Dorothy's Triumph
and!" dreamily humm
mine," was the resolute res
ned on him
ke your allegiance to old New York state; you
nce my visit to old Bellvieu, and our trip on th
ith Aunt Betty and I again, Jim? Oh, you jus
ly-"in fact, I don't know just what I mean myself, excep
nt Bett
Aunt
o you, in the matter of af
me before she got well enough acquainted with you
, after I've grown into a sizable girl, in perfect ignorance as to my real parentage, Aunt Betty meets and likes me, and is anxious to get me back again. Then Judge Breckenridge and others take a hand in the matter of hunting up my real name and pedigree, with the result that Aunt Betty finally owns up to my being her
el, Dorothy. You are one of the finest little lad
fishing for
t the same, didn't you
rough the broad vales of Maryland, every moment bringing it nearer the city of Baltimore and Old Bellvieu, the ancestral
ad sent the child as a nameless foundling, Dorothy had, indeed, been a happy girl, as her experiences related in the pre
unable to meet her in the Dominion, as she had intended, but had sent Jim and Ephraim, the latter insisting that he was need
r ringing in her ears the rather solemn, deep-toned words of th
courtesy." Then again: "To Miss Dorot
aloud, as she thought again of the
, a blank expression on his face. "An
our old Colonial statesmen were wont to do. 'So this is my old friend, Betty Calvert's child, is it?' he said. Dorothy imitated the bass tones of a man with such precision that Jim smiled in spite of himself. 'Well, well! You're as like her as possible-yet only her great-niec
iel Tross
eeting the night the prizes and diplomas were conferred. She was very courteous
ike to go to a girls
you wouldn't, s
an if I w
hy
fe there is
about life at a gi
ou, there must be plenty of athletics to
girls performed our little feats on rings and bars, and as for games in the open air, Oa
ood condition, all r
I am," corr
d to know you've become interested in athletics. That's one g
mean to insinuate that otherwise my c
ubt-at least, you've upheld the honor of the United States in a school
of the peerage. But the majority of the girls were just everyday folks like you and I have been used to
sniffed Jim. "What a na
her real name is Grace Adel
and mor
e protest
meant. Millikins-Pillikins is related t
tain
actical Jim, "but this putting a hyphen between your
d fire as she turned
lling out, but you shall not slander my friends. And please remember, sir, that the last two
the green fields, or the cool-looking patches of woodland that were flashing past; she was
oment's silence, b
n in your own name. I was just thinking of those English girls. I'm positive that when they me
ture in Jim's eyes, and the warm-hearted girl imm
he truth, I'll admit that Gwendolyn was a hateful little spitfire when I first entered the school. But finally she grew to know that in the many attributes which
m drowning, and how, in turn, the English girl had saved
't very well stand by and see you perish-anyway, you had save
at she did it out of the
so," the boy ret
ed man contained a look of unbounded delight, and it was not difficult to see that his pleasure
l see Aunt Betty again. And just think
r. Axin' yo' pawdon, lil' missy, fo' mentionin' de subjeck, but our Miss Betty ain't de woman she were befor' yo' went away las' fall. No, ind
ember we discussed that last summer just befo
or Oak Knowe I had heard nothing of it for some time. The city of Baltimore has long coveted Bellvieu, you know, as well as certain private firms or individuals. The old place is wanted for some new and modern addition I suppose, and they hope eventually
that he realized of what little assistance a boy and girl would be in a matter involving man
ord knows I hates tuh see my Miss Betty a-worryin' en a-triflin' her life erway, w'en she'd oughter be made comf'ta
away. A moment later they heard the door slam and knew that h
othy. "His skin is black as ink, but hi
ing landscape. Dorothy, too, looked out of the window again, a feeling of satis
hing on account of the recent rains. Villages and hamlets flashed by, as the limited t
and pointing out of the window. "There is the old Randolph plantation. W
, as he viewed the rickety condition of what had o
, vowing he would never again set foot in that state. And he kept his word. He settled on this old plantation, remodeling the house, and adding to it, until he had one of the most magnificent mansions in the South. Aunt Betty frequently visited his family when a young girl. That was many years before the Civil War. When th
e father?" queried
sunny disposition, though, finally resolved to let bygones be bygones, and some years after his father's death, he went to se
," nodded
New York to stay, never to see my dear old auntie again on this earth. Humph! Catch
sm
he replied. "Aunt Betty loves you too much, and even if y
unt Betty, and being taken to her heart as I have. But let's not talk of such m
good time studying 'lectricity. There's work ahead
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, or, at l
to make." The serious note in Jim's vo
ough to strike out for yourself yet." A note of a
e gone out to wrestle with the world for a
ing won't let
. Sterling has t
y regard his advice
om up. To do that I shall have to serve as an apprentice for a number of years. The pay is not gre
into the regard of his elders, until Dr. Sterling had taken him under his protecting wing. The doctor, a prominent geologist, had endeavored to teach the boy the rudiments of his calling, and Jim had proved an apt pupil, but had shown such a yearning toward electricity and kindred subjects that the kindly doctor had
that whatever you attempt will be a success. You have it in you, and in your
is month, if I c
e arrive. Perhaps some of her friends will know of an opening.
r. Sterling to send my books and electr
rge room all to yourself, where
and soon he had launched himself into an exposition of el
hat they did not hear Ephraim, who came silently down t
stah Jim, but p'raps yo' don't know dat
quick glance o
Chesapeake, and it's a sight for sore ey
big station. The hum of voices outside, mingled with the shouts of the cab drivers
m following quickly, until finally, in the street, the girl descried a
gton! Don't you know your mistress?
kname he was known at Bellvieu, where he had always lived, and where he had served as Aunt Bett
Descending from his perch on the carriage, he bowed low to Dorothy, his face wreathed in a smile
eyes on yo' once mo'. Ole Bellvieu hain't eb
rl, her heart warming toward the little
etty done been habin' seben fits sence yo' went off tuh school, an' as fo' Dinah en Chloe,
oice. Instinctively she seemed to dread the answer. Aunt Betty w
s' knows she'll git plenty ob strength w'
" said Dorothy, "and d
l suah do dat-I'
through the dirtiest streets, where tumbledown houses swarmed with strange-looking people, who eyed the party curiously; but this was the shortest way to the great country home of th
t trot through the great gateway at Bellvieu, and Dorothy, leaning out of the
at