RUSSELL'S BOOK STOKL 633 WEST 8th ST. LOS ANGELES, WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES BOOKS BY CHARLOTTE M. VAILE. THE ORCUTT GIRLS ; OR, ONE TERM AT THE ACAD- EMY. 315 pages. Five full-page Illustrations by FRANK T. MERRILL. Cloth. i2mo. $1.50. SUE ORCUTT. A SEQUEL TO " THE ORCUTT GIRLS." 335 pages. Five full-page Illustrations by FRANK T. MERRILL. Cloth. i2mo. $1.50. THE M. M. C. A STORY OF THE GREAT ROCKIES. 232 pages. Six full-page Illustrations by SEARS GALLAGHER. Cloth. 8vo. $1.00. WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES; OR, DR. NORTH- MORE'S DAUGHTERS. 336 pages. Five full-page Illustra- tions by ALICE BARBER STEPHENS. Cloth. I2mo. $1.50. MORTON FOUND TIME TO ANSWER ALL HER QUESTIONS.' WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES OR DR. NORTHMORE'S DAUGHTERS BY CHARLOTTE M. VAILE ILLUSTRATED BY ALICE BARBER STEVENS 3 BOSTON AND CHICAGO W. A. WILDE COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY W. A. WILDE COMPANY. All rights reserved. WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. To J. F. V. TOO SLIGHT TO BE AN OFFERING TO HIM, BUT WRITTEN IN DEAR REMEMBRANCE OF HIS EARLY HOME AND OF MINE Cs iLobtnglg UeBicateB C. M. V. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. HARVEST AT THE FARM 11 II. TALKING IT OVER 40 III. BETWEEN TIMES 59 IV. AT THE OLD PLACE 75 V. AUNT KATHARINE SAXON 100 VI. AUNT KATHARINE Continued .... 130 VII. HUCKLEBERRYING 147 VIII. A PAIR OF CALLS 162 IX. A GLIMPSE FROM THE INSIDE . . . .180 X. SOME BITS OF POETRY 196 XI. AN OUTING AND AN INVITATION . . . .213 XII. WHEN GREEK MEETS GREEK 226 XIII. INTO THE WEST AGAIN 246 XIV. THE NABOB MAKES AN IMPRESSION . . . 258 XV. ESTHER GOES TO PRAYER-MEETING . . .281 XVI. IN WHICH SEVERAL PEOPLE GET HOME . . 307 ILLUSTRATIONS. " MORTON FOUND TIME TO ANSWER ALL HER QUESTIONS " PA GE Frontispiece 32 " HE LEANED ON THE GATE WHEN HE HAD OPENED IT FOR THE GIRLS" 69 " SHE OPENED THE DOOR IN PERSON " IO8 "TOM AND KATE WATCHED THEM GO" 180 " ' IT HAS BEEN DELIGHTFUL TO SEE YOU IN THIS LOVELY OLD HOME ' " ... . 282 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. CHAPTER I. HARVEST AT THE FARM. JUST how Dr. Philip Northmore came to be the owner *J of a farm had never been quite clear to his fellow- townsmen. That he had bought it that pretty stretch of upland five miles from Rushmore in some settle- ment with a friend, who owed him more money than he could ever pay, was the open fact, but how the doctor had believed it to be a good investment for himself was the question. The opportunity to pay interest on a mortgage and make improvements on those charming acres at the expense of his modest professional income was the main part of what he got out of it. The doc- tor, as everybody knew, had no genius for making money. However, he had never lamented his purchase. On the principle perhaps which makes the child who draws most heavily on parental care the object of dearest 12 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. affection, this particular possession seemed to be the one on which the good doctor prided himself most. Its fine location and natural beauty were points on which he grew eloquent, and he sometimes referred to its peaceful cultivation as the employment in which he hoped to spend his own declining years, an expectation which it is safe to say none of his acquaintances shared with him. So much for Dr. Northmore's interest in the farm. It had a peculiar interest for the feminine part of his household in the early days of July, when wheat harvest had come and the threshing machine was abroad in the land. It was too much to expect of Jake Erlock, the tenant at the farm, who, since his wife's death had lived there alone, that he would provide meals for the score of threshers who would bring the harvesting appetite to the work of the great day. Clearly this fell to the Northmores, and the doctor's wife had risen to the part with her own characteristic energy. But for once, on the very eve of the threshing, she found herself facing a sudden embarrassment. Relatives from a distance had made their unexpected appearance as guests at her house, and to leave them behind, or take them into the crowded doings at the farm, seemed alike impossible. The prompt proposal of her daughters, that they, with the combined wisdom of their seventeen and nineteen HARVEST AT THE FARM. 13 years, should manage the harvest dinner, hardly seemed a plan to be adopted, and would have found scant atten- tion but for the unlooked-for support it received from one of the neighbors. " Now why don't you let 'em do it ? " said Mrs. El- well, who had happened in at the doctor's an hour after the arrival of the guests. "You've got everything planned out, of course, and there'll be lots of the neigh- bor women in to help. There always is." She caught the look of entreaty in the eyes of the girls and the doubt in the eyes of their mother, and added, " Now I think of it, I could go out there myself just as well as not. There isn't anything so very much going on at our house to-morrow, and I'd be right glad to take a hand in it. I'll risk it but what the girls and I can manage." Manage ! There was no question on that score. Mrs. Northmore's eyes grew moist and she opened her lips to speak, but her good friend was before her, her pleasant face at that moment the express image of neighborly kindness. " Now, with all you've done for us, you and the doctor, to make a fuss over a little thing like this ! " she said. And Mrs. Northmore, with the grace which can receive as well as render a favor, accepted the offer without a protest. That was how it happened that Esther and Kate 14 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. Northmore went to the harvesting at the farm, in their mother's stead, the next morning. Kate, at least, carried no anxiety, but Esther, as the older, could not lay aside some uneasiness, not so much lest things should go wrong as lest their generous friend might be too much burdened, and the thought of all there was to do lent an unusual gravity to her sensitive face. It was a perfect July day, with the sky an unbroken blue except for the clouds which floated like golden chaff high in the zenith. The great machine, flaming in crimson against a background of gold, stood among the ripened sheaves, and a score of sunburned men urged the labor which had begun betimes. Ah, there is no harvest like this of the wheat. It comes when the year is at its flood, and the sun, rejoicing as a strong man to run a race, holds long on his course against the slow-creeping night. What ingathering of the later months, when the days have grown short and chilly, can match it in joy ? The one is like the victory that comes in youth, when the success of to-day seems the promise for to-morrow ; the other is the reward that comes to the worn and enfeebled man, who whispers in the midst of his gladness : " How slight at best are the gains of life ! " Esther was too young to moralize and too busy with HARVEST AT THE FARM. 15 the very practical work of helping with the dinner to grow poetical over the harvest scene, but the beauty of it did hold her for a minute with a long admiring gaze as she stood by the well, where she had gone for a pitcher of fresh water. A man in gray jeans had hurried from the edge of the field at sight of her, to lower the buckets hanging from the old-fashioned windlass. She detained him a moment when he had handed her the dripping pitcher. " We couldn't have had a better day than this, could we ? " she said. " And what a good thing it is that you and father decided to put in the wheat ! He was speaking of that at breakfast this morning, and he says it was all your doing. There was such a poor crop last year that for his part he was almost afraid to try it again." The man's face shone with gratified pride. " Well, I reckon the doctor ain't fretting over it much now that I had my way," he said. And then he added mod- estly : " But I might have missed it. You never can tell how a crop'll come out till you see the grain in the measure." "Well, we're seeing that to-day," said the girl. " How much will there be ? " "We can't rightly tell till it's all threshed out," said the man; "but Tom Balcom 'lows it'll average l6 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. as well's anything they've threshed, and they've had thirty-five bushels to the acre." Figures did not mean much to Esther, but her "Oh!" had a note of appreciation. Then, as he was turning away, she said earnestly : " I hope we shall have a good dinner for you, Mr. Erlock. Mother was ever so sorry she couldn't come out to- day herself; I believe she was afraid you wouldn't fare as well as you ought without her. But Mrs. El- well came, and between us all we won't let you suffer." " I hain't a bit o' doubt about the victuals being good," said the man, gallantly. " I hope you found things all right in the house. I tried to red up a little for you." " Oh, everything was in beautiful order, and the women are all praising your good housekeeping," said Esther, smiling. He looked at once pleased and embarrassed. "I did the best I could," he said, then turned with an awkward nod and hurried again to his work. She remembered hers too, and hastened with her pitcher back to the house. It was a one-story frame, with gray shingled sides and a deep drooping roof whose forward projection formed a porch across the entire front. Ordinarily it wore an expression of shy HARVEST AT THE FARM. \f reserve, but to-day, with doors and windows open, and the hum of voices sounding through and round it, it seemed to have taken a new interest in life and looked a willing part of the cheerful scene. The kitchen which the girl entered was full of country women, so full indeed that it seemed a won- der they could accomplish any work, but every one was busy except a young woman with a baby in her arms, who sat complacently watching the labors of the others. It is the neighborly fashion in the middle West for the women of adjoining farms to help each other in the labors of this busiest time in the year, and the custom had not been omitted to-day because there was no one to return the service. It was rendered willingly as ever, partly from regard for Dr. North- more, and partly from sympathy with the lonely householder who managed his farm. "I had to stop and talk a minute with Jake Er- lock," said Esther, apologetic for her slight loitering now that she felt the hurry of the work again. "He came up to draw the water for me, and you ought to have seen him blush when I told him you all thought he was a good housekeeper." " Well, if he has any doubt what we think on that point, he'd better come in here and we'll tell him," c 1 8 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. said a woman who was grinding coffee at a mill fixed to the wall. " I don't believe there's another man in this township that would manage as well as he does. I wouldn't answer for the way things would look at our house if 'twas my man that had the running of 'em." Groans and headshakings followed this remark. Apparently none of the women present felt any con- fidence in the ability of their respective men to run the domestic machinery. "Well, Mis' Erlock was a mighty good house- keeper herself," observed one of them. " And I reckon Jake thinks it wouldn't be showing proper re- spect to her memory to let everything go at loose ends now she's gone. I tell you, Jake's an uncom- mon good man in more ways than one. 'Tain't every- body that would stay single as long as he has, but that's just what I expected from the feelings he showed at the funeral, and it coming so long after- ward too." A murmur of assent showed that the speaker was not the only one who remembered the emotion of the be- reaved man on that mournful occasion, which, as had been suggested, occurred some time after his wife's death, the. delay of the sermon devoted to her memory being occasioned, as often happens in country districts HARVEST AT THE FARM. 19 of the West and South, by the absence of the preacher proper, whose extended circuit gives him but a portion of the year in one place. " Well, 'twas to his credit, of course," observed an elderly woman who was shelling peas ; " but I must say I don't like this way of putting off the funeral so long. I think burying people and preaching about 'em ought to go together, and if you can't have your own preacher, you'd better put up with somebody else, or go without." " I don't know about that," said the young woman with the baby. "It looks to me as if folks were in a mighty hurry to get the last word said when they can't wait for the right one to say it. I shouldn't want my husband to be so keen to get through with it all, if 'twas me that was taken." " Maybe you'd want him to do like the man that took his second wife to hear his first wife's funeral," retorted the other. The defender of local custom admitted, in the midst of a general laugh, that this was carrying it too far, and then the conversation turned on the probability of Jake Erlock's marrying again, the various suitable persons to be found should he feel so inclined, and the importance in general of men having some one to take care of them, and of women having men and their houses to take care of. 2O WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. The subject which, with its ramifications, seemed fairly inexhaustible was making Kate Northmore yawn and had fairly driven Esther from the room, when a young man with a bright, sunburned face and a pair of straight, broad shoulders looked in at the window. " My, how good it smells in here ! " he exclaimed in a voice that went well with the face. " What all are we going to have for dinner, Aunt Jenny ? " Mrs. Elwell, who was testing the heat of the oven on a plump bare arm, turned a flushed face and motherly smile on the speaker. " Everything nice," she said. " You never saw a bet- ter dinner than the girls have brought out for you. What do you say to fried chicken, and new potatoes, and green peas, with pie and doughnuts to top off, and lots of other good things thrown in extra ? " The young man smacked his lips and sent a devour- ing glance around the room. " Say ! " he repeated. " Why, I say it's enough to make a fellow feel like John Ridd and thank the Lord for the room there is in him. When are you going to give us a chance at all that ? " " When the bell rings, of course," said Kate North- more, looking up at him with a saucy glance from the meal she was sifting. " You didn't expect to get any- thing to eat now, I hope." " Oh, not anything much," said the young man, help- HARVEST AT THE FARM. 21 ing himself to a doughnut from a plate which stood within easy reach. " I just looked in to tell you that while you're getting, you'd better get us a plenty. We're a fearful hungry crowd, and there won't be much left over ; but if there should be, it might come in handy to-morrow." " To-morrow ! " repeated Kate, letting the meal which was whirling under her hand fall level in the pan. " You don't mean that there's any danger of your being here to-morrow, do you ? " The young man brushed the chaff from the shoul- ders of his blue flannel shirt, and set his straw hat a little further on the back of his head before he answered. Kate's " To-morrow " had put a complete pause on the talk of the room, and every woman there was looking at him anxiously. " Well, I wouldn't really say that there's any need of worrying about it yet" he said, lowering his voice to a confidential tone ; " but you see the men have heard that you and Esther are such stunning good cooks that well, of course, I don't want to give 'em away, but I don't know as you can blame 'em any for wanting to make the work hold out so as to get in an extra meal or two here, if they can. That's all." There was a shout at this, and Mrs. Elwell said reproachfully, " Now, Morton, quit your fooling. Aren't 22 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. you ashamed of yourself to come scaring the girls with your talk about to-morrow ? Why, we thought the machine had broken down, or something of that sort." He did look a little conscience-smitten just then, as Esther, who had caught some hint of excitement in the dining room, where she was setting the table, ap- peared in the doorway, looking really troubled. Kate was facing him with a different expression. " Well, since you're so anxious about to-morrow, Mort 'Elwell, you needn't eat any more of those doughnuts," she said, snatching up the plate toward which his hand was moving a second time, and setting it out of his reach. "We may want them, you know." He drew down his face to an injured expression. "That's the way you treat a body, is it, when he comes to give you a friendly warning? All right, I'll go now. I see I'm not wanted." He shifted his position as he spoke, and the next moment the pitchfork, on which he had been leaning, was thrust through the window, and as quickly with- drawn, with a doughnut sticking on every point. " Good-by, Kate," he shouted, as he disappeared. " If the doughnuts don't hold out, you can make some cookies for to-morrow." He had the best of it, and after a moment, appar- ently, even Kate forgave him, " the rascal," as she called HARVEST AT THE FARM. 23 him, with a toss of her pretty head. And then the talk of the kitchen took a new turn, suggested by the thought of all the ills which would have followed if an accident had really happened to the machine. There had been such accidents in the experience of most of those present, and they were recounted now with much fulness of detail and some rivalry as to the amount of agony endured in the several cases by the workers in the culinary department. " It's the worst thing there is about threshing," said the woman who had related the most harrowing tale of all. " I don't care how many men there are, and I don't mind cooking for 'em, and setting out the best I've got, seems as if a body warn't thankful for the crop if they don't, but when the machine gets out of order, and the work hangs on, and you have the men on your hands for three or four days running, just eat- ing you out of house and home, and keeping you on the jump from morning to night, getting things on the table and off again, I tell you it's something awful." There was no demur to this sentiment, but there was still another phase of distress to be mentioned. "No," said one of the others, "there ain't anything quite as bad as that, but it's the next thing to it to have the threshers come down on you without your having fair warning that they're coming I never will forget 24 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. what a time we had last year. Abe had been telling me all along that they were going to stack the wheat and thresh in the fall, when one day, 'most sundown, up comes the threshing machine right into our barn lot. I told the men there must be some mistake, but they said, no, they'd just made a bargain with Abe, and were going to begin on our wheat in the morning. I tell you I was that mad I couldn't see straight. Abe he tried to smooth it over, said he found the men had been thrown out at one place, and he thought he'd better close right in on 'em, and I needn't to worry about the victuals just give 'em what I had." She paused with an accent of inexpressible contempt, and covered her husband's remarks on that point with the words, " You know how men talk ! Why, even our side meat was most gone, and I hadn't a single chicken frying size. Well, I tell you I didn't let the grass grow under my feet nor under Abe's neither. I made him hitch up and put himself into town the liveliest ever he did, and what with me sitting up most all night to brown coffee, and churn, and make pies, we some- how managed to put things through. I was plumb wore out when 'twas all over, but they do say the men bragged all the rest of the season on the dinner I gave 'em." Great applause followed this story, and an elderly HARVEST AT THE FARM. 25 woman remarked : " That's one good thing about hav- ing the threshers. You're sure to get your name up for a good cook if your victuals suit the men. I'll warrant you'll get a recommend after to-day, girls," she said, with a nod at Kate and Esther. " And it ain't a bad thing to have at your age," she added, with a knowing wink. Esther flushed, with a look of annoyance, but Kate responded gayly : " All right. Don't any of you tell that they made the pies and doughnuts at home, and don't you ever let it out that you fried the chickens, Mrs. Elwell." There was a sisterly resemblance between the two girls. Each was fair, with dark hair and eyes, but Esther was generally counted the prettier. She had a delicate, oval face, with soft, responsive eyes, and a color that came and went as easily as ripples in a wheat-field ; the sort of face which, without the slight- est coquetry of expression, was almost sure to hold and draw again the interested glance of those who met her. Kate's was of the commoner type, and yet there was nothing too common in its strong, pleasant lines, or the straightforward frankness of her ready smile. With so many to help, the preparations for dinner could not but move briskly. At sharp twelve o'clock 26 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. the farm bell, mounted on a hickory post at the corner of the house, rang out its invitation, and almost in- stantly the engine stopped puffing, the whir of labor in the fields slackened, and the men had turned their faces toward the house. They were not a company of common laborers. Many of them were well-to-do farm- ers, who gave their services here in repayment or anticipation of similar aid in their own time of need. Most of them knew the Northmore girls, and had a friendly greeting for Kate as they passed her, standing by the swinging bell. "Well, Miss Kate," said one of them, a tall, angular man, who, in spite of his office in the district as the New Light preacher, was one of the most active work- ers, " I'll wager you never rang a bell before for such a hard-looking crowd. We're ' knaves that smell of sweat.' But there's folks that look better in worse business, and I reckon you don't mind the looks of us as long as we behave ourselves. How many do you want at once ? I s'pose we can't all sit down at the first table." " Well, then," broke in a hearty young farmer, with a twinkle in his eyes, " I move that the preacher goes in with the last crowd. We don't any of us want to run our chances after he gets through." " Oh," said the preacher, good-naturedly, " I was HARVEST AT THE FARM. 2/ calculating to wait, anyhow. Shan't have any scruples then against taking the last piece." "Well, I'll engage that the last piece shall be as good as the first," said Kate; "but we can't give more than ten of you elbow-room at once. I might count ' Eeny, meny, miny, mo,' to see which of you shall come in now, but there's a pan of corn-bread in the oven that I'm watching, and I think you'd better settle it yourselves." Apparently there was no difficulty, for in an extraor- dinarily short space of time the toilets made at the well were finished, and the dinner was furnished with guests. Loaded as the table was with good things, it might have seemed part of a Thanksgiving scene but that the holiday air was quite wanting to the men who sat around it. There was not much conversation. Some observations on crops and the price of wheat, or an occasional bit of good-natured raillery, filled the infrequent pauses in the business of eating, but the latter was carried on with a heartiness which spoke well for those who had spread the feast. Outside, however, in the shadow of the great beech by the kitchen door, there was a waiting group who found time for talking, and the preacher, whose long, lank figure was stretched in the midst, was easily taking the leading part. Some remark had evidently started 28 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. him on a train of reminiscences, and his mellow, half- drawling tones floated through the kitchen door, and mingled with the clatter of the dishes. " Yes, there's been a heap o' change in this country since I came here twenty years ago. 'Twas pretty much all timber through here then, and there warn't a foot o' tile in this end o' the county. I hired out to old Jim Rader. He was just clearing up his farm. Lord, he used to have me up by four o'clock in the morning, grubbing stumps, with the fog so thick you couldn't tell stump from fog before you." " I reckon you made the acquaintance of the ager 'bout that time," observed one of the group as the preacher paused. "Ague! " repeated the other, raising himself on his elbow and eying the speaker. "Wall, I reckon! If there's any kind I didn't get on speaking terms with, I'd like to know the name of it. I've had the third-day ague, and the seventh-day ague, the shaking ague, and the dumb ague though why 'twas ever called 'dumb' beats me. If there's anything calculated to make a man open his mouth and express his mind freely on the way things go in this neck o' wilderness, it's that partic- ular kind. Lord! My bones have ached so, I'd have given any man a black eye that said there was only two hundred of 'em. However, I got shet of it at last, HARVEST AT THE FARM. 2Q taking quinine. Reckon this country couldn't have been settled up without quinine, and I stayed with Rader two years and helped him break in the land. Didn't like the business much, but I had a notion in my head that I wanted to make a preacher of myself, and I didn't quit till I had the means to do it. Didn't get over-much schooling, but I wouldn't take a heap for what I did get. Mort ! " he exclaimed, turning abruptly to the young man at his side, " how have you been getting on at college ? They say you're going to stick right to it." " I haven't had to give up yet," said the young man, quietly ; " and I don't think it's likely any part of the course will be harder than the first two years." " Reckon your uncle don't come down very heavy with the stamps yet," said the preacher, grimly. The young man flushed. " 'Tisn't my uncle's busi- ness to send me to college," he said ; " I never asked him to." " That's right, that's right," said the preacher, heartily. " I like your grit. For that matter, you might as well spend your breath trying to blow up a rain as trying to persuade him to spend any money on schooling that he didn't haf to. But how did you make it ? You must have found it hard pulling at first." "Oh, at first I sawed wood," said the other, lightly, 3 left her money. It seems as if she couldn't have meant it." IN WHICH SEVERAL PEOPLE GET HOME. 333 An unmistakable alarm leaped into Esther North- more's eyes, and she turned suddenly to Morton Elwell. " We were great friends," she whispered, in a low hurried tone, " but nothing, nothing could make any difference now." Low as the words were spoken, Kate caught them. "Oh, you darlings! you darlings!" she cried, throw- ing an arm round the neck of each. Then, between laughing and crying, she said hysterically, " But it isn't you, Esther, that she's left her money to. It's me! Think of it, me!" " You ! " ejaculated Esther, dropping with a sudden limpness against Morton's shoulder. " Did she think " Kate pulled her toward the door. The preponder- ating note in her voice was laughter now. " Come and hear what she thinks." Even Esther could not wait for the details of the letter after this. Aunt Katharine had gone suddenly, as she always hoped she might, but her will, which she had directed to be read at once upon her decease, was a far greater surprise to her relatives. After giving careful directions for her funeral, she had made her bequests. The document had been drawn up before her brother's death (by date in the early fall), and her farm, which joined his, had been left 334 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. to him, as a permanent part of the Saxon home- stead. To certain persons, who had been in a way dependent on her kindness, she had left small sums, among them Solomon Ridgeway, to be used for his support and comfort, " at such times as he may see fit to be absent from his present residence." (So ran the wording.) To a certain charitable institution she had left five thousand dollars. To Esther Northmore, with her love, some personal belongings, and these, as the girl recognized with a throb at her heart, were those which she had valued most, and then followed this singular passage. " As to the bulk of my property, it has sometimes crossed my mind that could I know some young woman intelligently devoted to the securing of those rights which I believe must be accorded to women before the conditions of society can become true and sane, and willing for the sake of these, and for the sake of her own independence, to refrain from mar- riage, that I would make such young woman my heir. Circumstances have, however, led me to doubt the probability of finding such a one, as well as the ex- pediency of the measure. I, therefore, being in my right mind and of disposing memory, do give and bequeath the residue of my property, valued at thirty-five thousand dollars, to my grandniece and IN WHICH SEVERAL PEOPLE GET HOME. 335 namesake, Katharine Saxon Northmore, who, I be- lieve, has will enough of her own to pursue whatever courses she may see fit, in spite of any man who might be bold enough to marry her. And to the gift I add this request, that she will take the trouble to look candidly into those views which I have maintained. I am confident that her sister Esther will not misstate them." A minute of dead silence followed the reading. Then the doctor burst forth again : " The idea of leaving a legacy to anybody with a dig like that ! Why couldn't she have been civil about it if she wanted to do it ? Perhaps her notion was to scare the young men off and keep Kate single after all." But Morton Elwell burst out laughing. " Not a bit of it," he said. " A fellow who didn't think he was mighty lucky to get Kate on any terms wouldn't deserve to have her, and the old lady knew it. Kate, I call this glorious ! " and he caught her and whirled her around the room at a rate which left them both breathless. " I'll tell you what 'tis, father," she began, with a gasp, when they had fairly stopped. " I don't intend to have the name without the game, and I mean to begin to use that money as I please, right away. We'll pay off that mortgage that has bothered you so, the very first thing." 336 WHEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES. "Nonsense," said the doctor; but she went on: "And maybe, when I get through the rest of my schooling, I'll take a course in medicine. I always thought I should like to be a doctor. Don't you think ' Northmore and Northmore ' would look well over your office ? " " Nonsense," he said again, this time more sternly. But he had been known to say " nonsense " before to some plans which his girls carried out. And after a while " How far do thirty-five thou- sand dollars go ? I might do something handsome by Mort and Esther," she added, sending a sly look at the two young people. Their sudden blushes told the rest of the story. "Well, well!" said the doctor, laying down the paper, " how things are heaping up to-night ! " He sent a glance at his wife, and the look in her eyes made his own grow moist. " My dear," he said, "this is a pretty good world of ours, after all. I don't pretend to understand what the cranks are driv- ing at, but I rather think there are some of the old ways that'll keep it sweet yet." W. A. Wilde Company, Publishers. RE VOL UTIONAR Y MAID. A Story of the Mid- dle Period of the War for Independence. BY AMY E. BLAN- CHARD. 321 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The stirring times in and around New York following the pulling down of the statue of George the Third by the famous " Liberty Boys," brings to the surface the patriotism of the young heroine of the story. This act of the New York patriots obliged Kitty De Witt to decide whether she would be a Tory or a Revolutionary maid, and a patriot good and true she became. Her many and various experiences are very interestingly pictured, making this a happy companion book to " A Girl of "76." CTHE GOLDEN TALISMAN. BY H. PHELPS WHIT- JL MARSH. 300 pp. Cloth, $I.5O. The narrative is based upon the adventures of a young Persian noble, who, being forced to leave his own country, leads an army against the mysterious mountain kingdom of Kaffirias. Though defeated and taken prisoner by the enemy, the hero's talisman saves his life and, later, leads him into kingly favor. A valuable fund of information regarding the various plants, woods, and animals which furnish the world with perfume is happily interwoven into the story. 'HEAT AND HUCKLEBERRIES; Dr. North- mare's Daughters. BY CHARLOTTE M. VAILE. 336 pp. Cloth, $1.50. Mrs. Vaile has drawn the characters for her new book from the Middle West. But as the two girls spent their summer at their grandfather's in New England, a capital groundwork is furnished 'for giving the local color of both sections of the country. The story is bright and spirited and the two girls are sure to find their place among the favorite characters in fiction. All those who have read the Orcutt stones will welcome this new book by Mrs. Vaile. W :fTH PERR Y ON LAKE ERIE. A Tale of 1812. BY JAMES OTIS. 307 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The story carries the reader from March until October of 1813, being laid on Lake Erie, detailing the work of the gallant Perry, who at the time of his famous naval victory was but twenty-seven years of age. From the time the keels of the vessels which be- came famous were laid until the victory was won which made Perry's name imperish- able, the reader is kept in close touch with all that concerned Perry, and not only the main facts but the minor details of the story are historically correct. Just the kind of historical story that young people boys especially are intensely interested in. B A REAR A' S HERITAGE; or, Young Americans Among the Old Italian Masters. BY D. L. HOYT. 325 pp. Cloth, $1.50. We welcome a book from the pen of Miss Hoyt, whose foreign travel and study has made possible an exceedingly interesting story, into which has been interwoven much instructive and valuable information. With a desire to broaden the education of her son and daughter by the opportunities afforded in foreign travel, an American mother takes them to Italy, and the author in a very happy strain has given us their many experiences. Replete with numerou ! llus- trations and half-tones, it makes a handsome and attractive volume. W. A. Wilde Company, Boston and Chicago. i W. A. Wilde Company, Publishers. CrtfE QUEEN'S ANGERS. BY CHARLES LED YARD - NORTON. 352 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The thrilling period during the last years of our struggle for independence forms the groundwork for Colonel Norton's latest work. The intense patriotism which prompted our young men to do and dare anything for their country is shown in the exploits of the three young heroes. By enlisting for a time beneath His Majesty's flag they were able to give much valu- able information to the colonial cause. With historical truth the author in this, his latest book, has happily coupled an ex- ceedingly interesting and instructive story. rHE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST. The Story of American Expansion through Arms and Diplomacy. BY WIL- LIAM E. GRIFFIS. 312 pp. Cloth, $1.50. In concise form it is the story of American expansion from the birth of the nation to the present day. The reader will find details of every war. Anecdote enlivens the story from July 4, 1776, down to the days of Dewey, Sampson, and Schley, and of Miles, Merritt, Shatter, and Otis. It is a book as full of rapid movement as a novel. J I/HEN BOSTON BRA VED THE KING. A Story rV of Tea-Party Times. BY W. E. BARTON, D. D. 314 pp. Cloth, $1.50. One of the most absorbing stories ot the Colonial-Revolutionary period published. The author is perfectly at home with his subject, and the story will be one of the popu- lar books of the year. " Though largely a story of boys and for boys, it has the liveliest interest for all classes of readers, and makes a strong addition to Dr. Barton's already notable series of historical tales." Christian Endeavor World. " It is a pleasure to read and to recommend such a book as this. In fact, we must say at the very beginning, that Dr. Barton is becoming one of the most skilful and enjoy- able of American story-tellers." Boston Journal. f^ADET STAND ISH OF THE ST. L O UIS. A Story O of Our Naval Campaign in Cuban Waters. BY WILLIAM DRYSDALE. 352 pp. Cloth, $1.50. A strong, stirring story of brave deeds bravely done. A vivid picture of one of the most interesting and eventful periods of the late Spanish War. " It is what the boys are likely to call ' a rattling good story.' " Cleveland Plain Dealer. " Mr. Drysdale has drawn an effective picture of the recent war with Spain in his new book. The story is full of dash and fire without being too sensational." Cong-re- gationalist. /I DA UGHTER OF THE WEST. The Story of an ^1 American Princess. BY EVELYN RAYMOND. 347 pp. Cloth, $1.50. Interesting, wholesome, and admirable in every way is Mrs. Raymond's latest story for girls. Descriptions of California life are one of the fascinations of the book. " A well-written story of Western life and adventure, which has for its heroine a brave, high-minded girl." Chronicle Telegraph, Pittsburg. " Laid among the broad valleys and lofty mountains of California every crowded full of most interesting experiences." Christian Endeavor World. W. A. Wilde Company, Boston and Chicago. 8 IV. A. Wilde Company, Publishers. War of the Revolution Series. By Everett T. Tomlinson. rHREE COLONIAL BOYS. A Story of the Times of '76. 368 pp. Cloth, $1.50. It is a story of three boys who were drawn into the events of the times, is patriotic, exciting, clean, and healthful, and instructs without appearing to. The heroes are manly boys, and no objectionable language or character is introduced. The lessons of courage and patriotism especially will be appreciated in this day. Boston Transcript. rHREE YOUNG CONTINENTALS. A Story of the American Revolution. 364 pp. Cloth, $1.50. This story is historically true. It is the best kind of a story either for boys or girls, and is an attractive method of teaching history. Journal of Education, Boston. TlfASfflNGTON'S YOUNG AIDS. A Story of the rr New Jersey Campaign, 1776-1777. 391 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The book has enough history and description to give value to the story which ought to captivate enterprising boys. Quarterly Book Review. The historical details of the story are taken from old records. These include accounts of the life on the prison ships and prison houses of New York, the raids of the pine robbers, the tempting of the Hessians, the end of Fagan and his band, etc. Publisher's Weekly. Few boys' stories of this class show so close a study of history combined with such genial story-telling power. The Outlook. rWO YOUNG PATRIOTS. A Story of Burgoyne's Invasion. 366pp. Cloth, $1.50. colonies asunder and join another British army which was to proceed up the valley of the Hudson. The American forces were brave, hard fighters, and they worried and harassed the British and finally defeated them. The history of this campaign is one of great interest and is well brought out in the part which the " two young patriots" took in the events which led up to the surrender of General Burgoyne and his army. The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00. OUCCESS. BY ORISON SWETT MARDEN. Author of O "Pushing to the Front," "Architects of Fate," etc. 317 pp. Cloth, $1.25. It is doubtful whether any success books for the young have appeared in modern times which are so thoroughly packed from lid to lid with stimulating, uplifting, and in- spiring material as the self-help books written by Orison Swett Marden. There is not a dry paragraph nor a single line of useless moralizing in any of his books. To stimulate, inspire, and guide is the mission of his latest book, " Success," and helpfulness is its keynote. Its object is to spur the perplexed youth to act the Columbus to his own undiscovered possibilities ; to urge him not to wait for great opportunities, but to seize common occasions and make them great, for he cannot tell when fate may take his measure for a higher place. W, A. Wilde Company, Boston and Chicago. W. A. Wilde Company, Publisher . Brain and Brawn Series. By William Drysdale. rHE YOUNG REPORTER. A Story of Printing House Square. 300 pp. Cloth, $1.50. I commend the book unreservedly. Goldcil Rule. " The Young Reporter" is a rattling book for boys. Ne-.v York Recorder. The best boys' book I ever read. Mr. Phillips, Critic for New York Times. rHE FAST MAIL, A Story of a Train Boy. 328 pp. Cloth, $1.50. " The Fast Mail " is one of the very best American books for boys brought out this season. Perhaps there could be no better confirmation of this assertion than the fact that the little sons of the present writer have greedily devoured the contents of the vol- ume, and are anxious to know how soon they are to get a sequel. The Art Amateur, New York. CT>HE BEACH PATROL. A Story of the Life-Saving _/ Service. 318 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The style of narrative is excellent, the lesion inculcated of the best, and, above all, the boys and girls are real. New York Times. A book of adventure and daring, which should delight as well as stimulate to higher ideals of life every boy who is so happy as to possess it. Examiner. It is a strong book for boys and young men. Buffalo Commercial. T HE YOUNG SUPERCARGO. A Story of the Merchant Marine. 352 pp. Cloth, $1.50. Kit Silburn is a real " Brain and Brawn " boy, full of sense and grit and sound good qualities. Determined to make his way in life, and with no influential friends to give him a start, he does a deal of hard work between the evening when he first meets the stanch Captain Griffith, and the proud day when he becomes purser of a great ocean steamship. His sea adventures are mostly on shore; but whether he is cleaning the cabin of the North Cape, or landing cargo in Yucatan, or hurrying the spongers and fruitmen of Nassau, or exploring London, or sight seeing with a disguised prince in Marseilles, he is always the same busy, thoroughgoing, manly Kit. Whether or not he has a father alive is a question of deep interest throughout the story ; but that he has a loving and loyal sister is plain from the start. The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00. &ERAPH, THE LITTLE VIOLINISTE. BY MRS. O C, V. JAMIESON. 300 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The scene of the story is the French quarter of New Orleans, and charming bits of local color add to its attractiveness. The Boston Jour mil. Perhaps the most charming story she has ever written is that which describes Seraph, the little violiniste. Transcript, Boston. W. A. Wilde Company, Boston and Chicago. iv W. A. Wilde Company, Publishers. Travel-Adventure Series. 'N WILD AFRICA. Adventures of Two Boys in the Sahara Desert, etc. BY THOS. W. KNOX. 325 pp. Cloth, $1.50. A story of absorbing interest. Boston Journal. Our young people will pronounce it unusually good. Albany Argus. Col. Knox has struck a popular note in his latest volume. Spring field Republican. rHE LAND OF THE KANGAROO. BY THOS. W. KNOX. Adventures of Two Boys in the Great Island Con- tinent. 318 pp. Cloth, $1.50. His descriptions of the natural history and botany of the country are very interest- Ing. Detroit Free Press. The actual truthfulness of the book needs no gloss to add to its absorbing interest. The Book Buyer, New York, VER THE ANDES; or, Our Boys in New South America. BY HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH. 368 pp. Cloth, $1.50. No writer of the present century has done more and better service than Hezekiah Butterworth in the production of helpful literature for the young. In this volume he writes, in his own fascinating way, of a country too little known by American readers. Christian Work. Mr. Butterworth is careful of his historic facts, and then he charmingly interweaves his quaint stories, legends, and patriotic adventures as few writers can. Chicago Inter- Ocean, The subject is an inspiring one, and Mr. Butterworth has done full justice to the high ideals which have inspired the men of South America. Religious Telescope. OST IN NICARAGUA ; or, The Lands of the Great Canal. BY HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH. 295 pp. Cloth, $1.50. The book pictures the wonderful land of Nicaragua and continues the story of the travelers whose adventures in South America are related in " Over the Andes." In this companion book to " Over the Andes," one of the boy travelers who goes into the Nicaraguan forests in search of a quetzal, or the royal bird of the Aztecs, falls into an ancient idol cave, and is rescued in a remarkable way by an old Mosquito Indian. The narrative is told in such a way as to give the ancient legends of Guatemala, the story of the chieftain, Nicaragua, the history of the Central American Republics, and the natural history of the wonderlands of the ocelot, the conger, parrots, and monkeys. Since the voyage of the Oregon, of 13,000 miles to reach Key West the American people have seen what would be the value of the Nicaragua Canal. The book gives the history of the projects for the canal, and facts about Central America, and a part of it was written in Costa Rica. It enters a new field. The set of four volumes in a box, $6.00. L UARTERDECK AND FOK'SLE. BY MOLLY ELLIOTT SEAWELL. 272 pp. Cloth, #1.25. Miss Seawell has done a notable work for the young people of our country in her excellent stories of naval exploits. They are of the kind that causes the reader, no matter whether young or old, to thrill with pride and patriotism at the deeds of daring f the heroes of our navy. W. A. Wilde Compai*y, Boston and Chicago. v W. A. Wilde Company, Publishers. Fighting for the Flag Series. By Chas. Ledyard Norton. CV J BENSON'S LOG ; or, Afloat with the Flag in '61. 281 pp. Cloth, $1.25. An unusually interesting historical story, and one that will arouse the loyal impulses of every American boy and girl. The story is distinctly superior to anything ever attempted along this line before. The Independent. A story that will arouse the loyal impulses of every American boy and girl. The Press, MEDAL OF HONOR MAN; or, Cruising Among Blockade Runners, 280 pp. Cloth, $1.25. A bright, breezy sequel to " Jack Benson's Log." The book has unusual literary excellence. The Book Buyer, New York. A stirring story for boys. The Journal, Indianapolis. MIDSHIPMAN JACK. 290 pp. Cloth, $1.25. * '-*- Jack is a delightful hero, and the author has made his experiences and ad- ventures seem very real. Congregationalist. It is true historically and full of exciting war scenes and adventures. Outlook. A stirring story of naval service in the Confederate waters during the late war. Presbyterian. The set of three volumes in a box, $3.75. GIRL OF '76. BY AMY E. BLANCHARD. 331 pp. Cloth, $1.50. " A Girl of '76 " lays its scene in and around Boston where the principal events of the early period of the Revolution were enacted. Elizabeth Hall, the heroine, is the daughter of a patriot who is active in the defense of his country. The story opens with a scene in Charlestown, where Elizabeth Hall and her parents live. The emptying of the tea in Boston Harbor is the means of giving the little girl her first strong impression as to the seriousness of her father's opinions, and causes a quarrel between herself and her schoolmate and playfellow, Amos Dwight. A SOLDIER OF THE LEGION. BY CHAS. LED- YARD NORTON. 300 pp. Cloth, $1.50. Two boys, a Carolinian and a Virginian, born a few years apart during the last half of the eighteenth century, afford the groundwork for the incidents of this tale. The younger of the two was William Henry Harrison, sometime President of the United States, and the elder, his companion and faithful attendant through life, was Carolinus Bassett, Sergeant of the old First Infantry, and in an irregular sort of a way Captain of Virginian Horse. He it is who tells the story a few years after President Harrison's death, his granddaughter acting as critic and amanuensis. The story has to do with the early days of the Republic, when the great, wild, un- known West was beset by dangers on every hand, and the Government at Washington was at its wits' end to provide ways and means to meet the perplexing problems of national existence. W. A. Wilde Company, Boston and Chicago. A 000 131 177