And it spoke well for the breeding of the other seven that they
respected the reticence of their little foreign friend and did not try
to force her confidence, although they were none of them ignorant of the
intentions of the wily Mr. Seshu.
“Otoyo is right,” declared Nance. “I have nothing to confess, but if I
had, I should be Japanesque and keep it to myself.”
“Oh, you ‘copy cat’,” sang Judy. “I’ll wager anything that Nance has
more up her sleeve than any of us. Look, look! It has gone all the way
up her sleeve and is crawling out at her neck.”
Nance made a wild grab at her neck, where, sure enough, the sharp eyes
of Judy had discovered a tiny gold chain that Nance had not meant to
show above her neat collar. She clutched it so forcibly that the
delicate fastening broke, and a small gold locket was hurled across the
room right into Molly’s lap. Molly caught it up and handed it back to
the crimson and confused Nance amid the shrieks of the girls.
“I reckon a girl has a right to carry her father’s picture around her
neck if she has a mind to,” said Molly.
Just then there was a knock at the door and Melissa and Miss Allfriend
were ushered in, much to the relief of Molly, who by their coming had
escaped the ordeal of the teasing from her friends that she knew was
drawing near; and it also gave Nance the chance to compose herself.
Miss Allfriend proved to be delightful. She was overjoyed to be back at
her Alma Mater and eager to know Melissa’s friends and to thank them for
their kindness to her protégée. Personalities were dropped and the
program for the entertainment of the alumnæ was soon under discussion.
Miss Allfriend had been president of her class and she and Margaret
found many subjects of mutual interest. Melissa was anxious to know the
old Queen’s girls, having heard so much of them from Otoyo, and the
girls were equally anxious to know the interesting mountain girl. The
party was a great success, and Nance was delighted to see that there
were no “scraps” left for Molly to give another, as there were many
things on foot for the alumnæ meeting for the next week and Nance felt
sure Molly would have enough to do without any more entertaining.
* * * * *
And now we will leave our girls. Their postgraduate year is over. A very
happy one it has been, with little excitement but much good, hard work.
Nance is to go to Vermont and rescue her long-suffering father from the
boarding house, and give the poor man the taste of home life that he has
never known. Mrs. Oldham cannot keep house in Vermont and make speeches,
now at the International Peace Conference at The Hague, and then at a
Biennial of Woman’s Clubs in San Francisco, with a stop over in New York
to address the Equal Suffrage League between boat and train!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account