Chapter I: Grown Up

THE sleepy old university town had been for some days alive with the excitement attending class-day and the yearly commencement at the university.

Theo Nelson and her cousin Val Le Moyne were among the interested participants in the festivities, and none of the town's guests were having a better time; for Theo's brother, Archie, was one of the graduates, and his friends, who were all well known to the girls, were assiduous in their attentions, while in Jack Allen, Archie's special chum and classmate, the cousins felt nearly as much interest as in Archie himself, taking great pride in the honors Jack was bearing off. Even Aunt Janet Nelson was as enthusiastic as the others on this occasion; but Miss Janet was as a mother to the little group, and the interests of her "children" had been closely hers during all the years they had lived with her.

Val was standing at the foot of the stairs, waiting for her cousin.

"Theo, hurry!" she cried. "The boys are coming."

"Boys!" answered Theo, in a tone of scorn, as she made her appearance, drawing on her gloves. "Young men, you mean; you forget that they have received their degrees, and that they know all there is to know. They are 'sumptuously informed,' as I heard some one say yesterday."

"Yes," replied Val, laughing, "and the 'young men' are quite aware of it. Anything more lordly than Archie's tread as he walks up the street I have never seen. Do come and look, Theo: isn't he majestic?"

"Yes," answered Theo, coming to the door; "but he is a lord among lords. They all do that way at first. Come, it is late; we might as well go and meet them."

"Where is auntie?" asked Archie of his sister.

"She has gone with Mrs. Talcott and Nannie," replied Theo; "she will meet us at the house. We are quite late."

Archie consulted his watch. "Not so very," he returned; "and it is only to drink tea that we are going. It was very good of the professor to ask us; but, for my part, I should rather do something else."

Val raised her eyebrows significantly.

"Now what?" said Archie, testily. "You are so ready to pounce on a fellow, Val. What have I done?"

"Oh, nothing," replied Val, airily; "only I supposed from your general demeanor that anything less than a professor's society you could not tolerate."

"Humph!" and Archie gave vent to the exclamation in an exceedingly disgusted manner.

"Stop your squabbling, children," put in Jack Allen. "Give us a little rope, Val. We'll come down from our lofty perches soon enough; we shall forget how much we know before many months have passed."

And the party proceeded in an amiable spirit towards the university grounds.

Just before the professor's house was reached, they all stopped to look across the valley at the beautiful view spread out before them.

"I hate to leave it," said Jack, suddenly.

"I shall come back every year," declared Archie. "You'll come too, Jack?"

"I don't know," was the doubtful response.

And then the little group turned aside into the long corridor, to be greeted at one of the doorways by their hostess.

"Ah, Mr. Nelson," she said, "your aunt came long ago. We began to fear that you had at last succumbed to the pressure of all the duties that have been thrust upon you during the past week. On how many committees have you served, pray?"

"I always told Arch he was entirely too popular," remarked Jack Allen. "He will suffer for it yet, Mrs. Marshall. Are we so very late?"

"Not too late," she replied, with a smile.

And she led them in-doors to where the murmur of voices gave evidence that a company was gathered.

Miss Janet Nelson, with Nannie Talcott on one side, Gilbert Rogers on the other, and Teddy Forester leaning on the back of her chair, was laughing at the nonsensical run of talk carried on by the young people.

"Ah! There they come," announced Gilbert, catching sight of the new-comers. "The late Mr. Nelson and his party have at last arrived."

The girls made their way over to Miss Nelson, and were soon followed by Archie and Jack.

"Who do you think is here?" whispered Nannie to Theo.

"I can't imagine."

"Fly Crawford, Val's ancient enemy."

"Really? Yes; see Val's color and her haughty look. Why, Nannie, Gilbert is talking to her!"

"Yes, I know; but I believe he quite likes her. She is stopping with very nice people, you know, friends of Gilbert's, and he has had to show her some attention."

Theo looked grave, but her attention was just then turned aside, and the subject was dropped for the time being.

"Such a grown up set as I shall have about me," Miss Nelson was saying to Mrs. Marshall. "Theo and Archie have graduated this year, and Jack, too: he seems like one of us, you know. Val is my only baby: she has another year before her, at least. She rather resents being my baby, though."

Val looked up quickly. "No, not that exactly," she interposed; "but I always feel as though I were running very hard and couldn't keep up with the others. I seem to remind myself of those little children who are always tagging behind the older ones, especially when Archie is so superior," glancing mischievously at her cousin.

"And you will have them all with you again?" said Mrs. Marshall, addressing Miss Nelson.

"Yes; that is what comforts me in losing my children. I shall have a young man to attend to business for me, and a young woman to take some of my home responsibilities from my shoulders," replied Miss Janet.

"And you go back to Roseville to-morrow?"

"Yes; Archie thinks of reading law with an old friend of his father's, and Theo—"

"What will Theo do?" asked Mrs. Marshall.

Miss Nelson did not see the quick glances exchanged by Nannie and Theo as she replied:

"Oh, Theo will have to be a young lady, I suppose, though I should wish her to have some central interest; too many girls spend such useless lives. Roseville does not offer a very broad field, but I think Theo need not be idle, nor even uselessly busy."

Though the next day did indeed see them all returned to Roseville, it saw all Miss Janet's plans overturned by a letter which awaited their arrival. This letter was addressed to Archie by Colonel Smith, Val's guardian, who had formed a warm attachment for the young man, and who now offered him the opportunity of studying law in New York, under Colonel Smith himself. Archie read the communication very slowly and thoughtfully, put the letter in his pocket, then, picking up his hat, he said to his chum,—

"Come, Jack, let us go forth."

Jack's face was very grave as he also put a letter into his own pocket and joined his friend without saying a word.

When they were out of the house, Archie handed his letter to Jack, saying,—

"Give us your opinion of that."

"You ought to go," decided Jack. "It is the chance of a lifetime, Arch. With such a man as the Colonel, you could not have a better."

"I want to go," returned Archie, "but I do feel that I owe my aunt and my sister something; they have both made sacrifices for me. I have been at the university for four years, and I ought to be at home now."

"I'm afraid I'm not an impartial adviser," returned Jack, "for it would mean so much to me to have you still at hand. You can't know, old fellow, what it would cost me to cut loose from you all."

"I shall have to tell auntie sometime," said Archie; "so I might as well get it over first as last."

He found it very hard, however, to broach the subject of the letter to his aunt. The tender, motherly care given himself and his sister from their babyhood seemed worthy as great consideration as his own future, and the boy honestly strove to be unselfish in the matter.

"Give you up again, my boy!" said Miss Nelson. "That is a great tax on my generosity, but I know Colonel Smith means to give you the best of opportunities; and, indeed, it is not a surprise to me. The Colonel hinted at something of the kind long ago, but I did not count upon it. Go! Of course you will. There is no question about it. Your auntie still has her faculties," she laughingly continued; "she doesn't grow old as fast as she might." And so it was settled that way.

Archie's departure for New York was hastened by a piece of information given by Jack that evening, who stated that his own leave must soon be taken.

"I have just been notified of my uncle's marriage," he said.

"What!" exclaimed Archie. "Old pineknot married?"

Jack nodded.

"Oh, Jack!" said Theo.

"What a shame!" cried Val.

"It need not affect you, Jack," remarked Miss Nelson, consolingly.

"It need not, perhaps, but yet it may. You remember, two years ago—" turning to Archie—"I said then I wouldn't trust Uncle Silas around the corner; and the past two summers have not added to my confidence in him. So I think I ought to be on hand to watch matters."

"You will be one of the firm now, I suppose?" said Miss Nelson.

"Perhaps," was the reply. "I cannot really tell; that was my father's intention. He wanted me to spend the summers, during my college life, in the office, and when I had taken my degree, to assume my responsibilities as one of the house; but—" and Jack paused doubtfully.

"Well, I shall go on with you," Archie declared, "and we'll still be chums. Eh, Jack?" slapping his comrade's shoulder heartily. "When must you go?"

"I should not put it off," was the response. "I should say the first of next week."

"Oh!" exclaimed the girls. "That is mean, Jack, to take Archie away just as we have him home again."

"To say nothing of yourself," added Val.

Jack looked at Theo, who said nothing.

"Wait till the last of the week," pleaded Val.

"Can you not, Jack?" put in Miss Nelson.

"I might," said he, doubtfully, still looking at Theo.

But that young person got up and went out of the room, as if determining to have no voice in the matter. Still, Jack consented to lengthen his stay somewhat.

And again, as so often before, a merry little party rollicked through the June days.

They were joined, not only by Theo's friend, Nannie Talcott, but by Gilbert Rogers, whose presence, however, somewhat disturbed the others, for Fly Crawford's return to her home was an evident reason for Gilbert's lingering in the neighborhood.

"It seems too bad," said Theo, in distress, to her brother, "that Gilbert should be so strongly under the influence of a girl as utterly frivolous as Fly. I shouldn't care if she were only frivolous, but—" and Theo paused, not liking to say anything in further detriment. Then she went on, "There is such a difference between a girl's being bright and witty and being—I hate the word—fast. Now, Val is bright and lively as can be, but she never forgets her womanliness."

Archie nodded thoughtfully. "A good many fellows," he said, "haven't perspicacity enough to see the difference, but when a fellow has a sister and a cousin, he knows. There is some hope for a girl who is only silly, and who lacks judgment because she is young. Most girls have a little round of thoughts that they keep going over and over."

Theo laughed. "What are they?" she asked.

"Oh, they wonder how they look and who is looking at them; and if any fellow looks at them, what he thinks; and if he doesn't look, why doesn't he; and what can she do to made him look. But it doesn't do any harm; it is only silliness, and they get over it as they grow older,—that is, most of them do."

"Now, Archie," expostulated Theo, resenting this charge against her sex, "do you think I have no better thoughts to occupy my mind?"

"Well, maybe you don't keep in so small a circle."

"And Val?"

"Oh, well, Val inclines towards it, but she will get over it. There is hope for her. She is not a girl whose inclinations are toward unwomanly acts. If she does anything reprehensible, it is from thoughtlessness."

"She is the nicest girl 'I' know," replied Theo. "Now, let us go down to the others; they will think we have deserted them entirely. Do hear Val laughing. Hasn't she the merriest laugh?"

"Val is a nice child," observed Archie.

Theo smiled, thinking how Val would resent being called a child.

"Wait a minute," said Archie; "don't say anything about our conversation, not even to Jack. We can talk as we choose together, for we have had no secrets from each other."

"I will be discreet," replied Theo. Then, after a pause, and a little hesitatingly, she asked, "Do you think Jack is much concerned over his uncle's marriage?"

"Bless him! He would keep it to himself if he were. But I am afraid it will affect him more or less, though one cannot tell how much. We'll hope it may not be much the worse for him. There! Those children are getting too hilarious. I must go and put a stop to it."

As to putting a stop to the hilarity, Archie's presence seemed only to add fuel to the flames, and for the rest of the afternoon, the merriment ran high till Gilbert, pleading an engagement, left them, when they all sobered down.