`` Well , we 'll look at it . Ca n't promise to take it . Tell her to make it short and spicy , and never mind the moral . What name would your friend like to put on it ? '' in a careless tone . `` None at all , if you please , she does n't wish her name to appear and has no nom de plume , '' said Jo , blushing in spite of herself . `` Just as she likes , of course . The tale will be out next week . Will you call for the money , or shall I send it ? '' asked Mr. Dashwood , who felt a natural desire to know who his new contributor might be . `` I 'll call . Good morning , Sir . '' As she departed , Mr. Dashwood put up his feet , with the graceful remark , `` Poor and proud , as usual , but she 'll do . '' Following Mr. Dashwood 's directions , and making Mrs. Northbury her model , Jo rashly took a plunge into the frothy sea of sensational literature , but thanks to the life preserver thrown her by a friend , she came up again not much the worse for her ducking . Like most young scribblers , she went abroad for her characters and scenery , and banditti , counts , gypsies , nuns , and duchesses appeared upon her stage , and played their parts with as much accuracy and spirit as could be expected . Her readers were not particular about such trifles as grammar , punctuation , and probability , and Mr. Dashwood graciously permitted her to fill his columns at the lowest prices , not thinking it necessary to tell her that the real cause of his hospitality was the fact that one of his hacks , on being offered higher wages , had basely left him in the lurch . She soon became interested in her work , for her emaciated purse grew stout , and the little hoard she was making to take Beth to the mountains next summer grew slowly but surely as the weeks passed . One thing disturbed her satisfaction , and that was that she did not tell them at home . She had a feeling that Father and Mother would not approve , and preferred to have her own way first , and beg pardon afterward . It was easy to keep her secret , for no name appeared with her stories .
Mr. XXXXX had of course found it out very soon , but promised to be dumb , and for a wonder kept his word .
Beth Dashwood Mother duchesses first hacks left preserver scribblers weeks