“Oh, I can’t go home without Mollie!” sobbed Bab. “I am not a bit afraid to stay up here alone. Leave me, Ruth, you and Grace. I’ll just sit at the top of this ravine and call and call! Then, if Mollie comes anywhere near me, she will hear. You and Grace go and have supper with Miss Sallie. You can bring me something to eat afterwards, if you like.” Barbara smiled feebly.
Ruth and Grace both turned on her indignantly. It was a relief to pretend to be offended. “Oh, yes, Bab, we are both delighted to go down and comfortably eat our supper! It is so pleasant to think of your sitting up here alone, like a stone image, and poor little Mollie lost—goodness knows where!”
Ruth kissed Bab for comfort. Then she turned to Grace. “Grace,” she asked, “will you be a perfect dear? I know Naki is right; he must get some one to help him search for Mollie, and one of us must go to Aunt Sallie, who is terribly worried. See! she has already seen us, and is waving her hand. But if you will go tell her what has happened, I shall stay up here with Bab, and Ceally can bring us some dinner. You can come back afterwards. By that time Naki will have returned with assistance and we can go on with our search again.”
“I hate to leave you,” Grace protested, “but I will go.”
“Wait for me,” Naki cautioned. Both girls nodded. They were too tired to speak.
CHAPTER VIII
END OF THE SEARCH
When Grace and Naki had finally disappeared Bab put her head down on Ruth’s shoulder and cried bitterly.