“I am so frightened!” she sobbed. “If only I were lost instead of my little sister! Mother always trusts me to look after Mollie. I ought not to have let her go off alone!”
Ruth wisely allowed Bab to have her cry out, before she said: “Bab, dear, remember father said he relied on us to keep cool heads and strong hearts in any case of emergency. Now let’s gather ourselves together. Let’s say over and over again: ‘We will find Mollie! We will find Mollie!’”
Bab braced up at once and repeated quietly, “Certainly we will find her, Ruth dear.”
Both girls were looking toward the woods. It was not yet night, but the dusk was falling quickly. Suddenly, off through the trees, the two girls distinctly saw a light that shone on a level with their eyes. Once, twice, then again, it sparkled through the underbrush.
“What is it?” Bab breathed faintly.
Ruth shook her head. “I don’t know,” she answered, under her breath.
The light advanced toward them; then it drew back again, never ceasing to sparkle. It seemed to be beckoning to them.
“Oh, Ruth,” cried Barbara, “could it be a signal from Mollie?”
“How could it, Barbara, dear?” Ruth replied.
Both girls waited a little longer. The light came again. It seemed almost to call to them. Barbara started to her feet impatiently. “I must go and see what it is,” she declared.