“Nothing is served till nine o’clock,” they were informed, for provision was made against just such a feeling as Katherine had expressed. The two ran around the corner to the nearest drug store, and regaled themselves with two egg chocolates each.
“Goodness,” murmured Peggy on their way back to recitation, “I certainly wish Gertie were back, bless her heart. If anybody at the meeting to-night finds any fault with her, while she’s away, they’ll have me to deal with.”
But when the freshmen were assembled that evening, no word was said against Gertie, nor was her name so much as mentioned, for there is little satisfaction in scoring an absent friend, when you have just received license to make a present one squirm.
Two candles were lit in Hazel’s rose-and-old-blue room. There was no other light. On the couch and here and there about on the floor sat the Ambler freshmen, in silk kimonos of Japanese or French design. Florence Thomas was wearing a pale blue with big gold dragons, Peggy noticed as soon as she came in, for the candle light flickered over it, and the dull gold threads gleamed.
Myra’s kimono was of midnight blue crepe de chine without any relieving color tone whatever. Her face shone above it more pale and proud than usual.
“The reason we are here,” began Myra, rising and standing gracefully before them, with her dark eyes taking in every one of the group, “is to see if we can’t be of some help to each other in weeding out the most glaring faults of the Ambler House freshmen. Hazel is here as a sort of referee, and each girl is to tell—quite without reservation—any criticisms she may have for the rest of us. Now begin, somebody.”
She sat down again with a little silken rustle, and Florence Thomas leaned forward, her pleasant face serious with the weight of her self-imposed task.
“There’s one thing I’ve noticed,” she said slowly. “Doris Winterbean and May Jenson don’t seem to mingle with the rest of the house as they might. Now I don’t want you two girls to get mad,” turning to her victims, “but you have an awfully ungracious air when any one comes to your door, and you always lay a book face down as if you could hardly wait to take it up again. You aren’t exactly snobs,—maybe it’s only that you’re too studious. You never have any eats in your room, and yet you are always going to call on other people when you hear they have. And that’s about the only way any of us can entice you into our rooms——”
Doris and May wilted perceptibly under this attack, and their mouths opened in astonishment to see the way they had been impressing these girls whom they had supposed were their generous friends. But instead of making them more gentle when it came their turn to uncover faults, they threw discretion to the winds, and heaped up accusations, forgetting that another morning was coming and they must go on living among these girls throughout the year.
The atmosphere of friendship which prevailed when the girls arrived in Hazel’s room, was changed now to one of animosity.