clue. Don't you remember what she said about Ruth's pride the first time
we took her to call on Ruth?"

"Yes," replied Grace absently. Then the full force of Miriam's words
dawning on her she looked at her friend in a startled way. "I know who
sent Ruth those presents. It was Elfreda herself. I'm sure of it. She
knew Ruth to be too proud to accept clothes, so she sent them
anonymously. Now I know why those 'a's' and 's's' looked so familiar.
That's Elfreda's writing. I know she did it. She just had to be nice in
spite of herself," concluded Grace.

"But why do you think it was Elfreda?" persisted Miriam.

"It was what you said that put me on the right track," replied Grace. "I
believe she made up her mind that day to send Ruth the suit and hat."

"If she did send them, there is still hope that she will come back to
us," said Anne.

It was agreed among the three girls that not even Ruth should be told of
their suspicions, and that if any possible opportunity arose to
conciliate Elfreda it should be promptly seized.

During the short space of time that elapsed before the dreaded
examination week swooped down upon them, the three friends were too busy
preparing for the coming ordeal to give much thought to the discovery
they had made. Elfreda avoided them so persistently that there seemed
small chance of getting within speaking distance. It was a week of
painful suspense, broken only by brief outbursts of jubilation when some
particularly formidable examination, that everyone had worried over,
seemingly to the point of gray hairs, turned out better than had been
expected.

In the campus houses wholesale permission to burn midnight oil had been
granted. Lights shone until late hours and flushed faces bent earnestly
over text books as though trying to absorb their contents verbatim. On
Friday, the strain, that had been lessening imperceptibly with each
succeeding examination, snapped, and Overton began to think about many
things that had no bearing on examinations.

"I'm almost dead!" exclaimed Grace, coming into her room on Friday
afternoon and dropping into the Morris chair near the window.

"I'm tired, too," returned Anne, who had come in just ahead of her, and
was engaged in putting her freshly laundered clothing in the two drawers
of the chiffonier that belonged to her.

"Thank goodness, we have four whole days of rest between terms at any
rate," sighed Grace. "I'm going to skate and be out of doors as much a