The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Outdoor Girls in Florida, by Laura Lee Hope This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Outdoor Girls in Florida Or, Wintering in the Sunny South Author: Laura Lee Hope Release Date: September 17, 2006 [eBook #19311] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA*** E-text prepared by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Emmy, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) The Outdoor Girls In Florida OR WINTERING IN THE SUNNY SOUTH BY LAURA LEE HOPE Author of "The Outdoor Girls of Deepdale," "The Outdoor Girls in a Motor Car," "The Bobbsey Twins," "The Bobbsey Twins At School," Etc. ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS BOOKS FOR GIRLS BY LAURA LEE HOPE 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid. THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA THE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS For Little Men and Women THE BOBBSEY TWINS THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York Copyright, 1913, by Grosset & Dunlap. The Outdoor Girls in Florida "THAT'S A MANATEE—A SEA- COW SOME FOLKS CALL 'EM," ANSWERED THE YOUTH.—Page 126. The Outdoor Girls in Florida. CONTENTS chapter page I Bad News 1 II Good News 14 III Will's Letter 25 IV"Come Home!" 33 V Missing Again 41 VI An Appeal for Help 50 VII Off for Florida 59 VIII Launching the Boat 68 IX On a Sand Bar 75 X Doubtful Help 82 XI Into the Interior 93 XII A Warning 103 XIII A Strange Tow 108 XIV The Tattered Youth 118 XV The Two Men 126 XVI Suspicious Characters 132 XVII In Danger 139 XVIII Between Two Perils 147 XIX Lost 154 XX The Loon 163 XXI To the Rescue 169 XXII The Everglade Camp 177 XXIII The Escape 185 XXIV The Youth on the Raft 189 XXV Will Ford 196 THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA CHAPTER I BAD NEWS "Why, Grace, what in the world is the matter? You've been crying!" "Yes, I have, Betty. But don't mind me. It's all so sudden. Come in. I shall be all right presently. Don't mind!" Grace Ford tried to repress her emotion, but the cause of her tears was evidently too recent, or the effort at self- control too much for her, for she gave way to another outburst, sobbing this time on the shoulder of Betty Nelson, who patted her sympathetically, and murmured soothingly to her chum. "But what is it, Grace?" Betty asked, after waiting a minute. "I—I'll tell you in a moment or two, Betty. Just—just wait," and the tall, graceful girl made a more successful effort to master her feelings. "Here come Amy and Mollie," went on Betty, as she glanced from the library window and saw two girls walking up the path opened across the lawn through the mass of newly fallen snow. "Do you want to meet them, Grace; or shall I say you don't feel well—have a headache? They'll understand. And perhaps in a little while——" "No—no, Betty. It's sweet of you to want to help me; but Amy and Mollie might just as well know now as later. I'll be able to see them—in a little while. It—it's all so sudden." "But what does it all mean, Grace? I can't understand. Is anyone dead—or—or hurt?" and Betty Nelson, who had called at the house of Grace to talk over plans for a dance they were going to attend the following week, looked [1] [2] anxiously at her chum. Only the day before Grace had seemed like her nearly-always jolly self. She and her three chums, including Betty, had been down town shopping, and Grace, as usual, had indulged in chocolates—her one failing, if such it can be called. "Surely she can't be ill," thought Betty. "Ill from too many chocolates? I've seen her take twice as many as she did yesterday, and she doesn't look ill." With this half-formed thought in her mind Betty looked more critically at her chum. Aside from the tears—which seldom add to a girl's beauty—there was no change in Grace Ford. That is, no change except one caused by something rather mysterious, Betty thought—something that was hard for Grace to tell, but which had deeply affected her. There came a ring at the door. Betty started toward it from the library, where she and Grace had gone when Grace let her chum in a short time before. "Shall I answer, Grace?" inquired Betty, hesitating. "Yes, do, please. I think Katy is with mamma. She took the news very much to heart. Let Amy and Mollie in, and then I'll tell you all about it. Oh, but I don't know what to do!" "Now look here, Grace Ford!" exclaimed Betty briskly, pausing a moment on her way to the door. "You just stop this! If no one is dead, and no one is hurt, then it can't be so very dreadful. You just stop now, and when we all get together we'll help you in whatever trouble you have. You know that; don't you?" "Oh, yes, Betty, I do. You aren't the 'Little Captain' to all of us for nothing. I'll try and not cry any more." "Do. It—it isn't at all becoming. Your nose is positively like a—lobster!" "It is not, Betty Nelson!" Grace flared. "It certainly is. Look in the glass if you don't believe me. There—take my chamois and give it a little rub before I let in Amy and Mollie. It's only nice, clean talcum—you needn't think it's powder." "All right—as if talcum wasn't powder, though," and Grace smiled through the traces of her recent tears. "That's better," decided Betty, with a nod of her shapely head and a bright look from her sparkling eyes. "Yes, I'll be there in a moment," she called as there came another ring at the bell. "Shall I bring them right in, Grace?" she called over her shoulder, as she neared the door. "Yes—yes. I might as well—have it over with," faltered the weeping one. "Gracious, you'd think someone was going to be hanged, or beheaded, or sent to the galleys for life—or some other dreadful thing such as we read of in our ancient histories," commented Betty. "Cheer up, Grace. There may be worse to come." "It's awfully good of you, Betty, to try and cheer me, only, if you understood—but there—let them in. They must be perishing!" "Oh, it isn't so cold. You don't feel well, that's all. Hello, Amy—Mollie. Come in!" she greeted the other girls, at the same time endeavoring by nods and winks to convey some idea that all was not well with Grace. But if Betty hoped to convey a quiet intimation that something out of the ordinary had happened she did not succeed. In her eagerness to warn the newcomers not to ask questions she overdid it, and succeeded only in making them alarmed. "What—what is it?" asked Mollie, in a sort of stage whisper. "Oh, nothing like that," said Betty, seeing that she was only making matters worse. "Who—who is——" began Amy. "No one!" said Betty, half-sharply. "Don't put on such a mournful look, Amy. But Grace has had some bad news, I expect, so I let you in." "Bad news!" echoed Mollie. "What kind?" inquired Amy. "I don't know—yet. She's going to tell us." The two newcomers, divesting themselves of their rubbers, walked on tiptoe toward the library, preceded by Betty. The latter heard their cautious approach and turned on them quickly. "Nobody's asleep!" she exclaimed. "Why don't you act—naturally?" [3] [4] [5] [6] "Why don't you, yourself, Betty Nelson?" demanded Mollie Billette, quickly, her dark eyes flashing. "You meet us as if—as if something terrible had happened, and because we live up to the part, and behave ourselves, you——" "Hush, please," begged gentle Amy, for well she knew Mollie's failing—an exceedingly quick temper. "I beg your pardon," spoke Mollie, contritely. "I forgot myself." "That's all right," said Betty, with a smile. "I don't blame you. But we must all help Grace now. She feels very bad." As the three entered the library they saw their chum standing near a window, looking out over the snow-covered lawn. Grace did not turn at the approach of her friends. Then Amy stole softly up to her, and, reaching up her arms, tried to put them around Grace's neck. But Grace was tall, while Amy was rather short, so the little act of kindness could not be carried out. Mollie laughed a little. She could not help it. Amy flushed. She was rather sensitive on the point of her stature. "Don't mind them, Amy," said Grace quickly, as she turned about, placing her own arms around the other. "I know I am too tall, and I seem to keep on growing. Hello, Mollie dear. I'm so glad you came," and she kissed the two newcomers. Her eyes filled with tears again, seeing which Betty called out: "Now, Grace, remember you promised not to do that any more. Just be brave, and tell us all about it; that is, if we can help you in any manner." "I—I don't know whether you can or not," spoke Grace slowly, "but I'll tell you just the same. It's—it's about my brother Will!" She paused a moment, catching her breath as she gave this piece of information. "Has he—has he——" began Betty, hoping to make it easier for Grace to tell. "No, he hasn't done anything to attract public attention this time," went on Grace. "But he has run away." "Run away!" It was a surprised chorus from the three visitors. "Yes he has left Uncle Isaac's home—stopped work in the cotton mill, and gone—no one knows where." "Why, Grace!" exclaimed Mollie. "Do you really mean it?" Grace nodded. She could not speak for a moment. "How did it happen?" asked Betty. "Who told you?" Amy wanted to know. "Uncle Isaac himself told us," resumed Grace, after a pause. "As for how it happened we don't know yet. Uncle Isaac is on his way now to give us some particulars. He just telephoned to mamma, and that is what upset us all. I have sent for papa to come home from the office. He will be here to meet Uncle Isaac I hope. Oh, isn't it dreadful!" "But perhaps it is only some boyish prank," suggested Betty hopefully. "What are the particulars? Perhaps he has only gone off with some friends, and will come back again, just as he did the—other time." "The other time," as Betty called it was rather a delicate subject with the Ford family, for Will with some chums had gotten into a little difficulty not long before this story opens, and the present complication was an outcome of that. I shall describe them in order presently. "No, I don't believe it is a prank this time," went on Grace. "He has been gone some time, and we never knew it until Uncle Isaac mentioned it casually over the telephone. Oh, I wish he would come! We can't do a thing until we hear the particulars. Then papa will start an inquiry, I think. Poor Will! I hope he is not—not hurt!" and again Grace showed symptoms of tears. "Now stop that!" commanded the Little Captain sharply. "You know it does no good to worry. Wait until you have some real facts to go on." "Yes, do," urged Mollie. "But he isn't your brother," said Grace in retort. "How would you like it, Mollie Billette, if Paul should be missing some day?" "Oh, I'd feel dreadful, of course. But Paul and Dodo get into so many scrapes," she added, with a curious shrug of her shoulders, in which she betrayed her French ancestry—"so very many scrapes, my dears, that we are past being [7] [8] [9] shocked." But, for all Mollie spoke so lightly, she knew—and so did her chums—that should anything happen to the twins Mollie would be the first to show emotion. "Have you heard no word from Will himself?" asked Betty, after a pause. "Not a word, and that makes it seem all the worse. If we only had some word—something to go by, we might not feel so bad. But it came like a bolt out of a blue sky—what Uncle Isaac telephoned about an hour ago. He is down town attending to business, and he said he'd come up as soon as he could. He was surprised himself, to know that Will was not home." "Then he knew that he had left Atlanta?" asked Mollie. "Yes, but he supposed Will had started back home." "I'm afraid I don't exactly understand it all," said Amy in a low voice. "You know I've been away, and——" "Oh, of course!" exclaimed Grace. "I forgot that you had been off with that newly-found brother of yours. Well, you see, Amy, Will disgraced himself a while ago——" "I don't call it much of a disgrace," said Betty in defense of the absent one. "Well, papa did," said Grace. "I thought perhaps he was a little too severe on Will, but mamma said it was best to be severe at the start." "What did he do?" asked Amy. "I didn't hear all the particulars," went on Grace. "But you know that new Latin teacher the High School boys have —Professor Cark, his name is." Amy nodded. "Well, the boys didn't like him from the very start," proceeded Grace, "and I guess he didn't like the boys any too well. They played some tricks on him, and he retaliated by doubling up on their lessons. Then one night he was kidnapped—taken from his boarding place and hazed. It was nothing very bad, but the faculty held a meeting, and voted to expel all the boys concerned in it. Will was one, and papa was so angry that he said he would punish Will in a way he wouldn't forget. He said he'd take him out of school, before he'd have him expelled, and make him lose a term. "So poor Will was given his choice of starting the study of law in papa's office, or going to work for Uncle Isaac Ford—papa's brother. Uncle Isaac has a big cotton mill down in Atlanta, Georgia, you know. Papa thought it would be a good thing for Will to see what hard work meant. At the same time it would take him away from Deepdale, and out of the influence of some of the boys who were responsible for the hazing. I don't believe Will was one of the ringleaders." "And did he go South?" asked Amy. "He did. He chose to work for Uncle Isaac instead of studying law here. And for the past month or so he has been in the mill. Then, all of a sudden, he disappears." "But how?" asked Mollie. "We don't know the particulars," said Grace. "We supposed up to about an hour ago, that Will was in Atlanta, though we wondered why he didn't write. But then he never was very good at sending letters. Then came this 'phone message. I answered and I was surprised to hear Uncle Isaac speaking. "At first I thought he was talking from Atlanta, and I was afraid something had happened. But Uncle Isaac said he was here—in Deepdale, and then he startled me by asking how Will was. "'Why, isn't he down in your mill?' I asked. Uncle Isaac said he was not—that Will had not come to work one morning, and had left a note saying that he was going to quit. Of course Uncle Isaac thought Will had come back home. But when I told him we had not seen my brother, why, Uncle Isaac was as startled as I was. He said he'd come right up here and tell us all he knew." Grace paused. She had spoken rather at length. "Well, that is rather strange," murmured Mollie. "But of course it may be easily explained when your Uncle comes," said Betty. "There he is now!" cried Grace, glancing out of a window. "And he has papa with him. He must have stopped at the office. Oh, I'm so glad papa is here!" and she hurried to the front door to let them in. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] CHAPTER II GOOD NEWS "Oh, father!" gasped Grace, as she slipped into his waiting arms. Hardly a greeting did she give to Uncle Isaac, but perhaps this was on account of having spoken to him over the telephone shortly before. "Oh, father! Where is poor Will?" "I don't know, Grace," answered Mr. Ford gently. "But don't worry. We shall find him. How is your mother?" "Oh, she feels it dreadfully of course. She's been wanting you so much." "I came as soon as I could. Your Uncle Isaac stopped for me after telephoning the news to you." "Yes, I allowed that was the best procedure," said Mr. Ford Sr., he being the elder brother of the father of Grace. Uncle Isaac spoke with a slight Southern accent, but not very pronounced, since he had lived most of his life in the North. "I'll see your mother first, Grace, and then we'll discuss what's best to be done," went on Mr. Ford. "It was rather a shock to me." "Oh, father! I hope nothing has happened to poor Will!" sighed Grace. "Well, if there has, he brought it on himself," said Uncle Isaac sharply. "He had a good place with me, and he could have stayed there and learned the business. Instead of that he chose to act like a——" "Never mind, Isaac," spoke Mr. Ford quickly. "The thing is done, and we'll have to make the best of it. Perhaps I acted a bit hastily in sending him to you." "It would have done him good if he had stayed with me. But boys are so foolish." "And I presume you and I were—at Will's age," said the father. "Well, I'll go see your mother, Grace, and then I'll be down again. Is someone here?" and he looked at the rubbers in the hall. "Yes, Betty, Mollie and Amy." "Oh, that's all right. You can stay with them until I come down. Isaac, if you are hungry I'll have some lunch sent up." "Not for me. I never eat between meals," and Uncle Isaac spoke with firmness. As Betty looked out of a crack in the library door she made up her mind that Mr. Ford's brother seldom did anything "between meals." He seemed to be a man who lived by hard and fast rules, and he had not the most kindly face and manner in the world. He was quite a contrast to Grace's father. "Maybe that's why Will left him," mused Betty. "I'm sure he looks as if he would be a hard master. Poor Will!" "I'll just sit in here and look at the paper," went on Uncle Isaac, starting toward the library. "The girls—my chums—are in there," said Grace quickly. "Of course, if you——" "Excuse me!" interrupted Uncle Isaac. "I'll meet them later, after your father and I have straightened out this tangle— if it can be done. I'll sit in the parlor, though I'm not used to it. No use wearing out the best carpet. Is anyone in the dining room?" "They are getting ready for dinner," said Grace with a smile, to which the elderly man did not respond. "I guess you'll have to go to the parlor, Uncle Isaac. Of course we'll entertain you, but——" "No, I'd rather look over the paper. Go along, Jim, and comfort Margaret all you can. I'm sure it wasn't my fault ——" "Of course not, Isaac. I'll be back presently," and Mr. Ford started for his wife's room. Grace rejoined her chums, and Uncle Isaac went to the parlor. And, while the scene is thus cleared for a moment I will take advantage of it to make my new readers somewhat better acquainted with the characters and setting of this story. The initial volume of this series was "The Outdoor Girls of Deepdale; Or, Camping and Tramping for Fun and Health," and in that was related how Betty, Amy, Mollie and Grace had gone on a walking trip, and how they solved the strange secret of a five hundred dollar bill. The second book brought our heroines into the midst of summer, and also saw them started on a voyage in Betty's motor boat. This book, called: "The Outdoor Girls at Rainbow Lake; Or, the Stirring Cruise of the Motor Boat Gem," had to do, in a measure, with a curious happening on an island, following the strange loss of some valuable papers, when a horse Grace was riding ran away with her. And how the papers were recovered—but there. It would not be [15] [16] [17] "playing the game" to go into details now. "The Outdoor Girls in a Motor Car; Or, The Haunted Mansion of Shadow Valley," was the third book of the series. As the sub-title indicates there really was a house where strange manifestations took place, and when Mollie was captured by the "ghost," her chums were very much alarmed. The adventures of our friends in the touring car, which Mollie owned, carried them well into Fall, and when the first snow came, and the girls had the chance to go to the woods, they took advantage of the opportunity. In the fourth book, "The Outdoor Girls in a Winter Camp; Or, Glorious Days on Skates and Ice boats," there was related how a certain property dispute, involving Mr. Ford, was settled through good luck favoring the girls. Also how Amy was claimed by a brother, of whose existence she was unaware. They had been back from camp some little time now, when the strange disappearance of Will Ford gave them new food for thought and action. "Oh, if we only could find him for you, Grace!" exclaimed Betty, when her chum had returned to the library, after greeting her father. "If we only could." "Yes. If only we could pick him up, as we did that five hundred dollar bill," added Mollie. "We might," said Amy, half seriously. And the girls discussed this possibility—one not so remote as might seem at first, since they had done many strange things of late. A word or two more before I go on. The girls, as I have intimated, lived in the city of Deepdale, in the heart of the Empire State. Deepdale—Dear Deepdale as the girls called it—lived up to its name. It was a charming town, with some country features that made it all the nicer. It nestled in a bend of the Argono River, a stream of some importance commercially. The four girls I have already named—Grace Ford, Mollie Billette, Betty Nelson and Amy. In the first volume the latter was Amy Stonington, but a mystery concerning her had been solved, and a brother who had long sought her, at last found her. He was Henry Blackford, who was concerned in the five hundred dollar bill mystery, and he recognized Amy as his sister in a peculiar way. So Amy Stonington became Amy Blackford, and Mr. and Mrs. John Stonington, instead of being her uncle and aunt, were mere strangers to her. No, not mere strangers, either, for they had not brought her up from a baby to so easily relinquish her now. They could not bear to give her up, and as she had no other relatives, except her brother, as far as she knew, and as he had to travel about considerably in his business, Amy remained with those she had so long regarded as her parents. She was very glad to do so. Betty was the only child, while Grace had, as I have mentioned, a brother Will. Mollie had a small brother and sister —the twins, Dora (or "Dodo") and Paul. Her mother was a well-to-do widow, and the parents of the other girls were wealthy, but made no display of their means. As I have noted, Will's foolish prank had brought its punishment, though perhaps he did not merit it as much as did some of his chums. One, Frank Haley, had been expelled, and another had been suspended for three weeks. But to Will would seem to have come the heavier punishment, now that he was away from home, no one knew where. Mr. Ford came down from his wife's room. Grace glided out to him. "How is she?" the girl inquired. "I have made her feel a little easier," he announced. "Now we will hear what Uncle Isaac has to say." It was not a great deal. "I put Will right to work, as you directed me, Jim," the visitor said to his brother. "Work is good for boys, and I started him at the bottom of the ladder. That's what you wanted; wasn't it?" "Well, I did think so at the time, after he got into that scrape," said Mr. Ford. "I was pretty well provoked, but I begin to think now I was a bit too harsh with him." "Nonsense!" snorted Uncle Isaac. "Harshness is good for boys. I wasn't any harsher on him than on any of the boys that work in my mill. I made him toe the mark—that's all." "But Will has a sensitive nature," said his father slowly. "Did he give any intimation that he was going to leave?" "Not a bit. He did his work well—that is, as well as any boys do. None of 'em are much good." Grace caught her breath. She started to say something, but her father, by a slight motion of his head, stopped her. "Will stayed at my home, you know," went on Uncle Isaac. "I did the best by him I knew. I didn't let him out nights, I made him read good and helpful books like 'Pilgrims Progress,' and others of the kind, and I kept him from the moving [18] [19] [20] [21] pictures. "Well the first thing I knew he wasn't in his room when I went to call him one morning, and there was this note." He held it out. Mr. Ford read it eagerly. All it said was: "I can't stand it any longer. I'm going to quit." "And he had packed up his things and left," went on Uncle Isaac. "I was dumbfounded, I was. I didn't think it was much use to hunt for him as I thought he'd come right home. He had some money—you know you gave him some." Mr. Ford nodded. "I didn't write, as I calculated on coming up North," went on Uncle Isaac. "Then when I telephoned, and found Will hadn't come home, I didn't know what to think." "Nor I either," said Mr. Ford, "when you stopped in at my office and told me. When did he leave your house?" "It will be a week to-morrow." "And never a word from him in all that time," mused the father. "I don't like it." Grace felt her eyes filling with tears. Betty patted her hand. "Well, something will have to be done," said Mr. Ford with a sigh. "Isaac, let's talk this over, and see what we can do. I may have to go to Atlanta to straighten this out. I don't believe Will would deliberately set out to cause us worry." "I'm sure he wouldn't!" declared Grace, eagerly. Her father and uncle left to go to Mr. Ford's private office in the house, for he was a lawyer, and kept a large library at home. The girls sat in the main library, looking at one another with sad eyes. "Oh, isn't it too bad—just after we had such fun in our winter camp!" exclaimed Grace. "Poor Will! It does seem as if there was nothing happy in this world any more." "Oh, don't feel that way!" protested Betty. "Come, have you girls no good news to cheer her up with?" she asked, looking at Mollie and Amy. "I'm afraid I haven't—unless it's to tell the latest funny thing Dodo and Paul did," spoke Mollie. "And I detest telling of children's pranks." "How about you, Amy? Can't you cheer up Grace?" "Well, I did mean to tell you when I came in; but seeing Grace so upset I almost forgot it," said Amy. "Forgot what?" asked Betty with a smile. "Girls, I am almost sure it's something good, Amy has such a quiet way with her that she always has unexpected pleasure for us." "I don't know whether this will be pleasure or not," went on Amy with a blush, "but Uncle Stonington (I'm going to call him that, though he is no relation)" she interjected, "Uncle Stonington has bought an orange grove in Florida, and we can have all the oranges we want. If that's good news," she finished. "It is—fine!" declared Mollie. "And we were talking about it to-day," resumed the quiet girl, "and he said perhaps he would take Aunty down there to stay until spring, as her health is not very good. And I'll probably go——" "Oh, Amy!" It was a protesting chorus. "And I mentioned you girls, and Uncle Stonington said I could bring you down—if you'd come—all of you—to a Florida orange grove." "Amy Stonington—I mean Blackford—I'm just going to hug you!" cried Betty. "Go! Of course we'll go!" "After we find Will," put in Grace in a low voice. CHAPTER III WILL'S LETTER Amy's announcement—unexpected as it was—had two effects. It dispelled, for a time, the gloom that had come [22] [23] [24] [25] with the news of Will Ford's disappearance, and it gave the girls something to talk about, to speculate over and to plan for. "I must confess," admitted Betty, "that our strenuous life this Fall and Summer, living in the outdoors, has unfitted us for the hum-drum sort of existence that used to satisfy us. We seem to want some excitement all the while now." "That's so," agreed Mollie. "But outdoor life is a little too chilling these days." There had been a series of storms and cold weather in Deepdale, ever since the girls had returned from the logging camp. "But it must be perfectly lovely in Florida now," spoke Grace, who found that by joining in the conversation she did not think so much about her missing brother. "The weather there in our winter season is delightful. Where is Mr. Stonington's orange grove, Amy—near Palm Beach?" "No, it is somewhere in the Indian River section, I believe. I don't know just where." "And do you really mean to say you can take us there?" asked Betty. "Oh, you're a dear!" "Uncle Stonington said he would be glad if I could take you girls," said Amy. "He got the grove through some sort of a business deal. He doesn't know anything about raising oranges, but there are men in charge who do. There is quite a big sort of place—a ranch I believe they call it." "Oh, no!" exclaimed Betty. "Ranches are only in the West. They are inhabited by—cow-punchers," and she seemed very proud of her knowledge. "Why do they have to punch the cows?" asked Mollie. "Westerners use such funny words." "Oh, they don't really punch them," said Grace. "I've heard Will and the boys talk about it. It's just a name. But there are no ranches in Florida." "Well, then it's just a plain orange grove," said Amy. "There is a large house, some bungalows and other buildings. And there is a river and a lake——" "My motor boat!" cried Betty. "What's the matter with it?" demanded Mollie. "Do you see it?" "No, but I wonder if we could take it along?" "I'll ask Uncle Stonington," said Amy. "I'm sure you can. Oh, I do hope you girls can go! Do you think you can?" "I'm going—if I have to walk!" declared Betty. "I can send my boat by freight, and we can have the most delightful times ever! Oh, Amy!" and she hugged her chum again. "I'm not sure I can go," observed Grace, slowly. "If poor Will is in trouble——" "We'll get him out!" cried Mollie. "Of course you'll go. And I'll go, too! We'll all go. We'll be outdoor girls down where there's no winter!" "It sounds—enticing," murmured Grace, who did not like the cold weather. "Think of orange blossoms——" "And brides!" completed Betty. "Oh, girls!" "Silly!" chimed in Mollie. "Is Mrs. Stonington very ill?" asked Betty. "You said something about her going down there." "She is not at all well," spoke Amy. "Uncle Stonington is quite worried about her. I think when it came to getting the orange grove he took it as much on her account as on his own. The doctor said the air down there would do her good." "Is it as bad as that?" asked Mollie, in a low voice. "Well, she is not at all well," Amy replied. "But we all have hopes that a change will benefit her. I do hope you girls will come with me. I'll be so lonesome without you." "Oh, we'll come," said Mollie, with much confidence. They talked of the Florida possibilities at some length, and Betty was a bit anxious as to how she could get her motor boat down to the Land of the Everglades. "You'll have to consult that sea-going uncle of yours," suggested Mollie. "Perhaps I shall," Betty agreed, with a smile. "Papa and Uncle Isaac are rather long," complained Grace. "I wonder what they are going to do?" [26] [27] [28] "If your father has to go South I'm sure Uncle Stonington would be glad to have him stop at the orange grove," said Amy. "I don't know that he'd have time," remarked Grace. "If he has to search for poor Will——" She was interrupted by the footsteps of her father and uncle as they came from the private library. Mr. Ford—as I shall indicate Grace's father—was speaking. "Well, I don't see anything to do but to take a trip down there," he said. "When I'm on the ground I can decide what course to take. Writing is only nervous work. And yet I don't see how I can spare the time now." "Perhaps I could manage for you," said Uncle Isaac. "If I find Will I can bring him back to the mill, and make him work harder than ever. Hard work——" "No, no!" exclaimed Mr. Ford, quickly. "I think Will has been punished enough. I want to get him home, and then we'll map out a course of procedure. Perhaps I gave him too heavy a sentence," and, almost unconsciously, he glanced at his brother. Certainly Mr. Ford, Sr., looked like an inexorable judge who would exact the last farthing of a debt, or the final round of punishment. Will had evidently had no easy time. "Well, I must think about this Southern trip," went on Will's father. "Why, you girls look as though you had been talking secrets!" he exclaimed, not wanting to inflict too much of his family troubles on the visitors. "We have!" cried Betty. "You are not the only one going South, Mr. Ford. We may go too." "Go South? What do you mean?" he asked. "Mr. Stonington has purchased an orange grove in Florida," Betty went on, "and Amy has asked us all down there. Do, please, say that Grace can go!" and she blew him a kiss, for the four chums shared their parents and friends as they did their—well, let us say—chocolates. "Florida," spoke Mr. Ford, musingly. "I wonder if, by any chance, Will could have gone there? Many young men go down South in the winter to work as waiters in the big hotels. But I hardly think he would be so foolish. Well, of course if Grace wants to go——" "I do want to, Daddy, but poor Will——" "Oh, I'll find him. He has just gone off on some little trip, perhaps. Very likely he has written to us and the letter has miscarried. Or he may be carrying it around in his pocket, thinking he has mailed it. Yes, I think you may go, Grace, if the others do. Don't worry about your brother. We'll have trace of him soon." "I'm sure we all hope so," said Mollie, impulsively. "We are thinking of taking Betty's boat down with us." "A good idea. I wish I could go. And it is fortunate that, on account of a change in the school system, you will not miss a term." For following a shift in the educational work of Deepdale, had come a reconstruction of the system. The outdoor girls were sufficiently advanced to permit of their taking several months' vacation, and still remain up to the standard required by the State regents. "And to think of going to Florida!" cried Betty, as she walked about the room. "I know we shall just love it there." "Young folks waste a lot more time than I did when I was young," said Mr. Ford, Sr., with a sniff. "Perhaps we should have been better off if we had 'wasted' a little more time, as you call it," remarked his brother, as he thought of his missing son. "Humph!" snorted Uncle Isaac. "Well, let's get down to my office," suggested Will's father, after a pause. "I'm going to have my hands full. To trace a missing boy—though really I don't imagine that will be serious—and have a daughter go to Florida is 'going some,' as the boys say. But I guess I can manage it. Now, Isaac, if you're ready——" He was interrupted by a ring at the bell, and the shrill call of the postman's whistle. "I'll go," Grace exclaimed, intercepting the maid. She brought back several letters, and at the sight of the handwriting on the envelope of one she exclaimed: "It's from Will! It's from my brother. Oh, Daddy, here's a letter from Will!" CHAPTER IV [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] "COME HOME!" Grace's announcement caused a flutter of excitement among her chums, and Mr. Ford's face showed his pleasure and surprise. But a moment later he had steeled his features into a non-committal mask, for he was really much provoked by his son's conduct, and if this was an appeal for forgiveness he wanted to be in the proper censuring attitude. At least so he reasoned. "We'll see you again, Grace," spoke Betty, as she led the way for the other two girls to follow. She felt that the family might like to be by themselves while perusing the first letter from Will since his latest escapade. "Oh, don't go!" exclaimed Grace, guessing her chums' intention. "Stay and hear what Will has to say. I'm sure papa would want you to," and she looked at Mr. Ford, who was nervously tearing open the envelope. His brother was watching him anxiously, but it was not a kindly look on Uncle Isaac's face. At first, when it seemed as if something seriously might have happened to Will, the elderly man was rather alarmed, thinking perhaps he might be blamed. Now that a communication had come from the youth, seeming to indicate that all was well with him, his former employer was ready to deal harshly with him. He was even meditating what form of punishment could be applied, and he planned harder tasks for him, in case his father should send Will back to the cotton mill in Atlanta. "Yes, stay, by all means," spoke the younger Mr. Ford, in rather absent-minded tones, as he flipped open the letter. "We have no secrets from you girls, and if you are going to Florida, and Will is in that neighborhood, he can take a run over and see you. Let's see now; what does the rascal say?" There was a caressing note in the father's voice in spite of the somewhat stern look on his face, and he slowly read the letter, half aloud. The girls could catch a word here and there. Grace was leaning forward expectantly, her lips parted. The strain had told on her, and her eyes were still red from the tears she could not hold back. "'Dear Father and All,'" read Mr. Ford. "Hum—yes—I wonder if he's going to ask for money. 'I suppose this will surprise you'—yes, Will was always good on surprises." "Oh, father, do please get on with the letter—tell us what has happened to Will!" begged Grace. "We're so anxious! Mother will want to know. Read faster, please, if you can; won't you, father?" "All right, Grace. But nothing much seems to have happened to him so far. Hello, what's this, though? 'Going to strike out for myself. Can't stand Uncle'—um—'will write particulars later—I have a good chance for an opening'—I wonder if it's as a waiter in some Palm Beach hotel? 'There may be a good thing in this. I can learn the business, the agent says'——" "Oh, Daddy, please read it right!" importuned Grace. "We can't tell what Will says and what you make up as you go along. Read it yourself, and tell us what it means. Then I'll go to mamma." "Yes, and if he says anything against me, don't be afraid to come out with it," interjected Uncle Isaac. "Will and I didn't get along well—that's no secret. He didn't like work, and he didn't hesitate to say so. I've no doubt he had hard feelings against me, but I say here and now that I treated him as I would my own son. I made him work harder than I would my own son, in fact, for I felt that I had a duty to do by Will." "And I guess you did it—too well," muttered Grace, with rather a vindictive look at her uncle, which look, however, he did not see. "Well, to be frank with you, Isaac," spoke Mr. Ford, "the boy says that he did not like the life in the factory. But I did not suppose he would. I did not send him there to like it, but I thought the discipline would do him good. However, he seems to have struck out for himself." "But, Daddy!" cried Grace, clinging to his arm. "What has happened? Where is Will? Where did he go?" "There now," he said, soothingly. "It seems to be all right, and Will is in no danger. All your tears were wasted. To be brief, he writes that he did not like the work in the mill, and getting a chance to go to Jacksonville, Florida, he took it and went without the formality of a good-bye." "What is he doing in Jacksonville?" asked Mollie. "If we go to Amy's orange grove we may see him." "He writes that he has a chance to get in with a concern that is going to develop some of the Everglade lands," went on Mr. Ford, referring to the letter. 'The company plans to drain the swamps, and grow pecans, oranges and other tropical fruits and nuts.' Will says he was offered a sort of secretaryship to one of the developers, and took it. "He asks my permission to stay and 'make good,' as he calls it. He thinks it is a great chance; better even than the cotton business, Isaac." "Oh, yes, I s'pose so. There's a lot of folks been fooled in those Everglade-developing concerns, though. They're fakes, to my way of thinking. But let him live and learn. That's the only way." "Are you going to let him stay down there?" asked Grace. [34] [35] [36] [37] "Well, I don't know," said Mr. Ford, musingly. "I don't bank much on Will's knowledge of affairs. This company may be all right, and again it may not. I'd rather investigate a bit." "Will says," he went on, again referring to the letter, "that he is sorry he went off in the abrupt way he did, but he felt that it was the only method to pursue. He says he feared you would stop him, if you heard about it, Isaac." "I'd have tried, anyhow," was the grim comment. "And as the opportunity had to be taken up quickly, or be lost, Will went away in a hurry," continued his father. "He says he wants to show all of us that he can make his own way in the world, if given a chance, and he doesn't want to come back until he has done so. He thinks he has had enough of school. He sends his love to—to all of us—and his mother, and says he will write again soon, and run up for a few days' visit as soon as he can get the time." Mr. Ford's voice faltered a little as he went on. After all, he loved Will very much, and he knew that it was only the spirit of a proud boy that was keeping him away from home. "Are you going to let him stay, Daddy?" asked Grace again. "No, Grace, I think I'll write to him to come home," replied Mr. Ford. "I think this has been a lesson to him. He gives his prospective Jacksonville address in this note. I'll just send him a wire." Going to the telephone, Mr. Ford dictated this brief telegram to his son. "Come home. All is forgiven." "It's like one of those advertisements you see in the newspapers," said Grace, with a little laugh. She was much relieved now, and so were her chums. They could think with more pleasure of the prospective trip to Florida. "But if Will left you a week ago, Uncle Isaac, I don't see why this letter has only now arrived," spoke Grace. "When is it postmarked, father?" "It reached Deepdale to-day, but it was mailed in—let me see—why, I can't make out the other mark, nor the date either." "Let me try," suggested Uncle Isaac, putting on his glasses. But he had no better luck. "Either Will carried that letter around in his pocket after writing it," said Mr. Ford, "or he dropped it in some obscure postoffice where their cancelling stamps are worn out and letters go only once a week or so. The letter was written on the night he left your house, evidently," he said to his brother, indicating the superscription. "I guess the mails down your way are not very certain, Isaac." "Not always. Well, I'm glad the boy is all right. I tried to do my duty by him, as I promised I would, Jim." "I know you did, Isaac, and I think this will be a lesson to him. I'll be glad to have him back, though. For I—I've missed him," and again Mr. Ford's voice faltered. "So have I," said Grace, softly. "And this will make mamma's headache better. I'm going up to tell her." "And we'll be going, now that you have good news," remarked Betty. "Wasn't it odd to get good and bad news so close together?" "But the good came last—and that makes it the best," observed Amy with a smile. Mr. Ford gave Grace her brother's letter to take up to her mother, while he and his brother prepared to go down town again, to finish transacting some business that had called the Southerner up North. "And I guess I'd better telegraph Will some money while I am at it," his father said. "He writes that he has plenty of cash, but his idea of a lot of money is a few one dollar bills and a pocket full of change. I'll wire twenty-five dollars to him in Jacksonville to come home with." "I'll be down in a minute, girls," called Grace, as she hurried up stairs to her mother's room. "Wait for me, and we'll talk about this Florida trip." When Grace came down, having made her mother happy with her good news, she was eating chocolates. "Now we know she is all right," laughed Betty. CHAPTER V [38] [39] [40] [41] MISSING AGAIN "And to think that in a few more days we'll leave all this behind us—all the cold, the icicles, the snow, the biting winds—leave it all, and sail into a land of sunshine and oranges and Spanish moss and magnolias and——" "Alligators!" finished Betty for Grace, who was thus going into raptures over the prospect before them, as she looked over the wintry landscape that was in full view just outside the window of Amy's home. I say Amy's home, for, though it had developed that she was no relative of Mr. and Mrs. Stonington, still they insisted that she call their home hers as long as she liked. So it was at Amy's home, then, that her chums had gathered to talk over the trip to Florida. It was the day after the somewhat startling developments regarding Will Ford, and Mr. Ford, true to his determination, had telegraphed his son twenty-five dollars. "Well, of course Florida will be lovely!" exclaimed Mollie, "and I love oranges——" "To say nothing of orange blossoms," interjected Grace. "I said oranges!" went on Mollie, putting emphasis on the word. "I like them as well as anyone, but I love winter and skating and ice boating, too." "Oh, I just can't bear cold weather!" said Grace, with a shiver, and a look toward the chair on which, in a fluffy pile, rested her furs—and Grace looked handsome in the sable set that her father had given to her at Christmas. "You didn't seem so cold when we were up in the old lumber camp," remarked Betty. "You skated and ice-boated with the rest of us, and seemed to enjoy it." "I know, but it was a different sort of cold up there—so dry, and not so penetrating as down here. The wind seems to go right through me," and again the tall girl shivered. "It doesn't take long——" began Mollie, and then she stopped short and bit her lips to keep back a smile. "Long to do what?" asked Grace, curiously. "Never mind," spoke Mollie. "You might get angry." "I will not. I haven't your——" This time it was Grace who caught herself in time. "Go on—say it. You may as well as think it!" snapped Mollie, with some asperity. "You were going to say you hadn't my temper, weren't you, now?" "Well, yes, I was," said Grace, slowly. "And you were going to say I was so thin that the wind didn't take long to go through me; weren't you?" challenged Grace. "Yes, I was, and——" "Girls—Mollie—Grace!" cried Betty, anxious not to see a quarrel. "What can I do to pour oil on troubled waters? Let's talk about—Florida." "Don't pour cod liver oil, whatever you do," said Grace, quickly. "I had to take some of the horrid stuff the last cough I had, and I can taste it yet. Where are my chocolates? Oh, thank you, Amy," as the latter passed them over. "Have some. These have maraschino cherries inside." "Leave it to Grace to discover something luxurious in the candy line," observed Mollie. "Well, I notice that you're only too glad to eat them," and Grace fairly snapped out the words. "Oh, dear! It seems hopeless to keep peace between you two to-day," sighed Betty. "Can't you be nice? Especially after Amy has asked us over here to talk about the trip. Let's talk about——" "What to wear!" exclaimed Amy, with a bright thought. "You see we'll have to take two sets of clothing. One to wear until we get to Florida, and the other after we arrive at the orange grove. We'll need thin things there. Aunt Stonington is making me up some pretty voile and white muslin dresses." "I was wondering whether I ought to take my furs," said Grace. "Furs in Florida!" cried Mollie. "Never!" "But it will be cold going down," said Grace. "It's cold even in Washington, now. I think I'll wear them. I may not get another chance this winter if we stay there very long." "We can stay as long as we like," said Amy. "Uncle Stonington says he'll remain until Spring, anyhow, for the business will take until then to get going properly. Then, too, he is anxious about Aunty's health. The doctor says the longer she stays in a mild climate the better she will be." [42] [43] [44] "She doesn't look very well," spoke Betty in a low voice. Mrs. Stonington had greeted the girls as they came to call on Amy, and had then gone to lie down. The callers had all noticed how frail and worn she seemed. Perhaps the shock of almost losing Amy had something to do with it. But there also appeared to be the seeds of some deep-seated malady present in her system. And a look at Mr. Stonington's face told that he, too, was worrying. But the trip to Florida might work wonders. They all hoped so, at any rate. "If we're going to take Bet's boat we ought to wear our sailor suits part of the time," suggested Mollie. "Are you going to take the Gem?" "What about that, Amy?" questioned Betty. "Did you inquire whether there are navigable waters near the orange grove?" "There are. The grove is near the town of Bentonville, on the Mayfair River, which empties into Lake Chad, so I think there will be plenty of chance to go boating. The grove is in the Indian River section, where some of the finest oranges grow." "Then the Gem goes along," decided Betty. "I'm going to stop at the freight office on my way home, and see about having it crated and shipped." Discussing what they would take in the way of dresses, and other feminine accessories, talking over prospective trips in the motor boat, speculating as to whether Will or any of his boy chums would go to Florida for a brief visit, made the winter afternoon pass quickly. "It would be nice if Will and some of the other boys could come down," said Mollie, reflectively. "By 'some of the others' meaning Allen Washburn, I suppose," said Mollie, slyly, for Betty's liking for the young lawyer was no secret, nor was his for her. "Speak for yourself, please," said the "Little Capt...