“We are proud of the men who answer to an unwritten code, always present in the mountains, to go to the aid of his fellow man when in danger. The men who participated in the rescue are the real heroes and merit the gratitude of all.”
None subscribed more feelingly to this sentiment than did the little band of five who were the principals in this adventure on Maroon Mountain.
17
CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON
A letter from home! That was what Mrs. Lurie still called the much prized letters from her mother that arrived at regular intervals all through the summer. Minna herself was an indifferent correspondent and John occasionally scrawled a few lines with a program enclosed of past or coming events.
Yet the grandmother’s letters never held any reproach for the long silences. She related family events with gusto, the small or large happenings of her own household ... the guest who came for a week end and stayed the week. Frequently Minna was concerned, often annoyed.
“Mother’s incurably hospitable! It’s a shame, she never gets any rest—”
Mrs. Lurie seemed to have forgotten those years when she, her brothers and sisters filled the house with their guests. She never wondered then how her parents bore up under the strain. A feast or a snack, long past midnight, radio blaring, the rug turned back for dancing, late breakfasts and untidy bedrooms, bathing suits drying on antique chairs, dates and parties—and the tired voice, “Everyone in? Thank goodness. Try to keep quiet—Your father needs his rest.”
“Incurably hospitable!” Minna repeated, while John patiently waited to hear the letter so recently arrived and cause of his wife’s outburst.
“Listen to this, John! ‘I finally succeeded in getting Sam Sterling and Jennie Coleman to come down together for a week end. You remember Jennie? She’s been a widow for eight years, but is still hopefully looking over the field. I don’t blame her—she’s lonely.
“‘Sam is as charming as always. He’s still unmarried and lives alone since his sister died. Need I say more? I still believe propinquity is the best matchmaker.