But Gerry interrupted her train of thought. She was sitting up now, and close enough to take hold of Mrs. Burton’s hand. Gerry always appeared sweet tempered, no matter what occurred.
“You have not told us, nor let us choose a name for you,” she murmured with the half-affectionate and half-admiring manner which she always showed to the older woman.
But this time Mrs. Burton was not interested.
“Wait until I have earned a title. I may not be a worthy Camp Fire guardian. But, in any case, the girl among us whom we shall decide has done most for our camp fire during this summer shall have from me, if it is possible, the gift she most desires.”
Then, before any one could answer, a man came toward them over the trail at the top of the mesa.
He was not a prepossessing figure. He must have been over forty years old and his skin looked as brown and as hard as the bark on a tree. Indeed, Sally Ashton insisted that he had once been a tree in the petrified forest nearby and, in some strange fashion, had been transformed into a man.
Yet Mrs. Burton looked at him with pleasure. His age and his lack of attractiveness was greatly in his favor, in her eyes. But, then, he carried himself erectly; walked with a long, swinging stride which was peculiar to the West; and obviously had a sense of humor.
Mr. Gardener had brought him to camp a few days before, to act as the second of the Sunrise Hill Camp Fire guides. Mrs. Burton must have made the Gardeners see that Terry Benton was an impossibility. Not that any fault was to be found with Terry himself except that his age or rather his youth was against him.
The new guide Mr. Gardener introduced as an old friend of his—Mr. Jefferson Simpson—who was temporarily out of a job. The truth of the matter was, Mr. Simpson had been a fairly rich man until a few weeks before, but a silver mine he owned had suddenly ceased producing and Mr. Simpson’s ranch and his money had gone to keep the stockholders from loss.
At this moment he lifted his hat and, though he appeared perfectly polite, one could guess that he was secretly amused at his latest occupation. He may have had a variety of jobs in his day, but never anything like this.