was tempted to remain in the wagonette and
go back to the school at once--for the carriages would return to town,
coming out again for the party of Briarwood students late in the
afternoon.

This thought was her first intention; but as her sobs subsided she felt
more the hurt of the treatment she had received. And this hurt stirred
within her a self-assertion that was becoming a more prominent
characteristic of Ruth every day. Why should she relapse into tears
because her chum had done a cruel thing? Hurt as she was, why should
she give The Fox the satisfaction of _knowing_ she felt the slight?

Ruth began to take herself to task for her "softness." Let Helen go
with the Upedes if she wished. Here were nice girls all about her, and
all the Sweetbriars particularly thought a great deal of her, Ruth
knew. She need not mope and weep just because Helen Cameron, her
oldest friend, had neglected her. The other girls stood ready to be
her friends.

They had not noticed Ruth's silence and abstraction--much less her
tears. She wiped her eyes hard, gulped down her sobs, and determined
to have a good time in spite of either the Upedes or Helen's hardness
of heart.

The first wagonette reached the shore of the lake some time ahead of
the second. And perhaps this fact, as well as the placing of Miss
Reynolds in the latter, had been arranged by the wily Miss Cox.

"Oh, Mary Cox!" cried Helen, looking out, "there's a whole lot of folks
here--BOYS!"

But when one of the boys came running to help her down the steps, Helen
shouted with delight. She came "flopping" down into Tom Cameron's arms.

"How scrumptious you look, Nell!" cried her brother, kissing her
frankly. "Here is Bob Steele--I want you to know him. He's my bunkie
at Seven Oaks. Isn't his sister with you--Madge Steele?"

"Yes. Miss Steele's here," gasped Helen.

"But where's Ruth?" demanded the excited Tom. "Come on and get her.
We want to get our skates on and make for the steamer. The ice is like
glass."

"Why--Ruth's in the other wagonette," said Helen.

"She's not with you?" exclaimed Tom, rather chagrined. "Why, how's
that?"

"We--we happened to get into different ones," said his sister.

To tell the truth, she had not thought of Ruth since leaving the school.

"Is that the other one coming--'way back on the road there?"

"Yes," said Helen. "Here's Miss Cox, Tom. Mary, this is my brother."

Bob Steele, who was a tall, blond fellow,