Clover said, “Yes;” but Katy, though she laughed, shook her head.

“Don’t entice us into mischief,” she said.

“Oh, gracious!” exclaimed Rose.  “Now, are you going to be good,—­ you two?  If you are, just break the news at once, and have it over.  I can bear it.”  She fanned herself in such a comical way that no one could help laughing.  Mary Silver joined, but stopped pretty soon in her sudden manner.

“There’s Mary, now,” went on Rose:  “she’s a Paragon.  But, if any more are coming into the entry, just give me fair notice, and I pack and move up among the sinners in Attic Row.  Somehow, you don’t look like Paragons either,—­you especially,” nodding to Clover.  “Your eyes are like violets; but so are Sylvia’s—­that’s my sister,—­and she’s the greatest witch in Massachusetts.  Eyes are dreadfully deceitful things.  As for you,”—­to Katy,—­“you’re so tall that I can’t take you in all at once; but the piece I see doesn’t look dreadful a bit.”

Rose was sitting in the window as she made these remarks; and, leaning forward suddenly, she gave a pretty, blushing nod to some one below.  Katy glanced down, and saw a handsome young man replacing the cap he had lifted from his head.

“That’s Berry Searles,” said Rose.  “He’s the president’s son, you know.  He always comes through the side yard to get to his room.  That’s it,—­the one with the red curtain.  It’s exactly opposite your window:  don’t you see?”

“So it is!” exclaimed Katy, remembering what Lilly had said.  “Oh! was that the reason?”—­she stopped, afraid of being rude.

“The reason we wanted the room?” inquired Rose, coolly.  “Well, I don’t know.  It hadn’t occurred to me to look at it in that light.  Mary!” with sudden severity, “is it possible that you had Berry Searles in your mind when you were so pertinacious about that room?”

“Rose!  How can you?  You know I never thought of such a thing,” protested poor Mary.

“I hope not; otherwise I should feel it my duty to consult with Mrs. Florence on the subject,” went on Rose, with an air of dignified admonition.  “I consider myself responsible for you and your morals, Mary.  Let us change this painful subject.”  She looked gravely at the three girls for a moment; then her lips began to twitch, the irresistible dimples appeared in her cheeks, and, throwing herself back in her chair, she burst into a fit of laughter.

“O Mary, you blessed goose!  Some day or other you’ll be the death of me!  Dear, dear! how I am behaving!  It’s perfectly horrid of me.  And I didn’t mean it.  I’m going to be real good this term; I promised mother.  Please forget it, and don’t take a dislike to me, and never come again,” she added, coaxingly, as Katy and Clover rose to go.

“Indeed we won’t,” replied Katy.  As for sensible Clover, she was already desperately in love with Rose, on that very first day!

After a couple of hours of hard work, No. 6 was in order, and looked like a different place.  Fringed towels were laid over the wash-stand and the table.  Dr. Carr’s photograph and some pretty chromos ornamented the walls; the rocking-chair and the study-chair stood by the window; the trunks were hidden by chintz covers, made for the purpose by old Mary.  On the window-sill stood Cousin Helen’s vase, which Katy had brought carefully packed among her clothes.