CHAPTER XXII
A STRANGE VISITOR
“Emma’s hit!” wailed Nora, as the girls sprang up at Emma Dean’s cry and the tumble that they saw her take.
“Get down!” commanded Tom Gray. “You’ll be hit.”
Not one of the three girls gave heed to his warning. Elfreda, Grace and Nora ran to the spot at which they had seen Emma pitch forward.
Elfreda was the first to reach her. Emma lay moaning, both hands pressed to her right cheek.
“Where were you hit, dear?” questioned Miss Briggs with no trace of excitement in her voice.
“In my cheek. I thi—think the bullet went clear through.”
“If it had you wouldn’t be talking to me now. Take your hand away, please,” directed Elfreda.
Emma would not do so, so Grace stretched forth a hand and forcibly removed Emma’s hand from her face. A red blotch on the cheek with a small white center were the only indications that something really had hit the girl. Elfreda examined the spot, and a smile rippled over her face.
“You poor child! No bullet even grazed you, but something did sting you,” announced Elfreda. “I think it is a bee sting. Did you feel stings anywhere else?”