“I brought you some little things for Tommie,” said Dorothy. Page [24]
No need to tell Dorothy who the “some one” was. She glanced gratefully at the girl walking beside her.
“I must hurry back,” she declared, “and tell the boys. Some one may trap them.”
Dorothy noticed that Urania stopped often to rub one foot against the other. She also noticed a frown of pain cover the girl’s brown face, and now Urania sat down, pulled a torn stocking below her knee, and attempted to adjust a very dirty rag over her thin limb.
“What is it?” asked Dorothy, seeing in spite of the girl’s evident attempt to conceal it, that the rag was stained with blood.
“Oh, nothin’” replied Urania, carelessly. “I just scratched my knee, that’s all,” and she bound the rag about the member as best she could.
“You have torn your limb in the swamp,” declared Dorothy, as the truth came suddenly to her. “I know that place is full of poison briars—”
“But I don’t poison,” interrupted the girl, getting up to continue her walk. “Besides it ain’t nothin’,” and she trudged along bravely enough.
“You must have the reward if the birds get back home,” Dorothy said, as she reached the turn in the path that led to the open roadway.
“Well, money’s all right,” admitted the girl, “but it wouldn’t do for me to show any just now. You see, there’s a lot of bad gypsies prowlin’ around here. Dad don’t mix in with them, but they’re wise, slick, you know. And if they should get next, see me limp, and find out I had fresh scratches, they’d get on to the swamp game quick. So I’ll have to lay low, and I’ll be much obliged if you will help me out, and tell the same to the young gents.”