There was joyous laughter at this, followed by remarks from Martin and Alfred of a rather sarcastic character, such as “Give it to him, Jimmie! Give him a bump in the ribs!”
“I am going to have the woods patrolled, hereafter, in the summer time,” observed the major, “and all dangerous characters will be excluded. The next time we have a house party there will be no tramps to threaten my guests.”
“By the way,” said Stephen, “the giant tramp is in the hospital now. He was drunk when the fire started, and fell asleep. He was badly burned and almost suffocated, but his poor, long-suffering wife managed to save him somehow. The other two had left him to die.”
“Will you have him arrested when he gets well, Major?” asked Ruth.
“No,” replied the major, somewhat confused.“I suppose I should, but he tells me he was despoiled of his living by a dishonest master, and I have concluded to make it up to him for being richer than he is by giving him something to do. We have several farms back in the country and I have put him in charge of the smallest one. It seems that farming is the very thing he wants to do more than anything else in life. He will have to travel a good distance before he can get anything to drink, and his wife is the happiest woman over the prospect you ever saw.”
“Major, major!” protested Miss Sallie. “What will you do next?”
“Ah, well,” exclaimed the major, “it is good to be able to give a man a chance to earn an honest living, especially if he wants to take it. And, when this poor wretch heard about that bit of land and little cottage back yonder in the hills, he looked as if he had had a glimpse of heaven. His wife told me that he had really tried, again and again to find something to do; but indoor life was very irksome to him because he had been brought up on a farm, and working in factories and foundries had been his undoing.”
“Stephen, how do you feel about it?” asked Alfred. “He was your opponent in the fight, you know.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” replied Stephen. “He didn’t give me a black eye, and I am glad forhim to earn an honest living. Uncle’s a brick.”
When the meal was over Major Ten Eyck rose from the table, clearing his throat as if he were about to make a speech, which indeed he was.
“I have something to say before this party breaks up, for myself and the boys. We want to express to you, how deeply grateful we feel to you, Miss Sallie and ‘The Automobile Girls,’ for what you have done for us.
“You have saved our old home for us, at the risk of your own precious lives, and there is nothing we can really do or say to show how much we appreciate it. The place has been in the family ever since there were any Ten Eycks to live in it. I was born here and I love it, and I hope to end my days here——”
“Don’t speak as if you were on the brink of the grave, Major, I beg of you,” protested Miss Sallie. “You are not many years older than I am, and I certainly will not allow such mournful thoughts to trouble me so soon.”
“You will always be young, Sallie,” replied the gallant major.
“You are nothing but a boy yourself, John,” replied Miss Stuart, blushing in spite of herself, while the young people exchanged stealthy smiles at these elderly compliments.
“I was saying,” continued the major, who remained standingto finish his speech, “that there was nothing we could do, the boys and I, to show how we feel in this matter. But when you wear these little ornaments” (here the major handed Miss Sallie and each of the girls a little jeweler’s box) “we hope you will remember that we are your devoted friends always. It was Stephen’s idea, and there was not much time to get them, but the jeweler undertook a rush order for us, and I hope they are all right.”
“Hurray!” cried Jimmie, rolling his napkin into a ball and tossing it into the air.
There were cries of pleasure when the boxes gave up their treasures, small gold firemen’s helmets studded with pearls and a row of rubies on the curve of the brim.
As if this were not enough, John came in with a tray of bouquets, each one different, as on a former occasion. The major had picked and arranged the flowers himself for Miss Sallie and “The Automobile Girls,” as a last reminder of Ten Eyck Hall, he said.
“It is worth while going into the firemen’s business, if one is to be so well repaid,” exclaimed Ruth.
Bab felt particularly rich in souvenirs of her visit, with a picture of a new and hitherto unknown great-aunt, a ring and a beautiful pin.
“We are all much too excited to thank you properly, Major,” she said.
“I don’t want any thanks, my dear child,” replied the major. “I wish to avoid them.”
“Somebody should make a speech,” cried Jimmie’s voice above the jollity. “I think I’ll be the one.” He cleared his throat. “Major John Ten Eyck,” he said bowing toward the major, “I know these young ladies appreciate deeply the handsome souvenirs you have bestowed upon them, but youth and inexperience have tied their tongues. However, mine is loosened and I wish to thank you a thousand times for the souvenirs which I also am carrying away from Ten Eyck Hall, namely my beautiful ruby nose and my blue enameled eyes.”
There was more laughter and more exchange of jokes and fun, when Martin who had slipped out of the room for a moment, returned with a small bundle which he handed to Jimmie.
“We’ll give you a booby prize, Jimmie,” he said, “since the ladies have been awarded the first prize.”
Jimmie opened the bundle and drew forth a boxing glove which he put on immediately and chased Martin out of the room. This was the signal for the breaking up of the lunch party.
The boxes and suit cases were already piled in their accustomed place on the back of thecar and there was nothing for the girls to do but to pin on their hats and veils, slip on their silk dusters and go.
The servants had lined up in the hall to say good-bye. José had begged to be permitted to remain downstairs until after the visitors had gone. As the automobiles sped down the avenue, the major, standing by the sick boy’s cot, waved good-bye from the piazza.
Only Bab saw another handkerchief waving its pathetic farewell from a window in the right wing. She gave an answering wave with her own little handkerchief which she hoped the old man would not miss.
“Good-bye to Ten Eyck Hall,” she said to herself as she looked back at the beautiful old house. “You are full of tragic memories, but I love you and I would have risked much to have saved you from crumbling to a heap of ashes.”
As they passed over the bridge and came to the crossroads by the woods, they were stopped by blind Jennie, who silently presented Bab and Ruth each with a small cross she herself had carved from wood. Then to Bab she gave a beautiful bunch of yellow roses, which the hermit had begged the girl to accept with his best wishes.
In spite of the strange chain of events following so closely on each other’s heels, “The Automobile Girls” had only pleasant memories of Ten Eyck Hall and its occupants.
Among their trips they counted this as one of the most interesting, but Ruth, who was ever planning future surprises, had a plan that would outdo all other visits. This was nothing less than a journey to her own home, Chicago.
This excursion, every moment of which was to throb with interest for our four girls, involved the attempt to discover a hidden treasure buried in what had once been the prairie home of an old Illinois family. These adventures, with exciting scenes on the Stock Exchange where Barbara Thurston learned of a plot to ruin her friends, and much more, all is vividly described in the next volume of this series:
“The Automobile Girls at Chicago; or, Winning Out Against Heavy Odds.”
THE END.
THE END.
Henry Altemus Company’s Catalogue Of
THE BEST AND LEAST EXPENSIVE BOOKS
FOR REAL BOYS AND GIRLS
Really good and new stories for boys and girls are not plentiful. Many stories, too, are so highly improbable as to bring a grin of derision to the young reader’s face before he has gone far. The name of ALTEMUS is a distinctive brand on the cover of a book, always ensuring the buyer of having a book that is up-to-date and fine throughout. No buyer of an ALTEMUS book is ever disappointed.
Many are the claims made as to the inexpensiveness of books. Go into any bookstore and ask for an Altemus book. Compare the price charged you for Altemus books with the price demanded for other juvenile books. You will at once discover that a given outlay of money will buy more of the ALTEMUS books than of those published by other houses.
Every dealer in books carries the ALTEMUS books.
Sold by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price
Henry Altemus Company
507-513 Cherry Street, Philadelphia
The Motor Boat Club Series
By H. IRVING HANCOCK
The keynote of these books is manliness. The stories are wonderfully entertaining, and they are at the same time sound and wholesome. No boy will willingly lay down an unfinished book in this series.
1 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB OF THE KENNEBEC; Or, The Secret of Smugglers’ Island.
2 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB AT NANTUCKET; Or, The Mystery of the Dunstan Heir.
3 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB OFF LONG ISLAND; Or, A Daring Marine Game at Racing Speed.
4 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB AND THE WIRELESS; Or, The Dot, Dash and Dare Cruise.
5 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB IN FLORIDA; Or, Laying the Ghost of Alligator Swamp.
6 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB AT THE GOLDEN GATE; Or, A Thrilling Capture in the Great Fog.
7 THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB ON THE GREAT LAKES; Or, The Flying Dutchman of the Big Fresh Water.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
The Range and Grange Hustlers
By FRANK GEE PATCHIN
Have you any idea of the excitements, the glories of life on great ranches in the West? Any bright boy will “devour” the books of this series, once he has made a start with the first volume.
1 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS ON THE RANCH; Or, The Boy Shepherds of the Great Divide.
2 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS’ GREATEST ROUND-UP; Or, Pitting Their Wits Against a Packers’ Combine.
3 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS ON THE PLAINS; Or, Following the Steam Plows Across the Prairie.
4 THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS AT CHICAGO; Or, The Conspiracy of the Wheat Pit.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
Submarine Boys Series
By VICTOR G. DURHAM
These splendid books for boys and girls deal with life aboard submarine torpedo boats, and with the adventures of the young crew, and possess, in addition to the author’s surpassing knack of story-telling, a great educational value for all young readers.
1 THE SUBMARINE BOYS ON DUTY; Or, Life on a Diving Torpedo Boat.
2 THE SUBMARINE BOYS’ TRIAL TRIP; Or, “Making Good” as Young Experts.
3 THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE MIDDIES; Or, The Prize Detail at Annapolis.
4 THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE SPIES; Or, Dodging the Sharks of the Deep.
5 THE SUBMARINE BOYS’ LIGHTNING CRUISE; Or, The Young Kings of the Deep.
6 THE SUBMARINE BOYS FOR THE FLAG; Or, Deeding Their Lives to Uncle Sam.
7 THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE SMUGGLERS; Or, Breaking Up the New Jersey Customs Frauds.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
The Square Dollar Boys Series
By H. IRVING HANCOCK
The reading boy will be a voter within a few years; these books are bound to make him think, and when he casts his vote he will do it more intelligently for having read these volumes.
1 THE SQUARE DOLLAR BOYS WAKE UP; Or, Fighting the Trolley Franchise Steal.
2 THE SQUARE DOLLAR BOYS SMASH THE RING; Or, In the Lists Against the Crooked Land Deal.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
Ben Lightbody Series
By WALTER BENHAM
1 BEN LIGHTBODY, SPECIAL; Or, Seizing His First Chance to Make Good.
2 BEN LIGHTBODY’S BIGGEST PUZZLE; Or, Running the Double Ghost to Earth.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
Pony Rider Boys Series
By FRANK GEE PATCHIN
These tales may be aptly described as those of a new Cooper. In every sense they belong to the best class of books for boys and girls.
1 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ROCKIES; Or, The Secret of the Lost Claim.
2 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN TEXAS; Or, The Veiled Riddle of the Plains.
3 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN MONTANA; Or, The Mystery of the Old Custer Trail.
4 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE OZARKS; Or, The Secret of Ruby Mountain.
5 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ALKALI; Or, Finding a Key to the Desert Maze.
6 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN NEW MEXICO; Or, The End of the Silver Trail.
7 THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON; Or, The Mystery of Bright Angel Gulch.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
The Boys of Steel Series
By JAMES R. MEARS
The author has made of these volumes a series of romances with scenes laid in the iron and steel world. Each book presents a vivid picture of some phase of this great industry. The information given is exact and truthful; above all, each story is full of adventure and fascination.
1 THE IRON BOYS IN THE MINES; Or, Starting at the Bottom of the Shaft.
2 THE IRON BOYS AS FOREMEN; Or, Heading the Diamond Drill Shift.
3 THE IRON BOYS ON THE ORE BOATS; Or, Roughing It on the Great Lakes.
4 THE IRON BOYS IN THE STEEL MILLS; Or, Beginning Anew in the Cinder Pits.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
West Point Series
By H. IRVING HANCOCK
The principal characters in these narratives are manly, young Americans whose doings will inspire all boy readers.
1 DICK PRESCOTT’S FIRST YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, Two Chums in the Cadet Gray.
2 DICK PRESCOTT’S SECOND YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, Finding the Glory of the Soldier’s Life.
3 DICK PRESCOTT’S THIRD YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, Standing Firm for Flag and Honor.
4 DICK PRESCOTT’S FOURTH YEAR AT WEST POINT; Or, Ready to Drop the Gray for Shoulder Straps.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
Annapolis Series
By H. IRVING HANCOCK
The Spirit of the new Navy is delightfully and truthfully depicted in these volumes.
1 DAVE DARRIN’S FIRST YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, Two Plebe Midshipmen at the U. S. Naval Academy.
2 DAVE DARRIN’S SECOND YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, Two Midshipmen as Naval Academy “Youngsters.”
3 DAVE DARRIN’S THIRD YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, Leaders of the Second Class Midshipmen.
4 DAVE DARRIN’S FOURTH YEAR AT ANNAPOLIS; Or, Headed for Graduation and the Big Cruise.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
The Young Engineers Series
By H. IRVING HANCOCK
The heroes of these stories are known to readers of the High School Boys Series. In this new series Tom Reade and Harry Hazelton prove worthy of all the traditions of Dick & Co.
1 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN COLORADO; Or, At Railroad Building in Earnest.
2 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN ARIZONA; Or, Laying Tracks on the “Man-Killer” Quicksand.
3 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN NEVADA; Or, Seeking Fortune on the Turn of a Pick.
4 THE YOUNG ENGINEERS IN MEXICO; Or, Fighting the Mine Swindlers.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
Boys of the Army Series
By H. IRVING HANCOCK
These books breathe the life and spirit of the United States Army of to-day, and the life, just as it is, is described by a master pen.
1 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS IN THE RANKS; Or, Two Recruits in the United States Army.
2 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS ON FIELD DUTY; Or, Winning Corporal’s Chevrons.
3 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS AS SERGEANTS; Or, Handling Their First Real Commands.
4 UNCLE SAM’S BOYS IN THE PHILIPPINES; Or, Following the Flag Against the Moros.
(Other volumes to follow rapidly.)
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
Battleship Boys Series
By FRANK GEE PATCHIN
These stories throb with the life of young Americans on to-day’s huge drab Dreadnaughts.
1 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS AT SEA; Or, Two Apprentices in Uncle Sam’s Navy.
2 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS FIRST STEP UPWARD; Or, Winning Their Grades as Petty Officers.
3 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS IN FOREIGN SERVICE; Or, Earning New Ratings in European Seas.
4 THE BATTLESHIP BOYS IN THE TROPICS; Or, Upholding the American Flag in a Honduras Revolution.
(Other volumes to follow rapidly.)
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
The Meadow-Brook Girls Series
By JANET ALDRIDGE
Real live stories pulsing with the vibrant atmosphere of outdoor life.
1 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS UNDER CANVAS; Or, Fun and Frolic in the Summer Camp.
2 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ACROSS COUNTRY; Or, The Young Pathfinders on a Summer Hike.
3 THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS AFLOAT; Or, The Stormy Cruise of the Red Rover.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
High School Boys Series
By H. IRVING HANCOCK
In this series of bright, crisp books a new note has been struck. Boys of every age under sixty will be interested in these fascinating volumes.
1 THE HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMEN; Or, Dick & Co.’s First Year Pranks and Sports.
2 THE HIGH SCHOOL PITCHER; Or, Dick & Co. on the Gridley Diamond.
3 THE HIGH SCHOOL LEFT END; Or, Dick & Co. Grilling on the Football Gridiron.
4 THE HIGH SCHOOL CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM; Or, Dick & Co. Leading the Athletic Vanguard.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
Grammar School Boys Series
By H. IRVING HANCOCK
This series of stories, based on the actual doings of grammar school boys, comes near to the heart of the average American boy.
1 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS OF GRIDLEY; Or, Dick & Co. Start Things Moving.
2 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS SNOWBOUND; Or, Dick & Co. at Winter Sports.
3 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS IN THE WOODS; Or, Dick & Co. Trail Fun and Knowledge.
4 THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOYS IN SUMMER ATHLETICS; Or, Dick & Co. Make Their Fame Secure.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
High School Boys’ Vacation Series
By H. IRVING HANCOCK
“Give us more Dick Prescott books!”
This has been the burden of the cry from young readers of the country over. Almost numberless letters have been received by the publishers, making this eager demand; for Dick Prescott, Dave Darrin, Tom Reade, and the other members of Dick & Co. are the most popular high school boys in the land. Boys will alternately thrill and chuckle when reading these splendid narratives.
1 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ CANOE CLUB; Or, Dick & Co.’s Rivals on Lake Pleasant.
2 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS IN SUMMER CAMP; Or, The Dick Prescott Six Training for the Gridley Eleven.
3 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ FISHING TRIP; Or, Dick & Co. in the Wilderness.
4 THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ TRAINING HIKE; Or, Dick & Co. Making Themselves “Hard as Nails.”
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
The Circus Boys Series
By EDGAR B. P. DARLINGTON
Mr. Darlington’s books breathe forth every phase of an intensely interesting and exciting life.
1 THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE FLYING RINGS; Or, Making the Start in the Sawdust Life.
2 THE CIRCUS BOYS ACROSS THE CONTINENT; Or, Winning New Laurels on the Tanbark.
3 THE CIRCUS BOYS IN DIXIE LAND; Or, Winning the Plaudits of the Sunny South.
4 THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE MISSISSIPPI; Or, Afloat with the Big Show on the Big River.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
The High School Girls Series
By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A. M.
These breezy stories of the American High School Girl take the reader fairly by storm.
1 GRACE HARLOWE’S PLEBE YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; Or, The Merry Doings of the Oakdale Freshman Girls.
2 GRACE HARLOWE’S SOPHOMORE YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; Or, The Record of the Girl Chums in Work and Athletics.
3 GRACE HARLOWE’S JUNIOR YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; Or, Fast Friends in the Sororities.
4 GRACE HARLOWE’S SENIOR YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; Or, The Parting of the Ways.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.
The Automobile Girls Series
By LAURA DENT CRANE
No girl’s library—no family book-case can be considered at all complete unless it contains these sparkling twentieth-century books.
1 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT NEWPORT; Or, Watching the Summer Parade.
2 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS IN THE BERKSHIRES; Or, The Ghost of Lost Man’s Trail.
3 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS ALONG THE HUDSON; Or, Fighting Fire in Sleepy Hollow.
4 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT CHICAGO; Or, Winning Out Against Heavy Odds.
5 THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT PALM BEACH; Or, Proving Their Mettle Under Southern Skies.
Cloth, Illustrated
Price, per Volume, 50c.