“Did I what?” asked Molly.
“Hear her?”
“I listened,” proclaimed Molly, unblushingly. “I glory in the fact. I am an eavesdropper. By so doing I learned good instead of evil about myself. And I learned something else.”
Beth was silent.
“I learned what a perfectly loyal friend you are, Beth Baldwin! You are a dear!” and Molly flung her arms about the other’s neck and kissed her warmly. Beth returned the caress; she had never met a girl before whom she found as dear as this jolly creature.
“What a really hateful thing that Maude Grimshaw is!” said the new pupil, after a pause.
“What did I tell you?” cried Molly. “And so sneering! Not that what she says can hurt us. Maybe she would have given you a tidy sum to change rooms with Laura Hedden.”
Beth laughed and tossed her head. “I’ll get money other ways—or go without,” she said.
“Is it really a fact that you need to earn money if you stay here in school? Are your folks as poor as you told Maude?” asked Molly, hesitatingly.
“I’m all right for a year. But after that—the deluge!” Beth replied.