THE END OF A PERFECT YEAR
Helen Cameron came running over the hill and down the sloppy path
through the grove. When she reached the Stone Face where Ruth and the
strange girl were standing, she cried:
"What _is_ the matter with you, Ruthie Fielding? Come on over to the
boat. Miss Mallory sent me after you.... Why! who's this?"
"Don't you remember this girl, Helen?" asked Ruth, seriously.
"Why! it's the girl who was camping in the snow, isn't it?" said Helen,
curiously eyeing the stranger. "How-do?"
But the other was not pleased to allow the situation to develop into
merely a well-bred meeting of three former acquaintances. She did not
vouchsafe Helen a glance, but said, directing her words toward Ruth:
"I want that vase. It doesn't belong to you."
"Goodness, Ruthie!" put in her chum, for the first time seeing the
object in Ruth's hands. "What is that thing?"
"I just dug it up here. It is the Egyptian vase taken from the Ardmore
library last year I believe."
"It doesn't matter where it came from. I want it," cried the strange
girl, and she stepped forward quickly as though to seize the muddy vase.
But Helen sprang forward and pushed her back.
"Hold on! I guess if Ruth's got it, you'll have to wait and prove
property," said Helen. "How about it, Ruth?"
"She must tell us all about it," said Ruth, firmly. "Perhaps I may let
her have it--if she tells us the truth."
"The truth!" exclaimed Helen.
"I won't tell you a thing!" cried the strange girl. "You haven't any
right to that vase."
"Nor have you," Ruth told her.
"Well----"
"Nor has Margaret Rolff," went on Ruth, coolly. "I take it you are
acting for her, aren't you?"
"Why," cried Helen, beginning to understand. "That is the girl who left
Ardmore last year?"
"And came to the Red Mill after spending the summer at a camp on the
Lumano and helped Aunt Alvirah," Ruth added, with a smile.
"Well, I never! Not Maggie?" demanded Helen.
"I think I am right," Ruth said quietly. "Am I not?" to the other girl.
"Our Maggie is Margaret Rolff, and _you_ must be her sister. At least,
you look enough like her to be some relative."
The other made a gesture of resignation and dropped her hands. "I might
as well confess it," she admitted. "You are Ruth Fielding, and Margy
told me long ago you might be trusted."
"And this is my particular friend, Helen Cameron," Ruth said, "who is to
be fully trusted, too."
"I suppose so," said the girl. "My name is Betty. I'm Margy's younger
sister. Poor Margy. She never was very strong. I mean that she was
always giving in to other people--was easily confused.
"She's bright enough, you know," pursued the other girl, warmly; "but
she is nervous and easily put out. What those girls did to her last year
at this college was a shame!"
Another hail from behind the hill warned Ruth that she must attend Miss
Mallory's command or there would be trouble.
"We cannot wait to hear it all, Miss--Betty, did you say your name was?
Where are you staying?"
"I have been working in Greenburg all winter. We're poor girls and have
no parents. Margy is with me now," said the girl. "And I want that vase.
I want it for Margy. She will never be satisfied until she can give it
back to the dean of the college herself and explain how she came to hide
it, and then forgot where she hid the vase."
"Tell me where to find you in Greenburg," said Ruth, hastily. "No! I'll
not let you have the vase now. I will not show it to anybody else,
however, and we'll come over to town this evening and bring it with us,
and talk with Maggie."
"Oh, Miss Fielding----"
"That must satisfy you," said Ruth, firmly; and Betty Rolff had to be
satisfied with this promise. She told the chums where she and Margaret
were staying and then Ruth and Helen ran back to their friends, Ruth
concealing the hastily wiped silver vase under the loose front of her
blouse.
"Goodness!" she said to Helen, "I hope nobody will see it. Do I bulge
_much_?"
There was so much excitement among the crew of the freshman eight,
however, that Ruth's treasure-trove was not discovered. Under Miss
Mallory's direction they launched the shell again, climbed aboard, and
made a safe passage to the dock.
A notice was put up that very evening, however, to the effect that none
of the racing shells were to be taken out unless the launch was manned
and went with the frailer craft.
The students of Ardmore were allowed to leave the college grounds in the
evening if they were properly chaperoned. And when Ruth went to Miss
Cullam and explained a little of what was afoot, the mathematics
instructor was only too glad to act in the capacity of chaperon.
Helen had telephoned for a car, and the three rode down to Greenburg
immediately after dinner. Ruth carried the recovered vase, just as she
had dug it out of the hole by the Stone Face on Bliss Island, wrapped in
a paper. She had not had time either to clean it or to examine it more
thoroughly.
They easily found the boarding house, the address of which Betty Rolff
had given to Ruth. It was a respectable place, but was far from
sumptuous. It was evident, as Ruth had been previously informed, that
the Rolff girls were not very well off in this world's goods.
When the visitors climbed to the second floor bedroom where the sisters
were lodged, Miss Cullam took the lead, walked straight in, seized
Margaret Rolff in her arms and implanted a kiss upon the pale cheek of
the girl who had for so many months been Aunt Alvirah's assistant at the
Red Mill.
"You poor girl!" said the mathematics teacher. "What you must have been
through! Now, I am delighted to see you again, and you must tell me all
about it--how you came to take the vase, and bury it, and all."
There was a good deal of talk on both sides before all this that Miss
Cullam asked was explained. But the facts were made clear at last.
In the first place, Margaret Rolff had always been very much afraid of
the dark and of being alone at night. But she wanted so much to become a
member of the Kappa Alpha that she did not try to cry off when she
received her instructions as a candidate for membership in that
sorority.
The first part of her initiation test was easy enough. She secured the
Egyptian vase from the reception room of the library without being
apprehended. Then she was rowed across the lake to the island by several
black-robed and hooded figures whom she did not know.
Left with a flashlight and a spade to bury the stolen vase within a
short distance of the Stone Face, Margaret had tried her best to control
her nerves and do as she was commanded. But she could never really
remember whether she had buried the vase or not. The idea had been for
her to bury it, and then another candidate would be made to search for
it the next night.
Everything about the initiation went wrong, however, because Margaret
lost her nerve. The members of the sorority could not find the place
where the candidate had really dug her hole and buried the vase. And
Margaret had fled in a panic from the college before further inquiry
could be made.
"All this time," explained the practical sister, Betty, "Margy has
wanted to know if she did bury the vase or not. She felt she had stolen
from the college and could be punished for it. I think those girls that
set her the task should be punished."
"They have been," said Miss Cullam, grimly. "Yet, it was really a
misunderstanding all around. Now, let me see that vase, Ruth Fielding."
The latter was glad to do this. The teacher opened the package and
immediately turned the vase upside down and shook it. There was
evidently something inside, and after some work with the handiest of all
feminine tools, a hatpin, a soggy mass of paper was dislodged from the
Egyptian vase.
"The missing examination papers, girls!" sighed Miss Cullam, with much
satisfaction. "There, Margaret! You may have the vase and return it to
Dr. Milroth to-morrow if you like. And I hope you will return to the
college and be with us next year.
"I have what _I_ am after and feel more contented in my mind than I have
for some months. Dear me, girls! you don't at all understand what a
number of trials and perplexities are heaped upon the minds of us poor
teachers."
* * * * *
There were many other incidents occurring at Ardmore before the end of
what Helen Cameron declared was a "perfect year." But nothing created
more interest than the recovery of the Egyptian vase with the missing
examination papers, unless it was the boat races. Though to a few,
perhaps, certain plans for the coming summer overtopped even these in
importance. These were such a very great secret that the chums scarcely
dared discuss them.
But those readers who may so desire will read about the happenings that
developed from these plans of Ruth and her friends in the subsequent
volume of the series, entitled, "Ruth Fielding in the Saddle; or,
College Girls in the Land of Gold."
First of the races was that with the first eight of Beardsley; and the
crew of Ardmore won. Then came the trial between Ardmore and Hampton
College, and the former won that as well.
Ardmore was in high fettle at that. _The Jasper_ was quite as
enthusiastically complimentary now as it had been critical after the
race with Gillings, for in winning the race against Hampton College, the
Ardmore crew had been forced to row through very rough water.
Commencement came in June, and two days before the graduation exercises
of the senior class, the local aquatic sports were held. The main
incident of this carnival was the race between the class eights.
The shells were started at twenty-yard intervals, and in the order of
the classes. The freshman eight, in which rowed Ruth, Helen and Jennie,
had practised vigorously all these weeks and now they displayed the
value of their exertions.
Within the first quarter they "bumped" the sophomore eight. This crew
dropped out of the race immediately and the freshmen spun ahead, Ruth
setting a wonderfully effective stroke, and little Trix Davenport
swaying her body in time with the motion of the boat and shouting
encouragement through her megaphone.
On and on crept the freshman eight until there was barely a hand's
breadth between the nose of their shell and the stern of the junior
craft. The crowd along shore cheered the younger girls vociferously, and
although they did not quite "bump" the juniors before crossing the mile
line----
"We came so near it there was no fun in it!" declared Jennie Stone,
delightedly. "Oh, girls! some of us are going to be great rowists after
a few more years at Ardmore."
"Dear me," panted Helen, making the last pun of the term. "It should be
called _Hard_-more. I never worked so hard in my life as I have this
first year at college."
"But it will never hurt us," laughed Ruth, later. "We have got on
famously."
"_You_ have, my dear," interposed Helen. "You stand A, number one in
classes. And look at that new play of yours--a big success! Money is
rolling in on you----"
"Think a little of yourself," proposed Ruth. "Don't you consider your
time well spent here, my dear chum?"
"Sure! It _is_ the end of a perfect year," agreed Helen.
"And think of me--_little_ me!" cried Jennie Stone, bursting into the
chums' study at that moment, and in time to hear the last of the
conversation. "Do you know what's happened, girls?"
"No! What?" demanded the curious Helen.
"I have lost another pound," said the ex-fat girl, in a sepulchral
voice.
THE END
THE RUTH FIELDING SERIES
By ALICE B. EMERSON
[Illustration]
_12mo. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors. Price 50 cents per volume.
Postage 10 cents additional_.
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.
Ruth Fielding is a character that will live in juvenile fiction.
1. RUTH FIELDING OF THE RED MILL
2. RUTH FIELDING AT BRIARWOOD HALL
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
23. RUTH FIELDING AND HER GREAT SCENARIO
24. RUTH FIELDING AT CAMERON HALL
25. RUTH FIELDING CLEARING HER NAME
26. RUTH FIELDING IN TALKING PICTURES
27. RUTH FIELDING AND BABY JUNE
28. RUTH FIELDING AND HER DOUBLE
29. RUTH FIELDING AND HER GREATEST TRIUMPH
30. RUTH FIELDING AND HER CROWNING VICTORY
These books may be purchased wherever books are sold
_Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York
THE BARTON BOOKS FOR GIRLS
By MAY HOLLIS BARTON
[Illustration]
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. With colored Jacket._
_Price 50 cents per volume. Postage 10 cents additional._
_May Hollis Barton is a new writer for girls who is bound to win
instant popularity. Her style is somewhat of a reminder of that of
Louisa M. Alcott, but thoroughly up-to-date in plot and action.
Clean tales that all the girls will enjoy reading._
1. THE GIRL FROM THE COUNTRY
2. THREE GIRL CHUMS AT LAUREL HALL
3. NELL GRAYSON'S RANCHING DAYS
4. FOUR LITTLE WOMEN OF ROXBY
5. PLAIN JANE AND PRETTY BETTY
6. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
7. HAZEL HOOD'S STRANGE DISCOVERY
8. TWO GIRLS AND A MYSTERY
9. THE GIRLS OF LIGHTHOUSE ISLAND
10. KATE MARTIN'S PROBLEM
11. THE GIRL IN THE TOP FLAT
12. THE SEARCH FOR PEGGY ANN
13. SALLIE'S TEST OF SKILL
14. CHARLOTTE CROSS AND AUNT DEB
15. VIRGINIA'S VENTURE
_Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York
THE BETTY GORDON SERIES
By ALICE B. EMERSON
[Illustration]
Author of the "Ruth Fielding Series"
_12mo. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors. Price 50 cents per volume.
Postage 10 cents additional._
_A new series of stories bound to make this writer more popular than
ever with her host of girl readers. Every one will want to know Betty
Gordon, and every one will be sure to love her._
1. BETTY GORDON AT BRAMBLE FARM
2. BETTY GORDON IN WASHINGTON
3. BETTY GORDON IN THE LAND OF OIL
4. BETTY GORDON AT BOARDING SCHOOL
5. BETTY GORDON AT MOUNTAIN CAMP
6. BETTY GORDON AT OCEAN PARK
7. BETTY GORDON AND HER SCHOOL CHUMS
8. BETTY GORDON AT RAINBOW RANCH
9. BETTY GORDON IN MEXICAN WILDS
10. BETTY GORDON AND THE LOST PEARLS
11. BETTY GORDON ON THE CAMPUS
12. BETTY GORDON AND THE HALE TWINS
13. BETTY GORDON AT MYSTERY FARM
14. BETTY GORDON ON NO-TRAIL ISLAND
15. BETTY GORDON AND THE MYSTERY GIRL
_Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York
Books for Girls
BY ALICE B. EMERSON
RUTH FIELDING SERIES
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.
RUTH FIELDING OF THE RED MILL
Or, Jasper Parloe's Secret.
RUTH FIELDING AT BRIARWOOD HALL
Or, Solving the Campus Mystery.
RUTH FIELDING AT SNOW CAMP
Or, Lost in the Backwoods.
RUTH FIELDING AT LIGHTHOUSE POINT
Or, Nita, The Girl Castaway.
RUTH FIELDING AT SILVER RANCH
Or, Schoolgirls Among the Cowboys.
RUTH FIELDING ON CLIFF ISLAND
Or, The Old Hunter's Treasure Box.
RUTH FIELDING AT SUNRISE FARM
Or, What Became of the Raby Orphans.
RUTH FIELDING AND THE GYPSIES
Or, The Missing Pearl Necklace.
RUTH FIELDING IN MOVING PICTURES
Or, Helping the Dormitory Fund.
RUTH FIELDING DOWN IN DIXIE
Or, Great Times in the Land of Cotton.
RUTH FIELDING AT COLLEGE
Or, The Missing Examination Papers.
RUTH FIELDING IN THE SADDLE
Or, College Girls in the Land of Gold.
Cupples & Leon Co., Publishers, New York.
End of Project Gutenberg's Ruth Fielding At College, by Alice B. Emerson