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GLOBAL
EDITION
Principles Managerial
of Finance
SIXTEENTH EDITION
Chad J. Zutter | Scott B. Smart
Principles of
Managerial Finance
GLOBAL EDITION
Principles of
Managerial Finance
Chad J. Zutter
University of Pittsburgh
Scott B. Smart
Indiana University
Harlow, England • London • New York • Boston • San Francisco • Toronto • Sydney • Dubai • Singapore • Hong Kong
Tokyo • Seoul • Taipei • New Delhi • Cape Town • Sao Paulo • Mexico City • Madrid • Amsterdam • Munich • Paris • Milan
Acknowledgments of third-party content appear on the appropriate page within the text.
The rights of Chad J. Zutter and Scott B. Smart to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Authorized adaptation from the United States edition, entitled Principles of Managerial Finance, 16th edition, ISBN 978-0-13-
694588-8, by Chad J. Zutter and Scott B. Smart, published by Pearson Education © 2022.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publisher or
a license permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10
Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. For information regarding permissions, request forms, and the appropriate contacts within the
Pearson Education Global Rights and Permissions department, please visit www.pearsoned.com/permissions/.
All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not vest in the
author or publisher any trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply any affiliation
with or endorsement of this book by such owners.
This eBook is a standalone product and may or may not include all assets that were part of the print version. It also does not provide
access to other Pearson digital products like Revel. The publisher reserves the right to remove any material in this eBook at any time.
Dedicated to
my father, Kenneth Smart.
SBS
Contents 9
About the Authors 29
Preface 31
Acknowledgments 41
Appendix A-1
PART 5 Long-Term Investment
Glossary G-1
Decisions 499
Index I-1
10 Capital Budgeting Techniques 500
11 Capital Budgeting Cash Flows 546
12 Risk and Refinements in Capital
Budgeting 588
11 11.1 Project Cash Flows 548 11.4 Finding the Terminal Cash
Flow 565
Capital Budgeting Incremental Cash Flows 549
Cash Flows 546 Sunk Costs and Opportunity Costs 550 After-Tax Proceeds from the Sale of New
and Old Assets 565
FOCUS ON ETHICS:
Change in Net Working Capital 566
Fumbling Sunk Costs 551
Financing Costs 552 ➔ REVIEW QUESTION 568
Appendix A-1
Glossary G-1
Index I-1
Chad J. Zutter is a finance professor and the James Allen Faculty Fellow at
the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Zutter
received his B.B.A. from the University of Texas at Arlington and his Ph.D. from
Indiana University. His research has a practical, applied focus and has been the
subject of feature stories in, among other prominent outlets, The Economist and
CFO Magazine. His papers have been cited in arguments before the U.S. Supreme
Court and in consultation with companies such as Google and Intel. Dr. Zutter
won the prestigious Jensen Prize for the best paper published in the Journal of
Financial Economics and a best paper award from the Journal of Corporate Fi-
nance, where he is currently an Associate Editor. He has won teaching awards at
the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and the Katz Graduate School
of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Zutter also serves on the board of
Lutheran SeniorLife and, prior to his career in academics, he was a submariner in
the U.S. Navy. Dr. Zutter and his wife have four children and live in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. In his free time he enjoys horseback riding and downhill skiing.
29
31
environment in which firms operate and interact with investors through the vari-
ous financial institutions and markets. This edition includes expanded discussion
of the efficient market hypothesis and security price movements, as well as new
content on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial markets.
Part 2 contains three chapters focused on basic financial skills such as finan-
cial statement analysis, cash flow analysis, and time-value-of-money calculations.
Chapter 3 provides an overview of financial statements and in-depth financial ratio
analysis using real data from Target Corporation. The financial ratio analysis pro-
vides opportunities for interesting discussion about Target’s financial performance
for its three most recent fiscal years and relative to some of its key competitors.
Chapter 4 emphasizes first the broad goals of strategic and operational financial
planning and then the importance of cash flow within any financial plan. Chap-
ter 5 provides straightforward and intuitive coverage of all time-value-of-money
concepts used throughout the textbook. Chapter 5 also introduces newly format-
ted calculator screenshots that demonstrate the exact keystrokes used to complete
time-value-of-money calculations. Figure 5.5 offers a new visual representation of
how simple and compound interest accumulate over time.
Part 3 focuses on bond and stock valuation. We placed these two chapters just
ahead of the risk and return chapter to provide students with exposure to basic ma-
terial on bonds and stocks that is easier to grasp than are some of the more theoreti-
cal concepts in the next part. New in Chapter 6 is an expanded discussion of bond
price sensitivity to interest rate changes and Figure 6.6 that illustrates this relation
for several bonds with varying characteristics. Chapter 7 continues to provide com-
prehensive coverage of methods for stock valuation with rewritten examples valuing
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Procter & Gamble, and Broadcom with (re-
spectively) the zero-growth, constant-growth, and variable-growth dividend models.
The chapter also includes a free-cash-flow valuation of Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
Part 4 contains the risk and return chapter as well as the chapter on the cost
of capital. We believe that following the risk and return chapter with the cost of
capital material helps students understand the important principle that the expec-
tations of a firm’s investors shape how the firm should approach major investment
decisions (which are covered in Part 5). In other words, Part 4 helps students un-
derstand where a project “hurdle rate” comes from before they start using hurdle
rates in capital budgeting problems. Updates to Chapter 8 include expanded cov-
erage of the role that correlation plays in portfolio formation using data on JPM-
organ, Morgan Stanley, and Medtronic. Chapter 9 now emphasizes finding the
cost of debt by calculating a bond’s YTM using a calculator or Excel rather than
an algebraic approximation. Chapter 9 also has a new section that discusses when
the WACC is the correct hurdle rate for investment analysis versus when it is not.
Part 5 contains three chapters on various capital budgeting topics. Chapter 10
focuses on capital budgeting methods such as payback and net present value anal-
ysis. New presentations in Chapter 10 include discounted payback period, proj-
ect EVA for a finite-lived project, and modified internal rate of return (MIRR).
Chapter 11 explains how financial analysts construct cash flow projections, and
this edition includes a revised discussion of how to determine which cash flows
are incremental and which are not, as well as expanded coverage of why analysts
ignore financing cash flows such as interest expense when calculating an invest-
ment project’s cash flows. Chapter 12 describes how firms analyze the risks as-
sociated with capital investments and make refinements to the capital budgeting
process. In addition to new discussion of operating-leverage and its impact on
project risk, much of the discussion in this chapter has been revised or expanded.
Part 6 deals with the topics of capital structure and payout policy. We revised
Chapter 13 extensively so that it now follows a more contemporary format that,
after introducing financial leverage and its effects, follows the seminal work of
Modigliani and Miller before discussing roles of trade-off theory, agency theory,
and signaling theory. Chapter 14 also includes expanded treatment of the Modi-
gliani and Miller theory of payout policy and a new section that discusses recent
criticisms of corporate share buybacks.
Part 7 contains two chapters centered on working capital issues. A major de-
velopment in business has been the extent to which firms have found new ways
to economize on working capital investments. The first chapter in Part 7 explains
why and how firms work hard to squeeze resources from their investments in
current assets such as cash and inventory. The second chapter in this part focuses
more on management of current liabilities.
Finally, Part 8 has three chapters covering a variety of topics, including hybrid se-
curities, mergers and other forms of restructurings, and international finance. These
subjects are some of the most dynamic areas in financial practice, and we have
made a number of changes here to reflect current practices. Chapter 17 contains
new examples of convertible securities issued by firms such as Southwest Airlines
and Tesla. Chapter 18 covers important merger concepts with examples featuring
recent transactions involving Anthem-Cigna, Fiat-Chrysler, Dow-DuPont, Berk-
shire Hathaway-Dominion Energy Transmission, and Broadcom Ltd.-Maxlinear.
Chapter 19 discusses the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership signed by
China and 14 other countries in November 2020. The chapter adds new material
on purchasing power and interest rate parity relationships that link exchange rate
movements to differences in inflation and interest rates across countries.
Although the text content is sequential, instructors can assign almost any chap-
ter as a self-contained unit, enabling instructors to customize the text to various
teaching strategies and course lengths.
Like the previous editions, the sixteenth edition incorporates a proven learning
system, which integrates pedagogy with concepts and practical applications. It
concentrates on the knowledge that is needed to make keen financial decisions in
an increasingly competitive business environment. The strong pedagogy and gen-
erous use of examples—many of which use real data from markets or companies—
make the text an easily accessible resource for in-class learning or out-of-class
learning, such as online courses and self-study programs.
Principles has evolved based on feedback from both instructors and students,
from adopters, nonadopters, and practitioners. In this edition, we have worked
to ensure that the book reflects contemporary thinking and pedagogy to further
strengthen the delivery of the classic topics that our users have come to expect.
Below are descriptions of the most important resources in Principles that help
meet teaching and learning challenges.
Users of Principles of Managerial Finance have praised the effectiveness of the
book’s Teaching and Learning System, which they hail as one of its hallmarks.
The system, driven by a set of carefully developed learning goals, has been re-
tained and polished in this sixteenth edition. The “walkthrough” on the pages
that follow illustrates and describes the key elements of the Teaching and Learn-
ing System. We encourage both students and instructors to acquaint themselves at
the start of the semester with the many useful features the book offers.
1
CHAPTER
1. “Softbank Backs Away From Part of Planned WeWork Bailout,” by Liz Hoffman and Eliot Brown, wsj.com, March 18,
2020; “WeWork Funding Rounds, Valuations, and Investors,” craft.co, April 11, 2020.
88
$1,000.00
1,070.00
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The timeline shows after five years, Fran will have $5,750.74 in her account.
Note that because she makes deposits at the end of the year, the first deposit will
As the rate of
of America (beta
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occurs, Butchange
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inflation
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important ethical issues and problems
related to managerial finance.
ing focused on its core business––retail Wells’s stock tumbled 13.5% as with Wells’ decision to end sales
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a coefficient of variation for the cifically at the managerial finance experi-
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ences of international companies.
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goods
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a friend. do 9.1 and 9.3
value of the U.S. dollar falls against and give up control
rowing habits. Specifically, companies decision making, and indeed they of oil projects in
not include any domestic
that assets,
other currencies, the investments
whose boards exhibited more diver-
denominated in foreign currency may
sity in terms
Venezuela.
found that corporate policies focused
To explore whether interna-
show
whereas global mutual funds
not many firms follow
this advice. Most use at least some in financial markets reflect societal con-
poorlyof age,translated
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beneficial, and branding
include both foreign and domestic
cerns about issues ranging from climate
perform when tional diversification debt in their capital structures.
anddollars,
other characteristics were relatively
of board Elroy Dimson, stable over time. assets.
The How might this difference
into even if the home-country Paul Marsh, and Mike
What are
affect their correlation some
with U.S. of the pros and
members
returns relied less
are positive. heavily
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political same policies
calculated theathistorical
companies with less
compared to firms with less diverse diverse boards were prone to greater
equity mutual cons
funds?of using leverage?
change to diversity and inclusion.
boards. Because they borrowed less, year-to-year changes.8
SUMMARY
The end-of-chapter Summary consists of two
sections. The first section, Focus on Value,
FOCUS ON VALUE
explains how the chapter’s content relates to
The time value of money is a tool that managers and investors use to compare
cash inflows and outflows occurring at different times. Because firms routinely the firm’s goal of maximizing owner wealth.
make investments that produce cash inflows over long periods, the effective
application of time-value-of-money techniques is extremely important. These This feature helps reinforce understanding
techniques allow managers to compare the costs of investments they make today
to the cash inflows those investments will generate later. Such comparisons are of the link between the financial manager’s
REVIEW OF necessary to create
LEARNING value for investors.
GOALS actions and share value.
LG 1
Discuss the role of time value in finance, the use of computational tools, The second part of the Summary, the
and the basic patterns of cash flow. Financial managers and investors use time- Review of Learning Goals, restates each
value-of-money techniques when assessing the value of expected cash flow
streams. Alternatives can be assessed by either compounding to find future learning goal and summarizes the key mate-
value or discounting to find present value. Financial managers rely primarily rial that was presented to support mastery of
on present-value techniques. Financial calculators and electronic spreadsheets
the goal. This review provides students with
an opportunity to reconcile what they have
learned with the learning goal and to confirm
their understanding before moving forward.
The Excel icon indicates auto-graded Excel projects available Comprehensive Problems, keyed to the
PROBLEMS in MyLab Finance. Excel templates for end-of-chapter problems are also
available in MyLab Finance.
learning goals, are longer and more complex
than the Warm-Up Exercises. In this section,
LG 1 P5–1 Using a timeline Barnaby PLC is considering starting a new branch of its business in
Northern Ireland that requires an initial outlay of £280,000 and is expected to pro- instructors will find multiple problems that
duce cash inflows of £80,000 at the end of years 1, 2, and 3; £70,000 at the end of
years 4 and 5; and £90,000 at the end of year 6. address the important concepts, tools, and
a. Draw and label a timeline depicting the cash flows associated with Barnaby’s
proposed investment. techniques in the chapter.
b. Use arrows to demonstrate, on the timeline in part a, how compounding to find
future value can be used to measure all cash flows at the end of year 6.
c. Use arrows to demonstrate, on the timeline in part a, how discounting to find
A short descriptor identifies the essential concept
present value can be used to measure all cash flows at the beginning of the period
(time zero).
or technique of the problem. Problems labeled
d. Which of the approaches—future value or present value—do you think financial as Integrative tie together related topics.
managers rely on most often for decision making?
J atin Koorgi, CFO of South Trading Ltd., is working on the financial plans and
projections for his next board meeting. South Trading trades in coffee and tea
produced across India, and is one of the world’s largest suppliers for multinational
tea and coffee brands. It now plans to acquire coffee plantations in Asia, South
America, and Africa and vertically integrate its supply chain. It is expected that
this vertical integration will allow South Trading more control on the quality and
supply of varieties of tea and coffee and charge premium prices for its products.
South Trading is expected to invest 6 billion in this plan. Jatin’s immediate task is
to brief the board on the possible ways of raising this required capital for this
expansion.
So far, South Trading has been operating as a private company, mostly using
internal sources of capital and borrowing from its bankers to finance any capital in-
vestments. Jatin has outlined two possible options for the board to consider.
Option 1: South Trading could approach its banker, DFHC Bank, with whom
it has a long-term relationship. The firm has ongoing long-term loans with this
bank and uses its seasonal credit lines for procurement on a regular basis.However,
Rajesh Kumar, DFHC Bank’s representative to South Trading, has informed Jatin
that it is unlikely for the bank to lend the entire sum of 6 billion to the firm.
Rajesh has further explained that DFHC will gather a group of banks and each
bank will share a portion of that loan. As a condition to lending such a large sum,
the group of banks will demand that South Trading limits further borrowing and
provides DFHC with periodic financial disclosure so that the group of banks can
monitor the firm’s financial condition.
41
Chad J. Zutter
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scott B. Smart
Bloomington, Indiana
CONTRIBUTOR
Mohammad Rajjaque, Sheffield Business School
REVIEWERS
Rezart Erindi, CFA
Ruzanifah Bt. Kosnin, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan
Hameedah Sayani, Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government
Then Mrs. Burton discovered that she was seated on the ground
with her back against a tree, and with her riding hat dangling
rakishly over one eye. Above her a girl whom she had never seen
before was anxiously bending.
Without making an effort to speak until the pain in her side grew
less severe and her breathing more natural, Polly at once tried to
straighten her hat.
But Billy continued to talk as if nothing unusual had occurred and
as if his aunt could give him her undivided attention.
“I have been thinking the matter over, Tante, and I want to explain
something to you,” he said as he made a slight movement with his
hand toward the girl. “This is Vera Lageloff, a friend of mine. I took
your money before you had a chance to give it to me because Vera’s
people needed it and I knew it would be useless to ask father. I hope
you will pardon me. I suppose it was not square. Vera’s father is one
of my father’s farmers, who has been working a part of our land on
shares. He has not been straight or industrious and father has asked
him to go. Of course, he had to find some other place to go, but he
had no money and there are several other children. Vera told me that
he had a chance, if he could only get the money for a railroad ticket,
but had to have it at once. I had been to their house the night I met
you. I did not tell them at home, because father does not like my
interfering with his working people. And he does not trust Vera’s
father. I don’t trust him, either, but I don’t wish his children to
suffer. Do you?”
Billy had at last concluded his speech.
While he was talking it occurred to his aunt, who was accustomed
to having a good deal of attention paid to her health, and indeed to
all her concerns, that her nephew was but little interested in her
accident. But then he was never interested in anything which he
considered unessential. Nevertheless, there was something about
this youthful Billy Webster, which made him difficult to answer
readily. If he was not going to become a socialist or an anarchist, at
any rate he was a law unto himself.
Yet his aunt did not clearly understand what point he was trying to
make at the present moment. In reply she murmured something
about being sorry; but this was not the time for such a discussion. In
any case, his father must, of course, know best.
Then, struggling to get on her feet again and finding the girl beside
her trying to help, Mrs. Burton for the first time acknowledged their
introduction. She scarcely looked at the girl, because Billy again took
up the conversation and was more amazing this time than before.
“I do hope you will take Vera to camp with you, Tante. She is a
member of mother’s Camp Fire club and mother likes her. Besides,
she ought to get away from her family.”
Billy’s effrontery or his belief in his own judgment affected his
aunt curiously. She had never known anything like it before.
However, she had seen but little of Billy in the last few years, and
before now he had appeared only as a shy, delicate boy.
Fortunately, before having to reply one way or the other to his
latest demand, Mrs. Burton observed Betty Graham riding up the
road toward her as rapidly as her horse could travel. Betty’s concern
over her friend’s experience and its possible unfortunate
consequences was in striking contrast to the coldness and lack of
interest of the younger generation.
Afterwards, returning home a little later on an entirely subdued
animal, Mrs. Burton regretted that she had not looked at Billy’s
friend more carefully. At present she believed she would hardly
recognize the girl if they chanced to meet again. And undoubtedly the
Russian girl and her nephew must be devoted friends.
CHAPTER V
Observation
Two girls were standing on the rear platform of a big observation car
that had left Chicago a number of hours before.
They were charmingly dressed for travel—one in a brown corduroy
coat and skirt, a cream-colored blouse and a soft brown felt hat, with
a single cream-colored wing in it, and the other in blue. The first was
a small, dark girl with a brilliant color, scarlet lips and black eyes.
But little in the swiftly passing landscape seemed to escape her
interest.
The other girl was perhaps a year older and had light golden-
brown hair. Her eyes were sometimes gray, sometimes blue and now
and then faintly green, should she chance to be standing under a
group of trees or surrounded with any green foliage. Her dress was
like that of her companion except for the difference in color. Her
expression was less animated; her vision appeared to be not only an
outward but an inward one. She saw the landscape before her with
pleasure and yet had even greater pleasure in the reflections it
brought to her mind.
Finally, the train gave an unexpected lurch in making a wide curve,
and she slipped her arm through her companion’s.
“Isn’t it heavenly, Peggy?” she demanded. And then. “I know I am
selfish, so please don’t reproach me; but sometimes I have wished
that just you and I were going to camp with Tante. We have not been
away very long, but we seem to be an odd combination.”
The other girl laughed.
“Traveling with a group of girls Tante has chosen, did you expect
anything else? The oddness of our party has probably only begun,
Bettina. You know Tante has a curious fashion of liking or disliking
an individual for what he or she happens to be, without any reference
to their circumstances. And she has selected her Camp Fire club in
this way. I suppose when you become as famous as she is you can
afford to do as you like,” Peggy Webster concluded.
In spite of the difference in their natures the two girls were
devoted friends.
Bettina now looked a little wistful.
“Tante does not like me much, does she, Peggy? Oh, I don’t mean
that she is not fond of me, because I am my mother’s daughter and,
for old associations, and she would do any kindness for me. But one
knows when a person is attracted toward one without being told.
Tante is much more interested in that queer Russian girl, Vera, and
in the girl she brought with her from Chicago.”
For a moment Peggy Webster continued to watch the landscape
apparently sailing by. Then she answered.
“I think we had better go back to the others, Bettina, as it is nearly
tea time. Yes, I agree with you that it does seem unfortunate that we
girls start out by appearing to be so uncongenial. But perhaps our
Camp Fire club life together will alter us. At least we will understand
each other better after a few months of living together anyhow.
Mother says that is one of the most important influences of the Camp
Fire. You know it is supposed to teach us to put aside the
conventional society idea and learn to care for each other as men
sometimes do. We are all girls and, whatever our circumstances,
have pretty much the same needs and ideals.”
Then feeling her cheeks crimson because she feared that her words
held a suggestion of preaching, Peggy turned and started to lead the
way back into the observation car. Bettina, however, did not at once
follow her.
The rear half of the observation train was occupied by the new
Sunrise Hill Camp Fire club. Mrs. Polly Burton, the new Camp Fire
guardian, sat by one of the windows, glancing out at the great grain
fields through which their train was cutting its way like a mammoth
thrashing machine.
She was elegantly dressed in a tailored suit of dark blue cloth; and
behind her hung a fur coat for use in case the weather should turn
suddenly cold. Her bags and all her appurtenances of travel showed
wealth and luxury, and yet, in spite of all this and of her
distinguished reputation, the great lady herself looked fragile and
subdued. Indeed, she bore a striking resemblance to the very Polly
O’Neill who so often used to start out on a task in a sudden burst of
enthusiasm, only to find later that she had scarcely the ability or
strength to go on.
Not alone did Bettina believe that the new club was an oddly
assorted group!
Only in Chicago had they actually begun their journey to the West
together.
Some time before, Mrs. Burton had left her sister’s home in New
Hampshire and in Chicago joined her husband, who was playing
there during the late spring season. A few days before, Mr. and Mrs.
Webster had come on from their home to Chicago in order to
chaperon the new group of Camp Fire girls that far along the way.
There they had been joined by Mrs. Burton and one other new club
member besides Polly’s French maid, Marie.
Marie had traveled with Polly everywhere since her marriage,
having charge of her clothes—both her stage and personal ones—and
striving, though vainly, to turn her mistress into the fashionable,
conventional character it was impossible for her ever to be.
At present Marie was hovering about, paying Polly small attentions
which annoyed her, and which she felt were not good for the
intimacy she hoped to establish with her Camp Fire girls.
Personally she wished to forget her usual style of life—the fatigue,
the excitement, even her own success—and to have the girls forget it.
But Marie was a constant and persistent reminder of all these things.
Yet when she had suggested to Marie that she remain behind, as she
would dislike a western camp, Marie had burst into such French
tears and such French protestations that Mrs. Burton, who was never
very firm where her affections were concerned, had given in.
Now Marie was really the most trying member of the ill-assorted
party.
“Do please go back to your own place and leave me alone, Marie,”
Mrs. Burton finally said, unable longer to conceal her irritation. “I
am not a hopeless invalid and, even if I were, I should not wish you
to be constantly pushing cushions behind my back.”
Then, as Marie flounced off in a temper, Mrs. Burton laughed and
sighed.
Although accustomed to having thousands of eyes fixed upon her
while she was acting, Polly had become embarrassed by the critical
survey of two pair which were at present across from her. They
belonged to her own Camp Fire group—Esther’s and Dick Ashton’s
older daughter Alice, and Ellen Deal, the young woman Sylvia
Wharton had more or less thrust upon the party.
Ellen was from a small town in Pennsylvania, but with her small,
neat figure, high color and sandy hair, she might have come from a
real English village in Yorkshire or Lancashire. She was older than
the other girls and had already showed a decided fancy for Alice
Ashton. Mrs. Burton fancied that she disapproved of her and would
not try to conceal her point of view. She might really be too blunt to
make for happiness in a Camp Fire club.
Alice Ashton was a typical Boston girl. She was like her mother in
appearance, except that her hair was a darker red, and she was
handsomer than her mother had ever been. She wore glasses and was
a graduate of Wellesley College. In accepting the Camp Fire
invitation Alice had frankly stated that she wished to make an
especial study of Arizona Indian customs for her English work the
following year.
But she had not seen her mother’s old friend since she was a little
girl and, in Alice’s case, Polly also felt she had proved a
disappointment.
It was natural that Alice should expect a famous actress to be
impressive in manner and appearance, and Polly Burton was neither
—of which she was well aware. She was very slight and vivid and not
always sure of herself or her moods. Really Alice gave her the feeling
that she should resign at once as Camp Fire guardian and let Alice
reign in her place. She would probably fill it far better.
But Sally Ashton was different, and Mrs. Burton felt that one
might get amusement if not edification out of Sally. The very name of
Sally was an encouragement to do or say something saucy. And this
Sally had large, soft brown eyes and wavy hair and little white, even
teeth. If her expression was at present demure, one could see
possibilities behind the demureness.
In order not to think of herself as under a critical survey, Mrs.
Burton continued studying her new group of girls.
Sally was at the moment talking to the girl whom she had invited
and who had joined the party with her at Chicago. If Gerry Williams’
history was so unusual that it might be best not to confide her story
to the Camp Fire girls until they knew each other better, at least Mrs.
Burton was happy in the choice of her. She was so pretty and
charming and seemed to have so many possibilities if only she could
have the proper influences.
Gerry was about sixteen and slender, with lovely light hair, blue
eyes, and with almost too much color in her cheeks. Fortunately she
had once been a member of a Camp Fire club in Chicago and so knew
of their methods and ideals.
There was no suggestion then that Gerry would be a problem in
the new club. Already she seemed to be making friends with most of
the other girls.
Vera—Billy’s adored friend—might be the trial. The girl had been
born in Russia and brought to the United States about six or eight
years ago. She spoke English perfectly and did not seem to be ill at
ease, although she talked very little. However, Vera’s heavy dark face,
with her low brow and long dark eyes, was an interesting one.
Curiously, she was also a friend of Mrs. Webster’s—it was Mollie who
had added her plea to Billy’s that the Russian girl be a Camp Fire
guest.
“Yet, after all, what understanding had she of girls? And how little
she had seen of them since her own girlhood!” Mrs. Burton
concluded.
Then, just as she was again becoming depressed, she saw her
adored niece coming down the aisle.
Peggy always brought an atmosphere of relief and reasonableness.
In fact, she discovered at once that her aunt was feeling frightened
and unequal to the plan ahead. Of course, it was a great undertaking
for a woman who had been spoiled—as Polly O’Neill Burton had been
—by husband, family, friends and an admiring public—and not in
good health—to suddenly become guide, philosopher, mother and
friend to a number of strange girls.
In spite of their audience, Peggy leaned over and kissed her.