this term, at least," declared Miss
Lee as they left the last classroom, "Now go back to your study-room and
take that desk that Gyp Westley's saving for you."

Assigned to classes and with a desk of her own--and with Gyp close at
hand--Jerry felt like a real Lincolnite and her unhappy shyness vanished
as though by magic. During the long recess that followed, the bad
half-hour forgotten, with a budding confidence born of her sense of
"belonging," she sought the other "new" girls. Among them was Patricia
Everett, who came directly to Jerry.

"I know you're Jerry Travis. I'm Aunt Pen Everett Allan's niece. I'm
crazy to go and visit Cobble Mountain. That's very near your home, isn't
it?" So sincere was her interest that Jerry felt as though she was
suddenly surrounded by a wealth of friendship. Patricia seemed to know
everyone else--they were nearly all Girl Scouts in her troop; she
introduced Jerry to so many girls that poor Jerry could not remember a
single name.

Ginny Cox, spying Jerry from across the room, bolted to her.

"You're going to sign up for basketball, aren't you? Of course you are.
Wait right here--I'll call Mary Starr." She rushed away and before Jerry
could catch her breath she returned with a tall, pleasant-faced girl who
carried a small leather-bound notebook in her hand.

She wrote Jerry's name in it and went away.

"Miss Travis, will you sign up for hockey?" Jerry, on familiar ground,
eagerly assented to this. Her name went into another book. Another girl
waylaid her. She signed for swimming. She noticed that the others around
her were doing the same thing. Patricia brought a girl to her whom she
introduced as Peggy Lee. Peggy carried a notebook, too.

"Will you sign up for the debating club, Miss Travis?" she asked with a
dignity that was belied by her roguish eyes.

Jerry was quite breathless; she had never debated in her life--but then
she had never played basketball either.

"Oh, do sign. We're all joining and it's awfully exciting," pleaded
Patricia. So Jerry signed for the debates.

"When_ever_ will I find time to study Latin and geometry? I know I'm
going to be dumb in that," cried Jerry, that evening, to the Westley
family. She spoke with such real conviction that everyone laughed.

Uncle Johnny had "dropped in." He was as eager as though he was a
schoolboy, himself, to hear the children's experiences of the day.
Though they all talked at once, he managed to understand nearly all t