With this much of a triumph Joanne had to be satisfied. At least she had neither whined nor wept, as she would have done in the old days. Her grandfather had stood by her valiantly, putting in a word now and then to help her cause, and she felt that she could let the future take care of itself.
To the delight of all three girls the next Friday night was a clear one, and, bearing wraps, lanterns, old umbrellas and other paraphernalia, they climbed to the cupola after dinner amid much laughter and many animated remarks. They found it rather chilly, but they bundled up and managed to stick it out till ten o’clock.
“I really feel that we have accomplished something,” declared Claudia as she led the way with her lantern down the first flight of stairs. “It is everything to have made a beginning.”
“I am sure I shall always know Capella now,” said Joanne; “she is such a nice Mother Goat watching her three little kids. I think I like her better than any other star.”
“My favorite is Vega,” announced Winnie; “she is such a wonderful blue star, but the trouble is that the stars rise and set at different times according to the season and you can’t always find them in the same place.”
“You can if you just spot Orion and take him as a guide,” said Claudia; “at least you can find your star, though not in the same place.”
“I always pick out the Great Dipper as my guide,” said Joanne, “for I can always find the North Star then.”
“It certainly is mighty interesting,” remarked Winnie with satisfaction as they reached the second floor. “I hardly realized how the time passed. If we keep on we’ll be sitting up all night to watch the stars. I could scarcely believe it when you said it was ten o’clock.”
They passed on to Claudia’s room where they compared umbrellas and then prepared for bed, rather a long process since there was much running back and forth from the room Claudia and Winnie occupied together to the one which Joanne had to herself, and when they settled down for the night, it would be surprising if one at least did not dream of stars.
After this many a night did Joanne spend with Claudia, for having given her consent in the first instance, Mrs. Selden had little excuse to withhold it thereafter. By spring all three of the girls knew the “Song of the Fifty Stars,” and had placed them on their maps. They knew, too, the principal constellations, and felt that their Friday nights had not been spent in vain.