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Show Nettie, Page 83 Nettie smiled through the tears which started in spite of her determination to keep them back. She climbed up onto the wagon seat, assisted by Papa. Wilbur clucked to the horse and the wagon rumbled out onto the road. Nettie turned to watch as the two figures stood waving from the yard. "It hurts more than I thought," Nettie said to herself. "I never dreamed it would be this hard," but she wiped away the tears and faced forward as the wagon turned a corner and Mama and Papa disappeared from sight. The wagon jounced and jiggled and Nettie kept one hand on the hard seat to steady herself. Wilbur was not a talkative sort and the journey was quiet except for an occasional grunt or nod when Nettie tried to make conversation. The sadness of the parting from her family eased somewhat as the realization settled on Nettie that she was actually on her way. Jeannette Peterson, age 14 (nearly), out on her own in the wide world! The excitement of it broke over Nettie until she wiggled and bounced without the help of the jolting wagon. The horses trotted steadily southwestward toward Cody. The sun was nearly directly overhead when Mr. Neilson pulled off to the side of the road and declared it was time for lunch. Nettie had little appetite, however, and scarcely touched the food Mama had packed in a small bundle for her. Mr. Neilson eyed it rather enviously, though, so Nettie offered most of it to him, for which he grunted a thank-you and proceeded to con- |
