t bones so much," grumbled Jennie. "Remember what the
fruit-stand man printed on his sign: 'If you musta pincha da fruit,
pincha da cocoanut.' You can't so easy bruise bony folk, Helen."

"You are dodging the issue, Heavy," declared Helen. "What does this
mean?"

"What does what mean?" demanded the fleshy girl, grinning widely again.

"How came you here, of course?" Ruth put in, smiling upon their gay and
usually thoughtless friend. "You said you did not think you could come
to Ardmore."

"And you had conditions to make up if you did come," declared Helen.

"I made 'em up," said Jennie, laughing.

"And you're here ahead of us! Oh, Heavy, what sport!" cried Helen,
undertaking to pinch the plump girl again.

"Now, that's enough of that," said Jennie Stone. "I have feelings, as
well as other folk, Helen Cameron, despite my name. Have a heart!"

"We are so glad to see you, Heavy," said Ruth. "You mustn't mind Helen's
exuberance."

"And you never said a word about coming here when you wrote to us down
South," Helen said, eyeing the fleshy girl curiously.

"I didn't know what to do," confessed Jennie Stone. "I talked it over
with Aunt Kate. She agreed with me that, if I had finished school, I'd
put on about five pounds a month, and that's all I _would_ do."

"Goodness!" gasped Ruth and Helen, together.

"Yes," said Heavy, nodding with emphasis. "That's what I did the first
month. Nothing to do, you see, but eat and sleep. If I'd had to go to
work----"

"But couldn't you find something to do?" demanded the energetic Ruth.

"At Lighthouse Point? You know just how lazy a spot that is. And in
winter in the city it would be worse. So I determined to come here."

"To keep from getting fatter!" cried Helen. "A new reason for coming to
college."

"Well," said Jennie, seriously, "I missed the gym work and I missed
being uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" gasped Ruth and Helen.

"Yes. You know, my father's a big man, and so are my older brothers big.
Everything in our house is big and well stuffed and comfortable--chairs
and beds and all. I never was comfortable in my bed at Briarwood."

"Horrible!" cried Helen, while Ruth laughed heartily.

"And _here_!" went on Heavy, lugubriously. "Wait till you see. Do you
know, all they give us here is _cots_ to sleep on? _Cots_, mind!
Goodness! when I try to turn over I roll right out on the floor. You
ought to see my sides already, how black-and-blue they are. I've been
h