THE PROMISE OF THE FUTURE
Oriole was actually in a situation of extreme danger, as well as in
uncertainty of mind. If Hank Ridley found that she was spying on him
the girl knew quite well that the desperado would punish her. He was a
bad man, and he had shown by his attempt to abduct the Langdon twins
that he feared neither the law nor the ranchmen of the vicinity.
Oriole was quite sure that she knew why the fellow was such a menace to
society and why he was taking such chances with the law. She believed,
as did Teddy Ford, that Ridley and his gang had robbed Harvey Langdon
of the chest of silver and that Ridley was willing to take almost any
chance to get the silver out of the country. It was very valuable, and,
now that his companions had been captured, what was to prevent Ridley
from getting all the benefit of the robbery of the ranch house for
himself?
This was enough. Oriole had not to go beyond these facts to be sure
that the man was desperate and that she was in peril.
She might have crept back through the wood, got her pony, and ridden
away at once. She could reach the ranch before nightfall if she had any
kind of luck at all. But, so doing, she knew she would be unable to get
anybody to come up from the ranch until the next morning.
"Meanwhile," the girl told herself with good sense, "this fellow will
drag out the treasure chest and hide it somewhere else, or else get
clear away with it. Maybe he has got pack mules, or something, waiting
for him. No! I just can't leave here till I know what he does with Mr.
Langdon's silver plate."
Being quite unsuspicious of her watchfulness, or of being spied upon
at all, Ridley proceeded to let the rope down into the shaft. Near by
were the rotted timbers of an arrangement by which the original miners
here had raised the dirt and rocks excavated in the prospect-hole. But
across the mouth of the hole was now a comparatively green timber--one
quite probably set here by Ridley and his mates the fall before. Ridley
tied the end of the rope securely to this timber.
Although the rope was not knotted for hand- and foot-holds, Ridley
seemed quite assured of his job when he let himself over the edge of
the shaft. He did not even remove his boots, but braced his feet
against the sides of the well as he went down.
The timber creaked more and more as he descended. Oriole waited and
watched--desiring to go and peer down into the depths, and yet not
daring to. At least, she did not dare until the timber stopped creaking
and the rope gyrating.
"He's down there!" murmured the girl. "Oh! what shall I do now?"
Carefully she crept from the brush and across the opening to the edge
of the deep well. She was wise enough not to thrust her head over the
edge in a way to allow Ridley to observe her from below. Indeed, she
was so much afraid of the man that at first she did not realize that he
was quite in her power.
She was sure Ridley would attach the chest of silver (if it was down
there) to the end of the rope. Then he would climb up and draw the
chest up after him.
"And not a thing can I do then to stop him!" murmured Oriole Putnam.
"If I could only keep him here till I hurried home and told Mr. Langdon
and Teddy----
"Why! that's exactly what I _can_ do," and she uttered this last
statement of fact aloud.
Indeed, she was so suddenly positive of her security that she almost
laughed. She had seen Ridley tie the rope to the strong timber; and
while it was a knot that would not slip, it was one that she could
easily untie!
When she saw this to be the fact she made no delay, but went at the
knot with nimble fingers. Almost instantly a hollow-sounding voice came
from the bottom of the hole:
"Hey! What's doing up there? Get away from that rope!"
A pistol shot followed, and the bullet buried itself in the timber.
Oriole screamed and jumped back. She was dreadfully frightened; but the
knot was only half untied. Should she let the rope alone--let Ridley
climb up by it and escape?
The rope began to shake again. The frightened girl knew that the outlaw
was about to climb up.
But, if he was coming up the rope, he could not use his pistol! The
thought inspired her with sudden courage. She sprang forward again and
fumbled at the knot.
Again the man shouted from the bottom of the hole. His threats did not
achieve their purpose this time, for Oriole succeeded in loosening the
rope. She let it slip through her fingers, and the yell that came up
from Ridley assured her that the coils had fallen upon him with all
their weight.
"There!" gasped Oriole, feeling a confidence and delight that she had
not known before, "I have got that bad man just where he ought to be.
He can't get out, and he can't get the stolen silver out--if it _is_
down there. Now I guess I'll ride home and tell them all what I've
done."
Oriole may have other and quite as thrilling adventures as this here
narrated; for we expect to meet her again in a third volume of this
series entitled, "When Oriole Went to Boarding School." Nevertheless,
she is not likely to feel any greater satisfaction over any
accomplishment than she did when she rode the tired Molly to the corral
gate that evening.
"Where you been all day, Oriole Putnam?" demanded Teddy, running up to
unsaddle the pony. "I bet you'll get it from Harvey Langdon. He and
Brownie don't think you ought to be chasing all over the turnip-patch
alone."
"They aren't going to scold me this time," declared Oriole gleefully.
"Wait till you hear what I've done."
And she was right in this premise. Instead of being scolded she was
highly praised by the ranchman and the nurse--not to say everybody else
about the ranch house. The men were as enthusiastic over Oriole's feat
in capturing Hank Ridley as Teddy was himself.
"And as for that silly George Belden," Nurse Brown said, with apparent
disapproval, "he'd be willing to adopt Oriole right now--if I'd let
him."
It was thus that the brusque Miss Brown let it be known that the
foreman had finally been accepted. Later the twins and Teddy and Oriole
were all guests at the wedding of the nurse and Belden.
Before this happened, however, a posse rode to the basin up by the
Three Sisters and rescued Hank Ridley from the prospect-hole. In
addition, Teddy Ford was lowered into the hole and found there, wrapped
in an old horse-blanket, the chest of table-silver that had been stolen
the autumn before from the Langdon ranch. This recovery not only proved
the case against Ridley and his mates, but it disproved the accusation
that had hung over Teddy for so long.
"That boy has proved his worth around here anyway," Mr. Langdon said.
"I shall be glad to do something for him, and for more reasons than
one. It is not alone my duty, but it will be a pleasure to make it
possible for Teddy to have a fair chance in the world."
Oriole knew that he would not forget this promise, and even Teddy
agreed that Harvey Langdon was "lots better than I thought he was."
There was another thing--a most wonderful thing--that came into Oriole
Putnam's life about this time. Mr. Langdon had not forgotten his
decision to put the case of the _Ellerton_ trading vessel into the
hands of a competent person at San Francisco.
A lawyer's letter came from that city one summer day stating that
the ship from the South Seas had arrived, and that she brought a
passenger--a lady whom the long sea voyage and the care of the
captain's wife had brought back to health almost from the verge of the
grave.
Mrs. Putnam, having seen her husband drowned and believing her little
daughter had shared a similar fate, had been quite a helpless invalid
in the cabin of the _Ellerton_ for months. Mrs. Grimsby, the captain's
wife, had nursed her as though the unfortunate woman were her own
sister. It was so long after the sinking of the _Helvetia_ before the
_Ellerton_ had touched at even a semi-civilized port that her master
did not consider it of any moment to send word to Europe or America of
the salvation of a single passenger from the sunken vessel.
Joy never kills, it is said; and perhaps that is so. At least the
message sent to Mrs. Putnam from the Montana ranch was not likely to
injure the health of Oriole's mother. Two days after the receipt of
the lawyer's letter of explanation a telegram came for Oriole, saying:
"Leave by overland special to-day for the ranch. Meet me at Timmins
Station.--Mother."
Oriole laughed and cried alternately at the news. It was dreadful
to know that she would never see her father again. But the thought
that her mother was coming--that dear mother who had always been her
constant companion in years past--filled her heart with a joy that
nothing could dim.
"Poor, poor papa!" she murmured. "I'll surely miss him. But if one of
them had to--to go I'm glad it wasn't mamma."
Oriole could scarcely wait for the hour to arrive when she should start
on Molly for the train. The twins could not go on such a long drive;
but Teddy was to accompany her. And when the girl rode out of the home
acres and took the trail to the railroad everybody about the place
waved or shouted their good wishes--even Ching Foo from the door of his
kitchen.
"Gee! but you are a popular girl, Oriole," said Teddy, "folks like you
around here just about as they did back East, don't they?"
"Folks are awfully good to me," returned the girl, her eyes shining.
"And everything always turns out good for me, too. Just think! I'm
going to see my mother again. I'm going to see _my mother_!"
"Ye-es," chuckled Teddy suddenly. "But you never did find your
wrist-watch."
"That's so. But I don't care. Mr. Langdon has promised me another one
just like it," answered Oriole with a bright smile.
THE END
* * * * *
[Transcriber's Note: Inconsistent hyphenation left as printed.]
* * * * *
BOOKS FOR GIRLS
_By_ AMY BELL MARLOWE
12mo. Goth. Illustrated.
THE OLDEST OF FOUR
Or Natalie's Way Out
THE GIRLS OF HILLCREST FARM
Or The Secret of the Rocks
A LITTLE MISS NOBODY
Or With the Girls of Pinewood Hall
THE GIRL FROM SUNSET RANCH
Or Alone in a Great City
WYN'S CAMPING DAYS
Or The Outing of the Go-Ahead Club
FRANCES OF THE RANGES
Or The Old Ranchman's Treasure
THE GIRLS OF RIVERCLIFF SCHOOL
Or Beth Baldwin's Resolve
THE ORIOLE BOOKS
WHEN ORIOLE CAME TO HARBOR LIGHT
WHEN ORIOLE TRAVELED WESTWARD
(Other volumes in preparation)
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK