would only serve to intensify the antagonism against me; and I am
sure when the girls come to know me better, they will at least
realize that I am--harmless," and there was a gleam of genuine
amusement in her eyes as she concluded.

"You are a brave little girl," said her teacher, with a glow of
tenderness at her heart and a suspicious moisture in her eyes.
"But"--with a resolute straightening of her graceful figure--"I am
not going to have you left to yourself on this your first evening
at Hilton, so come with me to my room and we will have a nice time
by ourselves."

"Oh, I should like that," said Katherine, eagerly, "if it will not
encroach--"

"It will not," smilingly interposed her new friend, and, slipping
an arm around her, she spirited her away to her pleasant room,
where they spent a delightful hour together.

When the eight o'clock study bell rang, Katherine returned to her
own quarters, where she found her roommate already absorbed,
apparently, in the preparation of to-morrow's lessons; for, as she
entered, the girl merely glanced up from her book without
speaking, then fastened her eyes again upon the pages before her.

Katherine sat down by her own table and soon forgot everything but
the work on hand, although, at first, she had experienced a sense
of discord and friction in the atmosphere. The hour passed in
absolute silence until the next bell rang, when Miss Minot closed
her books and abruptly left the room.