strong now that they were face
to face that it was only by an effort of will that she could resist
slipping her hand through the black serge arm, but the expression of her
face was eloquent, and Margaret smiled back well pleased. When they
parted a few minutes later to go to their different halls, the older
girl said casually, but in a lowered voice which showed that the
invitation was meant for Darsie alone--

"By the way, I'm at home for cocoa on Tuesday evenings at ten. Bring
your milk, and come along, will you! I'd like to have you."

"Rather!" cried Darsie eloquently, and ran up to her room aglow with
delight and pride, which grew still deeper at lunch when a casual
reference to the invitation (it was really impossible to keep silent on
so thrilling a point!) evoked a wide stare of surprise.

"To her Tuesdays! Are you sure? Nobody goes to those but her very boon
companions. You _are_ honoured!"

"Didn't ask _me_, I notice!" sniffed Hannah huffily. "No twin soul
here. Recognised an affinity in you, I suppose."

"Well, _I_ wasn't asked to play in team matches! Don't grudge me my
little score!" returned Darsie, knowing well that an honour in sport was
more to her companion than many cocoas. "Besides, you must remember you
have Helen Ross!"

"Oh, ah, yes! Helen Ross dotes on me. Disinterested, of course. No
connection with the brother over the way!" commented Hannah with a grin.
"By the way, I hear from Dan that your friend Ralph Percival is in
trouble already, playing cards, getting into debt, and staying out after
hours. Seems to be a poor-spirited sort of fellow from all accounts!"

"He saved my life, anyway, when I was a youngster, and very nearly
drowned myself, paddling up a mill-stream. There's no want of spirit
about Ralph. Life has been made too easy for him, that's the mischief!"
said Darsie in her most elderly and judicial manner. "It's difficult to
keep to the grind when you know that you will never need to work. He
needs an object in life. Until he finds that, he will be content to
drift."

"He'll drift into being sent down at this rate. That will be the end of
him!" croaked Hannah gloomily; whereupon Darsie knitted her brows and
collapsed into silence for the rest of the meal.

Poor, dear, handsome Ralph! At the bottom of her heart Darsie was
hardly surprised to hear Hannah's report. The indifference with which
he had entered upon his college life had not developed into an