Their luncheon was a quick affair of coffee, fish, and bread and butter; for they were too excited over the “finds” to take much time for eating. If there was a child lost what better “kind act” could they do than to search for her? Redtop and Bump had passed a farmhouse some distance back, which was the only hint of human life any of them had seen.
Billy decided to start immediately, and keep together till they came to the house. They would make that headquarters, to which any one finding any trace of the child should report.
“Perhaps there is no lost child; maybe the shoe was just thrown away,” Bump ventured.
“Who would carry a shoe into a forest to throw it away?” Redtop jeered.
“A dog might,” Billy returned, and the others laughed at Redtop.
They broke camp and hurried on, spurred by the apparent seriousness of the situation. The quest of the flag lost all zest beside the mere possibility of human life in danger.
Half a mile on, or more, they came to a comfortable-looking house where a woman was washing on the back porch. To their question she shook her head. No child was missing. She had one, and she had gone home from school the night before with her cousin to stay over Sunday. But when Hugh showed her the little shoe she caught at it and turned pale.
“That’s hers. Where did you find it?”
Hugh told her, and she became hysterical with fear. The men of the place were away on business, and the boys had to plan their search without help. Billy managed to learn from the excited mother the name of the cousin’s family and the direction of their ranch, where he sent Redtop and Bump to find out if the little girl had left, and when; and to arouse the few neighbors to the hunt.
Billy took the other three with him and set out to the spot where Fairy had found the shoe. This was near the lake shore; and as they noted the steep banks and how the green things grew close down and hung into the water, they chilled with apprehension.