y accident like, and how should I know what you're going to do? Well,
good luck to you!"

They had not long to wait before the grinding of the brakes warned them
that the time was at hand, and in a few moments they stood beside the
track and waved their hands cheerily to the conductor, who, with an
expression of mock surprise on his face, had come out on the back
platform, and pretended to wonder how they had got off the car.

"Now I think it ought to be easy," said Bessie, greatly relieved. "You
see, Mr. Holmes will be watching the car. He probably knows all about
this line, and wouldn't think of our being able to get off and walk. So
what we want to do is to follow this road here and then turn east at the
first crossroads. That will bring us to the railroad track, and we can
cross it, and work down to the station at Tecumseh, and be safe all the
way. We'll cross the state line this side of the railroad, and then
we'll be all right."

Dolly began to sing for sheer happiness.

"We're awfully lucky, Bessie," she cried. "I'm ever so glad that things
seem to be coming out all right. If they'd caught you, I would always
have blamed myself and thought it was all my fault."

"Well, even if it was partly your fault in the beginning, Dolly, I never
would have got away from Jake Hoover without you, I'm sure of that. So
you needn't worry any more."

"It's awfully good of you to say so, Bessie. There's one thing--I'm not
going to be silly any more, the way I was about those ice-cream sodas
this morning. And I think--yes, I will--I'll promise you right now not
to have any soda or any candy between meals for a month. You think
they're bad for me, don't you?"

"I think they must be, Dolly, or the Camp Fire Girls wouldn't give honor
beads for doing without them. I've never had much of anything like that
myself, you see, so I don't really know."

"Well, I won't take them, anyhow. Oh, Bessie, but I'm hungry! I'd give
all the ice-cream sodas I ever ate for a big piece of beefsteak right
now! Aren't you hungry, too? I should think you'd be starved."

"I am pretty hungry, but I was so excited I'd forgotten about it, I
guess. Why did you remind me?"

"Well, maybe there'll be a store at Tecumseh, so that we can get
something to eat."

"Here's the crossroad, Dolly. Now we want to turn east. I don't think
we'll need to walk very far--three-quarters of a mile, maybe, and about
as much more back toward Tecumseh when we're once beyon