"A penny for your thoughts?" he offered, wondering what she could be pondering over.
But Sarah refused to sell and continued to be silent.
Richard would have been surprised indeed, could he have seen what was going on in that active little brain. The circus poster had shown Sarah, besides the wonderful lions, a marvelous performing bear, dancing on his hind legs. A crowd of people laughed at him and applauded.
"Bony can do that!" Sarah had thought with pride, and then, like a flash, followed the thought: "I could sell Bony to the circus and give the money to Louisa!"
The rest of the way to Bennington was occupied, as far as Sarah was concerned, in selling Bony to the owner of the bear, who promised to give the pig a kind home and explain to him frequently why his mistress had consented to let him leave Rainbow Hill.
Sarah had reached the moment when she put her precious pig into the bear man's hands (she innocently assumed that he must have charge of all the circus animals) just as Richard drew up before the blacksmith's shop.
"You don't want to hang around here," said Richard authoritatively, lifting her down from the seat. "I'll have to give some orders about shoeing Solomon and you wait for me on the side porch of the hotel. I won't be long."
He led Sarah unprotestingly—though at any other time she would have teased to be allowed to stay and watch the fascinating work of the smithy—across the street and to the steep little flight of steps that led to the pleasant, vine-covered side porch of the country hotel.
"Good morning, Mrs. King," he said, lifting his hat as a gray-haired woman peered over the railing at them. "This is Sarah Willis—I want to have her wait here while I'm over at the shop."
"She'll be all right," answered Mrs. King kindly. "She can sit here and rest; it's nice and shady."