Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Emmy and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net THE RANCH GIRLS SERIES The Ranch Girls and Their Great Adventure BOOKS BY MARGARET VANDERCOOK THE RANCH GIRLS SERIES THE RANCH GIRLS AT RAINBOW LODGE THE RANCH GIRLS' POT OF GOLD THE RANCH GIRLS AT BOARDING SCHOOL THE RANCH GIRLS IN EUROPE THE RANCH GIRLS AT HOME AGAIN THE RANCH GIRLS AND THEIR GREAT ADVENTURE THE RED CROSS GIRLS SERIES THE RED CROSS GIRLS IN THE BRITISH TRENCHES THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH FIRING LINE THE RED CROSS GIRLS IN BELGIUM THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH THE ITALIAN ARMY THE RED CROSS GIRLS UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES STORIES ABOUT CAMP FIRE GIRLS THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT SUNRISE HILL THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AMID THE SNOWS THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS ACROSS THE SEA THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS' CAREERS THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN AFTER YEARS THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN THE DESERT THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT THE END OF THE TRAIL [Illustration: YOU MUST ABIDE BY MY DECISION] THE RANCH GIRLS SERIES The Ranch Girls and Their Great Adventure --BY-- MARGARET VANDERCOOK ILLUSTRATED BY WILSON V. CHAMBERS THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY PHILADELPHIA Copyright, 1917, by THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. KENT HOUSE 9 II. FRIEDA'S RIFT 22 III. THE VOICE 34 IV. A LATE ARRIVAL 49 V. AN APPARITION 63 VI. THE CLOUD 81 VII. SO AS BY FIRE 92 VIII. SEVERAL MONTHS LATER 101 IX. CHURCH AND STATE 116 X. THE LETTER 127 XI. A SURPRISE 138 XII. NO QUARTER 148 XIII. THE BREAK 159 XIV. PROFESSOR AND PROFESSORESS 171 XV. THE OLD RANCH 187 XVI. VIVE 201 XVII. FAREWELL 212 XVIII. "UNDER TWO FLAGS" 225 ILLUSTRATIONS YOU MUST ABIDE BY MY DECISION _Frontispiece_ PAGE IN A FEW MOMENTS SHE WAS IN A PANIC 74 HIS OWN MEN CARRIED HIM BACK TO A FIELD HOSPITAL 128 I ASSURE YOU I HAVE OFFICIAL PERMISSION 180 The Ranch Girls and Their Great Adventure CHAPTER I KENT HOUSE