oul!" answered Marjorie.

Then, kissing her good-bye, she was gone as suddenly as she had
appeared.

"Did you have a nice time, Marj?" asked Ruth, rather disagreeably, as
Marjorie climbed into the car again. "You stayed long enough!"

"The best time I ever had in my life!" replied the happy girl,
emphatically and truthfully.

CHAPTER XXIV

MARJORIE'S TRIUMPH

When Mrs. Hadley afterwards spoke of Marjorie Wilkinson, she called her
"the girl with the shining eyes." For when the machine stopped in front
of the house in Trenton where she was visiting, and the young people ran
up the steps to greet her, Marjorie was still radiant from her great
discovery. For a time John's mother, who immediately took a tremendous
liking to the girl, attributed her joy to anticipation of the pleasure
that awaited her. But later she realized that the cause for it was
something deeper, something within Marjorie's heart.

John, too, admitted reluctantly to himself that he was not a part of her
happiness. It had, he realized, something to do with the Girl Scouts,
and especially with her brief visit at that factory. But what it could
possibly be, he had not the slightest idea.

The girls soon became entirely at home in their hostess's house, singing
and playing the piano until it was time to dress for dinner.

When Marjorie came downstairs again, dressed in the pale blue georgette
which she had worn at the sophomore reception, John Hadley thought he
had never seen anyone so beautiful. Suddenly he realized, although he
was only nineteen years of age, how tremendously he cared for this girl.
Working hard all year, partially earning his way through college, he had
little time to write to her; again he wondered what she had been doing,
and whether any of the other Boy Scouts had claimed her attention. With
a pang of jealousy, he became aware of the fact that she did not care
for him as he did for her--to the exclusion of all others of the
opposite sex. But John Hadley forgot that Marjorie was only
sixteen--three years younger than himself.

Neither of the girls had ever attended a college function of any kind
before, and they were thrilled with the experience. In spite of the fact
that many of the other girls wore bobbed hair, and all had short skirts,
they felt exceptionally youthful. Marjorie felt shy, too, and at the end
of almost every dance she brought her partner over to Mrs. Hadley's
corner, as if seeking her protection. Th