The Worthington advance., 1899-12-22
MISS BEECHER'S JOURNEY.
An Exciting Story OF q Chicago Girls Trip
to the Maine Woods.
nKISS MAUD BEECHER was Chi

0>>->>>->->-> ->->->->>->->->>->0
nKISS MAUD BEECHER was Chi
= W cago girl. She came to Boston on
IA visit to her cousin, Miss Teresa Hol-
land, girl with a fad, and that fad was
old historic houses, of which Miss Te-
resa had made large number of photo
graphs. If Miss Beecher had fad it
was the adornment of her own stylish
person, especially with jewels, of which
she had a rare collection.
The two cousins did not find them
selves very congenial and Maud soon
tired of wheeling through the historic
parts of Massachusetts in search of the
most tumble-down houses there.
She got on better with Tom Holland
and often begged him to take her wheel
ing with the other fellows" Tom was
n and he found his cousin very anus
ing.
At last Tom and the other fellows
went to the Maine woods for hunting
trip, Mrs. Holland and the younger
children left for their seaside home, and
Maud and Teresa were left alone in the
great city house. Teresa had almost
finished an article on Historic houses"
and Maud generously offered to remain
ii. with her till it was completed.
= She repeated her rash offer as the hot
Summer days came on, but Teresa pro-
tested that it was cooler in the library
'<of the big city house than on the piazza
of the beach house, where the glaring
sand reflected in ones face, or in the
Maine woods, where mosquitoes and
i. black flies made life miserable.
g Maud curled up in big leather chair
h.. anr read till her head ached, then she
f spent long hours doing her hair differ
ent ways, and trying on different cos
tunes, to see if one might not be a trifle
cooler than the others.
-. When Teresa announced that she had
"decided to write an article on photo
graphic art studies before going away,
Maud walked out of the room without
word.
Teresa was surprised an hour later
when Maud appeared with her travelling
bag in her hand. She wore covert
cloth skirt and silk shirt waist. She
had fastened a costly diamond pin in
her hair and another in her breast, to
hold in her watch with its jeweled
: pendant. On her fingers were many rare
- gems.
"Well," exclaimed Teresa, "where
=, now:" .,,E =,
- "To the Maine woods to see Tom,''
Maud replied, gayly. Teresa dropped
her pen in dismay.
''Going to see Tom,' she calculated,
NoDl virr f1,pco Lei
Maud, I shall have to telegrap ph mamma
if you insist on this wild prank. Come,
I will give up this article and go with
you to the beach if you wish. Thought
you were quite contented.'
mo, Teresa, I will not let you sacri-
y flee your precious article. I am quite
determined to go fishing with the boys
Don't be a goose, Teresa; let me go.
Mrs. Burridge is up there cooking for
the boys. 1 shall be chaperoned all
right. It's no worse than wheeling with
them all over Massachusetts,
Teresa gave it up and went back to
her article after remarking that at least
Maud ought to have sense enough to
take off her jewelry if she didn't want
, to get robbed.
Maud protested that it was safer on
~ her person than anywhere else and
that she had a chamois bag around
~ her neck with all her stones in it, Then
'Jshc started off down the street and
Teresa soon forgot all about her, re-
manning absorbed in her work till the
dinner bell rang. Then she remem-
/ bered with pang that her cousin had
f done very uncircumspect thing and
felt bound to write Mrs. Holland
about it.
Maud enjoyed her journey immensely
and was not at all alarmed to find she
must spend the nj ght in Portland, and
leave at an unreasonable hour in the
morning. She accomplished all her ar
rargements without difficulty, and was
treated with respectful courtesy by all
the railroad and hotel officials.
AS the train bowled along northward
in the early morning she was congratu-
Eating herself and thinking with scorn
of timid young maidens who never
h travelled alone, when she became con-
scious of pair of eyes riveted on her
face. Wheeling in her chair she en-
countered them. They were gray, un-
pleasant eyes, and they did not drop
before hers, but their owner smiled
boldly.
E#5< She turned quickly away and buried
herself in newspaper. The eyes still
followed her and she ventured to turn
toward them again and pretended to
fall asleep, thus gaining an opportunity
to study the offender through half-shut
eyes. He vas well-dressed man,
though Mald's mental comment was
that he was "cheap."
Probably wants to firt," she