“I thought I heard something like some one crying,” replied Joanne.
“Probably some child at one of the houses farther on,” Claudia decided.
“It sounded quite near,” protested Joanne. “There it is again.”
The three stood still to listen.
“There! I hear it,” Claudia exclaimed, “over in that direction. Let’s go see what it is.”
“I hope it isn’t a wildcat,” said Winnie.
“More likely to be a tame cat,” returned Claudia scoffingly, “though I must say it doesn’t sound to me like any kind. There may be a negro cabin over that way; very likely there is, but we may as well go and investigate.”
They turned off from the path and worked their way through the underbrush toward the direction from which the sounds came. In a few minutes they came upon a couple of cows which had evidently strayed from their pasture and were cropping the bushes near by. They lifted their heads and stared at the girls, then moved a little farther on.
“It couldn’t have been the cows,” remarked Winnie with a little laugh. “There! I see something moving. Maybe it is a calf.”
“A calf wouldn’t make a noise like that,” declared Claudia. “Calves don’t cry; they baa. Let’s get down to facts. Just look at the blackberries. We must come here and get some.”