s far as her physical presence was
concerned. But her eyes wandered from one place to another over the
room, reviewing the effect, and her mind was drifting from what Ruth was
saying. But the latter hardly noticed her preoccupation, so intent was
she upon her own interests.

"Listen, Marj!" She reduced her voice to an intimate tone. "Have you
thought about our class president?"

"Our president?"

"Yes--not Doris Sands--of course, she is still president; but what I
mean is--our next president!"

"No, I haven't," replied Marjorie, absently. "I never gave it a thought.
Why?"

"Well, I have; and our class meeting is Monday evening, you know. I
think we ought to talk it over, for it's important to get just the right
girl."

"I suppose it is," admitted Marjorie, glancing nervously towards the
door. "Why do you s'pose they're so late, Ruth?"

"Oh, they'll be along soon," replied Ruth, with annoyance. "It's hardly
half-past seven."

But Marjorie could not content herself to sit still any longer.

"Well, it'll be hard to get anybody as good as Doris," she said, rising.
"I wish it weren't against the Constitution to elect her over again."

"I hear my name being taken in vain," said a pleasant voice, and the
girls looked up to see their pretty class president just behind them.

"Pardon me for interrupting your tete-a-tete, but do you know who has
charge of the games?" she asked.

"Lily," replied Marjorie. "But you needn't worry; she's all prepared."

"Good!" exclaimed Doris, glad to dismiss the matter from her mind. Then,
"I certainly am crazy to get acquainted with the freshmen. I know most
of them by sight now, and I've talked to two or three, but I don't know
any of their names."

"Won't it be fun to pick out the Girl Scouts?" remarked Ruth.

"But we don't _pick_ them, Ruth," protested Marjorie; "they pick
themselves."

At this moment half a dozen freshmen entered the open door of the
gymnasium, and the girls hastened over to welcome them and to make them
feel at home. They walked in shyly, hesitating just inside the door, for
everything was new and strange to them.

Marjorie was seized with a great longing to seek out all the retiring
ones and tell them that she would be their friend. But perhaps some of
the freshmen might resent this, and interpret her attitude as
condescending. So she tried to content herself with entertaining as many
different girls as she could, and remembering as many names as possib