Page:Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch.djvu/32

22 broken nose, found a chance to welcome the returned runaway.

"My! it's great to be a female prodigal, isn't it?" demanded Heavy, poking Jane Ann with her forefinger. "Aren't you glad you ran away East?"

The Western girl took it good-naturedly.

"I'm glad I came back, anyway," she acknowledged. "And I'm awfully glad Ruth and Helen and you-all could come with me."

"Well, we're here, and I'm delighted," cried Helen Cameron. "But I didn't really expect either Ruth or Mary Cox would come. Mary's got such trouble at home; and Ruth's uncle is just as cross as he can be."

Ruth heard that and shook her head, for all the girls were sitting on the wide veranda of the ranchhouse after removing the traces of travel and getting into the comfortable "hack-about" frocks that Jane Ann had advised them to bring with them.

"Uncle Jabez is in great trouble, sure," Ruth said. "Losing money—and a whole lot of money, too, as he has—is a serious matter. Uncle Jabez could lose lots of things better than he can money, for he loves money so!"

"My gracious, Ruth," exclaimed Helen, with a sniff, "you'd find an excuse for a dog's running