CHAPTER XII
ANTHA’S RESPONSIBILITY
“Katherine, are you low in your mind again?” Gladys peered suspiciously over the edge of the cliff to where Katherine was sitting in her favorite fly-on-the-wall position midway between earth and sky, her head leaned thoughtfully back against the stone wall behind her.
“No’m,” answered Katherine meekly, and grinned reassuringly through the wisp of hair that hung down over her face. She put the lock carefully back into place with a critical hand and continued: “I was just exercising my young brain thinking.”
Gladys heaved a sigh of relief and prepared to join Katherine on the ledge. “I’m so glad it isn’t the indigoes this time,” she said, swinging her feet over the edge and scraping her shoulder blades along the rock until they found a certain groove which 212 fitted them like a glove, “because I don’t think Sahwah could think up another conspiracy like the Dark of the Moon Society to bring you out of it. But why were you looking so solemn?”
“I was merely wondering about Antha,” replied Katherine. “Now we’ve got Anthony where we understand him; but Antha is still the spiritless cry baby she was when she came. She hasn’t a particle of backbone. I’m getting discouraged about her.” She pulled a patch of moss from the rock beside her and tore it moodily into shreds.
“Are you quite, quite sure you’re not low in your mind?” asked Gladys.
Katherine sat up with a jerk, sending a loosened particle of stone bounding and clattering down the face of the cliff. “Of course not!” she said energetically. “I was just wondering, that’s all. I haven’t lost faith in Antha and I don’t doubt but what she’ll brace up before the summer is over. If we only knew a recipe for developing grit!”
“Stop worrying about that child and let’s go out in a canoe,” said Gladys, catching hold of Katherine’s hand and pulling her up.
Katherine rose and smoothed out her skirts–a new action for her. “Do I look any neater?” she inquired.
“Quite a bit,” replied Gladys, looking her over with a critical eye.