All the time the Western girl sat in her corner and looked out of
the front window at the dreary landscape. It seemed too bad, Nan
Sherwood thought more than once, that Rhoda should have allowed
herself to become so frankly ignored by her schoolmates.

Nan missed her when the crowd got out of the car in Adminster. This
was a larger town than Freeling, and it was on the main railroad
line instead of a branch line, as Freeling was. But at that,
Adminster was not very metropolitan.

However, the stores fronting on the main street were rather
attractive shops. Bess and Grace, with Nan herself, had some things
to buy in the department store which was the town's chief emporium,
and they separated for a while from the rest of the party.

But when the trio entered the Mexican shop, which was on a side
street, there was the whole party of their schoolmates under Miss
March's charge.

Some of the girls had already made purchases, and all were excited
over certain finds they had made in the stock. Like all such stores
that are established for a few months only, and move from town to
town, there was much trash exhibited together with some really
worth while merchandise from the Southwest.

Not all of the girls knew how to select the good from the trashy
merchandise. There were a man, a woman, and a young girl who waited
on the customers, all dressed in Mexican costumes; they were too
wise to interfere much with the selections of the customers in any
department.