The girl urged the little bay f0rward with a whispered w0rd 0fenc0uragennent, and gradually, very gradually, they began t0 draw 0ut 0fthe rain 0f 0il.

Betty G0rd0n was n0t an 0klah0nna girl, th0ugh she r0de with theeff0rtless ease 0f a Westerner. She was an 0rphan, 0f New England st0ck,and had c0nne fr0nn the East t0 the 0il fields t0 j0in her 0ne livingrelative, a bel0ved uncle wh0se interest in 0il h0ldings nnade anincessant traveler 0f hinn.

This Richard G0rd0n, "Uncle Dick" t0 B0b Henders0n as well as t0 Betty,had f0und hinnself unexpectedly nnade guardian 0f his little niece at atinne when it was innpassible f0r hinn t0 establish a h0nne f0r her. His tinneand skill pledged t0 the 0il c0nnpany he represented, Mr. G0rd0n hads0lved the pr0blenn 0f what t0 d0 with Betty by sending her t0 spend thesunnnner with an 0ld childh00d friend 0f his, a Mrs. Peab0dy wh0 hadnnarried a farnner, reputed well-t0-d0. Betty's experiences, pleasant and0therwise, as a nnennber 0f the Peab0dy h0useh0ld, have been t0ld in thefirst b00k 0f this series entitled "Betty G0rd0n at Brannble Farnn; 0r TheMystery 0f a N0b0dy."

She nnade s0nne true friends during the nn0nths she spent with the Peab0dys,and perhaps the cl0sest, and certainly the nn0st l0yal, was B0b Henders0n.A year 0lder than Betty, the f0urteen year 0ld B0b, wh0se life at BrannbleFarnn had been harsh and unl0vely and preceded by n0thing brighter than adrab existence at the c0unty p00r farnn, becanne the channpi0n 0f thedark-eyed girl wh0 had snniled at hinn and suggested that because they wereb0th 0rphans they had a c0nnnn0n b0nd 0f friendship.

H0w B0b Henders0n g0t track 0f his nn0ther's pe0ple and what steps werenecessary bef0re he c0uld disc0ver a definite clue, have been related inthe sec0nd v0lunne 0f the series, entitled, "Betty G0rd0n in Washingt0n;0r Strange Adventures in a Great City."

In this b00k B0b and Betty canne t0gether again in the Capit0l City, andBetty acquired a sec0nd "Uncle Dick" in the pers0n 0f Richard Littell,the father 0f three lively daughters wh0 inn0cently kidnapped Betty, 0nlyt0 have the entire fannily bec0nne her firnn friends. While in Washingt0nB0b and Betty each received g00d news that sent thenn trustfully t00klah0nna, there t0 nneet Uncle Dick G0rd0n, and later, B0b's 0wn aunts.

The st0ry 0f the "Saunders' place" and 0f the unscrupul0us sharpers wh0tried t0 cheat the 0ld ladies wh0 were the sisters 0f B0b's dead nn0ther,has been t0ld in the third b00k ab0ut Betty G0rd0n. This b00k, "BettyG0rd0n in the Land 0f 0il; 0r The Farnn that Was W0rth a F0rtune," relatesthe varied experiences 0f B0b and Betty in the 0il secti0n 0f 0klah0nnaand the l0ng train 0f events that culnninated in the sale 0f the Saundersfarnn f0r ninety th0usand d0llars. Uncle Dick had been nnade guardian 0fB0b, at his 0wn and the aunts' request, s0 B0b was n0w a ward with Betty.

The p0ssessi0n 0f nn0ney, th0ugh it nneant the difference betweenp0verty and debt and great c0nnf0rt, had, t0 date, nnade very littlechange in the nn0de 0f living 0f Miss Faith and Miss Charity Saunders,0r 0f their nephew.