“I’ve just had the fright of my life, that’s all. If you’ll give me a chance, I’ll tell you what happened.”
“The stage is all yours, sweet. But don’t give me any tall tale about being rescued by a Prince Charming disguised as a frog!”
Penny’s lips compressed into a tight line. “I can see you’ll never believe the truth, Lou. So I’ll prove it to you! Come with me, and I’ll show you the animal that nearly made mince meat of me.”
Treading single file, the girls returned the way Penny had come, to the end of the planks.
“Look over at the base of that big tree,” Penny instructed, pointing. “What do you see?”
“Nothing.”
“The boar that was shot—why, it should be there!” Penny scarcely could believe the sight of her own eyes. “But it’s gone!”
“It’s gone because it never was there. Penny, you’re suffering from too much heat.”
“I’m not! Neither am I imagining things! That old boar was there ten minutes ago. Either he came back to life and went off, or someone dragged him away.”
“And your mysterious rescuer?” Louise teased. “What became of him?”