erry to frowningly re-read the note. Jerry did not like it at all. She
wondered why Miss Towne could not have come to Wayland Hall instead of
putting her chum to the extra trouble of seeking her.

Dinner was eaten post haste that night by the excited participants in
the masquerade. Preparations having been the order so long beforehand,
it did not take the maskers long after dinner to get into their
costumes. They were eager to go outdoors and parade the campus, the
night being pleasantly snappy with an overhead studding of countless
stars.

Fearless in the matter of going out alone after dark where an errand
called her, Marjorie did not mind the rather lonely walk after leaving
the campus. In order to escape parties of maskers on the campus she wore
her own mask and therefore escaped special notice. Without it she would
have been challenged by every party of masks she met. This was a
favorite custom on this night. Frequently a member of the faculty was
caught in crossing the stretch of ground and gleefully interviewed.

Coming to the row of houses, in one of which Miss Towne resided,
Marjorie kept a sharp lookout for the number. The house where she had
formerly lived stood about the middle of the block. Finally she came to
852, which she found by means of a small pocket flashlight which she
usually carried at night. The arc light was too far up the street to be
of use to her in this.

Pausing at the bottom step of the dingy wooden veranda, Marjorie
surveyed the house with a feeling of depression. The two windows on the
left were without blinds and dark. There was a faint light in the hall
and in the room on the right. The two windows of this room had shades.
One was drawn down completely; the other was raised about eight inches
above the sill.

"What a cheerless place," she murmured half aloud. "It is worse than the
other house. I suppose the landlady hasn't got settled yet."

Mechanically she reached out and took hold of the old-style door bell.
It did not respond at first. Using more force, it emitted a faint eerie
tinkle. "It sounds positively weird," was Marjorie's thought. She smiled
to herself as she rang it again. "I hope I shall never have to live in a
boarding house like this. I am lucky to have love and a beautiful home
and really every good thing."

The faint sound of footsteps from within falling upon her expectant ear,
Marjorie straightened up and waited. A hand turned the knob. The door
opened abou