“Let’s take a shortcut through the fields,” proposed Sunny who had wearied.
Accordingly, they rolled under a wire fence, and set off through the deep snow. Although the distance was much shorter than by the road, the drifts made walking very hard.
When the snow was firm, the girls could walk along quite easily. But every few feet the crust would give way, and down they would plunge, nearly to their waists. However, it was fun and even Miss Gordon did not mind.
“Who lives in that little cabin?” Connie asked as they drew near a lighted dwelling.
Although it was not yet supper time, shadows were deepening everywhere. In another half hour it would be very dark.
“Why, the Stones live there,” said Miss Gordon.
Smoke curled lazily from the cabin’s chimney. A shaggy dog lounged on the back doorstep. The Stone children were nowhere to be seen.
The Brownies trudged on, coming quite close to the cabin. There were no curtains or blinds at the windows. Without meaning to look the girls peered directly into the Stones’ kitchen.
Just inside the window stood a perfectly shaped Christmas tree! Strings of popcorn and cranberries were its only decoration.
Jane Tuttle saw the tree and clutched Connie’s arm excitedly.