| Chapter. | Page. | |
|---|---|---|
| I. | A Late Arrival | [7] |
| II. | The Doctor's Suggestion | [17] |
| III. | David Finds a Friend | [27] |
| IV. | The Search | [40] |
| V. | Pulling Up Anchor for New Scenes | [52] |
| VI. | Wanderlust | [60] |
| VII. | The Rescue | [72] |
| VIII. | The Motor Boat Disaster | [84] |
| IX. | Leaving the Houseboat to Take Care of Itself | [96] |
| X. | A Ghost Story | [104] |
| XI. | The Feast of Mondamin | [112] |
| XII. | A Boy's Temptation | [124] |
| XIII. | Eleanor Gets Into Mischief | [137] |
| XIV. | "Confusion Worse Confounded" | [149] |
| XV. | The Black Hole | [158] |
| XVI. | The Better Man | [169] |
| XVII. | The Birth of Suspicion | [181] |
| XVIII. | David's Mysterious Errand | [191] |
| XIX. | Ghosts of the Past | [200] |
| XX. | The Fancy Dress Party | [213] |
| XXI. | The Interruption | [221] |
| XXII. | Madge Morton's Trust | [232] |
| XXIII. | The Little Captain's Story | [241] |
| XXIV. | "Good Luck to the Bride" | [248] |
Madge Morton's Trust
CHAPTER I
A LATE ARRIVAL
IT was a particularly hot day in early July. A girl came out on the back porch of an old-fashioned New England house and dropped into a hammock. She looked tired, but her big black eyes were eager with interest.
She held a fat letter in her hand which contained many pages. At the top of the letter was a pen-and-ink drawing of a miniature houseboat with five girls running about on the deck, their hair blowing, their skirts awry. One of them held a broom in her hand; she was the domestic Eleanor! Another waved a frying pan; Miss Jenny Ann Jones, Chief Cook and Chaperon! The third girl was drying her long, blonde hair in the sun; Miss Lillian Seldon, the beauty of the houseboat party!
The girl in the hammock recognized herself: she was feeding a weird-looking animal on four legs with a spoon. And standing among the others, apparently talking as fast as she possibly could, and doing no work of any kind, was a young woman whom the artist had carefully labeled "Madge."
Phyllis Alden laughed until the tears rolled down her cheeks. She could not recall having laughed in two months, and she was sure she would keep on giggling as long as she read her letter.
"Miss Alden"—a woman in the uniform of a professional nurse appeared at the door—"your mother says do you know where the twins are? She is restless about them. I promised her I would come to you. I am sorry to disturb you; I know you are tired."