CHAPTER II
AN UNANSWERED QUESTION
ON a pile of boards in a great unfinished room Frieda Ralston stoodfacing--the unknown future.
In the family it was sometimes said that though on occasions the youngerMiss Ralston could assume the airs of a social queen, at very many othertimes she was more of a baby than ever. For of course Frieda had not yetbeen touched by any of life's hard realities, and since her sister'srecovery from her accident her way had been fairly plain sailing. Fordid she not have health, youth, plenty of money and an adoring family?What else was there to wish for? Thus far she had never taken any of hermild love affairs with the least seriousness and had no idea of"settling down," as she expressed it, for at least ten years to come. Sowhat was there for Frieda to do but each day to grow fairer and morecharming, like a lovely wax doll that had come to life and taken uponitself the airs and graces of a really grown-up person. Because Jackobjected, Frieda some time ago had given up her former fashion ofwearing her heavy yellow hair in a Psyche knot, and in these months atthe ranch when no strangers were about had returned to her old childishcustom of two long braids. On dress occasions, however, her coiffure,copied after a Paris model, could again be made bewilderingly lovely.
On this particular occasion Frieda had unfortunately neglected to attireherself for the role which she was about to play, as she happened to bewearing an old blue and white middy blouse and a short duck skirt withone long plait hanging over each shoulder.
"I wonder," she began at this moment, though no one chanced to belooking toward her, "which one of us will finally fall heir to thisgrand new house we are building? I have just been thinking, houses arenot like clothes, meant for one person and to last through one or twoseasons: they may last through many generations and no telling whatchanges in a family."
"Hear! Hear!" cried Jean, straightway whirling around to regard hercousin with astonishment and then striking an attitude of mockadmiration. "Listen, everybody, please, Frieda is making a speech! Shewants to know which of us shall become the royal family of RainbowCastle. It is an interesting question, dear; I never should have thoughtit of you!"
Frieda hesitated, but the next instant went on quite seriously. "Ofcourse it won't be you though, Jean, because of all of us, Ruth, Olive,Jim, and Jack and me, why I think you love the Rainbow ranch the least.You will never want to stay on in the West once you are married; thatvisit you made the Princess Colonna in Rome has completely spoiled you."
And now it was Jean's turn to endure the family laughter, and though shemade no reply, she showed more annoyance than the accusation merited.
Still surprisingly thoughtful, Frieda continued: "I suppose that eitherJim or Jack and their children ought to inherit the new house, for ofcourse I am the youngest and have done nothing toward making the ranch asuccess as Jim and Jack have. Ruth, you and Jim would want Jack to havethe place after she marries and has children, wouldn't you? And yet notlong ago, do you know, I believed that in spite of loving the ranchbest, Jack would be the first one of us to leave it for good. I don'tthink so now," she added hastily, catching an expression on her sister'sface that she could not altogether understand.
But by this time Jack had marched across the room and was gently butfirmly pulling Frieda down from her exalted position.
"I suppose hearing the news of old Madame Van Mater's will has gone toyour head, Frieda darling," Jack protested. "But really no one of uswants to hear you arranging our futures and talking about ourdescendants, as if fifty years might suddenly pass away before tea time.Of course 'Rainbow Castle,' as Jean calls our new home, shall belong tothe one of us who wishes it and needs it the most. But which of us thatmay be--well, in the words of Mr. William Shakespeare, 'that is thequestion.'"
Jack now turned to her cousin, Jean, who was standing before one of theunfinished windows looking out at the beautiful view. For the prospectfrom the new house was far lovelier than any outlook from Rainbow Lodge,since it stood on a higher incline and showed a wider sweep of theprairies.
"Jean," Jack asked, "I wonder if you happen to know where Ralph Merritis? There is something Jim and I want particularly to talk over withhim. I happened to notice he was with you last. Did he say whether hewas going to have dinner with us tonight or with the men at the RanchHouse?"
The other girl shrugged her shoulders impatiently.
"Really, Jack, I don't see why I should be expected to know RalphMerrit's plans because I was talking to him for ten minutes. But what isall this mystery about anyway? What is going on down at the mine? Ralphlooks either as if he were working himself to death or as if he had theweight of the world on his shoulders. To tell you the truth, I believehe did ask me to tell you that he was going away for several daysperhaps. He preferred to talk over matters with you on his return. Butdo come on home, Ruth," Jean finished crossly, "it is much too cold forthe baby to be outdoors now the sun is down. And Jim and Jack alwaysprefer to have their business secrets alone. I suppose we have no rightto be interested. But of course there can't be any serious trouble atthe Rainbow Mine while Ralph is managing things." Then Ruth, Jean, thebaby and Frieda walked on ahead, leaving Jim and Jack to follow slowlybehind. For in spite of the accusation in Jean's speech, her cousin hadmade no denial.
With her hand inside his, after the fashion she had as a little girlwhen anything about the big ranch troubled her, Jack gazed earnestly upinto her old friend and guardian's strong and gentle countenance.
"I am right not to speak of this trouble Ralph Merrit is having with themen at Rainbow Mine, don't you think so, Jim?" she queried. "You see Idon't understand the situation anyhow, and it all may come to nothing inthe end. So any discussion does not seem to me fair to Ralph. Surely themen are only grumbling! Why next to you I feel that we owe our fortuneto the splendid way Ralph Merrit has managed the mine. And you know youhave always liked him better than any other young man we have everknown, better even than Frank Kent."
Jim cleared his throat. "Have I said that I had changed my mind aboutMerrit?" he demanded. "You are right, Jack; you just lie low and saynothing even to the men who may come to you with their complaints. Inmy opinion the trouble is this: The fellows at work on Rainbow Mine aremost of them middle-aged men, kind of down-and-out miners and a hardlot, who have either given up the hope of discovering gold forthemselves or postponed searching for it for a while so as to first makea good living out of us. Well, you see, compared to them Ralph Merrit isa kid. And of course his being a real mining engineer graduated out of acollege and placed as the boss over them makes the older men kind ofsore. Then, besides paying our miners their regular wages we have beengiving them a percentage also of the amount of gold that is taken out ofthe mine each month. There is still enough pay dirt for us to livepretty comfortable, but the men say we ought to be getting a whole lotmore. Merrit isn't certain yet, he wants to make some moreinvestigations. The gold that is a whole lot deeper down under the earthmay prove either too dangerous or too expensive to get out. So at bottomI believe that is what the real grievance is, they want Ralph to hurryup. It is nothing to them to have us sink, say a hundred thousanddollars, in new mining machinery and maybe get nothing back. So theyhave been spreading ugly stories, say Merrit does not know his job andthat he is too busy speculating and trying to earn a fortune that wayfor himself to care what becomes of the mine."
After this speech Jack kept silent for several moments and they werealmost at the Lodge before she replied:
"Look here, Jim, don't be angry with me if I say something. Of course Iknow Ralph is doing the best he can for us at the mine. But about thatother story--really you ought to try and find out if it is true. JohnRaines, one of the miners, said he wanted to tell me something; do lethim tell you instead. Because, Jim dear, if once you believe in a personyou know you believe in him forever, and yet maybe Ralph may have gotteninto mischief. You see I should not wish to be prying into his privateaffairs, but it is as plain as the nose on your face to everybody butyou that Ralph is in love with
Jean and always has been for that matter,though I must confess he has been paying her a good deal less attentionlately. And as for Jean, well I don't believe she will marry any one whocannot give her wealth and position; yet just the same it would be wiserto know the truth about Ralph. Couldn't you ask him to tell you? Ibelieve he would. Oh dear me, I do hope we won't have a strike at themine or any other kind of trouble."
"You sound pretty sensible, partner," Jim agreed, "maybe I had betterlook into things a little more. It never hurts any fellow to keep hiseyes open. But let me tell you that I have never heard of a gold mineyet, whether it was a good one or a poor one, that did not keep onpiling up trouble."