“Oh, it wasn’t Nelly’s fault,” Anne hastened to say. “It was my own doing. I didn’t follow my leader, but stopped without telling. And that was breaking the Club rule. It was silly of me! I’m sorry.” Anne drooped, very tired and ashamed.
The Captain looked at her kindly. “That’s right,” he said with approval. “Not ashamed to say you’re sorry when it’s your own fault. Well, I’m glad it turned out all right! That saves me a hunt to-night. I’ll hurry back and tell Nelly, so she and Polly won’t be worryin’. And I’ll tell Maguire and Chatto they won’t have to comb the mountain with me after all. You would have had the whole neighborhood busy huntin’ for you, girl!” he said to Anne, grinning affectionately.
“Oh, I shouldn’t think they’d do it for me!” said Anne humbly, remembering how little notice she had ever taken of the people at the Harbor. She didn’t even know the men who belonged to those names.
“Neighbors are neighbors,” said the old man. “Everybody turns to and helps in time of trouble, don’t they? That’s American!”
“Tell Nelly she is a splendid leader,” said Anne shyly, “and I’ll never hang back again on a trail. And please tell her I am coming over to-morrow to see her—and the rabbit.”
Everybody was glad enough to go to bed, tired and frightened as they all had been in various ways. But they did not all go immediately to sleep. After Anne and Beverly were safely tucked into their little cots, the southern girl whispered another story to her tent-mate’s astonished and horrified ears; a tale with which she had decided not to burden the already over-worried Tante until to-morrow.
“Who do you fancy your old man was, Anne?” she drawled. “Because I daresay he was the same man who was hunting the deer, and who so nearly shot me. But how could he be in two places at the same time, on the sea-shore and in the woods? Unless he has the Seven League Boots that Nancy is always talking about.”
“Nearly shot you, Beverly? What do you mean?” Anne who was almost ready for sleep, came wide awake again and sat up in bed with a gasp of horror.
“Why, didn’t anybody tell you-all? It was like this. We were poking down the mountain the second time, pretty tired and discouraged because we couldn’t find you, Anne. It seemed awful to leave you there alone on the mountain, and night coming on. It makes me creep to think of it now! Those dark woods! But what could we do?”
“I was a goose,” said Anne. “How tired you must all be!”