. And very
keenly and bitterly had she been made to feel during those first few
months her dependence upon the crabbed old miller.

The introductory volume of this series, "Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill,
or, Jacob Parloe's Secret," details in full the little girl's trials and
triumphs under these unfortunate conditions--how she makes friends,
smooths over difficulties, and in a measure wins old Uncle Jabez's
approval. The miller was a very honest man and always paid his debts.
Because of something Ruth did for him he felt it to be his duty to pay
her first year's tuition at boarding school, where she went with her new
friend, Helen Cameron. In "Ruth Fielding at Briarwood Hall," the Red
Mill girl really begins her school career, and begins, too, to satisfy
that inbred longing for independence which was so strong a part of her
character.

In succeeding volumes of the "Ruth Fielding Series," we follow Ruth's
adventures in Snow Camp, a winter lodge in the Adirondack wilderness; at
Lighthouse Point, the summer home of a girl friend on the Atlantic
coast; at Silver Ranch, in Montana; at Cliff Island; at Sunrise Farm;
with the Gypsies, which was a very important adventure, indeed, for Ruth
Fielding. In this eighth story Ruth was able to recover for Mrs. Rachel
Parsons, an aunt of one of her school friends, a very valuable pearl
necklace, and as a reward of five thousand dollars had been offered for
the recovery of the necklace, the entire sum came to Ruth. This money
made Ruth financially independent of Uncle Jabez.

The ninth volume of the series, entitled, "Ruth Fielding in Moving
Pictures; or, Helping the Dormitory Fund," shows Ruth and her chums
engaged in film production. Ruth discovered that she could write a good
scenario--a very good scenario, indeed. Mr. Hammond, president of the
Alectrion Film Corporation, encouraged her to write others. When the
West Dormitory of Briarwood Hall was burned and it was discovered that
there had been no insurance on the building, the girls determined to do
all in their power to rebuild the structure.

Ruth was inspired to write a scenario, a five-reel drama of schoolgirl
life, and Mr. Hammond produced it, Ruth's share of the profits going
toward the building fund. "The Heart of a Schoolgirl" was not only
locally famous, but was shown all over the country and was even now,
after six months, paying the final construction bills of the West
Dormitory, at Briarwood.

In this ninth volu