Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History The Nowadays Girls in the Adirondacks : $b or, The deserted bungalow on Saranac LakeThe Project Gutenberg eBook of The Nowadays Girls in the Adirondacks This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: The Nowadays Girls in the Adirondacks or, The deserted bungalow on Saranac Lake Author: Gertrude Hall Brownell Illustrator: Edward C. Caswell Release date: May 13, 2025 [eBook #76084] Language: English Original publication: New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1915 Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76084 Credits: Aaron Adrignola, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NOWADAYS GIRLS IN THE ADIRONDACKS *** THE NOWADAYS GIRLS IN THE ADIRONDACKS OR THE DESERTED BUNGALOW ON SARANAC LAKE By GERTRUDE CALVERT HALL ILLUSTRATED BY E. C. CASWELL NEW YORK DODD, MEAD & COMPANY PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY CONTENTS I THE NOWADAYS CLUB II A TELEGRAM III PREPARATIONS IV "WATCH YOUR STEP!" V IN SYRACUSE VI THE MISSING EMERALD VII OVERBOARD VIII THE GOLF BALL IX ONWARD X A NIGHT OUT XI TROUBLE XII THE MOTOR BOAT XIII BY THEMSELVES XIV A DISMAL PROSPECT XV A LONELY NIGHT XVI THE LOON XVII IN CAMP XVIII CANOEING XIX THE MASQUERADE XX THE MYSTIC MOON XXI THE MYSTERY DEEPENS XXII BAD NEWS XXIII AT SARANAC XXIV WORRIMENT XXV MAKING PLANS XXVI A LONELY PLACE XXVII THE DESERTED BUNGALOW XXVIII MISSING XXIX A SLEEPLESS NIGHT XXX A GENERAL ALARM XXXI THE SEARCH XXXII LOST XXXIII UNEXPECTED HELP XXXIV FOUND XXXV RECOVERY ILLUSTRATIONS "We certainly are doing it in style!" murmured Hazel. Sylvia presently found herself whirling through it with a Spaniard who danced wonderfully well. Sylvia and her chums were all in better spirits now that they were actually on their way to see Roy. "Look! Look!" Sylvia whispered. THE NOWADAYS GIRLS IN THE ADIRONDACKS CHAPTER I THE NOWADAYS CLUB The chugging taxicab stopped in front of the apartment on Central Park, West, and the uniformed door attendant bowed out of it, and into the marble vestibule, a demure girl with rosy cheeks. "Miss Pursell?" she asked, and there was that in her voice which made the elevator boy look a second time; and he was not unused to seeing pretty girls and hearing them speak. "Third floor, miss," he said, with a quick touch of his hand to his much-gold-braided cap. Then, as he clanged the steel-grilled door shut, he favored the hall-man with a distinct wink, which Rose Bancroft did not see. But had she seen it she would, perhaps, have given it little consideration, since it did not concern her. What did concern her was reaching her friend Sylvia Pursell as soon as possible. There were more reasons than one for this, but perhaps the one with which we may now concern ourselves was that Rose had been travelling since early morning, having but just arrived at the Grand Central Terminal from Syracuse. Travelling in even the best-portered Pullman, in the middle of the "Chicago Special," is very apt to grime one up, especially if the aforesaid one be wearing a particularly light and dainty dress. So Rose, as she was shot upward in the smooth-running elevator, wondered whether the coloured maid at the Grand Central had made sure that there was no cinder dust on the end of her nose. "For," reflected Rose to herself, "if there is one thing more than another, that makes a girl lose her smartness and dignity, it is a black spot on the end of her nose." And Rose had her special reasons for wanting to look at least "smart" when she reached Sylvia's apartment. I'll tell you why later. She ventured to glance into the bevelled mirror which made up the whole back of the car, but the electric bulb was shaded with a rose-tinted glass, and while it made a very pretty effect, still it was not conducive to illumination. "I'm almost sure there's a spot," thought Rose, but she dared not raise her veil to make sure. And just then the elevator lad, who had been favouring his solitary passenger with more than one surreptitious glance, called out, in a most respectful tone of voice, a voice not at all in keeping with his previous facetious wink: "Your floor! Miss Pursell's!" "Thank you," said Rose, quietly, and stepped out. A few moments later, Rose having been ushered into a pretty reception hall, and thence to the drawing-room, she and Sylvia had their arms around each other, and Sylvia was kissing her friend, regardless of whether or not there was a spot on Rose's face--her nose or anywhere else. "It was so sweet of you to come down from Syracuse, my dear!" "Nonsense, it was just perfectly lovely of you to ask me. I am _so_ interested!" "I thought you'd be! Did you have a tiresome trip?" "Oh, not especially so. We were a little late, but made it up. Mrs. Blake, mamma's friend, you know, came part way with me." "That was nice. Janet, take Miss Bancroft's things, and then tell Perkins we'll have tea in here." "Yes, Miss Pursell." "Are the other girls here?" asked Rose, as she made sure this time, by a hasty glance in a well-lighted mirror, that there was _not_ a spot on her nose. "No, they're coming to-night, I presume. Hazel was away when my telegram reached her, but she left Chicago last night, and ought to be here now. I'm not so sure when Alice will arrive. You know her style." "Indeed I do. If she doesn't arrive to-day, next week will do. But are you really going to carry out your plan?" "I most certainly _am_, my dear! I don't plan things and then not do them." "Yes, I know, Sylvia, but this going off to the Adirondacks, all by ourselves----" "But we'll not be by ourselves. Aunt Theodora Leigh Brownley will chaperon us, and----" "You didn't leave out any of her name; did you?" and Rose laughed a merry laugh, that sounded like the tinkle of ice in a strawberry-tinted pitcher of lemonade on a hot day. "She rather likes her whole title," answered Sylvia. "But you knew she was going with us; didn't you?" "I wasn't sure," and Rose turned at the entrance of the butler with the tray of tea things as though she expected to see some one else. "Oh, indeed mamma wouldn't consent to my making up the party at all until I had arranged for a chaperon. Of course Aunt Theodora Leigh Brownley is rather a handicap in ways, but she _is_ so good, and she doesn't mind sitting up until all hours at a dance." "Oh, then we _are_ going to dance!" and the eyes of Rose glistened, while her breath seemed to come faster betw |