Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net Transcriber's Note: Underscore marks are used to mark passages that were originally in italics, _as in this phrase_. There are sections of several paragraphs that use this markup throughout the book. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AT THE SIGN OF THE JACK O'LANTERN By MYRTLE REED Author of Lavender and Old Lace The Master's Violin A Spinner in the Sun Old Rose and Silver A Weaver of Dreams Flower of the Dusk Etc. New York GROSSET & DUNLAP Publishers ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright, 1902 BY MYRTLE REED By Myrtle Reed: A Weaver of Dreams Sonnets to a Lover Old Rose and Silver Master of the Vineyard Lavender and Old Lace Flower of the Dusk The Master's Violin At the Sign of the Jack-o'-Lantern Love Letters of a Musician A Spinner in the Sun The Spinster Book Later Love Letters of a Musician The Shadow of Victory Love Affairs of Literary Men Myrtle Reed Year Book This edition is issued under arrangement with the publishers G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. The End of the Honeymoon 1 II. The Day Afterward 18 III. The First Caller 35 IV. Finances 53 V. Mrs. Smithers 68 VI. The Coming of Elaine 84 VII. An Uninvited Guest 100 VIII. More 119 IX. Another 136 X. Still More 154 XI. Mrs. Dodd's Third Husband 173 XII. Her Gift to the World 191 XIII. A Sensitive Soul 210 XIV. Mrs. Dodd's Fifth Fate 226 XV. Treasure-Trove 243 XVI. Good Fortune 264 XVII. The Lady Elaine Knows Her Heart 282 XVIII. Uncle Ebeneezer's Diary 299 XIX. Various Departures 319 XX. The Love of Another Elaine 338 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I The End of the Honeymoon It was certainly a queer house. Even through the blinding storm they could distinguish its eccentric outlines as they alighted from the stage. Dorothy laughed happily, heedless of the fact that her husband's umbrella was dripping down her neck. "It's a dear old place," she cried; "I love it already!" For an instant a flash of lightning turned the peculiar windows into sheets of flame, then all was dark again. Harlan's answer was drowned by a crash of thunder and the turning of the heavy wheels on the gravelled road.