“I can’t—I’ve got to stay,” Blue Bonnet wailed. “Oh, couldn’t you both stay, too?—then we could talk it over.”
“Elizabeth, are you perfectly daft?” Kitty cried. “I’d like to see what the ‘rankin’ officer’ would say to such a proceeding! What’ve you got to stay to-day for? You stayed yesterday.”
“No, I didn’t,” Blue Bonnet answered; and went on to explain.
Sarah looked shocked; Kitty howled with glee—“Elizabeth Ashe, you’re more fun than a circus! Only I’d advise you not to play that little game again—else you’ll be having an interview with Mr. Hunt.”
CHAPTER VII
THE CLIMAX
Blue Bonnet’s suggestion regarding Mrs. Prior did not win favor with her mates; one or two of them agreed with Sarah that it would be “nice, but—” and after a few fierce protests she let the matter drop.
It was a glorious Autumn, with sharp, stinging nights and mornings, and warm, hazy days. Blue Bonnet spent every available moment—not to mention a good many of the other kind—out-of-doors. And every day, the girl’s thoughts were more and more of the Blue Bonnet Ranch. All unconsciously, the longing to be back on it, to be leading again the old, careless, carefree life, crept into her letters,—bringing much joy to Uncle Cliff, and making Uncle Joe shake his head delightedly.
Not that her days in Woodford were not, in the main, happy ones. She had a knack of getting a good share of all the fun there was going. And there was a good deal going, off and on.
“Elizabeth,” Kitty called after her one Friday afternoon, as they were leaving school, “Amanda and I’ve been concocting such a scheme—we’re all going nutting to-morrow afternoon up in the Parker woods—we seven and some of the boys—I guess Alec’ll go.”