en radiantly
interested.

In French her tactics were exactly opposite. The instructor, with all
the native politeness of his race, called on those only who caught his
eye and appeared willing and anxious to recite. This made the matter
comparatively simple, but still required considerable finesse. Patty
dropped her pen, spilled the pages from her note-book, tied her
shoe-string, and even sneezed opportunely in order not to catch his eye
at inconvenient moments. The rest of the class, who were not artists,
contented themselves with merely lowering their eyes as he looked along
the line--a method which in Patty's scornful estimation said as plainly
as words, "Please don't call on me; I don't know."

But with Professor Cairnsley, who taught philosophy, it was more
difficult to form a working hypothesis. He had grown old in the service
of the college, and after thirty years' experience of girl-nature he was
still as unsuspiciously trustful as he had been in the beginning. Taking
it for granted that his pupils were as interested in the contemplation
of philosophic truths as he himself, the professor conducted his
recitations without a suspicion of guile, and based his procedure
entirely upon the inspiration of the moment. The key to his method had
always remained a mystery, and several generations of classes had
searched for it in vain. Some averred that he called on every seventh
girl; others, that he drew lots. Patty triumphantly announced early in
the course that she had discovered the secret at last--that on Monday he
called on the red-haired girls; on Tuesday, those with yellow hair; on
Wednesday and Thursday, those with brown; and on Friday, those with
black. But this solution, like the others, was found to break down in
actual practice; and Patty, for one, discovered that it required all her
ingenuity, and even a good deal of studying, to maintain her reputation
for brilliancy in Professor Cairnsley's classes. And she cared about
maintaining it, for she liked the professor and was one of his favorite
pupils. She had known his wife before she entered college, and she often
called upon them in their home, and, in short, exemplified the ideal
relations between faculty and students.

Owing to the pressure of many interests, Patty's researches into
philosophy were not as deep as the intentions of the course, but she had
a very good working knowledge, which, in its details, would have
astonished Professor Cairnsley could