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[Illustration: RUTH SECURED A GRIP ON THE BLACK MAN’S SLEEVE.]

Ruth Fielding Down in Dixie

Author of “Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill,” “Ruth Fielding and the Gypsies,” Etc.

Ruth Fielding Down in Dixie

NEW YORK CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY PUBLISHERS

Ruth Fielding Down in Dixie

RUTH FIELDING OF THE RED MILL Or, Jasper Parloe’s Secret.

RUTH FIELDING AT BRIARWOOD HALL Or, Solving the Campus Mystery.

RUTH FIELDING AT SNOW CAMP Or, Lost in the Backwoods.

RUTH FIELDING AT LIGHTHOUSE POINT Or, Nita, the Girl Castaway.

RUTH FIELDING AT SILVER RANCH Or, Schoolgirls Among the Cowboys.

RUTH FIELDING ON CLIFF ISLAND Or, The Old Hunter’s Treasure Box.

RUTH FIELDING AT SUNRISE FARM Or, What Became of the Raby Orphans.

RUTH FIELDING AND THE GYPSIES Or, The Missing Pearl Necklace.

RUTH FIELDING IN MOVING PICTURES Or, Helping the Dormitory Fund.

RUTH FIELDING DOWN IN DIXIE Or, Great Times in the Land of Cotton.

Cupples & Leon Co., Publishers, New York.

Copyright, 1916, by Cupples & Leon Company

CHAPTER PAGE I. A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing 1 II. The Worm Turns 12 III. The Boy in the Moonlight 25 IV. The Capes of Virginia 33 V. The Newspaper Account 45 VI. All in the Rain 56 VII. Miss Catalpa 66 VIII. Under the Umbrella 73 IX. Sunshine at the Gatehouse 78 X. An Adventure in Norfolk 86 XI. At the Merredith Plantation 94 XII. The Boy at the Warehouse 103 XIII. Ruth Is Troubled 111 XIV. Ruth Finds a Helper 118 XV. The Ride to Holloways 123 XVI. The “Hop” 135 XVII. The Flood Rises 139 XVIII. Across the River 145 XIX. “If Aunt Rachel Were Only Here” 151 XX. Curly Plays an Heroic Part 159 XXI. The Next Morning 166 XXII. Something for Curly 174 XXIII. “Here’s a State of Things!” 182 XXIV. The Chamber Concert 189 XXV. Back Home 202

“Isn’t that the oddest acting girl you ever saw, Ruth?”

“Goodness! what a gawky thing!” agreed Ruth Fielding, who was just getting out of the taxicab, following her chum, Helen Cameron.

“And those white-stitched shoes!” gasped Helen. “Much too small for her, I do believe!”

“How that skirt does hang!” exclaimed Ruth.

“She looks just as though she had slept in all her clothes,” said Helen, giggling. “What do you suppose is the matter with her, Ruth?”