CHAPTER XXV
THE LAST WRESTLING MATCH
The Cardiff stage, next day, took to Syracuse three very much chagrinedand disappointed men,--Mr. Ranquist, Mr. Dudley, and their lawyer. Theymaintained a silence as they climbed aboard the lumbering vehicle, earlyin the morning, and the usual crowd that gathered to see the stagedepart had no words of farewell for the men who had sought to take suchan unfair advantage of Mr. Kimball.
"G'lang!" cried Porter Amidown, cracking his whip, and the horses leapedforward with a jingle of harness. It was the last Cardiff saw of theconspirators.
As for the salt well on Mr. Kimball's farm, it turned out better thaneven Mr. Vanter dared to hope. The brine was of a heavy and saturatedquality, and, when evaporated, gave a residue of excellent salt. Itcompared favorably with the condiment manufactured in Syracuse, which isconsidered about the best in the world. One day, when Roger and Adrianwere at the well, Mr. Vanter told how, in his opinion, the salt springsbeneath the surface of the earth came there.
Geologists were agreed, he said, that, thousands of years ago, the wholeOnondaga valley was part of an immense sea. This was evidenced by thefossils found in the hills. As the ages passed, there were eruptionsand upheavals of the earth's surface. Then the salt water from the seamight have been condensed into solid rocks of salt, or the rock saltaway down deep in the earth might have been brought nearer the surface.At any rate, in time, the white crystals were formed in great masses.Then, beneath the surface of the ground, there welled up springs offresh water, which dissolved, and held in solution, the salt. When theshaft had been sunk on Mr. Kimball's land, Mr. Vanter said, meaning thesmall hole Mr. Ranquist had bored with his sectional drill, the steelhad probably only gone into the thin crust of salt, formed over one ofthe immense and deep underground springs. He was thus deluded, as wasMr. Vanter himself, into the belief that a mine of rock salt had beendiscovered.
"Mr. Ranquist must have studied the matter up," said Mr. Vanter, "and hereasoned that there ought to be salt in this section of the country. Hefound it, but not as he expected. I have no doubt that other farmers inthis vicinity will be just as lucky as Mr. Kimball has been, and willstrike salt springs on their land."
And so it proved. Urged by the example of their neighbor, many farmershad shafts sunk on their hillsides and, in several cases, especially onland near Mr. Kimball's, valuable springs were come upon. The news soonspread to all parts of the county, and, shortly, Cardiff was overrunwith prospectors, and men who wished to buy up all the property anddevelop the salt wells. The owners, under the advice of Mr. Kimball,consulted with Mr. Vanter, who told them all to be cautious aboutsigning away their rights. Under the guidance of the surveyor, acorporation, called the Pipe Line Salt Company, was formed to work thesprings, and pump the brine through big black pipes, into Syracuse,twelve miles away, where the salt water was evaporated, and theresulting crystals purified and sold. For his spring-glade Mr. Kimballreceived thirty-five thousand dollars and some shares in the newcompany, which proved very valuable in a short time.
Of all the persons made glad by the discovery of salt in Cardiff, therewere none more happy than the two boys, Roger and Adrian. Their part inthe transactions was well known, and they were praised on every side.
One day, not long after these events, Roger received a letter by mailthat made him want to stand on his head in delight. He raced home fromthe post-office with the missive half read, and burst into the kitchen,where Mrs. Kimball and Clara were baking bread.
"Hurrah!" he cried. "Father, mother, and baby Edward are coming! They'llbe here day after to-morrow. Oh! But won't I be glad to see them!"
"Land sakes!" cried Mrs. Kimball. "Wa'al, now I'm real glad t' hear it.Mussy sakes, Clara! We'll hev t' double this bakin'," and she began tobustle about harder than ever with the salt-rising bread, while Rogerran to tell Adrian the good news.
How the time did drag until Mr. and Mrs. Anderson and the baby arrivedon the stage! Roger and Adrian were at the gate to meet them, and Rogerhugged his mother so tightly that she said he nearly took her breath,and was as bad as the bear he wrote about, which treed them all in thewoods that day.
How good it was to grasp his father's hand again! And to bounce babyEdward high into the air, and hear him crow and shout in delight! Rogerdidn't know whether he was on his head or his feet in the gladness atseeing his parents after more than six months' absence from them. Mr.and Mrs. Kimball, Adrian, and Clara gave no less enthusiastic greetingto the newcomers, and, altogether, it was a jolly time.
"My, but how brown you are, and how you've grown!" said Roger's motherto him.
"Wa'al, I calalate he does look a leetle mite more like a boy shouldthan when I fust see him," admitted Mr. Kimball. "He were kinderwhite-livered 'n' spindlin' then. But come inter th' house er supper'llspile, 'n' I know ye don't want anythin' like thet t' happen, 'speciallyef yer appetites is anythin' like mine."
Such a happy meal as it was. Mr. Anderson told how he had, unexpectedly,received a vacation, and had determined to use it in coming to see howhis son was getting along. Of course Mrs. Anderson and the baby mustcome too.
"'N' I hope ye kin all stay a year," said Mr. Kimball, heartily.
Mrs. Kimball was so "flustrated," as she put it, that she hardly knewwhether she was passing the bread or the cake. But every one agreed thatshe did most excellently, and there was so much talking and laughingthat nobody seemed to care much whether they ate or not. The day wasdying off into a perfect evening. The June sun was sinking down behindthe wooded hills. Farmers were returning from their fields, tired buthappy. The crickets and tree-toads were beginning their night songs.Darkness was settling down over peaceful Cardiff valley.
"How does it agree with you out here, Roger?" asked Mr. Anderson. "Doyou think you would like to stay?"
"Would I?" began Roger. Then he glanced lovingly at his father, mother,and the baby. "I would, if all of you could stay too," he finished.
They had come out on the broad stone porch to sit in the cool twilight.
"We won't know how t' git along 'ithout him," said Mr. Kimball, and thenhe told all about the salt well, to the secret delight of Mr. Anderson,who felt very proud of his son.
"I'm afraid we'll have to have Roger back soon, however," said the boy'sfather. "His school principal came to see me the other day, and wantedto know when he was coming home to take up his lessons."
Books and studies, save such as beautiful Mother Nature provided, hadbeen almost forgotten by Roger.
"Wa'al," began Mr. Kimball, "when it comes t' school, I've a sort a'proposition t' make. Ye see, ef it hadn't bin fer Roger, I wouldn't 'a'had any salt spring, 'n' 't ain't no more 'n' common justice thet heshould hev a part on it."
"Uncle Bert!" cried Roger.
"Now, young man," interposed Mr. Kimball, good-naturedly, "young folksshould be seen 'n' not heard, ye know. 'S I were sayin'," turning to Mr.Anderson, "Roger's got t' hev some sheers in my salt spring. Now I hedthought a' puttin' a certain sum t' his credit in th' bank."
Mr. Anderson made a gesture of dissent.
"Jest wait 'til I git through," said Mr. Kimball. "I ain't give up th'notion yet, but what I want t' say is, I think Roger ought t' use partof it t' go t' college 'ith. That's what I've planned t' do fer Adrian,here, 'cause there ain't nothin' like eddercation fer a boy, er a maneither fer thet matter. I didn't hev no chanst when I were young. Hed t'git out 'n' hustle on th' farm when I were ten year old, so I know th'value a' larnin'. 'N' t' college my boy goes, now I'm well enough off t'send him," and Mr. Kimball clapped his hand down on his leg with areport like a small gun.
"I'm sure I don't know how to thank you," began Mr. Anderson. "I--"
"Then jest don't try," broke in Mr. Kimball, very practically. "We'llconsider it all settled."
The women folks started to go in the house, while Mr. Kimball and Mr.Anderson walked a little way toward the road. Presently they heard agreat shouting.
"What's that?" asked Mr. Anderson.
The men walked over toward the sounds, which were evidently of mirth.There, under the two big cherry trees that stood at the gate, rollingin the sweet grass, were the two cousins; and Roger was sitting astrideof Adrian, shouting at the top of his voice:
"I threw him! I threw him! It was a fair fall! Now who's the bestwrestler?"
"Yes, but you can't do it again," panted Adrian, as he struggledunsuccessfully to rise.
"Roger throwed him!" cried Mr. Kimball, capering about, almost as muchpleased over his nephew's victory as Roger himself was. "So ye throwedhim fair, eh? Wa'al, I told ye we'd make a Cardiff boy outen ye, ef yestayed long 'nuff. By Gum! Throwed him good 'n' proper! Now mebby he'llthink some un 'sides him kin rassal."
"Well, well, but that's a big improvement in Roger," said Mr. Anderson,coming up as the boys resumed their feet. "He's twice as strong as whenI sent him up here. The air and sunshine of the country have made himwhat he ought to be--a healthy, sturdy boy."
The lads clenched again, rolling over and over in the long grass. Thelast vestige of daylight disappeared, the chirping of the cricketsbecame louder, the tree-toads croaked with stronger voices, and it wasnight in the valley of Cardiff.
THE END
The White Crystals: Being an Account of the Adventures of Two Boys Page 25
