ng
the gymnasium. It will hardly be over until Thanksgiving will be upon
us, and then, oh, joy! we'll see the dear old Sempers. I must see if
there is anything I can do to help the girls get ready for it. I hope
they understand that their summer dresses will do nicely."

For the next three days Grace made it a point to inquire tactfully into
the reception plans of the Harlowe House girls. She discovered that
Emma's conjecture had been only too correct. The bare mention of evening
gowns had intimidated them, and, worse still, only three or four of them
had been especially invited by sophomores. This was partly accounted for
by the fact that, while the sophomore class was large, it was completely
outnumbered by the entering class. Remembering that the same state of
affairs had prevailed when she had entered Overton as a freshman, Grace
proceeded to make a round of calls which began with the members of the
reception committee, and included Violet Darby, Myra Stone, Laura
Atkins, Mildred Taylor, Patience, Kathleen and others of the upper
classes whom she knew well, though not intimately. The reception
committee had expressed their absolute willingness to allow the upper
class girls to help them out on escort duty and the girls themselves
entered heartily into the plan.

"I'll walk over to Harlowe House with you now and invite Mary Reynolds,"
declared Kathleen West, who was the last girl on Grace's list. "I'm glad
to have the opportunity. What a bright little thing Mary is! She is
quick as a flash when it comes to grasping an idea. I tell her she has
the making of a good newspaper woman in her."

"She is Emma's star pupil in English. Emma says she writes the most
original themes."

"She has all sorts of queer fancies about people and things," went on
Kathleen. "I can't begin to tell you, Grace, how glad I am to be of some
help to her. I must do something to make up for lost time." A faint
color tinged Kathleen's pale face.

"You are doing a great deal for Mary Reynolds, Kathleen. She loves you
dearly!"

"It certainly is nice to be liked," returned Kathleen softly. "If it
hadn't been for you and Elfreda and Patience I would have gone on in the
same hard, selfish spirit in which I began college."

"As it is, you are one of the literary lights of Overton, and a joy to
your friends," said Grace gayly. "I wish you were at Harlowe House this
year with Emma and me."

"I wish I were," sighed Kathleen, "but I didn't feel th