Dorothy and Nancy had already found new friends, and were eager to meet others whose agreeable ways had interested them.
"It"s such a pleasant place," Dorothy said one morning as she stood brushing her hair, "and so many pleasant faces in the big cla.s.s-room. I saw at least a dozen I"d like to know, when we were having the morning exercises, and there"s ever so many more that we have yet to meet."
"And Tuesday evening is sure to be jolly. There"ll be a crowd to talk with, and one of the girls told me to-day that there"s almost sure to be some music, either vocal or instrumental, and she said that last year they often had fine readers at the receptions," Nancy concluded.
They were on their way to the cla.s.s-room, when Patricia and Arabella joined them.
"Is the social to be a dressy affair?" Patricia asked, adding: "I hope it is, because _I_ shall be dressy, whether any one else is or not."
They had reached the cla.s.s-room door so that there was no time for either Dorothy or Nancy to reply to the silly remark if they had cared to do so.
At eight o"clock nearly all the pupils had a.s.sembled in the big reception-room, and the hum of voices told that each was doing her best to outdo her neighbor. Near the center of the room a group of girls stood talking. It was evident that the theme of their conversation was not engrossing, for twice their leader, Betty Chase, had replied at random while her eyes roved toward the door, and Valerie Dare remarked that her chum had been reading such a romantic story, that she was eagerly looking for a knight in full armor to appear.
"Be still!" cried Betty. "You know very well what I"m looking for."
"I do indeed," Valerie admitted. "Say, girls! You all know the two that are always together, the one with goggles that we"ve dubbed the "medicine chest," and her chum who wears all the rainbow colors whenever and wherever she appears?"
"Surely, but what are their names?" inquired a pale, sickly-looking girl who had joined the group.
"Don"t know their names," said Betty, "but I heard Miss Rainbow telling her friend that she intended to wear "something very dressy" to-night, so I"m eager to see her. My! Here she comes now."
"Good gracious!" gasped Valerie, under her breath.
With head very high, Patricia rushed, rather than walked across the room, until she reached the center, when she stopped as if to permit every one to obtain a good view of her costume. Her bold manner made her more absurd even than her dress which was, as Betty Chase declared, "_surprising_!"
Turning slowly around to the right, then deliberately to the left, she appeared to feel herself a paragon of fashion, a model dressed to give the pupils of Glenmore a chance to observe something a bit finer than they had ever seen before.
As Patricia slowly turned, Arabella, like a satellite, as slowly revolved about her.
Who could wonder that a wave of soft laughter swept over the room. It was evident that vanity equalling that of the peac.o.c.k moved Patricia to turn about that every one might see both front and back of her dress, but no one could have guessed why Arabella in a plain brown woolen dress kept pace with her silly friend.
It was not vanity that kept droll little Arabella moving. No, indeed.
Thus far, Arabella had made no new acquaintances.
As she entered the reception-room with Patricia she saw only a sea of strange faces, and with a wild determination at least to have Patricia to speak to, she trotted around her, that she might not, at any moment, find herself talking to Patricia"s back.
That surely would be awkward, she thought.
Patricia"s dress was a light gray silk, tastefully made, and had she been content to wear it as it had been sent to her from New York, she would have looked well-dressed, and no one would have made comments upon her appearance.
The soft red girdle gave a touch of color, but not nearly enough to please Patricia.
At the village store she had purchased ribbons of many colors, from which she had made bows or rosettes of every hue, and these she had tacked upon her slippers. Her hair was tied with a bright blue ribbon, and over the shoulders of her blouse she had sewed pink and yellow ribbons. Narrow green edged her red girdle.
Blue and buff, rose and orange, straw-color and lavender, surely not a tint was missing, and the result was absolutely comical! One would have thought that a lunatic had designed the costume.
And when she believed that her dress had been seen from all angles, Patricia left the reception-room, pa.s.sing to a larger room beyond, where she seated herself, and at once a.s.sumed a bored expression. Not the least interest in other pupils had she. She had come to the little social to be gazed at, and as soon as she believed that all must have seen her, the party held no further interest for her.
She heard the buzz of whispered conversation in the room that she had left, and she wished that she might know what they were saying. It was well that she could not.
"What an unpleasant-looking girl!" said one.
"Wasn"t that dress a regular rainbow?" whispered another.
"Oh, but she was funny, turning around for us to see her, just like a wax dummy in a store window," said a third.
[Ill.u.s.tration: SHE WISHED THAT SHE MIGHT KNOW WHAT THEY WERE SAYING.--_Page 32._]
"She"s queer to go off by herself!" remarked the first one who had spoken.
"We"re not very nice," said Betty Chase, who thus far had not spoken, "that is not very kind, to be so busily talking about her."
"Well, I declare, Betty, who"d ever dream that you, who are always getting into sc.r.a.pes would boldly give us a lecture."
Betty"s black eyes flashed.
"I know I get into funny sc.r.a.pes," she snapped, "but whatever I do, I don"t talk about people, Ida Mayo."
"You don"t have time to," exclaimed her chum, Valerie Dare. "It takes all your spare time to plan mischief."
In the laugh that followed, Betty forgot that she was vexed.
Patricia began to find it rather dull sitting alone in a room back of the reception-hall.
She felt that she had entered the hall in a burst of glory; had fairly dazzled all beholders!
She had believed that the girls would be so entranced with her appearance that they would follow her that they might again inspect her costume.
She was amazed that she had been permitted to sit alone if she chose.
The other pupils thought it strange that she should choose to remain alone instead of becoming acquainted with those who were to be her schoolmates for the year, but believing that she was determined to be unsocial, they made no effort to disturb her.
Arabella, who had followed her, became curious as to what was going on in the hall, and from time to time, crept to the wide doorway, peeped out to get a better view, then returned to report what she had seen.
"Everybody is talking to Dorothy and Nancy," she said in a stage whisper, then:
"Vera Vane seems to know almost every one already, and Elf Carleton is telling a funny story, and making all the girls around her laugh.
"And, Patricia, you _ought_ to come here and see Betty Chase. She has a long straw, and she"s tickling Valerie"s neck with it. Valerie doesn"t dream what it is, and while she"s talking, keeps trying to brush off the tickly thing. Come and see her!"
Patricia did not stir. She longed to see the fun, but she felt rather abashed to come out from her corner.
The sound of a violin being tuned proved too tempting, however, and she joined Arabella in the doorway.
One of the youngest pupils stood, violin in hand, while, at the piano, Betty Chase was playing the prelude. Lina Danford handled the bow cleverly, and played her little solo with evident ease.