CHAPTER XVI

THE NUTTING PARTY


To the boy's surprise Bobby, who was usually aloof and liked to tease
him, squeezed his arm surreptitiously.

"You're a dear!" she told him enthusiastically.

"Girls are a queer lot," the dazed youth confided to Bob, as they went
back to their quarters. "Here I handed over my coat to that Norma Guerin
and gave her the flower I'd been saving for Bobby, just to pay Bobby back
for being so snippy to me over at school. And she calls me a dear and is
nicer to me than she's been in months!"

Bob briefly outlined something of the Guerin history, for Betty had told
him of the lost treasure in her hurried note, and hinted his belief that
the girls had very little money in comparison to Shadyside standards.

"Shucks--money isn't anything!" was Tommy's answer to the recital, with
the easy assurance of a person who has never been without a comfortable
competence. "They're nice girls, and we'll pass the word that the boys
are to show them a good time."

As a result, when after the conclusion of the game, the girls and Miss
Anderson were ushered upstairs into the cozy suite of rooms the cadets
occupied, Norma and Alice found themselves plied with attentions. Miss