“What a little goose you are, Marie, on the subject of men,” Timmy Wentworth told her shortly. “No sensible girl like G. Ames goes around wearing her heart on her sleeve. Besides, Georgia doesn’t care for men at all. She often says that she came to college in the first place because there wouldn’t be any men around.”
“She did!” sighed Montana Marie. “What a queer reason! I——”
“Oh, yes, do tell us why you came,” Straight Dutton broke in, as Marie hesitated.
“Why I came?” repeated Marie gaily. “Oh, yes, I’ll tell you that with pleasure. I came to complete my education, of course.” When Straight gave a disappointed little shrug, Marie giggled riotously. “Sorry you don’t like my reason,” she concluded, drawing down the corners of her pretty mouth in an absurd imitation of extreme grief.
It was little Binks Ames, with her queer talent for making strange discoveries, who finally found out what was worrying Georgia. And she took the matter to the most wonderful person about troubles that she knew: namely, Miss Betty Wales.
“You see,” said Binks solemnly, “Constance Ames is the pretty, society kind of girl. But she’s awfully bright, too. She’s five years younger than Georgia; so she’ll be a year younger in entering college. That is, if she will come, when she’s ready, in the fall. But she won’t. She has an idea that college is awfully solemn and serious and studious, and she says she’d rather go to boarding-school, where the girls are lively, even if there are a lot of rules. And Georgia feels dreadfully. She’s always thought it would be such fun having Constance here after she’s graduated.”
“You’ll be here, anyway,” laughed Betty.
“Oh, but I don’t count,” little Binks explained quite seriously. “At least not like a younger sister that you can come up with in September, and send boxes to, and introduce to your friends, and talk it all over with in vacations. Besides, I’m—I’m queer. So I don’t really count at all.”
“I see.” Betty was as serious as Binks. “Why doesn’t Georgia have her little sister up here for a visit? She’d be sure to have a splendid time, and then she’d want to enter college. Has she put in her application for the campus?”
Binks nodded. “Georgia did it for her the minute she saw how nice Harding is. The reason Georgia doesn’t have her up is because she’s afraid to. You see, Constance belongs to a crowd of boys and girls who have a lot going on all the time, and Georgia is afraid—well, to tell the truth, Constance is man-crazy. She doesn’t think you can have a good time with just girls. And of course when you don’t expect a good time and act offish and disagreeable, why, you don’t have a good time,” ended Binks acutely.