the dormitories at the villa camellia were among the main features of the establishment, and were a source of considerable pride and satisfaction to the principals, miss rodgers and miss morley. they were always shown to parents as the very latest and newest development of school arrangements. some of them were on the second story and some were on the third, but all had french windows opening onto long verandas on which were placed large pots of geraniums or oleanders. the walls were covered with striped italian papers, the frieze being color-washed and decorated with designs of flowers or birds, the woodwork was white, the beds were enameled white, and the blankets, instead of being cream or yellow as they are in england, were all of a uniform shade of pale blue, with blue eider-downs to match. the whole of the house was heated by radiators, so that the dormitories were always warm, and were used as studies by the older girls, who did most of their preparation there. a table with ink-pots stood in the middle of each room, and a large notice enjoining, "silence during study hours" hung as a warning over every fireplace.[42]

irene was given a vacant bed in no. 3 on the second floor, and found herself in company with elsie craig, mabel hughes, and lorna carson. for the first two she felt no attraction, but the last excited her interest and curiosity. there was an air of mystery about lorna; she asked questions but gave little information in return on the subject of her own concerns. her bright dark eyes were unfathomable, and she "kept herself to herself" with a reserved dignity not very common among schoolgirls of her age. irene, who loved to chatter, found lorna a ready listener, and, although the confidence was not reciprocated and in consequence the friendship seemed likely to be rather one-sided, it was a friendship all the same from the very start. at the end of the week, moreover, something important happened to cement it.

for the first seven days of her residence at the villa camellia irene had felt herself "goods on approval." peachy proctor and her chums had indeed given her a welcome, but afterwards they had held back a little as if testing her before offering further intimacy. there seemed to be some secret bond amongst them, some alliance carefully hidden from the general public. she caught nods, signs, mysterious words, and veiled allusions, all of which were instantly suppressed when her presence was noticed. on the eighth day after arrival she found a note inside her desk. it was marked[43]—

private

this must be opened in absolute seclusion

and

its contents must be treated with the

strictest confidence

a crowded classroom, with inquisitive form-mates ready to peep over her shoulder, did not seem the congenial atmosphere for the opening of the missive, so irene was obliged to curb her curiosity until mid-morning "interval," when she gulped her glass of milk hastily, took her portion of biscuits, and, avoiding conversation, hurried down the garden to the seclusion of a stone arbor. here she tore open the envelope, and drew forth a large sheet of exercise paper. on it was printed in bold black letters:

"you are elected a member of the sorority of camellia buds. please present yourself for initiation to-night at 8.10 prompt in no. 13. strictest secrecy enjoined."

there was no signature, but irene gave a smile of comprehension. dormitory no. 13 was shared by peachy proctor, jess cameron, delia watts, and mary fergusson. there was, therefore, little doubt but that she was to be received into the secret society of whose existence she had already gathered some hints.[44]

"i'll be there at 8.10," she whispered to peachy, as they trooped into the french class.

"right-o!" replied that light-hearted damsel. "just one warning—don't be scared at anything that happens; it's all in fun! don't say i told you, though. no, i can't explain. i'm not allowed. you'll soon find out."

peachy shook off irene's company as if in a hurry to get rid of her before she asked any more questions, so there was nothing to be done but wait in patience until the evening. supper was at 7.30, and from 8 till half past the girls did as they chose. those who wished to study might take the extra time for preparation, but work was not obligatory, and it was an understood thing that in the interval between supper and "set recreation" visits might be paid to other dormitories, and that so long as no noise reached the ears of the prefects, anybody disposed to be frivolous might indulge in a little harmless fun.

irene's wrist-watch was not a reliable timepiece, having bad habits of galloping and then suddenly losing, so to-night she did not trust to it, but sat in the hall with her eyes on the big white-faced clock. at exactly nine and a half minutes past eight she ran upstairs and tapped at the door of dormitory 13. there were sounds of scuffling inside and an agitated voice squealed:

"wait a minute."[45]

but after a few moments quiet reigned and somebody else called:

"come in!"

feeling rather as if she were awaiting initiation into some nihilist association irene entered the room. as she did so a bandage was clapped over her eyes and she was led forward blindfolded. it was only after an impressive pause that the handkerchief was removed.

it was well she had been warned beforehand, or the sight which met her gaze might have caused her to emit a yell loud enough to attract the attention of a passing prefect. the villa camellia was admirably supplied with electric light, but on this historic occasion the apartment was illuminated solely by a couple of candle-ends stuck in a pair of vases. their flickering flame revealed a solemn row of nine dressing-gowned figures, each of which wore a black paper mask with holes for her eyes. the general effect was most startling and horrible, and resembled a meeting of the inquisition, or some other society bent on torture and dark doings. repressing her first gasp, however, irene bore the vision with remarkable equanimity, and advancing towards the dread figures waited obediently until she was addressed. evidently she had done the right thing, for the spokeswoman, clearing her throat, began in impressive accents:

"sister irene beverley, you are admitted here[46] to-night to be made a member of our sorority. are you willing to join and to take the pledges?"

"yes, thanks, but please what's a sorority?" ventured irene meekly.

two or three distinct snickers were heard from underneath the black masks, but a voice murmured, "order!" and the sounds promptly ceased.

"a sorority is a secret sisterhood," explained the president, "just the same as a fraternity is a brotherhood. we call ourselves 'the camellia buds,' and we're members of the transition who have banded ourselves together for the purposes of mutual protection. it's a great honor to be elected. there are only nine of us so far, and we've waited ever so long to choose a tenth. i hope you appreciate the privilege?"

"i do indeed!"