Prue laughed with delight, and, thrusting her little sunburned hand into Randy’s, she trudged along, scuffling her feet and laughing to see the dust rise in little gray clouds.
At any other time Randy would have checked Prue, but that day her mind was too much occupied with the heroine of the fairy tale to notice Prue’s movements or comment upon them; but Prue was getting tired of walking in silence, while Randy indulged herself in day-dreams.
“Why don’t you talk, Randy? You haven’t talked any since we started,” said Prue.
“Oh, it’s too hot to talk,” answered Randy, and she once more relapsed into silence.
Prue dropped Randy’s hand, and, leaving the road, she clambered upon the wall to hunt among the dusty vines for blackberries. There were more leaves than fruit, so the little girl, after finding a few small berries, walked along upon the wall until she came to another lot of vines, where she again searched for fruit.
While Prue looked for berries Randy was critically inspecting her own and her little sister’s costume. How ugly they looked! The girl who, up to that time, had never seen any one arrayed in anything more beautiful than a print or gingham gown, varied by a long apron of blue-checked cotton, or a dark, chocolate-colored calico, now looked with startling dislike upon that style of apparel.
“Only think,” mused Randy, “if we wore white dresses and fine shoes, and big hats, ’twouldn’t seem near as hot doing errands. Seems as though we could sit still in meeting if we had on different clothes and—why, Prue, what’s the matter?” cried Randy, in answer to a doleful wail from the little sister.
“Oh, my foot, my foot!” screamed Prue; “it hurts drefful, and I can’t get it out.”
“Let me see,” said Randy. “Hold still a minute; I can get it out, Prue,” which, however, proved to be easier said than done. While walking upon the wall the little foot had slipped between the stones and seemed firmly fixed.
Randy worked gently and patiently, and at last the little foot was out of prison. Prue insisted upon having her shoe and stocking taken off, saying that her foot felt “awful big,” and sure enough it had become a trifle swollen. Randy tried in every way to soothe her, assuring her that it was but a short walk to the store, but Prue wailed dismally.