New Horizons Read Online Free Page B

of those big chairs in our room, don’t you think?”
    â€œYes, I believe so,” her mother replied.
    Mrs. Hamilton bought the painting for Celia, and they took it with them. Mrs. Taft promised the artist that Mandie would be back in two weeks to pick up the cat painting.
    Mr. Donovan saw the ladies coming out of the shop with the painting, and he hurried to take it from Mrs. Taft to carry it to the carriage for them. The ladies looked through a few more shops, and then Mrs. Taft decided it was time to go back to the hotel and get ready for the evening meal.
    â€œTime certainly does fly,” Mrs. Taft remarked as they stood on the road by Mr. Donovan’s carriage. Turning to the driver, she asked, “Are you quite sure that you will not sell me your carriage, Mr. Donovan?”
    â€œI regret, madam, that I cannot part with it,” Mr. Donovan told her.
    â€œThen I suppose we must stay over a day or two longer, Jane, and go down to the carriage factory and buy one,” Mrs. Taft said to Mrs. Hamilton.
    â€œIf that’s what you really wish to do,” Mrs. Hamilton replied.
    Mrs. Taft turned to the girls and said, “You girls only have toreport for assignments tomorrow morning and will be free in the afternoon, so we will go then and see what the carriage factory has to offer. Mrs. Hamilton and I will stay as long as necessary to get this problem solved.”
    Mandie had been hoping her grandmother would go home the next day so she and Celia could be on their own and do whatever they wished. But she knew her grandmother would never leave until she had the carriage problem solved, so she might as well go along with everything and not protest. “Yes, Grandmother,” Mandie replied.
    Everyone boarded the carriage and went back to the hotel.
    Mandie and Celia quickly looked around the lobby as they walked through the big doors. There seemed to be dozens of girls and their families or friends who must have come from the college.
    â€œMore people came in while we were gone,” Mandie remarked.
    â€œLook!” Celia pointed. “I do believe that is April Snow talking to someone over there in the corner.”
    Mandie looked and said, “So she finally got here. But I still haven’t seen Polly Cornwallis yet.”
    â€œMaybe she didn’t come down here after all and went to some other college,” Celia wished aloud.
    â€œI hope so,” Mandie said, as she and Celia continued to the elevator behind Mrs. Taft and Mrs. Hamilton. “Having April Snow around here will be exciting enough. I’m anxious to see if she will become friends with any of the girls who have been rude to me,” Mandie said as they came to the elevator.
    â€œWe must get changed in a hurry because there seems to be a dining room full of people already,” Mrs. Taft told the girls as they went up in the elevator.
    Mandie didn’t like elevators. They made her stomach “turn over,” she claimed, and she wished she could have gone up the stairs, but their rooms were on the third floor and there was no way she could persuade her grandmother to let her go alone.
    Once inside their room, as they changed into fresh dresses for the evening, Mandie talked in a low voice so her grandmother could not hear in the next room. “I don’t know what we are going to do with our very own carriage. It’s going to turn out to be a nuisance, I think.”
    â€œI agree. I suppose we could just park it somewhere and forget about it,” Celia suggested. “I’d much prefer walking, if our destination is not too far.”
    â€œI was thinking the same thing,” Mandie replied. She turned and grinned at her friend and added, “We’ll just find out where we can leave it as soon as Grandmother leaves.”
    They both giggled and Celia said, “I really feel guilty, since your grandmother will have spent so much time and money getting a carriage for