ed, drew out a
folded paper. Inside the folded paper was a crisp fifty dollar bill. Mrs.
Wilson had kept her word.

While she sat fingering the bill, she heard voices downstairs and a
moment later Mollie tried the door, then knocked. Bab rose and unlocked
the door for her sister.

"Did you get it, Bab?" asked Mollie eagerly, a deep flush rising
to her face.

"Yes, Molliekins, here it is," answered Barbara quietly, holding up the
money. "To-morrow you and I will go to Madame Louise and pay the bill."

"Oh, Bab," said Mollie, her lips quivering. "I'm so sorry. I've been so
much trouble, but I'll save every cent of my pocket money and pay Mrs.
Wilson as soon as I can. It was so good of her to lend us the money
wasn't it?"

Barbara merely nodded. Her early gratitude toward Mrs. Wilson had
vanished, in spite of her efforts to believe in Mrs. Wilson, her first
feeling of distrust had returned. She thought gloomily, as she listened
to Mollie's praise of Mrs. Wilson's generosity, that perhaps after all it
would have been better to pay a visit to the pawn broker.

CHAPTER XIII

A FOOLISH GIRL

In the meantime Harriet Hamlin was equally as unhappy as Bab and Mollie.
For, instead of owing Madame Louise a mere fifty dollars, she owed her
almost five hundred and she dared not ask her father for the money to pay
the bill. The dividend, with which she had tempted Mollie to make her
ill-advised purchase, amounted to only twenty-five dollars. It had seemed
a sufficient sum to Harriet to pay down on her friend's investment, but
she knew the amount was not large enough to stay the wrath of her
dressmaker, as far as her own account was concerned.

Now, Harriet had never intended to let her bill mount up to such a
dreadful sum. She was horrified when she found out how large it really
was. Yet month by month Harriet had been tempted to add to her stock of
pretty clothes, without inquiring about prices, and she now found herself
in this painful predicament.

Harriet, also, thought of every possible scheme by which she might raise
the money she needed. On one thing she was determined. Her father should
never learn of her indebtedness. She would take any desperate measure
before this should happen; for Harriet stood very much in awe of her
father, and knew that he had a special horror of debt.

Since Charlie Meyers had behaved so rudely to Barbara, on the night of
their automobile ride to Mt. Vernon, Harriet had had nothin