HEADED WEST
Just at this time Helen Morrell wasn't thinking at all about wreaking
vengeance upon those who might have ill-treated her when she was alone in
the great city. Instead, her heart was made very tender by the delightful
things that were being done for her by those who loved and admired the
sturdy little girl from Sunset Ranch.
In the first place, Jess and Dud Stone, and their cousins, gave Helen
every chance possible to see the pleasanter side of city life. She had
gone shopping with the girls and bought frocks and hats galore. Indeed,
she had had to telegraph to Big Hen for more money. She got the money; but
likewise she received the following letter:
"Dear Snuggy:--
"We lets colts get inter the alfalfa an' kick up their heels for a
while; but they got to steady down and come home some time. Ain't you
kicked up your heels sufficient in that lonesome city? And it looks
like somebody was getting money away from you--or have you learnt to
spend it down East there? Come on home, Snuggy! The hull endurin' ranch
is jest a-honin' for you. Sing's that despondint I expects to see him
cut off his pigtail. Jo-Rab has gone back on his rice-and-curry
rations, the Greasers don't plunk their mandolins no more, and the
punchers are as sorry lookin' as winter-kept steers. Come back, Snuggy,
and liven up the old place, is the sincere wish of, yours warmly,
"Henry Billings."
Helen only waited to see some few matters cleared up before she left for
the West. As it happened, Dud Stone obtained a chance to represent a big
corporation for some months, in Elberon and Helena. His smattering of
legal knowledge was sufficient to enable him to accept the job. It was a
good chance for Jess to go out, too, and try the climate and the life,
over both of which her brother was so enthusiastic.
But she would go to Sunset Ranch to remain for some time if Helen went
West with them and--of course--Helen was only too glad to agree to such a
proposition.
Meanwhile the Western girl was taken to museums, and parks, and theaters,
and all kinds of show places, and thoroughly enjoyed herself. May Van
Ramsden and others of those who had attended Mary Boyle's tea party in the
attic of the Starkweather house hunted Helen out, too, in the home of her
friends on Riverside Drive, and the last few weeks of Helen's stay were as
wonderful and exciting as the first few weeks had been lonely and sad.
Dud had insisted upon publishing the facts of the old trouble which had
come upon the firm of Grimes & Morrell, in pamphlet form, including Allen
Chesterton's affidavit, and this pamphlet was mailed to the creditors of
the old firm and to all of Prince Morrel's old friends in New York. But
nothing was said in the printed matter about Willets Starkweather.
Fenwick Grimes took a long trip out of town, and made no attempt to put in
an answer to the case. But Mr. Starkweather was a very much frightened
man.
Dud came home one afternoon and advised Helen to go and see her uncle.
Since her departure from the Starkweather mansion she had seen neither the
girls nor Uncle Starkweather himself.
"He doesn't know what you are going to do with him. He brought the money
he received from your father to my office; but, of course, I would not
accept it. You've got the whip hand, Helen----"
"But I do not propose to crack the whip, Dud," declared the Western girl,
quickly.
"You're a good chap, Snuggy!" exclaimed Dud, warmly, and Helen smiled and
forgave him for using the intimate nickname.
But Helen went across town the very next day and called upon her uncle.
This time she mounted the broad stone steps, instead of descending to the
basement door.
Gregson opened the door and, by his manner, showed that even with the
servants the girl from Sunset Ranch was upon a different footing in her
uncle's house. Mr. Starkweather was in his den and Helen was ushered into
the room without crossing the path of any other member of the family.
"Helen!" he ejaculated, when he saw her, and to tell the truth the girl
was shocked by his changed appearance. Mr. Starkweather was quite broken
down. The cloud of scandal that seemed to be menacing him had worn his
pomposity to a thread, and his dignified "Ahem!" had quite disappeared.
Indeed, to see this once proud and selfish man fairly groveling before the
daughter of the man he had helped injure in the old times, was not a
pleasant sight. Helen cut the interview as short as she could.
She managed to assure Uncle Starkweather that he need have no
apprehension. That he had known all the time Grimes was guilty, and that
he had benefited from that knowledge, was the sum and substance of Willets
Starkweather's connection with the old crime. At that time he had been, as
Dud Stone learned, in serious financial difficulties. He used the money
received from Grimes's ill-gotten gains, to put himself on his feet.
Then had come the death of old Cornelius Starkweather and the legacy.
After that, when Prince Morrell sent Starkweather the money he was
supposed to have lost in the bankruptcy of Grimes & Morrell, Starkweather
did not dare refuse it. He feared always that it would be discovered he
had known who was really guilty of the embezzlement.
Flossie met Helen in the hall and hugged her. "Don't you go away mad at
me, Helen," she cried. "I know we all treated you mean; but--but I guess I
wouldn't act that way again, to any girl, no matter what Belle does."
"I do not believe you would, Floss," agreed Helen, kissing her warmly.
"And are you really going back to that lovely ranch?"
"Very soon. And some time, if you care to and your father will let you,
I'll be glad to have you come out there for a visit."
"Bully for you, Helen! I'll surely come," cried Flossie.
Hortense was on hand to speak to her cousin, too. "You are much too nice a
girl to bear malice, I am sure, Helen," she said. "But we do not deserve
very good treatment at your hands. I hope you will forgive us and, when
you come to New York again, come to visit us."
"I am sure you would not treat me again as you did this time," said Helen,
rather sternly.
"You can be sure we wouldn't. Not even Belle. She's awfully sorry, but
she's too proud to say so. She wants father to bring old Mary Boyle
downstairs into the old nursery suite that she used to occupy when Uncle
Cornelius was alive; only the old lady doesn't want to come. She says
she's only a few more years at best to live and she doesn't like
changes."
Helen saw the nurse before she left the house, and left the dear old
creature very happy indeed. Helen was sure Nurse Boyle would never be so
lonely again, for her friends had remembered her.
Even Mrs. Olstrom, the housekeeper, came to shake hands with the girl who
had been tucked away into an attic bedroom as "a pauper cousin." And old
Mr. Lawdor fairly shed tears when he learned that he was not likely to see
Helen again.
There were other people in the great city who were sorry to see Helen
Morrell start West. Through Dud Stone, Allen Chesterton had been found
light work and a pleasant boarding place. There would always be a
watchful eye upon the old man--and that eye belonged to Miss Sadie
Goronsky--rather, "S. Goron, Milliner," as the new sign over the hat shop
door read.
"For you see," said Miss Sadie, with a toss of her head, "there ain't no
use in advertisin' it that you are a Yid. _That_ don't do no good, as I
tell mommer. Sure, I'm proud I'm a Jew. We're the greatest people in the
world yet. But it ain't good for business.
"Now, 'Goron' sounds Frenchy; don't it, Helen? And when I get a-going down
here good, I'll be wantin' some time to look at a place on Fift' Av'ner,
maybe. 'Madame Goron' would be dead swell--yes? But you put the 'sky' to
it and it's like tying a can to a dog's tail. There ain't nowhere to go
then but _home_," declared this worldly wise young girl.
Helen had dinner again with the Goronskys, and Sadie's mother could not do
enough to show her fondness for her daughter's benefactor. Sadie promised
to write to Helen frequently and the two girls--so much alike in some
ways, yet as far apart as the poles in others--bade each other an
affectionate farewell.
The next day Helen Morrell and her two friends, Dud and Jess Stone, were
headed West. That second trip across the continent was a very different
journey for Helen than the first had been.
She and Jess Stone had become the best of friends. And as the months slid
by the two girls--Helen, a product of the West, and Jessie, a product of
the great Eastern city--became dearer and dearer companions.
As for Dud--of course he was always hanging around. His sister sometimes
wondered--and that audibly--how he found time for business, he was so
frequently at Sunset Ranch. This was only said, however, in wicked
enjoyment of his discomfiture--and of Helen's blushes.
For by that time it was an understood thing about Sunset Ranch that in
time Dud was going to have the right to call its mistress "Snuggy" for all
the years of her life--just as her father had. And Helen, contemplating
this possibility, did not seem to mind.
THE END
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOMETHING ABOUT
AMY BELL MARLOWE
AND HER BOOKS FOR GIRLS
In these days, when the printing presses are turning out so many books for
girls that are good, bad and indifferent, it is refreshing to come upon
the works of such a gifted authoress as Miss Amy Bell Marlowe, who is now
under contract to write exclusively for Messrs. Grosset & Dunlap.
In many ways Miss Marlowe's books may be compared with those of Miss
Alcott and Mrs. Meade, but all are thoroughly modern and wholly American
in scene and action. Her plots, while never improbable, are exceedingly
clever, and her girlish characters are as natural as they are
interesting.
On the following pages will be found a list of Miss Marlowe's books. Every
girl in our land ought to read these fresh and wholesome tales. They are
to be found at all booksellers. Each volume is handsomely illustrated and
bound in cloth, stamped in colors. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, New
York. A free catalogue of Miss Marlowe's books may be had for the asking.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE OLDEST OF FOUR
"I don't see any way out!"
It was Natalie's mother who said that, after the awful news had been
received that Mr. Raymond had been lost in a shipwreck on the Atlantic.
Natalie was the oldest of four children, and the family was left with but
scant means for support.
"I've got to do something--yes, I've just got to!" Natalie said to
herself, and what the brave girl did is well related in "The Oldest of
Four; Or, Natalie's Way Out." In this volume we find Natalie with a strong
desire to become a writer. At first she contributes to a local paper, but
soon she aspires to larger things, and comes in contact with the editor of
a popular magazine. This man becomes her warm friend, and not only aids
her in a literary way but also helps in a hunt for the missing Mr.
Raymond.
Natalie has many ups and downs, and has to face more than one bitter
disappointment. But she is a plucky girl through and through.
"One of the brightest girls' stories ever penned," one well-known author
has said of this book, and we agree with him. Natalie is a thoroughly
lovable character, and one long to be remembered. Published as are all the
Amy Bell Marlowe books, by Grosset & Dunlap, New York, and for sale by all
booksellers. Ask your dealer to let you look the volume over.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GIRLS OF HILLCREST FARM
"We'll go to the old farm, and we'll take boarders! We can fix the old
place up, and, maybe, make money!"
The father of the two girls was broken down in health and a physician had
recommended that he go to the country, where he could get plenty of fresh
air and sunshine. An aunt owned an abandoned farm and she said the family
could live on this and use the place as they pleased. It was great sport
moving and getting settled, and the boarders offered one surprise after
another. There was a mystery about the old farm, and a mystery concerning
one of the boarders, and how the girls got to the bottom of affairs is
told in detail in the story, which is called, "The Girls of Hillcrest
Farm; Or, The Secret of the Rocks."
It was great fun to move to the farm, and once the girls had the scare of
their lives. And they attended a great "vendue" too.
"I just had to write that story--I couldn't help, it," said Miss Marlowe,
when she handed in the manuscript. "I knew just such a farm when I was a
little girl, and oh! what fun I had there! And there was a mystery about
that place, too!"
Published, like all the Marlowe books, by Grosset & Dunlap, New York, and
for sale wherever good books are sold.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A LITTLE MISS NOBODY
"Oh, she's only a little nobody! Don't have anything to do with her!"
How often poor Nancy Nelson heard those words, and how they cut her to the
heart. And the saying was true, she _was_ a nobody. She had no folks, and
she did not know where she had come from. All she did know was that she
was at a boarding school and that a lawyer paid her tuition bills and gave
her a mite of spending money.
"I am going to find out who I am, and where I came from," said Nancy to
herself, one day, and what she did, and how it all ended, is absorbingly
related in "A Little Miss Nobody; Or, With the Girls of Pinewood Hall."
Nancy made a warm friend of a poor office boy who worked for that lawyer,
and this boy kept his eyes and ears open and learned many things.
The book tells much about boarding school life, of study and fun mixed,
and of a great race on skates. Nancy made some friends as well as enemies,
and on more than one occasion proved that she was "true blue" in the best
meaning of that term.
Published by Grosset & Dunlap, New York, and for sale by booksellers
everywhere. If you desire a catalogue of Amy Bell Marlowe books send to
the publishers for it and it will come free.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GIRL FROM SUNSET RANCH
Helen was very thoughtful as she rode along the trail from Sunset Ranch to
the View. She had lost her father but a month before, and he had passed
away with a stain on his name--a stain of many years' standing, as the
girl had just found out.
"I am going to New York and I am going to clear his name!" she resolved,
and just then she saw a young man dashing along, close to the edge of a
cliff. Over he went, and Helen, with no thought of the danger to herself,
went to the rescue.
Then the brave Western girl found herself set down at the Grand Central
Terminal in New York City. She knew not which way to go or what to do. Her
relatives, who thought she was poor and ignorant, had refused to even meet
her. She had to fight her way along from the start, and how she did this,
and won out, is well related in "The Girl from Sunset Ranch; Or, Alone in
a Great City."
This is one of the finest of Amy Bell Marlowe's books, with its
true-to-life scenes of the plains and mountains, and of the great
metropolis. Helen is a girl all readers will love from the start.
Published by Grosset & Dunlap, New York, and for sale by booksellers
everywhere.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WYN'S CAMPING DAYS
"Oh, girls, such news!" cried Wynifred Mallory to her chums, one day. "We
can go camping on Lake Honotonka! Isn't it grand!"
It certainly was, and the members of the Go-Ahead Club were delighted.
Soon they set off, with their boy friends to keep them company in another
camp not far away. Those boys played numerous tricks on the girls, and the
girls retaliated, you may be sure. And then Wyn did a strange girl a
favor, and learned how some ancient statues of rare value had been lost in
the lake, and how the girl's father was accused of stealing them.
"We must do all we can for that girl," said Wyn. But this was not so easy,
for the girl campers had many troubles of their own. They had canoe races,
and one of them fell overboard and came close to drowning, and then came a
big storm, and a nearby tree was struck by lightning.
"I used to love to go camping when a girl, and I love to go yet," said
Miss Marlowe, in speaking of this tale, which is called, "Wyn's Camping
Days; Or, The Outing of the Go-Ahead Club." "I think all girls ought to
know the pleasures of summer life under canvas."
A book that ought to be in the hands of all girls. Issued by Grosset &
Dunlap, New York, and for sale by booksellers everywhere.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Girl from Sunset Ranch, by Amy Bell Marlowe