



Produced by Avinash Kothare, Tom Allen, Charles Franks,
Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.









             Grace Harlowe's Second Year at Overton College

                     By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A. M.




PHILADELPHIA
HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY
Copyright, 1914




[Illustration: The Door Was Cautiously Opened to Mrs. Elwood.]




CONTENTS

       I. Overton Claims Her Own

      II. The Unforseen

     III. Mrs. Elwood to the Rescue

      IV. The Belated Freshman

       V. The Anarchist Chooses Her Roommate

      VI. Elfreda Makes a Rash Promise

     VII. Girls and Their Ideals

    VIII. The Invitation

      IX. Anticipation

       X. An Offended Freshman

      XI. The Finger of Suspicion

     XII. The Summons

    XIII. Grace Holds Court

     XIV. Grace Makes a Resolution

      XV. The Quality of Mercy

     XVI. A Disgruntled Reformer

    XVII. Making Other Girls Happy

   XVIII. Mrs. Gray's Christmas Children

     XIX. Arline's Plan

      XX. A Welcome Guest

     XXI. A Gift to Semper Fidelis

    XXII. Campus Confidences

   XXIII. A Fault Confessed

    XXIV. Conclusion




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


The Door Was Cautiously Opened to Mrs. Elwood.

"It Is My Theme."

Each Girl Carried an Unwieldy Bundle.

The Two Boxes Contained Elfreda's New Suit and Hat.




Grace Harlowe's Second Year at Overton College




CHAPTER I

OVERTON CLAIMS HER OWN


"Oh, there goes Grace Harlowe! Grace! Grace! Wait a minute!" A
curly-haired little girl hastily deposited her suit case, golf bag, two
magazines and a box of candy on the nearest bench and ran toward a
quartette of girls who had just left the train that stood puffing
noisily in front of the station at Overton.

The tall, gray-eyed young woman in blue turned at the call, and, running
back, met the other half way. "Why, Arline!" she exclaimed. "I didn't
see you when I got off the train." The two girls exchanged affectionate
greetings; then Arline was passed on to Miriam Nesbit, Anne Pierson and
J. Elfreda Briggs, who, with Grace Harlowe, had come back to Overton
College to begin their second year's course of study.

Those who have followed the fortunes of Grace Harlowe and her friends
through their four years of high school life are familiar with what
happened during "Grace Harlowe's Plebe Year at High School,"
the story of her freshman year. "Grace Harlowe's Sophomore Year at
High School" gave a faithful account of the doings of Grace and her
three friends, Nora O'Malley, Anne Pierson and Jessica Bright, during
their sophomore days. "Grace Harlowe's Junior Year at High
School" and "Grace Harlowe's Senior Year at High School"
told of her third and fourth years in Oakdale High School and of how
completely Grace lived up to the high standard of honor she had set for
herself.

After their graduation from high school the four devoted chums spent a
summer in Europe; then came the inevitable separation. Nora and Jessica
had elected to go to an eastern conservatory of music, while Anne and
Grace had chosen Overton College. Miriam Nesbit, a member of the Phi
Sigma Tau, had also decided for Overton, and what befell the three
friends as Overton College freshmen has been narrated in "Grace
Harlowe's First Year at Overton College."

Now September had rolled around again and the station platform of the
town of Overton was dotted with groups of students laden with suit
cases, golf bags and the paraphernalia belonging peculiarly to the
college girl. Overton College was about to claim its own. The joyous
greetings called out by happy voices testified to the fact that the next
best thing to leaving college to go home was leaving home to come back
to college.

"Where is Ruth?" was Grace's first question as she surveyed Arline with
smiling, affectionate eyes.

"She'll be here directly," answered Arline. "She is looking after the
trunks. She is the most indefatigable little laborer I ever saw. From
the time we began to get ready to come back to Overton she refused
positively to allow me to lift my finger. She is always hunting
something to do. She says she has acquired the work habit so strongly
that she can't break herself of it, and I believe her," finished Arline
with a sigh of resignation. "Here she comes now."

An instant later the demure young woman seen approaching was surrounded
by laughing girls.

"Stop working and speak to your little friends," laughed Miriam Nesbit.
"We've just heard bad reports of you."

"I know what you've heard!" exclaimed Ruth, her plain little face alight
with happiness. "Arline has been grumbling. You haven't any idea what a
fault-finding person she is. She lectures me all the time."

"For working," added Arline. "Ruth will have work enough and to spare
this year. Can you blame me for trying to make her take life easy for a
few days?"

"Blame you?" repeated Elfreda. "I would have lectured her night and day,
and tied her up to keep her from work, if necessary."

"Now you see just how much sympathy these worthy sophomores have for
you," declared Arline.

"Do you know whether 19-- is all here yet?" asked Anne.

"I don't know a single thing more about it than do you girls," returned
Arline. "Suppose we go directly to our houses, and then meet at Vinton's
for dinner to-night. I don't yearn for a Morton House dinner. The meals
there won't be strictly up to the mark for another week yet. When the
house is full again, the standard of Morton House cooking will rise in a
day, but until then--let us thank