"I am not trying to work anything on you," said Kate, dully,
wondering to herself why she listened, why she went on with it.
"I'm merely telling you. In Father's big chest at the head of his
bed at home lies a deed for two hundred acres of land for each of
his seven sons, all signed and ready to deliver. He keeps the
land in his name on record to bring him distinction and feed his
vanity. He makes the boys pay the taxes, and ko-tow, and help
with his work; he keeps them under control; but the land is
theirs; none of the girls get a penny's worth of it!"
George Holt cleared his face with an effort.
"Well, we are no worse off than the rest of them, then," he said,
trying to speak naturally and cheerfully. "But don't you ever
believe it! Little old Georgie will sleep with this in his night
cap awhile, and it's a problem he will solve if he works himself
to death on it."
"But that is Father's affair," said Kate. "You had best turn your
efforts, and lie awake nights thinking how to make enough money to
buy some land for us, yourself."
"Certainly! Certainly! I see myself doing it!" laughed George
Holt. "And now, knowing how you feel, and feeling none to good
myself, we are going to take a few days off and go upstream,
fishing. I'll take a pack of comforts to sleep on, and the tackle
and some food, and we will forget the whole bunch and go have a
good time. There's a place, not so far away, where I have camped
beside a spring since I was a little shaver, and it's quiet and
cool. Go get what you can't possibly exist without, nothing
more."
"But we must dig the potatoes," protested Kate.
"Let them wait until we get back; it's a trifle early, anyway," he
said. "Stop objecting and get ready! I'll tell Aunt Ollie.
We're chums. Whatever I do is always all right with her. Come
on! This is our wedding trip. Not much like the one you had
planned, no doubt, but one of some kind."
So they slipped beneath the tangle of vines and bushes, and,
following the stream of the ravine, they walked until mid-
afternoon, when they reached a spot that was very lovely, a clear,
clean spring, grassy bank, a sheltered cave-in floored with clean
sand, warm and golden. From the depths of the cave George brought
an old frying pan and coffee pot. He spread a comfort on the sand
of the cave for a bed, produced coffee, steak, bread, butter, and
fruit from his load, and told Kate to make herself comfortable
while he got dinner. They each tried to make allowances for, and
to be as decent as possible with, the other, with the result that
before they knew it, they were having a good time; at least, they
were keeping the irritating things they thought to themselves, and
saying only the pleasant ones.