"Yeth. My father hath lotth of money, I thuppothe. But I don't care. I
don't want to go."

"When do you go?"

"I don't know, Hathel. The Oracle thayth I'm going."

The Oracle having settled the question, no further doubts remained in the
mind of little Grace Thompson.

Grace's father was a lawyer. Both he and the girl's mother had inherited
fortunes, and Grace being an only child had much, finer clothes than any
of her companions in the little New Hampshire town of Meadow-Brook.

Hazel Holland and Margery Brown were the daughters of village merchants,
the former's father being a druggist, while the father of the latter owned
a fairly prosperous grocery business.

The fourth member of this little quartette, Harriet Burrell, was not so
fortunately situated as were her three friends. Harriet's father was a
bookkeeper in the local bank, and on his moderate salary was doing his
best to give his daughter and younger son an education. His salary was
barely sufficient to do this and at the same time support his family,
small as it was.

It was Harriet's ambition to go to college. She was now sixteen years old.
In two more years she would finish her course at the high school. From
that point on, the way did not look particularly bright, so far as
continuing her education was concerned.