claimed Ruth. "I'll explain it to you so you
will understand it. Now if you want to speculate you order your brokers,
for instance, to 'buy a thousand shares of B. Sell five thousand shares
of G and ten thousand shares of C.' That's all. Next morning you wake up
to find yourself ten or fifteen thousand dollars richer----"

"Or poorer," added Mr. Stuart. "I must say, Ruth, that your explanation
is very lucid. Take the girls down to my office, leaving here at half
past ten o'clock. I shall have my morning mail disposed of by that time
and my day's orders issued, then my time will be at your disposal.
Sallie, are you going with the girls?"

"No, thank you. Not this morning. I have seen quite all of Chicago, I
think. Besides, I have no love for your horrid Board of Trade. The
automobile will be pretty well filled as it is."

"Oh, please come with us," urged Mollie.

Aunt Sallie shook her head smilingly, so it was arranged that the girls
should go downtown by themselves, there to be met by Mr. Stuart. Olive
bustled in shortly before ten o'clock. She was dressed in a brown
tailor-made suit of broadcloth, with furs and hat of mink. She came
running up the stairs to Ruth's sitting room, bright and eager, her eyes
sparkling with anticipation.

"Here I am," she cried gayly. "I'm going to introduce myself all over
again. I'm Olive, girls. I'm a sort of adopted cousin of the 'Automobile
Girls.' So this is Bab," she sparkled, giving Barbara's hand a friendly
squeeze. "This little yellow-haired girl is Mollie, and the bigger,
brown-haired one is Grace. Now I think we are properly introduced. Now
what can I do to add to the pleasure of the 'Automobile Girls' this fine
morning?"

"I would suggest that you first sit down and compose yourself," replied
Ruth with some severity. "How you do run on, Olive."

"Now, I call that downright mean," pouted Miss Presby. "Don't you, Bab?"
Olive suddenly bent over Barbara, giving the little Kingsbridge girl an
impulsive hug.

Ruth frowned. Bab looked embarrassed. She felt that Ruth resented
Olive's affectionate demonstration. It caused the three Kingsbridge
girls, however, to lose their awe of Miss Presby, whom they had before
looked upon as a superior grown-up person.

"What are the plans for the day, dear?" questioned Olive, turning to
Ruth.

"We are first to go to the office to pick up father. He is to take us
to the Pit. I don't know where we shall go from there."

About this time a