WHAT IS AHEAD?
While Ruth and Mr. Hammond had been walking about, the Camerons had come.
Tom's automobile was parked just beyond the moving picture magnate's
handsome limousine; and Tom had given more than one covetous glance at the
big car before going into the house.
When Ruth returned and entered the big and friendly kitchen after ushering
Mr. Hammond Into the sitting room again, she found the twins eagerly
listening to and talking to Miss Hazel Gray, who was leisurely eating a
late breakfast at the long table.
"Good morning, Ruth Fielding!" cried the guest, drawing her down to kiss
her cheek. "You are a _dear_. I've been telling your friends so. I fancy
one of them at least thoroughly agrees with me," and she cast a roguish
glance at Tom.
Tom blushed and Helen giggled. Ruth turned kind eyes away from Tom Cameron
and smiled upon Helen. "Yes," she said, demurely, "I am sure that Helen
has been singing my praises. The girls are beginning to call her 'Mr.
Boswell' at school. But I have heard complimentary words of you this
morning, Miss Gray."
"Oh!" cried the young actress. "From Mr. Hammond?"
"Yes."
"He is a lovely man," declared Hazel Gray, enthusiastically. "I have
always said so. If he would only make Grimes give me a square deal----"
"Those are the very words he used," interrupted Ruth, while Tom recovered
from his confusion and Helen from her enjoyment of her twin's
embarrassment. "He says you shall have a square deal."
While the young actress ate--and Aunt Alvirah heaped her plate, "killing
me with kindness!" Hazel Gray declared--the young folk chattered. Ruth saw
that Tom could scarcely keep his eyes off Miss Gray, and it puzzled the
girl of the Red Mill.
Afterward, when Miss Gray had gone out with Mr. Hammond, and Tom was out
of sight, Helen began to laugh. "Aren't boys funny?" she said to Ruth.
"Tom is terribly smitten with that lovely Hazel Gray."
"Smitten?" murmured Ruth.
"Of course. Don't say you didn't notice it. He hasn't had a 'crush' on any
girl before that I know of. But it's a sure-enough case of 'measles'
_this_ time. Busy Izzy tells me that most of the fellows in their class
at Seven Oaks have a 'crush' on some moving picture girl; and now Tom, I
suppose, will be cutting out of the papers every picture of Hazel Gray
that he sees, and sticking them up about his room. And she has promised to
send him a real cabinet photograph of herself in character in the
bargain," and Helen laughed again.
But Ruth could not be amused about this. She was disturbed.
"I didn't think Tom would be so silly," she finally said.
"Pooh! it's nothing. Bobbins and Tom are getting old enough to cast
sheep's eyes at the girls. Heretofore, Tommy has been crazy about the
slapstick comedians of the movies; but I rather admire his taste if he
likes this Hazel Gray. I really think she's lovely."
"So she is," Ruth said quite placidly. "But she is so much older than your
brother----"
"Pooh! only two or three years. But, of course, Ruth, it's nothing
serious," said the more worldly-wise Helen. "And boys usually are smitten
with girls some years older than themselves--at first."
"Dear me!" gasped Ruth. "How much you seem to know about such things,
Helen. _How did you find out?_"
At that Helen burst into laughter again. "You dear little innocent!" she
exclaimed. "You're so blind--blind as a bat! You never see the boys at
all. You look on Tom to-day just as though he were the same Tom that you
helped find the time he fell off his bicycle and was hurt by the roadside.
You remember? Ages and ages ago!"
But did Ruth look upon Tom Cameron in just that way? She said nothing in
reply to Tom's sister.
They came out of the house together and joined Mr. Hammond and Miss Gray
just as they were about to step into the limousine. Aunt Alvirah waved her
hand from the window.
"She's just lovely!" declared Miss Gray. "You should have met her, Mr.
Hammond."
"That pleasure is in reserve," said the gentleman, smiling. "I hope to see
the Red Mill again."
Tom came hurrying down to shake hands with Miss Gray. Ruth watched them
with some puzzlement of mind. Tom was undoubtedly embarrassed; but the
moving picture girl was too used to making an impression upon susceptible
minds to be much disturbed by Tom Cameron's worship.
Mr. Hammond looked out of the door of the limousine before he closed it.
"Remember, Ruth Fielding, I shall be on the lookout for what you promised
me."
"Oh, yes, sir!" Ruth cried, all in a flutter, for the moment having
forgotten the scenario she proposed to write.
"That's a promise!" he said again gaily, and closed the door. The big car
rolled away and left the three friends at the gateway.
"_What's_ a promise, Ruth Fielding?" demanded her chum, with immense
curiosity.
Ruth blushed and showed some confusion. "It's--it's a secret," she
stammered.
"A secret from _me_?" cried Helen, in amazement.
"I--I couldn't tell even you, dearie, just now," Ruth said, with sudden
seriousness. "But you shall know about it before anybody else."
"That Mr. Hammond is in it."
"Yes," admitted her chum. "That is just it. I don't feel that I can speak
to anybody about it yet."
"Oh! then it's _his_ secret?"
"Partly," Ruth said, her eyes dancing, for there and then, right at that
very moment, she fell upon the subject for the first scenario she intended
to submit to Mr. Hammond. It was "Curiosity"--a new version of Pandora's
Box.
Helen was such a sweet-tempered girl that her chum's little mystery did
not cause her more than momentary vexation.
Besides, their vacation time was now very short. Many things had to be
discussed about the coming semester. At its end, in June, Ruth and Helen
hoped to graduate from Briarwood Hall.
The thought of graduating from the school they loved so much was one of
mingled pleasure and pain. Old Briarwood! where they had had so much
fun--so many girlish sorrows--friends, enemies, struggles, triumphs,
failures and successes! Neither chum could contemplate graduation lightly.
"If we go to college together, it will never seem like Briarwood Hall,"
Helen sighed. "College will be so _big_. We shall be lost among so many
girls--some of them grown women!"
"Goodness!" laughed Ruth, suddenly, "we'll be almost 'grown women'
ourselves before we get through college."
"Oh, don't!" exclaimed Helen. "I don't want to think of _that_."
What was ahead of the chums did trouble them. Their future school life was
a mystery. There was no prophet to tell them of the exciting and really
wonderful things that were to happen to them at Briarwood during the
coming term.