FUTURE PLANS
Betty's first impulse was to run up to her room and close the door.
Then she sat down on the edge of the bed and tore open the envelope
eagerly. She read the half dozen closely written sheets through
twice, thrust them back into the envelope, and ran down to tell the
Littells the good news.
"I've heard from Uncle Dick!" she cried radiantly, facing them as
they turned at her entrance. Betty's vivid personality often betrayed
her mood without a word, and to-night she was vibrant with happiness
so that she fairly glowed. "He has just got back to Flame City, where
he found the telegram and my letters. And he wants me to come out to
him, as he expects to be there for the next few months. He's been on
a long prospecting trip, and he can't get East till his company sends
out another representative. You may read the letter!"
She thrust it into Mr. Littell's hands and buried her head on Mrs.
Littell's broad shoulder.
"I'm so happy!" she choked, while the motherly hands smoothed her
hair understandingly.
"It's been so long, and I was afraid he might have died--like my
mother. I don't think I could stand it if Uncle Dick should die--he's
the only one who belongs to me."
"Why, Betty, child!" Mrs. Littell gathered her into her lap and
rocked her gently as though she had been a little child. "You're
nervous and unstrung. We ought to have taken better care of you and
not let this waiting wear you out so."
"If you're going to cry, Betty, so'll I," promised Bobby, putting an
awkward arm around Betty's neck. Bobby was as undemonstrative as a
boy and rarely kissed any one. "What in the wide world are we going
to do without you?"
Betty sat up and pushed the damp hair from her forehead. The four
girls were regarding her dolorously.
"I won't stay forever," she assured them. "Uncle Dick doesn't intend
to live out there, you know. The company he represents will likely
send him East this very winter."
"Well, that's a mighty interesting letter," commented Mr. Littell,
folding up the missive and returning it to Betty. "Though you're
going to leave a hole in this household, Sister, when you set sail.
You see, he's been out of sight and hearing of trains and post-offices
for a long time. I'd like to be able to lose myself in the
desert or a wilderness for a month or two. Think of having no
telephone bell to answer!"
The next morning a letter came to Mr. Littell from Mr. Gordon,
thanking him warmly for his kindness to Betty, containing the
assurance of the writer's lasting gratitude, and asking him if he and
his wife would oversee her preparations for the journey, help her
engage a berth, and start her on her way. A generous check was
enclosed, and Mrs. Littell and the girls immediately set about
helping Betty do the necessary shopping, while Mr. Littell engaged
her reservations on the Western Limited. She had decided to leave the
following Wednesday, and when Bob came out to spend the week-end, he
immediately announced his intention of going too.
"I figure out Flame City is the nearest station to my aunt's old
place. I have enough money saved now, and there's no reason why I
should stay on here. Hurrah for Oklahoma!"
The preparations went forward merrily after that, and Wednesday
found Betty on the Western Limited, bound for Flame City. What
happened to her there and her experience in the great oil fields will
be told in another volume to be called, "Betty Gordon in the Land of
Oil; or, The Farm That Was Worth a Fortune."
Bobby insisted that they make the week-end at Fairfields a farewell
celebration to be remembered, and the six young people managed to get
the maximum of enjoyment out of every hour. Bob had been brought out
to Saturday luncheon, and as soon as he had heard about the Oklahoma
trip and announced his own plans, Louise insisted that Betty was to
have a lesson in riding.
"Of course you'll want to ride out West," she said. "They all do in
pictures. Come on out to the barn, and we'll get the ponies out."
A stable boy brought out a gentle, coal-black pony, and Betty
mounted him trustingly.
"Why, it's lovely!" cried Betty, enjoying the sensation to the full.
"He goes like a rocking chair, bless his heart! I'm sure I can learn
to ride."
"Of course you can!" Bobby encouraged her swiftly. "You must try him
at a slow canter in a minute. Here comes Esther with the camera."
A picture of Betty was taken, and then the lesson was resumed. At
the close of the afternoon Bobby announced that Betty was in a fair
way to become a good horsewoman.
Mr. and Mrs. Littell took them into Washington to the theater that
night, and to make up the hours of lost sleep all the young people
slept late the next morning.
Instead of going into Washington to church, they all went to the
little country church that Mrs. Littell attended and loved, and after
the service they spent a quiet, pleasant day about the house and
grounds of Fairfields.
That evening the five girls and Bob gathered on the spacious white
steps of the house to watch the beautiful Virginia sunset.
"Let's promise each other," suggested Betty, her pretty face serious
and thoughtful, "to meet five years from now, wherever we may be, and
compare notes. We'll be almost grown up then and know what we're
going to be."
"No matter how often we meet, or how seldom, five years from to-day
we'll promise to come together," agreed Bobby. "Here's my seal."
She put out her hand and the hands of the six interlocked in a tower.
"To our close friendship," murmured Betty, as they unclasped.
Then, the sun having set, they went into the glow and welcome of the
lighted lamps.
THE END
End of Project Gutenberg's Betty Gordon in Washington, by Alice B. Emerson