The Ruth Fielding Series #1-10

#1 Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill
       Or, Jasper Parloe's Secret
Ruth Fielding, a recently-orphaned girl, arrives in Cheslow, New York to live with her uncle, Jabez Potter, at the Red Mill with his housekeeper, Aunt Alvirah Boggs.  Ruth is greatly disappointed in the cold reception she receives.  Uncle Jabez seems to care very little about her, and all that he has to say is that she must earn her keep.  Uncle Jabez grows even more difficult after his cash box disappears during a flood.

Ruth becomes friends with Helen and Tom Cameron, who are the children of a wealthy merchant.  Ruth also visits a lame girl, Mercy Curtis, at her home.  Mercy is a very disagreeable girl who resents her disability and takes it out on everyone else.  Ruth kindly endures Mercy's taunts, and even promises Mercy that she can someday come stay with her at the Red Mill.

Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill
There stood the miller, upright and silent, plying the whip.
In time, Ruth's cheery disposition softens Mercy's attitude, and she does visit the Red Mill.  Soon, a doctor examines Mercy, and it is determined that she may have hope of recovery after an operation.  Uncle Jabez's cash box is found, thanks to Ruth, and Uncle Jabez gradually softens towards Ruth.
#2 Ruth Fielding at Briarwood Hall
       Or, Solving the Campus Mystery
Ruth's greatest desire has come true—to attend Briarwood Hall with Helen Cameron.  As soon as the girls arrive, they are accosted by Mary Cox, known as the Fox for her cunning.  Mary wishes the girls to join her club, the Up and Doing Club.  Helen, in particular, is enraptured by Mary's description of her club.  Shortly after Mary Cox approaches the girls, Madge Steele informs the girls about her club, the Forward Club.

Ruth and Helen's discussion of the clubs begins to drive a wedge between them.  Ruth feels that they should be a bit more cautious about their friendships and should make certain that they know just how things are before joining any club.  During their first night at Briarwood Hall, the Up and Doing Club scares Ruth and Helen by telling them the story of the haunted Marble Fountain and forcing the girls to leave a goblet at the fountain.

Ruth Fielding at Briarwood Hall
"It's a beautiful old place, Helen," sighed Ruth.
In time, Ruth decides to form a new club of her own, the Sweetbriars.  Helen refuses to have anything to do with the new club, and the two girls grow more distant.  In time, the mystery of the fountain is solved, and a near-fatal accident serves to draw Helen closer to her friend.
#3 Ruth Fielding at Snow Camp
       Or, Lost in the Backwoods
Mr. Cameron has purchased a winter camp deep in the wilderness near Scarboro, New York.  Helen and Tom have received permission to take Ruth and their other friends to Snow Camp for the latter part of their winter break.  Before the friends depart, they cross paths with a strange, sullen boy named Fred Hatfield, who comes from Scarboro.  Mr. Cameron has a suspicion that the boy is a runaway and decides to take him back to his family in Scarboro.

The Cameron party departs for Snow Camp with Fred Hatfield as an unwilling passenger.  On a brief stop near Scarboro, Fred jumps off the train, and Ruth impulsively follows.  Fred steals a wagon which is parked in front of a store, and Ruth jumps on board.  What follows is a harrowing adventure in which the two are nearly attacked by a panther and are later rescued by a crazy hermit.

Ruth Fielding at Snow Camp
The sharp explosion and the shriek of the panther seemed simultaneous.
The hermit takes the two young people to Snow Camp, but Fred disappears just before they arrive.  As fate would have it, Ruth encounters Fred Hatfield several more times during their stay at Snow Camp.  In the end, Fred is reunited with his family, and Ruth and her friends return from an enjoyable vacation.
#4 Ruth Fielding at Lighthouse Point
       Or, Nita, the Girl Castaway
As the school year draws to a close, Ruth and her friends plan a trip to Lighthouse Point with Jennie "Heavy" Stone.  Mary Cox makes a point of telling Heavy that she has been slighted and that only members of Ruth's club are invited to go on the trip.  At Ruth's insistence and under the other girls' protests, Heavy invites Mary along on the trip. 

On the way home after the last day of school, Mary Cox slips and falls off the boat into the water.  Ruth saves Mary, who cannot swim, from drowning.  Mary snubs Ruth and refuses to thank her.  Later, Ruth returns to the Red Mill and finds that Uncle Jabez has lost a large sum of money by investing it in an old mine out west.  Uncle Jabez feels that he cannot afford to send Ruth back to Briarwood Hall for a second year.  Ruth leaves for Lighthouse Point with this unpleasant thought uppermost in her thoughts.

Ruth Fielding at Lighthouse Point
She was unconscious when they lifted her out.
During their stay at Lighthouse Point, a girl named Nita is rescued from a sinking ship.  It turns out that Nita has run away from a western ranch, and her real name is Jane Hicks.  Before Ruth and her friends leave Lighthouse Point, Jane Hicks is reunited with her uncle, and the Hickses invite Ruth and her friends out to Silver Ranch on a vacation.
#5 Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch
       Or, Schoolgirls Among the Cowboys
Ruth and her friends journey to Silver Ranch with Jane Ann Hicks.  Ruth learns that the ranch is in the same general area as Tintacker Mine, the mine in which her uncle invested a large sum of money—and lost.  Ruth hopes that she can learn something about the mine so that perhaps her uncle's money can be recovered.

Ruth travels to town with Bill Hicks and takes a look at the mine's records.  Ruth learns that a young man named John Cox bought up the lands around the mine.  Ruth is intrigued, since John's last name is the same as that of Mary Cox.  Ruth has also noticed that Mary has been interested each time Ruth has mentioned the mine.  Ruth also learns that a crazy young man has been seen near the old mine and suspects that he might be John Cox.

Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch
Freckles leaped up, frightened and snorting.
In time, Ruth finds John Cox, but he is deathly ill.  Ruth now must try to save John Cox's life while defending herself against wild animals.  If Ruth can save John Cox's life, she may be able to solve the mystery of the mine.
#6 Ruth Fielding on Cliff Island
       Or, The Old Hunter's Treasure Box
Ruth and Helen eagerly await the arrival of Jane Ann Hicks, who is to attend Briarwood Hall this year.  The girls experience a great deal of worry when they learn that Jane's train has been wrecked.  Jane is fine, but a boy named Jerry Sheming has been hurt.  Jerry is taken to the Red Mill where Aunt Alvirah and Ruth care for him.  Jerry reveals that he used to live on Cliff Island, but his uncle was cheated out of his land.  His uncle lost his treasure box in a landslide, and with it, the papers needed to prove his claim to the island.  Uncle Pete lost his mind and entered an insane asylum, and Jerry was forced to leave.  Jerry hopes to someday find the treasure box and prove his uncle's claim.

Ruth and her friends leave for Briarwood Hall, and Jerry stays behind at the Red Mill.  The girls do their best to make Jane Ann fit in and try to keep her from being hazed as a new girl.  Unfortunately, Jane Ann has much trouble fitting in with the other girls until she uses her lassoing technique in a rescue.  Things gradually get better for Jane.

Ruth Fielding on Cliff Island
She shot over the yawning edge of the chasm and disappeared.
After a time, the girls are invited to Cliff Island for Christmas by Belle Tingley, whose father has purchased the island.  Ruth is certain that Mr. Tingley did nothing to cheat Jerry's Uncle Pete, but the man who sold him the island must have cheated Jerry's uncle.  Ruth sends word to Jerry to travel to the island and arranges for Mr. Tingley to give him a job.  Later, Jerry is ordered arrested by the real estate man and is forced to hide in a cave.  Ruth and her friends search the island for some sign of Uncle Pete's treasure chest.  In time, the truth is discovered, Jerry is reunited with his uncle, and Ruth and her friends return home after a happy vacation.
#7 Ruth Fielding at Sunrise Farm
       Or, What Became of the Raby Orphans
During an initiation meeting of the Sweetbriars, the girls go outside to the Marble Harp.  They are frightened when one of the girls is shoved into the water by a strange girl.  Ruth chases after the mysterious girl and catches her.  The girl is Sadie Raby, who has run away from her cruel foster parents.  Sadie refuses to allow Ruth to take her to the headmistress, so Ruth must be content with bringing the girl some food the next day.  After Sadie's foster father shows up looking for her, Sadie flees, and Ruth fears that she will never see her again.

School lets out for summer, and Ruth and her friends are invited to Sunrise Farm, which is owned by Madge Steele's family.  Ruth is thrilled that Sunrise Farm is located near her old home of Darrowtown, and Ruth is able to visit with Miss True Pettis before arriving at Sunrise Farm.

Ruth Fielding at Sunrise Farm
"Why, Sadie Raby!  Who'd ever expect to see you here!"
At Sunrise Farm, Ruth learns that Mr. Steele is in a feud with his nearest neighbor, Mr. Caslon, who will not sell his farm.  Ruth knows that Mr. Caslon is a fine person and is concerned that Mr. Steele completely misunderstands him.  The Caslons invite a group of orphans to visit their farm, and Mr. Steele thinks that they are doing it to spite him.  Coincidentally, Sadie Raby's young brothers are part of the group, and Sadie soon arrives in search of her brothers.  How Sadie is reunited with her brothers and freed from her cruel foster parents and how the Steeles and Caslons come to an understanding makes for an interesting story.
#8 Ruth Fielding and the Gypsies
       Or, The Missing Pearl Necklace
Helen and Tom Cameron plan an automobile trip upstream with Ruth Fielding.  Soon after the friends depart, they seek shelter from a storm in an old farmhouse and are frightened by a couple of rough-looking gypsies.  Ruth hears the men discussing a wealthy old woman, a valuable necklace, and how they will no longer take risks for her.  Ruth wonders what it all means.

Later, the chums continue on their way, but Tom's car breaks down.  He goes for help, leaving Ruth and Helen alone.  Some gypsies offer to help Ruth and Helen, but Ruth is suspicious.  Helen insists that they accept the gypsies' help and leaves a note for Tom.  Unknown to the two girls, the gypsies remove the note, leaving no clue as to where the girls went.  Soon after the girls join the gypsy caravan, they realize that they are in danger.  The gypsies intend to keep them captive and demand ransom from their families.

Ruth Fielding and the Gypsies
He pushed Ruth roughly back into her seat.
While captive, Ruth sees the valuable necklace which is in possession of the queen of the gypsies.  Later, Helen and Ruth escape from the gypsies and return to Briarwood Hall.  Upon their arrival at the school, Ruth learns that a five-thousand dollar reward has been offered for the recovery of a valuable necklace that was stolen from the aunt of a new student.  Ruth sorely wants to become independent of her Uncle Jabez, whose allowance is offered so grudgingly.  Ruth's thoughts center upon the necklace and her desire to locate it and claim the reward.
#9 Ruth Fielding in Moving Pictures
       Or, Helping the Dormitory Fund
Ruth, Helen, and Tom watch a moving picture company film scenes near the Red Mill.  As they watch, the starring actress, Hazel Gray, falls into the river and is swept downstream.  Ruth and her friends rescue Miss Gray and take her to the Red Mill to recover.  The next day, Ruth meets the producer, Mr. Hammond, who promises to read Ruth's scenario when she impulsively confides that she is planning to write one.

Soon after the friends return to school, the East Dormitory burns and is a complete loss.  All of the girls housed in that building, including Ruth and her friends, lose all of their possessions.  It is soon learned that Dr. Tellingham allowed the insurance to lapse, and there is no money to rebuild the dormitory.  In the meantime, Ruth submits her scenario to Mr. Hammond and is thrilled when he accepts it.  After her scenario is accepted, Ruth gets a wonderful idea about how she can help the school raise money to rebuild the dormitory.

Ruth Fielding in Moving Pictures
In the Italian garden scenes, the seniors and juniors were used.
Ruth calls a meeting of all of the students and suggests her idea of writing a moving picture scenario that will be filmed on the campus.  The proceeds from the film would go towards rebuilding the dormitory.  In this way, all of the girls would contribute to the fund, since they would be the extras in the film.  This idea is met with enthusiasm, and Ruth soon gains Mr. Hammond's approval.
#10 Ruth Fielding Down in Dixie
          Or, Great Times in the Land of Cotton
Ruth and Helen board a steamer bound for Virginia, where they plan to meet their friend, Nettie Parsons, and her aunt, Mrs. Rachel Parsons, and continue their journey to Mrs. Parsons' plantation in the South.  Soon after the boat departs, Ruth reads a letter from Mrs. Smith, the lady with whom they boarded after their dormitory burned, who explains that her grandson, Curly, has disappeared, and the police are after him.  Ruth and Helen are concerned; while mischievous, Curly would never commit a crime.

A short while later, a police boat docks with the steamer and several police officers board the boat, looking for Curly.  They are unable to find him, but Ruth and Helen later spot a boy on deck whom they believe may be Curly.  The girls are unable to speak to the boy before he disappears.

Ruth Fielding Down in Dixie
Ruth secured a grip on the black man's sleeve.
After the girls debark from the boat, they join Nettie and Mrs. Parsons and are charmed by the ways of the South.  At Mrs. Parsons' plantation, the girls spot Curly working in the cotton fields.  Curly runs away when he sees Ruth and Helen, and the girls worry about him.  The girls finally meet up with Curly after a tragic flood and fire and hope that they can somehow help Curly resolve his legal problems.
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