FullReads

“Next evening as a lot of us were sitting out on the major’s piazza, and young Briggs of the infantry was holding forth on the constellations,–you know he’s a good deal of an astronomer,–Mrs. Powell suddenly turned to him with ‘But you haven’t told us the name of that bright planet low down there in the northern sky,’ and we all turned and looked where she pointed. Briggs looked too. It was only a little lower than some stars of the second and third magnitude that he had been telling about only five minutes before, only it shone with a redder or yellower glare,–orange I suppose was the real color,–and was clear and strong as the light of Jupiter.

“‘That?’ says Briggs. ‘Why, that must be—-Well, I own up. I declare I never knew there was so big a star in that part of the firmament!’

“‘Don’t worry about it, Briggs, old boy,’ drawled the major, who had been squinting at it through a powerful glass he owns. ‘That’s terra firmament. That planet’s at the new ranch up on the spur of the Matitzal.’

“But that wasn’t all. Two days after, Baker came in from a scout. He had been over across the range and had stopped at Burnham’s on his way down. He didn’t see Burnham; he wasn’t invited in, but he was full of his subject. ‘By Jove! fellows. Have any of you been to the ranches lately? No? Well, then, I want to get some of the ladies to go up there and call. In all my life I never saw so pretty a girl as was sitting there on the piazza when I rode around the corner of the house. Pretty! She’s lovely. Not Mexican. No, indeed! A real American girl,–a young lady, by Gad!'” That, then, explained the new light.

“And did that give the ranch the name by which it is known to you?” we asked Wayne.

“Yes. The ladies called it ‘Starlight Ranch’ from that night on. But not one of them has seen the girl. Mrs. Frazer and Mrs. Jennings actually took the long drive and asked for the ladies, and were civilly told that there were none at home. It was a Chinese servant who received them. They inquired for Mr. Burnham and he was away too. They asked how many ladies there were, and the Chinaman shook his head–‘No sabe.’ ‘Had Mr. Burnham’s wife and daughter come?’ ‘No sabe.’ ‘Were Mr. Burnham and the ladies over at the other ranch?’ ‘No sabe,’ still affably grinning, and evidently personally pleased to see the strange ladies; but that Chinaman was no fool; he had his instructions and was carrying them out; and Mrs. Frazer, whose eyes are very keen, was confident that she saw the curtains in an upper window gathered just so as to admit a pair of eyes to peep down at the fort wagon with its fair occupants. But the face of which she caught a glimpse was not that of a young woman. They gave the Chinaman their cards, which he curiously inspected and was evidently at a loss what to do with, and after telling him to give them to the ladies when they came home they drove over to the Crocker Ranch. Here only Mexicans were visible about the premises, and, though Mrs. Frazer’s Spanish was equal to the task of asking them for water for herself and friend, she could not get an intelligible reply from the swarthy Ganymede who brought them the brimming glasses as to the ladies–Las senoras–at the other ranch. They asked for the Crockers, and the Mexican only vaguely pointed up the valley. It was in defeat and humiliation that the ladies with their escort, Mr. Baker, returned to the fort, but Baker rode up again and took a comrade with him, and they both saw the girl with the lovely face and form this time, and had almost accosted her when a sharp, stern voice called her within. A fortnight more and a dozen men, officers or soldiers, had rounded that ranch and had seen two women,–one middle-aged, the other a girl of about eighteen who was fair and bewitchingly pretty. Baker had bowed to her and she had smiled sweetly on him, even while being drawn within doors. One or two men had cornered Burnham and began to ask questions. ‘Gentlemen,’ said he, ‘I’m a poor hand at talk. I’ve no education. I’ve lived on the frontier all my life. I mean no offence, but I cannot answer your questions and I cannot ask you into my house. For explanation, I refer you to Mr. Crocker.’ Then Baker and a chum of his rode over and called on the elder Crocker, and asked for the explanation. That only added to the strangeness of the thing.