A week later "The Merry Hearts" were in Betty's room, celebrating Rachel's election to the class presidency. They had taken Mary's advice and decided to let senior year shift for itself. Mary had sent word that she couldn't get around until late in the evening. Her own sketch department in the "Argus" was made up, but the literary editor still needed a "semi-heavy" (which is the Harding editors' slang for a light essay); and, in return for many similar favors, Mary had joined her in a house-to-house canvas for an available argumentative or a Carlyle paper. It was nine o'clock when she arrived at the presidential spread.