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Page 46
That reminded Molly that they had ten cents yet. "Oh, Betsy," she
proposed, "let's take a nickel of our money for some pop-corn."
She was startled by Betsy's fierce sudden clutch at their little purse
and by the quaver in her voice as she answered: "No, no, Molly. We've
got to save every cent of that. I've found out it costs thirty cents for
us both to go home to Hillsboro on the train. The last one goes at six
o'clock."
"We haven't got but ten," said Molly.
Betsy looked at her silently for a moment and then burst out, "I'll earn
the rest! I'll earn it somehow! I'll have to! There isn't any other
way!"
"All right," said Molly quaintly, not seeing anything unusual in this.
"You can, if you want to. I'll wait for you here."
"No, you won't!" cried Betsy, who had quite enough of trying to meet
people in a crowd. "No, you won't! You just follow me every minute! I
don't want you out of my sight!"
They began to move forward now, Betsy's eyes wildly roving from one
place to another. How COULD a little girl earn money at a county fair!
She was horribly afraid to go up and speak to a stranger, and yet how
else could she begin?
"Here, Molly, you wait here," she said. "Don't you budge till I come
back."
But alas! Molly had only a moment to wait that time, for the man who was
selling lemonade answered Betsy's shy question with a stare and a curt,
"Lord, no! What could a young one like you do for me?"
The little girls wandered on, Molly calm and expectant, confident in
Betsy; Betsy with a very dry mouth and a very gone feeling. They were
passing by a big shed-like building now, where a large sign proclaimed
that the Woodford Ladies' Aid Society would serve a hot chicken dinner
for thirty-five cents. Of course the sign was not accurate, for at half-
past three, almost four, the chicken dinner had long ago been all eaten
and in place of the diners was a group of weary women moving languidly
about or standing saggingly by a great table piled with dirty dishes.
Betsy paused here, meditated a moment, and went in rapidly so that her
courage would not evaporate.
The woman with gray hair looked down at her a little impatiently and
said, "Dinner's all over."
"I didn't come for dinner," said Betsy, swallowing hard. "I came to see
if you wouldn't hire me to wash your dishes. I'll do them for twenty-
five cents."
The woman laughed, looked from little Betsy to the great pile of dishes,
and said, turning away, "Mercy, child, if you washed from now till
morning, you wouldn't make a hole in what we've got to do."
Betsy heard her say to the other women, "Some young one wanting more
money for the side-shows."
Now, now was the moment to remember what Cousin Ann would have done. She
would certainly not have shaken all over with hurt feelings nor have
allowed the tears to come stingingly to her eyes. So Betsy sternly made
herself stop doing these things. And Cousin Ann wouldn't have given way
to the dreadful sinking feeling of utter discouragement, but would have
gone right on to the next place. So, although Betsy felt like nothing so
much as crooking her elbow over her face and crying as hard as she could
cry, she stiffened her back, took Molly's hand again, and stepped out,
heart-sick within but very steady (although rather pale) without.
She and Molly walked along in the crowd again, Molly laughing and
pointing out the pranks and antics of the young people, who were feeling
livelier than ever as the afternoon wore on. Betsy looked at them grimly
with unseeing eyes. It was four o'clock. The last train for Hillsboro
left in two hours and she was no nearer having the price of the tickets.
She stopped for a moment to get her breath; for, although they were
walking slowly, she kept feeling breathless and choked. It occurred to
her that if ever a little girl had had a more horrible birthday she
never heard of one!
"Oh, I wish I could, Dan!" said a young voice near her. "But honest!
Momma'd just eat me up alive if I left the booth for a minute!"
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