World War, 1914-1918 -- United States -- Juvenile fiction; Young women -- Societies and clubs -- Juvenile fiction
The girl laughingly mimicked the boy as she patted him on the head,
understanding that he was worried because she had not selected the thing
that the children were so anxious should “win the prize,” as they called
it, for her. Then her eyes sobered, and, drawing the little lad to her,
she showed him the Bible she held in her hand, explaining that she had
selected it, as it told about Christ the Savior, and contained God’s
wonderful message to His people, telling them how to love Him and be
good. “Yes, Tony,” she added solemnly, “the Bible is the most precious
thing to everybody in the world. And then, as _this_ little Bible used
to belong to Mrs. Renwick’s only son, I am sure that it would be the
most valuable thing to her, so I am going to select it.”
As the girl saw the child’s eyes light up, as if he comprehended what
she meant, she laid the Bible on a chair and ran hastily up to her room
to hunt for some white paper and blue ribbon. In a moment or so she was
back, wrapping up the book, and then, to Tony’s infinite delight, she
slipped her card under the blue ribbon and gave the book to him, to
place at the door of the mystery-room with the other packages.
Some time later, Nathalie, in company with her mother, Janet, Cynthia,
and Mr. Banker, entered the mystery-room, no one perceiving as they
entered that the children had slyly followed them, and were staring
about with wondering, curious eyes. Ah, so this was the room they had
all been so curious about; and Nathalie smiled as she saw that it was a
homey, cozy room, suggestive of feminine tastes and occupations, but,
after all, it was just nothing but Mrs. Renwick’s sitting-room, the room
where she had sewed, read, and wrote her letters.
The low book-cases lining the wall, the hardwood floor with its costly
Persian rug, the open fireplace set with fagots ready to light on a cool
morning, the desk in one corner, with the Victrola near, and the antique
furniture, all of solid mahogany, certainly did not savor of a mystery
or anything uncanny. In fact, the little table in the center of the
room, with its shaded lamp, books, and magazines, and the little upright
work-basket near, rather intimated that the owner of the room had just
left it for a moment or so.
But Mr. Banker was speaking. He stood by the little center-table on
which lay the three valuable things. He held up Cynthia’s selection as
he said: “I have here a picture, a most valuable painting, as it is a
Van Dyke. It has been selected by Miss Cynthia Loretto Stillwell, as I
see by the name on the card. This little box bears the name of Miss
Janet Page, and is a curio from China. And here is a Bible,” the
gentleman’s voice deepened as he held up Nathalie’s selection. The
girl’s heart, notwithstanding her indifference to the outcome of the
selection, was beating against her side in a very annoying way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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