s a beautiful old place, Helen," sighed Ruth.

"I believe you!" agreed her chum, enthusiastically.

"It was originally a great manor house. That was the first building
where the tower is," said Mary Cox, as they came out at last upon the
more open lawn that gave approach to this side of the collection of
buildings, which had been more recently built than the main house.
They were built around a rectangular piece of turf called the campus.
This, however, the newcomers discovered later, for they came up in the
rear of the particular dormitory building in which Mary declared their
room was situated.

"You can go to the office afterwards," she explained, kindly. "You'll
want to wash and fix up a little after traveling so far. It always
makes one so dirty."

"This is a whole lot better than the way poor Tom was received at his
school; isn't it?" whispered Helen, tucking her arm in Ruth's as they
came to the steps of the building.

Ruth nodded. But there were so many new things to see that Ruth had
few words to spare. There were plenty of girls in sight now. It
seemed to the girl from the Red Mill as though there were hundreds of
them. Short girls, tall girls, thin girls, plump girls--and the very
plumpest girl of her age that Ruth had ever seen, stood right at the
top of the steps. She had a pretty, pink, doll-like face which was
perpetually a-smile. Whereas some of the girls--especially the older
ones--stared rather haughtily at the two Infants, this fat girl
welcomed them with a broadening smile.

"Hello, Heavy," said Mary Cox, laughing. "It must be close to supper
bell, for you're all ready, I see."

"No," said the stout girl. "There's an hour yet. Are these the two?"
she added, nodding at Ruth and Helen.

"I always get what I go after," Ruth heard Mary say, as they whisked in
at the door.

In the hall a quiet, pleasant-faced woman in cap and apron met them.

"This is Helen Cameron and Ruth Fielding, Miss Scrimp," said Mary.
"Miss Scrimp is matron of our dormitory, girls. I am going up, Miss
Scrimp, and I'll show them to their duet."

"Very well, Miss Cox," said the woman, producing two keys, one of which
she handed to each of the chums. "Be ready for the bell, girls. You
can see Mrs. Tellingham after supper."

Ruth stopped to thank her, but Mary swept Helen on with her up the
broad stairway. The room the chums were to occupy (Mr. Cameron had
made this arrangement for them) was up this first