"Flower, Jessie Graham - Grace Harlowe - Overland Riders 01 - Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders On the Great American Desert" - читать интересную книгу автора (Flower Jessie Graham)

amenable to reason. Where is Tom, by the way?"
"He has gone out with Hippy Wingate to look for one Hiram Lang, known hereabouts
as Hi Lang, the man who is to act as our guide and protector across the desert.
He is Mr. Fairweather's cousin, you will recall, and my one great hope is that
he may prove to be as fine a character as the man who piloted us over the Old
Apache Trail last summer."
"I sincerely hope, for our sake, that he knows his business," nodded Elfreda
Briggs.
"Where did you leave the girls?" questioned Grace.
"I left Emma Dean, Anne Nesbit and Nora Wingate at the general store where they
were selecting picture cards of wild west scenes to send to the folks back home.
By the way, when does Tom leave for Oregon?"
"To-night. I wish it were possible for him to go with us, knowing that it would
prove an interesting experience for him, but now that he is out of the army he
feels that he must get to work without loss of time. Tom now has a large family
to look afterЧ Yvonne and my own little self."
"I should say that, after fighting Bolshevists in Russia for the better part of
a year, the desert would be a rather tame experience for him," observed Miss
Briggs. "Of course he cannot be blamed for desiring to get to work. I feel the
same way about myself, but since my return from France my law practice has been
about what it was while I was serving my country on the other side of the
Atlantic OceanЧnothing at allЧso I might as well be on the desert as in my
office."
"Your practice will come back, Elfreda. Don't worry, but in the meantime try to
have the best kind of a time and set what happens this fall. I hear Tom's step."

A knock followed the brisk step in the hallway, and Grace's husband entered.
Elfreda rose, but Grace held out a hand as a signal that her friend was not to
leave.
"Well, Tom dear, did you find him?" questioned Grace.
"Oh, yes. This town isn't so large that one can well miss finding any one. Your
man, Hi Lang, is getting the ponies into the corral and you girls are to go out
there and make your selections."
"Did Mr. Lang say why he had not called here to see us?" asked Grace.
"No, he didn't say much of anything. He is not of the saying kind. I suppose he
expected you to look him up. Besides, he is very busy getting ready for you, I
could see that. If you are ready we will go over to the corral now."
"Where did you leave Hippy?" asked Miss Briggs.
"Talking horse with the owner of the ponies," Grace's husband informed her,
whereat both girls smiled understandingly, knowing quite well that Hippy Wingate
was posing as an expert on horses, whereas about all the knowledge he possessed
in that direction had been gained from the ride over the Apache Trail during the
previous summer.
Tom led the two girls to the corral at the extreme edge of the little western
village. Anne, Emma and Nora already had found their way there and were watching
the wranglers, as the men who catch up the ponies are called, roping broncos and
leading them out for the inspection of Lieutenant Wingate and the guide.
"My, but they are a lively bunch," exclaimed Miss Briggs.
The roped ponies were bucking and squealing and biting and kicking. A
suffocating gray cloud of alkali dust hung over the corral, and, altogether, the