was an important
committee meeting at the church which he ought to attend, he excused
his long absence by telling how busy he had been. Of course he had
been busy, but Leslie knew that he had always been busy, and yet had
found time to come in often. She was inclined to be hurt and just the
least bit stand-offish. Of course if he didn't _want_ to come he
needn't! And she took Clive Terrence driving in the car and showed him
all the wonders of the surrounding neighborhood with much more
cordiality than she really felt. It was her way of bearing her hurt.
At last she got Allison by himself and asked him quite casually why
Howard hadn't been down. But Allison, in haste to keep an appointment
with Jane, and knowing that Howard enjoyed being down as much as they
wanted him, hadn't even noticed the absence yet.

"Oh, he's up to his eyes in work," responded Allison. "He's likely
busy as a one-armed paper-hanger with fleas! He's a senior, you know.
Wait till next year and you'll see me in the same boat!" and he
hurried away whistling.

CHAPTER XXVII

Clive Terrence hung around. He calmly took it for granted that the
Clouds wanted him as long as he condescended to stay. In fact, it
wouldn't have troubled him whether they wanted him or not if he wanted
to stay. He had discovered that Leslie was the very same kind of a
"peach" which her younger days had promised her to be, and there was
plenty of good fun, so he stayed. He said he wanted to see what the
college was like before he made his decision, and day after day went
by with apparently no plans whatever for leaving in the near future.

Julia Cloud didn't like him. She admitted that much to herself the
very first evening, and for that reason she was twice as cordial to
him as she might have been if she had liked him better. She reasoned
that it was unfair to take a sudden dislike that way, and perhaps it
was only a sign he needed a bit of their home all the more. So she
made him welcome and treated him as she did any other boys who came.
But more and more as the days slipped by she did not like him. At
first she was a bit worried about his influence on Allison, till she
saw that he merely annoyed Allison. Then she began to be annoyed by
his constant attendance on Leslie. And finally she grew exceedingly
restless and anxious as day succeeded day and Howard came no more.
Finally, one evening just before dinner, she went to the 'phone and
called up the college. It hap