Someone to watch over me

served some other purpose. A hideaway for hunters caught in bad weather? Maybe it was even a home at one time, and the windows had been boarded over. The woods were too thick and the vines too dense at the back to see if there had been a window there.
    As she was coming back along the side, Agatha let out a low growl. Not a serious growl, more of a curious one. A twig snapped. A step later, Lily ran into the young man she’d seen in town with the violin case.
    They both yelped with surprise and Agatha barked.
    The carrier of the violin had shrieked in a distinctly feminine voice, Lily realized. And looking more closely, she saw there wasn’t so much as a hint of a beard.
    “You’re a girl, aren’t you?“ Lily asked.
    “Yes, ma’am,“ the girl said, taking off her cap and releasing shoulder-length dark hair.
    “What are you doing here?“
    “Just looking for a place for me and my friends to settle down in the shade and rest a bit. It’s terribly hot, ma’am.”
    Three more girls dressed as boys crept out of the woods and joined her. “Trouble, Judy?“ one asked loudly.
    The girl looked at Lily for a moment and said, “I don’t think so. You don’t mind, do you, ma’am?”
    All four were slim young women wearing baggy men’s clothing. Nobody would have guessed the slender figures concealed by their trousers and big plaid shirts. None wore makeup. Two had very short hair almost like men; the other two, including the violin girl, wore boys’ caps that concealed their hair. Only one looked distinctively feminine. They were all dirty and sweaty, and their clothing was almost in rags.
    “I won’t tell anyone you’re here as long as you don’t steal and you tell me about yourselves. Bargain?“ Lily asked.
    “We ain’t stole nothing from nobody!“ the one who’d addressed the violin girl as Judy said belligerently.
    “Cynthia,“ Judy warned, in a soft voice.
    “If that’s true,“ Lily said, “I can probably find you a little food. And some soap if you’d like it.”
    Their eyes lit up. Lily had no idea if it was the mention of the food or the soap that caused it. The violin girl, Judy, was apparently the spokeswoman, and rightly so. She was obviously well educated and had good manners. “That would be generous, ma’am. But why do you want to know about us?“
    “Curiosity, I guess, Judy. My name’s Lily, by the way. I can’t imagine doing what you girls are doing. Or why. Think it over while my dog and I go back to our house. I’ll come back in a few minutes. Agatha, stop smelling everyone’s knees,“ she added. “Come with me!”
    Lily felt she had to explain to Mrs. Prinney why she needed half a loaf of bread, some cheese and pickles, and a bar of her treasured rose-scented soap. To Lily’s surprise, the older woman was willing to help out. “I feel so bad about those girls who are on the road. Imagine having no family except your girlfriends to rely on.“
    “Roxanne Anderson says they steal her vegetables,“ Lily felt honor bound to say.
    Mrs. Prinney shook her head. “I don’t know if that’s true. I wouldn’t like to think so anyway. You go get your soap, Lily. Agatha, get your head out of that paper bag! Dogs don’t eat lettuce.”
    When Lily returned to the kitchen, Mrs. Prinney had nearly filled the bag. Two loaves of bread. A half-dozen overripe plums. Three precious oranges. A spotlessly clean bottle of fresh water. Some clean rags to wash with, a head of lettuce. The last few slices of a ham and a little bottle of mustard and a butter knife to spread it.
    “Bring back the bottle and the knife,“ she said, turning away and brusquely touching a handkerchief to her eyes. “When I think of these girls and then think of my own daughters, I thank God my own are well.”
    The hobo girls were thrilled with the treat and seemingly surprised that Lily returned at all. “Cynthia said you’d gone for the police,“ Judy said. “I told her she was wrong. You seem like a nice person. I’m usually good at knowing who’s nice and who isn’t.“
    “I can’t take credit for anything but the soap,“ Lily admitted. “Like you, my brother and I have practically no money and no jobs. The woman we live with has four daughters not much older than you four, and it was she who gave you the food.“
    “You don’t have money or a job?“ Judy asked. “Why does this woman let you live with her and give away her food?“
    “It’s a long, boring story,“ Lily said. It was