The four Corners in California

by Amy Ella Blanchard

Nan made for the house. "Where is Jack?" she asked. No one knew. Mary Lee had seen her talking to Li Hung. Jean had heard her say she was going somewhere and did not want any company. She would not tell where she was going. The señorita had seen her counting over her store of nickels. Taking her clues from all this Nan started forth. "It would never do to let her go down town by herself," she said. "She might get lost, but don't worry mother about it; I'll find her."

"Suppose you telephone over to Mrs. Roberts," suggested Miss Helen; "she may have gone there."

Nan called up, but no Jack had been there that morning. Garden, orchard and the surrounding streets were searched and all finally arrived at Nan's conclusion, so she started for the centre of the town where they had come across the tomale man. There he was with his corn husk packages neatly tied and filled with the delectable preparation so dear to the hearts of the Mexican. There was no Jack in sight as Nan came up. She wandered up and down trying to discover her sister and suddenly found herself in the midst of a queer street where she seemed to be transported to the other side of the globe. Here were shops innumerable displaying such strange wares that Nan stood still to wonder before she turned to flee. She was not timid, but to be surrounded by plodding Chinamen stubbing along in their queer shoes made her feel uncomfortable. One or two turned slanting eyes upon her but most passed her unconcernedly. Before a shop gay with banners and painted signs Nan paused, but in the masses of unknown objects which she could see by peering inside there was nothing that she recognized, and she went on passing all sorts of establishments, before which were set forth such wares as platters of fish, bunches of herbs and tubs of vegetables the like of which she had never seen before.

She would like to have penetrated further, to have stopped to look in at the Chinamen eating with chop sticks, and the Chinese women with such curiously arranged hair, but she scarcely dared, and satisfied that Jack had not strayed this way she retraced her steps and was once again out of China and in America. The tomale man still hawked his wares and the crowds were still hurrying to and fro, an interesting crowd, Nan thought, for so many nationalities were represented, but among them was no little bright-eyed girl answering to the name of Jack Corner.

"I might as well hunt for a needle in a hay-stack," thought Nan. "I'd better go back home for probably she is there by this time. Some day I shall get Carter or Mr. St. Nick to bring us to Chinatown where we can nose around and see everything we want."

She was so busy thinking of what she had seen that she reached the corner nearest home before she realized it, and was obliged to turn back a little. In doing this she caught sight of two figures down the street a little way; one was a small girl standing at bay before a boy about her own age who danced and pranced and flourished his fists shouting: "Ya! ya! ya! I've got you now."

Nan set out on a quick run. Surely this was Jack. She came up just in time to see the boy tweak off Jack's hat and throw it on the ground, but she also saw why he did not advance further, for whichever way he turned the steely point of a long sharp hat pin confronted him. Jack had chosen her own weapon and never had ventured from home without it since the day of her battle with the boy. The Boy she called him in her own mind. She had felt that this hour might come some day, but it never kept her within the limits of security. One might think that it would have been a small thing for a little boy to worst a girl of his own size, and so it might if fists were all that were to be considered; hat pins put a different face upon the affair. So though Jack was merely on the defensive, defend herself she could, and very ably.

"Jack Corner," cried Nan, "what are you up to?"

Jack was off her guard for a second, but the boy seeing that reinforcements had arrived, did not dare to make further attack. "Pick up my hat, won't you, Nan?" said Jack coolly, "and won't you get the tomales from behind me? I'm afraid I'll step on them. You'd better go home, boy," she remarked with a mocking laugh.

"Yes, you'd better go," said Nan. "What do you mean by teasing my little sister?"