“He said he had changed his mind and refused to honor the agreement.”
“How perfectly mean!” Mary exclaimed. “But couldn’t Father hold him to it after making such a contract?”
“Assuredly in any other case, but you see this was different.”
“How so?”
“The agreement disappeared along with the surveyors!”
CHAPTER XII—MR. MARTIN’S ULTIMATUM
After leaving Artie, Westy strolled home thoughtfully in the haze of an early fall afternoon. He was thrilled beyond measure and equally despondent at the same time, over the knowledge that he would never be able to see those mountain passes where the surveyors had met their doom.
He was sorry, of course, that such a calamity had befallen those poor fellows, but there was no denying, he secretly admitted, that it added still more zest and charm than before to that haven of Paradise in the far-off Rockies.
It was certainly an Eden-like temptation to poor Westy to have heard that story, for the more he thought about it, the greater his desire became to participate in the wild life for one whole glorious summer.
Still, he realized that some great good fortune would have to wave its fairy wand over the Martin household to convince his respected father that he was able to take care of himself and come back safe from that hazardous wilderness.