CHAPTER XVI.

A junior entertainment.

The school year was fast drawing to a close, and every student was busy preparing for examinations and annual exercises, and also looking forward to the pleasurable excitement attending class-day ceremonies, entertainments, receptions, etc.

The first week in June it was customary for the juniors to give a special exhibition, to be followed by a social, with dancing and a fine spread, in honor of the retiring seniors, and upon this grand occasion each student in both classes was privileged to invite some friend from outside.

So much had been said in praise of Katherine’s little play and paper on “Transcendentalism,” it was suggested they be repeated for the benefit of those who had not heard them, and allow visitors and strangers to guess the conundrum and charade.

The whole school had heard the story of that Junior League meeting, for it had been too good to keep, and it had aroused so much interest, both among teachers and students, the juniors finally persuaded Katherine to reproduce her clever effort.

Besides this, the programme consisted of another original play, written by some of the class, two or three choice selections from the Glee Club, and was to wind up with some fine tableaux.

The important day arrived and was attended by no end of worry, work and excitement.  The final rehearsal of the play proved, as is often the case, anything but satisfactory; but when it came to the “last tug of war” in the evening, everything “went off without a hitch,” only those behind the scenes being aware of the strenuous efforts put forth to achieve this result.

It was accordingly pronounced “a great success.”  Katherine’s production contributed the element of comedy, while the vocabulary of adjectives was insufficient to express appreciation of the tableaux.

The last one, or “grand finale,” is worthy of special mention, for various reasons.  It was billed as “The Carnival of Flowers,” and included all the members of the junior class.  Each was in evening dress and was either profusely decorated with, or carried, an elaborate design of the flower which she had chosen to represent.

Dorothy, who had been unusually comfortable during the two weeks preceding, had been deeply interested in the preparations for this great event, and, one day, when Katherine was consulting Mrs. Seabrook upon some important point, she had exclaimed, with a longdrawn sigh: 

“Oh! how I wish I could be in it, too.”

“I wish you could, dear,” said Katherine, bending to kiss the wistful face.  “Well—­why can’t she?” she added, turning suddenly to Mrs. Seabrook; “she could have a place in the Carnival of Flowers.  Will you allow her to?”

Mrs. Seabrook smiled, but there was a sad yearning in her soft eyes as they rested upon her helpless child.