make them look less like a lot of dummies while they are
cutting out rompers for cannibal island pickaninnies," laughed Ruth. "Tom,
I am going to the port with you the first thing in the morning."

"By all means," said Captain Cameron. "I am yours to command."

Her newly aroused interest in the scenario at present being filmed, was a
good thing for Ruth Fielding. Having found nothing at all in the submitted
stories that suggested her own lost story, the girl of the Red Mill tried
to put aside again the thing that so troubled her mind. And this new
interest helped.

In the morning before breakfast she and Tom ran over to the port in the
maroon roadster. While they were having breakfast at the inn, Ruth asked
the waitress, who was a native of this part of the country, about the
Union Church and some of the more intimate life-details of the members of
its congregation.

It is not hard to uncover neighborhood gossip of a kind not altogether
unkindly in any similar community. The Union Church had a new minister,
and he was young. He was now away on his vacation, and more than one local
beauty and her match-making mamma would have palpitation of the heart
before he returned for fear that the young clergyman would have his heart
interests entangled by some designing "foreigner."

Tom had no idea as to what Ruth Fielding was getting at through this
questioning of the beaming Hebe who waited on them at breakfast. And he
was quite as much in the dark as to his friend's motive when Ruth
announced their first visit to be to the office of the Herringport
_Harpoon_, the local news sheet.

CHAPTER XVII

JOHN, THE HERMIT'S, CONTRIBUTION

A man with bushy hair, a pencil stuck over his ear, and wearing an
ink-stained apron, met them in the office of the _Harpoon_. This was Ezra
Payne, editor and publisher of the weekly news-sheet, and this was his
busiest day. The _Harpoon_, Ruth had learned, usually went into the mails
on this day.

"Tut, tut! I see. Is this a joke?" Mr. Payne pursed his lips and wrinkled
his brow in uncertainty.

"A whole edition, Miss? Wall, I dunno. I do have hard work selling all the
edition some weeks. But I have reg'lar subscribers----"

"This will not interfere with your usual edition of the _Harpoon_," she
hastened to assure him.

"How's that, Miss?"

"I want to buy an edition of one copy."

"One copy!"

"Yes, sir. I want something special printed in one paper. Then you can
take it ou