Then she went back to bed, and after a short time sleep came to ease the poor little worried mind.
The days flew by. The cold weather continued, and skating was the delight of all the young people. Bernice was a fine skater, and close watch on the part of Dolly and Dotty showed that she had partners for the skating parties far oftener than she used to.
This favoured Dolly’s new plan, the same being nothing more nor less than to have Bernice chosen Queen of the Carnival, which on Christmas Eve was to be the great celebration of the holiday season.
A skating carnival had not been possible for many years, but the exceptionally cold winter had made it feasible this season, and all the young people of Berwick were wildly enthusiastic over it.
Tad and Tod Brown were willing this time to consent to the request of the Two D’s to vote for Bernice as Carnival Queen.
“She’s a bang-up skater,” said Tad; “the best in Berwick, I think. And, another thing, Bernie is a heap nicer than she used to be. She’s come down off her high horse, and almost never rubs in her wealth and grandeur.”
“She is nicer,” agreed Tod. “She doesn’t snap a fellow up, everything he says, and she smiles more, somehow.”
All this was as balm to Dolly’s soul. She rejoiced to hear the boys speak thus of Bernice. Then she had cold chills, lest, since Bernice was winning praise by her own improvement, she might conclude that Dolly had no hand in it, and therefore had not won her promised reward.
But the two indefatigable workers kept on. They were more wary than they had been when trying to get Bernice made class President, for in this instance, many were concerned beside their class in High School. So they worked quietly, even secretly, but they urged many to vote for Bernice as Queen of the Carnival, and partly owing to the position and influence of Mr. Forbes, many expressed themselves as more than willing to consent.
The hopes of the Two D’s ran high. Dolly’s letters to the two boys had resulted in their influencing a number of boys in Berwick whom the girls did not know well enough to speak to about it.