"Here she comes now!"
Jane followed her announcement with a muffled "Oh!" Mrs. Weatherbee was advancing toward their table and not alone. Behind her walked the aggressive Miss Noble.
"Miss Noble, this is Miss Martin." The matron placidly proceeded with the introductions and rustled off, unconscious that she had precipitated a difficult situation. Her mind occupied with other matters, she had failed to note the stiff little bows exchanged by three of the quartette.
It had not been lost upon Dorothy, however. Greeting the newcomer in her usual gracious fashion, she wondered what ailed Jane and Adrienne.
"Have you examinations to try, Miss Noble?" she asked pleasantly, by way of shattering the frigid silence that had settled down on three of the group.
"No, indeed." The girl tossed her black head. "I am from Burleigh."
"Oh! A prep school, I suppose?" Dorothy inquired politely. The name was unfamiliar to her.
"One of the most exclusive in the Middle West," was the prompt answer, given with a touch of arrogance. "I must say, Wellington doesn't compare very favorably with it in my opinion."
A faint sparkle of resentment lit the wide gray eyes Dorothy turned squarely on the freshman.
"That's rather hard on Wellington," she said evenly. "I hope you will change your mind after you've been with us a while."