AT THE DOOR OF HELEN’S ROOM SHE HESITATED
“I might wait until to-morrow,” she thought. “There would be fewer people then, and I shouldn’t be so conspicuous.”
But no; to-night was the proper night for an editorial spread, and Helen should have the fun of being in the midst of things for once.
So she knocked and explained her errand. Helen’s ecstasy of delight was almost pathetic.
“A supper at Cuyler’s for me!” she cried. “Oh, how lovely! How perfectly lovely! Betty has ordered some flowers for me, and now you do this! I haven’t anything left to wish for. I’m sure I shall enjoy my one big day as much as girls like you and Betty enjoy all yours put together.”
“I hope you will,” said Eleanor, thinking bitterly of the “big day,” when her story came out in the “Argus.”
“And I think it is particularly nice of you,” went on Helen, earnestly, “when we all thought——” The look on Eleanor’s face warned her not to go on, and instead of finishing her sentence she put her arms around Eleanor and stood on tiptoe to kiss her soft cheek.
Some of “The Merry Hearts” had already accepted invitations to other spreads, but two of the B’s were free and received Eleanor’s timidly proffered invitation with a heartiness that surprised her and encouraged her beyond measure to go on in the difficult rôle she had chosen. Katherine could come, and Roberta. Betty excused herself to Nita, who was entertaining in honor of Christy, on the plea that Helen would feel hurt if her freshman roommate could not come to her spread, and Lucile declared that she was almost as “set up” by being invited to a junior party as Helen was by being elected editor. So every one was in the best of spirits and the “dark horse spread,” as Jean called it, was the gayest of all the editorial celebrations.
All the parties broke up at about the same time, and went up the hill to the campus in a long, straggling line. Without any particular manœuvering “The Merry Hearts” found themselves together in the rear, with no outsiders in their midst but Eleanor. At the campus gate Bob stopped the tail of the procession.