“It was!  And are you sure you don’t feel resentful toward me?”

“The idea!  Certainly not.  It was poor Dodo’s fault, in a way; but I blame those motorists more than anyone else.  They should be found.”

“They certainly made a lot of trouble,” admitted Grace.  “But I would rather find Prince than them.  I wonder where he could have run to?”

“Oh, probably not far, after he got over being frightened.  Doubtless you’ll hear of his being found, and then you can send for him, and recover the papers.”

“If only the saddle doesn’t come off, and get lost,” said Grace.  “That would be dreadful, for there would be no telling where to look for it.”

“Most likely it would be along some road.  Prince would probably keep to the highways, and if the girth should break and the saddle come off it would be seen.  Then, by the papers in the pockets, persons could tell to whom it belonged.”

“That is just it.  Papa doesn’t want anyone to see those papers.  Some of them have to be kept secret.  Oh, I know he will feel dreadful about the loss, and so will Grandma!  It was partly her property that was involved in the transaction.”

“But they can’t blame you.”

“I hope not.  I’ll never be forgiven by Will for letting Prince throw me and run away, though.  He’ll never let me take him again.”

“It was partly Will’s fault for not doing the errand himself,” declared Mollie, with energy.  “Then this might not have happened.  Of course I don’t mean,” she added hastily, “that I blame him in the least for what happened to Dodo.  But I mean the papers might not have been lost, for he would likely have carried them in his coat pocket, and not in the saddle.”

“That is what I should have done, I suppose,” spoke Grace with a sigh.  “But my riding habit had no pocket large enough.  Oh, dear!  I’m afraid it will be spoiled by the mud and rain,” for she had left it at Mrs. Carr’s and had borrowed a dress to wear home in the carriage, a dress that was rather incongruous in conjunction with her riding boots and derby hat.

“It can be cleaned,” consoled Mollie.  “No, Paul, not another bit of candy.  Don’t give him any, Grace.  He’ll be ill, and as I’ll have to look after him when mamma is away I don’t want to have it any harder than necessary.”

“Me ikes tandy,” remarked Paul.  “Dodo ikes tandy too.  Why not Dodo come wif us?” His big eyes looked appealing at his sister, and her own filled with tears, while those of Grace were not dry.

“Poor little Dodo,” said Mollie.  Then with a smile, and brushing away her tears, she spoke more brightly, “but we must not be gloomy.  I just know she will be all right.”

“I shall never cease praying that she will,” spoke Grace, softly.

They were splashing home through the mud.  The rain was still coming down, but not so hard.  The long, dry spell had broken, and it seemed that a continued wet one had set in.