much excited as to what the next day would bring forth.




CHAPTER XIV

THE POOR LITTLE CALF


Nan awoke when it was still utterly dark. Nothing had frightened
her, and yet she felt that something really important was about to
happen--something wonderful! What it could be, she had no idea. Her
imagination was not at all spurring her mind. She only knew that
she was on the verge of a new and surprising experience.

There were three beds in the big room, and she could hear Bess and
Grace breathing calmly in their own cots. But she was wide awake.

Without speaking, or making any more sound than she could help, Nan
Sherwood crept out of bed. The air from the open windows was chill,
so she knew it must be near dawn.

She slipped her feet into slippers and shrugged her robe about her.
Then she crept to the nearest casement. She had to kneel to see
out, for the window, which looked to the east, was under the eaves
of the ranch house. The sill was only a foot above the floor.

Nan folded her arms on this sill and looked out into the velvety
darkness. A great silence seemed to brood over the country which