Virginia of Elk Creek Valley Part 6

"'The man, who wore a Thomas Cook and Son hat, was very polite after he had recovered from his surprise. I explained the difficulty we were in as quickly as possible, and he, in turn, said that second-cla.s.s tickets to Berlin cost in the neighborhood of four dollars, that the train left in seven minutes, and that if we would give him the money he would gladly make the purchase.

"'"Four dollars!" gasped Anne. "Apiece, you mean, or together?"

"'"Apiece," said the man.

"'"Then we can't go," said Anne. "I knew it all the time." And she dropped in a limp little heap on the bench near by just as though she never could get up.

"'"Why, what's the matter?" asked the man. "Out of money?"

"'Then Jess, who was really to blame, felt called upon to explain.

"'"Yes, sir, we are," she said, "all but eight dollars and fifty cents. You see, we experienced a severe shock in seeing G---- Miss Green, an old teacher of ours, by the drinking-fountain, when we thought she was in Athens. We didn't feel as though we could speak to her until--until we had washed and brushed up a little, and so we--well, we ran, and somehow I lost our family purse."

"'"I see," said the man.

"'He seemed very interested all of a sudden, and said we needn't worry at all if we had eight dollars and a half. There was another train leaving an hour later, he said--a train which carried third-cla.s.s carriages. We would be quite safe in traveling that way, and he would personally see us on board, if we wished. At that Anne and her spirits arose.

"'"Miss Green," he repeated. "You say she was your teacher?"

"'"Yes," said I wonderingly. "She most certainly was."

"'"Harriet, her given name?" asked the man.

"'"Yes!" cried Jess and Anne and I all together. "You don't know her, do you?"

"'"An angular person in a gray suit?" he continued. "Wears spectacles and----"

"'"Crimps," interrupted Jess. "Yes, she's the one, though she hasn't any this morning. You see, at school she always was a little--well, formidable, and we----"

"'"I see," said the man again. "Well, since I know she's around here, I may as well wait. I told her to be at our office just outside the station at ten o'clock, and it's nearly that now. You see," he explained, "she's been in Athens for six months, and she's very anxious to conduct a small party back there--lecture on the ancient civilization and all that sort of thing, you know. Perhaps, since she was your teacher, you'll be able to tell me how she'd do. She hasn't had time to get recommendations for just this sort of work, you see."

"'"How--how long would she be gone?" ventured Jess.

"'"Well," explained the Thomas Cook man, "if she did well, we'd probably keep her on the force. We're always looking for folks like that--to take parties--especially to Athens or Egypt. They're rare!

This might be a life job."

"'"I'd be willing to recommend her!" said Jess, a little too promptly, I thought.

"'"I think," said Anne, "it depends a good deal on the party she's going to take."

"'"It certainly does," I agreed.

"'"Well," said the man again, "it's an easy party. There's a professor who's nearly eighty, and who's wanted all his life to go to Athens; and a minister who's trying to discover the exact spot where Paul preached to the Athenians; and a couple of teachers who are something like Miss Green, I think--about that type, you know.

They're terribly interested in the temples on the Acropolis."

"'"Miss Green then is certainly the woman for you, sir," I announced, feeling like an Employment Bureau. "She's steeped in the Ancient World! She dotes on Rameses and the Pharaohs and the Tarquins and Solon; and she knows more about every one of them than she knows about--us, for instance."

"'"I see," said the man.

"'"The only reason we hesitated for a moment," added Anne, "was because we thought the party might be composed of young people, and, you see, Miss Green has never specialized to any great extent in--in--young life!"

"'"I understand perfectly," said our benefactor. "I guess I'll run along, young ladies. She might be in my office. Get your tickets from the man in the red cap at the largest window over there. He speaks English. Your train will reach Berlin at seven. It's on track four.

Don't thank me at all. I'm indebted to you. Won't you walk to the office and see Miss Green? She'd be delighted, I'm sure!"

"'Anne answered for us. "No, thank you," she said. "I'm afraid we can't. We haven't had breakfast yet, and we must telegraph my mother.

She'll expect us earlier. Yes, thank you, I'm sure we can manage quite well alone. Give Miss Green our best regards. I'm sure we hope she'll be successful."

"'He shook hands all around.

"'"You really think," asked Jess, a little worried in tone, I thought, "you really think it's likely to be a job for life?"

"'"Yes," said the man, "I do. I think she's the very woman I've been looking for."

"'Then he went. We stood looking at one another, not knowing what to say. It had all been too unexpected."

"'"Well," said Jess at last, "I don't know but that a job for life is cheap at twenty dollars. And, you know, she really expected to return to St. Helen's year after next."

"'We had just time to eat our belated breakfast, telegraph, buy our tickets, and catch the ten o'clock train, which carried us to Berlin without incident, other than embarra.s.sments arising from my total lack of German. We didn't mind third cla.s.s at all. It's a lot more human. Mrs. Hill and Dad met us, and Dad forgot all about the twenty dollars when we told him about Greenie.

"'I've given up seeing the Emperor's stables to tell you all of this, and I hope you appreciate it. Jess and Anne send loads of love to all of you, and so do I. I can't believe Wyoming is any better than Germany!

"'Jean.'"

"I can't help wondering, Virginia," said Priscilla, after they had all laughed again over Jean's letter, "I can't help wondering whether Greenie will consider _this_ vocation thrust upon her!"

"That's just what I was wondering, too," returned Virginia.

CHAPTER VII

THE VIGILANTES HOMESTEAD

"John, do you really think it's safe?"

It was Aunt Nan who asked the question. Mr. Hunter laughed.

"Safe, Nan? They couldn't be safer. There's nothing in the wide world to hurt them out there on the mesa. They're safer there, in my opinion, than any place I know, and if they want to know what homesteading is like, why let them homestead for a night! It won't hurt them a bit. If they go back to school with a few of Jean MacDonald's ideas, they'll be very fortunate."

"It seems as though I ought to go," said Aunt Nan, "and still I don't know that my being there would do any good."

"Not a bit," returned Virginia's father. "Roughing it at seventeen and thirty are two entirely different experiences. Stay at home and be civilized, but let them go and don't worry for a moment. They'll show up to-morrow safe and sound with another bran-new experience for their Thought Books. See if they don't!"

So it happened that Aunt Nan was convinced and gave her consent to Virginia's just-born and dearly-beloved plan--namely, that the four Vigilantes should homestead for Jean MacDonald during her absence of one night from her cabin on the mesa. Jean had ridden over that morning on her way to town to spend the night with a friend, and Virginia's plan had sprung full-born like Athena from the head of Zeus.

"Don't you want us to homestead for you, Jean, while you're away?" she had asked.