“Let me go,” sobbed Gypsy; “I can’t talk just now. I want to go away and cry.”
She broke away from Tom’s arms, and into the tent, where she could be alone.
“What has happened?” repeated Mr. Hallam. “We came home in less than an hour, and couldn’t find you. We have been to Mr. Fisher’s, and hunted everywhere. I was calling for you in the gorge when Tom found you.”
Sarah was left to tell their story; which she did with remarkable justness, considering how frightened she was. She shared with Gypsy the blame of having left the tents, and insisted that it was her fault that the gun went off. Before the account was quite finished, Gypsy called Tom from the tent-door, and he went to her.
She was quiet, and very pale,
“Oh, Tom, I am so sorry! I didn’t think I should be gone so long.”
“It was very dangerous, Gypsy. You might have been lost, or you might have had to spend the night here alone, while we were hunting for you.”
“I know it, I know it; and Sarah was so frightened, and I was too, a little, and Sarah thought you were a bear.”