"What do you mean?" Lois asked.
"Why, she might have fallen and broken her leg," Betty explained. "You know how dangerous those rocks are in winter; she may have stepped between two of them and gotten caught."
"Don't," Lois protested, with a shudder.
They trudged on for a quarter of a mile in silence, then the trail turned suddenly to the right.
"She's gone toward the apple orchard, thank goodness!" Betty exclaimed.
"Do you suppose she's gone round by way of the bridge and home?" Lois asked, stopping. "If she has, we'll have our hunt in vain."
Polly and Betty considered a minute. Then Polly said:
"Of course not; if she had, she'd have been home hours ago."
When they reached the apple orchard they noticed that the print of the snow shoes was less regular.
"She's stopped to rest here," Betty said, pointing to the ground. "Look how irregular these prints are."