Justin stopped the buggy in front of a small, white building. “This is your new school, Andi,” he said cheerfully. “Doesn’t it look nice? It has fresh paint and even a brand new bell.”

Andi stared at her lap.

    Justin pointed to the roof of the school house. “Look up there. Your teacher will ring the bell when it’s time to go inside.

Andi looked up. Who cares about a bell?

Justin winked at her. “I heard Miss Hall might let the pupils take turns ringing the bell.” He turned to Melinda. “Isn’t that right?”

     Melinda nodded. “That’s what she said.”

Andi glanced at the bell with a little more interest.

“It’s time to go, girls,” Justin said. “Have a good day.”

Melinda hopped down from the buggy. She took Andi’s hand and helped her to the ground.

“Good-bye, Justin,” Melinda said. She gathered up her books and the dinner-pail. Then she yanked on Andi’s hand. “Come on. I’m so excited!”

Excited? Andi looked around the school yard. She was not excited. Not at all.

A dozen strange boys and girls laughed and ran in all directions. When they saw Andi and Melinda, they stopped running and grew quiet.

Andi’s stomach did a flip-flop. The strange children were staring at her. She stared back. She was so scared, she wanted to run away. She wanted to run all the way to Justin’s office. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and beg him to take her home.

There was one problem. She didn’t know where her brother’s office was. She’d get lost for sure.

“Melinda Carter!” A high voice called.

Melinda turned toward a giggling girl with curly red hair.

“Sarah!” Melinda yelled. She raced over to the girl and hugged her. Andi slowly followed. “I haven’t seen you all summer.”

“I spent the summer in San Francisco,” Sarah said. She grinned at Andi. “Who’s this?”

“My little sister,” Melinda said. “Her name’s Andrea.”

“Andi,” Andi mumbled. She held tightly to Melinda’s hand and stared at Sarah.

“Oh, she’s so cute.” Sarah giggled again. “Look at her darling little dress and pinafore. Do you get to brush her hair and dress her up? Just like a real doll?”  

Sarah took a breath and kept talking. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a little sister? Could I come out to the ranch sometime? We could dress Andrea up and play with her.”

Andi waited for her sister to tell Sarah she could do no such thing, but Melinda only smiled. Andi decided she would have to take matters into her own hands.

“My brother Mitch gave me a rattlesnake’s rattle a few weeks ago,” she told Sarah. “He cut it off and brought it home. It had dried blood on it. He said it’s the biggest rattle he’s ever seen. If you come out to the ranch, I’ll let you hold it.”

Sarah suddenly looked ill. Her face grew pale. She put a hand to her throat and shuddered.

“I . . I . . maybe sometime.” Sarah turned and ran for the schoolhouse.

“For goodness’ sake, Andi!” Melinda exclaimed. She put her hands on her hips and glared at her sister. “Did you have to tell Sarah about that old snake and its rattle? You’ve gone and made her ill.”

“Well, she was making me ill with all her talk about dressing me up like a china doll,” Andi replied. “I almost threw up.”  

Melinda sighed. “You’re impossible, Andi. You’d better not say disgusting things like that in the classroom. Miss Hall will put you in a corner. You’ve got to act like a little lady—even if you aren’t one.”

A loud, clear bell sounded.

“Oh, come on,” Melinda said. “School’s starting. I’m sorry I yelled at you. I know you’re scared.” She held out her hand and smiled.

“I’m not scared!” Andi insisted loudly. But she took her sister's hand. With a pounding heart, she put one foot in front of the other and let Melinda pull her up the wooden steps.

[Read Chapter 3]