Transcriber's Note: Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. A Colony of Girls By KATE LIVINGSTON WILLARD New York Dodd, Mead and Company Copyright, 1892, by DODD, MEAD & COMPANY. All rights reserved. CONTENTS. PAGE I. THE LAWRENCES AND OTHERS, 1 II. NAN'S SHIP ARRIVES, 11 III. A LEAF FROM HELEN'S PAST, 24 IV. A SAIL ON THE "CYCLONE," 38 V. SUNSET-HOUR ON THE CLIFFS, 51 VI. A DINNER AT THE MANOR, 59 VII. A WALK IN THE SHRUBBERY, 69 VIII. NAN REBELS, 88 IX. A FLYING MACHINE AND WHAT CAME OF IT, 97 X. MISS STUART'S ARRIVAL, 118 XI. DULL DAYS, 131 XII. EDDYING CURRENTS, 139 XIII. AN INVITATION, 156 XIV. A DANCE AT CRESCENT BEACH, 171 XV. HELEN IS PUZZLED, 184 XVI. "IT WAS ONLY MY IMAGINATION," 193 XVII. THE "VORTEX" DEPARTS, 206 XVIII. A RIFT IN THE CLOUDS, 224 XIX. A CABLEGRAM, 244 XX. "PEACE ON EARTH--GOOD WILL TO MEN," 259 A COLONY OF GIRLS. CHAPTER I. THE LAWRENCES AND OTHERS. "I cannot understand why the children do not return from the beach. They have been gone so long." "None too long," sighed Nathalie Lawrence, swinging lazily to and fro in a hammock which was hung across one end of the veranda. "What a heaven it is without them. I declare, Helen," she continued, addressing her sister in aggrieved tone, "we do get a lot of those children, somehow or other. For my part, I cannot see why you let them stay about with us all the time, when they are a thousand times better off with Mary," and she gave a vindictive tug at a rope fastened to the railing, which sent the hammock back and forth with the utmost rapidity. "Take care, Nat; you will be out next, and there will be a hubbub worse than the children would think of making in their wildest moments." The young girl who thus spoke laughed a low, musical laugh, and looked up from her book with a pair of wide-open blue eyes. "Nathalie, as usual, thinks only of herself," said Helen with a frown, as she walked away. "I never can say one word about those children without raising Helen's ire. She spoils them, and she might as well admit it."