CHAPTER EIGHT“We’ve made it to the top, Nelson!” cried Elissa, hugging the little dog in her arms.
She had been carrying him for almost half-an-hour, as his short legs had given up the struggle when the little path climbed steeply to the summit of the hill.
Now they were standing among tall craggy rocks, and the sunlit valley that lay below was revealed for the first time.
It was wonderful, at long last, to have arrived here at the end of the secret trail – and the only issue that now troubled Elissa was the blue cotton dress she was wearing for her walk.
When she had awoken with sunshine streaming in through her bedroom window and Ellen had brought in the dress – her cousin’s gift – it had seemed quite perfect.
Now Elissa was alone and as she remembered her Papa, she wished that Elle
