This second hint from him brought down an avalanche of protests from the three girls—as he knew it would. He dearly loved to tease them, and nothing pleased him better than to have them all defending themselves at one time.
“You certainly have a bad memory, Jack Baxter!” exclaimed Eleanor. “I can remember, not many years ago, when you fell in love with first one and then the other one of us girls. When you got the mitten from Polly, you threatened to commit suicide. But you merely took a trip to Pebbly Pit. Then you began again, and fell in love with me. I soon showed you the exit, however! And you next tried the game on Dodo. She felt sorry for you, and told you in a gentle manner that she would prefer to be your sister. But, at that time, she had no idea of what a wretched brother you’d make. Now you’re willing to fall in love with any girl who’ll look at you—only they won’t look your way!”
While Eleanor had unburdened her heart of this long complaint, Polly had hastily opened Tom’s last letter. As she had expected, she found his letter wound up with his usual proposal. She waved the letter defiantly under Jack’s nose, and then added: “There, you conceited child! Don’t tell us we never have an offer from a beau. Here’s one in this letter—and I can marry the man any day I care to speak the word. In fact, he’d follow me all the way to China, if I said I’d marry him in Pekin!”
“Oh, you mean Tom Latimer,” returned Jack. “We all know he doesn’t mean what he says. He is so used to proposing now, that he does it from force of habit. If you were to write and tell him you’d consider his offer, he’d soon back down in some way.”
“Why!” gasped Polly, frowning at Jack. “I’d just like to shake you till your teeth rattled.”
Jack roared. He hadn’t enjoyed himself so much in a long time. “My teeth can’t rattle. Poll. They’re set in too firmly.”
“Oh, go along with you!” cried Dodo, jumping up and catching the torment by the shoulders and wheeling him right-about-face and then marching him from the room.
Jack found Dodo’s muscle too much for him, and he had to make a graceful, though forced, exit. When he heard the key turn in the lock of the door, he hurried to the desk and asked the clerk to kindly ascertain why it was that that reception room door was locked.
Naturally the clerk was amazed at such temerity in any one stopping at the hotel, and he hastened to demand that the door be opened at once! The three girls, believing Jack was knocking and demanding entrance, refused to unlock the door. Consequently, the clerk went for a pass-key and in a short time had the door wide open. When the two sides—the girls and the clerk—faced each other, the truth came out, and Jack was destined to have a trick played upon him to square accounts with the girls.
Other letters from friends at Pebbly Pit and from New York were received by the members of Mr. Dalken’s party, and then Mr. Dalken sat down to reply to those which he had received from Mr. Ashby that day. After telling him of the successful issue of his attempt to secure the valuable mining land near the competing copper company’s vast lands, he went on to speak of the strides the new corporation, called “South American Interior Developing Company,” were making. Then he spoke of his future plans.