Dill said in a crisp, dry
tone, almost as if she resented having to say it at all. "Are there any
of you who would particularly like to be together?"

Of course Billie spoke up for herself and Laura and Vi, and after
regarding her severely through her glasses for a moment, Miss Dill
finally assigned three beds at the further end of the room to the chums.

"Then there is room for two more," Miss Dill said, and to the horror of
the chums Amanda Peabody came forward, holding Eliza Dilks by the hand.

Laura uttered a little exclamation and seemed about to protest when
Billie pinched her arm and made her say "ouch" instead.

"There's no use in saying anything," Billie whispered fiercely. "It
wouldn't do any good, and we'd only make more of an enemy of that--those
girls."

They were relieved a little when they saw that "those girls" were
assigned to beds half way down the room so there would at least be a few
neutral girls in the beds between.

"So if the rest of you will come with me," said Miss Dill, "I will give
you places in the other dormitories."

Then she and the other girls went out into the hall, the door was shut,
and the chums were left alone in the big room with Amanda Peabody and
Eliza Dilks.

The girls sank down upon their beds and looked about them curiously.
There was a little wash basin and a towel rack beside each snowy white
bed and on the towel rack hung several small towels with blue and white
borders.

The beds were set at regular intervals down the long room, and the
spaces in between them were fitted out in such a manner as almost to
make a separate little room for each girl.

Beside the wash basins, there was a dresser set at the foot of each
white bed and under each bed was a hamper for soiled clothes. Each girl
had a little table with a chair to match.

The woodwork had been painted white and the walls were a grayish blue
color with several pretty pictures scattered about them to break the
bareness.

"Why, the room's all blue and white," Billie suddenly discovered
delightedly. "Isn't that a lovely blue they've painted the wall? And the
snowy white woodwork! Oh, it's delicious!"

"And just look at the view from this window!" cried Vi, beckoning to
them eagerly. As the girls looked over her shoulder they fairly gasped
with delight.

Below them stretched the velvety lawn dotted with the darker green of
shrubbery, while away through the trees glimmered and gleamed the water
of Lake M