Beth knew that her room-mate was summoned to the president's room the following Wednesday, and that she came back looking very angry and half frightened as well. Evidently, whatever had been said to her was of such a nature that she did not suspect Beth in the least. In fact, the president (alluding, of course, to Professor Newton) had said that "one of the members of the faculty had told her that Miss Ainsworth was proving herself untrustworthy." Then there had followed a serious talk in which Margery said as little as she could. She surmised that she had probably been seen by some one of the professors on one of her many escapades; on which one it might have been, she had no means of knowing, and she was afraid of saying too much in extenuation or excuse, lest she might inadvertently admit some misdemeanor of which the president was ignorant up to this time. Therefore, she returned to her room both wrathful and alarmed. Beth reported later to Dolly, that her room-mate was doing more studying and paying more attention to the rules, than she ever had before. "Will it last, do you think?" queried Dolly anxiously. "I have my doubts. In my humble opinion, she is simply trying to throw them off their guard now, and to induce them to believe that she does not need watching. From several little things that have happened, however, I am perfectly positive that the faculty is keeping a very wide-awake eye on her. We have not many rules here, you know, but it goes hard with any girl who attempts to break those few." "Yes, the mere fact that we are on our honor to a great extent, ought to make the girls behave. I feel like being doubly careful." "My dear, you are hardly the same type of girl as Margery Ainsworth. She is the sort to take advantage of any privilege. She is so very quiet now, that I cannot help thinking there is some special reason why she is endeavoring to throw them off their guard before the Christmas holidays." "They are only a week distant. Remember that you are going to eat Christmas dinner with me, Beth. Mary will go, too, and Fred has invited Mr. Martin and Mr. Steele for the holidays, so that we shall have the same crowd we did at Thanksgiving time." "That will be jolly, but you must go home with me after Christmas. I don't pretend that you will have as good a time in Philadelphia with me, as I did at your home, but I want you to come. I asked Mary to go, too, because I knew she could not afford to go way out to her own home, but she said that she was to take a little trip with her aunt, and so I shall have you all to myself. I'm rather glad of it, to tell the truth." "Yet you like Mary?" "More than I ever imagined that I could. I am getting to know her better, for one thing. Of course, I shall never care for her as much as I do for you, but she is thoroughly genuine. There is nothing mean or underhanded about her." "No, there certainly is not, and hasn't she improved wonderfully in personal appearance since she came?"