Gertrude W. Morrison

“ The girl had narrated her flight from Centerport when she saw the Gypsies in that town and knew they would hunt her down. “And we girls will help you find your friends.”
“This Miss Carrington,” spoke Margit, eagerly. “She knows. I must meet her. But do you not tell her anything about me. Let me meet and judge her for myself.”
“Don’t you think we’d better tell her something about you?” asked Eve, thoughtfully.
“Perhaps she might not want to know me,” replied the Gypsy girl, anxiously. “Who am I? A Romany! All you other people look down on the Romany folk.” ”

“ Laura marched straight on to the step of the porch. The boards creaked under her feet as she mounted to the door. The door hung from one hinge and when she pushed upon it, it creaked frightfully.
“Oh!” squealed Nellie again.
“Do come on!” muttered Jess. “I’m just as scared as you are; but don’t let those girls know how bad we feel. They’re just enjoying themselves.”
“And of course there’s nothing, or nobody, here,” Laura added. “They are just having fun with us. Even if something does startle us in this old house, it will be nothing worse than rats.” ”

“ It was truly the large monkey the friends had seen only the week before at the amusement park at the other end of the island.
"He's run away!" cried Laura.
"I hope he has," Dorothy Lockwood said. "That Italian didn't treat him kindly. What was his name?"
"He called the monk 'Bébé'," said Lance.
"Let's see if he will come down to us," suggested Laura, crossing the hollow.
"Now, keep back, the rest of you," commanded Lance. "If anybody can get the little beast, Laura can do it."
"Sure!" chuckled Bobby. "Mother Wit can charm either boys, or monkeys—and right out of the trees!" ”

“ Whiffle Street was an easy slope toward the elbow, where Jess Morse and her mother lived. Although the keen wind blew pretty strongly right up the hill, when Laura and her father started for the store the boys were holding hands and in a line that swept the street from curb to curb, sailed gaily down the hill upon their skates.
“That’s fun!” exclaimed Laura, her cheeks rosy with the wind, and her eyes sparkling.
“It’s just like life,” said her father, “It’s easy going down hill; but see what a pull it is to get up again,” for Chet and his comrades had then begun the homeward skate. ”

“ Lil sniffed; but good-tempered Bobby said, quickly: “You’re right, Laura. I beg the company’s pardon—and Lil’s particularly. We must be ‘little birds who in their nest agree.’”
“You’re a fine bird, Bobby,” laughed Dora. “Come on! I hear the dishes rattling. Let’s see what Lizzie has tossed up for supper.”
“I wonder if she managed to boil the water without burning it?” giggled Jess. “She’s the funniest girl!”
“I should think you and Laura could have found a maid who wasn’t quite such a gawk,” muttered Lil, unpleasantly.
“Hush!” admonished Mother Wit. “Don’t let her hear you.” ”

“ The moment the old business had been disposed of and the way was open for new matters, Laura burst out with:
"Oh, girls! I've got the most exciting thing to tell you!"
"Don't tell us of any other big robbery," sighed Nellie Agnew. "We've heard nothing but robbery at our house ever since Stresch & Potter were broken into. And poor Billy Long!"
"Humph!" muttered Hester Grimes. "I hope they catch him and that he gets all that is coming to him. He always was a mean little brat!"
"Not at all!" cried one of the seniors. "Billy Long never did a mean thing in his life. But he is full of mischief." ”

“ Dora, who had begun very well at last, halted in her answer and looked surprised. Miss Carrington was glaring now at Dorothy.
"How dare you, Dorothy Lockwood?" she demanded, her face quite red with anger. "There is no trusting any of you girls. Cheat!"
There was a sudden intake of breath all over the room. Some of the girls looked positively horror-stricken. For the teacher to use such an expression shocked Laura, and Jess, and Nellie for an instant, as though the word had been addressed to them personally. ”

“ Eve screamed. But she threw herself back, too, as the weight of the sinking girl came upon the bridle-rein. Eve easily held her up. She could sink no farther. But the question that troubled the farmer’s daughter was: Could she draw the unconscious girl out of the mire?
But Eve was the heavier of the two, and far stronger. The Gypsy girl could run and leap like a hare—as she had proven the day the girls of Central High had seen her escaping from the encampment of her Romany companions. But she had not been strong enough to scramble out of the mud when she had once fallen into it. ”

“ Jess’s eyes were almost blinded by tears when she went back to her seat. But they were angry tears. The unkind suspicion and accusation of the teacher cut deeply into the girl’s soul. She could see some of the girls looking at her askance—girls like Hester Grimes and Lily Pendleton, and their set. Of course, they had not heard all that Miss Carrington said; but they could easily suspect. ”

“ No, Dora, the stern duties of life have not troubled them as yet, thank God!"
"But they should be beginning to realize them, Lemuel," declared his sister. "Life is not fun. There is no time to dawdle around with plays, and athletics, and such foolishness. Where are they this minute, Lemuel Lockwood?"
"Why—why, they went out on the lake."
"In what?"
"A canoe, I understand."
"And what's a canoe?" gasped Aunt Dora. "Is that a proper thing for young girls to ride in? Why! it's a savage boat—an Indian boat. A canoe, indeed!" ”

“ Both the girls of Central High, and their brothers and boy friends, in the camp across the lake, had believed the Barnacle to be “all bluff.” He was a fine dog for barking, as Short and Long had said, but he acted as though he thought his teeth had been given him for chewing his food, and for nothing else.
The savage way in which he bayed the sheriff, however, and tried to get at him as Liz held him in leash, was really surprising. It was no wonder that Sheriff Larkin started back and cried out in alarm.
“Don’t you dare set that dawg on me, young woman!” he cried. ”

“ At this all the girls laughed. Knickers in their gymnasium and field work had become second nature to them.
"But think of me," cried Jess, "in what Chet calls 'the soup to nuts!' Really the dress-suit of mankind is awfully silly, after all."
"And uncomfortable!" declared Dora.
"Attention, young ladies!" exclaimed Mr. Mann at that moment.
He was a rotund, beaming little man, with vast enthusiasm and the patience--so Nellie declared--of an angel.
"Not a full-sized angel," Bobby had denied seriously. "He is more the size of a cherub--one of those you see pictured leaning their elbows on clouds." ”

“ Dora Lockwood said it so tragically that Bobby was highly amused.
“My goodness me!” she chortled. “You said that with all the horrified emphasis of a spinster lady.”
“It is a man—isn’t it?” whispered the other twin.
“I—I guess so,” Laura Belding said, slowly.
“It is,” declared Jess. “And he’s a tough looking character.”
“And he is acting quite as oddly as the girl did,” remarked Bobby. “What do you suppose it means?”
“He’s a Gypsy, too, I believe,” put in Eve Sitz, suddenly.
“Say! this is getting melodramatic,” laughed Laura Belding. ”

“ Great, eh?”
“How can we tell till we see it work?” demanded Laura.
“And you don’t have to lie down for ‘low bridge’ when the boom goes over on this iceyacht!” cried Jess, enthusiastically. “We can sit up.”
“All the time,” agreed Lance.
“I think it’s simply great!” declared Laura.
“All because you, Mother Wit, suggested using the kite for motive power that day,” said her brother, admiringly. “That gave us the idea. If a kite would give motive power to a man skating, why not use a more up-to-date air-power scheme on the ice?” ”

“ I couldn’t be a Miss Nancy,” chuckled the other.
“Just see how you are cut out of all our good times,” warned Laura. “And we need you in athletics, Bobby! Our eight-oared shell will be without its cox—and we hoped to have a boat of our own this season. You see, Bobby, one girl can’t do wrong without hurting the rest of us. ‘All for one and one for all’ is the motto of Central High, you know.” ”

“ Mr. Belding admonished him. "You will learn after this, I guess, to look at both sides of a hundred-dollar bill--or any other--when it is offered to you."
"Aw, it's a good hundred, I bet," grumbled Chet.
"If it is, I'll add an extra fifty to my Red Cross subscription," rejoined his father with some tartness.
"Well, that's something!" Bobby Hargrew said quickly. "We want to boost the fund all we can. And what do you think?"
"My brain has stopped functioning entirely since I got so bothered by that bank-note," declared Laura Belding, shaking her head. "I can't think." ”

“ Lockwood. "I am very sure Mrs. Betsey never has time for such reading."
"Then what does she know about it?" demanded Aunt Dora, triumphantly.
"But they are hardly ever sick—and how pretty they both are!" sighed the father of the twins.
"Bah! never sick! pretty!" ejaculated Aunt Dora, staccato. "What about their souls, Lemuel Lockwood? What about the development of their minds? Have you done aught to make them stern and uncompromising when they meet the world on an equal footing—as all women shall in the time to come? Are you preparing them for their work in life? ”

“ There sat the deserted dog on his tail, howling most dismally as the boats drew up stream and left him behind.
Laura called to Purt in the other boat: “Never mind, Mr. Sweet, I don’t think you’ll be troubled with that dog any more. It’s twenty miles to Lake Dunkirk. He will never follow you that far.”
“I bet the Barnacle haunts Purt in his dreams,” exclaimed Bobby.
“Oh! say not so!” begged Billy Long. “If Purt has the nightmare and draws that ‘family friend,’ the faithful revolver, on the ghost of the dog—Good-night! Like enough he’ll blow us all out of the tent.” ”

“ Eve instantly ran out to the edge of the road. One of the Gypsies uttered a shrill, warning cry, and the men turned to intercept the girls.
But into view came the heads of a team of bay horses, and then a farm-wagon, with a bewhiskered man in high boots on the seat, driving the team.
“Hullo! Whoa!” exclaimed the farmer, when he saw Eve. “I declare I Is that you, Evie?”
“Why, Mr. Crook! how glad I am to see you,” said the Swiss girl. “What have you got in the wagon? Just a few bags? Then you can give us a lift, can’t you? We are tired walking.”
“Sure I can, Miss Evie,” replied the farmer. ”

“ If you were so jealous and envious that you did not want to see Jess’s play succeed, you could have refused, at least, to be cast for an important part in it. And now,” went on Mother Wit, firmly, “you are going to play that part.”
“Oh, Laura! you are so harsh,” sobbed Lily.
“Much that will hurt you!” sniffed Laura. “We’ll drive around by the hospital and leave this Plornish man. If he dares to open his mouth, we’ll have him punished for trying to swindle you,” and Laura looked sternly at the black-eyed, foreign-looking fellow. ”

“ Dora said to her aunt, cheerfully. "And then Dorothy will take my place——"
"No. You can both come—come together. I couldn't stand you more than a week at a time, I'm sure," said Aunt Dora, with a sigh. "You girls of the new generation are too much for me; though I must admit that you are pretty nice girls, at that! But your father needs you most of the time—needs you to help him cultivate that seedless watermelon, I expect!
"Girls aren't what they were when I was a girl. You twins don't know how to knit, or to make tatting, or to embroider. ”

“ But another yelp echoed the dog’s; when Reddy Butts swerved the boat’s nose, the move was quite unexpected by Purt.
He dove forward, yelled loudly, and was cast over the edge of the deck just as sprawlingly as the Barnacle himself!
“Man overboard!” yelled Reddy, scarcely able to say it for laughter.
The crowd on the other powerboat heard the shout, if they had not all seen Purt’s exhibition of diving. The dude went under just as deep as the dog, and did not come to the surface anywhere near as quickly. ”

“ More than a thousand dollars--to be exact, one thousand and twenty dollars--had been made for the Red Cross.
Centerport was doing its very best to gather its quota for the great institution that was doing so much good in the world. Janet Steele confessed to Laura that she had gained more than one hundred dollar memberships, and that nearly all of these had given something in addition to their membership fee.
"I wish we girls could help," said Laura wistfully.
"And you having done so much already!" cried Janet. "Why, you've already done more than your share! And doing a play, too!" ”

“ At least, let us remember, when we are seniors, not to do as they have done,” concluded Mother Wit.
“If I’m any prophet,” said Jess. “We won’t be like them.”
“Well, you are no prophet!” cried Bobby. “And don’t talk to me any more about prophets and fortune-tellers.”
“Oh-ho!” mocked Nellie. “Bobby no longer believes in the Gypsy Queen!”
“I believe in nothing of the kind. I was a dreadfully foolish girl to pay any attention to that wicked woman. You see, she was wrong. I got into no trouble this term with Gee Gee, after all.” ”

“ Jess Morse enjoyed the outing that Saturday, as she always enjoyed such fun when with the Beldings; but, after all her mind was on her play. She almost lived that play nowadays!
And, to tell the truth, she began to neglect some of her studies in her concentration of mind upon “The Spring Road.” Her mother praised it warmly.
“To think that I should have a daughter who may turn out to be a real genius!” cried Mrs. Morse. “Although it is so hard to get a play accepted by a first-class producer.”
“No. I don’t want to be a genius,” said Jess shaking her head. ”

“ The girls were silent.
"I am separating Dora from her sister for her own good. As you girls grow older you will find that the income your father has remaining will barely support one girl in a proper manner. To divide his responsibility is a kindness to him——"
"That is not so," interjected the mild Mr. Lockwood. "You are more than welcome, girls, to all I have. And—possibly—I might look about and get a little more money for you to use, as time goes on. If you need it——"
"We know all about it, Papa," chimed the twins. "We are satisfied." ”

“ And just at this time recitations seemed to be particularly hard. With rehearsals for the play, and all, mere knowledge was very difficult to acquire.
"I know I'm not half prepared in physics," wailed Nellie Agnew, as she and other juniors trooped into school one day, two weeks before Christmas.
"And I," said Jess Morse, "know about as much regarding this political economy as I do about sweeping up the Milky Way with a star brush."
"How poetic!" cried Laura, laughing. "I wonder if we all are as well prepared?"
"They expect too much of us," declared Dora Lockwood. ”

“ Although the old brown cloak she wore hid her green skirt, Bobby knew that the girl before her was the one she and her friends had seen escaping from the Gypsy camp nearly a fortnight before. The girl who had been unafraid of pursuit by the bloodhound, and had run upon stone fences and waded in an ice-cold mountain brook to hide her trail, now cowered in the vestibule of the schoolhouse, in a nervous tremor because of the thunderstorm.
“My! but you are scared of lightning, aren’t you?” exclaimed Bobby, after a minute, and when the noise of the elements had somewhat ceased. ”

“ I see him again," whispered Dora Lockwood.
A half-minute's silence, save for the patter of the drops from the paddles as the light cedar canoe shot around East Point of Cavern Island.
"So do I!" cried Dorothy, but in a low tone. "My! what frightful whiskers."
"He looks just like a pirate," declared her sister.
"He is a pirate—or a robber—I wager," returned Dorothy.
"Maybe he's one of those horrid men who robbed Stresch & Potter Tuesday night."
"Oh, Dora! Let's hurry by." ”

“ She looked first at the neat figures she had written upon the page of the day ledger, after carefully proving them, and thence at the packet of bills and piles of coin on the desk at her right hand.
"It is the oddest thing that ever happened," she affirmed, as though in answer to her own first declaration.
It was Saturday evening, and it was always Laura's duty to straighten out her father's books for him on that day, for although she was a high school girl, she was usually so well prepared in her studies that she could give the books proper attention weekly. ”

“ Bobby ran along the hedge, stooping so as not to be seen by the man on the wagon seat, and came around to the front of the house from the direction opposite that which Jim Varey had taken.
Just as she reached the front porch there was a wild scream from Miss Carrington, and Bobby saw the man leap from the far end of the porch with Margit in his arms.
Margit did not scream; she only beat the man about the head and—perhaps—left the marks of her nails in his dark face.
It was plain that she was being carried away from Gee Gee against her will. She had no desire to go back to the Gypsies. ”

“ The teacher kept the other girls back and herself took Josephine Morse's place and gripped Laura firmly as the latter hung over the brink of the cliff.
Laura continued to call; but although she thought she had seen the boy on the shelf below move, he did not reply. His face was very white.
"He's unconscious! He's hurt!" Laura gasped.
"How do you suppose he ever got there?" demanded Jess.
"The question is: How shall we get him up?" demanded Mrs. Case, briskly.
"I can get down to him—I know I can," cried Laura. ”

“ Smoothly the young people wended their way about the ice, their skates ringing, their supple bodies swaying in time to the music, led by those two masks of Uncle Sam and the Red Cross girl.
"It is lovely," Mrs. Belding said to her husband. "What a fine skater our Chetwood is, Henry. And it is so near Christmas! I hope that bank-note will turn out to be a good one so that he will not lose the money," she finished wistfully.
"There, there!" said the jeweler. "I'll go to see Monroe to-morrow. He's at home again." ”

“ The pistol spoke, and "They're off!" shouted the crowd. Like five huge water-spiders, the eight-oared shells darted along the course. With a strain and a heave at the end of every stroke, the boats were propelled in a magnificent burst of speed. For some rods there was scarcely any difference in the standing of the five crews.
Then, as in old times, Keyport drew ahead.
"Hang to 'em! Like bulldogs!" shouted Bobby Hargrew through the megaphone she wore strapped to her mouth.
Instantly Celia stretched out a little more and the clack of the oars in Central High boat sounded quicker. ”

“ The Red Cross girl appeared from around a turn in the avenue, and the instant she spied her new friends she waved her gloved hand.
"Is that the girl who gave first-aid to the man on Market Street Saturday night?" asked Chet.
"Some little queen, isn't she?" rejoined Lance, with twinkling eyes.
"Oh," said Laura placidly, "you needn't think that you can get us girls jealous about Janet Steele. She is an awfully sweet girl."
"And she isn't little at all," put in Jess, tossing her head. "She is as husky as Eve Sitz." ”

“ And as Bobby ran by she saw a man come down from this porch, as though he had been listening at the windows, and hurry around the corner of the house and behind the thick hedge of the kitchen garden.
“That was the Gypsy—Jim Varey,” Bobby thought, hesitating before the house. “What is he haunting Gee Gee for? Ought she to know that he is hanging around?”
But the girl hesitated about going in and speaking to the teacher. Gee Gee, she considered, was really her arch-enemy. Why should she try to shield her from any trouble? ”

“ But Laura Belding went forth, fully determined that none of her friends should waste their money upon the chance that the Gypsy queen might see into the future for them.
“It’s wicked, anyway,” decided Mother Wit. “If God thought it best for us to know what the future had in store for us, he would have put it within the power of every person to know what was coming. Professional palmists, and fortune-tellers of all sorts, are merely wicked persons who wish to get foolish people’s money!” ”