The week of the wedding arrived. It proved a feverish time for them all. The days flew swiftly. The two preceding weeks had been a mad rush, so they all thought, and they now decided that these last days fittingly capped the climax. For the girls, this last week brought the important-but up to now, neglected-event of school opening strongly to their attention. It was to take place three days after the wedding. There was need to plan and prepare for that as well.

It was Mary Lee who found time to be of help to everyone. The excitement left her untouched. There were things she also had to plan and do, yet she proved a blessing to the harrassed and distracted bride who preferred her help to that of anyone else. The girl also was able to help Mrs. Cameron whose responsibilities as matron and hostess were great. Ruth, too, usually independent, welcomed her help. As for Letty, full of the excitement of these days, it required all of Mary Lee's strength of mind to counteract the desire of the former to stay up night after night to discuss the coming events. Mary Lee was the necessary balance for such a nature as Letty's.

With all this, Mary Lee set to work to carry out certain other plans that had nothing to do with either of the two important events. And, strangely, too, she was able to enlist the services of Dr. Anderson at this time.

That poor man, with each day's nearer approach to the event found himself of less and less importance. There was little opportunity to see his fiancee who was enmeshed in numberless engagements with dressmakers and, so it seemed to him, with everybody in town but himself.

Mary Lee found him in this frame of mind on the morning she called at his office, only three days before the wedding. She had been surprised to find that he would be glad to see her at any time, when she called him on the telephone.

"I didn't dare expect that I could see you so soon," she apologized after greetings had been exchanged. "All I could do was to hope for it."

The doctor, however, gave no sign of being very busy. On the contrary, he seemed to indicate that he had prepared for a long and pleasant visit with her.

"I haven't a thing to do," he remarked. "I turned over my practice for the next two months to Dr. Stewart on the presumption that I could be fairly useful to her and because, so I thought, of the opportunities I would have to see her. Then, too, I had a large number of things that required attention.

"And," he added with a wry face, "I have found plenty of time to attend to the things that required attention, for, lo and behold, I find her without any time for me and the kind of help I can give her, she doesn't need. So you see, Mary Lee, I have lots of time on my hands and am glad of the chance to see any friends who have time for me."

"Dr. Anderson," the girl came directly to the subject nearest her heart, "I wondered if you would not know someone who perhaps would be in need of the services of a girl like myself for after school hours."

The doctor whistled in amazement.

"Honestly, young lady, you are a creature of surprises. What made you think of that, when there are so many of your friends who would make you more than welcome?"

"I know they would," the girl replied, "but I shall never feel content to live on their bounty and I shall only be happy when I am as independent as is possible."

"You are right, Mary Lee," he agreed in hearty approval. "It is the only normal thing to do. Well," and he paused in deep thought. He knew that Mary Lee would be mortified if he should suggest that he employ her, for that would make it seem as if she were bidding for a position in his office in an indirect way. He knew her well enough to be quite certain that it would be best to place her elsewhere.

"I shall see some of my friends who are likely to need an able assistant part time. Of course, with the training you desire you naturally would prefer a doctor's office."

Mary Lee nodded in assent. After a few inquiries as to the hours the girl would be able to give to the new duties and a friendly warning, which the doctor decided was almost unnecessary as to the demands of employers, the subject was changed and the conversation changed to Aunt Madge. The girl tried hard to give the doctor an idea of how busy his fiancee was, the many things that needed attention and the tremendous amount of preparations necessary for it. Even though he had but a small conception of it all, she felt that she had made him understand a little more closely.

At the end of a half hour, she departed after thanking him warmly for his interest.

The doctor was prompt in making inquiries. One of his friends, Dr. Payson, could use Mary Lee's services after school hours and Saturday mornings. But he would also need her at ten o'clock for one hour on two mornings of each week.

Dr. Anderson immediately called her up with the good news.

"Of course, it does not pay much, but Payson will probably find you useful and give you every opportunity to learn. It will be good experience and of great help to you later, when you enter training school. The money it pays is as much as three dollars every week," the doctor added laughingly and apologetically.

But if that sum did not seem big to him, it did to Mary Lee and she told him so. It had been more than she had expected. The only hitch was the question of being free at ten on two school mornings.

She consulted Letty in reference to this and received the welcome assurance from her that study hours were often arranged so that free time could be obtained.

She called on Dr. Payson with Dr. Anderson. He proved to be a kindly, middle aged man and from all appearances seemed satisfied as to her possible usefulness to him. Mary Lee did not know that Dr. Anderson had given a full account of her sense of responsibility and likable qualities and that it was his enthusiastic recommendation that had persuaded his friend to try Mary Lee instead of employing an older assistant for full time.

"Well, Mary," he started to say, but Dr. Anderson interrupted him.

"Not Mary, Payson, not Mary. This young lady's name is Mary Lee. Be sure to remember the Lee. We sometimes think that her mother did not name her Lee after a loyal Indian, as she would have us believe, but because she wanted her little girl's name to sound as if it were Mer-ri-ly. That name fits her."

As Mary Lee blushed, Dr. Payson remarked laughingly, "I am sure I shall find her very pleasant and agreeable. I shall also be sure to remember that it is Mary Lee I am to call her, in the future."