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“Surely not, if it were as tall then as it is now,” Babs replied, amused at the picture suggested by Betsy’s remark.

“Here it is! And such big iron gates as they are!” It was Sally who, having gone on ahead, turned to shout to them. They hurried to her side.

“This must have been a carriage entrance once upon a time,” Virginia remarked, “but the gates are fast shut with vines now. It is plain to see that they haven’t been opened for years.”

The underbrush within the grounds grew higher than the gate, and if there was a house it could not be seen.

“Hark!” the timid Sally whispered. “Didn’t you hear a noise just beyond the hedge?”

“Some little wild creature, probably,” Virginia remarked.

Betsy had again darted ahead of the others. There was little snow on the ground in the shelter of hedge and overhanging trees. She had been gone several minutes when they heard her shouting. “Here’s a hole that’s big enough for Sally to crawl through!” she said, when they reached her.

“Me? Well, I guess not! I’m not going to crawl all alone through a hole in that hedge and not know what’s on the other side.”