He touched a bell and presently a young girl about sixteen entered
the room, with a brisk step and an alert air, suggestive of a
repressed cyclone only awaiting an opportunity for mischief
brewing; while, as she approached the occupants, a strong odor of
peppermint made itself apparent in the atmosphere.
"Miss Minturn, this is Miss Wild, one of our breezy freshmen--eh,
Jennie?" and the quizzical look again leaped into the blue-gray
eyes.
Katherine smilingly acknowledged the introduction, while Miss Wild
blushed and nodded an embarrassed greeting, then immediately
turned her face away from the focus of the professor's observation
and made a comical grimace which came very near proving too much
for Katherine's dignity.
"Jennie," the gentleman continued, "Miss Minturn is to share Miss
Minot's room--number fifteen, west wing--and I have called you to
show her the way, if you please."
"Yes, sir, I will," said the girl, with ready compliance, which
culminated in a vigorous sneeze, whereupon, with the restless
energy which pervaded her every movement, she whisked her
handkerchief from her pocket, and, with it, there shot out a
promiscuous assortment of chocolates and cream peppermints, which
went bounding and rolling about the room in every direction.
Prof. Seabrook gave vent to a hearty laugh of amusement at the
awkward contretemps.
"I thought I detected a familiar odor, Jennie," he observed; then
added, good-naturedly, "You may pick them up, if you please."
"Guess I will," she returned, eagerly, and nimbly suiting the
action to her words. "I really can't afford to lose all that
precious sweetness. Josie Craig gave them to me just as you rang."
Katherine had risen and was moving towards the door, to cover her
own inclination to explode, and thus make the situation more
awkward for the girl, when the principal checked her by remarking:
"By the way, Miss Minturn, the juniors and seniors attend the
Bible class, which it is my province to conduct. We meet at four
on Sunday afternoons in the south recitation room; and the lesson
for next Sabbath will be on the Creation, as given in the first
chapter of Genesis. And this reminds me that I have neglected to
inquire where you will attend church. As our catalogue states,
each student is allowed to choose her own place of worship. Where
do you propose to make your church home?"
Katherine had expected this question before; nevertheless, she
flushed slightly as she turned back to face her interlocutor, and
replied:
"I am a Christian Scientist, Prof. Seabrook, and I shall attend
the church on Grove Street."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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