jean awoke with a start and sat straight up in bed. "don't be alarmed, jean," said anna; "it isn't a fire; just the rising bell which rings every morning at ten minutes before seven. there's another one at seven and the breakfast bell at half-past. of course no one needs forty minutes to dress for breakfast, and before long you will be able to do it in five, or ten at the most. meals are served promptly here and mrs. thompson is very particular about having every one on time. so if you do oversleep i warn you that you'll get no breakfast unless you keep a good supply of food in your room. and there's danger in that, too, for mice fairly haunt these rooms, especially the closets and behind the radiators, for that's a favorite dumping place for crumbs. i remember the winter that our room seemed to be a regular[32] gathering-place for them, and once when i had one of the girls from home out here over night we had a merry chase with five from under our beds before we could get any sleep. one morning not long after that my room-mate found one in her bed when she was making it up. she never knew whether it had been there all night or not, but she very carefully examined her bed ever after that before she got into it.
"well, suppose we arise and take plenty of time to dress this morning and make our best appearance at the breakfast table. you know first impressions are often lasting and as most of the girls here are upper-class girls i want them to see you at your best. of course, dear, you always look well; you can't help it any more than you can help breathing, but this is a special occasion. wear one of those good-looking white linens i saw you hang up in the closet last night. i must say i admire your aunt molly's choice of materials and dressmaker, judging from the clothes i've seen so far. you must open the other trunk and show me your best gowns before i depart.[33] and by the way, jean, that must be to-night. we'll start in town early and have a good afternoon of it and i'll leave you at the north station on the right train for ashton. you won't mind the short ride out here alone, will you? i'd love to stay the rest of the week, but you know how little time i have left to finish my preparations for the hospital, and i wouldn't be found deficient for anything.
"of course you take a cold bath every morning; any one could tell that just to look at you. well, hustle into the bath-room now, for i just heard some one leave it. when you're finished, please draw the water for me."
as the two girls entered the long dining-room they found most of the seats at table occupied, for they were a bit late in spite of their thirty minutes. however, mrs. thompson was always lenient first mornings and greeted them with a pleasant smile. "you will sit at the end of the second table, miss cabot, and your cousin may sit beside you this morning, as miss white, who will have that seat permanently, has not yet arrived."
[34]
"oh, i had hoped that would be my room-mate's seat. where will she sit?"
"why, of course you didn't know that miss fairfax is to wait on table here and so will not have a regular table seat."
at these words jean's expression changed and she looked so astonished that anna said softly, "you know, dear, some of the girls who haven't much money pay their board by waiting on table. lots of girls do it, and it's perfectly all right. some of the best girls i ever knew worked their way through college." jean said nothing, but she was bitterly disappointed. why couldn't her room-mate have been miss remington or some one equally attractive? she was already beginning to wish that she'd been fortunate enough to draw a single room.
if nan maitlandt had wished to have her cousin make a favorable impression on the other girls in merton she certainly succeeded in doing so. jean was tall and broad-shouldered, with a splendidly developed figure, a perfect picture of health and strength. she had masses of yellow hair which she wore this[35] morning coiled in thick braids round her well-shaped head. her eyes were dark and her skin, naturally fair, was now somewhat tanned from her out-of-door life. she wore a severe white linen dress with a turned down collar and a bow of black which set off her style of beauty to perfection. she carried herself well and with head held high in the air she had entered the room almost unconscious of its occupants. the girls stared for a moment and then whispered comments on her beauty and wondered who she could be. mrs. thompson soon went the rounds of the tables introducing the new girls until at length everybody knew everybody else.
there were about a hundred girls seated at the three long tables and only here and there appeared a vacant seat. at jean's table there were five freshmen besides herself, and much to her satisfaction she soon discovered her acquaintance of the day before, miss remington, half way down the other side of the table. peggy allison and her room-mate were at the first table at the opposite end from jean, but they waved her a hearty welcome, even at that[36] distance. she looked at the girls around her laughing and talking and seeming so perfectly at home and she had to admit to herself that they were a happy lot and if so many girls found college such good fun there ought to be something in it for her. most of the conversation at her end of the table seemed to be on summer vacations and proposed studies for the coming year. just beyond nan sat a freshman named miss samson, who after some deliberation found the courage to lean forward a little and ask jean if she had decided what studies to take. jean answered cordially in the negative and added that her cousin was to help her choose them later on. she was conditioned in french, so she supposed she'd have to take that, although she hated it thoroughly.
after breakfast the girls collected here and there about the reading-room and halls in little groups. miss remington came up at once to where jean was standing and talked casually about her room and trunks and then asked her how long her cousin would remain with her. upon hearing that she was to leave that[37] evening she promised to spend the night with jean, so she wouldn't get lonesome. jean was delighted, for to herself she admitted that marjorie appealed much more to her than any of the other girls she had met, excepting, perhaps, natalie lawton. she hoped they were going to be good friends even if they were not in the same class.
registration was to be at ten o'clock and nan suggested that they go up to 45 and talk over studies before jean made out her programme. she had arranged some tennis with peggy and natalie at ten-thirty and then after lunch they would take the first train for boston. nan had been a good, all-around girl in college, but had maintained a high standard in her studies and was anxious to have jean do the same, but she was discovering that jean cared very little for her books. every freshman was required to take english and mathematics and had the choice of the other subjects. as jean had been conditioned in french her cousin suggested that she begin at once to remove the condition. by satisfactorily completing a course in french at the end of the[38] year this could be done. jean agreed to this and then after much discussion she decided to add german, oratory and music to the list, with gymnasium work twice a week. mathematics and german were to come monday, wednesday and friday mornings; french and english, tuesday, thursday and saturday mornings; oratory once a week on a day to be announced later; "gym" two hours each on tuesday and thursday afternoons and music two hours a week when she could arrange it with the instructor.
"that looks like a pretty stiff programme to me, nan," said jean; "i don't see any time in the week for anything but studying. a girl can't study all the time, you know. i want to do other things, too."
"you will find plenty of time for other things, dear, for this isn't a very hard programme. you will find any number of girls taking more than you have. you'll have every saturday afternoon free, and generally the girls go in town to the theater that day. boston always has all the best plays and music and there are wednesday matinées, too. i[39] don't advise cutting recitations, but once in a while when there's something worth while it won't do any harm. then, friday afternoon is symphony rehearsal, which you must hear once in a while. the faculty very often advise the girls to attend certain performances and are very willing to chaperon them. speaking of the faculty, i think you are going to enjoy all of yours, for i had them all with the exception of miss whittemore, the gym instructor, who is new this year, and i can vouch for them. my advice is to work hard at the beginning of the year, get the principles of the study and a good foundation and the second half-year will come easy. don't let things slide, for it's awfully hard to make up a lot of work in a short time. if you must cut classes or chapel, cut consistently. to-morrow morning you will meet some of the instructors and have lessons assigned for next week. things will hardly be in running order before a week, so you can take your own time for a few days. now we'll start for the office and get registration off our hands. is your programme written out carefully; ready[40] to pass in to the clerk? let's stop for the other freshmen on our way downstairs so we can all go together."
nan and her six charges hurried up the hill as the college clock rang out its ten strokes. the office was crowded and each girl had to pass in single file before the registrar. it took some time for jean to reach the desk and when at length it was her turn to sign her name to the great book and pass her programme to the waiting clerk she gave a sigh of relief. now she was a freshman and the year had actually begun, and there was no turning back. hurriedly the six girls were shown over college hall and nan pointed out the mathematics room and then the french room and so on until they all knew where to go on the following days. in one of the rooms on the third floor they met miss whiting, and as nan had always enjoyed her courses in spite of some rather marked peculiarities, she was glad to stop and talk with her and have her know her charges. they talked a few moments, long enough to have her ask the girls if they had yet seen the ivy[41] on the chapel tower. nan had to admit that as yet they had not, pleading as her excuse that she wished them to see the chapel for the first time the following day at chapel exercises. remembering her tennis appointment, nan invited the other freshmen to accompany jean and herself to the courts, but as they had their rooms to settle and letters to write they returned to the hall.
soon the two reached the courts and found plenty of girls enjoying the game. they had time for two sets in which jean showed her skill and she and nan easily defeated their opponents, causing peggy to exclaim, "you see, nat, it's as i said, you'll have to work hard for championship next year."
the afternoon passed all too quickly for jean. nan knew just what stores to shop in and just what to buy and before she realized it the long list had been bought and ordered to be sent out to merton. they had time for tea in a quiet little english tea room which nan often frequented, and here she told jean some of her own plans for the future and how she had decided to take up hospital work.[42] her conversation revealed quite another girl from the light-hearted one of the last two days, and jean found herself admiring her cousin more than ever.
"you must come in to see me whenever i have time off and you can arrange it. i shall feel the greatest interest in your life at college, for in a way i feel responsible for it. there are many things i might have told you, but i am going to let you meet problems and solve them by yourself. now we must start for the station or we'll miss the train."
when they reached the station nan said that she knew they would find friends on the train, but jean pleaded to be left alone, for she wanted to think things over by herself. nan stayed until the train pulled out of sight and then gayly started homeward, saying to herself, "i'll bet on jean every time. she'll have no end of trouble, but she'll come out all right in the end."
when the train drew into the ashton station jean alighted with the others and as she stepped off the train she found marjorie remington waiting for her.
[43]
"i thought you'd be out on this train, so i came down to meet you." so saying, she put her arm through jean's in a friendly manner and they started up the hill.
"supper isn't for half an hour yet; let's take a walk and see the sunset from the hill. i never stay in the 'dorm' when there's any possible excuse for being out of doors. thank goodness there's no lessons until next week. have you promised to do anything saturday afternoon?"
"no," said jean.
"well, i want you to spend it with me then in town. i'll get tickets for 'the spring maid'; everybody's wild about it. are you fond of the theater?"
"yes, but i've never been very often except once in a while with father or one of my brothers. we live some distance out of the city and it's pretty hard getting home after the theater."
"oh, i'm just crazy over it, and never miss a saturday afternoon if i can help it."
"i'm going to ask mrs. thompson if i can change seats with miss white and sit next to[44] you at table. i've no use for the girls who sit on either side of me and i'd much rather sit beside you. let's go to supper now, this walk has made me hungry as a bear. wait a minute in the hall while i speak to mrs. thompson about changing."
when marjorie returned she looked anything but pleased and exclaimed, "just like her, says she has assigned the seats and doesn't want to change them even for one meal. well, i sha'n't tell her that we're going to room together to-night, for i suppose she'd put her foot down on that, too. she's certainly the crankiest individual i ever ran up against."
as the two girls entered the dining-room, arm in arm, several of the older girls smiled and looked knowingly at each other. peggy allison seemed a bit worried, as she whispered to natalie, "midge remington's up to her old game again, always appropriating the best-looking girl in the place. we'd better look out or we'll lose this jean cabot."
after supper, one of the girls went over to[45] the piano and began playing a dreamy waltz. the chairs were moved to one side and several of the girls began to dance. natalie came up to jean and asked her for the waltz. "you'll have to lead, miss cabot, you're so tall. why, it will be almost as good as dancing with a man, you're so big and strong."
"i don't know how to lead, miss lawton. i never have danced with girls before."
"well, i'll show you over here at one side. you'll have to content yourself here dancing with girls, for we only have men on state occasions, which are few and far between." and the two left the others for a little lesson in leading. it did not take jean long to learn, and soon they were swinging over the floor with the others.
"why, miss lawton," exclaimed jean as the music stopped, "i wouldn't have believed it could be such fun to dance with girls and lead. won't she play some more music?"
"yes, we generally dance half an hour after supper every evening and the girls take turns playing. will you play for us some[46] times? nan says you play beautifully. in merton we believe in making every girl do all she can for the good of the rest. if i don't see you again while you're dancing i want to invite you down to 27 saturday evening to meet some of my friends and a few of the freshmen. i hope your room-mate will have arrived by that time; if so, please invite her for me, although i shall try to see her myself. thanks for this splendid dance." and she hastened on to another freshman.
jean had plenty of opportunities to dance and at the last dance marjorie remington came up to her and said, "now for my turn. i've been waiting patiently all the evening. you seem to be in great demand."
after the dance was finished the two girls went up to marjorie's room; several of the other girls dropped in and made themselves comfortable in the rather close quarters.
"have some chocolates, girls," said marjorie as she passed them a large five-pound huyler's box. "wasn't it good of jack to leave this with me at the train?" everybody but jean seemed to know who jack was, but[47] she asked no questions and the conversation changed from one subject to another. suddenly there came a knock at the door. as marjorie opened it the girls saw mrs. thompson standing in the hall with a shy, timid girl behind her.
"is miss cabot in your room, miss remington? i saw you go up the stairs together. i should like her to meet her room-mate, miss fairfax, who has just arrived."
jean left the room and the merry group assembled there and went somewhat reluctantly into 45. introductions were soon over and mrs. thompson left the two girls together. jean soon learned that it was elizabeth's brother who had been ill with typhoid fever, but his condition was so much improved that she was no longer needed at home. she was very tired, for it had been five long weeks that she had helped to care for him, but she felt she must leave for college as soon as possible in order not to miss any more than was absolutely necessary. could she go to bed at once, she asked, and leave all her unpacking until the next day? jean helped her as best she[48] could and before long she was sound asleep in the little white bed and jean stole softly back into marjorie's room.
the girls had left and she found marjorie propped up on the couch writing a letter.
"come right in. i'm only writing to jack to thank him for the chocolates. well, isn't it a shame to have our plans for to-night spoiled? what do you think of your room-mate? isn't she awful? worse than any of mine. did you notice her hat? where do you suppose she hails from? hard luck for you, that's all i've got to say. well, make yourself at home in my room any time you want to, whether i'm here or not."
"yes, she is a disappointment, but perhaps things will look different in the morning. good night, i guess i'm tired, too," and jean left the room and was soon sleeping quietly in the other white bed in 45.
