<h2 id="c16">CHAPTER XVI <br/><span class="small">DOROTHY IN BUFFALO</span></h2>
<p>“And now,” remarked Ned after they had
skimmed along for awhile, “I suppose, Dorothy,
you can’t deny me the long-looked for opportunity
of meeting the sweetest girl in Glenwood (according
to you) Cologne—Rose-Mary Markin, to be
exact.”</p>
<p>“Oh, I know you will like her, Ned. She certainly
is a very sweet girl,” replied Dorothy.</p>
<p>“The very thing for me. I have been looking
for that brand for some time. And now, O Edward,
prepare thyself!”</p>
<p>“Mind your wheel!” cried Nat, for Ned had
raised his right hand in the air to give emphasis
to his dramatic utterance and came close to a large
stone. “Save that for later.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_148">[148]</div>
<p>Dorothy was as bright and animated as possible
during the trip and chatted with the boys about
the Glenwood girls, giving a full share of praise to
Cologne. After all, Dorothy reflected, Ned was
a young man, handsome, and, in many ways, desirable,
and it would be nice if he were to take the
two girls around Buffalo. But this thought was
overshadowed by another—If Tavia were only
with them. What good times they might have!
Tavia and Nat always got along so well together.
Each seemed to be an inspiration of mirth to the
other.</p>
<p>But Tavia!</p>
<p>Nat seemed quiet, and even serious as they
speeded along the lonely country roads. His
brother was not slow to notice the unusual look of
concern and attempted to “jolly” it away.</p>
<p>“Cheer up, Nat,” he said. “The worst is yet
to come,” and he made a wry face. “You know
we expect to find your little friend somewhere out
this way. I really wouldn’t want a corner on happiness.
I do feel, somehow, that Cologne will be
my fate, but that is no reason why you and Doro
shouldn’t hitch on to the band wagon. Let me
see, Doro, you say she has brown eyes and blue
hair—”</p>
<p>“Ned! You must not make fun of Cologne—”</p>
<p>“Fun of her! As soon bite my own tongue.
I said it sideways by mistake. It should have
read blue eyes and brown hair. Wasn’t that it?”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_149">[149]</div>
<p>“Yes, that’s more like it,” admitted Dorothy.
“And she has the most adorable little mouth—”</p>
<p>“Oh, here, Nat! Get hold of this wheel. I
really must have a chance to think that over. Say
it again, Dorothy, please,” and the lad went
through a series of queer antics, that seem so very
funny when the right boy attempts to be funny, but
so very flat when one tries to either describe them
or imitate the original.</p>
<p>“And isn’t there a brother in this visit to Buffalo?”
asked Nat drolly.</p>
<p>In spite of herself the color flew to Dorothy’s
cheeks. Of course Rose-Mary had a brother, two
years older than herself. But Dorothy had never
met him, although Rose-Mary talked so much at
school of Jack, that Dorothy almost felt acquainted
with the youth. But now she would certainly
meet the family for they were all together at the
Buffalo hotel.</p>
<p>“Oh, yes,” chimed in Ned. “Isn’t there a
brother?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” answered Dorothy. “I believe there
is.”</p>
<p>“Now I call that real jolly,” went on Ned.
“Just one apiece—if Nat finds Tavia, of course.”</p>
<p>A few hours later the Fire Bird swung up to the
portico of a leading Buffalo hotel, and, scarcely
had the puffing machine come to a stop than a girl
in lavender, with blue eyes and brown hair, had
Dorothy in her arms.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_150">[150]</div>
<p>“Oh, you dear, old sweetheart!” exclaimed
Rose-Mary, as she embraced Dorothy with that
effusion of delight peculiar to schoolgirls and
babies, as Nat remarked in a whisper to Ned.</p>
<p>“And you were so good to think of me,” Dorothy
tried to say, from the midst of the embrace.</p>
<p>“Think of you! As if I ever forgot you for
one single moment!” Then Rose-Mary turned
to the two boys in the auto and paused.</p>
<p>“These are my cousins,” began Dorothy.
“This is Mr. Edward White and the other one,”—with
a little laugh,—“is his brother Nathaniel.”</p>
<p>The boys bowed and made what were probably
intended for complimentary acknowledgments of
the introduction, but which were mere murmurs.
Rose-Mary, however with the usual advantage of
girls over boys in such matters, showed no embarrassment.</p>
<p>“There is one real nice thing about Dorothy,”
spoke Nat when he had, in a measure recovered
his composure. “She always makes Ned my
brother. That counts.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_151">[151]</div>
<p>The girls laughed merrily and then a tall young
man, the “very image of Rose-Mary only taller,”
according to Dorothy, stepped down to the curb.</p>
<p>“Jack!” called Rose-Mary. “Come here instanter
and get acquainted with Dorothy.”</p>
<p>Jack looked at the group. His eyes plainly
said “only with Dorothy?”</p>
<p>“Oh, help yourself! Help yourself!” cried
Ned, laughing at the confusion Cologne’s speech
had caused. “We will be ‘among those present’
if you like.”</p>
<p>“Now you know very well what I mean!” and
Rose-Mary shot a challenging look at Ned. “I
want you all to be the very best of friends—”</p>
<p>“Thanks, thanks!” exclaimed Nat, as he and
his brother bowed in mock deference. “We
promise, I assure. We’ll do our best.”</p>
<p>“Oh, boys are all just alike,” stammered Dorothy’s
host. “A pack of teases! Come along
Dorothy. Mother is waiting to welcome you.
Jack, perhaps you will tell Dorothy’s cousins what
to do with their machine. I guess you know how
to get acquainted with them without any more introductions.”</p>
<p>This last was said with a defiant look at Ned,
who returned it with just the suspicion of a smile.
In effect his look said:</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_152">[152]</div>
<p>“Miss Lavender, you have met a boy who may
be like other boys, but he is particularly himself—Ned
White—and he just loves to tease girls—like
you!”</p>
<p>Rose-Mary was leading Dorothy up the broad
steps to the hotel entrance. She turned to see
what the boys were doing.</p>
<p>“Well I declare!” she exclaimed. “There
they’ve all gone for a ride! I’m sure they’ll have
a jolly time. What nice boys your cousins are.
Oh, I’m so glad you could come!”</p>
<p>The hotel veranda was thronged with persons
enjoying the approach of twilight, for the auto
party had not made a hurried trip, having stopped
for lunch on the way. It seemed to Dorothy that
the chairs were mostly filled with stout ladies with
blond hair. She had never before seen so many
blonds in one group.</p>
<p>Rose-Mary led the way into the parlor and escorted
Dorothy up to a smiling, pretty woman,
with such beautiful white hair—the kind that
goes with brown eyes and seems to add to their
sparkle.</p>
<p>“Mother, dear, this is Dorothy,” said Rose-Mary.
“She must be tired after her long, dusty
ride. Shall we go upstairs?”</p>
<p>“I’m so glad to meet you, my dear,” declared
Mrs. Markin, warmly. “Daughter talks so
much about you. Yes, Rosie, do take Dorothy
upstairs and let her refresh herself. It must be
a very long ride from North Birchland.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_153">[153]</div>
<p>“But I’m not the least tired,” protested the visitor.
“So don’t go upstairs, if you were enjoying
the air.”</p>
<p>“Air indeed!” echoed Rose-Mary, slipping her
arm through Dorothy’s. “Mother, will you
come?”</p>
<p>“No, dear,” replied Mrs. Markin. “I’ll let
you have Dorothy all to yourself for awhile. I
just know how many things you will want to talk
about. Later, after dinner, I’ll claim you both.
But I’m going to improve this time to write a few
belated letters. The desk is clear so I can do them
down here.”</p>
<p>Rose-Mary left Dorothy while she made a place
for her mother at the little private desk in the
ladies’ sitting room, then the two girls took the
elevator, in the broad hall, and soon Dorothy
found herself in a cozy room, with a dainty white
bed, and pretty flouncings—Rose-Mary’s apartment
of course, which she had surrendered to her
guest for the visit, while Cologne would share her
mother’s room.</p>
<p>“Now make yourself comfortable,” began
Rose-Mary, assisting Dorothy to lay aside her
auto wraps. “Perhaps you want to wash. Here
are the things,” and she pulled open a little door,
disclosing a bathroom.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_154">[154]</div>
<p>“Isn’t it charming here,” Dorothy said as she
at once began to make herself presentable for dinner.
“I have a blue dress in my bag,” indicating
one the porter had brought up.</p>
<p>“Drag it out,” commanded her companion.
“You must wear blue. I have told Jack how
heavenly you look in blue.”</p>
<p>“And I have whispered to Ned how angelic
you look in—lavender,” interrupted Dorothy,
not to be outdone in bestowing compliments.
“Isn’t Ned a lovely—boy!”</p>
<p>“Very saucy, I should say,” and Cologne
laughed mischievously. “But I’ll try to be nice
to him on your account.”</p>
<p>“And I hope I’ll not say anything to hurt Jack’s
feelings,” spoke Dorothy, still keeping in with her
friend’s humor.</p>
<p>“Couldn’t! He hasn’t any,” declared Rose-Mary.
“He drives me frantic when I really
want to make him mad.”</p>
<p>“But you do look lovely in that lavender
gown,” insisted Dorothy, with unmistakable admiration.
“I believe you have grown prettier—”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_155">[155]</div>
<p>“Comparative degrees, eh?” and she made a
queer little face. “Now, Doro dear, you must
say I’ve grown positively handsome. I will never
be content with the little, insignificant comparative
degree in a suite of rooms like these. Aren’t they
really scrumptious? You know dad couldn’t
come, and he was so anxious that we would be
comfortable, that the dear old darling just wired
for good rooms, and that’s how we got these.
They’re good, aren’t they?”</p>
<p>Dorothy looked out of the broad window, down
at the big city stretched before her view. She
could not help thinking of Tavia, although she
thought it best not to speak of her to Rose-Mary—just
yet at least. Cologne was busy hanging
up the things she had pulled out of Dorothy’s bag.</p>
<p>“How long can you stay?” she asked, shaking
out Dorothy’s light blue linen frock.</p>
<p>“Well, it was the queerest thing! Aunt Winnie
got it into her head that I needed some of the
girls, and she proposed a little trip for me, just
as your letter came. It seemed providential.”</p>
<p>“Providential? That’s what I call dead lucky,
girlie. You can’t expect a real proper providence
to get mixed up in all our little scrapes. And, to
be honest, I’m just dying for a real genuine scrape.
The kind Tavia used to ‘hand out’ to us at Glenwood.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_156">[156]</div>
<p>Dorothy smiled but did not reply. Somehow
the idea of Tavia still being kept busy “handing
out scrapes” struck her as somewhat significant.</p>
<p>Presently the boys returned, which fact was
made known by a shrill whistle over the private
telephone in the apartment, and Jack’s voice following
with a command for “Rosie” to come
down.</p>
<p>The girls found the three boys and Mrs. Markin
waiting for them, Ned and Nat having declined
Jack’s invitation to take dinner with him at
the hotel. They said they had to be off to meet
the youths with whom they had arranged to stop
while in Buffalo.</p>
<p>Dorothy wanted so much to ask Nat to take
her to look for Tavia. She felt she would not
sleep until she found the house of Tavia’s friend,
Grace Barnum, but she was too uncertain of Tavia’s
whereabouts to say openly that she wanted
to go to the address that Nat had brought her
from Mrs. Travers.</p>
<p>The Fire Bird had been left in quarters provided
by the boys of the “Get There” club, members
of which were to be Ned’s and Nat’s guests,
and the two Birchland youths were thus free to
walk about the big city that evening. Perhaps
Dorothy might also go for a walk, with Rose-Mary
and Jack.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_157">[157]</div>
<p>But, Dorothy, as she reflected on this possibility,
realized that it would not afford her an opportunity
of getting to Grace Barnum’s. It would
not do for the entire party to go there, Dorothy
felt, as she could never allow any one to suspect
her anxiety concerning Tavia. Only Nat was in
the secret so far, and even he was not made fully
aware of all it involved and of its depth—he did
not know why Dorothy was so anxious—or that
she had any other than a foolish schoolgirl whim
urging her on.</p>
<p>So, in spite of all the surroundings and excitement,
incident to life in a big hotel with its many
strange phases, Dorothy kept turning the question
over and over in her mind. How should she go
about her search for Tavia? Just as she expected
the party planned to go out that first evening of
her visit to “look over the town.” All were going
except Mrs. Markin, and she consented to let
the young folks enjoy themselves without her
chaperonage, on account of the circumstances and
the number who were going.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_158">[158]</div>
<p>Ned and Nat both essayed to look after Rose-Mary,
and this added to the merry-making, since,
when one lad would attempt some courtesy the
other would immediately undertake to outdo him.
Dorothy found Jack Markin splendid company,
and this, she told herself, could not be otherwise,
since he was brother to Cologne.</p>
<p>At a pretty palm-festooned ice-cream parlor
they met a friend of the Markin family, Alma
Mason, who was also a visitor in Buffalo. She
was bright and interesting, chatting pleasantly on
many subjects, until, to Dorothy’s surprise, she
asked abruptly:</p>
<p>“Do you happen to know a Grace Barnum?”</p>
<p>“No,” Dorothy answered, as she felt her face
burning with excitement. “I do not know her
personally, but she is a friend of a chum of mine.”</p>
<p>“The pretty girl, with the golden-brown hair?
Oh, I have met her,” Alma went on, taking Dorothy’s
look to signify the correctness of the guess
that the “pretty girl with the brown hair” was
Dorothy’s friend. “Isn’t she splendid? Grace
was just wild over her—she was so jolly and
funny.”</p>
<p>That Miss Mason used the past tense Dorothy
instantly noticed. Nat was also listening with interest,
and he observed the same thing.</p>
<p>“Is she not with Miss Barnum now?” Dorothy
found courage to inquire finally.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_159">[159]</div>
<p>“No, I think not. I think Grace said she had
gone to Rochester. She has, I believe, a friend
in that city.”</p>
<p>Dorothy was startled at the news that Tavia
had left Buffalo. Her heart sank, but she tried
to conceal her feelings. Tavia in Rochester!
The girl in Rochester was she who had once written
Tavia concerning the stage and its attractions.
And Tavia possibly was with her, after she had
promised to have no further correspondence with
that press agent!</p>
<p>The remainder of the evening was like a blank
page to Dorothy. She heard and saw what was
going on around her, but her heart and her attention
was not with the merry little party from the
hotel. Jack Markin would have accused her of
being dull had he not determined to meet more
than half way his sister’s estimate of Dorothy
Dale. Then too, he reasoned as an excuse for her
obvious low spirits, she must be tired after the
long, dusty auto run.</p>
<p>The evening passed quickly (to all but Dorothy)
amid a variety of entertainments, and when
the boys from North Birchland said good-night
in the hotel office and Rose-Mary had taken Dorothy
to her room, it was quite late.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_160">[160]</div>
<p>It was a relief, however, Dorothy had to admit
to herself at least, and in her heart she was grateful
to Mrs. Markin when that lady cautioned the
two girls against further talking, and urged Dorothy
to go to bed. For Dorothy wanted to be
alone and think. She wanted to plan. How
should she proceed now? If Tavia was not with
Grace Barnum—</p>
<p>But of this she must first make certain, and to
do so she would ask Nat to take her to Miss Barnum’s
house the first thing next morning.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_161">[161]</div>
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