t
instead of coming down by pounds, I only fall by ounces. It is awfully
discouraging. And then," added the fleshy girl, "the other day when we
had such a scrumptuous dinner--was it Columbus Day? I believe so--I was
tempted to eat one of my old-time 'full and plenty' meals, and what do
you think?"

"You had the nightmare," said Helen.

"Not a chance! But I went up _two pounds and a half_--or else the scales
were crazy!"

"Girls!" exclaimed Ruth, suddenly. "Do you know it is snowing?"

"My! I never expected that," cried Helen, as a feathery flake lit upon
the very point of her pretty nose. "Ow!"

"Well, we'd better go on, I guess," Ruth observed. "Put your best foot
forward, please, Miss Jennie."

"I don't know which is my best foot now," complained the heavy girl.
"They are both getting lame."

"We'll just have to make you sit down on the ice while we drag you,"
announced Helen, increasing the length of her stroke.

"Not much you won't!" exclaimed Jennie Stone, "I'm cold enough as it
is."

"Shall we take off our skates and walk over the island, girls?"
suggested Ruth. "That will save some time and more than a little work
for Heavy."

"Don't worry about me," put in Jennie. "I need the exercise. And walking
would be worse than skating, I do believe."

It was snowing quite thickly now; but the shore of the island was not
far away. The trio hugged it closely in encircling the wooded and hilly
piece of land.

"Say!" Helen cried, "we're not the only girls out here to-day."

"Huh?" grunted Jennie, head down and skating doggedly.

"See there, Ruth!" called the black-eyed girl.

Ruth turned her face to one side and looked under the shade of her hand,
which she held above her eyes. There was a figure moving along the shore
of Bliss Island just abreast of them.

"It's a girl," she said. "But she's not skating."

"Who is it? A freshie?" asked Jennie, but little interested.

Ruth did not reply. She seemed wonderfully interested by the appearance
of the girl on shore. She fell behind her mates while she watched the
figure.

The snow was increasing; and that with the abruptly rising island,
furnished a background for the strange girl which threw her into relief.

At first Ruth was attracted only by her figure. She could not see her
face.

"Who can she be? Not one of the girls at Dare Hall----"

This idea spun to nothingness very quickly. No! The figure ashore
reminded Ruth Fielding of nobody whom she had