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from the Introduction:

Ruth Pennell and Winifred Merrill lived in Philadelphia. The city had been for some time in the hands of General Howe and the British army. Ruth's father was with Washington at Valley Forge, and the little girls were ardent supporters of the American cause, and admirers of the gallant young Frenchman, the Marquis de Lafayette.

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from the Introduction:

Ruth Pennell and Winifred Merrill lived in Philadelphia. The city had been for some time in the hands of General Howe and the British army. Ruth's father was with Washington at Valley Forge, and the little girls were ardent supporters of the American cause, and admirers of the gallant young Frenchman, the Marquis de Lafayette.

Children in 1778 were much like those of to-day, and Ruth and her friends, eager as they were for the war to end successfully, were fond of dolls and pets, and games and little plays. Yet they kept their ears open, and when Ruth overheard what two British soldiers said she knew how to make good use of her knowledge.

In each of the other "Little Maid" books is the story of an American girl during the Revolution. The other stories are: "A Little Maid of Province Town," "A Little Maid of Massa[Pg 4]chusetts Colony." "A Little Maid of Bunker Hill," "A Little Maid of Narragansett Bay," "A Little Maid of Ticonderoga," "A Little Maid of Old Connecticut."

Contents:

I. Hero is Lost 9
II. Gibert and Lafayette 19
III. Ruth Visits General Howe 28
IV Aunt Deborah is Surprised 37
V. Ruth Decides 43
VI. A Difficult Day 53
VII. Gilbert's Play 62
VIII. Betty Runs Away 72
IX. Betty's Adventure 84
X. The Lost Programme 92
XI. A Long Road 102
XII. A Long Ride 113
XIII. Home Again 123
XIV. The Candy Disappears 133
XV. A Fairy Story 142
XVI. Betty and Annette 151
XVII. Queen Betty 161
XVIII. A Great Resolve 171
XIX. The Visit 182
XX. Lafayette's Visit 193
XXI. At Home 205

Illustrations:

She Looked Up To Find Lafayette Smiling at Her (cover)
"'Tis a Lady Coming To Call"
It Was a Favorite Play-house
"The First of May is Garland Day"
The Big Horse Trotted Down the Street

excerpt of CHAPTER I:

HERO IS LOST

"Where do you suppose Hero can be, Aunt Deborah? He isn't anywhere about the house, or in the shed or the garden," and Ruth Pennell's voice sounded as if she could hardly keep back the tears as she stood in the doorway of the pleasant kitchen where Aunt Deborah was at work.

"Do you suppose the British have taken him?" she asked a little fearfully; for it was the spring of 1778, when the British troops were in Philadelphia, and Ruth was quite sure that every English soldier who saw Hero must want him for his own. The dog was her dearest possession. On her tenth birthday, nearly a year before, her father had given her Hero for a[Pg 10] birthday present; and now that her father was with Washington's army his gift seemed even more precious to his little daughter.

Aunt Deborah looked at Ruth for a moment before she answered, and Ruth became conscious that her brown hair was rough and untidy from running about the garden in the March wind, that her hands were not clean, and that there was an ugly rent in her blue checked apron where it had caught on a nail in the shed.

"Was it not yesterday that thee declared Hero was stolen, only to find that he had followed Winifred Merrill home? And on Sunday, thee was sure he had been killed, because he did not appear the first time thee called," responded Aunt Deborah reprovingly. Aunt Deborah was not very large, and her smooth round face under the neat cap, such as Quaker women wear, was usually smiling and friendly; but it always seemed to Ruth that no least bit of dirt or untidiness ever escaped those gray eyes.

"Do you suppose he is at Winifred's? I wish she wouldn't let him follow her," and Ruth's tone was troubled. Of course Winifred was her dearest friend, but Ruth was not willing that Hero should divide his loyalty.