Shirley knew little about changes in a city and these things did not concern her. Immediately she entered upon one happy event after another. Mac, so full of fun, yet so serious upon occasion, took a great fancy to Shirley and saw that she missed nothing. When she went to Caroline’s just before Christmas Day, Mac did not desert her, but drove over, with gifts from the Hollands, while Caroline said that she never had so much attention in her life as now from the Holland boys and their friends. Shirley did not even know that Sidney had had a great party for the Double Three, for Hope was over early that evening and went to Sidney’s late, in plenty of time for this event. Caroline sent regrets because of a previous engagement, which was an evening with Mac and one of his friends.
“I thought that you were like Sidney at first,” said Mac, “but I’d never confuse you two after a good look, Shirley. Sidney is a fine girl and she may learn a few things about people after a while; but you have a different viewpoint and it makes you sweeter.”
“Why, that is nice of you to say,” said the surprised Shirley, “but I didn’t know that you were so—,” she paused for a word and Mac said, “‘observing,’ isn’t it?”
“No; that would be admitting that you are right.”
“Analytical, then, or philosophical. Remember that I am going to college!”
“Oh, you ought to know Dick. He is in our university at home, the one where my father teaches.” There, it was out. Shirley had changed her mind about not speaking of her wonderful father.
“Is your father a university professor? That explains it, then.” Mac looked as if he would like to go on, but was not sure whether he dared or not.
“What it explains I don’t know,” laughed Shirley, “but so far as Dad is concerned, he is mighty fine, even if he never has much money and puts it into his line of work or gives it back to the college. And he’s always doing things in one way or another for his students.”
“That is about what I was going to say, Shirley, doing big things on next to nothing. The reason I know anything about it is that we have a friend like that. But who’s Dick? Her best college friend? Don’t tell me that I have to label you ‘Taken!’”
“I don’t know what to make of you, Mac. Ought I to be offended? You are so funny that I can’t be. No; Dick is my cousin and I’m going to bring him up for the Prom to meet our girls. I told him not to have too much of a college ‘case’ till he saw them.”