“Oh, I’m all right,” Dorothy responded. But in spite of the brave assertion, Tavia knew that she was not all right, that she was fighting every inch of the way to keep herself erect in the saddle. Despite her effort to hide it, Tavia saw that she was trembling all over.
“Cold?” she asked, and again Dorothy shook her head, this time almost impatiently.
“Let’s go on,” she cried. “We must be very near the road by this time.”
But Tavia knew that they were not near the road. In fact, it was not very long before Tavia made a discovery that startled her. In the sudden fright that caught at her throat she must have made some sort of an ejaculation, for Dorothy, reining up beside her, called above the noise of the storm:
“Did you say anything, Tavia?”
“Nothing, except that we are not on the trail,” retorted Tavia calmly. “Dorothy, I am very much afraid that we are lost!”
CHAPTER XXVII
WHAT WAS THAT?
Dorothy stood very quiet for a moment, saying nothing, just staring at her chum.
Then suddenly she began to laugh—a wild sort of laughter that had tears in it.
Tavia looked at her sharply, then reached out a hand and gripped her hard.