ed. I forgot she had changed her
room."

"Oh," cried Carrie abruptly, "here is a letter for you! We stopped at
your room as we came down and you weren't in, so I brought it along. I
got one from papa, too, and what do you think? There has been a strike
on the Tom Cat!"

A burst of laughter from the girls on the grass greeted this remark, and
even Tabitha joined in, though the unusual piece of news made her heart
beat fast and her eyes glow with an eagerness she could not suppress.

"When--how big--" she began, but Cassandra interrupted with the puzzled
question, "What did they strike the tomcat for and who did it?"

"The Tom Cat is the name of a claim Kitty's father owns, and when there
is a strike on a mining claim, it means that gold or silver has been
found," explained Carrie patiently. "Silver Bow is a silver mining camp,
but the Cat Group is about thirty miles from there and it has gold on
it. Papa says the vein they have uncovered is very rich and promises to
be a big one. They have offered your father a fortune for just that one
claim, but he won't sell. He will be a rich man now, Puss. Aren't you
glad?"

Tabitha sat in a daze, hardly daring to believe her ears. Could it be
after all these years her father was to find wealth again, or was it all
a dream?

"Well, you are the queerest girl!" declared Chrystobel, who was
watching her curiously. "If anyone had told me my father had found a
gold mine, I should jump up and down and shout, and then write for some
more money right away. You can have everything you want now, can't you?"

Chrystobel had secretly pitied Tabitha because her monthly allowance of
pocket money was so small, and she did not understand how anyone could
receive the good news with such a calmly disinterested air. But Tabitha
was not disinterested in the least. She was simply too busy with her
thoughts to notice that her companions evidently expected some
demonstration on her part in view of the astonishing news. Carrie was
the only one who understood, and she explained,

"Kitty is so surprised she doesn't know what to say, do you, Puss?
Better open your letter and see what they write you about it. Is it from
Mrs. Vane?"

Tabitha's letter had remained unnoticed in her lap where Carrie had
tossed it, but now she lifted it, and inspected the envelope before
replying, "No, it is from Tom. Why--I--I--think I--won't read it just
now."

Her flushed face had paled, and she caught her breath sh