m too
thankful to be in Artemis Lodge to be so awfully finicky."

Judith tossed her head again.

"Oh, well, you never are very sensible, Miss Pat," she returned loftily.
"You never see beyond a pretty face. It takes others to watch over you."

The ripples which greeted this somber speech did not seem to be wholly
distasteful to her, though she hid her exact state of mind by taking
Marty off to exhibit the studio to her and to explain the mysteries of
oil cups and brush pots.

Patricia looked lovingly after her. "Judy's up to some of her old
tricks, Norn," she hazarded. "I shouldn't be surprised if she set up a
regular detective agency around my new friend and made a whole set of
new thrilling tales about her."

CHAPTER VI

PATRICIA MAKES ANOTHER FRIEND

"Isn't it really lovely and cozy?"

Patricia was seated on the side of her narrow bed and Elinor occupied
the one easy chair by the casement window.

The little room had been transformed into a perfect bower by Elinor's
good taste and Patricia's eager fingers. The small iron bed was hidden
by a canopy of frilly lace and a coverlet of transparent, delicate mull
with an underslip of blue. The dresser, improvised from a chiffonier,
had a quaint mirror from Bruce's studio, with two silver candlesticks,
to serve Patricia for all purposes of dressing. A small reliable table
held a golden-shaded brass student lamp, a gift from Elinor, who knew
how Miss Pat disliked the white, cold light of the electric bulbs. Some
magazines, a tiny bookshelf, and a dainty tea-tray peeping from the
under shelf of the reliable table, gave an air of great coziness to the
whole.

Elinor looked about with much satisfaction. "Yes, it's dear," she
admitted. "I don't think Miss Merton will be disappointed in her new
room-mate when she sees this. It's a pity she isn't here to see it when
it's absolutely crisp."

"It seems queer that she should have gone out to Rockham with her cousin
to stay at Red Top, doesn't it?" said Patricia. "It's awfully nice,
though, for we shall have so much more to talk about now. I felt rather
stupid with her at first, when I met her at Madame's last week. She
seemed so grown-up that I hardly knew how to get along with her--much
less live in the same rooms with her."

"You didn't show any shyness that I could discover," smiled Elinor. "I'm
sure you'll get on famously with her now that you're installed. I wish I
didn't have to go," she added, rising rel