CHAPTER VIII
END OF THE SEARCH
When Grace and Naki had finally disappeared Bab put her head down onRuth's shoulder and cried bitterly.
"I am so frightened!" she sobbed. "If only I were lost instead of mylittle sister! Mother always trusts me to look after Mollie. I ought notto have let her go off alone!"
Ruth wisely allowed Bab to have her cry out, before she said: "Bab, dear,remember father said he relied on us to keep cool heads and strong heartsin any case of emergency. Now let's gather ourselves together. Let's sayover and over again: 'We will find Mollie! We will find Mollie!'"
Bab braced up at once and repeated quietly, "Certainly we will find her,Ruth dear."
Both girls were looking toward the woods. It was not yet night, but thedusk was falling quickly. Suddenly, off through the trees, the two girlsdistinctly saw a light that shone on a level with their eyes. Once,twice, then again, it sparkled through the underbrush.
"What is it?" Bab breathed faintly.
Ruth shook her head. "I don't know," she answered, under her breath.
The light advanced toward them; then it drew back again, never ceasing tosparkle. It seemed to be beckoning to them.
"Oh, Ruth," cried Barbara, "could it be a signal from Mollie?"
"How could it, Barbara, dear?" Ruth replied.
Both girls waited a little longer. The light came again. It seemed almostto call to them. Barbara started to her feet impatiently. "I must go andsee what it is," she declared.
"Wait a minute, Bab!" pleaded Ruth. It was second nature with Ruth to beready for emergencies. Rapidly she tore from a pad in her leatherknapsack a sheet of paper and wrote on it: "Bab and I are going into thewoods at the left. Follow the trail of the paper I shall drop as wewalk."
Like a flash she pulled off her white petticoat, and tied it to a bushnear the place where she and Bab had been sitting. The skirt flutteredand swung in the breeze. Beneath it, under a small stone, Ruth placed hernote.
"Come on, Bab!" she cried. "Let's be off!"
Barbara bounded ahead; Ruth closely followed, leaving behind her a trailof white paper which she tore into bits as she ran.
The light ahead of the two girls beckoned them deeper and deeper into theforests. They must have followed it for more than a mile. Ruth's paperwas giving out. Suddenly the light dipped to the ground and was gone!
At the same moment, Ruth and Barbara heard a sizzling crackling noise. Atongue of flame darted up between two distant trees, and a warm glow likethat of a camp fire lit up the shadows of the forest.
Ruth and Bab rushed to the spot. In the center of a small open space someone had lighted a fire. Sitting on a bank of autumn leaves, slowlyrubbing her eyes was a girl. A scarlet coat caught Bab's eyes; then atangle of yellow curls.
"It's my Mollie!" she cried, springing toward her and gathering her inher arms.
"Why, Bab," asked Mollie sleepily, "when did you and Ruth find me? I musthave been dreaming. I did not hear you make the fire. How did you happento light a fire before you awakened me?"
The girls stared at Mollie. "Build a fire?" they queried in amazement."Surely, Mollie, you made the fire yourself."
Mollie shook her head. "How could I possibly light a fire?" she inquired."I haven't a match." Then she smiled faintly. "I am not enough of an'early settler' to know how to make a light by striking two flintstogether. But please take me home." The little girl was too tired to careabout anything beyond the blessed fact that she had been found.
It was Bab and Ruth who were overcome with the mystery of the dancinglight that led them through the forest straight to Mollie. And who couldhave started the fire, that now roared and blazed, lighting the woodswith its many tongues of flame. What did it all mean? The mystery of itall gave them long, creepy thrills.
Barbara helped Mollie to her feet. The child was so stiff she couldhardly move, but as she arose something red dropped to the ground. Ruthpicked it up. "Why, it is Grace's sweater!" she exclaimed. "I am so gladyou found it, Mollie, before you went for your walk. What a blessed thingyou had it to keep you warm!"
"Grace's sweater! What are you talking about, Ruth? I didn't have it withme. I was nearly frozen. You or Bab must have brought it with you. Ifound it over my shoulders when I awoke," protested Mollie.
Ruth and Bab said nothing. There was nothing to be said. It was all apuzzle! Where was the clue to the mystery?
The two girls were leading poor, tired Mollie through the thick tangle ofshrubs, along which Ruth's bits of torn paper gleamed white and cheerfulpointing their pathway home. Even Mollie smiled on seeing them.
"If only I had remembered to play 'Hop-o-my-thumb,' Ruth, dear," Molliewhispered, "I needn't have created all this trouble. Do you think MissSallie will ever forgive me?"
"Indeed she will," Ruth assured her. "She will be so happy to see youagain, you poor, tired Mollie, she'll forget to scold!"
By this time the girls could hear the noise of voices and the beating ofbushes. "Here we are!" Ruth called out cheerfully. "Don't worry. We havefound Mollie!"
Naki burst through the opening. Ceally and Grace were with him and twostrange men from the farm below them on the hill.
Naki picked up Mollie in his arms as though she had been a baby, and theparty trudged on to their little log cabin.
At the top of the fateful ravine they found Miss Sallie. She could bearthe suspense of waiting no longer and had climbed up alone.
"Home for sure!" proclaimed Naki briefly, as he deposited Mollie, stillwrapped in Grace's red sweater, on the couch before the fire in theircosy living room.