Having delivered herself of this ultimatum Dodo’s youthfully dressed mother turned haughtily away and went up to her room. The other members in the group were too tired to bother about changing their motor clothes for the evening, and they decided to have supper, dressed as they were, and then retire in order to be up early in the morning for the trip to the Castle cliffs.
Dodo telephoned to her mother’s room to tell her they were waiting for her to join them in the dining-room, but Mrs. Alexander said she was having her supper sent to her room. Therefore the young people and Mrs. Courtney thought no more of the matter, and enjoyed the hot meal while wondering what the three absent men were doing.
Upon bidding each other good-night, later in the evening, Jack reminded all that the car would be ready at eight the following morning.
“We’ll be ready, too, never fear,” returned Mrs. Courtney.
And so they were; but Mrs. Alexander sent word by Dodo that she had had enough of gazing at blank walls and pretending to go into raptures over a gaping hole!
“Just like Ma,” added Dodo, having given the message to Jack. “If that hole, or the wall, was noted for the visits paid by some personages of fame, she’d camp on the spot in order to say she’d been one of a party where the princess, or a governor, or some other big gun was the feature.” Dodo’s disgusted tone and expression told plainly that she did not favor such pretensions.
“Well, it’s too bad we have to leave Mrs. Alexander alone all day, but she prefers it to going to the cliffs,” sighed Mrs. Courtney, starting for the automobile.
“Don’t worry about Ma. She’ll console herself with a yellow novel,” said Dodo.
Mrs. Courtney did not approve of the manner in which Dodo spoke of her mother, and she wished the girl would use more consideration in speaking so disrespectfully of her before Polly and Eleanor, but she felt that she had no right to advise or correct another woman’s daughter. And Polly and Eleanor, knowing that Dodo spoke truly about her mother’s weaknesses, kept silent on what they thought to be rather blunt statements.
That day was spent in seeing the National Monument of cliffs situated on Beaver Creek, in the Verde Valley, and by sunset time they were on their way back to their hotel.