“Oh, Dorothy!” gasped Tavia, both startled and troubled.
“Yes. It—it didn’t reach him somehow,” Dorothy said, and she could not keep the trouble entirely out of her voice.
“Oh, my dear!” repeated Tavia.
“And I am sorry,” her friend went on to say; “for now he will not know about the intentions of those men, Stiffbold and Lightly.”
“But, goodness! it serves him right,” exclaimed Tavia, suddenly. “He didn’t give us his right address.”
“He gave us no address,” said Dorothy, sadly.
“Why, yes! he said Desert City——”
“He mentioned that place and said that his land was somewhere near there. But he works on a ranch, which, perhaps, is a long way from Desert City.”
“That’s so,” grumbled Tavia. “I forgot he’s only a cowboy.”
At this Dorothy flushed a little and Tavia, looking at her sideways and eagerly, noted the flush. Her eyes danced for a moment, for the girl was naturally chock-full of mischief.