THE RIVAL ENTERTAINMENT
Amy Drew’s confidence was communicated, in part at least, to her chum
and to the minister’s daughter. The three really did sing very well
in spite of the fact that it had been some months since they had sung
together in public.
But they tried the number over and over before Monday and on that
day, when the three rode over to the Stratford Electric Company, they
were able to please Mr. Blair and the ladies who listened in.
“I must say that I was afraid of that large chorus, Mrs. Norwood,”
the superintendent said. “It takes a well-trained group of
professionals to stand before the cone and broadcast successfully.
Now, these three young ladies do very well—very well indeed.”
“And there is another you might try, Mr. Blair,” said Jessie,
diffidently. “She was here to speak with you the other day, and I
believe she has a sweet voice. She might want to help the hospital
fund, too.”
“Who is that, Miss Norwood?” he asked.
“Bertha Blair.”
“_What?_” he exclaimed. “I never heard of her. Who are you talking
about?” and he stared at Jessie wonderingly.
“Oh, yes, Mr. Blair. You have seen her,” said Jessie eagerly.
“Perhaps you did not know her name. She came here to see if you could
not use her in the corporation broadcasting.”
“It might be,” he said thoughtfully. “Many amateurs come to ask for a
chance to sing or speak at our concerts. I certainly should remember
that name,” and he smiled faintly.
“Perhaps you remember how she looked. She was here when we all came
over from Roselawn the other day, talking with you. I had known about
her before. She is a nice girl, Mr. Blair—a working girl,” and she
described Bertha’s dress and appearance.
“And you say her name is Blair?”
“Bertha Blair.”
“Can you find her, Miss Jessie?” he asked, with growing interest.
“I am sure I can. She is out at service. She works for a lady here in
Stratfordtown. I’ll run right away now and look for her. Perhaps she
can sing something good enough to get upon this program. I’ve spoken
to Momsy about it.”
Amy Drew ran out with her chum on this errand. They chanced upon Mark
Stratford in the main office, and he immediately joined them and
found out what they were after.
“Get into my car,” he said. “I know where that street is, and the
house too. Run you around there in a jiffy.”
“Dear me! How handy you are, Mr. Stratford,” remarked Amy. “You are a
lot nicer to us than Darry and the other boys.”
“You cover me with confusion, Miss Amy,” chuckled Mark. “I’ll begin
to believe that I am almost as fine a fellow as this little chap who
wrote in to the corporation about a radio set he wants to buy. Some
kid, he is! See here.”
He turned around in the driver’s seat and pulled a letter from his
pocket. He was still chuckling, but he said:
“Honest little chap this, I tell you. One of the bookkeepers showed
the letter to me, and I fell for the kid at once. I mean to look him
up.” Then he began to read the letter in question:
“Stratford Electric Company,
“Stratfordtown,
“Dear sirs:
“I just got your letter about my order for radio set to be shipped
c.o.d. but I find you will have to give me Terms if you are to sell
me. Ime only 12 years old, as I told you before, and I saw your
advertisement in a boy’s paper some time ago but I did not have so
much money just then. But I got my antenna strung right and a man
said he would give me some money for my rabbits. He was to come for
them last week and pay me cash for them rabbits. But he didn’t come
so I cannot pay the c.o.d.
“If you would accept Terms (say one dollar down) and a month to
pay the ballens, I could sell my rabbits to the Butcher, all but
one pair to keep for good. I am sending a dollar, which is all I
got just now, and hope you will accept Terms. Please tell the Post
Office to keep the set at the Post Office until I can come in for
it and pay the c.o.d.
“Yours respectfully——
“Well, never mind the name,” Mark said, still laughing. “But isn’t
that some kid? I’m going to look him up and tell him he can have the
radio set. I’ll assume his debt until he can sell the rabbits.”
Amy laughed delightedly; but although Jessie was amused, too, she
spoke thoughtfully.
“I think that is funny, Mark. I do! And it is nice of you to give a
boy like that so much attention.”
“The kids are all crazy about radio,” he rejoined. “But you don’t
often find an honest little fellow like this,” and he put the letter
back into his wallet.
They drove around into Mellen Street, where Bertha Blair lived with
a very nice family. Jessie ran up to the side door of the house and
found Henrietta’s cousin at some light work. Of course the girl from
Roselawn had to speak to the lady of the house before she could get
permission for Bertha to go over to the sending station for rehearsal.
“Bertha is crazy about that singing,” said the woman, when the girl
had gone up to her room to change her dress. “She is a good girl, but
not just like any other I ever had to help me.”
“I believe she is a thoroughly good girl,” Jessie said. “And she is
very fond of little Henrietta, her cousin.”
“That child!” and the mistress laughed. “She was here once. Bertha
wants her little cousin with her. But I am not sure I could stand
that.”
Bertha reappeared, and Jessie thanked the woman for allowing the girl
to go. Mark and Amy received Bertha cordially, and they got back to
the plant in a hurry. Jessie took Bertha at once up to Mr. Blair, who
was listening in on the rehearsal of other members on the hospital
fund program.
“So this is Bertha Blair, is it?” he asked, curiously examining the
young girl. “I remember that you were good enough to offer your
services for some program, my dear. Suppose you go up to the sending
room, along with Miss Jessie, and sing for us. Have you your music?”
“Yes, sir,” Bertha said composedly.
The superintendent still watched her curiously. “I don’t suppose that
I have ever met you before?”
“Not before the other day, sir,” returned Bertha.
“No. I thought not. Well, go up and try it. I hope you will succeed.
And if you suit Mrs. Norwood and the ladies in this concert I will
make use of your voice again.”
Bertha was delighted with this promise. Jessie wondered if the girl
did not think that Mr. Blair might be related to her, but the excited
Bertha said nothing about it.
Bertha’s try-out was perfectly satisfactory. There is an art in
being able to sing or speak into a sending horn, but the girl was
intelligent and quick to learn. Mr. Blair telephoned up from the
receiving room that Bertha’s song was satisfactory.
Then Jessie and Amy and Nell tried their trio again, and that went
better the second time even than it had the first. When the girls saw
Mrs. Norwood down in the offices, after the rehearsal was over, her
pleasant face was illuminated with a smile.
“I am sure of one thing, anyway,” she said, kissing them all, not
forgetting Bertha Blair. “The entertainment is going to be perfect.
Those other women may hurt our fund with their party at Carter’s
Grove. Indeed, I am very sure they will. But the broadcasted
entertainment will be as good as has ever been sent out from
Stratfordtown.”
“I’d just like to know what they mean to do down there at Carter’s
place on Wednesday,” Amy said, on the way back to Roselawn in the
car. “What do you say if we go down to-morrow and look on, Jess?”
“If Momsy doesn’t need me for anything,” her chum agreed. “But we
have nothing but the little canoe.”
“We’ve got the _Water Thrush_, haven’t we? Darry and Burd are going
over to Crompton to the ball game. They said we could go along. But I
hate to be always tagging. I know they don’t really want us.”
“Wise child,” laughed Jessie. “But I don’t know about going with you
in the _Thrush_.”
“Don’t be absurd!” cried Amy. “I can run that boat just as good as
Darry.”
“And he ran it into a log the other night,” chuckled Jessie. “Anyway,
I shall have to ask Daddy Norwood.”
But Mr. Norwood had looked over the revamped launch himself after the
boys had got through with it, and had tried out the engine. He was
convinced that it was in better condition than before. He believed,
too, in the girls being independent of the boys in their out-of-door
activities.
“Jess and Amy should know all about such things,” he said to his wife
when she expressed some faint objection. “Girls should be independent
in everything. If they are going to work to earn their own support—as
most of them do—why shouldn’t they be perfectly able to manage their
other affairs?”
“I hope Jessie will not have to go to work.”
“I don’t know about that. I have some young women in my offices that
I respect because of their ability to buff for themselves. I guess
they are domestic enough for all purposes; but they will never be
helpless, no matter what situation they may be placed in. I want our
Jessie to grow up like that.”
In any event Mr. Norwood would not stand in the way of his daughter
and her chum having a good time. He observed Amy handling the
mechanism of the _Water Thrush_, and so consented to the two going
out alone in the launch.
Monday evening, however, the girls were not on the lake. They would
not have missed the broadcasting from Stratfordtown for anything! At
eight o’clock, or a few moments before, they were up in Jessie’s room
with the phones to their ears.
With the receiving switch open the girls soon heard the tones of Mr.
Blair’s voice as he opened the hour’s entertainment.
“Stratfordtown Station to announce: On Thursday at two and again
at eight p. m. our radio audience will be afforded a special
entertainment of two hours’ duration arranged by the foundation fund
committee of the New Melford Women’s and Children’s Hospital. This
entertainment will engage both professional and amateur talent of a
high standard, and will likewise include a brief talk by the Reverend
Doctor Stanley of New Melford on the needs and hopes of the new
hospital. I thank you.”
“He has a soothing voice,” said Amy thoughtfully. “Don’t you think
so, Jess?”
“Did you ever notice that it sounds like Bertha’s?” her chum returned.
“Hen’s cousin?” gasped Amy. “Well, now! Aren’t you the greatest girl?
Because Bertha’s name is the same as the superintendent’s! Well,
what do we know about him? It would be romantic if Bertha found rich
relatives, wouldn’t it? Then she could have little Henrietta with her
all the time.”
“It would not need such dreadfully rich relatives at that,” rejoined
the other Roselawn girl.