The girl looked interested. Mary Lee had chosen the proper way to approach her. "We-alls ain't skeered of 'em," she drawled. "Maw shot one las' week, an' she come nigh gittin' another yessaday."
"Maybe it was the very one that scared us. I wish she had killed it. I wonder why we didn't see a light in your house. That is your house, isn't it?"
"Yes, we-alls lives hyah. They wasn't no light, 'scusin' the fiah, an' that died down arter supper. We-alls goes to bed with the chickens."
"We didn't get home till nearly midnight," Mary Lee told her, "and my, but I was tired. My cousin and I got lost from the rest and they had a great time finding us. If we had only gone on a little further, we should have come to your house, shouldn't we?"
"We-alls don't come aroun' that-a-way from town; we comes up the other side; it's a little mite furder but it ain't so steep."
"Oh, that's it. I wish we had known." Then feeling that she had established a sufficient acquaintance to put her important question she asked, "You didn't happen to find a little watch in the leaves, did you? My cousin lost it. He sets such store by it and we all came up the mountain this afternoon to help him find it."
For answer the girl put her hand down into the bosom of her frock and drew forth something which she held out in her palm. It was Phil's watch.
"Oh!" Mary Lee turned and called: "Polly, Polly, it's found! it's found!" She turned to the girl again. "Where did you find it? and please tell me your name."
"My name's Daniella Boggs," said the girl, taking a shy look at Polly Lewis who now came up.
Polly put out her hand and gently detained the girl who seemed about to flee. "We are so much obliged," she said. "My little brother was distressed at losing his watch. Where did you find it?"
The girl who had put one finger in her mouth, took it out and pointed to the heap of leaves by the log. It was evident that in stooping over to gather them Phil had dropped the watch.
Colonel Lewis moved toward them but Polly waved him off. She saw that the girl was too shy to stand more company, and she left her with Mary Lee, herself returning to her father. "Offer her a reward," he said. "Of course it was very honest of her. She could easily have said that she had seen nothing of the watch. Here," he took a bill from his pocketbook and handed it to Polly, "give her this and tell her we all thank her very much."