"Sarah has hurt her ankle," Joe hurried to say, and as his voice roused the man from his frightened attitude, he sprang up and reached to take his daughter from the young man's arms. "I had better put her on a couch," objected Ralph, "Her ankle seems quite painful." "What has happened?" asked the father opening the door of the sitting room and making ready the couch under the window. "The girls did it," gasped Sarah, "that girl there, Tavia Travers!" "You!" exclaimed the man, making a threatening move towards the accused girl. "It was an accident," interposed Dorothy, "we do not know how it happened; we found her under a tree in the orchard." "They do know," persisted the injured girl "They sent me up so high!--oh, get a doctor, quick!" Ralph had now placed Sarah on the couch, and "while Mr. Ford hurried to call his wife, Ralph and Joe hastened off for Dr. Gray, leaving the three girls together. "Tell us about it," Dorothy pleaded, not wanting to leave Sarah until she had obtained some idea of how the accident had occurred. "I'll tell Squire Sanders," answered the girl on the couch, "and then you will be arrested, every one of you who--who tried to kill me!" "Come!" whispered Tavia to Dorothy as Mrs. Ford appeared. "It only makes matters worse for us to be here." Then as the mother fell weeping by the couch Tavia and Dorothy left the room. CHAPTER VIII SQUIRE SANDERS AT SCHOOL Dorothy had always been able to influence Tavia, and to show her that to do right would be best in the end, although the doing of it might, at the time, seem very hard, and very unreasonable; but all her efforts now to induce her friend to go with her to school that afternoon and make the necessary explanation to Miss Ellis, were without avail--Tavia absolutely refused to go. "No matter what comes of it," Dorothy told herself, as she walked sadly along the path, through the lane back to the schoolyard alone, "I'll stand by Tavia. She meant no harm, and was no more to blame than any one else. But I do wish, she had come this afternoon. It looks as if she were afraid or guilty, to run away from it all." [Illustration: "WELL, THIS MATTER MUST BE FULLY INVESTIGATED," DECLARED THE SQUIRE] The fact that Miles Burlock had not appeared at the Dale home that morning, according to promise was of little interest to Dorothy now. Something might have happened to him. Of course, he certainly seemed determined to settle the business at once, but Dorothy's head and heart were too full of her school friends' troubles to give much thought to the Burlock matter. Major Dale had appeared concerned about it however, and had questioned Dorothy as to whether any one had mentioned to her, at school or on her way there, the fact that the strange man, likely Andrew Anderson, had been seen again in Dalton.