Connie gave an answering call. Then Mr. Stone and the two girls hastened on to meet the Brownie troop leader.
Soon they glimpsed her coming toward them through the slanting sheet of snow. Covered from hood to toe, she looked like a white ghost.
“Connie! Veve!” she exclaimed, giving them each a hug. “We’ve been so worried about you! I was afraid you were lost.”
“We were afraid we were too,” laughed Connie. “Mr. Stone found us.”
Miss Gordon thanked the man for guiding the girls to the road, and assured him she would now have no difficulty in escorting them on to the Gordon farm. The other Brownies, she explained, already were there, as a friendly neighbor had overtaken and picked them up in his sleigh.
“I came back alone to find you girls,” she told Connie and Veve. “Dear me, I never dreamed the storm would become so severe.”
Saying good-bye to Mr. Stone, the girls started on down the road with the Brownie leader. They wanted to tell Miss Gordon about seeing Mr. Gossart with the load of evergreens, but decided the story must wait. Walking took all their breath, making it too hard to talk.
Now at Grandmother Gordon’s home, all the Brownies were very worried about Connie, Veve and Miss Gordon. When finally, they saw them stumbling across the yard, they were waiting joyfully at the kitchen door.
Grateful for the warmth of the house, the three stomped in to shed their snow-covered garments. Grandmother Gordon had Veve and Connie sit in front of the stove with their feet toasting in the oven.
She served hot broth to everyone. After being out so long in the cold, it tasted good and made the Brownies feel warm through and through.