Ruth Fielding Down in Dixie

"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?" "I'm sure I don't know," Ruth Fielding said. "She's going on this boat with us, I guess. Maybe we can get acquainted with her," and she laughed. "Excuse me!" returned Helen. "I don't think I care to. Oh, look!" The girl in question-who was odd looking, indeed-had been paying the cabman who had brought her to the head of the dock. The dock was on West Street, New York City, and the chums from Cheslow and the Red Mill had never been in the metropolis before. So they were naturally observant of everything and everybody about them.