Hilary gave Cathalina an admiring glance. “Why, you always look as if you came from ‘Pahree’! And you are the beauty with that grey-blue coat and those sweet furs. You must pose as the spirit of Greycliff in our tableaux. Is my hat on straight? I’ll never get over my surprise when I opened Aunt Hilary’s Christmas package.”
“It was nice of them all to send your Christmas presents before you left.”
“They knew I needed ’em,—blessed people!”
“Philip will enjoy a taste of June’s cream candy. Nobody at our house can make anything like it.”
“Give him all he can eat, then.” But Hilary had her suspicions by this time that at the Van Buskirk home Cathalina and Philip could have the best of candy or anything else they wanted.
There was a furious snow storm outside. People who came in shook off snow and breezes of stinging air penetrated even to the comfortable coach in which the two girls were cosily settled. Cathalina had visions of stalled trains and delays such as she had known before. But she said nothing of her fears to Hilary and was relieved when, as they sped on, the snow stopped.
It was Hilary’s first experience on a sleeper. At first she thought she never could go to sleep. But at last the novelty wore off and the monotonous noise of the car wheels lulled her to sleep. She knew no more till Cathalina wakened her. “Hurry up, Hilary, we must get dressed as quickly as possible. I overslept. O, you needn’t rush, but don’t waste any time. If you look out you see the beautiful old Hudson in its winter dress. We are coming down on the east side.”
“We needed our little alarm clock, didn’t we?” and Hilary chuckled at the thought of an alarm clock on a sleeper.
But Cathalina, who often took Hilary’s jokes seriously, replied, “We could have had the porter call us.” Leadership was reversed now. Hilary, who guided Cathalina with kindness and efficiency through the mysteries of school life was glad to follow Cathalina’s superior knowledge of what to do when traveling. They found that there was more time than they had supposed, for the train was late; and for some time after their berth was again converted into the ordinary Pullman seat they sat watching the wintry scenery. The obsequious attentions of the porter to Cathalina and, indeed, to herself, amused Hilary very much. She had rather opened her eyes at the tip she saw Cathalina give him the evening before. She, too, had learned something, not so valuable, perhaps, as some of Cathalina’s lessons, about the extra attention which money can secure. The porter brushed them off, took their bags, and in a moment it seemed, they were out of the train and hurrying with the crowd.
“There’s Phil!” said Cathalina joyously, though Hilary noticed at once how quiet was her voice and manner. “I guess they don’t shout across the street at each other in New York,” she thought with her usual humor.