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Ruth Fielding At Sunrise Farm by Alice B. Emerson
The single gas jet burning at the end of the corridor was so dim and made so flickering a light that it added more to the shadows of the passage than it provided illumination. It was hard to discover which were realities and which shadows in the long gallery.
Not a ray of light appeared at any of the transoms over the dormitory doors; yet that might not mean that there were no lights burning within the duo and quartette rooms in the East Dormitory of Briarwood Hall. There were ways of shrouding the telltale transoms and-without doubt-the members of the advanced junior classes had learned such little tricks of the trade of being a schoolgirl.
At one door-and it was the portal of the largest "quartette" room on the floor-a tall figure kept guard. At first this figure was so silent and motionless that it seemed like a shadow only. But when another shadow crept toward it, rustling along the wall on tiptoe, the guard demanded, hissingly:
"S-s-stop! who goes there?"
"Oh-oo! How you startled me, Madge Steele!"
"Sh!" commanded the guard. "Who goes there?"
"Why-why-- It's I."
"Give the password instantly. Answer!" commanded the guard again, and with some vexation. "'I' isn't anybody."
"Oh, indeed? Let me tell you that this 'I' is somebody-according to the gym. scales. I gained three pounds over the Easter holidays," said "Heavy" Jennie Stone, who had begun her reply with a giggle, but ended it with a sigh.
"Password, Miss!" snapped the guard, grimly.
"Oh! of course!" Then the fat girl whispered shrilly: "'Sincerity-befriend.' That is what 'S. B.' stands for, I s'pose. Sweetbriars! and I have a big bag of sour pickles to offset the cloying sweetness of the Sweetbriars," chuckled Heavy. "Besides, they say that vinegar pickles will make you thin--"
"I don't need them for that purpose," admitted the guard at the door, still in a whisper, but accepting the large, "warty" pickle Heavy thrust into her hand.
"Will make me thin, then," agreed the other. "Let me in, Madge."
The guard, sucking the pickle convulsively the while, opened the door just a little way. A blanket had been hung on a frame inside in such a manner that scarcely a gleam of lamplight reached the corridor when the door was open.
"Pass the Sweetbriar!" choked Madge, with her mouth full and the tears running down her cheeks. "My goodness, Jennie Stone! these pickles are right out of vitriol!"
"Sour, aren't they?" chuckled Heavy. "I handed you a real one for fair, that time, didn't I, Madge?"
Then she tried to sidle through the narrow opening, got stuck, and was urged on by Madge pushing her. With a bang-punctuated by a chorus of muffled exclamations from the girls already assembled-she tore away the frame and the blanket and got through.
"Shut the door, quick, guard!" exclaimed Helen Cameron.
"Of course, that would be Heavy-entering like a female Samson and tearing down the pillars of the temple," snapped Mercy Curtis, the lame girl, in her sharp way.
"Please repair the damage, Helen," said Ruth Fielding, who presided at the far end of the room, sitting cross-legged on one of the beds.
The other girls were arranged on the chairs, or upon the floor before her. There was a goodly number of them, and they now included most of the members of the secret society known at Briarwood Hall as the "S. B.'s."
Ruth herself was a bright, brown-haired girl who, without possessing many pretensions to real beauty of feature, still was quite good to look at and proved particularly charming when one grew to know her well.
She was rather plump, happy of disposition, and with the kindest heart in the world. She made both friends and enemies. No person of real character can escape being disliked, now and then, by those of envious disposition.
Ruth Fielding succeeded, usually, in winning to her those who at first disliked her. And this, I claim, is a better gift than that of being universally popular from the start.
Ruth had come from her old home in Darrowtown, where her parents died, two years before, to the Red Mill on the Lumano River, where her great-uncle, Jabez Potter, the miller, was inclined at first to shelter her only as an object of his grudging charity. In the first volume of this series, however, entitled "Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill; Or, Jasper Parloe's Secret," the girl found her way-in a measure, at least-to the uncle's crabbed heart.
Uncle Jabez was a just man, and he considered it his duty, when Helen Cameron, Ruth's dearest friend, was sent to Briarwood Hall to school, to send Ruth to the same institution. In the second volume, "Ruth Fielding at Briarwood Hall; Or, Solving the Campus Mystery," was related the adventures, friendships, rivalries, and fun of Ruth's and Helen's first term at the old school.
In "Ruth Fielding at Snow Camp; Or, Lost in the Backwoods," was told the adventures of Ruth and her friends at the Camerons' winter camp during the Christmas holidays. At the end of the first year of school, they all went to the seaside, to experience many adventures in "Ruth Fielding at Lighthouse Point; Or, Nita, the Girl Castaway," the fourth volume of the series.
A part of that eventful summer was spent by Ruth and her chums in Montana, and the girl of the Red Mill was enabled to do old Uncle Jabez such a favor that he willingly agreed to pay her expenses at Briarwood Hall for another year. This is all told in "Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch; Or, Schoolgirls Among the Cowboys."
The girls returned to Briarwood Hall and in the sixth volume of the series, entitled "Ruth Fielding on Cliff Island; Or, The Old Hunter's Treasure Box," Ruth was privileged to help Jerry Sheming and his unfortunate old uncle in the recovery of their title to Cliff Island in Lake Tallahaska, while she and her friends had some thrilling and many funny adventures during the mid-winter vacation.
The second half of this school year was now old. The Easter recess was past and the girls were looking forward to the usual break-up in the middle of June. The hardest of the work for the year was over. Those girls who had been faithful in their studies prior to Easter could now take something of a breathing spell, and the S. B.'s were determined to initiate such candidates as had been on the waiting list for reception into the secrets of the most popular society in the school.
The shrouded door of the quartette room occupied by Ruth, Helen, Mercy, and Jane Ann Hicks, from Montana, was opened carefully again and again until the outer guard, Madge Steele, had admitted all the candidates and most of the members of the S. B. order who were expected.
Each girl was presented with at least half a big sour pickle from Heavy's store; but really, the pickles had nothing to do with the initiation of the neophytes.
There was a serious and helpful side to the society of the S. B.'s-as witness the password. Ruth, who was the most active member of the institution, realized, however, that the girls were so full of fun that they must have some way of expressing themselves out of the ordinary. Perhaps she had asked Mademoiselle Picolet, the French teacher, whose room was in this dormitory, and Miss Scrimp, the matron, to overlook this present infraction of the rules, for it must be admitted that the retiring bell had rung half an hour before the gathering in this particular room.
"All here!" breathed Ruth, at last, and Madge was called in. The candidates were placed in the middle of the floor. Ann Hicks, the girl from Silver Ranch, was one of these. Ann had proved her character and made herself popular in the school against considerable odds, as related in the preceding volume. Now, the honor of being admitted into the secret society was added to the other marks of the school's approval.
"Candidates," said Ruth, addressing in most solemn tones the group of girls before her, "you are about to be initiated into the degree of the Marble Harp. As Infants, when you first entered the school, you were all made acquainted with the legend of the Marble Harp.
"The figure of Harmony, presiding over the fountain in the middle of the campus, was modeled by the sculptor from the only daughter of the man who originally owned Briarwood Park before it became a school. Said sculptor and daughter-in the most approved fashion of the present day school of romanticist authors-ran away with each other, were married without the father's approval, and both are supposed to have died miserably in a studio-garret.
"The heart-broken father naturally left his cur-r-r-se upon the fountain, and it is said-mind you, this is hearsay," added Ruth, solemnly, "that whenever anything of moment is about to transpire at Briarwood Hall, or any calamity befall, the strings of the marble harp held in the hands of Harmony, are heard to twang.
"Of course, as has been pointed out before, the fact that the harp is in the shape of a lyre, must be considered, too, if one is to accept this legend. But, however, and nevertheless," pursued Ruth, "it has been decided that the candidates here assembled must join in the Mackintosh March, and, in procession, led by our Outer Guard and followed-not to say herded-by our Rear Guard, must proceed once around the campus, down into the garden, and circle the fountain, chanting, as you have been instructed, the marching song.
"All ready! You all have your mackintoshes, as instructed? Into them at once," commanded Ruth. "Into line-one after the other. Now, Outer Guard!"
The lights were extinguished; the blanket at the door was removed; Madge Steele led the way and Heavy, as the Rear Guard, was last in the line. Shrouded in the hoods of the mackintoshes, scarcely one of the girls would have been recognized by any curious teacher or matron.
Ruth hopped down from the bed, and the remaining Sweetbriars ran giggling to the windows. It was a drizzly, dark night. The paths about the campus glistened, and the lamps upon the posts flickered dimly.
Out of the front door filed the procession; when they were far enough away from the buildings which surrounded the campus, they began the chant, based upon Tom Moore's famous old song:
"The harp that once through Briarwood Hall
The soul of music shed,
Now hangs as mute o'er the campus fount
As though that soul were dead."
Madge Steele, with her strong voice, led the chant. The girls, crowded at the open windows, began to giggle, for they could hear Heavy, at the end of the procession, sing out a very different verse.
"That rascal ought to be fined for that," murmured The Fox, the sandy-haired girl next to Ruth.
"But, isn't she funny?" gasped Helen, on the other side of the Chief of the S. B.'s.
"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Belle Tingley. "I hope Sarah Fish got there ahead of them. Won't they be surprised when they get a baptism of a glass of water each from the fountain, as they go by?"
"They'll think the statue has come to life, sure enough, if it doesn't twang the lyre," quoth Helen.
"They'll get an unexpected ducking," giggled Lluella Fairfax.
"It won't hurt them," Ruth said, placidly. "That's why I insisted upon the mackintoshes."
"It's just as dark down there by the fountain as it can be," spoke Helen, with a little shiver. "D'you remember, Ruthie, how they hazed us there when we were Infants?"
"Don't I!" agreed her chum.
"If Sarah is careful, she can stand right up there against the statue and never be seen, while she can reach the water to throw it at the girls easily. There!" cried Belle. "They're turning down the walk to the steps. I can see them."
They all could see them-dimly. Like shadows the procession descended to the marble fountain, still chanting softly the refrain of the marching song. Suddenly a shriek-a very vigorous and startling sound-rang out across the campus.
"It's begun!" giggled Belle.
But the sound was repeated-then in a thrilling chorus. Ruth was startled. She exclaimed:
"That wasn't either of the candidates. It was Sarah who screamed. There! It is Sarah again. Something has happened!"
Something certainly had happened. There had been an unexpected fault somewhere in the initiation. The procession burst like a bombshell, and the girls scattered through the wet campus, utterly terrified, and screaming as they ran.
Ruth Fielding in the Great Northwest by Alice B. Emerson
Alice B. Emerson was a pseudonym used by a number of writers hired by the conglomerate Stratemeyer Syndicat to make popular kids books, especially for young girls. These include the Beth Gordon and Ruth Fielding series.
Alice B. Emerson was a pseudonym used by a number of writers hired by the conglomerate Stratemeyer Syndicat to make popular kids books, especially for young girls. These include the Beth Gordon and Ruth Fielding series.
Ruth, Helen, and Tom watch a moving picture company film scenes near the Red Mill. As they watch, the starring actress, Hazel Gray, falls into the river and is swept downstream. Ruth and her friends rescue Miss Gray and take her to the Red Mill to recover. The next day, Ruth meets the producer, Mr. Hammond, who promises to read Ruth's scenario when she impulsively confides that she is planning to write one. Soon after the friends return to school, the East Dormitory burns and is a complete loss. All of the girls housed in that building, including Ruth and her friends, lose all of their possessions. It is soon learned that Dr. Tellingham allowed the insurance to lapse, and there is no money to rebuild the dormitory. In the meantime, Ruth submits her scenario to Mr. Hammond and is thrilled when he accepts it. After her scenario is accepted, Ruth gets a wonderful idea about how she can help the school raise money to rebuild the dormitory. In the Italian garden scenes, the seniors and juniors were used. Ruth calls a meeting of all of the students and suggests her idea of writing a moving picture scenario that will be filmed on the campus. The proceeds from the film would go towards rebuilding the dormitory. In this way, all of the girls would contribute to the fund, since they would be the extras in the film. This idea is met with enthusiasm, and Ruth soon gains Mr. Hammond's approval.
Ruth and Helen eagerly await the arrival of Jane Ann Hicks, who is to attend Briarwood Hall this year. The girls experience a great deal of worry when they learn that Jane's train has been wrecked. Jane is fine, but a boy named Jerry Sheming has been hurt. Jerry is taken to the Red Mill where Aunt Alvirah and Ruth care for him. Jerry reveals that he used to live on Cliff Island, but his uncle was cheated out of his land. His uncle lost his treasure box in a landslide, and with it, the papers needed to prove his claim to the island. Uncle Pete lost his mind and entered an insane asylum, and Jerry was forced to leave. Jerry hopes to someday find the treasure box and prove his uncle's claim. Ruth and her friends leave for Briarwood Hall, and Jerry stays behind at the Red Mill. The girls do their best to make Jane Ann fit in and try to keep her from being hazed as a new girl. Unfortunately, Jane Ann has much trouble fitting in with the other girls until she uses her lassoing technique in a rescue. Things gradually get better for Jane. She shot over the yawning edge of the chasm and disappeared. After a time, the girls are invited to Cliff Island for Christmas by Belle Tingley, whose father has purchased the island. Ruth is certain that Mr. Tingley did nothing to cheat Jerry's Uncle Pete, but the man who sold him the island must have cheated Jerry's uncle. Ruth sends word to Jerry to travel to the island and arranges for Mr. Tingley to give him a job. Later, Jerry is ordered arrested by the real estate man and is forced to hide in a cave. Ruth and her friends search the island for some sign of Uncle Pete's treasure chest. In time, the truth is discovered, Jerry is reunited with his uncle, and Ruth and her friends return home after a happy vacation.
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."
Belinda thought after divorce, they would part ways for good - he could live his life on his own terms, while she could indulge in the rest of hers. However, fate had other plans in store. "My darling, I was wrong. Would you please come back to me?" The man, whom she once loved deeply, lowered his once proud head humbly. "I beg you to return to me." Belinda coldly pushed away the bouquet of flowers he had offered her and coolly replied, "It's too late. The bridge has been burned, and the ashes have long since scattered to the wind!"
Ethan always viewed Nyla as a compulsive liar, while she saw him as aloof and insensitive. Nyla had cherished the notion that she was dear to Ethan, yet she felt coldly rejected when she realized her place in his heart was insignificant. No longer trying to break through his coldness, she stepped back, only for him to alter his approach unexpectedly. She challenged him, "If you trust me so little, why keep me around?" Ethan, who had once carried himself with pride, now stood before her with a humble plea. "Nyla, I've made mistakes. Please don't walk away from me."
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!
Sequel to chasing my estranged wife; I want you back. ******** " You promised me!'' I screamed. "You promised that you wouldn't hurt me, you made the vows that you would stand beside me, Ryan, and what did you do? You broke me into smithereens. I don't want anything to do with you anymore. When I said we were done. I meant it!" Falling in love with him had come in a whirlwind, she couldn't account for how exactly it had happened but what she knew was that she didn't want to let go once she was in. For Ryan, when he made a vow, he had meant it, but nothing had told him about marriage, that it wasn't just a bed of roses, but it had thorns in it as well. When secrets piled up between them and vows broken, they had no choice but to let go of each other, but years later, he wanted her back. Like the air he breathed, he chased after her, but she was gone. Left with the remnants of his actions, he is torn between getting her back and damning all consequences or letting go of her and his children, which would it be?