Later, when Owen went up to examine the cellar, I noticed, from my point of observation at the window, that old Bohm was close by his side.
Soon after Owen came in looking very grave.
“Well, it caved in, all right, and it never can be cleaned out. But there’s one thing I am convinced of”—and he looked toward the hill with a frown—“it didn’t cave in of itself.”
IV—THE GREAT ADVENTURE PROGRESSES
John, the mail carrier, was our only connecting link with the great outside world. Three times a week he brought the mail. From the first sight of a tiny speck on the top of the distant hill, our hearts thrilled. I watched it grow larger and larger, until the two-wheeled cart stopped at the garden gate. With hands trembling with impatience, I unlocked the old, worn bag, which John threw on the floor.
I was the honorable Postmistress. My desk was covered with Postal Laws, which I almost learned by heart. I had the New England respect for the Federal prison, the place of correction for delinquent Postal employees.
One rule was absolute. The key of the mail bag had to be securely attached to the Post Office. My Post Office was a wooden cracker box, which held the mail for the few outside patrons.
The inspector of Post Offices arrived unannounced one day. He frowningly looked over my accounts, while I stood by in perturbation. Suddenly he caught sight of the key at the end of a long brass chain “securely attached to the Post Office.” He got up to investigate. The frown disappeared by magic, and a smile played around his stern mouth. He burst into laughter. I explained I was very careful to comply with all the regulations. He gave me a humorous glance—and stayed to dinner.
The papers on Monday evening brought us exciting news. A train on the U. P. had been held up at a lonely station, thirty miles from our ranch. All the Pullman passengers had been robbed and one man shot and killed. The hold-ups had escaped and were at large in the “country adjoining.”
“If they are in the country adjoining, they’ll come here eventually,” I remarked to Owen. “This ranch is a perfect magnet for all the questionable characters in the vicinity.”