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Page 29
The next train for St. Helen's left at nine in the morning, it seemed, and
the ticket-agent recommended the Sherman House as a hotel where they would
be very comfortable for the night.
"The omnibus is just outside," he said encouragingly. "You'll find it a
first-class house,--best there is west of Chicago. From the East? Just so.
You've not seen our opera-house yet, I suppose. Denver folks are rather
proud of it. Biggest in the country except the new one in New York. Hope
you'll find time to visit it."
"I should like to," said Clover; "but we are here for only one night. My
brother's been ill, and we are going directly on to St. Helen's. I'm very
much obliged to you."
Her look of pretty honest gratitude seemed to touch the heart of the
ticket-man. He opened the door of his fastness, and came out--actually
came out!--and with a long shrill whistle summoned a porter whom he
addressed as, "Here, you Pat," and bade, "Take this lady's things, and put
them into the 'bus for the Sherman; look sharp now, and see that she's all
right." Then to Clover,--
"You'll find it very comfortable at the Sherman, Miss, and I hope you'll
have a good night. If you'll come to me in the morning, I'll explain about
the baggage transfer."
Clover thanked this obliging being again, and rejoined her party, who were
patiently sitting where she had left them.
"Dear me!" said Mrs. Watson as the omnibus rolled off, "I had no idea that
Denver was such a large place. Street cars too! Well, I declare!"
"And what nice shops!" said Clover, equally surprised.
Her ideas had been rather vague as to what was to be expected in the close
neighborhood of the Rocky Mountains; but she knew that Denver had only
existed a few years, and was prepared to find everything looking rough and
unfinished.
"Why, they have restaurants here and jewellers' shops!" she cried. "Look,
Phil, what a nice grocery! We needn't have packed all those oatmeal
biscuits if only we had known. And electric lights! How wonderful! But of
course St. Helen's is quite different."
Their amazement increased when they reached the hotel, and were taken in a
large dining-room to order dinner from a bill of fare which seemed to
include every known luxury, from Oregon salmon and Lake Superior
white-fish to frozen sherbets and California peaches and apricots. But
wonderment yielded to fatigue, and again as Clover fell asleep she was
conscious of a deep depression. What had she undertaken to do? How could
she do it?
But a night of sound sleep followed by such a morning of unclouded
brilliance as is seldom seen east of Colorado banished these misgivings.
Courage rose under the stimulus of such air and sunshine.
"I must just live for each day as it comes," said little Clover to
herself, "do my best as things turn up, keep Phil happy, and satisfy Mrs.
Watson,--if I can,--and not worry about to-morrows or yesterdays. That is
the only safe way, and I won't forget if I can help it."
With these wise resolves she ran down stairs, looking so blithe and bright
that Phil cheered at the sight of her, and lost the long morning face he
had got up with, while even Mrs. Watson caught the contagion, and became
fairly hopeful and content. A little leaven of good-will and good heart in
one often avails to lighten the heaviness of many.
The distance between Denver and St. Helen's is less than a hundred miles,
but as the railroad has to climb and cross a range of hills between two
and three thousand feet high, the journey occupies several hours. As the
train gradually rose higher and higher, the travellers began to get wide
views, first of the magnificent panorama of mountains which lies to the
northwest of Denver, sixty miles away, with Long's Peak in the middle, and
after crossing the crest of the "Divide," where a blue little lake rimmed
with wild-flowers sparkled in the sun, of the more southern ranges. After
a while they found themselves running parallel to a mountain chain of
strange and beautiful forms, green almost to the top, and intersected with
deep ravines and cliffs which the conductor informed them were "canyons."
They seemed quite near at hand, for their bases sank into low rounded
hills covered with woods, these melted into undulating table-lands, and
those again into a narrow strip of park-like plain across which ran the
track. Flowers innumerable grew on this plain, mixed with grass of a tawny
brown-green. There were cactuses, red and yellow, scarlet and white
gillias, tall spikes of yucca in full bloom, and masses of a superb white
poppy with an orange-brown centre, whose blue-green foliage was prickly
like that of the thistle. Here and there on the higher uplands appeared
strange rock shapes of red and pink and pale yellow, which looked like
castles with towers and pinnacles, or like primitive fortifications.
Clover thought it all strangely beautiful, but Mrs. Watson found fault
with it as "queer."
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