When Patty Went to College | Page 2

he read 'tapestry' in my eyes.
He had no sooner looked at me than he said, 'See here, miss; you know
it's against the rules to hang curtains on the walls, and you mustn't put
nails in the plastering, and I don't believe you need a hammer anyway.'"
"Disgusting creature!" said Patty.
"But," continued Priscilla, hastily, "I stopped and borrowed Georgie
Merriles's hammer on my way back. Oh, I forgot," she added; "he says
we can't take the closet door off its hinges--that as soon as we get ours
off five hundred other young ladies will be wanting theirs off, and that
it would take half a dozen men all summer to put them back again."
A portentous frown was gathering on Patty's brow, and the freshman,
wishing to avert a possible domestic tragedy, inquired timidly, "Who is
Peters?"
"Peters," said Priscilla, "is a short, bow-legged gentleman with a red
Vandyke beard, whose technical title is janitor, but who is really
dictator. Every one is afraid of him--even Prexy."
"I'm not," said Patty; "and," she added firmly, "that door is coming
down whether he says so or not, so I suppose we shall have to do it
ourselves." Her eyes wandered back to the carpet and her face
brightened. "Oh, Pris, we've got a beautiful new scheme. My friend
here says she doesn't like the carpet at all, and suggests that we take it
up, get some black paint, and put it on the floor ourselves. I agree," she
added, "that a Flemish oak floor covered with rugs would be a great

improvement."
Priscilla glanced uncertainly from the freshman to the floor. "Do you
think they'd let us do it?"
"It would never do to ask them," said Patty.
The freshman rose uneasily. "I came," she said hesitatingly, "to find
out--that is, I understand that the girls rent their old books, and I
thought, if you wouldn't mind--"
"Mind!" said Patty, reassuringly. "We'd rent our souls for fifty cents a
semester."
"It--it was a Latin dictionary I wanted," said the freshman, "and the
girls next door said perhaps you had one."
"A beautiful one," said Patty.
"No," interrupted Priscilla; "hers is lost from O to R, and it's all torn;
but mine,"--she dived down into one of the boxes and hauled out a
chunky volume without any covers,--"while it is not so beautiful as it
was once, it is still as useful."
"Mine's annotated," said Patty, "and illustrated. I'll show you what a
superior book it is," and she began descending the ladder; but Priscilla
charged upon her and she retreated to the top again. "Why," she wailed
to the terrified freshman, "did you not say you wanted a dictionary
before she came back? Let me give you some advice at the beginning
of your college career," she added warningly. "Never choose a
room-mate bigger than yourself. They're dangerous."
The freshman was backing precipitously toward the door, when it
opened and revealed an attractive-looking girl with fluffy reddish hair.
"Pris, you wretch, you walked off with my hammer!"
"Oh, Georgie, we need it worse than you do! Come in and help tack."

"Hello, Georgie," called Patty, from the ladder. "Isn't this room going
to be beautiful when it's finished?"
Georgie looked about. "You are more sanguine than I should be," she
laughed.
"You can't tell yet," Patty returned. "We're going to cover the
wall-paper with this red stuff, and paint the floor black, and have dark
furniture, and red hangings, and soft lights. It will look just like the
Oriental Room in the Waldorf."
"How in the world," Georgie demanded, "do you ever make them let
you do all these things? I stuck in three innocent little thumb-tacks
to-day, and Peters descended upon me bristling with wrath, and said
he'd report me if I didn't pull them out."
"We never ask," explained Patty. "It's the only way."
"You've got enough to do if you expect to get settled by Monday,"
Georgie remarked.
"C'est vrai," agreed Patty, descending the ladder with a sudden access
of energy; "and you've got to stay and help us. We have to get all this
furniture moved into the bedrooms and the carpet up before we even
begin to paint." She regarded the freshman tentatively. "Are you
awfully busy?"
"Not very. My room-mate hasn't come yet, so I can't settle."
"That's nice; then you can help us move furniture."
"Patty!" said Priscilla, "I think you are too bad."
"I should really love to stay and help, if you'll let me."
"Certainly," said Patty, obligingly. "I forgot to ask your name," she
continued, "and I don't suppose you like to be called 'Freshman'; it's not
specific enough."

"My name is Genevieve Ainslee Randolph."
"Genevieve Ains--dear me! I can't remember anything like that. Do you
mind if I call you Lady