Page:Zodiac stories by Blanche Mary Channing.pdf/50

Rh calmly, "there is nothing to hear." And she dragged the younger child forward again. But three feet from the gate, Plum-Blossom got her hand free and ran back a yard or so.

"Come!" called her sister imperiously, but Plum-Blossom shook her head.

"Then I will go alone," said Cherry-Bloom, and, put on her mettle, she walked not only up to the gate, but in between the great stone posts, and out of Plum-Blossom's sight.

An utter silence followed, and the little watcher outside began to wonder if she was being eaten up. She felt nearly sure that Cherry-Bloom would have cried out if she had seen the Dragon. Still, the silence was too dreadful to be borne, and her love for her sister overcoming her fears, she ran to the gate, and entered the enchanted place.

Such a curious old garden—ruined pavilions and rare plants run riot, and little