"All right." I was used to anything by now. "Silk or flannel?"
"Well," he said thoughtfully. "She acts like red flannel but probably
expects crêpe de chine."
I sent both over, and never saw either again.
My heart went out to a poor little lady, sent by heartless relatives,
traveling with only a maid. She was not mentally able to care for
herself and certainly should not have been allowed to visit Grand
Canyon. However, she and the maid arrived, with other visitors, and the
maid seated her charge on a bench near the Rim, then went away about her
own business. When she came back, behold, the little lady had vanished.
After a long time, the maid reported her absence to the Ranger Office,
and a search was organized. Soon after the rangers had set out to look
for her, an automobile traveling from Flagstaff reported they had met a
thinly dressed woman walking swiftly out into the desert. She had
refused to answer when they spoke to her, and they were afraid she was
not responsible for her actions.
Ranger Winess, the Chief, and I climbed into the ever-ready Ford and
took up the trail. A heavy storm was gathering and the wind cut like a
knife. For several miles we saw nothing; then we saw her tracks in the
muddy road where the sun had thawed the frozen ground earlier in the
day. After a while great flakes of snow came down, and we lost all
trace. Backtracking ourselves, we found where she had left the road and
had hidden behind a big rock while we had passed. For an hour, through
the falling snow, with night closing around us, we circled and searched,
keeping in touch with each other by calling back and forth continually.
It would have been easy enough for the rangers to have lost me, for I
had no idea what direction I was moving in. We were about to give up and
go back to Headquarters for men and lights when Ranger Winess stumbled
over her as she crouched behind a log. She would have frozen to death in
a very short time, and her coyote-picked bones would probably never have
been discovered. She insisted she knew what she was about, and we had
literally to lift her into the car and take her back to El Tovar.
Whether the Canyon disorganized their judgment or whether they were
equally silly at home I cannot tell, but certainly the two New England
school teachers who tried horseback-riding for the first time, well--! I
was mixing pie crust when the sound of thundering hoofbeats down through
the woods took me to the door. Just at my porch some men were digging a
deep ditch for plumbing. Two big black horses, a woman hanging around
the neck of each, came galloping down on us, and as the foremost one
gathered himself to leap the ditch, his fainting rider relaxed and fell
right into the arms of a young Mormon workman. He carried her into my
house, and I, not being entirely satisfied with the genuineness of the
prolonged swoon, dismissed the workman and dashed the ice-cold pie crust
water in her face. She "came to" speedily. Her companion arrived about
that time and admitted that neither of them had ever been on a horse
before, and not wanting to pay for the services of a guide they had
claimed to be expert riders. It hadn't taken the horses long to find out
how expert their riders were, and they had taken matters into their own
hands, or perhaps it might be better to say they had taken the bits in
their teeth and started for their stable.
The girl on the leading horse said she had been looking for quite a
while for a suitable place to fall, and when she saw the Mormon she knew
that was her chance!
It wasn't always the humans that got into trouble, either. I remember a
beautiful collie dog that was being given an airing along the Rim. He
suddenly lost his head, dashed over the low wall, and leaped to his
death a thousand feet below. It took an Indian half a day of arduous
climbing around fissures and bluffs to reach him and return him to his
distracted owners for burial. They could not bear to leave the Canyon
until they knew he was not lying injured and suffering on a ledge
somewhere.
[Illustration]
_Chapter XV: FOOLS, FLOOD, AND DYNAMITE_
The Chief and I stayed home for a few days, and life rambled on without
untoward incident. I began to breathe easier and stopped crossing my
fingers whenever the phone rang.
I even grew so placid that I settled myself to make a wedding dress for
the little Mexican girl who helped me around the house. Her father was
head of the Mexican colony whose village lies just out of Headquarters.
Every member of the clan was a friend of mine, for I had helped them
when they were sick and had saved all the colored pictures in magazines
for their children.
The wedding day dawned early, very early! At five o'clock I dragged
myself from my warm bed and went to the schoolhouse where the wedding
was staged. Father Vabre married the couple, and then we all went home
with the happy pair. An accordion and a harmonica furnished music enough
for several weddings; at least they made plenty of racket. We were
seated at the table with the bride and groom. They sat there all day
long, she still wearing her long wedding veil. The groom was attired in
the niftiest shepherd-plaid suit I ever beheld. The checks were so large
and so loud I was reminded constantly of a checker-board. A bright blue
celluloid collar topped the outfit. I do not think the bridal couple
spoke a word all day. They sat like statues and stonily received
congratulations and a kiss on each cheek from all their friends. There
was such a lot of dancing and feasting, and drinking the native wine
secured for that grand occasion. Our plates were loaded with food of all
sorts, but I compromised with a taste of the wine and a cup of coffee.
The dancing and feasting lasted two or three days, but one day exhausted
my capacity for endurance.
Soon after the wedding, a tiny baby sister of the bride died, and its
father came to get permission to bury it in the Park cemetery. I asked
if I could do anything to help them, and Sandoval said I was to make the
dress and put it on the baby for them. He produced bright orange
organdie and pink ribbons for the purpose. Next morning I took the
completed dress and some flowers the El Tovar gardener had contributed
down to their home. I dressed the wee mite in the shroud, which was
mightily admired, and placed the crucifix the mother gave me in its tiny
waxen fist. Then the bride came with her veil and wreath of orange
blossoms, and said she wanted to give them to the little sister. The
mother spoke no English, but she pointed here and there where she wanted
the flowers and bright bows of ribbon pinned. Strange, it looked to me,
the little dead baby decked out in wedding finery, but the poor mother
was content. She patted a ribbon and smoothed the dress, saying to me in
Spanish:
"The Madonna will find my baby _so_ beautiful!"
One hot August day, the Chief and Ranger West went down into Salt Creek
Basin, at the bottom of the Canyon, to look for some Government horses
that had strayed away. In spite of their feeble protests I tagged along.
We had checked up on the stock and were following the trail homeward.
Ranger West rode in front on Black Dixie. Ordinarily he would have been
humming like an overgrown bumblebee, or talking to Dixie, who he said
was the only female he knew he would tell secrets to. But we had ridden
far that day, and the heat radiated from the great ore rocks was almost
beyond endurance. Now and then we could catch a glimpse of the river
directly at the foot of the ledge our trail followed, and the water
looked invitingly cool. All at once Dixie stopped so suddenly that
Ranger West almost took a header. A man's hat was lying in the trail.
Dismounting, the men looked for tracks. A quite legible story was
written there for them to read. Some tenderfoot, thirst-crazed, had
stumbled along that trail since we had passed that way a couple of hours
earlier. Putting our horses to a lope we rode on until we came to his
empty canteen; and a little farther on to a discarded coat and shirt.
The tracks in the sand wavered like those of a drunken man.
"We'll find his shoes next," the Chief called to Ranger West; "and then
pretty soon the end of the trail for him. Can't go far barefoot in this
hot sand."
"Say," Ranger West shouted, "White Mountain, Poison Spring is just
around the bend. We'll find the poor devil flattened out there sure.
_You_ ride slow, Margie, and we'll hurry along."
I didn't say anything, but I hurried along too. This spring he spoke of
was strongly impregnated with arsenic. Even the wild burros shunned it;
but I hardly dared to hope this desperate man would pass by it. The men
rode over the expected shoes without stopping, but I got off of Tar Baby
and got them. I began to think I would stay a little way behind. I felt
rather weak and sick. Rounding the turn I could see there was nothing at
the spring, and in the distance a stumbling figure was weaving along.
The men were nearing him, so I spurred to a run. Every now and then the
man would fall, lie prone for a minute, then struggle to his feet and go
on. Suddenly my heart stood still. The figure left the trail and headed
straight for the edge of the precipice. The river had made itself heard
at last.
Ranger West turned Dixie from the trail and rode straight across the
plateau to where the man had disappeared behind a big boulder. The Chief
followed West, but I rode the trail and kept my eyes resolutely ahead of
me. I knew I couldn't endure seeing the man jump to certain death when
we were at his heels with water and life.
When I looked up again Ranger West had his rope in his hand widening the
loop. White Mountain was with him. They were ten or fifteen feet from
the man, who was lying on his stomach peering down at the water. As the
poor fellow raised himself for the plunge, with a quick flirt of his
wrist the ranger tossed the rope across the intervening space, and as
the noose settled around the man's arms White Mountain and the ranger
dragged him back from death.
He lay stunned for a space, then twisted himself over, and mumbled
through swollen, bleeding lips: "Is that really water down there?"
They helped him back into the trail and gave him a swallow from a
canteen. It took both the men to manage him, for with the first taste of
water he went raving crazy. He fought and cursed them, and cried like a
baby because he couldn't hold the canteen in his own hands. They laid
him in the shade of our horses and poured a few drops down his throat at
intervals until a degree of sanity returned. He was then placed on the
Chief's horse, and the Chief and Ranger West took turns, one riding
Dixie while the other helped the man stay in the saddle. We found later
he was a German chemist looking for mineral deposits in the Canyon.
Each morning a daily report of the previous day's doings is posted in
Ranger Headquarters. I was curious to know what Ranger West's
contribution would be for that day. This is what he said:
"Patrolled Tonto Trail looking for lost horses. Accompanied Chief Ranger
and wife. Brought in lost tenderfoot. Nothing to report."
And that was that.
The Chief decided to drive out to Desert View the afternoon following
our Canyon experience, and he said I could go if I liked; he said he
couldn't promise any excitement, but the lupine was beautiful in Long
Jim Canyon, and I might enjoy it.
"Thank God for a chance to be peaceful. I'm fed up on melodrama," I
murmured, and I climbed into that old Ford with a breath of relief.
We had such a beautiful drive. I waded waist-high in the fragrant
lupine, and even took a nap on pine needles while White Mountain located
the bench mark he was seeking. When he came back to me he said we had
better start home. He saw a cloud that looked as if it might rain.
Before we reached the Ford, the rain came down; then more rain came, and
then there was a cloudburst. By that time we were well down toward the
middle of Long Jim Canyon. This canyon acts just like a big ditch when
rain falls. We had to keep going, and behind us a wall of water raced
and foamed and reached out for us. It carried big logs with it, and
maybe that water didn't make some time on the down grade.
"Hang on, hold everything!" the Chief yelled in my ear, and we were off
on as mad a race as John Gilpin ever rode. Henry would be proud of his
offspring if he knew how one _could_ run when it had a flood behind it.
"Peaceful! Quiet!! Restful!!!" I hissed at the Chief, between bumps.
Driving was rather hazardous, because the water before us had carried
trees and débris into the road almost blocking it at places. Now and
then we almost squashed a dead cow the flood had deposited in our path.
I hoped the gasoline would hold out. I prayed that the tires would last.
And I mentally estimated the endurance power of springs and axles.
Everything was jake, to use a cowboy expression, and we reached the
mouth of the Canyon where both we and the flood could spread out.
"Whew!" said the Chief, wiping his face. I didn't say anything.
I can't remember that anything disastrous happened for two or three days
after the flood. Life assumed an even tenor, and I yawned occasionally
from sheer ennui.
To break the monotony I made a salad. That was momentous! Salads meant
something in our young lives out there. One of the rangers on leave had
returned and brought me a fine head of lettuce--an entirely rash way of
saying it with flowers. One last can of shrimp reposed on the shelf. It
almost had cobwebs on it, we had cherished it so long, saving it for
some grand spree. The time had arrived. That salad looked tempting as I
sliced the rosy pimiento on top and piled it in the blue and white bowl.
The ranger who contributed the lettuce was an invited guest, and he
stood on one foot, then on the other, while the dressing was mixed. Even
White Mountain hovered over it anxiously.
Just then came a knock! A very famous "bugologist" had come to call on
us. Of course the Chief invited him to dinner, while the ranger and I
looked glumly at each other. Maybe there wouldn't be plenty of salad for
four!
Our guest was deep in his favorite sport, telling us all about the bugs
that killed the beautiful yellow pines at the Canyon.
"Have some butter, Professor, and try this salad," invited White
Mountain.
"Thanks, it looks enticing," answered our distinguished guest, and he
placed the bowl with all its contents on his plate. Bite by bite the
salad disappeared, while he discoursed on the proper method of killing
the Yellow Pine Beetle.
"Why aren't you folks eating some of this delicious salad? You deprive
yourself of a treat when you refuse to eat salads. The human body
requires the elements found in fresh, leafy plants, etc., etc."
I gave the Chief's shins a sharp little kick.
"We seldom eat salads," murmured White Mountain.
I think I heard the disappointed ranger mutter: "Damn right we don't!"
When the last bite was gone we all stepped outside to look for signs of
the dread beetle on our own trees. While we stood there a blast was put
off by the construction gang on the railway directly in front of our
house. Rocks, 'dobe, and pine cones rattled down all around us. We beat
a retreat into the house and the Chief called to the man in charge and
warned him that such charges of powder as that must be covered if any
more blasting were to be done.
Again next morning big rocks struck the house, and broke a window. In
the absence of a ranger, I walked down and requested the Turk in charge
of the labor to use a little more discretion. Our house was newly
painted inside and out. My windows were all clean, new curtains were up,
the floors were newly waxed, and we were quite proud of our place of
abode. I said to the Turk I was afraid the roof would leak if such sharp
rocks hit it. He replied insolently that if he blew the roof off, the
Santa Fe would put another on. I went back to the house in fear and
trembling, and picked up my sewing. For half an hour I sewed in quiet.
Then a terrific explosion rent the air. There was ominous silence for an
instant, then the house crumpled over my head. The ridgepole came
crashing down, bringing part of the roof and ceiling with it. Rocks and
a great boulder fell into the room, knocking the stove over. Ashes and
soot went everywhere. One rock grazed me and knocked the sewing basket
from my lap. Part of a railroad tie carried the window sash and curtains
in with it and landed on the piano.
I have a vague recollection of searching vainly for my thimble, and then
of grimly determining to locate the Chief's gun. It is well he wore his
arsenal that day, else the usual order of things would have been
reversed--a Christian would have massacred a Turk!
While I was aimlessly wandering around through the wreckage, half dazed,
White Mountain and the Superintendent rushed in. They frantically pulled
me this way and pushed me that, trying to find out if I were hopelessly
injured, or merely killed. They found out I could still talk! Then they
turned their attention to the Turk and his men who came trooping in to
view the remains. It seemed they had put down a charge of four sticks
and it had failed to explode. So they had added four more and let her
ramble. It was _some_ blow-up! At least the Turk found it so.
"What do you want me to do?" that unfortunate asked me, after the Park
men finished with him.
"Oh, go outside and die!"
"White Mountain, give me your pocketbook. I'm going to buy a ticket to
West Virginia. I've had enough of the great open spaces," I continued.
"Why go now?" he wanted to know. "You've escaped death from fire, flood,
and fools. Might as well stay and see it through."
So we started shoveling out the dirt.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Reprinted, by permission, with a few changes, from _Good
Housekeeping_.
[2] Reprinted, by permission, with a few changes, from _Good
Housekeeping_.
[3] Reprinted, by permission, with a few changes from _Good
Housekeeping_.
[4] Reprinted, by permission, from the _Los Angeles Times_ Sunday
magazine.
End of Project Gutenberg's I Married a Ranger, by Dama Margaret Smith