_Thanksgiving_
In the six weeks that had passed since Linda and Louise left for
the ground school, a great deal had happened at Spring City. Kitty
and Ralph Clavering drove over to see Linda the afternoon that she
arrived--the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, to tell her all the news.
"Are you a pilot yet, Kitty?" asked Linda, as soon as she had kissed
the girl and shaken hands with her brother.
"No, not yet. So far only some of the boys have passed the exam--and
Dot Crowley. Dot can do anything, you know. But I'm getting along fine."
"Lou has her private pilot's license," announced Linda proudly. "But do
sit down and tell me all about the club."
"There's to be a dance there tomorrow night," replied Kitty, sinking
into a chair. "That's the first thing I have to tell you."
"And before the phone has a chance to ring, I want you to promise to
go with me," urged Ralph.
"Why, certainly," agreed Linda. Everything was delightful--and oh, it
was so good to be home! "Thanks a lot, Ralph.... But tell me, Kitty, is
the club-house all done?"
"Yes. We have seventy-six members, and the most adorable club-house.
Oh, nothing pretentious, like the Country Club, but we like it a lot.
And we have one plane--a Gypsy Moth. Lieutenant Hulbert flies over
twice a week to give the lessons."
"Did seventy-six people actually buy thousand-dollar bonds?" inquired
Linda, incredulously. She couldn't believe there was all that wealth in
Spring City, and the surrounding country.
"No. Only about twenty. We couldn't keep to that rule. The people who
bought the bonds are on the Board of Directors. We let members in for
their dues--a hundred dollars a year."
"And do I have to fork out another hundred?" asked Linda, wearily. She
had been spending so much money already; she couldn't begin to live on
the interest from her father's gift. Of course she expected to use the
principal for her course, but she didn't want it to vanish for trifles.
"I'm afraid you'll have to," said Kitty.
"Well, I'll think it over," replied Linda, slowly. It was amazing, in
the few weeks that she had had charge of her own money, what a business
woman she had become. "I may not join this year. My expenses are pretty
heavy."
"Why, Linda!" Kitty laid her hand affectionately upon her friend's arm.
"Forgive me if I seem to pry--but--but--your father isn't having money
troubles, is he!"
"Oh, no. It's only that I am running my own expenses now, and I don't
want to waste money on things that won't do me any good. While I'm away
from home it seems sort of foolish to belong to that club, when I have
my own Arrow to fly. Especially now that you have enough members, and
really don't need me.... I'd rather sell my bond."
"I don't know whether you could sell it now," said Kitty. "Though of
course I'll ask Bess--Bess Hulbert, our treasurer, you remember--when
she flies back this afternoon. She has our Moth up at Lake Michigan
now."
Linda raised her eyebrows. So this was the way the club was run--for
Miss Hulbert's convenience!
"Doesn't she have her own plane any more?" she demanded.
"No. She smashed it. It wasn't any good anyhow. And she might as well
use the Moth, because the club members only need it two days a week."
That arrangement didn't seem fair to Linda, for the licensed
pilots--Dot and Joe and Harry and Ralph--could fly now whenever they
wanted.
Noticing that Linda was not at all pleased with the way things were
going, Ralph immediately made her an offer.
"I'll be glad to buy your bond, Linda," he said, "if nobody else wants
it. No reason why you should hang on to it if it's no use to you."
"That's awfully kind, Ralph. I'll think it over, and let you know
tomorrow night at the dance."
At this moment Miss Carlton entered, smiling genially because Linda was
home with her again, and because these nice, socially prominent young
people were calling upon her niece immediately. She greeted Ralph and
Kitty cordially, and rang the bell for tea.
Nothing more was said of the club during the call, but as soon as the
guests had left, Miss Carlton questioned her niece about their earlier
conversation.
"I couldn't help hearing you, dear, and I couldn't imagine what made
you suggest a thing like dropping out of that flying club. Why, it's
the only thing about flying that I ever heartily approved of."
"I don't like the way the whole thing is run, Aunt Emily. It's too much
Hulbert. Did you know, by the way, that Louise refused to buy a bond?"
"No, I didn't. But maybe her father didn't have the money at the time."
"It wasn't that. She never even asked him! She said it was all too
unbusinesslike--bossed just like politics! She hates Bess Hulbert."
"Louise always did have strong likes and dislikes.... Of course, I
don't know anything about the Hulberts, but I do know the Claverings,
and anybody that they like must be all right. Besides, your money is
safe with Mr. Clavering in back of the club. And you don't need it now
for anything."
Linda smiled to herself; she still had said nothing to her aunt of
her dream of flying across the Atlantic. The older woman could not
possibly know how important every dollar would be to her next spring.
But Bess Hulbert was not so unsuspecting. She had returned from her
trip while Kitty and Ralph were at Carlton's, and waited in the girl's
bedroom for the former to return. While Kitty dressed for dinner, she
told her about her call.
The very moment that Bess heard that Linda wanted to sell her bond,
she jumped to the conclusion that the other girl was determined to try
for that twenty-five thousand dollar prize. Nor was the idea at all
pleasant to her. Much as she might belittle Linda's aviation ability in
public, she was secretly afraid of her as a rival. The very fact that
she took almost a year of her life to study at a ground school, that
she meant to qualify as a commercial--perhaps even a transport--pilot,
neither of which Bess was, showed how seriously Linda must be going
into aviation.
No, Bess did not doubt that Linda was saving her money for this
purpose, if she needed that thousand dollars. Fortunate girl, to be
able to raise the money thus easily! At the moment, Bess saw no way for
her to buy a plane herself, and compete. The club refused to finance
her--unless Mr. Clavering would personally back her up. But, worse the
luck, that gentleman didn't seem to care for her at all! Probably he
was afraid Kitty would marry her brother; in Mr. Clavering's eyes, no
poor young man was worthy of the beautiful heiress.
While these thoughts raced through her mind, she had been listening
with only half attention to Kitty's prattle about the dance. Suddenly
she interrupted.
"I think I'd better go back to the hotel, Kit," she said. "I couldn't
stay to dinner in this costume."
"You could wear one of my dresses," suggested her hostess.
Bess laughed. "Too small, I'm afraid. It's awfully sweet of you to ask
me to stay, but I really need some rest--after that trip."
"But Bess!" protested Kitty. "Some of the crowd are coming over
tonight----"
"I'll see them tomorrow, at the dance--maybe. Tell them I thank
them for the Moth, and that I filled her with gas, and paid for her
inspection." She started towards the door.
"Will you come here and go to the dance with us?"
"Maybe.... I'll let you know tomorrow.... So long, dear!"
She closed the door, and ran down the steps, knowing that she had not
the slightest intention of going to that dance. If Ralph Clavering
had asked her, instead of Kitty, that would have been a different
matter. But he had invited Linda Carlton! It seemed as if that snip of
a girl was going to take everything she, Bess Hulbert, wanted. It was
ridiculous! She hated Linda. She even went so far as to wonder whether
that were her real name. It would be just like a romantic kid like that
to persuade her father to change her Christian name in imitation of a
hero like Lindbergh.
Bess hurried back to her hotel, conscious now of the fact that she must
do some serious thinking, and that she must do it quickly. She just
had to raise some money--or rather, a lot of money! She could never
save enough from any foolish little job she might take now. No, she
would have to make some, as business men do! If she didn't hurry, Linda
Carlton would soon have captured that prize.
"Linda Carlton!" she kept repeating, scornfully. "Pampered daughter of
a rich man! It isn't fair! All she has to do is ask her 'Daddy' for
thousands of dollars, and he comes across!
"Why haven't I a 'Daddy' like that?" Her eyes narrowed with bitterness.
"Well, I suppose I can't help that, but, by heck, I'll be the 'Daddy'
myself! Nothing to prevent my going into business too!"
A smile crept over her face, as she saw what looked like a solution to
her problem, and she settled down into her chair in her hotel bedroom
to work over maps and plans.
* * * * *
Meanwhile Linda entertained no such deep or unpleasant thoughts. It was
so nice to be home, that she made up her mind that she wasn't going to
worry about a single thing while she was there. Her aunt had bought her
some charming new dresses, for the game, for the Thanksgiving dance,
for a luncheon Dot Crowley was giving in her honor on Saturday. The
whole holiday promised to be so enjoyable, so relaxing after the hard
days at school, where she had to concentrate every second upon what
she was doing, that she just reveled in the careless freedom of the
coming four days. She had learned the secret that many grown people
have yet to discover; that good times are sweeter after hard work, just
as a delicious dinner tastes far better to the athlete than to the
afternoon bridge player.
To add to it all, Mr. Carlton arrived from New York on Thanksgiving
day, in plenty of time for dinner. Linda could hardly contain her joy.
"Daddy, are you as happy in your new work as I am in mine?" she asked
him, when they were seated at the table, and he was carving the turkey.
"Nobody could be as happy as you are, Linda!" he replied, smiling at
his daughter's radiant face. "But I like mine. It's something entirely
new to me--and rather fascinating. Besides, it's going well; the stores
have practically bought out my supply, and we have to send our agent to
Canada for more, in order to fill our Christmas orders."
After dinner he opened his suit-case and took out a lovely
bureau-scarf, different from anything Linda had ever seen, so fine that
it seemed as if a silkworm, rather than a human being, must have made
it. This he presented to Linda, at the same time giving his sister a
tea-table cloth of the same exquisite work.
"Oh, I adore it!" cried Linda, delightedly, thinking of her little room
in St. Louis, and how the scarf would add to its daintiness. "How the
girls will envy me!"
"Will you start a trousseau with it?" asked her aunt, hopefully.
"No, Aunt Emily. I may never get married, and I want to enjoy it now.
Things like this help when you're away from home."
Her father pinched her ear, teasingly.
"And why not get married?" he inquired.
"The same old reason: I'm too busy."
He laughed. "And to think," he remarked, "how worried I was last summer
about that Mackay boy!"
"Ted's all right," was Linda's comment. "But I never did want to marry
him--only to have him teach me to fly! He never cared for me that way
either--I just happened to be the first girl he had ever met who was
interested seriously in aviation.... No, if he cares for anybody, it's
Lou."
"Louise!" repeated Miss Carlton, in amazement. Yet she was relieved;
she liked red-headed Ted, but he was not socially prominent, and she
longed to have Linda make what the world terms "a good match."
"Yes. Oh, nothing is settled, or anything. But whenever Ted flies over
to see us, he brings a boy friend for me."
"And you're going to the dance tonight with Ralph Clavering," was Miss
Carlton's satisfied comment.
"Yes, but there's nothing to that, either, Aunt Emily!" protested
Linda. And, changing the subject she began to tell her father all about
the ground school, and talked of nothing else until it was time to
dress for the dance.
Ralph came for Linda about nine o'clock, and, dressed in one of her
pretty new gowns, she stepped into his machine.
"What a glorious night it is, Ralph!" she exclaimed, gazing up at the
stars. "It's lovely enough to fly."
The young man frowned as he put his foot on the self-starter.
"I did think of it, Linda. Thought how pleased you'd be if I could take
you for a ride in the Moth. But as usual--Bess Hulbert got it first!"
"You mean she has the Club's plane again?" demanded his companion. "She
only brought it back yesterday."
"I know. It's positively sickening the way she grabs it. Yet her
brother is a decent sort. If it weren't for him, I'd have raised a row
before this."
"Where is she going now?"
"Canada, I believe. On the trail of some job. Well, I hope she gets it.
Then maybe we won't see her for a while."
"Or the Moth either, I fear!" added Linda. Then noticing that Ralph was
extremely irritated about the whole thing, she resolved to make him
forget it and have a good time.
The dance was an enjoyable affair--all the more so because it lacked
the formality of the Country Club functions. Only the members were
present, and the crude roughness of the club-house, with its plastered
walls, its long wooden window-seats, its huge fireplace, made everybody
feel free and easy. Moreover Linda and Louise found themselves honored
guests; everybody made a fuss over them, as if already they had proved
themselves heroines. The men were insistent that neither of them dance
more than once about the room without an interruption, and the other
girls applauded their popularity without the slightest trace of envy.
By the end of the evening even Ralph was supremely happy.
The functions that followed during the next three days--the luncheon of
Dot's, the dinner-party of Louise's mother, the out-door picnic around
a camp fire--were increasingly enjoyable, so that when Sunday came at
last, Linda and Louise stepped into the Arrow with a feeling of regret
that they must say good-by to all these good friends until Christmas.