“They don’t?” exclaimed Mr. Osborne, slapping his knee. “Well, I can’t imagine anything worse.”
“I can,” said Mrs. Osborne in a low voice. Then she added:
“When Dick took his examination for Annapolis, it seemed to me as if he were going away never to come back. Now that he is a lieutenant in the navy and in the West Indies, I know that between bursting guns at target practice, exploding boilers, accidents in manoeuvres or the yellow fever, he runs more risk every day than Roy is likely to find in the west.”
“I hadn’t just thought of it that way,” answered Mr. Osborne, a little crestfallen.
“And then Phil completed his course in electricity and went into Mr. Edison’s shops. I’d rather have him lost in a desert than working among those chemicals and electric generators.”
Roy looked at his father with a half smile.
“Then you are willing for me to go?” he exclaimed, putting his arm affectionately around his mother’s shoulders.
“That’s for your father to say, finally,” Mrs. Osborne answered after a few moments’ silence. “But I shan’t interfere. This seems to be a time when results that are worth while only come with great efforts or great risks. If it is a good chance, my fears mustn’t keep you back.”
That settled it. Before supper was over, Mr. Osborne gave in. It was agreed that Roy was to accept the offer.
The boy was off at once for the city to secure some guide book or history relating to Utah. That night, despite the heat, long after his parents had retired, the jubilant youngster sat propped up in bed, drinking in facts and statistics relating to the land he was to visit.