Madge Mortons Secret

Madge Morton's Secret, by Amy
D. V. Chalmers

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Chalmers
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Title: Madge Morton's Secret
Author: Amy D. V. Chalmers

Release Date: March 3, 2007 [eBook #20737]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
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MADGE MORTON'S SECRET
by
AMY D. V. CHALMERS
Author of Madge Morton, Captain of the Merry Maid; Madge Morton's
Trust, Madge Morton's Victory.

[Illustration: The Girl in the Apple Tree Read on.
Frontispiece.]

Philadelphia Henry Altemus Company Copyright, 1914, by Howard E.
Altemus

CONTENTS
CHAPTER. PAGE.
I. THE INTERRUPTED STORY 7
II. WHAT MADGE FOUND IN THE ATTIC 18
III. AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 35
IV. THE CHALLENGE 46

V. THE MYSTERIOUS BOX 57
VI. FLORA BETRAYS A STATE SECRET 66
VII. AWARDING THE PRIZES 76
VIII. THE HOUR OF TRIUMPH 95
IX. MADGE MORTON'S SECRET 102
X. ADRIFT ON CHESAPEAKE BAY 108
XI. THE AWAKENING 120
XII. A DESERTED ISLAND 132
XIII. LIFE IN THE WOODS 142
XIV. CAUGHT IN A STAMPEDE 152
XV. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS 165
XVI. THE DISAPPOINTED KNIGHTS 173
XVII. CAN WE GO TO THE RESCUE? 183
XVIII. A NEW USE FOR A KITE 193
XIX. THE IMPOSSIBLE HAPPENS 201
XX. THE RECOGNITION 212
XXI. BACK TO THE "MERRY MAID" 219
XXII. THE STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER 226
XXIII. THE SURPRISE 237
XXIV. THE TELLING OF THE SECRET 248

Madge Morton's Secret
CHAPTER I
THE INTERRUPTED STORY
A girl in a green gown was cosily ensconced among the spreading
branches of an old apple tree. She was reading, and she never stirred
except to turn the pages of her book or to reach out for another red
apple after dropping the core of the previous one.
It was a glorious morning in early September, and the old Virginia
orchard was sweet with the odor of ripening apples. A press under a
tree still dripped with the juices of yesterday's cider-making. The bees
and flies buzzed lazily about it. There was no one but the girl in sight.
Some distance to the left was a red brick house, separated from the
orchard by a low stone fence and the length of the kitchen garden. It
had a big, white colonnaded balcony in front and a smaller veranda in
the rear.
The girl in the apple tree read on, unaware that a carriage had driven up
to the front of this house and that a woman and a young man were
alighting from it. A few moments later a girl came out on the back
veranda. She put her hands to her lips and hallooed. She whistled and
called. Then she ran up and down the garden, searching everywhere.
"Madge, Madge! where are you?" she cried. "Oh, do answer me in a
hurry! I have something so important to tell you!"
The girl in the apple tree did not stir. She was oblivious to everything
except her story. Her cousin, Eleanor, called and called again, then ran
to the stables. Pompey, the colored boy, declared that he had not seen
Miss Madge all morning. Once Eleanor leaned over the orchard fence.
The green of Madge's frock was too near the color of the foliage to
show through the trees. Eleanor gave up her search in despair.

"All right, Madge Morton," she murmured, "if you will go off by
yourself without telling a soul where you are going, you must take the
consequences--though I am so sorry," added Eleanor. "Poor Madge will
be so disappointed."
An hour later a book dropped from the apple tree to the ground,
bringing a scurry of leaves with it. Madge Morton descended after her
book, swinging herself down without a thought of her dignity. "Oh,
dear me!" she exclaimed. "Why did I have to drop my book when I had
only a few more pages to read? I suppose it is nearly luncheon time
now, and I ought to see what has become of Nellie."
Madge strolled lazily along under the fruit trees. Now and then she
stopped to look critically at the heavily-laden branches. Mr. William
Butler, her uncle, owned a fruit farm, consequently the girl was
interested in their autumn and winter crop of apples.
At the gate of the orchard she paused to peep