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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e57c684 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69317 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69317) diff --git a/old/69317-0.txt b/old/69317-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0b891cb..0000000 --- a/old/69317-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6379 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Radio Girls on Station Island, by -Margaret Penrose - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Radio Girls on Station Island - The wireless from the steam yacht - -Author: Margaret Penrose - -Release Date: November 8, 2022 [eBook #69317] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David Edwards, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION -ISLAND *** - - - -[Illustration: JESSIE NORWOOD SENT OUT INTO THE AIR THE CRY FOR -ASSISTANCE. - - "The Radio Girls on Station Island" Page 198] - - - - - THE RADIO GIRLS ON - STATION ISLAND - - OR - - The Wireless from the Steam Yacht - - BY - - MARGARET PENROSE - - AUTHOR OF "THE RADIO GIRLS OF ROSELAWN," "THE RADIO - GIRLS ON THE PROGRAM," "DOROTHY DALE SERIES," - "MOTOR GIRLS SERIES," ETC. - - _ILLUSTRATED_ - - - NEW YORK - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY - PUBLISHERS - - - - -BOOKS FOR GIRLS - -By MARGARET PENROSE - -_12mo._ _cloth._ _Illustrated._ - - -RADIO GIRLS SERIES - - THE RADIO GIRLS OF ROSELAWN - THE RADIO GIRLS ON THE PROGRAM - THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION ISLAND - - -DOROTHY DALE SERIES - - DOROTHY DALE: A GIRL OF TO-DAY - DOROTHY DALE AT GLENWOOD SCHOOL - DOROTHY DALE'S GREAT SECRET - DOROTHY DALE AND HER CHUMS - DOROTHY DALE'S QUEER HOLIDAYS - DOROTHY DALE'S CAMPING DAYS - DOROTHY DALE'S SCHOOL RIVALS - DOROTHY DALE IN THE CITY - DOROTHY DALE'S PROMISE - DOROTHY DALE IN THE WEST - DOROTHY DALE'S STRANGE DISCOVERY - DOROTHY DALE'S ENGAGEMENT - - -MOTOR GIRLS SERIES - - THE MOTOR GIRLS - THE MOTOR GIRLS ON A TOUR - THE MOTOR GIRLS AT LOOKOUT BEACH - THE MOTOR GIRLS THROUGH NEW ENGLAND - THE MOTOR GIRLS ON CEDAR LAKE - THE MOTOR GIRLS ON THE COAST - THE MOTOR GIRLS ON CRYSTAL BAY - THE MOTOR GIRLS ON WATERS BLUE - THE MOTOR GIRLS AT CAMP SURPRISE - THE MOTOR GIRLS IN THE MOUNTAINS - - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY - Publishers, New York - - Copyright, 1922, by - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY - - _The Radio Girls on Station Island_ - - Printed in U.S.A. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. "O-Be-Joyful" Henrietta 1 - - II. A Puzzling Question 9 - - III. A Flare-Up 17 - - IV. Uncertainties 26 - - V. Into Trouble and Out 36 - - VI. Changed Plans 47 - - VII. Forecasts 56 - - VIII. Aboard the "Marigold" 63 - - IX. Gossip Out of the Ether 70 - - X. Island Adventures 77 - - XI. Trouble 84 - - XII. A Double Race 91 - - XIII. More Than One Adventure 98 - - XIV. Something New in Radio 107 - - XV. Henrietta in Disgrace 114 - - XVI. "Radio Control" 122 - - XVII. The Tempest 132 - - XVIII. From One Thing to Another 139 - - XIX. Bound Out 147 - - XX. Something Serious 156 - - XXI. Work for All 166 - - XXII. A Radio Call That Failed 172 - - XXIII. Only Hope 180 - - XXIV. The Mysterious Message 189 - - XXV. Saved by Radio 196 - - - - -THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION ISLAND - - - - -CHAPTER I - -"O-BE-JOYFUL" HENRIETTA - - -Jessie Norwood, gaily excited, came bounding into her sitting room -waving a slit envelope over her sunny head, her face alight. She wore a -pretty silk slip-on, a sports skirt, and silk hose and oxfords that her -chum, Amy Drew, pronounced "the very swellest of the swell." - -Beside Amy in the sitting room was Nell Stanley, busy with sewing -in her lap. The two visitors looked up in some surprise at Jessie's -boisterous entrance, for usually she was the demurest of creatures. - -"What's happened to the family now, Jess?" asked Amy, tossing back her -hair. "Who has written you a billet-doux?" - -"Nobody has written to me," confessed Jessie. "But just think, girls! -Here is another five dollars by mail for the hospital fund." - -Jessie had been acting as her mother's secretary of late, and Mrs. -Norwood was at the head of the committee that had in charge the raising -of the foundation fund for the New Melford Women's and Children's -Hospital. - -"That radio concert panned out wonderfully," Amy said. "If I'd done it -all myself it could have been no better," and she grinned elfishly. - -"We did a lot to help," said Nell seriously. "And I think it was just -wonderful, our singing into the broadcasting horns." - -"This five dollars," said Jessie, soberly, "was contributed by -girls who earned the money themselves for the hospital. That is why -I am saving the envelope and letter. I am going to write them and -congratulate them for mother, when I get time." - -"Never was such a success as that radio concert," Amy said proudly. "I -have received no public resolution of thanks for suggesting it----" - -"I am not sure that you suggested it any more than the rest of us," -laughed Jessie. - -"I like that!" - -"I feel that I had a share in it. The Reverend says it was the most -successful money-raising affair he ever had anything to do with," -laughed Nell. "And he, as a minister, has had a broad experience." The -motherless Nell Stanley, young as she was, was the very efficient head -of the household in the parsonage. She always spoke affectionately of -her father as "the Reverend." - -"Yes. It is a week now, and the money continues to come in," Jessie -agreed. "But now that the excitement is over----" - -"We should look for more excitement," said Amy promptly. "Excitement is -the breath of Life. Peace is stagnation. The world moves, and all that. -If we get into a rut we are soon ready for the Old Lady's Home over -beyond Chester." - -"I'm sure," returned Jessie, a little hotly, "we are always doing -something, Amy. We do not stagnate." - -"Sure!" scoffed her chum, in continued vigor of speech. "We go swizzing -along like a snail! 'Fast' is the name for us--tied _fast_ to a post. -Molasses running up hill in January is about our natural pace here in -Roselawn." - -Nell burst into gay laughter. "Go on! Keep it up! Your metaphors are -wonderfully apt, Miss Drew. Do tell us what we are to do to get into -high and show a little speed?" - -"Well, now, for instance," said Amy promptly, her face glowing suddenly -with excitement, "I have been waiting for somebody to suggest what we -are going to do the rest of the summer. But thus far nobody has said a -thing about it." - -"Well, Reverend has his vacation next month. You know that," said Nell -slowly and quite seriously. "It is a problem how we can all go away. -And I am not sure that it is right that we should all tag after him. He -ought to have a rest from Fred and Bob and Sally and me." - -Jessie smiled at the minister's daughter appreciatively. "I wonder if -_you_ ought not to have a rest away from the family, Nell?" - -"Hear! Hear!" cried Amy Drew. - -"Don't be foolish," laughed Nell Stanley. "I should worry my head off -if I did not have Sally with me, anyway. I think we'd better go up to -the farm where we went last year." - -"'Farm' doesn't spell anything for me," said Amy, tossing her head. -"Cows and crickets, horses and grasshoppers, haystacks and hicks!" - -"But we could have our radio along," Jessie said quietly. "I could -disconnect this one"--pointing to her receiving set by the window--"and -we might carry it along. It is easy enough to string the antenna." - -"O-oh!" groaned her chum. "She calls it easy! And I pretty nearly -strained my back in two distinct places helping fix those wires after -Mark Stratford's old aeroplane tore them down." - -"Well, you want some excitement, you say," said Jessie composedly. She -went to the radio instrument, sat down before it, adjusted a set of the -earphones, and opened the switch. "I wonder what is going on at this -time," she murmured. - -Amy suddenly cocked her head to listen, although it could not be that -she heard what came through the ether. - -"Listen!" she cried. - -"What under the sun is that?" demanded the clergyman's daughter, in -amazement. - -Jessie murmured at the radio receiver: - -"Don't make so much noise, girls. I can't hear myself think, let alone -what might come over the air-waves." - -"Hear that!" shrieked Amy, jumping up. "That is no radio message, -believe me! It comes from no broadcasting station. Listen, girls!" - -She raised the screen at a window and leaned out. Jessie, removing the -tabs from her ears, likewise gained some understanding of what was -going on outside. A shrill voice was shrieking: - -"Miss Jessie! Miss Jessie! I got the most wonderful thing to tell you. -Oh, Miss Jessie!" - -"For pity's sake!" murmured Jessie. - -"Isn't that little Hen from Dogtown?" asked Nell Stanley. - -"That is exactly who it is," agreed Amy, starting for the door. "Little -Hen is one live wire. 'O-Be-Joyful' Henrietta is never lukewarm. There -is always something doing with that child." - -"Do you suppose she can be in trouble?" asked Jessie, worriedly. - -"If she is, I guarantee it will be something funny," replied Amy, -whisking out of the room. - -"Miss Jessie! Miss Jessie! I want to tell you!" repeated the shrill -voice from the front of the Norwood house. - -"Come on, Jessie," said Nell, dropping her work and starting, too. "The -child evidently wants you." - -The others followed Amy Drew down to the porch. The Norwood house where -Jessie, an only child, lived with her mother and her father, a lawyer -who had his office in New York, was a large dwelling even for Roselawn, -which was a district of fine houses forming a part of the town of New -Melford. The house was set in the middle of large grounds. Roses were -everywhere--beds and beds of them. At one side was the boathouse and -landing at the head of Lake Mononset. At the foot of the front lawn was -Bonwit Boulevard, across which stood the house where Amy Drew lived -with her father, Wilbur Drew, also a New York lawyer, and her mother -and her brother Darrington. - -But it was that which stood directly before the gateway of the Norwood -place which attracted the gaze of the three girls. A little old basket -phaeton, drawn by a fat and sleepy looking brown-and-white pony, and -driven by a grinning boy in overalls and with bare feet, made an object -quite odd enough to stare at. The little girl sitting so very straight -in the phaeton, and holding a green parasol over her head, was bound to -attract the amused attention of any on-looker. - -"Oh, look at little Hen!" gasped Amy, who was ahead. - -"And Montmorency Shannon," agreed Jessie. "Don't laugh, girls! You'll -hurt their feelings." - -"Then I'll have to shut my eyes," declared Amy. "That parasol! And -those freckles! They look green under it. Dear me, Nell, did you ever -see such funny children in your life as those Dogtown kids?" - -Jessie ran down the steps and the path to the street. When the freckled -child saw her coming she stood up and waved the parasol at the Roselawn -girl. - -Henrietta Haney was a child in whom the two Roselawn girls had become -much interested while she had lived in the Dogtown district of New -Melford with Mrs. Foley and her family. Montmorency Shannon was a -red-haired urchin from the same poor quarters, and he and Henrietta -were the best of friends. - -"Oh, Miss Jessie! Miss Jessie! What d'you think? I'm rich!" - -"She certainly is rich," choked Amy, following her chum with Nell -Stanley. "She's a scream." - -"What do you mean--that you are rich, Henrietta?" Jessie asked, smiling -at her little protégé. - -"I tell you, I am rich. Or, I am goin' to be. I own an island and -everything. And there's bungleloos on it, and fishing, and a golf -course, and everything. I am rich." - -"What can the child mean?" asked Jessie Norwood, looking back at her -friends. "She sounds as though she believed it was actually so." - - - - -CHAPTER II - -A PUZZLING QUESTION - - -Little Henrietta Haney, with her green parasol and her freckles, came -stumbling out of the low phaeton, so eager to tell Jessie the news that -excited her that she could scarcely make herself understood at all. She -fairly stuttered. - -"I'm rich! I got an island and everything!" she crowed, over and over -again. Then she saw Amy Drew's delighted countenance and she added: -"Don't you laugh, Miss Amy, or I won't let you go to my island at all. -And there's radio there." - -"For pity's sake, Henrietta!" cried Jessie. "Where is this island?" - -"Where would it be? Out in the water, of course. There's water all -around it," declared the freckle-faced child in vigorous language. -"Don't you s'pose I know where an island ought to be?" - -At that Amy Drew burst into laughter. In fact, Jessie Norwood's chum -found it very difficult on most occasions to be sober when there was -any possibility of seeing an occasion for laughter. She found amusement -in almost everything that happened. - -But that made her no less helpful to Jessie when the latter had gained -her first interest in radio telephony. Whatever these two Roselawn -girls did, they did together. If Jessie planned to establish a radio -set, Amy Drew was bound to assist in the actual stringing of the -antenna and in the other work connected therewith. They always worked -hand in hand. - -In the first volume of this series, entitled "The Radio Girls of -Roselawn," the chums and their friends fell in with a wealth of -adventures, and one of the most interesting of those adventures was -connected with little Henrietta Haney, whom Amy had just now called -"O-Be-Joyful" Henrietta. - -The more fortunate girls had been able to assist Henrietta, and finally -had found her cousin, Bertha Blair, with whom little Henrietta now -lived. By the aid of radio telephony, too, Jessie and Amy and their -friends were able to help in several charitable causes, including that -of the building of the new hospital. - -In the second volume, "The Radio Girls on the Program," the friends -had the chance to speak and sing at the Stratfordtown broadcasting -station. It was an opportunity toward which they had long looked -forward, and that exciting day they were not likely soon to forget. - -A week had passed, and during that time Jessie knew that little -Henrietta had been taken to Stratfordtown by her Cousin Bertha, where -they were to live with Bertha's uncle, who was the superintendent of -the Stratford Electric Company's sending station. The appearance of -the wildly excited little girl here in Roselawn on this occasion was, -therefore, a surprise. - -Jessie Norwood seized hold of Henrietta by the shoulders and halted her -wild career of dancing. She looked at Montmorency Shannon accusingly -and asked: - -"Do you know what she is talking about?" - -"Sure, I do." - -"Well, what does she mean?" - -"She's been talking like that ever since I picked her up. This is -Cabbage-head Tony's pony. You know, he sells vegetables down on the -edge of town. Spotted Snake----" - -"Don't call Henrietta that!" cried Jessie, reprovingly. - -"Well, she gave the name to herself when she played being a witch," -declared the Shannon boy defensively. "Anyway, Hen came down to Dogtown -last evening and hired me to drive her over here this morning." - -"And when I get some of my money that's coming to me with that island," -broke in Henrietta, "I'll buy Montmorency an automobile to drive me -around in. This old pony is too slow--a lot too slow!" - -"Listen to that!" crowed Amy, in delight. - -"But do tell us about the island, child," urged Nell Stanley, likewise -interested. - -"A man came to Cousin Bertha's house, where we live with her uncle. -_His_ name is Blair, too; it isn't Haney. Well, this man said: 'Are you -Padriac Haney's little girl?' And I told him yes, that I wasn't grown -up yet like Bertha. And so he asked a lot of questions of Mr. Blair. -They was questions about my father and where he was married to my -mother, and where I was born, and all that." - -"But where does the island come in?" demanded Amy. - -"Now, don't you fuss me all up, Miss Amy," admonished the child. "Where -was I at!" - -"You was at the Norwood place. I brought you," said young Shannon. - -"Don't you think I know _that_?" demanded the little girl scornfully. -"Well, it's about Padriac Haney's great uncle," she hastened to say. -"Padriac was my father's name and his great uncle--I suppose that means -that he was awful big--p'r'aps like that fat man in the circus we saw. -But his name was Padriac too, and he left all his money and islands and -golf courses to my father. So it is coming to me." - -"Goodness!" exclaimed Nell Stanley. "Did you ever hear such a -jumbled-up affair?" - -But Montmorency Shannon nodded solemnly. "Guess it's so. Mrs. Foley was -telling my mother something about it. And Spot--I mean, Hen, must have -fallen heiress to money, for she give me a whole half dollar to drive -her over here," and his grin appeared again. - -"What I want to know is the name of the island, child?" demanded Amy, -recovering from her laughter. - -"Well, it's got a name all right," said Henrietta. "It is Station -Island. And there's a hotel on it. But that hotel don't belong to me. -And the radio station don't belong to me." - -"O-oh! A radio station!" repeated Jessie. "That sounds awfully -interesting. I wonder where it is!" - -"But the golf course belongs to me, and some bungleloos," added the -child, mispronouncing the word with her usual emphasis. "And we are -going out to this island to spend the summer--Bertha and me. Mrs. Blair -says we can. And she will go, too. The man that knows about it has told -the Blairs how to get there and--and--I invite you, Miss Jessie, and -you, Miss Amy, to come out on Station Island and visit us. Oh, we'll -have fun!" - -"That sounds better than any old farm," cried Amy, gaily. "I accept, -Hen, on the spot. You can count on me." - -"If it is all right so that we can go, I will promise to visit you, -dear," Jessie agreed. "But, you know, we really will have to learn more -about it." - -"Cousin Bertha will tell you," said the freckle-faced child, eagerly. -"I run away to come down here to the Foleys, so as to tell you first. -You are the very first folks I have ever invited to come to live on my -island." - -"Ain't you going to let me come, Spot--I mean, Hen?" asked Monty -Shannon, who sat sidewise on the seat and was paying very little -attention to the pony. - -As a matter of fact, the pony belonging to the vegetable vender was -so old and sedate that one would scarcely think it necessary to watch -him. But at this very moment a red car, traveling at a pace much over -the legal speed on a public highway, came dashing around the turn -just below the Norwood house. It took the turn on two wheels, and as -it swerved dangerously toward the curb where the pony stood, its rear -wheels skidded. - -"Look out!" shrieked Amy. "That car is out of control! Look, Jess!" - -Her chum, by looking at it, nor the observation of any other bystander, -could scarcely avert the disaster that Amy Drew feared. But she was so -excited that she scarcely knew what she shouted. And her mad gestures -and actions utterly amazed Jessie. - -"Have you got Saint Vitus's dance, Amy Drew?" Jessie demanded. - -The red, low-hung car wabbled several times back and forth across the -oiled driveway. They saw a hatless young fellow in front behind the -wheel. In the narrow tonneau were two girls, and if they were not -exactly frightened they did not look happy. - -Nell Stanley cried: "It's Bill Brewster's racing car; and he's got -Belle and Sally with him." - -"Belle and Sally!" shrieked Amy. - -Belle Ringold and her follower, Sally Moon, were not much older than -Amy and Jessie, but they were overbearing and insolent and had made -themselves obnoxious to many of their schoolmates. Wishing to appear -grown up, and wishing, above all things, to attract Amy's brother -Darry and Darry's chum, Burd Alling, and feeling that in some way the -two Roselawn chums interfered in this design, they were especially -unpleasant in their behavior toward them. - -Sometimes Belle and Sally had been able to make the Roselawn girls -feel unhappy by their haughty speech and what Amy called their "snippy -ways." Just now, however, circumstances forbade the two unpleasant -girls annoying anybody. - -The others had identified the reckless driver and his passengers. At -least, all had recognized the party save Montmorency Shannon. He just -managed to jump out of the phaeton in time. The pony was still asleep -when the rear of the skidding red car crashed against the phaeton and -crushed it into a wreck across the curbstone. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -A FLARE-UP - - -The red car stopped before it completely overturned. Then, when the -exhaust was shut off, the screams of the two girls in the back seat -could be heard. But nobody shouted any louder than Montmorency Shannon. - -The red-haired boy had leaped from the phaeton and had seized the pony -by the bit. Otherwise the surprised animal might have set off for home, -Amy said, "on a perfectly apoplectic run." - -The little animal stood shaking and pawing, nothing but the shafts and -whiffle-tree remaining attached to it by the harness. The rear wheels -of the racing car were entangled in the phaeton and it was slewed -across the road. - -"Now see what you've done! Now see what you've done!" one of the girls -in the car was saying, over and over. - -"Well, I couldn't help it, Belle," whined the reckless young Brewster. -"You and Sally Moon aren't hurt. And you asked to ride with me, anyway." - -"Oh, I don't mean you, Bill!" exclaimed the girl behind him. "But that -horrid boy with his pony carriage! What business had he to get in the -way?" - -"Hey! 'Tain't my carriage, you Ringold girl," declared Monty Shannon. -"It's Cabbage-head Tony's. He'll sue your father for this, Bill -Brewster. And you come near killing me and the pony." - -"I don't see how you came to be standing just there," complained the -driver of the red car. "You might have been on the other side of the -drive." - -"He ought to have been!" declared Belle Ringold promptly. "He was -headed the wrong way. I'll testify for you, Bill. Of course he was -headed wrong." - -"Why, you're another!" cried Monty. "If I'd been headed the wrong way -you'd have smashed the pony instead of the carriage." - -"Never mind what they say, Monty," Jessie Norwood put in quietly. -"There are three of us here who saw the collision, and we can testify -to the truth." - -"And me. I seen it," added Henrietta eagerly. "Don't forget that -Spotted Snake, the Witch, seen it all. If you big girls tell stories -about Monty and that pony, you'll wish you hadn't--now you see!" -and she began making funny gestures with her hands and writhing her -features into perfectly frightful contortions. - -"Henrietta!" commanded Jessie Norwood, yet having hard work, like Nell -and Amy, to keep from laughing at the freckle-faced child. "Henrietta, -stop that! Don't you know that is not a polite way--nor a nice way--to -act?" - -"Why, Miss Jessie, they won't know that," complained little Henrietta. -"They are never nice or polite." - -At this statement Monty Shannon burst out laughing, too. The red-haired -boy could not be long of serious mind. - -"Never you mind, Brewster," he said to the unfortunate driver of the -red car, who was notorious for getting into trouble. "Never mind; we -ain't killed. And your father can pay Cabbage-head Tony all right. It -won't break him." - -"You impudent thing!" exclaimed Belle Ringold, who was a very proud and -unpleasant girl. "You are always making trouble for people, Montmorency -Shannon. It was you who would not finish stringing our radio antenna at -the Carter place and so helped spoil our picnic." - -"He didn't! He didn't!" ejaculated Henrietta, dancing up and down in -her excitement. "It was me--Spotted Snake! I brought down the curse of -bad weather on your old picnic--the witch's curse. I'm the one that -brought thunder and lightning and rain to spoil your fun. And I'll do -it again." - -She was so excited that Jessie could not silence her. Sally Moon burst -into a scornful laugh, but her chum, Belle, said, fanning herself as -she sat in the stalled car: - -"Don't give them any attention. These Roselawn girls are just as low as -the Dogtown kids. Thank goodness, Sally, we will get away from them all -for the rest of the summer." - -"Your satisfaction will only be equaled by ours," laughed Amy Drew. - -"I don't know whether you will get rid of me or not, Belle," said Nell -Stanley composedly. "If you mean to go to Hackle Island----" - -"Father has engaged the handsomest suite at the hotel there," Belle -broke in. "I fancy Doctor Stanley will not feel like taking you all -there, Nellie. It is very expensive." - -"Oh, no, if we go we sha'n't be able to live at the hotel," confessed -the clergyman's daughter. "But the children will get the benefit of the -sea air." - -"Oh!" murmured Amy. "Hackle Island is a nice place." - -"But it ain't as nice as mine!" Henrietta suddenly broke in. "My island -is the best. And I wouldn't let those girls on it--not on my part of -it." - -"What is that ridiculous child talking about?" demanded Belle -scornfully, while Bill Brewster continued to crawl about under his car -to discover if possible what had happened to it. "What does she mean?" - -"I got an island, and everything," announced Henrietta. "I'm going to -be just as rich as you are, but I won't be so mean." - -"Then you would better begin by not talking meanly," advised Jessie, -admonishingly. - -"Well," sniffed Henrietta, "I haven't got to let 'em on my island if I -don't want to, have I?" - -"You needn't fret," laughed Sally Moon. "Your island is like your -witch's curse. All in your mind." - -"Is that so?" flared out little Henrietta. "Your old picnic was just -spoiled by my bad weather, wasn't it? Well, then, wait till you try to -get on my island," and she shook a threatening head, and even her green -parasol, in her earnestness. - -Sally laughed again scornfully. But Belle flounced out of the -automobile. - -"Come on!" she exclaimed. "Bill will never get this car fixed." - -"Oh, yes, I will, Belle," came Bill's muffled voice from under the car. -"I always do." - -"Well, who wants to wait all day for you to repair it, and then ride -home with a fellow all smeared up with oil and soot? Come on, Sally." - -Sally Moon meekly followed. That was how she kept in Belle Ringold's -good graces. You had to do everything Belle said, and do just as she -did, or you could not be friends with her. - -"Well," Monty Shannon drawled, "as far as I think, you both can go. I -won't weep none. But Bill's going to weep when he tells his father -about this busted carriage." - -"All Bill has to do is to deny it," snapped Belle Ringold. "Nobody -would believe you against our testimony." - -"Nobody but the judge," laughed Amy. "Don't be such a goose, Belle. We -will all testify for Mr. Cabbage-head Tony." - -Bill crawled out from under his automobile as the two girls who had -been passengers walked away. He was just as much smutted as Belle said -he would be. But he looked after her and her friend without betraying -any dissatisfaction. - -"It's all right," he said to Monty. "I guess you couldn't help being in -the way. This car does go wrong once in a while. You can jump in the -car and I'll take you home and tell the chap that owns the pony how it -happened. He can come to my father and get paid." - -"Not much," said the Dogtown boy. "I'll have to lead the pony. But you -can take Hen back to Dogtown." - -"Is it safe?" asked Jessie, for Henrietta had started for the red car -at once. She was crazy about automobiles. - -"If it goes bad again I can get out," said the child importantly. "I -won't wait for it to turn topsy-turvy." - -"She will be all right," said Bill Brewster gloomily. "Father will -make me pay for this carriage out of my own money. I'm rather glad we -are going where I can't use the machine for the rest of the summer. It -eats up all my pocket money." - -"Where are your folks going, Billy?" asked Jessie politely. - -"Oh, we always go to Hackle Island." - -"Everybody is going to an island," laughed Amy. "I guess we'll have to -accept Hen's invitation and go to her island, Jess." - -"It's a lot better island than that one those girls are going to," -repeated Henrietta, with confidence, climbing into the red car. - -When the latter was gone, and Monty Shannon was out of sight, leading -the brown and white pony, the three Roselawn girls discussed little -Henrietta's story of her sudden wealth, and particularly of her -possession of Station Island, wherever that was. - -"Of course, we won't understand the rights of the matter till we see -Bertha," said Jessie. "She must know all about it." - -"I wonder where Station Island is situated?" Amy observed. "Let's hunt -an atlas--Oh, no, we won't! Here is something better." - -"Something better than an atlas?" laughed Nell. "A walking geography?" - -"You said it," rejoined Amy. "Papa knows all about such things. I -can't even remember how New Melford is bounded; but you'd think he had -been all around the world, and walked every step of the way." - -"And you never will know, Amy Drew, if you ask somebody every time you -want to know anything and never stop to work the thing out yourself," -admonished Jessie. - -"Oh, piffle!" exclaimed the careless Amy. "What's the use?" - -Mr. Drew was just coming out of his own grounds across the boulevard, -and his daughter hailed him. - -"Want to ask you an important question, papa," cried Amy, running to -meet him and hanging to his arm. - -"Ahem! If you expect advice, I expect a retainer," said the lawyer -soberly. - -"Nothing like that! I know you lawyers. I am going to wait to see -if your advice is worth anything," declared his gay daughter. "Now, -listen! Did you ever hear of Station Island?" - -"I have just heard of it," responded the gentleman promptly. - -"Oh! Don't be so dreadfully smart," said Amy. "I know I am telling -you----" - -"Wrong. I had just heard of it to-day--before you mentioned it," -returned her father. "But I have known of it for a good many years, -under another name." - -"Then you do know where Station Island is, Mr. Drew?" cried Jessie, -eagerly. "We do so want to know." - -"That is the new name they have given the place since the big radio -station was established there. It is really Hackle Island, girls, and -has been known by that name since our great-grandparents' days." - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -UNCERTAINTIES - - -"It is lucky Henrietta went away before papa came," observed Amy, after -they had discussed the strange matter at some length. "She certainly -would have been mad to learn that Belle and Sally were likely to visit -what she calls her island, without any invitation from her." - -"What do you suppose it all means?" asked Jessie. - -"She must have heard some mixed-up account of an island that belonged -to her family," Nell said, "and got it twisted. I can't see it any -other way. But I must go home now, girls. The Reverend and the children -need looking after by this time. Good-bye." - -Mr. Drew did not explain until evening about his previous knowledge of -the island in question. Then he came over to smoke his after-dinner -cigar on the Norwood's porch, and he and Jessie's father discussed the -matter within the hearing of their two very much interested daughters. -When their fathers did not object, Jessie and Amy often "listened in" -on business conversations, and this one was certainly important to the -minds of the two chums. - -"Did Blair telephone you to-day again about that matter?" Mr. Norwood -asked his neighbor. - -"No. It was Mr. Stratford himself. Takes an interest in Blair's -affairs, you know." - -"It really concerns that Bertha Blair who was of so much value to me in -the Ellison will case. You remember?" observed Mr. Norwood. - -"And it concerns this little freckle-faced child the girls have had -around here so much. Actually, if the thing pans out the way it looks, -Norwood, that child has got something coming to her." - -"She has a good deal coming to her if she can prove she is the daughter -of Padriac Haney," said Jessie's father, with vigor. - -"You are inclined to take the matter up?" - -"I am. I'll do all I can. Blair has no money to risk----" - -"He won't need any," said Mr. Drew, quite as decisively. "If you can -spend your time on it, so can I. It won't break us, Norwood, to help -the child." - -"Not at all," agreed Mr. Norwood, generously. - -"But is it really true, Daddy, that Hackle Island belongs to little -Henrietta and Bertha?" asked Jessie. - -"A good part of it, apparently. All of the middle of the island," he -returned. "The Government owns Sable Point where the old lighthouse -stands and where the radio station is now established. That has been a -government reservation for years. At the other end is the Hackle Island -Hotel, always popular with a certain class of moneyed people." - -"I have been there," said Mr. Drew, nodding. "But there is a bunch of -bungalows in between----" - -"By the way," interposed Mr. Norwood, "my wife said something about -taking one of those for a month or two. I have the tentative offer of -one." - -"O-oh!" gasped Amy, clasping her hands. - -Her father laughed outright. "See," he said to the other lawyer. "You -are going to have a guest, if you go there. I can see that." - -"The bungalow is big enough for the girls and their friends," admitted -Jessie's father. - -"That beats the farm!" cried Amy to Jessie. - -"It will be nice. And we can take Henrietta and Bertha along." - -"They are going in any case, I hear from Blair," said Mr. Norwood -briskly. "His wife will take them. There is an old farmhouse that -belongs to the Haney estate. You see, a part of the bungalow colony -and the Club golf course are included in the old Haney place. The real -estate men who exploited the island a few years ago did not trouble -themselves to get clear title to the land. They made their bit and -got out. Now there are two parties laying claim to the middle of the -island." - -"Oh, dear!" cried Jessie. "Then it isn't sure that little Henrietta -will get her island? Too bad!" - -"Personally I am pretty sure that she will," said Mr. Norwood, with -conviction. "But it will cause a court fight. There is another -claimant, as I say." - -"You are right," agreed Mr. Drew. "And he is a fighter. Ringold never -gives up a thing until he has to." - -"Goodness!" breathed Amy. "Not Belle's father?" - -"It is the New Melford Ringold," said Mr. Drew. "His claim is -based upon an old note that the original Padriac Haney gave some -money-lender. Ringold bought the paper along with a lot of other fishy -documents. You know, he has always been a note shaver." - -"I know something about that," said Mr. Norwood, grimly. "Don't worry -too much about it. Ringold may have a lot of money, but he won't spend -too much to try to make good a bad claim. He doesn't throw a spat to -catch a herring; he would only risk a sprat for whale bait," and he -laughed. - -However, the two girls had heard quite enough to yield food for chatter -for some time to come. Jessie had kept close watch of the time by her -wrist-watch. She now beckoned her chum, and they ran indoors and up the -stairs to Jessie's sitting-room. - -"It is almost time for the concert from Stratfordtown," Jessie said. -"And Bertha telephoned me yesterday that she hoped to sing to-night." - -"Lucky girl!" said Amy, sighing. "It's nice to have an uncle who bosses -a broadcasting station. But, never mind, Jess, we had fun the time we -were on the program. Say! the boys will be home to-morrow." - -"No! Do you mean it?" - -"Papa got a wireless. The _Marigold_ now has a real radio telegraph -sending and receiving set. Darry says it is great. But, of course, you -and I can't get anything from them because we do not know Morse." - -"Let's learn!" exclaimed Jessie, excitedly. - -"Sometimes when you get your set tuned wrong you hear some of the code. -But the telegraph wave-length is much, much longer than the phone -lengths. Guess you'd have a job listening in for anything Darry and -Burd Alling would send from that old yacht." - -"We can learn the Morse alphabet, just the same, can't we?" demanded -her chum. - -"Now, there you go again!" complained Amy. "Always suggesting something -that is work. I don't want to have to learn a single thing until we go -back to school in the fall. Believe me!" - -Her emphasis only made Jessie laugh. She adjusted the crystal detector, -or cat's whisker, as the girls called it, and then began to tune the -coil until, with the tabs at her ears, she could hear a voice rising -out of the void, nearer and nearer, until it seemed speaking directly -in her ear: - -"With which announcement we begin our evening's entertainment from the -Stratfordtown Station. The first number on the program being----" - -"Do you hear that? It is Mr. Blair himself," whispered Amy eagerly. -"And he says----" - -Jessie held up her hand for silence as the superintendent of the -broadcasting station at Stratfordtown went on to announce, "Miss Bertha -Blair, who will sing 'Will o' the Wisp,' Mr. Angler being at the piano. -I thank you." - -The piano prelude came to the ears of the Roselawn girls almost -instantly. Jessie and Amy smiled at each other. They were proud to -think that they had something to do with Bertha's becoming a favorite -on the Stratfordtown programs, and likewise that their interest in the -girl first served to call the superintendent's attention to her. In -"The Roselawn Girls on the Program" is told of Bertha's first meeting -with her uncle who had never before seen her. - -They listened to the hour's program and then tuned the receiver to get -what was being broadcasted from a city station--a talk on economics -that interested to a degree even the two high-school girls. For -frivolous as Amy usually appeared to be, she was a good scholar and, -like Jessie, stood well in her classes. - -There was not much but a desire for fun in Amy's mind the next morning, -however, when she ran across the boulevard to the Norwood place. It -was right after breakfast, and she wore her middy blouse and short -skirt, with canvas ties on her feet. She trilled for Jessie under the -radio-room windows: - -"You-oo! You-oo! 'Mary Ann! My Mary Ann! I'll meet you on the corner!' -Come-on-out!" - -Jessie appeared from the breakfast room, and Momsy, as Jessie always -called her mother, looked out, too. - -"What have you girls on your minds for this morning?" she asked. - -"Our new canoe, Mrs. Norwood. You know, we gave the old one to those -Dogtown youngsters, and our new one has never been christened yet." - -"Shall I bring a hat?" asked Jessie, hesitatingly. - -"What for? To bail out the canoe? Bill says it is perfectly sound and -safe," laughed Amy. - -"You are getting wee freckles on your nose, Jessie," said Mrs. Norwood. - -"Why worry?" demanded Amy. "You can never get as many as Hen wears--and -her nose isn't as big as yours." - -"It is by good luck, not good management, that you do not freckle, Amy -Drew," declared her chum. "I'll take the shade hat." - -"Why not a sunbonnet?" scoffed Amy. - -But Jessie laughed and ran out with her hat. It floated behind her, -held by the two strings, as she raced her chum down to the boat -landing. The Norwood boathouse sheltered several different craft, -among others a motor-boat that Amy's brother, Darrington Drew, owned. -But Darry and his chum, Burd Alling, had lost their interest in the -_Water Thrush_ since they had been allowed to put into commission, and -navigate themselves, the steam-yacht _Marigold_, which was a legacy to -Darry from an uncle now deceased. - -The girls got the new canoe out without assistance from the gardener or -his helper. They were thoroughly capable out-of-door girls. They had -erected the antenna for Jessie's radio set without any help. Both were -good boatmen--"if a girl can be a man," to quote Amy--and they could -handle the _Water Thrush_ as well as the canoe. - -They launched and paddled out from the shore in perfect form. The sun -was scorching, but there was a tempering breeze. It was therefore -cooler out toward the middle of the lake than inshore. The glare of the -sun on the water troubled even the thoughtless Amy. - -"Oh, aren't you the wise little owl, Jess Norwood!" she cried. "To -think of wearing a sun-hat! And here am I with nothing to shelter me -from the torrid rays. I am going to burn and peel and look horrid--I -know I shall! I'll not be fit to go to Hackle Island--if we go." - -"Oh, we're going, all right!" - -"You're mighty certain, from the way you talk. Has it been really -settled? 'There's many a slip' and all that, you know." - -"Father asked Momsy about it at breakfast before he went to town, and -she said she had quite made up her mind," Jessie said. "He will make -the arrangements with the owner of the house." - -"Oh, goody! A bungalow?" cried Amy. - -"Yes." - -"How big, dear? Can the boys come?" - -"Of course. There are fourteen rooms. It is a big place. We will shut -up the house here and send down most of the serving people ahead. We -shall have at least one good month of salt air." - -"Hooray!" cried Amy, swinging her paddle recklessly. "And I've got just -the most scrumptious idea, Jess. I'll tell you----" - -But something unexpected happened just then that quite drove out of -Amy Drew's mind the idea she had to impart to her chum. She brought the -paddle she had waved down with an awful smack on the water. The spray -spattered all about. Jessie flung herself back to escape some of the -in-wash, and by so doing her gaze struck upon something on the surface -of the lake, far ahead. - -"Oh! Oh!" she shrieked. "What is that, Amy? Somebody is drowning!" - - - - -CHAPTER V - -INTO TROUBLE AND OUT - - -Amy Drew sat up in the canoe as high as she could and stared ahead. -Jessie's observation suggested trouble; but Amy almost immediately -burst out laughing. - -"'Drowning!'" she repeated. "Why, Jess Norwood, you know that -you couldn't drown those Dogtown kids. And if that isn't some of -them--Monty Shannon, and the Costello twins, and the rest of them--I'm -much mistaken." - -"But see those barrels and tubs and what-all!" gasped her more serious -friend. "Look there! It's Henrietta!" - -The fleet of strange barges that Jessie had first spied included, -it seemed, almost every sort of craft that could be improvised. A -rainwater barrel led the procession of "boats," and Montmorency Shannon -was in that, paddling with some kind of paddle that he wielded with no -little skill. - -There were two wooden washtubs in which the Costello twins voyaged. -One was much lower in the water than the other, giving evidence of -having shipped more water than its mate. In a water-trough that had -been filched from somebody's barnyard was little Henrietta and Charlie -Foley. - -"They will be overboard!" exclaimed Jessie, anxiously. "Drive ahead, -Amy--do!" - -The wind was blowing directly in their faces and from the direction of -the Dogtown landing, where the flotilla had evidently embarked. The -tubs spun around and around, the half-barrel in which Monty Shannon -sat tried to perform the same gyrations, but Henrietta and the Foley -boy blundered ahead. It was plain to Jessie's mind that the reckless -children could not have sailed in the other direction had they wished -to do so. - -"What do you come out here for?" she shrieked when the canoe drew near. - -"Oh, Miss Jessie, we are going to the Carter place," sang out Henrietta. - -"But the Carter place is down the lake, not up!" exclaimed the -exasperated Jessie. - -"Yes. But the wind shifted," said Henrietta. - -"Where is your big canoe?" demanded Amy, who could scarcely paddle from -laughter, in spite of the evident danger the children were in. - -"That is what we started after," said Montmorency Shannon, his red head -sticking out of the barrel like a full-blown holyhock. "It got away in -the night, or somebody let it go, and we saw it away down by the Carter -place. So--so we thought we'd go after it." - -"And I warrant your mothers don't know what you are doing," Jessie said -sternly. - -"Oh, they will!" cried Henrietta, virtuously. - -"When they miss the washtubs," put in Amy, with laughter. - -"When we tell 'em," corrected little Henrietta. "And we always tell 'em -everything we do." - -"I see. After it is all over," Jessie commented. - -"We-ell," said Henrietta, pouting, "we can't tell 'em what we have done -before we do it, can we? For we never know ourselves." - -"You certainly cannot beat that for logic," declared Amy. She drove the -head of the canoe to the tub of the nearest Costello twin. "Get in here -carefully, Micky. You are going down." - -"That's 'cause Aloysius always gets the best tub. _He_ ain't sinking -none," said Michael Costello, scowling at his twin. - -"Quick!" commanded Amy, and the disgruntled Costello swarmed over -the side of the canoe. "We can take in one more. Who is the nearest -drowned?" - -"I'm sitting in half a foot of water," confessed the red-haired -Shannon, grinning. - -"A little soaking will do _you_ good. I can guess who suggested this -crazy venture," Jessie said. "Come, Henrietta." - -"I need her to trim ship!" cried Charlie Foley. - -"What do you want to trim your ship with--red, white and blue?" -demanded Amy. "If that trough sinks I know you can swim, Charlie." - -The crowd would have had some difficulty in getting back to shore with -the wind blowing as freshly as it did if the girls had not come along -and, in relays, helped them all back. - -"What Mrs. Shannon will say when she sees her two washtubs floating off -like that, I don't know," sighed Henrietta, after they were all ashore. - -"One of 'em's sunk, so she can't see it," Micky Costello said calmly. -"Maybe the other will go down. Don't you big girls say anything and -maybe she won't find it out." - -Jessie and Amy had headed for Dogtown in the first place without any -expectation of playing a life-saving part. Jessie thought they ought -to see Mrs. Foley, who was fleshy and easy of disposition, and ask her -about Henrietta's visit. So they accompanied the freckle-faced little -girl to the Foley house. - -"I ain't telling 'em all they can come to visit my island, Miss -Jessie," said the little girl. "But of course, the Foleys could come. -Mrs. Blair and Bertha wouldn't mind just them, of course. There's only -Mrs. Foley and Charlie and Billy and the baby and three more boys -and--and--well, that's all, only Mr. Foley. He wouldn't want to come." - -"You would better be sure of your island, and just how much you own -of it, Hen," advised Amy Drew. "It may not be big enough to hold -everybody you want to invite." - -"Why, Miss Amy, it's a awful big island," declared little Henrietta. -"It's got a whole golf link on it. I heard Mr. Blair say so." - -The "bulgy" Mrs. Foley welcomed the Roselawn girls with her usual -copiousness. Of course, she had the youngest Foley in her lap, and the -housework was "at sixes and sevens," since little Henrietta had been at -Stratfordtown for a week. - -"How I'm going to git used, young ladies, to havin' that child away is -more than I can say. 'Tis a great mistake I have all boys for childers. -There is nothing like a smart girl around the house." - -Jessie, very curious, asked the woman what she knew about Henrietta's -wonderful story of wealth. - -"Sure, I've always expected it would come to her some day," declared -Mrs. Foley. "Her mother, who was a good neighbor of mine before we -moved out here to the lake, said Hen's father come of rich folks. They -used to drive their own carriage. That was before automobiles come in -so plenteous." - -"Did Bertha ever say anything about it, Mrs. Foley?" - -"Not much. 'Tis Hen will be the rich wan. Oh, yes. And glad I am if the -child is about to come into her own. She's no business to be running -down here every chance she gets. I had himself telephone to Bertha when -he went to town this morning, and it is likely she will be here after -the child. Hen's as wild as a hawk." - -Bertha Blair, in fact, appeared in a hired car before Jessie and Amy -were ready to return in their canoe to Roselawn. She was quite as -excited as Henrietta had been about the strange fortune that promised -to come into their lives. Bertha could tell the chums from Roselawn -many more particulars of the Padriac Haney property. - -"If little Henrietta will only be good and not be so wild and learn her -lessons and mind what she's told," Bertha said seriously, "maybe she -will have money and an island--or part of one, anyway. But she does not -behave very well. She is as wild as a March hare." - -Little Henrietta looked serious for her; but Mrs. Foley took her part -at once. - -"Sure don't be expectin' too much of the child at wance, Bertha. She's -run as wild as the wind itself here. She's fought and played with these -Dogtown kids since she was able to toddle around. What would ye expect?" - -"But she must learn," declared the older girl. "Mrs. Blair won't take -us to the island this summer if she is not good." - -"Then I'll go myself," announced Henrietta. "It's my island, ain't it? -Who has a better right there?" - -Jessie took a hand at this point, shaking her head gravely at the -freckled little girl. - -"Do you suppose, Henrietta Haney, that your friends--like Mrs. Foley or -Mrs. Blair, or even Amy and I--will want to come to your island to see -you if you are not a good girl?" - -"Say, if I get rich can't I do like I want to--like other rich folks?" - -"You most certainly cannot. Rich people, if they are to be loved, must -be even more careful in their conduct than poor folks." - -"We-ell," confessed the freckled little girl frankly, "I'd rather be -rich than be loved. If I can't be both _easy_, I'll be rich." - -"Such amazing worldliness!" sighed Amy, raising her hands in mock -horror. - -But Jessie Norwood truly wished the little girl to be nice. Poor little -Henrietta, however, had much to unlearn. She chattered continually -about the island she owned and the riches she was to enjoy. The smaller -children of Dogtown followed her--and the green parasol--about as -though they were enchanted. - -"'Tis a witch she certainly is," declared Mrs. Foley. "She's bewitched -them all, so she has. But I'm lost widout her, meself. When a woman -has six--and them all boys--and a man that drinks----" - -This statement of her personal affairs had been so often heard by the -three girls that they all tried to sidetrack Mrs. Foley's complaint. It -was Jessie, however, who advanced a really good reason for getting out -of the Foley house. - -"I promised Monty Shannon I would look at his radio set," she said, -jumping up. "You will excuse us for a little, Mrs. Foley? You are not -going back to Stratfordtown at once, Bertha?" - -"Before long. I have only hired the car for the forenoon. The man has -another job this afternoon. And I must find that Henrietta again," -for the freckle-faced little girl was as lively, so Amy said, as a -water-bug--"one of those skimmery things with long legs that dart along -the surface of the water." - -The trio went out and across the cinder-covered yard to the Shannon -house. The immediate surroundings of Dogtown were squalid, although its -site upon the edge of Lake Mononset might have been made very pleasant -indeed. - -"If these boys like Monty Shannon and some of the girls stay at home -when they grow up they surely will improve the looks of the village," -Jessie had said. "For Monty and his kind are altogether too smart not -to want to live as other people do." - -"You've said it," agreed Amy, with enthusiasm. "He _is_ smart. He has -a better radio receiver than you have. Wait till you see." - -"How do you know?" asked the surprised Jessie. - -"He was telling me about it. You know how often some 'squeak box,' or -other amateur operator, breaks in on our concerts." - -"We-ell, not so often now," Jessie said. "I have learned more about -tuning and wave-lengths. But, of course, I have only a single circuit -crystal receiving set. I have been talking to Dad about getting a -better one." - -"Monty will show you," Amy said with confidence, as they knocked at the -Shannon door. - -The little cottage was small. Downstairs there were but two rooms. The -door gave access to the kitchen, and beyond was the "sitting-room," -of which Monty's mother was inordinately proud. She was a widow, and -helped herself and her children by doing fine laundry work for the -wealthy people of New Melford. - -From the front room when the girls entered came sounds that they -recognized--radio sounds which held their instant attention, although -they were merely market reports at that hour in the forenoon. - -"Isn't it wonderful?" Bertha Blair said, clasping her hands. "I never -can get over the wonder of it." - -"Same here," Amy declared. "When Jess and I listened to you singing the -'Will o' the Wisp' last night it seemed almost shivery that we should -recognize the very tones of your voice out of the air." - -"Huh!" exclaimed Montmorency, grinning. "I got so I know the -announcers, too. When that Mr. Blair speaks I know him. Of course, I -know Mr. Mark Stratford's voice, for I've talked with him. I wouldn't -have such a fine machine here, only he advised me." - -"Tell me," Jessie said, "what is the difference between my receiving -set and yours, Monty?" - -"If you want to hear clearly and keep outside radio out of your -machine, use a regenerative radio set with an audion detector. -The whole business, Miss Jessie, is in the detector, after all. -A regenerative set of this kind is selective enough--that's the -expression Mr. Mark used--to enable any one to tune out all but a few -commercial stations. And they don't often butt in to annoy you. For -sure, you'll kill all the amateur squeak-boxes and other transmission -stations of that class. - -"Now, I'm going to tune in for Stratfordtown. They are sending the -Government weather reports and mother wants to know should she water -her tomatoes or depend on a thunderstorm," and he grinned at Mrs. -Shannon, who stood, an awkward but smiling figure, in the doorway -between the two rooms. - -"'Tis too wonderful a thing for me to understand, at all, at all," -admitted the widow. "However can they tell you out of that machine -there is a thunderstorm coming?" - -"Listen!" exclaimed the boy eagerly. There was a horn on the set and no -need for earphones. He had tuned the market reports out. From the horn -came a different voice. But the words the visitors heard had nothing to -do with the report on the weather. "What's the matter?" demanded Monty -Shannon. "Listen to this, will you?" - -"... she will come home at once. This is serious--a serious call for -Bertha Blair." - -"Do you hear that?" almost shrieked Amy Drew. "Why, it must mean you, -Bertha!" - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -CHANGED PLANS - - -"How ridiculous!" Jessie cried. "That surely cannot mean you, Bertha." - -"Hush!" begged Amy. "It's uncanny." - -Again the slow voice enunciated: "Bertha Blair will come home at once. -This is serious--a serious call for Bertha Blair." - -"Criminy!" shouted Monty Shannon. "I know who that is. It's Mr. Mark -Stratford." - -"He is calling for you, Bertha," said Jessie. "Can it be possible?" - -"Something has happened!" gasped Bertha, starting for the door of the -cottage. "Where is that child?" - -"Never mind Henrietta. We will take care of her," Jessie called after -the worried girl, wishing to relieve her anxiety. - -Bertha ran out of the house, and the next moment the Roselawn girls -heard the car start. Bertha was being whisked away to Stratfordtown. -The voice of Mark Stratford continued to repeat the call several times. -Then he read the weather report, as expected. - -"I can tell you one thing," Jessie said eagerly to her chum and the -Shannons. "Mark Stratford does not usually give out the announcements -from that station. Now, does he, Monty?" - -"No, ma'am, Miss Jessie. Only once in a while." - -"Then something has happened at the Blair house, or to Mr. Blair -himself. That is why they send out this call, hoping that somebody down -here would get it and tell Bertha." - -"Think! How funny it must feel to hear your name called out of the air -in that way," Amy remarked. - -"Why, we had that experience ourselves," Jessie said. "Don't you -remember? Mark thanked us publicly for finding his watch." - -"But that was not just like this," replied Amy. "Anyway, there is -something unsatisfactory about radio--and always will be--until we can -'talk back' as well as receive. See! If Monty had a sending set as well -as a receiving, he could have answered Mark Stratford, and told him -Bertha had heard the call and was starting home without any delay." - -"I am afraid something really serious has happened," Jessie said. -"Let's go back home and call up Stratfordtown on the telephone." - -"We'll take Hen along with us," agreed Amy. "You said we'd take care of -her." - -This the Roselawn girls did. When they set out from Dogtown in their -canoe, Henrietta sat amidships. She was delighted to visit the -Norwoods. She had stayed over night with Jessie before. - -They passed the flotilla of tubs and barrels that the Dogtown children -had set afloat. Mrs. Shannon would never see her washtubs again. -Meanwhile the Costello twins and Charlie Foley had set out to walk -around the lake and recover the big canoe from the place where it had -drifted ashore on the other side. - -"They certainly are the worst young ones," commented Amy Drew. "Always -in mischief of some kind." - -"There ain't much else to get into at Dogtown," said little Henrietta -soberly. "We don't have any boy scouts or girl scouts or anything like -that. They have _them_ at Stratfordtown. Mrs. Blair told me about 'em. -I guess I'll join the girl scouts and take 'em all out on my island." - -Little Henrietta was still intensely excited about "her island." -What the Roselawn girls heard over the telephone when they got home -again was not encouraging. It seemed at first that Henrietta must be -disappointed. - -Jessie ran in to the telephone as soon as they arrived. She did not -know the number of Mr. Blair's private telephone--if he had one. But -she knew how to get in touch with Mark Stratford whether he was at -his home or at the offices of the Stratford Electric Company. She was -able to speak with the young man almost at once, and questioned him -excitedly. - -"Yes. I know that Bertha has got home. I took a chance to reach her at -Dogtown when I heard where she had gone," Mark Stratford said. "You -know Monty Shannon is a protégé of mine, and I have an idea he is -listening in most of the time at that set he has built." - -"But what is the matter? Has Mr. Blair been hurt?" - -"It is Mrs. Blair. She fell downstairs and has hurt herself severely. -Did it not ten minutes after Bertha went out. Broke her leg. She will -be in bed for weeks. I understand that they were planning to go away -for the summer," said Mark, sympathetically. "But that cannot be now. -At least, I suppose Bertha will have to remain to take care of her -aunt." - -"Sh! Don't tell little Hen," begged Amy Drew, when she heard this. "The -child will be heartbroken. Without Bertha and Mrs. Blair Hennie can't -go to her island." - -Jessie made no audible reply to this. And she certainly had no -intention of telling Henrietta the very worst. She discussed the -situation with Momsy, and before Daddy Norwood returned from town that -afternoon mother and daughter had just about perfected a very nice plan -for little Henrietta. - -"Well, you are to go to Hackle Island, Momsy," Mr. Norwood said, when -he first came in. "I have signed the agreement. You can send the people -down to make the house ready to-morrow, if you like. I understand there -will not be much to do about the place. We can all go by the end of the -week." - -"You take my breath away--as usual," laughed Jessie's mother. "You are -always so prompt, Robert." - -"And you will have a house full of company, I suppose?" he rejoined, -but looking at Jessie with a smile. - -"We are going to have one guest you didn't expect, Daddy," rejoined his -daughter. She told him swiftly of what had happened at the Blair home -in Stratfordtown. "So that spoils it all for little Henrietta, you see, -Daddy, if we don't take her. And you know she is crazy to see what she -calls her island." - -"Sure that she won't make you and Momsy crazy, Jess?" he asked, his -eyes twinkling. "That child is as lively as an eel and as noisy as a -steam-roller." - -"How can you say such things, Daddy?" cried Jessie, shaking a reproving -head. "We have agreed to take her if you and the Blairs are willing. -And Momsy and I will try to teach her the things she'll need to know." - -"M-mm. Well, perhaps you will have success. You have done pretty well -with me," laughed Mr. Norwood, who made believe that his wife and -daughter had "brought him up by hand." "Being guided in any way will be -a novel experience for little Hen, that is sure." - -He agreed so well with his wife's and Jessie's plans, however, that he -called Mr. Blair up that evening and proposed to keep little Henrietta -and take her to Hackle, or Station, Island, while Mrs. Blair was -confined to her house. As Jessie's father, along with Mr. Drew, had -taken legal charge of Henrietta's affairs for the time being, it was -right that the orphan child should be in Mrs. Norwood's care. - -"There is an almost certain chance the child is going to be very -wealthy," Mr. Norwood said seriously, to Jessie's mother. "Her -education and improvement cannot begin too soon. She is as wild as a -hawk and she needs encouragement and government both." - -Henrietta took quite as a matter of course every change that came to -her. She had no particular affection for Mrs. Blair, for she had not -known her long enough. She was delighted to go to "her island" with -Jessie and her parents. As long as she got there and could survey her -domain, little Henrietta was bound to be satisfied. But Jessie knew she -would have to restrain the child in her desire to invite everybody she -knew and liked to come to the island while she was there. - -The Norwood family had not even discussed how they were to travel -to the island--by what route--when Amy Drew bounded in. Jessie and -Henrietta were upstairs in Jessie's room listening to the bedtime -story. A little girl not much older than Henrietta was telling the -story, and Henrietta thought that was quite wonderful. - -"I know that Bertha and you other big girls sing into the radio," the -freckle-faced child said, when it was over. "Do you suppose Mr. Blair -would let me recite into it like that?" - -"What would you say?" asked Amy, laughing as her chum and the smaller -girl removed their earphones. - -"Why--why," said Henrietta eagerly, "I would tell stories, too. Spotted -Snake, the Witch, used to tell stories to Billy Foley and the other -Dogtown kids to keep them quiet. And they liked 'em." - -"We'll see about that when we come back from your island, Henrietta," -said Jessie, smiling. - -"And listen!" exclaimed Amy. "You remember I said I had a great idea -about our going to Hackle Island. I didn't finish telling you, Jess." - -"That is right," her chum rejoined. "And no wonder, when we spied that -crew of crazy ones venturing to sea in tubs!" and Jessie laughed. - -"Listen here," Amy said more seriously. "The boys have come home. I -told you they were due. The _Marigold_ is all right now. Her engines -and everything are working fine. So, why don't we take this opportunity -to see what she is like. Darry has promised us long enough." - -"Oh, but we are going to Hackle Island!" cried Jessie. - -"Station Island," put in Henrietta. "_My_ island." - -"Of course. That is what I mean," Amy hastened to say. "Instead of -taking the train and then the regular boat, why not get the boys to -take us all the way from the yacht club moorings to Station Island, or -whatever it is called?" - -"Why, Amy, that would be fine!" cried Jessie. "Will Darry do it?" - -"He will or I shall disown him as a brother," declared her chum, with -vigor. - -"Let's run and see what Momsy says!" exclaimed the eager Jessie. - -"We'd better go and _hear_ what she says," laughed the irrepressible. -"Come on, Hen! You want to be in it. Wouldn't you like a boat ride to -your island?" - -"Why, how do you suppose I was going to get there?" demanded the -little maid. "Automobiles don't run to islands--nor yet steam trains. -But I hope the boat won't leak as bad as that trough me and Charlie -Foley sailed in this morning," she added thoughtfully. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -FORECASTS - - -The plan Amy had originated for going to Station Island on her -brother's yacht was approved by Jessie's mother and father, and in -the end the Drew family agreed to make the voyage, too. Mrs. Norwood -sent down her housekeeper and a staff of servants in advance so that -everything would be in readiness for the yachting party. - -A few articles of clothing had been bought for Henrietta when she had -gone to the Blairs. But, besides being few, they were hardly suitable -for an outing on Station Island. So Jessie and Amy were allowed to -use their own taste in selecting the child's outfit for the island -adventure. And how they did revel in this novel undertaking! - -Being down town on these errands so much during the following two days, -the Roselawn girls were bound to fall in with Belle Ringold and Sally -Moon, as well as with other members of their class in the high school. -Jessie, at least, would never have noticed Belle and her chum could she -have avoided it. - -Amy had an overpowering fondness for a concoction called a George -Washington sundae which was to be found only at the New Melford -Dainties Shop. So, of course, each shopping "spree" must end with a -visit to the confectionary shop in question. - -"Come on," Amy said, on the second day. "I told Darry and Burd we'd -wait for them, and we might as well ride home as walk. They have our -second car. Cyprian is driving mamma to a round of afternoon teas and -other junkets. But the boys won't forget us. Come on." - -"'Come on' means only one place to come to," laughed Jessie. "I -know you. What shall we do on that island, Amy, without any George -Washington sundaes?" - -"Say not so!" begged the other girl. "There is a fancy hotel there, -they say, and perhaps it has a soda fountain." - -"Hi! Amy Drew!" called a voice behind them, as they descended the two -steps into the Dainties Shop. - -"Well, would you ever?" demanded Amy, looking around with no eagerness. -"If it isn't Sally Moon and, of course, Belle." - -"Hi, Amy!" repeated Sally. "Let me ask you something." - -"Go ahead," returned Amy, but in no encouraging tone. "It's free to -ask." - -Sally, however, was not easily discouraged. Evidently Belle had put her -up to ask whatever the question was, and to keep friendly with Belle -Ringold Sally had to perform a good many unpleasant tasks. - -"Your brother and Burd Alling have got back with that yacht, haven't -they?" she demanded. - -"You are correctly informed," answered Amy lightly. - -"We want to see them. I suppose the boat is all right? That is, it is -safe, isn't it?" - -"So far it hasn't sunk with them," returned Amy scornfully. - -"You needn't be so snippy, Amy Drew," broke in Belle. "We want to see -your brother about the use of the _Marigold_. I suppose he will let it -to a party--for a price?" - -"I don't know," said Amy, staring. - -"Why, that's absurd!" Jessie declared, without thinking. "It is a -pleasure boat, not a cargo boat." - -Amy began to laugh when she saw Belle's face. - -"They don't even take passengers for hire," she said. "Is that what you -want to know?" - -"We want to hire a yacht to take us to Station Island," Sally hastened -to say. "And Belle remembered Darrington's boat----" - -"I don't suppose it is fit to take such a party as ours will be," -interposed Belle. - -"I guess Darry won't want to let it," said Amy, seeing that the two -girls were in earnest. "Besides, we are going down ourselves this week." - -"Who are going where?" demanded Belle, sharply. - -"It's the Norwoods' party, you know," Amy said, for Jessie had "shut up -as tight as a clam." "Mrs. Norwood has taken a bungalow there." - -"On Station Island--Hackle Island it used to be called?" Sally cried. - -"That is the place. And Darry will take us all on the _Marigold_. So, I -guess----" - -"We might have known it!" exclaimed Belle, angrily. "The Norwoods or -some of that Roselawn crowd would tag along if we planned something -exclusive." - -But Amy only laughed at this. "You don't own that island, do you? -Remember what little Hen Haney said about owning an island? Well, -Hackle, or Station Island, is the one she meant. She owns a big slice -of it." - -"I don't believe it!" cried Belle. - -"She does. My father says so. And he and Mr. Norwood are going to get -it for her." - -"They will have a fine time doing that," sneered Belle. "Why, _my_ -father has a claim upon all the middle of the island, and he is going -to make his claim good. That nasty little freckle-faced young one from -Dogtown will never get a foot of Hackle Island--you see!" - -Amy shrugged her shoulders as she and Jessie took seats at a table. She -knew how to aggravate Belle Ringold, and she sometimes rather impishly -enjoyed bothering the proud girl. - -"And there's one thing," went on Belle, with emphasis, so exasperated -that she did not see Nick, the clerk, who was waiting for her order, "I -wouldn't go away for the summer unless we went to a really fashionable -hotel. No, indeed! Cottagers at seaside places are always of such a -common sort!" - -Amy only laughed. Jessie remained silent. It really did trouble her to -have these controversies with Belle. It was not nice and she did not -feel right after they were over. - -"There is something wrong with us, as well as with Belle," Jessie said -once to Amy, on this topic. - -"I'd like to know what's wrong with us?" her chum demanded. "I like -that!" - -"When we squabble with Belle and Sally we make ourselves just as common -as they are." - -"Tut, tut! Likewise 'go to,' whatever that means," laughed Amy Drew. -"Why, child, if we did not keep up our end of any controversy that -those girls start they would walk all over us." - -However, on this occasion, and at Jessie's earnest desire, Amy hastened -the eating of her George Washington sundae and the two friends got out -of the shop before Darry and Burd Alling appeared in the car. - -"What's the matter?" asked Amy's brother, when the car stopped before -the Dainties Shop and he saw his sister and Jessie waiting. "Spent all -your money and waiting for us to take you in and treat you?" - -"We had ours," Jessie replied promptly, getting into the tonneau. - -"Yes, indeed. 'Home, James!'" Amy added, following her chum. - -"And so we are to be deprived of our needed nourishment because you -piggy-wiggies have had enough?" demanded Burd Alling, with serious -objection. "I--guess--not! Come along, Darry," and he hopped out of the -car. - -"You'd better look ahead before you leap," giggled Amy. - -"What's that?" asked Darry, hesitating and looking at his sister -curiously. - -"What's up her sleeve?" demanded Burd, with suspicion. - -"You can treat Belle and Sally instead of Jessie and me, if you go in," -said Amy. - -"Oh, my aunt!" exclaimed Burd, and sprang into the automobile again. -"Drive on, Darrington! If you love me take me away before those girls -get their hooks in me." - -"Don't mind about you," growled Darrington, starting the car. "I will -look out for myself, if you please. I hope I never meet up with those -two girls again." - -At that his sister went off into uncontrollable laughter. - -"To think!" she cried. "And Belle and Sally are going to be all summer -on Station Island!" - -"That settles it," announced Darry. "Burd and I will spend our time -aboard the _Marigold_. How about it, Burd?" - -"Surest thing you know. At least we can escape those two on the yacht." - -And this amused Amy immensely, too. For was not Belle desirous of -chartering the _Marigold_? - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -ABOARD THE "MARIGOLD" - - -Before she was ready to go to Station Island Jessie Norwood had a few -purchases to make that had nothing to do with little Henrietta Haney. -She had decided to disconnect her radio set and send the instrument -down with the rest of the baggage. In addition, she was determined to -take Monty Shannon's advice and buy the additional parts which made the -Dogtown boy's set so much more successful than her own. - -"We'll buy wire for the antenna, of course," Jessie said to Amy. "Let -our old aerial stand till we return. All we shall have to do will be to -hook it up again when we set up the set in my room." - -So they bought the wire, the lightning switch, and the other small -parts in New Melford and sent them all on the truck with the trunks to -the dock where the _Marigold_ waited. The next day the two families, -the Norwoods and the Drews, as well as Burd Alling and little -Henrietta, were whisked to the yacht club dock in several automobiles. - -The girls had heard from Bertha over the telephone. And considering -the state of mind and body that Mrs. Blair was in, the poor woman was -probably very well content that Henrietta should be in Mrs. Norwood's -care for a while. - -The freckle-faced little girl was wild with excitement when she got -aboard Darry's yacht. She had never been on such a craft before. - -"I declare," said Amy, "we'll have to put a ball and chain on this kid, -or she will be overboard." - -Henrietta stared at her. "Is that one of those locket and chain things -you wear around your neck? I'm going to buy me one when I get my -island. I never did own any joolry." - -This set Amy off into a breeze of laughter, but Jessie realized that -Henrietta was perfectly fearless and would need watching while they -were on the yacht. - -The _Marigold_ was by no means a new vessel, but it was roomy and -seaworthy. That it was a coal-burner rather than a modern oil-burner, -or with gasoline engines, did not at all decrease its value in the eyes -of its young owner. Darry Drew was inordinately proud of the yacht. - -He ran it with a small crew, and he and Burd, or whoever of his boy -friends he had aboard, did a share of the work. - -"I declare!" sniffed Amy, "I suppose you will expect Jess and me to go -down and stoke the furnaces for you if you get short handed. Why not? -You expect Mrs. Norwood and mamma to do the cooking." - -"Oh, that's only for this voyage. When we have only fellows aboard we -all take turns cooking and get along all right." - -"Does Burd cook?" demanded Amy, in mock horror. - -"Well, he is pretty bad," admitted Darry, with a grin. "But we let him -cook only on days when the sea is rough." - -"And why?" demanded his sister, with wide-open eyes. - -"We never feel much like eating on rough days," explained Darry. "You -see, the _Marigold_ kicks up quite a shindy when the sea is choppy." - -"Let us hope it will be calm all the way to Station Island," Jessie -cried. - -She had her wish. At least, the wind was fair, the sea "kicked up no -combobberation," to quote her chum, and every one enjoyed the sail. If -the _Marigold_ was not a racing boat, her speed was sufficient. They -had no desire to get to the island until the following day. - -Darry's sailing master was a seasoned old mariner named Pandrick. They -called him Skipper. At noon the yacht crossed one of the many "banks" -to which New York fishing boats sail and the skipper pronounced the -time opportune for fishing. - -"There's blackfish and flounders on the bottom and yellow-fin and maybe -bass higher up. You won't find a better chance, Mr. Darry," observed -the sailing master. - -Every one grew excited over this prospect, and the boys got out the -tackle and bait. Even Henrietta must fish. Jessie had been about to -suggest a cushioned seat in the cabin for the little girl, with a -pillow and a rug, for she had seen Henrietta nodding after lunch. The -child would not hear of anything like that. - -The anchor was dropped quietly and the _Marigold_ swung at that mooring -while the fishermen took their stations. Darry gave his personal -attention to Henrietta's bait and showed her how to cast her line. The -little girl had been fishing many times, if only for fresh water fish, -and she was not awkward. - -"Don't you bother 'bout me, Miss Jessie," she said to her mentor -impatiently. "I bet I get a fish before you do. I ain't so slow." - -Amy had fixed a station for her chum beside her own in the shade of -the awning. Mr. Norwood and Mr. Drew had brought their rods. Everybody -was soon engaged in an occupation which really calls for the undivided -attention of the fisherman. The boys ordered all of them to keep quiet. - -"You know," observed Burd sternly, "although these fish out here may be -dumb, they are not deaf. You chatterboxes keep quiet." - -Jessie was greatly excited. She had a nibble on her hook, then a -positive strike. - -"Oh! O-oh" she squealed under her breath. "There's--there's something!" - -"Is it a wolf or a bear?" demanded Amy, giggling. - -"Can you get it aboard, Jess?" asked Darry, from the other side of the -deck. - -Jessie was not awkward. She had pulled in a good-sized fish before. -This one splashed about a great deal and, when she raised it to the -surface, it looked so much like a big rubber boot that Jessie squealed -and almost dropped it. - -"Hey! What did I say about that stuff?" called out Burd. "You'll give -all the fish nervous prostration. My goodness! What is that?" - -He hurried to give Jessie a hand in hauling up the heavy, slowly -flapping fish. It was half as broad as a dining table, with one side -grayish-white and the other slate color. The skipper gave it a glance -and laughed. - -"Virgin," he said. "We don't eat that kind o' fish." - -"Oh, dear! isn't it a flounder?" wailed Jessie, disconsolately. - -"No, no. 'Tain't worth anything," said the skipper, unhooking the heavy -and ugly-looking fish. - -They joked Jessie about the worthless flatfish, but she laughed, too. -Baiting again, she threw in, and just at that moment there was a heavy -splash from the other side of the yacht. - -"Somebody else has got a strike," cried Amy. "Who is it?" - -Nobody answered. There seemed to be nobody excited over a bite. The two -lawyers were forward. Darry and Burd were aft. Jessie suddenly dropped -her line and shot across the deck to the other rail. - -"Oh, Amy!" she shrieked. "Where is little Hen?" - -"You don't mean she's gone overboard?" gasped her chum, excitedly, and -she came running in the wake of Jessie. - -Henrietta's fish line was attached to a cleat on the yacht's rail. She -had been standing on a coil of rope so as to be high enough to look -over into the sea. The fear that clamped itself upon Jessie Norwood's -mind was that the little girl had dived headlong over the rail. - -"Oh, Henrietta!" she cried. "She--she's gone! She's gone overboard, -Amy." - -Her chum was quite as fearful as Jessie was, but she tried to soothe -her chum. - -"It can't be, Jess! She--she wouldn't do that! She just wouldn't!" - -"But you heard that big splash, didn't you?" cried the frightened -Jessie. Then she began to shout as loud as she could: "Help! Help! -Henrietta's overboard! She's gone overboard, I am sure!" - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -GOSSIP OUT OF THE ETHER - - -Jessie's cry startled everybody on deck and Darry and Burd came running -from the stern. - -"Where is she? Do you see her? Throw out a buoy!" exclaimed the young -owner of the yacht. "Hey, Skipper Pandrick! Lower the boat." - -"Man overboard!" shouted Burd Alling. - -"Get out!" exclaimed Darry. "It's not a man at all. It's little Hen. Is -that right, Jessie? Did you see her fall?" - -"No-o," replied Jessie. "But she's not here. Where else could she have -gone?" - -Burd stared up and all about. Amy said promptly: - -"You needn't look into the air, Burd. Hen certainly didn't fly away." - -The skipper arrived, but he was not excited. "Who did you say had gone -overboard, Mr. Darry?" he asked. - -"What does it matter? Can't we save her without so much red tape?" -snapped Darry. "Come on, Skipper! Get out the boat." - -"You mean the little girl who stood right here?" asked the man. "Well, -now, I saw how she was playing her line. She didn't have it fastened -to a cleat. And she sure didn't just now fasten it when she went -overboard. No, I guess not." - -"Oh! Maybe he is right," cried Jessie, with much relief. - -"Well, I declare!" grumbled Darry. "It takes you girls to stir up -excitement." - -"But where is little Hen?" Amy asked, whirling around to face her -brother. - -They all stared at one another. The skipper wagged his head. - -"You'd better look around, alow and aloft, and see if she ain't to be -found. If she did go down, she ain't come up again, that's sure." - -"But that splash!" cried Jessie, anxiously. - -"Wasn't any splash except when I threw that big flatfish overboard," -said the skipper. "And the little girl didn't scream. I guess she's -inboard rather than overboard--yes, ma'am!" - -The four young people separated and scoured the yacht, both on deck and -below. At least, the girls looked through the cabin and the staterooms -and the boys went into the tiny forecastle. They met again in five -minutes or so and stared wonderingly at each other. Little Henrietta -had as utterly disappeared as though she had melted into thin air. - -"What can have happened to the poor little thing?" cried Amy, now -almost in tears. - -"Of course, she must be on the boat if she hasn't fallen overboard," -Jessie replied hesitatingly. - -"That is wisdom," remarked Burd Alling, dryly. "She hasn't flown away, -that's sure." - -The two mothers were on the afterdeck in comfortable chairs; Jessie -hated to disturb them, for Mrs. Norwood and Mrs. Drew had not heard the -first outcry regarding Henrietta. Mr. Norwood and Mr. Drew were busy -with their fishing-lines. Neither of the four adult passengers had seen -the child. - -"I'll be hanged, but that is the greatest kid I ever saw!" exclaimed -Darry Drew with vigor. "She's always in some mischief or other." - -"I am so afraid she is in trouble," confessed Jessie. "You know, we are -responsible to her cousin Bertha Blair for her safety." - -"If the kid wants to dive overboard, are we to be held responsible?" -demanded Burd, somewhat crossly. - -"You hard-hearted boy!" exclaimed Amy. "Of course it is your fault if -anything happens to Hennie." - -"I told you, Drew, that you were making a big mistake to let this crowd -of girls aboard the _Marigold_," complained the stocky youth, sighing -deeply. "While this was strictly a bachelor barque we were all right." - -Jessie, however, was really too much worried to enter into any repartee -of this character. She ran off again to the cabin to have a second -look for Henrietta. She found no trace of her except the doll she had -brought aboard and the green parasol. - -She went back on deck. The fishermen were beginning to haul in weakfish -and an occasional tautog, or blackfish. Amy, with a shout, hauled in -Henrietta's line and got inboard a fine flounder. - -"Anyway, we'll have a big fish-fry for supper. The men will clean the -fish and Darry and Burd will fry them. Your mother and mine, Jess, say -that they have got through with the galley for the day." - -"Oh!" ejaculated Jessie and, whirling suddenly around, started for the -galley slide. - -"Where are you going?" cried Amy. "Do help me with this flopping fish. -I can't get the hook out." - -Her chum did not halt. She knew that nobody had thought to look into -the cook's galley that had been shut up after lunch. She forced back -the slide and peered in. - -There on the deck of the little compartment, with her back against the -wall, or bulkhead, was Henrietta. On one side was a jar of strawberry -jam only half full. Much of the sticky sweet was smeared upon the -cracker clutched in the child's hand and upon her face and the front of -her frock. Henrietta was asleep! - -"What is it?" demanded Amy, who had followed her more excited chum. -"What's happened to her?" - -"Look at that!" exclaimed Jessie, dramatically. - -Darry and Burd drew near. Amy burst into stifled laughter. - -"What do you know about that kid? She asked me if she could have a bite -between meals and I told her of course she could. But I never thought -she would take me so at my word." Amy's laughter was no longer stifled. - -"Fishing in the jam jar is more to Hen's taste than fishing in the -ocean," observed Darry. - -"Nervy kid!" exclaimed Burd. "I'd like some of that jam myself." - -"Bring him away," commanded Jessie, pushing to the slide. "She might as -well sleep. We will know where she is, anyway." - -This little scare rather broke up the fishing for the Roselawn girls -and the college boys. They went to the wireless room which had been -built on deck behind the wheelhouse, and Darry put on the head harness -and opened the key by which he took the messages he was able to obtain -out of the air. - -The girls were particularly interested in this form of radio telegraphy -at this time. Darry had bought and was establishing a regular radio -telephone receiving set, too. He could give Jessie and Amy a deal of -information about the Morse alphabet as used in the commercial wireless -service. - -"Practice makes perfect," he told them. "You can buy an ordinary -key and sounder and practice until you can send fast. While you are -learning that you automatically learn to read Morse. But I'll have the -radio set all right shortly and then we can get the station concerts." - -"How near we'll be to that station on the island!" Amy cried. "It ought -to sound as though it were right in our ears." - -"Not through your radiophone," said her brother. "That station is a -great brute of a commercial and signal station. It sends clear to the -European shore. No concerts broadcasted from there. Now, let's see if -we can get some gossip out of the air." - -The girls took turns listening in, even though they could not -understand more than a letter or two of Morse. Darry translated for -their benefit certain general messages he caught. They learned that -operators on the trans-Atlantic liners and on the cargo boats often -talked back and forth, swapping yarns, news, and personal information. -Occasionally a navy operator "crashed in" with a few words. - -Calls came for vessels all up and down the North Atlantic. Information -as to weather indications were broadcasted from Arlington. The air -seemed full of voices, each to be caught at a certain wave-length. - -"It is wonderful!" Jessie exclaimed. "'Gossip out of the air' is the -right name for it. Just think of it, Amy! When we were born there was -very little known about all this wonderful wireless." - -"Sh!" commanded her chum. "Don't remind folks how frightfully young we -are." - - - - -CHAPTER X - -ISLAND ADVENTURES - - -The _Marigold_ loafed along within sight of the beaches that evening -and the girls and their friends reclined in the deck-chairs and watched -the parti-colored electric lights that wreathed the shore-front. Jessie -was careful to keep Henrietta near by. She began to realize that -looking after the freckle-faced little girl was going to be something -of a trial. - -Henrietta finally grew sleepy and Jessie and Amy took her below, -helped her undress, and tucked her into a berth. The Roselawn girls' -mothers were much amused by this. Their daughters had taken a task upon -themselves that would, as Mrs. Norwood said, teach them something. - -"And it will not hurt them," Mrs. Drew agreed, with an answering smile. -"Amy, especially, needs to know what 'duty' means." - -"Anyway, we'll know where she is while she is asleep," Jessie said to -her chum, as they left the little girl. - -"If she isn't a somnambulist," chuckled Amy. "We forgot to ask Mrs. -Foley or Bertha that." - -The ground swell lulled the girls to sleep that night, and even -Henrietta did not awake until the first breakfast call in the morning. -Through the port-light Jessie and Amy saw Burd Alling "bursting his -cheeks with sound" as he essayed the changes on the key-bugle. - -The _Marigold_ was slipping along the coast easily, with the northern -end of Station Island already in sight. The castlelike hotel sprawled -all over the headland, but the widest bathing beach was just below -it. Next were the premises of the Hackle Island Gold Club, with its -pastures, shrubberies, and several water-holes. It was to a part of -these enclosed premises that Mr. Norwood said little Henrietta Haney -was laying claim. - -"And I believe she will get it in time. Most of the land on which those -summer houses beyond the golf course stand is also within the lines of -the Padriac Haney place." - -He explained this to them while they all paced the deck after -breakfast. The yacht was headed in toward the dock near the bungalows, -some of which were very cheaply built and stood upon stilts near the -shore. - -The tall gray staff of the abandoned lighthouse was the landmark at the -extreme southern end of the island. The sending and receiving station -of the commercial wireless company was at the lighthouse, and the -party aboard the _Marigold_ could see the very tall antenna connected -therewith. - -The yacht landed the party and their baggage about ten o'clock. Mrs. -Norwood's servants were at hand to help, and a decrepit express wagon -belonging to a "native" aided in the transportation of the goods to the -big bungalow which was some rods back from the shore. There were no -automobiles on the island. - -"Is this my house?" Henrietta demanded the moment she learned which -dwelling the party of vacationists would occupy. - -"It may prove to be your house in the end," Jessie told her. - -"When's the end?" was the blunt query. "How long do I have to wait?" - -"We can't tell that. My mother has the house for the summer. She has -hired it for us all to live in." - -"Who does she pay? Do I get any of the money?" continued the little -girl. "If this island is going to be mine some time, why not now? Why -wait for something that is mine?" - -It was very difficult for Jessie and Amy to make her understand the -situation. In fact, she began to feel and express doubts about the -attempt that was being made to discover and settle the legal phases of -the Padriac Haney estate. - -"If I don't get my money and my island pretty soon somebody else will -get it instead," was the little girl's confident statement. - -"Oh, Jess!" exclaimed Amy under her breath, "suppose that should be so. -You know Belle Ringold's father is trying to prove his title to the -same property." - -"Hush!" said Jessie. "Don't let little Hen hear about that. She is -getting hard to manage as it is. Henrietta! Where are you going now?" -she called after the little girl. - -"I'm going out to take a look at some of my island," declared the -child, as she banged the screen door. - -"She's sure to get into trouble," Jessie observed, sighing. - -"Oh, let her go," Amy declared. "Why worry? You can't watch her every -minute we are here. She can't very well fall overboard from this -island." - -"I don't know. She manages to do the most unexpected things," said -Jessie. - -But there was so much to do in helping settle things and make the -sparsely furnished bungalow comfortable that Jessie did not think for -a while about Henrietta. Besides, she was desirous of setting up the -radio instruments at once and stringing the antenna. - -Darry and Burd helped the girls do this last. They worked hard, for -they had first of all to plant in the sands some distance from the -house an old mast that Mr. Norwood bought so as to erect the wires at -least thirty feet above the ground. - -The antenna were not completed at nightfall. Then, of a sudden, -everybody began to wonder about Henrietta. Where was she? It was -remembered that she had not been seen during most of the afternoon. - -"Oh, dear!" worried Jessie. "It is my fault. I should not have let her -go out alone that time, Amy." - -"She said she wanted to see her island, I remember," admitted her chum, -with some gravity. "And this island is a pretty big place, and it is -growing dark." - -"She could not get into any trouble if she stayed on Hackle Island," -declared Darry. "What a kid!" - -"And she certainly couldn't have got off it," suggested Burd. - -"We must look around for her," said Jessie, with conviction. "Don't -tell Momsy. She will worry. She thinks I have had my eye on the child -all the time." - -"You certainly would have what they call a roving eye if you managed to -keep it on Henrietta," giggled Burd Alling. "She darts about like a -swallow." - -Jessie felt it to be no joking matter. The four young people separated -and went in different directions to hunt for the missing child. -Station, or Hackle, Island at this end was mostly sand dunes or open -flats. A little sparse grass grew in bunches, and there were clumps -of beach plum bushes. Towards the golf course the land was higher and -there real lawn and trees of some size were growing. - -The low sand dunes stretched in gray windrows right across the island. -Jessie tried to think what might have first attracted Henrietta at this -end of the island. She did not believe that she would go far from the -bungalow, although Amy wanted to start at once for the hotel. That was -the object that attracted her first of all. - -Jessie ran toward the far side of the island. It was growing dark and -everything on both sea and shore looked gray and misty. The seabirds -swept overhead and whistled mournfully. Jessie shouted Henrietta's name -as she ran. - -But she began to labor up and down the sand dunes with difficulty. -It frightened Jessie Norwood very much whenever Henrietta got into -mischief or into danger. No knowing what harm might come to her on this -lonely part of Station Island. - -Nor was this fear in Jessie's mind bred entirely by the feeling that -it was her duty to look out for Henrietta. The child was an appealing -little creature, though she had had little chance in the world thus -far to develop her better and worthier qualities. The pity that Jessie -Norwood had felt for the untamed girl at first was now blossoming into -love. - -"What would I ever say to Bertha and Mrs. Foley if anything happened to -the child!" Jessie murmured. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -TROUBLE - - -Jessie was beginning to learn that to guard the welfare of a lively -youngster like Henrietta was no small task. The worst of it was, she -was so fond of the little girl that she worried about her much of the -time. And Henrietta seemed to have a penchant for getting into trouble. - -Jessie called, and she called again and again, as she ploughed through -the sand, and heard in reply only the shrieks of the gulls and peewees. -Gray clouds had rolled up from the Western horizon and covered -completely the glow of sunset. It was going to be a drab evening, and -all the hollows were already filled with shadow. - -Jessie toiled up the slope of one sand-hill after another, calling and -listening, calling and listening, but all to no avail. What _could_ -have become of Henrietta Haney? - -Suddenly Jessie fairly tumbled into an excavation in the sand. Although -she could not see the place, her hands told her that the hole was deep -and the sand somewhat moist. The hole had been dug recently, for the -surface of the dunes was still warm from the rays of the sun. - -She stumbled down the slope of the sand dune and found another hole, -then another. Dark as it was in the hollow, when she kicked something -that rattled, she knew what it was. - -"Henrietta's pail and shovel!" Jessie exclaimed aloud. "She has been -here." - -She picked up the articles. Before leaving New Melford she had herself -bought the pail and shovel for the freckle-faced little girl. - -Where had the child gone from here? Already Jessie was some distance -from the group of bungalows. As Henrietta insisted upon believing that -most of the island belonged to her "by good rights," there was no -telling what part of it she might have aimed for after playing in the -sand. - -Jessie shouted again, her voice wailing over the sands almost as -mournfully as the cries of the sea-fowl. Again and again she shouted, -but without hearing a human sound in reply. She labored on, and it grew -so dark that she began to wish one of the others had come with her. -Even Amy's presence would have been a comfort. - -She came to the brink of a yawning sand-pit, the bottom of which was so -dark she could not see it. She began skirting this hollow, crying out -as she went, and almost in tears. - -Suddenly Darry's voice answered her. She was fond of Darry--thought him -a most wonderful fellow, in fact. But there was just one thing Jessie -wanted of him now. - -"Have you seen her?" she cried. - -"Not a bit. I have been away down to the lighthouse. Nobody has seen -her there." - -"Oh! Who you lookin' for?" suddenly asked a voice out of the darkness. - -"Henrietta!" shrieked Jessie, and plunged down into the dark sand-pit. - -"Who's lost?" asked the little girl again. "Ow-ow! I--I guess I been -asleep, Miss Jessie." - -"Has that kid shown up at last?" grumbled Darry, climbing to the sand -ridge. - -"Is it night?" demanded Henrietta, as Jessie clasped her with an energy -that betrayed her relief. "Why, it wasn't dark when I came down here." - -"How did you get down there?" demanded Darry from above. - -"I rolled down. I guess I was tired. I dug so much sand----" - -"Did you dig all those holes I found, Henrietta?" demanded the relieved -Jessie. - -"Why, no, Miss Jessie. I didn't dig holes. I dug sand and let the holes -be," declared the freckle-faced little girl scornfully. - -Darry sat down and laughed, but while he laughed Jessie toiled up the -yielding sand hill with her hand clasping Henrietta's. "Ow-ow!" yawned -the child again. "When do we eat, Miss Jessie? Or is eating all over?" - -"Listen to the kid!" ejaculated Darry. "Here! Give her to me. I'll -carry her. Want to go pickaback, Hen?" - -"Well, it's dark and nobody can see us. I don't mind," said Henrietta -soberly. "But I guess I'm too big to be lugged around that way in -common. 'Specially now that I own this island--or, most of it--and am -going to have money of my own." - -"She's harping on that idea too much," observed Darry to Jessie, in a -low tone. - -The latter thought so too. Funny as little Henrietta was, the stressing -of her expected fortune was going to do her no good. Jessie began to -see that this fault had to be corrected. - -"Goodness!" she thought, stumbling along after the young collegian and -his burden, "I might as well have a younger sister to take care of. -Children, as Mrs. Foley says, are a sight of trouble." - -They heard Amy and Burd shouting back of the bungalow, and they -responded to their cries. - -"Did you find that young Indian?" cried Burd. - -"You've hit it. This little squaw should be named 'Plenty Trouble' -rather than 'Spotted Snake, the Witch.'" - -"Why," said Henrietta, sleepily, "_I_ never have any trouble--of course -I don't." - -It was about as Jessie said, however: They were never confident that -the freckled little girl was all right save when she was asleep. She -had bread and milk and went right to bed when they got home with her. -Then the evening was a busy one for the quartette of older young folks. - -The radio set was put into place in the library of the bungalow. They -had brought the two-step amplifier and proposed to use that for most -of their listening in, rather than the head-phones. Although Darry and -Burd helped in this preliminary work, the girls really knew more about -the adjustment of the various parts than the college youths. - -But in the morning Darry and Burd strung the wires and completed the -antenna. The house connection was made and the ground connection. By -noon all was complete and after lunch Jessie opened the switch and -they got the wave-length of a New York broadcasting station and heard -a brief concert and a lecture on advertising methods that did not, in -truth, greatly interest the girls. - -After that they tuned in and caught the Stratfordtown broadcasting. -They recognized Mr. Blair's voice announcing the numbers of the -afternoon concert program. - -But radio did not hold the attention of these young people all the -time, although they had all become enthusiasts. They were at the -seashore, and there were a hundred things to do that they could not do -at home in Roselawn. The sands were smooth, the surf rolled in while -ruffles, and the cool green and blue of the sea was most attractive. -One of the safest bathing beaches bordering Station Island was directly -in front of the bungalow colony. - -At four o'clock they were all in their bathing suits and joined the -company already in the surf or along the sands. In any summer colony -acquaintanceships are formed rapidly. Jessie and Amy had already seen -some girls of about their own age whom they liked the looks of, and -they were glad to see them again at the bathing hour. - -"Is it a perfectly safe beach?" Mrs. Norwood asked, and was assured -by her husband that so it was rated. There were no strong currents or -undertows along this shore. And, in any case, there was a lifeguard in -a boat just off shore and another patrolling the sands. - -"I ain't afraid!" proclaimed Henrietta, dashing into the water -immediately. "Come on, Miss Jessie! Come on, Miss Amy, you won't get -drowned at my island." - -"What a funny little thing she is," said one of the friendly girls who -overheard Henrietta. "Does she think she owns Station Island?" - -"That is exactly what she does think," said Amy, grimly. - -"I never!" drawled the girl. "And there is a girl up at the hotel who -talks the same way. At least, when she was down here yesterday she said -her father owns all this part of Station Island and is going to have -the bungalows torn down." - -Jessie and Amy looked at each other with understanding. - -"I guess I know who that girl is," said Amy quickly. "It's Belle -Ringold." - -"Yes. Her name is Ringold," said their new acquaintance. "Do you -suppose it is so--that her father can drive us all out of the cottages? -You know, we have already paid rent for the season." - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -A DOUBLE RACE - - -Amy Drew scoffed at the thought of Belle Ringold's tale of trouble for -the "bungalowites" being true. - -"She is always hatching up something unpleasant," she told the neighbor -who had spoken of Mr. Ringold's claim to a part of Station Island. "We -know her. She comes from our town." - -But little Henrietta continued to tell anybody who would listen that -_she_ owned a part of the island and expected to take possession of the -golf links almost any day. The funny little thing, however, was very -generous in inviting people to remain on "her island," no matter what -happened. - -"Something has got to be done about that child," said Jessie, sighing. -"I can't control her. She does say the most awful things. She has no -manners at all!" - -"He, he," chuckled Amy. "Hen was built without any controller. I -wouldn't worry about her, Jess. She'll come out all right." - -"I hope she comes out of the water all right," murmured her chum, -starting again after the very lively little girl who occasionally made -dashes for the surf as though she proposed to go right out to sea. - -But for one person Henrietta had some concern. That was Mrs. Norwood. -She thought Jessie's mother was a most wonderful person. And when Mrs. -Norwood had a chair and umbrella brought to the sands and sat down -within sight of Henrietta, the older girls had some opportunity of -having a little amusement with the college boys. - -"Come on," Darry Drew said. "This staying inshore is no fun. Beat you -to the raft, girls, and give you ten yards start." - -"O-oh! You can't!" cried his sister, dashing at once for the sea. - -"Hold on! Hold on!" commanded Darry. "I don't believe you even know how -long ten yards is. Both you girls go in and stand even with that pile -yonder. You are headed for the raft. You see the life saver beyond it, -I hope?" - -Amy made a face at him, settled her bathing cap more firmly, and looked -at Jessie. - -"Ready, Jess?" she asked. - -"We'll just beat them good," declared her chum. "They always think they -can do things so much better than us girls." - -"'We' girls," corrected Amy, giggling. - -"'We' or 'us'--it doesn't so much matter, as long as we win the race," -said Jessie. - -"All ready out there?" demanded Darry. - -"They're edging out farther," observed Burd Alling. "It wouldn't matter -if you gave them a mile start; they'd take more if they could. Give 'em -an inch and they'll take an ell," he quoted. - -"You don't know what an ell is," scoffed his friend. - -"It's something you put on a house after you think you've got all the -rooms you'll ever need. I know," declared Burd, grinning. - -"Come on out!" retorted Darry. "Cut the repartee. You have got to swim -your little best, for those two girls are no slow-pokes." - -"You've said something," agreed Burd. "Shoot! I am ready, Gridley." - -"Huh!" exclaimed his chum. "You have even forgotten your Spanish War -history." - -"Shucks! They change history so fast now you don't more than learn -one phase than you have to forget it and learn some other fellow's -'hindsight' of important events. The only way to get history straight," -declared the philosophical Burd, "is to be Johnny-on-the-spot and see -things happen." - -"Now!" shouted Darry to the girls. - -The four splashed in, the girls starting with a breast stroke and the -boys having to run for some distance until the sea was deep enough to -enable them to swim. The water beyond the ruffle of surf was almost -calm. At least, the waves did not break, but heaved in, in smooth -rollers. As Amy had said: The sea was taking deep-breathing exercises. - -Just now, however, she was not making jokes. The two girls were doing -their best to win the race. Darry was a long, rangy fellow, and his -over-hand stroke was wonderful. Burd Alling--"tubby" as he was--was an -excellent swimmer. The girls started with a dash, however, and they -kept up their speed for some rods before either felt any fatigue. - -The diving raft was a long distance out from the beach, because the -sandy bottom here sloped very gradually. This part of the island was -ideal for swimming and bathing. If it was finally proved that the old -Padriac Haney estate belonged to little Henrietta, she would control -the longest strip of beach on the island. - -Amy flashed a glance over her shoulder to see how close they were -pursued, and almost lost stroke. - -"Come on!" panted Jessie. "Don't let them beat you." - -"Ain't--go-ing--to," gasped her chum, in four short breaths. - -They were more than half way to the raft, and it really seemed as -though the stronger--and longer--arms of the two college boys were -not aiding them to overtake the Roselawn girls. The latter began to -congratulate each other upon this--with glances. They did not waste any -more breath in speech. - -Rising high to change stroke, Jessie turned on her side and did the -over-hand. It heaved her ahead of her chum for a yard or so; and it -likewise enabled her to see over the raft. The raft chanced to be -deserted, nor were there any swimmers between her and the boat of the -lifeguard beyond the raft. - -The man in the boat suddenly stood up. He began waving his arms and -shouting. As he was looking shoreward Jessie thought he must be -cheering her and her chum on. She forged still farther ahead of Amy, -and the lifeguard became more energetic in his motions. - -Suddenly he dropped upon the seat of his boat, grabbed the oars, and -pulled the bow of the craft around, heading it seemed, for the raft. He -did act peculiarly. - -From behind her Jessie heard faintly a cry from her chum: - -"Oh, Jess! What's that? What is it?" - -"Why, it is the lifeguard," rejoined Jessie Norwood, flashing another -glance over her shoulder, but continuing to thrash forward at her very -best speed. - -"No, no! That thing! In the water!" At first Jessie saw nothing ahead -but the raft. She thought the lifeguard was hurrying to the raft to -meet Amy and herself if they won the race. Another glance that she -flashed back swept the smooth, rolling sea as far as Darry and Burd, -endeavoring to overcome the handicap they had given the two girl chums. - -It was only then that Jessie realized that something must be -happening--some threatening thing that she did not understand. From the -rear Darry's hail reached Jessie's ear: - -"Turn back! Come back, Jess!" - -"Why! what does he think?" considered Jessie, amazed. "That I am going -to stop and let him and Burd beat us? I--guess--not!" - -Then she heard the voice of the lifeguard. He was driving his boat -inshore with mighty strokes; but he sat facing shoreward, too, using -his oars back-handed. He shouted: - -"Shark! Shark! Look out for the shark!" - -And behind Jessie Norwood her chum took up the cry: - -"Shark! Oh, Jess! Shark!" - -The word, which had never meant much to Jessie Norwood in her life -before, being merely the name of a quite unknown fish, suddenly became -the most important of words! She whirled over and took up the breast -stroke. She rose high in the water again to look. - -Off at one side and seemingly swimming toward them from a tangent, came -a gray, sail-like thing, the like of which the Roselawn girl had never -seen before. She accepted as true however the identification of the -lifeguard. He should know. - -The race to the raft became suddenly a double race. More than ever did -Jessie Norwood wish to win it! She desired to outswim the dangerous -fish of which she had heard such terrible stories. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -MORE THAN ONE ADVENTURE - - -Jessie was badly frightened, but she was not too scared to swim as -hard as she could for the diving raft. The lifeguard drove his boat -around the end of the raft toward the gray, sail-like object which had -so startled them all. Jessie remembered of reading that the dorsal fin -of a shark shows above water when it swims at the surface. This odd -looking thing must be it--it must be! - -She measured the distance between it and herself with some calculation. -It came on in a halting, undecided way. Perhaps the shark had not -yet caught sight of any of the swimmers. Jessie flung up her arm and -shouted at the top of her voice to her chum: - -"Come on! Come on! Don't let him get you!" - -Amy was struggling so hard to reach the raft now that she had no breath -left for speech. Jessie saw her splashing on in her wake. Behind, the -boys were making a great splashing too, and Jessie realized that it -was for an object. The shark might be frightened away if they made -disturbance enough in the water. - -Jessie was now very near the raft and the other three were bunching up -not far behind her. The lifeguard shot by in his boat, yelling like -mad. Darry shouted: - -"Get aboard the raft, girls! Burd and I will beat him off till you are -landed!" - -"You come right on here, Darrington Drew!" sputtered his sister. "What -good will you ever be if you get your leg bit off?" - -Jessie reached the raft and seized a loop of rope hanging from it. -If it had not been for this assistance she doubted if she could have -hauled herself out of the water. When Amy arrived, her chum was lying -over the edge of the refuge, and reached one arm out for her. - -"Quick! Quick!" cried Jessie. - -"Do--don't scare me so!" gasped Amy. "I--I feel just as though he was -nibbling at my toes right now!" - -But it seemed no laughing matter to Jessie Norwood. Her chum, however, -would find a joke in even the most serious circumstance. And the moment -she lay on the raft beside Jessie she began to laugh, gaspingly. - -"This is no laughing matter!" Jessie declared. "How can you, Amy? Darry -and Burd----" - -At that instant a wild shout rose from the two collegians and from the -lifeguard who had rowed so energetically to their rescue. Amy broke off -suddenly in her nervous laughter. - -"He's got 'em!" she shrieked. "Oh! Oh!" - -But, strange though it seemed to her, Jessie realized that Darry and -Burd were laughing. And the astonished expletives that the guard -emitted did not seem to show fear. - -"What is the matter?" Jessie demanded, standing up. - -"And where is the shark?" asked Amy, likewise scrambling to her feet. - -The boys were hanging to the side of the guard's boat. He was fishing -for something in the water with an oar. He finally got the object and -raised it aloft. - -"What is it?" repeated Jessie. - -"The shark!" shrieked her chum. - -It actually was all the shark there was--a pair of partly deflated -swimming wings which, carried here and there by the wind, had looked -like a shark's dorsal fin at a distance. - -"Good thing you girls saw it," declared Darry, when the boys lumbered -along to the raft. "If you hadn't been so scared you never would have -beat us. Would they, Burd?" - -"Of course not," agreed his friend. "And how Jess can swim--when there -is a man-eating shark after her!" - -"Don't make fun," Jessie said, somewhat exasperated. "It might have -been a shark. Then where would you have been?" - -"Either here or inside the shark," said Darry. "One thing sure, he -never could have caught you girls." - -"Well," Amy sighed, "we had all the excitement of racing with a shark, -even if the shark was only in our minds. I'll never be so scared by one -again." - -"Goodness!" exclaimed Jessie. "I know I shall always be nervous in the -water here after this. I'll always be looking for one. What an awful -feeling it is to try to swim when one is being pursued by----" - -"By a pair of swimming wings," chuckled Burd. "Some imagination you've -got, my dear Jess." - -There was a serious side to the matter, however. Although the shark -scare had proved to be groundless, the quartette decided to say nothing -about it to those ashore. - -"Especially to Momsy," Jessie Norwood said. "I don't want to make her -nervous. Little things annoy her." - -"She'll be some annoyed by little Hen, then," chuckled Amy. "Hen is -worse than any shark you ever saw." - -"How terrible!" cried Jessie. "She is not a bad child at all, but she -is wild enough." - -When they swam ashore later they found Henrietta on her good behavior -with Momsy. Nobody on the sands had chanced to see the excitement out -by the raft. Or, if they had, it was merely supposed that the four -young people from Roselawn were playing in the water. - -Jessie, however, felt rather serious about it. And she knew she would -never go into the sea again at Station Island without thinking about -sharks. - -While they were playing hand-ball on the beach, still in their bathing -suits, a low-wheeled pony carriage came along the drive from the upper -end of the island, and Amy's sharp eyes spied and recognized the two -girls seated on the back seat of the vehicle. - -"And that's Bill Brewster driving!" cried Amy. "Some difference between -the speed of that quadruped and his sports car." - -"One thing sure," chuckled Burd. "He can't do so much damage with that -old Dobbin as he did with the car he drives about New Melford." - -"Belle and Sally have got a hen on," said the slangy Amy to Jessie. -"See them whispering together?" - -"I can see what they are up to from right where I stand," announced -Darry, dropping the ball. "Come on, Burd! Let's beat it for the raft -again. That's one place those two girls can't follow us without bathing -suits." - -"He, he!" giggled his sister. "I hope they sit right down here and wait -for you to come ashore." - -"Send out our supper by the lifeguard," called Burd, as he followed his -chum into the surf. "We fear sharks less than we do a certain brand of -featherless biped." - -"I suppose it would be too pointed for us to run away," said Amy to -Jessie, as Bill Brewster drove the pony carriage out on to the beach. - -"Belle has got her eye on us, that is a fact," agreed Jessie. - -She was curious, especially after what their new friend had told them -an hour before about the story that Belle Ringold was circulating. -Belle was eager to talk--as she always was. - -"So your folks got one of these bungalows, did they, after all, Jess -Norwood?" she began. "I suppose you know there is no surety that you -can keep it a month?" - -"I don't know about that. I guess father attended to the lease. And he -is a lawyer, you know," said Jessie, quietly. - -"Pooh! Yes," said Belle, tossing her head. "But there are lawyers and -lawyers! My father has the smartest lawyer in New York working for -him. And I suppose you know about the claim he has against all the -middle of this island?" - -"We have heard that _you_ have a claim on the island--or think you -have," said Amy slyly. "But, then, Belle, you always did think you -owned the earth." - -"Now, Miss Smartie, don't be too funny! Father is going to prove his -right to the golf course and all these bungalows. Don't you fear--Why! -There's that terrible Henrietta Haney! How did she come here?" - -"She is with us," said Jessie shortly. - -"Oh, indeed! One of your week-end guests, I suppose?" scoffed Belle. -"We are entertaining General O'Bigger and Mrs. O'Bigger at the hotel. -Of course, we would not live in one of these small bungalows--not even -if we needed a vacation." - -"You wouldn't," said Henrietta promptly, "because I wouldn't let you." - -"Oh! Oh! Hear that child!" cried Sally Moon. - -"Nor you, neither," declared Henrietta. "All them houses are mine--or -they are going to be." - -"Hush, Henrietta," commanded Jessie, in a low voice. - -"Didn't the funny little thing say something before about owning an -island?" asked Belle, somewhat puzzled. - -"And this is it," said Henrietta. "You just try to come into any of -them bungleloos! I'd get a policeman and have him take you out. So -now!" - -"_Will_ you behave?" said Jessie, feeling like shaking the child, and -in reality leading her away. - -Amy came running after them in the midst of Jessie's berating of the -freckle-faced girl. - -"Did you ever hear such nonsense?" Jessie's chum demanded. "Belle -declares the case is coming up in court next week and that her father -is going to win. Did you ever?" - -Mr. Norwood was sitting with his wife when they came near to that -lady's beach chair. Jessie was anxious enough to ask about Belle's -statement regarding the imminent court investigation of the controversy -over Station Island. - -"Why, yes, Ringold's lawyers claim they have found new evidence -entitling him to be heard as a claimant to the Padriac Haney estate," -the lawyer acknowledged. "But there may not be anything in it." - -"But is there a possibility, Robert?" Momsy asked, seeing how anxious -both Jessie and the little girl looked. - -"There is nothing sure in any case that comes into court," declared her -husband. "Besides, those attorneys of Ringold's are sharp fellows. He -may make his claim good." - -"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" burst out Henrietta. "And then I won't have -nuthin'? No island, nor golf link, nor--nor nuthin'? Oh, dear me!" - -"Never mind, honey," Jessie begged. "You have friends. You have _me_." -And she sat down on the sands and took the freckle-faced little girl in -her arms. - -"Ye-es, Miss Jessie. I know I got you," sobbed Henrietta. "But--but you -ain't a golf link, nor you ain't a bungleloo. And--and I want to turn -that Ringold girl off my island, I do!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -SOMETHING NEW IN RADIO - - -The Stanleys arrived at Station Island the next day, the doctor having -arranged for a substitute preacher at the Roselawn Church for two -Sundays. The bungalow they had arranged to occupy was one of the colony -not far from the big house the Norwoods and their party were staying in. - -Darry and Burd began to spend a good deal of their time on the yacht -after that first day. Amy accused her brother of being afraid of a -flank attack by Belle Ringold and Sally Moon, and he admitted that he -had hoped to escape those two "troublesome kids" when he came to the -island. - -"I came here as the guest of little Hen Haney," he declared soberly. -"And I don't wish to be annoyed by any girls older than she is." - -But he did not say this within Henrietta's hearing. The little girl -went around with a very long face indeed. She seemed to think that she -was going to lose her island. Even Nell Stanley, who was a general -comforter at most times, could not alleviate little Henrietta's woe. - -With the coming of the Stanleys, however, Henrietta became less of a -trial to Jessie. For Sally Stanley was just about Henrietta's age and -the two children got along splendidly together. - -Bob and Fred, those lively and ingenious youngsters, made their own -friends among the boys of the bungalow colony. The three girls from -Roselawn--Jessie, Amy, and Nell--found plenty to do and enjoyed -themselves thoroughly during the next few days. Being all interested in -radio they naturally spent sometime at Jessie's set. But unfortunately -it did not work as well here as it had at home. - -"And I do not know why," Jessie ruminated. "I have been studying up -about it and the more I read the less I seem to know. There are so many -different opinions about how an amateur set should be built. Do you -know, sometimes I feel as though I should have an entirely different -kind of outfit. There is a new super-regenerative circuit that is being -talked about." - -"But some people say it is not practicable for amateurs," broke in -Nell. "I've read so, anyway." - -"I should like to talk with some professional--some radio expert--about -that," Jessie confessed. "If I had thought before we left home I would -have spoken to Mr. Blair." - -"You'll have to wait until you get back, then," said Amy promptly. - -"Why?" cried Nell suddenly. "There must be experts over at that -Government station." - -"That is so," agreed Jessie, thoughtfully. "Do you suppose they -would----" - -"Let's go and see," urged Nell. "I'm crazy to see the inside of that -station, anyway." - -"It's wireless--like the little outfit aboard the _Marigold_," Amy -suggested. - -"But so much bigger," Jessie chimed in eagerly. "If they admit -visitors, let's go." - -Mr. Norwood found out about that particular point for the girls and -reported that if they went over to the station in the late afternoon -the operator on duty would be glad to show them "the works" and give -them all the information in his power. - -The three friends went alone, for the collegians were off fishing that -day on the _Marigold_. They left the little girls in Mrs. Norwood's -care and slipped away about four o'clock and walked to the station, -which was some distance from the bungalow colony. They had to climb the -stairs in the old shaft of the lighthouse to the wireless room. The -room was half darkened and they heard the snapping of the spark, and -even saw the faint blue flash of it when they came to the door. - -The operator, with his head harness on, was busy at his set. Jessie, -at least, had spent some time trying to learn the Morse code since -talking the matter over with Darry on the yacht. But although the -signals the operator received were in dots and dashes, she could not -understand a single thing. - -"I am afraid it will take us a long time to learn," she said to Amy, -sighing. "We shall have to buy a regular telegraph set and learn in -that way." - -"I wish you wouldn't talk about learning anything!" cried her chum. -"Vacation is slipping right away from us." - -After a few moments the spark stopped snapping, the operator closed -his switch and removed his harness. He wheeled around on the -bench and welcomed them. He was really a very pleasant young man, -and he explained many things about both the radio-telegraph and -radio-telephone that the girls had not known before. - -He was so friendly that Jessie ventured to ask him about the new -super-regenerative circuit in which she was interested. - -"Yes. I'm strong for that new thing," said the wireless operator, -enthusiastically. "In the first place, it was invented by the man who -originated the ordinary regenerative circuit so much in use at present, -and also of the super-heterodyne circuit. I understand this new circuit -permits a current amplification up to a million times, and all with -three tubes. You know, to reach such a high mark with your ordinary -regenerative circuit, many more tubes would be necessary." - -"I understand that," said Jessie. "But can an amateur build and -practically work this new circuit?" - -"Why not? If you follow directions carefully. And with the new outfit -a loop is just as effective an antenna as an outside aerial. They say, -too, that to catch broadcasting for not more than twenty-five miles, -not even a loop is needed, the circuits themselves acting as the -absorbers of energy." - -"I'm going to try it," declared Jessie, with more confidence. "But I -feel that I understand so little about the various forms of radio, -after all." - -"You have nothing on me there," laughed the operator. "I am learning -something new all the time. And sometimes I am astonished to find out -how, after five years of work with it, I am really so ignorant." - -The girls had a very interesting visit at the station; and from the -operator Jessie and Amy gained some particular instruction about -sending and receiving messages in the telegraph code. He received -several messages from ships at sea while the girls remained in the -station, and likewise relayed other messages received from inland -stations both up and down the coast and to vessels far out at sea. - -"It is a wonderful thing," said Nell, as the girls walked homeward. -"I never realized before how great an influence wireless already was -in commercial life. Why, how did the world ever get along without it -before Marconi first thought of it?" - -"How did the world ever get along without any other great invention?" -demanded Amy. "The sewing machine, for instance. I've got to run up -a seam in one of my sports skirts, for there is no tailor, they say, -nearer than the hotel. I do wish a sewing machine had been included in -the furnishings of your bungalow, Jess. I hate to sew by hand." - -The boys had come in before the Roselawn girls returned for dinner, -and they were very enthusiastic over a plan for taking a part of the -bungalow crowd on an extended sailing trip. They had met Dr. Stanley -walking the beaches, and he had expressed a desire to go to sea for a -day or two, and at once Darry and Burd had conceived a plan for the -young folks to be included. - -"The doctor is a good enough chaperon," said Darry, with a laugh. "Nell -shall come. Her Aunt Freda will be down to look after the children." - -"And Henrietta?" asked Jessie, hesitatingly. - -"For pity's sake!" cried Darry, in some impatience. "Don't be tied down -to that kid all the time. You'd think you were a grandmother." - -"Well, I like that!" exclaimed Jessie. "I'm not sure that I want to go -on your old yacht, Darry Drew." - -"Aw, Jess----" - -"Well, I'll think about it," murmured Jessie, relenting. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -HENRIETTA IN DISGRACE - - -Darry and Burd seemed to have little time to spend ashore these days. -They said that they had a lot to do to fix up the _Marigold_ for the -proposed trip seaward. But Amy accused them of being afraid of Belle -Ringold and Sally Moon. - -"Belle is determined that she shall get an invitation to sail aboard -your yacht, Darry," teased his sister. "Don't forget that." - -"Not if we see her first," responded Burd, promptly. "And don't -you ring her in on us, for if you do we'll not let you aboard the -_Marigold_ either. How about it, Darry?" - -"Good enough," agreed Amy's brother. - -"Oh, I promise not to ring Belle Ringold in on you," giggled Amy. - -"It is perfectly disgraceful how you boys teach these girls slang," -Mrs. Drew remarked with a sigh. - -"Why, Mother!" cried Darry, his eyes twinkling, "they teach it to us. -You accuse Burd an me wrongfully. We couldn't tell these girls a single -thing." - -This was at breakfast at the Norwood bungalow. After breakfast the -young folks separated. But Jessie and Amy had no complaint to make -about the boys. They had their own interests. This day they had agreed -to explore the island with Nell Stanley as far as the hotel grounds. - -They took Henrietta and Sally Stanley along, and carried a picnic -lunch. The older girls were rather curious to see the extent of -"Henrietta's domain," as Amy called it. The pastures included in -the Hackle Island Golf Club grounds covered all the middle of the -island, and consisted of hills and dells, all "up-and-down-dilly," Amy -observed, and from a distance, at least, seemed very attractive. - -Of course, they could not go fast with the two smaller girls along, -although Henrietta seemed tireless. - -"But Sally ain't a tough one, like me," declared the little girl who -thought she was going to own an island. She approved of Sally Stanley -very much, because the minister's little girl was dainty, and kept her -dresses clean, and was soft-spoken. "I got to run and holler once in a -while or I thinks I'm choking," confessed Henrietta. "But your mamma, -Miss Jessie, says I'll get over that after a while. She says I'll go to -school and learn a lot and that _maybe_ I'll be as nice as Sally some -day." - -"I hope you will," said Jessie warmly. - -"That's hardly to be expected," Henrietta rejoined in her old-fashioned -way. "Sally was born that way. But I always was a tough one." - -"There is a good deal in that," sighed Jessie to the other Roselawn -girls. "The poor little thing! She never did have a chance. But Momsy -is already talking about sending her away to school to have her toned -down and----" - -"Suppose the Blairs won't hear to it?" suggested Amy. - -"Leave it to Momsy to work things out her way," said Jessie, more gaily. - -They soon left the sand dunes behind them and marched up over what the -natives of the island called "the downs" to a scrubby pasture at the -edge of the golf links. Crossing the links watchfully they only had -to dodge a couple of times when the players called "Fore!" and so got -safely past the various greens and reached the patch of wood between -the club premises and the hotel grounds. - -There was a spring here which they had been told about, and it was near -enough noon for lunch to occupy an important place in their minds. They -spent an hour here; but after that, much as she had eaten, Henrietta -began to run around again. She could not keep still. - -Her voice was suddenly stilled and she halted in the path and stood -like a pointer flushing a covey of birds. The older girls were -surprised. Amy drawled: - -"What's the matter, Hen? You don't feel sick, do you?" - -"I hear something," declared Henrietta, her freckled face clouding. "I -hear somebody talk that I don't like." - -"Who is that?" asked Nell. - -"She makes me feel sick, all right," grumbled the little girl. -"Oh, yes! It's her. And if she says again that she owns my island, -I'll--I'll----" - -"Belle Ringold!" exclaimed Amy, much amused. "Can't we go anywhere -without Belle and Sally showing up?" - -The two girls whom they all considered so unpleasant appeared at the -top of the small hill and came down the path. They were rather absurdly -dressed for an outing. Certainly their frocks would have looked better -at dinner or at a dance than in the woods. And they strutted along as -though they quite well knew they had on their very best furbelows. - -"Oh, dear me! there's that awful child again," drawled Belle, before -she saw the older girls sitting at the spring. - -"She must be lost away up here," said Sally Moon, idly. "Say, kid, run -get this folding cup filled at the spring." - -"What for?" demanded Henrietta. - -"Why, so I can drink from it, foolish!" - -"You bring me a drink first," said the freckle-faced girl stoutly. -"Nobody didn't make me your servant to run your errands--so now!" - -"Listen to her!" laughed Belle. "She waits on Jess Norwood and Amy Drew -hand and foot. Of course she is a servant." - -"You ain't a servant when you wait on folks for _love_," declared -Henrietta, quickly. - -Amy clapped her hands together softly at this bit of philosophy. Jessie -stood up so that the girls from the hotel could see her. - -"Oh! Here's Jess Norwood now," cried Sally. "You might know!" - -Little Henrietta was backing away from the two newcomers, but eyeing -them with great disfavor. She suddenly demanded of Jessie: - -"Is this spring on a part of my land, Miss Jessie?" - -"It may be," said Amy, quickly answering before Jessie could do so. -"Like enough all this grove is yours, Hen." - -"Why," gasped Belle Ringold, "my father is just about to take -possession of this place. He is going to have surveyors come on the -island and survey it." - -"This is my woods!" cried Henrietta. "It's my spring! You sha'n't even -have a drink out of it--neither of you girls!" - -"What nonsense!" drawled Belle. "Who will stop us, please?" and she -came on down the path toward the spring. - -The other girls had now got up. Jessie tried to reach out and seize -Henrietta; but the latter was so angry that she jerked away. She stood -before Belle and Sally with flashing eyes and her hands clenched tight. - -"You go away! This is my woods and my spring! You sha'n't have a drink!" - -"The child is crazy," said Belle, harshly. "Let me pass, you mean -little thing!" - -At that Henrietta stooped and caught up dirt in each grubby hand. It -was a little damp where she stood, and the muck stuck to her palms. She -shrieked hatred and defiance at Belle and, running forward, smeared the -dirt all up and down the front of the rich girl's fine dress. - -Belle shrieked quite as loudly as the angry Henrietta and threatened -all manner of punishment. But she could not catch the freckled girl, -who was as wriggly as an eel. - -"I'll--I'll have you whipped! You ought to be spanked hard!" panted -Belle Ringold. "And it is your fault, Jess Norwood. You egged her on." - -"I did not," said Jessie, angrily. - -But she was vexed with Henrietta, too. She ran after and caught the -panting, sobbing little thing. She really was tempted to shake her. - -"What do you mean, Henrietta Haney, by acting this way and talking so? -Do you want to disgrace us all? For shame!" - -"I don't talk no worse than the Ringold one," declared Henrietta. - -Jessie tried a new tack. She said more quietly: "But _you_ know better, -Henrietta." - -"Yes, ma'am." - -"And perhaps she doesn't," ventured Jessie. - -"Well--er--she's got money," pouted Henrietta. "Why doesn't she hire -somebody to teach her better? You know I never did have any chance, -Miss Jessie." - -She felt she was in disgrace, however, and the older girls let her feel -this without compunction. Belle was frightfully angry about her frock. -She sputtered and threatened and called names that were not polite. -Finally Jessie said: - -"If you feel that way about it, Belle, send the dress to the cleaner's -and then send the bill to my mother. That is all I can say about it. -But I think you brought it on yourself by teasing Henrietta." - -In spite of this speech to Belle, Henrietta felt that she was in -disgrace as Jessie marched her away from the spring. Little Sally -Stanley came to her other side and squeezed Henrietta's dirty hand in -sympathy. - -"Huh!" snuffled Henrietta. "It's too bad you've got the same name as -that Moon girl, Sally. Why don't you ask the minister to change it for -you? He christens folks, doesn't he?" - -"Why, yes," murmured Sally, uncertainly. "But I was christened, you -know, oh, years and years ago." - -"That don't cut no ice," replied Henrietta, unconscious that her -language was not all it ought to be. "You just have him do it over -again. And don't be no 'Sally,' nor no more 'Belle.'" - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -"RADIO CONTROL" - - -Jessie Norwood had talked over the matter of the new super-regenerative -circuit with her father and had got him interested in the idea of using -one to improve their own radio receiving. It was not difficult to -interest Mr. Norwood in it, for he had become a radio enthusiast like -his daughter since the Roselawn girls had broken into the wireless game. - -With the large party now in the Norwood's bungalow in Station Island, -it was not convenient to use only the head-phones when the radio -concerts were to be received out of the ether. The two-step amplifier -Mr. Norwood had formerly bought did not always work well, especially, -for some unknown reason, since they had come to the seashore. - -In addition, the sounds through the horn seemed to be scratchy and -harsh, a good deal like the sounds from a poor talking machine. From -what Jessie had read, she understood that these harsh noises would -be obviated if the super-regenerative circuit was put in. Her father -had telegraphed for the material to build the super-regenerative and -amplifier circuit, and the material came by express the morning after -the picnic on which Henrietta had disgraced herself. - -"We will try the thing here on the island," Mr. Norwood said to Jessie. -"If it works here it will surely work back at Roselawn, for the -temperature, or humidity, or something, is different there from what it -is here. At least, so it seems to me, and the state of the air surely -influences radio." - -"Static," said Jessie, briefly, reading the instructions in the book. - -Amy, of course, was quite as interested in the new invention as her -chum; and Nell, too. But they were not so clear in their minds as was -Jessie about what should be done in building the new set. Jessie was -glad to have her father show so much interest, for he was eminently -practical, and when the girls were uncertain how to proceed it was nice -to have somebody like the lawyer to turn to. - -He even let Mr. Drew and the two mothers go on to the golf course that -day without him, while he gave his aid to the girls. The boys were -cleaning up the yacht in preparation for the voyage they expected to -make in a short time. - -Nell's Aunt Freda had arrived that morning, so the minister's daughter -did not have to worry at all about Bob and Fred and Sally. - -"And to help out," Amy said, with a giggle, "Henrietta is invited over -to the Stanley bungalow to play with little Sally." - -"I guess Aunt Freda will get along all right with them," observed Nell, -with some amusement. "But Fred pretty nearly floored her at the start. -She says it takes her several hours to get 'acclimated' when she comes -to our house." - -"What did Fred say--or do?" asked Jessie, interested. - -"There was something Aunt Freda advised him to do and he said he -would--'to-morrow.' - -"'Don't you know,'" she asked him, 'that "to-morrow never comes"?' - -"'Gee! and to-morrow's my birthday,' grumbled Fred. 'Now I suppose I -won't have any.'" - -"What kids they are!" gasped Amy, when she had recovered from her -laughter. "I don't know whether a younger brother is worse than an -older brother or not. I've had my troubles with Darrington," and she -sighed with mock seriousness. - -"Ha!" exclaimed Jessie. "I guess he's had his troubles with you. Do you -remember when you smeared your hands all up with chocolate cake and -tried to wipe them clean on Darry's new trousers?" - -Nell shouted with laughter at this revelation, but it did not trouble -Amy Drew in the least. - -"Yes," she admitted. "My taste in the art of dressing, you see, was -well developed even at that early age. Those trousers, I remember, -were of an atrocious pattern." - -"Nonsense!" cried Jessie. "They were Darry's first long pants, and you -were mad to think he was so much older than you that he could put on -men's clothes." - -"Dear me!" sighed Amy. "You make me out an awful creature, Jess -Norwood. But, never mind. Darry has paid me up and to spare for that -unladylike trick. He _has_ been a trial--and is so yet. He doesn't -know how to pick a decent necktie. His shirts--some of them--are so -loud that you can see him coming clear across The Green. Why! they -tell me that his shirts are as well known in New Haven, and almost as -prominently mentioned by the natives, as the Hartley Memorial Hall; and -almost _nobody_ gets away from the City of Elms without being obliged -to see that." - -"What a reckless talker you are, Amy!" Jessie said, smiling. "And I -will not hear you run Darry down. I think too much of him myself." - -"Don't let him guess it," said the absent Darry's sister, with a grin. -"It will spoil him--make him proud and hard to hold." - -"That's a good one!" laughed Nell. "You think Darry can be as easily -spoiled by praise as the Chinese servant Reverend tells about that he -had in California. This was before I was born. Father and mother got -a Coolie right at the dock. You could do that in those days. And John -scarcely knew a word of English, not even the pidgin variety. - -"But Reverend says that when John acquired a few English words he was -so proud that there was no holding him. He asked the name of every new -object he saw and mispronounced it usually in the most absurd manner. -Once John found a sparrow's nest in the grapevine and shuffled into -Reverend's study to tell him about it. - -"'Is there anything in the nest yet, John?' Reverend asked him. - -"'Yes,' the Chinaman declared, puffed up with his knowledge of the new -language, 'Spallow alle samme got pups.'" - -While they chattered and laughed the three girls were as busy as bees -with the new radio arrangement. Amy said that Jessie kept them so hard -at work that it did not seem at all as though they were "vacationing." -It was good, healthy work for all. - -"It does seem awfully quiet here without Hen," went on Amy, hammering -on a board with a heavy hammer and making the big room where the radio -set was, ring. "She keeps the place almost as tomb-like as a boiler -shop--what?" - -"You can make a little noise yourself," Jessie told her. "What's all -the hammering for?" - -"So things won't sound too tame. How are we getting on with the new -circuit?" - -"Why, Amy Drew! you just helped me place this vario-coupler. Didn't you -know what you were doing?" - -"Not a bit," confessed Amy. "You are away out of my depth, Jess. And -don't try to tell me what it all means, that's a dear. I never can -remember scientific terms." - -"Put up the hammer," said Nell, laughing. "You are a confirmed knocker, -anyway, Amy. But I admit I do not understand this tangle of wires." - -They did not seek to disconnect the old regenerative set that day, for -there was much of interest expected out of the ether before the day -was over. One particular thing Jessie looked for, but she had said -nothing about it to anybody save her very dearest chum, Amy, and the -clergyman's daughter, Nell. - -Two days before she had done some telephoning over the long-distance -wire. Of course there was a cable to the mainland from Station -Island, and Jessie had called up and interviewed Mark Stratford at -Stratfordtown. - -Mark was a college friend of Darry and Burd, but he was likewise a -very good friend of the Roselawn girls and he had reason for being. As -related in a previous volume, "The Radio Girls on the Program," Jessie -and Amy had found a watch Mark had lost, and as it was a valuable -watch and had been given him by his grandmother, Mark was very grateful. - -Through his influence--to a degree--Jessie and Amy had got on the -program at the Stratfordtown broadcasting station. And now Jessie had -talked with the young man and arranged for a surprise by radio that was -to come off that very evening at "bedtime story hour." - -Henrietta and little Sally and Bob and Fred Stanley, as well as some of -the other children of the bungalow colony, crowded into the house at -that time to "listen in" on the Roselawn girls' instrument. - -The amplifier worked all right that evening, and Jessie was very glad. -The little folks arranged themselves on the chairs and settees with -some little confusion while Jessie tuned the set to the Stratfordtown -length of wave. There was some static, but after a little that -disappeared and they waited for the announcement from the faraway -station. - -By and by, as Henrietta whispered, the radio began to "buzz." "Now -we'll get it!" cried the little Dogtown girl. "I hope it is about the -little boy with the rabbit ears that he could wiggle." - -"S-sh!" commanded Jessie, making a gesture for silence. - -And then out of the air came a deep voice: - -"We have with us this evening, children, the Radio Man, who, just like -Santa Claus, knows all our little shortcomings, as well as our virtues. -Have you all been good boys and girls to-day? Don't all say 'Yes' at -once. Better stop and think about it before you speak. - -"Before the bedtime story," went on the voice out of the horn, "the -Radio Man must tell some of you that you must take care, or you will -get on the black list. Here is a little girl, for instance, who may be -rich when she grows up. But she must have a care. People who grow up -rich and own islands must be very nice." - -"Oh! Oh! That's me!" gasped Henrietta. "How'd he know me?" - -"So I have to warn Henrietta, the little girl I speak of, that there is -a lot she must do if she wishes in time to enjoy the wealth which she -expects." - -At that the other children began to exclaim. It was Henrietta. They -almost drowned out the first of the bedtime story with their excited -voices. - -"Well," exclaimed Henrietta, "I guess everybody knows about my owning -this island, so that Ringold one needn't talk! But Miss Jessie's mother -told me what I had got to do to deserve my island." - -"What have you got to do?" asked Amy, curiously. "The Radio Man says -you must be good." - -"Miss Jessie's mother says I've got to make folks love me or I won't -enjoy my island at all--so now. But," she added confidentially, "I -don't believe I ever shall want that Ringold one and Sally Moon to love -me. Do you s'pose that's nec-sary?" - -After the children had gone the older girls discussed a point that Amy -brought up regarding the incident. Of course, Amy was in fun, for she -said: - -"Listen! Didn't I read something about 'radio control' in one of our -books, Jess? Well, there is an example of radio control--control of -children. Henrietta is going to remember that she is on the Radio Man's -list. She'll be good, all right!" - -Mr. Norwood laughed. "How do we know what great developments may -come within the next few years in the line of radio control? Already -the control of an aeroplane has been tried, and proved successful. A -submarine may be governed from the shore. The drive of a torpedo has -already been successfully handled by wireless. - -"In time, perhaps a farmer may sit before a keyboard in his office -and manage tractors plowing and cultivating his fields. Ships of all -descriptions will be managed by compass control. And automobiles----" - -"I hope Bill Brewster learns to handle his red car by wireless," -chuckled Amy. "It will then be less dangerous to himself and to his -friends, if not to pedestrians," and this quaint idea amused all the -Roselawn girls. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE TEMPEST - - -Jessie, Amy, and Nell had spied, on their hike and picnic, an inlet in -the shore of the island facing the mainland, on the sands of which were -several fish houses and several rowboats and small sailboats that the -girls were sure might be had for hire. - -"We might have shipped our new canoe down here and had some fun," Amy -said. "That bay is a wonderful place to sail in. Why, you can scarcely -see the port on the other side of it. And the island defends it from -the sea. It is as smooth as can be." - -Nell was very fond of rowing, and she expressed a wish that they might -go out in one of the open boats. She would row. So the three chums -escaped the younger children the next afternoon and slipped over to the -other side of the island, across the sand dunes. - -They found an old fisherman who was perfectly willing to hire them a -boat, and, really, it was not a bad boat, either. At least, it had been -washed out and the seats were clean. The oars were rather heavier than -Nell Stanley was used to. - -"You need heavy oars on this bay, young lady," declared the boat-owner. -"Nothing fancy does here. When a squall comes up----" - -"Oh, but you don't think it looks like a squall this afternoon, do -you?" Jessie interrupted. - -"Dunno. Can't tell. Ain't nothing sartain about it," said the -pessimistic old fellow. "Sometimes you get what you don't most expect -on this bay. I been here, man and boy, all my life, and I give you my -word I don't know nothing about the weather." - -"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Amy, under her breath. "What a Job's comforter -he is! Who ever heard of a fisherman before who didn't know all about -the weather?" - -"Maybe we had better not go far," Jessie, who was easily troubled, said -hesitatingly. - -"Come on," said Nell. "He just wants to keep us from going out far. He -is afraid for his old tub of a boat." - -She said this rather savagely, and Jessie thought it better to say -nothing more of a doubtful nature, having two against her. Besides, the -sky seemed quite clear and the bay was scarcely ruffled by the wind. - -The old man sat and smoked and watched them push off from the landing -without offering to help. He did not even offer to ship the rudder for -them, although that was a clumsy operation. When Jessie and Amy had -managed to secure it in place, while Nell settled herself at the oars, -the old man shouted: - -"That other thing in the bow is a anchor. You don't use that unless you -want to stay hitched somewhere. Understand?" - -"He must think we are very poor sailors," said Jessie. - -"I feel like making a face at him--as Henrietta does," declared Amy. "I -never saw such a cantankerous old man." - -Nell braced her feet and set to work. She was an athletic girl and she -loved exercise of all kind. But rowing, she admitted, was more to her -taste than sweeping and scrubbing. - -Amy steered. At least, she lounged in the stern with the lines across -her lap. Jessie had taken her place in the bow, to balance the boat. -They moved out from shore at a fine pace, and even Amy soon forgot the -grouchy old fisherman. - -There were not many boats on the bay that afternoon--not small boats, -at least. The steamer that plied between the port and the hotel landing -at the north of the island at regular hours passed in the distance. A -catboat swooped near the girls after a time, and a flaxen-haired boy in -it--a boy of about Darry Drew's age--shouted something to them. - -"I suppose it is something saucy," declared Amy. "But I didn't hear -what he said and sha'n't reply. I don't feel just like fighting with -strange boys to-day." - -Jessie was the first to see the voluminous clouds rising from the -horizon; but she thought little of them. The descending sun began to -wallow in them, and first the girls were in a patch of shadow, and then -in the sunlight. - -"Don't you want me to row some, Nell?" Jessie asked. - -"I'm doing fine," declared the clergyman's daughter. "But--but I guess -I am getting a blister. These old oars are heavy." - -"We ought to have made him give us two pairs," complained Amy. "Then -the two of you could row." - -"Listen to her!" cried Jessie. "She would never think of taking a turn -at them. Not Miss Drew!" - -"Oh, I am the captain," declared Amy. "And the captain never does -anything but steer." - -They had rowed by this time well up toward the northerly end of the -island. Hackle Island Hotel sprawled upon the bluff over their heads. -It was a big place, and the grounds about it were attractive. - -"I don't see Belle or Sally anywhere," drawled Amy. "And see! There -aren't many bathers down on this beach." - -"This is the still-water beach," explained Jessie. "I guess most of -them like the surf bathing on the other side." - -There were winding steps leading up the bluff to the hotel. Not many -people were on these steps, but the seabirds were flying wildly about -the steps and over the brow of the bluff. - -"Wonder what is going on over there?" drawled Amy, who faced the island -just then. - -Nell stopped rowing to look at the incipient blister on her left palm. -Jessie bent near to see it, too. Nobody was looking across the bay -toward the mainland. - -"You'd better let me take the oars," Jessie said. "You'll have all the -skin off your hand." - -"Why should you skin yours?" demanded Nell. "These old oars _are_ -heavy." - -"How dark it is getting!" drawled Amy. "Even the daylight saving time -ought not to be blamed for this." - -Jessie looked up, startled. Over the mainland a black cloud billowed, -and as she looked lightning whipped out of it and flashed for a moment -like a searchlight. - -"A thunderstorm is coming!" she cried. "We'd better turn back." - -But when Nell looked up and saw the coming tempest she knew she could -never row back to the inlet before the wind, at least, reached them. - -"We'll go right ashore," she said with confidence. - -"What do you say, Amy?" Jessie asked. - -"Far be it from me to interfere," said the other Roselawn girl, -carelessly, and without even turning around to look. "I'm in the boat -and will go wherever the boat goes." - -Nell, settling to the oars again with vigor, remarked: - -"One thing sure, we don't want the boat overturned and have to follow -it to the bottom. Oh! Hear that thunder, will you?" - -Amy woke up at last. She twitched about in the stern and stared at the -storm cloud. It was already raining over the port, and long streamers -of rain were being driven by the rising wind out over the bay. - -"Wonderful!" she murmured. - -"Where are you going, Nell?" suddenly shrieked Jessie. "The boat is -actually turning clear around!" - -"Don't blame me!" gasped Nell. "I am pulling straight on, but that -girl has twisted the rudder lines. Do see what you are about, Amy, and -please be careful!" - -"My goodness!" gasped the girl in the stern. "It's going to storm out -here, too." - -She frantically tried to untangle the rudder lines; but while she had -been lying idly there, she had twisted them together in a rope, and -she was unable to untwist them immediately. Meanwhile the thunder -rolled nearer, the lightning flashed more sharply, and they heard the -rain drumming on the surface of the water. Little froth-streaked waves -leaped up about the boat and all three of the girls realized that they -were in peril. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -FROM ONE THING TO ANOTHER - - -"Let 'em alone, Amy!" begged Jessie, from the bow. "You are only -twisting the boat's head around and making it harder for Nell to row." - -"I--could--do better--if the rudder was unshipped," declared Nell, -pantingly. - -Immediately Amy jerked the heavy rudder out of its sockets. Fortunately -she had got the lines over her head before doing this, or she might -have been carried overboard. - -For the rudder was too much for Amy. The rising waves tore it out of -her hands the instant it was loose, and away it went on a voyage of its -own. - -"There!" exclaimed Jessie, with exasperation. "What do you suppose that -grouchy old man will say when we bring him back his boat without the -rudder?" - -"He won't say so much as he would if we didn't bring him back his boat -at all," declared Amy. "I'll pay for the rudder." - -Jessie felt that the situation was far too serious for Amy to speak -so carelessly. She urged Nell to let her help with the oars; and, in -truth, the other found handling the two oars with the rising waves -cuffing them to and fro rather more than she had bargained for. - -Jessie shipped the starboard oar in the bow and together she and Nell -did their very best. But the wind swooped down upon them, tearing the -tops from the waves and saturating the three girls with spray. - -"I guess I know what that white-haired boy tried to tell us," gasped -Amy, from the stern. "He must have seen this thunderstorm coming." - -"All the other boats got ashore," panted Nell. "We were foolish not to -see." - -"Nobody on lookout--that's it!" groaned Amy. "Oh!" - -A streak of lightning seemed to cross the sky, and the thunder followed -almost instantly. Down came the rain--tempestuously. It drove over the -water, flattening the waves for a little, then making the sea boil. - -"Hurry up, girls!" wailed Amy. "Get ashore--do! I'm sopping wet." - -Jessie and Nell had no breath with which to reply to her. They were -pulling at the top of their strength. The shore was not far away in -reality. But it seemed a long way to pull with those heavy oars. - -The rain swept landward and drove everybody, even the few bathers, to -cover. The shallow water was torn again into whitecaps and a lot of -spray came inboard as Jessie and Nell tried their very best to reach -the strand. - -Amy could do nothing but encourage them. There was no way by which she -might aid their escape from the tempest. One thing, she did nothing to -hinder! Even she was in no mood for "making fun." - -In fact, this tempest was an experience such as none of the three girls -had seen before. Jessie and Nell were well-nigh breathless and their -arms and shoulders began to ache. - -"Let me exchange with one of you, Nell! Jess!" cried Amy, her voice -half drowned by the noise of wind and rain. - -"Stay where you are!" commanded Jessie, from the bow, as her chum -started to come forward. "You might tip us over!" - -"Sit down!" sang the cheerful Nell. "Sit down, you're rocking the boat!" - -"But I want to help!" complained Amy. - -"You did your helping when you got rid of that rudder," returned Nell, -comfortingly. "Do be still, Amy Drew!" - -"How can one be still in such a jerky, pitching boat?" gasped the other -girl. "Do--do you think you can reach land, Jessie Norwood?" - -"I've hopes of it," responded her chum. "It isn't very far." - -"I wonder how far it is to--to land underneath the keel?" sputtered Amy. - -"For pity's sake stop that!" cried Nell Stanley. "Don't suggest such -gloomy and gruesome things." - -"Well," grumbled Amy, "I believe it's the nearest land." - -"I shouldn't be surprised," panted Jessie. "But don't talk about it, -Amy." - -The rain swept over and past the small boat in such heavy sheets that -finally the girls could scarcely see the shore at all. Amy found -something to do--and something of importance. Although not much water -slopped into the boat over the sides, the rain itself began to fill the -bottom. The water was soon ankle deep. - -"Bail it! Bail it!" shouted Nell. - -"Oh! is that what the tin dipper is for?" gasped Amy. "I--I thought it -was to drink out of." - -Afterward "Amy's drinking cup" made a joke, but just then nobody -laughed at the girl's mistake. She set to work with vigor to bail out -the boat, and kept it up "for hours and hours" she declared, though the -others insisted it was "minutes and minutes." - -At last they reached the strand. - -One of the bathing house men ran out to help pull the bow of the boat -up on the sands. - -"Run along up to the hotel!" he cried. "There is no good shelter down -here for you." - -The moment they could do so the three girls leaped ashore. Thus -relieved of their weight, the boat was the more easily dragged out of -the reach of the waves, which now began to roll in madly. The lightning -increased in its intensity, the thunder reverberated from the bluff. -The tempest was at its height when they hastened to mount the winding -wooden stair. - -"Oh, my blister! Oh, my blister!" moaned Nell, as she climbed upward. - -"Everything I've got on sticks to me like a twin sister," declared Amy -Drew. "Oh, dear! How shall we ever get home in these soaked rags?" - -"We must go to the hotel," cried Jessie. "Come on." - -She was the first to reach the top of the stairs. There was a garden -and lawn to cross to reach the veranda. As the rain was beating in from -this direction none of the hotel guests was on this side of the house. -The three wet girls ran as hard as they could for shelter. - -Just as Jessie, leading the trio, came up the Veranda steps, she heard -a loud and harsh voice exclaim: - -"Well of all things! I'd like to know what you think you are doing -here? You have no business at this hotel. Go away!" - -Jessie almost stopped, and Amy and Nell ran into her. - -"Oh, do go on!" cried Amy. "Let us get inside somewhere----" - -"Well, I should say _not_!" broke out the harsh voice again, and the -three Roselawn girls beheld Belle Ringold and Sally Moon confronting -them on the piazza. "Just look at what wants to get into the hotel, -Sally! Did you ever?" - -"They look like beggars," laughed Sally. "The manager would give them -marching orders in a hurry, I guess." - -"Do let us in out of the rain," Jessie said faintly. She did not know -but perhaps the hotel people would object to strangers coming inside. -But Amy demanded: - -"What do you think you have to say about it, Belle Ringold? Is this -something more that you or your folks own? Do go along, Belle, and let -us pass." - -"Not much; you won't come in here!" declared Belle, setting herself -squarely in their way. "No, you don't! That door's locked, anyway. It -belongs to Mrs. Olliver's private suite--Mrs. Purdy Olliver, of New -York. I am sure she won't want you bedrabbled objects hanging around -her windows." - -"Go around to the kitchen door," said Sally Moon, laughing. "That is -where you look as though you belonged." - -"Oh, that's good, Sally!" cried Belle. "Ex-act-ly! The kitchen door!" - -At that moment another flash of lightning and burst of thunder made the -two unpleasant girls from New Melford cringe and shriek aloud. They -backed against the closed door Belle had mentioned as being the wealthy -Mrs. Olliver's private entrance. - -Amy and Nell screamed, too, and the three wet girls clung together for -a moment. The rain came with a rush into the open porch, and if they -could be more saturated than they were, this blast of rain would have -done it. - -"We have got to get under shelter!" shouted Jessie, and dragged her two -friends farther into the veranda. Belle and Sally might have been mean -enough to try to drive them back, but at this point somebody interfered. - -A long window, like a door, opened and a lady looked out, shielding -herself from the wind by holding the glass door. - -"Girls! Girls!" she cried. "You will be drowned out there. Come right -in." - -"Fine!" gasped Amy, not at all under her breath. "Belle doesn't own the -hotel, after all!" - -"It's Mrs. Olliver!" exclaimed Sally Moon in a shrill voice, as she and -Belle came out of retirement and likewise approached the open window. - -"Come right in here," said the lady, cheerfully as Jessie and her -friends approached. "You are three very plucky girls. I saw you out in -your boat when the storm struck you. Come in and I'll have my maid find -you something dry to put on." - -"Oh, fine!" sighed Amy again. - -The trio of storm-beaten girls hastened in out of the wind and rain; -but when Belle and Sally would have followed, Mrs. Olliver stopped them -firmly. - -"Don't you belong in the hotel?" she asked. "Then go around to the main -entrance if you wish to come in. You are at home." - -She actually closed the French window--but gently--in the faces of the -bold duo. Amy, at least, was vastly amused. She winked wickedly at -Jessie and Nell Stanley. - -"This will break Belle's heart," she whispered. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -BOUND OUT - - -Jessie thought that the very wealthy Mrs. Purdy Olliver was no -different from Momsy or Mrs. Drew or Nell's Aunt Freda. She was just -polite and kind. Secretly the girls from Roselawn thought the lady was -very different from Belle's mother and Mrs. Moon. Perhaps that fact was -one reason why the unpleasant Belle Ringold had spoken in some awe of -the New York woman. - -She had a really wonderful suite at the Hackle Island Hotel, for she -had furnished it herself and came here every year, she told her young -visitors. There was a lovely big bath room with both a tub and a Roman -shower. - -"Though, you can believe me," said Amy, "I don't have any idea that -many of the old Romans had baths like this. It was 'the great unwashed' -that supported Cæsar. 'Roman bath' is only a name." - -"Wrong! Not about Cæsar's crowd, but about the Romans in general as -bathers," answered Jessie. "Read your Roman history, girl. Or if not -that--and you won't--some historical novels." - -"Humph!" sniffed Amy, but made no further reply. - -The girls laughingly disrobed and tried the shower, while the maid -dried their outer clothing, furnishing each of the guests with kimono -or negligee. Then they came out into Mrs. Olliver's living room and -took tea with her. - -They did not get their own clothes back until nearly six o'clock, and -saw nothing of Belle and Sally when they came out of the hotel. Perhaps -that was because they left by Mrs. Olliver's private door and ran right -down the steps to the beach where they had left the boat. - -The kind woman had asked them to come and see her again, and was -especially cordial when she knew that Jessie was the daughter of the -Mrs. Norwood who had been chairman of the foundation fund committee of -the Women's and Children's Hospital of New Melford. - -"I think that idea of having a radio concert by which to raise funds -for the hospital was unusually good," the New York woman said. "It was -the first thing that interested me in radio-telephony. I mean to have -a set put in here soon. There is a big one in the hotel foyer, but it -does not work perfectly at all times." - -"Dear me," said Nell, as the girls descended to the beach, "you run -into radio fans everywhere, don't you? How interesting!" - -The boat was all right, only half filled with water. The bathhouse man -came and turned the craft over for them and emptied it. Jessie thanked -and tipped him and he pushed them off. Jessie and Amy each took an oar -and made Nell sit in the stern and nurse her blister. - -"It really is something of a blister," Amy remarked, looking at it -carefully. - -"There's water in it already, and it hurts!" wailed the clergyman's -daughter. - -"I see the water," declared Amy. "It may be an ever-living spring -there. You know, people have water on the brain and water on the knee; -but seems to me a spring in your hand must be lots worse." - -"You never will be serious," said Nell, half laughing. "If the blister -was on your hand----" - -"Don't say a word! I think I shall have one before we reach the -landing," declared Amy. "And, girls, what do you suppose that grouchy -old fisherman will say when he sees we lost his rudder?" - -"He won't see that," replied Jessie. - -"What! Why, listen to her!" gasped Amy. "Is she going to try to get -away before he misses the rudder?" - -"Not at all," returned her chum calmly, while Nell began to laugh. "It -was _you_ who lost the rudder, Amy Drew. Nell and I had nothing to do -with that crime." - -"Ouch!" cried Amy. "I wouldn't have lost it if it hadn't been for the -thunderstorm coming down on us so suddenly. And that old fellow didn't -warn us of any squall." - -"He warned us that squalls were prevalent on the bay," replied Nell. -"He said he knew nothing about the weather. And I guess he told the -truth." - -"There is a great lack of unanimity in this trio," complained Amy. "If -I lost the rudder, didn't we all lose it?" - -When they reached the inlet, however, the old fisherman was just as -surprising as he had been in the first place. - -"Don't blame me," he said when the girls came ashore. "I told you I -didn't know anything about the weather. I wouldn't have been surprised -if you'd lost the boat." - -"We only lost a part of it," said Amy quickly. "The rudder." - -"Well, it wasn't much good. I can find another around somewhere. Lucky -to get the hull of the boat back, I am." - -"You didn't get the whole of it back, I tell you," said Amy, soberly. - -He blinked at her, and without even a smile, said: - -"Oh! You mean that for a joke, do you? Well, I don't understand jokes -any more than I do the weather. No, you needn't pay me for the rudder. -'Tain't nothing." - -The trio had a good deal to talk about when they got home, but Darry -and Burd came in at dinner with the news that the _Marigold_ was all -ready for sea and that they would get under way right after breakfast -the next morning. - -Dr. Stanley and his daughter and Jessie and Amy were to be the boys' -guests on this trip, and the idea was to go along the coast as far as -Boston and return. Mrs. Norwood had become used by this time to the -boys going back and forth in the yacht and after her own voyage down to -the island had forgotten her fears for the young folks. - -"I am sure Darry will not expose the girls to danger," she said to her -husband. "But I am glad Dr. Stanley is going with them. He has such -good sense." - -Henrietta wanted to go along. She did not see why she could not go on -the yacht if "Miss Jessie and Miss Amy" were going. She might have -whined a bit about it, if it had not been that she was reminded of the -Radio Man. - -"You want to look out," Amy advised her. "You know the Radio Man is -watching you and like enough he'll tell everybody just how bad you -are." - -"Gee!" sighed Henrietta. "It's awful to be responsible for owning an -island, ain't it?" - -The girls were eager to be off in the morning and they scurried around -and packed their overnight bags and discussed what they should wear for -two hours before breakfast. Burd was not to be hurried at his morning -meal. - -"No knowing what we may get aboard ship," he grumbled. "If it comes up -rough there may be no chance at all to eat properly." - -"Now, Burd Alling!" exclaimed Amy. "How can you?" - -"How can I eat? Perfectly. Got teeth and a palate for that enjoyment." - -"But don't suggest that we may have bad weather. After that tempest -yesterday----" - -"You'll have no hotel to run to if we get squally weather," laughed her -brother. "I think, however, that after that shower we should have clear -weather for some time. Don't let the 'Burd Alling Blues' bother you." - -"Anyway," said Jessie, scooping out her iced melon with some gusto, "we -have a radio on board and we can send an S O S if we get into trouble, -can't we?" - -"Come to think of it," said Darry, "that old radio hasn't been working -any too well. You will have to give it the once over, Jess, when you -get aboard." - -This made Jessie all the more eager to embark on the yacht. She was so -much interested in radio that she wanted, as Amy said, to be "fooling -with it all of the time!" - -But when they got under way and the _Marigold_ steamed out to sea there -were so many other things to see and to be interested in that the girls -forgot all about the radio for the time being, in the mere joy of being -alive. - -Darry had shipped a cook; but the boys had to do a good deal of the -deck work to relieve the forecastle hands. Stoking the furnace to keep -up steam was no small job. The engines of the _Marigold_ were old and, -as Skipper Pandrick said, "were hogs for steam." To tell the truth the -boilers leaked and so did the cylinders. The boys had had trouble with -the machinery ever since Darry had put the _Marigold_ into commission. -But the young owner did not want to go to the expense of getting new -driving gear for the yacht. And, after all, the trouble did not seem to -be serious. - -The speed of the boat, however, was all the girls and other guests -expected. The sea was smooth and blue, the wind was fair, the sun shone -warmly, and altogether it was a charming day. Nobody expected trouble -when everything was so calm and blissful. - -But some time before evening haze gathered along the sealine and hid -the main shore and Hackle Island, too. Nobody expected a sea spell, -however, from this mild warning--not even Skipper Pandrick. - -"This is a time of light airs, if unsettled," he said. "Thunderstorms -ashore don't often bother ships at sea. There's lightning in them -clouds without a doubt, but like enough we won't know anything about -it." - -It was true the _Marigold's_ company was not disturbed in the least -during the evening. After dinner the heavy mist drove them below and -they played games, turned on the talking machine, and sang songs until -bedtime. Sometime in the night Jessie woke up enough to realize that -there was an unfamiliar noise near. - -"Do you hear it?" she demanded, poking Amy in the berth over her head. - -"Hear what?" snapped Amy. "I do wish you would let me sleep. I was a -thousand miles deep in it. What's the noise?" - -"Why," explained Jessie, puzzled, "it sounds like a cow." - -"Cow? Huh! I hope it's a contented cow, I do, or else the milk may not -be good for your coffee." - -"She doesn't sound contented," murmured Jessie. "Listen!" - -The silence outside the port-light was shattered by a mournful, -stuttering sound. Nell Stanley sat up suddenly on the couch across the -stateroom and blinked her eyes. - -"Oh, mercy!" she gasped. "There must be a terrible fog." - -"Fog?" squealed Amy. "And Jessie was telling me there was a cow aboard. -Is that the foghorn? Well, make up your mind, Jess, you'll get no milk -from that animal." - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -SOMETHING SERIOUS - - -The three girls did not sleep much after that. The grumbling, -stuttering notes of the foot-power horn seemed to fill all the air -about the _Marigold_. Darry told them at breakfast that he used this -old-fashioned horn on the yacht because it took too much steam if they -used the regular horn. - -"This is a great old tub," complained Burd, who had spent the previous -hour at the device. "She makes only steam enough to blow the horn when -you stop the engines. Great! Great!" - -"You'd kick if you were going to be hung," observed his chum. - -"Might as well be hung as sentenced to the treadmill. I suppose I have -to go back and step on the tail of that horn after breakfast?" - -"You'll take your turn if the fog does not lift." - -"What could be sweeter!" grumbled Burd, and fell to on the viands -before him with a just appreciation of the time vouchsafed him for the -meal. Burd's appetite never failed. - -The fog, however, lifted. But it was a gray day and the girls looked -upon the vessels which appeared out of the mist about them with an -interest which was half fearful. - -"Suppose one of those _had_ run into us?" suggested Jessie. "And there -is a great liner off yonder. Why, if that had bumped us we must have -been sunk----" - -"Without trace," finished Amy, briskly. "The old cow's mooing did some -good, I guess, Jess," and she chuckled. - -She had told the boys about her chum thinking there must be a cow -aboard in the night, and of course they all teased Jessie a good deal -about it. She laughed with them at herself, however. Jessie Norwood was -no spoil-sport. - -The _Marigold_ steamed into the east all that afternoon. But the -weather did not improve. The hopes of a fair trip were gradually -dissipated, and even the skipper looked about the horizon and shook his -head. - -"Seems as though there was plenty of wind coming, Mr. Darrington," he -said to the owner of the yacht. "If these friends of yours are easily -made sea-sick, we'd better get into shelter somewhere." - -"Where'll we go?" demanded Darry. "Here we are off Montauk." - -"With the direction the wind is going to blow when she gets going, we'd -better run for the New Harbor at Block Island and get in through the -breech there. It'll be calm as a millpond, once we're inside." - -When Darry asked the others, however, the consensus of opinion was that -they keep on for Boston. - -"Can't we take the inside passage--go through the Cape Cod Canal?" -asked Dr. Stanley. "That should eliminate all danger." - -"Oh, there's no danger," Darry said. "The yacht is as seaworthy as can -be. But I don't want any of you to be uncomfortable." - -"I'm a good sailor," declared Nell. - -"You know Jess and I are used to the water," Amy hastened to say. "Let -us go on, Darry." - -But the wind sprang up a little later and began to blow fitfully. The -skipper considered it safer to keep well out to sea. Inshore waters are -often dangerous even for a craft of as light draught as the _Marigold_. - -The crowd sat on deck, keeping as much as possible in the shelter of -the deckhouse, and were just as jolly as though there was no such thing -on the whole ocean as a storm. Dr. Stanley told them several of his -funny stories, and amused the young folks immensely. - -In the midst of the general hilarity Nell went below for something. -She was gone for some minutes and Jessie, at least, began to wonder -where she was when she saw Nell's hand beckoning to her from an open -stateroom window. Jessie got up and moved toward the place, wondering -what the doctor's daughter had discovered that so excited her. - -"What is it, Nell?" Jess whispered. - -"Come down here--do!" exclaimed the other girl, her tone half muffled. - -"What is the matter?" Jessie exclaimed, in wonder. - -But she slipped around to the other side of the cabin, faced the gale, -and reached the companionway. She darted down, being careful to shut -tight the slide behind her. Already the waves were buffeting the small -yacht and spray was dashing in over the weather rail. - -Jessie found some difficulty in keeping her feet in the close cabin. -It was so dark outside that the interior of the yacht was gloomy. She -groped her way to their stateroom, which was the biggest aboard. - -"What is the matter, Nell?" demanded Jessie, pushing open the door and -peering in. - -Nell Stanley's face was white. She stood by the open window. At -Jessie's appearance she began to sob and tremble. - -"I--I'm so frightened, Jess!" she gasped. - -"Why, you silly! I thought you said you were a good sailor?" - -"It isn't that," Nell told her. "Don't--don't you smell it?" - -"Don't I smell what?" - -"Come in and shut the door. Now smell--smell _hard_!" - -Jessie began to giggle. "What do you mean? Why! I see a little haze of -smoke by the window. Do I, or don't I?" - -"I opened the window to let it out. But--but it comes more and more, -Jessie," stammered the clergyman's daughter. "I believe the yacht is on -fire, Jessie!" - -"Oh! Don't say that!" murmured Jessie Norwood, suddenly frightened -herself. - -"When I came in the room was full of smoke and--don't you smell it?" - -"It doesn't smell very nice," admitted her friend. "Where does the -smoke come from? Where _can_ it come from?" - -"It must come from below--from the hold under us." - -"But what can be burning? This is not a cargo boat," said the puzzled -Jessie. "We don't want to frighten them all, especially if it amounts -to nothing." - -"I know. That is why I called you first," Nell declared, anxiously. -"I--I wasn't sure." - -"Well, I am sure of one thing," said Jessie confidently. - -"What is that?" - -"This is a very serious thing if it _is_ serious. We must tell Skipper -Pandrick at once. Let him decide what is to be done." - -"You wouldn't tell Darry?" - -"The skipper is responsible. We won't frighten the boys if we don't -need to," and Jessie tried to open the door again. "Come on. Don't stay -here and get asphyxiated." - -"It is all right with the window open," said Nell. - -She turned to follow her chum and saw Jessie tugging at the door-knob -and stopped, amazed. The other girl used both hands, but could not turn -the knob. She tugged with all her strength. - -"Why, Jessie Norwood! what is the matter with it?" whispered Nell, -anxiously. - -"The mean old thing won't open! It's a spring lock. How did it get -locked this way, do you suppose?" - -"You slammed it when you came in, Jess," Nell said. "But I had no idea -that it could be locked that way. Especially from the outside. Oh, -dear! Shall I shout for one of the boys? Shall I?" - -"Don't!" gasped Jessie, still struggling with the door-knob. "Don't you -know if one of them comes here and sees this smoke, everybody will know -it?" - -"They'll have to know it pretty soon," said Nell. "The smoke is coming -in all the time, Jess." - -Jessie could see that well enough. She shrank from creating a panic -aboard the yacht, realizing fully what a terrible thing a fire at sea -can be. If this hovering fog of smoke meant nothing serious, their -outcry for help at the stateroom window would create trouble--maybe -serious trouble. Jessie had the right idea, if she could but carry it -out--to tell the sailing master of the yacht, and only him. - -The brass knob seemed as firmly fixed in place as though it had never -been moved since it came from the shop. Jessie, at last, came away from -it. She peered out of the small window. If she could only catch the -skipper's eye! - -But she could not. At that moment there was not a soul in sight from -the window. She saw sea and sky, and that was all. - -"Oh dear, Jess!" murmured Nell Stanley, at last giving way to fear. -"What shall we do? We'll be burned up in here!" - -"Don't talk so, Nell!" commanded Jessie. "Do you want to scare me to -death?" - -"It's enough to scare anybody to death," proclaimed the minister's -daughter. "I'm going to scream for father." - -"You'll do nothing of the kind!" her friend declared. "Shrieking about -this will do no good, and may do harm. Can't you see----" - -"Not much, with all this smoke in my eyes," grumbled Nell. - -"Don't be a goose! If we yell, everybody will come running, and will -get excited when they see the smoke." - -"But, Jess," Nell said very sensibly, "all the time we delay the fire -is gathering headway." - -"If it _is_ a fire." - -"Goodness me! Where there's so much smoke there must be fire. How you -talk!" - -"I don't want to be shown up as a 'fraid cat and a killjoy," cried -Jessie. "The boys are always laughing at us, anyway, because we get -scared at little things--mice, and falling overboard, and a puff of -wind. I am deadly sick of hearing: 'Isn't that just like a girl?' So -there!" - -"Well, for pity's sake!" gasped the clergyman's daughter. "That _is_ -just like a girl! Afraid of what boys will say of one! Not me!" - -"Girls ought to be just as fearless as boys, and have as much -initiative. Now, Nell Stanley, suppose Darry and Burd were shut up in -this stateroom under these circumstances. What do you suppose they -would do?" - -Nell laughed aloud, serious as the situation was. "I guess Burd would -put his head out of that window and bawl for help." - -"Darry wouldn't," declared Jessie, firmly. "He would know what to do. -He would realize that it would not do to start a panic." - -"But if the door has been locked on us?" - -"Darry would know what to do with that old lock. He'd--he'd find a way. -Find out what the matter with it was." - -Jessie sprang at the door again. She stooped down and looked at the -under side of the brass lock. Then she uttered a shrill squeal of -delight. - -"What is it now?" gasped Nell. - -"I've got it! There is a snap here that holds the knob so you can't -turn it! I must have snapped it when I came in!" She jerked the door -open and ran. "Come on, Nell!" - -"Well, of all things!" gasped her friend. - -But she followed her friend out of the stateroom. They ran as well as -they could through the cabin and got out upon the open deck. Skipper -Pandrick, in glistening oilskins and sou'wester was far aft with his -glasses to his eyes. He was watching a dark spot upon the stormy -horizon that might have been steamer smoke, or a gathering storm cloud. - -The girls ran up to him, but Jessie pulled Nell's sleeve to admonish -her to say nothing that might be overheard by the other passengers. - -"What's doing, young ladies?" asked the skipper, curiously, seeing -their flushed and excited faces. - -"Will--will you come below--to our stateroom--for a moment, Mr. -Pandrick?" stammered Jessie. "There is something we want to show you. -It is really something serious. Please come below at once." - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -WORK FOR ALL - - -The skipper looked rather queerly at the two excited girls, but he went -below with them without further objection. In fact, Skipper Pandrick -was a man of very few words: he proved this when Nell opened the -stateroom door and he saw the smoke swirling about the apartment. - -"I reckon you girls ain't been smoking in here," he said grimly. "Then -I reckon that smoke comes from below." - -"Is the ship really on fire?" gasped Jessie. - -"Something's afire, sure as you're a foot high," said the skipper -vigorously, and stormed out of the stateroom and out of the cabin. - -There was a hatch in the main deck amidships. He called two of the men -and had it raised. The passengers as yet had no idea that anything was -wrong, for Jessie and Nell kept away from them. - -But they watched what the skipper did. He had brought an electric -pocket torch from below and he flashed this before him as he descended -the iron ladder into the hold. Almost at once, however, a whiff of -smoke rose through the open hatchway. - -"Glory be, Tom!" said one sailor to his mate. "What do you make of -that?" - -"You can't make nothing of smoke, _but_ smoke," returned the other man. -"It's just as useless as a pig's squeal is to the butcher." - -But Jessie believed that the incident called for no humor. If there was -a fire below---- - -"Hi, you boys!" came the muffled voice of Skipper Pandrick from below, -"couple on the pump-line and send the nozzle end below. There's -something here, sure enough." - -As he said this another balloon of smoke floated up through the open -hatch. It was seen from the station of the passengers. Darry jumped up -and ran to the hatchway. - -"What's he doing? Smoking down there?" he demanded. - -"It's sure a bad cigar, boss, if he's smoking it," said one of the men, -grinning. - -"Oh, Darryl" gasped Jessie. "The yacht is on fire!" - -"Nonsense!" exclaimed the young man, rather impolitely it must be -confessed. - -He started to descend into the hold. The skipper's voice rose out of it: - -"Get away from there! This ain't any place for you, Mr. Darry. Hustle -that pipe-line." - -"Is it serious, Skipper?" demanded the young collegian, anxiously. - -"I don't know how bad it is yet. Tell the helmsman to head nor'east. -Maybe we'd better make for some anchorage, after all." - -Darry ran to the wheelhouse. The other passengers began to get excited. -Nell ran to her father and told him what she had first discovered. - -"Well, having discovered the fire in time, undoubtedly they will be -able to put it out," said Dr. Stanley, comfortingly. - -But this did not prove to be easy. Skipper Pandrick had to come up -after a while for a breath of cool air and to remove his oilskins. -Darry and Burd got into overalls and helped in handling the hose. The -steam needed to work the pump, however, brought the engines down to a -very slow movement. The _Marigold_ scarcely kept her headway. - -The fire, which had undoubtedly been smouldering a long time, was -obstinate. The water the skipper and his helpers poured upon it raised -the level of water in the bilge until Darry declared he feared the -yacht would be water-logged. - -Meanwhile the wind grew in savageness. Instead of being gusty, it blew -more and more violently out of the northeast. When the helmsman tried -to head into it, under the skipper's relayed instructions by Darry, the -lack of steam kept the old _Marigold_ marking time instead of forging -ahead. - -"If we have to put the steam to the pump to clear the bilge after -this," grumbled the pessimistic Burd, "we'll never reach any shelter. -Might as well run for the Bermudas." - -"Won't that be fine!" cried Amy. "I have always wanted to go to the -Bermudas, and we've never gone." - -"Fine girl, you," retorted Burd. "You don't know when you are in -danger." - -"Fire's out!" announced Amy. "The skipper says so. And I am not afraid -of a capful of wind." - -There was more danger, however, than the girls imagined. The water -that had been poured into the yacht's hold did not make her any more -seaworthy. It was necessary to start the pump to try to clear the hold. - -The clapperty-clap; clapperty-clap! of the pump and the water swishing -across the deck to be vomited out of the hawse holes was nothing to add -to the passengers' feelings of confidence. Besides, the water came very -clear, and at its appearance the skipper looked doleful. - -"What's the matter, Skipper?" asked Darry, seeing quickly that -something was still troubling the old man. - -"Why, Mr. Darry, that don't look good to me and that's a fact," the -sailing master said. - -"Why not? The pump is clearing her fast." - -"Is it?" grumbled Pandrick, shaking his head. - -"Of course it is!" exclaimed Darry, with some exasperation. "Don't be -an Old Man of the Sea." - -"That's exactly what I am, Mr. Darry," said the skipper. "I'm so old a -hand at sea that I'm always looking for trouble. I confess it. And I -see trouble--and work for all hands--right here." - -"What do you mean?" asked Jessie, who chanced to be by. "The pump works -all right just as Darry says, doesn't it?" - -"But, by gorry!" ejaculated the skipper, "it looks as though we were -just pumping the whole Atlantic through her seams." - -"Goodness! What do you mean?" Jessie demanded. - -"You think she is leaking?" asked Darry, in some trouble. - -"Bilge ain't clean water like that," answered Pandrick. "That's as -clear as the sea itself. Mind you! I don't say she leaks more'n enough -to keep her sweet. But if those pumps don't suck purt' soon, I shall -have my suspicions." - -"Darry!" ejaculated Jessie, "your yacht is falling apart. What are we -going to do?" - -"I don't believe it," muttered Darry. - -He had, however, to admit it after a time. It seemed as though the -_Marigold_ were suffering one misfortune after another. The fire, which -might have been very serious, was extinguished; but the yacht lay deep -in the troubled sea, rolling heavily, and the water pumped through the -pipe was plainly seeping in through the seams of her hull. - -"Goodness me! shall we have to take to the boat and the life raft?" -demanded Amy. - -It was scarcely possible to joke much about the situation. Even Amy -Drew's "famous line of light conversation" could not keep up their -spirits. - -The wind continued to blow harder and harder. The yacht could no longer -head into it. Dr. Stanley looked grave. Nell, first frightened by her -discovery of the fire in the hold, was now in tears. - -To add to the seriousness of the situation, there was not another -vessel in sight. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -A RADIO CALL THAT FAILED - - -"Of course," Amy said composedly, "if worse comes to worst, we can send -the news by radio that the yacht is sinking and bring to our rescue -somebody--somebody----" - -"Yes, we can!" exclaimed Burd Alling. "A revenue cutter, I suppose? -Don't you suppose the United States Government has anything better to -do than to look out for people who don't know enough to look out for -themselves?" - -"That seems to be the Government's mission a good deal of the time," -replied Dr. Stanley, with a smile. "But you don't think it will -be necessary to call for help, do you, Darrington?" he asked the -sober-looking owner of the yacht. - -"Well, the fire's out, that's sure----" - -"You bet it is!" growled Burd. "It had to be out, there's so much water -in the hold." - -"But we are not sinking!" cried Amy. - -"Lucky we're not," said Burd. "The radio doesn't work." - -"Why, how you talk," Nell said admonishingly. "You would scare us if -we did not know you so well, Burd." - -"You don't know the half of it!" exclaimed the young fellow. "Fuel is -getting low, too. Skipper wants us to work the pump by hand. That means -Darry and me to 'man the pumps.'" - -"And we can help," said Jessie, cheerfully. "If the skipper thinks he -needs to make more steam for the engines, why can't we all take turns -at the pump?" - -"Sounds like a real shipwreck story," her chum observed, but doubtfully. - -"It will cause a mutiny," declared Burd. "I didn't ship on the -_Marigold_ to work like Old Bowser on the treadmill. And that is about -how I feel." - -"You can get out and walk if you don't like it," Darry reminded him. - -"And I suppose you think I wouldn't. For two cents----" - -Just then the yacht pitched sharply and Burd almost lost his footing. -The waves were really boisterous and occasionally a squall of rain -swooped down and, with the spray, wet the entire deck and those upon it. - -Jessie was not greatly afraid of the elements or of what they could -do to the yacht. But she was made anxious by the repetition of the -statement that the radio was out of order. Originally the _Marigold_ -had had a small wireless plant, with storage batteries. Signals by -Morse could be exchanged with other ships and with stations ashore -within a limited distance. - -But when Darry had bought the radio receiving set he had disconnected -the broadcasting machine and linked up the regenerative circuit with -the stationary batteries. As he had explained to Jessie, both systems -could not be used at once. - -They had found that neither the receiving set nor the old wireless set -worked well. It looked as though the boys had overlooked something in -rigging the new set and the radio girls quite realized that in this -emergency a general and perhaps a thorough overhauling of the wires and -connections would be necessary to discover just where the fault lay. - -Jessie called Amy, and they went up into the little wireless room -behind the wheelhouse where everything about the plant but the -batteries were in place. This was a very different outfit from that in -the great station at the old lighthouse on Station Island, which they -had visited several days before. - -"If we only knew as much as that operator does about wireless," sighed -Jessie to her chum, "there might be some hope of our untangling all -this and finding out the trouble." - -"He said he had been five years at it and didn't know so very much," -Amy reminded her dryly. - -"Oh, there will always be something new to learn about radio, -of course," her chum agreed. "But if we had his training in the -fundamentals of radio, we would be equipped to handle such a mess as -this. To tell you the truth, Amy, I think these two boys have made a -cat's cradle of this thing." - -"And Darry spent more than a year aboard a destroyer and was trained to -'listen in' for submarines and all that!" - -"An entirely different thing from knowing how to rig wireless," -commented Jessie, getting down on her knees to look under the shelf to -which the posts were screwed. "Oh, dear!" she added, as she bumped her -head. "I wish this boat wouldn't pitch so." - -"So say we all of us. What can I do, Jess?" - -"Not a thing--for a moment. Let me see: The general rules of radio are -easily remembered. The incoming oscillations that have been intercepted -by the antenna above the roof of the house are applied across the grid -and filament of the detector tube----" - -"That's this jigger here," put in Amy, as Jessie struggled up again. - -"Yes. That is the tube. Through the relay action of the tube, an -amplified current flows through the plate circuit--_here_. Now," added -Jessie thoughtfully, "if we couple this plate circuit back--No! This -is a simple circuit. It is like our old one, Amy. We can't get much -action out of this set. It is not like the new one we are putting in -the bungalow." - -"Well, the thing is, can we use it?" Amy demanded. "Can you link the -power, or whatever you call it, up with the sending paraphernalia and -get an S O S over the water?" - -"Goodness, Amy! don't talk as though you thought we were really in -danger." - -"Humph! I see the Reverend, as Nell calls him, out there with his coat -off, in his shirt-sleeves, taking a turn with Burd at the pumps. They -have rigged it for man power and are saving steam for the engines." - -"Let me see!" cried Jessie, peering out of the clouded window too. -"You'd never think he was a minister. Isn't he nice?" - -Amy began to laugh. "Are all ministers supposed to be such terrible -people?" - -"No-o," admitted Jessie, going back to the radio set. "But good as they -usually are, we have the very best minister at the Roselawn Church, of -any." - -"Yep. So we must plan to save him if anything happens," giggled Amy. - -"Let's open the switch and see if we can get anything," her chum said -reflectively, picking up the head harness. - -"You mean _hear_ if we can get anything," corrected Amy. - -"Never mind splitting hairs, my dear. Is that the switch? Yes. Now!" - -She put on the rigging, but all she got out of the air, as she sadly -confessed, were sounds like an angry cat spitting at a puppydog. - -"It isn't just static," she told Amy. "You try it. There is something -absolutely wrong with this thing. See! We don't get a spark." - -"If we did we couldn't read the letters." - -"I believe I could read some Morse if it came slowly enough," said -Jessie, nodding. "But it is sending, not receiving, I am thinking of, -Amy Drew." - -Amy began to look more serious. Jessie was harping on a possibility she -did not wish to admit was probable. She went out and, hunting up Darry, -demanded to know just how bad he thought they were off, anyway. - -"Well, Sis, there is no use making a wry face about it," the collegian -said. "But you see how hard the Reverend and Burd are working, and -they can't keep ahead of the water. The poor old _Marigold_ really is -leaking." - -"Is she going to sink? Can't we get to land--somewhere? Can't we go -back to the island?" - -"Shucks, Sis! You know we are miles from Station Island. We are off -Montauk--or we were this morning. But we are heading out to sea -now--sou'-sou'east. Can't head into this gale. She pitches too much." - -"And--and isn't there any help for us, Darry Drew?" - -"We don't need any help yet, do we?" he demanded pluckily. "She is -making good weather of it----" - -Just then the yacht rolled so that he had to grab the rail with one -hand and Amy with the other, and both of them were well shaken up. - -"Woof!" gasped Darry, as they came out of the smother of spray. - -"Oh!" exploded Amy. "I swallowed a pail of water that time. Ugh! How -bitter the sea is. Now, Darry, I guess we'll have to send out signals, -sha'n't we?" - -"How can we? I've tried the old radio already. She is as dumb as the -proverbial oyster with the lockjaw." - -"Jessie is going to fix it," said Amy, with some confidence. - -"Yes she is! She's some smart girl, I admit," her brother observed. -"But I guess that is a job that will take an expert." - -"You just see!" cried Amy. "You think she can't do anything because -she's a girl." - -"Bless you! Girls equal the men nowadays. I hold Jessie as little less -than a wonder. But if a thing can't be done----" - -"That is what you think because you tried it and failed." - -"Huh!" - -"We radio girls will show you!" declared Amy, her head up and preparing -to march back to her chum the next time the deck became steady. - -But when she started so proudly the yacht rolled unexpectedly and Amy, -screaming for help, went sliding along the deck to where Dr. Stanley -and Burd were pumping away to clear the bilge. She was saturated--and -much meeker in deportment--when Burd fished her out of the scuppers. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -ONLY HOPE - - -The condition of the _Marigold_ was actually much more serious than the -Roselawn girls at first supposed. Jessie and Amy were so busy in the -radio house for a couple of hours and were so interested in what they -were doing that they failed to observe that the hull of the yacht was -slowly sinking. - -Fortunately the wind decreased after a while; but by that time it was -scarcely safe to head the yacht into the wind's eye, as the skipper -called it. She wallowed in the big seas in a most unpleasant way and it -was fortunate indeed that all the passengers were good sailors. - -Nell came and looked into the radio room once or twice; then she felt -so bad that she went below to lie down. The doctor worked as hard as -any man aboard. And his cheerfulness was always infectious. - -The minister knew that they were in peril. He would have been glad to -see a rescuing vessel heave into sight. But he gave no sign that he -considered the situation at all uncertain or perilous in the least. - -The afternoon was passing. Another night on the open sea without -knowing if the yacht would weather the conditions, was a matter for -grave consideration. The doctor and Darry conferred with Skipper -Pandrick. - -"'Tis hard to say," the sailing master observed. "There is no knowing -what may happen. If the yacht was not so water-logged we might get in -under our own steam----" - -"But we can't make steam enough!" cried Darry. - -"Well, no, we don't seem to," admitted the skipper. - -"And to what port would you sail?" asked Dr. Stanley. - -"Well, now, there's not any handy just now, I admit. If we head back -for the land we may be thrown on our beam-ends, I will say. The waves -are big ones, as you see." - -"You are not very encouraging, Skipper," said the minister. - -"I wouldn't be raising any false hopes in your mind, sir," said -Pandrick. - -"You're a jolly old wet blanket, you are," declared Darry to the -sailing master. "What shall we do?" - -"We'll have to take what comes to us," declared the skipper. - -"You are a fatalist, Mr. Pandrick," said the minister, and Darry was -glad to hear him laugh cheerily. - -"No, sir. I'm a Universalist," declared the seaman. "And I've all the -hope in the world that we'll come out of this all right." - -"But can't we do something to help ourselves?" demanded the exasperated -Darry. - -"Not much that I know of. Here's hoping the wind goes down and we have -calm weather and see the sun again." - -"Hope all you like," growled the young fellow. "I am going to see if -the girls aren't able to bring something to pass with that radio." - -He found his sister and Jessie rearranging a part of the circuit on the -set-board. They were very much in earnest. Thus far, however, they had -been unable to get a clear signal out of the air, nor could they send -one. - -"If we could reach another vessel, or a shore station, and tell -them where the yacht is and that she is leaking, we'd be all right, -shouldn't we, Darry?" Jessie asked earnestly. - -"But I am not at all sure we need help," he said, in doubt. - -"We may need it!" exclaimed his sister. - -"Why--yes, we may," he admitted, though rather grudgingly. - -"Then we want to get this fixed," Jessie declared. "But there is -something wrong here. Do you see this Darry? It seems to me that there -must be a part missing. When you and Burd set this up are you sure you -followed the instructions of the book in every particular?" - -"Of course we did," Darry said. - -"Of course we didn't!" exclaimed Burd's voice from the doorway. - -"What are you saying?" demanded his friend, promptly. - -"What I know. Don't you remember that you lost the instruction book -overboard sometime there, when we were getting the bothersome thing -fixed?" - -"So I did," confessed Darry. "But, say! she was all right then." - -"She hasn't ever been all right," accused his chum, "and you know it." - -"We sent code signals by the old machine, all right." - -"But we've never been able to since we linked it up with this receiving -set, and you know it," said Burd. - -"It sounds to me," said Amy, "as though neither one of you boys knew so -awfully much about it." - -"I know one thing," said Jessie, with determination. "All the parts are -not here. These connections are not like any I ever saw before. It is a -mystery to me----" - -"Hold on!" exclaimed Darry Drew suddenly. "What did we do with all -those little cardboard boxes and paper tubes the parts came in? -Couldn't be we overlooked anything, Burd?" - -"Don't try to hang it on me!" exclaimed his chum. "I never claimed -to know a thing about radio. You were the Big Noise when we put the -contraption together." - -"Aw, you! Where did we put the things left over?" - -"There he goes!" exclaimed the confirmed joker. "He's like the fellow -who took the automobile apart to fix it and had a bushel of parts left -over when he was done. He doesn't know----" - -"Beat it out of here," roared Darry, "and find that box we put the -stuff into. _You_ know." - -Dr. Stanley came up to the radio room while Burd was searching for the -rubbish box. The clergyman spoke cheerfully, but he looked very grave. - -"Is there any likelihood of our being able to send out a call for -assistance, Jessie?" he asked, quietly. - -"I don't see how we can, Doctor Stanley, until we fix this radio set. -We can't get any spark. We have to be able to get a spark to send a -message. The message will be stumbling enough, I am afraid, even if -we fix the thing, for none of us understands Morse very well. Unless -Darry----" - -"Don't look to me for help," declared the collegian. "I haven't sent a -message since we put the yacht in commission. We had a fellow aboard -here until the other day who knew something about wireless and he was -the operator. Not me." - -"Amy and I have a code book with the alphabet in it," said Jessie -slowly. "I think if somebody read the dots and dashes to me I could -send a short message. But there is something wrong with this circuit." - -Just then Burd Alling came back. He brought with him a big corrugated -cardboard container. In that the various parts of the radio outfit had -been packed. - -"What do you think about it?" he asked. "There is something here that -I never saw before. See this jigamarig, Jess? Think it belongs on the -contraption?" - -"Oh!" cried Jessie, eagerly, pouncing on the small object that Burd -held out to her. "I know what that is." - -"Then you beat me. I don't," declared Burd. - -"Let's see what else there is," said Darry, diving into the box. "I -left you to get out the parts, Burd; you know I did." - -"Oh, splash!" exclaimed his friend. "We might as well admit that we -don't know as much about radio as these girls. They leave us lashed to -the post." - -But Jessie and Amy did not even feel what at another time Amy would -have called "augmented ego." The occasion was too serious. - -The day was passing into evening, and a very solemn evening it was. The -wind whined through the strands of the wire rigging. The waves knocked -the yacht about. The passengers all felt weary and forlorn. - -The two girl chums felt the situation less acutely than anybody else, -perhaps, because they were so busy. That radio had to be repaired. -That is what Jessie told Amy, and Amy agreed. The safety of the whole -yacht's company seemed dependent upon what the two radio girls could do. - -"And we must not fall down on it, Jess," Amy said vigorously. "How goes -it now?" - -"This thing that Burd found goes right in here. We have got to reset a -good part of the circuit to do it. I don't see how the boys could have -made such a mistake." - -"Proves what I have always maintained," declared Amy Drew. "We girls -are smarter than those boys, even if the said boys do go to college. -Bah! What is college, anyway?" - -"Just a prison," said Burd sepulchrally from the doorway. - -"Close that door!" exclaimed Jessie. "Don't let that spray drift in -here." - -"Yes. Do go away, Burd, and see if the yacht is sinking any more. Don't -bother us," commanded Amy. - -The men were keeping the pumps at work, but it was an anxious time. It -was long dark and the lamps were lighted when Jessie pronounced the set -complete. Darry and Burd came in again and asked what they could do? - -"Root for us. Nothing more," said Amy. "Jessie has fixed this thing and -she is going to have the honor of sending the message--if a message can -be sent." - -"Well," remarked Burd Alling, "I guess it is up to you girls to save -the situation. I have just found out that there isn't as much provender -as I was given reason to believe when we started. We ought to be in -Boston right now. And see where we are!" - -"That is exactly what we can't see," said Jessie. "But we must know. -Did you get the latitude and longitude from the skipper, Darry?" - -"Yes. Here it is, approximately. He got a chance to shoot the sun this -noon." - -"The cruel thing!" gibed his sister. "But anyway, I hope he has got the -situation near enough so some vessel can find us." - -"Let us see, first, if we can send a message intelligibly," said -Jessie, putting on the head harness, and speaking seriously. "It -will be awful, perhaps, if we can't. I know that the yacht is almost -unmanageable." - -"You've said something," returned Burd. "The fuel is low, as well as -the supplies in the galley. We haven't got much left----" - -"But hope," said Jessie, softly. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE MYSTERIOUS MESSAGE - - -Henrietta Haney was a very lonely little girl after the yacht sailed -from Station Island. Not that she had nobody to play with, for she -had. There were other children besides Sally Stanley of her own age, -or thereabout, in the bungalow colony. And as she had been in Dogtown, -Henrietta soon became the leading spirit of her crowd. - -She even taught them some of her games, and once more became "Spotted -Snake, the Witch," and scared some of the children almost as much as -she had scared the Dogtown youngsters with her supposed occult powers. - -She was running and screaming and tearing her clothes most of the time -when she was away from Mrs. Norwood, but in the company of Jessie's -mother she truly tried to "be a little lady." - -"Be it ever so painful, little Hen is going to learn to be worthy of -you and Jessie, Mary," laughed Mrs. Drew, who was like her daughter in -being able always to see the fun in things. "What do you really expect -will come of the child?" - -"I think she will make quite a woman in time. And before that time -arrives," added Mrs. Norwood, "she has much to learn, as you say. In -some ways Henrietta has had an unhappy childhood--although she doesn't -know it. I hope she will have better times from now on." - -"You are sure to make her have good times, Mary," said Mrs. Drew. "I -hope she will appreciate all that Jessie and you do for her." - -"She is rather young for one to expect appreciation from her," Mrs. -Norwood said, smiling. "But the little thing is grateful." - -Without Jessie and Amy, however, Henrietta confessed she was very -lonely. Sometimes she listened to the radio all alone, sitting -quietly and hearing even lectures and business talks out of the air -that ordinarily could not have interested the child. But she said it -reminded her of "Miss Jessie" just to sit with the ear-tabs on. - -She had heard about the older girls going to the lighthouse station to -interview the wireless operator there, and although Henrietta knew that -the government reservation at that end of the island was no part of the -old Padriac Haney estate, she wandered down there alone on the second -day of the yacht's absence and climbed up into the tower. - -The storm had blown itself out on shore, and the sun was going down in -golden glory. Out at sea, although the waves still rolled high and the -clouds were tumultuous in appearance, there was nothing to threaten a -continuation of the unsettled weather. - -Henrietta had no idea how long it would be before the yacht reached -Boston, although she had heard a good deal of talk about it. She had -watched the _Marigold_ steam out of sight into the east, and it seemed -to the little girl that her friends were just there, beyond the horizon -line, where she had seen the last patch of the _Marigold's_ smoke -disappear. - -The wireless operator had seen Henrietta before, cavorting about the -beach and leading the other children in their play, and he was prepared -for some of her oddities. But she surprised him by her very first -speech. - -"You're the man that can send words out over the ocean, aren't you?" - -"I can send signals," he admitted, but rather puzzled. - -"Can folks like Miss Jessie and Miss Amy hear 'em?" demanded Henrietta. - -"Only if they are on a boat that has a wireless outfit." - -"They got it on that _Marigold_," announced Henrietta. - -"Oh! The yacht that sailed yesterday! Yes, she carried antenna." - -"And she carried Doctor Stanley and Miss Nell Stanley, too, besides the -boys, Mr. Darry and Mr. Burd," said Henrietta. "Then they can hear you?" - -"If they know how to use the wireless they could catch a signal from -this station." - -"Miss Jessie knows all about radio," said Henrietta. "She made it." - -"Oh, she did?" - -"Yes. She made it all up. She and Miss Amy built them one at Roselawn. -That was before Montmorency Shannon built his. Well, Miss Jessie is out -there on the _Marigold_." - -"So I understand," said the much amused operator. - -"I wish you would--please--send her word that I'd like to have her come -back to my island." - -"Are you the little girl who owns this island? I've heard about you." - -"Yes. But there ain't much fun on an island if your friends aren't on -it, too. And Miss Jessie is one of my very dearest friends." - -"I understand," said the operator gravely, seeing the little girl's -lip trembling. "You would like to have me reach your friend, Miss -Jessie----" - -"Her name's Norwood, too," put in Henrietta, to make sure. - -"Oh, indeed? She is the lawyer, Mr. Norwood's daughter. I have met her." - -"Yes, sir. She came here once." - -"And you wish to send her a message if it is possible?" - -"Yes, sir. I want you should ask her to get to Boston as quick as she -can and come back again. We would all like to have her come," said the -little girl, gravely. - -"I am going to be on duty myself this evening and I will try to get -your message through," said the operator kindly. "The _Marigold_, is -it?" and he drew the code book toward him in which the signal for every -vessel sailing from American ports, even pleasure craft, that carries -wireless, is listed. - -He turned around to his instrument right then and began to rap out the -call for the yacht. He kept it up, off and on, between his other work, -all the evening. But no answer was returned. - -The operator began to be somewhat puzzled by this fact. Knowing how -much interested in radio the girls were who had visited him, he could -not understand why they would not be listening in at some time or other -on the yacht. - -He kept throwing into the ether the signal meant for the _Marigold's_ -call until almost midnight, when he expected to be relieved by his -partner. Towards ten o'clock there was some bothersome signals in the -ether that annoyed him whenever he took a message or relayed one in the -course of the evening's business. - -"Some amateur op. is interfering," was his expression. "But, I declare! -it does sound something like this station call. Can it be----?" - -He lengthened his spark and sent thundering out on the air-waves his -usual reply: - -"I, I, O K W. I, I, O K W." - -Then he held his hand and waited for any return. The same mysterious, -scraping sounds continued. A slow hand, he believed, was trying to -spell out some message in Morse. But it was being done in a very -fumbling manner. - -Of course, half a dozen shore stations and perhaps half a hundred -vessels might have caught the clumsy message, as well. But the operator -at Station Island, interested by little Henrietta in the _Marigold_ and -her company, felt more than puzzlement over this strange communication -out of the air. - -"Listen in here, Sammy," he said to his mate, when the latter came -in. "Is it just somebody's squeak-box making trouble to-night or am I -hearing a sure-enough S O S? I wonder if there is a storm at sea?" - -"There is," said his mate, sitting down on the bench and taking up the -secondary head harness. "The evening papers are full of it. Northeast -gale, and blowing like kildee right now." - -"Arlington gave no particulars at last announcement." - -"Don't make any difference. The boats outside know it. Hullo! What's -this? 'S-t-a-t-i-o-n I-s-l-a-n-d.' What's the joke? Somebody calling us -without using the code letters?" - -"Don't know 'em, maybe," said the chief operator. "Set down what you -get and see if it is like mine." - -The other did so. They compared notes. That strange message set both -operators actively to work. One began swiftly to distribute over the -Eastern Atlantic the news that a craft needed help in such and such a -latitude and longitude. The other operator, without his hat, ran all -the way to the bungalows to give Mr. Norwood and Mr. Drew some very -serious news. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -SAVED BY RADIO - - -Jessie Norwood was not tireless. It seemed to her as though her right -arm would drop off, she pressed the key of the wireless instrument so -frequently. They had written out a brief call of distress, and finally -she got it by heart so that Amy did not have to read her the dots and -dashes. - -But it was a slow process and they had no way of learning if the -message was caught and understood by any operator, either ashore or -on board a vessel. Hour after hour went slowly by. The _Marigold_ was -sinking. The pumps could not keep up with the incoming water; the -fuel was almost exhausted and the engines scarcely turned over; the -buffeting seas threatened the craft every minute. - -Dr. Stanley remained outwardly cheerful. Darry and the others took -heart from the clergyman's words. - -"Tell you what," said Burd. "If we are wrecked on a desert island -I shall be glad to have the doctor along. He'd have cheered up old -Robinson Crusoe." - -As the evening waned and the sea continued to pound the hull of the -laboring yacht the older people aboard, at least, grew more anxious. -The young folks in the radio room chattered briskly, although Jessie -called them to account once in a while because they made so much noise -she could not be sure that she was sending correctly. - -Darry tried to relieve her at the key, but he confessed that he "made a -mess of it." The radio girls had spent more time and effort in learning -to handle the wireless than the collegians--both Darry and Burd -acknowledged it. - -"These are some girls!" Darry said, admiringly. - -"You spoil 'em," complained Burd Alling. "Want to be careful what you -say to them." - -"Oh, if anybody can stand a little praise it is Jess and I," declared -Amy, sighing with weariness. - -Nobody cared to turn in. The situation was too uncertain. The boys -could be with the girls only occasionally, for they had to take their -turn at the pumps. It had come to pass that nothing but steady pumping -kept the yacht from sinking. They were all thankful that the wind -decreased and the waves grew less boisterous. - -Towards midnight it was quite calm, only the swells lifted the -water-logged yacht in a rhythmic motion that finally became unpleasant. -Nell was ill, below; but the others remained on deck and managed to -weather the nauseating effects of the heaving sea. - -Meanwhile, as often as she could, Jessie Norwood sent out into the air -the cry for assistance. She sent it addressed to "Station Island," -for she did not know that each wireless station had a code signal--a -combination of letters. But she knew there was but one Station Island -off the coast. - -The clapperty-clap, clapperty-clap of the pumps rasped their nerves -at last until, as Amy declared, they needed to scream! When the sound -stopped for the minute while pump-crews were changed, it was a relief. - -And finally the spark of the wireless began to skip and fall dead. Good -reason! The storage batteries, although very good ones, were beginning -to fail. Before daybreak it was impossible to use the sender any more. - -Somehow this fact was more depressing than anything that had previously -happened. They could only hope, in any event, that their message had -been heard and understood; but now even this sad attempt was halted. - -Jessie was really too tired to sleep. She and Amy did not go below for -long. They changed their clothes and came on deck again and were very -glad of the hot cup of coffee Dr. Stanley brought them from the galley. -The cook had been set to work on one of the pump crews. - -The girls sat in the deck chairs and stared off across the rolling gray -waters. There was no sign of any other vessel just then, but a dim rose -color at the sea line showed where the sun would come up after a time. - -"But a fog is blowing up from the south, too," said Amy. "See that -cloud, Jess? My dear! Did you ever expect that we would be sitting here -on Darry's yacht waiting for it to sink under us?" - -"How can you!" exclaimed Jessie, aghast. - -"Well, that is practically what we are doing," replied her chum. "Thank -goodness I have had this cup of coffee, anyway. It braces me----" - -"Even for drowning?" asked Jessie. "Oh! What is that, Amy?" - -"It's a boat! It's a boat! Ship ahoy!" shrieked Amy, jumping up and -dancing about, dropping the cup and saucer to smash upon the deck. - -"It's a steamboat!" cried Darry Drew, from the deck above. - -"Head for it if you can, Bob!" commanded Skipper Pandrick to the -helmsman. - -But before they could see what kind of craft the other was, the fog -surrounded them. It wrapped the _Marigold_ around in a thick mantle. -They could not see ten yards from her rail. - -"We don't even know if she is looking for us!" exclaimed Dr. Stanley. -"That is too bad--too bad." - -"Whistle for it," urged Amy. "Can't we?" - -"If we use the little steam left for the whistle, we will have to shut -down the engines," declared Darry. - -"This is a fine yacht--I don't think!" scoffed Burd Alling. "And none -of you knows a thing about rescuing this boat and crew but me. Watch me -save the yacht." - -He marched forward and began to work the foot-power foghorn vigorously. -Its mournful note (not unlike a cow's lowing, as Jessie had said) -reverberated through the fog. The sound must have carried miles upon -miles. - -But it was nearly an hour before they heard any reply. Then the hoarse, -brief blast of a tug whistle came to their ears. - -"_Marigold_, ahoy!" shouted a well-known voice across the heaving sea. - -"Daddy!" screamed Jessie, springing up and dropping _her_ cup and -saucer, likewise to utter ruin. "It's Daddy Norwood!" - -The big tug wallowed nearer. She carried wireless, too, and the -_Marigold's_ company believed, at once, that Jessie's message had been -received aboard the _Pocahontas_. - -"But--then--how did Daddy Norwood come aboard of her?" Jessie demanded. - -This was not explained until later when the six passengers were taken -aboard the tug and hawsers were passed from the sinking yacht to the -very efficient _Pocahontas_. - -"And a pretty penny it will cost, so the skipper says, to get her towed -to port," Darry complained. - -"Say!" ejaculated Burd, "suppose she didn't find us at all and we were -paddling around in that boat and on the life raft? _That_ would take -the permanent wave out of your hair, old grouch!" - -The girls, however, and Dr. Stanley as well, begged Mr. Norwood to -explain how he had come in search of the _Marigold_ and had arrived so -opportunely. - -"Nothing easier," said the lawyer. "When the operator at the lighthouse -station got your message----" - -"Oh, bully, Jess! You did it!" cried Amy, breaking in. - -"Did you send that message, Jessie?" asked her father. "Well, I am -proud of you. The operator came to the house and told me. Although his -partner was sending the news of your predicament broadcast over the -sea, he told me of the tug lying behind the island, and that it could -be chartered. - -"So," explained Mr. Norwood, "I left Drew to fortify the women--and -little Henrietta--and went right over and was rowed out to the -_Pocahontas_ by an old fisherman who said he knew you girls. I believe -he pronounced you 'cleaners,' if you know what that means," laughed the -lawyer. - -"Henrietta, by the way, was doing incantations of some sort over the -wind and weather when I left the bungalow. She said 'Spotted Snake' -could bring you all safe home." - -"Bless her heart!" exclaimed Jessie. - -That afternoon when the tug worked her way carefully into the dock near -the bungalow colony on Station Island, Henrietta was the first person -the returned wanderers saw on the shore to greet them. She was dancing -up and down and screaming something that Jessie and Amy did not catch -until they came off the gangplank. Then they made the incantation out -to be: - -"That Ringold one can't have my island--so now! The court says so, and -Mr. Drew says so, too. He just got it off the telephone and he told me. -It's my island--so there!" - -"Why, how glad I am for you, dear!" cried Jessie, running to hug the -excited little girl. - -"Come ashore! Come ashore! All of you!" cried Henrietta, with a wide -gesture. "I invite all of you. This is my island, not that Ringold's. -You can come on it and do anything you like!" - -"Why, Henrietta!" murmured Jessie, as the other listeners broke into -laughter. "You must not talk like that. I am glad the courts have -given you your father's property. But remember, there are other people -who have rights, too." - -"Say! That Ringold one--and that Moon one--haven't any prop'ty on this -island, have they?" Henrietta demanded. - -"No." - -"Then that's all right," said the little girl with satisfaction. "I'll -be good, Miss Jessie; oh, I'll be good!" and she hugged her friend -again. - -"And don't call them 'that Ringold one' and 'that Moon one,' Henrietta. -That is not pretty nor polite," admonished Jessie. - -"All right, if you say so, Miss Jessie. What you say goes with me. See?" - -It took some time, after they were at home, for everything to be -talked over and all the mystery of the radio message to be cleared -up. The interested operator from the lighthouse came over to -congratulate Jessie on what she had done. After all, aside from the -girl's addressing the station by name, the message had not been hard -to understand. And considering the faulty construction of the yacht's -wireless and the weakness of her batteries, Jessie had done very well -indeed. - -The young people, of course, would have much to talk about regarding -the adventure for days to come. Especially Darry. When he learned what -he would have to pay for the towing in of the yacht and what it would -cost to put in proper engines and calk and paint the hull, he was -aghast and began to figure industriously. - -"Learning something, aren't you, Son?" chuckled Mr. Drew. "Your Uncle -Will pretty near went broke keeping up the _Marigold_. But I will help -you, for I am getting rather fond of the old craft, too." - -"We all ought to help," said Mr. Norwood. "I sha'n't want you to scrap -the boat, Darry, my boy. I like to think that it was my Jessie saved -her from sinking--and saved you all. To my mind radio is a great -thing--something more than a toy even for these boys and girls." - -"Quite true," Mr. Drew agreed. "When your Jessie and my Amy first -strung those wires at Roselawn I thought they were well over it if -they didn't break their limbs before they got it finished. When we get -back home I think Darry and I would better put up aerials and have a -house-set, too. What say, Darry?" - -"I'm with you, Father," agreed the young collegian. "But I won't agree -to rival Jess and Amy as radio experts. For those two girls take the -palm." - - -THE END - - - - -THE BARTON BOOKS FOR GIRLS - -By MAY HOLLIS BARTON - -_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. With colored jacket_ - -_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_ - -[Illustration: _Neil Grayson's Ranching Days_ - -_May Hollis Barton_] - -_May Hollis Barton is a new writer for girls who is bound to win -instant popularity. Her style is somewhat of a mixture of that of -Louise M. Alcott and Mrs. L.T. Meade, but thoroughly up-to-date in plot -and action. Clean tales that all girls will enjoy reading._ - - -1. THE GIRL FROM THE COUNTRY - -_or Laura Mayford's City Experiences_ - -Laura was the oldest of five children and when daddy got sick she felt -she must do something. She had a chance to try her luck in New York, -and there the country girl fell in with many unusual experiences. - - -2. THREE GIRL CHUMS AT LAUREL HALL - -_or The Mystery of the School by the Lake_ - -When the three chums arrived at the boarding school they found the -other students in the grip of a most perplexing mystery. How this -mystery was solved, and what good times the girls had, both in school -and on the lake, go to make a story no girl would care to miss. - - -3. NELL GRAYSON'S RANCHING DAYS - -_or A City Girl in the Great West_ - -Showing how Nell, when she had a ranch girl visit her in Boston, -thought her chum very green, but when Nell visited the ranch in the -great West she found herself confronting many conditions of which she -was totally ignorant. A stirring outdoor story. - - -4. FOUR LITTLE WOMEN OF ROXBY - -_or The Queer Old Lady Who Lost Her Way_ - -Four sisters are keeping house and having trouble to make both ends -meet. One day there wanders in from a stalled express train an old lady -who cannot remember her identity. The girls take the old lady in, and, -later, are much astonished to learn who she really is. - - -5. PLAIN JANE AND PRETTY BETTY - -_or The Girl Who Won Out_ - -The tale of two girls, one plain but sensible, the other pretty but -vain. Unexpectedly both find they have to make their way in the world. -Both have many trials and tribulations. A story of a country town and -then a city. - -_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York - - - - -BILLIE BRADLEY SERIES - -By JANET D. WHEELER - -_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_ - -_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_ - -[Illustration] - - -1. BILLIE BRADLEY AND HER INHERITANCE _or The Queer Homestead at Cherry -Corners_ - -Billie Bradley fell heir to an old homestead that was unoccupied -and located far away in a lonely section of the country. How Billie -went there, accompanied by some of her chums, and what queer things -happened, go to make up a story no girl will want to miss. - - - 2. BILLIE BRADLEY AT THREE-TOWERS HALL _or Leading a Needed Rebellion_ - -Three-Towers Hall was a boarding school for girls. For a short time -after Billie arrived there all went well. But then the head of the -school had to go on a long journey and she left the girls in charge of -two teachers, sisters, who believed in severe discipline and in very, -very plain food and little of it--and then there was a row! The girls -wired for the head to come back--and all ended happily. - - - 3. BILLIE BRADLEY ON LIGHTHOUSE ISLAND _or The Mystery of the Wreck_ - -One of Billie's friends owned a summer bungalow on Lighthouse Island, -near the coast. The school girls made up a party and visited the -Island. There was a storm and a wreck, and three little children were -washed ashore. They could tell nothing of themselves, and Billie and -her chums set to work to solve the mystery of their identity. - - - 4. BILLIE BRADLEY AND HER CLASSMATES _or The Secret of the Locked - Tower_ - -Billie and her chums come to the rescue of several little children who -have broken through the ice. There is the mystery of a lost invention, -and also the dreaded mystery of the locked school tower. - - - 5. BILLIE BRADLEY AT TWIN LAKES _or Jolly Schoolgirls Afloat and - Ashore_ - -A tale of outdoor adventure in which Billie and her chums have a -great variety of adventures. They visit an artists' colony and there -fall in with a strange girl living with an old boatman who abuses her -constantly. Billie befriended Hulda and the mystery surrounding the -girl was finally cleared up. - - -_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York - - - - -THE RUTH FIELDING SERIES - -By ALICE B. EMERSON - -_12mo. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_ - -_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_ - - -Ruth Fielding was an orphan and came to live with her miserly uncle. -Her adventures and travels make stories that will hold the interest of -every reader. - -[Illustration] - -Ruth Fielding is a character that will live in juvenile fiction. - - 1. RUTH FIELDING OF THE RED MILL - 2. RUTH FIELDING AT BRIARWOODHALL - 3. RUTH FIELDING AT SNOW CAMP - 4. RUTH FIELDING AT LIGHTHOUSE POINT - 5. RUTH FIELDING AT SILVER RANCH - 6. RUTH FIELDING ON CLIFF ISLAND - 7. RUTH FIELDING AT SUNRISE FARM - 8. RUTH FIELDING AND THE GYPSIES - 9. RUTH FIELDING IN MOVING PICTURES - 10. RUTH FIELDING DOWN IN DIXIE - 11. RUTH FIELDING AT COLLEGE - 12. RUTH FIELDING IN THE SADDLE - 13. RUTH FIELDING IN THE RED CROSS - 14. RUTH FIELDING AT THE WAR FRONT - 15. RUTH FIELDING HOMEWARD BOUND - 16. RUTH FIELDING DOWN EAST - 17. RUTH FIELDING IN THE GREAT NORTHWEST - 18. RUTH FIELDING ON THE ST. LAWRENCE - 19. RUTH FIELDING TREASURE HUNTING - 20. RUTH FIELDING IN THE FAR NORTH - 21. RUTH FIELDING AT GOLDEN PASS - 22. RUTH FIELDING IN ALASKA - - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York - - - - -THE BETTY GORDON SERIES - -By ALICE B. EMERSON - -_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_ - -_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_ - - -_A series of stories by Alice B. Emerson which are bound to make this -writer more popular than ever with her host of girl readers._ - -[Illustration] - - - 1. BETTY GORDON AT BRAMBLE FARM _or The Mystery of a Nobody_ - -At twelve Betty is left an orphan. - - - 2. BETTY GORDON IN WASHINGTON _or Strange Adventures in a Great City_ - -Betty goes to the National Capitol to find her uncle and has several -unusual adventures. - - - 3. BETTY GORDON IN THE LAND OF OIL _or The Farm That Was Worth a - Fortune_ - -From Washington the scene is shifted to the great oil fields of our -country. A splendid picture of the oil field operations of to-day. - - - 4. BETTY GORDON AT BOARDING SCHOOL _or The Treasure of Indian Chasm_ - -Seeking treasures of Indian Chasm makes interesting reading. - - - 5. BETTY GORDON AT MOUNTAIN CAMP _or The Mystery of Ida Bellethorne_ - -At Mountain Camp Betty found herself in the midst of a mystery -involving a girl whom she had previously met in Washington. - - - 6. BETTY GORDON AT OCEAN PARK _or School Chums on the Boardwalk_ - -A glorious outing that Betty and her chums never forgot. - - - 7. BETTY GORDON AND HER SCHOOL CHUMS _or Bringing the Rebels to Terms_ - -Rebellious students, disliked teachers and mysterious robberies make a -fascinating story. - - - 8. BETTY GORDON AT RAINBOW RANCH _or Cowboy Joe's Secret_ - -Betty and her chums have a grand time in the saddle. - - - 9. BETTY GORDON IN MEXICAN WILDS _or The Secret of the Mountains_ - -Betty receives a fake telegram and finds both Bob and herself held for -ransom in a mountain cave. - - -_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - - - - -THE LINGER-NOT SERIES - -By AGNES MILLER - -_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_ - -_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_ - - -_This new series of girls' books is in a new style of story writing. -The interest is in knowing the girls and seeing them solve the problems -that develop their character. Incidentally, a great deal of historical -information is imparted._ - -[Illustration] - - - 1. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THE MYSTERY HOUSE _or The Story of Nine - Adventurous Girls_ - -How the Linger-Not girls met and formed their club seems commonplace, -but this writer makes it fascinating, and how they made their club -serve a great purpose continues the interest to the end, and introduces -a new type of girlhood. - - - 2. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THE VALLEY FEUD _or The Great West Point Chain_ - -The Linger-Not girls had no thought of becoming mixed up with feuds or -mysteries, but their habit of being useful soon entangled them in some -surprising adventures that turned out happily for all, and made the -valley better because of their visit. - - - 3. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THEIR GOLDEN QUEST _or The Log of the Ocean - Monarch_ - -For a club of girls to become involved in a mystery leading back into -the times of the California gold-rush, seems unnatural until the reader -sees how it happened, and how the girls helped one of their friends to -come into her rightful name and inheritance, forms a fine story. - - - 4. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THE WHISPERING CHARMS _or The Secret from Old - Alaska_ - -Whether engrossed in thrilling adventures in the Far North or occupied -with quiet home duties, the Linger-Not girls could work unitedly to -solve a colorful mystery in a way that interpreted American freedom to -a sad young stranger, and brought happiness to her and to themselves. - - -_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - - - - -THE CURLYTOPS SERIES - -By HOWARD R. GARIS - -_Author of the famous "Bedtime Animal Stories"_ - -_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_ - -_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_ - -[Illustration] - - - 1. THE CURLYTOPS AT CHERRY FARM _or Vacation Days in the Country_ - -A tale of happy vacation days on a farm. - - - 2. THE CURLYTOPS ON STAR ISLAND _or Camping out with Grandpa_ - -The Curlytops were delighted when grandpa took them to camp on Star -Island. - - - 3. THE CURLYTOPS SNOWED IN _or Grand Fun with Skates and Sleds_ - -The Curlytops, with their skates and sleds, on lakes and hills. - - - 4. THE CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH _or Little Folks on Ponyback_ - -Out West on their uncle's ranch they have a wonderful time. - - - 5. THE CURLYTOPS AT SILVER LAKE _or On the Water with Uncle Ben_ - -The Curlytops camp out on the shores of a beautiful lake. - - - 6. THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PETS _or Uncle Toby's Strange Collection_ - -An old uncle leaves them to care for his collection of pets. - - - 7. THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PLAYMATES _or Jolly Times Through the - Holidays_ - -They have great times with their uncle's collection of animals. - - - 8. THE CURLYTOPS IN THE WOODS _or Fun at the Lumber Camp_ - -Exciting times in the forest for Curlytops. - - - 9. THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH _or What Was Found in the Sand_ - -The Curlytops have a fine time at the seashore, bathing, digging in the -sand and pony-back riding. - - - 10. THE CURLYTOPS TOURING AROUND _or The Missing Photograph Albums_ - -The Curlytops fall in with a moving picture company and get in some of -the pictures. - - -_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - - - - -THE GIRL SCOUT SERIES - -By LILIAN GARIS - -_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_ - -_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_ - - _The highest ideals of girlhood as advocated by the foremost - organizations of America form the background for these stories and - while unobtrusive there is a message in every volume._ - - -[Illustration] - - 1. THE GIRL SCOUT PIONEERS _or Winning the First B.C._ - -A story of the True Tred Troop in a Pennsylvania town. Two runaway -girls, who want to see the city, are reclaimed through troop influence. -The story is correct in scout detail. - - 2. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT BELLAIRE _or Maid Mary's Awakening_ - -The story of a timid little maid who is afraid to take part in other -girls' activities, while working nobly alone for high ideals. How she -was discovered by the Bellaire Troop and came into her own as "Maid -Mary" makes a fascinating story. - - 3. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT SEA CREST _or The Wig Wag Rescue_ - -Luna Land, a little island by the sea, is wrapt in a mysterious -seclusion, and Kitty Scuttle, a grotesque figure, succeeds in keeping -all others at bay until the Girl Scouts come. - - 4. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT CAMP COMALONG _or Peg of Tamarack Hills_ - -The girls of Bobolink Troop spend their summer on the shores of Lake -Hocomo. Their discovery of Peg, the mysterious rider, and the clearing -up of her remarkable adventures afford a vigorous plot. - - 5. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT ROCKY LEDGE _or Nora's Real Vacation_ - -Nora Blair is the pampered daughter of a frivolous mother. Her -dislike for the rugged life of Girl Scouts is eventually changed to -appreciation, when the rescue of little Lucia, a woodland waif, becomes -a problem for the girls to solve. - - -_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York - - - -THE RADIO GIRLS SERIES - -By MARGARET PENROSE - -_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_ - -_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_ - - -_A new and up-to-date series, taking in the activities of several -bright girls who become interested in radio. The stories tell of -thrilling exploits, outdoor life and the great part the Radio plays in -the adventures of the girls and in solving their mysteries. Fascinating -books that girls of all ages will want to read._ - -[Illustration] - - - 1. THE RADIO GIRLS OF ROSELAWN _or A Strange Message from the Air_ - -Showing how Jessie Norwood and her chums became interested in -radiophoning, how they gave a concert for a worthy local charity, and -how they received a sudden and unexpected call for help out of the air. -A girl wanted as witness in a celebrated law case disappears, and the -radio girls go to the rescue. - - - 2. THE RADIO GIRLS ON THE PROGRAM _or Singing and Reciting at the - Sending Station_ - -When listening in on a thrilling recitation or a superb concert number -who of us has not longed to "look behind the scenes" to see how it was -done? The girls had made the acquaintance of a sending station manager -and in this volume are permitted to get on the program, much to their -delight. A tale full of action and fun. - - - 3. THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION ISLAND _or The Wireless from the Steam - Yacht_ - -In this volume the girls travel to the seashore and put in a vacation -on an island where is located a big radio sending station. The big -brother of one of the girls owns a steam yacht and while out with a -pleasure party those on the island receive word by radio that the yacht -is on fire. A tale thrilling to the last page. - - - 4. THE RADIO GIRLS AT FOREST LODGE _or The Strange Hut in the Swamp_ - -The Radio Girls spend several weeks on the shores of a beautiful lake -and with their radio get news of a great forest fire. It also aids them -in rounding up some undesirable folks who occupy the strange hut in the -swamp. - - -_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION -ISLAND *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Radio Girls on Station Island</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>The wireless from the steam yacht</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Margaret Penrose</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: November 8, 2022 [eBook #69317]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: David Edwards, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION ISLAND ***</div> - -<p class="center"><img src="images/illus09.jpg" alt="pic" /></p> -<p class="caption"> JESSIE NORWOOD SENT OUT INTO THE AIR THE CRY FOR -ASSISTANCE.<br /> -<br /> - -"The Radio Girls on Station Island" Page 198 -</p> - - - - - - -<p class="ph1">THE RADIO GIRLS ON<br /> -STATION ISLAND</p> - -<p class="ph5">OR</p> - -<p class="ph3">The Wireless from the Steam Yacht</p> - -<p class="ph5">BY</p> - -<p class="ph3">MARGARET PENROSE</p> - -<p class="ph5">AUTHOR OF "THE RADIO GIRLS OF ROSELAWN," "THE RADIO<br /> -GIRLS ON THE PROGRAM," "DOROTHY DALE SERIES,"<br /> -"MOTOR GIRLS SERIES," ETC.</p> - -<p class="ph4"><i>ILLUSTRATED</i></p> - -<p class="ph5" style="margin-top: 10em;">NEW YORK</p> -<p class="ph4">CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY</p> -<p class="ph5">PUBLISHERS</p> - - - - - - - - -<p class="center"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;"><span class="smcap">Publishers</span>, <span class="smcap">New York</span></span></p> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 10em;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Copyright, 1922, by</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;"><i>The Radio Girls on Station Island</i></span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Printed in U.S.A.</span><br /> -</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CONTENTS</p> - - -<table summary="toc" width="65%"> -<tr><td align="right">CHAPTER</td><td> </td> <td align="right"> PAGE</td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">I.</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_I"> <span class="smcap">"O-Be-Joyful" Henrietta</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">II.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><span class="smcap">A Puzzling Question</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">III.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><span class="smcap">A Flare-Up</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">IV.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><span class="smcap">Uncertainties</span> </a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">V.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><span class="smcap">Into Trouble and Out</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td> -</tr> -<tr><td align="right">VI.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><span class="smcap">Changed Plans</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VII.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><span class="smcap">Forecasts</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VIII.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><span class="smcap">Aboard the "Marigold"</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">IX.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><span class="smcap">Gossip Out of the Ether</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">X.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><span class="smcap">Island Adventures</span></a> </td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XI.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><span class="smcap">Trouble</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XII.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><span class="smcap">A Double Race</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIII.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><span class="smcap">More Than One Adventure</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIV.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><span class="smcap">Something New in Radio</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XV.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><span class="smcap">Henrietta in Disgrace</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVI.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">"<span class="smcap">Radio Control</span>"</a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVII.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><span class="smcap">The Tempest</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVIII. </td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><span class="smcap">From One Thing to Another</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIX.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><span class="smcap">Bound Out</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XX.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><span class="smcap">Something Serious</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XXI.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><span class="smcap">Work for All</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XXII.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><span class="smcap">A Radio Call That Failed</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_172">172</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XXIII.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"><span class="smcap">Only Hope</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_180">180</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XXIV.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV"><span class="smcap">The Mysterious Message</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XXV.</td> <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV"><span class="smcap">Saved by Radio</span></a></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_196">196</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION ISLAND</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></p> - -<p class="center">"O-BE-JOYFUL" HENRIETTA</p> - - -<p class="drop">J<span class="uppercase">essie Norwood</span>, gaily excited, came bounding into her sitting room -waving a slit envelope over her sunny head, her face alight. She wore a -pretty silk slip-on, a sports skirt, and silk hose and oxfords that her -chum, Amy Drew, pronounced "the very swellest of the swell."</p> - -<p>Beside Amy in the sitting room was Nell Stanley, busy with sewing -in her lap. The two visitors looked up in some surprise at Jessie's -boisterous entrance, for usually she was the demurest of creatures.</p> - -<p>"What's happened to the family now, Jess?" asked Amy, tossing back her -hair. "Who has written you a billet-doux?"</p> - -<p>"Nobody has written to me," confessed Jessie. "But just think, girls! -Here is another five dollars by mail for the hospital fund."</p> - -<p>Jessie had been acting as her mother's secre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>tary of late, and Mrs. -Norwood was at the head of the committee that had in charge the raising -of the foundation fund for the New Melford Women's and Children's -Hospital.</p> - -<p>"That radio concert panned out wonderfully," Amy said. "If I'd done it -all myself it could have been no better," and she grinned elfishly.</p> - -<p>"We did a lot to help," said Nell seriously. "And I think it was just -wonderful, our singing into the broadcasting horns."</p> - -<p>"This five dollars," said Jessie, soberly, "was contributed by -girls who earned the money themselves for the hospital. That is why -I am saving the envelope and letter. I am going to write them and -congratulate them for mother, when I get time."</p> - -<p>"Never was such a success as that radio concert," Amy said proudly. "I -have received no public resolution of thanks for suggesting it——"</p> - -<p>"I am not sure that you suggested it any more than the rest of us," -laughed Jessie.</p> - -<p>"I like that!"</p> - -<p>"I feel that I had a share in it. The Reverend says it was the most -successful money-raising affair he ever had anything to do with," -laughed Nell. "And he, as a minister, has had a broad experience." The -motherless Nell Stanley, young as she was, was the very efficient head -of the household in the parsonage. She always spoke<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> affectionately of -her father as "the Reverend."</p> - -<p>"Yes. It is a week now, and the money continues to come in," Jessie -agreed. "But now that the excitement is over——"</p> - -<p>"We should look for more excitement," said Amy promptly. "Excitement is -the breath of Life. Peace is stagnation. The world moves, and all that. -If we get into a rut we are soon ready for the Old Lady's Home over -beyond Chester."</p> - -<p>"I'm sure," returned Jessie, a little hotly, "we are always doing -something, Amy. We do not stagnate."</p> - -<p>"Sure!" scoffed her chum, in continued vigor of speech. "We go swizzing -along like a snail! 'Fast' is the name for us—tied <i>fast</i> to a post. -Molasses running up hill in January is about our natural pace here in -Roselawn."</p> - -<p>Nell burst into gay laughter. "Go on! Keep it up! Your metaphors are -wonderfully apt, Miss Drew. Do tell us what we are to do to get into -high and show a little speed?"</p> - -<p>"Well, now, for instance," said Amy promptly, her face glowing suddenly -with excitement, "I have been waiting for somebody to suggest what we -are going to do the rest of the summer. But thus far nobody has said a -thing about it."</p> - -<p>"Well, Reverend has his vacation next month. You know that," said Nell -slowly and quite seri<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>ously. "It is a problem how we can all go away. -And I am not sure that it is right that we should all tag after him. He -ought to have a rest from Fred and Bob and Sally and me."</p> - -<p>Jessie smiled at the minister's daughter appreciatively. "I wonder if -<i>you</i> ought not to have a rest away from the family, Nell?"</p> - -<p>"Hear! Hear!" cried Amy Drew.</p> - -<p>"Don't be foolish," laughed Nell Stanley. "I should worry my head off -if I did not have Sally with me, anyway. I think we'd better go up to -the farm where we went last year."</p> - -<p>"'Farm' doesn't spell anything for me," said Amy, tossing her head. -"Cows and crickets, horses and grasshoppers, haystacks and hicks!"</p> - -<p>"But we could have our radio along," Jessie said quietly. "I could -disconnect this one"—pointing to her receiving set by the window—"and -we might carry it along. It is easy enough to string the antenna."</p> - -<p>"O-oh!" groaned her chum. "She calls it easy! And I pretty nearly -strained my back in two distinct places helping fix those wires after -Mark Stratford's old aeroplane tore them down."</p> - -<p>"Well, you want some excitement, you say," said Jessie composedly. She -went to the radio instrument, sat down before it, adjusted a set of the -earphones, and opened the switch. "I wonder what is going on at this -time," she murmured.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> - -<p>Amy suddenly cocked her head to listen, although it could not be that -she heard what came through the ether.</p> - -<p>"Listen!" she cried.</p> - -<p>"What under the sun is that?" demanded the clergyman's daughter, in -amazement.</p> - -<p>Jessie murmured at the radio receiver:</p> - -<p>"Don't make so much noise, girls. I can't hear myself think, let alone -what might come over the air-waves."</p> - -<p>"Hear that!" shrieked Amy, jumping up. "That is no radio message, -believe me! It comes from no broadcasting station. Listen, girls!"</p> - -<p>She raised the screen at a window and leaned out. Jessie, removing the -tabs from her ears, likewise gained some understanding of what was -going on outside. A shrill voice was shrieking:</p> - -<p>"Miss Jessie! Miss Jessie! I got the most wonderful thing to tell you. -Oh, Miss Jessie!"</p> - -<p>"For pity's sake!" murmured Jessie.</p> - -<p>"Isn't that little Hen from Dogtown?" asked Nell Stanley.</p> - -<p>"That is exactly who it is," agreed Amy, starting for the door. "Little -Hen is one live wire. 'O-Be-Joyful' Henrietta is never lukewarm. There -is always something doing with that child."</p> - -<p>"Do you suppose she can be in trouble?" asked Jessie, worriedly.</p> - -<p>"If she is, I guarantee it will be something<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> funny," replied Amy, -whisking out of the room.</p> - -<p>"Miss Jessie! Miss Jessie! I want to tell you!" repeated the shrill -voice from the front of the Norwood house.</p> - -<p>"Come on, Jessie," said Nell, dropping her work and starting, too. "The -child evidently wants you."</p> - -<p>The others followed Amy Drew down to the porch. The Norwood house where -Jessie, an only child, lived with her mother and her father, a lawyer -who had his office in New York, was a large dwelling even for Roselawn, -which was a district of fine houses forming a part of the town of New -Melford. The house was set in the middle of large grounds. Roses were -everywhere—beds and beds of them. At one side was the boathouse and -landing at the head of Lake Mononset. At the foot of the front lawn was -Bonwit Boulevard, across which stood the house where Amy Drew lived -with her father, Wilbur Drew, also a New York lawyer, and her mother -and her brother Darrington.</p> - -<p>But it was that which stood directly before the gateway of the Norwood -place which attracted the gaze of the three girls. A little old basket -phaeton, drawn by a fat and sleepy looking brown-and-white pony, and -driven by a grinning boy in overalls and with bare feet, made an object -quite odd enough to stare at. The little girl sitting so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> very straight -in the phaeton, and holding a green parasol over her head, was bound to -attract the amused attention of any on-looker.</p> - -<p>"Oh, look at little Hen!" gasped Amy, who was ahead.</p> - -<p>"And Montmorency Shannon," agreed Jessie. "Don't laugh, girls! You'll -hurt their feelings."</p> - -<p>"Then I'll have to shut my eyes," declared Amy. "That parasol! And -those freckles! They look green under it. Dear me, Nell, did you ever -see such funny children in your life as those Dogtown kids?"</p> - -<p>Jessie ran down the steps and the path to the street. When the freckled -child saw her coming she stood up and waved the parasol at the Roselawn -girl.</p> - -<p>Henrietta Haney was a child in whom the two Roselawn girls had become -much interested while she had lived in the Dogtown district of New -Melford with Mrs. Foley and her family. Montmorency Shannon was a -red-haired urchin from the same poor quarters, and he and Henrietta -were the best of friends.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Miss Jessie! Miss Jessie! What d'you think? I'm rich!"</p> - -<p>"She certainly is rich," choked Amy, following her chum with Nell -Stanley. "She's a scream."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean—that you are rich, Henrietta?" Jessie asked, smiling -at her little protégé.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I tell you, I am rich. Or, I am goin' to be. I own an island and -everything. And there's bungleloos on it, and fishing, and a golf -course, and everything. I am rich."</p> - -<p>"What can the child mean?" asked Jessie Norwood, looking back at her -friends. "She sounds as though she believed it was actually so."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></p> - -<p class="center">A PUZZLING QUESTION</p> - - -<p class="drop">L<span class="uppercase">ittle</span> Henrietta Haney, with her green parasol and her freckles, came -stumbling out of the low phaeton, so eager to tell Jessie the news that -excited her that she could scarcely make herself understood at all. She -fairly stuttered.</p> - -<p>"I'm rich! I got an island and everything!" she crowed, over and over -again. Then she saw Amy Drew's delighted countenance and she added: -"Don't you laugh, Miss Amy, or I won't let you go to my island at all. -And there's radio there."</p> - -<p>"For pity's sake, Henrietta!" cried Jessie. "Where is this island?"</p> - -<p>"Where would it be? Out in the water, of course. There's water all -around it," declared the freckle-faced child in vigorous language. -"Don't you s'pose I know where an island ought to be?"</p> - -<p>At that Amy Drew burst into laughter. In fact, Jessie Norwood's chum -found it very diffi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>cult on most occasions to be sober when there was -any possibility of seeing an occasion for laughter. She found amusement -in almost everything that happened.</p> - -<p>But that made her no less helpful to Jessie when the latter had gained -her first interest in radio telephony. Whatever these two Roselawn -girls did, they did together. If Jessie planned to establish a radio -set, Amy Drew was bound to assist in the actual stringing of the -antenna and in the other work connected therewith. They always worked -hand in hand.</p> - -<p>In the first volume of this series, entitled "The Radio Girls of -Roselawn," the chums and their friends fell in with a wealth of -adventures, and one of the most interesting of those adventures was -connected with little Henrietta Haney, whom Amy had just now called -"O-Be-Joyful" Henrietta.</p> - -<p>The more fortunate girls had been able to assist Henrietta, and finally -had found her cousin, Bertha Blair, with whom little Henrietta now -lived. By the aid of radio telephony, too, Jessie and Amy and their -friends were able to help in several charitable causes, including that -of the building of the new hospital.</p> - -<p>In the second volume, "The Radio Girls on the Program," the friends -had the chance to speak and sing at the Stratfordtown broadcasting -sta<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>tion. It was an opportunity toward which they had long looked -forward, and that exciting day they were not likely soon to forget.</p> - -<p>A week had passed, and during that time Jessie knew that little -Henrietta had been taken to Stratfordtown by her Cousin Bertha, where -they were to live with Bertha's uncle, who was the superintendent of -the Stratford Electric Company's sending station. The appearance of -the wildly excited little girl here in Roselawn on this occasion was, -therefore, a surprise.</p> - -<p>Jessie Norwood seized hold of Henrietta by the shoulders and halted her -wild career of dancing. She looked at Montmorency Shannon accusingly -and asked:</p> - -<p>"Do you know what she is talking about?"</p> - -<p>"Sure, I do."</p> - -<p>"Well, what does she mean?"</p> - -<p>"She's been talking like that ever since I picked her up. This is -Cabbage-head Tony's pony. You know, he sells vegetables down on the -edge of town. Spotted Snake——"</p> - -<p>"Don't call Henrietta that!" cried Jessie, reprovingly.</p> - -<p>"Well, she gave the name to herself when she played being a witch," -declared the Shannon boy defensively. "Anyway, Hen came down to Dogtown -last evening and hired me to drive her over here this morning."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> - -<p>"And when I get some of my money that's coming to me with that island," -broke in Henrietta, "I'll buy Montmorency an automobile to drive me -around in. This old pony is too slow—a lot too slow!"</p> - -<p>"Listen to that!" crowed Amy, in delight.</p> - -<p>"But do tell us about the island, child," urged Nell Stanley, likewise -interested.</p> - -<p>"A man came to Cousin Bertha's house, where we live with her uncle. -<i>His</i> name is Blair, too; it isn't Haney. Well, this man said: 'Are you -Padriac Haney's little girl?' And I told him yes, that I wasn't grown -up yet like Bertha. And so he asked a lot of questions of Mr. Blair. -They was questions about my father and where he was married to my -mother, and where I was born, and all that."</p> - -<p>"But where does the island come in?" demanded Amy.</p> - -<p>"Now, don't you fuss me all up, Miss Amy," admonished the child. "Where -was I at!"</p> - -<p>"You was at the Norwood place. I brought you," said young Shannon.</p> - -<p>"Don't you think I know <i>that</i>?" demanded the little girl scornfully. -"Well, it's about Padriac Haney's great uncle," she hastened to say. -"Padriac was my father's name and his great uncle—I suppose that means -that he was awful big—p'r'aps like that fat man in the circus we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> saw. -But his name was Padriac too, and he left all his money and islands and -golf courses to my father. So it is coming to me."</p> - -<p>"Goodness!" exclaimed Nell Stanley. "Did you ever hear such a -jumbled-up affair?"</p> - -<p>But Montmorency Shannon nodded solemnly. "Guess it's so. Mrs. Foley was -telling my mother something about it. And Spot—I mean, Hen, must have -fallen heiress to money, for she give me a whole half dollar to drive -her over here," and his grin appeared again.</p> - -<p>"What I want to know is the name of the island, child?" demanded Amy, -recovering from her laughter.</p> - -<p>"Well, it's got a name all right," said Henrietta. "It is Station -Island. And there's a hotel on it. But that hotel don't belong to me. -And the radio station don't belong to me."</p> - -<p>"O-oh! A radio station!" repeated Jessie. "That sounds awfully -interesting. I wonder where it is!"</p> - -<p>"But the golf course belongs to me, and some bungleloos," added the -child, mispronouncing the word with her usual emphasis. "And we are -going out to this island to spend the summer—Bertha and me. Mrs. Blair -says we can. And she will go, too. The man that knows about it has told -the Blairs how to get there and—and—I invite you, Miss Jessie, and -you, Miss Amy, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> come out on Station Island and visit us. Oh, we'll -have fun!"</p> - -<p>"That sounds better than any old farm," cried Amy, gaily. "I accept, -Hen, on the spot. You can count on me."</p> - -<p>"If it is all right so that we can go, I will promise to visit you, -dear," Jessie agreed. "But, you know, we really will have to learn more -about it."</p> - -<p>"Cousin Bertha will tell you," said the freckle-faced child, eagerly. -"I run away to come down here to the Foleys, so as to tell you first. -You are the very first folks I have ever invited to come to live on my -island."</p> - -<p>"Ain't you going to let me come, Spot—I mean, Hen?" asked Monty -Shannon, who sat sidewise on the seat and was paying very little -attention to the pony.</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, the pony belonging to the vegetable vender was -so old and sedate that one would scarcely think it necessary to watch -him. But at this very moment a red car, traveling at a pace much over -the legal speed on a public highway, came dashing around the turn -just below the Norwood house. It took the turn on two wheels, and as -it swerved dangerously toward the curb where the pony stood, its rear -wheels skidded.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Look out!" shrieked Amy. "That car is out of control! Look, Jess!"</p> - -<p>Her chum, by looking at it, nor the observation of any other bystander, -could scarcely avert the disaster that Amy Drew feared. But she was so -excited that she scarcely knew what she shouted. And her mad gestures -and actions utterly amazed Jessie.</p> - -<p>"Have you got Saint Vitus's dance, Amy Drew?" Jessie demanded.</p> - -<p>The red, low-hung car wabbled several times back and forth across the -oiled driveway. They saw a hatless young fellow in front behind the -wheel. In the narrow tonneau were two girls, and if they were not -exactly frightened they did not look happy.</p> - -<p>Nell Stanley cried: "It's Bill Brewster's racing car; and he's got -Belle and Sally with him."</p> - -<p>"Belle and Sally!" shrieked Amy.</p> - -<p>Belle Ringold and her follower, Sally Moon, were not much older than -Amy and Jessie, but they were overbearing and insolent and had made -themselves obnoxious to many of their schoolmates. Wishing to appear -grown up, and wishing, above all things, to attract Amy's brother -Darry and Darry's chum, Burd Alling, and feeling that in some way the -two Roselawn chums interfered in this design, they were especially -unpleasant in their behavior toward them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p> - -<p>Sometimes Belle and Sally had been able to make the Roselawn girls -feel unhappy by their haughty speech and what Amy called their "snippy -ways." Just now, however, circumstances forbade the two unpleasant -girls annoying anybody.</p> - -<p>The others had identified the reckless driver and his passengers. At -least, all had recognized the party save Montmorency Shannon. He just -managed to jump out of the phaeton in time. The pony was still asleep -when the rear of the skidding red car crashed against the phaeton and -crushed it into a wreck across the curbstone.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></p> - -<p class="center">A FLARE-UP</p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">he</span> red car stopped before it completely overturned. Then, when the -exhaust was shut off, the screams of the two girls in the back seat -could be heard. But nobody shouted any louder than Montmorency Shannon.</p> - -<p>The red-haired boy had leaped from the phaeton and had seized the pony -by the bit. Otherwise the surprised animal might have set off for home, -Amy said, "on a perfectly apoplectic run."</p> - -<p>The little animal stood shaking and pawing, nothing but the shafts and -whiffle-tree remaining attached to it by the harness. The rear wheels -of the racing car were entangled in the phaeton and it was slewed -across the road.</p> - -<p>"Now see what you've done! Now see what you've done!" one of the girls -in the car was saying, over and over.</p> - -<p>"Well, I couldn't help it, Belle," whined the reckless young Brewster. -"You and Sally Moon aren't hurt. And you asked to ride with me, anyway."</p> - -<p>"Oh, I don't mean you, Bill!" exclaimed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> girl behind him. "But that -horrid boy with his pony carriage! What business had he to get in the -way?"</p> - -<p>"Hey! 'Tain't my carriage, you Ringold girl," declared Monty Shannon. -"It's Cabbage-head Tony's. He'll sue your father for this, Bill -Brewster. And you come near killing me and the pony."</p> - -<p>"I don't see how you came to be standing just there," complained the -driver of the red car. "You might have been on the other side of the -drive."</p> - -<p>"He ought to have been!" declared Belle Ringold promptly. "He was -headed the wrong way. I'll testify for you, Bill. Of course he was -headed wrong."</p> - -<p>"Why, you're another!" cried Monty. "If I'd been headed the wrong way -you'd have smashed the pony instead of the carriage."</p> - -<p>"Never mind what they say, Monty," Jessie Norwood put in quietly. -"There are three of us here who saw the collision, and we can testify -to the truth."</p> - -<p>"And me. I seen it," added Henrietta eagerly. "Don't forget that -Spotted Snake, the Witch, seen it all. If you big girls tell stories -about Monty and that pony, you'll wish you hadn't—now you see!" -and she began making funny gestures with her hands and writhing her -features into perfectly frightful contortions.</p> - -<p>"Henrietta!" commanded Jessie Norwood, yet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> having hard work, like Nell -and Amy, to keep from laughing at the freckle-faced child. "Henrietta, -stop that! Don't you know that is not a polite way—nor a nice way—to -act?"</p> - -<p>"Why, Miss Jessie, they won't know that," complained little Henrietta. -"They are never nice or polite."</p> - -<p>At this statement Monty Shannon burst out laughing, too. The red-haired -boy could not be long of serious mind.</p> - -<p>"Never you mind, Brewster," he said to the unfortunate driver of the -red car, who was notorious for getting into trouble. "Never mind; we -ain't killed. And your father can pay Cabbage-head Tony all right. It -won't break him."</p> - -<p>"You impudent thing!" exclaimed Belle Ringold, who was a very proud and -unpleasant girl. "You are always making trouble for people, Montmorency -Shannon. It was you who would not finish stringing our radio antenna at -the Carter place and so helped spoil our picnic."</p> - -<p>"He didn't! He didn't!" ejaculated Henrietta, dancing up and down in -her excitement. "It was me—Spotted Snake! I brought down the curse of -bad weather on your old picnic—the witch's curse. I'm the one that -brought thunder and lightning and rain to spoil your fun. And I'll do -it again."</p> - -<p>She was so excited that Jessie could not silence her. Sally Moon burst -into a scornful laugh, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> her chum, Belle, said, fanning herself as -she sat in the stalled car:</p> - -<p>"Don't give them any attention. These Roselawn girls are just as low as -the Dogtown kids. Thank goodness, Sally, we will get away from them all -for the rest of the summer."</p> - -<p>"Your satisfaction will only be equaled by ours," laughed Amy Drew.</p> - -<p>"I don't know whether you will get rid of me or not, Belle," said Nell -Stanley composedly. "If you mean to go to Hackle Island——"</p> - -<p>"Father has engaged the handsomest suite at the hotel there," Belle -broke in. "I fancy Doctor Stanley will not feel like taking you all -there, Nellie. It is very expensive."</p> - -<p>"Oh, no, if we go we sha'n't be able to live at the hotel," confessed -the clergyman's daughter. "But the children will get the benefit of the -sea air."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" murmured Amy. "Hackle Island is a nice place."</p> - -<p>"But it ain't as nice as mine!" Henrietta suddenly broke in. "My island -is the best. And I wouldn't let those girls on it—not on my part of -it."</p> - -<p>"What is that ridiculous child talking about?" demanded Belle -scornfully, while Bill Brewster continued to crawl about under his car -to discover if possible what had happened to it. "What does she mean?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I got an island, and everything," announced Henrietta. "I'm going to -be just as rich as you are, but I won't be so mean."</p> - -<p>"Then you would better begin by not talking meanly," advised Jessie, -admonishingly.</p> - -<p>"Well," sniffed Henrietta, "I haven't got to let 'em on my island if I -don't want to, have I?"</p> - -<p>"You needn't fret," laughed Sally Moon. "Your island is like your -witch's curse. All in your mind."</p> - -<p>"Is that so?" flared out little Henrietta. "Your old picnic was just -spoiled by my bad weather, wasn't it? Well, then, wait till you try to -get on my island," and she shook a threatening head, and even her green -parasol, in her earnestness.</p> - -<p>Sally laughed again scornfully. But Belle flounced out of the -automobile.</p> - -<p>"Come on!" she exclaimed. "Bill will never get this car fixed."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, I will, Belle," came Bill's muffled voice from under the car. -"I always do."</p> - -<p>"Well, who wants to wait all day for you to repair it, and then ride -home with a fellow all smeared up with oil and soot? Come on, Sally."</p> - -<p>Sally Moon meekly followed. That was how she kept in Belle Ringold's -good graces. You had to do everything Belle said, and do just as she -did, or you could not be friends with her.</p> - -<p>"Well," Monty Shannon drawled, "as far as I think, you both can go. I -won't weep none. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> Bill's going to weep when he tells his father -about this busted carriage."</p> - -<p>"All Bill has to do is to deny it," snapped Belle Ringold. "Nobody -would believe you against our testimony."</p> - -<p>"Nobody but the judge," laughed Amy. "Don't be such a goose, Belle. We -will all testify for Mr. Cabbage-head Tony."</p> - -<p>Bill crawled out from under his automobile as the two girls who had -been passengers walked away. He was just as much smutted as Belle said -he would be. But he looked after her and her friend without betraying -any dissatisfaction.</p> - -<p>"It's all right," he said to Monty. "I guess you couldn't help being in -the way. This car does go wrong once in a while. You can jump in the -car and I'll take you home and tell the chap that owns the pony how it -happened. He can come to my father and get paid."</p> - -<p>"Not much," said the Dogtown boy. "I'll have to lead the pony. But you -can take Hen back to Dogtown."</p> - -<p>"Is it safe?" asked Jessie, for Henrietta had started for the red car -at once. She was crazy about automobiles.</p> - -<p>"If it goes bad again I can get out," said the child importantly. "I -won't wait for it to turn topsy-turvy."</p> - -<p>"She will be all right," said Bill Brewster<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> gloomily. "Father will -make me pay for this carriage out of my own money. I'm rather glad we -are going where I can't use the machine for the rest of the summer. It -eats up all my pocket money."</p> - -<p>"Where are your folks going, Billy?" asked Jessie politely.</p> - -<p>"Oh, we always go to Hackle Island."</p> - -<p>"Everybody is going to an island," laughed Amy. "I guess we'll have to -accept Hen's invitation and go to her island, Jess."</p> - -<p>"It's a lot better island than that one those girls are going to," -repeated Henrietta, with confidence, climbing into the red car.</p> - -<p>When the latter was gone, and Monty Shannon was out of sight, leading -the brown and white pony, the three Roselawn girls discussed little -Henrietta's story of her sudden wealth, and particularly of her -possession of Station Island, wherever that was.</p> - -<p>"Of course, we won't understand the rights of the matter till we see -Bertha," said Jessie. "She must know all about it."</p> - -<p>"I wonder where Station Island is situated?" Amy observed. "Let's hunt -an atlas—Oh, no, we won't! Here is something better."</p> - -<p>"Something better than an atlas?" laughed Nell. "A walking geography?"</p> - -<p>"You said it," rejoined Amy. "Papa knows all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> about such things. I -can't even remember how New Melford is bounded; but you'd think he had -been all around the world, and walked every step of the way."</p> - -<p>"And you never will know, Amy Drew, if you ask somebody every time you -want to know anything and never stop to work the thing out yourself," -admonished Jessie.</p> - -<p>"Oh, piffle!" exclaimed the careless Amy. "What's the use?"</p> - -<p>Mr. Drew was just coming out of his own grounds across the boulevard, -and his daughter hailed him.</p> - -<p>"Want to ask you an important question, papa," cried Amy, running to -meet him and hanging to his arm.</p> - -<p>"Ahem! If you expect advice, I expect a retainer," said the lawyer -soberly.</p> - -<p>"Nothing like that! I know you lawyers. I am going to wait to see -if your advice is worth anything," declared his gay daughter. "Now, -listen! Did you ever hear of Station Island?"</p> - -<p>"I have just heard of it," responded the gentleman promptly.</p> - -<p>"Oh! Don't be so dreadfully smart," said Amy. "I know I am telling -you——"</p> - -<p>"Wrong. I had just heard of it to-day—before you mentioned it," -returned her father. "But I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> have known of it for a good many years, -under another name."</p> - -<p>"Then you do know where Station Island is, Mr. Drew?" cried Jessie, -eagerly. "We do so want to know."</p> - -<p>"That is the new name they have given the place since the big radio -station was established there. It is really Hackle Island, girls, and -has been known by that name since our great-grandparents' days."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></p> - -<p class="center">UNCERTAINTIES</p> - - -<p class="drop">"I<span class="uppercase">t</span> is lucky Henrietta went away before papa came," observed Amy, after -they had discussed the strange matter at some length. "She certainly -would have been mad to learn that Belle and Sally were likely to visit -what she calls her island, without any invitation from her."</p> - -<p>"What do you suppose it all means?" asked Jessie.</p> - -<p>"She must have heard some mixed-up account of an island that belonged -to her family," Nell said, "and got it twisted. I can't see it any -other way. But I must go home now, girls. The Reverend and the children -need looking after by this time. Good-bye."</p> - -<p>Mr. Drew did not explain until evening about his previous knowledge of -the island in question. Then he came over to smoke his after-dinner -cigar on the Norwood's porch, and he and Jessie's father discussed the -matter within the hearing of their two very much interested daughters. -When their fathers did not object, Jessie and Amy often<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> "listened in" -on business conversations, and this one was certainly important to the -minds of the two chums.</p> - -<p>"Did Blair telephone you to-day again about that matter?" Mr. Norwood -asked his neighbor.</p> - -<p>"No. It was Mr. Stratford himself. Takes an interest in Blair's -affairs, you know."</p> - -<p>"It really concerns that Bertha Blair who was of so much value to me in -the Ellison will case. You remember?" observed Mr. Norwood.</p> - -<p>"And it concerns this little freckle-faced child the girls have had -around here so much. Actually, if the thing pans out the way it looks, -Norwood, that child has got something coming to her."</p> - -<p>"She has a good deal coming to her if she can prove she is the daughter -of Padriac Haney," said Jessie's father, with vigor.</p> - -<p>"You are inclined to take the matter up?"</p> - -<p>"I am. I'll do all I can. Blair has no money to risk——"</p> - -<p>"He won't need any," said Mr. Drew, quite as decisively. "If you can -spend your time on it, so can I. It won't break us, Norwood, to help -the child."</p> - -<p>"Not at all," agreed Mr. Norwood, generously.</p> - -<p>"But is it really true, Daddy, that Hackle Island belongs to little -Henrietta and Bertha?" asked Jessie.</p> - -<p>"A good part of it, apparently. All of the mid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>dle of the island," he -returned. "The Government owns Sable Point where the old lighthouse -stands and where the radio station is now established. That has been a -government reservation for years. At the other end is the Hackle Island -Hotel, always popular with a certain class of moneyed people."</p> - -<p>"I have been there," said Mr. Drew, nodding. "But there is a bunch of -bungalows in between——"</p> - -<p>"By the way," interposed Mr. Norwood, "my wife said something about -taking one of those for a month or two. I have the tentative offer of -one."</p> - -<p>"O-oh!" gasped Amy, clasping her hands.</p> - -<p>Her father laughed outright. "See," he said to the other lawyer. "You -are going to have a guest, if you go there. I can see that."</p> - -<p>"The bungalow is big enough for the girls and their friends," admitted -Jessie's father.</p> - -<p>"That beats the farm!" cried Amy to Jessie.</p> - -<p>"It will be nice. And we can take Henrietta and Bertha along."</p> - -<p>"They are going in any case, I hear from Blair," said Mr. Norwood -briskly. "His wife will take them. There is an old farmhouse that -belongs to the Haney estate. You see, a part of the bungalow colony -and the Club golf course are included in the old Haney place. The real -estate men who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> exploited the island a few years ago did not trouble -themselves to get clear title to the land. They made their bit and -got out. Now there are two parties laying claim to the middle of the -island."</p> - -<p>"Oh, dear!" cried Jessie. "Then it isn't sure that little Henrietta -will get her island? Too bad!"</p> - -<p>"Personally I am pretty sure that she will," said Mr. Norwood, with -conviction. "But it will cause a court fight. There is another -claimant, as I say."</p> - -<p>"You are right," agreed Mr. Drew. "And he is a fighter. Ringold never -gives up a thing until he has to."</p> - -<p>"Goodness!" breathed Amy. "Not Belle's father?"</p> - -<p>"It is the New Melford Ringold," said Mr. Drew. "His claim is -based upon an old note that the original Padriac Haney gave some -money-lender. Ringold bought the paper along with a lot of other fishy -documents. You know, he has always been a note shaver."</p> - -<p>"I know something about that," said Mr. Norwood, grimly. "Don't worry -too much about it. Ringold may have a lot of money, but he won't spend -too much to try to make good a bad claim. He doesn't throw a spat to -catch a herring; he would only risk a sprat for whale bait," and he -laughed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> - -<p>However, the two girls had heard quite enough to yield food for chatter -for some time to come. Jessie had kept close watch of the time by her -wrist-watch. She now beckoned her chum, and they ran indoors and up the -stairs to Jessie's sitting-room.</p> - -<p>"It is almost time for the concert from Stratfordtown," Jessie said. -"And Bertha telephoned me yesterday that she hoped to sing to-night."</p> - -<p>"Lucky girl!" said Amy, sighing. "It's nice to have an uncle who bosses -a broadcasting station. But, never mind, Jess, we had fun the time we -were on the program. Say! the boys will be home to-morrow."</p> - -<p>"No! Do you mean it?"</p> - -<p>"Papa got a wireless. The <i>Marigold</i> now has a real radio telegraph -sending and receiving set. Darry says it is great. But, of course, you -and I can't get anything from them because we do not know Morse."</p> - -<p>"Let's learn!" exclaimed Jessie, excitedly.</p> - -<p>"Sometimes when you get your set tuned wrong you hear some of the code. -But the telegraph wave-length is much, much longer than the phone -lengths. Guess you'd have a job listening in for anything Darry and -Burd Alling would send from that old yacht."</p> - -<p>"We can learn the Morse alphabet, just the same, can't we?" demanded -her chum.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Now, there you go again!" complained Amy. "Always suggesting something -that is work. I don't want to have to learn a single thing until we go -back to school in the fall. Believe me!"</p> - -<p>Her emphasis only made Jessie laugh. She adjusted the crystal detector, -or cat's whisker, as the girls called it, and then began to tune the -coil until, with the tabs at her ears, she could hear a voice rising -out of the void, nearer and nearer, until it seemed speaking directly -in her ear:</p> - -<p>"With which announcement we begin our evening's entertainment from the -Stratfordtown Station. The first number on the program being——"</p> - -<p>"Do you hear that? It is Mr. Blair himself," whispered Amy eagerly. -"And he says——"</p> - -<p>Jessie held up her hand for silence as the superintendent of the -broadcasting station at Stratfordtown went on to announce, "Miss Bertha -Blair, who will sing 'Will o' the Wisp,' Mr. Angler being at the piano. -I thank you."</p> - -<p>The piano prelude came to the ears of the Roselawn girls almost -instantly. Jessie and Amy smiled at each other. They were proud to -think that they had something to do with Bertha's becoming a favorite -on the Stratfordtown programs, and likewise that their interest in the -girl first served to call the superintendent's attention to her. In -"The Roselawn Girls on the Program"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> is told of Bertha's first meeting -with her uncle who had never before seen her.</p> - -<p>They listened to the hour's program and then tuned the receiver to get -what was being broadcasted from a city station—a talk on economics -that interested to a degree even the two high-school girls. For -frivolous as Amy usually appeared to be, she was a good scholar and, -like Jessie, stood well in her classes.</p> - -<p>There was not much but a desire for fun in Amy's mind the next morning, -however, when she ran across the boulevard to the Norwood place. It -was right after breakfast, and she wore her middy blouse and short -skirt, with canvas ties on her feet. She trilled for Jessie under the -radio-room windows:</p> - -<p>"You-oo! You-oo! 'Mary Ann! My Mary Ann! I'll meet you on the corner!' -Come-on-out!"</p> - -<p>Jessie appeared from the breakfast room, and Momsy, as Jessie always -called her mother, looked out, too.</p> - -<p>"What have you girls on your minds for this morning?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Our new canoe, Mrs. Norwood. You know, we gave the old one to those -Dogtown youngsters, and our new one has never been christened yet."</p> - -<p>"Shall I bring a hat?" asked Jessie, hesitatingly.</p> - -<p>"What for? To bail out the canoe? Bill says it is perfectly sound and -safe," laughed Amy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> - -<p>"You are getting wee freckles on your nose, Jessie," said Mrs. Norwood.</p> - -<p>"Why worry?" demanded Amy. "You can never get as many as Hen wears—and -her nose isn't as big as yours."</p> - -<p>"It is by good luck, not good management, that you do not freckle, Amy -Drew," declared her chum. "I'll take the shade hat."</p> - -<p>"Why not a sunbonnet?" scoffed Amy.</p> - -<p>But Jessie laughed and ran out with her hat. It floated behind her, -held by the two strings, as she raced her chum down to the boat -landing. The Norwood boathouse sheltered several different craft, -among others a motor-boat that Amy's brother, Darrington Drew, owned. -But Darry and his chum, Burd Alling, had lost their interest in the -<i>Water Thrush</i> since they had been allowed to put into commission, and -navigate themselves, the steam-yacht <i>Marigold</i>, which was a legacy to -Darry from an uncle now deceased.</p> - -<p>The girls got the new canoe out without assistance from the gardener or -his helper. They were thoroughly capable out-of-door girls. They had -erected the antenna for Jessie's radio set without any help. Both were -good boatmen—"if a girl can be a man," to quote Amy—and they could -handle the <i>Water Thrush</i> as well as the canoe.</p> - -<p>They launched and paddled out from the shore in perfect form. The sun -was scorching, but there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> was a tempering breeze. It was therefore -cooler out toward the middle of the lake than inshore. The glare of the -sun on the water troubled even the thoughtless Amy.</p> - -<p>"Oh, aren't you the wise little owl, Jess Norwood!" she cried. "To -think of wearing a sun-hat! And here am I with nothing to shelter me -from the torrid rays. I am going to burn and peel and look horrid—I -know I shall! I'll not be fit to go to Hackle Island—if we go."</p> - -<p>"Oh, we're going, all right!"</p> - -<p>"You're mighty certain, from the way you talk. Has it been really -settled? 'There's many a slip' and all that, you know."</p> - -<p>"Father asked Momsy about it at breakfast before he went to town, and -she said she had quite made up her mind," Jessie said. "He will make -the arrangements with the owner of the house."</p> - -<p>"Oh, goody! A bungalow?" cried Amy.</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"How big, dear? Can the boys come?"</p> - -<p>"Of course. There are fourteen rooms. It is a big place. We will shut -up the house here and send down most of the serving people ahead. We -shall have at least one good month of salt air."</p> - -<p>"Hooray!" cried Amy, swinging her paddle recklessly. "And I've got just -the most scrumptious idea, Jess. I'll tell you——"</p> - -<p>But something unexpected happened just then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> that quite drove out of -Amy Drew's mind the idea she had to impart to her chum. She brought the -paddle she had waved down with an awful smack on the water. The spray -spattered all about. Jessie flung herself back to escape some of the -in-wash, and by so doing her gaze struck upon something on the surface -of the lake, far ahead.</p> - -<p>"Oh! Oh!" she shrieked. "What is that, Amy? Somebody is drowning!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></p> - -<p class="center">INTO TROUBLE AND OUT</p> - - -<p class="drop">A<span class="uppercase">my Drew</span> sat up in the canoe as high as she could and stared ahead. -Jessie's observation suggested trouble; but Amy almost immediately -burst out laughing.</p> - -<p>"'Drowning!'" she repeated. "Why, Jess Norwood, you know that -you couldn't drown those Dogtown kids. And if that isn't some of -them—Monty Shannon, and the Costello twins, and the rest of them—I'm -much mistaken."</p> - -<p>"But see those barrels and tubs and what-all!" gasped her more serious -friend. "Look there! It's Henrietta!"</p> - -<p>The fleet of strange barges that Jessie had first spied included, -it seemed, almost every sort of craft that could be improvised. A -rainwater barrel led the procession of "boats," and Montmorency Shannon -was in that, paddling with some kind of paddle that he wielded with no -little skill.</p> - -<p>There were two wooden washtubs in which the Costello twins voyaged. -One was much lower in the water than the other, giving evidence of -having shipped more water than its mate. In a water-trough that had -been filched from somebody's barnyard was little Henrietta and Charlie -Foley.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> - -<p>"They will be overboard!" exclaimed Jessie, anxiously. "Drive ahead, -Amy—do!"</p> - -<p>The wind was blowing directly in their faces and from the direction of -the Dogtown landing, where the flotilla had evidently embarked. The -tubs spun around and around, the half-barrel in which Monty Shannon -sat tried to perform the same gyrations, but Henrietta and the Foley -boy blundered ahead. It was plain to Jessie's mind that the reckless -children could not have sailed in the other direction had they wished -to do so.</p> - -<p>"What do you come out here for?" she shrieked when the canoe drew near.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Miss Jessie, we are going to the Carter place," sang out Henrietta.</p> - -<p>"But the Carter place is down the lake, not up!" exclaimed the -exasperated Jessie.</p> - -<p>"Yes. But the wind shifted," said Henrietta.</p> - -<p>"Where is your big canoe?" demanded Amy, who could scarcely paddle from -laughter, in spite of the evident danger the children were in.</p> - -<p>"That is what we started after," said Montmorency Shannon, his red head -sticking out of the barrel like a full-blown holyhock. "It got away in -the night, or somebody let it go, and we saw it away down by the Carter -place. So—so we thought we'd go after it."</p> - -<p>"And I warrant your mothers don't know what you are doing," Jessie said -sternly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Oh, they will!" cried Henrietta, virtuously.</p> - -<p>"When they miss the washtubs," put in Amy, with laughter.</p> - -<p>"When we tell 'em," corrected little Henrietta. "And we always tell 'em -everything we do."</p> - -<p>"I see. After it is all over," Jessie commented.</p> - -<p>"We-ell," said Henrietta, pouting, "we can't tell 'em what we have done -before we do it, can we? For we never know ourselves."</p> - -<p>"You certainly cannot beat that for logic," declared Amy. She drove the -head of the canoe to the tub of the nearest Costello twin. "Get in here -carefully, Micky. You are going down."</p> - -<p>"That's 'cause Aloysius always gets the best tub. <i>He</i> ain't sinking -none," said Michael Costello, scowling at his twin.</p> - -<p>"Quick!" commanded Amy, and the disgruntled Costello swarmed over -the side of the canoe. "We can take in one more. Who is the nearest -drowned?"</p> - -<p>"I'm sitting in half a foot of water," confessed the red-haired -Shannon, grinning.</p> - -<p>"A little soaking will do <i>you</i> good. I can guess who suggested this -crazy venture," Jessie said. "Come, Henrietta."</p> - -<p>"I need her to trim ship!" cried Charlie Foley.</p> - -<p>"What do you want to trim your ship with—red, white and blue?" -demanded Amy. "If that trough sinks I know you can swim, Charlie."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p> - -<p>The crowd would have had some difficulty in getting back to shore with -the wind blowing as freshly as it did if the girls had not come along -and, in relays, helped them all back.</p> - -<p>"What Mrs. Shannon will say when she sees her two washtubs floating off -like that, I don't know," sighed Henrietta, after they were all ashore.</p> - -<p>"One of 'em's sunk, so she can't see it," Micky Costello said calmly. -"Maybe the other will go down. Don't you big girls say anything and -maybe she won't find it out."</p> - -<p>Jessie and Amy had headed for Dogtown in the first place without any -expectation of playing a life-saving part. Jessie thought they ought -to see Mrs. Foley, who was fleshy and easy of disposition, and ask her -about Henrietta's visit. So they accompanied the freckle-faced little -girl to the Foley house.</p> - -<p>"I ain't telling 'em all they can come to visit my island, Miss -Jessie," said the little girl. "But of course, the Foleys could come. -Mrs. Blair and Bertha wouldn't mind just them, of course. There's only -Mrs. Foley and Charlie and Billy and the baby and three more boys -and—and—well, that's all, only Mr. Foley. He wouldn't want to come."</p> - -<p>"You would better be sure of your island, and just how much you own -of it, Hen," advised Amy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> Drew. "It may not be big enough to hold -everybody you want to invite."</p> - -<p>"Why, Miss Amy, it's a awful big island," declared little Henrietta. -"It's got a whole golf link on it. I heard Mr. Blair say so."</p> - -<p>The "bulgy" Mrs. Foley welcomed the Roselawn girls with her usual -copiousness. Of course, she had the youngest Foley in her lap, and the -housework was "at sixes and sevens," since little Henrietta had been at -Stratfordtown for a week.</p> - -<p>"How I'm going to git used, young ladies, to havin' that child away is -more than I can say. 'Tis a great mistake I have all boys for childers. -There is nothing like a smart girl around the house."</p> - -<p>Jessie, very curious, asked the woman what she knew about Henrietta's -wonderful story of wealth.</p> - -<p>"Sure, I've always expected it would come to her some day," declared -Mrs. Foley. "Her mother, who was a good neighbor of mine before we -moved out here to the lake, said Hen's father come of rich folks. They -used to drive their own carriage. That was before automobiles come in -so plenteous."</p> - -<p>"Did Bertha ever say anything about it, Mrs. Foley?"</p> - -<p>"Not much. 'Tis Hen will be the rich wan. Oh, yes. And glad I am if the -child is about to come into her own. She's no business to be run<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>ning -down here every chance she gets. I had himself telephone to Bertha when -he went to town this morning, and it is likely she will be here after -the child. Hen's as wild as a hawk."</p> - -<p>Bertha Blair, in fact, appeared in a hired car before Jessie and Amy -were ready to return in their canoe to Roselawn. She was quite as -excited as Henrietta had been about the strange fortune that promised -to come into their lives. Bertha could tell the chums from Roselawn -many more particulars of the Padriac Haney property.</p> - -<p>"If little Henrietta will only be good and not be so wild and learn her -lessons and mind what she's told," Bertha said seriously, "maybe she -will have money and an island—or part of one, anyway. But she does not -behave very well. She is as wild as a March hare."</p> - -<p>Little Henrietta looked serious for her; but Mrs. Foley took her part -at once.</p> - -<p>"Sure don't be expectin' too much of the child at wance, Bertha. She's -run as wild as the wind itself here. She's fought and played with these -Dogtown kids since she was able to toddle around. What would ye expect?"</p> - -<p>"But she must learn," declared the older girl. "Mrs. Blair won't take -us to the island this summer if she is not good."</p> - -<p>"Then I'll go myself," announced Henrietta.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> "It's my island, ain't it? -Who has a better right there?"</p> - -<p>Jessie took a hand at this point, shaking her head gravely at the -freckled little girl.</p> - -<p>"Do you suppose, Henrietta Haney, that your friends—like Mrs. Foley or -Mrs. Blair, or even Amy and I—will want to come to your island to see -you if you are not a good girl?"</p> - -<p>"Say, if I get rich can't I do like I want to—like other rich folks?"</p> - -<p>"You most certainly cannot. Rich people, if they are to be loved, must -be even more careful in their conduct than poor folks."</p> - -<p>"We-ell," confessed the freckled little girl frankly, "I'd rather be -rich than be loved. If I can't be both <i>easy</i>, I'll be rich."</p> - -<p>"Such amazing worldliness!" sighed Amy, raising her hands in mock -horror.</p> - -<p>But Jessie Norwood truly wished the little girl to be nice. Poor little -Henrietta, however, had much to unlearn. She chattered continually -about the island she owned and the riches she was to enjoy. The smaller -children of Dogtown followed her—and the green parasol—about as -though they were enchanted.</p> - -<p>"'Tis a witch she certainly is," declared Mrs. Foley. "She's bewitched -them all, so she has. But I'm lost widout her, meself. When a woman<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> -has six—and them all boys—and a man that drinks——"</p> - -<p>This statement of her personal affairs had been so often heard by the -three girls that they all tried to sidetrack Mrs. Foley's complaint. It -was Jessie, however, who advanced a really good reason for getting out -of the Foley house.</p> - -<p>"I promised Monty Shannon I would look at his radio set," she said, -jumping up. "You will excuse us for a little, Mrs. Foley? You are not -going back to Stratfordtown at once, Bertha?"</p> - -<p>"Before long. I have only hired the car for the forenoon. The man has -another job this afternoon. And I must find that Henrietta again," -for the freckle-faced little girl was as lively, so Amy said, as a -water-bug—"one of those skimmery things with long legs that dart along -the surface of the water."</p> - -<p>The trio went out and across the cinder-covered yard to the Shannon -house. The immediate surroundings of Dogtown were squalid, although its -site upon the edge of Lake Mononset might have been made very pleasant -indeed.</p> - -<p>"If these boys like Monty Shannon and some of the girls stay at home -when they grow up they surely will improve the looks of the village," -Jessie had said. "For Monty and his kind are altogether too smart not -to want to live as other people do."</p> - -<p>"You've said it," agreed Amy, with enthusiasm.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> "He <i>is</i> smart. He has -a better radio receiver than you have. Wait till you see."</p> - -<p>"How do you know?" asked the surprised Jessie.</p> - -<p>"He was telling me about it. You know how often some 'squeak box,' or -other amateur operator, breaks in on our concerts."</p> - -<p>"We-ell, not so often now," Jessie said. "I have learned more about -tuning and wave-lengths. But, of course, I have only a single circuit -crystal receiving set. I have been talking to Dad about getting a -better one."</p> - -<p>"Monty will show you," Amy said with confidence, as they knocked at the -Shannon door.</p> - -<p>The little cottage was small. Downstairs there were but two rooms. The -door gave access to the kitchen, and beyond was the "sitting-room," -of which Monty's mother was inordinately proud. She was a widow, and -helped herself and her children by doing fine laundry work for the -wealthy people of New Melford.</p> - -<p>From the front room when the girls entered came sounds that they -recognized—radio sounds which held their instant attention, although -they were merely market reports at that hour in the forenoon.</p> - -<p>"Isn't it wonderful?" Bertha Blair said, clasping her hands. "I never -can get over the wonder of it."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Same here," Amy declared. "When Jess and I listened to you singing the -'Will o' the Wisp' last night it seemed almost shivery that we should -recognize the very tones of your voice out of the air."</p> - -<p>"Huh!" exclaimed Montmorency, grinning. "I got so I know the -announcers, too. When that Mr. Blair speaks I know him. Of course, I -know Mr. Mark Stratford's voice, for I've talked with him. I wouldn't -have such a fine machine here, only he advised me."</p> - -<p>"Tell me," Jessie said, "what is the difference between my receiving -set and yours, Monty?"</p> - -<p>"If you want to hear clearly and keep outside radio out of your -machine, use a regenerative radio set with an audion detector. -The whole business, Miss Jessie, is in the detector, after all. -A regenerative set of this kind is selective enough—that's the -expression Mr. Mark used—to enable any one to tune out all but a few -commercial stations. And they don't often butt in to annoy you. For -sure, you'll kill all the amateur squeak-boxes and other transmission -stations of that class.</p> - -<p>"Now, I'm going to tune in for Stratfordtown. They are sending the -Government weather reports and mother wants to know should she water -her tomatoes or depend on a thunderstorm," and he grinned at Mrs. -Shannon, who stood, an awkward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> but smiling figure, in the doorway -between the two rooms.</p> - -<p>"'Tis too wonderful a thing for me to understand, at all, at all," -admitted the widow. "However can they tell you out of that machine -there is a thunderstorm coming?"</p> - -<p>"Listen!" exclaimed the boy eagerly. There was a horn on the set and no -need for earphones. He had tuned the market reports out. From the horn -came a different voice. But the words the visitors heard had nothing to -do with the report on the weather. "What's the matter?" demanded Monty -Shannon. "Listen to this, will you?"</p> - -<p>"... she will come home at once. This is serious—a serious call for -Bertha Blair."</p> - -<p>"Do you hear that?" almost shrieked Amy Drew. "Why, it must mean you, -Bertha!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></p> - -<p class="center">CHANGED PLANS</p> - - -<p class="drop">"H<span class="uppercase">ow</span> ridiculous!" Jessie cried. "That surely cannot mean you, Bertha."</p> - -<p>"Hush!" begged Amy. "It's uncanny."</p> - -<p>Again the slow voice enunciated: "Bertha Blair will come home at once. -This is serious—a serious call for Bertha Blair."</p> - -<p>"Criminy!" shouted Monty Shannon. "I know who that is. It's Mr. Mark -Stratford."</p> - -<p>"He is calling for you, Bertha," said Jessie. "Can it be possible?"</p> - -<p>"Something has happened!" gasped Bertha, starting for the door of the -cottage. "Where is that child?"</p> - -<p>"Never mind Henrietta. We will take care of her," Jessie called after -the worried girl, wishing to relieve her anxiety.</p> - -<p>Bertha ran out of the house, and the next moment the Roselawn girls -heard the car start. Bertha was being whisked away to Stratfordtown. -The voice of Mark Stratford continued to repeat the call several times. -Then he read the weather report, as expected.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I can tell you one thing," Jessie said eagerly to her chum and the -Shannons. "Mark Stratford does not usually give out the announcements -from that station. Now, does he, Monty?"</p> - -<p>"No, ma'am, Miss Jessie. Only once in a while."</p> - -<p>"Then something has happened at the Blair house, or to Mr. Blair -himself. That is why they send out this call, hoping that somebody down -here would get it and tell Bertha."</p> - -<p>"Think! How funny it must feel to hear your name called out of the air -in that way," Amy remarked.</p> - -<p>"Why, we had that experience ourselves," Jessie said. "Don't you -remember? Mark thanked us publicly for finding his watch."</p> - -<p>"But that was not just like this," replied Amy. "Anyway, there is -something unsatisfactory about radio—and always will be—until we can -'talk back' as well as receive. See! If Monty had a sending set as well -as a receiving, he could have answered Mark Stratford, and told him -Bertha had heard the call and was starting home without any delay."</p> - -<p>"I am afraid something really serious has happened," Jessie said. -"Let's go back home and call up Stratfordtown on the telephone."</p> - -<p>"We'll take Hen along with us," agreed Amy. "You said we'd take care of -her."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p> - -<p>This the Roselawn girls did. When they set out from Dogtown in their -canoe, Henrietta sat amidships. She was delighted to visit the -Norwoods. She had stayed over night with Jessie before.</p> - -<p>They passed the flotilla of tubs and barrels that the Dogtown children -had set afloat. Mrs. Shannon would never see her washtubs again. -Meanwhile the Costello twins and Charlie Foley had set out to walk -around the lake and recover the big canoe from the place where it had -drifted ashore on the other side.</p> - -<p>"They certainly are the worst young ones," commented Amy Drew. "Always -in mischief of some kind."</p> - -<p>"There ain't much else to get into at Dogtown," said little Henrietta -soberly. "We don't have any boy scouts or girl scouts or anything like -that. They have <i>them</i> at Stratfordtown. Mrs. Blair told me about 'em. -I guess I'll join the girl scouts and take 'em all out on my island."</p> - -<p>Little Henrietta was still intensely excited about "her island." -What the Roselawn girls heard over the telephone when they got home -again was not encouraging. It seemed at first that Henrietta must be -disappointed.</p> - -<p>Jessie ran in to the telephone as soon as they arrived. She did not -know the number of Mr. Blair's private telephone—if he had one. But -she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> knew how to get in touch with Mark Stratford whether he was at -his home or at the offices of the Stratford Electric Company. She was -able to speak with the young man almost at once, and questioned him -excitedly.</p> - -<p>"Yes. I know that Bertha has got home. I took a chance to reach her at -Dogtown when I heard where she had gone," Mark Stratford said. "You -know Monty Shannon is a protégé of mine, and I have an idea he is -listening in most of the time at that set he has built."</p> - -<p>"But what is the matter? Has Mr. Blair been hurt?"</p> - -<p>"It is Mrs. Blair. She fell downstairs and has hurt herself severely. -Did it not ten minutes after Bertha went out. Broke her leg. She will -be in bed for weeks. I understand that they were planning to go away -for the summer," said Mark, sympathetically. "But that cannot be now. -At least, I suppose Bertha will have to remain to take care of her -aunt."</p> - -<p>"Sh! Don't tell little Hen," begged Amy Drew, when she heard this. "The -child will be heartbroken. Without Bertha and Mrs. Blair Hennie can't -go to her island."</p> - -<p>Jessie made no audible reply to this. And she certainly had no -intention of telling Henrietta the very worst. She discussed the -situation with Momsy, and before Daddy Norwood returned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> from town that -afternoon mother and daughter had just about perfected a very nice plan -for little Henrietta.</p> - -<p>"Well, you are to go to Hackle Island, Momsy," Mr. Norwood said, when -he first came in. "I have signed the agreement. You can send the people -down to make the house ready to-morrow, if you like. I understand there -will not be much to do about the place. We can all go by the end of the -week."</p> - -<p>"You take my breath away—as usual," laughed Jessie's mother. "You are -always so prompt, Robert."</p> - -<p>"And you will have a house full of company, I suppose?" he rejoined, -but looking at Jessie with a smile.</p> - -<p>"We are going to have one guest you didn't expect, Daddy," rejoined his -daughter. She told him swiftly of what had happened at the Blair home -in Stratfordtown. "So that spoils it all for little Henrietta, you see, -Daddy, if we don't take her. And you know she is crazy to see what she -calls her island."</p> - -<p>"Sure that she won't make you and Momsy crazy, Jess?" he asked, his -eyes twinkling. "That child is as lively as an eel and as noisy as a -steam-roller."</p> - -<p>"How can you say such things, Daddy?" cried Jessie, shaking a reproving -head. "We have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> agreed to take her if you and the Blairs are willing. -And Momsy and I will try to teach her the things she'll need to know."</p> - -<p>"M-mm. Well, perhaps you will have success. You have done pretty well -with me," laughed Mr. Norwood, who made believe that his wife and -daughter had "brought him up by hand." "Being guided in any way will be -a novel experience for little Hen, that is sure."</p> - -<p>He agreed so well with his wife's and Jessie's plans, however, that he -called Mr. Blair up that evening and proposed to keep little Henrietta -and take her to Hackle, or Station, Island, while Mrs. Blair was -confined to her house. As Jessie's father, along with Mr. Drew, had -taken legal charge of Henrietta's affairs for the time being, it was -right that the orphan child should be in Mrs. Norwood's care.</p> - -<p>"There is an almost certain chance the child is going to be very -wealthy," Mr. Norwood said seriously, to Jessie's mother. "Her -education and improvement cannot begin too soon. She is as wild as a -hawk and she needs encouragement and government both."</p> - -<p>Henrietta took quite as a matter of course every change that came to -her. She had no particular affection for Mrs. Blair, for she had not -known her long enough. She was delighted to go to "her island" with -Jessie and her parents. As long as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> she got there and could survey her -domain, little Henrietta was bound to be satisfied. But Jessie knew she -would have to restrain the child in her desire to invite everybody she -knew and liked to come to the island while she was there.</p> - -<p>The Norwood family had not even discussed how they were to travel -to the island—by what route—when Amy Drew bounded in. Jessie and -Henrietta were upstairs in Jessie's room listening to the bedtime -story. A little girl not much older than Henrietta was telling the -story, and Henrietta thought that was quite wonderful.</p> - -<p>"I know that Bertha and you other big girls sing into the radio," the -freckle-faced child said, when it was over. "Do you suppose Mr. Blair -would let me recite into it like that?"</p> - -<p>"What would you say?" asked Amy, laughing as her chum and the smaller -girl removed their earphones.</p> - -<p>"Why—why," said Henrietta eagerly, "I would tell stories, too. Spotted -Snake, the Witch, used to tell stories to Billy Foley and the other -Dogtown kids to keep them quiet. And they liked 'em."</p> - -<p>"We'll see about that when we come back from your island, Henrietta," -said Jessie, smiling.</p> - -<p>"And listen!" exclaimed Amy. "You remember I said I had a great idea -about our going to Hackle Island. I didn't finish telling you, Jess."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p> - -<p>"That is right," her chum rejoined. "And no wonder, when we spied that -crew of crazy ones venturing to sea in tubs!" and Jessie laughed.</p> - -<p>"Listen here," Amy said more seriously. "The boys have come home. I -told you they were due. The <i>Marigold</i> is all right now. Her engines -and everything are working fine. So, why don't we take this opportunity -to see what she is like. Darry has promised us long enough."</p> - -<p>"Oh, but we are going to Hackle Island!" cried Jessie.</p> - -<p>"Station Island," put in Henrietta. "<i>My</i> island."</p> - -<p>"Of course. That is what I mean," Amy hastened to say. "Instead of -taking the train and then the regular boat, why not get the boys to -take us all the way from the yacht club moorings to Station Island, or -whatever it is called?"</p> - -<p>"Why, Amy, that would be fine!" cried Jessie. "Will Darry do it?"</p> - -<p>"He will or I shall disown him as a brother," declared her chum, with -vigor.</p> - -<p>"Let's run and see what Momsy says!" exclaimed the eager Jessie.</p> - -<p>"We'd better go and <i>hear</i> what she says," laughed the irrepressible. -"Come on, Hen! You want to be in it. Wouldn't you like a boat ride to -your island?"</p> - -<p>"Why, how do you suppose I was going to get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> there?" demanded the -little maid. "Automobiles don't run to islands—nor yet steam trains. -But I hope the boat won't leak as bad as that trough me and Charlie -Foley sailed in this morning," she added thoughtfully.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></p> - -<p class="center">FORECASTS</p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">he</span> plan Amy had originated for going to Station Island on her -brother's yacht was approved by Jessie's mother and father, and in -the end the Drew family agreed to make the voyage, too. Mrs. Norwood -sent down her housekeeper and a staff of servants in advance so that -everything would be in readiness for the yachting party.</p> - -<p>A few articles of clothing had been bought for Henrietta when she had -gone to the Blairs. But, besides being few, they were hardly suitable -for an outing on Station Island. So Jessie and Amy were allowed to -use their own taste in selecting the child's outfit for the island -adventure. And how they did revel in this novel undertaking!</p> - -<p>Being down town on these errands so much during the following two days, -the Roselawn girls were bound to fall in with Belle Ringold and Sally -Moon, as well as with other members of their class in the high school. -Jessie, at least, would never have noticed Belle and her chum could she -have avoided it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p> - -<p>Amy had an overpowering fondness for a concoction called a George -Washington sundae which was to be found only at the New Melford -Dainties Shop. So, of course, each shopping "spree" must end with a -visit to the confectionary shop in question.</p> - -<p>"Come on," Amy said, on the second day. "I told Darry and Burd we'd -wait for them, and we might as well ride home as walk. They have our -second car. Cyprian is driving mamma to a round of afternoon teas and -other junkets. But the boys won't forget us. Come on."</p> - -<p>"'Come on' means only one place to come to," laughed Jessie. "I -know you. What shall we do on that island, Amy, without any George -Washington sundaes?"</p> - -<p>"Say not so!" begged the other girl. "There is a fancy hotel there, -they say, and perhaps it has a soda fountain."</p> - -<p>"Hi! Amy Drew!" called a voice behind them, as they descended the two -steps into the Dainties Shop.</p> - -<p>"Well, would you ever?" demanded Amy, looking around with no eagerness. -"If it isn't Sally Moon and, of course, Belle."</p> - -<p>"Hi, Amy!" repeated Sally. "Let me ask you something."</p> - -<p>"Go ahead," returned Amy, but in no encouraging tone. "It's free to -ask."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p> - -<p>Sally, however, was not easily discouraged. Evidently Belle had put her -up to ask whatever the question was, and to keep friendly with Belle -Ringold Sally had to perform a good many unpleasant tasks.</p> - -<p>"Your brother and Burd Alling have got back with that yacht, haven't -they?" she demanded.</p> - -<p>"You are correctly informed," answered Amy lightly.</p> - -<p>"We want to see them. I suppose the boat is all right? That is, it is -safe, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"So far it hasn't sunk with them," returned Amy scornfully.</p> - -<p>"You needn't be so snippy, Amy Drew," broke in Belle. "We want to see -your brother about the use of the <i>Marigold</i>. I suppose he will let it -to a party—for a price?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," said Amy, staring.</p> - -<p>"Why, that's absurd!" Jessie declared, without thinking. "It is a -pleasure boat, not a cargo boat."</p> - -<p>Amy began to laugh when she saw Belle's face.</p> - -<p>"They don't even take passengers for hire," she said. "Is that what you -want to know?"</p> - -<p>"We want to hire a yacht to take us to Station Island," Sally hastened -to say. "And Belle remembered Darrington's boat——"</p> - -<p>"I don't suppose it is fit to take such a party as ours will be," -interposed Belle.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I guess Darry won't want to let it," said Amy, seeing that the two -girls were in earnest. "Besides, we are going down ourselves this week."</p> - -<p>"Who are going where?" demanded Belle, sharply.</p> - -<p>"It's the Norwoods' party, you know," Amy said, for Jessie had "shut up -as tight as a clam." "Mrs. Norwood has taken a bungalow there."</p> - -<p>"On Station Island—Hackle Island it used to be called?" Sally cried.</p> - -<p>"That is the place. And Darry will take us all on the <i>Marigold</i>. So, I -guess——"</p> - -<p>"We might have known it!" exclaimed Belle, angrily. "The Norwoods or -some of that Roselawn crowd would tag along if we planned something -exclusive."</p> - -<p>But Amy only laughed at this. "You don't own that island, do you? -Remember what little Hen Haney said about owning an island? Well, -Hackle, or Station Island, is the one she meant. She owns a big slice -of it."</p> - -<p>"I don't believe it!" cried Belle.</p> - -<p>"She does. My father says so. And he and Mr. Norwood are going to get -it for her."</p> - -<p>"They will have a fine time doing that," sneered Belle. "Why, <i>my</i> -father has a claim upon all the middle of the island, and he is going -to make his claim good. That nasty little freckle-faced young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> one from -Dogtown will never get a foot of Hackle Island—you see!"</p> - -<p>Amy shrugged her shoulders as she and Jessie took seats at a table. She -knew how to aggravate Belle Ringold, and she sometimes rather impishly -enjoyed bothering the proud girl.</p> - -<p>"And there's one thing," went on Belle, with emphasis, so exasperated -that she did not see Nick, the clerk, who was waiting for her order, "I -wouldn't go away for the summer unless we went to a really fashionable -hotel. No, indeed! Cottagers at seaside places are always of such a -common sort!"</p> - -<p>Amy only laughed. Jessie remained silent. It really did trouble her to -have these controversies with Belle. It was not nice and she did not -feel right after they were over.</p> - -<p>"There is something wrong with us, as well as with Belle," Jessie said -once to Amy, on this topic.</p> - -<p>"I'd like to know what's wrong with us?" her chum demanded. "I like -that!"</p> - -<p>"When we squabble with Belle and Sally we make ourselves just as common -as they are."</p> - -<p>"Tut, tut! Likewise 'go to,' whatever that means," laughed Amy Drew. -"Why, child, if we did not keep up our end of any controversy that -those girls start they would walk all over us."</p> - -<p>However, on this occasion, and at Jessie's earnest desire, Amy hastened -the eating of her George<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> Washington sundae and the two friends got out -of the shop before Darry and Burd Alling appeared in the car.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter?" asked Amy's brother, when the car stopped before -the Dainties Shop and he saw his sister and Jessie waiting. "Spent all -your money and waiting for us to take you in and treat you?"</p> - -<p>"We had ours," Jessie replied promptly, getting into the tonneau.</p> - -<p>"Yes, indeed. 'Home, James!'" Amy added, following her chum.</p> - -<p>"And so we are to be deprived of our needed nourishment because you -piggy-wiggies have had enough?" demanded Burd Alling, with serious -objection. "I—guess—not! Come along, Darry," and he hopped out of the -car.</p> - -<p>"You'd better look ahead before you leap," giggled Amy.</p> - -<p>"What's that?" asked Darry, hesitating and looking at his sister -curiously.</p> - -<p>"What's up her sleeve?" demanded Burd, with suspicion.</p> - -<p>"You can treat Belle and Sally instead of Jessie and me, if you go in," -said Amy.</p> - -<p>"Oh, my aunt!" exclaimed Burd, and sprang into the automobile again. -"Drive on, Darrington! If you love me take me away before those girls -get their hooks in me."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Don't mind about you," growled Darrington, starting the car. "I will -look out for myself, if you please. I hope I never meet up with those -two girls again."</p> - -<p>At that his sister went off into uncontrollable laughter.</p> - -<p>"To think!" she cried. "And Belle and Sally are going to be all summer -on Station Island!"</p> - -<p>"That settles it," announced Darry. "Burd and I will spend our time -aboard the <i>Marigold</i>. How about it, Burd?"</p> - -<p>"Surest thing you know. At least we can escape those two on the yacht."</p> - -<p>And this amused Amy immensely, too. For was not Belle desirous of -chartering the <i>Marigold</i>?</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></p> - -<p class="center">ABOARD THE "MARIGOLD"</p> - - -<p class="drop">B<span class="uppercase">efore</span> she was ready to go to Station Island Jessie Norwood had a few -purchases to make that had nothing to do with little Henrietta Haney. -She had decided to disconnect her radio set and send the instrument -down with the rest of the baggage. In addition, she was determined to -take Monty Shannon's advice and buy the additional parts which made the -Dogtown boy's set so much more successful than her own.</p> - -<p>"We'll buy wire for the antenna, of course," Jessie said to Amy. "Let -our old aerial stand till we return. All we shall have to do will be to -hook it up again when we set up the set in my room."</p> - -<p>So they bought the wire, the lightning switch, and the other small -parts in New Melford and sent them all on the truck with the trunks to -the dock where the <i>Marigold</i> waited. The next day the two families, -the Norwoods and the Drews, as well as Burd Alling and little -Henrietta, were whisked to the yacht club dock in several automobiles.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> - -<p>The girls had heard from Bertha over the telephone. And considering -the state of mind and body that Mrs. Blair was in, the poor woman was -probably very well content that Henrietta should be in Mrs. Norwood's -care for a while.</p> - -<p>The freckle-faced little girl was wild with excitement when she got -aboard Darry's yacht. She had never been on such a craft before.</p> - -<p>"I declare," said Amy, "we'll have to put a ball and chain on this kid, -or she will be overboard."</p> - -<p>Henrietta stared at her. "Is that one of those locket and chain things -you wear around your neck? I'm going to buy me one when I get my -island. I never did own any joolry."</p> - -<p>This set Amy off into a breeze of laughter, but Jessie realized that -Henrietta was perfectly fearless and would need watching while they -were on the yacht.</p> - -<p>The <i>Marigold</i> was by no means a new vessel, but it was roomy and -seaworthy. That it was a coal-burner rather than a modern oil-burner, -or with gasoline engines, did not at all decrease its value in the eyes -of its young owner. Darry Drew was inordinately proud of the yacht.</p> - -<p>He ran it with a small crew, and he and Burd, or whoever of his boy -friends he had aboard, did a share of the work.</p> - -<p>"I declare!" sniffed Amy, "I suppose you will expect Jess and me to go -down and stoke the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> furnaces for you if you get short handed. Why not? -You expect Mrs. Norwood and mamma to do the cooking."</p> - -<p>"Oh, that's only for this voyage. When we have only fellows aboard we -all take turns cooking and get along all right."</p> - -<p>"Does Burd cook?" demanded Amy, in mock horror.</p> - -<p>"Well, he is pretty bad," admitted Darry, with a grin. "But we let him -cook only on days when the sea is rough."</p> - -<p>"And why?" demanded his sister, with wide-open eyes.</p> - -<p>"We never feel much like eating on rough days," explained Darry. "You -see, the <i>Marigold</i> kicks up quite a shindy when the sea is choppy."</p> - -<p>"Let us hope it will be calm all the way to Station Island," Jessie -cried.</p> - -<p>She had her wish. At least, the wind was fair, the sea "kicked up no -combobberation," to quote her chum, and every one enjoyed the sail. If -the <i>Marigold</i> was not a racing boat, her speed was sufficient. They -had no desire to get to the island until the following day.</p> - -<p>Darry's sailing master was a seasoned old mariner named Pandrick. They -called him Skipper. At noon the yacht crossed one of the many "banks" -to which New York fishing boats sail and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> the skipper pronounced the -time opportune for fishing.</p> - -<p>"There's blackfish and flounders on the bottom and yellow-fin and maybe -bass higher up. You won't find a better chance, Mr. Darry," observed -the sailing master.</p> - -<p>Every one grew excited over this prospect, and the boys got out the -tackle and bait. Even Henrietta must fish. Jessie had been about to -suggest a cushioned seat in the cabin for the little girl, with a -pillow and a rug, for she had seen Henrietta nodding after lunch. The -child would not hear of anything like that.</p> - -<p>The anchor was dropped quietly and the <i>Marigold</i> swung at that mooring -while the fishermen took their stations. Darry gave his personal -attention to Henrietta's bait and showed her how to cast her line. The -little girl had been fishing many times, if only for fresh water fish, -and she was not awkward.</p> - -<p>"Don't you bother 'bout me, Miss Jessie," she said to her mentor -impatiently. "I bet I get a fish before you do. I ain't so slow."</p> - -<p>Amy had fixed a station for her chum beside her own in the shade of -the awning. Mr. Norwood and Mr. Drew had brought their rods. Everybody -was soon engaged in an occupation which really calls for the undivided -attention of the fish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>erman. The boys ordered all of them to keep quiet.</p> - -<p>"You know," observed Burd sternly, "although these fish out here may be -dumb, they are not deaf. You chatterboxes keep quiet."</p> - -<p>Jessie was greatly excited. She had a nibble on her hook, then a -positive strike.</p> - -<p>"Oh! O-oh" she squealed under her breath. "There's—there's something!"</p> - -<p>"Is it a wolf or a bear?" demanded Amy, giggling.</p> - -<p>"Can you get it aboard, Jess?" asked Darry, from the other side of the -deck.</p> - -<p>Jessie was not awkward. She had pulled in a good-sized fish before. -This one splashed about a great deal and, when she raised it to the -surface, it looked so much like a big rubber boot that Jessie squealed -and almost dropped it.</p> - -<p>"Hey! What did I say about that stuff?" called out Burd. "You'll give -all the fish nervous prostration. My goodness! What is that?"</p> - -<p>He hurried to give Jessie a hand in hauling up the heavy, slowly -flapping fish. It was half as broad as a dining table, with one side -grayish-white and the other slate color. The skipper gave it a glance -and laughed.</p> - -<p>"Virgin," he said. "We don't eat that kind o' fish."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Oh, dear! isn't it a flounder?" wailed Jessie, disconsolately.</p> - -<p>"No, no. 'Tain't worth anything," said the skipper, unhooking the heavy -and ugly-looking fish.</p> - -<p>They joked Jessie about the worthless flatfish, but she laughed, too. -Baiting again, she threw in, and just at that moment there was a heavy -splash from the other side of the yacht.</p> - -<p>"Somebody else has got a strike," cried Amy. "Who is it?"</p> - -<p>Nobody answered. There seemed to be nobody excited over a bite. The two -lawyers were forward. Darry and Burd were aft. Jessie suddenly dropped -her line and shot across the deck to the other rail.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Amy!" she shrieked. "Where is little Hen?"</p> - -<p>"You don't mean she's gone overboard?" gasped her chum, excitedly, and -she came running in the wake of Jessie.</p> - -<p>Henrietta's fish line was attached to a cleat on the yacht's rail. She -had been standing on a coil of rope so as to be high enough to look -over into the sea. The fear that clamped itself upon Jessie Norwood's -mind was that the little girl had dived headlong over the rail.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Henrietta!" she cried. "She—she's gone! She's gone overboard, -Amy."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> - -<p>Her chum was quite as fearful as Jessie was, but she tried to soothe -her chum.</p> - -<p>"It can't be, Jess! She—she wouldn't do that! She just wouldn't!"</p> - -<p>"But you heard that big splash, didn't you?" cried the frightened -Jessie. Then she began to shout as loud as she could: "Help! Help! -Henrietta's overboard! She's gone overboard, I am sure!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a></p> - -<p class="center">GOSSIP OUT OF THE ETHER</p> - - -<p class="drop">J<span class="uppercase">essie's</span> cry startled everybody on deck and Darry and Burd came running -from the stern.</p> - -<p>"Where is she? Do you see her? Throw out a buoy!" exclaimed the young -owner of the yacht. "Hey, Skipper Pandrick! Lower the boat."</p> - -<p>"Man overboard!" shouted Burd Alling.</p> - -<p>"Get out!" exclaimed Darry. "It's not a man at all. It's little Hen. Is -that right, Jessie? Did you see her fall?"</p> - -<p>"No-o," replied Jessie. "But she's not here. Where else could she have -gone?"</p> - -<p>Burd stared up and all about. Amy said promptly:</p> - -<p>"You needn't look into the air, Burd. Hen certainly didn't fly away."</p> - -<p>The skipper arrived, but he was not excited. "Who did you say had gone -overboard, Mr. Darry?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"What does it matter? Can't we save her without so much red tape?" -snapped Darry. "Come on, Skipper! Get out the boat."</p> - -<p>"You mean the little girl who stood right<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> here?" asked the man. "Well, -now, I saw how she was playing her line. She didn't have it fastened -to a cleat. And she sure didn't just now fasten it when she went -overboard. No, I guess not."</p> - -<p>"Oh! Maybe he is right," cried Jessie, with much relief.</p> - -<p>"Well, I declare!" grumbled Darry. "It takes you girls to stir up -excitement."</p> - -<p>"But where is little Hen?" Amy asked, whirling around to face her -brother.</p> - -<p>They all stared at one another. The skipper wagged his head.</p> - -<p>"You'd better look around, alow and aloft, and see if she ain't to be -found. If she did go down, she ain't come up again, that's sure."</p> - -<p>"But that splash!" cried Jessie, anxiously.</p> - -<p>"Wasn't any splash except when I threw that big flatfish overboard," -said the skipper. "And the little girl didn't scream. I guess she's -inboard rather than overboard—yes, ma'am!"</p> - -<p>The four young people separated and scoured the yacht, both on deck and -below. At least, the girls looked through the cabin and the staterooms -and the boys went into the tiny forecastle. They met again in five -minutes or so and stared wonderingly at each other. Little Henrietta -had as utterly disappeared as though she had melted into thin air.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What can have happened to the poor little thing?" cried Amy, now -almost in tears.</p> - -<p>"Of course, she must be on the boat if she hasn't fallen overboard," -Jessie replied hesitatingly.</p> - -<p>"That is wisdom," remarked Burd Alling, dryly. "She hasn't flown away, -that's sure."</p> - -<p>The two mothers were on the afterdeck in comfortable chairs; Jessie -hated to disturb them, for Mrs. Norwood and Mrs. Drew had not heard the -first outcry regarding Henrietta. Mr. Norwood and Mr. Drew were busy -with their fishing-lines. Neither of the four adult passengers had seen -the child.</p> - -<p>"I'll be hanged, but that is the greatest kid I ever saw!" exclaimed -Darry Drew with vigor. "She's always in some mischief or other."</p> - -<p>"I am so afraid she is in trouble," confessed Jessie. "You know, we are -responsible to her cousin Bertha Blair for her safety."</p> - -<p>"If the kid wants to dive overboard, are we to be held responsible?" -demanded Burd, somewhat crossly.</p> - -<p>"You hard-hearted boy!" exclaimed Amy. "Of course it is your fault if -anything happens to Hennie."</p> - -<p>"I told you, Drew, that you were making a big mistake to let this crowd -of girls aboard the <i>Marigold</i>," complained the stocky youth, sighing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> -deeply. "While this was strictly a bachelor barque we were all right."</p> - -<p>Jessie, however, was really too much worried to enter into any repartee -of this character. She ran off again to the cabin to have a second -look for Henrietta. She found no trace of her except the doll she had -brought aboard and the green parasol.</p> - -<p>She went back on deck. The fishermen were beginning to haul in weakfish -and an occasional tautog, or blackfish. Amy, with a shout, hauled in -Henrietta's line and got inboard a fine flounder.</p> - -<p>"Anyway, we'll have a big fish-fry for supper. The men will clean the -fish and Darry and Burd will fry them. Your mother and mine, Jess, say -that they have got through with the galley for the day."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" ejaculated Jessie and, whirling suddenly around, started for the -galley slide.</p> - -<p>"Where are you going?" cried Amy. "Do help me with this flopping fish. -I can't get the hook out."</p> - -<p>Her chum did not halt. She knew that nobody had thought to look into -the cook's galley that had been shut up after lunch. She forced back -the slide and peered in.</p> - -<p>There on the deck of the little compartment, with her back against the -wall, or bulkhead, was Henrietta. On one side was a jar of strawberry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> -jam only half full. Much of the sticky sweet was smeared upon the -cracker clutched in the child's hand and upon her face and the front of -her frock. Henrietta was asleep!</p> - -<p>"What is it?" demanded Amy, who had followed her more excited chum. -"What's happened to her?"</p> - -<p>"Look at that!" exclaimed Jessie, dramatically.</p> - -<p>Darry and Burd drew near. Amy burst into stifled laughter.</p> - -<p>"What do you know about that kid? She asked me if she could have a bite -between meals and I told her of course she could. But I never thought -she would take me so at my word." Amy's laughter was no longer stifled.</p> - -<p>"Fishing in the jam jar is more to Hen's taste than fishing in the -ocean," observed Darry.</p> - -<p>"Nervy kid!" exclaimed Burd. "I'd like some of that jam myself."</p> - -<p>"Bring him away," commanded Jessie, pushing to the slide. "She might as -well sleep. We will know where she is, anyway."</p> - -<p>This little scare rather broke up the fishing for the Roselawn girls -and the college boys. They went to the wireless room which had been -built on deck behind the wheelhouse, and Darry put on the head harness -and opened the key by which he took the messages he was able to obtain -out of the air.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p> - -<p>The girls were particularly interested in this form of radio telegraphy -at this time. Darry had bought and was establishing a regular radio -telephone receiving set, too. He could give Jessie and Amy a deal of -information about the Morse alphabet as used in the commercial wireless -service.</p> - -<p>"Practice makes perfect," he told them. "You can buy an ordinary -key and sounder and practice until you can send fast. While you are -learning that you automatically learn to read Morse. But I'll have the -radio set all right shortly and then we can get the station concerts."</p> - -<p>"How near we'll be to that station on the island!" Amy cried. "It ought -to sound as though it were right in our ears."</p> - -<p>"Not through your radiophone," said her brother. "That station is a -great brute of a commercial and signal station. It sends clear to the -European shore. No concerts broadcasted from there. Now, let's see if -we can get some gossip out of the air."</p> - -<p>The girls took turns listening in, even though they could not -understand more than a letter or two of Morse. Darry translated for -their benefit certain general messages he caught. They learned that -operators on the trans-Atlantic liners and on the cargo boats often -talked back and forth, swapping yarns, news, and personal information.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> -Occasionally a navy operator "crashed in" with a few words.</p> - -<p>Calls came for vessels all up and down the North Atlantic. Information -as to weather indications were broadcasted from Arlington. The air -seemed full of voices, each to be caught at a certain wave-length.</p> - -<p>"It is wonderful!" Jessie exclaimed. "'Gossip out of the air' is the -right name for it. Just think of it, Amy! When we were born there was -very little known about all this wonderful wireless."</p> - -<p>"Sh!" commanded her chum. "Don't remind folks how frightfully young we -are."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a></p> - -<p class="center">ISLAND ADVENTURES</p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">he</span> <i>Marigold</i> loafed along within sight of the beaches that evening -and the girls and their friends reclined in the deck-chairs and watched -the parti-colored electric lights that wreathed the shore-front. Jessie -was careful to keep Henrietta near by. She began to realize that -looking after the freckle-faced little girl was going to be something -of a trial.</p> - -<p>Henrietta finally grew sleepy and Jessie and Amy took her below, -helped her undress, and tucked her into a berth. The Roselawn girls' -mothers were much amused by this. Their daughters had taken a task upon -themselves that would, as Mrs. Norwood said, teach them something.</p> - -<p>"And it will not hurt them," Mrs. Drew agreed, with an answering smile. -"Amy, especially, needs to know what 'duty' means."</p> - -<p>"Anyway, we'll know where she is while she is asleep," Jessie said to -her chum, as they left the little girl.</p> - -<p>"If she isn't a somnambulist," chuckled Amy. "We forgot to ask Mrs. -Foley or Bertha that."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p> - -<p>The ground swell lulled the girls to sleep that night, and even -Henrietta did not awake until the first breakfast call in the morning. -Through the port-light Jessie and Amy saw Burd Alling "bursting his -cheeks with sound" as he essayed the changes on the key-bugle.</p> - -<p>The <i>Marigold</i> was slipping along the coast easily, with the northern -end of Station Island already in sight. The castlelike hotel sprawled -all over the headland, but the widest bathing beach was just below -it. Next were the premises of the Hackle Island Gold Club, with its -pastures, shrubberies, and several water-holes. It was to a part of -these enclosed premises that Mr. Norwood said little Henrietta Haney -was laying claim.</p> - -<p>"And I believe she will get it in time. Most of the land on which those -summer houses beyond the golf course stand is also within the lines of -the Padriac Haney place."</p> - -<p>He explained this to them while they all paced the deck after -breakfast. The yacht was headed in toward the dock near the bungalows, -some of which were very cheaply built and stood upon stilts near the -shore.</p> - -<p>The tall gray staff of the abandoned lighthouse was the landmark at the -extreme southern end of the island. The sending and receiving station -of the commercial wireless company was at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> lighthouse, and the -party aboard the <i>Marigold</i> could see the very tall antenna connected -therewith.</p> - -<p>The yacht landed the party and their baggage about ten o'clock. Mrs. -Norwood's servants were at hand to help, and a decrepit express wagon -belonging to a "native" aided in the transportation of the goods to the -big bungalow which was some rods back from the shore. There were no -automobiles on the island.</p> - -<p>"Is this my house?" Henrietta demanded the moment she learned which -dwelling the party of vacationists would occupy.</p> - -<p>"It may prove to be your house in the end," Jessie told her.</p> - -<p>"When's the end?" was the blunt query. "How long do I have to wait?"</p> - -<p>"We can't tell that. My mother has the house for the summer. She has -hired it for us all to live in."</p> - -<p>"Who does she pay? Do I get any of the money?" continued the little -girl. "If this island is going to be mine some time, why not now? Why -wait for something that is mine?"</p> - -<p>It was very difficult for Jessie and Amy to make her understand the -situation. In fact, she began to feel and express doubts about the -attempt that was being made to discover and settle the legal phases of -the Padriac Haney estate.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p> - -<p>"If I don't get my money and my island pretty soon somebody else will -get it instead," was the little girl's confident statement.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Jess!" exclaimed Amy under her breath, "suppose that should be so. -You know Belle Ringold's father is trying to prove his title to the -same property."</p> - -<p>"Hush!" said Jessie. "Don't let little Hen hear about that. She is -getting hard to manage as it is. Henrietta! Where are you going now?" -she called after the little girl.</p> - -<p>"I'm going out to take a look at some of my island," declared the -child, as she banged the screen door.</p> - -<p>"She's sure to get into trouble," Jessie observed, sighing.</p> - -<p>"Oh, let her go," Amy declared. "Why worry? You can't watch her every -minute we are here. She can't very well fall overboard from this -island."</p> - -<p>"I don't know. She manages to do the most unexpected things," said -Jessie.</p> - -<p>But there was so much to do in helping settle things and make the -sparsely furnished bungalow comfortable that Jessie did not think for -a while about Henrietta. Besides, she was desirous of setting up the -radio instruments at once and stringing the antenna.</p> - -<p>Darry and Burd helped the girls do this last.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> They worked hard, for -they had first of all to plant in the sands some distance from the -house an old mast that Mr. Norwood bought so as to erect the wires at -least thirty feet above the ground.</p> - -<p>The antenna were not completed at nightfall. Then, of a sudden, -everybody began to wonder about Henrietta. Where was she? It was -remembered that she had not been seen during most of the afternoon.</p> - -<p>"Oh, dear!" worried Jessie. "It is my fault. I should not have let her -go out alone that time, Amy."</p> - -<p>"She said she wanted to see her island, I remember," admitted her chum, -with some gravity. "And this island is a pretty big place, and it is -growing dark."</p> - -<p>"She could not get into any trouble if she stayed on Hackle Island," -declared Darry. "What a kid!"</p> - -<p>"And she certainly couldn't have got off it," suggested Burd.</p> - -<p>"We must look around for her," said Jessie, with conviction. "Don't -tell Momsy. She will worry. She thinks I have had my eye on the child -all the time."</p> - -<p>"You certainly would have what they call a roving eye if you managed to -keep it on Henri<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>etta," giggled Burd Alling. "She darts about like a -swallow."</p> - -<p>Jessie felt it to be no joking matter. The four young people separated -and went in different directions to hunt for the missing child. -Station, or Hackle, Island at this end was mostly sand dunes or open -flats. A little sparse grass grew in bunches, and there were clumps -of beach plum bushes. Towards the golf course the land was higher and -there real lawn and trees of some size were growing.</p> - -<p>The low sand dunes stretched in gray windrows right across the island. -Jessie tried to think what might have first attracted Henrietta at this -end of the island. She did not believe that she would go far from the -bungalow, although Amy wanted to start at once for the hotel. That was -the object that attracted her first of all.</p> - -<p>Jessie ran toward the far side of the island. It was growing dark and -everything on both sea and shore looked gray and misty. The seabirds -swept overhead and whistled mournfully. Jessie shouted Henrietta's name -as she ran.</p> - -<p>But she began to labor up and down the sand dunes with difficulty. -It frightened Jessie Norwood very much whenever Henrietta got into -mischief or into danger. No knowing what harm might come to her on this -lonely part of Station Island.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> - -<p>Nor was this fear in Jessie's mind bred entirely by the feeling that -it was her duty to look out for Henrietta. The child was an appealing -little creature, though she had had little chance in the world thus -far to develop her better and worthier qualities. The pity that Jessie -Norwood had felt for the untamed girl at first was now blossoming into -love.</p> - -<p>"What would I ever say to Bertha and Mrs. Foley if anything happened to -the child!" Jessie murmured.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a></p> - -<p class="center">TROUBLE</p> - - -<p class="drop">J<span class="uppercase">essie</span> was beginning to learn that to guard the welfare of a lively -youngster like Henrietta was no small task. The worst of it was, she -was so fond of the little girl that she worried about her much of the -time. And Henrietta seemed to have a penchant for getting into trouble.</p> - -<p>Jessie called, and she called again and again, as she ploughed through -the sand, and heard in reply only the shrieks of the gulls and peewees. -Gray clouds had rolled up from the Western horizon and covered -completely the glow of sunset. It was going to be a drab evening, and -all the hollows were already filled with shadow.</p> - -<p>Jessie toiled up the slope of one sand-hill after another, calling and -listening, calling and listening, but all to no avail. What <i>could</i> -have become of Henrietta Haney?</p> - -<p>Suddenly Jessie fairly tumbled into an excavation in the sand. Although -she could not see the place, her hands told her that the hole was deep -and the sand somewhat moist. The hole had been dug recently, for the -surface of the dunes was still warm from the rays of the sun.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p> - -<p>She stumbled down the slope of the sand dune and found another hole, -then another. Dark as it was in the hollow, when she kicked something -that rattled, she knew what it was.</p> - -<p>"Henrietta's pail and shovel!" Jessie exclaimed aloud. "She has been -here."</p> - -<p>She picked up the articles. Before leaving New Melford she had herself -bought the pail and shovel for the freckle-faced little girl.</p> - -<p>Where had the child gone from here? Already Jessie was some distance -from the group of bungalows. As Henrietta insisted upon believing that -most of the island belonged to her "by good rights," there was no -telling what part of it she might have aimed for after playing in the -sand.</p> - -<p>Jessie shouted again, her voice wailing over the sands almost as -mournfully as the cries of the sea-fowl. Again and again she shouted, -but without hearing a human sound in reply. She labored on, and it grew -so dark that she began to wish one of the others had come with her. -Even Amy's presence would have been a comfort.</p> - -<p>She came to the brink of a yawning sand-pit, the bottom of which was so -dark she could not see it. She began skirting this hollow, crying out -as she went, and almost in tears.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Darry's voice answered her. She was fond of Darry—thought him -a most wonder<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>ful fellow, in fact. But there was just one thing Jessie -wanted of him now.</p> - -<p>"Have you seen her?" she cried.</p> - -<p>"Not a bit. I have been away down to the lighthouse. Nobody has seen -her there."</p> - -<p>"Oh! Who you lookin' for?" suddenly asked a voice out of the darkness.</p> - -<p>"Henrietta!" shrieked Jessie, and plunged down into the dark sand-pit.</p> - -<p>"Who's lost?" asked the little girl again. "Ow-ow! I—I guess I been -asleep, Miss Jessie."</p> - -<p>"Has that kid shown up at last?" grumbled Darry, climbing to the sand -ridge.</p> - -<p>"Is it night?" demanded Henrietta, as Jessie clasped her with an energy -that betrayed her relief. "Why, it wasn't dark when I came down here."</p> - -<p>"How did you get down there?" demanded Darry from above.</p> - -<p>"I rolled down. I guess I was tired. I dug so much sand——"</p> - -<p>"Did you dig all those holes I found, Henrietta?" demanded the relieved -Jessie.</p> - -<p>"Why, no, Miss Jessie. I didn't dig holes. I dug sand and let the holes -be," declared the freckle-faced little girl scornfully.</p> - -<p>Darry sat down and laughed, but while he laughed Jessie toiled up the -yielding sand hill with her hand clasping Henrietta's. "Ow-ow!" yawned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> -the child again. "When do we eat, Miss Jessie? Or is eating all over?"</p> - -<p>"Listen to the kid!" ejaculated Darry. "Here! Give her to me. I'll -carry her. Want to go pickaback, Hen?"</p> - -<p>"Well, it's dark and nobody can see us. I don't mind," said Henrietta -soberly. "But I guess I'm too big to be lugged around that way in -common. 'Specially now that I own this island—or, most of it—and am -going to have money of my own."</p> - -<p>"She's harping on that idea too much," observed Darry to Jessie, in a -low tone.</p> - -<p>The latter thought so too. Funny as little Henrietta was, the stressing -of her expected fortune was going to do her no good. Jessie began to -see that this fault had to be corrected.</p> - -<p>"Goodness!" she thought, stumbling along after the young collegian and -his burden, "I might as well have a younger sister to take care of. -Children, as Mrs. Foley says, are a sight of trouble."</p> - -<p>They heard Amy and Burd shouting back of the bungalow, and they -responded to their cries.</p> - -<p>"Did you find that young Indian?" cried Burd.</p> - -<p>"You've hit it. This little squaw should be named 'Plenty Trouble' -rather than 'Spotted Snake, the Witch.'"</p> - -<p>"Why," said Henrietta, sleepily, "<i>I</i> never have any trouble—of course -I don't."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was about as Jessie said, however: They were never confident that -the freckled little girl was all right save when she was asleep. She -had bread and milk and went right to bed when they got home with her. -Then the evening was a busy one for the quartette of older young folks.</p> - -<p>The radio set was put into place in the library of the bungalow. They -had brought the two-step amplifier and proposed to use that for most -of their listening in, rather than the head-phones. Although Darry and -Burd helped in this preliminary work, the girls really knew more about -the adjustment of the various parts than the college youths.</p> - -<p>But in the morning Darry and Burd strung the wires and completed the -antenna. The house connection was made and the ground connection. By -noon all was complete and after lunch Jessie opened the switch and -they got the wave-length of a New York broadcasting station and heard -a brief concert and a lecture on advertising methods that did not, in -truth, greatly interest the girls.</p> - -<p>After that they tuned in and caught the Stratfordtown broadcasting. -They recognized Mr. Blair's voice announcing the numbers of the -afternoon concert program.</p> - -<p>But radio did not hold the attention of these young people all the -time, although they had all become enthusiasts. They were at the -seashore,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> and there were a hundred things to do that they could not do -at home in Roselawn. The sands were smooth, the surf rolled in while -ruffles, and the cool green and blue of the sea was most attractive. -One of the safest bathing beaches bordering Station Island was directly -in front of the bungalow colony.</p> - -<p>At four o'clock they were all in their bathing suits and joined the -company already in the surf or along the sands. In any summer colony -acquaintanceships are formed rapidly. Jessie and Amy had already seen -some girls of about their own age whom they liked the looks of, and -they were glad to see them again at the bathing hour.</p> - -<p>"Is it a perfectly safe beach?" Mrs. Norwood asked, and was assured -by her husband that so it was rated. There were no strong currents or -undertows along this shore. And, in any case, there was a lifeguard in -a boat just off shore and another patrolling the sands.</p> - -<p>"I ain't afraid!" proclaimed Henrietta, dashing into the water -immediately. "Come on, Miss Jessie! Come on, Miss Amy, you won't get -drowned at my island."</p> - -<p>"What a funny little thing she is," said one of the friendly girls who -overheard Henrietta. "Does she think she owns Station Island?"</p> - -<p>"That is exactly what she does think," said Amy, grimly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I never!" drawled the girl. "And there is a girl up at the hotel who -talks the same way. At least, when she was down here yesterday she said -her father owns all this part of Station Island and is going to have -the bungalows torn down."</p> - -<p>Jessie and Amy looked at each other with understanding.</p> - -<p>"I guess I know who that girl is," said Amy quickly. "It's Belle -Ringold."</p> - -<p>"Yes. Her name is Ringold," said their new acquaintance. "Do you -suppose it is so—that her father can drive us all out of the cottages? -You know, we have already paid rent for the season."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</a></p> - -<p class="center">A DOUBLE RACE</p> - - -<p class="drop">A<span class="uppercase">my Drew</span> scoffed at the thought of Belle Ringold's tale of trouble for -the "bungalowites" being true.</p> - -<p>"She is always hatching up something unpleasant," she told the neighbor -who had spoken of Mr. Ringold's claim to a part of Station Island. "We -know her. She comes from our town."</p> - -<p>But little Henrietta continued to tell anybody who would listen that -<i>she</i> owned a part of the island and expected to take possession of the -golf links almost any day. The funny little thing, however, was very -generous in inviting people to remain on "her island," no matter what -happened.</p> - -<p>"Something has got to be done about that child," said Jessie, sighing. -"I can't control her. She does say the most awful things. She has no -manners at all!"</p> - -<p>"He, he," chuckled Amy. "Hen was built without any controller. I -wouldn't worry about her, Jess. She'll come out all right."</p> - -<p>"I hope she comes out of the water all right," murmured her chum, -starting again after the very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> lively little girl who occasionally made -dashes for the surf as though she proposed to go right out to sea.</p> - -<p>But for one person Henrietta had some concern. That was Mrs. Norwood. -She thought Jessie's mother was a most wonderful person. And when Mrs. -Norwood had a chair and umbrella brought to the sands and sat down -within sight of Henrietta, the older girls had some opportunity of -having a little amusement with the college boys.</p> - -<p>"Come on," Darry Drew said. "This staying inshore is no fun. Beat you -to the raft, girls, and give you ten yards start."</p> - -<p>"O-oh! You can't!" cried his sister, dashing at once for the sea.</p> - -<p>"Hold on! Hold on!" commanded Darry. "I don't believe you even know how -long ten yards is. Both you girls go in and stand even with that pile -yonder. You are headed for the raft. You see the life saver beyond it, -I hope?"</p> - -<p>Amy made a face at him, settled her bathing cap more firmly, and looked -at Jessie.</p> - -<p>"Ready, Jess?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"We'll just beat them good," declared her chum. "They always think they -can do things so much better than us girls."</p> - -<p>"'We' girls," corrected Amy, giggling.</p> - -<p>"'We' or 'us'—it doesn't so much matter, as long as we win the race," -said Jessie.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> - -<p>"All ready out there?" demanded Darry.</p> - -<p>"They're edging out farther," observed Burd Alling. "It wouldn't matter -if you gave them a mile start; they'd take more if they could. Give 'em -an inch and they'll take an ell," he quoted.</p> - -<p>"You don't know what an ell is," scoffed his friend.</p> - -<p>"It's something you put on a house after you think you've got all the -rooms you'll ever need. I know," declared Burd, grinning.</p> - -<p>"Come on out!" retorted Darry. "Cut the repartee. You have got to swim -your little best, for those two girls are no slow-pokes."</p> - -<p>"You've said something," agreed Burd. "Shoot! I am ready, Gridley."</p> - -<p>"Huh!" exclaimed his chum. "You have even forgotten your Spanish War -history."</p> - -<p>"Shucks! They change history so fast now you don't more than learn -one phase than you have to forget it and learn some other fellow's -'hindsight' of important events. The only way to get history straight," -declared the philosophical Burd, "is to be Johnny-on-the-spot and see -things happen."</p> - -<p>"Now!" shouted Darry to the girls.</p> - -<p>The four splashed in, the girls starting with a breast stroke and the -boys having to run for some distance until the sea was deep enough to -enable them to swim. The water beyond the ruffle of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> surf was almost -calm. At least, the waves did not break, but heaved in, in smooth -rollers. As Amy had said: The sea was taking deep-breathing exercises.</p> - -<p>Just now, however, she was not making jokes. The two girls were doing -their best to win the race. Darry was a long, rangy fellow, and his -over-hand stroke was wonderful. Burd Alling—"tubby" as he was—was an -excellent swimmer. The girls started with a dash, however, and they -kept up their speed for some rods before either felt any fatigue.</p> - -<p>The diving raft was a long distance out from the beach, because the -sandy bottom here sloped very gradually. This part of the island was -ideal for swimming and bathing. If it was finally proved that the old -Padriac Haney estate belonged to little Henrietta, she would control -the longest strip of beach on the island.</p> - -<p>Amy flashed a glance over her shoulder to see how close they were -pursued, and almost lost stroke.</p> - -<p>"Come on!" panted Jessie. "Don't let them beat you."</p> - -<p>"Ain't—go-ing—to," gasped her chum, in four short breaths.</p> - -<p>They were more than half way to the raft, and it really seemed as -though the stronger—and longer—arms of the two college boys were -not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> aiding them to overtake the Roselawn girls. The latter began to -congratulate each other upon this—with glances. They did not waste any -more breath in speech.</p> - -<p>Rising high to change stroke, Jessie turned on her side and did the -over-hand. It heaved her ahead of her chum for a yard or so; and it -likewise enabled her to see over the raft. The raft chanced to be -deserted, nor were there any swimmers between her and the boat of the -lifeguard beyond the raft.</p> - -<p>The man in the boat suddenly stood up. He began waving his arms and -shouting. As he was looking shoreward Jessie thought he must be -cheering her and her chum on. She forged still farther ahead of Amy, -and the lifeguard became more energetic in his motions.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he dropped upon the seat of his boat, grabbed the oars, and -pulled the bow of the craft around, heading it seemed, for the raft. He -did act peculiarly.</p> - -<p>From behind her Jessie heard faintly a cry from her chum:</p> - -<p>"Oh, Jess! What's that? What is it?"</p> - -<p>"Why, it is the lifeguard," rejoined Jessie Norwood, flashing another -glance over her shoulder, but continuing to thrash forward at her very -best speed.</p> - -<p>"No, no! That thing! In the water!" At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> first Jessie saw nothing ahead -but the raft. She thought the lifeguard was hurrying to the raft to -meet Amy and herself if they won the race. Another glance that she -flashed back swept the smooth, rolling sea as far as Darry and Burd, -endeavoring to overcome the handicap they had given the two girl chums.</p> - -<p>It was only then that Jessie realized that something must be -happening—some threatening thing that she did not understand. From the -rear Darry's hail reached Jessie's ear:</p> - -<p>"Turn back! Come back, Jess!"</p> - -<p>"Why! what does he think?" considered Jessie, amazed. "That I am going -to stop and let him and Burd beat us? I—guess—not!"</p> - -<p>Then she heard the voice of the lifeguard. He was driving his boat -inshore with mighty strokes; but he sat facing shoreward, too, using -his oars back-handed. He shouted:</p> - -<p>"Shark! Shark! Look out for the shark!"</p> - -<p>And behind Jessie Norwood her chum took up the cry:</p> - -<p>"Shark! Oh, Jess! Shark!"</p> - -<p>The word, which had never meant much to Jessie Norwood in her life -before, being merely the name of a quite unknown fish, suddenly became -the most important of words! She whirled over and took up the breast -stroke. She rose high in the water again to look.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p> - -<p>Off at one side and seemingly swimming toward them from a tangent, came -a gray, sail-like thing, the like of which the Roselawn girl had never -seen before. She accepted as true however the identification of the -lifeguard. He should know.</p> - -<p>The race to the raft became suddenly a double race. More than ever did -Jessie Norwood wish to win it! She desired to outswim the dangerous -fish of which she had heard such terrible stories.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a></p> - -<p class="center">MORE THAN ONE ADVENTURE</p> - - -<p class="drop">J<span class="uppercase">essie</span> was badly frightened, but she was not too scared to swim as -hard as she could for the diving raft. The lifeguard drove his boat -around the end of the raft toward the gray, sail-like object which had -so startled them all. Jessie remembered of reading that the dorsal fin -of a shark shows above water when it swims at the surface. This odd -looking thing must be it—it must be!</p> - -<p>She measured the distance between it and herself with some calculation. -It came on in a halting, undecided way. Perhaps the shark had not -yet caught sight of any of the swimmers. Jessie flung up her arm and -shouted at the top of her voice to her chum:</p> - -<p>"Come on! Come on! Don't let him get you!"</p> - -<p>Amy was struggling so hard to reach the raft now that she had no breath -left for speech. Jessie saw her splashing on in her wake. Behind, the -boys were making a great splashing too, and Jessie realized that it -was for an object. The shark<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> might be frightened away if they made -disturbance enough in the water.</p> - -<p>Jessie was now very near the raft and the other three were bunching up -not far behind her. The lifeguard shot by in his boat, yelling like -mad. Darry shouted:</p> - -<p>"Get aboard the raft, girls! Burd and I will beat him off till you are -landed!"</p> - -<p>"You come right on here, Darrington Drew!" sputtered his sister. "What -good will you ever be if you get your leg bit off?"</p> - -<p>Jessie reached the raft and seized a loop of rope hanging from it. -If it had not been for this assistance she doubted if she could have -hauled herself out of the water. When Amy arrived, her chum was lying -over the edge of the refuge, and reached one arm out for her.</p> - -<p>"Quick! Quick!" cried Jessie.</p> - -<p>"Do—don't scare me so!" gasped Amy. "I—I feel just as though he was -nibbling at my toes right now!"</p> - -<p>But it seemed no laughing matter to Jessie Norwood. Her chum, however, -would find a joke in even the most serious circumstance. And the moment -she lay on the raft beside Jessie she began to laugh, gaspingly.</p> - -<p>"This is no laughing matter!" Jessie declared. "How can you, Amy? Darry -and Burd——"</p> - -<p>At that instant a wild shout rose from the two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> collegians and from the -lifeguard who had rowed so energetically to their rescue. Amy broke off -suddenly in her nervous laughter.</p> - -<p>"He's got 'em!" she shrieked. "Oh! Oh!"</p> - -<p>But, strange though it seemed to her, Jessie realized that Darry and -Burd were laughing. And the astonished expletives that the guard -emitted did not seem to show fear.</p> - -<p>"What is the matter?" Jessie demanded, standing up.</p> - -<p>"And where is the shark?" asked Amy, likewise scrambling to her feet.</p> - -<p>The boys were hanging to the side of the guard's boat. He was fishing -for something in the water with an oar. He finally got the object and -raised it aloft.</p> - -<p>"What is it?" repeated Jessie.</p> - -<p>"The shark!" shrieked her chum.</p> - -<p>It actually was all the shark there was—a pair of partly deflated -swimming wings which, carried here and there by the wind, had looked -like a shark's dorsal fin at a distance.</p> - -<p>"Good thing you girls saw it," declared Darry, when the boys lumbered -along to the raft. "If you hadn't been so scared you never would have -beat us. Would they, Burd?"</p> - -<p>"Of course not," agreed his friend. "And how Jess can swim—when there -is a man-eating shark after her!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Don't make fun," Jessie said, somewhat exasperated. "It might have -been a shark. Then where would you have been?"</p> - -<p>"Either here or inside the shark," said Darry. "One thing sure, he -never could have caught you girls."</p> - -<p>"Well," Amy sighed, "we had all the excitement of racing with a shark, -even if the shark was only in our minds. I'll never be so scared by one -again."</p> - -<p>"Goodness!" exclaimed Jessie. "I know I shall always be nervous in the -water here after this. I'll always be looking for one. What an awful -feeling it is to try to swim when one is being pursued by——"</p> - -<p>"By a pair of swimming wings," chuckled Burd. "Some imagination you've -got, my dear Jess."</p> - -<p>There was a serious side to the matter, however. Although the shark -scare had proved to be groundless, the quartette decided to say nothing -about it to those ashore.</p> - -<p>"Especially to Momsy," Jessie Norwood said. "I don't want to make her -nervous. Little things annoy her."</p> - -<p>"She'll be some annoyed by little Hen, then," chuckled Amy. "Hen is -worse than any shark you ever saw."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> - -<p>"How terrible!" cried Jessie. "She is not a bad child at all, but she -is wild enough."</p> - -<p>When they swam ashore later they found Henrietta on her good behavior -with Momsy. Nobody on the sands had chanced to see the excitement out -by the raft. Or, if they had, it was merely supposed that the four -young people from Roselawn were playing in the water.</p> - -<p>Jessie, however, felt rather serious about it. And she knew she would -never go into the sea again at Station Island without thinking about -sharks.</p> - -<p>While they were playing hand-ball on the beach, still in their bathing -suits, a low-wheeled pony carriage came along the drive from the upper -end of the island, and Amy's sharp eyes spied and recognized the two -girls seated on the back seat of the vehicle.</p> - -<p>"And that's Bill Brewster driving!" cried Amy. "Some difference between -the speed of that quadruped and his sports car."</p> - -<p>"One thing sure," chuckled Burd. "He can't do so much damage with that -old Dobbin as he did with the car he drives about New Melford."</p> - -<p>"Belle and Sally have got a hen on," said the slangy Amy to Jessie. -"See them whispering together?"</p> - -<p>"I can see what they are up to from right where I stand," announced -Darry, dropping the ball.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> "Come on, Burd! Let's beat it for the raft -again. That's one place those two girls can't follow us without bathing -suits."</p> - -<p>"He, he!" giggled his sister. "I hope they sit right down here and wait -for you to come ashore."</p> - -<p>"Send out our supper by the lifeguard," called Burd, as he followed his -chum into the surf. "We fear sharks less than we do a certain brand of -featherless biped."</p> - -<p>"I suppose it would be too pointed for us to run away," said Amy to -Jessie, as Bill Brewster drove the pony carriage out on to the beach.</p> - -<p>"Belle has got her eye on us, that is a fact," agreed Jessie.</p> - -<p>She was curious, especially after what their new friend had told them -an hour before about the story that Belle Ringold was circulating. -Belle was eager to talk—as she always was.</p> - -<p>"So your folks got one of these bungalows, did they, after all, Jess -Norwood?" she began. "I suppose you know there is no surety that you -can keep it a month?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know about that. I guess father attended to the lease. And he -is a lawyer, you know," said Jessie, quietly.</p> - -<p>"Pooh! Yes," said Belle, tossing her head. "But there are lawyers and -lawyers! My father has the smartest lawyer in New York working<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> for -him. And I suppose you know about the claim he has against all the -middle of this island?"</p> - -<p>"We have heard that <i>you</i> have a claim on the island—or think you -have," said Amy slyly. "But, then, Belle, you always did think you -owned the earth."</p> - -<p>"Now, Miss Smartie, don't be too funny! Father is going to prove his -right to the golf course and all these bungalows. Don't you fear—Why! -There's that terrible Henrietta Haney! How did she come here?"</p> - -<p>"She is with us," said Jessie shortly.</p> - -<p>"Oh, indeed! One of your week-end guests, I suppose?" scoffed Belle. -"We are entertaining General O'Bigger and Mrs. O'Bigger at the hotel. -Of course, we would not live in one of these small bungalows—not even -if we needed a vacation."</p> - -<p>"You wouldn't," said Henrietta promptly, "because I wouldn't let you."</p> - -<p>"Oh! Oh! Hear that child!" cried Sally Moon.</p> - -<p>"Nor you, neither," declared Henrietta. "All them houses are mine—or -they are going to be."</p> - -<p>"Hush, Henrietta," commanded Jessie, in a low voice.</p> - -<p>"Didn't the funny little thing say something before about owning an -island?" asked Belle, somewhat puzzled.</p> - -<p>"And this is it," said Henrietta. "You just try to come into any of -them bungleloos! I'd get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> a policeman and have him take you out. So -now!"</p> - -<p>"<i>Will</i> you behave?" said Jessie, feeling like shaking the child, and -in reality leading her away.</p> - -<p>Amy came running after them in the midst of Jessie's berating of the -freckle-faced girl.</p> - -<p>"Did you ever hear such nonsense?" Jessie's chum demanded. "Belle -declares the case is coming up in court next week and that her father -is going to win. Did you ever?"</p> - -<p>Mr. Norwood was sitting with his wife when they came near to that -lady's beach chair. Jessie was anxious enough to ask about Belle's -statement regarding the imminent court investigation of the controversy -over Station Island.</p> - -<p>"Why, yes, Ringold's lawyers claim they have found new evidence -entitling him to be heard as a claimant to the Padriac Haney estate," -the lawyer acknowledged. "But there may not be anything in it."</p> - -<p>"But is there a possibility, Robert?" Momsy asked, seeing how anxious -both Jessie and the little girl looked.</p> - -<p>"There is nothing sure in any case that comes into court," declared her -husband. "Besides, those attorneys of Ringold's are sharp fellows. He -may make his claim good."</p> - -<p>"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" burst out Henrietta. "And then I won't have -nuthin'? No island, nor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> golf link, nor—nor nuthin'? Oh, dear me!"</p> - -<p>"Never mind, honey," Jessie begged. "You have friends. You have <i>me</i>." -And she sat down on the sands and took the freckle-faced little girl in -her arms.</p> - -<p>"Ye-es, Miss Jessie. I know I got you," sobbed Henrietta. "But—but you -ain't a golf link, nor you ain't a bungleloo. And—and I want to turn -that Ringold girl off my island, I do!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</a></p> - -<p class="center">SOMETHING NEW IN RADIO</p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">he</span> Stanleys arrived at Station Island the next day, the doctor having -arranged for a substitute preacher at the Roselawn Church for two -Sundays. The bungalow they had arranged to occupy was one of the colony -not far from the big house the Norwoods and their party were staying in.</p> - -<p>Darry and Burd began to spend a good deal of their time on the yacht -after that first day. Amy accused her brother of being afraid of a -flank attack by Belle Ringold and Sally Moon, and he admitted that he -had hoped to escape those two "troublesome kids" when he came to the -island.</p> - -<p>"I came here as the guest of little Hen Haney," he declared soberly. -"And I don't wish to be annoyed by any girls older than she is."</p> - -<p>But he did not say this within Henrietta's hearing. The little girl -went around with a very long face indeed. She seemed to think that she -was going to lose her island. Even Nell Stanley, who was a general -comforter at most times, could not alleviate little Henrietta's woe.</p> - -<p>With the coming of the Stanleys, however,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> Henrietta became less of a -trial to Jessie. For Sally Stanley was just about Henrietta's age and -the two children got along splendidly together.</p> - -<p>Bob and Fred, those lively and ingenious youngsters, made their own -friends among the boys of the bungalow colony. The three girls from -Roselawn—Jessie, Amy, and Nell—found plenty to do and enjoyed -themselves thoroughly during the next few days. Being all interested in -radio they naturally spent sometime at Jessie's set. But unfortunately -it did not work as well here as it had at home.</p> - -<p>"And I do not know why," Jessie ruminated. "I have been studying up -about it and the more I read the less I seem to know. There are so many -different opinions about how an amateur set should be built. Do you -know, sometimes I feel as though I should have an entirely different -kind of outfit. There is a new super-regenerative circuit that is being -talked about."</p> - -<p>"But some people say it is not practicable for amateurs," broke in -Nell. "I've read so, anyway."</p> - -<p>"I should like to talk with some professional—some radio expert—about -that," Jessie confessed. "If I had thought before we left home I would -have spoken to Mr. Blair."</p> - -<p>"You'll have to wait until you get back, then," said Amy promptly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Why?" cried Nell suddenly. "There must be experts over at that -Government station."</p> - -<p>"That is so," agreed Jessie, thoughtfully. "Do you suppose they -would——"</p> - -<p>"Let's go and see," urged Nell. "I'm crazy to see the inside of that -station, anyway."</p> - -<p>"It's wireless—like the little outfit aboard the <i>Marigold</i>," Amy -suggested.</p> - -<p>"But so much bigger," Jessie chimed in eagerly. "If they admit -visitors, let's go."</p> - -<p>Mr. Norwood found out about that particular point for the girls and -reported that if they went over to the station in the late afternoon -the operator on duty would be glad to show them "the works" and give -them all the information in his power.</p> - -<p>The three friends went alone, for the collegians were off fishing that -day on the <i>Marigold</i>. They left the little girls in Mrs. Norwood's -care and slipped away about four o'clock and walked to the station, -which was some distance from the bungalow colony. They had to climb the -stairs in the old shaft of the lighthouse to the wireless room. The -room was half darkened and they heard the snapping of the spark, and -even saw the faint blue flash of it when they came to the door.</p> - -<p>The operator, with his head harness on, was busy at his set. Jessie, -at least, had spent some time trying to learn the Morse code since -talking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> the matter over with Darry on the yacht. But although the -signals the operator received were in dots and dashes, she could not -understand a single thing.</p> - -<p>"I am afraid it will take us a long time to learn," she said to Amy, -sighing. "We shall have to buy a regular telegraph set and learn in -that way."</p> - -<p>"I wish you wouldn't talk about learning anything!" cried her chum. -"Vacation is slipping right away from us."</p> - -<p>After a few moments the spark stopped snapping, the operator closed -his switch and removed his harness. He wheeled around on the -bench and welcomed them. He was really a very pleasant young man, -and he explained many things about both the radio-telegraph and -radio-telephone that the girls had not known before.</p> - -<p>He was so friendly that Jessie ventured to ask him about the new -super-regenerative circuit in which she was interested.</p> - -<p>"Yes. I'm strong for that new thing," said the wireless operator, -enthusiastically. "In the first place, it was invented by the man who -originated the ordinary regenerative circuit so much in use at present, -and also of the super-heterodyne circuit. I understand this new circuit -permits a current amplification up to a million times, and all with -three tubes. You know, to reach such a high<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> mark with your ordinary -regenerative circuit, many more tubes would be necessary."</p> - -<p>"I understand that," said Jessie. "But can an amateur build and -practically work this new circuit?"</p> - -<p>"Why not? If you follow directions carefully. And with the new outfit -a loop is just as effective an antenna as an outside aerial. They say, -too, that to catch broadcasting for not more than twenty-five miles, -not even a loop is needed, the circuits themselves acting as the -absorbers of energy."</p> - -<p>"I'm going to try it," declared Jessie, with more confidence. "But I -feel that I understand so little about the various forms of radio, -after all."</p> - -<p>"You have nothing on me there," laughed the operator. "I am learning -something new all the time. And sometimes I am astonished to find out -how, after five years of work with it, I am really so ignorant."</p> - -<p>The girls had a very interesting visit at the station; and from the -operator Jessie and Amy gained some particular instruction about -sending and receiving messages in the telegraph code. He received -several messages from ships at sea while the girls remained in the -station, and likewise relayed other messages received from inland -stations both up and down the coast and to vessels far out at sea.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> - -<p>"It is a wonderful thing," said Nell, as the girls walked homeward. -"I never realized before how great an influence wireless already was -in commercial life. Why, how did the world ever get along without it -before Marconi first thought of it?"</p> - -<p>"How did the world ever get along without any other great invention?" -demanded Amy. "The sewing machine, for instance. I've got to run up -a seam in one of my sports skirts, for there is no tailor, they say, -nearer than the hotel. I do wish a sewing machine had been included in -the furnishings of your bungalow, Jess. I hate to sew by hand."</p> - -<p>The boys had come in before the Roselawn girls returned for dinner, -and they were very enthusiastic over a plan for taking a part of the -bungalow crowd on an extended sailing trip. They had met Dr. Stanley -walking the beaches, and he had expressed a desire to go to sea for a -day or two, and at once Darry and Burd had conceived a plan for the -young folks to be included.</p> - -<p>"The doctor is a good enough chaperon," said Darry, with a laugh. "Nell -shall come. Her Aunt Freda will be down to look after the children."</p> - -<p>"And Henrietta?" asked Jessie, hesitatingly.</p> - -<p>"For pity's sake!" cried Darry, in some impatience. "Don't be tied down -to that kid all the time. You'd think you were a grandmother."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Well, I like that!" exclaimed Jessie. "I'm not sure that I want to go -on your old yacht, Darry Drew."</p> - -<p>"Aw, Jess——"</p> - -<p>"Well, I'll think about it," murmured Jessie, relenting.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</a></p> - -<p class="center">HENRIETTA IN DISGRACE</p> - - -<p class="drop">D<span class="uppercase">arry</span> and Burd seemed to have little time to spend ashore these days. -They said that they had a lot to do to fix up the <i>Marigold</i> for the -proposed trip seaward. But Amy accused them of being afraid of Belle -Ringold and Sally Moon.</p> - -<p>"Belle is determined that she shall get an invitation to sail aboard -your yacht, Darry," teased his sister. "Don't forget that."</p> - -<p>"Not if we see her first," responded Burd, promptly. "And don't -you ring her in on us, for if you do we'll not let you aboard the -<i>Marigold</i> either. How about it, Darry?"</p> - -<p>"Good enough," agreed Amy's brother.</p> - -<p>"Oh, I promise not to ring Belle Ringold in on you," giggled Amy.</p> - -<p>"It is perfectly disgraceful how you boys teach these girls slang," -Mrs. Drew remarked with a sigh.</p> - -<p>"Why, Mother!" cried Darry, his eyes twinkling, "they teach it to us. -You accuse Burd an me wrongfully. We couldn't tell these girls a single -thing."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> - -<p>This was at breakfast at the Norwood bungalow. After breakfast the -young folks separated. But Jessie and Amy had no complaint to make -about the boys. They had their own interests. This day they had agreed -to explore the island with Nell Stanley as far as the hotel grounds.</p> - -<p>They took Henrietta and Sally Stanley along, and carried a picnic -lunch. The older girls were rather curious to see the extent of -"Henrietta's domain," as Amy called it. The pastures included in -the Hackle Island Golf Club grounds covered all the middle of the -island, and consisted of hills and dells, all "up-and-down-dilly," Amy -observed, and from a distance, at least, seemed very attractive.</p> - -<p>Of course, they could not go fast with the two smaller girls along, -although Henrietta seemed tireless.</p> - -<p>"But Sally ain't a tough one, like me," declared the little girl who -thought she was going to own an island. She approved of Sally Stanley -very much, because the minister's little girl was dainty, and kept her -dresses clean, and was soft-spoken. "I got to run and holler once in a -while or I thinks I'm choking," confessed Henrietta. "But your mamma, -Miss Jessie, says I'll get over that after a while. She says I'll go to -school and learn a lot and that <i>maybe</i> I'll be as nice as Sally some -day."</p> - -<p>"I hope you will," said Jessie warmly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> - -<p>"That's hardly to be expected," Henrietta rejoined in her old-fashioned -way. "Sally was born that way. But I always was a tough one."</p> - -<p>"There is a good deal in that," sighed Jessie to the other Roselawn -girls. "The poor little thing! She never did have a chance. But Momsy -is already talking about sending her away to school to have her toned -down and——"</p> - -<p>"Suppose the Blairs won't hear to it?" suggested Amy.</p> - -<p>"Leave it to Momsy to work things out her way," said Jessie, more gaily.</p> - -<p>They soon left the sand dunes behind them and marched up over what the -natives of the island called "the downs" to a scrubby pasture at the -edge of the golf links. Crossing the links watchfully they only had -to dodge a couple of times when the players called "Fore!" and so got -safely past the various greens and reached the patch of wood between -the club premises and the hotel grounds.</p> - -<p>There was a spring here which they had been told about, and it was near -enough noon for lunch to occupy an important place in their minds. They -spent an hour here; but after that, much as she had eaten, Henrietta -began to run around again. She could not keep still.</p> - -<p>Her voice was suddenly stilled and she halted in the path and stood -like a pointer flushing a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> covey of birds. The older girls were -surprised. Amy drawled:</p> - -<p>"What's the matter, Hen? You don't feel sick, do you?"</p> - -<p>"I hear something," declared Henrietta, her freckled face clouding. "I -hear somebody talk that I don't like."</p> - -<p>"Who is that?" asked Nell.</p> - -<p>"She makes me feel sick, all right," grumbled the little girl. -"Oh, yes! It's her. And if she says again that she owns my island, -I'll—I'll——"</p> - -<p>"Belle Ringold!" exclaimed Amy, much amused. "Can't we go anywhere -without Belle and Sally showing up?"</p> - -<p>The two girls whom they all considered so unpleasant appeared at the -top of the small hill and came down the path. They were rather absurdly -dressed for an outing. Certainly their frocks would have looked better -at dinner or at a dance than in the woods. And they strutted along as -though they quite well knew they had on their very best furbelows.</p> - -<p>"Oh, dear me! there's that awful child again," drawled Belle, before -she saw the older girls sitting at the spring.</p> - -<p>"She must be lost away up here," said Sally Moon, idly. "Say, kid, run -get this folding cup filled at the spring."</p> - -<p>"What for?" demanded Henrietta.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Why, so I can drink from it, foolish!"</p> - -<p>"You bring me a drink first," said the freckle-faced girl stoutly. -"Nobody didn't make me your servant to run your errands—so now!"</p> - -<p>"Listen to her!" laughed Belle. "She waits on Jess Norwood and Amy Drew -hand and foot. Of course she is a servant."</p> - -<p>"You ain't a servant when you wait on folks for <i>love</i>," declared -Henrietta, quickly.</p> - -<p>Amy clapped her hands together softly at this bit of philosophy. Jessie -stood up so that the girls from the hotel could see her.</p> - -<p>"Oh! Here's Jess Norwood now," cried Sally. "You might know!"</p> - -<p>Little Henrietta was backing away from the two newcomers, but eyeing -them with great disfavor. She suddenly demanded of Jessie:</p> - -<p>"Is this spring on a part of my land, Miss Jessie?"</p> - -<p>"It may be," said Amy, quickly answering before Jessie could do so. -"Like enough all this grove is yours, Hen."</p> - -<p>"Why," gasped Belle Ringold, "my father is just about to take -possession of this place. He is going to have surveyors come on the -island and survey it."</p> - -<p>"This is my woods!" cried Henrietta. "It's my spring! You sha'n't even -have a drink out of it—neither of you girls!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What nonsense!" drawled Belle. "Who will stop us, please?" and she -came on down the path toward the spring.</p> - -<p>The other girls had now got up. Jessie tried to reach out and seize -Henrietta; but the latter was so angry that she jerked away. She stood -before Belle and Sally with flashing eyes and her hands clenched tight.</p> - -<p>"You go away! This is my woods and my spring! You sha'n't have a drink!"</p> - -<p>"The child is crazy," said Belle, harshly. "Let me pass, you mean -little thing!"</p> - -<p>At that Henrietta stooped and caught up dirt in each grubby hand. It -was a little damp where she stood, and the muck stuck to her palms. She -shrieked hatred and defiance at Belle and, running forward, smeared the -dirt all up and down the front of the rich girl's fine dress.</p> - -<p>Belle shrieked quite as loudly as the angry Henrietta and threatened -all manner of punishment. But she could not catch the freckled girl, -who was as wriggly as an eel.</p> - -<p>"I'll—I'll have you whipped! You ought to be spanked hard!" panted -Belle Ringold. "And it is your fault, Jess Norwood. You egged her on."</p> - -<p>"I did not," said Jessie, angrily.</p> - -<p>But she was vexed with Henrietta, too. She ran after and caught the -panting, sobbing little thing. She really was tempted to shake her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What do you mean, Henrietta Haney, by acting this way and talking so? -Do you want to disgrace us all? For shame!"</p> - -<p>"I don't talk no worse than the Ringold one," declared Henrietta.</p> - -<p>Jessie tried a new tack. She said more quietly: "But <i>you</i> know better, -Henrietta."</p> - -<p>"Yes, ma'am."</p> - -<p>"And perhaps she doesn't," ventured Jessie.</p> - -<p>"Well—er—she's got money," pouted Henrietta. "Why doesn't she hire -somebody to teach her better? You know I never did have any chance, -Miss Jessie."</p> - -<p>She felt she was in disgrace, however, and the older girls let her feel -this without compunction. Belle was frightfully angry about her frock. -She sputtered and threatened and called names that were not polite. -Finally Jessie said:</p> - -<p>"If you feel that way about it, Belle, send the dress to the cleaner's -and then send the bill to my mother. That is all I can say about it. -But I think you brought it on yourself by teasing Henrietta."</p> - -<p>In spite of this speech to Belle, Henrietta felt that she was in -disgrace as Jessie marched her away from the spring. Little Sally -Stanley came to her other side and squeezed Henrietta's dirty hand in -sympathy.</p> - -<p>"Huh!" snuffled Henrietta. "It's too bad you've<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> got the same name as -that Moon girl, Sally. Why don't you ask the minister to change it for -you? He christens folks, doesn't he?"</p> - -<p>"Why, yes," murmured Sally, uncertainly. "But I was christened, you -know, oh, years and years ago."</p> - -<p>"That don't cut no ice," replied Henrietta, unconscious that her -language was not all it ought to be. "You just have him do it over -again. And don't be no 'Sally,' nor no more 'Belle.'"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</a></p> - -<p class="center">"RADIO CONTROL"</p> - - -<p class="drop">J<span class="uppercase">essie Norwood</span> had talked over the matter of the new super-regenerative -circuit with her father and had got him interested in the idea of using -one to improve their own radio receiving. It was not difficult to -interest Mr. Norwood in it, for he had become a radio enthusiast like -his daughter since the Roselawn girls had broken into the wireless game.</p> - -<p>With the large party now in the Norwood's bungalow in Station Island, -it was not convenient to use only the head-phones when the radio -concerts were to be received out of the ether. The two-step amplifier -Mr. Norwood had formerly bought did not always work well, especially, -for some unknown reason, since they had come to the seashore.</p> - -<p>In addition, the sounds through the horn seemed to be scratchy and -harsh, a good deal like the sounds from a poor talking machine. From -what Jessie had read, she understood that these harsh noises would -be obviated if the super-regenerative circuit was put in. Her father -had telegraphed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> for the material to build the super-regenerative and -amplifier circuit, and the material came by express the morning after -the picnic on which Henrietta had disgraced herself.</p> - -<p>"We will try the thing here on the island," Mr. Norwood said to Jessie. -"If it works here it will surely work back at Roselawn, for the -temperature, or humidity, or something, is different there from what it -is here. At least, so it seems to me, and the state of the air surely -influences radio."</p> - -<p>"Static," said Jessie, briefly, reading the instructions in the book.</p> - -<p>Amy, of course, was quite as interested in the new invention as her -chum; and Nell, too. But they were not so clear in their minds as was -Jessie about what should be done in building the new set. Jessie was -glad to have her father show so much interest, for he was eminently -practical, and when the girls were uncertain how to proceed it was nice -to have somebody like the lawyer to turn to.</p> - -<p>He even let Mr. Drew and the two mothers go on to the golf course that -day without him, while he gave his aid to the girls. The boys were -cleaning up the yacht in preparation for the voyage they expected to -make in a short time.</p> - -<p>Nell's Aunt Freda had arrived that morning, so the minister's daughter -did not have to worry at all about Bob and Fred and Sally.</p> - -<p>"And to help out," Amy said, with a giggle,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> "Henrietta is invited over -to the Stanley bungalow to play with little Sally."</p> - -<p>"I guess Aunt Freda will get along all right with them," observed Nell, -with some amusement. "But Fred pretty nearly floored her at the start. -She says it takes her several hours to get 'acclimated' when she comes -to our house."</p> - -<p>"What did Fred say—or do?" asked Jessie, interested.</p> - -<p>"There was something Aunt Freda advised him to do and he said he -would—'to-morrow.'</p> - -<p>"'Don't you know,'" she asked him, 'that "to-morrow never comes"?'</p> - -<p>"'Gee! and to-morrow's my birthday,' grumbled Fred. 'Now I suppose I -won't have any.'"</p> - -<p>"What kids they are!" gasped Amy, when she had recovered from her -laughter. "I don't know whether a younger brother is worse than an -older brother or not. I've had my troubles with Darrington," and she -sighed with mock seriousness.</p> - -<p>"Ha!" exclaimed Jessie. "I guess he's had his troubles with you. Do you -remember when you smeared your hands all up with chocolate cake and -tried to wipe them clean on Darry's new trousers?"</p> - -<p>Nell shouted with laughter at this revelation, but it did not trouble -Amy Drew in the least.</p> - -<p>"Yes," she admitted. "My taste in the art of dressing, you see, was -well developed even at that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> early age. Those trousers, I remember, -were of an atrocious pattern."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense!" cried Jessie. "They were Darry's first long pants, and you -were mad to think he was so much older than you that he could put on -men's clothes."</p> - -<p>"Dear me!" sighed Amy. "You make me out an awful creature, Jess -Norwood. But, never mind. Darry has paid me up and to spare for that -unladylike trick. He <i>has</i> been a trial—and is so yet. He doesn't -know how to pick a decent necktie. His shirts—some of them—are so -loud that you can see him coming clear across The Green. Why! they -tell me that his shirts are as well known in New Haven, and almost as -prominently mentioned by the natives, as the Hartley Memorial Hall; and -almost <i>nobody</i> gets away from the City of Elms without being obliged -to see that."</p> - -<p>"What a reckless talker you are, Amy!" Jessie said, smiling. "And I -will not hear you run Darry down. I think too much of him myself."</p> - -<p>"Don't let him guess it," said the absent Darry's sister, with a grin. -"It will spoil him—make him proud and hard to hold."</p> - -<p>"That's a good one!" laughed Nell. "You think Darry can be as easily -spoiled by praise as the Chinese servant Reverend tells about that he -had in California. This was before I was born.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> Father and mother got -a Coolie right at the dock. You could do that in those days. And John -scarcely knew a word of English, not even the pidgin variety.</p> - -<p>"But Reverend says that when John acquired a few English words he was -so proud that there was no holding him. He asked the name of every new -object he saw and mispronounced it usually in the most absurd manner. -Once John found a sparrow's nest in the grapevine and shuffled into -Reverend's study to tell him about it.</p> - -<p>"'Is there anything in the nest yet, John?' Reverend asked him.</p> - -<p>"'Yes,' the Chinaman declared, puffed up with his knowledge of the new -language, 'Spallow alle samme got pups.'"</p> - -<p>While they chattered and laughed the three girls were as busy as bees -with the new radio arrangement. Amy said that Jessie kept them so hard -at work that it did not seem at all as though they were "vacationing." -It was good, healthy work for all.</p> - -<p>"It does seem awfully quiet here without Hen," went on Amy, hammering -on a board with a heavy hammer and making the big room where the radio -set was, ring. "She keeps the place almost as tomb-like as a boiler -shop—what?"</p> - -<p>"You can make a little noise yourself," Jessie told her. "What's all -the hammering for?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> - -<p>"So things won't sound too tame. How are we getting on with the new -circuit?"</p> - -<p>"Why, Amy Drew! you just helped me place this vario-coupler. Didn't you -know what you were doing?"</p> - -<p>"Not a bit," confessed Amy. "You are away out of my depth, Jess. And -don't try to tell me what it all means, that's a dear. I never can -remember scientific terms."</p> - -<p>"Put up the hammer," said Nell, laughing. "You are a confirmed knocker, -anyway, Amy. But I admit I do not understand this tangle of wires."</p> - -<p>They did not seek to disconnect the old regenerative set that day, for -there was much of interest expected out of the ether before the day -was over. One particular thing Jessie looked for, but she had said -nothing about it to anybody save her very dearest chum, Amy, and the -clergyman's daughter, Nell.</p> - -<p>Two days before she had done some telephoning over the long-distance -wire. Of course there was a cable to the mainland from Station -Island, and Jessie had called up and interviewed Mark Stratford at -Stratfordtown.</p> - -<p>Mark was a college friend of Darry and Burd, but he was likewise a -very good friend of the Roselawn girls and he had reason for being. As -related in a previous volume, "The Radio Girls on the Program," Jessie -and Amy had found a watch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> Mark had lost, and as it was a valuable -watch and had been given him by his grandmother, Mark was very grateful.</p> - -<p>Through his influence—to a degree—Jessie and Amy had got on the -program at the Stratfordtown broadcasting station. And now Jessie had -talked with the young man and arranged for a surprise by radio that was -to come off that very evening at "bedtime story hour."</p> - -<p>Henrietta and little Sally and Bob and Fred Stanley, as well as some of -the other children of the bungalow colony, crowded into the house at -that time to "listen in" on the Roselawn girls' instrument.</p> - -<p>The amplifier worked all right that evening, and Jessie was very glad. -The little folks arranged themselves on the chairs and settees with -some little confusion while Jessie tuned the set to the Stratfordtown -length of wave. There was some static, but after a little that -disappeared and they waited for the announcement from the faraway -station.</p> - -<p>By and by, as Henrietta whispered, the radio began to "buzz." "Now -we'll get it!" cried the little Dogtown girl. "I hope it is about the -little boy with the rabbit ears that he could wiggle."</p> - -<p>"S-sh!" commanded Jessie, making a gesture for silence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p> - -<p>And then out of the air came a deep voice:</p> - -<p>"We have with us this evening, children, the Radio Man, who, just like -Santa Claus, knows all our little shortcomings, as well as our virtues. -Have you all been good boys and girls to-day? Don't all say 'Yes' at -once. Better stop and think about it before you speak.</p> - -<p>"Before the bedtime story," went on the voice out of the horn, "the -Radio Man must tell some of you that you must take care, or you will -get on the black list. Here is a little girl, for instance, who may be -rich when she grows up. But she must have a care. People who grow up -rich and own islands must be very nice."</p> - -<p>"Oh! Oh! That's me!" gasped Henrietta. "How'd he know me?"</p> - -<p>"So I have to warn Henrietta, the little girl I speak of, that there is -a lot she must do if she wishes in time to enjoy the wealth which she -expects."</p> - -<p>At that the other children began to exclaim. It was Henrietta. They -almost drowned out the first of the bedtime story with their excited -voices.</p> - -<p>"Well," exclaimed Henrietta, "I guess everybody knows about my owning -this island, so that Ringold one needn't talk! But Miss Jessie's mother -told me what I had got to do to deserve my island."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What have you got to do?" asked Amy, curiously. "The Radio Man says -you must be good."</p> - -<p>"Miss Jessie's mother says I've got to make folks love me or I won't -enjoy my island at all—so now. But," she added confidentially, "I -don't believe I ever shall want that Ringold one and Sally Moon to love -me. Do you s'pose that's nec-sary?"</p> - -<p>After the children had gone the older girls discussed a point that Amy -brought up regarding the incident. Of course, Amy was in fun, for she -said:</p> - -<p>"Listen! Didn't I read something about 'radio control' in one of our -books, Jess? Well, there is an example of radio control—control of -children. Henrietta is going to remember that she is on the Radio Man's -list. She'll be good, all right!"</p> - -<p>Mr. Norwood laughed. "How do we know what great developments may -come within the next few years in the line of radio control? Already -the control of an aeroplane has been tried, and proved successful. A -submarine may be governed from the shore. The drive of a torpedo has -already been successfully handled by wireless.</p> - -<p>"In time, perhaps a farmer may sit before a keyboard in his office -and manage tractors plowing and cultivating his fields. Ships of all -descriptions will be managed by compass control. And automobiles——"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I hope Bill Brewster learns to handle his red car by wireless," -chuckled Amy. "It will then be less dangerous to himself and to his -friends, if not to pedestrians," and this quaint idea amused all the -Roselawn girls.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE TEMPEST</p> - - -<p class="drop">J<span class="uppercase">essie</span>, Amy, and Nell had spied, on their hike and picnic, an inlet in -the shore of the island facing the mainland, on the sands of which were -several fish houses and several rowboats and small sailboats that the -girls were sure might be had for hire.</p> - -<p>"We might have shipped our new canoe down here and had some fun," Amy -said. "That bay is a wonderful place to sail in. Why, you can scarcely -see the port on the other side of it. And the island defends it from -the sea. It is as smooth as can be."</p> - -<p>Nell was very fond of rowing, and she expressed a wish that they might -go out in one of the open boats. She would row. So the three chums -escaped the younger children the next afternoon and slipped over to the -other side of the island, across the sand dunes.</p> - -<p>They found an old fisherman who was perfectly willing to hire them a -boat, and, really, it was not a bad boat, either. At least, it had been -washed out and the seats were clean. The oars were rather heavier than -Nell Stanley was used to.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p> - -<p>"You need heavy oars on this bay, young lady," declared the boat-owner. -"Nothing fancy does here. When a squall comes up——"</p> - -<p>"Oh, but you don't think it looks like a squall this afternoon, do -you?" Jessie interrupted.</p> - -<p>"Dunno. Can't tell. Ain't nothing sartain about it," said the -pessimistic old fellow. "Sometimes you get what you don't most expect -on this bay. I been here, man and boy, all my life, and I give you my -word I don't know nothing about the weather."</p> - -<p>"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Amy, under her breath. "What a Job's comforter -he is! Who ever heard of a fisherman before who didn't know all about -the weather?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe we had better not go far," Jessie, who was easily troubled, said -hesitatingly.</p> - -<p>"Come on," said Nell. "He just wants to keep us from going out far. He -is afraid for his old tub of a boat."</p> - -<p>She said this rather savagely, and Jessie thought it better to say -nothing more of a doubtful nature, having two against her. Besides, the -sky seemed quite clear and the bay was scarcely ruffled by the wind.</p> - -<p>The old man sat and smoked and watched them push off from the landing -without offering to help. He did not even offer to ship the rudder for -them, although that was a clumsy operation. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> Jessie and Amy had -managed to secure it in place, while Nell settled herself at the oars, -the old man shouted:</p> - -<p>"That other thing in the bow is a anchor. You don't use that unless you -want to stay hitched somewhere. Understand?"</p> - -<p>"He must think we are very poor sailors," said Jessie.</p> - -<p>"I feel like making a face at him—as Henrietta does," declared Amy. "I -never saw such a cantankerous old man."</p> - -<p>Nell braced her feet and set to work. She was an athletic girl and she -loved exercise of all kind. But rowing, she admitted, was more to her -taste than sweeping and scrubbing.</p> - -<p>Amy steered. At least, she lounged in the stern with the lines across -her lap. Jessie had taken her place in the bow, to balance the boat. -They moved out from shore at a fine pace, and even Amy soon forgot the -grouchy old fisherman.</p> - -<p>There were not many boats on the bay that afternoon—not small boats, -at least. The steamer that plied between the port and the hotel landing -at the north of the island at regular hours passed in the distance. A -catboat swooped near the girls after a time, and a flaxen-haired boy in -it—a boy of about Darry Drew's age—shouted something to them.</p> - -<p>"I suppose it is something saucy," declared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> Amy. "But I didn't hear -what he said and sha'n't reply. I don't feel just like fighting with -strange boys to-day."</p> - -<p>Jessie was the first to see the voluminous clouds rising from the -horizon; but she thought little of them. The descending sun began to -wallow in them, and first the girls were in a patch of shadow, and then -in the sunlight.</p> - -<p>"Don't you want me to row some, Nell?" Jessie asked.</p> - -<p>"I'm doing fine," declared the clergyman's daughter. "But—but I guess -I am getting a blister. These old oars are heavy."</p> - -<p>"We ought to have made him give us two pairs," complained Amy. "Then -the two of you could row."</p> - -<p>"Listen to her!" cried Jessie. "She would never think of taking a turn -at them. Not Miss Drew!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, I am the captain," declared Amy. "And the captain never does -anything but steer."</p> - -<p>They had rowed by this time well up toward the northerly end of the -island. Hackle Island Hotel sprawled upon the bluff over their heads. -It was a big place, and the grounds about it were attractive.</p> - -<p>"I don't see Belle or Sally anywhere," drawled Amy. "And see! There -aren't many bathers down on this beach."</p> - -<p>"This is the still-water beach," explained Jessie.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> "I guess most of -them like the surf bathing on the other side."</p> - -<p>There were winding steps leading up the bluff to the hotel. Not many -people were on these steps, but the seabirds were flying wildly about -the steps and over the brow of the bluff.</p> - -<p>"Wonder what is going on over there?" drawled Amy, who faced the island -just then.</p> - -<p>Nell stopped rowing to look at the incipient blister on her left palm. -Jessie bent near to see it, too. Nobody was looking across the bay -toward the mainland.</p> - -<p>"You'd better let me take the oars," Jessie said. "You'll have all the -skin off your hand."</p> - -<p>"Why should you skin yours?" demanded Nell. "These old oars <i>are</i> -heavy."</p> - -<p>"How dark it is getting!" drawled Amy. "Even the daylight saving time -ought not to be blamed for this."</p> - -<p>Jessie looked up, startled. Over the mainland a black cloud billowed, -and as she looked lightning whipped out of it and flashed for a moment -like a searchlight.</p> - -<p>"A thunderstorm is coming!" she cried. "We'd better turn back."</p> - -<p>But when Nell looked up and saw the coming tempest she knew she could -never row back to the inlet before the wind, at least, reached them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p> - -<p>"We'll go right ashore," she said with confidence.</p> - -<p>"What do you say, Amy?" Jessie asked.</p> - -<p>"Far be it from me to interfere," said the other Roselawn girl, -carelessly, and without even turning around to look. "I'm in the boat -and will go wherever the boat goes."</p> - -<p>Nell, settling to the oars again with vigor, remarked:</p> - -<p>"One thing sure, we don't want the boat overturned and have to follow -it to the bottom. Oh! Hear that thunder, will you?"</p> - -<p>Amy woke up at last. She twitched about in the stern and stared at the -storm cloud. It was already raining over the port, and long streamers -of rain were being driven by the rising wind out over the bay.</p> - -<p>"Wonderful!" she murmured.</p> - -<p>"Where are you going, Nell?" suddenly shrieked Jessie. "The boat is -actually turning clear around!"</p> - -<p>"Don't blame me!" gasped Nell. "I am pulling straight on, but that -girl has twisted the rudder lines. Do see what you are about, Amy, and -please be careful!"</p> - -<p>"My goodness!" gasped the girl in the stern. "It's going to storm out -here, too."</p> - -<p>She frantically tried to untangle the rudder lines; but while she had -been lying idly there, she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> had twisted them together in a rope, and -she was unable to untwist them immediately. Meanwhile the thunder -rolled nearer, the lightning flashed more sharply, and they heard the -rain drumming on the surface of the water. Little froth-streaked waves -leaped up about the boat and all three of the girls realized that they -were in peril.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</a></p> - -<p class="center">FROM ONE THING TO ANOTHER</p> - - -<p class="drop">"L<span class="uppercase">et</span> 'em alone, Amy!" begged Jessie, from the bow. "You are only -twisting the boat's head around and making it harder for Nell to row."</p> - -<p>"I—could—do better—if the rudder was unshipped," declared Nell, -pantingly.</p> - -<p>Immediately Amy jerked the heavy rudder out of its sockets. Fortunately -she had got the lines over her head before doing this, or she might -have been carried overboard.</p> - -<p>For the rudder was too much for Amy. The rising waves tore it out of -her hands the instant it was loose, and away it went on a voyage of its -own.</p> - -<p>"There!" exclaimed Jessie, with exasperation. "What do you suppose that -grouchy old man will say when we bring him back his boat without the -rudder?"</p> - -<p>"He won't say so much as he would if we didn't bring him back his boat -at all," declared Amy. "I'll pay for the rudder."</p> - -<p>Jessie felt that the situation was far too serious for Amy to speak -so carelessly. She urged Nell to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> let her help with the oars; and, in -truth, the other found handling the two oars with the rising waves -cuffing them to and fro rather more than she had bargained for.</p> - -<p>Jessie shipped the starboard oar in the bow and together she and Nell -did their very best. But the wind swooped down upon them, tearing the -tops from the waves and saturating the three girls with spray.</p> - -<p>"I guess I know what that white-haired boy tried to tell us," gasped -Amy, from the stern. "He must have seen this thunderstorm coming."</p> - -<p>"All the other boats got ashore," panted Nell. "We were foolish not to -see."</p> - -<p>"Nobody on lookout—that's it!" groaned Amy. "Oh!"</p> - -<p>A streak of lightning seemed to cross the sky, and the thunder followed -almost instantly. Down came the rain—tempestuously. It drove over the -water, flattening the waves for a little, then making the sea boil.</p> - -<p>"Hurry up, girls!" wailed Amy. "Get ashore—do! I'm sopping wet."</p> - -<p>Jessie and Nell had no breath with which to reply to her. They were -pulling at the top of their strength. The shore was not far away in -reality. But it seemed a long way to pull with those heavy oars.</p> - -<p>The rain swept landward and drove everybody,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> even the few bathers, to -cover. The shallow water was torn again into whitecaps and a lot of -spray came inboard as Jessie and Nell tried their very best to reach -the strand.</p> - -<p>Amy could do nothing but encourage them. There was no way by which she -might aid their escape from the tempest. One thing, she did nothing to -hinder! Even she was in no mood for "making fun."</p> - -<p>In fact, this tempest was an experience such as none of the three girls -had seen before. Jessie and Nell were well-nigh breathless and their -arms and shoulders began to ache.</p> - -<p>"Let me exchange with one of you, Nell! Jess!" cried Amy, her voice -half drowned by the noise of wind and rain.</p> - -<p>"Stay where you are!" commanded Jessie, from the bow, as her chum -started to come forward. "You might tip us over!"</p> - -<p>"Sit down!" sang the cheerful Nell. "Sit down, you're rocking the boat!"</p> - -<p>"But I want to help!" complained Amy.</p> - -<p>"You did your helping when you got rid of that rudder," returned Nell, -comfortingly. "Do be still, Amy Drew!"</p> - -<p>"How can one be still in such a jerky, pitching boat?" gasped the other -girl. "Do—do you think you can reach land, Jessie Norwood?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I've hopes of it," responded her chum. "It isn't very far."</p> - -<p>"I wonder how far it is to—to land underneath the keel?" sputtered Amy.</p> - -<p>"For pity's sake stop that!" cried Nell Stanley. "Don't suggest such -gloomy and gruesome things."</p> - -<p>"Well," grumbled Amy, "I believe it's the nearest land."</p> - -<p>"I shouldn't be surprised," panted Jessie. "But don't talk about it, -Amy."</p> - -<p>The rain swept over and past the small boat in such heavy sheets that -finally the girls could scarcely see the shore at all. Amy found -something to do—and something of importance. Although not much water -slopped into the boat over the sides, the rain itself began to fill the -bottom. The water was soon ankle deep.</p> - -<p>"Bail it! Bail it!" shouted Nell.</p> - -<p>"Oh! is that what the tin dipper is for?" gasped Amy. "I—I thought it -was to drink out of."</p> - -<p>Afterward "Amy's drinking cup" made a joke, but just then nobody -laughed at the girl's mistake. She set to work with vigor to bail out -the boat, and kept it up "for hours and hours" she declared, though the -others insisted it was "minutes and minutes."</p> - -<p>At last they reached the strand.</p> - -<p>One of the bathing house men ran out to help pull the bow of the boat -up on the sands.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Run along up to the hotel!" he cried. "There is no good shelter down -here for you."</p> - -<p>The moment they could do so the three girls leaped ashore. Thus -relieved of their weight, the boat was the more easily dragged out of -the reach of the waves, which now began to roll in madly. The lightning -increased in its intensity, the thunder reverberated from the bluff. -The tempest was at its height when they hastened to mount the winding -wooden stair.</p> - -<p>"Oh, my blister! Oh, my blister!" moaned Nell, as she climbed upward.</p> - -<p>"Everything I've got on sticks to me like a twin sister," declared Amy -Drew. "Oh, dear! How shall we ever get home in these soaked rags?"</p> - -<p>"We must go to the hotel," cried Jessie. "Come on."</p> - -<p>She was the first to reach the top of the stairs. There was a garden -and lawn to cross to reach the veranda. As the rain was beating in from -this direction none of the hotel guests was on this side of the house. -The three wet girls ran as hard as they could for shelter.</p> - -<p>Just as Jessie, leading the trio, came up the Veranda steps, she heard -a loud and harsh voice exclaim:</p> - -<p>"Well of all things! I'd like to know what you think you are doing -here? You have no business at this hotel. Go away!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p> - -<p>Jessie almost stopped, and Amy and Nell ran into her.</p> - -<p>"Oh, do go on!" cried Amy. "Let us get inside somewhere——"</p> - -<p>"Well, I should say <i>not</i>!" broke out the harsh voice again, and the -three Roselawn girls beheld Belle Ringold and Sally Moon confronting -them on the piazza. "Just look at what wants to get into the hotel, -Sally! Did you ever?"</p> - -<p>"They look like beggars," laughed Sally. "The manager would give them -marching orders in a hurry, I guess."</p> - -<p>"Do let us in out of the rain," Jessie said faintly. She did not know -but perhaps the hotel people would object to strangers coming inside. -But Amy demanded:</p> - -<p>"What do you think you have to say about it, Belle Ringold? Is this -something more that you or your folks own? Do go along, Belle, and let -us pass."</p> - -<p>"Not much; you won't come in here!" declared Belle, setting herself -squarely in their way. "No, you don't! That door's locked, anyway. It -belongs to Mrs. Olliver's private suite—Mrs. Purdy Olliver, of New -York. I am sure she won't want you bedrabbled objects hanging around -her windows."</p> - -<p>"Go around to the kitchen door," said Sally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> Moon, laughing. "That is -where you look as though you belonged."</p> - -<p>"Oh, that's good, Sally!" cried Belle. "Ex-act-ly! The kitchen door!"</p> - -<p>At that moment another flash of lightning and burst of thunder made the -two unpleasant girls from New Melford cringe and shriek aloud. They -backed against the closed door Belle had mentioned as being the wealthy -Mrs. Olliver's private entrance.</p> - -<p>Amy and Nell screamed, too, and the three wet girls clung together for -a moment. The rain came with a rush into the open porch, and if they -could be more saturated than they were, this blast of rain would have -done it.</p> - -<p>"We have got to get under shelter!" shouted Jessie, and dragged her two -friends farther into the veranda. Belle and Sally might have been mean -enough to try to drive them back, but at this point somebody interfered.</p> - -<p>A long window, like a door, opened and a lady looked out, shielding -herself from the wind by holding the glass door.</p> - -<p>"Girls! Girls!" she cried. "You will be drowned out there. Come right -in."</p> - -<p>"Fine!" gasped Amy, not at all under her breath. "Belle doesn't own the -hotel, after all!"</p> - -<p>"It's Mrs. Olliver!" exclaimed Sally Moon in a shrill voice, as she and -Belle came out of re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>tirement and likewise approached the open window.</p> - -<p>"Come right in here," said the lady, cheerfully as Jessie and her -friends approached. "You are three very plucky girls. I saw you out in -your boat when the storm struck you. Come in and I'll have my maid find -you something dry to put on."</p> - -<p>"Oh, fine!" sighed Amy again.</p> - -<p>The trio of storm-beaten girls hastened in out of the wind and rain; -but when Belle and Sally would have followed, Mrs. Olliver stopped them -firmly.</p> - -<p>"Don't you belong in the hotel?" she asked. "Then go around to the main -entrance if you wish to come in. You are at home."</p> - -<p>She actually closed the French window—but gently—in the faces of the -bold duo. Amy, at least, was vastly amused. She winked wickedly at -Jessie and Nell Stanley.</p> - -<p>"This will break Belle's heart," she whispered.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</a></p> - -<p class="center">BOUND OUT</p> - - -<p class="drop">J<span class="uppercase">essie</span> thought that the very wealthy Mrs. Purdy Olliver was no -different from Momsy or Mrs. Drew or Nell's Aunt Freda. She was just -polite and kind. Secretly the girls from Roselawn thought the lady was -very different from Belle's mother and Mrs. Moon. Perhaps that fact was -one reason why the unpleasant Belle Ringold had spoken in some awe of -the New York woman.</p> - -<p>She had a really wonderful suite at the Hackle Island Hotel, for she -had furnished it herself and came here every year, she told her young -visitors. There was a lovely big bath room with both a tub and a Roman -shower.</p> - -<p>"Though, you can believe me," said Amy, "I don't have any idea that -many of the old Romans had baths like this. It was 'the great unwashed' -that supported Cæsar. 'Roman bath' is only a name."</p> - -<p>"Wrong! Not about Cæsar's crowd, but about the Romans in general as -bathers," answered Jessie. "Read your Roman history, girl. Or if not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> -that—and you won't—some historical novels."</p> - -<p>"Humph!" sniffed Amy, but made no further reply.</p> - -<p>The girls laughingly disrobed and tried the shower, while the maid -dried their outer clothing, furnishing each of the guests with kimono -or negligee. Then they came out into Mrs. Olliver's living room and -took tea with her.</p> - -<p>They did not get their own clothes back until nearly six o'clock, and -saw nothing of Belle and Sally when they came out of the hotel. Perhaps -that was because they left by Mrs. Olliver's private door and ran right -down the steps to the beach where they had left the boat.</p> - -<p>The kind woman had asked them to come and see her again, and was -especially cordial when she knew that Jessie was the daughter of the -Mrs. Norwood who had been chairman of the foundation fund committee of -the Women's and Children's Hospital of New Melford.</p> - -<p>"I think that idea of having a radio concert by which to raise funds -for the hospital was unusually good," the New York woman said. "It was -the first thing that interested me in radio-telephony. I mean to have -a set put in here soon. There is a big one in the hotel foyer, but it -does not work perfectly at all times."</p> - -<p>"Dear me," said Nell, as the girls descended to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> the beach, "you run -into radio fans everywhere, don't you? How interesting!"</p> - -<p>The boat was all right, only half filled with water. The bathhouse man -came and turned the craft over for them and emptied it. Jessie thanked -and tipped him and he pushed them off. Jessie and Amy each took an oar -and made Nell sit in the stern and nurse her blister.</p> - -<p>"It really is something of a blister," Amy remarked, looking at it -carefully.</p> - -<p>"There's water in it already, and it hurts!" wailed the clergyman's -daughter.</p> - -<p>"I see the water," declared Amy. "It may be an ever-living spring -there. You know, people have water on the brain and water on the knee; -but seems to me a spring in your hand must be lots worse."</p> - -<p>"You never will be serious," said Nell, half laughing. "If the blister -was on your hand——"</p> - -<p>"Don't say a word! I think I shall have one before we reach the -landing," declared Amy. "And, girls, what do you suppose that grouchy -old fisherman will say when he sees we lost his rudder?"</p> - -<p>"He won't see that," replied Jessie.</p> - -<p>"What! Why, listen to her!" gasped Amy. "Is she going to try to get -away before he misses the rudder?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all," returned her chum calmly, while<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> Nell began to laugh. "It -was <i>you</i> who lost the rudder, Amy Drew. Nell and I had nothing to do -with that crime."</p> - -<p>"Ouch!" cried Amy. "I wouldn't have lost it if it hadn't been for the -thunderstorm coming down on us so suddenly. And that old fellow didn't -warn us of any squall."</p> - -<p>"He warned us that squalls were prevalent on the bay," replied Nell. -"He said he knew nothing about the weather. And I guess he told the -truth."</p> - -<p>"There is a great lack of unanimity in this trio," complained Amy. "If -I lost the rudder, didn't we all lose it?"</p> - -<p>When they reached the inlet, however, the old fisherman was just as -surprising as he had been in the first place.</p> - -<p>"Don't blame me," he said when the girls came ashore. "I told you I -didn't know anything about the weather. I wouldn't have been surprised -if you'd lost the boat."</p> - -<p>"We only lost a part of it," said Amy quickly. "The rudder."</p> - -<p>"Well, it wasn't much good. I can find another around somewhere. Lucky -to get the hull of the boat back, I am."</p> - -<p>"You didn't get the whole of it back, I tell you," said Amy, soberly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p> - -<p>He blinked at her, and without even a smile, said:</p> - -<p>"Oh! You mean that for a joke, do you? Well, I don't understand jokes -any more than I do the weather. No, you needn't pay me for the rudder. -'Tain't nothing."</p> - -<p>The trio had a good deal to talk about when they got home, but Darry -and Burd came in at dinner with the news that the <i>Marigold</i> was all -ready for sea and that they would get under way right after breakfast -the next morning.</p> - -<p>Dr. Stanley and his daughter and Jessie and Amy were to be the boys' -guests on this trip, and the idea was to go along the coast as far as -Boston and return. Mrs. Norwood had become used by this time to the -boys going back and forth in the yacht and after her own voyage down to -the island had forgotten her fears for the young folks.</p> - -<p>"I am sure Darry will not expose the girls to danger," she said to her -husband. "But I am glad Dr. Stanley is going with them. He has such -good sense."</p> - -<p>Henrietta wanted to go along. She did not see why she could not go on -the yacht if "Miss Jessie and Miss Amy" were going. She might have -whined a bit about it, if it had not been that she was reminded of the -Radio Man.</p> - -<p>"You want to look out," Amy advised her. "You know the Radio Man is -watching you and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> like enough he'll tell everybody just how bad you -are."</p> - -<p>"Gee!" sighed Henrietta. "It's awful to be responsible for owning an -island, ain't it?"</p> - -<p>The girls were eager to be off in the morning and they scurried around -and packed their overnight bags and discussed what they should wear for -two hours before breakfast. Burd was not to be hurried at his morning -meal.</p> - -<p>"No knowing what we may get aboard ship," he grumbled. "If it comes up -rough there may be no chance at all to eat properly."</p> - -<p>"Now, Burd Alling!" exclaimed Amy. "How can you?"</p> - -<p>"How can I eat? Perfectly. Got teeth and a palate for that enjoyment."</p> - -<p>"But don't suggest that we may have bad weather. After that tempest -yesterday——"</p> - -<p>"You'll have no hotel to run to if we get squally weather," laughed her -brother. "I think, however, that after that shower we should have clear -weather for some time. Don't let the 'Burd Alling Blues' bother you."</p> - -<p>"Anyway," said Jessie, scooping out her iced melon with some gusto, "we -have a radio on board and we can send an S O S if we get into trouble, -can't we?"</p> - -<p>"Come to think of it," said Darry, "that old radio hasn't been working -any too well. You will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> have to give it the once over, Jess, when you -get aboard."</p> - -<p>This made Jessie all the more eager to embark on the yacht. She was so -much interested in radio that she wanted, as Amy said, to be "fooling -with it all of the time!"</p> - -<p>But when they got under way and the <i>Marigold</i> steamed out to sea there -were so many other things to see and to be interested in that the girls -forgot all about the radio for the time being, in the mere joy of being -alive.</p> - -<p>Darry had shipped a cook; but the boys had to do a good deal of the -deck work to relieve the forecastle hands. Stoking the furnace to keep -up steam was no small job. The engines of the <i>Marigold</i> were old and, -as Skipper Pandrick said, "were hogs for steam." To tell the truth the -boilers leaked and so did the cylinders. The boys had had trouble with -the machinery ever since Darry had put the <i>Marigold</i> into commission. -But the young owner did not want to go to the expense of getting new -driving gear for the yacht. And, after all, the trouble did not seem to -be serious.</p> - -<p>The speed of the boat, however, was all the girls and other guests -expected. The sea was smooth and blue, the wind was fair, the sun shone -warmly, and altogether it was a charming day. Nobody expected trouble -when everything was so calm and blissful.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p> - -<p>But some time before evening haze gathered along the sealine and hid -the main shore and Hackle Island, too. Nobody expected a sea spell, -however, from this mild warning—not even Skipper Pandrick.</p> - -<p>"This is a time of light airs, if unsettled," he said. "Thunderstorms -ashore don't often bother ships at sea. There's lightning in them -clouds without a doubt, but like enough we won't know anything about -it."</p> - -<p>It was true the <i>Marigold's</i> company was not disturbed in the least -during the evening. After dinner the heavy mist drove them below and -they played games, turned on the talking machine, and sang songs until -bedtime. Sometime in the night Jessie woke up enough to realize that -there was an unfamiliar noise near.</p> - -<p>"Do you hear it?" she demanded, poking Amy in the berth over her head.</p> - -<p>"Hear what?" snapped Amy. "I do wish you would let me sleep. I was a -thousand miles deep in it. What's the noise?"</p> - -<p>"Why," explained Jessie, puzzled, "it sounds like a cow."</p> - -<p>"Cow? Huh! I hope it's a contented cow, I do, or else the milk may not -be good for your coffee."</p> - -<p>"She doesn't sound contented," murmured Jessie. "Listen!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> - -<p>The silence outside the port-light was shattered by a mournful, -stuttering sound. Nell Stanley sat up suddenly on the couch across the -stateroom and blinked her eyes.</p> - -<p>"Oh, mercy!" she gasped. "There must be a terrible fog."</p> - -<p>"Fog?" squealed Amy. "And Jessie was telling me there was a cow aboard. -Is that the foghorn? Well, make up your mind, Jess, you'll get no milk -from that animal."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</a></p> - -<p class="center">SOMETHING SERIOUS</p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">he</span> three girls did not sleep much after that. The grumbling, -stuttering notes of the foot-power horn seemed to fill all the air -about the <i>Marigold</i>. Darry told them at breakfast that he used this -old-fashioned horn on the yacht because it took too much steam if they -used the regular horn.</p> - -<p>"This is a great old tub," complained Burd, who had spent the previous -hour at the device. "She makes only steam enough to blow the horn when -you stop the engines. Great! Great!"</p> - -<p>"You'd kick if you were going to be hung," observed his chum.</p> - -<p>"Might as well be hung as sentenced to the treadmill. I suppose I have -to go back and step on the tail of that horn after breakfast?"</p> - -<p>"You'll take your turn if the fog does not lift."</p> - -<p>"What could be sweeter!" grumbled Burd, and fell to on the viands -before him with a just appreciation of the time vouchsafed him for the -meal. Burd's appetite never failed.</p> - -<p>The fog, however, lifted. But it was a gray<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> day and the girls looked -upon the vessels which appeared out of the mist about them with an -interest which was half fearful.</p> - -<p>"Suppose one of those <i>had</i> run into us?" suggested Jessie. "And there -is a great liner off yonder. Why, if that had bumped us we must have -been sunk——"</p> - -<p>"Without trace," finished Amy, briskly. "The old cow's mooing did some -good, I guess, Jess," and she chuckled.</p> - -<p>She had told the boys about her chum thinking there must be a cow -aboard in the night, and of course they all teased Jessie a good deal -about it. She laughed with them at herself, however. Jessie Norwood was -no spoil-sport.</p> - -<p>The <i>Marigold</i> steamed into the east all that afternoon. But the -weather did not improve. The hopes of a fair trip were gradually -dissipated, and even the skipper looked about the horizon and shook his -head.</p> - -<p>"Seems as though there was plenty of wind coming, Mr. Darrington," he -said to the owner of the yacht. "If these friends of yours are easily -made sea-sick, we'd better get into shelter somewhere."</p> - -<p>"Where'll we go?" demanded Darry. "Here we are off Montauk."</p> - -<p>"With the direction the wind is going to blow when she gets going, we'd -better run for the New<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> Harbor at Block Island and get in through the -breech there. It'll be calm as a millpond, once we're inside."</p> - -<p>When Darry asked the others, however, the consensus of opinion was that -they keep on for Boston.</p> - -<p>"Can't we take the inside passage—go through the Cape Cod Canal?" -asked Dr. Stanley. "That should eliminate all danger."</p> - -<p>"Oh, there's no danger," Darry said. "The yacht is as seaworthy as can -be. But I don't want any of you to be uncomfortable."</p> - -<p>"I'm a good sailor," declared Nell.</p> - -<p>"You know Jess and I are used to the water," Amy hastened to say. "Let -us go on, Darry."</p> - -<p>But the wind sprang up a little later and began to blow fitfully. The -skipper considered it safer to keep well out to sea. Inshore waters are -often dangerous even for a craft of as light draught as the <i>Marigold</i>.</p> - -<p>The crowd sat on deck, keeping as much as possible in the shelter of -the deckhouse, and were just as jolly as though there was no such thing -on the whole ocean as a storm. Dr. Stanley told them several of his -funny stories, and amused the young folks immensely.</p> - -<p>In the midst of the general hilarity Nell went below for something. -She was gone for some minutes and Jessie, at least, began to wonder<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> -where she was when she saw Nell's hand beckoning to her from an open -stateroom window. Jessie got up and moved toward the place, wondering -what the doctor's daughter had discovered that so excited her.</p> - -<p>"What is it, Nell?" Jess whispered.</p> - -<p>"Come down here—do!" exclaimed the other girl, her tone half muffled.</p> - -<p>"What is the matter?" Jessie exclaimed, in wonder.</p> - -<p>But she slipped around to the other side of the cabin, faced the gale, -and reached the companionway. She darted down, being careful to shut -tight the slide behind her. Already the waves were buffeting the small -yacht and spray was dashing in over the weather rail.</p> - -<p>Jessie found some difficulty in keeping her feet in the close cabin. -It was so dark outside that the interior of the yacht was gloomy. She -groped her way to their stateroom, which was the biggest aboard.</p> - -<p>"What is the matter, Nell?" demanded Jessie, pushing open the door and -peering in.</p> - -<p>Nell Stanley's face was white. She stood by the open window. At -Jessie's appearance she began to sob and tremble.</p> - -<p>"I—I'm so frightened, Jess!" she gasped.</p> - -<p>"Why, you silly! I thought you said you were a good sailor?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p> - -<p>"It isn't that," Nell told her. "Don't—don't you smell it?"</p> - -<p>"Don't I smell what?"</p> - -<p>"Come in and shut the door. Now smell—smell <i>hard</i>!"</p> - -<p>Jessie began to giggle. "What do you mean? Why! I see a little haze of -smoke by the window. Do I, or don't I?"</p> - -<p>"I opened the window to let it out. But—but it comes more and more, -Jessie," stammered the clergyman's daughter. "I believe the yacht is on -fire, Jessie!"</p> - -<p>"Oh! Don't say that!" murmured Jessie Norwood, suddenly frightened -herself.</p> - -<p>"When I came in the room was full of smoke and—don't you smell it?"</p> - -<p>"It doesn't smell very nice," admitted her friend. "Where does the -smoke come from? Where <i>can</i> it come from?"</p> - -<p>"It must come from below—from the hold under us."</p> - -<p>"But what can be burning? This is not a cargo boat," said the puzzled -Jessie. "We don't want to frighten them all, especially if it amounts -to nothing."</p> - -<p>"I know. That is why I called you first," Nell declared, anxiously. -"I—I wasn't sure."</p> - -<p>"Well, I am sure of one thing," said Jessie confidently.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What is that?"</p> - -<p>"This is a very serious thing if it <i>is</i> serious. We must tell Skipper -Pandrick at once. Let him decide what is to be done."</p> - -<p>"You wouldn't tell Darry?"</p> - -<p>"The skipper is responsible. We won't frighten the boys if we don't -need to," and Jessie tried to open the door again. "Come on. Don't stay -here and get asphyxiated."</p> - -<p>"It is all right with the window open," said Nell.</p> - -<p>She turned to follow her chum and saw Jessie tugging at the door-knob -and stopped, amazed. The other girl used both hands, but could not turn -the knob. She tugged with all her strength.</p> - -<p>"Why, Jessie Norwood! what is the matter with it?" whispered Nell, -anxiously.</p> - -<p>"The mean old thing won't open! It's a spring lock. How did it get -locked this way, do you suppose?"</p> - -<p>"You slammed it when you came in, Jess," Nell said. "But I had no idea -that it could be locked that way. Especially from the outside. Oh, -dear! Shall I shout for one of the boys? Shall I?"</p> - -<p>"Don't!" gasped Jessie, still struggling with the door-knob. "Don't you -know if one of them comes here and sees this smoke, everybody will know -it?"</p> - -<p>"They'll have to know it pretty soon," said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> Nell. "The smoke is coming -in all the time, Jess."</p> - -<p>Jessie could see that well enough. She shrank from creating a panic -aboard the yacht, realizing fully what a terrible thing a fire at sea -can be. If this hovering fog of smoke meant nothing serious, their -outcry for help at the stateroom window would create trouble—maybe -serious trouble. Jessie had the right idea, if she could but carry it -out—to tell the sailing master of the yacht, and only him.</p> - -<p>The brass knob seemed as firmly fixed in place as though it had never -been moved since it came from the shop. Jessie, at last, came away from -it. She peered out of the small window. If she could only catch the -skipper's eye!</p> - -<p>But she could not. At that moment there was not a soul in sight from -the window. She saw sea and sky, and that was all.</p> - -<p>"Oh dear, Jess!" murmured Nell Stanley, at last giving way to fear. -"What shall we do? We'll be burned up in here!"</p> - -<p>"Don't talk so, Nell!" commanded Jessie. "Do you want to scare me to -death?"</p> - -<p>"It's enough to scare anybody to death," proclaimed the minister's -daughter. "I'm going to scream for father."</p> - -<p>"You'll do nothing of the kind!" her friend declared. "Shrieking about -this will do no good, and may do harm. Can't you see——"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Not much, with all this smoke in my eyes," grumbled Nell.</p> - -<p>"Don't be a goose! If we yell, everybody will come running, and will -get excited when they see the smoke."</p> - -<p>"But, Jess," Nell said very sensibly, "all the time we delay the fire -is gathering headway."</p> - -<p>"If it <i>is</i> a fire."</p> - -<p>"Goodness me! Where there's so much smoke there must be fire. How you -talk!"</p> - -<p>"I don't want to be shown up as a 'fraid cat and a killjoy," cried -Jessie. "The boys are always laughing at us, anyway, because we get -scared at little things—mice, and falling overboard, and a puff of -wind. I am deadly sick of hearing: 'Isn't that just like a girl?' So -there!"</p> - -<p>"Well, for pity's sake!" gasped the clergyman's daughter. "That <i>is</i> -just like a girl! Afraid of what boys will say of one! Not me!"</p> - -<p>"Girls ought to be just as fearless as boys, and have as much -initiative. Now, Nell Stanley, suppose Darry and Burd were shut up in -this stateroom under these circumstances. What do you suppose they -would do?"</p> - -<p>Nell laughed aloud, serious as the situation was. "I guess Burd would -put his head out of that window and bawl for help."</p> - -<p>"Darry wouldn't," declared Jessie, firmly. "He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> would know what to do. -He would realize that it would not do to start a panic."</p> - -<p>"But if the door has been locked on us?"</p> - -<p>"Darry would know what to do with that old lock. He'd—he'd find a way. -Find out what the matter with it was."</p> - -<p>Jessie sprang at the door again. She stooped down and looked at the -under side of the brass lock. Then she uttered a shrill squeal of -delight.</p> - -<p>"What is it now?" gasped Nell.</p> - -<p>"I've got it! There is a snap here that holds the knob so you can't -turn it! I must have snapped it when I came in!" She jerked the door -open and ran. "Come on, Nell!"</p> - -<p>"Well, of all things!" gasped her friend.</p> - -<p>But she followed her friend out of the stateroom. They ran as well as -they could through the cabin and got out upon the open deck. Skipper -Pandrick, in glistening oilskins and sou'wester was far aft with his -glasses to his eyes. He was watching a dark spot upon the stormy -horizon that might have been steamer smoke, or a gathering storm cloud.</p> - -<p>The girls ran up to him, but Jessie pulled Nell's sleeve to admonish -her to say nothing that might be overheard by the other passengers.</p> - -<p>"What's doing, young ladies?" asked the skipper, curiously, seeing -their flushed and excited faces.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Will—will you come below—to our stateroom—for a moment, Mr. -Pandrick?" stammered Jessie. "There is something we want to show you. -It is really something serious. Please come below at once."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI</a></p> - -<p class="center">WORK FOR ALL</p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">he</span> skipper looked rather queerly at the two excited girls, but he went -below with them without further objection. In fact, Skipper Pandrick -was a man of very few words: he proved this when Nell opened the -stateroom door and he saw the smoke swirling about the apartment.</p> - -<p>"I reckon you girls ain't been smoking in here," he said grimly. "Then -I reckon that smoke comes from below."</p> - -<p>"Is the ship really on fire?" gasped Jessie.</p> - -<p>"Something's afire, sure as you're a foot high," said the skipper -vigorously, and stormed out of the stateroom and out of the cabin.</p> - -<p>There was a hatch in the main deck amidships. He called two of the men -and had it raised. The passengers as yet had no idea that anything was -wrong, for Jessie and Nell kept away from them.</p> - -<p>But they watched what the skipper did. He had brought an electric -pocket torch from below and he flashed this before him as he descended -the iron ladder into the hold. Almost at once,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> however, a whiff of -smoke rose through the open hatchway.</p> - -<p>"Glory be, Tom!" said one sailor to his mate. "What do you make of -that?"</p> - -<p>"You can't make nothing of smoke, <i>but</i> smoke," returned the other man. -"It's just as useless as a pig's squeal is to the butcher."</p> - -<p>But Jessie believed that the incident called for no humor. If there was -a fire below——</p> - -<p>"Hi, you boys!" came the muffled voice of Skipper Pandrick from below, -"couple on the pump-line and send the nozzle end below. There's -something here, sure enough."</p> - -<p>As he said this another balloon of smoke floated up through the open -hatch. It was seen from the station of the passengers. Darry jumped up -and ran to the hatchway.</p> - -<p>"What's he doing? Smoking down there?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>"It's sure a bad cigar, boss, if he's smoking it," said one of the men, -grinning.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Darryl" gasped Jessie. "The yacht is on fire!"</p> - -<p>"Nonsense!" exclaimed the young man, rather impolitely it must be -confessed.</p> - -<p>He started to descend into the hold. The skipper's voice rose out of it:</p> - -<p>"Get away from there! This ain't any place for you, Mr. Darry. Hustle -that pipe-line."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Is it serious, Skipper?" demanded the young collegian, anxiously.</p> - -<p>"I don't know how bad it is yet. Tell the helmsman to head nor'east. -Maybe we'd better make for some anchorage, after all."</p> - -<p>Darry ran to the wheelhouse. The other passengers began to get excited. -Nell ran to her father and told him what she had first discovered.</p> - -<p>"Well, having discovered the fire in time, undoubtedly they will be -able to put it out," said Dr. Stanley, comfortingly.</p> - -<p>But this did not prove to be easy. Skipper Pandrick had to come up -after a while for a breath of cool air and to remove his oilskins. -Darry and Burd got into overalls and helped in handling the hose. The -steam needed to work the pump, however, brought the engines down to a -very slow movement. The <i>Marigold</i> scarcely kept her headway.</p> - -<p>The fire, which had undoubtedly been smouldering a long time, was -obstinate. The water the skipper and his helpers poured upon it raised -the level of water in the bilge until Darry declared he feared the -yacht would be water-logged.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the wind grew in savageness. Instead of being gusty, it blew -more and more violently out of the northeast. When the helmsman tried -to head into it, under the skipper's relayed instructions by Darry, the -lack of steam<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> kept the old <i>Marigold</i> marking time instead of forging -ahead.</p> - -<p>"If we have to put the steam to the pump to clear the bilge after -this," grumbled the pessimistic Burd, "we'll never reach any shelter. -Might as well run for the Bermudas."</p> - -<p>"Won't that be fine!" cried Amy. "I have always wanted to go to the -Bermudas, and we've never gone."</p> - -<p>"Fine girl, you," retorted Burd. "You don't know when you are in -danger."</p> - -<p>"Fire's out!" announced Amy. "The skipper says so. And I am not afraid -of a capful of wind."</p> - -<p>There was more danger, however, than the girls imagined. The water -that had been poured into the yacht's hold did not make her any more -seaworthy. It was necessary to start the pump to try to clear the hold.</p> - -<p>The clapperty-clap; clapperty-clap! of the pump and the water swishing -across the deck to be vomited out of the hawse holes was nothing to add -to the passengers' feelings of confidence. Besides, the water came very -clear, and at its appearance the skipper looked doleful.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter, Skipper?" asked Darry, seeing quickly that -something was still troubling the old man.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Why, Mr. Darry, that don't look good to me and that's a fact," the -sailing master said.</p> - -<p>"Why not? The pump is clearing her fast."</p> - -<p>"Is it?" grumbled Pandrick, shaking his head.</p> - -<p>"Of course it is!" exclaimed Darry, with some exasperation. "Don't be -an Old Man of the Sea."</p> - -<p>"That's exactly what I am, Mr. Darry," said the skipper. "I'm so old a -hand at sea that I'm always looking for trouble. I confess it. And I -see trouble—and work for all hands—right here."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?" asked Jessie, who chanced to be by. "The pump works -all right just as Darry says, doesn't it?"</p> - -<p>"But, by gorry!" ejaculated the skipper, "it looks as though we were -just pumping the whole Atlantic through her seams."</p> - -<p>"Goodness! What do you mean?" Jessie demanded.</p> - -<p>"You think she is leaking?" asked Darry, in some trouble.</p> - -<p>"Bilge ain't clean water like that," answered Pandrick. "That's as -clear as the sea itself. Mind you! I don't say she leaks more'n enough -to keep her sweet. But if those pumps don't suck purt' soon, I shall -have my suspicions."</p> - -<p>"Darry!" ejaculated Jessie, "your yacht is falling apart. What are we -going to do?"</p> - -<p>"I don't believe it," muttered Darry.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p> - -<p>He had, however, to admit it after a time. It seemed as though the -<i>Marigold</i> were suffering one misfortune after another. The fire, which -might have been very serious, was extinguished; but the yacht lay deep -in the troubled sea, rolling heavily, and the water pumped through the -pipe was plainly seeping in through the seams of her hull.</p> - -<p>"Goodness me! shall we have to take to the boat and the life raft?" -demanded Amy.</p> - -<p>It was scarcely possible to joke much about the situation. Even Amy -Drew's "famous line of light conversation" could not keep up their -spirits.</p> - -<p>The wind continued to blow harder and harder. The yacht could no longer -head into it. Dr. Stanley looked grave. Nell, first frightened by her -discovery of the fire in the hold, was now in tears.</p> - -<p>To add to the seriousness of the situation, there was not another -vessel in sight.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII</a></p> - -<p class="center">A RADIO CALL THAT FAILED</p> - - -<p class="drop">"O<span class="uppercase">f</span> course," Amy said composedly, "if worse comes to worst, we can send -the news by radio that the yacht is sinking and bring to our rescue -somebody—somebody——"</p> - -<p>"Yes, we can!" exclaimed Burd Alling. "A revenue cutter, I suppose? -Don't you suppose the United States Government has anything better to -do than to look out for people who don't know enough to look out for -themselves?"</p> - -<p>"That seems to be the Government's mission a good deal of the time," -replied Dr. Stanley, with a smile. "But you don't think it will -be necessary to call for help, do you, Darrington?" he asked the -sober-looking owner of the yacht.</p> - -<p>"Well, the fire's out, that's sure——"</p> - -<p>"You bet it is!" growled Burd. "It had to be out, there's so much water -in the hold."</p> - -<p>"But we are not sinking!" cried Amy.</p> - -<p>"Lucky we're not," said Burd. "The radio doesn't work."</p> - -<p>"Why, how you talk," Nell said admonishingly.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> "You would scare us if -we did not know you so well, Burd."</p> - -<p>"You don't know the half of it!" exclaimed the young fellow. "Fuel is -getting low, too. Skipper wants us to work the pump by hand. That means -Darry and me to 'man the pumps.'"</p> - -<p>"And we can help," said Jessie, cheerfully. "If the skipper thinks he -needs to make more steam for the engines, why can't we all take turns -at the pump?"</p> - -<p>"Sounds like a real shipwreck story," her chum observed, but doubtfully.</p> - -<p>"It will cause a mutiny," declared Burd. "I didn't ship on the -<i>Marigold</i> to work like Old Bowser on the treadmill. And that is about -how I feel."</p> - -<p>"You can get out and walk if you don't like it," Darry reminded him.</p> - -<p>"And I suppose you think I wouldn't. For two cents——"</p> - -<p>Just then the yacht pitched sharply and Burd almost lost his footing. -The waves were really boisterous and occasionally a squall of rain -swooped down and, with the spray, wet the entire deck and those upon it.</p> - -<p>Jessie was not greatly afraid of the elements or of what they could -do to the yacht. But she was made anxious by the repetition of the -statement that the radio was out of order. Originally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> the <i>Marigold</i> -had had a small wireless plant, with storage batteries. Signals by -Morse could be exchanged with other ships and with stations ashore -within a limited distance.</p> - -<p>But when Darry had bought the radio receiving set he had disconnected -the broadcasting machine and linked up the regenerative circuit with -the stationary batteries. As he had explained to Jessie, both systems -could not be used at once.</p> - -<p>They had found that neither the receiving set nor the old wireless set -worked well. It looked as though the boys had overlooked something in -rigging the new set and the radio girls quite realized that in this -emergency a general and perhaps a thorough overhauling of the wires and -connections would be necessary to discover just where the fault lay.</p> - -<p>Jessie called Amy, and they went up into the little wireless room -behind the wheelhouse where everything about the plant but the -batteries were in place. This was a very different outfit from that in -the great station at the old lighthouse on Station Island, which they -had visited several days before.</p> - -<p>"If we only knew as much as that operator does about wireless," sighed -Jessie to her chum, "there might be some hope of our untangling all -this and finding out the trouble."</p> - -<p>"He said he had been five years at it and didn't<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> know so very much," -Amy reminded her dryly.</p> - -<p>"Oh, there will always be something new to learn about radio, -of course," her chum agreed. "But if we had his training in the -fundamentals of radio, we would be equipped to handle such a mess as -this. To tell you the truth, Amy, I think these two boys have made a -cat's cradle of this thing."</p> - -<p>"And Darry spent more than a year aboard a destroyer and was trained to -'listen in' for submarines and all that!"</p> - -<p>"An entirely different thing from knowing how to rig wireless," -commented Jessie, getting down on her knees to look under the shelf to -which the posts were screwed. "Oh, dear!" she added, as she bumped her -head. "I wish this boat wouldn't pitch so."</p> - -<p>"So say we all of us. What can I do, Jess?"</p> - -<p>"Not a thing—for a moment. Let me see: The general rules of radio are -easily remembered. The incoming oscillations that have been intercepted -by the antenna above the roof of the house are applied across the grid -and filament of the detector tube——"</p> - -<p>"That's this jigger here," put in Amy, as Jessie struggled up again.</p> - -<p>"Yes. That is the tube. Through the relay action of the tube, an -amplified current flows through the plate circuit—<i>here</i>. Now," added<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> -Jessie thoughtfully, "if we couple this plate circuit back—No! This is -a simple circuit. It is like our old one, Amy. We can't get much action -out of this set. It is not like the new one we are putting in the -bungalow."</p> - -<p>"Well, the thing is, can we use it?" Amy demanded. "Can you link the -power, or whatever you call it, up with the sending paraphernalia and -get an S O S over the water?"</p> - -<p>"Goodness, Amy! don't talk as though you thought we were really in -danger."</p> - -<p>"Humph! I see the Reverend, as Nell calls him, out there with his coat -off, in his shirt-sleeves, taking a turn with Burd at the pumps. They -have rigged it for man power and are saving steam for the engines."</p> - -<p>"Let me see!" cried Jessie, peering out of the clouded window too. -"You'd never think he was a minister. Isn't he nice?"</p> - -<p>Amy began to laugh. "Are all ministers supposed to be such terrible -people?"</p> - -<p>"No-o," admitted Jessie, going back to the radio set. "But good as they -usually are, we have the very best minister at the Roselawn Church, of -any."</p> - -<p>"Yep. So we must plan to save him if anything happens," giggled Amy.</p> - -<p>"Let's open the switch and see if we can get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> anything," her chum said -reflectively, picking up the head harness.</p> - -<p>"You mean <i>hear</i> if we can get anything," corrected Amy.</p> - -<p>"Never mind splitting hairs, my dear. Is that the switch? Yes. Now!"</p> - -<p>She put on the rigging, but all she got out of the air, as she sadly -confessed, were sounds like an angry cat spitting at a puppydog.</p> - -<p>"It isn't just static," she told Amy. "You try it. There is something -absolutely wrong with this thing. See! We don't get a spark."</p> - -<p>"If we did we couldn't read the letters."</p> - -<p>"I believe I could read some Morse if it came slowly enough," said -Jessie, nodding. "But it is sending, not receiving, I am thinking of, -Amy Drew."</p> - -<p>Amy began to look more serious. Jessie was harping on a possibility she -did not wish to admit was probable. She went out and, hunting up Darry, -demanded to know just how bad he thought they were off, anyway.</p> - -<p>"Well, Sis, there is no use making a wry face about it," the collegian -said. "But you see how hard the Reverend and Burd are working, and -they can't keep ahead of the water. The poor old <i>Marigold</i> really is -leaking."</p> - -<p>"Is she going to sink? Can't we get to land—somewhere? Can't we go -back to the island?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Shucks, Sis! You know we are miles from Station Island. We are off -Montauk—or we were this morning. But we are heading out to sea -now—sou'-sou'east. Can't head into this gale. She pitches too much."</p> - -<p>"And—and isn't there any help for us, Darry Drew?"</p> - -<p>"We don't need any help yet, do we?" he demanded pluckily. "She is -making good weather of it——"</p> - -<p>Just then the yacht rolled so that he had to grab the rail with one -hand and Amy with the other, and both of them were well shaken up.</p> - -<p>"Woof!" gasped Darry, as they came out of the smother of spray.</p> - -<p>"Oh!" exploded Amy. "I swallowed a pail of water that time. Ugh! How -bitter the sea is. Now, Darry, I guess we'll have to send out signals, -sha'n't we?"</p> - -<p>"How can we? I've tried the old radio already. She is as dumb as the -proverbial oyster with the lockjaw."</p> - -<p>"Jessie is going to fix it," said Amy, with some confidence.</p> - -<p>"Yes she is! She's some smart girl, I admit," her brother observed. -"But I guess that is a job that will take an expert."</p> - -<p>"You just see!" cried Amy. "You think she can't do anything because -she's a girl."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Bless you! Girls equal the men nowadays. I hold Jessie as little less -than a wonder. But if a thing can't be done——"</p> - -<p>"That is what you think because you tried it and failed."</p> - -<p>"Huh!"</p> - -<p>"We radio girls will show you!" declared Amy, her head up and preparing -to march back to her chum the next time the deck became steady.</p> - -<p>But when she started so proudly the yacht rolled unexpectedly and Amy, -screaming for help, went sliding along the deck to where Dr. Stanley -and Burd were pumping away to clear the bilge. She was saturated—and -much meeker in deportment—when Burd fished her out of the scuppers.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII</a></p> - -<p class="center">ONLY HOPE</p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">he</span> condition of the <i>Marigold</i> was actually much more serious than the -Roselawn girls at first supposed. Jessie and Amy were so busy in the -radio house for a couple of hours and were so interested in what they -were doing that they failed to observe that the hull of the yacht was -slowly sinking.</p> - -<p>Fortunately the wind decreased after a while; but by that time it was -scarcely safe to head the yacht into the wind's eye, as the skipper -called it. She wallowed in the big seas in a most unpleasant way and it -was fortunate indeed that all the passengers were good sailors.</p> - -<p>Nell came and looked into the radio room once or twice; then she felt -so bad that she went below to lie down. The doctor worked as hard as -any man aboard. And his cheerfulness was always infectious.</p> - -<p>The minister knew that they were in peril. He would have been glad to -see a rescuing vessel heave into sight. But he gave no sign that he -considered the situation at all uncertain or perilous in the least.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p> - -<p>The afternoon was passing. Another night on the open sea without -knowing if the yacht would weather the conditions, was a matter for -grave consideration. The doctor and Darry conferred with Skipper -Pandrick.</p> - -<p>"'Tis hard to say," the sailing master observed. "There is no knowing -what may happen. If the yacht was not so water-logged we might get in -under our own steam——"</p> - -<p>"But we can't make steam enough!" cried Darry.</p> - -<p>"Well, no, we don't seem to," admitted the skipper.</p> - -<p>"And to what port would you sail?" asked Dr. Stanley.</p> - -<p>"Well, now, there's not any handy just now, I admit. If we head back -for the land we may be thrown on our beam-ends, I will say. The waves -are big ones, as you see."</p> - -<p>"You are not very encouraging, Skipper," said the minister.</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't be raising any false hopes in your mind, sir," said -Pandrick.</p> - -<p>"You're a jolly old wet blanket, you are," declared Darry to the -sailing master. "What shall we do?"</p> - -<p>"We'll have to take what comes to us," declared the skipper.</p> - -<p>"You are a fatalist, Mr. Pandrick," said the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> minister, and Darry was -glad to hear him laugh cheerily.</p> - -<p>"No, sir. I'm a Universalist," declared the seaman. "And I've all the -hope in the world that we'll come out of this all right."</p> - -<p>"But can't we do something to help ourselves?" demanded the exasperated -Darry.</p> - -<p>"Not much that I know of. Here's hoping the wind goes down and we have -calm weather and see the sun again."</p> - -<p>"Hope all you like," growled the young fellow. "I am going to see if -the girls aren't able to bring something to pass with that radio."</p> - -<p>He found his sister and Jessie rearranging a part of the circuit on the -set-board. They were very much in earnest. Thus far, however, they had -been unable to get a clear signal out of the air, nor could they send -one.</p> - -<p>"If we could reach another vessel, or a shore station, and tell -them where the yacht is and that she is leaking, we'd be all right, -shouldn't we, Darry?" Jessie asked earnestly.</p> - -<p>"But I am not at all sure we need help," he said, in doubt.</p> - -<p>"We may need it!" exclaimed his sister.</p> - -<p>"Why—yes, we may," he admitted, though rather grudgingly.</p> - -<p>"Then we want to get this fixed," Jessie declared. "But there is -something wrong here. Do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> you see this Darry? It seems to me that there -must be a part missing. When you and Burd set this up are you sure you -followed the instructions of the book in every particular?"</p> - -<p>"Of course we did," Darry said.</p> - -<p>"Of course we didn't!" exclaimed Burd's voice from the doorway.</p> - -<p>"What are you saying?" demanded his friend, promptly.</p> - -<p>"What I know. Don't you remember that you lost the instruction book -overboard sometime there, when we were getting the bothersome thing -fixed?"</p> - -<p>"So I did," confessed Darry. "But, say! she was all right then."</p> - -<p>"She hasn't ever been all right," accused his chum, "and you know it."</p> - -<p>"We sent code signals by the old machine, all right."</p> - -<p>"But we've never been able to since we linked it up with this receiving -set, and you know it," said Burd.</p> - -<p>"It sounds to me," said Amy, "as though neither one of you boys knew so -awfully much about it."</p> - -<p>"I know one thing," said Jessie, with determination. "All the parts are -not here. These connections are not like any I ever saw before. It is a -mystery to me——"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Hold on!" exclaimed Darry Drew suddenly. "What did we do with all -those little cardboard boxes and paper tubes the parts came in? -Couldn't be we overlooked anything, Burd?"</p> - -<p>"Don't try to hang it on me!" exclaimed his chum. "I never claimed -to know a thing about radio. You were the Big Noise when we put the -contraption together."</p> - -<p>"Aw, you! Where did we put the things left over?"</p> - -<p>"There he goes!" exclaimed the confirmed joker. "He's like the fellow -who took the automobile apart to fix it and had a bushel of parts left -over when he was done. He doesn't know——"</p> - -<p>"Beat it out of here," roared Darry, "and find that box we put the -stuff into. <i>You</i> know."</p> - -<p>Dr. Stanley came up to the radio room while Burd was searching for the -rubbish box. The clergyman spoke cheerfully, but he looked very grave.</p> - -<p>"Is there any likelihood of our being able to send out a call for -assistance, Jessie?" he asked, quietly.</p> - -<p>"I don't see how we can, Doctor Stanley, until we fix this radio set. -We can't get any spark. We have to be able to get a spark to send a -message. The message will be stumbling enough, I am afraid, even if -we fix the thing, for none of us<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> understands Morse very well. Unless -Darry——"</p> - -<p>"Don't look to me for help," declared the collegian. "I haven't sent a -message since we put the yacht in commission. We had a fellow aboard -here until the other day who knew something about wireless and he was -the operator. Not me."</p> - -<p>"Amy and I have a code book with the alphabet in it," said Jessie -slowly. "I think if somebody read the dots and dashes to me I could -send a short message. But there is something wrong with this circuit."</p> - -<p>Just then Burd Alling came back. He brought with him a big corrugated -cardboard container. In that the various parts of the radio outfit had -been packed.</p> - -<p>"What do you think about it?" he asked. "There is something here that -I never saw before. See this jigamarig, Jess? Think it belongs on the -contraption?"</p> - -<p>"Oh!" cried Jessie, eagerly, pouncing on the small object that Burd -held out to her. "I know what that is."</p> - -<p>"Then you beat me. I don't," declared Burd.</p> - -<p>"Let's see what else there is," said Darry, diving into the box. "I -left you to get out the parts, Burd; you know I did."</p> - -<p>"Oh, splash!" exclaimed his friend. "We might as well admit that we -don't know as much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> about radio as these girls. They leave us lashed to -the post."</p> - -<p>But Jessie and Amy did not even feel what at another time Amy would -have called "augmented ego." The occasion was too serious.</p> - -<p>The day was passing into evening, and a very solemn evening it was. The -wind whined through the strands of the wire rigging. The waves knocked -the yacht about. The passengers all felt weary and forlorn.</p> - -<p>The two girl chums felt the situation less acutely than anybody else, -perhaps, because they were so busy. That radio had to be repaired. -That is what Jessie told Amy, and Amy agreed. The safety of the whole -yacht's company seemed dependent upon what the two radio girls could do.</p> - -<p>"And we must not fall down on it, Jess," Amy said vigorously. "How goes -it now?"</p> - -<p>"This thing that Burd found goes right in here. We have got to reset a -good part of the circuit to do it. I don't see how the boys could have -made such a mistake."</p> - -<p>"Proves what I have always maintained," declared Amy Drew. "We girls -are smarter than those boys, even if the said boys do go to college. -Bah! What is college, anyway?"</p> - -<p>"Just a prison," said Burd sepulchrally from the doorway.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Close that door!" exclaimed Jessie. "Don't let that spray drift in -here."</p> - -<p>"Yes. Do go away, Burd, and see if the yacht is sinking any more. Don't -bother us," commanded Amy.</p> - -<p>The men were keeping the pumps at work, but it was an anxious time. It -was long dark and the lamps were lighted when Jessie pronounced the set -complete. Darry and Burd came in again and asked what they could do?</p> - -<p>"Root for us. Nothing more," said Amy. "Jessie has fixed this thing and -she is going to have the honor of sending the message—if a message can -be sent."</p> - -<p>"Well," remarked Burd Alling, "I guess it is up to you girls to save -the situation. I have just found out that there isn't as much provender -as I was given reason to believe when we started. We ought to be in -Boston right now. And see where we are!"</p> - -<p>"That is exactly what we can't see," said Jessie. "But we must know. -Did you get the latitude and longitude from the skipper, Darry?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Here it is, approximately. He got a chance to shoot the sun this -noon."</p> - -<p>"The cruel thing!" gibed his sister. "But anyway, I hope he has got the -situation near enough so some vessel can find us."</p> - -<p>"Let us see, first, if we can send a message in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>telligibly," said -Jessie, putting on the head harness, and speaking seriously. "It -will be awful, perhaps, if we can't. I know that the yacht is almost -unmanageable."</p> - -<p>"You've said something," returned Burd. "The fuel is low, as well as -the supplies in the galley. We haven't got much left——"</p> - -<p>"But hope," said Jessie, softly.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE MYSTERIOUS MESSAGE</p> - - -<p class="drop">H<span class="uppercase">enrietta Haney</span> was a very lonely little girl after the yacht sailed -from Station Island. Not that she had nobody to play with, for she -had. There were other children besides Sally Stanley of her own age, -or thereabout, in the bungalow colony. And as she had been in Dogtown, -Henrietta soon became the leading spirit of her crowd.</p> - -<p>She even taught them some of her games, and once more became "Spotted -Snake, the Witch," and scared some of the children almost as much as -she had scared the Dogtown youngsters with her supposed occult powers.</p> - -<p>She was running and screaming and tearing her clothes most of the time -when she was away from Mrs. Norwood, but in the company of Jessie's -mother she truly tried to "be a little lady."</p> - -<p>"Be it ever so painful, little Hen is going to learn to be worthy of -you and Jessie, Mary," laughed Mrs. Drew, who was like her daughter in -being able always to see the fun in things. "What do you really expect -will come of the child?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I think she will make quite a woman in time. And before that time -arrives," added Mrs. Norwood, "she has much to learn, as you say. In -some ways Henrietta has had an unhappy childhood—although she doesn't -know it. I hope she will have better times from now on."</p> - -<p>"You are sure to make her have good times, Mary," said Mrs. Drew. "I -hope she will appreciate all that Jessie and you do for her."</p> - -<p>"She is rather young for one to expect appreciation from her," Mrs. -Norwood said, smiling. "But the little thing is grateful."</p> - -<p>Without Jessie and Amy, however, Henrietta confessed she was very -lonely. Sometimes she listened to the radio all alone, sitting -quietly and hearing even lectures and business talks out of the air -that ordinarily could not have interested the child. But she said it -reminded her of "Miss Jessie" just to sit with the ear-tabs on.</p> - -<p>She had heard about the older girls going to the lighthouse station to -interview the wireless operator there, and although Henrietta knew that -the government reservation at that end of the island was no part of the -old Padriac Haney estate, she wandered down there alone on the second -day of the yacht's absence and climbed up into the tower.</p> - -<p>The storm had blown itself out on shore, and the sun was going down in -golden glory. Out at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> sea, although the waves still rolled high and the -clouds were tumultuous in appearance, there was nothing to threaten a -continuation of the unsettled weather.</p> - -<p>Henrietta had no idea how long it would be before the yacht reached -Boston, although she had heard a good deal of talk about it. She had -watched the <i>Marigold</i> steam out of sight into the east, and it seemed -to the little girl that her friends were just there, beyond the horizon -line, where she had seen the last patch of the <i>Marigold's</i> smoke -disappear.</p> - -<p>The wireless operator had seen Henrietta before, cavorting about the -beach and leading the other children in their play, and he was prepared -for some of her oddities. But she surprised him by her very first -speech.</p> - -<p>"You're the man that can send words out over the ocean, aren't you?"</p> - -<p>"I can send signals," he admitted, but rather puzzled.</p> - -<p>"Can folks like Miss Jessie and Miss Amy hear 'em?" demanded Henrietta.</p> - -<p>"Only if they are on a boat that has a wireless outfit."</p> - -<p>"They got it on that <i>Marigold</i>," announced Henrietta.</p> - -<p>"Oh! The yacht that sailed yesterday! Yes, she carried antenna."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p> - -<p>"And she carried Doctor Stanley and Miss Nell Stanley, too, besides the -boys, Mr. Darry and Mr. Burd," said Henrietta. "Then they can hear you?"</p> - -<p>"If they know how to use the wireless they could catch a signal from -this station."</p> - -<p>"Miss Jessie knows all about radio," said Henrietta. "She made it."</p> - -<p>"Oh, she did?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. She made it all up. She and Miss Amy built them one at Roselawn. -That was before Montmorency Shannon built his. Well, Miss Jessie is out -there on the <i>Marigold</i>."</p> - -<p>"So I understand," said the much amused operator.</p> - -<p>"I wish you would—please—send her word that I'd like to have her come -back to my island."</p> - -<p>"Are you the little girl who owns this island? I've heard about you."</p> - -<p>"Yes. But there ain't much fun on an island if your friends aren't on -it, too. And Miss Jessie is one of my very dearest friends."</p> - -<p>"I understand," said the operator gravely, seeing the little girl's -lip trembling. "You would like to have me reach your friend, Miss -Jessie——"</p> - -<p>"Her name's Norwood, too," put in Henrietta, to make sure.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Oh, indeed? She is the lawyer, Mr. Norwood's daughter. I have met her."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. She came here once."</p> - -<p>"And you wish to send her a message if it is possible?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. I want you should ask her to get to Boston as quick as she -can and come back again. We would all like to have her come," said the -little girl, gravely.</p> - -<p>"I am going to be on duty myself this evening and I will try to get -your message through," said the operator kindly. "The <i>Marigold</i>, is -it?" and he drew the code book toward him in which the signal for every -vessel sailing from American ports, even pleasure craft, that carries -wireless, is listed.</p> - -<p>He turned around to his instrument right then and began to rap out the -call for the yacht. He kept it up, off and on, between his other work, -all the evening. But no answer was returned.</p> - -<p>The operator began to be somewhat puzzled by this fact. Knowing how -much interested in radio the girls were who had visited him, he could -not understand why they would not be listening in at some time or other -on the yacht.</p> - -<p>He kept throwing into the ether the signal meant for the <i>Marigold's</i> -call until almost midnight, when he expected to be relieved by his -partner. Towards ten o'clock there was some bother<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>some signals in the -ether that annoyed him whenever he took a message or relayed one in the -course of the evening's business.</p> - -<p>"Some amateur op. is interfering," was his expression. "But, I declare! -it does sound something like this station call. Can it be——?"</p> - -<p>He lengthened his spark and sent thundering out on the air-waves his -usual reply:</p> - -<p>"I, I, O K W. I, I, O K W."</p> - -<p>Then he held his hand and waited for any return. The same mysterious, -scraping sounds continued. A slow hand, he believed, was trying to -spell out some message in Morse. But it was being done in a very -fumbling manner.</p> - -<p>Of course, half a dozen shore stations and perhaps half a hundred -vessels might have caught the clumsy message, as well. But the operator -at Station Island, interested by little Henrietta in the <i>Marigold</i> and -her company, felt more than puzzlement over this strange communication -out of the air.</p> - -<p>"Listen in here, Sammy," he said to his mate, when the latter came -in. "Is it just somebody's squeak-box making trouble to-night or am I -hearing a sure-enough S O S? I wonder if there is a storm at sea?"</p> - -<p>"There is," said his mate, sitting down on the bench and taking up the -secondary head harness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> "The evening papers are full of it. Northeast -gale, and blowing like kildee right now."</p> - -<p>"Arlington gave no particulars at last announcement."</p> - -<p>"Don't make any difference. The boats outside know it. Hullo! What's -this? 'S-t-a-t-i-o-n I-s-l-a-n-d.' What's the joke? Somebody calling us -without using the code letters?"</p> - -<p>"Don't know 'em, maybe," said the chief operator. "Set down what you -get and see if it is like mine."</p> - -<p>The other did so. They compared notes. That strange message set both -operators actively to work. One began swiftly to distribute over the -Eastern Atlantic the news that a craft needed help in such and such a -latitude and longitude. The other operator, without his hat, ran all -the way to the bungalows to give Mr. Norwood and Mr. Drew some very -serious news.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV</a></p> - -<p class="center">SAVED BY RADIO</p> - - -<p class="drop">J<span class="uppercase">essie Norwood</span> was not tireless. It seemed to her as though her right -arm would drop off, she pressed the key of the wireless instrument so -frequently. They had written out a brief call of distress, and finally -she got it by heart so that Amy did not have to read her the dots and -dashes.</p> - -<p>But it was a slow process and they had no way of learning if the -message was caught and understood by any operator, either ashore or -on board a vessel. Hour after hour went slowly by. The <i>Marigold</i> was -sinking. The pumps could not keep up with the incoming water; the -fuel was almost exhausted and the engines scarcely turned over; the -buffeting seas threatened the craft every minute.</p> - -<p>Dr. Stanley remained outwardly cheerful. Darry and the others took -heart from the clergyman's words.</p> - -<p>"Tell you what," said Burd. "If we are wrecked on a desert island -I shall be glad to have the doctor along. He'd have cheered up old -Robinson Crusoe."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p> - -<p>As the evening waned and the sea continued to pound the hull of the -laboring yacht the older people aboard, at least, grew more anxious. -The young folks in the radio room chattered briskly, although Jessie -called them to account once in a while because they made so much noise -she could not be sure that she was sending correctly.</p> - -<p>Darry tried to relieve her at the key, but he confessed that he "made a -mess of it." The radio girls had spent more time and effort in learning -to handle the wireless than the collegians—both Darry and Burd -acknowledged it.</p> - -<p>"These are some girls!" Darry said, admiringly.</p> - -<p>"You spoil 'em," complained Burd Alling. "Want to be careful what you -say to them."</p> - -<p>"Oh, if anybody can stand a little praise it is Jess and I," declared -Amy, sighing with weariness.</p> - -<p>Nobody cared to turn in. The situation was too uncertain. The boys -could be with the girls only occasionally, for they had to take their -turn at the pumps. It had come to pass that nothing but steady pumping -kept the yacht from sinking. They were all thankful that the wind -decreased and the waves grew less boisterous.</p> - -<p>Towards midnight it was quite calm, only the swells lifted the -water-logged yacht in a rhythmic motion that finally became unpleasant. -Nell was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> ill, below; but the others remained on deck and managed to -weather the nauseating effects of the heaving sea.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, as often as she could, Jessie Norwood sent out into the air -the cry for assistance. She sent it addressed to "Station Island," -for she did not know that each wireless station had a code signal—a -combination of letters. But she knew there was but one Station Island -off the coast.</p> - -<p>The clapperty-clap, clapperty-clap of the pumps rasped their nerves -at last until, as Amy declared, they needed to scream! When the sound -stopped for the minute while pump-crews were changed, it was a relief.</p> - -<p>And finally the spark of the wireless began to skip and fall dead. Good -reason! The storage batteries, although very good ones, were beginning -to fail. Before daybreak it was impossible to use the sender any more.</p> - -<p>Somehow this fact was more depressing than anything that had previously -happened. They could only hope, in any event, that their message had -been heard and understood; but now even this sad attempt was halted.</p> - -<p>Jessie was really too tired to sleep. She and Amy did not go below for -long. They changed their clothes and came on deck again and were very -glad of the hot cup of coffee Dr. Stanley brought them from the galley. -The cook had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> been set to work on one of the pump crews.</p> - -<p>The girls sat in the deck chairs and stared off across the rolling gray -waters. There was no sign of any other vessel just then, but a dim rose -color at the sea line showed where the sun would come up after a time.</p> - -<p>"But a fog is blowing up from the south, too," said Amy. "See that -cloud, Jess? My dear! Did you ever expect that we would be sitting here -on Darry's yacht waiting for it to sink under us?"</p> - -<p>"How can you!" exclaimed Jessie, aghast.</p> - -<p>"Well, that is practically what we are doing," replied her chum. "Thank -goodness I have had this cup of coffee, anyway. It braces me——"</p> - -<p>"Even for drowning?" asked Jessie. "Oh! What is that, Amy?"</p> - -<p>"It's a boat! It's a boat! Ship ahoy!" shrieked Amy, jumping up and -dancing about, dropping the cup and saucer to smash upon the deck.</p> - -<p>"It's a steamboat!" cried Darry Drew, from the deck above.</p> - -<p>"Head for it if you can, Bob!" commanded Skipper Pandrick to the -helmsman.</p> - -<p>But before they could see what kind of craft the other was, the fog -surrounded them. It wrapped the <i>Marigold</i> around in a thick mantle. -They could not see ten yards from her rail.</p> - -<p>"We don't even know if she is looking for us!"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> exclaimed Dr. Stanley. -"That is too bad—too bad."</p> - -<p>"Whistle for it," urged Amy. "Can't we?"</p> - -<p>"If we use the little steam left for the whistle, we will have to shut -down the engines," declared Darry.</p> - -<p>"This is a fine yacht—I don't think!" scoffed Burd Alling. "And none -of you knows a thing about rescuing this boat and crew but me. Watch me -save the yacht."</p> - -<p>He marched forward and began to work the foot-power foghorn vigorously. -Its mournful note (not unlike a cow's lowing, as Jessie had said) -reverberated through the fog. The sound must have carried miles upon -miles.</p> - -<p>But it was nearly an hour before they heard any reply. Then the hoarse, -brief blast of a tug whistle came to their ears.</p> - -<p>"<i>Marigold</i>, ahoy!" shouted a well-known voice across the heaving sea.</p> - -<p>"Daddy!" screamed Jessie, springing up and dropping <i>her</i> cup and -saucer, likewise to utter ruin. "It's Daddy Norwood!"</p> - -<p>The big tug wallowed nearer. She carried wireless, too, and the -<i>Marigold's</i> company believed, at once, that Jessie's message had been -received aboard the <i>Pocahontas</i>.</p> - -<p>"But—then—how did Daddy Norwood come aboard of her?" Jessie demanded.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> - -<p>This was not explained until later when the six passengers were taken -aboard the tug and hawsers were passed from the sinking yacht to the -very efficient <i>Pocahontas</i>.</p> - -<p>"And a pretty penny it will cost, so the skipper says, to get her towed -to port," Darry complained.</p> - -<p>"Say!" ejaculated Burd, "suppose she didn't find us at all and we were -paddling around in that boat and on the life raft? <i>That</i> would take -the permanent wave out of your hair, old grouch!"</p> - -<p>The girls, however, and Dr. Stanley as well, begged Mr. Norwood to -explain how he had come in search of the <i>Marigold</i> and had arrived so -opportunely.</p> - -<p>"Nothing easier," said the lawyer. "When the operator at the lighthouse -station got your message——"</p> - -<p>"Oh, bully, Jess! You did it!" cried Amy, breaking in.</p> - -<p>"Did you send that message, Jessie?" asked her father. "Well, I am -proud of you. The operator came to the house and told me. Although his -partner was sending the news of your predicament broadcast over the -sea, he told me of the tug lying behind the island, and that it could -be chartered.</p> - -<p>"So," explained Mr. Norwood, "I left Drew to fortify the women—and -little Henrietta—and went right over and was rowed out to the -<i>Poca<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>hontas</i> by an old fisherman who said he knew you girls. I believe -he pronounced you 'cleaners,' if you know what that means," laughed the -lawyer.</p> - -<p>"Henrietta, by the way, was doing incantations of some sort over the -wind and weather when I left the bungalow. She said 'Spotted Snake' -could bring you all safe home."</p> - -<p>"Bless her heart!" exclaimed Jessie.</p> - -<p>That afternoon when the tug worked her way carefully into the dock near -the bungalow colony on Station Island, Henrietta was the first person -the returned wanderers saw on the shore to greet them. She was dancing -up and down and screaming something that Jessie and Amy did not catch -until they came off the gangplank. Then they made the incantation out -to be:</p> - -<p>"That Ringold one can't have my island—so now! The court says so, and -Mr. Drew says so, too. He just got it off the telephone and he told me. -It's my island—so there!"</p> - -<p>"Why, how glad I am for you, dear!" cried Jessie, running to hug the -excited little girl.</p> - -<p>"Come ashore! Come ashore! All of you!" cried Henrietta, with a wide -gesture. "I invite all of you. This is my island, not that Ringold's. -You can come on it and do anything you like!"</p> - -<p>"Why, Henrietta!" murmured Jessie, as the other listeners broke into -laughter. "You must not talk like that. I am glad the courts have -given<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> you your father's property. But remember, there are other people -who have rights, too."</p> - -<p>"Say! That Ringold one—and that Moon one—haven't any prop'ty on this -island, have they?" Henrietta demanded.</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Then that's all right," said the little girl with satisfaction. "I'll -be good, Miss Jessie; oh, I'll be good!" and she hugged her friend -again.</p> - -<p>"And don't call them 'that Ringold one' and 'that Moon one,' Henrietta. -That is not pretty nor polite," admonished Jessie.</p> - -<p>"All right, if you say so, Miss Jessie. What you say goes with me. See?"</p> - -<p>It took some time, after they were at home, for everything to be -talked over and all the mystery of the radio message to be cleared -up. The interested operator from the lighthouse came over to -congratulate Jessie on what she had done. After all, aside from the -girl's addressing the station by name, the message had not been hard -to understand. And considering the faulty construction of the yacht's -wireless and the weakness of her batteries, Jessie had done very well -indeed.</p> - -<p>The young people, of course, would have much to talk about regarding -the adventure for days to come. Especially Darry. When he learned what -he would have to pay for the towing in of the yacht and what it would -cost to put in proper engines<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> and calk and paint the hull, he was -aghast and began to figure industriously.</p> - -<p>"Learning something, aren't you, Son?" chuckled Mr. Drew. "Your Uncle -Will pretty near went broke keeping up the <i>Marigold</i>. But I will help -you, for I am getting rather fond of the old craft, too."</p> - -<p>"We all ought to help," said Mr. Norwood. "I sha'n't want you to scrap -the boat, Darry, my boy. I like to think that it was my Jessie saved -her from sinking—and saved you all. To my mind radio is a great -thing—something more than a toy even for these boys and girls."</p> - -<p>"Quite true," Mr. Drew agreed. "When your Jessie and my Amy first -strung those wires at Roselawn I thought they were well over it if -they didn't break their limbs before they got it finished. When we get -back home I think Darry and I would better put up aerials and have a -house-set, too. What say, Darry?"</p> - -<p>"I'm with you, Father," agreed the young collegian. "But I won't agree -to rival Jess and Amy as radio experts. For those two girls take the -palm."</p> - - -<p class="center">THE END</p> - -<p class="ph2" style="margin-top: 20em;">BOOKS FOR GIRLS</p> - -<p class="center">By MARGARET PENROSE</p> - -<p class="center"><i>12mo.</i> <i>cloth.</i> <i>Illustrated.</i></p> - - -<p>RADIO GIRLS SERIES</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE RADIO GIRLS OF ROSELAWN</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE RADIO GIRLS ON THE PROGRAM</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION ISLAND</span><br /> -</p> - - -<p>DOROTHY DALE SERIES</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE: A GIRL OF TO-DAY</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE AT GLENWOOD SCHOOL</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE'S GREAT SECRET</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE AND HER CHUMS</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE'S QUEER HOLIDAYS</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE'S CAMPING DAYS</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE'S SCHOOL RIVALS</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE IN THE CITY</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE'S PROMISE</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE IN THE WEST</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE'S STRANGE DISCOVERY</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">DOROTHY DALE'S ENGAGEMENT</span><br /> -</p> - - -<p>MOTOR GIRLS SERIES</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE MOTOR GIRLS</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE MOTOR GIRLS ON A TOUR</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE MOTOR GIRLS AT LOOKOUT BEACH</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE MOTOR GIRLS THROUGH NEW ENGLAND</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE MOTOR GIRLS ON CEDAR LAKE</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE MOTOR GIRLS ON THE COAST</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE MOTOR GIRLS ON CRYSTAL BAY</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE MOTOR GIRLS ON WATERS BLUE</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE MOTOR GIRLS AT CAMP SURPRISE</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">THE MOTOR GIRLS IN THE MOUNTAINS</span><br /> -</p> - - -<p class="ph2" >THE BARTON BOOKS FOR GIRLS</p> - -<p class="center">By MAY HOLLIS BARTON</p> - -<p><span class="figleft"><img src="images/illus01.jpg" alt="pic" /> </span><i>12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. With colored jacket</i><br/> -<br/> -<i>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</i><br/> -<br/> -<i>May Hollis Barton is a new writer for girls who is bound to win -instant popularity. Her style is somewhat of a mixture of that of -Louise M. Alcott and Mrs. L.T. Meade, but thoroughly up-to-date in plot -and action. Clean tales that all girls will enjoy reading.</i></p> - - -<p>1. THE GIRL FROM THE COUNTRY</p> - -<p><i>or Laura Mayford's City Experiences</i></p> - -<p>Laura was the oldest of five children and when daddy got sick she felt -she must do something. She had a chance to try her luck in New York, -and there the country girl fell in with many unusual experiences.</p> - - -<p>2. THREE GIRL CHUMS AT LAUREL HALL</p> - -<p><i>or The Mystery of the School by the Lake</i></p> - -<p>When the three chums arrived at the boarding school they found the -other students in the grip of a most perplexing mystery. How this -mystery was solved, and what good times the girls had, both in school -and on the lake, go to make a story no girl would care to miss.</p> - - -<p>3. NELL GRAYSON'S RANCHING DAYS</p> - -<p><i>or A City Girl in the Great West</i></p> - -<p>Showing how Nell, when she had a ranch girl visit her in Boston, -thought her chum very green, but when Nell visited the ranch in the -great West she found herself confronting many conditions of which she -was totally ignorant. A stirring outdoor story.</p> - - -<p>4. FOUR LITTLE WOMEN OF ROXBY</p> - -<p><i>or The Queer Old Lady Who Lost Her Way</i></p> - -<p>Four sisters are keeping house and having trouble to make both ends -meet. One day there wanders in from a stalled express train an old lady -who cannot remember her identity. The girls take the old lady in, and, -later, are much astonished to learn who she really is.</p> - - -<p>5. PLAIN JANE AND PRETTY BETTY</p> - -<p><i>or The Girl Who Won Out</i></p> - -<p>The tale of two girls, one plain but sensible, the other pretty but -vain. Unexpectedly both find they have to make their way in the world. -Both have many trials and tribulations. A story of a country town and -then a city.</p> - -<p><i>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</i></p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York</span><br /> -</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">BILLIE BRADLEY SERIES</p> - - - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> JANET D. WHEELER</p> - -<p><span class="figleft"><img src="images/illus02.jpg" alt="pic" /> </span><i>12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</i><br /> -<br /> - - - -1. BILLIE BRADLEY AND HER INHERITANCE <i>or The Queer Homestead at Cherry -Corners</i><br /> -<br /> -Billie Bradley fell heir to an old homestead that was unoccupied -and located far away in a lonely section of the country. How Billie -went there, accompanied by some of her chums, and what queer things -happened, go to make up a story no girl will want to miss.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>2. BILLIE BRADLEY AT THREE-TOWERS HALL <i>or Leading a Needed Rebellion</i></p></blockquote> - - -<p>Three-Towers Hall was a boarding school for girls. For a short time -after Billie arrived there all went well. But then the head of the -school had to go on a long journey and she left the girls in charge of -two teachers, sisters, who believed in severe discipline and in very, -very plain food and little of it—and then there was a row! The girls -wired for the head to come back—and all ended happily.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>3. BILLIE BRADLEY ON LIGHTHOUSE ISLAND <i>or The Mystery of the Wreck</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>One of Billie's friends owned a summer bungalow on Lighthouse Island, -near the coast. The school girls made up a party and visited the -Island. There was a storm and a wreck, and three little children were -washed ashore. They could tell nothing of themselves, and Billie and -her chums set to work to solve the mystery of their identity.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>4. BILLIE BRADLEY AND HER CLASSMATES <i>or The Secret of the Locked -Tower</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Billie and her chums come to the rescue of several little children who -have broken through the ice. There is the mystery of a lost invention, -and also the dreaded mystery of the locked school tower.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>5. BILLIE BRADLEY AT TWIN LAKES <i>or Jolly Schoolgirls Afloat and -Ashore</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>A tale of outdoor adventure in which Billie and her chums have a -great variety of adventures. They visit an artists' colony and there -fall in with a strange girl living with an old boatman who abuses her -constantly. Billie befriended Hulda and the mystery surrounding the -girl was finally cleared up.</p> - - -<p><i>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</i></p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York</span><br /> -</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">THE RUTH FIELDING SERIES</p> - - - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> ALICE B. EMERSON</p> - -<p><span class="figleft"><img src="images/illus03.jpg" alt="pic" /> </span><i>12mo. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</i><br /> -<br /> - -Ruth Fielding was an orphan and came to live with her miserly uncle. -Her adventures and travels make stories that will hold the interest of -every reader.<br /><br /> - - -Ruth Fielding is a character that will live in juvenile fiction.</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">1. RUTH FIELDING OF THE RED MILL</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">2. RUTH FIELDING AT BRIARWOODHALL</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">3. RUTH FIELDING AT SNOW CAMP</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">4. RUTH FIELDING AT LIGHTHOUSE POINT</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">5. RUTH FIELDING AT SILVER RANCH</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">6. RUTH FIELDING ON CLIFF ISLAND</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">7. RUTH FIELDING AT SUNRISE FARM</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">8. RUTH FIELDING AND THE GYPSIES</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">9. RUTH FIELDING IN MOVING PICTURES</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">10. RUTH FIELDING DOWN IN DIXIE</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">11. RUTH FIELDING AT COLLEGE</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">12. RUTH FIELDING IN THE SADDLE</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">13. RUTH FIELDING IN THE RED CROSS</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">14. RUTH FIELDING AT THE WAR FRONT</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">15. RUTH FIELDING HOMEWARD BOUND</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">16. RUTH FIELDING DOWN EAST</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">17. RUTH FIELDING IN THE GREAT NORTHWEST</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">18. RUTH FIELDING ON THE ST. LAWRENCE</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">19. RUTH FIELDING TREASURE HUNTING</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">20. RUTH FIELDING IN THE FAR NORTH</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">21. RUTH FIELDING AT GOLDEN PASS</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">22. RUTH FIELDING IN ALASKA</span><br /> -</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York</span><br /> -</p> - - -<p class="ph2" style="margin-top: 10em;">BOOKS FOR GIRLS</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">THE BETTY GORDON SERIES</p> - - - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> ALICE B. EMERSON</p> - -<p><span class="figleft"><img src="images/illus04.jpg" alt="pic" /> </span><i>12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</i><br /> - -<br /> -<i>A series of stories by Alice B. Emerson which are bound to make this -writer more popular than ever with her host of girl readers.</i></p> - - - - -<blockquote> - -<p>1. BETTY GORDON AT BRAMBLE FARM <i>or The Mystery of a Nobody</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>At twelve Betty is left an orphan.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>2. BETTY GORDON IN WASHINGTON <i>or Strange Adventures in a Great City</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Betty goes to the National Capitol to find her uncle and has several -unusual adventures.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>3. BETTY GORDON IN THE LAND OF OIL <i>or The Farm That Was Worth a -Fortune</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>From Washington the scene is shifted to the great oil fields of our -country. A splendid picture of the oil field operations of to-day.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>4. BETTY GORDON AT BOARDING SCHOOL <i>or The Treasure of Indian Chasm</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Seeking treasures of Indian Chasm makes interesting reading.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>5. BETTY GORDON AT MOUNTAIN CAMP <i>or The Mystery of Ida Bellethorne</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>At Mountain Camp Betty found herself in the midst of a mystery -involving a girl whom she had previously met in Washington.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>6. BETTY GORDON AT OCEAN PARK <i>or School Chums on the Boardwalk</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>A glorious outing that Betty and her chums never forgot.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>7. BETTY GORDON AND HER SCHOOL CHUMS <i>or Bringing the Rebels to Terms</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Rebellious students, disliked teachers and mysterious robberies make a -fascinating story.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>8. BETTY GORDON AT RAINBOW RANCH <i>or Cowboy Joe's Secret</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Betty and her chums have a grand time in the saddle.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>9. BETTY GORDON IN MEXICAN WILDS <i>or The Secret of the Mountains</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Betty receives a fake telegram and finds both Bob and herself held for -ransom in a mountain cave.</p> - - -<p><i>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</i></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">THE LINGER-NOT SERIES</p> - - - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> AGNES MILLER</p> - -<p><span class="figleft"><img src="images/illus05.jpg" alt="pic" /> </span><i>12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</i><br /> -<br /> - -<i>This new series of girls' books is in a new style of story writing. -The interest is in knowing the girls and seeing them solve the problems -that develop their character. Incidentally, a great deal of historical -information is imparted.</i></p> - - - - -<blockquote> - -<p>1. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THE MYSTERY HOUSE <i>or The Story of Nine -Adventurous Girls</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>How the Linger-Not girls met and formed their club seems commonplace, -but this writer makes it fascinating, and how they made their club -serve a great purpose continues the interest to the end, and introduces -a new type of girlhood.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>2. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THE VALLEY FEUD <i>or The Great West Point Chain</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The Linger-Not girls had no thought of becoming mixed up with feuds or -mysteries, but their habit of being useful soon entangled them in some -surprising adventures that turned out happily for all, and made the -valley better because of their visit.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>3. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THEIR GOLDEN QUEST <i>or The Log of the Ocean -Monarch</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>For a club of girls to become involved in a mystery leading back into -the times of the California gold-rush, seems unnatural until the reader -sees how it happened, and how the girls helped one of their friends to -come into her rightful name and inheritance, forms a fine story.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>4. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THE WHISPERING CHARMS <i>or The Secret from Old -Alaska</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Whether engrossed in thrilling adventures in the Far North or occupied -with quiet home duties, the Linger-Not girls could work unitedly to -solve a colorful mystery in a way that interpreted American freedom to -a sad young stranger, and brought happiness to her and to themselves.</p> - - -<p><i>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</i></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">THE CURLYTOPS SERIES</p> - - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> HOWARD R. GARIS</p> - -<p><i>Author of the famous "Bedtime Animal Stories"</i></p> - -<p><span class="figleft"><img src="images/illus06.jpg" alt="pic" /> </span><i>12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</i><br /> - -</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>1. THE CURLYTOPS AT CHERRY FARM <i>or Vacation Days in the Country</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>A tale of happy vacation days on a farm.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>2. THE CURLYTOPS ON STAR ISLAND <i>or Camping out with Grandpa</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The Curlytops were delighted when grandpa took them to camp on Star -Island.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>3. THE CURLYTOPS SNOWED IN <i>or Grand Fun with Skates and Sleds</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The Curlytops, with their skates and sleds, on lakes and hills.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>4. THE CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH <i>or Little Folks on Ponyback</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Out West on their uncle's ranch they have a wonderful time.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>5. THE CURLYTOPS AT SILVER LAKE <i>or On the Water with Uncle Ben</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The Curlytops camp out on the shores of a beautiful lake.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>6. THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PETS <i>or Uncle Toby's Strange Collection</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>An old uncle leaves them to care for his collection of pets.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>7. THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PLAYMATES <i>or Jolly Times Through the -Holidays</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>They have great times with their uncle's collection of animals.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>8. THE CURLYTOPS IN THE WOODS <i>or Fun at the Lumber Camp</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Exciting times in the forest for Curlytops.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>9. THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH <i>or What Was Found in the Sand</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The Curlytops have a fine time at the seashore, bathing, digging in the -sand and pony-back riding.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>10. THE CURLYTOPS TOURING AROUND <i>or The Missing Photograph Albums</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The Curlytops fall in with a moving picture company and get in some of -the pictures.</p> - - -<p><i>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</i></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">THE GIRL SCOUT SERIES</p> - - - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> LILIAN GARIS</p> - -<p><span class="figleft"><img src="images/illus07.jpg" alt="pic" /> </span><i>12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</i><br /> - -<br /> - -<i>The highest ideals of girlhood as advocated by the foremost -organizations of America form the background for these stories and -while unobtrusive there is a message in every volume.</i></p> - - - - - -<blockquote> - -<p>1. THE GIRL SCOUT PIONEERS <i>or Winning the First B.C.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>A story of the True Tred Troop in a Pennsylvania town. Two runaway -girls, who want to see the city, are reclaimed through troop influence. -The story is correct in scout detail.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>2. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT BELLAIRE <i>or Maid Mary's Awakening</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The story of a timid little maid who is afraid to take part in other -girls' activities, while working nobly alone for high ideals. How she -was discovered by the Bellaire Troop and came into her own as "Maid -Mary" makes a fascinating story.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>3. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT SEA CREST <i>or The Wig Wag Rescue</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Luna Land, a little island by the sea, is wrapt in a mysterious -seclusion, and Kitty Scuttle, a grotesque figure, succeeds in keeping -all others at bay until the Girl Scouts come.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>4. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT CAMP COMALONG <i>or Peg of Tamarack Hills</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The girls of Bobolink Troop spend their summer on the shores of Lake -Hocomo. Their discovery of Peg, the mysterious rider, and the clearing -up of her remarkable adventures afford a vigorous plot.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>5. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT ROCKY LEDGE <i>or Nora's Real Vacation</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Nora Blair is the pampered daughter of a frivolous mother. Her -dislike for the rugged life of Girl Scouts is eventually changed to -appreciation, when the rescue of little Lucia, a woodland waif, becomes -a problem for the girls to solve.</p> - - -<p><i>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</i></p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York</span><br /> -</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">THE RADIO GIRLS SERIES</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> MARGARET PENROSE</p> - -<p><span class="figleft"><img src="images/illus08.jpg" alt="pic" /> </span><i>12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</i><br /> - - -<i>A new and up-to-date series, taking in the activities of several -bright girls who become interested in radio. The stories tell of -thrilling exploits, outdoor life and the great part the Radio plays in -the adventures of the girls and in solving their mysteries. Fascinating -books that girls of all ages will want to read.</i></p> - - - - -<blockquote> - -<p>1. THE RADIO GIRLS OF ROSELAWN <i>or A Strange Message from the Air</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Showing how Jessie Norwood and her chums became interested in -radiophoning, how they gave a concert for a worthy local charity, and -how they received a sudden and unexpected call for help out of the air. -A girl wanted as witness in a celebrated law case disappears, and the -radio girls go to the rescue.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>2. THE RADIO GIRLS ON THE PROGRAM <i>or Singing and Reciting at the -Sending Station</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>When listening in on a thrilling recitation or a superb concert number -who of us has not longed to "look behind the scenes" to see how it was -done? The girls had made the acquaintance of a sending station manager -and in this volume are permitted to get on the program, much to their -delight. A tale full of action and fun.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>3. THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION ISLAND <i>or The Wireless from the Steam -Yacht</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>In this volume the girls travel to the seashore and put in a vacation -on an island where is located a big radio sending station. The big -brother of one of the girls owns a steam yacht and while out with a -pleasure party those on the island receive word by radio that the yacht -is on fire. A tale thrilling to the last page.</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>4. THE RADIO GIRLS AT FOREST LODGE <i>or The Strange Hut in the Swamp</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>The Radio Girls spend several weeks on the shores of a beautiful lake -and with their radio get news of a great forest fire. It also aids them -in rounding up some undesirable folks who occupy the strange hut in the -swamp.</p> - - -<p><i>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</i></p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION ISLAND ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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