"Come on down to the common room when you've finished."

"What _do_ you think," she said when Judith joined her, "that mean
Genevieve Singleton has been trying to get in here in Jane's room! Jane
said once at the beginning of last term that she wished she was down in
Peggy Forrest's cubicles, but that was ages ago. Genevieve went to Miss
Marlowe and said that Jane wanted to change her room, and may she please
have Jane's room, as she hasn't been very well during the holidays and
her mother doesn't want her to climb stairs. Miss Marlowe sent for Jane,
and you should have heard her when she came back! Genevieve is in
Catherine's room now telling her how heartbroken she is, I suppose.
Silly thing, I wish she would try holding _my_ hand."

Judith laughed at Josephine's disgusted expression, and blushed a little
as she remembered her own foolishness about Catherine.

"Genevieve's queer, isn't she? I can't make her out--you remember how
crazy she was about Helen, and Helen didn't seem to like her a bit."

"She's a silly owl," said Josephine decidedly, "but--my word--wasn't she
a dandy Malvolio?"

At supper Judith, who was talking as hard as any one else, realized what
a Babel of sound they were making when she saw the bewildered look on
the face of the new girl whose name she learned was Florence Newman. She
smiled across at Florence in a friendly manner and said, "Did you know
that we're going to dance afterwards--give me the first spare one you
have, will you--and I want to introduce you to Josephine Burley--she's
from Alberta, too--and she's a perfect dear, although she doesn't look
it."

The talk about Christmas presents and parties and new frocks and next
term's doings buzzed on, but Florence felt less lonely and frightened.
The "girl from Alberta" sounded friendly and comforting: _she_ would
know what this turmoil meant after the silence of the prairies.

Judith was as good as her word and shared with Peggy the duty of
"piloting" the new member of Form Five. But she found Florence very
quiet and unresponsive, and gradually the excitement of the new class in
figure-skating and the inter-form and house hockey matches absorbed her
attention.

There was plenty of hard work done in the various classes, and the staff
congratulated themselves that the School was in good working form, but,
judging from the conversation in the sitting-room and at table, the
girls apparently did nothing but think and talk and play hockey