sort of thing they have away out west, where laborers are scarce and the
whole town turns out to help a man get up the timbers of his house."

"But there's no sense to that kind of a hair-raising," objected the
Nebraskan's roommate, who was from Boston. "I think that Mary has
invented a hair tonic and is going to try it on us before she has it
patented."

"I'm sure I hope so," said Madeline Ayres, patting her diminutive twist
of hair tenderly.

"Why, it's some kind of party she's giving for her mother," announced a
stately senior, authoritatively.

"I don't see how that tells what it is, though," said Betty. "Am I
invited?"

"Yes," explained Helen Adams. "Mary came in while you were out and asked
us."

"But she hasn't said anything about expecting her mother."

At this everybody laughed and Marion Lawrence explained that Mary, being
a very busy person, had a habit of putting away her letters unopened,
until she found time to read them.

"And somehow she thought this was a book-bill from Longstreet's--you know
how near-sighted she is--so she stuck it into her desk until she got her
next month's allowance. But to-day she found some money that she'd put in
her collar-case for safe-keeping and forgotten about; so she got out the