“Look at Betty!” cried Kathryn, who was not taking part in the swimming meet, but was a part of the audience. “Isn’t she graceful? What a dive! Betty’s a regular fish for the water!”

“She went into the water like a bird catching a fish,” replied Carolyn, who had memories of a northern lake in summer.

“Yes; but she says she likes the water and feels at home in it. She is a natural swimmer, I suppose, if there is such a thing.”

The seats around the pool were full of spectators, some mothers as well as girls from the different high schools concerned in the meet. Others leaned forward, all interest, from the balcony above, among them Mrs. Lee and Amy Lou. Betty had located her mother before the meet proper began and welcomed her with a smiling salute from a distance. To Amy Lou, who waved wildly at her older sister, she gave a separate salute, and blew her a kiss. Betty looked happy and unworried, a trim little figure in her tight, dark blue bathing suit.

A group of sophomore girls were equipped with Lyon High banners and sat together on one side of the pool, ready to root for their own school and their own class swimmers as well. When Betty came out for the diving events, they cheered for her. Amy Lou was frightened and squealed out a little when Betty made a “back” dive that was greeted with general applause. Mrs. Lee held her breath for a minute, afraid that Betty would hit the diving board and gave a sigh of relief when that did not happen.

Carolyn, who sat beside Mrs. Lee, turned to her enthusiastically to say, “Wasn’t that splendid? Betty is getting better and better!”

“I hope she won’t do that again, though,” said Betty’s mother.

“Oh, that’s perfectly safe for Betty, Mrs. Lee. They wouldn’t let her try it if she weren’t used to it and Betty can just do almost anything. Besides, it isn’t as close to the board when she does it as it looks. If you were right up at that end you’d see.”

“I see. I have heard Betty talk about all this so much, but I must say that all the remarks about this and that sort of a stroke and the different kinds of diving have rather gone over my head. I’ve not been able to get to the little meets the girls have had. This is delightful, the big pool and all the excitement. No wonder the girls like it, but Betty did not seem to be excited over it or care about taking first place. I wonder why?”

“Betty’s pretty level-headed,” laughed Carolyn. “She’s getting ready to do big things in her next two years, you see, big things for the G. A. A. So she isn’t going to get all worked up now. I shouldn’t wonder if she did get the best record for the diving, though. Those other girls weren’t half so good on that event, though that senior girl from North High is a wonder in swimming. Wait till those speed tests—or events—come off and watch her. Without her cap Betty’d be a goldfish, Kathryn!”

Mrs. Lee consulted her program. It was a help to see everything down, in black and white. Here was a certain sort of a stroke, and she could see it being done. “Amy Lou,” said she, “watch how they do it. Some day you will be doing that perhaps.”

“Oh, yes,” soberly said Amy Lou, watching the next group of contestants come in from out behind the curtains and stand in readiness. “I’m going to be a G. A. A.”

“The whole association, Amy Lou?” asked Kathryn, who liked to tease a little.

Amy Lou smiled a little. She didn’t mind Kathryn, who was always remembering her in some little way. “Yes,” said she. “I can swim now a little, up at Grandma’s, can’t I Mamma?”

“Yes, dear—but watch and keep still. The girls are going to start.”

Amy Lou had stopped jumping at the pistol shot and now leaned over with the rest, though she had to stand up to do it, to see the slim young bodies cleave the clear water of the pool, swim the length of it, turn, pushing their toes against the concrete wall of the pool and start for the other end.

The diving included “front, back and running,” the program said. Then there were a “twenty-yard back stroke for speed, a twenty-yard side stroke for speed and a twenty-yard free style for speed,” and Carolyn explained that “free style” meant “do it any way you want to—just get there!”

“Will Betty try to win on speed?” asked Mrs. Lee.

“I doubt it. Betty’s working on trying to do everything just right, and grace and ease in the water, and keeping your head, I guess, from what I hear her say. You see, you have to do your breathing a certain way, though that doesn’t seem to be any trouble to Betty.”

“It looks painful to me,” said Mrs. Lee.

“Watch Betty and you won’t think so.”

“They turn sideways and swallow the air, don’t they?” said Amy Lou.

“Just about,” laughed Carolyn. “Here comes Betty again, Amy Lou.”

Amy Lou joined in the Lyon High yell this time, to the great amusement of Carolyn and Betty, but they did not let the child see their smiles and Mrs. Lee did not make any objection. What was Amy Lou’s small voice in the general uproar?

No one girl was permitted to take part in any large number of events, thought there had not been this time too great a number of contestants who wanted to enter for the meet.

Betty was not tired and after the first diving event did not feel excited. There were only a few more people looking on, and the cheers were a part of it all. This was noted as “Push off and coast across pool for speed” and to Betty’s surprise she was first across the pool. Later there was a “relay” event, in which Betty did well, her best, but was not first. That ended her part in the meet and she was satisfied. She took her shower and dressed without watching the rest, though Carolyn exclaimed afterward when she found that Betty had “missed the rest,” and at an inter-school contest.

“Well,” said Betty, “why sit around in a wet bathing suit? I knew I could get dressed in time to hear the final results announced. Of course, I was crazy for Lyon High to win the meet, but even with my blanket around me I was a little chilly and I’d promised Mother that I’d not take an unnecessary risks of cold. I did hate to miss one event, but I’d seen such a lot of swimming.”

Yet Betty had won some points for her school and she was, indeed, back where she could hear the announcement after the final event and to join in the wild cheering of feminine voices which marked the announcement that Lyon High had won the meet by a narrow margin. It was well that it was so, for there had been some good swimming done by all the schools.

“Going to take the life-saving tests, Betty?” asked Lucia Coletti, who chanced to be by Betty as the crowd left the pool and the building.

“No, not now, Lucia. Next year is time enough. I might get ready for it, but I’m just learning a lot of things and trying the endurance stunts a little. Perhaps I’ll swim across to Italy one of these days.”

Lucia laughed. “That’s what I’d like to do right now, though I prefer going on a steamer. I’m homesick to see my father,” she added.

“Will you be going over this summer?” queried Betty, though casually, for Betty was not one to be curious.

“No. Mother says not,” replied Lucia, and Betty did not ask whether or not the count would come to America. There was some trouble there, Betty supposed. It did not always work when an American girl married a foreigner. But how dreadful for Lucia who loved both parents, of course, if you were separated! Why didn’t people think about their children a little instead of themselves?

“Betty,” said Lucia, “Mother is going to entertain for me this spring and you are the first one I want to invite. I haven’t had you over at all.”

“But I haven’t had you either,” said Betty. “We just couldn’t manage parties some way this year with all that has been going on at school and Mother so busy and Father working so hard, too. You were the stranger to be invited.”

Lucia slipped her hand inside of Betty’s bent arm and patted it. “But I know perfectly well that it was Mother’s place to show some attention to your father and mother. But Mother has been considerably upset—about some of our affairs. She’s been in the social columns of the papers all right, but she’s not done any of the entertaining herself.”

It was rather an odd place for any confidences, Betty thought, but Lucia was likely to say things when she wanted to do it. No one could hear, however, as they went out of the open doors and ran down the steps together. Lucia nodded good night and then went to where the Murchison car waited for her.

Betty waited a few moments for her mother and Amy Lou to join her, but they took the street car home, sleepy as Amy Lou was by this time. For Dick and Doris, to their great disappointment, were showing signs of sore throat and measles was making a few absences at the junior high school. Mrs. Lee was hopeful that the sore throats were only the results of an early hike that the twins had taken together; and she had been sent off to the meet by her husband with the announcement that he was quite able to act as nurse and see that they took their medicine.

Fortunately the measles did not materialize, but Doris had missed seeing the meet and Dick had missed something else. Both missed school for a few days, which loss had its compensations.

It was true that neither Betty nor her mother had known just what to do about paying any attention to the countess. The countess had not met her mother and had not said anything to her father about liking to have his wife call. The Countess Coletti had, of course, many friends of former days among the wealthy members of what was called society in the city. For this group Mrs. Lee had neither means, time nor any real interest, though no one was more likely to have friends. It was easy to make them, in the church, or in the other relations which living naturally brought about.

“We belong to a different ‘aristocracy,’ Betty,” said Mrs. Lee. “We, too, can have a certain influence in the community, a good one, I hope, and a little circle of pleasant friends. One is always running across kindred spirits.”

“Carolyn and Kathryn are my chief ones,” laughed Betty.

These remarks were made on the way home from the meet, when in a seat together, Amy Lou half asleep on their laps, they discussed what Lucia had said.

“Of course you will not repeat to any of the girls Lucia’s reference to the countess and her being ‘upset’ about some of her affairs. It is important to your father that nothing we do is a mistake in reference to that family. We have made no mistake in waiting for them to take the initiative. It was a little odd for Lucia to be so frank, but she has her worries, too, no doubt, and felt that she could trust you as a confidante.”

“She can,” replied Betty. “I wonder what sort of a party it will be? All the sorority will be there, of course, and probably ever so many girls that I do not know. Lucia has some friends in the private schools, but she likes Lyon High now and wouldn’t leave it for any other school. You should have heard her tell me about how some of the girls tried to get her away. ‘No, no, no,’ she said, in that rapid Italian way she has, ‘I like this big school and everything they do. I’ve been in a private school. I shall have my high school diploma to show my father!’ I imagine the count, then, doesn’t object so much to Lucia’s going to school over here.”

“His troubles are in another line, I presume.”

“Well, whatever their troubles are, I’m glad Lucia came. She’s very interesting.” So declared Betty.