, child. You'll be as interested as Forrest. These men, here, are going to open up a park adjoining your land. A resort. There is going to be a million-dollar hotel built, and lots of wealthy people from all over the world will come in their fine automobiles. For- rest can make a great deal of money by letting the public road run through his land. Forrest entered in time to hear Mother Lee's last remark. "Here's the man you'll have to see regarding that proposition." Mother Lee introduced Forrest and soon an earnest conversation followed. Forrest saw how the public road would in- crease the value of his land and readily agreed with them. Fern was burning up with pleasure. She was THE MOSS-COVERED EOCK 223 thinking how pretty their new home would look on a public road and it was in her mind to have Forrest see that it passed their very door. Other people would come and put up summer homes and instead of the wild forest there would be a city of people. After the men had gone, Forrest enthusiasti- cally explained: 1 'I see great prospects ahead. We'll have our land divided up into lots. I shall design build bungalows and sell them. " " Isn't that a bright idea?" cried Fern. "And I can design the interiors." Her eyes grew larger as she gave Mother Lee a little frightened look. Mother Lee smiled and said as she started supper : ' ' As God made you, He matched you. ' ' The sun was just sinking over the top of Medicine Bow Eange as the two lovers started back up the mountain road. Mother Lee thought she had never seen so much colour in the sky nor so much beauty in life, as she watched the two out of sight. She slowly let her eyes drift from the golden west to the shadows below; then gradually to the wood-pile. Her sight was dimmed for a brief moment, then it grew accustomed to the shadow- light and she made out the object of her search. " Thunderation ! Come into the house!" CHAPTER XXVIH A CHILD OF THE MOONBEAMS THE little secret between Mother Lee and Fern was of special interest, for the beautiful month of May, with its spring breezes filled with the scent of the cedar and spruce blossoms, was nearing its end. Fern, in the midst of the sweet mountain fragrance, stole down from her home to see and to plan with Mother Lee. Their secret was : how were they going to play the part of the good Fairy and put the finishing touches to Forrest's brown home! 1 ' I 'm so happy, Mother Lee ! Everything has come out so beautifully. Mother darling has devoted so much of her time and interest to my welfare. Sister went East a month ago, and will have a grand wedding. ' ' " Grand is only a matter of opinion," inter- rupted Mother Lee. "God scattered opinions of all kinds. My opinion is, that your wedding is going to be grander than that of your sister 's. A wedding in the skies True blue The pure gold of nature ! But this isn't getting the final fixings together, is it? I've thought of a scheme. We'll catch Bardoff when he passes 224 A CHILD OF THE MOONBEAMS 225 and we '11 arrange for him to load the stuff on his wagon and haul it over the first chance I get to detain Forrest in town. I'll make believe I 'm sick or something and hold him over. ' ' "Oh, bu^ Mother Lee! I'm sure there are wagon loads of things to go over hundreds of books and a piano carpets bedding beauti- ful china dishes and, oh, so many pretty things that Mother has been sending away for. The piano is now at the freight station. Mother said that I must have everything brand new, with no evil influences on them. ' ' "Bardoff can get help. He's about the most reliable man I know of. We'll manage. Now I want to introduce you to the minister. I've nursed him from death's door for the purpose of your wedding. He's a Baptist, and a hard- shelled one at that. I've been at my wits' end how to detain him. He still walks around with that book called the * Wandering Jew,' under his arm and declares that he is wanted else- where. But I '11 hang on to him if I have to lock him up in the 'cooler.' Listen! That's Bar- doff coming up the road. Go out and hail him. ' ' Fern bounded out of the kitchen and down the walk, waving her pretty arms in her ex- citement. Amid rattling, squeaking sounds, Bardoff pulled his shaggy team to a halt. ' ' Mother Lee wants you ! ' ' He climbed down off the seat, and with an ex- 226 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD pression of deep concern, followed Fern's flit- ting form into the kitchen. After Mother Lee had explained her wants, Bardoff puffed out his fat bewhiskered cheeks and looked extremely amused. "I'll get the help, all right. I'm always ready to assist in the hitching up of young folks. But when are you going to get me a woman?" grinning mischievously at Mother Lee. "All your chances are buried over the hill. Died waiting for you to make up your mind." "Guess you're right, Mother. Bardoff will have to fry his own bacon and keep on eating his bread and 'harness grease' (sorghum) alone." "And keep getting fatter and rounder." "Yep. When does the big event come off?" "I'll hail you when I'm ready. Just keep still about it. Here, take some of this fresh bread!" "Thanks." Bardoff left with his mind more on the two loaves of fresh bread than on what Mother Lee had so confidentially poured into his ear. "He'll not disappoint us, will he?" asked Fern, turning from the doorway. "No, Bardoff only disappoints himself." Mother Lee introduced Fern to the tall, thin, dark-clothed minister, whose distinguished, in- teresting manner won her at once. Her earnest blue eyes were constantly upon him as his soft melodious words flowed fluently in a language A CHILD OF THE MOONBEAMS 227 most beautiful, and the whole of the time her mind was thinking over and over, how glad she was that such a fine, intelligent man was to unite her forever to the one she loved. "And it's going to be a wreath of real orange blossoms," he softly said to her. "I'll send to California for them." "How very nice of you!" was all she could say as her eyes filled with tears of joy. "And what's for Maud?" asked Mother Lee, having overheard the remark. "A garland of of starch! Starch! That seems to be the real height of her ambition. ' ' There was an expression of indifference on Maud's face as she turned, hot and flushed, from the ironing board. A couple of silent mountaineers came in for supper, ending the conversation. Fern donned her white cap and sweater. She looked exceedingly pretty to Mother Lee as she bounded away on the snow white pony she had learned to ride with such wonderful skill. Wav- ing her hand, she was soon gone. Scarcely had the sun rays swallowed her up when Forrest drove in from the opposite direc- tion. A little later Mother Lee asked: "Now what's on your mind?" "It's May and I haven't seen anything of that Good Fairy yet." 1 ' Do you doubt my word ? ' ' "No, ma'am! But I'd like to talk it over with you. Somehow I 'm afraid you are putting yourself to too much expense and trouble." "Not a penny " "Then Fern is." Mother Lee 's wit flashed back an answer : ' * Since you 're taking it to heart so, I '11 make a clean breast of it. I've bought up all the duck feathers for miles around and have made you a feather bed to sleep upon. I've clipped and swiped the tails from every cast-off coat I could lay my hands upon and patched you a quilt. You can help yourself to the dishes on the table. All you '11 have to do is to lay in a stock of pro- visions. Fern will not expect anything better until after she comes to you. A woman doesn't expect minor improvements from a man." Forrest exhaled a long-drawn sigh of relief. "I've everything finished except what you mention now I can rest." "Didn't you rest before?" "No, I thought you were spending your money. ' ' "Be at peace and wait for your feather bed." Forrest went away satisfied, and Mother Lee stood for a long time in the twilight. She be- lieved in fun, and Fern's fun was not to be spoiled. She then went to the woodpile and spoke sternly to "Sweet William" whom she found rocking to and fro upon a log. "It looks like rain better go to bed." A CHILD OF THE MOONBEAMS 229 The old man scrambled to his feet, somewhat startled, and began muttering. " Don't chatter talk!" pushing him au- thoritatively ahead of her, into the house. She watched him crawl slowly up the stairs. She then went to the dining-room porch and called out into the gathering darkness : "Come, Reverend Knight! You've walked enough for one day." Then she threw open several shutters. As she made her way back to the kitchen she scru- tinised every corner, half expecting to find some little hiding face. For one brief moment she stood with firm set jaws. Never before had she been confronted with a feeling of such complete loneliness. Not a child about! One by one they had all drifted from beneath her wings. She looked frightened. With a strange, hyp- notic feeling, she sank into a chair at her favour- ite window, where the moon always shone and the children had always greeted her. The deso- lation caused her to cringe inwardly. Through the spirit light of her imagination a tiny child opened the dark screen door and en- tered. It swiftly glided up before her. "Who are you?" quickly asked Mother Lee. "I have come from across Medicine Bow Range, out of the western sky. I'm the child of your future. I have come to peep over the horizon of your new life. I am here to ask you to come to our home. We have lots and lots of 230 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD children waiting for your stories. Lots and lots, just like me. " "I'll be ready when the last bugle calls for me, not before. Not yet, I have one more mission to fulfill. The sacred wedding of my life 's work. Go back! Go back! I understand your mes- sage. It is that I'm growing old too old to care for the children of earth." She arose to break the spell of her spirit dream. She wound the alarm clock vigorously, then picked up her match can and felt her way to bed. She feebly brushed her hand over the smooth surface as if she doubted her realisation that she were alone. "There 're smooth and rough places along life's road. There's daylight and darkness. There's joy and there's sorrow and there 're times when one must walk alone." She closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep. CHAPTER XXIX A LITTLE BROWN CASTLE "M OTHER Lee! Wake up! It's Forrest. I want to show you something." _ " Yes, what is it?" Are you awake ? ' ' "Yes " "Where are the matches?" and he fumbled about the floor. "There, under the head of the bed." "Yes, I know, but where?" "Let me think." "Never mind, I'll find tnem!" and he searched, arm's length, under the bed. At last, locating them, he struck one and lit a lantern. "I couldn't wait until daylight, I had to come and show you." Mother Lee attempted to get out of bed but he gently pushed her back. "Stay under the covers! It's chilly. I can show you just as well where you are, ' ' hauling two heavy leather bags from his pockets, as he spoke, and pouring out their contents upon the bed. 231 232 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD She blinked at it, then reached out for her glasses, that she might better see. "Where did you find it?" "In Dad's bunk. I went home, and, having nothing to do, thought I would clean out the old cabin for the new automobile I want to buy." ' ' It doesn 't surprise me. It always was in my mind that Old Dave made more than molasses money out of all them years of hauling trees. How much is there I ' ' "I haven't counted it. I couldn't get here fast enough." "Well, I'll get up and start a fire, and we'll count it over. There must be a thousand or more." "A thousand? There's five if there's a cent. Look at all the gold pieces ! Here, you stay in bed! I '11 start the fire." Mother Lee waited for Forrest to kindle a log fire. She then arose, dressed and came into the kitchen with the money still in the counterpane. ' ' Come, get your feet in the oven ! ' ' and For- rest placed a chair before the stove. "Now you can go down to the city yourself, and buy one of them automobiles," putting into words her scheme to get him out of the way for a few days. "And I can also buy those curtains and car- pets and pictures " "No, not a thing not until Fern goes with you. Only a wedding suit and an automobile." A LITTLE BROWN CASTLE 233 "Well, all right. But let's divide the money. I want to give you part of it." "I don't want any of your father's money. He paid me well for what I did for him." ' ' Well, then, take some of it for Maud. She may need some little extras for her wedding and we can pay old Brunell, too. Let's count it." He spread the money out before her. "Be careful! The walls have ears," whis- pered Mother Lee. Together they counted the money and planned many ways of spending it. "Isn't it right I should have it?" There was a tone of anxiety in Forrest's voice. "Why not? You honestly inherit what be- longed to your father; and money wasn't in- tended to hoard away but to be spent for the good it can bring us. ' ' Daylight found them still sitting and plan- ning. It was settled that Forrest would take a trip to the city. It was also planned, through Mother Lee 's suggestion, that he was to remain away until the day of his wedding. 1 1 Don 't worry about your stock. Bardoff will look after them. " With his money carefully concealed, Forrest kissed Mother Lee good-bye, and made his way on foot over the hill to the little station. Mother Lee was unusually cheerful when she went out to signal Bardoff to stop. 234 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "The coast is clear," she called out to him. "Forrest's gone to the city. You look after his stock and tell little Fern to take her time and do things well. You do the hauling and Maud is going up to help along. * ' At that moment Maud, in a long dress, came down the walk, finishing her dressing as she ad- vanced. She climhed up in the high seat, glad of a few days' absence from the ironing board. "I'm going to call it, 'The Little Brown Castle in the Skies,' " were Mother Lee's parting words, as Bardoff drove away, with Maud on the seat beside him. Mother Lee stood with the deepest feeling of joy she had ever experienced. "A perfect completion what a reward," she murmured. Then, as if glancing back over her years of happiness, she continued as she re- sumed her work : "The Little Brown Castle in the Skies! To them, it will be what Cottage Home has been to me." For almost a half century she had lived there. She would have felt very uneasy any other place. She would not have exchanged places with any- body in the world. Cottage Home, where she had spent so many days of interest so many days of pleasure. It had been her "Castle" among her kind of people who came to her with their sorrows their joys their sickness their gossip. She had been their medium at all times. A LITTLE BROWN CASTLE 235 Why should she not be satisfied? Her life had been a golden book, the many pages of which re- vealed a world of interest, and the interest was bound to last until the very end. She smiled, she almost could see in advance, just what that end was going to be. Her " fledgelings" had grown up and fled to different parts, to take up their life 's work. One by one, others had come along and had helped to fill in. One by one, they too had drifted on to make room for others. Yet each page lived vividly in her memory and the re-reading of those past pages was sweet solace to her as she stood, quite alone, in her work more feeble at times, than she imagined. The coming event Forrest's wedding was like a stimulant to her. It brightened her dim eyes. It sent a glow of colour to her tanned cheeks. Her hand was steadier when cooking a batch of extras. Everybody she could reach by message she requested to be at Cottage Home the tenth of June. That was the day set for Forrest's wedding the climax of her life, as she often termed it to herself. Of course, she had planned Maud's wedding to come off the same day, but that was only to be a rehearsal for the real event. She had given orders to all coming down from the mountains, to bring ferns and evergreen branches for the big corner room, where the wedding was to take place. The dining-room was to be the banquet-hall. The big, silent men 236 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD from the mountains and ranches looked upon her preparations with expressions of awe and dis- gust. The old little lady with the basket of flowers, thought the big room was not just the proper place for a wedding having seen it used as a hospital and a morgue so many times. But Mother Lee thought otherwise. She openly declared that no sin had been committed there and that the spirits of all who had lain there in state would be perfectly willing to dance at Forrest's wedding. Mother Lee was pleased when she watched the return of Bardoff and Maud. With folded arms she listened to Maud's excited explanation of their doings. "Oh, it's a dream! About the dooryard we planted green ferns. We made a sort of bridal path of them. The weather is still cool enough, so that they'll keep fresh until after the wed- ding. Did the real orange blossoms come ? ' ' she continued, in a single breath. "Yes, Reverend Knight has them in his keep- ing." * 'I wish I could peep at them. ' ' "But you can't. He carried them out to the foothills, I guess. I am afraid every morning that he'll wander off and forget to return. I keep him under the impression that after the wedding he will have a funeral ceremony to per- form." A LITTLE BROWN CASTLE 237 1 ' Funeral ? Don 't talk about Death ! ' ' 1 * Why not I Just as beautiful to talk about as weddings only we can't school ourselves to think so. Death means the opening of another pair of gates at the end of a long life. Of course death coming to the young is an accident and it's the accidents that have taught us to be sad. Noth- ing to me would be greater to end my life than a sermon from the same lips that will perform at the coming weddings." Maud looked a little uneasy. She too, in- stinctively felt that Mother Lee was gradually preparing her end. Her trip across the snowy range as she commonly alluded to it, was suffi- ciently evident. It was in Maud's mind to change the morbid subject as quickly as possible, so she burst out happily : "I wish you could have seen Fern arranging her beautiful things. If they had come from Heaven they couldn't have been more beautiful. And I just had to stand and watch her soft white hands fix them into place. I was afraid to touch them for fear of leaving spots. Of course I did all the lifting and heavy work. I have dreamed of Princes ' palaces but nothing ever came up to what I've seen in that 'Little Brown Castle in the Skies.' It's all brown and rough outside. Looks like square pictures from thousands of different kinds of trees. But that's because of the way the wood is carved. And then, to open that door and look in well, you'd be bound to 238 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD hesitate about entering for fear you might feel out of place. But Fern looks just like she be- longed there. Her eyes are so big and blue, and her skin so pretty and lily-like. Her voice is so sweet and her touch is so gentle. She appears more like an angel than a human being, like us. Oh, shucks ! I've six more shirts to iron before dark." Bardoff, who had only stopped long enough for Maud to jump down, came to the Mtchen on his way back from the General Store. Mother Lee put a loaf of bread in a clean cloth and handed it to him. "Take that until you're better paid." CHAPTER HER LIFE'S SUNSET H * TT TT ow beautifully Forrest's life has developed," thought Mother Lee, as she paused to view the big, _ corner room and its decorations of wild, mountain foliage. "The tenth of June Forrest's wedding day! I can hardly realise how time has passed. ' ' She spoke aloud to Ida and Rose who had come in to help her with the wedding prelim- inaries. "How does everything look?" asked Ida. "Fit for the kings!" "You didn't go to all this trouble when you married me off, ' ' laughed Ida. "You were in too much of a hurry," smiled Mother Lee. "Besides you got along just as well," playfully pointing to a couple of chil- dren pulling at Ida's skirt. Mother Lee went back to the kitchen to super- intend the cooking of a big dinner, but she was pushed gently away and told that she should play lady, that day, and watch for Forrest's return. 239 240 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "Suppose he should miss his train, " spoke Maud, in her usual pessimistic way. "There you go, stirring up your imagina- tion. " The day, to Mother Lee, had an odd beginning sitting there watching so many people about Cottage Home men, women and children. She had never realised that she had known so many families. It came to her mind that the little town below her must have grown. She had not been there for a long, long while. As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, it did not occur to her that some one had always been ready to do her errands and since she only ac- commodated the few silent men from the hills who waited upon themselves, it had never oc- curred to her that she was growing older and feebler most rapidly. So easily and so uncon- sciously had time passed, she was not aware that she continued her work through the activity of her mind. She imagined that she was going about, doing as much work as when she was younger. Seventy-eight years old! The little worn Bible which lay wrapped in a baby's stocking, gave her age, the ages of the rest of her family and "fledgelings," down as far as Forrest's. His name was the last on the long list. Forrest Berkley child of the pines. She had never thought of him as a child of parents, but of the great moaning pines that stood out so strong HEE LIFE'S SUNSET 241 and towered above all the other trees of the mountains. Her Forrest, whom she had raised from a tiny little brown thing in the arms of Old Dave to a big brown man who was ready to take unto himself a wife. The train whistled. Every one started. "He'll soon be here!" They closed the door and quieted down to sur- prise him. Mother Lee, all smiles, sat in the centre of a roomful of happy people. "It will only take a few minutes for him to get here." "Listen! I think he's coming." ' ' No, that 's one of the men going to the barn, ' ' were some of the whispered remarks that fol- lowed until one of the women was sure that something had happened to him. Maud went out to question her sweetheart. It was more of an excuse to see him alone for a few minutes before her wedding. She wore her white lawn dress, trimmed with pink rib- bons, and was ready for her part of the pro- gramme. Little Fern was not expected until twelve o 'clock high noon. She was to be accompanied by Bardoff who was to act as "father" and escort. At first it was a sad disappointment to Mrs. Dale, that her daughter should have a wedding away from home, but it had been Mother Lee 's wish from the very beginning to give the Wed- ding Feast. So it was planned satisfactorily that Fern and Forrest were to join Mrs. Dale in a private wedding supper later in the after- noon, before going to their " Little Brown Castle in the Skies." When Mand returned, there was an anxious expression on her face. "The train has come and gone, and no For- rest. And it's the only passenger train to- day!" "Don't get excited and commence worrying! He'll come if he has to walk" insisted Mother Lee. ' ' That boy is made of that kind of stuff. ' ' "But it's eleven-thirty, and the bride will be here at twelve ! ' ' "A half hour is as good as a week. Here Maud get 'Homer the Great' and start with your wedding. Reverend Knight is getting fidgety and I'm afraid he'll take another no- tion to walk. ' ' Maud, in a matter-of-fact way, went to the kitchen door and called at the top of her voice : "Come on, Homer!" The young, smooth-faced Homer, much thin- ner and weaker in appearance than Maud, al- though older, hurried forward ; calling to a few of his companions: "Come in, boys. They're ready for us." The boys followed into the kitchen and a smile of pride settled over Mother Lee's face as she HEE LIFE'S SUNSET 243 scented barber's perfume. Ida, the mistress of ceremonies, went out and spoke to Reverend Knight, who took off his glasses, wiped them with a silk handkerchief and followed with a dignified stride. There was a rush for the big corner room. Mother Lee, the last to enter, sat down near the door. All attention was centred upon Maud and Ho- mer, who stood before Reverend Knight. But in the midst of the ceremony, some one's atten- tion was drawn to the main road. It was Ida. She nudged Rose, at her elbow, and then tip- toed out through the kitchen onto the porch. Rose quickly followed. Some one else looked out and left the room. "What's the commotion out there!" called out Mother Lee. "Come quick, everybody!" Maud and Homer forgot what they were do- ing and rushed to the door to ascertain the meaning of the excitement. Mother Lee and the astonished Reverend Knight were all who remained. "Go see what's up!" almost demanded Mother Lee. The minister looked out and a second later was also staring in the direction of the road. Mother Lee gained her feet laboriously and made her way to the door. Her face became radiant with smiles. Coming down the drive, perched high on the seat of his new lumber wagon which was deco- rated with every conceivable branch of the for- est, was Bardoif, dressed in a new black suit his red hair and whiskers which but recently had been washed glistening conspicuously in the sunlight. A little farther back, came Fern, a vision of white veiling, on her prancing white pony, generously bedecked with garlands of green ferns. The beautiful sight held the group of watchers spellbound, until the little proces- sion reached them. Several women pushed their husbands for- ward to assist the bride from her horse. They playfully formed a seat with their hands and carried Fern to the excited group. A circle was instantly formed about her and a more beauti- ful flower from Heaven could not have fallen among them. Her eyes fairly danced in her happiness as she spoke to everybody. Going to Mother Lee, last, she kissed her cheek. Then a baffled expression filled each face. ' ' Forrest ! Where is he ! ' ' Fern overheard the exclamation and turned toward them, but Mother Lee drew her back. 1 ' Don 't mind them. They don 't know Forrest as we do." There was a sudden lull. No one seemed to stir. What could they say? W T hat could they HER LIFE'S SUNSET 245 do? Five minutes to twelve and no Forrest in sight. Mother Lee's heart beat rapidly against her side for the first time in her memory. It came to her mind that Forrest might have met with an accident but she dismissed the thought. Nothing like that could happen to mar the sub- limity of that perfect day her day the crisis of her life. * ' No, nothing could happen, ' ' she murmured. She shook Fern, who was gradually betraying a feeling of anxiety, a little roughly. " Behave yourself! Many a life has been saved on the Gallows at the critical moment. ' ' An excited cry of joy brought Mother Lee and Fern farther out onto the porch to see Forrest at the steering wheel of a big black automobile coming down the road like mad. He was bare- headed, as usual, and the wind was fanning his black hair from his face, which portrayed an expression of life or death. Before the assem- blage could realise, he had driven the car over the lawn and had stopped directly at the kitchen door. He saw no one, apparently, except Mother Lee and Fern. He acted as if he had committed some great crime and was looking to them for forgiveness. Mother Lee's smile and Fern's delight, in- stantly set him at ease, and he began explain- ing his experience, as a new driver, along a strange road. Fern, with several others, hurried to the side of the new car, which was loaded with roses. "I thought I'd never make it. The car got balky down the road and once I thought I'd have to come on foot." While Forrest stood talking to Mother Lee and Fern, Bardoff was examining the car. The rest had entered the big corner room and were again witnessing the marriage of Maud and Ho- mer. The minister had forgotten where he left off but that did not seem to disturb Maud, so long as the big band ring was placed on her finger. When they were ready for the "real" wed- ding, Mother Lee turned and whispered to For- rest. He removed a linen duster and stood in full evening dress, much to the amazement of the bystanders. She nodded toward the big square room. Forrest peeped in and when he turned to look into Mother Lee's kind eyes, there were tears glistening in his own so touched was he at the strange yet appropriate decorations of pine boughs and ferns. With grace and ease, For- rest adjusted his collar and tie and from con- stant habit ran his fingers through his heavy black hair. He leaned over and kissed Mother Lee, then walked into the room. She motioned to Bardoff, who stood in the kitchen with Fern, HER LIFE'S SUNSET 247 ready for the " Altar March" in which, Mother Lee had previously rehearsed him. Fern breathed a happy exclamation she was so proud of Forrest. She was wishing that her mother could see him as she saw him stand- ing in the big room at the pine-bough Altar waiting for her to come to him, that the minister might unite them for life. It all passed like a beautiful dream to her the soft low questions of Reverend Knight the little gold ring slipped upon her finger the hugs and kisses of every one and later, the feast around the big table the laughing and talking of all the good, homely people with their careless manners and unedu- cated speeches Mother Lee, at the other end of the table, alone, her wrinkled face radiant with smiles, the children scrambling for the good things the tiny babies, some nursing while their mothers' free arms reached out for delicacies to taste and comment upon the big, silent men of the mountains, mostly bachelors, forced in among the rest, with eyes glued to their plates and eating because they were hungry. To Mother Lee, also, it all passed like a beau- tiful dream. To her, it was not only a wedding, but an ending. Her ending! for she knew she would never go through such another feast. In each face she read some personal interest, for she held so many of their secrets. Still in her dream, she watched one by one vanish from the table then the clearing away of the dishes the 248 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD washing of them and the replacing of many of them in ranch wagons the children's voices diminishing as they went from the house to the yard the departure of Forrest and Fern in their flower-lined automobile and of Homer and Maud in their phaeton the calls and laugh- ter until all were out of sight then the tak- ing away of the decorations so that she would not have the after-work, the gradual lessening of voices as the guests drove away to their re- spective homes. She quietly sat watching her joys fade away, and no one had noticed, or had given it a second thought that Mother Lee stood alone at the kitchen door waving her hand to the last visitor of the day. It was sun-down, and the western sky held white, fleecy clouds against the pure blue back- ground a perfect counterpart of the day's feast, for she easily formed a perfect image of purity from all that had transpired in the past few hours. She thought, deep in her breast, how Christ must have felt at the last supper. Alone with His thoughts. Always alone : with the knowledge that in the minds of those about Him, it was perfectly right that He should be alone. In God's mind, perhaps, it is right for some of us to walk alone. The consolation seemed, by far, more comforting to her than had the whole gathering come back to brush away her sorrow. With her usual self-control, she cut loose the heart strings of her lingering vision HEK LIFE'S SUNSET 249 and walked to the corner of the porch and looked toward the wood-pile. " Sweet William" was the last living soul she could command and her natural inclination was to scold. It was her life. ' ' Get into the house ! ' ' The little withered man with closely set eyes crouched and peered up at her as he feebly obeyed. " Don't chatter talk!" After the man was safely upstairs she slowly made her way to the side porch where Eeverend Knight generally spent most of his time, and peering out, said: " Better get upstairs before you begin walk- ing in your sleep!" A silence fell over all and a deeper darkness crept down from the black forest above and for a time completely swallowed up every trace of Cottage Home. CHAPTER XXXT OUT OF THE BUT * <^f *WT "^HEN you come to the conclu^ ^ V^ / sion that your lot is the worst ^L/ ^L/ in the world, just look about ^ ^ y u an d you're sure to find somebody worse off than yourself. You have your health and that's the main-spring in life's machinery. You're only in a rut. Don't bor- row any more money and get deeper into the hole ! Get yourself a job and dig your way out of your predicament! That's a fine piece of book-keeping" picking up a note book from the table. "Your figures are perfect and your writ- ing just like print. 'Bob, forty dollars; Sam, twenty-six, fifty; Homer, ten ' all on the wrong side of the ledger. Why in thunderation don't you go to work and pay 'em back instead of copying them from one book to another as I have seen you do so many times. It's a waste of energy, as well as a bad beginning. Turn over a new leaf and get started in the right direction ! Become a lender, not a borrower, if you must dabble in money ! ' ' 250 OUT OF THE BUT 251 Mother Lee looked upon the bowed head of a young man, who, more or less, had been one of her fledgelings. The youth shifted his chin more comfortably into the palms of his hands and stared blankly : "I've tried to get work," he finally an- swered. "No, you just imagine you tried. There's that new sugar-mill about to start up. Curb your pride and haul beets, if you can't find any- thing else to do! Bring your money to me! I'll be your banker until you get on your feet. It seems a pity that a bright young feller like you should hang your head and mope like a woman. For shame! Work's the only salva- tion for you the only remedy that will save you from a miserable life. Start a system. First, work! Second, pay your debts! Third, save your money ! Fourth, buy a home ! Fifth, meet the little girl who is waiting for you up yonder on the hill ! Sixth, marry her." "What little girl?" "Well, never mind thinking about number six until you come to it. She's there all right, waiting for you to come along to ask her to be your wife." "I don't know any such girl." "Well, I'll bet Cottage Home against them un- paid bills of yours, that, after you've reached the sixth rung of the ladder I've built for you, you'll know all about her." 252 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD The young man slowly arose but immediately sank against the wall in a thoughtful mood. ' ' There, you 're at it again. ' ' "What!" "Moping. It's only a disease. All you need is a proper tonic. When you take a notion to sit down, stand up on your legs. Go right out now and do not eat or drink until you know that you have a job then come back." She pointed her finger. "Don't ever darken my door until you do. Be gone, you lazy feller! You're no credit to any one." A look of surprise brightened the young man 's eyes. He had never been called a lazy fellow. He half expected Mother Lee to modify her sternness but she still pointed toward the door. "Hurry out! Close the screen from the out- side ! The flies are coming in. There are two things that I detest flies and disappointments. I'll have neither under my roof." The youth went out and she resumed her task, sitting most of the time. There was, however, a strong feeling of sympathy in her heart. She understood his weakness and was at a loss how to help him. She kept her eyes upon him as he stood at the corner of the porch, his hands in his pockets and his eyes upon the ground. He had again lapsed into a dreamy mood. * * Hurry along ! There 's grass growing under your feet. ' ' OUT OF THE RUT 253 Her voice startled him. He braced up and disappeared toward town. The honking of a horn caused Mother Lee to again look out. Forrest and Fern had driven up. There were no roses in the automobile this time. But a steady sensible couple alighted and entered the kitchen. "Mother Lee!" burst out Fern happily. " Forrest is to be overseer of the new road through our land which is to lead into the new park ! ' ' "That's good," quietly answered Mother Lee. * ' Now you '11 need a lot of men ' ' turning her direct attention to Forrest. "Why yes." He seemed to know just what Mother Lee wanted. "There's young Crawford," she went on. "He's just started out looking for work. And there's old Bennett and Cross out there in the * cooler. ' I think if they were taken up in them mountains we could at least save them from the tremens. ' ' "Young Crawford is the very man I need. He's a good book-keeper." "I '11 vouch for that." "There's a good chance for advancement, if he only quits his dreaming. ' ' "I think he will by prodding him up now and then." 254 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Forrest hurried out and down to the village. Little Fern began helping Mother Lee with dinner, the while talking about their new happi- ness in the "Little Brown Castle in the Skies." "And to think that our little home is to be at the entrance to the new park!" "Have they started on that million dollar hotel yet?" "Oh, yes." "What does it look like?" "Just a beautiful big building. When are you coming to visit us?" "Some day you will see Babe and me com- ing over the brow of them hills. ' ' "Alone! Oh, you mustn't try to come alone with Babe. We '11 call for you in the machine. ' ' Mother Lee did not answer. Her attention was drawn to a pot, that was boiling over. Young Crawford, who returned with Forrest, hesitated at the kitchen porch and said: * * Can I darken your door f I 've found a job. ' ' "What job" staring blankly at him; having forgotten her former conversation with Forrest. "The job you found for me." "I'm mighty glad you had gumption enough to accept it." "Well, I'm going to hang right on to it." There seemed to be a tone of resolution in the youth's voice. "Now go and tell the Marshal to release old Bennett and his shadow Cross ! Tell him that OUT OF THE BUT 255 I'll be responsible for their future conduct! Then come to your dinner ! ' ' The jubilant strain in young Crawford's whis- tle caused M other Lee to smile. "If we can only make it last. Keep prodding him up, Forrest, and we will make a man of him yet. Who 's that coming in the gate ? ' ' "Maud, with a load of wheat." ' * Good gracious ! Is threshing over f ' ' "Yes. And six months of our married life is threshed away," said Forrest, looking play- fully at Fern. "She's like an ox," continued Forrest. "Who!" questioned Fern, astonished. "Maud. She does most of the work on their new ranch, besides her housework, I'm told." "While Homer sets traps, I suppose," smiled Mother Lee. "I wish I were strong, like Maud. I could help you more than I do," daintily interrupted Fern. "I don't. It knocks all the sentiment out of a man's life to have a woman out-do him." "Don't boast, Forrest, because God made you big and strong," spoke Mother Lee. "I'd better help Maud unhitch," ashamed of his last remark. "Stay where you are!" interrupted young Crawford, who had returned and was standing in the doorway. As he started, he called back to Mother Lee. 256 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD ' ' The Marshal said he will see you this after- noon." "What a little thing, coming into a man's life, sometimes, will do. Work ! What a small item to make snch a big change in one." Mother Lee was looking toward the wood- pile. "Go fetch me a pitch knot, Forrest!" With a bound Forrest rushed out and soon re- turned with an armful of cut wood. "Your pile is getting low, Mother Lee." ' ' The ebb in general is fast diminishing about Cottage Home. I see, since I've been looking through them field-glasses, that a portion of the fence has rotted away the 'cooler' is sliding down hill the lawn needs cutting and that old 'century plant' still hovers over the wood-pile. And look! They have built that lumber yard against my property. They've been trying to buy me out for the past two years, and since they've built that railroad before my door to accommodate the new sugar mill, I have only smoke noise and tramps at this door. 'De- catur* thinks I should sell, but so long as I live that sign shall stay above my door. As long as I can cook, I'll feed. I can see that they are trying to freeze me out, but I'm still the old weather battler. As long as I live I shall re- main so. Here! Dish up your plates from the pot and eat ! Take a cup of soup out to that OUT OF THE BUT 257 weather-vane on the wood-pile. That 's as near the house as I can get him, in daylight." Later, Forrest chanced to say a few words of comfort to Mother Lee. "I'll have a man fix everything about the place cut up a lot of wood and get you all set for the winter," knowing well, in his heart, that to suggest taking her away from Cottage Home would be useless. CHAPTER I f THE BTJTUAL OF SWEET WILLIAM 4 ' "^f 'M glad glad in my heart that he de- cided to die in bed. There 's a dark suit in that closet. Go fetch it here and I '11 sew some buttons on it ! I took them off of Jim Thompson's sweater. These 'ere brown ones are not exactly a match, but what's the difference ? He wasn 't particular. ' ' Mother Lee, unable to leave her chair, having strained her back, sat at the south window in the kitchen while Frank, an adopted son of years back, waited on her. He had been * ' Chief cook and bottle washer" as he always termed it, and followed the cooking car, cooking for the thresh- ers most of his working days. So "slinging hash" for Mother Lee, was no trouble at all, but to conduct a funeral was entirely out of his line. It was about all Mother Lee could do to keep him in the house while the body of " Sweet Wil- liam ' ' lay in state. That was Mother Lee 's gen- eral way of putting it. "The Lord intended we should take care of our dead as we do our born." "I'll have nothing to do with either," shouted Frank. "Send him to town, some- 258 where, anywhere, only get him out of the house!" "Why send him away? He lived here. We took him in as one of our own. He died here, and from here he will be buried with as much pomp as the next one." Frank pulled nervously at his moustache, and answered : "What do you expect me to do with this suit?" "Go, put it on him." "Not by a damn sight!" "You'll have to we're all alone. I can't do it." Frank made for the door. ' * Where are you going ? ' ' "Out to feed the horses." "There's no horses, except old Babe, and she can wait. Come! Never shirk a duty. Go and put that suit on " "Hell, no " and Frank dove into a pan of dough and began kneading it. "Well, I'll have to wait for Bardoff, I sup- pose." "Yes, by all means. He's fond of odd jobs." An hour later Mother Lee tapped with her thimble on the windowpane and Bardoff stopped his horses with a jerk, climbed down, sauntered up to the kitchen door where he kicked the mud and snow from his overshoes and stuck his red face inside the door. 260 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD * ' Take off them overshoes and come in ! " Bardoff, after much grunting, entered, carry- ing his overshoes and placing them under the stove. "I've a job for you, Bardoff, and you're the only man I know of who can do it. ' ' "What is it?" " 'Sweet William' died two days ago. He's still upstairs. I had a pine box sent up there and all I ask of you is to put this suit on him and lay him in the box." Bardoff swallowed hard and began search- ing his pockets. "I've handled lots of carcuses and things but not human ones. I don't " "Now see here, Bardoff, I've always said that you were the only live man in this neck of the land. Are you going to back out ? ' ' "Oh, no no, but I don't know how to get at such a job." "That will not be hard. Frank Frank, where are you?" but Frank was not to be found. Mother Lee attempted to rise. "No use. I never could get up them stairs to help you. ' ' "Don't you try, I'll go out and get someone to help me," and Bardoff did not wait to put on his overshoes, but hurried to his wagon and struck off at top speed down the road. It was late that afternoon when he returned and on the seat beside him was a little man bundled from head to foot. Mother Lee watched them enter the gate and come up onto the porch. She scrutinised the stranger, closely. "Here's an undertaker. He'll do the job up without a hitch." The small man removed his heavy fur-lined overcoat and then began warming his small, dry hands over the stove. Mother Lee, after a long, deliberate survey of the undertaker, took a strong liking to him and said in firm, even tones : "You look as if you understood your busi- ness." "I should, madam. I've had a world of ex- perience." ' ' Well, if I should die while you 're still in the community, I will have Bardoff, here, go fetch you. Now you'll find your man upstairs. Be careful! Them steps are steep. As soon as you get him ready, Bardoff or some of the men won't mind helping you fetch him down to the big corner room. I tried to get him to sleep there, where things would be handier but he in- sisted on the attic." "Don't worry, madam. I'll handle him. Everything will be over in a jiffy." 1 1 You 're a man after my own heart, ' ' smiled Mother Lee as she handed him the suit. "How's Forrest and Fern?" she asked of Bardoff after the undertaker had gone up- stairs. " Haven't seen much of them, lately. For- rest works full time on the road. So far we 've had a mild winter and the surveying goes right on but it will be spring before much hauling can be done." * 'How are the roads up that way? ' ' "Good, in dry weather, but a son-of-a-gun, when it rains. The clay sticks like glue. ' ' The small man reappeared in the doorway. "Well, now, a little lift and we will be through." "See there? He hasn't been five minutes." "I wouldn't be either if I was skinning a calf." Frank entered the kitchen and looked nerv- ously about. ' ' You 're just in time ' ' "Not me! I've got all I can do now," bounding out into the cold, swearing beneath his breath. Bardoff was forced, in the absence of every one else, to follow the undertaker upstairs. Mother Lee listened to their slow, steady, heavy tread and to the low warning voice of the little man until they both again returned to the kitchen. Bardoff was more talkative, Mother Lee thought, than he had ever been before. The little man began bundling up. BUBIAL OF SWEET WILLIAM 263 "I thiTiV you'd better remain over and finish up the job. He'll lay there till spring, with the help I have around here. Call Frank and have him fetch the sexton what is your name!" and Mother Lee turned abruptly to the little un- dertaker. " Weber James W. Weber." Frank came in leisurely, with an armful of wood. "Here Frank, fetch Mr. Weber a cup of cof- fee! Don't worry, it's all over," asserted Mother Lee, a little angrily. " That's all right, I'll cook for any man, liv- ing, but to dress a dead man, I draw the line." The little undertaker laughed, mechanically; for his main interest at that moment was upon the large cup of coffee with pure cream hot bread sweet butter and a dish of preserved goose-berries. "Put it on one corner of the kitchen table. It's warmer out here. Mr. Weber doesn't look as if his blood were very thick." Mr. Weber was delighted, for he was hungry and was soon eating heartily. Bardoff, who had always refrained from munching between meals, kept looking impa- tiently at the undertaker. "We'd better hurry. It's getting late and we've some drive before us." Mr. Weber paused between swallows. "What arrangements have you made?" "All's necessary. We've the permit and the hole's dug." " Where's the hearse?" "Don't need one. Bardoff 's wagon will do. I'll go after Wilson," and before any one could protest, Frank was making his way down over the hill toward town. It was a solemn little group that gathered in the large corner room. At her own request Mother Lee was brought in her chair to the side of the corpse. "He was a good honest soul. He had only one fault. He would chatter. If that walking pulpit, Reverend Knight, hadn't disappeared, I'd have had a sermon preached, but as it is you can say a few words, Mr. Weber, to show our respects." The little man seemed to be waiting for the op- portunity, for he burst forth with a well trained voice and said just the proper things, and just enough to please Frank, who was forced to enter the room with Wilson, the grave-digger, and help carry the black cloth-covered box to Bard- off 's wagon. * ' What are you bringing that hay for f ' ' asked Bardoff, as he saw Frank coming from the barn. 1 ' To put under him so his bones won 't rattle. ' ' Bardoff took up the lines and gave the horses a slap. Mother Lee watched the little group of men disappear over the hill. BUKIAL OF SWEET WILLIAM 265 "Well, he's on the beginning of his new jour- ney across Medicine Bow whence no traveller re- turns, ' ' she murmured aloud to herself. ' ' The winter will be long and the wood-pile will be covered with snow." CHAPTER XXXin HER WILL WAS LAW " A BABE! A Son! Born in that 7% 'Little Brown Castle in the Skies ' ! / i^ A real diamond seed from the A J^ God-Farmer's golden pan!" Bardoff had stopped at Cottage Home and had called out the news against the window pane to Mother Lee. She sat for a long time with folded hands and smiled in her thoughts. She let her mind's eye travel up into the mountain's density and into the Brown Castle, where lay a little mother, Fern. Mother Lee fancied she saw the big, fine figure of Forrest his handsome features flushed in the new kind of joy bending affec- tionately over mother and child. Would he come himself? Would he bring to her the golden message? Hardly had she murmured her thoughts aloud, when she looked up and saw Forrest hatless, as usual ; his brown neck, chest and arms bare coming like the wind on his black Jet. "A father to a son! That is the highest tribute paid to man," she said to him, later, 266 HER WILL WAS LAW 267 when he sat caressing her hands. "And my only wish, is that this son shall live to perpet- uate his father's blood." 1 l Thank you, ' ' said Forrest ; then after a mo- ment ? s reflection: "Fern's last words were: 'Tell Mother Lee to send up a name for our baby.' " "God love her!" and Mother Lee lapsed into study. Forrest sat back and watched her. With a sudden shock his eyes opened to a new realisa- tion. In the past months he had been so wrapped up in his business affairs, he had not noticed the change that had stolen over her. How feeble she had grown ! How very, very old she looked ! He wondered if she would ever be able to walk again. ' ' Pine ! ' ' she mused aloud. * ' Pine Berkley. Pine is the next sturdy thing to forest, so Pine he must be called. ' ' ' ' Fern will like that name. I already do. ' ' Forrest then grew restless and made several attempts to say something about her health, but his voice choked. "Out with it. You want to say something. It won't hurt my feelings." "I'm worried about you. How are you feel- ing?" "Much better. My back is a little lame, but I shall be all right in a few days. Frank is handy and fills the bill in every way. The only 268 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD thing that bothers him is, that he is afraid I'm going to die. ' ' Mother Lee stopped speaking to look out of the window. "There comes 'Decatur.' He's as bad as Frank. They both get me mad, the way they look at me." "Come home with me ! Fern wants you, and I want you to see the baby." For a few moments it looked as if she were about to consent, but she shook her head and an- swered : "No, not now, Forrest. The trip might give me a back-set, and besides, when I come, I want to drive old Babe up there. She 's thirty years old, and it 's in my mind to give her an outing turn her loose in a pasture. Bardoff has one up there on his place where she can run loose the rest of her natural days. Babe has always wanted her own way and there she shall have it." Forrest seemed at a loss for cheerful words, and finally said : "But you cannot handle Babe, alone. There are two creeks to ford. ' ' A disappointed look clouded her brow, then it instantly cleared. "I'll keep her head checked high. It's only when she drinks that she wants to lie down. ' ' Mother Lee leaned close to Forrest and spoke lower as Dakota went to the dining-room, with HER WILL WAS LAW 269 his plate of food, which he had dished up at the stove. " I Ve a reason for taking Babe away. They have talked me into the notion of selling the barn. You see, the barn is on a line with the Lumber Company's property and 'Decatur' says they'll pay me a good price for it." A frown crossed Forrest's face. " There! It's all right. He needs some ex- tra money and I don't need the barn." Forrest for the first time looked at the true situation through man's eyes. From his earli- est recollection he could now see where her in- terests had been centred. Every spare piece of clothing was sent to Dakota's ranch. Every morsel of spare food was tucked into his grub- box whenever he came to town. Forrest re- called having been sent many times to the butcher shop for beefsteak only to see it, later, put to one side for Dakota. Forrest watched the big rancher return from the dining-room, set down his plate and pass out with no comment. Forrest frowned but kept quiet. He knew from past experiences that Da- kota was not to be reprimanded. ''He might at least have asked you how you felt, ' ' Forrest could not resist saying. "No one understands 'Decatur' like I do. Poor boy ! His life has been a lonesome one. ' ' Forrest said no more. " Frank, how much bread have you on hand?" 270 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "He doesn't want bread. He wants you to go to the hospital," going out and slamming the door. "Frank's heart is in the right place, but he never did understand 'Decatur.' " "Won't you come home with me? I'll go back and bring the automobile for you." ' ' No, not yet. Perhaps, later on. ' ' "Don't you think you ought to come now?" pleaded Forrest in a softer tone. "No no " "I thought, maybe, you would like to look after the baby. ' ' "Of course. You bundle him up and bring him to me." ' * No. I want you to come there. ' ' The thought of caring for a baby, and espe- cially Forrest's baby, brought a happy expres- sion into her dull eyes. But she, still, shook her head. "No, Forrest. I'm not just ready to take a journey up into them mountains." Forrest swallowed hard to keep back his grief. "You just go back and take good care of that little mother! She is the one who will make your world go round and round on a pretty wheel of happiness." Forrest well knew that further coaxing to get her away from Cottage Home was useless. So he left her, and as he made his way slowly up HER WILL WAS LAW 271 the mountain road toward his home and happi- ness, he looked back and watched her face against the window-pane, until tears, perhaps distance blended all into obliteration. His mind was too troubled to determine which. Dakota waited about the barnyard until For- rest had gone, then returned to the kitchen. He crossed to the stove and held out his rough hands ae if to warm them, but Mother Lee knew better. "Is there something you want, 'Decatur'?" " Yes, I want you to go to the hospital." "In the name of common sense, what for?" "You're sick, ain't you?" "Well no!" "You can't walk, can you?" "Not just yet. My back is still lame. I'll be" "No, you won't. You may linger months years in that chair. Who knows ? You ought to be in a hospital where you can get taken care of." "That's very thoughtful of you, son, but I'm far from being helpless. Frank and I get along very nicely, right here." ' ' That ain't the most that 's on my mind. " "What else?" "You've got to shut down this boarding house." * ' What ? Shut out my people ? ' ' "That's it." 272 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "Not much! As long as I draw breath, that sign hangs over my door. ' ' "What are you talking about? You ain't drawn a working breath since you fell and hurt your back, and there ain't enough money coming in to pay your taxes." 1 ' Well, what of it f There isn't a man in this country who won't wait until I can pay." "No use arguing. If you'll go to the hos- pital, where you'll get what you need, we'll sell this place and have some ready cash to pay your bills." "Sell Cottage Home!" Mother Lee growing white with anger. "Let me see the colour of the man's hair who would dare try to dicker with me." "Ain't no better than any other land. The lumber people want it so they can have a front road. Now it ain't no more use to you, and we can get a good price." Mother Lee sat immovable. A cloud of gloom floated before her dim eyes. For a few seconds she had never seen a darker cloud cross her sky of life had never seen a more threatening storm. She wavered and felt that she would have to turn back that it was more than she could face. But something arose within her. It was the tide of her past the tide which had always carried her over. With all her possible energy she straightened her bent shoulders and said in a clear voice : HER WILL WAS LAW 273 "This roof is paid for every dollar earned by these hands, and under it I'll remain until death do us part." Dakota was too angry to reply. He went out, slamming the door as Frank entered. "If you can spare a loaf of bread, go put it in 'DecaturV wagon. He's mad at me." Frank muttered as he viciously rammed all the bread he could get his hands on into a flour sack and went out. Mother Lee watched Dakota drive out of the yard and out of sight. She watched the sun go down and the shadows creep slowly over the outside world. She watched Frank, with much protest, carry the lantern out and hang it on the gate post. She watched it flicker in the wind until he drew her attention to a bowl of coffee which he habitually brought to her many times a day. Later, she let him drag her chair over the bare floor to the side of her bed where the faint rays of the moon shone upon it. She heard Frank go out, as he always did at that hour when his work was finished, to take his recreation in a new pool room, which had just been opened in town. She sat motionless without, but what activity there was within ! A life so filled with vitality with plans and desires for future years. Something suddenly attracted her attention. It was the same little figure of a child tripping down on the moonbeams from the sky. 274 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "Why are you planning so much for them? We need you to plan for us. Come home to our garden. It's just filled with children like me who want to understand your stories, and want to learn. Come! Come! Come!" The pleading tone of the child, half -conquered Mother Lee but she feehly put out her hands, and as feebly said : * ' No ! I 'm not yet ready. I want to see For- rest 's son, and see that old Babe is put in BardofPs pasture." She slowly undressed, crawled into bed and shut her eyes firmly against that silent, yet won- derful message, which still lingered in the moon- light about her bed. "^W" "W-ELLO, Mother Lee!" 1 "Who is it?" * * Can 't you see me ? " M M * ' No, my glasses are broken. ' ' "Why, you have your glasses on ! " "I must have been dreaming" taking her glasses off and cleaning them. Before speak- ing she replaced them. "Now, who am I?" A tall, straight lad stepped closer to her. Mother Lee smiled. * ' You 're young Crawford. ' ' "That's who I am." "And now, how many rungs of that ladder have you climbed!" "I'm finished with four and I was thinking I could run five and six together, if I know ex- actly who the girl from the hill is, and if she's still waiting." "Well, she's waiting, all right." "Tell me who she is." "Have you built a home to put her int" 275 276 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "No, I'd like to see her first. Maybe she wouldn't like the kind I'd build." " Yes, she will, but she'll not let you know her until you have completed your work. ' ' Young Crawford began whistling cheerfully, then stopped abruptly, and added: "I'll tell you who I wish she were." "Who?" "Anna Ditmar. She's the only girl I know who lives in the hills." "You don't mean Sam Ditmar 's baby girl I" "She's no baby she's seventeen years old." "Well, do you think you care enough for her to marry her, if she'd let you!" "You bet I do If I thought there were a chance " "All right, young fellow. You build that home and I'll fetch you two together where have you been so long?" "Working for Forrest." "How is he!" "Immense." "And how's Fern?" "She's fine." "And Pine?" "The greatest kid baby I've ever seen." "I want to see that baby." "You're going to. Perhaps I shouldn't have told you, but Forrest has planned to bring the kid in on the tenth of June." "That was Forrest's wedding day the tenth HER MIND'S ACTIVITY 277 of June. And that was the day his father laid him in my arms, a tiny babe, many years ago. ' ' Mother Lee drifted into memories, brought back by young Crawford's standing beside her. "Well, I'm going back and finish my job. Just came down to thank you and have you help fix it with the girl in the hills." "It will all come out right. It's bound to if you keep on as you have been. How does it look up where you're working?" * ' The park is going to be a beauty. That mil- lion dollar hotel is finished. There are a lot of small hotels finished, and already catching the people." ' ' Maybe that 's the reason the Swedes from the stone quarry don't come here any more." "That's it! They all stop at the 'Horse- shoe.' " "Horse-shoe?" "Yes. Don't you like that name?" "Well, it's not very appetizing, do you think?" ' ' They serve nails, compared to what you used to give us." * ' Used to ! That 's so. I haven 't been myself for some time, but I'll soon be well again and the boys will come back. Don't they like Frank's cooking?" "Well, yes, when he cooks. But well he told them not to come. There wasn't much around to cook since you have been laid up. ' ' 278 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "Open that cellar door." Young Crawford, obeying, lifted a trap door in the floor. ' * Now go down and look at that supply. The shelves are full of gooseberry jam and honey. In the farther corner you will see a wagon load of vegetables that 'Decatur' just brought in from the ranch." ' ' Where f I don 't see anything. ' ' "Maybe it's too dark. Take a lantern." "I can see." "Don't contradict me! When I can't see down there, you can't." Young Crawford stood bewildered. At last, feeling that he must act, he said : "I '11 strike a match." He did so, across the damp bricks, and as it flickered, he saw a little plainer. But empty shelves and an empty cellar, with a few -decay- ing vegetables lying in one corner, were all that met his gaze. "Now go and tell the Swedes at the stone- quarry and the plaster-mills that Mother Lee has a new supply and plenty for all. Tell them to come back, that she knows what they like best. Mother Lee will cook their meals and mend their clothes, as well as their troubled hearts. She will sweep away the thorns from their difficult paths and show them how to brave a storm. She will send them homemade bread as soon as it is baked. She will shoo the flies from the wan HER MIND'S ACTIVITY 279 faces of the typhoids and feed them milk. First take these glasses up to Brunell's and tell him to put in stronger lenses and tack it on to my bill." She heard, more than she saw, the boy go out and she heard Frank enter. * 'Any one for dinner ! ' ' ''No don't think I'll bother with a fire." "No don't. Just give me a bowl of black coffee." "You drink too much coffee. Why don't you eat! Coffee is a drug." 1 ' Coffee is my medicine and all medicines are drugs." Frank handed her some luke-warm coffee and said: "Here, dip this bread in it." She obeyed, but laid the soaked bread in the saucer. "Eat it, why don't you?" "To-morrow I will. What's that noise f" She hesitated and listened. "It's that damn'd mowing machine again." "It's Forrest cutting the lawn." Her face lit up. "He never forgets me. Never forgets. No matter how tired he is, he rides down on that big black horse and cuts the grass." A little later, she was greeting Forrest, who always brought a radiance of new light to her. "Now, you're coming home with me to-day. 280 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD No more putting off , ' J he coaxed with his cheek against hers. "No, Forrest, not to-day. You see, the men are coming down to board with me again and I must have things ready. Go down in the cellar and fetch me a peck of potatoes and a dozen ears of corn. Then I want you to go down to Homer 's and fetch me fifteen cents' worth of beefsteak. Now, run along! Don't stop and tease old Grimes in the 'cooler.' I'll get after the Marshal this afternoon and have Grimes re- leased." Forrest clung desperately to Mother Lee's hand. ' ' What ails you ? Why don 't you go T ' "Yes, Mother Lee," and Forrest arose and left the kitchen. He felt choked and bewildered. When he returned he was relieved to find that she had quite forgotten about the errand. She sat dozing at the window. He kissed her hands and pleaded with her to lie down. She looked blankly at him. * * What for ? I 'm not tired. I '11 just sit here and scrape my apple. That will be rest enough until after supper." Forrest placed an apple in her hand and she fumbled it a few seconds, then unconsciously laid it on the window sill. "Mother Lee, won't you come home with me!" HER MIND'S ACTIVITY 281 if ! No, Forrest. I'm in the midst of my mince- meat. I'll promise to drive up in a day or so with old Babe and the children. ' ' He said no more, but kissed her hands left her and slowly made his way up the mountain road. He looked back several times and his heart sank at the thought that never again would he see Mother Lee standing, waving her hand to him. But Mother Lee would have been very angry had she known his thoughts. She had gone out. She stood there watching him out of sight through the eyes of her still active brain, much the same as she carried on the rest of her active life cooking supper dishing it out to first one, then the other scolding the noisy " fledgelings " at her feet and at last seating herself at the window when her day's labour was at an end, telling them stories until the usual hour had driven them to bed. The dragging of her chair over the kitchen floor to her bedside by Frank, who always re- ceived a scolding for his awkwardness, and the battle of the moonbeam children that came trip- ping down the fantastic light to tease and taunt her until she grew cross and sent them away, were the only disturbing elements to mar the pleasure of her daydreams. "No, I'm not ready to come. You just stand back there in that western sky and when I get ready I'll come in the buck-board with Babe at 282 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD the helm. You'll see us coming on them white clouds and don't you dare advance until we have crossed the top of Medicine Bow Range, or we might change our minds and turn back again." She smiled as she saw them flutter away obediently. She knew that her word was law. CHAPTER XXXV MIGNONETTES "-m JT OTHER LEE! Mother Lee! % / It's the tenth of June! Here! ^y Open your arms ! I want you to ^ ^ Y M hold my baby ! I want your blessing, too!" Mother Lee slowly aroused herself from her semi-sleep and, with Forrest's assistance, held apart her arms. She feebly cuddled it to her breast and smiled down into its tiny brown face. "He's a bright little shaver and I know he comes from the great tall pines. Go put him in the cradle back of the stove and Mother Lee will feed him and watch him grow." As she spoke she pushed the child gently from her. Fern stepped toward her and in a low, sweet voice, coaxed : "Mother Lee, we've brought the automobile to take you with us. Forrest and I want you to see the little home your mind made our hands build." "Yes, I'm coming to see it and to see every- body soon, but not to-day." 283 284 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD A knock at the door caused Mother Lee to turn her attention to a new-comer. A moment later she sniffed the air and said impatiently: " Mignonettes! It's the grave-yard woman with more flowers. Give her a cup of coffee! It's a long walk over the hill. ' ' Mother Lee tried, vainly, to see the old, little woman and grew angry in her disappointment. She turned to Forrest and said : 1 'Take these spectacles back to Brunell and tell him to put the old lenses in again. Be sure he scratches it off my bill." Forrest took the glasses and went out onto the porch. He stood for a long time in deep thought. He was trying to contrive some scheme whereby he could get Mother Lee to give up her lonely life. It was his earnest wish to try and repay her, just a little, for all she had done for him. He was at a complete loss how to go about it. He grew restless and returned to the kitchen. He handed the glasses back to Mother Lee and assisted her in putting them on. "I'm sure these will be much better!" cring- ing a little at his lie, but he knew a trip to the General Store would not have improved mat- ters. After a moment 's testing she answered : "Of course they are. I can see every bit of you. ' ' The old, little woman finished sipping her cof- fee and in a tired whining voice said : MIGNONETTES 285 "I I don't think I shall be able to make many more trips up there I'm getting pretty well along in years." "Well, in the long run, I don't think it will make much difference to the part of us which always lives. Clay is clay, and a bed is a bed. They both hold our tired, unconscious bodies, but never the life that lives, cloaked in this flesh of ours. The only difference is, that in the former we just live in a longer dream. ' ' * * That 's very comforting Mother Lee. Sometimes I feel a great light of hope ahead." "What you see is the horizon of your new world. You and I are in the same boat. We 're both nigh onto the end of our earthly trails. ' ' * ' I ex pect y on 're right. I re alise more and more every day. But what worries me is, who will put flowers on my grave? I have no body left. ' ' 11 You'll never stop long enough to see what is on your grave. When the last bugle calls, you '11 be hustled right along with others, never stop- ping until you've crossed Medicine Bow to the depot on the other side. And I suppose, when you get settled down, St. Peter will let you have your old job back again, sprinkling flowers for the angels to tread upon." 11 h, how con soling. Will I meet you there?" 286 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD "Very likely, I'll settle in another Cottage Home and have the coffee pot on. ' ' "That is so comforting so consoling." As she slowly gained her feet and picked up her basket of flowers she added : ' ' Well, I hope I can live long enough to place flowers on your dear dear grave." "Be sure they're morning-glories and early ones, or I'll never see them." "I will I will" and the door closed with such gentleness that Mother Lee looked up. "Did she go!" ' * Yes, ' ' answered Forrest. "Why didn't she take the odour of them flow- ers with her?" "We'll air the room." Mother Lee lifted her face to the cool breeze and smiled : "Spring showers bring the summer flowers, and the summer flowers the warm sunshine. Flowers were intended for the young the lovers the wedding feasts. Let them reign where laughter rings. Let them lend their colour and fragrance to the scenes of merry-making. Why sink their pearly petals into the cold, lifeless clay which God intended should be unadorned." Mother Lee spoke very low as if sinking into deeper thought. Forrest looked at her. He was used to her lofty phrases, sometimes just capped with a tinge of sarcasm ; but her last words fell like a MIGNONETTES 287 lash across his chest and for a brief moment he would have gladly exchanged places with her, if it were in his power so to do, that he might re- pay her for the happiness she had bestowed upon him. As if suddenly revived from a semi-stupor, Mother Lee started up, saying: * * Put on the big iron pot. We '11 pop corn and tell stories. It's too dark to knit." " Mother Lee, can't you see me!" * * Of course, child. You 're the little Fern that Forrest built the nest for, away up in them mountains." "Yes, but what colour is my dress?" "Blue, just Jike the sky and your eyes." Fern's eyes filled with tears and Forrest drew her away, saying cheerfully : "Come, let us pop the corn." "No, not yet" interrupted Mother Lee. "Wait until all my fledgelings come home to roost." It was a hard task for Forrest and Fern to return to their home and leave Mother Lee. But Forrest had his work, and Fern, her baby, also her Mother to look after. Frank was cer- tain that Mother Lee was not as bad off as they imagined. Then too, never a day passed with- out a caller. The forest was in its most gorgeous costume of autumn colouring, for the summer's foliage had faded into soft mellowy shades and the 288 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD ripened fruits had dropped from their branches to the black loamy earth. The harvest days were over and the big silent men from the many ranches came up from the lowlands, and passed Cottage Home on their way to the elevators and the mills. The trappers came down from up North for their winter's provisions. They also passed, on their way to the station. The wood- choppers came down out of the dense mountains with their heavy loads of ties and went on down to the tracks. The Swedes, from the stone- quarry and plaster-mills, came in for their win- ter clothing. But the nailed gate that barred the entrance to Cottage Home caused them all to pass and repass. Frank thought it best to nail up the gate. He was tired of cooking. His chores about the pool-room brought in enough to buy flour and coffee, and Maud kept him supplied with but- ter and eggs. It was all right because Mother Lee did not miss her patrons, for in her imagination they still came and went and came again. Besides, she spent much of her time nodding in her chair. Everyone thought she was getting better. They marvelled at her perseverance and will- power in keeping up. She was always in her usual good humour and was never bored by visitors. She was always ready to talk or listen and if she were not advis- ing Rose, Ida or Maud, she was scolding Sam or MIGNONETTES 289 Bob. And she had not forgotten her promise to Young Crawford, who had been the last on her list to turn over a new leaf. And the little girl, from the hills, had come voluntarily to Mother Lee and whispered through blushes : ''You fixed up a match between Dad and Mother, now fix one up for me." Then Mother Lee, in a pretty story, told of Young Crawford's success as a man the good position he held as the assistant manager of the Million Dollar Hotel how he had been saving up for a home and was now looking for a wife and that she, this pretty little miss, must watch for his coming and welcome him with her mother's smile. "Oh, you'll like him! Everybody does" Mother Lee firmly said as she ended her story and felt more than she saw the soft brown hair of Kose's oldest daughter brush her cheeks in a sweet young caress. Mother Lee was the first to hear the laughter of a happy pair coming upon the kitchen porch. "That's Young Crawford and his wife." "How do you know?" asked Maud curi- ously, who had been sitting most of the day with Mother Lee. "The step of youth the voice of youth and that promise of a wedding, to-day. Another happy tribute to the memory of Cottage Home. 290 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Ah, now the leaves of its book are almost ended, yet I still breathe with interest. Ned and Ann ! I've watched them grow up. Married to-day! My, how fast Old Father Time is preparing for his round-up." After greeting the young couple, Maud left for home. Crawford and his bride sat chatting with Mother Lee and cheering her until Frank re- turned from his chores and filled their place. Mother Lee nodded in her chair while Frank heated and brought her a bowl of coffee. With the clumsy gentleness of his rough nature, he assisted her to lift the bowl to her lips. ' ' To-morrow you 'd better stay in bed. ' ' He dragged her chair across the floor into the adjoining room, and for the first time assisted her to undress. "The world to me has always been a glad, glad place, but when one's body is tired and worn-out there is only one consolation ! Depart to higher spheres where await rest and com- fort. Why do those about my couch weep and call me back? They say it's because of their love. Love! But if they only knew how sor- rowful they make it, they would rejoice in- stead. ' ' Frank, used to Mother Lee's constant talking, had gone out, slamming the door. The rest of her words fell unheard, unheeded, until her eyes closed in sleep. CHAPTER XXXVI CBOSSING MEDICINE BOW hitch up Babe to the buck- board!" Frank stopped at the door, on his way out. "What for!" looking curiously at her. * ' She 's going to Bardoff 's pasture. ' ' "Who's going to take her there! Bardoff 's gone past." A cunning expression came into Mother Lee's eyes. "Young Crawford will drive her up." * * Can 't he hitch her up f I 'm late now. ' ' "No, I want you to. You can handle her bet- ter." Frank left and was on the verge of going to the pool-room, indifferent to her wants, but he finally changed his mind and went to the stable. He led Babe forth and roughly threw the har- ness over her back. She snorted a little and looked wildly around. It was an unusual feel- ing to have a harness slammed on her so reck- lessly and she wheeled and faced the intruder viciously. But Frank, accustomed to horses, paid no attention to her pranks and soon had 291 her hitched and tied to the hitching post. He then went hurriedly away, over the hill, down- town to the pool-room. Mother Lee smiled with satisfaction as she heard the wheels of the buck-board stop before the kitchen door. It was deeply settled in her mind that she would take the trip alone with Babe. They would go far up into that dark pine forest, into which she had so often peered, as she stood watching many sunsets, golden to the deepest of red. She and Babe would go over that trail together and would stop and visit along the way. Forrest's home! Bardoff's ranch, where the best alfalfa in that part of the country grew. ' * It shall be our vacation ! ' ' Hours floated by on wings of blackness. The moon tipped its silver brim over the edge of the window sill. Its ghasty light penetrated the un- curtained window into the room and stole over the bare floor until it just touched the wooden bed. It crept gradually up the post and over the white counterpane until it gently kissed the tranquil face of Mother Lee. Then as if not wanting to remain it stole sorrowfully back and out of the window into the open world again. The spirit of Mother Lee arose, dressed and walked forth in a beautiful death dream. All alone she climbed into the buck-board and com- manded as she took up the lines : "Hetup, Babe!" CROSSING MEDICINE BOW 293 She smiled at Babe's cleverness; who, having grown tired of being tied to the hitching post had nibbled at the knot until she had regained her freedom. "Het up, Babe!" and Mother Lee brought the broken whip down on the old mare 's back. Babe shook her head and walked down the brick driveway, nibbling here and there at the snow-drifts as she went along. The big gate, which had been blown down previously, during a blizzard, lay half buried in a snow drift and Babe, deliberately, pulled the buckboard over it. Upon the main road she stopped and thrust her ears forward as if debating which direction she would take. "Het up, Babe!" and Mother Lee pulled hard on the lines. * * We 're going to drive across them mountains, far over old Medicine Bow. Het up ! It's a long way and I'm afraid they'll wake up and catch us and fetch us back. ' ' Babe started on. The full, cream-coloured moon flooded the white world below with a soft, brilliant light. The mouth of the canyon was like the entrance to a great crystal palace all aglitter with diamond-dust. Babe stepped timidly as if treading on unfamiliar grounds. She had never been in the mountains before. But Mother Lee persistently coaxed : "Het up, Babe! You're going to Bardoff's pasture where the best alfalfa grows." Babe quickened her steps and earnestly began to climb on up the steep road. Forgetful, she stopped to nibble at the tips of the frost-bitten weeds. The Big Thompson was like a mirror of silence. ' ' Listen ! Babe, do you hear the tinkling of them millions of tiny silver bells?" But Babe only heard the squeaking of the steel-tired wheels of the buckboard breaking through the frost-crusted ground. * 'Listen to the strings of them golden harps ! ' ' chanted Mother Lee. But Babe only lowered her head from the bit- ing winds that moaned through the needle pointed pines. "Look ahead! It is the aisle to the altar of God. See them white harbingers lined up on both sides, all glittering in their white mantles of snow. Het up, Babe! They are beckoning us on." Babe lowered her head, still more, and labori- ously climbed. She panted and staggered at times, the bitter cold winds pricking at her flesh. But still responding to Mother Lee 's gen- tle urging, she continued, slowly and steadily through the night 's blizzard until she reached a big gate before the "Little Brown Castle in the Skies." "Wait here, Babe, till I go in and look things over," and Mother Lee softly entered the lit- tle brown house and as softly stole to the sleep- ing chamber of Forrest and Fern. CROSSING MEDICINE BOW 295 * * Mother Lee ! Mother Lee ! You have come to us at last." Forrest was wide awake. " Yes, and everything is as I wanted it. And you're like two little bugs in a rug. And lit- tle Pine! He looks so selfish, all alone in his little room. Come, come ! There must be more fledgelings. A nest must have more than one little bird. " As Mother Lee went quietly out, she hesitated before another door. It was the entrance to a sun room, where lay Mrs. Dale. Old Babe, who had nervously nibbled the ice and snow away from a portion of the gate-post, was glad to move on. Like a sudden breeze from a furnace, the air grew warm and the winds no longer howled. The great fleecy white flakes sifted silently down, forming themselves into a white mantle for Babe and the buck-board. "Het up, Babe! I'm sure there's a green field ahead, for you. Sure enough! The bars of Bardoff 's gate have been pushed back to wel- come you!" Babe plucked up her ears, quickened her pace through the barnyard, and sniffed about until she reached a stack of green alfalfa. "Now, eat your fill while I go and reconnoitre a bit." On the velvet wings of the night, Mother Lee's spirit was wafted away. She never knew how 296 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD she reached the sand-hills in the valley, below, so easily, nor did she stop to analyse. She just entered Sam Ditmar's home and rested her eyes upon its sleepers with satisfaction. Rose had a smile of contentment on her pretty face and that was, to Mother Lee, the best evidence of a happy household. 1 'They '11 get along and live to a ripe age." She left them and went up North to visit Ida and Bob. "That was a good match 1 made," she credited herself as she crouched affectionately over their newly born. "Lots of fledgelings. Lots of little chubby hands, must come forth from this well made cradle," she whispered as she fingered its sides. "Bob has certainly intended it so; he has made it so strong." She smiled as she left them sleeping, Bob on his back, singing praises in loud rattling snores and his wife cuddled close to his side. From there, she went to visit Maud and "Homer the Great." She again smiled as she entered their sleeping room and saw Maud's strong arm pillowing Homer's small head. He looked almost like a child in her arms. Then Mother Lee stole about the house, not satisfied until she had searched every nook, every drawer, at last discovering a small box tucked far back in a clothes press. She opened CBOSSING MEDICINE BOW 297 it and found the object of her search some tiny new garments. "Lots of little fellows, 'Homer the Great'! But see that they are strong, like Maud." Mother Lee hurried out and again mounted the wings of night, with one trembling desire, to visit "Prince" Arthur and his domain. She found him, at last, settled down in a valley on a ranch, with prosperity looming up every- where. His lands were fertile and his several flocks of shf?p.p were large and looked fit for the market. She entered a home, well furnished and abundantly stocked with provisions. In the par- lour stood "Prince" Arthur 's piano, hand- somely decorated with a scarf of hand painted lilies on turquoise coloured plush. From the position of two parlour chairs, Mother Lee knew how the evening had been spent. She peeped into a darkened room where an elderly woman lay asleep. She admired the strong, fine fea- tures, but stepped forward, in her surprise, at the sight of a small crib. She crossed the bed- room and closely scrutinised a tiny face. She felt a wave of disappointment that "Prince" Arthur had not written to her and told her of the glad tidings. Then she hurried to "Prince" Arthur's bed and leaned far over to peep at the face of his sleeping companion. She went away, satisfied that the slender girl wife was his true mate. 298 THE EDGE OF THE WOELD Far across the broad, open country she made another trip and entered the one room, almost empty cabin of Dakota, her son. There was not a trace of comfort to be seen. A hard, straight bunk, a table, a stove and a chair constituted the furnishings. She looked down, a little sadly, at the sleeping form of her son. "Wake up, 'Decatur!' I've come to turn over Cottage Home to you. Keep it in working order, and always keep open its doors!" Dakota stirred restlessly upon his hard pil- low, then grunted and turned his face toward the log-wall. Mother Lee, a little curious, searched an old trunk that she had once owned. " Money! Money! Enough to keep a com- munity all the days of their lives ! For shame, 1 Decatur ! ' For shame ! Hoarding was not in my blood. ' ' She floated away as silently as she had come. "I'll just stop in and take a look at the old fossil's tower of rest. I'm curious to know how he lived," and Mother Lee climbed the spiral stair where the wind whistled and moaned within, where bats squealed, and owls screeched and the spiders had built their webs. To Mother Lee, it was too much like witchery music. She turned back and fled. "No wonder he died. No wonder they call this a haunted house." CROSSING MEDICINE BOW 299 She left, as hurriedly as she had come, for she wanted to take a squint into Bardoff's home. She stole softly up and peeped through a win- dow. There was a profound bachelor comfort, everywhere she looked. A pipe and tobacco, a lamp and a Police Gazette lay upon the table. His floor was carpeted. His bed was of feathers and his blankets were of wool. "God love him!'* she murmured, as she looked upon his peaceful countenance. "He never harmed anyone, not even himself, ' ' was her consoling remark as she finished her rounds. "Well, Babe, you surely have had your fill. We must be moving on, before daylight comes, or they'll catch us and fetch us back." But Mother Lee found Babe's silent body ly- ing between the shafts of the buck-board, com- pletely covered with a mantle of snow. "Wake up, Babe ! We must be moving on ! " Mother Lee climbed into the buck-board and after wrapping her cloak of snow about her, she smiled. "Hetup, Babe! Het up!" taking hold of the lines. The snow flakes lessened and gradually stopped. The moon reappeared, and down its silver path came a band of happy moon-beam children. "We'll get her up, Mother Lee. You hold fast to the lines." 300 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD With crystal prism-sticks, they playfully crawled over Babe 's stark form, stretched out in the snow. "Don't hit her! Just poke her gently," called out Mother Lee. But only the spirit of Babe arose slowly. She shook her harness until the snow fell like a sheet of silver scattering the laughing children in all directions then started out on a pair of wings. Mountains and valleys were fast disap- pearing. Mother Lee in the buck-board saw that they were travelling on fleecy white clouds. Laughing and chatting, some of the children were running along at full speed, while others, much smaller, clung to Mother Lee. "Where is Babe going? Is there water ahead!" ' * Oh, yes ! There is a river we must ford. ' ' "A river! Hold on, Babe! You're entirely too f risky, " and Mother Lee pulled on the lines. "Where is the snow?" "All gone! Summer is here ! Listen to the bees ! Listen to the birds ! See the flowers ! ' ' "What river is this?" asked Mother Lee in- different to their joyous cries. They had come to a small river. "It's not the Big Thompson!" Silvery laughter rippled from many rosy lips. "It's the river Jordan which we must ford. What fun ! And we are your moon- CROSSING MEDICINE BOW 301 beam children, who have caught you at last in our diamond web. ' ' Mother Lee tried to look back but the moon- children obstructed her view. "They are no longer your fledgelings. They have all grown up. We are your future fledgelings. We want your stories and your pop-corn. Come on! Come on! Come on !" They had reached the edge of the river. Babe put forward her ears. With satisfac- tion she waded in, while Mother Lee held fast to the lines. Babe nosed the clear sparkling water, then went down on her knees and took her bath while the children frolicked and waded about. She then carried them all safely across. The western sky opened. The golden gates swung back and a thousand chubby arms stretched forward in welcome. "Mother Lee! Mother Lee! At last you have come!" welcomed the moon-children within. "Close the gates quickly or we may lose her again !" There was a happy flutter and the great golden gates were closed with a musical slam, and Mother Lee was almost smothered with kisses. Babe with no effort whatever carried them over green fertile valleys, and to a large smooth plateau of land where stood another Cottage Home. 302 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Mother Lee entered the kitchen, glad that her journey was at an end. "Go fetch a chair and my knitting. Put on the golden pot! We'll have pop-corn and I'll tell you. a story while I rest my weary bones. ' ' Her heart was overflowing with her new born joys and comforts and the satisfaction that she could go on with her work. She watched the happy children go laughingly about, ever alert to do her bidding. "Did Babe find the alfalfa field?" and Mother Lee pushed open the shutter. " There she is, with her sides bulged out like balloons. Go fetch her into the stable! She never did know when she had enough. ' ' The corn was popped and the story told, and Mother Lee stood up. "Come! Scamper! It's most supper time. There's sure to be someone coming along, hungry. Who is that coming now!" and she peered out of the door. "Well I'll be switched if it isn't Old Dave. Here you little shaver, with them golden locks ! Go fetch me a pitch knot and we'll have every- thing going in a jiffy ! ' ' EPILOGUE The morning's sun came up clear and bright from behind the frozen crested horizon and sent a blinding glare, far and wide, over the world and aroused from their sleep, both man and beast. White, glittering moulds, prominent here and there on the surface of the wide, open country, were the only marks of distinction to show the various ranches that lay almost buried beneath the snow, for the night had produced one of the fiercest blizzards of the year. BardofPs door opened and he tunneled his way to the barn, then to the stack in the barnyard where he found Babe lying dead between the shafts of the buck-board. A large hole had been eaten into the stack of green alfalfa. It deliv- ered a strange, startling message to him. He examined the dead mare. 1 'Colic! "he muttered. He shoveled away the snow from and about the buck-board, half expecting to find the body of Mother Lee. * ' What does it mean ? " he asked himself. The question drove him quickly to his cabin and into his fur-lined coat and over-shoes, and 303 304 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD then back to the barn where he hitched up his team. He hurried to Forrest's home and related the happening. Could it be possible that she had, during one of her moods, started out alone, and Neither finished the thought-sentence. Forrest's face turned livid. "Strange I dreamed she was here or was I awake ? ' ' He said no more but saddled his horse and dashed off down the canyon road, wading through snow drifts, sliding and slipping, at times, down the steep descent, with but one thought. If he could not find her within Cot- tage Home, it was true, then, that she started out alone. He reached the bottom of the canyon and as he made his way along the brick drive-way he saw a group of men standing on the porch. He knew that something had happened. He set his jaws, closed his eyes and for a moment felt dazed. Then came a voice like the voice of Mother Lee : "Your father, with his own hands, all alone, chiseled out a log and buried your mother. Now let's see you show some of your father's gumption." At the kitchen door, where he dismounted, he met Maud, whose eyes were swollen and red. He choked, swallowed hard but went into the EPILOGUE 305 big corner room. He sank upon his knees and wept like a child; then sat back and bowed his head. More people came, and by noon Cottage Home was life again. Fern coaxed Forrest from the room as Bardoff drove into the yard with the same little undertaker. Knowing that Mother Lee never liked tears, sad faces nor commotions of any sort, there was a quietude and regularity for the next three days. Wagons drove into the yard and drove out again, came back and went. Maud, Rose and Ida cooked the meals and sat in the kitchen telling one another over again, all the good qualities they already knew about Mother Lee. At the close of the third day, with sad faces and heavy hearts, a long caravan of mourners, in farm wagons, buck-boards, carts, some on horseback, some on foot, followed a hearse over the hill to the little clay cemetery. A month passed, then two, then three, April opened its gates to a new spring. The little woman with the basket of flowers, watched with interest Cottage Home. From it she saw Frank carry his belongings to a shack in the rear of the pool-room. Later, she saw Dakota with several men surveying the property and later still she missed the white picket fence. 306 THE EDGE OF THE WORLD One day as she passed on her way to the ceme- tery she saw that Cottage Home had been turned into a busy saw-mill. The buzzing saws and heavy machinery shook its walls. Piles of lum- ber covered the once smooth lawn. She sighed a little as she hurried on, whining : "I'm sure when I meet her on the other side of Medicine Bow and I tell her all that has happened I'm sure she will be satisfied for she did always like to see things moving and in perfect working order. " THE END Of all the charming books that may come forth this year, none will be more welcome than GEORGINA'S SERVICE STARS By Annie Fellows Johnston TO BE PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1st In it will be found a new story of beloved Georgina whose Rainbow adventures led into her tenth year. Now she is older sweet sixteen, if you please and Richard, her playmate of child- hood days, is a grown man of seventeen and as devoted as ever. Of course he got into the great war enough to give Georgina a second star to her service flag; her father, being a famous surgeon, his star is rightfully at the top. But watch out for Richard! (Beautifully illustrated. $1.50 net.) AS USUAL FOR ALL THE FAMILY GEORGINA of the RAINBOWS Now selling in beautiful popular edition, 60 cts. Britton Publishing Company New York He has written another one and it is as good as his famous book " Laugh and Live" MAKING LIFE WORTH WHILE that the title of Douglas Fairbanks' new book to be published in early autumn It is written in his own inimitable style another book of inspiration for people of all ages and either sex a new vein of optimistic cheer for us mortals of a war-worn world another message from the man who knows how to keep himself happy and well, and who is willing to pass his recipe on to others. His book makes for Success Everybody will want it I2mo. Beautifully Illustrated with 1 6 New Photographic Duotones Cloth, $1.00 Khaki, $1.00 Leather, $2.00 Ooze, $2.50 To be published September i Britton Publishing Company New York WHERE THE SOULS OF MEN ARE CALLING The first big love story to come out of the war zone founded on fact more strange, more power- ful than fiction. The author, Lt. Credo Harris, stationed in France with the International Red Cross, is a Kentuckian. He just couldn't keep out of it **Over There." His story starts with the en- trance of America into the war and ends on the firing line of France. There is charm and skill in his style which insures keenest interest on the part of the reader. What the Critics are saying: "A story of strong characters blended, it exem- plifies the old maxim that 'truth is stranger than ' fiction/ and in this case more powerful." Buffalo News. "One of those books that grip and grip." Mil- waukee Sentinel. "A book worth while and a book to recom- mend." Louisville Herald. "Combines the interest of character study with a realistic picture of life in the war zone." Courier Journal. "Jeb proves that a coward can become the bravest of men." Pittsburgh Chronicle-Tele- graph. Attractively bound in cloth $1.50 net By All Means Read this Book Britton Publishing Company New York Over the Seas for Uncle Sam By ELAINE STERNE, Author of 'The Road of Ambition" Miss Sterne is Senior Lieutenant of the Navy League Honor Guard, which has charge of enter- tainment and visitation in behalf of sick and wounded sailors sent home for hospital treatment. Their experiences, such as may be published at this time, now appear in book form. This book brings out many thrilling adventures that have occurred in the war zone of the high seas and has official sanction. Miss Sterne's descriptive powers are equaled by few. She has the dramatic touch which compels interest. Her book, which contains many photographic scenes, will be warmly welcomed in navy circles, and particu- larly by those in active service. Cloth Illuminated Jacket $1.50 Net Ambulancing 1 French Front By EDWARD P. COYLE Here is a collection of intensely interesting episodes related by a Young American who served as a volunteer with the French Army Red Cross Division. His book is to the field of mercy what those of Empey, Holmes and Peat have been in describing the vicissitudes of army life. The author spent ten months in ambulance work on the Verdun firing line. What he saw and did is recounted with most graphic clearness. This book contains many illustrations photographed on the spot showing with vivid exactitude the terrors of rescue work under the fire of the big guns. Cloth 1 6 Full page Illustrations $1.50 Net Britton Publishing Company New York JE SOUTHERN REGIONAL UBRAR A 000 040 725 4