“Where’s Lou?” Bud looked around inquiringly. “She’s gone after him.” Bud laughed. “You bet she has. That gal’s got sense. She ain’t skeered o’ nothin’. Hope she’ll get him. Which way did he go, footback or horseback?” “He got his horse from the stable and went off flying,” Alison told him. “I don’t believe you’d ever catch him now. You’d better stop and have some breakfast.” “Can’t do it. We must try to catch up. Maybe we’ll come acrost Lou and she can tell us which way he went. We can strike his trail easy, I reckon, and kin spot him before night. We’ll stop on our way back and get you to identify him if we catch him. What did he look like?” Alison glanced at Pedro. “He seemed very heavy when we lifted him in.” Pedro grinned. “No so ’eavy. No larges mans,” he said. “Oh, I think he was very heavy,” insisted Alison. “Ole mans,” put in Pedro. “Oh, no, not so old as you, Pedro; he didn’t look so.” Pedro shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe is not. Pedro no is so ole. ’E ’ave no so many year as ’e ’ave a looks ole.” “I reckon that’s about so,” remarked Blythe. “These greasers age mighty soon. Well, never mind his age, Miss Alison, we’ll follow the trail.” They were off and the girls despatched Pedro to the performance of the morning duties while they took up their own tasks. They missed Louisa’s ready help and the chirruping song with which she enlivened her work, emphasizing the stirring up of flapjacks, the rolling out of biscuits or the scouring of a kettle by singing: “Chirping little cricket Singing in the thicket, Chirping do not cease.” “I certainly do miss the cricket this morning,” said Christine, as she wrung out the dish-cloth. Alison smiled and glanced out of the window. “Yes, and I miss seeing Lou’s blue sunbonnet in the garden patch. Why, Tina, there it comes. It is Lou, as I live! She’s coming back!” They flew to the door and beheld Louisa, indeed, plodding up the road. Seeing the two girls she snatched off her bonnet and waved it. “I’d know her blessed old red head if I didn’t know her bonnet,” said Alison. “I must go and meet her.” She ran out into the sunshine. “Oh, Lou, Lou,” she began before she reached the girl, “we were missing you so much. How good it is to see you back again. How did it happen that you came?” Louisa sat down on the front step and began to fan herself with her sunbonnet. The day was approaching noon and was warm. She had walked far and rapidly. “He thought I’d better come back,” she said; “not for good, but for a little while till this all blows over. I thought I’d ought to stay and take care of him, but he said he’d an old Mexican there that was used to doing for him and he’d been worse off. When he gets better he’ll come for me. I got him safe home. I was afraid he was going to faint by the way, but he didn’t.” “Bud and Blythe Van Dorn have gone after him.”