Hearing Via singing a quiet little song behind her as they moved slowly along, Jeanette had the grace to feel ashamed of herself.
Of course she adored Via, perhaps more than any one in the world at present. She was disappointed in her father and estranged from her former devotion to him. He might have been willing to make more of an effort to permit her to go East to school. They could not be so poor that an ordinary expense could not be met. To say that she and Lina might go later meant nothing, as the future did not interest her. It was the next few months, the next year that counted. From uncongenial surroundings and people she must make her escape.
An exclamation aroused her a second time.
"Jeanette dear, do you see? There lies the enchanted lake below us. It is more beautiful than I remembered it!"
Dismounting, the girls were hungry from their ride.
Broken bits of twigs fallen from the bushes that grew almost out of sheer rocks, Jeanette gathered and laid in a pile. As Via unpacked their box of lunch she lighted a fire more for the pleasure of seeing the small aspiring flames than for any actual need. The day was warm and they preferred the iced tea brought in a vacuum bottle to anything hot that could be boiled over their miniature fire.
Yet both girls kept the fire ablaze even after luncheon was over. Now and then one or the other would rise and wander about the foot of the cliff or about the edges of the lake, returning with a meagre supply of fuel.
By and by Jeanette spread out the blanket she had carried under her saddle and lay down.
"I am more tired than I realized, Via dear. Let the silly little fire go out if you wish, I intend taking a nap. I have been having a wonderful time lately with Mrs. Perry and her friends, but it has been more fatiguing than I realized. You are a peaceful child, I am glad you asked me to come with you to-day; when Lina and I are together we do nothing but argue."
A little while Jeanette slept.