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The Camp Fire Girls Solve a Mystery; Or, The Christmas Adventure at Carver House

Hildegard G. Frey

expected to see a grim-faced, resolute-looking man, and Hinpoha confided afterward that her mental picture had included a pair of pistols sticking out of his pockets. The early portrait of "Tad the Terror," in Uncle Jasper's diary, had been slightly misleading in regard to his appearance. Nyoda saw Dr. Phillips' eyes fixed, with a sorrowful expression, upon the portrait of Uncle Jasper above the library fireplace, and she guessed what bitter pangs the breaking up of that friendship had cost him; guessed also, that he had held no such bitter feeling against Jasper Carver as the master of Carver House had held against him, and understanding the characters of the two men, she saw why it was that Sylvia Warrington had preferred the one to the other. Over by the fireplace, Justice was teasing Katherine unmercifully about the lobster croquettes, while behind her back the Captain had taken one of the broken feathers from her hat and was tickling Slim with it, who had fallen asleep in his chair. The clock on the stairway chimed four. An irrepressible attack of yawning seized the whole party, and with one impulse the Winnebagos began to steal toward the stairway. "Well," said Katherine, with a sigh of deep content, as she went wearily up the stairs leaning on Migwan's shoulder, "well, this is the end of a perfect day!" CHAPTER XXI FATHER AND DAUGHTER In the morning Sylvia was so much better that Nyoda allowed her to sit up out of bed, and there, sitting beside the wheel chair which was to be the throne of the little princess all her life, she told Sylvia the story of her parentage. For a moment Sylvia sat as if turned to stone; then with a cry of unbelieving ecstasy, she clasped the picture of Sylvia Warrington to her heart. "My mother!" Nyoda stole out softly and left the two of them together. * * * * * * * Later on in the afternoon there was a lively bustle of preparation in Sylvia's room. The great carved armchair that had served as throne on the night of the party had been brought up from the library, and once more covered with its purple velvet draperies. Sylvia, whose romantic fancy had seized eagerly upon the immense dramatic possibilities of the occasion, had insisted upon being arrayed as the princess when her father should come in to see her. "The king is coming! The king is coming!" she exclaimed every few moments. "Array me in my most splendid robes, for my royal father, the king, is coming!" Thrills of excitement, like little needle pricks, ran up and down her spine; her whole being seemed alight with some wonderful inner radiance, that shone through the flesh and transfigured it with unearthly beauty. Nyoda brought the fairy-like white dress and draped it about her, playing the rôle of lady-in-waiting with spirit. Every time she passed before Sylvia she bowed low; she made the Winnebagos stand up in a line and pass in the bracelets from hand to hand; she herself brought in the crown on a cushion, and placed it upon Sylvia's head with much ceremony. "Doesn't she look like a real royal princess, though!" Migwan exclaimed to Hinpoha in the far end of the room. "I feel actually abashed before her, knowing all the while that it's only playing." "O, if she could only have been cured!" Hinpoha sighed in answer. "How much jollier it would have been!" Migwan echoed the sigh. "Life is very strange," she said musingly. "Things don't always come out the way we want them to." "That's so," said Hinpoha, beginning to see a great many sober possibilities in life which had never before occurred to her. An automobile horn sounded outside. "There's Sherry now, bringing Dr. Phillips back from their ride," said Migwan. "They'll be coming up in a few minutes." The horn sounded again. "The royal trumpeter!" cried Sylvia. "Our royal father, the king, approaches!" She settled the crown more firmly upon her head, and sat up very straight on her throne. Her cheeks glowed like roses; her eyes were like great stars. Nyoda watched her keenly for any signs of being overcome with excitement. From the hall came the sound of footsteps. "His Majesty, the King," said Nyoda, throwing open the door with a dramatic flourish. For a moment Dr. Phillips stood transfixed upon the threshold, overcome by the scene of splendor within. Then he held out his arms to her, forgetting that she was paralyzed. "Sylvia--daughter!" "Father!" Then the amazing thing happened. Sylvia rose to her feet, stepped from the throne, and ran across the room into her father's arms. "It happens sometimes," explained Dr. Phillips a few moments later, when they had all recovered from their first stupefied amazement. "Some great shock, and the paralyzed nerves wake to life again. That is what has taken place here. She is cured." CHAPTER XXII ONE MORE TOAST "To the Christmas Adventure at Carver House!" proposed Katherine, raising on high her glass of fruit punch. New Year's dinner was over, and they all stood in their places around the table, drinking toast after toast. "The Christmas Adventure at Carver House!" echoed the Winnebagos. "The best adventure we've had yet. Drink her down!" The toast was drunk with a will. Sylvia stood beside her father, her face one big sparkle, while a more subdued, but equally rapturous, gleam shone from the doctor's eye as he gazed on the adored child from whom he need never more be separated. The Captain stood opposite Hinpoha and gave her a long look as he touched her glass, as if he wished to fix every detail of her in his mind against the separation that was coming on the morrow; Slim also had his eyes turned toward Hinpoha as he clicked glasses with Gladys across the table. Justice gave Katherine's glass a little nudge as he touched it, to attract her attention, for she had her face turned away from him toward Sylvia; Sahwah's eye had a far-away look as she matched with Migwan. Nyoda and Sherry beamed impartially upon them all, and Hercules smacked his lips over his glass in the corner by himself. Hercules had abandoned his intention of dying, and announced that he was planning to get himself another goat, because life was too uneventful for a man of his vigor without something to fuss over and take up his time. "And it all happened because Katherine forgot Nyoda's name!" said Sahwah, setting her glass down. "I wasn't born in vain after all!" laughed Katherine, meeting Justice's eye bent upon her in a close, quizzical scrutiny. "Which goes to prove," said Nyoda, "that everything has its use in this world, even our shortcomings. Let's celebrate that discovery. We have drunk to the memory of Uncle Jasper Carver and to the memory of Sylvia Warrington; we have drunk to the memory of the man who built Carver House with the secret passage; we have one swallow of punch left. Let's drink one more toast, not to the _memory_ of Katherine Adams, but to her _forgettory_!" And amid a great shout of laughter the last toast was drunk. THE END The Girl Comrade's Series ALL AMERICAN AUTHORS. ALL COPYRIGHT STORIES. A carefully selected series of books for girls, written by popular authors. These are charming stories for young girls, well told and full of interest. Their simplicity, tenderness, healthy, interesting motives, vigorous action, and character painting will please all girl readers. HANDSOME CLOTH BINDING. PRICE, 60 CENTS. A BACHELOR MAID AND HER BROTHER. By I. T. Thurston. ALL ABOARD. A Story For Girls. By Fanny E. Newberry. ALMOST A GENIUS. A Story For Girls. By Adelaide L. Rouse. ANNICE WYNKOOP, Artist. Story of a Country Girl. By Adelaide L. Rouse. BUBBLES. A Girl's Story. By Fannie E. Newberry. COMRADES. By Fannie E. Newberry. DEANE GIRLS, THE. A Home Story. By Adelaide L. Rouse. HELEN BEATON, COLLEGE WOMAN. By Adelaide L. Rouse. JOYCE'S INVESTMENTS. A Story For Girls. By Fannie E. Newberry. MELLICENT RAYMOND. A Story For Girls. By Fannie E. Newberry. MISS ASHTON'S NEW PUPIL. A School Girl's Story. By Mrs. S. S. Robbins. NOT FOR PROFIT. A Story For Girls. By Fannie E. Newberry. ODD ONE, THE. A Story For Girls. By Fannie E. Newberry. SARA, A PRINCESS. A Story For Girls. By Fannie E. Newberry. For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 East 23d Street, New York The Girl Chum's Series ALL AMERICAN AUTHORS. ALL COPYRIGHT STORIES. A carefully selected series of books for girls, written by popular authors. These are charming stories for young girls, well told and full of interest. Their simplicity, tenderness, healthy, interesting motives, vigorous action, and character painting will please all girl readers. HANDSOME CLOTH BINDING. PRICE, 60 CENTS. BENHURST, CLUB, THE. By Howe Benning. BERTHA'S SUMMER BOARDERS. By Linnie S. Harris. BILLOW PRAIRIE. A Story of Life in the Great West. By Joy Allison. DUXBERRY DOINGS. A New England Story. By Caroline B. Le Row. FUSSBUDGET'S FOLKS. A Story For Young Girls. By Anna F. Burnham. HAPPY DISCIPLINE, A. By Elizabeth Cummings. JOLLY TEN, THE; and Their Year of Stories. By Agnes Carr Sage. KATIE ROBERTSON. A Girl's Story of Factory Life. By M. E. Winslow. LONELY HILL. A Story For Girls. By M. L. Thornton-Wilder. MAJORIBANKS. A Girl's Story. By Elvirton Wright. MISS CHARITY'S HOUSE. By Howe Benning. MISS ELLIOT'S GIRLS. A Story For Young Girls. By Mary Spring Corning. MISS MALCOLM'S TEN. A Story For Girls. By Margaret E. Winslow. ONE GIRL'S WAY OUT. By Howe Benning. PEN'S VENTURE. By Elvirton Wright. RUTH PRENTICE. A Story For Girls. By Marian Thorne. THREE YEARS AT GLENWOOD. A Story of School Life. By M. E. Winslow. For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers. A. L. BURT COMPANY, 114-120 East 23d Street, New York The Camp Fire Girls Series By HILDEGARD G. FREY. The only series of stories for Camp Fire Girls endorsed by the officials of the Camp Fire Girls' Organization. Handsome Cloth Binding. Price, 60 Cents per Volume. THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN THE MAINE WOODS; or, The Winnebagos go Camping. This lively Camp Fire group and their Guardian go back to Nature in a camp in the wilds of Maine and pile up more adventures in one summer than they have had in all their previous vacations put together. THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT SCHOOL; or, The Wohelo Weavers. How these seven live wire girls strive to infuse into their school life the spirit of Work, Health and Love and yet manage to get into more than their share of mischief, is told in this story. THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT ONOWAY HOUSE; or, The Magic Garden. Migwan is determined to go to college, and not being strong enough to work indoors earns the money by raising fruits and vegetables. The Winnebagos all turn a hand to help the cause along and the "goingson" at Onoway House that summer make the foundation shake with laughter. THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS GO MOTORING; or, Along the Road That Leads the Way. In which the Winnebagos take a thousand mile auto trip. THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS' LARKS AND PRANKS; or, The House of the Open Door. THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS ON ELLEN'S ISLE; or, The Trail of the Seven Cedars.