No one, not even Jo herself, could deny that she had a short temper.
That however, normally meant that whatever angered her was quickly forgotten, and the good-natured Jo prevailed once again.
But this time was a different matter.
Nothing anyone said, not even Mother's tender comforting words, could soothe the burning pain in Jo's heart.
"I will never forgive her," Jo sobbed into Mother's arms.
"I know you are very angry at this moment," Mother sympathized, "but don't utter words you may regret later."
Inside, Mother's heart wept with her second child.
Jo's beauty and charm, unlike Meg's or Amy's, was not immediately obvious to others.
Her strength came from deep inside her creative soul and shone in her writing.
This particular story was even more important to Jo because it was dedicated to her father.
To Jo, taking and destroying her story was the same as cold-heartedly stabbing her in the back then cruelly laughing at her.
"Even if I forgive Amy," Jo sniffed, "I don't think I will ever forget what she did."
Mother held Jo close and silently prayed that this matter would not ruin the relationship between her two daughters forever.
For the next couple of days Jo avoided Amy altogether.
When they happened to come across each other, perhaps at mealtimes, Jo stared at her coldly and moved away as if Amy had some contagious disease.
Amy found this chilly treatment far more painful than being slapped or pinched by her sister.
On several occasions Amy tried to catch Jo off guard when she happened to be in a somewhat good mood or at least smiling.
Each time, however, she was unsuccessful because Jo immediately stiffened and cooled when she saw Amy anywhere near her.
One afternoon, Laurie came over to cheer up his downhearted buddy.
At first Jo refused to accept what Laurie called his "special remedy" for the troubled heart─a good cry, a good laugh, and a good friend.
But later she changed her mind when she realized that Laurie did make her happier.
"See? It's not too difficult to smile, is it?" Laurie teased.
"I'm not smiling; I'm frowning because you're making my head ache," Jo muttered,
turning her head away to hide the corners of her mouth turning upward.
"I have just the thing for headaches!" Laurie shot his finger up as if he had just thought of a brilliant idea.
"Oh no," moaned Jo. "With all your remedies, you should be a doctor; not an artist, when you grow up, dear boy."
Flapping his hand to silence her, Laurie simply said, "Fresh air."
"I beg your pardon?" Jo laughed.
"You need fresh air to get rid of that headache!
And I know the best place for it," Laurie nodded knowingly.
"Whatever you say, Dr. Laurie," replied the obedient patient.
"Get your skates and meet me at my house," said Laurie, as he reached for the door handle.
"Oh, skating! Why didn't I think of that! I'll be over in two seconds!"
Jo clapped her hands excitedly and ran out of the room.
If Jo had turned around as she crossed the living room, she would have caught sight of Amy, pretending to be interested in a book,
but secretly listening to their conversation.
Jo, however, was too excited to notice anything.
In the woods behind the March house and Laurence mansion was a pond that froze over every winter.
Some years it was even safe to skate on.
"Brookes says the ice may not be thick enough in the middle but we should be able to skate along the edges," Laurie pointed out.
"I'm not afraid. Are you?" Jo asked.
"Of course not," Laurie replied hotly, "but we should be careful because the water will be freezing cold if you fall in."
Jo tied the laces on her skates and stood up.
"I'll race you around the pond. Loser has to carry the winner home!"
With that Jo sped off, letting out a loud yell.
Laurie hurriedly tied his laces and shot after her.
Amy was relieved to see Jo behaving more like her usual self, though she still disapproved of her sister's tomboyish ways.
Amy quickly put on her skates, determined to corner Jo while Laurie was around.
She felt confident that this would be the day that Jo would forgive her so they could be at peace once again.
"Jo!" she called out to the small figures on the opposite side of the pond.
Hearing her name, Jo looked up but when she saw who was calling, her smile quickly turned into a scowl.
She stopped abruptly, nearly causing Laurie to crash into her.
"What's the matter?" Laurie cried breathlessly.
"What is she doing here?" Jo pointed irritably to her sister who waved while trying to balance on her skates.
Amy wobbled on her feet and carefully stepped onto the icy pond.
Unfortunately for her, she hadn't heard Laurie's warnings about the middle of the pond.
Wanting to reach Jo and Laurie as quickly as possible, Amy began to skate toward them, cutting across the center of the pond.
"Oh no! Amy! Stop! Don't skate there!" Laurie shouted.
Amy could not hear exactly what Laurie was shouting.
Her only focus was on reaching Jo.
"Amy! Stop! Go around the edge of the pond!" Jo cried, swinging her arms frantically.
What happened next occurred in a flash, but to Jo everything seemed in slow motion.
Amy tilted forward as if she had tripped over something, then she glanced down and immediately jerked her head up, searching for an escape.
Jo heard a slight cracking noise like distant thunder, followed by a splash.
"Amy!" Jo screamed as she saw her sister disappear rapidly beneath the icy waters.
Everything that had happened between her and Amy vanished from Jo's thoughts
as the only fear that gripped her now was that she might never see her little sister again.
Jo started to skate toward the hole Amy had fallen into, but Laurie grabbed her before she could go any further.
"It's too dangerous," he spun his head around and located a large fallen branch. "Help me with this!"
Laurie and Jo got the branch and carefully skated closer to where Amy's head was bobbing in and out of the water.
"Amy! Grab this! We'll pull you out!" Jo yelled as she and Laurie pushed the branch toward the hole.
Somehow Amy heard her sister's instructions and grasped the branch with her cold, weak hands.
"Hold tightly!" Laurie shouted, as he and Jo pulled Amy out of the freezing waters.
When they had gotten Amy to safer ground, Jo threw her own coat over Amy's shivering little body.
Laurie did the same, even taking off his wool sweater and covering Amy's head with it.
"We have to get her home, now!" Laurie said in an unusually authoritative voice.
Jo was not about to argue with her friend.
She was glad that someone was taking charge of the situation, because she had never felt so helpless in all her life.