“How pretty!” exclaimed Helen, deserting her Livy to examine it. “Is it long?”
“Um-um,” said Betty taking a pin out of her mouth and hunting frantically for a microscopic rip. “Yes, it’s long, and it has a train. My brother Will persuaded mother to let me have one. Wasn’t he a brick?”
“Yes,” said Helen shortly, going back to her desk and opening her book again. Presently she hitched her chair around to face Betty. “Mine’s awfully short,” she said.
“Is it?” asked Betty politely.
There was a pause. Then, “Would you care to see it?” asked Helen.
Betty winked at the green lizard. “Yes indeed,” she said cordially. “Why don’t you try it on to be sure it’s all right? I’m going to put on mine in just a minute.”
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the dress. It was a simple white muslin. The sleeves were queer, the neck too high to be low and too low to be high, and the skirt ridiculously short. “But it might have been a lot worse,” reflected Betty. “If she’ll only fix it!”
“Wait a minute,” she said after she had duly admired it. “I’ll put mine on, and we’ll see how we both look dressed up.”
“You look like a regular princess out of a story-book,” said Helen solemnly, when Betty turned to her for inspection.
Betty laughed. “Oh, wait till to-morrow night,” she said. “My hair’s all mussed now. I wonder how you’d look with your hair low, Helen.”