COMPLICATIONS
The news that Henrietta Haney had innocently dropped disturbed
Jessie immeasurably. She could scarcely give her attention to the
entertainment of the Dogtown youngsters during the remainder of the
evening and until Darry and Burd returned in the automobile.
Little Billy Foley’s birthday party did not end until after the
two college boys came back; for they brought from the New Melford
Dainties Shop a big freezer of ice-cream. It was a generous supply,
and immediately Darry and Burd became quite as popular as Jessie and
Amy.
While the excitement was at its height Jessie slipped away to find
the Shannon house. She had not had a chance to speak with Montmorency
as she desired. Now she wanted to talk to his mother, too.
“Yes, ma’am,” said the red-haired boy’s mother. “Mrs. Moon sent me
some things to do up that she and the girl are wearing to the party
at the Carter place next Wednesday.” Monty’s mother was quite as
keen-witted as her son. “I take it the party is a secret yet. Yes?”
“What I have heard about it,” confessed Jessie, “is rather
disturbing. If they rig a radio over there——”
“It’s what they are doing. They asked my Monty to go over and help
string it. He has got what he calls his ‘antenna’ strung here and he
says he’ll have a machine in the house so we can hear folks talking
and singing as far away as New York. Sure, I don’t understand a thing
about it.”
“How will Monty pay for the machine?” asked Jessie bluntly. “They
cost a good deal.”
“Nor I don’t know that, either,” replied Mrs. Shannon. “But leave
it to my Monty. Guess there ain’t no brighter boy than him around
Dogtown.”
It was hard to believe that this woman knew of her boy’s
misappropriating such a valuable as Mark Stratford’s watch. And yet,
Jessie was still troubled by doubts. Before she left she asked Monty
himself when he expected to get the radio set he had previously
talked of.
“’Bout a week. I sent a letter and a dollar deposit, ordering it
to-day.”
“And it will cost you fifteen dollars?” the Roselawn girl went on.
“Yep,” and the boy grinned. “I’m going to have a dandy. You wait and
see.”
“That is a lot of money for you to have saved, Monty,” said Jessie.
“Huh!” and the boy grinned more broadly. “Who said I saved it? I’m
going to _get_ it. Ain’t that enough?” and he ran away to join some
of the other boys.
On the way back to Roselawn Jessie told Amy and the boys of the
secret Henrietta had divulged about the radio concert which seemed to
be the plan of the Ringolds and Moons and others of their clique, to
be held on the following Wednesday.
“Why, it can’t be!” Amy cried. “Even they wouldn’t do such a mean
thing.”
“What do you mean—‘radio concert’? They are not going to broadcast an
entertainment such as your mother is planning, are they?” asked Darry
Drew. “They would not let them do that over at Stratfordtown.”
“No, no,” sighed Jessie. “It will be a local affair, of course. But
if they advertise it, and say it is for the hospital, and use the
word ‘radio,’ people will get the two affairs mixed.
“The ladies of the committee wanted to interest as many people, far
and wide, as possible, and Doctor Stanley will accentuate the need
of large and small contributions for the building fund. If Mrs.
Ringold’s crowd starts anything in opposition, even if it is for the
same good object, in the end it will do harm. I am sure mother’s
committee will see it that way.”
“Sure,” said Burd. “If they don’t all pull together people will think
the hospital will be run that same way. And that spells failure. How
do those Ringolds and Moons get that way?”
“You answer that question; you asked it,” sniffed Amy. “You don’t
know the half of it, Burd.”
In the morning Amy ran over early from her house, waving a printed
bill in her hand, and called up to Jessie from under the “radio
window.” Jessie was only then dressing, for she had remained up until
late the night before telling Momsy and Daddy Norwood all about Billy
Foley’s party. She came to lean upon the window sill and looked down
at her chum.
“What is the matter with you, honey?” she asked. “You sound just as
you did the other night when the _Water Thrush_ started to go down.”
“It is because of that old leaky tub that I am here,” declared Amy
vigorously. “The boys went down town in the second car this morning
for some new rope and hardware for the launch. Darry is going to fix
it up grand, and while he and Burd are off on the _Marigold_ we can
use the _Water Thrush_.”
“I’ll ask Daddy if I may,” said Jessie quietly.
“I’m going to run it. Don’t fear,” said Amy carelessly. “But look
here.”
She unrolled the paper in her hand with a flourish and held it up so
that Jessie could read. At this Jessie screamed aloud:
“Oh, Amy!”
“It’s worse than that,” grumbled her chum. “Burd tore this off the
telegraph pole in front of the Dainties Shop.”
In bold type was printed:
RADIO CONCERT
_and Dance_
For the Benefit of
THE WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S
HOSPITAL OF NEW MELFORD
_Wednesday Afternoon and Evening_
JULY 19
_At Carter’s Grove, Lake Monenset_
RADIO CONCERT AT FOUR AND NINE
Tickets—One Dollar
“Do you see what Mrs. Ringold and those others have done?” demanded
Amy warmly. “They are going to queer the real concert if they can.
People won’t give money to both committees. It is disgraceful! People
are talking about it down town already, Darry says. I think it is too
mean for anything.”
“It certainly will make trouble,” her chum admitted.
“And just see!” continued Amy excitedly. “It is my idea, Jess. Don’t
you see that it is my idea? You remember the night we were down there
and I suggested stringing antenna and having a radio set and dancing
by broadcasted music?”
“I remember you did say something about it,” said Jessie.
“Of course I did. And that Belle Ringold grabbed it and took the idea
home to her mother. That crowd would never have thought of such a
good thing in this world,” scoffed Amy. “I think it is too, too mean!”
This opinion was shared by most of the neighbors of the Norwoods
and Drews. Roselawn as a community was interested in the hospital
fund committee’s work, and the advertised “radio concert and dance,”
posted for the day before the committee’s broadcasted entertainment,
seemed to threaten disaster. Mrs. Norwood confessed that she did not
know what she should do.
“I always feel when I am half through such a task as this hospital
fund raising,” said Jessie’s mother, “that I will never undertake
anything of the kind again. Something or other—sometimes several
‘others’—is sure to arise to balk us, no matter how good the cause
may be. I don’t know what to say to the other women on the committee.”
“Withdraw just as Mrs. Ringold has done,” suggested Mr. Norwood, who
was not of a politic nature, if he was a lawyer.
“I can’t do that, Robert, you very well know,” replied his wife. “And
I fear our entertainment will go wrong, besides. That chorus——”
In fact, it was the chorus of girls led by Miss Allister that next
brought the committee trouble. On Saturday afternoon the chorus had
been called to meet at the parish house of Dr. Stanley’s church for
additional rehearsal. When the teacher gathered the crowd there were
several missing—all of them being friends and associates of Belle
Ringold and Sally Moon. They sent verbal messages that they had
dropped out of the chorus for good!
“And what can I do?” cried Miss Allister in despair. “There are not
enough girls left to call it a chorus. And they cannot sing the
numbers properly. It is a failure. I shall have to withdraw the
chorus from the broadcasting entertainment, Mrs. Norwood.”
But Jessie’s mother and the other members of the hospital committee
who had remained faithful to the good cause were at least in part
prepared for Miss Allister’s announcement.
“There is twenty minutes of time on the program to fill,” said Mrs.
Norwood, to her daughter and her chum. “You two girls do so well with
your song and recitation, I am greatly tempted to let you do more.”
“Do, do, Mrs. Norwood!” begged Amy eagerly. “And let us show you what
a nice trio Jess and Nell Stanley and I have. I’ll run and get Nell
now, and we can try it in the Sunday School room. I know you will
like it.”
“You are a dear girl,” said the worried Roselawn matron. “I’ll listen
to you in ten minutes and will bring some of the other ladies. We
have another rehearsal at Stratfordtown on Monday. I hope you girls
can fill the vacant place.”
“Leave it to us!” cried Amy gaily. “Why, next to Madame Elva and the
jazz band, we’ll be the best numbers of the whole entertainment.”