Three Little Women’s Success Gabrielle E. Jackson CONTENTS CHAPTER I—After Three Years. CHAPTER II—The Silent Partner and Others. CHAPTER III—The Bee-hive. CHAPTER IV—The Busy Bees. CHAPTER V—Mammy Makes Investigations. CHAPTER VI—Thanksgiving. CHAPTER VII—Expansion. CHAPTER VIII—Vaulting Ambitions. CHAPTER IX—At Merry Yuletide. CHAPTER X—“Then Came the Wild Weather.” CHAPTER XI—In the Valley. CHAPTER XII—Of the Shadow. CHAPTER XIII—Aftermath. CHAPTER XIV—In the Springtide. CHAPTER XV—Mammy Makes a Discovery. CHAPTER XVI—Mammy a Sherlock Holmes. CHAPTER XVII—Cupid in Spectacles. CHAPTER XVIII—Harvest Time. CHAPTER XIX—Three Little Women’s Success [Illustration: Charles Was Sitting Upright Talking Wildly.] THREE LITTLE WOMEN SERIES Three Little Women’s Success _A STORY FOR GIRLS_ By GABRIELLE E. JACKSON Author of “The Joy of Piney Hill,” “Wee Winkles,” “Sunlight and Shadow,” “By Love’s Sweet Rule,” Etc. Illustrated THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY Philadelphia Copyright 1913, by The John C. Winston Co. Copyright 1910, by The John C. Winston Co. _TO DOROTHY_ _A loyal, lovable lassie,_ _A trusted and true little friend._ G. E. J. CHAPTER I AFTER THREE YEARS. October had come to Riveredge. This fact meant more than the five words usually imply, for to few spots did October show such a gracious presence as she did to this pretty town. Beautiful at all seasons, even in its wintry dress of gleaming snow, in its autumn gorgeousness, Riveredge was entirely irresistible. In summer the town drowsed, for during July and August many of its inhabitants took a holiday and journeyed thither and yonder; in the autumn it wakened to the busy bustle of active life and its preparations for the drawing together of all who dwelt therein, and spring was the time when it did its renovating, its housecleaning, its decorating, but October’s crisp westerly winds blowing across the broad expanses of the river set blood stirring, made pulses throb many beats quicker, and caused even strangers to smile and nod to one another as they passed along the streets. Friends called gayly: “Isn’t the air delicious? Doesn’t it make you want to prance like a colt?”