she called back mockingly as
she fled up the stairs.

At midnight Berta was roused wide awake by an insistent rapping on the
wall between her room and Bea's. Startled at last wide awake, she asked
what was the trouble. Upon receiving no audible reply, she hurried around
through the corridor to the door. She heard the key turned as she grasped
the knob. An instant later she felt Bea sway against her and stand
choking for breath, her hands to her chest.

"It's croup," she gasped. "The doctor! Run!"

Berta ran. She ran as she had never run before. Down the endless corridor
and up the stairs, two steps at a time. Then a hail of frantic knocks on
the doctor's door brought her rushing to answer. In four minutes they
were back beside Bea's bed, and the doctor's orders kept Berta flying,
till after a limitless space of horror and struggle she heard dimly from
the distance: "She'll do now." Whereupon Berta sat down quietly in a
chair and fainted.

The next day was Sunday. Berta carried Bea her breakfast.

"Good-morning, Beatrice," she said. "I've decided that I am tired of
being a genius."

"So am I," said Bea.

"No more poems!" cried Robbie Belle and clapped her hands. "Oh, goodie!"

CHAPTER VI

A WAVE OF REFORM

Bea did her hair high for the first time in public on the evening of the
Philalethean Reception in her sophomore year. As was to have been
expected, this event of vital importance demanded such careful
preparation that she missed the address in chapel altogether and was late
for the first dance. When at last she really put in an appearance--and a
radiant appearance it was, with cheeks flushed from the ardor of her
artistic labors, she found the revelry in full swing, so to speak. The
corridors and drawing-rooms were thronged with fair daughters and brave
sons. Naturally the daughters were in the majority, most of them fair
with the beauty of youth. The sons were necessarily brave to face the
cohorts of critical eyes that watched them from all sides.

Two of the critical eyes belonged to Bea as she stood on the stairs for a
few minutes and mourned that her handsomest cousin was not there to
admire her new white crepe, and also to be admired of the myriad
guestless girls. She caught a glimpse of Lila in rose-colored mull as she
promenaded past with a cadet all to herself. Berta and Robbie were
walking together in the ceaseless procession from end to end of the
second floor corridor, while the orches