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[Illustration: RUTH SECURED A GRIP ON THE BLACK MAN'S SLEEVE.]




                             Ruth Fielding
                             Down In Dixie

                                   OR

                   GREAT TIMES IN THE LAND OF COTTON

                                   BY

                            ALICE B. EMERSON

            Author of "Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill," "Ruth
                    Fielding and the Gypsies," Etc.

                             _ILLUSTRATED_


                                NEW YORK
                         CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
                               PUBLISHERS




                            Books for Girls
                          BY ALICE B. EMERSON

                          RUTH FIELDING SERIES

                       12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.

                 RUTH FIELDING OF THE RED MILL
                 Or, Jasper Parloe's Secret.

                 RUTH FIELDING AT BRIARWOOD HALL
                 Or, Solving the Campus Mystery.

                 RUTH FIELDING AT SNOW CAMP
                 Or, Lost in the Backwoods.

                 RUTH FIELDING AT LIGHTHOUSE POINT
                 Or, Nita, the Girl Castaway.

                 RUTH FIELDING AT SILVER RANCH
                 Or, Schoolgirls Among the Cowboys.

                 RUTH FIELDING ON CLIFF ISLAND
                 Or, The Old Hunter's Treasure Box.

                 RUTH FIELDING AT SUNRISE FARM
                 Or, What Became of the Raby Orphans.

                 RUTH FIELDING AND THE GYPSIES
                 Or, The Missing Pearl Necklace.

                 RUTH FIELDING IN MOVING PICTURES
                 Or, Helping the Dormitory Fund.

                 RUTH FIELDING DOWN IN DIXIE
                 Or, Great Times in the Land of Cotton.

               Cupples & Leon Co., Publishers, New York.

                          Copyright, 1916, by
                         Cupples & Leon Company

                      Ruth Fielding Homeward Bound

                          Printed in U. S. A.




                                CONTENTS

            CHAPTER                                        PAGE
                 I. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing                1
                II. The Worm Turns                           12
               III. The Boy in the Moonlight                 25
                IV. The Capes of Virginia                    33
                 V. The Newspaper Account                    45
                VI. All in the Rain                          56
               VII. Miss Catalpa                             66
              VIII. Under the Umbrella                       73
                IX. Sunshine at the Gatehouse                78
                 X. An Adventure in Norfolk                  86
                XI. At the Merredith Plantation              94
               XII. The Boy at the Warehouse                103
              XIII. Ruth Is Troubled                        111
               XIV. Ruth Finds a Helper                     118
                XV. The Ride to Holloways                   123
               XVI. The "Hop"                               135
              XVII. The Flood Rises                         139
             XVIII. Across the River                        145
               XIX. "If Aunt Rachel Were Only Here"         151
                XX. Curly Plays an Heroic Part              159
               XXI. The Next Morning                        166
              XXII. Something for Curly                     174
             XXIII. "Here's a State of Things!"             182
              XXIV. The Chamber Concert                     189
               XXV. Back Home                               202




RUTH FIELDING DOWN IN DIXIE




CHAPTER I--A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING


"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 met