Doris smiled and put her violets in water.
“Well, it’s been the loveliest time I’ve ever had!” said Frances; “oh, Marjorie, I’m so happy!”
“So am I”—“So am I,” cried the others.
“I guess everybody was happy to-night, Marj; it’s been such a perfect party!” said Doris.
But one person was unhappy that evening; one girl passed the gaily lighted house and looked in from the outside; one girl thought of the sorority she had missed making, and the friend she had lost—and in it all Ruth Henry blamed not herself, but Marjorie.
CHAPTER XI
THE GIRL SCOUT TROOP
Ruth had no desire to ride back to school on the same train with the sorority girls, so she decided to wait over until Monday morning. Besides, she had an important letter to write on Sunday evening, and she needed the quiet of her own room to compose her thoughts. As she sat at the window, she saw Wilkinsons’ machine, filled with the joyful members of the house-party, pass in the street below. But Ruth was no longer envious; if her scheme worked—as she felt it must—the tables would be turned; Marjorie and her friends would be begging favors of her!
A letter and a package in her post-office box on Wednesday came in prompt reply to her letter of Sunday. She broke the seal in breathless haste. Its contents seemed to come up to her expectations, for she smiled brightly, and literally ran to Evelyn’s room.
“I’ve a grand new plan!” she exclaimed enthusiastically, after she had opened her friend’s door without knocking. “A rival for ΦΑΒ!”