Part 13 (1/2)

Jack Norton and Mr. Palmer a.s.sisted the old gentleman to the house, where they were met by Mrs. Gully and Ida, who had witnessed the meeting of Jack and his father, but not understanding the meaning of the strange proceedings, had started to come out, thinking something was wrong. They had only reached the door when they met Jack and Mr. Palmer, and returned to prepare a comfortable place for the stricken old gentleman they were supporting between them.

Ida, immediately sensing that the occurrence had in some way materially affected Jack went, as soon as the old gentleman was comfortably seated, to Jack, and placing her hand upon his shoulder, inquired what was wrong. Jack laughingly a.s.sured her and told her that everything was far from being wrong, that the old gentleman was his father, and that they had met by the merest chance, adding that he would explain in a few moments, as soon as he was a.s.sured that his father was all right.

Mrs. Gully hastily secured a gla.s.s of cold water, which revived the old gentleman, and the rest of the party came in with Travis Gully and Mr.

Dugan. Introductions immediately followed the entrance into the room of the strangers, and as Mr. Norton had sufficiently recovered to be able to arise, he went to where Jack and Ida were standing, and with an amused twinkle in his eyes asked of his son: ”Am I ent.i.tled to an introduction to this estimable young lady, Jack?” Jack was plainly embarra.s.sed by his thoughtlessness in not having taken Ida to his father at first, and introduced his father to her, with apologies for his oversight.

The occurrence had taken place in so short a time and so unexpectedly that the importance of it, except to Jack and his father, had not had time to impress those present.

Travis Gully was at a loss to understand the situation, but felt sure that an explanation would be given in due time. His wife's greatest concern was that the excellent dinner which she had prepared for the expected guests was in a fair way of being spoiled by the delay caused by the occurrence. The simple fact of Jack and his father having met after an extended separation did not impress her as being very extraordinary. As for Ida, she realized fully the meaning of the happening, but did not take into account the probable effect it would have on the future as far as she and Jack were concerned. She had noticed, however, that Jack had introduced her to his father as Miss Gully instead of Ida, and in her simplicity she had not known that he had but conformed to the usages of polite society. She had never heard him speak of her as Miss Gully except in jest, and she was annoyed.

The party of strangers, accompanied by Gully and Jack, the latter clinging to his father's arm, had again gone out in the yard and were admiring the beautiful scenery of the mountains that could be seen at an advantage at the noon hour under the bright glare of the fall sunlight.

Jack and his father stood apart from the rest, and Jack was pointing with apparent pride in the direction of his place, while his father stood in an att.i.tude of listening to his evident enthusiasm.

CHAPTER XX.

Burns Norton, Jack's father, was of Irish descent, and had been born and raised in the south. His father, who had been a prominent cotton broker before the war, had ama.s.sed a fortune that consisted princ.i.p.ally of stocks and bonds, with occasional bits of land scattered throughout various southern states, that had been acquired by him through deals of such magnitude that frequently the land was absorbed and reverted to him in lieu of cash that he had advanced to his clients.

The war was the cause of the loss of the fortune thus acquired, and the elder Norton, Jack's grandfather, had died soon after its close a poor man, having turned over to those who had tried to help him survive these strenuous times all the property, real and personal, that he possessed.

Among the tracts of land thus acquired was one which consisted of several hundred acres situated in what was known as the Panhandle, in Texas, then arid and considered worthless except for range purposes.

When he had turned the deed to this over to his creditors, the board of appraisers handed it back with the remark: ”That is too far away. It is valueless and we will not take it into consideration,” and then added: ”Put it away for your boy; it may be worth something by the time he is a man.”

Burns Norton was just past fifteen when his father joined his mother, who had never recovered from the shock sustained when their fortune was lost, and with this tract of barren waste land, covered with curly mosquito gra.s.s, as his only property inheritance, he was set adrift in the world.

He accompanied a party of human derelicts, who drifted hither and thither during the reconstruction days following the close of the war, and finally landed in Texas, where he worked on a stock ranch, and rode the old Santa Fe Trail from Quanah, Texas, to Topeka, Kansas, for years.

As time pa.s.sed, and the Fort Worth & Denver Railroad was being constructed, it pa.s.sed through this land of Norton's. He had never mentioned the fact that he owned the land to any one, and it had been fenced as a part of an immense pasture, and when he went to the owners of this pasture and demanded that his land be thrown outside by the removal of their fence, they questioned his right to the land. Young Norton had no difficulty in proving his owners.h.i.+p, and went immediately to work improving it, and from this start sprung the immense wealth he now controlled. It was this experience that had prompted his investment in the land he had come to inspect at the time he discovered his lost son Jack, living over the life that he had led when he was Jack's age, and he understood where the adventurous disposition had originated, and he did not blame the boy. In fact, he had never blamed Jack for anything. He had been an indulgent father, and even now he was gratified by the boy's spirit, and although he felt that he had been badly treated he did not reproach him.

Mrs. Gully came to the door and called to her husband that dinner was ready, and he invited his guests to come in. Mr. Palmer and Dugan, who felt more at home than the rest, answered the summons promptly, and as they were pa.s.sing the well they noticed a barrel of fresh cold water which stood temptingly near, and jokingly called to Mrs. Gully that if she would provide them with a towel they thought they would enjoy was.h.i.+ng outside as they had done on their former visit.

Ida brought them towels and tin basins, and the entire party prepared themselves for their dinner at the well while Gully explained the workings of his pumping plant.

Jack and his father were the last to come to the well, and as Mr. Norton splashed his face with an abundance of cold water he laughingly told Jack that he did not blame him for being so enthusiastic about the country if that was a fair sample of their water, ”for,” declared he, ”although it seems to have been sitting here for quite a while, it is still sparkling and cool.”

Jack a.s.sured him that he had never seen or heard of a bad well of water in the country. Going into the house, they were seated at their dinners, while Mrs. Gully and Ida served. It was a revelation to these tired business men, this good wholesome food, that had been brought fresh from the soil and cool pantry and served in the simplest homelike manner, and they did justice to Mrs. Gully's and her daughter's culinary art by eating most heartily.

After the meal was finished, Mr. Norton called to Jack and told him to look in the front of the car in which he had come and bring him the small satchel that bore his name on the tag. Jack secured the satchel, and upon his return and handing it to his father, the latter took from it a box of cigars, and after pa.s.sing them around said that if the ladies had no objections, they would visit a while, and postpone their trip to the land. ”You see,” he continued, ”with the discovery of this young rascal,” with a fond look at Jack, ”there has been a great burden relieved from my mind, and I want to enjoy it in my own way, for there is no dependence to be put in his next move.”

Mrs. Gully replied that she would be pleased to have Mr. Norton feel enough at home to choose his own method of celebrating the restoration of his son, but she did feel that she must protest the remarks about Jack, for they had always found him a most dependable young man.

The old gentleman smiled at her defense of Jack, while that young worthy arose from his seat, and with mock gravity thanked her for her effort in his behalf, and turning to his father, quoted:

”I stand at the bar of justice, Condemned in the cause that you plead; My only defense the simple request That you judge by the motive, not deed.”

Mr. Norton, now in the best of spirits, turned to those present and asked: ”Shall we listen to his plea?” A chorus of voices exclaimed: ”Go ahead; let's have the story.”

It was a trying moment for Jack Norton. He had not expected events to take this turn, but he saw that his father expected an explanation of his conduct, and there was no alternative. It must be made in the presence of those who had a.s.sembled at the home of his dearest friends, the Gullys, and he knew that in view of the relations that existed between him and the family, an explanation was due.