Part 4 (1/2)

”Oh, nothing in particular. I was just thinking--might have been thinking out loud.”

”That's you, every time, Zephyr. You think without talking, and I talk without thinking. It's lots more fun. Do you think I will ever grow into a dear, sober old thing like you? Just tell me that.” She stooped down, taking Zephyr's face in both her hands and turned it up to her own.

Zephyr looked musingly up into the laughing eyes, and took her hands into his.

”Not for the same reasons, I guess, not if I can help it,” he added, half to himself. ”Now, if you'll be seated, I'll serve breakfast.” He dropped the hands and pointed to a boulder.

elise ate the plain fare with the eager appet.i.te of youth and health.

From far down the gulch the m.u.f.fled roar of the stamps rose and fell on the light airs that drifted up and down. Through it all was the soft swish of the falling spray, the sharp _blip! blip!_ as points of light, gathered from dripping boughs, grew to sparkling gems, then, losing their hold, fell into little pools at the foot of the cliff. High above the straggling town the great cables of the tram floated in the air like dusty webs, and up and down these webs, like black spiders, darted the buckets that carried the ore from mine to mill, then disappeared in the roaring mill, and dumping their loads of ore shot up again into sight, and, growing in size, swept on toward the cliff and pa.s.sed out of sight over the falls above.

Across the narrow gulch a precipice sheered up eight hundred feet, a hard green crown of stunted spruces on its retreating brow, above the crown a stretch of soft green meadow steeply barred with greener willows, above the meadow jagged spires of blackened lava, thrust up from drifts of s.h.i.+ning snow: a triple tiara crowning this silent priest of the mountains.

To the east the long brown slide was marked with clifflets mottled as was Joseph's coat of many colours, with every shade of red and yellow that rusting flecks of iron minerals could give, brightened here and there with cl.u.s.tered flowers which marked a seeping spring, up and up, broken at last by a jagged line of purple that lay softly against the clear blue of the arching sky.

To the west the mountains parted and the vision dropped to miles of browning mesa, flecked with ranchers' squares of irrigated green. Still farther a misty haze of distant mountains rose, with the great soft bell of the curving sky hovering over all.

Zephyr ate in a silence which elise did not care to break. Her restless eyes glanced from Zephyr to the mountains, fell with an eager caress on the flowers that almost hid the brook, looked out to the distant mesa, and last of all shot defiance at the blazing windows of the Blue Goose that were hurtling back the fiery darts of the attacking sun.

She sprang to her feet, brus.h.i.+ng the crumbs from her clothes.

”Much obliged, Mr. Zephyr, for your entertainment.” She swept him a low courtesy. ”I told you I was out for a lark to-day. Now you can wash the dishes.”

Zephyr had also risen. He gave no heed to her playful att.i.tude.

”I want you to pay especial attention, elise.”

”Oh, gracious!” she exclaimed. ”Now I'm in for it.” She straightened her face, but she could not control the mischievous sparkle of her eyes.

There was little of meditation but much decision in Zephyr's words.

”Don't let Pierre tease you, persuade you, frighten you, or bulldoze you into marrying that Morrison. Do you hear? Get away. Run away.”

”Or elope,” interrupted elise. ”Don't skip that.”

”Go to Bennie, the old man, or to anyone, if you can't find me.”

”What a speech, Zephyr! Did any of it get away?”

Zephyr was too much in earnest even to smile.

”Remember what I say.”

”You put in an awful lot of hard words. But then, I don't need to remember. I may change my mind. Maybe there'd be a whole lot of fun after all in marrying M'sieu. I'd just like to show him that he can't scare me the way daddy does mammy. It would be worth a whole box of chips. On the whole I think I'll take daddy's advice. Bye-bye, Zephyr.”

She again picked up her scattered flowers and went dancing and skipping down the trail. At the turn she paused for an instant, blew Zephyr a saucy kiss from the tips of her fingers, then pa.s.sed out of sight.

A voice floated back to the quiet figure by the fire.

”Don't feel too bad, Zephyr. I'll probably change my mind again.”

CHAPTER IV