“See what she wants, Terry,” Mrs. Landry told her daughter. “Perhaps the poor child is hungry.”
Terry left the table and hurried outside. She could see Melissa running down the path in the late summer twilight. She was wearing black rubber hip boots and her old gray sweater, but surely, Terry thought to herself, it couldn’t have been Melissa whom they had seen on the houseboat. Terry felt she must stop the girl, at any rate, to find out.
“Melissa! Melissa!” Terry called. “Wait, I have something for you.”
Melissa stopped and faced Terry. “What?” she asked abruptly. “What’ve you got?”
“Something nice,” Terry assured her, and then, because she could think of nothing else, she asked the frightened girl, “Do you like chocolate cake?”
“Sure do,” Melissa replied shyly. “Heaps!”
“Come on back, then,” Terry coaxed, and Melissa came towards her.
Terry took her into the bright little kitchen and gave her a large glass of milk and a big piece of chocolate cake. Melissa ate greedily, and Terry spoke gently to her to gain her confidence.
“That certainly is a lovely pin,” Terry remarked. “Would you mind if I showed it to my mother? She’s in the other room, but I’ll bring it right back.”
“I guess so,” Melissa agreed reluctantly, and taking the stick pin from her collar she handed the ornament to Terry. Her rather pale blue eyes were questioning her benefactor, and she looked not at all sure that she liked the situation.