The Missing Formula / Madge Sterling Series, #1

By Ann Wirt
The Madge Sterling Series
The Missing Formula The Deserted Yacht The Secret of the Sundial
THE GOLDSMITH PUBLISHING COMPANY NEW YORK
Copyright, 1932 The Goldsmith Publishing Company Made in U. S. A.
“You couldn’t hire me to spend a night alone at Stewart Island! Imagine how lonely and terrifying it must be for Anne Fairaday!”
Madge Sterling did not give the impression of a girl easily daunted. Gazing out across the stretch of ruffled water toward the pine-covered isle which drowsed like a huge green sea turtle in the heat of a midsummer sun, she made a most striking picture. Her auburn hair had been whipped carelessly back from her face by the wind. She was tanned to a healthy, mellow bronze, and the blue of her sweater exactly matched the blue of her eyes—eyes which at the moment were troubled and serious.
“It doesn’t seem right for Anne to stay there without a companion,” she continued, addressing the kindly-faced, elderly woman who stood beside her at the boat landing.
Mrs. Brady nodded soberly.
“We really should do something about it. I had no idea she was staying alone until Jack French told us this morning. Of course, the Fairadays always have kept to themselves. This girl may not care to have us interfere in her private affairs.”
“Everything is changed now, Aunt Maude,” Madge protested quickly. “I’m sure Anne would have mixed more with folks if her father hadn’t kept her so close at home. Now that he is dead she needs friends more than ever.”
“Why not go over there this afternoon and find out how matters stand?” Mrs. Brady suggested quietly. “The least we can do is to invite her to stay here at the lodge until she has had time to plan her future.”