"Well said, fair lady. Now let's have a look at 'Orphan Annie.'" The Judge's eyes were sparkling with amusement as Bet led him up the gentle slope of the mountain. Suddenly Bet threw herself from the saddle.
"See folks, I found an arrowhead! Oh, boy! Isn't that lucky?"
The girls dismounted and grouped about her, all except Kit, who had picked up arrowheads since babyhood.
"It's a perfect one. I'm the happiest girl in all the world!"
"Doesn't take much to make some people happy," began Joy, then she started to laugh. "Come on, where's our little orphan?"
"This way, follow me," called Shirley Williams. "This is it, isn't it,
Bet?"
"Yes, that's our baby. Poor little thing." Bet was trying to be cheerful but there was a tinge of bitterness in her voice. There was always a great soul conflict when Bet's well developed plans went amiss and in this case, where it involved double dealing, it was harder than usual to give up.
"Nine chances out of ten," remarked Enid quietly and with little emotion, "those other claims have all the ore and this one has nothing."
"For my part, I don't care if it hasn't any ore in it at all, I like it anyway," and Bet squatted down on a big flat rock within the boundaries of the claim. "It feels good to be on my own property," she added with a sigh of contentment.
But in a moment she had started up with a little cry of surprise. "What's the matter, Bet? Be careful! If it's a strange bug, it might bite you. There are so many stinging things out here," cautioned Kit.