y, now, it was interesting, and isn't
Cloudy a dear? If Christians were all like that, I'd believe in
them."

"Perhaps they are, real Christians. Perhaps the ones we mean aren't
anything but shams."

"Well, there's a good many shams, then."

The big, noisy bell began to bang out a tardy summons now; but the two
young people did not feel the same antipathy toward it that they had
felt the night they heard it first. It seemed somehow to have a
homely, friendly sound. As they neared the open door, they grew
suddenly shy, however, and drew back, lingering on the corner,
watching the few stragglers who walked into the pathway of light that
streamed from the doorway.

"Some bunch!" growled Allison. "I should say they did need waking up,
but I don't hanker for the job."

They slipped in, and followed the sound of voices, through a
dimly-lighted hall, smelling of moldy ingrain carpet, into a wide,
rather pleasant, chapel room. There were branches of autumn leaves
about the walls, reminiscent of some recent festivity, and a bunch of
golden-rod in a vase on the little table by the leader's chair.

Two girls were turning over the hymn-book, picking out hymns for the
evening; and a tall, shy, girlish young fellow was making fancy
letters on a blackboard up in front. Three more girls with their arms
about one another had surrounded him, and were giggling and gurgling
at him after the manner of that kind of girl. Another plain-faced,
plainly-dressed young woman sat half-way up at one side, her hands
folded and a look of quiet waiting on her face. That was all that
were in the room.

Allison and Leslie found a seat half-way up on the other side from the
plain-faced girl, and sat down. No one noticed them save for furtive
glances, and no one came near them. The three giggling girls began to
talk a little louder. One with her hair bobbed and a long view of
vertebrae above her blue dress-collar began to prattle of a dance the
night before.

"I thought I'd die!" she chortled. "Bob had me by the arm; and here
was my dress caught on Archie's button, and he not knowing and
whirling off in the other direction; and the georgette just ripped and
tore to beat the band, and me trying to catch up with Archie, and Bob
hanging on to me, honest.--You'd uv croaked if you could uv seen me.
Oh, but Mother was mad when she saw my dress! She kept blaming me, for
she knew I hated that dress and wanted a new one. But me, _I'm_ glad.
Now I'll get