The horses were stopped until Eleanor and her father had done with their hugging, and then she remembered to introduce him to Polly.
"The very best chum in the world, Daddy, and so we have sworn never to be separated—not even for money, business, or love!" cried the happy girl, maternally patting Polly on the head as she spoke.
Eleanor sat upon her father's knee and Polly sat upon the floor of the wagon, as they proceeded on their way, but when John called to his sister and asked what had been doing in his absence, she jumped up suddenly and exclaimed.
"Oh! we forgot all about the two men who came this morning and fell over the edge of the gulch!"
Then followed an excited and graphic description of the two New York lawyers who came to Pebbly Pit to buy the Cliffs. When John heard the names, he whistled and looked at Tom.
"Well, even providence is on your side, Polly, for those two men are the rascals who tried to steal Evans' patent rights in the little machine that cuts the jewels. So this is the way they were received at Pebbly Pit, eh?" Tom mused silently after that, but John and Mr. Maynard asked all sorts of questions until they reached the house.
In these isolated mountain ranches, almost every intelligent man can set broken bones, and take care of minor troubles; a doctor living in a town ten to twenty miles away, needs plenty of time to reach a ranch, in cases of illness, and during that time a patient must suffer agonies or be helped by home-aid. Thus, Mr. Ratzger had his bones set by Mr. Brewster and his assistants, and was left neatly bandaged upon a cot in the harness-room. But the other patient seemed past the simple aid from the ranchers, so Jeb had to ride to Oak Creek for a doctor to come and try to save this life.
With all the sudden advent of excitement and work, the thought of Anne's engagement ring had not entered into any one's mind, but once the household had quieted down again, and Mr. Brewster could sit on the porch and mop his weary brow, John smiled knowingly at his fiancée.
Mrs. Brewster caught the look and interpreted it instantly: "Oh, Anne, dear! We never asked you to show us the symbol!"
"Yes, yes, Anne! Let me look!" cried Eleanor, jumping up from the grass where Polly and she had thrown themselves.