rom the slippery rocks.

Mary Cox was certainly a very strange sort of a girl; but her present
attitude did not surprise Ruth. Mary had, soon after Ruth entered
Briarwood Hall, taken a dislike to the younger girl. Ruth's new
club--the Sweetbriars--had drawn almost all the new girls in the
school, as well as many of Mary's particular friends; while the Up
and Doing Club, of which Mary was the leading spirit, was not alone
frowned upon by Mrs. Tellingham and her assistants, but lost members
until--as Helen Cameron had said--the last meeting of the Upedes
consisted of The Fox and Helen herself.

The former laid all this at Ruth Fielding's door. She saw Ruth's
influence and her club increase, while her own friends fell away from
her. Twice Ruth had helped to save Mary from drowning, and on neither
occasion did the older girl seem in the least grateful. Now Ruth was
saving her from the scorn of the other girls and--perhaps--a request
from Heavy's Aunt Kate that Mary pack her bag and return home.

Ruth hoped that Mary would find some opportunity of speaking to her
alone before the day was over. But, even when the boys returned from
the outer rocks with a splendid string of bass, and the bow of the
_Miraflame_ was turned homeward, The Fox said never a word to her. Ruth
crept away into the bows by herself, her mind much troubled. She feared
that the fortnight at Lighthouse Point might become very unpleasant,
if Mary continued to be so very disagreeable.

Suddenly somebody tapped her on the arm. The motor boat was pushing
toward the mouth of Sokennet Harbor and the sun was well down toward the
horizon. The girls were in the cabin, singing, and Madge was trying
to make her brother sing, too; but Bob's voice was changing and what
he did to the notes of the familiar tunes was a caution.

But it was Tom Cameron who had come to Ruth. "See here," said the boy,
eagerly. "See what I picked up on the rocks over there."

"Over where?" asked Ruth, looking curiously at the folded paper in
Tom's hand.

"Across from where you fell in, Ruth. Nita and that Crab fellow were
standing there when I went down the rocks and dived in for you. And I
saw them looking at this sheet of newspaper," and Tom began to slowly
unfold it as he spoke.

CHAPTER XVII

WHAT WAS IN THE NEWSPAPER

"Whatever have you got there, Tom?" asked Ruth, curiously.

"Hush! I reckon Crab lost it when you fell in the water and stirred us
all up so," returned