t down?"

"But aren't we interrupting?" asked Betty, introducing Eleanor.

"Nothing more important than the tail end of some French," answered Jean
Eastman curtly, going to get her coat, which hung over a chair near the
door. As she passed Miss Carter she gave her a keen, questioning look
which meant, so Betty decided, that Jean was as much surprised to find
that this quiet sophomore knew Betty Wales and her crowd, as Betty had
been to see Jean established in Miss Carter's room on a footing of
apparent intimacy.

"I've been here ever since luncheon," Jean went on, "and I was just
going, wasn't I, Miss Carter? Oh, no, you're not driving me away--not in
the least. I should be delighted to stay and talk to you both if I had
time." And with a disagreeable little laugh Jean pinned on her hat,
swept up her books, and started for the door.

Strange to say, Miss Carter seemed to take her hasty departure as a
matter of course and devoted herself entirely to her other visitors,
until, just as Jean was leaving, she turned to her with a question.

"Oh, Miss Eastman, I don't remember--did you say to-morrow at four?"

For a full minute Jean stared at her, her expression a queer mixture of
anger and amused reproach. "No, I said to-morrow at three," she answered
at last and went off down the stairs, humming a gay little tune.

Betty and Eleanor exchanged wondering glances. Jean was notorious for
knowing only prominent girls. Her presence here and her peculiar manner
together formed a puzzle that made it very difficult to give one's full
attention to what Miss Carter was saying. There was also Miss Harrison.
Was she the senior Harrison, better known as the Champion Blunderbuss?
And if she was coming, why didn't she come?

Betty found herself furtively watching the door, which Jean had left
open, and she barely repressed a little cry of relief when the
Champion's ample figure appeared at the head of the stairs.

"I'm terribly late," she called out cheerfully. "I thought you'd
probably get tired of waiting and go out. Oh," as she noticed Miss
Carter's visitors, "I guess I'd better come back at five. I can as well
as not."

But Betty and Eleanor insisted that she should do nothing of the kind.

"We'll come to see you again when you're not so busy," Betty promised
Miss Carter, who gave them a sad little smile but didn't offer any
objection to their leaving the Blunderbuss in possession.

"Well, haven't we had a funny time?" sai