.

With a grave expression in his kind gray eyes, he said,

"There, there mother, I wouldn't get too frightened. Prue's out of sight?
Well, I'll start out ter find her, and we'll hope that she is not so far
off but that I shall soon bring her home." But to the mare he muttered as
he adjusted the harness,

"This is bad business, Snowfoot. Two little folks lost and no idea where
ter look for 'em."

And while two households were wild with fear, while Mr. Weston and Joshua
Babson were driving in every direction, stopping at the door of the
farm-houses to enquire if the children were there, or had been seen, the
two little ones who were the cause of all this commotion were still
walking wearily down the road, Prue hoping yet to see the cars which
should take her to Randy, and Hi beginning to think that he had lost his
way. The last glint of yellow had faded from the western sky, as Hi
proposed that they cut through the woods to "gain time," he said.

"Oh, I'm 'fraid to go into the woods when it's getting dark," wailed Prue.

"But me'n Uncle Joshua did the day we went the shortest way," said Hi,
"an' this looks just like the place. _I_ ain't 'fraid so you needn't be,
an' we've _got_ ter go the quickest way because it's gittin' late."

Prue gave her hand to Hi, and together they entered the woods, trudging
wearily on toward the place where, between the distant trees they could
see the western sky. Their tired little feet stumbled on, tripping over
fallen twigs, and gnarled roots of the great trees. Prue was crying now
and Hi, anxious to keep up, at least a semblance of the big boy and
protector, made desperate efforts to swallow the lump in his throat which
was growing larger every moment. Prue had lost her lunch basket, but she
held Randy's letter tightly clasped in her hand, and the basket was
forgotten in her eagerness to keep a firm hold upon the treasured missive.

"Oh, Hi, I've _got_ to sit down again, I'm so tired, and I'm cold, too,"
she cried.

Hi, with all his faults, was a kind-hearted little fellow, so with a deal
of gallantry he pulled off his jacket, saying,

"This'll make ye warm, Prue, I'm a big boy so I don't mind."

Hi heaped a mass of dry leaves together, saying,

"We might lay down on these leaves jest a few minutes 'til we're a little
warmer, an' then when we're rested we'll go on again. We _must_ be 'most
there now, Prue."

By snuggling closely beside her, the boy endeavored to make up for t