Two Little Women

by Carolyn Wells

  CHAPTER XIX

  SPENDING THE PRIZE MONEY

  "Hoo--hoo!" called a gay voice, and Tod and Dotty turned to see DollyFayre flying toward them. She was alone and out of breath from running,but laughing gaily as she joined them.

  "I ran away from Tad," she cried. "He went to get some candy, and justfor fun, I scooted off. And somebody had said you came this way, Dot, soI followed just for fun. Why, what's the matter?"

  Dolly looked in amazement at the group of angry men and at thehalf-frightened, half-indignant faces of Dotty and Tod.

  "Matter enough," Tod said; "you keep out of it, Dolly. In fact, yougirls go back to the hotel and leave me to fix things up with thesemen." Then he suddenly remembered his desire for an amicable settlement,and he said pleasantly, "I guess we can come to terms after the ladieshave gone."

  "I guess we can't!" said the black-browed man, in a surly tone. "You goback to the hotel, young man, and get that ten dollars, and I'll keepthe young ladies here safe until you come back."

  "Not much I won't!" cried Tod angrily. "Run on back, girls. Go on--beatit!"

  "No, you don't!" and the big man stepped forward and laid his hand onDotty's shoulder.

  "Take your hand off that lady! Don't you dare to touch her," and Tod'seyes blazed as he flung himself toward the big man.

  "What is it all about? What is the matter?" exclaimed Dolly, whocouldn't understand what she had supposed was a good-natured chat withthe fishermen.

  "They want us to pay ten dollars," said Dotty, indignantly, "and unlesswe do, they're going to lock us up."

  "Lock us up nothing!" shouted Tod, who was unable to decide himself whatwas the best thing to do. The arrival of Dolly had complicated hisdilemma, for now he had two girls to protect instead of one. He wishedTad had come with her, for the twins were big and brawny for their yearsand could have made a fair showing of rebellion against the injustice ofthe fishermen.

  Dolly considered the matter gravely. She looked from Dotty and Tod tothe rude, unkempt men, and after a few moments' thought she made up hermind. Deliberately she opened a little chatelaine bag that hung at herbelt and took from it a ten dollar gold piece. It was her share of thecake prize, for Mr. Rose had changed the twenty dollar gold piece intotwo tens for the girls.

  She looked at the big man with scorn, and holding out the gold piece,she said in cool, haughty tones, "Here is your money; please do notdetain my friends any longer."

  "Don't you do it, Dolly," cried Tod; "it's an outrage!"

  "I know it's an outrage," Dolly said, calmly, "but I prefer to pay themoney rather than parley with these people."

  Dolly's air of superiority would have been funny, had not all concernedbeen so deeply in earnest.

  "Hoity-Toity!" said the big, ugly man, "you're a fine young miss, youare! You treat us like the dirt under your feet, do you? Well, if sobe's you pay our claim, we ain't objectin' to your manner. Be as highand mighty as you like, but give us that there coin."

  Without a further word, Dolly dropped the gold piece into the man'sgrimy, outstretched hand, and the three turned and walked away back tocivilisation.

  "I'm up and down sorry that I couldn't get you out of that mess better,"said Tod, as they went along the boardwalk. "Of course, I'll pay youback the money, Dolly, only I felt mighty cheap to have you advance it.But I had only three or four dollars with me, not expecting a hold-upthis morning."

  "I don't think you ought to have paid it, Doll," said Dotty.

  "'Tisn't a question of ought to," said Tod, seriously. "That's a rough,bad gang. I've heard of them before. I don't know what's the matter withthem, but they're grouchy. All the other fishermen around here arefairly good-natured, but this lot is noted for ugly temper and theyespecially dislike and resent the summer people. I forgot all this, andof course Dotty didn't know it. But I didn't think, and when theysupposed the baby was alive, I went ahead with the game withoutrealising it meant trouble."

  "Well, it's all right now," said Dolly, "and I was glad enough to giveup my ten to ransom you two captives. Of course you won't pay it back tome, Tod, but you can each pay me a third of it and that'll square us allup."

  "We'll each pay half," said Dotty, "there's no reason you should payanything, Doll. You weren't in on this game. And here's another thing,I'm going to buy a new doll for that little girl. You see it's the sameas if I stole hers."

  "Not at all," said Tod. "She had lost her doll, anyhow. She must haveleft it there on the bench, and if we hadn't picked it up, somebodywould have stolen it sooner or later."

  "We can't be sure of that," said Dotty. "And anyway I took her doll, andI lost it for her, and it's up to me to get her another. And that's allthere is about that. I've got my gold piece with me, too, and I'm goingstraight down to the shop and get the doll now."

  Dotty was determined, and so the three went to the shop. There was onlyone place in Surfwood where toys and fancy goods were sold. But thisshop was stocked with a high grade of goods and Dotty had no trouble infinding a doll nearly like the one which was now doubtless afloat on thewide ocean. The doll cost five dollars, but Dotty persisted in buyingit, as she declared her conscience would never be easy unless she did.

  "Now let's settle this thing up," said Tod, as they emerged from thestore. "I find I have as much as five dollars with me, counting chickenfeed, and I'll pay this to you, Dolly, as my half of the ransom you putup."

  "And here's my five," said Dotty, handing over the bill she had receivedin change for the doll.

  Dolly looked dismayed. "Why, good gracious, Dot, then here am I with tendollars, and you with nothing of our prize money! I won't stand that fora minute, you take this five back, and then we'll be even all round. Irather guess if you get in a scrape like that, I've got a right to helpyou out."

  "Well, I rather guess," said Tod, "that when we tell our folks aboutthis matter there'll be something doing. I think those men ought to beshown up and punished."

  "Oh, no," said Dolly. "They're an awful gang. I've heard Father say so,and I'm sure it's better to let them alone than to stir up any furthertrouble."

  And as it turned out the elders concerned in the matter shared Dolly'sopinion.

  The story was told and Mr. Fayre and Mr. Brown talked over the matterand said they would take it in charge and the children need think nomore about it, but they were directed to keep away from that locality inthe future and confine their escapades to such portions of the beachand the boardwalk as were inhabited by civilised crowds.

  Money matters were straightened out in a way acceptable to allconcerned, by the simple method of the two fathers' remuneration of allthat had been paid out, and so Dolly, Dotty and Tod found themselvespossessed of the same finances they had before the unfortunate episodeoccurred.

  "Dat not my dolly," declared the Chrysanthemum-headed baby, shaking heryellow curls as Dotty offered her the new doll.

  "I know it," Dotty said, smiling as she knelt beside the child; "but letme tell you. I found your dolly sitting all alone on a bench, and I wasgoing to bring her home to you. And then,--well, and then, do you knowthat dolly went out to sea, way out to sea--and I think she's going toEurope as fast as she can get there. And so, I've brought you this otherdolly, which is just as pretty."

  Goldenhead looked up into the smiling black eyes, and after a moment'shesitation agreed that the new dolly was just as pretty as the departedone, and graciously accepted it.

  Goldenhead's mother demurred at the whole transaction, but Mrs. Fayreinsisted that the child accept the new dolly and so the matter wassettled.

  "Tell me everything all about it!" cried Pauline Clifton, rushing tomeet the two D's on the hotel veranda. "Wasn't it thrilling? Such anexperience! My, I wish I had been with you! And Tod Brown was perfectlyfine, a real hero!"

  "Didn't do a thing," growled Tod, and Tad who was beside him, said,"Wish I'd been there! then we could have sent the girls flying home andstood up to those toughs!"

  "Aren't you splendid!" cried Pauline, but Dolly sa
id, in her practicalway, "It wouldn't have been splendid at all, it would have been veryfoolish for you two boys to think of fighting that crowd of great uglymen! It was a case, where the only thing to do, was to submit to theirdemand and come away. My father says we did just right."

  "Of course, it was the only thing to do," said Tod, "but to me it seemedawful galling."

  "Well, we'll never go there again," said Dotty; "and it ought to be alesson to us not to play jokes on people."

  "A lesson that _you'll_ never learn," said Dolly, laughing; "you'll haveto have worse experiences than that, Dotty Rose, before you stop playingjokes on people."

  "Is that so?" cried Carroll Clifton; "then you're a girl after my ownheart. I love to play jokes. Let's put our heads together and work up agood one on somebody."

  "Well, this joke isn't on us, anyway," said Dotty, laughing. "We haveour ten dollars back again, Dolly, and I say we spend them before we geta chance to lose them again."

  "But we're going to spend those for something special. You know they areour cake prizes."

  "Oho!" cried Carroll, "did you girls take a prize at a cake walk?"

  "Not a cake walk, but we took a prize for making cake," Dotty exclaimed;"and I say, Dolly, let's buy something in that shop where we bought thedoll. They have beautiful things there of all sorts."

  "Come on," said Pauline, "let's all go, and we'll help you pick outthings."

  So the two Cliftons and the two Browns and the two D's all started forthe shop. It was that sort of summer resort bazaar that holds all kindsof fancy knick-knacks for frivolous purchasers.

  "Going to get things alike or different?" asked Tod Brown, as they wentin.

  "Different, of course," said Tad, "Dot and Dolly never like thingsalike."

  "Don't you really?" said Pauline; "how funny! I thought you were suchgreat friends you always had everything just alike."

  "No," said Dolly, "we have everything just different. You see our tastesare just about opposite, I expect that's why we're such friends."

  Dotty and Carroll were already studying the things at the jewellerycounter, while Dolly was slowly but surely making toward the bookdepartment.

  "Get a picture," suggested Tad, "here are some good water colours of thesea."

  "And here's a coloured photograph of that very fishing place where youwere at," said Pauline.

  All sorts of ridiculous suggestions were made, and the boys offeredjumping-jacks and comical toys to the two spenders.

  "Why don't you get a lot of little things, instead of one big thing?"said Pauline; "here are some darling slipper buckles, and I think theselittle flower vases are lovely."

  "No," said Dotty, decidedly, "we're each going to get one thing andspend the whole ten dollars for it. And it must be something that we cankeep and use."

  "I've made up my mind," said Dolly, calmly; "I'm just looking around forfun, but I know perfectly well what I'm going to get. Do you, Dotty?"

  "Yes, of course. I decided before I was in the store a minute."

  "What?" chorused the others.

  "This is mine," and Dotty went back to the jewellery counter and pointedout a silver-gilt vanity-case.

  "Well, of all ridiculous things!" cried Tod; "you might as well have letthe fishermen keep your money!"

  "'Tisn't ridiculous at all!" Dotty retorted. "Mother told me I could getexactly what I wanted, and I want this dreadfully. I've wanted one for along time. Don't you think it's pretty, Pauline?"

  "Yes," returned Pauline, carelessly. "I have two of them, one real goldand one silver. But I hardly ever carry them."

  "Oh, well, you can have whatever you want," said Dotty, good-naturedly;"but this is a treat to me, and I think it's lovely, though of coursenot grand like yours."

  So Dotty bought the vanity-case, and then the crowd followed Dolly tosee what might be her choice.

  Straight to the bookshelves she went, and pointed to a set of fairystories. They were half a dozen or more volumes bound in various coloursand the set was ten dollars.

  "I've been just crazy for these books," she said, with a sigh ofsatisfaction. "I would have had them for my birthday, only we had ourrooms fixed up; and the minute I spotted them I knew I should buy them."

  "What a foolishness!" exclaimed Carroll; "how can you read fairy tales?"

  "She loves them," said Dotty; "she'd rather read a fairy story than goto a party, any day."

  Dolly laughed and dimpled, but stuck to her decision and soon the crowdleft the shop, carrying the important purchases with them.

  Back at the hotel, they were exhibited, and Mrs. Fayre and Trudy smileda little at the selection, but said they were glad that the girls hadbought what they wanted.