Late in the afternoon the grey rock of Oraibi showed through the
whistling sand storm. The wagons halted a little while by the Oraibi
Wash before making the last miles through the difficult sand hillocks at
the foot of the cliff. And it was during this resting period that word
came to Masters from one of the Hopis who had a corn field on the Wash
that recent rains at Oraibi had so damaged the wagon trial leading to
the top that it would be impossible to drive up. All visitors and
tourists must walk up the foot trail.
"That means that Helen can't get to the village. It will be a great
disappointment," said Mrs. Douglas.
It was on the tongue of Felix Bauer to suggest a plan for carrying Helen
up the trail on one of the camp cots when Van Shaw struck in.
"Pardon me, Mrs. Douglas, but it will be an easy thing to carry Miss
Douglas up the trail on a camp cot. Four of us can do it easily. Just
put some tent poles under the sides and let the two behind rest the
poles on their shoulders and the two in front carry lower. In that way
I'm sure we can get Miss Douglas to the top without any inconvenience to
her. It would be a shame to come all this distance and eat all this dirt
and miss the real thing after all."
"I don't want to miss it, of course," Helen faltered, looking at the
group of young men, Walter, Felix, Van Shaw and his two friends. "But
I'm giving a lot of trouble and I'm afraid I'm a nuisance."
"Then we will abate it by carrying you up there," said Van Shaw smiling,
and Helen smiled back at him, to Felix Bauer's rage. The whole thing was
getting to be torture to him. And it all intensified his determination
to have a plain talk with Mrs. Douglas. The opportunity for it was not
easy. Mrs. Douglas was close by Helen nearly every moment. The camp
duties were many and the little company was of necessity grouped close
together during the march. But Bauer with his regular stock of dogged
patience bided his time, sure it would come.
Camp was pitched that night at the foot of the Oraibi trail. Almost as
soon as the wagons were located Van Shaw came over to Mrs. Douglas
carrying a cot.
"We've got an extra cot, Mrs. Douglas, and it won't take any time to fix
that litter. We can use some of our tent poles. I'll be glad to fix the
thing up in the morning."
Mrs. Douglas thanked him quietly, and Helen expressed her gratitude.
"Oh, I wouldn't miss seeing the sight to-morrow for anything. Isn't it
wonderful. That rock? How weird it all is. Why, you can hardly tell
where the rock begins and the houses leave off. Just to think of seven
or eight hundred people living up there all these centuries keeping up
these queer customs. And oh, look! What is that?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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