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-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30088 ***

-

-[Illustration: Cover]

-

-

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-

-

-

-Popular Stories.

-

-

-BY AMY BROOKS.

-

-Each beautifully illustrated by the Author.

-

-THE RANDY BOOKS.

-

-12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.

-

-          RANDY'S SUMMER.

-          RANDY'S WINTER.

-          RANDY AND HER FRIENDS.

-          RANDY AND PRUE.

-          RANDY'S GOOD TIMES.

-          RANDY'S LUCK.

-          RANDY'S LOYALTY.

-          RANDY'S PRINCE.

-

-

-

-

-For Younger Readers.

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES.

-

-Large 12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Set in large English

-type. Price $1.00 each.

-

-          DOROTHY DAINTY.

-          DOROTHY'S PLAYMATES.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT SCHOOL.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE SHORE.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE CITY.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT HOME.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S GAY TIMES.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE COUNTRY.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S WINTER.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S HOLIDAYS.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S VACATION.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S VISIT.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT CRESTVILLE.

-

-

-THE PRUE BOOKS.

-

-12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.

-

-          LITTLE SISTER PRUE.

-          PRUE AT SCHOOL.

-          PRUE'S PLAYMATES.

-          PRUE'S MERRY TIMES.

-          PRUE'S LITTLE FRIENDS.

-          PRUE'S JOLLY WINTER.

-

-          A JOLLY CAT TALE. Large 12mo. Cloth. Profusely Illustrated.

-          Price      $1.00

-

-[Illustration: "HERE! HERE!" CRIED DOROTHY, AND ECHO ANSWERED,

-"HERE,--ERE!"--_Page 4._]

-

-

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-BY

-

-AMY BROOKS

-

-          AUTHOR OF "DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES," "THE RANDY

-          BOOKS," "THE PRUE BOOKS," AND

-          "A JOLLY CAT TALE"

-

-_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR_

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          BOSTON

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

-

-

-

-

-          DOROTHY DAINTY

-          TRADE-MARK

-          Registered in U. S. Patent Office

-

-          Published, August, 1911

-

-          COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

-

-          _All Rights Reserved_

-

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-

-

-

-

-

-          Norwood Press

-          Berwick & Smith Co.

-          Norwood, Mass., U. S. A.

-

-

-

-

-CONTENTS

-

-

-  CHAPTER                        PAGE

-

-     I. AT THE CLEVERTON            1

-

-    II. A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE      21

-

-   III. AN ENTERTAINMENT           42

-

-    IV. IN A BIRCH ARBOR           62

-

-     V. THE MOUNTAIN PARTY         81

-

-    VI. THE ECHO CAPTURED         101

-

-   VII. FLORETTA'S RETURN         122

-

-  VIII. AT THE FAIR               141

-

-    IX. FLOSSIE'S LETTER          162

-

-     X. A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS     182

-

-    XI. ARABELLA MAKES A CALL     201

-

-   XII. A SERENADE                222

-

-

-

-

-ILLUSTRATIONS

-

-

-  "Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered,

-    "Here,--ere!" (_Page 4_)                    _Frontispiece_

-

-                                                  FACING PAGE

-

-  Often she looked back, as she sped over the road      32

-

-  "Oh, what a lovely, _lovely_ story!" said Dorothy     66

-

-  With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough,

-    wiry vines                                         120

-

-  She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her

-    reflection                                         176

-

-  She offered two cards to Floretta                    210

-

-

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER I

-

-AT THE CLEVERTON

-

-

-THE great hotel on the crest of the hill was bathed in sunlight that

-poured from a rift in the clouds, as if sent for the sole purpose of

-showing the grand portico, the broad piazza, and the flag that floated

-gracefully on the summer breeze.

-

-Its many windows seemed to be looking across the valley to opposite

-mountain peaks, and one could easily imagine that its wide, open

-doorway, smiled genially as if offering a welcome to all arriving

-guests.

-

-Two little girls ran across the lawn, the one with flaxen curls, the

-other with sunny brown ringlets.

-

-The fair-haired little girl had eyes as blue as the blue blossoms that

-she held in her hand, while her playmate's eyes were soft and brown, and

-told that her heart was loving and true.

-

-The little blue-eyed girl was Dorothy Dainty, and the child who clasped

-her hand was her dearest friend, Nancy Ferris.

-

-Nancy had no parents, and a few years before Dorothy's mamma had taken

-her under her care and protection, and she was being trained and

-educated as carefully as was Dorothy, the little daughter of the house.

-

-They had come to the Hotel Cleverton to spend the summer, and the first

-few days of their stay, they had explored all the land that lay

-immediately around the hotel, and had found many beautiful spots, but

-one thing held their interest,--they loved the echo, and never tired of

-awakening it.

-

-"Come!" cried Dorothy. "Run with me over to the white birches, and we'll

-shout, and listen!"

-

-Mrs. Dainty had told them the story of Echo, the nymph, who for loving

-Pan and following him and calling to him had been changed into a huge

-rock on the mountainside, and forever compelled to mock each voice she

-heard.

-

-The old legend of the nymph had caught their fancy, and often they

-paused in their play to shout, and listen to what seemed to them the

-voice of some fairy of the mountains.

-

-Now they stood beside the birches, Dorothy with one arm around a white

-trunk, and Nancy near her. At their feet were countless bluebells,

-overhead the blue sky, while across and beyond the valley rose the

-mountain capped by white clouds that looked as soft as swan's-down.

-

-"Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered, "Here,--ere!"

-

-"Listen!" cried Dorothy, clasping her hands, and laughing with delight.

-"It answers as if it was a truly voice that heard and replied.

-

-"Nancy, I love you!" she cried, and again they plainly heard:--

-

-"Love you-oo!"

-

-They thought it great fun to shout and call, and hear their cries so

-cleverly repeated.

-

-And now another child ran out from the great doorway, paused a moment as

-if looking for some one, then, seeing the two little figures near the

-clump of birches, stole softly near them.

-

-On tiptoe, and with tread as soft and noiseless as a cat, she made her

-way over the short grass, until she was quite near them. Then, hiding

-behind a low bush, she watched them. How still she stood! For what was

-she waiting? Her bold eyes were full of mischief, as she whispered, "Oh,

-hurry _up_!"

-

-Dorothy Dainty put her hands to her mouth, trumpet fashion, and called:

-

-"Come and catch us!" and instantly the echo from the distant mountain

-and a shrill voice behind them, repeated:

-

-"Come and catch us!"

-

-"Oh, oh-o!" cried Dorothy, and Nancy ran to her, and threw her arms

-about her.

-

-"You ought not to frighten Dorothy like that!" cried Nancy.

-

-A saucy laugh answered her.

-

-"Well, it isn't nice to be shrieked at, and you do it just like the

-echo, you know you do, and it's enough to frighten any one," said Nancy.

-

-The little tease was not in the least abashed. She could imitate almost

-any sound that she had ever heard, and each success made her eager to

-repeat her efforts at mocking.

-

-"I made old Mrs. Hermanton fly up out of her chair, and drop her ball of

-worsted and knitting-needles, when I shouted close to her ear."

-

-"Why, Floretta!" cried Nancy.

-

-Now you think that was horrid, but _I_ tell you it was funny. She'd just

-been telling about her darling little lap-dog that died _ten years

-ago_, and she got out her handkerchief to cry, and put it up to her

-eyes.

-

-"'Oh, if I only could hear his lovely bark again!' she said, and right

-behind her chair, I said:

-

-"'Ki-yi! Yip! Yip!' and she jumped up much as a foot from her seat."

-

-Nancy laughed. How could she help it? The old lady had told every man,

-woman, and child who sat upon the piazza, how much she had suffered in

-the loss of the dog.

-

-One testy old gentleman who was troubled with gout, spoke rather

-plainly. "Madam," he said, "I've heard that story every day of this

-week, and all I can say is, I wish you had gout in your feet as I have,

-and you'd have no time to waste crying for a puppy!"

-

-He certainly was hopelessly rude, but one must admit every day is far

-too often to be forced to listen to an uninteresting tale.

-

-Floretta stood looking down at the toe of her shoe. She moved it from

-side to side along the grass for a moment, then she spoke again.

-

-"You know old Mr. Cunningham has gout, and is awful cross?"

-

-Dorothy and Nancy nodded. They did indeed know that.

-

-"Well, he sat on the piazza and laughed when I scared Mrs. Hermanton, so

-I want to know if he'll think it's funny _every_ time I do things. You

-know he puts one foot up on a chair, and every time any one touches that

-chair ever so little, he cries: '_Oh_, oh, oh!' and holds on to his

-foot.

-

-"The next time I'm near him, I'm going to make b'lieve hit my foot

-against something, and then I'll cry out, just 'zactly as he does:

-

-"'_Oh_, oh, oh!' and I'll hold on to my foot," said Floretta.

-

-"I know it's funny," said Dorothy, "but I don't think you ought to."

-

-"Well, _you_ needn't. P'raps you couldn't do it just like other folks,

-but I _can_, and I'm going to!" said Floretta.

-

-She was a handsome child, but her boldness marred her beauty.

-

-She was, indeed, a clever imitator, but she had been told so too often.

-Her mother constantly praised her cleverness, and unwise friends

-applauded her efforts, until Floretta acquired the idea that she must,

-on all occasions, mimic some one.

-

-Sometimes those whom she mocked thought it clever, and laughed when they

-had thus been held up to derision.

-

-At other times Floretta found that she had chosen the wrong person to

-mimic, and had received a sharp rebuke.

-

-This taught her nothing, however.

-

-She thought any one who did not enjoy her antics must be very

-ill-natured, while her silly mother considered that Floretta had been

-abused.

-

-While Dorothy and Nancy were talking with Floretta, they were picking

-large bouquets of bluebells and a tiny white flower that grew as

-abundantly as the bluebells, and blossomed as freely.

-

-It pleased her, for the moment, to gather some of the blossoms, and soon

-the three were too busy to talk, each trying to see which could gather

-the largest bouquet.

-

-On the hotel piazza Mrs. Paxton sat, occupied with her embroidery, but

-not too busy to talk. She was _never_ too busy to talk, if she could

-find any one to listen.

-

-Near her sat two ladies who had just arrived, and old Mr. Cunningham,

-who frowned darkly at the magazine that he was trying to read.

-

-It was not that the story displeased him that he frowned, but that he

-was bored with hearing what Mrs. Paxton was saying, mainly because she

-always said the same thing.

-

-"You see, with our wealth and position, it is impossible that little

-Floretta should ever make any use of her talents for any purpose other

-than the amusement of her friends," she said.

-

-One of the two ladies, whose fine face and sweet low voice bespoke

-refinement, looked fixedly at Mrs. Paxton, and wondered that any woman

-should be willing to boast so foolishly.

-

-The other, whose garments told of a great love of display, seemed

-interested, and even impressed.

-

-"What is her especial talent?" she asked, "I really should like to know.

-Is she musical?"

-

-"O dear, yes," Mrs. Paxton hastened to reply; "she plays delightfully,

-and she has a voice that is really quite unusual for a child; she

-dances, too, but her greatest gift is her power of imitation. She has a

-sensitive nature that is open to impressions, and she sees the funny

-side of everything. She really is a wonderful little mimic. You must see

-her to appreciate her charm."

-

-The quiet woman looked as if she thought this a doubtful accomplishment,

-but the one who had eagerly listened said:

-

-"Where is she? I should be _so_ pleased to see her. Not all children are

-so interesting. Many are dull."

-

-"And lucky they are!" growled old Mr. Cunningham, under his breath, but

-the ladies did not hear that.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-"I don't want these flowers now I've picked them," cried Floretta. "You

-can have them if you want them," she said, as she turned toward Dorothy.

-

-"I can't hold any more than I have," said Dorothy, "but you could--"

-

-"Then here they go!" cried Floretta, as she flung them broadcast, to lie

-and wilt in the sunlight.

-

-"Oh, it was too bad to throw them away," said Dorothy. "I was going to

-say, if you didn't care for them, perhaps Mrs. Hermanton might like

-them. She said she liked wild flowers and used to pick them, but her

-rheumatism won't let her pick them now."

-

-"Pooh! I wouldn't have bothered to take them back to her," Floretta

-replied; and turning about, she ran back to the hotel.

-

-"Come here, Floretta!" said Mrs. Paxton. "This lady wishes to see you."

-

-Usually Floretta when asked to do anything, preferred to do something

-else.

-

-This time, thinking that she saw an opportunity for a lark, she went

-promptly and paused beside her mother's chair.

-

-"This is Mrs. Dayne, Floretta. Mrs. Dayne, this is my little daughter."

-

-Floretta looked up and smiled, but said nothing. She had never been

-taught that she must reply courteously when spoken to.

-

-Her pretty face pleased Mrs. Dayne, who was much the same sort of woman

-that Mrs. Paxton was. She wished that Floretta could be induced to

-perform.

-

-_Induced!_ She was already wondering if she would have a chance to show

-off.

-

-The opportunity came soon, and she was delighted.

-

-Mr. Cunningham had become drowsy, and his magazine dropped to the piazza

-floor.

-

-In stooping to recover it, he hurt his gouty foot, and cried out.

-

-"_Oh_, oh-o!" he cried, and like an echo, "_Oh_, oh-o!" cried Floretta,

-catching hold of her own foot and hopping wildly about.

-

-Of course Mrs. Paxton laughed gaily, as if Floretta had done a very

-smart thing, while Mrs. Dayne, who was as silly a woman as Mrs. Paxton,

-joined in the merriment, thus hoping to gain favor with her new friend.

-

-Mr. Cunningham, without a word, took his magazine and, limping

-painfully, left the piazza, and went indoors.

-

-Mrs. Vinton, an odd expression on her fine face, took her parasol from

-the chair where it lay, and went for a walk down the path toward the

-birches. She was disgusted with Mrs. Paxton, Floretta, and Mrs. Dayne,

-although she felt that the little girl was least of all at fault.

-

-She was only an untaught, untrained child, to be pitied rather than

-blamed. She knew that they would think her very unkind if she did not

-seem to approve of Floretta, and she could not laugh at cruelty.

-

-The child was indeed a clever imitator, but the fact remained that it

-_was_ cruel to mock an outcry caused by pain.

-

-Dorothy and Nancy were coming toward her, on their way toward the hotel,

-their hands filled with blossoms, faces bright and smiling.

-

-They greeted her gaily, and Dorothy offered her some of the flowers.

-

-"I'll give half to you, and half to mamma," said Dorothy. "I mean, I

-will if you'd like to have them."

-

-"It is a sweet gift, and I shall enjoy them in my room," Mrs. Vinton

-said. "I have a lovely vase that is worthy to hold such beautiful

-blossoms."

-

-"I'll divide mine between Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton," said

-Nancy.

-

-"You both like to give," said Mrs. Vinton.

-

-"Oh, yes!" they cried together, and as she left them, Dorothy said:

-

-"Isn't she a sweet, lovely lady?"

-

-"Yes, and I like to hear her talk, her voice always sounds so pleasant."

-

-Mrs. Vinton, as she walked along the little path, her flowers in her

-hand, thought of Dorothy and Nancy.

-

-"They are two dear little girls," she said, "and add to the charm of

-this lovely place."

-

-"Would you dare to give Mr. Cunningham some bluebells for his

-buttonhole?" said Nancy. "I'd like to, but _I_ wouldn't dare."

-

-"I don't know," Dorothy said. "I'd like to, too, and he 'most always has

-a rosebud, but sometimes he doesn't. When we get back, if he's on the

-piazza, and hasn't a bud in his buttonhole, I'll try to dare to offer

-him some of these blossoms."

-

-Dear little Dorothy! She wondered if she would be rewarded with a

-frown!

-

-Floretta and her mother were not there, neither was Mrs. Dayne, but in a

-shady corner sat Mr. Cunningham.

-

-Nancy ran in to take her flowers to Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton.

-

-Dorothy hesitated. She would have been even more timid, had she known

-how recently he had been offended.

-

-He looked up from his book, frowned, then smiled and nodded pleasantly.

-

-He had thought that Floretta had returned, and was pleasantly surprised

-to see Dorothy, instead.

-

-Softly she crossed the piazza until she stood beside him.

-

-"May I give you a few of these bluebells for your buttonhole?" she said.

-"They're only wild flowers, but they're pretty ones," she added, fearing

-that, after all, he might not care for them.

-

-"Why, thank you, my dear. I surely would like them, especially as they

-are offered me by a real little lady."

-

-He placed the cluster that she offered him in his lapel, as he spoke,

-and looked to Dorothy for approval.

-

-"They are wild flowers, truly," he said, "but I think they are quite as

-attractive as the buds I have been wearing," and Dorothy was glad that

-she had offered them.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER II

-

-A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE

-

-

-THREE weeks had passed, and as nearly every day had been fair, the

-guests at the Cleverton had lived out of doors, appearing at the hotel

-at meal-time, and at night.

-

-Other wild flowers beside the bluebells were blossoming gaily, peeping

-up from the grass as if offering a welcome to all who looked at them;

-and even great rocks and ledges held tiny blossoming plants in their

-crevices.

-

-The pony, Romeo, had come to the mountains with the family, and seemed

-to enjoy the outing.

-

-Every morning Dorothy and Nancy went for a drive, and Romeo tossed his

-mane, and pranced as if to show his delight.

-

-One morning the pony was standing at the porch, waiting for his little

-mistress, who soon came running down the stairs.

-

-Floretta was standing in the hall, spinning a top.

-

-A sign on the wall plainly stated that children must not play in the

-hall, but that did not disturb Floretta.

-

-Deftly she wound the string, and the great top fell to the floor, where

-it hummed and spun as rapidly as if a boy's hand had flung it.

-

-She picked it up, and again wound it, this time throwing it with even

-greater force.

-

-"Look! Look!" she cried. "I b'lieve it spins faster every time I throw

-it!"

-

-Dorothy looked over the baluster at the humming top, but said nothing.

-

-She knew that Floretta had seen the notice; indeed a number of the

-children had stood in the hall when it had been tacked up.

-

-Looking up at Dorothy, Floretta noticed the whip in her hand.

-

-"Riding?" she asked.

-

-"Yes, for a little while," said Dorothy. "It's a lovely morning, and I

-mean to see how quickly Romeo will take me to the 'Spring.'"

-

-"I wouldn't care to ride horseback," said Floretta, rudely.

-

-"You won't care to spin tops in this hall if Matson catches you," cried

-a shrill voice, from an upper hall.

-

-"Pooh! I'm not afraid of Matson," Floretta said, boldly, looking up at

-the boy who had tried to frighten her.

-

-"Oh, aren't you?" said the boy in a teasing voice. "Well, he manages

-this hotel, and he'll _make_ you stop if he catches you!"

-

-"You stop, Jack Tiverton!" cried Floretta.

-

-"You'll be the one to stop!" said Jack, with a loud laugh.

-

-Dorothy crossed the hall, stepping around Floretta, who stood exactly in

-the way.

-

-Looking back, she saw Floretta show the tip of her tongue to Jack, while

-Jack, not to be outdone, made a most outrageous face.

-

-"I wish they weren't so horrid!" Dorothy said to herself, as she left

-the hall.

-

-Having mounted Romeo, with the groom's aid, she rode off down the

-lovely, shady road, the man on his horse, following at a respectful

-distance.

-

-She touched the pony lightly with her whip, and he responded by breaking

-into a gentle gallop.

-

-Dorothy's bright curls flew back from her flushed face, and she laughed

-as she flew over the road.

-

-The groom watched her admiringly, and marvelled that so small a girl

-could be such a perfect little equestrienne.

-

-The ride had brightened her eyes, and she always looked smaller than she

-really was when mounted upon Romeo.

-

-He was a handsome animal, with flowing mane and tail, and the groom

-spoke truthfully when he muttered:

-

-"Them two makes a high-bred pair. Miss Dorothy is a girl 'ristycrat, an'

-the little hoss is a hoss 'ristycrat, if ever there was one."

-

-The groom had been in the service of the Dainty family but a few

-months, but in that time he had become devoted to the little daughter of

-the house. All the servants loved Dorothy, and were almost as fond of

-Nancy Ferris.

-

-The young groom had heard Nancy's story, and he felt a deep interest in

-the little girl, who once had been a waif.

-

-Now, his pleasant face wore a smile as he followed Dorothy, and saw how

-firmly the little figure stuck to the saddle, and rode as if girl and

-pony were one and inseparable.

-

-They reached the "Spring," a spot whose beauty drew all travellers to

-it, and artists lingered there to paint, and thus perpetuate its charm.

-

-Romeo looked down at the clear stream that reflected his figure so

-perfectly.

-

-"He wants a drink," said Dorothy; "lead him to a good place, Thomas,

-please."

-

-He helped her to dismount, and then led the pony to a shady spot where

-he could drink, and enjoy the cool, clear water.

-

-Dorothy at once commenced to gather some of the lovely wild flowers that

-grew near the water's edge, but farther up the stream.

-

-"These are different from any that I've ever found here," she thought.

-

-Her hands were nearly filled with the lovely blossoms, and she was

-reaching out to grasp an especially pretty one, when a strangely

-familiar voice, just behind her, said:

-

-"I think I see some one I've _often_ seen before!"

-

-Dorothy turned, and a little cry of surprise and pleasure escaped her

-lips.

-

-There were Mrs. Barnet and dear little Flossie coming toward her, while

-very near her was the owner of the voice, Flossie's handsome,

-merry-hearted Uncle Harry! Just behind him was his lovely young wife,

-and the baby in charge of a maid.

-

-"Oh, I _am_ glad, _so_ glad to see you!" cried Dorothy. "And Flossie

-Barnet, did you know you were coming up here, when I said 'good-by' to

-you and Molly Merton at Merrivale?"

-

-"I didn't know _surely_, but I _almost_ knew," Flossie admitted, "but

-Uncle Harry said, 'Don't tell 'til you _know_,' and I didn't _truly_

-know until after you were gone."

-

-"Well, it's fine to have you here," said Dorothy, "but I do truly

-b'lieve it's almost nicer to be surprised, and have you;" and she threw

-her arm around Flossie, as she walked beside her.

-

-Tall, handsome Uncle Harry thought he saw a chance for a bit of a joke.

-

-"I wonder why some one isn't surprised to see _me_?" he said.

-

-"Oh, I am," said Dorothy, "and glad, too."

-

-"Well, thank you," said Uncle Harry; then with a face that he tried to

-make sad, he said:

-

-"But I know you aren't as glad as you were to see Flossie, because,--you

-didn't put your arm around _my_ waist!"

-

-He had tried to look very glum, but his blue eyes were laughing.

-

-Big, handsome Uncle Harry could not look woebegone, and the two little

-girls laughed at his attempt.

-

-"The barge is taking our party over to the 'Cleverton,' and I see you

-have the pony, Dorothy," said Uncle Harry. "Will you run a race with the

-barge?"

-

-"Oh, yes, yes!" cried Dorothy, "and Romeo will come in ahead!"

-

-"If he does," said Uncle Harry, "I'll surely decorate him with a blue

-ribbon!"

-

-With many a laugh and jest, and much guessing as to which would be the

-winner, the merry party clambered into the barge; Dorothy mounted Romeo,

-and they were off over the road, on the way to the hotel.

-

-The horses, like the average barge horses, were not beauties, but they

-saw the pony rush forward, and they made an effort at speed. They

-plunged forward, at what, to them, seemed a reckless pace, but the fine,

-handsome Romeo shot past them, his nostrils dilated, and his eyes

-bright with excitement. Dorothy's gay laugh rang out as she passed them,

-and Uncle Harry, as he looked after the flying figure, exclaimed:

-

-"The little fairy! I believe no other child could ride so fearlessly as

-that!"

-

-Often she looked back, as she sped over the road. Try as they would, the

-old horses could not overtake her.

-

-As soon as the barge appeared in sight between the trees, she touched

-Romeo lightly with her whip-stock, and then she laughed gaily as he

-plunged forward, the old barge rattling along far behind.

-

-She did not permit Romeo to again slacken his pace, and thus arrived at

-the Cleverton before the barge was in sight, so slow had been its

-progress.

-

-"Oh, Nancy!" she cried, "Who _do_ you think has come?"

-

-[Illustration: OFTEN SHE LOOKED BACK, AS SHE SPED OVER THE ROAD.--_Page

-31._]

-

-"Who has come?" Nancy asked. "Where are they?"

-

-"I mean you can't guess who is coming, and there they come now, Nancy,

-just look!"

-

-Nancy did look, saw the barge swinging around the curve of the road, saw

-a tiny handkerchief waving, and then a sweet little face looked out to

-smile at her.

-

-"Oh, it's Flossie Barnet!" cried Nancy, joyfully, "and her mamma,

-and,--why, yes it _is_! It's Flossie's Uncle Harry!"

-

-He heard the cry, and heard the welcome in her voice.

-

-"Yes, it's Flossie's Uncle Harry, and all the other little girls' Uncle

-Harry who care to claim him for an uncle," he said, with a laugh, as he

-lifted his little niece down from the barge.

-

-"Oh, I'm _so_ glad he came, too," said Dorothy, upon hearing which, he

-turned and lifting his hat, bowed, thus acknowledging the compliment

-that she had paid him. His eyes twinkled with pleasure, for he loved

-children, and he valued their regard. He was a big, manly fellow, with a

-warm heart, as loving, and as merry as that of a child.

-

-The Barnet party added much to the pleasure of little events and

-entertainments at the Hotel Cleverton. Flossie became, at once, a

-favorite with the other children, and her charming mother was deservedly

-popular with all.

-

-Uncle Harry, who possessed a fine voice, willingly sang whenever a

-musical program was arranged for an evening, while his lovely young

-wife, who was an accomplished pianist, played his accompaniments, or

-rendered solos, thus generously adding to the pleasure of the other

-guests.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-"I tell you what it is," said old Mr. Cunningham, "that big bank of

-clouds hanging over that mountain means rain, and plenty of it, I

-believe."

-

-"I think you are right," said Uncle Harry, "and if we _do_ have a three

-days' rain, as we sometimes do, we shall have to use every effort to

-keep things humming, and so forget the storm."

-

-They had been sitting on the piazza, and talking of the days of

-uninterrupted sunshine that they had enjoyed, when, in a few minutes,

-the blue sky had been hidden, as if by a thin, pearly veil, while

-hanging over the mountain was the mass of leaden clouds that had seemed

-to prophesy rain.

-

-"Oh, _I_ don't want it to rain," wailed Floretta, who stood near them,

-her pretty face puckered into a most unpleasant frown.

-

-"I'm afraid the weather can't be arranged especially for you," said Mr.

-Cunningham.

-

-He, like all the guests, was very tired of the child who was either

-whining, or boisterously, rudely gay. Just at this point, Mrs. Paxton

-came out on the piazza, a small note-book and pencil in her hand.

-

-She hastened toward the two gentlemen, and smiled as if she were

-conferring a favor.

-

-"With the chance of a stormy evening, we are trying to arrange a program

-that will give us a pleasant evening indoors," she said. "I am sure you

-will help me."

-

-She had smiled at both, and old Mr. Cunningham, who heartily disliked

-her, was only too glad to reply.

-

-"I'm not musical, madam," he said, "but I'll whistle 'Hail Columbia' for

-you, if you will promise not to reprimand me if I get off the key."

-

-"Dear, dear!" she cried. "You are always so amusing. One never knows if

-you are joking, or serious."

-

-"It would be very serious, and no joke, I assure you, if you were

-actually obliged to listen to my whistling," was the curt reply, and he

-turned once more to scan the sky and the distant mountains.

-

-Uncle Harry, of course, agreed to sing, his wife promised to play, and

-Mrs. Paxton moved toward where Mrs. Dainty and her companion, Aunt

-Charlotte, were sitting, with Dorothy and Nancy near them.

-

-"Will your little daughter sing for us this evening?" she asked. "We

-are eager to have quite a fine program."

-

-"Dorothy shall sing for you, surely," Mrs. Dainty said, "and Nancy, I am

-sure, will give a little solo."

-

-"Oh, does Nancy sing or play?" Mrs. Paxton asked, in surprise, for thus

-far Nancy had not exhibited her talent, whatever it might be.

-

-"She will give you a solo that shall be neither singing nor playing,"

-Mrs. Dainty replied, with a quiet smile.

-

-"How very interesting!" said Mrs. Paxton. She had invited Dorothy to

-sing because other guests had expressed the wish to hear her.

-

-Here was a _second_ child with talent of _some_ kind! Well, Floretta's

-imitations of other people would certainly eclipse the efforts of the

-other little girls! Mrs. Paxton's sole idea in arranging the

-entertainment was for the purpose of showing Floretta's mimicry.

-

-A small figure paused a moment in the doorway, then stepped back, and

-peeped out, scanning the groups upon the piazza.

-

-"She isn't there!" he whispered. "She's backed out, an' she _said_ she'd

-do it!"

-

-He drew back into the shadow, and waited, hoping that when he looked

-again he might see her.

-

-A second peep at the guests on the piazza showed that Floretta was not

-among them.

-

-"She didn't _try_ to do it!" he muttered.

-

-He held something in his hand, which he kept behind his back.

-

-He was about to peep again when a light hand touched his shoulder.

-

-He turned, and there stood Floretta, looking prettier than usual in her

-short white frock, white shoes, and pink hair ribbons.

-

-"Did you get one?" whispered Jack.

-

-"Look!" said Floretta, and from behind her back she produced a long

-corn-cob. "I took mine from the table at noon, when ma wasn't looking,

-and ran from the dining-room, and hid it in our room," said Floretta.

-"How did you get yours?"

-

-"I asked the head waiter to get mine for me," said Jack, "and he acted

-as if he thought me a ninny. He gave it to me all the same, and asked

-what I was up to. I didn't tell him, though."

-

-They giggled softly.

-

-"Ready?" whispered Jack, softly.

-

-"Yes," whispered Floretta, and then, with corn-cobs held to their

-mouths, and their fingers working as if playing upon flutes, they

-marched out on to the piazza, loudly singing, "Hail Columbia."

-

-Some of the guests laughed, none so loudly as Mrs. Paxton, who declared

-that it taxed her intellect to imagine what put such outrageously funny

-notions into children's heads.

-

-"I can answer that, madam, and without trying very hard, either. It's

-Satan, madam, Satan, who from watching their actions, takes them to be

-his near relatives," said Mr. Cunningham.

-

-Meanwhile the little procession of two, encouraged by the laughter,

-marched in and out between the groups of guests, until unlucky Floretta

-let her corn-cob slip from her fingers, the moist, sticky thing falling

-upon the light silk skirt of a lady who sat near Mrs. Paxton.

-

-"There, there, Floretta, never mind," said Mrs. Paxton; then turning to

-the wearer of the gown, she said, "I don't think it will stain it in the

-least. Children will be children, and must have their fun!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER III

-

-AN ENTERTAINMENT

-

-

-MRS. PAXTON had laughed at what she chose to call the "funny" antics of

-Floretta and Jack, but in truth, she had been very angry.

-

-She swept from the piazza, Floretta, firmly grasped, walking beside her.

-Jack Tiverton's mother took him to her room, where she could talk to

-him, without fear of interruption.

-

-Floretta sat on a low divan, sullen and obstinate.

-

-For twenty minutes she had listened, while her mother had told what a

-disrespectful thing she had done.

-

-"I don't see how it was not respectful," grumbled Floretta, "we were

-just having a little fun."

-

-"And it was fun at my expense," said Mrs. Paxton. "I was annoyed, just

-when I was making plans for a _fine_ entertainment, to have you and that

-boy parade out on to the piazza with those old corn-cobs, singing, or

-rather _howling_, like young savages!"

-

-This, and much more Floretta was forced to listen to, but during the

-remainder of the scolding, she did not speak, or reply in any way.

-

-She was still very sullen when her mother left the room, and no one saw

-her until she appeared in the dining-room at dinner.

-

-She tasted one dish after another, but managed to eat but little dinner.

-She wished her mother to think that the scolding had made her ill.

-

-It proved to be wasted effort. Mrs. Paxton had been so interested in

-what Mrs. Dayne was saying that she had not noticed that Floretta let

-the various courses go untasted.

-

-She had hoped to worry her mother, but had only punished herself!

-

-She was very hungry when they left the table, and also very angry.

-

-"I might just as well have eaten my dinner," she muttered, "she never

-noticed that I didn't."

-

-When the hour arrived that had been set for the concert, every guest was

-present, and all were talking and laughing gaily, and very glad that an

-evening's amusement had been provided.

-

-Outside, the rain was descending in torrents, while a cold wind whistled

-around the corners, as if demanding admittance.

-

-Indoors the heavy red hangings were drawn over the lace draperies, great

-logs blazed in the fireplaces, while over all softly shaded lights gave

-an air of cozy comfort that made one feel sheltered and safe from the

-storm.

-

-A group of ladies sat chatting together, and one, a recent arrival, was

-saying that she had understood that children were not permitted as

-guests at the Cleverton.

-

-"There are only a few children here," Mrs. Vinton said, "and some of

-them are charming."

-

-"While others are _not_?" questioned the stranger, with an odd smile.

-

-"I'd rather not say just that," Mrs. Vinton said, "but I will say that

-Mrs. Dainty's little daughter, and Dorothy's little friend, Nancy, and

-Flossie Barnet, are three of the sweetest children I have ever met. My

-stay here is brighter and far pleasanter because they are also here."

-

-"Dorothy Dainty is an unusually fine singer for a child," another lady

-said, "and she is to sing for us to-night. I believe Nancy Ferris is to

-do something, but I do not know what. Does any one know if Nancy sings?"

-

-"I've not the least idea what her talent is," said a pleasant-voiced

-matron, "but she is such a bright, interesting child that I feel sure

-that whatever she is able to do at all, she will do exceedingly well."

-

-"Aunt Vera is to play a solo for the first number," said little Flossie

-Barnet, to a lady who sat near her.

-

-"That is delightful," said the lady, "and what are you to do?"

-

-"Oh, I'll listen, and listen," said Flossie, "and then, I'll clap to

-show how much I liked what the people did."

-

-"And your friend Dorothy is to sing," said the lady, "do you know what

-Nancy does?"

-

-"Oh, yes, I do!" cried Flossie, "and she does it so lovely, you'll

-wonder how she could! I'm not to tell _what_ she'll do, none of us are

-to tell. You'll _see_ when she does it!"

-

-"Dear little girl, you seem quite as happy as if you were to be a

-soloist," said the lady.

-

-"Why, yes," said Flossie, "for when the other little girls do pretty

-things, I see them, but I couldn't see myself do anything!"

-

-"Oh, you sweet, funny little girl," the pleasant-faced lady said, as she

-drew Flossie closer, "I never knew so dear a child."

-

-"Dorothy and Nancy are dear," said Flossie, "and oh, you haven't seen

-Molly Merton! She's another one of my little friends, and she's _always_

-lovely to play with. We're always together when I'm at home at

-Merrivale."

-

-Before the lady could express regret that she did not know Molly, the

-orchestra began the opening chords of an overture.

-

-The musicians gave an afternoon and evening concert daily, throughout

-the season, but to-night their numbers were to be interspersed with

-solos given by the guests.

-

-The orchestra was generously applauded, and then a slender figure in a

-gown of soft, pink satin seated itself at the piano, and with light

-touch and brilliant execution, played a rondo that delighted all.

-

-In response to repeated applause, she played the "Caprice Hongroise,"

-which aroused wild enthusiasm.

-

-She smiled, and bowed gracefully in acknowledgment, then turning toward

-her husband, who now stood beside her, took from his hand the duplicate

-of the song that he was to sing. She always played his accompaniments.

-

-How full of music was his rare voice, how like the tones of a silver

-trumpet when he sang "A Song of the Sea," how tender his tones when for

-a second number, he sang an "Italian Love Song!"

-

-"Didn't he sing _fine_, just _fine_?" Flossie asked, eagerly.

-

-"Indeed he did," the lady replied, "I never heard a more excellent

-voice."

-

-"Well, he's my own Uncle Harry!" said Flossie, a world of love and pride

-in her voice.

-

-A young girl played a serenade on the guitar, and a member of the

-orchestra played a waltz for violin, and both were encored.

-

-Those who were to perform were in a small room awaiting their turn. They

-were laughing and chatting while they waited, and all, save a little

-girl, who kept apart from the others, seemed bright and happy. Her eyes

-were dull, and her red lips pouting. It was Floretta Paxton, and she was

-watching Nancy Ferris, noticing every detail of her costume, and looking

-as unpleasant as possible.

-

-Nancy wore a frock of white gauze, thickly strewn with tiny gold

-spangles. Her girdle was white satin, her slippers were white, and she

-wore a cluster of pink rosebuds in her hair.

-

-"What's she going to do?" Floretta asked in a fretful voice, but Mrs.

-Paxton, who stood beside her, could not tell her that. She knew no more

-of Nancy's talent than Floretta did.

-

-Floretta had been angry in the afternoon; she had foolishly refused

-dinner, and was very hungry; she was made more angry because hers was

-not the first number on the program, and now, here was Nancy Ferris

-wearing a beautiful frock that far outshone her own!

-

-She was wearing a simple pink muslin, and had felt that she was finely

-dressed, until Nancy appeared.

-

-The satin girdle, the white slippers, and the spangles were more than

-she could forgive.

-

-"What's she going to _do?_" she asked again, more fretfully than before.

-

-"I _don't know_," Mrs. Paxton said.

-

-"Well, I won't do a thing 'til I do know!" said Floretta.

-

-Silly little girl! Always a jealous child, she now thought that Nancy

-_might_ be another impersonator or imitator, and she was nearly wild.

-

-The orchestra was now playing a dreamy waltz. Nancy's foot tapped the

-measure. Her eyes were brighter.

-

-"What _is_ she going to do?" whispered Floretta.

-

-The tall man, who had been announcing the numbers, now swung aside the

-portière, and Nancy slipped from her chair, ran out upon the stage, and

-then,--oh, the fairy motion of her arms, the lightness with which, on

-the tips of her toes, she flew across the stage!

-

-With her finger-tips she lifted the hem of her skirt, and courtesied

-low, then away in a dreamy whirl she sped, turning to look over her

-shoulder, and laugh at the faces that showed greatest surprise.

-

-On swept the strains of sweetest music, and little Nancy, carried away

-with love of the music, danced more charmingly than ever before.

-

-Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty watched her flying figure, and often as

-they had seen her, they knew that she was excelling herself.

-

-"Nancy, Nancy, dear child!" murmured Aunt Charlotte.

-

-Now, with her feet crossed, and still on the tips of her toes she

-whirled like a top, did the graceful rocking step, swayed like a flower

-in the wind, whirled about again, courtesied once more, and laughing

-like a merry, dark-eyed sprite, ran back into the little waiting-room.

-

-Oh, what thunders of applause greeted her, yet she sat quietly chatting

-with a lady who stood near her!

-

-Again and again they seemed to be begging that the little dancer might

-return.

-

-"I'll bow to them," said Nancy, and she ran out to do so.

-

-"Once more, once more!" cried an eager voice, and then more clapping,

-and even a few shrill whistles from some very young men begged her to

-respond.

-

-She extended her arms for a second, then whirling rapidly, she repeated

-the last half of the dance, courtesied again, and when she ran back to

-the little room, Dorothy embraced her tenderly.

-

-"Oh, Nancy darling!" she cried, "you never danced finer. Do you know how

-pleased every one is?"

-

-"I danced to please and surprise them," said Nancy. "I _do_ love to see

-people look happy. They couldn't remember how hard it was raining while

-I was whirling and dancing for them."

-

-Floretta, now more unhappy than before, turned so that she might not see

-Nancy, nor note the shimmer of her spangles.

-

-Mrs. Paxton, who had been talking with a friend, now turned toward

-Floretta.

-

-"Come!" she said, "now run out, and do your very best, Floretta."

-

-"I'm not going out!" said Floretta.

-

-"What an idea!" cried Mrs. Paxton. "Of course you'll run out, and show

-every one how cute you are. Why, I planned this entertainment just to

-give you a chance to show off!"

-

-"And made me the last one on the whole list!" snarled Floretta.

-

-"Come, come!" cried her mother, "every one couldn't be first. I thought

-I'd have the others perform first, and then _you_ could show who was the

-smartest! Come! They're just wild to see what you can do, and they're

-waiting."

-

-"They'll _have_ to wait!" hissed Floretta, like a cross little cat.

-

-It was no use to urge, plead, or insist. Floretta was stubborn, and when

-once she had determined what she would, or would not do, nothing could

-move her.

-

-Prayers and threats were equally useless.

-

-Dorothy sang very sweetly, and was cordially received.

-

-Uncle Harry and his wife sang a charming duet that delighted all, the

-orchestra played a military caprice, and then the remainder of the

-evening was spent in a little, informal dance.

-

-All was light, laughter, and music, and there were two kinds of music

-that gladdened their hearts,--the sweet music of the violins, and the

-still sweeter melody of happy voices!

-

-Silly little Floretta had ruined the evening for no one save her own

-jealous little self.

-

-Because she could not be the first on the program, she would not appear

-at all, although, at heart, she longed to show her really clever

-mimicry. Later, after having sulked during the early part of the

-evening, she refused to join the dancers, and ran away to her room,

-angry, very angry with every one save the one person who was really at

-fault,--herself.

-

-Her efforts at imitating would surely have amused, and would, doubtless,

-have been well received. She was rather a graceful dancer, in any of

-the ordinary ballroom dances, and she thus might have joined the other

-children when the concert was over. She had needlessly spent a most

-unhappy evening.

-

-Now, in her room, she heard the strains of the orchestra, and for the

-first time realized how foolish she had been.

-

-"I _had_ a chance, and I lost it," she sobbed, but her tears were not

-tears of grieving. They were angry tears, and the droll part of it was

-that while she alone was at fault, she was angry with every one but

-herself.

-

-For a few moments she lay, her face hidden in her pillow. Then, she

-turned over into a more comfortable position, and softly she whispered,

-"I'll do enough to-morrow to make up!"

-

-She did not say _what_ she intended to do, but the idea evidently

-pleased her, for she laughed through her tears.

-

-She sprang from her bed, found a box of bonbons that her mother had won

-as a prize in an afternoon whist party the day before, and crept back

-into bed. When she had eaten nearly all of the candy, she sat up and in

-the softly shaded light, looked at the box with its few remaining bits

-of candy. She was wondering where she could hide it.

-

-"Ma will surely notice the empty box, or anyway, I've made it _almost_

-empty," she said. "She might not miss it if I hid it!"

-

-She had never been taught to be honest, so whenever she did a naughty

-thing, her first thought was to hide, or cover up the act. She never

-felt regret.

-

-No one ever heard her gently say, "I'm sorry."

-

-Softly she crept from her bed, and made her way across the floor to the

-dressing-case.

-

-She put the box upon the floor, and pushed it well under it, and wholly

-out of sight.

-

-"There!" she whispered. "That's all right. I would have finished the

-candy, but I didn't want the whole of it. I ate the best of it. The

-others weren't very nice."

-

-Down in the long parlor the guests were no longer dancing.

-

-They were resting, and listening to a lovely barcarolle played softly by

-the orchestra.

-

-Flossie, clinging to Uncle Harry's hand, drew him toward the window.

-

-"Look!" she said, as she parted the curtains. "It isn't raining now, and

-the moon is coming out. It will be pleasant to-morrow! And it has been

-lovely in here to-night."

-

-"Dear little Flossie, dear little niece, it was your cheery, loving

-nature that led us to give your name to our baby. She has two fine

-names, she is Beatrice Florence. The first is Vera's mother's name, the

-second, dear, is yours."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER IV

-

-IN A BIRCH ARBOR

-

-

-THE storm had cleared the air, no mist veiled the mountains, the

-sunlight lay everywhere, gilding valley and stream.

-

-Many of the guests had started early in the morning for a trip to a

-distant mountain from the summit of which a delightful view might be

-enjoyed.

-

-They were to ride over in the barge to the base of the mountain, have a

-picnic lunch under the trees, and then climb the rugged path up the

-mountain side.

-

-It would occupy half the day and it would be afternoon before the barge

-would return with its merry, tired party.

-

-Floretta Paxton and Jack Tiverton were usually in sight, or, as they

-were always noisy, within hearing might be nearer the truth, but they

-had gone over to a spot that the children called "The Pool," a bit of

-water not much larger than a big puddle.

-

-It existed only after a heavy rain, but near its edge the slender

-birches grew, and their silvery white trunks and the bright, blue sky

-were clearly reflected on its surface.

-

-Jack had decided to launch his toy boat there, and, as Floretta had

-hemmed the tiny sails, he had felt obliged to listen to her coaxing, and

-permit her to go with him.

-

-"I'll let you christen her," he had said, in a moment of generosity, and

-then regretted it.

-

-Floretta's idea of a christening ceremony was very elaborate, while

-Jack thought that shouting the vessel's name, and shoving it into the

-water was all that was necessary.

-

-Nancy was helping Aunt Charlotte, so when Dorothy ran out to the piazza,

-she found it deserted, and she stood looking in surprise at the rocking

-chairs and hammocks that were swaying in the wind.

-

-"Every one has gone somewhere," she thought; "didn't any one stay at

-home?"

-

-She stood for a moment in the doorway, wondering what to do. Suddenly

-her face brightened, and she clapped her hands.

-

-"The very thing!" she said, and she turned and hastened to her room to

-find her latest gift.

-

-It was a beautiful book of fairy tales, and although it had been given

-her over a week ago, she had read but a few of the stories. Mrs. Dainty

-had sent to the city for the book, and ever since the day of its arrival

-Dorothy had been wild to read it.

-

-Something had been planned for each sunny day, and as the weather had

-continued fair, the book had been opened but a few times, and then for

-only a brief glance at the tales or the illustrations.

-

-Mrs. Dainty had gone to the village, a ride of about an hour from the

-hotel, and Aunt Charlotte was still occupied with her letters.

-

-Nancy was sealing and stamping the envelopes, as Dorothy passed the

-door.

-

-"I'm going over to the little 'birch arbor,'" she said. "I'm taking my

-new fairy book for company."

-

-"I'll come, too, just as soon as I've finished these envelopes," said

-Nancy, and she began to work faster.

-

-[Illustration: "OH, WHAT A LOVELY, _LOVELY_ STORY!" SAID DOROTHY.--_Page

-67._]

-

-The "birch arbor" was not an actual arbor, but it was a lovely spot, and

-the birches were exceptionally fine. Nancy and Dorothy had often been

-there together, and they had given it the name.

-

-A tiny mountain brook ran through it, and it was a lovely spot in which

-to enjoy legends or fairy tales.

-

-In a few moments Dorothy had reached the place, and when she had seated

-herself, she opened the book where a fine picture showed the prince,

-whose father had given him three wishes as his only inheritance, and

-then had sent him out to seek his fortune.

-

-Twice she had commenced to read the story, and had been obliged to lay

-it aside. Now, with only the bees and the butterflies hovering about

-her, she read the fascinating tale.

-

-It proved to be even more charming than she had expected.

-

-The prince was tall, and dark, and handsome, and his heart was so good

-and true, that Dorothy felt that he richly deserved the beautiful

-princess whom he finally won.

-

-Her eyes sparkled as she read of the great court wedding.

-

-"And the lovely princess looked more beautiful than ever in her wedding

-gown of cloth of gold, thickly set with diamonds, and her crown of

-diamonds and sapphires."

-

-"Oh what a lovely, _lovely_ story!" said Dorothy, as she turned the

-page.

-

-"Tiny princes carried her train, and as the happy pair reached the

-palace gates, and were about to enter the royal coach, the blare of

-trumpets sounded, as the guards in blue and gold played a gay fanfare."

-

-"Toot! Toot! Toot!"

-

-Dorothy sprang to her feet.

-

-It was as if those silver-toned trumpets had sounded close beside her. A

-moment more, and a huge automobile appeared from behind the trees and

-shrubbery, and slackening its speed, came, at last, to a standstill, and

-an old lady leaned out to question her.

-

-"Are we going in the right direction, my dear, to reach the Hotel

-Cleverton?"

-

-Dorothy walked toward the car, and looked up into the hard, old face.

-

-"This little road is _right_," said Dorothy, "but the broad road that

-leads out of this one is not so rough, and it is a _little_ shorter."

-

-"There, Minturn, I _said plainly_ that I believed we could get there

-quicker some other way!"

-

-"You are _sure_ about the Cleverton?" the old lady asked. "You _know_

-where it is?"

-

-"I'm staying there with mamma, and that truly is the right way," said

-Dorothy, her soft eyes looking up into the hard, old face.

-

-"I guess I can trust you," the old lady said, not smiling, but looking a

-bit less stern.

-

-"Now, Minturn, we'll _try_ to reach the hotel, sometime before dark!"

-she said curtly.

-

-Puffing and whirring the big automobile started off up the road, the old

-lady sitting stern and erect, as if she thought her driver needed

-watching, and she was determined to keep a sharp eye upon him.

-

-"Why, how queer!" said Dorothy. "She didn't even say 'good-bye,' or

-'good-morning.' Perhaps she was very tired, and forgot,"--then after a

-moment she added, "but my beautiful mamma _never_ forgets."

-

-She went back to the pretty spot where she had been reading, and sitting

-down, opened the book, but she could not keep her mind upon the stories.

-The strange face of the old lady seemed to look at her from the printed

-page.

-

-How small and sharp her eyes had been, and how she asked the same

-question again and again. Did she doubt the answer given her?

-

-All these, and many more questions puzzled Dorothy, and with the open

-book lying upon her lap, she looked off where the sunlight lay upon the

-grass.

-

-She was still sitting thus when a merry voice aroused her, and she

-turned to see Nancy running toward her.

-

-"Oh, Dorothy!" she cried. "You ought to have been up at the hotel just a

-few moments ago. A new guest came, and she was so cross, it _must_ be

-that she didn't want to come. But if she truly _didn't_ want to, then

-why _did_ she?"

-

-"Why, Nancy, who wouldn't think it fine to come up here to the

-mountains, and stay at the Cleverton?" said Dorothy in surprise.

-

-"Well, you wouldn't have thought the old lady was glad to be there, if

-you'd seen her," said Nancy.

-

-"Oh, was it an old lady that you were talking about?" Dorothy asked

-quickly.

-

-"Yes, and you ought to have seen her eyes snap when she scolded her

-chauffeur. She told him she might have arrived an hour before just as

-well as not, and she kept right on scolding to herself, all the way up

-to the piazza, and, Dorothy, she looked so cross, I wouldn't wonder if

-she was scolding up in her room now!"

-

-"She must be the same one that was here just a little while ago,"

-Dorothy said, "and she asked me to tell her the nearest way to the

-Cleverton. When I told her, she made the man rush off over the road, and

-she was scolding him when they left here. Perhaps she was tired, and

-will feel pleasanter when she has rested."

-

-"Perhaps," agreed Nancy, "but I know Aunt Charlotte and your mamma don't

-act that way when they are tired."

-

-Dorothy could not dispute that, and soon the two little girls were

-enjoying the fairy book together.

-

-"Now, this is the story I've just been reading," said Dorothy, "and this

-is the picture of the prince. Isn't he handsome?"

-

-"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and doesn't he look like Flossie's Uncle Harry?"

-

-"Why, he _does_, truly," cried Dorothy. "I'll show the picture to

-Flossie, and I'm sure she'll say it looks ever so much like him."

-

-"Oh, she will," agreed Nancy.

-

-"Why, it would look _exactly_ like him, if _he_ only had a cap with

-plumes," said Dorothy.

-

-Uncle Harry, coming briskly up the path, was just in time to hear the

-last few words.

-

-"I'm very curious to know who it is who needs a cap with plumes," he

-said.

-

-"Oh, who knew you were right here to hear it?" said Dorothy.

-

-"Oh, was it a state secret?" he asked. "Well, now it's a pity I heard

-it, but as it happens I _did_, I think I must ask for the rest of the

-secret."

-

-"Oh, _would_ you tell?" Dorothy asked, turning to Nancy, but before she

-could reply, Uncle Harry spoke.

-

-"I'm really too curious," he said, "so I think I'll threaten to sit on

-this stump, until you tell me the secret, and let me tell you two little

-friends, that _I've_ a secret; it's a nice one, too, but,--" he paused

-to watch the effect of his words.

-

-"But--But--" they cried.

-

-"But,--" said Uncle Harry, "I wouldn't tell mine _first_!"

-

-Wag that he was, he could not resist the temptation to tease just a bit.

-

-Dorothy took the pretty book, and opening it at the page that showed the

-picture of the prince, she said, "We only said the brave prince looked

-like you, no, I mean you look like him, and we said you'd look _just_

-like him if you had a cap with plumes."

-

-Uncle Harry appeared to study the picture very carefully. After a

-moment, he said:

-

-"That's a fine compliment, but there's one thing about it that worries

-me, so I'll have to ask about it.

-

-"In this picture the prince wears a blue blouse and a pair of green

-shoes, a pink cap with white plumes, gray hose, and crimson trunks. Now,

-if I should decide to purchase a pink cap with white plumes, would you

-expect me to come out arrayed in all those colors? I really feel that

-the costume is a _bit_, just a _bit_ too gay."

-

-"Oh, we'll not ask you to be quite as gay as that," said Dorothy, "and

-we'll promise one thing. We won't even ask you to buy a pink cap if

-you'll tell us your secret now."

-

-He laughed gaily.

-

-"Perhaps I really _ought_ to keep it a little longer. How would it do if

-I should tell you my secret some time next week?" he asked.

-

-"Oh, no, no!" they cried, "tell it now!"

-

-"Well, then, there's to be a fair 'way down in the village, a real

-country fair, and I'm intending to hire a barge, and take all of the

-_very_ young ladies over with me to see the fun. I mean ladies as young

-as you, and Nancy, and Flossie. I shall invite all the wee ladies that

-are stopping at the hotel, and I shall take all who accept."

-

-He looked into their bright faces, and laughed when Dorothy said:

-

-"As if _any_ little girl _wouldn't_ accept!"

-

-"You mustn't expect it to be a grand affair. It will be, as I said, a

-real old-fashioned country fair, but there will be a jolly ride over

-there, and the return trip, and I fancy you will enjoy it all," he said,

-"and I shall have the delight of giving pleasure."

-

-A friend who had been looking for Uncle Harry, now appeared on the

-winding path, a clump of large trees having hidden his approach.

-

-The two young men started off for a long tramp, and Dorothy and Nancy

-walked slowly back to the hotel.

-

-"The prince _did_ look like Uncle Harry," said Nancy, "and the picture

-of the naughty old fairy that enchanted the sleeping beauty, looks like

-the lady that came this morning, and was so very cross."

-

-"Then that _is_ the same one who stopped to ask the way, for she looked

-just like that. I'll always think, every time I look at her, that she's

-the black fairy."

-

-And when they ran up on to the piazza, there sat the very person whom

-they had been speaking of, looking somewhat cooler with her long

-travelling cloak removed.

-

-Her black gown was of some thin material, and just as the two little

-girls ran up on to the piazza, she dropped the large, black fan that she

-had been wielding.

-

-Nancy, who was nearer to her than Dorothy, picked up the fan for her.

-Without a smile, she took the fan, and they heard some slight sound.

-Possibly it might have been a softly murmured word of thanks, but it did

-not sound like it.

-

-"She seems very strange," said Dorothy, "but perhaps she's still tired."

-

-She was always unwilling to say that any one was wilfully rude or

-disagreeable.

-

-And now Aunt Charlotte, with Mrs. Dainty, came out to enjoy the fine

-air, and Dorothy and Nancy ran to them to tell them of the treat that

-Uncle Harry had in store for them.

-

-"It's only a few days to wait, and isn't he kind to take us?" said

-Dorothy.

-

-"He is indeed," said Mrs. Dainty, "and I hope all his little friends

-will be very thoughtful, and make him just as little trouble as

-possible. He takes quite a care in inviting so many children."

-

-"Oh, all the children love him, and there isn't one who would want to be

-any bother, unless it was Floretta," said Dorothy, "and perhaps she'll

-be having such a nice time, she won't think to be naughty."

-

-Mrs. Dainty smiled at this view of it. She could not help thinking that

-Floretta never needed time to think in order to be disagreeable, but

-she did not say so.

-

-Aunt Charlotte Grayson, seeing the stranger sitting alone, paused near

-her chair to say a friendly word.

-

-She remained but few moments, however, because the woman seemed not

-inclined to talk.

-

-Aunt Charlotte well knew that the stranger was not courteous, but she

-tried to think, as Dorothy had, that fatigue, after a long journey, made

-her eager for silence and rest.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER V

-

-THE MOUNTAIN PARTY

-

-

-AS the days flew by, the stranger became a bit more friendly, conversing

-sometimes with Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte, but often, far more

-often, with Mrs. Paxton.

-

-It was not that she sought to become acquainted with Floretta's mother;

-it was, rather, that Mrs. Paxton seemed determined to force the

-friendship.

-

-"Her name is Fenton, Mrs. Fenton, and isn't it odd, _my_ name was Fenton

-before I married. Floretta's middle name is Fenton. I really feel almost

-as if I were related to her, because of the name," declared Mrs. Paxton

-one morning, whereupon Mrs. Fenton, coming out on to the piazza,

-remarked:

-

-"Oh, indeed!"

-

-Mrs. Paxton blushed and hesitated, then recovering herself, she said:

-

-"I was just telling these ladies of my friendly feeling for you."

-

-"Oh, indeed!" Mrs. Fenton repeated, as she sank into a large rocker, and

-looked off across the valley to the distant mountains.

-

-After a few moments she seemed to have lost interest in the view, and,

-taking up a small embroidery frame, commenced to ply her needle as if

-she were eager to finish the pretty doily.

-

-Two little figures came slowly up the path to the piazza. They were

-returning from the christening of the little boat.

-

-"What is wrong, Jack? You don't look very happy," said Mrs. Tiverton.

-

-"He wanted me to christen his boat, but he wouldn't give it my name!"

-said Floretta, before Jack could reply.

-

-"She thought just because she hemmed the sails I'd name it the

-_Floretta_, but I wouldn't, so I shoved it into the water myself, and

-shouted _Carlotta_. That's the name of a girl that goes to my school,

-and I like her."

-

-"You say Floretta hemmed your sails," said Mrs. Tiverton.

-

-"Well, I thanked her for that, and I let her go to the launching, and I

-let her christen it, but I don't see that I need name it for her," said

-Jack, stoutly.

-

-Mrs. Fenton had not heeded what the children were saying. One might have

-fancied that she did not hear, although both Floretta and Jack stood

-quite near her chair.

-

-A large spool that she had wound with colored silk slipped from her lap,

-and rolled toward Floretta.

-

-"Pick it up, dear," Mrs. Paxton said.

-

-"Don't want to," said Floretta.

-

-Mrs. Fenton stooped, and recovered the spool, and, taking her embroidery

-frame in her hand, left the piazza, and mounted the stairs to her room.

-

-"Why _were_ you so rude?" said Mrs. Paxton, but Floretta, perching upon

-the low railing, began softly humming "Yankee Doodle."

-

-Jack Tiverton, espying a boy that he knew, whistled loudly, and then, as

-the other boy turned, ran after him, the two whooping and shouting like

-savages.

-

-"It is almost lunch time, Jack!" Mrs. Tiverton cried, and the boy

-turned, and waved his hand to show that he heard her.

-

-"Boys aren't apt to forget meal time," muttered old Mr. Cunningham

-behind his paper.

-

-True enough, Jack returned in ample time, and was the first at the

-table.

-

-Early in the afternoon Dorothy and Nancy went out for a drive with

-Romeo.

-

-It was one of those sunny days that tempt nearly every one to ride or

-walk.

-

-The mountain roads were rather lonely, and Mrs. Dainty insisted that

-whether Dorothy were riding Romeo, or driving in the phaeton, the groom

-must ride at a little distance behind her.

-

-There were the lovely, slender birches on either side of the roads,

-there were patches of bright green moss upon which the sunlight rested,

-there were blackberry vines and woodbine wreathing the low stone walls,

-and here and there a mullein raised its stately head from its base of

-velvet leaves.

-

-Oh, it seemed like an enchanted country, where new beauties were to be

-found on either hand!

-

-"Look!" cried Dorothy, "close beside that mullein is an evening

-primrose, and their blossoms are the same color."

-

-Then a tiny chipmunk sprang upon the wall, sat erect, and watched them

-for a moment, then ran up the trunk of a slender tree, where from a low

-branch he watched until they had passed. Then back to the wall he

-sprang, where he chattered as if scolding the little girls who had

-disturbed his solitude. It may be that, instead, he was talking to

-himself, and telling what charming little girls they were.

-

-A long way from the hotel they passed Jack Tiverton, with a number of

-other boys who were staying at a hotel a few miles distant from the

-Cleverton.

-

-They were all somewhat larger than Jack, and he thought it fine to be

-with them.

-

-He had met them at a ball game three weeks before, and he had been very

-busy holding their acquaintance ever since.

-

-"We're going to catch the echo, and keep it, too!" shouted Jack.

-

-"It's mocking you now," said Dorothy, with a laugh.

-

-"I know it," said Jack, "but we'll catch it, and fasten it so it can't

-get away."

-

-"_How_ will you fasten an echo?" Nancy asked, turning, and looking over

-her shoulder as the little phaeton sped past.

-

-"Trust us to find a way!" cried Jack, and the others laughed as if they

-already knew exactly how to do it.

-

-They left the road, and, vaulting over the wall, crossed the open

-field, singing a gay, rollicking song as they went.

-

-"They just _say_ they're going hunting for the echo," said Dorothy, "and

-they say it for fun, but I wonder where they are going, and what they

-truly are going to do."

-

-The groom, riding nearer, touched his hat.

-

-"Please, Miss Dorothy, I heard the lads saying that there's an old house

-over near that mountain, where a hermit lived years ago, and they're off

-to find it if they can."

-

-"Then why didn't they say so, instead of telling such a tale about

-catching the echo?" Dorothy asked.

-

-"They were saying that they wanted to find the hut, and hunt in it, and

-around it ter find things the old fellow may have hidden. They feared

-you or Miss Nancy might tell some other lad. They're wanting it all to

-themselves."

-

-Having told this bit of information, the groom allowed the carriage to

-pass him, and once more rode behind it.

-

-The two little girls talked of the long tramp that the boys would have

-before they would find the hermit's hut.

-

-"And perhaps they won't find it at all, after all their hunting," said

-Nancy.

-

-"Well, I hope they will," said Dorothy, "because it's so horrid to hunt

-and hunt, for nothing."

-

-"Oh, look!" she cried a moment later. "See the lovely mosses! Let's take

-some back to mamma and Aunt Charlotte."

-

-They were, indeed, beautiful. There was green moss that looked like

-velvet, and gray moss formed like tiny cups with scarlet edges, and

-other moss tipped with red.

-

-On an old stump they found shell-like fungus, some a creamy white,

-others white, with soft brown markings.

-

-Oh, a fine collection of rarely beautiful mosses and lichens they

-gathered, and heaped on the bottom of the phaeton.

-

-Romeo turned his head to watch them as if he wondered when they would

-have gathered enough.

-

-"Oh, we do keep you standing, dear, don't we?" Dorothy said, patting his

-neck as she spoke.

-

-"Oh, you needn't look for sugar," she said, laughing, "for I haven't any

-with me, but we'll get you some fresh clover."

-

-With Nancy's help she soon had a fine bunch of pink clover for Romeo,

-and he seemed quite as pleased as if it had been the cubes that he so

-often enjoyed.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-When the party of boys had left the road to cross the fields that lay

-between them, and the forest at the foot of the mountain, they had

-believed that they knew exactly how to go to reach the hermit's hut.

-

-The old hermit had been dead for years, but every season the summer

-guests at the hotels and farmhouses searched all around the deserted

-hut, expecting to find some relic to take home and label as a bit of the

-hermit's property.

-

-The boys supposed that they had the woods to themselves, and that they

-would be uninterrupted in their search of the place.

-

-They did not know that the mountain climbers had taken the same

-direction, intending, before they enjoyed their lunch beneath the trees,

-to stop at the old, deserted house.

-

-Mrs. Paxton and little Floretta had worked more persistently than any

-others of the party, and Mrs. Paxton had found a small, brass button.

-

-The others had laughed at the prize, asking her if she intended to keep

-it as a souvenir.

-

-"Certainly," said Mrs. Paxton. "I'm sure this brass button must have

-belonged on some old coat that the hermit wore!"

-

-"Perhaps in his youth, before he came up here to live, he may have been

-a janitor," said a young man, with a saucy laugh.

-

-"Or a brakeman," suggested another.

-

-Mrs. Paxton pretended not to hear their teasing, and though the prize

-that she had found had been only a valueless thing, she kept it.

-

-Floretta was very eager to stay, and continue to peep into cracks in the

-floor and walls, and to poke with a stick under the doorsill, and in the

-soft earth around the hut.

-

-The older members of the party knew that if they were to ascend the

-mountain, see the view, and descend before twilight, they must start at

-once.

-

-As soon as their picnic lunch had been enjoyed they commenced to climb

-the rugged mountain path.

-

-It was very steep and rough, and it had been said that no children

-should be allowed in the party.

-

-Mrs. Paxton had insisted that her small daughter was a wonderful little

-climber, who was quite equal to the demands of a long tramp.

-

-Floretta had wished to remain at the hut, but as she could not do that,

-she proceeded to make herself as unpleasant as possible, by complaining

-every step of the way, until one young man voiced the feeling of the

-entire party.

-

-"This is a horrid, rough old path, and I'm tired. I wish I'd stayed at

-_home_!" said Floretta.

-

-"I wish so, _too_!" said the young man, and several of the party, too

-polite to say it, at heart, agreed with him.

-

-Floretta's was the only gloomy face, however. The others tramped gaily

-onward, singing snatches of song, and laughing as they stepped upon

-rolling stones, or tripped over long, gnarled roots that rose above the

-surface, as if especially designed to catch lagging feet.

-

-          "All day upon the hills

-           We've chased the chamois far,

-           But deeper joy now thrills

-           Beneath the evening star."

-

-The youth sang gaily, and several of his friends joined him in singing

-the old song.

-

-Arrived at the summit they rested, enjoyed the view, laughed and joked

-about their weariness, and made many wild guesses as to how long it

-would take them to make the descent and drive back to the hotel.

-

-"It will be three o'clock before we reach the Cleverton," said one.

-

-"Nonsense!" cried another, "this is really called a mountain by

-courtesy. It's only a big hill. I say we shall be on the piazza, and

-wondering what we can do next, as early as half-past two."

-

-"It's more likely to be half-past _three_!" declared another, and when

-all felt sufficiently rested, they commenced the descent.

-

-Floretta refused to keep closely beside her mother, insisting upon

-clinging to another member of the party, to whom she had taken a fancy.

-

-The party was a large one, much larger, indeed, than had at first been

-planned, and while half of the number were guests at the Cleverton, the

-others were from the Merlington, a hotel situated nearer the village,

-and from several large farmhouses that entertained summer boarders.

-

-The guests from the Cleverton had kept closely together during the trip,

-while those from the Merlington had done the same.

-

-They had reached the foot of the mountain, and were tramping along a

-path that ran nearly parallel to that on which the hermit's house stood.

-

-Floretta saw the boys, near the house, and also saw that Jack Tiverton

-was with them.

-

-Without a word, she left the lady to whose arm she had been clinging,

-and making her way along behind bushes and underbrush, she managed to

-sneak in at the door of the hut, without having been seen by the party

-of boys.

-

-The lady, with whom she had been walking, supposed that she had run back

-to join her mother, while Mrs. Paxton felt quite undisturbed, because

-she believed that her little girl was still clinging to the arm of the

-lady with whom she had chosen to walk.

-

-It had required two barges to convey the party, and now they found them

-waiting, the horses a bit impatient to be off.

-

-The guests from the Merlington clambered into the first barge, and they

-with a few of the farmhouse party filled it to overflowing, some of the

-men being obliged to ride homeward, seated upon the steps. Meanwhile the

-Cleverton people were forced to wait until the barge for their party

-drove up.

-

-The first barge had started, and was rolling along, and a chorus of

-college songs was wafted back on the breeze, while handkerchiefs

-fluttered as the gay passengers laughed at the crowd that had not yet

-started.

-

-Mrs. Paxton paused with her foot on the step, and looked back.

-

-"Why, where's Floretta?" she asked.

-

-"In the first barge," cried a voice in reply.

-

-"Are you _sure_?" she asked.

-

-"Why, certainly," said the other, "she's with that tall, fine-looking

-lady from the Merlington. She'll be home before you are."

-

-The second barge was soon filled and on its way. The horses were less

-fresh than those of the first barge, and seemed determined to lag.

-Indeed, they required constant urging to keep them from dropping into a

-slow walk.

-

-"Those other fellows ahead of us started some lively college songs,"

-said a disgusted passenger, "and they're actually out of sight now; but

-the way these nags are poking I couldn't think of anything to sing that

-would be slow enough to be appropriate."

-

-And while one barge was going over the road at a lively rate of speed,

-and the other jogging along at a snail's pace, Floretta, at the hut, was

-having a most exciting time.

-

-Once inside the place, she had crouched beneath a window to learn, if

-possible, what the boys were talking about.

-

-She had wanted to remain there when the party had started for the

-mountain path, and she had been very impatient during the long tramp.

-She cared nothing for the view, and determined, on the return, to stop,

-if only for a few moments, at the hut.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VI

-

-THE ECHO CAPTURED

-

-

-FLORETTA had intended to hunt for treasure, hoping to get something more

-valuable than the brass button that her mother had found.

-

-She was not at all afraid of Jack Tiverton, but of those larger boys she

-was not quite sure.

-

-As she knelt beneath the window she could hear only the voices of the

-boys that were nearest to the hut, and hearing only parts of their

-conversation, she could not understand what the first speaker expected

-to find.

-

-"If I find it, I'll put it where it will be safe," he said.

-

-There was a pause, and then a voice more distant replied.

-

-She did not hear what it said, but she did hear the answer made by the

-boy who had first spoken.

-

-"If the ghost of the old hermit was in the hut, it might hear you."

-

-"Yes, and what would he say about your hunting for things that may have

-belonged to him?" said another, with a teasing laugh.

-

-"Oh, I'm not afraid," was the careless answer.

-

-"You're not?" jeered a laughing voice.

-

-"I think we've poked around out here long enough without finding

-anything," said Jack Tiverton, "let's hunt inside the house."

-

-"Wait a minute," called a boy who had not yet spoken, "just till I've

-looked into this hollow tree trunk."

-

-"And _then_ what?" asked a merry voice.

-

-"_Then_ hunt in the house, of course!" was the curt reply.

-

-Floretta thought she saw a chance for fun.

-

-Softly, yet quickly, she crept up the rickety little stairway, built

-close against the wall, and leading to the tiny loft.

-

-The loft was really little more than a space beneath the roof where the

-old hermit might have stored a few provisions. She could not stand, or

-even sit, erect, and she crouched upon the bit of dusty flooring.

-

-She was none too soon, for in a few seconds the boys rushed in, and then

-began a discussion as to whether it would be safe to take a plank up

-from the floor to look beneath it for hidden treasure.

-

-"You oughtn't to do that," said Jack Tiverton, "somebody might arrest

-you, or all of us, if folks found out we did it."

-

-"Arrest us for spoiling a floor in this old hut!" cried an older boy. "I

-wonder you don't think the old hermit might holler if he heard us pull

-up a plank!"

-

-"Well," said Jack stoutly, "you'd be as scared as I would if he did

-holler!"

-

-"You're a small boy, Jack, and easily scared," was the taunting reply.

-

-"Well, pull up a plank, and see what happens. I dare you to!" cried

-Jack.

-

-"Here goes then!" said the older boy, and catching hold of a plank that

-had rotted at one end, he pulled it up.

-

-"_Oh, let it alone!_" groaned a boy in a farther corner of the room, in

-an attempt to imitate an old voice.

-

-"_Oh, let it alone!_" came in exactly the same voice from the loft.

-

-Sidney Cumston, the big boy, who had laughed at little Jack Tiverton,

-dropped the plank, and turned pale, while not a boy spoke or moved.

-

-"Come, come!" said Sidney, when he caught his breath, "we're a precious

-pack of sillies! Help me lift this big board, will you?"

-

-"Will you?" came from the loft, in the very manner in which he had said

-it.

-

-Again he dropped the plank.

-

-"What does it mean?" cried Sidney.

-

-"Mean?" came his last word repeated.

-

-The boys were now thoroughly frightened.

-

-"Come!" cried Sidney, "let's leave here!"

-

-"Here!" came a repetition of his last word, and big as he was, he had

-turned to run, when a faint ripple of smothered laughter came down from

-the loft.

-

-Immediately Sidney's pale face flushed red. It flashed through his mind

-that these younger boys had seen that he was frightened.

-

-He had been laughed at by the owner of the voice that had mocked him,

-and the boys would _never_ stop laughing.

-

-Quickly he mounted the steps, and roughly he dragged little Floretta

-from her hiding place, half carrying her down the stairway, because it

-was too narrow for two to descend.

-

-"So you thought it was funny, just _funny_ to mock us, did you?" he

-asked, when they reached the floor.

-

-Floretta was not laughing now.

-

-She was sullen, and at the same time frightened.

-

-What would they do to her?

-

-They crowded around her, frowning and making all sorts of wild

-suggestions as to what should be done with her.

-

-"Keep her mocking till she's got enough of it!" cried one.

-

-"Put her back in the loft, and leave her there! She seemed to like

-there," said another.

-

-The big boy, whose hand was still on her shoulder, was more angry than

-either of the others.

-

-He was a bully, always ready to torment some one smaller than himself.

-

-He had reason to be provoked with Floretta, and the fact that she was

-only a little girl, made no impression upon him.

-

-He would as willingly punish a girl, as a boy, and the fact that his

-captive was smaller than he, only proved that the task would be an easy

-one.

-

-"You think it's smart to imitate, and it is. P'raps you think you're the

-echo that's over in the mountain!" he sneered.

-

-She made no answer. She was crying now.

-

-"Say! Let her off!" cried Jack Tiverton. "She's only a girl!"

-

-The smallest boy in the crowd, he saw Sidney's cowardice.

-

-"Oh, are you sweet on Floretta?" jeered Sidney.

-

-Jack drew back abashed. He did not like Floretta at all, but he did

-think it mean for a big boy to frighten so small a girl.

-

-"I ain't going to hurt you," said Sidney, "but I'm going to give you a

-chance to play echo, till you're tired of it. I guess you'll get enough

-of it before you get through!

-

-"Come, fellows! Get some good long pieces of wild grape-vine! I'll

-fasten Miss Echo where she can shout all day, and nobody'll stop her!"

-

-"I won't go with you!" screamed Floretta, who had found her voice, "You

-sha'n't tie me!"

-

-"Oh, is that so?" said Sidney, in a teasing tone. "We'll tie you so you

-can't get away!"

-

-She pulled back.

-

-"No, you don't!" said Sidney, grasping her arm with a firmer hold.

-

-"Now, walk right along, or these other fellows will help me carry you!"

-he added, and Floretta thought best to walk.

-

-"Where'll you take her?" asked one.

-

-"Right there," said Sidney. "That rock is just covered with vines that

-cling fast to it. Hurry, now! Pull down some long, strong pieces! Here,

-you scratch like a cat! Stop that!"

-

-Floretta, half wild to get away, was attacking his hand in the manner of

-a little wild animal.

-

-"Let me go, then!" she screamed.

-

-"Not much!" cried Sidney, and with the help of another boy, he dragged

-her, screaming and kicking, all the way, until they reached the rocky

-ledge.

-

-"There, now! Hold on! You're showing too much temper!" cried a stout lad

-who was helping to bind her.

-

-"I won't stay! You sha'n't tie me!" she screamed, but without replying,

-they drew the tough vines closer about her, lashing her into such a

-network of stems and stout vines that it would be impossible for her to

-escape.

-

-"There!" cried Sidney, when he felt sure that she was securely made a

-little prisoner, "You can shout till you're tired, and if you want to

-mock any one, you can mock yourself! Good-afternoon, Miss Echo!"

-

-He lifted his cap, with elaborate courtesy, and marched off whistling:

-

-          "The Girl I Left Behind Me."

-

-They did not look back. Sidney marched boldly away, believing that he

-had done a very smart thing, but the other boys felt less comfortable.

-

-They had been angry with her, and they had wished to see her punished,

-but they could not help thinking that she was a little girl, and they

-were leaving her alone in the woods!

-

-Jack Tiverton was, by far, the most uneasy.

-

-He was the smallest of the party, and, while he had asked Sidney to let

-Floretta go, he had known it was useless to do more.

-

-The eight other boys were stronger than he, and any attempt upon his

-part to free her would be worse than useless. They would not listen, but

-instead, would pounce upon him.

-

-The other boys talked, laughed, and whistled, to imply that they were

-not thinking of what they had done, but all the way back to the

-Cleverton, little Jack was wondering what he could do.

-

-He dared not go straight to Floretta's mother, and tell her of her

-little girl's plight.

-

-He knew if he did that, the boys would soon learn who had played

-"tell-tale," and then,--what would they do to _him_?

-

-And yet, he was determined, in some way, to help Floretta.

-

-How could he let a little girl stay out there in the woods all night?

-

-Of course some one, walking through the woods might find her, but if no

-one happened to?

-

-Jack knew that the risk was too great. It was just before he reached the

-Cleverton, that he thought of the best way that he could do it.

-

-He would write a note to Mrs. Paxton. He would drop that note into the

-mail box that hung at the side door. The letters were always distributed

-at four, and Sidney Cumston, who had a fine watch, had just said that it

-was three. He left the boys at the entrance to the Merlington, and

-hurried on that he might have plenty of time for his note.

-

-Mrs. Tiverton was out driving with a friend, and Jack had quite a hunt

-before he could find pencil or paper for his note.

-

-At last he found a blank book, and with a pencil he wrote this note.

-

-          "Deer Mrs. Paxton:--

-

-          "Yor litle girl is tied up in the woods opsite the

-          hermits hut. You better go get her real quick or

-          somethin may happen too her.

-

-                                           "Yors trooly."

-

-He folded it, and, in place of the envelope that he could not find, he

-tied around it a bit of string that he found in his pocket.

-

-Boldly he addressed it, in very large letters, and sneaking down the

-stairway, and around on the piazza toward the side door, watched his

-chance, and slipped it into the mail box.

-

-There was much excitement on the front piazza, because the guests had

-arrived in the barge but a few moments before, and Mrs. Paxton had given

-a maid a generous "tip" to go over to the Merlington, and bring Floretta

-back with her.

-

-"She returned with the party that came from the Merlington, and I don't

-wish her to remain there. I want her to come right back to me," said

-Mrs. Paxton.

-

-"Very well, ma'am," the maid had replied, and with the coins in her

-hand, had started off at once toward the other hotel.

-

-When little Jack Tiverton ran around to the front piazza, the maid had

-just returned.

-

-"If you please, Mrs. Paxton, your little girl isn't over to the

-Merlington, and hasn't been there, and a lady that was with the party

-that came home from the mountain trip, says the child wasn't in their

-barge at all. I asked her if she was _sure_, and she said, she couldn't

-help being sure, because there wasn't _any_ child in their barge."

-

-Of course excitement reigned supreme. Mrs. Paxton seemed half wild, and

-every one shared her anxiety.

-

-The fact that Floretta was not a favorite made no difference. No one

-liked to think of a little girl out there alone on the mountain path, or

-in the woods, especially as it was already late afternoon.

-

-"What a dreadful thing!" cried Mrs. Paxton, wringing her hands, and

-walking up and down the piazza.

-

-"Who will go with me? I cannot go alone, and where, _where_ shall we

-look first? Who saw her last?"

-

-At this moment a man-servant came out from the hall with a tray of

-letters that he began to distribute.

-

-"One for you, Mrs. Paxton," said the man, as he touched her arm gently.

-

-"Oh, I can't think of letters now," she said, but something about the

-note seemed so unusual that she looked at it.

-

-She drew off the string that had been loosely tied, and read the hastily

-scrawled lines.

-

-She screamed, and Aunt Charlotte, who was standing near her, put her arm

-around her and supported her, or she would have fallen.

-

-Many of those who gathered around Mrs. Paxton were inclined to think the

-note a hoax, but Mrs. Dainty, coming forward, lifted her handsome head,

-and looking at the men who were lounging comfortably in the large

-rockers, or sitting upon the piazza railing, spoke the word that spurred

-them to action.

-

-"Is it safe to _guess_ that this is a joke? True, it is written in a

-boyish hand, and while it _may_ be a boy's joke, may it not be a boy's

-means of telling us what has actually happened? I would not, were I a

-man, take the responsibility or chance, of leaving Floretta out there,

-because I would go to the place, and thus learn, not guess, if this

-information be true."

-

-She had scarcely finished speaking when a number of men rose, and one,

-who chose to lead the party, lifted his hat to Mrs. Dainty, saying:

-

-"We are off, madam. We only needed an inspiration to move us to

-endeavor."

-

-She bowed and smiled, as she said:

-

-"One thing I ask of you. Go as quickly as possible, for the sake of the

-frightened child, and the anxious mother."

-

-"In all possible haste," was the quick reply, and she turned to offer

-what comfort she might to the woman who seemed nearly distracted.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-And all this time, what had been happening in the wood? For a long time

-Floretta had cried, screamed, and shouted, hoping that the boys would

-come back and release her.

-

-Then, when she knew that they must be too far away to hear her, she tore

-at the clasping bonds, trying in every way to free herself. With feet

-and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines, kicking and

-trampling with her restless feet, beating and bending with her little

-hands, until they were torn and bleeding, and the tormenting vines

-seemed only to hold her with a firmer grasp, as if to prove how useless

-was her struggle.

-

-[Illustration: WITH FEET AND HANDS SHE STROVE TO LOOSEN THE TOUGH, WIRY

-VINES.--_Page 119_.]

-

-She had cried until she could cry no more, and the sturdy vines had cut

-and bruised her.

-

-So firmly was she bound that she could not sink to the grass to rest,

-and she had only the hard, rocky ledge to lean against.

-

-How still the woodland seemed! Sometimes a twig would snap, or a buzzing

-insect would pause, as if to look at her, but no one came to set her

-free.

-

-She waited for a moment to regain her breath, and then again she fought

-and struggled with those tough, sturdy vines.

-

-She tried to wrench them apart, to break, to tear them from her, but

-they only yielded enough to bend, and then snap back into the very

-place that she had pushed them from.

-

-Not a vine broke, not a stem gave way, and she set her lips tightly for

-yet greater effort!

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VII

-

-FLORETTA'S RETURN

-

-

-AT a far corner of the piazza sat Dorothy, her eyes terrified, and her

-cheeks pale. Nancy, close beside her, wound her arms about her, and

-sought, in every way, to comfort her.

-

-"They'll find her soon, Dorothy, so don't you be frightened," she

-whispered. "They'll _surely_ find her soon."

-

-Dear little Nancy knew, better than any of Dorothy's other friends could

-have known, how ready was her sympathy, how kind and loving was her

-heart.

-

-She had not loved Floretta, but with Dorothy, that did not count. It was

-the dreadful fear that something had happened to a little girl, who, so

-recently had been at play with them,--ah, that was what grieved sweet

-Dorothy.

-

-She was thinking of what Mrs. Dainty had said to Aunt Charlotte when the

-mountain trip was first talked of.

-

-"I think the long tramp is a rougher form of amusement than I can well

-endure. I should be so weary long before it was time to return, that I

-should derive but little pleasure from the trip. There is another

-thought in connection with the picnic," she continued, "and that is an

-element of danger. Not great danger perhaps, but such that I would not

-join the party, nor would I permit Dorothy, or Nancy to do so. One

-gentleman who was talking of the mountain path that they have chosen,

-spoke of the great danger to the climbers from small, rolling stones,

-and from places where the earth seems to crumble near the edge of the

-narrow foot-path. A careless step might lead to a fall that would mean,

-I hardly dare to say what!"

-

-Dorothy and Nancy had been wishing to join the party, but upon hearing

-this, they lost all interest in it, and had cheerfully taken the drive

-behind gentle Romeo, instead. Now, as Dorothy sat with Nancy's arms

-about her, she was glad that they had not been permitted to go, and she

-heartily wished that Floretta had remained at the Cleverton.

-

-"Had she rolled from the path, and fallen, fallen,--"

-

-Dorothy covered her eyes with her hands, as if she almost saw the little

-girl falling, down, down to the ravine so far below the path, and was

-trying to shut out the picture. Nancy, still striving to quiet her

-fear, heard some one telling what the scribbled note had said.

-

-"Oh, Dorothy!" she whispered, eagerly, "Floretta is just where they know

-how to find her, and they've promised to hurry, and bring her back."

-

-"Are you _sure_?" Dorothy asked.

-

-"Yes, _sure_!" said Nancy.

-

-Then Nancy climbed into the big chair beside her, and the two little

-girls sat, each tightly clasping the other's hands, while they waited

-and watched for the first glimpse of the men who should return, bringing

-Floretta with them.

-

-Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte remained with Mrs. Paxton, who seemed to

-have lost all control of herself.

-

-One moment she would cry as if her heart would break, and then she

-would spring up, threatening to follow the direction that the men had

-taken, and try to reach the woods, thus to sooner see her little girl.

-

-At last, after what seemed endless waiting, but was actually only an

-hour, some one espied the men in the distance, and cried out:

-

-"They're coming! They're coming!"

-

-"Have they got Floretta? Oh, _have_ they found her?" shrieked Mrs.

-Paxton.

-

-"We can't see from here," said the one who had spoken, and the mother

-rushed forward, shading her eyes with her hand, and straining to catch

-the first glimpse of her child.

-

-She would have rushed down the road to meet them, but Mrs. Dainty held

-her back. She had seen that they were carrying Floretta, and she

-thought, in case the child were injured, the mother would far better

-save her strength.

-

-Two of the men had clasped their hands to form an "arm-chair," and thus

-they brought to the piazza, a very limp, tired Floretta, whose vivacity

-was all gone, and whose face bore the trace of desperate weeping, while

-her arms and hands were covered with cuts and bruises, and her little

-frock was torn and tattered by her struggle with the tough and tightly

-knotted vines.

-

-She lay back against the shoulder of one man who supported her, and

-looked as if her strength were spent.

-

-She changed on the instant that they set her on her feet.

-

-Rushing to her mother, she permitted her to clasp her for a moment to

-her breast, then turning to the group that gathered around her, she

-cried fiercely:

-

-"Look! See my hands! See my arms! See the scratches, where I tried to

-get away, and it was Sidney Cumston who tied me! He _did_ it, but the

-other boys _let_ him. Not one tried to hinder him except Jack Tiverton,

-the littlest one of them all. He tried to make them let me go, but they

-wouldn't. Oh, somebody punish all but Jack! He _tried_, but he couldn't

-help me."

-

-She was hysterical, and sank to the floor of the piazza, sobbing, and

-crying, before her mother could catch her.

-

-She scrambled to her feet, and was clasped in her mother's arms.

-

-Old Mr. Cunningham surprised every one by speaking most kindly to her.

-She had so often tormented him that it seemed generous that he should

-offer a bit of comfort.

-

-"I don't think we shall let those young rascals escape without a sharp

-reprimand, and if I was to venture a guess about it, I should say that

-little Jack, after all, managed to help you, Floretta," he said.

-

-She turned in surprise to look at the old face, that now looked so

-kindly at her.

-

-"Come out here, Jack," said the old gentleman, "didn't you write the

-note that sent us searching for this little girl?"

-

-"Yes, sir," said Jack, "and I wrote it 'cause I thought the other big

-fellows were mean, but if they find out I told, they'll--"

-

-"No, they won't," said Mr. Cunningham. "You're no 'tell-tale.' You did

-just right, and the men here will stand by you. Those big boys were the

-cowards to torment a little girl. You're the best boy up here in the

-mountains."

-

-"Three cheers for young Tiverton!" shouted some one, and in the midst

-of the excitement, Mrs. Paxton, with her little daughter, slipped away

-to their room, after having thanked little Jack for his valuable

-assistance.

-

-Meanwhile old Mr. Cunningham had been searching in this pocket and that

-for something which he seemed most anxious to find.

-

-"Ah, I knew I had it! Come here, Jack!"

-

-Blushing and diffident, Jack walked over to the big rocker.

-

-"'Tisn't much, boy, but I think you ought to have a medal. Here's a

-silver dollar I've been keeping for a pocket piece. I'll give it to you

-for a medal, for being brave enough to tell what you knew _ought_ to be

-told. That's not tale-bearing, and as you were afraid to tell, for fear

-of those big bullies, it was a brave act. You're a lad that knows

-_what_ to do, _when_ to do, and then _does_ it!"

-

-"Hurrah for Jack Tiverton!" some one cried again, and this time they

-were given with a will.

-

-Mrs. Tiverton, returning from a long drive, wondered what all the

-excitement meant, and why they were cheering her little son.

-

-Jack, with his silver dollar tightly clasped, hung his head, and looked

-as if overpowered by his conspicuous position.

-

-Dorothy, now bright and happy, since Floretta was safe, saw that Jack

-hesitated.

-

-"Oh, Mrs. Tiverton," she said, "Jack has been truly the _best_ boy in

-the world, but he can't speak just now. When he tells you what he's

-done, you won't wonder why they cheered him!"

-

-Mrs. Barnet and Flossie, with Uncle Harry and his wife, now arrived in

-their big automobile from a three-days' trip that they had been

-enjoying.

-

-Of course Dorothy and Nancy tried to tell Flossie all about Floretta and

-Jack, and they were both so excited that Flossie got a very twisted idea

-of the affair.

-

-Uncle Harry, not dreaming that the matter was at all serious, turned,

-after greeting the children, to enter the house.

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "you ought to hear about it. There

-were ever so many big boys, and only one little girl, and they tied her

-so she couldn't get away, and Jack wrote a note, and when they found

-her,--"

-

-"Now, Flossie, dear, I'm perfectly willing to be scared half out of my

-wits, but I _must_ know what I'm being scared about. You're getting me

-so mixed up that I've not the least idea what this is all about. Have

-you?" he asked.

-

-"Oh, no," said Flossie, "I don't _half_ understand it, but it does sound

-so frightful, that I'm so scared, I need to have you be scared, too."

-

-"Well, then," Uncle Harry replied, "if it will help you to know it, I'll

-admit that my teeth are chattering, and shivers are running up and down

-my spine!

-

-"I thought at first that it was the draft across this piazza, but

-perhaps, after all, it was caused by what you were telling me."

-

-When, at last, he had heard the story, he was full of disgust that any

-boy, and his friends, should have been guilty of such a contemptible

-act, and his sympathy for the little girl was deep and sincere.

-

-"She will need rest and quiet to-morrow," he said, "and you three

-little friends will be kind, I think, if you stay rather closely here,

-and help, in some quiet way, to amuse her."

-

-"We will," said Dorothy, "I'll let her read my new fairy book if she'd

-like to. She could lie in the hammock, and do that."

-

-"I'll keep the hammock swinging," said Nancy.

-

-"And I'll give her my new box of candy I just brought home," said

-Flossie.

-

-"That's right," said Uncle Harry, "and for your sweet promises of

-kindness toward the child who has suffered so much to-day I'll remind

-you that on day after to-morrow I shall give myself the pleasure of

-taking you all to the fair. I promise you a _fine_ time."

-

-He turned to look over his shoulder, and laugh at their wild little

-cries of delight.

-

-He was anticipating the pleasure quite as much as they.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie kept the promise that they had made, and

-Floretta fully enjoyed their kindness. She seemed unusually gentle, and

-Mrs. Paxton thanked them for so sweetly helping to amuse her, and thus

-make her willing to spend the day quietly.

-

-The day set for the visit to the village fair dawned bright and sunny, a

-light breeze making it just cool enough to be delightful.

-

-The barge was waiting for its gay little passengers.

-

-The children stood with impatient feet on the piazza, waiting for their

-host, merry, handsome Uncle Harry.

-

-At last a firm tread caused them to turn, and there he was, looking

-gayer than ever, a picture of health, strength, and kindliness, and

-clad in a most becoming outing suit of light gray serge.

-

-The blue of his tie was not bluer than his fine eyes, and no one could

-have glanced at him without knowing that he possessed a generous, loving

-nature, a kind and merry heart.

-

-"Come, little friends!" he cried. "Is every young lady that I invited

-here?" he added, looking anxiously lest some child be late, and thus by

-chance, be left behind.

-

-"Every one is here!" said Flossie. "I know because I've counted."

-

-"Then we'll start at once, unless some one would rather wait 'til

-to-morrow?" he said, his eyes twinkling.

-

-"Oh, no! No!" they cried. "We just _couldn't_ wait!"

-

-"In that case we'll go now!" he said, with a droll expression, as if he

-started at once, merely as an accommodation.

-

-"Why, Uncle Harry! You're only joking," cried Flossie. "You wouldn't be

-willing to wait until to-morrow. I heard you tell Aunt Vera to hurry and

-find your tie, because you were in such a rush to start!"

-

-"To think that my own little niece would tell tales like that, and thus

-let out the secret. What chance have I now, of making them think that I

-was really very shy about riding with such a large party of girls?"

-

-Shouts of laughter greeted this speech, and Uncle Harry waited until it

-had subsided, then he said:

-

-"Oh, well, if no one _believes_ that I am shy or diffident, it's waste

-of time to try to appear so, so I shall not try. Instead, I shall be

-very bold. Come, dears, let me help you in!"

-

-And amid shouts of laughter from the children, he lifted each high in

-air, and placed her in the barge, thus saving her the trouble of

-mounting the steps.

-

-Then taking his seat in the middle of the laughing, chattering little

-party, he called to the driver to start.

-

-The long whip cracked, Jack Tiverton, from the piazza, blew loudly on a

-tin trumpet, and they were off over the road, the happiest party that

-ever filled a barge.

-

-Uncle Harry told some amusing stories, then, led by his fine voice, they

-sang some gay little songs, and before they dreamed that they had

-arrived at the fair, the driver shouted:

-

-"Here we are!" and sure enough, they had reached the fair grounds.

-

-"Why, I didn't suppose we were more than half-way here," said Dorothy,

-"and the reason is that the ride has been so jolly."

-

-"That's just it," agreed Nancy.

-

-"The reason _I_ enjoyed the ride," said Uncle Harry, "is because I was

-so charmed with my little guests."

-

-"And the reason why we had such a fine ride," said Flossie, "is because

-we had the _best_ man in the world taking care of us."

-

-Uncle Harry bowed low.

-

-"This must be a wedding party, if I'm the 'best man,'" he said with a

-laugh, "so we'll not fuss because there's no musician to play a march

-for us, but we'll play you are all bridesmaids, and we'll hurry right

-along. The entrance is this way, I think, and under that evergreen

-arch."

-

-A large tent had been pitched for the display of the various wares and

-numerous attractions; a smaller tent near it serving as fortune teller's

-booth.

-

-"We'll coax Uncle Harry to have his fortune told," whispered Flossie to

-Dorothy, when, to their great surprise, he said:

-

-"Oh, Flossie, you little witch! Uncle Harry heard what you said, and not

-only is he going to have his fortune told, but he's going to make every

-one of you little girls have yours told, also!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VIII

-

-AT THE FAIR

-

-

-THE fair proved a great delight to the children. They had all been to

-fine fairs patronized by fashionable matrons, whose names were quite

-enough to insure success, but the country fair was an absolute novelty.

-

-At the large city fairs, merry débutantes graced the booths, and sold

-flowers, or tickets for the various games of chance.

-

-Here in the mountain village all was different, and the novelty gave

-greater interest.

-

-Farmers' daughters were in the booths, and sold huge bouquets of

-old-fashioned garden flowers, homemade candy, and honey, while one

-rosy-cheeked lass dispensed sweet cider, or sweet apples, according to

-the preference of her customer.

-

-Uncle Harry purchased a huge stalk of hollyhocks for each of his guests,

-but for himself he chose an enormous sunflower which he insisted looked

-_fine_ in his buttonhole.

-

-There was music, if it could be called music, furnished by the local

-band.

-

-Uncle Harry said he had never seen such independent people as those

-musicians were. He declared that the music sounded, to him, as if each

-man commenced to play when he chose, and stopped when he got ready,

-regardless of what the other players were doing.

-

-"Oh, I do believe that is the way they play!" cried Dorothy, laughing.

-

-"Of course it is," cried Uncle Harry, "and a great deal of bother it

-saves, for no one has to direct them; they do not know that they are

-making discord, and thus they play and play with all their might, and

-are absolutely care-free and happy."

-

-There were heaps of giant pumpkins, and more red and yellow ears of corn

-than they had ever seen before, while everywhere was laughter, and

-friendly gossip, and chatter, that made the fair a jolly place in which

-to roam about.

-

-The children were determined to see every object in the big tent, and

-while some were interested in one thing, others wished to see something

-else, so they decided to divide into two groups.

-

-One half of the little party turned to the right intent upon seeing some

-gaudy patchwork quilts, while the others turned to the left declaring

-their intention of investing all their pennies in the "fish-pond."

-

-There were so many things to see on the way, that it was a long time

-before they met, as they had agreed, at the entrance.

-

-Somewhere on the way they had missed Uncle Harry, and they could not

-imagine where he had gone.

-

-It happened that Uncle Harry had seen a very small girl crying, and his

-first thought was to help her, and thus dry her tears.

-

-Upon questioning her, he found that the wee little maid had, by

-accident, knocked a small doll from one of the tables, and had been

-roundly scolded.

-

-"That pretty girl with the black eyes says I did it a-purpose, but I

-didn't," she cried, "I wanted to see it, and I just touched it, and it

-tumbled off the table."

-

-Her tears fell afresh, and in place of a handkerchief, she drew up her

-blue-checked apron, and hid her face in it.

-

-"Look up, little girl," Uncle Harry said, and his voice sounded so

-kindly, that she at once peeped at him through her tears.

-

-"Which is the table where all this happened?"

-

-"That one," said the child, "and the big girl is looking at me now."

-

-"Then give me your hand, and, just for fun, _we'll_ go and look at

-_her_."

-

-A moment she hesitated.

-

-"Come," he said, and with a sunny smile, the little girl placed her hand

-in his, and the big, handsome man with the wee country lass approached

-the table together.

-

-"I'll lift you up so you can see nicely," he said. "Now, which was the

-doll that fell from the table?"

-

-Before the child could reply, the girl spoke sharply.

-

-"'Twas that one, sir, and her meddlesome fingers,--"

-

-"Never mind about that," said Uncle Harry, then turning to the child he

-said:

-

-"Did you like that one best, or is that larger one finer?"

-

-"That large one is the loveliest. I didn't _ever_ see one so fine as

-that."

-

-"We'll have that one, then," he said, offering a bill to the astonished

-salesgirl.

-

-"There, little girl, she's yours," he said, as he placed the big doll in

-her arms.

-

-"I can hold her a little while?" she asked, eagerly.

-

-"You can hold her _always_, if you want to," he said gently, "I bought

-her for you."

-

-Rapturously she clasped the gift in her arms.

-

-"Oh, I love you, because you are good," she cried.

-

-"Then tell me your name," he said.

-

-"I'm Lois Ann Ferguson," chirped the little girl, "and father is Sandy

-Ferguson. Oh, there he is now. He's to play the pipes."

-

-She ran toward a sturdy man dressed in Highland costume, and carrying

-the bagpipes under his arm.

-

-Mr. Ferguson glanced at her flushed cheeks, saw the gorgeous doll that

-she flourished before his astonished eyes, and finally understood that

-the tall, handsome stranger had bestowed it upon his wee daughter, as a

-gift.

-

-He took her little hand, and hurried forward, saying:

-

-"I dinna ken why he should dae it for my wee lassie.

-

-"I wad gladly thank ye, sir," he said, "but I'm lost in wonder that ye

-made wee Lois sae blithe an' gay wi' the braw gift."

-

-"She's a dear little lass," said Uncle Harry, "and when I found her

-crying, I knew that a fine new doll would dry her tears. Don't bother to

-thank me. I made myself happy, when I comforted her."

-

-"I wish there were mair like ye," said Sandy Ferguson, "an' some day

-when ye're older, an' ha' a wee daughter of yer ain,--"

-

-"I have a wife and baby girl now," was the quick reply, "and they are my

-dearest possessions."

-

-"An' I thought ye a braw, bonny laddie, wi' yer fair hair an' blue een!

-Weel, weel, ye dinna hae tae live 'til ye're auld before ye ken tae dae

-a kindly act," Sandy Ferguson replied, "an' later when I play the

-pipes, an' Lois dances, she shall make her first bow tae her new

-friend."

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry, _did_ you buy the new doll for the little girl?"

-

-It was little Flossie, who, after having searched every corner of the

-tent, had found him talking to the Scotchman and his little girl.

-

-"Is he your own uncle?" little Lois asked, looking up into Flossie's

-lovely face.

-

-"Oh, yes," said Flossie, "and he's the best uncle in the world."

-

-"I know he must be," said the little girl. "See how good he was to me."

-

-They turned to join the rest of their party, and little Lois looked over

-her shoulder, with one hand held fast in her father's, while with the

-other she tightly clasped the precious doll.

-

-"I saw the notice near the entrance when we came in, that a Scotch

-farmer would play, and his little daughter would dance," said Uncle

-Harry, "but that child is not much more than a baby. She cannot be more

-than four. It will be amusing to see her dance, and Nancy Ferris will

-enjoy it most of all."

-

-They found the others reading the notice of which they had been talking,

-and they were delighted when they heard what a very little girl it was

-who was to dance.

-

-They had a lunch served by girls dressed as dairy maids, and it was just

-such a lunch as might have been enjoyed at a farmhouse.

-

-The long table spread with its white cloth, and set with blue and white

-dishes, was decorated by a garland of small sunflowers that lay upon the

-cloth, down the centre, and the entire length of the table.

-

-There were plates heaped with biscuit, there were dishes of both wild

-and cultivated strawberries, and delicious cream to be eaten with them,

-there were sandwiches and little cakes, honey enough to tempt the bees

-to the feast, and the children thought it finer than a hotel dinner. How

-they laughed, and chattered, as they enjoyed the spread!

-

-Uncle Harry was in his sunniest mood, and told stories and jokes that

-kept them amused, and seemed to be the gayest member of the party.

-

-"Tell us a story about when you were a _little_ boy," said Flossie.

-

-"My small niece thinks I'm nothing but a _big_ boy now!" he said.

-

-"Well, the big Scotchman thought you were only a lad. I heard him say

-so," said Flossie.

-

-"When you were a boy were you ever naughty, _real_ naughty?" Floretta

-asked.

-

-She had been very quiet, and all were surprised at her question.

-

-"Once upon a time, when I was little," said Uncle Harry, "I was very,

-_very_ fond of good things, but the one thing that I liked better than

-anything else was strawberry jam.

-

-"I was always allowed to have it, but I felt sure that it would taste

-even nicer if I had more of it at a time, and still finer if I could

-have a long handled spoon, and eat it right from the jar.

-

-"I used often to think how fine it would be if I, some day, could have

-the chance to eat it that way, but I never could get even _very_ near

-the jar.

-

-"One day the opportunity came. My sister and I were in the nursery, and

-the maid had been down-stairs for a long time.

-

-"The rest of the family were away, and we were to have our tea in the

-nursery, as usual, only, as we had had to remain at home, we were to

-have an extra treat.

-

-"Among other good things, we were to have strawberry jam.

-

-"My sister, that is Flossie's mamma, was a little older than I, and she

-was always trying to give me lessons in good behavior.

-

-"'Now, Harry,' she said, 'while nurse is down-stairs, we might commence

-to set our table.'

-

-"'There isn't anything here to set it with but the tablecloth and the

-jam,' I said, 'but you're a girl, so you know how to put the cloth on,

-and I'll bring the jam.'"

-

-"I guess Uncle Harry was so fond of the jam, that he liked even to

-carry the jar," said Flossie.

-

-"We wondered why the nurse stayed so long down-stairs," continued Uncle

-Harry, "and I told my sister that I was tired of waiting for tea, and I

-said I'd taste of the jam, if only I had a long handled spoon.

-

-"'Why, Harry,' she answered in disgust, 'I wouldn't think you'd be so

-naughty, but,--if you really _want_ to taste it, here's the spoon beside

-the jar.'"

-

-"And _did_ you?" questioned Dorothy.

-

-"Well, yes, I have to admit that I did. In truth, I tasted and tasted

-until my sister cried:

-

-"'Why, Harry, you naughty boy! When you get done tasting, there won't be

-any left!'

-

-"'You won't care, because _you_ wouldn't be so naughty as to taste it!'

-I said.

-

-"'Oh, wouldn't I?' she cried. 'Well, you just let me take that spoon,

-and you'll see!'

-

-"Well, a funny mix-up followed, in which we each tried to get possession

-of the spoon and the jam. We were laughing while we struggled for it,

-but at last, one of us slipped, and fell, dragging the other down; the

-jar of jam tipped over, and her white frock, my gray jacket and

-trousers, and even my long, yellow curls became smeared with the jam.

-

-"Nurse opened the door, and screamed with terror, for the red jam looked

-as if we had been terribly hurt, and it was some time before we could

-convince her that we were not cut or bruised, but only _very sticky_!

-

-"Then came the scolding, and my sister tried to screen me.

-

-"'Harry couldn't help tasting it, he's so fond of jam,' she said.

-

-"'Well, he's got a good share of it, inside and out,' said nurse,

-grimly.

-

-"'She's got as much as I have,' I said, 'just look at her frock!'

-

-"Of course our clothes were changed, and the jam cleaned from the

-polished floor, but we had our tea without jam.

-

-"Nurse said we could eat our biscuits with the _memory_ of the jam we

-had already enjoyed."

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry," cried Flossie, "I wish, even though you were naughty,

-she'd let you have more jam. She didn't know how good you'd be when you

-grew up."

-

-"I still am fond of jam!" he said, and the children laughed to see him

-pour honey over his berries that already were covered with sugar.

-

-"You like _anything_ that's sweet!" said Dorothy, "whether it's jam, or

-sugar, or honey,--"

-

-"Or little girls," said Uncle Harry. "You notice, I made this party all

-little girls, and I'm having a _lovely_ time."

-

-"So are we," laughed Dorothy.

-

-"And he says 'lovely' just as we do," said Nancy, "he does it to make us

-laugh."

-

-"Then why don't you laugh?" said Uncle Harry, and they _did_ laugh,

-every member of the party, and laughed because they could not help it.

-

-And when the merry feast was over, they hastened to the small tent where

-the old gypsy was telling fortunes.

-

-Each had intended to have her fortune told, and thus learn what the

-future held for her.

-

-To their great surprise, she flatly refused to tell any child's

-fortune, saying that she would only foretell events for "grown ups." The

-little girls were rather afraid of her, but Uncle Harry boldly offered

-his hand, saying:

-

-"Am I big enough to hear my fortune?"

-

-"No nonsense, young lad," she said, while the children dared not laugh.

-She bent over his palm for a moment, then she solemnly said:

-

-"You're a brave lad, and you need to be for you will fall in love with a

-girl who'll have red hair, and the temper that usually goes with it."

-

-"O dear!" sighed Uncle Harry.

-

-"Don't worry, young man," said the old gypsy, "because it will be some

-months before you marry."

-

-"Indeed," said Uncle Harry, "and what shall I do if the girl proves to

-have the temper you prophesy? Shall I try to calm her by holding her

-under a pump, or would you advise tying her until she feels less fiery?"

-

-"Young man, this is no laughing matter," was the sharp reply.

-

-"Guess it isn't!" said Uncle Harry. "I've seldom been so discouraged.

-Here am I, a man who has a lovely wife and baby girl, and yet I've got

-to marry a red-haired girl, with a temper like chain lightning! Who was

-ever in a worse fix?"

-

-The old gypsy flew into a rage. "You're poking fun at me!" she cried.

-

-"There! There! The fun was worth that!" he cried, laying a handful of

-small coins on the table before her.

-

-In her eagerness to count the money, she forgot her wrath, and they

-hastened from the tent, where, safely outside, they were free to laugh

-as much as they chose.

-

-As they re-entered the large tent, they saw that near the centre, a

-space had been cleared, and there was a crowd of people waiting, as if

-expecting some attraction to be exhibited.

-

-They had not long to wait, for almost immediately the Scotch piper

-appeared, and tightly clasping her precious new doll in her arms was wee

-Lois, dressed in Highland costume.

-

-Placing her doll on a table, and making sure that it was safe, she ran

-forward, courtesied first to Uncle Harry, as she had promised, and then,

-to the music of the pipes, the wee lassie did the "Highland Fling."

-

-She was such a round, dimpled little girl, one would never have dreamed

-that she could dance with such infantile grace.

-

-And when she had finished, with another courtesy, they crowded around

-her, and it was Nancy who most generously praised her. Dear little

-Nancy, who danced like a fairy, never had a jealous thought in her

-loving heart!

-

-It was Uncle Harry who caught little Lois, and lifted her so that he

-could look into her eyes.

-

-"I want my dolly, now," she cried, anxious lest it be lost or stolen.

-Dorothy brought the doll, and the child clasped it to her breast.

-

-"My wee lassie said she wisht she had a gift tae gi' ye," said Sandy.

-

-"I have a dear little girl of my own, and I prize her baby kisses," said

-Uncle Harry. "Will _you_ give me one, little Lois?"

-

-She clasped her arms around his neck, and kissed him softly.

-

-"Best man next to father," she said.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER IX

-

-FLOSSIE'S LETTER

-

-

-THE children said "good-by" to little Lois, and as her father carried

-her away, she waved her hand to them.

-

-"Wasn't she cunning?" said Dorothy.

-

-"She was very sweet," said Nancy, "and how well she did her little

-dance!"

-

-"She didn't dance half as fine as you do, Nancy Ferris," said Floretta.

-"You _know_ that."

-

-"Oh, but I was trained for dancing," said Nancy, "and, beside, she was

-very little to dance so cleverly."

-

-Floretta made no reply, but she thought of what Nancy had said.

-

-"Trained for dancing. She said she was _trained_ to dance. I wonder

-where? I wish I knew, but I didn't quite dare to ask her."

-

-Once more they walked around the big tent, and Uncle Harry purchased a

-gift for each to carry home as a souvenir.

-

-There were little baskets that the gypsies had woven, and fancy boxes

-filled with woodland plants. The boxes were made from birch bark, and

-were very dainty.

-

-These the children prized, and lovingly they thanked him for the pretty

-gifts.

-

-At the candy table he purchased enough of the homemade bonbons to fill

-the baskets, and then they left the tent to start on the homeward trip.

-

-The barge was waiting for them, and they clambered in, tired, but very

-happy.

-

-"This is the nicest fair I ever went to," said Dorothy, "and I've had

-so many good things that I'm going to save my basket of candy until

-to-morrow."

-

-"So am I," cried all the others.

-

-"And so am _I_," said Uncle Harry, as he held up a huge basket filled

-with all kinds of candy.

-

-How they laughed, and accused him of having a "sweet-tooth."

-

-"Now, just a moment!" he cried, as he held up his finger for silence,

-"I'm taking this _big_ basket home to treat the _big_ ladies with. I

-took the _little_ ladies with me, but I've not forgotten the _big_

-ladies that I left at the hotel."

-

-"Because you don't ever forget any one," said Flossie, and the others

-cried:

-

-"That's it! Just it! He does nice things for every one."

-

-"Oh, spare my blushes," said Uncle Harry, but it was easy to see that

-their affection for him pleased him.

-

-The ride home seemed shorter than the trip to the fair.

-

-They joined in singing the merry songs that his fine voice led, and the

-horses, knowing that they were on the homeward trip, jogged along at a

-better pace than when they had started out.

-

-Uncle Harry had found some bells, and fastened them to their harnesses,

-and they made a jingling accompaniment to the merry voices.

-

-And when the barge drew up at the Cleverton, Uncle Harry, with elaborate

-courtesy, handed each young lady down, bowing low, and thanking her for

-the honor she had conferred upon him by permitting him to take her to

-the fair.

-

-"Oh, you do truly know we have to thank you for giving us such a lovely

-day!" said Dorothy.

-

-"But think how happy I have been," he said, and although his blue eyes

-were laughing, they knew that he meant it.

-

-"Oh, mamma, we had the finest time," cried Dorothy, "and see the fine

-basket of candy and the pretty birch bark box! See the little ferns

-growing in it. Isn't he _dear_?"

-

-"He surely is charming," said Mrs. Dainty. "His generous, sunny nature

-makes every one love him, and I believe he values the love of his

-friends more than most things."

-

-"He has been gay, and full of fun all day," said Nancy, "and it will

-take a long time to tell you all the pleasant things he did for us. I do

-wish you and Aunt Charlotte _could_ have been there when he had his

-fortune told."

-

-"And he couldn't have been any nicer to us if we'd been tall ladies,"

-said Floretta.

-

-"I hope every one of you little friends were real _little ladies_, thus

-rewarding him for his kindness," Aunt Charlotte said, gently.

-

-"Oh, we were," said Nancy, "not a single one of us did anything that

-could trouble him."

-

-"There were a number of little girls who only came here last week, so we

-weren't much acquainted with them, but they were all very nice, and he

-said he had as fine a time as we did," said Dorothy.

-

-She climbed into a large hammock, and with Nancy beside her, sat

-swinging, and thinking of the day that had been so delightfully spent.

-

-Mrs. Fenton came out upon the piazza, and, instead of sitting down,

-seemed to be looking for something.

-

-"Can I help you?" said Nancy, slipping from the hammock, and hastening

-toward her.

-

-"I've mislaid my glasses," she said, "and I can't find them."

-

-She did not thank Nancy for so kindly offering to help her, but Nancy

-seemed not to notice that. She peeped under chairs, lifted their

-cushions, and even looked between folds of newspapers that lay near at

-hand, but the glasses were not in sight.

-

-"How trying!" said Mrs. Fenton, "I have some letters that I wish to

-read, and I can't read them until my glasses are found."

-

-"Did you use them anywhere but just here?" Nancy asked.

-

-Mrs. Fenton stood for a moment thinking.

-

-"Seems to me I _did_ have them in the dining-room," she said.

-

-"I'll go and ask the waitresses if they have seen them," said Nancy, as

-she ran toward the hall.

-

-She paused in the doorway, amazed at what she saw.

-

-Floretta, with a pair of eyeglasses upon her small nose, was walking up

-and down the room, as nearly as possible, in Mrs. Fenton's manner, and

-exactly imitating her voice, while a group of waitresses, the cook, and

-two kitchen maids laughed, and applauded her.

-

-She cared not who composed her audience, so long as she obtained

-applause. Floretta was, evidently, quite herself once more!

-

-"Oh, Floretta!" cried Nancy, "you mustn't, truly you mustn't. Give me

-the glasses. Mrs. Fenton is looking everywhere for them!"

-

-"Well, I shan't give them to you!" said Floretta, rudely. "You aren't

-Mrs. Fenton."

-

-"But I've been helping her to hunt for them. She has some letters she

-wants to read, and she can't till she has her glasses," insisted Nancy.

-

-"Then let her come for them!" cried Floretta, when a quiet voice spoke.

-

-"Very well, I _have_ come for them," it said, and there in the doorway

-stood Mrs. Fenton.

-

-The silly maids who had laughed so loudly, now hastily disappeared in

-the kitchen.

-

-Floretta dropped the glasses upon the table, and then, wholly ashamed,

-crawled under it, where Mrs. Fenton's sharp eyes might not look at her.

-

-Mrs. Fenton took the glasses, and without another word, swept from the

-room.

-

-Nancy, waiting in the hall, crept softly toward her, and gently laid her

-hand on the lady's arm.

-

-"I'm _so_ sorry she did that. I wish I could have got the glasses from

-her, and brought them to you before you came to find them. Then you

-needn't have known how naughty,--" Nancy caught her breath.

-

-"Never mind that, Nancy. Remember, as _I_ shall, that _you_ were not the

-naughty, disgusting child," said Mrs. Fenton, and she turned, with her

-letters and glasses in her hand, and went up the long stairway to her

-room.

-

-It was nearly time to dress for dinner, which was always served

-promptly at six.

-

-Mrs. Dainty with Dorothy, and Aunt Charlotte with Nancy hastened to

-their rooms, to freshen their toilettes, and Nancy realized that there

-would not be time to tell Aunt Charlotte all about the unpleasant

-happening.

-

-"I've something to tell you, but I'll have to wait till we've plenty of

-time," she said.

-

-Aunt Charlotte, tying the soft, blue ribbon into the brown curls, looked

-into the mirror before which they were standing, and smiled at the

-thoughtful face.

-

-"Will it keep until then, dear?" she asked.

-

-"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "I only tell it to you because I love to tell you

-everything."

-

-"Dear child," said Aunt Charlotte, "I bless the day that you, as a

-little waif, were taken in by Mrs. Dainty, and that I was asked to come

-and care for you. I could not love you more if you were my own little

-girl."

-

-"I never saw my own mamma; she died when I was a baby," said Nancy, "so,

-because you love me, you seem like my very own."

-

-Gentle Aunt Charlotte's eyes were wet with happy tears, as she hooked

-the pretty, white muslin frock, with its slip of light blue, and tied

-the soft blue belt.

-

-"Your shoes must be changed, Nancy," she said. "You know how particular

-Mrs. Dainty is about the matter of shoes and stockings. They must match

-the frock."

-

-"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and with this one she said: 'Wear blue

-stockings and bronze slippers,' so I will."

-

-She found the blue hose and the pretty bronze slippers, then, with elfin

-grace, she caught the edge of her skirt, and with rosy, bare feet,

-tripped across the floor in a graceful, gliding step, crying:

-

-"Look, Aunt Charlotte, look! This pretty step Bonfanti taught me."

-

-Aunt Charlotte did look, and as she watched the pretty child, and saw

-her joy in dancing, she marvelled that little Nancy could smile as she

-danced, remembering all that she had been taught, while apparently

-forgetting all the unhappy months upon the stage.

-

-She thought of poor little Nancy, forced to dance, night after night, to

-support her old Uncle Steve, who was too lazy to support himself.

-

-She thought of the time that the little pitiful note from Nancy had

-reached them, and, together, she and Mrs. Dainty had found the child,

-and brought her safely home.

-

-She did not speak of all this. Nancy's happy little heart should never

-be reminded of sad days that were past.

-

-Now her life was filled with bright sunshine, the sunshine of love, and

-it was reflected in her happy face.

-

-A gong rang out a silvery note.

-

-"Oh, my shoes!" cried Nancy, with a peal of merry laughter. "I wanted to

-show you those pretty steps, and I forgot all about dinner."

-

-It was the work of but a few seconds for Nancy to draw on the light blue

-hose, and even less time to put on the pretty slippers. She ran to the

-mirror, and courtesied, took a few tripping steps, smiling at her

-reflection, and then hastened to the hall to join Dorothy.

-

-[Illustration: SHE TOOK A FEW TRIPPING STEPS, SMILING AT HER

-REFLECTION.--_Page 176._]

-

-"All ready," cried Nancy, springing to her feet, to follow Dorothy.

-

-A pretty pair they made as with arms about each other's waist, they

-tripped along the hall.

-

-Fair, blue-eyed Dorothy Dainty was very lovely in a pale pink frock with

-soft frillings of fine lace. Her stockings were of the same shade, and

-her shoes were white. Mrs. Dainty in dark blue satin, and Aunt Charlotte

-in pearl color made, with the two children, a pleasing group.

-

-In the lower hall they met Mrs. Paxton with Floretta, the former wearing

-a gown of purple satin, while Floretta wore a frock of scarlet silk.

-Mrs. Fenton, passing, on her way to the dining-room, looked sharply

-at the two groups, and _did_ she look amused when her eyes rested upon

-Mrs. Paxton, and her small daughter? Dorothy noticed the look, and

-turned to her mamma.

-

-Mrs. Dainty read the question in Dorothy's eyes, and ever so slightly,

-shook her head, and they passed into the dining-room.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-The next morning, when the mail was distributed, there was great

-excitement, because every one had so many letters.

-

-"See mine!" cried Flossie Barnet. "Everybody see mine! It looks like

-boy's writing. See it!"

-

-"If some very young man wrote it, he might not be delighted to have it

-so freely exhibited, Flossie," said Uncle Harry, with a laugh.

-

-"Oh, why should he care?" she asked in surprise. "Who do you s'pose

-wrote it? Guess, Uncle Harry!"

-

-"Well, now let me think," said Uncle Harry, covering his eyes with his

-hand, then peeping through his fingers.

-

-"There's a small boy at home, who glories in the name of Reginald Merton

-Deane. Open the letter, dear, and if I guessed right, you can give me a

-prize, and if I'm wrong, I'll give you one."

-

-Flossie studied the address for a moment, then she opened the letter,

-and laughed with delight.

-

-"I'll have to give you the prize, but why did he think to write to me?"

-

-Dear little Flossie had never seemed aware that small Reginald preferred

-her to any of his friends. Even when she was so little that she could

-not pronounce his name, and called him "Weginald," he thought her the

-dearest of all his playmates. And this was his letter:

-

-          "DEAR FLOSSIE:

-

-          "I miss you so much that I'm going to write, and

-          tell you all the news.

-

-          "Our old dog had a fit yesterday, and my brother

-          got the vet'nary doctor. When he came, he said

-          Carlo hadn't any fit. He was acting just awful. I

-          said 'what makes him tare round so?' an he said

-          maybe I'd tare round sum if I had a fish-bone in

-          my throat! The doctor took it out, and then Carlo

-          was so glad he tore round worsen ever!

-

-          "Arabella Corryville is acting worse than Carlo

-          did. You know her Aunt Matilda lives with them, an

-          neether Arabella, or her pa, or her ma dare to do

-          ennything without asking Aunt Matilda _first_.

-          Well, her aunt has had to go way up to New

-          Hampshur (I guess I didn't spell that rite) and

-          Arabella thinks its just her chanse to act awful.

-          Carlo is real quiet side of Arabella when she acts

-          the way she does now.

-

-          "She stays out doors most all the time, and goes

-          just where she pleases.

-

-          "Some days she's way down by the stashun until its

-          almost dark.

-

-          "You know she's always taking medesin, and carries

-          the bottles in her pockets.

-

-          "She carries em now, but she told me she's takin

-          the kind she likes best. Theres two kinds her Aunt

-          Matilda made her take, one tasted horrid, and the

-          other tasted nice. Arabella threw the horrid one

-          away, and ate the nice pills for candy. She told

-          me this morning that her Aunt Matilda is coming

-          home just for one day, and then they're all going

-          up where you, and Dorothy, and Nancy are. I don't

-          believe it, but if she does, and you see her, you

-          needn't give my love to her.

-

-                                "Your tru friend,

-                                          "REGINALD."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER X

-

-A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS

-

-

-OF course, Dorothy and Nancy were greatly interested in the letter, and

-Uncle Harry said that he was glad that Reginald had thought to say that

-the fish-bone had been removed from Carlo's throat.

-

-He said it would have seemed quite a trip to take to leave the

-Cleverton, and go to Merrivale to feel Carlo's pulse, and inquire for

-his health.

-

-"Now that that bone is removed, I breathe easier," said Uncle Harry,

-"and so does Carlo!"

-

-"Oh, you wouldn't have gone home just to call on Carlo," said Flossie.

-

-"Well, I don't know," he said, trying to look solemn, "I wouldn't like

-Carlo to feel neglected, and now I think of it, does Reginald speak of

-the cat?"

-

-"No," said Flossie, "but when I answer the letter, I'll tell Reginald

-you're anxious about her."

-

-"I am," said Uncle Harry, "because the last time I saw her, Carlo was

-barking at her very rudely, and her back was up in a hump like a

-camel's. Reginald ought to have told us if her back is _still_ up, or

-whether she has taken the kink out of her spine. We might telephone and

-ask, instead of worrying."

-

-He rose, and walked toward the hall, whistling as he went, an old

-nursery song that he used to sing to Flossie.

-

-          "The cat came fiddling out of the barn,

-           With a pair of bagpipes under her arm."

-

-How the children laughed!

-

-"Look!" said Flossie, "he's going right toward the telephone, just to

-make us think that he's _truly_ going to ring up Reginald, and inquire

-for the cat."

-

-"Who is Arabella?" Floretta asked.

-

-"She lives near us," said Dorothy, "and she used to go to Aunt

-Charlotte's private school with us."

-

-"Doesn't she now?" asked Floretta.

-

-"No, she left our class, and went to a large school in the city."

-

-"By what the letter says, I'd think she was rather queer," said

-Floretta.

-

-"Well--" said Dorothy, hesitating, "Arabella _is_ queer."

-

-"Why don't you like to say so?" was the sharp reply.

-

-"Because Dorothy never likes to say anything that isn't kind about any

-one, but Arabella _is_ queer, so Dorothy won't say she isn't," said

-Nancy.

-

-It was a few days later that Dorothy was reminded of what Reginald had

-said in his letter to Flossie.

-

-She was waiting for Nancy to go for a walk, and stooping to pick some of

-the pretty wildflowers that blossomed everywhere.

-

-She had walked slowly along toward the clump of white birches where,

-when they had first arrived, they had called, and listened to the echo.

-

-She looked back toward the hotel, but Nancy was not yet in sight, so she

-seated herself upon the grass, and began to arrange the flowers in a

-fine bouquet.

-

-She was trying to mix the white blossoms and pink buds so as to show the

-beauty of each, when a carriage passed, and before she looked up a

-shrill little voice shouted:

-

-"Dorothy! Dorothy! We're over at the farmhouse just beyond the

-Merlington. Aunt Matilda wouldn't _let_ pa take us to a hotel. She

-doesn't approve of hotels. Aunt Matilda says,--"

-

-She was looking back to shout at Dorothy, and doubtless would have given

-even more particulars, but a firm hand had hastily forced her to turn

-around, and sit down.

-

-Nancy ran along the path a few moments later, and her eyes were dancing.

-

-"Did you see Arabella?" she asked. "_Did_ you?"

-

-"Yes, just a few moments ago, and she turned around in the carriage and

-screamed to me," said Dorothy.

-

-"I can guess what she said," laughed Nancy, "because she screamed at

-me. She told me she was staying at a farmhouse, and said that her Aunt

-Matilda didn't approve of hotels."

-

-"That is _just_ what she said," said Dorothy, "and she would have said

-more but some one, I think it was her Aunt Matilda, pulled her back into

-the carriage."

-

-"Why, that's just the way it was when I saw her. I ran out on to the

-piazza, and down the steps, and the carriage rolled by, and she twisted

-round to shout. There was this difference, though," said Nancy. "You

-were out here alone, and no one would know if you laughed, but when I

-ran out, our piazza was full of people, and when Arabella shouted, you'd

-ought to have seen them look.

-

-"Flossie and her Uncle Harry were on the lawn, and as she rode past, he

-said with a sigh:

-

-          "'Arabella, Arabella,

-            If I had my new umbrella,'

-

-and I was wild to know the rest of it, but his wife, who was standing

-near him, said:

-

-"'Hush, Harry, really you mustn't,' and he only laughed, and said:

-

-"'Oh, _mustn't_ I? Why, when I saw Arabella and her Aunt Matilda, I

-really felt as if I _must_!'"

-

-"Let's ask him what the rest of the verse is," said Dorothy.

-

-"I'm wild to hear it," Nancy said, "because the very way he looked made

-me think that the other lines, whatever they were, would be funny."

-

-She stooped to gather more of the little blossoms to add to Dorothy's

-bouquet, and then commenced to make a bouquet of her own.

-

-"Arabella will be coming over to see you," she said, a moment later,

-"and I wonder if it is naughty to say, 'I wish she wouldn't?' Do you

-think it is?"

-

-"I don't know," said Dorothy, "but I _do_ wish it. I wouldn't, only she

-is so hard to please. Mamma wishes us to be nice to every one, but,

-Nancy, you _do_ know that when we try the hardest to please Arabella, we

-don't please her at all."

-

-"I know it," agreed Nancy, "but perhaps she'll come some time when we

-are out, and then we won't have to amuse her."

-

-"I'm sure I ought not to say it, but I _do_ wish it would happen that

-way," said Dorothy.

-

-They had reached the birches, and they paused to wake the echo. What fun

-it was to hear their shouts repeated.

-

-Again and again they called, and then a droll thing happened. They had

-called this name and that, and each time the echo, like a voice from the

-mountain, had repeated it with wonderful distinctness. Then Dorothy,

-leaning forward, called, loudly:

-

-"Dorothy!"

-

-"_What?_" came the reply.

-

-She turned, and looked at Nancy. "Dorothy!" she cried, again.

-

-"_Dainty!_" was the answer, and upon looking toward a little path that

-was nearly opposite where they were standing, they saw the low bushes

-move, and faintly they heard a smothered laugh.

-

-Dorothy was laughing now.

-

-"Boys!" she cried, and back came the laughing echo:

-

-"_Girls!_" and then the boys peeped out a bit too far, and Dorothy saw

-who had been playing echo.

-

-It was Jack Tiverton and a boy whom he had chosen for a "chum." Jack had

-not intended so soon to be discovered, and he and his friend disappeared

-in a little grove, while Dorothy and Nancy continued their walk.

-

-There were sunny paths and bits of woodland that were so near the hotel

-as to be absolutely safe, where all the summer guests, especially the

-children, loved to roam at will. Along one of these little paths were

-sweet little yellow blossoms, and these they gathered to brighten their

-bouquets.

-

-"Let's have some of these little vines to hang from our bouquets," said

-Dorothy, and the graceful vines proved to be an added beauty.

-

-When they returned to the Cleverton there were but few people upon the

-piazza.

-

-Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte sat talking with Mrs. Vinton, and farther

-along, Mrs. Fenton sat with an open book upon her lap, although she was

-not reading.

-

-She often had a book or magazine, but rarely did she read them.

-

-She would sit looking off at the distant mountain-range, the white

-clouds, or the sunny valley over which those clouds cast floating

-shadows.

-

-Did she hear the conversation, or notice what was going on about her?

-Floretta Paxton said that Mrs. Fenton acted as if she sat there to watch

-some one; and was Floretta right? Mrs. Fenton's actions certainly

-seemed strange day after day. She talked little, took slight interest in

-what was going on about her, and was a mystery to all the other guests.

-

-But what, or whom could she be watching?

-

-Dorothy and Nancy, returning from their walk, saw the group, and also

-noticed Mrs. Fenton, who always chose to sit apart from the others.

-

-"I'll give my flowers to mamma and Mrs. Vinton," said Dorothy.

-

-"And I'll give mine to Aunt Charlotte and to Mrs. Fenton,--if she wants

-them," said Nancy, hesitating because it was so hard to guess what

-might, or might not, please Mrs. Fenton.

-

-Dorothy ran to show her blossoms to her mamma and to Mrs. Vinton, while

-Nancy, pausing beside Mrs. Fenton's chair, held forth her pretty

-bouquet, as she said:

-

-"We've just gathered them. Aren't they pretty?"

-

-"Lovely, very lovely," said Mrs. Fenton, with more interest than usual.

-"I remember picking just such flowers; even the long vines I know are

-like those I used to see when I was a little girl."

-

-"Would you enjoy some of these? I'd so like to give them to you," Nancy

-said, and she was surprised at the quick reply.

-

-"I would really prize them, Nancy, and you're a sweet child to give them

-to me," she said.

-

-Quickly Nancy divided the bouquet, and smiled as she laid the pretty

-things in Mrs. Fenton's lap.

-

-"I cannot let them wilt, so I will take them at once to my room," said

-Mrs. Fenton, and Nancy saw her bend to catch their perfume, as she

-turned toward the hall.

-

-That night, when nearly all the guests had entered the dining-room, Mrs.

-Fenton came in at the main entrance, and as she sat nearly opposite Mrs.

-Dainty's party, they noticed that the bodice of her black lace gown was

-given color by the pretty wildflowers that Nancy had given her. They

-were the first flowers that she had worn since her arrival.

-

-Nancy smiled with pleasure, and Mrs. Fenton, looking across the table,

-returned the smile.

-

-Had the gift of simple wildflowers cheered her?

-

-Thus far she had worn only black, but to-night a dull gold slip

-shimmered through the black lace; and were her eyes brighter?

-

-Nancy thought so, and without knowing why, was glad.

-

-There was a musicale in the evening, and Mrs. Fenton joined Mrs. Dainty

-and Aunt Charlotte, and seemed to enjoy the conversation, between the

-numbers of the program.

-

-Once, while she was talking, she laid her hand lightly upon Nancy's

-shoulder, and Nancy looked up to smile. Aunt Charlotte saw that the lady

-was more cheerful, and also noticed that she wore Nancy's flowers. The

-evening passed pleasantly, and Nancy's drowsy words, just before she

-went to sleep, were:

-

-"I do really think I cheered her."

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-A few days later Mrs. Dainty invited Mrs. Fenton to be her guest during

-a drive over a lovely road that neither of them had yet seen. It was

-said to be one of the most picturesque roads in that section of the

-country.

-

-Mrs. Fenton accepted, and with Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Vinton they

-formed a pleasant party.

-

-Dorothy and Nancy were to drive in their little phaeton, and they felt

-quite as important as the four ladies in the barouche.

-

-True, Mrs. Dainty owned a handsome span of bays, but was not the pony,

-Romeo, a beauty?

-

-The road was some distance from the Cleverton, and there were some

-charming places to be seen on the way, so it happened that the trip,

-which proved to be most enjoyable, occupied the afternoon.

-

-Mrs. Paxton had a number of letters to write, and Floretta, feeling very

-lonely, and wishing that she had some one to play with, climbed into a

-hammock, and wondered what she might do to amuse herself.

-

-"Every one but me has gone somewhere, and I wish _I_ had," she said, as

-she gave a smart kick that sent the hammock higher.

-

-"What's the fun of swinging alone?" she grumbled, but there was no one

-on the piazza to answer her, and she let the hammock sway lazily while

-she looked down the sunny road, and thought how strange it was that the

-place seemed so still.

-

-Not a leaf stirred, and Floretta's disgust increased.

-

-"Nothing in sight, not even an old hen," she said, when, way down where

-the road looked so narrow and distant, a little figure appeared, coming

-directly toward the Cleverton. She watched the approaching figure, and

-wondered who it might be.

-

-"'Tisn't any one I know," she thought, "and _doesn't_ she look queer?"

-

-Any one who had ever known Arabella Corryville would also have known

-that she always looked decidedly odd and strange, and it was Arabella

-who was marching steadily along the road.

-

-So determined was her tread that one might have thought that there was a

-band behind her playing martial music to which she was obliged to keep

-step.

-

-"Well, whoever she is, she's carrying an umbrella, this pleasant day,"

-murmured Floretta; then as she came near, she added:

-

-"And wearing rubbers and a raincoat, as true as I live!"

-

-Arabella was more bundled and wrapped than at first appeared, for, as

-she came up the gravel walk, Floretta saw that a long veil was closely

-tied over her hat, and wound about her throat.

-

-From her appearance one might have thought that she expected freezing

-weather before night.

-

-She walked up on to the piazza, and then stood, for a moment, looking

-about, as if in search of some one.

-

-It was not politeness that prompted Floretta to speak. It was simply

-curiosity. She was wild to know who the strange-looking child was, and

-whom she wished to see.

-

-"Are you looking for some one?" she asked, at the same time slipping

-from the hammock, and going so close to Arabella that she could peep

-into the queer little face.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XI

-

-ARABELLA MAKES A CALL

-

-

-ARABELLA peered at Floretta through her spectacles, and was tempted not

-to reply, but after a moment's pause she changed her mind.

-

-"I came to see Dorothy Dainty, and Nancy Ferris," she said.

-

-"They're out driving," said Floretta.

-

-"How do you know?" Arabella asked, rudely.

-

-"Because I heard them say they were going, and because I saw them go,"

-was the quick reply.

-

-"It's a long way over here, and now I've got to take the same walk

-back," said Arabella.

-

-"They're going to be out all the afternoon," said Floretta, "but why

-don't you sit down, and rest a while before you go back?"

-

-It sounded kind, and Arabella at once seated herself, while Floretta sat

-near her.

-

-She thought it would be great fun to question this odd child, and there

-was no one near to check her.

-

-"Aren't you nearly roasted in that raincoat?" she asked.

-

-"Well, I'm not chilly," said Arabella, fixing her sharp eyes upon the

-other little girl.

-

-"Did you think it was going to rain?" was the next question. "You've

-rubbers, and umbrella."

-

-Floretta barely managed to hide the fact that she wanted to laugh. Her

-question seemed so absurd with the blue sky overhead, and the sunshine

-everywhere.

-

-"I didn't want to wear them," said Arabella, "and I told Aunt Matilda it

-was too pleasant to rain, but she said you never could tell, and she

-said, too, that I could wear them, or stay at home, so what could I do?"

-

-"_I'd_ have stayed at home," said Floretta, bluntly. "I wouldn't wear

-raincoat and rubbers, and lug an umbrella for any Aunt Matilda or Aunt

-Jemima!"

-

-"Who is Aunt Jemima?" Arabella asked, stupidly.

-

-"I don't know," said Floretta, sharply, "but then, I don't know your

-Aunt Matilda."

-

-She longed to say that she did not want to, but for once she did not

-quite dare to say what she thought.

-

-Then there was an awkward pause. Floretta could not think what to say

-next, while Arabella did not try.

-

-Silence never made her uneasy. She could stare at any one who sat

-opposite her, for a half-hour, without so much as winking, and it rather

-amused her if the other person became nervous, and wriggled uneasily

-beneath her persistent stare. At last Floretta spoke.

-

-"You might take some of those things off," she said; "you won't need

-them while you stay."

-

-"Aunt Matilda told me not to," said Arabella, "and if I _did_, it would

-be just my luck to have her come right by here, and see me with them

-off. My! _Wouldn't_ she be angry?"

-

-Arabella's eyes dilated as she asked the question.

-

-"Does your Aunt Matilda poke 'round after you like that?" asked

-Floretta.

-

-"She doesn't ever _seem_ to follow me, but all the same, she's always

-catching me doing something."

-

-"Then you _do_ risk doing what she tells you not to," said Floretta,

-with a saucy laugh.

-

-"Look here!" cried Arabella, "I don't know you, but I'm going to tell

-you something. I can't do one single thing I want to, neither can my

-papa or mamma. Aunt Matilda is little, and my papa is big. He says he

-was centre-rush on the college football team, but when Aunt Matilda

-tells him what to do, he says, 'Yes'm,' and does it. One of our

-neighbors at home says Aunt Matilda holds the purse-strings, but I don't

-know what that means. Her purse hasn't any strings on it."

-

-"Well, if it _had_, I'd cut 'em off," said Floretta, "so she _couldn't_

-hold 'em."

-

-"You wouldn't if she lived at _your_ house," said Arabella.

-

-Floretta, in spite of her boldness, was more than half convinced.

-

-"Well,--perhaps I wouldn't," she said. "Why, what are you taking?"

-

-"Pills," said Arabella, counting out six very pink pills from a little

-bottle, and taking them, then making a horrid face.

-

-"You don't look sick," said Floretta, "but you're taking medicine."

-

-"Aunt Matilda says these are for my color," was the answer.

-

-"You haven't any; you're pale as a sheet," said Floretta.

-

-"That's why I take them," said Arabella, "and look! I've got some green

-ones I take," and six green pills followed the pink ones.

-

-"Why, what are those for?" gasped Floretta. "Ought you to take two kinds

-at the same time?"

-

-Arabella, determined to startle her new acquaintance, took a third

-bottle from her pocket, and swallowed three very large white pills.

-

-She was delighted with the effect that she had produced.

-

-Floretta sprang to her feet, and tried to snatch the bottle, but

-Arabella had put it in her pocket, and was holding the pocket together.

-

-She narrowed her shrewd little eyes, and smiled broadly.

-

-"Guess you couldn't take all that, and not feel queer!" she said.

-

-"I wouldn't wonder if you felt funny. _Do_ you?" asked Floretta.

-

-"Not _yet_," said Arabella.

-

-Floretta was getting tired of her caller. She hoped that she hadn't any

-more kinds of medicine that she could take.

-

-She wished that Dorothy would return and amuse Arabella.

-

-She would have run away from any one else, and rudely left her alone,

-but there was something so strange about this child that she feared her.

-

-She had a nervous feeling that if she turned to leave her, Arabella

-might snatch at her, and draw her back. She certainly did look odd.

-

-There was something catlike in the way in which she kept her eyes

-riveted upon Floretta.

-

-She looked as if, at any moment, she might spring at her!

-

-She was not thinking of doing anything of the sort, however.

-

-The truth was that she _did_ feel just a bit queer.

-

-Was it the three kinds of pills? She could not tell, but she began to

-feel as if she would be glad if she were at home.

-

-"I guess I'll go now," she said. "I think it must be time."

-

-"What time did your Aunt Matilda tell you to come home?" Floretta asked.

-

-"She said I could stay to dinner if Dorothy asked me, but she doesn't

-come home, so I guess I won't wait."

-

-"Go to dinner at the Cleverton in that plaid gingham!" thought Floretta,

-for she had seen the plain little frock beneath the raincoat.

-

-[Illustration: SHE OFFERED TWO CARDS TO FLORETTA.--_Page 210._]

-

-Arabella grasped her big umbrella firmly, and turned, as she went down

-the steps, to say:

-

-"You may tell Dorothy Dainty that _Miss_ Corryville called."

-

-Floretta giggled.

-

-"And you might tell your Aunt Matilda that you talked with _Miss_

-Paxton," she said.

-

-"I will," said Arabella, without a sign of a smile.

-

-"I wonder you don't leave cards," said Floretta, and to her surprise,

-the queer child put her hand in the pocket of her raincoat, and, without

-looking at them, offered two cards to Floretta, saying:

-

-"There they are."

-

-Then, without looking back, she marched resolutely down the road. She

-did not thank Floretta for talking with her while she rested, nor did

-she say "good-by."

-

-For some moments Floretta stood watching the odd little figure as it

-tramped down the road, the umbrella, like a huge walking stick, thumping

-the gravel at every step. She thought Arabella would turn around, but

-she did not.

-

-One might have thought that she had already forgotten the child with

-whom she had been talking. When, at last, she disappeared behind a clump

-of trees that hid the curve of the road, Floretta looked at the two

-cards in her hand, stared at them in amazement, and then laughed,

-laughed until her eyes were full of tears.

-

-Who could have helped laughing? One card bore these lines:

-

-             JAMES HORTON WORTH,

-             PAINLESS DENTISTRY,

-          10 TREVOR STREET, MERRIVALE.

-

-While the other, equally interesting, bore this statement:

-

-              ALTON JUSTUS MEER,

-                  JEWELLER,

-          90 RUPERT ROAD, MERRIVALE.

-

-"How perfectly funny," cried Floretta. "I'll run up and show them to

-mamma, and then I'll wait here to give them to Dorothy and Nancy when

-they come. I wonder if they'll have any choice?"

-

-Dorothy and Nancy felt, as did the older members of the party, that the

-ride had been the most delightful of any that they had enjoyed since

-their arrival.

-

-The horses were tossing their manes, and Romeo, as if in imitation,

-tossed his so that it showed all its silken beauty.

-

-"See him!" cried Dorothy. "He thinks he's as fine as any horse."

-

-"Well, he is as dear as they," said Nancy.

-

-"Oh, yes," said Dorothy, "and dearer."

-

-And when the horses and the pony had been led around to the stable, and

-the older members of the party had reached the piazza, Dorothy and

-Nancy, who had paused for a moment to talk, ran up the steps, intending

-to sit together in a large rocker.

-

-Before they reached the chair, Floretta flew toward them.

-

-"You had a funny caller while you were out driving," she said, with a

-giggle, "and she was so very fashionable that she left these cards. She

-told me to tell you that _Miss_ Corryville had called."

-

-"It was Arabella," said Nancy.

-

-"Did she truly say '_Miss_?'" Dorothy asked.

-

-"Well, didn't I _say_ so?" Floretta asked rudely; "and I told her to

-tell her Aunt Matilda that she talked with _Miss_ Paxton, and she said

-she would. She waited a long time for you to come home, because she said

-she meant to stay to dinner with you. Say! She had on a calico dress!

-Wouldn't she have looked gay?"

-

-"It isn't very kind to laugh at any one's clothes," said Dorothy, "and

-it's not very nice to laugh at other people's friends."

-

-"Pooh!" cried Floretta, "I shall laugh at whoever I please," and she

-turned and ran up to her room.

-

-But she had laughed once too often! During the ride, Mrs. Fenton had

-spoken of Floretta's rude ways, and of the day when, upon following

-Nancy to the dining-room, she had caught the provoking child in the act

-of mimicking her.

-

-"Your little Nancy was grieved and distressed because she knew that I

-saw it. What a difference there is in children! The Paxton child is

-disgusting, while Nancy, who, I have heard, was a little waif, is as

-gentle as Dorothy, who was born the little daughter of a fine, old

-family."

-

-Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty had told Mrs. Fenton something of Nancy's

-life, and noticed how deeply interested she seemed to be.

-

-Mrs. Paxton had realized that ever since the day that Floretta had told

-of being caught mimicking Mrs. Fenton for the amusement of the

-waitresses and maids, Mrs. Fenton had shunned them. She had made

-desperate efforts to win Mrs. Fenton's friendship, but never very

-successfully, as she found that her little daughter's silly act had

-rendered any intimacy quite impossible.

-

-A few days after the ride, Mrs. Fenton did not appear at lunch, or at

-dinner, and when Mrs. Paxton, with elaborate interest, inquired for her,

-she learned that the lady had left very early that morning, before any

-guests were on the piazza to see her depart.

-

-It certainly did seem odd that she should have left, without a word to

-those whom she had known, but Mrs. Dainty, with her customary good

-taste, made no comment, and Aunt Charlotte Grayson was equally silent.

-

-Mrs. Paxton did just as one might have expected. She expressed, in a

-very loud voice, her disgust at being thus pointedly slighted, for so

-she chose to feel.

-

-"After all my friendliness, I can't see how she could leave the

-Cleverton without so much as a word to me. Why, I felt almost like a

-relative, as my name was Fenton before I married!"

-

-"I guess Mrs. Fenton didn't have what you might call a family feeling,"

-said old Mr. Cunningham, which so angered Mrs. Paxton that she politely

-turned her back.

-

-Two letters arrived at the Cleverton that afternoon, and it would be

-difficult to say which caused the greater surprise.

-

-Mrs. Paxton told the contents of hers to all who would listen, and there

-were enough who were curious, to make a good audience.

-

-"TO MRS. CLARA FENTON PAXTON:" it began, refraining from any endearing

-terms.

-

-"I knew, before I met you, that you and your small daughter were related

-to my husband, and also knew that he entertained no admiration for you.

-He left his entire estate to me, and as you were but a distant relative,

-you could expect no inheritance. However, with a determination to deal

-fairly with all my kin (I have but three such), I came to the Cleverton

-to see you and your little daughter, intending, if she proved

-sweet-tempered and attractive, to will my property to her. She is the

-only one of the three relatives who bears my husband's name.

-

-"I do not wish to be harsh, but I am forced to admit that I find her to

-be bold, naturally unkind, and wholly lacking in the grace and courtesy

-which most children possess, either by training or inheritance.

-

-"I, therefore, have made my will in favor of Nancy Ferris, once a little

-waif, now a sweet, gentle, and attractive child, whose little acts of

-courtesy and kindness are fully appreciated by

-

-                                     "Her friend,

-                                         "CECILIA CULLEN FENTON."

-

-"A most singular woman, to leave her property to a waif, a child of the

-theatre, and not bequeath so much as a penny to my Floretta, whom _any_

-one could see is an aristocrat," said Mrs. Paxton.

-

-"Mrs. Fenton, or anybody else, would need some rather strong glasses to

-see _that_!" muttered Mr. Cunningham.

-

-He was a testy old fellow, and he, like other guests of the hotel, had

-become exceedingly tired of Mrs. Paxton and her unlovely child.

-

-The other letter gave surprise and delight to the two who had shared in

-the care and training of little Nancy.

-

-"TO MRS. RUDOLPH DAINTY, AND TO MRS. CHARLOTTE GRAYSON,

-

-"DEAR FRIENDS:--" was its greeting, and then followed the story of the

-writer's visit to the Cleverton, and the statement that her few

-relatives were too distant to have any valid claim to her estate.

-

-"I was greatly displeased with the two of my kin whom I came to observe,

-and I will not dwell upon that, but, instead, will take this time to say

-that Dorothy Dainty and Nancy Ferris, are the two dearest children that

-it has been my pleasure to know.

-

-"Dorothy's life has been sunny, and Nancy's story, as you told it to me,

-appealed to me, and I looked with even greater interest at the child

-who, under your loving care, had blossomed like a lovely flower.

-

-"Dorothy has her parents, and will inherit a fortune. Nancy has no

-parents, and I know, will be kindly cared for by you, but that fact

-will not deter me from making a bequest that gives me greatest pleasure.

-

-"I shall leave all of my estate to Nancy Ferris, and I remind her, in

-some little verses that I enclose, how deeply I have appreciated her

-many little kindnesses.

-

-

-TO NANCY

-

-          "Dear little girl, I know that you will daily

-           Do loving acts of kindness, and of cheer,

-           Thus urging life to sing its song more gaily

-           And making friendship lasting and more dear.

-

-          "I felt your charm, dear child, I saw how sweetly

-           You gave your kindness, with no thought of gain.

-           I give you a reward, and how completely

-           I joy in giving, words cannot explain."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XII

-

-A SERENADE

-

-

-JACK TIVERTON stood in the lower hall one morning, and appeared as if

-waiting for some one. In his hand was a short switch that he had cut

-from a shrub that grew beside the driveway. Often he looked up the

-staircase, and then, as no one appeared, he would continue to strike at

-the flies that flew past the doorway.

-

-At last he heard merry voices upon the landing, and then Dorothy and

-Nancy came hurrying down the stairs.

-

-"Good morning!" they called, but Jack, in his eagerness to ask

-questions, forgot to return their greeting.

-

-"Say!" he cried, "do you know that Mrs. Paxton and Floretta left this

-morning before breakfast?"

-

-No, the little girls did not know that.

-

-"Well, they have. I saw them go, and I'm glad. Floretta was fun to play

-with, but she wasn't fair. She'd get me to do things, and then if we got

-caught, she'd always say I planned it," said Jack.

-

-Dorothy tried to think of something kind to say of Floretta, but she

-knew that what Jack said was true. Floretta truly was not in the habit

-of playing "fair."

-

-"Her mamma said something queer just as she was going off. She was

-talking to a lady, I don't know what her name is, and Mrs. Paxton said:

-

-"'Well, Dorothy Dainty has always seemed to be fond of Nancy, but now

-that Nancy is to have a _fortune_, shell love her a deal more than she

-ever did before.'"

-

-And now Dorothy spoke, her blue eyes flashing, and her cheeks flushed.

-

-"That's not true!" she cried. "That's not true! I've always loved Nancy,

-and always will. I'd love her if she had just nothing at all! Nothing

-could make any difference. I love her all I can. Nancy knows that. Every

-one knows that."

-

-How keenly she felt Mrs. Paxton's silly speech!

-

-She was indignant that any one should think her love for Nancy so little

-worth while that fortune could make it stronger.

-

-How could she love Nancy more than she had always loved her?

-

-Nancy threw her arms about her, and drew her closer.

-

-"Don't you mind, Dorothy," she said, "_I_ know how truly you love me.

-Mrs. Paxton didn't know, because I guess she couldn't understand it.

-_She_ couldn't love the way you do."

-

-Dorothy smiled through the tears that had filled her eyes.

-

-"There's no one dearer than you, Nancy," she said.

-

-Jack swung his switch at a dragon-fly that flew past the doorway.

-

-"Did you see that darning-needle?" he asked.

-

-"Well," he continued, without waiting for an answer, "I was down the

-road a few days ago, trying to catch some of those big steel-colored

-ones in my fly-net. I hadn't seen any one after I left this piazza, but

-just as I swung my net round to catch the dragon-fly, somebody said:

-'Look out, or you'll get bitten!' and I turned round, but no one was in

-sight. I was just going to swing my net again, when some one giggled,

-and then I saw a little skinny girl looking at me from between some

-bushes."

-

-"What was she doing?" Dorothy asked.

-

-"You couldn't guess if you tried for a month!" said Jack.

-

-"She was sitting on a big stone, beside a big puddle that was left there

-after the shower. She said she was playing she was a frog, and when she

-stared at me through her glasses, and smiled, no, _grinned_ at me, I

-couldn't help thinking she looked like one. Say, she had on a green

-cloak, a regular frog-color."

-

-"It must have been _Arabella_!" said Nancy.

-

-"I don't know what her name was. I didn't ask her, but while I watched

-her she hopped off the stone into the puddle with both feet, and cried,

-'po-dunk!' just like an old bullfrog. My! Weren't her shoes wet!"

-

-"I wonder what her Aunt Matilda said when she went home with wet feet,"

-said Dorothy.

-

-Without noticing what she said, Jack continued.

-

-"I never saw such a queer girl!" he said, in disgust, "for when I told

-her dragonflies would never bite, she said: 'They will. They'll sew your

-eyes, and nose, and mouth up. Po-dunk!' and she hopped back on to the

-stone, and grinned at me just as she did at first. Say! She made me feel

-queer to look at her, and I turned and ran away. I wasn't afraid of her,

-of course, but she _did_ make me feel queer!"

-

-"She'd make any one feel queer," said Nancy as they turned toward the

-dining-room.

-

-Jack wished that they might have stayed longer in the hall. He had

-intended to ask them if they knew Arabella, and if she was always doing

-queer things, but Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte joined them, and they

-went in for breakfast.

-

-Mrs. Tiverton, coming in from an early walk, took Jack with her to the

-other side of the dining-room. He looked across at them, and wondered

-what they could have told of Arabella if they had had a chance. He

-decided to question them, whispering softly to himself:

-

-"I'll _make_ them tell me all they know about that funny girl."

-

-For several days he tried to catch Dorothy or Nancy at a time when he

-could question them.

-

-He chased Dorothy up the long stairway one morning, only to see her

-disappear into her room. He had not told her that he had wished to talk

-with her, and she, believing that he was only chasing her for fun, ran

-from him, laughing as she went.

-

-He found Nancy, a few minutes later, and coaxed her to wait on the

-landing.

-

-"Now, Nancy," he said, "you've got to tell me something about that queer

-girl that you and Dorothy know."

-

-"If you mean Arabella," said Nancy, "I don't see what I could tell you,

-only that she _is_ queer, and you know that now."

-

-"You'll better believe I know it!" cried Jack, "for I met her again

-yesterday, and guess what she was doing!"

-

-"Oh, I couldn't," said Nancy. "No one ever could guess what Arabella

-Corryville would do."

-

-"Well, she looked like a witch, and acted like one, too," Jack replied.

-"It was yesterday that I saw her. I was going across the field, and had

-nearly reached the wall, when I looked up, and saw her sitting on the

-top bar of the--the--oh, the place where they take down the bars to let

-the cattle through."

-

-"I know where you mean," said Nancy, "but why was it strange that she

-was sitting there?"

-

-"It was what she was doing that was funny," Jack replied, "and because

-you couldn't guess, I'll tell you.

-

-"She didn't look toward me, though I'm sure she must have heard me

-coming, for I was just tramping along, and whistling all the way. She

-was looking up at the clouds, and counting, 'one--two--three--' very

-slowly, and when I was close behind her, she said:

-

-"'Hush--sh--sh! I'm charming the crows!'

-

-"'How long does it take to do it?' I said, for it sounded like nonsense,

-and I wanted to hurry. It was almost lunch time.

-

-"'Hush--sh!' she said again. 'There comes one of them now!' and sure

-enough a big, black crow did come flying right down, and perched on the

-limb of an old tree near her."

-

-"Why, Jack Tiverton," cried Nancy, "you don't believe Arabella really

-_made_ him come down, do you?"

-

-"Of course not," cried Jack, "but she wanted me to think so. Say! She

-said she was saying a charm, and when I asked her what it was, she

-wouldn't tell me. She said it would spoil the charm to tell it. She

-looked funny sitting up there on the top rail, and staring at the crows

-till her eyes watered. She didn't look like a 'charmer.' She looked

-ever so much more like a scarecrow!"

-

-"Oh, Jack, it's horrid to say that!" cried Nancy, at the same time

-trying not to let him see how near she was to laughing.

-

-"Well, she _did_!" Jack insisted, "and you're almost laughing now, Nancy

-Ferris, and you'd have screamed if you'd seen her roosting there, and

-calling herself a charmer! Why, that old crow just flopped down there

-for fun, and when he saw the queer-looking girl, he cawed as if it made

-him mad, and I didn't blame him. Say! She had a shoe on one foot, and a

-slipper on the other. Her apron was put on back-side-to, and she had a

-hen's feather in each hand, and she waved them up and down while she

-mumbled some kind of a verse. She said her clothes were put on that way

-to help the charm. Isn't she a _ninny_?"

-

-Just at that moment, before Nancy could reply, Mrs. Tiverton called

-Jack, and Nancy ran to tell the story of Arabella's latest freak to

-Dorothy.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-One afternoon, a number of little girls were sitting on the piazza at

-the Cleverton, and their merry voices attracted Jack Tiverton, who

-glanced up from the book that he was reading, and then, because he was

-curious to know what so interested them, crossed the piazza, and joined

-the group.

-

-Dorothy and Nancy, in the big hammock, held the book of fairy tales,

-Flossie Barnet sat near them, while the others, all little guests at the

-hotel, sat upon the railing, or in the large rockers that stood near.

-

-Jack joined the row perched upon the railing.

-

-"Tell a fellow what you are all talking about, will you? Will you,

-_please_, I mean?" he asked.

-

-"Dorothy Dainty has been reading us a lovely story," said a little girl,

-whose merry eyes showed that she had enjoyed it.

-

-"What's it about?" Jack asked, and then, "Oh, _fairy_ tales!" he said.

-

-"Don't you like fairy tales?" Flossie questioned, looking up at him.

-

-No one liked to differ with dear little Flossie, least of all, Jack

-Tiverton.

-

-"Oh, I like them _some_," he said, awkwardly, "but,--are there any

-stories about bandits or pirates in that book?"

-

-"Oh, no," they cried, in a laughing chorus, "and there aren't any wild

-Indians in it, either."

-

-"I don't care much about Indian stories," Jack replied, "but I do like

-to read about pirates."

-

-"But just hear what this one was about," said Nancy.

-

-"The wandering prince had, for years, been searching for a lovely

-princess, who should look like a beautiful picture that hung in his

-father's palace. One day he came to a castle where the people told him a

-handsome princess was imprisoned, and he asked why she was kept there.

-They told him that she was enchanted, and that some day, a wandering

-prince would sing beneath her window, and then the spell would be

-broken, and she would be free."

-

-Jack was interested.

-

-"But s'posing he couldn't sing?" he asked.

-

-"Oh, a prince could surely sing!" said Flossie.

-

-"And p'raps he could sing under her window, if he couldn't anywhere

-else," ventured a dreamy-eyed little girl who sat near Dorothy.

-

-"And how would he know _what_ to sing?" a cheery voice questioned, and a

-pair of merry eyes peered over the piazza railing.

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "what difference would it make?"

-

-"All the difference in the world," declared Uncle Harry, "for while the

-proper melody would set the princess free, how are we to know that the

-wrong melody might not chain her closer than before!"

-

-"Why, the story doesn't say that," said Nancy.

-

-"Perhaps not, but the prince took an _awful_ risk when he chose what to

-sing," declared Uncle Harry.

-

-"You're laughing when you say it," said Dorothy.

-

-"He is," agreed Flossie, "and what he says is funny, but I know this:

-I'd love to hear some one singing under _my_ window!"

-

-Some ladies, who sat near enough to hear the conversation, were amused

-at the children's enthusiasm, and at Uncle Harry's evident interest.

-

-"The prince had his guitar slung over his shoulder by a ribbon," said

-Dorothy. "See the picture," and she slipped from the hammock, and

-offered the book that he might see the illustration.

-

-"I'm glad he carried his guitar instead of a banjo," he said.

-

-"Why are you glad of that?" Flossie asked.

-

-"Oh, because I really _am_, in fact, I might even say I am delighted,"

-he replied.

-

-"I do believe he intends to serenade those children," said a handsome

-woman, to her friend who sat beside her; "he is a brilliant man, and one

-who is blessed with many talents, and one of his greatest charms is his

-love of children. He will go far out of his way to afford them a bit of

-fun."

-

-That evening, when nearly every one had left the piazza, and all of the

-children were in their rooms, the soft twanging of guitar strings

-floated up toward Flossie's window.

-

-She was not yet asleep, and she sat up in bed, and listened.

-

-Yes, it was a guitar! Was it Uncle Harry's?

-

-A little prelude softly played, drew her toward the window.

-

-She crept closer, and peeped out. Yes, there he was, looking right up

-toward her window.

-

-Now his fine voice was softly singing, and Flossie held her breath.

-

-          "Under thy window, my little lady,

-           Under thy window, Flossie dear,

-           Here where the moonbeams softly flicker,

-           Sing I this song that you may hear.

-

-          "Moonlight, and starlight weave enchantment,

-           Yet shall my song your freedom bring,

-           You shall be happy little lady,

-           Give me your love for the song I sing."

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry, you have it _now_!" cried Flossie. "I love you, when

-you're singing, and _all_ the time."

-

-"I know that, dear little girl, but I _must_ have my fun, so I came here

-to sing the song I made for you," he said gently.

-

-"Well, you're _dear_," she cried, "and I'll throw you a kiss," and she

-did, reaching far out of the window that he might surely see her.

-

-"I caught it!" he cried, and as he turned toward the porch, she heard

-him softly strumming the prelude again.

-

-Others had heard the pretty song, for Dorothy and Nancy had a room next

-to Flossie's.

-

-The next morning he was coaxed and teased to sing the song again, but he

-declared that he could only sing it in the moonlight, that the daylight

-would spoil its effect.

-

-The sunny days sped on wings, and soon the guests began to think of

-turning homeward.

-

-Mrs. Dainty's party and the Barnets were to leave the hotel at the same

-time, and Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie were delighted that they were to

-take the return trip together.

-

-They were talking of the pleasures that they were looking forward to,

-and telling of some delightful events that were already planned, when

-Jack Tiverton gave them a genuine surprise.

-

-"Mamma has just told me something fine," he said, "and I ran right down

-to tell it to you."

-

-"Oh, tell it quick!" said Flossie.

-

-"We're going to live in Merrivale, and we'll be there soon after we

-leave here. I'm glad. Are you, _all_ of you?" he asked.

-

-"Of course we're glad," said Dorothy and Nancy; and Flossie hastened to

-add:

-

-"Every one of us is glad."

-

-There were bright days, and many pleasures in store for the little

-friends, and those who would like also to enjoy them, and to know what

-happened during the winter, may read of all this in

-

-                       "Dorothy Dainty's Holidays."

-

-

-

-

-THE DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES

-

-By AMY BROOKS

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by the Author

-

-Price, $1.00 each

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          _Dorothy Dainty_

-          _Dorothy's Playmates_

-          _Dorothy Dainty at School_

-          _Dorothy Dainty at the Shore_

-          _Dorothy Dainty in the City_

-          _Dorothy Dainty at Home_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Gay Times_

-          _Dorothy Dainty in the Country_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Winter_

-          _Dorothy Dainty in the Mountains_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Holidays_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Vacation_

-

-          "LITTLE DOROTHY DAINTY is one of the most

-          generous-hearted of children. Selfishness is not

-          at all a trait of hers, and she knows the value of

-          making sunshine, not alone in her own heart, but

-          for her neighborhood and friends."--_Boston

-          Courier._

-

-          "DOROTHY DAINTY, a little girl, the only child of

-          wealthy parents, is an exceedingly interesting

-          character, and her earnest and interesting life is

-          full of action and suitable

-          adventure."--_Pittsburg Christian Advocate._

-

-          "No finer little lady than DOROTHY DAINTY was ever

-          placed in a book for children."--_Teachers'

-          Journal, Pittsburg._

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          "MISS BROOKS is a popular writer for the very

-          little folks who can read. She has an immense

-          sympathy for the children, and her stories never

-          fail to be amusing."--_Rochester (N.Y.) Herald._

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-_THE PRUE BOOKS_

-

-By AMY BROOKS

-

-Illustrated by the Author 12mo Cloth Price, $1.00 each

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CUNNING little Prue, one of the most winsome little girls ever "put in a

-book," has already been met in another series where she gave no small

-part of the interest. She well deserved books of her own for little

-girls of her age, and they are now ready with everything in the way of

-large, clear type, and Miss Brooks's best pictures and her pleasing

-cover designs to make them attractive.

-

-          _Little Sister Prue_

-          _Prue at School_

-          _Prue's Playmates_

-          _Prue's Merry Times_

-          _Prue's Little Friends_

-          _Prue's Jolly Winter_

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          "Miss Brooks always brings out the best ways of

-          acting and living and provides a good deal of

-          humor in her original country

-          characters.--_Watchman, Boston._

-

-          "Few writers have ever possessed the faculty of

-          reaching the hearts and holding the interest of

-          little girl readers to the extent Miss Brooks

-          has."--_Kennebec Journal_, _Augusta, Me._

-

-          "To know Prue is to love her, for no more winsome

-          little girl was ever put in a book, and her keen

-          wit and unexpected drolleries make her doubly

-          attractive."--_Kindergarten Magazine._

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt

-          of price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-_THE RANDY BOOKS_

-

-_By AMY BROOKS_

-

-          12mo CLOTH ARTISTIC COVER DESIGN IN GOLD AND COLORS

-          ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR PRICE $1.00 EACH

-

-[Illustration]

-

-The progress of the "Randy Books" has been one continual triumph over

-the hearts of girls of all ages, for dear little fun-loving sister Prue

-is almost as much a central figure as Randy, growing toward womanhood

-with each book. The sterling good sense and simple naturalness of Randy,

-and the total absence of slang and viciousness, make these books in the

-highest degree commendable, while abundant life is supplied by the

-doings of merry friends, and there is rich humor in the droll rural

-characters.

-

-          _Randy's Summer_

-          _Randy's Winter_

-          _Randy and Her Friends_

-          _Randy and Prue_

-          _Randy's Good Times_

-          _Randy's Luck_

-          _Randy's Loyalty_

-          _Randy's Prince_

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          "The Randy Books are among the very choicest books

-          for young people to make a beginning with."

-                                       --_Boston Courier._

-

-          "The Randy Books of Amy Brooks have had a deserved

-          popularity among young girls. They are wholesome

-          and moral without being goody-goody."

-                                         --_Chicago Post._

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-Only Dollie

-

-By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha Davidson Square 12mo Cloth $1.00

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-THIS is a brightly written story of a girl of twelve, who, when the

-mystery of her birth is solved, like Cinderella, passes from drudgery to

-better circumstances. There is nothing strained or unnatural at any

-point. All descriptions or portrayals of character are life-like, and

-the book has an indescribable appealing quality which wins sympathy and

-secures success.

-

-          "It is delightful reading at all times."--_Cedar

-          Rapids (Ia.) Republican._

-

-          "It is well written, the story runs smoothly, the

-          idea is good, and it is handled with

-          ability.--_Chicago Journal._

-

-

-

-The Little Girl Next Door

-

-By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00

-

-

-A DELIGHTFUL story of true and genuine friendship between an impulsive

-little girl in a fine New York home and a little blind girl in an

-apartment next door. The little girl's determination to cultivate the

-acquaintance, begun out of the window during a rainy day, triumphs over

-the barriers of caste, and the little blind girl proves to be in every

-way a worthy companion. Later a mystery of birth is cleared up, and the

-little blind girl proves to be of gentle birth as well as of gentle

-manners.

-

-

-

-

-Winifred's Neighbors

-

-By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha G. Davidson Large 12mo Cloth $1.00

-

-[Illustration]

-

-LITTLE Winifred's efforts to find some children of whom she reads in a

-book lead to the acquaintance of a neighbor of the same name, and this

-acquaintance proves of the greatest importance to Winifred's own family.

-Through it all she is just such a little girl as other girls ought to

-know, and the story will hold the interest of all ages.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt

-          of price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD Co., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-The Children on the Top Floor

-

-By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-IN this book little Winifred Hamilton, the child heroine of "Winifred's

-Neighbors," reappears, living in the second of the four stories of a New

-York apartment house. On the top floor are two very interesting

-children, Betty, a little older than Winifred, who is now ten, and Jack,

-a brave little cripple, who is a year younger. In the end comes a glad

-reunion, and also other good fortune for crippled Jack, and Winifred's

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-

-

-

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-How Barbara Kept Her Promise

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-By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00

-

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-TWO orphan sisters, Barbara, aged twelve, and little Hazel, who is "only

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-will take care of pretty, petted, mischievous Hazel, and how she tries

-to do this, even in the face of great difficulties, forms the story

-which has the happy ending which Miss Rhoades wisely gives to all her

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-

-

-

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-Little Miss Rosamond

-

-By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha G. Davidson Large 12mo Cloth $1.00

-

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-[Illustration]

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-ROSAMOND lives in Richmond, Va., with her big brother, who cannot give

-her all the comfort that she needs in the trying hot weather, and she

-goes to the seaside cottage of an uncle whose home is in New York. Here

-she meets Gladys and Joy, so well known in a previous book, "The Little

-Girl Next Door," and after some complications are straightened out,

-bringing Rosamond's honesty and kindness of heart into prominence, all

-are made very happy.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt

-          of price by the publishers_

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-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

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-_By NINA RHOADES_

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-_Cloth 12 mo Illustrated $1.00 each_

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-       *       *       *       *       *

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-=Priscilla of the Doll Shop=

-

-[Illustration]

-

-THE "Brick House Books," as they are called from their well-known cover

-designs, are eagerly sought by children all over the country. There are

-three good stories in this book, instead of one, and it is hard to say

-which little girls, and boys, too, for that matter, will like the best.

-

-

-=Brave Little Peggy=

-

-PEGGY comes from California to New Jersey to live with a brother and

-sister whom she has not known since very early childhood. She is so

-democratic in her social ideas that many amusing scenes occur, and it is

-hard for her to understand many things that she must learn. But her good

-heart carries her through, and her conscientiousness and moral courage

-win affection and happiness.

-

-

-=The Other Sylvia=

-

-[Illustration]

-

-EIGHT-year-old Sylvia learns that girls who are "Kings' Daughters"

-pledge themselves to some kind act or service, and that one little girl

-named Mary has taken it upon herself to be helpful to all the Marys of

-her acquaintance. This is such an interesting way of doing good that she

-adopts it in spite of her unusual name, and really finds not only "the

-other Sylvia," but great happiness.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of

-          price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Transcriber's Notes:

-

-Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

-

-

-

-

-

-End of Project Gutenberg's Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains, by Amy Brooks

-

-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30088 ***

+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30088 ***
+
+[Illustration: Cover]
+
+
+
+
+DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS
+
+
+
+
+Popular Stories.
+
+
+BY AMY BROOKS.
+
+Each beautifully illustrated by the Author.
+
+THE RANDY BOOKS.
+
+12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.
+
+          RANDY'S SUMMER.
+          RANDY'S WINTER.
+          RANDY AND HER FRIENDS.
+          RANDY AND PRUE.
+          RANDY'S GOOD TIMES.
+          RANDY'S LUCK.
+          RANDY'S LOYALTY.
+          RANDY'S PRINCE.
+
+
+
+
+For Younger Readers.
+
+
+DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES.
+
+Large 12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Set in large English
+type. Price $1.00 each.
+
+          DOROTHY DAINTY.
+          DOROTHY'S PLAYMATES.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY AT SCHOOL.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE SHORE.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE CITY.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY AT HOME.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY'S GAY TIMES.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE COUNTRY.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY'S WINTER.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY'S HOLIDAYS.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY'S VACATION.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY'S VISIT.
+          DOROTHY DAINTY AT CRESTVILLE.
+
+
+THE PRUE BOOKS.
+
+12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.
+
+          LITTLE SISTER PRUE.
+          PRUE AT SCHOOL.
+          PRUE'S PLAYMATES.
+          PRUE'S MERRY TIMES.
+          PRUE'S LITTLE FRIENDS.
+          PRUE'S JOLLY WINTER.
+
+          A JOLLY CAT TALE. Large 12mo. Cloth. Profusely Illustrated.
+          Price      $1.00
+
+[Illustration: "HERE! HERE!" CRIED DOROTHY, AND ECHO ANSWERED,
+"HERE,--ERE!"--_Page 4._]
+
+
+
+
+DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS
+
+BY
+
+AMY BROOKS
+
+          AUTHOR OF "DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES," "THE RANDY
+          BOOKS," "THE PRUE BOOKS," AND
+          "A JOLLY CAT TALE"
+
+_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR_
+
+[Illustration]
+
+          BOSTON
+          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.
+
+
+
+
+          DOROTHY DAINTY
+          TRADE-MARK
+          Registered in U. S. Patent Office
+
+          Published, August, 1911
+
+          COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.
+
+          _All Rights Reserved_
+
+          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS
+
+
+
+
+
+
+          Norwood Press
+          Berwick & Smith Co.
+          Norwood, Mass., U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAPTER                        PAGE
+
+     I. AT THE CLEVERTON            1
+
+    II. A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE      21
+
+   III. AN ENTERTAINMENT           42
+
+    IV. IN A BIRCH ARBOR           62
+
+     V. THE MOUNTAIN PARTY         81
+
+    VI. THE ECHO CAPTURED         101
+
+   VII. FLORETTA'S RETURN         122
+
+  VIII. AT THE FAIR               141
+
+    IX. FLOSSIE'S LETTER          162
+
+     X. A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS     182
+
+    XI. ARABELLA MAKES A CALL     201
+
+   XII. A SERENADE                222
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  "Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered,
+    "Here,--ere!" (_Page 4_)                    _Frontispiece_
+
+                                                  FACING PAGE
+
+  Often she looked back, as she sped over the road      32
+
+  "Oh, what a lovely, _lovely_ story!" said Dorothy     66
+
+  With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough,
+    wiry vines                                         120
+
+  She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her
+    reflection                                         176
+
+  She offered two cards to Floretta                    210
+
+
+
+
+DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+AT THE CLEVERTON
+
+
+THE great hotel on the crest of the hill was bathed in sunlight that
+poured from a rift in the clouds, as if sent for the sole purpose of
+showing the grand portico, the broad piazza, and the flag that floated
+gracefully on the summer breeze.
+
+Its many windows seemed to be looking across the valley to opposite
+mountain peaks, and one could easily imagine that its wide, open
+doorway, smiled genially as if offering a welcome to all arriving
+guests.
+
+Two little girls ran across the lawn, the one with flaxen curls, the
+other with sunny brown ringlets.
+
+The fair-haired little girl had eyes as blue as the blue blossoms that
+she held in her hand, while her playmate's eyes were soft and brown, and
+told that her heart was loving and true.
+
+The little blue-eyed girl was Dorothy Dainty, and the child who clasped
+her hand was her dearest friend, Nancy Ferris.
+
+Nancy had no parents, and a few years before Dorothy's mamma had taken
+her under her care and protection, and she was being trained and
+educated as carefully as was Dorothy, the little daughter of the house.
+
+They had come to the Hotel Cleverton to spend the summer, and the first
+few days of their stay, they had explored all the land that lay
+immediately around the hotel, and had found many beautiful spots, but
+one thing held their interest,--they loved the echo, and never tired of
+awakening it.
+
+"Come!" cried Dorothy. "Run with me over to the white birches, and we'll
+shout, and listen!"
+
+Mrs. Dainty had told them the story of Echo, the nymph, who for loving
+Pan and following him and calling to him had been changed into a huge
+rock on the mountainside, and forever compelled to mock each voice she
+heard.
+
+The old legend of the nymph had caught their fancy, and often they
+paused in their play to shout, and listen to what seemed to them the
+voice of some fairy of the mountains.
+
+Now they stood beside the birches, Dorothy with one arm around a white
+trunk, and Nancy near her. At their feet were countless bluebells,
+overhead the blue sky, while across and beyond the valley rose the
+mountain capped by white clouds that looked as soft as swan's-down.
+
+"Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered, "Here,--ere!"
+
+"Listen!" cried Dorothy, clasping her hands, and laughing with delight.
+"It answers as if it was a truly voice that heard and replied.
+
+"Nancy, I love you!" she cried, and again they plainly heard:--
+
+"Love you-oo!"
+
+They thought it great fun to shout and call, and hear their cries so
+cleverly repeated.
+
+And now another child ran out from the great doorway, paused a moment as
+if looking for some one, then, seeing the two little figures near the
+clump of birches, stole softly near them.
+
+On tiptoe, and with tread as soft and noiseless as a cat, she made her
+way over the short grass, until she was quite near them. Then, hiding
+behind a low bush, she watched them. How still she stood! For what was
+she waiting? Her bold eyes were full of mischief, as she whispered, "Oh,
+hurry _up_!"
+
+Dorothy Dainty put her hands to her mouth, trumpet fashion, and called:
+
+"Come and catch us!" and instantly the echo from the distant mountain
+and a shrill voice behind them, repeated:
+
+"Come and catch us!"
+
+"Oh, oh-o!" cried Dorothy, and Nancy ran to her, and threw her arms
+about her.
+
+"You ought not to frighten Dorothy like that!" cried Nancy.
+
+A saucy laugh answered her.
+
+"Well, it isn't nice to be shrieked at, and you do it just like the
+echo, you know you do, and it's enough to frighten any one," said Nancy.
+
+The little tease was not in the least abashed. She could imitate almost
+any sound that she had ever heard, and each success made her eager to
+repeat her efforts at mocking.
+
+"I made old Mrs. Hermanton fly up out of her chair, and drop her ball of
+worsted and knitting-needles, when I shouted close to her ear."
+
+"Why, Floretta!" cried Nancy.
+
+Now you think that was horrid, but _I_ tell you it was funny. She'd just
+been telling about her darling little lap-dog that died _ten years
+ago_, and she got out her handkerchief to cry, and put it up to her
+eyes.
+
+"'Oh, if I only could hear his lovely bark again!' she said, and right
+behind her chair, I said:
+
+"'Ki-yi! Yip! Yip!' and she jumped up much as a foot from her seat."
+
+Nancy laughed. How could she help it? The old lady had told every man,
+woman, and child who sat upon the piazza, how much she had suffered in
+the loss of the dog.
+
+One testy old gentleman who was troubled with gout, spoke rather
+plainly. "Madam," he said, "I've heard that story every day of this
+week, and all I can say is, I wish you had gout in your feet as I have,
+and you'd have no time to waste crying for a puppy!"
+
+He certainly was hopelessly rude, but one must admit every day is far
+too often to be forced to listen to an uninteresting tale.
+
+Floretta stood looking down at the toe of her shoe. She moved it from
+side to side along the grass for a moment, then she spoke again.
+
+"You know old Mr. Cunningham has gout, and is awful cross?"
+
+Dorothy and Nancy nodded. They did indeed know that.
+
+"Well, he sat on the piazza and laughed when I scared Mrs. Hermanton, so
+I want to know if he'll think it's funny _every_ time I do things. You
+know he puts one foot up on a chair, and every time any one touches that
+chair ever so little, he cries: '_Oh_, oh, oh!' and holds on to his
+foot.
+
+"The next time I'm near him, I'm going to make b'lieve hit my foot
+against something, and then I'll cry out, just 'zactly as he does:
+
+"'_Oh_, oh, oh!' and I'll hold on to my foot," said Floretta.
+
+"I know it's funny," said Dorothy, "but I don't think you ought to."
+
+"Well, _you_ needn't. P'raps you couldn't do it just like other folks,
+but I _can_, and I'm going to!" said Floretta.
+
+She was a handsome child, but her boldness marred her beauty.
+
+She was, indeed, a clever imitator, but she had been told so too often.
+Her mother constantly praised her cleverness, and unwise friends
+applauded her efforts, until Floretta acquired the idea that she must,
+on all occasions, mimic some one.
+
+Sometimes those whom she mocked thought it clever, and laughed when they
+had thus been held up to derision.
+
+At other times Floretta found that she had chosen the wrong person to
+mimic, and had received a sharp rebuke.
+
+This taught her nothing, however.
+
+She thought any one who did not enjoy her antics must be very
+ill-natured, while her silly mother considered that Floretta had been
+abused.
+
+While Dorothy and Nancy were talking with Floretta, they were picking
+large bouquets of bluebells and a tiny white flower that grew as
+abundantly as the bluebells, and blossomed as freely.
+
+It pleased her, for the moment, to gather some of the blossoms, and soon
+the three were too busy to talk, each trying to see which could gather
+the largest bouquet.
+
+On the hotel piazza Mrs. Paxton sat, occupied with her embroidery, but
+not too busy to talk. She was _never_ too busy to talk, if she could
+find any one to listen.
+
+Near her sat two ladies who had just arrived, and old Mr. Cunningham,
+who frowned darkly at the magazine that he was trying to read.
+
+It was not that the story displeased him that he frowned, but that he
+was bored with hearing what Mrs. Paxton was saying, mainly because she
+always said the same thing.
+
+"You see, with our wealth and position, it is impossible that little
+Floretta should ever make any use of her talents for any purpose other
+than the amusement of her friends," she said.
+
+One of the two ladies, whose fine face and sweet low voice bespoke
+refinement, looked fixedly at Mrs. Paxton, and wondered that any woman
+should be willing to boast so foolishly.
+
+The other, whose garments told of a great love of display, seemed
+interested, and even impressed.
+
+"What is her especial talent?" she asked, "I really should like to know.
+Is she musical?"
+
+"O dear, yes," Mrs. Paxton hastened to reply; "she plays delightfully,
+and she has a voice that is really quite unusual for a child; she
+dances, too, but her greatest gift is her power of imitation. She has a
+sensitive nature that is open to impressions, and she sees the funny
+side of everything. She really is a wonderful little mimic. You must see
+her to appreciate her charm."
+
+The quiet woman looked as if she thought this a doubtful accomplishment,
+but the one who had eagerly listened said:
+
+"Where is she? I should be _so_ pleased to see her. Not all children are
+so interesting. Many are dull."
+
+"And lucky they are!" growled old Mr. Cunningham, under his breath, but
+the ladies did not hear that.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I don't want these flowers now I've picked them," cried Floretta. "You
+can have them if you want them," she said, as she turned toward Dorothy.
+
+"I can't hold any more than I have," said Dorothy, "but you could--"
+
+"Then here they go!" cried Floretta, as she flung them broadcast, to lie
+and wilt in the sunlight.
+
+"Oh, it was too bad to throw them away," said Dorothy. "I was going to
+say, if you didn't care for them, perhaps Mrs. Hermanton might like
+them. She said she liked wild flowers and used to pick them, but her
+rheumatism won't let her pick them now."
+
+"Pooh! I wouldn't have bothered to take them back to her," Floretta
+replied; and turning about, she ran back to the hotel.
+
+"Come here, Floretta!" said Mrs. Paxton. "This lady wishes to see you."
+
+Usually Floretta when asked to do anything, preferred to do something
+else.
+
+This time, thinking that she saw an opportunity for a lark, she went
+promptly and paused beside her mother's chair.
+
+"This is Mrs. Dayne, Floretta. Mrs. Dayne, this is my little daughter."
+
+Floretta looked up and smiled, but said nothing. She had never been
+taught that she must reply courteously when spoken to.
+
+Her pretty face pleased Mrs. Dayne, who was much the same sort of woman
+that Mrs. Paxton was. She wished that Floretta could be induced to
+perform.
+
+_Induced!_ She was already wondering if she would have a chance to show
+off.
+
+The opportunity came soon, and she was delighted.
+
+Mr. Cunningham had become drowsy, and his magazine dropped to the piazza
+floor.
+
+In stooping to recover it, he hurt his gouty foot, and cried out.
+
+"_Oh_, oh-o!" he cried, and like an echo, "_Oh_, oh-o!" cried Floretta,
+catching hold of her own foot and hopping wildly about.
+
+Of course Mrs. Paxton laughed gaily, as if Floretta had done a very
+smart thing, while Mrs. Dayne, who was as silly a woman as Mrs. Paxton,
+joined in the merriment, thus hoping to gain favor with her new friend.
+
+Mr. Cunningham, without a word, took his magazine and, limping
+painfully, left the piazza, and went indoors.
+
+Mrs. Vinton, an odd expression on her fine face, took her parasol from
+the chair where it lay, and went for a walk down the path toward the
+birches. She was disgusted with Mrs. Paxton, Floretta, and Mrs. Dayne,
+although she felt that the little girl was least of all at fault.
+
+She was only an untaught, untrained child, to be pitied rather than
+blamed. She knew that they would think her very unkind if she did not
+seem to approve of Floretta, and she could not laugh at cruelty.
+
+The child was indeed a clever imitator, but the fact remained that it
+_was_ cruel to mock an outcry caused by pain.
+
+Dorothy and Nancy were coming toward her, on their way toward the hotel,
+their hands filled with blossoms, faces bright and smiling.
+
+They greeted her gaily, and Dorothy offered her some of the flowers.
+
+"I'll give half to you, and half to mamma," said Dorothy. "I mean, I
+will if you'd like to have them."
+
+"It is a sweet gift, and I shall enjoy them in my room," Mrs. Vinton
+said. "I have a lovely vase that is worthy to hold such beautiful
+blossoms."
+
+"I'll divide mine between Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton," said
+Nancy.
+
+"You both like to give," said Mrs. Vinton.
+
+"Oh, yes!" they cried together, and as she left them, Dorothy said:
+
+"Isn't she a sweet, lovely lady?"
+
+"Yes, and I like to hear her talk, her voice always sounds so pleasant."
+
+Mrs. Vinton, as she walked along the little path, her flowers in her
+hand, thought of Dorothy and Nancy.
+
+"They are two dear little girls," she said, "and add to the charm of
+this lovely place."
+
+"Would you dare to give Mr. Cunningham some bluebells for his
+buttonhole?" said Nancy. "I'd like to, but _I_ wouldn't dare."
+
+"I don't know," Dorothy said. "I'd like to, too, and he 'most always has
+a rosebud, but sometimes he doesn't. When we get back, if he's on the
+piazza, and hasn't a bud in his buttonhole, I'll try to dare to offer
+him some of these blossoms."
+
+Dear little Dorothy! She wondered if she would be rewarded with a
+frown!
+
+Floretta and her mother were not there, neither was Mrs. Dayne, but in a
+shady corner sat Mr. Cunningham.
+
+Nancy ran in to take her flowers to Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton.
+
+Dorothy hesitated. She would have been even more timid, had she known
+how recently he had been offended.
+
+He looked up from his book, frowned, then smiled and nodded pleasantly.
+
+He had thought that Floretta had returned, and was pleasantly surprised
+to see Dorothy, instead.
+
+Softly she crossed the piazza until she stood beside him.
+
+"May I give you a few of these bluebells for your buttonhole?" she said.
+"They're only wild flowers, but they're pretty ones," she added, fearing
+that, after all, he might not care for them.
+
+"Why, thank you, my dear. I surely would like them, especially as they
+are offered me by a real little lady."
+
+He placed the cluster that she offered him in his lapel, as he spoke,
+and looked to Dorothy for approval.
+
+"They are wild flowers, truly," he said, "but I think they are quite as
+attractive as the buds I have been wearing," and Dorothy was glad that
+she had offered them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE
+
+
+THREE weeks had passed, and as nearly every day had been fair, the
+guests at the Cleverton had lived out of doors, appearing at the hotel
+at meal-time, and at night.
+
+Other wild flowers beside the bluebells were blossoming gaily, peeping
+up from the grass as if offering a welcome to all who looked at them;
+and even great rocks and ledges held tiny blossoming plants in their
+crevices.
+
+The pony, Romeo, had come to the mountains with the family, and seemed
+to enjoy the outing.
+
+Every morning Dorothy and Nancy went for a drive, and Romeo tossed his
+mane, and pranced as if to show his delight.
+
+One morning the pony was standing at the porch, waiting for his little
+mistress, who soon came running down the stairs.
+
+Floretta was standing in the hall, spinning a top.
+
+A sign on the wall plainly stated that children must not play in the
+hall, but that did not disturb Floretta.
+
+Deftly she wound the string, and the great top fell to the floor, where
+it hummed and spun as rapidly as if a boy's hand had flung it.
+
+She picked it up, and again wound it, this time throwing it with even
+greater force.
+
+"Look! Look!" she cried. "I b'lieve it spins faster every time I throw
+it!"
+
+Dorothy looked over the baluster at the humming top, but said nothing.
+
+She knew that Floretta had seen the notice; indeed a number of the
+children had stood in the hall when it had been tacked up.
+
+Looking up at Dorothy, Floretta noticed the whip in her hand.
+
+"Riding?" she asked.
+
+"Yes, for a little while," said Dorothy. "It's a lovely morning, and I
+mean to see how quickly Romeo will take me to the 'Spring.'"
+
+"I wouldn't care to ride horseback," said Floretta, rudely.
+
+"You won't care to spin tops in this hall if Matson catches you," cried
+a shrill voice, from an upper hall.
+
+"Pooh! I'm not afraid of Matson," Floretta said, boldly, looking up at
+the boy who had tried to frighten her.
+
+"Oh, aren't you?" said the boy in a teasing voice. "Well, he manages
+this hotel, and he'll _make_ you stop if he catches you!"
+
+"You stop, Jack Tiverton!" cried Floretta.
+
+"You'll be the one to stop!" said Jack, with a loud laugh.
+
+Dorothy crossed the hall, stepping around Floretta, who stood exactly in
+the way.
+
+Looking back, she saw Floretta show the tip of her tongue to Jack, while
+Jack, not to be outdone, made a most outrageous face.
+
+"I wish they weren't so horrid!" Dorothy said to herself, as she left
+the hall.
+
+Having mounted Romeo, with the groom's aid, she rode off down the
+lovely, shady road, the man on his horse, following at a respectful
+distance.
+
+She touched the pony lightly with her whip, and he responded by breaking
+into a gentle gallop.
+
+Dorothy's bright curls flew back from her flushed face, and she laughed
+as she flew over the road.
+
+The groom watched her admiringly, and marvelled that so small a girl
+could be such a perfect little equestrienne.
+
+The ride had brightened her eyes, and she always looked smaller than she
+really was when mounted upon Romeo.
+
+He was a handsome animal, with flowing mane and tail, and the groom
+spoke truthfully when he muttered:
+
+"Them two makes a high-bred pair. Miss Dorothy is a girl 'ristycrat, an'
+the little hoss is a hoss 'ristycrat, if ever there was one."
+
+The groom had been in the service of the Dainty family but a few
+months, but in that time he had become devoted to the little daughter of
+the house. All the servants loved Dorothy, and were almost as fond of
+Nancy Ferris.
+
+The young groom had heard Nancy's story, and he felt a deep interest in
+the little girl, who once had been a waif.
+
+Now, his pleasant face wore a smile as he followed Dorothy, and saw how
+firmly the little figure stuck to the saddle, and rode as if girl and
+pony were one and inseparable.
+
+They reached the "Spring," a spot whose beauty drew all travellers to
+it, and artists lingered there to paint, and thus perpetuate its charm.
+
+Romeo looked down at the clear stream that reflected his figure so
+perfectly.
+
+"He wants a drink," said Dorothy; "lead him to a good place, Thomas,
+please."
+
+He helped her to dismount, and then led the pony to a shady spot where
+he could drink, and enjoy the cool, clear water.
+
+Dorothy at once commenced to gather some of the lovely wild flowers that
+grew near the water's edge, but farther up the stream.
+
+"These are different from any that I've ever found here," she thought.
+
+Her hands were nearly filled with the lovely blossoms, and she was
+reaching out to grasp an especially pretty one, when a strangely
+familiar voice, just behind her, said:
+
+"I think I see some one I've _often_ seen before!"
+
+Dorothy turned, and a little cry of surprise and pleasure escaped her
+lips.
+
+There were Mrs. Barnet and dear little Flossie coming toward her, while
+very near her was the owner of the voice, Flossie's handsome,
+merry-hearted Uncle Harry! Just behind him was his lovely young wife,
+and the baby in charge of a maid.
+
+"Oh, I _am_ glad, _so_ glad to see you!" cried Dorothy. "And Flossie
+Barnet, did you know you were coming up here, when I said 'good-by' to
+you and Molly Merton at Merrivale?"
+
+"I didn't know _surely_, but I _almost_ knew," Flossie admitted, "but
+Uncle Harry said, 'Don't tell 'til you _know_,' and I didn't _truly_
+know until after you were gone."
+
+"Well, it's fine to have you here," said Dorothy, "but I do truly
+b'lieve it's almost nicer to be surprised, and have you;" and she threw
+her arm around Flossie, as she walked beside her.
+
+Tall, handsome Uncle Harry thought he saw a chance for a bit of a joke.
+
+"I wonder why some one isn't surprised to see _me_?" he said.
+
+"Oh, I am," said Dorothy, "and glad, too."
+
+"Well, thank you," said Uncle Harry; then with a face that he tried to
+make sad, he said:
+
+"But I know you aren't as glad as you were to see Flossie, because,--you
+didn't put your arm around _my_ waist!"
+
+He had tried to look very glum, but his blue eyes were laughing.
+
+Big, handsome Uncle Harry could not look woebegone, and the two little
+girls laughed at his attempt.
+
+"The barge is taking our party over to the 'Cleverton,' and I see you
+have the pony, Dorothy," said Uncle Harry. "Will you run a race with the
+barge?"
+
+"Oh, yes, yes!" cried Dorothy, "and Romeo will come in ahead!"
+
+"If he does," said Uncle Harry, "I'll surely decorate him with a blue
+ribbon!"
+
+With many a laugh and jest, and much guessing as to which would be the
+winner, the merry party clambered into the barge; Dorothy mounted Romeo,
+and they were off over the road, on the way to the hotel.
+
+The horses, like the average barge horses, were not beauties, but they
+saw the pony rush forward, and they made an effort at speed. They
+plunged forward, at what, to them, seemed a reckless pace, but the fine,
+handsome Romeo shot past them, his nostrils dilated, and his eyes
+bright with excitement. Dorothy's gay laugh rang out as she passed them,
+and Uncle Harry, as he looked after the flying figure, exclaimed:
+
+"The little fairy! I believe no other child could ride so fearlessly as
+that!"
+
+Often she looked back, as she sped over the road. Try as they would, the
+old horses could not overtake her.
+
+As soon as the barge appeared in sight between the trees, she touched
+Romeo lightly with her whip-stock, and then she laughed gaily as he
+plunged forward, the old barge rattling along far behind.
+
+She did not permit Romeo to again slacken his pace, and thus arrived at
+the Cleverton before the barge was in sight, so slow had been its
+progress.
+
+"Oh, Nancy!" she cried, "Who _do_ you think has come?"
+
+[Illustration: OFTEN SHE LOOKED BACK, AS SHE SPED OVER THE ROAD.--_Page
+31._]
+
+"Who has come?" Nancy asked. "Where are they?"
+
+"I mean you can't guess who is coming, and there they come now, Nancy,
+just look!"
+
+Nancy did look, saw the barge swinging around the curve of the road, saw
+a tiny handkerchief waving, and then a sweet little face looked out to
+smile at her.
+
+"Oh, it's Flossie Barnet!" cried Nancy, joyfully, "and her mamma,
+and,--why, yes it _is_! It's Flossie's Uncle Harry!"
+
+He heard the cry, and heard the welcome in her voice.
+
+"Yes, it's Flossie's Uncle Harry, and all the other little girls' Uncle
+Harry who care to claim him for an uncle," he said, with a laugh, as he
+lifted his little niece down from the barge.
+
+"Oh, I'm _so_ glad he came, too," said Dorothy, upon hearing which, he
+turned and lifting his hat, bowed, thus acknowledging the compliment
+that she had paid him. His eyes twinkled with pleasure, for he loved
+children, and he valued their regard. He was a big, manly fellow, with a
+warm heart, as loving, and as merry as that of a child.
+
+The Barnet party added much to the pleasure of little events and
+entertainments at the Hotel Cleverton. Flossie became, at once, a
+favorite with the other children, and her charming mother was deservedly
+popular with all.
+
+Uncle Harry, who possessed a fine voice, willingly sang whenever a
+musical program was arranged for an evening, while his lovely young
+wife, who was an accomplished pianist, played his accompaniments, or
+rendered solos, thus generously adding to the pleasure of the other
+guests.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I tell you what it is," said old Mr. Cunningham, "that big bank of
+clouds hanging over that mountain means rain, and plenty of it, I
+believe."
+
+"I think you are right," said Uncle Harry, "and if we _do_ have a three
+days' rain, as we sometimes do, we shall have to use every effort to
+keep things humming, and so forget the storm."
+
+They had been sitting on the piazza, and talking of the days of
+uninterrupted sunshine that they had enjoyed, when, in a few minutes,
+the blue sky had been hidden, as if by a thin, pearly veil, while
+hanging over the mountain was the mass of leaden clouds that had seemed
+to prophesy rain.
+
+"Oh, _I_ don't want it to rain," wailed Floretta, who stood near them,
+her pretty face puckered into a most unpleasant frown.
+
+"I'm afraid the weather can't be arranged especially for you," said Mr.
+Cunningham.
+
+He, like all the guests, was very tired of the child who was either
+whining, or boisterously, rudely gay. Just at this point, Mrs. Paxton
+came out on the piazza, a small note-book and pencil in her hand.
+
+She hastened toward the two gentlemen, and smiled as if she were
+conferring a favor.
+
+"With the chance of a stormy evening, we are trying to arrange a program
+that will give us a pleasant evening indoors," she said. "I am sure you
+will help me."
+
+She had smiled at both, and old Mr. Cunningham, who heartily disliked
+her, was only too glad to reply.
+
+"I'm not musical, madam," he said, "but I'll whistle 'Hail Columbia' for
+you, if you will promise not to reprimand me if I get off the key."
+
+"Dear, dear!" she cried. "You are always so amusing. One never knows if
+you are joking, or serious."
+
+"It would be very serious, and no joke, I assure you, if you were
+actually obliged to listen to my whistling," was the curt reply, and he
+turned once more to scan the sky and the distant mountains.
+
+Uncle Harry, of course, agreed to sing, his wife promised to play, and
+Mrs. Paxton moved toward where Mrs. Dainty and her companion, Aunt
+Charlotte, were sitting, with Dorothy and Nancy near them.
+
+"Will your little daughter sing for us this evening?" she asked. "We
+are eager to have quite a fine program."
+
+"Dorothy shall sing for you, surely," Mrs. Dainty said, "and Nancy, I am
+sure, will give a little solo."
+
+"Oh, does Nancy sing or play?" Mrs. Paxton asked, in surprise, for thus
+far Nancy had not exhibited her talent, whatever it might be.
+
+"She will give you a solo that shall be neither singing nor playing,"
+Mrs. Dainty replied, with a quiet smile.
+
+"How very interesting!" said Mrs. Paxton. She had invited Dorothy to
+sing because other guests had expressed the wish to hear her.
+
+Here was a _second_ child with talent of _some_ kind! Well, Floretta's
+imitations of other people would certainly eclipse the efforts of the
+other little girls! Mrs. Paxton's sole idea in arranging the
+entertainment was for the purpose of showing Floretta's mimicry.
+
+A small figure paused a moment in the doorway, then stepped back, and
+peeped out, scanning the groups upon the piazza.
+
+"She isn't there!" he whispered. "She's backed out, an' she _said_ she'd
+do it!"
+
+He drew back into the shadow, and waited, hoping that when he looked
+again he might see her.
+
+A second peep at the guests on the piazza showed that Floretta was not
+among them.
+
+"She didn't _try_ to do it!" he muttered.
+
+He held something in his hand, which he kept behind his back.
+
+He was about to peep again when a light hand touched his shoulder.
+
+He turned, and there stood Floretta, looking prettier than usual in her
+short white frock, white shoes, and pink hair ribbons.
+
+"Did you get one?" whispered Jack.
+
+"Look!" said Floretta, and from behind her back she produced a long
+corn-cob. "I took mine from the table at noon, when ma wasn't looking,
+and ran from the dining-room, and hid it in our room," said Floretta.
+"How did you get yours?"
+
+"I asked the head waiter to get mine for me," said Jack, "and he acted
+as if he thought me a ninny. He gave it to me all the same, and asked
+what I was up to. I didn't tell him, though."
+
+They giggled softly.
+
+"Ready?" whispered Jack, softly.
+
+"Yes," whispered Floretta, and then, with corn-cobs held to their
+mouths, and their fingers working as if playing upon flutes, they
+marched out on to the piazza, loudly singing, "Hail Columbia."
+
+Some of the guests laughed, none so loudly as Mrs. Paxton, who declared
+that it taxed her intellect to imagine what put such outrageously funny
+notions into children's heads.
+
+"I can answer that, madam, and without trying very hard, either. It's
+Satan, madam, Satan, who from watching their actions, takes them to be
+his near relatives," said Mr. Cunningham.
+
+Meanwhile the little procession of two, encouraged by the laughter,
+marched in and out between the groups of guests, until unlucky Floretta
+let her corn-cob slip from her fingers, the moist, sticky thing falling
+upon the light silk skirt of a lady who sat near Mrs. Paxton.
+
+"There, there, Floretta, never mind," said Mrs. Paxton; then turning to
+the wearer of the gown, she said, "I don't think it will stain it in the
+least. Children will be children, and must have their fun!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+AN ENTERTAINMENT
+
+
+MRS. PAXTON had laughed at what she chose to call the "funny" antics of
+Floretta and Jack, but in truth, she had been very angry.
+
+She swept from the piazza, Floretta, firmly grasped, walking beside her.
+Jack Tiverton's mother took him to her room, where she could talk to
+him, without fear of interruption.
+
+Floretta sat on a low divan, sullen and obstinate.
+
+For twenty minutes she had listened, while her mother had told what a
+disrespectful thing she had done.
+
+"I don't see how it was not respectful," grumbled Floretta, "we were
+just having a little fun."
+
+"And it was fun at my expense," said Mrs. Paxton. "I was annoyed, just
+when I was making plans for a _fine_ entertainment, to have you and that
+boy parade out on to the piazza with those old corn-cobs, singing, or
+rather _howling_, like young savages!"
+
+This, and much more Floretta was forced to listen to, but during the
+remainder of the scolding, she did not speak, or reply in any way.
+
+She was still very sullen when her mother left the room, and no one saw
+her until she appeared in the dining-room at dinner.
+
+She tasted one dish after another, but managed to eat but little dinner.
+She wished her mother to think that the scolding had made her ill.
+
+It proved to be wasted effort. Mrs. Paxton had been so interested in
+what Mrs. Dayne was saying that she had not noticed that Floretta let
+the various courses go untasted.
+
+She had hoped to worry her mother, but had only punished herself!
+
+She was very hungry when they left the table, and also very angry.
+
+"I might just as well have eaten my dinner," she muttered, "she never
+noticed that I didn't."
+
+When the hour arrived that had been set for the concert, every guest was
+present, and all were talking and laughing gaily, and very glad that an
+evening's amusement had been provided.
+
+Outside, the rain was descending in torrents, while a cold wind whistled
+around the corners, as if demanding admittance.
+
+Indoors the heavy red hangings were drawn over the lace draperies, great
+logs blazed in the fireplaces, while over all softly shaded lights gave
+an air of cozy comfort that made one feel sheltered and safe from the
+storm.
+
+A group of ladies sat chatting together, and one, a recent arrival, was
+saying that she had understood that children were not permitted as
+guests at the Cleverton.
+
+"There are only a few children here," Mrs. Vinton said, "and some of
+them are charming."
+
+"While others are _not_?" questioned the stranger, with an odd smile.
+
+"I'd rather not say just that," Mrs. Vinton said, "but I will say that
+Mrs. Dainty's little daughter, and Dorothy's little friend, Nancy, and
+Flossie Barnet, are three of the sweetest children I have ever met. My
+stay here is brighter and far pleasanter because they are also here."
+
+"Dorothy Dainty is an unusually fine singer for a child," another lady
+said, "and she is to sing for us to-night. I believe Nancy Ferris is to
+do something, but I do not know what. Does any one know if Nancy sings?"
+
+"I've not the least idea what her talent is," said a pleasant-voiced
+matron, "but she is such a bright, interesting child that I feel sure
+that whatever she is able to do at all, she will do exceedingly well."
+
+"Aunt Vera is to play a solo for the first number," said little Flossie
+Barnet, to a lady who sat near her.
+
+"That is delightful," said the lady, "and what are you to do?"
+
+"Oh, I'll listen, and listen," said Flossie, "and then, I'll clap to
+show how much I liked what the people did."
+
+"And your friend Dorothy is to sing," said the lady, "do you know what
+Nancy does?"
+
+"Oh, yes, I do!" cried Flossie, "and she does it so lovely, you'll
+wonder how she could! I'm not to tell _what_ she'll do, none of us are
+to tell. You'll _see_ when she does it!"
+
+"Dear little girl, you seem quite as happy as if you were to be a
+soloist," said the lady.
+
+"Why, yes," said Flossie, "for when the other little girls do pretty
+things, I see them, but I couldn't see myself do anything!"
+
+"Oh, you sweet, funny little girl," the pleasant-faced lady said, as she
+drew Flossie closer, "I never knew so dear a child."
+
+"Dorothy and Nancy are dear," said Flossie, "and oh, you haven't seen
+Molly Merton! She's another one of my little friends, and she's _always_
+lovely to play with. We're always together when I'm at home at
+Merrivale."
+
+Before the lady could express regret that she did not know Molly, the
+orchestra began the opening chords of an overture.
+
+The musicians gave an afternoon and evening concert daily, throughout
+the season, but to-night their numbers were to be interspersed with
+solos given by the guests.
+
+The orchestra was generously applauded, and then a slender figure in a
+gown of soft, pink satin seated itself at the piano, and with light
+touch and brilliant execution, played a rondo that delighted all.
+
+In response to repeated applause, she played the "Caprice Hongroise,"
+which aroused wild enthusiasm.
+
+She smiled, and bowed gracefully in acknowledgment, then turning toward
+her husband, who now stood beside her, took from his hand the duplicate
+of the song that he was to sing. She always played his accompaniments.
+
+How full of music was his rare voice, how like the tones of a silver
+trumpet when he sang "A Song of the Sea," how tender his tones when for
+a second number, he sang an "Italian Love Song!"
+
+"Didn't he sing _fine_, just _fine_?" Flossie asked, eagerly.
+
+"Indeed he did," the lady replied, "I never heard a more excellent
+voice."
+
+"Well, he's my own Uncle Harry!" said Flossie, a world of love and pride
+in her voice.
+
+A young girl played a serenade on the guitar, and a member of the
+orchestra played a waltz for violin, and both were encored.
+
+Those who were to perform were in a small room awaiting their turn. They
+were laughing and chatting while they waited, and all, save a little
+girl, who kept apart from the others, seemed bright and happy. Her eyes
+were dull, and her red lips pouting. It was Floretta Paxton, and she was
+watching Nancy Ferris, noticing every detail of her costume, and looking
+as unpleasant as possible.
+
+Nancy wore a frock of white gauze, thickly strewn with tiny gold
+spangles. Her girdle was white satin, her slippers were white, and she
+wore a cluster of pink rosebuds in her hair.
+
+"What's she going to do?" Floretta asked in a fretful voice, but Mrs.
+Paxton, who stood beside her, could not tell her that. She knew no more
+of Nancy's talent than Floretta did.
+
+Floretta had been angry in the afternoon; she had foolishly refused
+dinner, and was very hungry; she was made more angry because hers was
+not the first number on the program, and now, here was Nancy Ferris
+wearing a beautiful frock that far outshone her own!
+
+She was wearing a simple pink muslin, and had felt that she was finely
+dressed, until Nancy appeared.
+
+The satin girdle, the white slippers, and the spangles were more than
+she could forgive.
+
+"What's she going to _do?_" she asked again, more fretfully than before.
+
+"I _don't know_," Mrs. Paxton said.
+
+"Well, I won't do a thing 'til I do know!" said Floretta.
+
+Silly little girl! Always a jealous child, she now thought that Nancy
+_might_ be another impersonator or imitator, and she was nearly wild.
+
+The orchestra was now playing a dreamy waltz. Nancy's foot tapped the
+measure. Her eyes were brighter.
+
+"What _is_ she going to do?" whispered Floretta.
+
+The tall man, who had been announcing the numbers, now swung aside the
+portière, and Nancy slipped from her chair, ran out upon the stage, and
+then,--oh, the fairy motion of her arms, the lightness with which, on
+the tips of her toes, she flew across the stage!
+
+With her finger-tips she lifted the hem of her skirt, and courtesied
+low, then away in a dreamy whirl she sped, turning to look over her
+shoulder, and laugh at the faces that showed greatest surprise.
+
+On swept the strains of sweetest music, and little Nancy, carried away
+with love of the music, danced more charmingly than ever before.
+
+Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty watched her flying figure, and often as
+they had seen her, they knew that she was excelling herself.
+
+"Nancy, Nancy, dear child!" murmured Aunt Charlotte.
+
+Now, with her feet crossed, and still on the tips of her toes she
+whirled like a top, did the graceful rocking step, swayed like a flower
+in the wind, whirled about again, courtesied once more, and laughing
+like a merry, dark-eyed sprite, ran back into the little waiting-room.
+
+Oh, what thunders of applause greeted her, yet she sat quietly chatting
+with a lady who stood near her!
+
+Again and again they seemed to be begging that the little dancer might
+return.
+
+"I'll bow to them," said Nancy, and she ran out to do so.
+
+"Once more, once more!" cried an eager voice, and then more clapping,
+and even a few shrill whistles from some very young men begged her to
+respond.
+
+She extended her arms for a second, then whirling rapidly, she repeated
+the last half of the dance, courtesied again, and when she ran back to
+the little room, Dorothy embraced her tenderly.
+
+"Oh, Nancy darling!" she cried, "you never danced finer. Do you know how
+pleased every one is?"
+
+"I danced to please and surprise them," said Nancy. "I _do_ love to see
+people look happy. They couldn't remember how hard it was raining while
+I was whirling and dancing for them."
+
+Floretta, now more unhappy than before, turned so that she might not see
+Nancy, nor note the shimmer of her spangles.
+
+Mrs. Paxton, who had been talking with a friend, now turned toward
+Floretta.
+
+"Come!" she said, "now run out, and do your very best, Floretta."
+
+"I'm not going out!" said Floretta.
+
+"What an idea!" cried Mrs. Paxton. "Of course you'll run out, and show
+every one how cute you are. Why, I planned this entertainment just to
+give you a chance to show off!"
+
+"And made me the last one on the whole list!" snarled Floretta.
+
+"Come, come!" cried her mother, "every one couldn't be first. I thought
+I'd have the others perform first, and then _you_ could show who was the
+smartest! Come! They're just wild to see what you can do, and they're
+waiting."
+
+"They'll _have_ to wait!" hissed Floretta, like a cross little cat.
+
+It was no use to urge, plead, or insist. Floretta was stubborn, and when
+once she had determined what she would, or would not do, nothing could
+move her.
+
+Prayers and threats were equally useless.
+
+Dorothy sang very sweetly, and was cordially received.
+
+Uncle Harry and his wife sang a charming duet that delighted all, the
+orchestra played a military caprice, and then the remainder of the
+evening was spent in a little, informal dance.
+
+All was light, laughter, and music, and there were two kinds of music
+that gladdened their hearts,--the sweet music of the violins, and the
+still sweeter melody of happy voices!
+
+Silly little Floretta had ruined the evening for no one save her own
+jealous little self.
+
+Because she could not be the first on the program, she would not appear
+at all, although, at heart, she longed to show her really clever
+mimicry. Later, after having sulked during the early part of the
+evening, she refused to join the dancers, and ran away to her room,
+angry, very angry with every one save the one person who was really at
+fault,--herself.
+
+Her efforts at imitating would surely have amused, and would, doubtless,
+have been well received. She was rather a graceful dancer, in any of
+the ordinary ballroom dances, and she thus might have joined the other
+children when the concert was over. She had needlessly spent a most
+unhappy evening.
+
+Now, in her room, she heard the strains of the orchestra, and for the
+first time realized how foolish she had been.
+
+"I _had_ a chance, and I lost it," she sobbed, but her tears were not
+tears of grieving. They were angry tears, and the droll part of it was
+that while she alone was at fault, she was angry with every one but
+herself.
+
+For a few moments she lay, her face hidden in her pillow. Then, she
+turned over into a more comfortable position, and softly she whispered,
+"I'll do enough to-morrow to make up!"
+
+She did not say _what_ she intended to do, but the idea evidently
+pleased her, for she laughed through her tears.
+
+She sprang from her bed, found a box of bonbons that her mother had won
+as a prize in an afternoon whist party the day before, and crept back
+into bed. When she had eaten nearly all of the candy, she sat up and in
+the softly shaded light, looked at the box with its few remaining bits
+of candy. She was wondering where she could hide it.
+
+"Ma will surely notice the empty box, or anyway, I've made it _almost_
+empty," she said. "She might not miss it if I hid it!"
+
+She had never been taught to be honest, so whenever she did a naughty
+thing, her first thought was to hide, or cover up the act. She never
+felt regret.
+
+No one ever heard her gently say, "I'm sorry."
+
+Softly she crept from her bed, and made her way across the floor to the
+dressing-case.
+
+She put the box upon the floor, and pushed it well under it, and wholly
+out of sight.
+
+"There!" she whispered. "That's all right. I would have finished the
+candy, but I didn't want the whole of it. I ate the best of it. The
+others weren't very nice."
+
+Down in the long parlor the guests were no longer dancing.
+
+They were resting, and listening to a lovely barcarolle played softly by
+the orchestra.
+
+Flossie, clinging to Uncle Harry's hand, drew him toward the window.
+
+"Look!" she said, as she parted the curtains. "It isn't raining now, and
+the moon is coming out. It will be pleasant to-morrow! And it has been
+lovely in here to-night."
+
+"Dear little Flossie, dear little niece, it was your cheery, loving
+nature that led us to give your name to our baby. She has two fine
+names, she is Beatrice Florence. The first is Vera's mother's name, the
+second, dear, is yours."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+IN A BIRCH ARBOR
+
+
+THE storm had cleared the air, no mist veiled the mountains, the
+sunlight lay everywhere, gilding valley and stream.
+
+Many of the guests had started early in the morning for a trip to a
+distant mountain from the summit of which a delightful view might be
+enjoyed.
+
+They were to ride over in the barge to the base of the mountain, have a
+picnic lunch under the trees, and then climb the rugged path up the
+mountain side.
+
+It would occupy half the day and it would be afternoon before the barge
+would return with its merry, tired party.
+
+Floretta Paxton and Jack Tiverton were usually in sight, or, as they
+were always noisy, within hearing might be nearer the truth, but they
+had gone over to a spot that the children called "The Pool," a bit of
+water not much larger than a big puddle.
+
+It existed only after a heavy rain, but near its edge the slender
+birches grew, and their silvery white trunks and the bright, blue sky
+were clearly reflected on its surface.
+
+Jack had decided to launch his toy boat there, and, as Floretta had
+hemmed the tiny sails, he had felt obliged to listen to her coaxing, and
+permit her to go with him.
+
+"I'll let you christen her," he had said, in a moment of generosity, and
+then regretted it.
+
+Floretta's idea of a christening ceremony was very elaborate, while
+Jack thought that shouting the vessel's name, and shoving it into the
+water was all that was necessary.
+
+Nancy was helping Aunt Charlotte, so when Dorothy ran out to the piazza,
+she found it deserted, and she stood looking in surprise at the rocking
+chairs and hammocks that were swaying in the wind.
+
+"Every one has gone somewhere," she thought; "didn't any one stay at
+home?"
+
+She stood for a moment in the doorway, wondering what to do. Suddenly
+her face brightened, and she clapped her hands.
+
+"The very thing!" she said, and she turned and hastened to her room to
+find her latest gift.
+
+It was a beautiful book of fairy tales, and although it had been given
+her over a week ago, she had read but a few of the stories. Mrs. Dainty
+had sent to the city for the book, and ever since the day of its arrival
+Dorothy had been wild to read it.
+
+Something had been planned for each sunny day, and as the weather had
+continued fair, the book had been opened but a few times, and then for
+only a brief glance at the tales or the illustrations.
+
+Mrs. Dainty had gone to the village, a ride of about an hour from the
+hotel, and Aunt Charlotte was still occupied with her letters.
+
+Nancy was sealing and stamping the envelopes, as Dorothy passed the
+door.
+
+"I'm going over to the little 'birch arbor,'" she said. "I'm taking my
+new fairy book for company."
+
+"I'll come, too, just as soon as I've finished these envelopes," said
+Nancy, and she began to work faster.
+
+[Illustration: "OH, WHAT A LOVELY, _LOVELY_ STORY!" SAID DOROTHY.--_Page
+67._]
+
+The "birch arbor" was not an actual arbor, but it was a lovely spot, and
+the birches were exceptionally fine. Nancy and Dorothy had often been
+there together, and they had given it the name.
+
+A tiny mountain brook ran through it, and it was a lovely spot in which
+to enjoy legends or fairy tales.
+
+In a few moments Dorothy had reached the place, and when she had seated
+herself, she opened the book where a fine picture showed the prince,
+whose father had given him three wishes as his only inheritance, and
+then had sent him out to seek his fortune.
+
+Twice she had commenced to read the story, and had been obliged to lay
+it aside. Now, with only the bees and the butterflies hovering about
+her, she read the fascinating tale.
+
+It proved to be even more charming than she had expected.
+
+The prince was tall, and dark, and handsome, and his heart was so good
+and true, that Dorothy felt that he richly deserved the beautiful
+princess whom he finally won.
+
+Her eyes sparkled as she read of the great court wedding.
+
+"And the lovely princess looked more beautiful than ever in her wedding
+gown of cloth of gold, thickly set with diamonds, and her crown of
+diamonds and sapphires."
+
+"Oh what a lovely, _lovely_ story!" said Dorothy, as she turned the
+page.
+
+"Tiny princes carried her train, and as the happy pair reached the
+palace gates, and were about to enter the royal coach, the blare of
+trumpets sounded, as the guards in blue and gold played a gay fanfare."
+
+"Toot! Toot! Toot!"
+
+Dorothy sprang to her feet.
+
+It was as if those silver-toned trumpets had sounded close beside her. A
+moment more, and a huge automobile appeared from behind the trees and
+shrubbery, and slackening its speed, came, at last, to a standstill, and
+an old lady leaned out to question her.
+
+"Are we going in the right direction, my dear, to reach the Hotel
+Cleverton?"
+
+Dorothy walked toward the car, and looked up into the hard, old face.
+
+"This little road is _right_," said Dorothy, "but the broad road that
+leads out of this one is not so rough, and it is a _little_ shorter."
+
+"There, Minturn, I _said plainly_ that I believed we could get there
+quicker some other way!"
+
+"You are _sure_ about the Cleverton?" the old lady asked. "You _know_
+where it is?"
+
+"I'm staying there with mamma, and that truly is the right way," said
+Dorothy, her soft eyes looking up into the hard, old face.
+
+"I guess I can trust you," the old lady said, not smiling, but looking a
+bit less stern.
+
+"Now, Minturn, we'll _try_ to reach the hotel, sometime before dark!"
+she said curtly.
+
+Puffing and whirring the big automobile started off up the road, the old
+lady sitting stern and erect, as if she thought her driver needed
+watching, and she was determined to keep a sharp eye upon him.
+
+"Why, how queer!" said Dorothy. "She didn't even say 'good-bye,' or
+'good-morning.' Perhaps she was very tired, and forgot,"--then after a
+moment she added, "but my beautiful mamma _never_ forgets."
+
+She went back to the pretty spot where she had been reading, and sitting
+down, opened the book, but she could not keep her mind upon the stories.
+The strange face of the old lady seemed to look at her from the printed
+page.
+
+How small and sharp her eyes had been, and how she asked the same
+question again and again. Did she doubt the answer given her?
+
+All these, and many more questions puzzled Dorothy, and with the open
+book lying upon her lap, she looked off where the sunlight lay upon the
+grass.
+
+She was still sitting thus when a merry voice aroused her, and she
+turned to see Nancy running toward her.
+
+"Oh, Dorothy!" she cried. "You ought to have been up at the hotel just a
+few moments ago. A new guest came, and she was so cross, it _must_ be
+that she didn't want to come. But if she truly _didn't_ want to, then
+why _did_ she?"
+
+"Why, Nancy, who wouldn't think it fine to come up here to the
+mountains, and stay at the Cleverton?" said Dorothy in surprise.
+
+"Well, you wouldn't have thought the old lady was glad to be there, if
+you'd seen her," said Nancy.
+
+"Oh, was it an old lady that you were talking about?" Dorothy asked
+quickly.
+
+"Yes, and you ought to have seen her eyes snap when she scolded her
+chauffeur. She told him she might have arrived an hour before just as
+well as not, and she kept right on scolding to herself, all the way up
+to the piazza, and, Dorothy, she looked so cross, I wouldn't wonder if
+she was scolding up in her room now!"
+
+"She must be the same one that was here just a little while ago,"
+Dorothy said, "and she asked me to tell her the nearest way to the
+Cleverton. When I told her, she made the man rush off over the road, and
+she was scolding him when they left here. Perhaps she was tired, and
+will feel pleasanter when she has rested."
+
+"Perhaps," agreed Nancy, "but I know Aunt Charlotte and your mamma don't
+act that way when they are tired."
+
+Dorothy could not dispute that, and soon the two little girls were
+enjoying the fairy book together.
+
+"Now, this is the story I've just been reading," said Dorothy, "and this
+is the picture of the prince. Isn't he handsome?"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and doesn't he look like Flossie's Uncle Harry?"
+
+"Why, he _does_, truly," cried Dorothy. "I'll show the picture to
+Flossie, and I'm sure she'll say it looks ever so much like him."
+
+"Oh, she will," agreed Nancy.
+
+"Why, it would look _exactly_ like him, if _he_ only had a cap with
+plumes," said Dorothy.
+
+Uncle Harry, coming briskly up the path, was just in time to hear the
+last few words.
+
+"I'm very curious to know who it is who needs a cap with plumes," he
+said.
+
+"Oh, who knew you were right here to hear it?" said Dorothy.
+
+"Oh, was it a state secret?" he asked. "Well, now it's a pity I heard
+it, but as it happens I _did_, I think I must ask for the rest of the
+secret."
+
+"Oh, _would_ you tell?" Dorothy asked, turning to Nancy, but before she
+could reply, Uncle Harry spoke.
+
+"I'm really too curious," he said, "so I think I'll threaten to sit on
+this stump, until you tell me the secret, and let me tell you two little
+friends, that _I've_ a secret; it's a nice one, too, but,--" he paused
+to watch the effect of his words.
+
+"But--But--" they cried.
+
+"But,--" said Uncle Harry, "I wouldn't tell mine _first_!"
+
+Wag that he was, he could not resist the temptation to tease just a bit.
+
+Dorothy took the pretty book, and opening it at the page that showed the
+picture of the prince, she said, "We only said the brave prince looked
+like you, no, I mean you look like him, and we said you'd look _just_
+like him if you had a cap with plumes."
+
+Uncle Harry appeared to study the picture very carefully. After a
+moment, he said:
+
+"That's a fine compliment, but there's one thing about it that worries
+me, so I'll have to ask about it.
+
+"In this picture the prince wears a blue blouse and a pair of green
+shoes, a pink cap with white plumes, gray hose, and crimson trunks. Now,
+if I should decide to purchase a pink cap with white plumes, would you
+expect me to come out arrayed in all those colors? I really feel that
+the costume is a _bit_, just a _bit_ too gay."
+
+"Oh, we'll not ask you to be quite as gay as that," said Dorothy, "and
+we'll promise one thing. We won't even ask you to buy a pink cap if
+you'll tell us your secret now."
+
+He laughed gaily.
+
+"Perhaps I really _ought_ to keep it a little longer. How would it do if
+I should tell you my secret some time next week?" he asked.
+
+"Oh, no, no!" they cried, "tell it now!"
+
+"Well, then, there's to be a fair 'way down in the village, a real
+country fair, and I'm intending to hire a barge, and take all of the
+_very_ young ladies over with me to see the fun. I mean ladies as young
+as you, and Nancy, and Flossie. I shall invite all the wee ladies that
+are stopping at the hotel, and I shall take all who accept."
+
+He looked into their bright faces, and laughed when Dorothy said:
+
+"As if _any_ little girl _wouldn't_ accept!"
+
+"You mustn't expect it to be a grand affair. It will be, as I said, a
+real old-fashioned country fair, but there will be a jolly ride over
+there, and the return trip, and I fancy you will enjoy it all," he said,
+"and I shall have the delight of giving pleasure."
+
+A friend who had been looking for Uncle Harry, now appeared on the
+winding path, a clump of large trees having hidden his approach.
+
+The two young men started off for a long tramp, and Dorothy and Nancy
+walked slowly back to the hotel.
+
+"The prince _did_ look like Uncle Harry," said Nancy, "and the picture
+of the naughty old fairy that enchanted the sleeping beauty, looks like
+the lady that came this morning, and was so very cross."
+
+"Then that _is_ the same one who stopped to ask the way, for she looked
+just like that. I'll always think, every time I look at her, that she's
+the black fairy."
+
+And when they ran up on to the piazza, there sat the very person whom
+they had been speaking of, looking somewhat cooler with her long
+travelling cloak removed.
+
+Her black gown was of some thin material, and just as the two little
+girls ran up on to the piazza, she dropped the large, black fan that she
+had been wielding.
+
+Nancy, who was nearer to her than Dorothy, picked up the fan for her.
+Without a smile, she took the fan, and they heard some slight sound.
+Possibly it might have been a softly murmured word of thanks, but it did
+not sound like it.
+
+"She seems very strange," said Dorothy, "but perhaps she's still tired."
+
+She was always unwilling to say that any one was wilfully rude or
+disagreeable.
+
+And now Aunt Charlotte, with Mrs. Dainty, came out to enjoy the fine
+air, and Dorothy and Nancy ran to them to tell them of the treat that
+Uncle Harry had in store for them.
+
+"It's only a few days to wait, and isn't he kind to take us?" said
+Dorothy.
+
+"He is indeed," said Mrs. Dainty, "and I hope all his little friends
+will be very thoughtful, and make him just as little trouble as
+possible. He takes quite a care in inviting so many children."
+
+"Oh, all the children love him, and there isn't one who would want to be
+any bother, unless it was Floretta," said Dorothy, "and perhaps she'll
+be having such a nice time, she won't think to be naughty."
+
+Mrs. Dainty smiled at this view of it. She could not help thinking that
+Floretta never needed time to think in order to be disagreeable, but
+she did not say so.
+
+Aunt Charlotte Grayson, seeing the stranger sitting alone, paused near
+her chair to say a friendly word.
+
+She remained but few moments, however, because the woman seemed not
+inclined to talk.
+
+Aunt Charlotte well knew that the stranger was not courteous, but she
+tried to think, as Dorothy had, that fatigue, after a long journey, made
+her eager for silence and rest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE MOUNTAIN PARTY
+
+
+AS the days flew by, the stranger became a bit more friendly, conversing
+sometimes with Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte, but often, far more
+often, with Mrs. Paxton.
+
+It was not that she sought to become acquainted with Floretta's mother;
+it was, rather, that Mrs. Paxton seemed determined to force the
+friendship.
+
+"Her name is Fenton, Mrs. Fenton, and isn't it odd, _my_ name was Fenton
+before I married. Floretta's middle name is Fenton. I really feel almost
+as if I were related to her, because of the name," declared Mrs. Paxton
+one morning, whereupon Mrs. Fenton, coming out on to the piazza,
+remarked:
+
+"Oh, indeed!"
+
+Mrs. Paxton blushed and hesitated, then recovering herself, she said:
+
+"I was just telling these ladies of my friendly feeling for you."
+
+"Oh, indeed!" Mrs. Fenton repeated, as she sank into a large rocker, and
+looked off across the valley to the distant mountains.
+
+After a few moments she seemed to have lost interest in the view, and,
+taking up a small embroidery frame, commenced to ply her needle as if
+she were eager to finish the pretty doily.
+
+Two little figures came slowly up the path to the piazza. They were
+returning from the christening of the little boat.
+
+"What is wrong, Jack? You don't look very happy," said Mrs. Tiverton.
+
+"He wanted me to christen his boat, but he wouldn't give it my name!"
+said Floretta, before Jack could reply.
+
+"She thought just because she hemmed the sails I'd name it the
+_Floretta_, but I wouldn't, so I shoved it into the water myself, and
+shouted _Carlotta_. That's the name of a girl that goes to my school,
+and I like her."
+
+"You say Floretta hemmed your sails," said Mrs. Tiverton.
+
+"Well, I thanked her for that, and I let her go to the launching, and I
+let her christen it, but I don't see that I need name it for her," said
+Jack, stoutly.
+
+Mrs. Fenton had not heeded what the children were saying. One might have
+fancied that she did not hear, although both Floretta and Jack stood
+quite near her chair.
+
+A large spool that she had wound with colored silk slipped from her lap,
+and rolled toward Floretta.
+
+"Pick it up, dear," Mrs. Paxton said.
+
+"Don't want to," said Floretta.
+
+Mrs. Fenton stooped, and recovered the spool, and, taking her embroidery
+frame in her hand, left the piazza, and mounted the stairs to her room.
+
+"Why _were_ you so rude?" said Mrs. Paxton, but Floretta, perching upon
+the low railing, began softly humming "Yankee Doodle."
+
+Jack Tiverton, espying a boy that he knew, whistled loudly, and then, as
+the other boy turned, ran after him, the two whooping and shouting like
+savages.
+
+"It is almost lunch time, Jack!" Mrs. Tiverton cried, and the boy
+turned, and waved his hand to show that he heard her.
+
+"Boys aren't apt to forget meal time," muttered old Mr. Cunningham
+behind his paper.
+
+True enough, Jack returned in ample time, and was the first at the
+table.
+
+Early in the afternoon Dorothy and Nancy went out for a drive with
+Romeo.
+
+It was one of those sunny days that tempt nearly every one to ride or
+walk.
+
+The mountain roads were rather lonely, and Mrs. Dainty insisted that
+whether Dorothy were riding Romeo, or driving in the phaeton, the groom
+must ride at a little distance behind her.
+
+There were the lovely, slender birches on either side of the roads,
+there were patches of bright green moss upon which the sunlight rested,
+there were blackberry vines and woodbine wreathing the low stone walls,
+and here and there a mullein raised its stately head from its base of
+velvet leaves.
+
+Oh, it seemed like an enchanted country, where new beauties were to be
+found on either hand!
+
+"Look!" cried Dorothy, "close beside that mullein is an evening
+primrose, and their blossoms are the same color."
+
+Then a tiny chipmunk sprang upon the wall, sat erect, and watched them
+for a moment, then ran up the trunk of a slender tree, where from a low
+branch he watched until they had passed. Then back to the wall he
+sprang, where he chattered as if scolding the little girls who had
+disturbed his solitude. It may be that, instead, he was talking to
+himself, and telling what charming little girls they were.
+
+A long way from the hotel they passed Jack Tiverton, with a number of
+other boys who were staying at a hotel a few miles distant from the
+Cleverton.
+
+They were all somewhat larger than Jack, and he thought it fine to be
+with them.
+
+He had met them at a ball game three weeks before, and he had been very
+busy holding their acquaintance ever since.
+
+"We're going to catch the echo, and keep it, too!" shouted Jack.
+
+"It's mocking you now," said Dorothy, with a laugh.
+
+"I know it," said Jack, "but we'll catch it, and fasten it so it can't
+get away."
+
+"_How_ will you fasten an echo?" Nancy asked, turning, and looking over
+her shoulder as the little phaeton sped past.
+
+"Trust us to find a way!" cried Jack, and the others laughed as if they
+already knew exactly how to do it.
+
+They left the road, and, vaulting over the wall, crossed the open
+field, singing a gay, rollicking song as they went.
+
+"They just _say_ they're going hunting for the echo," said Dorothy, "and
+they say it for fun, but I wonder where they are going, and what they
+truly are going to do."
+
+The groom, riding nearer, touched his hat.
+
+"Please, Miss Dorothy, I heard the lads saying that there's an old house
+over near that mountain, where a hermit lived years ago, and they're off
+to find it if they can."
+
+"Then why didn't they say so, instead of telling such a tale about
+catching the echo?" Dorothy asked.
+
+"They were saying that they wanted to find the hut, and hunt in it, and
+around it ter find things the old fellow may have hidden. They feared
+you or Miss Nancy might tell some other lad. They're wanting it all to
+themselves."
+
+Having told this bit of information, the groom allowed the carriage to
+pass him, and once more rode behind it.
+
+The two little girls talked of the long tramp that the boys would have
+before they would find the hermit's hut.
+
+"And perhaps they won't find it at all, after all their hunting," said
+Nancy.
+
+"Well, I hope they will," said Dorothy, "because it's so horrid to hunt
+and hunt, for nothing."
+
+"Oh, look!" she cried a moment later. "See the lovely mosses! Let's take
+some back to mamma and Aunt Charlotte."
+
+They were, indeed, beautiful. There was green moss that looked like
+velvet, and gray moss formed like tiny cups with scarlet edges, and
+other moss tipped with red.
+
+On an old stump they found shell-like fungus, some a creamy white,
+others white, with soft brown markings.
+
+Oh, a fine collection of rarely beautiful mosses and lichens they
+gathered, and heaped on the bottom of the phaeton.
+
+Romeo turned his head to watch them as if he wondered when they would
+have gathered enough.
+
+"Oh, we do keep you standing, dear, don't we?" Dorothy said, patting his
+neck as she spoke.
+
+"Oh, you needn't look for sugar," she said, laughing, "for I haven't any
+with me, but we'll get you some fresh clover."
+
+With Nancy's help she soon had a fine bunch of pink clover for Romeo,
+and he seemed quite as pleased as if it had been the cubes that he so
+often enjoyed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the party of boys had left the road to cross the fields that lay
+between them, and the forest at the foot of the mountain, they had
+believed that they knew exactly how to go to reach the hermit's hut.
+
+The old hermit had been dead for years, but every season the summer
+guests at the hotels and farmhouses searched all around the deserted
+hut, expecting to find some relic to take home and label as a bit of the
+hermit's property.
+
+The boys supposed that they had the woods to themselves, and that they
+would be uninterrupted in their search of the place.
+
+They did not know that the mountain climbers had taken the same
+direction, intending, before they enjoyed their lunch beneath the trees,
+to stop at the old, deserted house.
+
+Mrs. Paxton and little Floretta had worked more persistently than any
+others of the party, and Mrs. Paxton had found a small, brass button.
+
+The others had laughed at the prize, asking her if she intended to keep
+it as a souvenir.
+
+"Certainly," said Mrs. Paxton. "I'm sure this brass button must have
+belonged on some old coat that the hermit wore!"
+
+"Perhaps in his youth, before he came up here to live, he may have been
+a janitor," said a young man, with a saucy laugh.
+
+"Or a brakeman," suggested another.
+
+Mrs. Paxton pretended not to hear their teasing, and though the prize
+that she had found had been only a valueless thing, she kept it.
+
+Floretta was very eager to stay, and continue to peep into cracks in the
+floor and walls, and to poke with a stick under the doorsill, and in the
+soft earth around the hut.
+
+The older members of the party knew that if they were to ascend the
+mountain, see the view, and descend before twilight, they must start at
+once.
+
+As soon as their picnic lunch had been enjoyed they commenced to climb
+the rugged mountain path.
+
+It was very steep and rough, and it had been said that no children
+should be allowed in the party.
+
+Mrs. Paxton had insisted that her small daughter was a wonderful little
+climber, who was quite equal to the demands of a long tramp.
+
+Floretta had wished to remain at the hut, but as she could not do that,
+she proceeded to make herself as unpleasant as possible, by complaining
+every step of the way, until one young man voiced the feeling of the
+entire party.
+
+"This is a horrid, rough old path, and I'm tired. I wish I'd stayed at
+_home_!" said Floretta.
+
+"I wish so, _too_!" said the young man, and several of the party, too
+polite to say it, at heart, agreed with him.
+
+Floretta's was the only gloomy face, however. The others tramped gaily
+onward, singing snatches of song, and laughing as they stepped upon
+rolling stones, or tripped over long, gnarled roots that rose above the
+surface, as if especially designed to catch lagging feet.
+
+          "All day upon the hills
+           We've chased the chamois far,
+           But deeper joy now thrills
+           Beneath the evening star."
+
+The youth sang gaily, and several of his friends joined him in singing
+the old song.
+
+Arrived at the summit they rested, enjoyed the view, laughed and joked
+about their weariness, and made many wild guesses as to how long it
+would take them to make the descent and drive back to the hotel.
+
+"It will be three o'clock before we reach the Cleverton," said one.
+
+"Nonsense!" cried another, "this is really called a mountain by
+courtesy. It's only a big hill. I say we shall be on the piazza, and
+wondering what we can do next, as early as half-past two."
+
+"It's more likely to be half-past _three_!" declared another, and when
+all felt sufficiently rested, they commenced the descent.
+
+Floretta refused to keep closely beside her mother, insisting upon
+clinging to another member of the party, to whom she had taken a fancy.
+
+The party was a large one, much larger, indeed, than had at first been
+planned, and while half of the number were guests at the Cleverton, the
+others were from the Merlington, a hotel situated nearer the village,
+and from several large farmhouses that entertained summer boarders.
+
+The guests from the Cleverton had kept closely together during the trip,
+while those from the Merlington had done the same.
+
+They had reached the foot of the mountain, and were tramping along a
+path that ran nearly parallel to that on which the hermit's house stood.
+
+Floretta saw the boys, near the house, and also saw that Jack Tiverton
+was with them.
+
+Without a word, she left the lady to whose arm she had been clinging,
+and making her way along behind bushes and underbrush, she managed to
+sneak in at the door of the hut, without having been seen by the party
+of boys.
+
+The lady, with whom she had been walking, supposed that she had run back
+to join her mother, while Mrs. Paxton felt quite undisturbed, because
+she believed that her little girl was still clinging to the arm of the
+lady with whom she had chosen to walk.
+
+It had required two barges to convey the party, and now they found them
+waiting, the horses a bit impatient to be off.
+
+The guests from the Merlington clambered into the first barge, and they
+with a few of the farmhouse party filled it to overflowing, some of the
+men being obliged to ride homeward, seated upon the steps. Meanwhile the
+Cleverton people were forced to wait until the barge for their party
+drove up.
+
+The first barge had started, and was rolling along, and a chorus of
+college songs was wafted back on the breeze, while handkerchiefs
+fluttered as the gay passengers laughed at the crowd that had not yet
+started.
+
+Mrs. Paxton paused with her foot on the step, and looked back.
+
+"Why, where's Floretta?" she asked.
+
+"In the first barge," cried a voice in reply.
+
+"Are you _sure_?" she asked.
+
+"Why, certainly," said the other, "she's with that tall, fine-looking
+lady from the Merlington. She'll be home before you are."
+
+The second barge was soon filled and on its way. The horses were less
+fresh than those of the first barge, and seemed determined to lag.
+Indeed, they required constant urging to keep them from dropping into a
+slow walk.
+
+"Those other fellows ahead of us started some lively college songs,"
+said a disgusted passenger, "and they're actually out of sight now; but
+the way these nags are poking I couldn't think of anything to sing that
+would be slow enough to be appropriate."
+
+And while one barge was going over the road at a lively rate of speed,
+and the other jogging along at a snail's pace, Floretta, at the hut, was
+having a most exciting time.
+
+Once inside the place, she had crouched beneath a window to learn, if
+possible, what the boys were talking about.
+
+She had wanted to remain there when the party had started for the
+mountain path, and she had been very impatient during the long tramp.
+She cared nothing for the view, and determined, on the return, to stop,
+if only for a few moments, at the hut.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE ECHO CAPTURED
+
+
+FLORETTA had intended to hunt for treasure, hoping to get something more
+valuable than the brass button that her mother had found.
+
+She was not at all afraid of Jack Tiverton, but of those larger boys she
+was not quite sure.
+
+As she knelt beneath the window she could hear only the voices of the
+boys that were nearest to the hut, and hearing only parts of their
+conversation, she could not understand what the first speaker expected
+to find.
+
+"If I find it, I'll put it where it will be safe," he said.
+
+There was a pause, and then a voice more distant replied.
+
+She did not hear what it said, but she did hear the answer made by the
+boy who had first spoken.
+
+"If the ghost of the old hermit was in the hut, it might hear you."
+
+"Yes, and what would he say about your hunting for things that may have
+belonged to him?" said another, with a teasing laugh.
+
+"Oh, I'm not afraid," was the careless answer.
+
+"You're not?" jeered a laughing voice.
+
+"I think we've poked around out here long enough without finding
+anything," said Jack Tiverton, "let's hunt inside the house."
+
+"Wait a minute," called a boy who had not yet spoken, "just till I've
+looked into this hollow tree trunk."
+
+"And _then_ what?" asked a merry voice.
+
+"_Then_ hunt in the house, of course!" was the curt reply.
+
+Floretta thought she saw a chance for fun.
+
+Softly, yet quickly, she crept up the rickety little stairway, built
+close against the wall, and leading to the tiny loft.
+
+The loft was really little more than a space beneath the roof where the
+old hermit might have stored a few provisions. She could not stand, or
+even sit, erect, and she crouched upon the bit of dusty flooring.
+
+She was none too soon, for in a few seconds the boys rushed in, and then
+began a discussion as to whether it would be safe to take a plank up
+from the floor to look beneath it for hidden treasure.
+
+"You oughtn't to do that," said Jack Tiverton, "somebody might arrest
+you, or all of us, if folks found out we did it."
+
+"Arrest us for spoiling a floor in this old hut!" cried an older boy. "I
+wonder you don't think the old hermit might holler if he heard us pull
+up a plank!"
+
+"Well," said Jack stoutly, "you'd be as scared as I would if he did
+holler!"
+
+"You're a small boy, Jack, and easily scared," was the taunting reply.
+
+"Well, pull up a plank, and see what happens. I dare you to!" cried
+Jack.
+
+"Here goes then!" said the older boy, and catching hold of a plank that
+had rotted at one end, he pulled it up.
+
+"_Oh, let it alone!_" groaned a boy in a farther corner of the room, in
+an attempt to imitate an old voice.
+
+"_Oh, let it alone!_" came in exactly the same voice from the loft.
+
+Sidney Cumston, the big boy, who had laughed at little Jack Tiverton,
+dropped the plank, and turned pale, while not a boy spoke or moved.
+
+"Come, come!" said Sidney, when he caught his breath, "we're a precious
+pack of sillies! Help me lift this big board, will you?"
+
+"Will you?" came from the loft, in the very manner in which he had said
+it.
+
+Again he dropped the plank.
+
+"What does it mean?" cried Sidney.
+
+"Mean?" came his last word repeated.
+
+The boys were now thoroughly frightened.
+
+"Come!" cried Sidney, "let's leave here!"
+
+"Here!" came a repetition of his last word, and big as he was, he had
+turned to run, when a faint ripple of smothered laughter came down from
+the loft.
+
+Immediately Sidney's pale face flushed red. It flashed through his mind
+that these younger boys had seen that he was frightened.
+
+He had been laughed at by the owner of the voice that had mocked him,
+and the boys would _never_ stop laughing.
+
+Quickly he mounted the steps, and roughly he dragged little Floretta
+from her hiding place, half carrying her down the stairway, because it
+was too narrow for two to descend.
+
+"So you thought it was funny, just _funny_ to mock us, did you?" he
+asked, when they reached the floor.
+
+Floretta was not laughing now.
+
+She was sullen, and at the same time frightened.
+
+What would they do to her?
+
+They crowded around her, frowning and making all sorts of wild
+suggestions as to what should be done with her.
+
+"Keep her mocking till she's got enough of it!" cried one.
+
+"Put her back in the loft, and leave her there! She seemed to like
+there," said another.
+
+The big boy, whose hand was still on her shoulder, was more angry than
+either of the others.
+
+He was a bully, always ready to torment some one smaller than himself.
+
+He had reason to be provoked with Floretta, and the fact that she was
+only a little girl, made no impression upon him.
+
+He would as willingly punish a girl, as a boy, and the fact that his
+captive was smaller than he, only proved that the task would be an easy
+one.
+
+"You think it's smart to imitate, and it is. P'raps you think you're the
+echo that's over in the mountain!" he sneered.
+
+She made no answer. She was crying now.
+
+"Say! Let her off!" cried Jack Tiverton. "She's only a girl!"
+
+The smallest boy in the crowd, he saw Sidney's cowardice.
+
+"Oh, are you sweet on Floretta?" jeered Sidney.
+
+Jack drew back abashed. He did not like Floretta at all, but he did
+think it mean for a big boy to frighten so small a girl.
+
+"I ain't going to hurt you," said Sidney, "but I'm going to give you a
+chance to play echo, till you're tired of it. I guess you'll get enough
+of it before you get through!
+
+"Come, fellows! Get some good long pieces of wild grape-vine! I'll
+fasten Miss Echo where she can shout all day, and nobody'll stop her!"
+
+"I won't go with you!" screamed Floretta, who had found her voice, "You
+sha'n't tie me!"
+
+"Oh, is that so?" said Sidney, in a teasing tone. "We'll tie you so you
+can't get away!"
+
+She pulled back.
+
+"No, you don't!" said Sidney, grasping her arm with a firmer hold.
+
+"Now, walk right along, or these other fellows will help me carry you!"
+he added, and Floretta thought best to walk.
+
+"Where'll you take her?" asked one.
+
+"Right there," said Sidney. "That rock is just covered with vines that
+cling fast to it. Hurry, now! Pull down some long, strong pieces! Here,
+you scratch like a cat! Stop that!"
+
+Floretta, half wild to get away, was attacking his hand in the manner of
+a little wild animal.
+
+"Let me go, then!" she screamed.
+
+"Not much!" cried Sidney, and with the help of another boy, he dragged
+her, screaming and kicking, all the way, until they reached the rocky
+ledge.
+
+"There, now! Hold on! You're showing too much temper!" cried a stout lad
+who was helping to bind her.
+
+"I won't stay! You sha'n't tie me!" she screamed, but without replying,
+they drew the tough vines closer about her, lashing her into such a
+network of stems and stout vines that it would be impossible for her to
+escape.
+
+"There!" cried Sidney, when he felt sure that she was securely made a
+little prisoner, "You can shout till you're tired, and if you want to
+mock any one, you can mock yourself! Good-afternoon, Miss Echo!"
+
+He lifted his cap, with elaborate courtesy, and marched off whistling:
+
+          "The Girl I Left Behind Me."
+
+They did not look back. Sidney marched boldly away, believing that he
+had done a very smart thing, but the other boys felt less comfortable.
+
+They had been angry with her, and they had wished to see her punished,
+but they could not help thinking that she was a little girl, and they
+were leaving her alone in the woods!
+
+Jack Tiverton was, by far, the most uneasy.
+
+He was the smallest of the party, and, while he had asked Sidney to let
+Floretta go, he had known it was useless to do more.
+
+The eight other boys were stronger than he, and any attempt upon his
+part to free her would be worse than useless. They would not listen, but
+instead, would pounce upon him.
+
+The other boys talked, laughed, and whistled, to imply that they were
+not thinking of what they had done, but all the way back to the
+Cleverton, little Jack was wondering what he could do.
+
+He dared not go straight to Floretta's mother, and tell her of her
+little girl's plight.
+
+He knew if he did that, the boys would soon learn who had played
+"tell-tale," and then,--what would they do to _him_?
+
+And yet, he was determined, in some way, to help Floretta.
+
+How could he let a little girl stay out there in the woods all night?
+
+Of course some one, walking through the woods might find her, but if no
+one happened to?
+
+Jack knew that the risk was too great. It was just before he reached the
+Cleverton, that he thought of the best way that he could do it.
+
+He would write a note to Mrs. Paxton. He would drop that note into the
+mail box that hung at the side door. The letters were always distributed
+at four, and Sidney Cumston, who had a fine watch, had just said that it
+was three. He left the boys at the entrance to the Merlington, and
+hurried on that he might have plenty of time for his note.
+
+Mrs. Tiverton was out driving with a friend, and Jack had quite a hunt
+before he could find pencil or paper for his note.
+
+At last he found a blank book, and with a pencil he wrote this note.
+
+          "Deer Mrs. Paxton:--
+
+          "Yor litle girl is tied up in the woods opsite the
+          hermits hut. You better go get her real quick or
+          somethin may happen too her.
+
+                                           "Yors trooly."
+
+He folded it, and, in place of the envelope that he could not find, he
+tied around it a bit of string that he found in his pocket.
+
+Boldly he addressed it, in very large letters, and sneaking down the
+stairway, and around on the piazza toward the side door, watched his
+chance, and slipped it into the mail box.
+
+There was much excitement on the front piazza, because the guests had
+arrived in the barge but a few moments before, and Mrs. Paxton had given
+a maid a generous "tip" to go over to the Merlington, and bring Floretta
+back with her.
+
+"She returned with the party that came from the Merlington, and I don't
+wish her to remain there. I want her to come right back to me," said
+Mrs. Paxton.
+
+"Very well, ma'am," the maid had replied, and with the coins in her
+hand, had started off at once toward the other hotel.
+
+When little Jack Tiverton ran around to the front piazza, the maid had
+just returned.
+
+"If you please, Mrs. Paxton, your little girl isn't over to the
+Merlington, and hasn't been there, and a lady that was with the party
+that came home from the mountain trip, says the child wasn't in their
+barge at all. I asked her if she was _sure_, and she said, she couldn't
+help being sure, because there wasn't _any_ child in their barge."
+
+Of course excitement reigned supreme. Mrs. Paxton seemed half wild, and
+every one shared her anxiety.
+
+The fact that Floretta was not a favorite made no difference. No one
+liked to think of a little girl out there alone on the mountain path, or
+in the woods, especially as it was already late afternoon.
+
+"What a dreadful thing!" cried Mrs. Paxton, wringing her hands, and
+walking up and down the piazza.
+
+"Who will go with me? I cannot go alone, and where, _where_ shall we
+look first? Who saw her last?"
+
+At this moment a man-servant came out from the hall with a tray of
+letters that he began to distribute.
+
+"One for you, Mrs. Paxton," said the man, as he touched her arm gently.
+
+"Oh, I can't think of letters now," she said, but something about the
+note seemed so unusual that she looked at it.
+
+She drew off the string that had been loosely tied, and read the hastily
+scrawled lines.
+
+She screamed, and Aunt Charlotte, who was standing near her, put her arm
+around her and supported her, or she would have fallen.
+
+Many of those who gathered around Mrs. Paxton were inclined to think the
+note a hoax, but Mrs. Dainty, coming forward, lifted her handsome head,
+and looking at the men who were lounging comfortably in the large
+rockers, or sitting upon the piazza railing, spoke the word that spurred
+them to action.
+
+"Is it safe to _guess_ that this is a joke? True, it is written in a
+boyish hand, and while it _may_ be a boy's joke, may it not be a boy's
+means of telling us what has actually happened? I would not, were I a
+man, take the responsibility or chance, of leaving Floretta out there,
+because I would go to the place, and thus learn, not guess, if this
+information be true."
+
+She had scarcely finished speaking when a number of men rose, and one,
+who chose to lead the party, lifted his hat to Mrs. Dainty, saying:
+
+"We are off, madam. We only needed an inspiration to move us to
+endeavor."
+
+She bowed and smiled, as she said:
+
+"One thing I ask of you. Go as quickly as possible, for the sake of the
+frightened child, and the anxious mother."
+
+"In all possible haste," was the quick reply, and she turned to offer
+what comfort she might to the woman who seemed nearly distracted.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And all this time, what had been happening in the wood? For a long time
+Floretta had cried, screamed, and shouted, hoping that the boys would
+come back and release her.
+
+Then, when she knew that they must be too far away to hear her, she tore
+at the clasping bonds, trying in every way to free herself. With feet
+and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines, kicking and
+trampling with her restless feet, beating and bending with her little
+hands, until they were torn and bleeding, and the tormenting vines
+seemed only to hold her with a firmer grasp, as if to prove how useless
+was her struggle.
+
+[Illustration: WITH FEET AND HANDS SHE STROVE TO LOOSEN THE TOUGH, WIRY
+VINES.--_Page 119_.]
+
+She had cried until she could cry no more, and the sturdy vines had cut
+and bruised her.
+
+So firmly was she bound that she could not sink to the grass to rest,
+and she had only the hard, rocky ledge to lean against.
+
+How still the woodland seemed! Sometimes a twig would snap, or a buzzing
+insect would pause, as if to look at her, but no one came to set her
+free.
+
+She waited for a moment to regain her breath, and then again she fought
+and struggled with those tough, sturdy vines.
+
+She tried to wrench them apart, to break, to tear them from her, but
+they only yielded enough to bend, and then snap back into the very
+place that she had pushed them from.
+
+Not a vine broke, not a stem gave way, and she set her lips tightly for
+yet greater effort!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+FLORETTA'S RETURN
+
+
+AT a far corner of the piazza sat Dorothy, her eyes terrified, and her
+cheeks pale. Nancy, close beside her, wound her arms about her, and
+sought, in every way, to comfort her.
+
+"They'll find her soon, Dorothy, so don't you be frightened," she
+whispered. "They'll _surely_ find her soon."
+
+Dear little Nancy knew, better than any of Dorothy's other friends could
+have known, how ready was her sympathy, how kind and loving was her
+heart.
+
+She had not loved Floretta, but with Dorothy, that did not count. It was
+the dreadful fear that something had happened to a little girl, who, so
+recently had been at play with them,--ah, that was what grieved sweet
+Dorothy.
+
+She was thinking of what Mrs. Dainty had said to Aunt Charlotte when the
+mountain trip was first talked of.
+
+"I think the long tramp is a rougher form of amusement than I can well
+endure. I should be so weary long before it was time to return, that I
+should derive but little pleasure from the trip. There is another
+thought in connection with the picnic," she continued, "and that is an
+element of danger. Not great danger perhaps, but such that I would not
+join the party, nor would I permit Dorothy, or Nancy to do so. One
+gentleman who was talking of the mountain path that they have chosen,
+spoke of the great danger to the climbers from small, rolling stones,
+and from places where the earth seems to crumble near the edge of the
+narrow foot-path. A careless step might lead to a fall that would mean,
+I hardly dare to say what!"
+
+Dorothy and Nancy had been wishing to join the party, but upon hearing
+this, they lost all interest in it, and had cheerfully taken the drive
+behind gentle Romeo, instead. Now, as Dorothy sat with Nancy's arms
+about her, she was glad that they had not been permitted to go, and she
+heartily wished that Floretta had remained at the Cleverton.
+
+"Had she rolled from the path, and fallen, fallen,--"
+
+Dorothy covered her eyes with her hands, as if she almost saw the little
+girl falling, down, down to the ravine so far below the path, and was
+trying to shut out the picture. Nancy, still striving to quiet her
+fear, heard some one telling what the scribbled note had said.
+
+"Oh, Dorothy!" she whispered, eagerly, "Floretta is just where they know
+how to find her, and they've promised to hurry, and bring her back."
+
+"Are you _sure_?" Dorothy asked.
+
+"Yes, _sure_!" said Nancy.
+
+Then Nancy climbed into the big chair beside her, and the two little
+girls sat, each tightly clasping the other's hands, while they waited
+and watched for the first glimpse of the men who should return, bringing
+Floretta with them.
+
+Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte remained with Mrs. Paxton, who seemed to
+have lost all control of herself.
+
+One moment she would cry as if her heart would break, and then she
+would spring up, threatening to follow the direction that the men had
+taken, and try to reach the woods, thus to sooner see her little girl.
+
+At last, after what seemed endless waiting, but was actually only an
+hour, some one espied the men in the distance, and cried out:
+
+"They're coming! They're coming!"
+
+"Have they got Floretta? Oh, _have_ they found her?" shrieked Mrs.
+Paxton.
+
+"We can't see from here," said the one who had spoken, and the mother
+rushed forward, shading her eyes with her hand, and straining to catch
+the first glimpse of her child.
+
+She would have rushed down the road to meet them, but Mrs. Dainty held
+her back. She had seen that they were carrying Floretta, and she
+thought, in case the child were injured, the mother would far better
+save her strength.
+
+Two of the men had clasped their hands to form an "arm-chair," and thus
+they brought to the piazza, a very limp, tired Floretta, whose vivacity
+was all gone, and whose face bore the trace of desperate weeping, while
+her arms and hands were covered with cuts and bruises, and her little
+frock was torn and tattered by her struggle with the tough and tightly
+knotted vines.
+
+She lay back against the shoulder of one man who supported her, and
+looked as if her strength were spent.
+
+She changed on the instant that they set her on her feet.
+
+Rushing to her mother, she permitted her to clasp her for a moment to
+her breast, then turning to the group that gathered around her, she
+cried fiercely:
+
+"Look! See my hands! See my arms! See the scratches, where I tried to
+get away, and it was Sidney Cumston who tied me! He _did_ it, but the
+other boys _let_ him. Not one tried to hinder him except Jack Tiverton,
+the littlest one of them all. He tried to make them let me go, but they
+wouldn't. Oh, somebody punish all but Jack! He _tried_, but he couldn't
+help me."
+
+She was hysterical, and sank to the floor of the piazza, sobbing, and
+crying, before her mother could catch her.
+
+She scrambled to her feet, and was clasped in her mother's arms.
+
+Old Mr. Cunningham surprised every one by speaking most kindly to her.
+She had so often tormented him that it seemed generous that he should
+offer a bit of comfort.
+
+"I don't think we shall let those young rascals escape without a sharp
+reprimand, and if I was to venture a guess about it, I should say that
+little Jack, after all, managed to help you, Floretta," he said.
+
+She turned in surprise to look at the old face, that now looked so
+kindly at her.
+
+"Come out here, Jack," said the old gentleman, "didn't you write the
+note that sent us searching for this little girl?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said Jack, "and I wrote it 'cause I thought the other big
+fellows were mean, but if they find out I told, they'll--"
+
+"No, they won't," said Mr. Cunningham. "You're no 'tell-tale.' You did
+just right, and the men here will stand by you. Those big boys were the
+cowards to torment a little girl. You're the best boy up here in the
+mountains."
+
+"Three cheers for young Tiverton!" shouted some one, and in the midst
+of the excitement, Mrs. Paxton, with her little daughter, slipped away
+to their room, after having thanked little Jack for his valuable
+assistance.
+
+Meanwhile old Mr. Cunningham had been searching in this pocket and that
+for something which he seemed most anxious to find.
+
+"Ah, I knew I had it! Come here, Jack!"
+
+Blushing and diffident, Jack walked over to the big rocker.
+
+"'Tisn't much, boy, but I think you ought to have a medal. Here's a
+silver dollar I've been keeping for a pocket piece. I'll give it to you
+for a medal, for being brave enough to tell what you knew _ought_ to be
+told. That's not tale-bearing, and as you were afraid to tell, for fear
+of those big bullies, it was a brave act. You're a lad that knows
+_what_ to do, _when_ to do, and then _does_ it!"
+
+"Hurrah for Jack Tiverton!" some one cried again, and this time they
+were given with a will.
+
+Mrs. Tiverton, returning from a long drive, wondered what all the
+excitement meant, and why they were cheering her little son.
+
+Jack, with his silver dollar tightly clasped, hung his head, and looked
+as if overpowered by his conspicuous position.
+
+Dorothy, now bright and happy, since Floretta was safe, saw that Jack
+hesitated.
+
+"Oh, Mrs. Tiverton," she said, "Jack has been truly the _best_ boy in
+the world, but he can't speak just now. When he tells you what he's
+done, you won't wonder why they cheered him!"
+
+Mrs. Barnet and Flossie, with Uncle Harry and his wife, now arrived in
+their big automobile from a three-days' trip that they had been
+enjoying.
+
+Of course Dorothy and Nancy tried to tell Flossie all about Floretta and
+Jack, and they were both so excited that Flossie got a very twisted idea
+of the affair.
+
+Uncle Harry, not dreaming that the matter was at all serious, turned,
+after greeting the children, to enter the house.
+
+"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "you ought to hear about it. There
+were ever so many big boys, and only one little girl, and they tied her
+so she couldn't get away, and Jack wrote a note, and when they found
+her,--"
+
+"Now, Flossie, dear, I'm perfectly willing to be scared half out of my
+wits, but I _must_ know what I'm being scared about. You're getting me
+so mixed up that I've not the least idea what this is all about. Have
+you?" he asked.
+
+"Oh, no," said Flossie, "I don't _half_ understand it, but it does sound
+so frightful, that I'm so scared, I need to have you be scared, too."
+
+"Well, then," Uncle Harry replied, "if it will help you to know it, I'll
+admit that my teeth are chattering, and shivers are running up and down
+my spine!
+
+"I thought at first that it was the draft across this piazza, but
+perhaps, after all, it was caused by what you were telling me."
+
+When, at last, he had heard the story, he was full of disgust that any
+boy, and his friends, should have been guilty of such a contemptible
+act, and his sympathy for the little girl was deep and sincere.
+
+"She will need rest and quiet to-morrow," he said, "and you three
+little friends will be kind, I think, if you stay rather closely here,
+and help, in some quiet way, to amuse her."
+
+"We will," said Dorothy, "I'll let her read my new fairy book if she'd
+like to. She could lie in the hammock, and do that."
+
+"I'll keep the hammock swinging," said Nancy.
+
+"And I'll give her my new box of candy I just brought home," said
+Flossie.
+
+"That's right," said Uncle Harry, "and for your sweet promises of
+kindness toward the child who has suffered so much to-day I'll remind
+you that on day after to-morrow I shall give myself the pleasure of
+taking you all to the fair. I promise you a _fine_ time."
+
+He turned to look over his shoulder, and laugh at their wild little
+cries of delight.
+
+He was anticipating the pleasure quite as much as they.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie kept the promise that they had made, and
+Floretta fully enjoyed their kindness. She seemed unusually gentle, and
+Mrs. Paxton thanked them for so sweetly helping to amuse her, and thus
+make her willing to spend the day quietly.
+
+The day set for the visit to the village fair dawned bright and sunny, a
+light breeze making it just cool enough to be delightful.
+
+The barge was waiting for its gay little passengers.
+
+The children stood with impatient feet on the piazza, waiting for their
+host, merry, handsome Uncle Harry.
+
+At last a firm tread caused them to turn, and there he was, looking
+gayer than ever, a picture of health, strength, and kindliness, and
+clad in a most becoming outing suit of light gray serge.
+
+The blue of his tie was not bluer than his fine eyes, and no one could
+have glanced at him without knowing that he possessed a generous, loving
+nature, a kind and merry heart.
+
+"Come, little friends!" he cried. "Is every young lady that I invited
+here?" he added, looking anxiously lest some child be late, and thus by
+chance, be left behind.
+
+"Every one is here!" said Flossie. "I know because I've counted."
+
+"Then we'll start at once, unless some one would rather wait 'til
+to-morrow?" he said, his eyes twinkling.
+
+"Oh, no! No!" they cried. "We just _couldn't_ wait!"
+
+"In that case we'll go now!" he said, with a droll expression, as if he
+started at once, merely as an accommodation.
+
+"Why, Uncle Harry! You're only joking," cried Flossie. "You wouldn't be
+willing to wait until to-morrow. I heard you tell Aunt Vera to hurry and
+find your tie, because you were in such a rush to start!"
+
+"To think that my own little niece would tell tales like that, and thus
+let out the secret. What chance have I now, of making them think that I
+was really very shy about riding with such a large party of girls?"
+
+Shouts of laughter greeted this speech, and Uncle Harry waited until it
+had subsided, then he said:
+
+"Oh, well, if no one _believes_ that I am shy or diffident, it's waste
+of time to try to appear so, so I shall not try. Instead, I shall be
+very bold. Come, dears, let me help you in!"
+
+And amid shouts of laughter from the children, he lifted each high in
+air, and placed her in the barge, thus saving her the trouble of
+mounting the steps.
+
+Then taking his seat in the middle of the laughing, chattering little
+party, he called to the driver to start.
+
+The long whip cracked, Jack Tiverton, from the piazza, blew loudly on a
+tin trumpet, and they were off over the road, the happiest party that
+ever filled a barge.
+
+Uncle Harry told some amusing stories, then, led by his fine voice, they
+sang some gay little songs, and before they dreamed that they had
+arrived at the fair, the driver shouted:
+
+"Here we are!" and sure enough, they had reached the fair grounds.
+
+"Why, I didn't suppose we were more than half-way here," said Dorothy,
+"and the reason is that the ride has been so jolly."
+
+"That's just it," agreed Nancy.
+
+"The reason _I_ enjoyed the ride," said Uncle Harry, "is because I was
+so charmed with my little guests."
+
+"And the reason why we had such a fine ride," said Flossie, "is because
+we had the _best_ man in the world taking care of us."
+
+Uncle Harry bowed low.
+
+"This must be a wedding party, if I'm the 'best man,'" he said with a
+laugh, "so we'll not fuss because there's no musician to play a march
+for us, but we'll play you are all bridesmaids, and we'll hurry right
+along. The entrance is this way, I think, and under that evergreen
+arch."
+
+A large tent had been pitched for the display of the various wares and
+numerous attractions; a smaller tent near it serving as fortune teller's
+booth.
+
+"We'll coax Uncle Harry to have his fortune told," whispered Flossie to
+Dorothy, when, to their great surprise, he said:
+
+"Oh, Flossie, you little witch! Uncle Harry heard what you said, and not
+only is he going to have his fortune told, but he's going to make every
+one of you little girls have yours told, also!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+AT THE FAIR
+
+
+THE fair proved a great delight to the children. They had all been to
+fine fairs patronized by fashionable matrons, whose names were quite
+enough to insure success, but the country fair was an absolute novelty.
+
+At the large city fairs, merry débutantes graced the booths, and sold
+flowers, or tickets for the various games of chance.
+
+Here in the mountain village all was different, and the novelty gave
+greater interest.
+
+Farmers' daughters were in the booths, and sold huge bouquets of
+old-fashioned garden flowers, homemade candy, and honey, while one
+rosy-cheeked lass dispensed sweet cider, or sweet apples, according to
+the preference of her customer.
+
+Uncle Harry purchased a huge stalk of hollyhocks for each of his guests,
+but for himself he chose an enormous sunflower which he insisted looked
+_fine_ in his buttonhole.
+
+There was music, if it could be called music, furnished by the local
+band.
+
+Uncle Harry said he had never seen such independent people as those
+musicians were. He declared that the music sounded, to him, as if each
+man commenced to play when he chose, and stopped when he got ready,
+regardless of what the other players were doing.
+
+"Oh, I do believe that is the way they play!" cried Dorothy, laughing.
+
+"Of course it is," cried Uncle Harry, "and a great deal of bother it
+saves, for no one has to direct them; they do not know that they are
+making discord, and thus they play and play with all their might, and
+are absolutely care-free and happy."
+
+There were heaps of giant pumpkins, and more red and yellow ears of corn
+than they had ever seen before, while everywhere was laughter, and
+friendly gossip, and chatter, that made the fair a jolly place in which
+to roam about.
+
+The children were determined to see every object in the big tent, and
+while some were interested in one thing, others wished to see something
+else, so they decided to divide into two groups.
+
+One half of the little party turned to the right intent upon seeing some
+gaudy patchwork quilts, while the others turned to the left declaring
+their intention of investing all their pennies in the "fish-pond."
+
+There were so many things to see on the way, that it was a long time
+before they met, as they had agreed, at the entrance.
+
+Somewhere on the way they had missed Uncle Harry, and they could not
+imagine where he had gone.
+
+It happened that Uncle Harry had seen a very small girl crying, and his
+first thought was to help her, and thus dry her tears.
+
+Upon questioning her, he found that the wee little maid had, by
+accident, knocked a small doll from one of the tables, and had been
+roundly scolded.
+
+"That pretty girl with the black eyes says I did it a-purpose, but I
+didn't," she cried, "I wanted to see it, and I just touched it, and it
+tumbled off the table."
+
+Her tears fell afresh, and in place of a handkerchief, she drew up her
+blue-checked apron, and hid her face in it.
+
+"Look up, little girl," Uncle Harry said, and his voice sounded so
+kindly, that she at once peeped at him through her tears.
+
+"Which is the table where all this happened?"
+
+"That one," said the child, "and the big girl is looking at me now."
+
+"Then give me your hand, and, just for fun, _we'll_ go and look at
+_her_."
+
+A moment she hesitated.
+
+"Come," he said, and with a sunny smile, the little girl placed her hand
+in his, and the big, handsome man with the wee country lass approached
+the table together.
+
+"I'll lift you up so you can see nicely," he said. "Now, which was the
+doll that fell from the table?"
+
+Before the child could reply, the girl spoke sharply.
+
+"'Twas that one, sir, and her meddlesome fingers,--"
+
+"Never mind about that," said Uncle Harry, then turning to the child he
+said:
+
+"Did you like that one best, or is that larger one finer?"
+
+"That large one is the loveliest. I didn't _ever_ see one so fine as
+that."
+
+"We'll have that one, then," he said, offering a bill to the astonished
+salesgirl.
+
+"There, little girl, she's yours," he said, as he placed the big doll in
+her arms.
+
+"I can hold her a little while?" she asked, eagerly.
+
+"You can hold her _always_, if you want to," he said gently, "I bought
+her for you."
+
+Rapturously she clasped the gift in her arms.
+
+"Oh, I love you, because you are good," she cried.
+
+"Then tell me your name," he said.
+
+"I'm Lois Ann Ferguson," chirped the little girl, "and father is Sandy
+Ferguson. Oh, there he is now. He's to play the pipes."
+
+She ran toward a sturdy man dressed in Highland costume, and carrying
+the bagpipes under his arm.
+
+Mr. Ferguson glanced at her flushed cheeks, saw the gorgeous doll that
+she flourished before his astonished eyes, and finally understood that
+the tall, handsome stranger had bestowed it upon his wee daughter, as a
+gift.
+
+He took her little hand, and hurried forward, saying:
+
+"I dinna ken why he should dae it for my wee lassie.
+
+"I wad gladly thank ye, sir," he said, "but I'm lost in wonder that ye
+made wee Lois sae blithe an' gay wi' the braw gift."
+
+"She's a dear little lass," said Uncle Harry, "and when I found her
+crying, I knew that a fine new doll would dry her tears. Don't bother to
+thank me. I made myself happy, when I comforted her."
+
+"I wish there were mair like ye," said Sandy Ferguson, "an' some day
+when ye're older, an' ha' a wee daughter of yer ain,--"
+
+"I have a wife and baby girl now," was the quick reply, "and they are my
+dearest possessions."
+
+"An' I thought ye a braw, bonny laddie, wi' yer fair hair an' blue een!
+Weel, weel, ye dinna hae tae live 'til ye're auld before ye ken tae dae
+a kindly act," Sandy Ferguson replied, "an' later when I play the
+pipes, an' Lois dances, she shall make her first bow tae her new
+friend."
+
+"Oh, Uncle Harry, _did_ you buy the new doll for the little girl?"
+
+It was little Flossie, who, after having searched every corner of the
+tent, had found him talking to the Scotchman and his little girl.
+
+"Is he your own uncle?" little Lois asked, looking up into Flossie's
+lovely face.
+
+"Oh, yes," said Flossie, "and he's the best uncle in the world."
+
+"I know he must be," said the little girl. "See how good he was to me."
+
+They turned to join the rest of their party, and little Lois looked over
+her shoulder, with one hand held fast in her father's, while with the
+other she tightly clasped the precious doll.
+
+"I saw the notice near the entrance when we came in, that a Scotch
+farmer would play, and his little daughter would dance," said Uncle
+Harry, "but that child is not much more than a baby. She cannot be more
+than four. It will be amusing to see her dance, and Nancy Ferris will
+enjoy it most of all."
+
+They found the others reading the notice of which they had been talking,
+and they were delighted when they heard what a very little girl it was
+who was to dance.
+
+They had a lunch served by girls dressed as dairy maids, and it was just
+such a lunch as might have been enjoyed at a farmhouse.
+
+The long table spread with its white cloth, and set with blue and white
+dishes, was decorated by a garland of small sunflowers that lay upon the
+cloth, down the centre, and the entire length of the table.
+
+There were plates heaped with biscuit, there were dishes of both wild
+and cultivated strawberries, and delicious cream to be eaten with them,
+there were sandwiches and little cakes, honey enough to tempt the bees
+to the feast, and the children thought it finer than a hotel dinner. How
+they laughed, and chattered, as they enjoyed the spread!
+
+Uncle Harry was in his sunniest mood, and told stories and jokes that
+kept them amused, and seemed to be the gayest member of the party.
+
+"Tell us a story about when you were a _little_ boy," said Flossie.
+
+"My small niece thinks I'm nothing but a _big_ boy now!" he said.
+
+"Well, the big Scotchman thought you were only a lad. I heard him say
+so," said Flossie.
+
+"When you were a boy were you ever naughty, _real_ naughty?" Floretta
+asked.
+
+She had been very quiet, and all were surprised at her question.
+
+"Once upon a time, when I was little," said Uncle Harry, "I was very,
+_very_ fond of good things, but the one thing that I liked better than
+anything else was strawberry jam.
+
+"I was always allowed to have it, but I felt sure that it would taste
+even nicer if I had more of it at a time, and still finer if I could
+have a long handled spoon, and eat it right from the jar.
+
+"I used often to think how fine it would be if I, some day, could have
+the chance to eat it that way, but I never could get even _very_ near
+the jar.
+
+"One day the opportunity came. My sister and I were in the nursery, and
+the maid had been down-stairs for a long time.
+
+"The rest of the family were away, and we were to have our tea in the
+nursery, as usual, only, as we had had to remain at home, we were to
+have an extra treat.
+
+"Among other good things, we were to have strawberry jam.
+
+"My sister, that is Flossie's mamma, was a little older than I, and she
+was always trying to give me lessons in good behavior.
+
+"'Now, Harry,' she said, 'while nurse is down-stairs, we might commence
+to set our table.'
+
+"'There isn't anything here to set it with but the tablecloth and the
+jam,' I said, 'but you're a girl, so you know how to put the cloth on,
+and I'll bring the jam.'"
+
+"I guess Uncle Harry was so fond of the jam, that he liked even to
+carry the jar," said Flossie.
+
+"We wondered why the nurse stayed so long down-stairs," continued Uncle
+Harry, "and I told my sister that I was tired of waiting for tea, and I
+said I'd taste of the jam, if only I had a long handled spoon.
+
+"'Why, Harry,' she answered in disgust, 'I wouldn't think you'd be so
+naughty, but,--if you really _want_ to taste it, here's the spoon beside
+the jar.'"
+
+"And _did_ you?" questioned Dorothy.
+
+"Well, yes, I have to admit that I did. In truth, I tasted and tasted
+until my sister cried:
+
+"'Why, Harry, you naughty boy! When you get done tasting, there won't be
+any left!'
+
+"'You won't care, because _you_ wouldn't be so naughty as to taste it!'
+I said.
+
+"'Oh, wouldn't I?' she cried. 'Well, you just let me take that spoon,
+and you'll see!'
+
+"Well, a funny mix-up followed, in which we each tried to get possession
+of the spoon and the jam. We were laughing while we struggled for it,
+but at last, one of us slipped, and fell, dragging the other down; the
+jar of jam tipped over, and her white frock, my gray jacket and
+trousers, and even my long, yellow curls became smeared with the jam.
+
+"Nurse opened the door, and screamed with terror, for the red jam looked
+as if we had been terribly hurt, and it was some time before we could
+convince her that we were not cut or bruised, but only _very sticky_!
+
+"Then came the scolding, and my sister tried to screen me.
+
+"'Harry couldn't help tasting it, he's so fond of jam,' she said.
+
+"'Well, he's got a good share of it, inside and out,' said nurse,
+grimly.
+
+"'She's got as much as I have,' I said, 'just look at her frock!'
+
+"Of course our clothes were changed, and the jam cleaned from the
+polished floor, but we had our tea without jam.
+
+"Nurse said we could eat our biscuits with the _memory_ of the jam we
+had already enjoyed."
+
+"Oh, Uncle Harry," cried Flossie, "I wish, even though you were naughty,
+she'd let you have more jam. She didn't know how good you'd be when you
+grew up."
+
+"I still am fond of jam!" he said, and the children laughed to see him
+pour honey over his berries that already were covered with sugar.
+
+"You like _anything_ that's sweet!" said Dorothy, "whether it's jam, or
+sugar, or honey,--"
+
+"Or little girls," said Uncle Harry. "You notice, I made this party all
+little girls, and I'm having a _lovely_ time."
+
+"So are we," laughed Dorothy.
+
+"And he says 'lovely' just as we do," said Nancy, "he does it to make us
+laugh."
+
+"Then why don't you laugh?" said Uncle Harry, and they _did_ laugh,
+every member of the party, and laughed because they could not help it.
+
+And when the merry feast was over, they hastened to the small tent where
+the old gypsy was telling fortunes.
+
+Each had intended to have her fortune told, and thus learn what the
+future held for her.
+
+To their great surprise, she flatly refused to tell any child's
+fortune, saying that she would only foretell events for "grown ups." The
+little girls were rather afraid of her, but Uncle Harry boldly offered
+his hand, saying:
+
+"Am I big enough to hear my fortune?"
+
+"No nonsense, young lad," she said, while the children dared not laugh.
+She bent over his palm for a moment, then she solemnly said:
+
+"You're a brave lad, and you need to be for you will fall in love with a
+girl who'll have red hair, and the temper that usually goes with it."
+
+"O dear!" sighed Uncle Harry.
+
+"Don't worry, young man," said the old gypsy, "because it will be some
+months before you marry."
+
+"Indeed," said Uncle Harry, "and what shall I do if the girl proves to
+have the temper you prophesy? Shall I try to calm her by holding her
+under a pump, or would you advise tying her until she feels less fiery?"
+
+"Young man, this is no laughing matter," was the sharp reply.
+
+"Guess it isn't!" said Uncle Harry. "I've seldom been so discouraged.
+Here am I, a man who has a lovely wife and baby girl, and yet I've got
+to marry a red-haired girl, with a temper like chain lightning! Who was
+ever in a worse fix?"
+
+The old gypsy flew into a rage. "You're poking fun at me!" she cried.
+
+"There! There! The fun was worth that!" he cried, laying a handful of
+small coins on the table before her.
+
+In her eagerness to count the money, she forgot her wrath, and they
+hastened from the tent, where, safely outside, they were free to laugh
+as much as they chose.
+
+As they re-entered the large tent, they saw that near the centre, a
+space had been cleared, and there was a crowd of people waiting, as if
+expecting some attraction to be exhibited.
+
+They had not long to wait, for almost immediately the Scotch piper
+appeared, and tightly clasping her precious new doll in her arms was wee
+Lois, dressed in Highland costume.
+
+Placing her doll on a table, and making sure that it was safe, she ran
+forward, courtesied first to Uncle Harry, as she had promised, and then,
+to the music of the pipes, the wee lassie did the "Highland Fling."
+
+She was such a round, dimpled little girl, one would never have dreamed
+that she could dance with such infantile grace.
+
+And when she had finished, with another courtesy, they crowded around
+her, and it was Nancy who most generously praised her. Dear little
+Nancy, who danced like a fairy, never had a jealous thought in her
+loving heart!
+
+It was Uncle Harry who caught little Lois, and lifted her so that he
+could look into her eyes.
+
+"I want my dolly, now," she cried, anxious lest it be lost or stolen.
+Dorothy brought the doll, and the child clasped it to her breast.
+
+"My wee lassie said she wisht she had a gift tae gi' ye," said Sandy.
+
+"I have a dear little girl of my own, and I prize her baby kisses," said
+Uncle Harry. "Will _you_ give me one, little Lois?"
+
+She clasped her arms around his neck, and kissed him softly.
+
+"Best man next to father," she said.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+FLOSSIE'S LETTER
+
+
+THE children said "good-by" to little Lois, and as her father carried
+her away, she waved her hand to them.
+
+"Wasn't she cunning?" said Dorothy.
+
+"She was very sweet," said Nancy, "and how well she did her little
+dance!"
+
+"She didn't dance half as fine as you do, Nancy Ferris," said Floretta.
+"You _know_ that."
+
+"Oh, but I was trained for dancing," said Nancy, "and, beside, she was
+very little to dance so cleverly."
+
+Floretta made no reply, but she thought of what Nancy had said.
+
+"Trained for dancing. She said she was _trained_ to dance. I wonder
+where? I wish I knew, but I didn't quite dare to ask her."
+
+Once more they walked around the big tent, and Uncle Harry purchased a
+gift for each to carry home as a souvenir.
+
+There were little baskets that the gypsies had woven, and fancy boxes
+filled with woodland plants. The boxes were made from birch bark, and
+were very dainty.
+
+These the children prized, and lovingly they thanked him for the pretty
+gifts.
+
+At the candy table he purchased enough of the homemade bonbons to fill
+the baskets, and then they left the tent to start on the homeward trip.
+
+The barge was waiting for them, and they clambered in, tired, but very
+happy.
+
+"This is the nicest fair I ever went to," said Dorothy, "and I've had
+so many good things that I'm going to save my basket of candy until
+to-morrow."
+
+"So am I," cried all the others.
+
+"And so am _I_," said Uncle Harry, as he held up a huge basket filled
+with all kinds of candy.
+
+How they laughed, and accused him of having a "sweet-tooth."
+
+"Now, just a moment!" he cried, as he held up his finger for silence,
+"I'm taking this _big_ basket home to treat the _big_ ladies with. I
+took the _little_ ladies with me, but I've not forgotten the _big_
+ladies that I left at the hotel."
+
+"Because you don't ever forget any one," said Flossie, and the others
+cried:
+
+"That's it! Just it! He does nice things for every one."
+
+"Oh, spare my blushes," said Uncle Harry, but it was easy to see that
+their affection for him pleased him.
+
+The ride home seemed shorter than the trip to the fair.
+
+They joined in singing the merry songs that his fine voice led, and the
+horses, knowing that they were on the homeward trip, jogged along at a
+better pace than when they had started out.
+
+Uncle Harry had found some bells, and fastened them to their harnesses,
+and they made a jingling accompaniment to the merry voices.
+
+And when the barge drew up at the Cleverton, Uncle Harry, with elaborate
+courtesy, handed each young lady down, bowing low, and thanking her for
+the honor she had conferred upon him by permitting him to take her to
+the fair.
+
+"Oh, you do truly know we have to thank you for giving us such a lovely
+day!" said Dorothy.
+
+"But think how happy I have been," he said, and although his blue eyes
+were laughing, they knew that he meant it.
+
+"Oh, mamma, we had the finest time," cried Dorothy, "and see the fine
+basket of candy and the pretty birch bark box! See the little ferns
+growing in it. Isn't he _dear_?"
+
+"He surely is charming," said Mrs. Dainty. "His generous, sunny nature
+makes every one love him, and I believe he values the love of his
+friends more than most things."
+
+"He has been gay, and full of fun all day," said Nancy, "and it will
+take a long time to tell you all the pleasant things he did for us. I do
+wish you and Aunt Charlotte _could_ have been there when he had his
+fortune told."
+
+"And he couldn't have been any nicer to us if we'd been tall ladies,"
+said Floretta.
+
+"I hope every one of you little friends were real _little ladies_, thus
+rewarding him for his kindness," Aunt Charlotte said, gently.
+
+"Oh, we were," said Nancy, "not a single one of us did anything that
+could trouble him."
+
+"There were a number of little girls who only came here last week, so we
+weren't much acquainted with them, but they were all very nice, and he
+said he had as fine a time as we did," said Dorothy.
+
+She climbed into a large hammock, and with Nancy beside her, sat
+swinging, and thinking of the day that had been so delightfully spent.
+
+Mrs. Fenton came out upon the piazza, and, instead of sitting down,
+seemed to be looking for something.
+
+"Can I help you?" said Nancy, slipping from the hammock, and hastening
+toward her.
+
+"I've mislaid my glasses," she said, "and I can't find them."
+
+She did not thank Nancy for so kindly offering to help her, but Nancy
+seemed not to notice that. She peeped under chairs, lifted their
+cushions, and even looked between folds of newspapers that lay near at
+hand, but the glasses were not in sight.
+
+"How trying!" said Mrs. Fenton, "I have some letters that I wish to
+read, and I can't read them until my glasses are found."
+
+"Did you use them anywhere but just here?" Nancy asked.
+
+Mrs. Fenton stood for a moment thinking.
+
+"Seems to me I _did_ have them in the dining-room," she said.
+
+"I'll go and ask the waitresses if they have seen them," said Nancy, as
+she ran toward the hall.
+
+She paused in the doorway, amazed at what she saw.
+
+Floretta, with a pair of eyeglasses upon her small nose, was walking up
+and down the room, as nearly as possible, in Mrs. Fenton's manner, and
+exactly imitating her voice, while a group of waitresses, the cook, and
+two kitchen maids laughed, and applauded her.
+
+She cared not who composed her audience, so long as she obtained
+applause. Floretta was, evidently, quite herself once more!
+
+"Oh, Floretta!" cried Nancy, "you mustn't, truly you mustn't. Give me
+the glasses. Mrs. Fenton is looking everywhere for them!"
+
+"Well, I shan't give them to you!" said Floretta, rudely. "You aren't
+Mrs. Fenton."
+
+"But I've been helping her to hunt for them. She has some letters she
+wants to read, and she can't till she has her glasses," insisted Nancy.
+
+"Then let her come for them!" cried Floretta, when a quiet voice spoke.
+
+"Very well, I _have_ come for them," it said, and there in the doorway
+stood Mrs. Fenton.
+
+The silly maids who had laughed so loudly, now hastily disappeared in
+the kitchen.
+
+Floretta dropped the glasses upon the table, and then, wholly ashamed,
+crawled under it, where Mrs. Fenton's sharp eyes might not look at her.
+
+Mrs. Fenton took the glasses, and without another word, swept from the
+room.
+
+Nancy, waiting in the hall, crept softly toward her, and gently laid her
+hand on the lady's arm.
+
+"I'm _so_ sorry she did that. I wish I could have got the glasses from
+her, and brought them to you before you came to find them. Then you
+needn't have known how naughty,--" Nancy caught her breath.
+
+"Never mind that, Nancy. Remember, as _I_ shall, that _you_ were not the
+naughty, disgusting child," said Mrs. Fenton, and she turned, with her
+letters and glasses in her hand, and went up the long stairway to her
+room.
+
+It was nearly time to dress for dinner, which was always served
+promptly at six.
+
+Mrs. Dainty with Dorothy, and Aunt Charlotte with Nancy hastened to
+their rooms, to freshen their toilettes, and Nancy realized that there
+would not be time to tell Aunt Charlotte all about the unpleasant
+happening.
+
+"I've something to tell you, but I'll have to wait till we've plenty of
+time," she said.
+
+Aunt Charlotte, tying the soft, blue ribbon into the brown curls, looked
+into the mirror before which they were standing, and smiled at the
+thoughtful face.
+
+"Will it keep until then, dear?" she asked.
+
+"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "I only tell it to you because I love to tell you
+everything."
+
+"Dear child," said Aunt Charlotte, "I bless the day that you, as a
+little waif, were taken in by Mrs. Dainty, and that I was asked to come
+and care for you. I could not love you more if you were my own little
+girl."
+
+"I never saw my own mamma; she died when I was a baby," said Nancy, "so,
+because you love me, you seem like my very own."
+
+Gentle Aunt Charlotte's eyes were wet with happy tears, as she hooked
+the pretty, white muslin frock, with its slip of light blue, and tied
+the soft blue belt.
+
+"Your shoes must be changed, Nancy," she said. "You know how particular
+Mrs. Dainty is about the matter of shoes and stockings. They must match
+the frock."
+
+"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and with this one she said: 'Wear blue
+stockings and bronze slippers,' so I will."
+
+She found the blue hose and the pretty bronze slippers, then, with elfin
+grace, she caught the edge of her skirt, and with rosy, bare feet,
+tripped across the floor in a graceful, gliding step, crying:
+
+"Look, Aunt Charlotte, look! This pretty step Bonfanti taught me."
+
+Aunt Charlotte did look, and as she watched the pretty child, and saw
+her joy in dancing, she marvelled that little Nancy could smile as she
+danced, remembering all that she had been taught, while apparently
+forgetting all the unhappy months upon the stage.
+
+She thought of poor little Nancy, forced to dance, night after night, to
+support her old Uncle Steve, who was too lazy to support himself.
+
+She thought of the time that the little pitiful note from Nancy had
+reached them, and, together, she and Mrs. Dainty had found the child,
+and brought her safely home.
+
+She did not speak of all this. Nancy's happy little heart should never
+be reminded of sad days that were past.
+
+Now her life was filled with bright sunshine, the sunshine of love, and
+it was reflected in her happy face.
+
+A gong rang out a silvery note.
+
+"Oh, my shoes!" cried Nancy, with a peal of merry laughter. "I wanted to
+show you those pretty steps, and I forgot all about dinner."
+
+It was the work of but a few seconds for Nancy to draw on the light blue
+hose, and even less time to put on the pretty slippers. She ran to the
+mirror, and courtesied, took a few tripping steps, smiling at her
+reflection, and then hastened to the hall to join Dorothy.
+
+[Illustration: SHE TOOK A FEW TRIPPING STEPS, SMILING AT HER
+REFLECTION.--_Page 176._]
+
+"All ready," cried Nancy, springing to her feet, to follow Dorothy.
+
+A pretty pair they made as with arms about each other's waist, they
+tripped along the hall.
+
+Fair, blue-eyed Dorothy Dainty was very lovely in a pale pink frock with
+soft frillings of fine lace. Her stockings were of the same shade, and
+her shoes were white. Mrs. Dainty in dark blue satin, and Aunt Charlotte
+in pearl color made, with the two children, a pleasing group.
+
+In the lower hall they met Mrs. Paxton with Floretta, the former wearing
+a gown of purple satin, while Floretta wore a frock of scarlet silk.
+Mrs. Fenton, passing, on her way to the dining-room, looked sharply
+at the two groups, and _did_ she look amused when her eyes rested upon
+Mrs. Paxton, and her small daughter? Dorothy noticed the look, and
+turned to her mamma.
+
+Mrs. Dainty read the question in Dorothy's eyes, and ever so slightly,
+shook her head, and they passed into the dining-room.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next morning, when the mail was distributed, there was great
+excitement, because every one had so many letters.
+
+"See mine!" cried Flossie Barnet. "Everybody see mine! It looks like
+boy's writing. See it!"
+
+"If some very young man wrote it, he might not be delighted to have it
+so freely exhibited, Flossie," said Uncle Harry, with a laugh.
+
+"Oh, why should he care?" she asked in surprise. "Who do you s'pose
+wrote it? Guess, Uncle Harry!"
+
+"Well, now let me think," said Uncle Harry, covering his eyes with his
+hand, then peeping through his fingers.
+
+"There's a small boy at home, who glories in the name of Reginald Merton
+Deane. Open the letter, dear, and if I guessed right, you can give me a
+prize, and if I'm wrong, I'll give you one."
+
+Flossie studied the address for a moment, then she opened the letter,
+and laughed with delight.
+
+"I'll have to give you the prize, but why did he think to write to me?"
+
+Dear little Flossie had never seemed aware that small Reginald preferred
+her to any of his friends. Even when she was so little that she could
+not pronounce his name, and called him "Weginald," he thought her the
+dearest of all his playmates. And this was his letter:
+
+          "DEAR FLOSSIE:
+
+          "I miss you so much that I'm going to write, and
+          tell you all the news.
+
+          "Our old dog had a fit yesterday, and my brother
+          got the vet'nary doctor. When he came, he said
+          Carlo hadn't any fit. He was acting just awful. I
+          said 'what makes him tare round so?' an he said
+          maybe I'd tare round sum if I had a fish-bone in
+          my throat! The doctor took it out, and then Carlo
+          was so glad he tore round worsen ever!
+
+          "Arabella Corryville is acting worse than Carlo
+          did. You know her Aunt Matilda lives with them, an
+          neether Arabella, or her pa, or her ma dare to do
+          ennything without asking Aunt Matilda _first_.
+          Well, her aunt has had to go way up to New
+          Hampshur (I guess I didn't spell that rite) and
+          Arabella thinks its just her chanse to act awful.
+          Carlo is real quiet side of Arabella when she acts
+          the way she does now.
+
+          "She stays out doors most all the time, and goes
+          just where she pleases.
+
+          "Some days she's way down by the stashun until its
+          almost dark.
+
+          "You know she's always taking medesin, and carries
+          the bottles in her pockets.
+
+          "She carries em now, but she told me she's takin
+          the kind she likes best. Theres two kinds her Aunt
+          Matilda made her take, one tasted horrid, and the
+          other tasted nice. Arabella threw the horrid one
+          away, and ate the nice pills for candy. She told
+          me this morning that her Aunt Matilda is coming
+          home just for one day, and then they're all going
+          up where you, and Dorothy, and Nancy are. I don't
+          believe it, but if she does, and you see her, you
+          needn't give my love to her.
+
+                                "Your tru friend,
+                                          "REGINALD."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS
+
+
+OF course, Dorothy and Nancy were greatly interested in the letter, and
+Uncle Harry said that he was glad that Reginald had thought to say that
+the fish-bone had been removed from Carlo's throat.
+
+He said it would have seemed quite a trip to take to leave the
+Cleverton, and go to Merrivale to feel Carlo's pulse, and inquire for
+his health.
+
+"Now that that bone is removed, I breathe easier," said Uncle Harry,
+"and so does Carlo!"
+
+"Oh, you wouldn't have gone home just to call on Carlo," said Flossie.
+
+"Well, I don't know," he said, trying to look solemn, "I wouldn't like
+Carlo to feel neglected, and now I think of it, does Reginald speak of
+the cat?"
+
+"No," said Flossie, "but when I answer the letter, I'll tell Reginald
+you're anxious about her."
+
+"I am," said Uncle Harry, "because the last time I saw her, Carlo was
+barking at her very rudely, and her back was up in a hump like a
+camel's. Reginald ought to have told us if her back is _still_ up, or
+whether she has taken the kink out of her spine. We might telephone and
+ask, instead of worrying."
+
+He rose, and walked toward the hall, whistling as he went, an old
+nursery song that he used to sing to Flossie.
+
+          "The cat came fiddling out of the barn,
+           With a pair of bagpipes under her arm."
+
+How the children laughed!
+
+"Look!" said Flossie, "he's going right toward the telephone, just to
+make us think that he's _truly_ going to ring up Reginald, and inquire
+for the cat."
+
+"Who is Arabella?" Floretta asked.
+
+"She lives near us," said Dorothy, "and she used to go to Aunt
+Charlotte's private school with us."
+
+"Doesn't she now?" asked Floretta.
+
+"No, she left our class, and went to a large school in the city."
+
+"By what the letter says, I'd think she was rather queer," said
+Floretta.
+
+"Well--" said Dorothy, hesitating, "Arabella _is_ queer."
+
+"Why don't you like to say so?" was the sharp reply.
+
+"Because Dorothy never likes to say anything that isn't kind about any
+one, but Arabella _is_ queer, so Dorothy won't say she isn't," said
+Nancy.
+
+It was a few days later that Dorothy was reminded of what Reginald had
+said in his letter to Flossie.
+
+She was waiting for Nancy to go for a walk, and stooping to pick some of
+the pretty wildflowers that blossomed everywhere.
+
+She had walked slowly along toward the clump of white birches where,
+when they had first arrived, they had called, and listened to the echo.
+
+She looked back toward the hotel, but Nancy was not yet in sight, so she
+seated herself upon the grass, and began to arrange the flowers in a
+fine bouquet.
+
+She was trying to mix the white blossoms and pink buds so as to show the
+beauty of each, when a carriage passed, and before she looked up a
+shrill little voice shouted:
+
+"Dorothy! Dorothy! We're over at the farmhouse just beyond the
+Merlington. Aunt Matilda wouldn't _let_ pa take us to a hotel. She
+doesn't approve of hotels. Aunt Matilda says,--"
+
+She was looking back to shout at Dorothy, and doubtless would have given
+even more particulars, but a firm hand had hastily forced her to turn
+around, and sit down.
+
+Nancy ran along the path a few moments later, and her eyes were dancing.
+
+"Did you see Arabella?" she asked. "_Did_ you?"
+
+"Yes, just a few moments ago, and she turned around in the carriage and
+screamed to me," said Dorothy.
+
+"I can guess what she said," laughed Nancy, "because she screamed at
+me. She told me she was staying at a farmhouse, and said that her Aunt
+Matilda didn't approve of hotels."
+
+"That is _just_ what she said," said Dorothy, "and she would have said
+more but some one, I think it was her Aunt Matilda, pulled her back into
+the carriage."
+
+"Why, that's just the way it was when I saw her. I ran out on to the
+piazza, and down the steps, and the carriage rolled by, and she twisted
+round to shout. There was this difference, though," said Nancy. "You
+were out here alone, and no one would know if you laughed, but when I
+ran out, our piazza was full of people, and when Arabella shouted, you'd
+ought to have seen them look.
+
+"Flossie and her Uncle Harry were on the lawn, and as she rode past, he
+said with a sigh:
+
+          "'Arabella, Arabella,
+            If I had my new umbrella,'
+
+and I was wild to know the rest of it, but his wife, who was standing
+near him, said:
+
+"'Hush, Harry, really you mustn't,' and he only laughed, and said:
+
+"'Oh, _mustn't_ I? Why, when I saw Arabella and her Aunt Matilda, I
+really felt as if I _must_!'"
+
+"Let's ask him what the rest of the verse is," said Dorothy.
+
+"I'm wild to hear it," Nancy said, "because the very way he looked made
+me think that the other lines, whatever they were, would be funny."
+
+She stooped to gather more of the little blossoms to add to Dorothy's
+bouquet, and then commenced to make a bouquet of her own.
+
+"Arabella will be coming over to see you," she said, a moment later,
+"and I wonder if it is naughty to say, 'I wish she wouldn't?' Do you
+think it is?"
+
+"I don't know," said Dorothy, "but I _do_ wish it. I wouldn't, only she
+is so hard to please. Mamma wishes us to be nice to every one, but,
+Nancy, you _do_ know that when we try the hardest to please Arabella, we
+don't please her at all."
+
+"I know it," agreed Nancy, "but perhaps she'll come some time when we
+are out, and then we won't have to amuse her."
+
+"I'm sure I ought not to say it, but I _do_ wish it would happen that
+way," said Dorothy.
+
+They had reached the birches, and they paused to wake the echo. What fun
+it was to hear their shouts repeated.
+
+Again and again they called, and then a droll thing happened. They had
+called this name and that, and each time the echo, like a voice from the
+mountain, had repeated it with wonderful distinctness. Then Dorothy,
+leaning forward, called, loudly:
+
+"Dorothy!"
+
+"_What?_" came the reply.
+
+She turned, and looked at Nancy. "Dorothy!" she cried, again.
+
+"_Dainty!_" was the answer, and upon looking toward a little path that
+was nearly opposite where they were standing, they saw the low bushes
+move, and faintly they heard a smothered laugh.
+
+Dorothy was laughing now.
+
+"Boys!" she cried, and back came the laughing echo:
+
+"_Girls!_" and then the boys peeped out a bit too far, and Dorothy saw
+who had been playing echo.
+
+It was Jack Tiverton and a boy whom he had chosen for a "chum." Jack had
+not intended so soon to be discovered, and he and his friend disappeared
+in a little grove, while Dorothy and Nancy continued their walk.
+
+There were sunny paths and bits of woodland that were so near the hotel
+as to be absolutely safe, where all the summer guests, especially the
+children, loved to roam at will. Along one of these little paths were
+sweet little yellow blossoms, and these they gathered to brighten their
+bouquets.
+
+"Let's have some of these little vines to hang from our bouquets," said
+Dorothy, and the graceful vines proved to be an added beauty.
+
+When they returned to the Cleverton there were but few people upon the
+piazza.
+
+Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte sat talking with Mrs. Vinton, and farther
+along, Mrs. Fenton sat with an open book upon her lap, although she was
+not reading.
+
+She often had a book or magazine, but rarely did she read them.
+
+She would sit looking off at the distant mountain-range, the white
+clouds, or the sunny valley over which those clouds cast floating
+shadows.
+
+Did she hear the conversation, or notice what was going on about her?
+Floretta Paxton said that Mrs. Fenton acted as if she sat there to watch
+some one; and was Floretta right? Mrs. Fenton's actions certainly
+seemed strange day after day. She talked little, took slight interest in
+what was going on about her, and was a mystery to all the other guests.
+
+But what, or whom could she be watching?
+
+Dorothy and Nancy, returning from their walk, saw the group, and also
+noticed Mrs. Fenton, who always chose to sit apart from the others.
+
+"I'll give my flowers to mamma and Mrs. Vinton," said Dorothy.
+
+"And I'll give mine to Aunt Charlotte and to Mrs. Fenton,--if she wants
+them," said Nancy, hesitating because it was so hard to guess what
+might, or might not, please Mrs. Fenton.
+
+Dorothy ran to show her blossoms to her mamma and to Mrs. Vinton, while
+Nancy, pausing beside Mrs. Fenton's chair, held forth her pretty
+bouquet, as she said:
+
+"We've just gathered them. Aren't they pretty?"
+
+"Lovely, very lovely," said Mrs. Fenton, with more interest than usual.
+"I remember picking just such flowers; even the long vines I know are
+like those I used to see when I was a little girl."
+
+"Would you enjoy some of these? I'd so like to give them to you," Nancy
+said, and she was surprised at the quick reply.
+
+"I would really prize them, Nancy, and you're a sweet child to give them
+to me," she said.
+
+Quickly Nancy divided the bouquet, and smiled as she laid the pretty
+things in Mrs. Fenton's lap.
+
+"I cannot let them wilt, so I will take them at once to my room," said
+Mrs. Fenton, and Nancy saw her bend to catch their perfume, as she
+turned toward the hall.
+
+That night, when nearly all the guests had entered the dining-room, Mrs.
+Fenton came in at the main entrance, and as she sat nearly opposite Mrs.
+Dainty's party, they noticed that the bodice of her black lace gown was
+given color by the pretty wildflowers that Nancy had given her. They
+were the first flowers that she had worn since her arrival.
+
+Nancy smiled with pleasure, and Mrs. Fenton, looking across the table,
+returned the smile.
+
+Had the gift of simple wildflowers cheered her?
+
+Thus far she had worn only black, but to-night a dull gold slip
+shimmered through the black lace; and were her eyes brighter?
+
+Nancy thought so, and without knowing why, was glad.
+
+There was a musicale in the evening, and Mrs. Fenton joined Mrs. Dainty
+and Aunt Charlotte, and seemed to enjoy the conversation, between the
+numbers of the program.
+
+Once, while she was talking, she laid her hand lightly upon Nancy's
+shoulder, and Nancy looked up to smile. Aunt Charlotte saw that the lady
+was more cheerful, and also noticed that she wore Nancy's flowers. The
+evening passed pleasantly, and Nancy's drowsy words, just before she
+went to sleep, were:
+
+"I do really think I cheered her."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A few days later Mrs. Dainty invited Mrs. Fenton to be her guest during
+a drive over a lovely road that neither of them had yet seen. It was
+said to be one of the most picturesque roads in that section of the
+country.
+
+Mrs. Fenton accepted, and with Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Vinton they
+formed a pleasant party.
+
+Dorothy and Nancy were to drive in their little phaeton, and they felt
+quite as important as the four ladies in the barouche.
+
+True, Mrs. Dainty owned a handsome span of bays, but was not the pony,
+Romeo, a beauty?
+
+The road was some distance from the Cleverton, and there were some
+charming places to be seen on the way, so it happened that the trip,
+which proved to be most enjoyable, occupied the afternoon.
+
+Mrs. Paxton had a number of letters to write, and Floretta, feeling very
+lonely, and wishing that she had some one to play with, climbed into a
+hammock, and wondered what she might do to amuse herself.
+
+"Every one but me has gone somewhere, and I wish _I_ had," she said, as
+she gave a smart kick that sent the hammock higher.
+
+"What's the fun of swinging alone?" she grumbled, but there was no one
+on the piazza to answer her, and she let the hammock sway lazily while
+she looked down the sunny road, and thought how strange it was that the
+place seemed so still.
+
+Not a leaf stirred, and Floretta's disgust increased.
+
+"Nothing in sight, not even an old hen," she said, when, way down where
+the road looked so narrow and distant, a little figure appeared, coming
+directly toward the Cleverton. She watched the approaching figure, and
+wondered who it might be.
+
+"'Tisn't any one I know," she thought, "and _doesn't_ she look queer?"
+
+Any one who had ever known Arabella Corryville would also have known
+that she always looked decidedly odd and strange, and it was Arabella
+who was marching steadily along the road.
+
+So determined was her tread that one might have thought that there was a
+band behind her playing martial music to which she was obliged to keep
+step.
+
+"Well, whoever she is, she's carrying an umbrella, this pleasant day,"
+murmured Floretta; then as she came near, she added:
+
+"And wearing rubbers and a raincoat, as true as I live!"
+
+Arabella was more bundled and wrapped than at first appeared, for, as
+she came up the gravel walk, Floretta saw that a long veil was closely
+tied over her hat, and wound about her throat.
+
+From her appearance one might have thought that she expected freezing
+weather before night.
+
+She walked up on to the piazza, and then stood, for a moment, looking
+about, as if in search of some one.
+
+It was not politeness that prompted Floretta to speak. It was simply
+curiosity. She was wild to know who the strange-looking child was, and
+whom she wished to see.
+
+"Are you looking for some one?" she asked, at the same time slipping
+from the hammock, and going so close to Arabella that she could peep
+into the queer little face.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+ARABELLA MAKES A CALL
+
+
+ARABELLA peered at Floretta through her spectacles, and was tempted not
+to reply, but after a moment's pause she changed her mind.
+
+"I came to see Dorothy Dainty, and Nancy Ferris," she said.
+
+"They're out driving," said Floretta.
+
+"How do you know?" Arabella asked, rudely.
+
+"Because I heard them say they were going, and because I saw them go,"
+was the quick reply.
+
+"It's a long way over here, and now I've got to take the same walk
+back," said Arabella.
+
+"They're going to be out all the afternoon," said Floretta, "but why
+don't you sit down, and rest a while before you go back?"
+
+It sounded kind, and Arabella at once seated herself, while Floretta sat
+near her.
+
+She thought it would be great fun to question this odd child, and there
+was no one near to check her.
+
+"Aren't you nearly roasted in that raincoat?" she asked.
+
+"Well, I'm not chilly," said Arabella, fixing her sharp eyes upon the
+other little girl.
+
+"Did you think it was going to rain?" was the next question. "You've
+rubbers, and umbrella."
+
+Floretta barely managed to hide the fact that she wanted to laugh. Her
+question seemed so absurd with the blue sky overhead, and the sunshine
+everywhere.
+
+"I didn't want to wear them," said Arabella, "and I told Aunt Matilda it
+was too pleasant to rain, but she said you never could tell, and she
+said, too, that I could wear them, or stay at home, so what could I do?"
+
+"_I'd_ have stayed at home," said Floretta, bluntly. "I wouldn't wear
+raincoat and rubbers, and lug an umbrella for any Aunt Matilda or Aunt
+Jemima!"
+
+"Who is Aunt Jemima?" Arabella asked, stupidly.
+
+"I don't know," said Floretta, sharply, "but then, I don't know your
+Aunt Matilda."
+
+She longed to say that she did not want to, but for once she did not
+quite dare to say what she thought.
+
+Then there was an awkward pause. Floretta could not think what to say
+next, while Arabella did not try.
+
+Silence never made her uneasy. She could stare at any one who sat
+opposite her, for a half-hour, without so much as winking, and it rather
+amused her if the other person became nervous, and wriggled uneasily
+beneath her persistent stare. At last Floretta spoke.
+
+"You might take some of those things off," she said; "you won't need
+them while you stay."
+
+"Aunt Matilda told me not to," said Arabella, "and if I _did_, it would
+be just my luck to have her come right by here, and see me with them
+off. My! _Wouldn't_ she be angry?"
+
+Arabella's eyes dilated as she asked the question.
+
+"Does your Aunt Matilda poke 'round after you like that?" asked
+Floretta.
+
+"She doesn't ever _seem_ to follow me, but all the same, she's always
+catching me doing something."
+
+"Then you _do_ risk doing what she tells you not to," said Floretta,
+with a saucy laugh.
+
+"Look here!" cried Arabella, "I don't know you, but I'm going to tell
+you something. I can't do one single thing I want to, neither can my
+papa or mamma. Aunt Matilda is little, and my papa is big. He says he
+was centre-rush on the college football team, but when Aunt Matilda
+tells him what to do, he says, 'Yes'm,' and does it. One of our
+neighbors at home says Aunt Matilda holds the purse-strings, but I don't
+know what that means. Her purse hasn't any strings on it."
+
+"Well, if it _had_, I'd cut 'em off," said Floretta, "so she _couldn't_
+hold 'em."
+
+"You wouldn't if she lived at _your_ house," said Arabella.
+
+Floretta, in spite of her boldness, was more than half convinced.
+
+"Well,--perhaps I wouldn't," she said. "Why, what are you taking?"
+
+"Pills," said Arabella, counting out six very pink pills from a little
+bottle, and taking them, then making a horrid face.
+
+"You don't look sick," said Floretta, "but you're taking medicine."
+
+"Aunt Matilda says these are for my color," was the answer.
+
+"You haven't any; you're pale as a sheet," said Floretta.
+
+"That's why I take them," said Arabella, "and look! I've got some green
+ones I take," and six green pills followed the pink ones.
+
+"Why, what are those for?" gasped Floretta. "Ought you to take two kinds
+at the same time?"
+
+Arabella, determined to startle her new acquaintance, took a third
+bottle from her pocket, and swallowed three very large white pills.
+
+She was delighted with the effect that she had produced.
+
+Floretta sprang to her feet, and tried to snatch the bottle, but
+Arabella had put it in her pocket, and was holding the pocket together.
+
+She narrowed her shrewd little eyes, and smiled broadly.
+
+"Guess you couldn't take all that, and not feel queer!" she said.
+
+"I wouldn't wonder if you felt funny. _Do_ you?" asked Floretta.
+
+"Not _yet_," said Arabella.
+
+Floretta was getting tired of her caller. She hoped that she hadn't any
+more kinds of medicine that she could take.
+
+She wished that Dorothy would return and amuse Arabella.
+
+She would have run away from any one else, and rudely left her alone,
+but there was something so strange about this child that she feared her.
+
+She had a nervous feeling that if she turned to leave her, Arabella
+might snatch at her, and draw her back. She certainly did look odd.
+
+There was something catlike in the way in which she kept her eyes
+riveted upon Floretta.
+
+She looked as if, at any moment, she might spring at her!
+
+She was not thinking of doing anything of the sort, however.
+
+The truth was that she _did_ feel just a bit queer.
+
+Was it the three kinds of pills? She could not tell, but she began to
+feel as if she would be glad if she were at home.
+
+"I guess I'll go now," she said. "I think it must be time."
+
+"What time did your Aunt Matilda tell you to come home?" Floretta asked.
+
+"She said I could stay to dinner if Dorothy asked me, but she doesn't
+come home, so I guess I won't wait."
+
+"Go to dinner at the Cleverton in that plaid gingham!" thought Floretta,
+for she had seen the plain little frock beneath the raincoat.
+
+[Illustration: SHE OFFERED TWO CARDS TO FLORETTA.--_Page 210._]
+
+Arabella grasped her big umbrella firmly, and turned, as she went down
+the steps, to say:
+
+"You may tell Dorothy Dainty that _Miss_ Corryville called."
+
+Floretta giggled.
+
+"And you might tell your Aunt Matilda that you talked with _Miss_
+Paxton," she said.
+
+"I will," said Arabella, without a sign of a smile.
+
+"I wonder you don't leave cards," said Floretta, and to her surprise,
+the queer child put her hand in the pocket of her raincoat, and, without
+looking at them, offered two cards to Floretta, saying:
+
+"There they are."
+
+Then, without looking back, she marched resolutely down the road. She
+did not thank Floretta for talking with her while she rested, nor did
+she say "good-by."
+
+For some moments Floretta stood watching the odd little figure as it
+tramped down the road, the umbrella, like a huge walking stick, thumping
+the gravel at every step. She thought Arabella would turn around, but
+she did not.
+
+One might have thought that she had already forgotten the child with
+whom she had been talking. When, at last, she disappeared behind a clump
+of trees that hid the curve of the road, Floretta looked at the two
+cards in her hand, stared at them in amazement, and then laughed,
+laughed until her eyes were full of tears.
+
+Who could have helped laughing? One card bore these lines:
+
+             JAMES HORTON WORTH,
+             PAINLESS DENTISTRY,
+          10 TREVOR STREET, MERRIVALE.
+
+While the other, equally interesting, bore this statement:
+
+              ALTON JUSTUS MEER,
+                  JEWELLER,
+          90 RUPERT ROAD, MERRIVALE.
+
+"How perfectly funny," cried Floretta. "I'll run up and show them to
+mamma, and then I'll wait here to give them to Dorothy and Nancy when
+they come. I wonder if they'll have any choice?"
+
+Dorothy and Nancy felt, as did the older members of the party, that the
+ride had been the most delightful of any that they had enjoyed since
+their arrival.
+
+The horses were tossing their manes, and Romeo, as if in imitation,
+tossed his so that it showed all its silken beauty.
+
+"See him!" cried Dorothy. "He thinks he's as fine as any horse."
+
+"Well, he is as dear as they," said Nancy.
+
+"Oh, yes," said Dorothy, "and dearer."
+
+And when the horses and the pony had been led around to the stable, and
+the older members of the party had reached the piazza, Dorothy and
+Nancy, who had paused for a moment to talk, ran up the steps, intending
+to sit together in a large rocker.
+
+Before they reached the chair, Floretta flew toward them.
+
+"You had a funny caller while you were out driving," she said, with a
+giggle, "and she was so very fashionable that she left these cards. She
+told me to tell you that _Miss_ Corryville had called."
+
+"It was Arabella," said Nancy.
+
+"Did she truly say '_Miss_?'" Dorothy asked.
+
+"Well, didn't I _say_ so?" Floretta asked rudely; "and I told her to
+tell her Aunt Matilda that she talked with _Miss_ Paxton, and she said
+she would. She waited a long time for you to come home, because she said
+she meant to stay to dinner with you. Say! She had on a calico dress!
+Wouldn't she have looked gay?"
+
+"It isn't very kind to laugh at any one's clothes," said Dorothy, "and
+it's not very nice to laugh at other people's friends."
+
+"Pooh!" cried Floretta, "I shall laugh at whoever I please," and she
+turned and ran up to her room.
+
+But she had laughed once too often! During the ride, Mrs. Fenton had
+spoken of Floretta's rude ways, and of the day when, upon following
+Nancy to the dining-room, she had caught the provoking child in the act
+of mimicking her.
+
+"Your little Nancy was grieved and distressed because she knew that I
+saw it. What a difference there is in children! The Paxton child is
+disgusting, while Nancy, who, I have heard, was a little waif, is as
+gentle as Dorothy, who was born the little daughter of a fine, old
+family."
+
+Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty had told Mrs. Fenton something of Nancy's
+life, and noticed how deeply interested she seemed to be.
+
+Mrs. Paxton had realized that ever since the day that Floretta had told
+of being caught mimicking Mrs. Fenton for the amusement of the
+waitresses and maids, Mrs. Fenton had shunned them. She had made
+desperate efforts to win Mrs. Fenton's friendship, but never very
+successfully, as she found that her little daughter's silly act had
+rendered any intimacy quite impossible.
+
+A few days after the ride, Mrs. Fenton did not appear at lunch, or at
+dinner, and when Mrs. Paxton, with elaborate interest, inquired for her,
+she learned that the lady had left very early that morning, before any
+guests were on the piazza to see her depart.
+
+It certainly did seem odd that she should have left, without a word to
+those whom she had known, but Mrs. Dainty, with her customary good
+taste, made no comment, and Aunt Charlotte Grayson was equally silent.
+
+Mrs. Paxton did just as one might have expected. She expressed, in a
+very loud voice, her disgust at being thus pointedly slighted, for so
+she chose to feel.
+
+"After all my friendliness, I can't see how she could leave the
+Cleverton without so much as a word to me. Why, I felt almost like a
+relative, as my name was Fenton before I married!"
+
+"I guess Mrs. Fenton didn't have what you might call a family feeling,"
+said old Mr. Cunningham, which so angered Mrs. Paxton that she politely
+turned her back.
+
+Two letters arrived at the Cleverton that afternoon, and it would be
+difficult to say which caused the greater surprise.
+
+Mrs. Paxton told the contents of hers to all who would listen, and there
+were enough who were curious, to make a good audience.
+
+"TO MRS. CLARA FENTON PAXTON:" it began, refraining from any endearing
+terms.
+
+"I knew, before I met you, that you and your small daughter were related
+to my husband, and also knew that he entertained no admiration for you.
+He left his entire estate to me, and as you were but a distant relative,
+you could expect no inheritance. However, with a determination to deal
+fairly with all my kin (I have but three such), I came to the Cleverton
+to see you and your little daughter, intending, if she proved
+sweet-tempered and attractive, to will my property to her. She is the
+only one of the three relatives who bears my husband's name.
+
+"I do not wish to be harsh, but I am forced to admit that I find her to
+be bold, naturally unkind, and wholly lacking in the grace and courtesy
+which most children possess, either by training or inheritance.
+
+"I, therefore, have made my will in favor of Nancy Ferris, once a little
+waif, now a sweet, gentle, and attractive child, whose little acts of
+courtesy and kindness are fully appreciated by
+
+                                     "Her friend,
+                                         "CECILIA CULLEN FENTON."
+
+"A most singular woman, to leave her property to a waif, a child of the
+theatre, and not bequeath so much as a penny to my Floretta, whom _any_
+one could see is an aristocrat," said Mrs. Paxton.
+
+"Mrs. Fenton, or anybody else, would need some rather strong glasses to
+see _that_!" muttered Mr. Cunningham.
+
+He was a testy old fellow, and he, like other guests of the hotel, had
+become exceedingly tired of Mrs. Paxton and her unlovely child.
+
+The other letter gave surprise and delight to the two who had shared in
+the care and training of little Nancy.
+
+"TO MRS. RUDOLPH DAINTY, AND TO MRS. CHARLOTTE GRAYSON,
+
+"DEAR FRIENDS:--" was its greeting, and then followed the story of the
+writer's visit to the Cleverton, and the statement that her few
+relatives were too distant to have any valid claim to her estate.
+
+"I was greatly displeased with the two of my kin whom I came to observe,
+and I will not dwell upon that, but, instead, will take this time to say
+that Dorothy Dainty and Nancy Ferris, are the two dearest children that
+it has been my pleasure to know.
+
+"Dorothy's life has been sunny, and Nancy's story, as you told it to me,
+appealed to me, and I looked with even greater interest at the child
+who, under your loving care, had blossomed like a lovely flower.
+
+"Dorothy has her parents, and will inherit a fortune. Nancy has no
+parents, and I know, will be kindly cared for by you, but that fact
+will not deter me from making a bequest that gives me greatest pleasure.
+
+"I shall leave all of my estate to Nancy Ferris, and I remind her, in
+some little verses that I enclose, how deeply I have appreciated her
+many little kindnesses.
+
+
+TO NANCY
+
+          "Dear little girl, I know that you will daily
+           Do loving acts of kindness, and of cheer,
+           Thus urging life to sing its song more gaily
+           And making friendship lasting and more dear.
+
+          "I felt your charm, dear child, I saw how sweetly
+           You gave your kindness, with no thought of gain.
+           I give you a reward, and how completely
+           I joy in giving, words cannot explain."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A SERENADE
+
+
+JACK TIVERTON stood in the lower hall one morning, and appeared as if
+waiting for some one. In his hand was a short switch that he had cut
+from a shrub that grew beside the driveway. Often he looked up the
+staircase, and then, as no one appeared, he would continue to strike at
+the flies that flew past the doorway.
+
+At last he heard merry voices upon the landing, and then Dorothy and
+Nancy came hurrying down the stairs.
+
+"Good morning!" they called, but Jack, in his eagerness to ask
+questions, forgot to return their greeting.
+
+"Say!" he cried, "do you know that Mrs. Paxton and Floretta left this
+morning before breakfast?"
+
+No, the little girls did not know that.
+
+"Well, they have. I saw them go, and I'm glad. Floretta was fun to play
+with, but she wasn't fair. She'd get me to do things, and then if we got
+caught, she'd always say I planned it," said Jack.
+
+Dorothy tried to think of something kind to say of Floretta, but she
+knew that what Jack said was true. Floretta truly was not in the habit
+of playing "fair."
+
+"Her mamma said something queer just as she was going off. She was
+talking to a lady, I don't know what her name is, and Mrs. Paxton said:
+
+"'Well, Dorothy Dainty has always seemed to be fond of Nancy, but now
+that Nancy is to have a _fortune_, shell love her a deal more than she
+ever did before.'"
+
+And now Dorothy spoke, her blue eyes flashing, and her cheeks flushed.
+
+"That's not true!" she cried. "That's not true! I've always loved Nancy,
+and always will. I'd love her if she had just nothing at all! Nothing
+could make any difference. I love her all I can. Nancy knows that. Every
+one knows that."
+
+How keenly she felt Mrs. Paxton's silly speech!
+
+She was indignant that any one should think her love for Nancy so little
+worth while that fortune could make it stronger.
+
+How could she love Nancy more than she had always loved her?
+
+Nancy threw her arms about her, and drew her closer.
+
+"Don't you mind, Dorothy," she said, "_I_ know how truly you love me.
+Mrs. Paxton didn't know, because I guess she couldn't understand it.
+_She_ couldn't love the way you do."
+
+Dorothy smiled through the tears that had filled her eyes.
+
+"There's no one dearer than you, Nancy," she said.
+
+Jack swung his switch at a dragon-fly that flew past the doorway.
+
+"Did you see that darning-needle?" he asked.
+
+"Well," he continued, without waiting for an answer, "I was down the
+road a few days ago, trying to catch some of those big steel-colored
+ones in my fly-net. I hadn't seen any one after I left this piazza, but
+just as I swung my net round to catch the dragon-fly, somebody said:
+'Look out, or you'll get bitten!' and I turned round, but no one was in
+sight. I was just going to swing my net again, when some one giggled,
+and then I saw a little skinny girl looking at me from between some
+bushes."
+
+"What was she doing?" Dorothy asked.
+
+"You couldn't guess if you tried for a month!" said Jack.
+
+"She was sitting on a big stone, beside a big puddle that was left there
+after the shower. She said she was playing she was a frog, and when she
+stared at me through her glasses, and smiled, no, _grinned_ at me, I
+couldn't help thinking she looked like one. Say, she had on a green
+cloak, a regular frog-color."
+
+"It must have been _Arabella_!" said Nancy.
+
+"I don't know what her name was. I didn't ask her, but while I watched
+her she hopped off the stone into the puddle with both feet, and cried,
+'po-dunk!' just like an old bullfrog. My! Weren't her shoes wet!"
+
+"I wonder what her Aunt Matilda said when she went home with wet feet,"
+said Dorothy.
+
+Without noticing what she said, Jack continued.
+
+"I never saw such a queer girl!" he said, in disgust, "for when I told
+her dragonflies would never bite, she said: 'They will. They'll sew your
+eyes, and nose, and mouth up. Po-dunk!' and she hopped back on to the
+stone, and grinned at me just as she did at first. Say! She made me feel
+queer to look at her, and I turned and ran away. I wasn't afraid of her,
+of course, but she _did_ make me feel queer!"
+
+"She'd make any one feel queer," said Nancy as they turned toward the
+dining-room.
+
+Jack wished that they might have stayed longer in the hall. He had
+intended to ask them if they knew Arabella, and if she was always doing
+queer things, but Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte joined them, and they
+went in for breakfast.
+
+Mrs. Tiverton, coming in from an early walk, took Jack with her to the
+other side of the dining-room. He looked across at them, and wondered
+what they could have told of Arabella if they had had a chance. He
+decided to question them, whispering softly to himself:
+
+"I'll _make_ them tell me all they know about that funny girl."
+
+For several days he tried to catch Dorothy or Nancy at a time when he
+could question them.
+
+He chased Dorothy up the long stairway one morning, only to see her
+disappear into her room. He had not told her that he had wished to talk
+with her, and she, believing that he was only chasing her for fun, ran
+from him, laughing as she went.
+
+He found Nancy, a few minutes later, and coaxed her to wait on the
+landing.
+
+"Now, Nancy," he said, "you've got to tell me something about that queer
+girl that you and Dorothy know."
+
+"If you mean Arabella," said Nancy, "I don't see what I could tell you,
+only that she _is_ queer, and you know that now."
+
+"You'll better believe I know it!" cried Jack, "for I met her again
+yesterday, and guess what she was doing!"
+
+"Oh, I couldn't," said Nancy. "No one ever could guess what Arabella
+Corryville would do."
+
+"Well, she looked like a witch, and acted like one, too," Jack replied.
+"It was yesterday that I saw her. I was going across the field, and had
+nearly reached the wall, when I looked up, and saw her sitting on the
+top bar of the--the--oh, the place where they take down the bars to let
+the cattle through."
+
+"I know where you mean," said Nancy, "but why was it strange that she
+was sitting there?"
+
+"It was what she was doing that was funny," Jack replied, "and because
+you couldn't guess, I'll tell you.
+
+"She didn't look toward me, though I'm sure she must have heard me
+coming, for I was just tramping along, and whistling all the way. She
+was looking up at the clouds, and counting, 'one--two--three--' very
+slowly, and when I was close behind her, she said:
+
+"'Hush--sh--sh! I'm charming the crows!'
+
+"'How long does it take to do it?' I said, for it sounded like nonsense,
+and I wanted to hurry. It was almost lunch time.
+
+"'Hush--sh!' she said again. 'There comes one of them now!' and sure
+enough a big, black crow did come flying right down, and perched on the
+limb of an old tree near her."
+
+"Why, Jack Tiverton," cried Nancy, "you don't believe Arabella really
+_made_ him come down, do you?"
+
+"Of course not," cried Jack, "but she wanted me to think so. Say! She
+said she was saying a charm, and when I asked her what it was, she
+wouldn't tell me. She said it would spoil the charm to tell it. She
+looked funny sitting up there on the top rail, and staring at the crows
+till her eyes watered. She didn't look like a 'charmer.' She looked
+ever so much more like a scarecrow!"
+
+"Oh, Jack, it's horrid to say that!" cried Nancy, at the same time
+trying not to let him see how near she was to laughing.
+
+"Well, she _did_!" Jack insisted, "and you're almost laughing now, Nancy
+Ferris, and you'd have screamed if you'd seen her roosting there, and
+calling herself a charmer! Why, that old crow just flopped down there
+for fun, and when he saw the queer-looking girl, he cawed as if it made
+him mad, and I didn't blame him. Say! She had a shoe on one foot, and a
+slipper on the other. Her apron was put on back-side-to, and she had a
+hen's feather in each hand, and she waved them up and down while she
+mumbled some kind of a verse. She said her clothes were put on that way
+to help the charm. Isn't she a _ninny_?"
+
+Just at that moment, before Nancy could reply, Mrs. Tiverton called
+Jack, and Nancy ran to tell the story of Arabella's latest freak to
+Dorothy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One afternoon, a number of little girls were sitting on the piazza at
+the Cleverton, and their merry voices attracted Jack Tiverton, who
+glanced up from the book that he was reading, and then, because he was
+curious to know what so interested them, crossed the piazza, and joined
+the group.
+
+Dorothy and Nancy, in the big hammock, held the book of fairy tales,
+Flossie Barnet sat near them, while the others, all little guests at the
+hotel, sat upon the railing, or in the large rockers that stood near.
+
+Jack joined the row perched upon the railing.
+
+"Tell a fellow what you are all talking about, will you? Will you,
+_please_, I mean?" he asked.
+
+"Dorothy Dainty has been reading us a lovely story," said a little girl,
+whose merry eyes showed that she had enjoyed it.
+
+"What's it about?" Jack asked, and then, "Oh, _fairy_ tales!" he said.
+
+"Don't you like fairy tales?" Flossie questioned, looking up at him.
+
+No one liked to differ with dear little Flossie, least of all, Jack
+Tiverton.
+
+"Oh, I like them _some_," he said, awkwardly, "but,--are there any
+stories about bandits or pirates in that book?"
+
+"Oh, no," they cried, in a laughing chorus, "and there aren't any wild
+Indians in it, either."
+
+"I don't care much about Indian stories," Jack replied, "but I do like
+to read about pirates."
+
+"But just hear what this one was about," said Nancy.
+
+"The wandering prince had, for years, been searching for a lovely
+princess, who should look like a beautiful picture that hung in his
+father's palace. One day he came to a castle where the people told him a
+handsome princess was imprisoned, and he asked why she was kept there.
+They told him that she was enchanted, and that some day, a wandering
+prince would sing beneath her window, and then the spell would be
+broken, and she would be free."
+
+Jack was interested.
+
+"But s'posing he couldn't sing?" he asked.
+
+"Oh, a prince could surely sing!" said Flossie.
+
+"And p'raps he could sing under her window, if he couldn't anywhere
+else," ventured a dreamy-eyed little girl who sat near Dorothy.
+
+"And how would he know _what_ to sing?" a cheery voice questioned, and a
+pair of merry eyes peered over the piazza railing.
+
+"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "what difference would it make?"
+
+"All the difference in the world," declared Uncle Harry, "for while the
+proper melody would set the princess free, how are we to know that the
+wrong melody might not chain her closer than before!"
+
+"Why, the story doesn't say that," said Nancy.
+
+"Perhaps not, but the prince took an _awful_ risk when he chose what to
+sing," declared Uncle Harry.
+
+"You're laughing when you say it," said Dorothy.
+
+"He is," agreed Flossie, "and what he says is funny, but I know this:
+I'd love to hear some one singing under _my_ window!"
+
+Some ladies, who sat near enough to hear the conversation, were amused
+at the children's enthusiasm, and at Uncle Harry's evident interest.
+
+"The prince had his guitar slung over his shoulder by a ribbon," said
+Dorothy. "See the picture," and she slipped from the hammock, and
+offered the book that he might see the illustration.
+
+"I'm glad he carried his guitar instead of a banjo," he said.
+
+"Why are you glad of that?" Flossie asked.
+
+"Oh, because I really _am_, in fact, I might even say I am delighted,"
+he replied.
+
+"I do believe he intends to serenade those children," said a handsome
+woman, to her friend who sat beside her; "he is a brilliant man, and one
+who is blessed with many talents, and one of his greatest charms is his
+love of children. He will go far out of his way to afford them a bit of
+fun."
+
+That evening, when nearly every one had left the piazza, and all of the
+children were in their rooms, the soft twanging of guitar strings
+floated up toward Flossie's window.
+
+She was not yet asleep, and she sat up in bed, and listened.
+
+Yes, it was a guitar! Was it Uncle Harry's?
+
+A little prelude softly played, drew her toward the window.
+
+She crept closer, and peeped out. Yes, there he was, looking right up
+toward her window.
+
+Now his fine voice was softly singing, and Flossie held her breath.
+
+          "Under thy window, my little lady,
+           Under thy window, Flossie dear,
+           Here where the moonbeams softly flicker,
+           Sing I this song that you may hear.
+
+          "Moonlight, and starlight weave enchantment,
+           Yet shall my song your freedom bring,
+           You shall be happy little lady,
+           Give me your love for the song I sing."
+
+"Oh, Uncle Harry, you have it _now_!" cried Flossie. "I love you, when
+you're singing, and _all_ the time."
+
+"I know that, dear little girl, but I _must_ have my fun, so I came here
+to sing the song I made for you," he said gently.
+
+"Well, you're _dear_," she cried, "and I'll throw you a kiss," and she
+did, reaching far out of the window that he might surely see her.
+
+"I caught it!" he cried, and as he turned toward the porch, she heard
+him softly strumming the prelude again.
+
+Others had heard the pretty song, for Dorothy and Nancy had a room next
+to Flossie's.
+
+The next morning he was coaxed and teased to sing the song again, but he
+declared that he could only sing it in the moonlight, that the daylight
+would spoil its effect.
+
+The sunny days sped on wings, and soon the guests began to think of
+turning homeward.
+
+Mrs. Dainty's party and the Barnets were to leave the hotel at the same
+time, and Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie were delighted that they were to
+take the return trip together.
+
+They were talking of the pleasures that they were looking forward to,
+and telling of some delightful events that were already planned, when
+Jack Tiverton gave them a genuine surprise.
+
+"Mamma has just told me something fine," he said, "and I ran right down
+to tell it to you."
+
+"Oh, tell it quick!" said Flossie.
+
+"We're going to live in Merrivale, and we'll be there soon after we
+leave here. I'm glad. Are you, _all_ of you?" he asked.
+
+"Of course we're glad," said Dorothy and Nancy; and Flossie hastened to
+add:
+
+"Every one of us is glad."
+
+There were bright days, and many pleasures in store for the little
+friends, and those who would like also to enjoy them, and to know what
+happened during the winter, may read of all this in
+
+                       "Dorothy Dainty's Holidays."
+
+
+
+
+THE DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES
+
+By AMY BROOKS
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by the Author
+
+Price, $1.00 each
+
+[Illustration]
+
+          _Dorothy Dainty_
+          _Dorothy's Playmates_
+          _Dorothy Dainty at School_
+          _Dorothy Dainty at the Shore_
+          _Dorothy Dainty in the City_
+          _Dorothy Dainty at Home_
+          _Dorothy Dainty's Gay Times_
+          _Dorothy Dainty in the Country_
+          _Dorothy Dainty's Winter_
+          _Dorothy Dainty in the Mountains_
+          _Dorothy Dainty's Holidays_
+          _Dorothy Dainty's Vacation_
+
+          "LITTLE DOROTHY DAINTY is one of the most
+          generous-hearted of children. Selfishness is not
+          at all a trait of hers, and she knows the value of
+          making sunshine, not alone in her own heart, but
+          for her neighborhood and friends."--_Boston
+          Courier._
+
+          "DOROTHY DAINTY, a little girl, the only child of
+          wealthy parents, is an exceedingly interesting
+          character, and her earnest and interesting life is
+          full of action and suitable
+          adventure."--_Pittsburg Christian Advocate._
+
+          "No finer little lady than DOROTHY DAINTY was ever
+          placed in a book for children."--_Teachers'
+          Journal, Pittsburg._
+
+[Illustration]
+
+          "MISS BROOKS is a popular writer for the very
+          little folks who can read. She has an immense
+          sympathy for the children, and her stories never
+          fail to be amusing."--_Rochester (N.Y.) Herald._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON
+
+
+
+
+_THE PRUE BOOKS_
+
+By AMY BROOKS
+
+Illustrated by the Author 12mo Cloth Price, $1.00 each
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CUNNING little Prue, one of the most winsome little girls ever "put in a
+book," has already been met in another series where she gave no small
+part of the interest. She well deserved books of her own for little
+girls of her age, and they are now ready with everything in the way of
+large, clear type, and Miss Brooks's best pictures and her pleasing
+cover designs to make them attractive.
+
+          _Little Sister Prue_
+          _Prue at School_
+          _Prue's Playmates_
+          _Prue's Merry Times_
+          _Prue's Little Friends_
+          _Prue's Jolly Winter_
+
+[Illustration]
+
+          "Miss Brooks always brings out the best ways of
+          acting and living and provides a good deal of
+          humor in her original country
+          characters.--_Watchman, Boston._
+
+          "Few writers have ever possessed the faculty of
+          reaching the hearts and holding the interest of
+          little girl readers to the extent Miss Brooks
+          has."--_Kennebec Journal_, _Augusta, Me._
+
+          "To know Prue is to love her, for no more winsome
+          little girl was ever put in a book, and her keen
+          wit and unexpected drolleries make her doubly
+          attractive."--_Kindergarten Magazine._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt
+          of price by the publishers_
+
+          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON
+
+
+
+
+_THE RANDY BOOKS_
+
+_By AMY BROOKS_
+
+          12mo CLOTH ARTISTIC COVER DESIGN IN GOLD AND COLORS
+          ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR PRICE $1.00 EACH
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The progress of the "Randy Books" has been one continual triumph over
+the hearts of girls of all ages, for dear little fun-loving sister Prue
+is almost as much a central figure as Randy, growing toward womanhood
+with each book. The sterling good sense and simple naturalness of Randy,
+and the total absence of slang and viciousness, make these books in the
+highest degree commendable, while abundant life is supplied by the
+doings of merry friends, and there is rich humor in the droll rural
+characters.
+
+          _Randy's Summer_
+          _Randy's Winter_
+          _Randy and Her Friends_
+          _Randy and Prue_
+          _Randy's Good Times_
+          _Randy's Luck_
+          _Randy's Loyalty_
+          _Randy's Prince_
+
+[Illustration]
+
+          "The Randy Books are among the very choicest books
+          for young people to make a beginning with."
+                                       --_Boston Courier._
+
+          "The Randy Books of Amy Brooks have had a deserved
+          popularity among young girls. They are wholesome
+          and moral without being goody-goody."
+                                         --_Chicago Post._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON
+
+
+
+
+Only Dollie
+
+By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha Davidson Square 12mo Cloth $1.00
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+THIS is a brightly written story of a girl of twelve, who, when the
+mystery of her birth is solved, like Cinderella, passes from drudgery to
+better circumstances. There is nothing strained or unnatural at any
+point. All descriptions or portrayals of character are life-like, and
+the book has an indescribable appealing quality which wins sympathy and
+secures success.
+
+          "It is delightful reading at all times."--_Cedar
+          Rapids (Ia.) Republican._
+
+          "It is well written, the story runs smoothly, the
+          idea is good, and it is handled with
+          ability.--_Chicago Journal._
+
+
+
+The Little Girl Next Door
+
+By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00
+
+
+A DELIGHTFUL story of true and genuine friendship between an impulsive
+little girl in a fine New York home and a little blind girl in an
+apartment next door. The little girl's determination to cultivate the
+acquaintance, begun out of the window during a rainy day, triumphs over
+the barriers of caste, and the little blind girl proves to be in every
+way a worthy companion. Later a mystery of birth is cleared up, and the
+little blind girl proves to be of gentle birth as well as of gentle
+manners.
+
+
+
+
+Winifred's Neighbors
+
+By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha G. Davidson Large 12mo Cloth $1.00
+
+[Illustration]
+
+LITTLE Winifred's efforts to find some children of whom she reads in a
+book lead to the acquaintance of a neighbor of the same name, and this
+acquaintance proves of the greatest importance to Winifred's own family.
+Through it all she is just such a little girl as other girls ought to
+know, and the story will hold the interest of all ages.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          _For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt
+          of price by the publishers_
+
+          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD Co., BOSTON
+
+
+
+
+The Children on the Top Floor
+
+By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+IN this book little Winifred Hamilton, the child heroine of "Winifred's
+Neighbors," reappears, living in the second of the four stories of a New
+York apartment house. On the top floor are two very interesting
+children, Betty, a little older than Winifred, who is now ten, and Jack,
+a brave little cripple, who is a year younger. In the end comes a glad
+reunion, and also other good fortune for crippled Jack, and Winifred's
+kind little heart has once more indirectly caused great happiness to
+others.
+
+
+
+
+How Barbara Kept Her Promise
+
+By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00
+
+
+TWO orphan sisters, Barbara, aged twelve, and little Hazel, who is "only
+eight," are sent from their early home in London to their mother's
+family in New York. Faithful Barbara has promised her father that she
+will take care of pretty, petted, mischievous Hazel, and how she tries
+to do this, even in the face of great difficulties, forms the story
+which has the happy ending which Miss Rhoades wisely gives to all her
+stories.
+
+
+
+
+Little Miss Rosamond
+
+By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha G. Davidson Large 12mo Cloth $1.00
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+ROSAMOND lives in Richmond, Va., with her big brother, who cannot give
+her all the comfort that she needs in the trying hot weather, and she
+goes to the seaside cottage of an uncle whose home is in New York. Here
+she meets Gladys and Joy, so well known in a previous book, "The Little
+Girl Next Door," and after some complications are straightened out,
+bringing Rosamond's honesty and kindness of heart into prominence, all
+are made very happy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt
+          of price by the publishers_
+
+          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON
+
+
+
+
+"_Brick House Books_"
+
+_By NINA RHOADES_
+
+_Cloth 12 mo Illustrated $1.00 each_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+=Priscilla of the Doll Shop=
+
+[Illustration]
+
+THE "Brick House Books," as they are called from their well-known cover
+designs, are eagerly sought by children all over the country. There are
+three good stories in this book, instead of one, and it is hard to say
+which little girls, and boys, too, for that matter, will like the best.
+
+
+=Brave Little Peggy=
+
+PEGGY comes from California to New Jersey to live with a brother and
+sister whom she has not known since very early childhood. She is so
+democratic in her social ideas that many amusing scenes occur, and it is
+hard for her to understand many things that she must learn. But her good
+heart carries her through, and her conscientiousness and moral courage
+win affection and happiness.
+
+
+=The Other Sylvia=
+
+[Illustration]
+
+EIGHT-year-old Sylvia learns that girls who are "Kings' Daughters"
+pledge themselves to some kind act or service, and that one little girl
+named Mary has taken it upon herself to be helpful to all the Marys of
+her acquaintance. This is such an interesting way of doing good that she
+adopts it in spite of her unusual name, and really finds not only "the
+other Sylvia," but great happiness.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of
+          price by the publishers_
+
+          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains, by Amy Brooks
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30088 ***
diff --git a/30088-h/30088-h.htm b/30088-h/30088-h.htm
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-<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30088 ***</div>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 426px;">

-<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="426" height="600" alt="Cover" title="" />

-</div>

-

-

-

-

-<h1>DOROTHY DAINTY AT<br />

-THE MOUNTAINS</h1>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><div class='bbox'>

-<h2>Popular Stories.</h2>

-

-

-<div class='center'><span class="smcap">By AMY BROOKS.</span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>Each beautifully illustrated by the Author.</div>

-

-<div class='center'>THE RANDY BOOKS.</div>

-

-<div class='center'>12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.</div>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE RANDY BOOKS">

-<tr><td align='left'>RANDY'S SUMMER.</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S GOOD TIMES.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>RANDY'S WINTER.</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S LUCK.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>RANDY AND HER FRIENDS.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S LOYALTY.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>RANDY AND PRUE.</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S PRINCE.</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div>

-<h3>For Younger Readers.</h3>

-

-

-<div class='center'>DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES.</div>

-

-<div class='center'>Large 12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Set in large

-English type. Price $1.00 each.</div>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES.">

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY'S PLAYMATES.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT SCHOOL.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE SHORE.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE CITY.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT HOME.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S GAY TIMES.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE COUNTRY.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S WINTER.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S HOLIDAYS.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S VACATION.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S VISIT.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT CRESTVILLE.</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'><br />THE PRUE BOOKS.</div>

-

-<div class='center'>12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.</div>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE PRUE BOOKS">

-<tr><td align='left'>LITTLE SISTER PRUE.</td><td align='left'>PRUE'S MERRY TIMES.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>PRUE AT SCHOOL.</td><td align='left'>PRUE'S LITTLE FRIENDS.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>PRUE'S PLAYMATES.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='left'>PRUE'S JOLLY WINTER.</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div>

-

-<div class='center'>

-A JOLLY CAT TALE. Large 12mo. Cloth. Profusely Illustrated. Price&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00<br />

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;"><a name="Frontispiece" id="Frontispiece"></a>

-<img src="images/i001.jpg" width="395" height="500" alt="&quot;Here! Here!&quot; cried Dorothy, and echo answered, &quot;Here,&mdash;ere!&quot;&mdash;Page 4." title="" />

-<span class="caption">&quot;Here! Here!&quot; cried Dorothy, and echo answered, &quot;Here,&mdash;ere!&quot;&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_4">Page&nbsp;4</a>.</i></span>

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h1>DOROTHY DAINTY<br />

-AT THE MOUNTAINS</h1>

-

-<h3>BY</h3>

-

-<h2>AMY BROOKS</h2>

-

-<div class='center'>

-<small>AUTHOR OF "DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES," "THE RANDY</small><br />

-<small>BOOKS," "THE PRUE BOOKS," AND</small><br />

-<small>"A JOLLY CAT TALE"</small><br />

-<br />

-<br /><br />

-<i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR</i><br /><br /></div>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 79px;">

-<img src="images/emblem.png" width="79" height="100" alt="Emblem" title="" />

-</div>

-

-<div class='center'><br /><br />

-BOSTON<br />

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO.<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<div class='copyright'>

-DOROTHY DAINTY<br />

-TRADE-MARK<br />

-Registered in U. S. Patent Office<br />

-<br /><br /><br />

-Published, August, 1911<br />

-<br /><br /><br />

-<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1911, By LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO.</span><br />

-&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />

-<i>All Rights Reserved</i><br />

-&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />

-<span class="smcap">Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains</span><br />

-<br />

-<br />

-<br />

-<br />

-<br />

-<br />

-Norwood Press<br />

-Berwick &amp; Smith Co.<br />

-Norwood, Mass., U. S. A.<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2>CONTENTS</h2>

-

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents">

-<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">At the Cleverton</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Delightful Surprise</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">An Entertainment</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">In A Birch Arbor</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Mountain Party</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Echo Captured</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Floretta's Return</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">At the Fair</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Flossie's Letter</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Gift of Wildflowers</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Arabella Makes a Call</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>XII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Serenade</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_222">222</a></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>

-

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations">

-<tr><td align='left'>"Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered, "Here,&mdash;ere!" (<i><a href="#Page_4">Page 4</a></i>)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><i><a href="#Frontispiece">Frontispiece</a></i></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><small>FACING<br />PAGE</small></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>Often she looked back, as she sped over the road</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>"Oh, what a lovely, <i>lovely</i> story!" said Dorothy</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>She offered two cards to Floretta</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>

-<h2>DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS</h2>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2>CHAPTER I</h2>

-

-<h3>AT THE CLEVERTON</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>THE great hotel on the crest of the hill

-was bathed in sunlight that poured

-from a rift in the clouds, as if sent for the

-sole purpose of showing the grand portico,

-the broad piazza, and the flag that floated

-gracefully on the summer breeze.</div>

-

-<p>Its many windows seemed to be looking

-across the valley to opposite mountain

-peaks, and one could easily imagine that

-its wide, open doorway, smiled genially as

-if offering a welcome to all arriving guests.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Two little girls ran across the lawn, the

-one with flaxen curls, the other with sunny

-brown ringlets.</p>

-

-<p>The fair-haired little girl had eyes as blue

-as the blue blossoms that she held in her

-hand, while her playmate's eyes were soft

-and brown, and told that her heart was loving

-and true.</p>

-

-<p>The little blue-eyed girl was Dorothy

-Dainty, and the child who clasped her hand

-was her dearest friend, Nancy Ferris.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy had no parents, and a few years

-before Dorothy's mamma had taken her

-under her care and protection, and she was

-being trained and educated as carefully as

-was Dorothy, the little daughter of the

-house.</p>

-

-<p>They had come to the Hotel Cleverton

-to spend the summer, and the first few days

-of their stay, they had explored all the land<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>

-that lay immediately around the hotel, and

-had found many beautiful spots, but one

-thing held their interest,&mdash;they loved the

-echo, and never tired of awakening it.</p>

-

-<p>"Come!" cried Dorothy. "Run with

-me over to the white birches, and we'll

-shout, and listen!"</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty had told them the story of

-Echo, the nymph, who for loving Pan and

-following him and calling to him had been

-changed into a huge rock on the mountainside,

-and forever compelled to mock each

-voice she heard.</p>

-

-<p>The old legend of the nymph had caught

-their fancy, and often they paused in their

-play to shout, and listen to what seemed to

-them the voice of some fairy of the mountains.</p>

-

-<p>Now they stood beside the birches,

-Dorothy with one arm around a white<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>

-trunk, and Nancy near her. At their feet

-were countless bluebells, overhead the

-blue sky, while across and beyond the valley

-rose the mountain capped by white

-clouds that looked as soft as swan's-down.</p>

-

-<p>"Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo

-answered, "Here,&mdash;ere!"</p>

-

-<p>"Listen!" cried Dorothy, clasping her

-hands, and laughing with delight. "It answers

-as if it was a truly voice that heard

-and replied.</p>

-

-<p>"Nancy, I love you!" she cried, and

-again they plainly heard:&mdash;</p>

-

-<p>"Love you-oo!"</p>

-

-<p>They thought it great fun to shout and

-call, and hear their cries so cleverly repeated.</p>

-

-<p>And now another child ran out from the

-great doorway, paused a moment as if looking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>

-for some one, then, seeing the two little

-figures near the clump of birches, stole

-softly near them.</p>

-

-<p>On tiptoe, and with tread as soft and

-noiseless as a cat, she made her way over

-the short grass, until she was quite near

-them. Then, hiding behind a low bush, she

-watched them. How still she stood! For

-what was she waiting? Her bold eyes were

-full of mischief, as she whispered, "Oh,

-hurry <i>up!</i>"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy Dainty put her hands to her

-mouth, trumpet fashion, and called:</p>

-

-<p>"Come and catch us!" and instantly the

-echo from the distant mountain and a shrill

-voice behind them, repeated:</p>

-

-<p>"Come and catch us!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, oh-o!" cried Dorothy, and Nancy

-ran to her, and threw her arms about

-her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"You ought not to frighten Dorothy like

-that!" cried Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>A saucy laugh answered her.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, it isn't nice to be shrieked at, and

-you do it just like the echo, you know you

-do, and it's enough to frighten any one,"

-said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>The little tease was not in the least

-abashed. She could imitate almost any

-sound that she had ever heard, and each

-success made her eager to repeat her efforts

-at mocking.</p>

-

-<p>"I made old Mrs. Hermanton fly up out

-of her chair, and drop her ball of worsted

-and knitting-needles, when I shouted close

-to her ear."</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Floretta!" cried Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>Now you think that was horrid, but <i>I</i>

-tell you it was funny. She'd just been telling

-about her darling little lap-dog that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>

-died <i>ten years ago</i>, and she got out her

-handkerchief to cry, and put it up to her

-eyes.</p>

-

-<p>"'Oh, if I only could hear his lovely bark

-again!' she said, and right behind her chair,

-I said:</p>

-

-<p>"'Ki-yi! Yip! Yip!' and she jumped up

-much as a foot from her seat."</p>

-

-<p>Nancy laughed. How could she help it?

-The old lady had told every man, woman,

-and child who sat upon the piazza, how

-much she had suffered in the loss of the

-dog.</p>

-

-<p>One testy old gentleman who was

-troubled with gout, spoke rather plainly.

-"Madam," he said, "I've heard that story

-every day of this week, and all I can say is,

-I wish you had gout in your feet as I have,

-and you'd have no time to waste crying for

-a puppy!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>He certainly was hopelessly rude, but one

-must admit every day is far too often to be

-forced to listen to an uninteresting tale.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta stood looking down at the toe of

-her shoe. She moved it from side to side

-along the grass for a moment, then she

-spoke again.</p>

-

-<p>"You know old Mr. Cunningham has

-gout, and is awful cross?"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy nodded. They did

-indeed know that.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, he sat on the piazza and laughed

-when I scared Mrs. Hermanton, so I want

-to know if he'll think it's funny <i>every</i> time

-I do things. You know he puts one foot up

-on a chair, and every time any one touches

-that chair ever so little, he cries: '<i>Oh</i>, oh,

-oh!' and holds on to his foot.</p>

-

-<p>"The next time I'm near him, I'm going

-to make b'lieve hit my foot against something,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>

-and then I'll cry out, just 'zactly as

-he does:</p>

-

-<p>"'<i>Oh</i>, oh, oh!' and I'll hold on to my

-foot," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"I know it's funny," said Dorothy, "but

-I don't think you ought to."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, <i>you</i> needn't. P'raps you couldn't

-do it just like other folks, but I <i>can</i>, and

-I'm going to!" said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>She was a handsome child, but her boldness

-marred her beauty.</p>

-

-<p>She was, indeed, a clever imitator, but

-she had been told so too often. Her mother

-constantly praised her cleverness, and unwise

-friends applauded her efforts, until

-Floretta acquired the idea that she must, on

-all occasions, mimic some one.</p>

-

-<p>Sometimes those whom she mocked

-thought it clever, and laughed when they

-had thus been held up to derision.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>At other times Floretta found that she

-had chosen the wrong person to mimic, and

-had received a sharp rebuke.</p>

-

-<p>This taught her nothing, however.</p>

-

-<p>She thought any one who did not enjoy

-her antics must be very ill-natured, while

-her silly mother considered that Floretta

-had been abused.</p>

-

-<p>While Dorothy and Nancy were talking

-with Floretta, they were picking large

-bouquets of bluebells and a tiny white

-flower that grew as abundantly as the bluebells,

-and blossomed as freely.</p>

-

-<p>It pleased her, for the moment, to gather

-some of the blossoms, and soon the three

-were too busy to talk, each trying to

-see which could gather the largest bouquet.</p>

-

-<p>On the hotel piazza Mrs. Paxton sat, occupied

-with her embroidery, but not too<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>

-busy to talk. She was <i>never</i> too busy

-to talk, if she could find any one to

-listen.</p>

-

-<p>Near her sat two ladies who had just arrived,

-and old Mr. Cunningham, who

-frowned darkly at the magazine that he

-was trying to read.</p>

-

-<p>It was not that the story displeased him

-that he frowned, but that he was bored with

-hearing what Mrs. Paxton was saying,

-mainly because she always said the same

-thing.</p>

-

-<p>"You see, with our wealth and position,

-it is impossible that little Floretta should

-ever make any use of her talents for any

-purpose other than the amusement of her

-friends," she said.</p>

-

-<p>One of the two ladies, whose fine face and

-sweet low voice bespoke refinement, looked

-fixedly at Mrs. Paxton, and wondered that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>

-any woman should be willing to boast so

-foolishly.</p>

-

-<p>The other, whose garments told of a great

-love of display, seemed interested, and even

-impressed.</p>

-

-<p>"What is her especial talent?" she

-asked, "I really should like to know. Is

-she musical?"</p>

-

-<p>"O dear, yes," Mrs. Paxton hastened to

-reply; "she plays delightfully, and she

-has a voice that is really quite unusual for a

-child; she dances, too, but her greatest gift

-is her power of imitation. She has a sensitive

-nature that is open to impressions, and

-she sees the funny side of everything. She

-really is a wonderful little mimic. You

-must see her to appreciate her charm."</p>

-

-<p>The quiet woman looked as if she thought

-this a doubtful accomplishment, but the one

-who had eagerly listened said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Where is she? I should be <i>so</i> pleased

-to see her. Not all children are so interesting.

-Many are dull."</p>

-

-<p>"And lucky they are!" growled old Mr.

-Cunningham, under his breath, but the

-ladies did not hear that.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>"I don't want these flowers now I've

-picked them," cried Floretta. "You can

-have them if you want them," she said, as

-she turned toward Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"I can't hold any more than I have,"

-said Dorothy, "but you could&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Then here they go!" cried Floretta, as

-she flung them broadcast, to lie and wilt in

-the sunlight.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, it was too bad to throw them

-away," said Dorothy. "I was going to say,

-if you didn't care for them, perhaps Mrs.

-Hermanton might like them. She said she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>

-liked wild flowers and used to pick them,

-but her rheumatism won't let her pick them

-now."</p>

-

-<p>"Pooh! I wouldn't have bothered to

-take them back to her," Floretta replied;

-and turning about, she ran back to the

-hotel.</p>

-

-<p>"Come here, Floretta!" said Mrs. Paxton.

-"This lady wishes to see you."</p>

-

-<p>Usually Floretta when asked to do anything,

-preferred to do something else.</p>

-

-<p>This time, thinking that she saw an opportunity

-for a lark, she went promptly and

-paused beside her mother's chair.</p>

-

-<p>"This is Mrs. Dayne, Floretta. Mrs.

-Dayne, this is my little daughter."</p>

-

-<p>Floretta looked up and smiled, but said

-nothing. She had never been taught that

-she must reply courteously when spoken to.</p>

-

-<p>Her pretty face pleased Mrs. Dayne, who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>

-was much the same sort of woman that Mrs.

-Paxton was. She wished that Floretta

-could be induced to perform.</p>

-

-<p><i>Induced!</i> She was already wondering if

-she would have a chance to show off.</p>

-

-<p>The opportunity came soon, and she was

-delighted.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Cunningham had become drowsy,

-and his magazine dropped to the piazza

-floor.</p>

-

-<p>In stooping to recover it, he hurt his

-gouty foot, and cried out.</p>

-

-<p>"<i>Oh</i>, oh-o!" he cried, and like an echo,

-"<i>Oh</i>, oh-o!" cried Floretta, catching hold

-of her own foot and hopping wildly

-about.</p>

-

-<p>Of course Mrs. Paxton laughed gaily, as

-if Floretta had done a very smart thing,

-while Mrs. Dayne, who was as silly a

-woman as Mrs. Paxton, joined in the merriment,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>

-thus hoping to gain favor with her

-new friend.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Cunningham, without a word, took

-his magazine and, limping painfully, left

-the piazza, and went indoors.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Vinton, an odd expression on her

-fine face, took her parasol from the chair

-where it lay, and went for a walk down the

-path toward the birches. She was disgusted

-with Mrs. Paxton, Floretta, and

-Mrs. Dayne, although she felt that the little

-girl was least of all at fault.</p>

-

-<p>She was only an untaught, untrained

-child, to be pitied rather than blamed. She

-knew that they would think her very unkind

-if she did not seem to approve of

-Floretta, and she could not laugh at cruelty.</p>

-

-<p>The child was indeed a clever imitator,

-but the fact remained that it <i>was</i> cruel to

-mock an outcry caused by pain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy were coming toward

-her, on their way toward the hotel, their

-hands filled with blossoms, faces bright and

-smiling.</p>

-

-<p>They greeted her gaily, and Dorothy offered

-her some of the flowers.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll give half to you, and half to

-mamma," said Dorothy. "I mean, I will if

-you'd like to have them."</p>

-

-<p>"It is a sweet gift, and I shall enjoy

-them in my room," Mrs. Vinton said. "I

-have a lovely vase that is worthy to hold

-such beautiful blossoms."</p>

-

-<p>"I'll divide mine between Aunt Charlotte

-and Mrs. Hermanton," said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"You both like to give," said Mrs. Vinton.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes!" they cried together, and as

-she left them, Dorothy said:</p>

-

-<p>"Isn't she a sweet, lovely lady?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Yes, and I like to hear her talk, her

-voice always sounds so pleasant."</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Vinton, as she walked along the

-little path, her flowers in her hand, thought

-of Dorothy and Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"They are two dear little girls," she

-said, "and add to the charm of this lovely

-place."</p>

-

-<p>"Would you dare to give Mr. Cunningham

-some bluebells for his buttonhole?"

-said Nancy. "I'd like to, but <i>I</i> wouldn't

-dare."</p>

-

-<p>"I don't know," Dorothy said. "I'd

-like to, too, and he 'most always has a rosebud,

-but sometimes he doesn't. When we

-get back, if he's on the piazza, and hasn't

-a bud in his buttonhole, I'll try to dare to

-offer him some of these blossoms."</p>

-

-<p>Dear little Dorothy! She wondered if

-she would be rewarded with a frown!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Floretta and her mother were not there,

-neither was Mrs. Dayne, but in a shady corner

-sat Mr. Cunningham.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy ran in to take her flowers to Aunt

-Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy hesitated. She would have been

-even more timid, had she known how recently

-he had been offended.</p>

-

-<p>He looked up from his book, frowned,

-then smiled and nodded pleasantly.</p>

-

-<p>He had thought that Floretta had returned,

-and was pleasantly surprised to see

-Dorothy, instead.</p>

-

-<p>Softly she crossed the piazza until she

-stood beside him.</p>

-

-<p>"May I give you a few of these bluebells

-for your buttonhole?" she said. "They're

-only wild flowers, but they're pretty ones,"

-she added, fearing that, after all, he might

-not care for them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Why, thank you, my dear. I surely

-would like them, especially as they are offered

-me by a real little lady."</p>

-

-<p>He placed the cluster that she offered

-him in his lapel, as he spoke, and looked to

-Dorothy for approval.</p>

-

-<p>"They are wild flowers, truly," he said,

-"but I think they are quite as attractive

-as the buds I have been wearing," and

-Dorothy was glad that she had offered

-them.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER II</h2>

-

-<h3>A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>THREE weeks had passed, and as nearly

-every day had been fair, the guests at

-the Cleverton had lived out of doors, appearing

-at the hotel at meal-time, and at

-night.</div>

-

-<p>Other wild flowers beside the bluebells

-were blossoming gaily, peeping up from the

-grass as if offering a welcome to all who

-looked at them; and even great rocks and

-ledges held tiny blossoming plants in their

-crevices.</p>

-

-<p>The pony, Romeo, had come to the mountains

-with the family, and seemed to enjoy

-the outing.</p>

-

-<p>Every morning Dorothy and Nancy went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>

-for a drive, and Romeo tossed his mane, and

-pranced as if to show his delight.</p>

-

-<p>One morning the pony was standing at

-the porch, waiting for his little mistress,

-who soon came running down the stairs.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta was standing in the hall, spinning

-a top.</p>

-

-<p>A sign on the wall plainly stated that

-children must not play in the hall, but that

-did not disturb Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>Deftly she wound the string, and the

-great top fell to the floor, where it hummed

-and spun as rapidly as if a boy's hand had

-flung it.</p>

-

-<p>She picked it up, and again wound it, this

-time throwing it with even greater force.</p>

-

-<p>"Look! Look!" she cried. "I b'lieve

-it spins faster every time I throw it!"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy looked over the baluster at the

-humming top, but said nothing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She knew that Floretta had seen the notice;

-indeed a number of the children had

-stood in the hall when it had been tacked

-up.</p>

-

-<p>Looking up at Dorothy, Floretta noticed

-the whip in her hand.</p>

-

-<p>"Riding?" she asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, for a little while," said Dorothy.

-"It's a lovely morning, and I mean to see

-how quickly Romeo will take me to the

-'Spring.'"</p>

-

-<p>"I wouldn't care to ride horseback,"

-said Floretta, rudely.</p>

-

-<p>"You won't care to spin tops in this hall

-if Matson catches you," cried a shrill voice,

-from an upper hall.</p>

-

-<p>"Pooh! I'm not afraid of Matson,"

-Floretta said, boldly, looking up at the boy

-who had tried to frighten her.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, aren't you?" said the boy in a teasing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>

-voice. "Well, he manages this hotel,

-and he'll <i>make</i> you stop if he catches

-you!"</p>

-

-<p>"You stop, Jack Tiverton!" cried

-Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"You'll be the one to stop!" said Jack,

-with a loud laugh.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy crossed the hall, stepping

-around Floretta, who stood exactly in the

-way.</p>

-

-<p>Looking back, she saw Floretta show the

-tip of her tongue to Jack, while Jack, not

-to be outdone, made a most outrageous

-face.</p>

-

-<p>"I wish they weren't so horrid!"

-Dorothy said to herself, as she left the hall.</p>

-

-<p>Having mounted Romeo, with the

-groom's aid, she rode off down the lovely,

-shady road, the man on his horse, following

-at a respectful distance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She touched the pony lightly with her

-whip, and he responded by breaking into a

-gentle gallop.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy's bright curls flew back from

-her flushed face, and she laughed as she flew

-over the road.</p>

-

-<p>The groom watched her admiringly, and

-marvelled that so small a girl could be such

-a perfect little equestrienne.</p>

-

-<p>The ride had brightened her eyes, and she

-always looked smaller than she really was

-when mounted upon Romeo.</p>

-

-<p>He was a handsome animal, with flowing

-mane and tail, and the groom spoke truthfully

-when he muttered:</p>

-

-<p>"Them two makes a high-bred pair.

-Miss Dorothy is a girl 'ristycrat, an' the

-little hoss is a hoss 'ristycrat, if ever there

-was one."</p>

-

-<p>The groom had been in the service of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>

-Dainty family but a few months, but in that

-time he had become devoted to the little

-daughter of the house. All the servants

-loved Dorothy, and were almost as fond of

-Nancy Ferris.</p>

-

-<p>The young groom had heard Nancy's

-story, and he felt a deep interest in the

-little girl, who once had been a waif.</p>

-

-<p>Now, his pleasant face wore a smile as he

-followed Dorothy, and saw how firmly the

-little figure stuck to the saddle, and rode

-as if girl and pony were one and inseparable.</p>

-

-<p>They reached the "Spring," a spot

-whose beauty drew all travellers to it, and

-artists lingered there to paint, and thus

-perpetuate its charm.</p>

-

-<p>Romeo looked down at the clear stream

-that reflected his figure so perfectly.</p>

-

-<p>"He wants a drink," said Dorothy;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>

-"lead him to a good place, Thomas,

-please."</p>

-

-<p>He helped her to dismount, and then led

-the pony to a shady spot where he could

-drink, and enjoy the cool, clear water.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy at once commenced to gather

-some of the lovely wild flowers that grew

-near the water's edge, but farther up the

-stream.</p>

-

-<p>"These are different from any that I've

-ever found here," she thought.</p>

-

-<p>Her hands were nearly filled with the

-lovely blossoms, and she was reaching out

-to grasp an especially pretty one, when a

-strangely familiar voice, just behind her,

-said:</p>

-

-<p>"I think I see some one I've <i>often</i> seen

-before!"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy turned, and a little cry of surprise

-and pleasure escaped her lips.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>There were Mrs. Barnet and dear little

-Flossie coming toward her, while very

-near her was the owner of the voice,

-Flossie's handsome, merry-hearted Uncle

-Harry! Just behind him was his lovely

-young wife, and the baby in charge of a

-maid.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I <i>am</i> glad, <i>so</i> glad to see you!"

-cried Dorothy. "And Flossie Barnet, did

-you know you were coming up here, when

-I said 'good-by' to you and Molly Merton

-at Merrivale?"</p>

-

-<p>"I didn't know <i>surely</i>, but I <i>almost</i>

-knew," Flossie admitted, "but Uncle

-Harry said, 'Don't tell 'til you <i>know</i>,' and

-I didn't <i>truly</i> know until after you were

-gone."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, it's fine to have you here," said

-Dorothy, "but I do truly b'lieve it's almost

-nicer to be surprised, and have you;" and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>

-she threw her arm around Flossie, as she

-walked beside her.</p>

-

-<p>Tall, handsome Uncle Harry thought he

-saw a chance for a bit of a joke.</p>

-

-<p>"I wonder why some one isn't surprised

-to see <i>me?</i>" he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I am," said Dorothy, "and glad,

-too."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, thank you," said Uncle Harry;

-then with a face that he tried to make sad,

-he said:</p>

-

-<p>"But I know you aren't as glad as you

-were to see Flossie, because,&mdash;you didn't

-put your arm around <i>my</i> waist!"</p>

-

-<p>He had tried to look very glum, but his

-blue eyes were laughing.</p>

-

-<p>Big, handsome Uncle Harry could not

-look woebegone, and the two little girls

-laughed at his attempt.</p>

-

-<p>"The barge is taking our party over to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>

-the 'Cleverton,' and I see you have the

-pony, Dorothy," said Uncle Harry. "Will

-you run a race with the barge?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes, yes!" cried Dorothy, "and

-Romeo will come in ahead!"</p>

-

-<p>"If he does," said Uncle Harry, "I'll

-surely decorate him with a blue ribbon!"</p>

-

-<p>With many a laugh and jest, and much

-guessing as to which would be the winner,

-the merry party clambered into the barge;

-Dorothy mounted Romeo, and they were

-off over the road, on the way to the

-hotel.</p>

-

-<p>The horses, like the average barge horses,

-were not beauties, but they saw the pony

-rush forward, and they made an effort at

-speed. They plunged forward, at what, to

-them, seemed a reckless pace, but the fine,

-handsome Romeo shot past them, his nostrils<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>

-dilated, and his eyes bright with excitement.

-Dorothy's gay laugh rang out as

-she passed them, and Uncle Harry, as he

-looked after the flying figure, exclaimed:</p>

-

-<p>"The little fairy! I believe no other

-child could ride so fearlessly as that!"</p>

-

-<p>Often she looked back, as she sped over

-the road. Try as they would, the old horses

-could not overtake her.</p>

-

-<p>As soon as the barge appeared in sight

-between the trees, she touched Romeo

-lightly with her whip-stock, and then she

-laughed gaily as he plunged forward, the

-old barge rattling along far behind.</p>

-

-<p>She did not permit Romeo to again

-slacken his pace, and thus arrived at the

-Cleverton before the barge was in sight, so

-slow had been its progress.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Nancy!" she cried, "Who <i>do</i> you

-think has come?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 397px;">

-<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="397" height="500" alt="Often she looked back, as she sped over the road.&mdash;Page 31." title="" />

-<span class="caption">Often she looked back, as she sped over the road.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_31">Page 31.</a></i></span>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Who has come?" Nancy asked.

-"Where are they?"</p>

-

-<p>"I mean you can't guess who is coming,

-and there they come now, Nancy, just

-look!"</p>

-

-<p>Nancy did look, saw the barge swinging

-around the curve of the road, saw a

-tiny handkerchief waving, and then a

-sweet little face looked out to smile at

-her.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, it's Flossie Barnet!" cried Nancy,

-joyfully, "and her mamma, and,&mdash;why, yes

-it <i>is!</i> It's Flossie's Uncle Harry!"</p>

-

-<p>He heard the cry, and heard the welcome

-in her voice.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, it's Flossie's Uncle Harry, and all

-the other little girls' Uncle Harry who care

-to claim him for an uncle," he said, with a

-laugh, as he lifted his little niece down from

-the barge.</p>

-<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p>

-<p>"Oh, I'm <i>so</i> glad he came, too," said

-Dorothy, upon hearing which, he turned

-and lifting his hat, bowed, thus acknowledging

-the compliment that she had paid

-him. His eyes twinkled with pleasure, for

-he loved children, and he valued their regard.

-He was a big, manly fellow, with a

-warm heart, as loving, and as merry as that

-of a child.</p>

-

-<p>The Barnet party added much to the

-pleasure of little events and entertainments

-at the Hotel Cleverton. Flossie became, at

-once, a favorite with the other children,

-and her charming mother was deservedly

-popular with all.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry, who possessed a fine voice,

-willingly sang whenever a musical program

-was arranged for an evening, while his

-lovely young wife, who was an accomplished

-pianist, played his accompaniments,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>

-or rendered solos, thus generously

-adding to the pleasure of the other guests.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>"I tell you what it is," said old Mr. Cunningham,

-"that big bank of clouds hanging

-over that mountain means rain, and plenty

-of it, I believe."</p>

-

-<p>"I think you are right," said Uncle

-Harry, "and if we <i>do</i> have a three days'

-rain, as we sometimes do, we shall have to

-use every effort to keep things humming,

-and so forget the storm."</p>

-

-<p>They had been sitting on the piazza, and

-talking of the days of uninterrupted sunshine

-that they had enjoyed, when, in a few

-minutes, the blue sky had been hidden, as

-if by a thin, pearly veil, while hanging over

-the mountain was the mass of leaden clouds

-that had seemed to prophesy rain.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, <i>I</i> don't want it to rain," wailed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>

-Floretta, who stood near them, her pretty

-face puckered into a most unpleasant

-frown.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm afraid the weather can't be arranged

-especially for you," said Mr. Cunningham.</p>

-

-<p>He, like all the guests, was very tired of

-the child who was either whining, or boisterously,

-rudely gay. Just at this point,

-Mrs. Paxton came out on the piazza, a small

-note-book and pencil in her hand.</p>

-

-<p>She hastened toward the two gentlemen,

-and smiled as if she were conferring a

-favor.</p>

-

-<p>"With the chance of a stormy evening,

-we are trying to arrange a program that

-will give us a pleasant evening indoors,"

-she said. "I am sure you will help

-me."</p>

-

-<p>She had smiled at both, and old Mr. Cunningham,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>

-who heartily disliked her, was

-only too glad to reply.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm not musical, madam," he said,

-"but I'll whistle 'Hail Columbia' for you,

-if you will promise not to reprimand me if

-I get off the key."</p>

-

-<p>"Dear, dear!" she cried. "You are always

-so amusing. One never knows if you

-are joking, or serious."</p>

-

-<p>"It would be very serious, and no joke,

-I assure you, if you were actually obliged

-to listen to my whistling," was the curt

-reply, and he turned once more to scan the

-sky and the distant mountains.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry, of course, agreed to sing,

-his wife promised to play, and Mrs. Paxton

-moved toward where Mrs. Dainty and her

-companion, Aunt Charlotte, were sitting,

-with Dorothy and Nancy near them.</p>

-

-<p>"Will your little daughter sing for us<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>

-this evening?" she asked. "We are eager

-to have quite a fine program."</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy shall sing for you, surely,"

-Mrs. Dainty said, "and Nancy, I am sure,

-will give a little solo."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, does Nancy sing or play?" Mrs.

-Paxton asked, in surprise, for thus far

-Nancy had not exhibited her talent, whatever

-it might be.</p>

-

-<p>"She will give you a solo that shall be

-neither singing nor playing," Mrs. Dainty

-replied, with a quiet smile.</p>

-

-<p>"How very interesting!" said Mrs. Paxton.

-She had invited Dorothy to sing because

-other guests had expressed the wish

-to hear her.</p>

-

-<p>Here was a <i>second</i> child with talent of

-<i>some</i> kind! Well, Floretta's imitations of

-other people would certainly eclipse the efforts

-of the other little girls! Mrs. Paxton's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>

-sole idea in arranging the entertainment

-was for the purpose of showing Floretta's

-mimicry.</p>

-

-<p>A small figure paused a moment in the

-doorway, then stepped back, and peeped

-out, scanning the groups upon the piazza.</p>

-

-<p>"She isn't there!" he whispered. "She's

-backed out, an' she <i>said</i> she'd do

-it!"</p>

-

-<p>He drew back into the shadow, and

-waited, hoping that when he looked again

-he might see her.</p>

-

-<p>A second peep at the guests on the piazza

-showed that Floretta was not among them.</p>

-

-<p>"She didn't <i>try</i> to do it!" he muttered.</p>

-

-<p>He held something in his hand, which he

-kept behind his back.</p>

-

-<p>He was about to peep again when a light

-hand touched his shoulder.</p>

-

-<p>He turned, and there stood Floretta,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>

-looking prettier than usual in her short

-white frock, white shoes, and pink hair

-ribbons.</p>

-

-<p>"Did you get one?" whispered Jack.</p>

-

-<p>"Look!" said Floretta, and from behind

-her back she produced a long corn-cob. "I

-took mine from the table at noon, when ma

-wasn't looking, and ran from the dining-room,

-and hid it in our room," said Floretta.

-"How did you get yours?"</p>

-

-<p>"I asked the head waiter to get mine for

-me," said Jack, "and he acted as if he

-thought me a ninny. He gave it to me all

-the same, and asked what I was up to. I

-didn't tell him, though."</p>

-

-<p>They giggled softly.</p>

-

-<p>"Ready?" whispered Jack, softly.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes," whispered Floretta, and then,

-with corn-cobs held to their mouths, and

-their fingers working as if playing upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>

-flutes, they marched out on to the piazza,

-loudly singing, "Hail Columbia."</p>

-

-<p>Some of the guests laughed, none so

-loudly as Mrs. Paxton, who declared that

-it taxed her intellect to imagine what put

-such outrageously funny notions into children's

-heads.</p>

-

-<p>"I can answer that, madam, and without

-trying very hard, either. It's Satan,

-madam, Satan, who from watching their

-actions, takes them to be his near relatives,"

-said Mr. Cunningham.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile the little procession of two,

-encouraged by the laughter, marched in and

-out between the groups of guests, until unlucky

-Floretta let her corn-cob slip from

-her fingers, the moist, sticky thing falling

-upon the light silk skirt of a lady who sat

-near Mrs. Paxton.</p>

-

-<p>"There, there, Floretta, never mind,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>

-said Mrs. Paxton; then turning to the

-wearer of the gown, she said, "I don't

-think it will stain it in the least. Children

-will be children, and must have their fun!"</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER III</h2>

-

-<h3>AN ENTERTAINMENT</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>MRS. PAXTON had laughed at what

-she chose to call the "funny" antics

-of Floretta and Jack, but in truth, she

-had been very angry.</div>

-

-<p>She swept from the piazza, Floretta,

-firmly grasped, walking beside her. Jack

-Tiverton's mother took him to her room,

-where she could talk to him, without fear

-of interruption.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta sat on a low divan, sullen and

-obstinate.</p>

-

-<p>For twenty minutes she had listened,

-while her mother had told what a disrespectful

-thing she had done.</p>

-

-<p>"I don't see how it was not respectful,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>

-grumbled Floretta, "we were just having

-a little fun."</p>

-

-<p>"And it was fun at my expense," said

-Mrs. Paxton. "I was annoyed, just when

-I was making plans for a <i>fine</i> entertainment,

-to have you and that boy parade out

-on to the piazza with those old corn-cobs,

-singing, or rather <i>howling</i>, like young savages!"</p>

-

-<p>This, and much more Floretta was forced

-to listen to, but during the remainder of

-the scolding, she did not speak, or reply in

-any way.</p>

-

-<p>She was still very sullen when her mother

-left the room, and no one saw her until she

-appeared in the dining-room at dinner.</p>

-

-<p>She tasted one dish after another, but

-managed to eat but little dinner. She

-wished her mother to think that the scolding

-had made her ill.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>It proved to be wasted effort. Mrs. Paxton

-had been so interested in what Mrs.

-Dayne was saying that she had not noticed

-that Floretta let the various courses go untasted.</p>

-

-<p>She had hoped to worry her mother, but

-had only punished herself!</p>

-

-<p>She was very hungry when they left the

-table, and also very angry.</p>

-

-<p>"I might just as well have eaten my dinner,"

-she muttered, "she never noticed

-that I didn't."</p>

-

-<p>When the hour arrived that had been set

-for the concert, every guest was present,

-and all were talking and laughing gaily,

-and very glad that an evening's amusement

-had been provided.</p>

-

-<p>Outside, the rain was descending in torrents,

-while a cold wind whistled around

-the corners, as if demanding admittance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Indoors the heavy red hangings were

-drawn over the lace draperies, great logs

-blazed in the fireplaces, while over all

-softly shaded lights gave an air of cozy

-comfort that made one feel sheltered and

-safe from the storm.</p>

-

-<p>A group of ladies sat chatting together,

-and one, a recent arrival, was saying that

-she had understood that children were not

-permitted as guests at the Cleverton.</p>

-

-<p>"There are only a few children here,"

-Mrs. Vinton said, "and some of them are

-charming."</p>

-

-<p>"While others are <i>not?</i>" questioned the

-stranger, with an odd smile.</p>

-

-<p>"I'd rather not say just that," Mrs. Vinton

-said, "but I will say that Mrs. Dainty's

-little daughter, and Dorothy's little friend,

-Nancy, and Flossie Barnet, are three of the

-sweetest children I have ever met. My<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>

-stay here is brighter and far pleasanter

-because they are also here."</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy Dainty is an unusually fine

-singer for a child," another lady said, "and

-she is to sing for us to-night. I believe

-Nancy Ferris is to do something, but I do

-not know what. Does any one know if

-Nancy sings?"</p>

-

-<p>"I've not the least idea what her talent

-is," said a pleasant-voiced matron, "but

-she is such a bright, interesting child that

-I feel sure that whatever she is able

-to do at all, she will do exceedingly

-well."</p>

-

-<p>"Aunt Vera is to play a solo for the first

-number," said little Flossie Barnet, to a

-lady who sat near her.</p>

-

-<p>"That is delightful," said the lady,

-"and what are you to do?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I'll listen, and listen," said Flossie,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>

-"and then, I'll clap to show how much

-I liked what the people did."</p>

-

-<p>"And your friend Dorothy is to sing,"

-said the lady, "do you know what Nancy

-does?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes, I do!" cried Flossie, "and she

-does it so lovely, you'll wonder how she

-could! I'm not to tell <i>what</i> she'll do, none

-of us are to tell. You'll <i>see</i> when she does

-it!"</p>

-

-<p>"Dear little girl, you seem quite as

-happy as if you were to be a soloist," said

-the lady.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, yes," said Flossie, "for when the

-other little girls do pretty things, I see

-them, but I couldn't see myself do anything!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, you sweet, funny little girl," the

-pleasant-faced lady said, as she drew Flossie

-closer, "I never knew so dear a child."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy and Nancy are dear," said

-Flossie, "and oh, you haven't seen Molly

-Merton! She's another one of my little

-friends, and she's <i>always</i> lovely to play

-with. We're always together when I'm at

-home at Merrivale."</p>

-

-<p>Before the lady could express regret that

-she did not know Molly, the orchestra

-began the opening chords of an overture.</p>

-

-<p>The musicians gave an afternoon and

-evening concert daily, throughout the season,

-but to-night their numbers were to

-be interspersed with solos given by the

-guests.</p>

-

-<p>The orchestra was generously applauded,

-and then a slender figure in a gown of soft,

-pink satin seated itself at the piano, and

-with light touch and brilliant execution,

-played a rondo that delighted all.</p>

-

-<p>In response to repeated applause, she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>

-played the "Caprice Hongroise," which

-aroused wild enthusiasm.</p>

-

-<p>She smiled, and bowed gracefully in acknowledgment,

-then turning toward her

-husband, who now stood beside her, took

-from his hand the duplicate of the song that

-he was to sing. She always played his accompaniments.</p>

-

-<p>How full of music was his rare voice, how

-like the tones of a silver trumpet when he

-sang "A Song of the Sea," how tender his

-tones when for a second number, he sang an

-"Italian Love Song!"</p>

-

-<p>"Didn't he sing <i>fine</i>, just <i>fine?</i>" Flossie

-asked, eagerly.</p>

-

-<p>"Indeed he did," the lady replied, "I

-never heard a more excellent voice."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, he's my own Uncle Harry!" said

-Flossie, a world of love and pride in her

-voice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>A young girl played a serenade on the

-guitar, and a member of the orchestra

-played a waltz for violin, and both were encored.</p>

-

-<p>Those who were to perform were in a

-small room awaiting their turn. They were

-laughing and chatting while they waited,

-and all, save a little girl, who kept apart

-from the others, seemed bright and happy.

-Her eyes were dull, and her red lips pouting.

-It was Floretta Paxton, and she was

-watching Nancy Ferris, noticing every detail

-of her costume, and looking as unpleasant

-as possible.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy wore a frock of white gauze,

-thickly strewn with tiny gold spangles.

-Her girdle was white satin, her slippers

-were white, and she wore a cluster of pink

-rosebuds in her hair.</p>

-

-<p>"What's she going to do?" Floretta<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>

-asked in a fretful voice, but Mrs. Paxton,

-who stood beside her, could not tell her

-that. She knew no more of Nancy's talent

-than Floretta did.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta had been angry in the afternoon;

-she had foolishly refused dinner, and was

-very hungry; she was made more angry

-because hers was not the first number on

-the program, and now, here was Nancy Ferris

-wearing a beautiful frock that far outshone

-her own!</p>

-

-<p>She was wearing a simple pink muslin,

-and had felt that she was finely dressed,

-until Nancy appeared.</p>

-

-<p>The satin girdle, the white slippers, and

-the spangles were more than she could forgive.</p>

-

-<p>"What's she going to <i>do?</i>" she asked

-again, more fretfully than before.</p>

-

-<p>"I <i>don't know</i>," Mrs. Paxton said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Well, I won't do a thing 'til I do

-know!" said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>Silly little girl! Always a jealous child,

-she now thought that Nancy <i>might</i> be another

-impersonator or imitator, and she

-was nearly wild.</p>

-

-<p>The orchestra was now playing a dreamy

-waltz. Nancy's foot tapped the measure.

-Her eyes were brighter.</p>

-

-<p>"What <i>is</i> she going to do?" whispered

-Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>The tall man, who had been announcing

-the numbers, now swung aside the porti&egrave;re,

-and Nancy slipped from her chair, ran out

-upon the stage, and then,&mdash;oh, the fairy

-motion of her arms, the lightness with

-which, on the tips of her toes, she flew

-across the stage!</p>

-

-<p>With her finger-tips she lifted the hem of

-her skirt, and courtesied low, then away in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>

-a dreamy whirl she sped, turning to look

-over her shoulder, and laugh at the faces

-that showed greatest surprise.</p>

-

-<p>On swept the strains of sweetest music,

-and little Nancy, carried away with love of

-the music, danced more charmingly than

-ever before.</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty watched

-her flying figure, and often as they had seen

-her, they knew that she was excelling herself.</p>

-

-<p>"Nancy, Nancy, dear child!" murmured

-Aunt Charlotte.</p>

-

-<p>Now, with her feet crossed, and still on

-the tips of her toes she whirled like a top,

-did the graceful rocking step, swayed like

-a flower in the wind, whirled about again,

-courtesied once more, and laughing like a

-merry, dark-eyed sprite, ran back into the

-little waiting-room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Oh, what thunders of applause greeted

-her, yet she sat quietly chatting with a lady

-who stood near her!</p>

-

-<p>Again and again they seemed to be begging

-that the little dancer might return.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll bow to them," said Nancy, and she

-ran out to do so.</p>

-

-<p>"Once more, once more!" cried an eager

-voice, and then more clapping, and even a

-few shrill whistles from some very young

-men begged her to respond.</p>

-

-<p>She extended her arms for a second, then

-whirling rapidly, she repeated the last half

-of the dance, courtesied again, and when

-she ran back to the little room, Dorothy

-embraced her tenderly.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Nancy darling!" she cried, "you

-never danced finer. Do you know how

-pleased every one is?"</p>

-

-<p>"I danced to please and surprise them,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>

-said Nancy. "I <i>do</i> love to see people look

-happy. They couldn't remember how hard

-it was raining while I was whirling and

-dancing for them."</p>

-

-<p>Floretta, now more unhappy than before,

-turned so that she might not see Nancy, nor

-note the shimmer of her spangles.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton, who had been talking with

-a friend, now turned toward Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"Come!" she said, "now run out, and

-do your very best, Floretta."</p>

-

-<p>"I'm not going out!" said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"What an idea!" cried Mrs. Paxton.

-"Of course you'll run out, and show every

-one how cute you are. Why, I planned this

-entertainment just to give you a chance to

-show off!"</p>

-

-<p>"And made me the last one on the whole

-list!" snarled Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"Come, come!" cried her mother,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>

-"every one couldn't be first. I thought I'd

-have the others perform first, and then <i>you</i>

-could show who was the smartest! Come!

-They're just wild to see what you can do,

-and they're waiting."</p>

-

-<p>"They'll <i>have</i> to wait!" hissed Floretta,

-like a cross little cat.</p>

-

-<p>It was no use to urge, plead, or insist.

-Floretta was stubborn, and when once she

-had determined what she would, or would

-not do, nothing could move her.</p>

-

-<p>Prayers and threats were equally useless.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy sang very sweetly, and was cordially

-received.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry and his wife sang a charming

-duet that delighted all, the orchestra

-played a military caprice, and then the remainder

-of the evening was spent in a little,

-informal dance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>All was light, laughter, and music, and

-there were two kinds of music that gladdened

-their hearts,&mdash;the sweet music of the

-violins, and the still sweeter melody of

-happy voices!</p>

-

-<p>Silly little Floretta had ruined the evening

-for no one save her own jealous little

-self.</p>

-

-<p>Because she could not be the first on the

-program, she would not appear at all, although,

-at heart, she longed to show her

-really clever mimicry. Later, after having

-sulked during the early part of the evening,

-she refused to join the dancers, and ran

-away to her room, angry, very angry with

-every one save the one person who was

-really at fault,&mdash;herself.</p>

-

-<p>Her efforts at imitating would surely

-have amused, and would, doubtless, have

-been well received. She was rather a graceful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>

-dancer, in any of the ordinary ballroom

-dances, and she thus might have joined the

-other children when the concert was over.

-She had needlessly spent a most unhappy

-evening.</p>

-

-<p>Now, in her room, she heard the strains

-of the orchestra, and for the first time realized

-how foolish she had been.</p>

-

-<p>"I <i>had</i> a chance, and I lost it," she

-sobbed, but her tears were not tears of

-grieving. They were angry tears, and the

-droll part of it was that while she alone was

-at fault, she was angry with every one but

-herself.</p>

-

-<p>For a few moments she lay, her face hidden

-in her pillow. Then, she turned over

-into a more comfortable position, and softly

-she whispered, "I'll do enough to-morrow

-to make up!"</p>

-

-<p>She did not say <i>what</i> she intended to do,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>

-but the idea evidently pleased her, for she

-laughed through her tears.</p>

-

-<p>She sprang from her bed, found a box of

-bonbons that her mother had won as a prize

-in an afternoon whist party the day before,

-and crept back into bed. When she had

-eaten nearly all of the candy, she sat up

-and in the softly shaded light, looked at

-the box with its few remaining bits of

-candy. She was wondering where she

-could hide it.</p>

-

-<p>"Ma will surely notice the empty box,

-or anyway, I've made it <i>almost</i> empty," she

-said. "She might not miss it if I hid it!"</p>

-

-<p>She had never been taught to be honest,

-so whenever she did a naughty thing, her

-first thought was to hide, or cover up the

-act. She never felt regret.</p>

-

-<p>No one ever heard her gently say, "I'm

-sorry."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Softly she crept from her bed, and made

-her way across the floor to the dressing-case.</p>

-

-<p>She put the box upon the floor, and

-pushed it well under it, and wholly out of

-sight.</p>

-

-<p>"There!" she whispered. "That's all

-right. I would have finished the candy, but

-I didn't want the whole of it. I ate the best

-of it. The others weren't very nice."</p>

-

-<p>Down in the long parlor the guests were

-no longer dancing.</p>

-

-<p>They were resting, and listening to a

-lovely barcarolle played softly by the

-orchestra.</p>

-

-<p>Flossie, clinging to Uncle Harry's hand,

-drew him toward the window.</p>

-

-<p>"Look!" she said, as she parted the curtains.

-"It isn't raining now, and the moon

-is coming out. It will be pleasant to-morrow!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>

-And it has been lovely in here to-night."</p>

-

-<p>"Dear little Flossie, dear little niece, it

-was your cheery, loving nature that led

-us to give your name to our baby. She

-has two fine names, she is Beatrice Florence.

-The first is Vera's mother's name,

-the second, dear, is yours."</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2>

-

-<h3>IN A BIRCH ARBOR</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>THE storm had cleared the air, no mist

-veiled the mountains, the sunlight lay

-everywhere, gilding valley and stream.</div>

-

-<p>Many of the guests had started early in

-the morning for a trip to a distant mountain

-from the summit of which a delightful view

-might be enjoyed.</p>

-

-<p>They were to ride over in the barge to

-the base of the mountain, have a picnic

-lunch under the trees, and then climb the

-rugged path up the mountain side.</p>

-

-<p>It would occupy half the day and it would

-be afternoon before the barge would return

-with its merry, tired party.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta Paxton and Jack Tiverton were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>

-usually in sight, or, as they were always

-noisy, within hearing might be nearer the

-truth, but they had gone over to a spot that

-the children called "The Pool," a bit of

-water not much larger than a big puddle.</p>

-

-<p>It existed only after a heavy rain, but

-near its edge the slender birches grew, and

-their silvery white trunks and the bright,

-blue sky were clearly reflected on its surface.</p>

-

-<p>Jack had decided to launch his toy boat

-there, and, as Floretta had hemmed the

-tiny sails, he had felt obliged to listen

-to her coaxing, and permit her to go with

-him.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll let you christen her," he had said,

-in a moment of generosity, and then regretted

-it.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta's idea of a christening ceremony<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>

-was very elaborate, while Jack thought

-that shouting the vessel's name, and shoving

-it into the water was all that was necessary.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy was helping Aunt Charlotte, so

-when Dorothy ran out to the piazza, she

-found it deserted, and she stood looking in

-surprise at the rocking chairs and hammocks

-that were swaying in the wind.</p>

-

-<p>"Every one has gone somewhere," she

-thought; "didn't any one stay at home?"</p>

-

-<p>She stood for a moment in the doorway,

-wondering what to do. Suddenly her face

-brightened, and she clapped her hands.</p>

-

-<p>"The very thing!" she said, and she

-turned and hastened to her room to find her

-latest gift.</p>

-

-<p>It was a beautiful book of fairy tales, and

-although it had been given her over a week

-ago, she had read but a few of the stories.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>

-Mrs. Dainty had sent to the city for the

-book, and ever since the day of its arrival

-Dorothy had been wild to read it.</p>

-

-<p>Something had been planned for each

-sunny day, and as the weather had continued

-fair, the book had been opened but

-a few times, and then for only a brief glance

-at the tales or the illustrations.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty had gone to the village, a

-ride of about an hour from the hotel, and

-Aunt Charlotte was still occupied with her

-letters.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy was sealing and stamping the

-envelopes, as Dorothy passed the door.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm going over to the little 'birch

-arbor,'" she said. "I'm taking my new

-fairy book for company."</p>

-

-<p>"I'll come, too, just as soon as I've

-finished these envelopes," said Nancy, and

-she began to work faster.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 396px;">

-<img src="images/i004.jpg" width="396" height="500" alt="&quot;Oh, what a lovely, LOVELY story!&quot; said Dorothy.&mdash;Page 67." title="" />

-<span class="caption">&quot;Oh, what a lovely, <i>LOVELY</i> story!&quot; said Dorothy.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_67">Page 67</a></i>.</span>

-</div>

-

-<p>The "birch arbor" was not an actual

-arbor, but it was a lovely spot, and the

-birches were exceptionally fine. Nancy

-and Dorothy had often been there together,

-and they had given it the name.</p>

-

-<p>A tiny mountain brook ran through it,

-and it was a lovely spot in which to enjoy

-legends or fairy tales.</p>

-

-<p>In a few moments Dorothy had reached

-the place, and when she had seated herself,

-she opened the book where a fine picture

-showed the prince, whose father had given

-him three wishes as his only inheritance,

-and then had sent him out to seek his fortune.</p>

-

-<p>Twice she had commenced to read the

-story, and had been obliged to lay it aside.

-Now, with only the bees and the butterflies

-hovering about her, she read the fascinating

-tale.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>It proved to be even more charming than

-she had expected.</p>

-

-<p>The prince was tall, and dark, and handsome,

-and his heart was so good and true,

-that Dorothy felt that he richly deserved

-the beautiful princess whom he finally won.</p>

-

-<p>Her eyes sparkled as she read of the

-great court wedding.</p>

-

-<p>"And the lovely princess looked more

-beautiful than ever in her wedding gown of

-cloth of gold, thickly set with diamonds,

-and her crown of diamonds and sapphires."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh what a lovely, <i>lovely</i> story!" said

-Dorothy, as she turned the page.</p>

-

-<p>"Tiny princes carried her train, and as

-the happy pair reached the palace gates,

-and were about to enter the royal coach,

-the blare of trumpets sounded, as the

-guards in blue and gold played a gay fanfare."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Toot! Toot! Toot!"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy sprang to her feet.</p>

-

-<p>It was as if those silver-toned trumpets

-had sounded close beside her. A moment

-more, and a huge automobile appeared

-from behind the trees and shrubbery, and

-slackening its speed, came, at last, to a

-standstill, and an old lady leaned out to

-question her.</p>

-

-<p>"Are we going in the right direction,

-my dear, to reach the Hotel Cleverton?"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy walked toward the car, and

-looked up into the hard, old face.</p>

-

-<p>"This little road is <i>right</i>," said Dorothy,

-"but the broad road that leads out of this

-one is not so rough, and it is a <i>little</i>

-shorter."</p>

-

-<p>"There, Minturn, I <i>said plainly</i> that I

-believed we could get there quicker some

-other way!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"You are <i>sure</i> about the Cleverton?"

-the old lady asked. "You <i>know</i> where it

-is?"</p>

-

-<p>"I'm staying there with mamma, and

-that truly is the right way," said Dorothy,

-her soft eyes looking up into the hard, old

-face.</p>

-

-<p>"I guess I can trust you," the old lady

-said, not smiling, but looking a bit less

-stern.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, Minturn, we'll <i>try</i> to reach the

-hotel, sometime before dark!" she said

-curtly.</p>

-

-<p>Puffing and whirring the big automobile

-started off up the road, the old lady sitting

-stern and erect, as if she thought her driver

-needed watching, and she was determined

-to keep a sharp eye upon him.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, how queer!" said Dorothy.

-"She didn't even say 'good-bye,' or 'good-morning.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>

-Perhaps she was very tired, and

-forgot,"&mdash;then after a moment she added,

-"but my beautiful mamma <i>never</i> forgets."</p>

-

-<p>She went back to the pretty spot where

-she had been reading, and sitting down,

-opened the book, but she could not keep her

-mind upon the stories. The strange face

-of the old lady seemed to look at her from

-the printed page.</p>

-

-<p>How small and sharp her eyes had been,

-and how she asked the same question again

-and again. Did she doubt the answer given

-her?</p>

-

-<p>All these, and many more questions puzzled

-Dorothy, and with the open book lying

-upon her lap, she looked off where the sunlight

-lay upon the grass.</p>

-

-<p>She was still sitting thus when a merry

-voice aroused her, and she turned to see

-Nancy running toward her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Dorothy!" she cried. "You ought

-to have been up at the hotel just a few

-moments ago. A new guest came, and

-she was so cross, it <i>must</i> be that she didn't

-want to come. But if she truly <i>didn't</i> want

-to, then why <i>did</i> she?"</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Nancy, who wouldn't think it

-fine to come up here to the mountains, and

-stay at the Cleverton?" said Dorothy in

-surprise.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, you wouldn't have thought the

-old lady was glad to be there, if you'd seen

-her," said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, was it an old lady that you were

-talking about?" Dorothy asked quickly.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, and you ought to have seen her

-eyes snap when she scolded her chauffeur.

-She told him she might have arrived an

-hour before just as well as not, and she

-kept right on scolding to herself, all the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>

-way up to the piazza, and, Dorothy, she

-looked so cross, I wouldn't wonder if she

-was scolding up in her room now!"</p>

-

-<p>"She must be the same one that was

-here just a little while ago," Dorothy said,

-"and she asked me to tell her the nearest

-way to the Cleverton. When I told her,

-she made the man rush off over the road,

-and she was scolding him when they

-left here. Perhaps she was tired, and

-will feel pleasanter when she has

-rested."</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps," agreed Nancy, "but I know

-Aunt Charlotte and your mamma don't act

-that way when they are tired."</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy could not dispute that, and soon

-the two little girls were enjoying the fairy

-book together.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, this is the story I've just been

-reading," said Dorothy, "and this is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>

-picture of the prince. Isn't he handsome?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and doesn't he

-look like Flossie's Uncle Harry?"</p>

-

-<p>"Why, he <i>does</i>, truly," cried Dorothy.

-"I'll show the picture to Flossie, and I'm

-sure she'll say it looks ever so much like

-him."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, she will," agreed Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, it would look <i>exactly</i> like him, if

-<i>he</i> only had a cap with plumes," said

-Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry, coming briskly up the path,

-was just in time to hear the last few words.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm very curious to know who it is who

-needs a cap with plumes," he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, who knew you were right here to

-hear it?" said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, was it a state secret?" he asked.

-"Well, now it's a pity I heard it, but as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>

-it happens I <i>did</i>, I think I must ask for the

-rest of the secret."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, <i>would</i> you tell?" Dorothy asked,

-turning to Nancy, but before she could

-reply, Uncle Harry spoke.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm really too curious," he said, "so I

-think I'll threaten to sit on this stump,

-until you tell me the secret, and let me tell

-you two little friends, that <i>I've</i> a secret;

-it's a nice one, too, but,&mdash;" he paused to

-watch the effect of his words.</p>

-

-<p>"But&mdash;But&mdash;" they cried.</p>

-

-<p>"But,&mdash;" said Uncle Harry, "I

-wouldn't tell mine <i>first!</i>"</p>

-

-<p>Wag that he was, he could not resist the

-temptation to tease just a bit.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy took the pretty book, and opening

-it at the page that showed the picture

-of the prince, she said, "We only said the

-brave prince looked like you, no, I mean<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>

-you look like him, and we said you'd

-look <i>just</i> like him if you had a cap with

-plumes."</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry appeared to study the picture

-very carefully. After a moment, he

-said:</p>

-

-<p>"That's a fine compliment, but there's

-one thing about it that worries me, so I'll

-have to ask about it.</p>

-

-<p>"In this picture the prince wears a blue

-blouse and a pair of green shoes, a pink cap

-with white plumes, gray hose, and crimson

-trunks. Now, if I should decide to purchase

-a pink cap with white plumes, would

-you expect me to come out arrayed in all

-those colors? I really feel that the costume

-is a <i>bit</i>, just a <i>bit</i> too gay."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, we'll not ask you to be quite as gay

-as that," said Dorothy, "and we'll promise

-one thing. We won't even ask you to buy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>

-a pink cap if you'll tell us your secret

-now."</p>

-

-<p>He laughed gaily.</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps I really <i>ought</i> to keep it a

-little longer. How would it do if I should

-tell you my secret some time next week?"

-he asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, no, no!" they cried, "tell it now!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, then, there's to be a fair 'way

-down in the village, a real country fair, and

-I'm intending to hire a barge, and take all

-of the <i>very</i> young ladies over with me to see

-the fun. I mean ladies as young as you, and

-Nancy, and Flossie. I shall invite all the

-wee ladies that are stopping at the hotel,

-and I shall take all who accept."</p>

-

-<p>He looked into their bright faces, and

-laughed when Dorothy said:</p>

-

-<p>"As if <i>any</i> little girl <i>wouldn't</i> accept!"</p>

-

-<p>"You mustn't expect it to be a grand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>

-affair. It will be, as I said, a real old-fashioned

-country fair, but there will be a

-jolly ride over there, and the return trip,

-and I fancy you will enjoy it all," he said,

-"and I shall have the delight of giving

-pleasure."</p>

-

-<p>A friend who had been looking for Uncle

-Harry, now appeared on the winding path,

-a clump of large trees having hidden his

-approach.</p>

-

-<p>The two young men started off for a long

-tramp, and Dorothy and Nancy walked

-slowly back to the hotel.</p>

-

-<p>"The prince <i>did</i> look like Uncle Harry,"

-said Nancy, "and the picture of the

-naughty old fairy that enchanted the sleeping

-beauty, looks like the lady that came

-this morning, and was so very cross."</p>

-

-<p>"Then that <i>is</i> the same one who stopped

-to ask the way, for she looked just like that.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>

-I'll always think, every time I look at her,

-that she's the black fairy."</p>

-

-<p>And when they ran up on to the piazza,

-there sat the very person whom they had

-been speaking of, looking somewhat cooler

-with her long travelling cloak removed.</p>

-

-<p>Her black gown was of some thin material,

-and just as the two little girls ran up

-on to the piazza, she dropped the large,

-black fan that she had been wielding.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy, who was nearer to her than

-Dorothy, picked up the fan for her. Without

-a smile, she took the fan, and they

-heard some slight sound. Possibly it might

-have been a softly murmured word of

-thanks, but it did not sound like it.</p>

-

-<p>"She seems very strange," said Dorothy,

-"but perhaps she's still tired."</p>

-

-<p>She was always unwilling to say that any

-one was wilfully rude or disagreeable.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>And now Aunt Charlotte, with Mrs.

-Dainty, came out to enjoy the fine air, and

-Dorothy and Nancy ran to them to tell them

-of the treat that Uncle Harry had in store

-for them.</p>

-

-<p>"It's only a few days to wait, and isn't

-he kind to take us?" said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"He is indeed," said Mrs. Dainty, "and

-I hope all his little friends will be very

-thoughtful, and make him just as little

-trouble as possible. He takes quite a care

-in inviting so many children."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, all the children love him, and there

-isn't one who would want to be any bother,

-unless it was Floretta," said Dorothy,

-"and perhaps she'll be having such a nice

-time, she won't think to be naughty."</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty smiled at this view of it.

-She could not help thinking that Floretta

-never needed time to think in order<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>

-to be disagreeable, but she did not say

-so.</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte Grayson, seeing the

-stranger sitting alone, paused near her

-chair to say a friendly word.</p>

-

-<p>She remained but few moments, however,

-because the woman seemed not inclined

-to talk.</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte well knew that the

-stranger was not courteous, but she tried

-to think, as Dorothy had, that fatigue, after

-a long journey, made her eager for silence

-and rest.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER V</h2>

-

-<h3>THE MOUNTAIN PARTY</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>AS the days flew by, the stranger became

-a bit more friendly, conversing

-sometimes with Mrs. Dainty and Aunt

-Charlotte, but often, far more often, with

-Mrs. Paxton.</div>

-

-<p>It was not that she sought to become acquainted

-with Floretta's mother; it was,

-rather, that Mrs. Paxton seemed determined

-to force the friendship.</p>

-

-<p>"Her name is Fenton, Mrs. Fenton, and

-isn't it odd, <i>my</i> name was Fenton before I

-married. Floretta's middle name is Fenton.

-I really feel almost as if I were related

-to her, because of the name," declared Mrs.

-Paxton one morning, whereupon Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>

-Fenton, coming out on to the piazza, remarked:</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, indeed!"</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton blushed and hesitated, then

-recovering herself, she said:</p>

-

-<p>"I was just telling these ladies of my

-friendly feeling for you."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, indeed!" Mrs. Fenton repeated, as

-she sank into a large rocker, and looked off

-across the valley to the distant mountains.</p>

-

-<p>After a few moments she seemed to have

-lost interest in the view, and, taking up a

-small embroidery frame, commenced to ply

-her needle as if she were eager to finish the

-pretty doily.</p>

-

-<p>Two little figures came slowly up the

-path to the piazza. They were returning

-from the christening of the little boat.</p>

-

-<p>"What is wrong, Jack? You don't look

-very happy," said Mrs. Tiverton.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"He wanted me to christen his boat, but

-he wouldn't give it my name!" said Floretta,

-before Jack could reply.</p>

-

-<p>"She thought just because she hemmed

-the sails I'd name it the <i>Floretta</i>, but I

-wouldn't, so I shoved it into the water myself,

-and shouted <i>Carlotta</i>. That's the name

-of a girl that goes to my school, and I like

-her."</p>

-

-<p>"You say Floretta hemmed your sails,"

-said Mrs. Tiverton.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I thanked her for that, and I let

-her go to the launching, and I let her christen

-it, but I don't see that I need name it

-for her," said Jack, stoutly.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton had not heeded what the

-children were saying. One might have fancied

-that she did not hear, although both

-Floretta and Jack stood quite near her

-chair.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>A large spool that she had wound with

-colored silk slipped from her lap, and rolled

-toward Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"Pick it up, dear," Mrs. Paxton said.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't want to," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton stooped, and recovered the

-spool, and, taking her embroidery frame in

-her hand, left the piazza, and mounted the

-stairs to her room.</p>

-

-<p>"Why <i>were</i> you so rude?" said Mrs.

-Paxton, but Floretta, perching upon the

-low railing, began softly humming "Yankee

-Doodle."</p>

-

-<p>Jack Tiverton, espying a boy that he

-knew, whistled loudly, and then, as the

-other boy turned, ran after him, the two

-whooping and shouting like savages.</p>

-

-<p>"It is almost lunch time, Jack!" Mrs.

-Tiverton cried, and the boy turned, and

-waved his hand to show that he heard her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Boys aren't apt to forget meal time,"

-muttered old Mr. Cunningham behind his

-paper.</p>

-

-<p>True enough, Jack returned in ample

-time, and was the first at the table.</p>

-

-<p>Early in the afternoon Dorothy and

-Nancy went out for a drive with Romeo.</p>

-

-<p>It was one of those sunny days that tempt

-nearly every one to ride or walk.</p>

-

-<p>The mountain roads were rather lonely,

-and Mrs. Dainty insisted that whether Dorothy

-were riding Romeo, or driving in the

-phaeton, the groom must ride at a little distance

-behind her.</p>

-

-<p>There were the lovely, slender birches on

-either side of the roads, there were patches

-of bright green moss upon which the sunlight

-rested, there were blackberry vines

-and woodbine wreathing the low stone

-walls, and here and there a mullein raised<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>

-its stately head from its base of velvet

-leaves.</p>

-

-<p>Oh, it seemed like an enchanted country,

-where new beauties were to be found on

-either hand!</p>

-

-<p>"Look!" cried Dorothy, "close beside

-that mullein is an evening primrose, and

-their blossoms are the same color."</p>

-

-<p>Then a tiny chipmunk sprang upon the

-wall, sat erect, and watched them for a moment,

-then ran up the trunk of a slender

-tree, where from a low branch he watched

-until they had passed. Then back to the

-wall he sprang, where he chattered as if

-scolding the little girls who had disturbed

-his solitude. It may be that, instead, he

-was talking to himself, and telling what

-charming little girls they were.</p>

-

-<p>A long way from the hotel they passed

-Jack Tiverton, with a number of other boys<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>

-who were staying at a hotel a few miles

-distant from the Cleverton.</p>

-

-<p>They were all somewhat larger than

-Jack, and he thought it fine to be with them.</p>

-

-<p>He had met them at a ball game three

-weeks before, and he had been very busy

-holding their acquaintance ever since.</p>

-

-<p>"We're going to catch the echo, and

-keep it, too!" shouted Jack.</p>

-

-<p>"It's mocking you now," said Dorothy,

-with a laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"I know it," said Jack, "but we'll catch

-it, and fasten it so it can't get away."</p>

-

-<p>"<i>How</i> will you fasten an echo?" Nancy

-asked, turning, and looking over her shoulder

-as the little phaeton sped past.</p>

-

-<p>"Trust us to find a way!" cried Jack,

-and the others laughed as if they already

-knew exactly how to do it.</p>

-

-<p>They left the road, and, vaulting over the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>

-wall, crossed the open field, singing a gay,

-rollicking song as they went.</p>

-

-<p>"They just <i>say</i> they're going hunting for

-the echo," said Dorothy, "and they say it

-for fun, but I wonder where they are

-going, and what they truly are going to

-do."</p>

-

-<p>The groom, riding nearer, touched his

-hat.</p>

-

-<p>"Please, Miss Dorothy, I heard the lads

-saying that there's an old house over near

-that mountain, where a hermit lived years

-ago, and they're off to find it if they

-can."</p>

-

-<p>"Then why didn't they say so, instead

-of telling such a tale about catching the

-echo?" Dorothy asked.</p>

-

-<p>"They were saying that they wanted to

-find the hut, and hunt in it, and around it

-ter find things the old fellow may have hidden.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>

-They feared you or Miss Nancy might

-tell some other lad. They're wanting it all

-to themselves."</p>

-

-<p>Having told this bit of information, the

-groom allowed the carriage to pass him,

-and once more rode behind it.</p>

-

-<p>The two little girls talked of the long

-tramp that the boys would have before they

-would find the hermit's hut.</p>

-

-<p>"And perhaps they won't find it at all,

-after all their hunting," said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I hope they will," said Dorothy,

-"because it's so horrid to hunt and hunt,

-for nothing."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, look!" she cried a moment later.

-"See the lovely mosses! Let's take some

-back to mamma and Aunt Charlotte."</p>

-

-<p>They were, indeed, beautiful. There was

-green moss that looked like velvet, and

-gray moss formed like tiny cups with scarlet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>

-edges, and other moss tipped with

-red.</p>

-

-<p>On an old stump they found shell-like

-fungus, some a creamy white, others white,

-with soft brown markings.</p>

-

-<p>Oh, a fine collection of rarely beautiful

-mosses and lichens they gathered, and

-heaped on the bottom of the phaeton.</p>

-

-<p>Romeo turned his head to watch them as

-if he wondered when they would have gathered

-enough.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, we do keep you standing, dear,

-don't we?" Dorothy said, patting his neck

-as she spoke.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, you needn't look for sugar,"

-she said, laughing, "for I haven't any

-with me, but we'll get you some fresh

-clover."</p>

-

-<p>With Nancy's help she soon had a fine

-bunch of pink clover for Romeo, and he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>

-seemed quite as pleased as if it had been

-the cubes that he so often enjoyed.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>When the party of boys had left the road

-to cross the fields that lay between them,

-and the forest at the foot of the mountain,

-they had believed that they knew

-exactly how to go to reach the hermit's

-hut.</p>

-

-<p>The old hermit had been dead for years,

-but every season the summer guests at the

-hotels and farmhouses searched all around

-the deserted hut, expecting to find some

-relic to take home and label as a bit of the

-hermit's property.</p>

-

-<p>The boys supposed that they had the

-woods to themselves, and that they would

-be uninterrupted in their search of the

-place.</p>

-

-<p>They did not know that the mountain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>

-climbers had taken the same direction, intending,

-before they enjoyed their lunch

-beneath the trees, to stop at the old, deserted

-house.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton and little Floretta had

-worked more persistently than any others

-of the party, and Mrs. Paxton had found

-a small, brass button.</p>

-

-<p>The others had laughed at the prize, asking

-her if she intended to keep it as a souvenir.</p>

-

-<p>"Certainly," said Mrs. Paxton. "I'm

-sure this brass button must have belonged

-on some old coat that the hermit

-wore!"</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps in his youth, before he came

-up here to live, he may have been a janitor,"

-said a young man, with a saucy

-laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"Or a brakeman," suggested another.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton pretended not to hear their

-teasing, and though the prize that she had

-found had been only a valueless thing, she

-kept it.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta was very eager to stay, and continue

-to peep into cracks in the floor and

-walls, and to poke with a stick under the

-doorsill, and in the soft earth around the

-hut.</p>

-

-<p>The older members of the party knew

-that if they were to ascend the mountain,

-see the view, and descend before twilight,

-they must start at once.</p>

-

-<p>As soon as their picnic lunch had been

-enjoyed they commenced to climb the

-rugged mountain path.</p>

-

-<p>It was very steep and rough, and it had

-been said that no children should be allowed

-in the party.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton had insisted that her small<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>

-daughter was a wonderful little climber,

-who was quite equal to the demands of a

-long tramp.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta had wished to remain at the hut,

-but as she could not do that, she proceeded

-to make herself as unpleasant as possible,

-by complaining every step of the way, until

-one young man voiced the feeling of the

-entire party.</p>

-

-<p>"This is a horrid, rough old path, and

-I'm tired. I wish I'd stayed at <i>home!</i>"

-said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"I wish so, <i>too!</i>" said the young man,

-and several of the party, too polite to say

-it, at heart, agreed with him.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta's was the only gloomy face,

-however. The others tramped gaily onward,

-singing snatches of song, and laughing

-as they stepped upon rolling stones, or

-tripped over long, gnarled roots that rose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>

-above the surface, as if especially designed

-to catch lagging feet.</p>

-

-<div class='poem'>

-"All day upon the hills<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">We've chased the chamois far,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">But deeper joy now thrills</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Beneath the evening star."</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<p>The youth sang gaily, and several of

-his friends joined him in singing the old

-song.</p>

-

-<p>Arrived at the summit they rested, enjoyed

-the view, laughed and joked about

-their weariness, and made many wild

-guesses as to how long it would take them

-to make the descent and drive back to the

-hotel.</p>

-

-<p>"It will be three o'clock before we reach

-the Cleverton," said one.</p>

-

-<p>"Nonsense!" cried another, "this is

-really called a mountain by courtesy. It's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>

-only a big hill. I say we shall be on the

-piazza, and wondering what we can do next,

-as early as half-past two."</p>

-

-<p>"It's more likely to be half-past <i>three!</i>"

-declared another, and when all felt sufficiently

-rested, they commenced the descent.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta refused to keep closely beside

-her mother, insisting upon clinging to another

-member of the party, to whom she

-had taken a fancy.</p>

-

-<p>The party was a large one, much larger,

-indeed, than had at first been planned, and

-while half of the number were guests at the

-Cleverton, the others were from the Merlington,

-a hotel situated nearer the village,

-and from several large farmhouses that entertained

-summer boarders.</p>

-

-<p>The guests from the Cleverton had kept

-closely together during the trip, while those

-from the Merlington had done the same.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>They had reached the foot of the mountain,

-and were tramping along a path that

-ran nearly parallel to that on which the

-hermit's house stood.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta saw the boys, near the house,

-and also saw that Jack Tiverton was with

-them.</p>

-

-<p>Without a word, she left the lady to

-whose arm she had been clinging, and making

-her way along behind bushes and underbrush,

-she managed to sneak in at the

-door of the hut, without having been seen

-by the party of boys.</p>

-

-<p>The lady, with whom she had been walking,

-supposed that she had run back to join

-her mother, while Mrs. Paxton felt quite

-undisturbed, because she believed that her

-little girl was still clinging to the arm of

-the lady with whom she had chosen to

-walk.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>It had required two barges to convey the

-party, and now they found them waiting,

-the horses a bit impatient to be off.</p>

-

-<p>The guests from the Merlington clambered

-into the first barge, and they with a

-few of the farmhouse party filled it to overflowing,

-some of the men being obliged to

-ride homeward, seated upon the steps.

-Meanwhile the Cleverton people were

-forced to wait until the barge for their

-party drove up.</p>

-

-<p>The first barge had started, and was rolling

-along, and a chorus of college songs was

-wafted back on the breeze, while handkerchiefs

-fluttered as the gay passengers

-laughed at the crowd that had not yet

-started.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton paused with her foot on the

-step, and looked back.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, where's Floretta?" she asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"In the first barge," cried a voice in

-reply.</p>

-

-<p>"Are you <i>sure?</i>" she asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, certainly," said the other, "she's

-with that tall, fine-looking lady from the

-Merlington. She'll be home before you

-are."</p>

-

-<p>The second barge was soon filled and on

-its way. The horses were less fresh than

-those of the first barge, and seemed determined

-to lag. Indeed, they required constant

-urging to keep them from dropping

-into a slow walk.</p>

-

-<p>"Those other fellows ahead of us started

-some lively college songs," said a disgusted

-passenger, "and they're actually out of

-sight now; but the way these nags are poking

-I couldn't think of anything to sing

-that would be slow enough to be appropriate."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>And while one barge was going over the

-road at a lively rate of speed, and the other

-jogging along at a snail's pace, Floretta, at

-the hut, was having a most exciting time.</p>

-

-<p>Once inside the place, she had crouched

-beneath a window to learn, if possible, what

-the boys were talking about.</p>

-

-<p>She had wanted to remain there when the

-party had started for the mountain path,

-and she had been very impatient during the

-long tramp. She cared nothing for the

-view, and determined, on the return, to

-stop, if only for a few moments, at the hut.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2>

-

-<h3>THE ECHO CAPTURED</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>FLORETTA had intended to hunt for

-treasure, hoping to get something more

-valuable than the brass button that her

-mother had found.</div>

-

-<p>She was not at all afraid of Jack Tiverton,

-but of those larger boys she was not

-quite sure.</p>

-

-<p>As she knelt beneath the window she

-could hear only the voices of the boys that

-were nearest to the hut, and hearing only

-parts of their conversation, she could not

-understand what the first speaker expected

-to find.</p>

-

-<p>"If I find it, I'll put it where it will be

-safe," he said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>There was a pause, and then a voice more

-distant replied.</p>

-

-<p>She did not hear what it said, but she did

-hear the answer made by the boy who had

-first spoken.</p>

-

-<p>"If the ghost of the old hermit was in

-the hut, it might hear you."</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, and what would he say about your

-hunting for things that may have belonged

-to him?" said another, with a teasing

-laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I'm not afraid," was the careless

-answer.</p>

-

-<p>"You're not?" jeered a laughing

-voice.</p>

-

-<p>"I think we've poked around out here

-long enough without finding anything,"

-said Jack Tiverton, "let's hunt inside the

-house."</p>

-

-<p>"Wait a minute," called a boy who had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>

-not yet spoken, "just till I've looked into

-this hollow tree trunk."</p>

-

-<p>"And <i>then</i> what?" asked a merry voice.</p>

-

-<p>"<i>Then</i> hunt in the house, of course!"

-was the curt reply.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta thought she saw a chance for

-fun.</p>

-

-<p>Softly, yet quickly, she crept up the rickety

-little stairway, built close against the

-wall, and leading to the tiny loft.</p>

-

-<p>The loft was really little more than a

-space beneath the roof where the old hermit

-might have stored a few provisions.

-She could not stand, or even sit, erect, and

-she crouched upon the bit of dusty flooring.</p>

-

-<p>She was none too soon, for in a few seconds

-the boys rushed in, and then began a

-discussion as to whether it would be safe

-to take a plank up from the floor to look

-beneath it for hidden treasure.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"You oughtn't to do that," said Jack

-Tiverton, "somebody might arrest you,

-or all of us, if folks found out we did

-it."</p>

-

-<p>"Arrest us for spoiling a floor in this old

-hut!" cried an older boy. "I wonder you

-don't think the old hermit might holler if

-he heard us pull up a plank!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well," said Jack stoutly, "you'd be as

-scared as I would if he did holler!"</p>

-

-<p>"You're a small boy, Jack, and easily

-scared," was the taunting reply.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, pull up a plank, and see what

-happens. I dare you to!" cried Jack.</p>

-

-<p>"Here goes then!" said the older boy,

-and catching hold of a plank that had rotted

-at one end, he pulled it up.</p>

-

-<p>"<i>Oh, let it alone!</i>" groaned a boy in a

-farther corner of the room, in an attempt to

-imitate an old voice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"<i>Oh, let it alone!</i>" came in exactly the

-same voice from the loft.</p>

-

-<p>Sidney Cumston, the big boy, who had

-laughed at little Jack Tiverton, dropped

-the plank, and turned pale, while not a boy

-spoke or moved.</p>

-

-<p>"Come, come!" said Sidney, when he

-caught his breath, "we're a precious pack

-of sillies! Help me lift this big board, will

-you?"</p>

-

-<p>"Will you?" came from the loft, in

-the very manner in which he had said

-it.</p>

-

-<p>Again he dropped the plank.</p>

-

-<p>"What does it mean?" cried Sidney.</p>

-

-<p>"Mean?" came his last word repeated.</p>

-

-<p>The boys were now thoroughly frightened.</p>

-

-<p>"Come!" cried Sidney, "let's leave

-here!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Here!" came a repetition of his last

-word, and big as he was, he had turned to

-run, when a faint ripple of smothered

-laughter came down from the loft.</p>

-

-<p>Immediately Sidney's pale face flushed

-red. It flashed through his mind that these

-younger boys had seen that he was frightened.</p>

-

-<p>He had been laughed at by the owner of

-the voice that had mocked him, and the

-boys would <i>never</i> stop laughing.</p>

-

-<p>Quickly he mounted the steps, and

-roughly he dragged little Floretta from her

-hiding place, half carrying her down the

-stairway, because it was too narrow for

-two to descend.</p>

-

-<p>"So you thought it was funny, just

-<i>funny</i> to mock us, did you?" he asked,

-when they reached the floor.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta was not laughing now.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She was sullen, and at the same time

-frightened.</p>

-

-<p>What would they do to her?</p>

-

-<p>They crowded around her, frowning and

-making all sorts of wild suggestions as to

-what should be done with her.</p>

-

-<p>"Keep her mocking till she's got enough

-of it!" cried one.</p>

-

-<p>"Put her back in the loft, and leave her

-there! She seemed to like there," said another.</p>

-

-<p>The big boy, whose hand was still on her

-shoulder, was more angry than either of the

-others.</p>

-

-<p>He was a bully, always ready to torment

-some one smaller than himself.</p>

-

-<p>He had reason to be provoked with Floretta,

-and the fact that she was only a little

-girl, made no impression upon him.</p>

-

-<p>He would as willingly punish a girl, as a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>

-boy, and the fact that his captive was

-smaller than he, only proved that the task

-would be an easy one.</p>

-

-<p>"You think it's smart to imitate, and it

-is. P'raps you think you're the echo that's

-over in the mountain!" he sneered.</p>

-

-<p>She made no answer. She was crying

-now.</p>

-

-<p>"Say! Let her off!" cried Jack Tiverton.

-"She's only a girl!"</p>

-

-<p>The smallest boy in the crowd, he saw

-Sidney's cowardice.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, are you sweet on Floretta?" jeered

-Sidney.</p>

-

-<p>Jack drew back abashed. He did not

-like Floretta at all, but he did think it

-mean for a big boy to frighten so small a

-girl.</p>

-

-<p>"I ain't going to hurt you," said Sidney,

-"but I'm going to give you a chance to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>

-play echo, till you're tired of it. I guess

-you'll get enough of it before you get

-through!</p>

-

-<p>"Come, fellows! Get some good long

-pieces of wild grape-vine! I'll fasten Miss

-Echo where she can shout all day, and nobody'll

-stop her!"</p>

-

-<p>"I won't go with you!" screamed Floretta,

-who had found her voice, "You sha'n't

-tie me!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, is that so?" said Sidney, in a teasing

-tone. "We'll tie you so you can't get

-away!"</p>

-

-<p>She pulled back.</p>

-

-<p>"No, you don't!" said Sidney, grasping

-her arm with a firmer hold.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, walk right along, or these other

-fellows will help me carry you!" he added,

-and Floretta thought best to walk.</p>

-

-<p>"Where'll you take her?" asked one.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Right there," said Sidney. "That

-rock is just covered with vines that cling

-fast to it. Hurry, now! Pull down some

-long, strong pieces! Here, you scratch like

-a cat! Stop that!"</p>

-

-<p>Floretta, half wild to get away, was attacking

-his hand in the manner of a little

-wild animal.</p>

-

-<p>"Let me go, then!" she screamed.</p>

-

-<p>"Not much!" cried Sidney, and with the

-help of another boy, he dragged her, screaming

-and kicking, all the way, until they

-reached the rocky ledge.</p>

-

-<p>"There, now! Hold on! You're showing

-too much temper!" cried a stout lad

-who was helping to bind her.</p>

-

-<p>"I won't stay! You sha'n't tie me!" she

-screamed, but without replying, they drew

-the tough vines closer about her, lashing her

-into such a network of stems and stout<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>

-vines that it would be impossible for her to

-escape.</p>

-

-<p>"There!" cried Sidney, when he felt sure

-that she was securely made a little prisoner,

-"You can shout till you're tired, and

-if you want to mock any one, you can mock

-yourself! Good-afternoon, Miss Echo!"</p>

-

-<p>He lifted his cap, with elaborate courtesy,

-and marched off whistling:</p>

-

-<div class='center'>

-"The Girl I Left Behind Me."<br />

-</div>

-

-<p>They did not look back. Sidney marched

-boldly away, believing that he had done a

-very smart thing, but the other boys felt

-less comfortable.</p>

-

-<p>They had been angry with her, and they

-had wished to see her punished, but they

-could not help thinking that she was a little

-girl, and they were leaving her alone in the

-woods!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Jack Tiverton was, by far, the most uneasy.</p>

-

-<p>He was the smallest of the party, and,

-while he had asked Sidney to let Floretta

-go, he had known it was useless to do

-more.</p>

-

-<p>The eight other boys were stronger than

-he, and any attempt upon his part to free

-her would be worse than useless. They

-would not listen, but instead, would pounce

-upon him.</p>

-

-<p>The other boys talked, laughed, and whistled,

-to imply that they were not thinking

-of what they had done, but all the way back

-to the Cleverton, little Jack was wondering

-what he could do.</p>

-

-<p>He dared not go straight to Floretta's

-mother, and tell her of her little girl's

-plight.</p>

-

-<p>He knew if he did that, the boys would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>

-soon learn who had played "tell-tale," and

-then,&mdash;what would they do to <i>him?</i></p>

-

-<p>And yet, he was determined, in some way,

-to help Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>How could he let a little girl stay out

-there in the woods all night?</p>

-

-<p>Of course some one, walking through the

-woods might find her, but if no one happened

-to?</p>

-

-<p>Jack knew that the risk was too great.

-It was just before he reached the Cleverton,

-that he thought of the best way that he

-could do it.</p>

-

-<p>He would write a note to Mrs. Paxton.

-He would drop that note into the mail box

-that hung at the side door. The letters were

-always distributed at four, and Sidney Cumston,

-who had a fine watch, had just said

-that it was three. He left the boys at the

-entrance to the Merlington, and hurried on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>

-that he might have plenty of time for his

-note.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Tiverton was out driving with a

-friend, and Jack had quite a hunt before he

-could find pencil or paper for his note.</p>

-

-<p>At last he found a blank book, and with

-a pencil he wrote this note.</p>

-

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"Deer Mrs. Paxton:&mdash;</p>

-

-<p>"Yor litle girl is tied up in the woods

-opsite the hermits hut. You better go get

-her real quick or somethin may happen too

-her.</p>

-

-<div class='sig'>

-"Yors trooly."<br />

-</div></div>

-

-<p>He folded it, and, in place of the envelope

-that he could not find, he tied around it a

-bit of string that he found in his pocket.</p>

-

-<p>Boldly he addressed it, in very large letters,

-and sneaking down the stairway, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>

-around on the piazza toward the side door,

-watched his chance, and slipped it into the

-mail box.</p>

-

-<p>There was much excitement on the front

-piazza, because the guests had arrived in

-the barge but a few moments before, and

-Mrs. Paxton had given a maid a generous

-"tip" to go over to the Merlington, and

-bring Floretta back with her.</p>

-

-<p>"She returned with the party that came

-from the Merlington, and I don't wish her

-to remain there. I want her to come right

-back to me," said Mrs. Paxton.</p>

-

-<p>"Very well, ma'am," the maid had replied,

-and with the coins in her hand, had

-started off at once toward the other hotel.</p>

-

-<p>When little Jack Tiverton ran around to

-the front piazza, the maid had just returned.</p>

-

-<p>"If you please, Mrs. Paxton, your little

-girl isn't over to the Merlington, and hasn't<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>

-been there, and a lady that was with the

-party that came home from the mountain

-trip, says the child wasn't in their barge at

-all. I asked her if she was <i>sure</i>, and she

-said, she couldn't help being sure, because

-there wasn't <i>any</i> child in their barge."</p>

-

-<p>Of course excitement reigned supreme.

-Mrs. Paxton seemed half wild, and every

-one shared her anxiety.</p>

-

-<p>The fact that Floretta was not a favorite

-made no difference. No one liked to think

-of a little girl out there alone on the mountain

-path, or in the woods, especially as it

-was already late afternoon.</p>

-

-<p>"What a dreadful thing!" cried Mrs.

-Paxton, wringing her hands, and walking

-up and down the piazza.</p>

-

-<p>"Who will go with me? I cannot go

-alone, and where, <i>where</i> shall we look first?

-Who saw her last?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>At this moment a man-servant came out

-from the hall with a tray of letters that he

-began to distribute.</p>

-

-<p>"One for you, Mrs. Paxton," said the

-man, as he touched her arm gently.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I can't think of letters now," she

-said, but something about the note seemed

-so unusual that she looked at it.</p>

-

-<p>She drew off the string that had been

-loosely tied, and read the hastily scrawled

-lines.</p>

-

-<p>She screamed, and Aunt Charlotte, who

-was standing near her, put her arm around

-her and supported her, or she would have

-fallen.</p>

-

-<p>Many of those who gathered around Mrs.

-Paxton were inclined to think the note a

-hoax, but Mrs. Dainty, coming forward,

-lifted her handsome head, and looking

-at the men who were lounging comfortably<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>

-in the large rockers, or sitting upon the

-piazza railing, spoke the word that spurred

-them to action.</p>

-

-<p>"Is it safe to <i>guess</i> that this is a joke?

-True, it is written in a boyish hand, and

-while it <i>may</i> be a boy's joke, may it not be

-a boy's means of telling us what has actually

-happened? I would not, were I a man,

-take the responsibility or chance, of leaving

-Floretta out there, because I would go to

-the place, and thus learn, not guess, if this

-information be true."</p>

-

-<p>She had scarcely finished speaking when

-a number of men rose, and one, who chose

-to lead the party, lifted his hat to Mrs.

-Dainty, saying:</p>

-

-<p>"We are off, madam. We only needed

-an inspiration to move us to endeavor."</p>

-

-<p>She bowed and smiled, as she said:</p>

-

-<p>"One thing I ask of you. Go as quickly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>

-as possible, for the sake of the frightened

-child, and the anxious mother."</p>

-

-<p>"In all possible haste," was the quick

-reply, and she turned to offer what comfort

-she might to the woman who seemed nearly

-distracted.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>And all this time, what had been happening

-in the wood? For a long time Floretta

-had cried, screamed, and shouted, hoping

-that the boys would come back and release

-her.</p>

-

-<p>Then, when she knew that they must be

-too far away to hear her, she tore at the

-clasping bonds, trying in every way to free

-herself. With feet and hands she strove

-to loosen the tough, wiry vines, kicking and

-trampling with her restless feet, beating

-and bending with her little hands, until

-they were torn and bleeding, and the tormenting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>

-vines seemed only to hold her with

-a firmer grasp, as if to prove how useless

-was her struggle.</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 391px;">

-<img src="images/i005.jpg" width="391" height="500" alt="With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines.&mdash;Page 119." title="" />

-<span class="caption">With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_119">Page 119</a></i>.</span>

-</div>

-

-<p>She had cried until she could cry no more,

-and the sturdy vines had cut and bruised

-her.</p>

-

-<p>So firmly was she bound that she could

-not sink to the grass to rest, and she

-had only the hard, rocky ledge to lean

-against.</p>

-

-<p>How still the woodland seemed! Sometimes

-a twig would snap, or a buzzing insect

-would pause, as if to look at her, but

-no one came to set her free.</p>

-

-<p>She waited for a moment to regain her

-breath, and then again she fought and struggled

-with those tough, sturdy vines.</p>

-

-<p>She tried to wrench them apart, to break,

-to tear them from her, but they only yielded

-enough to bend, and then snap back into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>

-the very place that she had pushed them

-from.</p>

-

-<p>Not a vine broke, not a stem gave way,

-and she set her lips tightly for yet greater

-effort!</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2>

-

-<h3>FLORETTA'S RETURN</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>AT a far corner of the piazza sat Dorothy,

-her eyes terrified, and her cheeks

-pale. Nancy, close beside her, wound her

-arms about her, and sought, in every way,

-to comfort her.</div>

-

-<p>"They'll find her soon, Dorothy, so don't

-you be frightened," she whispered.

-"They'll <i>surely</i> find her soon."</p>

-

-<p>Dear little Nancy knew, better than any

-of Dorothy's other friends could have

-known, how ready was her sympathy, how

-kind and loving was her heart.</p>

-

-<p>She had not loved Floretta, but with

-Dorothy, that did not count. It was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>

-dreadful fear that something had happened

-to a little girl, who, so recently had been at

-play with them,&mdash;ah, that was what

-grieved sweet Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>She was thinking of what Mrs. Dainty

-had said to Aunt Charlotte when the mountain

-trip was first talked of.</p>

-

-<p>"I think the long tramp is a rougher

-form of amusement than I can well endure.

-I should be so weary long before it was time

-to return, that I should derive but little

-pleasure from the trip. There is another

-thought in connection with the picnic," she

-continued, "and that is an element of danger.

-Not great danger perhaps, but such

-that I would not join the party, nor would

-I permit Dorothy, or Nancy to do so. One

-gentleman who was talking of the mountain

-path that they have chosen, spoke of

-the great danger to the climbers from small,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>

-rolling stones, and from places where the

-earth seems to crumble near the edge of the

-narrow foot-path. A careless step might

-lead to a fall that would mean, I hardly

-dare to say what!"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy had been wishing to

-join the party, but upon hearing this, they

-lost all interest in it, and had cheerfully

-taken the drive behind gentle Romeo, instead.

-Now, as Dorothy sat with Nancy's

-arms about her, she was glad that they had

-not been permitted to go, and she heartily

-wished that Floretta had remained at the

-Cleverton.</p>

-

-<p>"Had she rolled from the path, and

-fallen, fallen,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy covered her eyes with her hands,

-as if she almost saw the little girl falling,

-down, down to the ravine so far below the

-path, and was trying to shut out the picture.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>

-Nancy, still striving to quiet her fear, heard

-some one telling what the scribbled note

-had said.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Dorothy!" she whispered, eagerly,

-"Floretta is just where they know how to

-find her, and they've promised to hurry,

-and bring her back."</p>

-

-<p>"Are you <i>sure?</i>" Dorothy asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, <i>sure!</i>" said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>Then Nancy climbed into the big chair

-beside her, and the two little girls sat, each

-tightly clasping the other's hands, while

-they waited and watched for the first

-glimpse of the men who should return,

-bringing Floretta with them.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte remained

-with Mrs. Paxton, who seemed to

-have lost all control of herself.</p>

-

-<p>One moment she would cry as if her

-heart would break, and then she would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>

-spring up, threatening to follow the direction

-that the men had taken, and try to

-reach the woods, thus to sooner see her little

-girl.</p>

-

-<p>At last, after what seemed endless waiting,

-but was actually only an hour, some

-one espied the men in the distance, and

-cried out:</p>

-

-<p>"They're coming! They're coming!"</p>

-

-<p>"Have they got Floretta? Oh, <i>have</i>

-they found her?" shrieked Mrs. Paxton.</p>

-

-<p>"We can't see from here," said the one

-who had spoken, and the mother rushed

-forward, shading her eyes with her hand,

-and straining to catch the first glimpse of

-her child.</p>

-

-<p>She would have rushed down the road to

-meet them, but Mrs. Dainty held her back.

-She had seen that they were carrying Floretta,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>

-and she thought, in case the child were

-injured, the mother would far better save

-her strength.</p>

-

-<p>Two of the men had clasped their hands

-to form an "arm-chair," and thus they

-brought to the piazza, a very limp, tired

-Floretta, whose vivacity was all gone, and

-whose face bore the trace of desperate

-weeping, while her arms and hands were

-covered with cuts and bruises, and her

-little frock was torn and tattered by her

-struggle with the tough and tightly knotted

-vines.</p>

-

-<p>She lay back against the shoulder of one

-man who supported her, and looked as if

-her strength were spent.</p>

-

-<p>She changed on the instant that they set

-her on her feet.</p>

-

-<p>Rushing to her mother, she permitted her

-to clasp her for a moment to her breast, then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>

-turning to the group that gathered around

-her, she cried fiercely:</p>

-

-<p>"Look! See my hands! See my arms!

-See the scratches, where I tried to get

-away, and it was Sidney Cumston who

-tied me! He <i>did</i> it, but the other boys

-<i>let</i> him. Not one tried to hinder him except

-Jack Tiverton, the littlest one of them all.

-He tried to make them let me go, but they

-wouldn't. Oh, somebody punish all but

-Jack! He <i>tried</i>, but he couldn't help me."</p>

-

-<p>She was hysterical, and sank to the floor

-of the piazza, sobbing, and crying, before

-her mother could catch her.</p>

-

-<p>She scrambled to her feet, and was

-clasped in her mother's arms.</p>

-

-<p>Old Mr. Cunningham surprised every one

-by speaking most kindly to her. She had

-so often tormented him that it seemed generous

-that he should offer a bit of comfort.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"I don't think we shall let those young

-rascals escape without a sharp reprimand,

-and if I was to venture a guess about it, I

-should say that little Jack, after all, managed

-to help you, Floretta," he said.</p>

-

-<p>She turned in surprise to look at the old

-face, that now looked so kindly at her.</p>

-

-<p>"Come out here, Jack," said the old gentleman,

-"didn't you write the note that

-sent us searching for this little girl?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, sir," said Jack, "and I wrote it

-'cause I thought the other big fellows were

-mean, but if they find out I told, they'll&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"No, they won't," said Mr. Cunningham.

-"You're no 'tell-tale.' You did just right,

-and the men here will stand by you. Those

-big boys were the cowards to torment a little

-girl. You're the best boy up here in the

-mountains."</p>

-

-<p>"Three cheers for young Tiverton!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>

-shouted some one, and in the midst of the

-excitement, Mrs. Paxton, with her little

-daughter, slipped away to their room, after

-having thanked little Jack for his valuable

-assistance.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile old Mr. Cunningham had been

-searching in this pocket and that for something

-which he seemed most anxious to

-find.</p>

-

-<p>"Ah, I knew I had it! Come here,

-Jack!"</p>

-

-<p>Blushing and diffident, Jack walked over

-to the big rocker.</p>

-

-<p>"'Tisn't much, boy, but I think you

-ought to have a medal. Here's a silver dollar

-I've been keeping for a pocket piece.

-I'll give it to you for a medal, for being

-brave enough to tell what you knew <i>ought</i>

-to be told. That's not tale-bearing, and as

-you were afraid to tell, for fear of those big<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>

-bullies, it was a brave act. You're a lad

-that knows <i>what</i> to do, <i>when</i> to do, and then

-<i>does</i> it!"</p>

-

-<p>"Hurrah for Jack Tiverton!" some one

-cried again, and this time they were given

-with a will.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Tiverton, returning from a long

-drive, wondered what all the excitement

-meant, and why they were cheering her

-little son.</p>

-

-<p>Jack, with his silver dollar tightly

-clasped, hung his head, and looked as if

-overpowered by his conspicuous position.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy, now bright and happy, since

-Floretta was safe, saw that Jack hesitated.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Mrs. Tiverton," she said, "Jack

-has been truly the <i>best</i> boy in the world,

-but he can't speak just now. When he tells

-you what he's done, you won't wonder why

-they cheered him!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Barnet and Flossie, with Uncle

-Harry and his wife, now arrived in their

-big automobile from a three-days' trip that

-they had been enjoying.</p>

-

-<p>Of course Dorothy and Nancy tried to

-tell Flossie all about Floretta and Jack, and

-they were both so excited that Flossie got

-a very twisted idea of the affair.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry, not dreaming that the matter

-was at all serious, turned, after greeting

-the children, to enter the house.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "you

-ought to hear about it. There were ever

-so many big boys, and only one little girl,

-and they tied her so she couldn't get away,

-and Jack wrote a note, and when they

-found her,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Now, Flossie, dear, I'm perfectly willing

-to be scared half out of my wits, but I

-<i>must</i> know what I'm being scared about.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>

-You're getting me so mixed up that I've

-not the least idea what this is all about.

-Have you?" he asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, no," said Flossie, "I don't <i>half</i> understand

-it, but it does sound so frightful,

-that I'm so scared, I need to have you be

-scared, too."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, then," Uncle Harry replied, "if

-it will help you to know it, I'll admit that

-my teeth are chattering, and shivers are

-running up and down my spine!</p>

-

-<p>"I thought at first that it was the draft

-across this piazza, but perhaps, after all, it

-was caused by what you were telling me."</p>

-

-<p>When, at last, he had heard the story, he

-was full of disgust that any boy, and his

-friends, should have been guilty of such a

-contemptible act, and his sympathy for the

-little girl was deep and sincere.</p>

-

-<p>"She will need rest and quiet to-morrow,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>

-he said, "and you three little friends

-will be kind, I think, if you stay rather

-closely here, and help, in some quiet way,

-to amuse her."</p>

-

-<p>"We will," said Dorothy, "I'll let her

-read my new fairy book if she'd like to.

-She could lie in the hammock, and do that."</p>

-

-<p>"I'll keep the hammock swinging," said

-Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"And I'll give her my new box of candy

-I just brought home," said Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"That's right," said Uncle Harry, "and

-for your sweet promises of kindness toward

-the child who has suffered so much to-day

-I'll remind you that on day after to-morrow

-I shall give myself the pleasure of taking

-you all to the fair. I promise you a <i>fine</i>

-time."</p>

-

-<p>He turned to look over his shoulder, and

-laugh at their wild little cries of delight.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>He was anticipating the pleasure quite as

-much as they.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie kept the

-promise that they had made, and Floretta

-fully enjoyed their kindness. She seemed

-unusually gentle, and Mrs. Paxton thanked

-them for so sweetly helping to amuse her,

-and thus make her willing to spend the day

-quietly.</p>

-

-<p>The day set for the visit to the village

-fair dawned bright and sunny, a light breeze

-making it just cool enough to be delightful.</p>

-

-<p>The barge was waiting for its gay little

-passengers.</p>

-

-<p>The children stood with impatient feet on

-the piazza, waiting for their host, merry,

-handsome Uncle Harry.</p>

-

-<p>At last a firm tread caused them to turn,

-and there he was, looking gayer than ever,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>

-a picture of health, strength, and kindliness,

-and clad in a most becoming outing

-suit of light gray serge.</p>

-

-<p>The blue of his tie was not bluer than his

-fine eyes, and no one could have glanced at

-him without knowing that he possessed a

-generous, loving nature, a kind and merry

-heart.</p>

-

-<p>"Come, little friends!" he cried. "Is

-every young lady that I invited here?" he

-added, looking anxiously lest some child be

-late, and thus by chance, be left behind.</p>

-

-<p>"Every one is here!" said Flossie. "I

-know because I've counted."</p>

-

-<p>"Then we'll start at once, unless some

-one would rather wait 'til to-morrow?" he

-said, his eyes twinkling.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, no! No!" they cried. "We just

-<i>couldn't</i> wait!"</p>

-

-<p>"In that case we'll go now!" he said,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>

-with a droll expression, as if he started at

-once, merely as an accommodation.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Uncle Harry! You're only joking,"

-cried Flossie. "You wouldn't be

-willing to wait until to-morrow. I heard

-you tell Aunt Vera to hurry and find your

-tie, because you were in such a rush to

-start!"</p>

-

-<p>"To think that my own little niece would

-tell tales like that, and thus let out the

-secret. What chance have I now, of making

-them think that I was really very shy

-about riding with such a large party of

-girls?"</p>

-

-<p>Shouts of laughter greeted this speech,

-and Uncle Harry waited until it had subsided,

-then he said:</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, well, if no one <i>believes</i> that I am

-shy or diffident, it's waste of time to try to

-appear so, so I shall not try. Instead, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>

-shall be very bold. Come, dears, let me help

-you in!"</p>

-

-<p>And amid shouts of laughter from the

-children, he lifted each high in air, and

-placed her in the barge, thus saving her the

-trouble of mounting the steps.</p>

-

-<p>Then taking his seat in the middle of the

-laughing, chattering little party, he called

-to the driver to start.</p>

-

-<p>The long whip cracked, Jack Tiverton,

-from the piazza, blew loudly on a tin

-trumpet, and they were off over the road,

-the happiest party that ever filled a barge.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry told some amusing stories,

-then, led by his fine voice, they sang some

-gay little songs, and before they dreamed

-that they had arrived at the fair, the driver

-shouted:</p>

-

-<p>"Here we are!" and sure enough, they

-had reached the fair grounds.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Why, I didn't suppose we were more

-than half-way here," said Dorothy, "and

-the reason is that the ride has been so

-jolly."</p>

-

-<p>"That's just it," agreed Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"The reason <i>I</i> enjoyed the ride," said

-Uncle Harry, "is because I was so charmed

-with my little guests."</p>

-

-<p>"And the reason why we had such a fine

-ride," said Flossie, "is because we had the

-<i>best</i> man in the world taking care of us."</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry bowed low.</p>

-

-<p>"This must be a wedding party, if I'm

-the 'best man,'" he said with a laugh, "so

-we'll not fuss because there's no musician

-to play a march for us, but we'll play you

-are all bridesmaids, and we'll hurry right

-along. The entrance is this way, I think,

-and under that evergreen arch."</p>

-

-<p>A large tent had been pitched for the display<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>

-of the various wares and numerous

-attractions; a smaller tent near it serving

-as fortune teller's booth.</p>

-

-<p>"We'll coax Uncle Harry to have his

-fortune told," whispered Flossie to Dorothy,

-when, to their great surprise, he said:</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Flossie, you little witch! Uncle

-Harry heard what you said, and not only

-is he going to have his fortune told, but he's

-going to make every one of you little girls

-have yours told, also!"</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2>

-

-<h3>AT THE FAIR</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>THE fair proved a great delight to the

-children. They had all been to fine

-fairs patronized by fashionable matrons,

-whose names were quite enough to insure

-success, but the country fair was an absolute

-novelty.</div>

-

-<p>At the large city fairs, merry d&eacute;butantes

-graced the booths, and sold flowers, or tickets

-for the various games of chance.</p>

-

-<p>Here in the mountain village all was different,

-and the novelty gave greater interest.</p>

-

-<p>Farmers' daughters were in the booths,

-and sold huge bouquets of old-fashioned

-garden flowers, homemade candy, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>

-honey, while one rosy-cheeked lass dispensed

-sweet cider, or sweet apples, according

-to the preference of her customer.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry purchased a huge stalk of

-hollyhocks for each of his guests, but for

-himself he chose an enormous sunflower

-which he insisted looked <i>fine</i> in his buttonhole.</p>

-

-<p>There was music, if it could be called

-music, furnished by the local band.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry said he had never seen

-such independent people as those musicians

-were. He declared that the music sounded,

-to him, as if each man commenced to play

-when he chose, and stopped when he got

-ready, regardless of what the other players

-were doing.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I do believe that is the way they

-play!" cried Dorothy, laughing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Of course it is," cried Uncle Harry,

-"and a great deal of bother it saves, for no

-one has to direct them; they do not know

-that they are making discord, and thus they

-play and play with all their might, and are

-absolutely care-free and happy."</p>

-

-<p>There were heaps of giant pumpkins,

-and more red and yellow ears of corn than

-they had ever seen before, while everywhere

-was laughter, and friendly gossip,

-and chatter, that made the fair a jolly place

-in which to roam about.</p>

-

-<p>The children were determined to see

-every object in the big tent, and while some

-were interested in one thing, others wished

-to see something else, so they decided to

-divide into two groups.</p>

-

-<p>One half of the little party turned to the

-right intent upon seeing some gaudy patchwork

-quilts, while the others turned to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>

-left declaring their intention of investing

-all their pennies in the "fish-pond."</p>

-

-<p>There were so many things to see on the

-way, that it was a long time before they

-met, as they had agreed, at the entrance.</p>

-

-<p>Somewhere on the way they had missed

-Uncle Harry, and they could not imagine

-where he had gone.</p>

-

-<p>It happened that Uncle Harry had seen a

-very small girl crying, and his first thought

-was to help her, and thus dry her tears.</p>

-

-<p>Upon questioning her, he found that the

-wee little maid had, by accident, knocked

-a small doll from one of the tables, and had

-been roundly scolded.</p>

-

-<p>"That pretty girl with the black eyes

-says I did it a-purpose, but I didn't,"

-she cried, "I wanted to see it, and

-I just touched it, and it tumbled off the

-table."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Her tears fell afresh, and in place of a

-handkerchief, she drew up her blue-checked

-apron, and hid her face in it.</p>

-

-<p>"Look up, little girl," Uncle Harry said,

-and his voice sounded so kindly, that she at

-once peeped at him through her tears.</p>

-

-<p>"Which is the table where all this happened?"</p>

-

-<p>"That one," said the child, "and the big

-girl is looking at me now."</p>

-

-<p>"Then give me your hand, and, just for

-fun, <i>we'll</i> go and look at <i>her</i>."</p>

-

-<p>A moment she hesitated.</p>

-

-<p>"Come," he said, and with a sunny smile,

-the little girl placed her hand in his, and

-the big, handsome man with the wee country

-lass approached the table together.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll lift you up so you can see nicely,"

-he said. "Now, which was the doll that fell

-from the table?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Before the child could reply, the girl

-spoke sharply.</p>

-

-<p>"'Twas that one, sir, and her meddlesome

-fingers,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Never mind about that," said Uncle

-Harry, then turning to the child he said:</p>

-

-<p>"Did you like that one best, or is that

-larger one finer?"</p>

-

-<p>"That large one is the loveliest. I didn't

-<i>ever</i> see one so fine as that."</p>

-

-<p>"We'll have that one, then," he said,

-offering a bill to the astonished salesgirl.</p>

-

-<p>"There, little girl, she's yours," he said,

-as he placed the big doll in her arms.</p>

-

-<p>"I can hold her a little while?" she

-asked, eagerly.</p>

-

-<p>"You can hold her <i>always</i>, if you want

-to," he said gently, "I bought her for you."</p>

-

-<p>Rapturously she clasped the gift in her

-arms.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I love you, because you are good,"

-she cried.</p>

-

-<p>"Then tell me your name," he said.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm Lois Ann Ferguson," chirped the

-little girl, "and father is Sandy Ferguson.

-Oh, there he is now. He's to play the

-pipes."</p>

-

-<p>She ran toward a sturdy man dressed in

-Highland costume, and carrying the bagpipes

-under his arm.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Ferguson glanced at her flushed

-cheeks, saw the gorgeous doll that she flourished

-before his astonished eyes, and finally

-understood that the tall, handsome stranger

-had bestowed it upon his wee daughter, as

-a gift.</p>

-

-<p>He took her little hand, and hurried forward,

-saying:</p>

-

-<p>"I dinna ken why he should dae it for

-my wee lassie.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"I wad gladly thank ye, sir," he said,

-"but I'm lost in wonder that ye made wee

-Lois sae blithe an' gay wi' the braw

-gift."</p>

-

-<p>"She's a dear little lass," said Uncle

-Harry, "and when I found her crying, I

-knew that a fine new doll would dry her

-tears. Don't bother to thank me. I made

-myself happy, when I comforted her."</p>

-

-<p>"I wish there were mair like ye," said

-Sandy Ferguson, "an' some day when ye're

-older, an' ha' a wee daughter of yer ain,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"I have a wife and baby girl now," was

-the quick reply, "and they are my dearest

-possessions."</p>

-

-<p>"An' I thought ye a braw, bonny laddie,

-wi' yer fair hair an' blue een! Weel, weel,

-ye dinna hae tae live 'til ye're auld before

-ye ken tae dae a kindly act," Sandy Ferguson

-replied, "an' later when I play the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>

-pipes, an' Lois dances, she shall make her

-first bow tae her new friend."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry, <i>did</i> you buy the new

-doll for the little girl?"</p>

-

-<p>It was little Flossie, who, after having

-searched every corner of the tent, had found

-him talking to the Scotchman and his little

-girl.</p>

-

-<p>"Is he your own uncle?" little Lois

-asked, looking up into Flossie's lovely face.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes," said Flossie, "and he's the

-best uncle in the world."</p>

-

-<p>"I know he must be," said the little girl.

-"See how good he was to me."</p>

-

-<p>They turned to join the rest of their party,

-and little Lois looked over her shoulder,

-with one hand held fast in her father's,

-while with the other she tightly clasped the

-precious doll.</p>

-

-<p>"I saw the notice near the entrance when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>

-we came in, that a Scotch farmer would

-play, and his little daughter would dance,"

-said Uncle Harry, "but that child is not

-much more than a baby. She cannot be

-more than four. It will be amusing to see

-her dance, and Nancy Ferris will enjoy it

-most of all."</p>

-

-<p>They found the others reading the notice

-of which they had been talking, and they

-were delighted when they heard what a

-very little girl it was who was to dance.</p>

-

-<p>They had a lunch served by girls dressed

-as dairy maids, and it was just such a lunch

-as might have been enjoyed at a farmhouse.</p>

-

-<p>The long table spread with its white

-cloth, and set with blue and white dishes,

-was decorated by a garland of small sunflowers

-that lay upon the cloth, down

-the centre, and the entire length of the

-table.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>There were plates heaped with biscuit,

-there were dishes of both wild and cultivated

-strawberries, and delicious cream to

-be eaten with them, there were sandwiches

-and little cakes, honey enough to tempt the

-bees to the feast, and the children thought

-it finer than a hotel dinner. How they

-laughed, and chattered, as they enjoyed the

-spread!</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry was in his sunniest mood,

-and told stories and jokes that kept them

-amused, and seemed to be the gayest member

-of the party.</p>

-

-<p>"Tell us a story about when you were a

-<i>little</i> boy," said Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"My small niece thinks I'm nothing but

-a <i>big</i> boy now!" he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, the big Scotchman thought you

-were only a lad. I heard him say so," said

-Flossie.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"When you were a boy were you ever

-naughty, <i>real</i> naughty?" Floretta asked.</p>

-

-<p>She had been very quiet, and all were

-surprised at her question.</p>

-

-<p>"Once upon a time, when I was little,"

-said Uncle Harry, "I was very, <i>very</i> fond

-of good things, but the one thing that I

-liked better than anything else was strawberry

-jam.</p>

-

-<p>"I was always allowed to have it, but I

-felt sure that it would taste even nicer if

-I had more of it at a time, and still finer if

-I could have a long handled spoon, and eat

-it right from the jar.</p>

-

-<p>"I used often to think how fine it would

-be if I, some day, could have the chance to

-eat it that way, but I never could get even

-<i>very</i> near the jar.</p>

-

-<p>"One day the opportunity came. My

-sister and I were in the nursery, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>

-maid had been down-stairs for a long

-time.</p>

-

-<p>"The rest of the family were away, and

-we were to have our tea in the nursery, as

-usual, only, as we had had to remain at

-home, we were to have an extra treat.</p>

-

-<p>"Among other good things, we were to

-have strawberry jam.</p>

-

-<p>"My sister, that is Flossie's mamma,

-was a little older than I, and she was always

-trying to give me lessons in good

-behavior.</p>

-

-<p>"'Now, Harry,' she said, 'while nurse

-is down-stairs, we might commence to set

-our table.'</p>

-

-<p>"'There isn't anything here to set it

-with but the tablecloth and the jam,' I said,

-'but you're a girl, so you know how to put

-the cloth on, and I'll bring the jam.'"</p>

-

-<p>"I guess Uncle Harry was so fond of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>

-jam, that he liked even to carry the jar,"

-said Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"We wondered why the nurse stayed so

-long down-stairs," continued Uncle Harry,

-"and I told my sister that I was tired of

-waiting for tea, and I said I'd taste of the

-jam, if only I had a long handled spoon.</p>

-

-<p>"'Why, Harry,' she answered in disgust,

-'I wouldn't think you'd be so

-naughty, but,&mdash;if you really <i>want</i> to taste

-it, here's the spoon beside the jar.'"</p>

-

-<p>"And <i>did</i> you?" questioned Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, yes, I have to admit that I did.

-In truth, I tasted and tasted until my sister

-cried:</p>

-

-<p>"'Why, Harry, you naughty boy! When

-you get done tasting, there won't be any

-left!'</p>

-

-<p>"'You won't care, because <i>you</i> wouldn't

-be so naughty as to taste it!' I said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"'Oh, wouldn't I?' she cried. 'Well,

-you just let me take that spoon, and you'll

-see!'</p>

-

-<p>"Well, a funny mix-up followed, in which

-we each tried to get possession of the spoon

-and the jam. We were laughing while we

-struggled for it, but at last, one of us

-slipped, and fell, dragging the other down;

-the jar of jam tipped over, and her white

-frock, my gray jacket and trousers, and

-even my long, yellow curls became smeared

-with the jam.</p>

-

-<p>"Nurse opened the door, and screamed

-with terror, for the red jam looked as if

-we had been terribly hurt, and it was some

-time before we could convince her that we

-were not cut or bruised, but only <i>very

-sticky!</i></p>

-

-<p>"Then came the scolding, and my sister

-tried to screen me.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"'Harry couldn't help tasting it, he's

-so fond of jam,' she said.</p>

-

-<p>"'Well, he's got a good share of it, inside

-and out,' said nurse, grimly.</p>

-

-<p>"'She's got as much as I have,' I said,

-'just look at her frock!'</p>

-

-<p>"Of course our clothes were changed,

-and the jam cleaned from the polished floor,

-but we had our tea without jam.</p>

-

-<p>"Nurse said we could eat our biscuits

-with the <i>memory</i> of the jam we had already

-enjoyed."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry," cried Flossie, "I

-wish, even though you were naughty, she'd

-let you have more jam. She didn't know

-how good you'd be when you grew up."</p>

-

-<p>"I still am fond of jam!" he said, and

-the children laughed to see him pour honey

-over his berries that already were covered

-with sugar.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"You like <i>anything</i> that's sweet!" said

-Dorothy, "whether it's jam, or sugar, or

-honey,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Or little girls," said Uncle Harry.

-"You notice, I made this party all little

-girls, and I'm having a <i>lovely</i> time."</p>

-

-<p>"So are we," laughed Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"And he says 'lovely' just as we do,"

-said Nancy, "he does it to make us laugh."</p>

-

-<p>"Then why don't you laugh?" said

-Uncle Harry, and they <i>did</i> laugh, every

-member of the party, and laughed because

-they could not help it.</p>

-

-<p>And when the merry feast was over, they

-hastened to the small tent where the old

-gypsy was telling fortunes.</p>

-

-<p>Each had intended to have her fortune

-told, and thus learn what the future held

-for her.</p>

-

-<p>To their great surprise, she flatly refused<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>

-to tell any child's fortune, saying that she

-would only foretell events for "grown

-ups." The little girls were rather afraid

-of her, but Uncle Harry boldly offered his

-hand, saying:</p>

-

-<p>"Am I big enough to hear my fortune?"</p>

-

-<p>"No nonsense, young lad," she said,

-while the children dared not laugh. She

-bent over his palm for a moment, then she

-solemnly said:</p>

-

-<p>"You're a brave lad, and you need to

-be for you will fall in love with a girl who'll

-have red hair, and the temper that usually

-goes with it."</p>

-

-<p>"O dear!" sighed Uncle Harry.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't worry, young man," said the old

-gypsy, "because it will be some months

-before you marry."</p>

-

-<p>"Indeed," said Uncle Harry, "and what

-shall I do if the girl proves to have the temper<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>

-you prophesy? Shall I try to calm her

-by holding her under a pump, or would you

-advise tying her until she feels less fiery?"</p>

-

-<p>"Young man, this is no laughing matter,"

-was the sharp reply.</p>

-

-<p>"Guess it isn't!" said Uncle Harry.

-"I've seldom been so discouraged. Here

-am I, a man who has a lovely wife and baby

-girl, and yet I've got to marry a red-haired

-girl, with a temper like chain lightning!

-Who was ever in a worse fix?"</p>

-

-<p>The old gypsy flew into a rage. "You're

-poking fun at me!" she cried.</p>

-

-<p>"There! There! The fun was worth

-that!" he cried, laying a handful of small

-coins on the table before her.</p>

-

-<p>In her eagerness to count the money, she

-forgot her wrath, and they hastened from

-the tent, where, safely outside, they were

-free to laugh as much as they chose.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>As they re-entered the large tent, they

-saw that near the centre, a space had been

-cleared, and there was a crowd of people

-waiting, as if expecting some attraction to

-be exhibited.</p>

-

-<p>They had not long to wait, for almost

-immediately the Scotch piper appeared,

-and tightly clasping her precious new doll

-in her arms was wee Lois, dressed in Highland

-costume.</p>

-

-<p>Placing her doll on a table, and making

-sure that it was safe, she ran forward, courtesied

-first to Uncle Harry, as she had

-promised, and then, to the music of the

-pipes, the wee lassie did the "Highland

-Fling."</p>

-

-<p>She was such a round, dimpled little girl,

-one would never have dreamed that she

-could dance with such infantile grace.</p>

-

-<p>And when she had finished, with another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>

-courtesy, they crowded around her, and it

-was Nancy who most generously praised

-her. Dear little Nancy, who danced like a

-fairy, never had a jealous thought in her

-loving heart!</p>

-

-<p>It was Uncle Harry who caught little

-Lois, and lifted her so that he could look

-into her eyes.</p>

-

-<p>"I want my dolly, now," she cried, anxious

-lest it be lost or stolen. Dorothy

-brought the doll, and the child clasped it

-to her breast.</p>

-

-<p>"My wee lassie said she wisht she had a

-gift tae gi' ye," said Sandy.</p>

-

-<p>"I have a dear little girl of my own, and

-I prize her baby kisses," said Uncle Harry.

-"Will <i>you</i> give me one, little Lois?"</p>

-

-<p>She clasped her arms around his neck,

-and kissed him softly.</p>

-

-<p>"Best man next to father," she said.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2>

-

-<h3>FLOSSIE'S LETTER</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>THE children said "good-by" to little

-Lois, and as her father carried her

-away, she waved her hand to them.</div>

-

-<p>"Wasn't she cunning?" said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"She was very sweet," said Nancy,

-"and how well she did her little

-dance!"</p>

-

-<p>"She didn't dance half as fine as you do,

-Nancy Ferris," said Floretta. "You <i>know</i>

-that."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, but I was trained for dancing,"

-said Nancy, "and, beside, she was very little

-to dance so cleverly."</p>

-

-<p>Floretta made no reply, but she thought

-of what Nancy had said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Trained for dancing. She said she was

-<i>trained</i> to dance. I wonder where? I

-wish I knew, but I didn't quite dare to

-ask her."</p>

-

-<p>Once more they walked around the big

-tent, and Uncle Harry purchased a gift for

-each to carry home as a souvenir.</p>

-

-<p>There were little baskets that the gypsies

-had woven, and fancy boxes filled with

-woodland plants. The boxes were made

-from birch bark, and were very dainty.</p>

-

-<p>These the children prized, and lovingly

-they thanked him for the pretty gifts.</p>

-

-<p>At the candy table he purchased enough

-of the homemade bonbons to fill the baskets,

-and then they left the tent to start

-on the homeward trip.</p>

-

-<p>The barge was waiting for them, and

-they clambered in, tired, but very happy.</p>

-

-<p>"This is the nicest fair I ever went to,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>

-said Dorothy, "and I've had so many good

-things that I'm going to save my basket of

-candy until to-morrow."</p>

-

-<p>"So am I," cried all the others.</p>

-

-<p>"And so am <i>I</i>," said Uncle Harry, as he

-held up a huge basket filled with all kinds

-of candy.</p>

-

-<p>How they laughed, and accused him of

-having a "sweet-tooth."</p>

-

-<p>"Now, just a moment!" he cried, as he

-held up his finger for silence, "I'm taking

-this <i>big</i> basket home to treat the <i>big</i> ladies

-with. I took the <i>little</i> ladies with me, but

-I've not forgotten the <i>big</i> ladies that I left

-at the hotel."</p>

-

-<p>"Because you don't ever forget any

-one," said Flossie, and the others cried:</p>

-

-<p>"That's it! Just it! He does nice things

-for every one."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, spare my blushes," said Uncle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>

-Harry, but it was easy to see that their

-affection for him pleased him.</p>

-

-<p>The ride home seemed shorter than the

-trip to the fair.</p>

-

-<p>They joined in singing the merry songs

-that his fine voice led, and the horses, knowing

-that they were on the homeward trip,

-jogged along at a better pace than when

-they had started out.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry had found some bells, and

-fastened them to their harnesses, and they

-made a jingling accompaniment to the

-merry voices.</p>

-

-<p>And when the barge drew up at the Cleverton,

-Uncle Harry, with elaborate courtesy,

-handed each young lady down, bowing

-low, and thanking her for the honor she

-had conferred upon him by permitting him

-to take her to the fair.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, you do truly know we have to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>

-thank you for giving us such a lovely day!"

-said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"But think how happy I have been,"

-he said, and although his blue eyes

-were laughing, they knew that he meant

-it.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, mamma, we had the finest time,"

-cried Dorothy, "and see the fine basket of

-candy and the pretty birch bark box! See

-the little ferns growing in it. Isn't he

-<i>dear?</i>"</p>

-

-<p>"He surely is charming," said Mrs.

-Dainty. "His generous, sunny nature

-makes every one love him, and I believe

-he values the love of his friends more than

-most things."</p>

-

-<p>"He has been gay, and full of fun all

-day," said Nancy, "and it will take a long

-time to tell you all the pleasant things he

-did for us. I do wish you and Aunt Charlotte<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>

-<i>could</i> have been there when he had his

-fortune told."</p>

-

-<p>"And he couldn't have been any nicer to

-us if we'd been tall ladies," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"I hope every one of you little friends

-were real <i>little ladies</i>, thus rewarding him

-for his kindness," Aunt Charlotte said,

-gently.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, we were," said Nancy, "not a single

-one of us did anything that could

-trouble him."</p>

-

-<p>"There were a number of little girls who

-only came here last week, so we weren't

-much acquainted with them, but they were

-all very nice, and he said he had as fine a

-time as we did," said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>She climbed into a large hammock, and

-with Nancy beside her, sat swinging, and

-thinking of the day that had been so delightfully

-spent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton came out upon the piazza,

-and, instead of sitting down, seemed to be

-looking for something.</p>

-

-<p>"Can I help you?" said Nancy, slipping

-from the hammock, and hastening toward

-her.</p>

-

-<p>"I've mislaid my glasses," she said,

-"and I can't find them."</p>

-

-<p>She did not thank Nancy for so kindly

-offering to help her, but Nancy seemed not

-to notice that. She peeped under chairs,

-lifted their cushions, and even looked between

-folds of newspapers that lay near at

-hand, but the glasses were not in sight.</p>

-

-<p>"How trying!" said Mrs. Fenton, "I

-have some letters that I wish to read, and

-I can't read them until my glasses are

-found."</p>

-

-<p>"Did you use them anywhere but just

-here?" Nancy asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton stood for a moment thinking.</p>

-

-<p>"Seems to me I <i>did</i> have them in the

-dining-room," she said.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll go and ask the waitresses if they

-have seen them," said Nancy, as she ran

-toward the hall.</p>

-

-<p>She paused in the doorway, amazed at

-what she saw.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta, with a pair of eyeglasses upon

-her small nose, was walking up and down

-the room, as nearly as possible, in Mrs.

-Fenton's manner, and exactly imitating her

-voice, while a group of waitresses, the cook,

-and two kitchen maids laughed, and applauded

-her.</p>

-

-<p>She cared not who composed her audience,

-so long as she obtained applause.

-Floretta was, evidently, quite herself once

-more!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Floretta!" cried Nancy, "you

-mustn't, truly you mustn't. Give me the

-glasses. Mrs. Fenton is looking everywhere

-for them!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I shan't give them to you!" said

-Floretta, rudely. "You aren't Mrs. Fenton."</p>

-

-<p>"But I've been helping her to hunt for

-them. She has some letters she wants to

-read, and she can't till she has her glasses,"

-insisted Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Then let her come for them!" cried

-Floretta, when a quiet voice spoke.</p>

-

-<p>"Very well, I <i>have</i> come for them," it

-said, and there in the doorway stood Mrs.

-Fenton.</p>

-

-<p>The silly maids who had laughed so

-loudly, now hastily disappeared in the

-kitchen.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta dropped the glasses upon the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>

-table, and then, wholly ashamed, crawled

-under it, where Mrs. Fenton's sharp eyes

-might not look at her.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton took the glasses, and without

-another word, swept from the room.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy, waiting in the hall, crept softly

-toward her, and gently laid her hand on the

-lady's arm.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm <i>so</i> sorry she did that. I wish I

-could have got the glasses from her, and

-brought them to you before you came to

-find them. Then you needn't have known

-how naughty,&mdash;" Nancy caught her breath.</p>

-

-<p>"Never mind that, Nancy. Remember,

-as <i>I</i> shall, that <i>you</i> were not the naughty,

-disgusting child," said Mrs. Fenton, and

-she turned, with her letters and glasses in

-her hand, and went up the long stairway to

-her room.</p>

-

-<p>It was nearly time to dress for dinner,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>

-which was always served promptly at

-six.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty with Dorothy, and Aunt

-Charlotte with Nancy hastened to their

-rooms, to freshen their toilettes, and Nancy

-realized that there would not be time to tell

-Aunt Charlotte all about the unpleasant

-happening.</p>

-

-<p>"I've something to tell you, but I'll have

-to wait till we've plenty of time," she

-said.</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte, tying the soft, blue ribbon

-into the brown curls, looked into the

-mirror before which they were standing,

-and smiled at the thoughtful face.</p>

-

-<p>"Will it keep until then, dear?" she

-asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "I only tell it

-to you because I love to tell you everything."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Dear child," said Aunt Charlotte, "I

-bless the day that you, as a little waif, were

-taken in by Mrs. Dainty, and that I was

-asked to come and care for you. I could

-not love you more if you were my own little

-girl."</p>

-

-<p>"I never saw my own mamma; she died

-when I was a baby," said Nancy, "so, because

-you love me, you seem like my very

-own."</p>

-

-<p>Gentle Aunt Charlotte's eyes were wet

-with happy tears, as she hooked the pretty,

-white muslin frock, with its slip of light

-blue, and tied the soft blue belt.</p>

-

-<p>"Your shoes must be changed, Nancy,"

-she said. "You know how particular

-Mrs. Dainty is about the matter of shoes

-and stockings. They must match the

-frock."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and with this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>

-one she said: 'Wear blue stockings and

-bronze slippers,' so I will."</p>

-

-<p>She found the blue hose and the pretty

-bronze slippers, then, with elfin grace, she

-caught the edge of her skirt, and with rosy,

-bare feet, tripped across the floor in a graceful,

-gliding step, crying:</p>

-

-<p>"Look, Aunt Charlotte, look! This

-pretty step Bonfanti taught me."</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte did look, and as she

-watched the pretty child, and saw her joy

-in dancing, she marvelled that little Nancy

-could smile as she danced, remembering all

-that she had been taught, while apparently

-forgetting all the unhappy months upon the

-stage.</p>

-

-<p>She thought of poor little Nancy, forced

-to dance, night after night, to support her

-old Uncle Steve, who was too lazy to support

-himself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She thought of the time that the little

-pitiful note from Nancy had reached them,

-and, together, she and Mrs. Dainty had

-found the child, and brought her safely

-home.</p>

-

-<p>She did not speak of all this. Nancy's

-happy little heart should never be reminded

-of sad days that were past.</p>

-

-<p>Now her life was filled with bright sunshine,

-the sunshine of love, and it was reflected

-in her happy face.</p>

-

-<p>A gong rang out a silvery note.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, my shoes!" cried Nancy, with a

-peal of merry laughter. "I wanted to

-show you those pretty steps, and I forgot

-all about dinner."</p>

-

-<p>It was the work of but a few seconds for

-Nancy to draw on the light blue hose, and

-even less time to put on the pretty slippers.

-She ran to the mirror, and courtesied, took<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>

-a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection,

-and then hastened to the hall to join

-Dorothy.</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 392px;">

-<img src="images/i006.jpg" width="392" height="500" alt="She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection.&mdash;Page 176." title="" />

-<span class="caption">She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection.&mdash;<a href="#Page_176"><i>Page 176.</i></a></span>

-</div>

-

-<p>"All ready," cried Nancy, springing to

-her feet, to follow Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>A pretty pair they made as with arms

-about each other's waist, they tripped along

-the hall.</p>

-

-<p>Fair, blue-eyed Dorothy Dainty was very

-lovely in a pale pink frock with soft frillings

-of fine lace. Her stockings were of the

-same shade, and her shoes were white.

-Mrs. Dainty in dark blue satin, and Aunt

-Charlotte in pearl color made, with the two

-children, a pleasing group.</p>

-

-<p>In the lower hall they met Mrs. Paxton

-with Floretta, the former wearing a gown

-of purple satin, while Floretta wore a frock

-of scarlet silk. Mrs. Fenton, passing, on

-her way to the dining-room, looked sharply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>

-at the two groups, and <i>did</i> she look amused

-when her eyes rested upon Mrs. Paxton,

-and her small daughter? Dorothy noticed

-the look, and turned to her mamma.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty read the question in Dorothy's

-eyes, and ever so slightly, shook

-her head, and they passed into the dining-room.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>The next morning, when the mail was

-distributed, there was great excitement, because

-every one had so many letters.</p>

-

-<p>"See mine!" cried Flossie Barnet.

-"Everybody see mine! It looks like boy's

-writing. See it!"</p>

-

-<p>"If some very young man wrote it, he

-might not be delighted to have it so freely

-exhibited, Flossie," said Uncle Harry, with

-a laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, why should he care?" she asked in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>

-surprise. "Who do you s'pose wrote it?

-Guess, Uncle Harry!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, now let me think," said Uncle

-Harry, covering his eyes with his hand, then

-peeping through his fingers.</p>

-

-<p>"There's a small boy at home, who glories

-in the name of Reginald Merton Deane.

-Open the letter, dear, and if I guessed right,

-you can give me a prize, and if I'm wrong,

-I'll give you one."</p>

-

-<p>Flossie studied the address for a moment,

-then she opened the letter, and laughed

-with delight.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll have to give you the prize, but why

-did he think to write to me?"</p>

-

-<p>Dear little Flossie had never seemed

-aware that small Reginald preferred her to

-any of his friends. Even when she was so

-little that she could not pronounce his

-name, and called him "Weginald," he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>

-thought her the dearest of all his playmates.

-And this was his letter:</p>

-

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Flossie:</span></p>

-

-<p>"I miss you so much that I'm going to

-write, and tell you all the news.</p>

-

-<p>"Our old dog had a fit yesterday, and my

-brother got the vet'nary doctor. When he

-came, he said Carlo hadn't any fit. He was

-acting just awful. I said 'what makes him

-tare round so?' an he said maybe I'd tare

-round sum if I had a fish-bone in my throat!

-The doctor took it out, and then Carlo was

-so glad he tore round worsen ever!</p>

-

-<p>"Arabella Corryville is acting worse

-than Carlo did. You know her Aunt Matilda

-lives with them, an neether Arabella, or her

-pa, or her ma dare to do ennything without

-asking Aunt Matilda <i>first</i>. Well, her aunt

-has had to go way up to New Hampshur (I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>

-guess I didn't spell that rite) and Arabella

-thinks its just her chanse to act awful.

-Carlo is real quiet side of Arabella when

-she acts the way she does now.</p>

-

-<p>"She stays out doors most all the time,

-and goes just where she pleases.</p>

-

-<p>"Some days she's way down by the stashun

-until its almost dark.</p>

-

-<p>"You know she's always taking medesin,

-and carries the bottles in her pockets.</p>

-

-<p>"She carries em now, but she told me

-she's takin the kind she likes best. Theres

-two kinds her Aunt Matilda made her take,

-one tasted horrid, and the other tasted nice.

-Arabella threw the horrid one away, and

-ate the nice pills for candy. She told me

-this morning that her Aunt Matilda is coming

-home just for one day, and then they're

-all going up where you, and Dorothy, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>

-Nancy are. I don't believe it, but if she

-does, and you see her, you needn't give my

-love to her.</p>

-

-<div class='sig'>

-<span style="margin-right: 2em;">"Your tru friend,</span><br />

-"<span class="smcap">Reginald.</span>"<br />

-</div></div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER X</h2>

-

-<h3>A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>OF course, Dorothy and Nancy were

-greatly interested in the letter, and

-Uncle Harry said that he was glad that

-Reginald had thought to say that the fish-bone

-had been removed from Carlo's throat.</div>

-

-<p>He said it would have seemed quite a trip

-to take to leave the Cleverton, and go to

-Merrivale to feel Carlo's pulse, and inquire

-for his health.</p>

-

-<p>"Now that that bone is removed, I

-breathe easier," said Uncle Harry, "and

-so does Carlo!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, you wouldn't have gone home just

-to call on Carlo," said Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I don't know," he said, trying to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>

-look solemn, "I wouldn't like Carlo to feel

-neglected, and now I think of it, does Reginald

-speak of the cat?"</p>

-

-<p>"No," said Flossie, "but when I answer

-the letter, I'll tell Reginald you're anxious

-about her."</p>

-

-<p>"I am," said Uncle Harry, "because the

-last time I saw her, Carlo was barking at

-her very rudely, and her back was up in

-a hump like a camel's. Reginald ought to

-have told us if her back is <i>still</i> up, or

-whether she has taken the kink out of her

-spine. We might telephone and ask, instead

-of worrying."</p>

-

-<p>He rose, and walked toward the hall,

-whistling as he went, an old nursery song

-that he used to sing to Flossie.</p>

-

-<div class='poem'>

-"The cat came fiddling out of the barn,<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">With a pair of bagpipes under her arm."</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<p>How the children laughed!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Look!" said Flossie, "he's going

-right toward the telephone, just to

-make us think that he's <i>truly</i> going to

-ring up Reginald, and inquire for the

-cat."</p>

-

-<p>"Who is Arabella?" Floretta asked.</p>

-

-<p>"She lives near us," said Dorothy, "and

-she used to go to Aunt Charlotte's private

-school with us."</p>

-

-<p>"Doesn't she now?" asked Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"No, she left our class, and went to a

-large school in the city."</p>

-

-<p>"By what the letter says, I'd think she

-was rather queer," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"Well&mdash;" said Dorothy, hesitating,

-"Arabella <i>is</i> queer."</p>

-

-<p>"Why don't you like to say so?" was

-the sharp reply.</p>

-

-<p>"Because Dorothy never likes to say

-anything that isn't kind about any one, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>

-Arabella <i>is</i> queer, so Dorothy won't say she

-isn't," said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>It was a few days later that Dorothy was

-reminded of what Reginald had said in his

-letter to Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>She was waiting for Nancy to go for a

-walk, and stooping to pick some of the

-pretty wildflowers that blossomed everywhere.</p>

-

-<p>She had walked slowly along toward the

-clump of white birches where, when they

-had first arrived, they had called, and listened

-to the echo.</p>

-

-<p>She looked back toward the hotel, but

-Nancy was not yet in sight, so she seated

-herself upon the grass, and began to arrange

-the flowers in a fine bouquet.</p>

-

-<p>She was trying to mix the white blossoms

-and pink buds so as to show the beauty

-of each, when a carriage passed, and before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>

-she looked up a shrill little voice

-shouted:</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy! Dorothy! We're over at the

-farmhouse just beyond the Merlington.

-Aunt Matilda wouldn't <i>let</i> pa take us to

-a hotel. She doesn't approve of hotels.

-Aunt Matilda says,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>She was looking back to shout at Dorothy,

-and doubtless would have given even

-more particulars, but a firm hand had hastily

-forced her to turn around, and sit

-down.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy ran along the path a few moments

-later, and her eyes were dancing.</p>

-

-<p>"Did you see Arabella?" she asked.

-"<i>Did</i> you?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, just a few moments ago, and she

-turned around in the carriage and screamed

-to me," said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"I can guess what she said," laughed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>

-Nancy, "because she screamed at me. She

-told me she was staying at a farmhouse,

-and said that her Aunt Matilda didn't approve

-of hotels."</p>

-

-<p>"That is <i>just</i> what she said," said

-Dorothy, "and she would have said

-more but some one, I think it was her

-Aunt Matilda, pulled her back into the

-carriage."</p>

-

-<p>"Why, that's just the way it was when

-I saw her. I ran out on to the piazza, and

-down the steps, and the carriage rolled by,

-and she twisted round to shout. There was

-this difference, though," said Nancy. "You

-were out here alone, and no one would know

-if you laughed, but when I ran out, our

-piazza was full of people, and when Arabella

-shouted, you'd ought to have seen

-them look.</p>

-

-<p>"Flossie and her Uncle Harry were on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>

-the lawn, and as she rode past, he said with

-a sigh:</p>

-

-<div class='poem'>

-"'Arabella, Arabella,<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">If I had my new umbrella,'</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<div class='unindent'>and I was wild to know the rest of it, but

-his wife, who was standing near him,

-said:</div>

-

-<p>"'Hush, Harry, really you mustn't,' and

-he only laughed, and said:</p>

-

-<p>"'Oh, <i>mustn't</i> I? Why, when I saw

-Arabella and her Aunt Matilda, I really felt

-as if I <i>must!</i>'"</p>

-

-<p>"Let's ask him what the rest of the verse

-is," said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm wild to hear it," Nancy said, "because

-the very way he looked made me

-think that the other lines, whatever they

-were, would be funny."</p>

-

-<p>She stooped to gather more of the little

-blossoms to add to Dorothy's bouquet, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>

-then commenced to make a bouquet of her

-own.</p>

-

-<p>"Arabella will be coming over to see

-you," she said, a moment later, "and I

-wonder if it is naughty to say, 'I wish she

-wouldn't?' Do you think it is?"</p>

-

-<p>"I don't know," said Dorothy, "but I

-<i>do</i> wish it. I wouldn't, only she is so

-hard to please. Mamma wishes us to be

-nice to every one, but, Nancy, you <i>do</i>

-know that when we try the hardest to

-please Arabella, we don't please her at

-all."</p>

-

-<p>"I know it," agreed Nancy, "but perhaps

-she'll come some time when we are

-out, and then we won't have to amuse

-her."</p>

-

-<p>"I'm sure I ought not to say it, but I

-<i>do</i> wish it would happen that way," said

-Dorothy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>They had reached the birches, and they

-paused to wake the echo. What fun it was

-to hear their shouts repeated.</p>

-

-<p>Again and again they called, and then a

-droll thing happened. They had called this

-name and that, and each time the echo,

-like a voice from the mountain, had repeated

-it with wonderful distinctness.

-Then Dorothy, leaning forward, called,

-loudly:</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy!"</p>

-

-<p>"<i>What?</i>" came the reply.</p>

-

-<p>She turned, and looked at Nancy. "Dorothy!"

-she cried, again.</p>

-

-<p>"<i>Dainty!</i>" was the answer, and upon

-looking toward a little path that was nearly

-opposite where they were standing, they

-saw the low bushes move, and faintly they

-heard a smothered laugh.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy was laughing now.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Boys!" she cried, and back came the

-laughing echo:</p>

-

-<p>"<i>Girls!</i>" and then the boys peeped out

-a bit too far, and Dorothy saw who had

-been playing echo.</p>

-

-<p>It was Jack Tiverton and a boy whom he

-had chosen for a "chum." Jack had not

-intended so soon to be discovered, and he

-and his friend disappeared in a little grove,

-while Dorothy and Nancy continued their

-walk.</p>

-

-<p>There were sunny paths and bits of woodland

-that were so near the hotel as to be

-absolutely safe, where all the summer

-guests, especially the children, loved to

-roam at will. Along one of these little

-paths were sweet little yellow blossoms,

-and these they gathered to brighten their

-bouquets.</p>

-

-<p>"Let's have some of these little vines to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>

-hang from our bouquets," said Dorothy,

-and the graceful vines proved to be an

-added beauty.</p>

-

-<p>When they returned to the Cleverton

-there were but few people upon the piazza.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte sat talking

-with Mrs. Vinton, and farther along,

-Mrs. Fenton sat with an open book upon her

-lap, although she was not reading.</p>

-

-<p>She often had a book or magazine, but

-rarely did she read them.</p>

-

-<p>She would sit looking off at the distant

-mountain-range, the white clouds, or the

-sunny valley over which those clouds cast

-floating shadows.</p>

-

-<p>Did she hear the conversation, or notice

-what was going on about her? Floretta

-Paxton said that Mrs. Fenton acted as if

-she sat there to watch some one; and was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>

-Floretta right? Mrs. Fenton's actions certainly

-seemed strange day after day. She

-talked little, took slight interest in what

-was going on about her, and was a mystery

-to all the other guests.</p>

-

-<p>But what, or whom could she be watching?</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy, returning from their

-walk, saw the group, and also noticed Mrs.

-Fenton, who always chose to sit apart from

-the others.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll give my flowers to mamma and Mrs.

-Vinton," said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"And I'll give mine to Aunt Charlotte

-and to Mrs. Fenton,&mdash;if she wants them,"

-said Nancy, hesitating because it was so

-hard to guess what might, or might not,

-please Mrs. Fenton.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy ran to show her blossoms to her

-mamma and to Mrs. Vinton, while Nancy,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>

-pausing beside Mrs. Fenton's chair, held

-forth her pretty bouquet, as she said:</p>

-

-<p>"We've just gathered them. Aren't they

-pretty?"</p>

-

-<p>"Lovely, very lovely," said Mrs. Fenton,

-with more interest than usual. "I remember

-picking just such flowers; even the long

-vines I know are like those I used to see

-when I was a little girl."</p>

-

-<p>"Would you enjoy some of these? I'd

-so like to give them to you," Nancy said,

-and she was surprised at the quick reply.</p>

-

-<p>"I would really prize them, Nancy, and

-you're a sweet child to give them to me,"

-she said.</p>

-

-<p>Quickly Nancy divided the bouquet, and

-smiled as she laid the pretty things in Mrs.

-Fenton's lap.</p>

-

-<p>"I cannot let them wilt, so I will take

-them at once to my room," said Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>

-Fenton, and Nancy saw her bend to catch

-their perfume, as she turned toward the

-hall.</p>

-

-<p>That night, when nearly all the guests had

-entered the dining-room, Mrs. Fenton came

-in at the main entrance, and as she sat

-nearly opposite Mrs. Dainty's party, they

-noticed that the bodice of her black lace

-gown was given color by the pretty wildflowers

-that Nancy had given her. They

-were the first flowers that she had worn

-since her arrival.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy smiled with pleasure, and Mrs.

-Fenton, looking across the table, returned

-the smile.</p>

-

-<p>Had the gift of simple wildflowers cheered

-her?</p>

-

-<p>Thus far she had worn only black, but to-night

-a dull gold slip shimmered through

-the black lace; and were her eyes brighter?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Nancy thought so, and without knowing

-why, was glad.</p>

-

-<p>There was a musicale in the evening, and

-Mrs. Fenton joined Mrs. Dainty and Aunt

-Charlotte, and seemed to enjoy the conversation,

-between the numbers of the program.</p>

-

-<p>Once, while she was talking, she laid her

-hand lightly upon Nancy's shoulder, and

-Nancy looked up to smile. Aunt Charlotte

-saw that the lady was more cheerful, and

-also noticed that she wore Nancy's flowers.

-The evening passed pleasantly, and Nancy's

-drowsy words, just before she went to sleep,

-were:</p>

-

-<p>"I do really think I cheered her."</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>A few days later Mrs. Dainty invited Mrs.

-Fenton to be her guest during a drive over

-a lovely road that neither of them had yet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>

-seen. It was said to be one of the most picturesque

-roads in that section of the country.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton accepted, and with Aunt

-Charlotte and Mrs. Vinton they formed a

-pleasant party.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy were to drive in their

-little phaeton, and they felt quite as important

-as the four ladies in the barouche.</p>

-

-<p>True, Mrs. Dainty owned a handsome

-span of bays, but was not the pony, Romeo,

-a beauty?</p>

-

-<p>The road was some distance from the

-Cleverton, and there were some charming

-places to be seen on the way, so it happened

-that the trip, which proved to be most enjoyable,

-occupied the afternoon.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton had a number of letters to

-write, and Floretta, feeling very lonely, and

-wishing that she had some one to play with,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>

-climbed into a hammock, and wondered

-what she might do to amuse herself.</p>

-

-<p>"Every one but me has gone somewhere,

-and I wish <i>I</i> had," she said, as she

-gave a smart kick that sent the hammock

-higher.</p>

-

-<p>"What's the fun of swinging alone?" she

-grumbled, but there was no one on the piazza

-to answer her, and she let the hammock

-sway lazily while she looked down the sunny

-road, and thought how strange it was that

-the place seemed so still.</p>

-

-<p>Not a leaf stirred, and Floretta's disgust

-increased.</p>

-

-<p>"Nothing in sight, not even an old hen,"

-she said, when, way down where the road

-looked so narrow and distant, a little figure

-appeared, coming directly toward the Cleverton.

-She watched the approaching figure,

-and wondered who it might be.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"'Tisn't any one I know," she thought,

-"and <i>doesn't</i> she look queer?"</p>

-

-<p>Any one who had ever known Arabella

-Corryville would also have known that she

-always looked decidedly odd and strange,

-and it was Arabella who was marching

-steadily along the road.</p>

-

-<p>So determined was her tread that one

-might have thought that there was a band

-behind her playing martial music to which

-she was obliged to keep step.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, whoever she is, she's carrying an

-umbrella, this pleasant day," murmured

-Floretta; then as she came near, she

-added:</p>

-

-<p>"And wearing rubbers and a raincoat,

-as true as I live!"</p>

-

-<p>Arabella was more bundled and wrapped

-than at first appeared, for, as she came up

-the gravel walk, Floretta saw that a long<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>

-veil was closely tied over her hat, and wound

-about her throat.</p>

-

-<p>From her appearance one might have

-thought that she expected freezing weather

-before night.</p>

-

-<p>She walked up on to the piazza, and then

-stood, for a moment, looking about, as if in

-search of some one.</p>

-

-<p>It was not politeness that prompted Floretta

-to speak. It was simply curiosity. She

-was wild to know who the strange-looking

-child was, and whom she wished to see.</p>

-

-<p>"Are you looking for some one?" she

-asked, at the same time slipping from the

-hammock, and going so close to Arabella

-that she could peep into the queer little face.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2>

-

-<h3>ARABELLA MAKES A CALL</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>ARABELLA peered at Floretta through

-her spectacles, and was tempted not

-to reply, but after a moment's pause she

-changed her mind.</div>

-

-<p>"I came to see Dorothy Dainty, and

-Nancy Ferris," she said.</p>

-

-<p>"They're out driving," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"How do you know?" Arabella asked,

-rudely.</p>

-

-<p>"Because I heard them say they were

-going, and because I saw them go," was the

-quick reply.</p>

-

-<p>"It's a long way over here, and now I've

-got to take the same walk back," said Arabella.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"They're going to be out all the afternoon,"

-said Floretta, "but why don't you

-sit down, and rest a while before you go

-back?"</p>

-

-<p>It sounded kind, and Arabella at once

-seated herself, while Floretta sat near

-her.</p>

-

-<p>She thought it would be great fun to question

-this odd child, and there was no one

-near to check her.</p>

-

-<p>"Aren't you nearly roasted in that raincoat?"

-she asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I'm not chilly," said Arabella,

-fixing her sharp eyes upon the other little

-girl.</p>

-

-<p>"Did you think it was going to rain?"

-was the next question. "You've rubbers,

-and umbrella."</p>

-

-<p>Floretta barely managed to hide the fact

-that she wanted to laugh. Her question<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>

-seemed so absurd with the blue sky overhead,

-and the sunshine everywhere.</p>

-

-<p>"I didn't want to wear them," said Arabella,

-"and I told Aunt Matilda it was too

-pleasant to rain, but she said you never could

-tell, and she said, too, that I could wear

-them, or stay at home, so what could I

-do?"</p>

-

-<p>"<i>I'd</i> have stayed at home," said Floretta,

-bluntly. "I wouldn't wear raincoat and

-rubbers, and lug an umbrella for any Aunt

-Matilda or Aunt Jemima!"</p>

-

-<p>"Who is Aunt Jemima?" Arabella asked,

-stupidly.</p>

-

-<p>"I don't know," said Floretta, sharply,

-"but then, I don't know your Aunt Matilda."</p>

-

-<p>She longed to say that she did not want

-to, but for once she did not quite dare to say

-what she thought.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Then there was an awkward pause. Floretta

-could not think what to say next, while

-Arabella did not try.</p>

-

-<p>Silence never made her uneasy. She

-could stare at any one who sat opposite her,

-for a half-hour, without so much as winking,

-and it rather amused her if the other person

-became nervous, and wriggled uneasily beneath

-her persistent stare. At last Floretta

-spoke.</p>

-

-<p>"You might take some of those things

-off," she said; "you won't need them while

-you stay."</p>

-

-<p>"Aunt Matilda told me not to," said Arabella,

-"and if I <i>did</i>, it would be just my

-luck to have her come right by here, and

-see me with them off. My! <i>Wouldn't</i> she

-be angry?"</p>

-

-<p>Arabella's eyes dilated as she asked the

-question.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Does your Aunt Matilda poke 'round

-after you like that?" asked Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"She doesn't ever <i>seem</i> to follow me, but

-all the same, she's always catching me doing

-something."</p>

-

-<p>"Then you <i>do</i> risk doing what she tells

-you not to," said Floretta, with a saucy

-laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"Look here!" cried Arabella, "I don't

-know you, but I'm going to tell you something.

-I can't do one single thing I want

-to, neither can my papa or mamma. Aunt

-Matilda is little, and my papa is big. He

-says he was centre-rush on the college football

-team, but when Aunt Matilda tells him

-what to do, he says, 'Yes'm,' and does it.

-One of our neighbors at home says Aunt

-Matilda holds the purse-strings, but I don't

-know what that means. Her purse hasn't

-any strings on it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Well, if it <i>had</i>, I'd cut 'em off,"

-said Floretta, "so she <i>couldn't</i> hold

-'em."</p>

-

-<p>"You wouldn't if she lived at <i>your</i>

-house," said Arabella.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta, in spite of her boldness, was

-more than half convinced.</p>

-

-<p>"Well,&mdash;perhaps I wouldn't," she said.

-"Why, what are you taking?"</p>

-

-<p>"Pills," said Arabella, counting out

-six very pink pills from a little bottle,

-and taking them, then making a horrid

-face.</p>

-

-<p>"You don't look sick," said Floretta,

-"but you're taking medicine."</p>

-

-<p>"Aunt Matilda says these are for my

-color," was the answer.</p>

-

-<p>"You haven't any; you're pale as a

-sheet," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"That's why I take them," said Arabella,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>

-"and look! I've got some green ones

-I take," and six green pills followed the

-pink ones.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, what are those for?" gasped

-Floretta. "Ought you to take two kinds

-at the same time?"</p>

-

-<p>Arabella, determined to startle her new

-acquaintance, took a third bottle from her

-pocket, and swallowed three very large

-white pills.</p>

-

-<p>She was delighted with the effect that she

-had produced.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta sprang to her feet, and tried to

-snatch the bottle, but Arabella had put it

-in her pocket, and was holding the pocket

-together.</p>

-

-<p>She narrowed her shrewd little eyes, and

-smiled broadly.</p>

-

-<p>"Guess you couldn't take all that, and

-not feel queer!" she said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"I wouldn't wonder if you felt funny.

-<i>Do</i> you?" asked Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"Not <i>yet</i>," said Arabella.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta was getting tired of her

-caller. She hoped that she hadn't any

-more kinds of medicine that she could

-take.</p>

-

-<p>She wished that Dorothy would return

-and amuse Arabella.</p>

-

-<p>She would have run away from any one

-else, and rudely left her alone, but there

-was something so strange about this child

-that she feared her.</p>

-

-<p>She had a nervous feeling that if she

-turned to leave her, Arabella might snatch

-at her, and draw her back. She certainly

-did look odd.</p>

-

-<p>There was something catlike in the way

-in which she kept her eyes riveted upon

-Floretta.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She looked as if, at any moment, she

-might spring at her!</p>

-

-<p>She was not thinking of doing anything

-of the sort, however.</p>

-

-<p>The truth was that she <i>did</i> feel just a bit

-queer.</p>

-

-<p>Was it the three kinds of pills?

-She could not tell, but she began to feel

-as if she would be glad if she were at

-home.</p>

-

-<p>"I guess I'll go now," she said. "I

-think it must be time."</p>

-

-<p>"What time did your Aunt Matilda

-tell you to come home?" Floretta

-asked.</p>

-

-<p>"She said I could stay to dinner if Dorothy

-asked me, but she doesn't come home,

-so I guess I won't wait."</p>

-

-<p>"Go to dinner at the Cleverton in that

-plaid gingham!" thought Floretta, for she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>

-had seen the plain little frock beneath the

-raincoat.</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;">

-<img src="images/i007.jpg" width="395" height="500" alt="She offered two cards to Floretta.&mdash;Page 210." title="" />

-<span class="caption">She offered two cards to Floretta.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_210">Page 210.</a></i></span>

-</div>

-

-<p>Arabella grasped her big umbrella firmly,

-and turned, as she went down the steps, to

-say:</p>

-

-<p>"You may tell Dorothy Dainty that

-<i>Miss</i> Corryville called."</p>

-

-<p>Floretta giggled.</p>

-

-<p>"And you might tell your Aunt Matilda

-that you talked with <i>Miss</i> Paxton," she

-said.</p>

-

-<p>"I will," said Arabella, without a sign

-of a smile.</p>

-

-<p>"I wonder you don't leave cards," said

-Floretta, and to her surprise, the queer

-child put her hand in the pocket of her raincoat,

-and, without looking at them, offered

-two cards to Floretta, saying:</p>

-

-<p>"There they are."</p>

-

-<p>Then, without looking back, she marched<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>

-resolutely down the road. She did not

-thank Floretta for talking with her while

-she rested, nor did she say "good-by."</p>

-

-<p>For some moments Floretta stood watching

-the odd little figure as it tramped down

-the road, the umbrella, like a huge walking

-stick, thumping the gravel at every step.

-She thought Arabella would turn around,

-but she did not.</p>

-

-<p>One might have thought that she had

-already forgotten the child with whom she

-had been talking. When, at last, she

-disappeared behind a clump of trees

-that hid the curve of the road, Floretta

-looked at the two cards in her hand,

-stared at them in amazement, and then

-laughed, laughed until her eyes were full

-of tears.</p>

-

-<p>Who could have helped laughing? One

-card bore these lines:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p>

-

-<div class='center'>

-<span class="smcap">James Horton Worth,<br />

-Painless Dentistry,<br />

-10 Trevor Street, Merrivale.</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<div class='unindent'>While the other, equally interesting, bore

-this statement:</div>

-

-<div class='center'>

-<span class="smcap">Alton Justus Meer,<br />

-Jeweller,<br />

-90 Rupert Road, Merrivale.</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<p>"How perfectly funny," cried Floretta.

-"I'll run up and show them to mamma, and

-then I'll wait here to give them to Dorothy

-and Nancy when they come. I wonder if

-they'll have any choice?"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy felt, as did the older

-members of the party, that the ride had

-been the most delightful of any that they

-had enjoyed since their arrival.</p>

-

-<p>The horses were tossing their manes, and

-Romeo, as if in imitation, tossed his so that

-it showed all its silken beauty.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"See him!" cried Dorothy. "He thinks

-he's as fine as any horse."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, he is as dear as they," said

-Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes," said Dorothy, "and dearer."</p>

-

-<p>And when the horses and the pony had

-been led around to the stable, and the

-older members of the party had reached

-the piazza, Dorothy and Nancy, who had

-paused for a moment to talk, ran up the

-steps, intending to sit together in a large

-rocker.</p>

-

-<p>Before they reached the chair, Floretta

-flew toward them.</p>

-

-<p>"You had a funny caller while you were

-out driving," she said, with a giggle, "and

-she was so very fashionable that she left

-these cards. She told me to tell you that

-<i>Miss</i> Corryville had called."</p>

-

-<p>"It was Arabella," said Nancy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Did she truly say '<i>Miss?</i>'" Dorothy

-asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, didn't I <i>say</i> so?" Floretta asked

-rudely; "and I told her to tell her Aunt

-Matilda that she talked with <i>Miss</i> Paxton,

-and she said she would. She waited a long

-time for you to come home, because she said

-she meant to stay to dinner with you. Say!

-She had on a calico dress! Wouldn't she

-have looked gay?"</p>

-

-<p>"It isn't very kind to laugh at any one's

-clothes," said Dorothy, "and it's not very

-nice to laugh at other people's friends."</p>

-

-<p>"Pooh!" cried Floretta, "I shall laugh

-at whoever I please," and she turned and

-ran up to her room.</p>

-

-<p>But she had laughed once too often!

-During the ride, Mrs. Fenton had spoken

-of Floretta's rude ways, and of the day

-when, upon following Nancy to the dining-room,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>

-she had caught the provoking child

-in the act of mimicking her.</p>

-

-<p>"Your little Nancy was grieved and distressed

-because she knew that I saw it.

-What a difference there is in children! The

-Paxton child is disgusting, while Nancy,

-who, I have heard, was a little waif, is as

-gentle as Dorothy, who was born the little

-daughter of a fine, old family."</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty had told

-Mrs. Fenton something of Nancy's life, and

-noticed how deeply interested she seemed

-to be.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton had realized that ever since

-the day that Floretta had told of being

-caught mimicking Mrs. Fenton for the

-amusement of the waitresses and maids,

-Mrs. Fenton had shunned them. She had

-made desperate efforts to win Mrs. Fenton's

-friendship, but never very successfully, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>

-she found that her little daughter's silly

-act had rendered any intimacy quite impossible.</p>

-

-<p>A few days after the ride, Mrs. Fenton

-did not appear at lunch, or at dinner, and

-when Mrs. Paxton, with elaborate interest,

-inquired for her, she learned that the lady

-had left very early that morning, before any

-guests were on the piazza to see her depart.</p>

-

-<p>It certainly did seem odd that she should

-have left, without a word to those whom

-she had known, but Mrs. Dainty, with her

-customary good taste, made no comment,

-and Aunt Charlotte Grayson was equally

-silent.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton did just as one might have

-expected. She expressed, in a very loud

-voice, her disgust at being thus pointedly

-slighted, for so she chose to feel.</p>

-

-<p>"After all my friendliness, I can't see<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>

-how she could leave the Cleverton without

-so much as a word to me. Why, I felt almost

-like a relative, as my name was Fenton

-before I married!"</p>

-

-<p>"I guess Mrs. Fenton didn't have what

-you might call a family feeling," said old

-Mr. Cunningham, which so angered Mrs.

-Paxton that she politely turned her back.</p>

-

-<p>Two letters arrived at the Cleverton that

-afternoon, and it would be difficult to say

-which caused the greater surprise.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton told the contents of hers to

-all who would listen, and there were enough

-who were curious, to make a good audience.</p>

-

-<p>"<span class="smcap">To Mrs. Clara Fenton Paxton</span>:" it

-began, refraining from any endearing

-terms.</p>

-

-<p>"I knew, before I met you, that you and

-your small daughter were related to my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>

-husband, and also knew that he entertained

-no admiration for you. He left his entire

-estate to me, and as you were but a distant

-relative, you could expect no inheritance.

-However, with a determination to deal

-fairly with all my kin (I have but three

-such), I came to the Cleverton to see you

-and your little daughter, intending, if she

-proved sweet-tempered and attractive, to

-will my property to her. She is the only

-one of the three relatives who bears my

-husband's name.</p>

-

-<p>"I do not wish to be harsh, but I am

-forced to admit that I find her to be bold,

-naturally unkind, and wholly lacking in the

-grace and courtesy which most children

-possess, either by training or inheritance.</p>

-

-<p>"I, therefore, have made my will in favor

-of Nancy Ferris, once a little waif, now a

-sweet, gentle, and attractive child, whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>

-little acts of courtesy and kindness are fully

-appreciated by</p>

-

-<div class='sig'>

-<span style="margin-right: 8em;">"Her friend,</span><br />

-"<span class="smcap">Cecilia Cullen Fenton.</span>"<br />

-</div>

-

-<p>"A most singular woman, to leave her

-property to a waif, a child of the theatre,

-and not bequeath so much as a penny to

-my Floretta, whom <i>any</i> one could see is an

-aristocrat," said Mrs. Paxton.</p>

-

-<p>"Mrs. Fenton, or anybody else, would

-need some rather strong glasses to see

-<i>that!</i>" muttered Mr. Cunningham.</p>

-

-<p>He was a testy old fellow, and he, like

-other guests of the hotel, had become exceedingly

-tired of Mrs. Paxton and her unlovely

-child.</p>

-

-<p>The other letter gave surprise and delight

-to the two who had shared in the care and

-training of little Nancy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"<span class="smcap">To Mrs. Rudolph Dainty, and to

-Mrs. Charlotte Grayson</span>,</p>

-

-<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear friends</span>:&mdash;" was its greeting,

-and then followed the story of the writer's

-visit to the Cleverton, and the statement

-that her few relatives were too distant to

-have any valid claim to her estate.</p>

-

-<p>"I was greatly displeased with the two

-of my kin whom I came to observe, and I

-will not dwell upon that, but, instead, will

-take this time to say that Dorothy Dainty

-and Nancy Ferris, are the two dearest children

-that it has been my pleasure to know.</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy's life has been sunny, and

-Nancy's story, as you told it to me, appealed

-to me, and I looked with even greater interest

-at the child who, under your loving care,

-had blossomed like a lovely flower.</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy has her parents, and will inherit

-a fortune. Nancy has no parents, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>

-I know, will be kindly cared for by you, but

-that fact will not deter me from making a

-bequest that gives me greatest pleasure.</p>

-

-<p>"I shall leave all of my estate to Nancy

-Ferris, and I remind her, in some little

-verses that I enclose, how deeply I have

-appreciated her many little kindnesses.</p>

-

-

-<div class='center'><span class="smcap">To Nancy</span></div>

-

-<div class='poem'>

-"Dear little girl, I know that you will daily<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Do loving acts of kindness, and of cheer,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Thus urging life to sing its song more gaily</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And making friendship lasting and more dear.</span><br />

-<br />

-"I felt your charm, dear child, I saw how sweetly<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">You gave your kindness, with no thought of gain.</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">I give you a reward, and how completely</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">I joy in giving, words cannot explain."</span><br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2>

-

-<h3>A SERENADE</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>JACK TIVERTON stood in the lower hall

-one morning, and appeared as if waiting

-for some one. In his hand was a short

-switch that he had cut from a shrub that

-grew beside the driveway. Often he looked

-up the staircase, and then, as no one appeared,

-he would continue to strike at the

-flies that flew past the doorway.</div>

-

-<p>At last he heard merry voices upon the

-landing, and then Dorothy and Nancy came

-hurrying down the stairs.</p>

-

-<p>"Good morning!" they called, but Jack,

-in his eagerness to ask questions, forgot to

-return their greeting.</p>

-

-<p>"Say!" he cried, "do you know that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>

-Mrs. Paxton and Floretta left this morning

-before breakfast?"</p>

-

-<p>No, the little girls did not know that.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, they have. I saw them go, and

-I'm glad. Floretta was fun to play with,

-but she wasn't fair. She'd get me to do

-things, and then if we got caught, she'd always

-say I planned it," said Jack.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy tried to think of something kind

-to say of Floretta, but she knew that what

-Jack said was true. Floretta truly was not

-in the habit of playing "fair."</p>

-

-<p>"Her mamma said something queer just

-as she was going off. She was talking to a

-lady, I don't know what her name is, and

-Mrs. Paxton said:</p>

-

-<p>"'Well, Dorothy Dainty has always

-seemed to be fond of Nancy, but now that

-Nancy is to have a <i>fortune</i>, shell love her

-a deal more than she ever did before.'"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>And now Dorothy spoke, her blue eyes

-flashing, and her cheeks flushed.</p>

-

-<p>"That's not true!" she cried. "That's

-not true! I've always loved Nancy, and always

-will. I'd love her if she had just

-nothing at all! Nothing could make

-any difference. I love her all I can.

-Nancy knows that. Every one knows

-that."</p>

-

-<p>How keenly she felt Mrs. Paxton's silly

-speech!</p>

-

-<p>She was indignant that any one should

-think her love for Nancy so little worth

-while that fortune could make it stronger.</p>

-

-<p>How could she love Nancy more than she

-had always loved her?</p>

-

-<p>Nancy threw her arms about her, and

-drew her closer.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you mind, Dorothy," she said,

-"<i>I</i> know how truly you love me. Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>

-Paxton didn't know, because I guess she

-couldn't understand it. <i>She</i> couldn't love

-the way you do."</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy smiled through the tears that

-had filled her eyes.</p>

-

-<p>"There's no one dearer than you,

-Nancy," she said.</p>

-

-<p>Jack swung his switch at a dragon-fly

-that flew past the doorway.</p>

-

-<p>"Did you see that darning-needle?" he

-asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Well," he continued, without waiting

-for an answer, "I was down the road a few

-days ago, trying to catch some of those big

-steel-colored ones in my fly-net. I hadn't

-seen any one after I left this piazza, but

-just as I swung my net round to catch the

-dragon-fly, somebody said: 'Look out, or

-you'll get bitten!' and I turned round, but

-no one was in sight. I was just going to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>

-swing my net again, when some one giggled,

-and then I saw a little skinny girl looking

-at me from between some bushes."</p>

-

-<p>"What was she doing?" Dorothy asked.</p>

-

-<p>"You couldn't guess if you tried for a

-month!" said Jack.</p>

-

-<p>"She was sitting on a big stone, beside

-a big puddle that was left there after the

-shower. She said she was playing she was

-a frog, and when she stared at me through

-her glasses, and smiled, no, <i>grinned</i> at me,

-I couldn't help thinking she looked like one.

-Say, she had on a green cloak, a regular

-frog-color."</p>

-

-<p>"It must have been <i>Arabella!</i>" said

-Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"I don't know what her name was. I

-didn't ask her, but while I watched her

-she hopped off the stone into the puddle

-with both feet, and cried, 'po-dunk!' just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>

-like an old bullfrog. My! Weren't her

-shoes wet!"</p>

-

-<p>"I wonder what her Aunt Matilda said

-when she went home with wet feet," said

-Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>Without noticing what she said, Jack continued.</p>

-

-<p>"I never saw such a queer girl!" he said,

-in disgust, "for when I told her dragonflies

-would never bite, she said: 'They will.

-They'll sew your eyes, and nose, and mouth

-up. Po-dunk!' and she hopped back on to

-the stone, and grinned at me just as she did

-at first. Say! She made me feel queer to

-look at her, and I turned and ran away. I

-wasn't afraid of her, of course, but she <i>did</i>

-make me feel queer!"</p>

-

-<p>"She'd make any one feel queer," said

-Nancy as they turned toward the dining-room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Jack wished that they might have stayed

-longer in the hall. He had intended to ask

-them if they knew Arabella, and if she was

-always doing queer things, but Mrs. Dainty

-and Aunt Charlotte joined them, and they

-went in for breakfast.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Tiverton, coming in from an early

-walk, took Jack with her to the other side

-of the dining-room. He looked across at

-them, and wondered what they could have

-told of Arabella if they had had a chance.

-He decided to question them, whispering

-softly to himself:</p>

-

-<p>"I'll <i>make</i> them tell me all they know

-about that funny girl."</p>

-

-<p>For several days he tried to catch Dorothy

-or Nancy at a time when he could question

-them.</p>

-

-<p>He chased Dorothy up the long stairway

-one morning, only to see her disappear into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>

-her room. He had not told her that he had

-wished to talk with her, and she, believing

-that he was only chasing her for fun, ran

-from him, laughing as she went.</p>

-

-<p>He found Nancy, a few minutes later,

-and coaxed her to wait on the landing.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, Nancy," he said, "you've got to

-tell me something about that queer girl

-that you and Dorothy know."</p>

-

-<p>"If you mean Arabella," said Nancy,

-"I don't see what I could tell you, only

-that she <i>is</i> queer, and you know that

-now."</p>

-

-<p>"You'll better believe I know it!" cried

-Jack, "for I met her again yesterday, and

-guess what she was doing!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I couldn't," said Nancy. "No one

-ever could guess what Arabella Corryville

-would do."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, she looked like a witch, and acted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>

-like one, too," Jack replied. "It was yesterday

-that I saw her. I was going across

-the field, and had nearly reached the wall,

-when I looked up, and saw her sitting on

-the top bar of the&mdash;the&mdash;oh, the place

-where they take down the bars to let the

-cattle through."</p>

-

-<p>"I know where you mean," said Nancy,

-"but why was it strange that she was sitting

-there?"</p>

-

-<p>"It was what she was doing that was

-funny," Jack replied, "and because you

-couldn't guess, I'll tell you.</p>

-

-<p>"She didn't look toward me, though I'm

-sure she must have heard me coming, for

-I was just tramping along, and whistling

-all the way. She was looking up at the

-clouds, and counting, 'one&mdash;two&mdash;three&mdash;'

-very slowly, and when I was close behind

-her, she said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"'Hush&mdash;sh&mdash;sh! I'm charming the

-crows!'</p>

-

-<p>"'How long does it take to do it?' I

-said, for it sounded like nonsense, and I

-wanted to hurry. It was almost lunch time.</p>

-

-<p>"'Hush&mdash;sh!' she said again. 'There

-comes one of them now!' and sure enough

-a big, black crow did come flying right

-down, and perched on the limb of an old

-tree near her."</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Jack Tiverton," cried Nancy,

-"you don't believe Arabella really <i>made</i>

-him come down, do you?"</p>

-

-<p>"Of course not," cried Jack, "but she

-wanted me to think so. Say! She said she

-was saying a charm, and when I asked her

-what it was, she wouldn't tell me. She said

-it would spoil the charm to tell it. She

-looked funny sitting up there on the top

-rail, and staring at the crows till her eyes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>

-watered. She didn't look like a 'charmer.'

-She looked ever so much more like a scarecrow!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Jack, it's horrid to say that!"

-cried Nancy, at the same time trying not to

-let him see how near she was to laughing.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, she <i>did!</i>" Jack insisted, "and

-you're almost laughing now, Nancy Ferris,

-and you'd have screamed if you'd seen

-her roosting there, and calling herself a

-charmer! Why, that old crow just flopped

-down there for fun, and when he saw the

-queer-looking girl, he cawed as if it made

-him mad, and I didn't blame him. Say!

-She had a shoe on one foot, and a slipper

-on the other. Her apron was put on back-side-to,

-and she had a hen's feather in each

-hand, and she waved them up and down

-while she mumbled some kind of a verse.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>

-She said her clothes were put on that way

-to help the charm. Isn't she a <i>ninny?</i>"</p>

-

-<p>Just at that moment, before Nancy could

-reply, Mrs. Tiverton called Jack, and Nancy

-ran to tell the story of Arabella's latest

-freak to Dorothy.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>One afternoon, a number of little girls

-were sitting on the piazza at the Cleverton,

-and their merry voices attracted Jack Tiverton,

-who glanced up from the book that

-he was reading, and then, because he

-was curious to know what so interested

-them, crossed the piazza, and joined the

-group.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy, in the big hammock,

-held the book of fairy tales, Flossie Barnet

-sat near them, while the others, all little

-guests at the hotel, sat upon the railing, or

-in the large rockers that stood near.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Jack joined the row perched upon the

-railing.</p>

-

-<p>"Tell a fellow what you are all talking

-about, will you? Will you, <i>please</i>, I

-mean?" he asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy Dainty has been reading us a

-lovely story," said a little girl, whose merry

-eyes showed that she had enjoyed it.</p>

-

-<p>"What's it about?" Jack asked, and

-then, "Oh, <i>fairy</i> tales!" he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you like fairy tales?" Flossie

-questioned, looking up at him.</p>

-

-<p>No one liked to differ with dear little

-Flossie, least of all, Jack Tiverton.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I like them <i>some</i>," he said, awkwardly,

-"but,&mdash;are there any stories about

-bandits or pirates in that book?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, no," they cried, in a laughing

-chorus, "and there aren't any wild Indians

-in it, either."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"I don't care much about Indian stories,"

-Jack replied, "but I do like to read

-about pirates."</p>

-

-<p>"But just hear what this one was

-about," said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"The wandering prince had, for years,

-been searching for a lovely princess, who

-should look like a beautiful picture that

-hung in his father's palace. One day he

-came to a castle where the people told him

-a handsome princess was imprisoned, and

-he asked why she was kept there. They

-told him that she was enchanted, and that

-some day, a wandering prince would sing

-beneath her window, and then the

-spell would be broken, and she would be

-free."</p>

-

-<p>Jack was interested.</p>

-

-<p>"But s'posing he couldn't sing?" he

-asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Oh, a prince could surely sing!" said

-Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"And p'raps he could sing under her

-window, if he couldn't anywhere else,"

-ventured a dreamy-eyed little girl who sat

-near Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"And how would he know <i>what</i> to

-sing?" a cheery voice questioned, and a

-pair of merry eyes peered over the piazza

-railing.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie,

-"what difference would it make?"</p>

-

-<p>"All the difference in the world," declared

-Uncle Harry, "for while the proper

-melody would set the princess free, how are

-we to know that the wrong melody might

-not chain her closer than before!"</p>

-

-<p>"Why, the story doesn't say that," said

-Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps not, but the prince took an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>

-<i>awful</i> risk when he chose what to sing,"

-declared Uncle Harry.</p>

-

-<p>"You're laughing when you say it,"

-said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"He is," agreed Flossie, "and what he

-says is funny, but I know this: I'd love to

-hear some one singing under <i>my</i> window!"</p>

-

-<p>Some ladies, who sat near enough to hear

-the conversation, were amused at the children's

-enthusiasm, and at Uncle Harry's

-evident interest.</p>

-

-<p>"The prince had his guitar slung over

-his shoulder by a ribbon," said Dorothy.

-"See the picture," and she slipped from

-the hammock, and offered the book that he

-might see the illustration.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm glad he carried his guitar instead

-of a banjo," he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Why are you glad of that?" Flossie

-asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Oh, because I really <i>am</i>, in fact, I might

-even say I am delighted," he replied.</p>

-

-<p>"I do believe he intends to serenade

-those children," said a handsome woman,

-to her friend who sat beside her; "he is a

-brilliant man, and one who is blessed with

-many talents, and one of his greatest

-charms is his love of children. He will go

-far out of his way to afford them a bit of

-fun."</p>

-

-<p>That evening, when nearly every one had

-left the piazza, and all of the children were

-in their rooms, the soft twanging of guitar

-strings floated up toward Flossie's window.</p>

-

-<p>She was not yet asleep, and she sat up in

-bed, and listened.</p>

-

-<p>Yes, it was a guitar! Was it Uncle

-Harry's?</p>

-

-<p>A little prelude softly played, drew her

-toward the window.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She crept closer, and peeped out. Yes,

-there he was, looking right up toward her

-window.</p>

-

-<p>Now his fine voice was softly singing,

-and Flossie held her breath.</p>

-

-<div class='poem'>

-"Under thy window, my little lady,<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Under thy window, Flossie dear,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Here where the moonbeams softly flicker,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Sing I this song that you may hear.</span><br />

-<br />

-"Moonlight, and starlight weave enchantment,<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Yet shall my song your freedom bring,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">You shall be happy little lady,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Give me your love for the song I sing."</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry, you have it <i>now!</i>"

-cried Flossie. "I love you, when you're

-singing, and <i>all</i> the time."</p>

-

-<p>"I know that, dear little girl, but I <i>must</i>

-have my fun, so I came here to sing the song

-I made for you," he said gently.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, you're <i>dear</i>," she cried, "and I'll

-throw you a kiss," and she did, reaching<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>

-far out of the window that he might surely

-see her.</p>

-

-<p>"I caught it!" he cried, and as he

-turned toward the porch, she heard

-him softly strumming the prelude

-again.</p>

-

-<p>Others had heard the pretty song, for

-Dorothy and Nancy had a room next to

-Flossie's.</p>

-

-<p>The next morning he was coaxed and

-teased to sing the song again, but he declared

-that he could only sing it in the

-moonlight, that the daylight would spoil its

-effect.</p>

-

-<p>The sunny days sped on wings, and soon

-the guests began to think of turning homeward.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty's party and the Barnets

-were to leave the hotel at the same time,

-and Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie were delighted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>

-that they were to take the return

-trip together.</p>

-

-<p>They were talking of the pleasures that

-they were looking forward to, and telling of

-some delightful events that were already

-planned, when Jack Tiverton gave them a

-genuine surprise.</p>

-

-<p>"Mamma has just told me something

-fine," he said, "and I ran right down to tell

-it to you."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, tell it quick!" said Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"We're going to live in Merrivale,

-and we'll be there soon after we leave

-here. I'm glad. Are you, <i>all</i> of you?" he

-asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Of course we're glad," said Dorothy

-and Nancy; and Flossie hastened to

-add:</p>

-

-<p>"Every one of us is glad."</p>

-

-<p>There were bright days, and many pleasures<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>

-in store for the little friends, and those

-who would like also to enjoy them, and to

-know what happened during the winter,

-may read of all this in</p>

-

-<div class='center'>

-"Dorothy Dainty's Holidays."<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2>THE DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES</h2>

-

-<h3>By AMY BROOKS</h3>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by the Author<br />

-

-Price, $1.00 each<br /></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" summary="Dorothy books">

-<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i008.png" width="153" height="200" alt="Dorothy Dainty&#39;s Winter" title="" />

-</td><td align='left'><i>Dorothy Dainty</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy's Playmates</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty at School</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty at the Shore</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty in the City</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty at Home</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty's Gay Times</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty in the Country</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty's Winter</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty in the Mountains</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty's Holidays</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty's Vacation</i><br /></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Little Dorothy Dainty</span> is one of the most generous-hearted of

-children. Selfishness is not at all a trait of hers, and she knows the value

-of making sunshine, not alone in her own heart, but for her neighborhood

-and friends."&mdash;<i>Boston Courier.</i></p>

-

-<p>"<span class="smcap">Dorothy Dainty</span>, a little girl, the only child of wealthy parents,

-is an exceedingly interesting character, and her earnest and interesting

-life is full of action and suitable adventure."&mdash;<i>Pittsburg Christian Advocate.</i></p></div>

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Dorothy Dainty books continued">

-<tr><td align='left'><p>"No finer little lady than <span class="smcap">Dorothy Dainty</span>

-was ever placed in a book for children."&mdash;<i>Teachers'

-Journal, Pittsburg.</i></p>

-<p>"<span class="smcap">Miss Brooks</span> is a popular writer for

-the very little folks who can read. She

-has an immense sympathy for the children,

-and her stories never fail to be amusing."&mdash;<i>Rochester

-(N.Y.) Herald.</i></p>

-</td><td align='left'><img src="images/i008b.png" width="153" height="200" alt="Dorothy Dainty&#39;s Holidays" title="" />

-</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2><i>THE PRUE BOOKS</i></h2>

-

-<h3>By AMY BROOKS</h3>

-

-<div class='center'>Illustrated by the Author 12mo Cloth Price, $1.00 each</div>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Prue cover and description">

-<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i009a.png" width="156" height="200" alt="Little Sister Prue" title="" />

-</td><td align='left'><div class='cap'>CUNNING little Prue, one of the most

-winsome little girls ever "put in a

-book," has already been met in another

-series where she gave no small part of

-the interest. She well deserved books

-of her own for little girls of her age,

-and they are now ready with everything

-in the way of large, clear type, and

-Miss Brooks's best pictures and her

-pleasing cover designs to make them

-attractive.</div></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Prue Books">

-<tr><td align='left'><i>Little Sister Prue</i></td><td align='left'><i>Prue's Merry Times</i></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Prue at School</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Prue's Little Friends</i></span></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Prue's Playmates</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Prue's Jolly Winter</i></span></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-<div class="figright" style="width: 150px;">

-<img src="images/i009b.png" width="150" height="200" alt="Prue&#39;s Little Friends" title="" />

-</div>

-

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"Miss Brooks always brings out the best

-ways of acting and living and provides a good

-deal of humor in her original country characters.&mdash;<i>Watchman,

-Boston.</i></p>

-

-<p>"Few writers have ever possessed the

-faculty of reaching the hearts and holding the

-interest of little girl readers to the extent Miss

-Brooks has."&mdash;<i>Kennebec Journal</i>, <i>Augusta, Me.</i></p>

-

-<p>"To know Prue is to love her, for no

-more winsome little girl was ever put in a book,

-and her keen wit and unexpected drolleries

-make her doubly attractive."&mdash;<i>Kindergarten Magazine.</i></p></div>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-<i>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt<br />

-of price by the publishers</i><br />

-<br />

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2><i>THE RANDY BOOKS</i></h2>

-

-<h3><i>By AMY BROOKS</i></h3>

-

-<div class='center'>

-12mo <span class="smcap">Cloth Artistic Cover Design in Gold and Colors<br />

-Illustrated by the Author Price $1.00 Each</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<div class="figleft" style="width: 142px;">

-<img src="images/i010a.png" width="142" height="200" alt="Randy&#39;s Good Times" title="" />

-</div>

-

-<p>The progress of the "Randy Books"

-has been one continual triumph over the

-hearts of girls of all ages, for dear little

-fun-loving sister Prue is almost as much

-a central figure as Randy, growing toward

-womanhood with each book. The

-sterling good sense and simple naturalness

-of Randy, and the total absence of

-slang and viciousness, make these books

-in the highest degree commendable,

-while abundant life is supplied by the

-doings of merry friends, and there is rich

-humor in the droll rural characters.</p>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Randy books">

-<tr><td align='left'><i>Randy's Summer</i></td><td align='left'><i>Randy's Good Times</i></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Randy's Winter</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Randy's Luck</i></span></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Randy and Her Friends</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Randy's Loyalty</i></span></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 6em;"><i>Randy and Prue</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 6em;"><i>Randy's Prince</i></span></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class="figright" style="width: 141px;">

-<img src="images/i010b.png" width="141" height="200" alt="Randy&#39;s Luck" title="" />

-</div>

-

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Randy Books are among the very

-choicest books for young people to make

-a beginning with."</p>

-<div class='sig'>

-&mdash;<i>Boston Courier.</i><br />

-</div>

-

-<p>"The Randy Books of Amy Brooks

-have had a deserved popularity among

-young girls. They are wholesome and

-moral without being goody-goody."</p>

-

-<div class='sig'>

-&mdash;<i>Chicago Post.</i><br />

-</div></div>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<div class='unindent'><span class="u"><big><b>Only Dollie</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span> Illustrated by Bertha Davidson

-Square 12mo Cloth $1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Only Dollie">

-<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i011a.png" width="149" height="200" alt="Only Dollie" title="" />

-</td><td align='left'><div class='cap'>THIS is a brightly written story of a girl of

-twelve, who, when the mystery of her birth

-is solved, like Cinderella, passes from drudgery to

-better circumstances. There is nothing strained

-or unnatural at any point. All descriptions or

-portrayals of character are life-like, and the

-book has an indescribable appealing quality

-which wins sympathy and secures success.</div>

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is delightful reading at all times."&mdash;<i>Cedar

-Rapids (Ia.) Republican.</i></p>

-

-<p>"It is well written, the story runs smoothly, the idea

-is good, and it is handled with ability.&mdash;<i>Chicago

-Journal.</i></p></div></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='unindent'><span class="u"><big><b>The Little Girl Next Door</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;Large &nbsp;&nbsp;12mo &nbsp;&nbsp;Cloth &nbsp;&nbsp;Illustrated

-by Bertha Davidson&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='cap'>A &nbsp;&nbsp;DELIGHTFUL story of true and genuine friendship between an

-impulsive little girl in a fine New York home and a little blind girl

-in an apartment next door. The little girl's determination to cultivate

-the acquaintance, begun out of the window during a rainy day, triumphs

-over the barriers of caste, and the little blind girl proves to be in every

-way a worthy companion. Later a mystery of birth is cleared up, and the

-little blind girl proves to be of gentle birth as well as of gentle manners.</div>

-

-

-

-

-<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Winifred's Neighbors</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;Illustrated

-by Bertha G. Davidson &nbsp;&nbsp;Large

-&nbsp;&nbsp;12mo &nbsp;&nbsp;Cloth &nbsp;&nbsp;$1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Winifred's Neighbors">

-<tr><td align='left'><div class='cap'>LITTLE Winifred's efforts to find some

-children of whom she reads in a book

-lead to the acquaintance of a neighbor

-of the same name, and this acquaintance

-proves of the greatest importance to Winifred's

-own family. Through it all she is just such a

-little girl as other girls ought to know, and

-the story will hold the interest of all ages.</div>

-</td><td align='left'><img src="images/i011b.png" width="143" height="200" alt="Winifred&#39;s Neighbors" title="" />

-</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-<i>For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt<br />

-of price by the publishers</i><br />

-<br />

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD Co., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>The Children on the Top Floor</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Large&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

-Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated by Bertha

-Davidson $1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="The Children on the Top Floor">

-<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i012a.png" width="150" height="200" alt="The Children on the Top Floor" title="" />

-</td><td align='left'><div class='cap'>IN this book little Winifred Hamilton, the

-child heroine of "Winifred's Neighbors,"

-reappears, living in the second of the four

-stories of a New York apartment house. On

-the top floor are two very interesting children,

-Betty, a little older than Winifred, who is now

-ten, and Jack, a brave little cripple, who is a

-year younger. In the end comes a glad reunion,

-and also other good fortune for crippled

-Jack, and Winifred's kind little heart has once

-more indirectly caused great happiness to others.</div>

-</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>How Barbara Kept Her Promise</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Large&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated

-by Bertha Davidson&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='cap'>TWO orphan sisters, Barbara, aged twelve, and little Hazel, who is

-"only eight," are sent from their early home in London to their

-mother's family in New York. Faithful Barbara has promised her father

-that she will take care of pretty, petted, mischievous Hazel, and how she

-tries to do this, even in the face of great difficulties, forms the story which

-has the happy ending which Miss Rhoades wisely gives to all her stories.</div>

-

-

-

-

-<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Little Miss Rosamond</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated

-by Bertha G. Davidson&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

-Large&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Little Miss Rosamond">

-<tr><td align='left'><div class='cap'>ROSAMOND lives in Richmond, Va.,

-with her big brother, who cannot

-give her all the comfort that she needs in

-the trying hot weather, and she goes to the

-seaside cottage of an uncle whose home

-is in New York. Here she meets Gladys

-and Joy, so well known in a previous

-book, "The Little Girl Next Door," and

-after some complications are straightened

-out, bringing Rosamond's honesty and

-kindness of heart into prominence, all are made very happy.</div>

-</td><td align='left'><img src="images/i012b.png" width="139" height="200" alt="Little Miss Rosamund" title="" />

-</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-<i>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt<br />

-of price by the publishers</i><br />

-<br />

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2>"<i>Brick House Books</i>"</h2>

-

-<h3><i>By NINA RHOADES</i></h3>

-

-<div class='center'><i>Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00 each</i></div>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Priscilla of the Doll Shop">

-<tr><td align='left'><div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Priscilla of the Doll Shop</b></big></span></div>

-<div class='cap'>THE "Brick House Books," as they are

-called from their well-known cover designs,

-are eagerly sought by children all over

-the country. There are three good stories in

-this book, instead of one, and it is hard to

-say which little girls, and boys, too, for that

-matter, will like the best.</div></td><td align='left'><img src="images/i013a.png" width="150" height="200" alt="Priscilla of the Doll Shop" title="" />

-</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Brave Little Peggy</b></big></span></div>

-

-

-<div class='cap'>PEGGY comes from California to New Jersey to live with a brother and

-sister whom she has not known since very early childhood. She is so

-democratic in her social ideas that many amusing scenes occur, and it is

-hard for her to understand many things that she must learn. But her good

-heart carries her through, and her conscientiousness and moral courage

-win affection and happiness.</div>

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="The Other Sylvia">

-<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i013b.png" width="146" height="200" alt="The Other Sylvia" title="" />

-</td><td align='left'><div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>The Other Sylvia</b></big></span></div>

-

-

-

-<div class='cap'>EIGHT-year-old Sylvia learns that girls who

-are "Kings' Daughters" pledge themselves

-to some kind act or service, and that one little

-girl named Mary has taken it upon herself to be

-helpful to all the Marys of her acquaintance.

-This is such an interesting way of doing good that

-she adopts it in spite of her unusual name, and

-really finds not only "the other Sylvia," but great

-happiness.</div></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-<i>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of<br />

-price by the publishers</i><br />

-<br />

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-

-<div class='tnote'>Transcriber's Note: Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</div>

-

-<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30088 ***</div>

-</body>

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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains, by Amy Brooks.
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+  </head>
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30088 ***</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 426px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="426" height="600" alt="Cover" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h1>DOROTHY DAINTY AT<br />
+THE MOUNTAINS</h1>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><div class='bbox'>
+<h2>Popular Stories.</h2>
+
+
+<div class='center'><span class="smcap">By AMY BROOKS.</span></div>
+
+<div class='center'>Each beautifully illustrated by the Author.</div>
+
+<div class='center'>THE RANDY BOOKS.</div>
+
+<div class='center'>12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.</div>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE RANDY BOOKS">
+<tr><td align='left'>RANDY'S SUMMER.</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S GOOD TIMES.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>RANDY'S WINTER.</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S LUCK.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>RANDY AND HER FRIENDS.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S LOYALTY.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>RANDY AND PRUE.</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S PRINCE.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div>
+<h3>For Younger Readers.</h3>
+
+
+<div class='center'>DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES.</div>
+
+<div class='center'>Large 12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Set in large
+English type. Price $1.00 each.</div>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES.">
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY'S PLAYMATES.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT SCHOOL.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE SHORE.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE CITY.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT HOME.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S GAY TIMES.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE COUNTRY.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S WINTER.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S HOLIDAYS.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S VACATION.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S VISIT.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT CRESTVILLE.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'><br />THE PRUE BOOKS.</div>
+
+<div class='center'>12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.</div>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE PRUE BOOKS">
+<tr><td align='left'>LITTLE SISTER PRUE.</td><td align='left'>PRUE'S MERRY TIMES.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>PRUE AT SCHOOL.</td><td align='left'>PRUE'S LITTLE FRIENDS.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>PRUE'S PLAYMATES.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='left'>PRUE'S JOLLY WINTER.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div>
+
+<div class='center'>
+A JOLLY CAT TALE. Large 12mo. Cloth. Profusely Illustrated. Price&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00<br />
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;"><a name="Frontispiece" id="Frontispiece"></a>
+<img src="images/i001.jpg" width="395" height="500" alt="&quot;Here! Here!&quot; cried Dorothy, and echo answered, &quot;Here,&mdash;ere!&quot;&mdash;Page 4." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;Here! Here!&quot; cried Dorothy, and echo answered, &quot;Here,&mdash;ere!&quot;&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_4">Page&nbsp;4</a>.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h1>DOROTHY DAINTY<br />
+AT THE MOUNTAINS</h1>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+
+<h2>AMY BROOKS</h2>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<small>AUTHOR OF "DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES," "THE RANDY</small><br />
+<small>BOOKS," "THE PRUE BOOKS," AND</small><br />
+<small>"A JOLLY CAT TALE"</small><br />
+<br />
+<br /><br />
+<i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR</i><br /><br /></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 79px;">
+<img src="images/emblem.png" width="79" height="100" alt="Emblem" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class='center'><br /><br />
+BOSTON<br />
+LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO.<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class='copyright'>
+DOROTHY DAINTY<br />
+TRADE-MARK<br />
+Registered in U. S. Patent Office<br />
+<br /><br /><br />
+Published, August, 1911<br />
+<br /><br /><br />
+<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1911, By LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO.</span><br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<i>All Rights Reserved</i><br />
+&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />
+<span class="smcap">Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Norwood Press<br />
+Berwick &amp; Smith Co.<br />
+Norwood, Mass., U. S. A.<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents">
+<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">At the Cleverton</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Delightful Surprise</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">An Entertainment</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">In A Birch Arbor</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Mountain Party</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Echo Captured</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Floretta's Return</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">At the Fair</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Flossie's Letter</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Gift of Wildflowers</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Arabella Makes a Call</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Serenade</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_222">222</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations">
+<tr><td align='left'>"Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered, "Here,&mdash;ere!" (<i><a href="#Page_4">Page 4</a></i>)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><i><a href="#Frontispiece">Frontispiece</a></i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><small>FACING<br />PAGE</small></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Often she looked back, as she sped over the road</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"Oh, what a lovely, <i>lovely</i> story!" said Dorothy</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>She offered two cards to Floretta</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
+<h2>DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<h3>AT THE CLEVERTON</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>THE great hotel on the crest of the hill
+was bathed in sunlight that poured
+from a rift in the clouds, as if sent for the
+sole purpose of showing the grand portico,
+the broad piazza, and the flag that floated
+gracefully on the summer breeze.</div>
+
+<p>Its many windows seemed to be looking
+across the valley to opposite mountain
+peaks, and one could easily imagine that
+its wide, open doorway, smiled genially as
+if offering a welcome to all arriving guests.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Two little girls ran across the lawn, the
+one with flaxen curls, the other with sunny
+brown ringlets.</p>
+
+<p>The fair-haired little girl had eyes as blue
+as the blue blossoms that she held in her
+hand, while her playmate's eyes were soft
+and brown, and told that her heart was loving
+and true.</p>
+
+<p>The little blue-eyed girl was Dorothy
+Dainty, and the child who clasped her hand
+was her dearest friend, Nancy Ferris.</p>
+
+<p>Nancy had no parents, and a few years
+before Dorothy's mamma had taken her
+under her care and protection, and she was
+being trained and educated as carefully as
+was Dorothy, the little daughter of the
+house.</p>
+
+<p>They had come to the Hotel Cleverton
+to spend the summer, and the first few days
+of their stay, they had explored all the land<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>
+that lay immediately around the hotel, and
+had found many beautiful spots, but one
+thing held their interest,&mdash;they loved the
+echo, and never tired of awakening it.</p>
+
+<p>"Come!" cried Dorothy. "Run with
+me over to the white birches, and we'll
+shout, and listen!"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dainty had told them the story of
+Echo, the nymph, who for loving Pan and
+following him and calling to him had been
+changed into a huge rock on the mountainside,
+and forever compelled to mock each
+voice she heard.</p>
+
+<p>The old legend of the nymph had caught
+their fancy, and often they paused in their
+play to shout, and listen to what seemed to
+them the voice of some fairy of the mountains.</p>
+
+<p>Now they stood beside the birches,
+Dorothy with one arm around a white<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>
+trunk, and Nancy near her. At their feet
+were countless bluebells, overhead the
+blue sky, while across and beyond the valley
+rose the mountain capped by white
+clouds that looked as soft as swan's-down.</p>
+
+<p>"Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo
+answered, "Here,&mdash;ere!"</p>
+
+<p>"Listen!" cried Dorothy, clasping her
+hands, and laughing with delight. "It answers
+as if it was a truly voice that heard
+and replied.</p>
+
+<p>"Nancy, I love you!" she cried, and
+again they plainly heard:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Love you-oo!"</p>
+
+<p>They thought it great fun to shout and
+call, and hear their cries so cleverly repeated.</p>
+
+<p>And now another child ran out from the
+great doorway, paused a moment as if looking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>
+for some one, then, seeing the two little
+figures near the clump of birches, stole
+softly near them.</p>
+
+<p>On tiptoe, and with tread as soft and
+noiseless as a cat, she made her way over
+the short grass, until she was quite near
+them. Then, hiding behind a low bush, she
+watched them. How still she stood! For
+what was she waiting? Her bold eyes were
+full of mischief, as she whispered, "Oh,
+hurry <i>up!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy Dainty put her hands to her
+mouth, trumpet fashion, and called:</p>
+
+<p>"Come and catch us!" and instantly the
+echo from the distant mountain and a shrill
+voice behind them, repeated:</p>
+
+<p>"Come and catch us!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, oh-o!" cried Dorothy, and Nancy
+ran to her, and threw her arms about
+her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You ought not to frighten Dorothy like
+that!" cried Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>A saucy laugh answered her.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it isn't nice to be shrieked at, and
+you do it just like the echo, you know you
+do, and it's enough to frighten any one,"
+said Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>The little tease was not in the least
+abashed. She could imitate almost any
+sound that she had ever heard, and each
+success made her eager to repeat her efforts
+at mocking.</p>
+
+<p>"I made old Mrs. Hermanton fly up out
+of her chair, and drop her ball of worsted
+and knitting-needles, when I shouted close
+to her ear."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Floretta!" cried Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>Now you think that was horrid, but <i>I</i>
+tell you it was funny. She'd just been telling
+about her darling little lap-dog that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>
+died <i>ten years ago</i>, and she got out her
+handkerchief to cry, and put it up to her
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"'Oh, if I only could hear his lovely bark
+again!' she said, and right behind her chair,
+I said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Ki-yi! Yip! Yip!' and she jumped up
+much as a foot from her seat."</p>
+
+<p>Nancy laughed. How could she help it?
+The old lady had told every man, woman,
+and child who sat upon the piazza, how
+much she had suffered in the loss of the
+dog.</p>
+
+<p>One testy old gentleman who was
+troubled with gout, spoke rather plainly.
+"Madam," he said, "I've heard that story
+every day of this week, and all I can say is,
+I wish you had gout in your feet as I have,
+and you'd have no time to waste crying for
+a puppy!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He certainly was hopelessly rude, but one
+must admit every day is far too often to be
+forced to listen to an uninteresting tale.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta stood looking down at the toe of
+her shoe. She moved it from side to side
+along the grass for a moment, then she
+spoke again.</p>
+
+<p>"You know old Mr. Cunningham has
+gout, and is awful cross?"</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy and Nancy nodded. They did
+indeed know that.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, he sat on the piazza and laughed
+when I scared Mrs. Hermanton, so I want
+to know if he'll think it's funny <i>every</i> time
+I do things. You know he puts one foot up
+on a chair, and every time any one touches
+that chair ever so little, he cries: '<i>Oh</i>, oh,
+oh!' and holds on to his foot.</p>
+
+<p>"The next time I'm near him, I'm going
+to make b'lieve hit my foot against something,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
+and then I'll cry out, just 'zactly as
+he does:</p>
+
+<p>"'<i>Oh</i>, oh, oh!' and I'll hold on to my
+foot," said Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"I know it's funny," said Dorothy, "but
+I don't think you ought to."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, <i>you</i> needn't. P'raps you couldn't
+do it just like other folks, but I <i>can</i>, and
+I'm going to!" said Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>She was a handsome child, but her boldness
+marred her beauty.</p>
+
+<p>She was, indeed, a clever imitator, but
+she had been told so too often. Her mother
+constantly praised her cleverness, and unwise
+friends applauded her efforts, until
+Floretta acquired the idea that she must, on
+all occasions, mimic some one.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes those whom she mocked
+thought it clever, and laughed when they
+had thus been held up to derision.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At other times Floretta found that she
+had chosen the wrong person to mimic, and
+had received a sharp rebuke.</p>
+
+<p>This taught her nothing, however.</p>
+
+<p>She thought any one who did not enjoy
+her antics must be very ill-natured, while
+her silly mother considered that Floretta
+had been abused.</p>
+
+<p>While Dorothy and Nancy were talking
+with Floretta, they were picking large
+bouquets of bluebells and a tiny white
+flower that grew as abundantly as the bluebells,
+and blossomed as freely.</p>
+
+<p>It pleased her, for the moment, to gather
+some of the blossoms, and soon the three
+were too busy to talk, each trying to
+see which could gather the largest bouquet.</p>
+
+<p>On the hotel piazza Mrs. Paxton sat, occupied
+with her embroidery, but not too<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+busy to talk. She was <i>never</i> too busy
+to talk, if she could find any one to
+listen.</p>
+
+<p>Near her sat two ladies who had just arrived,
+and old Mr. Cunningham, who
+frowned darkly at the magazine that he
+was trying to read.</p>
+
+<p>It was not that the story displeased him
+that he frowned, but that he was bored with
+hearing what Mrs. Paxton was saying,
+mainly because she always said the same
+thing.</p>
+
+<p>"You see, with our wealth and position,
+it is impossible that little Floretta should
+ever make any use of her talents for any
+purpose other than the amusement of her
+friends," she said.</p>
+
+<p>One of the two ladies, whose fine face and
+sweet low voice bespoke refinement, looked
+fixedly at Mrs. Paxton, and wondered that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
+any woman should be willing to boast so
+foolishly.</p>
+
+<p>The other, whose garments told of a great
+love of display, seemed interested, and even
+impressed.</p>
+
+<p>"What is her especial talent?" she
+asked, "I really should like to know. Is
+she musical?"</p>
+
+<p>"O dear, yes," Mrs. Paxton hastened to
+reply; "she plays delightfully, and she
+has a voice that is really quite unusual for a
+child; she dances, too, but her greatest gift
+is her power of imitation. She has a sensitive
+nature that is open to impressions, and
+she sees the funny side of everything. She
+really is a wonderful little mimic. You
+must see her to appreciate her charm."</p>
+
+<p>The quiet woman looked as if she thought
+this a doubtful accomplishment, but the one
+who had eagerly listened said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Where is she? I should be <i>so</i> pleased
+to see her. Not all children are so interesting.
+Many are dull."</p>
+
+<p>"And lucky they are!" growled old Mr.
+Cunningham, under his breath, but the
+ladies did not hear that.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>"I don't want these flowers now I've
+picked them," cried Floretta. "You can
+have them if you want them," she said, as
+she turned toward Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't hold any more than I have,"
+said Dorothy, "but you could&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Then here they go!" cried Floretta, as
+she flung them broadcast, to lie and wilt in
+the sunlight.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it was too bad to throw them
+away," said Dorothy. "I was going to say,
+if you didn't care for them, perhaps Mrs.
+Hermanton might like them. She said she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+liked wild flowers and used to pick them,
+but her rheumatism won't let her pick them
+now."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh! I wouldn't have bothered to
+take them back to her," Floretta replied;
+and turning about, she ran back to the
+hotel.</p>
+
+<p>"Come here, Floretta!" said Mrs. Paxton.
+"This lady wishes to see you."</p>
+
+<p>Usually Floretta when asked to do anything,
+preferred to do something else.</p>
+
+<p>This time, thinking that she saw an opportunity
+for a lark, she went promptly and
+paused beside her mother's chair.</p>
+
+<p>"This is Mrs. Dayne, Floretta. Mrs.
+Dayne, this is my little daughter."</p>
+
+<p>Floretta looked up and smiled, but said
+nothing. She had never been taught that
+she must reply courteously when spoken to.</p>
+
+<p>Her pretty face pleased Mrs. Dayne, who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
+was much the same sort of woman that Mrs.
+Paxton was. She wished that Floretta
+could be induced to perform.</p>
+
+<p><i>Induced!</i> She was already wondering if
+she would have a chance to show off.</p>
+
+<p>The opportunity came soon, and she was
+delighted.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Cunningham had become drowsy,
+and his magazine dropped to the piazza
+floor.</p>
+
+<p>In stooping to recover it, he hurt his
+gouty foot, and cried out.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Oh</i>, oh-o!" he cried, and like an echo,
+"<i>Oh</i>, oh-o!" cried Floretta, catching hold
+of her own foot and hopping wildly
+about.</p>
+
+<p>Of course Mrs. Paxton laughed gaily, as
+if Floretta had done a very smart thing,
+while Mrs. Dayne, who was as silly a
+woman as Mrs. Paxton, joined in the merriment,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+thus hoping to gain favor with her
+new friend.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Cunningham, without a word, took
+his magazine and, limping painfully, left
+the piazza, and went indoors.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Vinton, an odd expression on her
+fine face, took her parasol from the chair
+where it lay, and went for a walk down the
+path toward the birches. She was disgusted
+with Mrs. Paxton, Floretta, and
+Mrs. Dayne, although she felt that the little
+girl was least of all at fault.</p>
+
+<p>She was only an untaught, untrained
+child, to be pitied rather than blamed. She
+knew that they would think her very unkind
+if she did not seem to approve of
+Floretta, and she could not laugh at cruelty.</p>
+
+<p>The child was indeed a clever imitator,
+but the fact remained that it <i>was</i> cruel to
+mock an outcry caused by pain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Dorothy and Nancy were coming toward
+her, on their way toward the hotel, their
+hands filled with blossoms, faces bright and
+smiling.</p>
+
+<p>They greeted her gaily, and Dorothy offered
+her some of the flowers.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll give half to you, and half to
+mamma," said Dorothy. "I mean, I will if
+you'd like to have them."</p>
+
+<p>"It is a sweet gift, and I shall enjoy
+them in my room," Mrs. Vinton said. "I
+have a lovely vase that is worthy to hold
+such beautiful blossoms."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll divide mine between Aunt Charlotte
+and Mrs. Hermanton," said Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"You both like to give," said Mrs. Vinton.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes!" they cried together, and as
+she left them, Dorothy said:</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't she a sweet, lovely lady?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and I like to hear her talk, her
+voice always sounds so pleasant."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Vinton, as she walked along the
+little path, her flowers in her hand, thought
+of Dorothy and Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"They are two dear little girls," she
+said, "and add to the charm of this lovely
+place."</p>
+
+<p>"Would you dare to give Mr. Cunningham
+some bluebells for his buttonhole?"
+said Nancy. "I'd like to, but <i>I</i> wouldn't
+dare."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," Dorothy said. "I'd
+like to, too, and he 'most always has a rosebud,
+but sometimes he doesn't. When we
+get back, if he's on the piazza, and hasn't
+a bud in his buttonhole, I'll try to dare to
+offer him some of these blossoms."</p>
+
+<p>Dear little Dorothy! She wondered if
+she would be rewarded with a frown!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Floretta and her mother were not there,
+neither was Mrs. Dayne, but in a shady corner
+sat Mr. Cunningham.</p>
+
+<p>Nancy ran in to take her flowers to Aunt
+Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy hesitated. She would have been
+even more timid, had she known how recently
+he had been offended.</p>
+
+<p>He looked up from his book, frowned,
+then smiled and nodded pleasantly.</p>
+
+<p>He had thought that Floretta had returned,
+and was pleasantly surprised to see
+Dorothy, instead.</p>
+
+<p>Softly she crossed the piazza until she
+stood beside him.</p>
+
+<p>"May I give you a few of these bluebells
+for your buttonhole?" she said. "They're
+only wild flowers, but they're pretty ones,"
+she added, fearing that, after all, he might
+not care for them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Why, thank you, my dear. I surely
+would like them, especially as they are offered
+me by a real little lady."</p>
+
+<p>He placed the cluster that she offered
+him in his lapel, as he spoke, and looked to
+Dorothy for approval.</p>
+
+<p>"They are wild flowers, truly," he said,
+"but I think they are quite as attractive
+as the buds I have been wearing," and
+Dorothy was glad that she had offered
+them.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<h3>A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>THREE weeks had passed, and as nearly
+every day had been fair, the guests at
+the Cleverton had lived out of doors, appearing
+at the hotel at meal-time, and at
+night.</div>
+
+<p>Other wild flowers beside the bluebells
+were blossoming gaily, peeping up from the
+grass as if offering a welcome to all who
+looked at them; and even great rocks and
+ledges held tiny blossoming plants in their
+crevices.</p>
+
+<p>The pony, Romeo, had come to the mountains
+with the family, and seemed to enjoy
+the outing.</p>
+
+<p>Every morning Dorothy and Nancy went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
+for a drive, and Romeo tossed his mane, and
+pranced as if to show his delight.</p>
+
+<p>One morning the pony was standing at
+the porch, waiting for his little mistress,
+who soon came running down the stairs.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta was standing in the hall, spinning
+a top.</p>
+
+<p>A sign on the wall plainly stated that
+children must not play in the hall, but that
+did not disturb Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>Deftly she wound the string, and the
+great top fell to the floor, where it hummed
+and spun as rapidly as if a boy's hand had
+flung it.</p>
+
+<p>She picked it up, and again wound it, this
+time throwing it with even greater force.</p>
+
+<p>"Look! Look!" she cried. "I b'lieve
+it spins faster every time I throw it!"</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy looked over the baluster at the
+humming top, but said nothing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She knew that Floretta had seen the notice;
+indeed a number of the children had
+stood in the hall when it had been tacked
+up.</p>
+
+<p>Looking up at Dorothy, Floretta noticed
+the whip in her hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Riding?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, for a little while," said Dorothy.
+"It's a lovely morning, and I mean to see
+how quickly Romeo will take me to the
+'Spring.'"</p>
+
+<p>"I wouldn't care to ride horseback,"
+said Floretta, rudely.</p>
+
+<p>"You won't care to spin tops in this hall
+if Matson catches you," cried a shrill voice,
+from an upper hall.</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh! I'm not afraid of Matson,"
+Floretta said, boldly, looking up at the boy
+who had tried to frighten her.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, aren't you?" said the boy in a teasing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+voice. "Well, he manages this hotel,
+and he'll <i>make</i> you stop if he catches
+you!"</p>
+
+<p>"You stop, Jack Tiverton!" cried
+Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll be the one to stop!" said Jack,
+with a loud laugh.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy crossed the hall, stepping
+around Floretta, who stood exactly in the
+way.</p>
+
+<p>Looking back, she saw Floretta show the
+tip of her tongue to Jack, while Jack, not
+to be outdone, made a most outrageous
+face.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish they weren't so horrid!"
+Dorothy said to herself, as she left the hall.</p>
+
+<p>Having mounted Romeo, with the
+groom's aid, she rode off down the lovely,
+shady road, the man on his horse, following
+at a respectful distance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She touched the pony lightly with her
+whip, and he responded by breaking into a
+gentle gallop.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy's bright curls flew back from
+her flushed face, and she laughed as she flew
+over the road.</p>
+
+<p>The groom watched her admiringly, and
+marvelled that so small a girl could be such
+a perfect little equestrienne.</p>
+
+<p>The ride had brightened her eyes, and she
+always looked smaller than she really was
+when mounted upon Romeo.</p>
+
+<p>He was a handsome animal, with flowing
+mane and tail, and the groom spoke truthfully
+when he muttered:</p>
+
+<p>"Them two makes a high-bred pair.
+Miss Dorothy is a girl 'ristycrat, an' the
+little hoss is a hoss 'ristycrat, if ever there
+was one."</p>
+
+<p>The groom had been in the service of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+Dainty family but a few months, but in that
+time he had become devoted to the little
+daughter of the house. All the servants
+loved Dorothy, and were almost as fond of
+Nancy Ferris.</p>
+
+<p>The young groom had heard Nancy's
+story, and he felt a deep interest in the
+little girl, who once had been a waif.</p>
+
+<p>Now, his pleasant face wore a smile as he
+followed Dorothy, and saw how firmly the
+little figure stuck to the saddle, and rode
+as if girl and pony were one and inseparable.</p>
+
+<p>They reached the "Spring," a spot
+whose beauty drew all travellers to it, and
+artists lingered there to paint, and thus
+perpetuate its charm.</p>
+
+<p>Romeo looked down at the clear stream
+that reflected his figure so perfectly.</p>
+
+<p>"He wants a drink," said Dorothy;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+"lead him to a good place, Thomas,
+please."</p>
+
+<p>He helped her to dismount, and then led
+the pony to a shady spot where he could
+drink, and enjoy the cool, clear water.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy at once commenced to gather
+some of the lovely wild flowers that grew
+near the water's edge, but farther up the
+stream.</p>
+
+<p>"These are different from any that I've
+ever found here," she thought.</p>
+
+<p>Her hands were nearly filled with the
+lovely blossoms, and she was reaching out
+to grasp an especially pretty one, when a
+strangely familiar voice, just behind her,
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"I think I see some one I've <i>often</i> seen
+before!"</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy turned, and a little cry of surprise
+and pleasure escaped her lips.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There were Mrs. Barnet and dear little
+Flossie coming toward her, while very
+near her was the owner of the voice,
+Flossie's handsome, merry-hearted Uncle
+Harry! Just behind him was his lovely
+young wife, and the baby in charge of a
+maid.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I <i>am</i> glad, <i>so</i> glad to see you!"
+cried Dorothy. "And Flossie Barnet, did
+you know you were coming up here, when
+I said 'good-by' to you and Molly Merton
+at Merrivale?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't know <i>surely</i>, but I <i>almost</i>
+knew," Flossie admitted, "but Uncle
+Harry said, 'Don't tell 'til you <i>know</i>,' and
+I didn't <i>truly</i> know until after you were
+gone."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it's fine to have you here," said
+Dorothy, "but I do truly b'lieve it's almost
+nicer to be surprised, and have you;" and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+she threw her arm around Flossie, as she
+walked beside her.</p>
+
+<p>Tall, handsome Uncle Harry thought he
+saw a chance for a bit of a joke.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder why some one isn't surprised
+to see <i>me?</i>" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I am," said Dorothy, "and glad,
+too."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, thank you," said Uncle Harry;
+then with a face that he tried to make sad,
+he said:</p>
+
+<p>"But I know you aren't as glad as you
+were to see Flossie, because,&mdash;you didn't
+put your arm around <i>my</i> waist!"</p>
+
+<p>He had tried to look very glum, but his
+blue eyes were laughing.</p>
+
+<p>Big, handsome Uncle Harry could not
+look woebegone, and the two little girls
+laughed at his attempt.</p>
+
+<p>"The barge is taking our party over to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+the 'Cleverton,' and I see you have the
+pony, Dorothy," said Uncle Harry. "Will
+you run a race with the barge?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes, yes!" cried Dorothy, "and
+Romeo will come in ahead!"</p>
+
+<p>"If he does," said Uncle Harry, "I'll
+surely decorate him with a blue ribbon!"</p>
+
+<p>With many a laugh and jest, and much
+guessing as to which would be the winner,
+the merry party clambered into the barge;
+Dorothy mounted Romeo, and they were
+off over the road, on the way to the
+hotel.</p>
+
+<p>The horses, like the average barge horses,
+were not beauties, but they saw the pony
+rush forward, and they made an effort at
+speed. They plunged forward, at what, to
+them, seemed a reckless pace, but the fine,
+handsome Romeo shot past them, his nostrils<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+dilated, and his eyes bright with excitement.
+Dorothy's gay laugh rang out as
+she passed them, and Uncle Harry, as he
+looked after the flying figure, exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"The little fairy! I believe no other
+child could ride so fearlessly as that!"</p>
+
+<p>Often she looked back, as she sped over
+the road. Try as they would, the old horses
+could not overtake her.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the barge appeared in sight
+between the trees, she touched Romeo
+lightly with her whip-stock, and then she
+laughed gaily as he plunged forward, the
+old barge rattling along far behind.</p>
+
+<p>She did not permit Romeo to again
+slacken his pace, and thus arrived at the
+Cleverton before the barge was in sight, so
+slow had been its progress.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Nancy!" she cried, "Who <i>do</i> you
+think has come?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 397px;">
+<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="397" height="500" alt="Often she looked back, as she sped over the road.&mdash;Page 31." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Often she looked back, as she sped over the road.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_31">Page 31.</a></i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Who has come?" Nancy asked.
+"Where are they?"</p>
+
+<p>"I mean you can't guess who is coming,
+and there they come now, Nancy, just
+look!"</p>
+
+<p>Nancy did look, saw the barge swinging
+around the curve of the road, saw a
+tiny handkerchief waving, and then a
+sweet little face looked out to smile at
+her.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it's Flossie Barnet!" cried Nancy,
+joyfully, "and her mamma, and,&mdash;why, yes
+it <i>is!</i> It's Flossie's Uncle Harry!"</p>
+
+<p>He heard the cry, and heard the welcome
+in her voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it's Flossie's Uncle Harry, and all
+the other little girls' Uncle Harry who care
+to claim him for an uncle," he said, with a
+laugh, as he lifted his little niece down from
+the barge.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p>
+<p>"Oh, I'm <i>so</i> glad he came, too," said
+Dorothy, upon hearing which, he turned
+and lifting his hat, bowed, thus acknowledging
+the compliment that she had paid
+him. His eyes twinkled with pleasure, for
+he loved children, and he valued their regard.
+He was a big, manly fellow, with a
+warm heart, as loving, and as merry as that
+of a child.</p>
+
+<p>The Barnet party added much to the
+pleasure of little events and entertainments
+at the Hotel Cleverton. Flossie became, at
+once, a favorite with the other children,
+and her charming mother was deservedly
+popular with all.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry, who possessed a fine voice,
+willingly sang whenever a musical program
+was arranged for an evening, while his
+lovely young wife, who was an accomplished
+pianist, played his accompaniments,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+or rendered solos, thus generously
+adding to the pleasure of the other guests.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>"I tell you what it is," said old Mr. Cunningham,
+"that big bank of clouds hanging
+over that mountain means rain, and plenty
+of it, I believe."</p>
+
+<p>"I think you are right," said Uncle
+Harry, "and if we <i>do</i> have a three days'
+rain, as we sometimes do, we shall have to
+use every effort to keep things humming,
+and so forget the storm."</p>
+
+<p>They had been sitting on the piazza, and
+talking of the days of uninterrupted sunshine
+that they had enjoyed, when, in a few
+minutes, the blue sky had been hidden, as
+if by a thin, pearly veil, while hanging over
+the mountain was the mass of leaden clouds
+that had seemed to prophesy rain.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, <i>I</i> don't want it to rain," wailed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
+Floretta, who stood near them, her pretty
+face puckered into a most unpleasant
+frown.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid the weather can't be arranged
+especially for you," said Mr. Cunningham.</p>
+
+<p>He, like all the guests, was very tired of
+the child who was either whining, or boisterously,
+rudely gay. Just at this point,
+Mrs. Paxton came out on the piazza, a small
+note-book and pencil in her hand.</p>
+
+<p>She hastened toward the two gentlemen,
+and smiled as if she were conferring a
+favor.</p>
+
+<p>"With the chance of a stormy evening,
+we are trying to arrange a program that
+will give us a pleasant evening indoors,"
+she said. "I am sure you will help
+me."</p>
+
+<p>She had smiled at both, and old Mr. Cunningham,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+who heartily disliked her, was
+only too glad to reply.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not musical, madam," he said,
+"but I'll whistle 'Hail Columbia' for you,
+if you will promise not to reprimand me if
+I get off the key."</p>
+
+<p>"Dear, dear!" she cried. "You are always
+so amusing. One never knows if you
+are joking, or serious."</p>
+
+<p>"It would be very serious, and no joke,
+I assure you, if you were actually obliged
+to listen to my whistling," was the curt
+reply, and he turned once more to scan the
+sky and the distant mountains.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry, of course, agreed to sing,
+his wife promised to play, and Mrs. Paxton
+moved toward where Mrs. Dainty and her
+companion, Aunt Charlotte, were sitting,
+with Dorothy and Nancy near them.</p>
+
+<p>"Will your little daughter sing for us<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
+this evening?" she asked. "We are eager
+to have quite a fine program."</p>
+
+<p>"Dorothy shall sing for you, surely,"
+Mrs. Dainty said, "and Nancy, I am sure,
+will give a little solo."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, does Nancy sing or play?" Mrs.
+Paxton asked, in surprise, for thus far
+Nancy had not exhibited her talent, whatever
+it might be.</p>
+
+<p>"She will give you a solo that shall be
+neither singing nor playing," Mrs. Dainty
+replied, with a quiet smile.</p>
+
+<p>"How very interesting!" said Mrs. Paxton.
+She had invited Dorothy to sing because
+other guests had expressed the wish
+to hear her.</p>
+
+<p>Here was a <i>second</i> child with talent of
+<i>some</i> kind! Well, Floretta's imitations of
+other people would certainly eclipse the efforts
+of the other little girls! Mrs. Paxton's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+sole idea in arranging the entertainment
+was for the purpose of showing Floretta's
+mimicry.</p>
+
+<p>A small figure paused a moment in the
+doorway, then stepped back, and peeped
+out, scanning the groups upon the piazza.</p>
+
+<p>"She isn't there!" he whispered. "She's
+backed out, an' she <i>said</i> she'd do
+it!"</p>
+
+<p>He drew back into the shadow, and
+waited, hoping that when he looked again
+he might see her.</p>
+
+<p>A second peep at the guests on the piazza
+showed that Floretta was not among them.</p>
+
+<p>"She didn't <i>try</i> to do it!" he muttered.</p>
+
+<p>He held something in his hand, which he
+kept behind his back.</p>
+
+<p>He was about to peep again when a light
+hand touched his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>He turned, and there stood Floretta,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+looking prettier than usual in her short
+white frock, white shoes, and pink hair
+ribbons.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you get one?" whispered Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Look!" said Floretta, and from behind
+her back she produced a long corn-cob. "I
+took mine from the table at noon, when ma
+wasn't looking, and ran from the dining-room,
+and hid it in our room," said Floretta.
+"How did you get yours?"</p>
+
+<p>"I asked the head waiter to get mine for
+me," said Jack, "and he acted as if he
+thought me a ninny. He gave it to me all
+the same, and asked what I was up to. I
+didn't tell him, though."</p>
+
+<p>They giggled softly.</p>
+
+<p>"Ready?" whispered Jack, softly.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," whispered Floretta, and then,
+with corn-cobs held to their mouths, and
+their fingers working as if playing upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
+flutes, they marched out on to the piazza,
+loudly singing, "Hail Columbia."</p>
+
+<p>Some of the guests laughed, none so
+loudly as Mrs. Paxton, who declared that
+it taxed her intellect to imagine what put
+such outrageously funny notions into children's
+heads.</p>
+
+<p>"I can answer that, madam, and without
+trying very hard, either. It's Satan,
+madam, Satan, who from watching their
+actions, takes them to be his near relatives,"
+said Mr. Cunningham.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the little procession of two,
+encouraged by the laughter, marched in and
+out between the groups of guests, until unlucky
+Floretta let her corn-cob slip from
+her fingers, the moist, sticky thing falling
+upon the light silk skirt of a lady who sat
+near Mrs. Paxton.</p>
+
+<p>"There, there, Floretta, never mind,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+said Mrs. Paxton; then turning to the
+wearer of the gown, she said, "I don't
+think it will stain it in the least. Children
+will be children, and must have their fun!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+<h3>AN ENTERTAINMENT</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>MRS. PAXTON had laughed at what
+she chose to call the "funny" antics
+of Floretta and Jack, but in truth, she
+had been very angry.</div>
+
+<p>She swept from the piazza, Floretta,
+firmly grasped, walking beside her. Jack
+Tiverton's mother took him to her room,
+where she could talk to him, without fear
+of interruption.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta sat on a low divan, sullen and
+obstinate.</p>
+
+<p>For twenty minutes she had listened,
+while her mother had told what a disrespectful
+thing she had done.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see how it was not respectful,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+grumbled Floretta, "we were just having
+a little fun."</p>
+
+<p>"And it was fun at my expense," said
+Mrs. Paxton. "I was annoyed, just when
+I was making plans for a <i>fine</i> entertainment,
+to have you and that boy parade out
+on to the piazza with those old corn-cobs,
+singing, or rather <i>howling</i>, like young savages!"</p>
+
+<p>This, and much more Floretta was forced
+to listen to, but during the remainder of
+the scolding, she did not speak, or reply in
+any way.</p>
+
+<p>She was still very sullen when her mother
+left the room, and no one saw her until she
+appeared in the dining-room at dinner.</p>
+
+<p>She tasted one dish after another, but
+managed to eat but little dinner. She
+wished her mother to think that the scolding
+had made her ill.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It proved to be wasted effort. Mrs. Paxton
+had been so interested in what Mrs.
+Dayne was saying that she had not noticed
+that Floretta let the various courses go untasted.</p>
+
+<p>She had hoped to worry her mother, but
+had only punished herself!</p>
+
+<p>She was very hungry when they left the
+table, and also very angry.</p>
+
+<p>"I might just as well have eaten my dinner,"
+she muttered, "she never noticed
+that I didn't."</p>
+
+<p>When the hour arrived that had been set
+for the concert, every guest was present,
+and all were talking and laughing gaily,
+and very glad that an evening's amusement
+had been provided.</p>
+
+<p>Outside, the rain was descending in torrents,
+while a cold wind whistled around
+the corners, as if demanding admittance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Indoors the heavy red hangings were
+drawn over the lace draperies, great logs
+blazed in the fireplaces, while over all
+softly shaded lights gave an air of cozy
+comfort that made one feel sheltered and
+safe from the storm.</p>
+
+<p>A group of ladies sat chatting together,
+and one, a recent arrival, was saying that
+she had understood that children were not
+permitted as guests at the Cleverton.</p>
+
+<p>"There are only a few children here,"
+Mrs. Vinton said, "and some of them are
+charming."</p>
+
+<p>"While others are <i>not?</i>" questioned the
+stranger, with an odd smile.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd rather not say just that," Mrs. Vinton
+said, "but I will say that Mrs. Dainty's
+little daughter, and Dorothy's little friend,
+Nancy, and Flossie Barnet, are three of the
+sweetest children I have ever met. My<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+stay here is brighter and far pleasanter
+because they are also here."</p>
+
+<p>"Dorothy Dainty is an unusually fine
+singer for a child," another lady said, "and
+she is to sing for us to-night. I believe
+Nancy Ferris is to do something, but I do
+not know what. Does any one know if
+Nancy sings?"</p>
+
+<p>"I've not the least idea what her talent
+is," said a pleasant-voiced matron, "but
+she is such a bright, interesting child that
+I feel sure that whatever she is able
+to do at all, she will do exceedingly
+well."</p>
+
+<p>"Aunt Vera is to play a solo for the first
+number," said little Flossie Barnet, to a
+lady who sat near her.</p>
+
+<p>"That is delightful," said the lady,
+"and what are you to do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'll listen, and listen," said Flossie,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+"and then, I'll clap to show how much
+I liked what the people did."</p>
+
+<p>"And your friend Dorothy is to sing,"
+said the lady, "do you know what Nancy
+does?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes, I do!" cried Flossie, "and she
+does it so lovely, you'll wonder how she
+could! I'm not to tell <i>what</i> she'll do, none
+of us are to tell. You'll <i>see</i> when she does
+it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Dear little girl, you seem quite as
+happy as if you were to be a soloist," said
+the lady.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes," said Flossie, "for when the
+other little girls do pretty things, I see
+them, but I couldn't see myself do anything!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you sweet, funny little girl," the
+pleasant-faced lady said, as she drew Flossie
+closer, "I never knew so dear a child."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Dorothy and Nancy are dear," said
+Flossie, "and oh, you haven't seen Molly
+Merton! She's another one of my little
+friends, and she's <i>always</i> lovely to play
+with. We're always together when I'm at
+home at Merrivale."</p>
+
+<p>Before the lady could express regret that
+she did not know Molly, the orchestra
+began the opening chords of an overture.</p>
+
+<p>The musicians gave an afternoon and
+evening concert daily, throughout the season,
+but to-night their numbers were to
+be interspersed with solos given by the
+guests.</p>
+
+<p>The orchestra was generously applauded,
+and then a slender figure in a gown of soft,
+pink satin seated itself at the piano, and
+with light touch and brilliant execution,
+played a rondo that delighted all.</p>
+
+<p>In response to repeated applause, she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
+played the "Caprice Hongroise," which
+aroused wild enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>She smiled, and bowed gracefully in acknowledgment,
+then turning toward her
+husband, who now stood beside her, took
+from his hand the duplicate of the song that
+he was to sing. She always played his accompaniments.</p>
+
+<p>How full of music was his rare voice, how
+like the tones of a silver trumpet when he
+sang "A Song of the Sea," how tender his
+tones when for a second number, he sang an
+"Italian Love Song!"</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't he sing <i>fine</i>, just <i>fine?</i>" Flossie
+asked, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed he did," the lady replied, "I
+never heard a more excellent voice."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, he's my own Uncle Harry!" said
+Flossie, a world of love and pride in her
+voice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A young girl played a serenade on the
+guitar, and a member of the orchestra
+played a waltz for violin, and both were encored.</p>
+
+<p>Those who were to perform were in a
+small room awaiting their turn. They were
+laughing and chatting while they waited,
+and all, save a little girl, who kept apart
+from the others, seemed bright and happy.
+Her eyes were dull, and her red lips pouting.
+It was Floretta Paxton, and she was
+watching Nancy Ferris, noticing every detail
+of her costume, and looking as unpleasant
+as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Nancy wore a frock of white gauze,
+thickly strewn with tiny gold spangles.
+Her girdle was white satin, her slippers
+were white, and she wore a cluster of pink
+rosebuds in her hair.</p>
+
+<p>"What's she going to do?" Floretta<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
+asked in a fretful voice, but Mrs. Paxton,
+who stood beside her, could not tell her
+that. She knew no more of Nancy's talent
+than Floretta did.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta had been angry in the afternoon;
+she had foolishly refused dinner, and was
+very hungry; she was made more angry
+because hers was not the first number on
+the program, and now, here was Nancy Ferris
+wearing a beautiful frock that far outshone
+her own!</p>
+
+<p>She was wearing a simple pink muslin,
+and had felt that she was finely dressed,
+until Nancy appeared.</p>
+
+<p>The satin girdle, the white slippers, and
+the spangles were more than she could forgive.</p>
+
+<p>"What's she going to <i>do?</i>" she asked
+again, more fretfully than before.</p>
+
+<p>"I <i>don't know</i>," Mrs. Paxton said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, I won't do a thing 'til I do
+know!" said Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>Silly little girl! Always a jealous child,
+she now thought that Nancy <i>might</i> be another
+impersonator or imitator, and she
+was nearly wild.</p>
+
+<p>The orchestra was now playing a dreamy
+waltz. Nancy's foot tapped the measure.
+Her eyes were brighter.</p>
+
+<p>"What <i>is</i> she going to do?" whispered
+Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>The tall man, who had been announcing
+the numbers, now swung aside the porti&egrave;re,
+and Nancy slipped from her chair, ran out
+upon the stage, and then,&mdash;oh, the fairy
+motion of her arms, the lightness with
+which, on the tips of her toes, she flew
+across the stage!</p>
+
+<p>With her finger-tips she lifted the hem of
+her skirt, and courtesied low, then away in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+a dreamy whirl she sped, turning to look
+over her shoulder, and laugh at the faces
+that showed greatest surprise.</p>
+
+<p>On swept the strains of sweetest music,
+and little Nancy, carried away with love of
+the music, danced more charmingly than
+ever before.</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty watched
+her flying figure, and often as they had seen
+her, they knew that she was excelling herself.</p>
+
+<p>"Nancy, Nancy, dear child!" murmured
+Aunt Charlotte.</p>
+
+<p>Now, with her feet crossed, and still on
+the tips of her toes she whirled like a top,
+did the graceful rocking step, swayed like
+a flower in the wind, whirled about again,
+courtesied once more, and laughing like a
+merry, dark-eyed sprite, ran back into the
+little waiting-room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Oh, what thunders of applause greeted
+her, yet she sat quietly chatting with a lady
+who stood near her!</p>
+
+<p>Again and again they seemed to be begging
+that the little dancer might return.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll bow to them," said Nancy, and she
+ran out to do so.</p>
+
+<p>"Once more, once more!" cried an eager
+voice, and then more clapping, and even a
+few shrill whistles from some very young
+men begged her to respond.</p>
+
+<p>She extended her arms for a second, then
+whirling rapidly, she repeated the last half
+of the dance, courtesied again, and when
+she ran back to the little room, Dorothy
+embraced her tenderly.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Nancy darling!" she cried, "you
+never danced finer. Do you know how
+pleased every one is?"</p>
+
+<p>"I danced to please and surprise them,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
+said Nancy. "I <i>do</i> love to see people look
+happy. They couldn't remember how hard
+it was raining while I was whirling and
+dancing for them."</p>
+
+<p>Floretta, now more unhappy than before,
+turned so that she might not see Nancy, nor
+note the shimmer of her spangles.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Paxton, who had been talking with
+a friend, now turned toward Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"Come!" she said, "now run out, and
+do your very best, Floretta."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not going out!" said Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"What an idea!" cried Mrs. Paxton.
+"Of course you'll run out, and show every
+one how cute you are. Why, I planned this
+entertainment just to give you a chance to
+show off!"</p>
+
+<p>"And made me the last one on the whole
+list!" snarled Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, come!" cried her mother,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+"every one couldn't be first. I thought I'd
+have the others perform first, and then <i>you</i>
+could show who was the smartest! Come!
+They're just wild to see what you can do,
+and they're waiting."</p>
+
+<p>"They'll <i>have</i> to wait!" hissed Floretta,
+like a cross little cat.</p>
+
+<p>It was no use to urge, plead, or insist.
+Floretta was stubborn, and when once she
+had determined what she would, or would
+not do, nothing could move her.</p>
+
+<p>Prayers and threats were equally useless.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy sang very sweetly, and was cordially
+received.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry and his wife sang a charming
+duet that delighted all, the orchestra
+played a military caprice, and then the remainder
+of the evening was spent in a little,
+informal dance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>All was light, laughter, and music, and
+there were two kinds of music that gladdened
+their hearts,&mdash;the sweet music of the
+violins, and the still sweeter melody of
+happy voices!</p>
+
+<p>Silly little Floretta had ruined the evening
+for no one save her own jealous little
+self.</p>
+
+<p>Because she could not be the first on the
+program, she would not appear at all, although,
+at heart, she longed to show her
+really clever mimicry. Later, after having
+sulked during the early part of the evening,
+she refused to join the dancers, and ran
+away to her room, angry, very angry with
+every one save the one person who was
+really at fault,&mdash;herself.</p>
+
+<p>Her efforts at imitating would surely
+have amused, and would, doubtless, have
+been well received. She was rather a graceful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+dancer, in any of the ordinary ballroom
+dances, and she thus might have joined the
+other children when the concert was over.
+She had needlessly spent a most unhappy
+evening.</p>
+
+<p>Now, in her room, she heard the strains
+of the orchestra, and for the first time realized
+how foolish she had been.</p>
+
+<p>"I <i>had</i> a chance, and I lost it," she
+sobbed, but her tears were not tears of
+grieving. They were angry tears, and the
+droll part of it was that while she alone was
+at fault, she was angry with every one but
+herself.</p>
+
+<p>For a few moments she lay, her face hidden
+in her pillow. Then, she turned over
+into a more comfortable position, and softly
+she whispered, "I'll do enough to-morrow
+to make up!"</p>
+
+<p>She did not say <i>what</i> she intended to do,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
+but the idea evidently pleased her, for she
+laughed through her tears.</p>
+
+<p>She sprang from her bed, found a box of
+bonbons that her mother had won as a prize
+in an afternoon whist party the day before,
+and crept back into bed. When she had
+eaten nearly all of the candy, she sat up
+and in the softly shaded light, looked at
+the box with its few remaining bits of
+candy. She was wondering where she
+could hide it.</p>
+
+<p>"Ma will surely notice the empty box,
+or anyway, I've made it <i>almost</i> empty," she
+said. "She might not miss it if I hid it!"</p>
+
+<p>She had never been taught to be honest,
+so whenever she did a naughty thing, her
+first thought was to hide, or cover up the
+act. She never felt regret.</p>
+
+<p>No one ever heard her gently say, "I'm
+sorry."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Softly she crept from her bed, and made
+her way across the floor to the dressing-case.</p>
+
+<p>She put the box upon the floor, and
+pushed it well under it, and wholly out of
+sight.</p>
+
+<p>"There!" she whispered. "That's all
+right. I would have finished the candy, but
+I didn't want the whole of it. I ate the best
+of it. The others weren't very nice."</p>
+
+<p>Down in the long parlor the guests were
+no longer dancing.</p>
+
+<p>They were resting, and listening to a
+lovely barcarolle played softly by the
+orchestra.</p>
+
+<p>Flossie, clinging to Uncle Harry's hand,
+drew him toward the window.</p>
+
+<p>"Look!" she said, as she parted the curtains.
+"It isn't raining now, and the moon
+is coming out. It will be pleasant to-morrow!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+And it has been lovely in here to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"Dear little Flossie, dear little niece, it
+was your cheery, loving nature that led
+us to give your name to our baby. She
+has two fine names, she is Beatrice Florence.
+The first is Vera's mother's name,
+the second, dear, is yours."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+<h3>IN A BIRCH ARBOR</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>THE storm had cleared the air, no mist
+veiled the mountains, the sunlight lay
+everywhere, gilding valley and stream.</div>
+
+<p>Many of the guests had started early in
+the morning for a trip to a distant mountain
+from the summit of which a delightful view
+might be enjoyed.</p>
+
+<p>They were to ride over in the barge to
+the base of the mountain, have a picnic
+lunch under the trees, and then climb the
+rugged path up the mountain side.</p>
+
+<p>It would occupy half the day and it would
+be afternoon before the barge would return
+with its merry, tired party.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta Paxton and Jack Tiverton were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+usually in sight, or, as they were always
+noisy, within hearing might be nearer the
+truth, but they had gone over to a spot that
+the children called "The Pool," a bit of
+water not much larger than a big puddle.</p>
+
+<p>It existed only after a heavy rain, but
+near its edge the slender birches grew, and
+their silvery white trunks and the bright,
+blue sky were clearly reflected on its surface.</p>
+
+<p>Jack had decided to launch his toy boat
+there, and, as Floretta had hemmed the
+tiny sails, he had felt obliged to listen
+to her coaxing, and permit her to go with
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll let you christen her," he had said,
+in a moment of generosity, and then regretted
+it.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta's idea of a christening ceremony<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+was very elaborate, while Jack thought
+that shouting the vessel's name, and shoving
+it into the water was all that was necessary.</p>
+
+<p>Nancy was helping Aunt Charlotte, so
+when Dorothy ran out to the piazza, she
+found it deserted, and she stood looking in
+surprise at the rocking chairs and hammocks
+that were swaying in the wind.</p>
+
+<p>"Every one has gone somewhere," she
+thought; "didn't any one stay at home?"</p>
+
+<p>She stood for a moment in the doorway,
+wondering what to do. Suddenly her face
+brightened, and she clapped her hands.</p>
+
+<p>"The very thing!" she said, and she
+turned and hastened to her room to find her
+latest gift.</p>
+
+<p>It was a beautiful book of fairy tales, and
+although it had been given her over a week
+ago, she had read but a few of the stories.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>
+Mrs. Dainty had sent to the city for the
+book, and ever since the day of its arrival
+Dorothy had been wild to read it.</p>
+
+<p>Something had been planned for each
+sunny day, and as the weather had continued
+fair, the book had been opened but
+a few times, and then for only a brief glance
+at the tales or the illustrations.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dainty had gone to the village, a
+ride of about an hour from the hotel, and
+Aunt Charlotte was still occupied with her
+letters.</p>
+
+<p>Nancy was sealing and stamping the
+envelopes, as Dorothy passed the door.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going over to the little 'birch
+arbor,'" she said. "I'm taking my new
+fairy book for company."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll come, too, just as soon as I've
+finished these envelopes," said Nancy, and
+she began to work faster.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 396px;">
+<img src="images/i004.jpg" width="396" height="500" alt="&quot;Oh, what a lovely, LOVELY story!&quot; said Dorothy.&mdash;Page 67." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;Oh, what a lovely, <i>LOVELY</i> story!&quot; said Dorothy.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_67">Page 67</a></i>.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The "birch arbor" was not an actual
+arbor, but it was a lovely spot, and the
+birches were exceptionally fine. Nancy
+and Dorothy had often been there together,
+and they had given it the name.</p>
+
+<p>A tiny mountain brook ran through it,
+and it was a lovely spot in which to enjoy
+legends or fairy tales.</p>
+
+<p>In a few moments Dorothy had reached
+the place, and when she had seated herself,
+she opened the book where a fine picture
+showed the prince, whose father had given
+him three wishes as his only inheritance,
+and then had sent him out to seek his fortune.</p>
+
+<p>Twice she had commenced to read the
+story, and had been obliged to lay it aside.
+Now, with only the bees and the butterflies
+hovering about her, she read the fascinating
+tale.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It proved to be even more charming than
+she had expected.</p>
+
+<p>The prince was tall, and dark, and handsome,
+and his heart was so good and true,
+that Dorothy felt that he richly deserved
+the beautiful princess whom he finally won.</p>
+
+<p>Her eyes sparkled as she read of the
+great court wedding.</p>
+
+<p>"And the lovely princess looked more
+beautiful than ever in her wedding gown of
+cloth of gold, thickly set with diamonds,
+and her crown of diamonds and sapphires."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh what a lovely, <i>lovely</i> story!" said
+Dorothy, as she turned the page.</p>
+
+<p>"Tiny princes carried her train, and as
+the happy pair reached the palace gates,
+and were about to enter the royal coach,
+the blare of trumpets sounded, as the
+guards in blue and gold played a gay fanfare."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Toot! Toot! Toot!"</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy sprang to her feet.</p>
+
+<p>It was as if those silver-toned trumpets
+had sounded close beside her. A moment
+more, and a huge automobile appeared
+from behind the trees and shrubbery, and
+slackening its speed, came, at last, to a
+standstill, and an old lady leaned out to
+question her.</p>
+
+<p>"Are we going in the right direction,
+my dear, to reach the Hotel Cleverton?"</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy walked toward the car, and
+looked up into the hard, old face.</p>
+
+<p>"This little road is <i>right</i>," said Dorothy,
+"but the broad road that leads out of this
+one is not so rough, and it is a <i>little</i>
+shorter."</p>
+
+<p>"There, Minturn, I <i>said plainly</i> that I
+believed we could get there quicker some
+other way!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You are <i>sure</i> about the Cleverton?"
+the old lady asked. "You <i>know</i> where it
+is?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm staying there with mamma, and
+that truly is the right way," said Dorothy,
+her soft eyes looking up into the hard, old
+face.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess I can trust you," the old lady
+said, not smiling, but looking a bit less
+stern.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Minturn, we'll <i>try</i> to reach the
+hotel, sometime before dark!" she said
+curtly.</p>
+
+<p>Puffing and whirring the big automobile
+started off up the road, the old lady sitting
+stern and erect, as if she thought her driver
+needed watching, and she was determined
+to keep a sharp eye upon him.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, how queer!" said Dorothy.
+"She didn't even say 'good-bye,' or 'good-morning.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+Perhaps she was very tired, and
+forgot,"&mdash;then after a moment she added,
+"but my beautiful mamma <i>never</i> forgets."</p>
+
+<p>She went back to the pretty spot where
+she had been reading, and sitting down,
+opened the book, but she could not keep her
+mind upon the stories. The strange face
+of the old lady seemed to look at her from
+the printed page.</p>
+
+<p>How small and sharp her eyes had been,
+and how she asked the same question again
+and again. Did she doubt the answer given
+her?</p>
+
+<p>All these, and many more questions puzzled
+Dorothy, and with the open book lying
+upon her lap, she looked off where the sunlight
+lay upon the grass.</p>
+
+<p>She was still sitting thus when a merry
+voice aroused her, and she turned to see
+Nancy running toward her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Dorothy!" she cried. "You ought
+to have been up at the hotel just a few
+moments ago. A new guest came, and
+she was so cross, it <i>must</i> be that she didn't
+want to come. But if she truly <i>didn't</i> want
+to, then why <i>did</i> she?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Nancy, who wouldn't think it
+fine to come up here to the mountains, and
+stay at the Cleverton?" said Dorothy in
+surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you wouldn't have thought the
+old lady was glad to be there, if you'd seen
+her," said Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, was it an old lady that you were
+talking about?" Dorothy asked quickly.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and you ought to have seen her
+eyes snap when she scolded her chauffeur.
+She told him she might have arrived an
+hour before just as well as not, and she
+kept right on scolding to herself, all the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+way up to the piazza, and, Dorothy, she
+looked so cross, I wouldn't wonder if she
+was scolding up in her room now!"</p>
+
+<p>"She must be the same one that was
+here just a little while ago," Dorothy said,
+"and she asked me to tell her the nearest
+way to the Cleverton. When I told her,
+she made the man rush off over the road,
+and she was scolding him when they
+left here. Perhaps she was tired, and
+will feel pleasanter when she has
+rested."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps," agreed Nancy, "but I know
+Aunt Charlotte and your mamma don't act
+that way when they are tired."</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy could not dispute that, and soon
+the two little girls were enjoying the fairy
+book together.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, this is the story I've just been
+reading," said Dorothy, "and this is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
+picture of the prince. Isn't he handsome?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and doesn't he
+look like Flossie's Uncle Harry?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, he <i>does</i>, truly," cried Dorothy.
+"I'll show the picture to Flossie, and I'm
+sure she'll say it looks ever so much like
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, she will," agreed Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it would look <i>exactly</i> like him, if
+<i>he</i> only had a cap with plumes," said
+Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry, coming briskly up the path,
+was just in time to hear the last few words.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm very curious to know who it is who
+needs a cap with plumes," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, who knew you were right here to
+hear it?" said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, was it a state secret?" he asked.
+"Well, now it's a pity I heard it, but as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+it happens I <i>did</i>, I think I must ask for the
+rest of the secret."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, <i>would</i> you tell?" Dorothy asked,
+turning to Nancy, but before she could
+reply, Uncle Harry spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm really too curious," he said, "so I
+think I'll threaten to sit on this stump,
+until you tell me the secret, and let me tell
+you two little friends, that <i>I've</i> a secret;
+it's a nice one, too, but,&mdash;" he paused to
+watch the effect of his words.</p>
+
+<p>"But&mdash;But&mdash;" they cried.</p>
+
+<p>"But,&mdash;" said Uncle Harry, "I
+wouldn't tell mine <i>first!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>Wag that he was, he could not resist the
+temptation to tease just a bit.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy took the pretty book, and opening
+it at the page that showed the picture
+of the prince, she said, "We only said the
+brave prince looked like you, no, I mean<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+you look like him, and we said you'd
+look <i>just</i> like him if you had a cap with
+plumes."</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry appeared to study the picture
+very carefully. After a moment, he
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"That's a fine compliment, but there's
+one thing about it that worries me, so I'll
+have to ask about it.</p>
+
+<p>"In this picture the prince wears a blue
+blouse and a pair of green shoes, a pink cap
+with white plumes, gray hose, and crimson
+trunks. Now, if I should decide to purchase
+a pink cap with white plumes, would
+you expect me to come out arrayed in all
+those colors? I really feel that the costume
+is a <i>bit</i>, just a <i>bit</i> too gay."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, we'll not ask you to be quite as gay
+as that," said Dorothy, "and we'll promise
+one thing. We won't even ask you to buy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
+a pink cap if you'll tell us your secret
+now."</p>
+
+<p>He laughed gaily.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps I really <i>ought</i> to keep it a
+little longer. How would it do if I should
+tell you my secret some time next week?"
+he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no, no!" they cried, "tell it now!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, there's to be a fair 'way
+down in the village, a real country fair, and
+I'm intending to hire a barge, and take all
+of the <i>very</i> young ladies over with me to see
+the fun. I mean ladies as young as you, and
+Nancy, and Flossie. I shall invite all the
+wee ladies that are stopping at the hotel,
+and I shall take all who accept."</p>
+
+<p>He looked into their bright faces, and
+laughed when Dorothy said:</p>
+
+<p>"As if <i>any</i> little girl <i>wouldn't</i> accept!"</p>
+
+<p>"You mustn't expect it to be a grand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
+affair. It will be, as I said, a real old-fashioned
+country fair, but there will be a
+jolly ride over there, and the return trip,
+and I fancy you will enjoy it all," he said,
+"and I shall have the delight of giving
+pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>A friend who had been looking for Uncle
+Harry, now appeared on the winding path,
+a clump of large trees having hidden his
+approach.</p>
+
+<p>The two young men started off for a long
+tramp, and Dorothy and Nancy walked
+slowly back to the hotel.</p>
+
+<p>"The prince <i>did</i> look like Uncle Harry,"
+said Nancy, "and the picture of the
+naughty old fairy that enchanted the sleeping
+beauty, looks like the lady that came
+this morning, and was so very cross."</p>
+
+<p>"Then that <i>is</i> the same one who stopped
+to ask the way, for she looked just like that.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+I'll always think, every time I look at her,
+that she's the black fairy."</p>
+
+<p>And when they ran up on to the piazza,
+there sat the very person whom they had
+been speaking of, looking somewhat cooler
+with her long travelling cloak removed.</p>
+
+<p>Her black gown was of some thin material,
+and just as the two little girls ran up
+on to the piazza, she dropped the large,
+black fan that she had been wielding.</p>
+
+<p>Nancy, who was nearer to her than
+Dorothy, picked up the fan for her. Without
+a smile, she took the fan, and they
+heard some slight sound. Possibly it might
+have been a softly murmured word of
+thanks, but it did not sound like it.</p>
+
+<p>"She seems very strange," said Dorothy,
+"but perhaps she's still tired."</p>
+
+<p>She was always unwilling to say that any
+one was wilfully rude or disagreeable.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And now Aunt Charlotte, with Mrs.
+Dainty, came out to enjoy the fine air, and
+Dorothy and Nancy ran to them to tell them
+of the treat that Uncle Harry had in store
+for them.</p>
+
+<p>"It's only a few days to wait, and isn't
+he kind to take us?" said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"He is indeed," said Mrs. Dainty, "and
+I hope all his little friends will be very
+thoughtful, and make him just as little
+trouble as possible. He takes quite a care
+in inviting so many children."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, all the children love him, and there
+isn't one who would want to be any bother,
+unless it was Floretta," said Dorothy,
+"and perhaps she'll be having such a nice
+time, she won't think to be naughty."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dainty smiled at this view of it.
+She could not help thinking that Floretta
+never needed time to think in order<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
+to be disagreeable, but she did not say
+so.</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Charlotte Grayson, seeing the
+stranger sitting alone, paused near her
+chair to say a friendly word.</p>
+
+<p>She remained but few moments, however,
+because the woman seemed not inclined
+to talk.</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Charlotte well knew that the
+stranger was not courteous, but she tried
+to think, as Dorothy had, that fatigue, after
+a long journey, made her eager for silence
+and rest.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MOUNTAIN PARTY</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>AS the days flew by, the stranger became
+a bit more friendly, conversing
+sometimes with Mrs. Dainty and Aunt
+Charlotte, but often, far more often, with
+Mrs. Paxton.</div>
+
+<p>It was not that she sought to become acquainted
+with Floretta's mother; it was,
+rather, that Mrs. Paxton seemed determined
+to force the friendship.</p>
+
+<p>"Her name is Fenton, Mrs. Fenton, and
+isn't it odd, <i>my</i> name was Fenton before I
+married. Floretta's middle name is Fenton.
+I really feel almost as if I were related
+to her, because of the name," declared Mrs.
+Paxton one morning, whereupon Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+Fenton, coming out on to the piazza, remarked:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, indeed!"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Paxton blushed and hesitated, then
+recovering herself, she said:</p>
+
+<p>"I was just telling these ladies of my
+friendly feeling for you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, indeed!" Mrs. Fenton repeated, as
+she sank into a large rocker, and looked off
+across the valley to the distant mountains.</p>
+
+<p>After a few moments she seemed to have
+lost interest in the view, and, taking up a
+small embroidery frame, commenced to ply
+her needle as if she were eager to finish the
+pretty doily.</p>
+
+<p>Two little figures came slowly up the
+path to the piazza. They were returning
+from the christening of the little boat.</p>
+
+<p>"What is wrong, Jack? You don't look
+very happy," said Mrs. Tiverton.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"He wanted me to christen his boat, but
+he wouldn't give it my name!" said Floretta,
+before Jack could reply.</p>
+
+<p>"She thought just because she hemmed
+the sails I'd name it the <i>Floretta</i>, but I
+wouldn't, so I shoved it into the water myself,
+and shouted <i>Carlotta</i>. That's the name
+of a girl that goes to my school, and I like
+her."</p>
+
+<p>"You say Floretta hemmed your sails,"
+said Mrs. Tiverton.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I thanked her for that, and I let
+her go to the launching, and I let her christen
+it, but I don't see that I need name it
+for her," said Jack, stoutly.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Fenton had not heeded what the
+children were saying. One might have fancied
+that she did not hear, although both
+Floretta and Jack stood quite near her
+chair.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A large spool that she had wound with
+colored silk slipped from her lap, and rolled
+toward Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"Pick it up, dear," Mrs. Paxton said.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't want to," said Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Fenton stooped, and recovered the
+spool, and, taking her embroidery frame in
+her hand, left the piazza, and mounted the
+stairs to her room.</p>
+
+<p>"Why <i>were</i> you so rude?" said Mrs.
+Paxton, but Floretta, perching upon the
+low railing, began softly humming "Yankee
+Doodle."</p>
+
+<p>Jack Tiverton, espying a boy that he
+knew, whistled loudly, and then, as the
+other boy turned, ran after him, the two
+whooping and shouting like savages.</p>
+
+<p>"It is almost lunch time, Jack!" Mrs.
+Tiverton cried, and the boy turned, and
+waved his hand to show that he heard her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Boys aren't apt to forget meal time,"
+muttered old Mr. Cunningham behind his
+paper.</p>
+
+<p>True enough, Jack returned in ample
+time, and was the first at the table.</p>
+
+<p>Early in the afternoon Dorothy and
+Nancy went out for a drive with Romeo.</p>
+
+<p>It was one of those sunny days that tempt
+nearly every one to ride or walk.</p>
+
+<p>The mountain roads were rather lonely,
+and Mrs. Dainty insisted that whether Dorothy
+were riding Romeo, or driving in the
+phaeton, the groom must ride at a little distance
+behind her.</p>
+
+<p>There were the lovely, slender birches on
+either side of the roads, there were patches
+of bright green moss upon which the sunlight
+rested, there were blackberry vines
+and woodbine wreathing the low stone
+walls, and here and there a mullein raised<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
+its stately head from its base of velvet
+leaves.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, it seemed like an enchanted country,
+where new beauties were to be found on
+either hand!</p>
+
+<p>"Look!" cried Dorothy, "close beside
+that mullein is an evening primrose, and
+their blossoms are the same color."</p>
+
+<p>Then a tiny chipmunk sprang upon the
+wall, sat erect, and watched them for a moment,
+then ran up the trunk of a slender
+tree, where from a low branch he watched
+until they had passed. Then back to the
+wall he sprang, where he chattered as if
+scolding the little girls who had disturbed
+his solitude. It may be that, instead, he
+was talking to himself, and telling what
+charming little girls they were.</p>
+
+<p>A long way from the hotel they passed
+Jack Tiverton, with a number of other boys<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+who were staying at a hotel a few miles
+distant from the Cleverton.</p>
+
+<p>They were all somewhat larger than
+Jack, and he thought it fine to be with them.</p>
+
+<p>He had met them at a ball game three
+weeks before, and he had been very busy
+holding their acquaintance ever since.</p>
+
+<p>"We're going to catch the echo, and
+keep it, too!" shouted Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"It's mocking you now," said Dorothy,
+with a laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"I know it," said Jack, "but we'll catch
+it, and fasten it so it can't get away."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>How</i> will you fasten an echo?" Nancy
+asked, turning, and looking over her shoulder
+as the little phaeton sped past.</p>
+
+<p>"Trust us to find a way!" cried Jack,
+and the others laughed as if they already
+knew exactly how to do it.</p>
+
+<p>They left the road, and, vaulting over the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
+wall, crossed the open field, singing a gay,
+rollicking song as they went.</p>
+
+<p>"They just <i>say</i> they're going hunting for
+the echo," said Dorothy, "and they say it
+for fun, but I wonder where they are
+going, and what they truly are going to
+do."</p>
+
+<p>The groom, riding nearer, touched his
+hat.</p>
+
+<p>"Please, Miss Dorothy, I heard the lads
+saying that there's an old house over near
+that mountain, where a hermit lived years
+ago, and they're off to find it if they
+can."</p>
+
+<p>"Then why didn't they say so, instead
+of telling such a tale about catching the
+echo?" Dorothy asked.</p>
+
+<p>"They were saying that they wanted to
+find the hut, and hunt in it, and around it
+ter find things the old fellow may have hidden.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
+They feared you or Miss Nancy might
+tell some other lad. They're wanting it all
+to themselves."</p>
+
+<p>Having told this bit of information, the
+groom allowed the carriage to pass him,
+and once more rode behind it.</p>
+
+<p>The two little girls talked of the long
+tramp that the boys would have before they
+would find the hermit's hut.</p>
+
+<p>"And perhaps they won't find it at all,
+after all their hunting," said Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I hope they will," said Dorothy,
+"because it's so horrid to hunt and hunt,
+for nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, look!" she cried a moment later.
+"See the lovely mosses! Let's take some
+back to mamma and Aunt Charlotte."</p>
+
+<p>They were, indeed, beautiful. There was
+green moss that looked like velvet, and
+gray moss formed like tiny cups with scarlet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
+edges, and other moss tipped with
+red.</p>
+
+<p>On an old stump they found shell-like
+fungus, some a creamy white, others white,
+with soft brown markings.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, a fine collection of rarely beautiful
+mosses and lichens they gathered, and
+heaped on the bottom of the phaeton.</p>
+
+<p>Romeo turned his head to watch them as
+if he wondered when they would have gathered
+enough.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, we do keep you standing, dear,
+don't we?" Dorothy said, patting his neck
+as she spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you needn't look for sugar,"
+she said, laughing, "for I haven't any
+with me, but we'll get you some fresh
+clover."</p>
+
+<p>With Nancy's help she soon had a fine
+bunch of pink clover for Romeo, and he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+seemed quite as pleased as if it had been
+the cubes that he so often enjoyed.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>When the party of boys had left the road
+to cross the fields that lay between them,
+and the forest at the foot of the mountain,
+they had believed that they knew
+exactly how to go to reach the hermit's
+hut.</p>
+
+<p>The old hermit had been dead for years,
+but every season the summer guests at the
+hotels and farmhouses searched all around
+the deserted hut, expecting to find some
+relic to take home and label as a bit of the
+hermit's property.</p>
+
+<p>The boys supposed that they had the
+woods to themselves, and that they would
+be uninterrupted in their search of the
+place.</p>
+
+<p>They did not know that the mountain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
+climbers had taken the same direction, intending,
+before they enjoyed their lunch
+beneath the trees, to stop at the old, deserted
+house.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Paxton and little Floretta had
+worked more persistently than any others
+of the party, and Mrs. Paxton had found
+a small, brass button.</p>
+
+<p>The others had laughed at the prize, asking
+her if she intended to keep it as a souvenir.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," said Mrs. Paxton. "I'm
+sure this brass button must have belonged
+on some old coat that the hermit
+wore!"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps in his youth, before he came
+up here to live, he may have been a janitor,"
+said a young man, with a saucy
+laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Or a brakeman," suggested another.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Paxton pretended not to hear their
+teasing, and though the prize that she had
+found had been only a valueless thing, she
+kept it.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta was very eager to stay, and continue
+to peep into cracks in the floor and
+walls, and to poke with a stick under the
+doorsill, and in the soft earth around the
+hut.</p>
+
+<p>The older members of the party knew
+that if they were to ascend the mountain,
+see the view, and descend before twilight,
+they must start at once.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as their picnic lunch had been
+enjoyed they commenced to climb the
+rugged mountain path.</p>
+
+<p>It was very steep and rough, and it had
+been said that no children should be allowed
+in the party.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Paxton had insisted that her small<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+daughter was a wonderful little climber,
+who was quite equal to the demands of a
+long tramp.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta had wished to remain at the hut,
+but as she could not do that, she proceeded
+to make herself as unpleasant as possible,
+by complaining every step of the way, until
+one young man voiced the feeling of the
+entire party.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a horrid, rough old path, and
+I'm tired. I wish I'd stayed at <i>home!</i>"
+said Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish so, <i>too!</i>" said the young man,
+and several of the party, too polite to say
+it, at heart, agreed with him.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta's was the only gloomy face,
+however. The others tramped gaily onward,
+singing snatches of song, and laughing
+as they stepped upon rolling stones, or
+tripped over long, gnarled roots that rose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
+above the surface, as if especially designed
+to catch lagging feet.</p>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+"All day upon the hills<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">We've chased the chamois far,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">But deeper joy now thrills</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Beneath the evening star."</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>The youth sang gaily, and several of
+his friends joined him in singing the old
+song.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at the summit they rested, enjoyed
+the view, laughed and joked about
+their weariness, and made many wild
+guesses as to how long it would take them
+to make the descent and drive back to the
+hotel.</p>
+
+<p>"It will be three o'clock before we reach
+the Cleverton," said one.</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense!" cried another, "this is
+really called a mountain by courtesy. It's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+only a big hill. I say we shall be on the
+piazza, and wondering what we can do next,
+as early as half-past two."</p>
+
+<p>"It's more likely to be half-past <i>three!</i>"
+declared another, and when all felt sufficiently
+rested, they commenced the descent.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta refused to keep closely beside
+her mother, insisting upon clinging to another
+member of the party, to whom she
+had taken a fancy.</p>
+
+<p>The party was a large one, much larger,
+indeed, than had at first been planned, and
+while half of the number were guests at the
+Cleverton, the others were from the Merlington,
+a hotel situated nearer the village,
+and from several large farmhouses that entertained
+summer boarders.</p>
+
+<p>The guests from the Cleverton had kept
+closely together during the trip, while those
+from the Merlington had done the same.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They had reached the foot of the mountain,
+and were tramping along a path that
+ran nearly parallel to that on which the
+hermit's house stood.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta saw the boys, near the house,
+and also saw that Jack Tiverton was with
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Without a word, she left the lady to
+whose arm she had been clinging, and making
+her way along behind bushes and underbrush,
+she managed to sneak in at the
+door of the hut, without having been seen
+by the party of boys.</p>
+
+<p>The lady, with whom she had been walking,
+supposed that she had run back to join
+her mother, while Mrs. Paxton felt quite
+undisturbed, because she believed that her
+little girl was still clinging to the arm of
+the lady with whom she had chosen to
+walk.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It had required two barges to convey the
+party, and now they found them waiting,
+the horses a bit impatient to be off.</p>
+
+<p>The guests from the Merlington clambered
+into the first barge, and they with a
+few of the farmhouse party filled it to overflowing,
+some of the men being obliged to
+ride homeward, seated upon the steps.
+Meanwhile the Cleverton people were
+forced to wait until the barge for their
+party drove up.</p>
+
+<p>The first barge had started, and was rolling
+along, and a chorus of college songs was
+wafted back on the breeze, while handkerchiefs
+fluttered as the gay passengers
+laughed at the crowd that had not yet
+started.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Paxton paused with her foot on the
+step, and looked back.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, where's Floretta?" she asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"In the first barge," cried a voice in
+reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you <i>sure?</i>" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, certainly," said the other, "she's
+with that tall, fine-looking lady from the
+Merlington. She'll be home before you
+are."</p>
+
+<p>The second barge was soon filled and on
+its way. The horses were less fresh than
+those of the first barge, and seemed determined
+to lag. Indeed, they required constant
+urging to keep them from dropping
+into a slow walk.</p>
+
+<p>"Those other fellows ahead of us started
+some lively college songs," said a disgusted
+passenger, "and they're actually out of
+sight now; but the way these nags are poking
+I couldn't think of anything to sing
+that would be slow enough to be appropriate."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And while one barge was going over the
+road at a lively rate of speed, and the other
+jogging along at a snail's pace, Floretta, at
+the hut, was having a most exciting time.</p>
+
+<p>Once inside the place, she had crouched
+beneath a window to learn, if possible, what
+the boys were talking about.</p>
+
+<p>She had wanted to remain there when the
+party had started for the mountain path,
+and she had been very impatient during the
+long tramp. She cared nothing for the
+view, and determined, on the return, to
+stop, if only for a few moments, at the hut.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+<h3>THE ECHO CAPTURED</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>FLORETTA had intended to hunt for
+treasure, hoping to get something more
+valuable than the brass button that her
+mother had found.</div>
+
+<p>She was not at all afraid of Jack Tiverton,
+but of those larger boys she was not
+quite sure.</p>
+
+<p>As she knelt beneath the window she
+could hear only the voices of the boys that
+were nearest to the hut, and hearing only
+parts of their conversation, she could not
+understand what the first speaker expected
+to find.</p>
+
+<p>"If I find it, I'll put it where it will be
+safe," he said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There was a pause, and then a voice more
+distant replied.</p>
+
+<p>She did not hear what it said, but she did
+hear the answer made by the boy who had
+first spoken.</p>
+
+<p>"If the ghost of the old hermit was in
+the hut, it might hear you."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and what would he say about your
+hunting for things that may have belonged
+to him?" said another, with a teasing
+laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'm not afraid," was the careless
+answer.</p>
+
+<p>"You're not?" jeered a laughing
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>"I think we've poked around out here
+long enough without finding anything,"
+said Jack Tiverton, "let's hunt inside the
+house."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a minute," called a boy who had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
+not yet spoken, "just till I've looked into
+this hollow tree trunk."</p>
+
+<p>"And <i>then</i> what?" asked a merry voice.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Then</i> hunt in the house, of course!"
+was the curt reply.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta thought she saw a chance for
+fun.</p>
+
+<p>Softly, yet quickly, she crept up the rickety
+little stairway, built close against the
+wall, and leading to the tiny loft.</p>
+
+<p>The loft was really little more than a
+space beneath the roof where the old hermit
+might have stored a few provisions.
+She could not stand, or even sit, erect, and
+she crouched upon the bit of dusty flooring.</p>
+
+<p>She was none too soon, for in a few seconds
+the boys rushed in, and then began a
+discussion as to whether it would be safe
+to take a plank up from the floor to look
+beneath it for hidden treasure.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You oughtn't to do that," said Jack
+Tiverton, "somebody might arrest you,
+or all of us, if folks found out we did
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Arrest us for spoiling a floor in this old
+hut!" cried an older boy. "I wonder you
+don't think the old hermit might holler if
+he heard us pull up a plank!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Jack stoutly, "you'd be as
+scared as I would if he did holler!"</p>
+
+<p>"You're a small boy, Jack, and easily
+scared," was the taunting reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, pull up a plank, and see what
+happens. I dare you to!" cried Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"Here goes then!" said the older boy,
+and catching hold of a plank that had rotted
+at one end, he pulled it up.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Oh, let it alone!</i>" groaned a boy in a
+farther corner of the room, in an attempt to
+imitate an old voice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"<i>Oh, let it alone!</i>" came in exactly the
+same voice from the loft.</p>
+
+<p>Sidney Cumston, the big boy, who had
+laughed at little Jack Tiverton, dropped
+the plank, and turned pale, while not a boy
+spoke or moved.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, come!" said Sidney, when he
+caught his breath, "we're a precious pack
+of sillies! Help me lift this big board, will
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Will you?" came from the loft, in
+the very manner in which he had said
+it.</p>
+
+<p>Again he dropped the plank.</p>
+
+<p>"What does it mean?" cried Sidney.</p>
+
+<p>"Mean?" came his last word repeated.</p>
+
+<p>The boys were now thoroughly frightened.</p>
+
+<p>"Come!" cried Sidney, "let's leave
+here!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Here!" came a repetition of his last
+word, and big as he was, he had turned to
+run, when a faint ripple of smothered
+laughter came down from the loft.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately Sidney's pale face flushed
+red. It flashed through his mind that these
+younger boys had seen that he was frightened.</p>
+
+<p>He had been laughed at by the owner of
+the voice that had mocked him, and the
+boys would <i>never</i> stop laughing.</p>
+
+<p>Quickly he mounted the steps, and
+roughly he dragged little Floretta from her
+hiding place, half carrying her down the
+stairway, because it was too narrow for
+two to descend.</p>
+
+<p>"So you thought it was funny, just
+<i>funny</i> to mock us, did you?" he asked,
+when they reached the floor.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta was not laughing now.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She was sullen, and at the same time
+frightened.</p>
+
+<p>What would they do to her?</p>
+
+<p>They crowded around her, frowning and
+making all sorts of wild suggestions as to
+what should be done with her.</p>
+
+<p>"Keep her mocking till she's got enough
+of it!" cried one.</p>
+
+<p>"Put her back in the loft, and leave her
+there! She seemed to like there," said another.</p>
+
+<p>The big boy, whose hand was still on her
+shoulder, was more angry than either of the
+others.</p>
+
+<p>He was a bully, always ready to torment
+some one smaller than himself.</p>
+
+<p>He had reason to be provoked with Floretta,
+and the fact that she was only a little
+girl, made no impression upon him.</p>
+
+<p>He would as willingly punish a girl, as a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+boy, and the fact that his captive was
+smaller than he, only proved that the task
+would be an easy one.</p>
+
+<p>"You think it's smart to imitate, and it
+is. P'raps you think you're the echo that's
+over in the mountain!" he sneered.</p>
+
+<p>She made no answer. She was crying
+now.</p>
+
+<p>"Say! Let her off!" cried Jack Tiverton.
+"She's only a girl!"</p>
+
+<p>The smallest boy in the crowd, he saw
+Sidney's cowardice.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, are you sweet on Floretta?" jeered
+Sidney.</p>
+
+<p>Jack drew back abashed. He did not
+like Floretta at all, but he did think it
+mean for a big boy to frighten so small a
+girl.</p>
+
+<p>"I ain't going to hurt you," said Sidney,
+"but I'm going to give you a chance to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
+play echo, till you're tired of it. I guess
+you'll get enough of it before you get
+through!</p>
+
+<p>"Come, fellows! Get some good long
+pieces of wild grape-vine! I'll fasten Miss
+Echo where she can shout all day, and nobody'll
+stop her!"</p>
+
+<p>"I won't go with you!" screamed Floretta,
+who had found her voice, "You sha'n't
+tie me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, is that so?" said Sidney, in a teasing
+tone. "We'll tie you so you can't get
+away!"</p>
+
+<p>She pulled back.</p>
+
+<p>"No, you don't!" said Sidney, grasping
+her arm with a firmer hold.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, walk right along, or these other
+fellows will help me carry you!" he added,
+and Floretta thought best to walk.</p>
+
+<p>"Where'll you take her?" asked one.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Right there," said Sidney. "That
+rock is just covered with vines that cling
+fast to it. Hurry, now! Pull down some
+long, strong pieces! Here, you scratch like
+a cat! Stop that!"</p>
+
+<p>Floretta, half wild to get away, was attacking
+his hand in the manner of a little
+wild animal.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me go, then!" she screamed.</p>
+
+<p>"Not much!" cried Sidney, and with the
+help of another boy, he dragged her, screaming
+and kicking, all the way, until they
+reached the rocky ledge.</p>
+
+<p>"There, now! Hold on! You're showing
+too much temper!" cried a stout lad
+who was helping to bind her.</p>
+
+<p>"I won't stay! You sha'n't tie me!" she
+screamed, but without replying, they drew
+the tough vines closer about her, lashing her
+into such a network of stems and stout<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
+vines that it would be impossible for her to
+escape.</p>
+
+<p>"There!" cried Sidney, when he felt sure
+that she was securely made a little prisoner,
+"You can shout till you're tired, and
+if you want to mock any one, you can mock
+yourself! Good-afternoon, Miss Echo!"</p>
+
+<p>He lifted his cap, with elaborate courtesy,
+and marched off whistling:</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+"The Girl I Left Behind Me."<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>They did not look back. Sidney marched
+boldly away, believing that he had done a
+very smart thing, but the other boys felt
+less comfortable.</p>
+
+<p>They had been angry with her, and they
+had wished to see her punished, but they
+could not help thinking that she was a little
+girl, and they were leaving her alone in the
+woods!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Jack Tiverton was, by far, the most uneasy.</p>
+
+<p>He was the smallest of the party, and,
+while he had asked Sidney to let Floretta
+go, he had known it was useless to do
+more.</p>
+
+<p>The eight other boys were stronger than
+he, and any attempt upon his part to free
+her would be worse than useless. They
+would not listen, but instead, would pounce
+upon him.</p>
+
+<p>The other boys talked, laughed, and whistled,
+to imply that they were not thinking
+of what they had done, but all the way back
+to the Cleverton, little Jack was wondering
+what he could do.</p>
+
+<p>He dared not go straight to Floretta's
+mother, and tell her of her little girl's
+plight.</p>
+
+<p>He knew if he did that, the boys would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+soon learn who had played "tell-tale," and
+then,&mdash;what would they do to <i>him?</i></p>
+
+<p>And yet, he was determined, in some way,
+to help Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>How could he let a little girl stay out
+there in the woods all night?</p>
+
+<p>Of course some one, walking through the
+woods might find her, but if no one happened
+to?</p>
+
+<p>Jack knew that the risk was too great.
+It was just before he reached the Cleverton,
+that he thought of the best way that he
+could do it.</p>
+
+<p>He would write a note to Mrs. Paxton.
+He would drop that note into the mail box
+that hung at the side door. The letters were
+always distributed at four, and Sidney Cumston,
+who had a fine watch, had just said
+that it was three. He left the boys at the
+entrance to the Merlington, and hurried on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
+that he might have plenty of time for his
+note.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Tiverton was out driving with a
+friend, and Jack had quite a hunt before he
+could find pencil or paper for his note.</p>
+
+<p>At last he found a blank book, and with
+a pencil he wrote this note.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Deer Mrs. Paxton:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Yor litle girl is tied up in the woods
+opsite the hermits hut. You better go get
+her real quick or somethin may happen too
+her.</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+"Yors trooly."<br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>He folded it, and, in place of the envelope
+that he could not find, he tied around it a
+bit of string that he found in his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>Boldly he addressed it, in very large letters,
+and sneaking down the stairway, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
+around on the piazza toward the side door,
+watched his chance, and slipped it into the
+mail box.</p>
+
+<p>There was much excitement on the front
+piazza, because the guests had arrived in
+the barge but a few moments before, and
+Mrs. Paxton had given a maid a generous
+"tip" to go over to the Merlington, and
+bring Floretta back with her.</p>
+
+<p>"She returned with the party that came
+from the Merlington, and I don't wish her
+to remain there. I want her to come right
+back to me," said Mrs. Paxton.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, ma'am," the maid had replied,
+and with the coins in her hand, had
+started off at once toward the other hotel.</p>
+
+<p>When little Jack Tiverton ran around to
+the front piazza, the maid had just returned.</p>
+
+<p>"If you please, Mrs. Paxton, your little
+girl isn't over to the Merlington, and hasn't<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
+been there, and a lady that was with the
+party that came home from the mountain
+trip, says the child wasn't in their barge at
+all. I asked her if she was <i>sure</i>, and she
+said, she couldn't help being sure, because
+there wasn't <i>any</i> child in their barge."</p>
+
+<p>Of course excitement reigned supreme.
+Mrs. Paxton seemed half wild, and every
+one shared her anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>The fact that Floretta was not a favorite
+made no difference. No one liked to think
+of a little girl out there alone on the mountain
+path, or in the woods, especially as it
+was already late afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>"What a dreadful thing!" cried Mrs.
+Paxton, wringing her hands, and walking
+up and down the piazza.</p>
+
+<p>"Who will go with me? I cannot go
+alone, and where, <i>where</i> shall we look first?
+Who saw her last?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At this moment a man-servant came out
+from the hall with a tray of letters that he
+began to distribute.</p>
+
+<p>"One for you, Mrs. Paxton," said the
+man, as he touched her arm gently.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I can't think of letters now," she
+said, but something about the note seemed
+so unusual that she looked at it.</p>
+
+<p>She drew off the string that had been
+loosely tied, and read the hastily scrawled
+lines.</p>
+
+<p>She screamed, and Aunt Charlotte, who
+was standing near her, put her arm around
+her and supported her, or she would have
+fallen.</p>
+
+<p>Many of those who gathered around Mrs.
+Paxton were inclined to think the note a
+hoax, but Mrs. Dainty, coming forward,
+lifted her handsome head, and looking
+at the men who were lounging comfortably<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+in the large rockers, or sitting upon the
+piazza railing, spoke the word that spurred
+them to action.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it safe to <i>guess</i> that this is a joke?
+True, it is written in a boyish hand, and
+while it <i>may</i> be a boy's joke, may it not be
+a boy's means of telling us what has actually
+happened? I would not, were I a man,
+take the responsibility or chance, of leaving
+Floretta out there, because I would go to
+the place, and thus learn, not guess, if this
+information be true."</p>
+
+<p>She had scarcely finished speaking when
+a number of men rose, and one, who chose
+to lead the party, lifted his hat to Mrs.
+Dainty, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"We are off, madam. We only needed
+an inspiration to move us to endeavor."</p>
+
+<p>She bowed and smiled, as she said:</p>
+
+<p>"One thing I ask of you. Go as quickly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>
+as possible, for the sake of the frightened
+child, and the anxious mother."</p>
+
+<p>"In all possible haste," was the quick
+reply, and she turned to offer what comfort
+she might to the woman who seemed nearly
+distracted.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>And all this time, what had been happening
+in the wood? For a long time Floretta
+had cried, screamed, and shouted, hoping
+that the boys would come back and release
+her.</p>
+
+<p>Then, when she knew that they must be
+too far away to hear her, she tore at the
+clasping bonds, trying in every way to free
+herself. With feet and hands she strove
+to loosen the tough, wiry vines, kicking and
+trampling with her restless feet, beating
+and bending with her little hands, until
+they were torn and bleeding, and the tormenting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
+vines seemed only to hold her with
+a firmer grasp, as if to prove how useless
+was her struggle.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 391px;">
+<img src="images/i005.jpg" width="391" height="500" alt="With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines.&mdash;Page 119." title="" />
+<span class="caption">With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_119">Page 119</a></i>.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>She had cried until she could cry no more,
+and the sturdy vines had cut and bruised
+her.</p>
+
+<p>So firmly was she bound that she could
+not sink to the grass to rest, and she
+had only the hard, rocky ledge to lean
+against.</p>
+
+<p>How still the woodland seemed! Sometimes
+a twig would snap, or a buzzing insect
+would pause, as if to look at her, but
+no one came to set her free.</p>
+
+<p>She waited for a moment to regain her
+breath, and then again she fought and struggled
+with those tough, sturdy vines.</p>
+
+<p>She tried to wrench them apart, to break,
+to tear them from her, but they only yielded
+enough to bend, and then snap back into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+the very place that she had pushed them
+from.</p>
+
+<p>Not a vine broke, not a stem gave way,
+and she set her lips tightly for yet greater
+effort!</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+<h3>FLORETTA'S RETURN</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>AT a far corner of the piazza sat Dorothy,
+her eyes terrified, and her cheeks
+pale. Nancy, close beside her, wound her
+arms about her, and sought, in every way,
+to comfort her.</div>
+
+<p>"They'll find her soon, Dorothy, so don't
+you be frightened," she whispered.
+"They'll <i>surely</i> find her soon."</p>
+
+<p>Dear little Nancy knew, better than any
+of Dorothy's other friends could have
+known, how ready was her sympathy, how
+kind and loving was her heart.</p>
+
+<p>She had not loved Floretta, but with
+Dorothy, that did not count. It was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
+dreadful fear that something had happened
+to a little girl, who, so recently had been at
+play with them,&mdash;ah, that was what
+grieved sweet Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>She was thinking of what Mrs. Dainty
+had said to Aunt Charlotte when the mountain
+trip was first talked of.</p>
+
+<p>"I think the long tramp is a rougher
+form of amusement than I can well endure.
+I should be so weary long before it was time
+to return, that I should derive but little
+pleasure from the trip. There is another
+thought in connection with the picnic," she
+continued, "and that is an element of danger.
+Not great danger perhaps, but such
+that I would not join the party, nor would
+I permit Dorothy, or Nancy to do so. One
+gentleman who was talking of the mountain
+path that they have chosen, spoke of
+the great danger to the climbers from small,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
+rolling stones, and from places where the
+earth seems to crumble near the edge of the
+narrow foot-path. A careless step might
+lead to a fall that would mean, I hardly
+dare to say what!"</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy and Nancy had been wishing to
+join the party, but upon hearing this, they
+lost all interest in it, and had cheerfully
+taken the drive behind gentle Romeo, instead.
+Now, as Dorothy sat with Nancy's
+arms about her, she was glad that they had
+not been permitted to go, and she heartily
+wished that Floretta had remained at the
+Cleverton.</p>
+
+<p>"Had she rolled from the path, and
+fallen, fallen,&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy covered her eyes with her hands,
+as if she almost saw the little girl falling,
+down, down to the ravine so far below the
+path, and was trying to shut out the picture.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+Nancy, still striving to quiet her fear, heard
+some one telling what the scribbled note
+had said.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Dorothy!" she whispered, eagerly,
+"Floretta is just where they know how to
+find her, and they've promised to hurry,
+and bring her back."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you <i>sure?</i>" Dorothy asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, <i>sure!</i>" said Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>Then Nancy climbed into the big chair
+beside her, and the two little girls sat, each
+tightly clasping the other's hands, while
+they waited and watched for the first
+glimpse of the men who should return,
+bringing Floretta with them.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte remained
+with Mrs. Paxton, who seemed to
+have lost all control of herself.</p>
+
+<p>One moment she would cry as if her
+heart would break, and then she would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>
+spring up, threatening to follow the direction
+that the men had taken, and try to
+reach the woods, thus to sooner see her little
+girl.</p>
+
+<p>At last, after what seemed endless waiting,
+but was actually only an hour, some
+one espied the men in the distance, and
+cried out:</p>
+
+<p>"They're coming! They're coming!"</p>
+
+<p>"Have they got Floretta? Oh, <i>have</i>
+they found her?" shrieked Mrs. Paxton.</p>
+
+<p>"We can't see from here," said the one
+who had spoken, and the mother rushed
+forward, shading her eyes with her hand,
+and straining to catch the first glimpse of
+her child.</p>
+
+<p>She would have rushed down the road to
+meet them, but Mrs. Dainty held her back.
+She had seen that they were carrying Floretta,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
+and she thought, in case the child were
+injured, the mother would far better save
+her strength.</p>
+
+<p>Two of the men had clasped their hands
+to form an "arm-chair," and thus they
+brought to the piazza, a very limp, tired
+Floretta, whose vivacity was all gone, and
+whose face bore the trace of desperate
+weeping, while her arms and hands were
+covered with cuts and bruises, and her
+little frock was torn and tattered by her
+struggle with the tough and tightly knotted
+vines.</p>
+
+<p>She lay back against the shoulder of one
+man who supported her, and looked as if
+her strength were spent.</p>
+
+<p>She changed on the instant that they set
+her on her feet.</p>
+
+<p>Rushing to her mother, she permitted her
+to clasp her for a moment to her breast, then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+turning to the group that gathered around
+her, she cried fiercely:</p>
+
+<p>"Look! See my hands! See my arms!
+See the scratches, where I tried to get
+away, and it was Sidney Cumston who
+tied me! He <i>did</i> it, but the other boys
+<i>let</i> him. Not one tried to hinder him except
+Jack Tiverton, the littlest one of them all.
+He tried to make them let me go, but they
+wouldn't. Oh, somebody punish all but
+Jack! He <i>tried</i>, but he couldn't help me."</p>
+
+<p>She was hysterical, and sank to the floor
+of the piazza, sobbing, and crying, before
+her mother could catch her.</p>
+
+<p>She scrambled to her feet, and was
+clasped in her mother's arms.</p>
+
+<p>Old Mr. Cunningham surprised every one
+by speaking most kindly to her. She had
+so often tormented him that it seemed generous
+that he should offer a bit of comfort.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't think we shall let those young
+rascals escape without a sharp reprimand,
+and if I was to venture a guess about it, I
+should say that little Jack, after all, managed
+to help you, Floretta," he said.</p>
+
+<p>She turned in surprise to look at the old
+face, that now looked so kindly at her.</p>
+
+<p>"Come out here, Jack," said the old gentleman,
+"didn't you write the note that
+sent us searching for this little girl?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said Jack, "and I wrote it
+'cause I thought the other big fellows were
+mean, but if they find out I told, they'll&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"No, they won't," said Mr. Cunningham.
+"You're no 'tell-tale.' You did just right,
+and the men here will stand by you. Those
+big boys were the cowards to torment a little
+girl. You're the best boy up here in the
+mountains."</p>
+
+<p>"Three cheers for young Tiverton!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
+shouted some one, and in the midst of the
+excitement, Mrs. Paxton, with her little
+daughter, slipped away to their room, after
+having thanked little Jack for his valuable
+assistance.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile old Mr. Cunningham had been
+searching in this pocket and that for something
+which he seemed most anxious to
+find.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, I knew I had it! Come here,
+Jack!"</p>
+
+<p>Blushing and diffident, Jack walked over
+to the big rocker.</p>
+
+<p>"'Tisn't much, boy, but I think you
+ought to have a medal. Here's a silver dollar
+I've been keeping for a pocket piece.
+I'll give it to you for a medal, for being
+brave enough to tell what you knew <i>ought</i>
+to be told. That's not tale-bearing, and as
+you were afraid to tell, for fear of those big<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
+bullies, it was a brave act. You're a lad
+that knows <i>what</i> to do, <i>when</i> to do, and then
+<i>does</i> it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Hurrah for Jack Tiverton!" some one
+cried again, and this time they were given
+with a will.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Tiverton, returning from a long
+drive, wondered what all the excitement
+meant, and why they were cheering her
+little son.</p>
+
+<p>Jack, with his silver dollar tightly
+clasped, hung his head, and looked as if
+overpowered by his conspicuous position.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy, now bright and happy, since
+Floretta was safe, saw that Jack hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Mrs. Tiverton," she said, "Jack
+has been truly the <i>best</i> boy in the world,
+but he can't speak just now. When he tells
+you what he's done, you won't wonder why
+they cheered him!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Barnet and Flossie, with Uncle
+Harry and his wife, now arrived in their
+big automobile from a three-days' trip that
+they had been enjoying.</p>
+
+<p>Of course Dorothy and Nancy tried to
+tell Flossie all about Floretta and Jack, and
+they were both so excited that Flossie got
+a very twisted idea of the affair.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry, not dreaming that the matter
+was at all serious, turned, after greeting
+the children, to enter the house.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "you
+ought to hear about it. There were ever
+so many big boys, and only one little girl,
+and they tied her so she couldn't get away,
+and Jack wrote a note, and when they
+found her,&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Flossie, dear, I'm perfectly willing
+to be scared half out of my wits, but I
+<i>must</i> know what I'm being scared about.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>
+You're getting me so mixed up that I've
+not the least idea what this is all about.
+Have you?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no," said Flossie, "I don't <i>half</i> understand
+it, but it does sound so frightful,
+that I'm so scared, I need to have you be
+scared, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then," Uncle Harry replied, "if
+it will help you to know it, I'll admit that
+my teeth are chattering, and shivers are
+running up and down my spine!</p>
+
+<p>"I thought at first that it was the draft
+across this piazza, but perhaps, after all, it
+was caused by what you were telling me."</p>
+
+<p>When, at last, he had heard the story, he
+was full of disgust that any boy, and his
+friends, should have been guilty of such a
+contemptible act, and his sympathy for the
+little girl was deep and sincere.</p>
+
+<p>"She will need rest and quiet to-morrow,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
+he said, "and you three little friends
+will be kind, I think, if you stay rather
+closely here, and help, in some quiet way,
+to amuse her."</p>
+
+<p>"We will," said Dorothy, "I'll let her
+read my new fairy book if she'd like to.
+She could lie in the hammock, and do that."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll keep the hammock swinging," said
+Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"And I'll give her my new box of candy
+I just brought home," said Flossie.</p>
+
+<p>"That's right," said Uncle Harry, "and
+for your sweet promises of kindness toward
+the child who has suffered so much to-day
+I'll remind you that on day after to-morrow
+I shall give myself the pleasure of taking
+you all to the fair. I promise you a <i>fine</i>
+time."</p>
+
+<p>He turned to look over his shoulder, and
+laugh at their wild little cries of delight.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He was anticipating the pleasure quite as
+much as they.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie kept the
+promise that they had made, and Floretta
+fully enjoyed their kindness. She seemed
+unusually gentle, and Mrs. Paxton thanked
+them for so sweetly helping to amuse her,
+and thus make her willing to spend the day
+quietly.</p>
+
+<p>The day set for the visit to the village
+fair dawned bright and sunny, a light breeze
+making it just cool enough to be delightful.</p>
+
+<p>The barge was waiting for its gay little
+passengers.</p>
+
+<p>The children stood with impatient feet on
+the piazza, waiting for their host, merry,
+handsome Uncle Harry.</p>
+
+<p>At last a firm tread caused them to turn,
+and there he was, looking gayer than ever,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
+a picture of health, strength, and kindliness,
+and clad in a most becoming outing
+suit of light gray serge.</p>
+
+<p>The blue of his tie was not bluer than his
+fine eyes, and no one could have glanced at
+him without knowing that he possessed a
+generous, loving nature, a kind and merry
+heart.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, little friends!" he cried. "Is
+every young lady that I invited here?" he
+added, looking anxiously lest some child be
+late, and thus by chance, be left behind.</p>
+
+<p>"Every one is here!" said Flossie. "I
+know because I've counted."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we'll start at once, unless some
+one would rather wait 'til to-morrow?" he
+said, his eyes twinkling.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! No!" they cried. "We just
+<i>couldn't</i> wait!"</p>
+
+<p>"In that case we'll go now!" he said,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+with a droll expression, as if he started at
+once, merely as an accommodation.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Uncle Harry! You're only joking,"
+cried Flossie. "You wouldn't be
+willing to wait until to-morrow. I heard
+you tell Aunt Vera to hurry and find your
+tie, because you were in such a rush to
+start!"</p>
+
+<p>"To think that my own little niece would
+tell tales like that, and thus let out the
+secret. What chance have I now, of making
+them think that I was really very shy
+about riding with such a large party of
+girls?"</p>
+
+<p>Shouts of laughter greeted this speech,
+and Uncle Harry waited until it had subsided,
+then he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, well, if no one <i>believes</i> that I am
+shy or diffident, it's waste of time to try to
+appear so, so I shall not try. Instead, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+shall be very bold. Come, dears, let me help
+you in!"</p>
+
+<p>And amid shouts of laughter from the
+children, he lifted each high in air, and
+placed her in the barge, thus saving her the
+trouble of mounting the steps.</p>
+
+<p>Then taking his seat in the middle of the
+laughing, chattering little party, he called
+to the driver to start.</p>
+
+<p>The long whip cracked, Jack Tiverton,
+from the piazza, blew loudly on a tin
+trumpet, and they were off over the road,
+the happiest party that ever filled a barge.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry told some amusing stories,
+then, led by his fine voice, they sang some
+gay little songs, and before they dreamed
+that they had arrived at the fair, the driver
+shouted:</p>
+
+<p>"Here we are!" and sure enough, they
+had reached the fair grounds.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Why, I didn't suppose we were more
+than half-way here," said Dorothy, "and
+the reason is that the ride has been so
+jolly."</p>
+
+<p>"That's just it," agreed Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"The reason <i>I</i> enjoyed the ride," said
+Uncle Harry, "is because I was so charmed
+with my little guests."</p>
+
+<p>"And the reason why we had such a fine
+ride," said Flossie, "is because we had the
+<i>best</i> man in the world taking care of us."</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry bowed low.</p>
+
+<p>"This must be a wedding party, if I'm
+the 'best man,'" he said with a laugh, "so
+we'll not fuss because there's no musician
+to play a march for us, but we'll play you
+are all bridesmaids, and we'll hurry right
+along. The entrance is this way, I think,
+and under that evergreen arch."</p>
+
+<p>A large tent had been pitched for the display<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+of the various wares and numerous
+attractions; a smaller tent near it serving
+as fortune teller's booth.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll coax Uncle Harry to have his
+fortune told," whispered Flossie to Dorothy,
+when, to their great surprise, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Flossie, you little witch! Uncle
+Harry heard what you said, and not only
+is he going to have his fortune told, but he's
+going to make every one of you little girls
+have yours told, also!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+<h3>AT THE FAIR</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>THE fair proved a great delight to the
+children. They had all been to fine
+fairs patronized by fashionable matrons,
+whose names were quite enough to insure
+success, but the country fair was an absolute
+novelty.</div>
+
+<p>At the large city fairs, merry d&eacute;butantes
+graced the booths, and sold flowers, or tickets
+for the various games of chance.</p>
+
+<p>Here in the mountain village all was different,
+and the novelty gave greater interest.</p>
+
+<p>Farmers' daughters were in the booths,
+and sold huge bouquets of old-fashioned
+garden flowers, homemade candy, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
+honey, while one rosy-cheeked lass dispensed
+sweet cider, or sweet apples, according
+to the preference of her customer.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry purchased a huge stalk of
+hollyhocks for each of his guests, but for
+himself he chose an enormous sunflower
+which he insisted looked <i>fine</i> in his buttonhole.</p>
+
+<p>There was music, if it could be called
+music, furnished by the local band.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry said he had never seen
+such independent people as those musicians
+were. He declared that the music sounded,
+to him, as if each man commenced to play
+when he chose, and stopped when he got
+ready, regardless of what the other players
+were doing.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I do believe that is the way they
+play!" cried Dorothy, laughing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Of course it is," cried Uncle Harry,
+"and a great deal of bother it saves, for no
+one has to direct them; they do not know
+that they are making discord, and thus they
+play and play with all their might, and are
+absolutely care-free and happy."</p>
+
+<p>There were heaps of giant pumpkins,
+and more red and yellow ears of corn than
+they had ever seen before, while everywhere
+was laughter, and friendly gossip,
+and chatter, that made the fair a jolly place
+in which to roam about.</p>
+
+<p>The children were determined to see
+every object in the big tent, and while some
+were interested in one thing, others wished
+to see something else, so they decided to
+divide into two groups.</p>
+
+<p>One half of the little party turned to the
+right intent upon seeing some gaudy patchwork
+quilts, while the others turned to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
+left declaring their intention of investing
+all their pennies in the "fish-pond."</p>
+
+<p>There were so many things to see on the
+way, that it was a long time before they
+met, as they had agreed, at the entrance.</p>
+
+<p>Somewhere on the way they had missed
+Uncle Harry, and they could not imagine
+where he had gone.</p>
+
+<p>It happened that Uncle Harry had seen a
+very small girl crying, and his first thought
+was to help her, and thus dry her tears.</p>
+
+<p>Upon questioning her, he found that the
+wee little maid had, by accident, knocked
+a small doll from one of the tables, and had
+been roundly scolded.</p>
+
+<p>"That pretty girl with the black eyes
+says I did it a-purpose, but I didn't,"
+she cried, "I wanted to see it, and
+I just touched it, and it tumbled off the
+table."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Her tears fell afresh, and in place of a
+handkerchief, she drew up her blue-checked
+apron, and hid her face in it.</p>
+
+<p>"Look up, little girl," Uncle Harry said,
+and his voice sounded so kindly, that she at
+once peeped at him through her tears.</p>
+
+<p>"Which is the table where all this happened?"</p>
+
+<p>"That one," said the child, "and the big
+girl is looking at me now."</p>
+
+<p>"Then give me your hand, and, just for
+fun, <i>we'll</i> go and look at <i>her</i>."</p>
+
+<p>A moment she hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"Come," he said, and with a sunny smile,
+the little girl placed her hand in his, and
+the big, handsome man with the wee country
+lass approached the table together.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll lift you up so you can see nicely,"
+he said. "Now, which was the doll that fell
+from the table?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Before the child could reply, the girl
+spoke sharply.</p>
+
+<p>"'Twas that one, sir, and her meddlesome
+fingers,&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind about that," said Uncle
+Harry, then turning to the child he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Did you like that one best, or is that
+larger one finer?"</p>
+
+<p>"That large one is the loveliest. I didn't
+<i>ever</i> see one so fine as that."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll have that one, then," he said,
+offering a bill to the astonished salesgirl.</p>
+
+<p>"There, little girl, she's yours," he said,
+as he placed the big doll in her arms.</p>
+
+<p>"I can hold her a little while?" she
+asked, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"You can hold her <i>always</i>, if you want
+to," he said gently, "I bought her for you."</p>
+
+<p>Rapturously she clasped the gift in her
+arms.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I love you, because you are good,"
+she cried.</p>
+
+<p>"Then tell me your name," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm Lois Ann Ferguson," chirped the
+little girl, "and father is Sandy Ferguson.
+Oh, there he is now. He's to play the
+pipes."</p>
+
+<p>She ran toward a sturdy man dressed in
+Highland costume, and carrying the bagpipes
+under his arm.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Ferguson glanced at her flushed
+cheeks, saw the gorgeous doll that she flourished
+before his astonished eyes, and finally
+understood that the tall, handsome stranger
+had bestowed it upon his wee daughter, as
+a gift.</p>
+
+<p>He took her little hand, and hurried forward,
+saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I dinna ken why he should dae it for
+my wee lassie.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I wad gladly thank ye, sir," he said,
+"but I'm lost in wonder that ye made wee
+Lois sae blithe an' gay wi' the braw
+gift."</p>
+
+<p>"She's a dear little lass," said Uncle
+Harry, "and when I found her crying, I
+knew that a fine new doll would dry her
+tears. Don't bother to thank me. I made
+myself happy, when I comforted her."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish there were mair like ye," said
+Sandy Ferguson, "an' some day when ye're
+older, an' ha' a wee daughter of yer ain,&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I have a wife and baby girl now," was
+the quick reply, "and they are my dearest
+possessions."</p>
+
+<p>"An' I thought ye a braw, bonny laddie,
+wi' yer fair hair an' blue een! Weel, weel,
+ye dinna hae tae live 'til ye're auld before
+ye ken tae dae a kindly act," Sandy Ferguson
+replied, "an' later when I play the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
+pipes, an' Lois dances, she shall make her
+first bow tae her new friend."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry, <i>did</i> you buy the new
+doll for the little girl?"</p>
+
+<p>It was little Flossie, who, after having
+searched every corner of the tent, had found
+him talking to the Scotchman and his little
+girl.</p>
+
+<p>"Is he your own uncle?" little Lois
+asked, looking up into Flossie's lovely face.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes," said Flossie, "and he's the
+best uncle in the world."</p>
+
+<p>"I know he must be," said the little girl.
+"See how good he was to me."</p>
+
+<p>They turned to join the rest of their party,
+and little Lois looked over her shoulder,
+with one hand held fast in her father's,
+while with the other she tightly clasped the
+precious doll.</p>
+
+<p>"I saw the notice near the entrance when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
+we came in, that a Scotch farmer would
+play, and his little daughter would dance,"
+said Uncle Harry, "but that child is not
+much more than a baby. She cannot be
+more than four. It will be amusing to see
+her dance, and Nancy Ferris will enjoy it
+most of all."</p>
+
+<p>They found the others reading the notice
+of which they had been talking, and they
+were delighted when they heard what a
+very little girl it was who was to dance.</p>
+
+<p>They had a lunch served by girls dressed
+as dairy maids, and it was just such a lunch
+as might have been enjoyed at a farmhouse.</p>
+
+<p>The long table spread with its white
+cloth, and set with blue and white dishes,
+was decorated by a garland of small sunflowers
+that lay upon the cloth, down
+the centre, and the entire length of the
+table.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There were plates heaped with biscuit,
+there were dishes of both wild and cultivated
+strawberries, and delicious cream to
+be eaten with them, there were sandwiches
+and little cakes, honey enough to tempt the
+bees to the feast, and the children thought
+it finer than a hotel dinner. How they
+laughed, and chattered, as they enjoyed the
+spread!</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry was in his sunniest mood,
+and told stories and jokes that kept them
+amused, and seemed to be the gayest member
+of the party.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell us a story about when you were a
+<i>little</i> boy," said Flossie.</p>
+
+<p>"My small niece thinks I'm nothing but
+a <i>big</i> boy now!" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, the big Scotchman thought you
+were only a lad. I heard him say so," said
+Flossie.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"When you were a boy were you ever
+naughty, <i>real</i> naughty?" Floretta asked.</p>
+
+<p>She had been very quiet, and all were
+surprised at her question.</p>
+
+<p>"Once upon a time, when I was little,"
+said Uncle Harry, "I was very, <i>very</i> fond
+of good things, but the one thing that I
+liked better than anything else was strawberry
+jam.</p>
+
+<p>"I was always allowed to have it, but I
+felt sure that it would taste even nicer if
+I had more of it at a time, and still finer if
+I could have a long handled spoon, and eat
+it right from the jar.</p>
+
+<p>"I used often to think how fine it would
+be if I, some day, could have the chance to
+eat it that way, but I never could get even
+<i>very</i> near the jar.</p>
+
+<p>"One day the opportunity came. My
+sister and I were in the nursery, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
+maid had been down-stairs for a long
+time.</p>
+
+<p>"The rest of the family were away, and
+we were to have our tea in the nursery, as
+usual, only, as we had had to remain at
+home, we were to have an extra treat.</p>
+
+<p>"Among other good things, we were to
+have strawberry jam.</p>
+
+<p>"My sister, that is Flossie's mamma,
+was a little older than I, and she was always
+trying to give me lessons in good
+behavior.</p>
+
+<p>"'Now, Harry,' she said, 'while nurse
+is down-stairs, we might commence to set
+our table.'</p>
+
+<p>"'There isn't anything here to set it
+with but the tablecloth and the jam,' I said,
+'but you're a girl, so you know how to put
+the cloth on, and I'll bring the jam.'"</p>
+
+<p>"I guess Uncle Harry was so fond of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
+jam, that he liked even to carry the jar,"
+said Flossie.</p>
+
+<p>"We wondered why the nurse stayed so
+long down-stairs," continued Uncle Harry,
+"and I told my sister that I was tired of
+waiting for tea, and I said I'd taste of the
+jam, if only I had a long handled spoon.</p>
+
+<p>"'Why, Harry,' she answered in disgust,
+'I wouldn't think you'd be so
+naughty, but,&mdash;if you really <i>want</i> to taste
+it, here's the spoon beside the jar.'"</p>
+
+<p>"And <i>did</i> you?" questioned Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, yes, I have to admit that I did.
+In truth, I tasted and tasted until my sister
+cried:</p>
+
+<p>"'Why, Harry, you naughty boy! When
+you get done tasting, there won't be any
+left!'</p>
+
+<p>"'You won't care, because <i>you</i> wouldn't
+be so naughty as to taste it!' I said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"'Oh, wouldn't I?' she cried. 'Well,
+you just let me take that spoon, and you'll
+see!'</p>
+
+<p>"Well, a funny mix-up followed, in which
+we each tried to get possession of the spoon
+and the jam. We were laughing while we
+struggled for it, but at last, one of us
+slipped, and fell, dragging the other down;
+the jar of jam tipped over, and her white
+frock, my gray jacket and trousers, and
+even my long, yellow curls became smeared
+with the jam.</p>
+
+<p>"Nurse opened the door, and screamed
+with terror, for the red jam looked as if
+we had been terribly hurt, and it was some
+time before we could convince her that we
+were not cut or bruised, but only <i>very
+sticky!</i></p>
+
+<p>"Then came the scolding, and my sister
+tried to screen me.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"'Harry couldn't help tasting it, he's
+so fond of jam,' she said.</p>
+
+<p>"'Well, he's got a good share of it, inside
+and out,' said nurse, grimly.</p>
+
+<p>"'She's got as much as I have,' I said,
+'just look at her frock!'</p>
+
+<p>"Of course our clothes were changed,
+and the jam cleaned from the polished floor,
+but we had our tea without jam.</p>
+
+<p>"Nurse said we could eat our biscuits
+with the <i>memory</i> of the jam we had already
+enjoyed."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry," cried Flossie, "I
+wish, even though you were naughty, she'd
+let you have more jam. She didn't know
+how good you'd be when you grew up."</p>
+
+<p>"I still am fond of jam!" he said, and
+the children laughed to see him pour honey
+over his berries that already were covered
+with sugar.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You like <i>anything</i> that's sweet!" said
+Dorothy, "whether it's jam, or sugar, or
+honey,&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Or little girls," said Uncle Harry.
+"You notice, I made this party all little
+girls, and I'm having a <i>lovely</i> time."</p>
+
+<p>"So are we," laughed Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"And he says 'lovely' just as we do,"
+said Nancy, "he does it to make us laugh."</p>
+
+<p>"Then why don't you laugh?" said
+Uncle Harry, and they <i>did</i> laugh, every
+member of the party, and laughed because
+they could not help it.</p>
+
+<p>And when the merry feast was over, they
+hastened to the small tent where the old
+gypsy was telling fortunes.</p>
+
+<p>Each had intended to have her fortune
+told, and thus learn what the future held
+for her.</p>
+
+<p>To their great surprise, she flatly refused<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
+to tell any child's fortune, saying that she
+would only foretell events for "grown
+ups." The little girls were rather afraid
+of her, but Uncle Harry boldly offered his
+hand, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Am I big enough to hear my fortune?"</p>
+
+<p>"No nonsense, young lad," she said,
+while the children dared not laugh. She
+bent over his palm for a moment, then she
+solemnly said:</p>
+
+<p>"You're a brave lad, and you need to
+be for you will fall in love with a girl who'll
+have red hair, and the temper that usually
+goes with it."</p>
+
+<p>"O dear!" sighed Uncle Harry.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't worry, young man," said the old
+gypsy, "because it will be some months
+before you marry."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed," said Uncle Harry, "and what
+shall I do if the girl proves to have the temper<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
+you prophesy? Shall I try to calm her
+by holding her under a pump, or would you
+advise tying her until she feels less fiery?"</p>
+
+<p>"Young man, this is no laughing matter,"
+was the sharp reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Guess it isn't!" said Uncle Harry.
+"I've seldom been so discouraged. Here
+am I, a man who has a lovely wife and baby
+girl, and yet I've got to marry a red-haired
+girl, with a temper like chain lightning!
+Who was ever in a worse fix?"</p>
+
+<p>The old gypsy flew into a rage. "You're
+poking fun at me!" she cried.</p>
+
+<p>"There! There! The fun was worth
+that!" he cried, laying a handful of small
+coins on the table before her.</p>
+
+<p>In her eagerness to count the money, she
+forgot her wrath, and they hastened from
+the tent, where, safely outside, they were
+free to laugh as much as they chose.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As they re-entered the large tent, they
+saw that near the centre, a space had been
+cleared, and there was a crowd of people
+waiting, as if expecting some attraction to
+be exhibited.</p>
+
+<p>They had not long to wait, for almost
+immediately the Scotch piper appeared,
+and tightly clasping her precious new doll
+in her arms was wee Lois, dressed in Highland
+costume.</p>
+
+<p>Placing her doll on a table, and making
+sure that it was safe, she ran forward, courtesied
+first to Uncle Harry, as she had
+promised, and then, to the music of the
+pipes, the wee lassie did the "Highland
+Fling."</p>
+
+<p>She was such a round, dimpled little girl,
+one would never have dreamed that she
+could dance with such infantile grace.</p>
+
+<p>And when she had finished, with another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
+courtesy, they crowded around her, and it
+was Nancy who most generously praised
+her. Dear little Nancy, who danced like a
+fairy, never had a jealous thought in her
+loving heart!</p>
+
+<p>It was Uncle Harry who caught little
+Lois, and lifted her so that he could look
+into her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I want my dolly, now," she cried, anxious
+lest it be lost or stolen. Dorothy
+brought the doll, and the child clasped it
+to her breast.</p>
+
+<p>"My wee lassie said she wisht she had a
+gift tae gi' ye," said Sandy.</p>
+
+<p>"I have a dear little girl of my own, and
+I prize her baby kisses," said Uncle Harry.
+"Will <i>you</i> give me one, little Lois?"</p>
+
+<p>She clasped her arms around his neck,
+and kissed him softly.</p>
+
+<p>"Best man next to father," she said.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+
+<h3>FLOSSIE'S LETTER</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>THE children said "good-by" to little
+Lois, and as her father carried her
+away, she waved her hand to them.</div>
+
+<p>"Wasn't she cunning?" said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"She was very sweet," said Nancy,
+"and how well she did her little
+dance!"</p>
+
+<p>"She didn't dance half as fine as you do,
+Nancy Ferris," said Floretta. "You <i>know</i>
+that."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, but I was trained for dancing,"
+said Nancy, "and, beside, she was very little
+to dance so cleverly."</p>
+
+<p>Floretta made no reply, but she thought
+of what Nancy had said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Trained for dancing. She said she was
+<i>trained</i> to dance. I wonder where? I
+wish I knew, but I didn't quite dare to
+ask her."</p>
+
+<p>Once more they walked around the big
+tent, and Uncle Harry purchased a gift for
+each to carry home as a souvenir.</p>
+
+<p>There were little baskets that the gypsies
+had woven, and fancy boxes filled with
+woodland plants. The boxes were made
+from birch bark, and were very dainty.</p>
+
+<p>These the children prized, and lovingly
+they thanked him for the pretty gifts.</p>
+
+<p>At the candy table he purchased enough
+of the homemade bonbons to fill the baskets,
+and then they left the tent to start
+on the homeward trip.</p>
+
+<p>The barge was waiting for them, and
+they clambered in, tired, but very happy.</p>
+
+<p>"This is the nicest fair I ever went to,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
+said Dorothy, "and I've had so many good
+things that I'm going to save my basket of
+candy until to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"So am I," cried all the others.</p>
+
+<p>"And so am <i>I</i>," said Uncle Harry, as he
+held up a huge basket filled with all kinds
+of candy.</p>
+
+<p>How they laughed, and accused him of
+having a "sweet-tooth."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, just a moment!" he cried, as he
+held up his finger for silence, "I'm taking
+this <i>big</i> basket home to treat the <i>big</i> ladies
+with. I took the <i>little</i> ladies with me, but
+I've not forgotten the <i>big</i> ladies that I left
+at the hotel."</p>
+
+<p>"Because you don't ever forget any
+one," said Flossie, and the others cried:</p>
+
+<p>"That's it! Just it! He does nice things
+for every one."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, spare my blushes," said Uncle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
+Harry, but it was easy to see that their
+affection for him pleased him.</p>
+
+<p>The ride home seemed shorter than the
+trip to the fair.</p>
+
+<p>They joined in singing the merry songs
+that his fine voice led, and the horses, knowing
+that they were on the homeward trip,
+jogged along at a better pace than when
+they had started out.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Harry had found some bells, and
+fastened them to their harnesses, and they
+made a jingling accompaniment to the
+merry voices.</p>
+
+<p>And when the barge drew up at the Cleverton,
+Uncle Harry, with elaborate courtesy,
+handed each young lady down, bowing
+low, and thanking her for the honor she
+had conferred upon him by permitting him
+to take her to the fair.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you do truly know we have to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
+thank you for giving us such a lovely day!"
+said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"But think how happy I have been,"
+he said, and although his blue eyes
+were laughing, they knew that he meant
+it.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, mamma, we had the finest time,"
+cried Dorothy, "and see the fine basket of
+candy and the pretty birch bark box! See
+the little ferns growing in it. Isn't he
+<i>dear?</i>"</p>
+
+<p>"He surely is charming," said Mrs.
+Dainty. "His generous, sunny nature
+makes every one love him, and I believe
+he values the love of his friends more than
+most things."</p>
+
+<p>"He has been gay, and full of fun all
+day," said Nancy, "and it will take a long
+time to tell you all the pleasant things he
+did for us. I do wish you and Aunt Charlotte<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>
+<i>could</i> have been there when he had his
+fortune told."</p>
+
+<p>"And he couldn't have been any nicer to
+us if we'd been tall ladies," said Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope every one of you little friends
+were real <i>little ladies</i>, thus rewarding him
+for his kindness," Aunt Charlotte said,
+gently.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, we were," said Nancy, "not a single
+one of us did anything that could
+trouble him."</p>
+
+<p>"There were a number of little girls who
+only came here last week, so we weren't
+much acquainted with them, but they were
+all very nice, and he said he had as fine a
+time as we did," said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>She climbed into a large hammock, and
+with Nancy beside her, sat swinging, and
+thinking of the day that had been so delightfully
+spent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Fenton came out upon the piazza,
+and, instead of sitting down, seemed to be
+looking for something.</p>
+
+<p>"Can I help you?" said Nancy, slipping
+from the hammock, and hastening toward
+her.</p>
+
+<p>"I've mislaid my glasses," she said,
+"and I can't find them."</p>
+
+<p>She did not thank Nancy for so kindly
+offering to help her, but Nancy seemed not
+to notice that. She peeped under chairs,
+lifted their cushions, and even looked between
+folds of newspapers that lay near at
+hand, but the glasses were not in sight.</p>
+
+<p>"How trying!" said Mrs. Fenton, "I
+have some letters that I wish to read, and
+I can't read them until my glasses are
+found."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you use them anywhere but just
+here?" Nancy asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Fenton stood for a moment thinking.</p>
+
+<p>"Seems to me I <i>did</i> have them in the
+dining-room," she said.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go and ask the waitresses if they
+have seen them," said Nancy, as she ran
+toward the hall.</p>
+
+<p>She paused in the doorway, amazed at
+what she saw.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta, with a pair of eyeglasses upon
+her small nose, was walking up and down
+the room, as nearly as possible, in Mrs.
+Fenton's manner, and exactly imitating her
+voice, while a group of waitresses, the cook,
+and two kitchen maids laughed, and applauded
+her.</p>
+
+<p>She cared not who composed her audience,
+so long as she obtained applause.
+Floretta was, evidently, quite herself once
+more!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Floretta!" cried Nancy, "you
+mustn't, truly you mustn't. Give me the
+glasses. Mrs. Fenton is looking everywhere
+for them!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I shan't give them to you!" said
+Floretta, rudely. "You aren't Mrs. Fenton."</p>
+
+<p>"But I've been helping her to hunt for
+them. She has some letters she wants to
+read, and she can't till she has her glasses,"
+insisted Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"Then let her come for them!" cried
+Floretta, when a quiet voice spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, I <i>have</i> come for them," it
+said, and there in the doorway stood Mrs.
+Fenton.</p>
+
+<p>The silly maids who had laughed so
+loudly, now hastily disappeared in the
+kitchen.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta dropped the glasses upon the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>
+table, and then, wholly ashamed, crawled
+under it, where Mrs. Fenton's sharp eyes
+might not look at her.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Fenton took the glasses, and without
+another word, swept from the room.</p>
+
+<p>Nancy, waiting in the hall, crept softly
+toward her, and gently laid her hand on the
+lady's arm.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm <i>so</i> sorry she did that. I wish I
+could have got the glasses from her, and
+brought them to you before you came to
+find them. Then you needn't have known
+how naughty,&mdash;" Nancy caught her breath.</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind that, Nancy. Remember,
+as <i>I</i> shall, that <i>you</i> were not the naughty,
+disgusting child," said Mrs. Fenton, and
+she turned, with her letters and glasses in
+her hand, and went up the long stairway to
+her room.</p>
+
+<p>It was nearly time to dress for dinner,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
+which was always served promptly at
+six.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dainty with Dorothy, and Aunt
+Charlotte with Nancy hastened to their
+rooms, to freshen their toilettes, and Nancy
+realized that there would not be time to tell
+Aunt Charlotte all about the unpleasant
+happening.</p>
+
+<p>"I've something to tell you, but I'll have
+to wait till we've plenty of time," she
+said.</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Charlotte, tying the soft, blue ribbon
+into the brown curls, looked into the
+mirror before which they were standing,
+and smiled at the thoughtful face.</p>
+
+<p>"Will it keep until then, dear?" she
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "I only tell it
+to you because I love to tell you everything."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Dear child," said Aunt Charlotte, "I
+bless the day that you, as a little waif, were
+taken in by Mrs. Dainty, and that I was
+asked to come and care for you. I could
+not love you more if you were my own little
+girl."</p>
+
+<p>"I never saw my own mamma; she died
+when I was a baby," said Nancy, "so, because
+you love me, you seem like my very
+own."</p>
+
+<p>Gentle Aunt Charlotte's eyes were wet
+with happy tears, as she hooked the pretty,
+white muslin frock, with its slip of light
+blue, and tied the soft blue belt.</p>
+
+<p>"Your shoes must be changed, Nancy,"
+she said. "You know how particular
+Mrs. Dainty is about the matter of shoes
+and stockings. They must match the
+frock."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and with this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>
+one she said: 'Wear blue stockings and
+bronze slippers,' so I will."</p>
+
+<p>She found the blue hose and the pretty
+bronze slippers, then, with elfin grace, she
+caught the edge of her skirt, and with rosy,
+bare feet, tripped across the floor in a graceful,
+gliding step, crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Look, Aunt Charlotte, look! This
+pretty step Bonfanti taught me."</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Charlotte did look, and as she
+watched the pretty child, and saw her joy
+in dancing, she marvelled that little Nancy
+could smile as she danced, remembering all
+that she had been taught, while apparently
+forgetting all the unhappy months upon the
+stage.</p>
+
+<p>She thought of poor little Nancy, forced
+to dance, night after night, to support her
+old Uncle Steve, who was too lazy to support
+himself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She thought of the time that the little
+pitiful note from Nancy had reached them,
+and, together, she and Mrs. Dainty had
+found the child, and brought her safely
+home.</p>
+
+<p>She did not speak of all this. Nancy's
+happy little heart should never be reminded
+of sad days that were past.</p>
+
+<p>Now her life was filled with bright sunshine,
+the sunshine of love, and it was reflected
+in her happy face.</p>
+
+<p>A gong rang out a silvery note.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my shoes!" cried Nancy, with a
+peal of merry laughter. "I wanted to
+show you those pretty steps, and I forgot
+all about dinner."</p>
+
+<p>It was the work of but a few seconds for
+Nancy to draw on the light blue hose, and
+even less time to put on the pretty slippers.
+She ran to the mirror, and courtesied, took<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>
+a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection,
+and then hastened to the hall to join
+Dorothy.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 392px;">
+<img src="images/i006.jpg" width="392" height="500" alt="She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection.&mdash;Page 176." title="" />
+<span class="caption">She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection.&mdash;<a href="#Page_176"><i>Page 176.</i></a></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"All ready," cried Nancy, springing to
+her feet, to follow Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>A pretty pair they made as with arms
+about each other's waist, they tripped along
+the hall.</p>
+
+<p>Fair, blue-eyed Dorothy Dainty was very
+lovely in a pale pink frock with soft frillings
+of fine lace. Her stockings were of the
+same shade, and her shoes were white.
+Mrs. Dainty in dark blue satin, and Aunt
+Charlotte in pearl color made, with the two
+children, a pleasing group.</p>
+
+<p>In the lower hall they met Mrs. Paxton
+with Floretta, the former wearing a gown
+of purple satin, while Floretta wore a frock
+of scarlet silk. Mrs. Fenton, passing, on
+her way to the dining-room, looked sharply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>
+at the two groups, and <i>did</i> she look amused
+when her eyes rested upon Mrs. Paxton,
+and her small daughter? Dorothy noticed
+the look, and turned to her mamma.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dainty read the question in Dorothy's
+eyes, and ever so slightly, shook
+her head, and they passed into the dining-room.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>The next morning, when the mail was
+distributed, there was great excitement, because
+every one had so many letters.</p>
+
+<p>"See mine!" cried Flossie Barnet.
+"Everybody see mine! It looks like boy's
+writing. See it!"</p>
+
+<p>"If some very young man wrote it, he
+might not be delighted to have it so freely
+exhibited, Flossie," said Uncle Harry, with
+a laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, why should he care?" she asked in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>
+surprise. "Who do you s'pose wrote it?
+Guess, Uncle Harry!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, now let me think," said Uncle
+Harry, covering his eyes with his hand, then
+peeping through his fingers.</p>
+
+<p>"There's a small boy at home, who glories
+in the name of Reginald Merton Deane.
+Open the letter, dear, and if I guessed right,
+you can give me a prize, and if I'm wrong,
+I'll give you one."</p>
+
+<p>Flossie studied the address for a moment,
+then she opened the letter, and laughed
+with delight.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll have to give you the prize, but why
+did he think to write to me?"</p>
+
+<p>Dear little Flossie had never seemed
+aware that small Reginald preferred her to
+any of his friends. Even when she was so
+little that she could not pronounce his
+name, and called him "Weginald," he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>
+thought her the dearest of all his playmates.
+And this was his letter:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Flossie:</span></p>
+
+<p>"I miss you so much that I'm going to
+write, and tell you all the news.</p>
+
+<p>"Our old dog had a fit yesterday, and my
+brother got the vet'nary doctor. When he
+came, he said Carlo hadn't any fit. He was
+acting just awful. I said 'what makes him
+tare round so?' an he said maybe I'd tare
+round sum if I had a fish-bone in my throat!
+The doctor took it out, and then Carlo was
+so glad he tore round worsen ever!</p>
+
+<p>"Arabella Corryville is acting worse
+than Carlo did. You know her Aunt Matilda
+lives with them, an neether Arabella, or her
+pa, or her ma dare to do ennything without
+asking Aunt Matilda <i>first</i>. Well, her aunt
+has had to go way up to New Hampshur (I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>
+guess I didn't spell that rite) and Arabella
+thinks its just her chanse to act awful.
+Carlo is real quiet side of Arabella when
+she acts the way she does now.</p>
+
+<p>"She stays out doors most all the time,
+and goes just where she pleases.</p>
+
+<p>"Some days she's way down by the stashun
+until its almost dark.</p>
+
+<p>"You know she's always taking medesin,
+and carries the bottles in her pockets.</p>
+
+<p>"She carries em now, but she told me
+she's takin the kind she likes best. Theres
+two kinds her Aunt Matilda made her take,
+one tasted horrid, and the other tasted nice.
+Arabella threw the horrid one away, and
+ate the nice pills for candy. She told me
+this morning that her Aunt Matilda is coming
+home just for one day, and then they're
+all going up where you, and Dorothy, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>
+Nancy are. I don't believe it, but if she
+does, and you see her, you needn't give my
+love to her.</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 2em;">"Your tru friend,</span><br />
+"<span class="smcap">Reginald.</span>"<br />
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<h3>A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>OF course, Dorothy and Nancy were
+greatly interested in the letter, and
+Uncle Harry said that he was glad that
+Reginald had thought to say that the fish-bone
+had been removed from Carlo's throat.</div>
+
+<p>He said it would have seemed quite a trip
+to take to leave the Cleverton, and go to
+Merrivale to feel Carlo's pulse, and inquire
+for his health.</p>
+
+<p>"Now that that bone is removed, I
+breathe easier," said Uncle Harry, "and
+so does Carlo!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you wouldn't have gone home just
+to call on Carlo," said Flossie.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't know," he said, trying to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
+look solemn, "I wouldn't like Carlo to feel
+neglected, and now I think of it, does Reginald
+speak of the cat?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Flossie, "but when I answer
+the letter, I'll tell Reginald you're anxious
+about her."</p>
+
+<p>"I am," said Uncle Harry, "because the
+last time I saw her, Carlo was barking at
+her very rudely, and her back was up in
+a hump like a camel's. Reginald ought to
+have told us if her back is <i>still</i> up, or
+whether she has taken the kink out of her
+spine. We might telephone and ask, instead
+of worrying."</p>
+
+<p>He rose, and walked toward the hall,
+whistling as he went, an old nursery song
+that he used to sing to Flossie.</p>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+"The cat came fiddling out of the barn,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">With a pair of bagpipes under her arm."</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>How the children laughed!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Look!" said Flossie, "he's going
+right toward the telephone, just to
+make us think that he's <i>truly</i> going to
+ring up Reginald, and inquire for the
+cat."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is Arabella?" Floretta asked.</p>
+
+<p>"She lives near us," said Dorothy, "and
+she used to go to Aunt Charlotte's private
+school with us."</p>
+
+<p>"Doesn't she now?" asked Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"No, she left our class, and went to a
+large school in the city."</p>
+
+<p>"By what the letter says, I'd think she
+was rather queer," said Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"Well&mdash;" said Dorothy, hesitating,
+"Arabella <i>is</i> queer."</p>
+
+<p>"Why don't you like to say so?" was
+the sharp reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Because Dorothy never likes to say
+anything that isn't kind about any one, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
+Arabella <i>is</i> queer, so Dorothy won't say she
+isn't," said Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>It was a few days later that Dorothy was
+reminded of what Reginald had said in his
+letter to Flossie.</p>
+
+<p>She was waiting for Nancy to go for a
+walk, and stooping to pick some of the
+pretty wildflowers that blossomed everywhere.</p>
+
+<p>She had walked slowly along toward the
+clump of white birches where, when they
+had first arrived, they had called, and listened
+to the echo.</p>
+
+<p>She looked back toward the hotel, but
+Nancy was not yet in sight, so she seated
+herself upon the grass, and began to arrange
+the flowers in a fine bouquet.</p>
+
+<p>She was trying to mix the white blossoms
+and pink buds so as to show the beauty
+of each, when a carriage passed, and before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>
+she looked up a shrill little voice
+shouted:</p>
+
+<p>"Dorothy! Dorothy! We're over at the
+farmhouse just beyond the Merlington.
+Aunt Matilda wouldn't <i>let</i> pa take us to
+a hotel. She doesn't approve of hotels.
+Aunt Matilda says,&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>She was looking back to shout at Dorothy,
+and doubtless would have given even
+more particulars, but a firm hand had hastily
+forced her to turn around, and sit
+down.</p>
+
+<p>Nancy ran along the path a few moments
+later, and her eyes were dancing.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you see Arabella?" she asked.
+"<i>Did</i> you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, just a few moments ago, and she
+turned around in the carriage and screamed
+to me," said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"I can guess what she said," laughed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>
+Nancy, "because she screamed at me. She
+told me she was staying at a farmhouse,
+and said that her Aunt Matilda didn't approve
+of hotels."</p>
+
+<p>"That is <i>just</i> what she said," said
+Dorothy, "and she would have said
+more but some one, I think it was her
+Aunt Matilda, pulled her back into the
+carriage."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, that's just the way it was when
+I saw her. I ran out on to the piazza, and
+down the steps, and the carriage rolled by,
+and she twisted round to shout. There was
+this difference, though," said Nancy. "You
+were out here alone, and no one would know
+if you laughed, but when I ran out, our
+piazza was full of people, and when Arabella
+shouted, you'd ought to have seen
+them look.</p>
+
+<p>"Flossie and her Uncle Harry were on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>
+the lawn, and as she rode past, he said with
+a sigh:</p>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+"'Arabella, Arabella,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">If I had my new umbrella,'</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='unindent'>and I was wild to know the rest of it, but
+his wife, who was standing near him,
+said:</div>
+
+<p>"'Hush, Harry, really you mustn't,' and
+he only laughed, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Oh, <i>mustn't</i> I? Why, when I saw
+Arabella and her Aunt Matilda, I really felt
+as if I <i>must!</i>'"</p>
+
+<p>"Let's ask him what the rest of the verse
+is," said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm wild to hear it," Nancy said, "because
+the very way he looked made me
+think that the other lines, whatever they
+were, would be funny."</p>
+
+<p>She stooped to gather more of the little
+blossoms to add to Dorothy's bouquet, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
+then commenced to make a bouquet of her
+own.</p>
+
+<p>"Arabella will be coming over to see
+you," she said, a moment later, "and I
+wonder if it is naughty to say, 'I wish she
+wouldn't?' Do you think it is?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Dorothy, "but I
+<i>do</i> wish it. I wouldn't, only she is so
+hard to please. Mamma wishes us to be
+nice to every one, but, Nancy, you <i>do</i>
+know that when we try the hardest to
+please Arabella, we don't please her at
+all."</p>
+
+<p>"I know it," agreed Nancy, "but perhaps
+she'll come some time when we are
+out, and then we won't have to amuse
+her."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure I ought not to say it, but I
+<i>do</i> wish it would happen that way," said
+Dorothy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They had reached the birches, and they
+paused to wake the echo. What fun it was
+to hear their shouts repeated.</p>
+
+<p>Again and again they called, and then a
+droll thing happened. They had called this
+name and that, and each time the echo,
+like a voice from the mountain, had repeated
+it with wonderful distinctness.
+Then Dorothy, leaning forward, called,
+loudly:</p>
+
+<p>"Dorothy!"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>What?</i>" came the reply.</p>
+
+<p>She turned, and looked at Nancy. "Dorothy!"
+she cried, again.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Dainty!</i>" was the answer, and upon
+looking toward a little path that was nearly
+opposite where they were standing, they
+saw the low bushes move, and faintly they
+heard a smothered laugh.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy was laughing now.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Boys!" she cried, and back came the
+laughing echo:</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Girls!</i>" and then the boys peeped out
+a bit too far, and Dorothy saw who had
+been playing echo.</p>
+
+<p>It was Jack Tiverton and a boy whom he
+had chosen for a "chum." Jack had not
+intended so soon to be discovered, and he
+and his friend disappeared in a little grove,
+while Dorothy and Nancy continued their
+walk.</p>
+
+<p>There were sunny paths and bits of woodland
+that were so near the hotel as to be
+absolutely safe, where all the summer
+guests, especially the children, loved to
+roam at will. Along one of these little
+paths were sweet little yellow blossoms,
+and these they gathered to brighten their
+bouquets.</p>
+
+<p>"Let's have some of these little vines to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>
+hang from our bouquets," said Dorothy,
+and the graceful vines proved to be an
+added beauty.</p>
+
+<p>When they returned to the Cleverton
+there were but few people upon the piazza.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte sat talking
+with Mrs. Vinton, and farther along,
+Mrs. Fenton sat with an open book upon her
+lap, although she was not reading.</p>
+
+<p>She often had a book or magazine, but
+rarely did she read them.</p>
+
+<p>She would sit looking off at the distant
+mountain-range, the white clouds, or the
+sunny valley over which those clouds cast
+floating shadows.</p>
+
+<p>Did she hear the conversation, or notice
+what was going on about her? Floretta
+Paxton said that Mrs. Fenton acted as if
+she sat there to watch some one; and was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>
+Floretta right? Mrs. Fenton's actions certainly
+seemed strange day after day. She
+talked little, took slight interest in what
+was going on about her, and was a mystery
+to all the other guests.</p>
+
+<p>But what, or whom could she be watching?</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy and Nancy, returning from their
+walk, saw the group, and also noticed Mrs.
+Fenton, who always chose to sit apart from
+the others.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll give my flowers to mamma and Mrs.
+Vinton," said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"And I'll give mine to Aunt Charlotte
+and to Mrs. Fenton,&mdash;if she wants them,"
+said Nancy, hesitating because it was so
+hard to guess what might, or might not,
+please Mrs. Fenton.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy ran to show her blossoms to her
+mamma and to Mrs. Vinton, while Nancy,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>
+pausing beside Mrs. Fenton's chair, held
+forth her pretty bouquet, as she said:</p>
+
+<p>"We've just gathered them. Aren't they
+pretty?"</p>
+
+<p>"Lovely, very lovely," said Mrs. Fenton,
+with more interest than usual. "I remember
+picking just such flowers; even the long
+vines I know are like those I used to see
+when I was a little girl."</p>
+
+<p>"Would you enjoy some of these? I'd
+so like to give them to you," Nancy said,
+and she was surprised at the quick reply.</p>
+
+<p>"I would really prize them, Nancy, and
+you're a sweet child to give them to me,"
+she said.</p>
+
+<p>Quickly Nancy divided the bouquet, and
+smiled as she laid the pretty things in Mrs.
+Fenton's lap.</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot let them wilt, so I will take
+them at once to my room," said Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>
+Fenton, and Nancy saw her bend to catch
+their perfume, as she turned toward the
+hall.</p>
+
+<p>That night, when nearly all the guests had
+entered the dining-room, Mrs. Fenton came
+in at the main entrance, and as she sat
+nearly opposite Mrs. Dainty's party, they
+noticed that the bodice of her black lace
+gown was given color by the pretty wildflowers
+that Nancy had given her. They
+were the first flowers that she had worn
+since her arrival.</p>
+
+<p>Nancy smiled with pleasure, and Mrs.
+Fenton, looking across the table, returned
+the smile.</p>
+
+<p>Had the gift of simple wildflowers cheered
+her?</p>
+
+<p>Thus far she had worn only black, but to-night
+a dull gold slip shimmered through
+the black lace; and were her eyes brighter?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Nancy thought so, and without knowing
+why, was glad.</p>
+
+<p>There was a musicale in the evening, and
+Mrs. Fenton joined Mrs. Dainty and Aunt
+Charlotte, and seemed to enjoy the conversation,
+between the numbers of the program.</p>
+
+<p>Once, while she was talking, she laid her
+hand lightly upon Nancy's shoulder, and
+Nancy looked up to smile. Aunt Charlotte
+saw that the lady was more cheerful, and
+also noticed that she wore Nancy's flowers.
+The evening passed pleasantly, and Nancy's
+drowsy words, just before she went to sleep,
+were:</p>
+
+<p>"I do really think I cheered her."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>A few days later Mrs. Dainty invited Mrs.
+Fenton to be her guest during a drive over
+a lovely road that neither of them had yet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>
+seen. It was said to be one of the most picturesque
+roads in that section of the country.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Fenton accepted, and with Aunt
+Charlotte and Mrs. Vinton they formed a
+pleasant party.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy and Nancy were to drive in their
+little phaeton, and they felt quite as important
+as the four ladies in the barouche.</p>
+
+<p>True, Mrs. Dainty owned a handsome
+span of bays, but was not the pony, Romeo,
+a beauty?</p>
+
+<p>The road was some distance from the
+Cleverton, and there were some charming
+places to be seen on the way, so it happened
+that the trip, which proved to be most enjoyable,
+occupied the afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Paxton had a number of letters to
+write, and Floretta, feeling very lonely, and
+wishing that she had some one to play with,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>
+climbed into a hammock, and wondered
+what she might do to amuse herself.</p>
+
+<p>"Every one but me has gone somewhere,
+and I wish <i>I</i> had," she said, as she
+gave a smart kick that sent the hammock
+higher.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the fun of swinging alone?" she
+grumbled, but there was no one on the piazza
+to answer her, and she let the hammock
+sway lazily while she looked down the sunny
+road, and thought how strange it was that
+the place seemed so still.</p>
+
+<p>Not a leaf stirred, and Floretta's disgust
+increased.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing in sight, not even an old hen,"
+she said, when, way down where the road
+looked so narrow and distant, a little figure
+appeared, coming directly toward the Cleverton.
+She watched the approaching figure,
+and wondered who it might be.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"'Tisn't any one I know," she thought,
+"and <i>doesn't</i> she look queer?"</p>
+
+<p>Any one who had ever known Arabella
+Corryville would also have known that she
+always looked decidedly odd and strange,
+and it was Arabella who was marching
+steadily along the road.</p>
+
+<p>So determined was her tread that one
+might have thought that there was a band
+behind her playing martial music to which
+she was obliged to keep step.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, whoever she is, she's carrying an
+umbrella, this pleasant day," murmured
+Floretta; then as she came near, she
+added:</p>
+
+<p>"And wearing rubbers and a raincoat,
+as true as I live!"</p>
+
+<p>Arabella was more bundled and wrapped
+than at first appeared, for, as she came up
+the gravel walk, Floretta saw that a long<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
+veil was closely tied over her hat, and wound
+about her throat.</p>
+
+<p>From her appearance one might have
+thought that she expected freezing weather
+before night.</p>
+
+<p>She walked up on to the piazza, and then
+stood, for a moment, looking about, as if in
+search of some one.</p>
+
+<p>It was not politeness that prompted Floretta
+to speak. It was simply curiosity. She
+was wild to know who the strange-looking
+child was, and whom she wished to see.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you looking for some one?" she
+asked, at the same time slipping from the
+hammock, and going so close to Arabella
+that she could peep into the queer little face.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+
+<h3>ARABELLA MAKES A CALL</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>ARABELLA peered at Floretta through
+her spectacles, and was tempted not
+to reply, but after a moment's pause she
+changed her mind.</div>
+
+<p>"I came to see Dorothy Dainty, and
+Nancy Ferris," she said.</p>
+
+<p>"They're out driving," said Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know?" Arabella asked,
+rudely.</p>
+
+<p>"Because I heard them say they were
+going, and because I saw them go," was the
+quick reply.</p>
+
+<p>"It's a long way over here, and now I've
+got to take the same walk back," said Arabella.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"They're going to be out all the afternoon,"
+said Floretta, "but why don't you
+sit down, and rest a while before you go
+back?"</p>
+
+<p>It sounded kind, and Arabella at once
+seated herself, while Floretta sat near
+her.</p>
+
+<p>She thought it would be great fun to question
+this odd child, and there was no one
+near to check her.</p>
+
+<p>"Aren't you nearly roasted in that raincoat?"
+she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'm not chilly," said Arabella,
+fixing her sharp eyes upon the other little
+girl.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you think it was going to rain?"
+was the next question. "You've rubbers,
+and umbrella."</p>
+
+<p>Floretta barely managed to hide the fact
+that she wanted to laugh. Her question<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
+seemed so absurd with the blue sky overhead,
+and the sunshine everywhere.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't want to wear them," said Arabella,
+"and I told Aunt Matilda it was too
+pleasant to rain, but she said you never could
+tell, and she said, too, that I could wear
+them, or stay at home, so what could I
+do?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>I'd</i> have stayed at home," said Floretta,
+bluntly. "I wouldn't wear raincoat and
+rubbers, and lug an umbrella for any Aunt
+Matilda or Aunt Jemima!"</p>
+
+<p>"Who is Aunt Jemima?" Arabella asked,
+stupidly.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Floretta, sharply,
+"but then, I don't know your Aunt Matilda."</p>
+
+<p>She longed to say that she did not want
+to, but for once she did not quite dare to say
+what she thought.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then there was an awkward pause. Floretta
+could not think what to say next, while
+Arabella did not try.</p>
+
+<p>Silence never made her uneasy. She
+could stare at any one who sat opposite her,
+for a half-hour, without so much as winking,
+and it rather amused her if the other person
+became nervous, and wriggled uneasily beneath
+her persistent stare. At last Floretta
+spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"You might take some of those things
+off," she said; "you won't need them while
+you stay."</p>
+
+<p>"Aunt Matilda told me not to," said Arabella,
+"and if I <i>did</i>, it would be just my
+luck to have her come right by here, and
+see me with them off. My! <i>Wouldn't</i> she
+be angry?"</p>
+
+<p>Arabella's eyes dilated as she asked the
+question.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Does your Aunt Matilda poke 'round
+after you like that?" asked Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"She doesn't ever <i>seem</i> to follow me, but
+all the same, she's always catching me doing
+something."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you <i>do</i> risk doing what she tells
+you not to," said Floretta, with a saucy
+laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Look here!" cried Arabella, "I don't
+know you, but I'm going to tell you something.
+I can't do one single thing I want
+to, neither can my papa or mamma. Aunt
+Matilda is little, and my papa is big. He
+says he was centre-rush on the college football
+team, but when Aunt Matilda tells him
+what to do, he says, 'Yes'm,' and does it.
+One of our neighbors at home says Aunt
+Matilda holds the purse-strings, but I don't
+know what that means. Her purse hasn't
+any strings on it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, if it <i>had</i>, I'd cut 'em off,"
+said Floretta, "so she <i>couldn't</i> hold
+'em."</p>
+
+<p>"You wouldn't if she lived at <i>your</i>
+house," said Arabella.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta, in spite of her boldness, was
+more than half convinced.</p>
+
+<p>"Well,&mdash;perhaps I wouldn't," she said.
+"Why, what are you taking?"</p>
+
+<p>"Pills," said Arabella, counting out
+six very pink pills from a little bottle,
+and taking them, then making a horrid
+face.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't look sick," said Floretta,
+"but you're taking medicine."</p>
+
+<p>"Aunt Matilda says these are for my
+color," was the answer.</p>
+
+<p>"You haven't any; you're pale as a
+sheet," said Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"That's why I take them," said Arabella,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>
+"and look! I've got some green ones
+I take," and six green pills followed the
+pink ones.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, what are those for?" gasped
+Floretta. "Ought you to take two kinds
+at the same time?"</p>
+
+<p>Arabella, determined to startle her new
+acquaintance, took a third bottle from her
+pocket, and swallowed three very large
+white pills.</p>
+
+<p>She was delighted with the effect that she
+had produced.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta sprang to her feet, and tried to
+snatch the bottle, but Arabella had put it
+in her pocket, and was holding the pocket
+together.</p>
+
+<p>She narrowed her shrewd little eyes, and
+smiled broadly.</p>
+
+<p>"Guess you couldn't take all that, and
+not feel queer!" she said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I wouldn't wonder if you felt funny.
+<i>Do</i> you?" asked Floretta.</p>
+
+<p>"Not <i>yet</i>," said Arabella.</p>
+
+<p>Floretta was getting tired of her
+caller. She hoped that she hadn't any
+more kinds of medicine that she could
+take.</p>
+
+<p>She wished that Dorothy would return
+and amuse Arabella.</p>
+
+<p>She would have run away from any one
+else, and rudely left her alone, but there
+was something so strange about this child
+that she feared her.</p>
+
+<p>She had a nervous feeling that if she
+turned to leave her, Arabella might snatch
+at her, and draw her back. She certainly
+did look odd.</p>
+
+<p>There was something catlike in the way
+in which she kept her eyes riveted upon
+Floretta.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She looked as if, at any moment, she
+might spring at her!</p>
+
+<p>She was not thinking of doing anything
+of the sort, however.</p>
+
+<p>The truth was that she <i>did</i> feel just a bit
+queer.</p>
+
+<p>Was it the three kinds of pills?
+She could not tell, but she began to feel
+as if she would be glad if she were at
+home.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess I'll go now," she said. "I
+think it must be time."</p>
+
+<p>"What time did your Aunt Matilda
+tell you to come home?" Floretta
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>"She said I could stay to dinner if Dorothy
+asked me, but she doesn't come home,
+so I guess I won't wait."</p>
+
+<p>"Go to dinner at the Cleverton in that
+plaid gingham!" thought Floretta, for she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
+had seen the plain little frock beneath the
+raincoat.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;">
+<img src="images/i007.jpg" width="395" height="500" alt="She offered two cards to Floretta.&mdash;Page 210." title="" />
+<span class="caption">She offered two cards to Floretta.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_210">Page 210.</a></i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Arabella grasped her big umbrella firmly,
+and turned, as she went down the steps, to
+say:</p>
+
+<p>"You may tell Dorothy Dainty that
+<i>Miss</i> Corryville called."</p>
+
+<p>Floretta giggled.</p>
+
+<p>"And you might tell your Aunt Matilda
+that you talked with <i>Miss</i> Paxton," she
+said.</p>
+
+<p>"I will," said Arabella, without a sign
+of a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder you don't leave cards," said
+Floretta, and to her surprise, the queer
+child put her hand in the pocket of her raincoat,
+and, without looking at them, offered
+two cards to Floretta, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"There they are."</p>
+
+<p>Then, without looking back, she marched<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>
+resolutely down the road. She did not
+thank Floretta for talking with her while
+she rested, nor did she say "good-by."</p>
+
+<p>For some moments Floretta stood watching
+the odd little figure as it tramped down
+the road, the umbrella, like a huge walking
+stick, thumping the gravel at every step.
+She thought Arabella would turn around,
+but she did not.</p>
+
+<p>One might have thought that she had
+already forgotten the child with whom she
+had been talking. When, at last, she
+disappeared behind a clump of trees
+that hid the curve of the road, Floretta
+looked at the two cards in her hand,
+stared at them in amazement, and then
+laughed, laughed until her eyes were full
+of tears.</p>
+
+<p>Who could have helped laughing? One
+card bore these lines:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<span class="smcap">James Horton Worth,<br />
+Painless Dentistry,<br />
+10 Trevor Street, Merrivale.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='unindent'>While the other, equally interesting, bore
+this statement:</div>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<span class="smcap">Alton Justus Meer,<br />
+Jeweller,<br />
+90 Rupert Road, Merrivale.</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>"How perfectly funny," cried Floretta.
+"I'll run up and show them to mamma, and
+then I'll wait here to give them to Dorothy
+and Nancy when they come. I wonder if
+they'll have any choice?"</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy and Nancy felt, as did the older
+members of the party, that the ride had
+been the most delightful of any that they
+had enjoyed since their arrival.</p>
+
+<p>The horses were tossing their manes, and
+Romeo, as if in imitation, tossed his so that
+it showed all its silken beauty.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"See him!" cried Dorothy. "He thinks
+he's as fine as any horse."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, he is as dear as they," said
+Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes," said Dorothy, "and dearer."</p>
+
+<p>And when the horses and the pony had
+been led around to the stable, and the
+older members of the party had reached
+the piazza, Dorothy and Nancy, who had
+paused for a moment to talk, ran up the
+steps, intending to sit together in a large
+rocker.</p>
+
+<p>Before they reached the chair, Floretta
+flew toward them.</p>
+
+<p>"You had a funny caller while you were
+out driving," she said, with a giggle, "and
+she was so very fashionable that she left
+these cards. She told me to tell you that
+<i>Miss</i> Corryville had called."</p>
+
+<p>"It was Arabella," said Nancy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Did she truly say '<i>Miss?</i>'" Dorothy
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, didn't I <i>say</i> so?" Floretta asked
+rudely; "and I told her to tell her Aunt
+Matilda that she talked with <i>Miss</i> Paxton,
+and she said she would. She waited a long
+time for you to come home, because she said
+she meant to stay to dinner with you. Say!
+She had on a calico dress! Wouldn't she
+have looked gay?"</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't very kind to laugh at any one's
+clothes," said Dorothy, "and it's not very
+nice to laugh at other people's friends."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh!" cried Floretta, "I shall laugh
+at whoever I please," and she turned and
+ran up to her room.</p>
+
+<p>But she had laughed once too often!
+During the ride, Mrs. Fenton had spoken
+of Floretta's rude ways, and of the day
+when, upon following Nancy to the dining-room,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
+she had caught the provoking child
+in the act of mimicking her.</p>
+
+<p>"Your little Nancy was grieved and distressed
+because she knew that I saw it.
+What a difference there is in children! The
+Paxton child is disgusting, while Nancy,
+who, I have heard, was a little waif, is as
+gentle as Dorothy, who was born the little
+daughter of a fine, old family."</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty had told
+Mrs. Fenton something of Nancy's life, and
+noticed how deeply interested she seemed
+to be.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Paxton had realized that ever since
+the day that Floretta had told of being
+caught mimicking Mrs. Fenton for the
+amusement of the waitresses and maids,
+Mrs. Fenton had shunned them. She had
+made desperate efforts to win Mrs. Fenton's
+friendship, but never very successfully, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>
+she found that her little daughter's silly
+act had rendered any intimacy quite impossible.</p>
+
+<p>A few days after the ride, Mrs. Fenton
+did not appear at lunch, or at dinner, and
+when Mrs. Paxton, with elaborate interest,
+inquired for her, she learned that the lady
+had left very early that morning, before any
+guests were on the piazza to see her depart.</p>
+
+<p>It certainly did seem odd that she should
+have left, without a word to those whom
+she had known, but Mrs. Dainty, with her
+customary good taste, made no comment,
+and Aunt Charlotte Grayson was equally
+silent.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Paxton did just as one might have
+expected. She expressed, in a very loud
+voice, her disgust at being thus pointedly
+slighted, for so she chose to feel.</p>
+
+<p>"After all my friendliness, I can't see<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>
+how she could leave the Cleverton without
+so much as a word to me. Why, I felt almost
+like a relative, as my name was Fenton
+before I married!"</p>
+
+<p>"I guess Mrs. Fenton didn't have what
+you might call a family feeling," said old
+Mr. Cunningham, which so angered Mrs.
+Paxton that she politely turned her back.</p>
+
+<p>Two letters arrived at the Cleverton that
+afternoon, and it would be difficult to say
+which caused the greater surprise.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Paxton told the contents of hers to
+all who would listen, and there were enough
+who were curious, to make a good audience.</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">To Mrs. Clara Fenton Paxton</span>:" it
+began, refraining from any endearing
+terms.</p>
+
+<p>"I knew, before I met you, that you and
+your small daughter were related to my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>
+husband, and also knew that he entertained
+no admiration for you. He left his entire
+estate to me, and as you were but a distant
+relative, you could expect no inheritance.
+However, with a determination to deal
+fairly with all my kin (I have but three
+such), I came to the Cleverton to see you
+and your little daughter, intending, if she
+proved sweet-tempered and attractive, to
+will my property to her. She is the only
+one of the three relatives who bears my
+husband's name.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not wish to be harsh, but I am
+forced to admit that I find her to be bold,
+naturally unkind, and wholly lacking in the
+grace and courtesy which most children
+possess, either by training or inheritance.</p>
+
+<p>"I, therefore, have made my will in favor
+of Nancy Ferris, once a little waif, now a
+sweet, gentle, and attractive child, whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>
+little acts of courtesy and kindness are fully
+appreciated by</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 8em;">"Her friend,</span><br />
+"<span class="smcap">Cecilia Cullen Fenton.</span>"<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>"A most singular woman, to leave her
+property to a waif, a child of the theatre,
+and not bequeath so much as a penny to
+my Floretta, whom <i>any</i> one could see is an
+aristocrat," said Mrs. Paxton.</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Fenton, or anybody else, would
+need some rather strong glasses to see
+<i>that!</i>" muttered Mr. Cunningham.</p>
+
+<p>He was a testy old fellow, and he, like
+other guests of the hotel, had become exceedingly
+tired of Mrs. Paxton and her unlovely
+child.</p>
+
+<p>The other letter gave surprise and delight
+to the two who had shared in the care and
+training of little Nancy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">To Mrs. Rudolph Dainty, and to
+Mrs. Charlotte Grayson</span>,</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear friends</span>:&mdash;" was its greeting,
+and then followed the story of the writer's
+visit to the Cleverton, and the statement
+that her few relatives were too distant to
+have any valid claim to her estate.</p>
+
+<p>"I was greatly displeased with the two
+of my kin whom I came to observe, and I
+will not dwell upon that, but, instead, will
+take this time to say that Dorothy Dainty
+and Nancy Ferris, are the two dearest children
+that it has been my pleasure to know.</p>
+
+<p>"Dorothy's life has been sunny, and
+Nancy's story, as you told it to me, appealed
+to me, and I looked with even greater interest
+at the child who, under your loving care,
+had blossomed like a lovely flower.</p>
+
+<p>"Dorothy has her parents, and will inherit
+a fortune. Nancy has no parents, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>
+I know, will be kindly cared for by you, but
+that fact will not deter me from making a
+bequest that gives me greatest pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>"I shall leave all of my estate to Nancy
+Ferris, and I remind her, in some little
+verses that I enclose, how deeply I have
+appreciated her many little kindnesses.</p>
+
+
+<div class='center'><span class="smcap">To Nancy</span></div>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+"Dear little girl, I know that you will daily<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Do loving acts of kindness, and of cheer,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Thus urging life to sing its song more gaily</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And making friendship lasting and more dear.</span><br />
+<br />
+"I felt your charm, dear child, I saw how sweetly<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">You gave your kindness, with no thought of gain.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">I give you a reward, and how completely</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">I joy in giving, words cannot explain."</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+
+<h3>A SERENADE</h3>
+
+<div class='cap'>JACK TIVERTON stood in the lower hall
+one morning, and appeared as if waiting
+for some one. In his hand was a short
+switch that he had cut from a shrub that
+grew beside the driveway. Often he looked
+up the staircase, and then, as no one appeared,
+he would continue to strike at the
+flies that flew past the doorway.</div>
+
+<p>At last he heard merry voices upon the
+landing, and then Dorothy and Nancy came
+hurrying down the stairs.</p>
+
+<p>"Good morning!" they called, but Jack,
+in his eagerness to ask questions, forgot to
+return their greeting.</p>
+
+<p>"Say!" he cried, "do you know that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>
+Mrs. Paxton and Floretta left this morning
+before breakfast?"</p>
+
+<p>No, the little girls did not know that.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, they have. I saw them go, and
+I'm glad. Floretta was fun to play with,
+but she wasn't fair. She'd get me to do
+things, and then if we got caught, she'd always
+say I planned it," said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy tried to think of something kind
+to say of Floretta, but she knew that what
+Jack said was true. Floretta truly was not
+in the habit of playing "fair."</p>
+
+<p>"Her mamma said something queer just
+as she was going off. She was talking to a
+lady, I don't know what her name is, and
+Mrs. Paxton said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Well, Dorothy Dainty has always
+seemed to be fond of Nancy, but now that
+Nancy is to have a <i>fortune</i>, shell love her
+a deal more than she ever did before.'"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And now Dorothy spoke, her blue eyes
+flashing, and her cheeks flushed.</p>
+
+<p>"That's not true!" she cried. "That's
+not true! I've always loved Nancy, and always
+will. I'd love her if she had just
+nothing at all! Nothing could make
+any difference. I love her all I can.
+Nancy knows that. Every one knows
+that."</p>
+
+<p>How keenly she felt Mrs. Paxton's silly
+speech!</p>
+
+<p>She was indignant that any one should
+think her love for Nancy so little worth
+while that fortune could make it stronger.</p>
+
+<p>How could she love Nancy more than she
+had always loved her?</p>
+
+<p>Nancy threw her arms about her, and
+drew her closer.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you mind, Dorothy," she said,
+"<i>I</i> know how truly you love me. Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>
+Paxton didn't know, because I guess she
+couldn't understand it. <i>She</i> couldn't love
+the way you do."</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy smiled through the tears that
+had filled her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"There's no one dearer than you,
+Nancy," she said.</p>
+
+<p>Jack swung his switch at a dragon-fly
+that flew past the doorway.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you see that darning-needle?" he
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," he continued, without waiting
+for an answer, "I was down the road a few
+days ago, trying to catch some of those big
+steel-colored ones in my fly-net. I hadn't
+seen any one after I left this piazza, but
+just as I swung my net round to catch the
+dragon-fly, somebody said: 'Look out, or
+you'll get bitten!' and I turned round, but
+no one was in sight. I was just going to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
+swing my net again, when some one giggled,
+and then I saw a little skinny girl looking
+at me from between some bushes."</p>
+
+<p>"What was she doing?" Dorothy asked.</p>
+
+<p>"You couldn't guess if you tried for a
+month!" said Jack.</p>
+
+<p>"She was sitting on a big stone, beside
+a big puddle that was left there after the
+shower. She said she was playing she was
+a frog, and when she stared at me through
+her glasses, and smiled, no, <i>grinned</i> at me,
+I couldn't help thinking she looked like one.
+Say, she had on a green cloak, a regular
+frog-color."</p>
+
+<p>"It must have been <i>Arabella!</i>" said
+Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know what her name was. I
+didn't ask her, but while I watched her
+she hopped off the stone into the puddle
+with both feet, and cried, 'po-dunk!' just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>
+like an old bullfrog. My! Weren't her
+shoes wet!"</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder what her Aunt Matilda said
+when she went home with wet feet," said
+Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>Without noticing what she said, Jack continued.</p>
+
+<p>"I never saw such a queer girl!" he said,
+in disgust, "for when I told her dragonflies
+would never bite, she said: 'They will.
+They'll sew your eyes, and nose, and mouth
+up. Po-dunk!' and she hopped back on to
+the stone, and grinned at me just as she did
+at first. Say! She made me feel queer to
+look at her, and I turned and ran away. I
+wasn't afraid of her, of course, but she <i>did</i>
+make me feel queer!"</p>
+
+<p>"She'd make any one feel queer," said
+Nancy as they turned toward the dining-room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Jack wished that they might have stayed
+longer in the hall. He had intended to ask
+them if they knew Arabella, and if she was
+always doing queer things, but Mrs. Dainty
+and Aunt Charlotte joined them, and they
+went in for breakfast.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Tiverton, coming in from an early
+walk, took Jack with her to the other side
+of the dining-room. He looked across at
+them, and wondered what they could have
+told of Arabella if they had had a chance.
+He decided to question them, whispering
+softly to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"I'll <i>make</i> them tell me all they know
+about that funny girl."</p>
+
+<p>For several days he tried to catch Dorothy
+or Nancy at a time when he could question
+them.</p>
+
+<p>He chased Dorothy up the long stairway
+one morning, only to see her disappear into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>
+her room. He had not told her that he had
+wished to talk with her, and she, believing
+that he was only chasing her for fun, ran
+from him, laughing as she went.</p>
+
+<p>He found Nancy, a few minutes later,
+and coaxed her to wait on the landing.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Nancy," he said, "you've got to
+tell me something about that queer girl
+that you and Dorothy know."</p>
+
+<p>"If you mean Arabella," said Nancy,
+"I don't see what I could tell you, only
+that she <i>is</i> queer, and you know that
+now."</p>
+
+<p>"You'll better believe I know it!" cried
+Jack, "for I met her again yesterday, and
+guess what she was doing!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I couldn't," said Nancy. "No one
+ever could guess what Arabella Corryville
+would do."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, she looked like a witch, and acted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>
+like one, too," Jack replied. "It was yesterday
+that I saw her. I was going across
+the field, and had nearly reached the wall,
+when I looked up, and saw her sitting on
+the top bar of the&mdash;the&mdash;oh, the place
+where they take down the bars to let the
+cattle through."</p>
+
+<p>"I know where you mean," said Nancy,
+"but why was it strange that she was sitting
+there?"</p>
+
+<p>"It was what she was doing that was
+funny," Jack replied, "and because you
+couldn't guess, I'll tell you.</p>
+
+<p>"She didn't look toward me, though I'm
+sure she must have heard me coming, for
+I was just tramping along, and whistling
+all the way. She was looking up at the
+clouds, and counting, 'one&mdash;two&mdash;three&mdash;'
+very slowly, and when I was close behind
+her, she said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"'Hush&mdash;sh&mdash;sh! I'm charming the
+crows!'</p>
+
+<p>"'How long does it take to do it?' I
+said, for it sounded like nonsense, and I
+wanted to hurry. It was almost lunch time.</p>
+
+<p>"'Hush&mdash;sh!' she said again. 'There
+comes one of them now!' and sure enough
+a big, black crow did come flying right
+down, and perched on the limb of an old
+tree near her."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Jack Tiverton," cried Nancy,
+"you don't believe Arabella really <i>made</i>
+him come down, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course not," cried Jack, "but she
+wanted me to think so. Say! She said she
+was saying a charm, and when I asked her
+what it was, she wouldn't tell me. She said
+it would spoil the charm to tell it. She
+looked funny sitting up there on the top
+rail, and staring at the crows till her eyes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>
+watered. She didn't look like a 'charmer.'
+She looked ever so much more like a scarecrow!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Jack, it's horrid to say that!"
+cried Nancy, at the same time trying not to
+let him see how near she was to laughing.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, she <i>did!</i>" Jack insisted, "and
+you're almost laughing now, Nancy Ferris,
+and you'd have screamed if you'd seen
+her roosting there, and calling herself a
+charmer! Why, that old crow just flopped
+down there for fun, and when he saw the
+queer-looking girl, he cawed as if it made
+him mad, and I didn't blame him. Say!
+She had a shoe on one foot, and a slipper
+on the other. Her apron was put on back-side-to,
+and she had a hen's feather in each
+hand, and she waved them up and down
+while she mumbled some kind of a verse.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>
+She said her clothes were put on that way
+to help the charm. Isn't she a <i>ninny?</i>"</p>
+
+<p>Just at that moment, before Nancy could
+reply, Mrs. Tiverton called Jack, and Nancy
+ran to tell the story of Arabella's latest
+freak to Dorothy.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>One afternoon, a number of little girls
+were sitting on the piazza at the Cleverton,
+and their merry voices attracted Jack Tiverton,
+who glanced up from the book that
+he was reading, and then, because he
+was curious to know what so interested
+them, crossed the piazza, and joined the
+group.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy and Nancy, in the big hammock,
+held the book of fairy tales, Flossie Barnet
+sat near them, while the others, all little
+guests at the hotel, sat upon the railing, or
+in the large rockers that stood near.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Jack joined the row perched upon the
+railing.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell a fellow what you are all talking
+about, will you? Will you, <i>please</i>, I
+mean?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Dorothy Dainty has been reading us a
+lovely story," said a little girl, whose merry
+eyes showed that she had enjoyed it.</p>
+
+<p>"What's it about?" Jack asked, and
+then, "Oh, <i>fairy</i> tales!" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you like fairy tales?" Flossie
+questioned, looking up at him.</p>
+
+<p>No one liked to differ with dear little
+Flossie, least of all, Jack Tiverton.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I like them <i>some</i>," he said, awkwardly,
+"but,&mdash;are there any stories about
+bandits or pirates in that book?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no," they cried, in a laughing
+chorus, "and there aren't any wild Indians
+in it, either."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't care much about Indian stories,"
+Jack replied, "but I do like to read
+about pirates."</p>
+
+<p>"But just hear what this one was
+about," said Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"The wandering prince had, for years,
+been searching for a lovely princess, who
+should look like a beautiful picture that
+hung in his father's palace. One day he
+came to a castle where the people told him
+a handsome princess was imprisoned, and
+he asked why she was kept there. They
+told him that she was enchanted, and that
+some day, a wandering prince would sing
+beneath her window, and then the
+spell would be broken, and she would be
+free."</p>
+
+<p>Jack was interested.</p>
+
+<p>"But s'posing he couldn't sing?" he
+asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, a prince could surely sing!" said
+Flossie.</p>
+
+<p>"And p'raps he could sing under her
+window, if he couldn't anywhere else,"
+ventured a dreamy-eyed little girl who sat
+near Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"And how would he know <i>what</i> to
+sing?" a cheery voice questioned, and a
+pair of merry eyes peered over the piazza
+railing.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie,
+"what difference would it make?"</p>
+
+<p>"All the difference in the world," declared
+Uncle Harry, "for while the proper
+melody would set the princess free, how are
+we to know that the wrong melody might
+not chain her closer than before!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, the story doesn't say that," said
+Nancy.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps not, but the prince took an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>
+<i>awful</i> risk when he chose what to sing,"
+declared Uncle Harry.</p>
+
+<p>"You're laughing when you say it,"
+said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>"He is," agreed Flossie, "and what he
+says is funny, but I know this: I'd love to
+hear some one singing under <i>my</i> window!"</p>
+
+<p>Some ladies, who sat near enough to hear
+the conversation, were amused at the children's
+enthusiasm, and at Uncle Harry's
+evident interest.</p>
+
+<p>"The prince had his guitar slung over
+his shoulder by a ribbon," said Dorothy.
+"See the picture," and she slipped from
+the hammock, and offered the book that he
+might see the illustration.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad he carried his guitar instead
+of a banjo," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Why are you glad of that?" Flossie
+asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, because I really <i>am</i>, in fact, I might
+even say I am delighted," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>"I do believe he intends to serenade
+those children," said a handsome woman,
+to her friend who sat beside her; "he is a
+brilliant man, and one who is blessed with
+many talents, and one of his greatest
+charms is his love of children. He will go
+far out of his way to afford them a bit of
+fun."</p>
+
+<p>That evening, when nearly every one had
+left the piazza, and all of the children were
+in their rooms, the soft twanging of guitar
+strings floated up toward Flossie's window.</p>
+
+<p>She was not yet asleep, and she sat up in
+bed, and listened.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, it was a guitar! Was it Uncle
+Harry's?</p>
+
+<p>A little prelude softly played, drew her
+toward the window.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She crept closer, and peeped out. Yes,
+there he was, looking right up toward her
+window.</p>
+
+<p>Now his fine voice was softly singing,
+and Flossie held her breath.</p>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+"Under thy window, my little lady,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Under thy window, Flossie dear,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Here where the moonbeams softly flicker,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Sing I this song that you may hear.</span><br />
+<br />
+"Moonlight, and starlight weave enchantment,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Yet shall my song your freedom bring,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">You shall be happy little lady,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Give me your love for the song I sing."</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry, you have it <i>now!</i>"
+cried Flossie. "I love you, when you're
+singing, and <i>all</i> the time."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that, dear little girl, but I <i>must</i>
+have my fun, so I came here to sing the song
+I made for you," he said gently.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you're <i>dear</i>," she cried, "and I'll
+throw you a kiss," and she did, reaching<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
+far out of the window that he might surely
+see her.</p>
+
+<p>"I caught it!" he cried, and as he
+turned toward the porch, she heard
+him softly strumming the prelude
+again.</p>
+
+<p>Others had heard the pretty song, for
+Dorothy and Nancy had a room next to
+Flossie's.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning he was coaxed and
+teased to sing the song again, but he declared
+that he could only sing it in the
+moonlight, that the daylight would spoil its
+effect.</p>
+
+<p>The sunny days sped on wings, and soon
+the guests began to think of turning homeward.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dainty's party and the Barnets
+were to leave the hotel at the same time,
+and Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie were delighted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>
+that they were to take the return
+trip together.</p>
+
+<p>They were talking of the pleasures that
+they were looking forward to, and telling of
+some delightful events that were already
+planned, when Jack Tiverton gave them a
+genuine surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"Mamma has just told me something
+fine," he said, "and I ran right down to tell
+it to you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, tell it quick!" said Flossie.</p>
+
+<p>"We're going to live in Merrivale,
+and we'll be there soon after we leave
+here. I'm glad. Are you, <i>all</i> of you?" he
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course we're glad," said Dorothy
+and Nancy; and Flossie hastened to
+add:</p>
+
+<p>"Every one of us is glad."</p>
+
+<p>There were bright days, and many pleasures<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>
+in store for the little friends, and those
+who would like also to enjoy them, and to
+know what happened during the winter,
+may read of all this in</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+"Dorothy Dainty's Holidays."<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>THE DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES</h2>
+
+<h3>By AMY BROOKS</h3>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<div class='center'>Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by the Author<br />
+
+Price, $1.00 each<br /></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" summary="Dorothy books">
+<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i008.png" width="153" height="200" alt="Dorothy Dainty&#39;s Winter" title="" />
+</td><td align='left'><i>Dorothy Dainty</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy's Playmates</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy Dainty at School</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy Dainty at the Shore</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy Dainty in the City</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy Dainty at Home</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy Dainty's Gay Times</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy Dainty in the Country</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy Dainty's Winter</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy Dainty in the Mountains</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy Dainty's Holidays</i><br />
+<i>Dorothy Dainty's Vacation</i><br /></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Little Dorothy Dainty</span> is one of the most generous-hearted of
+children. Selfishness is not at all a trait of hers, and she knows the value
+of making sunshine, not alone in her own heart, but for her neighborhood
+and friends."&mdash;<i>Boston Courier.</i></p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Dorothy Dainty</span>, a little girl, the only child of wealthy parents,
+is an exceedingly interesting character, and her earnest and interesting
+life is full of action and suitable adventure."&mdash;<i>Pittsburg Christian Advocate.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Dorothy Dainty books continued">
+<tr><td align='left'><p>"No finer little lady than <span class="smcap">Dorothy Dainty</span>
+was ever placed in a book for children."&mdash;<i>Teachers'
+Journal, Pittsburg.</i></p>
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Miss Brooks</span> is a popular writer for
+the very little folks who can read. She
+has an immense sympathy for the children,
+and her stories never fail to be amusing."&mdash;<i>Rochester
+(N.Y.) Herald.</i></p>
+</td><td align='left'><img src="images/i008b.png" width="153" height="200" alt="Dorothy Dainty&#39;s Holidays" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<div class='center'>
+LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><i>THE PRUE BOOKS</i></h2>
+
+<h3>By AMY BROOKS</h3>
+
+<div class='center'>Illustrated by the Author 12mo Cloth Price, $1.00 each</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Prue cover and description">
+<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i009a.png" width="156" height="200" alt="Little Sister Prue" title="" />
+</td><td align='left'><div class='cap'>CUNNING little Prue, one of the most
+winsome little girls ever "put in a
+book," has already been met in another
+series where she gave no small part of
+the interest. She well deserved books
+of her own for little girls of her age,
+and they are now ready with everything
+in the way of large, clear type, and
+Miss Brooks's best pictures and her
+pleasing cover designs to make them
+attractive.</div></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Prue Books">
+<tr><td align='left'><i>Little Sister Prue</i></td><td align='left'><i>Prue's Merry Times</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Prue at School</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Prue's Little Friends</i></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Prue's Playmates</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Prue's Jolly Winter</i></span></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/i009b.png" width="150" height="200" alt="Prue&#39;s Little Friends" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Miss Brooks always brings out the best
+ways of acting and living and provides a good
+deal of humor in her original country characters.&mdash;<i>Watchman,
+Boston.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Few writers have ever possessed the
+faculty of reaching the hearts and holding the
+interest of little girl readers to the extent Miss
+Brooks has."&mdash;<i>Kennebec Journal</i>, <i>Augusta, Me.</i></p>
+
+<p>"To know Prue is to love her, for no
+more winsome little girl was ever put in a book,
+and her keen wit and unexpected drolleries
+make her doubly attractive."&mdash;<i>Kindergarten Magazine.</i></p></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<div class='center'>
+<i>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt<br />
+of price by the publishers</i><br />
+<br />
+LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><i>THE RANDY BOOKS</i></h2>
+
+<h3><i>By AMY BROOKS</i></h3>
+
+<div class='center'>
+12mo <span class="smcap">Cloth Artistic Cover Design in Gold and Colors<br />
+Illustrated by the Author Price $1.00 Each</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 142px;">
+<img src="images/i010a.png" width="142" height="200" alt="Randy&#39;s Good Times" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>The progress of the "Randy Books"
+has been one continual triumph over the
+hearts of girls of all ages, for dear little
+fun-loving sister Prue is almost as much
+a central figure as Randy, growing toward
+womanhood with each book. The
+sterling good sense and simple naturalness
+of Randy, and the total absence of
+slang and viciousness, make these books
+in the highest degree commendable,
+while abundant life is supplied by the
+doings of merry friends, and there is rich
+humor in the droll rural characters.</p>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Randy books">
+<tr><td align='left'><i>Randy's Summer</i></td><td align='left'><i>Randy's Good Times</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Randy's Winter</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Randy's Luck</i></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Randy and Her Friends</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Randy's Loyalty</i></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 6em;"><i>Randy and Prue</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 6em;"><i>Randy's Prince</i></span></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 141px;">
+<img src="images/i010b.png" width="141" height="200" alt="Randy&#39;s Luck" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Randy Books are among the very
+choicest books for young people to make
+a beginning with."</p>
+<div class='sig'>
+&mdash;<i>Boston Courier.</i><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>"The Randy Books of Amy Brooks
+have had a deserved popularity among
+young girls. They are wholesome and
+moral without being goody-goody."</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+&mdash;<i>Chicago Post.</i><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<div class='center'>
+LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class='unindent'><span class="u"><big><b>Only Dollie</b></big></span></div>
+
+<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span> Illustrated by Bertha Davidson
+Square 12mo Cloth $1.00</div>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Only Dollie">
+<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i011a.png" width="149" height="200" alt="Only Dollie" title="" />
+</td><td align='left'><div class='cap'>THIS is a brightly written story of a girl of
+twelve, who, when the mystery of her birth
+is solved, like Cinderella, passes from drudgery to
+better circumstances. There is nothing strained
+or unnatural at any point. All descriptions or
+portrayals of character are life-like, and the
+book has an indescribable appealing quality
+which wins sympathy and secures success.</div>
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is delightful reading at all times."&mdash;<i>Cedar
+Rapids (Ia.) Republican.</i></p>
+
+<p>"It is well written, the story runs smoothly, the idea
+is good, and it is handled with ability.&mdash;<i>Chicago
+Journal.</i></p></div></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><span class="u"><big><b>The Little Girl Next Door</b></big></span></div>
+
+<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;Large &nbsp;&nbsp;12mo &nbsp;&nbsp;Cloth &nbsp;&nbsp;Illustrated
+by Bertha Davidson&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00</div>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>A &nbsp;&nbsp;DELIGHTFUL story of true and genuine friendship between an
+impulsive little girl in a fine New York home and a little blind girl
+in an apartment next door. The little girl's determination to cultivate
+the acquaintance, begun out of the window during a rainy day, triumphs
+over the barriers of caste, and the little blind girl proves to be in every
+way a worthy companion. Later a mystery of birth is cleared up, and the
+little blind girl proves to be of gentle birth as well as of gentle manners.</div>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Winifred's Neighbors</b></big></span></div>
+
+<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;Illustrated
+by Bertha G. Davidson &nbsp;&nbsp;Large
+&nbsp;&nbsp;12mo &nbsp;&nbsp;Cloth &nbsp;&nbsp;$1.00</div>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Winifred's Neighbors">
+<tr><td align='left'><div class='cap'>LITTLE Winifred's efforts to find some
+children of whom she reads in a book
+lead to the acquaintance of a neighbor
+of the same name, and this acquaintance
+proves of the greatest importance to Winifred's
+own family. Through it all she is just such a
+little girl as other girls ought to know, and
+the story will hold the interest of all ages.</div>
+</td><td align='left'><img src="images/i011b.png" width="143" height="200" alt="Winifred&#39;s Neighbors" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<div class='center'>
+<i>For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt<br />
+of price by the publishers</i><br />
+<br />
+LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD Co., BOSTON<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>The Children on the Top Floor</b></big></span></div>
+
+<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Large&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated by Bertha
+Davidson $1.00</div>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="The Children on the Top Floor">
+<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i012a.png" width="150" height="200" alt="The Children on the Top Floor" title="" />
+</td><td align='left'><div class='cap'>IN this book little Winifred Hamilton, the
+child heroine of "Winifred's Neighbors,"
+reappears, living in the second of the four
+stories of a New York apartment house. On
+the top floor are two very interesting children,
+Betty, a little older than Winifred, who is now
+ten, and Jack, a brave little cripple, who is a
+year younger. In the end comes a glad reunion,
+and also other good fortune for crippled
+Jack, and Winifred's kind little heart has once
+more indirectly caused great happiness to others.</div>
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>How Barbara Kept Her Promise</b></big></span></div>
+
+<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Large&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated
+by Bertha Davidson&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00</div>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>TWO orphan sisters, Barbara, aged twelve, and little Hazel, who is
+"only eight," are sent from their early home in London to their
+mother's family in New York. Faithful Barbara has promised her father
+that she will take care of pretty, petted, mischievous Hazel, and how she
+tries to do this, even in the face of great difficulties, forms the story which
+has the happy ending which Miss Rhoades wisely gives to all her stories.</div>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Little Miss Rosamond</b></big></span></div>
+
+<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated
+by Bertha G. Davidson&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+Large&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00</div>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Little Miss Rosamond">
+<tr><td align='left'><div class='cap'>ROSAMOND lives in Richmond, Va.,
+with her big brother, who cannot
+give her all the comfort that she needs in
+the trying hot weather, and she goes to the
+seaside cottage of an uncle whose home
+is in New York. Here she meets Gladys
+and Joy, so well known in a previous
+book, "The Little Girl Next Door," and
+after some complications are straightened
+out, bringing Rosamond's honesty and
+kindness of heart into prominence, all are made very happy.</div>
+</td><td align='left'><img src="images/i012b.png" width="139" height="200" alt="Little Miss Rosamund" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<div class='center'>
+<i>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt<br />
+of price by the publishers</i><br />
+<br />
+LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>"<i>Brick House Books</i>"</h2>
+
+<h3><i>By NINA RHOADES</i></h3>
+
+<div class='center'><i>Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00 each</i></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Priscilla of the Doll Shop">
+<tr><td align='left'><div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Priscilla of the Doll Shop</b></big></span></div>
+<div class='cap'>THE "Brick House Books," as they are
+called from their well-known cover designs,
+are eagerly sought by children all over
+the country. There are three good stories in
+this book, instead of one, and it is hard to
+say which little girls, and boys, too, for that
+matter, will like the best.</div></td><td align='left'><img src="images/i013a.png" width="150" height="200" alt="Priscilla of the Doll Shop" title="" />
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Brave Little Peggy</b></big></span></div>
+
+
+<div class='cap'>PEGGY comes from California to New Jersey to live with a brother and
+sister whom she has not known since very early childhood. She is so
+democratic in her social ideas that many amusing scenes occur, and it is
+hard for her to understand many things that she must learn. But her good
+heart carries her through, and her conscientiousness and moral courage
+win affection and happiness.</div>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="The Other Sylvia">
+<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i013b.png" width="146" height="200" alt="The Other Sylvia" title="" />
+</td><td align='left'><div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>The Other Sylvia</b></big></span></div>
+
+
+
+<div class='cap'>EIGHT-year-old Sylvia learns that girls who
+are "Kings' Daughters" pledge themselves
+to some kind act or service, and that one little
+girl named Mary has taken it upon herself to be
+helpful to all the Marys of her acquaintance.
+This is such an interesting way of doing good that
+she adopts it in spite of her unusual name, and
+really finds not only "the other Sylvia," but great
+happiness.</div></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<div class='center'>
+<i>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of<br />
+price by the publishers</i><br />
+<br />
+LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />
+</div>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class='tnote'>Transcriber's Note: Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</div>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30088 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
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+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #30088 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30088)
diff --git a/old/30088-8.txt b/old/30088-8.txt
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains, by Amy Brooks

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

-

-

-Title: Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains

-

-Author: Amy Brooks

-

-Release Date: September 25, 2009 [EBook #30088]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

-

-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS ***

-

-

-

-

-Produced by David Edwards, Emmy and the Online Distributed

-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was

-produced from images generously made available by The

-Internet Archive)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-[Illustration: Cover]

-

-

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-

-

-

-Popular Stories.

-

-

-BY AMY BROOKS.

-

-Each beautifully illustrated by the Author.

-

-THE RANDY BOOKS.

-

-12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.

-

-          RANDY'S SUMMER.

-          RANDY'S WINTER.

-          RANDY AND HER FRIENDS.

-          RANDY AND PRUE.

-          RANDY'S GOOD TIMES.

-          RANDY'S LUCK.

-          RANDY'S LOYALTY.

-          RANDY'S PRINCE.

-

-

-

-

-For Younger Readers.

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES.

-

-Large 12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Set in large English

-type. Price $1.00 each.

-

-          DOROTHY DAINTY.

-          DOROTHY'S PLAYMATES.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT SCHOOL.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE SHORE.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE CITY.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT HOME.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S GAY TIMES.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE COUNTRY.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S WINTER.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S HOLIDAYS.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S VACATION.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S VISIT.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT CRESTVILLE.

-

-

-THE PRUE BOOKS.

-

-12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.

-

-          LITTLE SISTER PRUE.

-          PRUE AT SCHOOL.

-          PRUE'S PLAYMATES.

-          PRUE'S MERRY TIMES.

-          PRUE'S LITTLE FRIENDS.

-          PRUE'S JOLLY WINTER.

-

-          A JOLLY CAT TALE. Large 12mo. Cloth. Profusely Illustrated.

-          Price      $1.00

-

-[Illustration: "HERE! HERE!" CRIED DOROTHY, AND ECHO ANSWERED,

-"HERE,--ERE!"--_Page 4._]

-

-

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-BY

-

-AMY BROOKS

-

-          AUTHOR OF "DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES," "THE RANDY

-          BOOKS," "THE PRUE BOOKS," AND

-          "A JOLLY CAT TALE"

-

-_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR_

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          BOSTON

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

-

-

-

-

-          DOROTHY DAINTY

-          TRADE-MARK

-          Registered in U. S. Patent Office

-

-          Published, August, 1911

-

-          COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

-

-          _All Rights Reserved_

-

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-

-

-

-

-

-          Norwood Press

-          Berwick & Smith Co.

-          Norwood, Mass., U. S. A.

-

-

-

-

-CONTENTS

-

-

-  CHAPTER                        PAGE

-

-     I. AT THE CLEVERTON            1

-

-    II. A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE      21

-

-   III. AN ENTERTAINMENT           42

-

-    IV. IN A BIRCH ARBOR           62

-

-     V. THE MOUNTAIN PARTY         81

-

-    VI. THE ECHO CAPTURED         101

-

-   VII. FLORETTA'S RETURN         122

-

-  VIII. AT THE FAIR               141

-

-    IX. FLOSSIE'S LETTER          162

-

-     X. A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS     182

-

-    XI. ARABELLA MAKES A CALL     201

-

-   XII. A SERENADE                222

-

-

-

-

-ILLUSTRATIONS

-

-

-  "Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered,

-    "Here,--ere!" (_Page 4_)                    _Frontispiece_

-

-                                                  FACING PAGE

-

-  Often she looked back, as she sped over the road      32

-

-  "Oh, what a lovely, _lovely_ story!" said Dorothy     66

-

-  With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough,

-    wiry vines                                         120

-

-  She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her

-    reflection                                         176

-

-  She offered two cards to Floretta                    210

-

-

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER I

-

-AT THE CLEVERTON

-

-

-THE great hotel on the crest of the hill was bathed in sunlight that

-poured from a rift in the clouds, as if sent for the sole purpose of

-showing the grand portico, the broad piazza, and the flag that floated

-gracefully on the summer breeze.

-

-Its many windows seemed to be looking across the valley to opposite

-mountain peaks, and one could easily imagine that its wide, open

-doorway, smiled genially as if offering a welcome to all arriving

-guests.

-

-Two little girls ran across the lawn, the one with flaxen curls, the

-other with sunny brown ringlets.

-

-The fair-haired little girl had eyes as blue as the blue blossoms that

-she held in her hand, while her playmate's eyes were soft and brown, and

-told that her heart was loving and true.

-

-The little blue-eyed girl was Dorothy Dainty, and the child who clasped

-her hand was her dearest friend, Nancy Ferris.

-

-Nancy had no parents, and a few years before Dorothy's mamma had taken

-her under her care and protection, and she was being trained and

-educated as carefully as was Dorothy, the little daughter of the house.

-

-They had come to the Hotel Cleverton to spend the summer, and the first

-few days of their stay, they had explored all the land that lay

-immediately around the hotel, and had found many beautiful spots, but

-one thing held their interest,--they loved the echo, and never tired of

-awakening it.

-

-"Come!" cried Dorothy. "Run with me over to the white birches, and we'll

-shout, and listen!"

-

-Mrs. Dainty had told them the story of Echo, the nymph, who for loving

-Pan and following him and calling to him had been changed into a huge

-rock on the mountainside, and forever compelled to mock each voice she

-heard.

-

-The old legend of the nymph had caught their fancy, and often they

-paused in their play to shout, and listen to what seemed to them the

-voice of some fairy of the mountains.

-

-Now they stood beside the birches, Dorothy with one arm around a white

-trunk, and Nancy near her. At their feet were countless bluebells,

-overhead the blue sky, while across and beyond the valley rose the

-mountain capped by white clouds that looked as soft as swan's-down.

-

-"Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered, "Here,--ere!"

-

-"Listen!" cried Dorothy, clasping her hands, and laughing with delight.

-"It answers as if it was a truly voice that heard and replied.

-

-"Nancy, I love you!" she cried, and again they plainly heard:--

-

-"Love you-oo!"

-

-They thought it great fun to shout and call, and hear their cries so

-cleverly repeated.

-

-And now another child ran out from the great doorway, paused a moment as

-if looking for some one, then, seeing the two little figures near the

-clump of birches, stole softly near them.

-

-On tiptoe, and with tread as soft and noiseless as a cat, she made her

-way over the short grass, until she was quite near them. Then, hiding

-behind a low bush, she watched them. How still she stood! For what was

-she waiting? Her bold eyes were full of mischief, as she whispered, "Oh,

-hurry _up_!"

-

-Dorothy Dainty put her hands to her mouth, trumpet fashion, and called:

-

-"Come and catch us!" and instantly the echo from the distant mountain

-and a shrill voice behind them, repeated:

-

-"Come and catch us!"

-

-"Oh, oh-o!" cried Dorothy, and Nancy ran to her, and threw her arms

-about her.

-

-"You ought not to frighten Dorothy like that!" cried Nancy.

-

-A saucy laugh answered her.

-

-"Well, it isn't nice to be shrieked at, and you do it just like the

-echo, you know you do, and it's enough to frighten any one," said Nancy.

-

-The little tease was not in the least abashed. She could imitate almost

-any sound that she had ever heard, and each success made her eager to

-repeat her efforts at mocking.

-

-"I made old Mrs. Hermanton fly up out of her chair, and drop her ball of

-worsted and knitting-needles, when I shouted close to her ear."

-

-"Why, Floretta!" cried Nancy.

-

-Now you think that was horrid, but _I_ tell you it was funny. She'd just

-been telling about her darling little lap-dog that died _ten years

-ago_, and she got out her handkerchief to cry, and put it up to her

-eyes.

-

-"'Oh, if I only could hear his lovely bark again!' she said, and right

-behind her chair, I said:

-

-"'Ki-yi! Yip! Yip!' and she jumped up much as a foot from her seat."

-

-Nancy laughed. How could she help it? The old lady had told every man,

-woman, and child who sat upon the piazza, how much she had suffered in

-the loss of the dog.

-

-One testy old gentleman who was troubled with gout, spoke rather

-plainly. "Madam," he said, "I've heard that story every day of this

-week, and all I can say is, I wish you had gout in your feet as I have,

-and you'd have no time to waste crying for a puppy!"

-

-He certainly was hopelessly rude, but one must admit every day is far

-too often to be forced to listen to an uninteresting tale.

-

-Floretta stood looking down at the toe of her shoe. She moved it from

-side to side along the grass for a moment, then she spoke again.

-

-"You know old Mr. Cunningham has gout, and is awful cross?"

-

-Dorothy and Nancy nodded. They did indeed know that.

-

-"Well, he sat on the piazza and laughed when I scared Mrs. Hermanton, so

-I want to know if he'll think it's funny _every_ time I do things. You

-know he puts one foot up on a chair, and every time any one touches that

-chair ever so little, he cries: '_Oh_, oh, oh!' and holds on to his

-foot.

-

-"The next time I'm near him, I'm going to make b'lieve hit my foot

-against something, and then I'll cry out, just 'zactly as he does:

-

-"'_Oh_, oh, oh!' and I'll hold on to my foot," said Floretta.

-

-"I know it's funny," said Dorothy, "but I don't think you ought to."

-

-"Well, _you_ needn't. P'raps you couldn't do it just like other folks,

-but I _can_, and I'm going to!" said Floretta.

-

-She was a handsome child, but her boldness marred her beauty.

-

-She was, indeed, a clever imitator, but she had been told so too often.

-Her mother constantly praised her cleverness, and unwise friends

-applauded her efforts, until Floretta acquired the idea that she must,

-on all occasions, mimic some one.

-

-Sometimes those whom she mocked thought it clever, and laughed when they

-had thus been held up to derision.

-

-At other times Floretta found that she had chosen the wrong person to

-mimic, and had received a sharp rebuke.

-

-This taught her nothing, however.

-

-She thought any one who did not enjoy her antics must be very

-ill-natured, while her silly mother considered that Floretta had been

-abused.

-

-While Dorothy and Nancy were talking with Floretta, they were picking

-large bouquets of bluebells and a tiny white flower that grew as

-abundantly as the bluebells, and blossomed as freely.

-

-It pleased her, for the moment, to gather some of the blossoms, and soon

-the three were too busy to talk, each trying to see which could gather

-the largest bouquet.

-

-On the hotel piazza Mrs. Paxton sat, occupied with her embroidery, but

-not too busy to talk. She was _never_ too busy to talk, if she could

-find any one to listen.

-

-Near her sat two ladies who had just arrived, and old Mr. Cunningham,

-who frowned darkly at the magazine that he was trying to read.

-

-It was not that the story displeased him that he frowned, but that he

-was bored with hearing what Mrs. Paxton was saying, mainly because she

-always said the same thing.

-

-"You see, with our wealth and position, it is impossible that little

-Floretta should ever make any use of her talents for any purpose other

-than the amusement of her friends," she said.

-

-One of the two ladies, whose fine face and sweet low voice bespoke

-refinement, looked fixedly at Mrs. Paxton, and wondered that any woman

-should be willing to boast so foolishly.

-

-The other, whose garments told of a great love of display, seemed

-interested, and even impressed.

-

-"What is her especial talent?" she asked, "I really should like to know.

-Is she musical?"

-

-"O dear, yes," Mrs. Paxton hastened to reply; "she plays delightfully,

-and she has a voice that is really quite unusual for a child; she

-dances, too, but her greatest gift is her power of imitation. She has a

-sensitive nature that is open to impressions, and she sees the funny

-side of everything. She really is a wonderful little mimic. You must see

-her to appreciate her charm."

-

-The quiet woman looked as if she thought this a doubtful accomplishment,

-but the one who had eagerly listened said:

-

-"Where is she? I should be _so_ pleased to see her. Not all children are

-so interesting. Many are dull."

-

-"And lucky they are!" growled old Mr. Cunningham, under his breath, but

-the ladies did not hear that.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-"I don't want these flowers now I've picked them," cried Floretta. "You

-can have them if you want them," she said, as she turned toward Dorothy.

-

-"I can't hold any more than I have," said Dorothy, "but you could--"

-

-"Then here they go!" cried Floretta, as she flung them broadcast, to lie

-and wilt in the sunlight.

-

-"Oh, it was too bad to throw them away," said Dorothy. "I was going to

-say, if you didn't care for them, perhaps Mrs. Hermanton might like

-them. She said she liked wild flowers and used to pick them, but her

-rheumatism won't let her pick them now."

-

-"Pooh! I wouldn't have bothered to take them back to her," Floretta

-replied; and turning about, she ran back to the hotel.

-

-"Come here, Floretta!" said Mrs. Paxton. "This lady wishes to see you."

-

-Usually Floretta when asked to do anything, preferred to do something

-else.

-

-This time, thinking that she saw an opportunity for a lark, she went

-promptly and paused beside her mother's chair.

-

-"This is Mrs. Dayne, Floretta. Mrs. Dayne, this is my little daughter."

-

-Floretta looked up and smiled, but said nothing. She had never been

-taught that she must reply courteously when spoken to.

-

-Her pretty face pleased Mrs. Dayne, who was much the same sort of woman

-that Mrs. Paxton was. She wished that Floretta could be induced to

-perform.

-

-_Induced!_ She was already wondering if she would have a chance to show

-off.

-

-The opportunity came soon, and she was delighted.

-

-Mr. Cunningham had become drowsy, and his magazine dropped to the piazza

-floor.

-

-In stooping to recover it, he hurt his gouty foot, and cried out.

-

-"_Oh_, oh-o!" he cried, and like an echo, "_Oh_, oh-o!" cried Floretta,

-catching hold of her own foot and hopping wildly about.

-

-Of course Mrs. Paxton laughed gaily, as if Floretta had done a very

-smart thing, while Mrs. Dayne, who was as silly a woman as Mrs. Paxton,

-joined in the merriment, thus hoping to gain favor with her new friend.

-

-Mr. Cunningham, without a word, took his magazine and, limping

-painfully, left the piazza, and went indoors.

-

-Mrs. Vinton, an odd expression on her fine face, took her parasol from

-the chair where it lay, and went for a walk down the path toward the

-birches. She was disgusted with Mrs. Paxton, Floretta, and Mrs. Dayne,

-although she felt that the little girl was least of all at fault.

-

-She was only an untaught, untrained child, to be pitied rather than

-blamed. She knew that they would think her very unkind if she did not

-seem to approve of Floretta, and she could not laugh at cruelty.

-

-The child was indeed a clever imitator, but the fact remained that it

-_was_ cruel to mock an outcry caused by pain.

-

-Dorothy and Nancy were coming toward her, on their way toward the hotel,

-their hands filled with blossoms, faces bright and smiling.

-

-They greeted her gaily, and Dorothy offered her some of the flowers.

-

-"I'll give half to you, and half to mamma," said Dorothy. "I mean, I

-will if you'd like to have them."

-

-"It is a sweet gift, and I shall enjoy them in my room," Mrs. Vinton

-said. "I have a lovely vase that is worthy to hold such beautiful

-blossoms."

-

-"I'll divide mine between Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton," said

-Nancy.

-

-"You both like to give," said Mrs. Vinton.

-

-"Oh, yes!" they cried together, and as she left them, Dorothy said:

-

-"Isn't she a sweet, lovely lady?"

-

-"Yes, and I like to hear her talk, her voice always sounds so pleasant."

-

-Mrs. Vinton, as she walked along the little path, her flowers in her

-hand, thought of Dorothy and Nancy.

-

-"They are two dear little girls," she said, "and add to the charm of

-this lovely place."

-

-"Would you dare to give Mr. Cunningham some bluebells for his

-buttonhole?" said Nancy. "I'd like to, but _I_ wouldn't dare."

-

-"I don't know," Dorothy said. "I'd like to, too, and he 'most always has

-a rosebud, but sometimes he doesn't. When we get back, if he's on the

-piazza, and hasn't a bud in his buttonhole, I'll try to dare to offer

-him some of these blossoms."

-

-Dear little Dorothy! She wondered if she would be rewarded with a

-frown!

-

-Floretta and her mother were not there, neither was Mrs. Dayne, but in a

-shady corner sat Mr. Cunningham.

-

-Nancy ran in to take her flowers to Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton.

-

-Dorothy hesitated. She would have been even more timid, had she known

-how recently he had been offended.

-

-He looked up from his book, frowned, then smiled and nodded pleasantly.

-

-He had thought that Floretta had returned, and was pleasantly surprised

-to see Dorothy, instead.

-

-Softly she crossed the piazza until she stood beside him.

-

-"May I give you a few of these bluebells for your buttonhole?" she said.

-"They're only wild flowers, but they're pretty ones," she added, fearing

-that, after all, he might not care for them.

-

-"Why, thank you, my dear. I surely would like them, especially as they

-are offered me by a real little lady."

-

-He placed the cluster that she offered him in his lapel, as he spoke,

-and looked to Dorothy for approval.

-

-"They are wild flowers, truly," he said, "but I think they are quite as

-attractive as the buds I have been wearing," and Dorothy was glad that

-she had offered them.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER II

-

-A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE

-

-

-THREE weeks had passed, and as nearly every day had been fair, the

-guests at the Cleverton had lived out of doors, appearing at the hotel

-at meal-time, and at night.

-

-Other wild flowers beside the bluebells were blossoming gaily, peeping

-up from the grass as if offering a welcome to all who looked at them;

-and even great rocks and ledges held tiny blossoming plants in their

-crevices.

-

-The pony, Romeo, had come to the mountains with the family, and seemed

-to enjoy the outing.

-

-Every morning Dorothy and Nancy went for a drive, and Romeo tossed his

-mane, and pranced as if to show his delight.

-

-One morning the pony was standing at the porch, waiting for his little

-mistress, who soon came running down the stairs.

-

-Floretta was standing in the hall, spinning a top.

-

-A sign on the wall plainly stated that children must not play in the

-hall, but that did not disturb Floretta.

-

-Deftly she wound the string, and the great top fell to the floor, where

-it hummed and spun as rapidly as if a boy's hand had flung it.

-

-She picked it up, and again wound it, this time throwing it with even

-greater force.

-

-"Look! Look!" she cried. "I b'lieve it spins faster every time I throw

-it!"

-

-Dorothy looked over the baluster at the humming top, but said nothing.

-

-She knew that Floretta had seen the notice; indeed a number of the

-children had stood in the hall when it had been tacked up.

-

-Looking up at Dorothy, Floretta noticed the whip in her hand.

-

-"Riding?" she asked.

-

-"Yes, for a little while," said Dorothy. "It's a lovely morning, and I

-mean to see how quickly Romeo will take me to the 'Spring.'"

-

-"I wouldn't care to ride horseback," said Floretta, rudely.

-

-"You won't care to spin tops in this hall if Matson catches you," cried

-a shrill voice, from an upper hall.

-

-"Pooh! I'm not afraid of Matson," Floretta said, boldly, looking up at

-the boy who had tried to frighten her.

-

-"Oh, aren't you?" said the boy in a teasing voice. "Well, he manages

-this hotel, and he'll _make_ you stop if he catches you!"

-

-"You stop, Jack Tiverton!" cried Floretta.

-

-"You'll be the one to stop!" said Jack, with a loud laugh.

-

-Dorothy crossed the hall, stepping around Floretta, who stood exactly in

-the way.

-

-Looking back, she saw Floretta show the tip of her tongue to Jack, while

-Jack, not to be outdone, made a most outrageous face.

-

-"I wish they weren't so horrid!" Dorothy said to herself, as she left

-the hall.

-

-Having mounted Romeo, with the groom's aid, she rode off down the

-lovely, shady road, the man on his horse, following at a respectful

-distance.

-

-She touched the pony lightly with her whip, and he responded by breaking

-into a gentle gallop.

-

-Dorothy's bright curls flew back from her flushed face, and she laughed

-as she flew over the road.

-

-The groom watched her admiringly, and marvelled that so small a girl

-could be such a perfect little equestrienne.

-

-The ride had brightened her eyes, and she always looked smaller than she

-really was when mounted upon Romeo.

-

-He was a handsome animal, with flowing mane and tail, and the groom

-spoke truthfully when he muttered:

-

-"Them two makes a high-bred pair. Miss Dorothy is a girl 'ristycrat, an'

-the little hoss is a hoss 'ristycrat, if ever there was one."

-

-The groom had been in the service of the Dainty family but a few

-months, but in that time he had become devoted to the little daughter of

-the house. All the servants loved Dorothy, and were almost as fond of

-Nancy Ferris.

-

-The young groom had heard Nancy's story, and he felt a deep interest in

-the little girl, who once had been a waif.

-

-Now, his pleasant face wore a smile as he followed Dorothy, and saw how

-firmly the little figure stuck to the saddle, and rode as if girl and

-pony were one and inseparable.

-

-They reached the "Spring," a spot whose beauty drew all travellers to

-it, and artists lingered there to paint, and thus perpetuate its charm.

-

-Romeo looked down at the clear stream that reflected his figure so

-perfectly.

-

-"He wants a drink," said Dorothy; "lead him to a good place, Thomas,

-please."

-

-He helped her to dismount, and then led the pony to a shady spot where

-he could drink, and enjoy the cool, clear water.

-

-Dorothy at once commenced to gather some of the lovely wild flowers that

-grew near the water's edge, but farther up the stream.

-

-"These are different from any that I've ever found here," she thought.

-

-Her hands were nearly filled with the lovely blossoms, and she was

-reaching out to grasp an especially pretty one, when a strangely

-familiar voice, just behind her, said:

-

-"I think I see some one I've _often_ seen before!"

-

-Dorothy turned, and a little cry of surprise and pleasure escaped her

-lips.

-

-There were Mrs. Barnet and dear little Flossie coming toward her, while

-very near her was the owner of the voice, Flossie's handsome,

-merry-hearted Uncle Harry! Just behind him was his lovely young wife,

-and the baby in charge of a maid.

-

-"Oh, I _am_ glad, _so_ glad to see you!" cried Dorothy. "And Flossie

-Barnet, did you know you were coming up here, when I said 'good-by' to

-you and Molly Merton at Merrivale?"

-

-"I didn't know _surely_, but I _almost_ knew," Flossie admitted, "but

-Uncle Harry said, 'Don't tell 'til you _know_,' and I didn't _truly_

-know until after you were gone."

-

-"Well, it's fine to have you here," said Dorothy, "but I do truly

-b'lieve it's almost nicer to be surprised, and have you;" and she threw

-her arm around Flossie, as she walked beside her.

-

-Tall, handsome Uncle Harry thought he saw a chance for a bit of a joke.

-

-"I wonder why some one isn't surprised to see _me_?" he said.

-

-"Oh, I am," said Dorothy, "and glad, too."

-

-"Well, thank you," said Uncle Harry; then with a face that he tried to

-make sad, he said:

-

-"But I know you aren't as glad as you were to see Flossie, because,--you

-didn't put your arm around _my_ waist!"

-

-He had tried to look very glum, but his blue eyes were laughing.

-

-Big, handsome Uncle Harry could not look woebegone, and the two little

-girls laughed at his attempt.

-

-"The barge is taking our party over to the 'Cleverton,' and I see you

-have the pony, Dorothy," said Uncle Harry. "Will you run a race with the

-barge?"

-

-"Oh, yes, yes!" cried Dorothy, "and Romeo will come in ahead!"

-

-"If he does," said Uncle Harry, "I'll surely decorate him with a blue

-ribbon!"

-

-With many a laugh and jest, and much guessing as to which would be the

-winner, the merry party clambered into the barge; Dorothy mounted Romeo,

-and they were off over the road, on the way to the hotel.

-

-The horses, like the average barge horses, were not beauties, but they

-saw the pony rush forward, and they made an effort at speed. They

-plunged forward, at what, to them, seemed a reckless pace, but the fine,

-handsome Romeo shot past them, his nostrils dilated, and his eyes

-bright with excitement. Dorothy's gay laugh rang out as she passed them,

-and Uncle Harry, as he looked after the flying figure, exclaimed:

-

-"The little fairy! I believe no other child could ride so fearlessly as

-that!"

-

-Often she looked back, as she sped over the road. Try as they would, the

-old horses could not overtake her.

-

-As soon as the barge appeared in sight between the trees, she touched

-Romeo lightly with her whip-stock, and then she laughed gaily as he

-plunged forward, the old barge rattling along far behind.

-

-She did not permit Romeo to again slacken his pace, and thus arrived at

-the Cleverton before the barge was in sight, so slow had been its

-progress.

-

-"Oh, Nancy!" she cried, "Who _do_ you think has come?"

-

-[Illustration: OFTEN SHE LOOKED BACK, AS SHE SPED OVER THE ROAD.--_Page

-31._]

-

-"Who has come?" Nancy asked. "Where are they?"

-

-"I mean you can't guess who is coming, and there they come now, Nancy,

-just look!"

-

-Nancy did look, saw the barge swinging around the curve of the road, saw

-a tiny handkerchief waving, and then a sweet little face looked out to

-smile at her.

-

-"Oh, it's Flossie Barnet!" cried Nancy, joyfully, "and her mamma,

-and,--why, yes it _is_! It's Flossie's Uncle Harry!"

-

-He heard the cry, and heard the welcome in her voice.

-

-"Yes, it's Flossie's Uncle Harry, and all the other little girls' Uncle

-Harry who care to claim him for an uncle," he said, with a laugh, as he

-lifted his little niece down from the barge.

-

-"Oh, I'm _so_ glad he came, too," said Dorothy, upon hearing which, he

-turned and lifting his hat, bowed, thus acknowledging the compliment

-that she had paid him. His eyes twinkled with pleasure, for he loved

-children, and he valued their regard. He was a big, manly fellow, with a

-warm heart, as loving, and as merry as that of a child.

-

-The Barnet party added much to the pleasure of little events and

-entertainments at the Hotel Cleverton. Flossie became, at once, a

-favorite with the other children, and her charming mother was deservedly

-popular with all.

-

-Uncle Harry, who possessed a fine voice, willingly sang whenever a

-musical program was arranged for an evening, while his lovely young

-wife, who was an accomplished pianist, played his accompaniments, or

-rendered solos, thus generously adding to the pleasure of the other

-guests.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-"I tell you what it is," said old Mr. Cunningham, "that big bank of

-clouds hanging over that mountain means rain, and plenty of it, I

-believe."

-

-"I think you are right," said Uncle Harry, "and if we _do_ have a three

-days' rain, as we sometimes do, we shall have to use every effort to

-keep things humming, and so forget the storm."

-

-They had been sitting on the piazza, and talking of the days of

-uninterrupted sunshine that they had enjoyed, when, in a few minutes,

-the blue sky had been hidden, as if by a thin, pearly veil, while

-hanging over the mountain was the mass of leaden clouds that had seemed

-to prophesy rain.

-

-"Oh, _I_ don't want it to rain," wailed Floretta, who stood near them,

-her pretty face puckered into a most unpleasant frown.

-

-"I'm afraid the weather can't be arranged especially for you," said Mr.

-Cunningham.

-

-He, like all the guests, was very tired of the child who was either

-whining, or boisterously, rudely gay. Just at this point, Mrs. Paxton

-came out on the piazza, a small note-book and pencil in her hand.

-

-She hastened toward the two gentlemen, and smiled as if she were

-conferring a favor.

-

-"With the chance of a stormy evening, we are trying to arrange a program

-that will give us a pleasant evening indoors," she said. "I am sure you

-will help me."

-

-She had smiled at both, and old Mr. Cunningham, who heartily disliked

-her, was only too glad to reply.

-

-"I'm not musical, madam," he said, "but I'll whistle 'Hail Columbia' for

-you, if you will promise not to reprimand me if I get off the key."

-

-"Dear, dear!" she cried. "You are always so amusing. One never knows if

-you are joking, or serious."

-

-"It would be very serious, and no joke, I assure you, if you were

-actually obliged to listen to my whistling," was the curt reply, and he

-turned once more to scan the sky and the distant mountains.

-

-Uncle Harry, of course, agreed to sing, his wife promised to play, and

-Mrs. Paxton moved toward where Mrs. Dainty and her companion, Aunt

-Charlotte, were sitting, with Dorothy and Nancy near them.

-

-"Will your little daughter sing for us this evening?" she asked. "We

-are eager to have quite a fine program."

-

-"Dorothy shall sing for you, surely," Mrs. Dainty said, "and Nancy, I am

-sure, will give a little solo."

-

-"Oh, does Nancy sing or play?" Mrs. Paxton asked, in surprise, for thus

-far Nancy had not exhibited her talent, whatever it might be.

-

-"She will give you a solo that shall be neither singing nor playing,"

-Mrs. Dainty replied, with a quiet smile.

-

-"How very interesting!" said Mrs. Paxton. She had invited Dorothy to

-sing because other guests had expressed the wish to hear her.

-

-Here was a _second_ child with talent of _some_ kind! Well, Floretta's

-imitations of other people would certainly eclipse the efforts of the

-other little girls! Mrs. Paxton's sole idea in arranging the

-entertainment was for the purpose of showing Floretta's mimicry.

-

-A small figure paused a moment in the doorway, then stepped back, and

-peeped out, scanning the groups upon the piazza.

-

-"She isn't there!" he whispered. "She's backed out, an' she _said_ she'd

-do it!"

-

-He drew back into the shadow, and waited, hoping that when he looked

-again he might see her.

-

-A second peep at the guests on the piazza showed that Floretta was not

-among them.

-

-"She didn't _try_ to do it!" he muttered.

-

-He held something in his hand, which he kept behind his back.

-

-He was about to peep again when a light hand touched his shoulder.

-

-He turned, and there stood Floretta, looking prettier than usual in her

-short white frock, white shoes, and pink hair ribbons.

-

-"Did you get one?" whispered Jack.

-

-"Look!" said Floretta, and from behind her back she produced a long

-corn-cob. "I took mine from the table at noon, when ma wasn't looking,

-and ran from the dining-room, and hid it in our room," said Floretta.

-"How did you get yours?"

-

-"I asked the head waiter to get mine for me," said Jack, "and he acted

-as if he thought me a ninny. He gave it to me all the same, and asked

-what I was up to. I didn't tell him, though."

-

-They giggled softly.

-

-"Ready?" whispered Jack, softly.

-

-"Yes," whispered Floretta, and then, with corn-cobs held to their

-mouths, and their fingers working as if playing upon flutes, they

-marched out on to the piazza, loudly singing, "Hail Columbia."

-

-Some of the guests laughed, none so loudly as Mrs. Paxton, who declared

-that it taxed her intellect to imagine what put such outrageously funny

-notions into children's heads.

-

-"I can answer that, madam, and without trying very hard, either. It's

-Satan, madam, Satan, who from watching their actions, takes them to be

-his near relatives," said Mr. Cunningham.

-

-Meanwhile the little procession of two, encouraged by the laughter,

-marched in and out between the groups of guests, until unlucky Floretta

-let her corn-cob slip from her fingers, the moist, sticky thing falling

-upon the light silk skirt of a lady who sat near Mrs. Paxton.

-

-"There, there, Floretta, never mind," said Mrs. Paxton; then turning to

-the wearer of the gown, she said, "I don't think it will stain it in the

-least. Children will be children, and must have their fun!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER III

-

-AN ENTERTAINMENT

-

-

-MRS. PAXTON had laughed at what she chose to call the "funny" antics of

-Floretta and Jack, but in truth, she had been very angry.

-

-She swept from the piazza, Floretta, firmly grasped, walking beside her.

-Jack Tiverton's mother took him to her room, where she could talk to

-him, without fear of interruption.

-

-Floretta sat on a low divan, sullen and obstinate.

-

-For twenty minutes she had listened, while her mother had told what a

-disrespectful thing she had done.

-

-"I don't see how it was not respectful," grumbled Floretta, "we were

-just having a little fun."

-

-"And it was fun at my expense," said Mrs. Paxton. "I was annoyed, just

-when I was making plans for a _fine_ entertainment, to have you and that

-boy parade out on to the piazza with those old corn-cobs, singing, or

-rather _howling_, like young savages!"

-

-This, and much more Floretta was forced to listen to, but during the

-remainder of the scolding, she did not speak, or reply in any way.

-

-She was still very sullen when her mother left the room, and no one saw

-her until she appeared in the dining-room at dinner.

-

-She tasted one dish after another, but managed to eat but little dinner.

-She wished her mother to think that the scolding had made her ill.

-

-It proved to be wasted effort. Mrs. Paxton had been so interested in

-what Mrs. Dayne was saying that she had not noticed that Floretta let

-the various courses go untasted.

-

-She had hoped to worry her mother, but had only punished herself!

-

-She was very hungry when they left the table, and also very angry.

-

-"I might just as well have eaten my dinner," she muttered, "she never

-noticed that I didn't."

-

-When the hour arrived that had been set for the concert, every guest was

-present, and all were talking and laughing gaily, and very glad that an

-evening's amusement had been provided.

-

-Outside, the rain was descending in torrents, while a cold wind whistled

-around the corners, as if demanding admittance.

-

-Indoors the heavy red hangings were drawn over the lace draperies, great

-logs blazed in the fireplaces, while over all softly shaded lights gave

-an air of cozy comfort that made one feel sheltered and safe from the

-storm.

-

-A group of ladies sat chatting together, and one, a recent arrival, was

-saying that she had understood that children were not permitted as

-guests at the Cleverton.

-

-"There are only a few children here," Mrs. Vinton said, "and some of

-them are charming."

-

-"While others are _not_?" questioned the stranger, with an odd smile.

-

-"I'd rather not say just that," Mrs. Vinton said, "but I will say that

-Mrs. Dainty's little daughter, and Dorothy's little friend, Nancy, and

-Flossie Barnet, are three of the sweetest children I have ever met. My

-stay here is brighter and far pleasanter because they are also here."

-

-"Dorothy Dainty is an unusually fine singer for a child," another lady

-said, "and she is to sing for us to-night. I believe Nancy Ferris is to

-do something, but I do not know what. Does any one know if Nancy sings?"

-

-"I've not the least idea what her talent is," said a pleasant-voiced

-matron, "but she is such a bright, interesting child that I feel sure

-that whatever she is able to do at all, she will do exceedingly well."

-

-"Aunt Vera is to play a solo for the first number," said little Flossie

-Barnet, to a lady who sat near her.

-

-"That is delightful," said the lady, "and what are you to do?"

-

-"Oh, I'll listen, and listen," said Flossie, "and then, I'll clap to

-show how much I liked what the people did."

-

-"And your friend Dorothy is to sing," said the lady, "do you know what

-Nancy does?"

-

-"Oh, yes, I do!" cried Flossie, "and she does it so lovely, you'll

-wonder how she could! I'm not to tell _what_ she'll do, none of us are

-to tell. You'll _see_ when she does it!"

-

-"Dear little girl, you seem quite as happy as if you were to be a

-soloist," said the lady.

-

-"Why, yes," said Flossie, "for when the other little girls do pretty

-things, I see them, but I couldn't see myself do anything!"

-

-"Oh, you sweet, funny little girl," the pleasant-faced lady said, as she

-drew Flossie closer, "I never knew so dear a child."

-

-"Dorothy and Nancy are dear," said Flossie, "and oh, you haven't seen

-Molly Merton! She's another one of my little friends, and she's _always_

-lovely to play with. We're always together when I'm at home at

-Merrivale."

-

-Before the lady could express regret that she did not know Molly, the

-orchestra began the opening chords of an overture.

-

-The musicians gave an afternoon and evening concert daily, throughout

-the season, but to-night their numbers were to be interspersed with

-solos given by the guests.

-

-The orchestra was generously applauded, and then a slender figure in a

-gown of soft, pink satin seated itself at the piano, and with light

-touch and brilliant execution, played a rondo that delighted all.

-

-In response to repeated applause, she played the "Caprice Hongroise,"

-which aroused wild enthusiasm.

-

-She smiled, and bowed gracefully in acknowledgment, then turning toward

-her husband, who now stood beside her, took from his hand the duplicate

-of the song that he was to sing. She always played his accompaniments.

-

-How full of music was his rare voice, how like the tones of a silver

-trumpet when he sang "A Song of the Sea," how tender his tones when for

-a second number, he sang an "Italian Love Song!"

-

-"Didn't he sing _fine_, just _fine_?" Flossie asked, eagerly.

-

-"Indeed he did," the lady replied, "I never heard a more excellent

-voice."

-

-"Well, he's my own Uncle Harry!" said Flossie, a world of love and pride

-in her voice.

-

-A young girl played a serenade on the guitar, and a member of the

-orchestra played a waltz for violin, and both were encored.

-

-Those who were to perform were in a small room awaiting their turn. They

-were laughing and chatting while they waited, and all, save a little

-girl, who kept apart from the others, seemed bright and happy. Her eyes

-were dull, and her red lips pouting. It was Floretta Paxton, and she was

-watching Nancy Ferris, noticing every detail of her costume, and looking

-as unpleasant as possible.

-

-Nancy wore a frock of white gauze, thickly strewn with tiny gold

-spangles. Her girdle was white satin, her slippers were white, and she

-wore a cluster of pink rosebuds in her hair.

-

-"What's she going to do?" Floretta asked in a fretful voice, but Mrs.

-Paxton, who stood beside her, could not tell her that. She knew no more

-of Nancy's talent than Floretta did.

-

-Floretta had been angry in the afternoon; she had foolishly refused

-dinner, and was very hungry; she was made more angry because hers was

-not the first number on the program, and now, here was Nancy Ferris

-wearing a beautiful frock that far outshone her own!

-

-She was wearing a simple pink muslin, and had felt that she was finely

-dressed, until Nancy appeared.

-

-The satin girdle, the white slippers, and the spangles were more than

-she could forgive.

-

-"What's she going to _do?_" she asked again, more fretfully than before.

-

-"I _don't know_," Mrs. Paxton said.

-

-"Well, I won't do a thing 'til I do know!" said Floretta.

-

-Silly little girl! Always a jealous child, she now thought that Nancy

-_might_ be another impersonator or imitator, and she was nearly wild.

-

-The orchestra was now playing a dreamy waltz. Nancy's foot tapped the

-measure. Her eyes were brighter.

-

-"What _is_ she going to do?" whispered Floretta.

-

-The tall man, who had been announcing the numbers, now swung aside the

-portière, and Nancy slipped from her chair, ran out upon the stage, and

-then,--oh, the fairy motion of her arms, the lightness with which, on

-the tips of her toes, she flew across the stage!

-

-With her finger-tips she lifted the hem of her skirt, and courtesied

-low, then away in a dreamy whirl she sped, turning to look over her

-shoulder, and laugh at the faces that showed greatest surprise.

-

-On swept the strains of sweetest music, and little Nancy, carried away

-with love of the music, danced more charmingly than ever before.

-

-Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty watched her flying figure, and often as

-they had seen her, they knew that she was excelling herself.

-

-"Nancy, Nancy, dear child!" murmured Aunt Charlotte.

-

-Now, with her feet crossed, and still on the tips of her toes she

-whirled like a top, did the graceful rocking step, swayed like a flower

-in the wind, whirled about again, courtesied once more, and laughing

-like a merry, dark-eyed sprite, ran back into the little waiting-room.

-

-Oh, what thunders of applause greeted her, yet she sat quietly chatting

-with a lady who stood near her!

-

-Again and again they seemed to be begging that the little dancer might

-return.

-

-"I'll bow to them," said Nancy, and she ran out to do so.

-

-"Once more, once more!" cried an eager voice, and then more clapping,

-and even a few shrill whistles from some very young men begged her to

-respond.

-

-She extended her arms for a second, then whirling rapidly, she repeated

-the last half of the dance, courtesied again, and when she ran back to

-the little room, Dorothy embraced her tenderly.

-

-"Oh, Nancy darling!" she cried, "you never danced finer. Do you know how

-pleased every one is?"

-

-"I danced to please and surprise them," said Nancy. "I _do_ love to see

-people look happy. They couldn't remember how hard it was raining while

-I was whirling and dancing for them."

-

-Floretta, now more unhappy than before, turned so that she might not see

-Nancy, nor note the shimmer of her spangles.

-

-Mrs. Paxton, who had been talking with a friend, now turned toward

-Floretta.

-

-"Come!" she said, "now run out, and do your very best, Floretta."

-

-"I'm not going out!" said Floretta.

-

-"What an idea!" cried Mrs. Paxton. "Of course you'll run out, and show

-every one how cute you are. Why, I planned this entertainment just to

-give you a chance to show off!"

-

-"And made me the last one on the whole list!" snarled Floretta.

-

-"Come, come!" cried her mother, "every one couldn't be first. I thought

-I'd have the others perform first, and then _you_ could show who was the

-smartest! Come! They're just wild to see what you can do, and they're

-waiting."

-

-"They'll _have_ to wait!" hissed Floretta, like a cross little cat.

-

-It was no use to urge, plead, or insist. Floretta was stubborn, and when

-once she had determined what she would, or would not do, nothing could

-move her.

-

-Prayers and threats were equally useless.

-

-Dorothy sang very sweetly, and was cordially received.

-

-Uncle Harry and his wife sang a charming duet that delighted all, the

-orchestra played a military caprice, and then the remainder of the

-evening was spent in a little, informal dance.

-

-All was light, laughter, and music, and there were two kinds of music

-that gladdened their hearts,--the sweet music of the violins, and the

-still sweeter melody of happy voices!

-

-Silly little Floretta had ruined the evening for no one save her own

-jealous little self.

-

-Because she could not be the first on the program, she would not appear

-at all, although, at heart, she longed to show her really clever

-mimicry. Later, after having sulked during the early part of the

-evening, she refused to join the dancers, and ran away to her room,

-angry, very angry with every one save the one person who was really at

-fault,--herself.

-

-Her efforts at imitating would surely have amused, and would, doubtless,

-have been well received. She was rather a graceful dancer, in any of

-the ordinary ballroom dances, and she thus might have joined the other

-children when the concert was over. She had needlessly spent a most

-unhappy evening.

-

-Now, in her room, she heard the strains of the orchestra, and for the

-first time realized how foolish she had been.

-

-"I _had_ a chance, and I lost it," she sobbed, but her tears were not

-tears of grieving. They were angry tears, and the droll part of it was

-that while she alone was at fault, she was angry with every one but

-herself.

-

-For a few moments she lay, her face hidden in her pillow. Then, she

-turned over into a more comfortable position, and softly she whispered,

-"I'll do enough to-morrow to make up!"

-

-She did not say _what_ she intended to do, but the idea evidently

-pleased her, for she laughed through her tears.

-

-She sprang from her bed, found a box of bonbons that her mother had won

-as a prize in an afternoon whist party the day before, and crept back

-into bed. When she had eaten nearly all of the candy, she sat up and in

-the softly shaded light, looked at the box with its few remaining bits

-of candy. She was wondering where she could hide it.

-

-"Ma will surely notice the empty box, or anyway, I've made it _almost_

-empty," she said. "She might not miss it if I hid it!"

-

-She had never been taught to be honest, so whenever she did a naughty

-thing, her first thought was to hide, or cover up the act. She never

-felt regret.

-

-No one ever heard her gently say, "I'm sorry."

-

-Softly she crept from her bed, and made her way across the floor to the

-dressing-case.

-

-She put the box upon the floor, and pushed it well under it, and wholly

-out of sight.

-

-"There!" she whispered. "That's all right. I would have finished the

-candy, but I didn't want the whole of it. I ate the best of it. The

-others weren't very nice."

-

-Down in the long parlor the guests were no longer dancing.

-

-They were resting, and listening to a lovely barcarolle played softly by

-the orchestra.

-

-Flossie, clinging to Uncle Harry's hand, drew him toward the window.

-

-"Look!" she said, as she parted the curtains. "It isn't raining now, and

-the moon is coming out. It will be pleasant to-morrow! And it has been

-lovely in here to-night."

-

-"Dear little Flossie, dear little niece, it was your cheery, loving

-nature that led us to give your name to our baby. She has two fine

-names, she is Beatrice Florence. The first is Vera's mother's name, the

-second, dear, is yours."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER IV

-

-IN A BIRCH ARBOR

-

-

-THE storm had cleared the air, no mist veiled the mountains, the

-sunlight lay everywhere, gilding valley and stream.

-

-Many of the guests had started early in the morning for a trip to a

-distant mountain from the summit of which a delightful view might be

-enjoyed.

-

-They were to ride over in the barge to the base of the mountain, have a

-picnic lunch under the trees, and then climb the rugged path up the

-mountain side.

-

-It would occupy half the day and it would be afternoon before the barge

-would return with its merry, tired party.

-

-Floretta Paxton and Jack Tiverton were usually in sight, or, as they

-were always noisy, within hearing might be nearer the truth, but they

-had gone over to a spot that the children called "The Pool," a bit of

-water not much larger than a big puddle.

-

-It existed only after a heavy rain, but near its edge the slender

-birches grew, and their silvery white trunks and the bright, blue sky

-were clearly reflected on its surface.

-

-Jack had decided to launch his toy boat there, and, as Floretta had

-hemmed the tiny sails, he had felt obliged to listen to her coaxing, and

-permit her to go with him.

-

-"I'll let you christen her," he had said, in a moment of generosity, and

-then regretted it.

-

-Floretta's idea of a christening ceremony was very elaborate, while

-Jack thought that shouting the vessel's name, and shoving it into the

-water was all that was necessary.

-

-Nancy was helping Aunt Charlotte, so when Dorothy ran out to the piazza,

-she found it deserted, and she stood looking in surprise at the rocking

-chairs and hammocks that were swaying in the wind.

-

-"Every one has gone somewhere," she thought; "didn't any one stay at

-home?"

-

-She stood for a moment in the doorway, wondering what to do. Suddenly

-her face brightened, and she clapped her hands.

-

-"The very thing!" she said, and she turned and hastened to her room to

-find her latest gift.

-

-It was a beautiful book of fairy tales, and although it had been given

-her over a week ago, she had read but a few of the stories. Mrs. Dainty

-had sent to the city for the book, and ever since the day of its arrival

-Dorothy had been wild to read it.

-

-Something had been planned for each sunny day, and as the weather had

-continued fair, the book had been opened but a few times, and then for

-only a brief glance at the tales or the illustrations.

-

-Mrs. Dainty had gone to the village, a ride of about an hour from the

-hotel, and Aunt Charlotte was still occupied with her letters.

-

-Nancy was sealing and stamping the envelopes, as Dorothy passed the

-door.

-

-"I'm going over to the little 'birch arbor,'" she said. "I'm taking my

-new fairy book for company."

-

-"I'll come, too, just as soon as I've finished these envelopes," said

-Nancy, and she began to work faster.

-

-[Illustration: "OH, WHAT A LOVELY, _LOVELY_ STORY!" SAID DOROTHY.--_Page

-67._]

-

-The "birch arbor" was not an actual arbor, but it was a lovely spot, and

-the birches were exceptionally fine. Nancy and Dorothy had often been

-there together, and they had given it the name.

-

-A tiny mountain brook ran through it, and it was a lovely spot in which

-to enjoy legends or fairy tales.

-

-In a few moments Dorothy had reached the place, and when she had seated

-herself, she opened the book where a fine picture showed the prince,

-whose father had given him three wishes as his only inheritance, and

-then had sent him out to seek his fortune.

-

-Twice she had commenced to read the story, and had been obliged to lay

-it aside. Now, with only the bees and the butterflies hovering about

-her, she read the fascinating tale.

-

-It proved to be even more charming than she had expected.

-

-The prince was tall, and dark, and handsome, and his heart was so good

-and true, that Dorothy felt that he richly deserved the beautiful

-princess whom he finally won.

-

-Her eyes sparkled as she read of the great court wedding.

-

-"And the lovely princess looked more beautiful than ever in her wedding

-gown of cloth of gold, thickly set with diamonds, and her crown of

-diamonds and sapphires."

-

-"Oh what a lovely, _lovely_ story!" said Dorothy, as she turned the

-page.

-

-"Tiny princes carried her train, and as the happy pair reached the

-palace gates, and were about to enter the royal coach, the blare of

-trumpets sounded, as the guards in blue and gold played a gay fanfare."

-

-"Toot! Toot! Toot!"

-

-Dorothy sprang to her feet.

-

-It was as if those silver-toned trumpets had sounded close beside her. A

-moment more, and a huge automobile appeared from behind the trees and

-shrubbery, and slackening its speed, came, at last, to a standstill, and

-an old lady leaned out to question her.

-

-"Are we going in the right direction, my dear, to reach the Hotel

-Cleverton?"

-

-Dorothy walked toward the car, and looked up into the hard, old face.

-

-"This little road is _right_," said Dorothy, "but the broad road that

-leads out of this one is not so rough, and it is a _little_ shorter."

-

-"There, Minturn, I _said plainly_ that I believed we could get there

-quicker some other way!"

-

-"You are _sure_ about the Cleverton?" the old lady asked. "You _know_

-where it is?"

-

-"I'm staying there with mamma, and that truly is the right way," said

-Dorothy, her soft eyes looking up into the hard, old face.

-

-"I guess I can trust you," the old lady said, not smiling, but looking a

-bit less stern.

-

-"Now, Minturn, we'll _try_ to reach the hotel, sometime before dark!"

-she said curtly.

-

-Puffing and whirring the big automobile started off up the road, the old

-lady sitting stern and erect, as if she thought her driver needed

-watching, and she was determined to keep a sharp eye upon him.

-

-"Why, how queer!" said Dorothy. "She didn't even say 'good-bye,' or

-'good-morning.' Perhaps she was very tired, and forgot,"--then after a

-moment she added, "but my beautiful mamma _never_ forgets."

-

-She went back to the pretty spot where she had been reading, and sitting

-down, opened the book, but she could not keep her mind upon the stories.

-The strange face of the old lady seemed to look at her from the printed

-page.

-

-How small and sharp her eyes had been, and how she asked the same

-question again and again. Did she doubt the answer given her?

-

-All these, and many more questions puzzled Dorothy, and with the open

-book lying upon her lap, she looked off where the sunlight lay upon the

-grass.

-

-She was still sitting thus when a merry voice aroused her, and she

-turned to see Nancy running toward her.

-

-"Oh, Dorothy!" she cried. "You ought to have been up at the hotel just a

-few moments ago. A new guest came, and she was so cross, it _must_ be

-that she didn't want to come. But if she truly _didn't_ want to, then

-why _did_ she?"

-

-"Why, Nancy, who wouldn't think it fine to come up here to the

-mountains, and stay at the Cleverton?" said Dorothy in surprise.

-

-"Well, you wouldn't have thought the old lady was glad to be there, if

-you'd seen her," said Nancy.

-

-"Oh, was it an old lady that you were talking about?" Dorothy asked

-quickly.

-

-"Yes, and you ought to have seen her eyes snap when she scolded her

-chauffeur. She told him she might have arrived an hour before just as

-well as not, and she kept right on scolding to herself, all the way up

-to the piazza, and, Dorothy, she looked so cross, I wouldn't wonder if

-she was scolding up in her room now!"

-

-"She must be the same one that was here just a little while ago,"

-Dorothy said, "and she asked me to tell her the nearest way to the

-Cleverton. When I told her, she made the man rush off over the road, and

-she was scolding him when they left here. Perhaps she was tired, and

-will feel pleasanter when she has rested."

-

-"Perhaps," agreed Nancy, "but I know Aunt Charlotte and your mamma don't

-act that way when they are tired."

-

-Dorothy could not dispute that, and soon the two little girls were

-enjoying the fairy book together.

-

-"Now, this is the story I've just been reading," said Dorothy, "and this

-is the picture of the prince. Isn't he handsome?"

-

-"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and doesn't he look like Flossie's Uncle Harry?"

-

-"Why, he _does_, truly," cried Dorothy. "I'll show the picture to

-Flossie, and I'm sure she'll say it looks ever so much like him."

-

-"Oh, she will," agreed Nancy.

-

-"Why, it would look _exactly_ like him, if _he_ only had a cap with

-plumes," said Dorothy.

-

-Uncle Harry, coming briskly up the path, was just in time to hear the

-last few words.

-

-"I'm very curious to know who it is who needs a cap with plumes," he

-said.

-

-"Oh, who knew you were right here to hear it?" said Dorothy.

-

-"Oh, was it a state secret?" he asked. "Well, now it's a pity I heard

-it, but as it happens I _did_, I think I must ask for the rest of the

-secret."

-

-"Oh, _would_ you tell?" Dorothy asked, turning to Nancy, but before she

-could reply, Uncle Harry spoke.

-

-"I'm really too curious," he said, "so I think I'll threaten to sit on

-this stump, until you tell me the secret, and let me tell you two little

-friends, that _I've_ a secret; it's a nice one, too, but,--" he paused

-to watch the effect of his words.

-

-"But--But--" they cried.

-

-"But,--" said Uncle Harry, "I wouldn't tell mine _first_!"

-

-Wag that he was, he could not resist the temptation to tease just a bit.

-

-Dorothy took the pretty book, and opening it at the page that showed the

-picture of the prince, she said, "We only said the brave prince looked

-like you, no, I mean you look like him, and we said you'd look _just_

-like him if you had a cap with plumes."

-

-Uncle Harry appeared to study the picture very carefully. After a

-moment, he said:

-

-"That's a fine compliment, but there's one thing about it that worries

-me, so I'll have to ask about it.

-

-"In this picture the prince wears a blue blouse and a pair of green

-shoes, a pink cap with white plumes, gray hose, and crimson trunks. Now,

-if I should decide to purchase a pink cap with white plumes, would you

-expect me to come out arrayed in all those colors? I really feel that

-the costume is a _bit_, just a _bit_ too gay."

-

-"Oh, we'll not ask you to be quite as gay as that," said Dorothy, "and

-we'll promise one thing. We won't even ask you to buy a pink cap if

-you'll tell us your secret now."

-

-He laughed gaily.

-

-"Perhaps I really _ought_ to keep it a little longer. How would it do if

-I should tell you my secret some time next week?" he asked.

-

-"Oh, no, no!" they cried, "tell it now!"

-

-"Well, then, there's to be a fair 'way down in the village, a real

-country fair, and I'm intending to hire a barge, and take all of the

-_very_ young ladies over with me to see the fun. I mean ladies as young

-as you, and Nancy, and Flossie. I shall invite all the wee ladies that

-are stopping at the hotel, and I shall take all who accept."

-

-He looked into their bright faces, and laughed when Dorothy said:

-

-"As if _any_ little girl _wouldn't_ accept!"

-

-"You mustn't expect it to be a grand affair. It will be, as I said, a

-real old-fashioned country fair, but there will be a jolly ride over

-there, and the return trip, and I fancy you will enjoy it all," he said,

-"and I shall have the delight of giving pleasure."

-

-A friend who had been looking for Uncle Harry, now appeared on the

-winding path, a clump of large trees having hidden his approach.

-

-The two young men started off for a long tramp, and Dorothy and Nancy

-walked slowly back to the hotel.

-

-"The prince _did_ look like Uncle Harry," said Nancy, "and the picture

-of the naughty old fairy that enchanted the sleeping beauty, looks like

-the lady that came this morning, and was so very cross."

-

-"Then that _is_ the same one who stopped to ask the way, for she looked

-just like that. I'll always think, every time I look at her, that she's

-the black fairy."

-

-And when they ran up on to the piazza, there sat the very person whom

-they had been speaking of, looking somewhat cooler with her long

-travelling cloak removed.

-

-Her black gown was of some thin material, and just as the two little

-girls ran up on to the piazza, she dropped the large, black fan that she

-had been wielding.

-

-Nancy, who was nearer to her than Dorothy, picked up the fan for her.

-Without a smile, she took the fan, and they heard some slight sound.

-Possibly it might have been a softly murmured word of thanks, but it did

-not sound like it.

-

-"She seems very strange," said Dorothy, "but perhaps she's still tired."

-

-She was always unwilling to say that any one was wilfully rude or

-disagreeable.

-

-And now Aunt Charlotte, with Mrs. Dainty, came out to enjoy the fine

-air, and Dorothy and Nancy ran to them to tell them of the treat that

-Uncle Harry had in store for them.

-

-"It's only a few days to wait, and isn't he kind to take us?" said

-Dorothy.

-

-"He is indeed," said Mrs. Dainty, "and I hope all his little friends

-will be very thoughtful, and make him just as little trouble as

-possible. He takes quite a care in inviting so many children."

-

-"Oh, all the children love him, and there isn't one who would want to be

-any bother, unless it was Floretta," said Dorothy, "and perhaps she'll

-be having such a nice time, she won't think to be naughty."

-

-Mrs. Dainty smiled at this view of it. She could not help thinking that

-Floretta never needed time to think in order to be disagreeable, but

-she did not say so.

-

-Aunt Charlotte Grayson, seeing the stranger sitting alone, paused near

-her chair to say a friendly word.

-

-She remained but few moments, however, because the woman seemed not

-inclined to talk.

-

-Aunt Charlotte well knew that the stranger was not courteous, but she

-tried to think, as Dorothy had, that fatigue, after a long journey, made

-her eager for silence and rest.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER V

-

-THE MOUNTAIN PARTY

-

-

-AS the days flew by, the stranger became a bit more friendly, conversing

-sometimes with Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte, but often, far more

-often, with Mrs. Paxton.

-

-It was not that she sought to become acquainted with Floretta's mother;

-it was, rather, that Mrs. Paxton seemed determined to force the

-friendship.

-

-"Her name is Fenton, Mrs. Fenton, and isn't it odd, _my_ name was Fenton

-before I married. Floretta's middle name is Fenton. I really feel almost

-as if I were related to her, because of the name," declared Mrs. Paxton

-one morning, whereupon Mrs. Fenton, coming out on to the piazza,

-remarked:

-

-"Oh, indeed!"

-

-Mrs. Paxton blushed and hesitated, then recovering herself, she said:

-

-"I was just telling these ladies of my friendly feeling for you."

-

-"Oh, indeed!" Mrs. Fenton repeated, as she sank into a large rocker, and

-looked off across the valley to the distant mountains.

-

-After a few moments she seemed to have lost interest in the view, and,

-taking up a small embroidery frame, commenced to ply her needle as if

-she were eager to finish the pretty doily.

-

-Two little figures came slowly up the path to the piazza. They were

-returning from the christening of the little boat.

-

-"What is wrong, Jack? You don't look very happy," said Mrs. Tiverton.

-

-"He wanted me to christen his boat, but he wouldn't give it my name!"

-said Floretta, before Jack could reply.

-

-"She thought just because she hemmed the sails I'd name it the

-_Floretta_, but I wouldn't, so I shoved it into the water myself, and

-shouted _Carlotta_. That's the name of a girl that goes to my school,

-and I like her."

-

-"You say Floretta hemmed your sails," said Mrs. Tiverton.

-

-"Well, I thanked her for that, and I let her go to the launching, and I

-let her christen it, but I don't see that I need name it for her," said

-Jack, stoutly.

-

-Mrs. Fenton had not heeded what the children were saying. One might have

-fancied that she did not hear, although both Floretta and Jack stood

-quite near her chair.

-

-A large spool that she had wound with colored silk slipped from her lap,

-and rolled toward Floretta.

-

-"Pick it up, dear," Mrs. Paxton said.

-

-"Don't want to," said Floretta.

-

-Mrs. Fenton stooped, and recovered the spool, and, taking her embroidery

-frame in her hand, left the piazza, and mounted the stairs to her room.

-

-"Why _were_ you so rude?" said Mrs. Paxton, but Floretta, perching upon

-the low railing, began softly humming "Yankee Doodle."

-

-Jack Tiverton, espying a boy that he knew, whistled loudly, and then, as

-the other boy turned, ran after him, the two whooping and shouting like

-savages.

-

-"It is almost lunch time, Jack!" Mrs. Tiverton cried, and the boy

-turned, and waved his hand to show that he heard her.

-

-"Boys aren't apt to forget meal time," muttered old Mr. Cunningham

-behind his paper.

-

-True enough, Jack returned in ample time, and was the first at the

-table.

-

-Early in the afternoon Dorothy and Nancy went out for a drive with

-Romeo.

-

-It was one of those sunny days that tempt nearly every one to ride or

-walk.

-

-The mountain roads were rather lonely, and Mrs. Dainty insisted that

-whether Dorothy were riding Romeo, or driving in the phaeton, the groom

-must ride at a little distance behind her.

-

-There were the lovely, slender birches on either side of the roads,

-there were patches of bright green moss upon which the sunlight rested,

-there were blackberry vines and woodbine wreathing the low stone walls,

-and here and there a mullein raised its stately head from its base of

-velvet leaves.

-

-Oh, it seemed like an enchanted country, where new beauties were to be

-found on either hand!

-

-"Look!" cried Dorothy, "close beside that mullein is an evening

-primrose, and their blossoms are the same color."

-

-Then a tiny chipmunk sprang upon the wall, sat erect, and watched them

-for a moment, then ran up the trunk of a slender tree, where from a low

-branch he watched until they had passed. Then back to the wall he

-sprang, where he chattered as if scolding the little girls who had

-disturbed his solitude. It may be that, instead, he was talking to

-himself, and telling what charming little girls they were.

-

-A long way from the hotel they passed Jack Tiverton, with a number of

-other boys who were staying at a hotel a few miles distant from the

-Cleverton.

-

-They were all somewhat larger than Jack, and he thought it fine to be

-with them.

-

-He had met them at a ball game three weeks before, and he had been very

-busy holding their acquaintance ever since.

-

-"We're going to catch the echo, and keep it, too!" shouted Jack.

-

-"It's mocking you now," said Dorothy, with a laugh.

-

-"I know it," said Jack, "but we'll catch it, and fasten it so it can't

-get away."

-

-"_How_ will you fasten an echo?" Nancy asked, turning, and looking over

-her shoulder as the little phaeton sped past.

-

-"Trust us to find a way!" cried Jack, and the others laughed as if they

-already knew exactly how to do it.

-

-They left the road, and, vaulting over the wall, crossed the open

-field, singing a gay, rollicking song as they went.

-

-"They just _say_ they're going hunting for the echo," said Dorothy, "and

-they say it for fun, but I wonder where they are going, and what they

-truly are going to do."

-

-The groom, riding nearer, touched his hat.

-

-"Please, Miss Dorothy, I heard the lads saying that there's an old house

-over near that mountain, where a hermit lived years ago, and they're off

-to find it if they can."

-

-"Then why didn't they say so, instead of telling such a tale about

-catching the echo?" Dorothy asked.

-

-"They were saying that they wanted to find the hut, and hunt in it, and

-around it ter find things the old fellow may have hidden. They feared

-you or Miss Nancy might tell some other lad. They're wanting it all to

-themselves."

-

-Having told this bit of information, the groom allowed the carriage to

-pass him, and once more rode behind it.

-

-The two little girls talked of the long tramp that the boys would have

-before they would find the hermit's hut.

-

-"And perhaps they won't find it at all, after all their hunting," said

-Nancy.

-

-"Well, I hope they will," said Dorothy, "because it's so horrid to hunt

-and hunt, for nothing."

-

-"Oh, look!" she cried a moment later. "See the lovely mosses! Let's take

-some back to mamma and Aunt Charlotte."

-

-They were, indeed, beautiful. There was green moss that looked like

-velvet, and gray moss formed like tiny cups with scarlet edges, and

-other moss tipped with red.

-

-On an old stump they found shell-like fungus, some a creamy white,

-others white, with soft brown markings.

-

-Oh, a fine collection of rarely beautiful mosses and lichens they

-gathered, and heaped on the bottom of the phaeton.

-

-Romeo turned his head to watch them as if he wondered when they would

-have gathered enough.

-

-"Oh, we do keep you standing, dear, don't we?" Dorothy said, patting his

-neck as she spoke.

-

-"Oh, you needn't look for sugar," she said, laughing, "for I haven't any

-with me, but we'll get you some fresh clover."

-

-With Nancy's help she soon had a fine bunch of pink clover for Romeo,

-and he seemed quite as pleased as if it had been the cubes that he so

-often enjoyed.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-When the party of boys had left the road to cross the fields that lay

-between them, and the forest at the foot of the mountain, they had

-believed that they knew exactly how to go to reach the hermit's hut.

-

-The old hermit had been dead for years, but every season the summer

-guests at the hotels and farmhouses searched all around the deserted

-hut, expecting to find some relic to take home and label as a bit of the

-hermit's property.

-

-The boys supposed that they had the woods to themselves, and that they

-would be uninterrupted in their search of the place.

-

-They did not know that the mountain climbers had taken the same

-direction, intending, before they enjoyed their lunch beneath the trees,

-to stop at the old, deserted house.

-

-Mrs. Paxton and little Floretta had worked more persistently than any

-others of the party, and Mrs. Paxton had found a small, brass button.

-

-The others had laughed at the prize, asking her if she intended to keep

-it as a souvenir.

-

-"Certainly," said Mrs. Paxton. "I'm sure this brass button must have

-belonged on some old coat that the hermit wore!"

-

-"Perhaps in his youth, before he came up here to live, he may have been

-a janitor," said a young man, with a saucy laugh.

-

-"Or a brakeman," suggested another.

-

-Mrs. Paxton pretended not to hear their teasing, and though the prize

-that she had found had been only a valueless thing, she kept it.

-

-Floretta was very eager to stay, and continue to peep into cracks in the

-floor and walls, and to poke with a stick under the doorsill, and in the

-soft earth around the hut.

-

-The older members of the party knew that if they were to ascend the

-mountain, see the view, and descend before twilight, they must start at

-once.

-

-As soon as their picnic lunch had been enjoyed they commenced to climb

-the rugged mountain path.

-

-It was very steep and rough, and it had been said that no children

-should be allowed in the party.

-

-Mrs. Paxton had insisted that her small daughter was a wonderful little

-climber, who was quite equal to the demands of a long tramp.

-

-Floretta had wished to remain at the hut, but as she could not do that,

-she proceeded to make herself as unpleasant as possible, by complaining

-every step of the way, until one young man voiced the feeling of the

-entire party.

-

-"This is a horrid, rough old path, and I'm tired. I wish I'd stayed at

-_home_!" said Floretta.

-

-"I wish so, _too_!" said the young man, and several of the party, too

-polite to say it, at heart, agreed with him.

-

-Floretta's was the only gloomy face, however. The others tramped gaily

-onward, singing snatches of song, and laughing as they stepped upon

-rolling stones, or tripped over long, gnarled roots that rose above the

-surface, as if especially designed to catch lagging feet.

-

-          "All day upon the hills

-           We've chased the chamois far,

-           But deeper joy now thrills

-           Beneath the evening star."

-

-The youth sang gaily, and several of his friends joined him in singing

-the old song.

-

-Arrived at the summit they rested, enjoyed the view, laughed and joked

-about their weariness, and made many wild guesses as to how long it

-would take them to make the descent and drive back to the hotel.

-

-"It will be three o'clock before we reach the Cleverton," said one.

-

-"Nonsense!" cried another, "this is really called a mountain by

-courtesy. It's only a big hill. I say we shall be on the piazza, and

-wondering what we can do next, as early as half-past two."

-

-"It's more likely to be half-past _three_!" declared another, and when

-all felt sufficiently rested, they commenced the descent.

-

-Floretta refused to keep closely beside her mother, insisting upon

-clinging to another member of the party, to whom she had taken a fancy.

-

-The party was a large one, much larger, indeed, than had at first been

-planned, and while half of the number were guests at the Cleverton, the

-others were from the Merlington, a hotel situated nearer the village,

-and from several large farmhouses that entertained summer boarders.

-

-The guests from the Cleverton had kept closely together during the trip,

-while those from the Merlington had done the same.

-

-They had reached the foot of the mountain, and were tramping along a

-path that ran nearly parallel to that on which the hermit's house stood.

-

-Floretta saw the boys, near the house, and also saw that Jack Tiverton

-was with them.

-

-Without a word, she left the lady to whose arm she had been clinging,

-and making her way along behind bushes and underbrush, she managed to

-sneak in at the door of the hut, without having been seen by the party

-of boys.

-

-The lady, with whom she had been walking, supposed that she had run back

-to join her mother, while Mrs. Paxton felt quite undisturbed, because

-she believed that her little girl was still clinging to the arm of the

-lady with whom she had chosen to walk.

-

-It had required two barges to convey the party, and now they found them

-waiting, the horses a bit impatient to be off.

-

-The guests from the Merlington clambered into the first barge, and they

-with a few of the farmhouse party filled it to overflowing, some of the

-men being obliged to ride homeward, seated upon the steps. Meanwhile the

-Cleverton people were forced to wait until the barge for their party

-drove up.

-

-The first barge had started, and was rolling along, and a chorus of

-college songs was wafted back on the breeze, while handkerchiefs

-fluttered as the gay passengers laughed at the crowd that had not yet

-started.

-

-Mrs. Paxton paused with her foot on the step, and looked back.

-

-"Why, where's Floretta?" she asked.

-

-"In the first barge," cried a voice in reply.

-

-"Are you _sure_?" she asked.

-

-"Why, certainly," said the other, "she's with that tall, fine-looking

-lady from the Merlington. She'll be home before you are."

-

-The second barge was soon filled and on its way. The horses were less

-fresh than those of the first barge, and seemed determined to lag.

-Indeed, they required constant urging to keep them from dropping into a

-slow walk.

-

-"Those other fellows ahead of us started some lively college songs,"

-said a disgusted passenger, "and they're actually out of sight now; but

-the way these nags are poking I couldn't think of anything to sing that

-would be slow enough to be appropriate."

-

-And while one barge was going over the road at a lively rate of speed,

-and the other jogging along at a snail's pace, Floretta, at the hut, was

-having a most exciting time.

-

-Once inside the place, she had crouched beneath a window to learn, if

-possible, what the boys were talking about.

-

-She had wanted to remain there when the party had started for the

-mountain path, and she had been very impatient during the long tramp.

-She cared nothing for the view, and determined, on the return, to stop,

-if only for a few moments, at the hut.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VI

-

-THE ECHO CAPTURED

-

-

-FLORETTA had intended to hunt for treasure, hoping to get something more

-valuable than the brass button that her mother had found.

-

-She was not at all afraid of Jack Tiverton, but of those larger boys she

-was not quite sure.

-

-As she knelt beneath the window she could hear only the voices of the

-boys that were nearest to the hut, and hearing only parts of their

-conversation, she could not understand what the first speaker expected

-to find.

-

-"If I find it, I'll put it where it will be safe," he said.

-

-There was a pause, and then a voice more distant replied.

-

-She did not hear what it said, but she did hear the answer made by the

-boy who had first spoken.

-

-"If the ghost of the old hermit was in the hut, it might hear you."

-

-"Yes, and what would he say about your hunting for things that may have

-belonged to him?" said another, with a teasing laugh.

-

-"Oh, I'm not afraid," was the careless answer.

-

-"You're not?" jeered a laughing voice.

-

-"I think we've poked around out here long enough without finding

-anything," said Jack Tiverton, "let's hunt inside the house."

-

-"Wait a minute," called a boy who had not yet spoken, "just till I've

-looked into this hollow tree trunk."

-

-"And _then_ what?" asked a merry voice.

-

-"_Then_ hunt in the house, of course!" was the curt reply.

-

-Floretta thought she saw a chance for fun.

-

-Softly, yet quickly, she crept up the rickety little stairway, built

-close against the wall, and leading to the tiny loft.

-

-The loft was really little more than a space beneath the roof where the

-old hermit might have stored a few provisions. She could not stand, or

-even sit, erect, and she crouched upon the bit of dusty flooring.

-

-She was none too soon, for in a few seconds the boys rushed in, and then

-began a discussion as to whether it would be safe to take a plank up

-from the floor to look beneath it for hidden treasure.

-

-"You oughtn't to do that," said Jack Tiverton, "somebody might arrest

-you, or all of us, if folks found out we did it."

-

-"Arrest us for spoiling a floor in this old hut!" cried an older boy. "I

-wonder you don't think the old hermit might holler if he heard us pull

-up a plank!"

-

-"Well," said Jack stoutly, "you'd be as scared as I would if he did

-holler!"

-

-"You're a small boy, Jack, and easily scared," was the taunting reply.

-

-"Well, pull up a plank, and see what happens. I dare you to!" cried

-Jack.

-

-"Here goes then!" said the older boy, and catching hold of a plank that

-had rotted at one end, he pulled it up.

-

-"_Oh, let it alone!_" groaned a boy in a farther corner of the room, in

-an attempt to imitate an old voice.

-

-"_Oh, let it alone!_" came in exactly the same voice from the loft.

-

-Sidney Cumston, the big boy, who had laughed at little Jack Tiverton,

-dropped the plank, and turned pale, while not a boy spoke or moved.

-

-"Come, come!" said Sidney, when he caught his breath, "we're a precious

-pack of sillies! Help me lift this big board, will you?"

-

-"Will you?" came from the loft, in the very manner in which he had said

-it.

-

-Again he dropped the plank.

-

-"What does it mean?" cried Sidney.

-

-"Mean?" came his last word repeated.

-

-The boys were now thoroughly frightened.

-

-"Come!" cried Sidney, "let's leave here!"

-

-"Here!" came a repetition of his last word, and big as he was, he had

-turned to run, when a faint ripple of smothered laughter came down from

-the loft.

-

-Immediately Sidney's pale face flushed red. It flashed through his mind

-that these younger boys had seen that he was frightened.

-

-He had been laughed at by the owner of the voice that had mocked him,

-and the boys would _never_ stop laughing.

-

-Quickly he mounted the steps, and roughly he dragged little Floretta

-from her hiding place, half carrying her down the stairway, because it

-was too narrow for two to descend.

-

-"So you thought it was funny, just _funny_ to mock us, did you?" he

-asked, when they reached the floor.

-

-Floretta was not laughing now.

-

-She was sullen, and at the same time frightened.

-

-What would they do to her?

-

-They crowded around her, frowning and making all sorts of wild

-suggestions as to what should be done with her.

-

-"Keep her mocking till she's got enough of it!" cried one.

-

-"Put her back in the loft, and leave her there! She seemed to like

-there," said another.

-

-The big boy, whose hand was still on her shoulder, was more angry than

-either of the others.

-

-He was a bully, always ready to torment some one smaller than himself.

-

-He had reason to be provoked with Floretta, and the fact that she was

-only a little girl, made no impression upon him.

-

-He would as willingly punish a girl, as a boy, and the fact that his

-captive was smaller than he, only proved that the task would be an easy

-one.

-

-"You think it's smart to imitate, and it is. P'raps you think you're the

-echo that's over in the mountain!" he sneered.

-

-She made no answer. She was crying now.

-

-"Say! Let her off!" cried Jack Tiverton. "She's only a girl!"

-

-The smallest boy in the crowd, he saw Sidney's cowardice.

-

-"Oh, are you sweet on Floretta?" jeered Sidney.

-

-Jack drew back abashed. He did not like Floretta at all, but he did

-think it mean for a big boy to frighten so small a girl.

-

-"I ain't going to hurt you," said Sidney, "but I'm going to give you a

-chance to play echo, till you're tired of it. I guess you'll get enough

-of it before you get through!

-

-"Come, fellows! Get some good long pieces of wild grape-vine! I'll

-fasten Miss Echo where she can shout all day, and nobody'll stop her!"

-

-"I won't go with you!" screamed Floretta, who had found her voice, "You

-sha'n't tie me!"

-

-"Oh, is that so?" said Sidney, in a teasing tone. "We'll tie you so you

-can't get away!"

-

-She pulled back.

-

-"No, you don't!" said Sidney, grasping her arm with a firmer hold.

-

-"Now, walk right along, or these other fellows will help me carry you!"

-he added, and Floretta thought best to walk.

-

-"Where'll you take her?" asked one.

-

-"Right there," said Sidney. "That rock is just covered with vines that

-cling fast to it. Hurry, now! Pull down some long, strong pieces! Here,

-you scratch like a cat! Stop that!"

-

-Floretta, half wild to get away, was attacking his hand in the manner of

-a little wild animal.

-

-"Let me go, then!" she screamed.

-

-"Not much!" cried Sidney, and with the help of another boy, he dragged

-her, screaming and kicking, all the way, until they reached the rocky

-ledge.

-

-"There, now! Hold on! You're showing too much temper!" cried a stout lad

-who was helping to bind her.

-

-"I won't stay! You sha'n't tie me!" she screamed, but without replying,

-they drew the tough vines closer about her, lashing her into such a

-network of stems and stout vines that it would be impossible for her to

-escape.

-

-"There!" cried Sidney, when he felt sure that she was securely made a

-little prisoner, "You can shout till you're tired, and if you want to

-mock any one, you can mock yourself! Good-afternoon, Miss Echo!"

-

-He lifted his cap, with elaborate courtesy, and marched off whistling:

-

-          "The Girl I Left Behind Me."

-

-They did not look back. Sidney marched boldly away, believing that he

-had done a very smart thing, but the other boys felt less comfortable.

-

-They had been angry with her, and they had wished to see her punished,

-but they could not help thinking that she was a little girl, and they

-were leaving her alone in the woods!

-

-Jack Tiverton was, by far, the most uneasy.

-

-He was the smallest of the party, and, while he had asked Sidney to let

-Floretta go, he had known it was useless to do more.

-

-The eight other boys were stronger than he, and any attempt upon his

-part to free her would be worse than useless. They would not listen, but

-instead, would pounce upon him.

-

-The other boys talked, laughed, and whistled, to imply that they were

-not thinking of what they had done, but all the way back to the

-Cleverton, little Jack was wondering what he could do.

-

-He dared not go straight to Floretta's mother, and tell her of her

-little girl's plight.

-

-He knew if he did that, the boys would soon learn who had played

-"tell-tale," and then,--what would they do to _him_?

-

-And yet, he was determined, in some way, to help Floretta.

-

-How could he let a little girl stay out there in the woods all night?

-

-Of course some one, walking through the woods might find her, but if no

-one happened to?

-

-Jack knew that the risk was too great. It was just before he reached the

-Cleverton, that he thought of the best way that he could do it.

-

-He would write a note to Mrs. Paxton. He would drop that note into the

-mail box that hung at the side door. The letters were always distributed

-at four, and Sidney Cumston, who had a fine watch, had just said that it

-was three. He left the boys at the entrance to the Merlington, and

-hurried on that he might have plenty of time for his note.

-

-Mrs. Tiverton was out driving with a friend, and Jack had quite a hunt

-before he could find pencil or paper for his note.

-

-At last he found a blank book, and with a pencil he wrote this note.

-

-          "Deer Mrs. Paxton:--

-

-          "Yor litle girl is tied up in the woods opsite the

-          hermits hut. You better go get her real quick or

-          somethin may happen too her.

-

-                                           "Yors trooly."

-

-He folded it, and, in place of the envelope that he could not find, he

-tied around it a bit of string that he found in his pocket.

-

-Boldly he addressed it, in very large letters, and sneaking down the

-stairway, and around on the piazza toward the side door, watched his

-chance, and slipped it into the mail box.

-

-There was much excitement on the front piazza, because the guests had

-arrived in the barge but a few moments before, and Mrs. Paxton had given

-a maid a generous "tip" to go over to the Merlington, and bring Floretta

-back with her.

-

-"She returned with the party that came from the Merlington, and I don't

-wish her to remain there. I want her to come right back to me," said

-Mrs. Paxton.

-

-"Very well, ma'am," the maid had replied, and with the coins in her

-hand, had started off at once toward the other hotel.

-

-When little Jack Tiverton ran around to the front piazza, the maid had

-just returned.

-

-"If you please, Mrs. Paxton, your little girl isn't over to the

-Merlington, and hasn't been there, and a lady that was with the party

-that came home from the mountain trip, says the child wasn't in their

-barge at all. I asked her if she was _sure_, and she said, she couldn't

-help being sure, because there wasn't _any_ child in their barge."

-

-Of course excitement reigned supreme. Mrs. Paxton seemed half wild, and

-every one shared her anxiety.

-

-The fact that Floretta was not a favorite made no difference. No one

-liked to think of a little girl out there alone on the mountain path, or

-in the woods, especially as it was already late afternoon.

-

-"What a dreadful thing!" cried Mrs. Paxton, wringing her hands, and

-walking up and down the piazza.

-

-"Who will go with me? I cannot go alone, and where, _where_ shall we

-look first? Who saw her last?"

-

-At this moment a man-servant came out from the hall with a tray of

-letters that he began to distribute.

-

-"One for you, Mrs. Paxton," said the man, as he touched her arm gently.

-

-"Oh, I can't think of letters now," she said, but something about the

-note seemed so unusual that she looked at it.

-

-She drew off the string that had been loosely tied, and read the hastily

-scrawled lines.

-

-She screamed, and Aunt Charlotte, who was standing near her, put her arm

-around her and supported her, or she would have fallen.

-

-Many of those who gathered around Mrs. Paxton were inclined to think the

-note a hoax, but Mrs. Dainty, coming forward, lifted her handsome head,

-and looking at the men who were lounging comfortably in the large

-rockers, or sitting upon the piazza railing, spoke the word that spurred

-them to action.

-

-"Is it safe to _guess_ that this is a joke? True, it is written in a

-boyish hand, and while it _may_ be a boy's joke, may it not be a boy's

-means of telling us what has actually happened? I would not, were I a

-man, take the responsibility or chance, of leaving Floretta out there,

-because I would go to the place, and thus learn, not guess, if this

-information be true."

-

-She had scarcely finished speaking when a number of men rose, and one,

-who chose to lead the party, lifted his hat to Mrs. Dainty, saying:

-

-"We are off, madam. We only needed an inspiration to move us to

-endeavor."

-

-She bowed and smiled, as she said:

-

-"One thing I ask of you. Go as quickly as possible, for the sake of the

-frightened child, and the anxious mother."

-

-"In all possible haste," was the quick reply, and she turned to offer

-what comfort she might to the woman who seemed nearly distracted.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-And all this time, what had been happening in the wood? For a long time

-Floretta had cried, screamed, and shouted, hoping that the boys would

-come back and release her.

-

-Then, when she knew that they must be too far away to hear her, she tore

-at the clasping bonds, trying in every way to free herself. With feet

-and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines, kicking and

-trampling with her restless feet, beating and bending with her little

-hands, until they were torn and bleeding, and the tormenting vines

-seemed only to hold her with a firmer grasp, as if to prove how useless

-was her struggle.

-

-[Illustration: WITH FEET AND HANDS SHE STROVE TO LOOSEN THE TOUGH, WIRY

-VINES.--_Page 119_.]

-

-She had cried until she could cry no more, and the sturdy vines had cut

-and bruised her.

-

-So firmly was she bound that she could not sink to the grass to rest,

-and she had only the hard, rocky ledge to lean against.

-

-How still the woodland seemed! Sometimes a twig would snap, or a buzzing

-insect would pause, as if to look at her, but no one came to set her

-free.

-

-She waited for a moment to regain her breath, and then again she fought

-and struggled with those tough, sturdy vines.

-

-She tried to wrench them apart, to break, to tear them from her, but

-they only yielded enough to bend, and then snap back into the very

-place that she had pushed them from.

-

-Not a vine broke, not a stem gave way, and she set her lips tightly for

-yet greater effort!

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VII

-

-FLORETTA'S RETURN

-

-

-AT a far corner of the piazza sat Dorothy, her eyes terrified, and her

-cheeks pale. Nancy, close beside her, wound her arms about her, and

-sought, in every way, to comfort her.

-

-"They'll find her soon, Dorothy, so don't you be frightened," she

-whispered. "They'll _surely_ find her soon."

-

-Dear little Nancy knew, better than any of Dorothy's other friends could

-have known, how ready was her sympathy, how kind and loving was her

-heart.

-

-She had not loved Floretta, but with Dorothy, that did not count. It was

-the dreadful fear that something had happened to a little girl, who, so

-recently had been at play with them,--ah, that was what grieved sweet

-Dorothy.

-

-She was thinking of what Mrs. Dainty had said to Aunt Charlotte when the

-mountain trip was first talked of.

-

-"I think the long tramp is a rougher form of amusement than I can well

-endure. I should be so weary long before it was time to return, that I

-should derive but little pleasure from the trip. There is another

-thought in connection with the picnic," she continued, "and that is an

-element of danger. Not great danger perhaps, but such that I would not

-join the party, nor would I permit Dorothy, or Nancy to do so. One

-gentleman who was talking of the mountain path that they have chosen,

-spoke of the great danger to the climbers from small, rolling stones,

-and from places where the earth seems to crumble near the edge of the

-narrow foot-path. A careless step might lead to a fall that would mean,

-I hardly dare to say what!"

-

-Dorothy and Nancy had been wishing to join the party, but upon hearing

-this, they lost all interest in it, and had cheerfully taken the drive

-behind gentle Romeo, instead. Now, as Dorothy sat with Nancy's arms

-about her, she was glad that they had not been permitted to go, and she

-heartily wished that Floretta had remained at the Cleverton.

-

-"Had she rolled from the path, and fallen, fallen,--"

-

-Dorothy covered her eyes with her hands, as if she almost saw the little

-girl falling, down, down to the ravine so far below the path, and was

-trying to shut out the picture. Nancy, still striving to quiet her

-fear, heard some one telling what the scribbled note had said.

-

-"Oh, Dorothy!" she whispered, eagerly, "Floretta is just where they know

-how to find her, and they've promised to hurry, and bring her back."

-

-"Are you _sure_?" Dorothy asked.

-

-"Yes, _sure_!" said Nancy.

-

-Then Nancy climbed into the big chair beside her, and the two little

-girls sat, each tightly clasping the other's hands, while they waited

-and watched for the first glimpse of the men who should return, bringing

-Floretta with them.

-

-Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte remained with Mrs. Paxton, who seemed to

-have lost all control of herself.

-

-One moment she would cry as if her heart would break, and then she

-would spring up, threatening to follow the direction that the men had

-taken, and try to reach the woods, thus to sooner see her little girl.

-

-At last, after what seemed endless waiting, but was actually only an

-hour, some one espied the men in the distance, and cried out:

-

-"They're coming! They're coming!"

-

-"Have they got Floretta? Oh, _have_ they found her?" shrieked Mrs.

-Paxton.

-

-"We can't see from here," said the one who had spoken, and the mother

-rushed forward, shading her eyes with her hand, and straining to catch

-the first glimpse of her child.

-

-She would have rushed down the road to meet them, but Mrs. Dainty held

-her back. She had seen that they were carrying Floretta, and she

-thought, in case the child were injured, the mother would far better

-save her strength.

-

-Two of the men had clasped their hands to form an "arm-chair," and thus

-they brought to the piazza, a very limp, tired Floretta, whose vivacity

-was all gone, and whose face bore the trace of desperate weeping, while

-her arms and hands were covered with cuts and bruises, and her little

-frock was torn and tattered by her struggle with the tough and tightly

-knotted vines.

-

-She lay back against the shoulder of one man who supported her, and

-looked as if her strength were spent.

-

-She changed on the instant that they set her on her feet.

-

-Rushing to her mother, she permitted her to clasp her for a moment to

-her breast, then turning to the group that gathered around her, she

-cried fiercely:

-

-"Look! See my hands! See my arms! See the scratches, where I tried to

-get away, and it was Sidney Cumston who tied me! He _did_ it, but the

-other boys _let_ him. Not one tried to hinder him except Jack Tiverton,

-the littlest one of them all. He tried to make them let me go, but they

-wouldn't. Oh, somebody punish all but Jack! He _tried_, but he couldn't

-help me."

-

-She was hysterical, and sank to the floor of the piazza, sobbing, and

-crying, before her mother could catch her.

-

-She scrambled to her feet, and was clasped in her mother's arms.

-

-Old Mr. Cunningham surprised every one by speaking most kindly to her.

-She had so often tormented him that it seemed generous that he should

-offer a bit of comfort.

-

-"I don't think we shall let those young rascals escape without a sharp

-reprimand, and if I was to venture a guess about it, I should say that

-little Jack, after all, managed to help you, Floretta," he said.

-

-She turned in surprise to look at the old face, that now looked so

-kindly at her.

-

-"Come out here, Jack," said the old gentleman, "didn't you write the

-note that sent us searching for this little girl?"

-

-"Yes, sir," said Jack, "and I wrote it 'cause I thought the other big

-fellows were mean, but if they find out I told, they'll--"

-

-"No, they won't," said Mr. Cunningham. "You're no 'tell-tale.' You did

-just right, and the men here will stand by you. Those big boys were the

-cowards to torment a little girl. You're the best boy up here in the

-mountains."

-

-"Three cheers for young Tiverton!" shouted some one, and in the midst

-of the excitement, Mrs. Paxton, with her little daughter, slipped away

-to their room, after having thanked little Jack for his valuable

-assistance.

-

-Meanwhile old Mr. Cunningham had been searching in this pocket and that

-for something which he seemed most anxious to find.

-

-"Ah, I knew I had it! Come here, Jack!"

-

-Blushing and diffident, Jack walked over to the big rocker.

-

-"'Tisn't much, boy, but I think you ought to have a medal. Here's a

-silver dollar I've been keeping for a pocket piece. I'll give it to you

-for a medal, for being brave enough to tell what you knew _ought_ to be

-told. That's not tale-bearing, and as you were afraid to tell, for fear

-of those big bullies, it was a brave act. You're a lad that knows

-_what_ to do, _when_ to do, and then _does_ it!"

-

-"Hurrah for Jack Tiverton!" some one cried again, and this time they

-were given with a will.

-

-Mrs. Tiverton, returning from a long drive, wondered what all the

-excitement meant, and why they were cheering her little son.

-

-Jack, with his silver dollar tightly clasped, hung his head, and looked

-as if overpowered by his conspicuous position.

-

-Dorothy, now bright and happy, since Floretta was safe, saw that Jack

-hesitated.

-

-"Oh, Mrs. Tiverton," she said, "Jack has been truly the _best_ boy in

-the world, but he can't speak just now. When he tells you what he's

-done, you won't wonder why they cheered him!"

-

-Mrs. Barnet and Flossie, with Uncle Harry and his wife, now arrived in

-their big automobile from a three-days' trip that they had been

-enjoying.

-

-Of course Dorothy and Nancy tried to tell Flossie all about Floretta and

-Jack, and they were both so excited that Flossie got a very twisted idea

-of the affair.

-

-Uncle Harry, not dreaming that the matter was at all serious, turned,

-after greeting the children, to enter the house.

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "you ought to hear about it. There

-were ever so many big boys, and only one little girl, and they tied her

-so she couldn't get away, and Jack wrote a note, and when they found

-her,--"

-

-"Now, Flossie, dear, I'm perfectly willing to be scared half out of my

-wits, but I _must_ know what I'm being scared about. You're getting me

-so mixed up that I've not the least idea what this is all about. Have

-you?" he asked.

-

-"Oh, no," said Flossie, "I don't _half_ understand it, but it does sound

-so frightful, that I'm so scared, I need to have you be scared, too."

-

-"Well, then," Uncle Harry replied, "if it will help you to know it, I'll

-admit that my teeth are chattering, and shivers are running up and down

-my spine!

-

-"I thought at first that it was the draft across this piazza, but

-perhaps, after all, it was caused by what you were telling me."

-

-When, at last, he had heard the story, he was full of disgust that any

-boy, and his friends, should have been guilty of such a contemptible

-act, and his sympathy for the little girl was deep and sincere.

-

-"She will need rest and quiet to-morrow," he said, "and you three

-little friends will be kind, I think, if you stay rather closely here,

-and help, in some quiet way, to amuse her."

-

-"We will," said Dorothy, "I'll let her read my new fairy book if she'd

-like to. She could lie in the hammock, and do that."

-

-"I'll keep the hammock swinging," said Nancy.

-

-"And I'll give her my new box of candy I just brought home," said

-Flossie.

-

-"That's right," said Uncle Harry, "and for your sweet promises of

-kindness toward the child who has suffered so much to-day I'll remind

-you that on day after to-morrow I shall give myself the pleasure of

-taking you all to the fair. I promise you a _fine_ time."

-

-He turned to look over his shoulder, and laugh at their wild little

-cries of delight.

-

-He was anticipating the pleasure quite as much as they.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie kept the promise that they had made, and

-Floretta fully enjoyed their kindness. She seemed unusually gentle, and

-Mrs. Paxton thanked them for so sweetly helping to amuse her, and thus

-make her willing to spend the day quietly.

-

-The day set for the visit to the village fair dawned bright and sunny, a

-light breeze making it just cool enough to be delightful.

-

-The barge was waiting for its gay little passengers.

-

-The children stood with impatient feet on the piazza, waiting for their

-host, merry, handsome Uncle Harry.

-

-At last a firm tread caused them to turn, and there he was, looking

-gayer than ever, a picture of health, strength, and kindliness, and

-clad in a most becoming outing suit of light gray serge.

-

-The blue of his tie was not bluer than his fine eyes, and no one could

-have glanced at him without knowing that he possessed a generous, loving

-nature, a kind and merry heart.

-

-"Come, little friends!" he cried. "Is every young lady that I invited

-here?" he added, looking anxiously lest some child be late, and thus by

-chance, be left behind.

-

-"Every one is here!" said Flossie. "I know because I've counted."

-

-"Then we'll start at once, unless some one would rather wait 'til

-to-morrow?" he said, his eyes twinkling.

-

-"Oh, no! No!" they cried. "We just _couldn't_ wait!"

-

-"In that case we'll go now!" he said, with a droll expression, as if he

-started at once, merely as an accommodation.

-

-"Why, Uncle Harry! You're only joking," cried Flossie. "You wouldn't be

-willing to wait until to-morrow. I heard you tell Aunt Vera to hurry and

-find your tie, because you were in such a rush to start!"

-

-"To think that my own little niece would tell tales like that, and thus

-let out the secret. What chance have I now, of making them think that I

-was really very shy about riding with such a large party of girls?"

-

-Shouts of laughter greeted this speech, and Uncle Harry waited until it

-had subsided, then he said:

-

-"Oh, well, if no one _believes_ that I am shy or diffident, it's waste

-of time to try to appear so, so I shall not try. Instead, I shall be

-very bold. Come, dears, let me help you in!"

-

-And amid shouts of laughter from the children, he lifted each high in

-air, and placed her in the barge, thus saving her the trouble of

-mounting the steps.

-

-Then taking his seat in the middle of the laughing, chattering little

-party, he called to the driver to start.

-

-The long whip cracked, Jack Tiverton, from the piazza, blew loudly on a

-tin trumpet, and they were off over the road, the happiest party that

-ever filled a barge.

-

-Uncle Harry told some amusing stories, then, led by his fine voice, they

-sang some gay little songs, and before they dreamed that they had

-arrived at the fair, the driver shouted:

-

-"Here we are!" and sure enough, they had reached the fair grounds.

-

-"Why, I didn't suppose we were more than half-way here," said Dorothy,

-"and the reason is that the ride has been so jolly."

-

-"That's just it," agreed Nancy.

-

-"The reason _I_ enjoyed the ride," said Uncle Harry, "is because I was

-so charmed with my little guests."

-

-"And the reason why we had such a fine ride," said Flossie, "is because

-we had the _best_ man in the world taking care of us."

-

-Uncle Harry bowed low.

-

-"This must be a wedding party, if I'm the 'best man,'" he said with a

-laugh, "so we'll not fuss because there's no musician to play a march

-for us, but we'll play you are all bridesmaids, and we'll hurry right

-along. The entrance is this way, I think, and under that evergreen

-arch."

-

-A large tent had been pitched for the display of the various wares and

-numerous attractions; a smaller tent near it serving as fortune teller's

-booth.

-

-"We'll coax Uncle Harry to have his fortune told," whispered Flossie to

-Dorothy, when, to their great surprise, he said:

-

-"Oh, Flossie, you little witch! Uncle Harry heard what you said, and not

-only is he going to have his fortune told, but he's going to make every

-one of you little girls have yours told, also!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VIII

-

-AT THE FAIR

-

-

-THE fair proved a great delight to the children. They had all been to

-fine fairs patronized by fashionable matrons, whose names were quite

-enough to insure success, but the country fair was an absolute novelty.

-

-At the large city fairs, merry débutantes graced the booths, and sold

-flowers, or tickets for the various games of chance.

-

-Here in the mountain village all was different, and the novelty gave

-greater interest.

-

-Farmers' daughters were in the booths, and sold huge bouquets of

-old-fashioned garden flowers, homemade candy, and honey, while one

-rosy-cheeked lass dispensed sweet cider, or sweet apples, according to

-the preference of her customer.

-

-Uncle Harry purchased a huge stalk of hollyhocks for each of his guests,

-but for himself he chose an enormous sunflower which he insisted looked

-_fine_ in his buttonhole.

-

-There was music, if it could be called music, furnished by the local

-band.

-

-Uncle Harry said he had never seen such independent people as those

-musicians were. He declared that the music sounded, to him, as if each

-man commenced to play when he chose, and stopped when he got ready,

-regardless of what the other players were doing.

-

-"Oh, I do believe that is the way they play!" cried Dorothy, laughing.

-

-"Of course it is," cried Uncle Harry, "and a great deal of bother it

-saves, for no one has to direct them; they do not know that they are

-making discord, and thus they play and play with all their might, and

-are absolutely care-free and happy."

-

-There were heaps of giant pumpkins, and more red and yellow ears of corn

-than they had ever seen before, while everywhere was laughter, and

-friendly gossip, and chatter, that made the fair a jolly place in which

-to roam about.

-

-The children were determined to see every object in the big tent, and

-while some were interested in one thing, others wished to see something

-else, so they decided to divide into two groups.

-

-One half of the little party turned to the right intent upon seeing some

-gaudy patchwork quilts, while the others turned to the left declaring

-their intention of investing all their pennies in the "fish-pond."

-

-There were so many things to see on the way, that it was a long time

-before they met, as they had agreed, at the entrance.

-

-Somewhere on the way they had missed Uncle Harry, and they could not

-imagine where he had gone.

-

-It happened that Uncle Harry had seen a very small girl crying, and his

-first thought was to help her, and thus dry her tears.

-

-Upon questioning her, he found that the wee little maid had, by

-accident, knocked a small doll from one of the tables, and had been

-roundly scolded.

-

-"That pretty girl with the black eyes says I did it a-purpose, but I

-didn't," she cried, "I wanted to see it, and I just touched it, and it

-tumbled off the table."

-

-Her tears fell afresh, and in place of a handkerchief, she drew up her

-blue-checked apron, and hid her face in it.

-

-"Look up, little girl," Uncle Harry said, and his voice sounded so

-kindly, that she at once peeped at him through her tears.

-

-"Which is the table where all this happened?"

-

-"That one," said the child, "and the big girl is looking at me now."

-

-"Then give me your hand, and, just for fun, _we'll_ go and look at

-_her_."

-

-A moment she hesitated.

-

-"Come," he said, and with a sunny smile, the little girl placed her hand

-in his, and the big, handsome man with the wee country lass approached

-the table together.

-

-"I'll lift you up so you can see nicely," he said. "Now, which was the

-doll that fell from the table?"

-

-Before the child could reply, the girl spoke sharply.

-

-"'Twas that one, sir, and her meddlesome fingers,--"

-

-"Never mind about that," said Uncle Harry, then turning to the child he

-said:

-

-"Did you like that one best, or is that larger one finer?"

-

-"That large one is the loveliest. I didn't _ever_ see one so fine as

-that."

-

-"We'll have that one, then," he said, offering a bill to the astonished

-salesgirl.

-

-"There, little girl, she's yours," he said, as he placed the big doll in

-her arms.

-

-"I can hold her a little while?" she asked, eagerly.

-

-"You can hold her _always_, if you want to," he said gently, "I bought

-her for you."

-

-Rapturously she clasped the gift in her arms.

-

-"Oh, I love you, because you are good," she cried.

-

-"Then tell me your name," he said.

-

-"I'm Lois Ann Ferguson," chirped the little girl, "and father is Sandy

-Ferguson. Oh, there he is now. He's to play the pipes."

-

-She ran toward a sturdy man dressed in Highland costume, and carrying

-the bagpipes under his arm.

-

-Mr. Ferguson glanced at her flushed cheeks, saw the gorgeous doll that

-she flourished before his astonished eyes, and finally understood that

-the tall, handsome stranger had bestowed it upon his wee daughter, as a

-gift.

-

-He took her little hand, and hurried forward, saying:

-

-"I dinna ken why he should dae it for my wee lassie.

-

-"I wad gladly thank ye, sir," he said, "but I'm lost in wonder that ye

-made wee Lois sae blithe an' gay wi' the braw gift."

-

-"She's a dear little lass," said Uncle Harry, "and when I found her

-crying, I knew that a fine new doll would dry her tears. Don't bother to

-thank me. I made myself happy, when I comforted her."

-

-"I wish there were mair like ye," said Sandy Ferguson, "an' some day

-when ye're older, an' ha' a wee daughter of yer ain,--"

-

-"I have a wife and baby girl now," was the quick reply, "and they are my

-dearest possessions."

-

-"An' I thought ye a braw, bonny laddie, wi' yer fair hair an' blue een!

-Weel, weel, ye dinna hae tae live 'til ye're auld before ye ken tae dae

-a kindly act," Sandy Ferguson replied, "an' later when I play the

-pipes, an' Lois dances, she shall make her first bow tae her new

-friend."

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry, _did_ you buy the new doll for the little girl?"

-

-It was little Flossie, who, after having searched every corner of the

-tent, had found him talking to the Scotchman and his little girl.

-

-"Is he your own uncle?" little Lois asked, looking up into Flossie's

-lovely face.

-

-"Oh, yes," said Flossie, "and he's the best uncle in the world."

-

-"I know he must be," said the little girl. "See how good he was to me."

-

-They turned to join the rest of their party, and little Lois looked over

-her shoulder, with one hand held fast in her father's, while with the

-other she tightly clasped the precious doll.

-

-"I saw the notice near the entrance when we came in, that a Scotch

-farmer would play, and his little daughter would dance," said Uncle

-Harry, "but that child is not much more than a baby. She cannot be more

-than four. It will be amusing to see her dance, and Nancy Ferris will

-enjoy it most of all."

-

-They found the others reading the notice of which they had been talking,

-and they were delighted when they heard what a very little girl it was

-who was to dance.

-

-They had a lunch served by girls dressed as dairy maids, and it was just

-such a lunch as might have been enjoyed at a farmhouse.

-

-The long table spread with its white cloth, and set with blue and white

-dishes, was decorated by a garland of small sunflowers that lay upon the

-cloth, down the centre, and the entire length of the table.

-

-There were plates heaped with biscuit, there were dishes of both wild

-and cultivated strawberries, and delicious cream to be eaten with them,

-there were sandwiches and little cakes, honey enough to tempt the bees

-to the feast, and the children thought it finer than a hotel dinner. How

-they laughed, and chattered, as they enjoyed the spread!

-

-Uncle Harry was in his sunniest mood, and told stories and jokes that

-kept them amused, and seemed to be the gayest member of the party.

-

-"Tell us a story about when you were a _little_ boy," said Flossie.

-

-"My small niece thinks I'm nothing but a _big_ boy now!" he said.

-

-"Well, the big Scotchman thought you were only a lad. I heard him say

-so," said Flossie.

-

-"When you were a boy were you ever naughty, _real_ naughty?" Floretta

-asked.

-

-She had been very quiet, and all were surprised at her question.

-

-"Once upon a time, when I was little," said Uncle Harry, "I was very,

-_very_ fond of good things, but the one thing that I liked better than

-anything else was strawberry jam.

-

-"I was always allowed to have it, but I felt sure that it would taste

-even nicer if I had more of it at a time, and still finer if I could

-have a long handled spoon, and eat it right from the jar.

-

-"I used often to think how fine it would be if I, some day, could have

-the chance to eat it that way, but I never could get even _very_ near

-the jar.

-

-"One day the opportunity came. My sister and I were in the nursery, and

-the maid had been down-stairs for a long time.

-

-"The rest of the family were away, and we were to have our tea in the

-nursery, as usual, only, as we had had to remain at home, we were to

-have an extra treat.

-

-"Among other good things, we were to have strawberry jam.

-

-"My sister, that is Flossie's mamma, was a little older than I, and she

-was always trying to give me lessons in good behavior.

-

-"'Now, Harry,' she said, 'while nurse is down-stairs, we might commence

-to set our table.'

-

-"'There isn't anything here to set it with but the tablecloth and the

-jam,' I said, 'but you're a girl, so you know how to put the cloth on,

-and I'll bring the jam.'"

-

-"I guess Uncle Harry was so fond of the jam, that he liked even to

-carry the jar," said Flossie.

-

-"We wondered why the nurse stayed so long down-stairs," continued Uncle

-Harry, "and I told my sister that I was tired of waiting for tea, and I

-said I'd taste of the jam, if only I had a long handled spoon.

-

-"'Why, Harry,' she answered in disgust, 'I wouldn't think you'd be so

-naughty, but,--if you really _want_ to taste it, here's the spoon beside

-the jar.'"

-

-"And _did_ you?" questioned Dorothy.

-

-"Well, yes, I have to admit that I did. In truth, I tasted and tasted

-until my sister cried:

-

-"'Why, Harry, you naughty boy! When you get done tasting, there won't be

-any left!'

-

-"'You won't care, because _you_ wouldn't be so naughty as to taste it!'

-I said.

-

-"'Oh, wouldn't I?' she cried. 'Well, you just let me take that spoon,

-and you'll see!'

-

-"Well, a funny mix-up followed, in which we each tried to get possession

-of the spoon and the jam. We were laughing while we struggled for it,

-but at last, one of us slipped, and fell, dragging the other down; the

-jar of jam tipped over, and her white frock, my gray jacket and

-trousers, and even my long, yellow curls became smeared with the jam.

-

-"Nurse opened the door, and screamed with terror, for the red jam looked

-as if we had been terribly hurt, and it was some time before we could

-convince her that we were not cut or bruised, but only _very sticky_!

-

-"Then came the scolding, and my sister tried to screen me.

-

-"'Harry couldn't help tasting it, he's so fond of jam,' she said.

-

-"'Well, he's got a good share of it, inside and out,' said nurse,

-grimly.

-

-"'She's got as much as I have,' I said, 'just look at her frock!'

-

-"Of course our clothes were changed, and the jam cleaned from the

-polished floor, but we had our tea without jam.

-

-"Nurse said we could eat our biscuits with the _memory_ of the jam we

-had already enjoyed."

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry," cried Flossie, "I wish, even though you were naughty,

-she'd let you have more jam. She didn't know how good you'd be when you

-grew up."

-

-"I still am fond of jam!" he said, and the children laughed to see him

-pour honey over his berries that already were covered with sugar.

-

-"You like _anything_ that's sweet!" said Dorothy, "whether it's jam, or

-sugar, or honey,--"

-

-"Or little girls," said Uncle Harry. "You notice, I made this party all

-little girls, and I'm having a _lovely_ time."

-

-"So are we," laughed Dorothy.

-

-"And he says 'lovely' just as we do," said Nancy, "he does it to make us

-laugh."

-

-"Then why don't you laugh?" said Uncle Harry, and they _did_ laugh,

-every member of the party, and laughed because they could not help it.

-

-And when the merry feast was over, they hastened to the small tent where

-the old gypsy was telling fortunes.

-

-Each had intended to have her fortune told, and thus learn what the

-future held for her.

-

-To their great surprise, she flatly refused to tell any child's

-fortune, saying that she would only foretell events for "grown ups." The

-little girls were rather afraid of her, but Uncle Harry boldly offered

-his hand, saying:

-

-"Am I big enough to hear my fortune?"

-

-"No nonsense, young lad," she said, while the children dared not laugh.

-She bent over his palm for a moment, then she solemnly said:

-

-"You're a brave lad, and you need to be for you will fall in love with a

-girl who'll have red hair, and the temper that usually goes with it."

-

-"O dear!" sighed Uncle Harry.

-

-"Don't worry, young man," said the old gypsy, "because it will be some

-months before you marry."

-

-"Indeed," said Uncle Harry, "and what shall I do if the girl proves to

-have the temper you prophesy? Shall I try to calm her by holding her

-under a pump, or would you advise tying her until she feels less fiery?"

-

-"Young man, this is no laughing matter," was the sharp reply.

-

-"Guess it isn't!" said Uncle Harry. "I've seldom been so discouraged.

-Here am I, a man who has a lovely wife and baby girl, and yet I've got

-to marry a red-haired girl, with a temper like chain lightning! Who was

-ever in a worse fix?"

-

-The old gypsy flew into a rage. "You're poking fun at me!" she cried.

-

-"There! There! The fun was worth that!" he cried, laying a handful of

-small coins on the table before her.

-

-In her eagerness to count the money, she forgot her wrath, and they

-hastened from the tent, where, safely outside, they were free to laugh

-as much as they chose.

-

-As they re-entered the large tent, they saw that near the centre, a

-space had been cleared, and there was a crowd of people waiting, as if

-expecting some attraction to be exhibited.

-

-They had not long to wait, for almost immediately the Scotch piper

-appeared, and tightly clasping her precious new doll in her arms was wee

-Lois, dressed in Highland costume.

-

-Placing her doll on a table, and making sure that it was safe, she ran

-forward, courtesied first to Uncle Harry, as she had promised, and then,

-to the music of the pipes, the wee lassie did the "Highland Fling."

-

-She was such a round, dimpled little girl, one would never have dreamed

-that she could dance with such infantile grace.

-

-And when she had finished, with another courtesy, they crowded around

-her, and it was Nancy who most generously praised her. Dear little

-Nancy, who danced like a fairy, never had a jealous thought in her

-loving heart!

-

-It was Uncle Harry who caught little Lois, and lifted her so that he

-could look into her eyes.

-

-"I want my dolly, now," she cried, anxious lest it be lost or stolen.

-Dorothy brought the doll, and the child clasped it to her breast.

-

-"My wee lassie said she wisht she had a gift tae gi' ye," said Sandy.

-

-"I have a dear little girl of my own, and I prize her baby kisses," said

-Uncle Harry. "Will _you_ give me one, little Lois?"

-

-She clasped her arms around his neck, and kissed him softly.

-

-"Best man next to father," she said.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER IX

-

-FLOSSIE'S LETTER

-

-

-THE children said "good-by" to little Lois, and as her father carried

-her away, she waved her hand to them.

-

-"Wasn't she cunning?" said Dorothy.

-

-"She was very sweet," said Nancy, "and how well she did her little

-dance!"

-

-"She didn't dance half as fine as you do, Nancy Ferris," said Floretta.

-"You _know_ that."

-

-"Oh, but I was trained for dancing," said Nancy, "and, beside, she was

-very little to dance so cleverly."

-

-Floretta made no reply, but she thought of what Nancy had said.

-

-"Trained for dancing. She said she was _trained_ to dance. I wonder

-where? I wish I knew, but I didn't quite dare to ask her."

-

-Once more they walked around the big tent, and Uncle Harry purchased a

-gift for each to carry home as a souvenir.

-

-There were little baskets that the gypsies had woven, and fancy boxes

-filled with woodland plants. The boxes were made from birch bark, and

-were very dainty.

-

-These the children prized, and lovingly they thanked him for the pretty

-gifts.

-

-At the candy table he purchased enough of the homemade bonbons to fill

-the baskets, and then they left the tent to start on the homeward trip.

-

-The barge was waiting for them, and they clambered in, tired, but very

-happy.

-

-"This is the nicest fair I ever went to," said Dorothy, "and I've had

-so many good things that I'm going to save my basket of candy until

-to-morrow."

-

-"So am I," cried all the others.

-

-"And so am _I_," said Uncle Harry, as he held up a huge basket filled

-with all kinds of candy.

-

-How they laughed, and accused him of having a "sweet-tooth."

-

-"Now, just a moment!" he cried, as he held up his finger for silence,

-"I'm taking this _big_ basket home to treat the _big_ ladies with. I

-took the _little_ ladies with me, but I've not forgotten the _big_

-ladies that I left at the hotel."

-

-"Because you don't ever forget any one," said Flossie, and the others

-cried:

-

-"That's it! Just it! He does nice things for every one."

-

-"Oh, spare my blushes," said Uncle Harry, but it was easy to see that

-their affection for him pleased him.

-

-The ride home seemed shorter than the trip to the fair.

-

-They joined in singing the merry songs that his fine voice led, and the

-horses, knowing that they were on the homeward trip, jogged along at a

-better pace than when they had started out.

-

-Uncle Harry had found some bells, and fastened them to their harnesses,

-and they made a jingling accompaniment to the merry voices.

-

-And when the barge drew up at the Cleverton, Uncle Harry, with elaborate

-courtesy, handed each young lady down, bowing low, and thanking her for

-the honor she had conferred upon him by permitting him to take her to

-the fair.

-

-"Oh, you do truly know we have to thank you for giving us such a lovely

-day!" said Dorothy.

-

-"But think how happy I have been," he said, and although his blue eyes

-were laughing, they knew that he meant it.

-

-"Oh, mamma, we had the finest time," cried Dorothy, "and see the fine

-basket of candy and the pretty birch bark box! See the little ferns

-growing in it. Isn't he _dear_?"

-

-"He surely is charming," said Mrs. Dainty. "His generous, sunny nature

-makes every one love him, and I believe he values the love of his

-friends more than most things."

-

-"He has been gay, and full of fun all day," said Nancy, "and it will

-take a long time to tell you all the pleasant things he did for us. I do

-wish you and Aunt Charlotte _could_ have been there when he had his

-fortune told."

-

-"And he couldn't have been any nicer to us if we'd been tall ladies,"

-said Floretta.

-

-"I hope every one of you little friends were real _little ladies_, thus

-rewarding him for his kindness," Aunt Charlotte said, gently.

-

-"Oh, we were," said Nancy, "not a single one of us did anything that

-could trouble him."

-

-"There were a number of little girls who only came here last week, so we

-weren't much acquainted with them, but they were all very nice, and he

-said he had as fine a time as we did," said Dorothy.

-

-She climbed into a large hammock, and with Nancy beside her, sat

-swinging, and thinking of the day that had been so delightfully spent.

-

-Mrs. Fenton came out upon the piazza, and, instead of sitting down,

-seemed to be looking for something.

-

-"Can I help you?" said Nancy, slipping from the hammock, and hastening

-toward her.

-

-"I've mislaid my glasses," she said, "and I can't find them."

-

-She did not thank Nancy for so kindly offering to help her, but Nancy

-seemed not to notice that. She peeped under chairs, lifted their

-cushions, and even looked between folds of newspapers that lay near at

-hand, but the glasses were not in sight.

-

-"How trying!" said Mrs. Fenton, "I have some letters that I wish to

-read, and I can't read them until my glasses are found."

-

-"Did you use them anywhere but just here?" Nancy asked.

-

-Mrs. Fenton stood for a moment thinking.

-

-"Seems to me I _did_ have them in the dining-room," she said.

-

-"I'll go and ask the waitresses if they have seen them," said Nancy, as

-she ran toward the hall.

-

-She paused in the doorway, amazed at what she saw.

-

-Floretta, with a pair of eyeglasses upon her small nose, was walking up

-and down the room, as nearly as possible, in Mrs. Fenton's manner, and

-exactly imitating her voice, while a group of waitresses, the cook, and

-two kitchen maids laughed, and applauded her.

-

-She cared not who composed her audience, so long as she obtained

-applause. Floretta was, evidently, quite herself once more!

-

-"Oh, Floretta!" cried Nancy, "you mustn't, truly you mustn't. Give me

-the glasses. Mrs. Fenton is looking everywhere for them!"

-

-"Well, I shan't give them to you!" said Floretta, rudely. "You aren't

-Mrs. Fenton."

-

-"But I've been helping her to hunt for them. She has some letters she

-wants to read, and she can't till she has her glasses," insisted Nancy.

-

-"Then let her come for them!" cried Floretta, when a quiet voice spoke.

-

-"Very well, I _have_ come for them," it said, and there in the doorway

-stood Mrs. Fenton.

-

-The silly maids who had laughed so loudly, now hastily disappeared in

-the kitchen.

-

-Floretta dropped the glasses upon the table, and then, wholly ashamed,

-crawled under it, where Mrs. Fenton's sharp eyes might not look at her.

-

-Mrs. Fenton took the glasses, and without another word, swept from the

-room.

-

-Nancy, waiting in the hall, crept softly toward her, and gently laid her

-hand on the lady's arm.

-

-"I'm _so_ sorry she did that. I wish I could have got the glasses from

-her, and brought them to you before you came to find them. Then you

-needn't have known how naughty,--" Nancy caught her breath.

-

-"Never mind that, Nancy. Remember, as _I_ shall, that _you_ were not the

-naughty, disgusting child," said Mrs. Fenton, and she turned, with her

-letters and glasses in her hand, and went up the long stairway to her

-room.

-

-It was nearly time to dress for dinner, which was always served

-promptly at six.

-

-Mrs. Dainty with Dorothy, and Aunt Charlotte with Nancy hastened to

-their rooms, to freshen their toilettes, and Nancy realized that there

-would not be time to tell Aunt Charlotte all about the unpleasant

-happening.

-

-"I've something to tell you, but I'll have to wait till we've plenty of

-time," she said.

-

-Aunt Charlotte, tying the soft, blue ribbon into the brown curls, looked

-into the mirror before which they were standing, and smiled at the

-thoughtful face.

-

-"Will it keep until then, dear?" she asked.

-

-"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "I only tell it to you because I love to tell you

-everything."

-

-"Dear child," said Aunt Charlotte, "I bless the day that you, as a

-little waif, were taken in by Mrs. Dainty, and that I was asked to come

-and care for you. I could not love you more if you were my own little

-girl."

-

-"I never saw my own mamma; she died when I was a baby," said Nancy, "so,

-because you love me, you seem like my very own."

-

-Gentle Aunt Charlotte's eyes were wet with happy tears, as she hooked

-the pretty, white muslin frock, with its slip of light blue, and tied

-the soft blue belt.

-

-"Your shoes must be changed, Nancy," she said. "You know how particular

-Mrs. Dainty is about the matter of shoes and stockings. They must match

-the frock."

-

-"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and with this one she said: 'Wear blue

-stockings and bronze slippers,' so I will."

-

-She found the blue hose and the pretty bronze slippers, then, with elfin

-grace, she caught the edge of her skirt, and with rosy, bare feet,

-tripped across the floor in a graceful, gliding step, crying:

-

-"Look, Aunt Charlotte, look! This pretty step Bonfanti taught me."

-

-Aunt Charlotte did look, and as she watched the pretty child, and saw

-her joy in dancing, she marvelled that little Nancy could smile as she

-danced, remembering all that she had been taught, while apparently

-forgetting all the unhappy months upon the stage.

-

-She thought of poor little Nancy, forced to dance, night after night, to

-support her old Uncle Steve, who was too lazy to support himself.

-

-She thought of the time that the little pitiful note from Nancy had

-reached them, and, together, she and Mrs. Dainty had found the child,

-and brought her safely home.

-

-She did not speak of all this. Nancy's happy little heart should never

-be reminded of sad days that were past.

-

-Now her life was filled with bright sunshine, the sunshine of love, and

-it was reflected in her happy face.

-

-A gong rang out a silvery note.

-

-"Oh, my shoes!" cried Nancy, with a peal of merry laughter. "I wanted to

-show you those pretty steps, and I forgot all about dinner."

-

-It was the work of but a few seconds for Nancy to draw on the light blue

-hose, and even less time to put on the pretty slippers. She ran to the

-mirror, and courtesied, took a few tripping steps, smiling at her

-reflection, and then hastened to the hall to join Dorothy.

-

-[Illustration: SHE TOOK A FEW TRIPPING STEPS, SMILING AT HER

-REFLECTION.--_Page 176._]

-

-"All ready," cried Nancy, springing to her feet, to follow Dorothy.

-

-A pretty pair they made as with arms about each other's waist, they

-tripped along the hall.

-

-Fair, blue-eyed Dorothy Dainty was very lovely in a pale pink frock with

-soft frillings of fine lace. Her stockings were of the same shade, and

-her shoes were white. Mrs. Dainty in dark blue satin, and Aunt Charlotte

-in pearl color made, with the two children, a pleasing group.

-

-In the lower hall they met Mrs. Paxton with Floretta, the former wearing

-a gown of purple satin, while Floretta wore a frock of scarlet silk.

-Mrs. Fenton, passing, on her way to the dining-room, looked sharply

-at the two groups, and _did_ she look amused when her eyes rested upon

-Mrs. Paxton, and her small daughter? Dorothy noticed the look, and

-turned to her mamma.

-

-Mrs. Dainty read the question in Dorothy's eyes, and ever so slightly,

-shook her head, and they passed into the dining-room.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-The next morning, when the mail was distributed, there was great

-excitement, because every one had so many letters.

-

-"See mine!" cried Flossie Barnet. "Everybody see mine! It looks like

-boy's writing. See it!"

-

-"If some very young man wrote it, he might not be delighted to have it

-so freely exhibited, Flossie," said Uncle Harry, with a laugh.

-

-"Oh, why should he care?" she asked in surprise. "Who do you s'pose

-wrote it? Guess, Uncle Harry!"

-

-"Well, now let me think," said Uncle Harry, covering his eyes with his

-hand, then peeping through his fingers.

-

-"There's a small boy at home, who glories in the name of Reginald Merton

-Deane. Open the letter, dear, and if I guessed right, you can give me a

-prize, and if I'm wrong, I'll give you one."

-

-Flossie studied the address for a moment, then she opened the letter,

-and laughed with delight.

-

-"I'll have to give you the prize, but why did he think to write to me?"

-

-Dear little Flossie had never seemed aware that small Reginald preferred

-her to any of his friends. Even when she was so little that she could

-not pronounce his name, and called him "Weginald," he thought her the

-dearest of all his playmates. And this was his letter:

-

-          "DEAR FLOSSIE:

-

-          "I miss you so much that I'm going to write, and

-          tell you all the news.

-

-          "Our old dog had a fit yesterday, and my brother

-          got the vet'nary doctor. When he came, he said

-          Carlo hadn't any fit. He was acting just awful. I

-          said 'what makes him tare round so?' an he said

-          maybe I'd tare round sum if I had a fish-bone in

-          my throat! The doctor took it out, and then Carlo

-          was so glad he tore round worsen ever!

-

-          "Arabella Corryville is acting worse than Carlo

-          did. You know her Aunt Matilda lives with them, an

-          neether Arabella, or her pa, or her ma dare to do

-          ennything without asking Aunt Matilda _first_.

-          Well, her aunt has had to go way up to New

-          Hampshur (I guess I didn't spell that rite) and

-          Arabella thinks its just her chanse to act awful.

-          Carlo is real quiet side of Arabella when she acts

-          the way she does now.

-

-          "She stays out doors most all the time, and goes

-          just where she pleases.

-

-          "Some days she's way down by the stashun until its

-          almost dark.

-

-          "You know she's always taking medesin, and carries

-          the bottles in her pockets.

-

-          "She carries em now, but she told me she's takin

-          the kind she likes best. Theres two kinds her Aunt

-          Matilda made her take, one tasted horrid, and the

-          other tasted nice. Arabella threw the horrid one

-          away, and ate the nice pills for candy. She told

-          me this morning that her Aunt Matilda is coming

-          home just for one day, and then they're all going

-          up where you, and Dorothy, and Nancy are. I don't

-          believe it, but if she does, and you see her, you

-          needn't give my love to her.

-

-                                "Your tru friend,

-                                          "REGINALD."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER X

-

-A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS

-

-

-OF course, Dorothy and Nancy were greatly interested in the letter, and

-Uncle Harry said that he was glad that Reginald had thought to say that

-the fish-bone had been removed from Carlo's throat.

-

-He said it would have seemed quite a trip to take to leave the

-Cleverton, and go to Merrivale to feel Carlo's pulse, and inquire for

-his health.

-

-"Now that that bone is removed, I breathe easier," said Uncle Harry,

-"and so does Carlo!"

-

-"Oh, you wouldn't have gone home just to call on Carlo," said Flossie.

-

-"Well, I don't know," he said, trying to look solemn, "I wouldn't like

-Carlo to feel neglected, and now I think of it, does Reginald speak of

-the cat?"

-

-"No," said Flossie, "but when I answer the letter, I'll tell Reginald

-you're anxious about her."

-

-"I am," said Uncle Harry, "because the last time I saw her, Carlo was

-barking at her very rudely, and her back was up in a hump like a

-camel's. Reginald ought to have told us if her back is _still_ up, or

-whether she has taken the kink out of her spine. We might telephone and

-ask, instead of worrying."

-

-He rose, and walked toward the hall, whistling as he went, an old

-nursery song that he used to sing to Flossie.

-

-          "The cat came fiddling out of the barn,

-           With a pair of bagpipes under her arm."

-

-How the children laughed!

-

-"Look!" said Flossie, "he's going right toward the telephone, just to

-make us think that he's _truly_ going to ring up Reginald, and inquire

-for the cat."

-

-"Who is Arabella?" Floretta asked.

-

-"She lives near us," said Dorothy, "and she used to go to Aunt

-Charlotte's private school with us."

-

-"Doesn't she now?" asked Floretta.

-

-"No, she left our class, and went to a large school in the city."

-

-"By what the letter says, I'd think she was rather queer," said

-Floretta.

-

-"Well--" said Dorothy, hesitating, "Arabella _is_ queer."

-

-"Why don't you like to say so?" was the sharp reply.

-

-"Because Dorothy never likes to say anything that isn't kind about any

-one, but Arabella _is_ queer, so Dorothy won't say she isn't," said

-Nancy.

-

-It was a few days later that Dorothy was reminded of what Reginald had

-said in his letter to Flossie.

-

-She was waiting for Nancy to go for a walk, and stooping to pick some of

-the pretty wildflowers that blossomed everywhere.

-

-She had walked slowly along toward the clump of white birches where,

-when they had first arrived, they had called, and listened to the echo.

-

-She looked back toward the hotel, but Nancy was not yet in sight, so she

-seated herself upon the grass, and began to arrange the flowers in a

-fine bouquet.

-

-She was trying to mix the white blossoms and pink buds so as to show the

-beauty of each, when a carriage passed, and before she looked up a

-shrill little voice shouted:

-

-"Dorothy! Dorothy! We're over at the farmhouse just beyond the

-Merlington. Aunt Matilda wouldn't _let_ pa take us to a hotel. She

-doesn't approve of hotels. Aunt Matilda says,--"

-

-She was looking back to shout at Dorothy, and doubtless would have given

-even more particulars, but a firm hand had hastily forced her to turn

-around, and sit down.

-

-Nancy ran along the path a few moments later, and her eyes were dancing.

-

-"Did you see Arabella?" she asked. "_Did_ you?"

-

-"Yes, just a few moments ago, and she turned around in the carriage and

-screamed to me," said Dorothy.

-

-"I can guess what she said," laughed Nancy, "because she screamed at

-me. She told me she was staying at a farmhouse, and said that her Aunt

-Matilda didn't approve of hotels."

-

-"That is _just_ what she said," said Dorothy, "and she would have said

-more but some one, I think it was her Aunt Matilda, pulled her back into

-the carriage."

-

-"Why, that's just the way it was when I saw her. I ran out on to the

-piazza, and down the steps, and the carriage rolled by, and she twisted

-round to shout. There was this difference, though," said Nancy. "You

-were out here alone, and no one would know if you laughed, but when I

-ran out, our piazza was full of people, and when Arabella shouted, you'd

-ought to have seen them look.

-

-"Flossie and her Uncle Harry were on the lawn, and as she rode past, he

-said with a sigh:

-

-          "'Arabella, Arabella,

-            If I had my new umbrella,'

-

-and I was wild to know the rest of it, but his wife, who was standing

-near him, said:

-

-"'Hush, Harry, really you mustn't,' and he only laughed, and said:

-

-"'Oh, _mustn't_ I? Why, when I saw Arabella and her Aunt Matilda, I

-really felt as if I _must_!'"

-

-"Let's ask him what the rest of the verse is," said Dorothy.

-

-"I'm wild to hear it," Nancy said, "because the very way he looked made

-me think that the other lines, whatever they were, would be funny."

-

-She stooped to gather more of the little blossoms to add to Dorothy's

-bouquet, and then commenced to make a bouquet of her own.

-

-"Arabella will be coming over to see you," she said, a moment later,

-"and I wonder if it is naughty to say, 'I wish she wouldn't?' Do you

-think it is?"

-

-"I don't know," said Dorothy, "but I _do_ wish it. I wouldn't, only she

-is so hard to please. Mamma wishes us to be nice to every one, but,

-Nancy, you _do_ know that when we try the hardest to please Arabella, we

-don't please her at all."

-

-"I know it," agreed Nancy, "but perhaps she'll come some time when we

-are out, and then we won't have to amuse her."

-

-"I'm sure I ought not to say it, but I _do_ wish it would happen that

-way," said Dorothy.

-

-They had reached the birches, and they paused to wake the echo. What fun

-it was to hear their shouts repeated.

-

-Again and again they called, and then a droll thing happened. They had

-called this name and that, and each time the echo, like a voice from the

-mountain, had repeated it with wonderful distinctness. Then Dorothy,

-leaning forward, called, loudly:

-

-"Dorothy!"

-

-"_What?_" came the reply.

-

-She turned, and looked at Nancy. "Dorothy!" she cried, again.

-

-"_Dainty!_" was the answer, and upon looking toward a little path that

-was nearly opposite where they were standing, they saw the low bushes

-move, and faintly they heard a smothered laugh.

-

-Dorothy was laughing now.

-

-"Boys!" she cried, and back came the laughing echo:

-

-"_Girls!_" and then the boys peeped out a bit too far, and Dorothy saw

-who had been playing echo.

-

-It was Jack Tiverton and a boy whom he had chosen for a "chum." Jack had

-not intended so soon to be discovered, and he and his friend disappeared

-in a little grove, while Dorothy and Nancy continued their walk.

-

-There were sunny paths and bits of woodland that were so near the hotel

-as to be absolutely safe, where all the summer guests, especially the

-children, loved to roam at will. Along one of these little paths were

-sweet little yellow blossoms, and these they gathered to brighten their

-bouquets.

-

-"Let's have some of these little vines to hang from our bouquets," said

-Dorothy, and the graceful vines proved to be an added beauty.

-

-When they returned to the Cleverton there were but few people upon the

-piazza.

-

-Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte sat talking with Mrs. Vinton, and farther

-along, Mrs. Fenton sat with an open book upon her lap, although she was

-not reading.

-

-She often had a book or magazine, but rarely did she read them.

-

-She would sit looking off at the distant mountain-range, the white

-clouds, or the sunny valley over which those clouds cast floating

-shadows.

-

-Did she hear the conversation, or notice what was going on about her?

-Floretta Paxton said that Mrs. Fenton acted as if she sat there to watch

-some one; and was Floretta right? Mrs. Fenton's actions certainly

-seemed strange day after day. She talked little, took slight interest in

-what was going on about her, and was a mystery to all the other guests.

-

-But what, or whom could she be watching?

-

-Dorothy and Nancy, returning from their walk, saw the group, and also

-noticed Mrs. Fenton, who always chose to sit apart from the others.

-

-"I'll give my flowers to mamma and Mrs. Vinton," said Dorothy.

-

-"And I'll give mine to Aunt Charlotte and to Mrs. Fenton,--if she wants

-them," said Nancy, hesitating because it was so hard to guess what

-might, or might not, please Mrs. Fenton.

-

-Dorothy ran to show her blossoms to her mamma and to Mrs. Vinton, while

-Nancy, pausing beside Mrs. Fenton's chair, held forth her pretty

-bouquet, as she said:

-

-"We've just gathered them. Aren't they pretty?"

-

-"Lovely, very lovely," said Mrs. Fenton, with more interest than usual.

-"I remember picking just such flowers; even the long vines I know are

-like those I used to see when I was a little girl."

-

-"Would you enjoy some of these? I'd so like to give them to you," Nancy

-said, and she was surprised at the quick reply.

-

-"I would really prize them, Nancy, and you're a sweet child to give them

-to me," she said.

-

-Quickly Nancy divided the bouquet, and smiled as she laid the pretty

-things in Mrs. Fenton's lap.

-

-"I cannot let them wilt, so I will take them at once to my room," said

-Mrs. Fenton, and Nancy saw her bend to catch their perfume, as she

-turned toward the hall.

-

-That night, when nearly all the guests had entered the dining-room, Mrs.

-Fenton came in at the main entrance, and as she sat nearly opposite Mrs.

-Dainty's party, they noticed that the bodice of her black lace gown was

-given color by the pretty wildflowers that Nancy had given her. They

-were the first flowers that she had worn since her arrival.

-

-Nancy smiled with pleasure, and Mrs. Fenton, looking across the table,

-returned the smile.

-

-Had the gift of simple wildflowers cheered her?

-

-Thus far she had worn only black, but to-night a dull gold slip

-shimmered through the black lace; and were her eyes brighter?

-

-Nancy thought so, and without knowing why, was glad.

-

-There was a musicale in the evening, and Mrs. Fenton joined Mrs. Dainty

-and Aunt Charlotte, and seemed to enjoy the conversation, between the

-numbers of the program.

-

-Once, while she was talking, she laid her hand lightly upon Nancy's

-shoulder, and Nancy looked up to smile. Aunt Charlotte saw that the lady

-was more cheerful, and also noticed that she wore Nancy's flowers. The

-evening passed pleasantly, and Nancy's drowsy words, just before she

-went to sleep, were:

-

-"I do really think I cheered her."

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-A few days later Mrs. Dainty invited Mrs. Fenton to be her guest during

-a drive over a lovely road that neither of them had yet seen. It was

-said to be one of the most picturesque roads in that section of the

-country.

-

-Mrs. Fenton accepted, and with Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Vinton they

-formed a pleasant party.

-

-Dorothy and Nancy were to drive in their little phaeton, and they felt

-quite as important as the four ladies in the barouche.

-

-True, Mrs. Dainty owned a handsome span of bays, but was not the pony,

-Romeo, a beauty?

-

-The road was some distance from the Cleverton, and there were some

-charming places to be seen on the way, so it happened that the trip,

-which proved to be most enjoyable, occupied the afternoon.

-

-Mrs. Paxton had a number of letters to write, and Floretta, feeling very

-lonely, and wishing that she had some one to play with, climbed into a

-hammock, and wondered what she might do to amuse herself.

-

-"Every one but me has gone somewhere, and I wish _I_ had," she said, as

-she gave a smart kick that sent the hammock higher.

-

-"What's the fun of swinging alone?" she grumbled, but there was no one

-on the piazza to answer her, and she let the hammock sway lazily while

-she looked down the sunny road, and thought how strange it was that the

-place seemed so still.

-

-Not a leaf stirred, and Floretta's disgust increased.

-

-"Nothing in sight, not even an old hen," she said, when, way down where

-the road looked so narrow and distant, a little figure appeared, coming

-directly toward the Cleverton. She watched the approaching figure, and

-wondered who it might be.

-

-"'Tisn't any one I know," she thought, "and _doesn't_ she look queer?"

-

-Any one who had ever known Arabella Corryville would also have known

-that she always looked decidedly odd and strange, and it was Arabella

-who was marching steadily along the road.

-

-So determined was her tread that one might have thought that there was a

-band behind her playing martial music to which she was obliged to keep

-step.

-

-"Well, whoever she is, she's carrying an umbrella, this pleasant day,"

-murmured Floretta; then as she came near, she added:

-

-"And wearing rubbers and a raincoat, as true as I live!"

-

-Arabella was more bundled and wrapped than at first appeared, for, as

-she came up the gravel walk, Floretta saw that a long veil was closely

-tied over her hat, and wound about her throat.

-

-From her appearance one might have thought that she expected freezing

-weather before night.

-

-She walked up on to the piazza, and then stood, for a moment, looking

-about, as if in search of some one.

-

-It was not politeness that prompted Floretta to speak. It was simply

-curiosity. She was wild to know who the strange-looking child was, and

-whom she wished to see.

-

-"Are you looking for some one?" she asked, at the same time slipping

-from the hammock, and going so close to Arabella that she could peep

-into the queer little face.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XI

-

-ARABELLA MAKES A CALL

-

-

-ARABELLA peered at Floretta through her spectacles, and was tempted not

-to reply, but after a moment's pause she changed her mind.

-

-"I came to see Dorothy Dainty, and Nancy Ferris," she said.

-

-"They're out driving," said Floretta.

-

-"How do you know?" Arabella asked, rudely.

-

-"Because I heard them say they were going, and because I saw them go,"

-was the quick reply.

-

-"It's a long way over here, and now I've got to take the same walk

-back," said Arabella.

-

-"They're going to be out all the afternoon," said Floretta, "but why

-don't you sit down, and rest a while before you go back?"

-

-It sounded kind, and Arabella at once seated herself, while Floretta sat

-near her.

-

-She thought it would be great fun to question this odd child, and there

-was no one near to check her.

-

-"Aren't you nearly roasted in that raincoat?" she asked.

-

-"Well, I'm not chilly," said Arabella, fixing her sharp eyes upon the

-other little girl.

-

-"Did you think it was going to rain?" was the next question. "You've

-rubbers, and umbrella."

-

-Floretta barely managed to hide the fact that she wanted to laugh. Her

-question seemed so absurd with the blue sky overhead, and the sunshine

-everywhere.

-

-"I didn't want to wear them," said Arabella, "and I told Aunt Matilda it

-was too pleasant to rain, but she said you never could tell, and she

-said, too, that I could wear them, or stay at home, so what could I do?"

-

-"_I'd_ have stayed at home," said Floretta, bluntly. "I wouldn't wear

-raincoat and rubbers, and lug an umbrella for any Aunt Matilda or Aunt

-Jemima!"

-

-"Who is Aunt Jemima?" Arabella asked, stupidly.

-

-"I don't know," said Floretta, sharply, "but then, I don't know your

-Aunt Matilda."

-

-She longed to say that she did not want to, but for once she did not

-quite dare to say what she thought.

-

-Then there was an awkward pause. Floretta could not think what to say

-next, while Arabella did not try.

-

-Silence never made her uneasy. She could stare at any one who sat

-opposite her, for a half-hour, without so much as winking, and it rather

-amused her if the other person became nervous, and wriggled uneasily

-beneath her persistent stare. At last Floretta spoke.

-

-"You might take some of those things off," she said; "you won't need

-them while you stay."

-

-"Aunt Matilda told me not to," said Arabella, "and if I _did_, it would

-be just my luck to have her come right by here, and see me with them

-off. My! _Wouldn't_ she be angry?"

-

-Arabella's eyes dilated as she asked the question.

-

-"Does your Aunt Matilda poke 'round after you like that?" asked

-Floretta.

-

-"She doesn't ever _seem_ to follow me, but all the same, she's always

-catching me doing something."

-

-"Then you _do_ risk doing what she tells you not to," said Floretta,

-with a saucy laugh.

-

-"Look here!" cried Arabella, "I don't know you, but I'm going to tell

-you something. I can't do one single thing I want to, neither can my

-papa or mamma. Aunt Matilda is little, and my papa is big. He says he

-was centre-rush on the college football team, but when Aunt Matilda

-tells him what to do, he says, 'Yes'm,' and does it. One of our

-neighbors at home says Aunt Matilda holds the purse-strings, but I don't

-know what that means. Her purse hasn't any strings on it."

-

-"Well, if it _had_, I'd cut 'em off," said Floretta, "so she _couldn't_

-hold 'em."

-

-"You wouldn't if she lived at _your_ house," said Arabella.

-

-Floretta, in spite of her boldness, was more than half convinced.

-

-"Well,--perhaps I wouldn't," she said. "Why, what are you taking?"

-

-"Pills," said Arabella, counting out six very pink pills from a little

-bottle, and taking them, then making a horrid face.

-

-"You don't look sick," said Floretta, "but you're taking medicine."

-

-"Aunt Matilda says these are for my color," was the answer.

-

-"You haven't any; you're pale as a sheet," said Floretta.

-

-"That's why I take them," said Arabella, "and look! I've got some green

-ones I take," and six green pills followed the pink ones.

-

-"Why, what are those for?" gasped Floretta. "Ought you to take two kinds

-at the same time?"

-

-Arabella, determined to startle her new acquaintance, took a third

-bottle from her pocket, and swallowed three very large white pills.

-

-She was delighted with the effect that she had produced.

-

-Floretta sprang to her feet, and tried to snatch the bottle, but

-Arabella had put it in her pocket, and was holding the pocket together.

-

-She narrowed her shrewd little eyes, and smiled broadly.

-

-"Guess you couldn't take all that, and not feel queer!" she said.

-

-"I wouldn't wonder if you felt funny. _Do_ you?" asked Floretta.

-

-"Not _yet_," said Arabella.

-

-Floretta was getting tired of her caller. She hoped that she hadn't any

-more kinds of medicine that she could take.

-

-She wished that Dorothy would return and amuse Arabella.

-

-She would have run away from any one else, and rudely left her alone,

-but there was something so strange about this child that she feared her.

-

-She had a nervous feeling that if she turned to leave her, Arabella

-might snatch at her, and draw her back. She certainly did look odd.

-

-There was something catlike in the way in which she kept her eyes

-riveted upon Floretta.

-

-She looked as if, at any moment, she might spring at her!

-

-She was not thinking of doing anything of the sort, however.

-

-The truth was that she _did_ feel just a bit queer.

-

-Was it the three kinds of pills? She could not tell, but she began to

-feel as if she would be glad if she were at home.

-

-"I guess I'll go now," she said. "I think it must be time."

-

-"What time did your Aunt Matilda tell you to come home?" Floretta asked.

-

-"She said I could stay to dinner if Dorothy asked me, but she doesn't

-come home, so I guess I won't wait."

-

-"Go to dinner at the Cleverton in that plaid gingham!" thought Floretta,

-for she had seen the plain little frock beneath the raincoat.

-

-[Illustration: SHE OFFERED TWO CARDS TO FLORETTA.--_Page 210._]

-

-Arabella grasped her big umbrella firmly, and turned, as she went down

-the steps, to say:

-

-"You may tell Dorothy Dainty that _Miss_ Corryville called."

-

-Floretta giggled.

-

-"And you might tell your Aunt Matilda that you talked with _Miss_

-Paxton," she said.

-

-"I will," said Arabella, without a sign of a smile.

-

-"I wonder you don't leave cards," said Floretta, and to her surprise,

-the queer child put her hand in the pocket of her raincoat, and, without

-looking at them, offered two cards to Floretta, saying:

-

-"There they are."

-

-Then, without looking back, she marched resolutely down the road. She

-did not thank Floretta for talking with her while she rested, nor did

-she say "good-by."

-

-For some moments Floretta stood watching the odd little figure as it

-tramped down the road, the umbrella, like a huge walking stick, thumping

-the gravel at every step. She thought Arabella would turn around, but

-she did not.

-

-One might have thought that she had already forgotten the child with

-whom she had been talking. When, at last, she disappeared behind a clump

-of trees that hid the curve of the road, Floretta looked at the two

-cards in her hand, stared at them in amazement, and then laughed,

-laughed until her eyes were full of tears.

-

-Who could have helped laughing? One card bore these lines:

-

-             JAMES HORTON WORTH,

-             PAINLESS DENTISTRY,

-          10 TREVOR STREET, MERRIVALE.

-

-While the other, equally interesting, bore this statement:

-

-              ALTON JUSTUS MEER,

-                  JEWELLER,

-          90 RUPERT ROAD, MERRIVALE.

-

-"How perfectly funny," cried Floretta. "I'll run up and show them to

-mamma, and then I'll wait here to give them to Dorothy and Nancy when

-they come. I wonder if they'll have any choice?"

-

-Dorothy and Nancy felt, as did the older members of the party, that the

-ride had been the most delightful of any that they had enjoyed since

-their arrival.

-

-The horses were tossing their manes, and Romeo, as if in imitation,

-tossed his so that it showed all its silken beauty.

-

-"See him!" cried Dorothy. "He thinks he's as fine as any horse."

-

-"Well, he is as dear as they," said Nancy.

-

-"Oh, yes," said Dorothy, "and dearer."

-

-And when the horses and the pony had been led around to the stable, and

-the older members of the party had reached the piazza, Dorothy and

-Nancy, who had paused for a moment to talk, ran up the steps, intending

-to sit together in a large rocker.

-

-Before they reached the chair, Floretta flew toward them.

-

-"You had a funny caller while you were out driving," she said, with a

-giggle, "and she was so very fashionable that she left these cards. She

-told me to tell you that _Miss_ Corryville had called."

-

-"It was Arabella," said Nancy.

-

-"Did she truly say '_Miss_?'" Dorothy asked.

-

-"Well, didn't I _say_ so?" Floretta asked rudely; "and I told her to

-tell her Aunt Matilda that she talked with _Miss_ Paxton, and she said

-she would. She waited a long time for you to come home, because she said

-she meant to stay to dinner with you. Say! She had on a calico dress!

-Wouldn't she have looked gay?"

-

-"It isn't very kind to laugh at any one's clothes," said Dorothy, "and

-it's not very nice to laugh at other people's friends."

-

-"Pooh!" cried Floretta, "I shall laugh at whoever I please," and she

-turned and ran up to her room.

-

-But she had laughed once too often! During the ride, Mrs. Fenton had

-spoken of Floretta's rude ways, and of the day when, upon following

-Nancy to the dining-room, she had caught the provoking child in the act

-of mimicking her.

-

-"Your little Nancy was grieved and distressed because she knew that I

-saw it. What a difference there is in children! The Paxton child is

-disgusting, while Nancy, who, I have heard, was a little waif, is as

-gentle as Dorothy, who was born the little daughter of a fine, old

-family."

-

-Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty had told Mrs. Fenton something of Nancy's

-life, and noticed how deeply interested she seemed to be.

-

-Mrs. Paxton had realized that ever since the day that Floretta had told

-of being caught mimicking Mrs. Fenton for the amusement of the

-waitresses and maids, Mrs. Fenton had shunned them. She had made

-desperate efforts to win Mrs. Fenton's friendship, but never very

-successfully, as she found that her little daughter's silly act had

-rendered any intimacy quite impossible.

-

-A few days after the ride, Mrs. Fenton did not appear at lunch, or at

-dinner, and when Mrs. Paxton, with elaborate interest, inquired for her,

-she learned that the lady had left very early that morning, before any

-guests were on the piazza to see her depart.

-

-It certainly did seem odd that she should have left, without a word to

-those whom she had known, but Mrs. Dainty, with her customary good

-taste, made no comment, and Aunt Charlotte Grayson was equally silent.

-

-Mrs. Paxton did just as one might have expected. She expressed, in a

-very loud voice, her disgust at being thus pointedly slighted, for so

-she chose to feel.

-

-"After all my friendliness, I can't see how she could leave the

-Cleverton without so much as a word to me. Why, I felt almost like a

-relative, as my name was Fenton before I married!"

-

-"I guess Mrs. Fenton didn't have what you might call a family feeling,"

-said old Mr. Cunningham, which so angered Mrs. Paxton that she politely

-turned her back.

-

-Two letters arrived at the Cleverton that afternoon, and it would be

-difficult to say which caused the greater surprise.

-

-Mrs. Paxton told the contents of hers to all who would listen, and there

-were enough who were curious, to make a good audience.

-

-"TO MRS. CLARA FENTON PAXTON:" it began, refraining from any endearing

-terms.

-

-"I knew, before I met you, that you and your small daughter were related

-to my husband, and also knew that he entertained no admiration for you.

-He left his entire estate to me, and as you were but a distant relative,

-you could expect no inheritance. However, with a determination to deal

-fairly with all my kin (I have but three such), I came to the Cleverton

-to see you and your little daughter, intending, if she proved

-sweet-tempered and attractive, to will my property to her. She is the

-only one of the three relatives who bears my husband's name.

-

-"I do not wish to be harsh, but I am forced to admit that I find her to

-be bold, naturally unkind, and wholly lacking in the grace and courtesy

-which most children possess, either by training or inheritance.

-

-"I, therefore, have made my will in favor of Nancy Ferris, once a little

-waif, now a sweet, gentle, and attractive child, whose little acts of

-courtesy and kindness are fully appreciated by

-

-                                     "Her friend,

-                                         "CECILIA CULLEN FENTON."

-

-"A most singular woman, to leave her property to a waif, a child of the

-theatre, and not bequeath so much as a penny to my Floretta, whom _any_

-one could see is an aristocrat," said Mrs. Paxton.

-

-"Mrs. Fenton, or anybody else, would need some rather strong glasses to

-see _that_!" muttered Mr. Cunningham.

-

-He was a testy old fellow, and he, like other guests of the hotel, had

-become exceedingly tired of Mrs. Paxton and her unlovely child.

-

-The other letter gave surprise and delight to the two who had shared in

-the care and training of little Nancy.

-

-"TO MRS. RUDOLPH DAINTY, AND TO MRS. CHARLOTTE GRAYSON,

-

-"DEAR FRIENDS:--" was its greeting, and then followed the story of the

-writer's visit to the Cleverton, and the statement that her few

-relatives were too distant to have any valid claim to her estate.

-

-"I was greatly displeased with the two of my kin whom I came to observe,

-and I will not dwell upon that, but, instead, will take this time to say

-that Dorothy Dainty and Nancy Ferris, are the two dearest children that

-it has been my pleasure to know.

-

-"Dorothy's life has been sunny, and Nancy's story, as you told it to me,

-appealed to me, and I looked with even greater interest at the child

-who, under your loving care, had blossomed like a lovely flower.

-

-"Dorothy has her parents, and will inherit a fortune. Nancy has no

-parents, and I know, will be kindly cared for by you, but that fact

-will not deter me from making a bequest that gives me greatest pleasure.

-

-"I shall leave all of my estate to Nancy Ferris, and I remind her, in

-some little verses that I enclose, how deeply I have appreciated her

-many little kindnesses.

-

-

-TO NANCY

-

-          "Dear little girl, I know that you will daily

-           Do loving acts of kindness, and of cheer,

-           Thus urging life to sing its song more gaily

-           And making friendship lasting and more dear.

-

-          "I felt your charm, dear child, I saw how sweetly

-           You gave your kindness, with no thought of gain.

-           I give you a reward, and how completely

-           I joy in giving, words cannot explain."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XII

-

-A SERENADE

-

-

-JACK TIVERTON stood in the lower hall one morning, and appeared as if

-waiting for some one. In his hand was a short switch that he had cut

-from a shrub that grew beside the driveway. Often he looked up the

-staircase, and then, as no one appeared, he would continue to strike at

-the flies that flew past the doorway.

-

-At last he heard merry voices upon the landing, and then Dorothy and

-Nancy came hurrying down the stairs.

-

-"Good morning!" they called, but Jack, in his eagerness to ask

-questions, forgot to return their greeting.

-

-"Say!" he cried, "do you know that Mrs. Paxton and Floretta left this

-morning before breakfast?"

-

-No, the little girls did not know that.

-

-"Well, they have. I saw them go, and I'm glad. Floretta was fun to play

-with, but she wasn't fair. She'd get me to do things, and then if we got

-caught, she'd always say I planned it," said Jack.

-

-Dorothy tried to think of something kind to say of Floretta, but she

-knew that what Jack said was true. Floretta truly was not in the habit

-of playing "fair."

-

-"Her mamma said something queer just as she was going off. She was

-talking to a lady, I don't know what her name is, and Mrs. Paxton said:

-

-"'Well, Dorothy Dainty has always seemed to be fond of Nancy, but now

-that Nancy is to have a _fortune_, shell love her a deal more than she

-ever did before.'"

-

-And now Dorothy spoke, her blue eyes flashing, and her cheeks flushed.

-

-"That's not true!" she cried. "That's not true! I've always loved Nancy,

-and always will. I'd love her if she had just nothing at all! Nothing

-could make any difference. I love her all I can. Nancy knows that. Every

-one knows that."

-

-How keenly she felt Mrs. Paxton's silly speech!

-

-She was indignant that any one should think her love for Nancy so little

-worth while that fortune could make it stronger.

-

-How could she love Nancy more than she had always loved her?

-

-Nancy threw her arms about her, and drew her closer.

-

-"Don't you mind, Dorothy," she said, "_I_ know how truly you love me.

-Mrs. Paxton didn't know, because I guess she couldn't understand it.

-_She_ couldn't love the way you do."

-

-Dorothy smiled through the tears that had filled her eyes.

-

-"There's no one dearer than you, Nancy," she said.

-

-Jack swung his switch at a dragon-fly that flew past the doorway.

-

-"Did you see that darning-needle?" he asked.

-

-"Well," he continued, without waiting for an answer, "I was down the

-road a few days ago, trying to catch some of those big steel-colored

-ones in my fly-net. I hadn't seen any one after I left this piazza, but

-just as I swung my net round to catch the dragon-fly, somebody said:

-'Look out, or you'll get bitten!' and I turned round, but no one was in

-sight. I was just going to swing my net again, when some one giggled,

-and then I saw a little skinny girl looking at me from between some

-bushes."

-

-"What was she doing?" Dorothy asked.

-

-"You couldn't guess if you tried for a month!" said Jack.

-

-"She was sitting on a big stone, beside a big puddle that was left there

-after the shower. She said she was playing she was a frog, and when she

-stared at me through her glasses, and smiled, no, _grinned_ at me, I

-couldn't help thinking she looked like one. Say, she had on a green

-cloak, a regular frog-color."

-

-"It must have been _Arabella_!" said Nancy.

-

-"I don't know what her name was. I didn't ask her, but while I watched

-her she hopped off the stone into the puddle with both feet, and cried,

-'po-dunk!' just like an old bullfrog. My! Weren't her shoes wet!"

-

-"I wonder what her Aunt Matilda said when she went home with wet feet,"

-said Dorothy.

-

-Without noticing what she said, Jack continued.

-

-"I never saw such a queer girl!" he said, in disgust, "for when I told

-her dragonflies would never bite, she said: 'They will. They'll sew your

-eyes, and nose, and mouth up. Po-dunk!' and she hopped back on to the

-stone, and grinned at me just as she did at first. Say! She made me feel

-queer to look at her, and I turned and ran away. I wasn't afraid of her,

-of course, but she _did_ make me feel queer!"

-

-"She'd make any one feel queer," said Nancy as they turned toward the

-dining-room.

-

-Jack wished that they might have stayed longer in the hall. He had

-intended to ask them if they knew Arabella, and if she was always doing

-queer things, but Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte joined them, and they

-went in for breakfast.

-

-Mrs. Tiverton, coming in from an early walk, took Jack with her to the

-other side of the dining-room. He looked across at them, and wondered

-what they could have told of Arabella if they had had a chance. He

-decided to question them, whispering softly to himself:

-

-"I'll _make_ them tell me all they know about that funny girl."

-

-For several days he tried to catch Dorothy or Nancy at a time when he

-could question them.

-

-He chased Dorothy up the long stairway one morning, only to see her

-disappear into her room. He had not told her that he had wished to talk

-with her, and she, believing that he was only chasing her for fun, ran

-from him, laughing as she went.

-

-He found Nancy, a few minutes later, and coaxed her to wait on the

-landing.

-

-"Now, Nancy," he said, "you've got to tell me something about that queer

-girl that you and Dorothy know."

-

-"If you mean Arabella," said Nancy, "I don't see what I could tell you,

-only that she _is_ queer, and you know that now."

-

-"You'll better believe I know it!" cried Jack, "for I met her again

-yesterday, and guess what she was doing!"

-

-"Oh, I couldn't," said Nancy. "No one ever could guess what Arabella

-Corryville would do."

-

-"Well, she looked like a witch, and acted like one, too," Jack replied.

-"It was yesterday that I saw her. I was going across the field, and had

-nearly reached the wall, when I looked up, and saw her sitting on the

-top bar of the--the--oh, the place where they take down the bars to let

-the cattle through."

-

-"I know where you mean," said Nancy, "but why was it strange that she

-was sitting there?"

-

-"It was what she was doing that was funny," Jack replied, "and because

-you couldn't guess, I'll tell you.

-

-"She didn't look toward me, though I'm sure she must have heard me

-coming, for I was just tramping along, and whistling all the way. She

-was looking up at the clouds, and counting, 'one--two--three--' very

-slowly, and when I was close behind her, she said:

-

-"'Hush--sh--sh! I'm charming the crows!'

-

-"'How long does it take to do it?' I said, for it sounded like nonsense,

-and I wanted to hurry. It was almost lunch time.

-

-"'Hush--sh!' she said again. 'There comes one of them now!' and sure

-enough a big, black crow did come flying right down, and perched on the

-limb of an old tree near her."

-

-"Why, Jack Tiverton," cried Nancy, "you don't believe Arabella really

-_made_ him come down, do you?"

-

-"Of course not," cried Jack, "but she wanted me to think so. Say! She

-said she was saying a charm, and when I asked her what it was, she

-wouldn't tell me. She said it would spoil the charm to tell it. She

-looked funny sitting up there on the top rail, and staring at the crows

-till her eyes watered. She didn't look like a 'charmer.' She looked

-ever so much more like a scarecrow!"

-

-"Oh, Jack, it's horrid to say that!" cried Nancy, at the same time

-trying not to let him see how near she was to laughing.

-

-"Well, she _did_!" Jack insisted, "and you're almost laughing now, Nancy

-Ferris, and you'd have screamed if you'd seen her roosting there, and

-calling herself a charmer! Why, that old crow just flopped down there

-for fun, and when he saw the queer-looking girl, he cawed as if it made

-him mad, and I didn't blame him. Say! She had a shoe on one foot, and a

-slipper on the other. Her apron was put on back-side-to, and she had a

-hen's feather in each hand, and she waved them up and down while she

-mumbled some kind of a verse. She said her clothes were put on that way

-to help the charm. Isn't she a _ninny_?"

-

-Just at that moment, before Nancy could reply, Mrs. Tiverton called

-Jack, and Nancy ran to tell the story of Arabella's latest freak to

-Dorothy.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-One afternoon, a number of little girls were sitting on the piazza at

-the Cleverton, and their merry voices attracted Jack Tiverton, who

-glanced up from the book that he was reading, and then, because he was

-curious to know what so interested them, crossed the piazza, and joined

-the group.

-

-Dorothy and Nancy, in the big hammock, held the book of fairy tales,

-Flossie Barnet sat near them, while the others, all little guests at the

-hotel, sat upon the railing, or in the large rockers that stood near.

-

-Jack joined the row perched upon the railing.

-

-"Tell a fellow what you are all talking about, will you? Will you,

-_please_, I mean?" he asked.

-

-"Dorothy Dainty has been reading us a lovely story," said a little girl,

-whose merry eyes showed that she had enjoyed it.

-

-"What's it about?" Jack asked, and then, "Oh, _fairy_ tales!" he said.

-

-"Don't you like fairy tales?" Flossie questioned, looking up at him.

-

-No one liked to differ with dear little Flossie, least of all, Jack

-Tiverton.

-

-"Oh, I like them _some_," he said, awkwardly, "but,--are there any

-stories about bandits or pirates in that book?"

-

-"Oh, no," they cried, in a laughing chorus, "and there aren't any wild

-Indians in it, either."

-

-"I don't care much about Indian stories," Jack replied, "but I do like

-to read about pirates."

-

-"But just hear what this one was about," said Nancy.

-

-"The wandering prince had, for years, been searching for a lovely

-princess, who should look like a beautiful picture that hung in his

-father's palace. One day he came to a castle where the people told him a

-handsome princess was imprisoned, and he asked why she was kept there.

-They told him that she was enchanted, and that some day, a wandering

-prince would sing beneath her window, and then the spell would be

-broken, and she would be free."

-

-Jack was interested.

-

-"But s'posing he couldn't sing?" he asked.

-

-"Oh, a prince could surely sing!" said Flossie.

-

-"And p'raps he could sing under her window, if he couldn't anywhere

-else," ventured a dreamy-eyed little girl who sat near Dorothy.

-

-"And how would he know _what_ to sing?" a cheery voice questioned, and a

-pair of merry eyes peered over the piazza railing.

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "what difference would it make?"

-

-"All the difference in the world," declared Uncle Harry, "for while the

-proper melody would set the princess free, how are we to know that the

-wrong melody might not chain her closer than before!"

-

-"Why, the story doesn't say that," said Nancy.

-

-"Perhaps not, but the prince took an _awful_ risk when he chose what to

-sing," declared Uncle Harry.

-

-"You're laughing when you say it," said Dorothy.

-

-"He is," agreed Flossie, "and what he says is funny, but I know this:

-I'd love to hear some one singing under _my_ window!"

-

-Some ladies, who sat near enough to hear the conversation, were amused

-at the children's enthusiasm, and at Uncle Harry's evident interest.

-

-"The prince had his guitar slung over his shoulder by a ribbon," said

-Dorothy. "See the picture," and she slipped from the hammock, and

-offered the book that he might see the illustration.

-

-"I'm glad he carried his guitar instead of a banjo," he said.

-

-"Why are you glad of that?" Flossie asked.

-

-"Oh, because I really _am_, in fact, I might even say I am delighted,"

-he replied.

-

-"I do believe he intends to serenade those children," said a handsome

-woman, to her friend who sat beside her; "he is a brilliant man, and one

-who is blessed with many talents, and one of his greatest charms is his

-love of children. He will go far out of his way to afford them a bit of

-fun."

-

-That evening, when nearly every one had left the piazza, and all of the

-children were in their rooms, the soft twanging of guitar strings

-floated up toward Flossie's window.

-

-She was not yet asleep, and she sat up in bed, and listened.

-

-Yes, it was a guitar! Was it Uncle Harry's?

-

-A little prelude softly played, drew her toward the window.

-

-She crept closer, and peeped out. Yes, there he was, looking right up

-toward her window.

-

-Now his fine voice was softly singing, and Flossie held her breath.

-

-          "Under thy window, my little lady,

-           Under thy window, Flossie dear,

-           Here where the moonbeams softly flicker,

-           Sing I this song that you may hear.

-

-          "Moonlight, and starlight weave enchantment,

-           Yet shall my song your freedom bring,

-           You shall be happy little lady,

-           Give me your love for the song I sing."

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry, you have it _now_!" cried Flossie. "I love you, when

-you're singing, and _all_ the time."

-

-"I know that, dear little girl, but I _must_ have my fun, so I came here

-to sing the song I made for you," he said gently.

-

-"Well, you're _dear_," she cried, "and I'll throw you a kiss," and she

-did, reaching far out of the window that he might surely see her.

-

-"I caught it!" he cried, and as he turned toward the porch, she heard

-him softly strumming the prelude again.

-

-Others had heard the pretty song, for Dorothy and Nancy had a room next

-to Flossie's.

-

-The next morning he was coaxed and teased to sing the song again, but he

-declared that he could only sing it in the moonlight, that the daylight

-would spoil its effect.

-

-The sunny days sped on wings, and soon the guests began to think of

-turning homeward.

-

-Mrs. Dainty's party and the Barnets were to leave the hotel at the same

-time, and Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie were delighted that they were to

-take the return trip together.

-

-They were talking of the pleasures that they were looking forward to,

-and telling of some delightful events that were already planned, when

-Jack Tiverton gave them a genuine surprise.

-

-"Mamma has just told me something fine," he said, "and I ran right down

-to tell it to you."

-

-"Oh, tell it quick!" said Flossie.

-

-"We're going to live in Merrivale, and we'll be there soon after we

-leave here. I'm glad. Are you, _all_ of you?" he asked.

-

-"Of course we're glad," said Dorothy and Nancy; and Flossie hastened to

-add:

-

-"Every one of us is glad."

-

-There were bright days, and many pleasures in store for the little

-friends, and those who would like also to enjoy them, and to know what

-happened during the winter, may read of all this in

-

-                       "Dorothy Dainty's Holidays."

-

-

-

-

-THE DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES

-

-By AMY BROOKS

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by the Author

-

-Price, $1.00 each

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          _Dorothy Dainty_

-          _Dorothy's Playmates_

-          _Dorothy Dainty at School_

-          _Dorothy Dainty at the Shore_

-          _Dorothy Dainty in the City_

-          _Dorothy Dainty at Home_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Gay Times_

-          _Dorothy Dainty in the Country_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Winter_

-          _Dorothy Dainty in the Mountains_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Holidays_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Vacation_

-

-          "LITTLE DOROTHY DAINTY is one of the most

-          generous-hearted of children. Selfishness is not

-          at all a trait of hers, and she knows the value of

-          making sunshine, not alone in her own heart, but

-          for her neighborhood and friends."--_Boston

-          Courier._

-

-          "DOROTHY DAINTY, a little girl, the only child of

-          wealthy parents, is an exceedingly interesting

-          character, and her earnest and interesting life is

-          full of action and suitable

-          adventure."--_Pittsburg Christian Advocate._

-

-          "No finer little lady than DOROTHY DAINTY was ever

-          placed in a book for children."--_Teachers'

-          Journal, Pittsburg._

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          "MISS BROOKS is a popular writer for the very

-          little folks who can read. She has an immense

-          sympathy for the children, and her stories never

-          fail to be amusing."--_Rochester (N.Y.) Herald._

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-_THE PRUE BOOKS_

-

-By AMY BROOKS

-

-Illustrated by the Author 12mo Cloth Price, $1.00 each

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CUNNING little Prue, one of the most winsome little girls ever "put in a

-book," has already been met in another series where she gave no small

-part of the interest. She well deserved books of her own for little

-girls of her age, and they are now ready with everything in the way of

-large, clear type, and Miss Brooks's best pictures and her pleasing

-cover designs to make them attractive.

-

-          _Little Sister Prue_

-          _Prue at School_

-          _Prue's Playmates_

-          _Prue's Merry Times_

-          _Prue's Little Friends_

-          _Prue's Jolly Winter_

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          "Miss Brooks always brings out the best ways of

-          acting and living and provides a good deal of

-          humor in her original country

-          characters.--_Watchman, Boston._

-

-          "Few writers have ever possessed the faculty of

-          reaching the hearts and holding the interest of

-          little girl readers to the extent Miss Brooks

-          has."--_Kennebec Journal_, _Augusta, Me._

-

-          "To know Prue is to love her, for no more winsome

-          little girl was ever put in a book, and her keen

-          wit and unexpected drolleries make her doubly

-          attractive."--_Kindergarten Magazine._

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt

-          of price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-_THE RANDY BOOKS_

-

-_By AMY BROOKS_

-

-          12mo CLOTH ARTISTIC COVER DESIGN IN GOLD AND COLORS

-          ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR PRICE $1.00 EACH

-

-[Illustration]

-

-The progress of the "Randy Books" has been one continual triumph over

-the hearts of girls of all ages, for dear little fun-loving sister Prue

-is almost as much a central figure as Randy, growing toward womanhood

-with each book. The sterling good sense and simple naturalness of Randy,

-and the total absence of slang and viciousness, make these books in the

-highest degree commendable, while abundant life is supplied by the

-doings of merry friends, and there is rich humor in the droll rural

-characters.

-

-          _Randy's Summer_

-          _Randy's Winter_

-          _Randy and Her Friends_

-          _Randy and Prue_

-          _Randy's Good Times_

-          _Randy's Luck_

-          _Randy's Loyalty_

-          _Randy's Prince_

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          "The Randy Books are among the very choicest books

-          for young people to make a beginning with."

-                                       --_Boston Courier._

-

-          "The Randy Books of Amy Brooks have had a deserved

-          popularity among young girls. They are wholesome

-          and moral without being goody-goody."

-                                         --_Chicago Post._

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-Only Dollie

-

-By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha Davidson Square 12mo Cloth $1.00

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-THIS is a brightly written story of a girl of twelve, who, when the

-mystery of her birth is solved, like Cinderella, passes from drudgery to

-better circumstances. There is nothing strained or unnatural at any

-point. All descriptions or portrayals of character are life-like, and

-the book has an indescribable appealing quality which wins sympathy and

-secures success.

-

-          "It is delightful reading at all times."--_Cedar

-          Rapids (Ia.) Republican._

-

-          "It is well written, the story runs smoothly, the

-          idea is good, and it is handled with

-          ability.--_Chicago Journal._

-

-

-

-The Little Girl Next Door

-

-By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00

-

-

-A DELIGHTFUL story of true and genuine friendship between an impulsive

-little girl in a fine New York home and a little blind girl in an

-apartment next door. The little girl's determination to cultivate the

-acquaintance, begun out of the window during a rainy day, triumphs over

-the barriers of caste, and the little blind girl proves to be in every

-way a worthy companion. Later a mystery of birth is cleared up, and the

-little blind girl proves to be of gentle birth as well as of gentle

-manners.

-

-

-

-

-Winifred's Neighbors

-

-By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha G. Davidson Large 12mo Cloth $1.00

-

-[Illustration]

-

-LITTLE Winifred's efforts to find some children of whom she reads in a

-book lead to the acquaintance of a neighbor of the same name, and this

-acquaintance proves of the greatest importance to Winifred's own family.

-Through it all she is just such a little girl as other girls ought to

-know, and the story will hold the interest of all ages.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt

-          of price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD Co., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-The Children on the Top Floor

-

-By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-IN this book little Winifred Hamilton, the child heroine of "Winifred's

-Neighbors," reappears, living in the second of the four stories of a New

-York apartment house. On the top floor are two very interesting

-children, Betty, a little older than Winifred, who is now ten, and Jack,

-a brave little cripple, who is a year younger. In the end comes a glad

-reunion, and also other good fortune for crippled Jack, and Winifred's

-kind little heart has once more indirectly caused great happiness to

-others.

-

-

-

-

-How Barbara Kept Her Promise

-

-By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00

-

-

-TWO orphan sisters, Barbara, aged twelve, and little Hazel, who is "only

-eight," are sent from their early home in London to their mother's

-family in New York. Faithful Barbara has promised her father that she

-will take care of pretty, petted, mischievous Hazel, and how she tries

-to do this, even in the face of great difficulties, forms the story

-which has the happy ending which Miss Rhoades wisely gives to all her

-stories.

-

-

-

-

-Little Miss Rosamond

-

-By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha G. Davidson Large 12mo Cloth $1.00

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-ROSAMOND lives in Richmond, Va., with her big brother, who cannot give

-her all the comfort that she needs in the trying hot weather, and she

-goes to the seaside cottage of an uncle whose home is in New York. Here

-she meets Gladys and Joy, so well known in a previous book, "The Little

-Girl Next Door," and after some complications are straightened out,

-bringing Rosamond's honesty and kindness of heart into prominence, all

-are made very happy.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt

-          of price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-"_Brick House Books_"

-

-_By NINA RHOADES_

-

-_Cloth 12 mo Illustrated $1.00 each_

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-=Priscilla of the Doll Shop=

-

-[Illustration]

-

-THE "Brick House Books," as they are called from their well-known cover

-designs, are eagerly sought by children all over the country. There are

-three good stories in this book, instead of one, and it is hard to say

-which little girls, and boys, too, for that matter, will like the best.

-

-

-=Brave Little Peggy=

-

-PEGGY comes from California to New Jersey to live with a brother and

-sister whom she has not known since very early childhood. She is so

-democratic in her social ideas that many amusing scenes occur, and it is

-hard for her to understand many things that she must learn. But her good

-heart carries her through, and her conscientiousness and moral courage

-win affection and happiness.

-

-

-=The Other Sylvia=

-

-[Illustration]

-

-EIGHT-year-old Sylvia learns that girls who are "Kings' Daughters"

-pledge themselves to some kind act or service, and that one little girl

-named Mary has taken it upon herself to be helpful to all the Marys of

-her acquaintance. This is such an interesting way of doing good that she

-adopts it in spite of her unusual name, and really finds not only "the

-other Sylvia," but great happiness.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of

-          price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Transcriber's Notes:

-

-Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

-

-

-

-

-

-End of Project Gutenberg's Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains, by Amy Brooks

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-

-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains, by Amy Brooks

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

-

-

-Title: Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains

-

-Author: Amy Brooks

-

-Release Date: September 25, 2009 [EBook #30088]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

-

-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS ***

-

-

-

-

-Produced by David Edwards, Emmy and the Online Distributed

-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was

-produced from images generously made available by The

-Internet Archive)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-</pre>

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 426px;">

-<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="426" height="600" alt="Cover" title="" />

-</div>

-

-

-

-

-<h1>DOROTHY DAINTY AT<br />

-THE MOUNTAINS</h1>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><div class='bbox'>

-<h2>Popular Stories.</h2>

-

-

-<div class='center'><span class="smcap">By AMY BROOKS.</span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>Each beautifully illustrated by the Author.</div>

-

-<div class='center'>THE RANDY BOOKS.</div>

-

-<div class='center'>12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.</div>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE RANDY BOOKS">

-<tr><td align='left'>RANDY'S SUMMER.</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S GOOD TIMES.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>RANDY'S WINTER.</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S LUCK.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>RANDY AND HER FRIENDS.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S LOYALTY.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>RANDY AND PRUE.</td><td align='left'>RANDY'S PRINCE.</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div>

-<h3>For Younger Readers.</h3>

-

-

-<div class='center'>DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES.</div>

-

-<div class='center'>Large 12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Set in large

-English type. Price $1.00 each.</div>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES.">

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY'S PLAYMATES.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT SCHOOL.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE SHORE.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE CITY.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT HOME.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S GAY TIMES.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE COUNTRY.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S WINTER.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S HOLIDAYS.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S VACATION.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY'S VISIT.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>DOROTHY DAINTY AT CRESTVILLE.</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'><br />THE PRUE BOOKS.</div>

-

-<div class='center'>12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.</div>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="THE PRUE BOOKS">

-<tr><td align='left'>LITTLE SISTER PRUE.</td><td align='left'>PRUE'S MERRY TIMES.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>PRUE AT SCHOOL.</td><td align='left'>PRUE'S LITTLE FRIENDS.</td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>PRUE'S PLAYMATES.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='left'>PRUE'S JOLLY WINTER.</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div>

-

-<div class='center'>

-A JOLLY CAT TALE. Large 12mo. Cloth. Profusely Illustrated. Price&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00<br />

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;"><a name="Frontispiece" id="Frontispiece"></a>

-<img src="images/i001.jpg" width="395" height="500" alt="&quot;Here! Here!&quot; cried Dorothy, and echo answered, &quot;Here,&mdash;ere!&quot;&mdash;Page 4." title="" />

-<span class="caption">&quot;Here! Here!&quot; cried Dorothy, and echo answered, &quot;Here,&mdash;ere!&quot;&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_4">Page&nbsp;4</a>.</i></span>

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h1>DOROTHY DAINTY<br />

-AT THE MOUNTAINS</h1>

-

-<h3>BY</h3>

-

-<h2>AMY BROOKS</h2>

-

-<div class='center'>

-<small>AUTHOR OF "DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES," "THE RANDY</small><br />

-<small>BOOKS," "THE PRUE BOOKS," AND</small><br />

-<small>"A JOLLY CAT TALE"</small><br />

-<br />

-<br /><br />

-<i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR</i><br /><br /></div>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 79px;">

-<img src="images/emblem.png" width="79" height="100" alt="Emblem" title="" />

-</div>

-

-<div class='center'><br /><br />

-BOSTON<br />

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO.<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<div class='copyright'>

-DOROTHY DAINTY<br />

-TRADE-MARK<br />

-Registered in U. S. Patent Office<br />

-<br /><br /><br />

-Published, August, 1911<br />

-<br /><br /><br />

-<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1911, By LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO.</span><br />

-&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />

-<i>All Rights Reserved</i><br />

-&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br />

-<span class="smcap">Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains</span><br />

-<br />

-<br />

-<br />

-<br />

-<br />

-<br />

-Norwood Press<br />

-Berwick &amp; Smith Co.<br />

-Norwood, Mass., U. S. A.<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2>CONTENTS</h2>

-

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents">

-<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">At the Cleverton</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Delightful Surprise</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">An Entertainment</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">In A Birch Arbor</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Mountain Party</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">The Echo Captured</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Floretta's Return</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">At the Fair</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Flossie's Letter</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Gift of Wildflowers</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">Arabella Makes a Call</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='right'>XII.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;<span class="smcap">A Serenade</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_222">222</a></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>

-

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations">

-<tr><td align='left'>"Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered, "Here,&mdash;ere!" (<i><a href="#Page_4">Page 4</a></i>)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><i><a href="#Frontispiece">Frontispiece</a></i></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><small>FACING<br />PAGE</small></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>Often she looked back, as she sped over the road</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>"Oh, what a lovely, <i>lovely</i> story!" said Dorothy</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'>She offered two cards to Floretta</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>

-<h2>DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS</h2>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2>CHAPTER I</h2>

-

-<h3>AT THE CLEVERTON</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>THE great hotel on the crest of the hill

-was bathed in sunlight that poured

-from a rift in the clouds, as if sent for the

-sole purpose of showing the grand portico,

-the broad piazza, and the flag that floated

-gracefully on the summer breeze.</div>

-

-<p>Its many windows seemed to be looking

-across the valley to opposite mountain

-peaks, and one could easily imagine that

-its wide, open doorway, smiled genially as

-if offering a welcome to all arriving guests.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Two little girls ran across the lawn, the

-one with flaxen curls, the other with sunny

-brown ringlets.</p>

-

-<p>The fair-haired little girl had eyes as blue

-as the blue blossoms that she held in her

-hand, while her playmate's eyes were soft

-and brown, and told that her heart was loving

-and true.</p>

-

-<p>The little blue-eyed girl was Dorothy

-Dainty, and the child who clasped her hand

-was her dearest friend, Nancy Ferris.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy had no parents, and a few years

-before Dorothy's mamma had taken her

-under her care and protection, and she was

-being trained and educated as carefully as

-was Dorothy, the little daughter of the

-house.</p>

-

-<p>They had come to the Hotel Cleverton

-to spend the summer, and the first few days

-of their stay, they had explored all the land<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>

-that lay immediately around the hotel, and

-had found many beautiful spots, but one

-thing held their interest,&mdash;they loved the

-echo, and never tired of awakening it.</p>

-

-<p>"Come!" cried Dorothy. "Run with

-me over to the white birches, and we'll

-shout, and listen!"</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty had told them the story of

-Echo, the nymph, who for loving Pan and

-following him and calling to him had been

-changed into a huge rock on the mountainside,

-and forever compelled to mock each

-voice she heard.</p>

-

-<p>The old legend of the nymph had caught

-their fancy, and often they paused in their

-play to shout, and listen to what seemed to

-them the voice of some fairy of the mountains.</p>

-

-<p>Now they stood beside the birches,

-Dorothy with one arm around a white<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>

-trunk, and Nancy near her. At their feet

-were countless bluebells, overhead the

-blue sky, while across and beyond the valley

-rose the mountain capped by white

-clouds that looked as soft as swan's-down.</p>

-

-<p>"Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo

-answered, "Here,&mdash;ere!"</p>

-

-<p>"Listen!" cried Dorothy, clasping her

-hands, and laughing with delight. "It answers

-as if it was a truly voice that heard

-and replied.</p>

-

-<p>"Nancy, I love you!" she cried, and

-again they plainly heard:&mdash;</p>

-

-<p>"Love you-oo!"</p>

-

-<p>They thought it great fun to shout and

-call, and hear their cries so cleverly repeated.</p>

-

-<p>And now another child ran out from the

-great doorway, paused a moment as if looking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>

-for some one, then, seeing the two little

-figures near the clump of birches, stole

-softly near them.</p>

-

-<p>On tiptoe, and with tread as soft and

-noiseless as a cat, she made her way over

-the short grass, until she was quite near

-them. Then, hiding behind a low bush, she

-watched them. How still she stood! For

-what was she waiting? Her bold eyes were

-full of mischief, as she whispered, "Oh,

-hurry <i>up!</i>"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy Dainty put her hands to her

-mouth, trumpet fashion, and called:</p>

-

-<p>"Come and catch us!" and instantly the

-echo from the distant mountain and a shrill

-voice behind them, repeated:</p>

-

-<p>"Come and catch us!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, oh-o!" cried Dorothy, and Nancy

-ran to her, and threw her arms about

-her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"You ought not to frighten Dorothy like

-that!" cried Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>A saucy laugh answered her.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, it isn't nice to be shrieked at, and

-you do it just like the echo, you know you

-do, and it's enough to frighten any one,"

-said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>The little tease was not in the least

-abashed. She could imitate almost any

-sound that she had ever heard, and each

-success made her eager to repeat her efforts

-at mocking.</p>

-

-<p>"I made old Mrs. Hermanton fly up out

-of her chair, and drop her ball of worsted

-and knitting-needles, when I shouted close

-to her ear."</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Floretta!" cried Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>Now you think that was horrid, but <i>I</i>

-tell you it was funny. She'd just been telling

-about her darling little lap-dog that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>

-died <i>ten years ago</i>, and she got out her

-handkerchief to cry, and put it up to her

-eyes.</p>

-

-<p>"'Oh, if I only could hear his lovely bark

-again!' she said, and right behind her chair,

-I said:</p>

-

-<p>"'Ki-yi! Yip! Yip!' and she jumped up

-much as a foot from her seat."</p>

-

-<p>Nancy laughed. How could she help it?

-The old lady had told every man, woman,

-and child who sat upon the piazza, how

-much she had suffered in the loss of the

-dog.</p>

-

-<p>One testy old gentleman who was

-troubled with gout, spoke rather plainly.

-"Madam," he said, "I've heard that story

-every day of this week, and all I can say is,

-I wish you had gout in your feet as I have,

-and you'd have no time to waste crying for

-a puppy!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>He certainly was hopelessly rude, but one

-must admit every day is far too often to be

-forced to listen to an uninteresting tale.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta stood looking down at the toe of

-her shoe. She moved it from side to side

-along the grass for a moment, then she

-spoke again.</p>

-

-<p>"You know old Mr. Cunningham has

-gout, and is awful cross?"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy nodded. They did

-indeed know that.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, he sat on the piazza and laughed

-when I scared Mrs. Hermanton, so I want

-to know if he'll think it's funny <i>every</i> time

-I do things. You know he puts one foot up

-on a chair, and every time any one touches

-that chair ever so little, he cries: '<i>Oh</i>, oh,

-oh!' and holds on to his foot.</p>

-

-<p>"The next time I'm near him, I'm going

-to make b'lieve hit my foot against something,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>

-and then I'll cry out, just 'zactly as

-he does:</p>

-

-<p>"'<i>Oh</i>, oh, oh!' and I'll hold on to my

-foot," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"I know it's funny," said Dorothy, "but

-I don't think you ought to."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, <i>you</i> needn't. P'raps you couldn't

-do it just like other folks, but I <i>can</i>, and

-I'm going to!" said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>She was a handsome child, but her boldness

-marred her beauty.</p>

-

-<p>She was, indeed, a clever imitator, but

-she had been told so too often. Her mother

-constantly praised her cleverness, and unwise

-friends applauded her efforts, until

-Floretta acquired the idea that she must, on

-all occasions, mimic some one.</p>

-

-<p>Sometimes those whom she mocked

-thought it clever, and laughed when they

-had thus been held up to derision.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>At other times Floretta found that she

-had chosen the wrong person to mimic, and

-had received a sharp rebuke.</p>

-

-<p>This taught her nothing, however.</p>

-

-<p>She thought any one who did not enjoy

-her antics must be very ill-natured, while

-her silly mother considered that Floretta

-had been abused.</p>

-

-<p>While Dorothy and Nancy were talking

-with Floretta, they were picking large

-bouquets of bluebells and a tiny white

-flower that grew as abundantly as the bluebells,

-and blossomed as freely.</p>

-

-<p>It pleased her, for the moment, to gather

-some of the blossoms, and soon the three

-were too busy to talk, each trying to

-see which could gather the largest bouquet.</p>

-

-<p>On the hotel piazza Mrs. Paxton sat, occupied

-with her embroidery, but not too<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>

-busy to talk. She was <i>never</i> too busy

-to talk, if she could find any one to

-listen.</p>

-

-<p>Near her sat two ladies who had just arrived,

-and old Mr. Cunningham, who

-frowned darkly at the magazine that he

-was trying to read.</p>

-

-<p>It was not that the story displeased him

-that he frowned, but that he was bored with

-hearing what Mrs. Paxton was saying,

-mainly because she always said the same

-thing.</p>

-

-<p>"You see, with our wealth and position,

-it is impossible that little Floretta should

-ever make any use of her talents for any

-purpose other than the amusement of her

-friends," she said.</p>

-

-<p>One of the two ladies, whose fine face and

-sweet low voice bespoke refinement, looked

-fixedly at Mrs. Paxton, and wondered that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>

-any woman should be willing to boast so

-foolishly.</p>

-

-<p>The other, whose garments told of a great

-love of display, seemed interested, and even

-impressed.</p>

-

-<p>"What is her especial talent?" she

-asked, "I really should like to know. Is

-she musical?"</p>

-

-<p>"O dear, yes," Mrs. Paxton hastened to

-reply; "she plays delightfully, and she

-has a voice that is really quite unusual for a

-child; she dances, too, but her greatest gift

-is her power of imitation. She has a sensitive

-nature that is open to impressions, and

-she sees the funny side of everything. She

-really is a wonderful little mimic. You

-must see her to appreciate her charm."</p>

-

-<p>The quiet woman looked as if she thought

-this a doubtful accomplishment, but the one

-who had eagerly listened said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Where is she? I should be <i>so</i> pleased

-to see her. Not all children are so interesting.

-Many are dull."</p>

-

-<p>"And lucky they are!" growled old Mr.

-Cunningham, under his breath, but the

-ladies did not hear that.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>"I don't want these flowers now I've

-picked them," cried Floretta. "You can

-have them if you want them," she said, as

-she turned toward Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"I can't hold any more than I have,"

-said Dorothy, "but you could&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Then here they go!" cried Floretta, as

-she flung them broadcast, to lie and wilt in

-the sunlight.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, it was too bad to throw them

-away," said Dorothy. "I was going to say,

-if you didn't care for them, perhaps Mrs.

-Hermanton might like them. She said she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>

-liked wild flowers and used to pick them,

-but her rheumatism won't let her pick them

-now."</p>

-

-<p>"Pooh! I wouldn't have bothered to

-take them back to her," Floretta replied;

-and turning about, she ran back to the

-hotel.</p>

-

-<p>"Come here, Floretta!" said Mrs. Paxton.

-"This lady wishes to see you."</p>

-

-<p>Usually Floretta when asked to do anything,

-preferred to do something else.</p>

-

-<p>This time, thinking that she saw an opportunity

-for a lark, she went promptly and

-paused beside her mother's chair.</p>

-

-<p>"This is Mrs. Dayne, Floretta. Mrs.

-Dayne, this is my little daughter."</p>

-

-<p>Floretta looked up and smiled, but said

-nothing. She had never been taught that

-she must reply courteously when spoken to.</p>

-

-<p>Her pretty face pleased Mrs. Dayne, who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>

-was much the same sort of woman that Mrs.

-Paxton was. She wished that Floretta

-could be induced to perform.</p>

-

-<p><i>Induced!</i> She was already wondering if

-she would have a chance to show off.</p>

-

-<p>The opportunity came soon, and she was

-delighted.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Cunningham had become drowsy,

-and his magazine dropped to the piazza

-floor.</p>

-

-<p>In stooping to recover it, he hurt his

-gouty foot, and cried out.</p>

-

-<p>"<i>Oh</i>, oh-o!" he cried, and like an echo,

-"<i>Oh</i>, oh-o!" cried Floretta, catching hold

-of her own foot and hopping wildly

-about.</p>

-

-<p>Of course Mrs. Paxton laughed gaily, as

-if Floretta had done a very smart thing,

-while Mrs. Dayne, who was as silly a

-woman as Mrs. Paxton, joined in the merriment,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>

-thus hoping to gain favor with her

-new friend.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Cunningham, without a word, took

-his magazine and, limping painfully, left

-the piazza, and went indoors.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Vinton, an odd expression on her

-fine face, took her parasol from the chair

-where it lay, and went for a walk down the

-path toward the birches. She was disgusted

-with Mrs. Paxton, Floretta, and

-Mrs. Dayne, although she felt that the little

-girl was least of all at fault.</p>

-

-<p>She was only an untaught, untrained

-child, to be pitied rather than blamed. She

-knew that they would think her very unkind

-if she did not seem to approve of

-Floretta, and she could not laugh at cruelty.</p>

-

-<p>The child was indeed a clever imitator,

-but the fact remained that it <i>was</i> cruel to

-mock an outcry caused by pain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy were coming toward

-her, on their way toward the hotel, their

-hands filled with blossoms, faces bright and

-smiling.</p>

-

-<p>They greeted her gaily, and Dorothy offered

-her some of the flowers.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll give half to you, and half to

-mamma," said Dorothy. "I mean, I will if

-you'd like to have them."</p>

-

-<p>"It is a sweet gift, and I shall enjoy

-them in my room," Mrs. Vinton said. "I

-have a lovely vase that is worthy to hold

-such beautiful blossoms."</p>

-

-<p>"I'll divide mine between Aunt Charlotte

-and Mrs. Hermanton," said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"You both like to give," said Mrs. Vinton.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes!" they cried together, and as

-she left them, Dorothy said:</p>

-

-<p>"Isn't she a sweet, lovely lady?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Yes, and I like to hear her talk, her

-voice always sounds so pleasant."</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Vinton, as she walked along the

-little path, her flowers in her hand, thought

-of Dorothy and Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"They are two dear little girls," she

-said, "and add to the charm of this lovely

-place."</p>

-

-<p>"Would you dare to give Mr. Cunningham

-some bluebells for his buttonhole?"

-said Nancy. "I'd like to, but <i>I</i> wouldn't

-dare."</p>

-

-<p>"I don't know," Dorothy said. "I'd

-like to, too, and he 'most always has a rosebud,

-but sometimes he doesn't. When we

-get back, if he's on the piazza, and hasn't

-a bud in his buttonhole, I'll try to dare to

-offer him some of these blossoms."</p>

-

-<p>Dear little Dorothy! She wondered if

-she would be rewarded with a frown!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Floretta and her mother were not there,

-neither was Mrs. Dayne, but in a shady corner

-sat Mr. Cunningham.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy ran in to take her flowers to Aunt

-Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy hesitated. She would have been

-even more timid, had she known how recently

-he had been offended.</p>

-

-<p>He looked up from his book, frowned,

-then smiled and nodded pleasantly.</p>

-

-<p>He had thought that Floretta had returned,

-and was pleasantly surprised to see

-Dorothy, instead.</p>

-

-<p>Softly she crossed the piazza until she

-stood beside him.</p>

-

-<p>"May I give you a few of these bluebells

-for your buttonhole?" she said. "They're

-only wild flowers, but they're pretty ones,"

-she added, fearing that, after all, he might

-not care for them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Why, thank you, my dear. I surely

-would like them, especially as they are offered

-me by a real little lady."</p>

-

-<p>He placed the cluster that she offered

-him in his lapel, as he spoke, and looked to

-Dorothy for approval.</p>

-

-<p>"They are wild flowers, truly," he said,

-"but I think they are quite as attractive

-as the buds I have been wearing," and

-Dorothy was glad that she had offered

-them.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER II</h2>

-

-<h3>A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>THREE weeks had passed, and as nearly

-every day had been fair, the guests at

-the Cleverton had lived out of doors, appearing

-at the hotel at meal-time, and at

-night.</div>

-

-<p>Other wild flowers beside the bluebells

-were blossoming gaily, peeping up from the

-grass as if offering a welcome to all who

-looked at them; and even great rocks and

-ledges held tiny blossoming plants in their

-crevices.</p>

-

-<p>The pony, Romeo, had come to the mountains

-with the family, and seemed to enjoy

-the outing.</p>

-

-<p>Every morning Dorothy and Nancy went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>

-for a drive, and Romeo tossed his mane, and

-pranced as if to show his delight.</p>

-

-<p>One morning the pony was standing at

-the porch, waiting for his little mistress,

-who soon came running down the stairs.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta was standing in the hall, spinning

-a top.</p>

-

-<p>A sign on the wall plainly stated that

-children must not play in the hall, but that

-did not disturb Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>Deftly she wound the string, and the

-great top fell to the floor, where it hummed

-and spun as rapidly as if a boy's hand had

-flung it.</p>

-

-<p>She picked it up, and again wound it, this

-time throwing it with even greater force.</p>

-

-<p>"Look! Look!" she cried. "I b'lieve

-it spins faster every time I throw it!"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy looked over the baluster at the

-humming top, but said nothing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She knew that Floretta had seen the notice;

-indeed a number of the children had

-stood in the hall when it had been tacked

-up.</p>

-

-<p>Looking up at Dorothy, Floretta noticed

-the whip in her hand.</p>

-

-<p>"Riding?" she asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, for a little while," said Dorothy.

-"It's a lovely morning, and I mean to see

-how quickly Romeo will take me to the

-'Spring.'"</p>

-

-<p>"I wouldn't care to ride horseback,"

-said Floretta, rudely.</p>

-

-<p>"You won't care to spin tops in this hall

-if Matson catches you," cried a shrill voice,

-from an upper hall.</p>

-

-<p>"Pooh! I'm not afraid of Matson,"

-Floretta said, boldly, looking up at the boy

-who had tried to frighten her.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, aren't you?" said the boy in a teasing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>

-voice. "Well, he manages this hotel,

-and he'll <i>make</i> you stop if he catches

-you!"</p>

-

-<p>"You stop, Jack Tiverton!" cried

-Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"You'll be the one to stop!" said Jack,

-with a loud laugh.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy crossed the hall, stepping

-around Floretta, who stood exactly in the

-way.</p>

-

-<p>Looking back, she saw Floretta show the

-tip of her tongue to Jack, while Jack, not

-to be outdone, made a most outrageous

-face.</p>

-

-<p>"I wish they weren't so horrid!"

-Dorothy said to herself, as she left the hall.</p>

-

-<p>Having mounted Romeo, with the

-groom's aid, she rode off down the lovely,

-shady road, the man on his horse, following

-at a respectful distance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She touched the pony lightly with her

-whip, and he responded by breaking into a

-gentle gallop.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy's bright curls flew back from

-her flushed face, and she laughed as she flew

-over the road.</p>

-

-<p>The groom watched her admiringly, and

-marvelled that so small a girl could be such

-a perfect little equestrienne.</p>

-

-<p>The ride had brightened her eyes, and she

-always looked smaller than she really was

-when mounted upon Romeo.</p>

-

-<p>He was a handsome animal, with flowing

-mane and tail, and the groom spoke truthfully

-when he muttered:</p>

-

-<p>"Them two makes a high-bred pair.

-Miss Dorothy is a girl 'ristycrat, an' the

-little hoss is a hoss 'ristycrat, if ever there

-was one."</p>

-

-<p>The groom had been in the service of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>

-Dainty family but a few months, but in that

-time he had become devoted to the little

-daughter of the house. All the servants

-loved Dorothy, and were almost as fond of

-Nancy Ferris.</p>

-

-<p>The young groom had heard Nancy's

-story, and he felt a deep interest in the

-little girl, who once had been a waif.</p>

-

-<p>Now, his pleasant face wore a smile as he

-followed Dorothy, and saw how firmly the

-little figure stuck to the saddle, and rode

-as if girl and pony were one and inseparable.</p>

-

-<p>They reached the "Spring," a spot

-whose beauty drew all travellers to it, and

-artists lingered there to paint, and thus

-perpetuate its charm.</p>

-

-<p>Romeo looked down at the clear stream

-that reflected his figure so perfectly.</p>

-

-<p>"He wants a drink," said Dorothy;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>

-"lead him to a good place, Thomas,

-please."</p>

-

-<p>He helped her to dismount, and then led

-the pony to a shady spot where he could

-drink, and enjoy the cool, clear water.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy at once commenced to gather

-some of the lovely wild flowers that grew

-near the water's edge, but farther up the

-stream.</p>

-

-<p>"These are different from any that I've

-ever found here," she thought.</p>

-

-<p>Her hands were nearly filled with the

-lovely blossoms, and she was reaching out

-to grasp an especially pretty one, when a

-strangely familiar voice, just behind her,

-said:</p>

-

-<p>"I think I see some one I've <i>often</i> seen

-before!"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy turned, and a little cry of surprise

-and pleasure escaped her lips.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>There were Mrs. Barnet and dear little

-Flossie coming toward her, while very

-near her was the owner of the voice,

-Flossie's handsome, merry-hearted Uncle

-Harry! Just behind him was his lovely

-young wife, and the baby in charge of a

-maid.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I <i>am</i> glad, <i>so</i> glad to see you!"

-cried Dorothy. "And Flossie Barnet, did

-you know you were coming up here, when

-I said 'good-by' to you and Molly Merton

-at Merrivale?"</p>

-

-<p>"I didn't know <i>surely</i>, but I <i>almost</i>

-knew," Flossie admitted, "but Uncle

-Harry said, 'Don't tell 'til you <i>know</i>,' and

-I didn't <i>truly</i> know until after you were

-gone."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, it's fine to have you here," said

-Dorothy, "but I do truly b'lieve it's almost

-nicer to be surprised, and have you;" and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>

-she threw her arm around Flossie, as she

-walked beside her.</p>

-

-<p>Tall, handsome Uncle Harry thought he

-saw a chance for a bit of a joke.</p>

-

-<p>"I wonder why some one isn't surprised

-to see <i>me?</i>" he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I am," said Dorothy, "and glad,

-too."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, thank you," said Uncle Harry;

-then with a face that he tried to make sad,

-he said:</p>

-

-<p>"But I know you aren't as glad as you

-were to see Flossie, because,&mdash;you didn't

-put your arm around <i>my</i> waist!"</p>

-

-<p>He had tried to look very glum, but his

-blue eyes were laughing.</p>

-

-<p>Big, handsome Uncle Harry could not

-look woebegone, and the two little girls

-laughed at his attempt.</p>

-

-<p>"The barge is taking our party over to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>

-the 'Cleverton,' and I see you have the

-pony, Dorothy," said Uncle Harry. "Will

-you run a race with the barge?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes, yes!" cried Dorothy, "and

-Romeo will come in ahead!"</p>

-

-<p>"If he does," said Uncle Harry, "I'll

-surely decorate him with a blue ribbon!"</p>

-

-<p>With many a laugh and jest, and much

-guessing as to which would be the winner,

-the merry party clambered into the barge;

-Dorothy mounted Romeo, and they were

-off over the road, on the way to the

-hotel.</p>

-

-<p>The horses, like the average barge horses,

-were not beauties, but they saw the pony

-rush forward, and they made an effort at

-speed. They plunged forward, at what, to

-them, seemed a reckless pace, but the fine,

-handsome Romeo shot past them, his nostrils<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>

-dilated, and his eyes bright with excitement.

-Dorothy's gay laugh rang out as

-she passed them, and Uncle Harry, as he

-looked after the flying figure, exclaimed:</p>

-

-<p>"The little fairy! I believe no other

-child could ride so fearlessly as that!"</p>

-

-<p>Often she looked back, as she sped over

-the road. Try as they would, the old horses

-could not overtake her.</p>

-

-<p>As soon as the barge appeared in sight

-between the trees, she touched Romeo

-lightly with her whip-stock, and then she

-laughed gaily as he plunged forward, the

-old barge rattling along far behind.</p>

-

-<p>She did not permit Romeo to again

-slacken his pace, and thus arrived at the

-Cleverton before the barge was in sight, so

-slow had been its progress.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Nancy!" she cried, "Who <i>do</i> you

-think has come?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 397px;">

-<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="397" height="500" alt="Often she looked back, as she sped over the road.&mdash;Page 31." title="" />

-<span class="caption">Often she looked back, as she sped over the road.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_31">Page 31.</a></i></span>

-</div>

-

-<p>"Who has come?" Nancy asked.

-"Where are they?"</p>

-

-<p>"I mean you can't guess who is coming,

-and there they come now, Nancy, just

-look!"</p>

-

-<p>Nancy did look, saw the barge swinging

-around the curve of the road, saw a

-tiny handkerchief waving, and then a

-sweet little face looked out to smile at

-her.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, it's Flossie Barnet!" cried Nancy,

-joyfully, "and her mamma, and,&mdash;why, yes

-it <i>is!</i> It's Flossie's Uncle Harry!"</p>

-

-<p>He heard the cry, and heard the welcome

-in her voice.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, it's Flossie's Uncle Harry, and all

-the other little girls' Uncle Harry who care

-to claim him for an uncle," he said, with a

-laugh, as he lifted his little niece down from

-the barge.</p>

-<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p>

-<p>"Oh, I'm <i>so</i> glad he came, too," said

-Dorothy, upon hearing which, he turned

-and lifting his hat, bowed, thus acknowledging

-the compliment that she had paid

-him. His eyes twinkled with pleasure, for

-he loved children, and he valued their regard.

-He was a big, manly fellow, with a

-warm heart, as loving, and as merry as that

-of a child.</p>

-

-<p>The Barnet party added much to the

-pleasure of little events and entertainments

-at the Hotel Cleverton. Flossie became, at

-once, a favorite with the other children,

-and her charming mother was deservedly

-popular with all.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry, who possessed a fine voice,

-willingly sang whenever a musical program

-was arranged for an evening, while his

-lovely young wife, who was an accomplished

-pianist, played his accompaniments,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>

-or rendered solos, thus generously

-adding to the pleasure of the other guests.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>"I tell you what it is," said old Mr. Cunningham,

-"that big bank of clouds hanging

-over that mountain means rain, and plenty

-of it, I believe."</p>

-

-<p>"I think you are right," said Uncle

-Harry, "and if we <i>do</i> have a three days'

-rain, as we sometimes do, we shall have to

-use every effort to keep things humming,

-and so forget the storm."</p>

-

-<p>They had been sitting on the piazza, and

-talking of the days of uninterrupted sunshine

-that they had enjoyed, when, in a few

-minutes, the blue sky had been hidden, as

-if by a thin, pearly veil, while hanging over

-the mountain was the mass of leaden clouds

-that had seemed to prophesy rain.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, <i>I</i> don't want it to rain," wailed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>

-Floretta, who stood near them, her pretty

-face puckered into a most unpleasant

-frown.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm afraid the weather can't be arranged

-especially for you," said Mr. Cunningham.</p>

-

-<p>He, like all the guests, was very tired of

-the child who was either whining, or boisterously,

-rudely gay. Just at this point,

-Mrs. Paxton came out on the piazza, a small

-note-book and pencil in her hand.</p>

-

-<p>She hastened toward the two gentlemen,

-and smiled as if she were conferring a

-favor.</p>

-

-<p>"With the chance of a stormy evening,

-we are trying to arrange a program that

-will give us a pleasant evening indoors,"

-she said. "I am sure you will help

-me."</p>

-

-<p>She had smiled at both, and old Mr. Cunningham,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>

-who heartily disliked her, was

-only too glad to reply.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm not musical, madam," he said,

-"but I'll whistle 'Hail Columbia' for you,

-if you will promise not to reprimand me if

-I get off the key."</p>

-

-<p>"Dear, dear!" she cried. "You are always

-so amusing. One never knows if you

-are joking, or serious."</p>

-

-<p>"It would be very serious, and no joke,

-I assure you, if you were actually obliged

-to listen to my whistling," was the curt

-reply, and he turned once more to scan the

-sky and the distant mountains.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry, of course, agreed to sing,

-his wife promised to play, and Mrs. Paxton

-moved toward where Mrs. Dainty and her

-companion, Aunt Charlotte, were sitting,

-with Dorothy and Nancy near them.</p>

-

-<p>"Will your little daughter sing for us<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>

-this evening?" she asked. "We are eager

-to have quite a fine program."</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy shall sing for you, surely,"

-Mrs. Dainty said, "and Nancy, I am sure,

-will give a little solo."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, does Nancy sing or play?" Mrs.

-Paxton asked, in surprise, for thus far

-Nancy had not exhibited her talent, whatever

-it might be.</p>

-

-<p>"She will give you a solo that shall be

-neither singing nor playing," Mrs. Dainty

-replied, with a quiet smile.</p>

-

-<p>"How very interesting!" said Mrs. Paxton.

-She had invited Dorothy to sing because

-other guests had expressed the wish

-to hear her.</p>

-

-<p>Here was a <i>second</i> child with talent of

-<i>some</i> kind! Well, Floretta's imitations of

-other people would certainly eclipse the efforts

-of the other little girls! Mrs. Paxton's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>

-sole idea in arranging the entertainment

-was for the purpose of showing Floretta's

-mimicry.</p>

-

-<p>A small figure paused a moment in the

-doorway, then stepped back, and peeped

-out, scanning the groups upon the piazza.</p>

-

-<p>"She isn't there!" he whispered. "She's

-backed out, an' she <i>said</i> she'd do

-it!"</p>

-

-<p>He drew back into the shadow, and

-waited, hoping that when he looked again

-he might see her.</p>

-

-<p>A second peep at the guests on the piazza

-showed that Floretta was not among them.</p>

-

-<p>"She didn't <i>try</i> to do it!" he muttered.</p>

-

-<p>He held something in his hand, which he

-kept behind his back.</p>

-

-<p>He was about to peep again when a light

-hand touched his shoulder.</p>

-

-<p>He turned, and there stood Floretta,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>

-looking prettier than usual in her short

-white frock, white shoes, and pink hair

-ribbons.</p>

-

-<p>"Did you get one?" whispered Jack.</p>

-

-<p>"Look!" said Floretta, and from behind

-her back she produced a long corn-cob. "I

-took mine from the table at noon, when ma

-wasn't looking, and ran from the dining-room,

-and hid it in our room," said Floretta.

-"How did you get yours?"</p>

-

-<p>"I asked the head waiter to get mine for

-me," said Jack, "and he acted as if he

-thought me a ninny. He gave it to me all

-the same, and asked what I was up to. I

-didn't tell him, though."</p>

-

-<p>They giggled softly.</p>

-

-<p>"Ready?" whispered Jack, softly.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes," whispered Floretta, and then,

-with corn-cobs held to their mouths, and

-their fingers working as if playing upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>

-flutes, they marched out on to the piazza,

-loudly singing, "Hail Columbia."</p>

-

-<p>Some of the guests laughed, none so

-loudly as Mrs. Paxton, who declared that

-it taxed her intellect to imagine what put

-such outrageously funny notions into children's

-heads.</p>

-

-<p>"I can answer that, madam, and without

-trying very hard, either. It's Satan,

-madam, Satan, who from watching their

-actions, takes them to be his near relatives,"

-said Mr. Cunningham.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile the little procession of two,

-encouraged by the laughter, marched in and

-out between the groups of guests, until unlucky

-Floretta let her corn-cob slip from

-her fingers, the moist, sticky thing falling

-upon the light silk skirt of a lady who sat

-near Mrs. Paxton.</p>

-

-<p>"There, there, Floretta, never mind,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>

-said Mrs. Paxton; then turning to the

-wearer of the gown, she said, "I don't

-think it will stain it in the least. Children

-will be children, and must have their fun!"</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER III</h2>

-

-<h3>AN ENTERTAINMENT</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>MRS. PAXTON had laughed at what

-she chose to call the "funny" antics

-of Floretta and Jack, but in truth, she

-had been very angry.</div>

-

-<p>She swept from the piazza, Floretta,

-firmly grasped, walking beside her. Jack

-Tiverton's mother took him to her room,

-where she could talk to him, without fear

-of interruption.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta sat on a low divan, sullen and

-obstinate.</p>

-

-<p>For twenty minutes she had listened,

-while her mother had told what a disrespectful

-thing she had done.</p>

-

-<p>"I don't see how it was not respectful,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>

-grumbled Floretta, "we were just having

-a little fun."</p>

-

-<p>"And it was fun at my expense," said

-Mrs. Paxton. "I was annoyed, just when

-I was making plans for a <i>fine</i> entertainment,

-to have you and that boy parade out

-on to the piazza with those old corn-cobs,

-singing, or rather <i>howling</i>, like young savages!"</p>

-

-<p>This, and much more Floretta was forced

-to listen to, but during the remainder of

-the scolding, she did not speak, or reply in

-any way.</p>

-

-<p>She was still very sullen when her mother

-left the room, and no one saw her until she

-appeared in the dining-room at dinner.</p>

-

-<p>She tasted one dish after another, but

-managed to eat but little dinner. She

-wished her mother to think that the scolding

-had made her ill.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>It proved to be wasted effort. Mrs. Paxton

-had been so interested in what Mrs.

-Dayne was saying that she had not noticed

-that Floretta let the various courses go untasted.</p>

-

-<p>She had hoped to worry her mother, but

-had only punished herself!</p>

-

-<p>She was very hungry when they left the

-table, and also very angry.</p>

-

-<p>"I might just as well have eaten my dinner,"

-she muttered, "she never noticed

-that I didn't."</p>

-

-<p>When the hour arrived that had been set

-for the concert, every guest was present,

-and all were talking and laughing gaily,

-and very glad that an evening's amusement

-had been provided.</p>

-

-<p>Outside, the rain was descending in torrents,

-while a cold wind whistled around

-the corners, as if demanding admittance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Indoors the heavy red hangings were

-drawn over the lace draperies, great logs

-blazed in the fireplaces, while over all

-softly shaded lights gave an air of cozy

-comfort that made one feel sheltered and

-safe from the storm.</p>

-

-<p>A group of ladies sat chatting together,

-and one, a recent arrival, was saying that

-she had understood that children were not

-permitted as guests at the Cleverton.</p>

-

-<p>"There are only a few children here,"

-Mrs. Vinton said, "and some of them are

-charming."</p>

-

-<p>"While others are <i>not?</i>" questioned the

-stranger, with an odd smile.</p>

-

-<p>"I'd rather not say just that," Mrs. Vinton

-said, "but I will say that Mrs. Dainty's

-little daughter, and Dorothy's little friend,

-Nancy, and Flossie Barnet, are three of the

-sweetest children I have ever met. My<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>

-stay here is brighter and far pleasanter

-because they are also here."</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy Dainty is an unusually fine

-singer for a child," another lady said, "and

-she is to sing for us to-night. I believe

-Nancy Ferris is to do something, but I do

-not know what. Does any one know if

-Nancy sings?"</p>

-

-<p>"I've not the least idea what her talent

-is," said a pleasant-voiced matron, "but

-she is such a bright, interesting child that

-I feel sure that whatever she is able

-to do at all, she will do exceedingly

-well."</p>

-

-<p>"Aunt Vera is to play a solo for the first

-number," said little Flossie Barnet, to a

-lady who sat near her.</p>

-

-<p>"That is delightful," said the lady,

-"and what are you to do?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I'll listen, and listen," said Flossie,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>

-"and then, I'll clap to show how much

-I liked what the people did."</p>

-

-<p>"And your friend Dorothy is to sing,"

-said the lady, "do you know what Nancy

-does?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes, I do!" cried Flossie, "and she

-does it so lovely, you'll wonder how she

-could! I'm not to tell <i>what</i> she'll do, none

-of us are to tell. You'll <i>see</i> when she does

-it!"</p>

-

-<p>"Dear little girl, you seem quite as

-happy as if you were to be a soloist," said

-the lady.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, yes," said Flossie, "for when the

-other little girls do pretty things, I see

-them, but I couldn't see myself do anything!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, you sweet, funny little girl," the

-pleasant-faced lady said, as she drew Flossie

-closer, "I never knew so dear a child."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy and Nancy are dear," said

-Flossie, "and oh, you haven't seen Molly

-Merton! She's another one of my little

-friends, and she's <i>always</i> lovely to play

-with. We're always together when I'm at

-home at Merrivale."</p>

-

-<p>Before the lady could express regret that

-she did not know Molly, the orchestra

-began the opening chords of an overture.</p>

-

-<p>The musicians gave an afternoon and

-evening concert daily, throughout the season,

-but to-night their numbers were to

-be interspersed with solos given by the

-guests.</p>

-

-<p>The orchestra was generously applauded,

-and then a slender figure in a gown of soft,

-pink satin seated itself at the piano, and

-with light touch and brilliant execution,

-played a rondo that delighted all.</p>

-

-<p>In response to repeated applause, she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>

-played the "Caprice Hongroise," which

-aroused wild enthusiasm.</p>

-

-<p>She smiled, and bowed gracefully in acknowledgment,

-then turning toward her

-husband, who now stood beside her, took

-from his hand the duplicate of the song that

-he was to sing. She always played his accompaniments.</p>

-

-<p>How full of music was his rare voice, how

-like the tones of a silver trumpet when he

-sang "A Song of the Sea," how tender his

-tones when for a second number, he sang an

-"Italian Love Song!"</p>

-

-<p>"Didn't he sing <i>fine</i>, just <i>fine?</i>" Flossie

-asked, eagerly.</p>

-

-<p>"Indeed he did," the lady replied, "I

-never heard a more excellent voice."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, he's my own Uncle Harry!" said

-Flossie, a world of love and pride in her

-voice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>A young girl played a serenade on the

-guitar, and a member of the orchestra

-played a waltz for violin, and both were encored.</p>

-

-<p>Those who were to perform were in a

-small room awaiting their turn. They were

-laughing and chatting while they waited,

-and all, save a little girl, who kept apart

-from the others, seemed bright and happy.

-Her eyes were dull, and her red lips pouting.

-It was Floretta Paxton, and she was

-watching Nancy Ferris, noticing every detail

-of her costume, and looking as unpleasant

-as possible.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy wore a frock of white gauze,

-thickly strewn with tiny gold spangles.

-Her girdle was white satin, her slippers

-were white, and she wore a cluster of pink

-rosebuds in her hair.</p>

-

-<p>"What's she going to do?" Floretta<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>

-asked in a fretful voice, but Mrs. Paxton,

-who stood beside her, could not tell her

-that. She knew no more of Nancy's talent

-than Floretta did.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta had been angry in the afternoon;

-she had foolishly refused dinner, and was

-very hungry; she was made more angry

-because hers was not the first number on

-the program, and now, here was Nancy Ferris

-wearing a beautiful frock that far outshone

-her own!</p>

-

-<p>She was wearing a simple pink muslin,

-and had felt that she was finely dressed,

-until Nancy appeared.</p>

-

-<p>The satin girdle, the white slippers, and

-the spangles were more than she could forgive.</p>

-

-<p>"What's she going to <i>do?</i>" she asked

-again, more fretfully than before.</p>

-

-<p>"I <i>don't know</i>," Mrs. Paxton said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Well, I won't do a thing 'til I do

-know!" said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>Silly little girl! Always a jealous child,

-she now thought that Nancy <i>might</i> be another

-impersonator or imitator, and she

-was nearly wild.</p>

-

-<p>The orchestra was now playing a dreamy

-waltz. Nancy's foot tapped the measure.

-Her eyes were brighter.</p>

-

-<p>"What <i>is</i> she going to do?" whispered

-Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>The tall man, who had been announcing

-the numbers, now swung aside the porti&egrave;re,

-and Nancy slipped from her chair, ran out

-upon the stage, and then,&mdash;oh, the fairy

-motion of her arms, the lightness with

-which, on the tips of her toes, she flew

-across the stage!</p>

-

-<p>With her finger-tips she lifted the hem of

-her skirt, and courtesied low, then away in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>

-a dreamy whirl she sped, turning to look

-over her shoulder, and laugh at the faces

-that showed greatest surprise.</p>

-

-<p>On swept the strains of sweetest music,

-and little Nancy, carried away with love of

-the music, danced more charmingly than

-ever before.</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty watched

-her flying figure, and often as they had seen

-her, they knew that she was excelling herself.</p>

-

-<p>"Nancy, Nancy, dear child!" murmured

-Aunt Charlotte.</p>

-

-<p>Now, with her feet crossed, and still on

-the tips of her toes she whirled like a top,

-did the graceful rocking step, swayed like

-a flower in the wind, whirled about again,

-courtesied once more, and laughing like a

-merry, dark-eyed sprite, ran back into the

-little waiting-room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Oh, what thunders of applause greeted

-her, yet she sat quietly chatting with a lady

-who stood near her!</p>

-

-<p>Again and again they seemed to be begging

-that the little dancer might return.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll bow to them," said Nancy, and she

-ran out to do so.</p>

-

-<p>"Once more, once more!" cried an eager

-voice, and then more clapping, and even a

-few shrill whistles from some very young

-men begged her to respond.</p>

-

-<p>She extended her arms for a second, then

-whirling rapidly, she repeated the last half

-of the dance, courtesied again, and when

-she ran back to the little room, Dorothy

-embraced her tenderly.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Nancy darling!" she cried, "you

-never danced finer. Do you know how

-pleased every one is?"</p>

-

-<p>"I danced to please and surprise them,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>

-said Nancy. "I <i>do</i> love to see people look

-happy. They couldn't remember how hard

-it was raining while I was whirling and

-dancing for them."</p>

-

-<p>Floretta, now more unhappy than before,

-turned so that she might not see Nancy, nor

-note the shimmer of her spangles.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton, who had been talking with

-a friend, now turned toward Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"Come!" she said, "now run out, and

-do your very best, Floretta."</p>

-

-<p>"I'm not going out!" said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"What an idea!" cried Mrs. Paxton.

-"Of course you'll run out, and show every

-one how cute you are. Why, I planned this

-entertainment just to give you a chance to

-show off!"</p>

-

-<p>"And made me the last one on the whole

-list!" snarled Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"Come, come!" cried her mother,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>

-"every one couldn't be first. I thought I'd

-have the others perform first, and then <i>you</i>

-could show who was the smartest! Come!

-They're just wild to see what you can do,

-and they're waiting."</p>

-

-<p>"They'll <i>have</i> to wait!" hissed Floretta,

-like a cross little cat.</p>

-

-<p>It was no use to urge, plead, or insist.

-Floretta was stubborn, and when once she

-had determined what she would, or would

-not do, nothing could move her.</p>

-

-<p>Prayers and threats were equally useless.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy sang very sweetly, and was cordially

-received.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry and his wife sang a charming

-duet that delighted all, the orchestra

-played a military caprice, and then the remainder

-of the evening was spent in a little,

-informal dance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>All was light, laughter, and music, and

-there were two kinds of music that gladdened

-their hearts,&mdash;the sweet music of the

-violins, and the still sweeter melody of

-happy voices!</p>

-

-<p>Silly little Floretta had ruined the evening

-for no one save her own jealous little

-self.</p>

-

-<p>Because she could not be the first on the

-program, she would not appear at all, although,

-at heart, she longed to show her

-really clever mimicry. Later, after having

-sulked during the early part of the evening,

-she refused to join the dancers, and ran

-away to her room, angry, very angry with

-every one save the one person who was

-really at fault,&mdash;herself.</p>

-

-<p>Her efforts at imitating would surely

-have amused, and would, doubtless, have

-been well received. She was rather a graceful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>

-dancer, in any of the ordinary ballroom

-dances, and she thus might have joined the

-other children when the concert was over.

-She had needlessly spent a most unhappy

-evening.</p>

-

-<p>Now, in her room, she heard the strains

-of the orchestra, and for the first time realized

-how foolish she had been.</p>

-

-<p>"I <i>had</i> a chance, and I lost it," she

-sobbed, but her tears were not tears of

-grieving. They were angry tears, and the

-droll part of it was that while she alone was

-at fault, she was angry with every one but

-herself.</p>

-

-<p>For a few moments she lay, her face hidden

-in her pillow. Then, she turned over

-into a more comfortable position, and softly

-she whispered, "I'll do enough to-morrow

-to make up!"</p>

-

-<p>She did not say <i>what</i> she intended to do,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>

-but the idea evidently pleased her, for she

-laughed through her tears.</p>

-

-<p>She sprang from her bed, found a box of

-bonbons that her mother had won as a prize

-in an afternoon whist party the day before,

-and crept back into bed. When she had

-eaten nearly all of the candy, she sat up

-and in the softly shaded light, looked at

-the box with its few remaining bits of

-candy. She was wondering where she

-could hide it.</p>

-

-<p>"Ma will surely notice the empty box,

-or anyway, I've made it <i>almost</i> empty," she

-said. "She might not miss it if I hid it!"</p>

-

-<p>She had never been taught to be honest,

-so whenever she did a naughty thing, her

-first thought was to hide, or cover up the

-act. She never felt regret.</p>

-

-<p>No one ever heard her gently say, "I'm

-sorry."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Softly she crept from her bed, and made

-her way across the floor to the dressing-case.</p>

-

-<p>She put the box upon the floor, and

-pushed it well under it, and wholly out of

-sight.</p>

-

-<p>"There!" she whispered. "That's all

-right. I would have finished the candy, but

-I didn't want the whole of it. I ate the best

-of it. The others weren't very nice."</p>

-

-<p>Down in the long parlor the guests were

-no longer dancing.</p>

-

-<p>They were resting, and listening to a

-lovely barcarolle played softly by the

-orchestra.</p>

-

-<p>Flossie, clinging to Uncle Harry's hand,

-drew him toward the window.</p>

-

-<p>"Look!" she said, as she parted the curtains.

-"It isn't raining now, and the moon

-is coming out. It will be pleasant to-morrow!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>

-And it has been lovely in here to-night."</p>

-

-<p>"Dear little Flossie, dear little niece, it

-was your cheery, loving nature that led

-us to give your name to our baby. She

-has two fine names, she is Beatrice Florence.

-The first is Vera's mother's name,

-the second, dear, is yours."</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2>

-

-<h3>IN A BIRCH ARBOR</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>THE storm had cleared the air, no mist

-veiled the mountains, the sunlight lay

-everywhere, gilding valley and stream.</div>

-

-<p>Many of the guests had started early in

-the morning for a trip to a distant mountain

-from the summit of which a delightful view

-might be enjoyed.</p>

-

-<p>They were to ride over in the barge to

-the base of the mountain, have a picnic

-lunch under the trees, and then climb the

-rugged path up the mountain side.</p>

-

-<p>It would occupy half the day and it would

-be afternoon before the barge would return

-with its merry, tired party.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta Paxton and Jack Tiverton were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>

-usually in sight, or, as they were always

-noisy, within hearing might be nearer the

-truth, but they had gone over to a spot that

-the children called "The Pool," a bit of

-water not much larger than a big puddle.</p>

-

-<p>It existed only after a heavy rain, but

-near its edge the slender birches grew, and

-their silvery white trunks and the bright,

-blue sky were clearly reflected on its surface.</p>

-

-<p>Jack had decided to launch his toy boat

-there, and, as Floretta had hemmed the

-tiny sails, he had felt obliged to listen

-to her coaxing, and permit her to go with

-him.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll let you christen her," he had said,

-in a moment of generosity, and then regretted

-it.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta's idea of a christening ceremony<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>

-was very elaborate, while Jack thought

-that shouting the vessel's name, and shoving

-it into the water was all that was necessary.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy was helping Aunt Charlotte, so

-when Dorothy ran out to the piazza, she

-found it deserted, and she stood looking in

-surprise at the rocking chairs and hammocks

-that were swaying in the wind.</p>

-

-<p>"Every one has gone somewhere," she

-thought; "didn't any one stay at home?"</p>

-

-<p>She stood for a moment in the doorway,

-wondering what to do. Suddenly her face

-brightened, and she clapped her hands.</p>

-

-<p>"The very thing!" she said, and she

-turned and hastened to her room to find her

-latest gift.</p>

-

-<p>It was a beautiful book of fairy tales, and

-although it had been given her over a week

-ago, she had read but a few of the stories.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>

-Mrs. Dainty had sent to the city for the

-book, and ever since the day of its arrival

-Dorothy had been wild to read it.</p>

-

-<p>Something had been planned for each

-sunny day, and as the weather had continued

-fair, the book had been opened but

-a few times, and then for only a brief glance

-at the tales or the illustrations.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty had gone to the village, a

-ride of about an hour from the hotel, and

-Aunt Charlotte was still occupied with her

-letters.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy was sealing and stamping the

-envelopes, as Dorothy passed the door.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm going over to the little 'birch

-arbor,'" she said. "I'm taking my new

-fairy book for company."</p>

-

-<p>"I'll come, too, just as soon as I've

-finished these envelopes," said Nancy, and

-she began to work faster.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 396px;">

-<img src="images/i004.jpg" width="396" height="500" alt="&quot;Oh, what a lovely, LOVELY story!&quot; said Dorothy.&mdash;Page 67." title="" />

-<span class="caption">&quot;Oh, what a lovely, <i>LOVELY</i> story!&quot; said Dorothy.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_67">Page 67</a></i>.</span>

-</div>

-

-<p>The "birch arbor" was not an actual

-arbor, but it was a lovely spot, and the

-birches were exceptionally fine. Nancy

-and Dorothy had often been there together,

-and they had given it the name.</p>

-

-<p>A tiny mountain brook ran through it,

-and it was a lovely spot in which to enjoy

-legends or fairy tales.</p>

-

-<p>In a few moments Dorothy had reached

-the place, and when she had seated herself,

-she opened the book where a fine picture

-showed the prince, whose father had given

-him three wishes as his only inheritance,

-and then had sent him out to seek his fortune.</p>

-

-<p>Twice she had commenced to read the

-story, and had been obliged to lay it aside.

-Now, with only the bees and the butterflies

-hovering about her, she read the fascinating

-tale.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>It proved to be even more charming than

-she had expected.</p>

-

-<p>The prince was tall, and dark, and handsome,

-and his heart was so good and true,

-that Dorothy felt that he richly deserved

-the beautiful princess whom he finally won.</p>

-

-<p>Her eyes sparkled as she read of the

-great court wedding.</p>

-

-<p>"And the lovely princess looked more

-beautiful than ever in her wedding gown of

-cloth of gold, thickly set with diamonds,

-and her crown of diamonds and sapphires."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh what a lovely, <i>lovely</i> story!" said

-Dorothy, as she turned the page.</p>

-

-<p>"Tiny princes carried her train, and as

-the happy pair reached the palace gates,

-and were about to enter the royal coach,

-the blare of trumpets sounded, as the

-guards in blue and gold played a gay fanfare."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Toot! Toot! Toot!"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy sprang to her feet.</p>

-

-<p>It was as if those silver-toned trumpets

-had sounded close beside her. A moment

-more, and a huge automobile appeared

-from behind the trees and shrubbery, and

-slackening its speed, came, at last, to a

-standstill, and an old lady leaned out to

-question her.</p>

-

-<p>"Are we going in the right direction,

-my dear, to reach the Hotel Cleverton?"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy walked toward the car, and

-looked up into the hard, old face.</p>

-

-<p>"This little road is <i>right</i>," said Dorothy,

-"but the broad road that leads out of this

-one is not so rough, and it is a <i>little</i>

-shorter."</p>

-

-<p>"There, Minturn, I <i>said plainly</i> that I

-believed we could get there quicker some

-other way!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"You are <i>sure</i> about the Cleverton?"

-the old lady asked. "You <i>know</i> where it

-is?"</p>

-

-<p>"I'm staying there with mamma, and

-that truly is the right way," said Dorothy,

-her soft eyes looking up into the hard, old

-face.</p>

-

-<p>"I guess I can trust you," the old lady

-said, not smiling, but looking a bit less

-stern.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, Minturn, we'll <i>try</i> to reach the

-hotel, sometime before dark!" she said

-curtly.</p>

-

-<p>Puffing and whirring the big automobile

-started off up the road, the old lady sitting

-stern and erect, as if she thought her driver

-needed watching, and she was determined

-to keep a sharp eye upon him.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, how queer!" said Dorothy.

-"She didn't even say 'good-bye,' or 'good-morning.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>

-Perhaps she was very tired, and

-forgot,"&mdash;then after a moment she added,

-"but my beautiful mamma <i>never</i> forgets."</p>

-

-<p>She went back to the pretty spot where

-she had been reading, and sitting down,

-opened the book, but she could not keep her

-mind upon the stories. The strange face

-of the old lady seemed to look at her from

-the printed page.</p>

-

-<p>How small and sharp her eyes had been,

-and how she asked the same question again

-and again. Did she doubt the answer given

-her?</p>

-

-<p>All these, and many more questions puzzled

-Dorothy, and with the open book lying

-upon her lap, she looked off where the sunlight

-lay upon the grass.</p>

-

-<p>She was still sitting thus when a merry

-voice aroused her, and she turned to see

-Nancy running toward her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Dorothy!" she cried. "You ought

-to have been up at the hotel just a few

-moments ago. A new guest came, and

-she was so cross, it <i>must</i> be that she didn't

-want to come. But if she truly <i>didn't</i> want

-to, then why <i>did</i> she?"</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Nancy, who wouldn't think it

-fine to come up here to the mountains, and

-stay at the Cleverton?" said Dorothy in

-surprise.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, you wouldn't have thought the

-old lady was glad to be there, if you'd seen

-her," said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, was it an old lady that you were

-talking about?" Dorothy asked quickly.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, and you ought to have seen her

-eyes snap when she scolded her chauffeur.

-She told him she might have arrived an

-hour before just as well as not, and she

-kept right on scolding to herself, all the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>

-way up to the piazza, and, Dorothy, she

-looked so cross, I wouldn't wonder if she

-was scolding up in her room now!"</p>

-

-<p>"She must be the same one that was

-here just a little while ago," Dorothy said,

-"and she asked me to tell her the nearest

-way to the Cleverton. When I told her,

-she made the man rush off over the road,

-and she was scolding him when they

-left here. Perhaps she was tired, and

-will feel pleasanter when she has

-rested."</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps," agreed Nancy, "but I know

-Aunt Charlotte and your mamma don't act

-that way when they are tired."</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy could not dispute that, and soon

-the two little girls were enjoying the fairy

-book together.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, this is the story I've just been

-reading," said Dorothy, "and this is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>

-picture of the prince. Isn't he handsome?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and doesn't he

-look like Flossie's Uncle Harry?"</p>

-

-<p>"Why, he <i>does</i>, truly," cried Dorothy.

-"I'll show the picture to Flossie, and I'm

-sure she'll say it looks ever so much like

-him."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, she will," agreed Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, it would look <i>exactly</i> like him, if

-<i>he</i> only had a cap with plumes," said

-Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry, coming briskly up the path,

-was just in time to hear the last few words.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm very curious to know who it is who

-needs a cap with plumes," he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, who knew you were right here to

-hear it?" said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, was it a state secret?" he asked.

-"Well, now it's a pity I heard it, but as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>

-it happens I <i>did</i>, I think I must ask for the

-rest of the secret."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, <i>would</i> you tell?" Dorothy asked,

-turning to Nancy, but before she could

-reply, Uncle Harry spoke.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm really too curious," he said, "so I

-think I'll threaten to sit on this stump,

-until you tell me the secret, and let me tell

-you two little friends, that <i>I've</i> a secret;

-it's a nice one, too, but,&mdash;" he paused to

-watch the effect of his words.</p>

-

-<p>"But&mdash;But&mdash;" they cried.</p>

-

-<p>"But,&mdash;" said Uncle Harry, "I

-wouldn't tell mine <i>first!</i>"</p>

-

-<p>Wag that he was, he could not resist the

-temptation to tease just a bit.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy took the pretty book, and opening

-it at the page that showed the picture

-of the prince, she said, "We only said the

-brave prince looked like you, no, I mean<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>

-you look like him, and we said you'd

-look <i>just</i> like him if you had a cap with

-plumes."</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry appeared to study the picture

-very carefully. After a moment, he

-said:</p>

-

-<p>"That's a fine compliment, but there's

-one thing about it that worries me, so I'll

-have to ask about it.</p>

-

-<p>"In this picture the prince wears a blue

-blouse and a pair of green shoes, a pink cap

-with white plumes, gray hose, and crimson

-trunks. Now, if I should decide to purchase

-a pink cap with white plumes, would

-you expect me to come out arrayed in all

-those colors? I really feel that the costume

-is a <i>bit</i>, just a <i>bit</i> too gay."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, we'll not ask you to be quite as gay

-as that," said Dorothy, "and we'll promise

-one thing. We won't even ask you to buy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>

-a pink cap if you'll tell us your secret

-now."</p>

-

-<p>He laughed gaily.</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps I really <i>ought</i> to keep it a

-little longer. How would it do if I should

-tell you my secret some time next week?"

-he asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, no, no!" they cried, "tell it now!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, then, there's to be a fair 'way

-down in the village, a real country fair, and

-I'm intending to hire a barge, and take all

-of the <i>very</i> young ladies over with me to see

-the fun. I mean ladies as young as you, and

-Nancy, and Flossie. I shall invite all the

-wee ladies that are stopping at the hotel,

-and I shall take all who accept."</p>

-

-<p>He looked into their bright faces, and

-laughed when Dorothy said:</p>

-

-<p>"As if <i>any</i> little girl <i>wouldn't</i> accept!"</p>

-

-<p>"You mustn't expect it to be a grand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>

-affair. It will be, as I said, a real old-fashioned

-country fair, but there will be a

-jolly ride over there, and the return trip,

-and I fancy you will enjoy it all," he said,

-"and I shall have the delight of giving

-pleasure."</p>

-

-<p>A friend who had been looking for Uncle

-Harry, now appeared on the winding path,

-a clump of large trees having hidden his

-approach.</p>

-

-<p>The two young men started off for a long

-tramp, and Dorothy and Nancy walked

-slowly back to the hotel.</p>

-

-<p>"The prince <i>did</i> look like Uncle Harry,"

-said Nancy, "and the picture of the

-naughty old fairy that enchanted the sleeping

-beauty, looks like the lady that came

-this morning, and was so very cross."</p>

-

-<p>"Then that <i>is</i> the same one who stopped

-to ask the way, for she looked just like that.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>

-I'll always think, every time I look at her,

-that she's the black fairy."</p>

-

-<p>And when they ran up on to the piazza,

-there sat the very person whom they had

-been speaking of, looking somewhat cooler

-with her long travelling cloak removed.</p>

-

-<p>Her black gown was of some thin material,

-and just as the two little girls ran up

-on to the piazza, she dropped the large,

-black fan that she had been wielding.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy, who was nearer to her than

-Dorothy, picked up the fan for her. Without

-a smile, she took the fan, and they

-heard some slight sound. Possibly it might

-have been a softly murmured word of

-thanks, but it did not sound like it.</p>

-

-<p>"She seems very strange," said Dorothy,

-"but perhaps she's still tired."</p>

-

-<p>She was always unwilling to say that any

-one was wilfully rude or disagreeable.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>And now Aunt Charlotte, with Mrs.

-Dainty, came out to enjoy the fine air, and

-Dorothy and Nancy ran to them to tell them

-of the treat that Uncle Harry had in store

-for them.</p>

-

-<p>"It's only a few days to wait, and isn't

-he kind to take us?" said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"He is indeed," said Mrs. Dainty, "and

-I hope all his little friends will be very

-thoughtful, and make him just as little

-trouble as possible. He takes quite a care

-in inviting so many children."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, all the children love him, and there

-isn't one who would want to be any bother,

-unless it was Floretta," said Dorothy,

-"and perhaps she'll be having such a nice

-time, she won't think to be naughty."</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty smiled at this view of it.

-She could not help thinking that Floretta

-never needed time to think in order<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>

-to be disagreeable, but she did not say

-so.</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte Grayson, seeing the

-stranger sitting alone, paused near her

-chair to say a friendly word.</p>

-

-<p>She remained but few moments, however,

-because the woman seemed not inclined

-to talk.</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte well knew that the

-stranger was not courteous, but she tried

-to think, as Dorothy had, that fatigue, after

-a long journey, made her eager for silence

-and rest.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER V</h2>

-

-<h3>THE MOUNTAIN PARTY</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>AS the days flew by, the stranger became

-a bit more friendly, conversing

-sometimes with Mrs. Dainty and Aunt

-Charlotte, but often, far more often, with

-Mrs. Paxton.</div>

-

-<p>It was not that she sought to become acquainted

-with Floretta's mother; it was,

-rather, that Mrs. Paxton seemed determined

-to force the friendship.</p>

-

-<p>"Her name is Fenton, Mrs. Fenton, and

-isn't it odd, <i>my</i> name was Fenton before I

-married. Floretta's middle name is Fenton.

-I really feel almost as if I were related

-to her, because of the name," declared Mrs.

-Paxton one morning, whereupon Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>

-Fenton, coming out on to the piazza, remarked:</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, indeed!"</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton blushed and hesitated, then

-recovering herself, she said:</p>

-

-<p>"I was just telling these ladies of my

-friendly feeling for you."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, indeed!" Mrs. Fenton repeated, as

-she sank into a large rocker, and looked off

-across the valley to the distant mountains.</p>

-

-<p>After a few moments she seemed to have

-lost interest in the view, and, taking up a

-small embroidery frame, commenced to ply

-her needle as if she were eager to finish the

-pretty doily.</p>

-

-<p>Two little figures came slowly up the

-path to the piazza. They were returning

-from the christening of the little boat.</p>

-

-<p>"What is wrong, Jack? You don't look

-very happy," said Mrs. Tiverton.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"He wanted me to christen his boat, but

-he wouldn't give it my name!" said Floretta,

-before Jack could reply.</p>

-

-<p>"She thought just because she hemmed

-the sails I'd name it the <i>Floretta</i>, but I

-wouldn't, so I shoved it into the water myself,

-and shouted <i>Carlotta</i>. That's the name

-of a girl that goes to my school, and I like

-her."</p>

-

-<p>"You say Floretta hemmed your sails,"

-said Mrs. Tiverton.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I thanked her for that, and I let

-her go to the launching, and I let her christen

-it, but I don't see that I need name it

-for her," said Jack, stoutly.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton had not heeded what the

-children were saying. One might have fancied

-that she did not hear, although both

-Floretta and Jack stood quite near her

-chair.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>A large spool that she had wound with

-colored silk slipped from her lap, and rolled

-toward Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"Pick it up, dear," Mrs. Paxton said.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't want to," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton stooped, and recovered the

-spool, and, taking her embroidery frame in

-her hand, left the piazza, and mounted the

-stairs to her room.</p>

-

-<p>"Why <i>were</i> you so rude?" said Mrs.

-Paxton, but Floretta, perching upon the

-low railing, began softly humming "Yankee

-Doodle."</p>

-

-<p>Jack Tiverton, espying a boy that he

-knew, whistled loudly, and then, as the

-other boy turned, ran after him, the two

-whooping and shouting like savages.</p>

-

-<p>"It is almost lunch time, Jack!" Mrs.

-Tiverton cried, and the boy turned, and

-waved his hand to show that he heard her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Boys aren't apt to forget meal time,"

-muttered old Mr. Cunningham behind his

-paper.</p>

-

-<p>True enough, Jack returned in ample

-time, and was the first at the table.</p>

-

-<p>Early in the afternoon Dorothy and

-Nancy went out for a drive with Romeo.</p>

-

-<p>It was one of those sunny days that tempt

-nearly every one to ride or walk.</p>

-

-<p>The mountain roads were rather lonely,

-and Mrs. Dainty insisted that whether Dorothy

-were riding Romeo, or driving in the

-phaeton, the groom must ride at a little distance

-behind her.</p>

-

-<p>There were the lovely, slender birches on

-either side of the roads, there were patches

-of bright green moss upon which the sunlight

-rested, there were blackberry vines

-and woodbine wreathing the low stone

-walls, and here and there a mullein raised<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>

-its stately head from its base of velvet

-leaves.</p>

-

-<p>Oh, it seemed like an enchanted country,

-where new beauties were to be found on

-either hand!</p>

-

-<p>"Look!" cried Dorothy, "close beside

-that mullein is an evening primrose, and

-their blossoms are the same color."</p>

-

-<p>Then a tiny chipmunk sprang upon the

-wall, sat erect, and watched them for a moment,

-then ran up the trunk of a slender

-tree, where from a low branch he watched

-until they had passed. Then back to the

-wall he sprang, where he chattered as if

-scolding the little girls who had disturbed

-his solitude. It may be that, instead, he

-was talking to himself, and telling what

-charming little girls they were.</p>

-

-<p>A long way from the hotel they passed

-Jack Tiverton, with a number of other boys<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>

-who were staying at a hotel a few miles

-distant from the Cleverton.</p>

-

-<p>They were all somewhat larger than

-Jack, and he thought it fine to be with them.</p>

-

-<p>He had met them at a ball game three

-weeks before, and he had been very busy

-holding their acquaintance ever since.</p>

-

-<p>"We're going to catch the echo, and

-keep it, too!" shouted Jack.</p>

-

-<p>"It's mocking you now," said Dorothy,

-with a laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"I know it," said Jack, "but we'll catch

-it, and fasten it so it can't get away."</p>

-

-<p>"<i>How</i> will you fasten an echo?" Nancy

-asked, turning, and looking over her shoulder

-as the little phaeton sped past.</p>

-

-<p>"Trust us to find a way!" cried Jack,

-and the others laughed as if they already

-knew exactly how to do it.</p>

-

-<p>They left the road, and, vaulting over the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>

-wall, crossed the open field, singing a gay,

-rollicking song as they went.</p>

-

-<p>"They just <i>say</i> they're going hunting for

-the echo," said Dorothy, "and they say it

-for fun, but I wonder where they are

-going, and what they truly are going to

-do."</p>

-

-<p>The groom, riding nearer, touched his

-hat.</p>

-

-<p>"Please, Miss Dorothy, I heard the lads

-saying that there's an old house over near

-that mountain, where a hermit lived years

-ago, and they're off to find it if they

-can."</p>

-

-<p>"Then why didn't they say so, instead

-of telling such a tale about catching the

-echo?" Dorothy asked.</p>

-

-<p>"They were saying that they wanted to

-find the hut, and hunt in it, and around it

-ter find things the old fellow may have hidden.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>

-They feared you or Miss Nancy might

-tell some other lad. They're wanting it all

-to themselves."</p>

-

-<p>Having told this bit of information, the

-groom allowed the carriage to pass him,

-and once more rode behind it.</p>

-

-<p>The two little girls talked of the long

-tramp that the boys would have before they

-would find the hermit's hut.</p>

-

-<p>"And perhaps they won't find it at all,

-after all their hunting," said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I hope they will," said Dorothy,

-"because it's so horrid to hunt and hunt,

-for nothing."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, look!" she cried a moment later.

-"See the lovely mosses! Let's take some

-back to mamma and Aunt Charlotte."</p>

-

-<p>They were, indeed, beautiful. There was

-green moss that looked like velvet, and

-gray moss formed like tiny cups with scarlet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>

-edges, and other moss tipped with

-red.</p>

-

-<p>On an old stump they found shell-like

-fungus, some a creamy white, others white,

-with soft brown markings.</p>

-

-<p>Oh, a fine collection of rarely beautiful

-mosses and lichens they gathered, and

-heaped on the bottom of the phaeton.</p>

-

-<p>Romeo turned his head to watch them as

-if he wondered when they would have gathered

-enough.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, we do keep you standing, dear,

-don't we?" Dorothy said, patting his neck

-as she spoke.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, you needn't look for sugar,"

-she said, laughing, "for I haven't any

-with me, but we'll get you some fresh

-clover."</p>

-

-<p>With Nancy's help she soon had a fine

-bunch of pink clover for Romeo, and he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>

-seemed quite as pleased as if it had been

-the cubes that he so often enjoyed.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>When the party of boys had left the road

-to cross the fields that lay between them,

-and the forest at the foot of the mountain,

-they had believed that they knew

-exactly how to go to reach the hermit's

-hut.</p>

-

-<p>The old hermit had been dead for years,

-but every season the summer guests at the

-hotels and farmhouses searched all around

-the deserted hut, expecting to find some

-relic to take home and label as a bit of the

-hermit's property.</p>

-

-<p>The boys supposed that they had the

-woods to themselves, and that they would

-be uninterrupted in their search of the

-place.</p>

-

-<p>They did not know that the mountain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>

-climbers had taken the same direction, intending,

-before they enjoyed their lunch

-beneath the trees, to stop at the old, deserted

-house.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton and little Floretta had

-worked more persistently than any others

-of the party, and Mrs. Paxton had found

-a small, brass button.</p>

-

-<p>The others had laughed at the prize, asking

-her if she intended to keep it as a souvenir.</p>

-

-<p>"Certainly," said Mrs. Paxton. "I'm

-sure this brass button must have belonged

-on some old coat that the hermit

-wore!"</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps in his youth, before he came

-up here to live, he may have been a janitor,"

-said a young man, with a saucy

-laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"Or a brakeman," suggested another.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton pretended not to hear their

-teasing, and though the prize that she had

-found had been only a valueless thing, she

-kept it.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta was very eager to stay, and continue

-to peep into cracks in the floor and

-walls, and to poke with a stick under the

-doorsill, and in the soft earth around the

-hut.</p>

-

-<p>The older members of the party knew

-that if they were to ascend the mountain,

-see the view, and descend before twilight,

-they must start at once.</p>

-

-<p>As soon as their picnic lunch had been

-enjoyed they commenced to climb the

-rugged mountain path.</p>

-

-<p>It was very steep and rough, and it had

-been said that no children should be allowed

-in the party.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton had insisted that her small<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>

-daughter was a wonderful little climber,

-who was quite equal to the demands of a

-long tramp.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta had wished to remain at the hut,

-but as she could not do that, she proceeded

-to make herself as unpleasant as possible,

-by complaining every step of the way, until

-one young man voiced the feeling of the

-entire party.</p>

-

-<p>"This is a horrid, rough old path, and

-I'm tired. I wish I'd stayed at <i>home!</i>"

-said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"I wish so, <i>too!</i>" said the young man,

-and several of the party, too polite to say

-it, at heart, agreed with him.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta's was the only gloomy face,

-however. The others tramped gaily onward,

-singing snatches of song, and laughing

-as they stepped upon rolling stones, or

-tripped over long, gnarled roots that rose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>

-above the surface, as if especially designed

-to catch lagging feet.</p>

-

-<div class='poem'>

-"All day upon the hills<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">We've chased the chamois far,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">But deeper joy now thrills</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Beneath the evening star."</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<p>The youth sang gaily, and several of

-his friends joined him in singing the old

-song.</p>

-

-<p>Arrived at the summit they rested, enjoyed

-the view, laughed and joked about

-their weariness, and made many wild

-guesses as to how long it would take them

-to make the descent and drive back to the

-hotel.</p>

-

-<p>"It will be three o'clock before we reach

-the Cleverton," said one.</p>

-

-<p>"Nonsense!" cried another, "this is

-really called a mountain by courtesy. It's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>

-only a big hill. I say we shall be on the

-piazza, and wondering what we can do next,

-as early as half-past two."</p>

-

-<p>"It's more likely to be half-past <i>three!</i>"

-declared another, and when all felt sufficiently

-rested, they commenced the descent.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta refused to keep closely beside

-her mother, insisting upon clinging to another

-member of the party, to whom she

-had taken a fancy.</p>

-

-<p>The party was a large one, much larger,

-indeed, than had at first been planned, and

-while half of the number were guests at the

-Cleverton, the others were from the Merlington,

-a hotel situated nearer the village,

-and from several large farmhouses that entertained

-summer boarders.</p>

-

-<p>The guests from the Cleverton had kept

-closely together during the trip, while those

-from the Merlington had done the same.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>They had reached the foot of the mountain,

-and were tramping along a path that

-ran nearly parallel to that on which the

-hermit's house stood.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta saw the boys, near the house,

-and also saw that Jack Tiverton was with

-them.</p>

-

-<p>Without a word, she left the lady to

-whose arm she had been clinging, and making

-her way along behind bushes and underbrush,

-she managed to sneak in at the

-door of the hut, without having been seen

-by the party of boys.</p>

-

-<p>The lady, with whom she had been walking,

-supposed that she had run back to join

-her mother, while Mrs. Paxton felt quite

-undisturbed, because she believed that her

-little girl was still clinging to the arm of

-the lady with whom she had chosen to

-walk.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>It had required two barges to convey the

-party, and now they found them waiting,

-the horses a bit impatient to be off.</p>

-

-<p>The guests from the Merlington clambered

-into the first barge, and they with a

-few of the farmhouse party filled it to overflowing,

-some of the men being obliged to

-ride homeward, seated upon the steps.

-Meanwhile the Cleverton people were

-forced to wait until the barge for their

-party drove up.</p>

-

-<p>The first barge had started, and was rolling

-along, and a chorus of college songs was

-wafted back on the breeze, while handkerchiefs

-fluttered as the gay passengers

-laughed at the crowd that had not yet

-started.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton paused with her foot on the

-step, and looked back.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, where's Floretta?" she asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"In the first barge," cried a voice in

-reply.</p>

-

-<p>"Are you <i>sure?</i>" she asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, certainly," said the other, "she's

-with that tall, fine-looking lady from the

-Merlington. She'll be home before you

-are."</p>

-

-<p>The second barge was soon filled and on

-its way. The horses were less fresh than

-those of the first barge, and seemed determined

-to lag. Indeed, they required constant

-urging to keep them from dropping

-into a slow walk.</p>

-

-<p>"Those other fellows ahead of us started

-some lively college songs," said a disgusted

-passenger, "and they're actually out of

-sight now; but the way these nags are poking

-I couldn't think of anything to sing

-that would be slow enough to be appropriate."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>And while one barge was going over the

-road at a lively rate of speed, and the other

-jogging along at a snail's pace, Floretta, at

-the hut, was having a most exciting time.</p>

-

-<p>Once inside the place, she had crouched

-beneath a window to learn, if possible, what

-the boys were talking about.</p>

-

-<p>She had wanted to remain there when the

-party had started for the mountain path,

-and she had been very impatient during the

-long tramp. She cared nothing for the

-view, and determined, on the return, to

-stop, if only for a few moments, at the hut.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2>

-

-<h3>THE ECHO CAPTURED</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>FLORETTA had intended to hunt for

-treasure, hoping to get something more

-valuable than the brass button that her

-mother had found.</div>

-

-<p>She was not at all afraid of Jack Tiverton,

-but of those larger boys she was not

-quite sure.</p>

-

-<p>As she knelt beneath the window she

-could hear only the voices of the boys that

-were nearest to the hut, and hearing only

-parts of their conversation, she could not

-understand what the first speaker expected

-to find.</p>

-

-<p>"If I find it, I'll put it where it will be

-safe," he said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>There was a pause, and then a voice more

-distant replied.</p>

-

-<p>She did not hear what it said, but she did

-hear the answer made by the boy who had

-first spoken.</p>

-

-<p>"If the ghost of the old hermit was in

-the hut, it might hear you."</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, and what would he say about your

-hunting for things that may have belonged

-to him?" said another, with a teasing

-laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I'm not afraid," was the careless

-answer.</p>

-

-<p>"You're not?" jeered a laughing

-voice.</p>

-

-<p>"I think we've poked around out here

-long enough without finding anything,"

-said Jack Tiverton, "let's hunt inside the

-house."</p>

-

-<p>"Wait a minute," called a boy who had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>

-not yet spoken, "just till I've looked into

-this hollow tree trunk."</p>

-

-<p>"And <i>then</i> what?" asked a merry voice.</p>

-

-<p>"<i>Then</i> hunt in the house, of course!"

-was the curt reply.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta thought she saw a chance for

-fun.</p>

-

-<p>Softly, yet quickly, she crept up the rickety

-little stairway, built close against the

-wall, and leading to the tiny loft.</p>

-

-<p>The loft was really little more than a

-space beneath the roof where the old hermit

-might have stored a few provisions.

-She could not stand, or even sit, erect, and

-she crouched upon the bit of dusty flooring.</p>

-

-<p>She was none too soon, for in a few seconds

-the boys rushed in, and then began a

-discussion as to whether it would be safe

-to take a plank up from the floor to look

-beneath it for hidden treasure.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"You oughtn't to do that," said Jack

-Tiverton, "somebody might arrest you,

-or all of us, if folks found out we did

-it."</p>

-

-<p>"Arrest us for spoiling a floor in this old

-hut!" cried an older boy. "I wonder you

-don't think the old hermit might holler if

-he heard us pull up a plank!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well," said Jack stoutly, "you'd be as

-scared as I would if he did holler!"</p>

-

-<p>"You're a small boy, Jack, and easily

-scared," was the taunting reply.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, pull up a plank, and see what

-happens. I dare you to!" cried Jack.</p>

-

-<p>"Here goes then!" said the older boy,

-and catching hold of a plank that had rotted

-at one end, he pulled it up.</p>

-

-<p>"<i>Oh, let it alone!</i>" groaned a boy in a

-farther corner of the room, in an attempt to

-imitate an old voice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"<i>Oh, let it alone!</i>" came in exactly the

-same voice from the loft.</p>

-

-<p>Sidney Cumston, the big boy, who had

-laughed at little Jack Tiverton, dropped

-the plank, and turned pale, while not a boy

-spoke or moved.</p>

-

-<p>"Come, come!" said Sidney, when he

-caught his breath, "we're a precious pack

-of sillies! Help me lift this big board, will

-you?"</p>

-

-<p>"Will you?" came from the loft, in

-the very manner in which he had said

-it.</p>

-

-<p>Again he dropped the plank.</p>

-

-<p>"What does it mean?" cried Sidney.</p>

-

-<p>"Mean?" came his last word repeated.</p>

-

-<p>The boys were now thoroughly frightened.</p>

-

-<p>"Come!" cried Sidney, "let's leave

-here!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Here!" came a repetition of his last

-word, and big as he was, he had turned to

-run, when a faint ripple of smothered

-laughter came down from the loft.</p>

-

-<p>Immediately Sidney's pale face flushed

-red. It flashed through his mind that these

-younger boys had seen that he was frightened.</p>

-

-<p>He had been laughed at by the owner of

-the voice that had mocked him, and the

-boys would <i>never</i> stop laughing.</p>

-

-<p>Quickly he mounted the steps, and

-roughly he dragged little Floretta from her

-hiding place, half carrying her down the

-stairway, because it was too narrow for

-two to descend.</p>

-

-<p>"So you thought it was funny, just

-<i>funny</i> to mock us, did you?" he asked,

-when they reached the floor.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta was not laughing now.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She was sullen, and at the same time

-frightened.</p>

-

-<p>What would they do to her?</p>

-

-<p>They crowded around her, frowning and

-making all sorts of wild suggestions as to

-what should be done with her.</p>

-

-<p>"Keep her mocking till she's got enough

-of it!" cried one.</p>

-

-<p>"Put her back in the loft, and leave her

-there! She seemed to like there," said another.</p>

-

-<p>The big boy, whose hand was still on her

-shoulder, was more angry than either of the

-others.</p>

-

-<p>He was a bully, always ready to torment

-some one smaller than himself.</p>

-

-<p>He had reason to be provoked with Floretta,

-and the fact that she was only a little

-girl, made no impression upon him.</p>

-

-<p>He would as willingly punish a girl, as a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>

-boy, and the fact that his captive was

-smaller than he, only proved that the task

-would be an easy one.</p>

-

-<p>"You think it's smart to imitate, and it

-is. P'raps you think you're the echo that's

-over in the mountain!" he sneered.</p>

-

-<p>She made no answer. She was crying

-now.</p>

-

-<p>"Say! Let her off!" cried Jack Tiverton.

-"She's only a girl!"</p>

-

-<p>The smallest boy in the crowd, he saw

-Sidney's cowardice.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, are you sweet on Floretta?" jeered

-Sidney.</p>

-

-<p>Jack drew back abashed. He did not

-like Floretta at all, but he did think it

-mean for a big boy to frighten so small a

-girl.</p>

-

-<p>"I ain't going to hurt you," said Sidney,

-"but I'm going to give you a chance to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>

-play echo, till you're tired of it. I guess

-you'll get enough of it before you get

-through!</p>

-

-<p>"Come, fellows! Get some good long

-pieces of wild grape-vine! I'll fasten Miss

-Echo where she can shout all day, and nobody'll

-stop her!"</p>

-

-<p>"I won't go with you!" screamed Floretta,

-who had found her voice, "You sha'n't

-tie me!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, is that so?" said Sidney, in a teasing

-tone. "We'll tie you so you can't get

-away!"</p>

-

-<p>She pulled back.</p>

-

-<p>"No, you don't!" said Sidney, grasping

-her arm with a firmer hold.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, walk right along, or these other

-fellows will help me carry you!" he added,

-and Floretta thought best to walk.</p>

-

-<p>"Where'll you take her?" asked one.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Right there," said Sidney. "That

-rock is just covered with vines that cling

-fast to it. Hurry, now! Pull down some

-long, strong pieces! Here, you scratch like

-a cat! Stop that!"</p>

-

-<p>Floretta, half wild to get away, was attacking

-his hand in the manner of a little

-wild animal.</p>

-

-<p>"Let me go, then!" she screamed.</p>

-

-<p>"Not much!" cried Sidney, and with the

-help of another boy, he dragged her, screaming

-and kicking, all the way, until they

-reached the rocky ledge.</p>

-

-<p>"There, now! Hold on! You're showing

-too much temper!" cried a stout lad

-who was helping to bind her.</p>

-

-<p>"I won't stay! You sha'n't tie me!" she

-screamed, but without replying, they drew

-the tough vines closer about her, lashing her

-into such a network of stems and stout<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>

-vines that it would be impossible for her to

-escape.</p>

-

-<p>"There!" cried Sidney, when he felt sure

-that she was securely made a little prisoner,

-"You can shout till you're tired, and

-if you want to mock any one, you can mock

-yourself! Good-afternoon, Miss Echo!"</p>

-

-<p>He lifted his cap, with elaborate courtesy,

-and marched off whistling:</p>

-

-<div class='center'>

-"The Girl I Left Behind Me."<br />

-</div>

-

-<p>They did not look back. Sidney marched

-boldly away, believing that he had done a

-very smart thing, but the other boys felt

-less comfortable.</p>

-

-<p>They had been angry with her, and they

-had wished to see her punished, but they

-could not help thinking that she was a little

-girl, and they were leaving her alone in the

-woods!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Jack Tiverton was, by far, the most uneasy.</p>

-

-<p>He was the smallest of the party, and,

-while he had asked Sidney to let Floretta

-go, he had known it was useless to do

-more.</p>

-

-<p>The eight other boys were stronger than

-he, and any attempt upon his part to free

-her would be worse than useless. They

-would not listen, but instead, would pounce

-upon him.</p>

-

-<p>The other boys talked, laughed, and whistled,

-to imply that they were not thinking

-of what they had done, but all the way back

-to the Cleverton, little Jack was wondering

-what he could do.</p>

-

-<p>He dared not go straight to Floretta's

-mother, and tell her of her little girl's

-plight.</p>

-

-<p>He knew if he did that, the boys would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>

-soon learn who had played "tell-tale," and

-then,&mdash;what would they do to <i>him?</i></p>

-

-<p>And yet, he was determined, in some way,

-to help Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>How could he let a little girl stay out

-there in the woods all night?</p>

-

-<p>Of course some one, walking through the

-woods might find her, but if no one happened

-to?</p>

-

-<p>Jack knew that the risk was too great.

-It was just before he reached the Cleverton,

-that he thought of the best way that he

-could do it.</p>

-

-<p>He would write a note to Mrs. Paxton.

-He would drop that note into the mail box

-that hung at the side door. The letters were

-always distributed at four, and Sidney Cumston,

-who had a fine watch, had just said

-that it was three. He left the boys at the

-entrance to the Merlington, and hurried on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>

-that he might have plenty of time for his

-note.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Tiverton was out driving with a

-friend, and Jack had quite a hunt before he

-could find pencil or paper for his note.</p>

-

-<p>At last he found a blank book, and with

-a pencil he wrote this note.</p>

-

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"Deer Mrs. Paxton:&mdash;</p>

-

-<p>"Yor litle girl is tied up in the woods

-opsite the hermits hut. You better go get

-her real quick or somethin may happen too

-her.</p>

-

-<div class='sig'>

-"Yors trooly."<br />

-</div></div>

-

-<p>He folded it, and, in place of the envelope

-that he could not find, he tied around it a

-bit of string that he found in his pocket.</p>

-

-<p>Boldly he addressed it, in very large letters,

-and sneaking down the stairway, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>

-around on the piazza toward the side door,

-watched his chance, and slipped it into the

-mail box.</p>

-

-<p>There was much excitement on the front

-piazza, because the guests had arrived in

-the barge but a few moments before, and

-Mrs. Paxton had given a maid a generous

-"tip" to go over to the Merlington, and

-bring Floretta back with her.</p>

-

-<p>"She returned with the party that came

-from the Merlington, and I don't wish her

-to remain there. I want her to come right

-back to me," said Mrs. Paxton.</p>

-

-<p>"Very well, ma'am," the maid had replied,

-and with the coins in her hand, had

-started off at once toward the other hotel.</p>

-

-<p>When little Jack Tiverton ran around to

-the front piazza, the maid had just returned.</p>

-

-<p>"If you please, Mrs. Paxton, your little

-girl isn't over to the Merlington, and hasn't<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>

-been there, and a lady that was with the

-party that came home from the mountain

-trip, says the child wasn't in their barge at

-all. I asked her if she was <i>sure</i>, and she

-said, she couldn't help being sure, because

-there wasn't <i>any</i> child in their barge."</p>

-

-<p>Of course excitement reigned supreme.

-Mrs. Paxton seemed half wild, and every

-one shared her anxiety.</p>

-

-<p>The fact that Floretta was not a favorite

-made no difference. No one liked to think

-of a little girl out there alone on the mountain

-path, or in the woods, especially as it

-was already late afternoon.</p>

-

-<p>"What a dreadful thing!" cried Mrs.

-Paxton, wringing her hands, and walking

-up and down the piazza.</p>

-

-<p>"Who will go with me? I cannot go

-alone, and where, <i>where</i> shall we look first?

-Who saw her last?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>At this moment a man-servant came out

-from the hall with a tray of letters that he

-began to distribute.</p>

-

-<p>"One for you, Mrs. Paxton," said the

-man, as he touched her arm gently.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I can't think of letters now," she

-said, but something about the note seemed

-so unusual that she looked at it.</p>

-

-<p>She drew off the string that had been

-loosely tied, and read the hastily scrawled

-lines.</p>

-

-<p>She screamed, and Aunt Charlotte, who

-was standing near her, put her arm around

-her and supported her, or she would have

-fallen.</p>

-

-<p>Many of those who gathered around Mrs.

-Paxton were inclined to think the note a

-hoax, but Mrs. Dainty, coming forward,

-lifted her handsome head, and looking

-at the men who were lounging comfortably<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>

-in the large rockers, or sitting upon the

-piazza railing, spoke the word that spurred

-them to action.</p>

-

-<p>"Is it safe to <i>guess</i> that this is a joke?

-True, it is written in a boyish hand, and

-while it <i>may</i> be a boy's joke, may it not be

-a boy's means of telling us what has actually

-happened? I would not, were I a man,

-take the responsibility or chance, of leaving

-Floretta out there, because I would go to

-the place, and thus learn, not guess, if this

-information be true."</p>

-

-<p>She had scarcely finished speaking when

-a number of men rose, and one, who chose

-to lead the party, lifted his hat to Mrs.

-Dainty, saying:</p>

-

-<p>"We are off, madam. We only needed

-an inspiration to move us to endeavor."</p>

-

-<p>She bowed and smiled, as she said:</p>

-

-<p>"One thing I ask of you. Go as quickly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>

-as possible, for the sake of the frightened

-child, and the anxious mother."</p>

-

-<p>"In all possible haste," was the quick

-reply, and she turned to offer what comfort

-she might to the woman who seemed nearly

-distracted.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>And all this time, what had been happening

-in the wood? For a long time Floretta

-had cried, screamed, and shouted, hoping

-that the boys would come back and release

-her.</p>

-

-<p>Then, when she knew that they must be

-too far away to hear her, she tore at the

-clasping bonds, trying in every way to free

-herself. With feet and hands she strove

-to loosen the tough, wiry vines, kicking and

-trampling with her restless feet, beating

-and bending with her little hands, until

-they were torn and bleeding, and the tormenting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>

-vines seemed only to hold her with

-a firmer grasp, as if to prove how useless

-was her struggle.</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 391px;">

-<img src="images/i005.jpg" width="391" height="500" alt="With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines.&mdash;Page 119." title="" />

-<span class="caption">With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_119">Page 119</a></i>.</span>

-</div>

-

-<p>She had cried until she could cry no more,

-and the sturdy vines had cut and bruised

-her.</p>

-

-<p>So firmly was she bound that she could

-not sink to the grass to rest, and she

-had only the hard, rocky ledge to lean

-against.</p>

-

-<p>How still the woodland seemed! Sometimes

-a twig would snap, or a buzzing insect

-would pause, as if to look at her, but

-no one came to set her free.</p>

-

-<p>She waited for a moment to regain her

-breath, and then again she fought and struggled

-with those tough, sturdy vines.</p>

-

-<p>She tried to wrench them apart, to break,

-to tear them from her, but they only yielded

-enough to bend, and then snap back into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>

-the very place that she had pushed them

-from.</p>

-

-<p>Not a vine broke, not a stem gave way,

-and she set her lips tightly for yet greater

-effort!</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2>

-

-<h3>FLORETTA'S RETURN</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>AT a far corner of the piazza sat Dorothy,

-her eyes terrified, and her cheeks

-pale. Nancy, close beside her, wound her

-arms about her, and sought, in every way,

-to comfort her.</div>

-

-<p>"They'll find her soon, Dorothy, so don't

-you be frightened," she whispered.

-"They'll <i>surely</i> find her soon."</p>

-

-<p>Dear little Nancy knew, better than any

-of Dorothy's other friends could have

-known, how ready was her sympathy, how

-kind and loving was her heart.</p>

-

-<p>She had not loved Floretta, but with

-Dorothy, that did not count. It was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>

-dreadful fear that something had happened

-to a little girl, who, so recently had been at

-play with them,&mdash;ah, that was what

-grieved sweet Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>She was thinking of what Mrs. Dainty

-had said to Aunt Charlotte when the mountain

-trip was first talked of.</p>

-

-<p>"I think the long tramp is a rougher

-form of amusement than I can well endure.

-I should be so weary long before it was time

-to return, that I should derive but little

-pleasure from the trip. There is another

-thought in connection with the picnic," she

-continued, "and that is an element of danger.

-Not great danger perhaps, but such

-that I would not join the party, nor would

-I permit Dorothy, or Nancy to do so. One

-gentleman who was talking of the mountain

-path that they have chosen, spoke of

-the great danger to the climbers from small,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>

-rolling stones, and from places where the

-earth seems to crumble near the edge of the

-narrow foot-path. A careless step might

-lead to a fall that would mean, I hardly

-dare to say what!"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy had been wishing to

-join the party, but upon hearing this, they

-lost all interest in it, and had cheerfully

-taken the drive behind gentle Romeo, instead.

-Now, as Dorothy sat with Nancy's

-arms about her, she was glad that they had

-not been permitted to go, and she heartily

-wished that Floretta had remained at the

-Cleverton.</p>

-

-<p>"Had she rolled from the path, and

-fallen, fallen,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy covered her eyes with her hands,

-as if she almost saw the little girl falling,

-down, down to the ravine so far below the

-path, and was trying to shut out the picture.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>

-Nancy, still striving to quiet her fear, heard

-some one telling what the scribbled note

-had said.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Dorothy!" she whispered, eagerly,

-"Floretta is just where they know how to

-find her, and they've promised to hurry,

-and bring her back."</p>

-

-<p>"Are you <i>sure?</i>" Dorothy asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, <i>sure!</i>" said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>Then Nancy climbed into the big chair

-beside her, and the two little girls sat, each

-tightly clasping the other's hands, while

-they waited and watched for the first

-glimpse of the men who should return,

-bringing Floretta with them.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte remained

-with Mrs. Paxton, who seemed to

-have lost all control of herself.</p>

-

-<p>One moment she would cry as if her

-heart would break, and then she would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>

-spring up, threatening to follow the direction

-that the men had taken, and try to

-reach the woods, thus to sooner see her little

-girl.</p>

-

-<p>At last, after what seemed endless waiting,

-but was actually only an hour, some

-one espied the men in the distance, and

-cried out:</p>

-

-<p>"They're coming! They're coming!"</p>

-

-<p>"Have they got Floretta? Oh, <i>have</i>

-they found her?" shrieked Mrs. Paxton.</p>

-

-<p>"We can't see from here," said the one

-who had spoken, and the mother rushed

-forward, shading her eyes with her hand,

-and straining to catch the first glimpse of

-her child.</p>

-

-<p>She would have rushed down the road to

-meet them, but Mrs. Dainty held her back.

-She had seen that they were carrying Floretta,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>

-and she thought, in case the child were

-injured, the mother would far better save

-her strength.</p>

-

-<p>Two of the men had clasped their hands

-to form an "arm-chair," and thus they

-brought to the piazza, a very limp, tired

-Floretta, whose vivacity was all gone, and

-whose face bore the trace of desperate

-weeping, while her arms and hands were

-covered with cuts and bruises, and her

-little frock was torn and tattered by her

-struggle with the tough and tightly knotted

-vines.</p>

-

-<p>She lay back against the shoulder of one

-man who supported her, and looked as if

-her strength were spent.</p>

-

-<p>She changed on the instant that they set

-her on her feet.</p>

-

-<p>Rushing to her mother, she permitted her

-to clasp her for a moment to her breast, then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>

-turning to the group that gathered around

-her, she cried fiercely:</p>

-

-<p>"Look! See my hands! See my arms!

-See the scratches, where I tried to get

-away, and it was Sidney Cumston who

-tied me! He <i>did</i> it, but the other boys

-<i>let</i> him. Not one tried to hinder him except

-Jack Tiverton, the littlest one of them all.

-He tried to make them let me go, but they

-wouldn't. Oh, somebody punish all but

-Jack! He <i>tried</i>, but he couldn't help me."</p>

-

-<p>She was hysterical, and sank to the floor

-of the piazza, sobbing, and crying, before

-her mother could catch her.</p>

-

-<p>She scrambled to her feet, and was

-clasped in her mother's arms.</p>

-

-<p>Old Mr. Cunningham surprised every one

-by speaking most kindly to her. She had

-so often tormented him that it seemed generous

-that he should offer a bit of comfort.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"I don't think we shall let those young

-rascals escape without a sharp reprimand,

-and if I was to venture a guess about it, I

-should say that little Jack, after all, managed

-to help you, Floretta," he said.</p>

-

-<p>She turned in surprise to look at the old

-face, that now looked so kindly at her.</p>

-

-<p>"Come out here, Jack," said the old gentleman,

-"didn't you write the note that

-sent us searching for this little girl?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, sir," said Jack, "and I wrote it

-'cause I thought the other big fellows were

-mean, but if they find out I told, they'll&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"No, they won't," said Mr. Cunningham.

-"You're no 'tell-tale.' You did just right,

-and the men here will stand by you. Those

-big boys were the cowards to torment a little

-girl. You're the best boy up here in the

-mountains."</p>

-

-<p>"Three cheers for young Tiverton!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>

-shouted some one, and in the midst of the

-excitement, Mrs. Paxton, with her little

-daughter, slipped away to their room, after

-having thanked little Jack for his valuable

-assistance.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile old Mr. Cunningham had been

-searching in this pocket and that for something

-which he seemed most anxious to

-find.</p>

-

-<p>"Ah, I knew I had it! Come here,

-Jack!"</p>

-

-<p>Blushing and diffident, Jack walked over

-to the big rocker.</p>

-

-<p>"'Tisn't much, boy, but I think you

-ought to have a medal. Here's a silver dollar

-I've been keeping for a pocket piece.

-I'll give it to you for a medal, for being

-brave enough to tell what you knew <i>ought</i>

-to be told. That's not tale-bearing, and as

-you were afraid to tell, for fear of those big<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>

-bullies, it was a brave act. You're a lad

-that knows <i>what</i> to do, <i>when</i> to do, and then

-<i>does</i> it!"</p>

-

-<p>"Hurrah for Jack Tiverton!" some one

-cried again, and this time they were given

-with a will.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Tiverton, returning from a long

-drive, wondered what all the excitement

-meant, and why they were cheering her

-little son.</p>

-

-<p>Jack, with his silver dollar tightly

-clasped, hung his head, and looked as if

-overpowered by his conspicuous position.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy, now bright and happy, since

-Floretta was safe, saw that Jack hesitated.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Mrs. Tiverton," she said, "Jack

-has been truly the <i>best</i> boy in the world,

-but he can't speak just now. When he tells

-you what he's done, you won't wonder why

-they cheered him!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Barnet and Flossie, with Uncle

-Harry and his wife, now arrived in their

-big automobile from a three-days' trip that

-they had been enjoying.</p>

-

-<p>Of course Dorothy and Nancy tried to

-tell Flossie all about Floretta and Jack, and

-they were both so excited that Flossie got

-a very twisted idea of the affair.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry, not dreaming that the matter

-was at all serious, turned, after greeting

-the children, to enter the house.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "you

-ought to hear about it. There were ever

-so many big boys, and only one little girl,

-and they tied her so she couldn't get away,

-and Jack wrote a note, and when they

-found her,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Now, Flossie, dear, I'm perfectly willing

-to be scared half out of my wits, but I

-<i>must</i> know what I'm being scared about.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>

-You're getting me so mixed up that I've

-not the least idea what this is all about.

-Have you?" he asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, no," said Flossie, "I don't <i>half</i> understand

-it, but it does sound so frightful,

-that I'm so scared, I need to have you be

-scared, too."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, then," Uncle Harry replied, "if

-it will help you to know it, I'll admit that

-my teeth are chattering, and shivers are

-running up and down my spine!</p>

-

-<p>"I thought at first that it was the draft

-across this piazza, but perhaps, after all, it

-was caused by what you were telling me."</p>

-

-<p>When, at last, he had heard the story, he

-was full of disgust that any boy, and his

-friends, should have been guilty of such a

-contemptible act, and his sympathy for the

-little girl was deep and sincere.</p>

-

-<p>"She will need rest and quiet to-morrow,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>

-he said, "and you three little friends

-will be kind, I think, if you stay rather

-closely here, and help, in some quiet way,

-to amuse her."</p>

-

-<p>"We will," said Dorothy, "I'll let her

-read my new fairy book if she'd like to.

-She could lie in the hammock, and do that."</p>

-

-<p>"I'll keep the hammock swinging," said

-Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"And I'll give her my new box of candy

-I just brought home," said Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"That's right," said Uncle Harry, "and

-for your sweet promises of kindness toward

-the child who has suffered so much to-day

-I'll remind you that on day after to-morrow

-I shall give myself the pleasure of taking

-you all to the fair. I promise you a <i>fine</i>

-time."</p>

-

-<p>He turned to look over his shoulder, and

-laugh at their wild little cries of delight.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>He was anticipating the pleasure quite as

-much as they.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie kept the

-promise that they had made, and Floretta

-fully enjoyed their kindness. She seemed

-unusually gentle, and Mrs. Paxton thanked

-them for so sweetly helping to amuse her,

-and thus make her willing to spend the day

-quietly.</p>

-

-<p>The day set for the visit to the village

-fair dawned bright and sunny, a light breeze

-making it just cool enough to be delightful.</p>

-

-<p>The barge was waiting for its gay little

-passengers.</p>

-

-<p>The children stood with impatient feet on

-the piazza, waiting for their host, merry,

-handsome Uncle Harry.</p>

-

-<p>At last a firm tread caused them to turn,

-and there he was, looking gayer than ever,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>

-a picture of health, strength, and kindliness,

-and clad in a most becoming outing

-suit of light gray serge.</p>

-

-<p>The blue of his tie was not bluer than his

-fine eyes, and no one could have glanced at

-him without knowing that he possessed a

-generous, loving nature, a kind and merry

-heart.</p>

-

-<p>"Come, little friends!" he cried. "Is

-every young lady that I invited here?" he

-added, looking anxiously lest some child be

-late, and thus by chance, be left behind.</p>

-

-<p>"Every one is here!" said Flossie. "I

-know because I've counted."</p>

-

-<p>"Then we'll start at once, unless some

-one would rather wait 'til to-morrow?" he

-said, his eyes twinkling.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, no! No!" they cried. "We just

-<i>couldn't</i> wait!"</p>

-

-<p>"In that case we'll go now!" he said,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>

-with a droll expression, as if he started at

-once, merely as an accommodation.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Uncle Harry! You're only joking,"

-cried Flossie. "You wouldn't be

-willing to wait until to-morrow. I heard

-you tell Aunt Vera to hurry and find your

-tie, because you were in such a rush to

-start!"</p>

-

-<p>"To think that my own little niece would

-tell tales like that, and thus let out the

-secret. What chance have I now, of making

-them think that I was really very shy

-about riding with such a large party of

-girls?"</p>

-

-<p>Shouts of laughter greeted this speech,

-and Uncle Harry waited until it had subsided,

-then he said:</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, well, if no one <i>believes</i> that I am

-shy or diffident, it's waste of time to try to

-appear so, so I shall not try. Instead, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>

-shall be very bold. Come, dears, let me help

-you in!"</p>

-

-<p>And amid shouts of laughter from the

-children, he lifted each high in air, and

-placed her in the barge, thus saving her the

-trouble of mounting the steps.</p>

-

-<p>Then taking his seat in the middle of the

-laughing, chattering little party, he called

-to the driver to start.</p>

-

-<p>The long whip cracked, Jack Tiverton,

-from the piazza, blew loudly on a tin

-trumpet, and they were off over the road,

-the happiest party that ever filled a barge.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry told some amusing stories,

-then, led by his fine voice, they sang some

-gay little songs, and before they dreamed

-that they had arrived at the fair, the driver

-shouted:</p>

-

-<p>"Here we are!" and sure enough, they

-had reached the fair grounds.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Why, I didn't suppose we were more

-than half-way here," said Dorothy, "and

-the reason is that the ride has been so

-jolly."</p>

-

-<p>"That's just it," agreed Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"The reason <i>I</i> enjoyed the ride," said

-Uncle Harry, "is because I was so charmed

-with my little guests."</p>

-

-<p>"And the reason why we had such a fine

-ride," said Flossie, "is because we had the

-<i>best</i> man in the world taking care of us."</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry bowed low.</p>

-

-<p>"This must be a wedding party, if I'm

-the 'best man,'" he said with a laugh, "so

-we'll not fuss because there's no musician

-to play a march for us, but we'll play you

-are all bridesmaids, and we'll hurry right

-along. The entrance is this way, I think,

-and under that evergreen arch."</p>

-

-<p>A large tent had been pitched for the display<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>

-of the various wares and numerous

-attractions; a smaller tent near it serving

-as fortune teller's booth.</p>

-

-<p>"We'll coax Uncle Harry to have his

-fortune told," whispered Flossie to Dorothy,

-when, to their great surprise, he said:</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Flossie, you little witch! Uncle

-Harry heard what you said, and not only

-is he going to have his fortune told, but he's

-going to make every one of you little girls

-have yours told, also!"</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2>

-

-<h3>AT THE FAIR</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>THE fair proved a great delight to the

-children. They had all been to fine

-fairs patronized by fashionable matrons,

-whose names were quite enough to insure

-success, but the country fair was an absolute

-novelty.</div>

-

-<p>At the large city fairs, merry d&eacute;butantes

-graced the booths, and sold flowers, or tickets

-for the various games of chance.</p>

-

-<p>Here in the mountain village all was different,

-and the novelty gave greater interest.</p>

-

-<p>Farmers' daughters were in the booths,

-and sold huge bouquets of old-fashioned

-garden flowers, homemade candy, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>

-honey, while one rosy-cheeked lass dispensed

-sweet cider, or sweet apples, according

-to the preference of her customer.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry purchased a huge stalk of

-hollyhocks for each of his guests, but for

-himself he chose an enormous sunflower

-which he insisted looked <i>fine</i> in his buttonhole.</p>

-

-<p>There was music, if it could be called

-music, furnished by the local band.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry said he had never seen

-such independent people as those musicians

-were. He declared that the music sounded,

-to him, as if each man commenced to play

-when he chose, and stopped when he got

-ready, regardless of what the other players

-were doing.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I do believe that is the way they

-play!" cried Dorothy, laughing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Of course it is," cried Uncle Harry,

-"and a great deal of bother it saves, for no

-one has to direct them; they do not know

-that they are making discord, and thus they

-play and play with all their might, and are

-absolutely care-free and happy."</p>

-

-<p>There were heaps of giant pumpkins,

-and more red and yellow ears of corn than

-they had ever seen before, while everywhere

-was laughter, and friendly gossip,

-and chatter, that made the fair a jolly place

-in which to roam about.</p>

-

-<p>The children were determined to see

-every object in the big tent, and while some

-were interested in one thing, others wished

-to see something else, so they decided to

-divide into two groups.</p>

-

-<p>One half of the little party turned to the

-right intent upon seeing some gaudy patchwork

-quilts, while the others turned to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>

-left declaring their intention of investing

-all their pennies in the "fish-pond."</p>

-

-<p>There were so many things to see on the

-way, that it was a long time before they

-met, as they had agreed, at the entrance.</p>

-

-<p>Somewhere on the way they had missed

-Uncle Harry, and they could not imagine

-where he had gone.</p>

-

-<p>It happened that Uncle Harry had seen a

-very small girl crying, and his first thought

-was to help her, and thus dry her tears.</p>

-

-<p>Upon questioning her, he found that the

-wee little maid had, by accident, knocked

-a small doll from one of the tables, and had

-been roundly scolded.</p>

-

-<p>"That pretty girl with the black eyes

-says I did it a-purpose, but I didn't,"

-she cried, "I wanted to see it, and

-I just touched it, and it tumbled off the

-table."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Her tears fell afresh, and in place of a

-handkerchief, she drew up her blue-checked

-apron, and hid her face in it.</p>

-

-<p>"Look up, little girl," Uncle Harry said,

-and his voice sounded so kindly, that she at

-once peeped at him through her tears.</p>

-

-<p>"Which is the table where all this happened?"</p>

-

-<p>"That one," said the child, "and the big

-girl is looking at me now."</p>

-

-<p>"Then give me your hand, and, just for

-fun, <i>we'll</i> go and look at <i>her</i>."</p>

-

-<p>A moment she hesitated.</p>

-

-<p>"Come," he said, and with a sunny smile,

-the little girl placed her hand in his, and

-the big, handsome man with the wee country

-lass approached the table together.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll lift you up so you can see nicely,"

-he said. "Now, which was the doll that fell

-from the table?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Before the child could reply, the girl

-spoke sharply.</p>

-

-<p>"'Twas that one, sir, and her meddlesome

-fingers,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Never mind about that," said Uncle

-Harry, then turning to the child he said:</p>

-

-<p>"Did you like that one best, or is that

-larger one finer?"</p>

-

-<p>"That large one is the loveliest. I didn't

-<i>ever</i> see one so fine as that."</p>

-

-<p>"We'll have that one, then," he said,

-offering a bill to the astonished salesgirl.</p>

-

-<p>"There, little girl, she's yours," he said,

-as he placed the big doll in her arms.</p>

-

-<p>"I can hold her a little while?" she

-asked, eagerly.</p>

-

-<p>"You can hold her <i>always</i>, if you want

-to," he said gently, "I bought her for you."</p>

-

-<p>Rapturously she clasped the gift in her

-arms.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I love you, because you are good,"

-she cried.</p>

-

-<p>"Then tell me your name," he said.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm Lois Ann Ferguson," chirped the

-little girl, "and father is Sandy Ferguson.

-Oh, there he is now. He's to play the

-pipes."</p>

-

-<p>She ran toward a sturdy man dressed in

-Highland costume, and carrying the bagpipes

-under his arm.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Ferguson glanced at her flushed

-cheeks, saw the gorgeous doll that she flourished

-before his astonished eyes, and finally

-understood that the tall, handsome stranger

-had bestowed it upon his wee daughter, as

-a gift.</p>

-

-<p>He took her little hand, and hurried forward,

-saying:</p>

-

-<p>"I dinna ken why he should dae it for

-my wee lassie.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"I wad gladly thank ye, sir," he said,

-"but I'm lost in wonder that ye made wee

-Lois sae blithe an' gay wi' the braw

-gift."</p>

-

-<p>"She's a dear little lass," said Uncle

-Harry, "and when I found her crying, I

-knew that a fine new doll would dry her

-tears. Don't bother to thank me. I made

-myself happy, when I comforted her."</p>

-

-<p>"I wish there were mair like ye," said

-Sandy Ferguson, "an' some day when ye're

-older, an' ha' a wee daughter of yer ain,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"I have a wife and baby girl now," was

-the quick reply, "and they are my dearest

-possessions."</p>

-

-<p>"An' I thought ye a braw, bonny laddie,

-wi' yer fair hair an' blue een! Weel, weel,

-ye dinna hae tae live 'til ye're auld before

-ye ken tae dae a kindly act," Sandy Ferguson

-replied, "an' later when I play the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>

-pipes, an' Lois dances, she shall make her

-first bow tae her new friend."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry, <i>did</i> you buy the new

-doll for the little girl?"</p>

-

-<p>It was little Flossie, who, after having

-searched every corner of the tent, had found

-him talking to the Scotchman and his little

-girl.</p>

-

-<p>"Is he your own uncle?" little Lois

-asked, looking up into Flossie's lovely face.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes," said Flossie, "and he's the

-best uncle in the world."</p>

-

-<p>"I know he must be," said the little girl.

-"See how good he was to me."</p>

-

-<p>They turned to join the rest of their party,

-and little Lois looked over her shoulder,

-with one hand held fast in her father's,

-while with the other she tightly clasped the

-precious doll.</p>

-

-<p>"I saw the notice near the entrance when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>

-we came in, that a Scotch farmer would

-play, and his little daughter would dance,"

-said Uncle Harry, "but that child is not

-much more than a baby. She cannot be

-more than four. It will be amusing to see

-her dance, and Nancy Ferris will enjoy it

-most of all."</p>

-

-<p>They found the others reading the notice

-of which they had been talking, and they

-were delighted when they heard what a

-very little girl it was who was to dance.</p>

-

-<p>They had a lunch served by girls dressed

-as dairy maids, and it was just such a lunch

-as might have been enjoyed at a farmhouse.</p>

-

-<p>The long table spread with its white

-cloth, and set with blue and white dishes,

-was decorated by a garland of small sunflowers

-that lay upon the cloth, down

-the centre, and the entire length of the

-table.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>There were plates heaped with biscuit,

-there were dishes of both wild and cultivated

-strawberries, and delicious cream to

-be eaten with them, there were sandwiches

-and little cakes, honey enough to tempt the

-bees to the feast, and the children thought

-it finer than a hotel dinner. How they

-laughed, and chattered, as they enjoyed the

-spread!</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry was in his sunniest mood,

-and told stories and jokes that kept them

-amused, and seemed to be the gayest member

-of the party.</p>

-

-<p>"Tell us a story about when you were a

-<i>little</i> boy," said Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"My small niece thinks I'm nothing but

-a <i>big</i> boy now!" he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, the big Scotchman thought you

-were only a lad. I heard him say so," said

-Flossie.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"When you were a boy were you ever

-naughty, <i>real</i> naughty?" Floretta asked.</p>

-

-<p>She had been very quiet, and all were

-surprised at her question.</p>

-

-<p>"Once upon a time, when I was little,"

-said Uncle Harry, "I was very, <i>very</i> fond

-of good things, but the one thing that I

-liked better than anything else was strawberry

-jam.</p>

-

-<p>"I was always allowed to have it, but I

-felt sure that it would taste even nicer if

-I had more of it at a time, and still finer if

-I could have a long handled spoon, and eat

-it right from the jar.</p>

-

-<p>"I used often to think how fine it would

-be if I, some day, could have the chance to

-eat it that way, but I never could get even

-<i>very</i> near the jar.</p>

-

-<p>"One day the opportunity came. My

-sister and I were in the nursery, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>

-maid had been down-stairs for a long

-time.</p>

-

-<p>"The rest of the family were away, and

-we were to have our tea in the nursery, as

-usual, only, as we had had to remain at

-home, we were to have an extra treat.</p>

-

-<p>"Among other good things, we were to

-have strawberry jam.</p>

-

-<p>"My sister, that is Flossie's mamma,

-was a little older than I, and she was always

-trying to give me lessons in good

-behavior.</p>

-

-<p>"'Now, Harry,' she said, 'while nurse

-is down-stairs, we might commence to set

-our table.'</p>

-

-<p>"'There isn't anything here to set it

-with but the tablecloth and the jam,' I said,

-'but you're a girl, so you know how to put

-the cloth on, and I'll bring the jam.'"</p>

-

-<p>"I guess Uncle Harry was so fond of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>

-jam, that he liked even to carry the jar,"

-said Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"We wondered why the nurse stayed so

-long down-stairs," continued Uncle Harry,

-"and I told my sister that I was tired of

-waiting for tea, and I said I'd taste of the

-jam, if only I had a long handled spoon.</p>

-

-<p>"'Why, Harry,' she answered in disgust,

-'I wouldn't think you'd be so

-naughty, but,&mdash;if you really <i>want</i> to taste

-it, here's the spoon beside the jar.'"</p>

-

-<p>"And <i>did</i> you?" questioned Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, yes, I have to admit that I did.

-In truth, I tasted and tasted until my sister

-cried:</p>

-

-<p>"'Why, Harry, you naughty boy! When

-you get done tasting, there won't be any

-left!'</p>

-

-<p>"'You won't care, because <i>you</i> wouldn't

-be so naughty as to taste it!' I said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"'Oh, wouldn't I?' she cried. 'Well,

-you just let me take that spoon, and you'll

-see!'</p>

-

-<p>"Well, a funny mix-up followed, in which

-we each tried to get possession of the spoon

-and the jam. We were laughing while we

-struggled for it, but at last, one of us

-slipped, and fell, dragging the other down;

-the jar of jam tipped over, and her white

-frock, my gray jacket and trousers, and

-even my long, yellow curls became smeared

-with the jam.</p>

-

-<p>"Nurse opened the door, and screamed

-with terror, for the red jam looked as if

-we had been terribly hurt, and it was some

-time before we could convince her that we

-were not cut or bruised, but only <i>very

-sticky!</i></p>

-

-<p>"Then came the scolding, and my sister

-tried to screen me.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"'Harry couldn't help tasting it, he's

-so fond of jam,' she said.</p>

-

-<p>"'Well, he's got a good share of it, inside

-and out,' said nurse, grimly.</p>

-

-<p>"'She's got as much as I have,' I said,

-'just look at her frock!'</p>

-

-<p>"Of course our clothes were changed,

-and the jam cleaned from the polished floor,

-but we had our tea without jam.</p>

-

-<p>"Nurse said we could eat our biscuits

-with the <i>memory</i> of the jam we had already

-enjoyed."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry," cried Flossie, "I

-wish, even though you were naughty, she'd

-let you have more jam. She didn't know

-how good you'd be when you grew up."</p>

-

-<p>"I still am fond of jam!" he said, and

-the children laughed to see him pour honey

-over his berries that already were covered

-with sugar.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"You like <i>anything</i> that's sweet!" said

-Dorothy, "whether it's jam, or sugar, or

-honey,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>"Or little girls," said Uncle Harry.

-"You notice, I made this party all little

-girls, and I'm having a <i>lovely</i> time."</p>

-

-<p>"So are we," laughed Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"And he says 'lovely' just as we do,"

-said Nancy, "he does it to make us laugh."</p>

-

-<p>"Then why don't you laugh?" said

-Uncle Harry, and they <i>did</i> laugh, every

-member of the party, and laughed because

-they could not help it.</p>

-

-<p>And when the merry feast was over, they

-hastened to the small tent where the old

-gypsy was telling fortunes.</p>

-

-<p>Each had intended to have her fortune

-told, and thus learn what the future held

-for her.</p>

-

-<p>To their great surprise, she flatly refused<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>

-to tell any child's fortune, saying that she

-would only foretell events for "grown

-ups." The little girls were rather afraid

-of her, but Uncle Harry boldly offered his

-hand, saying:</p>

-

-<p>"Am I big enough to hear my fortune?"</p>

-

-<p>"No nonsense, young lad," she said,

-while the children dared not laugh. She

-bent over his palm for a moment, then she

-solemnly said:</p>

-

-<p>"You're a brave lad, and you need to

-be for you will fall in love with a girl who'll

-have red hair, and the temper that usually

-goes with it."</p>

-

-<p>"O dear!" sighed Uncle Harry.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't worry, young man," said the old

-gypsy, "because it will be some months

-before you marry."</p>

-

-<p>"Indeed," said Uncle Harry, "and what

-shall I do if the girl proves to have the temper<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>

-you prophesy? Shall I try to calm her

-by holding her under a pump, or would you

-advise tying her until she feels less fiery?"</p>

-

-<p>"Young man, this is no laughing matter,"

-was the sharp reply.</p>

-

-<p>"Guess it isn't!" said Uncle Harry.

-"I've seldom been so discouraged. Here

-am I, a man who has a lovely wife and baby

-girl, and yet I've got to marry a red-haired

-girl, with a temper like chain lightning!

-Who was ever in a worse fix?"</p>

-

-<p>The old gypsy flew into a rage. "You're

-poking fun at me!" she cried.</p>

-

-<p>"There! There! The fun was worth

-that!" he cried, laying a handful of small

-coins on the table before her.</p>

-

-<p>In her eagerness to count the money, she

-forgot her wrath, and they hastened from

-the tent, where, safely outside, they were

-free to laugh as much as they chose.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>As they re-entered the large tent, they

-saw that near the centre, a space had been

-cleared, and there was a crowd of people

-waiting, as if expecting some attraction to

-be exhibited.</p>

-

-<p>They had not long to wait, for almost

-immediately the Scotch piper appeared,

-and tightly clasping her precious new doll

-in her arms was wee Lois, dressed in Highland

-costume.</p>

-

-<p>Placing her doll on a table, and making

-sure that it was safe, she ran forward, courtesied

-first to Uncle Harry, as she had

-promised, and then, to the music of the

-pipes, the wee lassie did the "Highland

-Fling."</p>

-

-<p>She was such a round, dimpled little girl,

-one would never have dreamed that she

-could dance with such infantile grace.</p>

-

-<p>And when she had finished, with another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>

-courtesy, they crowded around her, and it

-was Nancy who most generously praised

-her. Dear little Nancy, who danced like a

-fairy, never had a jealous thought in her

-loving heart!</p>

-

-<p>It was Uncle Harry who caught little

-Lois, and lifted her so that he could look

-into her eyes.</p>

-

-<p>"I want my dolly, now," she cried, anxious

-lest it be lost or stolen. Dorothy

-brought the doll, and the child clasped it

-to her breast.</p>

-

-<p>"My wee lassie said she wisht she had a

-gift tae gi' ye," said Sandy.</p>

-

-<p>"I have a dear little girl of my own, and

-I prize her baby kisses," said Uncle Harry.

-"Will <i>you</i> give me one, little Lois?"</p>

-

-<p>She clasped her arms around his neck,

-and kissed him softly.</p>

-

-<p>"Best man next to father," she said.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2>

-

-<h3>FLOSSIE'S LETTER</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>THE children said "good-by" to little

-Lois, and as her father carried her

-away, she waved her hand to them.</div>

-

-<p>"Wasn't she cunning?" said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"She was very sweet," said Nancy,

-"and how well she did her little

-dance!"</p>

-

-<p>"She didn't dance half as fine as you do,

-Nancy Ferris," said Floretta. "You <i>know</i>

-that."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, but I was trained for dancing,"

-said Nancy, "and, beside, she was very little

-to dance so cleverly."</p>

-

-<p>Floretta made no reply, but she thought

-of what Nancy had said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Trained for dancing. She said she was

-<i>trained</i> to dance. I wonder where? I

-wish I knew, but I didn't quite dare to

-ask her."</p>

-

-<p>Once more they walked around the big

-tent, and Uncle Harry purchased a gift for

-each to carry home as a souvenir.</p>

-

-<p>There were little baskets that the gypsies

-had woven, and fancy boxes filled with

-woodland plants. The boxes were made

-from birch bark, and were very dainty.</p>

-

-<p>These the children prized, and lovingly

-they thanked him for the pretty gifts.</p>

-

-<p>At the candy table he purchased enough

-of the homemade bonbons to fill the baskets,

-and then they left the tent to start

-on the homeward trip.</p>

-

-<p>The barge was waiting for them, and

-they clambered in, tired, but very happy.</p>

-

-<p>"This is the nicest fair I ever went to,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>

-said Dorothy, "and I've had so many good

-things that I'm going to save my basket of

-candy until to-morrow."</p>

-

-<p>"So am I," cried all the others.</p>

-

-<p>"And so am <i>I</i>," said Uncle Harry, as he

-held up a huge basket filled with all kinds

-of candy.</p>

-

-<p>How they laughed, and accused him of

-having a "sweet-tooth."</p>

-

-<p>"Now, just a moment!" he cried, as he

-held up his finger for silence, "I'm taking

-this <i>big</i> basket home to treat the <i>big</i> ladies

-with. I took the <i>little</i> ladies with me, but

-I've not forgotten the <i>big</i> ladies that I left

-at the hotel."</p>

-

-<p>"Because you don't ever forget any

-one," said Flossie, and the others cried:</p>

-

-<p>"That's it! Just it! He does nice things

-for every one."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, spare my blushes," said Uncle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>

-Harry, but it was easy to see that their

-affection for him pleased him.</p>

-

-<p>The ride home seemed shorter than the

-trip to the fair.</p>

-

-<p>They joined in singing the merry songs

-that his fine voice led, and the horses, knowing

-that they were on the homeward trip,

-jogged along at a better pace than when

-they had started out.</p>

-

-<p>Uncle Harry had found some bells, and

-fastened them to their harnesses, and they

-made a jingling accompaniment to the

-merry voices.</p>

-

-<p>And when the barge drew up at the Cleverton,

-Uncle Harry, with elaborate courtesy,

-handed each young lady down, bowing

-low, and thanking her for the honor she

-had conferred upon him by permitting him

-to take her to the fair.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, you do truly know we have to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>

-thank you for giving us such a lovely day!"

-said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"But think how happy I have been,"

-he said, and although his blue eyes

-were laughing, they knew that he meant

-it.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, mamma, we had the finest time,"

-cried Dorothy, "and see the fine basket of

-candy and the pretty birch bark box! See

-the little ferns growing in it. Isn't he

-<i>dear?</i>"</p>

-

-<p>"He surely is charming," said Mrs.

-Dainty. "His generous, sunny nature

-makes every one love him, and I believe

-he values the love of his friends more than

-most things."</p>

-

-<p>"He has been gay, and full of fun all

-day," said Nancy, "and it will take a long

-time to tell you all the pleasant things he

-did for us. I do wish you and Aunt Charlotte<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>

-<i>could</i> have been there when he had his

-fortune told."</p>

-

-<p>"And he couldn't have been any nicer to

-us if we'd been tall ladies," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"I hope every one of you little friends

-were real <i>little ladies</i>, thus rewarding him

-for his kindness," Aunt Charlotte said,

-gently.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, we were," said Nancy, "not a single

-one of us did anything that could

-trouble him."</p>

-

-<p>"There were a number of little girls who

-only came here last week, so we weren't

-much acquainted with them, but they were

-all very nice, and he said he had as fine a

-time as we did," said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>She climbed into a large hammock, and

-with Nancy beside her, sat swinging, and

-thinking of the day that had been so delightfully

-spent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton came out upon the piazza,

-and, instead of sitting down, seemed to be

-looking for something.</p>

-

-<p>"Can I help you?" said Nancy, slipping

-from the hammock, and hastening toward

-her.</p>

-

-<p>"I've mislaid my glasses," she said,

-"and I can't find them."</p>

-

-<p>She did not thank Nancy for so kindly

-offering to help her, but Nancy seemed not

-to notice that. She peeped under chairs,

-lifted their cushions, and even looked between

-folds of newspapers that lay near at

-hand, but the glasses were not in sight.</p>

-

-<p>"How trying!" said Mrs. Fenton, "I

-have some letters that I wish to read, and

-I can't read them until my glasses are

-found."</p>

-

-<p>"Did you use them anywhere but just

-here?" Nancy asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton stood for a moment thinking.</p>

-

-<p>"Seems to me I <i>did</i> have them in the

-dining-room," she said.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll go and ask the waitresses if they

-have seen them," said Nancy, as she ran

-toward the hall.</p>

-

-<p>She paused in the doorway, amazed at

-what she saw.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta, with a pair of eyeglasses upon

-her small nose, was walking up and down

-the room, as nearly as possible, in Mrs.

-Fenton's manner, and exactly imitating her

-voice, while a group of waitresses, the cook,

-and two kitchen maids laughed, and applauded

-her.</p>

-

-<p>She cared not who composed her audience,

-so long as she obtained applause.

-Floretta was, evidently, quite herself once

-more!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Floretta!" cried Nancy, "you

-mustn't, truly you mustn't. Give me the

-glasses. Mrs. Fenton is looking everywhere

-for them!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I shan't give them to you!" said

-Floretta, rudely. "You aren't Mrs. Fenton."</p>

-

-<p>"But I've been helping her to hunt for

-them. She has some letters she wants to

-read, and she can't till she has her glasses,"

-insisted Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Then let her come for them!" cried

-Floretta, when a quiet voice spoke.</p>

-

-<p>"Very well, I <i>have</i> come for them," it

-said, and there in the doorway stood Mrs.

-Fenton.</p>

-

-<p>The silly maids who had laughed so

-loudly, now hastily disappeared in the

-kitchen.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta dropped the glasses upon the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>

-table, and then, wholly ashamed, crawled

-under it, where Mrs. Fenton's sharp eyes

-might not look at her.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton took the glasses, and without

-another word, swept from the room.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy, waiting in the hall, crept softly

-toward her, and gently laid her hand on the

-lady's arm.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm <i>so</i> sorry she did that. I wish I

-could have got the glasses from her, and

-brought them to you before you came to

-find them. Then you needn't have known

-how naughty,&mdash;" Nancy caught her breath.</p>

-

-<p>"Never mind that, Nancy. Remember,

-as <i>I</i> shall, that <i>you</i> were not the naughty,

-disgusting child," said Mrs. Fenton, and

-she turned, with her letters and glasses in

-her hand, and went up the long stairway to

-her room.</p>

-

-<p>It was nearly time to dress for dinner,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>

-which was always served promptly at

-six.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty with Dorothy, and Aunt

-Charlotte with Nancy hastened to their

-rooms, to freshen their toilettes, and Nancy

-realized that there would not be time to tell

-Aunt Charlotte all about the unpleasant

-happening.</p>

-

-<p>"I've something to tell you, but I'll have

-to wait till we've plenty of time," she

-said.</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte, tying the soft, blue ribbon

-into the brown curls, looked into the

-mirror before which they were standing,

-and smiled at the thoughtful face.</p>

-

-<p>"Will it keep until then, dear?" she

-asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "I only tell it

-to you because I love to tell you everything."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Dear child," said Aunt Charlotte, "I

-bless the day that you, as a little waif, were

-taken in by Mrs. Dainty, and that I was

-asked to come and care for you. I could

-not love you more if you were my own little

-girl."</p>

-

-<p>"I never saw my own mamma; she died

-when I was a baby," said Nancy, "so, because

-you love me, you seem like my very

-own."</p>

-

-<p>Gentle Aunt Charlotte's eyes were wet

-with happy tears, as she hooked the pretty,

-white muslin frock, with its slip of light

-blue, and tied the soft blue belt.</p>

-

-<p>"Your shoes must be changed, Nancy,"

-she said. "You know how particular

-Mrs. Dainty is about the matter of shoes

-and stockings. They must match the

-frock."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and with this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>

-one she said: 'Wear blue stockings and

-bronze slippers,' so I will."</p>

-

-<p>She found the blue hose and the pretty

-bronze slippers, then, with elfin grace, she

-caught the edge of her skirt, and with rosy,

-bare feet, tripped across the floor in a graceful,

-gliding step, crying:</p>

-

-<p>"Look, Aunt Charlotte, look! This

-pretty step Bonfanti taught me."</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte did look, and as she

-watched the pretty child, and saw her joy

-in dancing, she marvelled that little Nancy

-could smile as she danced, remembering all

-that she had been taught, while apparently

-forgetting all the unhappy months upon the

-stage.</p>

-

-<p>She thought of poor little Nancy, forced

-to dance, night after night, to support her

-old Uncle Steve, who was too lazy to support

-himself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She thought of the time that the little

-pitiful note from Nancy had reached them,

-and, together, she and Mrs. Dainty had

-found the child, and brought her safely

-home.</p>

-

-<p>She did not speak of all this. Nancy's

-happy little heart should never be reminded

-of sad days that were past.</p>

-

-<p>Now her life was filled with bright sunshine,

-the sunshine of love, and it was reflected

-in her happy face.</p>

-

-<p>A gong rang out a silvery note.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, my shoes!" cried Nancy, with a

-peal of merry laughter. "I wanted to

-show you those pretty steps, and I forgot

-all about dinner."</p>

-

-<p>It was the work of but a few seconds for

-Nancy to draw on the light blue hose, and

-even less time to put on the pretty slippers.

-She ran to the mirror, and courtesied, took<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>

-a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection,

-and then hastened to the hall to join

-Dorothy.</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 392px;">

-<img src="images/i006.jpg" width="392" height="500" alt="She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection.&mdash;Page 176." title="" />

-<span class="caption">She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her reflection.&mdash;<a href="#Page_176"><i>Page 176.</i></a></span>

-</div>

-

-<p>"All ready," cried Nancy, springing to

-her feet, to follow Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>A pretty pair they made as with arms

-about each other's waist, they tripped along

-the hall.</p>

-

-<p>Fair, blue-eyed Dorothy Dainty was very

-lovely in a pale pink frock with soft frillings

-of fine lace. Her stockings were of the

-same shade, and her shoes were white.

-Mrs. Dainty in dark blue satin, and Aunt

-Charlotte in pearl color made, with the two

-children, a pleasing group.</p>

-

-<p>In the lower hall they met Mrs. Paxton

-with Floretta, the former wearing a gown

-of purple satin, while Floretta wore a frock

-of scarlet silk. Mrs. Fenton, passing, on

-her way to the dining-room, looked sharply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>

-at the two groups, and <i>did</i> she look amused

-when her eyes rested upon Mrs. Paxton,

-and her small daughter? Dorothy noticed

-the look, and turned to her mamma.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty read the question in Dorothy's

-eyes, and ever so slightly, shook

-her head, and they passed into the dining-room.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>The next morning, when the mail was

-distributed, there was great excitement, because

-every one had so many letters.</p>

-

-<p>"See mine!" cried Flossie Barnet.

-"Everybody see mine! It looks like boy's

-writing. See it!"</p>

-

-<p>"If some very young man wrote it, he

-might not be delighted to have it so freely

-exhibited, Flossie," said Uncle Harry, with

-a laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, why should he care?" she asked in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>

-surprise. "Who do you s'pose wrote it?

-Guess, Uncle Harry!"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, now let me think," said Uncle

-Harry, covering his eyes with his hand, then

-peeping through his fingers.</p>

-

-<p>"There's a small boy at home, who glories

-in the name of Reginald Merton Deane.

-Open the letter, dear, and if I guessed right,

-you can give me a prize, and if I'm wrong,

-I'll give you one."</p>

-

-<p>Flossie studied the address for a moment,

-then she opened the letter, and laughed

-with delight.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll have to give you the prize, but why

-did he think to write to me?"</p>

-

-<p>Dear little Flossie had never seemed

-aware that small Reginald preferred her to

-any of his friends. Even when she was so

-little that she could not pronounce his

-name, and called him "Weginald," he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>

-thought her the dearest of all his playmates.

-And this was his letter:</p>

-

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Flossie:</span></p>

-

-<p>"I miss you so much that I'm going to

-write, and tell you all the news.</p>

-

-<p>"Our old dog had a fit yesterday, and my

-brother got the vet'nary doctor. When he

-came, he said Carlo hadn't any fit. He was

-acting just awful. I said 'what makes him

-tare round so?' an he said maybe I'd tare

-round sum if I had a fish-bone in my throat!

-The doctor took it out, and then Carlo was

-so glad he tore round worsen ever!</p>

-

-<p>"Arabella Corryville is acting worse

-than Carlo did. You know her Aunt Matilda

-lives with them, an neether Arabella, or her

-pa, or her ma dare to do ennything without

-asking Aunt Matilda <i>first</i>. Well, her aunt

-has had to go way up to New Hampshur (I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>

-guess I didn't spell that rite) and Arabella

-thinks its just her chanse to act awful.

-Carlo is real quiet side of Arabella when

-she acts the way she does now.</p>

-

-<p>"She stays out doors most all the time,

-and goes just where she pleases.</p>

-

-<p>"Some days she's way down by the stashun

-until its almost dark.</p>

-

-<p>"You know she's always taking medesin,

-and carries the bottles in her pockets.</p>

-

-<p>"She carries em now, but she told me

-she's takin the kind she likes best. Theres

-two kinds her Aunt Matilda made her take,

-one tasted horrid, and the other tasted nice.

-Arabella threw the horrid one away, and

-ate the nice pills for candy. She told me

-this morning that her Aunt Matilda is coming

-home just for one day, and then they're

-all going up where you, and Dorothy, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>

-Nancy are. I don't believe it, but if she

-does, and you see her, you needn't give my

-love to her.</p>

-

-<div class='sig'>

-<span style="margin-right: 2em;">"Your tru friend,</span><br />

-"<span class="smcap">Reginald.</span>"<br />

-</div></div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER X</h2>

-

-<h3>A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>OF course, Dorothy and Nancy were

-greatly interested in the letter, and

-Uncle Harry said that he was glad that

-Reginald had thought to say that the fish-bone

-had been removed from Carlo's throat.</div>

-

-<p>He said it would have seemed quite a trip

-to take to leave the Cleverton, and go to

-Merrivale to feel Carlo's pulse, and inquire

-for his health.</p>

-

-<p>"Now that that bone is removed, I

-breathe easier," said Uncle Harry, "and

-so does Carlo!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, you wouldn't have gone home just

-to call on Carlo," said Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I don't know," he said, trying to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>

-look solemn, "I wouldn't like Carlo to feel

-neglected, and now I think of it, does Reginald

-speak of the cat?"</p>

-

-<p>"No," said Flossie, "but when I answer

-the letter, I'll tell Reginald you're anxious

-about her."</p>

-

-<p>"I am," said Uncle Harry, "because the

-last time I saw her, Carlo was barking at

-her very rudely, and her back was up in

-a hump like a camel's. Reginald ought to

-have told us if her back is <i>still</i> up, or

-whether she has taken the kink out of her

-spine. We might telephone and ask, instead

-of worrying."</p>

-

-<p>He rose, and walked toward the hall,

-whistling as he went, an old nursery song

-that he used to sing to Flossie.</p>

-

-<div class='poem'>

-"The cat came fiddling out of the barn,<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">With a pair of bagpipes under her arm."</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<p>How the children laughed!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Look!" said Flossie, "he's going

-right toward the telephone, just to

-make us think that he's <i>truly</i> going to

-ring up Reginald, and inquire for the

-cat."</p>

-

-<p>"Who is Arabella?" Floretta asked.</p>

-

-<p>"She lives near us," said Dorothy, "and

-she used to go to Aunt Charlotte's private

-school with us."</p>

-

-<p>"Doesn't she now?" asked Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"No, she left our class, and went to a

-large school in the city."</p>

-

-<p>"By what the letter says, I'd think she

-was rather queer," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"Well&mdash;" said Dorothy, hesitating,

-"Arabella <i>is</i> queer."</p>

-

-<p>"Why don't you like to say so?" was

-the sharp reply.</p>

-

-<p>"Because Dorothy never likes to say

-anything that isn't kind about any one, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>

-Arabella <i>is</i> queer, so Dorothy won't say she

-isn't," said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>It was a few days later that Dorothy was

-reminded of what Reginald had said in his

-letter to Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>She was waiting for Nancy to go for a

-walk, and stooping to pick some of the

-pretty wildflowers that blossomed everywhere.</p>

-

-<p>She had walked slowly along toward the

-clump of white birches where, when they

-had first arrived, they had called, and listened

-to the echo.</p>

-

-<p>She looked back toward the hotel, but

-Nancy was not yet in sight, so she seated

-herself upon the grass, and began to arrange

-the flowers in a fine bouquet.</p>

-

-<p>She was trying to mix the white blossoms

-and pink buds so as to show the beauty

-of each, when a carriage passed, and before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>

-she looked up a shrill little voice

-shouted:</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy! Dorothy! We're over at the

-farmhouse just beyond the Merlington.

-Aunt Matilda wouldn't <i>let</i> pa take us to

-a hotel. She doesn't approve of hotels.

-Aunt Matilda says,&mdash;"</p>

-

-<p>She was looking back to shout at Dorothy,

-and doubtless would have given even

-more particulars, but a firm hand had hastily

-forced her to turn around, and sit

-down.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy ran along the path a few moments

-later, and her eyes were dancing.</p>

-

-<p>"Did you see Arabella?" she asked.

-"<i>Did</i> you?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, just a few moments ago, and she

-turned around in the carriage and screamed

-to me," said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"I can guess what she said," laughed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>

-Nancy, "because she screamed at me. She

-told me she was staying at a farmhouse,

-and said that her Aunt Matilda didn't approve

-of hotels."</p>

-

-<p>"That is <i>just</i> what she said," said

-Dorothy, "and she would have said

-more but some one, I think it was her

-Aunt Matilda, pulled her back into the

-carriage."</p>

-

-<p>"Why, that's just the way it was when

-I saw her. I ran out on to the piazza, and

-down the steps, and the carriage rolled by,

-and she twisted round to shout. There was

-this difference, though," said Nancy. "You

-were out here alone, and no one would know

-if you laughed, but when I ran out, our

-piazza was full of people, and when Arabella

-shouted, you'd ought to have seen

-them look.</p>

-

-<p>"Flossie and her Uncle Harry were on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>

-the lawn, and as she rode past, he said with

-a sigh:</p>

-

-<div class='poem'>

-"'Arabella, Arabella,<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">If I had my new umbrella,'</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<div class='unindent'>and I was wild to know the rest of it, but

-his wife, who was standing near him,

-said:</div>

-

-<p>"'Hush, Harry, really you mustn't,' and

-he only laughed, and said:</p>

-

-<p>"'Oh, <i>mustn't</i> I? Why, when I saw

-Arabella and her Aunt Matilda, I really felt

-as if I <i>must!</i>'"</p>

-

-<p>"Let's ask him what the rest of the verse

-is," said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm wild to hear it," Nancy said, "because

-the very way he looked made me

-think that the other lines, whatever they

-were, would be funny."</p>

-

-<p>She stooped to gather more of the little

-blossoms to add to Dorothy's bouquet, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>

-then commenced to make a bouquet of her

-own.</p>

-

-<p>"Arabella will be coming over to see

-you," she said, a moment later, "and I

-wonder if it is naughty to say, 'I wish she

-wouldn't?' Do you think it is?"</p>

-

-<p>"I don't know," said Dorothy, "but I

-<i>do</i> wish it. I wouldn't, only she is so

-hard to please. Mamma wishes us to be

-nice to every one, but, Nancy, you <i>do</i>

-know that when we try the hardest to

-please Arabella, we don't please her at

-all."</p>

-

-<p>"I know it," agreed Nancy, "but perhaps

-she'll come some time when we are

-out, and then we won't have to amuse

-her."</p>

-

-<p>"I'm sure I ought not to say it, but I

-<i>do</i> wish it would happen that way," said

-Dorothy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>They had reached the birches, and they

-paused to wake the echo. What fun it was

-to hear their shouts repeated.</p>

-

-<p>Again and again they called, and then a

-droll thing happened. They had called this

-name and that, and each time the echo,

-like a voice from the mountain, had repeated

-it with wonderful distinctness.

-Then Dorothy, leaning forward, called,

-loudly:</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy!"</p>

-

-<p>"<i>What?</i>" came the reply.</p>

-

-<p>She turned, and looked at Nancy. "Dorothy!"

-she cried, again.</p>

-

-<p>"<i>Dainty!</i>" was the answer, and upon

-looking toward a little path that was nearly

-opposite where they were standing, they

-saw the low bushes move, and faintly they

-heard a smothered laugh.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy was laughing now.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Boys!" she cried, and back came the

-laughing echo:</p>

-

-<p>"<i>Girls!</i>" and then the boys peeped out

-a bit too far, and Dorothy saw who had

-been playing echo.</p>

-

-<p>It was Jack Tiverton and a boy whom he

-had chosen for a "chum." Jack had not

-intended so soon to be discovered, and he

-and his friend disappeared in a little grove,

-while Dorothy and Nancy continued their

-walk.</p>

-

-<p>There were sunny paths and bits of woodland

-that were so near the hotel as to be

-absolutely safe, where all the summer

-guests, especially the children, loved to

-roam at will. Along one of these little

-paths were sweet little yellow blossoms,

-and these they gathered to brighten their

-bouquets.</p>

-

-<p>"Let's have some of these little vines to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>

-hang from our bouquets," said Dorothy,

-and the graceful vines proved to be an

-added beauty.</p>

-

-<p>When they returned to the Cleverton

-there were but few people upon the piazza.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte sat talking

-with Mrs. Vinton, and farther along,

-Mrs. Fenton sat with an open book upon her

-lap, although she was not reading.</p>

-

-<p>She often had a book or magazine, but

-rarely did she read them.</p>

-

-<p>She would sit looking off at the distant

-mountain-range, the white clouds, or the

-sunny valley over which those clouds cast

-floating shadows.</p>

-

-<p>Did she hear the conversation, or notice

-what was going on about her? Floretta

-Paxton said that Mrs. Fenton acted as if

-she sat there to watch some one; and was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>

-Floretta right? Mrs. Fenton's actions certainly

-seemed strange day after day. She

-talked little, took slight interest in what

-was going on about her, and was a mystery

-to all the other guests.</p>

-

-<p>But what, or whom could she be watching?</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy, returning from their

-walk, saw the group, and also noticed Mrs.

-Fenton, who always chose to sit apart from

-the others.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll give my flowers to mamma and Mrs.

-Vinton," said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"And I'll give mine to Aunt Charlotte

-and to Mrs. Fenton,&mdash;if she wants them,"

-said Nancy, hesitating because it was so

-hard to guess what might, or might not,

-please Mrs. Fenton.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy ran to show her blossoms to her

-mamma and to Mrs. Vinton, while Nancy,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>

-pausing beside Mrs. Fenton's chair, held

-forth her pretty bouquet, as she said:</p>

-

-<p>"We've just gathered them. Aren't they

-pretty?"</p>

-

-<p>"Lovely, very lovely," said Mrs. Fenton,

-with more interest than usual. "I remember

-picking just such flowers; even the long

-vines I know are like those I used to see

-when I was a little girl."</p>

-

-<p>"Would you enjoy some of these? I'd

-so like to give them to you," Nancy said,

-and she was surprised at the quick reply.</p>

-

-<p>"I would really prize them, Nancy, and

-you're a sweet child to give them to me,"

-she said.</p>

-

-<p>Quickly Nancy divided the bouquet, and

-smiled as she laid the pretty things in Mrs.

-Fenton's lap.</p>

-

-<p>"I cannot let them wilt, so I will take

-them at once to my room," said Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>

-Fenton, and Nancy saw her bend to catch

-their perfume, as she turned toward the

-hall.</p>

-

-<p>That night, when nearly all the guests had

-entered the dining-room, Mrs. Fenton came

-in at the main entrance, and as she sat

-nearly opposite Mrs. Dainty's party, they

-noticed that the bodice of her black lace

-gown was given color by the pretty wildflowers

-that Nancy had given her. They

-were the first flowers that she had worn

-since her arrival.</p>

-

-<p>Nancy smiled with pleasure, and Mrs.

-Fenton, looking across the table, returned

-the smile.</p>

-

-<p>Had the gift of simple wildflowers cheered

-her?</p>

-

-<p>Thus far she had worn only black, but to-night

-a dull gold slip shimmered through

-the black lace; and were her eyes brighter?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Nancy thought so, and without knowing

-why, was glad.</p>

-

-<p>There was a musicale in the evening, and

-Mrs. Fenton joined Mrs. Dainty and Aunt

-Charlotte, and seemed to enjoy the conversation,

-between the numbers of the program.</p>

-

-<p>Once, while she was talking, she laid her

-hand lightly upon Nancy's shoulder, and

-Nancy looked up to smile. Aunt Charlotte

-saw that the lady was more cheerful, and

-also noticed that she wore Nancy's flowers.

-The evening passed pleasantly, and Nancy's

-drowsy words, just before she went to sleep,

-were:</p>

-

-<p>"I do really think I cheered her."</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>A few days later Mrs. Dainty invited Mrs.

-Fenton to be her guest during a drive over

-a lovely road that neither of them had yet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>

-seen. It was said to be one of the most picturesque

-roads in that section of the country.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Fenton accepted, and with Aunt

-Charlotte and Mrs. Vinton they formed a

-pleasant party.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy were to drive in their

-little phaeton, and they felt quite as important

-as the four ladies in the barouche.</p>

-

-<p>True, Mrs. Dainty owned a handsome

-span of bays, but was not the pony, Romeo,

-a beauty?</p>

-

-<p>The road was some distance from the

-Cleverton, and there were some charming

-places to be seen on the way, so it happened

-that the trip, which proved to be most enjoyable,

-occupied the afternoon.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton had a number of letters to

-write, and Floretta, feeling very lonely, and

-wishing that she had some one to play with,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>

-climbed into a hammock, and wondered

-what she might do to amuse herself.</p>

-

-<p>"Every one but me has gone somewhere,

-and I wish <i>I</i> had," she said, as she

-gave a smart kick that sent the hammock

-higher.</p>

-

-<p>"What's the fun of swinging alone?" she

-grumbled, but there was no one on the piazza

-to answer her, and she let the hammock

-sway lazily while she looked down the sunny

-road, and thought how strange it was that

-the place seemed so still.</p>

-

-<p>Not a leaf stirred, and Floretta's disgust

-increased.</p>

-

-<p>"Nothing in sight, not even an old hen,"

-she said, when, way down where the road

-looked so narrow and distant, a little figure

-appeared, coming directly toward the Cleverton.

-She watched the approaching figure,

-and wondered who it might be.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"'Tisn't any one I know," she thought,

-"and <i>doesn't</i> she look queer?"</p>

-

-<p>Any one who had ever known Arabella

-Corryville would also have known that she

-always looked decidedly odd and strange,

-and it was Arabella who was marching

-steadily along the road.</p>

-

-<p>So determined was her tread that one

-might have thought that there was a band

-behind her playing martial music to which

-she was obliged to keep step.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, whoever she is, she's carrying an

-umbrella, this pleasant day," murmured

-Floretta; then as she came near, she

-added:</p>

-

-<p>"And wearing rubbers and a raincoat,

-as true as I live!"</p>

-

-<p>Arabella was more bundled and wrapped

-than at first appeared, for, as she came up

-the gravel walk, Floretta saw that a long<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>

-veil was closely tied over her hat, and wound

-about her throat.</p>

-

-<p>From her appearance one might have

-thought that she expected freezing weather

-before night.</p>

-

-<p>She walked up on to the piazza, and then

-stood, for a moment, looking about, as if in

-search of some one.</p>

-

-<p>It was not politeness that prompted Floretta

-to speak. It was simply curiosity. She

-was wild to know who the strange-looking

-child was, and whom she wished to see.</p>

-

-<p>"Are you looking for some one?" she

-asked, at the same time slipping from the

-hammock, and going so close to Arabella

-that she could peep into the queer little face.</p>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2>

-

-<h3>ARABELLA MAKES A CALL</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>ARABELLA peered at Floretta through

-her spectacles, and was tempted not

-to reply, but after a moment's pause she

-changed her mind.</div>

-

-<p>"I came to see Dorothy Dainty, and

-Nancy Ferris," she said.</p>

-

-<p>"They're out driving," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"How do you know?" Arabella asked,

-rudely.</p>

-

-<p>"Because I heard them say they were

-going, and because I saw them go," was the

-quick reply.</p>

-

-<p>"It's a long way over here, and now I've

-got to take the same walk back," said Arabella.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"They're going to be out all the afternoon,"

-said Floretta, "but why don't you

-sit down, and rest a while before you go

-back?"</p>

-

-<p>It sounded kind, and Arabella at once

-seated herself, while Floretta sat near

-her.</p>

-

-<p>She thought it would be great fun to question

-this odd child, and there was no one

-near to check her.</p>

-

-<p>"Aren't you nearly roasted in that raincoat?"

-she asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I'm not chilly," said Arabella,

-fixing her sharp eyes upon the other little

-girl.</p>

-

-<p>"Did you think it was going to rain?"

-was the next question. "You've rubbers,

-and umbrella."</p>

-

-<p>Floretta barely managed to hide the fact

-that she wanted to laugh. Her question<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>

-seemed so absurd with the blue sky overhead,

-and the sunshine everywhere.</p>

-

-<p>"I didn't want to wear them," said Arabella,

-"and I told Aunt Matilda it was too

-pleasant to rain, but she said you never could

-tell, and she said, too, that I could wear

-them, or stay at home, so what could I

-do?"</p>

-

-<p>"<i>I'd</i> have stayed at home," said Floretta,

-bluntly. "I wouldn't wear raincoat and

-rubbers, and lug an umbrella for any Aunt

-Matilda or Aunt Jemima!"</p>

-

-<p>"Who is Aunt Jemima?" Arabella asked,

-stupidly.</p>

-

-<p>"I don't know," said Floretta, sharply,

-"but then, I don't know your Aunt Matilda."</p>

-

-<p>She longed to say that she did not want

-to, but for once she did not quite dare to say

-what she thought.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Then there was an awkward pause. Floretta

-could not think what to say next, while

-Arabella did not try.</p>

-

-<p>Silence never made her uneasy. She

-could stare at any one who sat opposite her,

-for a half-hour, without so much as winking,

-and it rather amused her if the other person

-became nervous, and wriggled uneasily beneath

-her persistent stare. At last Floretta

-spoke.</p>

-

-<p>"You might take some of those things

-off," she said; "you won't need them while

-you stay."</p>

-

-<p>"Aunt Matilda told me not to," said Arabella,

-"and if I <i>did</i>, it would be just my

-luck to have her come right by here, and

-see me with them off. My! <i>Wouldn't</i> she

-be angry?"</p>

-

-<p>Arabella's eyes dilated as she asked the

-question.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Does your Aunt Matilda poke 'round

-after you like that?" asked Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"She doesn't ever <i>seem</i> to follow me, but

-all the same, she's always catching me doing

-something."</p>

-

-<p>"Then you <i>do</i> risk doing what she tells

-you not to," said Floretta, with a saucy

-laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"Look here!" cried Arabella, "I don't

-know you, but I'm going to tell you something.

-I can't do one single thing I want

-to, neither can my papa or mamma. Aunt

-Matilda is little, and my papa is big. He

-says he was centre-rush on the college football

-team, but when Aunt Matilda tells him

-what to do, he says, 'Yes'm,' and does it.

-One of our neighbors at home says Aunt

-Matilda holds the purse-strings, but I don't

-know what that means. Her purse hasn't

-any strings on it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Well, if it <i>had</i>, I'd cut 'em off,"

-said Floretta, "so she <i>couldn't</i> hold

-'em."</p>

-

-<p>"You wouldn't if she lived at <i>your</i>

-house," said Arabella.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta, in spite of her boldness, was

-more than half convinced.</p>

-

-<p>"Well,&mdash;perhaps I wouldn't," she said.

-"Why, what are you taking?"</p>

-

-<p>"Pills," said Arabella, counting out

-six very pink pills from a little bottle,

-and taking them, then making a horrid

-face.</p>

-

-<p>"You don't look sick," said Floretta,

-"but you're taking medicine."</p>

-

-<p>"Aunt Matilda says these are for my

-color," was the answer.</p>

-

-<p>"You haven't any; you're pale as a

-sheet," said Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"That's why I take them," said Arabella,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>

-"and look! I've got some green ones

-I take," and six green pills followed the

-pink ones.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, what are those for?" gasped

-Floretta. "Ought you to take two kinds

-at the same time?"</p>

-

-<p>Arabella, determined to startle her new

-acquaintance, took a third bottle from her

-pocket, and swallowed three very large

-white pills.</p>

-

-<p>She was delighted with the effect that she

-had produced.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta sprang to her feet, and tried to

-snatch the bottle, but Arabella had put it

-in her pocket, and was holding the pocket

-together.</p>

-

-<p>She narrowed her shrewd little eyes, and

-smiled broadly.</p>

-

-<p>"Guess you couldn't take all that, and

-not feel queer!" she said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"I wouldn't wonder if you felt funny.

-<i>Do</i> you?" asked Floretta.</p>

-

-<p>"Not <i>yet</i>," said Arabella.</p>

-

-<p>Floretta was getting tired of her

-caller. She hoped that she hadn't any

-more kinds of medicine that she could

-take.</p>

-

-<p>She wished that Dorothy would return

-and amuse Arabella.</p>

-

-<p>She would have run away from any one

-else, and rudely left her alone, but there

-was something so strange about this child

-that she feared her.</p>

-

-<p>She had a nervous feeling that if she

-turned to leave her, Arabella might snatch

-at her, and draw her back. She certainly

-did look odd.</p>

-

-<p>There was something catlike in the way

-in which she kept her eyes riveted upon

-Floretta.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She looked as if, at any moment, she

-might spring at her!</p>

-

-<p>She was not thinking of doing anything

-of the sort, however.</p>

-

-<p>The truth was that she <i>did</i> feel just a bit

-queer.</p>

-

-<p>Was it the three kinds of pills?

-She could not tell, but she began to feel

-as if she would be glad if she were at

-home.</p>

-

-<p>"I guess I'll go now," she said. "I

-think it must be time."</p>

-

-<p>"What time did your Aunt Matilda

-tell you to come home?" Floretta

-asked.</p>

-

-<p>"She said I could stay to dinner if Dorothy

-asked me, but she doesn't come home,

-so I guess I won't wait."</p>

-

-<p>"Go to dinner at the Cleverton in that

-plaid gingham!" thought Floretta, for she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>

-had seen the plain little frock beneath the

-raincoat.</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;">

-<img src="images/i007.jpg" width="395" height="500" alt="She offered two cards to Floretta.&mdash;Page 210." title="" />

-<span class="caption">She offered two cards to Floretta.&mdash;<i><a href="#Page_210">Page 210.</a></i></span>

-</div>

-

-<p>Arabella grasped her big umbrella firmly,

-and turned, as she went down the steps, to

-say:</p>

-

-<p>"You may tell Dorothy Dainty that

-<i>Miss</i> Corryville called."</p>

-

-<p>Floretta giggled.</p>

-

-<p>"And you might tell your Aunt Matilda

-that you talked with <i>Miss</i> Paxton," she

-said.</p>

-

-<p>"I will," said Arabella, without a sign

-of a smile.</p>

-

-<p>"I wonder you don't leave cards," said

-Floretta, and to her surprise, the queer

-child put her hand in the pocket of her raincoat,

-and, without looking at them, offered

-two cards to Floretta, saying:</p>

-

-<p>"There they are."</p>

-

-<p>Then, without looking back, she marched<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>

-resolutely down the road. She did not

-thank Floretta for talking with her while

-she rested, nor did she say "good-by."</p>

-

-<p>For some moments Floretta stood watching

-the odd little figure as it tramped down

-the road, the umbrella, like a huge walking

-stick, thumping the gravel at every step.

-She thought Arabella would turn around,

-but she did not.</p>

-

-<p>One might have thought that she had

-already forgotten the child with whom she

-had been talking. When, at last, she

-disappeared behind a clump of trees

-that hid the curve of the road, Floretta

-looked at the two cards in her hand,

-stared at them in amazement, and then

-laughed, laughed until her eyes were full

-of tears.</p>

-

-<p>Who could have helped laughing? One

-card bore these lines:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p>

-

-<div class='center'>

-<span class="smcap">James Horton Worth,<br />

-Painless Dentistry,<br />

-10 Trevor Street, Merrivale.</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<div class='unindent'>While the other, equally interesting, bore

-this statement:</div>

-

-<div class='center'>

-<span class="smcap">Alton Justus Meer,<br />

-Jeweller,<br />

-90 Rupert Road, Merrivale.</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<p>"How perfectly funny," cried Floretta.

-"I'll run up and show them to mamma, and

-then I'll wait here to give them to Dorothy

-and Nancy when they come. I wonder if

-they'll have any choice?"</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy felt, as did the older

-members of the party, that the ride had

-been the most delightful of any that they

-had enjoyed since their arrival.</p>

-

-<p>The horses were tossing their manes, and

-Romeo, as if in imitation, tossed his so that

-it showed all its silken beauty.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"See him!" cried Dorothy. "He thinks

-he's as fine as any horse."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, he is as dear as they," said

-Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, yes," said Dorothy, "and dearer."</p>

-

-<p>And when the horses and the pony had

-been led around to the stable, and the

-older members of the party had reached

-the piazza, Dorothy and Nancy, who had

-paused for a moment to talk, ran up the

-steps, intending to sit together in a large

-rocker.</p>

-

-<p>Before they reached the chair, Floretta

-flew toward them.</p>

-

-<p>"You had a funny caller while you were

-out driving," she said, with a giggle, "and

-she was so very fashionable that she left

-these cards. She told me to tell you that

-<i>Miss</i> Corryville had called."</p>

-

-<p>"It was Arabella," said Nancy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Did she truly say '<i>Miss?</i>'" Dorothy

-asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, didn't I <i>say</i> so?" Floretta asked

-rudely; "and I told her to tell her Aunt

-Matilda that she talked with <i>Miss</i> Paxton,

-and she said she would. She waited a long

-time for you to come home, because she said

-she meant to stay to dinner with you. Say!

-She had on a calico dress! Wouldn't she

-have looked gay?"</p>

-

-<p>"It isn't very kind to laugh at any one's

-clothes," said Dorothy, "and it's not very

-nice to laugh at other people's friends."</p>

-

-<p>"Pooh!" cried Floretta, "I shall laugh

-at whoever I please," and she turned and

-ran up to her room.</p>

-

-<p>But she had laughed once too often!

-During the ride, Mrs. Fenton had spoken

-of Floretta's rude ways, and of the day

-when, upon following Nancy to the dining-room,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>

-she had caught the provoking child

-in the act of mimicking her.</p>

-

-<p>"Your little Nancy was grieved and distressed

-because she knew that I saw it.

-What a difference there is in children! The

-Paxton child is disgusting, while Nancy,

-who, I have heard, was a little waif, is as

-gentle as Dorothy, who was born the little

-daughter of a fine, old family."</p>

-

-<p>Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty had told

-Mrs. Fenton something of Nancy's life, and

-noticed how deeply interested she seemed

-to be.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton had realized that ever since

-the day that Floretta had told of being

-caught mimicking Mrs. Fenton for the

-amusement of the waitresses and maids,

-Mrs. Fenton had shunned them. She had

-made desperate efforts to win Mrs. Fenton's

-friendship, but never very successfully, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>

-she found that her little daughter's silly

-act had rendered any intimacy quite impossible.</p>

-

-<p>A few days after the ride, Mrs. Fenton

-did not appear at lunch, or at dinner, and

-when Mrs. Paxton, with elaborate interest,

-inquired for her, she learned that the lady

-had left very early that morning, before any

-guests were on the piazza to see her depart.</p>

-

-<p>It certainly did seem odd that she should

-have left, without a word to those whom

-she had known, but Mrs. Dainty, with her

-customary good taste, made no comment,

-and Aunt Charlotte Grayson was equally

-silent.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton did just as one might have

-expected. She expressed, in a very loud

-voice, her disgust at being thus pointedly

-slighted, for so she chose to feel.</p>

-

-<p>"After all my friendliness, I can't see<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>

-how she could leave the Cleverton without

-so much as a word to me. Why, I felt almost

-like a relative, as my name was Fenton

-before I married!"</p>

-

-<p>"I guess Mrs. Fenton didn't have what

-you might call a family feeling," said old

-Mr. Cunningham, which so angered Mrs.

-Paxton that she politely turned her back.</p>

-

-<p>Two letters arrived at the Cleverton that

-afternoon, and it would be difficult to say

-which caused the greater surprise.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Paxton told the contents of hers to

-all who would listen, and there were enough

-who were curious, to make a good audience.</p>

-

-<p>"<span class="smcap">To Mrs. Clara Fenton Paxton</span>:" it

-began, refraining from any endearing

-terms.</p>

-

-<p>"I knew, before I met you, that you and

-your small daughter were related to my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>

-husband, and also knew that he entertained

-no admiration for you. He left his entire

-estate to me, and as you were but a distant

-relative, you could expect no inheritance.

-However, with a determination to deal

-fairly with all my kin (I have but three

-such), I came to the Cleverton to see you

-and your little daughter, intending, if she

-proved sweet-tempered and attractive, to

-will my property to her. She is the only

-one of the three relatives who bears my

-husband's name.</p>

-

-<p>"I do not wish to be harsh, but I am

-forced to admit that I find her to be bold,

-naturally unkind, and wholly lacking in the

-grace and courtesy which most children

-possess, either by training or inheritance.</p>

-

-<p>"I, therefore, have made my will in favor

-of Nancy Ferris, once a little waif, now a

-sweet, gentle, and attractive child, whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>

-little acts of courtesy and kindness are fully

-appreciated by</p>

-

-<div class='sig'>

-<span style="margin-right: 8em;">"Her friend,</span><br />

-"<span class="smcap">Cecilia Cullen Fenton.</span>"<br />

-</div>

-

-<p>"A most singular woman, to leave her

-property to a waif, a child of the theatre,

-and not bequeath so much as a penny to

-my Floretta, whom <i>any</i> one could see is an

-aristocrat," said Mrs. Paxton.</p>

-

-<p>"Mrs. Fenton, or anybody else, would

-need some rather strong glasses to see

-<i>that!</i>" muttered Mr. Cunningham.</p>

-

-<p>He was a testy old fellow, and he, like

-other guests of the hotel, had become exceedingly

-tired of Mrs. Paxton and her unlovely

-child.</p>

-

-<p>The other letter gave surprise and delight

-to the two who had shared in the care and

-training of little Nancy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"<span class="smcap">To Mrs. Rudolph Dainty, and to

-Mrs. Charlotte Grayson</span>,</p>

-

-<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear friends</span>:&mdash;" was its greeting,

-and then followed the story of the writer's

-visit to the Cleverton, and the statement

-that her few relatives were too distant to

-have any valid claim to her estate.</p>

-

-<p>"I was greatly displeased with the two

-of my kin whom I came to observe, and I

-will not dwell upon that, but, instead, will

-take this time to say that Dorothy Dainty

-and Nancy Ferris, are the two dearest children

-that it has been my pleasure to know.</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy's life has been sunny, and

-Nancy's story, as you told it to me, appealed

-to me, and I looked with even greater interest

-at the child who, under your loving care,

-had blossomed like a lovely flower.</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy has her parents, and will inherit

-a fortune. Nancy has no parents, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>

-I know, will be kindly cared for by you, but

-that fact will not deter me from making a

-bequest that gives me greatest pleasure.</p>

-

-<p>"I shall leave all of my estate to Nancy

-Ferris, and I remind her, in some little

-verses that I enclose, how deeply I have

-appreciated her many little kindnesses.</p>

-

-

-<div class='center'><span class="smcap">To Nancy</span></div>

-

-<div class='poem'>

-"Dear little girl, I know that you will daily<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Do loving acts of kindness, and of cheer,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Thus urging life to sing its song more gaily</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And making friendship lasting and more dear.</span><br />

-<br />

-"I felt your charm, dear child, I saw how sweetly<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">You gave your kindness, with no thought of gain.</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">I give you a reward, and how completely</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">I joy in giving, words cannot explain."</span><br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p>

-<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2>

-

-<h3>A SERENADE</h3>

-

-<div class='cap'>JACK TIVERTON stood in the lower hall

-one morning, and appeared as if waiting

-for some one. In his hand was a short

-switch that he had cut from a shrub that

-grew beside the driveway. Often he looked

-up the staircase, and then, as no one appeared,

-he would continue to strike at the

-flies that flew past the doorway.</div>

-

-<p>At last he heard merry voices upon the

-landing, and then Dorothy and Nancy came

-hurrying down the stairs.</p>

-

-<p>"Good morning!" they called, but Jack,

-in his eagerness to ask questions, forgot to

-return their greeting.</p>

-

-<p>"Say!" he cried, "do you know that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>

-Mrs. Paxton and Floretta left this morning

-before breakfast?"</p>

-

-<p>No, the little girls did not know that.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, they have. I saw them go, and

-I'm glad. Floretta was fun to play with,

-but she wasn't fair. She'd get me to do

-things, and then if we got caught, she'd always

-say I planned it," said Jack.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy tried to think of something kind

-to say of Floretta, but she knew that what

-Jack said was true. Floretta truly was not

-in the habit of playing "fair."</p>

-

-<p>"Her mamma said something queer just

-as she was going off. She was talking to a

-lady, I don't know what her name is, and

-Mrs. Paxton said:</p>

-

-<p>"'Well, Dorothy Dainty has always

-seemed to be fond of Nancy, but now that

-Nancy is to have a <i>fortune</i>, shell love her

-a deal more than she ever did before.'"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>And now Dorothy spoke, her blue eyes

-flashing, and her cheeks flushed.</p>

-

-<p>"That's not true!" she cried. "That's

-not true! I've always loved Nancy, and always

-will. I'd love her if she had just

-nothing at all! Nothing could make

-any difference. I love her all I can.

-Nancy knows that. Every one knows

-that."</p>

-

-<p>How keenly she felt Mrs. Paxton's silly

-speech!</p>

-

-<p>She was indignant that any one should

-think her love for Nancy so little worth

-while that fortune could make it stronger.</p>

-

-<p>How could she love Nancy more than she

-had always loved her?</p>

-

-<p>Nancy threw her arms about her, and

-drew her closer.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you mind, Dorothy," she said,

-"<i>I</i> know how truly you love me. Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>

-Paxton didn't know, because I guess she

-couldn't understand it. <i>She</i> couldn't love

-the way you do."</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy smiled through the tears that

-had filled her eyes.</p>

-

-<p>"There's no one dearer than you,

-Nancy," she said.</p>

-

-<p>Jack swung his switch at a dragon-fly

-that flew past the doorway.</p>

-

-<p>"Did you see that darning-needle?" he

-asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Well," he continued, without waiting

-for an answer, "I was down the road a few

-days ago, trying to catch some of those big

-steel-colored ones in my fly-net. I hadn't

-seen any one after I left this piazza, but

-just as I swung my net round to catch the

-dragon-fly, somebody said: 'Look out, or

-you'll get bitten!' and I turned round, but

-no one was in sight. I was just going to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>

-swing my net again, when some one giggled,

-and then I saw a little skinny girl looking

-at me from between some bushes."</p>

-

-<p>"What was she doing?" Dorothy asked.</p>

-

-<p>"You couldn't guess if you tried for a

-month!" said Jack.</p>

-

-<p>"She was sitting on a big stone, beside

-a big puddle that was left there after the

-shower. She said she was playing she was

-a frog, and when she stared at me through

-her glasses, and smiled, no, <i>grinned</i> at me,

-I couldn't help thinking she looked like one.

-Say, she had on a green cloak, a regular

-frog-color."</p>

-

-<p>"It must have been <i>Arabella!</i>" said

-Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"I don't know what her name was. I

-didn't ask her, but while I watched her

-she hopped off the stone into the puddle

-with both feet, and cried, 'po-dunk!' just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>

-like an old bullfrog. My! Weren't her

-shoes wet!"</p>

-

-<p>"I wonder what her Aunt Matilda said

-when she went home with wet feet," said

-Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>Without noticing what she said, Jack continued.</p>

-

-<p>"I never saw such a queer girl!" he said,

-in disgust, "for when I told her dragonflies

-would never bite, she said: 'They will.

-They'll sew your eyes, and nose, and mouth

-up. Po-dunk!' and she hopped back on to

-the stone, and grinned at me just as she did

-at first. Say! She made me feel queer to

-look at her, and I turned and ran away. I

-wasn't afraid of her, of course, but she <i>did</i>

-make me feel queer!"</p>

-

-<p>"She'd make any one feel queer," said

-Nancy as they turned toward the dining-room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Jack wished that they might have stayed

-longer in the hall. He had intended to ask

-them if they knew Arabella, and if she was

-always doing queer things, but Mrs. Dainty

-and Aunt Charlotte joined them, and they

-went in for breakfast.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Tiverton, coming in from an early

-walk, took Jack with her to the other side

-of the dining-room. He looked across at

-them, and wondered what they could have

-told of Arabella if they had had a chance.

-He decided to question them, whispering

-softly to himself:</p>

-

-<p>"I'll <i>make</i> them tell me all they know

-about that funny girl."</p>

-

-<p>For several days he tried to catch Dorothy

-or Nancy at a time when he could question

-them.</p>

-

-<p>He chased Dorothy up the long stairway

-one morning, only to see her disappear into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>

-her room. He had not told her that he had

-wished to talk with her, and she, believing

-that he was only chasing her for fun, ran

-from him, laughing as she went.</p>

-

-<p>He found Nancy, a few minutes later,

-and coaxed her to wait on the landing.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, Nancy," he said, "you've got to

-tell me something about that queer girl

-that you and Dorothy know."</p>

-

-<p>"If you mean Arabella," said Nancy,

-"I don't see what I could tell you, only

-that she <i>is</i> queer, and you know that

-now."</p>

-

-<p>"You'll better believe I know it!" cried

-Jack, "for I met her again yesterday, and

-guess what she was doing!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I couldn't," said Nancy. "No one

-ever could guess what Arabella Corryville

-would do."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, she looked like a witch, and acted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>

-like one, too," Jack replied. "It was yesterday

-that I saw her. I was going across

-the field, and had nearly reached the wall,

-when I looked up, and saw her sitting on

-the top bar of the&mdash;the&mdash;oh, the place

-where they take down the bars to let the

-cattle through."</p>

-

-<p>"I know where you mean," said Nancy,

-"but why was it strange that she was sitting

-there?"</p>

-

-<p>"It was what she was doing that was

-funny," Jack replied, "and because you

-couldn't guess, I'll tell you.</p>

-

-<p>"She didn't look toward me, though I'm

-sure she must have heard me coming, for

-I was just tramping along, and whistling

-all the way. She was looking up at the

-clouds, and counting, 'one&mdash;two&mdash;three&mdash;'

-very slowly, and when I was close behind

-her, she said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"'Hush&mdash;sh&mdash;sh! I'm charming the

-crows!'</p>

-

-<p>"'How long does it take to do it?' I

-said, for it sounded like nonsense, and I

-wanted to hurry. It was almost lunch time.</p>

-

-<p>"'Hush&mdash;sh!' she said again. 'There

-comes one of them now!' and sure enough

-a big, black crow did come flying right

-down, and perched on the limb of an old

-tree near her."</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Jack Tiverton," cried Nancy,

-"you don't believe Arabella really <i>made</i>

-him come down, do you?"</p>

-

-<p>"Of course not," cried Jack, "but she

-wanted me to think so. Say! She said she

-was saying a charm, and when I asked her

-what it was, she wouldn't tell me. She said

-it would spoil the charm to tell it. She

-looked funny sitting up there on the top

-rail, and staring at the crows till her eyes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>

-watered. She didn't look like a 'charmer.'

-She looked ever so much more like a scarecrow!"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Jack, it's horrid to say that!"

-cried Nancy, at the same time trying not to

-let him see how near she was to laughing.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, she <i>did!</i>" Jack insisted, "and

-you're almost laughing now, Nancy Ferris,

-and you'd have screamed if you'd seen

-her roosting there, and calling herself a

-charmer! Why, that old crow just flopped

-down there for fun, and when he saw the

-queer-looking girl, he cawed as if it made

-him mad, and I didn't blame him. Say!

-She had a shoe on one foot, and a slipper

-on the other. Her apron was put on back-side-to,

-and she had a hen's feather in each

-hand, and she waved them up and down

-while she mumbled some kind of a verse.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>

-She said her clothes were put on that way

-to help the charm. Isn't she a <i>ninny?</i>"</p>

-

-<p>Just at that moment, before Nancy could

-reply, Mrs. Tiverton called Jack, and Nancy

-ran to tell the story of Arabella's latest

-freak to Dorothy.</p>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<p>One afternoon, a number of little girls

-were sitting on the piazza at the Cleverton,

-and their merry voices attracted Jack Tiverton,

-who glanced up from the book that

-he was reading, and then, because he

-was curious to know what so interested

-them, crossed the piazza, and joined the

-group.</p>

-

-<p>Dorothy and Nancy, in the big hammock,

-held the book of fairy tales, Flossie Barnet

-sat near them, while the others, all little

-guests at the hotel, sat upon the railing, or

-in the large rockers that stood near.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>Jack joined the row perched upon the

-railing.</p>

-

-<p>"Tell a fellow what you are all talking

-about, will you? Will you, <i>please</i>, I

-mean?" he asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Dorothy Dainty has been reading us a

-lovely story," said a little girl, whose merry

-eyes showed that she had enjoyed it.</p>

-

-<p>"What's it about?" Jack asked, and

-then, "Oh, <i>fairy</i> tales!" he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you like fairy tales?" Flossie

-questioned, looking up at him.</p>

-

-<p>No one liked to differ with dear little

-Flossie, least of all, Jack Tiverton.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, I like them <i>some</i>," he said, awkwardly,

-"but,&mdash;are there any stories about

-bandits or pirates in that book?"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, no," they cried, in a laughing

-chorus, "and there aren't any wild Indians

-in it, either."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"I don't care much about Indian stories,"

-Jack replied, "but I do like to read

-about pirates."</p>

-

-<p>"But just hear what this one was

-about," said Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"The wandering prince had, for years,

-been searching for a lovely princess, who

-should look like a beautiful picture that

-hung in his father's palace. One day he

-came to a castle where the people told him

-a handsome princess was imprisoned, and

-he asked why she was kept there. They

-told him that she was enchanted, and that

-some day, a wandering prince would sing

-beneath her window, and then the

-spell would be broken, and she would be

-free."</p>

-

-<p>Jack was interested.</p>

-

-<p>"But s'posing he couldn't sing?" he

-asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Oh, a prince could surely sing!" said

-Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"And p'raps he could sing under her

-window, if he couldn't anywhere else,"

-ventured a dreamy-eyed little girl who sat

-near Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"And how would he know <i>what</i> to

-sing?" a cheery voice questioned, and a

-pair of merry eyes peered over the piazza

-railing.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie,

-"what difference would it make?"</p>

-

-<p>"All the difference in the world," declared

-Uncle Harry, "for while the proper

-melody would set the princess free, how are

-we to know that the wrong melody might

-not chain her closer than before!"</p>

-

-<p>"Why, the story doesn't say that," said

-Nancy.</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps not, but the prince took an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>

-<i>awful</i> risk when he chose what to sing,"

-declared Uncle Harry.</p>

-

-<p>"You're laughing when you say it,"

-said Dorothy.</p>

-

-<p>"He is," agreed Flossie, "and what he

-says is funny, but I know this: I'd love to

-hear some one singing under <i>my</i> window!"</p>

-

-<p>Some ladies, who sat near enough to hear

-the conversation, were amused at the children's

-enthusiasm, and at Uncle Harry's

-evident interest.</p>

-

-<p>"The prince had his guitar slung over

-his shoulder by a ribbon," said Dorothy.

-"See the picture," and she slipped from

-the hammock, and offered the book that he

-might see the illustration.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm glad he carried his guitar instead

-of a banjo," he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Why are you glad of that?" Flossie

-asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>"Oh, because I really <i>am</i>, in fact, I might

-even say I am delighted," he replied.</p>

-

-<p>"I do believe he intends to serenade

-those children," said a handsome woman,

-to her friend who sat beside her; "he is a

-brilliant man, and one who is blessed with

-many talents, and one of his greatest

-charms is his love of children. He will go

-far out of his way to afford them a bit of

-fun."</p>

-

-<p>That evening, when nearly every one had

-left the piazza, and all of the children were

-in their rooms, the soft twanging of guitar

-strings floated up toward Flossie's window.</p>

-

-<p>She was not yet asleep, and she sat up in

-bed, and listened.</p>

-

-<p>Yes, it was a guitar! Was it Uncle

-Harry's?</p>

-

-<p>A little prelude softly played, drew her

-toward the window.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p>

-

-<p>She crept closer, and peeped out. Yes,

-there he was, looking right up toward her

-window.</p>

-

-<p>Now his fine voice was softly singing,

-and Flossie held her breath.</p>

-

-<div class='poem'>

-"Under thy window, my little lady,<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Under thy window, Flossie dear,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Here where the moonbeams softly flicker,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Sing I this song that you may hear.</span><br />

-<br />

-"Moonlight, and starlight weave enchantment,<br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Yet shall my song your freedom bring,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">You shall be happy little lady,</span><br />

-<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Give me your love for the song I sing."</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<p>"Oh, Uncle Harry, you have it <i>now!</i>"

-cried Flossie. "I love you, when you're

-singing, and <i>all</i> the time."</p>

-

-<p>"I know that, dear little girl, but I <i>must</i>

-have my fun, so I came here to sing the song

-I made for you," he said gently.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, you're <i>dear</i>," she cried, "and I'll

-throw you a kiss," and she did, reaching<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>

-far out of the window that he might surely

-see her.</p>

-

-<p>"I caught it!" he cried, and as he

-turned toward the porch, she heard

-him softly strumming the prelude

-again.</p>

-

-<p>Others had heard the pretty song, for

-Dorothy and Nancy had a room next to

-Flossie's.</p>

-

-<p>The next morning he was coaxed and

-teased to sing the song again, but he declared

-that he could only sing it in the

-moonlight, that the daylight would spoil its

-effect.</p>

-

-<p>The sunny days sped on wings, and soon

-the guests began to think of turning homeward.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Dainty's party and the Barnets

-were to leave the hotel at the same time,

-and Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie were delighted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>

-that they were to take the return

-trip together.</p>

-

-<p>They were talking of the pleasures that

-they were looking forward to, and telling of

-some delightful events that were already

-planned, when Jack Tiverton gave them a

-genuine surprise.</p>

-

-<p>"Mamma has just told me something

-fine," he said, "and I ran right down to tell

-it to you."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, tell it quick!" said Flossie.</p>

-

-<p>"We're going to live in Merrivale,

-and we'll be there soon after we leave

-here. I'm glad. Are you, <i>all</i> of you?" he

-asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Of course we're glad," said Dorothy

-and Nancy; and Flossie hastened to

-add:</p>

-

-<p>"Every one of us is glad."</p>

-

-<p>There were bright days, and many pleasures<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>

-in store for the little friends, and those

-who would like also to enjoy them, and to

-know what happened during the winter,

-may read of all this in</p>

-

-<div class='center'>

-"Dorothy Dainty's Holidays."<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2>THE DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES</h2>

-

-<h3>By AMY BROOKS</h3>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by the Author<br />

-

-Price, $1.00 each<br /></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" summary="Dorothy books">

-<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i008.png" width="153" height="200" alt="Dorothy Dainty&#39;s Winter" title="" />

-</td><td align='left'><i>Dorothy Dainty</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy's Playmates</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty at School</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty at the Shore</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty in the City</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty at Home</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty's Gay Times</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty in the Country</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty's Winter</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty in the Mountains</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty's Holidays</i><br />

-<i>Dorothy Dainty's Vacation</i><br /></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Little Dorothy Dainty</span> is one of the most generous-hearted of

-children. Selfishness is not at all a trait of hers, and she knows the value

-of making sunshine, not alone in her own heart, but for her neighborhood

-and friends."&mdash;<i>Boston Courier.</i></p>

-

-<p>"<span class="smcap">Dorothy Dainty</span>, a little girl, the only child of wealthy parents,

-is an exceedingly interesting character, and her earnest and interesting

-life is full of action and suitable adventure."&mdash;<i>Pittsburg Christian Advocate.</i></p></div>

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Dorothy Dainty books continued">

-<tr><td align='left'><p>"No finer little lady than <span class="smcap">Dorothy Dainty</span>

-was ever placed in a book for children."&mdash;<i>Teachers'

-Journal, Pittsburg.</i></p>

-<p>"<span class="smcap">Miss Brooks</span> is a popular writer for

-the very little folks who can read. She

-has an immense sympathy for the children,

-and her stories never fail to be amusing."&mdash;<i>Rochester

-(N.Y.) Herald.</i></p>

-</td><td align='left'><img src="images/i008b.png" width="153" height="200" alt="Dorothy Dainty&#39;s Holidays" title="" />

-</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2><i>THE PRUE BOOKS</i></h2>

-

-<h3>By AMY BROOKS</h3>

-

-<div class='center'>Illustrated by the Author 12mo Cloth Price, $1.00 each</div>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Prue cover and description">

-<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i009a.png" width="156" height="200" alt="Little Sister Prue" title="" />

-</td><td align='left'><div class='cap'>CUNNING little Prue, one of the most

-winsome little girls ever "put in a

-book," has already been met in another

-series where she gave no small part of

-the interest. She well deserved books

-of her own for little girls of her age,

-and they are now ready with everything

-in the way of large, clear type, and

-Miss Brooks's best pictures and her

-pleasing cover designs to make them

-attractive.</div></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Prue Books">

-<tr><td align='left'><i>Little Sister Prue</i></td><td align='left'><i>Prue's Merry Times</i></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Prue at School</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Prue's Little Friends</i></span></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Prue's Playmates</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Prue's Jolly Winter</i></span></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-<div class="figright" style="width: 150px;">

-<img src="images/i009b.png" width="150" height="200" alt="Prue&#39;s Little Friends" title="" />

-</div>

-

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"Miss Brooks always brings out the best

-ways of acting and living and provides a good

-deal of humor in her original country characters.&mdash;<i>Watchman,

-Boston.</i></p>

-

-<p>"Few writers have ever possessed the

-faculty of reaching the hearts and holding the

-interest of little girl readers to the extent Miss

-Brooks has."&mdash;<i>Kennebec Journal</i>, <i>Augusta, Me.</i></p>

-

-<p>"To know Prue is to love her, for no

-more winsome little girl was ever put in a book,

-and her keen wit and unexpected drolleries

-make her doubly attractive."&mdash;<i>Kindergarten Magazine.</i></p></div>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-<i>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt<br />

-of price by the publishers</i><br />

-<br />

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2><i>THE RANDY BOOKS</i></h2>

-

-<h3><i>By AMY BROOKS</i></h3>

-

-<div class='center'>

-12mo <span class="smcap">Cloth Artistic Cover Design in Gold and Colors<br />

-Illustrated by the Author Price $1.00 Each</span><br />

-</div>

-

-<div class="figleft" style="width: 142px;">

-<img src="images/i010a.png" width="142" height="200" alt="Randy&#39;s Good Times" title="" />

-</div>

-

-<p>The progress of the "Randy Books"

-has been one continual triumph over the

-hearts of girls of all ages, for dear little

-fun-loving sister Prue is almost as much

-a central figure as Randy, growing toward

-womanhood with each book. The

-sterling good sense and simple naturalness

-of Randy, and the total absence of

-slang and viciousness, make these books

-in the highest degree commendable,

-while abundant life is supplied by the

-doings of merry friends, and there is rich

-humor in the droll rural characters.</p>

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Randy books">

-<tr><td align='left'><i>Randy's Summer</i></td><td align='left'><i>Randy's Good Times</i></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Randy's Winter</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Randy's Luck</i></span></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Randy and Her Friends</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>Randy's Loyalty</i></span></td></tr>

-<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 6em;"><i>Randy and Prue</i></span></td><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 6em;"><i>Randy's Prince</i></span></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class="figright" style="width: 141px;">

-<img src="images/i010b.png" width="141" height="200" alt="Randy&#39;s Luck" title="" />

-</div>

-

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Randy Books are among the very

-choicest books for young people to make

-a beginning with."</p>

-<div class='sig'>

-&mdash;<i>Boston Courier.</i><br />

-</div>

-

-<p>"The Randy Books of Amy Brooks

-have had a deserved popularity among

-young girls. They are wholesome and

-moral without being goody-goody."</p>

-

-<div class='sig'>

-&mdash;<i>Chicago Post.</i><br />

-</div></div>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<div class='unindent'><span class="u"><big><b>Only Dollie</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span> Illustrated by Bertha Davidson

-Square 12mo Cloth $1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Only Dollie">

-<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i011a.png" width="149" height="200" alt="Only Dollie" title="" />

-</td><td align='left'><div class='cap'>THIS is a brightly written story of a girl of

-twelve, who, when the mystery of her birth

-is solved, like Cinderella, passes from drudgery to

-better circumstances. There is nothing strained

-or unnatural at any point. All descriptions or

-portrayals of character are life-like, and the

-book has an indescribable appealing quality

-which wins sympathy and secures success.</div>

-<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is delightful reading at all times."&mdash;<i>Cedar

-Rapids (Ia.) Republican.</i></p>

-

-<p>"It is well written, the story runs smoothly, the idea

-is good, and it is handled with ability.&mdash;<i>Chicago

-Journal.</i></p></div></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='unindent'><span class="u"><big><b>The Little Girl Next Door</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;Large &nbsp;&nbsp;12mo &nbsp;&nbsp;Cloth &nbsp;&nbsp;Illustrated

-by Bertha Davidson&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='cap'>A &nbsp;&nbsp;DELIGHTFUL story of true and genuine friendship between an

-impulsive little girl in a fine New York home and a little blind girl

-in an apartment next door. The little girl's determination to cultivate

-the acquaintance, begun out of the window during a rainy day, triumphs

-over the barriers of caste, and the little blind girl proves to be in every

-way a worthy companion. Later a mystery of birth is cleared up, and the

-little blind girl proves to be of gentle birth as well as of gentle manners.</div>

-

-

-

-

-<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Winifred's Neighbors</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;Illustrated

-by Bertha G. Davidson &nbsp;&nbsp;Large

-&nbsp;&nbsp;12mo &nbsp;&nbsp;Cloth &nbsp;&nbsp;$1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Winifred's Neighbors">

-<tr><td align='left'><div class='cap'>LITTLE Winifred's efforts to find some

-children of whom she reads in a book

-lead to the acquaintance of a neighbor

-of the same name, and this acquaintance

-proves of the greatest importance to Winifred's

-own family. Through it all she is just such a

-little girl as other girls ought to know, and

-the story will hold the interest of all ages.</div>

-</td><td align='left'><img src="images/i011b.png" width="143" height="200" alt="Winifred&#39;s Neighbors" title="" />

-</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-<i>For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt<br />

-of price by the publishers</i><br />

-<br />

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD Co., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>The Children on the Top Floor</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Large&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

-Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated by Bertha

-Davidson $1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="The Children on the Top Floor">

-<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i012a.png" width="150" height="200" alt="The Children on the Top Floor" title="" />

-</td><td align='left'><div class='cap'>IN this book little Winifred Hamilton, the

-child heroine of "Winifred's Neighbors,"

-reappears, living in the second of the four

-stories of a New York apartment house. On

-the top floor are two very interesting children,

-Betty, a little older than Winifred, who is now

-ten, and Jack, a brave little cripple, who is a

-year younger. In the end comes a glad reunion,

-and also other good fortune for crippled

-Jack, and Winifred's kind little heart has once

-more indirectly caused great happiness to others.</div>

-</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>How Barbara Kept Her Promise</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Large&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated

-by Bertha Davidson&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='cap'>TWO orphan sisters, Barbara, aged twelve, and little Hazel, who is

-"only eight," are sent from their early home in London to their

-mother's family in New York. Faithful Barbara has promised her father

-that she will take care of pretty, petted, mischievous Hazel, and how she

-tries to do this, even in the face of great difficulties, forms the story which

-has the happy ending which Miss Rhoades wisely gives to all her stories.</div>

-

-

-

-

-<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Little Miss Rosamond</b></big></span></div>

-

-<div class='center'>By <span class="smcap">Nina Rhoades</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated

-by Bertha G. Davidson&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

-Large&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00</div>

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Little Miss Rosamond">

-<tr><td align='left'><div class='cap'>ROSAMOND lives in Richmond, Va.,

-with her big brother, who cannot

-give her all the comfort that she needs in

-the trying hot weather, and she goes to the

-seaside cottage of an uncle whose home

-is in New York. Here she meets Gladys

-and Joy, so well known in a previous

-book, "The Little Girl Next Door," and

-after some complications are straightened

-out, bringing Rosamond's honesty and

-kindness of heart into prominence, all are made very happy.</div>

-</td><td align='left'><img src="images/i012b.png" width="139" height="200" alt="Little Miss Rosamund" title="" />

-</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-<i>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt<br />

-of price by the publishers</i><br />

-<br />

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-

-

-

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-<h2>"<i>Brick House Books</i>"</h2>

-

-<h3><i>By NINA RHOADES</i></h3>

-

-<div class='center'><i>Cloth&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 12mo&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; $1.00 each</i></div>

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Priscilla of the Doll Shop">

-<tr><td align='left'><div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Priscilla of the Doll Shop</b></big></span></div>

-<div class='cap'>THE "Brick House Books," as they are

-called from their well-known cover designs,

-are eagerly sought by children all over

-the country. There are three good stories in

-this book, instead of one, and it is hard to

-say which little girls, and boys, too, for that

-matter, will like the best.</div></td><td align='left'><img src="images/i013a.png" width="150" height="200" alt="Priscilla of the Doll Shop" title="" />

-</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-

-

-

-<div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>Brave Little Peggy</b></big></span></div>

-

-

-<div class='cap'>PEGGY comes from California to New Jersey to live with a brother and

-sister whom she has not known since very early childhood. She is so

-democratic in her social ideas that many amusing scenes occur, and it is

-hard for her to understand many things that she must learn. But her good

-heart carries her through, and her conscientiousness and moral courage

-win affection and happiness.</div>

-

-

-<div class='center'>

-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="The Other Sylvia">

-<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/i013b.png" width="146" height="200" alt="The Other Sylvia" title="" />

-</td><td align='left'><div class='unindent'><br /><span class="u"><big><b>The Other Sylvia</b></big></span></div>

-

-

-

-<div class='cap'>EIGHT-year-old Sylvia learns that girls who

-are "Kings' Daughters" pledge themselves

-to some kind act or service, and that one little

-girl named Mary has taken it upon herself to be

-helpful to all the Marys of her acquaintance.

-This is such an interesting way of doing good that

-she adopts it in spite of her unusual name, and

-really finds not only "the other Sylvia," but great

-happiness.</div></td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-

-<hr style="width: 45%;" />

-

-<div class='center'>

-<i>For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of<br />

-price by the publishers</i><br />

-<br />

-LOTHROP, LEE &amp; SHEPARD CO., BOSTON<br />

-</div>

-<hr style="width: 65%;" />

-

-<div class='tnote'>Transcriber's Note: Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</div>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<pre>

-

-

-

-

-

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-</body>

-</html>

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@@ -1,5221 +0,0 @@
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains, by Amy Brooks

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

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-

-

-Title: Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains

-

-Author: Amy Brooks

-

-Release Date: September 25, 2009 [EBook #30088]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: ASCII

-

-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS ***

-

-

-

-

-Produced by David Edwards, Emmy and the Online Distributed

-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was

-produced from images generously made available by The

-Internet Archive)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-[Illustration: Cover]

-

-

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-

-

-

-Popular Stories.

-

-

-BY AMY BROOKS.

-

-Each beautifully illustrated by the Author.

-

-THE RANDY BOOKS.

-

-12mo. Cloth. Cover Designs by the Author. Price $1.00 each.

-

-          RANDY'S SUMMER.

-          RANDY'S WINTER.

-          RANDY AND HER FRIENDS.

-          RANDY AND PRUE.

-          RANDY'S GOOD TIMES.

-          RANDY'S LUCK.

-          RANDY'S LOYALTY.

-          RANDY'S PRINCE.

-

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-DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES.

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-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE SHORE.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE CITY.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT HOME.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S GAY TIMES.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY IN THE COUNTRY.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S WINTER.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S HOLIDAYS.

-          DOROTHY DAINTY'S VACATION.

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-

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-

-          A JOLLY CAT TALE. Large 12mo. Cloth. Profusely Illustrated.

-          Price      $1.00

-

-[Illustration: "HERE! HERE!" CRIED DOROTHY, AND ECHO ANSWERED,

-"HERE,--ERE!"--_Page 4._]

-

-

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-BY

-

-AMY BROOKS

-

-          AUTHOR OF "DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES," "THE RANDY

-          BOOKS," "THE PRUE BOOKS," AND

-          "A JOLLY CAT TALE"

-

-_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR_

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          BOSTON

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

-

-

-

-

-          DOROTHY DAINTY

-          TRADE-MARK

-          Registered in U. S. Patent Office

-

-          Published, August, 1911

-

-          COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

-

-          _All Rights Reserved_

-

-          DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-

-

-

-

-

-          Norwood Press

-          Berwick & Smith Co.

-          Norwood, Mass., U. S. A.

-

-

-

-

-CONTENTS

-

-

-  CHAPTER                        PAGE

-

-     I. AT THE CLEVERTON            1

-

-    II. A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE      21

-

-   III. AN ENTERTAINMENT           42

-

-    IV. IN A BIRCH ARBOR           62

-

-     V. THE MOUNTAIN PARTY         81

-

-    VI. THE ECHO CAPTURED         101

-

-   VII. FLORETTA'S RETURN         122

-

-  VIII. AT THE FAIR               141

-

-    IX. FLOSSIE'S LETTER          162

-

-     X. A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS     182

-

-    XI. ARABELLA MAKES A CALL     201

-

-   XII. A SERENADE                222

-

-

-

-

-ILLUSTRATIONS

-

-

-  "Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered,

-    "Here,--ere!" (_Page 4_)                    _Frontispiece_

-

-                                                  FACING PAGE

-

-  Often she looked back, as she sped over the road      32

-

-  "Oh, what a lovely, _lovely_ story!" said Dorothy     66

-

-  With feet and hands she strove to loosen the tough,

-    wiry vines                                         120

-

-  She took a few tripping steps, smiling at her

-    reflection                                         176

-

-  She offered two cards to Floretta                    210

-

-

-

-

-DOROTHY DAINTY AT THE MOUNTAINS

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER I

-

-AT THE CLEVERTON

-

-

-THE great hotel on the crest of the hill was bathed in sunlight that

-poured from a rift in the clouds, as if sent for the sole purpose of

-showing the grand portico, the broad piazza, and the flag that floated

-gracefully on the summer breeze.

-

-Its many windows seemed to be looking across the valley to opposite

-mountain peaks, and one could easily imagine that its wide, open

-doorway, smiled genially as if offering a welcome to all arriving

-guests.

-

-Two little girls ran across the lawn, the one with flaxen curls, the

-other with sunny brown ringlets.

-

-The fair-haired little girl had eyes as blue as the blue blossoms that

-she held in her hand, while her playmate's eyes were soft and brown, and

-told that her heart was loving and true.

-

-The little blue-eyed girl was Dorothy Dainty, and the child who clasped

-her hand was her dearest friend, Nancy Ferris.

-

-Nancy had no parents, and a few years before Dorothy's mamma had taken

-her under her care and protection, and she was being trained and

-educated as carefully as was Dorothy, the little daughter of the house.

-

-They had come to the Hotel Cleverton to spend the summer, and the first

-few days of their stay, they had explored all the land that lay

-immediately around the hotel, and had found many beautiful spots, but

-one thing held their interest,--they loved the echo, and never tired of

-awakening it.

-

-"Come!" cried Dorothy. "Run with me over to the white birches, and we'll

-shout, and listen!"

-

-Mrs. Dainty had told them the story of Echo, the nymph, who for loving

-Pan and following him and calling to him had been changed into a huge

-rock on the mountainside, and forever compelled to mock each voice she

-heard.

-

-The old legend of the nymph had caught their fancy, and often they

-paused in their play to shout, and listen to what seemed to them the

-voice of some fairy of the mountains.

-

-Now they stood beside the birches, Dorothy with one arm around a white

-trunk, and Nancy near her. At their feet were countless bluebells,

-overhead the blue sky, while across and beyond the valley rose the

-mountain capped by white clouds that looked as soft as swan's-down.

-

-"Here! Here!" cried Dorothy, and echo answered, "Here,--ere!"

-

-"Listen!" cried Dorothy, clasping her hands, and laughing with delight.

-"It answers as if it was a truly voice that heard and replied.

-

-"Nancy, I love you!" she cried, and again they plainly heard:--

-

-"Love you-oo!"

-

-They thought it great fun to shout and call, and hear their cries so

-cleverly repeated.

-

-And now another child ran out from the great doorway, paused a moment as

-if looking for some one, then, seeing the two little figures near the

-clump of birches, stole softly near them.

-

-On tiptoe, and with tread as soft and noiseless as a cat, she made her

-way over the short grass, until she was quite near them. Then, hiding

-behind a low bush, she watched them. How still she stood! For what was

-she waiting? Her bold eyes were full of mischief, as she whispered, "Oh,

-hurry _up_!"

-

-Dorothy Dainty put her hands to her mouth, trumpet fashion, and called:

-

-"Come and catch us!" and instantly the echo from the distant mountain

-and a shrill voice behind them, repeated:

-

-"Come and catch us!"

-

-"Oh, oh-o!" cried Dorothy, and Nancy ran to her, and threw her arms

-about her.

-

-"You ought not to frighten Dorothy like that!" cried Nancy.

-

-A saucy laugh answered her.

-

-"Well, it isn't nice to be shrieked at, and you do it just like the

-echo, you know you do, and it's enough to frighten any one," said Nancy.

-

-The little tease was not in the least abashed. She could imitate almost

-any sound that she had ever heard, and each success made her eager to

-repeat her efforts at mocking.

-

-"I made old Mrs. Hermanton fly up out of her chair, and drop her ball of

-worsted and knitting-needles, when I shouted close to her ear."

-

-"Why, Floretta!" cried Nancy.

-

-Now you think that was horrid, but _I_ tell you it was funny. She'd just

-been telling about her darling little lap-dog that died _ten years

-ago_, and she got out her handkerchief to cry, and put it up to her

-eyes.

-

-"'Oh, if I only could hear his lovely bark again!' she said, and right

-behind her chair, I said:

-

-"'Ki-yi! Yip! Yip!' and she jumped up much as a foot from her seat."

-

-Nancy laughed. How could she help it? The old lady had told every man,

-woman, and child who sat upon the piazza, how much she had suffered in

-the loss of the dog.

-

-One testy old gentleman who was troubled with gout, spoke rather

-plainly. "Madam," he said, "I've heard that story every day of this

-week, and all I can say is, I wish you had gout in your feet as I have,

-and you'd have no time to waste crying for a puppy!"

-

-He certainly was hopelessly rude, but one must admit every day is far

-too often to be forced to listen to an uninteresting tale.

-

-Floretta stood looking down at the toe of her shoe. She moved it from

-side to side along the grass for a moment, then she spoke again.

-

-"You know old Mr. Cunningham has gout, and is awful cross?"

-

-Dorothy and Nancy nodded. They did indeed know that.

-

-"Well, he sat on the piazza and laughed when I scared Mrs. Hermanton, so

-I want to know if he'll think it's funny _every_ time I do things. You

-know he puts one foot up on a chair, and every time any one touches that

-chair ever so little, he cries: '_Oh_, oh, oh!' and holds on to his

-foot.

-

-"The next time I'm near him, I'm going to make b'lieve hit my foot

-against something, and then I'll cry out, just 'zactly as he does:

-

-"'_Oh_, oh, oh!' and I'll hold on to my foot," said Floretta.

-

-"I know it's funny," said Dorothy, "but I don't think you ought to."

-

-"Well, _you_ needn't. P'raps you couldn't do it just like other folks,

-but I _can_, and I'm going to!" said Floretta.

-

-She was a handsome child, but her boldness marred her beauty.

-

-She was, indeed, a clever imitator, but she had been told so too often.

-Her mother constantly praised her cleverness, and unwise friends

-applauded her efforts, until Floretta acquired the idea that she must,

-on all occasions, mimic some one.

-

-Sometimes those whom she mocked thought it clever, and laughed when they

-had thus been held up to derision.

-

-At other times Floretta found that she had chosen the wrong person to

-mimic, and had received a sharp rebuke.

-

-This taught her nothing, however.

-

-She thought any one who did not enjoy her antics must be very

-ill-natured, while her silly mother considered that Floretta had been

-abused.

-

-While Dorothy and Nancy were talking with Floretta, they were picking

-large bouquets of bluebells and a tiny white flower that grew as

-abundantly as the bluebells, and blossomed as freely.

-

-It pleased her, for the moment, to gather some of the blossoms, and soon

-the three were too busy to talk, each trying to see which could gather

-the largest bouquet.

-

-On the hotel piazza Mrs. Paxton sat, occupied with her embroidery, but

-not too busy to talk. She was _never_ too busy to talk, if she could

-find any one to listen.

-

-Near her sat two ladies who had just arrived, and old Mr. Cunningham,

-who frowned darkly at the magazine that he was trying to read.

-

-It was not that the story displeased him that he frowned, but that he

-was bored with hearing what Mrs. Paxton was saying, mainly because she

-always said the same thing.

-

-"You see, with our wealth and position, it is impossible that little

-Floretta should ever make any use of her talents for any purpose other

-than the amusement of her friends," she said.

-

-One of the two ladies, whose fine face and sweet low voice bespoke

-refinement, looked fixedly at Mrs. Paxton, and wondered that any woman

-should be willing to boast so foolishly.

-

-The other, whose garments told of a great love of display, seemed

-interested, and even impressed.

-

-"What is her especial talent?" she asked, "I really should like to know.

-Is she musical?"

-

-"O dear, yes," Mrs. Paxton hastened to reply; "she plays delightfully,

-and she has a voice that is really quite unusual for a child; she

-dances, too, but her greatest gift is her power of imitation. She has a

-sensitive nature that is open to impressions, and she sees the funny

-side of everything. She really is a wonderful little mimic. You must see

-her to appreciate her charm."

-

-The quiet woman looked as if she thought this a doubtful accomplishment,

-but the one who had eagerly listened said:

-

-"Where is she? I should be _so_ pleased to see her. Not all children are

-so interesting. Many are dull."

-

-"And lucky they are!" growled old Mr. Cunningham, under his breath, but

-the ladies did not hear that.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-"I don't want these flowers now I've picked them," cried Floretta. "You

-can have them if you want them," she said, as she turned toward Dorothy.

-

-"I can't hold any more than I have," said Dorothy, "but you could--"

-

-"Then here they go!" cried Floretta, as she flung them broadcast, to lie

-and wilt in the sunlight.

-

-"Oh, it was too bad to throw them away," said Dorothy. "I was going to

-say, if you didn't care for them, perhaps Mrs. Hermanton might like

-them. She said she liked wild flowers and used to pick them, but her

-rheumatism won't let her pick them now."

-

-"Pooh! I wouldn't have bothered to take them back to her," Floretta

-replied; and turning about, she ran back to the hotel.

-

-"Come here, Floretta!" said Mrs. Paxton. "This lady wishes to see you."

-

-Usually Floretta when asked to do anything, preferred to do something

-else.

-

-This time, thinking that she saw an opportunity for a lark, she went

-promptly and paused beside her mother's chair.

-

-"This is Mrs. Dayne, Floretta. Mrs. Dayne, this is my little daughter."

-

-Floretta looked up and smiled, but said nothing. She had never been

-taught that she must reply courteously when spoken to.

-

-Her pretty face pleased Mrs. Dayne, who was much the same sort of woman

-that Mrs. Paxton was. She wished that Floretta could be induced to

-perform.

-

-_Induced!_ She was already wondering if she would have a chance to show

-off.

-

-The opportunity came soon, and she was delighted.

-

-Mr. Cunningham had become drowsy, and his magazine dropped to the piazza

-floor.

-

-In stooping to recover it, he hurt his gouty foot, and cried out.

-

-"_Oh_, oh-o!" he cried, and like an echo, "_Oh_, oh-o!" cried Floretta,

-catching hold of her own foot and hopping wildly about.

-

-Of course Mrs. Paxton laughed gaily, as if Floretta had done a very

-smart thing, while Mrs. Dayne, who was as silly a woman as Mrs. Paxton,

-joined in the merriment, thus hoping to gain favor with her new friend.

-

-Mr. Cunningham, without a word, took his magazine and, limping

-painfully, left the piazza, and went indoors.

-

-Mrs. Vinton, an odd expression on her fine face, took her parasol from

-the chair where it lay, and went for a walk down the path toward the

-birches. She was disgusted with Mrs. Paxton, Floretta, and Mrs. Dayne,

-although she felt that the little girl was least of all at fault.

-

-She was only an untaught, untrained child, to be pitied rather than

-blamed. She knew that they would think her very unkind if she did not

-seem to approve of Floretta, and she could not laugh at cruelty.

-

-The child was indeed a clever imitator, but the fact remained that it

-_was_ cruel to mock an outcry caused by pain.

-

-Dorothy and Nancy were coming toward her, on their way toward the hotel,

-their hands filled with blossoms, faces bright and smiling.

-

-They greeted her gaily, and Dorothy offered her some of the flowers.

-

-"I'll give half to you, and half to mamma," said Dorothy. "I mean, I

-will if you'd like to have them."

-

-"It is a sweet gift, and I shall enjoy them in my room," Mrs. Vinton

-said. "I have a lovely vase that is worthy to hold such beautiful

-blossoms."

-

-"I'll divide mine between Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton," said

-Nancy.

-

-"You both like to give," said Mrs. Vinton.

-

-"Oh, yes!" they cried together, and as she left them, Dorothy said:

-

-"Isn't she a sweet, lovely lady?"

-

-"Yes, and I like to hear her talk, her voice always sounds so pleasant."

-

-Mrs. Vinton, as she walked along the little path, her flowers in her

-hand, thought of Dorothy and Nancy.

-

-"They are two dear little girls," she said, "and add to the charm of

-this lovely place."

-

-"Would you dare to give Mr. Cunningham some bluebells for his

-buttonhole?" said Nancy. "I'd like to, but _I_ wouldn't dare."

-

-"I don't know," Dorothy said. "I'd like to, too, and he 'most always has

-a rosebud, but sometimes he doesn't. When we get back, if he's on the

-piazza, and hasn't a bud in his buttonhole, I'll try to dare to offer

-him some of these blossoms."

-

-Dear little Dorothy! She wondered if she would be rewarded with a

-frown!

-

-Floretta and her mother were not there, neither was Mrs. Dayne, but in a

-shady corner sat Mr. Cunningham.

-

-Nancy ran in to take her flowers to Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Hermanton.

-

-Dorothy hesitated. She would have been even more timid, had she known

-how recently he had been offended.

-

-He looked up from his book, frowned, then smiled and nodded pleasantly.

-

-He had thought that Floretta had returned, and was pleasantly surprised

-to see Dorothy, instead.

-

-Softly she crossed the piazza until she stood beside him.

-

-"May I give you a few of these bluebells for your buttonhole?" she said.

-"They're only wild flowers, but they're pretty ones," she added, fearing

-that, after all, he might not care for them.

-

-"Why, thank you, my dear. I surely would like them, especially as they

-are offered me by a real little lady."

-

-He placed the cluster that she offered him in his lapel, as he spoke,

-and looked to Dorothy for approval.

-

-"They are wild flowers, truly," he said, "but I think they are quite as

-attractive as the buds I have been wearing," and Dorothy was glad that

-she had offered them.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER II

-

-A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE

-

-

-THREE weeks had passed, and as nearly every day had been fair, the

-guests at the Cleverton had lived out of doors, appearing at the hotel

-at meal-time, and at night.

-

-Other wild flowers beside the bluebells were blossoming gaily, peeping

-up from the grass as if offering a welcome to all who looked at them;

-and even great rocks and ledges held tiny blossoming plants in their

-crevices.

-

-The pony, Romeo, had come to the mountains with the family, and seemed

-to enjoy the outing.

-

-Every morning Dorothy and Nancy went for a drive, and Romeo tossed his

-mane, and pranced as if to show his delight.

-

-One morning the pony was standing at the porch, waiting for his little

-mistress, who soon came running down the stairs.

-

-Floretta was standing in the hall, spinning a top.

-

-A sign on the wall plainly stated that children must not play in the

-hall, but that did not disturb Floretta.

-

-Deftly she wound the string, and the great top fell to the floor, where

-it hummed and spun as rapidly as if a boy's hand had flung it.

-

-She picked it up, and again wound it, this time throwing it with even

-greater force.

-

-"Look! Look!" she cried. "I b'lieve it spins faster every time I throw

-it!"

-

-Dorothy looked over the baluster at the humming top, but said nothing.

-

-She knew that Floretta had seen the notice; indeed a number of the

-children had stood in the hall when it had been tacked up.

-

-Looking up at Dorothy, Floretta noticed the whip in her hand.

-

-"Riding?" she asked.

-

-"Yes, for a little while," said Dorothy. "It's a lovely morning, and I

-mean to see how quickly Romeo will take me to the 'Spring.'"

-

-"I wouldn't care to ride horseback," said Floretta, rudely.

-

-"You won't care to spin tops in this hall if Matson catches you," cried

-a shrill voice, from an upper hall.

-

-"Pooh! I'm not afraid of Matson," Floretta said, boldly, looking up at

-the boy who had tried to frighten her.

-

-"Oh, aren't you?" said the boy in a teasing voice. "Well, he manages

-this hotel, and he'll _make_ you stop if he catches you!"

-

-"You stop, Jack Tiverton!" cried Floretta.

-

-"You'll be the one to stop!" said Jack, with a loud laugh.

-

-Dorothy crossed the hall, stepping around Floretta, who stood exactly in

-the way.

-

-Looking back, she saw Floretta show the tip of her tongue to Jack, while

-Jack, not to be outdone, made a most outrageous face.

-

-"I wish they weren't so horrid!" Dorothy said to herself, as she left

-the hall.

-

-Having mounted Romeo, with the groom's aid, she rode off down the

-lovely, shady road, the man on his horse, following at a respectful

-distance.

-

-She touched the pony lightly with her whip, and he responded by breaking

-into a gentle gallop.

-

-Dorothy's bright curls flew back from her flushed face, and she laughed

-as she flew over the road.

-

-The groom watched her admiringly, and marvelled that so small a girl

-could be such a perfect little equestrienne.

-

-The ride had brightened her eyes, and she always looked smaller than she

-really was when mounted upon Romeo.

-

-He was a handsome animal, with flowing mane and tail, and the groom

-spoke truthfully when he muttered:

-

-"Them two makes a high-bred pair. Miss Dorothy is a girl 'ristycrat, an'

-the little hoss is a hoss 'ristycrat, if ever there was one."

-

-The groom had been in the service of the Dainty family but a few

-months, but in that time he had become devoted to the little daughter of

-the house. All the servants loved Dorothy, and were almost as fond of

-Nancy Ferris.

-

-The young groom had heard Nancy's story, and he felt a deep interest in

-the little girl, who once had been a waif.

-

-Now, his pleasant face wore a smile as he followed Dorothy, and saw how

-firmly the little figure stuck to the saddle, and rode as if girl and

-pony were one and inseparable.

-

-They reached the "Spring," a spot whose beauty drew all travellers to

-it, and artists lingered there to paint, and thus perpetuate its charm.

-

-Romeo looked down at the clear stream that reflected his figure so

-perfectly.

-

-"He wants a drink," said Dorothy; "lead him to a good place, Thomas,

-please."

-

-He helped her to dismount, and then led the pony to a shady spot where

-he could drink, and enjoy the cool, clear water.

-

-Dorothy at once commenced to gather some of the lovely wild flowers that

-grew near the water's edge, but farther up the stream.

-

-"These are different from any that I've ever found here," she thought.

-

-Her hands were nearly filled with the lovely blossoms, and she was

-reaching out to grasp an especially pretty one, when a strangely

-familiar voice, just behind her, said:

-

-"I think I see some one I've _often_ seen before!"

-

-Dorothy turned, and a little cry of surprise and pleasure escaped her

-lips.

-

-There were Mrs. Barnet and dear little Flossie coming toward her, while

-very near her was the owner of the voice, Flossie's handsome,

-merry-hearted Uncle Harry! Just behind him was his lovely young wife,

-and the baby in charge of a maid.

-

-"Oh, I _am_ glad, _so_ glad to see you!" cried Dorothy. "And Flossie

-Barnet, did you know you were coming up here, when I said 'good-by' to

-you and Molly Merton at Merrivale?"

-

-"I didn't know _surely_, but I _almost_ knew," Flossie admitted, "but

-Uncle Harry said, 'Don't tell 'til you _know_,' and I didn't _truly_

-know until after you were gone."

-

-"Well, it's fine to have you here," said Dorothy, "but I do truly

-b'lieve it's almost nicer to be surprised, and have you;" and she threw

-her arm around Flossie, as she walked beside her.

-

-Tall, handsome Uncle Harry thought he saw a chance for a bit of a joke.

-

-"I wonder why some one isn't surprised to see _me_?" he said.

-

-"Oh, I am," said Dorothy, "and glad, too."

-

-"Well, thank you," said Uncle Harry; then with a face that he tried to

-make sad, he said:

-

-"But I know you aren't as glad as you were to see Flossie, because,--you

-didn't put your arm around _my_ waist!"

-

-He had tried to look very glum, but his blue eyes were laughing.

-

-Big, handsome Uncle Harry could not look woebegone, and the two little

-girls laughed at his attempt.

-

-"The barge is taking our party over to the 'Cleverton,' and I see you

-have the pony, Dorothy," said Uncle Harry. "Will you run a race with the

-barge?"

-

-"Oh, yes, yes!" cried Dorothy, "and Romeo will come in ahead!"

-

-"If he does," said Uncle Harry, "I'll surely decorate him with a blue

-ribbon!"

-

-With many a laugh and jest, and much guessing as to which would be the

-winner, the merry party clambered into the barge; Dorothy mounted Romeo,

-and they were off over the road, on the way to the hotel.

-

-The horses, like the average barge horses, were not beauties, but they

-saw the pony rush forward, and they made an effort at speed. They

-plunged forward, at what, to them, seemed a reckless pace, but the fine,

-handsome Romeo shot past them, his nostrils dilated, and his eyes

-bright with excitement. Dorothy's gay laugh rang out as she passed them,

-and Uncle Harry, as he looked after the flying figure, exclaimed:

-

-"The little fairy! I believe no other child could ride so fearlessly as

-that!"

-

-Often she looked back, as she sped over the road. Try as they would, the

-old horses could not overtake her.

-

-As soon as the barge appeared in sight between the trees, she touched

-Romeo lightly with her whip-stock, and then she laughed gaily as he

-plunged forward, the old barge rattling along far behind.

-

-She did not permit Romeo to again slacken his pace, and thus arrived at

-the Cleverton before the barge was in sight, so slow had been its

-progress.

-

-"Oh, Nancy!" she cried, "Who _do_ you think has come?"

-

-[Illustration: OFTEN SHE LOOKED BACK, AS SHE SPED OVER THE ROAD.--_Page

-31._]

-

-"Who has come?" Nancy asked. "Where are they?"

-

-"I mean you can't guess who is coming, and there they come now, Nancy,

-just look!"

-

-Nancy did look, saw the barge swinging around the curve of the road, saw

-a tiny handkerchief waving, and then a sweet little face looked out to

-smile at her.

-

-"Oh, it's Flossie Barnet!" cried Nancy, joyfully, "and her mamma,

-and,--why, yes it _is_! It's Flossie's Uncle Harry!"

-

-He heard the cry, and heard the welcome in her voice.

-

-"Yes, it's Flossie's Uncle Harry, and all the other little girls' Uncle

-Harry who care to claim him for an uncle," he said, with a laugh, as he

-lifted his little niece down from the barge.

-

-"Oh, I'm _so_ glad he came, too," said Dorothy, upon hearing which, he

-turned and lifting his hat, bowed, thus acknowledging the compliment

-that she had paid him. His eyes twinkled with pleasure, for he loved

-children, and he valued their regard. He was a big, manly fellow, with a

-warm heart, as loving, and as merry as that of a child.

-

-The Barnet party added much to the pleasure of little events and

-entertainments at the Hotel Cleverton. Flossie became, at once, a

-favorite with the other children, and her charming mother was deservedly

-popular with all.

-

-Uncle Harry, who possessed a fine voice, willingly sang whenever a

-musical program was arranged for an evening, while his lovely young

-wife, who was an accomplished pianist, played his accompaniments, or

-rendered solos, thus generously adding to the pleasure of the other

-guests.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-"I tell you what it is," said old Mr. Cunningham, "that big bank of

-clouds hanging over that mountain means rain, and plenty of it, I

-believe."

-

-"I think you are right," said Uncle Harry, "and if we _do_ have a three

-days' rain, as we sometimes do, we shall have to use every effort to

-keep things humming, and so forget the storm."

-

-They had been sitting on the piazza, and talking of the days of

-uninterrupted sunshine that they had enjoyed, when, in a few minutes,

-the blue sky had been hidden, as if by a thin, pearly veil, while

-hanging over the mountain was the mass of leaden clouds that had seemed

-to prophesy rain.

-

-"Oh, _I_ don't want it to rain," wailed Floretta, who stood near them,

-her pretty face puckered into a most unpleasant frown.

-

-"I'm afraid the weather can't be arranged especially for you," said Mr.

-Cunningham.

-

-He, like all the guests, was very tired of the child who was either

-whining, or boisterously, rudely gay. Just at this point, Mrs. Paxton

-came out on the piazza, a small note-book and pencil in her hand.

-

-She hastened toward the two gentlemen, and smiled as if she were

-conferring a favor.

-

-"With the chance of a stormy evening, we are trying to arrange a program

-that will give us a pleasant evening indoors," she said. "I am sure you

-will help me."

-

-She had smiled at both, and old Mr. Cunningham, who heartily disliked

-her, was only too glad to reply.

-

-"I'm not musical, madam," he said, "but I'll whistle 'Hail Columbia' for

-you, if you will promise not to reprimand me if I get off the key."

-

-"Dear, dear!" she cried. "You are always so amusing. One never knows if

-you are joking, or serious."

-

-"It would be very serious, and no joke, I assure you, if you were

-actually obliged to listen to my whistling," was the curt reply, and he

-turned once more to scan the sky and the distant mountains.

-

-Uncle Harry, of course, agreed to sing, his wife promised to play, and

-Mrs. Paxton moved toward where Mrs. Dainty and her companion, Aunt

-Charlotte, were sitting, with Dorothy and Nancy near them.

-

-"Will your little daughter sing for us this evening?" she asked. "We

-are eager to have quite a fine program."

-

-"Dorothy shall sing for you, surely," Mrs. Dainty said, "and Nancy, I am

-sure, will give a little solo."

-

-"Oh, does Nancy sing or play?" Mrs. Paxton asked, in surprise, for thus

-far Nancy had not exhibited her talent, whatever it might be.

-

-"She will give you a solo that shall be neither singing nor playing,"

-Mrs. Dainty replied, with a quiet smile.

-

-"How very interesting!" said Mrs. Paxton. She had invited Dorothy to

-sing because other guests had expressed the wish to hear her.

-

-Here was a _second_ child with talent of _some_ kind! Well, Floretta's

-imitations of other people would certainly eclipse the efforts of the

-other little girls! Mrs. Paxton's sole idea in arranging the

-entertainment was for the purpose of showing Floretta's mimicry.

-

-A small figure paused a moment in the doorway, then stepped back, and

-peeped out, scanning the groups upon the piazza.

-

-"She isn't there!" he whispered. "She's backed out, an' she _said_ she'd

-do it!"

-

-He drew back into the shadow, and waited, hoping that when he looked

-again he might see her.

-

-A second peep at the guests on the piazza showed that Floretta was not

-among them.

-

-"She didn't _try_ to do it!" he muttered.

-

-He held something in his hand, which he kept behind his back.

-

-He was about to peep again when a light hand touched his shoulder.

-

-He turned, and there stood Floretta, looking prettier than usual in her

-short white frock, white shoes, and pink hair ribbons.

-

-"Did you get one?" whispered Jack.

-

-"Look!" said Floretta, and from behind her back she produced a long

-corn-cob. "I took mine from the table at noon, when ma wasn't looking,

-and ran from the dining-room, and hid it in our room," said Floretta.

-"How did you get yours?"

-

-"I asked the head waiter to get mine for me," said Jack, "and he acted

-as if he thought me a ninny. He gave it to me all the same, and asked

-what I was up to. I didn't tell him, though."

-

-They giggled softly.

-

-"Ready?" whispered Jack, softly.

-

-"Yes," whispered Floretta, and then, with corn-cobs held to their

-mouths, and their fingers working as if playing upon flutes, they

-marched out on to the piazza, loudly singing, "Hail Columbia."

-

-Some of the guests laughed, none so loudly as Mrs. Paxton, who declared

-that it taxed her intellect to imagine what put such outrageously funny

-notions into children's heads.

-

-"I can answer that, madam, and without trying very hard, either. It's

-Satan, madam, Satan, who from watching their actions, takes them to be

-his near relatives," said Mr. Cunningham.

-

-Meanwhile the little procession of two, encouraged by the laughter,

-marched in and out between the groups of guests, until unlucky Floretta

-let her corn-cob slip from her fingers, the moist, sticky thing falling

-upon the light silk skirt of a lady who sat near Mrs. Paxton.

-

-"There, there, Floretta, never mind," said Mrs. Paxton; then turning to

-the wearer of the gown, she said, "I don't think it will stain it in the

-least. Children will be children, and must have their fun!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER III

-

-AN ENTERTAINMENT

-

-

-MRS. PAXTON had laughed at what she chose to call the "funny" antics of

-Floretta and Jack, but in truth, she had been very angry.

-

-She swept from the piazza, Floretta, firmly grasped, walking beside her.

-Jack Tiverton's mother took him to her room, where she could talk to

-him, without fear of interruption.

-

-Floretta sat on a low divan, sullen and obstinate.

-

-For twenty minutes she had listened, while her mother had told what a

-disrespectful thing she had done.

-

-"I don't see how it was not respectful," grumbled Floretta, "we were

-just having a little fun."

-

-"And it was fun at my expense," said Mrs. Paxton. "I was annoyed, just

-when I was making plans for a _fine_ entertainment, to have you and that

-boy parade out on to the piazza with those old corn-cobs, singing, or

-rather _howling_, like young savages!"

-

-This, and much more Floretta was forced to listen to, but during the

-remainder of the scolding, she did not speak, or reply in any way.

-

-She was still very sullen when her mother left the room, and no one saw

-her until she appeared in the dining-room at dinner.

-

-She tasted one dish after another, but managed to eat but little dinner.

-She wished her mother to think that the scolding had made her ill.

-

-It proved to be wasted effort. Mrs. Paxton had been so interested in

-what Mrs. Dayne was saying that she had not noticed that Floretta let

-the various courses go untasted.

-

-She had hoped to worry her mother, but had only punished herself!

-

-She was very hungry when they left the table, and also very angry.

-

-"I might just as well have eaten my dinner," she muttered, "she never

-noticed that I didn't."

-

-When the hour arrived that had been set for the concert, every guest was

-present, and all were talking and laughing gaily, and very glad that an

-evening's amusement had been provided.

-

-Outside, the rain was descending in torrents, while a cold wind whistled

-around the corners, as if demanding admittance.

-

-Indoors the heavy red hangings were drawn over the lace draperies, great

-logs blazed in the fireplaces, while over all softly shaded lights gave

-an air of cozy comfort that made one feel sheltered and safe from the

-storm.

-

-A group of ladies sat chatting together, and one, a recent arrival, was

-saying that she had understood that children were not permitted as

-guests at the Cleverton.

-

-"There are only a few children here," Mrs. Vinton said, "and some of

-them are charming."

-

-"While others are _not_?" questioned the stranger, with an odd smile.

-

-"I'd rather not say just that," Mrs. Vinton said, "but I will say that

-Mrs. Dainty's little daughter, and Dorothy's little friend, Nancy, and

-Flossie Barnet, are three of the sweetest children I have ever met. My

-stay here is brighter and far pleasanter because they are also here."

-

-"Dorothy Dainty is an unusually fine singer for a child," another lady

-said, "and she is to sing for us to-night. I believe Nancy Ferris is to

-do something, but I do not know what. Does any one know if Nancy sings?"

-

-"I've not the least idea what her talent is," said a pleasant-voiced

-matron, "but she is such a bright, interesting child that I feel sure

-that whatever she is able to do at all, she will do exceedingly well."

-

-"Aunt Vera is to play a solo for the first number," said little Flossie

-Barnet, to a lady who sat near her.

-

-"That is delightful," said the lady, "and what are you to do?"

-

-"Oh, I'll listen, and listen," said Flossie, "and then, I'll clap to

-show how much I liked what the people did."

-

-"And your friend Dorothy is to sing," said the lady, "do you know what

-Nancy does?"

-

-"Oh, yes, I do!" cried Flossie, "and she does it so lovely, you'll

-wonder how she could! I'm not to tell _what_ she'll do, none of us are

-to tell. You'll _see_ when she does it!"

-

-"Dear little girl, you seem quite as happy as if you were to be a

-soloist," said the lady.

-

-"Why, yes," said Flossie, "for when the other little girls do pretty

-things, I see them, but I couldn't see myself do anything!"

-

-"Oh, you sweet, funny little girl," the pleasant-faced lady said, as she

-drew Flossie closer, "I never knew so dear a child."

-

-"Dorothy and Nancy are dear," said Flossie, "and oh, you haven't seen

-Molly Merton! She's another one of my little friends, and she's _always_

-lovely to play with. We're always together when I'm at home at

-Merrivale."

-

-Before the lady could express regret that she did not know Molly, the

-orchestra began the opening chords of an overture.

-

-The musicians gave an afternoon and evening concert daily, throughout

-the season, but to-night their numbers were to be interspersed with

-solos given by the guests.

-

-The orchestra was generously applauded, and then a slender figure in a

-gown of soft, pink satin seated itself at the piano, and with light

-touch and brilliant execution, played a rondo that delighted all.

-

-In response to repeated applause, she played the "Caprice Hongroise,"

-which aroused wild enthusiasm.

-

-She smiled, and bowed gracefully in acknowledgment, then turning toward

-her husband, who now stood beside her, took from his hand the duplicate

-of the song that he was to sing. She always played his accompaniments.

-

-How full of music was his rare voice, how like the tones of a silver

-trumpet when he sang "A Song of the Sea," how tender his tones when for

-a second number, he sang an "Italian Love Song!"

-

-"Didn't he sing _fine_, just _fine_?" Flossie asked, eagerly.

-

-"Indeed he did," the lady replied, "I never heard a more excellent

-voice."

-

-"Well, he's my own Uncle Harry!" said Flossie, a world of love and pride

-in her voice.

-

-A young girl played a serenade on the guitar, and a member of the

-orchestra played a waltz for violin, and both were encored.

-

-Those who were to perform were in a small room awaiting their turn. They

-were laughing and chatting while they waited, and all, save a little

-girl, who kept apart from the others, seemed bright and happy. Her eyes

-were dull, and her red lips pouting. It was Floretta Paxton, and she was

-watching Nancy Ferris, noticing every detail of her costume, and looking

-as unpleasant as possible.

-

-Nancy wore a frock of white gauze, thickly strewn with tiny gold

-spangles. Her girdle was white satin, her slippers were white, and she

-wore a cluster of pink rosebuds in her hair.

-

-"What's she going to do?" Floretta asked in a fretful voice, but Mrs.

-Paxton, who stood beside her, could not tell her that. She knew no more

-of Nancy's talent than Floretta did.

-

-Floretta had been angry in the afternoon; she had foolishly refused

-dinner, and was very hungry; she was made more angry because hers was

-not the first number on the program, and now, here was Nancy Ferris

-wearing a beautiful frock that far outshone her own!

-

-She was wearing a simple pink muslin, and had felt that she was finely

-dressed, until Nancy appeared.

-

-The satin girdle, the white slippers, and the spangles were more than

-she could forgive.

-

-"What's she going to _do?_" she asked again, more fretfully than before.

-

-"I _don't know_," Mrs. Paxton said.

-

-"Well, I won't do a thing 'til I do know!" said Floretta.

-

-Silly little girl! Always a jealous child, she now thought that Nancy

-_might_ be another impersonator or imitator, and she was nearly wild.

-

-The orchestra was now playing a dreamy waltz. Nancy's foot tapped the

-measure. Her eyes were brighter.

-

-"What _is_ she going to do?" whispered Floretta.

-

-The tall man, who had been announcing the numbers, now swung aside the

-portiere, and Nancy slipped from her chair, ran out upon the stage, and

-then,--oh, the fairy motion of her arms, the lightness with which, on

-the tips of her toes, she flew across the stage!

-

-With her finger-tips she lifted the hem of her skirt, and courtesied

-low, then away in a dreamy whirl she sped, turning to look over her

-shoulder, and laugh at the faces that showed greatest surprise.

-

-On swept the strains of sweetest music, and little Nancy, carried away

-with love of the music, danced more charmingly than ever before.

-

-Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty watched her flying figure, and often as

-they had seen her, they knew that she was excelling herself.

-

-"Nancy, Nancy, dear child!" murmured Aunt Charlotte.

-

-Now, with her feet crossed, and still on the tips of her toes she

-whirled like a top, did the graceful rocking step, swayed like a flower

-in the wind, whirled about again, courtesied once more, and laughing

-like a merry, dark-eyed sprite, ran back into the little waiting-room.

-

-Oh, what thunders of applause greeted her, yet she sat quietly chatting

-with a lady who stood near her!

-

-Again and again they seemed to be begging that the little dancer might

-return.

-

-"I'll bow to them," said Nancy, and she ran out to do so.

-

-"Once more, once more!" cried an eager voice, and then more clapping,

-and even a few shrill whistles from some very young men begged her to

-respond.

-

-She extended her arms for a second, then whirling rapidly, she repeated

-the last half of the dance, courtesied again, and when she ran back to

-the little room, Dorothy embraced her tenderly.

-

-"Oh, Nancy darling!" she cried, "you never danced finer. Do you know how

-pleased every one is?"

-

-"I danced to please and surprise them," said Nancy. "I _do_ love to see

-people look happy. They couldn't remember how hard it was raining while

-I was whirling and dancing for them."

-

-Floretta, now more unhappy than before, turned so that she might not see

-Nancy, nor note the shimmer of her spangles.

-

-Mrs. Paxton, who had been talking with a friend, now turned toward

-Floretta.

-

-"Come!" she said, "now run out, and do your very best, Floretta."

-

-"I'm not going out!" said Floretta.

-

-"What an idea!" cried Mrs. Paxton. "Of course you'll run out, and show

-every one how cute you are. Why, I planned this entertainment just to

-give you a chance to show off!"

-

-"And made me the last one on the whole list!" snarled Floretta.

-

-"Come, come!" cried her mother, "every one couldn't be first. I thought

-I'd have the others perform first, and then _you_ could show who was the

-smartest! Come! They're just wild to see what you can do, and they're

-waiting."

-

-"They'll _have_ to wait!" hissed Floretta, like a cross little cat.

-

-It was no use to urge, plead, or insist. Floretta was stubborn, and when

-once she had determined what she would, or would not do, nothing could

-move her.

-

-Prayers and threats were equally useless.

-

-Dorothy sang very sweetly, and was cordially received.

-

-Uncle Harry and his wife sang a charming duet that delighted all, the

-orchestra played a military caprice, and then the remainder of the

-evening was spent in a little, informal dance.

-

-All was light, laughter, and music, and there were two kinds of music

-that gladdened their hearts,--the sweet music of the violins, and the

-still sweeter melody of happy voices!

-

-Silly little Floretta had ruined the evening for no one save her own

-jealous little self.

-

-Because she could not be the first on the program, she would not appear

-at all, although, at heart, she longed to show her really clever

-mimicry. Later, after having sulked during the early part of the

-evening, she refused to join the dancers, and ran away to her room,

-angry, very angry with every one save the one person who was really at

-fault,--herself.

-

-Her efforts at imitating would surely have amused, and would, doubtless,

-have been well received. She was rather a graceful dancer, in any of

-the ordinary ballroom dances, and she thus might have joined the other

-children when the concert was over. She had needlessly spent a most

-unhappy evening.

-

-Now, in her room, she heard the strains of the orchestra, and for the

-first time realized how foolish she had been.

-

-"I _had_ a chance, and I lost it," she sobbed, but her tears were not

-tears of grieving. They were angry tears, and the droll part of it was

-that while she alone was at fault, she was angry with every one but

-herself.

-

-For a few moments she lay, her face hidden in her pillow. Then, she

-turned over into a more comfortable position, and softly she whispered,

-"I'll do enough to-morrow to make up!"

-

-She did not say _what_ she intended to do, but the idea evidently

-pleased her, for she laughed through her tears.

-

-She sprang from her bed, found a box of bonbons that her mother had won

-as a prize in an afternoon whist party the day before, and crept back

-into bed. When she had eaten nearly all of the candy, she sat up and in

-the softly shaded light, looked at the box with its few remaining bits

-of candy. She was wondering where she could hide it.

-

-"Ma will surely notice the empty box, or anyway, I've made it _almost_

-empty," she said. "She might not miss it if I hid it!"

-

-She had never been taught to be honest, so whenever she did a naughty

-thing, her first thought was to hide, or cover up the act. She never

-felt regret.

-

-No one ever heard her gently say, "I'm sorry."

-

-Softly she crept from her bed, and made her way across the floor to the

-dressing-case.

-

-She put the box upon the floor, and pushed it well under it, and wholly

-out of sight.

-

-"There!" she whispered. "That's all right. I would have finished the

-candy, but I didn't want the whole of it. I ate the best of it. The

-others weren't very nice."

-

-Down in the long parlor the guests were no longer dancing.

-

-They were resting, and listening to a lovely barcarolle played softly by

-the orchestra.

-

-Flossie, clinging to Uncle Harry's hand, drew him toward the window.

-

-"Look!" she said, as she parted the curtains. "It isn't raining now, and

-the moon is coming out. It will be pleasant to-morrow! And it has been

-lovely in here to-night."

-

-"Dear little Flossie, dear little niece, it was your cheery, loving

-nature that led us to give your name to our baby. She has two fine

-names, she is Beatrice Florence. The first is Vera's mother's name, the

-second, dear, is yours."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER IV

-

-IN A BIRCH ARBOR

-

-

-THE storm had cleared the air, no mist veiled the mountains, the

-sunlight lay everywhere, gilding valley and stream.

-

-Many of the guests had started early in the morning for a trip to a

-distant mountain from the summit of which a delightful view might be

-enjoyed.

-

-They were to ride over in the barge to the base of the mountain, have a

-picnic lunch under the trees, and then climb the rugged path up the

-mountain side.

-

-It would occupy half the day and it would be afternoon before the barge

-would return with its merry, tired party.

-

-Floretta Paxton and Jack Tiverton were usually in sight, or, as they

-were always noisy, within hearing might be nearer the truth, but they

-had gone over to a spot that the children called "The Pool," a bit of

-water not much larger than a big puddle.

-

-It existed only after a heavy rain, but near its edge the slender

-birches grew, and their silvery white trunks and the bright, blue sky

-were clearly reflected on its surface.

-

-Jack had decided to launch his toy boat there, and, as Floretta had

-hemmed the tiny sails, he had felt obliged to listen to her coaxing, and

-permit her to go with him.

-

-"I'll let you christen her," he had said, in a moment of generosity, and

-then regretted it.

-

-Floretta's idea of a christening ceremony was very elaborate, while

-Jack thought that shouting the vessel's name, and shoving it into the

-water was all that was necessary.

-

-Nancy was helping Aunt Charlotte, so when Dorothy ran out to the piazza,

-she found it deserted, and she stood looking in surprise at the rocking

-chairs and hammocks that were swaying in the wind.

-

-"Every one has gone somewhere," she thought; "didn't any one stay at

-home?"

-

-She stood for a moment in the doorway, wondering what to do. Suddenly

-her face brightened, and she clapped her hands.

-

-"The very thing!" she said, and she turned and hastened to her room to

-find her latest gift.

-

-It was a beautiful book of fairy tales, and although it had been given

-her over a week ago, she had read but a few of the stories. Mrs. Dainty

-had sent to the city for the book, and ever since the day of its arrival

-Dorothy had been wild to read it.

-

-Something had been planned for each sunny day, and as the weather had

-continued fair, the book had been opened but a few times, and then for

-only a brief glance at the tales or the illustrations.

-

-Mrs. Dainty had gone to the village, a ride of about an hour from the

-hotel, and Aunt Charlotte was still occupied with her letters.

-

-Nancy was sealing and stamping the envelopes, as Dorothy passed the

-door.

-

-"I'm going over to the little 'birch arbor,'" she said. "I'm taking my

-new fairy book for company."

-

-"I'll come, too, just as soon as I've finished these envelopes," said

-Nancy, and she began to work faster.

-

-[Illustration: "OH, WHAT A LOVELY, _LOVELY_ STORY!" SAID DOROTHY.--_Page

-67._]

-

-The "birch arbor" was not an actual arbor, but it was a lovely spot, and

-the birches were exceptionally fine. Nancy and Dorothy had often been

-there together, and they had given it the name.

-

-A tiny mountain brook ran through it, and it was a lovely spot in which

-to enjoy legends or fairy tales.

-

-In a few moments Dorothy had reached the place, and when she had seated

-herself, she opened the book where a fine picture showed the prince,

-whose father had given him three wishes as his only inheritance, and

-then had sent him out to seek his fortune.

-

-Twice she had commenced to read the story, and had been obliged to lay

-it aside. Now, with only the bees and the butterflies hovering about

-her, she read the fascinating tale.

-

-It proved to be even more charming than she had expected.

-

-The prince was tall, and dark, and handsome, and his heart was so good

-and true, that Dorothy felt that he richly deserved the beautiful

-princess whom he finally won.

-

-Her eyes sparkled as she read of the great court wedding.

-

-"And the lovely princess looked more beautiful than ever in her wedding

-gown of cloth of gold, thickly set with diamonds, and her crown of

-diamonds and sapphires."

-

-"Oh what a lovely, _lovely_ story!" said Dorothy, as she turned the

-page.

-

-"Tiny princes carried her train, and as the happy pair reached the

-palace gates, and were about to enter the royal coach, the blare of

-trumpets sounded, as the guards in blue and gold played a gay fanfare."

-

-"Toot! Toot! Toot!"

-

-Dorothy sprang to her feet.

-

-It was as if those silver-toned trumpets had sounded close beside her. A

-moment more, and a huge automobile appeared from behind the trees and

-shrubbery, and slackening its speed, came, at last, to a standstill, and

-an old lady leaned out to question her.

-

-"Are we going in the right direction, my dear, to reach the Hotel

-Cleverton?"

-

-Dorothy walked toward the car, and looked up into the hard, old face.

-

-"This little road is _right_," said Dorothy, "but the broad road that

-leads out of this one is not so rough, and it is a _little_ shorter."

-

-"There, Minturn, I _said plainly_ that I believed we could get there

-quicker some other way!"

-

-"You are _sure_ about the Cleverton?" the old lady asked. "You _know_

-where it is?"

-

-"I'm staying there with mamma, and that truly is the right way," said

-Dorothy, her soft eyes looking up into the hard, old face.

-

-"I guess I can trust you," the old lady said, not smiling, but looking a

-bit less stern.

-

-"Now, Minturn, we'll _try_ to reach the hotel, sometime before dark!"

-she said curtly.

-

-Puffing and whirring the big automobile started off up the road, the old

-lady sitting stern and erect, as if she thought her driver needed

-watching, and she was determined to keep a sharp eye upon him.

-

-"Why, how queer!" said Dorothy. "She didn't even say 'good-bye,' or

-'good-morning.' Perhaps she was very tired, and forgot,"--then after a

-moment she added, "but my beautiful mamma _never_ forgets."

-

-She went back to the pretty spot where she had been reading, and sitting

-down, opened the book, but she could not keep her mind upon the stories.

-The strange face of the old lady seemed to look at her from the printed

-page.

-

-How small and sharp her eyes had been, and how she asked the same

-question again and again. Did she doubt the answer given her?

-

-All these, and many more questions puzzled Dorothy, and with the open

-book lying upon her lap, she looked off where the sunlight lay upon the

-grass.

-

-She was still sitting thus when a merry voice aroused her, and she

-turned to see Nancy running toward her.

-

-"Oh, Dorothy!" she cried. "You ought to have been up at the hotel just a

-few moments ago. A new guest came, and she was so cross, it _must_ be

-that she didn't want to come. But if she truly _didn't_ want to, then

-why _did_ she?"

-

-"Why, Nancy, who wouldn't think it fine to come up here to the

-mountains, and stay at the Cleverton?" said Dorothy in surprise.

-

-"Well, you wouldn't have thought the old lady was glad to be there, if

-you'd seen her," said Nancy.

-

-"Oh, was it an old lady that you were talking about?" Dorothy asked

-quickly.

-

-"Yes, and you ought to have seen her eyes snap when she scolded her

-chauffeur. She told him she might have arrived an hour before just as

-well as not, and she kept right on scolding to herself, all the way up

-to the piazza, and, Dorothy, she looked so cross, I wouldn't wonder if

-she was scolding up in her room now!"

-

-"She must be the same one that was here just a little while ago,"

-Dorothy said, "and she asked me to tell her the nearest way to the

-Cleverton. When I told her, she made the man rush off over the road, and

-she was scolding him when they left here. Perhaps she was tired, and

-will feel pleasanter when she has rested."

-

-"Perhaps," agreed Nancy, "but I know Aunt Charlotte and your mamma don't

-act that way when they are tired."

-

-Dorothy could not dispute that, and soon the two little girls were

-enjoying the fairy book together.

-

-"Now, this is the story I've just been reading," said Dorothy, "and this

-is the picture of the prince. Isn't he handsome?"

-

-"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and doesn't he look like Flossie's Uncle Harry?"

-

-"Why, he _does_, truly," cried Dorothy. "I'll show the picture to

-Flossie, and I'm sure she'll say it looks ever so much like him."

-

-"Oh, she will," agreed Nancy.

-

-"Why, it would look _exactly_ like him, if _he_ only had a cap with

-plumes," said Dorothy.

-

-Uncle Harry, coming briskly up the path, was just in time to hear the

-last few words.

-

-"I'm very curious to know who it is who needs a cap with plumes," he

-said.

-

-"Oh, who knew you were right here to hear it?" said Dorothy.

-

-"Oh, was it a state secret?" he asked. "Well, now it's a pity I heard

-it, but as it happens I _did_, I think I must ask for the rest of the

-secret."

-

-"Oh, _would_ you tell?" Dorothy asked, turning to Nancy, but before she

-could reply, Uncle Harry spoke.

-

-"I'm really too curious," he said, "so I think I'll threaten to sit on

-this stump, until you tell me the secret, and let me tell you two little

-friends, that _I've_ a secret; it's a nice one, too, but,--" he paused

-to watch the effect of his words.

-

-"But--But--" they cried.

-

-"But,--" said Uncle Harry, "I wouldn't tell mine _first_!"

-

-Wag that he was, he could not resist the temptation to tease just a bit.

-

-Dorothy took the pretty book, and opening it at the page that showed the

-picture of the prince, she said, "We only said the brave prince looked

-like you, no, I mean you look like him, and we said you'd look _just_

-like him if you had a cap with plumes."

-

-Uncle Harry appeared to study the picture very carefully. After a

-moment, he said:

-

-"That's a fine compliment, but there's one thing about it that worries

-me, so I'll have to ask about it.

-

-"In this picture the prince wears a blue blouse and a pair of green

-shoes, a pink cap with white plumes, gray hose, and crimson trunks. Now,

-if I should decide to purchase a pink cap with white plumes, would you

-expect me to come out arrayed in all those colors? I really feel that

-the costume is a _bit_, just a _bit_ too gay."

-

-"Oh, we'll not ask you to be quite as gay as that," said Dorothy, "and

-we'll promise one thing. We won't even ask you to buy a pink cap if

-you'll tell us your secret now."

-

-He laughed gaily.

-

-"Perhaps I really _ought_ to keep it a little longer. How would it do if

-I should tell you my secret some time next week?" he asked.

-

-"Oh, no, no!" they cried, "tell it now!"

-

-"Well, then, there's to be a fair 'way down in the village, a real

-country fair, and I'm intending to hire a barge, and take all of the

-_very_ young ladies over with me to see the fun. I mean ladies as young

-as you, and Nancy, and Flossie. I shall invite all the wee ladies that

-are stopping at the hotel, and I shall take all who accept."

-

-He looked into their bright faces, and laughed when Dorothy said:

-

-"As if _any_ little girl _wouldn't_ accept!"

-

-"You mustn't expect it to be a grand affair. It will be, as I said, a

-real old-fashioned country fair, but there will be a jolly ride over

-there, and the return trip, and I fancy you will enjoy it all," he said,

-"and I shall have the delight of giving pleasure."

-

-A friend who had been looking for Uncle Harry, now appeared on the

-winding path, a clump of large trees having hidden his approach.

-

-The two young men started off for a long tramp, and Dorothy and Nancy

-walked slowly back to the hotel.

-

-"The prince _did_ look like Uncle Harry," said Nancy, "and the picture

-of the naughty old fairy that enchanted the sleeping beauty, looks like

-the lady that came this morning, and was so very cross."

-

-"Then that _is_ the same one who stopped to ask the way, for she looked

-just like that. I'll always think, every time I look at her, that she's

-the black fairy."

-

-And when they ran up on to the piazza, there sat the very person whom

-they had been speaking of, looking somewhat cooler with her long

-travelling cloak removed.

-

-Her black gown was of some thin material, and just as the two little

-girls ran up on to the piazza, she dropped the large, black fan that she

-had been wielding.

-

-Nancy, who was nearer to her than Dorothy, picked up the fan for her.

-Without a smile, she took the fan, and they heard some slight sound.

-Possibly it might have been a softly murmured word of thanks, but it did

-not sound like it.

-

-"She seems very strange," said Dorothy, "but perhaps she's still tired."

-

-She was always unwilling to say that any one was wilfully rude or

-disagreeable.

-

-And now Aunt Charlotte, with Mrs. Dainty, came out to enjoy the fine

-air, and Dorothy and Nancy ran to them to tell them of the treat that

-Uncle Harry had in store for them.

-

-"It's only a few days to wait, and isn't he kind to take us?" said

-Dorothy.

-

-"He is indeed," said Mrs. Dainty, "and I hope all his little friends

-will be very thoughtful, and make him just as little trouble as

-possible. He takes quite a care in inviting so many children."

-

-"Oh, all the children love him, and there isn't one who would want to be

-any bother, unless it was Floretta," said Dorothy, "and perhaps she'll

-be having such a nice time, she won't think to be naughty."

-

-Mrs. Dainty smiled at this view of it. She could not help thinking that

-Floretta never needed time to think in order to be disagreeable, but

-she did not say so.

-

-Aunt Charlotte Grayson, seeing the stranger sitting alone, paused near

-her chair to say a friendly word.

-

-She remained but few moments, however, because the woman seemed not

-inclined to talk.

-

-Aunt Charlotte well knew that the stranger was not courteous, but she

-tried to think, as Dorothy had, that fatigue, after a long journey, made

-her eager for silence and rest.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER V

-

-THE MOUNTAIN PARTY

-

-

-AS the days flew by, the stranger became a bit more friendly, conversing

-sometimes with Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte, but often, far more

-often, with Mrs. Paxton.

-

-It was not that she sought to become acquainted with Floretta's mother;

-it was, rather, that Mrs. Paxton seemed determined to force the

-friendship.

-

-"Her name is Fenton, Mrs. Fenton, and isn't it odd, _my_ name was Fenton

-before I married. Floretta's middle name is Fenton. I really feel almost

-as if I were related to her, because of the name," declared Mrs. Paxton

-one morning, whereupon Mrs. Fenton, coming out on to the piazza,

-remarked:

-

-"Oh, indeed!"

-

-Mrs. Paxton blushed and hesitated, then recovering herself, she said:

-

-"I was just telling these ladies of my friendly feeling for you."

-

-"Oh, indeed!" Mrs. Fenton repeated, as she sank into a large rocker, and

-looked off across the valley to the distant mountains.

-

-After a few moments she seemed to have lost interest in the view, and,

-taking up a small embroidery frame, commenced to ply her needle as if

-she were eager to finish the pretty doily.

-

-Two little figures came slowly up the path to the piazza. They were

-returning from the christening of the little boat.

-

-"What is wrong, Jack? You don't look very happy," said Mrs. Tiverton.

-

-"He wanted me to christen his boat, but he wouldn't give it my name!"

-said Floretta, before Jack could reply.

-

-"She thought just because she hemmed the sails I'd name it the

-_Floretta_, but I wouldn't, so I shoved it into the water myself, and

-shouted _Carlotta_. That's the name of a girl that goes to my school,

-and I like her."

-

-"You say Floretta hemmed your sails," said Mrs. Tiverton.

-

-"Well, I thanked her for that, and I let her go to the launching, and I

-let her christen it, but I don't see that I need name it for her," said

-Jack, stoutly.

-

-Mrs. Fenton had not heeded what the children were saying. One might have

-fancied that she did not hear, although both Floretta and Jack stood

-quite near her chair.

-

-A large spool that she had wound with colored silk slipped from her lap,

-and rolled toward Floretta.

-

-"Pick it up, dear," Mrs. Paxton said.

-

-"Don't want to," said Floretta.

-

-Mrs. Fenton stooped, and recovered the spool, and, taking her embroidery

-frame in her hand, left the piazza, and mounted the stairs to her room.

-

-"Why _were_ you so rude?" said Mrs. Paxton, but Floretta, perching upon

-the low railing, began softly humming "Yankee Doodle."

-

-Jack Tiverton, espying a boy that he knew, whistled loudly, and then, as

-the other boy turned, ran after him, the two whooping and shouting like

-savages.

-

-"It is almost lunch time, Jack!" Mrs. Tiverton cried, and the boy

-turned, and waved his hand to show that he heard her.

-

-"Boys aren't apt to forget meal time," muttered old Mr. Cunningham

-behind his paper.

-

-True enough, Jack returned in ample time, and was the first at the

-table.

-

-Early in the afternoon Dorothy and Nancy went out for a drive with

-Romeo.

-

-It was one of those sunny days that tempt nearly every one to ride or

-walk.

-

-The mountain roads were rather lonely, and Mrs. Dainty insisted that

-whether Dorothy were riding Romeo, or driving in the phaeton, the groom

-must ride at a little distance behind her.

-

-There were the lovely, slender birches on either side of the roads,

-there were patches of bright green moss upon which the sunlight rested,

-there were blackberry vines and woodbine wreathing the low stone walls,

-and here and there a mullein raised its stately head from its base of

-velvet leaves.

-

-Oh, it seemed like an enchanted country, where new beauties were to be

-found on either hand!

-

-"Look!" cried Dorothy, "close beside that mullein is an evening

-primrose, and their blossoms are the same color."

-

-Then a tiny chipmunk sprang upon the wall, sat erect, and watched them

-for a moment, then ran up the trunk of a slender tree, where from a low

-branch he watched until they had passed. Then back to the wall he

-sprang, where he chattered as if scolding the little girls who had

-disturbed his solitude. It may be that, instead, he was talking to

-himself, and telling what charming little girls they were.

-

-A long way from the hotel they passed Jack Tiverton, with a number of

-other boys who were staying at a hotel a few miles distant from the

-Cleverton.

-

-They were all somewhat larger than Jack, and he thought it fine to be

-with them.

-

-He had met them at a ball game three weeks before, and he had been very

-busy holding their acquaintance ever since.

-

-"We're going to catch the echo, and keep it, too!" shouted Jack.

-

-"It's mocking you now," said Dorothy, with a laugh.

-

-"I know it," said Jack, "but we'll catch it, and fasten it so it can't

-get away."

-

-"_How_ will you fasten an echo?" Nancy asked, turning, and looking over

-her shoulder as the little phaeton sped past.

-

-"Trust us to find a way!" cried Jack, and the others laughed as if they

-already knew exactly how to do it.

-

-They left the road, and, vaulting over the wall, crossed the open

-field, singing a gay, rollicking song as they went.

-

-"They just _say_ they're going hunting for the echo," said Dorothy, "and

-they say it for fun, but I wonder where they are going, and what they

-truly are going to do."

-

-The groom, riding nearer, touched his hat.

-

-"Please, Miss Dorothy, I heard the lads saying that there's an old house

-over near that mountain, where a hermit lived years ago, and they're off

-to find it if they can."

-

-"Then why didn't they say so, instead of telling such a tale about

-catching the echo?" Dorothy asked.

-

-"They were saying that they wanted to find the hut, and hunt in it, and

-around it ter find things the old fellow may have hidden. They feared

-you or Miss Nancy might tell some other lad. They're wanting it all to

-themselves."

-

-Having told this bit of information, the groom allowed the carriage to

-pass him, and once more rode behind it.

-

-The two little girls talked of the long tramp that the boys would have

-before they would find the hermit's hut.

-

-"And perhaps they won't find it at all, after all their hunting," said

-Nancy.

-

-"Well, I hope they will," said Dorothy, "because it's so horrid to hunt

-and hunt, for nothing."

-

-"Oh, look!" she cried a moment later. "See the lovely mosses! Let's take

-some back to mamma and Aunt Charlotte."

-

-They were, indeed, beautiful. There was green moss that looked like

-velvet, and gray moss formed like tiny cups with scarlet edges, and

-other moss tipped with red.

-

-On an old stump they found shell-like fungus, some a creamy white,

-others white, with soft brown markings.

-

-Oh, a fine collection of rarely beautiful mosses and lichens they

-gathered, and heaped on the bottom of the phaeton.

-

-Romeo turned his head to watch them as if he wondered when they would

-have gathered enough.

-

-"Oh, we do keep you standing, dear, don't we?" Dorothy said, patting his

-neck as she spoke.

-

-"Oh, you needn't look for sugar," she said, laughing, "for I haven't any

-with me, but we'll get you some fresh clover."

-

-With Nancy's help she soon had a fine bunch of pink clover for Romeo,

-and he seemed quite as pleased as if it had been the cubes that he so

-often enjoyed.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-When the party of boys had left the road to cross the fields that lay

-between them, and the forest at the foot of the mountain, they had

-believed that they knew exactly how to go to reach the hermit's hut.

-

-The old hermit had been dead for years, but every season the summer

-guests at the hotels and farmhouses searched all around the deserted

-hut, expecting to find some relic to take home and label as a bit of the

-hermit's property.

-

-The boys supposed that they had the woods to themselves, and that they

-would be uninterrupted in their search of the place.

-

-They did not know that the mountain climbers had taken the same

-direction, intending, before they enjoyed their lunch beneath the trees,

-to stop at the old, deserted house.

-

-Mrs. Paxton and little Floretta had worked more persistently than any

-others of the party, and Mrs. Paxton had found a small, brass button.

-

-The others had laughed at the prize, asking her if she intended to keep

-it as a souvenir.

-

-"Certainly," said Mrs. Paxton. "I'm sure this brass button must have

-belonged on some old coat that the hermit wore!"

-

-"Perhaps in his youth, before he came up here to live, he may have been

-a janitor," said a young man, with a saucy laugh.

-

-"Or a brakeman," suggested another.

-

-Mrs. Paxton pretended not to hear their teasing, and though the prize

-that she had found had been only a valueless thing, she kept it.

-

-Floretta was very eager to stay, and continue to peep into cracks in the

-floor and walls, and to poke with a stick under the doorsill, and in the

-soft earth around the hut.

-

-The older members of the party knew that if they were to ascend the

-mountain, see the view, and descend before twilight, they must start at

-once.

-

-As soon as their picnic lunch had been enjoyed they commenced to climb

-the rugged mountain path.

-

-It was very steep and rough, and it had been said that no children

-should be allowed in the party.

-

-Mrs. Paxton had insisted that her small daughter was a wonderful little

-climber, who was quite equal to the demands of a long tramp.

-

-Floretta had wished to remain at the hut, but as she could not do that,

-she proceeded to make herself as unpleasant as possible, by complaining

-every step of the way, until one young man voiced the feeling of the

-entire party.

-

-"This is a horrid, rough old path, and I'm tired. I wish I'd stayed at

-_home_!" said Floretta.

-

-"I wish so, _too_!" said the young man, and several of the party, too

-polite to say it, at heart, agreed with him.

-

-Floretta's was the only gloomy face, however. The others tramped gaily

-onward, singing snatches of song, and laughing as they stepped upon

-rolling stones, or tripped over long, gnarled roots that rose above the

-surface, as if especially designed to catch lagging feet.

-

-          "All day upon the hills

-           We've chased the chamois far,

-           But deeper joy now thrills

-           Beneath the evening star."

-

-The youth sang gaily, and several of his friends joined him in singing

-the old song.

-

-Arrived at the summit they rested, enjoyed the view, laughed and joked

-about their weariness, and made many wild guesses as to how long it

-would take them to make the descent and drive back to the hotel.

-

-"It will be three o'clock before we reach the Cleverton," said one.

-

-"Nonsense!" cried another, "this is really called a mountain by

-courtesy. It's only a big hill. I say we shall be on the piazza, and

-wondering what we can do next, as early as half-past two."

-

-"It's more likely to be half-past _three_!" declared another, and when

-all felt sufficiently rested, they commenced the descent.

-

-Floretta refused to keep closely beside her mother, insisting upon

-clinging to another member of the party, to whom she had taken a fancy.

-

-The party was a large one, much larger, indeed, than had at first been

-planned, and while half of the number were guests at the Cleverton, the

-others were from the Merlington, a hotel situated nearer the village,

-and from several large farmhouses that entertained summer boarders.

-

-The guests from the Cleverton had kept closely together during the trip,

-while those from the Merlington had done the same.

-

-They had reached the foot of the mountain, and were tramping along a

-path that ran nearly parallel to that on which the hermit's house stood.

-

-Floretta saw the boys, near the house, and also saw that Jack Tiverton

-was with them.

-

-Without a word, she left the lady to whose arm she had been clinging,

-and making her way along behind bushes and underbrush, she managed to

-sneak in at the door of the hut, without having been seen by the party

-of boys.

-

-The lady, with whom she had been walking, supposed that she had run back

-to join her mother, while Mrs. Paxton felt quite undisturbed, because

-she believed that her little girl was still clinging to the arm of the

-lady with whom she had chosen to walk.

-

-It had required two barges to convey the party, and now they found them

-waiting, the horses a bit impatient to be off.

-

-The guests from the Merlington clambered into the first barge, and they

-with a few of the farmhouse party filled it to overflowing, some of the

-men being obliged to ride homeward, seated upon the steps. Meanwhile the

-Cleverton people were forced to wait until the barge for their party

-drove up.

-

-The first barge had started, and was rolling along, and a chorus of

-college songs was wafted back on the breeze, while handkerchiefs

-fluttered as the gay passengers laughed at the crowd that had not yet

-started.

-

-Mrs. Paxton paused with her foot on the step, and looked back.

-

-"Why, where's Floretta?" she asked.

-

-"In the first barge," cried a voice in reply.

-

-"Are you _sure_?" she asked.

-

-"Why, certainly," said the other, "she's with that tall, fine-looking

-lady from the Merlington. She'll be home before you are."

-

-The second barge was soon filled and on its way. The horses were less

-fresh than those of the first barge, and seemed determined to lag.

-Indeed, they required constant urging to keep them from dropping into a

-slow walk.

-

-"Those other fellows ahead of us started some lively college songs,"

-said a disgusted passenger, "and they're actually out of sight now; but

-the way these nags are poking I couldn't think of anything to sing that

-would be slow enough to be appropriate."

-

-And while one barge was going over the road at a lively rate of speed,

-and the other jogging along at a snail's pace, Floretta, at the hut, was

-having a most exciting time.

-

-Once inside the place, she had crouched beneath a window to learn, if

-possible, what the boys were talking about.

-

-She had wanted to remain there when the party had started for the

-mountain path, and she had been very impatient during the long tramp.

-She cared nothing for the view, and determined, on the return, to stop,

-if only for a few moments, at the hut.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VI

-

-THE ECHO CAPTURED

-

-

-FLORETTA had intended to hunt for treasure, hoping to get something more

-valuable than the brass button that her mother had found.

-

-She was not at all afraid of Jack Tiverton, but of those larger boys she

-was not quite sure.

-

-As she knelt beneath the window she could hear only the voices of the

-boys that were nearest to the hut, and hearing only parts of their

-conversation, she could not understand what the first speaker expected

-to find.

-

-"If I find it, I'll put it where it will be safe," he said.

-

-There was a pause, and then a voice more distant replied.

-

-She did not hear what it said, but she did hear the answer made by the

-boy who had first spoken.

-

-"If the ghost of the old hermit was in the hut, it might hear you."

-

-"Yes, and what would he say about your hunting for things that may have

-belonged to him?" said another, with a teasing laugh.

-

-"Oh, I'm not afraid," was the careless answer.

-

-"You're not?" jeered a laughing voice.

-

-"I think we've poked around out here long enough without finding

-anything," said Jack Tiverton, "let's hunt inside the house."

-

-"Wait a minute," called a boy who had not yet spoken, "just till I've

-looked into this hollow tree trunk."

-

-"And _then_ what?" asked a merry voice.

-

-"_Then_ hunt in the house, of course!" was the curt reply.

-

-Floretta thought she saw a chance for fun.

-

-Softly, yet quickly, she crept up the rickety little stairway, built

-close against the wall, and leading to the tiny loft.

-

-The loft was really little more than a space beneath the roof where the

-old hermit might have stored a few provisions. She could not stand, or

-even sit, erect, and she crouched upon the bit of dusty flooring.

-

-She was none too soon, for in a few seconds the boys rushed in, and then

-began a discussion as to whether it would be safe to take a plank up

-from the floor to look beneath it for hidden treasure.

-

-"You oughtn't to do that," said Jack Tiverton, "somebody might arrest

-you, or all of us, if folks found out we did it."

-

-"Arrest us for spoiling a floor in this old hut!" cried an older boy. "I

-wonder you don't think the old hermit might holler if he heard us pull

-up a plank!"

-

-"Well," said Jack stoutly, "you'd be as scared as I would if he did

-holler!"

-

-"You're a small boy, Jack, and easily scared," was the taunting reply.

-

-"Well, pull up a plank, and see what happens. I dare you to!" cried

-Jack.

-

-"Here goes then!" said the older boy, and catching hold of a plank that

-had rotted at one end, he pulled it up.

-

-"_Oh, let it alone!_" groaned a boy in a farther corner of the room, in

-an attempt to imitate an old voice.

-

-"_Oh, let it alone!_" came in exactly the same voice from the loft.

-

-Sidney Cumston, the big boy, who had laughed at little Jack Tiverton,

-dropped the plank, and turned pale, while not a boy spoke or moved.

-

-"Come, come!" said Sidney, when he caught his breath, "we're a precious

-pack of sillies! Help me lift this big board, will you?"

-

-"Will you?" came from the loft, in the very manner in which he had said

-it.

-

-Again he dropped the plank.

-

-"What does it mean?" cried Sidney.

-

-"Mean?" came his last word repeated.

-

-The boys were now thoroughly frightened.

-

-"Come!" cried Sidney, "let's leave here!"

-

-"Here!" came a repetition of his last word, and big as he was, he had

-turned to run, when a faint ripple of smothered laughter came down from

-the loft.

-

-Immediately Sidney's pale face flushed red. It flashed through his mind

-that these younger boys had seen that he was frightened.

-

-He had been laughed at by the owner of the voice that had mocked him,

-and the boys would _never_ stop laughing.

-

-Quickly he mounted the steps, and roughly he dragged little Floretta

-from her hiding place, half carrying her down the stairway, because it

-was too narrow for two to descend.

-

-"So you thought it was funny, just _funny_ to mock us, did you?" he

-asked, when they reached the floor.

-

-Floretta was not laughing now.

-

-She was sullen, and at the same time frightened.

-

-What would they do to her?

-

-They crowded around her, frowning and making all sorts of wild

-suggestions as to what should be done with her.

-

-"Keep her mocking till she's got enough of it!" cried one.

-

-"Put her back in the loft, and leave her there! She seemed to like

-there," said another.

-

-The big boy, whose hand was still on her shoulder, was more angry than

-either of the others.

-

-He was a bully, always ready to torment some one smaller than himself.

-

-He had reason to be provoked with Floretta, and the fact that she was

-only a little girl, made no impression upon him.

-

-He would as willingly punish a girl, as a boy, and the fact that his

-captive was smaller than he, only proved that the task would be an easy

-one.

-

-"You think it's smart to imitate, and it is. P'raps you think you're the

-echo that's over in the mountain!" he sneered.

-

-She made no answer. She was crying now.

-

-"Say! Let her off!" cried Jack Tiverton. "She's only a girl!"

-

-The smallest boy in the crowd, he saw Sidney's cowardice.

-

-"Oh, are you sweet on Floretta?" jeered Sidney.

-

-Jack drew back abashed. He did not like Floretta at all, but he did

-think it mean for a big boy to frighten so small a girl.

-

-"I ain't going to hurt you," said Sidney, "but I'm going to give you a

-chance to play echo, till you're tired of it. I guess you'll get enough

-of it before you get through!

-

-"Come, fellows! Get some good long pieces of wild grape-vine! I'll

-fasten Miss Echo where she can shout all day, and nobody'll stop her!"

-

-"I won't go with you!" screamed Floretta, who had found her voice, "You

-sha'n't tie me!"

-

-"Oh, is that so?" said Sidney, in a teasing tone. "We'll tie you so you

-can't get away!"

-

-She pulled back.

-

-"No, you don't!" said Sidney, grasping her arm with a firmer hold.

-

-"Now, walk right along, or these other fellows will help me carry you!"

-he added, and Floretta thought best to walk.

-

-"Where'll you take her?" asked one.

-

-"Right there," said Sidney. "That rock is just covered with vines that

-cling fast to it. Hurry, now! Pull down some long, strong pieces! Here,

-you scratch like a cat! Stop that!"

-

-Floretta, half wild to get away, was attacking his hand in the manner of

-a little wild animal.

-

-"Let me go, then!" she screamed.

-

-"Not much!" cried Sidney, and with the help of another boy, he dragged

-her, screaming and kicking, all the way, until they reached the rocky

-ledge.

-

-"There, now! Hold on! You're showing too much temper!" cried a stout lad

-who was helping to bind her.

-

-"I won't stay! You sha'n't tie me!" she screamed, but without replying,

-they drew the tough vines closer about her, lashing her into such a

-network of stems and stout vines that it would be impossible for her to

-escape.

-

-"There!" cried Sidney, when he felt sure that she was securely made a

-little prisoner, "You can shout till you're tired, and if you want to

-mock any one, you can mock yourself! Good-afternoon, Miss Echo!"

-

-He lifted his cap, with elaborate courtesy, and marched off whistling:

-

-          "The Girl I Left Behind Me."

-

-They did not look back. Sidney marched boldly away, believing that he

-had done a very smart thing, but the other boys felt less comfortable.

-

-They had been angry with her, and they had wished to see her punished,

-but they could not help thinking that she was a little girl, and they

-were leaving her alone in the woods!

-

-Jack Tiverton was, by far, the most uneasy.

-

-He was the smallest of the party, and, while he had asked Sidney to let

-Floretta go, he had known it was useless to do more.

-

-The eight other boys were stronger than he, and any attempt upon his

-part to free her would be worse than useless. They would not listen, but

-instead, would pounce upon him.

-

-The other boys talked, laughed, and whistled, to imply that they were

-not thinking of what they had done, but all the way back to the

-Cleverton, little Jack was wondering what he could do.

-

-He dared not go straight to Floretta's mother, and tell her of her

-little girl's plight.

-

-He knew if he did that, the boys would soon learn who had played

-"tell-tale," and then,--what would they do to _him_?

-

-And yet, he was determined, in some way, to help Floretta.

-

-How could he let a little girl stay out there in the woods all night?

-

-Of course some one, walking through the woods might find her, but if no

-one happened to?

-

-Jack knew that the risk was too great. It was just before he reached the

-Cleverton, that he thought of the best way that he could do it.

-

-He would write a note to Mrs. Paxton. He would drop that note into the

-mail box that hung at the side door. The letters were always distributed

-at four, and Sidney Cumston, who had a fine watch, had just said that it

-was three. He left the boys at the entrance to the Merlington, and

-hurried on that he might have plenty of time for his note.

-

-Mrs. Tiverton was out driving with a friend, and Jack had quite a hunt

-before he could find pencil or paper for his note.

-

-At last he found a blank book, and with a pencil he wrote this note.

-

-          "Deer Mrs. Paxton:--

-

-          "Yor litle girl is tied up in the woods opsite the

-          hermits hut. You better go get her real quick or

-          somethin may happen too her.

-

-                                           "Yors trooly."

-

-He folded it, and, in place of the envelope that he could not find, he

-tied around it a bit of string that he found in his pocket.

-

-Boldly he addressed it, in very large letters, and sneaking down the

-stairway, and around on the piazza toward the side door, watched his

-chance, and slipped it into the mail box.

-

-There was much excitement on the front piazza, because the guests had

-arrived in the barge but a few moments before, and Mrs. Paxton had given

-a maid a generous "tip" to go over to the Merlington, and bring Floretta

-back with her.

-

-"She returned with the party that came from the Merlington, and I don't

-wish her to remain there. I want her to come right back to me," said

-Mrs. Paxton.

-

-"Very well, ma'am," the maid had replied, and with the coins in her

-hand, had started off at once toward the other hotel.

-

-When little Jack Tiverton ran around to the front piazza, the maid had

-just returned.

-

-"If you please, Mrs. Paxton, your little girl isn't over to the

-Merlington, and hasn't been there, and a lady that was with the party

-that came home from the mountain trip, says the child wasn't in their

-barge at all. I asked her if she was _sure_, and she said, she couldn't

-help being sure, because there wasn't _any_ child in their barge."

-

-Of course excitement reigned supreme. Mrs. Paxton seemed half wild, and

-every one shared her anxiety.

-

-The fact that Floretta was not a favorite made no difference. No one

-liked to think of a little girl out there alone on the mountain path, or

-in the woods, especially as it was already late afternoon.

-

-"What a dreadful thing!" cried Mrs. Paxton, wringing her hands, and

-walking up and down the piazza.

-

-"Who will go with me? I cannot go alone, and where, _where_ shall we

-look first? Who saw her last?"

-

-At this moment a man-servant came out from the hall with a tray of

-letters that he began to distribute.

-

-"One for you, Mrs. Paxton," said the man, as he touched her arm gently.

-

-"Oh, I can't think of letters now," she said, but something about the

-note seemed so unusual that she looked at it.

-

-She drew off the string that had been loosely tied, and read the hastily

-scrawled lines.

-

-She screamed, and Aunt Charlotte, who was standing near her, put her arm

-around her and supported her, or she would have fallen.

-

-Many of those who gathered around Mrs. Paxton were inclined to think the

-note a hoax, but Mrs. Dainty, coming forward, lifted her handsome head,

-and looking at the men who were lounging comfortably in the large

-rockers, or sitting upon the piazza railing, spoke the word that spurred

-them to action.

-

-"Is it safe to _guess_ that this is a joke? True, it is written in a

-boyish hand, and while it _may_ be a boy's joke, may it not be a boy's

-means of telling us what has actually happened? I would not, were I a

-man, take the responsibility or chance, of leaving Floretta out there,

-because I would go to the place, and thus learn, not guess, if this

-information be true."

-

-She had scarcely finished speaking when a number of men rose, and one,

-who chose to lead the party, lifted his hat to Mrs. Dainty, saying:

-

-"We are off, madam. We only needed an inspiration to move us to

-endeavor."

-

-She bowed and smiled, as she said:

-

-"One thing I ask of you. Go as quickly as possible, for the sake of the

-frightened child, and the anxious mother."

-

-"In all possible haste," was the quick reply, and she turned to offer

-what comfort she might to the woman who seemed nearly distracted.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-And all this time, what had been happening in the wood? For a long time

-Floretta had cried, screamed, and shouted, hoping that the boys would

-come back and release her.

-

-Then, when she knew that they must be too far away to hear her, she tore

-at the clasping bonds, trying in every way to free herself. With feet

-and hands she strove to loosen the tough, wiry vines, kicking and

-trampling with her restless feet, beating and bending with her little

-hands, until they were torn and bleeding, and the tormenting vines

-seemed only to hold her with a firmer grasp, as if to prove how useless

-was her struggle.

-

-[Illustration: WITH FEET AND HANDS SHE STROVE TO LOOSEN THE TOUGH, WIRY

-VINES.--_Page 119_.]

-

-She had cried until she could cry no more, and the sturdy vines had cut

-and bruised her.

-

-So firmly was she bound that she could not sink to the grass to rest,

-and she had only the hard, rocky ledge to lean against.

-

-How still the woodland seemed! Sometimes a twig would snap, or a buzzing

-insect would pause, as if to look at her, but no one came to set her

-free.

-

-She waited for a moment to regain her breath, and then again she fought

-and struggled with those tough, sturdy vines.

-

-She tried to wrench them apart, to break, to tear them from her, but

-they only yielded enough to bend, and then snap back into the very

-place that she had pushed them from.

-

-Not a vine broke, not a stem gave way, and she set her lips tightly for

-yet greater effort!

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VII

-

-FLORETTA'S RETURN

-

-

-AT a far corner of the piazza sat Dorothy, her eyes terrified, and her

-cheeks pale. Nancy, close beside her, wound her arms about her, and

-sought, in every way, to comfort her.

-

-"They'll find her soon, Dorothy, so don't you be frightened," she

-whispered. "They'll _surely_ find her soon."

-

-Dear little Nancy knew, better than any of Dorothy's other friends could

-have known, how ready was her sympathy, how kind and loving was her

-heart.

-

-She had not loved Floretta, but with Dorothy, that did not count. It was

-the dreadful fear that something had happened to a little girl, who, so

-recently had been at play with them,--ah, that was what grieved sweet

-Dorothy.

-

-She was thinking of what Mrs. Dainty had said to Aunt Charlotte when the

-mountain trip was first talked of.

-

-"I think the long tramp is a rougher form of amusement than I can well

-endure. I should be so weary long before it was time to return, that I

-should derive but little pleasure from the trip. There is another

-thought in connection with the picnic," she continued, "and that is an

-element of danger. Not great danger perhaps, but such that I would not

-join the party, nor would I permit Dorothy, or Nancy to do so. One

-gentleman who was talking of the mountain path that they have chosen,

-spoke of the great danger to the climbers from small, rolling stones,

-and from places where the earth seems to crumble near the edge of the

-narrow foot-path. A careless step might lead to a fall that would mean,

-I hardly dare to say what!"

-

-Dorothy and Nancy had been wishing to join the party, but upon hearing

-this, they lost all interest in it, and had cheerfully taken the drive

-behind gentle Romeo, instead. Now, as Dorothy sat with Nancy's arms

-about her, she was glad that they had not been permitted to go, and she

-heartily wished that Floretta had remained at the Cleverton.

-

-"Had she rolled from the path, and fallen, fallen,--"

-

-Dorothy covered her eyes with her hands, as if she almost saw the little

-girl falling, down, down to the ravine so far below the path, and was

-trying to shut out the picture. Nancy, still striving to quiet her

-fear, heard some one telling what the scribbled note had said.

-

-"Oh, Dorothy!" she whispered, eagerly, "Floretta is just where they know

-how to find her, and they've promised to hurry, and bring her back."

-

-"Are you _sure_?" Dorothy asked.

-

-"Yes, _sure_!" said Nancy.

-

-Then Nancy climbed into the big chair beside her, and the two little

-girls sat, each tightly clasping the other's hands, while they waited

-and watched for the first glimpse of the men who should return, bringing

-Floretta with them.

-

-Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte remained with Mrs. Paxton, who seemed to

-have lost all control of herself.

-

-One moment she would cry as if her heart would break, and then she

-would spring up, threatening to follow the direction that the men had

-taken, and try to reach the woods, thus to sooner see her little girl.

-

-At last, after what seemed endless waiting, but was actually only an

-hour, some one espied the men in the distance, and cried out:

-

-"They're coming! They're coming!"

-

-"Have they got Floretta? Oh, _have_ they found her?" shrieked Mrs.

-Paxton.

-

-"We can't see from here," said the one who had spoken, and the mother

-rushed forward, shading her eyes with her hand, and straining to catch

-the first glimpse of her child.

-

-She would have rushed down the road to meet them, but Mrs. Dainty held

-her back. She had seen that they were carrying Floretta, and she

-thought, in case the child were injured, the mother would far better

-save her strength.

-

-Two of the men had clasped their hands to form an "arm-chair," and thus

-they brought to the piazza, a very limp, tired Floretta, whose vivacity

-was all gone, and whose face bore the trace of desperate weeping, while

-her arms and hands were covered with cuts and bruises, and her little

-frock was torn and tattered by her struggle with the tough and tightly

-knotted vines.

-

-She lay back against the shoulder of one man who supported her, and

-looked as if her strength were spent.

-

-She changed on the instant that they set her on her feet.

-

-Rushing to her mother, she permitted her to clasp her for a moment to

-her breast, then turning to the group that gathered around her, she

-cried fiercely:

-

-"Look! See my hands! See my arms! See the scratches, where I tried to

-get away, and it was Sidney Cumston who tied me! He _did_ it, but the

-other boys _let_ him. Not one tried to hinder him except Jack Tiverton,

-the littlest one of them all. He tried to make them let me go, but they

-wouldn't. Oh, somebody punish all but Jack! He _tried_, but he couldn't

-help me."

-

-She was hysterical, and sank to the floor of the piazza, sobbing, and

-crying, before her mother could catch her.

-

-She scrambled to her feet, and was clasped in her mother's arms.

-

-Old Mr. Cunningham surprised every one by speaking most kindly to her.

-She had so often tormented him that it seemed generous that he should

-offer a bit of comfort.

-

-"I don't think we shall let those young rascals escape without a sharp

-reprimand, and if I was to venture a guess about it, I should say that

-little Jack, after all, managed to help you, Floretta," he said.

-

-She turned in surprise to look at the old face, that now looked so

-kindly at her.

-

-"Come out here, Jack," said the old gentleman, "didn't you write the

-note that sent us searching for this little girl?"

-

-"Yes, sir," said Jack, "and I wrote it 'cause I thought the other big

-fellows were mean, but if they find out I told, they'll--"

-

-"No, they won't," said Mr. Cunningham. "You're no 'tell-tale.' You did

-just right, and the men here will stand by you. Those big boys were the

-cowards to torment a little girl. You're the best boy up here in the

-mountains."

-

-"Three cheers for young Tiverton!" shouted some one, and in the midst

-of the excitement, Mrs. Paxton, with her little daughter, slipped away

-to their room, after having thanked little Jack for his valuable

-assistance.

-

-Meanwhile old Mr. Cunningham had been searching in this pocket and that

-for something which he seemed most anxious to find.

-

-"Ah, I knew I had it! Come here, Jack!"

-

-Blushing and diffident, Jack walked over to the big rocker.

-

-"'Tisn't much, boy, but I think you ought to have a medal. Here's a

-silver dollar I've been keeping for a pocket piece. I'll give it to you

-for a medal, for being brave enough to tell what you knew _ought_ to be

-told. That's not tale-bearing, and as you were afraid to tell, for fear

-of those big bullies, it was a brave act. You're a lad that knows

-_what_ to do, _when_ to do, and then _does_ it!"

-

-"Hurrah for Jack Tiverton!" some one cried again, and this time they

-were given with a will.

-

-Mrs. Tiverton, returning from a long drive, wondered what all the

-excitement meant, and why they were cheering her little son.

-

-Jack, with his silver dollar tightly clasped, hung his head, and looked

-as if overpowered by his conspicuous position.

-

-Dorothy, now bright and happy, since Floretta was safe, saw that Jack

-hesitated.

-

-"Oh, Mrs. Tiverton," she said, "Jack has been truly the _best_ boy in

-the world, but he can't speak just now. When he tells you what he's

-done, you won't wonder why they cheered him!"

-

-Mrs. Barnet and Flossie, with Uncle Harry and his wife, now arrived in

-their big automobile from a three-days' trip that they had been

-enjoying.

-

-Of course Dorothy and Nancy tried to tell Flossie all about Floretta and

-Jack, and they were both so excited that Flossie got a very twisted idea

-of the affair.

-

-Uncle Harry, not dreaming that the matter was at all serious, turned,

-after greeting the children, to enter the house.

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "you ought to hear about it. There

-were ever so many big boys, and only one little girl, and they tied her

-so she couldn't get away, and Jack wrote a note, and when they found

-her,--"

-

-"Now, Flossie, dear, I'm perfectly willing to be scared half out of my

-wits, but I _must_ know what I'm being scared about. You're getting me

-so mixed up that I've not the least idea what this is all about. Have

-you?" he asked.

-

-"Oh, no," said Flossie, "I don't _half_ understand it, but it does sound

-so frightful, that I'm so scared, I need to have you be scared, too."

-

-"Well, then," Uncle Harry replied, "if it will help you to know it, I'll

-admit that my teeth are chattering, and shivers are running up and down

-my spine!

-

-"I thought at first that it was the draft across this piazza, but

-perhaps, after all, it was caused by what you were telling me."

-

-When, at last, he had heard the story, he was full of disgust that any

-boy, and his friends, should have been guilty of such a contemptible

-act, and his sympathy for the little girl was deep and sincere.

-

-"She will need rest and quiet to-morrow," he said, "and you three

-little friends will be kind, I think, if you stay rather closely here,

-and help, in some quiet way, to amuse her."

-

-"We will," said Dorothy, "I'll let her read my new fairy book if she'd

-like to. She could lie in the hammock, and do that."

-

-"I'll keep the hammock swinging," said Nancy.

-

-"And I'll give her my new box of candy I just brought home," said

-Flossie.

-

-"That's right," said Uncle Harry, "and for your sweet promises of

-kindness toward the child who has suffered so much to-day I'll remind

-you that on day after to-morrow I shall give myself the pleasure of

-taking you all to the fair. I promise you a _fine_ time."

-

-He turned to look over his shoulder, and laugh at their wild little

-cries of delight.

-

-He was anticipating the pleasure quite as much as they.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie kept the promise that they had made, and

-Floretta fully enjoyed their kindness. She seemed unusually gentle, and

-Mrs. Paxton thanked them for so sweetly helping to amuse her, and thus

-make her willing to spend the day quietly.

-

-The day set for the visit to the village fair dawned bright and sunny, a

-light breeze making it just cool enough to be delightful.

-

-The barge was waiting for its gay little passengers.

-

-The children stood with impatient feet on the piazza, waiting for their

-host, merry, handsome Uncle Harry.

-

-At last a firm tread caused them to turn, and there he was, looking

-gayer than ever, a picture of health, strength, and kindliness, and

-clad in a most becoming outing suit of light gray serge.

-

-The blue of his tie was not bluer than his fine eyes, and no one could

-have glanced at him without knowing that he possessed a generous, loving

-nature, a kind and merry heart.

-

-"Come, little friends!" he cried. "Is every young lady that I invited

-here?" he added, looking anxiously lest some child be late, and thus by

-chance, be left behind.

-

-"Every one is here!" said Flossie. "I know because I've counted."

-

-"Then we'll start at once, unless some one would rather wait 'til

-to-morrow?" he said, his eyes twinkling.

-

-"Oh, no! No!" they cried. "We just _couldn't_ wait!"

-

-"In that case we'll go now!" he said, with a droll expression, as if he

-started at once, merely as an accommodation.

-

-"Why, Uncle Harry! You're only joking," cried Flossie. "You wouldn't be

-willing to wait until to-morrow. I heard you tell Aunt Vera to hurry and

-find your tie, because you were in such a rush to start!"

-

-"To think that my own little niece would tell tales like that, and thus

-let out the secret. What chance have I now, of making them think that I

-was really very shy about riding with such a large party of girls?"

-

-Shouts of laughter greeted this speech, and Uncle Harry waited until it

-had subsided, then he said:

-

-"Oh, well, if no one _believes_ that I am shy or diffident, it's waste

-of time to try to appear so, so I shall not try. Instead, I shall be

-very bold. Come, dears, let me help you in!"

-

-And amid shouts of laughter from the children, he lifted each high in

-air, and placed her in the barge, thus saving her the trouble of

-mounting the steps.

-

-Then taking his seat in the middle of the laughing, chattering little

-party, he called to the driver to start.

-

-The long whip cracked, Jack Tiverton, from the piazza, blew loudly on a

-tin trumpet, and they were off over the road, the happiest party that

-ever filled a barge.

-

-Uncle Harry told some amusing stories, then, led by his fine voice, they

-sang some gay little songs, and before they dreamed that they had

-arrived at the fair, the driver shouted:

-

-"Here we are!" and sure enough, they had reached the fair grounds.

-

-"Why, I didn't suppose we were more than half-way here," said Dorothy,

-"and the reason is that the ride has been so jolly."

-

-"That's just it," agreed Nancy.

-

-"The reason _I_ enjoyed the ride," said Uncle Harry, "is because I was

-so charmed with my little guests."

-

-"And the reason why we had such a fine ride," said Flossie, "is because

-we had the _best_ man in the world taking care of us."

-

-Uncle Harry bowed low.

-

-"This must be a wedding party, if I'm the 'best man,'" he said with a

-laugh, "so we'll not fuss because there's no musician to play a march

-for us, but we'll play you are all bridesmaids, and we'll hurry right

-along. The entrance is this way, I think, and under that evergreen

-arch."

-

-A large tent had been pitched for the display of the various wares and

-numerous attractions; a smaller tent near it serving as fortune teller's

-booth.

-

-"We'll coax Uncle Harry to have his fortune told," whispered Flossie to

-Dorothy, when, to their great surprise, he said:

-

-"Oh, Flossie, you little witch! Uncle Harry heard what you said, and not

-only is he going to have his fortune told, but he's going to make every

-one of you little girls have yours told, also!"

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VIII

-

-AT THE FAIR

-

-

-THE fair proved a great delight to the children. They had all been to

-fine fairs patronized by fashionable matrons, whose names were quite

-enough to insure success, but the country fair was an absolute novelty.

-

-At the large city fairs, merry debutantes graced the booths, and sold

-flowers, or tickets for the various games of chance.

-

-Here in the mountain village all was different, and the novelty gave

-greater interest.

-

-Farmers' daughters were in the booths, and sold huge bouquets of

-old-fashioned garden flowers, homemade candy, and honey, while one

-rosy-cheeked lass dispensed sweet cider, or sweet apples, according to

-the preference of her customer.

-

-Uncle Harry purchased a huge stalk of hollyhocks for each of his guests,

-but for himself he chose an enormous sunflower which he insisted looked

-_fine_ in his buttonhole.

-

-There was music, if it could be called music, furnished by the local

-band.

-

-Uncle Harry said he had never seen such independent people as those

-musicians were. He declared that the music sounded, to him, as if each

-man commenced to play when he chose, and stopped when he got ready,

-regardless of what the other players were doing.

-

-"Oh, I do believe that is the way they play!" cried Dorothy, laughing.

-

-"Of course it is," cried Uncle Harry, "and a great deal of bother it

-saves, for no one has to direct them; they do not know that they are

-making discord, and thus they play and play with all their might, and

-are absolutely care-free and happy."

-

-There were heaps of giant pumpkins, and more red and yellow ears of corn

-than they had ever seen before, while everywhere was laughter, and

-friendly gossip, and chatter, that made the fair a jolly place in which

-to roam about.

-

-The children were determined to see every object in the big tent, and

-while some were interested in one thing, others wished to see something

-else, so they decided to divide into two groups.

-

-One half of the little party turned to the right intent upon seeing some

-gaudy patchwork quilts, while the others turned to the left declaring

-their intention of investing all their pennies in the "fish-pond."

-

-There were so many things to see on the way, that it was a long time

-before they met, as they had agreed, at the entrance.

-

-Somewhere on the way they had missed Uncle Harry, and they could not

-imagine where he had gone.

-

-It happened that Uncle Harry had seen a very small girl crying, and his

-first thought was to help her, and thus dry her tears.

-

-Upon questioning her, he found that the wee little maid had, by

-accident, knocked a small doll from one of the tables, and had been

-roundly scolded.

-

-"That pretty girl with the black eyes says I did it a-purpose, but I

-didn't," she cried, "I wanted to see it, and I just touched it, and it

-tumbled off the table."

-

-Her tears fell afresh, and in place of a handkerchief, she drew up her

-blue-checked apron, and hid her face in it.

-

-"Look up, little girl," Uncle Harry said, and his voice sounded so

-kindly, that she at once peeped at him through her tears.

-

-"Which is the table where all this happened?"

-

-"That one," said the child, "and the big girl is looking at me now."

-

-"Then give me your hand, and, just for fun, _we'll_ go and look at

-_her_."

-

-A moment she hesitated.

-

-"Come," he said, and with a sunny smile, the little girl placed her hand

-in his, and the big, handsome man with the wee country lass approached

-the table together.

-

-"I'll lift you up so you can see nicely," he said. "Now, which was the

-doll that fell from the table?"

-

-Before the child could reply, the girl spoke sharply.

-

-"'Twas that one, sir, and her meddlesome fingers,--"

-

-"Never mind about that," said Uncle Harry, then turning to the child he

-said:

-

-"Did you like that one best, or is that larger one finer?"

-

-"That large one is the loveliest. I didn't _ever_ see one so fine as

-that."

-

-"We'll have that one, then," he said, offering a bill to the astonished

-salesgirl.

-

-"There, little girl, she's yours," he said, as he placed the big doll in

-her arms.

-

-"I can hold her a little while?" she asked, eagerly.

-

-"You can hold her _always_, if you want to," he said gently, "I bought

-her for you."

-

-Rapturously she clasped the gift in her arms.

-

-"Oh, I love you, because you are good," she cried.

-

-"Then tell me your name," he said.

-

-"I'm Lois Ann Ferguson," chirped the little girl, "and father is Sandy

-Ferguson. Oh, there he is now. He's to play the pipes."

-

-She ran toward a sturdy man dressed in Highland costume, and carrying

-the bagpipes under his arm.

-

-Mr. Ferguson glanced at her flushed cheeks, saw the gorgeous doll that

-she flourished before his astonished eyes, and finally understood that

-the tall, handsome stranger had bestowed it upon his wee daughter, as a

-gift.

-

-He took her little hand, and hurried forward, saying:

-

-"I dinna ken why he should dae it for my wee lassie.

-

-"I wad gladly thank ye, sir," he said, "but I'm lost in wonder that ye

-made wee Lois sae blithe an' gay wi' the braw gift."

-

-"She's a dear little lass," said Uncle Harry, "and when I found her

-crying, I knew that a fine new doll would dry her tears. Don't bother to

-thank me. I made myself happy, when I comforted her."

-

-"I wish there were mair like ye," said Sandy Ferguson, "an' some day

-when ye're older, an' ha' a wee daughter of yer ain,--"

-

-"I have a wife and baby girl now," was the quick reply, "and they are my

-dearest possessions."

-

-"An' I thought ye a braw, bonny laddie, wi' yer fair hair an' blue een!

-Weel, weel, ye dinna hae tae live 'til ye're auld before ye ken tae dae

-a kindly act," Sandy Ferguson replied, "an' later when I play the

-pipes, an' Lois dances, she shall make her first bow tae her new

-friend."

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry, _did_ you buy the new doll for the little girl?"

-

-It was little Flossie, who, after having searched every corner of the

-tent, had found him talking to the Scotchman and his little girl.

-

-"Is he your own uncle?" little Lois asked, looking up into Flossie's

-lovely face.

-

-"Oh, yes," said Flossie, "and he's the best uncle in the world."

-

-"I know he must be," said the little girl. "See how good he was to me."

-

-They turned to join the rest of their party, and little Lois looked over

-her shoulder, with one hand held fast in her father's, while with the

-other she tightly clasped the precious doll.

-

-"I saw the notice near the entrance when we came in, that a Scotch

-farmer would play, and his little daughter would dance," said Uncle

-Harry, "but that child is not much more than a baby. She cannot be more

-than four. It will be amusing to see her dance, and Nancy Ferris will

-enjoy it most of all."

-

-They found the others reading the notice of which they had been talking,

-and they were delighted when they heard what a very little girl it was

-who was to dance.

-

-They had a lunch served by girls dressed as dairy maids, and it was just

-such a lunch as might have been enjoyed at a farmhouse.

-

-The long table spread with its white cloth, and set with blue and white

-dishes, was decorated by a garland of small sunflowers that lay upon the

-cloth, down the centre, and the entire length of the table.

-

-There were plates heaped with biscuit, there were dishes of both wild

-and cultivated strawberries, and delicious cream to be eaten with them,

-there were sandwiches and little cakes, honey enough to tempt the bees

-to the feast, and the children thought it finer than a hotel dinner. How

-they laughed, and chattered, as they enjoyed the spread!

-

-Uncle Harry was in his sunniest mood, and told stories and jokes that

-kept them amused, and seemed to be the gayest member of the party.

-

-"Tell us a story about when you were a _little_ boy," said Flossie.

-

-"My small niece thinks I'm nothing but a _big_ boy now!" he said.

-

-"Well, the big Scotchman thought you were only a lad. I heard him say

-so," said Flossie.

-

-"When you were a boy were you ever naughty, _real_ naughty?" Floretta

-asked.

-

-She had been very quiet, and all were surprised at her question.

-

-"Once upon a time, when I was little," said Uncle Harry, "I was very,

-_very_ fond of good things, but the one thing that I liked better than

-anything else was strawberry jam.

-

-"I was always allowed to have it, but I felt sure that it would taste

-even nicer if I had more of it at a time, and still finer if I could

-have a long handled spoon, and eat it right from the jar.

-

-"I used often to think how fine it would be if I, some day, could have

-the chance to eat it that way, but I never could get even _very_ near

-the jar.

-

-"One day the opportunity came. My sister and I were in the nursery, and

-the maid had been down-stairs for a long time.

-

-"The rest of the family were away, and we were to have our tea in the

-nursery, as usual, only, as we had had to remain at home, we were to

-have an extra treat.

-

-"Among other good things, we were to have strawberry jam.

-

-"My sister, that is Flossie's mamma, was a little older than I, and she

-was always trying to give me lessons in good behavior.

-

-"'Now, Harry,' she said, 'while nurse is down-stairs, we might commence

-to set our table.'

-

-"'There isn't anything here to set it with but the tablecloth and the

-jam,' I said, 'but you're a girl, so you know how to put the cloth on,

-and I'll bring the jam.'"

-

-"I guess Uncle Harry was so fond of the jam, that he liked even to

-carry the jar," said Flossie.

-

-"We wondered why the nurse stayed so long down-stairs," continued Uncle

-Harry, "and I told my sister that I was tired of waiting for tea, and I

-said I'd taste of the jam, if only I had a long handled spoon.

-

-"'Why, Harry,' she answered in disgust, 'I wouldn't think you'd be so

-naughty, but,--if you really _want_ to taste it, here's the spoon beside

-the jar.'"

-

-"And _did_ you?" questioned Dorothy.

-

-"Well, yes, I have to admit that I did. In truth, I tasted and tasted

-until my sister cried:

-

-"'Why, Harry, you naughty boy! When you get done tasting, there won't be

-any left!'

-

-"'You won't care, because _you_ wouldn't be so naughty as to taste it!'

-I said.

-

-"'Oh, wouldn't I?' she cried. 'Well, you just let me take that spoon,

-and you'll see!'

-

-"Well, a funny mix-up followed, in which we each tried to get possession

-of the spoon and the jam. We were laughing while we struggled for it,

-but at last, one of us slipped, and fell, dragging the other down; the

-jar of jam tipped over, and her white frock, my gray jacket and

-trousers, and even my long, yellow curls became smeared with the jam.

-

-"Nurse opened the door, and screamed with terror, for the red jam looked

-as if we had been terribly hurt, and it was some time before we could

-convince her that we were not cut or bruised, but only _very sticky_!

-

-"Then came the scolding, and my sister tried to screen me.

-

-"'Harry couldn't help tasting it, he's so fond of jam,' she said.

-

-"'Well, he's got a good share of it, inside and out,' said nurse,

-grimly.

-

-"'She's got as much as I have,' I said, 'just look at her frock!'

-

-"Of course our clothes were changed, and the jam cleaned from the

-polished floor, but we had our tea without jam.

-

-"Nurse said we could eat our biscuits with the _memory_ of the jam we

-had already enjoyed."

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry," cried Flossie, "I wish, even though you were naughty,

-she'd let you have more jam. She didn't know how good you'd be when you

-grew up."

-

-"I still am fond of jam!" he said, and the children laughed to see him

-pour honey over his berries that already were covered with sugar.

-

-"You like _anything_ that's sweet!" said Dorothy, "whether it's jam, or

-sugar, or honey,--"

-

-"Or little girls," said Uncle Harry. "You notice, I made this party all

-little girls, and I'm having a _lovely_ time."

-

-"So are we," laughed Dorothy.

-

-"And he says 'lovely' just as we do," said Nancy, "he does it to make us

-laugh."

-

-"Then why don't you laugh?" said Uncle Harry, and they _did_ laugh,

-every member of the party, and laughed because they could not help it.

-

-And when the merry feast was over, they hastened to the small tent where

-the old gypsy was telling fortunes.

-

-Each had intended to have her fortune told, and thus learn what the

-future held for her.

-

-To their great surprise, she flatly refused to tell any child's

-fortune, saying that she would only foretell events for "grown ups." The

-little girls were rather afraid of her, but Uncle Harry boldly offered

-his hand, saying:

-

-"Am I big enough to hear my fortune?"

-

-"No nonsense, young lad," she said, while the children dared not laugh.

-She bent over his palm for a moment, then she solemnly said:

-

-"You're a brave lad, and you need to be for you will fall in love with a

-girl who'll have red hair, and the temper that usually goes with it."

-

-"O dear!" sighed Uncle Harry.

-

-"Don't worry, young man," said the old gypsy, "because it will be some

-months before you marry."

-

-"Indeed," said Uncle Harry, "and what shall I do if the girl proves to

-have the temper you prophesy? Shall I try to calm her by holding her

-under a pump, or would you advise tying her until she feels less fiery?"

-

-"Young man, this is no laughing matter," was the sharp reply.

-

-"Guess it isn't!" said Uncle Harry. "I've seldom been so discouraged.

-Here am I, a man who has a lovely wife and baby girl, and yet I've got

-to marry a red-haired girl, with a temper like chain lightning! Who was

-ever in a worse fix?"

-

-The old gypsy flew into a rage. "You're poking fun at me!" she cried.

-

-"There! There! The fun was worth that!" he cried, laying a handful of

-small coins on the table before her.

-

-In her eagerness to count the money, she forgot her wrath, and they

-hastened from the tent, where, safely outside, they were free to laugh

-as much as they chose.

-

-As they re-entered the large tent, they saw that near the centre, a

-space had been cleared, and there was a crowd of people waiting, as if

-expecting some attraction to be exhibited.

-

-They had not long to wait, for almost immediately the Scotch piper

-appeared, and tightly clasping her precious new doll in her arms was wee

-Lois, dressed in Highland costume.

-

-Placing her doll on a table, and making sure that it was safe, she ran

-forward, courtesied first to Uncle Harry, as she had promised, and then,

-to the music of the pipes, the wee lassie did the "Highland Fling."

-

-She was such a round, dimpled little girl, one would never have dreamed

-that she could dance with such infantile grace.

-

-And when she had finished, with another courtesy, they crowded around

-her, and it was Nancy who most generously praised her. Dear little

-Nancy, who danced like a fairy, never had a jealous thought in her

-loving heart!

-

-It was Uncle Harry who caught little Lois, and lifted her so that he

-could look into her eyes.

-

-"I want my dolly, now," she cried, anxious lest it be lost or stolen.

-Dorothy brought the doll, and the child clasped it to her breast.

-

-"My wee lassie said she wisht she had a gift tae gi' ye," said Sandy.

-

-"I have a dear little girl of my own, and I prize her baby kisses," said

-Uncle Harry. "Will _you_ give me one, little Lois?"

-

-She clasped her arms around his neck, and kissed him softly.

-

-"Best man next to father," she said.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER IX

-

-FLOSSIE'S LETTER

-

-

-THE children said "good-by" to little Lois, and as her father carried

-her away, she waved her hand to them.

-

-"Wasn't she cunning?" said Dorothy.

-

-"She was very sweet," said Nancy, "and how well she did her little

-dance!"

-

-"She didn't dance half as fine as you do, Nancy Ferris," said Floretta.

-"You _know_ that."

-

-"Oh, but I was trained for dancing," said Nancy, "and, beside, she was

-very little to dance so cleverly."

-

-Floretta made no reply, but she thought of what Nancy had said.

-

-"Trained for dancing. She said she was _trained_ to dance. I wonder

-where? I wish I knew, but I didn't quite dare to ask her."

-

-Once more they walked around the big tent, and Uncle Harry purchased a

-gift for each to carry home as a souvenir.

-

-There were little baskets that the gypsies had woven, and fancy boxes

-filled with woodland plants. The boxes were made from birch bark, and

-were very dainty.

-

-These the children prized, and lovingly they thanked him for the pretty

-gifts.

-

-At the candy table he purchased enough of the homemade bonbons to fill

-the baskets, and then they left the tent to start on the homeward trip.

-

-The barge was waiting for them, and they clambered in, tired, but very

-happy.

-

-"This is the nicest fair I ever went to," said Dorothy, "and I've had

-so many good things that I'm going to save my basket of candy until

-to-morrow."

-

-"So am I," cried all the others.

-

-"And so am _I_," said Uncle Harry, as he held up a huge basket filled

-with all kinds of candy.

-

-How they laughed, and accused him of having a "sweet-tooth."

-

-"Now, just a moment!" he cried, as he held up his finger for silence,

-"I'm taking this _big_ basket home to treat the _big_ ladies with. I

-took the _little_ ladies with me, but I've not forgotten the _big_

-ladies that I left at the hotel."

-

-"Because you don't ever forget any one," said Flossie, and the others

-cried:

-

-"That's it! Just it! He does nice things for every one."

-

-"Oh, spare my blushes," said Uncle Harry, but it was easy to see that

-their affection for him pleased him.

-

-The ride home seemed shorter than the trip to the fair.

-

-They joined in singing the merry songs that his fine voice led, and the

-horses, knowing that they were on the homeward trip, jogged along at a

-better pace than when they had started out.

-

-Uncle Harry had found some bells, and fastened them to their harnesses,

-and they made a jingling accompaniment to the merry voices.

-

-And when the barge drew up at the Cleverton, Uncle Harry, with elaborate

-courtesy, handed each young lady down, bowing low, and thanking her for

-the honor she had conferred upon him by permitting him to take her to

-the fair.

-

-"Oh, you do truly know we have to thank you for giving us such a lovely

-day!" said Dorothy.

-

-"But think how happy I have been," he said, and although his blue eyes

-were laughing, they knew that he meant it.

-

-"Oh, mamma, we had the finest time," cried Dorothy, "and see the fine

-basket of candy and the pretty birch bark box! See the little ferns

-growing in it. Isn't he _dear_?"

-

-"He surely is charming," said Mrs. Dainty. "His generous, sunny nature

-makes every one love him, and I believe he values the love of his

-friends more than most things."

-

-"He has been gay, and full of fun all day," said Nancy, "and it will

-take a long time to tell you all the pleasant things he did for us. I do

-wish you and Aunt Charlotte _could_ have been there when he had his

-fortune told."

-

-"And he couldn't have been any nicer to us if we'd been tall ladies,"

-said Floretta.

-

-"I hope every one of you little friends were real _little ladies_, thus

-rewarding him for his kindness," Aunt Charlotte said, gently.

-

-"Oh, we were," said Nancy, "not a single one of us did anything that

-could trouble him."

-

-"There were a number of little girls who only came here last week, so we

-weren't much acquainted with them, but they were all very nice, and he

-said he had as fine a time as we did," said Dorothy.

-

-She climbed into a large hammock, and with Nancy beside her, sat

-swinging, and thinking of the day that had been so delightfully spent.

-

-Mrs. Fenton came out upon the piazza, and, instead of sitting down,

-seemed to be looking for something.

-

-"Can I help you?" said Nancy, slipping from the hammock, and hastening

-toward her.

-

-"I've mislaid my glasses," she said, "and I can't find them."

-

-She did not thank Nancy for so kindly offering to help her, but Nancy

-seemed not to notice that. She peeped under chairs, lifted their

-cushions, and even looked between folds of newspapers that lay near at

-hand, but the glasses were not in sight.

-

-"How trying!" said Mrs. Fenton, "I have some letters that I wish to

-read, and I can't read them until my glasses are found."

-

-"Did you use them anywhere but just here?" Nancy asked.

-

-Mrs. Fenton stood for a moment thinking.

-

-"Seems to me I _did_ have them in the dining-room," she said.

-

-"I'll go and ask the waitresses if they have seen them," said Nancy, as

-she ran toward the hall.

-

-She paused in the doorway, amazed at what she saw.

-

-Floretta, with a pair of eyeglasses upon her small nose, was walking up

-and down the room, as nearly as possible, in Mrs. Fenton's manner, and

-exactly imitating her voice, while a group of waitresses, the cook, and

-two kitchen maids laughed, and applauded her.

-

-She cared not who composed her audience, so long as she obtained

-applause. Floretta was, evidently, quite herself once more!

-

-"Oh, Floretta!" cried Nancy, "you mustn't, truly you mustn't. Give me

-the glasses. Mrs. Fenton is looking everywhere for them!"

-

-"Well, I shan't give them to you!" said Floretta, rudely. "You aren't

-Mrs. Fenton."

-

-"But I've been helping her to hunt for them. She has some letters she

-wants to read, and she can't till she has her glasses," insisted Nancy.

-

-"Then let her come for them!" cried Floretta, when a quiet voice spoke.

-

-"Very well, I _have_ come for them," it said, and there in the doorway

-stood Mrs. Fenton.

-

-The silly maids who had laughed so loudly, now hastily disappeared in

-the kitchen.

-

-Floretta dropped the glasses upon the table, and then, wholly ashamed,

-crawled under it, where Mrs. Fenton's sharp eyes might not look at her.

-

-Mrs. Fenton took the glasses, and without another word, swept from the

-room.

-

-Nancy, waiting in the hall, crept softly toward her, and gently laid her

-hand on the lady's arm.

-

-"I'm _so_ sorry she did that. I wish I could have got the glasses from

-her, and brought them to you before you came to find them. Then you

-needn't have known how naughty,--" Nancy caught her breath.

-

-"Never mind that, Nancy. Remember, as _I_ shall, that _you_ were not the

-naughty, disgusting child," said Mrs. Fenton, and she turned, with her

-letters and glasses in her hand, and went up the long stairway to her

-room.

-

-It was nearly time to dress for dinner, which was always served

-promptly at six.

-

-Mrs. Dainty with Dorothy, and Aunt Charlotte with Nancy hastened to

-their rooms, to freshen their toilettes, and Nancy realized that there

-would not be time to tell Aunt Charlotte all about the unpleasant

-happening.

-

-"I've something to tell you, but I'll have to wait till we've plenty of

-time," she said.

-

-Aunt Charlotte, tying the soft, blue ribbon into the brown curls, looked

-into the mirror before which they were standing, and smiled at the

-thoughtful face.

-

-"Will it keep until then, dear?" she asked.

-

-"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "I only tell it to you because I love to tell you

-everything."

-

-"Dear child," said Aunt Charlotte, "I bless the day that you, as a

-little waif, were taken in by Mrs. Dainty, and that I was asked to come

-and care for you. I could not love you more if you were my own little

-girl."

-

-"I never saw my own mamma; she died when I was a baby," said Nancy, "so,

-because you love me, you seem like my very own."

-

-Gentle Aunt Charlotte's eyes were wet with happy tears, as she hooked

-the pretty, white muslin frock, with its slip of light blue, and tied

-the soft blue belt.

-

-"Your shoes must be changed, Nancy," she said. "You know how particular

-Mrs. Dainty is about the matter of shoes and stockings. They must match

-the frock."

-

-"Oh, yes," said Nancy, "and with this one she said: 'Wear blue

-stockings and bronze slippers,' so I will."

-

-She found the blue hose and the pretty bronze slippers, then, with elfin

-grace, she caught the edge of her skirt, and with rosy, bare feet,

-tripped across the floor in a graceful, gliding step, crying:

-

-"Look, Aunt Charlotte, look! This pretty step Bonfanti taught me."

-

-Aunt Charlotte did look, and as she watched the pretty child, and saw

-her joy in dancing, she marvelled that little Nancy could smile as she

-danced, remembering all that she had been taught, while apparently

-forgetting all the unhappy months upon the stage.

-

-She thought of poor little Nancy, forced to dance, night after night, to

-support her old Uncle Steve, who was too lazy to support himself.

-

-She thought of the time that the little pitiful note from Nancy had

-reached them, and, together, she and Mrs. Dainty had found the child,

-and brought her safely home.

-

-She did not speak of all this. Nancy's happy little heart should never

-be reminded of sad days that were past.

-

-Now her life was filled with bright sunshine, the sunshine of love, and

-it was reflected in her happy face.

-

-A gong rang out a silvery note.

-

-"Oh, my shoes!" cried Nancy, with a peal of merry laughter. "I wanted to

-show you those pretty steps, and I forgot all about dinner."

-

-It was the work of but a few seconds for Nancy to draw on the light blue

-hose, and even less time to put on the pretty slippers. She ran to the

-mirror, and courtesied, took a few tripping steps, smiling at her

-reflection, and then hastened to the hall to join Dorothy.

-

-[Illustration: SHE TOOK A FEW TRIPPING STEPS, SMILING AT HER

-REFLECTION.--_Page 176._]

-

-"All ready," cried Nancy, springing to her feet, to follow Dorothy.

-

-A pretty pair they made as with arms about each other's waist, they

-tripped along the hall.

-

-Fair, blue-eyed Dorothy Dainty was very lovely in a pale pink frock with

-soft frillings of fine lace. Her stockings were of the same shade, and

-her shoes were white. Mrs. Dainty in dark blue satin, and Aunt Charlotte

-in pearl color made, with the two children, a pleasing group.

-

-In the lower hall they met Mrs. Paxton with Floretta, the former wearing

-a gown of purple satin, while Floretta wore a frock of scarlet silk.

-Mrs. Fenton, passing, on her way to the dining-room, looked sharply

-at the two groups, and _did_ she look amused when her eyes rested upon

-Mrs. Paxton, and her small daughter? Dorothy noticed the look, and

-turned to her mamma.

-

-Mrs. Dainty read the question in Dorothy's eyes, and ever so slightly,

-shook her head, and they passed into the dining-room.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-The next morning, when the mail was distributed, there was great

-excitement, because every one had so many letters.

-

-"See mine!" cried Flossie Barnet. "Everybody see mine! It looks like

-boy's writing. See it!"

-

-"If some very young man wrote it, he might not be delighted to have it

-so freely exhibited, Flossie," said Uncle Harry, with a laugh.

-

-"Oh, why should he care?" she asked in surprise. "Who do you s'pose

-wrote it? Guess, Uncle Harry!"

-

-"Well, now let me think," said Uncle Harry, covering his eyes with his

-hand, then peeping through his fingers.

-

-"There's a small boy at home, who glories in the name of Reginald Merton

-Deane. Open the letter, dear, and if I guessed right, you can give me a

-prize, and if I'm wrong, I'll give you one."

-

-Flossie studied the address for a moment, then she opened the letter,

-and laughed with delight.

-

-"I'll have to give you the prize, but why did he think to write to me?"

-

-Dear little Flossie had never seemed aware that small Reginald preferred

-her to any of his friends. Even when she was so little that she could

-not pronounce his name, and called him "Weginald," he thought her the

-dearest of all his playmates. And this was his letter:

-

-          "DEAR FLOSSIE:

-

-          "I miss you so much that I'm going to write, and

-          tell you all the news.

-

-          "Our old dog had a fit yesterday, and my brother

-          got the vet'nary doctor. When he came, he said

-          Carlo hadn't any fit. He was acting just awful. I

-          said 'what makes him tare round so?' an he said

-          maybe I'd tare round sum if I had a fish-bone in

-          my throat! The doctor took it out, and then Carlo

-          was so glad he tore round worsen ever!

-

-          "Arabella Corryville is acting worse than Carlo

-          did. You know her Aunt Matilda lives with them, an

-          neether Arabella, or her pa, or her ma dare to do

-          ennything without asking Aunt Matilda _first_.

-          Well, her aunt has had to go way up to New

-          Hampshur (I guess I didn't spell that rite) and

-          Arabella thinks its just her chanse to act awful.

-          Carlo is real quiet side of Arabella when she acts

-          the way she does now.

-

-          "She stays out doors most all the time, and goes

-          just where she pleases.

-

-          "Some days she's way down by the stashun until its

-          almost dark.

-

-          "You know she's always taking medesin, and carries

-          the bottles in her pockets.

-

-          "She carries em now, but she told me she's takin

-          the kind she likes best. Theres two kinds her Aunt

-          Matilda made her take, one tasted horrid, and the

-          other tasted nice. Arabella threw the horrid one

-          away, and ate the nice pills for candy. She told

-          me this morning that her Aunt Matilda is coming

-          home just for one day, and then they're all going

-          up where you, and Dorothy, and Nancy are. I don't

-          believe it, but if she does, and you see her, you

-          needn't give my love to her.

-

-                                "Your tru friend,

-                                          "REGINALD."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER X

-

-A GIFT OF WILDFLOWERS

-

-

-OF course, Dorothy and Nancy were greatly interested in the letter, and

-Uncle Harry said that he was glad that Reginald had thought to say that

-the fish-bone had been removed from Carlo's throat.

-

-He said it would have seemed quite a trip to take to leave the

-Cleverton, and go to Merrivale to feel Carlo's pulse, and inquire for

-his health.

-

-"Now that that bone is removed, I breathe easier," said Uncle Harry,

-"and so does Carlo!"

-

-"Oh, you wouldn't have gone home just to call on Carlo," said Flossie.

-

-"Well, I don't know," he said, trying to look solemn, "I wouldn't like

-Carlo to feel neglected, and now I think of it, does Reginald speak of

-the cat?"

-

-"No," said Flossie, "but when I answer the letter, I'll tell Reginald

-you're anxious about her."

-

-"I am," said Uncle Harry, "because the last time I saw her, Carlo was

-barking at her very rudely, and her back was up in a hump like a

-camel's. Reginald ought to have told us if her back is _still_ up, or

-whether she has taken the kink out of her spine. We might telephone and

-ask, instead of worrying."

-

-He rose, and walked toward the hall, whistling as he went, an old

-nursery song that he used to sing to Flossie.

-

-          "The cat came fiddling out of the barn,

-           With a pair of bagpipes under her arm."

-

-How the children laughed!

-

-"Look!" said Flossie, "he's going right toward the telephone, just to

-make us think that he's _truly_ going to ring up Reginald, and inquire

-for the cat."

-

-"Who is Arabella?" Floretta asked.

-

-"She lives near us," said Dorothy, "and she used to go to Aunt

-Charlotte's private school with us."

-

-"Doesn't she now?" asked Floretta.

-

-"No, she left our class, and went to a large school in the city."

-

-"By what the letter says, I'd think she was rather queer," said

-Floretta.

-

-"Well--" said Dorothy, hesitating, "Arabella _is_ queer."

-

-"Why don't you like to say so?" was the sharp reply.

-

-"Because Dorothy never likes to say anything that isn't kind about any

-one, but Arabella _is_ queer, so Dorothy won't say she isn't," said

-Nancy.

-

-It was a few days later that Dorothy was reminded of what Reginald had

-said in his letter to Flossie.

-

-She was waiting for Nancy to go for a walk, and stooping to pick some of

-the pretty wildflowers that blossomed everywhere.

-

-She had walked slowly along toward the clump of white birches where,

-when they had first arrived, they had called, and listened to the echo.

-

-She looked back toward the hotel, but Nancy was not yet in sight, so she

-seated herself upon the grass, and began to arrange the flowers in a

-fine bouquet.

-

-She was trying to mix the white blossoms and pink buds so as to show the

-beauty of each, when a carriage passed, and before she looked up a

-shrill little voice shouted:

-

-"Dorothy! Dorothy! We're over at the farmhouse just beyond the

-Merlington. Aunt Matilda wouldn't _let_ pa take us to a hotel. She

-doesn't approve of hotels. Aunt Matilda says,--"

-

-She was looking back to shout at Dorothy, and doubtless would have given

-even more particulars, but a firm hand had hastily forced her to turn

-around, and sit down.

-

-Nancy ran along the path a few moments later, and her eyes were dancing.

-

-"Did you see Arabella?" she asked. "_Did_ you?"

-

-"Yes, just a few moments ago, and she turned around in the carriage and

-screamed to me," said Dorothy.

-

-"I can guess what she said," laughed Nancy, "because she screamed at

-me. She told me she was staying at a farmhouse, and said that her Aunt

-Matilda didn't approve of hotels."

-

-"That is _just_ what she said," said Dorothy, "and she would have said

-more but some one, I think it was her Aunt Matilda, pulled her back into

-the carriage."

-

-"Why, that's just the way it was when I saw her. I ran out on to the

-piazza, and down the steps, and the carriage rolled by, and she twisted

-round to shout. There was this difference, though," said Nancy. "You

-were out here alone, and no one would know if you laughed, but when I

-ran out, our piazza was full of people, and when Arabella shouted, you'd

-ought to have seen them look.

-

-"Flossie and her Uncle Harry were on the lawn, and as she rode past, he

-said with a sigh:

-

-          "'Arabella, Arabella,

-            If I had my new umbrella,'

-

-and I was wild to know the rest of it, but his wife, who was standing

-near him, said:

-

-"'Hush, Harry, really you mustn't,' and he only laughed, and said:

-

-"'Oh, _mustn't_ I? Why, when I saw Arabella and her Aunt Matilda, I

-really felt as if I _must_!'"

-

-"Let's ask him what the rest of the verse is," said Dorothy.

-

-"I'm wild to hear it," Nancy said, "because the very way he looked made

-me think that the other lines, whatever they were, would be funny."

-

-She stooped to gather more of the little blossoms to add to Dorothy's

-bouquet, and then commenced to make a bouquet of her own.

-

-"Arabella will be coming over to see you," she said, a moment later,

-"and I wonder if it is naughty to say, 'I wish she wouldn't?' Do you

-think it is?"

-

-"I don't know," said Dorothy, "but I _do_ wish it. I wouldn't, only she

-is so hard to please. Mamma wishes us to be nice to every one, but,

-Nancy, you _do_ know that when we try the hardest to please Arabella, we

-don't please her at all."

-

-"I know it," agreed Nancy, "but perhaps she'll come some time when we

-are out, and then we won't have to amuse her."

-

-"I'm sure I ought not to say it, but I _do_ wish it would happen that

-way," said Dorothy.

-

-They had reached the birches, and they paused to wake the echo. What fun

-it was to hear their shouts repeated.

-

-Again and again they called, and then a droll thing happened. They had

-called this name and that, and each time the echo, like a voice from the

-mountain, had repeated it with wonderful distinctness. Then Dorothy,

-leaning forward, called, loudly:

-

-"Dorothy!"

-

-"_What?_" came the reply.

-

-She turned, and looked at Nancy. "Dorothy!" she cried, again.

-

-"_Dainty!_" was the answer, and upon looking toward a little path that

-was nearly opposite where they were standing, they saw the low bushes

-move, and faintly they heard a smothered laugh.

-

-Dorothy was laughing now.

-

-"Boys!" she cried, and back came the laughing echo:

-

-"_Girls!_" and then the boys peeped out a bit too far, and Dorothy saw

-who had been playing echo.

-

-It was Jack Tiverton and a boy whom he had chosen for a "chum." Jack had

-not intended so soon to be discovered, and he and his friend disappeared

-in a little grove, while Dorothy and Nancy continued their walk.

-

-There were sunny paths and bits of woodland that were so near the hotel

-as to be absolutely safe, where all the summer guests, especially the

-children, loved to roam at will. Along one of these little paths were

-sweet little yellow blossoms, and these they gathered to brighten their

-bouquets.

-

-"Let's have some of these little vines to hang from our bouquets," said

-Dorothy, and the graceful vines proved to be an added beauty.

-

-When they returned to the Cleverton there were but few people upon the

-piazza.

-

-Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte sat talking with Mrs. Vinton, and farther

-along, Mrs. Fenton sat with an open book upon her lap, although she was

-not reading.

-

-She often had a book or magazine, but rarely did she read them.

-

-She would sit looking off at the distant mountain-range, the white

-clouds, or the sunny valley over which those clouds cast floating

-shadows.

-

-Did she hear the conversation, or notice what was going on about her?

-Floretta Paxton said that Mrs. Fenton acted as if she sat there to watch

-some one; and was Floretta right? Mrs. Fenton's actions certainly

-seemed strange day after day. She talked little, took slight interest in

-what was going on about her, and was a mystery to all the other guests.

-

-But what, or whom could she be watching?

-

-Dorothy and Nancy, returning from their walk, saw the group, and also

-noticed Mrs. Fenton, who always chose to sit apart from the others.

-

-"I'll give my flowers to mamma and Mrs. Vinton," said Dorothy.

-

-"And I'll give mine to Aunt Charlotte and to Mrs. Fenton,--if she wants

-them," said Nancy, hesitating because it was so hard to guess what

-might, or might not, please Mrs. Fenton.

-

-Dorothy ran to show her blossoms to her mamma and to Mrs. Vinton, while

-Nancy, pausing beside Mrs. Fenton's chair, held forth her pretty

-bouquet, as she said:

-

-"We've just gathered them. Aren't they pretty?"

-

-"Lovely, very lovely," said Mrs. Fenton, with more interest than usual.

-"I remember picking just such flowers; even the long vines I know are

-like those I used to see when I was a little girl."

-

-"Would you enjoy some of these? I'd so like to give them to you," Nancy

-said, and she was surprised at the quick reply.

-

-"I would really prize them, Nancy, and you're a sweet child to give them

-to me," she said.

-

-Quickly Nancy divided the bouquet, and smiled as she laid the pretty

-things in Mrs. Fenton's lap.

-

-"I cannot let them wilt, so I will take them at once to my room," said

-Mrs. Fenton, and Nancy saw her bend to catch their perfume, as she

-turned toward the hall.

-

-That night, when nearly all the guests had entered the dining-room, Mrs.

-Fenton came in at the main entrance, and as she sat nearly opposite Mrs.

-Dainty's party, they noticed that the bodice of her black lace gown was

-given color by the pretty wildflowers that Nancy had given her. They

-were the first flowers that she had worn since her arrival.

-

-Nancy smiled with pleasure, and Mrs. Fenton, looking across the table,

-returned the smile.

-

-Had the gift of simple wildflowers cheered her?

-

-Thus far she had worn only black, but to-night a dull gold slip

-shimmered through the black lace; and were her eyes brighter?

-

-Nancy thought so, and without knowing why, was glad.

-

-There was a musicale in the evening, and Mrs. Fenton joined Mrs. Dainty

-and Aunt Charlotte, and seemed to enjoy the conversation, between the

-numbers of the program.

-

-Once, while she was talking, she laid her hand lightly upon Nancy's

-shoulder, and Nancy looked up to smile. Aunt Charlotte saw that the lady

-was more cheerful, and also noticed that she wore Nancy's flowers. The

-evening passed pleasantly, and Nancy's drowsy words, just before she

-went to sleep, were:

-

-"I do really think I cheered her."

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-A few days later Mrs. Dainty invited Mrs. Fenton to be her guest during

-a drive over a lovely road that neither of them had yet seen. It was

-said to be one of the most picturesque roads in that section of the

-country.

-

-Mrs. Fenton accepted, and with Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Vinton they

-formed a pleasant party.

-

-Dorothy and Nancy were to drive in their little phaeton, and they felt

-quite as important as the four ladies in the barouche.

-

-True, Mrs. Dainty owned a handsome span of bays, but was not the pony,

-Romeo, a beauty?

-

-The road was some distance from the Cleverton, and there were some

-charming places to be seen on the way, so it happened that the trip,

-which proved to be most enjoyable, occupied the afternoon.

-

-Mrs. Paxton had a number of letters to write, and Floretta, feeling very

-lonely, and wishing that she had some one to play with, climbed into a

-hammock, and wondered what she might do to amuse herself.

-

-"Every one but me has gone somewhere, and I wish _I_ had," she said, as

-she gave a smart kick that sent the hammock higher.

-

-"What's the fun of swinging alone?" she grumbled, but there was no one

-on the piazza to answer her, and she let the hammock sway lazily while

-she looked down the sunny road, and thought how strange it was that the

-place seemed so still.

-

-Not a leaf stirred, and Floretta's disgust increased.

-

-"Nothing in sight, not even an old hen," she said, when, way down where

-the road looked so narrow and distant, a little figure appeared, coming

-directly toward the Cleverton. She watched the approaching figure, and

-wondered who it might be.

-

-"'Tisn't any one I know," she thought, "and _doesn't_ she look queer?"

-

-Any one who had ever known Arabella Corryville would also have known

-that she always looked decidedly odd and strange, and it was Arabella

-who was marching steadily along the road.

-

-So determined was her tread that one might have thought that there was a

-band behind her playing martial music to which she was obliged to keep

-step.

-

-"Well, whoever she is, she's carrying an umbrella, this pleasant day,"

-murmured Floretta; then as she came near, she added:

-

-"And wearing rubbers and a raincoat, as true as I live!"

-

-Arabella was more bundled and wrapped than at first appeared, for, as

-she came up the gravel walk, Floretta saw that a long veil was closely

-tied over her hat, and wound about her throat.

-

-From her appearance one might have thought that she expected freezing

-weather before night.

-

-She walked up on to the piazza, and then stood, for a moment, looking

-about, as if in search of some one.

-

-It was not politeness that prompted Floretta to speak. It was simply

-curiosity. She was wild to know who the strange-looking child was, and

-whom she wished to see.

-

-"Are you looking for some one?" she asked, at the same time slipping

-from the hammock, and going so close to Arabella that she could peep

-into the queer little face.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XI

-

-ARABELLA MAKES A CALL

-

-

-ARABELLA peered at Floretta through her spectacles, and was tempted not

-to reply, but after a moment's pause she changed her mind.

-

-"I came to see Dorothy Dainty, and Nancy Ferris," she said.

-

-"They're out driving," said Floretta.

-

-"How do you know?" Arabella asked, rudely.

-

-"Because I heard them say they were going, and because I saw them go,"

-was the quick reply.

-

-"It's a long way over here, and now I've got to take the same walk

-back," said Arabella.

-

-"They're going to be out all the afternoon," said Floretta, "but why

-don't you sit down, and rest a while before you go back?"

-

-It sounded kind, and Arabella at once seated herself, while Floretta sat

-near her.

-

-She thought it would be great fun to question this odd child, and there

-was no one near to check her.

-

-"Aren't you nearly roasted in that raincoat?" she asked.

-

-"Well, I'm not chilly," said Arabella, fixing her sharp eyes upon the

-other little girl.

-

-"Did you think it was going to rain?" was the next question. "You've

-rubbers, and umbrella."

-

-Floretta barely managed to hide the fact that she wanted to laugh. Her

-question seemed so absurd with the blue sky overhead, and the sunshine

-everywhere.

-

-"I didn't want to wear them," said Arabella, "and I told Aunt Matilda it

-was too pleasant to rain, but she said you never could tell, and she

-said, too, that I could wear them, or stay at home, so what could I do?"

-

-"_I'd_ have stayed at home," said Floretta, bluntly. "I wouldn't wear

-raincoat and rubbers, and lug an umbrella for any Aunt Matilda or Aunt

-Jemima!"

-

-"Who is Aunt Jemima?" Arabella asked, stupidly.

-

-"I don't know," said Floretta, sharply, "but then, I don't know your

-Aunt Matilda."

-

-She longed to say that she did not want to, but for once she did not

-quite dare to say what she thought.

-

-Then there was an awkward pause. Floretta could not think what to say

-next, while Arabella did not try.

-

-Silence never made her uneasy. She could stare at any one who sat

-opposite her, for a half-hour, without so much as winking, and it rather

-amused her if the other person became nervous, and wriggled uneasily

-beneath her persistent stare. At last Floretta spoke.

-

-"You might take some of those things off," she said; "you won't need

-them while you stay."

-

-"Aunt Matilda told me not to," said Arabella, "and if I _did_, it would

-be just my luck to have her come right by here, and see me with them

-off. My! _Wouldn't_ she be angry?"

-

-Arabella's eyes dilated as she asked the question.

-

-"Does your Aunt Matilda poke 'round after you like that?" asked

-Floretta.

-

-"She doesn't ever _seem_ to follow me, but all the same, she's always

-catching me doing something."

-

-"Then you _do_ risk doing what she tells you not to," said Floretta,

-with a saucy laugh.

-

-"Look here!" cried Arabella, "I don't know you, but I'm going to tell

-you something. I can't do one single thing I want to, neither can my

-papa or mamma. Aunt Matilda is little, and my papa is big. He says he

-was centre-rush on the college football team, but when Aunt Matilda

-tells him what to do, he says, 'Yes'm,' and does it. One of our

-neighbors at home says Aunt Matilda holds the purse-strings, but I don't

-know what that means. Her purse hasn't any strings on it."

-

-"Well, if it _had_, I'd cut 'em off," said Floretta, "so she _couldn't_

-hold 'em."

-

-"You wouldn't if she lived at _your_ house," said Arabella.

-

-Floretta, in spite of her boldness, was more than half convinced.

-

-"Well,--perhaps I wouldn't," she said. "Why, what are you taking?"

-

-"Pills," said Arabella, counting out six very pink pills from a little

-bottle, and taking them, then making a horrid face.

-

-"You don't look sick," said Floretta, "but you're taking medicine."

-

-"Aunt Matilda says these are for my color," was the answer.

-

-"You haven't any; you're pale as a sheet," said Floretta.

-

-"That's why I take them," said Arabella, "and look! I've got some green

-ones I take," and six green pills followed the pink ones.

-

-"Why, what are those for?" gasped Floretta. "Ought you to take two kinds

-at the same time?"

-

-Arabella, determined to startle her new acquaintance, took a third

-bottle from her pocket, and swallowed three very large white pills.

-

-She was delighted with the effect that she had produced.

-

-Floretta sprang to her feet, and tried to snatch the bottle, but

-Arabella had put it in her pocket, and was holding the pocket together.

-

-She narrowed her shrewd little eyes, and smiled broadly.

-

-"Guess you couldn't take all that, and not feel queer!" she said.

-

-"I wouldn't wonder if you felt funny. _Do_ you?" asked Floretta.

-

-"Not _yet_," said Arabella.

-

-Floretta was getting tired of her caller. She hoped that she hadn't any

-more kinds of medicine that she could take.

-

-She wished that Dorothy would return and amuse Arabella.

-

-She would have run away from any one else, and rudely left her alone,

-but there was something so strange about this child that she feared her.

-

-She had a nervous feeling that if she turned to leave her, Arabella

-might snatch at her, and draw her back. She certainly did look odd.

-

-There was something catlike in the way in which she kept her eyes

-riveted upon Floretta.

-

-She looked as if, at any moment, she might spring at her!

-

-She was not thinking of doing anything of the sort, however.

-

-The truth was that she _did_ feel just a bit queer.

-

-Was it the three kinds of pills? She could not tell, but she began to

-feel as if she would be glad if she were at home.

-

-"I guess I'll go now," she said. "I think it must be time."

-

-"What time did your Aunt Matilda tell you to come home?" Floretta asked.

-

-"She said I could stay to dinner if Dorothy asked me, but she doesn't

-come home, so I guess I won't wait."

-

-"Go to dinner at the Cleverton in that plaid gingham!" thought Floretta,

-for she had seen the plain little frock beneath the raincoat.

-

-[Illustration: SHE OFFERED TWO CARDS TO FLORETTA.--_Page 210._]

-

-Arabella grasped her big umbrella firmly, and turned, as she went down

-the steps, to say:

-

-"You may tell Dorothy Dainty that _Miss_ Corryville called."

-

-Floretta giggled.

-

-"And you might tell your Aunt Matilda that you talked with _Miss_

-Paxton," she said.

-

-"I will," said Arabella, without a sign of a smile.

-

-"I wonder you don't leave cards," said Floretta, and to her surprise,

-the queer child put her hand in the pocket of her raincoat, and, without

-looking at them, offered two cards to Floretta, saying:

-

-"There they are."

-

-Then, without looking back, she marched resolutely down the road. She

-did not thank Floretta for talking with her while she rested, nor did

-she say "good-by."

-

-For some moments Floretta stood watching the odd little figure as it

-tramped down the road, the umbrella, like a huge walking stick, thumping

-the gravel at every step. She thought Arabella would turn around, but

-she did not.

-

-One might have thought that she had already forgotten the child with

-whom she had been talking. When, at last, she disappeared behind a clump

-of trees that hid the curve of the road, Floretta looked at the two

-cards in her hand, stared at them in amazement, and then laughed,

-laughed until her eyes were full of tears.

-

-Who could have helped laughing? One card bore these lines:

-

-             JAMES HORTON WORTH,

-             PAINLESS DENTISTRY,

-          10 TREVOR STREET, MERRIVALE.

-

-While the other, equally interesting, bore this statement:

-

-              ALTON JUSTUS MEER,

-                  JEWELLER,

-          90 RUPERT ROAD, MERRIVALE.

-

-"How perfectly funny," cried Floretta. "I'll run up and show them to

-mamma, and then I'll wait here to give them to Dorothy and Nancy when

-they come. I wonder if they'll have any choice?"

-

-Dorothy and Nancy felt, as did the older members of the party, that the

-ride had been the most delightful of any that they had enjoyed since

-their arrival.

-

-The horses were tossing their manes, and Romeo, as if in imitation,

-tossed his so that it showed all its silken beauty.

-

-"See him!" cried Dorothy. "He thinks he's as fine as any horse."

-

-"Well, he is as dear as they," said Nancy.

-

-"Oh, yes," said Dorothy, "and dearer."

-

-And when the horses and the pony had been led around to the stable, and

-the older members of the party had reached the piazza, Dorothy and

-Nancy, who had paused for a moment to talk, ran up the steps, intending

-to sit together in a large rocker.

-

-Before they reached the chair, Floretta flew toward them.

-

-"You had a funny caller while you were out driving," she said, with a

-giggle, "and she was so very fashionable that she left these cards. She

-told me to tell you that _Miss_ Corryville had called."

-

-"It was Arabella," said Nancy.

-

-"Did she truly say '_Miss_?'" Dorothy asked.

-

-"Well, didn't I _say_ so?" Floretta asked rudely; "and I told her to

-tell her Aunt Matilda that she talked with _Miss_ Paxton, and she said

-she would. She waited a long time for you to come home, because she said

-she meant to stay to dinner with you. Say! She had on a calico dress!

-Wouldn't she have looked gay?"

-

-"It isn't very kind to laugh at any one's clothes," said Dorothy, "and

-it's not very nice to laugh at other people's friends."

-

-"Pooh!" cried Floretta, "I shall laugh at whoever I please," and she

-turned and ran up to her room.

-

-But she had laughed once too often! During the ride, Mrs. Fenton had

-spoken of Floretta's rude ways, and of the day when, upon following

-Nancy to the dining-room, she had caught the provoking child in the act

-of mimicking her.

-

-"Your little Nancy was grieved and distressed because she knew that I

-saw it. What a difference there is in children! The Paxton child is

-disgusting, while Nancy, who, I have heard, was a little waif, is as

-gentle as Dorothy, who was born the little daughter of a fine, old

-family."

-

-Aunt Charlotte and Mrs. Dainty had told Mrs. Fenton something of Nancy's

-life, and noticed how deeply interested she seemed to be.

-

-Mrs. Paxton had realized that ever since the day that Floretta had told

-of being caught mimicking Mrs. Fenton for the amusement of the

-waitresses and maids, Mrs. Fenton had shunned them. She had made

-desperate efforts to win Mrs. Fenton's friendship, but never very

-successfully, as she found that her little daughter's silly act had

-rendered any intimacy quite impossible.

-

-A few days after the ride, Mrs. Fenton did not appear at lunch, or at

-dinner, and when Mrs. Paxton, with elaborate interest, inquired for her,

-she learned that the lady had left very early that morning, before any

-guests were on the piazza to see her depart.

-

-It certainly did seem odd that she should have left, without a word to

-those whom she had known, but Mrs. Dainty, with her customary good

-taste, made no comment, and Aunt Charlotte Grayson was equally silent.

-

-Mrs. Paxton did just as one might have expected. She expressed, in a

-very loud voice, her disgust at being thus pointedly slighted, for so

-she chose to feel.

-

-"After all my friendliness, I can't see how she could leave the

-Cleverton without so much as a word to me. Why, I felt almost like a

-relative, as my name was Fenton before I married!"

-

-"I guess Mrs. Fenton didn't have what you might call a family feeling,"

-said old Mr. Cunningham, which so angered Mrs. Paxton that she politely

-turned her back.

-

-Two letters arrived at the Cleverton that afternoon, and it would be

-difficult to say which caused the greater surprise.

-

-Mrs. Paxton told the contents of hers to all who would listen, and there

-were enough who were curious, to make a good audience.

-

-"TO MRS. CLARA FENTON PAXTON:" it began, refraining from any endearing

-terms.

-

-"I knew, before I met you, that you and your small daughter were related

-to my husband, and also knew that he entertained no admiration for you.

-He left his entire estate to me, and as you were but a distant relative,

-you could expect no inheritance. However, with a determination to deal

-fairly with all my kin (I have but three such), I came to the Cleverton

-to see you and your little daughter, intending, if she proved

-sweet-tempered and attractive, to will my property to her. She is the

-only one of the three relatives who bears my husband's name.

-

-"I do not wish to be harsh, but I am forced to admit that I find her to

-be bold, naturally unkind, and wholly lacking in the grace and courtesy

-which most children possess, either by training or inheritance.

-

-"I, therefore, have made my will in favor of Nancy Ferris, once a little

-waif, now a sweet, gentle, and attractive child, whose little acts of

-courtesy and kindness are fully appreciated by

-

-                                     "Her friend,

-                                         "CECILIA CULLEN FENTON."

-

-"A most singular woman, to leave her property to a waif, a child of the

-theatre, and not bequeath so much as a penny to my Floretta, whom _any_

-one could see is an aristocrat," said Mrs. Paxton.

-

-"Mrs. Fenton, or anybody else, would need some rather strong glasses to

-see _that_!" muttered Mr. Cunningham.

-

-He was a testy old fellow, and he, like other guests of the hotel, had

-become exceedingly tired of Mrs. Paxton and her unlovely child.

-

-The other letter gave surprise and delight to the two who had shared in

-the care and training of little Nancy.

-

-"TO MRS. RUDOLPH DAINTY, AND TO MRS. CHARLOTTE GRAYSON,

-

-"DEAR FRIENDS:--" was its greeting, and then followed the story of the

-writer's visit to the Cleverton, and the statement that her few

-relatives were too distant to have any valid claim to her estate.

-

-"I was greatly displeased with the two of my kin whom I came to observe,

-and I will not dwell upon that, but, instead, will take this time to say

-that Dorothy Dainty and Nancy Ferris, are the two dearest children that

-it has been my pleasure to know.

-

-"Dorothy's life has been sunny, and Nancy's story, as you told it to me,

-appealed to me, and I looked with even greater interest at the child

-who, under your loving care, had blossomed like a lovely flower.

-

-"Dorothy has her parents, and will inherit a fortune. Nancy has no

-parents, and I know, will be kindly cared for by you, but that fact

-will not deter me from making a bequest that gives me greatest pleasure.

-

-"I shall leave all of my estate to Nancy Ferris, and I remind her, in

-some little verses that I enclose, how deeply I have appreciated her

-many little kindnesses.

-

-

-TO NANCY

-

-          "Dear little girl, I know that you will daily

-           Do loving acts of kindness, and of cheer,

-           Thus urging life to sing its song more gaily

-           And making friendship lasting and more dear.

-

-          "I felt your charm, dear child, I saw how sweetly

-           You gave your kindness, with no thought of gain.

-           I give you a reward, and how completely

-           I joy in giving, words cannot explain."

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XII

-

-A SERENADE

-

-

-JACK TIVERTON stood in the lower hall one morning, and appeared as if

-waiting for some one. In his hand was a short switch that he had cut

-from a shrub that grew beside the driveway. Often he looked up the

-staircase, and then, as no one appeared, he would continue to strike at

-the flies that flew past the doorway.

-

-At last he heard merry voices upon the landing, and then Dorothy and

-Nancy came hurrying down the stairs.

-

-"Good morning!" they called, but Jack, in his eagerness to ask

-questions, forgot to return their greeting.

-

-"Say!" he cried, "do you know that Mrs. Paxton and Floretta left this

-morning before breakfast?"

-

-No, the little girls did not know that.

-

-"Well, they have. I saw them go, and I'm glad. Floretta was fun to play

-with, but she wasn't fair. She'd get me to do things, and then if we got

-caught, she'd always say I planned it," said Jack.

-

-Dorothy tried to think of something kind to say of Floretta, but she

-knew that what Jack said was true. Floretta truly was not in the habit

-of playing "fair."

-

-"Her mamma said something queer just as she was going off. She was

-talking to a lady, I don't know what her name is, and Mrs. Paxton said:

-

-"'Well, Dorothy Dainty has always seemed to be fond of Nancy, but now

-that Nancy is to have a _fortune_, shell love her a deal more than she

-ever did before.'"

-

-And now Dorothy spoke, her blue eyes flashing, and her cheeks flushed.

-

-"That's not true!" she cried. "That's not true! I've always loved Nancy,

-and always will. I'd love her if she had just nothing at all! Nothing

-could make any difference. I love her all I can. Nancy knows that. Every

-one knows that."

-

-How keenly she felt Mrs. Paxton's silly speech!

-

-She was indignant that any one should think her love for Nancy so little

-worth while that fortune could make it stronger.

-

-How could she love Nancy more than she had always loved her?

-

-Nancy threw her arms about her, and drew her closer.

-

-"Don't you mind, Dorothy," she said, "_I_ know how truly you love me.

-Mrs. Paxton didn't know, because I guess she couldn't understand it.

-_She_ couldn't love the way you do."

-

-Dorothy smiled through the tears that had filled her eyes.

-

-"There's no one dearer than you, Nancy," she said.

-

-Jack swung his switch at a dragon-fly that flew past the doorway.

-

-"Did you see that darning-needle?" he asked.

-

-"Well," he continued, without waiting for an answer, "I was down the

-road a few days ago, trying to catch some of those big steel-colored

-ones in my fly-net. I hadn't seen any one after I left this piazza, but

-just as I swung my net round to catch the dragon-fly, somebody said:

-'Look out, or you'll get bitten!' and I turned round, but no one was in

-sight. I was just going to swing my net again, when some one giggled,

-and then I saw a little skinny girl looking at me from between some

-bushes."

-

-"What was she doing?" Dorothy asked.

-

-"You couldn't guess if you tried for a month!" said Jack.

-

-"She was sitting on a big stone, beside a big puddle that was left there

-after the shower. She said she was playing she was a frog, and when she

-stared at me through her glasses, and smiled, no, _grinned_ at me, I

-couldn't help thinking she looked like one. Say, she had on a green

-cloak, a regular frog-color."

-

-"It must have been _Arabella_!" said Nancy.

-

-"I don't know what her name was. I didn't ask her, but while I watched

-her she hopped off the stone into the puddle with both feet, and cried,

-'po-dunk!' just like an old bullfrog. My! Weren't her shoes wet!"

-

-"I wonder what her Aunt Matilda said when she went home with wet feet,"

-said Dorothy.

-

-Without noticing what she said, Jack continued.

-

-"I never saw such a queer girl!" he said, in disgust, "for when I told

-her dragonflies would never bite, she said: 'They will. They'll sew your

-eyes, and nose, and mouth up. Po-dunk!' and she hopped back on to the

-stone, and grinned at me just as she did at first. Say! She made me feel

-queer to look at her, and I turned and ran away. I wasn't afraid of her,

-of course, but she _did_ make me feel queer!"

-

-"She'd make any one feel queer," said Nancy as they turned toward the

-dining-room.

-

-Jack wished that they might have stayed longer in the hall. He had

-intended to ask them if they knew Arabella, and if she was always doing

-queer things, but Mrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte joined them, and they

-went in for breakfast.

-

-Mrs. Tiverton, coming in from an early walk, took Jack with her to the

-other side of the dining-room. He looked across at them, and wondered

-what they could have told of Arabella if they had had a chance. He

-decided to question them, whispering softly to himself:

-

-"I'll _make_ them tell me all they know about that funny girl."

-

-For several days he tried to catch Dorothy or Nancy at a time when he

-could question them.

-

-He chased Dorothy up the long stairway one morning, only to see her

-disappear into her room. He had not told her that he had wished to talk

-with her, and she, believing that he was only chasing her for fun, ran

-from him, laughing as she went.

-

-He found Nancy, a few minutes later, and coaxed her to wait on the

-landing.

-

-"Now, Nancy," he said, "you've got to tell me something about that queer

-girl that you and Dorothy know."

-

-"If you mean Arabella," said Nancy, "I don't see what I could tell you,

-only that she _is_ queer, and you know that now."

-

-"You'll better believe I know it!" cried Jack, "for I met her again

-yesterday, and guess what she was doing!"

-

-"Oh, I couldn't," said Nancy. "No one ever could guess what Arabella

-Corryville would do."

-

-"Well, she looked like a witch, and acted like one, too," Jack replied.

-"It was yesterday that I saw her. I was going across the field, and had

-nearly reached the wall, when I looked up, and saw her sitting on the

-top bar of the--the--oh, the place where they take down the bars to let

-the cattle through."

-

-"I know where you mean," said Nancy, "but why was it strange that she

-was sitting there?"

-

-"It was what she was doing that was funny," Jack replied, "and because

-you couldn't guess, I'll tell you.

-

-"She didn't look toward me, though I'm sure she must have heard me

-coming, for I was just tramping along, and whistling all the way. She

-was looking up at the clouds, and counting, 'one--two--three--' very

-slowly, and when I was close behind her, she said:

-

-"'Hush--sh--sh! I'm charming the crows!'

-

-"'How long does it take to do it?' I said, for it sounded like nonsense,

-and I wanted to hurry. It was almost lunch time.

-

-"'Hush--sh!' she said again. 'There comes one of them now!' and sure

-enough a big, black crow did come flying right down, and perched on the

-limb of an old tree near her."

-

-"Why, Jack Tiverton," cried Nancy, "you don't believe Arabella really

-_made_ him come down, do you?"

-

-"Of course not," cried Jack, "but she wanted me to think so. Say! She

-said she was saying a charm, and when I asked her what it was, she

-wouldn't tell me. She said it would spoil the charm to tell it. She

-looked funny sitting up there on the top rail, and staring at the crows

-till her eyes watered. She didn't look like a 'charmer.' She looked

-ever so much more like a scarecrow!"

-

-"Oh, Jack, it's horrid to say that!" cried Nancy, at the same time

-trying not to let him see how near she was to laughing.

-

-"Well, she _did_!" Jack insisted, "and you're almost laughing now, Nancy

-Ferris, and you'd have screamed if you'd seen her roosting there, and

-calling herself a charmer! Why, that old crow just flopped down there

-for fun, and when he saw the queer-looking girl, he cawed as if it made

-him mad, and I didn't blame him. Say! She had a shoe on one foot, and a

-slipper on the other. Her apron was put on back-side-to, and she had a

-hen's feather in each hand, and she waved them up and down while she

-mumbled some kind of a verse. She said her clothes were put on that way

-to help the charm. Isn't she a _ninny_?"

-

-Just at that moment, before Nancy could reply, Mrs. Tiverton called

-Jack, and Nancy ran to tell the story of Arabella's latest freak to

-Dorothy.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-One afternoon, a number of little girls were sitting on the piazza at

-the Cleverton, and their merry voices attracted Jack Tiverton, who

-glanced up from the book that he was reading, and then, because he was

-curious to know what so interested them, crossed the piazza, and joined

-the group.

-

-Dorothy and Nancy, in the big hammock, held the book of fairy tales,

-Flossie Barnet sat near them, while the others, all little guests at the

-hotel, sat upon the railing, or in the large rockers that stood near.

-

-Jack joined the row perched upon the railing.

-

-"Tell a fellow what you are all talking about, will you? Will you,

-_please_, I mean?" he asked.

-

-"Dorothy Dainty has been reading us a lovely story," said a little girl,

-whose merry eyes showed that she had enjoyed it.

-

-"What's it about?" Jack asked, and then, "Oh, _fairy_ tales!" he said.

-

-"Don't you like fairy tales?" Flossie questioned, looking up at him.

-

-No one liked to differ with dear little Flossie, least of all, Jack

-Tiverton.

-

-"Oh, I like them _some_," he said, awkwardly, "but,--are there any

-stories about bandits or pirates in that book?"

-

-"Oh, no," they cried, in a laughing chorus, "and there aren't any wild

-Indians in it, either."

-

-"I don't care much about Indian stories," Jack replied, "but I do like

-to read about pirates."

-

-"But just hear what this one was about," said Nancy.

-

-"The wandering prince had, for years, been searching for a lovely

-princess, who should look like a beautiful picture that hung in his

-father's palace. One day he came to a castle where the people told him a

-handsome princess was imprisoned, and he asked why she was kept there.

-They told him that she was enchanted, and that some day, a wandering

-prince would sing beneath her window, and then the spell would be

-broken, and she would be free."

-

-Jack was interested.

-

-"But s'posing he couldn't sing?" he asked.

-

-"Oh, a prince could surely sing!" said Flossie.

-

-"And p'raps he could sing under her window, if he couldn't anywhere

-else," ventured a dreamy-eyed little girl who sat near Dorothy.

-

-"And how would he know _what_ to sing?" a cheery voice questioned, and a

-pair of merry eyes peered over the piazza railing.

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry!" cried Flossie, "what difference would it make?"

-

-"All the difference in the world," declared Uncle Harry, "for while the

-proper melody would set the princess free, how are we to know that the

-wrong melody might not chain her closer than before!"

-

-"Why, the story doesn't say that," said Nancy.

-

-"Perhaps not, but the prince took an _awful_ risk when he chose what to

-sing," declared Uncle Harry.

-

-"You're laughing when you say it," said Dorothy.

-

-"He is," agreed Flossie, "and what he says is funny, but I know this:

-I'd love to hear some one singing under _my_ window!"

-

-Some ladies, who sat near enough to hear the conversation, were amused

-at the children's enthusiasm, and at Uncle Harry's evident interest.

-

-"The prince had his guitar slung over his shoulder by a ribbon," said

-Dorothy. "See the picture," and she slipped from the hammock, and

-offered the book that he might see the illustration.

-

-"I'm glad he carried his guitar instead of a banjo," he said.

-

-"Why are you glad of that?" Flossie asked.

-

-"Oh, because I really _am_, in fact, I might even say I am delighted,"

-he replied.

-

-"I do believe he intends to serenade those children," said a handsome

-woman, to her friend who sat beside her; "he is a brilliant man, and one

-who is blessed with many talents, and one of his greatest charms is his

-love of children. He will go far out of his way to afford them a bit of

-fun."

-

-That evening, when nearly every one had left the piazza, and all of the

-children were in their rooms, the soft twanging of guitar strings

-floated up toward Flossie's window.

-

-She was not yet asleep, and she sat up in bed, and listened.

-

-Yes, it was a guitar! Was it Uncle Harry's?

-

-A little prelude softly played, drew her toward the window.

-

-She crept closer, and peeped out. Yes, there he was, looking right up

-toward her window.

-

-Now his fine voice was softly singing, and Flossie held her breath.

-

-          "Under thy window, my little lady,

-           Under thy window, Flossie dear,

-           Here where the moonbeams softly flicker,

-           Sing I this song that you may hear.

-

-          "Moonlight, and starlight weave enchantment,

-           Yet shall my song your freedom bring,

-           You shall be happy little lady,

-           Give me your love for the song I sing."

-

-"Oh, Uncle Harry, you have it _now_!" cried Flossie. "I love you, when

-you're singing, and _all_ the time."

-

-"I know that, dear little girl, but I _must_ have my fun, so I came here

-to sing the song I made for you," he said gently.

-

-"Well, you're _dear_," she cried, "and I'll throw you a kiss," and she

-did, reaching far out of the window that he might surely see her.

-

-"I caught it!" he cried, and as he turned toward the porch, she heard

-him softly strumming the prelude again.

-

-Others had heard the pretty song, for Dorothy and Nancy had a room next

-to Flossie's.

-

-The next morning he was coaxed and teased to sing the song again, but he

-declared that he could only sing it in the moonlight, that the daylight

-would spoil its effect.

-

-The sunny days sped on wings, and soon the guests began to think of

-turning homeward.

-

-Mrs. Dainty's party and the Barnets were to leave the hotel at the same

-time, and Dorothy, Nancy, and Flossie were delighted that they were to

-take the return trip together.

-

-They were talking of the pleasures that they were looking forward to,

-and telling of some delightful events that were already planned, when

-Jack Tiverton gave them a genuine surprise.

-

-"Mamma has just told me something fine," he said, "and I ran right down

-to tell it to you."

-

-"Oh, tell it quick!" said Flossie.

-

-"We're going to live in Merrivale, and we'll be there soon after we

-leave here. I'm glad. Are you, _all_ of you?" he asked.

-

-"Of course we're glad," said Dorothy and Nancy; and Flossie hastened to

-add:

-

-"Every one of us is glad."

-

-There were bright days, and many pleasures in store for the little

-friends, and those who would like also to enjoy them, and to know what

-happened during the winter, may read of all this in

-

-                       "Dorothy Dainty's Holidays."

-

-

-

-

-THE DOROTHY DAINTY SERIES

-

-By AMY BROOKS

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by the Author

-

-Price, $1.00 each

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          _Dorothy Dainty_

-          _Dorothy's Playmates_

-          _Dorothy Dainty at School_

-          _Dorothy Dainty at the Shore_

-          _Dorothy Dainty in the City_

-          _Dorothy Dainty at Home_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Gay Times_

-          _Dorothy Dainty in the Country_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Winter_

-          _Dorothy Dainty in the Mountains_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Holidays_

-          _Dorothy Dainty's Vacation_

-

-          "LITTLE DOROTHY DAINTY is one of the most

-          generous-hearted of children. Selfishness is not

-          at all a trait of hers, and she knows the value of

-          making sunshine, not alone in her own heart, but

-          for her neighborhood and friends."--_Boston

-          Courier._

-

-          "DOROTHY DAINTY, a little girl, the only child of

-          wealthy parents, is an exceedingly interesting

-          character, and her earnest and interesting life is

-          full of action and suitable

-          adventure."--_Pittsburg Christian Advocate._

-

-          "No finer little lady than DOROTHY DAINTY was ever

-          placed in a book for children."--_Teachers'

-          Journal, Pittsburg._

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          "MISS BROOKS is a popular writer for the very

-          little folks who can read. She has an immense

-          sympathy for the children, and her stories never

-          fail to be amusing."--_Rochester (N.Y.) Herald._

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-_THE PRUE BOOKS_

-

-By AMY BROOKS

-

-Illustrated by the Author 12mo Cloth Price, $1.00 each

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CUNNING little Prue, one of the most winsome little girls ever "put in a

-book," has already been met in another series where she gave no small

-part of the interest. She well deserved books of her own for little

-girls of her age, and they are now ready with everything in the way of

-large, clear type, and Miss Brooks's best pictures and her pleasing

-cover designs to make them attractive.

-

-          _Little Sister Prue_

-          _Prue at School_

-          _Prue's Playmates_

-          _Prue's Merry Times_

-          _Prue's Little Friends_

-          _Prue's Jolly Winter_

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          "Miss Brooks always brings out the best ways of

-          acting and living and provides a good deal of

-          humor in her original country

-          characters.--_Watchman, Boston._

-

-          "Few writers have ever possessed the faculty of

-          reaching the hearts and holding the interest of

-          little girl readers to the extent Miss Brooks

-          has."--_Kennebec Journal_, _Augusta, Me._

-

-          "To know Prue is to love her, for no more winsome

-          little girl was ever put in a book, and her keen

-          wit and unexpected drolleries make her doubly

-          attractive."--_Kindergarten Magazine._

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt

-          of price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-_THE RANDY BOOKS_

-

-_By AMY BROOKS_

-

-          12mo CLOTH ARTISTIC COVER DESIGN IN GOLD AND COLORS

-          ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR PRICE $1.00 EACH

-

-[Illustration]

-

-The progress of the "Randy Books" has been one continual triumph over

-the hearts of girls of all ages, for dear little fun-loving sister Prue

-is almost as much a central figure as Randy, growing toward womanhood

-with each book. The sterling good sense and simple naturalness of Randy,

-and the total absence of slang and viciousness, make these books in the

-highest degree commendable, while abundant life is supplied by the

-doings of merry friends, and there is rich humor in the droll rural

-characters.

-

-          _Randy's Summer_

-          _Randy's Winter_

-          _Randy and Her Friends_

-          _Randy and Prue_

-          _Randy's Good Times_

-          _Randy's Luck_

-          _Randy's Loyalty_

-          _Randy's Prince_

-

-[Illustration]

-

-          "The Randy Books are among the very choicest books

-          for young people to make a beginning with."

-                                       --_Boston Courier._

-

-          "The Randy Books of Amy Brooks have had a deserved

-          popularity among young girls. They are wholesome

-          and moral without being goody-goody."

-                                         --_Chicago Post._

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-Only Dollie

-

-By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha Davidson Square 12mo Cloth $1.00

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-THIS is a brightly written story of a girl of twelve, who, when the

-mystery of her birth is solved, like Cinderella, passes from drudgery to

-better circumstances. There is nothing strained or unnatural at any

-point. All descriptions or portrayals of character are life-like, and

-the book has an indescribable appealing quality which wins sympathy and

-secures success.

-

-          "It is delightful reading at all times."--_Cedar

-          Rapids (Ia.) Republican._

-

-          "It is well written, the story runs smoothly, the

-          idea is good, and it is handled with

-          ability.--_Chicago Journal._

-

-

-

-The Little Girl Next Door

-

-By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00

-

-

-A DELIGHTFUL story of true and genuine friendship between an impulsive

-little girl in a fine New York home and a little blind girl in an

-apartment next door. The little girl's determination to cultivate the

-acquaintance, begun out of the window during a rainy day, triumphs over

-the barriers of caste, and the little blind girl proves to be in every

-way a worthy companion. Later a mystery of birth is cleared up, and the

-little blind girl proves to be of gentle birth as well as of gentle

-manners.

-

-

-

-

-Winifred's Neighbors

-

-By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha G. Davidson Large 12mo Cloth $1.00

-

-[Illustration]

-

-LITTLE Winifred's efforts to find some children of whom she reads in a

-book lead to the acquaintance of a neighbor of the same name, and this

-acquaintance proves of the greatest importance to Winifred's own family.

-Through it all she is just such a little girl as other girls ought to

-know, and the story will hold the interest of all ages.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt

-          of price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD Co., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-The Children on the Top Floor

-

-By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-IN this book little Winifred Hamilton, the child heroine of "Winifred's

-Neighbors," reappears, living in the second of the four stories of a New

-York apartment house. On the top floor are two very interesting

-children, Betty, a little older than Winifred, who is now ten, and Jack,

-a brave little cripple, who is a year younger. In the end comes a glad

-reunion, and also other good fortune for crippled Jack, and Winifred's

-kind little heart has once more indirectly caused great happiness to

-others.

-

-

-

-

-How Barbara Kept Her Promise

-

-By NINA RHOADES Large 12mo Cloth Illustrated by Bertha Davidson $1.00

-

-

-TWO orphan sisters, Barbara, aged twelve, and little Hazel, who is "only

-eight," are sent from their early home in London to their mother's

-family in New York. Faithful Barbara has promised her father that she

-will take care of pretty, petted, mischievous Hazel, and how she tries

-to do this, even in the face of great difficulties, forms the story

-which has the happy ending which Miss Rhoades wisely gives to all her

-stories.

-

-

-

-

-Little Miss Rosamond

-

-By NINA RHOADES Illustrated by Bertha G. Davidson Large 12mo Cloth $1.00

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-ROSAMOND lives in Richmond, Va., with her big brother, who cannot give

-her all the comfort that she needs in the trying hot weather, and she

-goes to the seaside cottage of an uncle whose home is in New York. Here

-she meets Gladys and Joy, so well known in a previous book, "The Little

-Girl Next Door," and after some complications are straightened out,

-bringing Rosamond's honesty and kindness of heart into prominence, all

-are made very happy.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt

-          of price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-

-

-

-"_Brick House Books_"

-

-_By NINA RHOADES_

-

-_Cloth 12 mo Illustrated $1.00 each_

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-=Priscilla of the Doll Shop=

-

-[Illustration]

-

-THE "Brick House Books," as they are called from their well-known cover

-designs, are eagerly sought by children all over the country. There are

-three good stories in this book, instead of one, and it is hard to say

-which little girls, and boys, too, for that matter, will like the best.

-

-

-=Brave Little Peggy=

-

-PEGGY comes from California to New Jersey to live with a brother and

-sister whom she has not known since very early childhood. She is so

-democratic in her social ideas that many amusing scenes occur, and it is

-hard for her to understand many things that she must learn. But her good

-heart carries her through, and her conscientiousness and moral courage

-win affection and happiness.

-

-

-=The Other Sylvia=

-

-[Illustration]

-

-EIGHT-year-old Sylvia learns that girls who are "Kings' Daughters"

-pledge themselves to some kind act or service, and that one little girl

-named Mary has taken it upon herself to be helpful to all the Marys of

-her acquaintance. This is such an interesting way of doing good that she

-adopts it in spite of her unusual name, and really finds not only "the

-other Sylvia," but great happiness.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-          _For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of

-          price by the publishers_

-

-          LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Transcriber's Notes:

-

-Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

-

-

-

-

-

-End of Project Gutenberg's Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains, by Amy Brooks

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