reat Mr. Masters appeared in the door of the office
and tossing a careless "Back at four-thirty sharp" over his shoulder,
ran down the stairs as lightly as though he were not leaving riot and
ruin behind him. A minute later Barbara Gordon came to the door and
explained to the Portias who were waiting to come on at three, that it
had been found necessary to delay their appearance until evening.
Barbara always looked calm and unruffled under the most trying
circumstances, but she shut the door unnecessarily hard and the Portias
exchanged amazed glances.

"Something's happened," declared Babe, sagely.

"'Oh, wise young judge!'" quoted Nita. "Why don't you tell us what it
is?"

"I must go if we have to come back this evening," said Kate Denise, and
hurried off to find Jean, who had promised to meet her in the library.

Kate understood Jean very well and often disapproved of her, but she had
known her a long time and was genuinely fond of her and anxious for her
success. Jean had complained of a headache at luncheon and seemed
nervous and absent-minded. Kate wondered if she could possibly have
broken down and spoiled her chance with Mr. Masters, thus disarranging
the committee's plans.

But Jean scoffed at this idea. "I did my best," she declared, "and he
was awfully nice. You'll like him, Katie. I suppose he had an
engagement, or was tired and wanted to go off somewhere and smoke. He
gets up plays all the time, you know. It must be horribly boring."

Meanwhile Miss Kingston and the play committee sat in mournful conclave.
Nobody had much to say. Clara Ellis looked "I told you so" at the rest,
and the rest looked back astonishment, dismay and annoyance at Clara.

"Is he generally so--so decided and, well,--so quick to make up his
mind?" asked Betty, finally.

Miss Kingston laughed at Betty's carefully chosen adjectives and shook
her head. "He's generally very patient and encouraging, but to-day
something seems to have spoiled his temper. I don't believe, though,
that his irritability has affected his judgment. I agree perfectly with
what he said about Miss Eastman."

"Yes," agreed Barbara, "he put into words what we all felt when we first
heard her. Afterward we wanted so much to think she was good that we
actually cheated ourselves into thinking so."

"Do tell me what happened," begged Rachel Morrison. She had been kept at
home by a belligerent sophomore who insisted upon being tutored at her
regular hour, and h