Grace Harlowes Return to Overton Campus | Page 5

fully an hour
after they sat down to breakfast before they rose to go upstairs and
make ready for their visit to Harlowe House.
"There is no use in trying to begin our real work to-day," declared
Grace, as the three left Mrs. Elwood's and strolled slowly along College
Street in the direction of the caretaker's house. Mr. Symes, who had
faithfully executed so many commissions for Grace, had been selected
as the best possible person to look after the house. "Mr. Symes was to
see that everything was unpacked before we arrived. We shall have to
employ two men to move the heavy furniture. Thank goodness and Mrs.

Gray, there are no carpets to be laid. The floors are all hard wood and
there are rugs for every room except the kitchen and laundry."
"I brought an old dress along," Elfreda informed her friends. "I helped
Ma set our cottage to rights this summer and I know something about
work. We had two maids and a scrubwoman. The maids were in my
way, so I sent them off for a holiday and the scrubwoman and I tackled
the job and went through with it like wildfire. Ma nearly had a spasm,
but she liked the looks of things when we had finished. You should
have seen me, though. Ma didn't like my looks. I guess I did resemble a
human mop if you know what that looks like."
"I can imagine," laughed Grace. "If you attack the business of putting
Harlowe House to rights with the same energy, I shall know exactly
how you looked when you cleaned the cottage."
"Perhaps you will," Elfreda grinned boyishly. "I hadn't thought of that."
"You couldn't see that far ahead, could you?" quizzed Grace with
twinkling eyes.
"No I couldn't," declared Elfreda earnestly, then, catching sight of
Grace's dancing eyes, she laughed good-naturedly. "You will tease me
about that. I can see that you'll never outgrow the habit."
"I can see that Elfreda is going to lighten our labors and make our tasks
merry," smiled Mrs. Gray. "What a joy and a diversion you must have
been to Miriam."
"I was anything but an unqualified source of pleasure during my
freshman year," replied Elfreda. "It is plain to be seen that Grace never
told you my early Overton history."
"Now, Elfreda--" began Grace, but Elfreda was not to be thus easily
deterred from saying her say. She launched forth with a ludicrous
account of her freshman shortcomings that left Mrs. Gray and Grace
breathless with laughter.

"Elfreda, it is hard to say which is funnier, you or Hippy," Mrs. Gray's
eyes twinkled with enjoyment.
"Well, isn't it so?" demanded J. Elfreda. "Isn't that exactly the way I
used to do?"
"It's what I call a highly exaggerated account of your self-named
misdeeds," returned Grace. "You haven't said a word about all the nice
things you did for the girls."
"I don't remember them," evaded Elfreda hastily. "Oh, there's Mr.
Symes now! How are you, Mr. Symes? You didn't expect to see me
here, did you?"
"Well, well, if it ain't Miss Briggs," beamed the old man joyfully. His
remembrance of J. Elfreda was decidedly pleasant. She had always paid
him generously for the numerous errands he had run for her. He greeted
Grace with equal enthusiasm, and bobbed like a nodding mandarin
before Mrs. Gray.
"I hope you have been well, Mr. Symes. How is your wife and how do
you like being caretaker of Harlowe House?" asked Grace.
"I'm well, miss, and so's my wife. It's a fine place, miss, that Harlowe
House, an' it'll be finer still when fall comes and it's full of Overton
students. We're pretty proud of our young ladies, we Overton folks.
Excuse me, miss, I'll go over to my house and get the key. I'll be right
along."
"He has a whole lot of real college spirit," commented Elfreda, "or he
couldn't speak so beautifully of the Overton girls."
"He always was a perfect old dear," agreed Grace warmly.
The caretaker soon overtook them with the key, and the little company
crossed the street and traversed the deserted campus.
"How strangely still everything is," commented Grace. "Not in the least

like it was six months ago, is it, Elfreda?"
"It gives me the blues," averred Elfreda in a low tone.
"Here we are," called Mrs. Gray, with a cheery attempt at dispelling the
tiny cloud of dejection that had fallen over the two girls. "Harlowe
House couldn't have a prettier site."
The three women followed Mr. Symes up the steps, then, as if by
common consent, turned and looked out over the green expanse of
closely-clipped lawn, sprinkled with sentinel-like old trees. They had
stood guard year after year and silently watched the comings and
goings of the