e out so quickly
and now looked so shabby. Jennie Stone said, with disgust, and with more
than a little truth, perhaps:

"That girl primps to go to recitations just as though she were bound for
a party. I don't see how she finds time for study."

Ruth realized that Rebecca was made that way, and that was all there was
to it. She wasted no strength, nor did she run the risk of being bad
friends with the unwise girl, by criticising these silly things. Ruth
believed in being helpful, or else keeping still.

Rebecca could never be induced to try to do the things that other poor
girls did at college to help pay their expenses. Perhaps she was not
really fitted for such services, and would only have failed.

Other girls acted as waitresses, did sewing, one looked after the linen
for one of the dormitories, another darned hose and repaired lingerie.
Dr. Frances Milroth's own personal secretary was a junior who was
working her way through Ardmore and was taking a high mark, too, in her
studies.

One girl helped Mrs. Leidenburg with her children during several hours
of each day. Some girls were agents for articles which their college
mates were glad to secure easily and quickly.

Indeed, the field of endeavor seemed rather well covered, and it would
have been hard to discover anything new for Rebecca Frayne to do, had
the girl even been willing to "go into trade," a thing Rebecca had told
Ruth a Frayne had never done.

This attitude of the Frayne family seemed quite ridiculous to Ruth, but
she knew it was absolutely useless to scold Rebecca.

Indeed, it was not Ruth Fielding's way to be a scold. If she could not
be helpful she preferred to ignore that which she saw was wrong. And in
Rebecca Frayne's case she was determined to be helpful if she could.
Rebecca was a bright scholar. After all, she would shine in her class
before all was said and done. They could not afford to lose such a
really bright girl from among the freshmen.

Often on stormy days Ruth spent the time between recitations and dinner
in Rebecca's room.

"I never saw anybody so fond of old papers as you are, Ruthie," Rebecca
said. "Do take 'em all if you like. Of course, I'll never be silly
enough to carry them back home with me. They are only useful to help
build the fire."

"Don't dare destroy one of them, Rebecca Frayne!" Ruth had warned
her--and actually made her promise that she would not do so.

Then the replies to Ruth's letters came. She had