The Brownies watched the snow pelt on the train windows. Now and then they glimpsed a frozen lake80 in the distance. As the miles clicked away beneath the shining steel rails, the snows deepened.

80

“Another hour or two and we should reach Snow Valley,” Miss Gordon declared, looking at her watch. “Once we reach Deerford station, it wont take long to drive to the farm.”

“The coasting should be wonderful,” said Rosemary, pressing her face close to the car window. By now it was so dark she scarcely could see the white-coated trees and rooftops.

“I wish this old train would go faster,” Jane declared impatiently. “I can hardly wait to get to Deerford.”

Everyone except Veve shared her eagerness to reach the Gordon farm. The leader of the Brownies noticed the little girl’s downcast face and assumed that she still was troubled about nearly missing the train at Albion Junction.

“Cheer up, Veve,” she said. “Think of the delicious dinner Grandma Gordon will have waiting for us when we arrive!”

Veve tried to smile but succeeded only in making a grimace. She kept wondering what Miss Gordon and the Brownies would say when she told them about the lost luggage check.

Thinking about it made her rather tired and discouraged.81 She really had tried to act properly and never cause annoyance. Nothing seemed to go right.

81

“Except for Connie, the Brownies don’t like me very well,” she thought, feeling very sorry for herself. “Oh, dear, I almost wish I were back home.”

A tear trickled down Veve’s cheek. She was afraid to wipe it away for fear Connie or the other girls would see that she had been crying. So she closed both eyes tightly and counted the click of the rails.

The sound lulled Veve into drowsiness and slumber. Then she had a dream.

She thought she had arrived in a strange town. Grandfather Gordon could be seen motioning to her from the top of a spruce tree. Next he seemed to be floating along in front of her only a few feet from the ground. But no matter how fast she ran, she never could reach him.

The dream ended abruptly, as someone shook her arm.

“Wake up!” said Miss Gordon in her ear. 

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