[Illustration: She found Douglas sitting in a forlorn heap in their tent. (_Frontis_) (_The Carter Girls' Week-End Camp_)] THE CARTER GIRLS' WEEK-END CAMP By NELL SPEED AUTHOR OF "The Molly Brown Series," "The Tucker Twins Series," etc. A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers New York Printed in U. S. A. Copyright, 1918, By HURST & COMPANY CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. A LETTER 5 II. THE RETURN 12 III. THE PROBLEM 30 IV. ROBERT CARTER'S ASTONISHING GIRLS 48 V. THE TUCKERS 66 VI. POST-PRANDIAL CONVERSATIONS 78 VII. THE STORM 97 VIII. THE DAMAGE DONE 115 IX. MR. MACHIAVELLI TUCKER 126 X. MR. HIRAM G. PARKER 142 XI. THE BIRD 165 XII. PLEASE REMIT 185 XIII. TEAKETTLE 194 XIV. THE FORAGERS 212 XV. BABES IN THE WOOD 232 XVI. TOM TIT 252 XVII. THE SPRING-KEEPER 269 XVIII. MORE FINDS 278 XIX. A DISCUSSION 286 XX. DR. WRIGHT TO THE RESCUE 298 XXI. LETTERS 311 The Carter Girls' Week-End Camp CHAPTER I A LETTER From Douglas Carter to her mother, Mrs. Robert Carter GREENDALE, VA., AUGUST --, 19--. MY DARLING MOTHER: Words cannot express the joy and gratitude all of us feel that father is really getting well. I shall never forget the miserable time last spring when Dr. Wright came into the library where Helen and Nan and Lucy and I were sitting and told us of his very serious condition. I had felt he was in a very bad way but did not realize it was quite so dreadful. I am sure you did not, either. And when Dr. Wright said that you must take him on a long sea voyage and we understood that we were to be left behind, the bottom seemed to drop out of the universe.