Promptly at eight, Jack Baxter and Mr. Dalken were announced to Polly and Eleanor. The Fabians had gone to the Opera and Mr. Dalken was supposed to act as chaperone for the evening.
“This is a new experience for me,” laughed he, “but not one that I dislike. In fact, I will be glad to offer my services in the same capacity, at any time, for you girls.”
“Better beware how you offer yourself on such an altar,” teased Polly, trying to appear calm and composed, whereas she was keyed up to hear about the proposed work young Baxter wished them to do for his new apartment.
Eleanor deemed it wise to mention another subject first, so she asked: “How long were you at Pebbly Pit, Mr. Baxter?”
“That’s one of the reasons we came over to see you,” interpolated Mr. Dalken. “Jack has a lot to tell you about the troubles there.”
“What troubles?” wondered Polly. “You don’t mean the land-slide, do you?”
“We know about that,” added Eleanor.
“You only heard the first news of it. But you never knew what followed that first event,” returned Mr. Dalken. “I’ve known how things stood for a short time, but I talked it over with the Latimers, and we decided to let Jack go West with Mr. Alexander, and investigate matters for themselves.”
“Dodo’s father! What has he to do with it?” asked both girls in surprise.
“More than we can ever appreciate. Because he is such an experienced old miner, having spent years in the Klondike, and later, down in the Colorado mining districts, his going to Pebbly Pit was the best thing that ever happened to our company. Jack had just decided to invest a great deal of his capital in the joint companies, so he decided to accompany Alexander and see for himself how the land lay.”