VOCATIONAL
“My dear child! How well you are looking!” drawled Mrs. Severn, just
as though she had seen Beth only the week before and that their
intercourse had been quite calm and placid.
Beth did not know just what to say; so, as Ella would have remarked,
“she said it with a vengeance!” She stood perfectly still.
“My nephew, Roland, keeps me posted regarding you, my dear,” continued
the lady.
“Ah--indeed? I have not seen Mr. Severn for a fortnight, I believe,”
said Beth, feeling vastly uncomfortable.
“Oh, my dear! Then you haven’t heard the news,” cried Mrs. Severn.
“What news?” asked Beth.
“About poor Mr. Montague. About my poor parrot,” said the lady.
“I have heard nothing about the parrot--no,” admitted Beth.
“Why, we took up that heavy carpet in my room ten days ago and what do
you think?”
“Oh, Mrs. Severn!” exclaimed Beth, suddenly interested and excited.
“Did you find----?”
“Ever so many things I had missed--yes,” said the lady, complacently.
“The poor dear had been taking and hiding things under the edge of the
carpet, along the mopboard under the windows. That sunburst of mine was
found right under the bay window. Wasn’t that funny?”
Beth thought of the grief and shame the loss of the sunburst had caused
her, and she could not, for the life of her, extract an iota of humor
from the fact.
“But that was just like the wretched creature,” went on Mrs. Severn.
“Will you believe it? That parrot had deceived me for years and years.
Quite twenty years I have owned him. But now I have sent him away for
good.”
And the selfish old woman drove away, leaving Beth something to be
thankful for, but feeling that Mrs. Ricardo Severn was a very unfeeling
person.
The graduation of Beth and her classmates was really a very pretty
occasion; Miss Hammersly declared (as usual) that no finer class of
girls had ever left her rooftree.
Rivercliff was crowded on that day, and the great central room of the
gymnasium was used for the dance and reception at night. Of course,
everybody was present--including the perfect number in aunts.
Likewise, Mrs. Baldwin came as the guest of Mrs. Haven.
Really, to see and hear Mrs. Haven one might have thought that “our
Beth” was her daughter instead of Priscilla Baldwin’s oldest child.
“And do you remember, Priscilla,” said Larry’s mother, wiping her eyes
when the blue-ribboned diplomas were given out, “how we planned, years
and years ago, that my Larry and your eldest girl should marry?”
“That was a long time ago,” said Mrs. Baldwin, rather primly.
“But they do make a wonderfully good looking couple together,”
whispered Mrs. Haven a little later, when Larry stood with a group of
the girls, which included another of the graduation day guests--Miss
Freylinghausen. Cynthia had one arm around Beth and another around
Molly, and looked to be enjoying herself.
Before the dancing began that evening, Larry sent up word to Number
Eighty where Beth had served tea, to ask that the occupant of that room
would give him a few moments of her time. And Beth tripped down in her
new evening frock in answer to the summons. Evidently, Larry had laid
his plans with wit and judgment. He led her into the madam’s room--and
it was empty.
“See what I have for you to-night, Beth,” he said, eyeing her
laughingly, yet admiringly. He opened the box he carried and displayed
its contents.
“With the compliments and love,” he said, his voice shaking a little,
“of Mrs. Euphemia Haven--God bless her! Your Great-grandmother’s
corals, Beth. They are to be yours again. She never intended to keep
them for herself, but wants you to have them back now to wear--and for
your very own.”
Beth looked at him--looked away--tried to say something, and Larry
added, softly:
“You can’t refuse them, Beth--you can’t. You would quite break the
Mater’s heart, dear--and mine!”
* * * * *
“How long are you really going to teach school, Beth?” demanded Ella
some weeks later, after Beth had been to the State capital and passed
her examination before the school board.
“Two years at least, my dear.”
“My goodness! do you suppose Larry will ever wait that long?”
“Larry will have to wait, my dear,” said the elder sister, firmly.
Then her eyes suddenly sparkled. “He must wait, at least, until he can
accomplish one particular thing.”
“What is that?” the flyaway sister demanded.
“Until he can afford to pay the cook’s wages out of his earnings as a
‘limb o’ the law.’”
It was about this time, too, in the lazy summer following Beth’s
graduation that she received a letter from Molly Granger, in which was
the following:
“So he agrees we are to wait till Captain John comes home to marry
Aunt Carrie, and then we shall have a double wedding. At least two of
‘the Granger girls’ will not die old maids.
“I am awfully glad, Beth Baldwin, that you went to work for Mrs.
Ricardo Severn. Otherwise, I am quite sure that I would never expect
soon to sign myself, ‘Mrs. Roland Severn, née J. Molly Granger, no
longer F. W.’”
“What’s the good, I want to know,” said Marcus Baldwin, one night,
evidently having thought hard and long upon the problem, “for you girls
to go in for the highbrow ed. and then get married right smack off?”
“Not marrying ‘right smack off!’” denied Ella, vigorously. “Our Beth is
going to teach at least two years.”
“Well, that jolly girl isn’t.”
“She’s going to teach after she is married, and so is Mr. Severn,”
laughed Beth, “unless Mrs. Ricardo Severn remembers him very liberally
indeed.”
“Well, a whole lot of you higher-ed. girls do marry right off,”
repeated Marcus.
“And why not? We’re better fitted for life, no matter what it brings
to us, if we have had a good education. Oh,” declared Beth, now quite
grown up, “I am not sorry that I fulfilled my resolve.”
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.
THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH SERIES
By GERTRUDE W. MORRISON
12mo. CLOTH, ILLUSTRATED. PRICE PER VOLUME 40 CENTS, POSTPAID
Here is a series full of the spirit of high school life of to-day. The
girls are real flesh-and-blood characters, and we follow them with
interest in school and out. There are many contested matches on track
and field, and on the water, as well as doings in the classroom and on
the school stage. There is plenty of fun and excitement, all clean,
pure and wholesome.
THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH
Or Rivals for all Honors.
A stirring tale of high school life, full of fun, with a touch of
mystery and a strange initiation.
THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH ON LAKE LUNA
Or The Crew That Won.
Telling of water sports and fun galore, and of fine times in camp.
THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH AT BASKETBALL
Or The Great Gymnasium Mystery.
Here we have a number of thrilling contests at basket-ball and in
addition, the solving of a mystery which had bothered the high school
authorities for a long while.
THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH ON THE STAGE
Or The Play That Took the Prize.
How the girls went in for theatricals and how one of them wrote a play
which afterward was made over for the professional stage and brought in
some much-needed money.
THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH ON TRACK AND FIELD
Or The Girl Champions of the School League
This story takes in high school athletics in their most approved and
up-to-date fashion. Full of fun and excitement.
THE GIRLS OF CENTRAL HIGH IN CAMP
Or The Old Professor’s Secret.
The girls went camping on Acorn Island and had a delightful time at
boating, swimming and picnic parties.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES
By LAURA LEE HOPE
AUTHOR OF THE EVER POPULAR “BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS”
12mo. CLOTH ILLUSTRATED PRICE PER VOLUME 40 CENTS, POSTPAID
These tales take in the various adventures participated in by several
bright, up-to-date girls who love outdoor life. They are clean and
wholesome, free from sensationalism, absorbing from the first chapter
to the last.
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE
Or Camping and Tramping for Fun and Health.
Telling how the girls organized their Camping and Tramping Club, how
they went on a tour, and of various adventures which befell them.
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE
Or Stirring Cruise of the Motor Boat Gem.
One of the girls becomes the proud possessor of a motor boat and at
once invites her club members to take a trip with her down the river to
Rainbow Lake, a beautiful sheet of water lying between the mountains.
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR
Or The Haunted Mansion of Shadow Valley.
One of the girls has learned to run a big motor-car, and she invites
the club to go on a tour with her, to visit some distant relatives. On
the way they stop at a deserted mansion, said to be haunted and make a
most surprising discovery.
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP
Or Glorious Days on Skates and Ice Boats.
In this story, the scene is shifted to a winter season. The girls have
some jolly times skating and ice boating, and visit a hunters’ camp in
the big woods.
THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA
Or Wintering in the Sunny South.
The parents of one of the girls have bought an orange grove in Florida,
and her companions are invited to visit the place. They do so, and take
a trip into the wilds of the interior, where several unusual things
happen.
GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST. NEW YORK
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.
The cover image for this eBook was created by the transcriber and is
entered into the public domain.