Cover design by Elle Staples

Cover illustration by Larissa Sharina

Inside illustrations by Charles Geer

© 2018 Jenny Phillips

www.jennyphillips.com

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

Originally published in 1958

Table of Contents

1. The School at Twillingate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2. A Sister for Juddie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

3. Christmas in Mountain Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

4. The Rescue of Pa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

5. The Silver Foxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

6. The Search for Rascal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

7. The Forest Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

8. A Dream Come True . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

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CHAPTER 1

The School at Twillingate

Juddie sat on the high wagon seat, proud to be driving the team. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pa watching him. Even though his arms ached, Juddie held the smooth, worn reins the way he had been taught, without too much slack.

As the horses plodded steadily along the mountain upgrade through the brisk October air, Pa said, “You do just fine for eleven years old.”

Juddie grinned. Pa seldom said words of praise.

Ever since they had left the farm early this morning, Juddie had been guiding the mares, Gypsy and Queen, toward Ponoka Pass. Except for Fox Falls Pass farther north, this twisting road was the only way eastward out of their valley.

Of course, Pa never let Juddie drive the team by himself. Much could happen that a boy would not be able to handle alone. One of the horses might

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stumble on a loose stone, or a wagon wheel get stuck in a deep rut.

At the summit of the pass, three white spruce trees grew close together on the cliff side. Some of their roots were bare from the earth crumbling away. This was because the rains and winds beat against them constantly. Several heavy branches arched overhead halfway across the road. Pa always gave the horses a breather here.

Juddie called out “Whoa!” and pulled the mares to a stop.

Glad for this chance to rest, he quickly wound the heavy lines on the brake handle and jumped over the wheel to the ground.

As Pa walked toward the back of the wagon to check on the load, the grim, hopeless look on his lean face filled Juddie with dismay. But he knew his Pa had plenty to plague him. The sudden hail storm this past summer had ripped through their fields, cutting down more than half their crops.

Juddie hoped the golden pumpkins, the potatoes

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and vegetables, the eggs and the dressed chickens they had with them today would bring in enough money for the supplies the family needed. But he knew that Pa was worried most about the payment due on their barn.

Standing at the edge of the road, Juddie stared back across the tops of the high ridges for a glimpse of their valley. From this distance the farm looked small. He did not know how much land Pa owned, but the whole village of Twillingate could be set down in the middle of their fields and with room to spare.

Looking up into Pa’s serious face, Juddie said, “Grandpa was lucky to find such a nice farm.”

Pa rubbed his jaw with a work-roughened hand. A thoughtful look came into his dark eyes. “Took more’n luck, son. Took him weeks to get here after long hours in the saddle. Then, after he found it, the land had to be cleared and plowed. Besides, it meant leaving his kinfolk far behind in Quebec. That took real courage. He never saw them again.”

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“Never, Pa?” Juddie tried to imagine how it would be if he were a young man of twenty. Would he be able to leave home, never to see Pa and Ma again?

“Your grandpa had no time to ride clear back across Canada to visit them. He spent all his time working on his land, once he had it.”

“Why did he come this far, Pa?”

Pa threw an arm around Juddie’s shoulders and smiled down at him. “His heart had been set on a mountain valley farm. He hoped to find it here in the Rockies. When he stood where we are now and looked across those peaks, he knew he had found the right place.”

Juddie leaned against Pa and sighed contentedly. “He must have wanted a farm of his own more’n anything else, Pa, to leave a home like that.”

“Yes, but he almost gave up,” Pa went on. “When he came to Twillingate, it was just a small trading post. The men he met there tried to discourage your grandpa. Said there was no such place. But

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