Uncle Rutherford's Nieces: A Story for Girls

"SUCH WAS THE PICTURE THAT PRESENTED ITSELF TO MY VIEW."— Page 10. UNCLE RUTHERFORD'S NIECES A STORY FOR GIRLS By JOANNA H. MATHEWS Author of "The Bessie Books," "Uncle Rutherford's Attic," "Breakfast for Two," etc. "For ruling wisely I should have small skill, Were I not lord of simple Dara still." WITH ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES & BROTHER 1888 Copyright, 1888, By FREDERICK A. STOKES & BROTHER. DEDICATED TO HERBERT HUNT, WITH LOVING AND BEST WISHES FOR HIS FUTURE YEARS, ON HIS BIRTHDAY, August 6, 1888. CONTENTS. An Arithmetical Puzzle 7 A Cablegram 27 An Arrival 47 "Food for the Gods" 71 The "Morning Bugle" 89 Uncle Rutherford's Prize 107 Two Peanut-Venders 129 Not on the Programme 151 Matty 173 A Cold Bath 195 Five Dollars 219 Caught in the Act 241 Matty is provided for 261 Jim's Confession 285 UNCLE RUTHERFORD'S NIECES AN ARITHMETICAL PUZZLE. A sunny and a dark head, both bent over a much-befigured, much-besmeared slate, the small brows beneath the curls puckered,—the one in perplexity, the other with sympathy; opposite these two a third head whose carrotty hue betrayed it to be Jim's, although the face appertaining thereto was hidden from my view, as its owner, upon his hands and knees, also peered with interest at the slate. Wanderer, familiarly known as "Wand,"—the household dog, and the inseparable companion of my little sisters,—lay at their feet, as they sat upon a low rustic seat, manufactured for their special behoof by the devoted Jim; its chief characteristic being a tendency to upset, unless the occupant or occupants maintained the most exact balance, a seat not to be depended upon by the unwary or uninitiated, under penalty of a disagreeable surprise. To Allie and Daisy, however, it was a work of art, and left nothing to be desired, they having become accustomed to its vagaries. Such was the picture which presented itself to my view as I came out on the piazza of our summer-home by the sea, and from that point of vantage looked down upon the little group on the lawn below. But the problem upon which all three were intent had evidently proved too much for the juvenile arithmeticians; and, as I looked, Allie pushed the slate impatiently from her, saying,— "I can't make it out, Jim: it's too hard. You are too mixed up." "Now, Miss Allie! an' you with lessons…