WHAT JANE ANN WANTED
Ruth and her companions could not see what went on in the cottage;
but they did not mount the stairs. They could not leave the old
woman--plucky as she was--to fight Jack Crab alone.
But they need not have been so fearful for Mother Purling's safety. The
instant the man fell into the main room of the cottage, Mother Purling
darted to the stove, seized the heavy poker which lay upon the hearth,
and sprang for the rascal.
Jack Crab had got upon his knees, threatening her with dire vengeance.
The old lighthouse keeper never said a word in reply, but brought the
heavy poker down upon his head and shoulders with right good will, and
Jack Crab's tune changed on the instant.
Again and again Mother Purling struck him. He rolled upon the floor,
trying to extricate himself from the wreck of her door, and so escape.
But before he could do this, and before the old woman had ceased her
attack, there was a shout outside, a horse was brought to an abrupt halt
at the gate, and a huge figure in black flung itself from the saddle, and
came running through the gate and up to the cottage.
"What you got there, Missus?" roared the deep voice of Bill Hicks, of
Bullhide, and at the sound of his voice Jane Ann burst open the door at
the foot of the stairs and ran out to meet him.
"This here's the man you want to meet, I guess," panted the old
woman, desisting at length in her use of the poker. "Do ye want him
now, Mister?"
"Uncle Bill!" shrieked Jane Ann.
"Great cats!" cried the cattleman. "Is it Jane Ann herself? Is she
alive?"
The girl flung herself into the big man's arms. "I'm all right,
Uncle!" she cried, laughing and crying together. "And that man yonder
didn't hurt me--only kep' me on a desert island till Ruth and Tom and
Helen found me."
"Then he kin go!" declared Bill Hicks, turning suddenly as Crab started
through the door. "And here's what will help him!"
The Westerner swung his heavy boot with the best intention in the world
and caught Jack Crab just as he was going down the step. With a yell of
pain the fellow sailed through the air, landing at least ten feet from
the doorway. But he was up from his hands and knees and running hard in
an instant, and he ran so hard, and to such good purpose, that he ran
right out of this story then and there. Ruth Fielding and her friends
never saw the treacherous fellow again.
"But if he'd acted like he oughter," said Mr. Hicks, "and hadn't
put my Jane Ann out on that thar lonesome rock, and treated her the
way he done, I should have considered myself in his debt. I'd have
paid him the five hundred dollars, sure enough. I'd have paid it over
willingly if he'd left my gal with these nice people and only told me
whar she was. But I wouldn't give him a cent now--not even if he was
starvin'. For if I found him in that condition I'd see he got food and
not money," and the big man chuckled.
"So you haven't got to pay five hundred dollars for me, then, Uncle
Bill?" said his niece, as they sat on the porch of the Stones'
bungalow, talking things over.
"No, I haven't. No fault of yours, though, you little rascal. I dunno
but I ought to divide it 'twixt them three friends of yourn that found
ye."
"Not for us!" cried Tom and Helen.
"Nor for me," said Ruth, earnestly. "It would not be right. I never
should respect myself again if I thought I had tried to find Nita for
money."
"But if it hadn't been for Ruth we'd never have sailed over there to
the Thimble," declared Tom.
The Western girl had been thinking seriously; now she seized her uncle
by the arm. "I tell you what I want, Uncle Bill!" she cried.
"Something beside the pianner and the shift-on hat?" he grumbled, but
his blue eyes twinkled.
"Those things don't count," she declared earnestly. "But this five
hundred dollars, Uncle Bill, you haven't got to pay that Crab man. So
you just spend it by taking all these girls and boys that have been so
nice to me out to Silver Ranch. They think it must be the finest place
that ever happened--and I don't know but 'tis, Uncle, if you don't
have too much of it," she added.
"Great cats! that would shore be some doin's; wouldn't it?" exclaimed
the cattleman, grinning broadly.
"You bet it would! We'll take Ruth and Helen and Tom and Heavy an--why,
every last one of 'em that'll go. We'll show 'em a right good time;
is it a go, Uncle Bill?"
And it certainly was "a go," for we shall meet Ruth and her friends
next in a volume entitled, "Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch; Or,
Schoolgirls Among the Cowboys."
Old Bill Hicks' hearty invitation could not be accepted, however, until
the various young folks had written home to their parents and guardians
about it. And the expectation of what fun they could have on Silver
Ranch did not spoil the fun to be found closer at hand, at Lighthouse
Point.
The remainder of that fortnight at the bungalow would long be remembered
by Ruth and her girl friends, especially. Mr. Hicks got board at
Sokennet; but Jane Ann (although they all called her "Nita" save
The Fox, who took some delight in teasing her about her ugly name)
remained at the bungalow. The cattleman could not do too much for
anybody who had been kind to his niece, and had the life saving men
not refused absolutely to accept anything from him, he would have
made them all a present because they had rescued Jane Ann from the wreck
of the _Whipstitch_.
Nevertheless, Mr. Hicks found out something that he _could_ do for the
life-savers, and he presented the station with a fine library--something
which all the surfmen, and Cap'n Abinadab as well, could enjoy during
the long winter days and evenings. Nor did the ranchman forget Mother
Purling at the lighthouse. Up from New York came the finest black silk
dress and bonnet that the big man could buy for money in any shop, and
no present could have so delighted the plucky old lighthouse keeper. She
had longed, she said, for a black silk dress all her life.
Before the young folks departed from Lighthouse Point, too, Miss Kate
invited the life-savers, and Mother Purling, and Phineas and some of the
other longshoremen and their wives to a "party" at the bungalow. And
there were good things to eat (Heavy saw to _that_, of course) and a
moving-picture entertainment brought down from the city for that evening,
and a big display of fireworks afterward on the shore.
This wound up Ruth Fielding's visit to Lighthouse Point. The fortnight
of fun was ended all too soon. She and Helen and Tom, and the rest of
the visitors, started for home, all promising, if their parents and
guardians agreed, to meet Jane Ann Hicks and her uncle a week later, in
Syracuse, ready for the long and delightful journey across the continent
to Bullhide, Montana.
"Well, we certainly did have some great times," was Tom's comment,
after the last goodbyes had been spoken and the young folks were homeward
bound.
"Oh, it was lovely," answered his twin sister. "And think of how we
helped Nita--I mean Jane Ann."
"Most of the credit for that goes to Ruth," said Tom.
"Oh, no!" cried the girl from the Red Mill. "Yes, we certainly had
a grand time," she added. "I love the bounding sea, and the shifting
sands, and the lighthouse, and all!"
"Oh, I do hope we can go out to that ranch!" sighed Helen. "I have
always wanted to visit such a place, to see the cattle and the cowboys,
and the boundless prairies."
"And I want to ride a broncho," put in her brother. "They say some
of 'em can go like the wind. Ruth, you'll have to ride, too."
"Take your last look at the sea!" came from Heavy. "Maybe we won't
get another look at it for a long time."
All turned to look at the rolling waves, glistening brightly in the
Summer sun.
"Isn't it lovely!"
"Good-bye, Old Ocean, good-bye!" sang out Helen.
Ruth threw a kiss to the waves.
Then the ocean faded from their sight. And here we will leave Ruth
Fielding and say good-bye.
THE END
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.
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
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
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.
10. BETTY GORDON AND THE LOST PEARL or A Mystery of the Seaside
Betty and her chums go to the ocean shore for a vacation and there Betty
becomes involved in the disappearance of a string of pearls worth a
fortune.
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CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers--New York
THE BARTON BOOKS FOR GIRLS
By MAY HOLLIS BARTON
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. With colored jacket
Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid
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 Louisa 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.
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CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers--New York
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.
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.
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CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers--New York
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.
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.
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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
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.
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CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers--New York
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
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 camp on Star Island.
3. THE CURLYTOPS SNOWED IN or Grand Fun with Skates and Sleds
The Curlytops 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.
10. THE CURLYTOPS TOURING AROUND or The Missing Photograph Albums
The Curlytops get in some moving pictures.
11. THE CURLYTOPS IN A SUMMER CAMP or Animal Joe's Menagerie
There is great excitement as some mischievous monkeys break out of Animal
Joe's Menagerie.
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FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOM SERIES
By MABEL C. HAWLEY
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors
Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid
1. FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS AT BROOKSIDE FARM
Mother called them her Four Little Blossoms, but Daddy Blossom called
them Bobby, Meg, and the twins. The twins, Twaddles and Dot, were a
comical pair and always getting into mischief. The children had heaps
of fun around the big farm.
2. FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS AT OAK HILL SCHOOL
In the Fall, Bobby and Meg had to go to school. It was good fun, for Miss
Mason was a kind teacher. Then the twins insisted on going to school,
too, and their appearance quite upset the class. In school something
very odd happened.
3. FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS AND THEIR WINTER FUN
Winter came and with it lots of ice and snow, and oh! what fun the
Blossoms had skating and sledding. And once Bobby and Meg went on an
errand and got lost in a sudden snowstorm.
4. FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS ON APPLE TREE ISLAND
The Four Little Blossoms went to a beautiful island in the middle of a
big lake and there had a grand time on the water and in the woods. And
in a deserted cabin they found some letters which helped an old man to
find his missing wife.
5. FOUR LITTLE BLOSSOMS THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS
The story starts at Thanksgiving. They went skating and coasting, and
they built a wonderful snowman, and one day Bobby and his chums visited a
carpenter shop on the sly, and that night the shop burnt down, and there
was trouble for the boys.
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THE DOROTHY DALE SERIES
By MARGARET PENROSE
Author of The Motor Girls Series, Radio Girls Series, & c.
12mo. Illustrated
Price per volume, $1.00, postpaid
Dorothy Dale is the daughter of an old Civil War veteran who is running
a weekly newspaper in a small Eastern town. Her sunny disposition, her
fun-loving ways and her trials and triumphs make clean, interesting
and fascinating reading. The Dorothy Dale Series is one of the most
popular series of books for girls ever published.
DOROTHY DALE: A GIRL OF TO-DAY
DOROTHY DALE AT GLEN WOOD 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
DOROTHY DALE TO THE RESCUE
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CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers--New York