This came as a surprise, because Jack had planned that day that they would all go on to Phœnix, where not only business could be attended to by the three men in the party, but the younger members would find every kind of sport they might care to enjoy.
Dalky’s wish was law, however, and that evening found his entire party domiciled at the high-class hotel located at the Springs. The main feature of interest seen from the autos on that drive from Hot Springs Junction, where they left the train, was the great varieties of cacti, some of which towered as high as twenty-five feet above the ground.
Hot Springs was an ideal resort for resting, and Dalky wished he might remain there a month. The golf and tennis, the open air swimming pools, the delightful horseback rides to points of interest, brought a sense of peace to the three men who had raced here and there in Illinois, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona ever since they met together at Chicago. The week spent at the Springs did more, perhaps, to stimulate Mr. Dalken’s keen and ever alert brain than anything he could have done.
Mrs. Courtney was not a devotee of swimming in ready-made pools, but she preferred a nice, comfortable bathtub. Therefore, she generally watched the others swim whenever they took the plunge. It needed no more than the first trial to show Mr. Dalken that he might give that time to better purposes, if he went for his swim before breakfast in the morning. So, the second day of the tourists’ stay at Hot Springs, found all but Mrs. Courtney and Mr. Dalken running to the pool about ten o’clock in the morning.
“Why, Dalky! Aren’t you coming in with us?” cried Polly.
“I’ve taken my dip—before breakfast,” returned he.
Eleanor sent Polly a knowing glance, and then plunged from the diving board. Jack and the three girls enjoyed the fun to the utmost, and thus they forgot to keep an eye upon the two watchers who usually received more than their share of attention from the girls.
Mrs. Alexander never came near the swimming pool, and Algy, of course, would not think of doing anything that his patroness did not approve; hence they were sitting on the verandah of the hotel, vainly believing they were the center of envious eyes, whereas the other guests then lounging about the wide porch never thought of the over-dressed lady and her insignificant escort.
Mr. Fuzzier and Mr. Alexander were splashing and diving about in the pool, and this left Mr. Dalken and his companion free to follow their own inclinations. By the time the two were missed from their recent post at the edge of the swimming pool, it was impossible to learn what had become of them.
The truth of the matter was that Mr. Dalken invited his friend to go for an auto drive to the Junction, where he wished to attend to some personal shopping. And Mrs. Courtney, having nothing better to do at the moment, accepted his friendly invitation. The distance to the Junction being about twenty-four miles, and the day being balmy and beautiful, the chauffeur was advised to drive slowly and give his passengers due opportunity to view the wonderful country they would pass through. Thus it took the entire morning before the two runaways were able to reach the hotel again, and this unaccounted for absence gave rise to all sorts of speculations in the minds of the girls.