“It’s ridiculous,” remarked the voice, “but I suppose it can’t be helped. You’ll have to get along without seeing me, that’s all. Anyhow, you seem to be able to hear me, and that’s something. And there’s no knowing; you might be disappointed if you did see me, and that would hardly be pleasant.”
“Indeed we shouldn’t!” exclaimed both girls at once. “No one was ever disappointed in a fairy.”
“Tut-tut,” said the voice, and then gave a little laugh, so sweet and mellow that it made Rose and Ruth laugh too. “But come, how about that Magic Gate?”
“Where is it?” asked Ruth, who liked to get straight to essentials.
“You can find it easily enough with me,” returned the fairy. “It’s near enough—and it’s far enough. Would you really like to go through it?”
“Can we get back again? We couldn’t leave the ranch for too long,” answered Rose. “Marmie might miss us, and every evening we play games with Dad.”
“Oh, yes, you can get back. In fact, you can’t stay inside the Magic Gates beyond a certain length of time. There are rules that have to be kept, you see.”
“Oh, Ruth, I’d like to go, wouldn’t you?” breathed Rose, excitedly.
“Yes,” replied Ruth, clutching her sister’s arm. “But where does it go, Fairy?”
“It will lead you to other little girls—little girls who only live inside the Magic Gates and can’t be reached any other way. All sorts of little girls, in all sorts of places and all sorts of times.”