that will be,--you are all invited to come to our room and get
acquainted with the other Infants. We're going to get as many together
this evening as we can. Now, _do_ come!"

"Oh, Ruth!" whispered Helen, when they were out of ear-shot of the
others. "What will the Upedes say?"

"We're not interfering with either of the school clubs," declared her
chum, emphatically. "But I guess it won't hurt us to become acquainted
with those who are as new here as ourselves. The old girls don't feel
strange, or lost; it is these new ones that need to be made to feel at
home."

Timid for herself, Ruth had begun to develop that side of her character
which urged her to be bold for the general good. She appreciated
keenly how awkward she had felt when she arrived at Briarwood the day
before. Helen, although not lacking in kindliness, was less thoughtful
than her chum; and she was actually less bold than her chum, too.

Ruth made it a point to see and speak with all the new scholars whom
she could find, repeating her invitation for a meeting in her room.
Whether Helen helped in this matter she did not know. Her chum was
_not_ enthusiastic in the task, that was certain. And indeed, when the
hour came, after supper, Helen was closeted with Mary Cox in the
quartette room next door to the chamber and study which she and Ruth
Fielding shared together.

That Ruth felt more than a little hurt, it is unnecessary to say. She
had felt the entering wedge between them within a few hours of their
coming to the school. The Upedes were much more friendly to Helen than
to herself, and Helen was vastly interested in Mary Cox, Belle Tingley,
Lluella Fairfax, and some of the other livelier members of the Up and
Doing Club.

But, after a while Helen strolled into her own room and mingled with
the Infants who had there assembled. They had come almost to their
full strength. There were no sessions of either the F. C.'s or the
Upedes on this evening, and Miss Picolet, to whom Ruth had spoken about
the little reception to be held in her room, approved of it. Helen was
bound to be popular among any crowd of girls, for she was so gay and
good-tempered. But when somebody broached the subject of school clubs,
Ruth was surprised that Helen should at once talk boldly for the
Upedes. She really urged their cause as though she was already a
member.

"I am not at all sure that I wish to join either the Forwards or the Up
and Doings," said Ruth, q