Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: Their Dear, Too-brief Holiday was Drawing to a Close. Frontispiece.] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- GRACE HARLOWE'S PROBLEM By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A.M. Author of The High School Girls Series, The College Girls Series, etc. PHILADELPHIA HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY HOWARD E. ALTEMUS. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THEIR GREATEST, DEAREST DAY 7 II. THE LAST FROLIC 22 III. PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 29 IV. MILESTONES 39 V. THE LOCKED DOOR 48 VI. A CLUB MEETING AND A MYSTERY 61 VII. HER OWN WAY 74 VIII. ALL IN THE DAY'S WORK 81 IX. WHAT EVELYN HEARD ON THE CAMPUS 93 X. LAYING THE CORNERSTONE OF A HOUSE OF TROUBLE 102 XI. THANKSGIVING WITH THE NESBITS 110 XII. MISSING--A FRIEND 123 XIII. A DISTURBING CONFIDENCE 133 XIV. THE RETURN OF THE CHRISTMAS CHILDREN 141 XV. THE NEW YEAR'S WEDDING 153 XVI. THE LAST WORD 163 XVII. THE SUMMONS 170 XVIII. THE BLOTTED ESCUTCHEON 182 XIX. THE SWORD OF SUSPENSE 194 XX. THE AWAKENING 204 XXI. KATHLEEN WEST MAKES A PROMISE 213 XXII. FIGHTING LOYALHEART'S BATTLE 222 XXIII. GRACE SOLVES HER PROBLEM 230 XXIV. THE BOND ETERNAL 249 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- GRACE HARLOWE'S PROBLEM CHAPTER I THEIR GREATEST, DEAREST DAY "And at this time next week we'll all be back at work," sighed Arline Thayer. "Not that I love work less, but the Sempers more," she paraphrased half apologetically. "It's been so perfectly splendid to gather home, and Elfreda was a darling to plan and carry out such a----"