Upon hearing this, the small girl sobbed afresh.
“Oh, Tom,” she cried, “I don’t want to be adopted. Please, please take me home.”
The blunt boy was nevertheless kind, and so he helped the small girl up on the big horse in front of him, and, as they rode along, Carol told the whole story to sympathetic ears.
“Gee-crickets!” the boy exclaimed admiringly. “I’m certain glad you had some of your pa’s spunk.” Then he added hopefully, “Maybe you’re goin’ to change, and get to be more like Dixie. Ken’ll like you heaps better if you do.”
Carol said nothing, but in her heart she resolved that she would try to be so much like Dixie that folks wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.
It was noon when Tom helped the little girl to the ground in Woodford’s Cañon, and, after having thanked him, she started walking slowly down the trail toward the log cabin, for a dreadful thought had come to her. What if she wouldn’t be welcome. What if Ken should say, “You left our home and now you can stay away.”
The window nearest the trail was open, and Carol thought she would look in before going to the door.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A HAPPY REUNION
Within the cabin the three children sat about the table, eating their midday meal. Carol at the window heard Ken say: “Dix, this is the second day that you haven’t eaten one bite. If you get sick, how on earth’ll Baby Jim and I get along?”
The girl turned from the table and began to sob. “I’m sorry, Ken,” she said, “truly I am, but I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to eat again unless Carol comes home.”