human
That was taken only a few weeks before my little girl went away, she said.
gpt
She was just twelve then. I suppose she would look older now, but I can never think of Babs as growing up.
human
That picture reminds me of some one I know,
gpt
Who is it?
human
A girl who has been at my home since last summer, said Marjorie, who was beginning to feel cold and sick with excitement and apprehension, but was determined to go on now that she had begun.
gpt
She came to the ranch one day all by herself. She had walked all the way from the railroad. It was a very strange case; she had had an accident, and forgotten everything about herself, even her own name.
human
Forgotten her name! said Mrs. Randolph, incredulously.
gpt
What a curious thing--are you sure her story was true?
human
Oh, yes, quite sure. She was such a dear girl, we couldn't doubt her. Besides Father wrote to the people she had lived with since her accident, and they said everything Undine had told us was true. We called her Undine because it was pretty, and we didn't know her real name.
gpt
Poor child, said Mrs. Randolph, closing the miniature as she spoke.
human
Has she never remembered anything about herself since?
gpt
She hadn't a week ago, said Marjorie, wondering how her shaking lips formed the words,
human
I think such joy would be more than any mother could bear, said Mrs. Randolph, softly.
gpt
But such strange, romantic things don't often happen in this world, Marjorie dear. The poor child's mother is probably dead, or she would have found her long ago. How did the accident happen?
human
We--we are not quite sure, she said.
gpt
Undine says the people at the hospital told her a stone must have fallen on her head. She was found in San Francisco under some ruins, after--after the earthquake.
human
After the earthquake, repeated Mrs. Randolph in a strange, startled tone, and she grew suddenly pale.
gpt
Oh, poor, poor child! At least my little Barbara was spared those horrors. Why have you never told me about this girl before, Marjorie?
human
Because Beverly said it made you sad to have any one speak of the earthquake, and I couldn't have told Undine's story without mentioning it. It was dreadful, of course, but she was saved. Think of it, Mrs. Randolph, she was saved, and perhaps some time--