“Oh, I can’t tell you now. You go right on trustin’ me—or rather you’d
better begin!”
“You’re a good soul, Clever Betsy! When does she stop?”
“As soon as it’s right.”
Irving uttered an exclamation of impatience.
“Don’t show your ignorance o’ business methods,” said Betsy smiling.
“You go on with your fishin’. Everything’s goin’ to be all right, and
I’ll tell you about it later.”
Thus reassured, Irving obeyed. He went on fishing; he tramped to
Artist’s Point with Miss Maynard, Nixie, and Mr. Derwent, and at night
went to his rest without having cross-examined Betsy further.
He knew every shade of expression in her good, immobile face, and
satisfaction was too clearly writ upon it for him to doubt that all
was well. Let her have her little mystery, if she derived enjoyment
from it. Of course all Irving cared for was to know that Rosalie was
properly looked after,—the details were really immaterial.
Toward the following morning he found himself on the shore of the
Firehole River, again waiting for the Riverside Geyser to play. As the
water began to spout, he suddenly noticed that Rosalie Vincent was in a
canoe in the middle of the river, just in the path of the irresistible
liquid catapult. He flung off his coat preparatory to jumping into the
water, and at the same time shouted her name repeatedly.
A mixture of sheepishness and relief greeted his sudden view of the
ceiling of his bedroom. His own voice rang in his ears. He glanced at
the window. Streaks of light were showing in the sky. An idea occurred
to him.
“I shall never have such another chance,” he thought. In fifteen
minutes more he was dressed and stealing like a burglar down the
corridor and out the door of the hotel.
The sky was brightening fast, and he started on a jog-trot in the
direction of the canyon.
The stillness, the loveliness of that morning,—the only sounds those
of Nature undisturbed and uninterrupted! What fine exhilaration was
in the air! Had no reward followed that run over the mountain road,
Irving Bruce would have remembered it all his days as unique in rare
enjoyment; but when at last he passed out from the shadows and stood
upon a vantage-point commanding the superb gorge, what words can
describe the grandeur of the pageant, as the rising sun brightened the
flaming walls of the canyon, and whitened the tempestuous water which
paused on an awful brink before thundering into the deeps below,—a
compact mass of shimmering silver foam!
A strange ecstasy forced moisture into the watcher’s eyes; but
suddenly as his glance swept down the cliff his heart seemed to stop
beating. On a jutting rock below him a woman was standing. She wore a
white gown and was bareheaded. While he looked she seemed to become
terror-stricken, and retreating, her back to the falls, clung to the
hoary rock like a frightened dove.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account