A little later, when he paused beside her seat, she looked up to smile at him.
"I keep right on reading," she said, "because if I stop to think, I remember that all the time I'm going farther away from home."
"Then whenever you look up from the page, just remember that you are getting nearer, and nearer to Avondale, where you can write your first letter home," he said in an effort to cheer her.
"Oh, yes," said Sprite, "and I'll do that before I go to sleep to-night, and post it early to-morrow morning." Then, for a long time, she read the fascinating story.
Just as she closed the book she realized that the train was slowing down.
The conductor was coming toward her. What was the brakeman saying?
"The next station will be Avondale!" he shouted, and little Sprite's heart beat faster.
The conductor stood at her seat now. "I'll take your suit case," he said. "Come with me."
How her little heart beat!
Would they be at the station? They had promised to be there when the train arrived.