She was so weak
and dizzy that she staggered back and threw herself on the bed like one
almost dead. The next day she was worse, and we thought we were going to
lose her. You saw how hard I cried, but most of my tears were caused by
the remembrance of my cruelty to her the night before."
"But, Katrina, you did right," said the father, who heard the affecting
incident for the first time. "It won't do to humor children so much: it
will spoil them."
"That may be, but I cannot help thinking of that all the time; it would
have done no harm to humor Nellie that time, for she was a good girl."
"You speak truth, but--"
The poor father, who tried so bravely to keep up, broke down and was
unable to speak. The story touched him as much as it did the mother.
"Never mind, Katrina--"
At that moment Nick called out:
"Here's the bridge!"
The structure loomed through the gloom as it was dimly lighted by the
lanterns, and all walked rapidly forward until they stood upon the rough
planking.
Suddenly the mother uttered a cry, and stooping down snatched up
something from the ground close to the planks.
The startled friends looked affrightedly toward her, and saw that she
held the lunch basket of her little daughter in her hand.
CHAPTER VIII.
STARTLING FOOTPRINTS.
On the very edge of the bridge over Shark Creek, the mother of Nellie
Ribsam picked up the lunch basket which her daughter had taken to school
that morning.
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