"Just over there," she said, "not far from those bushes. She must have gone into them and got lost. I ran in the other direction when William came after me with the snake. Let's go down into the bushes and look for her. What is there on the other side, Francisco?"
"All bushes, thicker and thicker till you come to the road," said the Indian boy. "On the other side of the road there are more bushes, and after them a broad meadow like this."
"She couldn't get through them," said Walter. "They are so very close together and she is so timid—she would not try it."
Francisco inclined his head on one side and listened.
"Do you hear the horse's whinny?" he asked. "I have heard it three times since we came up here."
"No," replied the brother and sister. They had not heard any such sound.
"I have a thought," said the Indian boy. "I will go quietly through the bushes. There is no need for all of us. When I come back you may come along if you like. Just a stick for the snakes, and then I go."
Seizing a branch that lay at the foot of a tree, Francisco started to push his way through the thicket.
"Where do you suppose he has gone?" asked Nellie.