The Outdoor Girls at Wild Rose Lodge or The Hermit of Moonlight Falls by Laura Lee Hope 1921 Contents CHAPTER I. JUST FUN CHAPTER II. THE FALLING TREE CHAPTER III. THE QUEER LITTLE MAN CHAPTER IV. GOOD NEWS CHAPTER V. BETTY TAKES A DARE CHAPTER VI. NEARLY WRECKED CHAPTER VII. BAD TIDINGS CONFIRMED CHAPTER VIII. PREMONITIONS CHAPTER IX. A VISITOR CHAPTER X. HURRAH FOR ALLEN CHAPTER XI. THE HOLD-UP CHAPTER XII. SHEEP! CHAPTER XIII. THE ENEMY ROUTED CHAPTER XIV. NOTHING HUMAN CHAPTER XV. WILD ROSES CHAPTER XVI. THE WHIRLPOOL CHAPTER XVII. THE THING CHAPTER XVIII. SURPRISED CHAPTER XIX. LIKE OLD TIMES CHAPTER XX. VERY MUCH ALIVE CHAPTER XXI. OUT OF THE DARK CHAPTER XXII. TRAGEDY CHAPTER XXIII. A MOONLIGHT APPARITION CHAPTER XXIV. RECOVERED CHAPTER XXV. THE OLD CROWD AGAIN CHAPTER I. JUST FUN “Did you ever see a more wonderful day?” The four Outdoor Girls, in Mollie Billette’s touring car and with Mollie herself at the wheel, were at the present moment rushing wildly over a dusty country road at the rate of thirty miles an hour. Grace Ford was sitting in front with Mollie, while Betty Nelson and Amy Blackford “sprawled,” to use Mollie’s sarcastic and slightly exaggerated description, “all over the tonneau.” “You look as if you had never done a real day’s work in your life,” said Mollie, with a disapproving glance over her shoulder at the girls in the tonneau. “We never have,” returned quiet Amy, with a grin. “And we are proud of it,” added Betty, as she defiantly settled her feet still more comfortably on the foot rail. “Why should we be energetic when it is so much easier to be lazy?” “There the proper spirit speaks,” applauded Grace Ford from the front. “I think I shall have to change places with you, Betty. It’s far too exciting up here with Mollie. She insists upon staging near collisions every few feet! thus keeping me awake!” “Great heavens!” cried Mollie, pressing an impatient foot upon the accelerator to which the great car responded with an eager purring, “did any one ever give us the mistaken title of Outdoor Girls, I wonder? They should have called us the Rip Van Winkle club, instead.” “Now she’s getting sour-castic,” commented Grace lazily. “Have some candy, honey, and sweeten up.” She passed the ever-present box of delicacies over to Mollie, to which overture the young driver responded with so indignant a stare that Grace quickly withdrew the box, tucked it behind her, and strove to look unconscious. “Please, ma’am, I didn’t mean to do it,” she said meekly. “Well, don’t do it again, that’s all,” returned Mollie, uncompromisingly, her eyes once more on the road ahead. “I’ve eaten so many chocolates this week that I’ve had indigestion and mother threatened to cut down my allowance.” “Goodness, it’s my allowance that suffers,” retorted Grace, ruefully, “since it is my candy that you eat.”