“Yes, there is,” said Nan, insistently. “Come here, please. Margaret wants to kiss you for saving her life.”
“Oh!” The word came out of Margaret's lips like an explosion. Nan stared very sternly at her. “If you don't,” she said in a low tone, “I'll tell your father all about how you came to fall into the river.”
Under this threat Margaret became amenable. She puckered up her lips and stretched her arms out toward Indian Pete. The man stumbled back and fell on his knees beside the two girls. Nan heard the hoarse sob in his throat as he took little Margaret in his arms.
“Bless you! Bless you!” he murmured, receiving the kiss right upon his scarred cheek. But Nan saw that Margaret's eyes were tightly closed as she delivered the caress, per order!
The next moment the man with the scarred face had slipped away and disappeared in the forest. They saw him no more.
However, just as soon as the catalog house could send it, Margaret received a beautiful, pink-cheeked, and flaxen-haired Doll, not as fine as Beulah, but beautiful enough to delight any reasonable child.
Nan had won back Margaret's confidence and affection.
Meanwhile the hot summer was fast passing. Nan heard from her chum, Bess Harley, with commendable regularity; and no time did Bess write without many references to Lakeview Hall.
Nan, advised by her former teacher in Tillbury, had brought her books to Pine Camp, and had studied faithfully along the lines of the high school work. She was sure she could pass quite as good an entrance examination for Lakeview Hall as Bess could.
And at last good news came from Scotland: