L. Frank Baum_Aunt Jane 06 (14 page)

"Can you nod guess?" he said. "Herr Gabert hurt mine eye."

"Oh!" exclaimed Wampus, nodding approvingly "You fight duel with him?
Of course. It mus' be."

"I haf one goot eye left, howefer," continued Dan'l. "It vill do me
fery well. Dere iss nod much to see out here."

"I know," said Wampus. "But Herr Gabert. What happen to him?"

Again there was a pause. Then the German said slowly:

"I am nod rich; but efery year I send a leetle money to Stuttgart to
put some flowers on Herr Gabert's grave."

The chauffeur's face brightened. He got up from his chair and solemnly
shook Dan'l's hand.

"You are great musician," he announced. "You can believe it, for it is
true. An' you have shake the hand of great chauffeur. I am Wampus."

Dan'l did not answer. He had covered his good eye with his hand.

"Wake up, Patsy: I smell coffee!" called Beth, and soon the two girls
were dressed and assisting Myrtle to complete her toilet. Through the
open windows came the cool, fragrant breath of morning; the sky was
beginning to blush at the coming of the sun.

"To think of our getting up at such unearthly hours!" cried Patsy
cheerfully. "But I don't mind it in the least, Beth; do you?"

"I love the daybreak," returned Beth, softly. "We've wasted the best
hours of morning abed, Patsy, these many years."

"But there's a difference," said Myrtle, earnestly. "I know the
daybreak in the city very well, for nearly all my life I have had to
rise in the dark in order to get my breakfast and be at work on time.
It is different from this, I assure you; especially in winter, when
the chill strikes through to your bones. Even in summer time the air
of the city is overheated and close, and the early mornings cheerless
and uncomfortable. Then I think it is best to stay in bed as long as
you can—if you have nothing else to do. But here, out in the open, it
seems a shame not to be up with the birds to breathe the scent of the
fields and watch the sun send his heralds ahead of him to proclaim his
coming and then climb from the bottomless pit into the sky and take
possession of it."

"Why, Myrtle!" exclaimed Patsy, wonderingly; "what a poetic notion.
How did it get into your head, little one?"

Myrtle's sweet face rivaled the sunrise for a moment. She made no
reply but only smiled pathetically.

Uncle John's knock upon the door found them ready for breakfast, which
old Dan'l had skilfully prepared in the tiny kitchen and now placed
upon a round table set out upon the porch. By the time they had
finished the simple meal Wampus had had his coffee and prepared the
automobile for the day's journey. A few minutes later they said
good-bye to the aged musician and took the trail that led through
Spotville.

The day's trip was without event. They encountered one or two Indians
on the way, jogging slowly along on their shaggy ponies; but the
creatures were mild and inoffensive. The road was fairly good and
they made excellent time, so that long before twilight Spotville
was reached and the party had taken possession of the one small and
primitive "hotel" the place afforded. It was a two-story, clapboarded
building, the lower floor being devoted to the bar and dining room,
while the second story was divided into box-like bedrooms none too
clean and very cheaply furnished.

"I imagine we shall find this place 'the limit'," remarked Uncle John
ruefully. "But surely we shall be able to stand it for one night," he
added, with a philosophic sigh.

"Want meat fer supper?" asked the landlord, a tall, gaunt man who
considered himself dressed when he was in his shirt sleeves.

"What kind of meat?" inquired Uncle John, cautiously.

"Kin give yeh fried pork er jerked beef. Ham 'a all out an' the
chickens is beginnin' to lay."

"Eggs?"

"Of course, stranger. Thet's the on'y thing Spotville chickens lay,
nowadays. I s'pose whar yeh come from they lay biscuits 'n' pork
chops."

"No. Door knobs, sometimes," said Mr. Merrick, "but seldom pork chops.
Let's have eggs, and perhaps a little fried pork to go with them. Any
milk?"

"Canned er fresh?"

"Fresh preferred."

The landlord looked at him steadily.

"Yeh've come a long-way, stranger," he said, "an' yeh must 'a' spent a
lot of money, here 'n' there. Air yeh prepared to pay fer thet order
in solid cash?"

Uncle John seemed startled, and looked at the Major, who smiled
delightedly.

"Are such things expensive, sir?" the latter asked the landlord.

"Why, we don't eat 'em ourselves, 'n' thet's a cold fact. Eggs is
eggs, an' brings forty cents a dozen to ship. There's seven cows
in town, 'n' forty-one babies, so yeh kin figger what fresh milk's
worth."

"Perhaps," said Uncle John mildly, "we can stand the expense—if we
won't rob the babies."

"Don't worry 'bout thet. The last autymobble folks as come this way
got hot because I charged 'em market prices fer the truck they et. So
I'm jest inquirin' beforehand, to save hard feelin's. I've found out
one thing 'bout autymobble folks sense I've ben runnin' this hoe-tel,
an' thet is thet a good many is ownin' machines thet oughter be payin'
their bills instid o' buyin' gasoline."

The Major took him aside. He did not tell the cautious landlord that
Mr. Merrick was one of the wealthiest men in America, but he exhibited
a roll of bills that satisfied the man his demands would be paid in
full.

The touring; party feasted upon eggs and fresh milk, both very
delicious but accompanied by odds and ends of food not so palatable.
The landlord's two daughters, sallow, sunken cheeked girls, waited on
the guests and the landlord's wife did the cooking.

Beth, Patsy and Myrtle retired early, as did Uncle John. The Major,
smoking his "bedtime cigar," as he called it, strolled out into the
yard and saw Wampus seated in the automobile, also smoking.

"We get an early start to-morrow, Wampus," said the Major. "Better get
to bed."

"Here is my bed," returned the chauffeur, quietly.

"But there's a room reserved for you in the hotel."

"I know. Don't want him. I sleep me here."

The Major looked at him reflectively.

"Ever been in this town before, Wampus?" he asked.

"No, sir. But I been in other towns like him, an' know this kind of
hotel. Then why do I sleep in front seat of motor car?"

"Because you are foolish, I suppose, being born that way and unable
to escape your heritage. For my part, I shall sleep in a bed; like a
Christian," said the Major rather testily.

"Even Christian cannot sleep sometime," returned Wampus, leaning back
in his seat and puffing a cloud of smoke into the clear night air.
"For me, I am good Christian; but I am not martyr."

"What do you mean by that?" demanded the Major.

"Do you sometime gamble?" inquired Wampus softly.

"Not often, sir."

"But sometime? Ah! Then I make you a bet. I bet you ten dollar to one
cent you not sleep in your bed to-night."

The Major coughed. Then he frowned.

"Is it so bad as that?" he asked.

"I think he is."

"I'll not believe it!" exclaimed Major Doyle. "This hotel isn't what
you might call first-class, and can't rank with the Waldorf-Astoria;
but I imagine the beds will be very comfortable."

"Once," said Wampus, "I have imagination, too. Now I have experience;
so I sleep in automobile."

The Major walked away with an exclamation of impatience. He had never
possessed much confidence in the Canadian's judgment and on this
occasion he considered the fellow little wiser than a fool.

Wampus rolled himself in a rug and was about to stretch his moderate
length upon the broad double seat when a pattering of footsteps was
heard and Beth came up to the car. She was wrapped in a dark cloak
and carried a bundle of clothing under one arm and her satchel in the
unoccupied hand. There was a new moon which dimly lighted the scene,
but as all the townspeople were now in bed and the hotel yard deserted
there was no one to remark upon the girl's appearance.

"Wampus," she said, "let me into the limousine, please. The night is
so perfect I've decided to sleep here in the car."

The chauffeur jumped down and opened the door.

"One moment an' I make up the beds for all," he said.

"Never mind that," Beth answered. "The others are all asleep, I'm
sure."

Wampus shook his head.

"They all be here pretty soon," he predicted, and proceeded to deftly
prepare the interior of the limousine for the expected party. When
Beth had entered the car Wampus pitched the lean-to tent and arranged
the cots as he was accustomed to do when they "camped out."

Scarcely had he completed this task when Patsy and Myrtle appeared.
They began to explain their presence, but Wampus interrupted them,
saying:

"All right, Miss Patsy an' Miss Myrtle. Your beds he made up an' Miss
'Lizbeth already asleep in him."

So they crept inside with sighs of relief, and Wampus had just mounted
to the front seat again and disposed himself to rest when Uncle John
trotted up, clad in his trousers and shirt, with the balance of his
apparel clasped in his arms. He looked at the tent with pleased
approval.

"Good boy, Wampus!" he exclaimed. "That room they gave me is an
inferno. I'm afraid our young ladies won't sleep a wink."

"Oh, yes," returned Wampus with a nod; "all three now inside car, safe
an' happy."

"I'm glad of it. How was your own room, Wampus?"

"I have not seen him, sir. But I have suspect him; so I sleep here."

"You are a wise chauffeur—a rare genus, in other words. Good night,
Wampus. Where's the Major?"

Wampus chuckled.

"In hotel. Sir, do the Major swear sometime?"

Uncle John crept under the tent.

"If he does," he responded, "he's swearing this blessed minute.
Anyhow, I'll guarantee he's not asleep."

Wampus again mounted to his perch.

"No use my try to sleep 'til Major he come," he muttered, and settled
himself to wait.

It was not long.

Presently some one approached on a run, and a broad grin overspread
the chauffeur's features. The Major had not delayed his escape long
enough to don his trousers even; he had grabbed his belongings in both
arms and fled in his blue and white striped undergarments.

Wampus leaped down and lifted the flap of the tent. The Major paused
long enough in the moonlight to stare at the chauffeur and say
sternly:

"If you utter one syllable, you rascal, I'll punch your head!"

Wampus was discreet. He said not a word.

"So this is California!" exclaimed Patsy gleefully, as the automobile
left Parker and crossed the Arizona line.

"But it doesn't look any different," said Myrtle, peering out of the
window.

"Of course not," observed Uncle John. "A State boundary is a man-made
thing, and doesn't affect the country a bit. We've just climbed a
miniature mountain back in Arizona, and now we must climb a mate to
it in California. But the fact is, we've entered at last the Land of
Enchantment, and every mile now will bring us nearer and nearer to the
roses and sunshine."

"There's sunshine here now," declared the Major. "We've had it right
along. But I haven't seen the roses yet, and a pair of ear muffs
wouldn't be uncomfortable in this cutting breeze."

"The air
is
rather crisp," admitted Uncle John. "But we're still in
the mountainous district, and Haggerty says—"

The Major coughed derisively and Mumbles barked and looked at Uncle
John sagaciously.

"Haggerty says—"

"Is that a rabbit or a squirrel? Something has caught the eye of our
Mumbles," interrupted the Major, pointing vaguely across the mesa.

"Haggerty says—"

"I wonder if Mumbles could catch 'em," remarked the Major, with
complacence.

"He says that every mile we travel brings us nearer the scent of the
orange blossoms and the glare of the yellow poppies," persisted Uncle
John. "You see, we've taken the Southern route, after all, for soon we
shall be on the Imperial road, which leads to San Diego—in the heart
of the gorgeous Southland."

"What is the Imperial road?" inquired Beth.

"The turnpike through Imperial Valley, said to be the richest bit of
land in all the world, not excepting the famous Nile banks of Egypt.
There is no railway there yet, but the Valley is settling very fast,
and Haggerty says—"

"How remarkable!" exclaimed the Major, gazing straight ahead. And
again Mumbles, curled in Patsy's lap, lifted his shaggy head and gave
a wailing bark.

Uncle John frowned, but was loyal to Haggerty.

"He says that if America was now unknown to all the countries of the
world, Imperial would soon make it famous. They grow wonderful crops
there—strawberries and melons the year around, as well as all the
tropical and semi-tropical fruits and grains, flowers and vines known
to any country yet discovered."

"Do we go to Imperial?" asked Myrtle, eagerly.

"I think not, my dear; we just skirt the edge of the Valley. It's
rather wild and primitive there yet; for although many settlers are
flocking to that favored district Imperial is large enough to be an
empire by itself. However, we shall find an ideal climate at Coronado,
by the edge of the blue Pacific, and there and at Los Angeles we shall
rest from our journey and get acquainted with the wonders of the
Golden State. Has the trip tired you, girls?"

"Not me," answered Beth, promptly. "I've enjoyed every mile of the
way."

"And so have I," added Patsy; "except perhaps the adventure with the
remittance men. But I wouldn't care to have missed even that, for it
led to our acquaintance with old Dan'l."