The girls were impatient to hear about the plans Mr. Brewster and the two engineers had decided upon, but Mrs. Brewster smiled knowingly, as if she had already been told the secret. Mr. Brewster was morose and silent, looking more as if he was compelled to consent to something as a just and fair man, rather than from preference and desire.

"Now don't you girls ask too many questions if you are displeased or delighted at what we tell you," began John, nodding to Tom to proceed with his story.

Having promised not to interrupt the important conference, the girls sat expectantly smiling at the chair-man of the meeting.

"I have to preface our report on Choko's Find, by telling you-all about a little company that was incorporated in New York several months ago. Father wrote me all about it.

"Dr. Evans is a very clever inventor, as you now know, and having this unusual device for cutting stones by machine, he called on father's law firm to secure a patent on it for him. Latimer Brothers make a specialty of patents, you know.

"Well, the doctor had but little money for the costs, and father saw a great fortune in the invention if it was properly financed. So articles of agreement were drawn up, that Latimer Brothers were to pay all costs of getting the machine on the market, and for this they were to share in the stock of the company.

"This was done and when the papers were ready and the shares of stock divided between the principals, an injunction was served on Dad by a tricky company in New York which claimed prior rights to the patent. This has held up everything so that Dr. Evans is not sure whether he will ever realize anything out of his invention or not. Of course, we are fighting the legality of Ratzger & Wriggley's injunction and claims.

"Having risked all his little bank account on the outcome of this idea of his, the doctor now hasn't a cent to bless himself with. That is why Kenneth Evans was sent to work this summer, to earn his own keep.

"Fortunately, Dad had a letter from Jim, who was out in the mountains with a government survey crew, in which it said that they were short a few good men and two young apprentices such as he himself was. Kenneth and Jim attended the same school at home, so Dad telephoned Dr. Evans about the opening. That is how Ken happened to come West.

"Now I hear that the Courts uphold Dr. Evans in his right to the patent, and the company can go on with their plans. If they can find suitable material to mine and without too much expense for apparatus, they will start in at once with a close corporation. But should they find it will take great capital to mine the right kind of stones, the original members of the company may have to sell half of their rights, to get sufficient money to launch the work. Do you girls follow me as far as I have explained?"

"Oh, yes, it's clear as day," replied Eleanor, impatiently.

"Do you grasp the thing, Polly?" asked John.

"I don't understand anything about stocks and corporations but I do understand what Tom has said, so far," returned Polly.

"Well, then, all right; I'll proceed," said Tom.

"When I first visited at Pebbly Pit with John, I saw the wonderful colored stones of Rainbow Cliffs and begged Mr. Brewster to allow me to send on samples of them to father, as I was sure they were just what Dr. Evans sought for his machine to cut. But I could not make my friend, here, see any advantage in adding more money to his bank account. So I had to leave without having won my plea.

"But I wrote father and told him all about the great store of unmined stones located in plain view at the Cliffs. Later, when the injunction stopped all progress in the work, I almost forgot Rainbow Cliffs again.

"But now that the 'Evans Jewel Cutter' is protected, and the owners are looking for material to manufacture, the Rainbow Cliffs are in the foreground again for negotiation.

"Then came the surprising telegram from Oak Creek, informing John about the gold mine claimed by Polly. As we were told to reach Oak Creek without delay, we started without sending word to the folks at home about our leaving our summer work. And now this is what we have planned regarding Choko's Find.

"If father's firm, Mr. Brewster, and all the friends everywhere, could scrape together all the money they had, it would not be sufficient to carry out the work at Choko's Find. The conditions are such that every precaution must be taken to avoid, in the future, any danger from new land-slides. The lay of the land where the gold is hidden, is such that the vein may not run deep into the mountain—it may be merely a surface deposit in the cave. In this case, the real vein may be hidden so deep that it would need the boring down into great depths to find the metal. All this will take time and money.

"That means that Polly and Eleanor will have to sacrifice the greater interest in their mine to secure capital with which to work it. Or they can sell the claim for cash—or they can arrange to be paid a royalty on all the ore metal mined. Where it is possible, it is always best to retain a controlling share of stock in the company formed.

"John and I have pictures on hand and plans and engineering reports of Top Notch and the claim. We also secured the specimen of gold that you have there. I will tell you the thrilling experiences we had in getting at the deposit, when I finish this plan.

"To transport the ore from the mine to some station on the railroad, will necessitate a spur being built from Oak Creek, or a new line being run from the mainline at Denver over to Bear Forks. In either case, it will cost a mint to build and run such a railway because of the long tunnels that will have to be cut through the mountains, and the lack of other traffic over a new road.

"Even a sort of switch-back railway running from the mine to the valley will cost us more money than we can get together. So we would have to take in outside capital to supply the needs. OR——"

Here Tom Latimer paused to impress his hearers with what he was about to say. Mr. Brewster moved uneasily in his arm-chair, but every one else was intensely interested.

"The Polly-Eleanor Company can sell certain stock in their mining company to Sam Brewster. He, or his company that owns and works Rainbow Cliffs, can furnish capital to build and work things in connection with the mines.

"The Evans' Jewel Cutting Company will be harvesting such rich returns from Rainbow Cliffs, that it will be able to supply all the capital needed to carry out the vast projects on Top Notch. And the voting stock in both companies will be held by interested parties who can appreciate the fact that neither company can take advantage of the other without both failing. It will be to the good of all concerned to see that everything connected with both mines, is done on the level and to the best of every one's ability.

"Of course it will take a year or two before we can be ready to drill down through that cave for the ore, but we can start in on Rainbow Cliffs without any delay and begin to reap the rewards of investment at once. In the case of Mr. Brewster agreeing to have his Cliffs mined for the stones, and the Polly-Eleanor Company agreeing to combine with Evans' Jewel Company for mining their gold, both can erect plants on the same land, and use the same railroad for carrying their products to the outside world. That will save a great expense because the cost of building and maintaining railroads and buildings, will be divided by two."

Tom finished and John eagerly asked: "What do you-all think of our great idea? Of course, Montresor's heirs ought to hold an interest, but should they be Kenneth and his mother, it will simplify matters for all."

That started such a babel of voices that Sam Brewster got up and left the room. But no one noticed his absence, as all were too interested in planning for the fabulous wealth they conjured up in their thoughts.

After more than an hour of animated discussion and explanation, it was decided to await the decision of the mechanics in the East who would experiment on the stones from Rainbow Cliffs. A box of the stones would be expressed at once, and a letter from John to Mr. Latimer would explain everything.

"What does father say to this, mother?" asked Polly.

"He says that, as the ranch is legally mine, he has no vote in the matter."

"Oh nonsense! Even if he did deed Pebbly Pit to you for a wedding gift, you always do everything to please him," declared John.

"Yes, but he refuses to say what he thinks is best in this matter," added Mrs. Brewster.

"Well, seeing that so much hinges on his willingness to coÖperate with us," announced John, impatiently, "I am going to say exactly what I have felt to be the real cause of his disapproval of turning the Cliffs into money."

Mrs. Brewster glanced anxiously from the window to see if her husband could hear what was said, but Sam Brewster had evidently wandered away from the porch as he was not to be seen.

"Father told Tom and me, while on Top Notch, that he really had no personal objections to having the stones mined from Rainbow Cliffs, but all unsightly machinery and the riff-raff of miners that would be necessary in such work, must be kept out of sight of the house. He explained that most of the working ends of the project could be stationed back of the cliffs down in the Devil's Causeway, and the road that would have to run to Bear Forks trail for the conveyance of the stone, could be cut through in back of the 'Guards' and 'The Imps' of the cliffs.

"He then said that there was but one condition he exacted from any one who was interested in the plan, and that was that no undue influence would be brought to bear upon Polly to increase her desire to leave home for a higher education. His consent will be willingly given, and he will aid us in every way to a successful issue if Polly agrees to remain at home and give up her plan to go away to school."

As this unexpected ultimatum was given, every one gasped, and Polly cried: "Oh, no! Father didn't say that, did he?"

John remained silent, and Polly began to cry pathetically, as her chief delight in having found Choko's Find, was the fact that she would have enough money of her own to not only go to High School, but also to go through one of the large women's colleges. Even if her father refused to finance such an educational ideal, she would have had her own income to draw upon.

"Now wait a moment, Poll, before you lose all hope!" exclaimed John, quickly glancing from Anne to his mother, and then back to his sister.

"I asked father if he would agree to your having a private teacher live at Pebbly Pit to educate you, as you craved to be. He is more than willing to consent to this, as it is not the education or money he begrudges you, but the need of your going away from home to get it. Now isn't that fine?"

"Where can we find a teacher who will bury herself in this crater just to teach one girl?" demanded Polly, wiping her eyes.

"W-h-y—I thought perhaps——" John stammered uncomfortably, then gathered courage to add: "Miss Stewart liked it at Bear Forks one year, and she has been teaching Eleanor for two years. She may agree to teach you this year for a tempting salary."

"Anne has had an unusual offer to teach a seminary class in New York," said Mrs. Brewster, without any sign of partiality for any one or any plan.

"Oh!" remarked John.

But Tom Latimer eagerly added: "We can offer Miss Stewart a better salary for her time than any New York school can, if she will agree to stay here and help us win our way to Rainbow Cliffs."

Before Anne could reply, Polly cried: "But I don't want any teacher to live here and educate me! Can't you see that I want to go out, OUT—somewhere, anywhere, away from this volcanic pit where I have been buried for fourteen years!"

Once Polly freed herself of the reticence of speaking of her own ideals and longings for experience, she almost volleyed forth her words, so that every one sat astonished at her eloquence.

"When John went away to school I was awfully lonesome for he used to take me everywhere he went, and we had good times.

"Father and mother were good—but they don't know what the girl of to-day craves! It isn't that we girls are brought up so differently from our parents, or that they get modern ideas into their heads from mixing with society girls or from reading of them. It is in the air we breathe—the desire to come out of swaddling clothes and take a stand for our individual rights! Every girl has the germ of self-expression in her somewhere, and if it is starved and choked by conventionalities and parental bonds, she is bound to find an outlet for her energy in some unprofitable way. If folks would only SEE that girls, to-day, are capable of accomplishing what the boys of to-day are doing, and then give us a chance, there won't be so many slatterns and silly women-folk in the future.

"I learned all I could get out of Bear Forks' school-books, but it wasn't half enough for me. Now I am going to go to High, or leave home to work somewhere. I will not stay here to eat my heart out over the outside world and what it is doing. I may be awfully disappointed when I get acquainted with folks, outside, but at least I want the opportunity NOW, just as my brother John has it.

"Mother and father took it as a matter of course, that their boy must go to college and carve a career for himself. But their girl ought never to dream of such foibles—she must remain at home and learn to sew and cook and do all the household chores! If any sort of a decent rancher comes along who wants to marry, then I must thank him and tie myself down to take care of his socks and buttons, and rear a fine family!

"No, no, NO! I tell you I just won't do it!" Polly fairly screamed out the last words and stamped her foot vehemently, as she stood declaring what she thought of such a life.

Mrs. Brewster hid her face in a handkerchief—whether she was weeping or trying to hide her gratification at hearing her daughter assert her rights in such a positive manner, no one knew.

"W-h-y—Polly Brewster! You are positively unladylike in your manner of speaking of marriage and a future husband!" objected Barbara, shocked.

Polly turned on her, as the proverbial worm turned:

"Pooh! What do you know about real life! You—a silly selfish moth! All you can think of is money, clothes, beaus!

"You can't see a spider without fainting, and you mince about the moment you hear John or Tom are near. You're not a woman of to-day! You're a manufactured specimen of the past generation. Thank goodness, such as you are on the wane; and even modern men who are looking for mates—not helpless weights upon their backs—select them from the business world where girls are climbing to the top of the ladder as fast as conditions will permit them to.

"Don't you sit there with your powdered face and crimped-up hair and tell me I am unladylike! You never thought of being the lady your sister is, and certainly I wouldn't say that you can hold a candle to me! I was brought up by a lady, and I call myself as thorough a one as any of your society friends!"

"Oh, Polly—dearest!" Eleanor squealed, running over and squeezing her friend in her arms so that she gasped. Then releasing her, said: "I never heard anything so glorious in my life! Not even the suffrage leader in Chicago, when she was stumping for 'Votes for Women,' was ever as thrilling as you!"

"Polly, you are right! A girl has as good a right to her individual expression in life as any man has. I will champion your cause, henceforth, and even try to convince your father that he is narrow-minded in his selfishness about tying you to his heels," declared Anne Stewart, bravely throwing down the "glove" to every one.

Eleanor now transferred her hugs and admiration to Anne, and Mrs. Brewster lifted her face from the screen of a handkerchief to look at John.

Tom Latimer and John exchanged looks, then turned to Mrs. Brewster. John was the first to speak.

"Mother, it looks as if 'Polly-Eleanor Company' are going to incorporate themselves in spite of all we can do to claim their shares of stock."

"I haven't a doubt but that the 'Polly-Eleanor Company,' is bound to succeed in any venture of life," replied Mrs. Brewster.

"Mother, you don't blame me for wanting to get away from you?" cried Polly, running over to her mother.

"Dearest, I would be a poor mother if I expected to have my children hang about my neck to remind me that I ought to be petted and worked for, just because I claimed the right of being their parent! Every noble parent is only too willing to judiciously assist a child in finding his or her own niche in life.

"I have known for a long time that you would realize how stunting this ranch-life is to your unfolding aspirations. For me, it embraces all that I love and have, but for you two ambitious children of my younger days, it would be a veritable grave.

"I feel exactly as Anne does about this step—try your own wings, dear child, and wisely select your own walk in life. No father or mother can live your life for you, but they can guide and warn you away from snares and pitfalls. When a child has cast aside its 'swaddling clothes,' as you said, it must stand alone.

"I have argued this out with your father, many times this past year, but he clings fondly to the belief that you are too young to leave home; and he has persisted in holding you in the material concept, instead of realizing that you are purely mental and must feed your mental hunger with proper nourishment.

"I had another argument with him this evening, after his return from the Slide. He expected to convince me that everything would go to ruin if the Cliffs were worked and you were allowed to go away to school. But I turned the tables: I convinced him that he was standing in your light of a future glory by keeping you limited in your realization of an ideal. That only a family disaster and your unhappiness, must result from such old-fashioned views.

"He finally agreed that if you and the others, here, said that a higher education was what his girl craved and needed, he would withdraw all objections—once for all. That is why he left us—to discuss and settle this momentous question. Polly, you have won!"

Polly flung her arms about her mother's neck and wept softly: "But poor father! At what costs have I won?"

"S-sh! Don't let any one hear you weaken now. This is the moment of your triumph, and you must not look back lest you be turned to a 'pillar of salt,'" whispered her mother.

"Then father did agree to have Polly go to school?" asked John, curiously.

"Yes, if you-all agreed that it was for the best."

"And are we to have the Cliffs if the stone proves valuable?" eagerly added Tom Latimer.

"Having waived his right to keep Polly at home, he says we can turn the whole crater upside-down if we like," said Mrs. Brewster, smilingly. "But I wouldn't goad him, too far, just now. We have won such a mighty victory, that you haven't the faintest idea of what it means to the vanquished. It is doubtful if we can know anything definite about the Cliffs for the next two or three weeks, so let us not speak of it until then."

"But, Mrs. Brewster, if Anne goes to New York to teach, and takes her mother, where will Polly stay? I've been thinking how fine it will be to have her live with me in Chicago," said Eleanor, eagerly.

"Why—Eleanor Maynard! You can't invite strangers to your mother's home! It may not be convenient to have any one there this winter," objected Barbara.

"Well, don't borrow trouble, Bob! It's father's home as well as mother's, and I can ask a friend to stay with me if I like."

"I wouldn't think of ever going to your home, Nolla dear. I'd love to know your father from all you tell me, but I never would stay in that house," declared Polly, quickly.

"We have several weeks to discuss a school for Polly," remarked Mrs. Brewster, rising to go out and seek her husband.

"I'd love to be with Anne," ventured Polly, wistfully.

"Maybe you will, dear. Don't say any more about it, now, but trust to your dear mother's wisdom and ways. Whatever is best for you, she will see that it is brought about," replied Anne, thus winning a grateful smile from John.

Barbara now went to her room, as she felt the company was not appreciative of her presence, and was too attentive on Polly. Polly and Eleanor went over to incidentally ask Tom Latimer about certain details in Evans' patent, and more especially what did he know about Kenneth Evans. As both girls were acquainted with Jim Latimer, they had not the same curiosity to hear any one talk about him.

But John took advantage of this trio tÊte-À-tÊte to hurry Anne out of the room. Quite naturally, they took the path that ran about the side of the house, where the rose-climbers cast heavy shadows in the moonlight. Thence they walked, arm in arm, along the crater-trail where it led to the Cliffs.