It was her friends' turn to be astonished. A round of exclamatory remarks went up at the information, followed by eager questions.
"I can't explain why I did it," Marjorie began when the commotion had subsided. "I thought of Miss Susanna when first we planned to hang May baskets. I felt as though she needed one. She will never know who hung it. I hope it makes her happy. What _I_ didn't expect was _this_." She pointed to her own wealth.
"We felt sorry for you in your lonely old age," giggled Helen. "We thought you needed something to cheer you up. But we're not going to hang around here all evening. We are going to give Miss Remson a May shower. Get the basket you made for her and come along. This is my party. I've ordered Nesselrode pudding and French cakes from the Colonial. Think of that!"
"Wonderful!" Marjorie's eyes were dancing. "She will be so delighted to have a surprise party. _She_ really deserves one."
"So she does, and so did you, and you have had one." Helen dropped a friendly arm over Marjorie's shoulder. Shyly she endeavored to convey an affection she could not put into words. It was a warmth of regard which Marjorie drew from those who had learned to know the fine sweetness of her disposition.
"I think we are the only ones at Hamilton to hang May baskets," Vera observed. "It's a custom that ought to be brought forward."
"It is a beautiful idea." Ronny patted lovingly the big blue bow on her basket for Miss Remson. She was extremely fond of the good little manager.
"We ought to go in for more of that sort of thing next year," asserted Muriel. "Goodness knows we have had enough friction to entitle us to the peaceful pursuit of pleasant things."
"'The pursuit of pleasant things.'" repeated Marjorie. "I like to think of that as our outlook for next year. We have had two years of hard fighting for democracy. I wish we might have peace next year and a chance to invest our Alma Mater with new grace, by bringing back to her some of these beautiful customs. As a junior I am going to think a good deal about Hamilton traditions, too, and impress them on others, if I can."
How truly Marjorie carried out her ardent resolution during her third year at Hamilton will be told in "Marjorie Dean, College Junior."