“Unless you really want to tell that you might skip it,” said Miss Ferris, “because I don’t need to be reminded that I shall always be glad to do anything I can for my good friend Betty Wales.”
“Oh, thank you! That helps a lot,” said Betty gratefully, and went on with her story.
Miss Ferris listened attentively. “Miss Watson is the girl with the wonderful gray eyes and the lovely dark hair. I remember. She comes down here a great deal to see Miss Cramer, I think. It’s a pity, isn’t it, that she hasn’t great good sense to match her beauty? So you want me to speak to her about her very foolish attitude toward our college life. Suppose I shouldn’t succeed in changing her mind?”
“Oh, you would succeed,” said Betty eagerly. “Mary Brooks says you can argue a person into anything.”
Miss Ferris laughed again. “I’m glad Miss Brooks approves of my argumentative ability, but are you sure that Miss Watson is the sort of person with whom argument is likely to count for anything? Did you ever know her to change her mind on a subject of this sort, because her friends disapproved of her?”
Betty hesitated. “Yes–yes, I have. Excuse me for not going into particulars, Miss Ferris, but there was a thing she did when she came here that she never does now, because she found how others felt about it. Indeed, I think there are several things.”
Miss Ferris nodded silently. “Then why not appeal to the same people who influenced her before?”
It was the question that Betty had been dreading, but she met it unflinchingly. “One of them thinks she has lost her influence, Miss Ferris, and another one who helped a little bit before, can’t, because–I’m that one, Miss Ferris. I unintentionally did something last term that made Eleanor angry with me. It made her more dissatisfied and unhappy here too; so when I heard about this I felt as if I was a little to blame for it, and then I wanted to make up for the other time too. But of course it is a good deal to ask of you.” Betty slid forward on to the edge of her chair ready to accept a hasty dismissal.
Miss Ferris waited a moment. “I shall be very glad to do it,” she said at last. “I wanted to be sure that I understood the situation and that I could run a chance of helping Miss Watson. I think I can, but you must forgive me if I make a bad matter worse. I’ll ask her to have tea with me to-morrow. May I send a note by you?”
“Of course you won’t tell her that I spoke to you?” asked Betty anxiously, when Miss Ferris handed her the note. Miss Ferris promised and Betty danced out into the night. Half-way home she laughed merrily all to herself.