The friends in whose care she had travelled from Phoenix had expected to spend several days in Washington, sight-seeing, and she was to have been their guest until the opening of school.

But a telegram met them calling them immediately to Boston.

She couldn't stay alone at a strange hotel, she knew no one in the entire city, and there was no course open to her but to come on to school.
It was easy enough for her to see why she might not be welcome.

There was a vigorous washing of windows going on over the whole establishment, a sound of carpenters in the background and a smell of fresh paint and furniture polish to the fore.

Everything was out of its usual orbit in the process of getting ready for the opening day.
Lying awake the night before in the upper berth of the hot Pullman car, Mary had carefully planned her little speech of explanation, and had rehearsed it a dozen times since.