Tuesday following their first Sunday at Pebbly3 Pit, a rancher's wife called just before noon, to deliver invitations.
"Ah heer'd tell how you-all had comp'ny this summer?" were the words with which she greeted Mrs. Brewster.
"Yes, a few young people. Will you be seated, Mrs. Halsey?" said Mrs.
Brewster, placing a chair on the vine-shaded porch.
"Ah come t' ast you-all—say, you, Sally, stop pickin' them flowers! Mis' Brewster'll lick yuh!" The visitor interrupted herself to shout at her little girl who proved to be a naughty one.
"Ez Ah was sayin', Ah come t' leave an invite fer th' hop6 at Bear Forks. We-all is glad t' see Anne Stewart, which was a school-teacher some time back, an' it was fit t' celebrate her friendship, in some way. Don't cha think a dance jes' th' thing?" As the visitor spoke7 she rocked violently back and forth8.
"I'm sorry my visitors are not here to thank you themselves, but I feel sure they will be delighted to attend the dance," replied Mrs. Brewster, shaking her head rebukingly9 at the small boy who stood on the rockers of his mother's chair, and gripped hold of the back, and so was roughly swayed back and forth with the rocking.
"See har, yuh Jim Henderson Halsey—git down from thar! Ef Ah ketch yuh, Ah'll skin yer face fer the hop—that Ah will!" threatened the mother, trying to reach her young hopeful.
But Jim Henderson Halsey knew from dire10 experiences just what to expect did his mother succeed in catching11 him, so he dodged12 and ran away.
"Did you-all say the gals13 would be in shortly?" asked the caller.
"No, I said they were not in. They are at the corral this morning."
"Laws me! What a place t' spend th' mornin'. Ah reckon they'll be along any time, then."
"They left here just before you came and they are practicing on our western horses before taking any long trips," explained Mrs. Brewster, looking regretfully at the flower-beds where the two willful children were destroying the fruits of her planting.
Mrs. Halsey followed her hostess's glance and jumped up. "Ef yuh two varmints don't quit that, an' come right t' me, Ah'll—Ah'll shet yuh up in a boogy-hole!" shrilled15 the irate16 mother.
Sary heard the familiar voice and instantly ran from the kitchen to assist in entertaining the morning visitor. The two bad youngsters, left to their own devices, began throwing the whitewashed17 stones that encircled Mrs. Brewster's roundels.
"How-dy, Miss Halsey?" was Sary's greeting, her large hand extended in cordial comradeship.
"Oh, it's Sary Dodd! How-dee, Sary? Ah recommember now that you-all come t' live wid Miss Brewster. How'd you-all like th' place?"
The visitor's frankness lost none of its curiosity as she eagerly waited to hear all about the Brewster family with the mistress still present, but ignored.
Sary was in her glory and made the most of it. She had just reached the point where she intended asking the "gossip" to stop to have dinner, when a crash interrupted the enlivening Yellow Jacket Pass conversation.
"Sary, run and see what those children have done!" cried Mrs. Brewster, mentally thanking her stars for the timely intervention18.
Soon the ladies heard Jim Henderson Halsey bawling19 loudly, and his sister backing away from the buttery while she continued making faces at the angry help. The little girl's protruded20 tongue made Sary rush at her with uplifted palm, but both youngsters were so accustomed to dodging21 these attacks, that they reached the haven22 of Mrs. Halsey's presence without a painful encounter.
"The ol' thing shook me till my teeth rattled23!" wailed24 Jim Henderson, etc.
"Sarves yuh right! What cha be'n up t', any way?" retorted Mrs. Halsey, the hope of dinner still lingering, but growing dim as Sary did not return.
Fortunately, for the general peace of all concerned, Mr. Brewster drove up to the porch, on his way to Oak Creek25. His wife's beseeching26 look appealed to him understandingly.
"Good morning, Mrs. Halsey. Ah hear you-all are inviting27 folks to the dance at the school house. Want me to give you a lift to Jamison's ranch4—he hasn't been invited yet!"
"Why, Ah figgered goin' thar after dinner. Be you-all goin' off before yuh eat?"
"Ah am not sure when we will have dinner to-day, the young ladies are so engaged with riding, you see."
The moment the Halsey scions28 heard mention of "dinner" they clung to their mother's skirts and whined29: "We-all wanta stay to dinnerr! Don't cha go widdout dinnerr!"
"Why not give the children some cake, mother, and then Mrs. Halsey can have a bite with Jamison. He can lift her on to the next ranch, too," suggested Mr. Brewster.
Mrs. Brewster instantly acquiesced30 and ran to cut three generous triangles of cake, while her husband came up and lifted Sally up into the deep wagon31. Before any of the Halsey family could protest, he had turned, lifted Jim Henderson up beside his sister and then asked the visitor if he could help her up to the seat.
The cake was distributed, and the vexed32 but vanquished33 morning caller jabbed a hat-pin through her rusty34 toque and pulled her jet-trimmed shoulder cape35 tightly over her back, before bowing haughtily36 to Mrs. Brewster.
Not until the ranch-wagon turned the edge of Rainbow Cliffs did Mrs. Brewster permit herself to leave the post of watching and slump37 down into the porch rocker with a sigh of gratitude38.
Half an hour later the sound of wheels caused her to spring up in dread39, but her husband's cheery laugh relieved her fears.
"Ah saw your difficulty and did the only sensible thing; but we-all must keep this trick a secret. If Sary gets hold of it, my reputation in Bear Forks, or Yellow Jacket Pass, is gone," confided40 Sam Brewster to his wife, as he glanced fearfully about for Sary.
The horn for dinner sounded shortly after the master's return and, at the table, the girls were told of the visitor and her invitation to the dance, but no word of her form of departure was mentioned.
"It's lucky we have evening-dresses," remarked Barbara.
"Do folks dress up at these parties?" asked Eleanor.
"I should say we do!" declared Polly.
Mrs. Brewster and Anne were talking in low tones and did not hear the question and answer, so they did not explain what Polly meant by "dressing41 up."
The days intervening between the Tuesday and the Friday set down for the hop passed quickly. Polly and her mother washed and renovated42 the dotted swiss dress made for the school-commencement, and to Polly's delight Anne added a blue sash and hair ribbons.
Anne had a simple flowered-silk gown she proposed wearing. And the city girls had elaborate dresses—Barbara's very much in the latest mode and Eleanor's flounced and furbelowed, but modestly high in the neck as became a girl not yet "out."
Sary had bewailed her fate the day preceding the eventful one. Eleanor pacified43 her by presenting her with a net-lace collar to enliven her rusty black alpaca.
An early supper was planned, as the ride to Bear Forks school would take more than an hour, and every one wanted to be there for the grand march. For several hours before supper-time, Barbara locked herself in the bed-room and began her toilette. She dressed her hair, massaged44, and rouged45 and penciled her eyebrows47, until she quite tired herself out.
Eleanor and Anne rapped again and again for admission, but Barbara was obdurate48 about her right of possession. When she finally opened the door for her room-mates, they stared at her in amused surprise.
"Your hair looks all sizzly, Bob," said Eleanor.
"Oh, Bob, remove some of that carmine49 from your lips!" advised Anne.
"Why?" demanded Barbara.
"Too much of it, that's all!" giggled50 Eleanor.
But Anne and Eleanor had their own toilettes to make and paid no further attention to Barbara. She managed to remove some of the carmine, and pat down her hair, hot she could not do things as the French maid generally did them to add to her beauty. Feeling dissatisfied with her appearance made Barbara
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