Oaks with all the pictures
he could find of Miss Gray. Now, when I was over there with father the
other day, what do you suppose is his chief decoration on his room
walls?"

"I haven't the least idea," Ruth confessed.

"Great, ugly, brutal boxers! Prize-fighters! Awful pictures, Ruth! I
suppose next he will make a collection of the photographs of burglars!"
and Helen laughed.

The chums were whisked back to Ardmore, having been absent five days.
They were so well prepared in their recitations, however, that they did
not fall behind in any particular. Indeed, these two bright-minded girls
found it not difficult to keep up with their classes.

Even Jennie Stone, leisure loving as she naturally was, had no real
difficulty in being well to the front in her studies. And she had become
one of the most faithful of devotees of gymnastic practice.

Ardmore's second basket ball five pushed the first team hard; and Jennie
Stone was on the second five. As the spring training for the boats
opened she, as well as Ruth and Helen, tried for the freshmen
eight-oared shell. All three won places in that crew.

Jennie was still somewhat over-weight. But the instructor put her at bow
and her weight counted there. Ruth was stroke and Helen Number 2. As
practice went on it was proved that the freshman crew was a very well
balanced one.

They more than once "bumped" the sophomore shell in trial races, and
once came very near to catching the junior eight. The seniors and
juniors began now to pay more attention to the freshman class;
especially to those members who showed well in athletics.

Because of their characters and their class standing, several of the
instructors besides Miss Cullam, the mathematics teacher, were the
friends of the Briarwoods. Miss Cullam had shown a warm appreciation of
Ruth Fielding's character all through the year. Not that Ruth was a
prize pupil in Miss Cullam's study, for she was not. Mathematics was the
one study it was hard for Ruth to interest herself in. But when the girl
of the Red Mill had a hard thing to do, she always put her whole mind to
it; and, therefore, she made a good mark in mathematics in spite of her
distaste for the study.

"You are doing well, Miss Fielding," Miss Cullam declared. "Better than
I expected. I have no doubt that you will pass well in the year's
examinations."

"And you won't be afraid that I'll crib the answers, Miss Cullam?" Ruth
asked, laughing.

"Hush! don't repeat