In another moment, Mr. Brewster climbed up easily and sat beside the
strangers. He churked to the horses and drove away in a manner that
threatened to hurl the city girls from their earthly perch into kingdom
come.
"Oh, this is terrible!" groaned Barbara, at an unusually hard bump of
the wagon over a rutty road.
"Maybe we can sit down on the floor of the wagon where the trunks are?"
ventured Eleanor, looking at Mr. Brewster.
"Shore--if you-all want to. The senseless trunks make better company
than a rough old farmer," replied Mr. Brewster, without the least
suspicion of malice in the words.
The exchange was made and the girls felt protected by the trunks, so
they could take a livelier interest in the ride. As they left the road
leading from Oak Creek, the sight of imposing mountains towering in the
distance thrilled them in spite of their determination to dislike
everything they saw. And the gorgeous hues and beauty of the strange
wild-flowers caused exclamations from Eleanor, while Barbara gasped at
the vast herds of cattle, grazing, as they roamed over the plains.
Finally Mr. Brewster guided the horses away from the wide trail, into
the Bear Forks trail that wound in and out, now on the brink of the
river's chasm, or again between jagged cliffs. Anon the awed girls
gazed down into fearful depths as the wagon skirted the dangerous
brink, or craned their necks to look at the wonderful vines and foliage
hanging from the tops of massive rocks. By the time they reached the
ridge of foot-hills where the trail led off to the cliffs at the
Devil's Grave, both sisters were silenced by the impressive scenery, so
that petty problems of puny mortals faded into a misty back-ground.
Suddenly the trail turned around a group of great rocks and the first
glimpse of Rainbow Cliffs could be seen. As the wagon drew nigh the
gorge running through the cliffs, Anne Stewart and Polly were found
waiting for the visitors.
Anne introduced Polly, and Eleanor acknowledged the courtesy, but
Barbara rudely failed to notice it as she was so obsessed with the
desire to complain about the railroad, the natives of Oak Creek, the
trails to Pebbly Pit, and everything connected with the coming.
Polly felt dreadfully shy with such unusual-looking girls. Not that
their hats had feathers or fine flowers, nor their suits had any
expensive trimmings on them, to suggest wealth, but the way they
_looked_ in their clothes! What made the difference, she wondered. Had
Anne told her the actual cost of those hats and suits, poor Polly would
have fainted from shock.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account