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+Project Gutenberg's Polly and Her Friends Abroad, by Lillian Elizabeth Roy
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Polly and Her Friends Abroad
+
+Author: Lillian Elizabeth Roy
+
+Illustrator: H. S. Barbour
+
+Release Date: September 16, 2011 [EBook #37429]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POLLY AND HER FRIENDS ABROAD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
+produced from images made available by the HathiTrust
+Digital Library.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: MR. ALEXANDER IS INTRODUCED TO POLLY.
+_Frontispiece—(Page 24)_]
+
+
+
+
+                             POLLY AND HER
+                             FRIENDS ABROAD
+
+                                   BY
+
+                         LILLIAN ELIZABETH ROY
+
+                              _Author of_
+                POLLY OF PEBBLY PIT, POLLY AND ELEANOR,
+                       POLLY IN NEW YORK, POLLY’S
+                            BUSINESS VENTURE
+
+                             ILLUSTRATED BY
+                             H. S. BARBOUR
+
+                                NEW YORK
+                            GROSSET & DUNLAP
+                               PUBLISHERS
+
+                  Made in the United States of America
+
+
+
+
+                          COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY
+                            GROSSET & DUNLAP
+
+
+
+
+                                CONTENTS
+
+         CHAPTER                                              PAGE
+               I The Alexanders                                  1
+              II Dodo Meets Polly’s Friends                     22
+             III The Tour Is Planned                            41
+              IV The Tour of Great Britain                      62
+               V Love Affairs and Antiques                      84
+              VI Polly Takes a Hand To Cure Jimmy              106
+             VII Dodo’s Elopement                              126
+            VIII Dodo Meets Another “Title”                    148
+              IX Mr. Alexander’s Surprise                      166
+               X A Dangerous Pass on the Alps                  184
+              XI The Plot in Venice                            205
+             XII Escaping an Earthquake                        223
+            XIII Unexpected Vicissitudes of Travel             238
+             XIV A Highwayman in Disguise                      255
+              XV Ahoy! for the Stars and Stripes Again         267
+
+
+
+
+POLLY AND HER FRIENDS ABROAD
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I—THE ALEXANDERS
+
+
+Eleanor Maynard left her friend, Polly Brewster, in the stateroom,
+cutting the stems of the gorgeous American Beauty roses, and arranging
+them anew in the tall glass of fresh water. As she was about to close
+the door behind her, she turned and said:
+
+“Be sure and come up on deck, Polly, as soon as you are done with the
+roses.”
+
+“All right, run along and I’ll be with you in a jiffy,” returned Polly,
+her thoughts engaged with the flowers.
+
+So Eleanor strolled to the upper deck and tried to find an interest with
+which to amuse herself until Polly joined her.
+
+Of course, you remember Polly Brewster of Pebbly Pit, and her chum,
+Eleanor Maynard, of Chicago? Mr. Fabian, their teacher in interior
+decorating, and the Ashbys from New York City, were escorting the two
+girls on this trip abroad, with the idea of visiting famous European
+museums and places where antiques of all kinds could be seen and
+studied.
+
+Eleanor walked part way around the promenade deck before she was
+accosted by a decidedly plump woman of about forty, with decidedly
+blondine hair, and flashing—_most_ decidedly—too many large diamonds
+from ears, fingers and neck.
+
+“Excuse me, but aren’t you one of the young ladies I met at the Denver
+railway station last year when Anne Stewart and her friends were about
+to leave for New York?” questioned the lady.
+
+Eleanor turned, glanced at the living representative of the newly-rich,
+and smiled delightedly—not with recognition but at the possibility of
+having fun with someone arrayed like a peacock.
+
+“Oh yes, I was there! Do you know Anne Stewart?” said she.
+
+“I should think I did! Didn’t we live next door to the Stewarts when
+Anne and Paul were little tots?”
+
+“How nice to meet you, now,” returned Eleanor, noting the quality of the
+apparel and the approximate value of the gems adorning the lady.
+
+“But that was before Ebeneezer struck ‘pay dirt’ down in Cripple Creek.
+After that, we moved from the little house and bought a swell mansion in
+the fashionable part of Denver,” explained the lady, with pride.
+
+“Did you say you met us last summer?” ventured Eleanor.
+
+“Yes, don’t you remember me? I got off the train coming in from Colorado
+Springs, just as you-all stood waiting for the East-bound Express.”
+
+“I have a faint recollection of Anne shaking hands with someone, and
+introducing Polly and me, but there were so many in our party that you
+must pardon me if I do not recall you now.”
+
+“Oh sure! I know how it is,” giggled the lady, affably. “You _did_ have
+a crowd waiting to see you off, I remember.”
+
+“And now we meet again on the steamer bound for Europe! Well, it goes to
+show how small a place this world is,” remarked Eleanor, not knowing
+what else to say, but feeling amused at the hackneyed phrase she had to
+make use of.
+
+“How comes it that you are sailing across? Is your Ma and family with
+you?”
+
+“No, but Polly Brewster—she’s the girl you saw that day with Anne—and
+I are going to tour Europe with some friends, to study more of our
+profession.”
+
+“Profession! Good gracious—didn’t that gold mine I read about pan out
+anything?” exclaimed the lady, astonished.
+
+Eleanor laughed. “Oh yes, I believe it is going to pay even richer than
+we at first thought possible; so Polly and I can use our own money to
+improve our education.”
+
+“And what are you going to take up?”
+
+“We have taken it up—Polly and I have been studying Interior Decorating
+for two years, now.”
+
+“Interior Decorating! Good gracious—isn’t that the sort of work the
+upholsterers and painters have to do for you?” gasped the lady.
+
+Eleanor laughed again. Here was fun indeed! So she carefully fed the
+fuel now beginning to take fire in her companion’s brain. “I am afraid
+it _has_ been their work in the past. But Polly and I plan to try and
+uplift the work, and by investing our money in a first-rate business, we
+will try to create a real profession out of what is merely a paint-brush
+and a tack-hammer job, nowadays.”
+
+Eleanor glanced about to make sure her friends were not within hearing
+of the remarks she had just made to her new acquaintance. The expression
+on the lady’s face, as the young aspirant for a new ideal explained her
+plans, sufficed Eleanor for the story she had just told.
+
+“And what did you say your name was, dearie?” asked the lady, finally.
+
+“Eleanor Maynard—of the Chicago Maynards, you know.”
+
+“Yes, yes, I know of them,” replied the lady, glibly. “I am Mrs.
+Ebeneezer Alexander, of Denver. P’raps you’ve heard how Eben made a
+million in a night?”
+
+Mrs. Alexander’s puckered forehead led Eleanor to understand what was
+expected of her in reply, so she fibbed as glibly as her companion had.
+“Oh yes! _who_ has not heard of the Alexanders of Denver?”
+
+The lady smoothed out her steamer-rug and smiled happily. Then the
+remembrance of this banker’s daughter going into a common trade, to
+better the conditions and reputation of the work, rose uppermost in her
+shallow mind again.
+
+“I should think your Ma’d go wild to think that one of her girls wanted
+to work instead of getting married to a rich young man,” remarked she.
+
+“Maybe my mother would object if I gave her time to think about it,”
+Eleanor said, smilingly. “But she’s too busy getting my sister Bob ready
+to marry, to bother about me.”
+
+“Well, by the time your sister is settled down and having a family,
+you’ll be ready to turn your back on work and do as your Ma thinks
+best,” declared Mrs. Alexander, knowingly.
+
+The very suggestion of Barbara’s having a family so amused Eleanor that
+she laughed uncontrollably, to the perplexity of her companion.
+
+“Don’t you believe you will grow tired of work?” asked Mrs. Alexander,
+thinking her remarks on that subject had sounded preposterous to
+Eleanor.
+
+“No indeed! Polly and I are tremendously interested in the study, and as
+we go into it deeper, the more absorbing it grows,” replied Eleanor.
+
+“I didn’t know you had anything to study, except how to handle a
+paint-brush, or tuck in the furniture covering, before you tack the
+guimpe along the edges.”
+
+“Oh yes, there’s a little more than that to learn first, before you can
+hang out a sign to tell folks you are a decorator, and wish to solicit
+their trade,” smiled Eleanor.
+
+“Who are these Ashbys you spoke of? Are they New York trade people, or
+do they travel in society?” now asked Mrs. Alexander, as she remembered
+the escort Eleanor had mentioned.
+
+“Mr. and Mrs. Ashby, and their daughter Ruth, are very nice people who
+know just the sort of folks Polly and I need to meet to help us in our
+business, later on. Mr. Ashby has a large upholstery and decorating
+business in New York City, but his wife goes into society, somewhat,”
+explained Eleanor, a twinkle in her eyes that would have warned one who
+understood her mischievous inclinations. But her companion did not
+understand.
+
+“Oh—I see! Just a tradesman who’s made some money, I s’pose, and now
+his wife wants to climb. Did you ever read that novel about some
+‘climbers’?”
+
+“No, but I’ve heard of it. The Ashbys are not that sort.”
+
+“But not the sort that can help me with Dodo, either, I see,” said Mrs.
+Alexander, thoughtfully for her.
+
+“Dodo?”
+
+“Yes, she’s my daughter. It’s because of her that I’m going over to the
+other side. I’ve heard say there are titles going begging for American
+millionaires since the war. And Dodo isn’t bad looking, even if she
+isn’t as prepossessing as I used to be—and am yet, I can say.”
+
+Eleanor could hardly believe she had heard aright. An American mother
+from _Denver_ going to exchange her child for a title! And the absolute
+egotism with which she mentioned her own looks and behavior!
+
+“Well!” thought Eleanor to herself, “I was looking for entertainment,
+and here I have more of it than I dreamed of.”
+
+“Does your daughter agree with you about marrying a title?” Eleanor
+could not help asking.
+
+“She doesn’t say anything about it, one way or another. I told her what
+she had to do, and that settles it.”
+
+“How old is she?” wondered Eleanor aloud.
+
+“Past sixteen, but she looks more like twenty. If it wasn’t that it
+would make me look so old, I’d dress her like twenty-one ’cause I hear
+the Europeans prefer a woman of age, and over there she can’t be her own
+lawful self ’til twenty-one.”
+
+“Sixteen! Why—she isn’t much older than Polly or I!” gasped Eleanor.
+
+“No, but I said—she seemed older.”
+
+“Nancy Fabian is nineteen and _she_ never thinks of getting married—not
+yet. Everyone thinks, nowadays, that twenty-five is plenty young enough
+for a girl to think of marriage. That gives her a chance to see the
+world and men, and then make a wise choice.”
+
+“Nancy Fabian—who is she?” asked Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“Nancy is the daughter of Mr. Fabian who taught Polly and me interior
+decorating thus far. He is a wonderful teacher, and Nancy, his only
+child, has been studying art in Paris. Her mother went over with her to
+chaperone her, while there, and now we are going to meet them. Nancy
+managed to have several of her watercolors exhibited at the Academy this
+year, and one of them took a prize.” Eleanor’s tone conveyed the delight
+and pride she felt in Nancy Fabian’s achievement, even though she had
+not met her.
+
+“And this teacher is traveling with you?” was Mrs. Alexander’s
+rejoinder.
+
+Eleanor felt the condescension in Mrs. Alexander’s tone and resented it.
+So she decided to answer with a sharp thrust.
+
+“Yes; Mr. Fabian promised Anne and my mother to take good care of Polly
+and me, until he turns us over to his wife and Nancy, who are visiting
+Sir James Osgood, of London.”
+
+“Visiting a Sir James!” gasped Mrs. Alexander, sitting bolt upright for
+the first time since the interview began.
+
+“Uh-huh! The Fabians and the Osgoods are very close friends, I hear.
+Nancy Fabian and Angela Osgood studied in the same class, in Paris; and
+Mrs. Fabian chaperoned Angela when her mother, Lady Osgood, had to
+return to England for the London Season.” Eleanor had her revenge.
+
+“Mercy! Then these Fabians must _be_ somebody!”
+
+“Why, of course! What made you think they were not?”
+
+“From what you said,” stammered Mrs. Alexander, humbly. “You said he was
+a teacher and that he was an intimate friend of the Ashbys who were
+painters and upholsterers.”
+
+“Oh no, I didn’t!” retorted Eleanor. “_You_ said that. _I_ said that Mr.
+Ashby was an interior decorator who helped Polly and me a lot, and that
+Mr. Fabian was our teacher. There is a vast difference between
+decorators and paint-slingers, you will learn, some day.”
+
+Eleanor was about to walk away with that parting shot, when a very
+attractive girl came from a side-door of the Lounge and looked around.
+Catching sight of Mrs. Alexander, she started for her. She was
+over-dressed, and her face had been powdered and rouged as much as her
+mother’s was; her lips were scarlet as carmine could tinge them, and her
+hair was waved and dressed in the latest style for adults. As Mrs.
+Alexander had said, her daughter looked fully ten years older than she
+really was, because of her make-up.
+
+She glanced casually at Eleanor, without expressing any interest in her,
+and turned to her mother. “Oh, Ma! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!
+Pa says he _won’t_ come out and sit down, just to watch who goes by.”
+
+Eleanor was severely tailored in her appearance, but her suit
+represented the best cut and fit that the most exclusive shop in New
+York could provide, and the broad-cloth was of the finest. Dodo, (whose
+real name was Dorothy but was cut to Dodo for a pet name) failed to
+recognize the lines and material of the gown, but she passed it over
+lightly because she saw no gorgeous trimmings to claim value for it.
+
+“Dodo, dearie, do you remember those two girls we read about, out west?
+The ones who discovered that gold mine just below Grizzly Slide? Well,
+this is Eleanor Maynard from Chicago, who was with her chum Polly, when
+they sought refuge in that cave on the mountain-top. Isn’t it lovely for
+you to meet her, this way?”
+
+At mention of the gold mine, and the unusual circumstances in connection
+with it, Dodo’s expression changed. She smiled politely at Eleanor and
+said: “So glad to meet you.”
+
+“And Dodo being my only child, Miss Maynard, she is well worth knowing.
+She will inherit the million her father made,” added Mrs. Alexander.
+
+Eleanor smiled cynically. “I’m sorry for you, Dodo. It spoils one’s life
+to be reminded of how much one has to live up to, when one is young and
+only wants to be carefree and happy.”
+
+“Oh, do you feel that way, too! I thought it was only me who was queer.
+Ma says other girls would give their heads to be in my place,” exclaimed
+the girl, anxiously.
+
+Eleanor now took a keener look at the speaker. It was evident from her
+words that she was not what she was dressed up to represent. “You have a
+chance to be yourself, in spite of every one, you know,” said Eleanor.
+
+“Well, I wish to goodness you would show me how! I hate all this
+fluffy-ruffle stuff and I wish we could get back to that time when I
+could go with my hair twisted at the back of my neck; and a cold water
+wash to clean my face, instead of all this cold cream business, and then
+the paint and flour afterwards!” declared Dodo, bluntly.
+
+“Oh deary! I beg of you—don’t display your ignorance before strangers
+like this!” wailed her mother, fluttering a lace handkerchief before her
+eyes. “Eleanor Maynard is one of _the_ Maynards of Chicago.”
+
+“Why not! If Eleanor Maynard is half the girl I think she is—from what
+I read, that time they were lost on the Flat Tops and from what she just
+said, then she’ll appreciate me the more for my honesty,” asserted the
+girl.
+
+“I do, Dodo. I never had much use for make-up, but I know society
+condones the use of it all. So I’m glad to find a real girl who dislikes
+it as much as Polly and I do.”
+
+“There now, Ma! And I bet these girls will look at your pet hobby much
+the same as I do.” Then Dodo turned to Eleanor and added: “Ma’s bound to
+palm me off on some little stick of a nobleman in Europe, just to brag
+about my name with a handle to it. But _I_ say I don’t want a
+husband—especially a foreign one. If I have to marry, let me choose a
+westerner! The kind I’m used to.”
+
+Eleanor could have hugged the girl for her frank honesty so different
+from what she had looked for from the daughter of the silly woman before
+her.
+
+“If only we could persuade Ma to see that this going to Europe does not
+mean just buying Paris dresses and parading them to catch a lord, I’ll
+be happy,” concluded Dodo.
+
+“Poor child! How she does find fault with her little mother!” sighed
+Mrs. Alexander, wiping her eyes in self-pity.
+
+Dodo turned her entire attention to her new acquaintance, at this. “Are
+you alone, or is your family with you?”
+
+“Oh, I forgot to tell you, Dodo dear; Miss Maynard is going to study
+decorating in Europe; and her friend Polly, and their teacher, is with
+her. She just told me that the teacher’s wife and daughter are visiting
+a real English peer! Think of it—a teacher’s family stopping with a
+live lady of quality!” exclaimed Mrs. Alexander, eagerly.
+
+“I hope they are nice English folks,” commented Dodo.
+
+“Naturally they would be, if they belong to the peerage, Dodo,” returned
+her mother, innocent of a “Burke” and the difference between a baronet
+and a peer. “But I was thinking, that it would be quite easy for us to
+get acquainted with dukes and lords, if a mere teacher got his family
+invited to one’s house.”
+
+Dodo’s lip curled sarcastically, and Eleanor learned that the daughter
+had nothing in common with these empty fads of her mother. Then Dodo
+said: “I hope the teacher’s family know enough to make the lord’s family
+appreciate a good old American!”
+
+Eleanor laughed, and said: “If Nancy Fabian and her mother are anything
+like Mr. Fabian, you can rest assured that they’ll do full justice to
+the United States, and the Stars and Stripes.”
+
+To change the subject from this dangerous ground that created more
+resistance for her to fight than she had to meet, recently, from Dodo,
+Mrs. Alexander hastily said: “Do you know, Dodo, Miss Maynard told me
+that Polly and she took up the study of Interior Decorating, in New
+York, in order to better the conditions of painters and upholsterers who
+work at that trade. Not to make money.”
+
+Eleanor frowned. “I think you misunderstood me, Mrs. Alexander. I said
+we were studying the profession and that it took a great deal of
+application and perseverance to reach the high plane which was necessary
+for a good decorator to stand on. So few who call themselves interior
+decorators really know much about the art. And in order to increase our
+education and understanding of the profession, Polly and I are about to
+visit the great museums of Europe.”
+
+“Well, it is the same thing, isn’t it?” pouted Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“No, I think your idea of interior decorators is that any ‘paint-slinger
+or tack-driver’ is a professional. Whereas I see that _that_ is the very
+error necessary to be reversed by us, before the public recognises the
+value of genuine decorators. In France and other European countries, an
+interior decorator has to have a certificate. And that is what we hope
+to do in the United States—put the real ones through a course of
+studies and have them examined and a diploma given, before one can claim
+title to being a decorator.” Eleanor spoke with emphasis and feeling.
+
+“Well, I don’t know a fig about it, or anything else, for that matter,”
+laughed Dodo, cheerfully. “But I can understand how much more
+interesting it must be to trot around hunting up worm-eaten furniture,
+or examining ruined masonry, or admiring moth-holed fabrics, than to do
+as I have to—follow after Ma and sit with my hands idly folded waiting
+for some old fossil to pass by and say: ‘I choose her, because she’s got
+the most cash.’”
+
+Eleanor laughed outright at the girl’s statement, but Mrs. Alexander
+showed her anger by twisting her shoulders and saying: “Dodo Alexander!
+If I didn’t know better, I’d believe you were trying to make Eleanor
+believe that you detested your opportunity!”
+
+Dodo tossed her head and said: “Time will show!”
+
+At that crisis in the conversation, another girl’s voice was heard
+across the deck. “Nolla! Are you there?”
+
+Eleanor turned and called back: “No, I am not here!”
+
+Then all three girls laughed. The newcomer, Polly Brewster, skipped
+lightly across the deck, and joined the group she had spied from the
+open doorway. Eleanor introduced Mrs. Alexander as an old friend of
+Anne’s, and Dodo her daughter, as an independent American who believed
+in suffrage and all the rights of American womanhood. At this latter
+explanation, Dodo grinned and her mother gasped in amazement at Eleanor.
+
+Then Mrs. Alexander said politely: “How is Anne Stewart? I haven’t seen
+her for some time.”
+
+“Anne is married to my brother John, now,” returned Polly. “And they are
+going to live home, with mother, while I am away. Anne’s mother is to
+live at the old home in Denver, and keep house for Paul.”
+
+“It seems years and years since I lived next door to them,” remarked
+Dodo. “I always played with Paul Stewart.”
+
+“Deary, it can’t be years and years, because I am not so old as you try
+to make me appear,” corrected Mrs. Alexander.
+
+Polly, understanding from the words, saw how vain the woman was and
+stood looking at her in surprise. But Eleanor heard only Dodo’s speech.
+
+“Did you say you always played with Paul Stewart when you were
+neighbors?”
+
+“Yes indeed!” laughed Dodo, as she remembered various incidents of that
+childhood.
+
+“We always played we were married, and Paul’s Irish Terrier and my
+kitten were our children. We dressed them up in old dust-cloths and
+tried to make them behave, but no parents ever had such trials with
+their children as we had when Terry and Kitty got to scrapping!”
+
+Eleanor was deeply interested and Polly smiled at what she saw expressed
+in her friend’s face. Dodo continued her reminiscences.
+
+“Paul used to draw me on his sled when we went to school, and he always
+saved a bite of his apple for me at noon-time. I gave him half of my
+cake in exchange. Oh, we had such fun—we two, in those days!” the girl
+sighed and looked out over the billowy sea.
+
+“Then Pa struck that vein of gold down at Cripple Creek and everything
+changed. Ma got the social bug, so bad, we had to leave all our old
+friends, and move to a strange neighborhood where Pa never spoke to a
+soul and I felt out of place. But Ma said it had to be done to establish
+our position.
+
+“The Stewarts rented their house and I heard that Paul went to Chicago
+to college, while Anne went to teach a school in New York. Then I never
+heard again, of any of them, until Ma met you-all at the Denver railroad
+station.” Dodo smiled at that crumb of comfort.
+
+Polly and Eleanor were deeply touched at the girl’s tale, for they knew
+how lonely she must have been away from her old associations, in an
+atmosphere where she was not at home. And such a frivolous mother who
+could not understand the true blue of such an honest character as
+Dodo’s!
+
+“Ma sent me to a swell seminary near our new house, but the girls
+snubbed me, and I never had a pal all the time I was there. When Ma
+ordered me to come to Europe with her to stock up with fine dresses and
+then try to make a match for me with some man with a title, I came, but
+goodness knows! I just hate the idea.”
+
+“Oh, Dodo! You’ll break my heart, if you talk like that!” cried Mrs.
+Alexander, trying to impress the two other girls with her maternal
+sorrow.
+
+“Nolla! I almost forgot what I came for,” laughed Polly, to change the
+subject. “Prof. says for you to come to the salon where they have used
+Adams period and Louis XIV furniture in the same room. He wants to show
+us a bad example of decoration.”
+
+“May I come with you?” asked Dodo, eagerly.
+
+“Of course! Come right along,” agreed Eleanor, thrusting her hand
+through the new friend’s arm and starting away with her.
+
+The moment they were out of hearing, Eleanor said impressively to Dodo:
+“Don’t you ever give in to that idea of marrying a foreigner! Your
+mother will soon get over it if you just keep on making her see it’s no
+use. If you pretend to take up some study like we are doing, she will
+see you mean business.”
+
+“That’s good advice, and I sure will follow it,” declared the eager
+girl.
+
+“And Nolla and I will help along all we can,” promised Polly.
+
+“Even if you have to make your mother believe you are in love with Paul
+Stewart and won’t marry anyone else—then do it!” declared Eleanor, in
+tones of brave self-sacrifice and renunciation.
+
+“Oh, but I’m not! Paul is a dandy boy and we had good times when we were
+small, but I’ve seen other boys I like a heap better’n him, now! But I
+really don’t want to marry anyone, yet!”
+
+“I shouldn’t think you would!” breathed Eleanor, in great relief. “So
+Polly and I will agree to help you out of all the plots your mother
+plans for you. Won’t we, Polly?”
+
+“We sure will!” agreed Polly. And that is how Dodo came to travel about
+Europe with Polly and Eleanor. And why the two old friends felt it a
+duty to protect and save Dodo from the wily plans of her mother who
+wished to own a title in the Ebeneezer Alexander family.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II—DODO MEETS POLLY’S FRIENDS
+
+
+Dorothy Alexander was a good type of the healthy western girl. She was
+tall, well-built, and the picture of splendid health. Her hair was of a
+ruddy hue, with copper glints in it. Her complexion was like “peaches
+and cream,” and needed no cosmetic to enhance its charm. Her form was
+lithe and supple, and her features were good. Her bright eyes sparkled
+with good-humor, and her smile was contagious in its sweetness. When she
+was well-dressed, she would be a beauty, thought Eleanor, but her
+present overdressing depreciated her genuine good looks.
+
+“Prof., we bring you a new convert,” laughed Eleanor, as the three girls
+approached Mr. Fabian.
+
+“Dorothy Alexander, Mr. Fabian,” added Polly.
+
+The two acknowledged the introduction and the girl thought: “What a fine
+face he has! Such wonderful expression and forehead.”
+
+And Mr. Fabian thought: “There’s a great deal under all that sham.”
+
+Shortly after the introduction, Mr. Fabian spoke of the flaunting
+mistakes some so-called decorator had made in the selection and
+furnishings of the salon. So they turned their attention to that
+interesting subject. Dodo stood by and listened to it all, as she
+wondered what these two good-looking girls could find to interest them
+in such a dry subject? But she confessed that both girls seemed more
+beautiful and attractive, when they were thoroughly interested and
+animated with the ideas they were exchanging with Mr. Fabian.
+
+As they left the room, Mr. Fabian turned his attention to Dodo,
+particularly. And soon she was telling him freely, all about her life in
+Denver, and how hard her father had worked and suffered at Cripple
+Creek, to amass the fortune they now enjoyed. When Dodo described her
+father’s character and how simple and blunt he was in everything, her
+hearers fell in love with the unknown. She told how generous he was to
+every one, and how no one was left in need if he could help it.
+
+“But he has one awful sin that Ma can’t forgive him,” added Dodo,
+glancing covertly around to make sure no one could hear.
+
+Mr. Fabian shivered at what she was about to say, and he wished Dodo was
+not _quite_ so frank as to reveal family skeletons. But she was launched
+and nothing could check her.
+
+“Pa has a pet old pipe that’s as black as ink. He just won’t smoke any
+of the imported cigars Ma buys for him, and he won’t let her throw the
+old pipe away. He gets away by himself and smokes it until he feels
+happy—no matter what Ma says or does.”
+
+All three of her audience bent double in merriment at what they just
+heard. Mr. Fabian was so relieved at the “sin” he feared to hear about,
+that he laughed louder than the two girls.
+
+“S-sh!” warned Dodo, hurriedly. “Here comes Pa, now!”
+
+Instantly they hushed and turned to watch the “grand being” they had
+just heard about. The shock of beholding the actual man who was the
+opposite of what Dodo had pictured him caused them to mumble confusedly
+when Mr. Alexander was introduced.
+
+He was a little wiry man of about fifty years. The top of his head was
+bald, with a fringe of grey all about the crown. Right in front, on top,
+grew a stiff lock of stubborn hair that generally stood upright. This
+gave him the funny appearance that is often portrayed in the comic
+section of the Sunday papers. His hands were knotted with hard work, and
+his legs were bowed just enough to make him walk awkwardly. His eyes
+were small and merry, and his ears large and fan-like. But his mouth was
+the feature that attracted instant attention and held it wonderingly. It
+was a wide, good-natured mouth, and when he smiled he literally
+demonstrated that saying: “His head opened from ear to ear.” He wore a
+huge ulster of checks and a tourist cap with ear-tabs tied on top.
+
+“Hello, Dodo! Who’s your friends?” called he cheerily, as he came up to
+them.
+
+He was introduced, and Dodo followed up the introduction by saying: “I
+was just talking about you—telling my friends what a fine man you are.”
+
+Mr. Alexander smiled happily. “It ain’t every man what has a gal that
+says that, eh?”
+
+“You’re right there, Mr. Alexander,” agreed Mr. Fabian, glad to speak
+and express something worthy of himself.
+
+“And Dodo is sure one fine gal, too. I wonder why she ain’t sp’iled like
+other gals I see.”
+
+“Perhaps her father’s example is before her,” ventured Eleanor. And
+forever after that, Dodo swore allegiance to Eleanor.
+
+“I’m right glad you-all met Dodo, ’cause I was fearin’ the missus might
+get her to give in to them foolish notions about gettin’ a furriner. Did
+you tell ’em, Dodo?” said her father.
+
+“Yes, Pa, and the girls are going to help me cure Ma of that fad.”
+
+“That’s the best news, yet! I hope you kin do it!” said he, slapping his
+knee. “You must be real gals, too, like mine, here.”
+
+Polly laughed, and Eleanor said: “We like to ride and hike, and have
+good times, but we’re not out hunting for husbands. If we ever reach
+that place where we want to marry, we’ll take a man we know by heart,
+and not one who is buying a doll made up at a hair-dresser and
+beauty-doctor’s.”
+
+“You’re the right sort, all right!” chuckled the little man,
+transferring the slap from his knee to Eleanor’s back.
+
+Eleanor gasped for breath but she considered the sharp commendation a
+compliment that any _man_ might be glad to get. Mr. Fabian had to smile
+at Eleanor’s sudden gasp and instant recovery, but Polly laughed
+outright, for she was accustomed to such pleasantries from the ranchers
+at home.
+
+“Poor Pa. He’s so glad to meet some sensible folks, that he doesn’t stop
+to think how hard his hand is, with all the mining and picking at gold
+ore, out west,” added Dodo, smiling sympathetically at Eleanor, and then
+at her father.
+
+“Right again! This traipsing to U-rope fer a title, isn’t my kind of
+work. But I jus’ couldn’t let Ma run off with Dodo and all my cash, when
+I knew Dodo diden’ want to. So I says, ‘Onless you lug me along wherever
+you go, my cash stays behind in America.’ You-all know, ‘cash makes the
+mare go,’ so I was included in the trip.”
+
+The little man chuckled and caused the others to laugh at his amusing
+expression. Then he leaned forward and said confidentially: “But I’ll
+confess, all this tight-fittin’ clothes, and a boiled shirt with stiff
+collars and cuffs ain’t to my likin’! I have to pinch my feet into shiny
+tight shoes, and use a tie that has to be knotted every day, ’stead of a
+ready-made one that I can hook on to my collar-button.”
+
+At that admission, the girls laughed merrily and Mr. Fabian simply
+roared, for he understood collar-buttons and the agony Mr. Alexander
+must endure.
+
+The little man felt that he was making fine headway in his
+conversational powers, so he continued to practice the art.
+
+“But say! let me tell you-all—when Ma carted me to Noo York and made me
+take dancing lessons to get graceful, I tried it twicet—then I balked!
+‘No more of them monkey-shines for an old miner,’ says I. And I never
+did it again, did I, Dodo?”
+
+Dodo laughed and shook her head, and the others renewed their mirth. Mr.
+Alexander was now encouraged to proceed.
+
+“Ma went to a Madam Something-er-other fer to learn how to act in polite
+society and how to not do the wrong things at the right time, and vice
+versy, but she coulden get _me_ to go there! I spent that time at the
+Movies or ridin’ on the Fifth Avenoo bus, and laughin’ at folks—the way
+they rushed around like ants.
+
+“But here I am, mixin’ in as good comp’ny as I want, and it ain’t
+costin’ me a cent to sit in a little room and listen to a fat old woman
+who charges a dollar a throw.” As he concluded his speech, a group of
+people standing directly back of Mr. Fabian and the girls, joined the
+circle.
+
+Mr. Alexander instantly froze up and felt uncomfortable lest they had
+heard him speak. Then Mr. Fabian eased his mind by saying: “Now you can
+meet the Ashbys, Mr. Alexander. Miss Dodo, this is Mrs. Ashby, and Ruth,
+and Mr. Ashby. And this is a new friend, Mr. Ashby, but an old
+acquaintance of Polly and Eleanor’s from Denver—Mr. Alexander and Miss
+Dodo.”
+
+The introductions over, Mr. Ashby quickly smoothed the way for the
+nervous little man from the west; but Dodo wondered why her mother had
+the impression that these people were inferior because they were in
+business in New York. She had never met any one more refined, or who
+showed truer gentility than these people.
+
+After an exchange of words, Mr. Alexander whispered to his daughter:
+“Dodo, do you think we’d better go out to Ma? She might get huffy, you
+know, when she finds out we’ve been meetin’ all the nice people and
+leavin’ her in the cold.”
+
+“We’ll all go out, Mr. Alexander,” suggested Eleanor, seeing how much
+better it would be for the two culprits if Mrs. Alexander had to
+entertain a number of new-comers instead of her own people.
+
+They started to go on deck, but Mr. Alexander hastily surveyed himself
+in a mirror as he passed. Then he pulled at Mr. Fabian’s sleeve.
+
+“I reckon I’d better take off the ulster before the Missus sees me in
+it. She can’t bear it, ’cause she thinks it looks like a workin’-man’s
+coat.”
+
+So saying, the wrap was slipped off and Mr. Alexander straightened the
+cap on his shiny head. He brushed a speck from his pale grey spats, and
+tugged at his tie to have it correctly placed. Then he hurried after the
+others. In that time, Mr. Fabian saw how hen-pecked the poor little man
+must be, and he resolved to stand by him in his troubles. Thus Dodo won
+two allies, and her father unconsciously acquired a splendid friend for
+times of need.
+
+“Have you ever been abroad before?” asked Mr. Ashby, as Mr. Alexander
+caught up with him.
+
+“Not on your life! The States is good enough for me, but Dodo had to be
+saved, you see, and I come along.”
+
+Mr. Ashby knew nothing of Mrs. Alexander’s hopes and aspirations, and he
+was in the dark about the little man’s words.
+
+“You have a great treat awaiting you, if you have never visited the
+famous old cities of Europe, before,” added Mr. Ashby.
+
+“Most folks go over for other things than to see the fine towns,”
+remarked Mr. Alexander.
+
+“I hear the women-folk mostly go to get clothes in Paris.”
+
+Everyone laughed; then the group crossed the deck to the steamer-chair
+occupied by Mrs. Alexander. Dodo introduced her mother to the strangers;
+she smiled loftily at the Ashbys, but was very effusive over Mr. Fabian.
+So much so, that he wondered at it.
+
+But in a few moments she unconsciously showed her reason for it. “I hear
+you are going to visit at an English Peer’s, in London, Mr. Fabian.”
+
+“My wife and daughter are visiting at Sir James Osgood’s, I believe, but
+my visit there all depends on whether the Ashbys and my girls are
+included in the invitation. If they are not, of course I will have to
+decline, also.”
+
+“Oh, you wouldn’t miss such a chance, would you?” cried the surprised
+woman.
+
+“I’m missing nothing that I know of,” replied Mr. Fabian; then Polly
+came to his rescue and changed the conversation.
+
+In the next few days, Mr. Alexander and Dodo became great favorites with
+the Ashbys and Mr. Fabian, while Polly and Eleanor declared that the
+girl was splendid! She had dropped all pretence and make-up, and had
+donned the simplest gowns she had in the trunk, much to her mother’s
+disapproval, and to the girls’ smiling approval.
+
+In constant association with the quiet Polly, the well-bred Ruth Ashby,
+and the thoroughbred Eleanor, Dodo soon acquired better form in every
+way. She was quick and bright enough to recognise her shortcomings and
+eager to improve herself.
+
+The last morning of the trip, after the English shore had been sighted,
+Mrs. Alexander suddenly changed her plans about going to Havre, and
+decided to land in England when the others did. This change of plan she
+confided to no one at the time. But she awaited a chance.
+
+“Have you really decided to leave us, Mr. Fabian?” said she coyly, when
+she met that gentleman in the morning at breakfast.
+
+“Yes, we take the lighter that comes off shore at Dover, and takes on
+those who wish to land.”
+
+“Dodo tells me that you got a wireless that your wife and daughter would
+meet you at the wharf, in Dover,” continued Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“Yes, and the invitation from Sir James, includes my party, I hear, so
+it is all right. We are all going there for an informal dinner-party and
+to spend the night. Then we will hire an auto and continue on our trip
+in the morning,” explained Mr. Fabian.
+
+“Dear, dear! I am so upset,” sighed the amateur actress. “I find _my_
+car—it was shipped over before we left Noo York—was left in London
+instead of going on to France. So we have to get off when you do, and go
+to London just to get our car.”
+
+“Oh, really! I didn’t know you had sent a car across,” said Mr. Fabian.
+
+“Dear yes! You might as well, when you have one, you know. But I expect
+to buy myself a new French car whiles I am in Paris. Just for myself,
+and a friend or two, to use, you know; and that lets Pa drive his own
+touring car, ’cause he is crazy about motoring.”
+
+Mr. Alexander had not mentioned a car, nor had Dodo said anything about
+the trouble in the delivery of a car to the wrong port, so Mr. Fabian
+mistrusted the truth of the statement made by Mrs. Alexander; but he
+forbore saying anything about the matter to any of his companions.
+
+Evidently the lady’s husband and daughter had just previously been
+warned about the car, also, for they looked troubled and made no comment
+when Mrs. Alexander surprised everyone by saying: “We find we have to
+land at Dover, also, as our car went astray during shipment and we have
+to see about it in London.”
+
+“Oh, how nice! Then Dodo can remain with us a bit longer,” said Ruth,
+guilelessly.
+
+“And her mother, of course,” said Mrs. Alexander pointedly, lifting her
+shoulders as well as her eye-brows.
+
+“And her old man, too,” chuckled Mr. Alexander, causing everyone who
+heard him to laugh.
+
+His spouse sent him a most disquieting look, however, and he subsided in
+his chair. But Eleanor, who sat beside him at the table, nudged him
+encouragingly when Mrs. Alexander was not looking.
+
+So, when the lighter touched at the Dover dock, the entire party got
+off, and soon Mr. Fabian was encircled by four arms, while two heads
+were pressed close to his face. A younger woman stood a bit aside,
+smiling sympathetically at the reunion.
+
+Then she was introduced to the Americans as Angela Osgood, Nancy
+Fabian’s friend. And in turn, Mr. Fabian introduced his two protegées,
+Polly and Eleanor, and the Ashbys, and the Alexanders.
+
+When Mrs. Alexander really found herself face to face with the daughter
+of an English Baronet, she was speechless with joy. Now she could write
+home and tell everyone she ever knew about meeting Sir James Osgood’s
+daughter!
+
+But Angela never dreamed of the disturbance she had caused in the breast
+of this unusual-looking woman.
+
+“Now, how shall we dispose of all the passengers, Nancy?” laughed
+Angela, counting the heads of the party she expected to drive to the
+town house for dinner.
+
+“The car only holds seven, you see,” explained she, turning to the
+Ashbys. “I counted on Nancy’s father and two girls driving with me, and
+the three Ashbys taking the seat in the road-car where the luggage will
+be placed. The groom drives that. Or we can rearrange it any way you
+say.”
+
+Mrs. Alexander instantly pushed herself forward and said: “Oh, how very
+kind of you to include us in your party! I really can’t accept a seat in
+the car if anyone else must be crowded.”
+
+Dodo looked like a thunder-cloud and pulled at her mother’s arm, but Mr.
+Alexander spoke out bluntly.
+
+“I ain’t invited to nobody’s house, so I’m going on to London to get
+that car you told me about. Dodo can come with me.”
+
+His spouse instantly silenced him with a glowering look, and Angela
+hoped to smooth matters out by what she now said.
+
+“Mother and father will be delighted to have all of you come, and I’m
+sure they will feel _dreadfully_, if anyone is left out. We never stand
+on ceremony, you know, and this is an occasion where you all must come
+without formality.”
+
+“We’re delighted, I assure you, Miss Osgood, and I will accept for my
+family and myself. The only question now, is, how shall we manage about
+the cars. If only my seven-passenger car was here instead of in London!”
+exclaimed Mrs. Alexander, eagerly.
+
+“Why, the ladies will use this car, of course,” said Mr. Fabian, “while
+we men go in the baggage-car. You may be uncomfortably crowded, but I
+see no other way.”
+
+So Mrs. Fabian, Mrs. Ashby and Mrs. Alexander sat in the back seat while
+Polly, Eleanor, Ruth and Dodo had to crowd upon the folding seats in the
+middle of the car. Nancy sat in front and Angela drove the car. The
+groom with the baggage and the three men followed directly after in his
+car.
+
+Mrs. Alexander certainly was a general when she wanted to win a battle
+of wits, but it was a pity she had no better ambitions than the mere
+forcing a way into society and marrying her daughter to a title.
+
+As they started for London, she leaned back in the seat and said: “If
+only the company hadn’t mistaken the directions about my car. It is such
+a great roomy affair, that everyone could have traveled in it with the
+utmost comfort.”
+
+“But it wouldn’t have been here at all, for us to travel in, if they had
+sent it as you directed—to Havre, instead of London,” said Mrs. Ashby.
+
+“Oh true! But I meant—if it had been left over at Dover instead of
+going on to London,” quickly corrected the lady.
+
+The conversation drifted to other topics but was switched back again
+when Mrs. Alexander remarked: “I was just thinking how nice it would be
+for the Fabians and Ashbys to tour Great Britain first instead of
+Europe; then they could use my big car whiles Dodo and I go in my new
+runabout that I expect to buy immediately.”
+
+“Why, Ma! you know you’re talking—” began Dodo, from the seat in front
+of her mother, but Mrs. Alexander interrupted instantly.
+
+“Oh yes, deary, I know what you would say! That I must try a new car,
+first, and get acquainted with it. But I can select a make similar to
+our big one, can’t I? and that is quite familiar to me.”
+
+“Oh yes, if you want to duplicate our old car, you can do it. But you
+said you wanted an up-to-date car with all the latest equipment, this
+time, and such a car won’t seem familiar to you, be——”
+
+“Never mind, Dodo! Our friends are not interested in our old cars, or
+what we have done with them,” cut in Mrs. Alexander.
+
+So Dodo subsided for the time, while her mother continued: “So there
+will be ample room for you to tour in my large car, ladies, while Dodo
+and I use the roadster and follow you.”
+
+“We cannot say, one way or another, Mrs. Alexander, because nothing has
+been said about a change in the itinerary. It all depends upon Mr.
+Fabian and Mr. Ashby,” replied Mrs. Ashby, politely.
+
+But Mrs. Alexander was satisfied with the progress she had made by
+mentioning the tour, and so she left the rest to time.
+
+After a long drive through the highly cultivated countryside that spread
+out between Dover and London, Angela drove up in front of an imposing
+mansion on one of the avenues of England’s great city. As a uniformed
+man came down the wide marble steps to take orders from Angela, Mrs.
+Alexander sat breathless with pleasure at the success of her
+maneuvering.
+
+The baggage-car came up shortly after the ladies had alighted from the
+first automobile, and the servants carried the bags indoors, then waited
+to be directed to the proper rooms.
+
+Sir James and his wife welcomed the party of Americans, but Mrs.
+Alexander felt disappointed when she saw a plain little lady dressed in
+grey taffeta, and found Sir James to be a short fat man with a genial
+expression, but a horsy manner. The others seemed quite at home with
+these English people and all were soon exchanging opinions about the
+recent problems in politics.
+
+Not a word or look from either Sir James, or his lady, led anyone to
+think that three extra visitors were thrust upon the hospitable family,
+nor did any hint escape them that the unexpected guests were other than
+socially their equals. Mrs. Alexander was looking for some sign of this
+superiority in them because of the title, and felt most uneasy because
+she detected none of it; but finding she and her family were accepted on
+the same standard as the Fabians and Ashbys, she recovered her wonted
+habit of pushing a way to the foreground in everything.
+
+As the group separated to go to their separate suites, Sir James
+reminded them: “Quite informal dinner, you know. We are only tarrying in
+town a few days, before going on to Osgood Hall, so we make no pretence
+at dressing formally.”
+
+The Ashbys and Fabians knew this to be a courtesy extended them because
+of their lack of baggage, but Mrs. Alexander thought Sir James meant
+that their own trunks had gone to the country and so they were not able
+to dress in dinner clothes. But she determined to show how _she_ could
+dress, with her money.
+
+Before Dorothy could lock the door of her room, her mother entered and
+handed her the dress she was to wear for dinner.
+
+“Why, Ma! we were told _not_ to dress!” exclaimed she.
+
+“That’s only bluff. You put this on and show folks that we know what’s
+what, even if we haven’t a title!” declared her mother.
+
+Reluctantly Dodo took the beaded georgette evening dress and then closed
+the door after her mother’s commanding figure. As she went to the
+toilet-table she thought: “I wonder what poor Pa will have to wear
+tonight!” But she was to learn about that sooner than she thought for.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III—THE TOUR IS PLANNED
+
+
+“Ma, why did you speak of your car bein’ in London? You know durn well
+it ain’t!” exclaimed Mr. Alexander, as he soaped his head and gurgled in
+the water, then he ducked it up and down in the basin.
+
+“That’s my business! If I plan it that way to get acquainted with a lot
+of fine folks, why should you care?”
+
+“_I_ don’t care, but I diden’ know you thought these folks so fine. I
+heard you say they was only decorators,” argued her spouse.
+
+“Ebeneezer, there are times when I could just choke you—you are so
+thick!” exclaimed Mrs. Alexander, impatiently.
+
+“Mebbe I’m thick, Ma, but I can’t see how you can drive a party across
+England when your old car is on second-hand sale out in Denver!”
+
+“That proves you’re thick—if you can’t see how! I am going straight to
+a shop, in London, tomorrow, where I can _buy_ a car exactly the same as
+mine—only it will be up-to-date with self-starter and all. Then you can
+drive it back here and we will show the folks a seven-passenger car that
+we owned long ago.”
+
+As Mr. Alexander swabbed his dripping face and hair on a damask towel,
+he shook his head dubiously. “Well, these days, a hull lot of stuff
+goes, but I always said such a game as you’re playin’ was fibbin’ and
+that’s callin’ it by a polite name, too.”
+
+Mrs. Alexander humped her shoulders angrily and said: “You are the most
+aggravating man! I s’pose you’ll tell everyone we know, all about my
+plan to get a car in a hurry.”
+
+“Oh no, I won’t tell no one, ’cause I don’t want folks to believe you
+ain’t as honest as you pretend to be,” said he meekly.
+
+After that he wondered what he had said to anger his wife so that she
+would not speak to him; and when he asked her to help him with his
+collar-button, she ignored him entirely. Later, when he had trouble with
+his neck-tie and dared not ask assistance of his mate, he was amazed
+that she caught hold of the two ends and began to tie it.
+
+But she had a subtle reason for helping him. As she tied and untied it,
+she dinned into his ears all the rules and reminders he had heard often
+before—about his behavior at the table. At last, desperate with the
+nagging, he snatched the tie-ends from her hand and rushed from the
+room.
+
+“Ebeneezer! Ebeneezer—I say! come back here!” called she.
+
+But the little man fled down the stairs and dodged into the first room
+he found. It happened to be the library where Mr. Fabian was conversing
+with Sir James. Both men arose at the perturbed appearance of Mr.
+Alexander, as he ran breathlessly into the room.
+
+“Why—what has happened?” asked Sir James, fearfully.
+
+“Nothin’ much. My wife made me so nervous a-fussin’ over my manners and
+this tie, that I just had to run!” explained he.
+
+“Allow me to help you, Mr. Alexander,” said Sir James, and his voice was
+so kindly and gentle, that Mr. Alexander decided that for true democracy
+you had to meet an English baronet.
+
+As Sir James was adding the last touch to the tie, Mrs. Alexander swept
+into the room in search of her escaped husband. When she beheld him
+facing the host, who was adjusting the tie, she was speechless.
+
+Mrs. Alexander caught the reflection of herself in a long mirror
+opposite where she stood, and immediately forgot, in admiring herself,
+her concern over her husband’s shortcomings. She waved her feather fan
+to and fro slowly and seemed absorbed in the vision seen in the glass.
+
+Mr. Fabian smiled to himself, and Sir James engaged Mr. Alexander in
+conversation to make him feel more at ease. Then Dodo peeped around the
+corner of the portière, and saw her mother very much preoccupied, so she
+beckoned to Mr. Fabian without being seen by the others. He quietly
+moved over to the doorway.
+
+“Just look at me, Mr. Fabian! Ma made me dress up like a monkey, just to
+show folks that she knew what’s what!”
+
+Mr. Fabian felt sorry for Dodo, for he knew she wished to appear
+rational to the others at the dinner-party. So he hinted: “It is still
+very early for the others to appear. You’d have time to change your
+mind, Dodo.”
+
+They both laughed at that, and the girl replied: “I will! I’ll run up
+and change my dress, at the same time.”
+
+“Perhaps you’ll feel better in a simple little silk,” suggested he.
+
+Dodo nodded understandingly and disappeared. Just as Mr. Fabian turned
+to walk back to the fireplace, Mrs. Alexander finished the contemplation
+of her satisfying appearance—satisfying to herself.
+
+Sir James immediately came over and took such a deep interest in his
+guest that she had no opportunity, thereafter, to harass her poor little
+husband. The others came in, one by one, and finally, Dodo reappeared in
+a modest pale-blue taffeta silk.
+
+Mrs. Alexander gasped at what she considered rank insubordination, but
+Lady Osgood managed to engage so much of her attention that Dodo escaped
+further persecution that night.
+
+Just as the butler threw open the doors of the dining-room to announce
+dinner, Mrs. Alexander noticed her husband’s lack of gems which she had
+insisted upon his wearing that night.
+
+“Ebeneezer! What did you do with those shirt-studs and the scarf-pin you
+were told to wear tonight? They are diamonds of the purest quality, and
+that stud weighs, at _least_, four carats!”
+
+Even the butler looked shocked at the guest’s lack of tact, and everyone
+wondered what little Mr. Alexander would say. It was a tense moment for
+all.
+
+“Well, this time I speak out even if I lose my head for it!” retorted
+the badgered man, in a voice that plainly signified he expected to be
+tortured forever afterwards. “I saw that Mr. Fabian and Sir James diden’
+have no jooels of any kind shinin’ around ’em, and I am as good as them,
+any day. Why should I look like pawn-shop, when I don’t feel that way!”
+
+It was hard work for the grown-ups to keep a straight face, but Dodo set
+the younger members the example of laughing outright. In a moment, the
+young folks were all enjoying the blunt repartee.
+
+“Oh, Pa!” sighed Dodo, finally. “What would our life be without you to
+entertain us!”
+
+“Miss Dodo is right, there, Mr. Alexander. You certainly are a valuable
+member to any party on a pleasure trip,” added Mr. Ashby. And Mrs.
+Alexander smirked and nodded her head approvingly, so that everyone
+breathed easier, knowing a catastrophe had been averted for the little
+man.
+
+Sir James now turned the conversation into a different channel. As they
+enjoyed the excellent dinner, he told about the new car he had presented
+to his son Jimmy, on his twenty-first birthday, two weeks previous.
+
+“Oh, have you a grown-up son?” asked Mrs. Alexander, eagerly.
+
+“Yes indeed! And a very fine young man we think him, too,” returned Lady
+Osgood.
+
+“He is not at home, is he?” asked Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“He is dining with his latest love, this evening,” laughed Angela. “He
+has a new one every other week, but this one has lasted since Nancy
+refused him some time ago.”
+
+“Refused him! Nancy Fabian refused Sir James’s son,” gasped the
+unbelieving hunter for a title.
+
+The girls laughed, and Nancy shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. Mrs.
+Alexander stared from her to each one about the table, as if the truth
+of the statement would not sink into her mind.
+
+Again Sir James entered the breach and bridged over the yawning chasm in
+the conversation. “I gave Jimmy the car—which is a fine seven-passenger
+affair—with the understanding that he was to take Angela and the
+Fabians on a summer tour through England, but he spoiled all that by
+falling madly in love with Nancy and then being refused. Of course, he
+had no desire after that, to join any party. We are giving him ample
+opportunity, now, to recover from his broken heart. Then he and his car
+will be ours, again.”
+
+Jimmy’s family did not express much concern over his damaged heart, and
+the guests considered that pity or sympathy for him would be useless.
+However, Mrs. Alexander began to feel an intense interest in the absent
+heir and, as usual, she suggested a plan which others would have weighed
+carefully before mentioning.
+
+“If your son has a seven-passenger car and I have mine, wouldn’t it be
+just _too_ lovely for anything, if we took all this party on the tour of
+England. He can drive his motor, and Pa can drive mine.”
+
+Her very audacity caused sudden silence with everyone, although the
+younger members of the party felt that the plan would be perfectly
+wonderful if it could be carried out. Sir James finally answered.
+
+“If Jimmy could be induced to join such a party, it certainly would be
+fine for all. But Lady Osgood and myself have to go down to our country
+house, in a few days, as there are so many things an owner of a large
+estate has to take charge of, in summer.”
+
+“Perhaps Miss Angela will join us, and we can divide the party
+accordingly,” persisted Mrs. Alexander, eagerly.
+
+“Oh yes, I’d love to be one of the touring party,” said Angela. “But
+what do the others say about this idea?”
+
+“If we could make the trip and get me back to London in two weeks’ time,
+so I can keep the appointments with several men I agreed to see, I’d
+like it immensely,” said Mr. Ashby.
+
+“As for us—we planned to tour England, anyway, and traveling with a
+party of friends will make it all the pleasanter,” added Mr. Fabian.
+
+“Oh, how grand! Then it is all settled, isn’t it?” cried Mrs. Alexander,
+clasping her be-ringed hands estatically.
+
+“That depends on Jimmy,” remarked Angela.
+
+“Jimmy will agree to do anything, the moment he meets this new bevy of
+pretty girls,” laughed Sir James.
+
+“You don’t seem to worry much over his susceptible heart,” ventured Mr.
+Fabian.
+
+“No, because ‘there is safety in numbers,’ you know,” said Lady Osgood.
+“And Jimmy falls out of love quite as safely as he falls in.”
+
+Mrs. Alexander listened intently whenever anyone spoke of the heir, and
+she made up her mind that that son must fall in love with Dodo if she
+had to take him by the neck and shake him into it. And once he was in
+love, she would see that Dodo accepted him and gave him no excuse to
+fall out again.
+
+“What do you think of this touring plan, Angie?” asked Nancy Fabian of
+her friend Angela.
+
+“Why I like it, Nan; don’t you think it will be heaps of fun? Much nicer
+than doing as we first planned, you know. With a large party of young
+folks there is always more sport.”
+
+“Yes, I agree with you.” Then Nancy turned to her father: “Have we
+arranged about the expenses of the trip? Of course the guests will want
+to entertain the owners of the two cars.”
+
+“Oh decidedly!” agreed Mr. Fabian.
+
+“Indeed not!” objected Mrs. Alexander. “What do you think of me, with
+all my money, letting others pay any of the bills?”
+
+This shocked her hearers and she actually realized that she had
+committed a social error that time. So she hoped for some opening by
+which she could mend matters. Sir James gave it to her.
+
+“It would seem better, if financial arrangements were left to the men,
+to settle. Ladies are seldom experienced enough to assume such
+responsibilities. So, if all agree, the cost and payment of bills will
+be attended to by the four gentlemen.”
+
+That smoothed matters out agreeably for the time being, and the subject
+of the itinerary was taken up and discussed. Dinner passed with no other
+breach of etiquette by the Alexanders, and they all went to the
+drawing-room to complete the plans for the trip.
+
+Dodo and her father were unusually quiet that evening, but Mrs.
+Alexander seemed the more pleased at it. In fact, she did so much
+talking about the car and how they all loved to drive it, that Dodo
+finally silenced her with a strange remark.
+
+“Ma, suppose you wait until you find whether your car can be driven this
+summer. It may have disappeared from the garage in London, where you
+_say_ it is waiting.”
+
+Mrs. Alexander then remembered a very grave situation. “Did anyone
+remember that there would be thirteen in this party? Someone must drop
+out, or we’ll have to add an extra passenger.”
+
+The others laughed, believing she was joking, and Sir James said: “Oh,
+that sort of superstition never worries one, these days.”
+
+“Do you mean to say, you wouldn’t hesitate to do anything when there
+were thirteen in it?” wondered Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“Of course not! Thirteen really ought to be a lucky number because it is
+made up of one and three—both very lucky numerals,” returned Sir James.
+“It is only the fear of a thing that gives it any power. And the sooner
+you overcome the fear of thirteen being unlucky, it turns out to be
+favorable for you.”
+
+As long as a wise man like Sir James said so, Mrs. Alexander thought it
+must be so, and nothing more was said about the thirteen in the party.
+
+Jimmy had not come in that night when the guests said good-night to
+their host and hostess and retired. But what Sir James and his wife said
+to him when he did let himself in in the ‘wee sma hours’ about the bevy
+of very wealthy girls who were waiting for him to choose a wife from,
+had due effect on the young man.
+
+“And remember, Jimmy,” added his sister Angela. “These four girls have
+money by the bag! Nancy Fabian is a dandy girl, but she hasn’t a cent to
+bless her husband with.”
+
+In the morning, when Mr. and Mrs. Alexander appeared in street costumes
+ready to go to the garage where they believed their automobile would be
+awaiting them, Jimmy said he would go with them.
+
+“Oh dear no! I couldn’t think of such a thing,” declared Mrs. Alexander,
+anxiously, “Why, I am not even taking Dodo. But leaving her here for you
+to entertain.”
+
+Jimmy grinned and thought to himself: “If Dodo is anything like her
+parents she’ll entertain _me_, not _me her_.” But he said aloud: “I
+really feel that your husband and I ought to get the car out, Mrs.
+Alexander, and spare you that trouble.”
+
+“No trouble whatever, my dear boy, as I propose looking at a new
+roadster for myself, at the same time,” said the lady.
+
+To escape further explanations, she managed to get her husband out of
+the house before the others came down to the morning meal.
+
+As one girl after another appeared and was introduced to Jimmy, he
+thought: “Angie was right! here is as delightful a bouquet of lovely
+buds as I ever saw.”
+
+And Nancy Fabian saw, to her satisfaction, that he had quite forgotten
+his broken heart that was caused by her refusal. Angela was nineteen in
+years, but older in experience than Jimmy who was twenty-one. She
+generally advised her brother in family problems that he would have
+shirked, had it not been for his sister.
+
+With all the display of wealth and the semblance of riches that had to
+be carried on by Sir James in order to maintain his new position, the
+Osgood estate was in sore need of help. The loss of much money invested
+in war speculations and the heavy taxes imposed since the war, had
+impoverished his estate. But the Osgoods bravely kept up appearances
+while their feet were marking time on a tread-mill that Jimmy could, and
+would have to, work for them by marrying money.
+
+So it was with a sense of tremendous relief that both Sir James and his
+wife saw such pretty American girls descend upon them, that day, and the
+fact that each girl had a fortune coming to her, was no obstacle in the
+way of their welcome of them.
+
+Because of this fact, and also because Mrs. Alexander plainly showed her
+hand to the Englishman, he overcame many scruples to herself and
+seconded her plan of the touring party. To Angela, he confided the hope
+that she would return home with Jimmy securely engaged to one of the
+rich girls—for Jimmy had to obey his family in this matter.
+
+The first girl Jimmy met that morning was Polly, who was always an early
+riser. She came downstairs in a slow dignified way, and Angela
+introduced her to Jimmy, who was standing in the library. He thought he
+had never seen such wonderful eyes, and such a mass of bronze-glinting
+hair. He attended her to the breakfast room and watched every motion and
+manner of her perfectly poised form.
+
+Before he could quite lose himself in her charm, however, Eleanor
+bounced into the room. Here was a bright merry girl, full of mischief,
+and dearly delighting to flirt and tease anyone who would give her the
+opportunity.
+
+Eleanor was attractive and pretty in a different way from Polly. And now
+Jimmy found it hard to choose which of the two girls he preferred. Then
+before he could decide, Dodo came in.
+
+Dodo was domineering in her grand beauty. She was so frank and sincere,
+too, that everyone liked her, but Jimmy felt afraid of her. The fact
+that she was the richest one of the girls, also caused him to fear to
+try his luck with her.
+
+While he was considering all these facts, sweet pretty Ruth came in.
+Here was a type Jimmy fully understood. She was pensive and alluring,
+and her round baby-blue eyes appealed to his gallant heart. Her wavy
+chestnut hair and her dainty figure would look well when she received
+with Lady Osgood, thought he. And Ruth also had a fortune awaiting her
+because she was an only child. So he finally chose Ruth for his
+bride-to-be. And straightway he turned all his attention to her.
+
+The young folks thoroughly enjoyed that morning while growing better
+acquainted with each other; and by noon, when the purr of an engine came
+to them from the driveway, they rushed to the front windows and crowded
+their pretty heads together, in order to see who was stopping at the
+house in this unusual season for London.
+
+“My goodness! if it isn’t Ma in a splendiferous car!” exclaimed Dodo,
+laughing uncertainly at the sight.
+
+Little Mr. Alexander sat behind the wheel, perfectly happy, there, with
+a black pipe between his lips. He was smoking like a factory chimney and
+his wife was not saying a word in protest. She sat beside him, trying to
+impress upon his mind some new rule or remembrance of etiquette that he
+had ignored.
+
+“Now don’t forget, Eben,” she was heard to say. “We had it all done over
+for this very tour!”
+
+And her husband grinned self-complacently as he looked at her, but he
+never admitted that she had any further authority to command him. He
+actually seemed to have gained some power over his wife that she dared
+not question.
+
+The groom ran down the stone steps of the house and held open the door
+of the automobile while the lady got out, then Mr. Alexander locked the
+engine and followed her.
+
+“No use talking, Ma is a wizard when she makes up her mind to do a
+thing,” said Dodo to her companions. “There’s a car, and there’s Pa
+driving it, so that shows it is just like our old one, or he couldn’t
+handle it so cleverly.”
+
+The excitement caused by the appearance of the car that was to carry
+half of the party on the proposed tour, was the only thing that saved
+the Alexanders from discovery of the little plot. But Angela had taken
+notice of Dodo’s surprise and unconscious admission, and she soon
+ferreted out the fact that the Alexanders purchased the handsome large
+touring car that very morning. That it was up-to-date and of a sporty
+appearance, went without saying, for Mrs. Alexander would see to that,
+all right. And the fact that a fabulous price was paid for the new car
+solved the discovery made by Angela, for the price paid proved, to her
+satisfaction, that the Alexander fortune could easily stand a check like
+the one paid to the motor company.
+
+At luncheon that day, Mrs. Alexander led the conversation without
+interruption. Sir James had gathered from his daughter that the car was
+a recent purchase, and he could approximate the sum paid for it. Now he
+felt relieved to find this American lady so willing to be the victim of
+his carefully-laid plans.
+
+“I saw just the kind of roadster I want,” said she, “but I guess I won’t
+buy it until we get back from the tour. Ebeneezer says it will keep a
+couple of weeks, and I agreed with him. We’ll go on with the old car,
+now, and I’ll buy the new one, for myself, when we return.”
+
+Sir James and Angela exchanged glances when they heard this woman speak
+of buying high-priced cars as glibly as she would mention buying a new
+glove.
+
+“Well, I won a point out of this business, too,” chuckled Mr. Alexander.
+Everyone paid strict attention to what he was about to say, for he
+generally caused a general laugh with his remarks; and everyone liked
+him so genuinely that they would have listened eagerly whether he was
+amusing or contrariwise.
+
+“Ebeneezer, remember what I told you just before we came in!” warned his
+wife.
+
+“Yeh, but I’m not alone with you now, Maggie,” said he.
+
+“_Please_ don’t call me ‘Maggie,’ Eben. You know my name is ‘Margaret’,”
+cried Mrs. Alexander, beside herself at her husband’s shortcomings.
+
+“Don’t worry, Maggie. Us folks know it is a pet name,” chuckled the
+little man. “But what I was goin’ to say, is: I won a hard fight whiles
+I was out this mornin’ with my wife. She’s promised to let me smoke my
+old pipe if I agree to drive the car just like she wants.”
+
+His happy laugh was echoed by his friends, especially by the men who
+felt in sympathy with him. They say that a woman can never understand,
+because she cannot appreciate, the solace of an old pipe.
+
+Then the interesting part of the programme of the tour began—the
+arrangement of the members of the party for the two cars.
+
+“I say, let the girls go in my car, Pater, and let Mr. Alexander drive
+the adults,” suggested Jimmy, eagerly.
+
+“Yes, that sounds very good, if the youngsters will agree to follow our
+advice carefully, and behave as if a chaperone was in the car with
+them,” added Sir James.
+
+“Oh, so many chaperones in the second car will suffice,” laughed Nancy.
+
+“You arrange matters so independently in America, that I suppose it will
+be all right, from your point of view,” admitted Lady Osgood, glancing
+at Angela for her opinion.
+
+“Yes, and one young man with so _many_ girls, must behave himself, you
+know. So everyone will see it is quite proper for us to travel without
+an older woman in the car.”
+
+All this fuss about “Mrs. Grundy” made Dodo laugh, and she freely
+confessed how silly it all really was to a sensible girl.
+
+The plans were perfected that they were to start on the tour early the
+following morning, driving southward from London and following the coast
+as far as Brighton. On the northward route they would travel as far as
+Holyhead and then cross to Ireland; then tour to the farthest northerly
+point on the Irish coast and cross over again to Scotland. And lastly,
+follow the automobile route to Edinburgh and southward again to London.
+
+They figured that two weeks ought to be sufficient for this trip, but a
+few days more would not really make much difference, as Mr. Ashby could
+leave them at any time, if necessary, and go on to London by train.
+
+That afternoon they used the two cars to drive about the city of London
+and visit the parks, and other famous sights. The exterior of The Tower
+of London, Nelson’s Monument in Trafalgar Square, the Houses of
+Parliament, the Museums and Art Galleries, and other noted places were
+seen on this drive, but the visiting of these individual buildings and
+their contents, was left until the return from the trip.
+
+That night, Jimmy was carefully instructed as to his cue and part in
+this trip. Before he returned, he was to have proposed and been accepted
+by one of the rich girls he would have to choose from on the drive.
+There was not much difference between them, said his parents, but of the
+four girls, it was probable that Dodo had the most money and could be
+more agreeably handled, as her parents would prove to be easily
+influenced by the title.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV—THE TOUR OF GREAT BRITAIN
+
+
+Early the following morning, the two large cars were in front of Osgood
+House, ready for the start. Jimmy managed to get Ruth to occupy the
+front seat beside him, as he preferred her company to that of the other
+girls. His car was to lead the way, because he knew the roads quite
+well; the second car would follow with Mr. Alexander driving it.
+
+They drove through the suburbs of London to Guildford, and then
+southward. As they went, the English Channel could be glimpsed from the
+knolls, every now and then, with the lovely rolling country on all sides
+except in front.
+
+“Jimmy,” called Mr. Fabian at one of the stops made to allow the girls
+to admire the view, “if it will not take us too far out of the way, I’d
+like to visit Hastings where the historical ruins can be seen. My
+students will there see several unique lines of architecture that can
+never be found elsewhere in these modern days.”
+
+“All right, Prof.; and after that I can take you to see Pevensky Castle,
+another historic ruin,” returned Jimmy.
+
+So they turned off, just before coming to Brighton, and visited the
+ruins of the castle said to have been built by William the Conqueror.
+Cameras were brought forth and pictures taken of the place, and then
+they all climbed back into the automobiles.
+
+“Now for Pevensky Castle, near which William is said to have landed in
+1066,” announced Jimmy, starting his car.
+
+Fortunately, this day happened to be one of the visiting days at the old
+ruins, and they had no trouble in securing an entrance. Mr. Fabian and
+his interested friends found much to rejoice their hearts, in this old
+place; but Jimmy had persuaded Ruth to remain in the car with him, so
+that he could have her companionship to himself.
+
+As Mrs. Alexander was the last adult to leave her new car, she saw Jimmy
+hold to Ruth’s hand and beg her to stay with him. This was contrary to
+her scheme of things, but she had to follow the rest of the party at the
+time. While she went, she planned how to get back immediately and
+frustrate any tête-à-tête of Jimmy’s, unless Dodo was the girl.
+
+Mr. Alexander had settled himself down in his car for a nice little
+smoke with his pipe, as per agreement with his spouse, so he was not
+interested in the lover-like scene Jimmy was acting in the other car.
+But all this was changed when Mrs. Alexander suddenly returned from the
+ruins, and joined the two young people in Jimmy’s car.
+
+“It’s so very tiresome to climb over tumbled down walls and try to take
+an interest in mouldy interiors,” sighed she, seating herself on the
+running-board of Jimmy’s car.
+
+That ended Jimmy’s dreams of love for the time being, but in his heart
+the youthful admirer heartily cursed Dodo’s mother. She sat
+unconcernedly dressing her face with powder and rouge, then she lined up
+her eye-brows, and finally touched up her lips with the red stick. When
+the toilet outfit was put away in her bag, she sat waiting for the
+others to reappear from the castle, feeling that she had done her duty
+by her family.
+
+At Chichester, the next stopping place on the route, Mr. Fabian led his
+friends to the old cathedral; as before, Jimmy had Ruth wait with him
+while the others went to inspect the old place. This time, Mrs.
+Alexander made no pretence of leaving, but remained on guard beside the
+young people. Jimmy gritted his teeth in baffled rage, but he could say
+nothing to the wily chaperone.
+
+After the tourists got back in the motor-cars, Portsmouth, Porchester,
+Southampton and Christ Church were reeled off speedily. At Christ Church
+they stopped long enough to see the carved Gothic door at the north
+entrance, and the Norman architecture of the interior of the Priory—a
+famous place for lovers of the antique and ancient.
+
+Ruth jumped out and went with her friends when they visited the Priory,
+and Jimmy had to console himself with a cigarette. Mrs. Alexander
+endeavored to enter into conversation with him, but he was too surly for
+anything.
+
+That evening they reached Exeter, and stopped for the night at the New
+London Inn, a veritable paradise for the decorators of the party. Its
+public-room and bed-rooms were furnished with genuine old mahogany
+pieces centuries old. Settles, cupboards, and refectory tables stood in
+the main room downstairs, while old Sheraton tables, Chippendale chairs,
+ancient, carved four-posters, and highboys or lowboys, furnished the
+guest-chambers.
+
+“Nolla, did you ever see so many lovely old things!” exclaimed Polly, as
+they admired one thing after another.
+
+“I wish we could steal some of them,” ventured Eleanor, laughingly.
+
+“Maybe the owner will sell some,” suggested Polly.
+
+But Mr. Fabian learned later, that the inn-keeper was as great an
+enthusiast and collector of antiques as the Americans, and would not
+part for love or money, with any piece in his collection.
+
+In the morning Mr. Fabian escorted his friends to the cathedral of
+Exeter, explaining everything worth while, as he went.
+
+Jimmy had ascertained, the night previous, that Ruth purposed going with
+her friends, so he refused to get up in the morning, sending down word
+instead, that he felt bad. He hoped this might induce Ruth to remain and
+comfort him, but he learned later that she had gone gayly with the
+others, when they started out for the old edifice.
+
+Shortly after the party left, a knock came upon Jimmy’s door and he
+gruffly called out: “Come in!”
+
+Mrs. Alexander tip-toed in and immediately began to condole with him.
+“Poor Jimmy! I feel so concerned over you. Just let me mother you, if
+you are ill!”
+
+Jimmy growled: “I’m not ill—just sleepy!”
+
+“All the same, you dear boy, something must be troubling you to make you
+feel so ill-natured,” said she, pointedly.
+
+“I should think it would!” snapped he, the patch-work quilt drawn up
+close about his chin so that only his face showed.
+
+“Then do tell me if I can help in any way. My purse and heart are both
+wide open for you to help yourself, whenever you like.”
+
+Jimmy was young, and had not yet realized that independence was a great
+privilege. But he had learned that poverty was not the virtue people
+called it. It meant doing without pleasant things, and constantly
+sacrificing what seemed most desirable. He knew Mrs. Alexander would buy
+her way into his good graces if she could, and he was just angry enough,
+and sulky at fate, to tempt him to take advantage of her offer. Even
+though he might regret it shortly after.
+
+“Well, to confess—as I would to my own mother—I’m broke! And it’s no
+pleasant state of affairs on a long trip like this one, with a lot of
+pretty girls wanting to be treated to candy, and other things,” growled
+Jimmy.
+
+“Poor dear boy!” sighed Mrs. Alexander, seating herself on the edge of
+the great antique bed, and patting his head. “Don’t I understand? Now
+let me be your other mother, for a while, and give you a little spending
+money. When it is gone, just wink at me and I will know you need more.
+If there were a _number_ of young men to assume the expenses of treating
+the crowd of girls with you, I wouldn’t think of suggesting this. But I
+remember that you are but one with a galaxy of beauties who look for
+entertainment from you.”
+
+Thus Mrs. Alexander cleverly managed to induce Jimmy to believe he was
+justified in taking her money, and as she got up to go out, she said:
+“I’ll leave a little roll on the dresser. If you feel able to get up and
+come out, you will see that you will feel better for the effort and the
+air.”
+
+So saying, she left a packet under the military brushes on the dresser
+and, smiling reassuringly at the youth, went out. But she did not leave
+the closed door at once; she waited, just outside, until she heard him
+spring from the bed and rush over to the place where the money had been
+left. Then she nodded her head satisfactorily, and crept downstairs.
+
+Jimmy counted out the notes left for him, and gasped. He hadn’t seen so
+much money at one time, since the war began! And he felt a sense of
+gratitude, then repulsion, to the ingratiating person who thus paid him
+for his good-will.
+
+Mr. Fabian and his party were examining the old cathedral, with its two
+Norman towers and the western front rich with carvings, without a
+thought of the two they had left at the Inn. Having completed the visit
+to the edifice, they all returned to see the old inn known as “Moll’s
+Coffee-house.”
+
+“It was at this famous place that many of England’s noted people used to
+gather,” said Mr. Fabian, as they crossed the green. “Sir Walter Raleigh
+was a frequent visitor here, as well as many historical men.”
+
+As they came to the place, they found Mrs. Alexander and Jimmy seated on
+a worm-eaten bench, chatting pleasantly about the ancient room they were
+in. But no one knew that the conversation had been suddenly switched
+from a personal topic, the moment the sight-seers appeared to interrupt
+the tête-à-tête.
+
+Mrs. Alexander got up and crossed the room to meet the other members in
+the party, saying as she came: “I hear how folks used to come here and
+drink coffee—and a record is kept of who they were. It must be nice to
+have folks remember you after you are gone. I wish someone would say,
+years after I am dead, ‘Mrs. Alexander was in this house, once’.”
+
+“A lot of good that would do you, then!” laughed Dodo.
+
+“I was just telling Jimmy that it would be a lot of satisfaction to us
+all if he became famous and this trip of ours was spoken of in years to
+come. He’s got a title in the family, you know, and the English think so
+much of that! The inn-keeper across the green might be glad to remember
+how Sir Jimmy stopped here when he toured England with his friends from
+America.”
+
+Everyone laughed at the silly words but Mrs. Alexander was really in
+earnest. Her imagination had jumped many of the obstacles placed in her
+way, and she saw herself as Jimmy’s mother-in-law and revered as such by
+the English public.
+
+During their tête-à-tête at Old Moll’s Coffee-house, she had impressed
+it upon Jimmy’s mind, that not a soul was to know about the money. And
+she extracted a promise that he would call upon her for more if he
+needed it. Feeling like a cad, still he promised, for he was in dire
+need of money to be able to appear like a liberal host.
+
+“Well, Jimmy—are you ready to start along the road?” asked Angela,
+suspicious of this sudden change of front in Jimmy for the obnoxious
+rich woman.
+
+“Yes, if Mrs. Alex and everyone else is,” agreed he.
+
+“Mrs. Alex?” queried his sister, pointedly.
+
+“Oh yes, folks! Dodo’s mother says ‘Alexander’ is such a lot to say,
+that she prefers us to cut it to Mrs. Alex. Every one else has
+nicknames, so why not nick Alexander?” said Jimmy.
+
+The others laughed, and Mr. Alexander said quaintly: “I always liked
+that name Alexander ’cause it made me feel sort of worth while. I might
+be no account in looks, but ‘Alexander’ gives me back-bone, ’cause I
+only have to remember ‘Alexander the Great’!”
+
+His friends laughed heartily and Mr. Fabian said: “What’s in a name,
+when you yourself are such a good friend?”
+
+“Mebbe so, but all the same, I’ll miss that name. ‘Alex’ looks too much
+like a tight fit for my size. But I s’pose it’s got to be as the missus
+says!”
+
+Now the cars sped through the charming country of rural England, with
+its ever-changing scenes, than which there is nothing more beautiful and
+peaceful. Cattle browsed upon the hillocks, tiny hamlets were spotlessly
+neat and orderly, the roads were edged with trimmed hedges, and even in
+the woods, where wild-plants grew, there was no débris to be found. It
+was all a picture of neatness.
+
+On this drive, the girls were made happy by being able to buy several
+pieces of old Wedgwood from the country people. Polly also secured a
+chubby little bowl with wonderful medallions upon its sides, and Eleanor
+found a “salt-glaze” pitcher.
+
+“I believe lots of the people in the country, here, will gladly sell odd
+bits if we only have time to stop and bargain,” said Polly, hugging her
+bowl.
+
+“And lots of them will swear their furniture is genuine antique even if
+they bought it a year ago from an installment firm,” laughed Jimmy.
+
+“Oh, they wouldn’t do that!” gasped Polly.
+
+“Wouldn’t they! Just try it, and see how they rook your pocket-book,”
+retorted Jimmy.
+
+“Why James Osgood! Where ever did you learn such words—‘rook’ and the
+like?” gasped his sister.
+
+“Oh, I’m going to be a thorough American, now,” laughed Jimmy,
+recklessly. “Mrs. Alex has agreed to take me West with her on her
+return, and let me run a ranch in Colorado.”
+
+“What will mother say to that?” wailed Angela, as this was not what she
+had hoped for.
+
+“Don’t worry, Angela dear,” quickly said Mrs. Alexander, soothingly.
+“Jimmy is only joking. I told him about our ranches but I have no idea
+of taking him away from England.” Neither had she.
+
+At Glastonbury the tourists stopped to see the “Inne of ye Pilgrims”
+which proved to be very old and most interesting. Here King Henry the
+VIII and Abbot Whiting’s rooms are maintained with the old furnishings
+as in that long-past day.
+
+Pictures were taken of the quaint Gothic carving on the front of the
+building, and then Mr. Fabian led them to inspect the ruined abbey which
+King Arthur favored above all other spots.
+
+As the cars sped over the good hard roads, past little cottages with the
+most attractive thatched-roofs whose dormer windows were set deep back
+in the thatch, the tourists were delighted.
+
+“Such lovely little places,” sighed Ruth, as she admired the rose-vines
+climbing high upon the roof of a place.
+
+“Just big enough for two!” whispered Jimmy, for his “heart’s desire” was
+beside him on the front seat, once more.
+
+“I wonder why American architects do not copy these lovely thatched
+roofs for us, more generally,” wondered Polly.
+
+“Our climate would not permit them,” explained Mr. Fabian. “In England,
+the damp warm climate seldom changes to bitter cold, and the inmates of
+these cottages live in comparative comfort in the winter. In the States,
+they’d be frozen out in no time.”
+
+Bath was the next stop, and Mr. Fabian sought out the famous Abbey, at
+once. But Ruth had come under the spell of Jimmy’s ardor again, and
+remained with him when the others walked away. Mrs. Alexander sensed the
+plot and also remained behind. But Mr. Alexander called to her when she
+would have joined the two young ones.
+
+“See here—don’t you go interferin’ there. If them two want to keep
+comp’ny why should you care?” whispered he.
+
+“They won’t, that’s all. That young man is for Dodo!”
+
+“Huh! Is that so? Well, don’t you think _I_ got something to say in that
+case? Dodo takes who she wants, and no one else!”
+
+“Don’t say a word! All you’ve got to do is to pay the bills! I’m doing
+this match-making and you needn’t help!” snapped his wife.
+
+As she walked away, the little man nodded his head briskly and muttered:
+“We’ll see! We’ll see, missus!”
+
+Mrs. Alexander found she could not beguile the two young folks into
+doing anything that included her, so she went towards the Abbey to meet
+Dodo upon her return. When they all came out, Dodo was with Polly and
+Eleanor, but her mother drew her away to one side and had her say.
+
+“What do you s’pose I brought you over here for, Dodo? Not to gaze at
+tumbled down churches or to go nosing about musty old places where queer
+things are stuck up for folks to admire. No sir! I brought you here to
+find a peer, and now, with the one all ready-made and at hand, you leave
+him to Ruth Ashby—a girl not half as good-looking, or rich, as you!”
+
+“See here, Ma,” retorted Dodo angrily; “I told you, before, that I
+didn’t want to marry anyone. Now that I’ve met Polly and Eleanor, and I
+know how fine a career will be, I am going to go in business, too.”
+
+“Not if I know it! And your Pa worth a million dollars!” exclaimed the
+irate woman.
+
+“Polly and Eleanor are worth a lot of money, too, but that makes work
+all the pleasanter. You don’t have to worry about bread and butter; and
+you can travel, or do all the things necessary to perfect yourself in
+your profession,” explained Dodo.
+
+At that, the mother threw up her hands despairingly, and wailed: “To
+think I should live to see this day! An only child turning against her
+fond mother!”
+
+“Pooh! You’re angry because I won’t toddle about and do exactly as you
+say about Jimmy and his title,” Dodo said, scornfully.
+
+“But he loves you, Dodo, and you are breaking his heart.”
+
+Dodo laughed. “He acts like it, doesn’t he? Now if you go on this way,
+Ma, I’ll run away and go back to the States. Once I am in New York, I’ll
+stay there and earn my own living.”
+
+That silenced her mother. “Oh, Dodo! I never meant you to feel like
+that. I’ll never mention Jimmy again, if you’ll promise me you won’t
+speak of business in front of anyone else?”
+
+“I’ll only promise to do what any sensible girl would do under the same
+circumstances, so there!” agreed Dodo. And her mother had to be content
+with that crumb of comfort.
+
+After a good dinner at Bristol, Mr. Fabian sat poring over a road-map,
+deciding where next to go. While the elders in the party listened to
+him, the young folks followed Jimmy’s beckoning hand and crept away.
+They all jumped into the car and he drove off to celebrate the runaway.
+
+That evening Jimmy spent money lavishly, and Angela’s suspicions were
+convinced: he had borrowed or taken it from Mrs. Alexander at one of
+their tête-à-têtes. But the girl said nothing; she was sorry for herself
+and James, and felt that these despicable rich westerners could easily
+part with some of their wealth.
+
+It was past midnight when the merry party returned to the hotel, where
+mothers sat up to scold their daughters for such an escapade. Youth
+laughed at all such corrections, however, and then ran off to bed.
+
+In the morning, no young member of the party was willing to get up and
+start on the road. Hence it was quite late when they got into the cars
+preparatory to touring again. Just as the signal was given for Jimmy to
+lead off, an old man ran up, wildly gesticulating.
+
+“E’en hear’n say you folks like odd bits of old stuff. Coom with me and
+see my shaup daown in the lane.”
+
+Mr. Fabian conversed with the old man for a few moments, and then asked
+the others if they cared to stop at the shop as they drove past.
+Everyone agreed, and the old man was asked to step up on the car and
+direct them where to go.
+
+Finally they drew up before a place in the outskirts of Bristol—a
+veritable picture of a place. The one-story structure had its walls
+panelled in sections and the plaster of these sections was white-washed.
+The usual thatched roof and dormer windows topped the building, but the
+roses rambled so riotously up over the thatch, and greenish moss grew in
+spots, that the old place had a beautiful appearance.
+
+Mr. Maxton rubbed his hands in delight, as he stood by and heard the
+cries of admiration from his visitors. He loved the old place and took a
+great pride in keeping it looking well.
+
+Then they went indoors, leaving Jimmy and Mr. Alexander in the cars. The
+front room was crowded full of old china, lamps, silver and other
+curios, but Mr. Maxton led them directly to the rear room where the
+furniture was kept.
+
+“Here be a rale Windsor chair you’ll like,” said he, moving forward a
+piece of furniture.
+
+“My, Fabian! It must date back as early as 1690 to 1700,” whispered Mr.
+Ashby, as he examined the crown center of the flat head-rest that
+finished the comb-top at the back.
+
+“It has the twisted upright rails at the back, and the turned rungs that
+go with that period,” admitted Mr. Fabian, down upon his knees to
+examine the chair.
+
+“Girls, see that seat—scooped out to fit the body, but it is worn thin
+with age along its front edge; and even the arms and legs are splintered
+down from centuries of hard usage,” remarked Mr. Ashby.
+
+While the two men and the dealer were bargaining over the chair, Mrs.
+Alexander wandered back to the front room. There she found Ruth upon her
+knees examining a wonderful, old carved chest.
+
+“Isn’t this a darling, Mrs. Alex?” exclaimed the girl.
+
+“What is it?” asked the woman, hardly interested.
+
+“Why, it’s a fine old wedding-chest with exquisite panels on its front
+and sides. The carving, alone, is unusual.”
+
+“A wedding chest, eh. What would you use it for?” asked Mrs. Alexander,
+taking a deeper interest in the article since the girl explained what
+the object was.
+
+“Why, any girl would be glad to start a hope-chest with this,” laughed
+Ruth. “I’m going to ask Daddy to buy it for me, if it isn’t too costly.”
+
+Mrs. Alexander’s fears took fire at that suggestive word, “hope-chest,”
+from Ruth, and she turned instantly to rejoin the dealer in the back
+room. He had just finished writing the directions for the shipping of
+the chair he had sold, when she hurried across the room.
+
+“Mr. Maxton, you have a carved chest in the front room. I want to buy
+it—how much is it?” As she spoke, Mrs. Alexander took a purse out of
+her bag and displayed a roll of bills.
+
+The clever dealer saw this opportunity to drive a good bargain, and he
+named his figure. Without demur, the lady counted down the money and
+asked for a receipt.
+
+Meanwhile the others had gone to the front room to see the purchase Mrs.
+Alexander was making. She had shown no interest in antiques before, so
+this must be an exceptional piece to lure her money from her.
+
+“Daddy, do come here and tell me if I may have this old chest?” called
+Ruth, still waiting beside the carved piece.
+
+Then it became apparent that Ruth had wanted it for herself, but that
+Mrs. Alexander secured it. Everyone wondered why?
+
+Well pleased with her purchase, the new owner of the chest came from the
+rear room and smiled complacently. Then she spoke to her daughter:
+“Dodo, when we go to Paris you can fill that old wedding chest with a
+trooso.”
+
+“Oh yes? Whose is it, Ma?” asked the girl.
+
+“Why yours, of course! That’s why I got it.”
+
+“My very own! for keeps? Or are you only _lending_ it to me?”
+
+“Your very own, deary! I hope you’ll pass it along to the noble children
+I long to call my grandchildren, some day,” said Mrs. Alexander,
+sentimentally.
+
+“I thank you, Ma, and I’ll put it to the best use I can think of. And
+I’ll pass it along—oh yes! but I doubt if grandchildren of yours ever
+see it,” laughed Dodo, with a queer look.
+
+“I’m glad you got it, Dodo, because it is a lovely thing,” said Ruth to
+the fortunate owner, trying to hide her disappointment behind a smile.
+
+“But you paid an outrageous price for it, Mrs. Alex,” said Mr. Fabian.
+
+“Twice as much as he would have taken,” added Mr. Ashby.
+
+“I don’t care what it cost. I’d have given ten times the price to have
+it for Dodo,” snapped Mrs. Alexander, not feeling the delight she had
+anticipated in the purchase.
+
+Just then Mr. Alexander poked his bald head in at the doorway and said:
+“Ain’t you folks most ready to go on?”
+
+“Come here, Ebeneezer! I want you to give that address of the hotel in
+Paris to this Mr. Maxton. I bought a chest for Dodo and he is to ship it
+there, so’s I can fill it when I arrive,” said Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“Have I got the address?” stammered her husband.
+
+“Of course! In that red-covered leather memorandum book.”
+
+Mr. Alexander searched in his pockets and finally brought out a little
+book from his inside coat-pocket. He fumbled the pages as he sought for
+the needed address, and murmured so that the others could distinctly
+hear.
+
+“H—um, what’s this? ‘Go to the barber’s for a clean shave every
+day—don’t forget.’ It ain’t that.” Then he turned to the next page, and
+squinted at the writing.
+
+“‘Ne—ver use a knife at table when you eat—only to cut.’ It ain’t that
+page, nuther.”
+
+His wife remonstrated, and he suddenly said: “Wait now—here it ’tis:
+‘Don’t go in front of others unless you say ‘excuse me.’ Don’t sit down
+with ladies standing.’ Wall now, it ain’t on that page, either,” he
+remarked, but Mrs. Alexander grew annoyed when she saw the sympathetic
+smiles of their companions.
+
+They recognized the “teacher’s” rules for their friend, and they felt
+sorry for his lot in life. Then she snapped out: “Can’t you find it in
+there, Eben?”
+
+“No, b’ gosh! It ain’t down. All’s I can find is ‘don’ts and do’s’ what
+you told me.”
+
+“Give me the book—I’ll find it,” demanded his wife. “You never _could_
+read your own writing.” And she took the book and quickly turned to the
+last page. Then she read off the address to the waiting dealer. This
+done she thrust the book back at her meek spouse.
+
+“Well now! I never thought to look backwards first! I begun in the front
+of the book like I was taught at school,” said Mr. Alexander to his
+companions, in apology for his blunder.
+
+The tourists finally got away from Bristol but they were too late to
+make Birmingham that night. So they planned to stop at Gloucester or
+Worcester, which ever was most convenient.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V—LOVE AFFAIRS AND ANTIQUES
+
+
+While the cars were speeding over the long flat country that stretched
+away after leaving Bristol, Dodo entered into a confidential chat with
+Ruth who sat in the back seat beside her. Although it was against
+Jimmy’s wishes, Angela managed to get in the front seat beside him, in
+order to give him some sound advice about his future.
+
+“I just heard, Ruth, that you would have a birthday, shortly,” began
+Dodo.
+
+“Yes, but who told you so?” returned Ruth.
+
+“Polly mentioned it, and I said that I hoped we would all be with you to
+help celebrate. When is it?”
+
+“Not for three weeks yet, Dodo. And I expect to be at Uncle’s, then.
+They’ll give me a party, I suppose,” said Ruth.
+
+“Well, that’s too bad—that we won’t be together—as I have a little
+gift for you and I hope you’ll like it.”
+
+“Oh, Dodo! How nice of you. I really did not look for anything from
+anyone, you know,” cried Ruth, delightedly.
+
+“Maybe not, dearie; and this isn’t much—not what you deserve, but it is
+a little remembrance, as you will find when you get it. I’m not going to
+give it to you until the day arrives, but when you open it you’ll
+understand everything that I can’t explain to you, now,” explained Dodo.
+
+“Whatever it is, little or big, I will like it, Do, as coming from your
+generous heart. Even a flower from my friends is more than a jewel from
+someone who doesn’t mean it,” said Ruth.
+
+“I know that, Ruth, and that’s why I want to give you something you’ll
+like. You are true blue, and you deserve all the joy one can give you.”
+
+“It’s awfully good of you, Dodo, to say that,” smiled Ruth, although
+tears of pleasure welled up in her eyes.
+
+The other girls had overheard the conversation and now they chimed in.
+“Dodo’s right, Ruth. You’re just fine!”
+
+Later in the afternoon, Jimmy stopped his car at a tiny farmhouse with
+the spoken intention of getting a drink of water. But his subtle reason
+was to get Angela _out_ of the front seat and Ruth _in_ it. “Who wants a
+drink?” called he, as he jumped out and started for the cottage.
+
+“I do!” cried Polly, getting out to go after him.
+
+At the open door of the humble dwelling, the two looked in and saw the
+house-wife bending over a cook-stove, turning some doughnuts in a pan of
+hot fat. Jimmy waited until she had finished and then said: “May we have
+a drink, if you please?”
+
+His smile and manner were very pleasing, and Polly saw how people fell
+before his winsome way. “Just a minute—I’ll draw some fresh cold water
+for you,” said the woman.
+
+“Oh, do let me help you!” exclaimed Jimmy, whipping off his cap as he
+hurried through the room to carry the pail the woman had taken.
+
+The two of them went out to the back-shed where the water ran, and
+filled the pail. Meanwhile, Polly gazed about the interior of the little
+house. She saw several objects which might be old pieces, so she
+wondered how she could get Mr. Fabian there to judge.
+
+As Jimmy came in, carrying the pail, and the woman held a tin dipper for
+the tourists, he remarked as he passed the cook-stove: “My, how good
+those doughnuts smell.” And he sniffed.
+
+“You shall hov some!” declared the woman, laughingly.
+
+“Oh no! I couldn’t think of it,” objected Jimmy, hoping all the time to
+be persuaded into taking some.
+
+“I knows what young boys’ appetites is like,” chaffed the woman, taking
+a large platter from the corner cupboard and piling a heap of doughnuts
+upon it.
+
+Jimmy laughingly protested, but she waved him out and followed at his
+heels. When they reached the cars, she proffered the platter to the
+_gentlemen_ first. Polly tried to get Mr. Fabian’s eye to tell him about
+the furniture in the cottage.
+
+But his eyes were rivetted on the old Staffordshire platter that held
+the refreshments. He nudged Mr. Ashby and both men eagerly took the
+dish. As they gazed at it, and then passed it on to the ladies to help
+themselves first, they exchanged opinions.
+
+“It’s the rare old blue that seems etched on the ivory glaze,” whispered
+Mr. Fabian.
+
+“Where that came from, there may be more,” added Mr. Ashby, eagerly.
+
+The platter had reached Mr. Alexander on its return trip to the men,
+when the little man took two doughnuts, one in each hand.
+
+“Ebeneezer Alexander! How can you? Don’t you know what your red book
+says?” scolded his wife.
+
+“I dun’t care, Maggie! I’m good and hongry and dunnits always was my
+temptation. These smell like your’n ust to before we got too rich for
+you to cook.”
+
+Mrs. Alexander tried to hide the smile of satisfaction that tried to
+creep up into her face. She reached out her hand for one of his
+doughnuts, without saying a word. But Mr. Alexander moved away out of
+her reach.
+
+He hurriedly held at arm’s length the hand that held one doughnut, while
+he took several great bites from the tidbit held in the other hand, lest
+his wife compel him to give up his treasure trove. The others laughed at
+him, and Mr. Ashby said:
+
+“I don’t blame you, Mr. Alex. If our wives would cook, as once they did,
+we wouldn’t have to act so childishly when we travel.”
+
+The platter was emptied and when the farmer’s wife turned to go back to
+her work, Mr. Fabian and Mr. Ashby insisted upon carrying the pail and
+dipper, to the amazement of those in the car. Polly understood and
+nudged Eleanor to follow, too.
+
+“This is a very fine old dish, madam,” remarked Mr. Ashby.
+
+“Oh yes, it’s a bit of old blue I’ve had in the kitchen for years. I
+remember how mother used to heap up this same plate with scones, for us
+chillern,” replied the woman, smiling at the platter.
+
+“Are there many such pieces of blue in this section of the country?”
+asked Mr. Fabian, while Polly and her companions listened eagerly for
+the reply.
+
+“Summat; but my gude mon stacked our’n up in the back-shed when us
+wanted to use the front cupboard for my new chiny.”
+
+“Would you like to sell it?” was Mr. Ashby’s tense query.
+
+“D’ye think it would be wuth summat? I’ do be thinking of laying by a
+few bits, this year, to buy us a wool carpet.”
+
+“Perhaps we will buy some pieces and pay you as much as anyone else you
+might meet,” suggested Mr. Fabian.
+
+As they entered the low-ceiled room of the cottage, the woman said:
+“Come out back and we won’t have to carry so far to the front room.”
+
+She went through a tiny door that opened to the small lean-to, and then
+began taking all sorts of old dishes from the corner cupboard that her
+husband had constructed to hold the accumulation of generations. As the
+collectors saw choice pieces so carelessly handled they held their
+breaths in dread.
+
+“Now this old blue belonged to my gran’faither afore it come down to us.
+He, and my faither after him, lived on this same farm. Us had no son so
+the home come to me as eldest of the family.”
+
+As she spoke, the woman carried armfuls of dishes out to the table in
+the middle of the room. Some was worthless trash, but there were several
+pieces of rare Staffordshire, and some fine bits of old lustre-ware. In
+the last armful she carried to the table, were some valuable Wedgwood
+jugs and bowls.
+
+“Us got an old pink set, in the front room, but us don’ use it now that
+us got a fine new chiny set,” said the woman, turning to go for a sample
+of the pink ware.
+
+“You pick out what you want here, and I’ll go and see if the pink is
+genuine pink Staffordshire,” whispered Mr. Ashby.
+
+So Mr. Fabian soon set aside all the real good pieces on the table, and
+in so doing noticed the table itself.
+
+“Why!” gasped he to Polly, “I verily believe this is the real
+Hepplewhite!”
+
+Instantly he began a close examination of it, and smiled as he examined.
+“With careful restoring you would have as fine a Hepplewhite as any in
+America,” he said to Polly.
+
+“Oh, then do let us take it!” exclaimed Polly, eagerly.
+
+The table started them examining other broken down, or criminally
+painted, objects of furniture in the shed, and when Mr. Ashby returned,
+carrying a plate of pink Staffordshire, those who had remained behind in
+the shed were greatly elated over something.
+
+“Oh, Mr. Ashby! just see what we found!” cried Polly.
+
+“While you were away I discovered a Hepplewhite table, Ashby,” explained
+Mr. Fabian. “And Polly got the girls to help remove all the paint-pots
+and trash from this bureau to make sure it was what she thought. Look!”
+
+Mr. Ashby was taken over to the little bureau which had been used for a
+catch-all for years. Its drawers were over-flowing with rags and
+garden-tools, but nothing could hide the true lines of a genuine
+Sheraton piece.
+
+“Well I never! To think such a gem should be so treated!” murmured Mr.
+Ashby.
+
+The others laughed delightedly at his amazement. But the owner now
+joined them again, and Mr. Fabian began bargaining.
+
+“Are you satisfied with the prices paid you for the old china?” asked
+he, as an introduction to further dealing.
+
+“Oh my! Us begin to see that wool carpet,” laughed she.
+
+“Would you sell this old table and bureau?” continued he.
+
+“Them! I should say so!” retorted she, emphatically.
+
+Instantly a price was offered and eagerly accepted between the two, and
+the table and bureau became the property of Polly and Eleanor. As Mr.
+Ashby said: “The basis of your business-to-come.”
+
+Dodo had found some old brass candlesticks and a china group that proved
+to be old Dresden. These she hugged tightly as they all left the cottage
+followed by the blessings of the woman.
+
+“My goodness! see what’s coming?” laughed Jimmy, as he watched the five
+collectors file down the pathway, each one loaded with china.
+
+“Where do you expect us to sit?” added Mrs. Fabian.
+
+“On the running-board, to be sure,” retorted her husband.
+
+“Yes, because this fine blue takes precedence over modern objects, even
+though they be mortals,” chuckled Mr. Ashby.
+
+“You-all just ought to see the pink set Mr. Ashby got!” exclaimed Dodo,
+intensely interested in this quest of the antique.
+
+Mrs. Alexander noted the bright eyes and flushed face, and determined to
+keep Dodo away from such dangerous interests.
+
+“And the old table and bureau that Nolla and I got for a song!” cried
+Polly, also highly pleased with the purchases.
+
+“Best of all, that good woman is so happy to know she is able to get the
+‘wool carpet’ she has wanted for years, that her blessings will travel
+with us for many a year to come,” added Mr. Fabian, turning to wave his
+hand at the farmer’s wife as she stood in the doorway waving her apron
+at the tourists.
+
+After the dishes were safely stowed away, Angela was induced to give her
+place, in the first car, to Mr. Fabian, so that he could talk to the
+other girls about the relative values of china.
+
+Angela took no interest in these matters, so she willingly climbed in
+with the elders in the second car; and Mr. Fabian began a dissertation
+on blue, pink and brown Staffordshire; gold, silver, and bronze, or
+copper lustre-ware; Wedgwood, Derby, and Worcester ware, and
+salt-glaze—which was finest of all when it was genuine antique.
+
+Jimmy had grown very impatient while waiting at the farmhouse and when
+Angela exchanged seats with Mr. Fabian to permit him to lecture the
+girls on china, the young man frowned. Finally he became so irritated at
+what he considered “bally mush,” and not being able to flirt with Ruth
+who sat in the back seat, he ran the car through all the ruts and over
+all the rocks he found in the way. This shook up the passengers
+uncomfortably and interrupted the flow of eloquence from Mr. Fabian. But
+he and his girls were so absorbed in the subject that they never dreamed
+the roughness of the road could have been avoided by discontented Jimmy.
+
+Angela, sitting beside Mrs. Alexander, made the most of her opportunity.
+She managed to ferret out just how much money Dodo would inherit, and
+what Mrs. Alexander might be persuaded to do for an acceptable husband
+for the girl. So cleverly was this information secured that the informer
+failed to realize she was being “put through the third degree.”
+
+Angela was a sweet pretty girl but had experienced so many unpleasant
+sacrifices since her father’s tremendous losses that she had grown
+callous to all higher feelings. Her sole ambition, now, was to secure
+_her_ future either by Jimmy’s marriage to money, or by her own escape
+from the bondage of poverty by marriage.
+
+She fully realized that most desirable young men in England were in the
+same position as her father and brother, hence she had not much choice
+of escape that way. But with Jimmy—upon him rested the salvation of the
+family and its debts.
+
+Mr. Fabian was still talking “antiques” when the cars reached
+Gloucester, so Jimmy steered through, by way of side streets, and then
+drove through the famous cotswolds, on the way to Worcester.
+
+A few miles this side of Worcester, Polly spied a very old-looking house
+standing under a group of giant trees which must have been hundreds of
+years old.
+
+“Oh, I just know there will be old pieces in that place!” exclaimed she,
+leaning forward eagerly.
+
+“Stop, Jimmy! Oh, do make him stop, Prof!” cried Eleanor.
+
+“Do!” added Dodo. “We are almost in Worcester, anyway, so a few minutes
+more won’t matter.”
+
+“Everyone is so tired with the drive, I don’t see why we must halt
+again,” complained Mrs. Alexander, impatiently.
+
+“Suppose your car drives on, then, and we will stop to inquire if we can
+secure any old things,” suggested Mr. Fabian.
+
+But no one wanted to do this, so both cars stopped while the two men and
+the girls went to the house. This time no subterfuge was used, but the
+question was plainly asked:
+
+“Do you happen to have any old dishes for sale?”
+
+“And furniture?” added Polly, anxiously.
+
+The surprised woman laughed at the unusual query, but she nodded and
+said: “I got some black china, and several queer bowls and pots that I
+might sell—if you make it wuth while.”
+
+The collectors all filed into the cottage, then, and the impatient
+travellers left in the cars had to cool their tempers well, before they
+saw their friends appear again. When they did come forth, however, they
+brought with them several old tobys, a few bowls, a number of pieces of
+black Staffordshire, an old knife-box of fine inlaid work, a mahogany
+dressing-mirror exquisitely stencilled and a knitted bed-coverlet with
+raised roses and scalloped edges.
+
+“Oh now! This is expecting too much of Job!” called Mrs. Ashby, when she
+saw the consternation expressed on Jimmy and his sister’s faces.
+
+“When we started on this tour you never said a word about founding a
+second-hand business,” added Mrs. Fabian, secretly amused at the
+collectors, and the chagrin so evident on the faces of their two
+“English cousins.”
+
+“One never can tell what will happen when you take fanatics on a trip,”
+retorted Mr. Ashby, depositing his burden on the ground beside the car.
+
+Then began another exodus of the passengers until a complete
+readjustment of all the various purchases could be made. While the two
+men were carefully packing away the precious objects, Polly said: “We
+had to leave behind the best piece of all—a chair of satin-wood with
+daintily turned legs and rungs. But they were splintered and the rush
+seat was broken through.”
+
+“Don’t forget, Polly, that the thing that counted most—the beautifully
+stencilled back slats with their fruit and roses as clear as the day
+they were done, was in good preservation,” added Eleanor.
+
+“Then why didn’t you buy it?” snapped Angela, angrily.
+
+“Oh, we did!” replied Dodo. “At least, I did. But I couldn’t carry it
+out, so it will have to be shipped home when the other things go.”
+
+“You got it?” cried her mother. “What for?”
+
+“For my shop, of course. I’m going into decorating, too, and open a fine
+place of business,” giggled Dodo, tantalizingly.
+
+“Not on _my_ money! You’ve got to make a good match over here,”
+commanded her mother.
+
+Little Mr. Alexander had not had much chance to speak during the day, as
+antiques and talks on such subjects were not in his line. But now he
+scented battle on his own preserves, and he threw out his chest and
+thrust his hands deep into his trouser pockets—a habit he had when he
+wished to impress his wife.
+
+“Well, now, mebbe Dodo can’t open shop on your money, Maggie, but she
+can on _mine_! If she wants to do that ruther’n get spliced to a
+furriner, who’s going to stop her, I’d like to know!”
+
+That effectually ended the tirade for the time being, and when everybody
+was seated again, Jimmy was made supremely happy to find Ruth beside
+him, once more.
+
+The only subject that interested the majority of the tourists that
+evening, after dinner, was the discussion of the various pieces
+purchased that day, and the examination of them. Mr. Ashby and Mr.
+Fabian knew so much about collections of antiques that the stories they
+told were most interesting to the girls.
+
+But Jimmy and Mrs. Alexander were bored to death by the conversation, so
+that they soon made their way out of the hotel, in search of
+distraction. Not long after they had escaped from the company of the
+others, another packet of bills passed from Mrs. Alexander’s hands to
+the young man’s pockets. But it was a personal matter that concerned no
+one but themselves, said she, and Jimmy anxiously agreed to the
+condition.
+
+“Of course you know, Mrs. Alex, that nothing on earth could make me
+accept this gift from you, if matters with the Pater were not awfully
+tangled, this year,” explained Jimmy, hurriedly.
+
+“Don’t mention it, dear boy! I’m so glad I can give it to one I think so
+highly of. Some day you will be able to do a good turn for me,” replied
+Mrs. Alexander, affably.
+
+Jimmy understood too well, both from Angela and Mrs. Alexander, what was
+expected of him, but he hadn’t a thought for Dodo, because he was
+infatuated with Ruth. And she, nice little girl, hadn’t a fortune to
+bless him with. So he forced the future still further into the
+background, and took the money that was offered him, the while he basked
+in Ruth’s sunny smiles.
+
+In the morning the cars started for Birmingham, which was on the road to
+Lichfield. But the city was smoky and uninviting because of its
+factories and filth, so they chose a side-road that would bring them to
+the beautiful edifice that makes Lichfield a Mecca for lovers of the
+ancient and rare.
+
+The cathedral, from a distance, looks like a fret-work of finest lace.
+And as one draws nearer, its patterns show up clearer, until one is
+quite close, when the outlined designs on the front of the building
+compel even the indifferent to stand and gaze in admiration.
+
+Mr. Fabian pointed out the marvellous sculpturing of the arch, the tiers
+of niches with their protected figures, the two spires and other
+beauties, then he led his friends inside the cathedral. Here they saw
+the ancient Bible with its illuminated and designed pages, and then they
+visited the Chapter House.
+
+Upon seeing the others follow Mr. Fabian indoors, Mr. Alexander remarked
+jocularly: “I’m afraid of visitin’ so many churches, ’cause the good I
+get will cure me smokin’ my old pipe. And I woulden’ go back on that old
+pal for all the cathedrals in this wurrold.”
+
+They left him sitting on the running-board, contentedly puffing at the
+black “evil” aforementioned; but when they all came forth, again, Mr.
+Alexander was nowhere to be seen.
+
+After shouting and searching for ten minutes, or more, he was still
+absent and the natives could not say that they had even seen him about.
+
+“I knew how it would be if Ebeneezer came to Europe!” exclaimed Mrs.
+Alexander, impatiently.
+
+“Pa is able to take care of himself, never worry,” added Dodo.
+
+“But he is always cutting such capers,” complained his wife. “One minute
+he’s here, and the next he isn’t!”
+
+The remark caused a general smile and Mrs. Alexander thought she had
+said something very clever, so she smiled, too. Perhaps the smile made
+her feel better-natured, for she joined the men when they resumed their
+search for the missing man.
+
+Jimmy went to the authorities to question what had best be done about
+the matter of finding Mr. Alexander; the other two men had gone in
+opposite directions to ask natives if they had seen such a man as they
+described and the women walked about, calling aloud or poking under
+shrubs, and back of cottages, where he might have taken a nap.
+
+Finally a little man sauntered from the cathedral and stood gazing about
+in surprise at the ladies—they acted so queerly. He began loading his
+pipe from the old tobacco pouch and as he called out to his friends who
+were scattered far and wide, they looked up and started for him.
+
+“Where _have_ you been? You’ve made the most trouble—losing yourself in
+this ridiculous way!” scolded his wife.
+
+“Why, I wasn’t lost! I kind’a thought it was wicked in me to sit with my
+pipe when I oughter be seeing that church, so I tucked away my old
+friend and follered you-all. I hunted most an hour for you-all, but I
+diden’ see hide ner hair of anyone I knew. But I did see a lot of
+figgers stuck up in the walls, and a lot of folks starin’ at ’em. So I
+come along out again.”
+
+His description made everyone, but his wife, laugh. She shook her head
+despairingly at such behavior, and refused to look at her spouse for the
+rest of the day. But that seemed not to dampen his feelings a whit.
+Rather he felt relieved, he said.
+
+From Lichfield the cars turned due west and drove to Wolverhampton.
+While driving through Wales, the tourists found great entertainment in
+trying to converse with the Welshmen they met along the road.
+
+The country was beautiful with its rugged hills and heather-clothed
+fields. The road to Bangor ran through the most picturesque section of
+all this scenic beauty, and the girls took many snapshots of the
+artistic views.
+
+The route planned led to Bangor, where the tourists stayed over-night.
+No one cared to cross St. George’s Channel and arrive in Dublin at
+night, for they had been hearing too much about the Irish riots, to
+deliberately choose to stay at any hotel where bricks and shot might
+strike innocent heads at any time.
+
+It was during the evening spent at Bangor, that Jimmy beheld Eleanor
+Maynard with different eyes. Ruth had suddenly palled on him, and his
+heart grew cold towards her charm and beauty. But Ruth paid no attention
+to his change of tactics. She had smilingly accepted homage, and she as
+smilingly waived it again. Jimmy’s ardent protests of enduring faith and
+love were empty words to her. The candy and tokens were tangible
+delights.
+
+What opened Jimmy’s “love-eyes” to Eleanor’s apparent value was her
+remark about butterfly lovers.
+
+“I never could stand a man who buzzed about from one blossom to another
+like a butterfly,” commented Eleanor.
+
+“Nor I. But then, you and I, Nolla, always knew real _men_,” added
+Polly.
+
+“If other girls had the advantages we western girls have, of knowing
+great big heroes of the plains, they’d soon sicken of society idiots,”
+declared Dodo.
+
+Ruth and Nancy were the audience to these remarks, but Angela was having
+a tête-à-tête with Mrs. Alexander. Jimmy stood eagerly watching the five
+girls, comparing notes on each other.
+
+“Well, I never was west, so I only know the kind of a beau that Jimmy
+Osgood represents,” giggled Ruth. “As long as they are not serious, and
+are useful in giving you candy and flowers, they answer a certain
+purpose.”
+
+Ruth had been so cloyingly sweet and responsive to all his (Jimmy’s)
+advances, that this speech from her suddenly broke the spell he had been
+under. From that moment on, Jimmy had no eyes for a girl who could be so
+unkind.
+
+“Poor Jimmy! Ruth, you will break his heart if he ever hears of what you
+said,” remarked Eleanor, and that sympathetic rejoinder to Ruth’s
+heartless chatter drew Jimmy to a new star in the firmament of his
+hopes.
+
+No one knew that Jimmy had been accidentally eaves-dropping, so when
+they began to climb into the cars the next morning, to go to Dublin,
+everyone was surprised to find how carefully Jimmy assisted Eleanor to
+the front seat—the place he considered a seat of honor.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI—POLLY TAKES A HAND TO CURE JIMMY
+
+
+Quite unabashed, and giggling at the incident, Ruth took a back seat
+with Polly and Dodo. But Polly felt jealous of Jimmy’s demands on
+Eleanor’s time. She felt that her chum and dear friend should divide her
+thoughts and attentions with others, and not sit in front listening to a
+boy’s foolishness, all day long!
+
+The road from Dublin, northwards, was rutty, and with wild vines
+over-growing the steep banks on both sides. But the blossoms seemed
+paler than those in England, and their perfume much less sweet. Even in
+size, they appeared poorly-nourished, when compared to their large
+robust English brethren.
+
+The cottages they passed on this ride bore all the marks of neglect,
+poverty and dirt. Pigs were as much at home inside the house, as were
+the tenants, while troops of dirty children rolled around in front of
+the houses, mingling with the chickens, dogs, pigs and other domestic
+live-stock, in cases where the owner could afford them.
+
+“Oh, let’s get away from this part of Ireland,” cried Angela, with
+disgust.
+
+“It seems a waste of valuable time to have come here at all,” declared
+Polly, holding a handkerchief to her nose as they passed a dreadful
+hovel where unkempt children played and fought.
+
+The roads were so bad, however, that the cars could not speed very fast,
+so they had to stop at Belfast, that night, and resume the journey in
+the morning. The second day in Ireland they managed to travel as far as
+Port Rush, merely going aside before reaching that place, in order to
+see the “Giant’s Causeway” and its rugged cliffs along the coast-line.
+
+Another night was spent in Port Rush, as the boat for Scotland had left
+before the tourists reached the port. Jimmy had gone headlong into the
+new affair with Eleanor, and apparently had continued his love-making
+where he had suddenly terminated it with Ruth. There were no romantic
+beginnings for Eleanor, in his approaches to a declaration. So that when
+they were crossing from Ireland to Androssan, in Scotland, the
+infatuated lover managed to get Eleanor away from the others and hide
+her in a steamer-chair, found in a nook, where he could give full
+expression to his gift of romance.
+
+The others in the party saw the Giant’s Causeway and the famous cliffs,
+from the sea, as they passed by in the steamer, but Eleanor never saw
+the least bit of them, because of Jimmy’s screening form and his refusal
+to permit her to leave him.
+
+Angela was delighted to find her brother had finally appreciated the
+recklessness of his attachment to Ruth, when there were far richer girls
+in the party. She would have selected Dodo or Polly, had he asked _her_
+to decide for him, but Eleanor was better than Ruth. So she seconded all
+her brother’s attempts to kidnap Eleanor whenever the entire party
+wished to go anywhere or do a thing.
+
+“It’s a wonder your brother did not fall in love with these four pretty
+girls at one time—and save trouble,” said Nancy Fabian, laughingly to
+Angela.
+
+“Now, Nancy, don’t show your jealousy,” returned Angela.
+
+“Me—jealous! Why, Angie, you know I refused Jimmy three or four times
+before these girls ever put in an appearance. To accuse me of jealousy
+when I hail the deliverance from his attentions is ridiculous of you.”
+
+Polly overheard these remarks and determined that she would spare her
+friend any further annoyances from Jimmy. “Here Nolla was losing all the
+wonderful sights they came expressly to Europe to see, and a foolish boy
+was using that time for a flirtation.” Polly mentioned this to Eleanor
+the first time she got her away from Jimmy.
+
+“Oh, but he heaps such good candies on one, Poll,” laughed Eleanor,
+apologetically. “Let his love die a natural death, and then there will
+be no danger of its ghost ever bobbing up to frighten me.”
+
+“But you’re giving this precious time to a bally fool, and missing Mr.
+Fabian’s rare lessons on information you’ll need to know,” declared
+Polly, angrily.
+
+“I can’t help it, Poll. You’ll see how it is when your turn comes with
+Jimmy,” laughed Eleanor, teasingly.
+
+Polly’s eyes snapped fire. Then she threatened something that had been
+alluded to before, between Eleanor and herself. “I plan to write letters
+home tonight when we stop at Glasgow. I’m going to tell Paul Stewart
+what a dreadful flirt you have turned out to be!”
+
+Eleanor gasped, but was brave. “Oh yes, and also tell him what a
+wonderful girl his old playmate, Dodo Alexander, is, and how, with all
+her money, he can easily win her and live in ease the rest of his life!”
+
+Eleanor turned away shortly after that, and Polly felt like crying. This
+was the first time, in years, that Eleanor and she had had words, and
+that horrid little fop was the cause of it!
+
+But Polly’s threat, although vain, served to startle Eleanor in her
+passive acceptance of Jimmy’s attentions. She sat in the same seat on
+the road to Edinburgh, it is true, but she was a dull companion and
+never as much as glanced at her admirer.
+
+Polly and she had not spoken to each other since the words they had had,
+but both girls revenged themselves on Jimmy—the cause of their quarrel.
+And he, unaware of what had caused the sudden change in Eleanor’s
+feelings for him, tried all the more to win her back to that former
+sweet companionship with him.
+
+At Edinburgh, Mr. Fabian conducted his party through the fifteen famous
+castles and numerous other places of interest to lovers of the antique,
+and Eleanor was a member of the group in every instance. In order to be
+near his heart’s desire, Jimmy had to trail along, too, sighing in
+anguish and rolling his eyes in desperation, when Eleanor ignored him
+completely.
+
+“He acts and looks like a comedian in the Movies,” said Nancy,
+impatiently.
+
+Angela smiled wisely and tossed her head when she heard the remark.
+Nancy cared naught for that, but turned her attention to Polly who was
+flushing and fuming to herself.
+
+“What’s the matter, Poll dear?” asked Nancy, softly.
+
+“Oh, he makes me so mad! I could just slap his face for him! There’s
+your father giving us all this wonderful information on architecture and
+antiques, and poor Nolla not hearing a word of it, because of that
+fortune-hunting fool!”
+
+“S-sh! Not so loud, dear! I feel as you do about him, but I have learned
+that it is best not to interfere in the matter. Let Jimmy and his sister
+‘have rope enough.’ You know the rest.”
+
+“Why, Nancy! I thought you were devoted to Angela?” gasped Polly.
+
+“I was—once, dear, but don’t speak of it to anyone else. I thought
+Angie the most wonderful girl in the world until these past few days
+when I found that her entire heart and mind is set on getting wealth by
+some means or other. Her art, her friends, and her very self-respect,
+are being sacrificed to that one ambition. Hence I have had to crucify
+my friendship, too, and try to feel indifferent to the past.”
+
+“Dear Nancy!” condoled Polly. “I know just how I would feel if Nolla
+proved to be unworthy of my love and friendship.”
+
+“But she won’t—she is a true American, Polly, and that makes a
+difference. Much depends on the way you have been trained to think, and
+poor Angie thinks society and wealth mean heaven.”
+
+Having visited the principal points of interest in Edinburgh, Mr. Fabian
+took his party to Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott. Here the
+collection of wonderful objects and the interest created in them by the
+names of the donors to the famous novelist, gave the tourists much
+pleasure.
+
+Polly saw that Jimmy still tormented Eleanor and kept her from enjoying
+the visit to Abbotsford as she should have done. So she waylaid the
+young man, as he followed Eleanor from the place.
+
+[Illustration: “I’LL TELL YOU SOMETHING THAT OUGHT TO DO YOU GOOD!”
+SAID POLLY.]
+
+“James Osgood! What do you suppose Nolla Maynard came to Europe for? To
+amuse _you_ with silly-mush, or to study art and try to become
+experienced against the time we go into business?” fumed Polly, striding
+in front of Jimmy and facing him so that he had to stop short.
+
+Eleanor was surprised at first, then she began to enjoy the encounter.
+Jimmy was too amazed to answer, but he stared at Polly and her blazing
+eyes, as if she were an apparition.
+
+“Well, I’ll tell you something that ought to do you good!” continued
+Polly, cracking her fingers under Jimmy’s nose. “There isn’t a man
+outside of Colorado, who can ever touch Eleanor Maynard’s heart, because
+she left it out there long ago! And what’s more—there isn’t a man like
+_you_, that can get one cent of American money from any girl who has
+sense to know what you’re after! Now take yourself and your love-making
+off, to a girl who doesn’t know better!”
+
+The cutting scorn and fire with which Polly drove home her speech,
+caused Jimmy to shrink momentarily, but he also saw the glorious beauty
+of the girl with the flushed face, blazing eyes, and quivering form, and
+his impressionable heart took fire.
+
+Polly had left him speechless, and Eleanor had hurried away to the other
+girls, lest she burst out laughing in sheer enjoyment of the bout
+between the two. But Jimmy stood lost in thought. He had never in his
+life, had anyone speak so to him, and never had he seen such marvellous
+beauty as that which Polly scintillated as she fired her sparks of fury
+at him.
+
+Then he suddenly recovered and shot ahead to reach his car. He waited at
+the side, where one who would sit beside him, had to enter. He waved
+Nancy, Ruth, and Eleanor on to the back, and bowed low when Polly came
+up.
+
+“Humph!” was all she granted him, and flounced along to the other seats.
+Thus it happened that Angela had to sit beside her brother that day,
+much to the annoyance of both of them.
+
+“What’s the matter with Nolla?” whispered she, as the car started.
+
+“Nothing. She’s nice enough, but I’m going to get Polly Brewster if I
+have to kidnap her!” he hissed through his teeth. Meantime he made the
+car tear along at such a rate that the girls could hardly breathe.
+
+“D-o—n’t kill—us—in—the—me-an—time!” gasped Angela.
+
+“Better all dead, than let her get away!”
+
+“I al-wa-ys kn-ew you—had co-ot-tton wh-ere br-rains
+ought—to—be-e——” Angela managed to jerk forth.
+
+Jimmy made no reply to this stigma but tore along the road until a
+constable arrested him. That calmed him somewhat, for he had to pay a
+fine, and it took all the money Mrs. Alexander had recently given him.
+
+When the second car caught up with Jimmy’s, Mr. Alexander shouted
+gleefully: “That was some race, Jimmy, old boy! I used to eat up the
+road that way, in Colorado, but they won’t stand for it over here, will
+they?”
+
+As Jimmy had just transferred his little roll of bills from his pocket,
+to the constable’s hand, he grunted and started on slowly.
+
+Mr. Fabian called out, however: “You rushed past all the towns I had
+planned to stop at and explore. Now shall we go back!”
+
+“No, never mind, Prof! let’s get back to London and end this awful
+trip!” shouted Polly, anxiously.
+
+Her friends laughed, but the tourists in the second car could not
+understand why the drive was so awful to Polly.
+
+At Penrith the travellers stopped, as they planned to go cross country
+to visit some fine old places located at Ripon. And they also wished to
+visit York, which was a few miles from Penrith.
+
+That night, the moment Jimmy was washed and brushed, he took up his post
+at the foot of the stairs where the girls would have to come down. One
+after another of the party descended but Polly failed to appear. Eleanor
+smiled and took his arm to lure him away, but he shook off her hand just
+as a petulant child might.
+
+Still smiling, Eleanor walked away and joined her friends in the parlor.
+Soon after that, they went to the dining-room for dinner, leaving Jimmy
+still on guard waiting for Polly.
+
+It was a merry party that enjoyed dinner that evening, but Jimmy took no
+interest in it, as he still watched for the coming of his lady—as he
+called her to himself. During a lull in the conversation in the
+dining-room, Jimmy distinctly heard a voice telling of exploits in the
+Rocky Mountains, when Eleanor spent the Summer at Pebbly Pit.
+
+Jimmy started! It was Polly’s own voice! But how did she get down while
+he stood watching so carefully?
+
+He hurried to the door of the room and looked in. There she sat,
+entertaining the whole assembly, with her stories—and he had been left
+out in the hall all that time! He could have wept!
+
+When he took a seat at the table, everyone expressed the deepest concern
+for him. “Was he ill?” “Did he feel badly about the fine for speeding?”
+and many other questions to which he gave no reply.
+
+When they left the room, Jimmy jumped up also, and just as Polly was
+leaving, he caught her hand.
+
+“Won’t you let me see you alone this evening—please?”
+
+Polly lifted her head a bit higher—if that were possible—and deigned
+to glance at him. “What for?” snapped she.
+
+“I—I want to tell you—oh, just give me a moment!”
+
+“Very well—one moment right here! Let the others leave.”
+
+“No—no, not in this public room. Somewhere where I can speak——”
+begged Jimmy.
+
+“Here or nowhere!”
+
+“Oh, Polly, Polly! Why are you so cruel?” began Jimmy, as he forced a
+look of agony into his eyes.
+
+“Come now—that will do from you, little boy! If that is what you have
+to say, then just keep it. I’ve no time to throw away,” said Polly, in a
+voice like steel, and then she drew aside her dress and walked away.
+
+Jimmy stood disconsolate, wishing he dared commit suicide before her
+eyes, and make her repent those unkind words. But he was awfully hungry,
+and he thought better of suicide so he went back to finish his late
+dinner.
+
+Eleanor saw him, later, as he left the dining-room and, with the imp of
+mischief uppermost in her mind, waylaid him and spent the evening
+talking of nothing but Polly—her beauty, her accomplishments, and her
+tremendous wealth that no one as yet, had been able to compute.
+
+Had Jimmy any doubt of who his soul-mate was, before, that talk settled
+it. He was now determined to have Polly, even if he had to steal her and
+keep her locked up until she consented to his offer of marriage.
+
+The farce now amused everyone but Angela and Mrs. Alexander. Jimmy was
+so openly wild about Polly that he acted like a possessed idiot rather
+than a young man with a grain of sense. If Polly had fawned upon him, he
+might have wearied of her company, but because she scorned him so
+heartily and showed it plainly, he felt all the more attracted to her.
+
+Mrs. Alexander snubbed Polly whenever she scorned Jimmy; and Angela made
+much of the lady because she showed her partisanship for the young man,
+so openly. Thus the two, Angela and Mrs. Alexander came closer together
+because of the common bond—Jimmy.
+
+When Mr. Fabian suggested that all go to see the Minster of York, Angela
+and Mrs. Alexander refused. Jimmy saw the look Polly cast at him, and
+murmured something about drowning his sorrow. But he failed to say
+whether it would be in the river or in home-brew.
+
+They viewed the ancient place and Mr. Fabian remarked: “It was here that
+the greatest disaster that ever befell man occurred in 306 A.D.”
+
+“Why, I never heard of it—what was it?” asked Mr. Ashby.
+
+“Perhaps you, like many others, never thought of it as a disaster,”
+replied Mr. Fabian. “Because I speak of the proclamation issued here by
+the Romans, that made Constantine an Emperor in 306. This emperor,
+understanding the tremendous advantages of a political nature, if he
+could gain full power and control of the religion that was gaining such
+an ascendancy with the people—the Christ Truth that healed the sick,
+cured sin, and raised the very dead, as it _did_ until three hundred
+years after Jesus ascended—bribed a few of the disloyal Christians to
+act in concord with him.
+
+“For the reward of place and power conceded to them, the unscrupulous
+Christians sold out their faith and brethren to this Emperor. He, wily
+and crafty in diplomacy and politics, sent out word, far and wide, that
+Christianity would thenceforth be protected by him.
+
+“In this place, that proclamation was hailed with a great celebration,
+and Christianity became the ruling religion here. But the power of the
+Spirit, as used by Christ Jesus, vanished when pomp and politics
+supplanted it, and soon the gift of healing was lost until recent
+years.”
+
+“That is very interesting, Fabian,” said Mr. Ashby, while the girls
+listened to this unusual information, eagerly. “I have sometimes
+wondered why it was that the power demonstrated by Christ Jesus could
+not have been used by his followers.”
+
+“It was, you see, until Constantine misused the gift. All such who use
+it for place or power will lose it,” said Mr. Fabian, earnestly.
+
+“How did you ever learn about it, Prof?” asked Eleanor eagerly.
+
+“The records of the entire transaction and the courageous though fearful
+stand the Early Christians took to defend their religion, can be read in
+the books called ‘The Anti-Nicean Fathers.’ There one can learn how
+wonderful were the cures and the over-coming of death for all who
+accepted Christianity, up to the time when it became defiled by greed
+and avarice and earthly taint.
+
+“But, to me, the saddest part of all that sad event, is the fact that
+mankind, today, believes it _has_ the Truth as taught and practised by
+Christ Jesus. Whereas they only have the form and farce of it, as it was
+changed from the pure spiritual power to that counterfeit endorsed by
+Constantine. And for this subterfuge, the world honors that unscrupulous
+politician!”
+
+Mr. Fabian was so incensed at the thought of all the act meant to the
+world, that he stalked out of the Minster and went on silently, followed
+almost as silently by the others. They were all thinking earnestly of
+what he had said, and everyone pondered on what _might have been_ had
+Constantine never interfered with the Truth.
+
+After leaving York, the cars went through Selby, and stopped at Doncast
+long enough to give the tourists time to visit the gargoyled church.
+Then they sped on to Sheffield where Mr. Fabian showed the girls how the
+famous Sheffield Plate was made.
+
+The next stopping place was Haddon Hall, the home and burial spot of
+Dorothy Vernon. The country in this part of England is wild and ruggedly
+beautiful, with good roads for automobiles. So the cars sped smoothly
+along to Derby, where the collectors had dreams of old Crown Derby ware,
+but found nothing to materialize those visions.
+
+Jimmy had been so annoying with his attentions to Polly, with his
+hang-dog expression, as he followed her everywhere, that the others
+began to feel impatient about it, instead of laughing as at a good joke
+as they had done. Finally Mr. Fabian spoke to him severely.
+
+“See here, James, I can make allowances for a young man of your type,
+naturally, but when you make a beastly nuisance of yourself, I must
+interfere. Now leave Polly alone, and don’t annoy her further with your
+transitory love. Throw it away on some girl who wants it.”
+
+But Mrs. Fabian felt that a better cure might have been applied. “If
+Polly would only hang on his arm and tell him how she loves him, he will
+drop her like an old shoe.”
+
+“I don’t believe it! He has a double-edged axe to grind, and there’s no
+use getting Polly in wrong, in case he wanted to get her and what she
+owns,” returned Mr. Fabian, wisely.
+
+Jimmy had not the character that would give perseverance and persistence
+for any problem, so he finally lost interest in the affair he had
+created for himself with Polly. Mrs. Alexander felt greatly elated when
+she saw him casting eyes at Dodo, oftener than he had in the past. And
+to show her appreciation of this, she quietly urged another roll of
+bills into his willing palm.
+
+Perhaps it was the understanding that Polly and Dodo had had with each
+other that had caught Jimmy’s attention. To spare Polly any further
+annoyance, Dodo had offered to divert the silly affair to herself, if
+possible. So she dressed in her finest, and flirted with Jimmy, and
+tried in every way to attract his eyes to herself. And it was not
+difficult to do, either.
+
+Before they started for London, having done the points of interest at
+Coventry, Kenilworth, and so on to Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon, Jimmy
+was recovering from his desire to die, and was taking notice of Dodo. By
+the time they reached Stratford he was able to act any lover’s part in
+the Shakespearian plays, provided Dodo was the lady-love in the scene.
+
+His companions, excepting Angela and Dodo’s mother, were out of all
+patience with him. He was such a weak-hearted lover who had no idea of
+the first principles of the game, that they had very little to say to
+him the last days of the trip.
+
+Dodo bravely endured his soft speeches and smilingly accepted the
+bon-bons and blossoms her mother’s money enabled him to shower upon her,
+but when they reached London, and the time came when the association
+could be severed, she ruthlessly did so.
+
+The Americans stopped at one of the best hotels, while Angela and Jimmy
+drove to their home to get the directions left there for them by Sir
+James.
+
+Shortly after everyone had decided to rest at the hotel after the long
+ride that day, Jimmy came rushing in to see the men.
+
+“We found these letters at the house, so Angela made me come right in
+with them. Of course, you will all accept!”
+
+There was a special invitation for each family, inviting them down to
+Sir James’ country place for a week or two. When Mr. Alexander read and
+passed the letter on to his wife, she was so pleased that she could
+hardly wait to hear what the others would say.
+
+“Very sorry, Jimmy, but I am booked for business interviews from now on
+until I sail for the States, again,” explained Mr. Ashby, answering for
+his family as well as for himself.
+
+“And we plan to leave London very shortly, Jimmy, to tour the Continent,
+as you know,” added Mr. Fabian.
+
+“But we will go down with you, Jimmy, and thank your dear father, again
+and again,” exclaimed Mrs. Alexander, sweetly.
+
+“How do you know we will?” demanded Mr. Alexander; “I don’t want to be
+bothered with style and society when I can have a nice time in my car
+touring over Europe.”
+
+“We’ll have to go for a week, at least,” said Mrs. Alexander,
+positively. “There are many reasons why.” Then turning to Jimmy she
+added: “So tell your dear parents that we will be pleased to accept,
+Jimmy.”
+
+Dodo hurried from the parlor where this meeting took place, and Jimmy
+could not find her when he tried to have a few words with her, alone.
+
+“Never mind, now, Jimmy,” whispered Mrs. Alexander as she followed him
+from the room. “You will have Dodo all to yourself when we get down to
+Osgood Hall.”
+
+Rolling his eyes dramatically and sighing with joy as he shook the plump
+bejewelled hands of his expectant mother-in-law, Jimmy hurried away to
+rejoin his sister Angela in the car.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII—DODO’S ELOPEMENT
+
+
+“Dodo, your mother says we got to go with her to visit the Osgoods,” Mr.
+Alexander informed his daughter, early the next morning at breakfast.
+
+“Well, I won’t! so there! I’m going with Polly and her friends, to
+Paris. I just guess I can take up decorating if I want to, and Ma can’t
+stop me!” Dodo was really angry.
+
+“I’ve been thinking, Dodo, that if we don’t go down with Ma, she can’t
+go there alone. Now she wants to go the worst way, but she won’t care so
+much whether we stay on or not—as long as she can hold on to the
+invitation.”
+
+Dodo looked up quickly at her father’s tone. “What do you mean, Pa?”
+
+“Well, you see, we plan to go down in the car. We can carry all the
+trunks and other traps, that way. But going down there doesn’t say we’ve
+got to stay, does it?”
+
+“N-o-o,” agreed Dodo, beginning to see light.
+
+“Well then, getting Ma down there, and you and I clearing out again, is
+all that I want to do. She will stay on and we will fly to Paris. How is
+that?”
+
+Dodo laughed merrily at the plot, but she still had to hear further
+particulars. For instance, how did Pa expect to get away from the others
+without suspicion, and on what plea would he get back to London?
+
+“Say now, Do—you don’t suspect me of telling to them people all I
+expect to do, do you? No, I’ll just wait for night, and then you and I
+will elope together.”
+
+“Elope! Oh, Pa, how funny!” laughed Dodo, clapping her hands.
+
+“Yeh, easy as pie, Do! Now listen to me. Ma gets all nicely settled the
+first night, and you have your little room by yourself. I go out for a
+smoke with my friend pipe—all by myself. I see you trying to steal away
+with your bundles, and a MAN! I hear a motor purr, and I see you and
+that man get in a car—and off you tear. I foller you to London, and
+keep right on your heels to Paris. There I catch you, and send word back
+to Ma to ease her mind.
+
+“When she hears that you eloped with a _man_, and I went after, to catch
+you, before you married someone we don’t know about, she will be so glad
+that she’ll forgive me. And she won’t dare say a word to you, because
+that will spoil her little game for Jimmy, see?
+
+“The Osgoods will make her stay on with them, if they really plan to
+land our million, because they will need some link by which to win you
+back, see? If they think more of their _family_ than of our money,
+they’ll let Ma go and join us in Paris.
+
+“Now, Dodo, what you think of your Pa’s little scheme?” laughed the
+little man, as he rubbed his hands together in glee.
+
+“Say, Pa! It’s a shame such a wonder as you should be hidden to the
+world,” exclaimed Dodo, admiringly.
+
+“As long as it hides you and me until the storm blows over, will be
+enough to satisfy me,” retorted Mr. Alexander.
+
+At this moment, the Fabians and Ashbys entered the room, and Mr.
+Alexander winked at his daughter for secrecy on the subject they had
+been discussing. Soon after the others sat down at the breakfast table,
+Mrs. Alexander joined them, and the conversation turned to their
+parting.
+
+“When do you plan to leave London, Mrs. Alexander?” asked Mr. Ashby,
+politely.
+
+“Tomorrow, I hope. I want to fit Dodo up in some decent gowns before I
+take her to such a fine place as Osgood Hall.”
+
+“When do you leave, Mr. Ashby?” asked Dodo.
+
+“I expect to take Ruth and my wife down to my cousin’s, at Brighton,
+this afternoon. Then I have to go to different towns, you know, to
+collect things for my customers in the States.”
+
+“And you, Polly?” Dodo turned to the girl she liked best of those she
+had met that summer.
+
+“We are going to remain in London for a few days more, and see the
+Museums and galleries, then go on to Paris.”
+
+“I wish I was going with you,” said Dodo. “Maybe we can meet in Paris,
+soon, and I can go on with you-all to learn more of antiques and
+decorating.”
+
+“That must be as your father and mother say, Dodo,” Mr. Fabian now
+remarked.
+
+“I always said Dodo could do as she liked,” quickly said Mr. Alexander.
+
+“But my daughter will be with me down at Osgood Hall, so you won’t be
+likely to cross each other’s path again, in Europe,” declared Mrs.
+Alexander, smilingly, although her tone expressed her determination.
+
+The Ashbys left that afternoon, and Mrs. Alexander took Dodo shopping
+for more clothes. Then, in the morning, the car was brought to the
+hotel, and the girls went with Dodo to see her off.
+
+“I sure feel as if I want to cry,” whimpered Dodo, pretending to dab her
+eyes.
+
+“We-all will miss you awfully, Dodo. You’re a good pal and we had _such_
+good times with you!” sighed Polly.
+
+“Let’s hope we _will_ meet soon, in spite of Ma’s sayin’ our paths
+wouldn’t cross each other again,” grinned Mr. Alexander.
+
+“Ebeneezer, do get started, won’t you? Here we are sitting and holding
+up everyone else!” snapped Mrs. Alexander.
+
+So the car drove off, with Dodo waving her hand as long as she could see
+her friends.
+
+The Fabians and Polly and Eleanor visited the Victoria and Albert Museum
+that day, finding many wonderful pieces to admire. Among bronzes,
+ivories, tapestries and other art objects, Mr. Fabian pointed out
+various bits of costly and famous work.
+
+There was a reading-desk of the 15th century; several Florentine coffers
+with fine carved panels; a beautiful cabinet decorated with Marquetry of
+the South German type, that hailed back to the 16th century. And in the
+Pavilion, Polly found a lovely dressing-table of satin-wood from the
+18th century that reminded her of the piece she had bought down in
+Sussex.
+
+The second day at the Museum—for it took several days to do it
+thoroughly—they visited the rooms where all kinds of furniture are
+exhibited, from stately William and Mary chairs down to the tiniest of
+foot-stools and ottomans.
+
+They were passing an odd group of chairs when Eleanor laughingly drew
+their attention to two. “Just look at that fat old roistering chair
+conversing with the thin straight-laced prig of a side-chair, next to
+him.”
+
+Her description was so true of the two chairs, that her companions
+laughed.
+
+“Yes,” said Mr. Fabian, “the stiff-backed puritanical chair is telling
+the fat old rascal what a coarse bourgeois manner he shows in such good
+company.”
+
+“Daddy, how could such a clumsy chair ever get into this famous museum?”
+asked Nancy.
+
+“Because it can claim antiquity,” replied her father. “In early English
+times, when Squires and over-lords ruled the land, they spent most of
+their time in drinking and gambling. This chair is a type of them, is it
+not?”
+
+“It certainly is,” agreed the girls.
+
+“So you will find almost every period of furniture. They tell, truer
+than one thinks at the time, of the type of people that makes and uses
+them. You will find effeminate pieces in the reign of the Louis’, and
+hard-looking furniture in German history. Our own American furniture
+tells, better than all else, of the mixing of nations in the
+‘melting-pot.’ Our furniture has no type, or style, individually its
+own.
+
+“The so-called sales advertised in department stores are symbolic of
+what Americans are satisfied with: hodge-podge ready-made factory
+pieces, quickly glued together, and badly finished. As long as it is
+showy, and can demand a high price, the average American is satisfied.
+And that is the great error we interior decorators have to correct—we
+have to educate the people away from confusion and into art and beauty.”
+
+Having seen the best examples of old furniture on exhibition in the
+Museum, Mr. Fabian prepared to go. As they walked quietly through the
+corridor to the main entrance, he said impressively: “I consider you
+girls have seen some of the best products to be found in the world
+today. The results of many ideals and hard work.
+
+“You must know, that a good ideal thought plans a perfect chair or
+table; and that thought eventually expresses itself in the object it
+sees in mind. If the object is a thing of beauty and a joy forever, it
+elevates the whole world just that much. If it falls short of the
+artist’s ideals and hopes, he must do it over again, sooner or later, to
+reach the perfect model in mind. Thus he expresses God (good) in his
+ideals. If he refuses to try again to perfect his work, he knows he has
+failed utterly and he has nothing but the result of lowering his
+ideal—failure and deformity.”
+
+As he ceased speaking, Mr. Fabian found the girls were intensely
+interested in his little lecture, and he smiled as Polly cried: “Oh,
+tell us some more along that line, please!”
+
+“Well, I wish to impress upon you that in your work you _must_ express
+the highest ideal or be a failure. Now God, Good, is Mind, and this Mind
+must be expressed in countless manifestations to be seen by us.
+_Unexpressed_ it is a non-entity, and does not exist. Art and beauty are
+forms of ideal manifestation, and this manifestation objectifies itself
+in divan, lamp, rug or ornament, for you.
+
+“To be a perfect thing, it must have God, or Mind, as its Creator, but
+this God uses you, His child, as the channel through which He works. If
+you obey that idealistic desire and work the best you know how, God
+sends added understanding and assistance to help you perfect the object,
+thus it becomes good and true. Now evil works, too, but just in the
+opposite directions; hence, if you give in to greed, avarice,
+dishonesty, envy, or the multitude of weapons evil always has on hand to
+tempt you with, you inevitably must produce an inharmonious result, and
+the repelling effects that go to cause criticism and dissatisfaction
+with all who thereafter look at the object.
+
+“That is why that roistering armchair displeases a true and idealistic
+artist. It was not produced by a true and high-minded individual who
+hoped to bring forth a model of line and color, but who had only in
+mind, at the time, the production of a stout piece of furniture that
+would withstand the tests and offer a seat to the drunkards of that
+time; and would also resist the fierce quarrels and fights so common
+between gamblers who frequented the taverns of that day.”
+
+“I wish to goodness I knew as much as you do about all these interesting
+things, Mr. Fabian!” declared Polly, yearningly.
+
+“That is the sweetest praise a man can have, Polly dear; to wish to
+stand in my shoes in experience,” smiled Mr. Fabian. “But the very
+desire when truly entertained, will bring about the thing you so
+earnestly desire. For you know, ‘Desire is prayer.’”
+
+Mrs. Fabian smiling at her husband, now said, “Why not add a benediction
+to this little sermonette, dear?” Then turning to the girls, she quoted:
+“‘Give up imperfect models and illusive ideals; and so let us have one
+God (Good), One Mind, and that one perfect, producing His own models of
+excellence.’”
+
+That evening, the clerk at the hotel office handed Mr. Fabian a card.
+
+“Why, how strange!” remarked he, glancing again, at the pasteboard in
+his hand.
+
+“What is it?” asked Nancy, trying to look over his shoulder.
+
+“The Alexanders were here. As we were out they left a card saying that
+they were going on to Paris, at once, and would see us at the hotel
+where we said we would stop.”
+
+“How very strange!” exclaimed Mrs. Fabian, while the girls wondered what
+had happened to so suddenly change the minds of their friends.
+
+“I never heard of anything like that. One day Mrs. Alexander was crazy
+to visit the Osgoods, and now they run away and are as crazy to reach
+Paris,” said Eleanor.
+
+“I’m glad for Dodo’s sake. The poor girl didn’t want to go to Osgood
+Hall, at all, and I know how she felt about Jimmy,” said Polly.
+
+“Maybe that’s what caused all the fuss. Dodo put down her foot and
+refused him outright, and that made his folks too angry to forgive her,”
+said Eleanor, romancing.
+
+“Well, now she can go along with us, can’t she Daddy, and get all the
+information she wants, from visiting the places we go to.”
+
+“With her parents’ consent, I should like to help Dodo to a higher plane
+for herself,” returned Mr. Fabian.
+
+As they started again for their rooms, Polly laughed at a sudden memory.
+“Oh, maybe Ebeneezer’s poisonous black pipe played such havoc at the
+first dinner at Osgood Hall, that the guests couldn’t stand it, and he
+was sent away with his friend.”
+
+Everyone laughed merrily at Polly’s picture of Mr. Alexander and his old
+friend pipe.
+
+The next day after the Fabian party returned from the last sight-seeing
+in London, a wire was handed the man of the group. He opened it hastily,
+and read aloud: “Send word when you leave for Paris. Will meet you at
+train with car. Alexander.”
+
+“Now that is really nice of the little man, I say,” added Mr. Fabian, as
+he handed the message to his wife.
+
+“Then you’d better wire him at once, for we plan to go tomorrow,”
+advised Mrs. Fabian.
+
+Everything had been attended to in London, and the girls took a farewell
+look at the city as they sped away to Dover where they expected to take
+the Channel Boat for Havre.
+
+Much has been said about the rough crossing of this little strip of
+water, but the girls found it as quiet as a mill-pond, and the steamer
+skimmed the waves like a sea-gull. The ride in the dusty train, from
+Havre to Paris, was the most unpleasant part of the trip. But upon
+leaving the train at Paris, they saw Dodo and her father anxiously
+scanning the faces that passed by.
+
+“Here we are, Dodo!” called Polly, eagerly, as she jumped forward and
+caught her friend’s hand.
+
+“Dear me! I’m as glad to see you-all as I can be,” cried Dodo, shaking
+everyone eagerly by the hand.
+
+“Yeh, you’re a sight for sore eyes,” remarked her father.
+
+“We’ve only been in Paris a day and night, but Pa hasn’t any French with
+him, and I’ve only got a few words that I am always using mistakenly, so
+we’re happy to have someone who can speak and understand the lingo”
+laughed Dodo, happily.
+
+They all got into the luxurious car that had carried them so many miles
+over England, and as they sank down upon the soft cushions, Polly said:
+“An automobile really is nicer than a hard old steam-tram.”
+
+Mrs. Fabian, always polite, asked: “How is your mother, Dodo?”
+
+“Last time we saw her she was first class, thank you.”
+
+“She may be having high-sterics now, however,” added Mr. Alexander,
+chucklingly.
+
+“What do you mean? Isn’t she well?” asked Mrs. Fabian.
+
+“We _hope_ she is well, Mrs. Fabian, but we left her at Osgood Hall,
+while we eloped to Paris,” laughed Dodo.
+
+“Eloped! What _are_ you talking about, child?” demanded Mrs. Fabian,
+while the girls sat up, eager to hear a story.
+
+“Pa and I just _had_ to elope, you know, to save our lives. We waited
+until Ma got nicely settled with the family, then we got in the car and
+ran away. We haven’t heard, yet, in answer to our telegram from here, so
+we’re frightened to pieces lest Ma packs up and comes after us,”
+explained Dodo.
+
+But this fear was quieted when they all went into the hotel and the
+clerk handed Mr. Alexander a message. He opened it with trembling
+fingers, and suddenly sat down in a great chair.
+
+“Goodness me, Pa! What is it? Is she coming for us?” cried Dodo, in an
+agony of suspense.
+
+“No—that’s why I caved in, Dodo. The relief was so turrible!” sighed
+the little man.
+
+Everyone felt sorry for these two, but the situation was so funny that
+they laughed in spite of their trying not to.
+
+“Yes, laugh,” giggled Dodo, “that’s just what Pa and I did when we got
+well away on the road to London. When I think of how they must have
+looked when they read the note I pinned on my cushion for Ma, I have to
+laugh myself.”
+
+“What was in the note, Do?” asked Eleanor, curiously.
+
+“I said I was eloping with the man I loved best on earth—which was
+true, you know. And I knew I could never be happy with a title, as long
+as I loved this everyday man. That was true, too. So I was fleeing with
+him, to Paris, where I hoped to meet her some day and ask her
+forgiveness.”
+
+The girls laughed heartily at Dodo’s note, and Polly said she was
+awfully clever to think it out that way.
+
+“Oh, but it was Pa who planned it all. And when we got to Paris, he
+wired back to Ma, saying: ‘Got Dodo in time. Never laid eyes on that
+young man, but will keep her safe with me. Better not try to join us
+yet, she may not want to be reminded of the good home and young man she
+ran away from.’”
+
+“And this is what Ma wired back,” said Mr. Alexander, sitting up to read
+the message. “Just read Dodo’s note about her elopement. Glad you are
+after her, Eben. Don’t let her marry any man, while there is a chance of
+Jimmy. Maggie.”
+
+“So now, folks, Ma is safe at Osgood Hall, and we are here, with our
+car, with you. What’s to hinder us from taking you all over Europe in
+the old machine, eh?” eagerly asked Mr. Alexander.
+
+“Your offer is very attractive, Mr. Alex,” returned Mr. Fabian, “but I
+am not in a position to accept it without consulting further with my
+wife and the girls.”
+
+“Why not? Here’s a car and a fine chauffeur for you-all to use as you
+like, and you admit that you’re going to visit the big cities of Europe,
+and that means travel in some sort of way.”
+
+“Oh yes, that part of the plan is as you say,” admitted Mr. Fabian, “but
+there is more to it than mere travelling. You must understand that Mrs.
+Alexander has a claim on that car, too, and I don’t see how we can tour
+away from Paris in her car without her knowledge and willing consent.”
+
+“Oh, as for that!” retorted the little husband, “she’d be only too glad
+to hear Dodo was safe with you folks on a tour. Diden’ I tell you-all
+that she’s happy where she is, and nothin’ can tear her away from the
+Osgoods, at present?”
+
+“Besides that, I want to stay with you-all,” added Dodo, plaintively.
+“So that I can get more knowledge of decorating, because I’ve made up my
+mind, once and for all time, to go into a business as you girls propose
+doing.”
+
+Mr. Fabian yearned to encourage the girl in her ambition, but he was
+adamant when it came to using the Alexander car under the circumstances.
+All the persuasions of father and daughter could not move him from what
+he considered to be a just decision.
+
+There the matter was left for the time being, but Mr. Fabian was not so
+narrow-minded that he refused to drive about Paris with the little man,
+on the different occasions when he and his party were invited to go.
+
+The day after their arrival at the hotel in Paris, Polly said to Dodo:
+“Did your wedding-chest arrive here safely?”
+
+“Yes, it came, and it’s gone again.”
+
+“Gone again! Where?” said surprised Polly.
+
+“Gone to Ruth—for her birthday gift,” giggled Dodo.
+
+“Not really! Why how wonderful for Ruth,” exclaimed the girls in a
+chorus.
+
+Dodo smiled. “Don’t you remember what I said to Ruth about a little
+gift, the day we drove away from that old shop?”
+
+“I remember, but no one dreamed you meant that _chest_,” replied Polly.
+
+“I made up my mind about it, the moment I found how Ma got it from under
+Ruth’s nose. That’s why I made Ma say the chest was my very own—so she
+could not come back at me and say I had no right to give it away.”
+
+“Dodo, you are splendid in your generous way of giving. If only everyone
+was like you!” cried Polly, giving her a hug.
+
+“There! That hug means more to me than a wedding-chest,” laughed Dodo,
+pink with pleasure.
+
+When Mrs. Fabian heard of the gift to Ruth she caught the girl’s hand
+and said: “Dodo, Ruth will be so happy, I know.”
+
+“Dear me, you-all make as much fuss over that chest as if I had to earn
+the money for it. I can’t forget that we have more cash than we can ever
+spend honestly,” declared Dodo.
+
+When Mrs. Fabian told her husband about the gift and Dodo’s point of
+view about wealth, it had more influence with him than anyone could have
+thought for. He felt that Dodo and her father were really worth-while
+characters, but there was a roughness about them that needed some
+polishing before the purity and beauty of their souls would shine forth
+resplendently and make others appreciate them.
+
+The streets of Paris were anything but good for motoring because of the
+broken cobbles, and deep ruts in the roads. The disagreeable odors, too,
+created by poor sanitation in the city, caused Polly and her chums to
+cover their noses many a time.
+
+“I like the wonders of Paris, but I can’t say that I like the people and
+the everyday annoyances,” remarked Polly, one day.
+
+“The shops are beautiful!” said Eleanor.
+
+“And the signs—they are marvellous,” added Dodo.
+
+Mr. Fabian laughed at the individual tastes, and Mrs. Fabian said:
+“Well, we can’t get away any too soon to please me.”
+
+“‘Them’s our sentiments, too,’” laughed Polly.
+
+“I’ll hate to leave the Bohemian Restaurants,” sighed Nancy. “I always
+did like to sit under a tall palm and watch the people parade by, so
+near me that I could reach out a hand and catch hold of them.”
+
+“Now that all but Mr. Alex and I have had a say I’ll add, that I like
+Paris because of the marvellous collections for artists to visit, and
+profit by,” remarked Mr. Fabian.
+
+“An’ I like the gay town because no one bothers you. You can smoke a
+pipe, or do any durn thing without someone’s kickin’,” added little Mr.
+Alexander.
+
+His opinion drew a general laughter from the group.
+
+From the first day of the arrival of Mr. Fabian and his party, little
+Mr. Alexander had daily exchanged messages with his wife, hoping in that
+way, to receive one that would convince Mr. Fabian that he must make use
+of the car for the tour of the Continent. But he could not read his
+wife’s confused statements and feel that the right one had yet arrived
+for him to use in this need.
+
+The day the girls started for the Louvre, Mr. Alexander and his car had
+been refused because, they said, they would be busy in the Galleries all
+day and could not ask him to sit outside waiting for their appearance.
+
+So they left him sitting at a writing table in the hotel, and started
+for the Louvre. As they approached the grounds of the famous museum,
+they were thrilled with the magnificence of the place.
+
+“It is considered the finest museum in the world, and contains rarest
+national collections of art and antiquity that date back as far as
+Philippe Auguste, in 1180,” explained Mr. Fabian. “Philippe Auguste
+built a fortress here to protect the walls of his hunting-box where it
+touched the river. This old foundation can be seen by visitors on
+certain days, and I arranged so that we would come on one of the days.”
+
+So the girls followed their escort down to the cellars, where the old
+walls were seen. But they were not deeply interested in foundations with
+no claim to beauty or value for the world, so they soon returned to the
+Halls where the antiques were on exhibition.
+
+To reach the Rotonde D’ Apollon, Mr. Fabian led the girls past Galleries
+filled with paintings, sculptures, ivories and other art treasures. Then
+having seen these collections, they passed through a seventh century
+iron gateway brought from the Chateau de Maisons, and entered the
+magnificent room which was sixty-one metres long and was built in the
+time of Henri IV. In this galerie, as in others following it, there were
+shown such placques, vases, dishes, and other objects of art, that the
+beholders were silent with admiration.
+
+Beyond the Salle des Bronzes Antiques, where very fine examples of
+bronzes were to be seen, the girls visited five rooms containing 17th
+and early 18th century furniture. Here they also found several exquisite
+Gobelin and Mortlake tapestries.
+
+That evening the hotel clerk handed Mr. Fabian a legal looking envelope,
+which, upon being opened, proved to contain the passes necessary for
+visitors to enter and see the famous tapestries woven by the Gobelin
+Society.
+
+“Ah! Now you girls will see something worth while,” remarked Mr. Fabian,
+holding the slips of paper above his head. “I have here the ‘open
+sesame’ to the National Manufactory of the Gobelins which still is
+housed in the grounds of Louis the XVIth. There we may feast our eyes on
+some of the examples of weaving that has made this Society so famous.”
+
+“When will we go?” asked Polly, eagerly.
+
+“Tomorrow, the passes say.”
+
+Everyone expressed an eagerness to see these looms and the method of
+making the tapestries, so it was planned that the entire party should
+go, excepting Mr. Alexander who preferred a drive in his car after
+leaving his friends at their destination.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII—DODO MEETS ANOTHER “TITLE”
+
+
+The next day they visited the Gobelin Tapestries. There was but one word
+to express the wonderful work exhibited—and that was “Exquisite.” Some
+of these tapestries are “worth a crown.”
+
+“It doesn’t seem possible that anyone could weave such delicate
+lace-like patterns with mere threads and human hands,” said Polly.
+
+“And such colorings, too! Did you ever see such green velvety lichen as
+seems growing on those old grey monoliths?” added Eleanor.
+
+“See the tiny dash of red that is necessary, given by the pigeon berry
+growing in that lichen,” remarked Polly.
+
+The others said nothing, because they were so impressed by the beauty of
+the complete picture that the details failed to reach them. Then Mr.
+Fabian told the history of the Gobelins.
+
+“In its foundation year there were two hundred and fifty weavers engaged
+in weaving these marvellous tapestries. But that number has dwindled,
+today, to sixty. And there used to be an annual appropriation of two
+hundred thousand francs that today has dwindled, also; to fifty thousand
+francs.
+
+“The famous old Gobelins owned by the State, and exhibited at the
+Museums and at public buildings in Paris, are today worth fortunes. Few
+are owned by the Trade and such as are are the more modern pieces that
+date back to Napoleon III.
+
+“Many pieces of rare Gobelins were sold because of royal vicissitudes
+previous to 1870, but since then no tapestries have been available to
+the public. This enhances the value of any Gobelin that was sold to
+assist the Treasury in 1852.
+
+“One of the most famous series ever produced, known as ‘Portières of the
+Gods,’ consists of eight pieces, representing the four seasons and the
+four elements. Each design is personified by one of the gods or
+goddesses of Olympus. This series has been repeated until there are two
+hundred and thirty-seven sets that left the looms.
+
+“When one of these portières of the gods appear in a sale there is most
+lively bidding for it, and prices soar higher than any other Gobelin
+usually brings.
+
+“The ‘Don Quixote’ series of five pieces, is perhaps the most famous of
+all Gobelins recently sold. To show the keen appreciation of such
+tapestry, the price paid at a sale of such was six hundred thousand
+francs.”
+
+As Mr. Fabian concluded, Polly laughingly remarked: “I wonder if Nolla
+and I will ever reach that degree in decorating where a customer will
+commission us to go and buy such a tapestry.”
+
+“Of course you will! As soon as I marry that title that Ma is hunting up
+for me, I’ll give you the order for the whole set,” laughed Dodo.
+
+“Let’s hope we may have to wait forever, then, if the commission depends
+on your misery,” retorted Eleanor.
+
+After leaving the Gobelins, Mr. Fabian took his party to some of the old
+curio shops in Paris, where one can spend many interesting hours—if one
+likes antiques.
+
+That evening Mr. Alexander insisted upon their going, as his guests, to
+one of the famous cafés. And as they sat at one of the way-side tables
+watching the stream of pleasure-seekers go past, Dodo suddenly drew the
+attention of her companions to a man who was strolling by.
+
+“Now there’s what I call a really handsome Frenchman,” whispered she.
+
+“Why, if it isn’t Count Chalmys!” exclaimed Nancy, jumping up to catch
+hold of the gentleman’s arm.
+
+“What’s that! Anuther title?” asked Mr. Alexander with a frown.
+
+“Yes, but don’t worry, Pa,” laughed Dodo, encouragingly. “If Ma’s not
+about there’s no danger for you and me.”
+
+The others laughed at Mr. Alexander’s evident concern and Dodo’s instant
+rejoinder to his question. Then Nancy brought the gentleman over to meet
+her friends. He shook hands with Mrs. Fabian and then turned to
+acknowledge the introductions.
+
+“This is Miss Polly Brewster and Miss Eleanor Maynard whom I told you
+about, when they discovered the gold mine on the mountains in
+Colorado—you remember?”
+
+“Ah, to be sure!” responded the Count.
+
+“And Miss Dorothy Alexander from Denver, Mr. Alexander her father, and
+my father, Mr. Fabian. This is Count Chalmys, of Northern Italy,
+friends.”
+
+Everyone acknowledged the introduction, and the Count seemed over-joyed
+to meet so many of “Mees Nancy’s” friends. He sat down with the group
+and soon led the conversation. Mr. Alexander sat glowering at him but it
+was difficult to read the little man’s thoughts.
+
+The Count seemed more attracted to Polly than to the other girls, but
+then he had heard of Rainbow Cliffs and that Gold Mine, thought Dodo. On
+the walk to the hotel, he mentioned a famous collector’s sale which
+would begin the following day at one of the Auction Galleries.
+
+“Oh, are you interested in antiques, then?” asked Polly, eagerly.
+
+“I like paintings—old masters and such things. I never lose an
+opportunity to secure one when it is offered for sale. My palace, near
+Venice, is a museum of paintings. You must visit it when you tour
+Italy,” responded the Count.
+
+Mr. Fabian now asked: “Is it possible for us to secure an entrance to
+this sale, Count?”
+
+“I can easily secure tickets and a catalogue for you, Monsieur Fabian.
+Will the young ladies be pleased to attend, also?”
+
+“Oh yes, it is for their interests that I would like to attend, and
+explain various objects that might be found in the collection.”
+
+“Then leave it to me, Monsieur. I will arrange everything for their
+convenience.”
+
+The Count left the Americans at the hotel door, and said good-night. As
+they all walked laughingly through the main lobby, the clerk sent a page
+after them with a cablegram. It was for Mr. Alexander and he felt a
+tremor of apprehension as he took it.
+
+He turned to the others and said (exactly as he had heard Mr. Fabian do)
+“Pardon me, whiles I read what the missus has to say now.” Then he
+quickly opened the envelope.
+
+“Well, that settles my vacation!” exclaimed he.
+
+“What’s the matter, Pa?” asked Dodo, anxiously.
+
+“Ma’s gone and got that roadster for two—it is a Packard the same as
+our other car, but now she wants to tour around, and she thinks she will
+bring Jimmy over to Paris for a little jaunt.”
+
+“Jimmy! Good gracious, why will she have to bring that child with her?”
+complained Dodo, poutingly.
+
+“She wouldn’t bring him, Dodo, if she thought there were better
+‘handles’ to be had on the Continent,” laughed Eleanor.
+
+“That’s a good idea! Pa, we’ll wire Ma to leave Jimmy there, as she’ll
+have more fun selecting her future son-in-law from the crowd of titles
+she can have for the asking, over here,” eagerly suggested Dodo.
+
+Mr. Alexander seemed to take the suggestion seriously, for he returned:
+“I’ll step over, now, and send a word that will keep that little Osgood
+boy at home with his folks.”
+
+No one knew what Mr. Alexander said in his message, but the next day a
+reply came, saying: “I will do as you say, and not come over at once.
+Try and arrange everything satisfactorily for us.”
+
+Even Dodo could not coax her father to tell what he had said, but it was
+evident that Mrs. Alexander felt satisfied to remain in England and
+leave other matters in the hands of her spouse.
+
+The Count called on the tourists at the hotel, that morning, with the
+tickets of admission to the sale, and Mr. Alexander drove them to the
+Gallery, and left them there for the day.
+
+They were given good seats in the front row of buyers, and the moment
+the sale began everyone was interested in the collection. That day,
+Polly secured a Gothic wedding-chest with ornamented and beautifully
+carved sides and lid. Mr. Fabian bought two panels from a XVI century
+door which he planned to use for two table-ends for his library table.
+
+Eleanor and Dodo bought a few smaller trifles, but that day’s sale
+brought out such a conglomeration of beautiful objects, as well as
+dreadful imitations, that Mr. Fabian warned the girls about bidding
+injudiciously.
+
+“This sale offers a fine opportunity of study for us, girls, but let me
+advise you before you bid on anything. I want you to look well at
+everything put up, and tell me why it is good, or what makes it
+impossible. In this way, you will learn a great deal, even though you
+may not care to buy the articles we criticise.”
+
+Then he turned to Dodo and added: “One cannot train his eyes to
+recognize art and beauty at once, you see. Your eyes may criticise and
+your hands may accomplish art-work, but the inspiration that truly
+expresses art comes from Mind alone. Thus the finer and more harmonious
+the thoughts of the mentality that thinks, the more beautiful and
+perfect will be his achievement in any line of work.
+
+“Take our own line, for instance—interior decorating. The genius is one
+who has sympathy, tact, good sense, and practicality, _combined_ with
+his talent to select, assort, group and arrange the numerous objects
+necessary to create an atmosphere.
+
+“Wall-coverings and hangings, floor-coverings, pictures,
+lighting-fixtures and trim of rooms, are fully as important a feature in
+an effect, as the furniture of the room, for it all goes to make the
+complete picture of a home.
+
+“No novice can win laurels in this line, Dodo. But one who earnestly
+studies and conscientiously applies the valuable experiences of other
+successful artists of the past, will win. That is why I wanted my girls
+to see the collections in Europe—to benefit them by the successes and
+hard work of others, whose work of past times is still found to be the
+best of its kind, and now are on free exhibition in museums and chateaux
+of the Continent.”
+
+Turning to the other girls who were listening to him, he added: “Now
+gaze about and remember. Tell me how _not_ to decorate with impossible
+objects on view here and elsewhere; and how to use what is really good
+that will combine to present a perfect interior.”
+
+Then the girls took a new interest in studying and criticising the
+different pieces that were placed on sale. Dodo showed an aptitude that
+astonished Mr. Fabian and his students, for no one had given her credit
+for having such a critical sense on works of art.
+
+The first piece exhibited for sale was a secretaire. The other girls
+were still musing over its form and construction when Dodo exclaimed
+impetuously: “Oh what a monstrosity! even though it has a beautiful
+grain in the wood, it is so awfully clumsy.”
+
+“Why do you say that?” asked Mr. Fabian, highly pleased, while the Count
+turned to notice the girl he had paid no attention to, before this.
+
+“Why just look at it! With its heavy thick-set legs that belong to a
+rhinoceros, and its slender graceful body that looks like a fawn’s.”
+
+Everyone within hearing of this remark, laughed softly. Loud speaking or
+disturbing sounds were forbidden, so Polly and Eleanor had to hush their
+merriment with their handkerchiefs.
+
+The Count suddenly adjusted the monocle he affected and whispered to
+Polly: “You must be proud of your fellow-student.”
+
+Polly instantly replied, without explaining the situation: “Oh yes, we
+are. Dodo is very remarkable in many ways.”
+
+But Mr. Fabian said, as soon as he could control his sense of humor,
+“Dodo, you have a true eye for lines, and that criticism is worthy of a
+news-paper man—it is so graphic.”
+
+Following the secretaire, were several pieces of nondescript furniture
+that was quickly bid upon and sold to people who wanted mere articles
+for use and not for beauty. Then a suite of furniture was placed upon
+the dais and the auctioneer began to point out its especial claims to
+beauty.
+
+“Girls, is anything wrong with that furniture? Who would use it in a
+home, and what style of house does it belong in?” said Mr. Fabian.
+
+Again Dodo was the first with her criticism. “Who wants doleful
+furniture, in a bed-room, to make you weep just as you lose
+consciousness in sleep? One needs cheerful objects to close one’s eyes
+upon, and also to bid you good-morning when you wake up.”
+
+“Fine!” complimented Count Chalmys, still more interested in this
+precocious young lady of not yet seventeen.
+
+“True, and who wants majestic pieces in a nursery?” said Eleanor.
+
+“Or dainty personal lounges or chairs in the City Hall,” added Polly,
+smilingly.
+
+“Exactly, girls! I am so proud of you all that I feel as if someone had
+presented me with a bouquet of flowers.”
+
+The impossible set of furniture had been sold and now a Gothic armchair
+of carved deadwood, upholstered in faded tapestry with beautiful blends
+of colors that only great age could produce was brought out and placed
+on exhibition. The moment Polly saw it she made up her mind to have it.
+But she now knew how to go about bidding in a public sale, because of
+the experience Eleanor and she had had in New York, when they went about
+with Mr. Fabian.
+
+The auctioneer started the chair at a reasonable figure and instantly
+there was lively bidding for it. Polly said not a word but waited
+eagerly. Then one bidder after another fell out of the contest, until it
+finally narrowed down to two men.
+
+Polly’s companions knew that she was but waiting her time to speak out.
+And they were anxiously watching the two men who seemed bent on getting
+the chair. Finally one of the men shook his head to indicate that he
+would go no higher, and the auctioneer said: “What! Is this all I can
+get for this fine example of cabinet-work?”
+
+Very calmly and quietly, then, Polly raised the last bid.
+
+Everyone turned to glance at the unexpected contestant, and the
+amazement expressed on many faces, as well as on that of the auctioneer
+because of the girl’s youth amused Polly’s friends. The auctioneer
+asked: “Did the young lady make a bid?”
+
+Polly noded affirmatively. But the man who was bidding thought to cut
+her out by raising his bid considerably higher. The salesman turned then
+to Polly to see if she still wished to bid.
+
+“Double his bid!” called out Polly.
+
+Again there was surprise shown by others, and the man who thought he had
+frightened off his youthful opponent, frowned.
+
+When the auctioneer smilingly looked to the collector to increase his
+bid, the man carefully raised it a small sum. Polly now knew he was wary
+of spending his money, so she took advantage of the cue to call out a
+figure that was startlingly higher than the collector’s; so that he
+instantly shook his head in refusal of any further bidding or interest
+in the chair.
+
+“What! no higher bid from you when you want this chair?” coaxed the
+auctioneer.
+
+Again the man frowned and shook his head positively, but he did this
+hoping Polly would weaken, and then he would come back and mention a
+slight increase on her price.
+
+The auctioneer thinking his negative signal was final, turned to Polly
+and said: “It’s yours, Miss. And allow me to congratulate you, not alone
+on having acquired the finest bit in this entire lot, but also on being
+a very clever and experienced buyer.”
+
+The moment the collector realized that the auctioneer had knocked down
+the chair to his adversary without again consulting him, he protested.
+“I claim that chair!” cried he.
+
+“By what right?” demanded the auctioneer.
+
+“Because I was bidding on it against this young lady, and you did not
+cry it three times as you should have done.”
+
+“I asked you, and you shook your head. Then I told you it was worth
+higher bidding, but you denied going higher—a shake of the head is as
+legal a denial as a spoken word, in this case. I have witnesses that you
+refused to go higher, so I sold it to the young lady.”
+
+The man who was a dealer and had a customer for such a chair, was
+furious at having lost it to a mere girl. He began an argument, but the
+auctioneer calmly remarked: “This is a public sale, and as such, order
+must be maintained. I shall have to ask anyone creating a disturbance to
+leave the premises.”
+
+That quieted the disputant, and Polly kept her chair. Her companions
+congratulated her on securing it, but Mr. Fabian wished to know why she
+took such a sudden fancy for the piece of furniture, when there were
+other fine pieces that might appeal to a girl.
+
+“Because, the moment I saw that chair tapestry it reminded me of my home
+at Pebbly Pit. We have just such wonderful sunsets as that chair
+covering represents. Glorious colors that flare in points at some
+places, and then fade away in the western sky like misty violets in a
+rivulet; or like the gray of twilight before night falls,” explained
+Polly, reminiscently.
+
+“Oh yes, Polly,” assented Eleanor. “Just like we saw over Rainbow
+Cliffs, so many times.”
+
+“Miss Polly is some artiste natural born, I think,” said the Count, who
+had been deeply impressed by the girl’s remark.
+
+“Polly’s a poet and doesn’t know it!” declared Dodo, fervently. “If I
+ever could say such a lovely thing in words about an old chair, I’d
+begin to believe I had escaped Ma’s plans for a title in the family.”
+
+Of course her companions laughed at her unconscious rhyme and, also, at
+her quaint expression of face, but the Count wondered what she meant by
+“a title in the family.”
+
+After Polly secured the armchair, Eleanor bid upon and got a XVI century
+cabinet of the Lyonnaise school; and Dodo bought a Renaissance hall
+table. Mr. Fabian secured a Spanish Renaissance divan, and the Count
+managed to buy the pictures he wanted. Towards the end of the day, Polly
+and Eleanor secured a few odd things, such as an iron lock, chiselled
+from a solid block of metal that was said to date from the XV century;
+and Polly got an old door-knocker that was more than two hundred years
+old.
+
+The last group of furniture pieces put up for sale, that day, was
+arranged on the dais just as Mr. Fabian was preparing to go. He turned
+and saw it, then the auctioneer called out: “Here is a splendid suite of
+furniture for a bachelor’s den. Now what am I bid for it?”
+
+Mr. Fabian whispered to the girls: “It is a pity the man should try to
+sell that set by praising it as he did. He knows, only too well, that it
+is unsuitable for a man’s room. But tell me why, girls?”
+
+Dodo curled her lips in scorn at the elaborate pieces and remarked:
+“Would one wish to decorate a ball-room with black crêpe?”
+
+Her friends laughed at the very sarcastic criticism, and the Count said,
+smilingly: “But that is not mourning furniture!”
+
+“No, but it is just as bad taste for a man’s room. Why should a
+bachelor’s _den_ use soft tints and motifs of Louis XVI period, when
+they are more appropriate in a reception room, or a lady’s boudoir?”
+
+That last retort from such a prepossessing girl, completed the havoc in
+the Count’s susceptible heart. He thenceforth planned to lay his title
+and encumbered Italian estate at Dodo’s feet. But he found it not as
+easy as he had thought for, when he took this fervent decision.
+
+He invited the American party to be his guests that night, at dinner,
+and he arranged so that he could sit next to Dodo. But that was all the
+good it did him, for the girls were so full of the fun and joys of
+bargain hunting that they spoke of nothing else.
+
+After the exultation of possession had calmed down, somewhat, Nancy
+Fabian said: “Daddy, why are some such atrocious pieces of furniture as
+we saw today flung to the people?”
+
+“One reason why France has, of recent years, had some such uncouth
+furniture made, is because the Guild of Cabinet Makers is no longer in
+existence to enforce its laws. There was once a provision made, in 1645,
+that every piece of furniture made in France had to be passed upon by
+the Guild. And that is why old furniture from these French cabinet
+makers, is so highly prized by collectors, now.
+
+“This Guild examined every aspirant to the title of Master Craftsman,
+and without a certificate signed by ten of the jurors of the Guild, he
+dared not establish himself; their regulations were very strict so as to
+protect art, consequently but few atrocities were cast upon the market
+of France for more than two hundred years after the founding of this
+protective Guild.”
+
+“Well, it’s too bad we haven’t a Guild in America,” said Polly, her tone
+causing her friends to laugh heartily.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX—MR. ALEXANDER’S SURPRISE
+
+
+The next day Mr. Fabian conducted his girls to various cathedrals and
+famous buildings in the city, and that night they returned to the hotel
+to find little Mr. Alexander standing in front of it waiting for them.
+
+“I’ve got turrible news for you-all,” said he in a most lugubrious tone.
+His face expressed the greatest sorrow and concern.
+
+“My goodness, Pa! What’s the matter?” cried Dodo, anxiously.
+
+“It’s worse than you-all can reckon, so I’ll tell you. This afternoon
+when I come back from a little joy-ride, I saw a dandy little car out
+here, but when I took a good squint at it I saw it were a Packard
+Roadster. At that, my legs began to shake and I feared Maggie might have
+come over, in spite of my wire to her.
+
+“And then, before I could get courage to go indoors, I heard her voice.
+I tried to hide behind that big pillar, there, but no use! So, Dodo,
+your Ma’s here and is in the parlor talking to Count Chalmys.”
+
+As everyone had expected to hear dire news, the relief upon hearing that
+Mrs. Alexander had arrived was so great that it caused a general laugh.
+Nancy Fabian turned and asked of the little millionaire: “How did your
+wife meet the Count?”
+
+“Oh, I figgered that she would be so glad to know a real live Count,
+that I saved my own head that way. She won’t remember my misdeeds now,”
+softly laughed Mr. Alexander.
+
+When the exchange of effusive greetings on the part of Mrs. Alexander,
+and the quiet welcome from the other Americans, had subsided, she
+remembered something to tell Dodo, that concerned her deeply.
+
+“What do you think, Dodo? About those Osgoods?”
+
+“How should I know, Ma. Your tone indicates that you are not very well
+pleased with them, whatever it is,” replied Dodo.
+
+“I should say _not_! Why, I found out that the title of ‘Sir’ and ‘Lady’
+does not mean _anything_ in their family. Jimmy can’t inherit the honor,
+either. His father got it because he did something unusual with a
+factory that made munitions when the war first broke out. It wasn’t an
+entailed title at all, and it stops with this Osgood. Dear me! When I
+think of it—you might have had to marry just a plain James Osgood,
+after all!”
+
+“Oh no, I wouldn’t, Ma. I said from the first, that I never would marry
+anyone I didn’t like. And it would take an American to do that,”
+declared Dodo.
+
+“What happened when you learned about the title, Maggie?” asked Mr.
+Alexander, unusually gay over the information.
+
+“Why, I just told Jimmy Osgood that I wouldn’t _take_ him to Paris in my
+new car, if that was the case. I think they might have told me how such
+matters were conducted in England, then I might have spared all my time
+in planning as I did.” Mrs. Alexander’s voice plainly expressed the
+disapproval she felt at keeping her in ignorance of the methods of
+Burke.
+
+Her hearers managed to keep straight faces, however, and waited until
+the Count said good-day. Then they all went upstairs to plan about the
+tour in Europe.
+
+“I invited Count Chalmys to accept the empty seat beside me in my new
+roadster,” ventured Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“You did!” gasped Dodo, unbelievingly.
+
+“But he refused, didn’t he?” said Nancy, confidently.
+
+“Oh no! he said he’d be delighted. He planned to go home to his castle,
+soon, and he said you-all were going to visit him there; so he felt he
+might accept my invitation to tour with me, as long as we were to be all
+in one party,” explained Mrs. Alexander, greatly pleased with the
+outcome of her meeting with the Count.
+
+Dodo groaned, and her friends smiled in sympathy, for they understood
+the reason of Mrs. Alexander’s sudden interest in an Italian Count.
+
+“When do you propose to start on this tour?” asked the lady, after a few
+moments of silence.
+
+“Right away—tomorrow!” declared Dodo, angrily.
+
+“Oh! surely not before we buy some nice gowns and things to wear?” cried
+her mother, tragically.
+
+“Yes, at once! _I_ don’t want any new clothes!” snapped Dodo.
+
+“But, my child! What about that trooso chest. It ought to be filled, you
+know, to be ready to send home,” reminded the mother.
+
+“Oh, I gave that chest away for a birthday gift,” said Dodo,
+indifferently.
+
+“Gave it away! Why—what for?” gasped Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“I didn’t want it, and it was my very own—you said so.”
+
+As that was true, nothing more was said about the chest, at the time,
+but nothing could stop Mrs. Alexander from planning and scheming about
+her daughter’s future. As the other girls and Mrs. Fabian said nothing
+about shopping, but preferred waiting until they returned to Paris
+again, it was decided that they would start on the trip the following
+day. That evening was devoted to studying a road-map and selecting an
+itinerary.
+
+Mr. Alexander had but one desire in the matter, and that began and ended
+with the first lap of the drive. “I want to see the war-zone, where our
+boys fit them Germans. I hear ’em tell in the hotel lobby, that the
+roads are fair all through them battle fields like Verdun, on the Somme,
+and others. So I want to drive there, and then, afterwards, you can do
+what you-all like on this tour with me as chauffeur.”
+
+“Oh, we _all_ want to pass through those famous places, too, so that is
+settled,” exclaimed Nancy Fabian, glancing at her friends for approval
+of this plan.
+
+“All right. Put that down on your paper, Professor,” advised Mr.
+Alexander; then he leaned back and sighed as if he had done all that was
+expected of him.
+
+After several hours of planning and writing, the route was mapped out,
+and the group felt that it was as good as any ever made by a number of
+tourists.
+
+It was noon the next day before the party really started on its way, as
+the Count failed to appear on time, and an hour was lost in trying to
+get him on a telephone. When he did appear, he had a gorgeous bouquet of
+hothouse flowers for Mrs. Alexander, and a huge box of bon-bons for the
+girls.
+
+That afternoon they drove over the famous sector where millions fought
+and fell for a Principle, in the greatest mortal combat the world has
+ever witnessed. After seeing the ruins the war made of Verdun, as well
+as of other villages, Mr. Alexander drove to Reims. Here they found
+quarters for the night, and waited to visit the cathedral in the
+morning.
+
+From Reims they went through St. Quentin, and on to Boulogne. That night
+they stopped at a quaint inn in Normandy. The ancient hostelry was but
+two stories high, with upper windows overlooking a wonderful garden. The
+high stone wall that enclosed this garden had niches, every so often, in
+the thick wall.
+
+Mr. Fabian spoke excellent French, and the other members in the party
+understood everything that was said, so all enjoyed the conversation
+that now took place.
+
+“Have you been owner of this Inn very long?” asked Mr. Fabian,
+courteously.
+
+“All my life, and my father and grandfather before me,” was the
+unexpected reply.
+
+“Then you can tell me if this is an old house, or only modelled after
+the old style.”
+
+“Ah!” breathed the old man, softly. “It ees so old that my grandfather
+knew not when it was built. It ees the gate-house of a convent that
+formerly was famous. When it was abandoned, because of the Order being
+abolished by law, my grandfather was left to supervise the work.
+
+“He bought the property when it was sold, and since then his descendants
+have lived here. With the old stone gate-house this garden patch was
+included, but all the other buildings were razed and the land sold.”
+
+“How interesting,” remarked Mr. Fabian. “Then that old garden was really
+part of the original convent grounds?”
+
+“Yes, and those niches you see in the wall held statues and holy figures
+at one time. Some of them were carved by well-known men about here. I
+found several of them buried in the garden when I turned up the soil for
+my father. I was but a boy, then, and I remember he took them away and
+put them in the attic.”
+
+The old host then showed the guests to their various rooms and left them
+to wash and dress for the evening meal. Polly stood gazing from her
+window for a time, picturing the life of past days in that garden, when
+Eleanor exclaimed suddenly and called to her.
+
+“Just look at this heavy walnut bed. It has the most marvellous carvings
+on its head and foot boards.”
+
+After examining the figures carved on the wood, Polly went to the
+toilet-stand and poured some water from a heavy ewer into the stoneware
+basin. As she was about to place the ewer on the tiled floor beside the
+stand, she saw the carved panels that formed the sides of the stand.
+
+“Nolla! Do help me move this heavy stand out to the light—I verily
+believe it is an antique!” cried she.
+
+Having satisfied themselves that the panels were genuine old pieces,
+they ran to Mr. Fabian’s room and called him forth. He examined the
+stand and the bed, and some of the old stoneware pieces in the room, and
+sighed. “We’ve stumbled over a veritable Mecca of antiques, girls,” said
+he.
+
+That night after supper, Mr. Fabian led the host to tell of how he
+acquired the pieces of furniture. And the result of that talk was the
+purchase of the stand, the bed, and many smaller pieces of stoneware and
+odd furnishings that had been replevined from the convent building,
+generations before. Even the few statues that had been stored in the low
+attic of the Inn were sold to the Americans; and the old couple were
+made happy at the knowledge that, at last, they were provided for in old
+age, through the sale of the objects that they could readily do without.
+
+The Count was made supremely happy with the purchase of a holy picture
+which he declared was from the brush of an old master. And Mrs.
+Alexander smiled contentedly because the Count was so kind and
+chivalrous to her.
+
+A group of humble peasants gathered, the following morning, to wish the
+tourists God-speed, for the entire village had heard of the good fortune
+that had come to their old friends at the Inn. When a few furlongs
+farther on from the Inn, Mr. Fabian read a sign that said “To
+Abbeville,” he said aloud, “Well, of all things! We stopped at that
+famous old convent spot and never knew it, until this minute.”
+
+From Boulogne, where they wired Mr. Ashby about the bed and other
+articles they had secured, they drove to Ostend. Thence to Bruges, where
+Mr. Fabian showed the girls the famous Belfry that is three hundred and
+fifty feet high. The quaint irregular houses in the streets of the town
+were duly admired and snapshots taken of them by Dodo; then the two cars
+started for Antwerp.
+
+Along the road, and in the villages they passed through, most of the
+peasants wore wooden shoes. One woman was seen driving a tiny milk-cart
+that was drawn by a large dog. The tourists stopped for a drink of the
+rich milk, and Mrs. Fabian noticed the bit of priceless Flemish lace
+pinned upon the peasant’s head.
+
+“How much do you want for that piece of lace, my good woman?” asked she,
+eagerly.
+
+But the woman shook her head and smiled, saying: “My family lace.
+Gran’mudder make it.”
+
+Antwerp still displayed the scars left by the German occupation, so the
+tourists decided not to tarry there very long.
+
+“When I see these things, I feel like I want to war all over again,”
+exclaimed Mr. Alexander.
+
+Late that night they entered Rotterdam, and there found a fine Inn and a
+hearty dinner awaiting them. Having replenished the inner being, they
+started out to see the town by night.
+
+“I don’t see much use in remaining for a day in Rotterdam, girls,”
+remarked Mr. Fabian. “There isn’t much of interest to us, here, and I
+don’t believe we can pick up any ‘old bits’ in the city. Bargains in
+antiques are more readily found in the country places.”
+
+So, late the following morning, they started for Delft; along the road
+Mr. Fabian stopped several times and secured a few fine pieces of old
+Delftware.
+
+The tourists remained at The Hague that night. It was a quaint,
+beautiful old place founded in the year 1250. The artistic-roofed
+houses, the funny dormer windows, the varied and picture-like gables of
+the buildings which were placed irregularly on either side of the narrow
+crooked streets, provided interesting scenes that the girls eagerly
+captured in the camera.
+
+At an antique shop, on a side street not much wider than a country-lane,
+the girls found several old door-knockers with the ancient dates stamped
+in the metal. A great massive lock and key were bought by Mr. Fabian,
+and Dodo got an iron lantern.
+
+Leaving The Hague, the cars drove along beautiful country roads, with
+low white-washed cottages having green wooden shutters at the windows,
+standing prim and pure beside the way. Everything was so clean and neat,
+though the owners seemed poor, that it was remarked by the girls.
+
+“When you compare these peasants and their spotless homes, to the filth
+and shiftlessness of the peasants in Ireland, you cannot help but wonder
+what causes the vast difference in living,” said Polly.
+
+“It is not poverty alone that does this, Polly,” said Mrs. Fabian. “One
+must go way back and seek deep for the causation of such conditions.”
+
+The girls did not understand what she meant, then, but they could not
+help but remember her words later, when they began to question political
+and national problems. Then they understood.
+
+At Leyden Mr. Fabian showed the girls the university that is erected on
+the ground where the Pilgrims landed after their flight from England,
+and before their historic sailing for America. And at Haarlem, the two
+girls Polly and Eleanor, bought a lot of healthy bulbs to be sent home
+for planting in the Spring. As Haarlem is the center of the bulb-growing
+industry of Holland, it displayed more tulips to the square foot, than
+the girls had ever thought it possible to grow.
+
+That evening the two cars entered Amsterdam. The hotel was good, and the
+stop-over most welcome, for the autoists were tired of the continuous
+ride for several days, resting only at night.
+
+The Count managed to get in telephonic connection with Paris, that
+night, and immediately afterwards, he seemed ill at ease. So much so,
+that he finally left the others and they saw him no more that evening.
+Mrs. Alexander showed her disappointment at this unexpected action of
+her charming Count and refused to be condoled by anyone else.
+
+At breakfast in the morning, Count Chalmys announced his unexpected
+desertion of the touring party. “I find I have to fly at once to my
+domain in Northern Italy, my dear friends. A most unexpected business
+affair there demands my presence. Ah, such is the tormented life of a
+land-owner. He can never enjoy freedom, but must always be at the beck
+and call of others.”
+
+“Good gracious, Count! Won’t you join us again, as soon as you settle
+this business in Italy?” asked Mrs. Alexander, anxiously.
+
+“I trust I may, dear lady. But _you_ must surely visit me at my palace,
+when you tour Italy,” returned the gallant Count. Then he gave minute
+directions to Mr. Fabian how they might reach his estates.
+
+After Count Chalmys had gone the tourists had Mrs. Alexander to
+entertain; before this she had devoted her entire time to the Count as
+he was her guest in the small car. Now she insisted upon the girls
+taking turns to ride in her car, and this proved to be unappreciated by
+the three who wished to be with Mr. Fabian in order to hear his opinions
+on the places they passed. Finally Nancy offered to devote her attention
+to Dodo’s mother until they could discover a new “title” to occupy her
+heart and mind and roadster.
+
+While in Amsterdam they visited an old-fashioned coffee-shop with
+living-quarters back of it. When Mr. Fabian explained to the good woman
+who served, that his girls were decorators from America, and they wished
+to see the tiles he had heard of in her living-room, she smiled
+graciously and led the way to the rear rooms.
+
+“Oh Nolla! Look at the funny little ladders one has to climb to reach
+the beds!” cried Polly, laughingly, as she pointed out the built-in beds
+about five feet above the floor.
+
+“I should think they’d smother—all shut up back of those curtains, at
+night,” remarked Dodo.
+
+“And not a bit of ventilation that can get in any other way,” added
+Eleanor.
+
+The hostess comprehended something of what was said, and she laughingly
+shrugged her plump shoulders and pointed to her two “younkers” who were
+as fat and rosy as Baldwin apples. Mr. Fabian was admiring the wonderful
+dado of tiles, that ran about the room from the floor to a height of
+four feet. Each tile presented a scene of Holland, and they were so set
+that a white tile alternated with a Delft blue one, making the whole
+pattern very effective. The windows were placed above the dado, thus
+being four feet above the floor. But instead of high narrow windows,
+they were square, or low and long, and opened in casement style.
+
+While Mr. Fabian was conversing with the woman about old tiles and Dutch
+furniture, Polly spied a corner cupboard. She beckoned Eleanor over to
+it, and the two immediately began examining the old blue ware in the
+china-closet.
+
+Dodo heard them and hurried over, and that drew Mr. Fabian’s attention
+to them, also. His hostess smiled, and led him across the large room to
+the cupboard.
+
+Before the collectors left that room, they had acquired some fine old
+Delft pieces, and Mr. Fabian hugged an antique jug that he was not sure
+of, but its markings would prove its great age as soon as he could trace
+it, he was sure.
+
+Mr. Alexander, who had been almost ignored during the past few days,
+excepting at night when they stopped at different towns for rest, now
+said: “Would you like to reach Cologne tonight? I figger we can do it
+easily, onless you want to stop anywhere?”
+
+“The only place I want to stop and give the girls a peep into a
+porcelain factory, is at Bonn. But that is on the other side of Cologne;
+so let her go, if you like,” returned Mr. Fabian.
+
+The roads, however, were too bad for speeding, and they had to be
+content with reaching Arnheim for the night. The next day they reached
+Cologne, but drove on to Bonn, as Mr. Fabian had planned. In the
+afternoon they reached Coblentz where the great Byzantine Cathedral was
+visited and pictures taken of it. The next day, on the trip southward,
+along the Rhine, were many picturesque castles and fortresses which made
+splendid scenes for the camera.
+
+Mr. Fabian wished to conduct the girls from Frankfort to Nürnberg, a
+famous old mediaeval city with unique houses still to be seen, although
+they were built hundreds of years ago. But the girls had no desire to
+visit any German cities, they said.
+
+“But it is a famous place,” argued Mr. Fabian. “It was the very first
+town in Germany to embrace Christianity.”
+
+“Maybe so, but later, they clearly demonstrated to the world that they
+never understood the fundamentals of Christianity,” retorted Eleanor.
+
+“Well aside from that, Nürnberg is the place where white paper was first
+invented,” continued Mr. Fabian.
+
+“I’ve heard said that an _American_ invented white paper and the German
+who put up the money for the experiment, stole the formulae,” declared
+Polly.
+
+“I never heard _that_, but surely you can’t contradict me when I say
+that sulphur matches first came to life there. They are a great
+convenience in the home and save us a lot of trouble; and the Germans
+discovered that use for sulphur,” continued Mr. Fabian.
+
+“Maybe the world has _now_ discovered that the Germans might have saved
+us a lot of trouble if they had used the sulphur for self-extinction
+purposes,” snapped Eleanor, who was a partisan for the Allies.
+
+Her companions refused to laugh at her remark although they wanted to;
+but Polly, who was more lenient to an enemy, said: “I never can
+understand how it is that the Germans always invent such wonderful
+things.”
+
+“Yes, Prof., especially as we Yanks are just as brainy and capable; yet
+you seldom hear of an American inventing such things,” added Dodo.
+
+“Oh yes, we do, Dodo,” returned Mr. Fabian. “But the German nation push
+a thing with national zeal and make money out of the world, for
+themselves. America generally keeps quiet about her patents and uses
+them for her own benefit.”
+
+“But there is a deeper causation for all this material inventiveness,
+too,” added Mrs. Fabian. “We must never lose sight of the fact that
+America is the cradle of Freedom where Eternal Truth lifted its banner.
+Whereas Germany brought forth only the material emblems of brain and
+earthly power, the New World has brought forth the Hope of
+Heaven—freedom in every sense of the word.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X—A DANGEROUS PASS ON THE ALPS
+
+
+Mr. Alexander drove through the Alsatian country with keen interest, for
+the costumes and beauty of the peasants were so attractive that the
+tourists liked to watch them and take snapshots of picturesque groups.
+
+Mr. Fabian directed Mr. Alexander to take the road to Lyons as he wished
+to have the girls visit the factories where silk, velvet and velour were
+manufactured. Nancy Fabian had wearied of Mrs. Alexander’s endless
+chatter about her million and the Count, and why anyone like the Osgoods
+should lift their heads when they were so poor and proud!
+
+So the day the two cars started for the Alps, (Mr. Alexander hoping to
+cross them and stop over-night on the other side,) Mrs. Fabian took her
+place beside Mrs. Alexander, in the roadster. The small car usually
+trailed the seven-passenger car, but this day the order was accidentally
+changed, while climbing the mountains.
+
+It was rough travelling at the best, but the higher the cars climbed the
+rougher became the road, and at last the steep trail narrowed so that it
+was almost impossible to pass another car on the same roadway.
+
+But the views were so wonderful and the mountains so majestic, that
+everyone was silent and deeply impressed. The cars ascended one peak
+after another, and as each summit was reached the autoists sat and
+marvelled at the height of the mountain and wondered at the views. Then
+they would seem to drop sheer down again to the valley between the two
+peaks. This mode of travelling continued for a long rime, until one of
+the highest peaks of the Alps towered before them. This cloud-piercing
+mountain-top once passed over, they would reach the border line of Italy
+and begin descending the range again.
+
+Mrs. Alexander was a fairly good driver, but she had more assurance in
+her ability than her understanding actually warranted. She was talking
+nonsensically, as usual, with half her mind on the road and the other
+half interested in what she was picturing to her companion, when she
+turned a sharp curve in the road.
+
+“Oh-OH!” she screamed, as she tried to use the emergency brake and turn
+the wheel to avoid a great boulder which had rolled down upon the path.
+
+But she had not held the machine sufficiently in hand to instantly
+benefit her, when the occasion unexpectedly arose that needed presence
+of mind. Consequently the new roadster struck the rock with enough force
+to crush in the radiator and headlights. The second car came around the
+curve, the passengers having heard the shrill scream and looking
+fearfully for the catastrophe they believed to have happened to the two
+women.
+
+The shock of the collision had thrown Mrs. Alexander across the wheel
+while her head broke the wind-shield; but Mrs. Fabian had instantly
+clutched the side and back of the seat and was only badly shaken.
+Everyone in the touring car jumped out and rushed over to see if either
+of the ladies had been seriously hurt. Mrs. Alexander groaned and held
+her side but could not speak.
+
+“This is a fine pickle!” exclaimed Mr. Alexander. “On top of the
+wurrold, and no sign of any help at hand to do anything for you. Even
+the blamed old knob on this peak had to roll down and block the way.”
+
+Mrs. Fabian was trying to make her companion speak and tell them where
+she was injured, but she shook her head as if unable to speak. Dodo and
+her father addressed her by every affectionate name they could think of,
+and begged her to say what hurt. Her face was slightly cut but the blood
+made it seem appalling to others.
+
+“If you’ll only get over this, Maggie, I’ll never put another straw in
+your way of hooking a title,” begged Mr. Alexander, his expression a
+mixture of renunciation and misery.
+
+After many minutes filled with suspense for the motorists, and the same
+time filled by Mrs. Alexander’s groans and helpless rolling of her eyes
+from one to another of the distracted motorists, she gradually recovered
+enough to whisper: “The wheel must have fractured my ribs. I can feel
+the sharp ends of the splintered bones cut me everytime I breathe, or
+move a muscle.”
+
+Mrs. Fabian then ordered the men to retire back of the big car, while
+she helped the girls in gently lifting the injured lady and placing her
+out flat on the comfortable seat of the roadster. With many a cry and
+catching of breath, the patient was finally stretched out.
+
+“Now I shall have to cut your gown open in front to get at your stays,”
+said Mrs. Fabian, using the small scissors she kept in her large
+handbag.
+
+Mrs. Alexander tried to object at having her expensive suit ruined, but
+Dodo held her hands while the scissors cut their way up and down. Once
+the outer clothing was opened the cause of the sharp point of the
+“fracture” was revealed.
+
+“Thank goodness, Mrs. Alexander, that it is no worse!” exclaimed Mrs.
+Fabian, and the girls seconded that exclamation as they found the front
+steels of the stays had broken and were digging into the flesh under
+them.
+
+The silken corsets were soon slashed through and the broken fronts
+removed, then Dodo said to her mother: “Take a deep breath, now.”
+
+“O—oh—I’m afraid to, Dodo. It will hurt!” whimpered Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“No it won’t! Mrs. Fabian managed to pull the steels out and she doesn’t
+believe any of your ribs are broken.”
+
+So, holding tightly to her daughter’s hand to encourage her, Mrs.
+Alexander breathed lightly. As she felt no sharp dagger thrust of pain,
+she took a deeper breath, and finally reassured herself that her bones
+were as good as ever. At last she sat up and began fretting over her
+damaged travelling suit, in such a tone that everyone around her, knew
+she was fully recovered.
+
+While this “first aid” had been going on, no one noticed the pebbles
+that were dropping from the over-hanging crags that seemed to bolster up
+the peak above them. But when Mrs. Alexander found she could move and
+get out of the car, some of the stones struck the girls. They gazed up
+but could see nothing beyond the high run of crag that faced the
+roadway, consequently, they moved from under the shower which kept
+getting worse.
+
+Mr. Fabian ran up now and expressed deepest concern as he said:
+“Everyone try to get under that great rock, at once. I’ll shove the
+roadster under the cliff, too.”
+
+“Where’s Pa?” cried Dodo, sensing some unusual danger.
+
+“Here he comes!” called Polly, seeing Mr. Alexander driving his car
+close up under the rocks.
+
+The moment the car was halted close in to the bank, Mr. Alexander jumped
+out and ran to help Mr. Fabian push and pull the damaged roadster under
+the cliff, also.
+
+“What’s the matter, anyway?” asked Mrs. Alexander, looking about at the
+others for information. But they seemed as much at sea as she was. All
+but Polly, who knew from experience what the signs portended.
+
+“It looks like a slide, but it may be diverted before it goes over us.”
+Her trembling voice and awed expression impressed her companions more
+than the words she had spoken.
+
+“That’s what I feared, and we’ve done the only thing possible—to crouch
+under the cliff and wait,” added Mr. Fabian.
+
+Mr. Alexander now took out his old black pipe and tobacco bag. As he
+carefully pulled open the yellow cord at the top of the cheap cotton bag
+he smiled and gazed at his friends. “You-all don’ know how sorry I am
+for you, to think you-all can’t take a smoke to kill the time we has to
+sit here.”
+
+Mr. Fabian felt encouraged instantly by the wonderful acting of the
+little man who could thus speak and smile and joke, in face of what was
+now thundering and rumbling overhead—ever coming nearer the group
+huddling under the cliffs.
+
+“Nothin’ like tobac to soothe the feelin’s when you’ve had a punctured
+rib or tire! If Maggie could only enjoy a whiff of this old friend of
+mine, she’d soon have got over her pain.”
+
+That irritated his wife so that she snapped back: “Yes, a whiff of that
+would have killed me outright!”
+
+The others laughed uneasily but the tense spell caused by the imminent
+danger was broken. Mr. Alexander puffed contentedly, but during this
+short exchange of conjugal sentiments of husband and wife, the slide
+rolled onward, and the roar now became so deafening that no one could
+hear a thing other than the thunder of the avalanche. Polly was the only
+one who really comprehended the full danger, but she showed no fear or
+nervousness, although she was doubtful as to the outcome of this
+mountain disaster.
+
+Rocks, roots, and all kinds of débris half-frozen in snow now rolled
+over the cliffs and dropped over down the sides into the ravine that ran
+along the other side of the narrow roadway. At the quaking caused by the
+onrush of the avalanche, the automobiles rattled like tin toys and the
+cowering humans who tried to push still farther back into the rocky
+wall, watched the fragments of rock fall from overhead and pile upon the
+roadway.
+
+The whole dreadful occurrence, thus far, had not taken more than a few
+minutes since the first pebble struck the roadster, but now was heard a
+terrible splitting and crashing as if two planets were colliding; then
+the very cliff where they sat seemed to roll over and shake the earth.
+The frightened tourists clung to each other and screamed in a panic, but
+the worst was really over.
+
+The last horror was caused by the sudden impact of the land-slide when
+it struck the solid wall of rock that rose sheer up back of the cliff
+which skirted the road for tourists. This wall diverted the avalanche
+and threw it along the gully which had been made by other preceding
+snow-slides in the past. Had the present slide been able to crush the
+rocky wall and come straight on down the mountain sides, nothing earthly
+could have spared the tourists from being powdered under the grinding of
+rock and ice.
+
+The roar and tumult of the avalanche continued a few minutes longer, but
+it gradually died away and Mr. Fabian stood tremblingly upon his feet
+and tried to see which way the slide had gone.
+
+“Humph! ‘A miss is as good as a mile’!” quoted Mr. Alex.
+
+“Maybe; but don’t you go out to survey until we-all are sure this shower
+of ice and trash is safely past us,” advised Polly.
+
+“Don’t you think we had better get from under this cliff?” asked
+Eleanor, nervously.
+
+“If it stood that shock, it will last a few moments more, I reckon,”
+replied Mr. Alexander.
+
+The other members in the party were too frightened at seeing the rocks
+and ice that still poured over the cliff, to speak a word. When the
+dropping had ceased, however, and the roar was diminishing, Polly heaved
+an audible sigh.
+
+[Illustration: POLLY WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO COMPREHENDED THE DANGER.]
+
+“Well, folkses! That’s over! I’ve been in slides on the Rockies, but I
+never felt so queer as this one made me feel. When you understand your
+ground well, and can reckon on what might hold or what might give way,
+you feel easier. But on the Alps where all is new and strange to me, I
+wasn’t sure of this cliff being able to resist the impact.”
+
+“Then it _was_ very dangerous for us, was it?” gasped Mrs. Alexander,
+paling under the rouge on her face.
+
+“Danger! Oh no—no more than jumpin’ off that precipice for a lark!”
+laughed Mr. Alexander, knocking the half-smoked ashes from his old pipe,
+and tucking the black friend away in his pocket.
+
+“Well, Ebeneezer, when I see you waste good tobacco like that, I know
+you are so unbalanced that you don’t know what you’re doing,” retorted
+Mrs. Alexander.
+
+This remark caused a laugh and everyone felt better immediately. Then
+Mr. Fabian turned to the little man and said: “We had better see how
+much damage is done to the roadster. Perhaps it will have to be towed to
+the next stopping place.”
+
+It took another good hour to overhaul the little car and even then it
+was found to be too badly damaged to travel under its own power. While
+the two men were trying to repair the car, the girls worked to clear
+away the stones and débris that encumbered and blocked the road. The
+large rock that had caused the accident to Mrs. Alexander’s car, could
+be avoided, with careful steering, if the other trash was out of the
+way.
+
+Polly showed her companions how to construct rough brooms of the brush
+that had fallen over the cliff, and soon they were sweeping for dear
+life, with the queer-looking implements. But the brush-brooms did the
+work thoroughly, and when the cars were ready to continue on the way,
+the road was cleared.
+
+“Prof., before we leave here, I think we ought to place a sort of
+warning on the other side of that awful heap and the chasms in the
+roadway that the avalanche caused. We might use the red-silk shirt-waist
+I have in the bag,” said Polly, anxiously.
+
+“Or go on to report to the nearest forester we meet,” said Mr.
+Alexander, from his western experience.
+
+“We’ll do both,” returned Mr. Fabian. “It won’t take long to ram a pole
+in the débris and tie the red flag on it, but it may save others a great
+deal of danger.”
+
+“Better still, if we can crawl over the slide that is piled high up on
+the trail, I might tie the flag to a young tree far enough down the
+roadway to spare anyone the climb to this narrow pass where they cannot
+turn around,” added Polly.
+
+So Mr. Fabian and Polly managed to creep warily over the obstructions
+which were heaped over the roadway and, further down the trail, they
+found a tree that grew beside the road. Here the red blouse signal was
+left flying from the stripped young tree, and a warning was printed on
+the white silk cuff, telling of the dangers ahead in the path.
+
+When the tourists were settled in the cars again, the large car leading
+and the crippled roadster being towed behind, they felt that they had
+done their duty and expressed their deep gratitude for their own safety,
+by leaving the signal flag for others to see and read.
+
+It was slow work zig-zagging down the great height, as the little car
+could not work its brakes very well, and it had to be held back by the
+rear mud-guards of the leading car. But the breathless descent was
+finally accomplished and in the valley they found a tiny garage, placed
+there for the repairing of damaged automobiles.
+
+“I shouldn’t think it would pay you to keep up a shop in this isolated
+spot,” remarked Mr. Fabian, when the mechanic was working on Mrs.
+Alexander’s car.
+
+“But you don’t know how many tourists cross the Alps in summer; everyone
+finds something wrong, or runs out of gas, by the time they reach this
+valley,” explained the man.
+
+Before the tourists were ready to depart, a number of cars had driven
+up, asked for gas or repairs, and then were told of the land-slide on
+top of the peak. This spared them climbing, as they could go by another
+road. The passengers in these cars were most grateful to Mr. Fabian’s
+party for the information, thus several parties had been benefited,
+before a crimson car drove up and a handsome young man called to the
+mechanic.
+
+“Is this the right road over Top Pass?”
+
+“Yes, but you can’t pass,” returned the man, then he told of the
+experiences the people in the American party had just had.
+
+“My, that must have been some excitement! Wish we had been there,” cried
+the other young man, eagerly.
+
+“Are you an American?” asked Mr. Fabian, certain of it even as he spoke,
+because the accent and manner of speech was Yankee.
+
+The two young men exchanged looks with each other, and one replied: “We
+lived in the United States for many years.”
+
+This speaker was about twenty-two or three, but the other one was
+younger. They both were exceptionally good-looking and free in their
+manner. It could be readily seen that their car and clothes were of the
+best, and one would naturally conclude that they were wealthy young men
+touring Europe for pleasure.
+
+The roadster was now repaired and ready to be used, so the bill was paid
+and Mrs. Alexander got in. Mrs. Fabian was rather timid about trusting
+herself with such a chauffeur again, so Mr. Fabian seated himself beside
+the owner of the car.
+
+“Which way do you go from here?” called out one of the strange young
+men.
+
+“On to Turin,” answered Mr. Alexander.
+
+“Do you mind if we follow you? We lost our way to Turin, somewhere, back
+there, and when we found ourselves here we decided to go on and not stop
+at Turin.”
+
+This sounded rather lame for an excuse, but no one could refuse
+permission for the boys to follow, if they wanted to—so Mr. Alexander
+shouted back at them: “This air is free, and so is the earth! Foller
+what you like, as long as you don’t run us down and make us stop for
+another over-haulin’ of the cars.”
+
+The young men laughed and thanked the sarcastic little man, but the
+girls smiled as they wondered if this change in route—or minds of the
+two young men—was caused by seeing a number of pretty misses in the
+touring car?
+
+The day was far spent when the roadster was in a shape to continue the
+tour, and Turin was many a mile away. So it was found to be impossible
+to reach there that night. The recent experience with the avalanche had
+caused a reaction, too, and as everyone felt worn out with the tension,
+it was decided to stop at a small inn in the foot-hills of the Alps.
+
+The automobiles had been left in the shed that was used for the cows and
+oxen, and the travellers entered the low-ceiled primitive room with
+ravenous appetites. The inn-keeper was cooking at a huge fireplace at
+the end of the room, and the odor of bacon and onions permeated the
+entire place.
+
+“Oh!” sighed Eleanor, rolling her eyes upwards, “I never smelled
+anything so delicious!”
+
+“Yet you abominate onions at other times,” laughed Polly.
+
+“It all depends on the state of your appetite,” retorted Eleanor.
+
+When the tourists were refreshed by washing and brushing, they returned
+to the great living-room. The two young strangers were there before
+them. The older of the two acted as spokesman and now introduced himself
+and his companion.
+
+“This is my cousin, Alan Everard, of Winnipeg, Canada. And I am Basil
+Traviston, a resident of California, but not a native of that State.”
+
+Mr. Fabian introduced his wife, and the other members of his party by
+name only, without mentioning the city or state whence they came. All
+through supper hour he maintained a dignified attitude which was meant
+to warn off any young men with dangerously good looks. But he might as
+well have tried to build a snow-man under the heat of a July sun.
+
+Both young men were so charming, and told many witty stories which kept
+their audience in stitches of laughter that it was generally conceded,
+afterward, the two were most desirable fellow-travellers. Mr. and Mrs.
+Fabian sat up a full hour after the girls were asleep, however, trying
+to pick a flaw in the behavior of the two strangers, which might form a
+basis for the separation from the touring party. When all was said and
+done, the only tangible excuse was the fact that they were both so
+handsome and unknown.
+
+The next morning the three cars started for Turin, and during the
+tiresome ride the two young men managed to keep up an exchange of
+interesting remarks that amused everyone. When they stopped for luncheon
+in the middle of the day, the two boys insisted upon waiting on the
+ladies and making themselves generally useful.
+
+The time came for the tourists to get in their cars again, but Mrs.
+Alexander had taken a decided liking for the younger of the two young
+men—Alan Everard. So she invited him to travel in her car, and that
+left Mr. Fabian without a place.
+
+“It’s only as far as Turin, you know,” explained Mrs. Alexander, trying
+to smile sweetly on the guide of the touring party.
+
+Rather than create any unpleasantness, Mr. Fabian got in beside Basil
+Traviston. But he was determined, as long as he was forced to accept the
+seat, to learn more about the two new additions to his party.
+
+After a perfunctory exchange of sentiments, Mr. Fabian said: “Your name
+is very English, and the fact that your cousin is from Winnipeg, leads
+me to judge that you both are of English descent.”
+
+“My cousin’s real name is not Everard—that is his first name; but we
+both are travelling incognito on the Continent, as our titles and names
+are so well-known that people stand to stare, and annoy us with their
+interest. So we decided to travel unknown, this season.”
+
+Mr. Fabian frowned, and glanced side-ways from his eyes, to see if the
+young man was presuming upon his intelligence. But Traviston was driving
+with a most guileless expression. In fact, no handsome babe could have
+appeared more innocent than he.
+
+“It really seems as if we have been unusually blessed—or cursed, I
+don’t know which—with young men who claim titles. Mrs. Alexander wished
+so intensely for titled young men to travel with, it looks as if she
+attracted them to our party,” said Mr. Fabian, smiling cynically.
+
+“Is that so?” returned Traviston, but his tone and expression failed to
+show any resentment or interest in the information. Mr. Fabian wondered,
+and decided not to tread on thin ice any more, just then.
+
+But Mrs. Alexander was faring much better with the young man in her car.
+Almost immediately after they had resumed the tour she asked pointedly:
+“Your cousin’s name, and yours as well, is very English. Perhaps you
+belong to an old family?”
+
+“Oh yes,” returned Everard. “Both of us came over, this year, on purpose
+to trace our family-trees. I have learned that my people go back to Adam
+without a break.”
+
+“Not really!” gasped Mrs. Alexander, astonished at such a long line of
+ancestry.
+
+“Yes, and Basil now believes he can antedate Adam, and trace some facts
+about his ancestry that started with a missing link.” Young Everard
+laughed softly as he spoke, but his companion never having heard of
+Darwin, believed every word he said; whereas he thought she knew he was
+joking.
+
+“You and your cousin must be young men of leisure, or you couldn’t spend
+a whole summer touring Europe in such an expensive car. I noticed how
+sporty the car was, before I saw either of you,” said Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“That’s just it. When Basil and I work, we have to work like Trojans.
+But when we finish a contract we take life easy until the next job comes
+up.”
+
+“Oh, you work? I wouldn’t have said so. What sort of contract work do
+you do?” asked Mrs. Alexander. The pedestal she had used for her two new
+heroes, seemed shaking dangerously.
+
+Everard laughed. “Some people laugh at what we call work, but they don’t
+realize that playing is the hardest kind of work. I sometimes think I
+will chuck the whole game and knuckle down to the real thing—work that
+is called work. But money is sweet, and if one likes to spend, then the
+weak little decision to work as others do, dies hard and I go on with
+the play.”
+
+Mrs. Alexander suddenly realized that she had misunderstood the young
+man’s first words. Then he called “playing” his work, and with his money
+he found playing as hard a work as a poor man finds his labor. So she
+sympathized with his ideals and thought him a remarkable young man.
+
+Before they reached Turin, she had her suspicions that he was a very
+_important_ young man; for he had given her certain bits of information
+that told how well-known he and his cousin were, and how they dodged at
+certain places to travel incognito to avoid publicity.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI—THE PLOT IN VENICE
+
+
+That evening, at Turin, while the Fabian party were preparing to go out
+and see the city by night, the two young men excused themselves and were
+not seen again until the next day when the party were to start for
+Milan. Then they appeared as happy and ready to drive on as they were to
+join the tourists the day before at the foot of the Alps.
+
+“I thought you had planned to remain in Turin?” said Mr. Fabian.
+
+“We had, but upon getting in touch with Chalmys, we find he is now at
+his place near Venice, and we must meet him there. The rest of our crowd
+are there, too. So we will drive with you as far as you travel our
+road,” explained Traviston.
+
+“Do you know Count Chalmys?” asked everyone in chorus.
+
+“Of course—do you?” returned the handsome boys.
+
+“He toured with me all through Belgium and Holland,” quickly bragged
+Mrs. Alexander, certain now that these two young men were “somebodies.”
+
+“Why—I really believe you are the people he wrote us about!” exclaimed
+Everard, honestly surprised at his discovery.
+
+“Yes—he said there were four of the prettiest girls in the party, but
+he never mentioned their names,” added Traviston.
+
+Now the four girls smiled with gratification, and before they started
+for Milan, it was half decided to visit the Count at his Italian Estate,
+before going on to Rome, or other places south of Venice.
+
+At Milan the young men said they would get in communication with the
+Count and arrange for their going there the next day, Mr. Fabian
+escorted his girls to the famous cathedral of Milan, and showed them the
+places of interest in the city, then they resumed the journey to Padua,
+where they purposed remaining over-night. From there they would drive to
+Chalmys Palace in the morning, just a few miles from Venice.
+
+During the absence of Mr. Fabian and his companions on the tour of the
+city, Mrs. Alexander had determined to get all the information she could
+from the two young men, when they came back to the hotel. And they,
+seeing how eager she was for them to develop into superior beings of
+quality, thought to please her that way.
+
+When her friends joined her at the hotel again, the two young men were
+not there, but she was bubbling over with wonderful news.
+
+“I knew it! _I_ can tell the moment I see a young man with a title. That
+one who calls himself Basil Traviston, is really a Marquis of France. He
+came into the title a few weeks ago, but he doesn’t seem to fuss about
+it any. And his cousin Alan Everard is the son of Count Chalmys. That is
+why they know him so well.”
+
+“The Count’s son?” gasped Nancy Fabian, unbelievingly.
+
+“Yes, and they were all in Paris together and had planned to join each
+other again at Venice. But they will meet at Chalmys Palace sooner than
+they had intended,” explained Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“Why, Maggie, that boy Everard is only some years younger than the
+Count, unless the Italian looks much younger than he is; besides that,
+if the Count is from Italy how can the French Marquis be the boy’s
+cousin? And why do they come from the States?” asked Mr. Alexander
+deeply puzzled.
+
+Mr. Fabian mistrusted the whole story, yet he had to admit that
+Traviston seemed most honest the day he spoke of his title and name. So
+he said nothing, but hoped to be spared further agonies from Mrs.
+Alexander’s worship of nobility as per her ideals.
+
+Mrs. Fabian was back with Mrs. Alexander, and the two boys were in their
+car; all were travelling along the road at a good speed, and the girls
+were picturing what the wonderful old Chalmys’ palace would be like,
+when a long low car with splendid lines approached, coming from the
+opposite direction.
+
+“If there isn’t Chalmys! Coming to meet us!” exclaimed Traviston, to the
+people in the other cars.
+
+“How lovely of him!” sighed Mrs. Alexander, almost running her car into
+the ditch in her eagerness to see the Count.
+
+The long-nosed car drew up beside the touring car and the Count leaned
+over the side.
+
+“Well, this is a great pleasure, Mr. Fabian! And the ladies—how are
+they? As beautiful as ever, I warrant,” called he, gallantly.
+
+The passengers in Mr. Alexander’s car exchanged pleasant greetings with
+the Count who then asked pardon while he welcomed his two friends. He
+urged his car along a few feet further until it was opposite the boys’
+car, and there they conversed eagerly for a few minutes.
+
+Mr. Alexander nudged Mr. Fabian and whispered: “Did you-all hear him say
+‘I want to speak to my two friends?’ He diden’ say ‘I want to speak to
+my son.’”
+
+Mr. Fabian nodded understandingly, but watched the Count closely. No
+look of paternal affection was given Everard, and if he was his son who
+had been absent from home so long, why wouldn’t the impulsive Italian
+father greet him eagerly? It was a puzzle that became more intricate, to
+Mr. Fabian and Mr. Alexander.
+
+The Count seemed to forget there were others nearby, and when he said:
+“The wire read for us to be ready for the scene at the Palace Dario,
+tomorrow night at nine. That is why I drove out to meet you. I’ll be at
+the hotel tomorrow, myself, in time to go with you. Then we will all
+come back to the Palace the next day.”
+
+The two young men seemed regretful about something, but they nodded in
+acceptance of the Count’s orders. Then the other members of the party
+were addressed.
+
+“I find we all have to be present at Venice tomorrow night for an
+important engagement, and if you, my good friends, will pardon this
+change of plans, I will be under obligation to you if you go on to
+Venice now, and visit me at Chalmys Palace a few days hence.”
+
+Of course, everyone signified perfect satisfaction at changing the
+plans, so they all drove along the road together, towards Venice. The
+Count left them before reaching the city gates, and his last words were:
+“I will meet you at the hotel tomorrow evening, boys.”
+
+“Do you know, Fabian, it all sounds shady to me?” said little Mr.
+Alexander, puckering his forehead over the queer case.
+
+“It may be that we think it is strange because we haven’t the key to the
+situation,” said Mrs. Fabian, always ready to make allowances for
+people.
+
+It was a novel experience to exchange motor-cars for the picturesque
+gondolas of Venice. But it was a luxurious exchange. As they floated
+along, Mrs. Alexander was deeply annoyed because she was separated from
+the young folks, and placed beside her husband, who was concerned about
+so many pigeons living in a city; the boys entertained the girls with
+descriptions of romances which had a splendid setting in Venice; then
+they told of the prominent Motion Picture companies who came all the way
+from America to take their pictures on the spot.
+
+The first evening was spent in passing through the Grand Canal and
+seeing the wonderful palaces on either side. Mr. Fabian knew the more
+famous buildings and called them out to his party in the other gondolas.
+
+The gondolier pointed out the Custom House, the Mint, the Garden of the
+Royal Palace, and other buildings, before they came to a beautiful
+fairy-like palace.
+
+“Isn’t that a lovely place,” remarked Polly, gazing at the very
+ancient-looking palace.
+
+“That’s the Palazzo Dario, of the 15th century, famous for its beauty
+and preservation,” replied Alan Everard.
+
+“Oh, is that where you are to——” began Dodo, but Polly nudged her
+suddenly and checked what she was about to say.
+
+The two young men seemed not to have heard her unfinished sentence, and
+Mr. Fabian was all the more puzzled over the fact.
+
+All the next day was spent in visiting the points of interest in Venice:
+the Palace of the Doges, the Museum and the famous old churches and
+palaces being on the list. The two young men had said they would have to
+be excused as they would be very busy all day, in order to be ready for
+the evening’s engagement with the Count.
+
+The very lack of guile and duplicity in the words and the manners of the
+young men, caused all the more concern over what was now looming up in
+the fancies of the adults in the Fabian party, as a plot that had been
+accidentally revealed by the Count.
+
+Mr. Alexander said he would remain about the hotel while the others were
+sight-seeing, as he had no use for old buildings. So he waited until
+everyone had gone—the two boys to their appointment and the Fabian
+party to the palaces and museums, then he went upstairs and boldly
+entered the rooms occupied by the two suspected young men.
+
+After half an hour of careful searching he came forth with a huge bundle
+under his arm and an exultant expression on his face. Late that
+afternoon when the tourists returned to the hotel to dress for dinner
+and then take a sail on the Canal, Mr. Alexander beckoned in a strange
+manner to Mr. Fabian.
+
+Mr. Fabian followed the little man to his room, and when the door had
+been carefully closed and locked, the latter said: “Well, I unearthed
+the foxes! I stayed to home on purpose, today, to go through their
+belongings, and this is what I found!”
+
+As he spoke, he lifted his coat from the pile on the table. Mr. Fabian
+wonderingly examined the articles displayed there. A number of brushes
+with silver backs were engraved with the name “Albert Brown.” Several
+handkerchiefs were initialed “B.F.S.” A fine Panama hat had a marker
+inside that read: “B.F. Smith.” Other small objects which evidently
+belonged to the two young men bore their names or initials—the same as
+those already read by Mr. Fabian.
+
+“It’s all very queer, and I don’t know what to make of it,” remarked Mr.
+Fabian, thoughtfully.
+
+“Well, I tell you what I’d do! I’d tell them what we know of this and
+then clear them out. It’s my opinion that that dark Count Chalmys fixed
+up something with these two good-lookers just to get us to visit his old
+palace and maybe play some tricks on us to get our cash,” said Mr.
+Alexander, rising to the very peak of tragic imagination.
+
+Mr. Fabian laughed. “Oh no, I don’t think that; but it is all a strange
+experience, when you try to find a reason for it all.”
+
+“Wall, just keep your eyes open, tonight, and see if I ain’t right in
+what I said. I bet those three men will get in trouble yet, and I’m
+going to do my part to protect the gals.”
+
+At Mr. Alexander’s words, Mr. Fabian smiled but did not advise the
+little man to wait and watch before he took any further steps. He left
+the room to go and dress for the evening, and Mr. Alexander managed to
+return the articles he had taken from the boys’ rooms, without being
+discovered in the act.
+
+At dinner that night, Mrs. Alexander had a very interesting story to
+relate.
+
+“I was reading in the Grand Parlor of the hotel, when the Count came in.
+He was surprised to see me, but he said he was waiting for the two boys,
+who were going out with him.
+
+“Well, we talked for a time, and then young Everard came in. He looked
+angry about something. He said he had had some things stolen from his
+room and Traviston was reporting the theft at the desk. They needed the
+brushes and toilet things and now they had to go without them.
+
+“I thought it was funny, if they were only going out for an engagement,
+to take any toilet articles along, but I didn’t say anything. While we
+three were talking, Traviston came in and, oh my! wasn’t he dressed up
+to kill. I suppose it was the Court costume they wear when they visit
+royalty. He had the gold star on his breast and a wide ribbon crossed
+over his chest. He had a long ulster coat that his friends made him put
+on before they left. He never said a word about why he was dressed up,
+or where they were going, but I know he is going to visit some big
+noble—maybe a Prince.”
+
+“Maybe they’re a lot of tricksters in disguise,” sneered Mr. Alexander.
+
+“Why, Ebeneezer! How can you say such mean things before the girls. They
+_know_ what nice young men they are,” declared Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“I must say,” added Nancy Fabian, “that I met Count Chalmys in Paris
+just before the Art Classes disbanded, and I never saw anything out of
+the way. He was always very gallant and kind.”
+
+“You never told me how it was you met him, Nancy,” said her father.
+
+Nancy flushed but decided to speak out. “Well, he was studying art
+posing at the school, and having the dark beauty and magnificent form of
+a Greek, he was requested to pose as a gladiator. He explained to me
+later, that it was the first time in his life that he posed, but he did
+it for fun more than anything else. I believe him, too, because he
+certainly doesn’t need the money which was paid for the posing.”
+
+Nancy’s explanation added still other tangles to the maze, and the two
+men wondered what would be the final ravelling of it all.
+
+While the girls went for their long cloaks to wear, that evening, in the
+gondolas, Mr. Alexander slipped away to converse with an
+official-looking man he had met in the corridor. The Fabians and Mrs.
+Alexander came downstairs first, but were soon joined by the four girls.
+As they passed the hotel office, Mr. Alexander followed after them.
+
+It was a beautiful night, with a clear sky overhead and twinkling lights
+bobbing along the Grand Canal, as gondolas passed up and down filled
+with happy passengers. When the Fabian party in their gondolas drew near
+the Palazzo Dario, they wondered at the crowd gathered in gondolas along
+both sides of the Canal.
+
+A row of gondolas was stationed across the Canal on either side of the
+Palazzo Dario, and Mr. Fabian learned that they could not pass without a
+permit.
+
+“What’s the matter? I haven’t heard of any important event about to take
+place here tonight?” said Mr. Fabian.
+
+“No! But ’tis so. Meester Griffet pay much money for use of Palazzo this
+night. You wait here on line and see the play go on,” said the officer,
+as he made an opening for the gondolas of the generous Americans to
+wedge in on the front line.
+
+Thus it happened that not long after the Fabian party reached the spot,
+a camera-man climbed upon a platform built opposite the Palazzo Dario,
+and took his seat behind the apparatus. The blinding Cooper-Hewitt
+lights used in Studios, were so placed over the balcony and entrance of
+the Palazzo that they would reflect and bring out every detail in the
+picture about to be taken.
+
+Not a word was heard from anyone in Mr. Fabian’s party, but when a
+Marquis of France challenged a handsome young nobleman of Italy to a
+duel over a lovely English girl, and the father of the handsome Italian
+youth intercepted, the girls in Mr. Fabian’s gondola laughed
+hysterically. Even Mr. Fabian had to smile.
+
+It was most exciting to watch the two handsome young men they had known
+in everyday life, now play the leads in this Motion Picture Play. The
+Count was exceptionally good in playing his part, while the good looks
+of the two young men made up for any shortcomings in their acting.
+
+“Well, that explains everything!” sighed Mr. Alexander, as the audience
+in the gondolas were allowed to travel onwards along the Canal.
+
+“Oh, but I can’t believe those nice young men really have no titles!”
+cried Mrs. Alexander, tears of vexation filling her eyes.
+
+“They have! Didn’t you see for yourself, Maggie?” laughed her husband.
+“Alan is the heir to the Count’s title, and Basil is a Marquis.”
+
+“I wonder if their fancy names are only for stage use?” said Polly,
+smiling at the way everyone had been hoaxed.
+
+“Sure! I know their real names,” returned Mr. Alexander, triumphantly.
+“I knew them before tonight, and I told Mr. Fabian, diden’ I, Fabian?”
+
+“Yes, we know both their _reel_ names,” laughed Mr. Fabian.
+
+“Do tell us who they are? Maybe we’ve seen them at home,” said Eleanor.
+
+“Well, one is Albert Brown and t’other is B. Smith. Both are from the
+States, and that one from Californy is likely from Hollywood, where this
+Comp’ny hails from,” chuckled Mr. Alexander.
+
+Early the following morning, before the tourists left the breakfast
+room, Count Chalmys and his two friends hurried in.
+
+“Well, when will you be ready to visit my palace?” said he.
+
+“What palace?” asked Mr. Alexander, frowning at what he considered a
+Movie joke from the actor.
+
+“Why, _my_ palace. I expected you to come with me to visit at Chalmys
+Palace, today. You said you would!” wondered the Count.
+
+“Have you really _got_ a palace?” asked Dodo, innocently.
+
+Her expression caused the others to laugh, and Count Chalmys returned:
+“Of course I have. Would I invite you to visit me if I had no place to
+entertain?”
+
+Everyone looked at everyone else, and then at the three actors. Finally
+the Count began to understand that the Fabian party had not had the
+slightest inkling of the scene that took place the night before, and so
+the facts began to come forth.
+
+Mrs. Alexander was the only member in the party who had no interest in
+visiting the Count, now. When he said that another scene in the play was
+to take place that afternoon at his palace, the girls were eager to go
+and watch the interesting picture-making.
+
+So they all started out, Mrs. Alexander going, too; but she insisted
+upon having it understood that she was not interested in the visit other
+than to accompany her friends.
+
+Count Chalmys had made elaborate preparations for the guests, and when
+they sat down to luncheon in the grand old palace, Mrs. Alexander stared
+in amazement at the crest embroidered on the napkins. The liveried
+servants came and went noiselessly, carrying services of old plate with
+the coat of arms in filigree on the engraved edges.
+
+After luncheon the Count showed his visitors the gardens, and then they
+visited the picture collection he had spoken of at the Paris Art Sale.
+Mr. Fabian recognized several Old Masters and felt still more puzzled
+over all he had learned.
+
+Then the Griffet Company arrived and the scenes in the gardens of the
+Palace began, then several interiors were taken. After the Motion
+Picture Company had gone, Mr. Fabian said something about returning to
+Venice.
+
+“Oh, not yet, surely!” exclaimed the Count. “I have ordered dinner for
+tonight, thinking surely you would remain and spend the evening.”
+
+Thus persuaded, they remained and passed a very enjoyable time. On the
+way back to the hotel, that night, Mr. Alexander decided to ask the two
+young men outright, how it was their fellow actor called himself “Count”
+and lived in such a gorgeous manner.
+
+B. Smith _alias_ Basil Traviston laughed. “Why, Chalmys is a born
+Italian but he went to America as a boy. He was so handsome that he was
+engaged over there to take a lead in a picture where his type was
+needed. He never knew he could act until that trial, but he made so good
+that they offered him a wonderful salary to stay on with them.
+
+“During the recent war the male line of descent in his family were
+killed off, so that he came into the title and property of the Chalmys.
+He never dreamed of such a possibility, as he was but distantly
+connected with the Count’s family.
+
+“The estate is heavily taxed and debts are greater to pay, than the
+incomes to be collected, so the Count uses the palace for picture
+purposes and derives a nice little income that way, also. It is enough
+to pay the upkeep of the place, anyway, so that he does not have to draw
+on his own salary to maintain the estate.”
+
+“Then he is a real live Count after all?” gasped Mrs. Alexander,
+sorrowing because she discovered it too late to avail herself of the
+information.
+
+“A reel man in America, and a real Count in Italy,” laughed Alan
+Everard, _alias_ Brown.
+
+One more day was given to Venice, while the tourists visited the
+collections at the Accademia, took pictures of the beautiful churches
+and admired the wonderful paintings and sculpturings of San Marco, and
+other famous buildings.
+
+The two handsome young men bid them good-by that afternoon, as they were
+going back to Paris to meet the rest of the Company and then go on to
+Havre where they were to sail soon, for America. And the touring party
+prepared to leave Venice and start for Florence, the Tuscan City where
+Mr. Fabian expected to find many wonders to show his students.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII—ESCAPING AN EARTHQUAKE
+
+
+As the cars drew near Florence, Mr. Fabian described the natural
+protection afforded that city by the mountains surrounding it. This
+figured mightily in past ages, he said, when enemies of the Florentines
+tried to overcome the city and break the power of their trading.
+
+“You’ll find everything about Florence savoring of antiquity,” announced
+Mr. Fabian, as they entered the city. “The winding narrow streets, the
+irregular roofs that break the sky-line, the ancient churches with bits
+of old carving in the least expected places, and last but not least, the
+folk of Florence with their quaint costumes of bright colors.”
+
+The first day in Florence was spent in visiting the Pitti Palace, the
+basilica of San Miniato, which was of architectural value to the
+students, and then the Museo Nazionale.
+
+The second day was given to visiting at the Piazzale Michelangelo, and
+to see the Cathedral Santo Maria del Fiore, with its beautiful façade.
+
+Mr. Fabian conducted the girls to Pisa, the third day, but the elders in
+the party preferred to remain in the cars when the ardent admirers of
+antiquity visited the places of past glories.
+
+Then they drove on from Florence and stopped over night at Arretzo; and
+in the morning they went to Perugia, a mediaeval town with ancient
+buildings and still more ancient churches.
+
+From Perugia the route lay due south to Rome. It proved to be a
+delightful trip through the wonderful country-lanes and spreading fields
+which were cultivated to the last inch.
+
+As they came nearer Rome, they began to feel the oppressive heat which
+had been gradually growing more intense all that day. Mr. Fabian had
+planned to spend a full week, or more, in Rome in order to give the
+girls ample time to see everything there, worth while.
+
+The first day they visited the Coliseum, the Forum and other famous
+places. Then he escorted them to the Cloaca Maxima to study Etruscan
+Art. Next they visited the Museum in the Villa of Pope Julius; then the
+Etruscan Museum of the Vatican; also the Mamertine Prison, and many
+places famed for their collections of antiquities and art.
+
+One day they went to see the famous façade and bits of architecture
+still to be found in Rome, such as the “Spanish Steps” of the Piazza di
+Spagna, and the Triumphal Arch of Septimus Severus. Mr. Fabian had
+unwillingly to end the day’s visits, however, because of the terrific
+heat.
+
+The sun had been shining through a red haze for several days, and the
+reflection from the Mediterranean was so oppressive that the tourists
+decided to cut their stay in Rome short and drive on across Italy to
+Naples, which always boasted a fine breeze from the Bay.
+
+So the hotel bill was paid that night, and the baggage made ready for an
+early start. The travelling trunk was locked on the rack of the
+automobile, and everything else was prepared that no time would be lost
+in the morning.
+
+The heat that evening was even worse than at any time during their stay
+in Rome, and rumors were heard that the seismograph had registered
+tremors and slight earthquakes, all day. This was not encouraging to the
+Americans, and they retired at night with all apparel on excepting shoes
+and their coats.
+
+Fatigue and the drowsiness produced by the heat overcame everyone after
+a time, and they slept until about one o’clock. A strange shaking of
+Polly’s bed woke her suddenly. She sat up and felt the room swaying. She
+reached out and called to Eleanor.
+
+“Get up, Nolla! Get up—it’s the earthquake!” cried she, springing from
+the bed.
+
+“Uh! Wh-a-d you s-ay?” mumbled Eleanor drowsily.
+
+“Quick! We’ve got to get out. The earthquake’s here!” shouted Polly,
+trying in vain to catch hold of the bed-post while everything rocked as
+if on a vessel at sea.
+
+A falling picture upon Eleanor’s feet startled her so that she jumped up
+and gazed in affright at Polly. “What is it?” asked she, seeing the
+toilet dishes on the stand roll upon the floor.
+
+“Earthquakes! Hurry—hurry!” screamed Polly, almost too frightened to
+find the buttons on her dress.
+
+Dodo and Nancy tumbled headlong into the room now, both crying and
+wishing they had “left this old Rome before this happened.”
+
+The girls managed to get into their shoes in short order and when Mrs.
+Fabian rushed in to drag them forth, they were all dressed. Polly and
+Eleanor remembered to catch up their bags, and then ran after the
+Fabians who had roused the Alexanders and told them to run for the open
+street.
+
+But the street presented such a scene that Mr. Fabian instantly decided
+to leave whatever they had forgotten in the hotel rooms and get away in
+the automobiles.
+
+“Oh, see that chimney topple over!” cried Nancy, as the brick structure
+of a distant building was seen to fall in.
+
+Screams and cries, pushing and huddling of the mobs in the streets,
+created a panic with the excitable Latin people, and Mr. Alexander
+quickly turned and said to his party: “I’m going to get out the cars.
+Dodo can go with me to handle Ma’s roadster. You-all follow Mr. Fabian
+through the safest streets and go out along the Appian Way. I’ll meet
+you there and pick you up. We’ll get out of Rome at once!”
+
+He had not been gone a minute before another severe quake shook the city
+so that it seemed as if the earth rose and fell in billows. Collapsing
+buildings were heard crashing down upon the streets, dogs howled, other
+animals added their fearful noises to the panic-stricken cries of the
+populace, and a pandemonium was the result.
+
+Mr. Fabian and his wife kept their presence of mind in all this
+distraction, but Mrs. Alexander wept loudly and dragged at her blonde
+hair in despair when she realized that this was her end. “Oh why did I
+ever want to come to Europe to be killed in Rome, when I could have
+lived a long life peacefully in Denver!” wailed she, hysterically.
+
+It took all of Polly’s and Eleanor’s time and temper to soothe the
+fear-paralyzed woman. But she was able to follow the Fabians when they
+started for the Appian Way—in fact she wanted to run ahead and get out
+of the city.
+
+It took a long time of trial and tortuous going before they reached the
+quieter sections of Rome; and finally they began to glimpse the Appian
+Way through the haze of fire and smoke that now spread a pall over the
+city.
+
+They had just heard the welcome sounds of Mr. Alexander’s voice, when
+another tremor shook the city so that the girls clung to each other in
+support. Instantly a man’s genial voice called: “Well, I’ll be
+gol-durned if I had to come all the way to Rome to get an earthquake! We
+can get these sort nearer Denver, without charge.”
+
+In spite of their fear everyone smiled at the little man who could joke
+in the face of such disasters. But he created the effect of releasing
+the tension, and thus destroying much of the fear.
+
+Mr. Alexander directed the Fabian party to their cars, and when they had
+climbed in and wished the tourists who crowded around, a safe escape
+from the city, the two drivers started away.
+
+They had not gone more than a mile, when another very severe shock
+seemed to move the ground from under the cars. The screams from the
+crowded city streets could be heard at this distance from the scene, and
+Polly said: “It makes me feel like a criminal to run away and leave all
+those people to their doom.”
+
+“It’s better for as many to get out of the city as can go, unless they
+are trained to help in this emergency,” said Mrs. Fabian.
+
+Mrs. Alexander had calmed down considerably when she was seated in the
+car, and now she began to question her husband.
+
+“Ebeneezer, did you bring my travelling bag?”
+
+“I dun’no. I grabbed up everything in sight, from my old razor strop to
+my scarf-pin,” returned her spouse, jovially.
+
+“My bag held that new evening coat,” cried Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“Never mind a little thing like that!” advised her lord.
+
+“That’s all _you_ care for a two-hundred dollar wrap, but I know you
+didn’t forget that horrid pipe!” retorted she.
+
+“I _know_ I diden’, too, ’cause it’s goin’ in my mouth this minute!”
+chuckled Mr. Alexander, making his companions laugh.
+
+“Call Dodo—stop her, this minute,” commanded Mrs. Alexander. “I must
+ask her if she took my bag. If she didn’t I’m going back for it!”
+
+To pacify her, the cars stopped and Dodo was asked if she saw the bag
+that had held her mother’s evening wrap.
+
+“No, but I thought I caught up one of Ma’s belongings,” Dodo called
+back. “When I got to the garage and turned the light on to see what I
+had saved I found it was a bed-pillow!”
+
+A laugh greeted this reply, and Nancy then admitted: “I didn’t know what
+I was doing when I first jumped out of bed, but I intended getting my
+hair-brush and comb in case of need. When we got out on the street I
+found I had the cake of soap and the telephone pad that was kept on the
+stand beside the bed.”
+
+“Well, Ma,” asked Mr. Alexander, as Dodo started her car again, “are you
+going to get out and go back for them things?”
+
+“You are a bad cruel man, Ebeneezer Alexander, and I wonder that I could
+live with you as long as I have,” snapped his wife.
+
+“I wonder at it myself,” chuckled the cheerful “cruel” man.
+
+But they drove on and no more was said about the elaborate evening wrap
+that was lost in the earthquake that night.
+
+As they sped away, determined to get as far from the scene of disaster
+as possible, that night, Eleanor spoke.
+
+“I wonder if there is anything else I have to live through before I can
+settle down quietly.”
+
+“Now what’s the matter?” demanded Polly.
+
+“Oh nothing, but I was just thinking—I went through a snow-slide on
+Grizzly Peak; a land-slide on the Flat Top; a great mountain blizzard,
+on the Rockies; a hold-up in New York, one night; an avalanche on the
+Alps, and now an earthquake in Rome. What next, I wonder?”
+
+“You ought to be grateful that you never experienced a sinking at sea
+caused by a German submarine,” said Polly, earnestly.
+
+The very seriousness of her remark made her friends laugh, so that
+spirits rose accordingly, and just as they felt that the worst was over,
+another severe quake shook the ground they were speeding over.
+
+Dodo’s car was ahead, with its headlights streaming in advance upon the
+roadway. Immediately after the last shake, a deep rumbling and crackling
+was heard as if something ahead of them had parted and fallen down. Dodo
+leaned forward anxiously and gasped.
+
+Mrs. Fabian was with her in the roadster, and the girl quickly put on
+the brakes and reversed the wheel. “Just look out, Mrs. Fabian, and see
+if you can see a gap across the road.”
+
+Even as she spoke, Mr. Alexander passed the little car and shouted to
+Dodo: “What’d you stop for—right in the middle of the road?”
+
+The next moment he was biting his tongue when the front wheels on his
+car caved into the newly made crevice across the road. Everyone was
+jounced up and down frightfully as the wheels settled into the soft
+earth, and Dodo jumped out to see if anyone was injured.
+
+“Oh, oh! I know Pa’s broken my neck!” cried Mrs. Alexander, as she
+caught her plump neck between two fat hands.
+
+“Blame it all on the pesky earthquake!” shouted Mr. Alexander, thickly,
+while the end of his tongue began swelling where his teeth had cut into
+it.
+
+Everyone was ordered out, while Mr. Alexander tried to back the touring
+car out of the cleft across the roadway. But it was a deep trench and
+the front of the car had settled into the earth.
+
+“The only way to get her up is to plank down several rails and run her
+out on them,” said Mr. Alexander, lispingly, as he studied the
+situation.
+
+“It’s too dark to hunt for rails or boards, and there isn’t a house in
+sight,” Dodo replied.
+
+“What can we do, then?” asked the perplexed little man, scratching his
+head for an idea to start from his brain.
+
+It was nearly dawn when the peasants started from their homes for the
+city, to sell their market-goods, so the tourists had not long to sit
+and wait, before a cart drawn by two sturdy oxen rumbled along.
+
+“Hey, there! If you hook them beasts to my car and pull it out of this
+hole fer me, I’ll pay fer the animals!” called Mr. Alexander, hoping the
+man understood his English.
+
+Mr. Fabian then interpreted what had been said, and the man examined the
+condition of the ditch before he replied. Then he gave Mr. Fabian to
+understand that he could remove two heavy side-boards from the cart and
+try in that way to help run the wheels out.
+
+After strenuous labor and many pulls and tugs on the part of the oxen,
+the car was backed to the road again. But the ditch was still there, and
+it was too deep to cross without a bridge, or by filling it in.
+
+By the time the peasant had been paid his price, a number of other carts
+had driven up and the men sat pondering how to get over. It was Mr.
+Alexander who waved his arms like a wind-mill in Holland, and shouted to
+make them understand.
+
+“Let’s all get busy and scoop the earth into the ditch. Some of us can
+dig it from that field and others can carry it in their hats to fill
+in.”
+
+Mr. Fabian tried to explain, but the peasants shook their heads. One man
+jumped out and ran back in haste along the road.
+
+“What’s the matter? Is he afraid we’ll make him work?” demanded Mr.
+Alexander, impatiently.
+
+“No,” explained Mr. Fabian, “he said he knew where he could get a shovel
+and other implements. There’s a farm a bit farther on.”
+
+Shortly after that, the man returned and with him came two young men,
+all carrying shovels, and one pushed a cart. With these tools for work,
+every man went at the job, and in half an hour the crevice caused by the
+quake was temporarily filled up.
+
+While they worked the men asked Mr. Fabian about the earthquake in the
+city, and he told them what havoc it had made. The sun had risen by the
+time the two cars were able to cross the bridged crevice, and then
+waited to allow the ox-carts to get past.
+
+“Say, there! Are you going to take that stuff to Rome, to sell?” called
+Mr. Alexander, eagerly.
+
+The men comprehended and nodded their heads.
+
+“Well, here! We’re starved now and will buy the fruit and ready-to-eat
+stuff. Got anything cooked?” called he.
+
+One farmer had fowl, another had fruit and still another had a load of
+vegetables, so the tourists bought all the fruit they wanted, and the
+peasants went their way, rejoicing at the good luck the quake had
+brought them in the form of rich Americans who paid so well for filling
+the ditch, and then selling them fruit.
+
+As soon as the tourists reached a quiet spot beside the road, they
+halted the cars and enjoyed the fruit, for that was all the breakfast
+they would have until they reached Naples.
+
+Late in the afternoon they stopped at a good hotel and sighed in relief
+to think they could have a good, long, night’s rest. The daily papers
+were filled with the account of the damage done in Rome by the recent
+earthquake, but the list of those dead or lost was not yet complete, as
+so many were buried under the débris of fallen buildings.
+
+Suddenly Mr. Alexander threw back his head and roared.
+
+“What’s the matter, Pa?” asked Dodo, frowning at his shout.
+
+“Ho, I just read how we’re all dead. Did you know we were lost in the
+’quake last night?”
+
+They all stared at him. Mr. Fabian ran over to see the article for
+himself. Then he read it aloud: “Among those stopping at the Hotel ——
+in Rome, which collapsed at the third severe shock, were a party of
+American tourists who were with Mr. Fabian, the well-known authority on
+Antiques. Mrs. Fabian and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander and daughter,
+and two young misses, were members in this party. A few other guests of
+the hotel are also unaccounted for.”
+
+“If that isn’t the strangest thing,” exclaimed Mr. Fabian, “to sit here
+and read our own death-notice. Now I’ll have to wire Ashby that we’re
+all right, and we’ll have to cable to the States that this report is
+false.”
+
+The girls wanted to read the notice, too, and Nancy said they ought to
+keep the notice as a joke on journalism in Italy.
+
+“No joke about it, say I. Now I have to wear crêpe fer myself, because
+everyone out West will celebrate when they believe me done for,” said
+Mr. Alexander.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII—UNEXPECTED VICISSITUDES OF TRAVEL
+
+
+The visit in Naples extended itself into a week, as the girls needed to
+replenish their wardrobes after the earthquake, and Mr. Alexander
+thought it best to have a new spring for the car ordered to replace the
+one that had received such a strain in the ditch.
+
+A new schedule had been studied, and the route outlined a few weeks
+before, was revised. Mr. Fabian said it would be best to go to Brindisi
+and from there cross the Ionian Sea and visit Athens, as long as they
+were so near. Then, from Athens, they could go to Pompeii and other
+famous places, and finally take a steamer back to Genoa.
+
+“I’ll have to crate the cars, then, and ship them across country to wait
+for us at Genoa,” said Mr. Alexander.
+
+“Let the men at the garage attend to it for you. We will be away about a
+week, or so, and by that time the cars will have been delivered at
+Genoa,” said Dodo.
+
+“I should think it would save time and costs to send a chauffeur with
+each car, to leave them with a garage at Genoa,” suggested Mr. Fabian,
+so his idea was acted upon.
+
+Everything was packed and the ladies were in the cars ready to start,
+when Mr. Fabian turned to look for Mr. Alexander. He was not there.
+
+“Did anyone see him during the last ten minutes?” asked he.
+
+“No, he carried my suit-case downstairs fifteen minutes ago, but he did
+not come back,” said Mrs. Alexander.
+
+Mr. Fabian went to the hotel office again, and inquired of the clerk
+whether he had seen Mr. Alexander.
+
+He had not been seen, nor had he left any message at the desk. “Well,
+then, I’ll have him paged, as we are ready to start,” said Mr. Fabian.
+
+But the boys came back without any news of the missing man. Everyone got
+out of the cars again and started in different directions in search of
+their necessary “chauffeur.” By-standers were asked but no information
+was gained of the man they all were seeking.
+
+“Dear me, if that isn’t just like Ebeneezer!” complained Mrs. Alexander,
+powdering her nose while she awaited results.
+
+“I don’t see anything else to do, except to carry our luggage back to
+the hotel and postpone our trip until tomorrow,” said Mr. Fabian.
+
+“Don’t worry, Pa’ll come along soon and wonder why we worried over his
+delay. He’s sure to give a splendid reason for this absence,” said Dodo.
+
+A few moments after she had spoken, little Mr. Alexander was seen
+running at top speed along the street. His hat was in his hand and he
+was mopping his perspiring brow with a large silk handkerchief.
+
+“Eben, what made you leave us? Didn’t you _know_ we were ready to
+start?” complained his wife, the moment she saw him.
+
+“Yeh, but I couldn’t help it, Maggie. Just as I got your duds to the
+car, I stepped on a little dog. He yelped so I had to see what ailed
+him, and that’s how I saw the child what owned the animal.
+
+“If the little shaver hadn’t yelled as hard as the dog, I wouldn’t have
+gone wid him. But I had to quiet the boy, and the dog limped so I had to
+carry that. The boy lived a long way down a side street, and then
+through an alley. But when I got to his home, the dog could jump about
+and bark, so he is all right again.”
+
+“Good gracious, Pa, did you waste all this time on carrying a mongrel
+home?” laughed Dodo.
+
+“Um, not all the time!” admitted Mr. Alexander. “When I saw that boy’s
+home and his sick mother in bed, I hunted up a woman in the house and
+made her go out for some things to eat. It seems they ain’t had any
+money and so went hungry until she could work. I told the woman—but I
+reckon she didn’t understand me—that she could thank the dog for the
+food and help she got from me. Then I had to hurry back here.”
+
+The tourists were on the vessel before Mrs. Alexander stopped nagging
+her spouse and allowed him to enjoy the sail across the Ionian Sea. It
+was a beautiful trip for the others in the party; they saw the blue sky
+reflected in the bluer water, inhaled the perfume of thousands of
+flowers blossoming riotously on the land and wafted by the balmy breezes
+across the Sea, and they wondered if it were really true that but a few
+days before, they were rushing frantically from an earthquake in Rome!
+The present peace and calm were so different an experience—almost as if
+they were in another world.
+
+The first sight of Athens, from the sea, was very impressive to the
+girls; they could see, upon the prominences that seemed to embrace the
+ancient city, the wonderful historic ruins so carefully preserved there.
+Mr. Fabian pointed out the Acropolis, the Temple of Hephæstus, the
+Propylæa, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Parthenon, and other noted
+architectural antiquities.
+
+Several days were spent in Athens, visiting its vast wealth of past
+ages, then Mr. Fabian arranged to proceed, with his friends, to Pompeii,
+with its lure of restored ruins that had been buried for centuries.
+
+From the scenes of Pompeii, they visited the Island of Ischia and its
+wilderness of vineyards; then they went on to Capri with its
+incomparable riot of color and natural beauties.
+
+“I don’t see anything to keep us down here more than a day, or so, do
+you-all?” asked Mrs. Alexander, bored to distraction without the
+excitement of cities, or the speeding in her car.
+
+“Oh Ma! we never saw anything so wonderful as these places, so don’t
+rush us away the moment we get here,” cried Dodo.
+
+“But, Dodo, what is there here to see but a lot of wild greens, and poor
+people dressed in shawls and petticoats?” complained Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“I ain’t saying a word, Ma, even if I can’t see all the fine things the
+others seem to enjoy,” remarked Mr. Alexander. “But it _must_ be here,
+somewhere, so I’m hunting for it with might and main.”
+
+His wife merely turned up her educated nose at his words, but refused to
+answer his earnest request for further time in which to find the hidden
+secret of his friends’ pleasure.
+
+Having seen all that was possible of the beautiful Islands of olden
+times, the tourists boarded a steamer and sailed past Messina and
+Corsica, up through the Gulf of Genoa, to the City of Genoa where the
+two cars were awaiting them.
+
+“My! I never was so glad to see a car in all my life!” sighed Mrs.
+Alexander, eagerly examining her roadster to see if it was in good
+condition for the continuation of the tour.
+
+“From Genoa we can travel along the Coast of the Mediterranean and enjoy
+the drive to the utmost, for we still have plenty of time to complete
+our tour back to Paris, and meet Ashby when he plans to be there,” said
+Mr. Fabian, as they got into the two autos and prepared to start.
+
+The touring car led the way, Mrs. Alexander following, with Mrs. Fabian
+seated beside her. Perhaps that lady might not have felt quite so
+fearless with the chauffeur, if Mr. Fabian had not said that the road
+was splendid and that there were no dangerous places for Mrs. Alexander
+to run into.
+
+They went through Savona, San Remo, and stopped at Monte Carlo to visit
+the place and see the famous gambling house.
+
+“Ebeneezer, don’t you go to that wicked house to play!” exclaimed Mrs.
+Alexander, after they had refreshed themselves at the hotel and were
+ready to walk about and see Monte Carlo.
+
+“I woulden’ _think_ of doing such a thing, Maggie, with all these young
+girls to set an example for,” returned the little man, with a serious
+tone.
+
+“I don’t want to go in there, at all,” declared Polly.
+
+“It won’t hurt anyone to see it, Polly; they say it is one of the most
+gorgeous places in the world. The decorations and architecture are
+marvellous,” added Eleanor.
+
+“Well, but don’t let us go near the gaming-tables,” Polly said,
+grudgingly.
+
+“Oh, no, not one on us would think of such a thing!” said Mr. Alexander,
+but he watched an opportunity to make sure that a roll of money he
+carried in his pocket, was still there.
+
+They had done the outside of the place, admiring the beautiful parks and
+the buildings, and then they thought they would have a peep inside, at
+the halls and various rooms of the famous house.
+
+“Where’s Ebeneezer?” suddenly asked Mrs. Alexander, as she trailed the
+others into the Grand Reception Room.
+
+“Why—he was here but a moment ago!” replied Mr. Fabian, glancing around
+for the missing man.
+
+“Didn’t I tell you what a care he was? I always have to keep him on a
+leash when I want him to go, somewhere, with me. This is the same trick
+he played on us at Brindisi—and almost made us miss the boat,”
+complained the lady.
+
+“He didn’t make _us_ miss it, Ma, but he ’most missed it himself,”
+laughed Dodo.
+
+“But he did a fine deed for a poor human, which goes to exonerate him
+for being so late. Maybe he is helping someone, now,” remarked Mrs.
+Fabian, who was sincerely proud of the little man’s depth of character,
+even though he had never had the polish and opportunities given other
+men.
+
+“That’s what you-all think!” snapped Mrs. Alexander. “I bet you’ll find
+him in the blackest gambling den of all this awful place.”
+
+“Ma, you wait right where you are, and Mr. Fabian and I will find that
+awful place and tell you if Pa is there,” said Dodo with a stern
+expression.
+
+“What! Let you go in such a place? No indeed! I’ll go with Mr. Fabian
+myself if _anyone_ has to go,” declared Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“I don’t want you to; you always nag at Pa and if you start in in a
+crowd, I know just what he’ll do. It is better for me to go with Mr.
+Fabian,—but I don’t believe he’s there!” declared Dodo.
+
+“Perhaps Dodo is right, Mrs. Alexander. Let us go while you remain
+quietly here with the others,” said Mr. Fabian.
+
+So they hurried away, while the girls and the ladies walked about, or
+sat down to watch the lovely scene in the Park. The two had been gone
+about ten minutes, when Mr. Alexander was seen coming towards the group
+on the bench, but he was not alone. A very pretty girl of about sixteen
+years was with him. Dodo and Mr. Fabian were nowhere in sight.
+
+“Hello there, Maggie,” called out Mr. Alexander, genially, as he came
+within speaking distance of his wife. “I brought a ’Merican girl to
+you-all, to take care of her as far as Nice. She thought she was lost,
+but I soon showed her she was safe with us, until we landed her with her
+folks.”
+
+Everyone gazed at the well-dressed pretty girl in surprise. It was
+evident from her red eyes that she had been crying a short time before.
+But Mr. Alexander said no more about the incident at the moment, merely
+introducing his companion as Genevieve Van Buren, of New York City.
+
+“Where’s Dodo?” asked Mr. Alexander, suddenly missing his daughter when
+he wished to introduce her to the newcomer.
+
+“She went with my husband,” hastily replied Mrs. Fabian. “They’ll be
+back in a few minutes. We are waiting for them, now.”
+
+“Ebeneezer, where did you meet Miss Van Buren?” questioned his wife,
+suspiciously.
+
+“Oh, just outside that door, where we all went, last,” returned the
+little man, indefinitely.
+
+Mr. Fabian and Dodo were now seen coming out of the large building, and
+Mr. Alexander glanced from them to his wife, with a knowing twinkle in
+his eyes. Before anyone could say a word to Dodo, he spoke: “Well, so
+you’ve been wastin’ all _your_ savings, too, eh?”
+
+“Oh no! Mr. Fabian and I just wanted to see what the place looked like.
+It is the most gorgeous hall I ever saw, and Mr. Fabian says it is well
+worth seeing. Why don’t you come and have a look at it, Polly?” replied
+Dodo.
+
+When she was introduced to the strange girl, Dodo wondered how she came
+to join their party but she said nothing. At last, Polly consented to go
+and take a peep at the interior of the palace, but Miss Van Buren
+preferred to remain on the bench with Mr. Fabian, while Mr. Alexander
+escorted the ladies.
+
+“That homely little man is wonderful, isn’t he?” asked Miss Van Buren,
+in a humble little voice, when Mr. Fabian and she were quite alone.
+
+“We think so. In fact, we like him so well that we fail to notice any
+shortcomings.”
+
+“I feel that I must tell someone what he did for me, a few moments ago,
+although he was a total stranger,” continued the girl, her chin
+quivering.
+
+“Were you both in the gambling hall?” was all Mr. Fabian asked.
+
+“No, but I had been there last night, and lost all my money in gambling.
+Then I borrowed some cash, from a woman, on my jewels, and lost that
+money, too. I never played before, and it was so terribly exciting that
+I put aside every other thought but winning.
+
+“The woman who had given me the money, had been very nice to me, when
+she met me at the hotel; she it was who invited me to go with her to
+visit the palace, just for fun. But it ended as such visits generally
+do,” the girl’s lovely blue eyes filled with tears and she dabbed at
+them, hurriedly.
+
+“I was desperate, and wondered how I should get back to the party with
+which I am touring Europe. I had no money to pay my way to Paris, and I
+had nothing of value left with which I could get money.
+
+“Mrs. Warburton who had been so kind, as I thought, had just proposed
+paying my way to Paris and keeping me at her hotel until my party
+arrived to call for me, when that little man walked slowly over and
+stood looking at both of us.”
+
+“‘Maybe you-all are an American?’ he asked Mrs. Warburton.
+
+“She lifted her head and looked insolently at him. But she never said a
+word. Then he went right on without caring how she looked. ‘I am an old
+miner from the West. I’ve been in lots of evil places, and seen all
+sorts of evil people, so I know one when I see and hear ’em. I’ve heard
+all you offered to this young girl, but I’ll go your offer one better.
+She comes with my wife and daughter and it won’t cost her a lifetime of
+regrets.’”
+
+The girl bowed her head and her slender form shook with sobs. Mr. Fabian
+said nothing. He was too amazed to say a word.
+
+Finally the girl continued, but her head was averted. “Something told me
+to trust that homely little man so I looked at him and said, ‘I believe
+you want to save me from some trouble?’
+
+“‘That’s what I do, little gal. Just as I would want some one to help my
+daughter if she needed help. Now tell me what’s all this about, and
+maybe we can get down to brass tacks.’ He said it just that way,”
+repeated Miss Van Buren, looking up at Mr. Fabian.
+
+The gentleman smiled, and nodded understandingly.
+
+“Well, he made that woman give up the jewels and he paid her back the
+money for them, then he said to her: ‘You ought to be thankful that I am
+touring with a party, or sure as I am a man, I’d hand you over to the
+police for what I know you had planned in your evil mind.’ Then he made
+me come away from her.
+
+“When we were out of hearing he told me that from his experience in
+mining-camps, and cities where miners go to spend their earnings, he
+could tell that the woman was not right. He thinks she actually led me
+_on_ to gamble, to ruin my chances of getting back to my friends.”
+
+The innocent girl gazed at her companion, and Mr. Fabian nodded his head
+understandingly, without saying a word. Then she continued: “But that is
+terribly wicked! Why do they permit such things to happen here?”
+
+“Why will people come here to visit the place with the sole idea of
+going away with more money than they came? They ought to know that all
+this lavish expenditure and display has to be maintained, and the money
+for that comes out of the foolish gamesters who _always_ lose at such
+tables,” said Mr. Fabian.
+
+“I suppose I was very silly to leave my friends and come alone to Nice.
+They wanted me to go with them, but I preferred this place to the Alps
+and mountain climbing, so I agreed to meet them at Paris, later. I said
+I was going to visit with some friends at Nice, but I believed I could
+take care of myself. Now I think differently.”
+
+Her voice was so repentant and meek that Mr. Fabian said: “Maybe this
+lesson will prove to be the best one of your life. Let it teach you that
+head-strong ways are always sure to end in a pitfall. And remember,
+‘that a wolf generally prowls about in sheep’s clothing to devour the
+innocent lamb.’ Thank goodness that you escaped the wolf—but thank Mr.
+Alexander for being that goodness.”
+
+The others returned, now, and as there was nothing more to visit at
+Monte Carlo, they drove on to Nice to spend the night. The girls found
+Genevieve Van Buren a most congenial companion and everyone showed a
+keen desire to befriend her.
+
+A telegram awaited her at Nice, and Mr. Alexander had the satisfaction
+of reading it. Her friends, to whom he had wired from Monte Carlo when
+he heard Genevieve’s story, said they would be at Paris the following
+day.
+
+Before Mr. Fabian and his companions drove away from Nice, they saw the
+repentant girl safely on the train to Paris.
+
+Having said good-by to Genevieve, the tourists left Nice; they drove to
+Marseilles and the girls visited several mills where famous textiles are
+woven.
+
+Cannes was the next place the cars passed through, and then Aix was
+reached. Mr. Fabian wished to stop long enough at this city, which was
+founded B.C. 122 by a Roman named Sextius Calvinus, to show his students
+the ruins and historic objects of antiquity.
+
+At Avignon the tourists saw the famous bridge and the many notable and
+ancient buildings—some ruins having remained there since the town was
+founded by the Phœnicians in 600 B.C.
+
+They stopped over-night at Avignon, and early in the morning, started
+cross-country for Bordeaux. The roads were heavy and the travelling
+slow, and they found it necessary to stop at the peasants’ homes and
+ask, to make sure they were on the right road. At several of these
+stops, Mr. Fabian and the girls acquired some old bits of pottery and
+porcelain which the poor people were glad to sell, and the collectors
+were over-joyed to buy.
+
+All along the country route from Marseilles, the women seen wore
+picturesque costumes, with heavy wooden shoes on their feet. These shoes
+were lined with sheep-skin to protect the instep from bruises. The
+children playing about their homes were scantily clothed, but their rosy
+faces and plump little bodies spoke plainer than words, that they were
+healthy and happy, and cared naught for style.
+
+Quite often, when the cars passed over a stream, or ran along the banks
+of a river, the occupants would see the peasant women washing linen in
+the water. They knelt upon the bank, or upon a stone near the shore, and
+beat the clothes with sticks as the water flowed through the pieces. The
+garments were rinsed out and then wrung, before hanging upon the bushes
+nearby to dry.
+
+Mr. Alexander remarked: “Good for dealers in white goods.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV—A HIGHWAYMAN IN DISGUISE
+
+
+The roads were so poor that it was impossible to reach Bordeaux that
+evening, and Mr. Fabian said it would be better to stop at a small Inn
+in a village, should they find a promising one. Consequently they
+decided that the clean little inn at Agen would answer their needs that
+night.
+
+The two cars were rolled under a shed at the back, and the guests were
+shown to the low-ceiled chambers with primitive accommodations. But the
+supper was good, and the host a jolly fat man.
+
+While the tourists were finishing their coffee, a little bent man limped
+into the public room. He had great hoops of gold in his ears, and his
+costume was very picturesque. After he had been given a glass of
+home-made wine, he sat down in a corner and began playing softly on an
+accordion.
+
+He had a marvelous talent for this instrument, and the girls crowded
+about him, listening intently. Soon the host’s grown daughter came out
+and danced a folk-dance, and then others danced the old-time French
+dances. When the American girls were called upon to add their quota to
+the evening’s entertainment, they gladly complied.
+
+Polly and Eleanor, Dodo and Nancy danced the modern steps so popular
+with young folks of the present day, and the peasants, watching closely,
+laughed at what they considered awkward and ridiculous gambols. But the
+dancing suddenly ceased when a young man called upon the musician to
+have his fortune told; he held out his palm and waited to hear his
+future.
+
+Fully two hours were spent in laughing at the “fortunes” the old gipsy
+man told—for he was one of the original Spanish gipsies, who had
+wandered to the southern part of France and settled there for life.
+
+The girls giggled and reviewed their fortunes that night long after they
+had retired. As they had to occupy the two massive beds in one
+guest-room, it gave them the better opportunity to talk when they should
+have been fast asleep.
+
+Finally they were ready to sleep and Polly was about to snuff the candle
+before jumping into bed, when Nancy suddenly whispered: “S—sh!”
+
+[Illustration: POLLY TIP-TOED TO THE WINDOW.]
+
+The four sat up and strained their sense of hearing. “I heard a queer
+noise just outside our door,” whispered Nancy.
+
+“I’ll tip-toe over and see who it is,” whispered Polly, acting as she
+spoke.
+
+“No—no! Don’t open the door! That gipsy may be there,” cried Nancy,
+fearfully.
+
+But another scratching sound under the low window now drew all attention
+to that place. Polly slowly tip-toed silently to the open window and
+tried to peer out. The trees and vines made the back of the garden
+shadowy and she could not see if anyone were under the window, or trying
+to get in somewhere else.
+
+The other three girls now crept out of bed and joined Polly at the
+window. They waited silently, and were soon rewarded for their patience.
+They distinctly heard voices almost under their window, whispering
+carefully, so no one would be awakened.
+
+“I think we ought to rouse Daddy, or Mr. Alexander,” said Nancy,
+trembling with apprehension.
+
+“You run and tell your father, while I get Pa out of bed,” said Dodo,
+groping about for her negligee.
+
+Meantime Polly and Eleanor watched so no one could get in at their
+window, and the two other girls ran across the hall to their parents’
+rooms. In a short time both Mr. Fabian and Mr. Alexander came in and
+crept over to the window where the girls had heard the burglars
+plotting.
+
+Mr. Fabian understood French so now he interpreted what he overheard:
+“Drop the bundle and I’ll catch it. Don’t make a noise, and be careful
+not to overlook anything valuable.”
+
+“Dear me! If they are burglars where is the one who is told to drop a
+bundle? He must be inside, somewhere!” whispered Dodo, excitedly.
+
+There followed a mumbling that no one could understand, and then a
+splash,—as if a bundle of soft stuff had dropped into water from a
+height. Immediately after this, the voice from below excitedly spoke to
+the companion above: “——It fell in the well! Now what is to be done?”
+
+“Goody! Goody!” breathed Polly, eagerly, when she heard how the burglars
+had defeated their own purpose.
+
+But no sound came from the other burglar who was working indoors, and
+Mr. Alexander had an idea which he suggested to Mr. Fabian.
+
+“You go downstairs softly, while I scout around up here and locate the
+room where the helper is working. When I give a whistle it means ‘I’ve
+got the other feller under hand’—then you catch your man, red-handed,
+out in the garden, and the girls will rouse the house and we will
+present our prisoners to the host.”
+
+That sounded fine, so Mr. Alexander hurried to his room for his western
+gun, and started out to hunt up the indoor worker. Mrs. Alexander
+realized that he was about to do something unusual, or he never would
+have taken his big revolver.
+
+“Ebeneezer, what is wrong? Are we in danger of being robbed?”
+
+“I’m going to catch one before we can think if there is any danger, for
+anyone,” said her husband, going for the door.
+
+“Listen, Ebeneezer! Don’t you go and risk your life for that! You
+promised to take care of me first! Let Mr. Fabian, or some of the
+Frenchmen here, try and catch the man!” cried Mrs. Alexander,
+hysterically, running after her spouse.
+
+But the little man was spry and he was out of the door and down the
+entry before his wife reached the doorway. There was but one alternative
+for her, and that was to go to the girls’ room and pour her troubles
+forth into their ears.
+
+But the four girls were too intent upon what was going on to sympathize
+with Mrs. Alexander. Dodo merely said, in reply to her mother’s
+complaints: “Get into my bed, Ma, and pull the covers over your head, if
+you’re so frightened.”
+
+All this time, the man down in the garden was directing his associate
+above, and at last the girls indistinctly saw someone slowly descend,
+what seemed to be a rope hanging close to the side of the house. They
+held their breath and waited, for Mr. Fabian surely must have reached
+the garden by this time and would be ready to capture the escaping
+thieves, before they could get away.
+
+But a loud shouting and a great confusion in the large public room drew
+their attention to the upper hall, where they could hear what was going
+on below. Mrs. Fabian joined her friends in the entry at the head of the
+stairs and they heard the host shout:
+
+“So! You look like a decent gentleman and you creep down here to take my
+living from me! Shame, shame!”
+
+Then to the horror of the girls, they heard Mr. Fabian remonstrate
+volubly and try to explain his reason for going about the place so
+stealthily.
+
+Mrs. Fabian rushed down the stairs, regardless of her curl-papers and
+kimono, and the girls followed closely upon her heels. Only Mrs.
+Alexander remained upstairs under the bed-covers, thinking discretion to
+be the better part of valor.
+
+The host and some other guests were surrounding Mr. Fabian who tried to
+explain that Mr. Alexander and he were following burglars who were
+looting the place. The host smiled derisively, and told his guest to
+prove what he said was true.
+
+Just then Mrs. Alexander screamed, and came pell-mell down the stairs.
+“Oh, oh! A gipsy man came out of the _girls’_ room!”
+
+Everyone ran upstairs to catch the trespasser, but he was not to be
+found. Then a scuffle, and confused shouts from the garden, reached the
+ears of the crowd who stood wondering what next to do. A clear shrill
+whistle echoed through the place, and Mr. Fabian turned impatiently.
+
+“Now you’ve spoiled the arrest of those two burglars. I was to get the
+outside man when that whistle sounded, to tell me that Mr. Alex had the
+inside man safely in hand.”
+
+But the shouting and whistling sounded more confused on the garden-side
+of the house, so they all ran downstairs again, and went out to assist
+in any way they might.
+
+Someone was hanging on to someone else who clung for dear life to a
+thick vine that grew up the side wall and over the roof of the inn. It
+was this rope-like vine that the girls had mistaken for a rope of escape
+for the thief. Mr. Alexander was in the garden, trying to drag down the
+escaping burglar, while that individual was trying to climb back into
+the room whence he had recently come.
+
+Just as the others rushed out into the dark garden to assist Mr.
+Alexander, another man appeared at the upper window and caught hold of
+his associate’s hands to pull him back to safety.
+
+“Wait! I get my ladder!” shouted the host, running for the shed. But a
+howl of rage, and French curses tumbling pell-mell from him told the
+others that he had gone headlong into a new danger.
+
+Mr. Fabian and the young man-waiter ran to help the poor inn-keeper, and
+to their amazement they found he had collided with Mrs. Alexander’s
+roadster which was standing behind the bushes, facing towards the road.
+
+“I’ll turn on the lights, in a moment, and see if all is right,” quickly
+said Mr. Fabian, jumping up to start the engine.
+
+Before he could switch on the lights, however, a general shout of dismay
+came from the people assembled under the window, and the three men ran
+back to see what had happened.
+
+The second-story windows were not more than eight feet above the garden
+at the rear, as the ground sloped down gradually to the front of the
+Inn. The first story was very low, too, so that anyone could climb up at
+the rear without difficulty.
+
+When Mr. Fabian and his two companions reached the scene under the
+windows, they found three people rolling upon the ground in a tight
+clutch. The man from the inside of the room who had been finally pulled
+out and over the ledge; the man who had clung to the vine, for some
+reason or other, and the third man who had stood at the bottom of the
+vine and hung on to the climbing man’s heels.
+
+From this mêlée of three, Mr. Alexander’s voice sounded clear and
+threatening. A deep bass voice gurgled as if in extremity, but the third
+voice was shrill and hysterical and sounded like a woman’s.
+
+Lights were hurried to the spot, and the three contestants were
+separated, then Mr. Alexander had the satisfaction of turning to the
+inn-keeper and saying: “I caught them both without help. I saved your
+place from being robbed.”
+
+But one of the two captured burglars sat down on the grass and began to
+sob loudly. The host seemed distracted for a moment, then tore off the
+big soft hat the gypsy wore. Down came a tangle of hair, and his
+daughter turned a dirt-streaked face up at her furious father.
+
+“What means this masquerading! And who is the accomplice?” shouted he.
+
+“Oh, father,” wailed the girl. “Pierre and I were married at the Fête
+last week, but you would not admit him to the house and I never could
+get away, so we said we would _run_ away together and start a home
+elsewhere,” confessed the frightened daughter.
+
+Pierre stood by, trembling in fear of his father-in-law, but when
+everyone realized that poor Pierre was but trying to secure his bride’s
+personal effects which she had tied in several bundles, they felt sorry
+for the two.
+
+It had been Pierre’s idea to dress Jeanne in a gypsy’s garb that no one
+could recognize her when they escaped, and it was Jeanne who suggested
+that they use the roadster to carry all her effects, and then Pierre
+could drive it back and leave it near the inn without the owner’s
+knowledge.
+
+The father led his two prisoners to the public-room and the guests
+trailed behind them, wondering at such an elaborate plan for escape when
+the two had been married a week and might have walked out quietly
+without disturbing others, at night.
+
+In an open session of the parental court, the inn-keeper was induced to
+forgive the culprits and take the undesirable Pierre to his heart and
+home. Then everyone smiled, and the waiter proposed that the host open a
+bottle of his best old wine to celebrate the reception of the married
+pair.
+
+“Why did you object to the young man? He looks like a good boy?” asked
+Mr. Fabian, when the young pair were toasted and all had made merry over
+the capture of the two.
+
+“He has a farm four miles out, and I want a son who will run this inn
+when I am too old. He dislikes this business and I dislike farming. So
+there you are!” explained the host.
+
+“But you won’t have to work the farm,” argued Mr. Fabian. “You have the
+inn and many years of good health before you to enjoy it, and they have
+the farm. I think the two will work together, very nicely, for you can
+get all your vegetables and eggs and butter from your daughter, much
+cheaper than from strangers.”
+
+“Ah yes! I never thought of that!” murmured the inn-keeper, and a smile
+of satisfaction illumed his heavy face.
+
+The next morning the young pair were in high favor with the father, and
+he was telling his son-in-law about various things he must raise on his
+farm so that both families might save money.
+
+Then the tourists drove away from Agen with the inn-keeper’s blessings
+ringing in their ears, and after a long tiresome drive they came to
+Bordeaux. Various places of interest were visited in this city, and the
+next day they drove on again.
+
+Brittany, with its wealth of old chateaux, was reached next, and time
+was spent prodigally, that the girls might view the wonderful old places
+where tourists were welcomed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV—AHOY! FOR THE STARS AND STRIPES AGAIN
+
+
+Finally the tourists stopped at Nantes where the famous edict of Henri
+the IVth was proclaimed in 1598. Then they drove on to Angers, with the
+old Chateau d’ Angers, built by Louis IXth, about 1250.
+
+They stopped over night at Angers and drove to Saumur the next day,
+where several pieces of rare old tapestry were seen in the ancient
+church of St. Pierre.
+
+That night they reached Tours where they planned to stop, in order to
+make an early start for Loches with its famous chateau. Adjoining this
+chateau was a thousand-year-old church of St. Ours which Mr. Fabian
+desired to show the girls.
+
+The old keeper of the church mentioned the Chateau of Amboise which was
+only a short distance further on the road and was said to be well worth
+visiting. So they drove there and saw the chapel of St. Hubert which was
+built by Charles the VIIth. Here lies buried the remains of Leonardo da
+Vinci, the famous painter.
+
+While at St. Hubert’s Chapel, the tourists heard of still another
+ancient chateau of the 10th century, which was but a few miles further
+on, on the Loire. As this Chateau ’de Chaumont was only open to visitors
+on certain days and this day happened to be one of those days, they
+visited the place.
+
+“My gracious!” exclaimed Mr. Alexander, when they came from the last
+ancient pile. “I’ll be so glad to get back to Denver, where the oldest
+house is only half a century old, that I won’t say a word if you’ll
+agree to only use another precious week lookin’ at these moldy old rocks
+and moss-back roofs.”
+
+His friends laughed, for they knew him well by this time. Mrs.
+Alexander, however, was not so thankful to go back to Denver, nor was
+she willing to see any more old chateaux. So she said: “Let’s drive on
+to Paris where we have so much shopping to do.”
+
+“Oh no, Ma. The keeper of that last chateau told us there was the finest
+old place of all, a few miles on, so we want to see that as long as we
+are here,” said Dodo.
+
+“All right, then! You-all go on and see it, but I’ll stay here,”
+declared Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“I don’t want to see any more ruins, Maggie, so s’pose you and I drive
+in your car and let Dodo drive the touring car to any old stone-heap
+they want to visit,” said Mr. Alexander.
+
+“All right, Ebeneezer. I honestly believe I’d rather sit beside you, in
+my new car, than have to limp around these old houses,” sighed Mrs.
+Alexander.
+
+Her words were not very gracious, but her spouse thought that, being her
+guest in the new car, was better than having to wait for hours outside a
+ruin. So Dodo drove her friends on to the Chateau de Blois, and they
+inspected the old place, then saw the famous stable that was built to
+accommodate twelve hundred horses at one time.
+
+“Here we are, but a short distance from Orleans—why not run over there
+and visit the place, then drive back to Nantes to meet your father and
+mother,” suggested Mr. Fabian.
+
+“It seems too bad that we have to go all the way back for them, when we
+are so near Paris, now,” said Dodo.
+
+“Oh, but we haven’t finished the most interesting section of France,
+yet!” exclaimed Eleanor, who had been looking over Mr. Fabian’s
+road-map.
+
+“In that case, I fear we will lose Ma for company,” said Dodo,
+laughingly. “As we come nearer Paris, she is more impatient to reach
+there. She may suddenly take it into her head to let her car skid along
+the road that leads away from us and straight for Paris.”
+
+From Nantes they drove straight on without stopping until Caens was
+reached; Mr. Fabian pointed out various places along the road, and told
+of famous historical facts in connection with them, but they did not
+visit any of the scenes.
+
+Caen, with its old churches and quaint buildings, was very interesting
+to the girls. Then at Bayeaux they went to see the wonderful Bayeaux
+tapestry which was wrought by Matilda and her Ladies in Waiting in 1062.
+This tapestry is two hundred and thirty feet long and twenty inches
+wide, but it pictures the most marvellous historical scenes ever
+reproduced in weaving.
+
+From Bayeaux they went to Mont St. Michel to see the eight hundred
+year-old monastery which is so well preserved. Rouen, the capital of
+Normandy, was the next stopping place on the itinerary, and here they
+saw many ancient Norman houses as well as churches. But the principal
+point of interest for the girls, was the monument in Rouen, erected to
+the memory of Joan of Arc, who was burned to death for her faith.
+
+The night they spent at Rouen, Mr. Alexander had a serious talk with Mr.
+Fabian and his girls.
+
+“You see, I want to please you-all, but Maggie won’t stand for any more
+of this gallivantin’ around old churches. I’m gettin’ awful tired of it,
+myself, but then I don’t count much, anyway.
+
+“Maggie says she’s goin’ right on to Paris, whether you-all do so or
+not; and if I let her go there alone, she’ll buy her head off with fine
+clothes, and then Dodo and me won’t know what to do to cart them all
+back to the States. So I have to go with her in self-defense, you
+understand!”
+
+They laughed at the worried expression on the little man’s face, and Mr.
+Fabian said: “Well, Mr. Alex, we are through sight-seeing for this time,
+anyway, so we may as well run back to Paris when you do.”
+
+“Oh, that’s good news! Almost as good as if I won the first prize in the
+Louisanny Lottery!” laughed Mr. Alexander, jocosely.
+
+So they all drove to Paris, where Mr. Ashby was to meet them, in a few
+days. As Mr. Alexander deftly threaded the car in and out through the
+congested traffic, he sighed and said: “I never thought I’d be so glad
+to see this good-for-nothin’ town again. But I’ve been so tossed and
+torn tourin’ worst places, that even Paris looks good to me, now.”
+
+His friends laughed and his wife said: “Why, it is the most wonderful
+city in the world! I am going to enjoy myself all I can in the next
+three days.”
+
+“You’d better, Maggie! ’cause we are leavin’ this wild town in just
+three days’ time!” declared Mr. Alexander.
+
+“Why—where are you going, then?” asked Mrs. Alexander, surprised at her
+husband’s determined tone.
+
+“Straight back to Denver, as fast as a ship and steam-cars will carry
+us!”
+
+“Never! Why, Ebeneezer, I haven’t succeeded in doing what I came over
+for,” argued Mrs. Alexander.
+
+“No, thank goodness; and Dodo says she’s standin’ for a career now,”
+laughed Mr. Alexander. “I agree with her, and she can start right in
+this Fall to study Interior Decoratin’, if she likes.”
+
+Mrs. Alexander did not reply, and no one knew what she thought of Dodo’s
+determination, but when all the shopping was done, and Mr. Ashby met
+them at the hotel, she seemed as anxious as the others, to start for
+home.
+
+“We are to pick up Ruth and Mrs. Ashby at Dover, you know,” said Mr.
+Ashby, when he concluded his plans for the return home.
+
+“Well, we have had a wonderful tour out of this summer. I never dreamed
+there were so many marvellous things to see, in Europe,” said Polly.
+
+That evening, several letters were handed to the Fabian party, and among
+them was one for Polly and another for Eleanor. Polly’s was stamped “Oak
+Creek” and the hand-writing looked a deal like Tom Larimer’s. But
+Eleanor’s was from Denver and Dodo cried teasingly: “Oh, I recognize
+Paul Stewart’s writing! It hasn’t changed one bit since he was a boy and
+used to send me silly notes at school.”
+
+Eleanor laughed at that, but why should she blush? Polly gazed
+thoughtfully at her, and decided that Nolla must have no foolish love
+affair, yet—not even with Paul Stewart!
+
+Then Eleanor caught Polly’s eye and seemed to comprehend what was
+passing through her mind. She quickly rose to the occasion.
+
+“Polly, if I confess that my letter is from Paul, will you own up that
+yours is from Tom—and tell us the truth about the American Beauty
+Roses?”
+
+Polly became as crimson as the roses mentioned, and sent her chum a look
+that should have annihilated her. But Eleanor laughed.
+
+That evening, as the merry party sat at dinner in the gay Parisian
+dining-room, Mr. Alexander suddenly sat up. His lower jaw dropped. He
+was opposite a wall-mirror and in its reflection he could see who came
+in at the door back of him.
+
+He had been telling a funny incident of the tour and had but half
+finished it, so his abrupt silence caused everyone to look at him. His
+expression then made the others turn and look at what had made him
+forget his story.
+
+In the doorway stood Count Chalmys, looking around the room. Now his
+eyes reached the American party at the round table and he smiled
+delightedly. In another moment he was across the room and bowing before
+the ladies.
+
+Mr. Alexander grunted angrily and kept his eyes upon his plate. He never
+wanted to see another man who had a title! But his wife made amends for
+his apparent disregard for conventions. She made room beside herself and
+insisted that the Count sit down and dine.
+
+“I never had a pleasanter surprise,” said he. “I expected to see the
+Marquis here, but I find my dear American friends, instead.”
+
+“Humph! What play are you acting in now, Count?” asked Mr. Alexander,
+shortly.
+
+“That’s what brought me to Paris. I was to meet the Marquis here, and we
+both were to sail from Havre, day after tomorrow. We have accepted a
+long engagement with a leading picture company in California, so I am to
+go across, at once,” explained the Count, nothing daunted by Mr.
+Alexander’s tone and aggressive manner.
+
+“Oh really! How perfectly lovely for us all!” exclaimed Mrs. Alexander,
+clasping her hands in joy.
+
+Then she turned to her daughter who seemed not to be giving as much
+attention to the illustrious addition to the party, as Mrs. Alexander
+thought proper.
+
+“Dodo, _must_ you talk such nonsense with Polly when our dear Count is
+with us and, most likely, has wonderful things to tell us of his
+adventures since last we saw him at his beautiful palace?”
+
+“Oh, I beg your pardon, Ma, but I didn’t know the Count had said
+anything to me,” hastily returned Dodo.
+
+“I really haven’t, as yet, Miss Alexander, but there is every symptom
+that something is being mulled over in my brain,” was the merry retort
+from the Count.
+
+“All the same, Dodo, I want you to give attention to the dear Count, now
+that he is with us, once more,” said Mrs. Alexander, with such dignity
+as would suit the mother-in-law of a Count.
+
+“Aye, aye, Sir!” laughed the irrepressible Dodo, bringing her right hand
+to her forehead in a military salute.
+
+“I joined the party, just now, merely to share a very felicitous secret
+with you. One that I feel sure you will all be pleased to hear. Perhaps
+the three young ladies in the group will be more interested in my secret
+than the matrons,” ventured Count Chalmys, with charming
+self-consciousness.
+
+Instantly, Mrs. Alexander interpreted the secret as one that meant
+success to her strenuous endeavors to find a “title” for her daughter.
+She had heard that foreign nobility made no secret of love or proposals,
+but spoke to interested friends of intentions to marry, even before the
+young woman had been told or had accepted a proposal of marriage. This,
+then, must be what Count Chalmys was about to tell them.
+
+“Oh, my _dear_ Count! Before you share that secret with every one,
+especially while the children are present, wouldn’t you just as soon
+wait and have a private little chat with me?” gushed Mrs. Alexander,
+tapping him fondly on the cheek with her feather fan.
+
+The Count stared at her in perplexity for he was not following her mood,
+nor did he give one fleeting thought to such foolishness as she endowed
+him with entertaining.
+
+“_You_ know, my dear Count! I am speaking of certain little personal
+matters regarding settlements and such like, which I only can discuss
+with you, satisfactorily. After that, you can confide in the others, if
+you like. However, I should think you would speak to the one most
+concerned, before you mention it in public.” Mrs. Alexander spoke in
+confidential tones meant only for the Count’s ear.
+
+“My dear lady! I haven’t the slightest idea what you mean. I was only
+going to tell my good friends, here, that——”
+
+“Yes, yes! I know what you were going to say, _dear_ Count,” hastily
+interrupted Mrs. Alexander, “but allow me to advise you: Say nothing
+until after I have had a private talk with you. I am sure Dodo will look
+at things very differently after I have had time to get your view-points
+and then tell them to her.”
+
+Count Chalmys began to receive light on the hitherto unenlightening
+advices from the earnest lady. He now had difficulty in hiding a broad
+smile. But Mrs. Alexander paid no heed to him.
+
+“You see, Count dear, we shall have several wonderful days on this trip
+across, in which you can make the best of your opportunities with Dodo,
+but really, I think it wise to consult with me first.”
+
+“My dear Mrs. Alexander! won’t you permit me to explain myself, before
+you go deeper into this problem from which you will have chagrin in
+finding a pleasant way out?” asked the Count.
+
+Mrs. Alexander gazed at him in frowning perplexity. “What is the happy
+secret you wished to share with us, if it is not your intention to
+propose to one of the young ladies in our party?”
+
+“I am to have a third member in my party, this trip, although she is not
+one of the company in California,” said the Count, smilingly. “I mean
+the pretty girl who played in the picture in Venice. We were married
+last week, and having settled all matters at Chalmys and leased the
+place for a term, we will remain in the United States for a long time.”
+
+At this unexpected information, Mrs Alexander almost swooned, but her
+husband seemed to change his manners as quickly as if they were old
+clothes. He smiled cordially at the Count and suggested a toast to his
+bride—but the toast was given with Ginger Ale.
+
+That evening the Count introduced his Countess, and Mrs. Alexander
+gritted her teeth in impotent rage. “Oh, how nearly had she plucked this
+prize for Dodo, and now he had married a plain little actress!” thought
+she.
+
+But she never knew that the Count had been attentive to his lady-love
+for three years before Mrs. Alexander ever met him. Had it not been for
+the heavy debts of his Italian Estate, he would never have delayed his
+proposal. Even as it was, he found happiness to be more important in
+life than wealth and a palace.
+
+The young countess was very pretty and promised to be a welcome addition
+to the group of young folks. Polly, Eleanor and Dodo liked her
+immensely, from the moment they saw her charming smile as she
+acknowledged the introductions. Evidently she was very glad to find a
+number of young Americans of her own age with whom she could associate
+on the trip across the Atlantic.
+
+Everyone but Mrs. Alexander, made the young couple feel very much at
+ease. Ebeneezer Alexander saw and understood his wife’s aloofness and
+straightway he decided to speak a bit of his mind to her as soon as they
+were in the shelter of their own suite at the hotel.
+
+“Now, lem’me tell you what, Maggie! I ain’t goin’ to have you actin’
+like all get-out, just because Chalmys went and married the gal he
+loved, disappointin’ you, thereby. Even if he had gone your way of
+plannin’, and ast Dodo to marry him, I’d have to say ‘NO!’ He’s saved me
+from hurtin’ his feelin’s, see?”
+
+Mrs. Alexander tried to stare her insignificant lord into silence, but
+the little man had found his metal while traveling with appreciative
+people, and he was not to be downed any more by mere looks and empty
+words from his wife.
+
+“Yeh! you kin sit there and stare all you like but stares don’t hurt and
+they ain’t changin’ the case, at all. Dodo wasn’t a-goin’ to marry no
+one, not even if you cried your head off for it, ’cause she’s made up
+her mind to try out decoratin’ for a time. So you jest watch your p’s
+and q’s when you’re mixin’ in with the Chalmys; and don’t show your
+ignerence of perlite society by actin’ upish and jealous as a cat.”
+
+Whether this sound advice actually had its effect upon Mrs. Alexander,
+or whether she forgot her chagrin, it is hard to say; but at all events,
+she smiled sweetly upon the Chalmys the next time she met them.
+
+A few days later, the steamer stopped at Dover and Mr. Ashby was
+delighted to have his wife and Ruth with him again.
+
+They were several days out, when Mrs. Alexander realized that Count
+Chalmys was only an ordinary mortal! She thought over this revelation
+for a time, and finally remarked to Dodo and the others: “I am so glad
+the Count didn’t fall in love with Dodo. The little dear would never
+have been happy with him.”
+
+“When did you discover that fact, Maggie?” asked her husband,
+quizzically.
+
+“Why, a long time ago. I was so disgusted with folks who claim a title,
+and then turn out to be factory men like that Osgood family. And now
+this Count is nothing but a play-actor! Dodo will be far better off if
+she falls in love with a first-class American, say I!”
+
+“Hurrah, Maggie! You’ve opened your eyes at last!” cried little Mr.
+Alexander.
+
+“But you will be made still happier, Ma, to hear that I am in love,
+now!” declared Dodo, teasingly.
+
+“What! Who is he?” demanded her mother.
+
+“Ask Eleanor and Polly. They introduced me to my future lord,” giggled
+Dodo.
+
+“Oh, she means her career, Mrs. Alex,” said Polly.
+
+ “Oh, Dodo!” wailed her mother. “You won’t go to work, will you, when
+your father’s worth a million dollars?”
+
+“All the more reason for it! I’m going to marry a profession, just as
+Polly and Eleanor are, and we three are going to be the most famous
+decorators in the world.”
+
+“And I am goin’ to build a swell mansion in New York and turn the
+contract for fixin’s, over to these three partners!” declared little Mr.
+Alexander.
+
+That trip across the Atlantic was a merry one for the girls, for the
+“Marquis” and his friend, aided by the Count and the young Countess,
+were a never failing source of entertainment for all. They mimicked and
+acted, whenever occasion offered, so that there was no time for dull
+care or monotony.
+
+While abroad, the Count had secured a small motion picture outfit; this
+was brought out and several amusing pictures made on the steamer. They
+were hastily developed and printed and shown at night, to the
+passengers. It proved to be very interesting to see one’s self on the
+screen, acting and looking so very differently than one imagines himself
+to act and look.
+
+After the second attempt at this form of amusement, Polly made a
+suggestion.
+
+“Wouldn’t it be heaps of fun if each one of us were to go away, alone,
+and write a chapter of a story for the Count to film. It will be a
+regular hodge-podge!”
+
+“Oh, that’s great!” exclaimed Eleanor, eagerly.
+
+The others seemed to think it would be entertaining, too, so the Count
+gave them a few important advices to note.
+
+“Let us decide upon the characters, the plot, and the place, of the
+scenario; then each one write out a condensed chapter, or reel, of the
+play. Follow these directions. Write your story in continuity; leave out
+all adjectives, but give us action as expressed by verbs; do not write
+more than two hundred words in a reel, or chapter. If you find you have
+more than that in your part of the programme, you’ll have to cut it
+down. And let each one remember to keep her personal work a profound
+secret. That will insure a surprise when the whole picture is reeled
+off.
+
+“Now, Miss Polly, you start the scenario, will you, and give us the
+first act, or reel. Then Miss Nolla will do the second act, or reel;
+Miss Ruth, the third; Miss Dodo, the fourth, Miss Fabian the fifth, and
+my wife can wind up the play, or picture, by writing the final reel. Any
+questions?”
+
+“Who are the characters?” asked Polly, laughingly.
+
+“Why, ourselves, of course. Because we must act in the photoplay, you
+see, in lieu of other performers. For instance, we will choose Miss
+Polly as the star lead, Janet Schuyler, in the play; Miss Nolla will be
+the vamp, Lois Miller, who is jealous of the lovely and prominent
+society girl; Miss Dodo will be the reporter, Miss Johnson, on a big
+daily paper who writes up the story for her paper; Miss Ruth can be the
+hard-working shop-girl, Esther Brown, who is made a scapegoat in the
+case. Miss Nancy could be the head of the department in the store, Miss
+Buskin, to whom the trouble is referred for adjustment; Alec will be the
+floor-walker and the Marquis can be the young man Reginald Deane—unless
+Miss Polly is too particular about her beaux.”
+
+This brought forth a laugh at Polly’s expense.
+
+“Mr. Ashby ought to make a good father for the society girl, and Mr.
+Alexander will make a good man to adjust the lighting apparatus. I will
+need the artistic help of Mr. Fabian in directing the scenes while I
+have charge of the camera. Now, any more questions, before you go away
+to start your writing?”
+
+The Count was greatly interested in this plan for fun and, finding there
+were too many questions instantly poured out for him to answer, he made
+a suggestion.
+
+“Each one go and do the best you can, then come to me if you find any
+snags too hard to remove from your literary pathway. I will have to go
+over each reel, anyway, when the whole is done.”
+
+For the rest of that morning, no one saw nor heard of either of the
+young people, but at luncheon, there was such a babel of voices that Mr.
+Fabian rapped upon the table and called all to order.
+
+“Hear, hear! The camera-man wishes to say a word!” laughed the Count.
+
+There was instant silence.
+
+“I have been handed three chapters of the scenario and I wish to say, if
+the other three are as good as the first ones, we will have a thriller.
+In the words of the publicity man, we shall produce a ‘gripping,
+heart-melting drama of unprecedented greatness and magnificence.’ For
+quintessence of perfection in pictures, this latest production of ours
+promises to ‘skin ’em’ all to the bone.’ Fellow-craftsmen! Go back to
+your work as soon as this bit of sustenance for the inner man is over,
+and dream of the success your pen is bound to win!—the glory and honor
+about to rest upon your noble brows for achieving such a great thing as
+the breathless, throbbing, soul-moving, passionate story of ‘Gladys the
+Shop-Girl’!”
+
+The amateur play-wrights laughed merrily at their manager’s comment upon
+their dramatic work, but they lost no time in gossiping at the table,
+that noon. Before the dessert had been served, the girls excused
+themselves and ran back to their work.
+
+That evening all efforts were in Count Chalmys’ hands and he was
+besieged for a report on the progress of the drama. He sent out word
+that he was to be left absolutely in peace for an hour and then he would
+appear with the hinged together chapters of a six-reel play.
+
+After dinner, that night, a curious and impatient group of authors sat
+in one of the smaller saloons, watching the Count assemble the pages of
+the scenario. He had actually typed them on his folding typewriter and
+now came across the room, smiling encouragingly upon his company.
+
+“Well, we haven’t such a tame play as everyone thought we would be sure
+to produce. All told, you will find the six reels fit in pretty good,
+one to the other, in continuity, but I shall have to exchange the
+chapters by Nolla and Dodo, as to priority. ‘Now listen, my children,
+and you shall hear’ etc.—you know the rest!” The Count laughed as he
+sat down.
+
+“A-hem!” he cleared his throat as a starter. “The name of the play has
+been suggested by six writers, so I will have to have the title chosen
+by vote. A closed poll, probably, to avoid the usual fight in politics.
+First title:
+
+“‘Life’s Thorny Road.’ This was submitted by Ruth Ashby.
+
+“‘The Great Secret,’ is the second title, given by Nolla.
+
+“‘His Easy Conquest,’ is third, submitted by Rose Chalmys.
+
+“‘Her Friend’s Husband,’ is one suggested by Dodo Alexander.
+
+“‘Greatest Thing on Earth,’ is given us by Nancy Fabian.
+
+“‘Just a Nobody,’ is the one suggested by Polly Brewster. Now, friends,
+which of these titles do you think will draw the largest crowds and make
+the production a certain success,—financially, of course. That is all
+the corporations care about, you know.”
+
+Count Chalmys smiled as he noted the faces in the semi-circle about him.
+Then Mr. Fabian spoke.
+
+“Will you have to take a vote on that? I believe we can decide the
+question without going to all the trouble of having a box and officers
+to guard the voting.”
+
+“How many are in favor of voting by a standing vote?” called the Count.
+Every hand went up.
+
+“All right. Now, then, when I call off the different titles as they come
+in order, those in favor of said title please rise and remain standing
+until we can count.”
+
+The suggestion of there being any work attached to the counting of one
+or two voters caused a ripple of merriment from the small group.
+
+“How many favor title one, ‘Life’s Thorny Road’?”
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Ashby stood up. Not even Ruth favored her own work but her
+doting parents did. This caused a general laugh at their expense and so
+they seated themselves, again.
+
+“Who favors the second, ‘The Great Secret’?” asked the amateur manager.
+
+Nolla had faith in herself, and so had Polly. But two votes could not
+carry the day, and they sat down again.
+
+“Well, how about ‘His Easy Conquest’? Who wants that?”
+
+No one stood up at this title, and every one laughed at the Countess;
+she laughed more merrily than the others.
+
+“Next comes, ‘Her Friend’s Husband’—by Dodo Alexander.”
+
+Dodo’s father and Polly voted for this title, but they were over-ruled
+by the others.
+
+“‘Greatest Thing on Earth,’ by Miss Fabian—how about that?”
+
+No one stirred at that invitation to vote, and the Count laughingly
+remarked, “Your talent is not appreciated, Miss Fabian.
+
+“This is the last one, friends, and we have not yet had a majority of
+voters decide upon one of the others so you must be waiting for this
+one! Now, who wants ‘Just a Nobody’?”
+
+At this, everyone but Polly stood up, and without further ado the
+manager acclaimed Polly’s title as the prize-winner.
+
+“All right, then; the photo-drama about to be played will be called
+‘Just a Nobody,’ title by Miss Polly Brewster; directed by Professor
+Fabian; assisted by Mr. Alexander; Camera-man, Chalmys, etc., etc.”
+
+The very select audience laughed at the Count’s mimicry of all the
+first-snaps of a feature play, in which every one is mentioned, even the
+pet cat or canary which stood near when the reels were run off.
+
+“Now for the gist of this whole thing—the story. I will open the
+picture by reading from Polly Brewster’s chapter.
+
+“‘Janet Schuyler was a regulation young debutante in New York’s social
+circle—snobbish, arrogant, vain. Young admirer worth millions, not in
+love with her, but nearing that fatal crisis. Janet’s mother, usual
+social aspirant for daughter,—father reverse of such qualities. Scene
+in large department store, Janet accuses meek young saleswoman of taking
+her purse which had been placed on counter a moment before. Girl,
+frightened, denies the charge. Mrs. Schuyler creates scene—buyer of the
+department hurries to scene to defend girl. Mrs. S— demands
+floor-walker to take girl to dressing room and search her for purse.
+Being prominent charge-customer, Mrs S— has her way, and weeping Esther
+is forced to small sideroom to be ignominiously disrobed and carefully
+searched.
+
+“‘At counter young vamp who stood near Janet Schuyler, leaves hurriedly
+and is about to make for the door when a bright-looking young woman
+placed detaining hand upon her arm. Vamp is persuaded to step to a
+corner of the store and answer questions, because she mistook woman for
+private store detective. Young woman, who is a reporter, takes notes of
+moment, then says peremptorily: ‘Hand over that purse or you’ll get more
+than you want!’ Vamp registers personal affront! Acts indignant.
+Reporter laughs, insists upon having purse. Vamp angry, threatens the
+law if she is detained. Reporter now ill at ease and lets vamp go.
+Hurries back to counter where Esther arrives, followed by gesticulating
+accuser and her daughter. Floor-walker promises to search further but
+insists that accused girl was innocent of the theft.
+
+“‘Mrs. S— and daughter turn to leave store when reporter accosts them
+and hands them her card. Says she will write up this negligence of the
+authorities in a high-class shop. Mrs. S— decides to punish the firm
+for their carelessness and tells the reporter what she believes to be
+the truth—purse was stolen by girl.
+
+“‘Miss Johnson, the young reporter, knows better than this, but assents
+with lady. She determines to have a talk with Esther and find out
+whether, or no, she saw the beaded purse claimed to have been stolen.
+
+“‘Esther tells how Miss S— fumbled over many boxes of lace and then
+said to her mother: ‘Wait here—I’ll go across to the opposite counter
+and look at that net before I decide.’ Then the society girl turned her
+back and stooped over the display of net and beaded trimming. No clerk
+was near to wait on her, and the girl at the lace-counter was called
+upon to serve another customer, and that kept her from watching Janet
+Schuyler.’”
+
+This ended Polly’s allotment of words in the scenario, and then the
+Count announced, “I will proceed to read Dodo’s story because it fits in
+here better than elsewhere in the script.
+
+“‘Pretty little shop-girl, while waiting for customer, has visions of
+comfortable home back on the farm. (Show scene of girl in rural life,
+walking home from district school-house with handsome lad of
+fourteen—evidently admirer.) Esther sighs, as she remembers the day
+Reggie’s father moved from the village to go to Texas to raise cattle.
+She had never heard again from Reggie, and believes he has forgotten her
+entirely.
+
+“‘Then comes Mrs. Schuyler and her daughter to look at laces. Esther
+overhears society girl plan dress for conquest of young man, then hears
+mother mention name of Deane—and tells daughter she must capture such a
+prize as the heir to his father’s millions in oil-lands of the
+South-west. Esther, excited, is about to ask the two haughty ladies for
+Reginald Deane’s city address, when the floor-walker frowns upon her and
+thus ends her attempt to secure the desired information.
+
+“‘A young lady, waiting for her turn, watches the two rich customers and
+when they have gone she speaks to the shop-girl. ‘Who are they?’ Esther
+explains by showing name of charge account and address. ‘Well, I have my
+own opinion of them. I think they are nobodies, if you ask me. I’ve seen
+so many climbers that I can spot them at once.’
+
+“‘This opens a pleasant chat between the girl and the young journalist,
+Esther speaking of Reginald Deane, and Miss Johnson giving Esther her
+card and asking her to come in some evening when she has nothing better
+to do. Esther promises and watches while Miss Johnson leaves.
+
+“‘That evening, in her meagre little room, Esther takes up the card
+again, and dreams of an evening in the near future when she shall meet
+the pleasant young woman, again.
+
+“‘Few days later—Esther receives invitation to small party at Miss
+Johnson’s bachelor apartment, and is duly elated over the event. Dresses
+in her best frock, which is simple voile, home-made, and starts out.
+Miss Johnson has two other young women and four young men present, when
+Esther arrives and is introduced. One of the men gazes intently at her,
+during the evening, then whispers to his hostess, ‘That girl reminds me
+of someone I know or have seen, and I can’t place her.’ Miss Johnson
+gives him Esther’s history, and he exclaims ‘That’s it! She’s the
+school-girl my friend talks about—he has a picture of her taken years
+ago when he lived in the country.’
+
+“‘Miss Johnson calls to Esther and tells her the news and the girl is
+thrilled at hearing where she can find Reginald, and then the young man
+promises to bring him soon, to see Esther. Esther walks home with
+William Stratford that night, talking of nothing but Reggie and their
+schooldays. But she is not aware of Reggie’s inheritance of millions of
+dollars’ worth of oil-wells.’
+
+“The third installment by Ruth Ashby, works in here, all right, so I
+will read it,” announced the Count, and continued his reading.
+
+“‘Miss Schuyler was giving a ball. Her new evening costume had not yet
+arrived from the exclusive importers on Fifth Avenue and she was
+storming around the house, driving everyone insane with her complaints
+against the Frenchman.
+
+“‘The doorbell rang, Miss S— waited in the front hall to see if it
+might be a messenger with the gown. When she spied a meek little face
+peering over the great box, she called insolently, ‘Bring her right in
+here, James. I want to give her a piece of my mind for dallying this
+way!’
+
+“‘Frightened little Esther tip-toed across the rich rug and waited to be
+told to open the box and remove the gorgeous gown. She obeyed with
+trembling fingers, kneeling upon the floor in order to undo the knot of
+twine. As she did so, a young man entered the front door and was told
+that Miss Janet was in the small reception room. He started for that
+room without waiting to be announced.
+
+“‘The moment Janet saw the much desired young heir of millions, standing
+in the doorway, she hastily commanded the girl to stop removing the
+gown, for she did not wish to have her caller see the dress before the
+proper time that evening.
+
+“‘Janet Schuyler went forward to speak to the young man and Esther sat
+back to rest and see who had interrupted the scene between herself and
+the society girl. She was astounded to find that the young man was no
+other than her old school-mate, Reginald Deane, whom she had not heard
+of since they were children at school.
+
+“‘The moment Reginald recognized Esther, he ran forward and showed how
+delighted he was to meet her once more. He paid no heed to her shabby
+dress or meek behavior, but turned to introduce her to his young
+hostess. When he saw the expression of scorn and hauteur on Janet’s face
+he realized that she was not the sort of a girl he cared to have for a
+wife, so he helped Esther to her feet and said politely to Janet, ‘I
+will bid you good-afternoon, as I now have to escort my dear old friend
+to her home.’
+
+“‘Then the two went out leaving the haughty miss in a fury.’”
+
+As the Count ended Ruth’s chapter, there were smiles on the faces of the
+audience, for it sounded exactly like Ruth—a genuine Cinderella
+Chapter.
+
+“Now I will read the next installment, written by Miss Fabian. I shall
+have to edit more of this chapter in order to hinge it on to the
+preceding one,” explained the Count.
+
+“‘Lois Miller was not a vamp by choice but by force of circumstances.
+She was so pretty that she had found it difficult to secure a position
+as saleslady in a store, for the reason that the other girls generally
+got jealous of the attention paid her. When she was offered a minor part
+in a Chorus on the stage, she accepted, although the salary was no more
+than enough to pay her room rent and scanty meals. For clothes to keep
+up appearances she had to rely on her wit and ability to make over
+things.
+
+“‘By chance, she happened to be in the large store just when Janet
+Schuyler and her mother were shopping there. Then she overheard Mrs.
+Schuyler command the little saleslady, Esther Brown, to send the lace
+for her daughter’s evening gown with special messenger. The address was
+given, and the two society ladies left the shop. Lois really had nothing
+to buy but she was killing time in the shops, hoping to gain some
+information that might give her a chance to earn some extra money.
+
+“‘She pondered over the name and address of the obviously rich ladies,
+then decided to try for a position, as companion, because the wretched
+life of an underpaid chorus girl was palling on her. As she turned to
+leave the shop, she found a bright-eyed young woman watching her.
+Instantly she thought of the private detective, but she was innocent of
+crime and she gave back the look with interest added.
+
+“‘As she went out she realized she was being followed, so she turned and
+said: Well, what do you want?’
+
+“‘“Aren’t you Lois Miller? Used to be stenographer at the office of _The
+Earth_?” asked the woman.
+
+“‘“Sure thing! But that was ages ago,” retorted Lois.
+
+“‘“I knew you there. I was just breaking in. What are you doing, now,
+Lois? I’ve got something to unravel.”
+
+“‘Before she knew it, Lois was commandeered to follow the shop-girl,
+Esther Brown, and find out all about her, as the reporter had heard of a
+reward of $500 offered for news of the girl described, who came from New
+Hampshire. Miss Johnson agreed to go fifty-fifty with Lois if the
+shop-girl turned out to be the one they were looking for.
+
+“‘That is how Esther Brown met her rich husband and how Janet Schuyler
+lost a rich young admirer, and how Miss Johnson won not only the reward
+Reginald paid, but also had a fine story for her paper; and Lois Miller
+earned enough money to fit herself out in decent clothes and pay her
+arrears of room-rent and board.’
+
+“Now comes the final reel, as written by Rose Chalmys,” said the Count,
+waiting until the merriment over the various phases of Janet and
+Esther’s reel life had subsided; then he continued:
+
+“‘Janet Schuyler, being under heavy obligations to the shop-girl for
+having saved her life from the hold-up men in the park, remembered how
+she had snubbed the meek girl in the store, and had caused her to be
+reprimanded by the head of the department.
+
+“‘“I want you to come home with me, and receive my mother’s thanks and
+my father’s reward for your bravery in defending me,” said Janet,
+finally.
+
+“‘“I do not wish any reward for what I did, and your thanks are quite
+sufficient,” murmured Esther.
+
+“‘The two girls walked along the street leading to the Schuyler home,
+however, and just before they reached the place, a sporty car drew up to
+the curb and stopped suddenly. A young man sprang out and ran over to
+greet Janet Schuyler. She was delighted to see Reginald Deane, after the
+long months he had been away from the city, but Deane could not take his
+eyes from Janet’s companion. It was her place to introduce the girl with
+her, yet she could not humble her pride to accept a salesgirl as her
+equal, and this she would do if she introduced her. Reginald ended the
+doubt.
+
+“‘“Aren’t you Esther Brown?” And the girl smiled as she replied, “And
+you are Reggie Deane, aren’t you?”
+
+“‘Janet was forgotten after that, for the two who had been beaus in
+schooldays and had never heard from each other since Deane went to Texas
+with his family, were so engrossed with each other.
+
+“‘Janet made the best of a bad bargain and invited both the young people
+to her home, but Esther pleaded her lack of time, and Deane offered to
+see Esther to her home. Thus ended Janet’s dream of capturing the
+richest young oil-financier in the country.’“
+
+The young authors considered their work to be par-excellence, but the
+adults in the audience forbore to render an opinion.
+
+“Of course, I shall have to edit, somewhat, but I think we may look
+forward to having a very successful run of this picture,” announced the
+Count, very seriously. “One important item is fortunate for the
+company—that is, we need not have costly costumes, nor scenes of Court
+Life in Europe. Our little play is simple to stage and inexpensive in
+production.
+
+“Now I will retire to the Studio and edit the scenario, but I wish all
+the actors to be on time at the casting room at ten o’clock, sharp,
+tomorrow. Besides the star leads, I may need extras, so I would suggest
+that any one desiring a part in this great melodrama, to report to me
+when we meet at the Studio.” The Count looked at the adults as he spoke,
+and they smilingly accepted the invitation to be on hand to act as
+supers, in case of need.
+
+Well, the six-reel production went on apace, and on the last night of
+the voyage, the photo-drama was presented to a crowded salon. It had
+been suddenly decided to charge an entrance fee of a dollar each and
+devote the proceeds to charity. This detracted not a whit from the
+entertainment, but rather added to it.
+
+Many a laugh echoed through that salon, at the pathetic scenes in the
+story, because of the amateur acting of the stars. In fact, the vamp was
+so full of mischief while playing the heart-stirring drama of her life
+when she was hungry and without a home, that the “pathos” acted upon the
+audience as if it had been comedy.
+
+The “Marquis” as Reggie Deane, made not reel, but real, love to Esther
+Brown in the picture; so much so that Mr. Ashby felt relieved to think
+the two would never meet again, once the steamer landed at the New York
+dock.
+
+So with bright plans for the future, Polly and her chums spent the last
+few hours on the steamer, and were ready for their “career” before they
+landed in New York City again.
+
+                                THE END
+
+
+
+
+AMY BELL MARLOWE’S BOOKS FOR GIRLS
+
+Charming, Fresh and Original Stories
+
+Illustrated. Wrappers printed in colors with individual design for each
+story
+
+Miss Marlowe’s books for girls are somewhat of the type of Miss Alcott
+and also Mrs. Meade; but all are thoroughly up-to-date and wholly
+American in scene and action. Good, clean absorbing tales that all girls
+thoroughly enjoy.
+
+THE OLDEST OF FOUR; Or, Natalie’s Way Out.
+
+  A sweet story of the struggles of a live girl to keep a family from
+  want
+
+THE GIRLS AT HILLCREST FARM; Or, The Secret of the Rocks.
+
+  Relating the trials of two girls who take boarders on an old farm.
+
+A LITTLE MISS NOBODY; Or, With the Girls of Pinewood Hall.
+
+  Tells of a school girl who was literally a nobody until she solved
+  the mystery of her identity.
+
+THE GIRL FROM SUNSET RANCH; Or, Alone in a Great City.
+
+  A ranch girl comes to New York to meet relatives she has never seen.
+  Her adventures make unusually good reading.
+
+WYN’S CAMPING DAYS; Or, The Outing of the GO-AHEAD CLUB.
+
+  A tale of happy days on the water and under canvas, with a touch of
+  mystery and considerable excitement.
+
+FRANCES OF THE RANGES; Or, The Old Ranchman’s Treasure.
+
+  A vivid picture of life on the great cattle ranges of the West
+
+THE GIRLS OF RIVERCLIFF SCHOOL; Or, Beth Baldwin’s Resolve.
+
+  This is one of the most entertaining stories centering about a
+  girl’s school that has ever been written.
+
+WHEN ORIOLE CAME TO HARBOR LIGHT.
+
+  The story of a young girl, cast up by the sea, and rescued by an old
+  lighthouse keeper.
+
+WHEN ORIOLE TRAVELED WESTWARD.
+
+  Oriole visits the family of a rich ranchman and enjoys herself
+  immensely.
+
+Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
+
+
+
+
+THE POLLY BREWSTER SERIES
+
+By LILLIAN ELIZABETH ROY
+
+Durably Bound. Illustrated. Colored Wrappers.
+
+Every Volume Complete in Itself.
+
+A delightful series for girls in which they will follow Polly and
+Eleanor through many interesting adventures and enjoyable trips.
+
+Polly of Pebbly Pit
+
+  Tells about a Rocky Mountain ranch girl and her many adventures.
+
+Polly and Eleanor
+
+  Eleanor Maynard visits Polly at the Ranch and they have lively
+  times.
+
+Polly in New York
+
+  Polly and Eleanor visit New York and have a number of very
+  interesting experiences.
+
+Polly and Her Friends Abroad
+
+  The girls go abroad and spend most of their time with other American
+  travelers.
+
+Polly’s Business Venture
+
+  Polly and Eleanor take up interior decorating. They attend sales of
+  antiques and incidentally fall in love.
+
+Polly’s Southern Cruise
+
+  A hurricane and cloud-burst threatens to swamp the vessel in which
+  Polly and her friends take this trip.
+
+Polly in South America
+
+  Polly and her friends land at many funny old towns and have several
+  exciting adventures not altogether pleasant.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+CAROLYN WELLS BOOKS
+
+May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap’s list
+
+THE MARJORIE BOOKS
+
+Happy Books For Happy Girls
+
+Marjorie is a happy little girl of twelve, up to mischief, but full of
+goodness and sincerity. In her and her friends every girl reader will
+see much cf her own love of fun, play and adventure.
+
+This series is the American Girl’s very own. Each book is attractively
+bound in cloth, and wrapped in a charming colored individual wrapper.
+
+  Marjorie’s Vacation
+  Marjorie’s New Friend
+  Marjorie’s Maytime
+  Marjorie’s Busy Day
+  Marjorie in Command
+  Marjorie at Seacote
+
+THE TWO LITTLE WOMEN SERIES
+
+Miss Carolyn Wells here introduces Dorinda Fayre—a pretty blonde,
+sweet, serious, timid and a little slow, and Dorothy Rose—a sparkling
+brunette, quick, elf-like, high tempered, full of mischief and always
+getting into scrapes.
+
+  Two Little Women
+  Two Little Women on a Holiday
+  Two Little Women and Treasure House
+
+THE DICK AND DOLLY BOOKS
+
+Dick and Dolly are brother and sister, and their games, their pranks,
+their joys and sorrows, are told in a manner which makes the stories
+“really true” to young readers.
+
+  Dick and Dolly
+  Dick and Dolly’s Adventures
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS
+
+For Little Men and Women
+
+By LAURA LEE HOPE
+
+Author of “The Bunny Brown Series,” Etc.
+
+Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding.
+
+Every Volume Complete in Itself.
+
+These books for boys and girls between the ages of three and ten stands
+among children and their parents of this generation where the books of
+Louisa May Alcott stood in former days. The haps and mishaps of this
+inimitable pair of twins, their many adventures and experiences are a
+source of keen delight to imaginative children everywhere.
+
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE GREAT WEST
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CEDAR CAMP
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE COUNTY FAIR
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS CAMPING OUT
+  THE BOBBSEY TWINS AND BABY MAY
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+THE BUNNY BROWN SERIES
+
+By LAURA LEE HOPE
+
+Author of the Popular “Bobbsey Twins” Books, Etc.
+
+Durably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding.
+
+Every Volume Complete in Itself.
+
+These stories by the author of the “Bobbsey Twins” Books are eagerly
+welcomed by the little folks from about five to ten years of age. Their
+eyes fairly dance with delight at the lively doings of inquisitive
+little Bunny Brown and his cunning, trustful sister Sue.
+
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA’S FARM
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP REST-A-WHILE
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU’S CITY HOME
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CHRISTMAS TREE COVE
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE SUNNY SOUTH
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE KEEPING STORE
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR TRICK DOG
+  BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT A SUGAR CAMP
+
+Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
+
+
+
+
+THE MAKE-BELIEVE STORIES
+
+(Trademark Registered.)
+
+By LAURA LEE HOPE
+
+Author of THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS, ETC.
+
+Colored Wrappers and Illustrations by HARRY L. SMITH
+
+In this fascinating line of books Miss Hope has the various toys come to
+life “when nobody is looking” and she puts them through a series of
+adventures as interesting as can possibly be imagined.
+
+THE STORY OF A SAWDUST DOLL
+
+  How the toys held a party at the Toy Counter; how the Sawdust Doll
+  was taken to the home of a nice little girl, and what happened to
+  her there.
+
+THE STORY OF A WHITE ROCKING HORSE
+
+  He was a bold charger and a man purchased him for his son’s
+  birthday. Once the Horse had to go to the Toy Hospital, and my! what
+  sights he saw there.
+
+THE STORY OF A LAMB ON WHEELS
+
+  She was a dainty creature and a sailor bought her and took her to a
+  little girl relative and she had a great time.
+
+THE STORY OF A BOLD TIN SOLDIER
+
+  He was Captain of the Company and marched up and down in the store
+  at night. Then he went to live with a little boy and had the time of
+  his life.
+
+THE STORY OF A CANDY RABBIT
+
+  He was continually in danger of losing his life by being eaten up.
+  But he had plenty of fun, and often saw his many friends from the
+  Toy Counter.
+
+THE STORY OF A MONKEY ON A STICK
+
+  He was mighty lively and could do many tricks. The boy who owned him
+  gave a show, and many of the Monkey’s friends were among the actors.
+
+THE STORY OF A CALICO CLOWN
+
+  He was a truly comical chap and all the other toys loved him
+  greatly.
+
+THE STORY OF A NODDING DONKEY
+
+  He made happy the life of a little lame boy and did lots of other
+  good deeds.
+
+THE STORY OF A CHINA CAT
+
+  The China Cat had many adventures, but enjoyed herself most of the
+  time.
+
+THE STORY OF A PLUSH BEAR
+
+  This fellow came from the North Pole, stopped for a while at the toy
+  store, and was then taken to the seashore by his little master.
+
+THE STORY OF A STUFFED ELEPHANT
+
+  He was a wise looking animal and had a great variety of adventures.
+
+Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Polly and Her Friends Abroad, by 
+Lillian Elizabeth Roy
+
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