LU 
 
 M^^am ^+a& 
 
 ELIZABETH M. DUFFIELD

 
 LUCILE, BRINGER OF JOY 
 
 r. OF GALIF. LIBRARY. LO
 
 'SECOND THE MOTION," AGRF.F.D MARJORIE, LOOKING AT THEM 
 EXPECTANTLY (See page 38)
 
 LUCILE 
 
 BRINGER OF JOY 
 
 BY 
 
 ELIZABETH M. DUFFIELD 
 
 AUTHOH OF "LUCILE THE TORCH BEARER," "LUCILE TRIUMPHANT, 1 
 "LUCILE ON THE HEIGHTS" 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 M. P. TAYLOR 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 GEORGE SULLY AND COMPANY
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1917, 
 BY SULLY AND KLEINTEICH 
 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 PRINTED IN U. S, A.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. JIM AGAIN ! 
 
 II. A WELCOME SUMMONS .... 14 
 
 III. GOOD NEWS TRAVELS FAST ... 29 
 
 IV. GATHERING OF THE CLANS . . ... 41 
 V. BRIGHTENING SKIES 54 
 
 VI. A MERRY PARTY 65 
 
 VII. GUARDIAN OF THE CAMP FIRE . . 77 
 VIII. A FISH STORY 89 
 
 IX. THE ROAR OF THE SURF .... 101 
 
 X. MOONLIGHT IIO 
 
 XL A MODERN CINDERELLA .... 122 
 
 XII. A RIFT IN THE LUTE 134 
 
 XIII. STARTLING NEWS I4I 
 
 XIV. JACK FORGETS !C 2 
 
 XV. EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS .... 164 
 
 XVI. PICTURES IN THE FIRE . . . . ^ 
 XVII. FAIRY GODMOTHERS .... 187 
 
 XVIII. THE DANCE . T nr 
 
 iyy 
 
 XIX. A GROWING MYSTERY .... 200 
 
 2129167
 
 vi Contents 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XX. THE EDGE OF TRAGEDY .... 219 
 
 XXI. THE CRAB'S PART 225 
 
 XXII. CONSPIRATORS 235 
 
 XXIII. MIRTH AND MARGARET .... 244 
 
 XXIV. THE CAMP FIRE SPIRIT .... 253 
 
 XXV. GHOSTS . . . . . .. . '..''. 263 
 
 XXVI. THE PITILESS SEA 275 
 
 XXVII. "Mv LITTLE SISTER" 285 
 
 XXVIII. DREAMS . . .' 293
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 "Second the motion," agreed Marjorie, look- 
 ing at them expectantly. (See page 38) . .Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 "I dare you girls to dive right in" 146 
 
 They looked out to where the gallant little 
 band of rescuers was fighting 282 
 
 He caught the little hand that was raised in 
 
 protest 300
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 JIM AGAIN 
 
 "A YOUNG man to see you, Miss." 
 
 Lucile looked up inquiringly at Mary's head, which 
 was all she could see of that estimable person. 
 
 "A young man, Mary?" she repeated, in evident 
 surprise. "But what can a young man want of me 
 this time in the afternoon? Are you sure he didn't 
 ask for Mr. Phil?" 
 
 "Well, to be tellin' ye the truth, Miss Lucile, it 
 seems to me he did that same, but Mr. Phil not bein' 
 home, he asked for you." 
 
 "Second fiddle, I knew it," Lucile declaimed tragic- 
 ally, as she tucked a curl into place and surveyed her 
 reflection in the long mirror. "Even at that, I might 
 as well make myself presentable. Very well, Mary," 
 she added, as her eyes met those of the maid, which 
 were fixed upon her young mistress in very evident 
 admiration. "Tell the visitor that the second fid 
 
 I mean I, will be down right away." 
 
 i
 
 2 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "Yes, Miss," said Mary, obediently, and Lucile 
 turned back to the mirror. 
 
 "Now who " she began, apostrophizing the serious 
 young person opposite. "Who can it be? I might 
 have asked Mary the color of his hair or his eyes 
 but then she wouldn't have known and I would be as 
 much in the dark as ever. Well, perhaps, the sensible 
 thing would be to go and find out for myself !" 
 
 And with this sarcasm aimed at her own mischiev- 
 ous self, Lucile gave her dress a final pat and opened 
 the door into the hall. She peeped over the banister 
 but, not being able to catch sight of the mysterious 
 stranger from that vantage point, straightened the cor- 
 ners of her laughing mouth, and prepared to descend 
 the stairs with a dignity and decorum befitting her 
 seventeen years. 
 
 The stranger was standing before one of the win- 
 dows, hands clasped behind him and evidently ab- 
 sorbed in his own thoughts, but as Lucile entered the 
 room he whirled suddenly, and the full light from the 
 opened door fell upon him. He was undoubtedly 
 young, slim and straight with clean cut features and a 
 wealth of auburn hair. There was no mistaking the 
 clear gray of his eyes.
 
 Jim Again 3 
 
 Lucile hesitated for the space of a second, then ran 
 forward, her eyes sparkling and both hands out- 
 stretched in delighted welcome. 
 
 "Jim!" she cried, "Jim oh, I never expected to 
 see you I'm so glad. Turn around, do, and let me 
 see you from all sides. Oh, you're just the same old 
 Jim you bring back old times with a rush. My, but 
 I'm glad to see you," and she paused for sheer lack 
 of breath and beamed upon him. 
 
 As for Jim, he was carried off his feet by this 
 unaffectedly cordial reception, and for a moment, 
 couldn't for the life of him think of anything to say. 
 Then, after clearing his throat once or twice, he man- 
 aged to convey something of his feelings. 
 
 "It's mighty good of you, Miss Lucile," he began, 
 but Lucile interrupted him vehemently. 
 
 "Please don't call me Miss Lucile, Jim," she said. 
 "We're old enough friends to drop that. And as for 
 it's being good of me well, I don't think I deserve 
 much credit for telling you how glad I am to see you. 
 Do sit down and tell me all about yourself from the 
 very beginning." 
 
 "I think almost anybody would do what you said, 
 Miss I mean Lucile," said Jim, his gray eyes twin-
 
 4 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 kling. "If you are glad to see me, why it's nothing 
 to the way I feel about seeing you. You haven't 
 changed much, except that you're " he hesitated be- 
 fore the word, being very young and not used to pay- 
 ing compliments to pretty girls especially girls like 
 Lucile. 
 
 "Less bad looking," suggested that young lady imp- 
 ishly, then added, quickly. "No, I wasn't fishing, Jim. 
 But you haven't told me anything about yourself, yet," 
 she reminded him. 
 
 "There isn't very much to tell," he answered, mod- 
 estly, "about myself I mean. I really came with a 
 message from Mrs. Wescott." 
 
 "Mrs. Wescott," Lucile repeated, her color rising. 
 "Tell me, Jim how is she?" 
 
 "Pretty well. But the doctor says what she needs 
 is a good rest and plenty of fresh air. That's what 
 I came to speak to you about." 
 
 "Methinks I see light," said Lucile as though to 
 herself, then turning to Jim, added, breathlessly. 
 "Oh, tell me, Jim, quickly I hate suspense." 
 
 "Hello, Sis. Jessie wanted me to tell you " 
 
 The two, looking up, beheld Phil framed in the door- 
 way and Lucile murmured something under her 
 breath that sounded very much like "bother."
 
 Jim Again 5 
 
 "Come in, Phil and see who's here," she said aloud. 
 "He is rather an old friend of yours, I think." 
 
 "Well, by the seven jumping mackerel!" cried Phil, 
 his face illumined. "If it isn't Jim very much the 
 same, only different. Well, how are you, old man? 
 You're just about the last person I expected to see 
 in Burleigh. How are things going on Broadway?" 
 
 "To wreck and ruin since I'm not there to manage 
 them," Jim answered, with a flash of his rare humor. 
 "But I'll tell you one thing it seems mighty good to 
 get back to the country again." 
 
 "I should think so," Phil sympathized. "But, se- 
 riously, Jim, what did bring you down to the wilds?" 
 
 "You're not very flattering, Phil," his sister com- 
 plained. "You don't seem to think it possible that 
 anybody might want to see us." 
 
 "We-el," said Phil, considering. "Of course, it isn't 
 at all strange that any one should travel all this dis- 
 tance to see me but why include yourself, my dear," 
 and he regarded his sister with well simulated surprise. 
 
 Lucile laughed and gave a little despairing shrug 
 of her shoulders. "You see what it is to have a 
 brother," she said, then added, struck by a sudden 
 memory, "What was it you were saying about Jessie 
 when you came in?"
 
 6 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "About Jessie?" he queried. "Oh, yes, she said she 
 was going to stop in somewhere I think it was Mar- 
 jorie's to return that book she borrowed, and then 
 would come right over here. You see I remember 
 the message word for word/' he added, proudly, 
 throwing out his chest. 
 
 "Good boy," Lucile commended, giving him a pa- 
 tronizing little pat on the head. "You really are im- 
 proving. If you don't mind, Jim," she added, "I'll 
 leave you two boys alone for a little while to compare 
 notes, while I see if I can find Jessie. But promise 
 you won't tell Phil the news till we get back." 
 
 Jim's gray eyes met Lucile's laughing ones. "That's 
 easy," he promised. "Since the news was for you 
 especially." 
 
 "I wish I knew what you were talking about," Phil 
 complained. "It's not fair to leave a fellow out in 
 the cold like that." 
 
 "Build a fire then, brother dear," Lucile sang back, 
 as she caught up her little jacket from the rack and 
 started out on the porch. "I can't tell you, because 
 I don't know, and Jim can't because he's promised not 
 to, so there you are. I'll be back in no time," and 
 the boys watched her as she ran down the steps and
 
 Jim Again 7 
 
 up the street, stopping for a moment to wave them 
 an airy farewell. 
 
 "What do you think of my sister?" said Phil, 
 proudly as he turned back to his visitor. "She's 
 changed some since you last saw her, hasn't she ?" 
 
 "A little for the better," Jim replied. 
 
 Meanwhile Lucile had found her friend. 
 
 "You look as if you had just been left a fortune, 
 Lucy," the latter was saying. "Please tell me what's 
 happened or going to happen or " 
 
 "But I can't," Lucile protested. "I told you before 
 that I don't know myself not all of it, anyway." 
 
 "Well, you can at least tell me what you do know, 
 can't you?" Jessie was beginning exasperatedly when 
 Lucile interrupted. 
 
 "Please don't talk so much, Jessie, dear," she 
 begged, linking her arm through her friends and hus- 
 tling her along. "When you talk you can't hurry, so 
 it's plain you will have to stop talking. Here, give me 
 your hand and we'll run for it." 
 
 Jessie obeyed, there being nothing else to do, and 
 in a moment they had reached the house and had 
 stopped to take breath. Jessie turned upon her friend, 
 eyes wide with excitement and wonder.
 
 8 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "You make me feel as if I were going to see Ali 
 Baba or Aladdin's lamp or " 
 
 "There's nothing about him like Ali or the lamp 
 either, laughed Lucile, adding with a chuckle, "except 
 his hair which might come in handy as a torch " 
 
 "Oh, so it is a man " Jessie began, triumphantly. 
 
 "You flatter him," said Lucile, seriously, then, seiz- 
 ing her friend by the hand, she half pulled her into 
 the hall, chanting, "Hang not back fair maiden. He 
 doth not bite, neither doth he sting " 
 
 "Goose," commented Jessie, but had time for no 
 more. Lucile pushed back the portieres into the living 
 room, crying dramatically: "Behold," and the two 
 boys who had been engrossed in intimate conversa- 
 tion, turned and faced them laughingly. 
 
 "Why all the noise?" Phil began, then, seeing the 
 direction of Jessie's gaze, added, with a laugh : "Gee, 
 anybody might think you were an escaped freak from 
 a dime museum, Jim. Or maybe she's just trying to 
 hypnotize you " 
 
 "That will do for you, Phil," said Jessie, turning 
 upon him a look in which severity and merriment 
 struggled for supremacy. "I just couldn't believe 
 my eyes, that's all," she added, turning to Jim, who
 
 >im Again 9 
 
 was enjoying himself immensely. "I'm awfully glad 
 to see you Jim. Lucile didn't even give me a hint that 
 you were her surprise " 
 
 "Yes, I did, too," murmured Lucile from her favor- 
 ite nook in the window seat; "only you wouldn't take 
 it. In fact, I almost gave it away." 
 
 As Jessie looked at her friend light dawned and 
 she began to laugh. "Oh, I know now what you meant 
 about Aladdin's lamp and and the light " 
 
 "It's not being done, really it isn't in the best cir- 
 cles," protested Phil, and all but his sister looked at 
 him in surprise. 
 
 "What isn't?" queried Jim, forgetting his native 
 shyness in this atmosphere of fun and good-fellowship. 
 
 "Why, enjoying a joke all by themselves without 
 letting us in on it," Phil explained, adding, sadly: 
 "The worst of it is, they know better they know it's 
 wrong " 
 
 "Oh, Phil, dear, have pity on our guest, if you have 
 none on us," begged Lucile. "He came all the way 
 from New York to Burleigh to be amused not bur- 
 dened with our many and varied faults " 
 
 "It's more than I expected to hear you admit that 
 you had any," Phil retorted.
 
 10 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "Don't you admit anything, Lucy dear insist on 
 proof," Jessie advised as she slipped into the seat 
 beside Lucile and put an arm about her waist. "We 
 think we're pretty nice, and it's up to him to prove 
 otherwise." 
 
 "I bet it's more than he can do," said Jim with 
 unexpected gallantry. "If I were you, Phil, I'd back 
 out before I sank in so deep." 
 
 "Is that what they teach you in Gotham?" Phil in- 
 quired. "I thought the motto there was to get in as 
 deep as you can and take your chance of reaching 
 shore or drowning." 
 
 "Hear, hear," Jessie encored. "We have with us 
 to-night Mr. Philip Payton the noted philosopher 
 or whatever-you call-it " 
 
 "Thank you," said Phil, bowing gravely. "Praise 
 from the lips of so fair a lady " 
 
 "Oh, oh, do stop, you two," begged Lucile despair- 
 ingly. "I don't often have a chance to hear Jim talk, 
 but I can hear you every day and all day and every 
 minute " 
 
 "Now, who's doing the talking," Jessie interrupted. 
 "Phil and I haven't said a word for at least " 
 
 "Two seconds, Lucile finished. "Jim, you begin
 
 Jim Again 11 
 
 when I leave off. Tell us what you were going to 
 about our guardian." 
 
 "Our guardian," Jessie repeated, all banter gone 
 and only loving interest in its place. "Oh, Jim, how 
 is she?" 
 
 "Better than she was," he answered, and one could 
 tell by the gentle tone in which he spoke of her that 
 she was as dear to him as to the girls and indeed it 
 was not strange, for their beautiful, young guardian 
 had taken this motherless, fatherless boy into her 
 heart and home and during the last two years had 
 done her best and that is saying a good deal to 
 make up for the life of neglect he had known. "A 
 good deal better than she was," he repeated. "But 
 the doctor thinks a long summer at the seashore would 
 set her up and make her as good as new again. She's 
 pretty thin," he added, wistfully. 
 
 "Oh, but as long as she's doing well now, we 
 oughtn't to say a word," Jessie protested. "Why, all 
 the time she was so sick, Lucy and I and the other 
 girls couldn't even study, we were so worried." 
 
 "Yes, and it was awfully good of you, Jim, to write 
 to us so often," Lucile added. "If you hadn't, I 
 think I would have dropped school and everything
 
 12 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 else and just gone up there to be near her, even if I 
 couldn't help." 
 
 "Oh, and the day the telegram came do you re- 
 member that, Lucy?" Jessie's eyes were shining with 
 the memory. "The telegram from Jim that said the 
 crisis was passed and the doctor said she would live?" 
 
 "Do I remember?' said Lucile, a little quiver in her 
 laugh. "Why we cried all night just from sheer 
 joy." 
 
 "Yes, and then the morning came and you said the 
 sun was shining brighter than it ever had before just 
 because she was getting well," and the two girls looked 
 at each other, their faces radiant with the reflection of 
 that glad morning. 
 
 "That's something the way we felt home," said 
 Jim, with an understanding nod. "But for a while 
 we were too relieved and too tired out to do anything 
 but sleep," he paused and looked absently at the floor 
 between his feet. 
 
 "But didn't Mrs. Wescott send some message, 
 Jim?" Lucile prompted. "I'm sure you spoke of it." 
 
 "Hello, everybody. I hope I'm not spoiling the 
 party !" 
 
 With a joyful little cry, Lucile slipped from her
 
 Jim Again 13 
 
 seat and ran over to the door, where stood a fine, erect 
 gentleman, with a merry twinkle in his eye that at first 
 glance betokened the humorist. 
 
 "You're just in time to hear the story, Dad," said 
 Lucile, snuggling into the shelter of his big arm. "Do 
 you remember Jim, whom we met that summer we 
 were in camp?" 
 
 "Why, of course I do," said Mr. Payton, holding 
 out a cordial hand to Jim. "I'm glad to see you." 
 
 "Oh, bother, there's the dinner bell," Lucile ex- 
 claimed vexedly. "I guess we're fated never to hear 
 anything. Oh, but I know what we can do," she 
 added, seized with sudden inspiration. "We can build 
 a fire in the grate after dinner it isn't too warm, I 
 guess and then we can all sit around it while Jim 
 delivers our guardian's message. It will seem like our 
 old camp-fire. Come on, Jessie, Mother doesn't like 
 to be kept waiting." 
 
 "When it comes to eating, neither do I," Phil re- 
 marked. 
 
 "After dinner you won't have to tell Jim that," said 
 Jessie, with such scornful emphasis that Phil turned 
 up his coat collar for the purpose, as he remarked to 
 Jim in an aside, of keeping out the "bitter, bitter cold."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 A WELCOME SUMMONS 
 
 AFTER a most critical inspection on the part of Mrs. 
 Payton, for that lady had never met Jim before, the 
 guest was shown his seat with distant politeness and, 
 with equal politeness invited to make use of it. Poor 
 Jim, who had been so joyfully welcomed by the rest of 
 the family, was distinctly embarrassed and Phil began 
 to fume inwardly. 
 
 "Have some of this de licious jelly with your 
 meat, Jim," Lucile invited, hoping to break the ten- 
 sion. "I know it's good because : 
 
 "She made it herself,'* Jessie chuckled. "How's 
 that for conceit?" 
 
 Lucile laughed and Jim thought he had never seen 
 anything so pretty as Lucile when she laughed. Her 
 hair was so dark, her color so bright and her eyes so 
 full of sparkling mischief that well, all he could 
 think of was the sun on a June day. And in his own 
 heart, Jim could have paid her no greater compliment. 
 
 Then he looked across at Jessie, who was at that 
 
 14
 
 A Welcome Summons 15 
 
 moment conscientiously engaged in baiting the son 
 and heir of the Payton family who it must be con- 
 fessed, seemed singularly contented and happy under 
 the treatment and thought he had never seen so 
 marked a contrast. For Jessie had golden hair and 
 corn-flower eyes, and a smile that rivaled Lucile's own 
 it was strange he had not noticed how pretty they 
 were that year in camp. Perhaps 
 
 "An olive for your thoughts, Jim," Jessie challenged 
 him, so suddenly that he started. "You haven't said 
 a word for the last five minutes." 
 
 "Why, I I wasn't thinking of anything in particu- 
 lar," stammered poor Jim, taken aback by the sudden 
 attack. 
 
 "Come on, Jim, earn your olive," Phil urged. And 
 then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he added, "Per- 
 haps he doesn't like olives, Jessie. You should have 
 offered him beefsteak or something like that " 
 
 "He has all the meat he can eat now," Lucile ob- 
 jected. "What you really ought to do would be to 
 offer him some delicacy, such as well, lemon tarts 
 with nice fluffy meringue on top the kind that I hap- 
 pen to know are coming" these last words uttered 
 in a stage whisper.
 
 16 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Lucile," her mother rebuked her. "I don't know 
 what you can be thinking of. I don't want you to 
 imagine," she added, turning to Jim, "that we are in 
 the habit of announcing our dessert in that manner." 
 
 Poor Jim could think of nothing to say in reply, and 
 so very wisely held his tongue, while Lucile's color 
 rose and Phil savagely attacked what remained of his 
 meat. 
 
 The meal was finished in comparative silence, and 
 when at last it was over, the young folks rose from 
 the table with a sigh of relief. Once back in the cheer- 
 ful living room, however, their spirits and curiosity 
 revived with a bound. 
 
 "Now for a dear old fire and your news, Jim," 
 sighed Lucile, contentedly, as she made herself com- 
 fortable in the big Morris chair. "Come on in here 
 with me, Jessie," she added. "There's plenty of room 
 for two, and we can watch while the fellows do the 
 work." 
 
 "Yes, that sounds easy,*' Phil objected, regarding 
 the big fireplace doubtfully. "Are you sure you want 
 a fire, Lucy? It's going to be mighty warm." 
 
 "I think you're just lazy," pouted Jessie, from the 
 depths of the big chair. "A fire's half the fun."
 
 A Welcome Summons 17 
 
 "That's pretty good from you, young lady," said 
 Phil, turning a severe gaze upon her. "I must say 
 you two girls look the very picture of energy." 
 
 "Thank you," said Lucile gravely and Jessie made 
 a little face at him that hastened his surrender. 
 
 "Oh, well, I suppose we might as well do it first 
 as last, Jim," he capitulated. "Come on down in the 
 cellar and help me bring up some wood. Meanwhile, 
 I hope you ladies will bear up under our absence, We 
 won't be long." 
 
 "Take your time," Jessie invited graciously. "Only 
 don't be surprised if you feel your ears beginning to 
 burn. We've just been dying for this chance to talk 
 about you." 
 
 "Don't doubt it," returned Phil, calmly. "But since 
 there's nothing but good you can say of us, why should 
 we worry? Come on, Jim, let's see how soon we can 
 get this job over with." 
 
 When the boys were gone, Jessie gave her friend a 
 little impulsive hug. "Lucy," she whispered, "hasn't 
 Jim improved wonderfully why I think he's posi- 
 tively handsome. And, oh, Lucy, can't you guess what 
 that message from our guardian is ?" 
 
 "Guess," Lucile repeated, in the same tone. "Why
 
 18 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 the very first minute Jim spoke of the seashore I was 
 almost positive what he had come to tell us or ask 
 us. You know our guardian wouldn't send him way 
 out here unless unless " 
 
 "Oh, Lucy, don't say it, don't let's even whisper it, 
 until we are sure. It it would be too great a dis- 
 appointment. Oh, I think I want to see our guardian 
 more than anything else in the world. And to have 
 her for a whole summer " 
 
 "Hush," Lucile cautioned, her hand over Jessie's 
 mouth. "Here" come the boys and besides, I thought 
 we weren't even going to mention " 
 
 "Hello," sang out Phil. "It's getting pretty dark in 
 there, what? You girls look like a couple of ghosts." 
 
 "Phil, you're anything but complimentary," Lucile 
 objected. "I'm sure neither Jessie nor I feel the least 
 bit ethereal. Ouch you stepped on my toe !" 
 
 "I just wanted to make sure you were real," her 
 brother explained blandly, while Lucile looked about 
 vainly for something to throw at him. 
 
 "If I weren't so nice and comfortable and lazy, 
 brother dear," she purred, "I should have my re- 
 venge." 
 
 "Goodness, I should think you would be scared to
 
 A Welcome Summons 19 
 
 death to have such a terrible enemy," said Jessie, giv- 
 ing her friend a loving little squeeze. "I know I 
 wouldn't like to have her angry with me." 
 
 "Be careful, Phil," Lucile exclaimed, as a piece of 
 wood snapped from the main log and blazed up on 
 the hearth. "Might I suggest that the best way to 
 build a fire is in the grate and not on the hardwood 
 floors? Oh, there goes another one!" 
 
 "Say, who's doing this?" demanded her brother, 
 sitting back on his heels and glaring up belligerently 
 at his undaunted sister. "Ever since you girls formed 
 the camp-fire, you think you can build fires and such 
 things better than any one else. Suppose you take a 
 hack at this one." 
 
 "Be not wroth, pretty one," soothed Jessie in her 
 sweetest tones. "I am sure Lucile meant no harm by 
 her simple suggestion 
 
 "Simple is right," grumbled Phil. "Here, let me 
 give you a hand with that, Jim. That's the idea ! Now, 
 to my poor way of thinking that's considerable of 
 a fire. Does it suit your majesty ?" he added, turning 
 to the dark-haired sister of whom he was inordinately 
 fond and who returned his affection with interest. 
 Seldom were brother and sister more united.
 
 20 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "It's splendid, dear," she assured him while Jessie 
 murmured in an undertone. "Almost as good as we 
 could have done ourselves." 
 
 Phil chose to ignore this last thrust and addressed 
 himself to Jim. "Since the two girls are set on sit- 
 ting " 
 
 "Set on settin' would sound more euphonious," 
 Jessie interrupted, still in an undertone, while Lucile 
 squeezed her warningly. 
 
 "As I was saying, Jim," Phil continued with an air 
 of infinite patience. "As long as we have done the 
 work, we might as well have some benefit from it. 
 Come on bring up your chair and make yourself 
 comfortable." 
 
 "And then tell us about our guardian," Lucile added, 
 leaning forward into the full glare of the firelight that 
 brought out the lustre of her dark hair and made her 
 eyes gleam like jewels. "We've waited so long that 
 I feel as if I couldn't wait another quarter of a second. 
 Now just imagine we're around our old camp-fire and 
 talk that way." 
 
 "Yes, Jim, please go on," Jessie added, softly. 
 
 For a moment only the cheerful crackling of the 
 blaze broke the stillness of the room, for the girls
 
 A Welcome Summons 21 
 
 were both intent upon Jim, who seemed in no hurry to 
 begin. He sat gazing into the fire as if he saw many 
 things there. 
 
 "Well," he began, when the girls were beginning to 
 get impatient. "There isn't such a lot to tell. You 
 see, young Mr. Wescott will have to go out to Wiscon- 
 sin this summer to look after some big engineering 
 enterprise out there, and he has been worried about 
 leaving Mrs. Wescot alone especially since she isn't 
 very strong yet. Then, when the doctor advised the 
 seashore for the summer, Mrs. Wescott thought of a 
 plan that appealed to everybody." 
 
 "Oh, yes ," said the girls, scarcely above a whis- 
 per. 
 
 "The plan," Jim continued, "is this. It seems at 
 one time Mr. Wescott was building a bridge near 
 Tanike a sort of oh, what do you call it?" 
 
 "Watering place?" Lucile suggested. 
 
 "That's it," he answered, gratefully. "At least, they 
 called it that, although it always sounds more to me 
 like a breakfast food than a summer resort. Anyway, 
 Mr. Wescott liked the place first rate at the time said 
 the houses and hotels looked as though if you pushed 
 them they would topple into the ocean they're so
 
 22 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 close. Well, Mrs. Wescott decided to take a cottage 
 there and then she thought of you girls." 
 
 "Yes?" they chorused again. 
 
 "Well, to make a long story short, how would you 
 and a couple of your friends like to spend the summer 
 with her in the furnished cottage? That's what she 
 wanted me to put up to you." 
 
 The g'irls leaned back with a sigh of absolute con- 
 tent, while Lucile's hand reached out and clasped her 
 friend's warmly. 
 
 "Oh, to make a question of it to ask us whether we 
 should like to go," Lucile marveled. "When she knew 
 all she had to do was just beckon and we would come 
 running. Jessie, our guardian wants us for the whole 
 summer think of it for the whole summer!" and 
 she repeated the last words with a sort of awed delight. 
 
 Jessie's eyes were shining in the glow of the fire 
 light. I'm just trying to realize that fact, Lucy dear," 
 she murmured. "To be with our guardian would be 
 enough, but just think what we will have beside the 
 beautiful beach and swimming in the real ocean " 
 
 "Anybody would think to hear you talk that you'd 
 never seen the 'real ocean,' " broke in Phil. "How 
 about last year?"
 
 A Welcome Summons 23 
 
 "Well, that was wonderful, but very different,'* 
 Jessie retorted. "Then we were on the ocean most 
 of the time not in it." 
 
 "Seems to me that is a fact for rejoicing," coun- 
 tered Phil. "If we had been run down by that giant 
 cruiser we might have been in it up to our necks." 
 
 Jim laughed. "You did mighty well as it was," 
 he remarked. "There were a good many people 
 those pretty far inland at the time war was annuonced 
 that had considerable trouble getting out of the old 
 country." 
 
 "Oh, but that trip back," said Lucile, with a little 
 shudder at the memory. "With all the lights out and 
 the mist so thick you could almost cut it oh " 
 
 "Was kind of creepy, wasn't it," Phil agreed, gazing 
 fixedly into the fire. "Just the same, I'd do it all over 
 again if I had the chance." 
 
 "So would I. If we had only been able to get to 
 Switzerland, I'd ask no more of fate," mourned Lucile 
 wistfully. 
 
 And it had been hard for her to relinquish the most 
 cherished dream of her girlhood that of seeing 
 Switzerland and Rome to be hurried back to the 
 good old Stars and Stripes beneath the grim shadow
 
 24 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 of an international war it had been hard, but, oh, 
 how good America had looked at the end of their 
 trying journey! The memory of that moment when 
 the passionate patriotism of the returning voyagers 
 had found expression in a storm of wild cheering 
 when the stirring strains of the "Star-Spangled Ban- 
 ner," simg with joyful enthusiasm, had wrung out 
 martially over the water, bringing hope to the anxious 
 welcoming crowd on shore the memory of that mo- 
 ment would live in their hearts forever. 
 
 "Mrs. Wescott was sure you would either be shot 
 or drowned," said Jim, following his own train of 
 thought. "You never saw any one quite so worried 
 as she was." 
 
 "Bless her heart," said Lucile lovingly. "She's al- 
 ways taking care of everybody but herself. Oh, how 
 wonderful it all seems about this summer, I mean. 
 When does she want to start, Jim?" 
 
 "As soon as you girls can manage it," he returned. 
 
 "Oh, glorious," cried Lucile, jumping up and twirl- 
 ing about on her toes. "Jessie, can you do your shop- 
 ping and be ready in a week ?" 
 
 "I can but try," Jessie answered, hopefully. "I can't 
 really tell, until I've had a look at my wardrobe as
 
 A Welcome Summons 25 
 
 it were. Oh, didn't you say something about a couple 
 of other girls, Jim," she added. "What did you 
 mean?" 
 
 "Why, Mrs. Wescott says the cottage she has in 
 mind will accommodate four beside herself. So you 
 can ask any one you want." 
 
 "Urn," said Lucile, sitting on the arm of Jessie's 
 chair and trying to look thoughtful. "Evelyn, of 
 course, and who's the other one. Oh, I know Mar- 
 jorie Hanlon. We four girls have been so busy gradu- 
 ating this spring that we haven't had time to even 
 think of the summer," she explained to Jim, who 
 smiled understandingly. 
 
 "Oh, say, won't we have a good time ?" Jessie cried, 
 leaning forward excitedly, while her eyes shone with 
 anticipation. "Lucy, you're a wonder to think of 
 Marj she's lots of fun." 
 
 "Well, this seems to leave us pretty well out of it," 
 Phil objected. "Haven't you any pangs of conscience 
 about deserting us for a whole summer?" 
 
 "None whatever," said Jessie, unmoved. "From 
 remarks and hints you have let drop from time to time 
 I should judge you would get on better without us." 
 
 "I wish you'd stop fooling once in a while," he said,
 
 26 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 with unexpected solemnity. "It's no joke for a fellow 
 to be robbed of your knocks for a whole summer. 
 Why, when you come back none of my old hats will 
 fit me." 
 
 "Well, I'm glad I'm some use in the world, any- 
 way," retorted Jessie irrepressibly. "As long as I can 
 keep your head down to normal size I won't feel as 
 though my life had been entirely wasted." And so 
 delightfully did the hours pass in blissful and excited 
 anticipation of joys to come that the fire died out un- 
 noticed, and they were only recalled to thoughts of 
 the present by Mrs. Payton's voice at the door in mild 
 reproof. 
 
 "Do you children know what time it is?" she asked 
 so suddenly that they started and turned around. "The 
 clock just struck half-past eleven. The guest room is 
 ready and I think you had all better go up now. Good 
 night," and Mrs. Payton went on upstairs. 
 
 "Eleven-thirty," cried Phil, taking out his watch 
 to verify the time. "No wonder the fire's going down. 
 You're going to stay to-night, aren't you, Jessie?" he 
 asked. 
 
 "Yes," she laughed. "When I 'phoned mother to ask 
 her it I might, she suggested sending my trunk over
 
 27 
 
 said that as long as I lived here most of the time, 
 anyway, I might as well have all the conveniences !" 
 
 "The idea," Lucile defended. "I guess you don't 
 stay over night here any more than I do at your 
 house. There are advantages in having two houses 
 sometimes I wonder which I really belong to the 
 Payton's or the Sanderson's." 
 
 "Well, you're a Payton to-night, all right," Phil 
 interrupted, adding practically, "and if you don't go 
 upstairs pretty soon you won't feel like much of any- 
 thing in the morning!" 
 
 For a long time after the girls had slipped in bed 
 that night they talked delightedly of the wonderful 
 turn affairs had taken, and it was not till the hands of 
 the little old clock were pointing close to one that they 
 finally settled down to sleep. 
 
 Suddenly Jessie sat bolt upright in bed, bringing 
 Lucile back from the land of dreams with a jolt. 
 
 "Lucy," she cried. "What did Jim say the name 
 of that place was?" 
 
 "Oh I don't know," said Lucile, half asleep. "It 
 was something like Van Tenny Tanike that was 
 it." 
 
 "I thought so." There was something in Jessie's
 
 28 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 voice that caused her friend to turn over and look at 
 her in surprise. "Lucy," she said, in awed tones, 
 "that's the very place where Aunt Emma and Jack 
 have their summer cottage. Oh, what fun!" 
 
 "We ought to have a good time," Lucile agreed, 
 while she smiled to herself in the dark. Jessie could 
 not be expected to know that in a letter Lucile had 
 received from Jack that very morning the latter had 
 announced his firm intention of running away from 
 Tanike, where he and his family went each summer, 
 and making Burleigh a visit for one reason, and one 
 only! 
 
 But somehow Lucile was strangely reticent in mat- 
 ters concerning Jack, and besides she need not tell 
 everything she knew !
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 GOOD NEWS TRAVELS FAST 
 
 LUCILE yawned luxuriously and turned over, to 
 find Jessie's gaze fixed upon her with dreamy serenity. 
 
 "Hello, what are you doing awake so early?" she 
 demanded, surprised into wide wakefulness. "I 
 thought I should have to shake you out of bed. Good- 
 ness, last night seems like a dream, doesn't it?" 
 
 "That's why I woke up early, I guess," her friend 
 agreed. "I was afraid it might vanish into thin air 
 when the sun came up." 
 
 "What the night? inquired Lucile, slyly. "Even 
 I can relieve your mind on that point " 
 
 "Oh, Lucy, you're such a goose," sighed Jessie, pity- 
 ingly, then, assuming a dramatic attitude which, it 
 must be confessed, was a very difficult feat, under the 
 circumstances she added, with a sob in her voice. 
 "But I love you strange as it may seem I love 
 you " 
 
 "Just the same, you needn't prove it by hitting me
 
 30 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 in the eye," complained the object of her affections, 
 rubbing the assaulted eye ruefully. "If it's out, I give 
 you fair warning you will have to get me a new one." 
 
 "Don't you fret," said Jessie, reassuringly. "I saw 
 some be-autiful ones in Caner's window the other 
 day they look better than live ones, really they do, 
 some live ones anyway." 
 
 "Live ones! Anybody would think you were talk- 
 ing of stuffed cats or something like that. Jessie, if 
 you go pulling off those covers any more, I give you 
 fair warning, you'll have to make the bed. As Mary 
 would say, 'Ain't you got no consideration at all, Miss 
 Jessie?'" 
 
 "Consideration," Jessie repeated, soberly regarding 
 the wreck and ruin she had wronght. "Why, I'm full 
 of it. Just watch. Don't say anything you might 
 frighten that retreating counterpane," and indeed the 
 last-mentioned article of bed covering seemed to be 
 holding on by its eyelids, as it were, to watch develop- 
 ments. "You need strategy in such cases," she ex- 
 plained, slipping out of bed and advancing on her tip 
 toes. "Now, just watch me surround it," and with 
 the words she pounced upon the unoffending coverlet 
 from the back and threw it up upon the bed with the
 
 Good News Travels Fast 31 
 
 air of one having behaved very creditably in a tight 
 place. 
 
 Lucile continued to gaze upon her with the contem- 
 plative gaze of one studying a very interesting subject 
 while Jessie's expression changed from one of entire 
 satisfaction to one of anxiety and not a little alarm. 
 
 "Lucy," she whispered, taking a seat on the edge 
 of the bed and leaning forward confidentially. "Do 
 you think I really will get over it? Is there any hope 
 at all?" 
 
 Lucile jumped out of bed and hugged her friend 
 ecstatically. "None whatever," she chuckled. "You 
 will always be crazy, and if you ever get over it I 
 won't love you any more at all. Now hurry up and 
 get dressed, because I'm hungry oh, how hungry I 
 am!" and she sniffed the air longingly. 
 
 "Let's go over and tell Evelyn and Marj right after 
 breakfast," Jessie proposed, as she prepared to follow 
 Lucile's suggestion. "I'm sure Evelyn will be crazy 
 to go, but I'm not so sure about Marjorie her people 
 are very strict about letting her go away without 
 them." 
 
 "Well, so are yours and mine under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances," said Lucile, brushing her curls vigor-
 
 82 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 ously. "But when our guardian is with us they would 
 let us go anywhere, I think. Mighty good judgment, 
 too," she added, decidedly. 
 
 "Well, I don't suppose there will be any trouble 
 about it," Jessie agreed thoughtfully, "only say, 
 Lucy," she cried, eagerly. "Wouldn't it be great if 
 
 "If what," Lucile prompted, slipping into her fresh 
 little morning dress which was blue and very becom- 
 ing. "Tell me what you're thinking about and I'll tell 
 you some ideas of mine. Oh, dear Jessie, will you 
 please get that button out of my hair? Of course, 
 it had to catch just where I couldn't get at it. That's 
 fine thanks. Now go on - " 
 
 "Why, I was thinking, that when Jack hears of our 
 plans hj would be more than likely to invite the 
 boys - " 
 
 "Meaning Jim and Phil, I suppose," interjected 
 Lucile. 
 
 "Of course don't you see? Aunt Edna, Jack's 
 mother, has more room in her cottage than she knows 
 what to do with, and she loves lots of company. So 
 what would be more natural - " 
 
 "Than to invite the whole family?" Lucile laughed.
 
 Good News Travels Fast 33 
 
 "It would be fine, but remember we haven't received 
 any invitation yet. Goodness, Phil would be in the 
 seventh heaven of delight!" 
 
 Jessie flushed. "Well, Jack would be in the eighth, 
 then," she retorted. "When did you hear from him 
 last, Lucy? Come, 'fess up." 
 
 Very deliberately Lucile took a rose from the 
 bouquet she had picked the day before and pinned it, 
 still more deliberately against the soft blue of her 
 dress, and when she turned to Jessie, the latter thought 
 that the rose lost by comparison with its wearer. 
 Lucile was like some beautifully tinted flower herself, 
 and just as sweet. 
 
 "It isn't fair to ask things so point blank, Jessie 
 dear, she argued. "Here let me do that for you 
 is it too tight?" 
 
 "Just right, thanks," Jessie answered, then, fixing 
 a severe eye upon Lucile, who had heated herself on 
 the edge of the bed, she added: "You needn't think 
 you can slip out of answering like that, young lady. 
 I think you might tell me something about Jack once 
 in a while, anyway. Just think how hard it is to 
 have to depend on you for news of my only beloved 
 cousin." This last was a wail that might have touched
 
 34 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 the hardest heart, but Lucile remained unmoved by 
 the appeal. 
 
 "Just think how much harder it must be for me to 
 have to depend on you for news of my only beloved 
 brother," she reasoned. "I really believe you know 
 lots more about Phil than I do." 
 
 "Oh," said Jessie, and for once could think of noth- 
 ing to say. 
 
 A loud thump on the door startled them at this criti- 
 cal moment, and a voice cried out in stentorian tones. 
 "Come on down, you girls. Mary says everything's 
 getting cold, and if you don't come down pretty soon 
 we're going to eat anyway." 
 
 "You're perfectly welcome to eat anyway," Jessie 
 retorted, coaxing her pretty hair into place. "We'll 
 take the bacon and eggs." 
 
 "Humph," grunted Phil. "You think you're funny, 
 but all your humor won't bring back the eggs when 
 once we've been put in the same room with them." 
 
 "Goodness, you sound funereal, Phil," laughed his 
 sister. "Don't worry about us we're all ready to 
 come down now " 
 
 "That sounds good," Phil was saying, gloomily, 
 when the door flew open and two laughing young
 
 Good News Travels Fast 35 
 
 persons flung themselves upon him and hustled him 
 to the head of the stairs. 
 
 "Give you a race to the dining room," Jessie chal- 
 lenged, and they tumbled down the stairs, nearly run- 
 ning over Jim at the bottom. 
 
 "Gangway," cried Phil, brushing the astonished Jim 
 aside. "Gangway for the Marathon runners." 
 
 Phil reached the doorway about two seconds before 
 the girls, and they all leaned up against the casement, 
 laughingly gasping for breath. 
 
 "No, this isn't an insane asylum, Jim," Lucile as- 
 sured him, as he joined the group. "It ought to be, but 
 it isn't yet. Let's go in and find what they feed the 
 inmates." 
 
 After breakfast the girls excused themselves to Jim, 
 whom Phil was very anxious to show about town, and 
 raced off to find Marjorie and Evelyn. 
 
 Most of the girls in the Camp-fire Aloea had made 
 plans for the summer for it was nearing the middle 
 of July but, as Jessie had said, the remaining four 
 Lucile, Jessie, Marjorie and Evelyn had been so busy 
 graduating from Burleigh High in June that all other 
 matters had been relegated to the background. 
 
 Since its organization two years before, the Camp-
 
 36 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 fire Aloea had grown and spread till its influence was 
 felt all over Burleigh, and the girls had cherished a 
 secret hope that some summer, sooner or later, they 
 would be able to get together the entire membership, 
 and spend another glorious summer like that first one 
 in camp. The .newer members never tired of hearing 
 the glowing accounts of their experiences from the 
 older girls, and the latter often longed to renew them. 
 Perhaps, sometime 
 
 After their interesting and exciting summer in Eu- 
 rope the year before, Lucile and her chums had given 
 up all hope of having anything like so good a time 
 this summer, and then, just as they had resigned them- 
 selves to the inevitable, had come this wonderful pros- 
 pect. As the two friends made their way, arm in arm 
 down the street, they could have danced with the very 
 happiness of it. 
 
 "It's good the girls are used to early morning calls," 
 Lucile was saying ruefully. "Otherwise, they might 
 think we had bad news." 
 
 "Oh, it seems as if there couldn't be any bad news 
 on a day like this," cried Jessie, fairly basking in the 
 warm sunshine of the summer morning. "Everything 
 even the houses look happy."
 
 37 
 
 "Oh, when summer comes, I always feel skittish," 
 said Lucile, executing a little sidestep to prove her 
 contention. "I just feel like singing all the time." 
 
 "Well, don't let me stop you," Jessie invited, mag- 
 nanimously. "If it makes you feel any better I guess 
 I can stand it." 
 
 "Oh, Jessie, I just thought," cried Lucile, stopping 
 short in the street and gazing upon her friend with 
 incredulous eyes. "We never asked about Jeddie." 
 
 Jeddie, the little black, silken-haired water spaniel, 
 was considered in the light of a mascot by the camp- 
 fire girls and had taken a very active part in their 
 adventures at camp two years before. Naturally they 
 took a very deep interest in the little fellow, and had 
 often declared that if it ever should be their good for- 
 tune to spend another summer like that first one, Jed- 
 die must be there with his cocked ears and intelligent 
 eyes to complete the "family" circle. 
 
 "That is funny," Jessie admitted. "And we've won- 
 dered so much about him, too. Come on, Lucy, you're 
 blocking the highway, and there's Evelyn waving at 
 us. Don't let's tell her till we get to Marjorie's." she 
 added, wickedly. 
 
 "Of course not, although she's apt to die of sus-
 
 38 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 pense," Lucile agreed, and next minute Evelyn ran 
 up to them. 
 
 "Hello, I was just coming over to your house, 
 Lucy," said the latter, a short, round, merry little per- 
 son, who was continually at good-natured odds with 
 Jessie. "What do you look so mysterious and happy 
 about ? Anything happened ?" 
 
 "Do you know what once happened to Ruth thro' 
 being too curious?" Jessie answered, with another 
 question. "Well, take warning." 
 
 Evelyn looked helplessly from one to the other, and 
 Lucile came to her rescue. "We'll tell you all about 
 it just as soon as we get to Marjorie's," she promised. 
 Let's hurry the sooner we get there, the sooner you 
 will hear about it," with which philosophic assertion 
 Evelyn was forced to be content. 
 
 They found Marjorie in the big couch swing on the 
 porch, busily, but unromantically, darning some stock- 
 ings that was part of the camp fire training and she 
 rose delightedly when they ran up on the porch. 
 
 "Oh, I'm glad to see you," she greeted. "If you 
 have nothing else to do, suppose you darn some of 
 these," indicating the imposing pile of hosiery. "If 
 somebody doesn't help, I'll never get through."
 
 Good News Travels Fast 39 
 
 "Well, you shouldn't wear so many holes in them," 
 Jessie was beginning when Evelyn interrupted, ex- 
 citedly. 
 
 "Don't let them side track you, Marj," she cried. 
 "They have something to tell us, and I vote we get to 
 the point right now." 
 
 "Second the motion," agreed Marjorie, laying down 
 the stocking and looking at them expectantly. She 
 was a tall, dark, fine-looking girl, who, although she 
 could be energetic enough at times, seldom gave the 
 impression of being in a hurry. What she said was 
 often quite to the point, and often a little too frank; 
 but the girls knew and liked her, and took her remarks 
 good-naturedly valuing them at their true worth. 
 "Go ahead, Lucy. What wonderful thing are you 
 people going to do now ?" 
 
 "You should have changed that 'you people' to 
 'we,' ' Lucile corrected her, and then launched into 
 her tale with all the vim and native enthusiasm of 
 which she was capable which was saying a great deal. 
 When she had finished, the girls sat breathless for a 
 minute or so, trying, as Evelyn explained afterward, 
 "to let it sink in." 
 
 "Oh, the fun we'll have," breathed Marjorie at last,
 
 40 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 her eyes fixed dreamily on nothing in particular but 
 beaming happily. 
 
 "Lucile, tell me just one more thing when do we 
 start?" 
 
 "Next Saturday if you can make it," was the an- 
 swer. 
 
 "Make it," Evelyn echoed. "Just listen to her if 
 we can make it!"
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 GATHERING OF THE CLANS 
 
 THE next few days were full of excitement and in- 
 terest for the four eager girls. They shopped and 
 sewed and packed and ran over for little hurried con- 
 sultations with other girls they knew, until at the end 
 of the long days they were glad to slip into their snowy 
 beds and rest tired young muscles for the wear and 
 tear of another sixteen hours. Oh, well, what did it 
 matter in less time than seemed within the bounds 
 of possibility they would see their guardian, be actual 
 guests in that New York home, which, a few days 
 before had seemed so incredibly far away ! What did 
 all the work amount to when one thought of that? 
 
 "Well, by to-night I ought to be all through," Mar- 
 jorie announced triumphantly, seating herself on the 
 edge of Lucile's bed. 
 
 Lucile paused, with her needle held at an inquiring 
 angle. "That's splendid," she approved. "When I've 
 put the hem in this creation and adjusted the girdle 
 in the right place, I ought to be just about finished
 
 42 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 except for a little bit of packing that has to be done 
 at the last minute. Did you get everything you 
 wanted ?" she added, centering her attention once more 
 on the fluffy bit of pinkness that she called a dress. 
 
 Marjorie put her hands behind her head and dream- 
 ily considered Lucile's last question. "If I had," she 
 answered, thoughtfully, "I should be riding around 
 in a limousine, upholstered in claret red, with Ameri- 
 can beauties strewn all over and, a chauffeur in gor- 
 geous livery with silver buttons," she added. 
 
 "Goodness, is that all you want?" twinkled Lucile," 
 whose laughing eyes answered the gleam in Marjorie's. 
 "I think you're extremely moderate. Why don't you 
 add a mansion on Riverside Drive near our guardian, 
 with an imposing, fat old butler like Margaret's But- 
 tons then you'd really have something." 
 
 "I'd have come to all that if you had given me 
 time," Marjorie asserted. "Only I'd never be able 
 to get a butler like Buttons they don't make that 
 brand any more." 
 
 Lucile chuckled, while her fingers flew through the 
 soft fabric. "I guess you're right," she admitted. "I 
 think I can see where he would be a money-making 
 proposition, though."
 
 Gathering of the Clans 48 
 
 Marjorie was frankly puzzled. "I can see how he 
 would be a money-making proposition," she objected. 
 "But I can't see where the other comes in." 
 
 "Well," said Lucile, breaking off her thread and 
 shaking out the dainty mass of silk and lace. "Do you 
 see any sense in paying good money to see a play when 
 you have a complete, walking circus in the house with 
 you?" 
 
 Marjorie laughed appreciatively. "There is some 
 sense in that," she admitted, "alhough I never thought 
 of the dignified gentleman in just that way before. I 
 hardly think he plays the role of professional enter- 
 tainer intentionally, though, do you?" 
 
 "Perish the thought," Lucile denied, then added, 
 whimsically. "That's just what makes him so funny 
 he doesn't know he is!" 
 
 "If Buttons could only hear us now," laughed Mar- 
 jorie, then added, more seriously. "But I'm sorry 
 Judge Stillman has decided to take Margaret out West 
 with him. Peggy's crazy to go with us, even though 
 she'd die before she would let her father so much as 
 suspect it." 
 
 "Margaret's a loyal little thing," Lucile agreed, 
 while an unusually tender note crept into her voice.
 
 44 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "Once you gain her affection you can be sure of it 
 always." 
 
 "And the judge," Marjorie added. "Have you no- 
 ticed him follow her with his eyes whenever she's 
 around where he is? Why, I believe he worships the 
 child." 
 
 "Well, I don't blame him," said Lucile, thoughtfully. 
 "Everybody loves her and I don't believe she has an 
 enemy in the world. Her sort never do." 
 
 "And that story of hers," Marjorie added, after a 
 short pause, during which Lucile's needle plied stead- 
 ily in and out. "You remember about the girl 
 whose brother ran away from home when he was just 
 a little thing and hasn't been heard of since? That 
 was a pitiful story." 
 
 "It was," Lucile agreed. "I wish we could do some- 
 thing to help that girl. I know what it would be to 
 have Phil disappear." 
 
 "Margaret said her father is doing his best to find 
 the boy for his sister's sake wouldn't it be wonderful 
 if they could?" 
 
 The girls were silent for a few moments while their 
 young faces sobered thoughtfully, and their merry eyes 
 grew grave and tender with the memory of that sum-
 
 Gathering of the Clans 45 
 
 mer two years ago, when little Margaret Stillman, 
 crippled and miserably unhappy, yet patient as only 
 the afflicted can be, had slowly come into her heritage 
 of happy normal girlhood. And the most wonderful 
 thing of all had been the unshakable conviction of the 
 judge, and the great physicians who had attended 
 the little lame girl, that the marvelous cure had been 
 brought about by the girls themselves. Of course, the 
 exercise in camp, the free, outdoor life and the merry 
 companionship of girls her own age might have had 
 something to do with it this the girls admitted but 
 that the full credit should have been given to them 
 well, it was very good of the doctors, but the assertion 
 was palpably none the less ridiculous. After all what 
 did it matter what did anything matter as long as 
 Margaret, dear little, unselfish, loving Margaret, had 
 been made like other girls! It seemed as though a 
 miracle had been wrought. 
 
 "Yes, I wish we could have had her with us this 
 summer," Lucile was saying. "I know she'd enjoy the 
 seashore anybody who came from an inland place 
 like Burleigh would be sure to." 
 
 "Well, there's no use crying for what we can't 
 have," said Marjorie, philosophically. "Do you want
 
 46 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 me to pin the girdle on for you before I go?" she 
 added. "It will make it lots easier." 
 
 "Oh, Marjorie, I'll love you forever, if you only 
 will," Lucile accepted gratefully. "One of a dress* 
 maker's great drawbacks," she added, as Marjorie 
 slipped the little gown over her head. "Is the lack of 
 eyes in the back of her head. Thanks, Marjie I 
 made it fit pretty well, didn't I." This last with par- 
 donable pride. 
 
 "You're a wonder," said Marjorie, fervently. "It's 
 a dream, Lucy, and awfully becoming. I don't see 
 how you ever managed to finish it in such a short time. 
 I had to buy most of my things." 
 
 "So did I," answered Lucile, regarding her handi- 
 work critically. "But I had just this sort of a dress 
 in mind for a long time, and when I found I couldn't 
 get anything like it in the stores, I thought I'd take a 
 chance on making it. I really hadn't great hopes of 
 finishing it, though," she confessed. 
 
 "Well, you have and its a darling. I suppose you 
 want the girdle high." Marjorie held the belt in posi- 
 tion and glanced at Lucile inquiringly. 
 
 "Yes, just as you have it," Lucile nodded, then 
 added triumphantly. "And when, that's done, a half
 
 Gathering of the Clans 47 
 
 hour more of packing and hurrah for New 
 York'" 
 
 "If you don't stand still," said Marjorie severely, 
 "I'll stick this pin in where it doesn't belong, and I give 
 you fair warning it won't feel good," with which 
 Lucile obediently subsided. 
 
 That evening Phil unexpectedly called a gathering 
 of the clans. The girls had been too absorbed in their 
 own preparations to notice that both he and Jim had 
 worn an air of profound mystery that at any other 
 time would have aroused their curiosity at the start. 
 But as it was, the summons caught them unprepared, 
 and they hurried to the meeting place, which was on 
 Lucile's porch, in an extremely puzzled frame of mind. 
 Only Jessie had seemed to guess the reason, and she 
 had been as silent and unsatisfactory as a clam or 
 so Evelyn had petulantly described her. Oh, well, be- 
 fore very long they would all know the secret, what- 
 ever it was, and with this thought in mind, they 
 quickened the pace still more. 
 
 "Hello, I'm glad you got here so early," Lucile 
 greeted gaily as they mounted the steps. "Jim and 
 Phil just started out to see if they could round you up 
 and get you here in a hurry."
 
 48 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Well, the joke's on them this time," Jessie re- 
 marked, in evident enjoyment of the fact. "They can 
 never get over the foolish idea that girls are slow " 
 
 '"Even though they have such shining examples of 
 energy, before their very eyes," Marjorie twinkled. 
 "Oh, well, I suppose we'll have to bear with their 
 stupidity." 
 
 "We can't live with them and we can't live without 
 them," chanted Lucile, when they were startled by the 
 sudden apparition of the missing ones. 
 
 "What's this you can't live without?" Phil de- 
 manded, as they swung themselves up over the railing 
 with scant ceremony. 
 
 "Oh, not much," Lucile answered, sweetly, and the 
 girls chuckled their appreciation. 
 
 "Well, since that's the case, we don't want to know," 
 Phil retorted with dignity. "Come on, Jim," take a 
 seat in the happy circle," he invited. "You needn't 
 be afraid of the girls, they won't bite." 
 
 Jim flushed with embarrassment even in the half 
 light. Lucile was quick to see that and hastened to 
 put him at his ease. 
 
 "Take this chair, Jim," she invited. "It's the most 
 comfortable one on the porch, and anybody's lucky to 
 get in before Phil."
 
 Gathering of the Clans 49 
 
 "I notice you don't offer him a seat in the swing," 
 Phil grumbled. "You girls grab the most comfortable 
 seats and then find fault with me." 
 
 "Grab?" Jessie remonstrated with uplifted eye- 
 brows. "I'm sure you must be mistaken, Phil we 
 never did anything so undignified." 
 
 "If you will make room for me in the swing," Phil 
 evaded, "I may consent to argue the point " 
 
 "Phil, you ought to have been a lawyer," said Mar- 
 jorie, admiringly. "You surely missed your vocation." 
 
 "Well, of course I always knew I had some small 
 talent along that line," he answered, in a deprecatingly 
 modest tone of voice. "But the crimes of the vulgar 
 were so exceedingly distasteful to one of my " 
 
 "Sweet little makeup," Jessie finished, disgustedly. 
 "Phil, if you don't stop that maundering I'm going 
 home." 
 
 "No, you're not," declared the lord of the manor, 
 with so much decision in his tone that Jessie looked 
 at him with interest. "You're going to sit right where 
 you are till I get through telling you what I've got to 
 tell, and for the simple reason that I'm between you 
 and the only means of exit. That's the way to talk 
 to them, eh, Jim?" he added, turning for commenda- 
 tion to his brother in arms.
 
 50 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 The latter was laughing amusedly. Somehow, Jim 
 gave the impression of being very much older than 
 he really was perhaps because his opportunities for 
 associating with young folks his own age had been so 
 exceedingly few and far between perhaps only be- 
 cause he was naturally grave and reserved. However, 
 he was getting to feel very much at home in the pres- 
 ent company, and what he said attested to that fact. 
 Jim was getting on. 
 
 "If I might venture to suggest, there is still the rail- 
 ing," he almost drawled the words. "Since that's the 
 way we came in, it's possible the girls might take 
 that way to get out." 
 
 "You're a genius, Jim," Jessie complimented him. 
 "Here I was in the clutches of the villain " 
 
 "I wish you were," Phil remarked, gloomily, and the 
 girls laughed at her discomfiture. 
 
 "There, I guess that will do you for some little time, 
 Jessie," remarked Evelyn gaily. "Now, suppose we 
 call a truce and get to the point of this meeting." 
 
 "That's the idea," Phil commended. "The dark- 
 ness groweth apace and we have not yet " 
 
 "Phil," Lucile placated, and he held up a soothing 
 hand
 
 Gathering of the Clans 51 
 
 "Just a moment, sweet sister," he went on, blandly. 
 "As I was saying, the darkness groweth." 
 
 "Choke him, somebody," cried Jessie, in desperation. 
 "Jim you're nearest " 
 
 "Come on, one and all," Phil challenged, assuming 
 a sparring attitude. "I'm ready who's first? All 
 right, Lucy," he went on, answering a look in his sis- 
 ter's eyes. "I'm coming to it now. You see, I've 
 been corresponding off and on with Jack Turnbull, and 
 I happened to mention in my last letter the fact that 
 you girls were going to spend the summer at the same 
 place with him. Well, I received an answer by return 
 mail in which Jack fairly commanded Jim and me 
 to put up at their bungalow said he wouldn't take no 
 for an answer thought we'd have all kinds of fun 
 in all of which we agreed with him, eh, Jim ?" 
 
 Jessie shot a triumphant glance in Lucile's direction, 
 but the latter was looking steadily at Phil, and refused 
 to intercept it only her heightened color would have 
 given her away had there been light enough to see. 
 
 "Mrs. Turnbull was kind enough to enclose a per- 
 sonal note, seconding Jack's invitation," Phil went on. 
 "So all things considered, we decided to go and have 
 a good time even though we had begun to enjoy the
 
 52 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 idea of a summer without a lot of girls fussing 
 around " 
 
 "Is that so?" Jessie interrupted. "It sems to me 
 you change your mind pretty often. Why, just the 
 other day you were mourning over being left 
 alone " 
 
 "Oh, well, that was a long time ago," Phil argued. 
 "Lots can happen in a week." 
 
 "So it seems," said Lucile, significantly, then added, 
 dreamily. "I'm glad you boys are going we'll have 
 a wonderful time. Let's just imagine we're there for 
 a time and think of all the things we can do " 
 
 The following of this last suggestion proved so fas- 
 cinating that it was late when the girls finally disen- 
 gaged themselves from the swing and started to go. 
 
 While the others were talking, Jessie seized the op- 
 portunity to get Lucile in a corner and look her over 
 quizzically. 
 
 "Tell me the truth, Lucy," she commanded, in a 
 whisper. "Was this a surprise to you, or did you 
 know it all the time ?" 
 
 Lucile hesitated a moment, then her laughing gaze 
 met Jessie's severe one. "If I tell you a big, big secret, 
 will you promise never to tell?" she whispered.
 
 Gathering of the Clans 53 
 
 "On my honor," the answer was solemn enough to 
 convince a judge. 
 
 "Well, then, I received a letter the day before yes- 
 terday." 
 
 The reply might have seemed baffling to one less 
 discerning than Jessie, but well, she understood !
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 BRIGHTENING SKIES 
 
 THIS was the day ! Lucile lay with closed eyes, en- 
 joying the sense of utter relaxation that comes when 
 consciousness has not fully asserted itself the space 
 between sleeping and waking when one stores up a 
 great amount of reserve vitality to counteract the strain 
 of a strenuous day. Oh, it was delicious just to lie 
 there and plan and what was that could it be ? oh, 
 it couldn't " 
 
 But it was! The rain had started, gently at first, 
 then with more violence, till it spattered in vindictive 
 needle points against the windows and showered in- 
 sistently upon the sun-parched ground. The landscape 
 was dreary and leaden not at all the sort to start an 
 optimistic party of young folks on their way to a 
 summer's fun. 
 
 "Oh, why couldn't it have waited just one more 
 week?" thought Lucile, in rebellion against fate. 
 "After we had reached the seashore it wouldn't have 
 mattered half so much. Oh, well, I suppose we've 
 
 54
 
 Brightening Skies 55 
 
 just got to make the best of it. "She gave one more 
 despairing glance at the unpromising view, and then 
 turned resolutely back into the room. 
 
 "I'll be a regular modern Mark Tapley," she moral- 
 ized. "The worse the weather gets the more cheerful 
 I'll be. Maybe when it finds out I'm not going to get 
 mad about it the rain will stop," with which happy 
 thought she began to sing defiantly. 
 
 "Do you have to make that noise, Lucy?" asked her 
 brother's voice outside the door. "If you do, why I'll 
 try to stand it " 
 
 "Oh, I could make a worse one than that," promised 
 Lucile, cheerfully. "Wait a minute I'll try that song 
 that goes up to A, I think " 
 
 "No, you don't," cried Phil in a panic. "I'll meet 
 you down-stairs," and Lucile laughed at his retreating 
 footsteps. 
 
 Half an hour later, fully dressed and humming a 
 merry little tune to herself, she came upon Jim and 
 Phil dejectedly discussing the weather in the living 
 room. 
 
 "If this day wouldn't give you the blues, I'd like to 
 know what would," Phil was saying, disgustedly. 
 "Nothing but rain, rain, rain it's as bad as London."
 
 56 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "Well, there are lots worse places than London," 
 said Lucile, so close behind him that he started. "We 
 managed to have pretty nice times there." She seated 
 herself on the arm of a chair and smiled a cheery good 
 morning to them both. 
 
 "Well, that was different," and Phil, doggedly re- 
 solved to see no silver lining in the leaden hued clouds 
 on the horizon, turned back to the window. "When 
 the rain rained in London there was some novelty in 
 it, but here well, this is Burleigh." 
 
 "Goodness, I wonder what would happen," said 
 Lucile, slipping into the chair and smiling ruefully at 
 Jim. "If we all talked like that. Let's you and I 
 
 start Jim . Oh, there's nothing in the world 
 
 worth living for what a fib, what a great big terrible 
 fib!" she interrupted herself, springing from the chair 
 and doing a sort of variated little two-step over to 
 the piano bench. "Just think of it 7 said it 7, Lu- 
 cile Payton there's nothing to live for, when to-day 
 we're going to see our guardian and Mr. Jack Wescott 
 and little old Jeddie and oh come on over here, you 
 grumbly old curmudgeons and sing sing for your 
 lives!" And she began one of the popular airs, play- 
 ing it with so much vim and go that the boys found
 
 Brightening Skies 57 
 
 their spirits soaring in spite of themselves and 
 brightened up. 
 
 "That's the way, Lucy keep it up !" cried Phil, glee- 
 fully. "Jim and I will show you the latest version of 
 the Congo fox trot." And poor Jim, realizing the 
 futility of protest, was whirled off in a series of most 
 undignified capers. 
 
 It was in the midst off all this hubbub, when Lucile 
 was laughing so hard she could scarcely play that 
 Mary sounded the breakfast gong. As if it were a 
 signal, Phil released his gasping partner, lifted Lucile 
 from the bench and gently but firmly propelled her 
 toward the dining room. 
 
 "Come on, Jim," he shouted. "Mary's biscuits can't 
 be kept waiting," and then the three merrymakers al- 
 most ran into Mr. Payton as he came through the hall. 
 
 "Hello," he exclaimed, beaming genially upon them ; 
 "there's enough sunshine inside to make up for the 
 lack of it out." 
 
 "Oh, Lucile would make a Swedish funeral look like 
 a maypole dance," was Phil's admiring comment. 
 
 Whether or not the continued good cheer in the 
 Payton household had any effect upon the elements 
 is indeed a matter of conjecture and not a little doubt.
 
 58 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 Be that as it may, by twelve o'clock there was a decided 
 change in the outlook. By one, the rain had entirely 
 stopped, and the sun showed signs of breaking through 
 the dissipating masses of piled up clouds that had 
 hidden it so effectually all morning. 
 
 Lucile had run up to her room to see that everything 
 was in perfect readiness for the start, and now she 
 stood looking out of the window, a little uncertain 
 just what to do. 
 
 "If I wear my good things," she mused. "And it 
 does rain again, then I will get caught. But it cer- 
 tainly looks as though it were going to clear," and 
 then, as though to reward her faith in it, the sun shone 
 forth goldenly, changing the world from a misty, 
 cheerless, leaden place, to one of infinite beauty. The 
 trees and velvety lawns stood out, refreshed and vividly 
 green, while golden shafts of light played in and out 
 among the shimmering raindrops, turning them to 
 liquid fire. It was beautiful, this transformation, and 
 Lucile cried out in sheer delight. 
 
 "Oh, I knew it, I knew it," she cried, dancing about 
 the room, all sunny and sparkling like the raindrops 
 themselves. "I knew it would clear if we only kept 
 on hoping hard enough ! Now, let's see, have I packed
 
 Brightening Skies 59 
 
 everything," and this momentous question occupied her 
 attention for some time to come. 
 
 When at last she had satisfied herself that everything 
 was exactly as she wanted it, there came a welcome 
 sound from below stairs, that made her pause, then 
 dart joyfully from the room. 
 
 "Dad," she cried, running down the stairs like a 
 young cyclone. "You always do some wonderful thing 
 to surprise us. We said good-bye to you this morn- 
 ing, and I thought " 
 
 "Yes, you thought you were rid of your foolish old 
 father," he finished for her. "But I came back just to 
 make sure you got the right train and see you started, 
 anyway." 
 
 "Oh, no other father in the wide, wide, world 
 would have done it," she stated, happily. "Now with 
 both you and the sun didn't I tell you everything 
 would be all right in the end?" she added, turning tri- 
 umphantly to Phil and Jim, who had taken their im- 
 maculately new straw hats from the rack and were 
 preparing to descend upon the three missing members 
 of the party. "Just look at the weather, now." 
 
 "You win," her brother admitted. "It sure has 
 cleared up for keeps this time. You'd better start to
 
 60 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 get your hat and coat on now, Lucy," he advised as 
 a parting shot. "We don't want you to keep us 
 waiting." 
 
 Lucile Smiled up into her father's understanding 
 eyes. 
 
 "I'm so glad you came, Dad," she whispered, for 
 the hundredth time, while she snuggled close to him. 
 "You're the very dearest father a girl ever had." 
 
 By the time the rest of the party had arrived, Lucile 
 had said good-bye to her mother, carefully arranged 
 her pretty straw hat before the mirror and had started 
 to play a jerky little melody on the piano. The melody 
 was jerky because Lucile' s fingers trembled so she 
 could hardly feel the keys and because her eager eyes 
 were turned more often toward the street than the 
 piano. In short, she was playing just because she had 
 to do something. Ah, there they were now ! The 
 unfortunate melody closed with a crashing chord and 
 Lucile rushed out to greet the new arrivals. 
 
 "Oh, I thought you'd never come," she cried. "I've 
 been waiting ever so long. Girls, you look darling, all 
 of you! Are you sure you haven't forgotten any- 
 thing?" 
 
 "I hope they haven't," Phil answered for them, re-
 
 Brightening Skies 81 
 
 garding the three bags landed on the sidewalk rather 
 ruefully. "Jim and I are beginning to feel like ani- 
 mated moving vans already. Where's your trunk, 
 Lucy?" 
 
 "If you mean my gladstone bag," she corrected 
 gaily, "it's inside wait a minute and I'll get it. Don't 
 you girls want to sit down," she flung back. "I'll have 
 so say good-bye to Mary." 
 
 "Sit down," Jessie echoed. "Oh, Lucy, I couldn't 
 if you paid me for it." 
 
 Lucile laughed and disappeared into the region of 
 the kitchen. When she returned, Jim was there before 
 her and had stooped to pick up her bag. 
 
 "It isn't heavy," she encouraged him, and he turned 
 quickly to find her smiling at him. 
 
 "It wouldn't make a bit of difference to me if it 
 were," he returned, so quickly that she stared at him. 
 Two years in New York and a little friendliness on 
 their part had done wonders for quiet Jim, she told 
 herself. 
 
 When they joined the impatient ones on the porch, 
 they were hurried off without more ado. Mr. Payton, 
 who had been talking amiably with the girls, relieved 
 the animated moving vans of some of their luggage,
 
 62 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 and the gay party moved on, the girls almost dancing 
 in their excitement. 
 
 "I hope the train won't be late," Marjorie worried. 
 "The Burleigh station isn't the most beautiful place in 
 the world to wait in especially when you're in such 
 a hurry to get away." 
 
 "Well, we will," Phil encouraged her. "Probably if 
 we started to walk to the next station we'd get there 
 before the train." 
 
 "How very cheerful we are this morning," Jessie 
 commented. "I've never had to wait for a train yet." 
 
 "Probably because you never start till the old boat's 
 about due," Phil retorted. 
 
 "There's the whistle, now," shrilled Evelyn. "You'd 
 better stop talking and run." 
 
 There was no disputing the soundness of this advice, 
 and they followed it unhesitatingly. A few moments' 
 later, warm and out of breath, they reached the sta- 
 tion, just in time to see the train turn the curve and 
 come pounding down toward them. 
 
 "I wonder how it ever happened," gasped Lucile. "I 
 thought we had plenty of time." 
 
 Phil took out his watch deliberately and they fol- 
 lowed his movements with interest.
 
 Brightening Skies 63 
 
 "It's five-fifteen now," he announced, "and our 
 train's not due till five-twenty " 
 
 "And the answer?" Marjorie prompted. 
 
 "That yonder locomotive," he went on, "is the fore- 
 runner of the four-forty-five. Probably a cow on the 
 track further down the road." 
 
 "Well, we have five extra minutes to thank the cow 
 for," Jessie remarked philosophically, and then they 
 all turned to say good-bye to Mr. Payton. 
 
 The latter was watching them all with kindly inter- 
 est, but his eyes wandered more often to Lucile, where 
 she stood between Phil and Jessie, anxious for the 
 start, yet reluctant to part with him. 
 
 "I wish you were going, too, Dad," she whispered, 
 as the great train came to a standstill and the girls 
 started up the steps. "I'm going to write to you every 
 day." 
 
 "I guess you'd better," he answered, with a twinkle 
 in his eye. "Take good care of her, Phil," he added, 
 as that young gentleman started up the steps. "She's 
 a precious charge." 
 
 "I know that, Dad," said Phil, a ring of earnestness 
 in his voice. "You needn't worry." 
 
 Then the train moved out and Mr. Payton turned
 
 64 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 thoughtfully away the summer was a dull time for 
 him without the two. 
 
 Inside the boys were busy disposing of baggage and 
 making the girls comfortable for the long journey. 
 Be it said to their credit, the last was done in a mas- 
 terly manner, and when Lucile at last leaned back in 
 her comfortable chair, she uttered a sigh of complete 
 content. 
 
 "Anything more I can do for you?" Jim inquired 
 at her elbow. "Jessie's calling for her spy glasses 
 though what she wants them for, nobody can tell 
 and Marjorie can't decide whether she wants to take 
 her hat off or not now, isn't there something that's 
 troubling you?" 
 
 "Not a thing in the world," she answered, smiling 
 up at him. "Sit down here, Jim, and tell me all about 
 the place and the people we're going to. Start from 
 the very beginning, please." 
 
 And Jim, nothing loth, obeyed.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 A MERRY PARTY 
 
 "Two hours more," said Evelyn, running the comb 
 through her hair in a thoughtfully abstracted manner. 
 "Two hours more and we'll see good old New York 
 again. It seems just like last year !" 
 
 "Yes, Jessie's taking up the whole mirror just the 
 same as she did then," Lucile complained, plaintively. 
 "Pull your hair out a little more on the left side, dear, 
 and you'll have a wonderful effect," she added. 
 
 Marjorie laughed. "You must have had a gay old 
 time," she said. "I tell you I envied you up to the 
 time the war broke out at least." 
 
 "Oh, that was the best part," Jessie remarked, fol- 
 lowing Lucile's advice in regard to her hair the effect 
 of which she regarded with a critical eye. "The run 
 through the mist with all lights out and hostile vessels 
 
 on every side o-h " and she shuddered happily at 
 
 the memory. 
 
 "You sound like our history books," Evelyn com- 
 mented, calmly elbowing her friend from the place 
 
 65
 
 66 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 before the mirror and inserting her own plump little 
 person in the place left vacant. "All that about hostile 
 vessels and lights out sounds fine when you're safe on 
 shore, but I remember being very nervous at the time." 
 
 "Nervous is hardly the word," said Lucile, slipping 
 an arm about Marjorie and patiently awaiting a chance 
 to fix her own pretty hair before the one mirror the 
 waiting room boasted. "The night before we sighted 
 the harbor was just about the worst I ever put in 
 or ever want to." 
 
 "It was rather trying ouch, you have a pin in your 
 dress, Evelyn now see what I did," and Jessie held 
 up a bleeding finger for inspection. 
 
 "Well, if you didn't haul me around so," Evelyn re- 
 torted unfeelingly. "I wouldn't loose so many hooks 
 or need so many pins." 
 
 "Come here, child," Lucile commanded, with a 
 grandmotherly air, that set oddly on her buoyant 
 youthfulness. "If you will get a hook " 
 
 "She'd get it if I had anything to say about it," 
 grumbled Jessie, nursing the wounded finger. 
 
 Marjorie laughed, but Lucile continued, gravely, 
 "I'll sew it on for you. Now, please stand still or 
 you'll get stuck."
 
 A Merry Party 67 
 
 "Good thing for her I should say," Jessie com- 
 mented, still in an undertone. Evelyn made a frantic 
 dash toward her tormentor, but a warning exclama- 
 tion from Lucile brought her to a standstill, helpless 
 but fuming. 
 
 "Jessie, please wait till I take this one more stitch," 
 begged Lucile. "Before we know it, people will begin 
 pouring in here a dozen at a time, and I won't have 
 a chance to fix my hair. There, Evelyn, is there any- 
 thing else I can do for you?" 
 
 "Thanks, Lucy, not a thing," Evelyn answered, 
 gratefully, then turned upon Jessie a freezing stare. 
 "It's more than some people I know would have done," 
 she added, meaningly. 
 
 Marjorie laughed and Lucile turned to her despair- 
 ingly. "This is what I had to put up with all last sum- 
 mer," she said. "Do you wonder I'm afraid to leave 
 them alone?" 
 
 "I think it might be a good riddance," Marjorie 
 commented, cruelly. "Come on, Lucy here's our 
 chance at the mirror." 
 
 "And we'll put anybody off the train who tries to 
 get near it for the next five minutes," Lucile added. 
 
 "Five minutes," sniffed Jessie, the irrepressible.
 
 68 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "You might better have said twenty. Then, giving her 
 friend a repentant little hug, she added, "You're the 
 dearest thing in the world. Evelyn and I will wait for 
 you outside," and the two erstwhile enemies sauntered 
 arm in arm from the room. 
 
 In spite of Jessie's heartless prediction, the two girls 
 joined the little group in less than ten minutes. As 
 Lucile had foreseen, the passengers were beginning to 
 pour from the sleepers and our girls were very thank- 
 ful for the impulse that had lead them to rise early. 
 
 "Oh, here you are," Jessie greeted them. "We just 
 found Phil and Jim back there in a deplorable con- 
 dition." 
 
 "If they're as bad as all that, don't you think we 
 had better send for the doctor," Marjorie inquired 
 anxiously. 
 
 "I guess a chef would be nearer what they need," 
 Lucile hazarded. "Just think, they haven't had any- 
 thing to eat since last night." 
 
 "Cruelty to animals," Jessie agreed. "I feel as if I 
 might use some of the remedy myself," she added. 
 
 A few moments later they came upon the objects 
 under discussion, who were talking in a sort of half- 
 hearted manner.
 
 A Merry Party 69 
 
 "Hello, you girls," Phil greeted at their approach. 
 "When do we eat?" 
 
 "When the dining car opens, I suppose," his sister 
 answered, demurely, "we might station ourselves at the 
 entrance to make sure nobody gets there before us." 
 
 "No need of that," Jessie teased. "With Phil around 
 nobody else has a chance for first place." 
 
 A little while later Phil justified her faith in him, 
 and they set to on a most appetizing and savory menu. 
 As the meal progressed, their spirits grew higher and 
 higher, until the little party was in gales of merriment 
 all the time Phil and Jessie were simply irresistible. 
 When at last they rose and made their way through 
 the crowded car, their excitement had reached fever 
 heat, and the remaining hour of their journey to the 
 great metropolis seemed to stretch before them 
 eternally. 
 
 "It's wonderful how long an hour can seem," Mar- 
 jorie sighed, gazing out at the flying landscape. "You 
 girls have seen New York before, but I haven't. I'm 
 so used to hearing you rave about it that I suppose I'll 
 expect too much." 
 
 "You couldn't," Evelyn remarked, with finality. "I 
 only wish we had more time to spend in it."
 
 70 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Yes, we did the same thing last year," mused 
 Lucile. "Just ran in and then right out again. We 
 hadn't even time for one good look." 
 
 "You wouldn't have seen anything, Lucy, if we had 
 had time," Jessie interposed, slyly. "You were too 
 occupied with other things." 
 
 "Other things?" Marjorie queried with uplifted eye- 
 brows, while Lucile blushed furiously and shot a re- 
 proachful glance at her friend. "Evidently there is 
 something else I don't know anything about." 
 
 "It's better not to know anything than to know too 
 much," said Lucile, attempting to hide confusion be- 
 neath an assumed good nature and staring fixedly out 
 of the window while her color mounted still higher. 
 
 Marjorie shot another inquiring glance at Jessie, 
 which the latter intercepted with a wickedly joyful lit- 
 tle nod of her head. Just there there was an interrup- 
 tion, very welcome to Lucile at least, in the shape of 
 the two boys who had come to announce that they 
 were nearing their destination with amazing rapidity. 
 
 "Better get your things on, girls," Phil suggested. 
 "There won't be much time at the last minute. Have 
 you got your grips all packed?" 
 
 The answer being in the affirmative, the boys seated
 
 A Merry Party 71 
 
 themselves comfortably and prepared to await develop- 
 ments. 
 
 "Will there be anybody at the station to meet us, 
 Jim?" Lucile inquired. "If there isn't, I hope you will 
 know the way." 
 
 "Adrift in New York," sighed Jessie, ecstatically. 
 "How romantic." 
 
 "Not at all," Phil contradicted. "I can't imagine 
 anything much less romantic than being adrift in New 
 York. Now a good, juicy desert island, for in- 
 stance-- " 
 
 "Oh, Phil, that doesn't happen except in books," Lu- 
 cile interrupted cruelly. "Besides, you haven't given 
 Jim a chance to answer my question." 
 
 "Young Mr. Wescott will almost surely be there in 
 his machine," Jim answered, gravely. "He just bought 
 a new one a little while ago." 
 
 "He must be getting on all right," Phil broke in 
 interestedly. "A fellow his age with a new car 
 whew " 
 
 "He's a wonder," Jim eulogized. "Only thirty now 
 and one of the best known men in his profession. I 
 tell you, he's been mighty fine to me," and the boy's 
 eyes glowed with honest affection.
 
 72 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Well, you deserved it, Jim," Phil defended, loy- 
 ally. "It won't be long now before you will be able 
 to work right in with him. Then your fortune's 
 made." 
 
 "Sounds good, doesn't it?" Jim smiled his pleasant 
 smile. "If I don't make good, it sure won't be his 
 fault. Ten minutes more," he added, pulling out his 
 watch as though to change the subject. "I'm anxious 
 to see the dear old place again." 
 
 "I guess it's a fact that New Yorkers are never con- 
 tent to live anywhere else very long," Marjorie com- 
 mented. "All the traveling salesmen that come to 
 Burleigh do nothing but rave about Gotham. I can't 
 wait to see it." 
 
 "Well, you won't have to long," Evelyn remarked. 
 "I'm beginning to feel nervous and prickly all over 
 that's a sure sign we're coming to our destination. 
 Oh, girls look, don't you remember this place. Why, 
 it seems as though we were here yesterday." 
 
 The girls crowded close to the window, scanning the 
 rapidly changing view with eager eyes. Their breath 
 came quickly and their faces were aglow with excite- 
 ment. 
 
 "Oh, we're here," Evelyn cried as the long train
 
 A Merry Party 73 
 
 glided into the station and came to a standstill with 
 much shrieking and scraping of the brakes. "Boys, 
 do get the bags please don't forget mine I wouldn't 
 
 know what to do without it oh oh " 
 
 "Oh, Evelyn, do keep still," Jessie admonished in an 
 
 * 
 
 undertone. "We want to act as though we were used 
 to this sort of thing. Besides, you forget what sea- 
 soned travelers we are." 
 
 "I'm not a seasoned anything," Evelyn denied re- 
 belliously, as the passengers, laden with luggage, be- 
 gan to pour in a steady stream down the aisle. "And 
 I don't care what anybody thinks. Lucy, do hold on 
 to me good and tight I'm afraid I'll fly away " 
 
 "Come on girls, don't let's be the last ones out," 
 Phil admonished. "Not that way, Jessie, this door's 
 the nearest," and the sextette of happy youth slipped 
 into the crowd and made their way slowly toward the 
 platform. 
 
 "Are you sure we have everything," Lucile whis- 
 pered anxiously in her brother's ear somehow she 
 felt responsible for the successful outcome of their 
 journey. "It's so easy to leave something " 
 
 "Don't you worry," Phil answered, giving her arm 
 a reassuring pressure. "If there were anything else,
 
 74 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 I couldn't carry it anyway I'm the original human 
 baggage car as it is. Give that thing a shove up, will 
 you, Lucy? I probably won't have anything left by 
 the time we get on the platform." 
 
 In spite of his gloomy prediction, the entire party, 
 luggage and all, landed safely on the station a moment 
 later, and it's components looked about them inter- 
 estedly. 
 
 "Oh, I love it," Evelyn cried, with a little ecstatic 
 clap of her hands that made several passersby smile in 
 sympathy. "There isn't a thing changed not a 
 thing." 
 
 "It would take an earthquake to make any consider- 
 able change in this place," Jim remarked. "Let's walk 
 down the station a little way Mr. Wescott ought to 
 be right about here somewhere there he is now. See 
 him coming toward us " 
 
 "Oh, yes, and he looks just the same, too, only hap- 
 pier," Lucile marveled. 
 
 "Hello, everybody," called the young man in ques- 
 tion. He looked very young barely twenty-five you 
 would have said at first sight. His light gray suit and 
 immaculate straw hat became his clean cut, American 
 good looks to perfection, and his smile, that showed
 
 A Merry Party 75 
 
 two rows of even white teeth, seemed to include the 
 world, in its atmosphere of genial good fellowship. If 
 Mr. Jack Wescott had not been just what he was, the 
 girls could never have forgiven him the great crime of 
 marrying their guardian. 
 
 "I knew we wouldn't have to look very far for you," 
 said Jim, and the gladness in his tone showed very 
 plainly the relation between the two. "Did you bring 
 the car?" 
 
 "Sure thing," he answered, boyishly, and then his 
 laughing gaze rested upon the girls whom he had last 
 seen two years before. "So these are the young ladies 
 my wife is waiting so anxiously to see," he said. "I 
 expected to find little girls in short dresses, and behold ! 
 Oh. well, two years works wonders," and his eyes, 
 twinkled, though his surprise at the change in them 
 had been very genuine. 
 
 However, they were four very pretty girls he 
 thought, as he piloted the little party down the plat- 
 form and toward the street especially the dark one, 
 with the color. 
 
 "Here we are," he announced a moment later, 
 throwing open the door of a handsome machine. "Five 
 of you can get in the tonneau and Jim can jump in the
 
 76 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 front with me. That's the idea now are you all 
 comfortable ?" 
 
 "More than that," Lucile assured, and with a laugh 
 he sprang into the driver's seat and started the big 
 machine. As it glided silently out into the crowded 
 thoroughfare Jessie turned to Lucile with a happy 
 smile. 
 
 "Am I awake?" she began, then added hastily, as 
 Lucile made a quick movement with her thumb and 
 forefinger. "No, you needn't pinch me dear I'm per- 
 fectly positive that I am !" 
 
 Lucile laughed and turned to Marjorie. "Well, 
 Marj, how do you like your first glimpse?" she in- 
 quired. 
 
 "When I can catch my breath I'm going to like it," 
 said Marjorie, a little gasp in her voice. "Oh, Lucy, 
 look we almost ran down that wagon!" 
 
 "Well, you notice we didn't," said Jessie, philosophi- 
 cally. "It's just luck, I know, but as long as the luck 
 holds out, why worry?"
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 GUARDIAN OF THE CAMP FIRE 
 
 THE car drew up before a majestic apartment house 
 on Riverside drive. Mr. Jack Wescott jumped out, 
 opened the door of the tonneau and offered a helping 
 hand to the girls. Phil would have preferred to do 
 the honors himself, but since their host persisted in 
 being so intrusively polite, what could he do ? Answer, 
 he gloomily told himself, was- nothing ! 
 
 "Suppose you had your trunks sent right on to 
 Tanike?" Mr. Wescott half questioned, half stated, as 
 he propelled them across the sidewalk and into the 
 marble entrance. "They probably won't reach there 
 much before you anyway, counting the delays and 
 possible accidents." 
 
 "We thought of that," Phil answered. "Told them 
 to hold the luggage at the other end." 
 
 "Good! Here's the lift in with you all. Fourth, 
 Tom. "The elevator boy touched his cap and they 
 floated upward. 
 
 The girls' eyes grew wider with every moment. You 
 
 77
 
 78 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 see, they had never been in a Riverside apartment 
 house before, and this ascent to parts unknown seemed 
 strangely thrilling and interesting. 
 
 "I don't see why we had to go to Europe," said Jes- 
 sie, putting her thought into words. ''When we had 
 such wonderful things here right under our noses. 
 Why, there's hardly a house in England more than 
 three stories high !" 
 
 Mr. Wescott laughed. "Americans often make that 
 mistake," he said. "They spend a good part of their 
 lives visiting foreign countries and never discover the 
 wonders in their own. Hello, here we are again. To 
 your left that's it. Now to surprise the lady of the 
 house," and he fitted the key into the lock with prac- 
 tised fingers. 
 
 The "lady of the house" had already heard the sound 
 of voices outside the door, and as the girls crowded 
 into the hall, followed by the two boys and her hus- 
 band, she was waiting for them with outstretched 
 arms. 
 
 After that, confusion reigned supreme. Kisses and 
 ecstatic hugs and questions and answers were ex- 
 changed with such lightning like rapidity, that the 
 three mere men stood aside in admiring wonder. 
 Finally, Mr. Jack Wescott felt called upon to interpose.
 
 Guardian of the Camp Fire 79 
 
 "If you will just let us inside where we can drop 
 these grips, my dear," he suggested, mildly, "we would 
 appreciate it. Besides, it makes us jealous to have to 
 stand on the outside and look on at all this lavish 
 affection. If you could only send some of it our 
 way " 
 
 Helen Wescott lifted a deliciously flushed face, and 
 frankly laughed at her husband. "You all look terribly 
 neglected," she mocked. "But since the bags are a bit 
 heavy, we'll take pity on you. The first room you 
 come to, girls," she said, "and you boys can deposit the 
 grips in the next one. My, it's good to have such a 
 great big house full." 
 
 " 'Full' is right," laughed Lucile. "Really it's a 
 crime to come down on you like this." 
 
 "Then we're the very happiest criminals out of jail," 
 said Jessie, taking off her hat and fluffing out her 
 golden hair. "It's enough to drive one to a life of 
 crime." 
 
 Mrs. Wescott laughed gaily. "I don't have to ask 
 you how you are," she said. "I never saw any of you 
 looking so well before. Lucile, I don't see where you 
 get the color." 
 
 "Same place you get yours," Lucile returned, fondly 
 slipping an arm about her guardian, who seemed no
 
 80 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 older than the girls themselves. "I always envied you 
 in camp, and I'll never get over it." 
 
 Mrs. Wescott patted the rosy cheek gently. "And 
 you'll never get over spoiling me, either," she said, 
 softly. "My girls always did that." 
 
 "Come on in, girls I've found a Victrola." It was 
 Phil's voice from somewhere further front, and as 
 though to give proof to his words, there issued from 
 the same direction the alluring strains of the latest and 
 most syncopated fox trot. 
 
 Young Mrs. Wescott, radiant in her gray dress with 
 its spattering of rosebuds here and there, rose quickly 
 from her seat and gave her orders with the air of a 
 general commanding his troops. 
 
 "Go on in there and dance," she directed. "While I 
 go and see how the lunch is getting on you must be 
 starving. Hurry, now scatter!" and the girls, noth- 
 ing loth, "scattered." 
 
 Young Mr. Wescott proved to be a most excellent 
 dancer Lucile could not help thinking of another time 
 when she had danced with another Jack oh, what a 
 night of sheer gladness that had been ! And she was 
 soon to see him again might even dance with 
 him
 
 Guardian of the Camp Fire 81 
 
 "Which would you rather do ?" inquired Helen Wes- 
 cott, poking her head in at the door at that precise 
 moment. "Dance or eat ?" 
 
 Phil gave a whoop Lucile often declared she could 
 never teach him manners and made a rush to take off 
 the record. 
 
 "Leave it alone," said Jim. "The phonograph stops 
 itself." 
 
 "Why didn't you tell me that before!" Phil re- 
 proached him. "I wasted two minutes of valuable time 
 when I might have been eating." 
 
 After that the young folks could have found their 
 way to the dining room without the aid of directions 
 from their hostess. 
 
 After a most excellent luncheon, Mr. Wescott took 
 his leave, declaring that the office did need him some- 
 times, and the young folks were left to their own de- 
 vices for the afternoon. 
 
 Mrs. Wescott informed the girls that a theatre 
 party had been planned for that night, as it was the 
 one night they were to have in New York, and told 
 them to fill in the time anyway they wanted to until 
 then she was at their service. 
 
 "We might take the car and see the city," she
 
 82 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 suggested. "Or we might visit some of the mu- 
 
 seums 
 
 "Please," Mdrjorie laid her hand rather timidly on 
 her guardian's. "I suppose none of you will agree, 
 but, since we are going out to-night, couldn't we just 
 stay here and talk^-talk about old times " 
 
 "Marjorie, I always knew you had a good deal of 
 sense," said Jessie, nodding wisely and slipping an 
 arm about Lucile as she stood by the window. "There 
 are a good deal prettier things to see in New York 
 than the city." 
 
 "There you go, spoiling me again," said the little 
 guardian plaintively, though she flushed with pleasure 
 at the sincere compliment. "I'm glad you have decided 
 that way," she went on, in her low, sweet voice, "be- 
 cause I think you all need a little rest and quiet before 
 the excitement of to-night and to-morrow. Jim is go- 
 ing to take Phil down to see some of his friends, so 
 we won't be interrupted. We can have a cozy little 
 tea about five o'clock " 
 
 "Oh, please, don't say any more," begged Lucile, her 
 eyes shining. "I'll be too happy. It's exactly as we 
 planned it for the last week. And then the theatre 
 to-night "
 
 Guardian of the Camp Fire 83 
 
 "Do you remember how you described it to us the 
 theatre, I mean/' Jessie went on, taking up the thread. 
 "When you came to Burleigh last summer before we 
 started for Europe? It seemed pretty far away then, 
 but now " 
 
 And so they went on and on, reviewing events of 
 the summer before and even the summer before that, 
 when they had pitched their famous camp on the banks 
 of the Mayaro river. 
 
 Five o'clock came and with it the cozy tea Mrs. Wes- 
 cott had promised, and then, much too soon for the 
 girls who were only half talked out, came dinner and 
 the necessary masculine contingent of the happy house- 
 hold. As Lucile had often remarked, "a dinner and 
 Phil always came together." 
 
 "Hello," cried Jack Wescott's hearty voice. "Why 
 on earth are you people sitting in the dark? Elec- 
 tricity is cheap," and with the words he switched on 
 the lights, fairly blinding the happy conspirators. 
 
 The latter blinked and faced about to find Jim and 
 Phil grinning at them over Mr. Wescott's shoulder. 
 
 "What do you suppose they find to talk about, Jim ?" 
 asked Phil with the air of one seeking enlightenment 
 on a dark subject. Tm willing to bet you a new neck-
 
 84 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 tie they haven't changed their positions since we left 
 them." 
 
 "Don't be rash, Phil dear," purred Jessie, tucking in 
 a stray lock of hair and smiling up at him tantalizingly. 
 "Remember, you'll need all your money for sodas 
 when we get to Tanike." 
 
 "This being leap year, the ladies ought to treat," 
 Phil retorted, drawing Jessie into a corner where he 
 imparted some very important news, judging from the 
 look of surprise and pleasure on her face. The others 
 had become used to the interchange of secrets between 
 the two, and so very discreetly turned the other way. 
 
 Blindness is so convenient sometimes. 
 
 About quarter of eight the entire party reassembled 
 in the living room, waiting with scarcely concealed im- 
 patience for the arrival of the Wescott limousine. 
 
 "Girls, you did get ready in a hurry," their hostess 
 complimented them, "and you look as fresh and sweet 
 as though you had spent an hour over your dressing." 
 
 Lucile chuckled. "Since all our good clothes are on 
 the way to Tanike," she laughed. "We didn't have 
 much chance to make ourselves beautiful. All I did 
 was to put my hat on differently, You'd be surprised 
 how dressed up that makes you feel."
 
 Guardian of the Camp Fire 85 
 
 They laughed with her and Mr. Wescott's wonder- 
 ing eyes travelled questioningly from one natty lit- 
 tle traveling suit to the other. 
 
 "If the girls didn't tell us they weren't dressed up/' 
 he laughingly confided to the boys, "We wouldn't know 
 the difference. There's our car," he added, as a partic- 
 ularly raucous horn mingled with the general din. "I 
 couldn't mistake that infernal wail. Everybody 
 ready?" 
 
 They assented eagerly, and a moment later had been 
 whirled down in the handsome elevator and were be- 
 ing handed into the big machine. It was a beauty 
 deep wine color outside and in and the cushions one 
 fairly sank into them. It took pretty close figuring 
 to get everybody in as a matter of fact, Jessie sat on 
 Lucile's lap and Evelyn on Marjorie's most of the 
 way but that made all the more fun. 
 
 "Don't forget and try to get up first, when the car 
 stops," Jessie cautioned. "I'm apt to take a flying leap 
 onto the sidewalk." 
 
 "That's the last thing I'll do forget," Lucile as- 
 sured her. "Although I love you, Jessie, dear, you're 
 not what I should call a feather " 
 
 "That's it, go ahead and insult me when you know
 
 86 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 I can't do anything," said Jessie, pathetically. "I'm 
 not a feather, but neither am I the " 
 
 "Prize fat lady?" Evelyn finished demurely. "Cheer 
 up, Jessie, there's plenty of time yet I wouldn't give 
 up hope if I were you." 
 
 "Take care you shall regret," in her effort to be 
 rhetorical, Jessie lost her balance and clutched Evelyn's 
 sleeve frantically, thereby entirely spoiling the effect 
 and sending the girls into gales of laughter. "Well, 
 I don't care," she exclaimed defiantly. "How can I 
 help it if Lucy's knee wiggles." 
 
 "That's it, always put the blame on someone else," 
 Evelyn taunted while the others laughed anew. "Mar- 
 jorie's knee isn't the steadiest seat in the world 
 either " 
 
 "You'd think we only had one knee, Marj," Lucile 
 chuckled. "Why do they always speak in the sin- 
 gular?" But Evelyn went on unheeding. 
 
 "And just look at me," she finished. "Do I fall all 
 over the place? no!" 
 
 "Oh, everybody knows you're a seven-days' won- 
 der," said Jessie with a sarcasm that would have 
 crushed a less hardened sinner than Evelyn. "You 
 needn't tell us about it."
 
 Guardian of the Camp Fire 87 
 
 "Well, as long as you realize it," Evelyn was begin- 
 ning, when the machine stopped before a brilliantly 
 lighted theatre and the chauffeur leaned over to open 
 the door. 
 
 "Oh, we have arrived!" she added, in an excited 
 whisper. "Let the boys out first, Jessie, and please 
 see if you can keep from disgracing us." 
 
 Jessie's only answer to this last shot was an indig- 
 nant stare, and a moment later the girls found them- 
 selves ushered into a magnificent lobby, and from 
 there into the softly carpeted, subtly rustling theatre 
 itself. 
 
 They had scarcely taken their seats when the orches- 
 tra struck up a spirited selection, and everything was 
 forgotten even the recent good-natured animosity be- 
 tween Jessie and Evelyn in the rush of new sights 
 and sounds that claimed their attention. The rest was 
 like a brilliant dream. The play was good, the music 
 good and everything was just as the eager girls had 
 pictured it in Burleigh. 
 
 When at last all was over and they had slipped into 
 their beds in the two adjoining rooms, Mrs. Wescott 
 paused a moment before turning out the lights. "Well, 
 how did you like it?" she asked, smiling down upon
 
 88 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 the two heads on the pillow one light and one dark. 
 "Do you think my descriptions were exaggerated?" 
 
 "Not one bh," Lucile denied emphatically. "I think 
 it was all wonderful." 
 
 "Only," sighed Jessie, "I didn't like the hero's style 
 of beauty." 
 
 "I noticed he didn't look much like Phil at the time," 
 Evelyn called from the other room. "His hair was 
 too light." 
 
 Mrs. Wescott switched off the light with a click. 
 "Go to sleep, you two," she ordered. "Otherwise I'll 
 be forced to lock the door between." 
 
 There was a muffled chuckle from the other room 
 evidently Marjorie was trying force !
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 A FISH STORY 
 
 "TIME to get up girls it's after nine o'clock, and 
 the train starts at eleven. Come, wake up !" 
 
 The insistently sweet voice caused Lucile to open 
 one sleepy eye while Jessie flopped over on the other 
 side and drew the covers over her head. 
 
 Mrs. Wescott laughed softly and sat down on the 
 edge of the bed. 
 
 "I know it's hard, after getting to bed so late last 
 night," she acknowledged, regarding the girls' rum- 
 pled heads fondly, "but we can't miss the train. I'm 
 going to stay right where I am until I see one or both 
 of you on your feet. That's settled!" 
 
 Again the quiet insistence of her tone caused Jessie 
 to groan dismally. 
 
 "Oh, dear guardian," she wailed, her voice half 
 stifled by the bed clothes. "Just fifteen minutes more 
 I can't even get my eyes open please !" 
 
 Lucile laughed and opened the other eye, blinking 
 
 89
 
 90 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 * 
 
 up inquiringly into her guardian's serenely smiling 
 
 face. 
 
 "What time is it?" she asked, stifling a tremendous 
 yawn. "It seems to me I just got to sleep." 
 
 "It always does," Mrs. Wescott assured her, laugh- 
 ing. "As to the time, I told you that before, but I 
 guess you were too near dreamland to hear me. It is 
 now," examining her little watch, "just seven and a 
 half minutes past nine." 
 
 Again the doleful sound from the little huddled 
 mass that was Jessie. Lucile reached over and pulled 
 a protruding braid, thereby eliciting a sharp exclama- 
 tion and a more emphatic flop. 
 
 "Goodness, I'm miserable enough without having 
 my hair pulled," she protested, uncovering a sleep 
 flushed, indignant little face. "I wish everybody would 
 just go away and leave me at peace. I never seem 
 to get enough sleep, anyway," with which protest at 
 a hard and unyielding fate, she buried her face in the 
 pillow and closed her eyes with an air of finality. 
 
 Lucile looked at Mrs. Wescott and shook her pretty 
 head despairingly. "Between Phil and Jessie," she 
 dimpled, "I have my hands full." 
 
 "I've noticed that," smiled her guardian. "But you
 
 A Fish Story 91 
 
 don't seem to be particularly bowed down by the bur- 
 den." 
 
 "Oh, I am, but I'm too proud to disclose my secret 
 sorrow to an unsympathetic world," sighed Lucile, 
 then continued before her friend had a chance to utter 
 the disparaging remark on her lips. 
 
 "Jessie," she cried, "just think of the sun shining 
 on the ocean the way we saw it on the Mauretania 
 only better this time, because we'll have the real surf 
 on a real sandy beach oh, I'm dying to see it," and 
 she jumped out of bed, doing her own original little 
 toe dance around the room. "Oh, I can't wait to see 
 it," she repeated, while her guardian reached out and 
 drew the slender figure toward her lovingly. 
 
 "Huh," grunted Jessie, cross because she was 
 sleepy. "I imagine the ocean isn't the only thing 
 you're crazy to see." 
 
 Mrs. Wescott looked from one to the other, sensing 
 a joke. Lucile' s color flamed and for the first time 
 her guardian saw real anger in the dark eyes. With- 
 out a word, she turned away and began to arrange 
 her things at the other end of the room. 
 
 The puzzled little hostess realized that here was 
 something better let alone, and with unerring tact she
 
 92 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 rose from the bed and made her way to the next room, 
 and closed the door. 
 
 "I'll call these other sleepy heads," she flung back 
 over her shoulder. "Breakfast will be ready in half 
 an hour." 
 
 The two girls dressed in strained silence, and it 
 was not till they had turned to leave the room that 
 either spoke and then it was Jessie. 
 
 "Lucile," she began, rather awkwardly, for she had 
 never seen her friend like this before. "I I'm sorry. 
 I I didn't mean to be rude or, anything. You 
 know I wouldn't hurt you for the world " 
 
 "Oh, it's all right," Lucile assured her, throwing an 
 impulsive arm about the penitent's neck. "I dare say 
 I was very much of a goose to mind anyway. Only 
 you see I'm not used everything seems so oh, 
 you know what I mean !" 
 
 "Just exactly," said Jessie, pressing a warm little 
 kiss on the flushed cheek. "You and I are very much 
 in the same fix, I imagine," and before Lucile could 
 demand an explanation, they had reached the dining 
 room and were instantly surrounded. 
 
 Breakfast was eaten to the accompaniment of jokes 
 and merry laughter, in which Lucile joined with even
 
 A Fish Story 93 
 
 more than her ordinary high spirits. She was the 
 focus of all eyes and, indeed, how could it be other- 
 wise? Twin roses flamed in her cheeks, her eyes 
 sparkled, and her quick merry smile flashed out con- 
 tinually. 
 
 "Isn't Lucy wonderful this morning?" Evelyn 
 whispered to Jessie as they rose from the table. "I 
 never saw her so lovely. Just look at that color." 
 
 "There's a reason," said Jessie enigmatically, and 
 then Phil claimed her attention. 
 
 "Marjorie, I guess we've mixed brushes," said Lu- 
 cile, regarding her's with a troubled frown they 
 were getting their things packed for the last stage of 
 the journey. "Mine has a scratch on the back, I know. 
 Oh, there's the car, now," and at the sound of the 
 horn she actually jumped. Why was she so nervous, 
 so excited there was absolutely no cause 
 
 "Come on, girls," PhiJ was impatient. "Mr. Wes- 
 cott's been waiting for half an hour now," and al- 
 though this last statement was rather exaggerated, it 
 had nevertheless the desired effect. 
 
 At last, at last, they were on the way to Tanike! 
 The girls' hearts sang it, the engine bell clanged it, 
 and, to the joyful little party on board the train, even
 
 94 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 the humming rails seemed to announce the glorious 
 fact. "Tanike," "Tanike," "Tanike," puffed the steam 
 in the great locomotive, and Lucile felt a wild desire 
 to join in the chorus 
 
 "Well, this- is something like," said Phil, sinking 
 into the seat beside Jessie and riveting his gaze on the 
 fast flying landscape. "New York is all right, but it's 
 mighty hot in summer/' 
 
 "Oh, I don't mind how hot it gets the hotter the 
 better," said Jessie, with a reckless disregard of at- 
 mospheric conditions that caused her companions to 
 look at her inquiringly. 
 
 "Why the sudden heroism?" Evelyn inquired. "If 
 it gets much warmer I'll just naturally fade away," 
 and she fanned herself vehemently. 
 
 Jessie looked about her pityingly. "Hasn't it ever 
 occurred to you," she elucidated, "that the hotter the 
 sun is the better the water will feel?" 
 
 "Well, we can't live in the water forever," Evelyn 
 protested "We might have to eat sometime." 
 
 "Maybe Jessie's thinking of the story," Jim began, 
 with a quizzical little smile on his usually grave face, 
 "about the man who said good-bye to his wife, went 
 out for a swim and, two weeks later, came back the
 
 A Fish Story 95 
 
 same way. The doctor pronounced his malady loss 
 
 of memory, and he and the wife both concluded that 
 t. > 
 
 "Had been doing the mermaid act for two weeks, 
 eh?" Phil deducted. "Gee, I admire that fellow." 
 
 Evelyn looked wide-eyed from one to the other. 
 "But what had he been doing all that time?" she 
 asked. "Everybody knows a man can't live without 
 eating." 
 
 "Oh, he didn't," Jim assured her with a broad grin. 
 "In fact, he never had had such good fare in his life." 
 
 "Go on," commanded Jessie while Lucile and Mar- 
 jorie, who had been talking together, paused to listen. 
 "You can't stop now till you've cleared up the 
 mystery." 
 
 "Oh, it was hardly that," Jim obliged. "You see, 
 this sea gentleman had received a legacy which he 
 decided to spend in New York and alone. Then 
 when he found out the money was left to his wife in- 
 stead of himself, he very naturally decided it was high 
 time to come home." 
 
 "And so the mermaid stunt was all faked up after 
 all," said Phil, with interest. 
 
 "Why, of course, he had to come back the way he
 
 96 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 went," Jim agreed, satisfied with the success of his 
 story. "When the wife saw his clothes on the beach 
 she naturally concluded he had been drowned, and 
 when he came swimming back suffering from loss of 
 memory, there was a joyful reunion " 
 
 "And no questions asked," sniffed Jessie. "That's 
 all right in the movies." 
 
 "How did you know it was a picture?" asked Jim, 
 surprised. "I didn't tell you so." 
 
 "Couldn't be anything else," said the wise young 
 person emphatically. "Such things don't happen even 
 in regular stories." 
 
 "Humph," it was Evelyn's turn to disbelieve. 
 "Probably she saw it in one of our picture shows back 
 home." 
 
 Lucile, scenting battle, covered her face with her 
 hands in mock terror of the outcome. 
 
 "I wouldn't even take the trouble to deny such a 
 charge," Jessie began, icily, while the rest looked on 
 in frank enjoyment. "Besides, I might suggest that 
 you wouldn't speak of our picture shows 'back home' 
 as if we came from the dim interior " 
 
 "Well, it certainly isn't the seacoast," Evelyn re- 
 torted, while the others laughed at Jessie's surprise.
 
 A Fish Story 97 
 
 "And I didn't say it was dim either there never 
 was a brighter place than dear old Burleigh " 
 
 "Oh, do stop," Marjorie pleaded, "I'm beginning 
 to get homesick already." 
 
 "She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother," 
 chanted Jessie, while Marjorie looked about for some- 
 thing to throw at her. "It's no use, Marj, there's 
 nothing movable but the hatrack " 
 
 "And that's up above," finished Phil, adding, as sev- 
 eral pitying looks were directed his way. "You don't 
 need to look so disgusted if I hadn't said it, some- 
 body else would." 
 
 "You wrong us," Jessie asserted. "I admit we're 
 pretty hopeless, but that's " 
 
 "Going a little bit too far," Marjorie laughed. 
 "Say, people, I vote we form an axless club " 
 
 "Ax me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," sang 
 Phil. "May I inquire just what is an 'axless club/ ' 
 
 "Certainly, any one may inquire," said Marjorie 
 graciously, "go right ahead." 
 
 Phil looked at Jim as though seeking moral support. 
 "I'm afraid we're outnumbered, Jim," he despaired. 
 
 "Anybody with a grain of sense would know what 
 an axless club meant in the first place," Jessie declared,
 
 98 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 regarding the flying landscape dreamily. "But, of 
 course, what can we expect?" 
 
 "Take care," Marjorie warned with a laugh. "We 
 may bait them too far I see murder in Phil's eyes. 
 Why so pensive, Lucy?" she added, to change the 
 subject. "One might almost think you weren't with 
 us." 
 
 "Perhaps she's just trying to create that impres- 
 sion," said Jessie, ruefully. "You could hardly 
 blame her, considering " 
 
 "You needn't drag us all in on this," Evelyn broke 
 in quickly. "I, at least " 
 
 "Oh, girls," begged Lucile. "If you would only call 
 a truce for five minutes just five minutes. I think 
 that axless club is the best thing you ever thought of, 
 Marj," she added. "Only it wouldn't work. How 
 much farther to Tanike is it, dear guardian?" she 
 asked. "It seems to me it can't take very much 
 longer." 
 
 "About an hour more," smiled the little woman, re- 
 garding Lucile with a new question in her eyes. She, 
 Lucile, had always been the life of any party she hap- 
 pened to be in. It was not like her to draw apart from 
 the others and start at every question abruptly ad-
 
 A Fish Story 99 
 
 dressed to her. There must be some reason she 
 wondered but all she said was, "About an hour 
 more." 
 
 And their chaperone had not been the only one to 
 notice the unusual abstraction of their merry com- 
 panion. The boys wondered, Marjorie and Evelyn 
 guessed, but Jessie knew! The latter, being a true 
 friend, reached down, squeezed Lucile's hand and 
 whispered fiercely. "Be sociable, Lucy you're mak- 
 ing them curious." 
 
 Thus warned, the erstwhile undaunted little torch 
 bearer of the camp-fire Aloea, drew up her proud lit- 
 tle head and joined in the conversation with the best 
 of them. For the next hour no one had reason to 
 complain of her reticence. 
 
 "Tanike," called the guard as the train slipped 
 from the station, and the girls knew that a few min- 
 utes more would bring them to their destination. Then 
 began the hurried putting on of coats and the wild 
 scramble for baggage, and in the excitement Lucile 
 and Jessie had an opportunity for a word together. 
 
 "Do you think he'll be there?" Lucile whispered 
 nervously. "Oh, Jessie, do you?" 
 
 "Why, of course he will," Jessie answered prac-
 
 100 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 tically. "You don't suppose anything could keep him 
 away, do you ? especially after he said he'd come." 
 
 "I know " ' 
 
 Jessie gave her friend a quick little hug. "If you 
 only knew how pretty you look, you wouldn't be afraid 
 of anything. Oh, the train's stopping Lucy, there's 
 Jack now, with somebody else at least I think it 
 was " 
 
 But Lucile had no need to think at the first glance 
 she had recognized him had picked him out from all 
 that crowd of people oh, how could Jessie think she 
 was mistaken? 
 
 "Come on, honey," cried Jessie, linking her arm 
 joyfully in Lucile's. "I'm so crazy to get off this old 
 train I don't know what to do. Don't push, Phil 
 we'll go quietly!"
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE ROAR OF THE SURF 
 
 LUCILE was vividly alive to new impressions as she 
 allowed Jessie to pilot her out on the platform and 
 down the steps. The station was picturesque with its 
 mob of laughing humanity pretty girls in fluffy 
 dresses and splendid young fellows in summer flan- 
 nels and dark coats. And the best of it was every- 
 body seemed to be watching for somebody else to ar- 
 rive on the "five-fifteen." 
 
 "There's Jack over there," Jessie pointed out as they 
 put foot on the station. "He's with quite a crowd, too 
 wonder who the pretty girl is he's talking to oh, 
 now he sees us hello, Jack," she called, as a young 
 man disengaged himself from the laughing group and 
 came toward them, his handsome face alight and his 
 eyes eager. "You thought you would find us after 
 all." 
 
 "Find you," Jack echoed as he dropped his cousin's 
 welcoming hands and turned to Lucile. "I've done 
 nothing else but look ever since the train came in 
 
 sight," the words were for Jessie, but his eyes rested 
 
 101
 
 102 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 on Lucile's radiant upturned face as though he could 
 see nothing else on the crowded platform. "Say, it's 
 good to see you again," he said, and this time even 
 the words were for Lucile. 
 
 "Hello, Jack," Phil greeted, coming up with the rest 
 of the party. "You might say 'howdy' to the rest 
 of us country bumpkins, you know." 
 
 "Give him a chance," protested Jessie. "Besides 
 we're not " 
 
 "Yes, we are," asserted Phil, whereupon began a 
 lively discussion, not shared in by the rest of the 
 party. 
 
 Jack shook hands heartily with Mrs. Wescott he 
 had always admired her and indeed, who could help 
 it and after becoming acquainted with the girls and 
 Jim all over again, suggested that the newcomers meet 
 his party. 
 
 Mrs. Wescott hesitated. "It's pretty late," she de- 
 murred, but Jack brushed aside this objection in three 
 words. 
 
 "The car's waiting," he said, then added with his 
 quick smile. "I thought that perhaps we might be 
 allowed to help some bring provisions from the vil- 
 lage if you needed them and we thought, perhaps,
 
 The Roar of the Surf 103 
 
 there might be an invitation for dinner floating around 
 
 somewhere " his eyes rested for a moment on 
 
 Lucile and indeed his were not the only ones then 
 traveled hopefully to Mrs. Wescott. 
 
 The latter laughed and gave in. "If you don't 
 mind what you eat," she capitulated. 
 
 "We don't mind if you give us stewed sand," he 
 agreed, triumphantly. "Now, come over and meet 
 my friends." 
 
 He slipped his arm through Lucile's, guiding her 
 among the animated, laughing groups of young people, 
 many of whom threw him a merry word as he passed. 
 He seemed to know everyone, Lucile thought wonder- 
 ingly she never stopped to analyze the many admir- 
 ing glances sent in her direction. 
 
 "Fate's been mighty good to me, Lucile," he whis- 
 pered once. "I couldn't believe my luck when I found 
 you were coming here. You see, I'd expected a 
 mighty dull summer and now " 
 
 "And now?" she questioned, not meeting his eyes. 
 
 "I think you ought to know what a difference you 
 make to me," he countered. "Oh, Lucile, I'm " 
 
 "Please," she interrupted, quickly. "Here are your 
 friends, Jack."
 
 104 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 Now Jack Turnbull had acquired through the years 
 a reputation of goodfellowship and unfailing optim- 
 ism that had won' him friends wherever he went, yet 
 now he could not deny it he was wishing those 
 same friends at least as far as the north pole. 
 
 Nevertheless, his smile was as pleasant as ever, as 
 he went through the nerve-racking task of introdu- 
 cing everybody to everybody. It was over at last, the 
 introducing at least, and Jack had excused himself to 
 make sure the car was still there, and to bring it around 
 to the station. 
 
 During his absence the newly-made acquaintances 
 found themselves conversing like old friends. There 
 were four in Jack's party, besides himself a very 
 pretty fair-haired girl and her sister, the Misses Peggy 
 and Daisy Bright, and two boys about Jack's own 
 age, both fine looking lads and, as Jessie afterward 
 said, "as full of fun as the day is long." 
 
 By this time Lucile had fully recovered from the 
 first confusion of meeting Jack, and was her own ex- 
 hilarated happy self again. As usual, the conversa- 
 tion centered about her, and even Peggy Bright looked 
 at her wonderingly once or twice. Peggy, with all 
 her good looks and artful accomplishments, had never
 
 The Roar of the Surf 105 
 
 been able to draw all eyes, as did this country girl 
 from where had Jack said? sounded something 
 like a fat man oh, Burleigh, that was it and she 
 seemed to "get away with it," too. Why, just look 
 at Dan Gordon, making himself ridiculous thus com- 
 muned Peggy with herself while Lucile unconsciously 
 laughed at the despised Dan Gordon's witticisms. 
 
 "Oh, Lucile, I have an idea we are going to love 
 this place," Jessie whispered, in a joyful little aside. 
 "The girls are so pretty and the boys so nice and oh, 
 here comes Jack again a bad penny's sure to turn 
 up," this last quite loud enough for Jack to hear as 
 he rejoined them. 
 
 "That's a nice thing to say to your only beloved 
 cousin," he laughed. "The very first day you see him, 
 too. Well, Mrs. Wescott," he added, turning to her, 
 "the old car's ready whenever you are. What do you 
 
 "That we start," she answered promptly. "I'm anx- 
 ious to see that everything's all right up at the cottage 
 even though I have enjoyed becoming acquainted 
 immensely," she added, smiling graciously upon their 
 new friends. "I hope we will see each other often." 
 
 After that there was a general breaking up Dan
 
 106 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 Gordon and the two girls starting one way while Jack 
 and his cousin prepared to go with our party. 
 
 "I'll see you to-night ?" Peggy was asking Jack, and 
 Lucile could not help but overhear. "You know 
 there's a big dance over at the hotel. You can't miss 
 it, Jack." 
 
 Jack hesitated for the fraction of a second, then his 
 answer came decidedly. "I'm afraid I'll have to cut 
 it out to-night, Peggy," he said. "There will be a 
 great many more dances and I'll probably not be able 
 to make this one." 
 
 "Oh," was the girl's only comment as she turned to 
 join her sister, whom Dan was helping into the car. 
 
 Jack looked after her for a moment, frowning a 
 little, then turned to Lucile with a smile. "Sorry to 
 keep everybody waiting," he cried. "The old boat's 
 over this way, Phil. Now for some high speed. I 
 hope you people don't mind crowding a little." 
 
 Upon their loudly proclaiming an utter disregard 
 for any such trifling inconvenience, Jack flung him- 
 self into the seat beside Lucile and started the motor. 
 
 "I hope you don't mind sitting up in front," he 
 asked her as the car shot forward. "It's really better 
 close up to the windshield than in the tonneau. I 
 wonder if you're half as glad to see me as I am you,"
 
 The Roar of the Surf 107 
 
 he added, leaning forward a little to get a better view 
 of her flushed face beneath the brim of the rakishly- 
 tflted little hat, "are you?" he insisted. 
 
 "How can I tell," she evaded, a roguish light in her 
 eyes, "since I don't know how much that is?" 
 
 "Are you quite sure you don't?" he countered, add- 
 ing, as she shook her head in denial, "then, it's plain to 
 be seen it's my duty to make it clear " 
 
 "Not now, please," she begged, her eyes dancing. 
 "We have the whole summer, Jack oh, look, there's 
 the ocean look girls!" she added, turning around to 
 the animated group in the tonneau. 
 
 "We've been looking," Jessie flung back. "I'd just 
 like to run into it up to my neck. Oh, doesn't that surf 
 look beautiful! Jack, is it dangerous?" 
 
 "Not a bit if you don't swallow too much of it," 
 he answered, calmly. 
 
 "Oh, I didn't mean that, silly," she cried in exas- 
 peration. "I meant, are there any holes or anything 
 like that to step in and get drowned you know." 
 
 "Well," said Jack considering. "We haven't any 
 just now, but we might get some if you give us time." 
 
 "At last Jessie's met her match," Evelyn chuckled 
 at Jessie's look of astonishment. "Methinks I see fun 
 ahead."
 
 108 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "Methinks you'll see murder instead," Jessie contra- 
 dicted, darkly. "Jack, you almost ran over that dog," 
 as a little cur scurried to one side of the road, barking 
 wildly. 
 
 "That's the murder we almost saw," he commented 
 calmly, and Phil nearly fell out of the car in his appre- 
 ciation, and Jessie joined in the laughter sheepishly. 
 
 "Oh, well, when you have a cousin," she surren- 
 dered. "You might as well give up at the beginning. 
 Just the same, you might be a little more careful, 
 Jack," she cautioned. "Another swerve like that is 
 apt to scatter us along the wayside. We're seated on 
 the ragged edge of nothing as it is." 
 
 "Must be quite an accomplishment," Jack laughed. 
 "I'd offer you my seat if you could drive, dear cousin 
 which you can't" 
 
 "Well, you needn't tell everybody my shortcomings, 
 she protested. 
 
 "I don't have to," he murmured when Lucile inter- 
 rupted quickly. 
 
 \ 
 
 "It isn't very much farther, anyway, is it?" she 
 questioned. "It seems to me we have ridden miles 
 already." 
 
 "Not quite," he answered. "Your cottage is just
 
 The Roar of the Surf 109 
 
 around the bend of the road. You see that little prom- 
 ontory that extends down onto the beach?" She 
 nodded. "Well, that sort of shuts you off from the 
 rest of the colony. It's the coziest little cottage in the 
 place, I think. I've been imagining you in it ever 
 since I heard you were coming." 
 
 As he spoke the car took the curve he had pointed 
 out, and the girls cried out at the beauty of the picture 
 confronting them. Jack slowed, then came to a full 
 stop, while they sat and gazed to their heart's content. 
 
 The road sloped gently down to a shining white 
 beach that gathered in the scorching heat of the af- 
 ternoon sun and beat it back upon itself with a thou- 
 sandfold intensity that sent the eye wandering grate- 
 fully to the cool green of the ocean beyond. The 
 rhythmic rise and fall of the lazy combers, the heavy 
 pounding of the surf upon the beach, even the intense, 
 arching turquoise of the summer sky, all was infinitely 
 peaceful, infinitely restful and refreshing. And in the 
 center of it all lay the cottage, a quaint dash of red 
 against the background of green and white. 
 
 "Oh, isn't it lovely?" cried Lucile, and turned to 
 find Jack regarding her with a whimsical smile. 
 
 "Yes, you are!" he said.
 
 ' CHAPTER X 
 
 MOONLIGHT 
 
 SUPPER was over and the young folks had saun- 
 tered out on the veranda to talk things over and, inci- 
 dentally, to get their lungs full of the fresh salt air 
 from the ocean. 
 
 "Everything has just gone beautifully/' was 
 Evelyn's heart-felt comment, and so indeed it had. 
 
 Mr. Wescott, in order that his wife should have no 
 worry during her much-needed vacation, had sent 
 down a middle-aged, motherly-looking person to take 
 complete charge of the romantically situated little 
 cottage. 
 
 "And the best of it is," Evelyn remarked, continuing 
 her soliloquy, "that nobody had the slightest suspicion 
 until we got here. Such a wonderful supper, too." 
 
 "You said it," Phil approved. "I could tell by the 
 look in that woman's eye she was a good cook." 
 
 "Humph," grunted Jessie, the skeptical. "I don't 
 believe you even looked at her you were too much 
 
 occupied with eating as usual." 
 
 no
 
 Moonlight 111 
 
 "Dearest coz," said Jack, joining in the conversa- 
 tion from his perch beside Lucile. "Frankness is a 
 virtue at times we all admit " 
 
 "Then why argue," Jessie interrupted. "If we all 
 agree, argument's a waste of time." 
 
 "Just so," he continued, unmoved. "I did not in- 
 tend to start an argument I was merely stating a 
 fact. As I was saying, frankness in itself is admirable, 
 nothing more so " 
 
 "Oh, Jack," Jessie was protesting, when Phil 
 checked her with an uplifted hand. 
 
 "Let him finish," he commanded. "This promises 
 to be interesting." 
 
 "But often," Jack continued, in true orator style. 
 "But often other and less commendable characteris- 
 tics " 
 
 "Goodness, it does run in the family," Lucile mur- 
 mured hysterically, and Jack gave her a reproachful 
 glance. 
 
 "What runs in the family," he demanded. "Out 
 with it, base slanderer. I remember hearing about 
 somebody way back that won a Marathon," he added, 
 hopefully. "Maybe that's the fellow you're thinking 
 of."
 
 112 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "I don't see why everybody laughs," said Jessie, 
 trying in vain to straighten the corners of her mouth. 
 "When anybody tries so hard to be funny " 
 
 "He usually succeeds," Jack finished, and Phil 
 stopped laughing to clap him enthusiastically on the 
 back. 
 
 "I have to hand it to you, old man," he compli- 
 mented. "Anybody that can go Jessie one better is 
 nothing short of a genius." 
 
 "Then we ought to be a mighty talented party," 
 Evelyn remarked, dryly. 
 
 "Never mind, Jessie, dear," Lucile gasped, when 
 she could get her breath. "He who laughs last, you 
 know " and went off into fresh gales of laughter. 
 
 "Yes, that's all right," Jessie commented, ruefully, 
 when the merriment had somewhat subsided. "But 
 nobody ever made up a proverb about the person who 
 laughs first, last and all the time. I think it's up to me 
 to begin." 
 
 "Go ahead, Jessie, I'll help," Lucile was beginning 
 when she interrupted herself suddenly. "Jack, what 
 was that?" she cried. "I thought I heard a bark it 
 
 sounded like listen " and for a moment there 
 
 was dead silence while everybody listened for a rep-
 
 Moonlight 113 
 
 etition of the sound. Nobody noticed that Jim had 
 disappeared. 
 
 "Are you sure you weren't dreaming, Lucy?" Mar- 
 jorie inquired lazily when they had listened in vain. 
 "It might have been the surf, you know." 
 
 "Yes," Lucile admitted, sweetly. "Or it might have 
 been an alligator they both make noises so extremely 
 
 like a dog ! There it is again now I know " and 
 
 she was on her feet as a shaggy ball of black fur 
 bounded around the side of the house and up the steps 
 frantically. 
 
 "Jeddie," she almost screamed, hugging the wrig- 
 gling little animal fiercely. "Oh, it's our dear little 
 old Jeddie you darling," and the happy dog tried to 
 show his appreciation by a series of spasmodic efforts 
 to reach her face with his pink tongue. 
 
 The girls, who had stood spellbound by the sudden 
 turn events had taken, found their voices all at once 
 and broke into a babble of excited questions and an- 
 swers and delighted exclamations that made the boys 
 beg for mercy. 
 
 "A little less noise, please," Phil begged, striving 
 to make his voice heard above the din. "You never 
 were half so glad to see us as you are that dog."
 
 114 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "If you'll show us any good reason why we should 
 be," Jessie remarked, "we'll promise to consider it." 
 
 "Strike one," ' laughed Jack's cousin who had 
 begged to join the party and had been admitted. The 
 latter was not good looking, but, as Evelyn had re- 
 marked, he had "nice hair and a sweet disposition," 
 and so had been welcomed enthusiastically. "If you 
 keep that up, Miss Sanderson, it won't take long to 
 even the score." 
 
 "Thanks, a little encouragement always helps," she 
 laughed. 
 
 "You're the one that's responsible for this," said 
 Marjorie, turning accusing eyes upon her guardian. 
 "It seems to me there's just been one round of joyful 
 surprises so far. I wonder what the next will be." 
 
 "Jeddie, come here," Lucile wheedled, and, nothing 
 loth, the happy, excited little animal pranced up and 
 responded to her caresses, with his whole worship- 
 ing, doggie soul in his eyes. "You look just the same 
 as the last day we saw you and that's two whole years 
 ago. You're the very darlingest little dog that ever 
 lived." 
 
 "He's the luckiest, anyway," Jack murmured under 
 his breath, and Lucile laughed up at him wickedly.
 
 Moonlight 115 
 
 "What are you going to do about it?" she chal- 
 lenged, and then her gaze suddenly wandered ocean- 
 ward. 
 
 "If you girls can tear yourselves away from the hero 
 of the occasion," Phil was saying, "I might suggest 
 that we take a little walk along the beach. The moon's 
 due to rise in about half an hour, and I'd like to see it 
 from yon jutting crag!" 
 
 "Goodness, isn't he romantic?" Marjorie murmured. 
 "Why couldn't we see it just as well from here ?" 
 
 "I guess Phil wants the atmosphere," Jack ex- 
 plained, rising lazily and looking about him. "I 
 shouldn't wonder if he has the right idea at that. 
 What do you say, Mrs. Wescott ?" 
 
 "That I agree with you," she answered, laugh- 
 ingly. "The moon can't be half appreciated down 
 here. Come, I'll play the chaperone." 
 
 Lucile hugged her warmly as they started down the 
 steps. "You're such a dear," she whispered. "You 
 always know just what we want. Jeddie can come, 
 too, can't he?" 
 
 "Of course," laughed her guardian, "he can keep 
 the chaperone company. Come on, Jed." The little 
 dog needed no further invitation, but scampered along
 
 116 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 contentedly, sometimes behind them, sometimes in 
 front of them, but always within calling distance. 
 
 Jack and Lucile lingered a little behind the others. 
 
 "Isn't it wonderful?" she breathed, looking out to 
 where the ocean stretched vast and illimitable, in the 
 thick gloom of night. "I've just dreamed and dreamed 
 of it for the last week. You see, I've never really 
 been at the seashore before." 
 
 "Yet the ocean shouldn't seem a stranger after all 
 the time you and I spent on it last year," Jack re- 
 minded her. "It was fun even when there was pros- 
 pect of being captured by the enemy." 
 
 Lucile laughed softly. "That was the best part of 
 it," she said. "Or, at least, it seems so as I look back 
 over it We girls were frightened that night, though, 
 and no mistake." 
 
 "So were we for you. That capturing stuff 
 sounds good as long as it doesn't happen to somebody 
 you care about. I tell you, I was glad when good old 
 New York harbor loomed in sight the morning after." 
 Jack was very serious. 
 
 "I guess we all were," she answered in a voice that 
 matched his. "Anybody would have thought so by 
 the way they sang the Star-Spangled Banner. As
 
 Moonlight 117 
 
 things have turned out, Dad was just right to hustle 
 us back to America even if I didn't agree with him 
 at the time." 
 
 "You were a disappointed little bit of misery," he 
 chuckled at the memory. "Switzerland seemed bigger 
 to you then than anything else in the world. The 
 others have chosen a very romantic seat," he added, 
 looking up to the little jutting isthmus where the party 
 had settled themselves comfortably. "But I know a 
 better one it's just a few steps further on. We'll 
 ask Mrs. Wescott if she objects to our staying there 
 that is, if you'd just as soon," he added, looking down 
 at her in pleading inquiry. 
 
 "As long as we can talk to them," she consented, 
 "lead on. I'd trust your judgment every time, Jack." 
 
 Having received Mrs. Wescott's permission, Jack 
 at once proceeded to make his pretty charge comfort- 
 able. When he had settled her in a three-cornered 
 little nook all arranged, as he had said, by the gods 
 themselves she leaned back and closed her eyes with 
 a contented little sigh. 
 
 "Happy?" he queried. 
 
 "If you had had the journey through the heat in a 
 crowded old train, that we have," she half evaded,
 
 118 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "you'd appreciate this just the way I do, Jack. Oh, 
 the air the blessed, cool " 
 
 "Hold on," "he entreated. "Why waste all those 
 endearing epithets on the air it doesn't appreciate 
 them half as much as I would." 
 
 She laughed, looking down at him with the same 
 sparkling mischief in her eyes that he knew and re- 
 membered so well. Even in the dark he could tell 
 just how she looked. 
 
 "When you come to think of it a good many things 
 do get wasted, don't they?" she mocked. "Jed's bark- 
 ing at something again I wonder where he is," and 
 she lifted her head to look about her. 
 
 "If you call that dog over here," he threatened, 
 darkly, "I give you fair warning, I'll show him no 
 mercy !" 
 
 "Poor little Jeddie," she chuckled. "He's too young 
 for a watery grave. Besides, you couldn't drown him 
 if you tried he swims like a fish lots better, in fact, 
 than some people I know," she added, wickedly. 
 
 "If you're insinuating that I don't know how to 
 swim, young lady," he admonished severely, "you've 
 come to the wrong market. Why, I might even beat 
 that dog of yours."
 
 Moonlight 119 
 
 "Quite a big proposition," she warned him, soberly. 
 "However, you'll probably have plenty of chances to 
 prove it. Goodness, just to speak of the water makes 
 me jealous." 
 
 "We'll have to test it down this way to-morrow," 
 he half suggested, half asserted. "Lucile, are you glad 
 to see me?" he asked, so suddenly that she started. 
 
 "Why, a of course," she stammered. "Goodness, 
 you should give me warning when you're going to 
 switch off like that, Jack I " 
 
 "You what?" he prompted. 
 
 "Oh nothing," she evaded, and then smiled a little 
 uncertainly. "It's very natural to be glad to see 
 old friends, isn't it?" she added, desperate at her 
 confusion. 
 
 "I suppose so," he sighed, letting his gaze roam out 
 over the water while she studied him covertly. "Only 
 I've felt anything but natural for the last few days. 
 My feet haven't been behaving right I can't seem 
 to make them touch the ground. I suppose yours 
 haven't been affected like that, have they?" he added, 
 looking up hopefully. 
 
 "Why, it seems to me they have been sort of sort 
 of flighty," she confessed, looking down at her trim
 
 120 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 little shoes as though to find the answer there. "But 
 you see, I thought it was just the prospect of the 
 summer " 
 
 "Exactly that's just the way it is with me," he 
 agreed, enthusiastically. "Quite a coincidence, isn't 
 it? But, really, Lucile," he added, waxing serious 
 again. "I've had all I could do to keep from jumping 
 in the machine, heading it toward New York, kid- 
 napping you and bringing you back with me to 
 Tanike!" 
 
 "And all that just to save a few days' delay," Lucile 
 murmured in feigned surprise. "It would have been 
 romantic, though," she conceded. "No wonder you 
 and Phil agree so well." 
 
 "Would you have come?" he persisted. 
 
 "Why, of course," she answered, unhesitatingly. 
 "I'm sure we would all have enjoyed riding in an auto 
 much better than that old train " 
 
 "Oh," he moaned, kicking a stone into the water 
 savagely. "I don't think you have a heart, Lucile. 
 How many do you think that machine of mine will 
 hold, anyway?" 
 
 "Why, how should I know," she said demurely, 
 adding with a little gasp of delight as a faint silver
 
 Moonlight 121 
 
 rim appeared above the line where sky and water 
 
 met " Oh, Jack, look it's the moon. I don't 
 
 think I ever saw it rise like that before. Oh, isn't 
 it beautiful !" 
 
 Slowly, as they watched spellbound this ever new 
 miracle of the universe, the silver disk sailed higher 
 in the starlit velvet of the sky, shedding its milky ra- 
 diance over the dark water and making a fairy path 
 of moonbeams that ended almost at their feet. The 
 pounding of the surf upon the beach, the calm, the 
 infinite majesty of the moon-lit waters all combined 
 to throw a spell upon them which they were strangely 
 loth to break. Suddenly Lucile turned to Jack with 
 a happy smile. 
 
 "Just think a whole month of this," she whispered. 
 
 "You said it !" was his reply. The answer, although 
 perhaps a trifle slangy, lacked nothing in fervor.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 A MODERN CINDERELLA 
 
 LUCILE looked cautiously about her, sighed with 
 satisfaction and slipped one small foot from beneath 
 the covers. Stealth was not one of her characteristics, 
 and yet, here she was, the very personification of it. 
 
 The girls had chosen the big front room of the cot- 
 tage so that they could all be together. There was 
 an alcove at one end, a pretty, cozy little place, con- 
 taining Lucile's and Jessie's bed, and the other two 
 girls slept in the main room. The friends had been 
 delighted at this arrangement, for the alcove gave the 
 impression of two rooms, while in reality they were 
 all in one. 
 
 And so, on this bright morning, with the sun making 
 dazzling patches of light all over the room, and the 
 murmur of the surf calling to her irresistibly, Lucile 
 decided to steal a march on the girls. In vain had 
 she closed her dark eyes in a vigorous wooing of the 
 fickle god, Morpheus, in vain had she tried to imitate 
 
 122
 
 A Modern Cinderella 123 
 
 her sleeping companions oh, she could not lie there 
 and do nothing, with the sun and the sky and the 
 ocean all calling to her; she just could not! 
 
 "And I won't," she had confided, to nobody in par- 
 ticular, and then and there began the desperate adven- 
 ture of "stealing a march." 
 
 The tentative foot stole out farther, farther still, 
 until it touched the floor the other followed quickly 
 and she sood there for a moment listening for any 
 sound other than their regular breathing. None came, 
 and, a little reassured, she began to dress hurriedly. 
 When, finally, she had slipped over her head a dainty 
 silk blouse adorned with a tie of rainbow hue and 
 coaxed her pretty curls into some semblance of order, 
 she opened the door softly and slipped out, closing it 
 after her with the utmost caution. It was the matter 
 of a moment to slip out on the porch and, once there 
 she stretched out her arms with a glad little cry of 
 freedom. 
 
 "Oh, how can they sleep !" she marveled. "They just 
 don't know what they're missing, that's all. Oh, you 
 beautiful old ocean if I only had my bathing suit on 
 now." 
 
 She ran down on the sand and began to play with
 
 124 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 it as only a person will who has never had the chance 
 before. She was deeply absorbed in fashioning a 
 house with gardens all about it, when a cold nose 
 nudged her hand and she turned to find Jeddie at her 
 elbow, wagging his tail as though on a wager and 
 looking up expectantly into her face. 
 
 "Come here, you dog," she cried, hugging him de- 
 lightedly. "Thank goodness, there's one early riser 
 in this crowd beside me. "We ought to have great 
 times, old boy. First of all, tell me how you like my 
 new house." 
 
 The dog regarded her pointed finger with canine 
 gravity for a second or two, then covered up his con- 
 fusion by barking wildly and capering about and upon 
 the newly erected mansion, thereby completely demol- 
 ishing it. 
 
 "Oh, Jeddie, Jeddie, after all my work," mourned 
 Lucile. "How could you treat me so." Then, with 
 sudden compunction, at his look of doggie bewilder- 
 ment, she bowled him over in the sand, sending him 
 into an ecstasy of joyful barking and cavorting. 
 
 "Come on, Jed," said his young whirlwind of a 
 mistress, jumping to her feet and making for the little 
 promontory from which they had seen the moon rise
 
 A Modern Cinderella 125 
 
 only the night before. "I want to see what's on the 
 other side of this barrier. Perhaps we'll find a buried 
 treasure or something. Come on, I'll give you a race, 
 and beat you too." 
 
 If the dog had not looked back so much he might 
 have won as it was, both dog and mistress reached 
 the goal at exactly the same minute. 
 
 "Let's see what kind of a mountaineer you are, 
 Jeddie," she challenged, clambering up the rocks with 
 astonishing ease. "I feel like an adventurer on an 
 'errand of extreme danger/ as they say in books. 
 You'll have to be my protector, Jeddie how about it? 
 I guess you need a little help yourself," she added, 
 lifting him up to ground level. "Now, for the descent 
 on the other side." 
 
 So, happily, they clambered down until Lucile was 
 near enough the ground to jump. This she did, and 
 came up with a start of surprise. Somebody had ut- 
 tered a sharp cry of alarm and Lucile turned quickly 
 to discover the source. 
 
 Not two feet away, in fact, so near that Lucile could 
 have touched her by stretching out her arm, stood a 
 girl, apparently about her own age, hand on heart and 
 poised for flight, if occasion required.
 
 126 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 Lucile sighed relievedly. "Oh, I'm sorry," she 
 apologized, her bright smile flashing out, "I must have 
 startled you terribly." 
 
 "It's a all right," murmured the stranger, and Lu- 
 cile wondered if it were bashfulness that kept her eyes 
 riveted on the sand. "I guess I'll be going back, 
 now," and she would have gone without another word 
 had not Lucile stopped her. 
 
 "Oh, please don't," she begged, and the friendly note 
 in her voice made the strange girl glance up quickly. 
 "It's really my place to go back, you know, since I'm 
 the intruder. But can't we talk awhile? You see, 
 I've sort of gotten the idea that I was the only person 
 in the world," she continued, as the stranger hesi- 
 tated, "who ever wanted to get up early, and when I 
 find somebody like myself, I hate to let her go without 
 becoming acquainted. Please sit down, and let's have 
 a little chat." 
 
 The girl hesitated another moment, then smiled 
 faintly and accepted the invitation. Lucile thought 
 she had never seen anyone quite so shy in her life, 
 and she longed with all her warm young heart to put 
 this new acquaintance at her ease. 
 
 "Do you live at the hotel?" she began tentatively.
 
 A Modern Cinderella 127 
 
 ''You see, we only arrived yesterday, so we really 
 don't know anybody outside our own party." 
 
 "Yes," the girl replied, thawing a little beneath 
 Lucile's warm friendliness none could long resist it. 
 "I am staying at the hotel with my uncle. You must 
 be," she hesitated, seemingly overcome with shyness, 
 then continued, breathlessly. "You must be one of the 
 people who have taken the new cottage." 
 
 "The very same," Lucile agreed, sunnily. "We 
 haven't even had time to look around us yet, but I 
 guess we'll remedy that, soon enough. Have you been 
 here long?" 
 
 "About three weeks," was the answer, and this time 
 the girl ventured a longer look at Lucile. 
 
 "Then you must know about everybody," the latter 
 ventured. 
 
 The girl shook her head in denial. "I don't know 
 anybody," she broke out petulantly. "I can't dance 
 and I can't do the things the other girls do, so nobody 
 has any use for me. So I just come out here like this 
 and and read. If they don't want me I .don't want 
 them." 
 
 Lucile was silent for a moment, considering the best 
 way to approach this strange girl, who sat now with
 
 128 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 her eyes fixed steadily upon the glaring sand. She 
 was not bad-looking, Lucile reflected, even with that 
 ridiculous apology for a dress and her hair drawn 
 tight back from her forehead like a woman of forty. 
 She had pretty hair soft brown with touches of gold 
 here and there where the sun touched it pretty hair 
 that might have framed the oval face effectively had 
 it been allowed some freedom. On the moment Lucile 
 made up her mind. 
 
 "Perhaps," she suggested in a friendly comraderie 
 of tone that made the girl glance up in surprise, "per- 
 haps you don't give the other girls half a chance. 
 Perhaps they think you don't want to make friends." 
 
 "Well, I don't know," the stranger answered doubt- 
 fully. "Even if that is so, I don't see how I'm going 
 to make them think any differently I can't hang out 
 a sign. Anyway, it doesn't bother me," she added, 
 with a defiance that showed the depth of the hurt 
 beneath. 
 
 "Well, I'll tell you something I've found out," Lu- 
 cile began, in her confidential, girl fashion. "The 
 more you take it for granted that people like you, the 
 more they will because then, you see, you aren't 
 afraid to tell them how fond you are of them yourself.
 
 A Modern Cinderella 129 
 
 And, of course, on the other hand, if you hold on to 
 the idea that nobody likes you, you seem reserved and 
 cool, and people are afraid to offer you any friendship 
 for fear you won't accept. You see, you have to look 
 at things from all sides." 
 
 The girl was staring at her wide eyed. "I never 
 thought of it like that before,'' she mused. "Then 
 you mean that anybody can have friends if she only 
 makes people think she wants them." 
 
 "Exactly," Lucile agreed, delighted at the success 
 of her tactics. "Why, I've often found that a person 
 I've stood in awe of for years thinking them cold and 
 reserved and unfriendly has suddenly, through some 
 emergency, shown her real self and surprised every- 
 body. I wish you'd start in by being friends with 
 me" she added, impulsively. 
 
 The stranger regarded her for a moment, doubt and 
 uncertainty struggling with the almost resistless ap- 
 peal, Lucile made to girls of her own age, then spoke 
 slowly. 
 
 "If it's pity," she began. 
 
 "Oh, my dear," Lucile brushed the thought aside as 
 unworthy of conception. "You ought to know it isn't 
 that. It isn't pity I'm offering it's just friendship.
 
 130 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 I wish you'd take it," she repeated with a bright smile 
 that brought all the other girl's fortress of reserve 
 tumbling down about her with a crash. 
 
 "I will," she agreed, impulsively. "You're the first 
 person who has treated me like a human being, and 
 not a piece of furniture, since I came. "Oh," she 
 added, the old resentment returning, "If I could only 
 make those old cats feel for one day what I've felt for 
 the last three weeks, I could die happy." 
 
 Lucile laughed gaily. "I wouldn't be so hard on 
 them if I were you," she admonished. "Just try my 
 little remedy and see if it doesn't work. Besides, on 
 a day like this it seems impossible for anybody to be 
 unhappy." 
 
 The girl stole a sideways glance at her companion. 
 The same wind that had loosened Lucile's hair and 
 sent it in distracting little tendrils about her face had 
 heightened her color and brightened her eager eyes 
 until she seemed the very spirit of the day. 
 
 No wonder the girl sighed as she answered thought- 
 fully. "I guess it is impossible for you to be unhappy. 
 You have just about everything, friends, and " 
 
 "Oh, you should see the way I left them," Lucile 
 chuckled, her thoughts reverting to the three sleeping 
 beauties, whom she had deserted so shamelessly.
 
 A Modern Cinderella 131 
 
 "When they wake and find I've turned up missing, 
 there'll be a riot or something." 
 
 "And you left them sleeping on a morning like this," 
 asked the girl, with an incredulity in her tone that 
 made Lucile turn to her enthusiastically. 
 
 "I knew we were going to be friends," she cried. 
 "Will you please shake hands?" 
 
 The girl obeyed, though she seemed a trifle puzzled 
 at the peremptory command. Lucile proceeded to ex- 
 plain. 
 
 "You see," she went on. "The other members of 
 our respected party are, I must confess it, very lazy. 
 They never know when to go to bed at night and 
 never know when to get up in the morning. Conse- 
 quently, I either have to He in bed when I don't want 
 to or get up alone." 
 
 The girl smiled a smile that banished the sullen 
 look and made her a different person entirely. "That's 
 pretty hard luck," she conceded, "but, even at that, 
 you're better off than I am," indicating Jed, who had 
 curled up at Lucile' s feet and was lazily engaged in 
 snapping at an occasional fly that came his way. "I 
 haven't even a dog." 
 
 "Well, you have now," Lucile returned practically. 
 "Jeddie loves everybody I love don't you, Jed?"
 
 132 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 At this appeal the little dog turned his soft eyes up- 
 ward in mute approval of anything his young mistress 
 might say, and sealed his consent with a prodigious 
 yawn. 
 
 "Lucile, Lucile, where are you?" 
 
 The three members of the little party jumped to 
 their feet simultaneously and Lucile' s laughing gaze 
 met the startled one of her companion. 
 
 "Only the beginning of the search party," she as- 
 sured her. "I suppose I'll have to run back now and 
 let them know I'm still alive. Won't you come with 
 me?" 
 
 The girl seemed panic stricken at the mere sugges- 
 tion. The old bashfulness returned with a twofold 
 intensity and she picked up the book she had been 
 reading, stuffing it into her pocket with nervous haste. 
 
 "Oh, no, no, no," she reiterated, "thank you just as 
 much, but I'll have to get back to the hotel father will 
 worry I " 
 
 "Well, if you must," Lucile admitted, cheerily, "it 
 can't be helped. Will I see you here to-morrow morn- 
 ing, then?" 
 
 "Yes, I always come here early," then as an inquisi- 
 tive head, crowned with a mass of fair hair, appeared
 
 A Modern Cinderella 133 
 
 over the rocky barrier, she fled precipitately without 
 even a backward look. 
 
 "Here she is, girls," Jessie called from her vantage 
 point. "You'd better bring a rope she may not go 
 peaceably." Then, turning to Lucile, who was still 
 looking after the retreating figure of the girl, she 
 added. "Who's your friend, Lucy?" 
 
 Lucile shook her head and looked up with a rueful 
 little smile. "I don't know," she confessed. "I didn't 
 ask her!"
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 A RIFT IN THE LUTE 
 
 THE girls, rosy and breathless, marshaled Lucile 
 between them and hustled her toward the cottage. 
 
 "You've scared our guardian almost to death," Mar- 
 jorie scolded. "She isn't as used to your wandering 
 habits as we are." 
 
 "Why, she even thought you might have walked in 
 your sleep and tumbled into the water," Evelyn con- 
 tinued the reproach. "Next time you had better leave 
 a note behind." 
 
 Lucile laughed blithely. "I'm sorry I startled our 
 guardian," she said, "but as for you girls, it served 
 you just right. If you would only wake up at a re- 
 spectable hour I wouldn't have to go wandering around 
 all alone." 
 
 "Well, you weren't alone when I first saw you," 
 Jessie broke in. "You haven't told us who the mys- 
 terious stranger is yet." 
 
 "There isn't anything very mysterious about her, 
 as far as I can see," Lucile answered, then, as she 
 
 caught sight of her guardian's relieved face, she cried 
 
 134
 
 A Rift in the Lute 135 
 
 out, impulsively. "Oh, it was terribly thoughtless of 
 me to go off without a word but you see, I didn't 
 intend to stay so long." 
 
 "She met somebody," Evelyn volunteered for Mrs. 
 Wescott's benefit- 'And she won't tell us a thing." 
 
 "It was only a ^irl," Lucile hastened to explain as 
 her guardian turned worried eyes upon her. "And a 
 very shy bit of a thing she was, too." 
 
 "Well, go on, go on," Jessie urged. "You always 
 start to say interesting things and then stop short 
 before you've said them." 
 
 "I tell you what we'll do," Mrs. Wescott proposed, 
 knowing surely what would appeal to the girls. "We'll 
 eat some nice fruit and bacon and eggs breakfast has 
 been ready for some time then perhaps Lucile will 
 be able to tell her story better." 
 
 The suggestion was received with approval on all 
 sides, as Jessie said, and the girls trooped into the 
 sunny dining room. Then, over the promised bacon 
 and eggs, they turned expectant eyes upon Lucile. 
 
 "Can't you talk and eat at the same time?" Evelyn 
 demanded. "Really, we're dying to hear about that 
 girl, Lucile." 
 
 "All right, pass me over another biscuit, Jessie dear,
 
 136 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 and I'll try to oblige thank you," with which she 
 launched into a spirited description of her meeting 
 with the new girl. "So you see," she ended, "it's our 
 plain duty to take this girl in as one of us and give 
 her a good time." 
 
 "But suppose she refuses to be taken in," Jessie 
 countered. "She may have more sense than you give 
 her credit for, you know." 
 
 "Don't laugh girls, please," begged Evelyn, with a 
 funny little wrinkling of her nose. "You only encour- 
 age her and prolong our misery." 
 
 "Methinks we have wandered a long way from the 
 point," Marjorie suggested, gently. "What do you 
 expect to do with this, er hermit in feminine form, 
 Lucile ? Are you going to ask her to live with us ?" 
 
 Jessie jumped from her chair and struck a dramatic 
 attitude. "The day a stranger comes beneath this 
 roof," she declaimed, "that day I make my exit." 
 
 "Good night!" They all turned to see Phil grin- 
 ning at them from the window. "If I'm a stranger, 
 let me know." 
 
 "No such luck," said Jessie, adding in the next 
 breath, "come around to the front, the door's open." 
 
 "Thanks," said the visitor, and immediately availed
 
 A Rift in the Lute 137 
 
 himself of the invitation. He was not the only one, 
 however, for, just as he started to open the screen 
 door, a voice hailed him from the bank. 
 
 "Hey, what's your hurry?" it shouted. "Can't you 
 wait a minute for the rest of us?" 
 
 "Every minute's precious," Phil called back. "I'm 
 taking the chance while I've got it," and without more 
 ado he marched into the room, gravely shook hands 
 with Mrs. Wescott and the girls in turn, then seated 
 himself precariously on the very edge of a chair. 
 
 "Goodness, Phil, you look like those pictures 
 'poised for flight,' " his sister commented. "Haven't 
 you had your breakfast?" she added, with sudden in- 
 spiration. 
 
 "Sure I'm just an ad for preparedness, that's all. 
 Oh, here comes the crowd," he added, as voices and 
 the sound of masculine laughter were heard at the 
 door. "I can't stir a step without having them at my 
 heels." 
 
 "I suppose you think you are the attraction," sniffed 
 Jessie, adding, with a gleeful light in her blue eyes, 
 "let's organize a suffrage committee and refuse them 
 admittance." 
 
 "Good night !" Phil repeated, turning up his coat col-
 
 138 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 lar and preparing to depart by the nearest window. 
 "I thought my preparedness might come in handy." 
 
 Marjorie caught him by the tip of his coat and 
 laughingly hauled him back. "Stand your ground," 
 she challenged. "We're not all enemies, you know." 
 
 "Hey, aren't you going to let us in," came from 
 the front, accompanied by a series of impatient rat- 
 tlings of the door knob. "Somebody's hooked the 
 screen from the inside." 
 
 "Phil again," Lucile despaired. "Guardian, dear, 
 shall we let them in?" 
 
 "I guess it's safe," the young chaperone answered, 
 with a twinkle in her eye. "Hurry, dear we won't 
 have any screen door left if you don't." 
 
 Laughingly Lucile obeyed, and a moment later let 
 in the avalanche. "Of all the noisy people," she cried, 
 after they had joked and jostled their way into the 
 dining room, "you're the limit." 
 
 "Well, it's good to be supreme in any line," Jack 
 countered, laughing eyes on hers. "Who's game for 
 a swim?" 
 
 "Swim," they echoed, and Jessie added, "oh, what 
 a question to ask, Jack when we've thought of noth- 
 ing else since we got up. Be careful, you nearly 
 knocked that cup off!"
 
 A Rift in the Lute 139 
 
 "You don't mind if we wreck the place, do you, 
 Mrs. Wescott?" Jack queried, dextrously rescuing the 
 cup. "Because, if you do, I think you had better re- 
 fuse us admittance." 
 
 "As long as you leave us enough to keep out the 
 sun and the rain," she compromised, "we'll promise 
 not to object." 
 
 "Now, that's what I call generous," cried Phil ; "es- 
 pecially since you don't know what you're up against 
 in these friends of mine." 
 
 "Oh, dear, if you'd only learn to speak for your- 
 self," Jessie was beginning when Phil beamed down 
 upon her with sudden gratitude. 
 
 "I'll do anything you say, if you will only call me 
 that again," he promised. 
 
 "What does he mean?" Jessie queried, looking 
 about her helplessly. "I didn't call you anything." 
 
 "Oh, yes you did," he maintained, firmly. "Un- 
 less my hearing has suddenly failed me, you called me 
 'dear,' and then let fall a remark on my devoted 
 head." 
 
 Jessie's scorn knew no limits. "What would you 
 do with a thing like that?" she asked of the company 
 in general.
 
 140 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Thanks," said Phil, turning away, and for the first 
 time Jessie knew she had gone too far. 
 
 "Lucile says she's ready for that swim whenever the 
 rest of you are," Jack announced to cover a rather 
 awkward pause. "How long will it take you girls 
 to get ready?" 
 
 "About five minutes," said Evelyn, and there was 
 a general roar of disbelief from the boys. 
 
 "You'll be breaking all time limits if you do it," 
 said Jack's cousin, who had been talking and laugh- 
 ing with Marjorie. "I've never seen a girl yet who 
 could get ready for anything in five minutes." 
 
 "Prepare yourself for a shock then," Evelyn re- 
 torted. "Because you're going to see four of us all 
 at once. How about it, girls are we going to let 
 them trample on the feminine sex or are we not?" 
 
 "We are not!" they cried in chorus, and pushed back 
 their chairs preparatory to a rush for the upper 
 regions. 
 
 "When may we expect you, boys?" asked Lucile, 
 pausing in the doorway to look back over her shoul- 
 der. "Even with the car it will take you some time." 
 
 "Don't worry about us," Jack admonished. "Just 
 trust us to be around when you are."
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 STARTLING NEWS 
 
 UPSTAIRS in the big front room Marjorie lifted a 
 panic stricken face to her companions. 
 
 "Girls," she gasped. "I think, I'm afraid I didn't 
 bring my suit! Oh, what will I do?" and she began 
 to delve frantically into her trunk again. 
 
 "Oh, Marjie, you couldn't have really forgotten 
 it," cried Lucile, while the others looked on in con- 
 sternation. "Here, let me help you look. Goodness, 
 the boys haven't even given us time to unpack our 
 trunks." 
 
 "No, we'll have to shoo them off after lunch and 
 try to get some work done," said Evelyn, kicking off 
 her slippers. "Do you want me to help look?" 
 
 "Dear, no!" was Marjorie's ungrateful answer. 
 "With three people at it we'd lose more than we could 
 possibly find. Oh, Lucy, what will I do?" 
 
 "Don't cry about it," Lucile advised, practically. 
 "We haven't taken out everything yet it's probably 
 
 way down at the bottom lost things always are." 
 
 141
 
 142 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "Well, I'll live in hopes now just look at that," 
 and she held up a heavy winter dress, regarding it 
 scornfully. "Mother insisted on my bringing the 
 thing for fear it would get chilly. Think of that 
 in this kind of weather, and when I'm looking for a 
 bathing suit at that " 
 
 "Oh, I-wish you'd stop grumbling," Jessie remarked 
 with an impatience that made all the girls pause to 
 look at her. "It gets on a person's nerves." 
 
 "Well, I like that," Marjorie cried, in exasperation. 
 "I suppose it wouldn't get on your nerves to loose your 
 suit and get all heated up hunting for it, would it. 
 I notice you didn't offer your services." 
 
 "Girls, girls," cried Lucile. "We've got to stop this 
 or we'll be like a nest of hornets all summer. Here's 
 your suit, Marjie, so cheer up " 
 
 "The worst is yet to come," chanted Jessie dolefully 
 so dolefully that the girls began to laugh. 
 
 "Goodness, I'd hate to be as sad as that," cried Lu- 
 cile, flying around energetically to make up for lost 
 time. "Put aside dull care, Jessie, dear just for a 
 little while anyway, and try to interest yourself in 
 the joys of this life " 
 
 "There ain't no such animal," Jessie interrupted
 
 Startling News 143 
 
 her; "not in weather like this, anyway. I'm simply 
 roasted now, and I have an idea what it's going to be 
 when I put my cap on." 
 
 "Well, don't put it on," Evelyn advised her. "You 
 don't have to." 
 
 "Yes, I have a vision of myself, with my hair all wet 
 and stringing down my back " 
 
 "Well, whatever you do you'd better hurry up," 
 Lucile advised, unfeelingly, as she tied her own pretty 
 cap over her curls. "We told the boys five minutes, 
 and we'll be lucky to make it in twenty now." 
 
 Thus admonished, Jessie tied the very becoming hat 
 over her blond curls and let it be said here that she 
 wouldn't have missed the effect of that hat for any- 
 thing and the girls, looking like four charming sea 
 nymphs, started for the beach. 
 
 "Don't forget your promise," Lucile called back to 
 her guardian as they opened the door onto the porch. 
 "If you don't join us in half an hour we'll come back 
 after you." 
 
 "You won't need to," she answered. "Have a good 
 time and do be careful, girls." 
 
 "We will," they chorused, then ran down on the 
 sand, romping like four irresponsible kittens.
 
 144 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "It doesn't seem warm at all down here," Jessie 
 marveled, her spirits coming back with a rush. "Isn't 
 that breeze delightful?" and she drew in deep breaths 
 of the exhilarating, life-giving air. 
 
 "Oh, everything's wonderful," Lucile agreed, taking 
 the whole world into her heart. "The best thing of 
 all," she added, "is that we reached here before the 
 boys. I wonder what's keeping them." 
 
 "Oh, they'll be here soon enough, don't worry," said 
 Evelyn, who pretended to be a man-hater but who 
 most decidedly wasn't. "Let's enjoy ourselves while 
 we have the chance." 
 
 "How can you be so ungrateful?" drawled Mar- 
 jorie. "Especially when Jim has tried to make him- 
 self so agreeable of late." 
 
 "Why pick out Jim?" Evelyn was beginning, when 
 the familiar whirr of the auto reached their ears, and 
 they glanced up. The boys were just flinging off the 
 long dusters that covered their bathing suits, prepara- 
 tory to making a rush for the beach. 
 
 "All you have to do is speak of them and they're on 
 the spot," Lucile marveled. "It's better than the 
 magic lamp." 
 
 "Hello! they've beat us to it," cried Phil, inele-
 
 Startling News 145 
 
 gantly. "How long have you been here tell us the 
 truth now ?" 
 
 "Oh, for ever so long," answered Lucile, demurely. 
 "We didn't notice the time " 
 
 "No, I guess you didn't," laughed Jack, grasping 
 her two hands and bringing her to her feet. "Come 
 on, people; what's the use of waiting? I want to 
 swim." 
 
 "Second the motion," cried Raymond, and Phil 
 added, boisterously, "I dare you girls to dive right in 
 without waiting to test the water." 
 
 "Oh, that's too easy," scoffed Jessie, and started on 
 a dead run for the surf, followed pellmell by all the 
 rest. 
 
 With a great noise and splashing they buffeted their 
 way through the heavy rollers, then joyfully ducked 
 under a green comber, and without the slightest hesi- 
 tation struck out from shore. 
 
 "Better take it easy," Jack advised, as Lucile's clean, 
 even strokes sent her through the water neck and neck 
 with him. "That speed may tire you out." 
 
 "This?" she queried in surprise. "Why, I could 
 keep this up all day, Jack. You don't realize how 
 much practice I've had."
 
 146 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "No, I guess I don't," he agreed, watching her 
 with more than the usual admiration in his eyes. 
 "Before I stop being surprised, I'll have to realize that 
 you can do everything better than anybody else." 
 
 "Don't give me a reputation that I can't possibly 
 live up to," she laughed, turning on her back and 
 floating lazily. "It's ever so much easier to swim in 
 salt water than it is in fresh. Oh, I could do this all 
 day!" 
 
 "I could do it all my life," said Jack with a fervor 
 that was slightly dampened by an unexpected mouth- 
 ful of salt water. 
 
 "I guess you could do without that part of it," 
 Lucile chuckled, wickedly. "Come on, try swimming 
 on your back awhile. It's lots of fun." 
 
 And, in the meantime, Phil and Jessie were having 
 their first near-quarrel. Relations had been strained 
 between them since the little conversation earlier in 
 the day, and now they were becoming, as Phil himself 
 would have said, "more so." 
 
 "Do you think you had better go out so far?" the 
 latter suggested tentatively, as Jessie swam on without 
 seeming aware of his presence. "If we stay near shore 
 we can land when you get tired."
 
 I DARE YOU GIRLS TO DIVE RIGHT IN
 
 Startling News 147 
 
 "I'm not going to get tired," she answered, shortly, 
 and for awhile they swam on in silence. Then sud- 
 denly Phil spoke. 
 
 "See here, Jessie," he said, in a tone that made her 
 look at him surprised. "Don't you think it's just about 
 time you started to be civil?" 
 
 "Civil," she repeated, non-plussed, then added with 
 a frigid dignity: "I don't see what right you have to 
 ask such questions," and with quickened strokes she 
 swam on toward the shore, her poor little heart a 
 tumult of conflicting emotions. That Phil, her patient 
 and oft-tormented Phil, should speak to her in that tone 
 why, it was more than strange, it was impossible! 
 Surely he would say something tell her he didn't 
 mean it, that he was only joking 
 
 As her feet felt the sandy bottom and she started 
 to wade in toward the beach, a quick glance over her 
 shoulder told her that Phil was not following that 
 he had turned and was swimming over toward Lucile 
 and Jack. 
 
 Suddenly her little world seemed upside down, and 
 she wedged herself in between two rocks to think 
 things over. More than anything else, she wanted to 
 cry but she told herself that this she would never do
 
 148 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 even as two tears coursed down her cheeks and fell 
 upon the dripping bathing suit. She rubbed her eyes 
 savagely and stood up with her little mouth set hard 
 and her nose in the air. 
 
 "I won't be a baby, anyway," she told herself. "If 
 he wants to act like that, at least I don't have to let 
 him see that I care," and she ran off to join the others. 
 
 Mrs. Wescott had kept her promise to meet them in 
 half an hour, and the young folks had formed a merry 
 circle around her, laughingly urging her into the 
 water. 
 
 "Can't you live for a moment out of the water?" 
 she was objecting good-naturedly. "I want to enjoy 
 looking at it for a little while." 
 
 "I'd like to see anybody keep you from doing what 
 you want to when I'm around," Lucile declaimed, val- 
 iently. "Varlets, unhand my guardian oh, here you 
 are, Jessie," she broke off, as she spied the latter. 
 "We were wondering where you had gone." 
 
 "Not very far," said Jessie, lightly. "It seems I 
 have come just in time to help rescue our guardian 
 from a gang of thieves and ruffians " 
 
 "Now you know, Jessie," Jim objected. "We're 
 not quite as bad as that "
 
 Startling News 149 
 
 "No, but there are some that are," Jack put in. 
 "Several of my mother's friends have been missing 
 things " 
 
 "Valuable things?" Evelyn interrupted, eagerly. 
 
 "Well, more or less so," he answered, scooping out 
 a seat in the sand for Mrs. Wescott. "And the funny 
 thing or, rather, the strange thing about it is, that 
 the thieves, whoever they are, haven't left a single clue 
 behind them." 
 
 "Oh, I'm glad I came!" cried Lucile, ecstatically. 
 "Think of having real burglars prowling about the 
 place. Are you sure you're not fooling, Jack?" she 
 added, while her face clouded at the thought. 
 
 "Unfortunately for a good many people," he assured 
 her, while the others listened breathlessly, "I'm not. 
 You see, it isn't quite so interesting when you wake 
 up to find a valuable piece of jewelry missing." 
 
 "But haven't they sent in an alarm?" Mrs. Wes- 
 cott inquired, amazed. "I should think it would be 
 easy enough to set detectives on their track " 
 
 "Oh, they've done that," he answered. "The only 
 hard part seems to be the rounding up of the thieves. 
 You see, the people don't want the thing to get in the 
 papers if they can possibly avoid it."
 
 150 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Goodness! I wonder if they will try to rob our 
 place?" breathed Evelyn, her eyes shining. 
 
 "You speak as if it were something to look forward 
 to," Jessie sniffed. "To get shot in the dark isn't my 
 idea of a good time." 
 
 Phil shot a swift glance at her then turned away. 
 
 "Oh, Jessie, aren't you horrid?" Marjorie shivered. 
 "After this I'll be afraid to go to sleep at night. Do 
 you suppose they will get as far as our cottage, Jack ?" 
 she inquired anxiously. 
 
 "Of course not," laughed Mrs. Wescott before he 
 could answer. "We haven't enough money to attract 
 them. Besides, they will probably be caught long 
 before they get down this far. Now I'm ready for 
 that dip," she added, gaily, "whenever the rest of you 
 are." 
 
 Needless to say, the merry party needed no second 
 invitation, and for awhile the startling subject of the 
 thieves was forgotten. They tried all sorts of fancy 
 swimming strokes and dives, each one striving to out- 
 do the other, until the pangs of hunger drove them 
 sunburned and dripping to the beach. 
 
 "Oh, you're red as a lobster, Marjie," Jessie com- 
 mented, as they turned toward the bungalow. "You 
 are going to have some time with that sunburn."
 
 Startling News 151 
 
 "Well, I can't be much worse than you," Marjorie 
 retorted, sharply. "Even your eyelashes look burnt.'' 
 
 "Peace, my children," said Lucile, taking off her 
 cap and shaking out her curls. " 'Would some power 
 the giftie gi'e us, to see ourselves as others see us/ 
 What do we care for a little sunburn, anyway?" 
 
 "Why, indeed, when it's so becoming?" queried 
 Jack, with exaggerated gallantry, then added in a 
 lower tone to Lucile. "I wish you could see yourself 
 as I see you just once you'd never want to look any- 
 where else." 
 
 "Please," she begged, fearful that some one had 
 overheard. "I wonder what's the matter with Jessie 
 and Phil," she added, to change the subject. "Phil 
 looks as though he had lost his last friend, and Jessie, 
 well, she's not like herself at all. You and the boys 
 wait here, Jack," she said, putting out a detaining hand 
 as they neared the cottage. "We'll be out again with 
 some lunch in no time." 
 
 "All right, that's a promise," he agreed. "And 
 meantime I'll try to put some life into poor old Phil. 
 He sure does look down and out !"
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 JACK FORGETS 
 
 ALL day long the young folks reveled in the heat 
 of the sun-parched sand or in the cool green depths 
 of the ocean until lengthening shadows proclaimed the 
 coming of evening. 
 
 Then it was that Jack suddenly bethought him of 
 something, as Jessie would say. 
 
 "What good are you, anyway?" he queried, glaring 
 around fiercely at his companions. "You fellows 
 promised to remind me of my mother's invitation and 
 this is the way you do it. Gee, I'm in a fine fix !" and 
 he ran his hand through his tumbled hair in comical 
 chagrin. 
 
 "Now, what are you raving about?" said Jessie, 
 throwing a handful of sand in his direction. "If I 
 remember rightly the best thing you do is to forget 
 my blessed Aunt's instructions. What's the latest?" 
 
 "Oh," groaned Jack. "Where's our chaperone I 
 
 might as well get the confession over right away. 
 
 152
 
 Jack Forgets 153 
 
 Stop grinning, you fish!" This last was addressed to 
 his cousin Ray, who was looking upon his discomfit- 
 ure with fiendish glee. 
 
 "Go to it, Jack," Phil urged. "We'll back you up!" 
 and so they half ran, half tumbled over to where their 
 guardian stood talking to Marjorie. 
 
 "My worthy friend wouldst a word with thee," 
 whispered Phil in the latter's ear. "Prithee, give him 
 audience." 
 
 "That sounds like a selection from the ' Prince and 
 the Pauper,' " laughed Mrs. Wescott, turning to them. 
 
 "What is it now?" 
 "Well, you see " 
 
 "It's this way ," murmured Jessie, but Jack 
 
 went on with never a glance in her direction. 
 
 "My mother gave me a message to deliver and I 
 well I forgot about it," he finished with his bright 
 smile. "The fact is, she wanted you all to come over 
 to supper to-night if you could manage it. She's 
 heard a good deal about you and the girls, Mrs. 
 Wescott, and she's very anxious to meet you." 
 
 "Well said, well said," clapped Raymond of the 
 nice hair. "Couldn't have done it better myself!" 
 
 "Oh," breathed the girls and instinctively looked
 
 154 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 down at their apparel. When one has lived in a bath- 
 ing suit all day, she is not exactly dressed for a formal 
 dinner, especially when the dinner hour is only fifteen 
 minutes away. Therefore, the girls looked at their 
 guardian questioningly and a little dismayed. 
 
 Mrs. Wescott was laughing now, softly and as 
 though to herself. "Oh, my dear boy," she said. "You 
 have gotten us in a terrible tangle. Your mother 
 won't know whether to expect us or not in the first 
 place and, in the second, we couldn't possibly get there 
 on time " 
 
 "Oh, that wouldn't matter," he interrupted, quickly. 
 "I'll tell mother all about it, and of course she won't 
 mind keeping dinner waiting for a few minutes. 
 Please come," he urged. "Mother will never forgive 
 me if you don't." 
 
 "All right, we'll do it," said Mrs. Wescott with 
 sudden decision. "It was very lovely of your mother 
 to give us the invitation." 
 
 "Thanks," said Jack, gripping her hand, gratefully. 
 "Mother would have come herself, but she thought 
 you might like the first day to yourselves. We'll rush 
 home and be back in a jiffy to get you !" 
 
 So, the boys went one way and the girls another
 
 Jack Forgets 155 
 
 the latter filled with excitement at the coming 
 function. 
 
 "That's just like Jack," said Jessie as they ran up 
 to their room. "Always leaves everything till the last 
 minute. Oh, girls, I'm a fright," this last wail was 
 caused by a glance at her sunburned reflection in the 
 mirror. "I can just about see myself in an evening 
 dress." 
 
 "I wish I could," said Lucile, ruefully. "It will be 
 half an hour at least before I can hope to." 
 
 "Half an hour from the way I feel it will be two 
 hours," grumbled Marjorie, rubbing her sunburned 
 arms gingerly. "I won't blame you girls for not look- 
 ing at me to-night I'm going to be too homely." 
 
 "Cheer up, Marjie," Lucile philosophized, while the 
 other girls lughed at her despair. "When you get a 
 little powder on your nose that sunburn will be very 
 becoming. Try it and see." 
 
 Marjorie obediently dabbed her nose with the puff 
 and groaned at the result. "It only makes it worse," 
 she wailed. "Oh, girls, what will I do?" 
 
 "Get dressed and don't think about it," Evelyn ad- 
 vised. "It won't look so bad at night, anyway," at 
 which consolation Marjie groaned afresh.
 
 156 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Goodness," laughed Lucile, "don't be so doleful, 
 Marj. You'll have plenty of company anyway my 
 face is cooked. Oh, Evelyn, don't touch me!" 
 
 "Anybody'd think I was poison," said Evelyn, 
 drawing back. "Never mind, if your arms hurt as 
 badly as mine, I'll forgive you." 
 
 "Thanks," said Lucile. "Now, just to show your 
 forgiveness, will you please do me up?" 
 
 Good naturedly, Evelyn obeyed, and a few mo- 
 
 
 
 ments later the girls were ready to start. With the 
 aid of a plentiful sprinkling of powder on neck and 
 arms, not to say the fluffiest of dresses and prettiest of 
 hats, our girls had managed to transform themselves 
 from charming mermaids into still more charming 
 butterflies. 
 
 "Well, we're not so bad, after all," sighed Marjorie, 
 with a last look in the mirror. ''And there's the motor 
 horn pretty good time, I call it." 
 
 And so they filed out, pretty as pictures and knocked 
 as Mrs. Wescott's door. 
 
 "Is there anything we can do?" Lucile called 
 through the keyhole. 
 
 The door flew open and their guardian stood in 
 the doorway as radiant as the girls and looking almost 
 as young.
 
 Jack Forgets 157 
 
 "Well, you did get ready in a hurry," she laughed. 
 "I really had no idea you could do it. Run on ahead, 
 girls, while I have a word or two with the 'lady of 
 the kitchen,' " for so they had nicknamed their middle- 
 aged cook. "I'll, join you in no time." 
 
 Their guardian proved as good as her word, and 
 in a few moments more they had been hustled into 
 Jack's big car, and were racing over the road at hair- 
 raising speed. 
 
 "Jack," gasped Marjorie. "Suppose we should run 
 into something." 
 
 "What's the use of bringing up unpleasant sub- 
 jects," Jack flung back. "If anything should be fool- 
 ish enough to try to stop us now, it would wish it 
 hadn't, that's all." 
 
 "There's conceit for you," Jessie put it. "I suppose 
 there's no possibility of our getting hurt at all?" 
 
 "None whatever," he assured her. "You'd only feel 
 the bump, when we brushed it aside." 
 
 "Oh, just like that," mocked Lucile. 
 
 "I'll have no impudence from you, young lady," said 
 Jack, as he deftly swung the machine up a broad drive- 
 way and tooted the unmelodious horn. "Anyway, you 
 have to admit it didn't take us long to get here." 
 
 "Granted," laughed Lucile as she stepped her dainty
 
 158 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 little pink-shod foot to the ground. Her heart was 
 beating tumultuously she had wondered so much 
 just what his mother would be like ! 
 
 As though he read her thoughts, Jack pressed her 
 hand when no one was looking, whispering, "You 
 will like my mother and she'll love you!" 
 
 Lucile caught her breath and turned even rosier 
 under the pretty hat. "I hope so," she murmured, and 
 ran up to join the impatient girls. 
 
 A moment later they were ushered into an artistic 
 foyer, where Mrs. Turnbull herself came to welcome 
 them. 
 
 She held out a cordial hand to Mrs. Wescott as Jack 
 introduced them. "I've heard so much about you 
 from my son," she said, with her pleasant smile, "that 
 an introduction seems almost superfluous. I'm so very 
 glad you could come !" 
 
 Then she turned to the girls and her manner was 
 so sweetly friendly and hospitable that all restraint 
 vanished and they chatted as merrily as though they 
 had known her always. 
 
 At their hostess's suggestion our girls ran upstairs 
 to remove their hats and light wraps for, as the for- 
 mer had said, "dinner would be served immediately."
 
 Jack Forgets 159 
 
 "Isn't she a dear," said Jessie, slipping an arm about 
 Lucile as they started down again. "Everybody loves 
 Aunt Edna." 
 
 "Well, I'm no exception," Lucile assured her 
 warmly, at which Jessie chuckled slyly. 
 
 The boys were waiting at the foot of the stairs with 
 an impatience they made no attempt to conceal. The 
 long afternoon in the open air had made them raven- 
 ous, and it required magnificent self-control to keep 
 from violating all rules of etiquette and rushing upon 
 the alluring dining room without more ado. However, 
 at sight of the girls, they one and all agreed that the 
 wait was justified. The latter were looking their very 
 best in spite of Marjorie's painful prediction and 
 they knew it!" 
 
 "What's the matter with you and Phil," Lucile 
 whispered. "He looks at you as though you were lost 
 to him forever, and you well, you don't look at him 
 at all." 
 
 Jessie flushed scarlet and turned away. "There's 
 nothing the matter," she said, and Lucile had perforce 
 to be content. 
 
 The dinner passed off gaily. There was one other 
 guest beside themselves a lawyer whom Mrs. Wes-
 
 160 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 cott knew and was unfeignedly glad to see. The for- 
 mer was a very good friend of her husband, and 
 had been entertained often at their home in New York. 
 When the charming little guardian expressed surprise 
 as well as pleasure at the coincidence of their meeting, 
 Mrs. Turnball explained. 
 
 It seemed the boys had met the lawyer that morn- 
 ing and Jack, finding that he was a friend of the Wes- 
 cotts, had then and there invited him to dinner, know- 
 ing that he would have his mother's approval. Mrs. 
 Wescott accepted the explanation laughingly, and then 
 turned to answer a question directed to her by Mr. 
 Turnbull. 
 
 The latter was bluff and hearty and somehow re- 
 minded Lucile of her own father therefore, she liked 
 him at once, and the liking proved to be mutual. 
 
 After dinner they wandered out into the foyer, and 
 from there out onto the broad veranda. The beauty 
 of the night lured the young people irresistibly, and 
 Jack suggested a walk along the beach. The elder 
 members of the party declined the rather half-hearted 
 invitation to accompany them preferring a four at 
 bridge and so the girls and boys started off in high 
 spirits.
 
 Jack Forgets 161 
 
 It seemed to them they "took in" everything on the 
 boardwalk which was saying a good deal. Jack 
 seemed to know everybody in the place, Lucile re- 
 flected, as he turned to answer the salutations of a 
 group of young people near them most of the girls 
 were pretty, too. 
 
 When at last Jack's faithful timepiece showed that 
 it was getting late, they turned reluctantly to retrace 
 their steps. 
 
 "It's too bad we can't stay any longer," said Ray, 
 looking back regretfully. "Some day we'll have to 
 come here when we have plenty of time, and do the 
 thing up right." 
 
 "You said it," Jack assured him, "and it won't be 
 in the dim future either." 
 
 They were quiet for some time going home then 
 Lucile suddenly broke the silence. "Haven't I met that 
 girl before?" she asked; "the one we met last?" 
 
 "Yes, that's Peggy Bright," he answered absently, 
 studying the sweet averted profile and wishing more 
 than anything else that he could see her eyes. "You 
 met her that first day." 
 
 "She's very pretty," Lucile observed, and still her 
 gaze was fixed upon the water.
 
 162 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 He caught her hand in both of his, and bent over 
 her eagerly. "Lucile," he cried, and she thrilled 
 strangely at his tone. "Nobody looks pretty to me 
 any more but you. I'm thinking of you every minute 
 when I'm not with you, and when I am oh, Lucile, 
 look at me !" 
 
 Much to her own surprise, she had started to obey 
 when they were startled by a voice close behind them. 
 
 "Hello, we thought you'd be home by this time," 
 said Raymond, for it was he, with Marjorie on his 
 arm. "Jimmie Blake cornered us up there, and we 
 thought we'd never get away." 
 
 Although Jack bore his cousin no ill will it is safe 
 to say he would have wished him anywhere else but 
 where he was at that precise minute. However, he 
 swallowed his chagrin, and they walked on together. 
 
 The others must have loitered, also for they caught 
 up to them before they reached the cottage, and many 
 were the gibes and insinuations bandied back and 
 forth. But when they reached the front door all mer- 
 riment ceased and they paused spellbound to watch 
 the tableau before them. 
 
 The two gentlemen and Mrs. Wescott had risen 
 'from their places at the card table and were regarding 
 Mrs. Turnbull in startled amazement.
 
 Jack Forgets 163 
 
 "I left it on my dresser," the latter was saying, al- 
 most incoherent in her excitement. "And when I 
 thought of it, and went to get it my diamond brooch 
 dt was gone! Oh, what shall I do what shall I 
 do!" 
 
 Speechless, they looked from one to another, while 
 Mrs. Turnbull, all white and trembling, steadied her- 
 self against the railing. 
 
 "Thieves," muttered Mr. Turnbull, grimly. "Those 
 detectives are a fine lot. I guess I'll have to get on 
 the job myself!"
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 I 
 
 EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS 
 
 JACK pushed a way through to his mother's side 
 while the others hesitated, undecided whether to ad- 
 vance or retreat. Mrs. Wescott motioned to them, and 
 they came into the room, breathless and excited. 
 
 "Are you sure you haven't lost the pin, mother?" 
 Jack demanded. "It might have slipped off around the 
 house, you know." 
 
 "Oh, no, no," she denied. "It is impossible. Why, 
 I remember the exact spot where I left it John," she 
 added, turning imperatively to her husband. "We'll 
 have to give this thing publicity we can't consent to 
 be robbed wholesale " 
 
 "Just a minute, just a minute, my dear," he inter- 
 rupted, mildly. "We didn't talk this way when other 
 people suffered " 
 
 "No, if we had I might still have my diamonds/' she 
 returned, her lips compressed. "I tell you, John, this 
 
 thing has got to stop why, I wouldn't have lost that 
 
 164
 
 Exciting Developments 165 
 
 pin for all the money in the world. I should think 
 you'd feel the way I do " 
 
 "Oh, my dear, my dear," he protested. "Of course 
 it's an outrage, and I'll move heaven and earth to re- 
 cover that pin. But just now you are tremendously 
 nervous and excited, Edna if you could just er 
 pull yourself together, my dear 
 
 For the first time she seemed to be conscious of her 
 guests' existence, and her thoughtfulness as their 
 hostess once more asserted itself. 
 
 "I'm sorry," she said, laughing a little tremulously. 
 "I'm afraid this occurrence has entirely spoiled our 
 evening I " 
 
 "Oh, please don't worry about us," Mrs. Wescott 
 spoke impulsively. "We are all dreadfully sorry that 
 this has happened if there is anything we can 
 
 Hr_^_" 
 
 "Thank you," said Mrs. Turnbull, lifelessly. "I 
 imagine this is a case for police investigation though 
 they probably won't find anything." 
 
 Our young folks did their best to cheer their hostess 
 with happy prognostications, but, finding the latter of 
 little avail, decided the wisest thing would be to get 
 back home and leave Mrs. Turnbull to her husband.
 
 166 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 Jack brought the car around, and after many ex- 
 pressions of mutual friendship, our party rolled away, 
 considerably more thoughtful and chastened than they 
 had come. 
 
 "Burglars!" whispered Marjorie, in awed tones. 
 "Oh, I wish our bungalow weren't quite so far away 
 from everybody." 
 
 "Marjorie," cried Evelyn, amazed. "You're a 
 camp-fire girl, and I believe you're actually afraid!" 
 
 "So are you, only you won't admit it," Marjorie re- 
 torted. 
 
 Evelyn began to stutter, but Lucile cut in quickly. 
 "We're none of us really afraid," she said. "It's only 
 natural we should be excited and worked up after what 
 has happened to-night but, as to being actually afraid 
 why, we'll laugh at our fears to-morrow." 
 
 "Of c course we will," chattered Jessie. "Only I 
 wish to-morrow'd hurry up." 
 
 Everybody laughed, and for the rest of the ride the 
 tension somewhat relaxed. It tightened up, however, 
 when the boys started to say good night. 
 
 Phil looked at Lucile and Jessie, then turned sud- 
 denly to Mrs. Wescott. 
 
 "Why. can't we fellows stay too?" he proposed.
 
 Exciting Developments 167 
 
 "You can put us up, can't you, Mrs. Wescott? a 
 couple of us, anyway. Of course, there's no danger, 
 but I hate the thought of leaving you and the girls 
 all alone like this I " 
 
 Mrs. Wescott laughed softly, then turned to Phil, 
 saying in a matter-of-fact tone, "As you said, there is 
 absolutely no danger of our being robbed, but if it 
 will make you feel any better " 
 
 Phil seized her hand and wrung it gratefully. 
 "Thanks," he said. "I knew you'd see it our way. 
 Jack, will you take us back while we get some of 
 our duds?" 
 
 Jack assented, then turned to Mrs. Wescott hope- 
 fully. "I suppose you only have room for two brave 
 defenders?" he inquired, adding modestly, "I'm not 
 fishing for an invitation or anything like that, you 
 know " 
 
 Mrs. Wescott laid a hand on his shoulder affection- 
 ately. "I'd ask you to stay in a minute," she said, 
 smiling. "But we only have one spare room in the 
 place, and that isn't very large. Besides," she added, 
 "don't you think your mother needs you ?" 
 
 "I suppose so," he sighed, with a longing glance in 
 Lucile's direction. "Come on, fellows, I'll rush you
 
 168 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 home and back again before you know it. I hope 
 you realize how lucky you are !" 
 
 The boys stayed just long enough to unlock the 
 door, turn up the light and make sure that everything 
 was as it should be; then they were off once more. 
 
 As the door slammed, the girls turned from one to 
 the other, their eyes big and questioning. 
 
 "Goodness, here's adventure enough for us," .said 
 Marjorie, as they started upstairs. "In fact, I don't 
 know but what it will be too much before we get 
 through with it. Oh, what was that?" 
 
 The girls jumped back as though they had seen a 
 ghost. 
 
 "What?" cried Evelyn, in a shrill little whisper. 
 "I didn't see anything!" 
 
 "Oh, I thought I heard a noise !" 
 
 "Very likely you couldn't eat it," snapped Jessie, 
 pushing past Marjorie into the room. Jessie was tired 
 and nervous and completely out of sorts. The very 
 way she flung her hat upon the chair was spiteful. 
 "For goodness' sake, let's forget burglars and go to 
 bed. I'm tired." 
 
 "So it seems," Evelyn remarked, as she took off her 
 own hat and smoothed her wind-rumpled hair.
 
 Exciting Developments 169 
 
 "What's the matter with you, anyway you've been 
 cross ever since we came. You're not like the same 
 girl." 
 
 Jessie said nothing but went on pulling the pins out 
 of her hair in a gloomy, abstracted silence while the 
 girls watched her furtively. When she could stand it 
 no longer, Marjorie burst out petulantly. 
 
 "Oh, can't somebody say something," she cried. 
 "We're like a party of ghosts. I feel like sticking a 
 pin into somebody to see if they're real!" 
 
 Evelyn skipped nimbly to the other side of the room. 
 
 "Try it on, Jessie, first," she suggested. "She's the 
 one that started it. Goodness, I never saw anyone 
 look quite so doleful !" 
 
 In the mirror Lucile saw Jessie turn away to hide 
 the two big tears that rolled betrayingly down her 
 cheeks. In a moment she was on her knees beside her 
 friend, and had turned fiercely to the amazed girls. 
 
 "Why couldn't you leave her alone," she cried. 
 "Couldn't you see she was all on edge and didn't want 
 to be bothered? Go on, honey, cry all you want to 
 I'd like to see anybody try to stop you!" and she 
 smoothed the yellow hair lovingly. 
 
 There was a little gurgling sound somewhere be-
 
 170 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 tween a laugh and a sob from Jessie, and her arm 
 crept up to clasp tightly about Lucile's neck. 
 
 Mrs. Wescott, opening the door softly to say good 
 night, paused, amazed, by the picture they presented. 
 The dark head, bent so closely above the fair one and 
 the two other girls, transfixed with bewilderment. 
 
 "Why, my girls," she cried, advancing toward 
 them swiftly. "What in the world is the matter ? Jes- 
 sie, you're not hurt?" 
 
 Jessie reached out a hand to her guardian, not 
 trusting herself to speak. 
 
 "She'll be all right," said Lucile, lifting eyes that 
 seemed almost black beneath their shadowing of dark 
 lashes. "A good night's rest will set her up wonder- 
 fully. We've had a pretty long day, you know." 
 
 In spite of the explanation, Mrs. Wescott looked 
 worried. "I know that," she said, "but it isn't like 
 Jessie to break down this way. You don't feel sick, 
 do you dear?" 
 
 "Oh, I'm a a goose," said Jessie, wiping her 
 eyes on a little square of handkerchief Lucile slipped 
 into her hand. "There's n nothing in the world the 
 m matter with me. I don't know what made me I 
 never did this before "
 
 Exciting Developments 171 
 
 "Well, never mind," said Mrs. Wescott, evidently 
 very much relieved and patting the young shoulder 
 consolingly. "Everything looks a good deal brighter 
 by daylight. Get to bed and to sleep as soon as you 
 can, and you'll find all your troubles disappear by 
 magic Good night, girls from various noises below 
 I surmise that the boys have come back, which means 
 that I am wanted below stairs. Good night, once 
 more." 
 
 There was a loving chorus from the girls, and then 
 the door closed softly, and they were alone again. Mrs. 
 Wescott knew that Lucile could bring Jessie to herself 
 sooner than anyone else. 
 
 Almost in silence the girls undressed and slipped 
 into bed. It was not till the lights had been turned 
 out and the moon had made a silver pathway of light 
 across the floor, that Evelyn stole noiselessly out of 
 bed and toward the alcove where Lucile and Jessie 
 slept. 
 
 "Jessie," she whispered. 
 
 Jessie started and turned over. "What is it?" she 
 whispered in the same tone. 
 
 "I I just wanted to say I'm sorry if I made you 
 feel bad. I'll I'll try to be good in the future."
 
 172 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 Jessie gave the penitent's hand an affectionate little 
 squeeze. "Don't make rash promises," she advised 
 her. "When I'm in good form again you might have 
 to take them back." 
 
 Evelyn chuckled happily. "Now I know I'm for- 
 given," she said and crept back to bed. 
 
 After that there was silence for a long time, while 
 the wind, which had been rising steadily since night- 
 fall, shrilled higher and higher, and the surf pounded 
 heavily on the rocks. Finally, Jessie's hand reached 
 over tentatively and touched Lucile. 
 
 "Lucy," she whispered. "Are you asleep?" 
 
 "Yes," chuckled Lucile. "I went to sleep quite 
 some time ago." Then added, with sudden compunc- 
 tion, "Forgive me, dear tell me what's the matter 
 now." 
 
 "Oh, it's nothing," she answered, vaguely. "Only 
 I keep listening to that old surf and the wind and I 
 oh, I can't get to sleep." I begin to think and 
 think " 
 
 "Think of what?" queried Lucile, then added 
 quickly. "Jessie, dear, you're not telling me every- 
 thing you know you're not. There's something the 
 matter between you and Phil. What is it have you
 
 Exciting Developments 173 
 
 quarreled ? Tell me, dear it will make you feel ever 
 so much better." 
 
 "Lucy, I can't ! It was all so foolish, anyway. 
 Why, as I think about it, I can hardly remember how 
 it started. He took offence at something I said and 
 then oh, he treated me shamefully, Lucile !" 
 
 "But it was something you said that started it all ?" 
 Lucile questioned. 
 
 "Y yes," she admitted, grudgingly. "But that 
 shouldn't make him act the way he did." 
 
 "In other words, he ought to swallow everything 
 you say and not resent it," Lucile interpreted, merci- 
 lessly. "That's hardly a fair way to look at it, Jessie." 
 
 "But he always has before," Jessie wailed miserably, 
 and in spite of herself, Lucile laughed. "Of course, if 
 it's all a joke to you," she went on offendedly. 
 
 "Oh, Jessie, dear, it isn't," Lucile assured her, re- 
 morsefully. "I know it's mighty serious to you and 
 Phil especially. But since you started it, don't you 
 think you might tell him you were sorry?" 
 
 "Oh, I won't," she declared, sitting bolt upright 
 and gazing defiantly out at the moon. "I couldn't. 
 Could you if Jack hurt you that way?" she de- 
 manded, suddenly.
 
 174 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "I might if I knew I was in the wrong." 
 
 "Well, / couldn't," said Jessie, flopping down in 
 the bed and drawing the covers up about her rebel- 
 liously. 
 
 After about ten minutes of silence she turned to 
 Lucile again. "I couldn't, Lucile," she repeated. 
 
 Lucile stirred sleepily. "I'm not so sure of that," 
 she said.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 PICTURES IN THE FIRE 
 
 IT was so dark when Lucile opened her eyes that 
 she ^closed them tight again, thinking it must still be 
 night when Jessie's voice startled her wide awake in 
 a moment. 
 
 "Don't you dare go to sleep again," it com- 
 manded. "I've been watching you for some sign of 
 life for the last two hours or maybe it was more, I 
 don't know." 
 
 Lucile rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Well, I hope you 
 enjoyed it," she chuckled. "I didn't know I was so 
 fascinating." 
 
 "You're not," said Jessie, ungraciously. "It wasn't 
 your many and varied charms that kept me 
 awake " 
 
 "Prithee, what then," queried Lucile, taking mental 
 note of Jessie's pallor and the heavy circles under her 
 eyes, but determined not to show it. 
 
 "What then ?" Jessie repeated. "I should think you 
 could hear for yourself." 
 
 Lucile sat up, clasped her hands about her knees 
 175
 
 176 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 and regarded the landscape, or as much of it as she 
 could see from her windows, thoughtfully. 
 
 "Everything does look rather ruffled up, doesn't it," 
 she said, after a few minutes. "I wonder what the 
 weather thinks it's doing, anyway?" 
 
 "That's what I've been trying to figure out," said 
 Jessie, turning away disgustedly. "If that surf gets 
 up much nearer we'll find ourselves en route for dear 
 old London. What can you do on a day like this, 
 I'd like to know." 
 
 "Goodness, I should think you'd pounce on the 
 chance to get your trunk unpacked," said Lucile, cheer- 
 ily determined to look on the sunny side of things. 
 "The boys can't possibly drag us out in this wind and 
 rain. I wonder if your Aunt Edna has found any 
 trace of her pin yet ?" 
 
 "Probably not," said Jessie, pessimistically. "I 
 wish somebody would hurry up and catch those 
 thieves," she added. "If they don't, I'll surely have an 
 attack of jim-jams " 
 
 "I beg pardon ?" Lucile was interested. 
 
 "Jim-jams," Jessie repeated patiently. "I feel them 
 coming on. Why, last night I hardly slept a wink 
 kept imagining I heard all sorts of noises "
 
 Pictures in the Fire 177 
 
 "Jessie," cried Lucile, amusement and disbelief in 
 her tone, "you never were like that before - " 
 
 "Well, everything's got to start sometime, hasn't it," 
 Jessie retorted, reasonably. "I tell you, those burglars 
 have to be caught." 
 
 "Well, if you'll just wait till I get my things 
 on - " 
 
 Jessie began to laugh hysterically. "Lucy," she 
 gasped, "I love you - " 
 
 "Thanks," said Lucile, gratefully, "but might I 
 
 "Oh, come down here and let me hug you," cried 
 Jessie, suiting the action to the word. "You're so 
 foolish, you make me feel better. Oh, don't go away," 
 she begged, holding on the tighter as Lucile drew back 
 in feigned indignation. "I didn't mean it truly I 
 didn't - " 
 
 "Oh, I am not angry," in a sepulchral voice, some- 
 what smothered by Jessie's strangle hold. "I am 
 only hurt - " 
 
 "Who's hurting you?" came a cheerful voice from 
 beside the bed, and the two laughing girls looked up 
 flushed and breathless to find Marjorie gazing down 
 upon them severely.
 
 178 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Hello, Marj," Lucile greeted. "Why, the eagle 
 stare I feel bored through already." 
 
 "We didn't do anything," Jessie added, meekly. 
 "Honest, teacher, we didn't mean it." 
 
 "Didn't mean it," sniffed Marjorie, her stern as- 
 pect belied by the twinkle in her eye. "Just look at 
 the condition of this place it looks as though a 
 cyclone had struck it " 
 
 "Oh, is that all?" sighed Jessie, in profound relief. 
 "I thought you might have discovered all those hid- 
 den jewels in my inside pocket " 
 
 Marjorie seized a hair brush and held it threaten- 
 ingly aloft. "Quick," she cried. "The whereabouts 
 of that pocket or " 
 
 Jessie tarried not for the ending of the sentence. 
 She was out of bed at a bound and had barricaded 
 herself behind a chair, from which fortress she chal- 
 lenged all comers. 
 
 "Come one, come all," she cried. "I will protect 
 those jewels with my life." 
 
 "A little less noise, please," came a cheerful, mascu- 
 line voice from outside the door, and Jessie's face 
 clouded instantly. "Jim and I thought the burglars 
 had arrived. What's all the fuss about?"
 
 Pictures in the Fire 179 
 
 "Oh, nothing only that we've found the thief," 
 Marjorie answered. "Jessie has confessed." 
 
 "Good," Phil applauded. "We'll hand her over to 
 justice after breakfast. Meanwhile, come down and 
 eat." 
 
 Considering this very good advice, the girls hustled 
 into their dresses and were soon ready to follow it. 
 Outside the rain still poured down steadily, and the 
 surf continued its. thunderous undertone, but the wind 
 had died down till it was scarcely noticeable, and only 
 occasional gusts attested to its former violence. 
 
 Lucile put her arm about Jessie as they started 
 down-stairs. "Try to do as I said last night, won't 
 you, dear?" she whispered. "I'm sure it's the best 
 way." 
 
 "I can't," said Jessie, stubbornly. "I know you're 
 right, Lucy, but I simply can't it isn't in me, I guess." 
 
 After breakfast they gathered in the pretty living 
 room, undecided as to their next move. The events 
 of the night before and reports of previous robberies 
 had been discussed, pulled apart and pieced together 
 again, until every possible conjecture had been con- 
 jectured and every possible remedy had been sug- 
 gested.
 
 180 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "I suppose Jack and Ray won't be over in this 
 weather," after a pause in the conversation, during 
 which each had been busy with his or her own 
 thoughts. "They can't bring the auto and it's a pretty 
 big walk." 
 
 ''I'd like to be as sure of a hundred dollars," Jim 
 prophesied, "as I am that Jack and Ray will be here 
 some time to-day. A little rain won't stop them." 
 
 "Jim, you're an optimist," said Phil regarding the 
 steady downpour moodily. "Allow me to congratulate 
 you!" 
 
 "Well, I know what I'm going to do," said Lucile, 
 rising with decision. "I'm going to put away some 
 of my dresses and get the room in order by that 
 time the sun ought to be shining." 
 
 "Jim, you have a rival," said Phil, waving his hand 
 in Lucile's direction. "For my part, I think this rain 
 is going to last a week." 
 
 "So much the better," said Lucile, refusing to be 
 downed. "We can put on our bathing suits and take 
 a dip. Rain water's good for the complexion, any- 
 way!" She threw him a little mocking kiss and a mo- 
 ment later was racing the girls upstairs. 
 
 Regarding Jessie's flushed face and bright eyes, it
 
 Pictures in the Fire 181 
 
 was little wonder, thought Lucile, that Phil seemed 
 depressed. How could he know what had happened 
 last night? 
 
 Late in the afternoon the girls sat down and looked 
 at each other. They had put their own room in per- 
 fect order; in fact, there was not even a stray pin to 
 be found anywhere, and now it was still raining out- 
 side and there was nothing to do. 
 
 "We might write some letters," Evelyn was suggest- 
 ing, hopefully, when the sound of voices below made 
 them start to their feet. 
 
 "I knew it," cried Lucile, flinging open the door. 
 "It's Jack and Ray now, maybe we'll hear some 
 news." 
 
 If the boys had had any doubt of their reception, 
 it was dissipated a moment later when the four girls 
 precipitated themselves upon them, showering them 
 with excited questions. 
 
 "Well, this is the sort of welcome home I enjoy," 
 said Jack, taking off his dripping mackintosh and 
 beaming round upon them. "I didn't think we were 
 so popular, Ray." 
 
 "Thank the rain for it," said Jessie, impishly. 
 "We're just about bored to death."
 
 182 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "Oh," said Jack, drawing in a long breath. "So 
 that's the way you feel about it. Well, we're going 
 to stay a little while anyway." 
 
 "I should say so," Phil agreed. "Jim and I need 
 company. What do you suppose these girls have been 
 doing all morning?" 
 
 "Ask us something easy," said Ray. "I have yet to 
 meet the fellow who can tell what a girl will do next." 
 
 "Good; keep 'em guessing," Evelyn commented, as 
 they sauntered into the living room. "It's the only 
 sensible way to treat them." 
 
 "Say, I'm beginning to think this is no place for us," 
 said Jack, looking back in dismay at Evelyn's mis- 
 chievous face. "What have you been doing in our 
 absence holding a suffrage meeting?" 
 
 "I guess you struck it," said Phil, gloomily. "I 
 never saw such a crowd they have no gratitude what 1 
 ever for their brave protectors." 
 
 "That reminds me, Jack," Jessie cut in. "How is 
 Aunt Edna to-day?" 
 
 "Oh, considerably worried," he answered. "Of 
 course, they haven't found anything yet and the 
 weather well, it hasn't cheered her any There's no 
 doubt about it, those crooks are experts !"
 
 Pictures in the Fire 183 
 
 "Oh, dear," said Marjorie, plaintively. "Here they 
 start talking of crooks again and it's getting dark, 
 too!" 
 
 "Jack?" queried Lucile, seemingly a propos of noth- 
 ing. "Can you tell me what earthly use a fireplace 
 is if you don't have a fire?" 
 
 "You've got me," he answered, inelegantly, smiling 
 down upon her. "Does that mean you want one?" 
 
 "Oh, yes," she murmured, stretching out her feet 
 to an imaginary blaze. "It's just cool enough to make 
 it delightful, and then Marj won't have to worry about 
 burglars or anything else." 
 
 "How about it, Phil?" Jack queried. "Do you sup- 
 pose there's any wood around the place?" 
 
 "I'm sure I don't know, but we could ask Mrs. 
 Wescott's permission to find out. There's probably 
 some down in the cellar." 
 
 "Oh, nice!" exclaimed Evelyn, happily. "Lucile, 
 you know I always said you were a wonder now I 
 repeat it." 
 
 "Thanks, dear," said Lucile, contentedly munching 
 some candy the boys had brought. "I think it was 
 something of an inspiration myself." 
 
 "Don't count too much on it, though," Phil admon-
 
 184 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 ished as they left the room. "Remember, we haven't 
 found the wood yet." 
 
 However, they did find it, and a good deal more 
 besides the latter being an excellent supper prepared 
 by the middle-aged amazon herself and superintended 
 by their thoughtful little guardian. When the boys, 
 finding her in the kitchen, inquired for the kindling 
 wood, she gave them full directions, and then sug- 
 gested that they have the table set in the living room 
 before the fire. Needless to say, this last was greeted 
 with enthusiasm the result being the j oiliest little 
 dinner they had ever sat down to. 
 
 When it was cleared away at last, and they had set- 
 tled themselves in a cheerful semi-circle about the 
 blazing logs, content reigned supreme and undisputed 
 over the little group. 
 
 "Play something, won't you, Lucy," Marjorie sug- 
 gested, after a few moments of general conversation 
 about nothing in particular. "Something soft and 
 soothing you know!" 
 
 "Go ahead, Lucile," urged Jack. "I don't think I've 
 ever heard you play before." 
 
 Lucile rose rather reluctantly and turned toward the 
 piano. "All right," she said. "Only don't expect
 
 Pictures in the Fire 185 
 
 much I'm too lazy to play anything big let's sing 
 some of the old songs." 
 
 It was a pretty picture as they sat there, the young 
 faces outlined in the firelight and their whole hearts 
 in the sweet old melodies they were singing. When 
 at last they had exhausted their repertoire and Lucile's 
 hands rested idly on the keys, Jack leaned over, his 
 handsome eyes searching her face. 
 
 "Lucile," he said, speaking so low that nobody could 
 overhear, "do you care anything about me at all?" 
 
 "Oh, Jack," she pleaded, raising her eyes to his 
 earnest face. "You you know I do " 
 
 "How much?" he asked. "Lucile " his eager 
 hand reached over and caught her's, but she drew it 
 away again. "Maybe I'm foolish," he went on, 
 quickly. "But I'm jealous of everyone that looks at 
 you " 
 
 She glanced up, this time in real surprise. "Jeal- 
 ous," she repeated. "Jealous of whom?" 
 
 "Everybody," he replied, savagely. "And now 
 that fool of a Joe Bennett wants an introduction " 
 
 "Is that why you call him a fool?" she asked, de- 
 murely, her eyes on the keys. 
 
 "You know it isn't," he answered. "Lucile, I'm not
 
 186 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 joking I never was so serious in my life. I guess 
 you don't know just how much you mean to me. 
 Sometime, will you let me tell you " 
 
 "Aren't we* going to have any more music," Marjo- 
 rie asked, as the conversation about the fireplace 
 lagged. "Give us something of your own this time, 
 Lucy." 
 
 As Lucile obligingly coaxed out a dreamy little 
 waltz tune, Jack bent over still closer. "Will you?" 
 he whispered. 
 
 There was something new added to the laughter in 
 her eyes as she raised them to his something that 
 set his pulses beating madly and made him want to 
 shout aloud for joy. 
 
 But her only answer was an almost imperceptible 
 nod of her head.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 FAIRY GODMOTHERS 
 
 "ARE you sure you don't know her?" 
 
 It was a week after the big storm and Lucile with 
 Jack and Joe Bennett was seated on the sand, gazing 
 out over the water. The latter had succeeded in ob- 
 taining the asked-for introduction and had followed 
 Lucile around like her shadow ever since. Jack had 
 tried by every means in his power to shake off the in- 
 truder, but his efforts had met with little success, and 
 he had grimly decided to bide his time. The worst of 
 it was, he reflected, watching the two between half- 
 closed eyes, that Lucile actually seemed to enjoy the 
 fellow's company ! 
 
 Well, Joe was funny, there could be no denying 
 that. Short and round was Joe, with a good-natured 
 faculty for making people laugh that insured him a 
 welcome wherever he went. His eyes had a droll way 
 of laughing while the rest of his face was as solemn 
 
 as a sphinx. Oh, there could be no doubt about it 
 
 187
 
 188 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 Lucile enjoyed his society. If only she wouldn't look 
 so pretty hang the fellow, anyway! Jack glowered, 
 but evidently nobody took any notice of him. Of 
 course not why should they? he reflected bitterly. 
 
 "If I do, I must have met her sleep-walking," Joe 
 was saying, in answer to her question. "And from 
 your description of the lady, I hope my luck holds!" 
 
 "Perhaps you'd like her if you saw her," Lucile re- 
 turned. "You never can tell." 
 
 Joe dribbled a handful of sand between his fingers 
 and looked up at her reproachfully. "Please give my 
 good sense some credit," he begged. "I don't run to 
 ladies of the spinster variety in fact, I'm much more 
 likely to run the other way." 
 
 "Then it's up to me to find that girl," said Jack, 
 dryly. "I'd like to see just how far you could run, 
 Joe in the opposite direction." 
 
 "Don't do it, Jack, don't do it," begged Joe, his eyes 
 twinkling. "I know you want to get rid of me, but 
 please take some less painful means why, I'd even 
 lend you my revolver " 
 
 "No, that would be too easy," Jack returned. "Be- 
 sides, I might get caught " 
 
 "Not the way things are run these days," Lucile
 
 l ( 'airy Godmothers 189 
 
 broke in quickly. "Especially in Tanike. Why, any- 
 body couid murder a man, hide the body and go on 
 about his business with no questions asked !" 
 
 Joe looked worried. "Guess it's time I hired a body- 
 guard," he ventured. "You weren't serious or any- 
 thing just now, were you, Jack?" 
 
 "I hope he was," Lucile laughed ; "about finding the 
 girl, anyway. Are you sure you don't know anything 
 about her, Jack you know almost everyone in the 
 place." 
 
 "Sure I do," said Jack lazily. "I know her, too!" 
 
 Joe sat bolt upright in his amazement. "Well, I'll 
 be hanged!" he marvelled. 
 
 "Go right ahead," Jack was beginning, pleasantly, 
 when Lucile seized his arm and shook it excitedly. 
 
 "Why didn't you tell me," she reproached him. "It 
 wasn't fair to let us go on talking about it when you 
 knew all the time. Are you sure you have the right 
 one?" 
 
 "There couldn't be two like that in the same town," 
 he answered. "They're few and far between, thank 
 heaven !" 
 
 "Jack," cried Lucile, her eyes blazing, "it isn't fair 
 of either you or Joe to talk that way. You never stop
 
 190 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 to think how fine a girl may be personally her looks 
 are everything " 
 
 "You said it," murmured Joe, recovering from his 
 surprise, and stretching himself out at full length 
 where he could blink up lazily at the sun. "You sure 
 said it that time." 
 
 Lucile stared, then began to laugh in spite of her- 
 self. "It's all very well for you to make fun of her," 
 she went on, trying to be serious, "but it's not so much 
 fun for the girl I can tell you that!" 
 
 Joe chuckled. "I don't see how," he commented. 
 "You sure can't know from experience." He had 
 been comparing the pink of Lucile's little sport jacket 
 to the roses in her cheeks, and had decided that the 
 match was perfect therefore, the remarks was very 
 a propos. 
 
 But Lucile was not to be placated so easily. "I don't 
 care," she persisted, petulantly. "It isn't fair to leave 
 a girl like that out of everything." 
 
 "What would you like us to do," Jack queried, po- 
 litely. "Go up and ask her to the dance to-night?" 
 
 "Oh, exactly," cried Lucile, turning eagerly to him. 
 "If someone only would !" 
 
 "Why pick on us?" Joe queried, plaintively. "Ask
 
 Fairy Godmothers 191 
 
 one of the new fellows up at the house. They haven't 
 been here long enough to know what they're up 
 against." 
 
 "May I ask what you expect to do while Joe and I 
 are fighting for first place at your obscure friend's 
 feet," Jack asked with biting sarcasm. "You can't go 
 to the dance alone, you know." 
 
 "I don't expect to," she retorted. "You don't have 
 to leave me out just because she goes." 
 
 Jack sighed and turned away. "Well, let Joe do it," 
 he said. 
 
 "Then I can't expect any help from either of you," 
 she said, looking from one to the other. "You just 
 mean to ignore her." 
 
 "Oh, Lucile," cried Jack in desperation, "do be sen- 
 sible. Why, we don't even know that the girl can 
 dance. We'd look nice, wouldn't we dragging her 
 around ? We'd have a crowd following us in five min- 
 utes." 
 
 "Well, you'd be interesting for once in your lives, 
 anyway," she retorted, getting up and stretching her 
 arms above her head. "Oh, boys, I'd love to go in 
 for a swim, now," she added, changing the subject. 
 "The water looks wonderful."
 
 192 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "There's no reason why you can't," said Jack, shak- 
 ing out his coat. "We could take half an hour's dip 
 anyway before it's time to get ready for to-night." 
 
 But Lucile shook her head and turned reluctantly 
 away. "I'm afraid it wouldn't be worth the trouble," 
 she decided. "If you boys will take me back to the 
 cottage, I think I'll rest up a little. We may meet Jes- 
 sie and Marj on the way." 
 
 "I say, what's your awful hurry?" Joe remon- 
 strated, getting up reluctantly. "You don't look as if 
 you needed any rest, you know. It's cruelty to leave 
 us like this !" 
 
 "Sorry," she laughed. "But I'll have to go just 
 the same. The girls will be wondering what has be- 
 come of me." 
 
 A few minutes later they said good-bye to her, 
 promising to return in plenty of time for the dance, 
 and she ran up to her room, hoping to find the girls 
 there before her. She was not disappointed, for, as 
 she opened the door a chorus of questions were flung 
 at her. Marjorie was lying on the bed, Jessie was 
 sitting on it and Evelyn was standing before them 
 both, holding a box of candies behind her." 
 
 "Hello, Lucy, where you been?" Jessie greeted,
 
 Fairy Godmothers 193 
 
 adding in the same breath, "make Evelyn give me 
 some more candy." 
 
 Lucile laughed and flung herself on the foot of the 
 bed. "That sounds easy," she said. "But Evelyn's 
 getting mighty strong these days with the exercise and 
 everything. Besides, I'm not so sure you ought to 
 have any more it will spoil your perfectly good com- 
 plexion." 
 
 "And I thought you were a friend of mine, Lucy," 
 Jessie reproached her. "All right, Evelyn, be mean 
 if you want to." 
 
 "Thanks," said Evelyn, selecting a delicious choco- 
 late with a nut on top. "I have always wished to be 
 mean above everything else." 
 
 "I believe you," said Jessie, bitterly, making a dive 
 for the box. "There's one sure thing if I don't get 
 any, neither will you," and in the ensuing scramble 
 Evelyn dropped the box and the liberated chocolates 
 rolled to every corner of the room. 
 
 "Now, see what you made me do," exclaimed the 
 latter, regarding the wreck and ruin despairingly. 
 "Well, you've got to pick them up, Jessie, that's all." 
 
 Jessie was just about to retort when Lucile held up 
 her hand imploringly. "Peace, my children," she
 
 194 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 begged. "I have a proposition to make. Let the one 
 who picks up the most candies in the shortest time se- 
 lect the largest, juiciest and most delicious morsel of 
 them all to eat at her leisure and with no interference 
 from parties outside." 
 
 There was an ecstatic whoop from Jessie and 
 Evelyn, and they began to dive into corners with an 
 energy worthy of a nobler cause, while Lucile and 
 Marjorie sat by with the solemn air of judges. 
 
 When Jessie had been pronounced winner and had 
 consumed the prize with her customary relish, Lucile 
 brought the conversation around to the strange girl, 
 whom she had not seen since that first encounter on 
 the beach. 
 
 "Jack knows her," she announced, "and he's kept 
 it to himself all this time. I don't understand it." 
 
 "Well, I do," said Marjorie. "He probably thinks 
 you have something better to do than go chasing her- 
 mit ladies to their lairs. I think you're treating Jack 
 shamefully, Lucile." 
 
 Lucile reddened angrily, but Marjorie continued 
 her merciless tirade. "Anybody can see he's only 
 thinking of you and, believe me, there are plenty 
 who would like to be in your place."
 
 Fairy Godmothers 195 
 
 "How do you know," Lucile interrupted, quickly. 
 
 "Oh from observation," said Marjorie. "And 
 how do you repay him ? By letting that little whipper- 
 snapper of a Joe Bennett trail around at your heels all 
 day why he can no more compare with Jack " 
 
 Then it was Lucile snapped out a retort she would 
 have given all the money she owned to retract the next 
 instant. "Perhaps," she said coldly "perhaps you 
 are one of those who would like to take my place," 
 then, at the look of absolute amazement and hurt sur- 
 prise in Marjorie's face, she added, remorsefully, "oh, 
 Marjie, dear, I'm sorry please forget it. Of course, 
 I didn't mean it you know that." 
 
 "I hope you didn't," said Marjorie, turning away. 
 
 "Oh, girls, girls," cried Evelyn, desperately, "It 
 seems to me we have one quarrel right after another 
 these days. They're so foolish, too." 
 
 "That's what I say," Jessie agreed, soberly. "Must 
 be the reason why we never have any, Evelyn." 
 
 Marjorie and Lucile looked at each other, and for 
 the life of them could not help laughing, and so once 
 more good humor saved the situation. 
 
 "I tell you what we'll do," Jessie suggested, de- 
 lighted at this unusual chance to play peacemaker.
 
 196 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "We must all enter into a solemn compact not to quar- 
 rel. If one starts it, the other three must immediately 
 and with one accord jump upon her " 
 
 "At that rate, our doctor's bills will amount to more 
 than the rent," said Marjorie dryly. 
 
 "Ooh, crushed," said Jessie, laughing. "I didn't 
 mean it literally, you goose !" 
 
 "I beg pardon," said Evelyn mildly. "You didn't 
 mean it, which?" 
 
 "Evelyn," said Jessie, with a sorrowful shake of her 
 head. "Sometime some one will think you're as stupid 
 as you act, and then " 
 
 "Well, as long as they only think so, it's all right," 
 said Evelyn, philosophically. "They have a surprise 
 in store for them, that's all. Oh, Marjorie, do stop 
 yawning you make me feel sleepier than I am." 
 
 "Goodness, what a lively party," Lucile remarked. 
 "I hope we wake up by to-night." 
 
 "Which reminds me that evening is upon us and 
 we haven't even started to get ready yet," said Jessie. 
 "I wonder if your modern Cinderella will be there, 
 Lucy. If she is, you'll have a chance to play fairy 
 godmother to the fair damsel." 
 
 "I wish you'd stop making fun of her once in a
 
 Fairy Godmothers 197 
 
 while, and try to sympathize instead," Lucile replied 
 earnestly. "It's all very well for you girls to take it 
 like a huge joke, but it wouldn't be so funny if any 
 one of you were in her shoes. I thought you would 
 help me to be friendly, but it seems I'll have to do it 
 all alone." 
 
 Jessie's laughing face sobered and she sat down be- 
 side Lucile on the bed, and with an arm about her, 
 solemnly pledged herself to the cause. "I didn't real- 
 ize before that you were so much in earnest, dear," she 
 said. "If this girl is really unhappy, and we can do 
 anything to make her happier, why of course we'll do 
 our best." 
 
 "That's what I say," Evelyn agreed, and Marjorie 
 added, practically. "How do you expect to go about 
 it, Lucy?" 
 
 "I haven't made up my mind yet," she answered, 
 smiling radiantly upon them. "What I wanted most 
 was to make you girls as enthusiastic as I am. That 
 was the most important part. Oh, I'm so glad." 
 
 "That sounds good," said a voice from the door, 
 and they turned to find their guardian smiling at them. 
 "But don't you think it's time to dress? Supper will 
 be ready before long."
 
 198 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Oh, we know it, we know it," cried Lucile, joy- 
 fully dragging Mrs. Wescott into the room. "But 
 you must listen to what we have to say first please !" 
 
 The latter laughingly consented, and for a little 
 while they again forgot the imminence of the big 
 dance. 
 
 "Well," sighed Lucile, as she slipped into her ex- 
 quisite little evening dress, "I only hope by some 
 miracle she will be there to-night. Then we can start 
 in right away !"
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE DANCE 
 
 THE scene was a brilliant one, as our four girls 
 with their escorts entered the magnificently appointed 
 ball-room of the summer hotel. There were flowers 
 all about, and the electric lights blazed upon more col- 
 ors and combinations of colors than have ever been 
 found in the rainbow or so it seemed to the girls. 
 They themselves formed a very conspicuous part of 
 the tone picture in fact, the boys were proudly con- 
 scious of escorting the prettiest group of girls in the 
 room. 
 
 As they passed a party of laughing young folks, 
 one of the girls beckoned to them, and they stopped to 
 exchange greetings. By this time, the strangers from 
 Burleigh had become known throughout Tanike, 
 thanks to Jack, and were almost universally liked. 
 There were two exceptions, however, Peggy Bright 
 and Janet Conklin, to whom Jack and Ray had been 
 
 more or less attentive before the arrival of our party. 
 
 199
 
 200 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 Quite naturally, perhaps, they had felt a growing re- 
 sentment and had resolved in the rather vulgar ver- 
 nacular of the time to "get even." 
 
 Peggy Bright was the girl who had beckoned to our 
 group. She was undeniably handsome, and being 
 handsome was not without admirers among the young 
 fellows of Tanike. Yet, here was Jack, by far the 
 best known and most popular of them all, deliberately 
 passing by her charms for those of a little back-woods 
 country girl. It couldn't last much longer, that was 
 certain. 
 
 Meanwhile, sublimely unconscious of all this an- 
 tagonism, Lucile was having the time of her life. Al- 
 ways at her best on such occasions, she was unusually 
 so to-night. As her excitement grew, the rich color 
 rose, flooding all her face and bringing out the spark- 
 ling mischief in her eyes, while her quaintly clever 
 little speeches kept them all in gales of laughter. As 
 he watched the growing admiration of his friends, 
 Jack had an uneasy feeling that Joe Bennett might not 
 be the only one for whom his friendship should be 
 forced to undergo a sudden and drastic change. 
 
 Then the orchestra struck up, and with a sense of 
 relief he whirled his lovely little partner out upon the
 
 The Dance 201 
 
 almost empty floor, rejoicing in the fact that for the 
 length of this dance at least, he would have her to 
 himself. 
 
 "Jack," she gasped, "nobody's started yet we're 
 almost the first ones." 
 
 "So much the better," he laughed down at her. "It 
 will give them a chance to see some real dancing." 
 
 "My, don't we like us," she teased, adding, impul- 
 sively, "just the same, I'd rather dance with you than 
 anyone else in the world, Jack." 
 
 The arm about her waist tightened spasmodically, 
 and he looked down joyfully into the dark eyes raised 
 to meet his. "Do you mean that?" he demanded. 
 
 "Of course," she said; adding with a demure little 
 veiling of her eyes, "aren't you the best dancer in the 
 room?" 
 
 "Oh," he ejaculated, while his mouth set grimly, "so 
 that's the only reason." 
 
 She flashed him a placating, uncertain little smile, 
 and Jack forgave her even before she spoke. Who 
 could help forgiving Lucile, he wondered certainly 
 not he ! 
 
 "Please forgive me, Jack," she said. "I say so 
 many things I don't mean "
 
 202 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "If I could only get you to say what you do mean, 
 just once," he interrupted her, fervently, "I'd die 
 happy. They'll have to give us an encore to that," he 
 added as the muse stopped and a frantic clapping of 
 hands began, to which he himself contributed consider- 
 able aid. They were not disappointed the music 
 started once more, and he carried her off into the 
 whirling vortex of brilliant colors. 
 
 After that, half the evening had passed before he 
 had another opportunity for a word with her so thick 
 and fast had demands for dances with his popular lit- 
 tle partner rained in upon him. While he inwardly 
 railed at fate and at them, his outward calm was per- 
 fect, and he signed away his precious dances with the 
 feeling of a martyr who sees his last hope rapidly 
 departing. However, there were four dances he had 
 reserved for himself, and it would have taken actual 
 force to have wrested them from him. 
 
 So it was that when their next dance had come he 
 led her gently toward one of the little balconies that 
 lined the ball-room instead of joining the throng on 
 the floor. 
 
 "Where are we going?" she queried in surprise, 
 "don't you want to dance?"
 
 The Dance 203 
 
 "Not just now," he answered, quietly. "I'd rather 
 talk to you." 
 
 Lucile was rather dimly aware that he was not 
 asking her will in the matter one way or the other, and 
 somehow she liked it. It was novel to be dictated to 
 in this lordly manner especially by Jack. 
 
 He pushed the curtain aside and stepped out onto 
 the picturesque little balcony. The night was brilliant 
 with starlight, and the moon cast a silvery radiance 
 over the water, whose murmuring undertone sounded 
 soft and strangely soothing, like a night-time lullaby. 
 It was in such marked contrast to the magnificently 
 artificial scene they had left that Lucile stretched out 
 her arms in silent tribute to the beauty of the night. 
 Then she turned to Jack with a happy sigh. 
 
 "Everything's wonderful," she murmured. "Oh, 
 Jack, I'm having such a good time !" 
 
 "That's good I wish I were, he returned mood- 
 ily. "Never had so much trouble to hang on to a few 
 dances in my life. They're all crazy!" 
 
 "What the dances or the dancers?" she queried, 
 demurely, glancing up at him out of the corners of 
 her eyes. 
 
 "Both, everything," he declared, dramatically; then,
 
 204 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 as Lucile laughed at his vehemence, he came a little 
 closer, saying, earnestly, "I wish you wouldn't laugh, 
 Lucile always. Perhaps you think I don't mean 
 what I say that I've done the same thing before 
 that I'm only acting do you?" 
 
 "N no," she stammered, moving back a step or 
 two. She was always a little afraid of Jack when he 
 was in this mood. "Of course not. Jack, my scarf's 
 blowing away will you, please 
 
 He adjusted the filmy bit of chiffon about her shoul- 
 ders with infinite care, then turned her very gently 
 about till she was facing him. 
 
 "I'm going to ask you something," he said. "And 
 of course, you needn't answer unless you want to. Do 
 you do you care for Joe Bennett ?" 
 
 "Oh, Jack," she whispered, raising startled eyes to 
 his. "How can you ask me that? You you know 
 I don't!" 
 
 "Know," he repeated, "how can I when you let 
 him follow you around all day? If you don't like 
 him, it's easy enough to get rid of him." 
 
 "But, Jack," she protested, "I don't dislike him by 
 any means. He's lots of fun and why I thought he 
 used to be a good friend of yours."
 
 The Dance 205 
 
 "Used to be is right," he answered, gloomily. 
 
 "Jack," she said, softly, laying an appealing hand 
 on his arm. "You you're not jealous " 
 
 "Jealous?" he repeated, "who could help being jeal- 
 ous when he has to play second fiddle to a little 
 fat " 
 
 "Oh, hush," she begged, wanting to laugh, yet 
 afraid to. "I like them all, Jack, but but " 
 
 "But what," he prompted, his eager eyes intent on 
 the girlish figure beside him, made doubly appealing 
 in the soft moonlight. His hand closed over hers that 
 rested on the railing, and he leaned closer. "But what, 
 Lucile?" he repeated, softly. 
 
 "Oh, so here you are." They turned sharply about 
 as a hand drew the curtain aside and stream of light 
 flooded the balcony. "Thought you'd cut my dance, 
 did you, Jack, old boy? Well, you can't do it not 
 so long as your Uncle Joe has a pair of eyes in his 
 head. May I have the honor, Miss Lucile?" and he 
 bowed with exaggerated gallantry before the prettiest 
 girl he had ever seen. 
 
 The latter smiled a little confusedly and Jack tried 
 his best to make his voice sound natural as he replied. 
 
 "We weren't trying to cut, Joe," he said. "We just
 
 206 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 didn't notice the dance had begun. Where's your 
 partner?" 
 
 "Haven't any," he answered, unmoved by Jack's 
 stare of surprise. "Guess you'll have to sit it out, old 
 man or go talk to some of the chaperones. So long," 
 and he whirled Lucile off with his usual energy, while 
 Jack was left to grind his teeth mentally and select 
 some secluded corner where he could be alone and 
 think things over. 
 
 Meanwhile Joe had communicated a very important 
 piece of news to his radiant partner. The latter al- 
 most stopped in the middle of the floor when she heard 
 it it required all Joe's skill to avoid a collision. 
 
 "Oh, I beg your pardon," she gasped. "But are 
 you sure you saw her?" 
 
 "Sure," he answered. "Jack pointed her out to me 
 this afternoon, and her face has been haunting me 
 eves, since. Not mad, are you?" he inquired anx- 
 iously, regarding her downcast eyes. "Just to show 
 you I'm sorry I slandered your dear friend, I'll do 
 anything you say. I'll even swear " 
 
 "Please don't," she begged, smiling up at him, imp- 
 ishly. "The best way you can atone now is to take 
 me to her and "
 
 The Dance 207 
 
 "Oh, lord," he groaned, "ask me anything else, but 
 not that. Why, I only have two dances with you this 
 evening " 
 
 "You said you'd do anything " she reminded 
 
 him. 
 
 "Oh, of course," his sigh was mournful enough to 
 touch a heart of stone. "I'll keep my word look 
 here, Lucile, can't we compromise? Wait till the 
 dance is over " 
 
 "Oh, there she is now," cried Lucile, breaking away 
 from her astonished partner and leaving him to stare 
 after her blankly. 
 
 When, after a few minutes she came back to him to 
 finish the last encore, her face was radiant. "I've 
 found out where she lives and everything," she con- 
 fided to the forgiving Joe. "And I've made her prom- 
 ise to meet us girls near the cottage to-morrow after- 
 noon. She looked so deserted and forlorn, sittiwg 
 
 there all alone " Suddenly her eyes fell upon Jack 
 
 and Peggy Bright. They were in animated conversa- 
 tion and the girl was looking unusually handsome 
 
 "Well, I suppose you're satisfied now," Joe was 
 saying, and she brought her mind back to him with 
 an effort.
 
 208 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Y Yes," she stammered. "Of course " 
 
 Then, suddenly she felt all alone in that room crowded 
 with people. She wanted more than anything else, to 
 talk to someone who loved her her guardian, per- 
 haps, or Jessie. 
 
 "What's the matter?" Joe was saying, anxiously. 
 "Don't you feel well?" 
 
 "Never felt better in my life," she assured him, 
 gaily. "Come on, Joe we can't afford to miss this !"
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 A GROWING MYSTERY 
 
 LUCILE had accomplished the seemingly impossible. 
 It was the afternoon after the dance, and she and Jes- 
 sie and Marion were seated cozily upon the sand, 
 talking over the events of the night before with girlish 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 "And that last extra was wonderful," breathed Jes- 
 sie, her fair hair flying unheeded about her face and 
 her blue eyes snapping with the memory. "I only wish 
 it could have kept up twice as long." 
 
 "You looked so pretty!" said Marion, looking 
 with a sort of wistful sullenness from Lucile to Jessie 
 and back again. 
 
 "So did you," said Lucile, "fibbing like a soldier," 
 as Jessie afterward told the girls. "Don't you dance 
 at all?" she added, leaning forward eagerly. 
 
 "No," said the girl, dropping her eyes to the hand 
 that played restlessly with the sand "Nobody ever 
 
 took the trouble to teach me." 
 
 209
 
 210 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "I'll wager anything you never let them think you 
 wanted to be taught," Jessie ventured slyly, and the 
 girl looked up in quick surprise. 
 
 "I don't see how you know that," she almost whis- 
 pered. "You girls are so different from anyone I ever 
 met before. You seem to know what I'm going to 
 think before I have time to think it." 
 
 "That's because we're girls ourselves," laughed Lu- 
 cile, looking like a very sweet specimen of her sex, 
 indeed in her short-waisted, short-skirted little sea- 
 green dress. "Only we've been lucky enough to grow 
 up in a little town where everybody knew everybody 
 else and where we felt like one big family. There's 
 an awful lot in surroundings, anyway." 
 
 "Oh, do you think so?" The strange girl leaned 
 forward eagerly, and Jessie wondered vaguely at the 
 change animation could make. "Then it doesn't all 
 depend on the person " 
 
 "I should say not," Jessie interrupted, beginning to 
 feel some of Lucile's interest in this reserved, super- 
 sensitive, yet, after all, very human type of girl. 
 "Why, look at Margaret Stillman. Before we found 
 out how miserable she was we used to almost envy her 
 the big house on the hill and all the servants and "
 
 A Growing Mystery 211 
 
 "Margaret Stillman," the girl repeated. "You 
 don't mean Judge Stillman's little girl the lame 
 one " 
 
 "You know her?" Lucile and Jessie demanded, in 
 one breath, while they stared at the speaker incredul- 
 ously. 
 
 "Why, yes," said Marion, sharing in their excite- 
 ment. "Judge Stillman and my uncle are very old 
 friends. He used to bring Margaret with him always 
 when he came to see us. I haven't seen her lately 
 not in a year and more, I guess although they told 
 me she had recovered from her lameness " 
 
 Then our girls did a thing that would have been 
 accepted as a matter of course by their friends but that 
 fairly overwhelmed their shy acquaintance. They 
 hugged her enthusiastically, then dragged her to her 
 feet, ignoring her feeble prayer for mercy. 
 
 "You've got to tell that to the girls !" Lucile cried, 
 as they hustled her along. ''They'll welcome you with 
 open arms and bugles. You know, Margaret's a sort 
 of tradition with us, and anybody who's a friend of 
 hers is a friend of ours, too. Oh, just wait till you 
 see the ovation they'll give you " 
 
 "But, but, I don't want any what you said "
 
 212 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 gasped the girl. "Please I I don't want to meet 
 anybody else I " 
 
 "Oh, you needn't worry about Marjorie and Eve- 
 lyn," laughed Jessie. "If we can stand them all the 
 time, I guess you can put up with them for five min- 
 utes. Really, they're not as bad as they look." 
 
 "Oh, I didn't say they looked bad," denied the girl, 
 who, not being used to Jessie, took her remarks far 
 too literally. "They seem very, very nice girls " 
 
 "All right, tell them that if it doesn't hurt your 
 conscience," Jessie advised as they dashed up on the 
 porch, nearly knocking their guardian out of the ham- 
 mock, where she was peacefully reading. 
 
 "Oh, oh, please excuse us," they gasped together 
 as Mrs. Wescott put down her magazine and smiled 
 at them indulgently. "We we didn't see you," Jes- 
 sie added. 
 
 "Quite evidently," nodded their guardian, adding, 
 as her glance fell upon the stranger. "I don't think 
 I have met this young lady, girls. Won't you intro- 
 duce me?" 
 
 "Oh, dear, we're forgetting our manners entirely 
 to-day," sighed Lucile, turning to Marion, who was 
 evincing a very strong desire for flight. "This is the
 
 A Growing Mystery 213 
 
 girl we told you about, guardian Miss Cathcart. 
 
 We've just found out she knows Margaret." 
 
 Mrs. Wescott looked a the new girl with interest. 
 "I'm very glad to know you," she said, as the latter 
 came forward guardedly. "My girls have told me so 
 much about you that I scarcely need an introduction 
 it seems as though we were old friends already. So 
 you know Margaret Stillman ?" 
 
 And while their guardian was making Marion feel 
 at home in her own inimitable way, Lucile and Jessie 
 slipped off to find the other two girls. They had left 
 them earlier in the day, gallantly attacking the mass 
 of unanswered correspondence, and had made the mar- 
 tyrs promise to join them when their task was accom- 
 plished. And now there was no sign of them up- 
 stairs or down. 
 
 "Humph! I guess the boys must have come along 
 and carried them off," grunted Jessie. "I think they 
 might have kept their word." 
 
 "Well, we don't know that they haven't yet," said 
 Lucile, who always gave everybody the benefit of the 
 doubt. "They may have just started and passed us 
 on the way up here." 
 
 "That's like you," said Jessie, slipping an arm about
 
 214 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 her friend as they left the room. "Always making ex- 
 cuses for people. I I wish I were like you, Lucy," 
 she added, rather wistfully. 
 
 Lucile stopped short and regarded the usually merry 
 Jessie questioningly. 
 
 "What is the matter with Phil?" she demanded, 
 divining the true cause of her friend's depression. 
 "Here, I thought you two had patched things up so 
 beautifully, and before I know it you're at swords' 
 points again, worse than ever." 
 
 "We never patched things up," Jessie denied, her 
 color mounting higher and higher. "Things have been 
 horrible " 
 
 "But it can't be all Phil's fault," Lucile reasoned. 
 "Why, all the time he's been going around as if he'd 
 lost his last friend you've been having the time of 
 your life with that cross-eyed " 
 
 "Oh, he isn't," Jessie denied; then, at Lucile's ex- 
 pression she began to laugh hysterically. "Well, may- 
 be he is b but you needn't rub it in " 
 
 "I dijln't mean to," Lucile hastily retracted, laugh- 
 ing in spite of herself at Jessie's latest admirer. "I'd 
 call him an Apollo, dear, if it would make you feel any 
 better, only it wouldn't. Phil's as jealous as " 
 
 "Well, I hope he enjoys it," said Jessie, spitefully.
 
 A Growing Mystery 215 
 
 "To change the subject, I wonder if your bird has 
 flown yet " 
 
 But the bird had not flown instead, she seemed 
 more than contented in their guardian's society, and 
 in her eyes was a new eagerness they were at a loss 
 to interpret. 
 
 "Come, sit down here, girls," Mrs. Wescott de- 
 manded in her sweet voice. "I have something very 
 interesting to tell you." 
 
 When their guardian spoke in that tone the girls 
 immediately forgot everything else and settled down 
 for a good story. 
 
 "Do you remember," she began "about the little tale 
 our Margaret told us a long time ago about the young 
 girl who lived all alone with her uncle " 
 
 "And we were wishing she lived in Burleigh," Lu- 
 cile supplemented eagerly, meeting Jessie's hand half- 
 way in an ecstatic squeeze. "Oh, guardian " 
 
 Mrs. Wescott smiled delightedly, and turned to the 
 girl who was gradually forgetting shyness in the 
 warmth of their enthusiasm. "You see, they've 
 guessed it already," she said. "All we have to do is 
 give them a hint " 
 
 Our two girls got to their feet and regarded the 
 newcomer incredulously. "Th then," Jessie stam-
 
 216 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 mered, "then you are that girl. What a small 
 place " 
 
 "The world is," Lucile finished, maliciously. "Very 
 original remark, Jessie, very." Then, as Jessie showed 
 signs of wrath, she continued quickly. "We're mighty 
 glad we met you, Marion. It was just like our guar- 
 dian to find out all about you in five minutes." 
 
 The girl had been regarding them wonderingly 
 from the first, and now, as her eyes rested on Mrs. 
 Wescott's sweet face, quite suddenly they were 
 dimmed with tears, and she turned away to hide her 
 emotion. 
 
 "I think you're the most wonderful people I ever 
 met," she said, unsteadily. 
 
 "We like us!" said Jessie, and saved the situation 
 by an inch. 
 
 A sob caught in Marion's throat, changing to a 
 convulsive laugh as she turned back to her three new 
 friends, whose eyes, like her own, were suspiciously 
 moist. 
 
 "I don't blame you," she said, and then there was 
 sealed their pact of friendship. 
 
 Struck by a sudden thought, Lucile jumped up and 
 made a dash for the house. 
 
 "Whither away?" called Jessie. "I never saw any-
 
 A Growing Mystery 217 
 
 body like you, Lucy. One minute you're here and the 
 next you're a mile away. What's the idea?" 
 
 Lucile poked her pretty head out the window. "I'm 
 going to play some music," she announced. "There's 
 just time for a little dance before dinner, and we're 
 going to have it." 
 
 "Oh, please," Marion protested. "My uncle will 
 miss me I really ought to be getting back." 
 
 "Oh, goodness, you just came," said Lucile, busy 
 winding the little machine that Mr. Wescott had so 
 thoughtfully sent down to them. "Besides, we've got 
 to celebrate some way, haven't we?" 
 
 "Well, you needn't ruin the record at that," Jessie 
 observed, as an ominous scraping reached their ears. 
 "Lucy, that scratched terribly." 
 
 "Well, I'm not doing it," the musician retorted, 
 choking the phonograph unfeelingly in the middle of' 
 a chord and inserting a new needle. "Anybody'd 
 think that's it, needle, scrape, scrape a little harder 
 that's right " 
 
 "Lucile Payton, if you don't come out here and 
 stop that maundering," Jessie threatened, "I'll come 
 in and get you. There's no knowing what may hap- 
 pen." 
 
 For answer Lucile flung open the door and catching
 
 218 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 Jessie in a firm grip, whirled her off down the piazza 
 with such speed that the latter objected vigorously. 
 
 "See here, Lucy," she gasped. "I'll do anything 
 within reason, but it's getting late and " 
 
 Suddenly Marion uttered a little exclamation that 
 made the girls turn to her inquiringly. 
 
 "Oh, I'd almost forgotten," she said, in reply to 
 their questioning. "I went to look at my watch and 
 then remembered that it was gone." 
 
 "Stolen?" they gasped in one breath. 
 
 "I guess so," she answered. "I'm afraid to tell 
 Uncle. He gave it to me, and he'll be terribly angry 
 
 , oh, what is the matter with that dog?" She 
 
 drew back in afright as Jed, barking wildly, rushed 
 up the steps and then down again, looking over his 
 shoulder at them appealingly. 
 
 Mrs. Wescott sprang to her feet with a sharp cry 
 of alarm. "The girls," she gasped. "Jed never acts 
 that way unless something's wrong. Oh, what has 
 happened ?" 
 
 Terrified, they rushed down the steps and stumbled 
 after the excited dog, an unknown dread tugging at 
 their hearts.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE EDGE OF TRAGEDY 
 
 AFTERWARD they never could tell just how that 
 endless stretch of sand between the cottage and the 
 scene of the near-tragedy was covered. They rushed 
 along blindly until Mrs. Wescott brought them up 
 short, pointing a trembling finger out to sea. 
 
 "Look," she gasped. "There they are on that rock, 
 and yes, they're asleep asleep !" 
 
 The girls stood still, transfixed with terror and 
 amazement. Evelyn and Marjorie must have climbed 
 the flat piece of granite at low tide and, lazy with the 
 heat of the long day, had gone to sleep. Now the 
 tide had risen till they lay on a little island which the 
 water was every minute threatening to engulf. And 
 still they slept on peacefully. 
 
 "Oh, if they'd only wake up !" cried Jessie, wringing 
 her hands desperately. "They'll be drowned they'll 
 be drowned " 
 
 "Of course they will if we don't do something," 
 Lucile retorted, practically. "The first thing to do is 
 to get them awake oh, they are look!" 
 
 As she spoke, Evelyn yawned, rubbed her eyes, and 
 219
 
 220 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 then, seeming for the first time aware of her wet 
 clothing and the frantic shouting on shore, sat up 
 and looked about her. The next moment she almost 
 slipped off the small island of safety in the surprise 
 and shock of realization. She roused Marjorie, and 
 the two looked toward the shore in a frantic appeal 
 to their friends. The long combers were dashing up 
 spray on either side of the rock and the girls were 
 drenched through. 
 
 What were they to do? If they attempted to slide 
 off the rock and swim to shore there was danger of 
 being dashed upon the rocks. Besides, at this point 
 there was a very strong undertow, and with their 
 clinging skirts to hinder them oh, it was impossible ! 
 Yet the water, itself, fast creeping up over the rock 
 would leave them no choice ! 
 
 The watchers on shore realized all this as poign- 
 antly as did the girls, and Lucile, with Jessie and 
 Marion, had rushed up toward the road in the des- 
 perate hope of finding help. A moment later, as luck 
 would have it, they almost ran into the boys as they 
 descended from the machine. 
 
 "Wh what's up?" gasped Phil, drawing back in 
 dismay. "You look like ghosts."
 
 The Edge of Tragedy 221 
 
 "Oh, please don't talk," begged Lucile, starting on 
 a dead run back the way they had come. "You've got 
 to help us oh, you've got to help us !" 
 
 By this time the boys were really worried. It was 
 plain to see that something unusual and disastrous 
 had happened. They covered the distance down to 
 the beach in about five seconds and, surrounding the 
 distracted little guardian, demanded an explanation. 
 
 But before she could answer, Jack cried out, ex- 
 plosively. "By all that's look there, fellows! I 
 guess we don't need to be told anything," and he 
 began stripping off his coat and unlacing his shoes, 
 while Phil and Jim followed his example. 
 
 A moment later they had waded out and begun to 
 breast the heavy surf toward the two girls, who were 
 clinging desperately to the slippery rock. On shore 
 the girls and Mrs. Wescott watched their progress 
 silently, their nerves taut with alternate hope and fear. 
 
 At last they had reached the rock, and Jack shouted 
 a direction to Marjorie, which she was quick to obey. 
 She slid off into the water and held out a hand to 
 him. With a quick movement he pulled her toward 
 him and, still following his directions, she placed a 
 hand on his shoulder, another on Phil's, and they
 
 222 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 began the slow progress back to shore. Jim and Ray 
 repeated the process with Evelyn, and Lucile uttered 
 a gasp of relief. 
 
 "Now, they'll be all right " 
 
 "But the current," groaned Jessie. "You know 
 how hard it is to swim against it alone, and with the 
 extra weight " 
 
 "Don't!" cried Lucile, clapping her hands to her 
 
 ears. "They've got to make it they've got to " 
 
 her voice died off as Marion cried out in terror. 
 
 "Look! they seem to be going back," she said. 
 "Oh, they'll never do it, never " 
 
 But Mrs. Wescott's voice broke in upon her ex- 
 clamations, calm and reassuring. "That's nonsense," 
 she said. "The boys are very strong swimmers 
 see, they're gaining; now " 
 
 The girls strained eager eyes toward the little strug- 
 gling dots in the water and saw that they were indeed 
 gaining, but so slowly so very slowly that an involun- 
 tary moan was wrenched from Jessie's dry throat, 
 and she gripped Lucile's hand tighter than before. 
 
 Then the incredible happened. The giant grip of 
 the current seemed suddenly to have loosened its hold 
 the struggling dots were caught high on the crest
 
 The Edge of Tragedy 223 
 
 of an incoming wave and tossed stuttering and chok- 
 ing into the shallow water. 
 
 With a glad cry Mrs. Wescott and the girls ran 
 forward, while rescuers and rescued got to their feet 
 and staggered in toward shore. Lucile and Jessie 
 were crying openly as they hugged their comrades, 
 regardless of wet clothing, and then passed them on 
 to their guardian. 
 
 The boys would have accompanied the little party 
 to their cottage, but Mrs. Wescott objected vehe- 
 mently on the ground that, even in August, sodden 
 clothes are neither healthful nor pleasant, and insisted 
 that they get some dry things on at once. This, after 
 being plentifully showered with thanks and April 
 smiles from the girls, they finally decided to do, and 
 started off toward the machine while the girls and 
 their guardian made for the cottage without delay. 
 At the door Marion left them, and no amount of 
 urging could have induced her to go in. However, 
 before she went she made a tentative suggestion, and 
 one that hugely delighted Lucile. 
 
 "I may come around to-morrow," she said, "and 
 see how your friends are." 
 
 Half an hour later, with the runaways safely en-
 
 224 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 sconced in the snowy bed and a most tempting repast 
 spread out before them by the solicitous girls, Evelyn 
 heaved a huge sigh, half of regret and half of content. 
 
 "I could be completely happy," she said, "if it 
 weren't for one thing." 
 
 "What is it?" they asked anxiously. 
 
 "My dress," she wailed. "It was the very apple 
 of my eye."
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 THE CRAB'S PART 
 
 LUCILE had received a letter, and from the jubilant 
 way in which she read its contents to her guardian, 
 one might surmise that it was an extremely welcome 
 one. 
 
 "Well, why don't you ask her to come down here 
 for a week or two?" said Mrs. Wescott when the 
 epistle had come to an end. "All the girls will be 
 glad to see her, and then she can meet her friend and 
 your 'protege.' ' 
 
 Lucile hugged her guardian gratefully. "That's 
 just exactly what I wanted to propose," she said. 
 "Only, I thought you were having enough trouble 
 with us without adding an extra one. I tell you," she 
 added, with sudden inspiration, "we won't breathe a 
 word of it to anyone just keep it a deep, dark se- 
 cret!" 
 
 Mrs. Wescott pinched the rosy cheek fondly. "Just 
 as you say, dear," she agreed. "I imagine we'll give 
 
 the girls the time of their lives." 
 
 225
 
 226 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 Lucile gave her another kiss, and then made one of 
 her characteristic dashes toward the door. "You're 
 a darling!" she flung over her shoulder. "And I'll 
 have to rush that letter through before Jessie and the 
 boys catch me at it." 
 
 Once downstairs she scribbled off the letter, ad- 
 dressed the envelope and had just time to secrete it 
 in her own particular drawer in the desk when the 
 sound of laughter was heard just outside the door. 
 A moment later Jessie, Phil and Jack were looking 
 down upon her with command in their eyes. 
 
 "Finished?" Jessie queried, adding, in the same 
 breath, "it doesn't make much difference whether you 
 are or not. Time's up, young lady, and you've got to 
 come." 
 
 "Oh, I have, have I?" said Lucile, making an im- 
 pudent little face at them. "Well, I'm coming, but 
 just for the simple reason that I'm all through letter- 
 writing and can't for the life of me think of another 
 thing to do." 
 
 "Did somebody die and leave you something?" 
 asked Jessie anxiously. "You never acted so super- 
 cillious before." 
 
 "Goodness, if that's what being rich does," said Lu-
 
 The Crab's Part 227 
 
 cile, laughing at Jessie's big word, "I want to be 
 poor." 
 
 "Well, you'll probably never have the chance to be 
 anything else," said her brother, ungraciously. "What 
 I want to know just now is, who's going for a swim?" 
 
 The word acted like a charm. In less than two 
 seconds Lucile and Jessie were half way up the stairs. 
 "Don't wait for us if you don't want to," Lucile 
 called down to them. "We'll meet you on the beach." 
 
 "Not on your life!" said Jack, decidedly. "We 
 wait here," and there was a sound of suppressed gig- 
 gling from the upper regions. 
 
 A few moments later the girls rejoined them, very 
 alluring indeed in their pretty bathing suits and rakish 
 caps, and they set off gaily. It was hot enough to 
 make a dip in the cool water especially appealing, and 
 the young folks ran forward eagerly. 
 
 "Well, if here isn't the old hero!" cried Phil sud- 
 denly, and they turned to find Jed pegging away with 
 all his might behind them. "You're some good old 
 sport, Jeddie I have to hand it to you." 
 
 He was received with open arms by the girls, who 
 fairly worshipped him for the important part he had 
 played in the rescue of the sleeping beauties a few
 
 228 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 days before. It would be well to add that, since their 
 involuntary immersion Marjorie and Evelyn had 
 absolutely refused to go anywhere near the water, 
 and that Jim and Ray were bankrupting their 
 resources in the effort to keep them amused on 
 shore. 
 
 On this particular afternoon, Lucile, Jessie and the 
 two boys had struck, very much preferring a swim in 
 the briny to a dusty promenade along the board walk. 
 Jim and Ray had cast longing glances after the rebel- 
 ous ones much to Jessie's secret delight but had 
 remained faithful to their goddesses. 
 
 So it was that the "escaping quartette," as the four 
 had named themselves, was on the point of enjoying 
 itself immensely. As Lucile stooped over to give Jed 
 a final pat she noticed how absently Jessie replied to a 
 question Phil put to her, and she boiled inwardly. 
 "That silly quarrel is still on," she thought, as Jack 
 took the dog in one arm and propelled her down the 
 beach with the other. "And Jessie's as mum as a 
 clam about it." 
 
 She had no further time to think, for Jack dropped 
 the dog, sent him splashing into the water after a
 
 The Crab's Part 229 
 
 stick, and, catching her hand, rushed her into the surf 
 at a speed that almost took her breath away. Then 
 together they dived under a long comber and came up 
 on the other side, shook the water out of their eyes 
 and struck out happily. This was what they had 
 longed for since the incident which had turned Evelyn 
 and Marjorie against the greatest sport in the world 
 or, at least, so they thought of it. 
 
 Jack taught Lucile a number of new strokes which 
 she took up very quickly, and in their preoccupation 
 they lost sight of the other two. When at last they 
 swam in toward shore to see where they had dis- 
 appeared to, they suddenly and quite accidentally came 
 upon a most amusing tableau. 
 
 Jessie had evidently tried to wade to shore, when 
 her passage was blocked by a murderous-looking old 
 crab. She had called frantically to Phil, and he had 
 come splashing up belligerently, determined to put 
 a swift end to whatever was frightening her. 
 
 However, seeing no shark or man-eating alligator, 
 he glanced at her questioningly, till she impatiently 
 indicated the ancient shellfish. 
 
 "Can't you see?" she cried, desperately. "It's a
 
 230 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 horrid old crab, and it's after me. Look, when I 
 move he moves with me." And to prove her conten- 
 tion she tentatively moved a step or two sideways 
 and the creature moved also, in the peculiar motion of 
 the species. 
 
 Jessie looked appealing to Phil, but that unsym- 
 pathetic person burst suddenly into a loud roar of 
 laughter. "Here, crabbie, crabbie !" he called. "Come 
 bite your uncle's toe. He's a gentleman crab," he 
 confided to Jessie, his eyes twinkling. "Iv'e met him 
 before, and he absolutely refuses to bite ladies. Why, 
 even if you asked him to " 
 
 "Philip Payton," cried Jessie, quivering with indig- 
 nation, "if you don't call off that crab this in- 
 stant " 
 
 Phil whistled soberly, and behind the rock Jack put 
 his hand over Lucile's mouth to keep her from gig- 
 gling out loud. 
 
 "See, he won't mind me," Phil was saying, plaint-' 
 ively when Jessie, made rash by anger, started to cir- 
 cle the obstacle, only to start back with a cry of alarm, 
 as it made an ungainly movement toward her stock- 
 inged foot. 
 
 "Oh, oh, oh!" she screamed, "what will I do?
 
 The Crab's Part 231 
 
 Please, please, Phil, get it away. I'm afraid to move 
 I " 
 
 "Now, see here, young lady," Phil's tone was se- 
 vere, though his eyes still twinkled with fun. "You've 
 got to choose once for all between me and the crab. 
 You've got to stop treating me like the dust under 
 your shapely foot " 
 
 "Oh, Phil, please !" she interrupted, holding out her 
 arms appealingly. 
 
 "I haven't finished," he went on, unmoved. "As I 
 was saying, you will have to put an end to this unjust 
 and heathenish conduct and hereafter accept me as one 
 of the lordliest of the lords of creation or I will here- 
 with leave you to your fate and the crab. Choose 
 or forever after hold your peace," and he stood with 
 hand gravely uplifted, awaiting her decision. 
 
 Jessie giggled hysterically. She had a wild impulse 
 to seize the crab by one of his menacing claws and 
 hurl him at her tormentor. Needless to say, she got 
 the better of the impulse speedily. She looked about 
 her hopefully, but seeing no sign of Lucile and Jack, 
 turned back to Phil, with a little resigned smile lifting 
 the corners of her mouth. 
 
 "Oh, all right," she assented, after another shud-
 
 232 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 dering glance at the crab. "I'll do anything you say 
 if you'll only remove that that thing " 
 
 "Is it a promise ?" he demanded. "And you'll keep 
 it, when, by my heroic efforts, yon crab has disap- 
 peared ?" 
 
 "Oh, yes, yes," she cried impatiently. "I'll do any- 
 thing, I tell you. Only hurry please oh, look he's 
 creeping up Phil " 
 
 The last pathetic wail seemed to touch Phil's stony 
 heart and, stooping, he picked up a narrow piece of 
 driftwood with a sharp end. This he held coaxingly 
 toward the assassin. 
 
 "Come, pretty crabbie," he wheedled. "Show your 
 sweet little, gentle little disposition. Just grab hold 
 of this stick that's the idea easy, now easy," and 
 with the crab clinging viciously to the bait, he lifted it 
 suddenly and flung it, stick and all, over the barrier 
 of rocks and into the deeper water beyond. 
 
 "Some bull-dog grip that old codger has, eh?" said 
 Phil, as Jessie waded ashore and dropped with a sigh 
 of relief upon the sand. "Those claws of his could 
 meet right through your hand." 
 
 Jessie shuddered and turned away. Phil noted the
 
 The Crab's Part 233 
 
 action and smiled a little to himself. Then his face 
 sobered and he reached for the little wet, sand-covered 
 hand. "Are you going to keep that promise?" he de- 
 manded, leaning forward to look into her face. 
 
 Jessie flushed and studied with amazing preoccupa- 
 tion a daring lady-bug that had crawled upon her 
 skirt. Phil decided it was a very good sign as a 
 rule Jessie looked him squarely in the face. 
 
 "Are you?" he repeated. 
 
 "I it wasn't fair," she stammered, at last. 
 
 "Maybe it wasn't," he agreed. "But then, you 
 haven't been altogether fair to me lately, have you, 
 Jessie? I I don't know what I've done except to 
 think of you all the time to want to be with you 
 every minute " 
 
 "Oh, please," she begged, trying to draw her hand 
 away. 
 
 "Perhaps I've taken the wrong track altogether," 
 he mused. "Perhaps you'd think more of if I played 
 trailer to somebody else little Josie Conklin, for in- 
 stance. 
 
 "Don't you dare," she blazed, then flushed scarlet 
 as she met his look of triumph.
 
 234 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Then you do care a little bit," he cried. "You 
 would miss me if I didn't trail around worshiping 
 from afar " 
 
 "Oh, I I'd miss you like anything!" she mur- 
 mured, and behind the barrier of rock and stone where 
 they had unconsciously played the eavesdropper, Jack 
 and Lucile did an impromptu crab one-step in honor 
 of the occasion.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 CONSPIRATORS 
 
 A CAUTIOUS head looked into the living room where 
 Lucile was seated alone. 
 
 "Has everybody gone?" it's owner inquired cau- 
 tiously and, upon receiving a reassuring reply, slipped 
 into the room softly and closed the door. 
 
 In Tanike events had been treading upon one an- 
 other's heels with such astonishing rapidity for the 
 last week that the girls had hard work keeping up 
 with them. 
 
 In the first place, the detectives had at last found a 
 reliable clue, or so they thought, to the daring authors 
 of the robberies and were even now hard on their 
 trail. The thefts had become more and more numer- 
 ous of late and the residents of Tanike were on tip- 
 toe with excitement and hope of their capture. 
 
 Joe Bennett, too, had seen beneath Lucile' s laugh- 
 ingly gracious acceptance of him, a subtle annoyance 
 at his almost intrusive gallantries and had "accepted 
 
 his walking papers," as he called them, with his cus- 
 
 235
 
 236 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 ternary good nature. And no one, enjoying his ready 
 wit and quick sallies, could have guessed that deep 
 down under all the fun was a strange new hurt that 
 even he himself would scarcely acknowledge. He had 
 liked Lucile, liked her more than any girl he had ever 
 met but, well, Jack was a good sight better looking 
 than he was, he decided generously, and it was up to 
 little Joe Bennett to take his medicine. This he did 
 with a grace that did him credit. 
 
 And Jack, though still uneasy at Lucile' s amazing 
 popularity at the innumerable dances, straw rides, 
 marshmallow bakes and the like which they attended, 
 still felt immensely relieved at Joe's belated good 
 sense. 
 
 And now Marion, whom Lucile had been secretly 
 coaching in the art of wearing her clothes well, ar- 
 ranging her hair prettily, dancing, etc., was standing 
 before her with the air of one about to impart the 
 most astounding news. Her face was pale with emo- 
 tion, and when Lucile put an arm about her waist and 
 drew her down to the seat beside her, she felt that the 
 girl was trembling. 
 
 "Why, Marion," she cried, in concern, "don't you 
 feel well, dear shall I get you some water "
 
 Conspirators 237 
 
 "Oh, no, I'll be all right in a minute," gasped the 
 girl. "Only I saw oh, Lucile, you'll never believe 
 me, but I did see him I did " 
 
 Lucile' s dark eyes grew black with the thought that 
 suddenly leaped to her mind, but she put it aside 
 relentlessly. 
 
 "Who was it you saw?" she questioned, trying to 
 keep the excitement from her voice and stroking the 
 girl's smooth hair gently. "There, you're all right 
 now, Marion don't tremble so, dear." 
 
 But Marion suddenly pulled herself upright and 
 looked at Lucile pleadingly. "I suppse you'll think 
 I'm crazy," she began, "and I don't know as I'd 
 blame you in fact, I'm not sure but what I am my- 
 self. Lucile, I saw my brother!" 
 
 Lucile jumped from the chair as though she had 
 been shot. "Are you sure ?" she cried. "Oh, Marion, 
 be careful it might just have been imagination, you 
 know." 
 
 X 
 
 "That's what I thought at first," cried the girl. Her 
 face was buried in her hand and two pathetic little 
 tears trickled through her fingers. Lucile was on her 
 knees in an instant, pressing her own little perfumed 
 handkerchief into Marion's fingers, and held her close
 
 238 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 in a warm girlish embrace that went straight to the 
 friendless girl's heart. 
 
 After a moment the sobs grew less and Marion 
 raised her tear-stained face to look gratefully at 
 Lucile. 
 
 "Please don't think it was imagination," she began, 
 dabbing her eyes with the apology of a handkerchief, 
 while Lucile wisely let her do the talking. "When 
 anyone has just thought of one person for years, and 
 has studied his picture till she knows it by heart, she 
 isn't very likely to make a mistake when she sees the 
 owner now is she?'' 
 
 "No," said Lucile, decidedly, "I should say not, 
 unless," she added thoughtfully, "not unless the origi- 
 nal has changed a good deal then she might. Please 
 don't think I want to discourage you, dear," she said 
 quickly, as Marion shot her a wondering glance. 
 "That's the one thing I don't want to do. Only I 
 don't want you to take the chance of being terribly 
 disappointed." 
 
 "Oh, but I'm sure of it I couldn't be mistaken," 
 Marion repeated, her face glowing with a feverish ex- 
 citement now. "Why, he passed right in front of me ; 
 I could almost have touched him, he was so close "
 
 Conspirators 239 
 
 And he didn't see you?" questioned Lucile, believ- 
 ing, almost in spite of herself. "Are you sure of 
 that?" 
 
 "Oh, quite sure," Marion replied, unhesitatingly; 
 adding, loyally, "If he had he would have taken me 
 in his arms and never, never let me go again. Oh, 
 I wanted to call out to him, but I was so dazed that 
 I lost sight of him before I could pull myself together. 
 And now he's gone again " 
 
 "There, there!" Lucile soothed her. "Don't you 
 worry. If that brother of yours is anywhere in Tan- 
 ike, we'll find him; be sure of that." 
 
 "Oh, if I only could," cried Marion, and even in 
 the excitement of that moment Lucile thought tri- 
 umphantly that she looked almost pretty. "If I only 
 could, I'd never ask another thing in the world." 
 
 "Listen to me, Marion," said Lucile, assuming an 
 elocutionary attitude and regarding her protege se- 
 verely. "Have I ever before broken my word to 
 you?" 
 
 "Oh, never," cried Marion, looking up adoringly 
 at the "prettiest girl in the world." 
 
 "Well, then," she continued. "I hereby formally 
 promise that if your brother be anywhere in Tanike,
 
 240 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 we won't rest day or night till we've found him. 
 And we'll do it, too!" 
 
 Marion sprang up and threw her arms about Lucile 
 in the first impulsive gesture she had ever made. Her 
 face was radiant, but the happy tears streamed down 
 her face unchecked. 
 
 "Oh, Lucie, I love you, I love you," she cried, while 
 Lucile hugged her hard and brushed away her own 
 tears vigorously. 
 
 Then suddenly her eyes happening to fall on the 
 clock, she gave a start that caused Marion to look up 
 in surprise. 
 
 "Marion," she cried, dismayed, "we'll never reach 
 that train. We forgot all about meeting Margaret, 
 and now it's too late, unless we hurry like anything," 
 she added, making a rush for the stairs. "Come on 
 up and bathe your eyes then we'll make a try for 
 it." 
 
 In less than four minutes the girls were speeding up 
 the road, hand in hand, striving to outrace the in- 
 coming train. 
 
 "Where's Mrs. Wescott," Marion managed to gasp 
 when they had covered about half the distance. "I 
 was so excited I forgot to ask."
 
 Conspirators 241 
 
 "She went on ahead," Lucile replied, "and I stayed 
 to wait for you. "She'll be there anyway, thank 
 goodness." 
 
 For the rest of the way not a word passed between 
 them, for they were using all their breath to lend 
 wings to their feet. Their exertion was rewarded, 
 however, for as they reached the platform, red and 
 panting, Mrs. Wescott strolled toward them looking 
 deliciously cool in her soft, white dress and laughingly 
 inquiring why they had chosen a scorching day like 
 this to run a Marathon. 
 
 "Why, you look half dead," she commented. "Come 
 over here in the shade and rest up." 
 
 Nothing loth, the girls followed her, apd as soon 
 as Lucile could catch her breath, she panted an ex- 
 planation. Her guardian listened with more than 
 usual interest and was just questioning Marion closely 
 when a loud whistle warned them that the train was 
 near, and for the moment scattered all other consider- 
 ations to the wind. 
 
 The great lumbering locomotive drew in at the sta- 
 tion, and they began to watch the descending passen- 
 gers hopefully. Then, with a joyful exclamation, 
 they ran forward to greet little Margaret Stillman.
 
 242 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 She ran down the platform like any other girl, both 
 hands outstretched and the roses flaming in her 
 cheeks. She seemed altogether a very dainty, very 
 lovely little person, and the bear hugs to which she 
 joyfully submitted seemed likely to break her in two. 
 However, nothing disastrous happened, besides the 
 disarrangement of her dainty straw hat which she 
 minded not a bit, and after some more joyful demon- 
 strations, she was half led, half carried to the big 
 machine that had just drawn up to the curb. 
 
 The driver of the big machine was Jack. He had 
 managed to slip away without attracting any undue 
 notice, and now was ready to chauffeur the little party 
 back to the cottage. He was properly introduced to 
 Margaret, who acknowledged the introduction very 
 prettily, then snuggled up close to her guardian and 
 Lucile, at the same time smiling across at Marion. 
 
 "Oh, I'm so awfully glad to see you all," she mur- 
 mured. "And to think you should find Marion, Lucy 
 dear. Oh, well, I've stopped being surprised at any 
 wonderful thing you and our guardian should do." 
 
 Jack whisked them home in short order, and then 
 started back for the rest of the party, who had been 
 skillfully lured off to one of the many attractions
 
 Conspirators 243 
 
 found along the board-walk at Tanike. Lucile had 
 pleaded a headache and her distress had seemed so 
 real that Jessie had offered to stay home with her. 
 However, this being just what the conspirators wanted 
 least, Mrs. Wescott had declared herself perfectly 
 capable of taking care of the patient, and Jessie had 
 finally consented to go, albeit very reluctantly. 
 
 And now, after a refreshing seance in the big front 
 room of the cottage, the three girls and Mrs. Wescott 
 had seated themselves in the living room, impatiently 
 awaiting the return of the unsuspecting young folks. 
 
 Lucile stopped herself in the middle of a suppressed 
 chuckle to whisper. "They're coming not a sound !"
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 MIRTH AND MARGARET 
 
 "WONDER why they're all in the dark," they heard 
 Jessie say. "I do hope Lucy isn't any worse. Oh, 
 how I hate that old cat." 
 
 In the semi-dusk Lucile started and threw Mrs. 
 Wescott a startled glance. Could Jessie be calling her 
 that? 
 
 "I wouldn't if I were you," Phil laughed, opening 
 the door which had been purposely left unfastened. 
 "She's old and homely, and you can't exactly blame 
 her if she likes to pick on the pretty girls hello 
 what's this?" His quick eye had caught sight of the 
 dim shapes in the living room, and in a moment more 
 the darkness gave way to a flood of light. The young 
 folks crowded in behind him, blinking like owls in 
 the glare. 
 
 Then, with a cry, Evelyn pushed past them all and 
 literally flung herself upon Margaret. 
 
 "Margaret," she screamed, "little Margaret Still- 
 man and we never had an idea you were within a 
 
 thousand miles of us. Oh, those conspirators " 
 
 244
 
 Mirth and Margaret 245 
 
 By this time Jessie and Marjorie had come to their 
 senses, and were hugging Margaret as if on a wager, 
 while the boys looked on in unutterable envy. Only 
 Jack seemed uninterested. He disengaged himself 
 from the rest and sauntered over to where Lucile was 
 sitting in a very thoughtful mood for her. 
 
 "It worked like a charm, didn't it?" he questioned, 
 leaning his elbow on the mantel and smiling down at 
 her. "The girls never guessed that you framed the 
 headache " 
 
 "Jack," she interrupted, looking up at him whim- 
 sically, "am I a cat?" 
 
 He stared a moment, then laughed amusedly. "I've 
 never noticed it," he began, when a feminine chorus 
 interruped him. 
 
 "Where's Lucile?" they cried; and Jessie added, 
 "come over here, Lucile Payton and account for your- 
 self. Do you mean to say you made me worry all 
 day about a headache when you never had any?" 
 
 Lucile nodded, quite unashamed, and Jessie smiled 
 ruefully up at Margaret. "Well, I know where the 
 laugh belongs this time," she conceded. 
 
 "Dinner is served, madam," announced the "lady of 
 the kitchen," and Phil was just about to sing out joy-
 
 246 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 fully when he suddenly remembered himself and 
 paused. 
 
 "I forgot," he murmured with a conscious air. 
 "Mother always told me not to stay when dinner was 
 ready the people might think you wanted an invita- 
 tion," and he grinned at them disarmingly. 
 
 Mrs. Wescott laughed outright, while Jessie re- 
 garded him with amused toleration. ''You win, Phil," 
 said the former. "I had already given Jane instruc- 
 tions to provide for four extra I hardly thought the 
 things would go begging." 
 
 "You were right," he assured her. 
 
 After dinner the young people and Mrs. Wescott 
 strolled out to their favorite resting place among the 
 rocks. The girls gave Margaret a seat of honor next 
 their guardian, and were so unaffectedly glad to have 
 her with them that more than once the little rich girl's 
 eyes filled with tears. How much she loved these 
 dear friends of hers, especially Lucile, none knew 
 except herself and none ever would. 
 
 "Tell us what you did to-day," Mrs. Wescott was 
 asking Evelyn. "You must have had a good time or 
 you wouldn't have stayed so late." 
 
 Then the girls launched into a spirited description
 
 Mirth and Margaret 247 
 
 of the day's happenings while both Marion and Mar- 
 garet listened with parted lips. 
 
 "And we'd have had a perfect time if it hadn't been 
 for one thing," Jessie finished. "That little incident 
 made me madder than I've been for months old 
 cat!" 
 
 "That's what you said when you first came," Lucile 
 chuckled, "and I thought you meant me." 
 
 "Oh, Lucy," Jessie protested, horror struck, "why 
 I wouldn't mention you and her in the same breath. 
 Ugh!" 
 
 "My, she must be a terrible character," Mrs. Wes- 
 cott laughed. "Let's hear about her, Jessie and what 
 did she do?" 
 
 "Do," Jessie repeated in profound disgust, "she 
 didn't do anything she just talked and that was 
 plenty." 
 
 "Well, then, what did she say?" little Margaret in- 
 quired, smiling. "We ought to get to the point pretty 
 soon." 
 
 "Oh, I'm getting there," Jessie assured her. "Only 
 I'm so disgusted it's hard even to talk about her. 
 She's just one of those gossips, that's all, that you're 
 bound to meet at a place like this."
 
 248 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Did she say anything about us?" Lucile inquired, 
 with interest. "I'd like to know what other people 
 think of us you can always find out from a gossip." 
 
 "Yes, and a good deal more than you want to, 
 sometimes. She cornered me while I was waiting for 
 Phil to buy a box of candy, and I heard more slander 
 in that five minutes than I've heard in all the rest of 
 my life put together. She told me, as a good friend 
 you know the kind " 
 
 "Yes, she thought you ought to know what people 
 are saying about you," Marjorie murmured. 
 
 "Exactly. Well, she told me what a supposed 
 note the supposed friend of ours has been saying 
 about us nice, sweet, gentle little things that make 
 me want to pull her hair," and Jessie looked so fero- 
 cious that Phil moved back a foot or two. 
 
 "But who is the lady?" Jack inquired. "Do we 
 know her?" 
 
 "I should say you do," she answered vehemently. 
 "You introduced her to us, Jack." 
 
 "Well, I've introduced you to a lot of people," he 
 countered, "so that doesn't tell me anything." 
 
 "Well, and I'm not going to tell you any more. 
 If other people want to be mean, it's no reason why
 
 Mirth and Margaret 249 
 
 we should be, I suppose. Only if she ever says any- 
 thing about Lucile, I'll " 
 
 "About Lucile," shouted Jack and Phil in the same 
 breath, while Jack demanded, "what did she say about 
 Lucile?" 
 
 "Oh, n nothing much," stammered Jessie, who, in 
 her righteous indignation had gone a good deal far- 
 ther than she intended. "No more than she said about 
 all the rest of us." 
 
 "Well, the only thing to do in such situations," said 
 Mrs. Wescott, quietly, "is absolutely to ignore the 
 wretched gossips. We know if they tell the truth 
 about us, they can't say anything we wouldn't want 
 everybody to hear, and if they don't well, we can't 
 help that, and we musn't worry about it, that's all." 
 
 "I know," said Jessie, snuggling against her guar- 
 dian's knee. "You're right, of course -but it's pretty 
 hard to do the right thing sometimes." 
 
 "Of course it is, but that gives us all the more credit 
 for doing it," said the little guardian, gaily. "To 
 change the subject, are the detectives any nearer to 
 finding the thieves than they were? I thought from 
 all the excitement the other day that they'd be caught 
 before the week was out."
 
 250 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 "So did everybody else," Jim answered. "But they 
 can't seem to round them up." 
 
 "I guess they never will," said Evelyn ; then added, 
 turning to Marion, "Lucile and Jessie were telling me 
 about the watch that was stolen from you, Marion. 
 Have you found any trace of it yet ?" 
 
 The boys pricked up their ears, for they had heard 
 nothing of this latest development and anything new 
 interested them exceedingly. 
 
 As for Marion, the poor girl was overcome with 
 embarrassment. Never before in her life could she 
 remember having been the focus of so many eyes, and 
 the power of speech seemed suddenly to have left her 
 she couldn't have said anything on a wager. As 
 usual, Lucile came to the rescue. 
 
 "No, she hasn't been able to trace it anywhere," 
 she answered for her. "But we still live in hopes, 
 don't we, Marion? It seems to me," she added, turn- 
 ing to the 'Cinderella girl,' who was gradually re- 
 gaining courage, "it seems to me you never told us 
 just how it happened. Won't you please ?" 
 
 This was one of the first things Lucile had drilled 
 into her adoring pupil to talk as often as she could
 
 Mirth and Margaret 251 
 
 get the chance and to as many people as possible. 
 Now her coaching was beginning to bear fruit. 
 
 Marion swallowed once or twice, then began tim- 
 idly, "I I don't exactly know that it was stolen," 
 she said. "It just disappeared, that's all." 
 
 "Disappeared!" they echoed, leaning forward 
 eagerly. "What do you mean, disappeared ?" 
 
 "Why, I had just gone into the writing room," she 
 continued, encouraged by their very evident interest, 
 "and when I sat down at one of the desks I noticed 
 that my watch had stopped, and when I tried to wind 
 it, found it hadn't run down. Then I took it off to 
 examine it more closely, and when I couldn't find any- 
 thing wrong, I laid it down on the desk and went 
 on writing." 
 
 "Yes," they breathed this was getting interesting. 
 
 "Well, that's all," she finished. "When I looked up, 
 the watch had disappeared." 
 
 "What ?" cried Jack, "and you say no one had come 
 near you?" 
 
 "Nobody," said Marion, knowing for the first time 
 the joys of a sensation-maker. "I know no one came 
 into the room while I was writing, for Peggy Bright
 
 252 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 was sitting where she had a good view of the door, 
 and could see anybody who came in or out." 
 
 "Peggy Bright," Jessie murmured in a peculiar 
 tone, while Ray demanded excitedly, "and she said 
 there was nobody in the room?" 
 
 "Not a soul." 
 
 Jack drew a long whistle of amazement. "Well," 
 he said, "I guess this is a case for Sherlock Holmes," 
 and they all agreed with him.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE CAMP-FIRE SPIRIT 
 
 "Lucy," I can't keep it to myself another minute." 
 
 It was the morning after Marion's strange tale of 
 the missing watch, and Lucile and Jessie were stand- 
 ing alone on the porch of their cottage. 
 
 Lucile turned to her friend in surprise. "What do 
 you mean?" she inquired. "I didn't know anything 
 terrible was on your conscience, dear." 
 
 "It's nothing whatever to do with my conscience," 
 retorted Jessie, impatiently; adding, mysteriously, "I 
 shouldn't wonder if it has something to do with 
 somebody else's, though." 
 
 Lucile was interested. "Whose?" she queried. 
 
 "Peggy Bright' s," she answered, cryptically. 
 
 Lucile started. "Goodness, why Peggy?" she in- 
 quired. "And what's she been doing?" 
 
 "Oh, a little of everything," said Jessie viciously. 
 "She was the one who said all those nice things about 
 us." 
 
 "Oh," Lucile was thoughtful. "You said last 
 253
 
 254 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 night that she made some remarks about me, too. 
 What were they?" 
 
 "I'm not going to tell," said her friend, decidedly. 
 "It wasn't for that I spoke to you about Peggy. It 
 only seemed a strange coincidence that while I was 
 thinking of her, Marion should speak her name." 
 
 "It is strange," Lucile admitted. "I wonder what 
 the girl can possibly have against us." 
 
 "Nothing, except that she's jealous of you," said 
 Jessie. "She likes my little old cousin pretty well, I 
 guess, and she doesn't like to see you carrying off all 
 the honors." 
 
 "Maybe you're right," Lucile was remembering that 
 night at the dance. "Anyway, she'll have everything 
 to herself after we go." 
 
 "Oh, Lucy, please don't speak of going in that calm 
 way," cried Jessie, clapping her hands over her ears. 
 "I can't even bear to think of it." 
 
 "I know it does seem as if we'd been here barely 
 a week instead of a month and more," Lucile agreed, 
 "but sooner or later we've got to realize the fact that 
 Burleigh looms only a little over a week away." 
 
 "Don't!" Jessie begged again. "We've had such a 
 wonderful time." 
 
 "Well, from the things the boys have planned, I
 
 The Camp-Fire Spirit 255 
 
 imagine we're going to have an even more wonderful 
 time for this last week. We'll just have to think of 
 that and let what comes after take care of itself," 
 and with this last bit of philosophy they ran off to 
 join the girls. 
 
 It was true that in the rush and excitement of the 
 last few weeks the friends had forgotten the rapid 
 passage of time, and, indeed, when upon one or two 
 occasions their ultimate return to Burleigh had been 
 mentioned, it had been pushed resolutely into the 
 background. As Lucile had said, their slogan from 
 the first had been, "let the future take care of itself." 
 And the boys had helped them nobly in this resolve 
 by filling each day so full of fun and excitement that 
 they had little time to think of anything but the 
 present. 
 
 "Is Marion going on the straw ride to-night ?" Mar- 
 jorie questioned." 
 
 "Of course," said Lucile. "And the nice thing 
 about it is that Joe Bennett's going to take her." 
 
 "Joe Bennett," Evelyn repeated, staring. "Why, 
 I didn't think you could make him go near her with 
 a forty-foot pole." 
 
 "Well, Jack put it up to him in his most agreeable
 
 256 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 way," Lucile explained, her eyes twinkling, "and he 
 replied that he knew his good nature would be the 
 ruin of him yet, but that he'd consent once more to 
 be the goat. I imagine," she added, mysteriously, 
 "he'll think himself a very lucky 'goat' when he sees 
 Marion to-night." 
 
 "Now, you're going to spring something else on 
 us," Marjorie complained. "What are you going to 
 do with Cinderella, Lucile?" 
 
 "She doesn't want to tell and I can't say that I 
 blame her," said Evelyn with unaccustomed humility. 
 "Lucile is really the only one who's kept to the letter 
 of the camp-fire in this thing. The rest of us have 
 been mighty selfish." 
 
 "It's strange," said Marjorie, clasping her hands 
 about her knees and looking serious, "but I was think- 
 ing almost that very thing. Last night when Marion 
 seemed so shy about talking and so sort of fright- 
 ened, it made me feel ashamed to think I had held 
 back, when Lucile first proposed helping her. The 
 shame has been gradually growing." 
 
 "Oh, nonsense," cried Lucile generously "You've 
 all helped me wonderfully lately. You were a little 
 thoughtless in the beginning, that's all."
 
 The Camp-Fire Spirit 257 
 
 "Well, that's just exactly what a camp-fire girl 
 oughtn't to be," said Evelyn, firmly. "She's supposed 
 to have some thought for other people and we hadn't. 
 You're the only real camp-fire girl in the crowd." 
 
 "My, them's hard words," said Jessie, plaintively. 
 "I know we're horrid, but I wouldn't go quite that far. 
 Besides, if we let this teach us a lesson, it ought to 
 help some, oughtn't it, Lucy?" 
 
 "I should say so," Lucile replied seriously, for the 
 laws of the camp-fire were very dear to her, and gov- 
 erned almost everything she did. "We all of us have 
 to make slips sometimes, and lots of them, too. The 
 best we can do is try to learn our lessons from them. 
 Oh, but I have something to tell you," she added, sud- 
 denly remembering. "I didn't like to speak of it be- 
 fore all the boys last night. It's about Marion's 
 brother " 
 
 The girls crowded around her eagerly, while she re- 
 lated the scene between herself and Marion the after- 
 noon before. In the middle of the narrative their 
 guardian and Margaret, who had been talking very 
 earnestly together, strolled toward them and were en- 
 thusiastically welcomed into the group. 
 
 When Lucile had finished, the girls were overflow-
 
 258 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 ing with excitement and interest, all except Margaret, 
 who seemed more startled than anything else. 
 
 "What shall we do about it, guardian?" asked Lu- 
 cile, turning anxiously to Mrs. Wescott for advice. 
 "Marion's afraid to speak of it to her uncle he and 
 his nephew parted in a quarrel, you know, and we 
 are the only ones she can turn to for help. Can't we 
 do something?" 
 
 "Of course, and we will, dear," Mrs. Wescott as- 
 sured her. "I'll speak to Mr. Turnbull about it and 
 see what he advises. Until then, let's think of some- 
 thing else. What time do you expect Marion this 
 afternoon ?" 
 
 With this they were forced to be content, though 
 Lucile wondered not a little at her guardian's lack of 
 enthusiasm. Even then, it did not occur to one of the 
 girls to criticize their guardian's attitude their faith 
 in her was too implicit. 
 
 In the afternoon the girls took a short swim which 
 Lucile cut all the shorter on the plea that she wanted 
 to help Marion dress. 
 
 The girls looked after the two as they ran up to 
 the cottage hand in hand, then turned to each other 
 questioningly. Marjorie voiced the common thought.
 
 The Camp-Fire Spirit 259 
 
 "I'm anxious to see what Lucile is going to do with 
 Marion to-night," she said. 
 
 Once inside the cottage, Lucile wasted no time. 
 "Come on, Marion," she cried. "Now, to show those 
 people a thing or two!" 
 
 Marion obeyed without protest, but her heart beat 
 fast and her breath came and went quickly. Lucile 
 propelled her protege into the little guest room which 
 Lucile had obtained permission to use as her own pri- 
 vate dressing room that night. She closed the door 
 and locked it, then turned to Marion with a sigh of 
 relief. "I'd stuff cotton in the keyhole," she laughed, 
 "if the camp-fire didn't forbid peeping. Now get 
 washed quickly, Marion, so I can fix that pretty hair 
 of yours." 
 
 "I wish I could belong to a camp-fire club like 
 yours," said Marion with a touch of her old wistful- 
 ness. She was seated before the dresser and Lucile 
 was already brushing out the wealth of gold-brown 
 hair. "You have such wonderful times." 
 
 "Well, why can't you?" Lucile questioned, impul- 
 sively. "Even if you do live in New York, there's 
 no reason why you can't join us and stay with one of 
 us girls when there's anything special going on."
 
 260 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Oh, Lucile," Marion's eyes were very bright "I'd 
 just love it" 
 
 "All right, then it's settled," said Lucile, adding 
 with a laugh. "You'd better sit still, newly-elected- 
 camp-fire-girl, or I won't get your hair fixed to-night." 
 
 After that, a statue could not be more still than 
 Marion. 
 
 Half an hour later, Jessie knocked on the door. 
 "The boys are here," she called, "and they expect the 
 hay wagons in about ten minutes. Aren't you nearly 
 ready?" 
 
 For answer, Lucile flung open the door, standing 
 half behind it, so that Jessie's eyes would rest upon 
 Marion first. Then Jessie and the other two girls, 
 who had crowded close up to her and were looking 
 over her shoulder, saw what they had more than half 
 expected. Lucile had transformed this modern Cin- 
 derella almost as much as had the fairy godmother 
 in the old story. The golden-brown hair, which 
 proved delightfully wavy when given some freedom, 
 had been arranged by Lucile's skilful fingers not only 
 to accentuate the pretty oval of her face, but to bring 
 out the marvelous lustre of a pair of deep gray eyes.
 
 The Camp-Fire Spirit 261 
 
 The pretty white dress had been shortened to a more 
 graceful length, and a broad rose ribbon, caught high 
 in front and looped in an odd, effective little bow at 
 the back, gave a touch of quaint girlishness to the 
 slender figure that had been entirely lacking before. 
 In short, Lucile had seen the possibilities in this awk- 
 ward, lonely little bit of girlhood and had, with char- 
 acteristic warm-hearted enthusiasm, improved upon 
 them. 
 
 "Why, Marion, you look wonderful," Evelyn cried, 
 recovering from her surprise and hugging the girl 
 warmly. "We'll none of us. have a chance to-night. 
 Lucile, come out from behind that door you don't 
 need to think you can hide from us." 
 
 Lucile obeyed, laughing. "If the boys are here," she 
 said, "come down, all of you I want to show Marion 
 to them," and off they went, all talking at once, show- 
 ering Marion with compliments that made the new 
 color in her face burn deeper than before. 
 
 The boys had heard them coming, indeed it would 
 have been strange if they hadn't, and had crowded 
 into the hall to meet them. 
 
 They all loked at Lucile first everybody always did
 
 262 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 that and then at her companion. At first none rec- 
 ognized the little girl with the rose ribbon. Then 
 Joe Bennett strode suddenly forward. 
 
 "Well, I'll be blessed," he began; then added, as the 
 sound of laughter floated down the wind, "I think the 
 wagons are coming, Miss Marion shall we show 
 them the way?"
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 GHOSTS 
 
 THE others stared for a minute, then, half under- 
 standing the situation, made a rush for their partners, 
 and started out after the missing ones, shouting to 
 them to wait a minute what was their hurry etc. 
 etc. 
 
 Only Lucile and Jack lingered a moment waiting 
 for Mrs. Wescott, and Jack began to laugh softly. 
 
 "What are you laughing at ?" Lucile demanded, not 
 daring to look at him. "Is there something the mat- 
 ter with me?" 
 
 "I've never been able to find anything," he an- 
 swered, still laughing. "I was just thinking of old 
 Joe and the 'spinster lady/ I always thought you 
 were a wonder, little Lucile; now I know you're a 
 genius." 
 
 "It was pretty neat, wasn't it ?" she chuckled. "But 
 how do you know I did it?" 
 
 "Because no one else in the world would have been 
 sweet enough to even think of it," he replied, fer- 
 vently. 
 
 263
 
 264 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 Then Mrs. Wescott joined them, and they had no 
 more time for private conversation. 
 
 They found the two wagon-loads of young folks 
 impatiently awaiting them, and scrambled aboard 
 without more delay. Everybody was in the best of 
 spirits, and they started off merrily. 
 
 But, alas, how soon can ruthless nature put an end 
 to all good times. They had gone scarcely a mile 
 when the distant rumble of thunder warned them that 
 a shower was imminent. A chorus of "ohs" and 
 "ahs" and muffled groans rose from the two wagons, 
 and the girls and boys looked at each other rebel- 
 liously. 
 
 "Of course, you might know something would come 
 along to spoil the fun," said the voice of Josie Conk- 
 lin from the adjoining wagon. 
 
 "And there's not a house anywhere along the road 
 for a mile and more," wailed another. "Oh, what are 
 we going to do?" 
 
 "Guess we're going to get wet," said Phil, cheerily. 
 "Get under the straw, girls, you won't feel it so much." 
 
 "Oh, I felt a drop," cried Peggy Bright, who, much 
 to Jessie's secret disgust, had been included in the 
 party. "We'll be soaked through I simply can't get 
 my dress wet."
 
 Ghosts 265 
 
 "As though her dress were any better than anybody 
 else's," Jessie was grumbling, when the driver of their 
 wagon sung out: 
 
 "There's an old house a little ways down the road. 
 Most of the winders is broken, so the young fellers 
 can get in an' open the doors." 
 
 Mrs. Wescott drew a sigh of relief. "Drive us 
 there as quickly as you can," she directed. "It will 
 at least give us some sort of shelter till the shower is 
 over." 
 
 Mr. Turnbull and his wife, who had obligingly 
 agreed to chaperon the young folks with her, fully 
 agreed in her decision and the driver whipped up his 
 horses to a sort of lumbering gallop. 
 
 The drops were coming faster now, and without a 
 word Jack slipped off his coat and wrapped it around 
 Lucile's shoulders. 
 
 "But I have my coat," she protested as his arm 
 lingered longer than was necessary. "You you may 
 get cold, Jack." 
 
 "I'm not worrying," he answered, smiling down at 
 her protectingly, and apparently neither noticed that 
 he forgot entirely to take his arm away. Perhaps it 
 was needed to keep the coat in place who knows? 
 
 Then just as the rain began to come down in ear-
 
 266 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 nest, the wagon drew up before a rather ramshackle 
 old place, and the girls and boys scrambled down in a 
 hurry. The latter marshaled them up on the porch 
 while they went to find an accessible window. 
 
 A moment later a whoop of triumph from some- 
 where in the back of the house announced to the anx- 
 ious girls that they had been successful. As the door 
 opened from the inside, and they crowded gladly into 
 the dark hall by this time the rain had begun to beat 
 in upon the porch one of the old drivers uttered a 
 brilliant remark. 
 
 "Some folks," he said, "some folks says this house 
 air hanted. But I don't believe it," he added, hastily 
 as one of the girls screamed and the others regarded 
 him in open-mouthed horror. No, siree, I ain't never 
 set no stock in what folks say I ain't " 
 
 "Haunted," Josie Conklin repeated in terror. "Oh, 
 
 let me out of here, somebody let me out ," and 
 
 she ran for the door, but Mrs. Wescott's calm voice 
 made her pause. 
 
 "Just a moment, just a moment," she said, slipping 
 before the door and literally holding the fort. "I hope 
 no one will be silly enough to credit such a story. 
 Ghosts," she repeated, with a merry laugh that re-
 
 Ghosts 267 
 
 laxed the tension and made the frightened girls sud- 
 denly ashamed of themselves. "Why, everybody 
 knows there aren't any, and if there were, I guess all 
 of us together would be more than a match for him. 
 Come, scuttle, all of you, and let's see what we can 
 find to make ourselves comfortable." 
 
 They obeyed, though still somewhat reluctantly, 
 and with Mr. Turnbull in the lead, entered the 
 first room that opened off from the hall. The girls 
 stood huddled together in one corner, while the boys 
 lit matches and inspected their very unpromising sur- 
 roundings. Outside, the wind rose higher and higher, 
 shrieking about the house in cyclonic gusts which 
 shook the frail building and every moment threatened 
 to demolish it, while the rain beat down unendingly. 
 
 The girls drew closer together while Jessie gripped 
 Lucile's hand, spasmodically. 
 
 "Ooh," she shouted above the uproar, "I guess this 
 is a tornado or something. I'm glad we could get in 
 this place even if it is haunted." 
 
 "Oh," cried one of the girls, catching the last word. 
 "If anybody says another word about ghosts, I'll start 
 to run and I'll never stop. Just listen to that wind !" 
 
 "We can't very well help it," said Jack, pleasantly,
 
 268 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 as his progress of inspection brought him near the 
 girls. "It's making enough noise, to be sure. Well," 
 he added, straightening up and turning to Mrs. Wes- 
 cott, "there seems to be a large amount of nothing 
 in particular here. Shall we go on to the next room?" 
 
 Mrs. Wescott was about to consent when Phil had 
 an idea, which, according to his nature, he immediately 
 voiced. "Why not go into the kitchen?" he suggested. 
 "That's the way we fellows came in, and I remember 
 we stumbled over a lot of things. Then, where there's 
 a kitchen, there's likely to be a stove, and where there's 
 a stove, there may be some wood. A fire would make 
 things look a darn beg pardon a good deal more 
 cheerful." 
 
 "Good," said Mrs. Wescott, and they pushed and 
 jostled their way into the kitchen, where Jack uttered 
 a shout of joy. 
 
 "You're right there, old man," he cried to Phil. 
 "I've run head first into a wood shed now for some 
 light on the subject!" 
 
 At once the party waxed more cheerful. The 
 thought of a fire lent an anticipatory glow to their 
 dreary surroundings, and made the deserted place less 
 intolerable. They intended to make the fire in the
 
 C aosts 269 
 
 stove, but when someone suggester that there must 
 be a fireplace around somewhere, the boys went in 
 search of it. Left alone, something of their former 
 fear descended upon the girls and they listened to the 
 shrieking of the wind, uneasily. 
 
 Then they heard it! From somewhere overhead it 
 came a long, low moaning sound, followed by a gen- 
 tle tapping like bony fingers on the window pane. 
 
 For a moment the girls clung to one another in 
 nameless horror, while even Mrs. Wescott could feel 
 herself grow pale. Then Evelyn cried out hysterically, 
 "Boys, come back here come back!" 
 
 The frantic appeal was answered immediately, and 
 the explorers came rushing back, treading on each 
 other's heels and demanding to know what had hap- 
 pened. 
 
 "Is anybody hurt?" cried Jack. "Lucile, where are 
 you?" 
 
 "Over here," came a faint voice, while a hand 
 groped out in the darkness and found his. "Oh, Jack, 
 please don't go away again." 
 
 "I'll never go very far," he promised, fervently; 
 then listened with the others to Mrs. Wescott's ex- 
 planation of the incident.
 
 270 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "Doubtless it was the wind or our imagination," she 
 was finishing, when, as though to disprove her words, 
 the eerie tapping recommenced, accompanied by the 
 weird, low moaning sound. Phil confessed afterward 
 that he could feel the hair rise on his head. 
 
 A shiver ran through the group, and Josie Conklin 
 began to cry softly. 
 
 "Oh, I told you so," moaned Peggy Bright. "Oh, 
 I want to get out of this place I want to go home." 
 
 "So do we all of us," said Phil, trying to be jocular. 
 "Only I prefer the company of ghosts to that maniac 
 of a wind outside. Come on, fellows, we'll lay the old 
 chap." 
 
 "You're not going up there alone," cried Jessie as 
 he darted toward the door. "Oh, Phil, I won't let 
 you!" 
 
 "We'll go with them," said Lucile, suddenly decid- 
 ing that it would be an easier fate to die with Jack 
 than to live on without him. "C camp-fire girls 
 aren't supposed to be af fraid of anything, anyway." 
 
 "Oh, Lucile," wailed Jessie. "I'm not afraid of 
 anything I can see but oh, all right, I'll go," she 
 added, hastily, as Phil took a step toward the door. 
 "It can't be much worse than waiting here "
 
 Ghosts 271 
 
 "There it is again," cried Evelyn, backing into a 
 corner and covering her face with her hands. "Oh 
 oh, what shall we do ?" 
 
 For answer, Mr. Turnbull strode quickly toward the 
 door. "We are going to find out who or what's mak- 
 ing that noise," he said decidedly. "If anybody wants 
 to come with me, all right. We'll wind up that ghost 
 in a jiffy." 
 
 Four or five of the boys volunteered, including Jack 
 and Phil, of course, while Jessie and Lucile obtained 
 permission to accompany them." 
 
 "They must be crazy," marveled Peggy Bright; 
 then, turning to the girl beside her, added in a stage 
 whisper, "didn't I tell you Lucile Payton was making 
 a dead set for Jack?" 
 
 Marjorie heard and turned upon the jealous girl, 
 indignantly. "Girls like Lucile," she said, very quietly, 
 "have no need to deny charges like that they are too 
 obviously absurd. Besides, they often, quite often in 
 fact, react upon the one who makes them." Then 
 she finished her sentence to Evelyn. 
 
 Meanwhile, the girls had followed their leaders, 
 fearfully it must be confessed, up the creaking stairs 
 and into the first room, where they found a great
 
 272 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 amount of emptiness and nothing else. Then they 
 tip-toed into the hall again, listening intently for a 
 repetition of the sound. For a moment, only the 
 soughing of the wind and the torrential beating of rain 
 against the windows rewarded their strained attenion. 
 Then it came again, seeming almost at their very el- 
 bows, and the girls clung to each other, desperately 
 summoning what was left of their courage. 
 
 "It seems to be in there," said Jack, pointing to a 
 room directly in front of them. "Now we'll see what 
 it is that's ruining our nervous systems." 
 
 The girls slipped in after them, keeping close to the 
 door a hasty retreat might be necessary, they rea- 
 soned anyway, it was always well to keep the way 
 open. 
 
 "Look," cried Jim, and paralyzed, they followed his 
 pointing finger. 
 
 There, outside the window, something, dim and 
 shadowy, had reached over, tapped the pane gently, 
 then retreated slowly, its protesting moan carrying 
 even above the wind. 
 
 If Phil had not darted toward the window at that 
 precise moment, it is to be feared that Jessie would 
 have retreated unconditionally but since she feared
 
 Ghosts 273 
 
 even more for him than for herself, she paused in the 
 very act of flight. 
 
 "Oh, Phil," she wailed, but her cry came too late. 
 
 He and Jack had reached the window almost at the 
 same second, and together they flung it wide. Then 
 something brushed Phil's face and he drew back while 
 Jack cried out, joyously, "That's the ghost, old man 
 almost got you, too ! See that, Dad ?" 
 
 "That" was the dead branch of a tree that stood 
 close to the old cottage, and which, in stormy 
 weather, swayed back and forth in such manner as to 
 make the queer scraping noise they had all mistaken 
 for a moan. 
 
 "But the tapping fingers," cried Lucile, astonished, 
 "Did the branch do that, too?" 
 
 Jack nodded, looking down at her with shining eyes. 
 Then, while the others dashed off to tell the welcome 
 news to the shivering party waiting in the kitchen, he 
 turned to her again his arms outstretched and his 
 voice pleading. 
 
 "Little Lucile," he said, unsteadily, "I've got to tell 
 you " 
 
 But she evaded him, leaning up against the door a 
 little breathlessly, a little joyfully, tremulously certain
 
 274 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 that she ought to go yet wanting with all her warm, 
 young heart to stay. Now, he was before her again 
 his handsome head bent close to her own, his hand 
 groping eagerly for hers " 
 
 "Oh, is this the room?" asked a voice, and the del- 
 uge swept in upon them. 
 
 But Jack had found the little hand and, under cover 
 of the darkness had pressed it gently to his lips.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE PITILESS SEA 
 
 
 
 JESSIE paused in the act of removing a shoe and 
 looked about her disconsolately. 
 
 "We might have known it would rain, rain, rain, 
 for the last few days of our stay," she said, dis- 
 gustedly. "Something always happens just to spoil 
 the end of our vacation. Listen to that uproar !" 
 
 "Well, it was very considerate last night, anyway," 
 said Evelyn. "It stopped just long enough for us to 
 get home. Hand me that dressing gown, will you, 
 Margaret that's a dear. Thanks," and she adjusted 
 the pretty, beribboned robe about her plump little per- 
 son and leaned back against the pillows contentedly. 
 
 "Yes, but it's pretty hard on Margaret, just the 
 same," said Lucile, putting an arm about the younger 
 girl, lovingly. "We wanted to show you about the 
 place, dear, and now we can't." 
 
 "I didn't come down to see the place," said Mar- 
 garet, smiling. "As long as I'm with you girls, I 
 
 don't care whether we're on a desert island or in a 
 
 275
 
 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 By the way, Lucy," she added, turning to 
 the latter eagerly, "I hear you have a new recruit for 
 the camp-fire." 
 
 Lucile uttered a startled exclamation. "Oh, I for- 
 got," she cried, in quick compunction. "I was so taken 
 up with ghosts that I neglected to speak about Ma- 
 rion." 
 
 "Marion," echoed the girls with interest; and Mar- 
 jorie added, severely, "What's this you've been doing, 
 Lucile Payton out with it." 
 
 Undaunted, Lucile proceeded to describe her con- 
 versation with Marion the afternoon before, and when 
 she had finished, the girls fairly clamored their ap- 
 proval. 
 
 "It's just exactly like you, Lucy dear," said Jessie, 
 her cheek against Lucile's. "And I'm mighty glad 
 you did it. Marion's such an entirely different person 
 since you took her in hand." 
 
 "Joe Bennett seems to think so," Lucile chuckled; 
 then added with apparent irrelevance, "if I could only 
 be sure she saw her brother the other day." 
 
 "Yes, it surely is a deep, dark mystery," Marjorie 
 agreed, and for a few moments there was silence, 
 while four pretty foreheads were wrinkled in deep
 
 The Pitiless Sea 277 
 
 thought, and the owners thereof pondered long on the 
 problem and its possible solutions. 
 
 It was not till the lights were out and the five girls 
 had scuttled into bed Margaret had preferred to 
 wetlge her tkqr person into the big bed with Marjo- 
 rie and Erdya rather than sleep alone in the guest 
 room that Jessie thought of something strange. 
 
 "Lucile," she whispered, touching her friend softly. 
 "Hasn't it ever struck you funny that Margaret never 
 seems interested when we mention Marion's brother. 
 She never said a word to-night." 
 
 Lucile pushed back her curls and looked at Jessie in 
 surprise. "I didn't think anybody eke had noticed 
 it," she said. "Yes, it is queer." 
 
 Then there was silence in the big room while the 
 wind shrieked ever louder and fiercer, whipping the 
 rain against the windows in madcap gusts that made 
 the girls shiver and draw the covers closer about them. 
 The surf thundered heavy and menacing on the rocks 
 like some great giant, crouched and grumbling, wait- 
 ing for its prey. The little cottage trembled and shook 
 in the grip of the hurricane and the girls, an unac- 
 knowledged fear tugging at their hearts, drew still 
 closer to each other.
 
 278 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 After a while they slept fitfully, roused ever and 
 again by some fresh burst of fury but it was not till 
 toward morning that the climax came. Lucile and 
 Jessie were sitting up in bed, wide-eyed and fright- 
 ened but it was not to the raging wind or the pound- 
 ing surf that they listened this time it was to a new 
 sound a sound infinitely more terrifying than either 
 of the other two. People were coming toward them 
 people whose shouts and cries could be heard even 
 above the clamor of the elements. 
 
 Actuated by one impulse, Lucile and Jessie sprang 
 from the bed and faced each other, white-faced and 
 quivering. 
 
 Jessie strove to steady her shaking voice. "Oh, 
 Lucy, what can it be?" she quavered. "Must be ter- 
 rible this time in the morning, too " 
 
 "I don't know I don't know," said Lucile, as if 
 speaking to herself. Then she ran over and opened 
 the door just in time to admit her guardian. The lat- 
 ter's face was white and her lips were firm set, but 
 her voice was calm as ever as she gave her directions. 
 
 "Get dressed quickly, girls," she said. "The storm 
 has brought about some catastrophe and our services 
 may be needed. Let's see how soon we can be
 
 The Pitiless Sea 279 
 
 ready," then, without another word she went back 
 to her own room. 
 
 The girls dressed with trembling fingers hooks and 
 eyes evaded them with diabolical persistence. When 
 they had at last slipped into their rubber coats they 
 sighed tremulously and turned, to find their guardian 
 once more with them. 
 
 "Good," she commented. "Now we'll show them 
 how courageous camp-fire girls can be." 
 
 Unconsciously the girls straightened at the challenge 
 and followed Mrs. Wescott quickly down the stairs 
 and out on the porch. There they were almost taken 
 off their feet by the wind and had to cling to each 
 other for support. Then, setting their teeth, they 
 fought there way through the gale to the crowd of 
 people dimly silhouetted against the gray light of com- 
 ing dawn people seemingly demented with excite- 
 ment. 
 
 When they had reached the gesticulating mob, the 
 girls had a moment to catch their breath and turn their 
 eyes toward the ocean. Then they saw ! 
 
 Far out upon the rocks, perhaps three hundred yards 
 from shore, a big schooner yacht wrestled and fought 
 with the pitiless waters that were dragging her inch by
 
 280 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 inch, step by step, down to its smothering swirl of 
 blackness and destruction. 
 
 "Oh," shrieked Jessie above the roar of the wind. 
 "And the little boats, look Lucy, they'll never get 
 through. Oh, the poor things the poor things. 
 Guardian, can't we do something something to 
 help?" 
 
 "Not yet wait!" said her guardian, tersely, and 
 turned once more to watch the tiny craft, strugging so 
 bravely against overwhelming odds. 
 
 One boat, crammed with passengers from the sink- 
 ing ship, had made half the distance to the shore while 
 another, manned with husky volunteers from the cot- 
 tages around, had set off in the desperate hope of res- 
 cuing the few who still remained on board the wreck, 
 which was rapidly settling. 
 
 "Where are the boys?" cried Lucile. "They ought 
 to be among the first here." 
 
 "Oh, I hope they don't wake up," said Jessie, shud- 
 dering. "I don't want to see them drown before my 
 very eyes," then, as a big, burly man brushed past 
 them, she added, "that's Marion's uncle. I met him 
 the other day on the board-walk." 
 
 Lucile gave the big man a swift glance then her
 
 The Pitiless Sea 281 
 
 eyes returned strainingly to that life and death strug- 
 gle while fear gripped at her heart and her head swam 
 dizzily. 
 
 Then she found herself swept forward with the rest 
 of the yelling crowd toward the water line, where a 
 tremendous wave had tossed the incoming boat and 
 its dripping cargo into shallow water. Three women 
 and two little children a boy and a girl were half 
 led half carried to dry land, where our girls took 
 immediate charge of them. As their cottage was the 
 nearest, Mrs. Wescott, with her comforting smile and 
 ready sympathy, easily prevailed upon the strangers 
 to partake of her hospitality at least until they had 
 rested and eaten and dried out their clothes a little. 
 Her manner was so matter-of-fact and cheery on that 
 cheerless morning and the girls took such immediate 
 and protecting charge of the little ones, that the mis- 
 erable voyagers even smiled a little as they permitted 
 themselves to be led toward the cottage. 
 
 The four men who had brought them so gallantly 
 through peril refused to accompany them, preferring 
 to remain on shore to give further assistance if it 
 should prove necessary. 
 
 "Lucile," directed Mrs. Wescott over her shoulder,
 
 282 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "you and Jessie stay here and I'll join you again in 
 a little while." 
 
 So the two friends fought their way back along the 
 beach the stinging strands of wet hair whipping their 
 faces viciously and their breath coming in hard gasps 
 but with courage unimpaired. They were camp-fire 
 girls and there was work to be done ! 
 
 On the way back they were almost run down by 
 four stampeding figures, and as the foremost of them 
 stopped to gasp an apology, they recognized Jack. 
 
 "Lucile !" he cried, "you ought to be warm and dry 
 in the house this isn't any place for you." 
 
 "I think it's just the place for me, Jack," she af- 
 firmed, fearlessly then, catching sight of the long coil 
 of rope he and the other boys held in their hands, she 
 added, with a sudden tightening of her throat, "the 
 rope what's that for?" 
 
 "Thought it might come in handy," Phil shouted 
 he had to shout to make himself heard at all. "That's 
 what made us late. Look !" and with one accord they 
 looked out to where the gallant little band of rescuers 
 was fighting its brave fight with the tremendous, foam- 
 topped waves that every moment threatened to de- 
 stroy them.
 
 THEY LOOKED OUT TO WHERE THE GALLANT LITTLE BAND OF RESCUERS 
 WAS FIGHTING
 
 The Pitiless Sea 283 
 
 The silent watchers stood breathless while the little 
 boat edged its way inch by inch toward the big 
 schooner, whose water-washed decks were settling 
 every moment lower lower 
 
 "Ah^-h," breathed Lucile. 
 
 Now they had reached it were lowering the casta- 
 ways into the boat a difficult and dangerous proceed- 
 ing, but they had done it ! A great shout of joy went 
 up as the prow was turned shoreward and the boat, 
 dangerously low in the water now, began its perilous 
 journey toward life and safety. 
 
 "Oh, if we could only pull them in," cried Jessie, in 
 desperation; and then the boys looked down at the 
 ropes in their hands. 
 
 "Yes, I guess it's up to me to do the lariat act," said 
 Phil as though answering an unspoken question. Al- 
 though his words were flippant, the expression on his 
 young face was anything but that, and Jessie's heart 
 went out to this new Phil. "The wind's in the wrong 
 direction and they're pretty far away, but I'll try." 
 
 People around them were looking at him curiously 
 then, when they realized his purpose, another shout 
 went up and they made way for him eagerly as he 
 marched down to the edge of the water.
 
 284 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 His boy scout training stood him in good stead. He 
 threw the lariat once, twice and missed. But the 
 third time allowing for wind and distance, the rope 
 hit its mark and a man in the boat grasped it eagerly, 
 making it fast to a cleat. 
 
 A second cry, more enthusiastic than the first, was 
 wrung from the crowd, and they fell to work with a 
 will, pulling lustily on the rope. 
 
 Then, when everything seemed going well, Jack 
 turned his eyes from the little boat to the derelict on 
 the rocks. With a hoarse cry, he stripped off his coat 
 and began tying the end of the rope he held about his 
 waist. 
 
 "Come, help me, you fellows," he commanded, 
 roughly. "If I jerk the rope twice you'll know I'm 
 all in. Then pull like the " 
 
 "But Jack," Lucile cried desperately, "where are 
 you going what is it " 
 
 For answer, he pointed to the sinking ship. With 
 a cry Lucile started back. There was still someone 
 alive on the derelict someone still to be rescued. She 
 put out her hands to Jack, but he was gone. 
 
 With a little sob, she sank down on the beach, her 
 face in her hands. At last her splendid courage was 
 giving way.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 "MY LITTLE SISTER" 
 
 THE events that followed seemed to Lucile like 
 some swiftly-moving kaleidoscopic dream, from which 
 she must presently awake to find herself back in the 
 cottage, doing the same old things in the same old 
 way. 
 
 Yet, deep down in her consciousness was the awful 
 certainty that this was no dream that the wild ges- 
 ticulations of the crowd, their alternating cries of ad- 
 miration and fear were for Jack, her Jack, who was 
 out there, risking his own life to save another's. And 
 a sudden fierce resentment welled up in her heart, sur- 
 prising even herself by its intensity resentment 
 against that helpless black figure out there on the ship 
 for whom Jack was risking everything. It wasn't fair 
 the cost was too great ! 
 
 Of course, others had tried and been brought back 
 in a half-conscious condition before they had nearly 
 covered the distance to the derelict, but still Jack 
 swam on and on 
 
 The life-saving boat had come ashore, and the shiv- 
 
 285
 
 -06 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 ering members of the shipwrecked party had been led 
 away to some of the nearby cottages while the wreck- 
 ing crew, tired and worn out as they were, had started 
 out to Jack's relief. 
 
 Then it was that Phil, his grim young face set in 
 hard lines, turned to the boys behind him with a sharp 
 cry. The rope had slackened in their hands and the 
 bobbing spot on the water that had been Jack had dis- 
 appeared altogether. 
 
 "Pull," he directed, hoarsely. "For heaven's sake, 
 pull, fellows. He's all in, I guess." 
 
 And while they obeyed, hauling on the rope fran- 
 tically, Lucile clung to the girls and her guardian, too 
 terrified to move. At last, when she thought she could 
 stand the strain no longer, two men who had waded 
 up to their waists in the shallow water, stooped sud- 
 denly, lifted something in their arms and staggered 
 with it toward shore. 
 
 At the same instant another figure flashed past them, 
 flung itself headlong into the water and breasted the 
 heavy sea with long, powerful strokes that brought 
 him rapidly nearer the foundering ship and its helpless 
 victim. 
 
 Lucile gazed after this new rescuer for a moment,
 
 "My Little Sister" 287 
 
 then stumblingly rejoined the party that was bringing 
 Jack to shore. When they laid him on the sand she 
 sank down beside him with a little cry, and pushing 
 back his black hair, disclosed a deep cut on his fore- 
 head. Evidently he had collided with a piece of drift- 
 ing wreckage that had stunned and defeated him al- 
 most at the very moment of success. 
 
 At sight of the wound the little doctor from the 
 hotel became at once all bustle and activity. 
 
 "Come," he cried, "there is no time to lose. He is 
 not dead, but he will be if we don't hurry. Quick, 
 over this barrel so. That is right, young lady a 
 little harder, please. Now the other arm so ! I will 
 bind up his head " 
 
 And after a while the breath of life came back to 
 Jack's tortured lungs, and he opened his eyes, slowly, 
 wearily, as though the effort were almost too great 
 but there was no recognition in the unseeing stare that 
 passed from Lucile to his father, to the rest of the anx- 
 iously sympathetic little group about him then the 
 heavy eyelids dropped and he sank back into seeming 
 unconsciousness. 
 
 The doctor tapped his head significantly. 'The 
 blow," he said. "We must get him to bed at once."
 
 288 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 Lucile looked appealingly toward her guardian, and 
 she, intercepting the look, turned to Mr. Turnbull. 
 
 "Our cottage is very near," she said to the big man, 
 who had stooped down and was lifting his boy in his 
 arms as though he had been a baby, "and perhaps it 
 would be well to take him there where he can have 
 immediate attention and the very best," she added. 
 
 The big man nodded dazedly and followed the oth- 
 ers toward the cottage where so many had received 
 cheer and comfort on that eventful morning. A few 
 moments later the unconscious young hero was safely 
 installed in the little white bed in the guest room with 
 Lucile oh, such a tender, gentle little nurse to help 
 Mrs. Wescott with the care of him. 
 
 And meanwhile more things were happening out- 
 side. Marion, who had come down with her uncle 
 and had been hurrying to meet the girls when the 
 mysterious stranger had come so abruptly upon the 
 scene, had put her hand to her mouth and stared wild- 
 eyed after the retreating figure. None had noticed her 
 emotion they were too much absorbed in the swiftly 
 moving drama before them to pay much attention to 
 her own small self. 
 
 And so the girls found her when, without Lucile,
 
 "My Little Sister" 289 
 
 they returned to the beach hand still clasped over 
 her tightly-closed mouth, eyes fixed strainingly on the 
 small dot far out on the water that was sometimes lost 
 altogether in the trough of a gigantic wave. The men 
 in the life-saving boat were making hard work of it- 
 tired as they were and it seemed that the strong, un- 
 known swimmer would in all probability reach the 
 sinking ship first. And, indeed, there was need of 
 haste! The schooner, which had been to a certain 
 extent held up by the very rocks that had wrecked her, 
 had torn herself loose and was rapidly sinking while 
 the prisoner on board this death-trap struggled fran- 
 tically to keep his footing on the slanting deck. 
 
 "Oh," moaned Marion, "they'll both die." 
 
 Without a word, Jessie slipped an arm about the 
 girl, and they watched silently their young faces un- 
 natural and drawn in the queer yellow light of the 
 morning. 
 
 Then, either grown reckless by terror or fearing 
 to be drawn down in the terrible suction as the ship 
 was dragged beneath the water, the poor wretch flung 
 himself as far out as he could in the direction of his 
 rescuers. 
 
 Something between a cry and a groan broke from
 
 290 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 the agonized crowd at what seemed the inevitable fate 
 of the two, but the next instant it was changed to a 
 shout of joyful incredulity as that valiant speck on the 
 water which had temporarily been hidden from view 
 behind the wave, rose to the surface with something 
 clutched in his hand and as to the identity of that 
 something, there could be little doubt. 
 
 A moment later the life-boat picked them up, and 
 they had barely time to turn her nose toward shore 
 when the doomed yacht, turning gently on her side as 
 though weary of struggling, sank slowly and with 
 gentle majesty below the waves, leaving only a whirl- 
 pool swirl of water to mark the spot where it had been. 
 
 Then, when the straining tension relaxed and the 
 crowd realized that the tragedy was no tragedy at all, 
 but only a tremendous triumph for indomitable pluck 
 and courage, they shouted until they were hoarse, and 
 the feminine contingent wept on each other's shoulders 
 while the men shook hands with friend and foe alike, 
 beaming genially upon everyone. 
 
 But Marion, poor little Marion, began to tremble 
 violently, and her face was so white that the girls ran 
 to her solicitously. And of them all Margaret was 
 the only one who seemed to understand. 
 
 "I know, dear, I know," she was saying over and
 
 "My Little Sister" 291 
 
 over again, as though soothing a frightened child. "It 
 will all be all right I know it will. I saw him, too." 
 
 Marion wrenched herself free and stared at Mar- 
 garet unbelievingly. "You saw him, too?" she re- 
 peated; then, clinging to her friend, she wailed pite- 
 ously, "Oh, then I wasn't dreaming tell me I wasn't 
 dreaming, Margaret " 
 
 "No, you weren't dreaming," Margaret assured her 
 gently; then, turning to the amazed girls, she added 
 with a little nod toward the incoming boat, "a good 
 deal is going to happen in the next five or ten minutes. 
 I don't think I'll have to explain much!" 
 
 Then, while the girls were still dazed by the mys- 
 tery of it all, the small boat grounded on the beach 
 and the eager crowd surged forward to welcome the 
 young hero. The latter, well-built and powerful, 
 swayed a little as he waded in toward shore, yet re- 
 fused all help from the friendly hands held out to him. 
 Someone in the crowd suggested three cheers, and 
 they were given with a will that brought a peculiar, 
 twisted little smile to his lips. Then he stopped sud- 
 denly his gaze became riveted upon an approaching 
 figure, while his whole body instinctively stiffened as 
 though he braced himself for a shock. 
 
 Grim and uncompromising, Marion's uncle marched
 
 292 Lucile, B ringer of Joy 
 
 down to the water's edge and confronted the young 
 viking, who still swayed dizzily on his feet. 
 
 "I I didn't mean to bother you, uncle," he began, 
 grimly, when the other's gruff voice cut him short. 
 
 "Confound it, sir," said the older man, his eyes 
 moist beneath the uncompromising brows. "Confound 
 it, sir you've made me a proud man to-day. Accept 
 my congratulations !" 
 
 The young man stared unbelievingly, then with an 
 unsteady laugh, he seized the outstretched hand and 
 wrung it fiercely. The next instant a little figure with 
 flying hair and flying skirts, all laughter, all tears, all 
 fierce, yearning tenderness, flung itself into his arms 
 and clung there. 
 
 Then this young viking, who a short time before 
 had risked his life without a qualm, buried his face in 
 the golden-brown hair to hide the tears that could not 
 be restrained. 
 
 "Little girl," he murmured, brokenly, "my own lit- 
 tle sister!"
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 DREAMS 
 
 "So you knew about it, all the time," said Jessie, 
 shaking an accusing finger beneath Margaret's defiant 
 little nose. "No wonder Lucy and I thought you 
 didn't show much interest in Marion's affairs." 
 
 It was several hours later, and the girls were seated 
 in semi-joyful conclave waiting for Lucile to join 
 them. They could not be entirely joyful, for Jack 
 had not yet recovered consciousness, and they were 
 anxious and worried about him. However, the doctor 
 had assured them that the boy's normal, healthy young 
 constitution and strong heart could be counted on to 
 carry him through; and this, together with Phil's un- 
 wavering faith in his friend's recuperative powers, 
 had gone a long way to comfort them and lessen their 
 anxiety. 
 
 "Well, I couldn't help it," said Margaret, replying 
 to Jessie's charge. "I suppose I did almost give the 
 
 thing away, though." 
 
 293
 
 294 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "But, Margaret, you really haven't explained any- 
 thing," said Marjorie, edging up closer in her eager- 
 ness. "How did you come to know Marion's brother, 
 and what did you have to do with his being here?" 
 
 "I was coming to that," said Margaret, her eyes 
 sparkling. ''You girls know I was always interested 
 in Marion and this missing brother of hers, and when 
 Dad found out how much I cared, he promised he'd 
 look him up. Then, one day, he found him." 
 
 "Yes," breathed the girls. 
 
 "Well," Marion continued, "there isn't much more 
 to tell. Dad took a good deal of interest in the boy, at 
 first for my sake, and afterward for his own, and 
 finally persuaded him to go back to his uncle. That 
 was hard work, and if it hadn't been for Marion, I 
 don't think he'd have consented. He's a wonderful 
 fellow even Dad says that." 
 
 "Oh!" cried Evelyn, the irrepressible, "I scent an- 
 other romance. Goodness, the place is getting full of 
 them." 
 
 "Speaking of romances," Marjorie interjected, 
 slyly. "Here comes Jim and the others. Go down 
 like a good girl, Evelyn, dear, and let them in. They 
 look as if they had something to tell us."
 
 Dreams 295 
 
 And close upon the entrance of the boys came Lu- 
 cile, radiant and lovely. One glance at her flushed 
 face told the girls what had happened, even before she 
 spoke. 
 
 "He knows me," she cried, exultantly, as the girls 
 ran to her. "And the doctor sent me away for fear 
 he'd get too excited think of it as though I'd let 
 him!" 
 
 "Good news, Lucy?" cried Phil, rushing in upon 
 them and reading Lucile's face correctly. "It must be, 
 or you wouldn't look like that." 
 
 "The very best," she assured him joyfully. "If 
 you're very quiet perhaps the doctor will let you have 
 a peek at him but you mustn't make any noise." 
 
 "Do you hear that, fellows," Phil cried to Ray and 
 Jim, who had followed him into the room. "Hooray 
 for old Jack I told you he'd come through on top," 
 and he was making for the door when Evelyn called 
 out: 
 
 "Hold on a minute! You said something down- 
 stairs about mysteries and thieves I couldn't just 
 catch the drift. Explain yourself, please." 
 
 "Gee, I forgot," said Phil. "Can't you wait till I 
 come back?"
 
 296 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 "No we can't," Jessie mimicked; adding, reproach- 
 fuly, "Oh, Phil, how can you bear to leave us with 
 them woids unexplained?" 
 
 "We can't," said Phil, accepting defeat smilingly. 
 "The news will be all over town very soon, anyway. 
 They've found out who stole all the jewels and 
 truck " 
 
 "Phil!" cried Lucile while the others started and 
 drew nearer. "You mean they've really found the 
 thieves?" 
 
 "Cut out the plural and you've got it," he rejoined. 
 "The criminal wrote a confession and skipped out. 
 She's a klep kleptomaniac, I think you call it that 
 sure is a jawbreaker " 
 
 "But who who is she?" Jessie broke in, impa- 
 tiently. Phil, you're so aggravating " 
 
 "Well, I can't tell you everything at once, can I?" 
 he objected reasonably. "I suppose I might as well 
 tell you first as last, because you'd never guess it 
 would she, fellows ? The girl is one of the last you'd 
 
 suspect of such a thing. Her name is " here he 
 
 paused for dramatic effect Peggy Bright!" 
 
 "Peggy Bright!" they repeated, dazedly. "Peggy 
 Bright!"
 
 Dreams 297 
 
 "Well, I don't see why we should be surprised," said 
 Jessie, forgetting that but a moment before she had 
 been very much surprised, indeed. "Anybody that 
 would talk behind a person's back the way she used 
 to, is capable of anything." 
 
 "But do they know where the stolen things are?" 
 queried Lucile, still too astonished to think clearly. 
 "Yes, she told all about them in her confession did 
 everything but draw a diagram," Jim answered. 
 "Guess things were getting a little too warm for her 
 here." 
 
 "You said it," Ray exclaimed. "It was the most 
 sensible thing she ever did to make the getaway 
 while the going was still good." 
 
 "Say, but you girls ought to see the riot that's going 
 on in this little old town," Phil chuckled, "between the 
 wreck and Peggy, and the several heroes of the occa- 
 sion among which we have the great honor to be 
 numbered " 
 
 "O-oh how could they make such a mistake," 
 murmured Jessie, while the look in her eyes sent Phil's 
 heart thumping wildly. 
 
 "It's all very well to scoff," he retorted, "but just 
 wait till we take you on our next triumphal pilgrimage
 
 298 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 through the town. Why, they do everything but greet 
 us with brass bands. And as for Jack and that 
 brother of Marion's well, they'll have to hire a body- 
 guard when they appear on the street to keep from 
 being killed with kindness." 
 
 "Yes, and the girls are preparing bouquets and car- 
 loads of stuff to send to Jack," Ray grinned. "He's 
 the more interesting of the two, because he got 
 knocked out. You'll have to keep the doors and win- 
 dows locked if you want to retain peace and quiet." 
 
 "Here comes Marion," Phil announced, turning 
 from the window. "What do you say we beat it in 
 to see Jack, fellows, and leave the girls to greet her? 
 Shouldn't wonder if they'll have plenty to talk about 
 for a long time yet." 
 
 And then came Marion, rosy and happy and unde- 
 niably pretty, to rush in upon them and hug them one 
 by one and altogether half crying, half laughing and 
 altogether behaving in a manner that would have 
 seemed wholly inexplicable to the boys had they been 
 there. However, as they were not, and as the girls 
 seemed entirely satisfied with this course of procedure, 
 there was no one to criticize, one way or the other. 
 
 "Oh, I'm so happy," cried Marion, for the twen-
 
 Dreams 299 
 
 tieth time, sitting back and laughing at them through 
 her tears. "It all seems so unreal." 
 
 "But it isn't," Evelyn assured her, practically. "It's 
 the very realest thing that ever happened." 
 
 "I know it," cried Marion, happily. "I know it. 
 And to think that all the time Lucile the very dear- 
 est friend a girl ever had" administering a hug to the 
 "dearest friend" that brought her down from the arm 
 of the sofa to a seat beside her "and Margaret an- 
 other dearest, and all the rest of you dear girls were 
 doing so much to make me happy, I was pitying my- 
 self and thinking how lonesome and unhappy I ought 
 to be. Oh, it makes me ashamed to think of it. But 
 I won't be like that any more," she added, with a sud- 
 den change of tone. "You've cured me once and for 
 all. Oh, girls, he's so wonderful." 
 
 "It's strange," said Jessie, dreamily. "But that's 
 just what Margaret said." 
 
 Margaret opened her mouth to retort, but shut it 
 again abruptly as their guardian appeared in the door- 
 way. At sight of her sweet face, the girls always for- 
 got everything but their unbounded affection for her, 
 and now they clamored an eager greeting. 
 
 "Come on in, guardian, dear," Lucile called, offer-
 
 300 Lucile, Bringer of Joy 
 
 ing her seat on the sofa. "Our newest prospective 
 camp-fire girl has a good deal to say to you." 
 
 "And I have a good deal to say to her," said Mrs. 
 Wescott, laying her hand gently on the golden-brown 
 hair. Then, turning to Lucile, she answered the eager 
 question the dark eyes seemed to ask. "The boys are 
 coming down immediately," she said, "and Jack is 
 asking for you. It will be all right to go up if you 
 don't stay long." 
 
 Lucile crimsoned and started for the door while the 
 girls looked after her fondly. 
 
 "Don't hurry back, Lucy dear," Evelyn called 
 wickedly. "We shan't miss you." 
 
 Lucile paused in the doorway to fling them a smile 
 and bow mockingly. "Glad I'm so popular," she said, 
 and then fled. 
 
 But on the landing she slackened her pace, and be- 
 fore the door of the little guest-room paused alto- 
 gether, trying to summon courage to enter. And so 
 she stood, one hand on the door-knob the little rose- 
 colored gown she wore deepening the flush on her 
 face, her dark eyes almost black with nervousness, 
 when the door itself opened and the boys stepped out 
 into the hall.
 
 HE CAUGHT THE LITTLE HAND THAT WAS RAISED IN PROTEST
 
 Dreams 301 
 
 "He's pretty weak, Sis," Phil volunteered. "Do 
 you think you'd better go in?" 
 
 But Lucile had already slipped into the room, shut- 
 ting the door quietly behind her. A moment more and 
 she had crossed silently to the bed where Jack lay, his 
 eyes closed wearily and one arm flung up over his head 
 in an attitude of utter relaxation. He looked so white 
 and the bandage around his forehead made so sharp a 
 contrast to the black of his hair, that Lucile's breath 
 caught in something very like a sob. At the slight 
 sound he turned so suddenly that she was startled. 
 
 "Be c-careful," she cautioned, unsteadily, "you 
 musn't jump like that, Jack. The doctor says it's 
 d-dangerous." 
 
 "Hang I mean, what do I care what the doctor 
 says?" he cried, recklessly. "There's only one person 
 in the world who can give me orders, and she's so 
 near I can touch her," and with the words he caught 
 the little hand that had been raised in protest at his 
 vehemence. 
 
 "Very well,'" she said, demurely, "then that one 
 commands you not to talk. You really mustn't, Jack." 
 
 "Oh, all right," he sighed, happy eyes fixed on her 
 averted face. "Only, please don't take your hand
 
 302 Lucile, Bringei of Joy 
 
 away. If you do, I'll talk as hard as I can till you put 
 it back!" 
 
 So the little hand remained where it was while it's 
 owner gazed steadily out of the window, strangely un- 
 willing to meet the look in the eyes that were fixed 
 upon her. 
 
 After a pause, during which neither of them had 
 found it necessary to speak, he said, so suddenly that 
 she started: 
 
 "The fellows told me about this mysterious brother 
 of Marion's coming on the scene in the nick of time. 
 It must have been mighty spectacular." 
 
 "It was, rather," she agreed. "They say he's a 
 splendid fellow." 
 
 "That's just the point," he said, adding with a 
 whimsical smile. "All the girls will be going down 
 on their knees to him now and and I was afraid 
 you might catch the contagion." He looked at her 
 wistfully. 
 
 For a moment, Lucile's face expressed only blank 
 amazement, then she broke into a little ripple of irre- 
 sistible laughter. 
 
 "Oh, how funny," she chuckled; "as if I would! 
 Besides," she added, "I I wouldn't want to " and
 
 Dreams 308 
 
 then at the look that leapt to his eyes, she added, con- 
 fusedly, "I I think I hear Mrs. Wescott com- 
 ing " 
 
 "Lucile," he cried, "look at me just once " 
 
 "Oh, you said you wouldn't talk," she feinted, des- 
 perately. "You promised " 
 
 "Then look at me," he pleaded, softly as the sound 
 of footsteps grew nearer. "Just look at me, and I 
 won't say another word please!" 
 
 Then for a fleeting second their eyes met and in that 
 moment visions of what might come to them filled 
 their hearts to overflowing and made the world a place 
 of joy and laughter and wonderful dreams ! 
 
 THE END
 
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