ary Brooks knocked at the door.

"What on earth are you girls doing?" she inquired blandly, selecting the
biggest apple in the dish and appropriating the Morris chair, which
Katherine had temporarily vacated. "I haven't heard a sound in here
since nine o'clock. I began to think that Helen had come in and blown
out the gas again by mistake and you were all asphyxiated."

Everybody laughed at the remembrance of a recent occasion when Helen had
absent-mindedly blown out the gas while Betty was saying her prayers.

"It wasn't so funny at the time," said Betty ruefully. "Suppose she'd
gone to sleep without remembering. We've been writing home, Mary," she
said, turning to the newcomer, "and now we're going to read the letters,
and we've got to hurry, for it's almost ten. Roberta, you begin."

"Oh no," said Roberta, looking distressed.

"I wish somebody would tell me what this is all about first," put in
Mary. Rachel explained, while Katherine and Betty persuaded Roberta to
read her letter.

"It isn't fair," she protested, "when I wrote a real letter and you
others were just doing it for fun."

"Go on, Roberta!" commanded Mary, and Roberta in sheer desperation
seized her letter and began to read.

"DEAR PAPA:--I have been studying hard all the evening and it
is now nearly bedtime, but I can at least begin a letter to you. To-day
has been the fourth rainy day in succession and we have thoroughly
appreciated the splendid opportunity for uninterrupted work. Yesterday
morning--I think enough has happened in these two days to fill my
letter--I was up at seven as usual. I stuck a selection from Browning
into my mirror, as it was the basis of our elocution lesson, and nearly
learned it while I dressed. Before chapel I completed my geometry
preparation. This was fortunate, as I was called on to recite, the sixth
proposition in book third being my assignment. The next hour I had no
recitation, so I went to the library to do some reference work for my
English class. Ten girls were already waiting for the same volume of the
Century Dictionary that I wanted, so I couldn't get hold of it till
nearly the end of the hour. I spent the intervening time on the
Browning. I had Livy the next hour and was called on to translate. As I
had spent several hours on the lesson the day before, I could do so.
After the elocution recitation I went home to lunch. At quarter before
two I began studying my history. At quarter before four I started for