Janet settled her hat and went out. An hour later she was sitting placidly upon the sofa where, as a blindfolded freshman, she had sat with Teddy nearly a year before.
"It all sounds very familiar," she confided to Rosalie, "but I miss the roses. They have carnations to-day instead."
Then Marian appeared, and the call resolved itself into a commonplace incident.
Marian enthusiastically accepted the invitation to visit Hilltop. "I have been dying to go there," she said, "but something has always prevented."
"It's the dearest place," Janet told her. "It is right on top of a hill, with such a lovely view of the surrounding country from the windows. I hope you don't mind a little walk, for it is beyond the terminus of the car line."
"I love to walk," said Marian, nothing daunted.
"We can have a cup of tea and a little chat before it gets dark," said Rosalie, "but we must start at once."
They went forth, and within the hour were trudging across the fields and up the hill toward the club house, a picturesque low building surrounded by porches, and facing west.
"It is later than I thought," said Rosalie with a glance at the gray sky. "It is cloudy, and the afternoons are short enough on a bright day."
There were but few in the big low-celled room where a great fire was burning in the huge fireplace, and the three girls seated themselves where they could watch the dancing flames, sip their tea, and eat their cakes. A big collie dog made friends with them and, while they enjoyed their tea, sat on his haunches with his nose in Janet's lap and his soft eyes fixed upon her face.