CHAPTER VII
JACK’S VALET DUTIES
After a full realization of what must be the general opinion of Mrs. Alexander in the hotel, every one in the Dalken party felt eager to get away from Albuquerque. Hence, the morning following the hop and its disastrous result for Dodo’s mother, the tourists left for Gallup.
They had not thought of telegraphing to Mr. Dalken of their changed plans, but Jack had been thoughtful enough to wire the hotel management to reserve several of their best suites for his party. Thus they found everything in readiness for them, but Mr. Dalken was out with his two associates, Mr. Alexander and Mr. Fuzzier. Jack thought the hotel manager would tell Mr. Dalken that his friends were due to arrive that day, but the manager, not knowing that the signed name of “John Baxter,” upon the telegram meant anything to his star guest never mentioned it.
Consequently there was a great surprise awaiting Mr. Alexander and Mr. Dalken that evening when they came back to their hotel: an unpleasant surprise for the little miner-millionaire, and a pleasant one for the New York millionaire.
“By the Great Horned Spoon, Dalken! Ain’t that my wife sittin’ over there with that silver-headed dude?” whispered Mr. Alexander, as he caught a glimpse of a gorgeously gowned woman conversing eagerly with the great and only A. A. A.
“Why—yes,” responded Mr. Dalken, as he caught hold of his companion’s arm, to prevent him from getting away again—little Mr. Alexander’s instinct of self-preservation was as strong now as ever it had been in the dangers and risks of a gold-miner’s claims and work.
“Come with me to the register and see if our entire party is here. No one will see you, if you walk in front of me, you know,” advised Mr. Dalken.
That seemed to calm Mr. Alexander’s perturbed mind, and he managed to keep well out of sight of his wife as he walked over to the desk. The register showed the names of all the members of the New York party, plus the names of Dodo and her mother, plus a name which filled the whole line—“Honorable Algernon Alfred Alveston, London, England.”
“Huh!” jeered Mr. Alexander. “Now he’s takin’ to callin’ himself an honorable! Wonder if he really comes from London, England, or London, Connecticut?”
Mr. Dalken laughed at the sarcastic look in his friend’s eyes, and he added: “There’s a London in Canada, too, you know.”
“Yeh, I s’pose so!” muttered Mr. Alexander. “Mebbe, afore I get through with A. A. A. he’ll be fixin’ to run away to London, Canada!”
“My dear friend, don’t waste your ire on him,” advised Mr. Dalken. “He’s perfectly harmless, and he keeps your wife engaged in pleasant entertainments. Remember, that allows you more freedom to seek after your own interests.”
“Well, I ain’t so sure about his bein’ harmless!” retorted Mr. Alexander. “He’s after Dodo, you see, and I won’t stand for any monkeyshines in that direction—not even if the Missus swears A. A. A. can pay court to my gal. Dodo is more like me, and she ain’t got use for no prancin’ little scatter-brain like him.”
Having aired his grievance, Mr. Alexander felt better, and Mr. Dalken had no difficulty in persuading him to use the stairway discovered in the corridor outside the smoking room. Thus they would not need to cross the lobby, where Mrs. Alexander and Algy might see any one who came in or went out.
Polly and her friends learned, that night, that Mr. Dalken would have to remain in Gallup for about a week, so this would give the tourists ample time in which to visit such points of interest as Zuñi, Inscription Rock (which is now a National Monument), the Mormon settlement of Ramah, and other sights. Being November, Jack learned that the famous Shalako dance of the Zuñi Indians was to be held that week. Since this is the most interesting of all the amazing Zuñi celebrations, the girls were delighted to find they would be able to see it.
Mrs. Alexander had been silenced by her fiasco at the hotel hop in Albuquerque, and its effects had made her show more friendliness towards Jack, but she still thought that he should be made to fetch and carry for Mr. Dalken’s companions, so she felt no compunction in asking him to do errands for her.
This arrogance of his revered friend seemed to be contagious for Algy, and he had no hesitancy in asking Jack to get things for him, or to go to learn what the girls wished to do that day. Naturally Jack refused to dance attendance upon the unpopular young man, and Mrs. Alexander called this “insubordination on the part of a servant.”
“Why don’t you complain to Mr. Dalken,” asked Dodo one day, after hearing her mother complain about “that valet.”
“I would, in a minute, if the man were your father’s valet. Being Mr. Dalken’s man-servant, however, I’m not sure whether we ought to ask favors of him,” admitted Mrs. Alexander.
Dodo laughed. “Well, you might tell Dad about him, and get Dad to complain to Mr. Dalken.”
“That’s a fine idea, Dodo! I’ll do it the minute I see your father again,” declared Mrs. Alexander, a satisfied expression of retaliation settling upon her face.
Algy was seen approaching at this moment, so Dodo hastened away to tell Jack and her friends about her mother’s decision. But Mrs. Alexander confided in Algy that now she had a way to make that insolent valet mind his business! Thereupon she told Algy what she purposed doing, the next time Jack showed any inclination to balk at work or duty.
“I shall remembah this, deah Mrs. Alex., the next time I have occasion to use the fellah, and he sneers me out of countenance,” added Algy, a gleam of malice flitting over his expressionless face.
The entire group of tourists were gathered in the Lounge that evening, when Jack spoke of his plans for the week they would remain in Gallup. “I made a rough sketch of Gallup and various points of interest that we ought to see. But I figured out that it would be waste of time to motor half-way across Arizona to visit the Hopi Indian Reservation, and the wonderful sights near the Grand Canyon. Those can be seen when we stop at Flagstaff, with Dalky.”
Mrs. Courtney and Mr. Dalken merely nodded their heads in agreement with Jack’s suggestions. But Mrs. Alexander failed to see the nods, and thought this a splendid opportunity to set Algy against Jack. Therefore she whispered eagerly to her ever-present shadow, A. A. A., and he seemed spurred to action.
“Aw, I say, Mistah Dalken, it seems rawtheh impertinent, don’chaw know, for a meah servant to dictate to us like this,” began Algy, pulling fiercely at the few lonesome white hairs upon his upper lip.
Mr. Dalken turned and glanced at Algy in surprise. He had not been informed that Jack was rigging this “darling of the gods.” He heartily disapproved of A. A. A.’s standards and behavior, and now he felt slightly annoyed at what he said.
Algy thought the New York financier showed concern over the situation—a situation made impossible by having a man-servant sit in such intimate relations with his master and his master’s friends. Fully convinced that he was doing the gallant deed for all the ladies who did not wish to hurt Mr. Dalken’s feelings, Algy summoned courage and continued his complaint.
“Theah may be places we would like to visit, places quite incomprehensible to ordinary minds such as servants have. Theahfoh, we would awsk that the man Baxter be relieved of duties foh which he is not mentally equipped.” As Algy concluded, he bowed very deferentially to Mr. Dalken.
“What the blazes is that poor dote drivin’ at?” demanded Mr. Alexander, scowling at Algy, but speaking to his wife.
“S-sh! Don’t interfere!” commanded his wife, sternly.
“I won’t ‘s-s-sh’ at such an insult,” rebelled Mr. Alexander. “And what’s more, if that Barnum’s Freak wants to toddle by your side during this trip to Arizony, he’s got’ta watch his step! We ain’t got time ner room for him to hold up any game, lemme tell you-all, and there ain’t no call fer him to have any opinions ‘bout nawthin’—not even Jack Baxter!” As Mr. Alexander relieved his mind of the weight of grievance, he was surprised to hear Jack laugh outright, and he saw several of the others smiling.
“Oh, Daddy! You made the most awful break just now. You told A. A. A. he had no right to any opinions about nothing—not even Jack’ and I’m sure Jack thinks he is a great deal more than ‘nothing.’ At least, Dalky thinks so, or he never would have brought him west as his valet,” explained Dodo, laughingly.
Mr. Alexander frowned at his evident error, but he added: “It’s enough to make a man talk ten ways to onct! Having such trouble tag on at his heels!” But he failed to designate the particular “trouble,” though he glared at Algy in a way that said: “You are the cause of all the misunderstanding.”
Meanwhile Jack had hurried to Mr. Dalken’s side and was explaining something in a low whisper. Mr. Dalken seemed to receive light on a problem, and then he shook his head disapprovingly, even though he had to smile as he disapproved. Jack took a chair nearby, and, as soon as Mr. Alexander had stopped speaking, he cleared his throat and resumed.
“My master says that I am to continue the plans, since I have them prepared. So, awsking A. A. A.’s pawdon for my offensive self, I will say this much:
“One trip we ought to take is the one which goes to St. Michael’s Mission, and from there on to Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto, by way of Fort Defiance, in Arizona. If we had enough time we also ought to tour onward from Chinlee, to Monument Valley and the marvelous sights in the northern section of the State. Those points of interest which may be approached from the Flagstaff tour can be visited later, when we start for the Grand Canyon trip.
“Another trip we ought to take, starting from Gallup, is the trail due north to the Ute Indian Reservation, and the Mesa Verde Park. These trips will use up seven or eight days’ time, and Dalky figures he will be through here in that time. Therefore, in order to take in the visits to the Painted Desert near Adamana, and the Petrified Forest, just across the borderline of Arizona, we might motor from Gallup, as we turn our backs upon New Mexico, and continue on our way to Flagstaff in automobiles, instead of on train. That will give us ample opportunity to see the wonderful sights along the route, and we can remain as long as we choose at each place. After reaching Flagstaff, the cars can be sent back to Gallup. Now, what do you say to these plans?”
As Jack finished his plans, he glanced hopefully around at his friends to receive their delighted thanks and approval for his arduous sketch. Instead of hearing words of commendation, such as he had expected from the girls and Mrs. Courtney, he heard Mrs. Alexander’s voice.
“No one seems to notice the insult to a lady—of course, my husband does not count, since he never took lessons in social deportment and modern etiquette, so his words spoken a short time ago bear no weight with me;—but I refer to insults to ladies by allowing men-servants in friendly intercourse with their betters. I have tried to stand this degrading intimacy with a common valet, and I must say that, if the young man is going to run this trip, I shall leave the party!”
Mrs. Alexander stood up during the delivery of this frigid speech, and, having had her say, stared at Mr. Dalken, whose eyes seemed riveted upon the floor, and his tongue likewise riveted to silence. Then she shifted her glance to Mrs. Courtney, who seemed eager to have Mr. Dalken explain matters. Then her eyes wandered on to the three girls who were stifling their laughter with handkerchiefs. This was too much for the complainant.
“Very well! I am to understand that the fellow remains at his post as major domo, so I am to leave the party. But I will add that my daughter and Mr. Alveston, as well as my husband, Mr. Alexander, leaves with me. Come, Dodo, follow me and pack your trunks.” And Mrs. Alexander beckoned her child to obey.
“Don’t try any funny stunts like this, Maggie!” commanded Mr. Alexander, getting up from his chair and placing a restraining hand upon Dodo’s shoulder. “I’m cashier of this outing, remember, and I ain’t got no patience with your fol-de-rols. It’s bad enough to have to foot the bills for your escort, but I figger he comes cheaper, at that, than a maid would cost me. So let him stick to the job, if he likes. About traipsin’ away with Dodo and me, howsomever—that’s a horse of another color, and it’s a color I don’t take to. If A. A. A. wants to run away, we’ll shake a by-by at him and wish him a safe journey back home—wherever he started from. But you stay right with me—understand!”
“Why, Ebeneezer Alexander! Do you think, for one little minute, that I’m going to be ordered about by you?” demanded the irate lady, flushing as red as a peony, with pent-up fury. “I just reckon not! I’ll go now, if only to show you that you can’t make me do as you say. I’ve got enough money left from my Colorado Springs trip to take me as far from you as I can get. Then dear Algy will see that I go further.” She was so excited that she failed to understand that she had made a laughable remark about the end of her proposed journey.
Algy now arose gallantly to the demand upon his chivalry. “I certainly will escort yuah theah, deah lady,” mumbled he, tugging at his infantile mustache.
Mr. Alexander threw back his head and laughed loudly. “Well, mebbe it’s just as well that you two git out. You never was invited, remember, and my good friends never said a word about your gettin’ on their nerves, but I can appreciate how broken down their feelin’s must be by this time. We-all kin get a rest, now. And mebbe Algy will see to it that you two travel all the way to Reno!”
“Father!” came from Dodo, in shocked tones.
“Don’t worry, Dodo. They won’t take the hint, but I shall have to, if your Ma sails off in company with that poor stick.”
Mrs. Alexander had reached the door by this time, and she merely turned to give her liege lord a scathing look. Then she vanished behind the portières. Algy toddled at her heels.
“Dear me!” cried Mrs. Courtney, in deep distress, “when Jack begged me to pretend he was a valet, I never dreamed the joke would assume these dreadful phases. Now it is time it was stopped, Mr. Dalken.”
“I told Jack this evening, when he explained what had been the impression given to Mrs. Alexander and her young friend, that I disapproved of the entire plot. Now it is up to him to get us out of the unpleasant scrape,” replied Mr. Dalken, seriously.
“What’s all this?” demanded Mr. Alexander, wonderingly.
Dodo now began to explain to her father how the mistake of Jack being a servant had started, and how it had been received by Algy. She spared her father the story of how her mother danced with Algy at the hop, in the hotel at Albuquerque, because he seemed annoyed enough at the fact that a member of his democratic family would spurn a young man for no other cause than that he was earning his living.
“I say, it serves that white-haired dude right—to let him show what’s in him, by the way he acts now. But Jack won’t have to play valet longer, with Algy out of the way,” explained Mr. Alexander.
Mrs. Courtney did not agree with the little man, and she lost no time in saying what she thought. “It is not fair to Mrs. Alexander to play the joke any longer. Dodo must appreciate that her mother is her natural guardian and as such must be honored and obeyed. We must try to explain away the differences between us all, and introduce harmony for the remainder of the tour.”
Mr. Dalken showed his appreciation of these words, by the glance of admiration he sent Mrs. Courtney; but the glance was not seen by Polly or Eleanor, because they were too concerned about their “fun.”
“We-e-ll,” came slowly from Mr. Alexander’s lips, “you ought to know what’s right, Mrs. Courtney; but I must say, my Missus ain’t so much a guardian and protector of her child like-as-how you seem to say. Little Dodo’s got me to advise her, and to see that she don’t make mistakes in choosin’ the wrong husband—but the Missus would have her gal marry any dumb-bell, as long as he had a title er money. Ain’t it so, friends? I appeal to you: how about the Urope tower, when Dodo and me had to elope to get out of marryin’ that Osgood dude, eh?”
Mrs. Courtney had heard of this unique elopement of Dodo with her Dad, and she could not help smiling at the remembrance. Still she felt that certain respects were due Mrs. Alexander, in spite of that lady’s foolishness and ignorant chase for society honors, and she said so now.
Mr. Dalken upheld her verdict, and then he turned to Jack.
“Well, seeing how eager you were to keep on acting as my valet, we will make use of you as one. It is part of your duty to me. I will write a letter of explanation to Mrs. Alexander, and tell her of your engagement to serve me during this trip—that you were to escort the girls and their chaperon to different places on this Southwest tour, thus affording me all the leisure I would require to attend to my business appointments. I will confess that you have other resources to live upon than the salary I pay you; then I will admit that the salary is merely nominal, since you were eager to take this journey with us. If that doesn’t fetch the lady to her senses, then I shall have to try and discover other means. Now, you all keep quiet while I write. Then we will order Jack to deliver the letter at Mrs. Alexander’s door in person.”
Since Mr. Dalken was Big Chief of the party, there could be no objections to his plan, and soon he was seated at a writing-table. He wrote quickly for some time, then read aloud what he had written. He blotted the sheet, and folded it carefully, then placed it in an envelope and wrote the name and room number on the outside. Then he handed this note to Jack with orders to deliver it at once.
“We shall await your return, Jack,” said Mrs. Courtney, settling herself in a comfortable position to wait.
Jack looked slightly inclined to rebel against his orders, but Mr. Dalken had turned away towards the fire-place, and the young ex-valet sauntered out of the room. The girls watched with a grin of sympathy upon their faces, but not a word was spoken by any one present. Mr. Alexander, as though defying his wife’s strict commands, pulled the old black pipe from his pocket and loaded it with Cut Plug. Then he struck a match on his trousers leg, and lit the tobacco. In another minute he was smoking away like a clogged chimney.
Jack was absent more than the specified ten minutes allowed by his friends, but when he did come back he was laughing to himself.
“Oh! do tell us all about it!” exclaimed the girls, eagerly.
“No, siree! I had to take that bitter dose without the sugar you girls might have given me, and now I have no intentions of sharing the sweets that I earned. But you may find out all about it, some day. Suffice it for me to say: the awful scandal which threatened the sweet accord of the Alexander couple has been avoided by my diplomacy. Henceforth Mr. Alexander and his daughter Dodo will be made supremely happy by having Mrs. Alexander dote upon them, as all turtle-doves should.” Jack laughed.
“Jack! You are rude!” reprimanded Mr. Dalken, frowning.
“I’ll say he’s gone queer in the head,” added Mr. Alexander, knocking the ashes from his pet pipe, and getting up to leave the room. “If he figgers any one’s goin’ to watch me romancin’ again, after the experence I had fer nigh thirty years, it shows he’s gone luny. Rather than live up to his idee, I’ll quit the works—so I will!”
As the little man rushed away, Mr. Dalken jumped up and ran after him. It must have taken a deal of explanation and assurance from the leader of the party to Mr. Alexander, to calm his fears and make him feel that he was not in any immediate danger of having his wife daily make love to him.
CHAPTER VIII
MR. ALEXANDER’S RUSE
The following morning Algy failed to appear in time to join the tourists. Mr. Dalken and Mr. Alexander wished them all a good time, and then hurried away to the business meeting. Mrs. Alexander had ordered her breakfast served in her room, but she sent word to Jack that she would be down in time to start with the others on the auto trip.
Finally, having waited half an hour longer than the time appointed for starting, Jack sent a bell-boy up to the room occupied by Algy, and Dodo went to telephone her mother to hurry, if she wished to accompany them.
Dodo came back to her friends with an impatient expression upon her face.
“Ma says she will be down in just one little moment. That means another half-hour to wait! May as well sit down and take life easy, Jack,” remarked she.
“It does seem a shame that we have to lose a whole hour of this wonderful day, and then have to rush over the sight-seeing after we are there,” declared Eleanor, angrily.
At this moment the bell-hop returned to the waiting group with his astounding information. Word was brought Jack that Mr. A. A. Alveston had checked out that morning, leaving no word of explanation. Then he turned and went away again.
“Why! Of all things!” exclaimed Polly, astonished at what she heard.
“There must be some mistake. I can’t picture Algy having enough gumption to do such a thing without some one to coach him in it.” So saying, Jack hurried to the clerk to find out if the message was correct.
“Yes, Mr. Baxter,” replied the clerk, politely. “I was just coming on for my morning duty when the young man paid his bill and left orders with the porter for the forwarding of the trunks.”
“Trunks! He only had one, I thought,” gasped Jack.
“I’ll call the porter and you can speak to him,” said the man.
The head porter was called and Jack learned from him that four trunks were removed and expressed to Williams. Jack felt perplexed, but he concluded that it was a fortunate day for his friends when silly A. A. A. had sense enough to realize that he was not a very welcome addition to the Dalken party. Then he hurried back to tell his companions of the strange move made by Algy.
“Don’t let’s waste time wondering why he did it, but let us enjoy the respite he is giving us. It will be dreadful to find him awaiting us at Williams as he is sure to do, because he hasn’t pep enough to plan any journey for himself. I will wager anything that Ma is the cause of this sudden move of his, and she can explain how he managed to get away so early without saying good-morning to us,” said Dodo.
At this moment Mrs. Alexander was seen approaching the group. She was smiling too genially for one who had nothing to hide, and long before she joined the watching circle of friends, she began to apologize for her tardiness.
“You see, it is so difficult to dress without the help of a maid. I am unaccustomed to doing my hair and hooking my gown. And, of course, Dodo never thinks of me, in these little acts of kindness.”
“Don’t spoil the day’s outing by explanations,” retorted Dodo, impatiently. “It’s bad enough for you to have held up the entire crowd for an hour.”
Jack started for the door, and the others now followed him, but it was plainly seen that Mrs. Alexander’s coming had failed to add joy or peace to the party.
Mrs. Courtney now spoke to the lady. “We heard, to our amazement, that Mr. Alveston has gone. He evidently plans to remain at Williams for some time, since he had his trunks sent there.”
“Is that so! Well, we need not weep over that,” returned Mrs. Alexander, pleasantly. “Algy is a dear boy, but he does get on one’s nerves at times, doesn’t he?”
“I really cannot judge, since I paid so little attention to him, you know,” replied Mrs. Courtney, just as sweetly as her companion had spoken. “He seemed to be always attending you, and I was engaged in attending the girls, you see.”
“Yes, that’s so! Algy must have felt himself out of the group of young folks. He was quite important a personage at the Springs, however, and Dodo was the envied one of all the girls there. How different it must have seemed to him—to be secondary in your party,” said Mrs. Alexander.
Mrs. Courtney remained silent after this, because she detested hypocrisy and preferred silence to such empty conversation. So the two ladies took their seats in the car without further explanations.
While Jack was advising the driver about the trip, Dodo turned to her mother and spoke.
“What under the sun made you send A. A. A. on with the trunks?”
“My dear! As if I was responsible for his leaving you!” the lady sighed, as though the accusation was too much for her to bear.
“Well, never mind, Ma! We’re all thankful you did it, because it would have been too distressing to have him slide down one of the high cliffs we will visit, or get mixed up in an Indian brawl, or lose himself as usual, when we go to inspect queer caves and ancient canyons,” laughed Dodo.
Mrs. Alexander seemed mollified at this, and subsided with a fixed smile upon her lips. A smile that seemed to say sorrowfully: “I’ll be pleasant no matter what you do or say to me, since I am a martyr, anyway.”
The young people soon forgot Algy, and Mrs. Alexander exerted herself to be agreeable to Jack, hence the trip proved to be very enjoyable to all.
The week passed quickly with so much sightseeing, and the genial company that agreed pleasantly upon every suggestion Jack made for them. Then Mr. Dalken and Mr. Alexander concluded their conferences at Gallup, and, in company with Mr. Fuzzier, informed Jack that they were ready to leave. Jack then arranged with a man who owned several fine cars to drive the entire party to Adamana, which was the nearest stop to the Painted Desert, just north of the town, and the Petrified Forest to the south of it. It had been decided to visit the Painted Desert first, and then drive through the Petrified Forest the next day, and come out near Holbrook, where the entire party could spend the night. In the morning the three business men would continue to Ash Fork where they were to remain for a week, to consult privately with several prominent men. The party under Jack’s supervision would motor to the Hopi Indian Reservation, where the wonderful Keams Canyon and the remarkable Hopi Mesas were to be found. Going southerly from Polacca, he wished his friends to visit the Giant’s Chain, and then follow the autoroad from Oraibi to the Painted Desert of the Little Colorado. Thence he would turn off this road and follow the one which led to Canyon Diablo. Here they would stop long enough to see all the points of interest, and then motor on to Flagstaff.
This route was followed, and a week later the two cars ran into Flagstaff. The passengers and their luggage were soon waiting in the hotel while Jack paid off the drivers of the automobiles and sent them back to Gallup. To the delight of the three girls, Mr. Dalken and his two companions met them as they entered the hotel. This meant that Dalky would be with them when they visited the Cliff Dwellings just south of Cliffs, a wonder-spot which they had seen in the distance when motoring past.
Soon after the party had gone to their individual rooms to brush away the dust and dirt of touring in a wind which carried the desert dust upon its wings, Jack’s room-telephone rang. He answered it at once, and heard his guardian’s voice.
“Jacky, old boy, what do you plan to do the rest of the day?”
“I paid off the chauffeurs and sent them back to Gallup, because I learned how much cheaper are the cars in Flagstaff. But I have not hired any; I wanted to hear from you first,” returned Jack.
“Can you come down—or shall I come up?” asked Mr. Dalken.
“I’ll run down—I was about to leave my room, anyway,” said Jack; then he hung up the receiver and left the room.
A few minutes later he met Mr. Dalken, and sat down beside him to plan for the week.
“I suppose you all expect me to go about with you to visit the side-shows of Flagstaff, eh, Jack?” asked Mr. Dalken.
“Why, yes,” returned Jack. “The girls were awfully glad to find that you were here and would be at liberty to stick to the bunch.”
“Well, that is what I had planned to do, my boy, but we—that is, Alex., Fuzzy and myself—find we can drive with you as far as Montezumas Castle, but we will have to leave you there, while we go on to inspect a stretch of land now for sale. It is not generally known to be for sale and Alex. says we must get an option on it before the United Copper Company gets wind of the thing. We just heard of this last night—Fuzz got a code wire from Chicago, and you understand that we have to work fast, eh?”
Mr. Dalken seemed anxious, as he confided this news to Jack, and the young man understood how important it was that his guardian should be excused from joining the tourists.
“Why, Dalky, every one of us will give up our outings if, by doing so, we might help you in this work you are developing. Just you go on exactly as though you were here alone with Fuzzy and Mr. Alex., and never waste a thought upon us. In fact, I have done nobly, thus far, with A. A. A. out of the way. Ask Mrs. Courtney if you doubt that I made a fine guide.”
“Oh, that reminds me!” exclaimed Mr. Dalken, laughingly. “I saw Algy—but I will wait and tell the crowd about it later.”
Mr. Fuzzier strolled up at this moment, and Jack got up to shake hands with him. Then the newcomer spoke to Mr. Dalken.
“I’ve been doing a little private detective work, Dalken, and I find that a stranger who reminds me of one of the directors of the Copper Company is staying at this hotel for a few days. Now, how in the name of conscience are we to get away without their suspecting our intentions? Lucky we took Alex.’s advice and registered under assumed names.”
Mr. Dalken turned to Jack and said: “You know what I told you just now? Well, the girls—and Mrs. Alexander particularly—must be warned not to greet me as a returned wanderer from Ash Forks. If any one lurking about finds out how Fuzzy, Alex. and I have been scouting around the country in quest of capitalists to subscribe for our new company’s stock, the whole plan of opening the tract Alexander discovered may go up the flue. On the other hand, it seems providential that we all arrived about the same time, since it will seem plausible that we are on a tour of the Grand Canyon and nearby points of interest. I will leave it to you, Jack, to tell every one in our party that secrecy about my movements, since I left New York, is imperative if they wish to help me succeed. This afternoon at—say—two, we will get in the cars and start to visit Montezumas Castle, you returning here to-night. But, silence, Jack, upon the confidential plan I told you—about our going on from the Castle, and sending you and the ladies back alone—understand?”
“Sure! I’ll skidoo upstairs now, Dalky, and warn the three girls and Mrs. Courtney about it.”
“Exactly! And I’ll send Alex. up to his wife to put her on guard about giving things away to strangers—her usual failing,” added Mr. Dalken.
Then before another word was said, Jack hurried away, and the two men hastened to the smoking-room to tell their third partner to go find his wife, and impress upon her the necessity of keeping mum about the actions and business meetings of her husband and his partners.
Mr. Alexander smiled cynically as he listened to his friends’ advice; then he replied: “Like-es not, Maggie’ll fly off the handle and shout all she knows from the housetops, just to badger me into agreein’ to let that perky dude marry Dodo!”
“Oh, good gracious!” exclaimed Mr. Dalken. “The whole continent of South America isn’t worth that dreadful mistake.”
“Don’t you worry, friends,” explained the little man, smiling as an idea entered his tremendous brain. “I’ll fix things so’s Maggie will be feeding out of my hand for a few days, and by that time there won’t be no risks of losin’ that property.”
As it was none of Mr. Dalken’s business what his friend said or did in his private family circle, he did not ask Mr. Alexander how he planned to keep his wife from publishing the news of her husband’s close association with a man who added prestige to her social position. As this news would tell others that three financiers were affiliated in a way that might bode ill to competitive financiers, it would be as well to suppress the publisher before she could broadcast her tidings.
Mr. Alexander hurried away to reach his wife’s room before she could confide in the chambermaid, or come down to the lounge to see if she might find any one of importance to whom she might introduce herself, as was her usual custom when left alone.
In the sanctity (?) of their private room, Mr. Alexander began to approach his subject in a round-about manner.
“Well, Marguerite, glad to see you lookin’ so good. This bracin’ air sure does agree with your complexion and tone. A few more weeks of the same tonic will take twenty years more off your face.”
Mrs. Alexander had just been examining her face and color in the mirror, and she felt worried over a small wrinkle which she thought she detected at the corner of her eyes. In spite of all the wrinkle plasters she used nightly, this fine line crept in unawares, it seems. But her husband’s surprising compliment—so unusual from him—pleased her mightily.
“Do you really think so, Ebeneezer? I was just thinking how worn and aged I had grown since I started on this tiresome tour.”
“Not a bit! Not a bit, Marguerite! I’m the only one that looks worn and aged. If we-all didn’t know better, you and Dodo could pass for sisters, all right. I wonder you never thought of lettin’ her go visitin’ for a season, or so, just to see if folks at home would credit you with havin’ such a grown-up gal,” continued the wily little man.
“It does seem too bad, doesn’t it, that Dodo really advertises my age to the public. I know I look very young to have such a big girl, but I try to have society people understand that she looks much older than she is. Still, I don’t know but you are right.” Mrs. Alexander mused silently over her husband’s remark, after she had had her say. Mr. Alexander watched quietly and waited for her to make the next move in this game.
“I’ll have to try your plan out, when we get back to some fashionable place in the East, Ebeneezer,” finally said Mrs. Alexander. “Every one in your party knows me here, and even Algy would laugh if he heard I was trying to play a joke on the public by passing as Dodo’s sister instead of her mother.”
“I’ll tell you what you might do, Marguerite,—just to try and get your hand into the game before we-all reach Grand Canyon, which is a fearful high-toned place, you know. That El Tovar Hotel is one of the swellest houses in the country, and folks dress to beat the band. Now, I’ll strike a bargain with you, dearie, if you want to have some fun by posing as a young lady, heartfree and ready for a beau, eh?”
Mr. Alexander’s interested smile and his good-natured offer would have hoodwinked a wiser person than his wife. Being so willing a victim to blandishments, Mrs. Alexander was ready for the proposition instantly.
“What bargain do you want to make? I’ll agree to anything that doesn’t annoy me,” returned she, eagerly.
“Why, it’s this. That you don’t let on Dodo and me are your husband and daughter until after we leave Arizony. I’ll make believe that Dodo’s and my name is Ammerman—see. You hang on to Alexander, and pose as a flapper, if you like, with Dodo and the other gals your chums. Then I’ll put Dalken wise, to play up as amateur sweetheart, and Fuzzy must be your steady company. That makes a fine little comedy, I say, and we’ll see if folks swallow the bait. I’m sure Dalken and Fuzzier will enjoy the joke as much as you will. The girls are always out for a lark, and that leaves Jack and Mrs. Courtney to fix. But, then, Jack will see the fun to be had out of the play, and Mrs. Courtney doesn’t count any in this plan.”
“Oh, Ebeneezer!” cried Mrs. Alexander delightedly clapping her beringed hands. “It would be too funny for anything! I can just see myself with two admiring lovers following around after me. If you think the others will see what a joke it will be, I’ll play the star part until we leave Grand Canyon. What a lot of romantic tête-à-têtes we can have in that lovely resort!”
Her husband grunted silently to himself. But he could not afford to lose, now that he had won thus far, so he hid his disgust at his wife’s social aspirations and her yearning for a vanished youth, and he now made known what she must do for him to clinch the bargain.
“You must act the part of a modest, retiring young lady, Mag—Marguerite, and keep close to Mrs. Courtney, since she is the chaperon, you see. Don’t flirt with other men, but make believe you have your hands full of trouble with keeping off the two elderly beaux. I’ll put Dalken wise to the play, but Fuzzier is half in love with you already, I see. He’s not any too particular about loving another man’s wife, I fear, so he’ll be glad of a chance to make up to you. Now, then, for my promise to keep Dodo and myself out of your way, and let you make believe you are Miss Alexander, of New York, or London, or some other big town: you’ve got to keep secret that you ever knew a miner by your name; or that Dalken is a widower, once removed, with his chum, Fuzzier, out here on business. To play the game right, Dalken and Fuzzier ought to take new names, too. Fine fix it would be, if some one, knowing of Dalken’s fame as a New York millionaire, read his name in the hotel register, and then reported to all the newspapers how he was mad over you! The same about Fuzzier—only he’s famous in Chicago. Now, I won’t stand for any such newspaper notoriety, understand? If you want to try out your hand at acting a part, it’s got to be done proper, and then I’ll stake my money on you, old gal!”
“Oh! If that is all,” laughed his wife, in relief, “I can promise that at once. It doesn’t make a bit of difference whether the two men change their names, or what they do, as long as we go on with the fun. Then we shall see whether folks really think me as young as my friends tell me I look.”
“Better begin right here, Mag—Marguerite! I’ll go and coach your beaux how you are Miss Alexander, and we ain’t no family of yours. Then I’ll see the girls and teach ’em their parts, too. You dress the part, and when we start off for Montezumas Castle, you’ll have things your own way, see?”
“Yes, yes! Hurry away and do as you say. I’ve got to find a youngish dress in my baggage. What a pity I shipped my trunks on to Williams. I had lots of Dodo’s fine clothes in them, and they’re just what I need for this joke.”
“Why not have Dodo loan you one of her suits for to-day? I will send her here to find out what you want. A few days from now, and you will have your trunks sent on to Grand Canyon, you know,” advised her husband, pleasantly.
“That’s a good idea. Run on, and tell Dodo to come to me at once. But don’t you go and ruin all the fun by calling me by my first name, as though you knew me intimately!” warned his wife.
“No danger!” laughed Mr. Alexander, as he skipped out of the door and closed it carefully behind him. Then he shook with mirth as he remembered how he had slandered the Chicago bachelor, Fuzzier, and how scandalized Dalken would be to find he was Mrs. Alexander’s lover.
The little plotter hurried to Dodo’s room to tell her the news, and she laughed with her father at his description of Mr. Fuzzier being a flirt, and having intentions to fall in love with Mrs. Alexander. But Dodo became serious, when she understood the reason for keeping her mother so interested in Mr. Dalken and Mr. Fuzzier.
“You’d better run and prepare Dalky and his friend, Daddy, or they’ll escape. Don’t shock them suddenly, but do it by degrees, if you want them to survive,” laughed Dodo.
CHAPTER IX
SURPRISES ALL AROUND
Mr. Alexander might have spared his friends the disagreeable part of playing sweethearts to his wife, because the man who had been at the hotel when the Dalken party arrived, left there that same day, without having discovered that the supposed competitors for the envied tract of land south of Montezumas Castle were right at hand. But it was not so simple a matter to dispose of Mrs. Alexander’s yearnings to pretend to be a youthful magnet once more. Having received such an unusual suggestion from her practical, unromantic husband, she took full advantage of it—much to Mrs. Courtney’s disgust and certain pangs of jealousy. Thus the first surprise came to the three men who had been plotting to evade the man they thought was in Flagstaff for a secret purpose. Had they known that this same man was then on his way to Williams, where he had heard the New York and Chicago financiers were to be, what might have been their fears—knowing that Algy was lounging about that small town, waiting for Mrs. Alexander to give him the next cue?
While Mr. Alexander stood grinning at his two associates, after having confided to them the plan he had evolved to protect their interests, Jack crossed the room to join them. He saw the expressions of fierce rebellion upon the faces of Mr. Fuzzier and Mr. Dalken, but he had no key to the situation then.
“Say, Dalky, it’s pretty late to start for the Castle now, because there is no comfortable place where we could spend the night, you see?” asked Jack.
“I don’t care where we go—Alex. has made such a mess of things,” growled Mr. Dalken.
Mr. Alexander chuckled aloud, then turned to Jack and told of his wonderful plan to throw dust in the eyes of the supposed Director of the Copper Company. Jack laughed heartily, when he heard that his guardian and Mr. Fuzzier were expected to play the roles of romantic beaux.
Just at this moment Polly came down the stairs, and, seeing the men standing as though waiting for their friends, she hastened to join them.
“I left Nolla and Dodo with Mrs. Alexander, who is unusually anxious to make a good impression upon the gentlemen of our group,” explained Polly, with an amused laugh at Mr. Dalken.
“Humph!” came from that disgruntled individual.
Then Jack spoke to Polly. “I was just telling Dalky that it was too late to start for the Cliff Dwellings to-day. We ought to get up early in the morning and have a full day in which to properly see the Castle.”
“Yes, but I thought the main object in this trip was to help Dalky and the other two men to get out of the way of their competitor for that tract of land? If that is so, we’d better lose no more time, because I saw that man start off in an automobile just as I was about to leave my room, before coming down here,” explained Polly.
“By Jingo! Then we’d better be off!” exclaimed Mr. Fuzzier.
“I should say so!” added Mr. Dalken, turning to catch hold of Jack’s arm. “You run out and see if we can start in a car at once—Mr. Alexander, Fuzzy and myself. Hustle a good driver into the seat, and tell him not to wait for anything.”
Without waiting to hear more Jack hurried away to do his guardian’s bidding, and Polly was left to answer the anxious questions of the three men. All she could add to her information, however, was of no consequence to the three speculators.
“Polly, we’ll leave you to explain to the others why we had to rush away without waiting to say good-by,” said Mr. Dalken, taking Mr. Fuzzier’s arm, to make him come with him.
“What about our luggage, Dalken?” asked Mr. Alexander, not so anxious to go away in this fashion.
“Oh! Jack will attend to that. The bags can be taken on to the Grand Canyon, where we will meet the ladies.”
Thus, before the rejuvenated mother of Dodo could appear to captivate her two promised admirers, they had vanished from Flagstaff. Jack saw them off, and then turned to laugh at the whole plot.
“If we could get rid of Mrs. Alexander as easily as she rid herself of A. A. A., there might be hopes of enjoying ourselves during the next few days. But she will be in a dreadful mood when she learns how her beaux have disappeared.”
Polly laughed, too, because she could picture the consternation of Dodo’s mother. It would be difficult to make her believe the truth about the sudden departure of the men, and little Mr. Alexander would have to bear the brunt of her anger in the long run.
Soon after the automobile carrying the three financiers had rolled away, Mrs. Alexander “in all her conquering glory” came into the room where Polly and Jack were wondering how she would receive the news. She certainly meant business—if one might judge of her intentions by her costume and make-up. Eleanor and Dodo wisely remained out of sight of their companions; there would have been a unanimous scream of laughter, had they met each other’s eyes.
“Well, dearies, here I am, ready to start, when you say the word,” began Mrs. Alexander, but she looked around quickly for signs of her promised suitors.
“All right, Mrs. Alex.,” replied Jack suavely, “we are all ready, too. Come, girls! The car is outside.”
Jack and Polly led the way, and in a short time all were in the automobile, and the chauffeur was given the word to start.
“But, wait! Where are the gentlemen?” cried Mrs. Alexander.
“Oh! they will not be with us on this short outing. We are going to drive to the Lowell Observatory this afternoon, and postpone the trip to Montezumas Castle for to-morrow. You see, such an outing will need the most of an entire day, if it is to be enjoyable,” explained Jack, nonchalantly.
“All the same, I don’t see why they couldn’t have come with us,” complained the lady, sulkily.
Eleanor and Dodo had not heard of the unexpected departure of the three men, and they were not in the surprise which Polly and Jack would have to spring upon them later. So they all drove to see the famous observatory where investigations of the planet Mars were made. Late that afternoon they returned to the hotel, Jack wondering how he should tell Mrs. Alexander that her beaux had fled.
Flagstaff, being a popular summer vacation place, was, at this time of year, quiet and settled for the winter’s rest. Consequently the tourists might be said to have taken possession of the hotel, since so few visitors stopped there during the cold season.
Upon arriving at the hotel Mrs. Alexander looked eagerly around for her husband and his two friends, and Jack seized this opportunity to inform the dismayed lady of the necessity of their hurried trip.
“Well! Any man that would consider a paltry strip of western land in preference to a lady isn’t worth wasting my time. Let Ebeneezer run them off, as I’m sure he did in order to annoy me, but I’ll find other company, just as good as those two old men!” threatened Mrs. Alexander, angrily.
Having delivered herself of this ultimatum Dodo’s youthfully dressed mother turned haughtily away and went up to her room. The other members in the group were too tired to bother about changing their motor clothes for the evening, and they decided to have supper, dressed as they were, and then retire in order to be up early in the morning for the trip to the Castle cliffs.
Dodo telephoned to her mother’s room to tell her they were waiting for her to join them in the dining-room, but Mrs. Alexander said she was having her supper sent to her room. Therefore the young people and Mrs. Courtney thought no more of the matter, and enjoyed the hot meal while wondering what the three absent men were doing.
Upon bidding each other good-night, later in the evening, Jack reminded all that the car would be ready at eight the following morning.
“We’ll be ready, too, never fear,” returned Mrs. Courtney.
And so they were; but Mrs. Alexander sent word by Dodo that she had had enough of gazing at blank walls and pretending to go into raptures over a gaping hole!
“Just like Ma,” added Dodo, having given the message to Jack. “If that hole, or the wall, was noted for the visits paid by some personages of fame, she’d camp on the spot in order to say she’d been one of a party where the princess, or a governor, or some other big gun was the feature.” Dodo’s disgusted tone and expression told plainly that she did not favor such pretensions.
“Well, it’s too bad we have to leave Mrs. Alexander alone all day, but she prefers it to going to the cliffs,” sighed Mrs. Courtney, starting for the automobile.
“Don’t worry about Ma. She’ll console herself with a yellow novel,” said Dodo.
Mrs. Courtney did not approve of the manner in which Dodo spoke of her mother, and she wished the girl would use more consideration in speaking so disrespectfully of her before Polly and Eleanor, but she felt that she had no right to advise or correct another woman’s daughter. And Polly and Eleanor, knowing that Dodo spoke truly about her mother’s weaknesses, kept silent on what they thought to be rather blunt statements.
That day was spent in seeing the National Monument of cliffs situated on Beaver Creek, in the Verde Valley, and by sunset time they were on their way back to their hotel.
“To-morrow we will visit Humphrey’s Peak,” said Jack, looking at his trip-book. “I was told that we can get one of the finest views of any in the west from the top of that peak. The clerk at the hotel says it is possible, on a clear day, to see over 75,000 square miles of territory—think of that! Don’t forget your kodaks, girls, because you’ll want them once you get to the top of the peak.”
“It seems rather risky, Jack, to try to gain the summit of that peak in this cold weather,” remarked Mrs. Courtney. “The snows will have made the trails impassable, and the guides may have trouble in finding the way.”
“Oh, well, we’ll see how high we can climb without losing our way,” returned Jack, indifferently.
“The auto can carry us part way up the mountain,” added Polly, “and we can ride horses the rest of the way, if the day is pleasant.”
“That’s what I thought,” explained Jack. “Carry the lunch in the car, and eat before we start for the climb to the peak. It will be easy enough to come down again, and then we will be back in the hotel by dark.”
Mrs. Courtney was not so sure about it all, and she determined to inquire of the hotel proprietor, if the trip would be absolutely safe.
When the party of five went to the desk to ask for mail, they were surprised to hear that Mrs. Alexander had paid her bill and departed. All the word she left was that she would meet them at the hotel at Grand Canyon. This news annoyed Dodo, because she felt sure that her mother had stopped to get Algy at Williams, and would go on to Grand Canyon without a thought of being misunderstood by others who knew nothing of her social aspirations. She was gone, however, and nothing more could be done about it.
Jack and his friends went to sleep that night fully convinced that Mrs. Alexander had called for Algy, and then gone on to Grand Canyon with him. And Mr. Dalken, with his two companions, anxious to forestall the Copper Company by securing options on the great tract of land south of Montezumas Castle, believed the little hoax Mr. Alexander had played upon his wife had worked successfully to keep from their competitors all facts about their launching a new company to mine the valuable ore from the Verde Valley. Perhaps it was just as well that no one knew what Mrs. Alexander was doing, and what she contemplated doing for the next few days.
After leaving the hotel at Flagstaff, Mrs. Alexander had boarded the train and went as far as Williams. Here, as Dodo had thought, she expected to find Algy and persuade him to attend her on the way to the Tovar Hotel at Grand Canyon. But she was destined to have another disagreeable surprise.
She had not telephoned nor wired Algy that she would arrive that noon, because she was so sure he would be impatiently waiting for her. To her dismay, therefore, she found that a Mr. Dunlap had been at the hotel for a few days and had struck up a sudden friendship with young Alveston. Then Algy, dissatisfied with his lonesome life at Williams, swallowed the tempting bait held out to him by the wily promoter. When Mr. Dunlap proposed that the young man be his guest upon a little side trip to an interesting point which he was about to visit, Algy hailed the invitation as a godsend. Consequently the two started off in a luxurious limousine at about the same time that Jack and his party left the hotel at Flagstaff for Montezumas Castle.
Because of this acceptance of the invitation, Algy was not to be found when Mrs. Alexander arrived. The man who owned the hotel at Williams, where Algy had stopped, knew only that the trunks had been sent on to Grand Canyon, and that the young man had driven away in another man’s car.
“I’m sure they went on to Grand Canyon, so I’ll take the next train from here. What time will I get there?” said Mrs. Alexander, having to hide her annoyance, since no one was present upon whom she dared vent her anger.
“You’ll have to wait around here for several hours, Ma’am, as there will be no train until four this afternoon. You’ll get to Grand Canyon in time for supper,” explained the man, politely.
“Dear me! And there’s nothing for me to do here, is there?” she exclaimed, impatiently.
“Well, that depends on what you like to do. Now, we-all find so much to do, every day, that the days are too short for us,” laughed the man.
“I suppose everybody—that is every one worth while, goes right through to Grand Canyon, so Williams never sees society people,” remarked Mrs. Alexander, with a superior air, calculated to impress this mere nobody of a man.
“Sometimes society persons find themselves stranded here,” chuckled the man, who cared naught for this lady’s hoity-toity manners. “There happens to be such a man, right this minute—just as mad at being delayed in his plans, as you can be. He’s said to be some punkins back in Chicago, where he’s a big lawyer.”
“Oh, really! Who is he?” asked Mrs. Alexander, finding life might be bearable in Williams.
“Why, he’s the Executor of the White Ranch, down Verde Valley way. He is said to reckon his income with seven figures to the left of the decimal!”
“I do not think I am acquainted with him, though I have met so many millionaires lately that he may be one of them,” mused Mrs. Alexander, seeming to be trying to recollect.
“Reckon you haven’t met this one,” continued her informer. “He only left the ranch yesterday, and must have expected to meet some arrivals in this town to-day. They didn’t arrive, and now he’s got to stay over and do some waiting, I’m told. If you happened to know him, it would help kill time for you.”
“That would be very pleasant for me, but he is not around, and I’ll be going on to Grand Canyon in a few hours’ time.”
“You must have struck a lucky day, Ma’am, for here comes Mr. Belnord—the man I was just telling you about. He’s strolling across the verandah this minute, as though he wanted to kill time. He’ll ask me if there is any telegrams or ‘phone messages in another moment,” whispered the gossipy clerk.
Mrs. Alexander knew the man to be a stranger, but she made up her mind to get acquainted with a millionaire who might be looking for a companion to wile away wearisome hours. Hence she planned quickly.
“Oh, yes! I met him in ——” exclaimed she.
Just as the frowning gentleman reached the desk to address the clerk, the lady who was standing there dropped her costly handbag. Naturally the newcomer picked it up and bowed politely as he returned it to the owner.
“Oh, thank you,” said Mrs. Alexander in a demure tone. Then in a surprised way, held out a daintily gloved hand, as she exclaimed gladly: “Why! If it isn’t Mr. Belnord! To think of meeting you in this out-of-the-way spot. The last time I saw you was over a year ago, at a fête in Chicago.”
She acted the part of a delighted old friend to perfection, and Mr. Belnord, chagrined that he could not place so charming a lady, accepted her word for it and kept rummaging through the memory cells of his brain for a possible clue to her identity.
They shook hands like old friends, and Mrs. Alexander began to rattle off her complaints against a railroad that failed to run a train to Grand Canyon to accommodate her. Then she added naively: “My father, Mr. Alexander, and my younger sister, Dorothy, were to have met me here to-day, but I suppose they went on with Mr. Dalken and Mr. Fuzzier to visit the cliffs of the Verde Valley. I am weary of so many side-trips, and I decided to meet them here. Do you remember my sister, Mr. Belnord?”
“No, Miss Alexander, I’m ashamed to say I do not. I remember I saw nothing but you, when you were present, remember,” replied the gallant gentleman of forty years. “But Fate has been more than kind to me to-day in giving me an opportunity to amuse you while you are delayed by the wretched train service.”
Mrs. Alexander managed to hold back a smile of gratification at the success of her little trick, and Mr. Belnord considered himself very clever in learning the lady’s name with so little trouble. But he also caught the names of the three men he had cause to chase,—and the very three he was waiting in Williams to meet—if the estate agent, Dunlap, was to be trusted. It now behooved him to find out all he could from this talkative woman, who evidently had reached the spinster’s age of garrulity.
The two walked slowly away from the desk, and sought the comfortable easy chairs in the parlor. Here Mrs. Alexander proceeded to captivate her new admirer, being wary to steer clear of reefs whenever the conversation seemed to turn to their former friendship.
But Mr. Belnord cared naught about former or future friendships—he was anxious to learn about the present plans of certain men this lady knew, and so, before she boarded her train for Grand Canyon, where she expected to find Algy, he had found out all he needed to know for the present.
CHAPTER X
HOLD-UPS ALONG THE WAY
The three men, Mr. Dalken, Mr. Fuzzier and Mr. Alexander, having been fortunate enough to secure an experienced driver of their car, now began to notice the scenery along the road to Montezumas Castle.
“I’m sorry we had to run away without the girls. How pleasant it would have been to hear their exclamations and delight at these wonderful cliffs,” remarked Mr. Dalken.
“You-all wouldn’t have had much chance to listen to the gals, because my missus would demand all your attention, onct she knew she could count on you-all fer beaux,” chuckled Mr. Alexander.
“Well, then, it is our lucky day that we got away as we did,” retorted the shy bachelor, Mr. Fuzzier.
“I wonder what she will do when she finds out how we escaped?” mused the lady’s husband.
“Ten to one she will be after us!” laughed Mr. Dalken.
The road was not in good condition, and the three men had not examined the car before engaging it for this hard trip, therefore they were not aware that the tires were badly worn. As the road became rock and rutty, however, Mr. Dalken spoke to his companions.
“Seems to me the tires are not as hard as they might be,” said he.
“The one on my side, rear, feels as though it were flat, or about to be so,” added Mr. Fuzzier.
Mr. Alexander opened the door to have a backward glance at the doubtful tire. At the time he opened the door the car was just running through a mass of gravel-covered road, and the wheels flung the pebbles up with great force. One exceptionally large stone was whirled and thrown backwards as from a sling-shot. It struck Mr. Alexander square between the eyes with such velocity that he crumpled back in the automobile as though shot. The only sound he made was a grunt as he fell.
“Great Scott! What’s the matter, Alex.?” cried Mr. Fuzzier, who sat on that side of the car. But he received no reply. “Not a drop of anything on hand to revive him!” muttered Mr. Dalken, banging upon the glass in front to attract the chauffeur’s attention.
The driver turned to see what was wanted of him, and at that moment the car swerved the fraction of an inch. But that fraction was quite enough to cause the wheels on one side to run into a deep rut. This hard jolt sent all three men together in a heap. Poor Mr. Alexander happened to be underneath, and Mr. Fuzzier on top. Mr. Dalken, being between both, received no hurt, but Mr. Fuzzier struck his head against the closed door, and soon a great swelling rose there and closed his left eye. Mr. Alexander, being unconscious, could not swear or complain against his tough luck of being the under one.
Mr. Dalken now lost all patience, because of fear of what had happened to his companion and with this last mishap. He discovered then, that he had not forgotten how to curse politely, and, once started, it seemed as though he would never stop. Even Mr. Fuzzier, with his head aching and throbbing like mad, and deeply concerned as he was about Mr. Alexander, had to laugh.
The chauffeur sprang from his seat and rushed to that side of the car which was down in the rut. Instead of coming to the help of his passengers, he began to look around for a visible means of getting the wheels up out of the mire.
“You dolt! come here, won’t you?” shouted Mr. Dalken.
“Got anything we could use to help restore consciousness to this man?” demanded Mr. Fuzzier, shaking a fist at the driver.
Then the chauffeur found that one of his passengers had been seriously injured, and he immediately feared they might hold him responsible, because he thought it was due to his accident in driving. He sprang upon the runningboard and peered in at the crumpled little man, with fear plainly expressed in his eyes.
“Don’t stand there like a mummy!” called Mr. Dalken, “but open that door and help us lift the man out of this.”
Thus admonished, the chauffeur did as he was bidden, and, in a few moments, Mr. Alexander had been taken from the car and carefully placed upon the bad road.
“I hope, sir, the gentleman hasn’t broken his neck, sir!” whispered the driver, trembling in fear.
“If he hasn’t, it isn’t because of your careful driving!” snarled Mr. Fuzzier, the swelling beginning to rise to the size of an egg.
At this moment the man discussed sighed heavily, and in another few moments he opened his eyes and blinked dazedly at the blinding blue sky overhead. At the same time, the three men, all anxious to help their unfortunate companion, started suddenly to stoop over his prostrate form and offer assistance to him.
What must be the natural result of having two men upon opposite sides of little Mr. Alexander, unexpectedly bend far over the form between them? Mr. Dalken and the chauffeur could tell any one after that just what did happen. But the collision of the two heads seemed to do more damage to Mr. Dalken’s forehead than to that of the other man. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the chauffeur was a hardened young man, while the New Yorker was soft from luxurious living. Anyway, without going into the cause, it remained plainly evident that both men, thereafter, bore the marks of the collision. The driver’s head showed a great bluish lump, and Mr. Dalken’s eyebrow raised up and caused an enormous swelling above the eye so that it seemed impossible for the skin to stand more stretching without a break.
Mr. Alexander now sat up and stared around. He saw two men glaring at each other as though they would like to strangle each other; and the third man stood with mouth open, watching the other two. He was entirely forgotten—or to be exact, he was overlooked in this interesting scene.
“By the Great Horned Spoon! I got’a turrible smack on the head!” exclaimed Mr. Alexander, lifting a hand to feel of the injured spot.
“You’ve got more than a smack there, old man,” retorted Mr. Fuzzier, placing a hand under each arm and helping his friend to scramble to his feet. “You’ve got a lump about the size of a football, that will mar your beauty, all right!”
“But, say, Fuzzy!” gasped Mr. Alexander, in amazement, as he stared at the man addressed, “what struck you, when the gravel flew? You ain’t such a prize-winner in our beauty contest, either.”
That made Mr. Fuzzier roar with appreciation of the truth, and in another moment all four men were laughing as though they had just heard the funniest joke ever told.
“If we needed any disguises to-day, to keep those competitors from recognizing us, we found them all right!” exclaimed Mr. Dalken, feeling gently of the awful lump over his eye.
“Had any one told me this yarn—of how four men got swelled heads over nothin’ more’n a bit of gravel in the road, I’d say, ‘come off your perch, Mr. Lawyer!’” laughed Mr. Alexander.
“If I look half as fetching as you do, Dalky,” remarked Mr. Fuzzier, “I’d wear a mask. You’ll frighten away the jack-rabbits, I fear.”
“All right, Fuzzy. Tell the chauffeur to find us four masks—there is little choice between us, so far as looks go!” was Mr. Dalken’s reply.
“If you gentlemen expeck to get to that cabin south of Sedona to-day, we’d better hoist this machine out’n the rut, and get along,” advised the driver of the car.
“Hoist! What can we hoist with?” demanded Mr. Dalken.
“Reckon we got’a put our shoulders to the wheel,” grinned the man. “I’ll git under the wust end and jack the car, somewhat.”
Mr. Alexander had recovered sufficiently from the blow of the stone to help with his hardened muscles. After much puffing and straining of the four men, the automobile was pushed and pulled out of the ditch. Then they got in again, and the driver started the engine.
“I was remarking, not so long ago, that I wish the girls might have been with us,” was Mr. Dalken’s smiling remark. “Now I am thankful that only four heads were batted in this ball game. If there had been more of us, there would have been more aching heads.”
“Umph!” grunted Mr. Alexander, “I might’ve said how my blow came as punishment for my foolin’ the missus. But that wouldn’t account fer your heads!”
“No, it’s one of those strange freaks of nature—to have four men traveling together, and each one bearing upon their foreheads the mark of a misspent life,” laughed Mr. Fuzzier.
“Why not quote Scripture, Fuzzy, and say ‘the mark of the beast,’” added Mr. Dalken.
“Because I must confess that I’ve forgotten all that I ever knew of my Bible.” Then, as an afterthought, he added: “But tell me, Dalky—how is it that you can remember so well, since your Sunday School days?”
Mr. Dalken returned the quizzical look, and replied: “I may not look it, but I will admit that I often find time to go to church, and more times than I will tell you or the world, I find a verse or a bit of advice in the Bible that does me a lot of good. Men of Big Business can’t afford to overlook the Science to be had by referring to the Holy Book.”
“Well! I’ll be doggoned! If you aren’t the last man I ever expected to hear that from!” exclaimed Mr. Alexander.
Thereafter the subject was suddenly changed, and Mr. Fuzzier spoke of the prospects of reaching the ranch, whence they were bound, in time to take advantage of the Copper Company.
No unforeseen accidents occurred until after they passed Montezumas Castle, though the leaking tires caused many delays in order to have them pumped full of air. The road was not constructed of rose-leaves, either, and the jarring and jolting of soft tires over rocks and ruts made sore heads ache fearfully.
The unfamiliar appearances of the men with the black and blue eyes, and the unusual excrescences upon the foreheads, caused frequent roars of laughter from one or the other of the three men. And the chauffeur came in for not a little of the ridicule because of one prominent cheek-bone and half-closed eye.
The road from the Cliffs, where the Castle is located, goes westerly as far as Clarkdale. Sedona, where the three speculators hoped to be before dark, was located several miles from this road, about half the distance between Clarkdale and the Cliffs.
The chauffeur, having had a painful lesson about careful driving, decided it would be wiser to halt long enough at the Cliffs to change the leaking tire, than to continue on and stop now and then to pump it full of air. This took time, but the men assisted in every way possible in order to gain time.