ery likely."

[Illustration: JUDITH HAD TO HEAR EVERY SINGLE THING THAT HAD HAPPENED
TO NANCY SINCE THEY PARTED]

Nancy was very full of all the delightful events of next term; there
would be the Cup Matches first of all, and the teams of the various
houses were discussed "up and down and round and about"; then would come
Field Day. "I'm not sure," said Nancy, "just which is the nicest day of
all at school; sometimes I think it's the day of the Reunion suppers
when the Old Girls come back, or Prize-giving Day, or the day of the
final Cup Match, and then when Field Day comes I'm perfectly certain
it's the best of all."

Then there was the Reunion play to discuss; it was to be "Pride and
Prejudice" this year and Judith had been reading the story during the
holidays. Would Catherine be the heroine or would Eleanor be chosen, and
what about Genevieve for one of the other parts? She would make a good
Mrs. Bennet. Of course she could act splendidly, but still--Judith
expressed her astonishment at Genevieve's returning popularity. "After
what she did I don't see how some of the girls can admire her so
much," she said to Nancy.

"But popularity's queer, anyhow," said Nancy; "look at Rosamond Fraser.
I suppose some people would say that Rosamond was one of the most
popular girls in the house, and we know it's because she always has such
good 'eats' to give away. And then there's Eleanor, we know she's
popular because she is such a brick. There ought to be another word for
_her_ kind of popularity. Genevieve is clever, you know, and she's
awfully funny," she continued, smiling as she remembered Genevieve
mimicking Miss Langton in a temper; "anybody who is amusing can be
popular," she concluded sagely.

Judith was impressed with Nancy's wisdom. "Well, but--Miss Ashwell and
Miss Marlowe are popular, too, aren't they?"

"Yes," said Nancy; "but it's not the same kind of popularity as Miss
Morton's. Miss Morton is like Rosamond; the West House girls say you can
always get a special permission from her if you're sweet enough to her.
She positively likes 'slush.'"

"And Miss Marlowe is like Eleanor," assented Judith thoughtfully.
"Nancy, which do you like the best, Miss Ashwell or Miss Marlowe?"

But this was a question not to be easily settled; they spent a most
enjoyable though perhaps not highly profitable morning discussing this
and various other items of burning interest; they loved to gossip, as
all schoolgirls--and most