A mellow bell began to ring from some other building—probably in the tower of the main building of Briarwood Hall.
"There!" ejaculated Helen, in some relief. "That must be to announce supper."
"Are you ready, Helen?" asked Ruth.
"Yes."
"Then let us go."
There was a card on which were printed several simple rules of conduct tacked to the door. The chums had read them. One was that rooms should be left unlocked in the absence of the occupants, and Ruth and Helen went out into the corridor, leaving their door open. There were other girls in the passage then, all moving toward the stairway. Some of them nodded kindly to the Infants. Others only stared.
Ruth saw Miss Steele in advance, and whispered to Helen:
"Come, dear; let us speak to her and tell her we cannot accept her Invitation for this evening."
But Helen held back. "You can tell her if you like," she said, rather sullenly.
"But, let us be nice about it," urged Ruth. "I'll tell her we overlooked the fact that we were already engaged for the meeting of the Up and Doing Club. I'll explain."