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the excitement
growing inside. She couldn’t wait to hear the gossip.
    “I will tell you everything. But first you
have to tell me how you met Mr. Andrew Martin.” Anna’s eyes grew
wide.
    “You know...you know him?”
    “Why, yes. Everyone does. He works at the
park, you know. And, yes. I do know...about you and him. You don’t
think I pay attention?”
    Katie decided to fill her in on everything
that happened, except for the boardinghouse visit and the kiss.
    Anna rolled in the grass laughing after Katie
told her how she fell over the fence on that fateful day she met
Drew. “So ladylike! I wonder if Andrew saw your britches. You think
he’s the bee’s knees, don’t you?”
    “The what?” Katie thought that was the
strangest saying she’d ever heard.
    “The bee’s knees. You know...you think he is
great.”
    Katie rolled her eyes. “Enough of that. Now
on to you. Tell me how and why you came to the Grand Canyon.”
    “Actually, Lucinda and I came together. We
met at the Lake Forest Academy—a private high school for boys and
girls. Lucinda was one of my roommates freshmen year and we became
inseparable. Ferry Hall was the girls’ school and the boys attended
Lake Forest Academy. We would have outings together. The school
took us to the beach and organized hikes. In the winter, we ice
skated and went on sleigh rides. What fun we had. Lucinda and I
were the best of friends.”
    “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of that
school.”
    “It’s a private school outside of Chicago.
Both Lucinda and I lived at the school because it was pretty far
from home.”
    Katie was taken aback by that information.
Lucinda and Anna knew each other. If they went to a private school,
their families obviously had money. So what were they doing at the
canyon?
    “Tell me how you ended up here,” Katie asked
again.
    “Lucinda read an article in the paper about
the Harvey girls. They were young, single and liked adventure. Fred
Harvey hired pretty, smart girls with good moral character and
backgrounds to work at his restaurants out West. It said the girls
were provided with room and board. There are also managers, like
Mr. and Mrs. Johansson, to watch over the girls. Plus the girls
were also given free railway passes. We figured we’d see the
country together, maybe meet a rich rancher and settle down with
our husbands in a new part of the country.” Anna laughed. “I’m
probably boring you.”
    “No, I find it quite interesting. Go on.”
    “We knew we had the qualifications so we
wrote letters to the company. It would be hard to convince our
families while we were still in high school so we didn’t tell them
until after graduation. They didn’t like it at all. My family
really wanted me to go to college and I tried a semester. I had to
prove to them that I really wanted to do this.”
    “And what about Lucinda?”
    “Lucinda’s family finally just gave in. When
she came home from Ferry, she did nothing. She went on strike.
That’s Lucinda for you. She got her way.”
    “And you did too,” Katie finished for
her.
    “Yes, I did. We arrived here by train in
April. No regrets. The money is good, plus we get time off whenever
we want. Lucinda and I never did get to travel together...” Anna’s
voice trailed off.
    “What happened? If you two were best friends
for years, what could have happened?” Katie looked at Anna and saw
sadness in her eyes.
    “A boy. A rancher’s son, named Daniel.” Anna
looked away.
    “Go on,” Katie prodded.
    “Lucinda met Daniel first. He liked to come
for lunch at El Tovar. We, of course, were just learning how to be
waitresses and were working in the back kitchen. She caught a
glimpse of Daniel out in the dining room and was determined to meet
him. She charmed her way out there and then went over to their
table asking if everything was alright. She started up a
conversation with Daniel. The next thing you know they had a date
to go riding.”
    “I can picture Lucinda doing