CHAPTER II
THE TEST THAT TOLD

“Mrs. Hobby’s Horses.” Betty laughed. “That’s really no great secret. Perhaps you didn’t notice it, but we’ve been sleeping in a stable.”

“A stable!” Norma stared. “A stable with polished floors?”

“Oh, they fixed them up, of course. But the row of buildings to which this belongs was all stables only a short while ago.”

“For horses?”

“Why not?” Betty laughed again. “Fort Des Moines has always been a cavalry post.”

“Oh! And I suppose it was from these very stables that cavalry horsemen rode thundering away to fight the Indians.”

“Absolutely!”

“How romantic!” Norma exclaimed. “But I still don’t see what that’s got to do with hobby horses.”