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diff --git a/44041-0.txt b/44041-0.txt index 9b7fb21..b32c7c0 100644 --- a/44041-0.txt +++ b/44041-0.txt @@ -1,34 +1,4 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Mystery of Arnold Hall, by Helen M. Persons - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Mystery of Arnold Hall - -Author: Helen M. Persons - -Release Date: October 26, 2013 [EBook #44041] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY OF ARNOLD HALL *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44041 *** _Rhoda helped them to scramble up the rough stones, slippery with moss._ @@ -7134,361 +7104,4 @@ reached Arnold Hall, “I must go in and tell the girls the joyful news.” End of Project Gutenberg's The Mystery of Arnold Hall, by Helen M. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Mystery of Arnold Hall - -Author: Helen M. Persons - -Release Date: October 26, 2013 [EBook #44041] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: iso-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY OF ARNOLD HALL *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -_Rhoda helped them to scramble up the rough stones, slippery with moss._ - - - - - THE MYSTERY OF - ARNOLD HALL - - - By HELEN M. PERSONS - - - Author _of_ - "Finding the Lost Treasure," etc. - - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Akron, Ohio New York - - - Copyright, MCMXXXIV - The Saalfield Publishing Company - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - I Pat's Chance 5 - II Anne 16 - III "Hill Top" 27 - IV The Alley Gang 37 - V Moss 48 - VI A Meddler 59 - VII A Fall 71 - VIII Jack or Tut? 84 - IX A Tough Proposition 95 - X Jack in Danger 103 - XI Aunt Betsy to the Rescue 115 - XII On Duty 123 - XIII A Fire 131 - XIV An Investigation 139 - XV Under Arrest 149 - XVI A Picnic 159 - XVII A Robbery 177 - XVIII A Week End 188 - XIX A Weird Experience 200 - XX The Reward 214 - XXI Pat's Sacrifice 222 - XXII Clarice 235 - XXIII Solutions 242 - - - - - THE MYSTERY OF - ARNOLD HALL - - - - - CHAPTER I - PAT'S CHANCE - - -"Will you go, Patricia?" called Mrs. Randall from the living room, one -cool evening late in August, as the doorbell rang imperatively. "I'm -starting a fire in the grate." - -From the dining room across the hall, where she had been putting away the -last of the supper dishes, hurried a tall slender girl, whose short wavy -yellow hair and big brown eyes were set off to perfection by a green -jersey dress. Expecting to see one of the neighbors when the door was -opened, she was startled into an involuntary gasp as a messenger thrust -forward a special delivery letter, inquiring curtly--"Miss Patricia -Randall?" - -"Y--es." - -"Sign here." - -Patricia signed his book, closed the door, and walked slowly into the -living room staring down at the unexpected missive in her hand. - -"What is it, Pat?" inquired her mother, glancing up from the hearth rug -where she knelt trying to coax a blaze from a bed of charcoal and paper. - -"A special delivery letter--for me." - -"For you?" repeated Mrs. Randall in surprise. "From whom?" - -"I don't know," replied her daughter, frowning in a puzzled fashion. - -"Well, open it and find out. Don't stand staring at it like that," urged -her mother briskly. - -Patricia sank into a low tapestry chair beside the fireplace and tore -open the envelope. As she drew out the single sheet it contained, a slip -dropped from it onto her lap. Still holding the folded letter she picked -up the slip and exclaimed: - -"A cashier's check for a _thousand dollars_!" - -"Pat!" cried Mrs. Randall, reaching for the yellow paper to read it for -herself. "Look at the letter, quick, and see who sent it!" - -"It's only a line. 'For Patricia Randall to spend on a year at Granard -College.' Oh--why--Mums!" - -Patricia flung herself on her mother so suddenly that Mrs. Randall lost -her balance, and the two fell in a heap on the rug. - -"Mary! Patricia!" ejaculated a horrified masculine voice from the -doorway. "What in the world--" - -"Oh, Dad!" cried the girl, springing up and giving a helping hand to her -mother. With scarcely more effort than that of her daughter Mrs. Randall -regained her feet, and they stood facing Mr. Randall's astonished gaze. - -"Just look at this!" Patricia thrust the magic papers into his hand. -"Isn't it marvelous?" - -Mr. Randall read the brief message, turned the check over and over as if -to discover its sender by inspecting it from all sides, and then looked -inquiringly at his wife and daughter. - -"Is this a joke of some kind?" - -"Joke!" retorted Patricia in disgust. "I should say not! A messenger just -brought it, special delivery." - -"Strange, very strange," commented her father, shaking his head. "Do you -know anything about it, Mary?" addressing his wife, with a suspicious -look. - -"I most certainly do not. Do you?" - -"You ought to know that I don't. Where would I get that much money? -Didn't we send Pat here to Brentwood College last year because we -couldn't afford to send her away?" - -"Keep your shirt on, Dad!" laughed Patricia. "Keep your shirt on, and say -I may go." - -"I--I don't know what to say," replied the puzzled man, sinking heavily -into his favorite chair, and pulling his pipe out of his pocket. - -"Do you suppose," began Patricia, perching on the arm of her father's -chair, "that Aunt Betsy could have gotten big-hearted and sent it?" - -"Pat!" cried her mother derisively. "Of course not. She has all she can -do to keep Ted in college." - -"Be rather nice for me, having Ted at Granard," mused Patricia, recalling -her cousin's beguiling ways and good looks. - -"And having Aunt Betsy there to keep an eye on both of you," added her -mother. - -"Some eye! She'll probably never know I'm there," laughed Patricia. -"Darling Ted takes up all of her time and attention." - -"You two women," remarked Mr. Randall peevishly, "seem to have this -affair all settled." - -"Well, you see, darling, we felt quite sure you would let me go," laughed -Patricia, ruffling up his hair. "You're going to, aren't you?" bending -down to look pleadingly into his eyes. "You know I've longed to go out of -town to college where I could live in a dorm. Not that I don't like -living at home, but--" - -"We understand," interrupted her mother; "you need not be apologetic." - -"I wish we knew who sent the money, though," said Patricia, frowning -earnestly. "It must be somebody who knows all about us, but I can't think -of a soul who could or would do it." - -"I shall investigate, of course," began her father, after some thought; -"but if nothing can be found out about the donor of this wonderful gift, -it seems to me that since the money has been sent to you for a special -purpose, and sent in such a manner, the only course open to us is to use -it as stipulated, and not make any further effort to discover its -sender." - -"Oh, but, Dad! It's so tantalizing," wailed his daughter. - -"I know; but, Patricia, when you have a secret, you don't like to have -anyone try to guess it, do you?" - -"N--o." - -"This is the same thing. Just do your best to be worthy of such a -generous gift and wait for its sender to reveal himself when he chooses." - -"Your father is quite right, Pat," agreed Mrs. Randall; "and I'd like to -add one more suggestion: that you do not discuss the matter with anyone -else but us. It's romantic, and your inclination will be to let your new -companions in on the secret, but I think you will be wise if you keep it -to yourself; unless, of course, some unusual circumstance arises." - -Patricia thought soberly for a few minutes, then said with a sigh, "I -suppose you're right, Mother." - -"Do you think you'll have any trouble transferring your credits and -getting into the Sophomore class?" asked her father presently, after -another long pause, while each was busy with his own thoughts. - -"I don't think so. I'll go to see the Dean the first thing tomorrow -morning, and I'll have to write for a room--" - -"And we'll have to shop and sew," added Mrs. Randall, almost as eagerly -as her daughter. - - -After Pat had gone to bed to lie awake anticipating all kinds of unknown -adventures, Mr. and Mrs. Randall had a long serious talk over the dying -fire. - -"Then you feel satisfied to let her go?" inquired Mrs. Randall anxiously -as they finally rose to go upstairs. - -"I don't see how we can do any different. And who knows what this -opportunity may mean to Pat?" - -"If I could only be sure that everything was all right, and that no harm -would come to the child," sighed Mrs. Randall, running her fingers -through her hair, a habit when troubled over anything. - -"Now, Mary, what harm could come to her? She'll be living with lots of -other students under the direct supervision of the house chaperon and the -Dean; and Betsy is right near the college. But of course if you don't -want her to go--" - -"Oh, I _do_--at least I haven't the heart to deprive her of the -fulfillment of one of her dreams." - -Mr. Randall locked the front door, put out the lights, and followed his -wife up the long stairway. At the door of their room Mrs. Randall paused, -grasped his arm and whispered cautiously, with an eye on Pat's door, "I'm -willing to give Pats her chance, but, just the same, John Randall, I wish -she were going back to Brentwood. I have a presentiment that--" - -"Oh, you and your presentiments!" ejaculated Mr. Randall, pushing her -gently but firmly ahead of him into their room. "Nonsense!" - - -The weeks that followed were very exciting ones for Patricia. Her days -were filled to the brim with shopping, sewing, making last calls on old -friends, and finally, packing. So many evenings were taken up with -farewell parties that Mr. Randall complained that he never saw his -daughter any more; that, as far as her parents were concerned, she might -as well have gone to college the night she received the money. - -"But, dear," remonstrated his wife soothingly, "all her friends want to -entertain for her, and she can't very well refuse any of their -invitations." - -"Where is she tonight?" grumbled Mr. Randall. - -"Carolyn is giving a dinner dance at the Club. Poor Carolyn! She's quite -disturbed over having Pat go away. They have been such pals ever since -they were little." - -"Pat might ask Carolyn down for a week end some time this year. She and -her mother have been more than good to our girl. Besides, I don't want -Pat to be so taken up with the new life and new friends that she will -cast aside all her old ties." - -"I don't think she will, John. Of course just at first her whole mind -will be on Granard, but after the novelty wears off--" - -"I've been thinking," interrupted her husband, who evidently had his mind -on something else, "that it would be nice for Pats to have a little -car--" - -"John! How 'galumptious' as Pat says. Could we manage it?" - -"I think so. We'll have the money we expected to spend on her year at -Brentwood, and Everet Schuyler has a coach he's very anxious to sell. If -I can drive any kind of a bargain with him, I think I'll do it. Of course -don't say anything to Pat. I thought we might drive down some week end, -and surprise her with it; and then come back on the train." - -"How did you ever happen to think of such a thing?" inquired Mrs. -Randall, knitting very fast on the green sweater she was making for her -daughter. - -"Oh, I haven't been blind to the fact that more than half of the college -girls here have some kind of a car, and I often wished I could get Pat -one. Never been able to, before, but now I guess we can swing it. It will -be a saving, too; for she can drive back and forth whenever she has a -vacation, and save carfare. And maybe, once in a while, she could come -home for a week end?" he added, hopefully. - -"Perhaps," Mrs. Randall smiled and leaned forward to pat his arm. - -"Let's go down to Schuyler's now and look at the bus," proposed Mr. -Randall ten minutes later. - -"All right," agreed his wife, laying aside her work and getting briskly -out of her easy chair. - - -If Patricia had not been so absorbed in her own affairs she would -certainly have wondered the next day what ailed her parents; for there -was such an air of suppressed excitement about them that vented itself in -significant glances and knowing smiles. The thrill of buying her ticket, -however, made Patricia oblivious to all else. - -"Why don't you take a sleeper," asked her mother, "and get a good rest on -the way down? You've been up so late every night." - -"Nothing doing!" retorted Patricia decidedly. "When I travel I want my -eyes wide open so I won't miss a single thing." - -Her positive decision recurred to her three days later as she snuggled -deep into her comfortable chair, with a sigh of satisfaction, a sigh -which was unceremoniously cut short by a very big yawn. The farewells at -the station had been exciting and gratifying, but yet something of a -strain. Almost all of her crowd had assembled to see her off, bearing -gifts of candy, fruit, books, and magazines; her mother had clung to her -till the very last minute, and her father had fussed about time tables, -porters, tips, and a dozen other things. It had seemed as if she were -being torn into a dozen pieces trying to pay attention to everybody. Now -the train was bearing her rapidly away from Dad and Mother and all the -dear old friends toward a new life at Granard. - -"Perhaps I'd have been wiser to have followed Mother's suggestion about -the sleeper," she thought, as she tried to stifle another great yawn. -"Maybe if I take a little nap now, I'll feel fresh for the rest of the -day." - -Turning her chair toward the window, and leaning back, her hands on the -broad arms, she was almost immediately floating in a delicious sea of -semi-unconsciousness which became deeper and deeper until she was -completely lost to the world about her. After a while, however, a most -persistent dream began to disturb her peaceful sleep, a dream about a -soft grey kitten whose silky fur she kept stroking, stroking until her -hand was tired; but yet she could not stop. After a time she began to -realize that she was dreaming, and made a desperate effort to free -herself from the world of sleep by closing her fingers sharply on the -little animal's neck and giving it a shove. - -Then with a sudden start at some movement close to her she sat bolt -upright and opened her eyes just in time to see a pair of long legs, the -ankles clad in grey silk socks, hastily removing themselves from the -ledge beside her chair. - -"Good Heavens!" she thought, horror-stricken. "I do hope _those_ weren't -the kitten!" - - - - - CHAPTER II - ANNE - - -Swinging her chair sharply about to face the aisle, she met the amused -gaze of a red-haired girl of about her own age. - -"Tell me," begged Patricia impulsively, leaning forward, "was I--doing -anything--unusual while I was asleep?" - -"I'll say you were," responded the girl, smiling broadly. - -"What?" - -"You--you were--stroking the ankles of that young man back of you as if -your life depended on it," choked the stranger. - -"No!" cried Patricia, in great distress. - -"Yes! Then suddenly you pinched the poor fellow, and I thought I'd just -_die_!" - -At that moment the man in question rose and hurried down the aisle toward -the smoker. With crimson face, Patricia watched the slight boyish figure, -with its crown of smooth yellow hair, disappear before she again -addressed her neighbor. - -"I'm embarrassed to death! What _must_ he think of me? I can't apologize -for something I didn't know I was doing; and if I try to explain, it will -look as if we were trying to scrape up an acquaintance. What would you -do?" - -"I'd just let it go, and try to forget it," advised the other girl, -raising up in her chair to lower the shade a little; for the sun was -shining full upon her. - -"Do you suppose the rest of these people saw me?" persisted Patricia, -glancing anxiously around the car. - -There were not many other passengers; an old lady, apparently absorbed in -a weighty-looking volume; a couple of middle-aged men, with their heads -close together, evidently discussing some important question; a young -mother, absorbed in the baby in her arms; and a scared-looking, awkward -girl, who gazed moodily out of the window, occasionally munching a -chocolate from a box in her lap. - -"I don't think so," replied the red-haired girl, settling herself anew in -her chair, and smoothing out the skirt of her dark green suit. "I -probably shouldn't have, if I hadn't been watching you." - -"Watching me?" repeated Patricia, opening her brown eyes very wide in -surprise. - -"Yes; and wondering if by any chance you were going to Granard College." - -"I am, but what in the world made you think so?" - -"Oh, you looked like a college girl, some way, and then being on this -train, which, this time of year, is a favorite one for the Granard -students. Don't know where they all are today, though. Are you just -entering?" - -"Yes, and no," laughed Patricia. "I did my Freshman work at Brentwood; so -I'm entering the Soph class here." - -"Congratulations! Welcome to the class of 19--. I'm one of your -classmates-to-be. Anne Ford, at your service." - -"My name is Patricia Randall, and I'm very glad to get acquainted with -some one before I get to Granard. I confess I have stage fright at the -prospect of meeting so many strangers." - -"Don't let that bother you. The girls are easy to get on with, and you'll -soon feel as if you'd always been at Granard," said Anne carelessly. - -Patricia realized, however, that it would not be quite so simple to break -into a class whose cliques and customs had had a whole year's start -before she came on the scene. - -"How did you happen to choose Granard?" inquired Anne curiously. "Do you -know anyone there?" - -"My cousin," replied Patricia, breathing a prayer of thanks for the -second question which enabled her to disregard the first. "Ted Carter; do -you know him?" - -"Ted Carter! I should say I do!" exclaimed Anne, adding, quickly and -somewhat possessively, "Ted's my best boy friend." - -"How nice!" commented Patricia so heartily that all the suspicions which -had arisen in Anne's mind as to possible claims on the fascinating Teddy -were promptly allayed. - -"Come on over here," suggested Anne, turning a vacant chair to face her; -"and we'll have a cozy chat." - -Patricia gladly accepted the invitation, and as she settled herself with -one foot tucked under her, a habit whenever she wished to be especially -comfortable, Anne asked: - -"Do you know yet where you're to room?" - -"Yes; Arnold Hall." - -"You _are_?" exclaimed Anne, gazing at Patricia in astonishment. "You -certainly must have some pull." - -"Why?" inquired Patricia, in a puzzled tone. - -"Because Arnold Hall's the best dorm at Granard, and there's always a -waiting list for it. You're a lucky girl to be able to break right into -it. My reservation was made while I was still in high school." - -"Oh, then you live there? I'm _so_ glad!" There was no mistaking the note -of gratification in Patricia's tone, nor the admiring gaze of her brown -eyes which rested somewhat shyly upon her new acquaintance. - -Anne smiled in the manner of one who is so accustomed to being popular -that it has long ceased to be exciting. There was something unusual about -this new girl, evidently, or old Hattersley would never have let her get -into Arnold Hall. It evidently wasn't money; for though Patricia's -clothes were in good taste, they were not expensive. She had no friends -there, except her cousin. Perhaps it was scholarship, or some powerful -influence from Brentwood or high school. - -Patricia, meanwhile, was wondering what Anne would say if she were to -tell her that when Dad had written for a room for Patricia, the -registrar, somebody by the name of Hattersley, had promptly replied that -one had already been reserved for her in Arnold Hall. They had speculated -on the strange fact for days, and had been forced to leave the mystery -unsolved, just as they had the arrival of the check. - -"Do you know Aunt Betsy?" inquired Patricia, presently. - -"Not personally," replied Anne, smiling broadly; "but I've heard of her." - -"I'll warrant you have," giggled Patricia. "She's as good as gold, but -most awfully funny. You never know what she's going to say or do next. We -say she has only three interests: Ted, and Ted, and Ted. They used to -live near us in Brentwood, but when my cousin won a scholarship at -Granard, she rented her house and took an apartment down here so she -could give Ted all the comforts of home during his course. She meant -well, of course; but I feel sort of sorry for Ted. I fancy he'd rather be -a bit freer. One night during his Freshman year he stayed out to dinner -and for the evening without telling her; so she ran all over the campus -looking for him, quite sure that the terrible Sophs had imprisoned him -somewhere." - -"I have heard that story," laughed Anne. "He was at the Zeta Omega -House--that's right next to Arnold Hall." - -"When Aunt Betsy heard that I was coming down, she wrote Dad that she -could take me in just as well as not, and that I'd be far more -comfortable with her than in any dorm--" - -"But you preferred to be less comfortable," interrupted Anne. - -"I certainly did. I've wanted to live in a dorm ever since I knew what -college was. Tell me something about Granard so I won't be quite so -ignorant." - -Anne began to talk animatedly of college affairs, and Patricia's eyes got -bigger and bigger and her cheeks redder and redder as she became more and -more interested. Neither of the girls noticed that the blond youth had -returned to his chair and was watching them intently. - -"My goodness!" exclaimed Anne, glancing out of the window a couple of -hours later, as the train began to slow down. "I didn't realize that we -were nearly in. We change to the bus here at Plainville. Come on! They -make only a two-minute stop here." - -Grabbing their bags, the two girls hurried out of the train onto a long -platform splashed with big drops of rain. At the end farthest from the -train a bus was waiting for passengers; and just as they reached it, the -rain, now driven by a brisk wind, began to fall in torrents. Laughing and -breathless, they scrambled up the steps of the bus and sank into seats -near the door. - -"Here comes a friend of yours," remarked Anne, peering out of the doorway -at other travelers, scurrying across the glistening platform. - -Thinking that perhaps Ted had come that far to meet her, Patricia leaned -forward just as the young man with the light hair bounded up the steps -and collided sharply with her outstretched head. - -"Oh, say--I'm awfully sorry," he cried, flushing brilliantly. "I hope I -didn't hurt you." - -"Not in the least!" lied Patricia curtly, trying desperately to fight -back tears. Ever since she could remember, any sudden blow or fall had -made her cry, whether she was really badly hurt or not. It was a most -embarrassing habit, now that she was grown up. As she elaborately -straightened her little brown hat which was over one ear, and tried to -recover her poise, the youth passed on to the other end of the bus. - -"Wonder when and where your next encounter will be," observed Anne, as -the driver closed the doors and started the big bus. "Three times--you -know." - -"Never, I hope," replied Patricia emphatically, little dreaming what the -future held in store for her. "Does this bus take us right to college?" - -"No, only to the foot of the hill about one-half mile from the campus. -We'll be there in an hour." - -"Have you a room mate?" inquired Patricia, a few minutes later. - -"No, I have one of the three singles on the first floor. Where are you to -be?" - -"I don't know, but I hope that it will be near you, and that I'll have a -room mate." - -"Why?" asked Anne, idly tracing designs on the steamed window beside her. - -"Because I've always wanted one. It's a bit lonesome, being an only -child." - -"Sometimes you'd wish you were," laughed Anne, "if your sister tried to -boss you as mine frequently does. Joan and I are usually pretty good -friends, but once in so often we have a flare-up." - -"Oh, I hope I'll be able to get along peaceably with a room mate, if I -have one," said Patricia earnestly. "Maybe I wouldn't though. I guess I -must be pretty well spoiled." - -"Don't look so worried!" ordered Anne. "And, by the way, don't take to -heart everything the girls may say. Living all together, as we do, we are -pretty frank at times, but everybody takes it in good part." - -When the bus stopped, it was still raining, and the two girls ran hastily -across the muddy road to a small rustic shelter. - -"Well!" said Anne, shaking her wet umbrella. "Evidently none of the girls -have come down to meet the bus. Don't blame 'em much on such a 'nausty' -day. So we'll have to climb the hill by ourselves and take our own bags." - -"Bags!" exclaimed Patricia, clutching Anne's arm, as she opened her green -umbrella preparatory to starting up the hill. - -"Yes, bags; what about them?" - -"I--I haven't mine! I must have left it on the bus." - -"Good night!" ejaculated Anne forcefully. - -"What shall I do?" - -"You can't do a thing but wait and see if the driver finds it, and brings -it back on his next trip. Is your name on it?" - -"Yes." - -Anne closed her umbrella again, set her own bag in a corner, and loosened -her jacket. "Might as well sit down, I suppose," she commented, leading -the way to a bench across the back of the shelter. "There won't be -another bus for an hour." - -"Oh, but you needn't stay," offered Patricia heroically. "I can wait -alone." - -"Yes, if I'll let you; but I won't," replied Anne, pushing back some -little red curls which had escaped from under the brim of her smart green -hat. - -"It's mighty good of you," said Patricia gratefully; for she had hated to -think of staying here all alone for a full hour. - -"I never desert a friend in distress." - -"'A friend in need,'" quoted Patricia. - -"Speaking of friends," interrupted Anne, "what became of the blond youth? -I didn't see him get off the bus; did you?" - -"No, but he might have just the same. I was too excited over my bag to -think of anything else." - -"He may have gone on to Mendon, but I doubt it. I've never seen him -before, but he looked to me like a college fellow." - -"Just as I did," began Patricia. - -"You never looked like a college fellow in your life!" retorted Anne, -laughing. - -"Well, I mean," said Patricia, flushing. - -"I understand what you mean; but, just the same, I am curious to know -what became of the boy." - -The time passed more quickly than they thought it would, and both were -surprised when a grey bus loomed up in the distance. As soon as it came -to a stop, Patricia ran out in the rain to question the driver. - -"Did you find a bag?" she demanded eagerly. - -The fat, good-natured driver wrinkled up his forehead thoughtfully and -then nodded. - -"It's mine," she declared, with relief. "Please give it to me." - -"Sorry, Miss; but I can't." - -"Why not?" inquired Patricia, a bit impatiently. - -"Because it's back at the station. I didn't know whose it was, and we -have to turn everything in. Then it has to be identified by its owner." - -At this point Anne, who had been the center of a group of girls who had -gotten off of the bus, left her friends and came to Patricia's rescue. - -"Mike," she said, smiling sweetly up at the big driver, "couldn't you -bring Miss Randall's bag down on your next trip? We don't want to go all -the way back to town now." - - - - - CHAPTER III - "HILL TOP" - - -"I guess perhaps I can manage it, Miss Ford; since it's you who asks it," -replied the man, smiling admiringly down at the pretty face upturned to -his. - -"Thanks, a heap! We'll be waiting right here for it. Now," turning to -Patricia and leading her over to the three girls she had just left, "I -want you to meet some of my friends. They're all Arnold Hall girls. This -is Lucile Evans," stopping in front of a slight, pale-faced girl whose -red lips protruded in a pout, which, Patricia later learned, was -perpetual. Without a change of expression, she bowed rather indifferently -at Patricia. - -"I'm Jane Temple," announced the second girl, advancing cordially as if -to make up for Lucile's rudeness. - -As Patricia took Jane's hand and looked into a pair of honest grey eyes, -and at the good-humored smiling lips, she felt that here was a girl to -whom one could always tie in any emergency. - -"The last of this trio is Hazel Leland," continued Anne; "our beauty." - -"Now, Anne, don't embarrass me," protested the girl, smiling gayly at -Patricia. - -She _was_ a beauty; big, starry grey eyes; lovely, light brown hair which -curled all over her head in little rings, like a baby's; and a figure as -slight and lithe as a boy's. - -"The newcomer in our midst," concluded Anne, putting her arm around -Patricia, "is Patricia Randall, formerly of Brentwood, now a member of -the illustrious Sophomore class of Granard; and, what's more, an inmate -of Arnold Hall." - -"Good for you!" ejaculated Hazel, patting Patricia on the back, while the -other two girls shot surprised, inquiring glances at Anne, who pretended -not to see them. - -"Why don't we go on up?" drawled Lucile, opening her mouth for the first -time. - -"Going to wait for Patricia's bag," replied Anne quickly. - -"Oh," was Lucile's brief response; but some way there was an unpleasant -note in it, which made Patricia flush uncomfortably. - -"There's no need of my detaining you all," she said. "I can wait by -myself." - -"Now, darling," protested Anne, "we'd never be so unhospitable to a new -member of our household as that. You needn't wait if you prefer not to, -Lu." - -Without another word, Lucile picked up her bag and started haughtily up -the steep hill. - -"What's the matter with her?" asked Anne, watching the blue-coated figure -ascending the slope as rapidly as possible. - -"Don't know," replied Jane. "She's been out of sorts all day." - -"Oh, she met some youth last night who was coming down here on the two -o'clock bus today," said Hazel quickly; "and when he didn't, show up, Lu -got peeved." - -"She usually isn't sufficiently interested in men to care whether or not -one breaks a date," said Jane. - -"My dear," replied Hazel, "she probably wants something of him. Lu's the -limit," she continued, turning to Patricia, "for getting just what she -wants without lifting a finger. Everybody waits on her, and she sits back -and accepts service like a queen." - -"You mustn't give Lu a bad reputation," said Jane reprovingly. "She's not -a bad kid when you get to know her." - -"No, not bad," agreed Hazel, "but--as selfish as they're made." - -"Look!" cried Anne, pointing excitedly to the top of the hill. - -There against the green background stood the blue-coated object of their -discussion, and a grey-clad masculine figure with yellow hair. - -"The boy friend at last!" exclaimed Hazel. "He must have been waiting for -her at 'Hill Top.'" - -"Well, I only hope that he treats her to something real sweet," laughed -Jane. "'Hill Top,'" she added, addressing herself to Patricia who was -gazing apprehensively at the couple, "is a little tea room up there." - -The youth was the young man who was the object of her caresses on the -train, and Patricia flushed hotly to think what a story he'd have to tell -Lucile if he chose, and what fun they'd all make of her. She glanced at -Anne, but that young lady displayed no signs of ever having seen the man -before. - -"Let's go up and have a soda, or something," proposed Hazel, looking at -her watch. "Plenty of time before Mike gets back. Our stuff will be all -right in the corner over there." - -Patricia opened her mouth to refuse, although she _was_ hungry; but when -the other girls hailed the suggestion with glee, she closed it again -without voicing her objections, and followed them silently up the hill. -Almost on the edge perched a small grey house with lavender shutters, and -on its long, screened porch stood a grey, weather-beaten spinning wheel -and a lavender table. - -"Let's eat out here," proposed Anne, leading the way to the end of the -porch. - -Patricia could have hugged her; for she didn't want to go in and meet her -fellow traveler. He might even think she was following him up. - -"O. K.," agreed Hazel, slipping into a chair. "You go in and get a -waitress, Nanny. I'm starved." - -"So am I," replied Anne. "There was no diner on the train, and all -Patricia and I had was some sweet chocolate." - -"I'm not so hungry--" began Jane. - -"_You_ are not hungry! Did I hear aright?" asked Hazel. "That girl can -always eat," she added, to Patricia. - -"Well, you see I got pretty well fed up at home during the summer, but -just wait until I've been here a couple of weeks, and I'll get back to my -old habits." - -"The meals at Horton Hall are the limit," said Hazel, "as you'll find to -your sorrow, Patricia. We spend all our spare change, and some we can't -well spare, at the various tea rooms around College Hill." - -"What shall we have?" asked Anne, returning at that moment, followed by a -waitress, and sitting down opposite Hazel. "This is on me, to celebrate -Patricia's coming." - -"Chicken patty, French pastry, and iced tea," replied Hazel promptly. - -"Waffles, maple syrup, and ice cream," said Jane. - -"How terrible! Think of your 'figger,' darling. You've put on about ten -pounds this summer," teased Hazel. - -"I'll take shrimp salad, Danish pastry, and pineapple sherbet," said -Patricia, when Anne looked at her. - -"Chicken sandwiches, brownies, and ginger ale for me," said Anne, -completing the order. As the waitress disappeared, she leaned both elbows -on the table and announced in low tones, "They're not in the dining room, -but Lu's bag is in the hall." - -"Perhaps they're out in the coffee room," suggested Hazel. "I'll go and -see." - -"Don't," objected Jane quickly. "We don't want them to think we're spying -on them." - -"Even if we are," laughed Anne. "Maybe they'll come out while we're still -here; and, in the meantime, let's eat." - -Lunch took much longer than they had anticipated, and when Patricia, -suddenly remembering her bag, glanced at her watch, she was surprised to -find that the hands pointed at 3:30. - -"Girls!" she cried, pushing back her chair and getting up so quickly that -Hazel jumped. "It's half past three." - -"Go on," said Anne. "I'll settle the bill and catch up to you." - -The other three hurried down the hill, and when Anne caught up to them at -the foot, Patricia was pointing in speechless dismay at a grey bus -rounding the curve toward Mendon. "It's gone!" she wailed. - -"Maybe Mike left your bag in the shelter," suggested Jane comfortingly. -"Let's go and see." - -A thorough search revealed no trace of the missing bag, either inside of -the shelter or out; and Patricia bemoaned the carelessness which had, a -second time that day, betrayed her. - -"Just wait until I see Mike!" stormed Anne. "He should have had sense -enough to leave it, even if we were not right on the spot." - -"Especially when ours are here," agreed Hazel. - -"What we do with our own is entirely up to us," said Jane slowly. "If -Mike had orders to put the bag in its owner's hands, he couldn't very -well do otherwise. Suppose we go on up and telephone the terminal to see -what can be done about it." - -"Good idea! All right with you, Pat?" asked Hazel. Then, as Patricia -nodded, "Let's get going!" - -"Don't worry," advised Anne. "You'll get it some way; and if not tonight, -we can manage between us all to fit you out. We're used to that; aren't -we?" - -"I'll say so," replied Jane. "Why, Hazel, here, went to a dance last -winter in a dress Mrs. Vincent lent her. That's our chaperon; and as far -as borrowing and lending go, she's surely one of us." - -Just as they reached the top of the hill again, Lucile sauntered down the -tea-room steps alone. - -"Where's the boy friend, Lu?" called Hazel. - -"I don't know what you're talking about," replied Lucile haughtily, as -she joined them. - -"Don't try to bluff," ordered Hazel; "we all saw him meet you." - -"That's one on you," scoffed Lucile. "He stopped to ask me the way to -Arnold Hall." - -"Arnold Hall!" chorused the others. "What in the name of fortune does he -want there?" - -"Don't you wish you knew?" jeered Lucile. - -"Is she putting something over on us? Where do you suppose he went?" -whispered Hazel to Jane, but the latter only shrugged her shoulders. - -"Shall I telephone the terminal?" inquired Anne, when they came to the -little building which served as post office for the college. - -"I wish you would," replied Patricia gratefully; "you'll know better what -to say." - -"I'm going on," announced Lucile, as they paused to wait for Anne. - -"Go to it!" retorted Hazel. "Look, Pat, that red brick building on the -corner is Horton Hall, the dorm for the music students. In the basement -is the college dining room, where each dorm has a certain section. Over -there, across the street, that grey building with all the steps is the -auditorium, where the entertainments and meetings are held." - -"What did they say, Anne?" interrupted Jane, as Anne rejoined them. - -"I talked to Mike himself. His sub was on the earlier bus, and he was -afraid to leave the bag, since there was no one to take it. Mike will -bring it out on his next run. I told him to give it to anybody who was -coming up to the college; then we won't have to go down for it. There'll -be heaps of students on the last bus, and Mike knows most of them. All -right, Pat?" as the girl looked a bit doubtful. - -"Surely," she replied; but way down deep in her heart she felt that she -would be much happier when her property was once more safe in her own -hands. "But it serves me right for being so careless," she thought, with -characteristic honesty. - -"Come on," urged Hazel. "I'm crazy to get to the Hall." - -Much to Patricia's surprise they turned away from the college buildings -and down a side street. "Where are we going?" she finally asked. - -"To Arnold Hall, of course," replied Jane. "Oh, I forgot that you didn't -know where it was. You see, all the dorms, frat and sorority houses are -on streets fairly near the college, but not right on the campus." - -"I should think you'd all be dead, climbing these hills," commented -Patricia, as they started up Wentworth Street. - -"The whole town is built on hills, and the college is on the highest one; -but you'll get used to them." - -When they went up a brick walk leading to a big three-story house near -the end of the street, Patricia felt a queer thrill of excitement and -apprehension as she gazed up at the house which was to be her home for a -whole year. What joys and sorrows would come to her there? Could she make -good? Would her unknown benefactor reveal his or her identity before the -year was out? Would she be coming back here this time next fall? Even -now, the very idea of Anne and Jane returning next September without her -brought a queer lump into her throat. - -"I'm just nervous," she reflected. "I must not think of the future at -all." - -Determinedly she shook off her apprehensions, and followed the other -girls into the house. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - THE ALLEY GANG - - -As Anne opened the door and started down a long hall, from which rooms -opened on either side, a short, dark little girl, whose round brown face -instantly reminded one of a pleasant hazel nut, appeared from a room at -the very end of the corridor. - -"Anne, darling!" she shrieked, dashing along the passage and throwing -herself upon Anne so violently that Anne staggered and fell back against -Jane, who had to grasp one of the pillars quickly to save herself from -falling. - -"Don't be so rough, Fran!" gasped Anne, but as she spoke, Frances -transferred her embraces to the other two girls in turn, while Patricia -stood beside the door watching, until Anne led her forward and began -introductions. - -"This roughneck is Frances Quinne, who lives at the end of the alley. You -see, this corridor is so long and narrow we call it 'The Alley' and the -eleven girls who live here are known as The Alley Gang. Kath come yet?" -she inquired, as Frances shook hands with Patricia. - -"Yes, she's upstairs. You might tell me your friend's name; that's only -common politeness." - -"Your welcome literally knocked me out," laughed Anne. "She's Patricia -Randall, and is going to be in our class, and live here." - -"Here?" demanded Frances in surprise. - -"Yes; and, what's more, right in the _alley_!" cried Jane, triumphantly -holding up a card which she had picked out of a pile on the hall table. -While the others were talking, Jane had been busily rummaging among the -cards of room assignments. - -"Let's see," said Anne, taking the bit of pasteboard from Jane. "No. 5. -Right, next to me!" - -"And across from us," added Jane. "Has Ruth come yet?" - -A slight little girl with big shy black eyes and a boyish bob ran down -the stairs and approached the group. - -"What do you mean by being up there when I come?" demanded Jane, shaking -her room mate affectionately. - -The girl's pale face flushed slightly as she replied in a soft little -voice: "I went up to see if Clarice had all of her things out of No. 14." - -"No excuse at all," declared Jane. "This is my room mate, Ruth Maynard; -Patricia Randall, a new member of our Gang." - -"What about Clarice, Ruthie?" asked Anne curiously, after Ruth had -silently shaken hands with Patricia. - -"She's moving down here to No. 4," replied Ruth quietly. - -"Good night!" ejaculated Hazel, sitting down violently upon one of the -trunks which lined the hall. - -"Oh, boy! Oh, boy!" exclaimed Jane dramatically. - -"Down _here_!" repeated Anne. "How come? Don't know whether or not I -fancy her for an opposite neighbor." - -"Nobody knows why she's been moved," contributed Frances excitedly. "She -went to her old room as a matter of course when she came this morning, -and then we found her card had No. 4 on it." - -"I think that's just fierce!" cried Hazel. "She's so noisy and -notorious--" - -"Now, Hazel," protested Jane, "there's nothing really bad about Clarice. -She got herself talked about last year, it is true, but--" - -"Maybe the Powers-that-Be think we'll reform her," suggested a gentle -voice behind the group. - -Everybody turned to face a fair, plump girl with braids of honey-colored -hair wound around her shapely head, despite the prevailing fashion of -short locks. - -"Mary Taylor!" cried Hazel, joyfully kissing her room mate. - -"Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here!" chanted a brisk voice, as its owner, a -tall, finely developed girl with red cheeks and brown skin, which bespoke -a love for out-of-doors life, jumped from the third last step to the hall -below and encircled with her long arms as many of the girls as she could. - -"Katharine, you hoyden!" exclaimed Anne. "Let me present Patricia -Randall." - -"This noisy creature is my room mate," added Hazel, as Katharine gave -Patricia a regular man's grasp of the hand. - -"One of the Gang is missing," commented Anne. "Where's Betty?" - -"'Boy Friend' is bringing her down by auto after dinner," said Katharine. - -"She must be going to be Patricia's room mate," offered Anne. - -"She is," announced Jane. "I saw her card." - -"What room did she have last year?" whispered Patricia to Anne. - -"No. 4; but she felt quite abused at not having a room mate, so I imagine -she'll be delighted to move in with you. Here comes Dolly," she added in -an undertone, as the front door opened and a medium sized woman of about -twenty-eight entered, followed by a short rather heavy girl whose -restless black eyes missed no detail of the group before her. - -"Well, girls," said Mrs. Vincent, smiling patronizingly upon them, "how -are you all? Glad to get back?" Without waiting for a reply, she went on: -"You'll find some changes here this fall. Clarice," laying her hand on -the girl's arm, "is to be down here with us in No. 4. We also have a new -member of our household, Miss Patricia Randall," crossing the hall to -shake hands with Patricia. "I do hope you'll like us all, and be happy -here." Then she continued, without stopping for Patricia's reply, "We're -to have a new maid--" - -"Oh, where is Lizzie?" asked Jane. - -"She got married this summer," replied Mrs. Vincent; "and, my dears, you -should have seen the beautiful presents she received! Our new maid's name -is Rhoda Hurd, and the Dean says she comes highly recommended. She'll be -here some time tonight. You had better all unpack now, and get ready for -dinner. Arnold Hall girls will take the southwest end of the dining room, -as usual. Come, Miss Randall, I'll show you your room. Of course it looks -rather bare now," she added, when they stood on the threshold, "but -you'll soon change all that. My room is No. 1, right back of the -reception room. If you want anything, don't hesitate to come to me." - -When Patricia found herself alone, her glance traveled from the day beds -on either side of the room to the two dressers flanking the doorway and -to the writing tables in the big bay window. In spite of its bare floor -and curtainless windows, the room had distinct possibilities; for the -furniture was Early American, and the woodwork was good. - -"Why," she demanded of Anne, who came in at that moment, "do they have -that heavy barred wire outside of the windows? It reminds me of a prison, -or makes me feel as if I were in a cage." - -"It is, a sort of a prison," laughed Anne. "You see, some of the girls -like to stay out later than 10:30, and if it were possible to climb in -the windows, nobody knows what time they would come in. The Black Book -wouldn't be of any use then." - -Patricia looked puzzled. "The 'Black Book?'" she repeated. - -"Yes; beside the telephone booth in the front hall, near Dolly's room, is -a table upon which rests a big, black blank book. Whenever you go out or -come in after dinner, you must register in it your name and the hour. The -girls take turns looking after it, and at bed time, Dolly inspects it -before she makes the round of the rooms. And, by the way, whenever the -outside door at the back of the hall is opened, it rings a bell in -Dolly's room, right under the bed. So you see how good your chances are -of staying out nights." - -"Tell me something about Clarice," begged Patricia, sitting down on one -of the beds. "Why do all the girls dislike her so very much?" - -"They don't really dislike her," replied Anne, plumping down beside -Patricia. "She's lots of fun, and generous to a fault; but she has such a -loud laugh, and doesn't care what she does or says. A good time appeals -to her a whole lot more than does study, and last year she played around -too much with a boy upon whom the authorities frowned. The girls on this -floor have always been so congenial, and have had no demerits for -conduct; so naturally they rather resent the introduction of Clarice. I -think, though, that there is really a lot of good in the girl, if one -could only develop it. Let's go down the hall and see if Kath has a dress -you could wear to dinner. Mine would be too large for you." - -Just as they stepped out into the hall, the doorbell rang. - -"I'll bet that's Dolly's boy friend," whispered Anne, pausing to peer -around one of the pillars, and catching sight of the top of a man's hat -showing in the door pane. "Wait a minute, I want you to get a look at -him. He's a special student here, and years younger than Doll." - -The door leading to the cellar opened suddenly, and a black-gowned maid -appeared and hurried down the hall to answer the bell. - -"Apparently Rhoda has arrived. Isn't she pretty?" breathed Anne softly. - -When the door was opened, a low-toned conversation ensued, of which the -eavesdroppers could hear nothing. Then Rhoda admitted the blond youth, -who stood waiting while the maid came down the hall toward the two girls. - -"Some one to see Miss Randall," she announced. - -Patricia clutched Anne's arm in a frenzy. "You've got to come with me," -she whispered. - -"Are you expecting a bag?" inquired the boy gravely, fixing his great -grey eyes upon Patricia when she reached the door. - -"Yes," she faltered; "I left it on the bus." - -"The driver was going to bring it down on the six," volunteered Anne -irrelevantly. - -"He did," said the youth, "and asked me to deliver it. I have it in the -vestibule." Opening the door, he secured the bag and handed it to -Patricia. - -"I am very grateful to you," said Patricia a bit stiffly. "It was good of -you to bring it." - -"No trouble at all. I was down at the shelter waiting for some one--" he -broke off suddenly, as if fearing he had said too much, and bowed himself -solemnly out. - -"Well!" exclaimed Anne. "Of all things! You seem fated to get mixed up -with that young man." - -"Don't I? I suppose Mike remembered that he was on the bus with us, and -just naturally gave the bag to him on that account." - -"Probably. Anyhow, now you won't have to borrow a dress. You'd better -hurry, though; it's after six, and we dine--mark, I said _dine_--at -six-thirty." - -Dinner was quite an experience for Patricia, who had never before seen a -college dining room. The big low room was bare and unattractive in -itself, but the long tables, each surrounded by twenty girls in pretty -dinner gowns, the bright lights, and the orange-clad waitresses made up -for lack of decorations elsewhere. - -"My ears will grow at least a yard long here," she observed to Anne, who -sat next to her. - -"What on earth do you mean?" inquired that young lady, reaching for the -olives. - -"Why, there are so many interesting conversations going on all around me, -that I want to hear them all." - -Anne laughed. "This is nothing; just wait until classes are in full -swing. Then child psychology, music theory, library cataloguing, art -appreciation, domestic science, and half a dozen other subjects are all -being discussed simultaneously." - -That evening most of the girls had unpacking and settling to finish, but -a few members of the Alley Gang gathered in Anne's attractive room to -visit. Betty Grant had just arrived, and she and Patricia had approved of -each other at the first glance. - -"Tell me, Betty," Anne was saying, "is the Boy Friend coming down week -ends, as he did last year?" - -"No; this year, I'm going to work--_hard_." - -Everybody laughed. - -"Well, I am. I told Ed he could come only twice during this term--" - -"And a few times in between," finished Hazel. - -"By the way," began Betty, in a different tone. "I saw the queerest -thing, just as Ed and I drove up. There was a fellow standing in front of -the laundry window, right under your room, Hazel, evidently talking to -some one inside." - -"Come now, Betty," protested Katharine, "you're making that up to change -the subject." - -"Honest to goodness, I'm not! I saw him plain as daylight. I didn't say -anything to Ed, because he would have wanted to investigate, and I've no -fancy for having him get into an argument with strange men. He might have -had a gun, for all I know." - -"Heavens, Betty! We'll all be afraid to go to sleep tonight," shuddered -Mary. "Hazel, you'll have to push your bed up close to mine so you can -protect me." - -"What did the man look like?" asked Jane. - -"I couldn't see his face, but he was slight, of medium height and wore a -grey suit and hat." - -"The blond youth!" whispered Anne to Patricia. - -"But what would he be doing prowling around here?" asked Patricia, -frowning. - -"Search me! Oh, hello, Lu, where have you been all the evening?" - -"In the laundry part of the time. I came on here right from a house -party, and my clothes are in a fine state." - -Jane, Anne, Hazel, and Patricia glanced significantly at one another. - -"Sure you were pressing, Lu?" asked Hazel mischievously. - -Before Lucile had a chance to reply, Betty leaned forward and inquired, -"Did _you_ see the man, Lu?" - -"What man?" - -"The man who was looking in the laundry window." - -Lucile laughed, a bit loudly for her. "Nobody around the place while I -was there," she replied, with marked carelessness, "only Rhoda." - -"What was _she_ doing?" asked Anne. - -"Pressing her uniforms." - -A discussion of the new maid and her predecessor followed, and the -subject of the mysterious man was dropped. - - - - - CHAPTER V - MOSS - - -One morning a couple of weeks later, Patricia was wakened suddenly by a -marshmallow landing on her nose and scattering its fine, powdered sugar -all over her face. Sitting up quickly, she saw through her open door Ruth -and Jane in their room across the hall, sitting on their beds, doubled up -with laughter. - -"You fiends!" she cried softly. "Just you wait!" - -"What's the matter?" inquired Betty sleepily, from the other bed, without -even opening her eyes. - -"Those Goths across the hall threw a marshmallow in my face!" replied -Patricia, seizing the unfortunate bit of confectionery and returning it -with such good aim that it struck Jane's hand and bounded off onto the -rug, where it deposited the rest of its sugar. - -"Get up, Lazy Bones!" ordered Jane. "We've got to go out for moss before -breakfast." - -"I forgot all about it," groaned Patricia. "I wish that botany class was -in Hades." - -"I wish you'd all shut up," complained Betty. "I want to sleep; and, -thank Heaven, I don't take botany." - -Patricia was soon ready, and the three girls stole softly down the hall -and tried the front door. - -"Who's that?" called Mrs. Vincent, who slept, not only with her door -open, but also, so the girls said, with her eyes and ears wide as well. - -"Patricia, Ruth, and Jane going out for moss for botany class," answered -Jane. "We'll be back before breakfast time." - -"Don't go far away." - -"Does she think we can find moss on the fire escape?" demanded Jane -scornfully. - -"Just where _are_ we going?" asked Patricia. - -"I think we'll cut through the back yard here into Foth Road and head out -toward the country." - -They went around the side of the dormitory, and, to their surprise, saw -Rhoda coming toward them across the back yard. - -"Aren't you up pretty early, Rhoda?" asked Jane casually, as the girl -flushed and looked embarrassed. - -"Not so very," was the low reply. "I often run out here for a breath of -fresh air before starting my work." - -"How fussed she acted," commented Ruth, "just as if she'd been caught -doing something she didn't want anybody to know about." - -"Yes, I noticed that too," said Patricia, carefully following her -companions down the treacherous, broken stone ledges into the yard behind -Arnold Hall. - -"Why, Ruth," cried Jane, "'Big House' is occupied! I didn't know that; -did you?" The girl regarded in surprise the three-story brick house -across a narrow stretch of green lawn. - -"No, I didn't"--adding softly, "Come on; somebody is watching us from -that bay window on the second floor." - -"How do you know?" demanded Jane, hurrying after her room mate. - -"I saw a woman's hand pull the curtain aside a little while we were -waiting for Pat to come down the steps." - -"It's a shame to spoil our short cut to Foth Road; for I suppose we can't -go through there any more. That house was empty all last year," explained -Jane, turning to Patricia, "which made it rather nice for us because, -besides using the yard as a thoroughfare, we sometimes had little parties -there or met our boy friends when we didn't want to go out the front way -with them. Oh, I assure you it was useful in lots of ways." - -They were out on the road by then, and walking briskly toward the -country. - -"We'll never find any moss if we keep to the road," objected Ruth, after -they had walked a mile in vain. "I should think we'd have to go into the -woods, see, over there." - -"Not I!" replied Jane. "I'm too afraid of snakes." - -Patricia laughed. "There aren't any snakes in a pine woods. They're -mostly where there are lots of rocks." - -"Well, anyway we'll go a little farther and then I, for one, take to the -woods," decided Ruth. "We've got to find some moss soon, and go home; and -I won't face Yates again with no specimens." - -"Isn't he the old pill, though?" said Jane to Patricia. "Did you ever see -anybody so cold and stone-like? Even when he says unpleasant things--and, -oh, boy! can't he be disagreeable when he likes!--his face never changes -from that set, gloomy expression." - -"He certainly is most peculiar," agreed Patricia, "and I don't like him -even _any_! For that matter, no love at all is lost between us; something -in the way he looks at me tells me that." - -"Ah, here we are!" exclaimed Jane, pointing to an old shed a few feet -from the road. On its roof, near the ridge pole, was a luxuriant growth -of bright green moss. - -"How can we get at it?" asked Ruth, as they scrambled across a wire fence -and crossed a stretch of rough, coarse grass. "I'm no good at climbing." - -"Nor I," said Ruth. "How about you, Pat?" - -"I think I could get up far enough to reach it, if you girls will boost a -bit," replied Patricia. - -"It's O. K. with us, but for Heaven's sake be as quiet as possible. We -don't want the dog set on us." - -"Oh, nobody's around so early as this; there's no window on this side of -the shed, and the door is on the other. The farm house is back of that -clump of trees." - -"Easy telling you don't know anything about the country," said Jane -scornfully; "these farmers get up early." - -Stepping up on a log, which happened to lie conveniently close to the -building, Patricia, with the aid of the girls, got a firm grip on the -edge of the roof and drew herself up to a point where she could lie flat -on its weather-worn boards and stretch her long arms up toward the -coveted plants. With much effort, she succeeded in reaching the moss and -in tearing up two big handfuls. Resting on her elbows for a moment to -ease the strain on her arms, she was horrified to feel the boards -underneath them begin to sag; and, with a dull splintering of ancient -wood, her hands and lower arms disappeared into a yawning cavity. -Simultaneously, the moss dropped from her fingers into the depths below. - -A snort, a gasp, and a forceful exclamation from within the shed mingled -with Patricia's startled cry of "Girls, I'm falling in." - -"What shall we do? What shall we do?" demanded Ruth excitedly as -Patricia, speechless with horror, gazed down through the hole over which -she hung, and met the cold, grey eyes of Professor Yates! His immaculate -shoulders and smooth black hair were covered with bits of moss. - -"Pull me down, quick!" cried the horrified Patricia, finally recovering -the power of speech. - -"It will spoil your dress," warned Jane. - -"I don't care! Get me down, for Pete's sake!" retorted Patricia wildly. - -With their united efforts, the two girls succeeded in dragging Patricia -safely to the ground, minus the moss, and with several long scratches on -her arms. - -"Where's the moss?" demanded Ruth in surprise. - -"All over Professor Yates!" gasped Patricia, hysterically. - -"What?" cried Ruth, while Jane looked as if she feared Patricia had lost -her mind. - -"He's in that shed!" - -"You're crazy!" retorted Jane, feeling her pulse. - -"Honest to goodness! Cross my heart!" - -At that moment, the object of their discussion strolled around the corner -of the shed. He had brushed himself off, and now looked as calm and neat -as if he were in his classroom. His gaze traveled coldly from one to -another, then, looking directly at Patricia, he drawled: "To what am I -indebted for this most unconventional call?" - -"To your demand for specimens of moss today 'without fail,'" quoted Jane -glibly. - -"A most novel situation, stealing it from my own roof, and ruining the -roof in the bargain." - -"We had no idea it was your roof," retorted Patricia hotly, "and I had no -intention of breaking through it. It was anything but a pleasant -experience, I assure you." - -"Of course we expect to assume any expense involved," put in Jane -soothingly, as they turned to go. - -Professor Yates made no reply, but stood watching them scramble over the -fence and start down the road toward college. - -"Wasn't that just terrible?" gasped Patricia "I'm certainly done for with -him now. Next time I do any climbing for specimens, you'll know it." - -"Whatever do you suppose he was doing out there?" demanded Ruth. - -"You heard him say it was his roof, didn't you?" retorted Jane. "Clarice -said once that he had an old place where he raises all kinds of truck for -the lab, but I didn't pay much attention to her. She talks so much that -half the time I don't listen very attentively; and I haven't given it a -thought since." - -"Just wait until the girls hear about it!" - -"We're going to have a spread tonight; did you know it?" asked Jane. -"Doll's going out with one of her boy friends." - -"The dark youth who's a 'special' in some year or other?" asked Patricia. - -"Yes." - -"She'll have to keep better tabs on him," commented Ruth; "he's a born -flirt. I was at the Black Book the other night when he came in, and he -tried to make a date with me." - -"Did he succeed?" asked Jane mischievously. - -"He did _not_! I can't bear him." - -"Do you realize, girls," inquired Ruth, "that we are still moss-less?" - -"Yes, and we'll continue to be, so far as I am concerned," retorted -Patricia. - -"Oh, somebody in the lab will be sure to have some," said Jane easily, -"and we'll just borrow a little of it. I don't feel equal to hunting any -longer." - - -The spread was about to get under way at eight-thirty that evening. Mrs. -Vincent and her youthful escort, Ivan Zahn, had departed for a concert -which the college was giving to entertain the Freshman Class. Rhoda was -looking after the Black Book and the telephone; so the girls were quite -free to enjoy themselves, without responsibility. The new maid had -quickly become as much of a favorite as her predecessor; for she was -accommodating and good-tempered, and the inhabitants of Arnold Hall, -especially those on the first floor, treated her almost as one of -themselves. - -"Did anybody telephone the Varsity Coffee Shoppe for the eats?" demanded -Hazel, coming out into the hall in a suit of bright red lounging pajamas. - -"Yes," answered Jane from her room, where she was putting frantic last -minute lines on a poster which was due the next morning. - -"Who took the order?" asked Frances, rushing in to borrow some thread to -run up a rip in her coolie coat. - -"Al, and he said he'd send them right down," contributed Ruth from her -bed, where she lay on her back trying to fix an important bit of -psychology in her mind. - -"Oh, cut the study!" ordered Anne, entering with Lucile, Betty, and -Patricia. - -"Got to get this tonight," cried Ruth, hanging onto the book which Anne -tried to take out of her hands. - -"No, you haven't; get up early in the morning and do it. Then it will be -all the fresher in your mind." - -"Yes, you like early rising," laughed Betty. - -Anne continued to pull, and finally got Ruth off the bed. Katharine, who -came in at that moment, attracted by the noise, slipped past Ruth and -Anne, flopped into the recently vacated bed, and pulled up the covers. - -"Of all things!" exclaimed Ruth indignantly, jerking away from Anne. "Get -out of my bed!" - -Katharine extended a long, strong arm and pulled Betty in beside her, -while Frances piled in on the other side. - -"Safety in numbers," laughed Katharine impishly. "Get us out if you can!" - -"I'll help you, Ruth!" shouted Clarice, dashing in with a glass of water -which she sprinkled freely on the three girls in the bed. With a cry of -protest they sprang up and chased Clarice the length of the hall where -she barricaded herself with a heavy chair in the corner beside the -telephone booth. At the other end of the hall, on a couple of -well-stuffed white laundry bags which were ready for the collector in the -morning, perched Hazel, swinging her red-clad legs and singing: "I want a -drink! Kathy wants a drink! Francy wants a drink!" - -"Here's Al, girls!" called Clarice from her vantage point, where she -could see out onto the street. - -The feud was forgotten, as they all trooped forward to relieve Rhoda of -the basket which the boy had brought. Sitting down on the runner which -extended the length of the hall, the girls quickly disposed of orangeade, -sandwiches, cakes, and ice cream, not forgetting to give Rhoda a share. A -songfest followed, and a general romp the length of the alley was in full -swing when the front door opened suddenly and Mrs. Vincent walked in, -alone. - -"Girls!" she cried sharply. "Stop that noise at once! You sound like a -lot of hyenas! I could hear you up to the corner!" - -"What brought her home so early?" muttered Betty to Patricia. - -"Must have had a scrap with Ivan," whispered Anne. "She's so cross." - -Just then the telephone rang, and Mrs. Vincent paused to gaze hopefully -at Rhoda who answered it. - -"Yes," said Rhoda, in a low tone. "Yes, I'll call her." - -With an oddly excited expression on her usually calm face, Rhoda turned -to Mrs. Vincent, saying, "Someone wants to speak with you." - - - - - CHAPTER VI - A MEDDLER - - -"Yes, this is Mrs. Vincent talking. What? I'm very sorry. The girls were -having a little party, and didn't realize, I'm afraid, how much noise -they were making. What did you say, please? Oh, we--ll, I'll see what -they think about it. Of course, you realize that they are not children to -be ordered about." - -"She didn't think so a minute ago," giggled Anne under her breath to -Patricia. - -"All right. Goodbye." - -Mrs. Vincent hung up the receiver and turned to face the girls. - -"We're in a nice fix now!" she snapped. "Mrs. Brock, who lives back of -us, has been greatly disturbed by the noise you have been making all the -evening, and feels that an apology is due her--" - -"What utter nonsense!" cried Anne. - -"She must be cuckoo!" exclaimed Clarice hotly. - -The rest of the girls stood looking at one another in astonishment, while -Rhoda turned her back quickly and bent her head low over the open Black -Book. - -"Well, what are you going to do about it?" continued Mrs. Vincent. - -"Just nothing at all," replied Jane; "her demand is absurd." - -"Of course it is unreasonable; but the trouble is," pursued Mrs. Vincent, -flushing, "she says unless a couple of you go over and present an apology -for the crowd, she will lodge a complaint at the office." - -"Now I _know_ she is crazy," snapped Lucile. - -"Naturally," went on Mrs. Vincent, "a question of my incompetence, or of -my inability to manage you properly, will arise if such a complaint is -lodged. Of course, you must do as you wish. I'm simply laying the whole -matter frankly before you." - -Mrs. Vincent turned abruptly and disappeared into her own room. - -"This is a pretty mess!" scolded Katharine. - -"It's mostly your fault!" cried Hazel, looking angrily at Clarice. - -"How is it, I'd like to know!" demanded the girl, flushing a dull red, -but gazing defiantly at her accuser. - -"You did most of the yelling and rough-housing," retorted Frances -promptly. - -"I didn't pile into Ruth's bed; I didn't sit beside the back door, -singing; I--" - -"No," interrupted Jane soothingly, "I think we all did our share; but--" - -"What's the use of trying to place the blame now?" asked Patricia -suddenly. "The question is how to fix things up." - -"We can't let Dolly down, I suppose," said Mary slowly. "She _is_ -incompetent, and awfully silly at times; but, after all, she is our -chaperon and we owe loyalty to her. She might lose her position as the -result of the complaint, and we'd hate to be party to taking a job from -anyone." - -"Since you all feel that I'm mostly to blame," broke in Clarice, "I'll go -over to Big House and apologize." - -Almost before she had time to think, Patricia heard herself saying: "And -I'll go with you." - -"You're a couple of good sports!" cried Jane heartily. - -"Is it too late to go now?" asked Patricia, looking at the clock. - -"Nearly ten. Better ask Dolly," advised Anne. - -Patricia went to the chaperon's door, knocked, and when Mrs. Vincent -opened it, stated quietly: "Clarice and I are going over to apologize to -Mrs. Brock. Shall we go now, or wait until morning?" - -"It really doesn't matter, I suppose; whichever time you prefer," replied -Mrs. Vincent slowly, looking past Patricia to Clarice, who stood leaning -against the Black Book table. The girl's black eyes met hers, and a long, -meaning look passed between them. - -"We'll go now, then, and get it over with," decided Patricia. "Come on, -Clarice." - -The two went out of the front door and the rest of the girls gathered in -Jane's room to await results. - -"What a day!" sighed Ruth. "I'll never get up so early again. It brings -bad luck. What with the moss adventure this morning, and now this." - -"How did Professor Yates act in class?" asked Hazel, as the rest smiled -over the story of the moss, which they had heard earlier in the day. - -"Just as usual, except perhaps a little more sarcastic," began Jane. - -"And more generous with puzzling questions, especially to Pats," broke in -Anne. - -"Funny they can't get along together," mused Mary. "Pat is such a peach -of a girl." - -"There's no rhyme or reason in anything Yates does," declared Hazel -bluntly. - -"Pat _is_ a peach," agreed Anne fervently, "and I think we're mighty -lucky to get her in our Gang." - -"So say we all of us!" chanted Frances softly. - -"It seems awfully queer to me, though," put in Lucile, "for a girl to -leave a college voluntarily after a year there, and come away up here -where she knows no one, to finish her course." - -"Her aunt and cousin are here," spoke up Anne, loyally. - -"Don't see them making much fuss over her!" retorted Lucile. "Ted's been -here only two or three times to see her." - -"Ted is a very busy boy." Anne spoke up promptly. "He's in Forestry, and -that takes him out a lot this year." - -"Come to think of it," commented Ruth, "I haven't seen him much at the -Frat House." - -"You should know what goes on there," laughed Katharine, teasingly. "Such -luck as you and Jane have--a room right next to--" - -"Clarice's room is even better--or worse," said Jane; "for hers is -opposite the men's living room." - -"Why worse?" demanded Frances. - -"I'll change rooms with you some night, and let you listen to their -blamed radio until the wee small hours, and then again early in the -morning, before anybody is up." - -"Speaking of Clarice," broke in Lucile, "I think there's something -between her and Dolly." - -"What do you mean?" asked Betty quickly. - -"Some secret, or understanding, or favoritism, or something," replied -Lucile. "Did none of you see the look they exchanged when Pats told Dolly -they'd go?" - -"I did," answered Anne thoughtfully; "it all but talked." - -"There's some reason why Clarice was moved down here this year, and I'll -bet Dolly was at the root of it," declared Lucile, emphasizing her words -by pounding on the foot of the bed beside which she sat. - -"By the way, Lu," broke in Hazel shyly, "how's your blond friend? Seen -him lately?" - -"_My_ blond friend is good!" jeered Lucile. - -"Who is he? Who is he?" demanded Mary and Betty in unison. "Why haven't -we ever seen him?" - -"My darlings," said Lucile mockingly, "just because on the day we came -back, a good-looking, yellow-haired youth stopped me at the top of the -hill to ask where Arnold Hall was, these silly girls imagined I had a -date with him." - -"Why should a fellow want Arnold Hall?" demanded Katharine in surprised -tones. - -"Maybe he has a sweetie here," proposed Hazel mischievously, looking at -Lucile. - -"That's an idea," replied Lucile, flatly ignoring Hazel's insinuations; -"maybe it's--Patricia!" - -"Oh, no," contradicted Anne; "she never saw him before the day we came -down." Too late she realized what she had admitted. - -"Came down! Oh, then he was on _your_ train. Ah, ha! Now we're getting at -something!" exulted Lucile. - -Poor Anne's fair complexion changed to a bright pink, as she struggled to -make her words sound casual. - -"He sat across from us, and we happened to notice him because he was so -good-looking. We haven't seen him for a long time." - -"I have," spoke up Jane; "and you'd never guess where." - -"Then tell us," said Frances. - -"Last night, I was coming from the library, and because it was rather -late, I took a chance on cutting through the yard back of here. As I got -to the step up into this yard, I heard the sound of a typewriter in Big -House. It surprised me; for I understand Mrs. Brock is quite elderly. I -glanced carelessly up at the lighted windows, and there in a second floor -room facing this way, sat our unknown blond friend." - -"Maybe he's her son," proposed Katharine. - -"Son, nothing! Grandson more likely," contradicted Hazel. "Maybe the -girls will meet him. Why didn't more of us go?" - -Jane laughed. "You all had a chance, but you didn't make the most of it." - - -At this moment the front door opened quietly, closed again, footsteps -were heard coming along the hall, and Patricia and Clarice entered. - -"Tell us just everything," ordered Anne, making places on Jane's bed for -the newcomers. - -"Well," began Patricia slowly, "a maid led us into the living room, which -is that room in front where the big bay window is; and there, before the -fire, sat a tiny, white-haired old lady with the keenest brown eyes I -have ever seen." - -"They bored right through one," contributed Clarice. - -"She never said a word to us, only looked up, and then tried to quiet her -white Spitz which began to bark his head off at us." - -"I should think she'd be used to noise, if she has one of those," -observed Hazel; "they sho' do bark." - -Just then Mrs. Vincent slipped into the room, and, sitting down beside -Clarice, slid an arm around her, while the girls exchanged significant -glances. - -"When Mrs. Brock got the dog quieted down," continued Patricia, "I said -that we had come to represent the girls on our floor, and apologize for -the excessive noise tonight; that we had not intended to annoy anyone, -and had not even thought of it as a possibility; we were only having a -little party among ourselves." - -"'Drinking party, I suppose!' she snapped, looking us over from head to -foot, for she hadn't asked us to sit down." - -"I'll bet she knows how many buttons are on my blouse, and even where one -buttonhole is torn," observed Clarice. - -"'We had only orangeade,' I replied, as good-naturedly as I could; for it -certainly was annoying to be addressed in the tones she used," went on -Patricia. - -"'Are you sure of that?' she demanded, fixing her brown eyes on me, like -crabs. 'I distinctly heard some one singing a song about wanting a -drink.'" - -A burst of laughter from the girls interrupted Patricia's story, while -Jane ruffled Hazel's curls. - -"Then _I_ took a hand," announced Clarice. - -"'You did,' I told her, 'and we had several; but they were all made of -oranges, just as Patricia has told you. We may be noisy, but we're not -liars!'" - -"What did she say?" asked Jane eagerly. - -"Nothing; she just glared at me, and turned back to Pat," replied -Clarice. - -"'Aside from the personal annoyance,' she went on," continued Patricia, -"'I consider it highly detrimental to the reputation of college women to -have such yelling and noise emanating from a supposedly respectable -dormitory.' Before we could answer, fortunately, perhaps, for I didn't -know what to say next," went on Patricia, "she pressed a bell near her -chair, and almost immediately we heard footsteps on the stairs, the heavy -portieres between the living room and the hall were pushed aside, and -there stood--" - -"The good-looking young blond!" finished Hazel, excitedly clasping and -unclasping her hands. - -"Why, how did you know?" demanded Patricia in surprise. - -"I saw him over there in the window last night, and the girls were just -saying that perhaps you would meet him," replied Jane. "But please go -on." - -"'Norman Young, my secretary,' said the old lady, looking inquiringly at -us. Clarice supplied our names, and the youth bowed gravely. 'Norman,' -she asked, 'did you type the letter I dictated earlier this evening?' - -"'Not yet, Mrs. Brock,' he said. - -"'You need not write it. That's all,' she added curtly, as the young man -lingered a moment, eyeing Clarice. As soon as he had disappeared, she -turned to us again. 'You may go too,' she announced abruptly; 'and don't -let me hear such a rumpus over there again.' Then Clarice spoke up. 'Mrs. -Brock, we told you we were sorry, and we are; but we can't promise never -to make another sound, when we have parties, or at any other time. There -are forty-five girls in the house, and it's unreasonable to expect us to -be as quiet as deaf-mutes.' Before she could get her breath to annihilate -Clarice, which I thought she would do, I broke in and said that perhaps -she'd like us and understand college life better if she came over to -Arnold Hall some time and got acquainted with the girls and see how we -live. - -"'Maybe I should,' she replied slowly, and really her face changed so -that I thought she was going to smile." - -"Now you have _done_ it, Pats," groaned Anne. - -"Whatever possessed you to say that?" complained Betty. - -"Who in creation _is_ she, that she thinks she can take such a hand in -our affairs?" demanded Katharine hotly. - -"Well, I felt sorry for her," contended Patricia stoutly. "She's old, and -all alone in that big house--" - -"Oh, no, Pats, not alone; think of that attractive youth," protested -Hazel. - -"And I think she's longing for human contacts," continued Patricia. - -"She seems to be," remarked Lucile sarcastically. - -"And that's why she is annoyed by our fun, kind of an outsider envying -those who are on the inside; like a kid who's not invited to a party, and -so wants to break it up," concluded Patricia. - -"Sentimental Pat!" scoffed Lucile. - -"I'm sorry you are all annoyed about it," said Patricia, flushing, "but I -suddenly felt so sorry for her that I spoke before I thought. I never -dreamed you'd object to her. Probably she won't come, anyhow." - -"I think," said Jane emphatically, "that you handled the matter in the -best possible way. What would we gain by fighting with her? Putting aside -of any question of kindness, it's much wiser for us to be friendly with -her, if she will let us." - -"I agree with you, Jane," said Mrs. Vincent, speaking for the first time, -and getting up to go back to her own room. "Now get to bed as quickly as -possible," she added, as the clock struck eleven. - -There were three people in the college colony who were wakeful that -night: Patricia tossed from side to side, as she kept going over in her -mind the inexorable circumstances which continued to involve her in -strange situations with Norman Young. Directly above her, on the third -floor, Rhoda the maid was shedding tears as she worried over the affairs -of one near and dear to her. In his room across the two back yards, -Norman Young alternately pondered over Clarice's pretty face and the -solving of a problem which involved some cleverness on his part. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - A FALL - - -"Who's going to the Greystone game?" asked Hazel, as part of the Alley -Gang was walking back to the Hall after lunch one crisp sunny day in -October. - -"I am," replied Anne. - -"Ted?" queried Patricia, curiously. - -Anne nodded, adding with a broad grin, "Katharine and Professor Boyd are -going with us." - -Oliver Boyd was a young instructor, who had been engaged for the History -Department that fall, a slim, attractive youth, whose big brown eyes -looked shyly out from behind octagon glasses, and whose dark skin made -the girls, when they wanted to tease Katharine, say he must have Indian -blood in his veins. A melodious voice with a southern accent completed an -ensemble that had proved most intriguing to the women of Granard. All the -girls smiled upon him, and the registration in History V was unusually -heavy that term. That he was girl-shy had been the consensus of opinion -until one day Katharine happened to run across him in the Varsity Book -Shoppe; and a discussion, begun from the talkative Katharine over the -respective merits of note book covers No. 1 and No. 3, had been the -beginning of the most talked-of of college romances. - -"Now just wouldn't a retiring daisy like Professor Boyd pick a roughneck -like Katharine?" commented Lucile disgustedly. "I should think she'd -scare him to death." - -"You're just jealous!" retorted Hazel, quick to come to the support of -her room mate. - -"Indeed I'm not," contradicted Lucile promptly; "but you can't deny that -they're no more suited to each other than--" - -"Oh, but opposites attract," interrupted Betty; "remember your -psychology, or was it physics?" - -"Who else is going to the game?" inquired Jane, returning to the original -topic of conversation in an attempt to check the friction. - -"Francie and I are driving down," replied Patricia, smiling down at the -round-faced little girl beside her. For several weeks now, Patricia had -been the proud possessor of the car which her father had bought for her. - -"Where's the Boy Friend?" asked Hazel curiously, turning to look at -Frances. - -"On the outs," was the quick reply. - -"How come?" inquired Lucile. - -"Well, Joe said he wished Tut Miller would get a chance to play in the -Greystone game--" - -"Oh--oh!" protested her companions in chorus. - -"Yes, that's just the way I felt," asserted Frances; "so we promptly had -a row." - -"But why," protested Jane, "should he want Jack Dunn to be taken out of -the lineup. He's a far better player than Tut." - -"I know, but I figured it out this way: Joe and Tut were at Huron Prep -together, and Joe's got an awful case on Tut. When football practice -started, Tut went over big until Jack began to show what he was made of." - -"And naturally Joe sizzled when Jack got on the regulars and Tut was his -sub," finished Jane. - -"Jack's the better of the two, of course," agreed Anne; "but I don't fall -for him the way the rest of you do. He seems to me to be rather too sure -of himself." - -"Who has a better right?" asked Lucile sharply. "He's been the absolute -idol of this college and town ever since he made the team." - -Before this challenge could be taken up, there was a sound of running -footsteps behind them, and Clarice violently pushed in between Jane and -Anne. - -"What do you think?" she cried, noisily. - -"We don't think," retorted Lucile crisply. "We leave that for you." - -"What is the excitement, Clarice?" inquired Jane quickly, trying to cover -Lucile's unkind thrust at Clarice's poor scholarship. - -"You'd never guess with whom I am going to the Greystone game." - -"Then tell us quickly," said Frances, "before we all die of suspense." - -"Norman Young! He asked me in Physics Lab this morning, and--" - -"Physics Lab," repeated Betty in puzzled tones. "How did he happen to be -there?" - -"Didn't you know that he registered late, and is a special student here!" -asked Jane in surprise. - -"No; I--" - -"Where have you been all this term?" demanded Hazel in disgust. - -"Betty is more interested in certain people from home than she is in -Granard students," explained Lucile in significant tones. - -"I am not!" contradicted Betty promptly. - -"Don't bother; she's only trying to tease you," said Jane soothingly, -flinging an arm across Betty's shoulder. "If I had a devoted boy friend -who wrote me letters every other day, and came down to spend week ends -here, I shouldn't know all the college gossip either." - -Meanwhile Anne was whispering to Patricia: "Wonder how Lucile likes -Clarice's walking off with Norman." - -"Why?" said Pat. "I didn't know that she considered him her special -property. She's been going around with Tut." - -"I'm not sure that she does, only I feel it in my bones, someway, that -the meeting at 'Hill Top' on the day we arrived was not all chance. I -_do_ know that she pricks up her ears whenever he is mentioned." - -They had reached the library, and Pat reluctantly left her companions. - -"I'm due here, kids," she called from the third step, as Jane demanded -why she was deserting them. "Something I've got to look up. See you -later." Waving her hand gaily, she ran up the long flight of steps and -entered the old grey building. - -Some of the rooms were used for graduate work, or small classes of men -students; and Patricia could hear Professor Donnell's voice quite -distinctly as she passed down the corridor to the reference department. -Three-quarters of an hour later, having secured the necessary -information, she was just approaching the outside doorway when Professor -Donnell's class came out of its room, right behind her. Patricia was -rather shy with strangers, and hurried a bit to keep well ahead of the -men going down the steps. In her haste, she failed to notice, on a step -part way down the flight, some matted, damp leaves. Her heel slipped on -one of them, and she rolled to the bottom of the flight. Eighteen men -promptly sprang to her assistance, but the long legs of a thin dark boy -brought him first upon the scene. - -"Are you hurt?" he asked, raising Patricia to her feet. - -Patricia looked up into solicitous blue eyes, bent anxiously upon her, -and shakily replied that she didn't think so. - -"That was a nasty fall," continued the boy, still carefully holding her -by the arm as if he feared she might collapse any minute. - -The other men had gathered about her in a semi-circle, and Patricia's -color came back with a rush, and flushed her face to a scarlet which -matched the little hat which had fallen off during her descent and which -one of the men now presented to her. - -"Thank you," she murmured. - -"Lucile would say, if she could see me now, that I fell purposely," -thought Patricia, adjusting the gay little hat with shaking fingers. Then -an awful thought occurred to her. Maybe these men thought the same thing! -People resorted to all kinds of tricks to meet celebrities, and Jack -Dunn's acquaintanceship was much sought after. - -"I don't know how I happened to fall," she said, trying to laugh. "I'm -not usually so careless." - -"There were some wet leaves on one of the steps," explained her rescuer, -bending his head protectively over her. - -It was a fine shaped head, topped by wavy brown hair flung back from a -broad, very white forehead. The hands on her arm were shapely, and the -fingers long and slender. A thoroughbred, thought Patricia. - -"If you'll tell me where you were going," he continued, motioning his -companions peremptorily away, "I'll walk along with you." - -"Oh, I don't want to trouble you further," protested Patricia. "I'm quite -all right now." - -"You're shaking like a leaf," contradicted her escort gently, falling -into step beside her, as they started across the campus. "Let's sit down -over there a while," he added, as they approached a stone bench under a -tree near the Fine Arts Building; "or have you a class now?" - -"No, not until three-thirty." - -"What year are you?" he began, as soon as they were seated. "I don't -think I've ever seen you before." - -"I'm a Sophomore, and my name, by the way, is Patricia Randall." - -"Mine is Jack Dunn," said the boy, as simply as if his name were not -known the length and breadth of the campus. - -"I'm afraid you are not very observing," remarked Patricia. - -"Why?" - -"Because we are in the same Shakespeare class, and have been all this -term." - -"Oh, well, we're seated alphabetically. I'm down in the front of the -room, and you must be in the back. So that lets me out." - -Three-thirty arrived long before they finished exchanging personal bits -of information, and Jack left Patricia at the door of her classroom with -a promise to see her again very soon. - -"How in the world did you get hold of him?" whispered Jane excitedly, as -Patricia took her seat. - -"Tell you later," promised Patricia, as Professor Yates glanced in their -direction. - -After the class was over, the girls managed to get away from the rest of -the crowd; so, as they walked slowly across the campus, Patricia told the -story of the fall and its consequences. - -"You're a lucky girl!" sighed Jane, as she finished. - -"To have broken no bones?" inquired Patricia innocently. - -"Yes, just that," replied her companion, with exaggerated emphasis. -"Broken hearts not taken into account." - -"I suppose the girls will razz the life out of me," commented Patricia, -after a short pause. - -"Don't tell them anything about it, then. I shan't mention it." - -"But suppose some of them saw us together?" - -"That's all right. If they don't know how you met him, it will give them -something to think about." - - -That evening Patricia was keenly aware of curious eyes fixed upon her as -she stood in front of Arnold Hall talking to Jack Dunn. He had stepped up -to her just as she was following Jane and Anne to the post office after -dinner. The girls obligingly hurried on and left the two together, but -Patricia's cheeks were red with the knowledge that they were talking -about her as they went back to the dorm. - -"I was wondering if you'd go to see Arliss with me," began Jack. "He's on -at the Plaza, and we'd be just in time for the early performance." - -"I should like to see it," replied Patricia slowly; "but--yes, I'll go. -I'm pretty sure Jane will sign the Black Book for me if I don't go in." - -"The Black Book?" repeated Jack in puzzled tones. - -As they started downtown, Patricia told him all about the Arnold Hall -customs and rules, and answered his questions regarding the identity of -several of the Alley Gang. - -"You see," he said, "I don't know many of the girls here; for I came only -this year, transferred from Floynton University--" - -"And I from Brentwood," interrupted Patricia. "Isn't that funny?" - -"We ought to be friends, then, both strangers in a strange land. Shall -we?" - -"I don't mind." - -After leaving the movie, they strolled slowly back to College Hill, -chatting as if they had known each other always. - -"Will you come in?" asked Patricia, as they reached Arnold Hall. - -"Like to, but you see I'm in training and not supposed to be out too -late; besides I have some boning to do yet." - -"I don't see when you ever get any studying done; you're in classes all -morning as well as part of the afternoon, and on the athletic field until -dark." - -"It doesn't leave me much time, and I've just got to make good here." - -"You mean in order to keep on the team?" - -"Of course; but there's another reason too. You see, my dad isn't well -enough off to send me to Granard himself; and, well, when you're indebted -to somebody else for a big chance, why, you've just _got_ to make good." - -"I know just how that is; for I'm in the same position myself," replied -Patricia impulsively. - -"You are?" questioned Jack. "Then you would understand." - -"Good evening," said a smooth, low voice behind them, and they turned to -face Norman Young. - -"How are you?" replied Jack briefly, while Patricia murmured a response -to the newcomer's greeting. - -"Clarice in?" queried Norman as he turned and went up the walk toward the -house. - -"I don't know," replied Patricia. - -"I don't like that fellow," observed Jack, as the door closed upon Young. - -"You don't? Why?" - -"Queer acting guy. Never caught him in anything; in fact I don't know him -very well, but I don't trust him. Comes out and sits on the side lines to -watch practice quite often, and he gives me the jitters. You know him -well?" - -"No, I don't. I was introduced to him at Mrs. Brock's house. He's her -secretary." - -"Who's Mrs. Brock?" - -Briefly Patricia told him of their contact with the eccentric inhabitant -of Big House. - -"She must be crazy!" declared Jack, as she finished her story. "You'd -better not have anything to do with her. Say, what does she look like?" -as a sudden idea occurred to him. - -Patricia described her as well as she could. - -"The very same!" ejaculated the boy, when Patricia paused. - -"The same--what do you mean?" inquired the girl, looking at him with a -puzzled expression. - -"I was walking along Craig Street, right back of the campus, you know, -one day about two weeks ago, when I noticed a little woman ahead of me -drop a small bag. Apparently, she didn't notice her loss; for she kept -right on. I picked up the pocketbook, hurried on, and gave it to her. She -looked at me sharply with the most piercing brown eyes I have ever -seen--" - -"That's she!" interrupted Patricia. "Those eyes fasten themselves on you -just like tiny crabs." - -"I presented the bag and told her where I found it. She said curtly: 'So -you're really honest. I didn't think anybody was, any more.' It made me -mad, so I merely said: 'That is one of the things upon which I pride -myself,' bowed and hurried on. I wouldn't swear to it, but I thought I -heard her laugh. Must be cuckoo." - -"She's certainly queer, to say the least," agreed Patricia. "I think I'd -better go in, now. Thanks for the movie; I enjoyed it." - -"Wait a minute," urged the boy, laying a hand on her arm. "You're going -to see the Greystone game; aren't you?" - -"Yes; Frances and I are going to drive down together." - -"I'll get your tickets, then. I'd like you to be where you can get a good -view, since you've never been to a real big game before." - -"Thanks a lot," said Patricia gratefully, as she started up the steps. -"Good night." - -"Bring them to you in Shakespeare class Friday," called Jack, just as -Norman and Clarice came out onto the porch. - -Shortly after the street was again deserted, a masculine figure slipped -out of a thick clump of shrubbery near the dormitory, and, keeping well -in the heavy shadows which edged Arnold Hall on one side, slunk off into -the darkness. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - JACK OR TUT? - - -"Will somebody stop that bell!" called Patricia frantically one afternoon -a week later. - -She and Anne were in their room, trying to cram for a test in French. - -"No!" shouted Clarice and Hazel simultaneously. "We want to wear out the -battery before tonight; and the coast is clear now." - -Patricia gave her door a shove which made it close with a bang, and -stuffed her fingers into her ears, while Anne did likewise. Presently the -door flew open again to admit Mary. - -"What's the idea?" she exclaimed, viewing the two girls with alarm. - -"That awful bell!" replied Anne briefly, withdrawing her fingers from -ears. "What do you suppose Clarice and Hazel are up to?" - -"I'm not sure, but I think they're planning to step out tonight." - -"Rose Troy?" queried Anne. - -"I suppose so," said Mary anxiously. - -Rose Troy was not a student at Granard, but at one of the college affairs -to which outsiders were admitted, she had met Hazel and Clarice, taken a -fancy to them, and subsequently invited them to her home several times. -She entertained lavishly, and some of the girls were frankly envious of -the favored two; others strongly disapproved of the growing intimacy. - -"But what's the bell got to do with it?" inquired Patricia. - -"You poor innocent!" retorted Mary. "If the bell won't ring when the back -door is opened--and they find some way to have said back door opened for -them--Doll can never tell what time the girls come home." - -"I wish Hazel hadn't gotten so intimate with Clarice all of a sudden," -mused Anne. "I wonder how it happened." - -"Birds of a feather," began Mary. - -"Don't say that. Hazel is just like Clarice!" protested Anne vehemently. - -"Wait till I finish," countered Mary calmly. "I was going to say that -they both love a good time, and both let their studying go until the -eleventh hour; furthermore, Hazel is terribly restless this year. I can't -make out just what is the matter with her, and Clarice is a kind of -outlet." - -"Rose Troy's attentions are very bad for both of them, I think; and -perhaps partly explains their intimacy," said Anne. - -"How?" inquired Mary bluntly. - -"Well, they have a common interest in which the rest of us have no part, -and Rose's parties are somewhat stimulating, I imagine; more -sophisticated than ours. Rose has lots of boy friends, you know." - -"Ought we to do anything, about tonight, I wonder," mused Anne. - -"No!" replied Mary promptly. "What right have we to object if those two -silly kids want to run the risk of getting into trouble?" - -Suddenly the bell stopped ringing, and quiet settled down upon the house, -just as Mrs. Vincent entered the front door, with her shadow, Ivan Zahn. - -"But," persisted Patricia, still puzzled, "how will they manage to get in -without Dolly's knowledge?" - -"Oh, Clarice, on some pretext or other--she'll know how--will ask for -permission for both of them to stay out an hour later than usual. Doll -will give it, and go to bed at the regular time. Then, with the back door -key, which I suppose they will secure during the early evening, they will -be able to get in and go to bed without anyone being the wiser." - -"Clarice certainly has some stand-in with Dolly," observed Anne. - -"She works hard enough for it," retorted Mary. - -"What do you mean?" inquired Patricia. - -"Oh, Clarice is always sending Doll flowers, or candy, and naturally it -makes an 'imprint'; as of course it's intended to." - -About two o'clock next morning, Patricia was suddenly wakened by a flash -of light. Wide awake in an instant, she waited tensely for the peal of -thunder which she expected would accompany it--forgetting that the season -for such storms was over. Electric storms were Patricia's chief phobia; -but no sound disturbed the stillness. Then the flash was repeated; again -she waited, but again perfect quiet reigned. Just as she decided that one -of the street lights must be blinking, a third time the light played on -the wall, this time more slowly. With a fast-beating heart, she sat up, -reached for her bathrobe, and stole softly to the window. On the path -below, in the faint light from the street lamp, she could distinguish -Clarice and Hazel. Evidently they could not get in, and had used a flash -light to attract her attention. How to let them know that she saw them, -without making any noise, was a problem which she solved by passing a -handkerchief back and forth near the screen, hoping that its whiteness -would be visible against the dark background of the room. Frantic -gestures toward the back door answered her efforts. They must have -forgotten the key. Creeping noiselessly toward her door, Patricia -succeeded in opening it quietly and stealing down the hall without -arousing anyone. Fortunately, the door into the narrow passage leading to -the back entrance was open, and Patricia drew it carefully to behind her, -in order to keep any sounds from the front of the house. With her heart -in her throat, she turned the key, bit by bit, until the lock was -released. With the same care, she opened the door wide enough to admit -the two girls who were pressed close to its frame. As she was about to -close it again, she noticed a bright light in Big House--in the room -occupied by Norman Young. There was a slight jar as the door settled into -place again, and the three girls stood silent, shaking with nervous -chills, until they felt quite sure that no one had been wakened. Then, -without a word, they all crept to their rooms. - - -"Come on up to the Coffee Shoppe with me for lunch, Pat," begged Hazel -the following noon, as they left the house with the rest of the crowd for -Horton Hall. "I want to talk with you." - -In one of the cozy stalls at the back of the restaurant, after their -order was filled, Hazel began bluntly: - -"You're a good sport, Pat. It was darned white of you to let us in last -night, and never say a word about it." - -"Was the party worth the trouble?" asked Patricia, playing with the salt -cellar nervously, and not knowing exactly what to say. - -"To be frank, it was not. I never had such a fright in my life. Rose's -party was all right. We had fun, out, after the eats, one of the boys -proposed driving out to Kleg's--" - -"The _road_ house?" exclaimed Patricia. - -Hazel nodded. - -"Everybody seemed keen to go, so I wasn't going to be a spoilsport. When -we got there, we found a big crowd, and had trouble getting tables -together. Luckily Clarice and I, and a couple of fellows you don't know, -got places in a back corner near a side door, like this." - -Hazel placed a piece of roll and a match on the table to show the exact -relative location. - -"We hadn't been there half an hour when there was a raid--" - -"Hazel!" gasped Patricia, with horror in her eyes and voice. - -"While the first excitement was going on in the front room the two -fellows who were with us hustled us quietly out of the side door, into -Pete's car, and brought us home. And were we lucky!" - -"You don't know how lucky," said Patricia gravely. "Did you see this -morning's paper?" - -"No, don't tell me it was reported!" - -"It certainly was--" - -"Were our names in?" demanded Hazel breathlessly. - -"Not yours or Clarice's, but several of the men's, as well as Rose's and -her sister's. Only for a kind Providence, you and Clarice might have been -included," said Patricia severely, gazing sternly at the white-faced girl -opposite her. - -"I'm through!" declared Hazel finally. "This is the last time I'll break -the college rules; and--" - -"And what about Rose?" added Patricia. "She's not good for you, Hazel. -You haven't the time or money to go with anyone like that; and her ideals -and standards are different from ours." - -Hazel looked at her plate and was silent so long, that Patricia began to -feel as if she had been too frank. - -"You're right, I guess," she said finally. "I'll give her up, even though -I suppose she'll think I am an awful quitter." - -"Good for you!" commended Patricia heartily, beginning again on her -lunch. - -"Do you suppose, Pat," asked Hazel, after a short pause, "that the -college authorities will hear that Clarice and I were mixed up in the -affair?" - -"I don't imagine so; the others were all outsiders, weren't they?" - -"Yes, but, Pats; at Kleg's I saw Norman Young." - -"Did he see you?" inquired Patricia sharply, recalling Jack's impression -of the blond youth. - -"I don't think so; but you never can tell. He was at a table half way -down the room; and Pat, who do you suppose was with him?" - -"Couldn't guess." - -"Rhoda!" - -"_Our_ Rhoda?" repeated Patricia, unbelievingly. - -Hazel nodded. - -"Don't let's say anything about it to _any_body," proposed Patricia after -a minute's thought. "It's awfully queer, but since we can't understand -it, there's no object in creating talk and making things unpleasant for -Rhoda." - -"No, of course not. I like Rhoda." - -"We all do, and I guess she needs her job. She said something one day -about some one being dependent on her." - -"Do you suppose Norman goes with her?" continued Hazel, scraping up the -last of her chocolate pudding. - -"I haven't any idea. He's been out with Clarice quite often of late. I -hope she doesn't hear about Rhoda." - -"I don't think she saw them last night, and I didn't mention it. But -Clarice wouldn't care, as long as she had somebody to step out with. It's -a case of _some_ boy with her, not any particular one," replied Hazel, -getting up and dropping her purse just outside the stall. - -At the same moment a youth, leaving the next stall, picked up the purse -and handed it to her. - -"Thank you," murmured Hazel, glancing up at the man. - -To her amazement and distress, she looked full into the pale grey eyes of -Norman Young. - -"Going back to college?" he asked, looking first at Hazel and then at -Patricia, who had just slipped out of her seat. - -"Yes," replied Patricia briefly, when Hazel did not respond. - -"So am I. Guess I'll walk along with you, if you don't mind," continued -the boy, following them out of the shop. - -Once on the street, he began to talk about the Greystone game. - -"There's a lot of money up on that game," he remarked. "Not only among -the students, but also among the townsfolk. Greystone has a player almost -as famous as our Dunn, and the betting between the two factions is heavy. -If Dunn were to be out of the game for any reason--" - -"What would be likely to keep him out?" inquired Hazel sharply, while -Patricia listened breathlessly. - -"Oh, I don't know," laughed Norman; "probably nothing at all. I was only -mentioning an improbable chance of such a thing. But, if he were, the -Greystone supporters would be in line to win a heap of dough." - -"What kind of a place is Greystone?" asked Hazel. - -"About the size of Granard. People of the town are just as loyal to their -college as we are here. Maybe a little rougher crowd than ours." - -"Do you think Tut Miller has any chance of being put in for part of the -game?" asked Patricia anxiously, the conversation of the morning -recurring to her. - -"How should I know?" questioned the boy, looking straight into Patricia's -eyes with a peculiar, twisted smile. - -"You must know all the gridiron gossip," asserted Hazel. - -"Why should I? I'm neither coach nor manager." - -"No, but you watch practice a lot," said Patricia before Hazel could -reply. - -"How do you know?" he inquired curtly. - -Patricia laughed. "Did you ever know anything to be kept quiet in a -college community?" - -Norman looked searchingly at her for a moment, then replied gravely: -"Yes, a few things." - -They had reached Clinton Hall by that time, and the girls left Norman at -the steps with a hasty "We're going in here. Goodbye." - -"Pat!" gasped Hazel, clasping the other girl's arm in a frenzied grasp as -they hurried along the hall toward their classroom. "Do you suppose he -heard what we were talking about at lunch? He was evidently in the stall -next to us, all the time." - -"I hardly think so. We were talking very low," replied Patricia kindly, -pressing Hazel's cold fingers. - -"He acted very funny, I thought," chattered Hazel, trying to control the -nervous chills which shook her. - -"Pull yourself together," ordered Patricia sternly. "If he did, we can't -change it by getting wrought up over it; but I think we'll just take it -for granted that he didn't. Don't worry," she added, as they entered -Professor Donnell's classroom. - -Patricia gave good advice to others, but during the class which followed, -her mind dwelt persistently and anxiously on Norman's reference to Jack's -_possibly_ being out of the game. Had Joe some secret influence which -might, at the last minute, result in Tut getting his chance? Did Norman -have some inside information? Or was his supposition as casual as he -tried to make it sound. Ought she to tell Jack, or would that tend to -make things worse? - -"Mademoiselle Randall," Professor Donnell's smooth voice broke into her -reveries, "_de quoi avons nous lu?_" - -"_De foot balle_," replied Patricia promptly; then realized, too late, -what an absurd reply she had made. - -Everybody laughed and turned around to look at her. Crimson with -embarrassment, Patricia slid as low in her seat as she could, without -landing on the floor. - -"_Ce n'est pas etrange_," Professor Donnell smiled his oily smile as he -passed a long white hand over his star-like hair. "_Tout le monde parle, -et pense, et entende ne que de footballe._" - - - - - CHAPTER IX - A TOUGH PROPOSITION - - -"Now, boys," said Coach Tyler on Friday afternoon, at the close of a -meeting of the football team, "take the rest of the day off." - -Tyler did not believe in working a team up to the very last minute, and -never had his men on the field the day before a big game. - -"Take things easy," he went on. "Drop football out of your minds and -conversation. Stay out of doors as much as possible. Don't do anything -exciting, and get to bed early. The train leaves South Street Station at -8:30, and I want you here in the gym at eight sharp!" - -"Let's go for a little spin," suggested Tut Miller to Jack Dunn as they -strolled out onto the campus. "It's only half past one. Tyler is -certainly getting big-hearted." - -"I've got a paper to write for--" began Jack. - -"Oh, come on!" urged Tut, dragging him toward a yellow roadster parked on -the drive. "You'll have plenty of time to do that later. Some friends of -mine want to meet you." - -Reluctantly Jack got into the car, wondering a little at the unusual -request. Tut settled himself in the driver's seat, quickly swung the -machine out onto Grover Road, and headed for the country. Jack had never -been very chummy with this big blond Soph with the protruding jaw and -narrowed eyes which looked at you speculatively, as if you were a bug -under a microscope. He was always friendly, almost too friendly; one -sometimes wondered if he were laughing scornfully, away down inside of -him. - -Neither boy spoke until they had turned onto Route 8, one very little -traveled at that hour of the day; then Tut began smoothly: "These friends -of mine live about ten miles out on this road; some fellows I knew in -prep school. They're awfully keen on football, and like to be able to say -they've met this or that celebrity. Been at me for some time to bring you -out. They run a big roadside stand; have several cabins, and I guess -they're making a pretty good thing of it; always have plenty of dough to -spend." - -Jack, for all his popularity, was a modest fellow and hated being shown -off. If he had known where they were going, he would have managed to -evade the trip; but Tut had trapped him, fairly and squarely. Nothing for -it now but to get the meeting over with as quickly as possible. - -Tut drove rapidly, and before long drew up at a tourist camp in a grove -some feet back from the road. Three fellows a little older than the -Granard boys came out to greet them. They were husky, finely built -individuals, all with bright red hair, blue eyes, and a strong family -resemblance. - -"The Holm brothers," said Tut, with a wave of his hand. "I don't need to -tell you boys who this is!" slapping Jack on the back. "Everybody knows -him, at least by sight." - -"Mighty glad to meet you," said each in turn, as he grasped Jack's hand -in a vise-like grip. - -The five stood for a few minutes talking of various unimportant matters; -then Seldon, the oldest Holm, proposed showing Jack around the place. - -"Some of our cabins are pretty nice," he said; "and farther back in the -grove there is a stream beside which we have built ovens and tables." - -Bernard, the second brother, promptly moved to their side as Jack -murmured a polite assent to the proposal. - -"I'll stay here with Vin," said Tut, "and help keep store." - -After Seldon and Bernard had proudly displayed their property, of which -Jack was able to approve quite honestly, they stopped for a moment at a -rustic bridge which led back from the picnic grounds to a deep woods. - -"We've a proposition to make to you, Dunn," began Seldon abruptly, -"somewhat of a surprise to you, and probably not a very agreeable one; -but just keep cool and think it over a bit before you decide. Briefly, -it's this: we Huron Prep fellows always hang together, and let nothing -stand in the way of promoting the welfare and reputation of our school. -We want Tut to have his big chance in the Greystone game. Now, what will -you take to stay out of it?" - -For a fleeting second, Jack's impulse was to knock the fellow over into -the stream below; but some more cautious instinct immediately urged upon -him the wisdom of proceeding carefully. - -"Well," began Jack, as slowly as his fast-beating heart would allow, -"naturally, since I've never given a thought to such a question, I'm not -prepared to answer it on the spur of the moment." - -"Take your time," urged Bernard, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. - -Jack's brain fairly raced. If he refused, since they strongly outnumbered -him, they could readily keep him a prisoner until after the game. Yet to -accept was definitely out of the question; he'd be just a plain cur to -take a bribe. How could he get away from them without either definitely -accepting or refusing? That seemed to be his only chance. What an easy -mark he had been! - -"How long am I to have to decide?" he asked, finally. - -"Until Tut's ready to go back," replied Seldon, who, leaning against a -big oak tree, was watching Jack closely. - -"Let's go back to where the others are," suggested Jack; "I'd like to -talk to Tut before I decide." - -"No objection to that, I guess," replied Bernard, looking at his brother. -Not a chance of this fellow getting away when there were four of them to -prevent such a contingency. Much better for Dunn to accept the bribe (for -that meant Tut would have his place for the next two years, as well as at -the Greystone game) than it would be to have to keep him prisoner until -after Saturday. Why had the fellows urged Tut's being helped with his -course at Granard except so that Huron could have a representative on the -big team? Tut had played mighty good football at prep school, but this -upstart kept him from his rightful place here. Pity they hadn't gotten -rid of him before. It took the Greystone game to wake them all up. The -Greystone supporters would be glad to see Dunn out of the game; they -didn't know how good Tut was. - -"Now let's get down to business," said Seldon briskly, when they joined -the others who were standing at the edge of the grove. "Tut, Dunn wants -to talk over the proposition with you before he decides." - -Jack managed to get on the outside of the group, from which point he had -a straight and unobstructed path to the yellow car which was parked at -the farthest point of the Holm property and headed toward Granard. Tut -must have turned it around so as to be ready for a quick get-away if -necessary. The Holms probably had a car; but it was not in sight. -Wherever they kept it, it would take at least a few minutes to get it -started and out. True, Tut could have him arrested for going off with his -car, but he'd have to run the risk. - -"Well," Tut was saying, "spill it!" - -"If I should decide to take the money, how would you explain my absence?" - -"We thought you'd play up sick, and just stay at home," put in Seldon. - -"That would be sheer foolishness," retorted Jack. "Tyler would send Doc -to examine me, and he'd find me perfectly O. K. How would it do for me to -go to Greystone, just as if nothing had happened, and start the game; -then get hurt and have you put in in my place?" - -"That would seem more natural," answered Tut, looking at Seldon for -approval; but that sturdy individual frowned. - -"How could you fake that any better than being sick before you went?" he -growled. - -"Just this way. I'd make a run, stumble, fall, and lie still on the -field. When they picked me up, I'd go limp and not be able to stand at -all. I could fool anybody who'd never seen me do it before. Let me show -you what I mean, and then see if you don't think it would work out -perfectly. When I fall, you come and try to stand me up, Tut." - -Jack looked questioningly at the Holms for permission to stage his act. - -"Go ahead," replied Seldon curtly. - -Instead of making directly for the yellow roadster, as he had intended, -Jack cleverly ran about a bit, close enough to the others for them to -have been able to seize him any moment they chose. - -"This is just warming up a bit," he said, smiling, as he passed the group -for the second time. "In a minute or two I'll put on my act." - -Jack sensed, rather than saw, that the tenseness with which they had -watched his start relaxed somewhat as he continued to warm up. Then like -a catapult he hurled himself forward and sprinted to the car. With a -bound he was in the driver's seat, the ignition was on, the clutch was -thrown in, the car shot out onto the road. Wild shouts from those left -behind. - -Jack realized that it would be foolhardy to stay on Route 8; so at the -first crossroad he turned off into a road which he thought would bring -him out at Portersville, a suburb of Granard. The road was a winding one, -but he made good time and met no other cars. He kept close watch in the -mirror for his pursuers, but the road behind him basked quietly in the -afternoon sunshine. - -Just as he turned into the road leading into Portersville, a stretch of -heavily wooded highway, he saw a big blue car coming toward him. In it -were four big fellows wearing blue and green ribbons in their -buttonholes--Greystone colors. All this, Jack took in at a glance as he -sped onward. The blue car slowed down, turned around, stopped for a -moment, then came on with a burst of speed, passed him and swung sharply -across the road, directly in his path. It was so unexpected that Jack had -to jam on the brakes suddenly to avoid crashing into the larger car. - -"What--" he began angrily, when he noticed that the three individuals who -had tumbled out of the car and were coming toward him had handkerchiefs -tied over the lower part of their faces. - -"A hold-up!" thought Jack. "Foolhardy to try to resist them." - -Without a word they seized him, dragged him out of the yellow roadster, -then two of them hurried him over to the blue car while the third moved -the smaller car over onto the shoulder. A blindfold was tied tightly over -Jack's eyes, he was tumbled into the tonneau, and the big car started off -for--somewhere. - - - - - CHAPTER X - JACK IN DANGER - - -At first Jack was too stunned by the suddenness of the transfer to talk, -but after a few dizzy miles, he began: - -"Where are you taking me?" - -"Shut up!" ordered a harsh voice, accompanied by a dig in the ribs; and -he shut up. - -Not a word did any of his captors exchange, and mile after mile whirled -by in utter silence. Where he might be, he had no idea whatever. After -endless eons, so it seemed to Jack, the car began to move more slowly and -wind about, then came to a sudden stop. - -He was hustled out, run across some gravel, up a few steps. A door -slammed, footsteps on stone, then up stairs, and stairs, and more stairs. -A key turned protestingly. A door creaked; there was a blast of cool air; -he was pushed into some place. Then the door closed, and the key grated a -second time. The sound of footsteps on stairs sounded more and more -faintly; then silence, broken only by a peculiar grating sound from -somewhere above him. - -Where could he be? - -Pulling the bandage from his eyes he discovered that he was in a small -square room with slatted walls. It looked like a belfry. Yes, there was a -great bell just above his head, almost touching it. If that mass of metal -ever moved, it would put him out of business in short order all right. -What tower was this anyhow? He tried to peer out between the slats. The -only object within his narrow range of vision was the framework of some -new building. What big structure was going up now in town, or nearby? He -tried hard to think, but he still felt a little dazed. How stupid! Who -knew where he was now? They had been riding for a long time; he might be -miles and miles from Granard. Still, there was something annoyingly -familiar about that naked, orange-colored framework out there, with the -big 0032 in black on the top girder. Again he peered at it. It must -be--it was! The new forestry building at the University! Then this was -the tower of the old chapel. His captors had evidently entered the campus -from the alley gate at the back, where no one would be likely to see -them. That accounted for the gravel they had crossed. They had driven for -miles, first, to throw him off. But how strange of the gang to have -brought him here! Who were they, and what was their game anyhow? - -Game? Ah, that must be it! He remembered now; there was a lot of money up -on the Greystone struggle, not only on the campus but even in the town; -and if he were out of the contest, Granard stood to lose--so it was said. -Evidently those fellows were Greystone supporters. He remembered now they -had worn Greystone colors. Darned clever of them to put him where he -would have no evidence, when he got out, and where no one would ever -think to look for him. - -But how to get out; that was the question. - -"Good thing it's not Sunday, for that big fellow to knock me out!" he -thought, looking up at the bell. A horrible thought came to him. The boys -were going to have a rouser that night; everybody out in front of the gym -before dinner for songs and speeches. They'd ring that bell to call the -students together; and the janitor pulled the rope from a little room at -the foot of the stairs! What time was it now? Glancing at his wrist he -was shocked to find it bare. Where was his watch? Must have come -unfastened in the car. - -One, two, three, sounded the bell of a clock in the distance. The clock -on the college library. Breathlessly, Jack listened. Four. One hour--one -little hour of sixty minutes to devise a means of escape. Frantically he -shook the door. Only the flutter of wings, as some startled pigeons arose -from the roof, answered his plea. - -Panting for breath, he paused; then began to batter the slats of one -panel with his fists. They were stout, and withstood the blows of even a -husky football player. - -He must keep his head and work rationally. There were only two means of -exit: the door and the four slatted windows. Again he shook the door, not -wildly, but listening critically. Perhaps he could pick the lock. - -Eagerly he felt in his pockets for his knife and buttonhook. Only a -crumpled handkerchief, a pencil, a soft package of butterscotch, and a -ball of twine rewarded his efforts. The door was now out of the question. -What in heck had become of his knife? Had those fellows purposely -stripped him of everything so he couldn't possibly get out? To do them -justice, however, he supposed they didn't know about the ringing of the -bell for the rouser, and probably intended him to be secure until after -the game. - -One, two; one, two, chimed the library clock. Four-fifteen! Nothing -accomplished yet. - -"If I could get the slats broken, and then lean out of the window and -yell for help," he said, half aloud. - -A squeak on the stairs outside of the door caught his ear. "Wonder if -they left a guard around," he thought. "If I yelled, they would only come -in and gag me; and that would make things worse than they are now. My -only hope, a forlorn one at that, is to attract the attention of someone -in order to let the fellows know where I am, and come to rescue me." - -But how? - -Covering his face with his hands, he crouched on the floor, in deep -thought. - -One, chimed the library clock, marking the half hour. Anxiously Jack -glanced up at the heavy bell above him. Perhaps he could unfasten the -clapper, and flatten himself on the floor so that the bell would only -graze him as it swung to and fro. Then, when no sound came from the -belfry, somebody might investigate. But no; old Jake, who attended to the -bell ringing, was too lazy to climb all those stairs to repair the bell -for a mere rally. He'd just let it go until some time tomorrow. By that -time, the team would have left without him! - -The tickets he had promised Patricia were lying home on his desk. Wonder -what she thought when he failed to keep his promise to give them to her -in Shakespeare class. - -Tut's friends would probably pass around the word that Jack had taken the -bribe and disappeared. That would be his finish in athletics. Jack -groaned aloud, and pulled his handkerchief from his pocket to wipe off -the cold perspiration which dampened his face. Tut had always been -jealous of him; and since he had refused, a few weeks ago, to work for -Jim's election as Chairman of the Soph Hop, Tut had positively disliked -him. Jack did not approve of the bargaining for honors, which went on at -the college, but doggedly supported whatever man he thought best fitted -for the job, politics notwithstanding--a practice which had not made him -any too popular with certain ambitious ringleaders. - -The sight of his handkerchief gave him a sudden inspiration. Quickly -tearing it in half, he scrawled on one part of it, in large letters, -"HELP! QUICK!" Knotting one end of the ball of twine to it, he -painstakingly worked the bit of linen between the slats of the window -which faced the observatory, and played out the cord as far as it would -go. Fastening the end of it securely to one of the shutters, he took the -other half of the handkerchief, slipped it through between the slats, and -tied it about in the center of the window. - -"Now I've done all I can," he muttered. "It's on the laps of the gods, -for better or worse." - -The part of the campus on which the chapel stood was deserted during the -week. In a rather out-of-the-way place, beyond the other buildings, it -was in the least frequented corner of the campus. Jack's captors planned -all too well when they chose the belfry for his prison. - -One, two, one, two, chimed the library clock. A quarter to five! Would -_nobody_ find his message or see his poor little flag? If he could only -have stood up and tramped around a bit, it would have relieved Jack's -feelings somewhat; but the belfry was large enough only for the moving of -the single bell. Would he be safer flat on the floor, directly under the -bell, or as far to one side as he could get, when it began to swing? - -One, two, three, four, chimed the clock. A door slammed somewhere -downstairs; the bell rope trembled; the bell quivered; Jack stretched out -on the floor as flat as he could, and waited for the first blow of the -iron mass. - -Swift steps on the stairs, the turning of a key, hands dragging him -quickly out of the way, just as the first clang of the big bell sounded -deafeningly through the little room. Jack found himself in the hall with -Pat and Ted bending over him. - -"Just in the nick of time, old man!" cried Ted, grinning cheerfully. - -"Don't stop to talk!" ordered Patricia frantically. "Let's get out of -here right away!" - -Down the stairs they rushed, while the bell clanged and clanged overhead. -Pat's car, with all shades drawn, was waiting close to the doorway. - -"Get in back," directed Ted; "crawl behind those cartons and don't -breathe." - -For a second time that day, Jack was driven off, he knew not where. - -"Hi there, Ted," called Joe Leonard, as they stopped for lights at the -corner of College Avenue and Elizabeth Street. "Come on to the meeting!" - -"See you later," replied Ted; "got to deliver these fruit jars for my -mother first." - -"Wonder if he's onto us," whispered Patricia, as they started forward -with a jerk. - -Ted only shrugged his shoulders and drove as rapidly as possible to the -apartment he and his mother shared on Winton Street. At the side -entrance, where Mrs. Carter was waiting to admit them, Ted hustled Jack -into the house and up a back stairway to his own room; meanwhile, -Patricia drove her car farther back into the yard. - -"Going to keep you here tonight, old fellow," said Ted, slapping Jack on -the back. "Nobody'll ever think of looking for you here; and we'll see -you safe on the train in the morning. No college people in this house, -and we have a back apartment. We'll keep the shades drawn as an extra -precaution. Right across the hall from this room is the door to the -attic. If anybody comes tonight to call, just beat it for the loft and -slip in behind the big dresser which is near the chimney." - -"But--" began Jack. - -"Pat will tell you all about it later; for Mother asked her to stay to -dinner. Wash a bit if you want to, and then go out to the living room. -I'll have to show up at the meeting for a while, I suppose, in case Jim -takes a notion to look for me. Don't want to arouse any suspicions." - -Still in somewhat of a daze, Jack made himself tidy and then went out to -the living room. Aunt Betsy was busy in the kitchen, and Patricia sat -alone by the bay window which overhung the side door by which they had -entered. The girl smiled a bit shyly as Jack came in and crossed the room -to her side. - -"Have I you to thank for my rescue?" he asked, taking her hands in both -of his. - -"Well, partly," she admitted. "But Ted helped a lot. He's always been my -stand-by in moments of difficulty. - -"When you didn't show up in Shakespeare class," she continued, as Jack -dropped down at the other end of the davenport, "I knew right away -something must have happened. You see," her head dropped a bit, "I heard -something this morning about the possibility of your being out of the -game; and, oh, it seemed only a joking reference, but I was too stupid, I -guess, to have attached enough importance to it. I _did_ wonder if I -should say anything to you about it, put you on your guard; and now, oh, -how I wish I had!" - -"Don't get all steamed up over it," urged Jack; "it came out all right." - -"But it _mightn't_ have. If I hadn't happened to go to the observatory -perhaps nobody would have seen your flag; and--and then, if you'd been -struck by that old bell, it would have been all my fault!" - -"Nonsense!" cried Jack, laying his arm gently around her shoulders. He -was distressed beyond measure by the girl's self-accusation. "I was lying -so flat that the bell probably would only have grazed me." - -Determinedly Pat pulled herself together and sat up very straight, -winking hard and fast to keep back the tears which, much to her -embarrassment, had welled up in her eyes. - -"After Shakespeare class," she continued, "I got away from the rest of -the girls--I always want to be alone if I have anything to work out in my -mind--and wandered about the most deserted parts of the campus trying to -decide what to do. I don't know all the ins and outs of college affairs -yet, and I was afraid of telling my suspicions to the wrong person. As I -passed the observatory, I remembered having left my fountain pen in the -lecture room; so I ran up to get it. Nobody was in there, and I sat down -by the window thinking that was a good place to be quiet. The sun shone -full on the side of the chapel, and it was no time at all before I caught -sight of the white flag waving in the breeze. - -"I nearly broke all records running down the stairs and along the path -toward the chapel. Not far from the building, I found your appeal for -help. I felt sure it _was_ your appeal. I tore off the cloth, so nobody -else would find it, and ran for Ted. I knew he was in the library. I -hadn't thought about the meeting; but Ted did, right away, and realized -what danger you were in. Ted grabbed up a couple of empty cartons that -stood in the hall, ready to be thrown out, dumped them and ourselves into -my car (which, fortunately, was standing in front of the library) and we -just rushed to your rescue. Luckily, all the students were swarming over -the front campus, waiting for the meeting; so no one, so far as we know, -saw us." - -"But how did you get the key?" inquired Jack, still somewhat in the dark -as to details. - -"Oh, Ted has a master key. He has to get into Forestry Hall at all sorts -of odd times. He was sure his key could be used on the belfry door, and -he was right. If it hadn't fitted, he would have had to let Jake in on -the rescue, but it was better not; the fewer people knew about it, the -safer we were." - -"I wonder how I can get hold of those tickets for you. I might -telephone--" - -"Oh, no! No!" protested Patricia. - -"What the deuce does he want you to do, Pat?" inquired Ted, strolling in -just in time to hear his cousin's vigorous refusal. - -"Why, I could go over to your room in the morning and get them," offered -Ted, when Patricia had excitedly explained the subject of their -discussion; "after the train goes, that is, for I'm not letting you out -of my sight before that." - -"Dinner's ready," announced Mrs. Carter, appearing in the dining room -doorway. - -"And we're ready for it, Auntie," replied Patricia, jumping up. - -"It's no end good of you all to take me in like this," began Jack, as -they seated themselves at the little round table. - -"For dear old Granard, I'll live and die!" carolled Ted. "Now tell us all -about the great abduction." - -Jack was in the middle of the story of his capture, when the telephone -rang sharply. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - AUNT BETSY TO THE RESCUE - - -Ted sprang to answer the call. - -"Yes. Ted. Yes, she is. Who is it, please? Just a minute." - -He turned, putting his hand over the transmitter: "Pat, Norman Young -wants to speak to you." - -"Good Heavens!" responded his cousin, getting up so suddenly that her -chair toppled over backwards and fell to the floor with a loud crash. - -"He'll think I'm throwing you to the phone," commented Ted with a grin. - -"Hush! You wanted to speak to me? What? He is? Why, how should I know?" - -Pat was nervously clenching and unclenching her left hand as she talked, -and frowning heavily. - -"Certainly not! He's probably out for the evening, and I don't see that -you or anybody else has a right to meddle with his things." - -"Don't burn up, Pat," advised her cousin. - -"Well, perhaps," she admitted grudgingly to the man at the other end of -the telephone. "Certainly. No, you may not; my cousin will take me home. -Goodbye." - -Patricia hung up the receiver with a bang, threw herself into the chair -which Jack had meanwhile righted, leaned her elbows on the table and -announced explosively: "If there's anybody in this college whom I -cordially dislike, it's Norman Young!" - -"Why, what did he have to say?" inquired Ted, calmly helping himself to -another piece of beefsteak. - -"He told me that Jack was missing, and wanted to know if I knew where he -was. The nerve of him! Somebody sent him to Jack's room, looking for -Jack, and our smart Norman found an envelope on the desk addressed to -me." - -"The tickets," interpolated Jack. - -"And he wanted to know," went on Patricia, "if he should bring it to me!" - -"Quite a meddler," said Ted. - -"After I put him in his place, he apologized; and then wanted to know if -he couldn't call for me and take me home when I was ready to go. How did -he know I was here, anyhow?" - -"That fellow smells a rat!" announced Ted. - -"I'm terribly afraid so," admitted Patricia. "Still I think I had better -go back to the dorm right after we finish dinner--" - -"Oh," began Jack in protest. - -"I really think it's wiser," said Patricia, looking at him with a worried -expression. - -The telephone rang sharply a second time. - -"Don't tell me it's that pest again!" cried Patricia, as Ted took off the -receiver. - -"Yes. Oh, hello, Anne. Well, spill it. You heard what? The deuce he did! -Of all the rot I ever--To be sure it will. Thanks a lot for telling me. -I'll see what can be done right away. Goodbye." - -"Well, what's happened now?" demanded Patricia. - -"No use in my trying to break the news gently. Anne says there is a rumor -around college tonight that Jack was offered a big bribe to stay out of -the Greystone game; that he took it, and has disappeared. Can you beat -that?" - -Patricia, speechless with distress, simply twisted her napkin into a mere -rope. - -"The curs! The contemptible curs!" exploded Jack. "I might have known -they'd get even with me some way!" - -"Don't tell me there's a foundation for that rumor!" cried Ted sharply. - -"There is," replied Jack shortly. "I didn't mean to tell this; but -listen." Rapidly, yet omitting no important detail, he related the story -of the afternoon previous to his imprisonment in the belfry. "And the -worst of it is, I haven't a single witness. They can say pretty nearly -what they choose, and go unchallenged." - -"Tut's responsible for the rumor, of course," decided Ted; "if we could -only corner him some way." - -"We will!" declared Patricia, with vehemence. - -"And make him eat crow!" concluded her cousin. - -"But how?" asked Jack, with a short laugh. "Tut's pretty hard-boiled, and -who--" - -"I shall," announced Mrs. Carter firmly, getting up from the table. - -"Aunt Betsy!" - -"Mother!" - -"Mrs. Carter!" - -"No use objecting. I'm going to find him right now, and I'll promise you -to be back with his scalp before the evening's over. I won't give any of -you away. He doesn't know me from Adam." - -"Eve, you mean, Mother," laughed her son. - -"And, now where will I be most likely to find him?" she asked, slipping -on her coat and perching a hat on the back of her head. - -Jack looked at the clock. "Probably in his room at No. 9 Craig Street. -It's on the second floor, a single, right opposite the stairs; but at -least let one of us take you as far as the house." - -"I won't. You stay quietly here until I come back, all of you." With a -slam of the door, she was gone. - -The three young people looked at one another in speechless astonishment. -Finally, Ted laughed. - -"I feel kind of sorry for old Tut, much as I dislike him. Mother will -have the truth out of him if she has to stand him on his head. He'll do -what she says, or she'll know why." - -The tension was broken, and they all laughed. - -When the table was cleared, Ted announced that he was going to do the -dishes. - -"We'll help," said Patricia. - -"No, you won't. You two sit in the living room and chatter." - -Patricia shrugged her shoulders, and led the way into the next room; -extinguished all but one of the lamps, turned on the gas log, and sat -down before the fire. Jack threw himself on the hearth rug and propped -his back against the big chair in which Patricia was sitting. - -"Will--will this do you much harm, do you suppose?" she asked, after a -moment's silence. - -"Hard to tell. Of course if I can't be cleared, it will mean my finish as -far as sports are concerned--that's all Tut thinks of, naturally. But, as -I told you once before, I think, there is a special reason why I must -make good here; and if my reputation comes into question, well--" - -Jack broke off abruptly, and frowned at the fire. In a moment he -continued: - -"I haven't told anyone else about this, but I'd like you to know; and I'm -sure it won't go any farther." - -"Of course not." - -"On the tenth of last August, I received a special delivery letter," -began Jack slowly, gazing steadily at the fire. - -Patricia leaned forward, breathless with surprise. - -"In that letter," continued the boy, "was a cashier's check for One -Thousand Dollars; and on a slip of paper, the words, 'For John Dunn, to -be spent on a year at Granard College.' We tried in every way to find out -where it came from, but when all of our efforts were fruitless we decided -that the only thing to do was to use the money as requested. So you see -why I feel under such heavy obligations to make good." - -"Jack," whispered Patricia, with a little excited catch in her throat. -"I've never told anybody, either--not even my aunt or cousin; but that's -exactly what happened to me." - -"You mean," cried the boy, twisting around to look up into her face, -"that you got money that same way--to come here?" - -Patricia nodded. - -"How very, very queer!" - -The strangeness of the situation silenced them completely for a time. -Then Jack murmured: "This should make us better friends than ever, -shouldn't it?" - -Patricia smiled, but she did not withdraw the hand that Jack imprisoned -in both of his. - -"Doesn't it seem sometimes as if you just _must_ find out who sent the -check?" asked Jack, a moment later. - -"Yes; and sometimes I feel really nervous over it, as if somebody whom I -couldn't see were watching me all the time, to make sure that I behaved -properly." - -The door flew open at that moment, and Aunt Betsy darted into the room -just as Ted came in from the kitchen. - -"Well," she exclaimed, sinking down in a big chair and throwing off her -coat, "I've settled _his_ hash! He's going around now contradicting the -rumor he started, and he'll never bother _you_ again." - -"Hurrah for you, Mother!" cried Ted. "But tell us the whole story. How -did you ever--" - -"I knew that young man's father; used to go to school with him. Got him -out of an awful scrape once, and he promised he'd do anything I asked him -to pay up for it. Never had any occasion to before. Told the young fellow -about his dad's promise (though of course not the reason for it) and said -I was now about to ask him to redeem it. I said I knew what a -contemptible thing he was up to, and that I stood ready right now to -telephone the whole affair to his dad. Then I just lit into him, told him -what a cad and a coward he is. Told him I'd start a public investigation -and testify against him. Like all conceited blowbags, he collapsed when -under fire; asked what I wanted him to do, begged me not to tell his -father; for he'd take him out of college and put him to work in the -store. Made him tell me just where and to whom he'd told that abominable -lie, and told him I'd go with him while he corrected it. 'You can call it -a joke,' I said, 'if you must save your face.'" - -Aunt Betsy laughed contemptuously. - -"The boy fairly groveled, and swore he'd go; that it wouldn't be -necessary for me to accompany him. I waited while he put on his coat, and -started out with him. Watched him go to two places, and on his way to the -third before I left him." - -"Mrs. Carter," began Jack, "I don't know how to thank you." - -"Don't try. I hate to be thanked." - -"Aunt Betsy, you're just wonderful!" cried Patricia gleefully, while Ted -shook his mother's hand violently. - -Conversation for the rest of the evening was general, concerned -principally with the prospects of Granard in the morrow's game. Patricia -apparently forgot her resolution to leave right after dinner, for it was -half past nine when she drove back to the dorm alone, having decidedly -refused Ted's offer to go with her. - -"I'd feel lots better if you stayed home and kept guard," she whispered -to him as he protestingly let her out. "I'll be all right." - -She did not know that Norman Young had inspected the interior of the car -as it stood in the back yard; nor that, hidden behind a pillar on the -porch next to the apartment house, he had watched her come out alone and -start for Arnold Hall. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - ON DUTY - - -"Oh, come on, Pats!" urged Betty, impatiently. - -"It's heaps of fun to hear the tryouts," added Anne; "more than seeing -the plays themselves, sometimes." - -The football season was over. The Greystone game had resulted in a close -victory for Granard, in a hard-fought battle. Jack had covered himself -with glory and made the final score for his college in the last few -minutes of play. Tut had come down with a heavy cold--so it was said--and -had gone home for the Thanksgiving recess a few days early; so he was -absent not only from the line-up, but also from the game. All rumors -regarding Jack had died a natural death, and now were nearly forgotten; -so rapidly does one event follow another, and a fresh excitement take the -place of its predecessor, in college life. The present and the future are -the only tenses the college student knows anything about. - -Dramatics now held the center of the stage. - -The Alley Gang was standing on the corner of Wentworth Street and College -Avenue after leaving Horton Hall, and were discussing a coming production -of the dramatic club. - -"And we'll all go to 'Vans' afterward and get something decent to eat," -proposed Frances enthusiastically. "That dinner we just had was fierce!" - -"_Dinner_, did you say?" inquired Hazel scornfully. - -"Why won't you go, Pat?" asked Jane, clasping Patricia's arm -affectionately. - -"Because my theme for English III is due tomorrow, and--" - -"But not until afternoon," objected Hazel. "You'll have plenty of time -to--" - -"That's just what I won't have," contradicted Patricia. "French test and -History review both in the morning; and with Yates' lab period early in -the afternoon. I don't know when you people do all your work, I'm sure." - -"We don't do it," laughed Mary, shifting rapidly from one foot to the -other to keep warm; for the night was cold. - -"Well, let's go somewhere," grumbled Lucile, sinking her head deeper into -her big fur collar, "before we all freeze." - -Patricia bit her tongue to keep back an angry response to Lucile's -unpleasant tones. She and Lucile had never hit it off very well, and she -had wondered more than once how the other girls managed so nonchalantly -to put up with Lu's uncertain moods. Clarice, the "black sheep," was -noisy and indiscreet, but at least she was accommodating and -good-natured. - -"You'll be all alone in the alley, except for Clarice," warned Anne. -"It's her night on the Black Book." - -"I can work in peace and quiet, then," replied Patricia; "with all of you -'hyenas' out of the way." - -Dodging a threatened blow from Katharine's sturdy arm, Patricia ran -quickly down Wentworth Street, while the rest of the crowd started for -the auditorium. It was hard to leave the girls and go back alone to work -in the lonely dormitory; only a strong sense of obligation to her unknown -benefactor saved Patricia from giving in to the pleas of her pals and let -the theme slide. When she entered the hall she was surprised to find -Rhoda still on duty. - -"Why, where's Clarice?" she asked. - -"She hasn't come in yet," replied the maid, looking up from some fancy -work she was doing. - -"You'll be awfully late for your dinner, Rhoda. You'd better go. I'll -stay here until Clarice comes." - -"That's very kind of you," responded the girl gratefully, beginning to -fold up the long scarf and lay aside her silks. "The chef is always so -put out when the help come in late." - -"I suppose he wants to get his work finished, and go somewhere; we all -do. It is only stern necessity for work on an essay that brought me back -here tonight. The others have all gone to the tryouts." - -Patricia slipped into the chair which Rhoda vacated, and watched the maid -put on her hat and coat, thinking how little, after all, they really knew -about her in spite of their association with her, day after day. - -"Good night, and thank you," said the girl softly, as she opened the -door. - -"Good night, and you're welcome," laughed Patricia. - -A couple of minutes later, the telephone rang. - -"Yes?" answered Patricia. - -"Rhoda?" demanded a thin, sharp voice. - -"No; she has just gone. Is there any message?" - -"There is not," was the curt response, as the woman at the other end of -the line hung up noisily. - -"Now where in the name of fortune have I heard that voice before?" mused -Patricia aloud. "Those thin high tones sound oddly familiar. I know! It -was Mrs. Brock! But why should she telephone Rhoda?" - -Patricia was still puzzling over the question when the door opened to -admit Clarice in a dull rose dinner gown and a black fur jacket, followed -by Mrs. Vincent, closely wrapped in a long, grey coat, her face drawn -with pain. - -"Clarice," the chaperon was saying, as they paused to close the door, -"tell Ivan when he comes that I'm sorry to break my engagement with him, -but that I'm ill and have gone to bed." - -She hurried to her room, without even a glance at Patricia. - -"How gay you are tonight," observed Patricia, eyeing the rose-colored -gown admiringly as the girl came over to the table. - -"Isn't the dress darling?" inquired Clarice, opening her jacket to -display more fully the charms beneath it. "My father just sent it to me. -You see," perching on the corner of the table, and swinging her feet, -"he's just crazy for me to make good here, and graduate; and so long as I -manage to stick, he'll send me pretties every once in a while. On the -other hand, if I'm flunked out," with a careless laugh, "he threatens to -send me off into the country to live with some old maid cousin whom I've -never seen." - -While Patricia was searching for a suitable reply to this unusual -confidence, the doorbell rang, and Clarice flew to answer it. A short, -dark youth with bold black eyes, which were everywhere at once, stepped -familiarly in as soon as the door was opened. - -"Oh, Mr. Zahn," said Clarice, without preamble, "Mrs. Vincent is sorry; -but she has a bad tooth, and has gone to bed. So _she_ won't be able to -go out with you." - -There was the faintest accent on the word _she_, as Clarice smiled -mischievously upon the young man. Without a moment's hesitation, he -caught the suggestion and replied suavely: - -"Then perhaps you would take her place?" - -"Oh, I've got to work tonight," laughed Clarice, "unless--" turning to -glance inquiringly at Patricia, "are you going to be here all the -evening?" - -"Yes," was the brief reply, as Patricia turned over the pages of a -magazine, trying not to listen in on the conversation going on near the -door. - -"Then you wouldn't mind taking my place, would you?" begged Clarice, -clattering noisily across the polished floor on her high-heeled rose -slippers to lean on the table and smile coaxingly at Patricia. "I'll do -the same for you some time." - -"All right," replied Patricia, without enthusiasm, for she did not at all -approve of Clarice's going off with Mrs. Vincent's friend; yet did not -feel at liberty to try to dissuade the girl. - -"Thanks, darling!" was Clarice's grateful response. A hasty kiss on the -tip of Patricia's nose, a dash across the hall, the opening and closing -of a door, and they were gone. - -"I hope to goodness Mrs. Vincent doesn't come out and ask for Clarice! I -don't know what I'd ever tell her," said Patricia to herself, as she -settled down to work. - -An hour later when she went to her room for a note book, she paused to -look out of the window at the big snowflakes which were floating lazily -down from a partly clouded sky. To her intense surprise, she saw a man -slinking along the path beside the dormitory, glancing up at its windows -as he passed. A grey hat was pulled so far down on his head that she -could not get a good look at his face; but his size, clothing, and -general make-up led her to believe it was Norman Young. Since she had not -turned on her light, it was safe to watch the man until he crossed the -back yard and disappeared among the trees on Mrs. Brock's lawn. That -practically settled his identity. - -Catching up the note book from her desk, she hurried back to the hall. -What was Norman doing out there? Why did he look up at all the windows? -Was there any connection between his actions and the mysterious telephone -call earlier in the evening? No satisfactory answers presented -themselves; so Patricia tried to force the troublesome problem out of her -mind by settling to work in real earnest on the essay. - -Half an hour later the sound of a door knob turning made her jump so -violently that she knocked a big reference book onto the floor. Mrs. -Vincent had opened her door and was crossing the hall. - -"Now I'm in for it," thought Patricia, stooping to pick up the heavy -volume; but the chaperon seemed oblivious to the change of girls at the -Black Book. - -"My tooth is so bad," murmured Mrs. Vincent, pressing her hand to her -right cheek, "that I'm going over to my cousin's,--he's a dentist,--to -see what he can do for it. I'll be back as soon as I can." Without -waiting for a reply, she hurried out. - -"Well," thought Patricia, "now I certainly _am_ alone here. The girls on -the third floor are all up at Fine Arts making scenery for the play; and -those from the second are ushering at the concert--all except Tiny." - -A little black-haired girl, whose size and delicate features suggested -nothing so much as a lovely doll, had promptly been nicknamed by the -girls of Arnold Hall. Nobody ever thought of calling her by her right -name, Evelyn Stone. - -"Seems to me I heard someone say she was ill. If I get this finished in -time, I'll run up and see her. No, I can't either. I'll have to stay with -the Book and the telephone," thought Patricia, writing rapidly. - -Presently she stopped, sat up straight, and sniffed. - -"I smell smoke!" she said aloud, getting up from the table and walking -down the hall. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - A FIRE - - -Patricia thrust her head into each room on her way down the corridor, but -no trace of fire did she find until she reached the very end. There, in -the room occupied by Frances and Katharine, flames were flickering around -the window frames, apparently coming from outside. Quickly closing the -door again to prevent a draft, she dashed to the telephone and called the -Fire Department. Then she ran into her own room to look out of the window -and see how much space the fire covered. The side of the house below -Frances' window was ablaze, and tongues of flame were creeping steadily -up the frame building. - -"Tiny's room is directly over Frances'!" was the thought which flashed -through Patricia's brain. - -Darting back into the hall and up the stairs, two steps at a time, -Patricia burst into Evelyn's room crying: - -"Get up quickly!" She pulled the covers off of the astonished little -girl. "There's a fire." - -"I can't get up; I'm too weak!" whimpered Evelyn. - -"You've got to!" replied Patricia, snatching up a heavy bathrobe, pulling -the girl up from her pillows, and forcing her arms into the sleeves. "Now -come--_quick_." - -Still Evelyn hesitated; so Patricia literally dragged her out of bed, -and, grasping her firmly from behind, pushed the reluctant girl out to -the stairs. There, overcome by fright and weakness, Evelyn sat down on -the top step. Without wasting any more words, Patricia grabbed her by the -ankles, pulled her all the way down the long, straight flight of stairs, -and landed her on the rug at the foot of them just as the fire apparatus -clattered up to the house. Clutching Evelyn under the arms, Patricia -dragged her into the parlor, rolled her onto some cushions before the -fireplace, threw a rug over her, and ran out to consult with the Fire -Chief who was already in the hall. - -"Shall we have to get out?" inquired Patricia, somewhat breathlessly. - -"Hardly think so. Seems to be confined to back corner. Keep all doors -closed," was the man's curt reply, as he directed his assistants who were -bringing in extinguishers and hose. - -Immediately a huge crowd assembled and some policemen were trying to keep -the excited people far enough away from the house; even the students who -lived in the Hall were not allowed to enter it. Watching from the front -windows of the parlor, Patricia could see the Alley Gang on the edge of -one group; Jane, calm as usual; Frances crying and holding onto -Katharine; Hazel gesticulating wildly as she talked to Anne; and the -others dodging this way and that, trying to get closer to the house. Just -as Mrs. Vincent worked her way through the crowd to speak to one of the -firemen, she came face to face with Clarice and Ivan who had edged -through from the opposite side of the street. Patricia held her breath -for an instant, but after receiving the fireman's reply Mrs. Vincent -seemed to be chatting quite naturally with the couple. Probably she did -not realize that they had been out together. - -A grey coat and hat in the background caught Patricia's eye, and as a -sudden movement of their owner brought him fully into the light of a -street lamp, she recognized Norman Young. Like lightning her mind raced -from the skulking figure beside the dormitory earlier in the evening, to -the subsequent outbreak of fire. Surely there could be no connection. No -doubt an investigation of the fire would surely follow, to which, in all -probability, she would be summoned. What should she say? "I should hate -to tell a mere suspicion. I'm not really certain," she stated to herself. -"I wish I knew what to do about it." - -Evelyn, who had lain shivering and weeping just where Patricia had left -her, now raised up and inquired plaintively: "Do you suppose my room will -be burned? I just bought all my spring clothes; and if they're lost--I--" - -"I'm quite sure they must be getting the fire under control; otherwise, -they would have ordered us out," replied Patricia calmly. "I hardly think -the flames reached your room at all." - -"Thank goodness!" sighed Evelyn, collapsing again onto her pillows. - -Not a word of gratitude to the girl who had rescued her. People are -awfully queer, thought Patricia, gazing wonderingly at Tiny. Imagine, -thinking of her new clothes when she, herself, might have been trapped up -there, alone and sick! Turning again to the window, she was amused to see -her Aunt Betsy dash determinedly through the crowd only to be stopped by -a policeman. Patricia could imagine the things she was saying to the man -who dared block her way. Nearby stood Ted and John, scanning the crowd -anxiously. She wished she could in some way attract their attention so -they might know she was safe. Presently the crowd shifted a little, -bringing the two boys more directly in her range of vision. Ted's -restless eyes soon spied her; he said something to John, and they both -made grotesque gestures, which she interpreted as offers of rescue. Gaily -she shook her head, thereby causing Ted to shed imaginary tears into his -handkerchief, while Jack patted him on the back. - -Half an hour later sounded the welcome two gongs which indicated that the -fire was out. Then the crowd made a dash for the front steps; but a -couple of officers, with whom the Dean had been quietly conferring, took -their stand on the bottom step and refused admittance to all but Arnold -Hall students. Slowly the townspeople strolled away, while the excited -girls hurried in to see how much damage had been done. - -"Oh, Pat!" cried Anne, flinging both arms around her. "We were so worried -about you!" - -"Until we caught sight of you at the window, we were absolutely frantic," -added Jane. - -A loud burst of laughter from Clarice, who had just entered with Betty -and Hazel, made them all turn to see what had occasioned it. - -"Just look at Tiny!" cried Clarice. "How did you get down here?" - -"Patricia dragged me down!" retorted Evelyn in injured tones. "She burst -into my room, scared the life out of me, and literally pulled me down the -stairs--" - -"Pat to the rescue!" interrupted Hazel admiringly. - -"Our Pat's a heroine!" cried Anne, while the rest of the Gang pressed -closer. - -"Who sent in the alarm?" inquired Mrs. Vincent. - -"I did," acknowledged Patricia modestly. "I smelled smoke and discovered -the cause of it in Katharine's and Frances' room--" - -"She's a double heroine!" exulted Jane. - -"Have you any idea what started it?" continued Mrs. Vincent sharply. - -"I told you all I _know_ about it," replied Patricia, with a faint accent -on the word _know_, which was lost on the troubled chaperon. "I was on -the Black Book all the evening, except once when I went to my room for a -book and when I was looking for the fire--" - -"And when you were dragging me around," added Tiny, provoking a burst of -laughter. - -"At the Black Book?" repeated Mrs. Vincent. "It wasn't your turn. You had -it night before last. Who _was_ supposed to be on it?" looking accusingly -around the room. - -"I was," admitted Clarice; "but I had a date, so Pat relieved me." - -"You're altogether too fond of getting out of some of your obligations," -said Mrs. Vincent severely, while the girls stared in astonishment at her -rebuking thus publicly the favored Clarice. - -"Pat didn't mind," murmured Clarice. - -"That doesn't matter. Hereafter, if you wish to relieve one another, -you'll have to get my permission. I want that clearly understood." - -"Nice time we'll have finding her sometimes, to get permission," murmured -Hazel to Betty. - -"Must be dreadfully upset, or she'd never lay Clarice out like that," was -Anne's comment to Patricia. - -"There will be an investigation made," continued Mrs. Vincent. "Dean -Walters is very much disturbed. Morton College has recently had a regular -epidemic of fires of late, all apparently incendiary; and she--" - -"Mrs. Vincent," interrupted Mary, "Norman Young is at the front door and -wants to see you." - -The chaperon hurried out, and, quite shamelessly, the girls kept quiet -enough to hear what was said in the hall. - -"Mrs. Brock sent me over to inquire how much damage had been done, and -especially if anyone was injured," said Norman. "If necessary, she would -accommodate three or four of the girls tonight." - -"Tell Mrs. Brock that I am very grateful for her offer," replied Mrs. -Vincent, "but no one was harmed; and since the damage was confined -principally to one room, we shall be able to manage quite nicely without -sending anyone out." - -"Ah--" exclaimed Hazel, disappointedly. - -"What are you ah-ing for?" demanded Katharine. "We'd be the ones to go." - -"Did you lose much of your stuff?" asked Patricia, putting her arm around -Frances, whose face still showed traces of tears. - -"I don't know yet." - -"Now, girls," ordered Mrs. Vincent, coming briskly back to the parlor, -"let's get to bed. Some of you help Evelyn upstairs, and I'll get bedding -to put on the davenport. Katharine and Frances will have to sleep here -until we can get cleared up a little." - -It was a long time before silence settled down in the Hall. Even after -the lights were out, and she and Betty had stopped talking, Patricia lay -in her bed as wide awake as if it were noon. What was she going to say at -the investigation? Suppose Norman Young _was_ the man she had seen, what -possible object could he have had in setting fire to the Hall? It was -certainly bold of him, in that case, to come and inquire so coolly about -the damages. Yet it didn't seem as if a perfectly respectable secretary, -however much one might be inclined to dislike him, _could_ be a fire bug. - -After another hour of restless tossing, she decided to tell the whole -truth if questioned closely. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - AN INVESTIGATION - - -The official bulletin board was located near the head of the stairs which -led down to the dining room in Horton Hall. Space in front of it was at a -premium after meals; for everybody was anxious to keep in touch with -campus news. On the day following the fire, an even larger group of -students than usual crowded into the shallow ell where the board hung. - -"Look, Pat!" cried Anne, pointing to the top notice. "The following -students are requested to meet the Dean in her office at two o'clock: - - Patricia Randall - Frances Quinne - Katharine Weldon" - -Patricia read the notice slowly. Although she knew an investigation would -surely be made, nevertheless her heart sank to her very shoes when she -saw her fears realized quite so soon. Turning away abruptly, she pushed -out of the crowd and started for the door. - -"What's the matter?" demanded Anne, who followed and caught up with her -on the street. - -"Nothing," replied Patricia quickly; "or--that investigation." - -"But why get all 'het up' over that? Simply tell what you know." - -"But that's just it; I _don't_ know." - -"Know what?" questioned Anne, linking her arm through that of her friend, -and pressing close to her side. "Tell me all about it; you'll feel -better." - -"I'm not sure that I should," began Patricia doubtfully. - -"Oh, shucks! What's a friend for? I'll guess then. You know more about -the fire than you told Dolly?" hazarded Anne, watching Patricia intently. -"You don't need to admit it; I can tell just by looking at you. We'll -walk over to the park so no one will interrupt us, and then you can -unburden your mind. I'll bet you didn't sleep a wink last night. You look -like nobody's business." - -Up and down the deserted paths of the little park they paced briskly, for -the wind was cold, while Patricia told her story. - -"If I were you," said Anne, when Patricia had finished, "I wouldn't -advance any information; just answer the Dean's questions. If she doesn't -ask you whether you had any suspicions who the man was, you'll be all -right. In any case, don't worry about it." - -In spite of the comfort derived from confiding in Anne, the morning -seemed endless to Patricia, who alternately longed for and dreaded the -arrival of two o'clock. Promptly on the stroke of the hour, the three -girls from Arnold Hall were admitted to Dean Walters' sunny, spacious -office. Hardly were they seated in the chairs given them by Miss Jolly, -the Dean's secretary, when Mrs. Vincent walked in. - -"The Dean will be in in a few minutes," murmured Miss Jolly, placing -another chair for the latest arrival. As she spoke, the door to an inner -room opened, and a dignified, grey-haired woman crossed the room briskly -to seat herself behind a large flat-topped desk, facing her callers. - -"It is most distasteful to me," began the Dean without preamble, "to be -obliged to question you regarding last night's catastrophe. Arson is a -serious matter, and you will do much harm if you try to shield anyone, or -by withholding any detail which might help discover the culprit. So I ask -that you be perfectly frank with me, and regard what is said in here as -strictly confidential. Mrs. Vincent, I'll hear first whatever you can -tell me." - -Nervously the chaperon of Arnold Hall told the events of her evening, -passing rapidly over the fact that she had left Patricia practically -alone in the house, and dwelling at some length on her own indisposition. -The Dean's face betrayed no indication of her thoughts, nor did she make -any comment when Mrs. Vincent had finished her story. - -Little chills began to run up and down Patricia's spine as she awaited -her turn next; but Dean Walters turned slightly in her chair in order to -face Frances more directly, and began to question her rapidly as to her -whereabouts the previous evening; in what condition she had left her -room; whether she or Katharine ever smoked there; if her or her room -mate's clothing and belongings were insured, and so on. Patricia shivered -still more as she realized that the Dean intended to question them rather -than to listen to their stories. Frances was so frightened that she -stumbled and stuttered through her replies, and finally burst into -nervous tears. - -"There is no reason for you to be so disturbed, Miss Quinne," said the -Dean calmly; "I do not accuse or suspect any one of you; but I must -obtain all the information I possibly can, not only in order to apprehend -the culprit, if possible, but to satisfy the insurance inspectors. Miss -Weldon, can you add anything to the facts your room mate has just given -me?" - -"No, Dean Walters," replied Katharine promptly, "except that early in the -evening as we were dressing for dinner, our lights kept jumping, going -out and then coming on again, you know." - -"Did you try the bulbs to see if they were screwed in tight?" - -"No, we didn't, because it was late and we were in a great hurry." - -"Have the lights ever acted that way before?" inquired the Dean -thoughtfully, resting her chin in her hand, and fixing her keen blue eyes -on the girl's face. - -"A couple of times within the last week." - -"Why did you not report them?" The question came a bit sharply. - -"Just carelessness, I suppose," admitted Katharine frankly. "We never -bother about things until they are entirely out of commission. You see -we're always just getting back from somewhere, or going out to something; -so we really don't have much time." Katharine grinned in a friendly -manner at the stern woman behind the desk; nothing could disturb or -subdue Katharine. Dean Walters made a few notes on a small pad, then -turned to Patricia. - -"Tell me exactly where you were last night, and every detail of your -evening." - -Slowly and coherently Patricia furnished the desired information, and -then paused, hoping with all her heart that she would not be questioned -further. False hope. - -"You say you were in your room for a short time before the fire broke -out. Did you notice anything out of the ordinary then?" - -Patricia flushed up to the roots of her hair, opened her lips, and then -closed them again. - -"I see that you did," commented the Dean quickly. "Let me have all the -facts, please." - -Reluctantly Patricia told about the man she had seen, and his odd -actions. - -"Describe him," ordered Dean Walters, making notes rapidly. - -"I--I didn't see his face," began Patricia. - -"Do as well as you can, then, with his general appearance, clothing, -etc." - -As Patricia proceeded, hesitatingly, with the description, Frances gave a -little gasp which, though immediately suppressed, did not escape the -quick ear of the attentive woman. - -"Had you then, or have you now, any ideas as to the identity of that -man?" inquired the Dean. - -"I'd--really--rather not say," faltered the girl. - -"Neither the information nor your part in it will be made public. I am -waiting, Miss Randall," as poor Patricia still hesitated. - -"He looked to me like Mr. Young, Mrs. Brock's secretary; but it doesn't -seem possible for him to be mixed up in such an affair." - -A dead silence followed; then Dean Walters picked up her telephone. -"Assistant Registrar, please," she requested curtly, tapping nervously -with her pencil as she waited for the connection. "Mr. Billings? This is -Dean Walters. Please get in touch with Norman Young at once and send him -to my office." - -No one spoke or moved as all tensely awaited the arrival of the new -participant in the inquiry. In ten minutes Miss Jolly admitted the blond -youth, clad in his customary grey clothes, and carrying a soft grey hat. - -"Sit down, Mr. Young," directed the Dean, indicating a chair. "We are -trying to get some information regarding last night's fire at Arnold -Hall; and I wondered, since you live so near to it, if you could add -anything to the facts I already have. I understand you sometimes cut -through the yard to get to Mrs. Brock's house. Did you happen to do so -last evening?" - -"Yes, I did," replied the boy frankly, "about half past eight, or maybe -nine o'clock." - -Patricia trembled. So it _had_ been he. Quietly she wrapped her coat more -closely about her so no one would notice that she was shaking violently. - -"Where were you going?" inquired the Dean. - -"Home, to work on my assignments for today," answered Norman, letting his -glance travel along the row of girls at his left. No one of them, -however, met his eyes. - -"Did you notice anything unusual about the dormitory?" - -"Only that it was dark." - -"How did you happen to notice that?" - -"The path which is always well lighted from the windows on that side was -so dark that I involuntarily looked up to see what was the matter," -responded the youth glibly, gazing directly, and Patricia thought -somewhat defiantly, into the Dean's eyes. - -"Were you out again that night?" - -"Yes, Dean; I went over on an errand--for Mrs. Brock." - -"Through the dormitory yard?" - -"Yes." - -"And when did you return?" - -"I don't really know the exact time, but it was after the Fire Department -had reached the Hall; I could not get through the crowd to go home." - -"How, then, did Mrs. Brock get in touch with you to deliver her message -to Mrs. Vincent?" - -"After watching the firemen for a while, I went around the block and -entered Mrs. Brock's house just in time to prevent her going over to the -Hall herself." - -"Why didn't you want her to go?" demanded Dean Walters sharply. - -"Well, she is an old lady, and it was a cold night for her to be out, and -late for her to be out alone." - -"What was your 'errand' for Mrs. Brock, and where did it take you?" - -"That I am not at liberty to disclose; it is my employer's business," was -the decided response. - -Dean Walters opened her lips to speak, then abruptly closed them again. A -moment's silence followed; then, turning toward Mrs. Vincent and the -girls, she said curtly: "You may go. Your testimony was quite -satisfactory. Mr. Young will remain." - -Single file, like Indians, the four women left the office, descended a -short flight of stairs, passed through a doorway at the foot, and were -out upon the street. Then everybody drew a long breath of the frosty air -and began to speak. - -"Wasn't it terrible?" demanded Frances. "I acted like a fool." - -"Oh, forget it!" advised Katharine. "You were nervous; we all were." - -"Not you," contradicted Patricia. "I envy you your poise upon all -occasions." - -"What do you suppose the Dean will do about Norman Young, Mrs. Vincent?" -asked Frances. - -"I imagine she may get in touch with Mrs. Brock," replied the chaperon -somewhat irritably; for she felt she had not made the best of impressions -upon the Dean. It was advisable for her to have that lady's goodwill; for -the appointments as chaperon in the various dormitories were made yearly, -and Mrs. Vincent had reasons of her own for wishing to remain at Arnold -Hall at least two years longer. - -Several days passed, and the girls still gossiped among themselves about -the investigation; for the officials were strangely silent upon the -subject. No statement had been made public, and the students were -consumed with curiosity. - -"Mrs. Vincent," said Katharine one night when the chaperon came to her -room to borrow a hat, "what did the Dean find out about the fire? We're -dying to know." - -"I believe that upon the advice of Mrs. Brock, the whole affair has been -dropped," answered Mrs. Vincent, trying on Katharine's hat before the -mirror, her mind more upon what she was doing than upon what she was -saying. - -"What on earth--" began Katharine. - -"I don't know any more," interrupted the chaperon quickly. "I'm not sure -I should have told you that much. Don't quote me, please." - -"I won't," promised Katharine good-naturedly, "but may I tell the girls -without saying where I got the information? They're all wondering." - -"Perhaps it would be well to do so; then maybe they'll drop the subject." - -A couple of weeks later, the Dean announced in chapel one day that -defective wiring had evidently caused the fire in Arnold Hall, and asked -the girls in all dormitories to be very careful in their use of -electrical appliances. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - UNDER ARREST - - -Spring came early that year, and the hills around Granard were a lovely -haze of pale green. The woods were filled with delicate wild flowers, and -streams which would be mere threads later in the season, now swollen by -rapid thaws, were tumbling riotously along their rocky beds. Birds were -darting madly back and forth across the landscape, seeking mates and -places for cozy nests. - -"Pat," suggested Jack, on one of the warm, bright days, "the spring has -gotten into my blood. Let's cut Shakespeare this afternoon, and go for a -hike in the woods." - -"Jack, you shouldn't tempt me like that!" she cried reprovingly, stopping -beside the bench where they had had their first talk. "I wonder if he'll -say anything important in class." - -The boy laughed at her sudden change of tone and attitude. "I don't -believe so. He'll talk on the last act. We know that pretty well, don't -we?" grinning mischievously down into the girl's brown eyes. - -"We'll take a chance anyhow! When shall we start?" - -"Right now. Shall you be warm enough in that thing?" - -"'That thing!' I'd have you know this is a perfectly good leather jacket -which my father gave me for Christmas." - -"My error! It's good looking, anyhow." - -"You can't fix it up now." - -Laughing and joking, as gay as the spring all around them, they swung -briskly along the state road until they reached Tretton Woods; then they -plunged in among the feathered trees. - -"Oh!" cried Patricia. "Arbutus! The darlings!" Sinking down upon a bed of -last year's leaves, she tenderly plucked a couple of sprays. "It always -seems a pity to tear up a whole lot of it," she observed, handing one -piece to Jack, and fastening the other in her own buttonhole. - -A little deeper in the woods they came upon a merry little stream. - -"Look, Pat," exulted Jack, "at that brook. Let's make a dam--" - -"And a lake?" concluded Patricia, eagerly. - -Like two children they worked happily until a wide pond spread out in a -fern bordered hollow. - -"Isn't that lovely?" rejoiced Patricia, gazing proudly at the result of -their labor. - -"It sure is! Gosh, Pat, look!" holding out his watch. - -"Half past five? It _can't_ be. How I wish now I'd brought the car." - -"No, you don't, young lady!" contradicted Jack masterfully. "A hike's -made on two feet, not on four wheels." - -"We'll be late for dinner--" - -"Never mind. I'll take you somewhere to eat." - -"Like this?" looking down at her soiled hands and muddy skirt. - -"Sure." - -On the way out of the woods, Patricia's attention was caught by a cluster -of cup-like white flowers. "Aren't those pretty, Jack? Let's take them -home as a souvenir. We've lost our arbutus." - -Both stooped to gather a handful as quickly as possible. - -"Oh, the nasty things!" cried Patricia. "Their stems are just full of red -juice." - -"Looks for all the world like blood," commented the boy, dropping his -flowers into the stream, which quickly whirled them away, and wiping his -hands on his handkerchief. Patricia followed his example. - -"It's awful stuff to get off," complained Patricia, still rubbing her -hands vigorously, as they stepped out upon the state road almost under -the wheels of a motorcycle. - -"Good Heavens, girl! Watch your step. That was a narrow shave." - -"I'll say it was. Why, it's coming back," added Patricia, as the car -wheeled about and approached them again. - -"They're troopers," breathed Jack, as the car stopped beside them. - -Two young men gazed searchingly at the two disheveled figures before -them. - -"What have you been doing?" demanded the man in the side car. - -"Gathering wild flowers in the woods," replied the girl promptly. - -"Then where are they?" asked the other trooper, fixing his eyes on the -red-stained handkerchiefs. - -"Some we lost, and some we threw away," said Jack. - -"Give me those handkerchiefs," ordered the red-haired trooper, hopping -nimbly out of the side car. - -In speechless astonishment the hikers handed the crumpled rags to the -man, who took them to the driver of the motorcycle, and both troopers -examined them carefully. - -"Blood, without a doubt," stated the auburn-haired man. "Guess we've made -our catch. They certainly answer to the description of Crack Mayne and -his pal, Angel. You're under arrest," he continued, turning toward the -couple. - -"What utter nonsense!" exploded Jack angrily, but Patricia laid her hand -on his arm. - -"We got those stains from flower stems," she stated calmly. - -"You'll have to show us." - -"We can't, now." - -"Why not?" - -"Because we picked them all, and when we found that our hands were -stained we threw the flowers away." - -"Oh, yeah? Where did you throw them?" asked the driver, getting off and -starting towards the woods. - -"They've gone down the stream," giggled Patricia, her sense of humor -unwisely getting the upper hand. - -In later days, when Jack wanted to tease her, he always said that -Patricia's giggle sealed their fate. - -"Quite clear they've been up to something," muttered the red-haired -trooper; "maybe a murder. You take 'em in, and I'll poke about in there -to see what I can find. Send Murphy out for me as soon as you get in." - -Patricia and Jack were hustled into the side car, and rushed off toward -town. Soon Jack took from his pocket a pencil and an envelope. - -"Better give middle names at the station," he scribbled rather illegibly, -due to the motion of the car. "Keep college out of it." - -Patricia nodded; then Jack tore the envelope into little pieces, which -the wind eagerly snatched from his hand and bore away. - -At the station, they registered as Peter Dunn and Alice Randall. The -stained handkerchiefs were laid aside for expert examination, and the -charges recorded. - -"Now may we go?" asked Jack, with elaborate innocence. - -"Why, sure," replied the sergeant sarcastically. "Just walk right out." - -"Hullo, Mac," drawled an exceedingly tall, solemn-looking youth, letting -the street door close with a bang. "What have you for me tonight?" - -"Only a couple of--" he began. - -The newcomer took one look at the pair; then announced without a trace of -surprise: "You're Jack Dunn, the football player." - -"Twin cousin," corrected Jack gravely. - -"Oh, yeah!" - -"Haven't you ever seen cousins who looked just alike?" inquired Jack, -raising his eyebrows in astonishment. "I have." - -"That may be, but I didn't see you on the field and off of it last fall -for nothing. What's the racket?" - -Before Jack could reply, the sergeant irritably gave the desired -information, the last of which was drowned by a bark of laughter from the -human bean pole. - -"This is rich! This is just too rich!" he chortled. "Brave troopers -arrest couple of college students for gathering bloodroot. Oh! Oh!" - -"So that's what it was!" exclaimed Patricia. "I should have known." - -"You're a reporter," said Jack accusingly. "For the love of Pete don't -put us in the paper. We--" - -"Now listen, Bozo," interrupted Craig Denton, "don't kid yourself that -nobody will know this story unless he reads it in the paper. One of your -own fellows stopped in at the office before I came over here to say that -a couple of college students had just been taken into the police station. -That's how I happened to breeze in so early, Mac." - -"What did he look like?" demanded Jack. - -"Big blond; jaw sticks out like this; little bits of eyes." - -"Tut!" breathed Patricia. - -"How the devil did he get hold of it?" exploded Jack. - -"Saw you brought in," replied Craig, as he held the door open for them. -"I'm taking these birds home, Mac," he called to the sergeant. "So you -see," he continued, as they were out on the street, "you'd better let us -present the story truthfully. It's the best way." - -"Of course," replied Jack, ruefully, "you have us at your mercy." - -"What did the troopers look like?" asked Craig. - -"I couldn't describe them," declared Jack emphatically. - -"Nor I," agreed Patricia. "We were too much upset to notice details." - -"I wonder," mused the newspaper man, glancing from one to the other -suspiciously; but both met his eyes with well simulated innocence. - -"We're going somewhere to eat," announced Jack; "better come along." - -"Yes, we surely owe you something for your kind rescue," laughed -Patricia. - -"There's an old saying about two being company," began Craig. - -"Nonsense! Come along!" cried Jack, who had taken a liking to the grave -youth with his keen sense of humor. "Where shall we go, Pat?" - -"Wherever we won't meet anybody we know. We're both sketches." - -"No wonder we were regarded as suspicious characters," agreed Jack. -"Guess we'd better go downtown. Where's a good place?" turning to the -reporter. "We usually eat up on the hill." - -"The Exeter, on Field Street, is good. Got stalls; you wouldn't be -conspicuous." - -"Exeter for us," decided Patricia; "and let's hurry. I'm starved." - -After a good dinner, accompanied by much joking and laughter, Jack -escorted Patricia up toward College Hill, while Craig hurried back to the -office of the _Granard Herald_, after promising to spare the principals -as much as possible in his story. - -"Little did we think this noon what we were in for," said Jack, as he was -about to leave Patricia at the entrance of Arnold Hall. "I'm sorry to -have gotten you into such a jam." - -"You!" protested the girl. "Why, it was all my fault. If I hadn't picked -those flowers--bloodroot's certainly the right name for them." - -"But if I hadn't urged you to cut--" - -"Oh, Jack, we had a good time; and, as for the unpleasant part, well, it -didn't last long. And it was an unusual experience." - -"But it's not over yet; all the publicity, and talk. Of course, I could -stand it; but--" - -"You think I couldn't!" finished Patricia with a flash of anger in eyes -and voice. "I always try to be a good sport." - -"You are; and I didn't mean--" faltered Jack, distressed. - -"Listen!" said Patricia, her anger gone in a minute as she saw that he -was really disturbed. "Everybody will laugh and joke about it for a -while, and then--pouf! It's all out, just like a candle. Nothing lasts -very long." - -"What about our benefactors' opinion of the affair?" - -"Under the circumstances, he or she ought to take a sane view of the -matter. We have done nothing of which we should be ashamed. Don't worry -about it." - -With these words Patricia ran up the steps, and Jack strolled to the Frat -House thinking what a sensible girl Patricia was, and what a good pal. - -A most amusing account of their escapade came out in the morning's paper, -and the college world rocked with merriment. Patricia and Jack were -bombarded with jokes, questions, congratulations, and cartoons. - -The next day Jack and Patricia met on the stairs leading to their -Shakespeare classroom. - -"I got a queer note," began Patricia. - -"So did I." - -"What did yours say?" asked Patricia eagerly. - -"'Keep out of police stations in the future.'" - -"So did mine; but, some way, it didn't seem cross." - -"How could you tell that?" - -"I don't know; but I just felt that whoever sent the note was smiling as -he wrote it." - -"You have a wonderful imagination, Pat," said Jack, grinning down at her. -"I only hope it's a reliable one." - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - A PICNIC - - -"Could I hire any of you ladies to swim for me next Tuesday?" inquired -Clarice, popping out of the back door and perching on the porch railing. - -It was Saturday morning. Patricia, Anne, Frances, Katharine, and Betty -had washed their hair, and were strung along the sunny top steps drying -it, preparatory to going to town for a wave. - -"None of us were keen enough about that swimming exam to be looking for -chances to try it twice," replied Katharine decidedly. - -"You ought not to mind it," drawled Anne sleepily; "you're a regular -mer--maid," her last word cut short by a huge yawn. - -"Look out, Anne," cried Frances, grabbing her by the shoulders, "you'll -be sound asleep in a minute and roll down the steps." - -"It's this strong sunlight," said Anne, leaning comfortably back against -Frances' knees, and closing her eyes. - -"What's the matter with you doing your own swimming?" asked Betty, -glancing up at Clarice through a tangle of brown hair. - -"Can't. Don't know enough about it," replied the girl nonchalantly, -swinging one foot. "I hate it." - -"Do you mean to say that you've been in gym class all this year, and -don't know yet how to swim?" inquired Katharine bluntly. - -"Guilty!" - -"I should think Professor Wilson would have killed you off long ago," -remarked Frances. "He's such an irritable creature." - -"Yes," agreed Clarice, "and also so near-sighted that he doesn't know -half the time who's in the pool and who's out of it. Haven't you noticed -how dependent he is on his class books?" - -"Then can't you take a chance on his being too near-sighted to see that -you can't swim?" asked Betty. - -"No such luck! All women may look alike to him, but not all strokes in -swimming." - -"How did you manage all term?" inquired Patricia, shaking her yellow mop -of hair vigorously. - -"Oh, he was always hollering at me." - -There were two divisions of the Sophomore Gymnasium class. Clarice was in -the second, while all the rest of the Alley Gang were in the first. To be -able to swim was absolutely necessary for promotion to the Junior class -at the end of the year, and the second week in May had been assigned for -the final tests. Professor Wilson, a critical, quick-tempered little man, -was an excellent teacher, but he did not like women and never bothered to -get acquainted with the individual members of his classes, which did not -at all add to his popularity. - -"When I can swim out of doors by myself, I think I shall like it," -commented Anne, "but not while Professor Wilson dances around the rim of -the pool snapping like a turtle." - -"That's the way I feel about it," agreed Patricia. "Why don't we go out -to Green Lake some Saturday and try our skill?" - -"Let's go next Saturday," proposed Katharine enthusiastically. "We'll go -in the morning, and have a roast." - -"Who?" asked Betty. - -"Us and the rest of the Gang. Everybody willing, hold up the left foot," -directed Katharine. - -A laughing scramble ensued during which Clarice nearly fell off the -railing. When they had settled back into their former positions, Patricia -suggested hesitatingly, "Let's take Rhoda. She's so very nice to all of -us." - -"Good idea," agreed Katharine promptly. - -"But who'd take her place?" questioned Betty doubtfully. "Could she get -off for the whole day?" - -"I think so. That day she was ill, Sue Mason subbed for her; and she -probably would again. Sue doesn't have many dates," said Frances. - -"I wish we could invite her, too, then," said Patricia slowly. "It must -be pretty lonely to be among so many girls, and not be in on their good -times." - -"I know, but you can't start asking people from upstairs," protested -Anne. "If you do, there'll be no stopping place." - -"What's the matter with Sue, anyhow?" asked Patricia. - -"Mostly her queer ways," replied Clarice quickly. "Last year she was -always rapping on people's doors and asking them to keep quiet so she -could study. Then she complained to the Dean every so often about how -long some of the girls kept her out of the bathroom. She also felt it her -duty to report the maid several times for being late in distributing the -clean linen. In short, Sue just disapproved of the way everything was -run, and got herself in most awfully wrong. She belongs in some boarding -house, not in a dorm." - -"How did she happen to come back here, since she found so much fault with -the place?" inquired Patricia. - -"Don't know. Maybe she found out that she liked it after all. Hasn't -opened her mouth this year, so the girls upstairs say; but she queered -herself for good and all last year," replied Clarice carelessly. "But to -return to my original question, can't I interest any of you in helping me -out?" - -"I don't know what we could do," began Anne. - -"Go into the pool for me when my name is called," answered Clarice -boldly. "There's a ten in it for anybody who will." - -"You're surely not in earnest," said Patricia, pushing back her hair to -look directly at the girl on the railing above her. Patricia was so -easily embarrassed for others, frequently an embarrassment in which the -"others" took no part. - -"Why shouldn't I be?" retorted Clarice. - -"Why, Clarice!" cried Frances reprovingly. - -"I can't help it if you _are_ shocked. If it were as necessary for any of -you to be graduated from this institution as it is for me, you'd go the -limit, too!" Clarice's tone was defiant, but as she slid off of the -railing and hurried into the house, Patricia who was still watching her -saw sudden tears fill the girl's hard, black eyes. - -Anne shrugged her shoulders as the back door banged. Frances raised her -eyebrows and looked troubled. Betty and Katharine nonchalantly continued -the business of hair drying. Patricia sighed--"I wish we could help her -out," she said thoughtfully. "I know a little of what graduation means--" - -"Then why doesn't she work?" demanded Betty sharply. - -No one was able to answer that question, so after a moment they began to -discuss plans for the picnic. In the meantime a girl who had been sitting -quietly at an open window above the back porch left her room and went in -search of Clarice. - - -By four o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, the swimming tests were over and -the gym was filled with chattering girls discussing the probabilities of -success and failure. - -"I won't draw a full breath until I see the list posted," declared -Frances, as she left the building with Anne and Patricia. - -"I imagine we all passed," observed Anne placidly. - -"Wish I knew how poor Clarice came out," said Patricia. "Yet I hate to -ask her right out." - -"Haven't heard her mention the subject since Saturday morning," said -Frances. "Have you?" - -Both girls shook their heads. - -"Maybe she took some time to practice, and managed to pull through," -suggested Anne. "Clarice can do almost anything _if_ she tries." - -"I truly hope so," said Patricia fervently. - -That evening the Alley Gang was in such a furore over arrangements for -the picnic that the test was not even mentioned. - -"Isn't the water going to be awfully cold so early in the season?" -objected Jane, when the question of "eats" had been satisfactorily -settled, and that of bathing was under discussion. - -"If the day is fairly warm, and we go in where it's sunny, I think it -will be all right," replied Katharine. - -"All right for an out-door girl like you," retorted Betty, with a shiver, -"but it doesn't sound altogether attractive to me." - -"Then stay out of it," advised Katharine sensibly. - -"Yes; anybody who doesn't want to go in can get busy around the fireplace -and have a big feed all ready for us. We'll be starved." - -"Never saw you when you weren't, France," called Clarice, who just then -appeared in the doorway of Jane's room where the girls had congregated. - -"Know anybody who runs up to the Varsity Shoppe any oftener than you do?" -retorted Frances quickly. - -"Don't quarrel, children," admonished Jane. "We can all do our share when -it comes to eating." - -"By the way," inquired Anne, "what did Rhoda say when you asked her? Will -she go?" - -"She wasn't quite sure," replied Patricia, "but will let us know on -Friday." - -"Say," interrupted Frances, leaning forward to look at Patricia, "does -anybody know why she goes over to Mrs. Brock's early in the morning?" - -Patricia glanced at Jane and Ruth before she replied with a laugh, "I'm -sure I don't." - -"How do you know she _does_ go?" demanded Lucile quickly. - -"Saw her, this very morning." - -"What were _you_ doing, awake before the bell rang?" inquired Anne. - -"My shade was flapping; and if there's anything I can't stand, it's a -flapping shade. I got up to fix it." - -"What time was it?" queried Ruth. - -"Five o'clock." - -"You dreamed it," jeered Lucile. - -"I did _not_!" - -"Maybe she was just coming home from a party," suggested Mary's mild -voice. - -"I saw her one morning, too," admitted Hazel. "I got up at five to study, -wrapped a blanket around me, and was curled up in a chair beside the -window cramming French verbs--" - -"Now I know that you were asleep, too," interrupted Lucile. - -"When I saw Rhoda," continued Hazel, throwing a pillow at Lucile, "she -was coming out of the back door of Big House. When she passed our window, -I said 'Hello!' and she jumped a foot." - -"What did she say?" asked Jane. - -"Nothing; she just glanced up, put her finger on her lips, and hurried -into the Hall. She is always so smiling and good-natured, but she didn't -look at all pleased to see me." - -"How did she get in without ringing the bell?" inquired Clarice eagerly. - -Everybody laughed. - -"That interests you most, doesn't it?" inquired Lucile sweetly. - -"She went around to the laundry door," explained Hazel. "I think she has -a key for it." - -"That's an idea!" cried Clarice. "Why can't we borrow that key some night -when we want to go out?" - -Four stone steps led down from the path on the east side of the dormitory -to a small door which opened directly into the laundry, located under -Frances' and Katharine's room. - -"And spend the rest of the night in the laundry?" exclaimed Hazel. "An -ironing board for a bed doesn't appeal to me." - -"Why not come up?" inquired Anne idly. - -"Because, darling, Dolly herself locks that door at the head of the -stairs on her eleven o'clock round every night," replied Ruth. - -"Then I don't see how Rhoda gets up," said Frances, frowning in -perplexity. - -"Oh, bother Rhoda!" cried Hazel impatiently. "Let's plan how we're all of -us and our luggage going to get out to Green Lake and back, when we've -only two cars available." - -"Pat and I can take the eats and a couple of girls to guard them, and -then come back for the rest of you," proposed Mary, who owned the only -other car in the Gang. - -"That's a good idea," approved Anne; and so the matter was settled. - - -Saturday proved to be one of those warm, sunny days which often usher in -an early summer. - -"See that haze on the hills?" said Katharine, as they were packing the -cars in the driveway. "That means heat. We'll be able to swim after all. -Isn't it fine that we all passed the test, even Clarice?" - -"Didn't look much like a picnic at this time yesterday," observed -Patricia with a shiver at the recollection. "Wasn't it a cold, dismal -day?" - -"It sure was! Who's going on this load?" inquired Anne, turning to the -girls who were bossing the job of loading. - -"Katharine and Frances will go with Pat," responded Jane, "and I'll keep -Mary company. Don't any of the rest of you wander off and have us hunting -all over for you when we come back. All aboard who's going aboard!" - -By eleven o'clock the whole Gang, including Rhoda, was swarming over the -picnic grounds situated on a wooded hill overlooking Green Lake, an -oblong body of very deep water. At one end, the lake was bordered by -flat, treeless meadows, and the low shore line provided a fairly good -sandy beach. At the other end, heavily wooded land sloped down to the -water on all sides, giving it a gloomy, deep green cast. A rough path -followed the irregular stretch of water on the east side, and wound on up -the hill into the woods where a depression between two steep slopes -formed a small picnic ground. The few tables, benches, and stone ovens -which occupied the space were unclaimed today; so the girls had their -choice. They decided on a table from which they could look through an -opening in the trees, directly down onto the still, green water. - -"Swim first," announced Katharine, after the food had been placed upon -one table, and the extra wraps upon another. - -"Will our things be safe here alone?" inquired Betty doubtfully, when -they were ready to go down to the lower end of the lake. - -"I'll stay with it," offered Rhoda. - -"Oh, no," protested Anne. "Come on down with us and swim." - -"I can't swim," replied Rhoda, "and I don't care for bathing. I brought a -book along, and I'd just as soon as not stay here and read until you come -back." - -Seeing that the maid really meant what she said, Anne followed the rest -of the girls who were already half way down the hill. - -"Where's Rhoda?" asked Patricia, looking around, when they reached the -beach and were about to dive into the water. - -"I should think she'd like at least to come and watch us," said Patricia, -when Anne had explained. "I'll go up after a while and bring her down." - -Swimming in the open was very different from swimming in a tank, and -after fifteen minutes of strenuous exercise the girls came out to lie on -the sand in the warm sun for a little rest. - -"Lend me your cloak, Anne," requested Patricia, "and I'll run up for -Rhoda." - -"Don't believe she'll come," replied Anne, handing Patricia her woolly -bath cape. - -"I'll make her. The things will be all right. There isn't a soul here -today, except us." - -Wrapping the cape closely around her, Patricia started briskly along the -path toward the picnic grounds. Rhoda was sitting on a big stone, half -way down one of the sloping sides of the depression, in a pool of -sunlight which some broken branches let through. So deeply interested was -she in her book, that she did not see Patricia until the girl stood right -in front of her. - -"I came back to get you," panted Patricia. "We don't like to have you up -here all by yourself. That's no fun. Come on!" taking the book out of the -maid's hands. - -"I really don't mind," began Rhoda. - -"But we do," Patricia cut her short, putting out both hands to help her -up from the stone. - -Laughing a little in protest, Rhoda got up and the two started down the -hill. - -"Why, there's Clarice," said Patricia, stopping short in surprise, as she -caught sight of the girl, swinging carelessly along beside the lake just -below them. "She's all dressed. I thought she was with the rest of the -crowd. I wonder what happened." - -"She's too near the ragged edge," exclaimed Rhoda sharply. - -Hearing voices, Clarice looked up without checking her pace. Her foot -struck a hole in the bank beside the path, and with a cry she slid down -into the lake. Dropping Anne's cloak, Patricia dashed down the hill and -dove into the water. - -A treacherous current had immediately swept Clarice away from the bank -and was bearing her out toward the center of the lake. "No use to call -for help," thought Patricia; "the rest of the girls are too far away. -Lucky that Clarice learned to swim after all; for she'll be able to help -herself a little. She's gone down!" Striking out frantically, with legs -and arms, Patricia made what speed she could toward the place where she -had seen Clarice disappear. Fear and necessity gave her extra strength -and speed, so that she was near enough to Clarice when the girl came up -to seize her by the collar of her sweater. - -With the irresistible inclination of a drowning person, Clarice tried to -throw her arms around Patricia, who knew that meant disaster for both of -them. - -"Stop that!" she snapped. "Swim!" - -"I can't," moaned Clarice, frantic with fear. - -"You've got to! We'll both drown if you don't. Put your hand on my -shoulder and strike out as I do. If you try to grab me around the neck, -I'll leave you." - -Clarice pulled herself together and tried to obey. It seemed to Patricia -as if they made no progress at all, so weighed down was she with -Clarice's weight. Just one more stroke, she said to herself, when it -seemed as if she could go no farther. Now one more. That wasn't so bad. -Now another. Encouraging herself, straining each muscle to the utmost, -she at last reached the bank where Rhoda stood with one arm wound around -the tree trunk and the other extended to help them scramble up the rough -stones, slippery with moss. - -As soon as they were safe again, Clarice threw herself flat on the ground -and burst into a violent fit of tears. - -"Let her cry," advised Rhoda, as Patricia bent over the sobbing girl. -"She'll get over the shock more quickly." - -"But she'll take cold," objected Patricia, throwing Anne's cloak over the -prone figure. - -"And so will you," added Rhoda, removing her own coat, preparatory to -wrapping it around the shivering girl beside her. - -"You keep that. I'll get my own," protested Patricia, running up the hill -to where the wraps were piled on one of the tables. Pulling her long -brown coat from under several others, she wrapped it around her and -returned to Clarice and Rhoda. - -The former was still weeping with her face hidden in a bed of ferns. - -"Clarice, get up!" ordered Patricia sternly. "No sense in having -pneumonia just because you won't control yourself. Get up, I said." - -Taking her firmly by the arms, with Rhoda's help she raised the girl and -wrapped Anne's cape more closely around her. - -"It's a judgment on me!" quavered poor Clarice, as they led her up the -hill. - -"What's a judgment?" demanded Patricia rather sharply. - -"Being drowned because I cheated." - -"But you aren't drowned," objected Patricia, laughing in spite of -herself. Clarice was such a child! - -"I would have been, if it hadn't been for you. I'll never cheat again; -I'm sure of that." - -"How and when and where did you cheat?" inquired Patricia, puzzled. - -"Swimming test. A girl from upstairs went in when my name was called, -passed, and Professor Wilson never knew the difference. She's about my -size." - -Patricia was speechless. What should one say under such circumstances? -She shrank from the holier-than-thou attitude; yet to remain quiet might -be taken as approval. - -"What can we do about dry clothing for her, Miss Randall?" inquired -Rhoda, saving the situation. - -"I don't know," replied Patricia in a worried tone. "I guess I'd better -drive her home to get some. It won't take long." - -"I'd rather _stay_ home, if you don't mind," said Clarice, drying her -eyes. - -"Why?" - -"Oh, because." - -"It would be just as well if she'd take a hot bath and go right to bed," -advised Rhoda. "Shall I come, too, to help you?" - -"Oh, no," said Clarice quickly. "I'll be all right." - -"And you'll do as Rhoda suggests?" asked Patricia. - -Clarice nodded and went toward Patricia's car, while Patricia said to -Rhoda in a low tone: "If any of the girls come back while I'm gone, tell -them Clarice didn't feel very well and I took her home. No point in -letting them in on poor Clarice's story." - -"You're quite right," agreed Rhoda. - -"Patricia," said Clarice, when they were on their way out of the parking -section, "I don't know how to thank you." - -"Don't bother about it. I'm glad I happened to be there." - -"Should I tell about the test?" inquired Clarice slowly after being -silent for several minutes. "I've made up my mind to learn to swim before -college closes for the summer." - -"Good! Then under those circumstances, you'll be getting your promotion -fairly; and it seems to me that any revelation of your--your--" - -"My cheating," supplied Clarice frankly. - -"Would involve too many people. You see, Professor Wilson's -near-sightedness would be revealed, and perhaps cause his dismissal; the -girl who subbed for you would be drawn into it, and probably get into -trouble--perhaps even be dropped; then the girls in your section who know -about it--" - -"There aren't any." - -"How's that?" - -"We were called out of the dressing room one at a time, according to -numbered cards; and nobody paid any attention to who was out. It's such a -large section." - -"I see. Well, anyhow, since you're going to correct the wrong, as far as -possible, I can't see any object in broadcasting the story. That reminds -me, I asked Rhoda to tell the girls that you didn't feel very well and I -had taken you home. So the three of us will keep our own counsel." - -"Pat, you're just the best sport I ever knew!" - - -"What's the matter with Clarice?" inquired Hazel, an hour later, as they -all sat around the table disposing of steak, potatoes, sugared buns, -fried cakes, and coffee. - -"She had a chill," replied Patricia calmly, opening a box of -marshmallows; "but she attended to it in time, so I think she'll be all -right tomorrow." - -The subsequent devotion of the black sheep to swimming aroused much -comment among the members of the Alley Gang. Many were the theories -advanced, but the girl kept her own secret and worked doggedly until she -was as proficient as most of her companions. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - A ROBBERY - - -"Have you seen the paper this morning?" demanded Jane excitedly, waving -the _Granard Herald_ overhead as Pat was hurrying down the corridor to -her room after breakfast. - -"No, what's in it?" - -"Look!" Jane held out the front sheet and pointed to a headline in heavy -print: - - Daring Robbery. Thieves Make Big Haul. - - Victim of losses sits in library while men work in room above. No - clews. Mrs. Brock, owner of property, offers reward. - -"Why!" gasped Patricia. "How awful!" - -A clock somewhere in the Hall struck the quarter hour. - -"Oh, I'm going to be late," cried Patricia, dashing into her room, -seizing a couple of books, and running down the corridor. "Have to hear -the rest later," she called back to Jane. - -"Pat!" cried Anne, catching hold of her at the door. "Have you seen the -paper?" - -"Yes, Jane just showed it to me." - -"Isn't it exciting? All her jewelry, and a lot of money taken." - -"I'm late, Anne; let me go, please!" pulling away from the girl. - -At the corner of Wentworth Street, Ruth caught up with her. - -"Heard the news?" she panted. - -"Yes, but can't stop; most time for class." - -As Patricia sank, breathless, into a seat in French class, which had -already begun, Frances leaned forward from the row behind to whisper, -"Know about the robbery?" - -Patricia nodded. - -"The paper says nobody heard a thing," continued Frances. "Norman was in -his room right next to the one where the robbers were working. Isn't that -thrilling?" - -"How do you know?" traced Patricia's pencil on the margin of her note -book. - -"Clarice met him this morning, and he told her." - -"Mademoiselle Quinne, _continuez s'il vous plait_," requested the -Professor's smooth voice. - -It must be confessed that Patricia heard little of the French lesson that -day. Her mind was briskly working on the piecemeal information she had -received about the disaster at Big House. - -"Seems awfully queer," she commented to Jack later in the day, "that a -person or persons would break into a house early in the evening like -that. Why, Mrs. Brock or Norman might have walked in on them any minute." - -Jack smiled. "He probably had worked out, by direct observation, when his -chances of being undisturbed were greatest." - -"Direct observation?" repeated Patricia. - -"Yes; whoever it was knew the layout of the house, the habits of its -inmates, and where valuables were kept." - -"Why, Jack!" cried Patricia, her eyes dilating with a dawning suspicion. -"Who--" - -"Better not put anything into words, Pat," Jack said quickly; "probably -we're all wrong. I hope so. Let's try to forget all about it. The -authorities will take care of it; it's their business, not ours." - -In spite of Jack's good advice, Patricia could not keep from dwelling on -the subject rather constantly for the rest of the week, especially since -the robbery was the Gang's principal theme of conversation. - -"Mrs. Brock," announced Katharine on Thursday night, "is offering a large -reward for the return of her grandfather's watch alone. It's a valuable -heirloom, and she cares more for that than for the rest of the jewelry. -Don't I wish I could go out some morning, pick up the timepiece, and take -it over to her!" - -"I guess none of us would object to some extra money," laughed Anne. "If -you weren't going home this week end, Pat, we might organize a searching -party and beat Kath out." - -"Go ahead, anyway," advised Patricia, pulling out her bag and beginning -to pack it ready for an early start the next afternoon. "You'd better get -your things together, Jane; we won't have any time after lunch tomorrow." - -"Jane going with you?" inquired Anne somewhat wistfully. - -"Yes. Want to come, too?" - -"_Do_ I! You're a peach." Anne hugged Patricia, and departed for her own -room, stumbling over the doorstop as she went out. - -"Look out, Anne; you'll break your neck over my coach-and-four," called -Patricia. "She never fails to fall over that," she added to the girls. -"Kath, why don't you come with us?" - -"I'd love to, but what will your mother say to so many of us?" - -"She won't care. My room has twin beds, so I can have guests in comfort -whenever I want to; and then we have the regular guest room. You won't -have to sleep on the floor." - -"As if I'd care for that! I've done it at house parties." Katharine -departed to announce her good fortune to the rest of the Gang, and then -went to pack. - -"I envy you, Patricia," said Jane, the next afternoon, as they were -riding through a stretch of woods, "being able to take this lovely ride -home any week end you want to." - -"Not whenever I want to," corrected Pat, "but rather when I have money -enough for the gas, and when my work can be left for a couple of days. I -can't do any studying at home, of course." - -"Don't think I'd care for these woods in the dark," observed Anne. - -"Well, darling," said Katharine soothingly, "you won't be in them in the -dark." - -"Not a chance," agreed Patricia. "Dad always starts me back in good time -so I won't be on the road after nightfall. He's deadly afraid of a -hold-up." - -"Good place for wild flowers, I should think," continued Jane, peering in -between the tree trunks. "Don't you want to stop and gather some, Pat?" - -"I do not! I've had quite enough experience with wild flowers for a -while, anyhow." - -"Ever see your reporter-rescuer?" asked Katharine. - -"Once in a while. Jack likes him a lot, and Craig has asked us out a -couple of times." - -"Hasn't he a girl friend?" demanded Katharine. - -"I guess not; not a regular, anyhow. But why should you be interested? -Aren't you and the Professor good pals any more?" - -"Sure; but there are several nice girls in the Gang who haven't boy -friends. You see I'm being purely altruistic." - -"Maybe the man in question would prefer to manage his affairs himself," -said Jane practically. - -"Maybe; in fact, he may have made a selection already," suggested Anne, -smiling at Pat in the mirror. - -Patricia kept her eyes on the road ahead, and feigned ignorance of Anne's -meaning. Presently she changed the subject by asking what her guests -would like to do that evening. "The week end is so short that we have to -use every minute of it." - -"A movie," proposed Katharine. "I haven't seen a good one in a coon's -age." - -"And double sodas all around afterward," added Jane. "My treat." - -"Sounds good to me," agreed Anne, when Patricia looked inquiringly at -her. - -"All right, then. That's what we'll do. Guess I'll put on a little speed, -so we'll get home early enough to go to the first performance. This new -road certainly has meant a lot to me--it shortened the distance so much. -You know it's quite a trip by rail; this road through the woods cuts off -miles. Oh!" her remarks concluded with a shriek. - -"What's the matter?" demanded Anne, startled. - -"A bee!" exclaimed Patricia. "For pity's sake keep your eyes on him and -try to put him out. I'm always afraid of being stung when I'm at the -wheel." - -"You have some opinion of our eyes if you think they are capable of -putting out a full grown bee," remarked Katharine. "Mine don't even see -him, to say nothing of pushing him out the window." - -"Stop joking," begged Patricia, "and find him." - -"There he is!" cried Anne, drawing herself as far into the corner as she -could. - -"Where?" demanded Jane, turning around to look at the passengers in the -back seat. - -"Down on the floor," said Katharine. "You girls make me tired; all so -afraid of one poor little bee!" - -"Suppose you pick him up and throw him out, if there's nothing to be -afraid of," suggested Patricia. - -"No--o; but, there! I've set my bag on him. He'll be quite dead in a -minute, then I'll pick him up," offered Katharine. - -"Most any one of us would be willing to pick up a dead bee," offered -Jane. - -Presently Katharine lifted the bag; but the action was followed by a -squeal from Anne, who announced that he was just as much alive as ever. - -Katharine thumped her bag down again while Jane laughed breathlessly. - -Ten minutes later, Katharine again peered at her victim; and again he -showed very definite signs of life. - -"Talk about cats having nine lives," she commented. - -"Set that bag down," begged Anne, "and leave him alone. If he's not dead, -he's at least out of mischief." - -"Toughest bee I ever saw," commented Katharine, thumping the bag again on -the unlucky insect. "There you stay until we get to our destination." - - -Mrs. Randall was on the porch waiting for them when the car pulled up at -the steps. - -"I brought two extras, Mum!" cried Patricia, jumping out and hugging her -mother. - -"That's fine," replied Mrs. Randall, smiling at her guests. "It's pretty -lonesome around here now, and Pat's friends are always welcome." - -When the introductions were over, the irrepressible Katharine said to -their hostess, "One of our passengers is in there on the floor; where -shall I put him?" - -Mrs. Randall looked puzzled, while the girls laughed. - -"See?" said Katharine, taking Mrs. Randall by the arm, and showing her -the bee crawling along as if holding up heavy bags were just pastime for -him. - -"Oh," said Mrs. Randall, entering into the spirit of the fun. "Suppose -you leave the door open and let him select his own room." - -As she spoke, the big black and gold fellow spread his wings, blundered -about a moment, then sailed out past the girls who dodged him with little -shrieks and settled on a patch of lilies of the valley beside the porch. - -"Now that the stowaway is disposed of, let's go in," proposed Patricia, -following her mother up the steps. - -"Better go right upstairs and get ready for dinner, Pat," advised Mrs. -Randall. "Daddy's coming home a bit early, and I thought we would eat as -soon as he gets here, so you girls will have a long evening for anything -you want to do." - -"Your mother's a peach; isn't she?" remarked Anne, as the four girls went -up the long stairs together. - -"I think so," replied Patricia, smiling with gratification. "Now this is -my room, and the guest room is right opposite. We can divide up any way -you please." - -"Suppose we change around," proposed Anne. "Katharine and I will take the -guest room tonight; then tomorrow night we'll put Jane in with Katharine -and I'll go with you." - -"Ah--wa! Ah--wa!" lamented Katharine. - -"What on earth's the matter with you?" demanded Anne. - -"I don't have Pat at all, I don't!" - -"Oh, you sleep all the time; so what difference does it make?" laughed -Jane. - -"I'll set the alarm," offered Patricia in amusement; "and when the -night's half over, I'll go in, roll Anne out, send her over to my room, -and get in with you. How's that?" - -"I'll consider it," replied Katharine in her most dignified tones; "but I -think my feelings are irreparably damaged." - -"Oh, go on!" cried Anne, shoving Katharine ahead of her into the guest -room. "You'll never be ready for dinner." - -Mr. Randall loved company, and was always most entertaining whenever -Patricia had guests; so the dinner hour was prolonged to such an extent -that when the four girls reached the theater, the early performance was -well under way. - -"I like it over on the right," whispered Patricia, as they entered the -darkened house. "Just follow me," she added, ignoring the usher -completely and hurrying down a side aisle. She was a bit careless in -stepping up into a row of seats, and turned on her ankle. To save herself -a fall, she grabbed madly at the seat in front of her, which was occupied -by a very large and very dignified-looking man. Instead of grasping the -back of his seat, as she intended, her hand came down very forcibly on -the top of his bald head. - -"Ouch!" he cried out in astonishment and discomfort. - -Everybody within hearing turned around. Several people exclaimed in -annoyance. Some nearby, who had witnessed the incident, laughed aloud. In -the general disturbance, the girls managed to sink into their seats quite -overcome with embarrassment. Presently Anne hid her face in her hands and -began to quiver. - -"What is the matter?" whispered Patricia. - -Anne only shook her head, and Patricia realized that the girl was in a -paroxysm of laughter. It was contagious, and before long Pat and -Katharine were in the same state. - -"Stop that!" ordered Jane. "Think of something sad, and do it _quick_." - -With much effort and several relapses they finally succeeded in pulling -themselves together, and fixed their eyes determinedly on the screen, not -daring to glance at one another. - -"That was just terrible!" exclaimed Jane in mock anger, when they were -out upon the street again. "I'll never go to a movie with you again, -Patricia Randall!" - -"I'm--awfully--sorry," gasped Pat. - -"You certainly act as if you were, quite overcome with grief," said Anne. - -"Did you ever in your life hear anything so funny as the way that man -hollered--he fairly bellowed!" said Katharine. - -"You do get into more scrapes, Pat," commented Anne, "than anyone I ever -met." - -"Don't I?" - -"Never mind," said Jane soothingly, as they entered a confectionery -store, "you mean well." - -"I think," said Katharine, "that is about the worst thing one can say. -'Oh, he means well.' It seems like sort of damning with faint praise. Not -that Jane meant it that way." - -Everybody laughed. Katharine was so unconscious of her inconsistency. - -While they were waiting for their order, Patricia's eyes, which were -roving about the room in search of possible acquaintances, came to rest -on the back of a tall figure two tables beyond theirs. As if compelled by -her questioning gaze, the individual turned around, immediately jumped -up, and crossed the room in two strides. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - A WEEK END - - -"Craig!" exclaimed Patricia, smiling up at the lanky youth. "Fancy seeing -you here! And what are you doing?" - -"Here on business," was the brief response, as he shook Patricia's hand -enthusiastically. - -"These are my friends--Anne Ford, Jane Temple, and Katharine Weldon," -continued Patricia, "who are spending the week end with me." - -Acknowledging the introduction, Craig looked inquiringly at Patricia. -"May I sit down here and have my sweet with the Sweets." - -"We couldn't possibly refuse after such a 'sweet' compliment as that," -laughed Patricia. "How long are you going to be in town?" - -"Well, that depends. If I find what I'm looking for, I'll go back almost -immediately; if I don't, I'll go Sunday afternoon, anyhow." - -"How interesting and mysterious you sound!" remarked Katharine. - -"Reporting's a great game. Now tell me about yourselves," leaning both -elbows on the table and looking from one girl to another. With flattering -attention the boy listened to the story of their drive home; gave a -couple of short barks of amusement at their movie experience, then -inquired what they intended to do on the morrow. - -"Shop in the morning," replied Patricia. "I always do the Sunday -marketing when I'm home. I just love to poke around the stores and buy -things. In the afternoon--I really don't know yet." - -"How would it be if you all went to the ball game with me?" proposed -Craig, carefully rubbing a drop of chocolate sauce off of his tie. - -"Grand! But you'd be embarrassed to death escorting four females," -laughed Patricia. - -"Don't you believe it. I'd be the proudest fellow in the stand, and the -most envied. That's settled then," as all the girls manifested their -pleasure in the plan. "I'll call for you at two o'clock," he added, as -they rose to go. "I'd offer to see you home, but I suppose you have your -car?" - -"Yes; it's in a parking station. Why don't we meet you at the Park -tomorrow afternoon instead of your going way out to our house?" - -"Not a bad idea, especially as I haven't the least idea where you live." -Everybody laughed. - -"97 Minton Road, in case you ever need to know," said Patricia, smiling -frankly up into the brown eyes and serious face above her. - -"Thanks," he said, making a note of the address. "Wait a minute," he -added, taking hold of her arm and steering her toward a candy counter. -"Make up five pounds of the kinds selected," he directed the prim clerk -who came to take his order. Then, waving off the girls' thanks, he was -gone. - -"Shall we each choose our favorites, to make up one-quarter of the box?" -asked Patricia, turning to the other girls. - -"Fine; and in quarter-or half-pound lots, so as to get variety," said -Katharine; and they all assented. - -It was rather late when the girls finally reached home, but they settled -down before the living room fireplace with the box of candy, and regaled -Mr. and Mrs. Randall with chocolates and the story of their adventures. -Mr. Randall finally drove them off to bed shortly after midnight. - - -"I'm going to stay in the car," announced Katharine the next morning, -when Patricia drew up in front of a large department store in the grocery -department of which she intended to make several purchases. "I don't care -for marketing, and I do love to watch people hurrying along the streets." - -"As you like it," replied Patricia, getting out, followed by Anne and -Jane. - -"Can you park here?" inquired Jane in surprise, as Patricia slammed the -door. - -"Not really supposed to, but I won't be long; and I hardly think there'll -be any trouble." - -"I'll entertain the cop," offered Katharine magnanimously, "if he shows -up." - -She had been watching the crowd for about ten minutes, when she noticed a -big, red-faced policeman approaching, his eyes fixed indignantly upon the -car in which she was sitting. - -"Now I'm in for it!" she thought. "Why in time doesn't Patricia come? -She's been gone an age." - -"You can't park here, lady," said the officer sternly. "Can't you read?" -pointing to the No Parking sign. - -"No, sir," replied Katharine demurely. - -"You can't!" exclaimed the man in surprise - -"Not a word!" was the reply, and Katharine looked innocently at him. - -"What nationality are you?" - -"American, sir." - -The officer pushed back his hat in perplexity. He felt that something was -wrong, but could not quite put his finger on it. With all our money spent -on schools, and this young woman couldn't read. - -"Well, anyhow, whether you can read or not, you can't park here." - -"But this isn't my car, and I can't drive." - -"Where _is_ the owner?" - -"In there," pointing to the store. "She'll be out in just a minute. I -think she went in to buy--oranges." - -"Well, if she isn't out by the time I come around again, she gets a tag; -and that's flat!" - -Wrathfully the officer strode on, and Katharine sank back comfortably -against the cushions again. Five minutes passed; ten; and still no signs -of Patricia. Katharine began to fidget nervously and wish she had gone -into the store with the girls. Still, if she had, the car would have been -tagged at once; even now perhaps she could stave the man off again if he -came around before Pat got back. - -There he was, striding along as if he meant business! "I wish Pat and her -oranges were in Hades," thought Katharine, preparing to smile sweetly at -the irate officer. - -"She hasn't come yet," she said, leaning out of the window and speaking -confidentially. "Something must have happened to her. I'm _so_ worried. -What ought I to do, do you think?" - -Momentarily disarmed by the unexpected greeting, the man removed his hat -and scratched his head. Then suddenly realizing that he was being worked, -he snapped: - -"What _could_ happen to her except that, like all other women, she has no -notion of time! This car's been here half an hour now. I suppose she -can't read either!" - -"It's been here only twenty-five minutes, officer," corrected Katharine, -showing him her watch. - -"So you can tell time, even though you can't read," commented the -officer, rather admiring the girl's poise despite his annoyance. - -"Well, you see," began Katharine, resting both arms on the opened window, -"when I was a little girl--(if I can only keep him interested until Pat -comes!)--I was--" She broke off to gesticulate madly to her friends who -were just coming out of the store. - -The policeman wheeled sharply and saw three girls racing madly toward -him. Just as Pat reached the car, the bag she was carrying broke, and a -dozen oranges rolled in all directions. - -"There!" cried Katharine triumphantly. "Didn't I tell you she just went -in to get some oranges?" - -What could the man do but help gather up the fruit and toss it into the -car? Scarlet with exertion and embarrassment at the comments of -passers-by, he finally faced Patricia sternly. - -"Lady, you've been parked here half an hour, right under that sign. Can't -_you_ read either?" - -"Why, yes, a little," replied Patricia, with a suspicious glance at -Katharine. "But those signs are placed so high that if you're in a low -car, you really have an awful time seeing them at all. You can see for -yourself that this one is directly over the top of the car. Get in and -see." - -"Of course it is if you drive directly under it!" grumbled the man. "And -the next time I see this car where it doesn't belong, it gets a tag right -away; whether your passengers can't read, or you think the signs are too -high, or--or anything else." - -"Thanks for your patience, and assistance," replied Patricia, smiling at -him in such a friendly fashion that he had a hard time maintaining his -expression of outraged dignity. He was still a bit doubtful as to whether -or not the girls were making fun of him. These women! - -"Goodbye," called the irrepressible Katharine, as Patricia stepped into -the car and started the engine. "Hope I meet you again sometime." - -The officer strode away without comment, while Katharine reported her -encounter to the girls. - -"I'm an absolute wreck!" she declared in an injured tone, as her -companions laughed heartlessly. "I'll never keep car for you again." - -"Your own choice," retorted Patricia flippantly. "We wanted you to come -with us." - -"That's all the thanks I get," sighed Katharine, "for risking my life to -protect your property." - -"Policeman, spare this car; touch not an ancient wheel!" giggled Anne. - -"In youth it carried me," continued Jane. - -"And I'll protect it now," carolled the three. - -"I've a good mind to dump you all out," declared Patricia in mock -indignation. "I know it's not exactly a latest model, but it really isn't -so ancient as all that." - -"Never mind, Patsy," said Katharine. "We'll ride in it, even if it is -old." - -"There's where we're going this afternoon," remarked Patricia a few -minutes later, pointing down a side street; "you can see the baseball -park from here." - - -Long before the game started, they were in their seats watching the -crowds pour into the stands. - -Patricia, who sat beside Craig, soon noticed that he was scanning faces -with more than casual interest. When he pulled out a pair of opera -glasses with which to view the opposite stands, her curiosity got the -better of her. - -"Looking for someone special?" she inquired, making pleats in her -handkerchief. - -"Yes." He moved closer, put his head down, and spoke softly. "We got a -tip that the principal in the Brock affair might be around here, and my -chief sent me out to see what I could pick up. Keep it under your hat, -though." - -"Of course," breathed Patricia, quivering with excitement. - -"Come home to dinner with us?" asked Patricia, when the game was over and -they were headed for the parking station. - -Craig shook his head. "Like to a lot, but I want to look around a bit -more tonight; so I'll eat in a one-arm lunch that I know about where -perhaps I'll overhear something. Thanks a lot." - -"If you'd care to come, suppose you make it tomorrow instead. We have -dinner at one on Sundays." - -"I'll be glad to come then." - - -"Any luck?" Patricia inquired, as she met Craig in the hall of her own -home the next noon. - -"Not a bit," looking so dejected that Patricia could hardly keep from -smiling. - -"Too bad; but don't be quite so downcast." - -"Good advice; perhaps I'll run across something on the train. You get -into a conversation with strangers, and oftentimes a clew slips out." - -Dinner was a hilarious affair. Craig exerted himself to be entertaining, -and Katharine had a silly streak which kept the company in gales of -laughter. - -"Hate to break away," said Craig, looking at his watch after they -finished their coffee before the fireplace in the living room. - -The day had turned cool, and a wood fire was very welcome. "This is -awfully cozy," he went on; "but my train goes in twenty minutes." - -"Why don't you let Pat tuck you into her machine, and go back with the -girls?" suggested Mr. Randall. - -"Like nothing better," replied Craig, unfolding his long body slowly as -he rose reluctantly from a big easy chair; "but I have my return ticket, -and 'Waste not, want not' is one of my mottoes." - -"See you when you get back to town," were his last words to Patricia, -after taking leave of the rest of the party. - -"Very likely," she replied carelessly. - -Had she been wise in inviting the boy to her house? She wondered, closing -the door. He was inclined to be a bit possessive and might think she was -more interested in him than she really was. But the end of the college -year was fast approaching, and with it a breaking off of many Granard -associations. Her face was very sober as she rejoined the group in front -of the fire; for the fear of not being able to go back next fall was a -very poignant one. - -"What's the matter, Pat?" inquired Katharine bluntly. "You look as if -you'd just buried your last friend." - -"Haven't," replied the girl, perching on the arm of her father's chair, -and twisting his hair into a Kewpie knot. - -"Pat always looks like that when it's time to leave home," commented Mrs. -Randall, after a searching glance at her daughter. - -"I don't mean to appear inhospitable--" began Mr. Randall. - -"But you think we should be on our way," finished Patricia, "so as not to -be on the road long after dark." - -"Well, you know it always takes longer than you expect." - -"Yes, darling; we'll get started. Come, girls, get your things together." - -When they were about twenty-five miles from home, Patricia gazed -anxiously ahead at a bank of dark clouds, rapidly spreading all across -the sky. "Afraid we're going to run into a storm, girls." - -"As long as it isn't a thunder storm," began Anne, in a worried tone. - -"Safe enough in a car if you keep out from under trees," commented -Katharine. - -"Can't, if you happen to be in the woods," objected Jane, who was -watching the clouds gathering so rapidly. - -"We're not going to be in the woods," said Patricia. "We'll strike the -storm long before we reach them." - -As she spoke a wave of chill wind swept across the country as the -darkness shut down like the cover of a box, and huge hailstones began to -bounce off the hood and patter on the top of the car with such force that -it seemed as if they must break through. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - A WEIRD EXPERIENCE - - -"I'll have to pull off the road and stop for a while," declared Patricia. -"Trying to drive in this is too nerve racking." - -The shoulder was wide and smooth; so she had no difficulty in finding a -safe place to park. In fact, almost any place would have been safe, so -far as traffic was concerned; for nearly all drivers stopped to await the -end of the storm. For three-quarters of an hour the sky was dark, while -hailstones, big and little, pelted down covering the ground with an icy -white carpet; then they ceased almost as abruptly as they had begun. The -sun was trying to break through the clouds when Patricia started the -engine and turned out onto the road again. - -"We'll get as far as we can while it's pleasant," she said. - -"Why, are we going to have another?" inquired Anne nervously. - -"Can't tell for sure; but the sky looks pretty black ahead of us. Maybe -it's only rain though." - -She was right. Five miles farther on they struck rain which was falling -steadily as if it meant to continue indefinitely. The road was crowned -and slippery, which made careful driving advisable. - -"Good thing your father can't see us now," remarked Katharine, as -Patricia turned on her headlights. - -"Yes, isn't it? Going to be dark awfully early tonight. I don't like -night driving any better than he does." - -None of the girls liked the prospect of driving the rest of the way in -rain and darkness. The little party became a very silent one as time went -on, and even Katharine had almost nothing to say. Only the windshield -wiper squeaked regularly as it swept back and forth across the wet glass. -At Braggs Corners a couple of Boy Scouts stood in the middle of the road -directing traffic from Main to Pearl Streets. - -"What's the matter?" inquired Patricia, sticking her head out of the -window. - -"Bridge washed out. Have to go around by Millersville," replied the boy. - -"At least twenty miles longer than this route," groaned Patricia; "and -not so well traveled. But, no help for it, I guess." - -The new route was indeed a lonesome one--a country road through flat, -drenched farm lands, alternating with stretches of dripping woods. - -"What's the matter with the lights, Pat?" inquired Katharine, after they -had covered about ten miles. - -"Something, certainly, but I don't know what," was the worried reply. -"They keep going out. I'll just have to drive as fast as possible while -they're on, and slow down when they go off." - -"Hope they're on the job while we're in these woods we're coming to," -remarked Anne, eyeing the dark tree shapes ahead with no inconsiderable -apprehension. - -"They probably will," said Patricia encouragingly; "and I think -Millersville must be on the other side of them. I'll stop there and have -the lights fixed." - -The girls sat with bated breath as they plunged into the gloomy woods, -but all went well until they had nearly reached the last of the trees. -Suddenly the lights flickered out, and there was a terrific bump which -jarred startled cries out of all of the passengers. - -"What on earth was that?" demanded Jane, as Patricia slowed up. - -"A hole, I suppose," replied Patricia with feigned carelessness. - -"Then it must have been an out-growing hole," said Anne, rubbing her -elbow which had come into sharp contact with the window frame. "It felt -as if we went over an elephant." - -"More likely the limb of a tree," declared Katharine. - -"Well, whatever it was, it can stay there," declared Patricia. "I'm not -going back to see. There are lights ahead, and I'm quite sure we're -almost in Millersville." - -"Hurrah!" cried Katharine, clapping her hands. - -With great care Patricia drove her dark car into the little town, and -stopped at the first garage she came to. - -"Drive right in," directed the mechanic who came out to see what they -wanted. - -Inside the garage, the girls all got out of the car and walked around -while Patricia explained her difficulties. After a hasty examination, the -man stood up facing Patricia sternly. - -"Lady, there's blood and part of a man's clothing on your car! You must -have run over someone." - -"Of course I didn't!" began Patricia indignantly; then stopped short, -clutching the fender to steady herself. - -"Look here!" persisted the man. - -Patricia forced herself to walk around to the other side of the car, and -saw a strand of grey cloth twisted in the wheel, and stains on the body -of her car. They were partly washed off by the rain, but enough remained -to show that it was blood. - -"That awful bump," offered Anne incoherently. - -"Didn't feel big enough for a man," objected Katharine. - -"What shall I do?" cried Patricia, biting her lips to keep from crying. - -"Better report it at the station, and get an officer to go back with -you," advised the man. "I'll fix your lights; then you drive on one block -and you'll see the station." - -"Would you go up with us and tell your part of the story?" begged -Patricia, feeling very much in need of male support in such an emergency. - -"Sure," was the hearty response. "I'll walk up and be there as soon as -you are." - -"Never mind, Pat," said Katharine consolingly. "You've got to run over -somebody sometime, and now it's over." - -Patricia shivered. - -The mechanic was as good as his word, and when the frightened girls -entered the police station, he was leaning on the desk in earnest -conversation with the officer on duty. The few questions which were put -to Patricia and her friends were answered so promptly and frankly that -they made a most favorable impression; and in twenty minutes, Patricia, -was driving back to the woods with a pleasant young policeman sitting -beside her. The mechanic and the coroner followed in a small truck. - -"There _is_ something!" cried Katharine, as they approached the scene of -the jolting, and the headlights showed a dark bundle toward one side of -the road. Patricia shuddered as she saw that it was the figure of a man. -As soon as she had come to a stop, the policeman leaped out and bent over -the prone figure. With the help of the coroner he rolled the body onto -its back, and made a hasty examination while the white-faced, trembling -girls watched from the car. - -"You ran over him all right," called the officer. - -Patricia gave a frightened gasp and clutched the wheel tightly to save -herself from succumbing to a wave of dizziness which swept over her. - -"But," he continued, "you didn't kill him. Somebody evidently stabbed and -left him here. His partner, no doubt. Probably took whatever he had on -him, too." - -Patricia breathed a prayer of thanksgiving. - -"I thought so," continued the officer, as he hastily ran his fingers -through the pockets of the dead man, and found nothing. "Cleaned out." - -"We'd better get him on the truck and take him to the morgue," said the -coroner. "Give us a hand, Jones," to the mechanic. "Drive ahead a little, -lady, and give us more room." - -Patricia moved on a few feet and discovered that there was not space -enough in that particular spot to turn around; so she proceeded slowly -until she came to a place where the trees were a little farther back from -the road. - -"Think you can make it?" inquired Jane, lowering the window to watch the -tree trunks on her side of the car. - -"By going off the road a bit; it looks fairly level here." - -It took some maneuvering to get the car headed in the opposite direction, -and Patricia's arms ached before the feat was finally accomplished. -Suddenly she stopped the machine, opened the door, and jumped out. - -"What on earth is the matter now?" called Jane, sliding over the driver's -seat and sticking her head out of the open door. - -Patricia, who was stooping over something a few feet ahead, in the glare -of the headlights, made no reply. - -"Don't tell me there's another man!" wailed Anne, covering her face. - -"No, no!" assured Katharine, patting Anne soothingly. "Nothing so big as -that. What did you find, Pat?" as the girl ran back to her companions. - -"Look!" she cried, stumbling into her seat, and holding up a glistening -object. - -"A watch!" exclaimed the girls in chorus. - -"Yes, and it's Mrs. Brock's grandfather's watch!" Her words fairly -tumbled over one another in her excitement. "At least it answers to the -description given in the papers." - -"Oh, Pat, you lucky girl!" ejaculated Jane, hugging her. - -"It was right under the headlights. The man's pal must have dropped it!" - -"Heavens! Maybe he's still around here!" shuddered Anne, as a dire -thought occurred to her. - -"Never thought of that!" admitted Patricia, starting the car again. - -"Never fear!" asserted Katharine. "A criminal may return to the scene of -his crime, but he never stays there." - -"Better go back and tell the men, Pat," advised Jane sensibly. - -In a minute or two the girls were tumbling out of the car, all talking at -once to the officer who was standing in the road waiting for them to -return. The body had been placed in the truck, and the coroner and Jones -were ready to start off. - -"One at a time!" pleaded Policeman Tyne, covering his ears with his big -hands. - -The other three girls stopped immediately, and allowed Patricia to tell -the story without interruption. - -"Must have lost this when he dodged into the woods," remarked the -coroner, who, with Jones, had left the truck and rejoined the group. - -"Suppose perhaps he's keeping under cover not too far from here," said -the officer. - -"Going in the woods to look for him?" inquired the coroner. - -"Not the least use in the world," offered Jones promptly. "You'd never -find your way around in there at night. It's bad enough in the daytime. I -got lost in there once. You'd just be a target for him, officer," he -added, as Tyne hesitated. - -"He's probably miles away by now, anyhow. We have no means of knowing -when the crime was committed. We'll go back, I guess, and I'll make my -report; then all surrounding towns and roads will be watched. Ready, -girls?" - -"Congratulations, Pat!" said Anne, generously, as they started off. "I'm -awfully glad that you'll get the reward." - -"I don't know--" began Patricia doubtfully, watching the road closely. - -"You will," said the policeman. "You found it. Of course it will be held -up for a while until after the investigation, but then you can claim it. -Maybe there'll be a reward for that fellow, too," nodding toward the -truck. "I'm pretty sure he's Crack Mayne." - -"Oh!" exclaimed Patricia. "He's--" then stopped abruptly. - -"He's what?" demanded Frank Tyne suspiciously. - -Patricia forced an unsteady laugh, then told the story of Jack's and her -adventure in the woods. The man shook with amusement over the trooper's -mistake. - -"So they took you for 'Angel' and your friend for Crack!" he chuckled. -"Wait till I tell the boys that story." - -"Who on earth _is_ 'Crack' and what did he do?" demanded Katharine. - -"He's an A-1 burglar, Miss. Wanted for lots of jobs, but he's so d-- -blamed clever that nobody's been able to lay hands on him. They say he -comes of a good family; sort of black sheep, you know. Somebody said he -has a sister living in Granard; of course that may be just talk. He was -in town a couple of times last winter; that we know." - -"Lock up your class pin, Anne," laughed Jane, as Anne's eyes grew bigger -and bigger. - -"Yes, he might try the dorm next," giggled Patricia. - -"I have a horror of burglars. Imagine! Waking up to find one in your -room. Ugh!" shuddered Anne. - -"But he's dead, you geese!" Katharine reminded them. - -"That's so," sighed Anne with such evident relief that they all laughed. - -"I'll bet that's who Craig was looking for," thought Patricia, as she -made the turn into Millersville for the second time. - -"How much do you suppose it will be?" asked Katharine suddenly. - -"What?" - -"The reward, of course." - -The girls laughed a bit hysterically; for the events of the afternoon and -evening had been a severe strain on the nerves of everyone. The truck -turned down a side street, and as they reached the station the officer -got out without waiting for Patricia to come to a full stop. - -"Good luck, girls!" he cried, as he slammed the door. - -"I'm hoping," said Patricia soberly, as she put on speed, "that the -reward will be enough to help me come back here next year." - -"Why, you've just _got_ to come back!" declared Anne emphatically. "We -can't possibly get along without you." - -"I should say not!" agreed Katharine, reaching forward to pinch -Patricia's ear affectionately. - -"I do hope you'll get enough to be of considerable help," said Jane -earnestly. - -"Time will tell," replied Patricia, a bit shakily. - -It was wonderful of the girls to be so anxious to keep her in the dear -old Gang! She had known, of course, that they liked her; but she had -never realized how much until she saw how shocked they were at the -possibility of her not being able to return next September. - -The rain stopped, and traffic was light; so they were able to make good -time all the rest of the way. It was about eight-thirty when they drew up -in front of Arnold Hall. - -"Let's walk down to the Coffee Shoppe and get some supper before we go -in," proposed Katharine. "If the girls once get hold of us we'll never -get out again; and I'm starved." - -"A good idea," agreed Jane. - -"Are you going to tell the Gang all about our adventures?" inquired Anne, -as they walked the short distance down the street. - -"Why, I thought so," replied Patricia. "Why not?" - -"Just as well," counseled Jane. "They'll see it in the papers, or hear it -some way; and they would think it queer that we said nothing about it." - -"There's Rhoda!" exclaimed Katharine, as they entered the restaurant. -"Let's go and sit with her. She looks lonesome." - -"Hello, Rhoda," said Jane, sliding into the seat beside the surprised -maid, while the other three girls squeezed into the seat on the opposite -side of the table. "Haven't finished, have you?" - -"No; just beginning." - -"Good!" approved Anne. "Eat slowly until we get our supper." - -Rhoda obediently laid down her knife and fork, while the girls ordered; -then she asked: "Did you miss your supper at the Hall?" - -"I'll say we did!" said Katharine fervently. - -"We had the most exciting time!" cried Anne. - -"And Rhoda," interrupted Patricia, leaning across the table to whisper -confidentially--"Just think; I found Mrs. Brock's watch!" - -"Miss Randall!" gasped the maid. "Wherever--" - -"Listen!" And Patricia plunged into the story, aided by various comments -from her companions. Rhoda's eyes widened, and a deep flush crept across -her face as the tale reached the discovery of the dead man. - -"How--awful!" she faltered. "What--what did he look like?" - -"We didn't look at him," responded Katharine; "but the officer thought--" -she broke off abruptly, silenced by a sharp touch of Patricia's sturdy -shoe. - -"We were scared to death," interrupted Patricia hurriedly, "and glad to -have a chance to leave the scene for a few minutes. And wasn't it lucky -that I had to go farther on to turn around?" Rapidly, excitedly, she -proceeded to the finding of the watch. - -"Now let's eat," proposed Katharine, when Patricia paused for breath at -the end of the tale. - -Rhoda merely played with her food, and drank two cups of strong coffee, -while she waited for the girls to finish their meal. Then they all -strolled slowly back to the Hall together. The moon had come up, and was -shining through the lacy foliage of the trees, making delicate patterns -on the walks. - -"Why the kick?" whispered Katharine to Patricia as they fell back of the -others, to let some people pass in the opposite direction. - -"We don't know for sure who the man was," said Patricia; "and it seems to -me it's better not to mention names. Let that come out in the papers -first." - -"You're probably right, Miss Prudence," laughed Katharine; "but don't go -quite so heavy on the kicks hereafter." - -There was bedlam in Arnold Hall when the girls told their story to the -Alley Gang and Mrs. Vincent in the big parlor. Students from the second -floor hung over the stair railings to listen in; and before the subject -was exhausted, Ted Carter, Craig Denton, and Jack Dunn walked in. Then -everything had to be gone over again. - -Suddenly the outside door was flung open impatiently, and Mrs. Brock -walked in and stood viewing the crowd. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - THE REWARD - - -For an instant nobody spoke or moved; then Mrs. Vincent got up and -crossed the room to greet the unexpected visitor. - -"Won't you come in and sit down, Mrs. Brock?" she asked, pulling forward -a rocking chair which Katharine had just vacated. - -"Not going to stay, thank you," was the crisp response. "Just came after -my watch." - -"How the dickens did she know that it had been found?" whispered Anne to -Frances, who was standing beside her on the opposite side of the room. - -"Can't imagine," began Frances; then stopped short, as Jane, who had -heard the question, looked back and formed the one word "Rhoda" with her -lips. - -"Well, where is it?" demanded the old lady, looking at Patricia as if she -suspected her of having sold it for old gold. - -"It's at the police station in Millersville, Mrs. Brock," replied -Patricia. - -"That's fine!" commented the old lady sarcastically. "Whatever possessed -you to let it out of your hands?" - -"Why, I had to," faltered Patricia, somewhat timidly. This fierce old -lady was enough to intimidate a far bolder person than Patricia. - -"Had to! Had to!" began the caller, when Jack spoke up in order to shield -Patricia a little. - -"The police take charge of all articles until after a case is settled." - -"Oh, they do, do they? And who are you?" - -"Jack Dunn," replied the boy, flushing at the bluntness of the question. - -Mrs. Brock gazed at him fixedly for a full minute; then wheeled about and -started for the door. - -"Won't you stay a while, and have a cup of tea with us?" asked Mrs. -Vincent hospitably. - -"No, thanks," was the curt reply. "I get tea enough at home." - -The door opened and closed, and she was gone. - -"Did you ever!" exclaimed Katharine. - -"Never!" responded Jane promptly. - -"Not a word about the reward, either," lamented Anne. - -"Hope she doesn't forget all about it after she gets the watch back," -remarked Frances. - -"Why, Frances," interposed Patricia reprovingly. - -"Well, she's so queer, who can tell what she's likely to do." - -"Let's forget about her and have that tea you mentioned a minute ago, -Mrs. Vincent," suggested Ted. - -"And while you're getting it ready, we'll run out and get some cakes or -something to go with it," proposed Craig. "Come along, fellows." - -Mrs. Vincent good-naturedly waived the ten-thirty rule, and the rest of -the evening passed happily. So exhausted was everyone by excitement and -merriment, that heads were hardly on the pillows when their owners were -sound asleep. Only Rhoda tossed restlessly, and fearfully awaited the -morrow. - - -Monday morning's paper contained a full account of the discovery of -"Crack" Mayne on a lonely detour by several Granard students who were -returning to college after a week end out of town. - -"Bless his heart!" cried Patricia, as she read rapidly through the -article. - -"Whose!" inquired Anne. "Crack's?" - -"No; Craig's. I begged him to keep our names out of the paper, but I was -afraid he wouldn't. You know reporters just can't help using everything -they can get hold of." - -"He owed you something, I should think, for telephoning him the story -right away for his paper. He got a--what do they call it?" - -"Scoop!" said Patricia, smiling at the recollection of Craig's fervent, -"You darling girl!" when she had called him up from the Hall as soon as -they got in the night before. "He was especially sporting about it, since -he was on the trail of Crack himself when we met him at home." - -"He was? Now if he'd only come with us instead of going by train!" - -"That's what he said." - -The evening paper was not so considerate, and the names of all the girls -were mentioned, along with the finding of the famous watch by Patricia -Randall who would, the paper stated, receive the reward offered by Mrs. -Brock. All four girls would share in the $500 reward offered for the -capture of the burglar. - -"Capture is good!" jeered Katharine, as the Gang was poring over the -paper in Jane's room. "Anybody could capture a dead man." - -"Well," said Frances belligerently, "if Pat hadn't run over him you'd -never--" - -The rest of her remark was drowned by a burst of laughter; for Frances' -hostility was as funny as that of a small kitten who arches her back at -imaginary foes. - -A couple of days later, when the Gang came in from lunch, Rhoda handed -Patricia an envelope. - -"This was left for you this morning," she explained. - -"Thank you, Rhoda," said Patricia, smiling in her usual friendly fashion; -but there was no answering smile on the maid's grave face. - -"What's the matter with Rhoda?" asked Anne, as they went on down the hall -to Patricia's room. - -"I don't know; she isn't a bit like herself, and sometimes she looks as -if she'd been crying. I wish I knew what's troubling her." - -"Yes; perhaps we could do something." - -But what was disturbing Rhoda would never be revealed to the inmates of -Arnold Hall. Little did they suspect that "Crack" Mayne was their maid's -brother; that he had been the one to rob Mrs. Brock of her money and -jewelry; and that, maddened by his sister's refusal to give him access to -the Hall, he had, in a spirit of revenge, set fire to it. That was -information which Rhoda would keep strictly to herself. Sorrow for her -brother's violent death was tempered by relief that no longer need she -shiver with fear each night as she wondered where he was and what he was -doing. - - -"Open it quick," begged Anne, when they were safely inside Patricia's -room. - -Tearing open the envelope, she drew out a sheet of note paper upon which -was written in an old-fashioned cramped hand: "The promised reward for -finding my watch." Inside the double sheet were laid five ten dollar -bills. - -"Congratulations!" cried Anne, jumping up from the bed and flinging open -the door. "Girls," she called to the corridor at large, "Pat's got her -reward!" - -From all the rooms on that floor flocked various members of the Gang to -gather joyfully around Patricia, exclaiming over the crisp new bills as -happily as if they were the property of each individual there. - -"You'll have to go over and thank Mrs. Brock, Pat," declared Katharine -mischievously. - -"I shall express my gratitude in a very formal, but sincere, note," -replied Patricia, tucking the bills into her hand bag. - -"How are you going to spend it!" inquired Clarice, who was wandering -restlessly around the room, examining articles on dressers and desks. - -"I'm not sure. Probably lay it aside for a while." - -"You might donate it to the scholarship fund, and then this house -wouldn't have to take part in the annual entertainment to raise money for -it," suggested Lucile. - -"Don't you do it!" was Frances' prompt veto. "Spend it on yourself." - -"Speaking of our stunt for the 25th, we've got to have a meeting and -decide what we _are_ going to do," declared Jane firmly. - -"Let Pat and Jack do that dance they put on the other night," suggested -Anne. - -"The very thing! It could be part of a ballet," agreed Katharine. - -"Will you?" asked Jane, as Patricia looked doubtful. - -"If Jack will; but maybe he won't want to." - -"Why not?" demanded Betty. - -"I don't know; but you can never tell what ideas a fellow has about that -sort of thing." - -"Well, I hope he agrees to it; for you're both a peach of a dancer," -commented Katharine. - -"Kay! Your English!" objected Frances. - -"I don't care. You know what I mean." - -"Ask Jack today, will you, Pat?" asked Jane. "Then we can build up the -rest of our stunt around you two. We'll need some of the other boys, too; -so Jack need not fear being conspicuous." - -"I'll see him after Shakespeare class," promised Patricia. - -She was as good as her word, and reported to the committee that evening -that Jack had accepted, after much urging. Rehearsals began immediately -amid great secrecy; for each group tried to keep its contribution to the -entertainment a secret until the night it was presented. Besides -Patricia, only Anne, Katharine, Hazel and Frances of the Alley Gang were -to take part, with Jane as director of the Arnold Hall production. - -"There are loads of better actors than we are among the girls upstairs," -was Jane's reply to Frances' protest at not having all the Gang in the -affair. "And it's only right to use as many as we can. They think we're -too prominent in the house as it is, and it wouldn't look well to keep -the whole show to ourselves. They have exactly as much right to be in it -as we have." - -Frances pouted, flounced out of the room, and disappeared for the rest of -the evening. - -"What's the matter with her?" inquired Betty, who had collided with -Frances in the doorway. - -"Peeved because the whole Gang isn't to be used in our act." - -"I must confess I thought you had your nerve with you to leave Clarice -out," commented Betty, helping herself to a piece of candy from a box on -Jane's dresser. - -"I suppose I have brought down Mrs. Vincent's disapproval on myself; but -while I have nothing against Clarice personally, it seems to me hardly -fitting for a girl who is always behind in her studies, and who has been -quite so talked about, to represent Arnold Hall in the big entertainment -of the year." - -"Jane always stands by her guns," remarked Anne admiringly, as she shook -out the costume she was working on. - -"How well I know that," laughed Ruth. "I have yet to see her back down -from any stand she has taken." - -"Well, I hate people who are always changing their minds," admitted Jane, -gazing critically at a poster she was making for the entertainment. "Make -a decision, and then stick to it. That's my motto." - -Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, who the ancient Greeks believed -listened to the boasts of mortals and promptly punished them, must have -made a heavy mark against Jane's name just then. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - PAT'S SACRIFICE - - -"But, Dean Walters, she does not seem really bad." - -"There have been many complaints of her, Mrs. Vincent, and her actions -are causing most unfavorable comment outside as well as inside college -circles. It is not desirable for the institution to retain such a girl." - -"It seems to me that the crowd she was in with for a while is largely -responsible. I feel quite sure that Clarice was not entirely to blame in -that last affair." - -"Might it not have been better to have verified your suspicions at the -time, and brought them to my attention, instead of waiting until now to -mention them?" - -"Well--she--she naturally would not wish to betray her friends--and -I--I--" - -"Be that as it may, one more escapade will automatically sever Miss -Tyson's connections with Granard College. I leave it to you to make my -decision known to the young lady." - -Patricia drew a long breath of relief as the two women left the library -alcove next to the one in which she had been an unwilling eavesdropper. - -Not long ago, a noisy party on the top floor, one night when the chaperon -was at a concert, had brought a shower of complaints from private houses -surrounding Arnold Hall. Exactly who else beside Clarice had attended the -spread, no one knew; for she was the only one who owned up when the -matter had been made the object of a very solemn house meeting a couple -of days later. The affair had crystallized Clarice's standing in the -Hall; for the law-abiding students felt that the honor and reputation of -their house had been tarnished. Secretly they wished that the ringleader -might be sent to room elsewhere, but gossip whispered that the chaperon -was especially interested in Clarice by reason of a long-standing -friendship with one of the girl's relatives. - -Patricia was sure, however, that underneath the veneer of lawlessness, -the girl was fine and true. She was the only one who had "owned up" and -she wouldn't divulge the names of the other culprits. Too bad she got in -with that crowd of girls who roomed outside of the dormitories. They were -less hampered by rules and regulations, and gladly welcomed Clarice with -her generous allowance and her readiness for all kinds of fun. She was -always easily led by anyone who was friendly toward her, and on several -occasions she had been taken advantage of by the crowd. It was a pity -that a girl who was capable of doing good work, and possessed of -qualities which, if developed, would make her amount to something, should -be playing around with those idlers who had come to college principally -for a good time. Somebody really ought to rescue her. - -"I suppose I might undertake the job," thought Patricia reluctantly. -"Clarice responds to flattery and petting like a pussy cat. Yet even if I -wanted to (which I really don't) I haven't the time. It would mean -constant attention, and would probably ruin my standings." - -Patricia shook herself, as if to be rid of the whole troublesome -business, and resolutely opened her book. Next day's assignment was -difficult, and required perfect concentration. - -"One more escapade--sever connections--" - -Bother! Why need those relentless words ring in _her_ ears? It was the -duty of Mrs. Vincent, as chaperon, to advise and guard the girls under -her care. Inefficient little Dolly! The only methods she knew how to use -were reprimands and warnings, neither of which would do in this case. The -redemption of Clarice must be effected by one who would win and hold her -affection; who could, and would, detach her from the outside crowd, and -unite her to the girls from Arnold Hall. - -Patricia gave up further attempts to study, and sat arguing with herself -until a bell rang and the janitor came in to close the building. With a -start she packed up her books, hurried out, and walked briskly across the -campus in the direction of the Hall. The girls, unless special permission -had been granted, were expected to be in the house at ten o'clock, and it -was within a quarter of that hour. A passing automobile forced her to -pause at the corner where a street light clearly revealed the faces of -the occupants of the car: Clarice and Bert King! - -Quick anger filled Patricia's heart. How could anyone, with any sense at -all, go right out on top of a warning? She could not have obtained -permission, because all her privileges had been used up. Calender Street -led directly out to Driftwood Inn, where there was a dance every Thursday -night. Evidently that was their destination. No use bothering one's head -about a girl who was quite so reckless. A sheer waste of time and energy! - -Thursday night? This was the evening that the chaperons played bridge at -the Faculty Club. Possibly Mrs. Vincent had gone directly there from the -library. In that case, very likely she had not yet seen Clarice. That put -a different face on the matter. Poor Clarice! Rushing so gayly away to -the Inn for a good time, she would return to find herself expelled. -Hardly fair; yet the Dean had said distinctly that one more escapade, and -she always kept her word. In view of her recent reprimand, Mrs. Vincent -would not be likely to spare Clarice this time. - -Mechanically Patricia entered the Hall and walked down the empty corridor -to her own room. She was alone tonight; for Betty had gone home for the -week end a day early. Mechanically she undressed, her brain busy creating -and discarding ways and means of shielding the truant. - -There was little doubt about Clarice's ability to enter the house and get -to her room unseen and unheard. That she had accomplished before by -secret methods of her own. The greatest danger lay in room inspection, -recently inaugurated. Every night, now, Mrs. Vincent made a tour of rooms -about eleven o'clock to see if any of her charges were missing. In all -probability, after the Dean's recent hint that she had not been -sufficiently on the alert, tonight would be the time for greater -thoroughness than usual. - -If there were only someone who could be placed in Clarice's bed until -after the ceremony had been concluded. No one of the girls, of course, -would risk a demerit by absence from her own room, especially for -Clarice; they disapproved of her too strongly. - -Her own hair was almost exactly the shade of Clarice's. There seemed no -way except to sacrifice herself to the cause, and she rebelled against -it. - -"It is being deceitful, and that is wrong," admonished an inner voice. - -"It's being very charitable," contradicted another little voice. "By -doing this, you'll give Clarice a chance to complete her year's work." - -"And next year," came back the sneering suggestion, "she'll act just the -same as ever." - -"No such thing! You are going to help her keep away from undesirable -companions, and develop her real self." - -The fact that she might not be back next year herself was entirely lost -track of in the conflict between the opposing impulses. - - -When she was all ready for bed, Patricia opened her door quietly, paused -to listen, then slipped noiselessly along the corridor to Clarice's room. -Cautiously turning the knob, she slipped into the dark room. Safe so far. -Rolling herself in the bed clothes, she turned her face to the wall and -burrowed deep into the pillows. Shaking with excitement, and too much -disturbed to sleep, she lay listening to the trolley cars and automobiles -which passed and repassed on the busy street, and to the little movements -and noises inside. She heard Mrs. Vincent come in and go directly to her -own room. Finally the clock in the hall sounded its soft chimes, then -gave forth eleven measured strokes. Like a cuckoo, Mrs. Vincent promptly -emerged from her room and crossed the hall to the table where the -register lay. Presently, Patricia heard her put down the heavy book and -start along the corridor. Now she was at Lucile's door; now Anne's; then -Patricia's own. A pause. Quick step around the room. Return to the -register. Silence. Then the steps re-crossed the hall and stopped at -Clarice's door. The knob turned softly. Patricia held her breath. -Suppose, after all, she should be caught, and Clarice's absence -discovered! The ray of a little flash light wavered over her head, darted -about the room, and--disappeared. Half an hour later, Mrs. Vincent was in -bed, fast asleep; then Patricia crept noiselessly back to her own room. - - -The students had just returned from breakfast the following morning, when -Mrs. Vincent called Patricia into her room. - -"Miss Randall," she began, without preamble, "did you have permission to -go out last night?" - -"No, Mrs. Vincent." - -"You were not in your room at room inspection." - -Patricia was silent. The chaperon looked surprised. - -"Where were you?" she asked at last. - -"That I am not at liberty to tell you; but I can truthfully say that I -was not doing anything of which I should be ashamed." - -"You realize, of course, that I shall have to report this to the Dean?" - -"Yes, Mrs. Vincent." - -Baffled, rather annoyed, and wholly puzzled, the chaperon dismissed her. - - -By dinner time that evening the whole college seethed with the report -that Patricia Randall had been required to withdraw from participation in -the spring entertainment which was to be given the following Saturday. -Little groups were gathered here and there excitedly discussing the -astounding news. - -"My dear, Patricia was out without permission last night--" - -No one knew where! - -"Her room was empty at inspection." - -"Dean Walters and Mrs. Vincent are furious because they couldn't get her -to say where she was." - -"Jack Dunn's terribly upset, because they say she had one of the most -important dance numbers with him!" - -"Yes, and nobody else knows how to do it; and it's too late to coach -anyone." - -"It is a shame! That part will just have to be omitted." - -"What _do_ you suppose possessed Patricia, of all people, to start -breaking rules, and then be so secretive about it?" - - -In the little reception room of Arnold Hall sat the object of their -discussions. - -"I feel just as bad as you do, Jack," she was saying to the serious-faced -youth opposite her; "and I'd explain if I could; but I really can't. The -worst of it is cutting you out of the dance." - -"What about yourself?" - -"Oh, that doesn't matter--much." - -Patricia was examining the pleats in her skirt, laying each one carefully -into its exact crease. If only she wouldn't feel so like crying every -time she talked about the entertainment. She had never been in anything -as large as this before, and was looking forward to inviting some people -down from home. How glad she was that she had held up the invitations! - -"There _is_ a way," she continued, as soon as she could control her -voice, "that the dance could be given just the same, if you will only -agree." - -"I won't make a solo of it, because it would be a complete frost. Anyhow, -I don't want to go on without you. I need you for inspiration," he added, -with a mischievous grin. - -"It's nice of you to put it that way, but your desire to make the affair -a success should furnish enough 'inspiration.' The omission of that dance -leaves an awful gap in the performance." - -"Don't I know it?" gloomily. - -"Well, then, ask Clarice Tyson to take my place." - -As if shot, the boy sprang from his chair. If Patricia had hurled a bomb -at his head, he couldn't have been much more shocked. - -"Nothing doing!" he exclaimed violently. - -"Hush! Don't get so excited. Sit down and listen to me." - -The look of mingled astonishment and disgust on his face was so funny -that Patricia almost had to laugh. Just in time, she succeeded in choking -back her amusement. This was not a time for mirth; the case required -diplomatic handling. - -"In the first place, Clarice is perfectly familiar with that dance; and -since she is a born dancer, she won't embarrass you by ignorance and -awkwardness." - -"She'll not have a chance to," muttered the boy. - -"Don't say that," pleaded Patricia. "Jack, we've been good pals for some -time now; can't you do this for me, if we must put it on a purely -personal basis? There is a special reason why I very much want to place -Clarice before the public in a new role and under different auspices. -Your position in the college is so solid, your reputation so--so -irreproachable, that what you do or sponsor meets with the complete -approval of the Powers-that-Be." - -"Baloney; but I'm beginning, I think, to see through your scheme." - -"And you will do it?" Eagerly the girl leaned forward and waited for his -reply. - -"I can't take her by the hand and just drag her onto the stage with me -Saturday night," objected Jack irritably. - -"Of course not. Tell Jane you know a girl who is well able to take my -place, and ask if you may substitute her. Jane is so busy and worried -over the affair that she'll be delighted, and probably will ask no -questions." - -Jack considered the question gravely, while Patricia watched his face -hopefully. - -"Will you, Jack?" she begged. "Please say you will." - -"All right," he agreed gruffly. "I'm not at all keen, I must confess, at -appearing so publicly with the celebrated Clarice; but if you say so, it -must be done. Probably will cause a tempest in a teapot, but--" - -"I'll take care of that," cried Patricia joyfully; "and thanks a lot. -I'll do something big for you some day." - -Jack drew from his pocket a small note book and scribbled a few lines on -one of its pages. - -"What are you doing?" asked Patricia curiously. - -"Just making a note of that promise." - -At that moment the clock struck half past ten. - -"I must get out of here before I'm put out," said Jack, getting up and -starting for the hall. At the outside door, he paused. - -"By the way, Pat, how does Clarice happen to know that dance?" - -"I taught it to her this afternoon," was the startling reply, as Patricia -closed the door. - -On her way to her own room, she stuck her head into Jane's. - -"Jack knows a girl he can get to sub for me Saturday night," she said. -"Will it be all right?" - -Jane jumped up with a sigh of relief. "I'll say so!" she ejaculated. "Oh, -boy! How worried I've been at the idea of leaving out that dance!" - -"I'm so very sorry to have made all this trouble for everybody," faltered -Patricia, with tears in her eyes; "but I just couldn't help it." - -"Don't, dear!" whispered Jane, putting both arms around the girl. "The -Gang's back of you, whatever you do." - -"It's good of you to say that, especially when I can't clear myself." - -"Maybe later on something will happen to clear things up for you," -suggested Ruth. - -Pat looked at her quickly, wondering if the girl suspected anything; but -Ruth, who was placidly combing her hair, smiled at her in the mirror so -innocently that her fears were allayed. - - -"Pat's shielding some one," declared Ruth, after Patricia had gone. -"We'll have to find out who it is." - -"Oh, Ruthie," groaned Jane, distractedly, "don't suggest my doing -anything until after this blamed entertainment is over." - -Ruth said no more, but she made up her mind that Pat _must_ be cleared. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - CLARICE - - -Rehearsals for the ballet in which Jack and his partner were featured had -ended before Patricia was banned; so it was not until Saturday night that -Jane discovered who the sub was to be. - -"What is _she_ doing here?" whispered the harried director to Frances, -who had sufficiently recovered from her annoyance to help with the -make-up. - -"Who?" inquired Frances, busy laying out grease, paint, and powder. - -"Clarice. She's out there on the stage as large as life. We can't have -any unnecessary people back here." - -Just then Jack approached his partner, and as they practiced a couple of -difficult steps together, the awful truth dawned upon Jane. Though -usually slow to anger, her temper suddenly flared up at the trick which -had been played on her. - -"I think that's just contemptible!" she exclaimed, rapping a brush -sharply on the table. - -"What on earth is the matter?" inquired Ruth, who had just entered with -an armload of costumes. - -"For Pat and Jack to have given Clarice a part in the dance without -telling me." - -"But," said Ruth, "you didn't ask Pat who was to take her place. I -wondered at the time." - -"I never dreamed of its being Clarice! I thought it was some friend of -Jack's." - -"I have an idea," cried Frances. "It isn't for nothing Pat's turned over -her boy friend to Clarice. It's my opinion that it is Clarice Pat is -shielding." - -"What makes you think that?" asked Ruth. - -"I just have a hunch, and I'm going to ferret out the truth." - -"What's the use of that now?" asked Jane. - -"Lots of use; for it would restore Pat to the good graces of--" - -"But we couldn't go out and squeal on someone else," objected Jane. - -"For cats' sake, girls, stop talking and get busy," pleaded the harassed -director. "We'll never be ready for the curtain at eight-fifteen." - -It was not until the very end of the long program that the Arnold Hall -girls went on. A series of dances made up the scene, which was in a -forest. The dance specialty by Jack and Clarice was just over when little -Sylvia, the niece of Dean Walters--as a lost princess--danced to the -front of the stage. - -Excited by the crowd, she flung out her arms and fluffy skirts as she -came forward. A sudden whirl brought her up against a torch held by one -of the woodsmen, and in an instant she was ablaze. Like a flash, Clarice -upset a huge jar of daisies and rolled the child back and forth on the -soaked rug. While the curtain was hastily rung down, Clarice picked up -the child and tried to soothe her. The fluffy dress was a wet, charred -rag, but Sylvia was unharmed. - -"Darling," choked Dean Walters, snatching the child, "it was the -quickest--" she began. Then turning to Clarice, she said, "Come in to see -me tomorrow." - -"Isn't it lucky I had to give up the part!" said Pat to Jack. "I should -never have known what to do. And since the kiddie wasn't harmed, how -wonderfully it will help to reinstate Clarice." - -Frances, who was in the woodsmen's hut just back of them, heard no more; -but this much was enough. - -"Clarice," cried Mrs. Vincent, "are you burned at all?" - -"Not a bit," replied the girl, a bit shaky, now the excitement was over. - -"What ever could I have said to Albert--to your father--if any harm had -come to you!" - -"Well, none did," said Clarice, starting for the dressing room. - -"She's tired and excited," said Jane kindly, as the chaperon's lips -quivered and her troubled eyes followed the progress of her favorite -across the stage. - -"Did you ever know anybody to act so quickly?" demanded Mrs. Vincent -proudly. "Most people didn't know what had happened. I guess the Dean -won't be quite so ready to--" Realizing suddenly that she was saying too -much in her excitement, she stopped abruptly and hurried off the stage. - - -The following day, Jane, Anne, Frances, and Ruth were sitting on a bench -in Reservoir Park, facing the west. A beautiful sunset was dyeing the sky -a brilliant crimson and gold. They had gone for a walk after dinner, and -now were resting and discussing the events of the preceding evening. - -"It's very clear to me," Frances was saying emphatically, "that the Dean -must have decided upon something drastic regarding Clarice; that Pat knew -about it, and got into trouble helping her out." - -"And then thought it might show the Dean that the girls liked and trusted -the real Clarice if she had a big part in the show," continued Anne, -tracing a pattern in the dust of the path with a small twig. - -"I know that she, herself, taught Clarice that dance," contributed Ruth, -who was industriously pulling a daisy apart, meanwhile saying to herself, -"'He loves me; he loves me not.' Clarice told me so when I pressed the -question last night as to where she had learned it." - -Jane, who had been listening silently with thoughtfully knitted brows and -a puzzled expression in her honest grey eyes, now sprang up and faced the -three on the bench. - -"I think I have it!" - -"What?" demanded Ruth in alarm. "Not _measles_!" In one of the -dormitories there was a mild epidemic of that disease of childhood. - -"Oh, no," laughed Jane, "but listen! The night Pat was missing from her -room, I was in the bathroom between ten-thirty and eleven. You remember, -Ruthie, I told you that the salad we had at dinner made me feel sick?" - -Ruth nodded. - -"While I was in there, I heard someone cross the hall and go very softly -into Clarice's room--it's right next to the bathroom, you know. It didn't -sound like Clarice, for she puts her heels down so hard; and the person -was very quiet. At the time, I didn't pay much attention, or try to -figure it out; I was feeling pretty sick. But since you've been talking, -this suddenly all came back to me. Do you know what I think? I'll bet -that Pat discovered Clarice was out for a good time somewhere, and took -her room so her absence wouldn't be noticed. Their hair is about the same -shade, and in the dark it would be easy to--" - -"Jane! Jane!" cried Anne joyfully. "I believe you _have_ solved the -puzzle." - -"Listen," Frances broke in, "to what I overheard Pat say last night!" And -she repeated what she heard of Patricia's conversation with Jack. - -"I'll bet the Dean intended to drop Clarice if she got another demerit," -said Ruth, when Frances had finished. - -"And it fits right in with what Dolly started to say last night," said -Jane, nodding with satisfaction. - -"Now all we need to know is whether Clarice was out after hours last -Thursday," concluded Anne; "and when we get home, I'm going to ask her." - -"And if she was?" queried Jane. - -"Then--I think--" replied Anne slowly, "that I shall tell her what we -suspect. I was with Clarice quite a bit the first of last year, and got -to know her fairly well. There's more good in her than one would suspect, -and she's the last person who'd let anybody else take her punishments." - -"But, Anne," protested Jane, as they rose to go. The brilliant colors of -the sky had faded, and it was beginning to get dark. "Won't you be -undoing all that Pat tried to bring about?" - -"No, for the Dean had a long talk with Clarice this afternoon, and they -understand each other perfectly. I imagine that Clarice was quite frank -about herself, for she told me the Dean was just lovely to her, and -regretted their not having understood each other before. Clarice has -pretty much of a crush, and she'll do anything for a person she loves. -You see, Clarice's mother died a number of years ago, and Mr. Tyson has -lived in boarding houses and hotels ever since. He adored Clarice, and -simply spoiled her, until she became very headstrong. Then he decided to -send her to college in the hope that its discipline and associations -would sort of make her over--" - -"But, Anne," interrupted Jane; "if you knew all this, why didn't you tell -us before? We might have helped, instead of sitting in judgment on her so -often." - -"I didn't know _all_ of it until this morning, and you'd never guess who -told me. _Dolly._" - -"Dolly!" exclaimed the other girls simultaneously. - -"You remember the break she made last night about 'Albert'? Well, I think -she wanted to explain that a bit; so she waited for me after church, and -on the way home told me what I have just repeated to you. She met Mr. -Tyson and Clarice at the seashore, somewhere in Massachusetts, a couple -of years ago; and I guess, again last summer." - -"Then _that's_ why she's so fond of Clarice," remarked Frances; "and I'll -bet my last dollar she's fond of 'Albert' too. Where does he live?" - -"Boston." - -"Ah, ha! She gets a letter from Boston every week!" cried Frances -triumphantly. - -"How do you know?" demanded Jane. - -"Have you forgotten that I bring down the mail at noon every day?" - -Jane did not reply; for they were by that time at the door of Arnold -Hall. As soon as they entered, Anne went in search of Clarice; and nobody -saw either of them again that night. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - SOLUTIONS - - -The girls of Granard College had finished Monday night's dessert of -chocolate blanc mange, and were restlessly waiting for the signal to -leave the dining room, when Clarice, who was sitting at the end of the -Arnold Hall table, rose quietly and stood facing her companions. - -"I've got something to say, girls," she began abruptly, her big black -eyes turned on one after another of the members of the Alley Gang, and -coming to rest on Patricia. "Last Thursday night I stayed out after hours -without permission. Accidentally Pat found it out--also, what I didn't -know at the time, that if I got another demerit I'd be dropped from -college. Like the good sport she is, she occupied my bed until after -inspection that night. You all know what a jam she got into, but I was so -dumb that I didn't put two and two together until last night." Clarice's -fixed gaze here shifted from Patricia's flushed face to Anne's. The -friendly smile which flashed to her from Anne's red lips made her falter -for a moment. Quickly, however, she recovered her poise, and continued. -"I've seen the Dean, and explained the whole affair to her; as well as to -Mrs. Vincent. And, Pat's slate is clean." - -Clarice turned from the table, and before the astonished girls could -move, had darted out of a side door which was directly behind her. Then -pandemonium broke loose. - -"Three cheers for Clarice and Pat!" cried Katharine, waving her arms -excitedly. - -An immediate and hearty response centered the attention of the entire -dining room upon the Arnold Hall table; and as the girls left the -building they were besieged by the other students to know the cause of -the demonstration. - -Although examinations loomed in the near future, no one could study in -Arnold Hall that evening; everyone was too excited, and too happy, to -settle down. The members of the Alley Gang roamed restlessly in and out -of one another's rooms, talking incessantly, while sampling the "eats" -which had arrived in several boxes from home that day. Patricia had -managed to get Clarice for a few moments alone in order to say some -things which couldn't be said in public. - -"Please don't, Pat," protested the other girl. "I'm so far in debt to you -that--" - -"But, Clarice," interrupted Patricia, putting her hand forcibly over her -friend's mouth to check further talk about indebtedness, "I want to know -how things stand with you. You won't be dropped?" - -"No, everything's all right. The Dean was lovely, and from now on I'm -going to make good." - -"I'm so glad," began Patricia, "and I know that you can." - -Just then Anne appeared, and announced that Rhoda had a telephone message -for Patricia. - -Sliding off the porch railing, on which they had been perched, the two -girls followed Anne into the house. - -"Mrs. Brock would like you to come right over, Miss Randall," said Rhoda, -when the trio presented themselves before the Black Book table where the -maid was sitting. - -"How exciting!" cried Anne. "What do you think she wants?" - -"I'll have to go and find out, I suppose," sighed Patricia wearily. The -strain of the week was beginning to tell on even her sturdy constitution, -and she longed to go to bed. - -"Come back as soon as you can," begged Anne, going as far as the door -with her, "and tell us all about it. We won't have many more talkfests." - -"No; and it makes me just _sick_ to think of leaving here the last of -next week," whispered Patricia sadly, dashing away a couple of tears. - -"Never mind, old dear," said Anne. "Maybe something will turn up to bring -you back next fall." - - -When the maid at Big House ushered Patricia onto a large screened porch, -she was astonished to see Jack sitting beside a lamp whose soft light -illuminated the entire veranda. After brief greetings had been exchanged, -Mrs. Brock said abruptly: - -"I have a story to tell you children." - -Her visitors exchanged amused glances over the appellation. - -"I'll make it brief; for I know that the reminiscences of old people bore -the young. When I was a girl, about your age, I had two very dear chums: -one was Mary Pierce." - -Patricia leaned eagerly forward in her chair at the sound of her mother's -maiden name, but Mrs. Brock continued without appearing to notice the -girl's surprise. - -"The other," she went on, "was Gertrude Neal." - -Here Jack started up in astonishment, as he, too, recognized the name of -his mother. Again Mrs. Brock went on without a pause. - -"That surprises you, for I seem much older than your mothers. As a matter -of fact, I _was_ several years older than the other girls, and a long -illness a few years ago makes me appear much more ancient than I really -am. But to go on with my story. We were very congenial, and almost -inseparable." A smile at some memory flickered across the woman's face, -completely transforming the immobile features with which her listeners -were familiar. A look of regret and sadness almost immediately replaced -the smile, as she continued: - -"Unfortunately, it was too happy a friendship to last. We had a serious -misunderstanding, in which I was mostly to blame. In fact the affair was -the cause of considerable injustice being suffered by Mary and Gertrude. -I'm not going into details--it's over now, and they probably forgot all -about it; but anyhow, we separated, and I have never seen either of them -since. An aunt took me abroad, and one thing or another detained me there -until last year. My return revived old memories and affections; yet my -pride kept me from going directly to my friends. I felt, however, that I -wanted to do something to make up, at least in part, for the trouble I -had caused; so I decided to make you children a little gift and at the -same time find out what you were like. I bought Big House because it was -located so close to the college my father attended, then sent you the -money for the year's expenses. - -"Rhoda, my secretary and companion, I managed to place in Arnold Hall as -a maid, so she could give me all kinds of information about Patricia; and -I hired a private detective, Norman Young, to do my secretarial work and -at the same time spy on Jack. The game is played out now, and I hope the -year has been as satisfactory to you as it has to me. Wait a minute," as -Patricia again tried to speak. "I have an offer to make. I'm going to get -a car; for I find I cannot walk as much as I used to; and if Jack cares -to take the position as chauffeur in return for his next year's college -expenses, I fancy we can come to a satisfactory agreement. The hours -would not interfere at all with college work, and," she paused and looked -questioningly at the boy, "you won't have to live with me." - -"Mrs. Brock, I don't know what to say, except to thank you for all your -kindness to me, and to accept gratefully your most generous offer. I--" - -"All right then; that's settled," interrupted Mrs. Brock, turning toward -Patricia. "I need someone to look after my library and read to me. If you -could fit that work in with your college duties, I shall be responsible -for _your_ next year's expenses. Of course you'll live at Arnold Hall." - -"Mrs. Brock," began Patricia; then much to everyone's distress she burst -into tears. "If you only knew," she sobbed, "how much I wanted to come -back here, and how afraid I have been that I couldn't--" - -"Then I'll expect you both to report here on September 20," interrupted -Mrs. Brock, "four days before college opens. Don't try to tell me how -grateful you are. I guess I know. Good night." - -Patricia kissed the white face of the little woman, and Jack followed her -example. Neither spoke until they were out on the street. - -"Some fairy godmother!" exclaimed Jack. - -"Oh, Jack, isn't she wonderful?" - -"And the best of all," said Jack, "is that we'll be here together again. -You've become a sort of habit with me, I guess." - -Patricia smiled happily in the darkness. "And now," she exulted as they -reached Arnold Hall, "I must go in and tell the girls the joyful news." - - - The End - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Preserved the copyright notice from the printed edition, although this - book is in the public domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected a few typos (but left nonstandard spelling and - dialect as is). - ---Rearranged front matter to a more-logical streaming order and added a - Table of Contents. - ---In the text versions, delimited text in italics by _underscores_. - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Mystery of Arnold Hall, by Helen M. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Mystery of Arnold Hall - -Author: Helen M. Persons - -Release Date: October 26, 2013 [EBook #44041] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: iso-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY OF ARNOLD HALL *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -_Rhoda helped them to scramble up the rough stones, slippery with moss._ - - - - - THE MYSTERY OF - ARNOLD HALL - - - By HELEN M. PERSONS - - - Author _of_ - "Finding the Lost Treasure," etc. - - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Akron, Ohio New York - - - Copyright, MCMXXXIV - The Saalfield Publishing Company - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - I Pat's Chance 5 - II Anne 16 - III "Hill Top" 27 - IV The Alley Gang 37 - V Moss 48 - VI A Meddler 59 - VII A Fall 71 - VIII Jack or Tut? 84 - IX A Tough Proposition 95 - X Jack in Danger 103 - XI Aunt Betsy to the Rescue 115 - XII On Duty 123 - XIII A Fire 131 - XIV An Investigation 139 - XV Under Arrest 149 - XVI A Picnic 159 - XVII A Robbery 177 - XVIII A Week End 188 - XIX A Weird Experience 200 - XX The Reward 214 - XXI Pat's Sacrifice 222 - XXII Clarice 235 - XXIII Solutions 242 - - - - - THE MYSTERY OF - ARNOLD HALL - - - - - CHAPTER I - PAT'S CHANCE - - -"Will you go, Patricia?" called Mrs. Randall from the living room, one -cool evening late in August, as the doorbell rang imperatively. "I'm -starting a fire in the grate." - -From the dining room across the hall, where she had been putting away the -last of the supper dishes, hurried a tall slender girl, whose short wavy -yellow hair and big brown eyes were set off to perfection by a green -jersey dress. Expecting to see one of the neighbors when the door was -opened, she was startled into an involuntary gasp as a messenger thrust -forward a special delivery letter, inquiring curtly--"Miss Patricia -Randall?" - -"Y--es." - -"Sign here." - -Patricia signed his book, closed the door, and walked slowly into the -living room staring down at the unexpected missive in her hand. - -"What is it, Pat?" inquired her mother, glancing up from the hearth rug -where she knelt trying to coax a blaze from a bed of charcoal and paper. - -"A special delivery letter--for me." - -"For you?" repeated Mrs. Randall in surprise. "From whom?" - -"I don't know," replied her daughter, frowning in a puzzled fashion. - -"Well, open it and find out. Don't stand staring at it like that," urged -her mother briskly. - -Patricia sank into a low tapestry chair beside the fireplace and tore -open the envelope. As she drew out the single sheet it contained, a slip -dropped from it onto her lap. Still holding the folded letter she picked -up the slip and exclaimed: - -"A cashier's check for a _thousand dollars_!" - -"Pat!" cried Mrs. Randall, reaching for the yellow paper to read it for -herself. "Look at the letter, quick, and see who sent it!" - -"It's only a line. 'For Patricia Randall to spend on a year at Granard -College.' Oh--why--Mums!" - -Patricia flung herself on her mother so suddenly that Mrs. Randall lost -her balance, and the two fell in a heap on the rug. - -"Mary! Patricia!" ejaculated a horrified masculine voice from the -doorway. "What in the world--" - -"Oh, Dad!" cried the girl, springing up and giving a helping hand to her -mother. With scarcely more effort than that of her daughter Mrs. Randall -regained her feet, and they stood facing Mr. Randall's astonished gaze. - -"Just look at this!" Patricia thrust the magic papers into his hand. -"Isn't it marvelous?" - -Mr. Randall read the brief message, turned the check over and over as if -to discover its sender by inspecting it from all sides, and then looked -inquiringly at his wife and daughter. - -"Is this a joke of some kind?" - -"Joke!" retorted Patricia in disgust. "I should say not! A messenger just -brought it, special delivery." - -"Strange, very strange," commented her father, shaking his head. "Do you -know anything about it, Mary?" addressing his wife, with a suspicious -look. - -"I most certainly do not. Do you?" - -"You ought to know that I don't. Where would I get that much money? -Didn't we send Pat here to Brentwood College last year because we -couldn't afford to send her away?" - -"Keep your shirt on, Dad!" laughed Patricia. "Keep your shirt on, and say -I may go." - -"I--I don't know what to say," replied the puzzled man, sinking heavily -into his favorite chair, and pulling his pipe out of his pocket. - -"Do you suppose," began Patricia, perching on the arm of her father's -chair, "that Aunt Betsy could have gotten big-hearted and sent it?" - -"Pat!" cried her mother derisively. "Of course not. She has all she can -do to keep Ted in college." - -"Be rather nice for me, having Ted at Granard," mused Patricia, recalling -her cousin's beguiling ways and good looks. - -"And having Aunt Betsy there to keep an eye on both of you," added her -mother. - -"Some eye! She'll probably never know I'm there," laughed Patricia. -"Darling Ted takes up all of her time and attention." - -"You two women," remarked Mr. Randall peevishly, "seem to have this -affair all settled." - -"Well, you see, darling, we felt quite sure you would let me go," laughed -Patricia, ruffling up his hair. "You're going to, aren't you?" bending -down to look pleadingly into his eyes. "You know I've longed to go out of -town to college where I could live in a dorm. Not that I don't like -living at home, but--" - -"We understand," interrupted her mother; "you need not be apologetic." - -"I wish we knew who sent the money, though," said Patricia, frowning -earnestly. "It must be somebody who knows all about us, but I can't think -of a soul who could or would do it." - -"I shall investigate, of course," began her father, after some thought; -"but if nothing can be found out about the donor of this wonderful gift, -it seems to me that since the money has been sent to you for a special -purpose, and sent in such a manner, the only course open to us is to use -it as stipulated, and not make any further effort to discover its -sender." - -"Oh, but, Dad! It's so tantalizing," wailed his daughter. - -"I know; but, Patricia, when you have a secret, you don't like to have -anyone try to guess it, do you?" - -"N--o." - -"This is the same thing. Just do your best to be worthy of such a -generous gift and wait for its sender to reveal himself when he chooses." - -"Your father is quite right, Pat," agreed Mrs. Randall; "and I'd like to -add one more suggestion: that you do not discuss the matter with anyone -else but us. It's romantic, and your inclination will be to let your new -companions in on the secret, but I think you will be wise if you keep it -to yourself; unless, of course, some unusual circumstance arises." - -Patricia thought soberly for a few minutes, then said with a sigh, "I -suppose you're right, Mother." - -"Do you think you'll have any trouble transferring your credits and -getting into the Sophomore class?" asked her father presently, after -another long pause, while each was busy with his own thoughts. - -"I don't think so. I'll go to see the Dean the first thing tomorrow -morning, and I'll have to write for a room--" - -"And we'll have to shop and sew," added Mrs. Randall, almost as eagerly -as her daughter. - - -After Pat had gone to bed to lie awake anticipating all kinds of unknown -adventures, Mr. and Mrs. Randall had a long serious talk over the dying -fire. - -"Then you feel satisfied to let her go?" inquired Mrs. Randall anxiously -as they finally rose to go upstairs. - -"I don't see how we can do any different. And who knows what this -opportunity may mean to Pat?" - -"If I could only be sure that everything was all right, and that no harm -would come to the child," sighed Mrs. Randall, running her fingers -through her hair, a habit when troubled over anything. - -"Now, Mary, what harm could come to her? She'll be living with lots of -other students under the direct supervision of the house chaperon and the -Dean; and Betsy is right near the college. But of course if you don't -want her to go--" - -"Oh, I _do_--at least I haven't the heart to deprive her of the -fulfillment of one of her dreams." - -Mr. Randall locked the front door, put out the lights, and followed his -wife up the long stairway. At the door of their room Mrs. Randall paused, -grasped his arm and whispered cautiously, with an eye on Pat's door, "I'm -willing to give Pats her chance, but, just the same, John Randall, I wish -she were going back to Brentwood. I have a presentiment that--" - -"Oh, you and your presentiments!" ejaculated Mr. Randall, pushing her -gently but firmly ahead of him into their room. "Nonsense!" - - -The weeks that followed were very exciting ones for Patricia. Her days -were filled to the brim with shopping, sewing, making last calls on old -friends, and finally, packing. So many evenings were taken up with -farewell parties that Mr. Randall complained that he never saw his -daughter any more; that, as far as her parents were concerned, she might -as well have gone to college the night she received the money. - -"But, dear," remonstrated his wife soothingly, "all her friends want to -entertain for her, and she can't very well refuse any of their -invitations." - -"Where is she tonight?" grumbled Mr. Randall. - -"Carolyn is giving a dinner dance at the Club. Poor Carolyn! She's quite -disturbed over having Pat go away. They have been such pals ever since -they were little." - -"Pat might ask Carolyn down for a week end some time this year. She and -her mother have been more than good to our girl. Besides, I don't want -Pat to be so taken up with the new life and new friends that she will -cast aside all her old ties." - -"I don't think she will, John. Of course just at first her whole mind -will be on Granard, but after the novelty wears off--" - -"I've been thinking," interrupted her husband, who evidently had his mind -on something else, "that it would be nice for Pats to have a little -car--" - -"John! How 'galumptious' as Pat says. Could we manage it?" - -"I think so. We'll have the money we expected to spend on her year at -Brentwood, and Everet Schuyler has a coach he's very anxious to sell. If -I can drive any kind of a bargain with him, I think I'll do it. Of course -don't say anything to Pat. I thought we might drive down some week end, -and surprise her with it; and then come back on the train." - -"How did you ever happen to think of such a thing?" inquired Mrs. -Randall, knitting very fast on the green sweater she was making for her -daughter. - -"Oh, I haven't been blind to the fact that more than half of the college -girls here have some kind of a car, and I often wished I could get Pat -one. Never been able to, before, but now I guess we can swing it. It will -be a saving, too; for she can drive back and forth whenever she has a -vacation, and save carfare. And maybe, once in a while, she could come -home for a week end?" he added, hopefully. - -"Perhaps," Mrs. Randall smiled and leaned forward to pat his arm. - -"Let's go down to Schuyler's now and look at the bus," proposed Mr. -Randall ten minutes later. - -"All right," agreed his wife, laying aside her work and getting briskly -out of her easy chair. - - -If Patricia had not been so absorbed in her own affairs she would -certainly have wondered the next day what ailed her parents; for there -was such an air of suppressed excitement about them that vented itself in -significant glances and knowing smiles. The thrill of buying her ticket, -however, made Patricia oblivious to all else. - -"Why don't you take a sleeper," asked her mother, "and get a good rest on -the way down? You've been up so late every night." - -"Nothing doing!" retorted Patricia decidedly. "When I travel I want my -eyes wide open so I won't miss a single thing." - -Her positive decision recurred to her three days later as she snuggled -deep into her comfortable chair, with a sigh of satisfaction, a sigh -which was unceremoniously cut short by a very big yawn. The farewells at -the station had been exciting and gratifying, but yet something of a -strain. Almost all of her crowd had assembled to see her off, bearing -gifts of candy, fruit, books, and magazines; her mother had clung to her -till the very last minute, and her father had fussed about time tables, -porters, tips, and a dozen other things. It had seemed as if she were -being torn into a dozen pieces trying to pay attention to everybody. Now -the train was bearing her rapidly away from Dad and Mother and all the -dear old friends toward a new life at Granard. - -"Perhaps I'd have been wiser to have followed Mother's suggestion about -the sleeper," she thought, as she tried to stifle another great yawn. -"Maybe if I take a little nap now, I'll feel fresh for the rest of the -day." - -Turning her chair toward the window, and leaning back, her hands on the -broad arms, she was almost immediately floating in a delicious sea of -semi-unconsciousness which became deeper and deeper until she was -completely lost to the world about her. After a while, however, a most -persistent dream began to disturb her peaceful sleep, a dream about a -soft grey kitten whose silky fur she kept stroking, stroking until her -hand was tired; but yet she could not stop. After a time she began to -realize that she was dreaming, and made a desperate effort to free -herself from the world of sleep by closing her fingers sharply on the -little animal's neck and giving it a shove. - -Then with a sudden start at some movement close to her she sat bolt -upright and opened her eyes just in time to see a pair of long legs, the -ankles clad in grey silk socks, hastily removing themselves from the -ledge beside her chair. - -"Good Heavens!" she thought, horror-stricken. "I do hope _those_ weren't -the kitten!" - - - - - CHAPTER II - ANNE - - -Swinging her chair sharply about to face the aisle, she met the amused -gaze of a red-haired girl of about her own age. - -"Tell me," begged Patricia impulsively, leaning forward, "was I--doing -anything--unusual while I was asleep?" - -"I'll say you were," responded the girl, smiling broadly. - -"What?" - -"You--you were--stroking the ankles of that young man back of you as if -your life depended on it," choked the stranger. - -"No!" cried Patricia, in great distress. - -"Yes! Then suddenly you pinched the poor fellow, and I thought I'd just -_die_!" - -At that moment the man in question rose and hurried down the aisle toward -the smoker. With crimson face, Patricia watched the slight boyish figure, -with its crown of smooth yellow hair, disappear before she again -addressed her neighbor. - -"I'm embarrassed to death! What _must_ he think of me? I can't apologize -for something I didn't know I was doing; and if I try to explain, it will -look as if we were trying to scrape up an acquaintance. What would you -do?" - -"I'd just let it go, and try to forget it," advised the other girl, -raising up in her chair to lower the shade a little; for the sun was -shining full upon her. - -"Do you suppose the rest of these people saw me?" persisted Patricia, -glancing anxiously around the car. - -There were not many other passengers; an old lady, apparently absorbed in -a weighty-looking volume; a couple of middle-aged men, with their heads -close together, evidently discussing some important question; a young -mother, absorbed in the baby in her arms; and a scared-looking, awkward -girl, who gazed moodily out of the window, occasionally munching a -chocolate from a box in her lap. - -"I don't think so," replied the red-haired girl, settling herself anew in -her chair, and smoothing out the skirt of her dark green suit. "I -probably shouldn't have, if I hadn't been watching you." - -"Watching me?" repeated Patricia, opening her brown eyes very wide in -surprise. - -"Yes; and wondering if by any chance you were going to Granard College." - -"I am, but what in the world made you think so?" - -"Oh, you looked like a college girl, some way, and then being on this -train, which, this time of year, is a favorite one for the Granard -students. Don't know where they all are today, though. Are you just -entering?" - -"Yes, and no," laughed Patricia. "I did my Freshman work at Brentwood; so -I'm entering the Soph class here." - -"Congratulations! Welcome to the class of 19--. I'm one of your -classmates-to-be. Anne Ford, at your service." - -"My name is Patricia Randall, and I'm very glad to get acquainted with -some one before I get to Granard. I confess I have stage fright at the -prospect of meeting so many strangers." - -"Don't let that bother you. The girls are easy to get on with, and you'll -soon feel as if you'd always been at Granard," said Anne carelessly. - -Patricia realized, however, that it would not be quite so simple to break -into a class whose cliques and customs had had a whole year's start -before she came on the scene. - -"How did you happen to choose Granard?" inquired Anne curiously. "Do you -know anyone there?" - -"My cousin," replied Patricia, breathing a prayer of thanks for the -second question which enabled her to disregard the first. "Ted Carter; do -you know him?" - -"Ted Carter! I should say I do!" exclaimed Anne, adding, quickly and -somewhat possessively, "Ted's my best boy friend." - -"How nice!" commented Patricia so heartily that all the suspicions which -had arisen in Anne's mind as to possible claims on the fascinating Teddy -were promptly allayed. - -"Come on over here," suggested Anne, turning a vacant chair to face her; -"and we'll have a cozy chat." - -Patricia gladly accepted the invitation, and as she settled herself with -one foot tucked under her, a habit whenever she wished to be especially -comfortable, Anne asked: - -"Do you know yet where you're to room?" - -"Yes; Arnold Hall." - -"You _are_?" exclaimed Anne, gazing at Patricia in astonishment. "You -certainly must have some pull." - -"Why?" inquired Patricia, in a puzzled tone. - -"Because Arnold Hall's the best dorm at Granard, and there's always a -waiting list for it. You're a lucky girl to be able to break right into -it. My reservation was made while I was still in high school." - -"Oh, then you live there? I'm _so_ glad!" There was no mistaking the note -of gratification in Patricia's tone, nor the admiring gaze of her brown -eyes which rested somewhat shyly upon her new acquaintance. - -Anne smiled in the manner of one who is so accustomed to being popular -that it has long ceased to be exciting. There was something unusual about -this new girl, evidently, or old Hattersley would never have let her get -into Arnold Hall. It evidently wasn't money; for though Patricia's -clothes were in good taste, they were not expensive. She had no friends -there, except her cousin. Perhaps it was scholarship, or some powerful -influence from Brentwood or high school. - -Patricia, meanwhile, was wondering what Anne would say if she were to -tell her that when Dad had written for a room for Patricia, the -registrar, somebody by the name of Hattersley, had promptly replied that -one had already been reserved for her in Arnold Hall. They had speculated -on the strange fact for days, and had been forced to leave the mystery -unsolved, just as they had the arrival of the check. - -"Do you know Aunt Betsy?" inquired Patricia, presently. - -"Not personally," replied Anne, smiling broadly; "but I've heard of her." - -"I'll warrant you have," giggled Patricia. "She's as good as gold, but -most awfully funny. You never know what she's going to say or do next. We -say she has only three interests: Ted, and Ted, and Ted. They used to -live near us in Brentwood, but when my cousin won a scholarship at -Granard, she rented her house and took an apartment down here so she -could give Ted all the comforts of home during his course. She meant -well, of course; but I feel sort of sorry for Ted. I fancy he'd rather be -a bit freer. One night during his Freshman year he stayed out to dinner -and for the evening without telling her; so she ran all over the campus -looking for him, quite sure that the terrible Sophs had imprisoned him -somewhere." - -"I have heard that story," laughed Anne. "He was at the Zeta Omega -House--that's right next to Arnold Hall." - -"When Aunt Betsy heard that I was coming down, she wrote Dad that she -could take me in just as well as not, and that I'd be far more -comfortable with her than in any dorm--" - -"But you preferred to be less comfortable," interrupted Anne. - -"I certainly did. I've wanted to live in a dorm ever since I knew what -college was. Tell me something about Granard so I won't be quite so -ignorant." - -Anne began to talk animatedly of college affairs, and Patricia's eyes got -bigger and bigger and her cheeks redder and redder as she became more and -more interested. Neither of the girls noticed that the blond youth had -returned to his chair and was watching them intently. - -"My goodness!" exclaimed Anne, glancing out of the window a couple of -hours later, as the train began to slow down. "I didn't realize that we -were nearly in. We change to the bus here at Plainville. Come on! They -make only a two-minute stop here." - -Grabbing their bags, the two girls hurried out of the train onto a long -platform splashed with big drops of rain. At the end farthest from the -train a bus was waiting for passengers; and just as they reached it, the -rain, now driven by a brisk wind, began to fall in torrents. Laughing and -breathless, they scrambled up the steps of the bus and sank into seats -near the door. - -"Here comes a friend of yours," remarked Anne, peering out of the doorway -at other travelers, scurrying across the glistening platform. - -Thinking that perhaps Ted had come that far to meet her, Patricia leaned -forward just as the young man with the light hair bounded up the steps -and collided sharply with her outstretched head. - -"Oh, say--I'm awfully sorry," he cried, flushing brilliantly. "I hope I -didn't hurt you." - -"Not in the least!" lied Patricia curtly, trying desperately to fight -back tears. Ever since she could remember, any sudden blow or fall had -made her cry, whether she was really badly hurt or not. It was a most -embarrassing habit, now that she was grown up. As she elaborately -straightened her little brown hat which was over one ear, and tried to -recover her poise, the youth passed on to the other end of the bus. - -"Wonder when and where your next encounter will be," observed Anne, as -the driver closed the doors and started the big bus. "Three times--you -know." - -"Never, I hope," replied Patricia emphatically, little dreaming what the -future held in store for her. "Does this bus take us right to college?" - -"No, only to the foot of the hill about one-half mile from the campus. -We'll be there in an hour." - -"Have you a room mate?" inquired Patricia, a few minutes later. - -"No, I have one of the three singles on the first floor. Where are you to -be?" - -"I don't know, but I hope that it will be near you, and that I'll have a -room mate." - -"Why?" asked Anne, idly tracing designs on the steamed window beside her. - -"Because I've always wanted one. It's a bit lonesome, being an only -child." - -"Sometimes you'd wish you were," laughed Anne, "if your sister tried to -boss you as mine frequently does. Joan and I are usually pretty good -friends, but once in so often we have a flare-up." - -"Oh, I hope I'll be able to get along peaceably with a room mate, if I -have one," said Patricia earnestly. "Maybe I wouldn't though. I guess I -must be pretty well spoiled." - -"Don't look so worried!" ordered Anne. "And, by the way, don't take to -heart everything the girls may say. Living all together, as we do, we are -pretty frank at times, but everybody takes it in good part." - -When the bus stopped, it was still raining, and the two girls ran hastily -across the muddy road to a small rustic shelter. - -"Well!" said Anne, shaking her wet umbrella. "Evidently none of the girls -have come down to meet the bus. Don't blame 'em much on such a 'nausty' -day. So we'll have to climb the hill by ourselves and take our own bags." - -"Bags!" exclaimed Patricia, clutching Anne's arm, as she opened her green -umbrella preparatory to starting up the hill. - -"Yes, bags; what about them?" - -"I--I haven't mine! I must have left it on the bus." - -"Good night!" ejaculated Anne forcefully. - -"What shall I do?" - -"You can't do a thing but wait and see if the driver finds it, and brings -it back on his next trip. Is your name on it?" - -"Yes." - -Anne closed her umbrella again, set her own bag in a corner, and loosened -her jacket. "Might as well sit down, I suppose," she commented, leading -the way to a bench across the back of the shelter. "There won't be -another bus for an hour." - -"Oh, but you needn't stay," offered Patricia heroically. "I can wait -alone." - -"Yes, if I'll let you; but I won't," replied Anne, pushing back some -little red curls which had escaped from under the brim of her smart green -hat. - -"It's mighty good of you," said Patricia gratefully; for she had hated to -think of staying here all alone for a full hour. - -"I never desert a friend in distress." - -"'A friend in need,'" quoted Patricia. - -"Speaking of friends," interrupted Anne, "what became of the blond youth? -I didn't see him get off the bus; did you?" - -"No, but he might have just the same. I was too excited over my bag to -think of anything else." - -"He may have gone on to Mendon, but I doubt it. I've never seen him -before, but he looked to me like a college fellow." - -"Just as I did," began Patricia. - -"You never looked like a college fellow in your life!" retorted Anne, -laughing. - -"Well, I mean," said Patricia, flushing. - -"I understand what you mean; but, just the same, I am curious to know -what became of the boy." - -The time passed more quickly than they thought it would, and both were -surprised when a grey bus loomed up in the distance. As soon as it came -to a stop, Patricia ran out in the rain to question the driver. - -"Did you find a bag?" she demanded eagerly. - -The fat, good-natured driver wrinkled up his forehead thoughtfully and -then nodded. - -"It's mine," she declared, with relief. "Please give it to me." - -"Sorry, Miss; but I can't." - -"Why not?" inquired Patricia, a bit impatiently. - -"Because it's back at the station. I didn't know whose it was, and we -have to turn everything in. Then it has to be identified by its owner." - -At this point Anne, who had been the center of a group of girls who had -gotten off of the bus, left her friends and came to Patricia's rescue. - -"Mike," she said, smiling sweetly up at the big driver, "couldn't you -bring Miss Randall's bag down on your next trip? We don't want to go all -the way back to town now." - - - - - CHAPTER III - "HILL TOP" - - -"I guess perhaps I can manage it, Miss Ford; since it's you who asks it," -replied the man, smiling admiringly down at the pretty face upturned to -his. - -"Thanks, a heap! We'll be waiting right here for it. Now," turning to -Patricia and leading her over to the three girls she had just left, "I -want you to meet some of my friends. They're all Arnold Hall girls. This -is Lucile Evans," stopping in front of a slight, pale-faced girl whose -red lips protruded in a pout, which, Patricia later learned, was -perpetual. Without a change of expression, she bowed rather indifferently -at Patricia. - -"I'm Jane Temple," announced the second girl, advancing cordially as if -to make up for Lucile's rudeness. - -As Patricia took Jane's hand and looked into a pair of honest grey eyes, -and at the good-humored smiling lips, she felt that here was a girl to -whom one could always tie in any emergency. - -"The last of this trio is Hazel Leland," continued Anne; "our beauty." - -"Now, Anne, don't embarrass me," protested the girl, smiling gayly at -Patricia. - -She _was_ a beauty; big, starry grey eyes; lovely, light brown hair which -curled all over her head in little rings, like a baby's; and a figure as -slight and lithe as a boy's. - -"The newcomer in our midst," concluded Anne, putting her arm around -Patricia, "is Patricia Randall, formerly of Brentwood, now a member of -the illustrious Sophomore class of Granard; and, what's more, an inmate -of Arnold Hall." - -"Good for you!" ejaculated Hazel, patting Patricia on the back, while the -other two girls shot surprised, inquiring glances at Anne, who pretended -not to see them. - -"Why don't we go on up?" drawled Lucile, opening her mouth for the first -time. - -"Going to wait for Patricia's bag," replied Anne quickly. - -"Oh," was Lucile's brief response; but some way there was an unpleasant -note in it, which made Patricia flush uncomfortably. - -"There's no need of my detaining you all," she said. "I can wait by -myself." - -"Now, darling," protested Anne, "we'd never be so unhospitable to a new -member of our household as that. You needn't wait if you prefer not to, -Lu." - -Without another word, Lucile picked up her bag and started haughtily up -the steep hill. - -"What's the matter with her?" asked Anne, watching the blue-coated figure -ascending the slope as rapidly as possible. - -"Don't know," replied Jane. "She's been out of sorts all day." - -"Oh, she met some youth last night who was coming down here on the two -o'clock bus today," said Hazel quickly; "and when he didn't, show up, Lu -got peeved." - -"She usually isn't sufficiently interested in men to care whether or not -one breaks a date," said Jane. - -"My dear," replied Hazel, "she probably wants something of him. Lu's the -limit," she continued, turning to Patricia, "for getting just what she -wants without lifting a finger. Everybody waits on her, and she sits back -and accepts service like a queen." - -"You mustn't give Lu a bad reputation," said Jane reprovingly. "She's not -a bad kid when you get to know her." - -"No, not bad," agreed Hazel, "but--as selfish as they're made." - -"Look!" cried Anne, pointing excitedly to the top of the hill. - -There against the green background stood the blue-coated object of their -discussion, and a grey-clad masculine figure with yellow hair. - -"The boy friend at last!" exclaimed Hazel. "He must have been waiting for -her at 'Hill Top.'" - -"Well, I only hope that he treats her to something real sweet," laughed -Jane. "'Hill Top,'" she added, addressing herself to Patricia who was -gazing apprehensively at the couple, "is a little tea room up there." - -The youth was the young man who was the object of her caresses on the -train, and Patricia flushed hotly to think what a story he'd have to tell -Lucile if he chose, and what fun they'd all make of her. She glanced at -Anne, but that young lady displayed no signs of ever having seen the man -before. - -"Let's go up and have a soda, or something," proposed Hazel, looking at -her watch. "Plenty of time before Mike gets back. Our stuff will be all -right in the corner over there." - -Patricia opened her mouth to refuse, although she _was_ hungry; but when -the other girls hailed the suggestion with glee, she closed it again -without voicing her objections, and followed them silently up the hill. -Almost on the edge perched a small grey house with lavender shutters, and -on its long, screened porch stood a grey, weather-beaten spinning wheel -and a lavender table. - -"Let's eat out here," proposed Anne, leading the way to the end of the -porch. - -Patricia could have hugged her; for she didn't want to go in and meet her -fellow traveler. He might even think she was following him up. - -"O. K.," agreed Hazel, slipping into a chair. "You go in and get a -waitress, Nanny. I'm starved." - -"So am I," replied Anne. "There was no diner on the train, and all -Patricia and I had was some sweet chocolate." - -"I'm not so hungry--" began Jane. - -"_You_ are not hungry! Did I hear aright?" asked Hazel. "That girl can -always eat," she added, to Patricia. - -"Well, you see I got pretty well fed up at home during the summer, but -just wait until I've been here a couple of weeks, and I'll get back to my -old habits." - -"The meals at Horton Hall are the limit," said Hazel, "as you'll find to -your sorrow, Patricia. We spend all our spare change, and some we can't -well spare, at the various tea rooms around College Hill." - -"What shall we have?" asked Anne, returning at that moment, followed by a -waitress, and sitting down opposite Hazel. "This is on me, to celebrate -Patricia's coming." - -"Chicken patty, French pastry, and iced tea," replied Hazel promptly. - -"Waffles, maple syrup, and ice cream," said Jane. - -"How terrible! Think of your 'figger,' darling. You've put on about ten -pounds this summer," teased Hazel. - -"I'll take shrimp salad, Danish pastry, and pineapple sherbet," said -Patricia, when Anne looked at her. - -"Chicken sandwiches, brownies, and ginger ale for me," said Anne, -completing the order. As the waitress disappeared, she leaned both elbows -on the table and announced in low tones, "They're not in the dining room, -but Lu's bag is in the hall." - -"Perhaps they're out in the coffee room," suggested Hazel. "I'll go and -see." - -"Don't," objected Jane quickly. "We don't want them to think we're spying -on them." - -"Even if we are," laughed Anne. "Maybe they'll come out while we're still -here; and, in the meantime, let's eat." - -Lunch took much longer than they had anticipated, and when Patricia, -suddenly remembering her bag, glanced at her watch, she was surprised to -find that the hands pointed at 3:30. - -"Girls!" she cried, pushing back her chair and getting up so quickly that -Hazel jumped. "It's half past three." - -"Go on," said Anne. "I'll settle the bill and catch up to you." - -The other three hurried down the hill, and when Anne caught up to them at -the foot, Patricia was pointing in speechless dismay at a grey bus -rounding the curve toward Mendon. "It's gone!" she wailed. - -"Maybe Mike left your bag in the shelter," suggested Jane comfortingly. -"Let's go and see." - -A thorough search revealed no trace of the missing bag, either inside of -the shelter or out; and Patricia bemoaned the carelessness which had, a -second time that day, betrayed her. - -"Just wait until I see Mike!" stormed Anne. "He should have had sense -enough to leave it, even if we were not right on the spot." - -"Especially when ours are here," agreed Hazel. - -"What we do with our own is entirely up to us," said Jane slowly. "If -Mike had orders to put the bag in its owner's hands, he couldn't very -well do otherwise. Suppose we go on up and telephone the terminal to see -what can be done about it." - -"Good idea! All right with you, Pat?" asked Hazel. Then, as Patricia -nodded, "Let's get going!" - -"Don't worry," advised Anne. "You'll get it some way; and if not tonight, -we can manage between us all to fit you out. We're used to that; aren't -we?" - -"I'll say so," replied Jane. "Why, Hazel, here, went to a dance last -winter in a dress Mrs. Vincent lent her. That's our chaperon; and as far -as borrowing and lending go, she's surely one of us." - -Just as they reached the top of the hill again, Lucile sauntered down the -tea-room steps alone. - -"Where's the boy friend, Lu?" called Hazel. - -"I don't know what you're talking about," replied Lucile haughtily, as -she joined them. - -"Don't try to bluff," ordered Hazel; "we all saw him meet you." - -"That's one on you," scoffed Lucile. "He stopped to ask me the way to -Arnold Hall." - -"Arnold Hall!" chorused the others. "What in the name of fortune does he -want there?" - -"Don't you wish you knew?" jeered Lucile. - -"Is she putting something over on us? Where do you suppose he went?" -whispered Hazel to Jane, but the latter only shrugged her shoulders. - -"Shall I telephone the terminal?" inquired Anne, when they came to the -little building which served as post office for the college. - -"I wish you would," replied Patricia gratefully; "you'll know better what -to say." - -"I'm going on," announced Lucile, as they paused to wait for Anne. - -"Go to it!" retorted Hazel. "Look, Pat, that red brick building on the -corner is Horton Hall, the dorm for the music students. In the basement -is the college dining room, where each dorm has a certain section. Over -there, across the street, that grey building with all the steps is the -auditorium, where the entertainments and meetings are held." - -"What did they say, Anne?" interrupted Jane, as Anne rejoined them. - -"I talked to Mike himself. His sub was on the earlier bus, and he was -afraid to leave the bag, since there was no one to take it. Mike will -bring it out on his next run. I told him to give it to anybody who was -coming up to the college; then we won't have to go down for it. There'll -be heaps of students on the last bus, and Mike knows most of them. All -right, Pat?" as the girl looked a bit doubtful. - -"Surely," she replied; but way down deep in her heart she felt that she -would be much happier when her property was once more safe in her own -hands. "But it serves me right for being so careless," she thought, with -characteristic honesty. - -"Come on," urged Hazel. "I'm crazy to get to the Hall." - -Much to Patricia's surprise they turned away from the college buildings -and down a side street. "Where are we going?" she finally asked. - -"To Arnold Hall, of course," replied Jane. "Oh, I forgot that you didn't -know where it was. You see, all the dorms, frat and sorority houses are -on streets fairly near the college, but not right on the campus." - -"I should think you'd all be dead, climbing these hills," commented -Patricia, as they started up Wentworth Street. - -"The whole town is built on hills, and the college is on the highest one; -but you'll get used to them." - -When they went up a brick walk leading to a big three-story house near -the end of the street, Patricia felt a queer thrill of excitement and -apprehension as she gazed up at the house which was to be her home for a -whole year. What joys and sorrows would come to her there? Could she make -good? Would her unknown benefactor reveal his or her identity before the -year was out? Would she be coming back here this time next fall? Even -now, the very idea of Anne and Jane returning next September without her -brought a queer lump into her throat. - -"I'm just nervous," she reflected. "I must not think of the future at -all." - -Determinedly she shook off her apprehensions, and followed the other -girls into the house. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - THE ALLEY GANG - - -As Anne opened the door and started down a long hall, from which rooms -opened on either side, a short, dark little girl, whose round brown face -instantly reminded one of a pleasant hazel nut, appeared from a room at -the very end of the corridor. - -"Anne, darling!" she shrieked, dashing along the passage and throwing -herself upon Anne so violently that Anne staggered and fell back against -Jane, who had to grasp one of the pillars quickly to save herself from -falling. - -"Don't be so rough, Fran!" gasped Anne, but as she spoke, Frances -transferred her embraces to the other two girls in turn, while Patricia -stood beside the door watching, until Anne led her forward and began -introductions. - -"This roughneck is Frances Quinne, who lives at the end of the alley. You -see, this corridor is so long and narrow we call it 'The Alley' and the -eleven girls who live here are known as The Alley Gang. Kath come yet?" -she inquired, as Frances shook hands with Patricia. - -"Yes, she's upstairs. You might tell me your friend's name; that's only -common politeness." - -"Your welcome literally knocked me out," laughed Anne. "She's Patricia -Randall, and is going to be in our class, and live here." - -"Here?" demanded Frances in surprise. - -"Yes; and, what's more, right in the _alley_!" cried Jane, triumphantly -holding up a card which she had picked out of a pile on the hall table. -While the others were talking, Jane had been busily rummaging among the -cards of room assignments. - -"Let's see," said Anne, taking the bit of pasteboard from Jane. "No. 5. -Right, next to me!" - -"And across from us," added Jane. "Has Ruth come yet?" - -A slight little girl with big shy black eyes and a boyish bob ran down -the stairs and approached the group. - -"What do you mean by being up there when I come?" demanded Jane, shaking -her room mate affectionately. - -The girl's pale face flushed slightly as she replied in a soft little -voice: "I went up to see if Clarice had all of her things out of No. 14." - -"No excuse at all," declared Jane. "This is my room mate, Ruth Maynard; -Patricia Randall, a new member of our Gang." - -"What about Clarice, Ruthie?" asked Anne curiously, after Ruth had -silently shaken hands with Patricia. - -"She's moving down here to No. 4," replied Ruth quietly. - -"Good night!" ejaculated Hazel, sitting down violently upon one of the -trunks which lined the hall. - -"Oh, boy! Oh, boy!" exclaimed Jane dramatically. - -"Down _here_!" repeated Anne. "How come? Don't know whether or not I -fancy her for an opposite neighbor." - -"Nobody knows why she's been moved," contributed Frances excitedly. "She -went to her old room as a matter of course when she came this morning, -and then we found her card had No. 4 on it." - -"I think that's just fierce!" cried Hazel. "She's so noisy and -notorious--" - -"Now, Hazel," protested Jane, "there's nothing really bad about Clarice. -She got herself talked about last year, it is true, but--" - -"Maybe the Powers-that-Be think we'll reform her," suggested a gentle -voice behind the group. - -Everybody turned to face a fair, plump girl with braids of honey-colored -hair wound around her shapely head, despite the prevailing fashion of -short locks. - -"Mary Taylor!" cried Hazel, joyfully kissing her room mate. - -"Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here!" chanted a brisk voice, as its owner, a -tall, finely developed girl with red cheeks and brown skin, which bespoke -a love for out-of-doors life, jumped from the third last step to the hall -below and encircled with her long arms as many of the girls as she could. - -"Katharine, you hoyden!" exclaimed Anne. "Let me present Patricia -Randall." - -"This noisy creature is my room mate," added Hazel, as Katharine gave -Patricia a regular man's grasp of the hand. - -"One of the Gang is missing," commented Anne. "Where's Betty?" - -"'Boy Friend' is bringing her down by auto after dinner," said Katharine. - -"She must be going to be Patricia's room mate," offered Anne. - -"She is," announced Jane. "I saw her card." - -"What room did she have last year?" whispered Patricia to Anne. - -"No. 4; but she felt quite abused at not having a room mate, so I imagine -she'll be delighted to move in with you. Here comes Dolly," she added in -an undertone, as the front door opened and a medium sized woman of about -twenty-eight entered, followed by a short rather heavy girl whose -restless black eyes missed no detail of the group before her. - -"Well, girls," said Mrs. Vincent, smiling patronizingly upon them, "how -are you all? Glad to get back?" Without waiting for a reply, she went on: -"You'll find some changes here this fall. Clarice," laying her hand on -the girl's arm, "is to be down here with us in No. 4. We also have a new -member of our household, Miss Patricia Randall," crossing the hall to -shake hands with Patricia. "I do hope you'll like us all, and be happy -here." Then she continued, without stopping for Patricia's reply, "We're -to have a new maid--" - -"Oh, where is Lizzie?" asked Jane. - -"She got married this summer," replied Mrs. Vincent; "and, my dears, you -should have seen the beautiful presents she received! Our new maid's name -is Rhoda Hurd, and the Dean says she comes highly recommended. She'll be -here some time tonight. You had better all unpack now, and get ready for -dinner. Arnold Hall girls will take the southwest end of the dining room, -as usual. Come, Miss Randall, I'll show you your room. Of course it looks -rather bare now," she added, when they stood on the threshold, "but -you'll soon change all that. My room is No. 1, right back of the -reception room. If you want anything, don't hesitate to come to me." - -When Patricia found herself alone, her glance traveled from the day beds -on either side of the room to the two dressers flanking the doorway and -to the writing tables in the big bay window. In spite of its bare floor -and curtainless windows, the room had distinct possibilities; for the -furniture was Early American, and the woodwork was good. - -"Why," she demanded of Anne, who came in at that moment, "do they have -that heavy barred wire outside of the windows? It reminds me of a prison, -or makes me feel as if I were in a cage." - -"It is, a sort of a prison," laughed Anne. "You see, some of the girls -like to stay out later than 10:30, and if it were possible to climb in -the windows, nobody knows what time they would come in. The Black Book -wouldn't be of any use then." - -Patricia looked puzzled. "The 'Black Book?'" she repeated. - -"Yes; beside the telephone booth in the front hall, near Dolly's room, is -a table upon which rests a big, black blank book. Whenever you go out or -come in after dinner, you must register in it your name and the hour. The -girls take turns looking after it, and at bed time, Dolly inspects it -before she makes the round of the rooms. And, by the way, whenever the -outside door at the back of the hall is opened, it rings a bell in -Dolly's room, right under the bed. So you see how good your chances are -of staying out nights." - -"Tell me something about Clarice," begged Patricia, sitting down on one -of the beds. "Why do all the girls dislike her so very much?" - -"They don't really dislike her," replied Anne, plumping down beside -Patricia. "She's lots of fun, and generous to a fault; but she has such a -loud laugh, and doesn't care what she does or says. A good time appeals -to her a whole lot more than does study, and last year she played around -too much with a boy upon whom the authorities frowned. The girls on this -floor have always been so congenial, and have had no demerits for -conduct; so naturally they rather resent the introduction of Clarice. I -think, though, that there is really a lot of good in the girl, if one -could only develop it. Let's go down the hall and see if Kath has a dress -you could wear to dinner. Mine would be too large for you." - -Just as they stepped out into the hall, the doorbell rang. - -"I'll bet that's Dolly's boy friend," whispered Anne, pausing to peer -around one of the pillars, and catching sight of the top of a man's hat -showing in the door pane. "Wait a minute, I want you to get a look at -him. He's a special student here, and years younger than Doll." - -The door leading to the cellar opened suddenly, and a black-gowned maid -appeared and hurried down the hall to answer the bell. - -"Apparently Rhoda has arrived. Isn't she pretty?" breathed Anne softly. - -When the door was opened, a low-toned conversation ensued, of which the -eavesdroppers could hear nothing. Then Rhoda admitted the blond youth, -who stood waiting while the maid came down the hall toward the two girls. - -"Some one to see Miss Randall," she announced. - -Patricia clutched Anne's arm in a frenzy. "You've got to come with me," -she whispered. - -"Are you expecting a bag?" inquired the boy gravely, fixing his great -grey eyes upon Patricia when she reached the door. - -"Yes," she faltered; "I left it on the bus." - -"The driver was going to bring it down on the six," volunteered Anne -irrelevantly. - -"He did," said the youth, "and asked me to deliver it. I have it in the -vestibule." Opening the door, he secured the bag and handed it to -Patricia. - -"I am very grateful to you," said Patricia a bit stiffly. "It was good of -you to bring it." - -"No trouble at all. I was down at the shelter waiting for some one--" he -broke off suddenly, as if fearing he had said too much, and bowed himself -solemnly out. - -"Well!" exclaimed Anne. "Of all things! You seem fated to get mixed up -with that young man." - -"Don't I? I suppose Mike remembered that he was on the bus with us, and -just naturally gave the bag to him on that account." - -"Probably. Anyhow, now you won't have to borrow a dress. You'd better -hurry, though; it's after six, and we dine--mark, I said _dine_--at -six-thirty." - -Dinner was quite an experience for Patricia, who had never before seen a -college dining room. The big low room was bare and unattractive in -itself, but the long tables, each surrounded by twenty girls in pretty -dinner gowns, the bright lights, and the orange-clad waitresses made up -for lack of decorations elsewhere. - -"My ears will grow at least a yard long here," she observed to Anne, who -sat next to her. - -"What on earth do you mean?" inquired that young lady, reaching for the -olives. - -"Why, there are so many interesting conversations going on all around me, -that I want to hear them all." - -Anne laughed. "This is nothing; just wait until classes are in full -swing. Then child psychology, music theory, library cataloguing, art -appreciation, domestic science, and half a dozen other subjects are all -being discussed simultaneously." - -That evening most of the girls had unpacking and settling to finish, but -a few members of the Alley Gang gathered in Anne's attractive room to -visit. Betty Grant had just arrived, and she and Patricia had approved of -each other at the first glance. - -"Tell me, Betty," Anne was saying, "is the Boy Friend coming down week -ends, as he did last year?" - -"No; this year, I'm going to work--_hard_." - -Everybody laughed. - -"Well, I am. I told Ed he could come only twice during this term--" - -"And a few times in between," finished Hazel. - -"By the way," began Betty, in a different tone. "I saw the queerest -thing, just as Ed and I drove up. There was a fellow standing in front of -the laundry window, right under your room, Hazel, evidently talking to -some one inside." - -"Come now, Betty," protested Katharine, "you're making that up to change -the subject." - -"Honest to goodness, I'm not! I saw him plain as daylight. I didn't say -anything to Ed, because he would have wanted to investigate, and I've no -fancy for having him get into an argument with strange men. He might have -had a gun, for all I know." - -"Heavens, Betty! We'll all be afraid to go to sleep tonight," shuddered -Mary. "Hazel, you'll have to push your bed up close to mine so you can -protect me." - -"What did the man look like?" asked Jane. - -"I couldn't see his face, but he was slight, of medium height and wore a -grey suit and hat." - -"The blond youth!" whispered Anne to Patricia. - -"But what would he be doing prowling around here?" asked Patricia, -frowning. - -"Search me! Oh, hello, Lu, where have you been all the evening?" - -"In the laundry part of the time. I came on here right from a house -party, and my clothes are in a fine state." - -Jane, Anne, Hazel, and Patricia glanced significantly at one another. - -"Sure you were pressing, Lu?" asked Hazel mischievously. - -Before Lucile had a chance to reply, Betty leaned forward and inquired, -"Did _you_ see the man, Lu?" - -"What man?" - -"The man who was looking in the laundry window." - -Lucile laughed, a bit loudly for her. "Nobody around the place while I -was there," she replied, with marked carelessness, "only Rhoda." - -"What was _she_ doing?" asked Anne. - -"Pressing her uniforms." - -A discussion of the new maid and her predecessor followed, and the -subject of the mysterious man was dropped. - - - - - CHAPTER V - MOSS - - -One morning a couple of weeks later, Patricia was wakened suddenly by a -marshmallow landing on her nose and scattering its fine, powdered sugar -all over her face. Sitting up quickly, she saw through her open door Ruth -and Jane in their room across the hall, sitting on their beds, doubled up -with laughter. - -"You fiends!" she cried softly. "Just you wait!" - -"What's the matter?" inquired Betty sleepily, from the other bed, without -even opening her eyes. - -"Those Goths across the hall threw a marshmallow in my face!" replied -Patricia, seizing the unfortunate bit of confectionery and returning it -with such good aim that it struck Jane's hand and bounded off onto the -rug, where it deposited the rest of its sugar. - -"Get up, Lazy Bones!" ordered Jane. "We've got to go out for moss before -breakfast." - -"I forgot all about it," groaned Patricia. "I wish that botany class was -in Hades." - -"I wish you'd all shut up," complained Betty. "I want to sleep; and, -thank Heaven, I don't take botany." - -Patricia was soon ready, and the three girls stole softly down the hall -and tried the front door. - -"Who's that?" called Mrs. Vincent, who slept, not only with her door -open, but also, so the girls said, with her eyes and ears wide as well. - -"Patricia, Ruth, and Jane going out for moss for botany class," answered -Jane. "We'll be back before breakfast time." - -"Don't go far away." - -"Does she think we can find moss on the fire escape?" demanded Jane -scornfully. - -"Just where _are_ we going?" asked Patricia. - -"I think we'll cut through the back yard here into Foth Road and head out -toward the country." - -They went around the side of the dormitory, and, to their surprise, saw -Rhoda coming toward them across the back yard. - -"Aren't you up pretty early, Rhoda?" asked Jane casually, as the girl -flushed and looked embarrassed. - -"Not so very," was the low reply. "I often run out here for a breath of -fresh air before starting my work." - -"How fussed she acted," commented Ruth, "just as if she'd been caught -doing something she didn't want anybody to know about." - -"Yes, I noticed that too," said Patricia, carefully following her -companions down the treacherous, broken stone ledges into the yard behind -Arnold Hall. - -"Why, Ruth," cried Jane, "'Big House' is occupied! I didn't know that; -did you?" The girl regarded in surprise the three-story brick house -across a narrow stretch of green lawn. - -"No, I didn't"--adding softly, "Come on; somebody is watching us from -that bay window on the second floor." - -"How do you know?" demanded Jane, hurrying after her room mate. - -"I saw a woman's hand pull the curtain aside a little while we were -waiting for Pat to come down the steps." - -"It's a shame to spoil our short cut to Foth Road; for I suppose we can't -go through there any more. That house was empty all last year," explained -Jane, turning to Patricia, "which made it rather nice for us because, -besides using the yard as a thoroughfare, we sometimes had little parties -there or met our boy friends when we didn't want to go out the front way -with them. Oh, I assure you it was useful in lots of ways." - -They were out on the road by then, and walking briskly toward the -country. - -"We'll never find any moss if we keep to the road," objected Ruth, after -they had walked a mile in vain. "I should think we'd have to go into the -woods, see, over there." - -"Not I!" replied Jane. "I'm too afraid of snakes." - -Patricia laughed. "There aren't any snakes in a pine woods. They're -mostly where there are lots of rocks." - -"Well, anyway we'll go a little farther and then I, for one, take to the -woods," decided Ruth. "We've got to find some moss soon, and go home; and -I won't face Yates again with no specimens." - -"Isn't he the old pill, though?" said Jane to Patricia. "Did you ever see -anybody so cold and stone-like? Even when he says unpleasant things--and, -oh, boy! can't he be disagreeable when he likes!--his face never changes -from that set, gloomy expression." - -"He certainly is most peculiar," agreed Patricia, "and I don't like him -even _any_! For that matter, no love at all is lost between us; something -in the way he looks at me tells me that." - -"Ah, here we are!" exclaimed Jane, pointing to an old shed a few feet -from the road. On its roof, near the ridge pole, was a luxuriant growth -of bright green moss. - -"How can we get at it?" asked Ruth, as they scrambled across a wire fence -and crossed a stretch of rough, coarse grass. "I'm no good at climbing." - -"Nor I," said Ruth. "How about you, Pat?" - -"I think I could get up far enough to reach it, if you girls will boost a -bit," replied Patricia. - -"It's O. K. with us, but for Heaven's sake be as quiet as possible. We -don't want the dog set on us." - -"Oh, nobody's around so early as this; there's no window on this side of -the shed, and the door is on the other. The farm house is back of that -clump of trees." - -"Easy telling you don't know anything about the country," said Jane -scornfully; "these farmers get up early." - -Stepping up on a log, which happened to lie conveniently close to the -building, Patricia, with the aid of the girls, got a firm grip on the -edge of the roof and drew herself up to a point where she could lie flat -on its weather-worn boards and stretch her long arms up toward the -coveted plants. With much effort, she succeeded in reaching the moss and -in tearing up two big handfuls. Resting on her elbows for a moment to -ease the strain on her arms, she was horrified to feel the boards -underneath them begin to sag; and, with a dull splintering of ancient -wood, her hands and lower arms disappeared into a yawning cavity. -Simultaneously, the moss dropped from her fingers into the depths below. - -A snort, a gasp, and a forceful exclamation from within the shed mingled -with Patricia's startled cry of "Girls, I'm falling in." - -"What shall we do? What shall we do?" demanded Ruth excitedly as -Patricia, speechless with horror, gazed down through the hole over which -she hung, and met the cold, grey eyes of Professor Yates! His immaculate -shoulders and smooth black hair were covered with bits of moss. - -"Pull me down, quick!" cried the horrified Patricia, finally recovering -the power of speech. - -"It will spoil your dress," warned Jane. - -"I don't care! Get me down, for Pete's sake!" retorted Patricia wildly. - -With their united efforts, the two girls succeeded in dragging Patricia -safely to the ground, minus the moss, and with several long scratches on -her arms. - -"Where's the moss?" demanded Ruth in surprise. - -"All over Professor Yates!" gasped Patricia, hysterically. - -"What?" cried Ruth, while Jane looked as if she feared Patricia had lost -her mind. - -"He's in that shed!" - -"You're crazy!" retorted Jane, feeling her pulse. - -"Honest to goodness! Cross my heart!" - -At that moment, the object of their discussion strolled around the corner -of the shed. He had brushed himself off, and now looked as calm and neat -as if he were in his classroom. His gaze traveled coldly from one to -another, then, looking directly at Patricia, he drawled: "To what am I -indebted for this most unconventional call?" - -"To your demand for specimens of moss today 'without fail,'" quoted Jane -glibly. - -"A most novel situation, stealing it from my own roof, and ruining the -roof in the bargain." - -"We had no idea it was your roof," retorted Patricia hotly, "and I had no -intention of breaking through it. It was anything but a pleasant -experience, I assure you." - -"Of course we expect to assume any expense involved," put in Jane -soothingly, as they turned to go. - -Professor Yates made no reply, but stood watching them scramble over the -fence and start down the road toward college. - -"Wasn't that just terrible?" gasped Patricia "I'm certainly done for with -him now. Next time I do any climbing for specimens, you'll know it." - -"Whatever do you suppose he was doing out there?" demanded Ruth. - -"You heard him say it was his roof, didn't you?" retorted Jane. "Clarice -said once that he had an old place where he raises all kinds of truck for -the lab, but I didn't pay much attention to her. She talks so much that -half the time I don't listen very attentively; and I haven't given it a -thought since." - -"Just wait until the girls hear about it!" - -"We're going to have a spread tonight; did you know it?" asked Jane. -"Doll's going out with one of her boy friends." - -"The dark youth who's a 'special' in some year or other?" asked Patricia. - -"Yes." - -"She'll have to keep better tabs on him," commented Ruth; "he's a born -flirt. I was at the Black Book the other night when he came in, and he -tried to make a date with me." - -"Did he succeed?" asked Jane mischievously. - -"He did _not_! I can't bear him." - -"Do you realize, girls," inquired Ruth, "that we are still moss-less?" - -"Yes, and we'll continue to be, so far as I am concerned," retorted -Patricia. - -"Oh, somebody in the lab will be sure to have some," said Jane easily, -"and we'll just borrow a little of it. I don't feel equal to hunting any -longer." - - -The spread was about to get under way at eight-thirty that evening. Mrs. -Vincent and her youthful escort, Ivan Zahn, had departed for a concert -which the college was giving to entertain the Freshman Class. Rhoda was -looking after the Black Book and the telephone; so the girls were quite -free to enjoy themselves, without responsibility. The new maid had -quickly become as much of a favorite as her predecessor; for she was -accommodating and good-tempered, and the inhabitants of Arnold Hall, -especially those on the first floor, treated her almost as one of -themselves. - -"Did anybody telephone the Varsity Coffee Shoppe for the eats?" demanded -Hazel, coming out into the hall in a suit of bright red lounging pajamas. - -"Yes," answered Jane from her room, where she was putting frantic last -minute lines on a poster which was due the next morning. - -"Who took the order?" asked Frances, rushing in to borrow some thread to -run up a rip in her coolie coat. - -"Al, and he said he'd send them right down," contributed Ruth from her -bed, where she lay on her back trying to fix an important bit of -psychology in her mind. - -"Oh, cut the study!" ordered Anne, entering with Lucile, Betty, and -Patricia. - -"Got to get this tonight," cried Ruth, hanging onto the book which Anne -tried to take out of her hands. - -"No, you haven't; get up early in the morning and do it. Then it will be -all the fresher in your mind." - -"Yes, you like early rising," laughed Betty. - -Anne continued to pull, and finally got Ruth off the bed. Katharine, who -came in at that moment, attracted by the noise, slipped past Ruth and -Anne, flopped into the recently vacated bed, and pulled up the covers. - -"Of all things!" exclaimed Ruth indignantly, jerking away from Anne. "Get -out of my bed!" - -Katharine extended a long, strong arm and pulled Betty in beside her, -while Frances piled in on the other side. - -"Safety in numbers," laughed Katharine impishly. "Get us out if you can!" - -"I'll help you, Ruth!" shouted Clarice, dashing in with a glass of water -which she sprinkled freely on the three girls in the bed. With a cry of -protest they sprang up and chased Clarice the length of the hall where -she barricaded herself with a heavy chair in the corner beside the -telephone booth. At the other end of the hall, on a couple of -well-stuffed white laundry bags which were ready for the collector in the -morning, perched Hazel, swinging her red-clad legs and singing: "I want a -drink! Kathy wants a drink! Francy wants a drink!" - -"Here's Al, girls!" called Clarice from her vantage point, where she -could see out onto the street. - -The feud was forgotten, as they all trooped forward to relieve Rhoda of -the basket which the boy had brought. Sitting down on the runner which -extended the length of the hall, the girls quickly disposed of orangeade, -sandwiches, cakes, and ice cream, not forgetting to give Rhoda a share. A -songfest followed, and a general romp the length of the alley was in full -swing when the front door opened suddenly and Mrs. Vincent walked in, -alone. - -"Girls!" she cried sharply. "Stop that noise at once! You sound like a -lot of hyenas! I could hear you up to the corner!" - -"What brought her home so early?" muttered Betty to Patricia. - -"Must have had a scrap with Ivan," whispered Anne. "She's so cross." - -Just then the telephone rang, and Mrs. Vincent paused to gaze hopefully -at Rhoda who answered it. - -"Yes," said Rhoda, in a low tone. "Yes, I'll call her." - -With an oddly excited expression on her usually calm face, Rhoda turned -to Mrs. Vincent, saying, "Someone wants to speak with you." - - - - - CHAPTER VI - A MEDDLER - - -"Yes, this is Mrs. Vincent talking. What? I'm very sorry. The girls were -having a little party, and didn't realize, I'm afraid, how much noise -they were making. What did you say, please? Oh, we--ll, I'll see what -they think about it. Of course, you realize that they are not children to -be ordered about." - -"She didn't think so a minute ago," giggled Anne under her breath to -Patricia. - -"All right. Goodbye." - -Mrs. Vincent hung up the receiver and turned to face the girls. - -"We're in a nice fix now!" she snapped. "Mrs. Brock, who lives back of -us, has been greatly disturbed by the noise you have been making all the -evening, and feels that an apology is due her--" - -"What utter nonsense!" cried Anne. - -"She must be cuckoo!" exclaimed Clarice hotly. - -The rest of the girls stood looking at one another in astonishment, while -Rhoda turned her back quickly and bent her head low over the open Black -Book. - -"Well, what are you going to do about it?" continued Mrs. Vincent. - -"Just nothing at all," replied Jane; "her demand is absurd." - -"Of course it is unreasonable; but the trouble is," pursued Mrs. Vincent, -flushing, "she says unless a couple of you go over and present an apology -for the crowd, she will lodge a complaint at the office." - -"Now I _know_ she is crazy," snapped Lucile. - -"Naturally," went on Mrs. Vincent, "a question of my incompetence, or of -my inability to manage you properly, will arise if such a complaint is -lodged. Of course, you must do as you wish. I'm simply laying the whole -matter frankly before you." - -Mrs. Vincent turned abruptly and disappeared into her own room. - -"This is a pretty mess!" scolded Katharine. - -"It's mostly your fault!" cried Hazel, looking angrily at Clarice. - -"How is it, I'd like to know!" demanded the girl, flushing a dull red, -but gazing defiantly at her accuser. - -"You did most of the yelling and rough-housing," retorted Frances -promptly. - -"I didn't pile into Ruth's bed; I didn't sit beside the back door, -singing; I--" - -"No," interrupted Jane soothingly, "I think we all did our share; but--" - -"What's the use of trying to place the blame now?" asked Patricia -suddenly. "The question is how to fix things up." - -"We can't let Dolly down, I suppose," said Mary slowly. "She _is_ -incompetent, and awfully silly at times; but, after all, she is our -chaperon and we owe loyalty to her. She might lose her position as the -result of the complaint, and we'd hate to be party to taking a job from -anyone." - -"Since you all feel that I'm mostly to blame," broke in Clarice, "I'll go -over to Big House and apologize." - -Almost before she had time to think, Patricia heard herself saying: "And -I'll go with you." - -"You're a couple of good sports!" cried Jane heartily. - -"Is it too late to go now?" asked Patricia, looking at the clock. - -"Nearly ten. Better ask Dolly," advised Anne. - -Patricia went to the chaperon's door, knocked, and when Mrs. Vincent -opened it, stated quietly: "Clarice and I are going over to apologize to -Mrs. Brock. Shall we go now, or wait until morning?" - -"It really doesn't matter, I suppose; whichever time you prefer," replied -Mrs. Vincent slowly, looking past Patricia to Clarice, who stood leaning -against the Black Book table. The girl's black eyes met hers, and a long, -meaning look passed between them. - -"We'll go now, then, and get it over with," decided Patricia. "Come on, -Clarice." - -The two went out of the front door and the rest of the girls gathered in -Jane's room to await results. - -"What a day!" sighed Ruth. "I'll never get up so early again. It brings -bad luck. What with the moss adventure this morning, and now this." - -"How did Professor Yates act in class?" asked Hazel, as the rest smiled -over the story of the moss, which they had heard earlier in the day. - -"Just as usual, except perhaps a little more sarcastic," began Jane. - -"And more generous with puzzling questions, especially to Pats," broke in -Anne. - -"Funny they can't get along together," mused Mary. "Pat is such a peach -of a girl." - -"There's no rhyme or reason in anything Yates does," declared Hazel -bluntly. - -"Pat _is_ a peach," agreed Anne fervently, "and I think we're mighty -lucky to get her in our Gang." - -"So say we all of us!" chanted Frances softly. - -"It seems awfully queer to me, though," put in Lucile, "for a girl to -leave a college voluntarily after a year there, and come away up here -where she knows no one, to finish her course." - -"Her aunt and cousin are here," spoke up Anne, loyally. - -"Don't see them making much fuss over her!" retorted Lucile. "Ted's been -here only two or three times to see her." - -"Ted is a very busy boy." Anne spoke up promptly. "He's in Forestry, and -that takes him out a lot this year." - -"Come to think of it," commented Ruth, "I haven't seen him much at the -Frat House." - -"You should know what goes on there," laughed Katharine, teasingly. "Such -luck as you and Jane have--a room right next to--" - -"Clarice's room is even better--or worse," said Jane; "for hers is -opposite the men's living room." - -"Why worse?" demanded Frances. - -"I'll change rooms with you some night, and let you listen to their -blamed radio until the wee small hours, and then again early in the -morning, before anybody is up." - -"Speaking of Clarice," broke in Lucile, "I think there's something -between her and Dolly." - -"What do you mean?" asked Betty quickly. - -"Some secret, or understanding, or favoritism, or something," replied -Lucile. "Did none of you see the look they exchanged when Pats told Dolly -they'd go?" - -"I did," answered Anne thoughtfully; "it all but talked." - -"There's some reason why Clarice was moved down here this year, and I'll -bet Dolly was at the root of it," declared Lucile, emphasizing her words -by pounding on the foot of the bed beside which she sat. - -"By the way, Lu," broke in Hazel shyly, "how's your blond friend? Seen -him lately?" - -"_My_ blond friend is good!" jeered Lucile. - -"Who is he? Who is he?" demanded Mary and Betty in unison. "Why haven't -we ever seen him?" - -"My darlings," said Lucile mockingly, "just because on the day we came -back, a good-looking, yellow-haired youth stopped me at the top of the -hill to ask where Arnold Hall was, these silly girls imagined I had a -date with him." - -"Why should a fellow want Arnold Hall?" demanded Katharine in surprised -tones. - -"Maybe he has a sweetie here," proposed Hazel mischievously, looking at -Lucile. - -"That's an idea," replied Lucile, flatly ignoring Hazel's insinuations; -"maybe it's--Patricia!" - -"Oh, no," contradicted Anne; "she never saw him before the day we came -down." Too late she realized what she had admitted. - -"Came down! Oh, then he was on _your_ train. Ah, ha! Now we're getting at -something!" exulted Lucile. - -Poor Anne's fair complexion changed to a bright pink, as she struggled to -make her words sound casual. - -"He sat across from us, and we happened to notice him because he was so -good-looking. We haven't seen him for a long time." - -"I have," spoke up Jane; "and you'd never guess where." - -"Then tell us," said Frances. - -"Last night, I was coming from the library, and because it was rather -late, I took a chance on cutting through the yard back of here. As I got -to the step up into this yard, I heard the sound of a typewriter in Big -House. It surprised me; for I understand Mrs. Brock is quite elderly. I -glanced carelessly up at the lighted windows, and there in a second floor -room facing this way, sat our unknown blond friend." - -"Maybe he's her son," proposed Katharine. - -"Son, nothing! Grandson more likely," contradicted Hazel. "Maybe the -girls will meet him. Why didn't more of us go?" - -Jane laughed. "You all had a chance, but you didn't make the most of it." - - -At this moment the front door opened quietly, closed again, footsteps -were heard coming along the hall, and Patricia and Clarice entered. - -"Tell us just everything," ordered Anne, making places on Jane's bed for -the newcomers. - -"Well," began Patricia slowly, "a maid led us into the living room, which -is that room in front where the big bay window is; and there, before the -fire, sat a tiny, white-haired old lady with the keenest brown eyes I -have ever seen." - -"They bored right through one," contributed Clarice. - -"She never said a word to us, only looked up, and then tried to quiet her -white Spitz which began to bark his head off at us." - -"I should think she'd be used to noise, if she has one of those," -observed Hazel; "they sho' do bark." - -Just then Mrs. Vincent slipped into the room, and, sitting down beside -Clarice, slid an arm around her, while the girls exchanged significant -glances. - -"When Mrs. Brock got the dog quieted down," continued Patricia, "I said -that we had come to represent the girls on our floor, and apologize for -the excessive noise tonight; that we had not intended to annoy anyone, -and had not even thought of it as a possibility; we were only having a -little party among ourselves." - -"'Drinking party, I suppose!' she snapped, looking us over from head to -foot, for she hadn't asked us to sit down." - -"I'll bet she knows how many buttons are on my blouse, and even where one -buttonhole is torn," observed Clarice. - -"'We had only orangeade,' I replied, as good-naturedly as I could; for it -certainly was annoying to be addressed in the tones she used," went on -Patricia. - -"'Are you sure of that?' she demanded, fixing her brown eyes on me, like -crabs. 'I distinctly heard some one singing a song about wanting a -drink.'" - -A burst of laughter from the girls interrupted Patricia's story, while -Jane ruffled Hazel's curls. - -"Then _I_ took a hand," announced Clarice. - -"'You did,' I told her, 'and we had several; but they were all made of -oranges, just as Patricia has told you. We may be noisy, but we're not -liars!'" - -"What did she say?" asked Jane eagerly. - -"Nothing; she just glared at me, and turned back to Pat," replied -Clarice. - -"'Aside from the personal annoyance,' she went on," continued Patricia, -"'I consider it highly detrimental to the reputation of college women to -have such yelling and noise emanating from a supposedly respectable -dormitory.' Before we could answer, fortunately, perhaps, for I didn't -know what to say next," went on Patricia, "she pressed a bell near her -chair, and almost immediately we heard footsteps on the stairs, the heavy -portieres between the living room and the hall were pushed aside, and -there stood--" - -"The good-looking young blond!" finished Hazel, excitedly clasping and -unclasping her hands. - -"Why, how did you know?" demanded Patricia in surprise. - -"I saw him over there in the window last night, and the girls were just -saying that perhaps you would meet him," replied Jane. "But please go -on." - -"'Norman Young, my secretary,' said the old lady, looking inquiringly at -us. Clarice supplied our names, and the youth bowed gravely. 'Norman,' -she asked, 'did you type the letter I dictated earlier this evening?' - -"'Not yet, Mrs. Brock,' he said. - -"'You need not write it. That's all,' she added curtly, as the young man -lingered a moment, eyeing Clarice. As soon as he had disappeared, she -turned to us again. 'You may go too,' she announced abruptly; 'and don't -let me hear such a rumpus over there again.' Then Clarice spoke up. 'Mrs. -Brock, we told you we were sorry, and we are; but we can't promise never -to make another sound, when we have parties, or at any other time. There -are forty-five girls in the house, and it's unreasonable to expect us to -be as quiet as deaf-mutes.' Before she could get her breath to annihilate -Clarice, which I thought she would do, I broke in and said that perhaps -she'd like us and understand college life better if she came over to -Arnold Hall some time and got acquainted with the girls and see how we -live. - -"'Maybe I should,' she replied slowly, and really her face changed so -that I thought she was going to smile." - -"Now you have _done_ it, Pats," groaned Anne. - -"Whatever possessed you to say that?" complained Betty. - -"Who in creation _is_ she, that she thinks she can take such a hand in -our affairs?" demanded Katharine hotly. - -"Well, I felt sorry for her," contended Patricia stoutly. "She's old, and -all alone in that big house--" - -"Oh, no, Pats, not alone; think of that attractive youth," protested -Hazel. - -"And I think she's longing for human contacts," continued Patricia. - -"She seems to be," remarked Lucile sarcastically. - -"And that's why she is annoyed by our fun, kind of an outsider envying -those who are on the inside; like a kid who's not invited to a party, and -so wants to break it up," concluded Patricia. - -"Sentimental Pat!" scoffed Lucile. - -"I'm sorry you are all annoyed about it," said Patricia, flushing, "but I -suddenly felt so sorry for her that I spoke before I thought. I never -dreamed you'd object to her. Probably she won't come, anyhow." - -"I think," said Jane emphatically, "that you handled the matter in the -best possible way. What would we gain by fighting with her? Putting aside -of any question of kindness, it's much wiser for us to be friendly with -her, if she will let us." - -"I agree with you, Jane," said Mrs. Vincent, speaking for the first time, -and getting up to go back to her own room. "Now get to bed as quickly as -possible," she added, as the clock struck eleven. - -There were three people in the college colony who were wakeful that -night: Patricia tossed from side to side, as she kept going over in her -mind the inexorable circumstances which continued to involve her in -strange situations with Norman Young. Directly above her, on the third -floor, Rhoda the maid was shedding tears as she worried over the affairs -of one near and dear to her. In his room across the two back yards, -Norman Young alternately pondered over Clarice's pretty face and the -solving of a problem which involved some cleverness on his part. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - A FALL - - -"Who's going to the Greystone game?" asked Hazel, as part of the Alley -Gang was walking back to the Hall after lunch one crisp sunny day in -October. - -"I am," replied Anne. - -"Ted?" queried Patricia, curiously. - -Anne nodded, adding with a broad grin, "Katharine and Professor Boyd are -going with us." - -Oliver Boyd was a young instructor, who had been engaged for the History -Department that fall, a slim, attractive youth, whose big brown eyes -looked shyly out from behind octagon glasses, and whose dark skin made -the girls, when they wanted to tease Katharine, say he must have Indian -blood in his veins. A melodious voice with a southern accent completed an -ensemble that had proved most intriguing to the women of Granard. All the -girls smiled upon him, and the registration in History V was unusually -heavy that term. That he was girl-shy had been the consensus of opinion -until one day Katharine happened to run across him in the Varsity Book -Shoppe; and a discussion, begun from the talkative Katharine over the -respective merits of note book covers No. 1 and No. 3, had been the -beginning of the most talked-of of college romances. - -"Now just wouldn't a retiring daisy like Professor Boyd pick a roughneck -like Katharine?" commented Lucile disgustedly. "I should think she'd -scare him to death." - -"You're just jealous!" retorted Hazel, quick to come to the support of -her room mate. - -"Indeed I'm not," contradicted Lucile promptly; "but you can't deny that -they're no more suited to each other than--" - -"Oh, but opposites attract," interrupted Betty; "remember your -psychology, or was it physics?" - -"Who else is going to the game?" inquired Jane, returning to the original -topic of conversation in an attempt to check the friction. - -"Francie and I are driving down," replied Patricia, smiling down at the -round-faced little girl beside her. For several weeks now, Patricia had -been the proud possessor of the car which her father had bought for her. - -"Where's the Boy Friend?" asked Hazel curiously, turning to look at -Frances. - -"On the outs," was the quick reply. - -"How come?" inquired Lucile. - -"Well, Joe said he wished Tut Miller would get a chance to play in the -Greystone game--" - -"Oh--oh!" protested her companions in chorus. - -"Yes, that's just the way I felt," asserted Frances; "so we promptly had -a row." - -"But why," protested Jane, "should he want Jack Dunn to be taken out of -the lineup. He's a far better player than Tut." - -"I know, but I figured it out this way: Joe and Tut were at Huron Prep -together, and Joe's got an awful case on Tut. When football practice -started, Tut went over big until Jack began to show what he was made of." - -"And naturally Joe sizzled when Jack got on the regulars and Tut was his -sub," finished Jane. - -"Jack's the better of the two, of course," agreed Anne; "but I don't fall -for him the way the rest of you do. He seems to me to be rather too sure -of himself." - -"Who has a better right?" asked Lucile sharply. "He's been the absolute -idol of this college and town ever since he made the team." - -Before this challenge could be taken up, there was a sound of running -footsteps behind them, and Clarice violently pushed in between Jane and -Anne. - -"What do you think?" she cried, noisily. - -"We don't think," retorted Lucile crisply. "We leave that for you." - -"What is the excitement, Clarice?" inquired Jane quickly, trying to cover -Lucile's unkind thrust at Clarice's poor scholarship. - -"You'd never guess with whom I am going to the Greystone game." - -"Then tell us quickly," said Frances, "before we all die of suspense." - -"Norman Young! He asked me in Physics Lab this morning, and--" - -"Physics Lab," repeated Betty in puzzled tones. "How did he happen to be -there?" - -"Didn't you know that he registered late, and is a special student here!" -asked Jane in surprise. - -"No; I--" - -"Where have you been all this term?" demanded Hazel in disgust. - -"Betty is more interested in certain people from home than she is in -Granard students," explained Lucile in significant tones. - -"I am not!" contradicted Betty promptly. - -"Don't bother; she's only trying to tease you," said Jane soothingly, -flinging an arm across Betty's shoulder. "If I had a devoted boy friend -who wrote me letters every other day, and came down to spend week ends -here, I shouldn't know all the college gossip either." - -Meanwhile Anne was whispering to Patricia: "Wonder how Lucile likes -Clarice's walking off with Norman." - -"Why?" said Pat. "I didn't know that she considered him her special -property. She's been going around with Tut." - -"I'm not sure that she does, only I feel it in my bones, someway, that -the meeting at 'Hill Top' on the day we arrived was not all chance. I -_do_ know that she pricks up her ears whenever he is mentioned." - -They had reached the library, and Pat reluctantly left her companions. - -"I'm due here, kids," she called from the third step, as Jane demanded -why she was deserting them. "Something I've got to look up. See you -later." Waving her hand gaily, she ran up the long flight of steps and -entered the old grey building. - -Some of the rooms were used for graduate work, or small classes of men -students; and Patricia could hear Professor Donnell's voice quite -distinctly as she passed down the corridor to the reference department. -Three-quarters of an hour later, having secured the necessary -information, she was just approaching the outside doorway when Professor -Donnell's class came out of its room, right behind her. Patricia was -rather shy with strangers, and hurried a bit to keep well ahead of the -men going down the steps. In her haste, she failed to notice, on a step -part way down the flight, some matted, damp leaves. Her heel slipped on -one of them, and she rolled to the bottom of the flight. Eighteen men -promptly sprang to her assistance, but the long legs of a thin dark boy -brought him first upon the scene. - -"Are you hurt?" he asked, raising Patricia to her feet. - -Patricia looked up into solicitous blue eyes, bent anxiously upon her, -and shakily replied that she didn't think so. - -"That was a nasty fall," continued the boy, still carefully holding her -by the arm as if he feared she might collapse any minute. - -The other men had gathered about her in a semi-circle, and Patricia's -color came back with a rush, and flushed her face to a scarlet which -matched the little hat which had fallen off during her descent and which -one of the men now presented to her. - -"Thank you," she murmured. - -"Lucile would say, if she could see me now, that I fell purposely," -thought Patricia, adjusting the gay little hat with shaking fingers. Then -an awful thought occurred to her. Maybe these men thought the same thing! -People resorted to all kinds of tricks to meet celebrities, and Jack -Dunn's acquaintanceship was much sought after. - -"I don't know how I happened to fall," she said, trying to laugh. "I'm -not usually so careless." - -"There were some wet leaves on one of the steps," explained her rescuer, -bending his head protectively over her. - -It was a fine shaped head, topped by wavy brown hair flung back from a -broad, very white forehead. The hands on her arm were shapely, and the -fingers long and slender. A thoroughbred, thought Patricia. - -"If you'll tell me where you were going," he continued, motioning his -companions peremptorily away, "I'll walk along with you." - -"Oh, I don't want to trouble you further," protested Patricia. "I'm quite -all right now." - -"You're shaking like a leaf," contradicted her escort gently, falling -into step beside her, as they started across the campus. "Let's sit down -over there a while," he added, as they approached a stone bench under a -tree near the Fine Arts Building; "or have you a class now?" - -"No, not until three-thirty." - -"What year are you?" he began, as soon as they were seated. "I don't -think I've ever seen you before." - -"I'm a Sophomore, and my name, by the way, is Patricia Randall." - -"Mine is Jack Dunn," said the boy, as simply as if his name were not -known the length and breadth of the campus. - -"I'm afraid you are not very observing," remarked Patricia. - -"Why?" - -"Because we are in the same Shakespeare class, and have been all this -term." - -"Oh, well, we're seated alphabetically. I'm down in the front of the -room, and you must be in the back. So that lets me out." - -Three-thirty arrived long before they finished exchanging personal bits -of information, and Jack left Patricia at the door of her classroom with -a promise to see her again very soon. - -"How in the world did you get hold of him?" whispered Jane excitedly, as -Patricia took her seat. - -"Tell you later," promised Patricia, as Professor Yates glanced in their -direction. - -After the class was over, the girls managed to get away from the rest of -the crowd; so, as they walked slowly across the campus, Patricia told the -story of the fall and its consequences. - -"You're a lucky girl!" sighed Jane, as she finished. - -"To have broken no bones?" inquired Patricia innocently. - -"Yes, just that," replied her companion, with exaggerated emphasis. -"Broken hearts not taken into account." - -"I suppose the girls will razz the life out of me," commented Patricia, -after a short pause. - -"Don't tell them anything about it, then. I shan't mention it." - -"But suppose some of them saw us together?" - -"That's all right. If they don't know how you met him, it will give them -something to think about." - - -That evening Patricia was keenly aware of curious eyes fixed upon her as -she stood in front of Arnold Hall talking to Jack Dunn. He had stepped up -to her just as she was following Jane and Anne to the post office after -dinner. The girls obligingly hurried on and left the two together, but -Patricia's cheeks were red with the knowledge that they were talking -about her as they went back to the dorm. - -"I was wondering if you'd go to see Arliss with me," began Jack. "He's on -at the Plaza, and we'd be just in time for the early performance." - -"I should like to see it," replied Patricia slowly; "but--yes, I'll go. -I'm pretty sure Jane will sign the Black Book for me if I don't go in." - -"The Black Book?" repeated Jack in puzzled tones. - -As they started downtown, Patricia told him all about the Arnold Hall -customs and rules, and answered his questions regarding the identity of -several of the Alley Gang. - -"You see," he said, "I don't know many of the girls here; for I came only -this year, transferred from Floynton University--" - -"And I from Brentwood," interrupted Patricia. "Isn't that funny?" - -"We ought to be friends, then, both strangers in a strange land. Shall -we?" - -"I don't mind." - -After leaving the movie, they strolled slowly back to College Hill, -chatting as if they had known each other always. - -"Will you come in?" asked Patricia, as they reached Arnold Hall. - -"Like to, but you see I'm in training and not supposed to be out too -late; besides I have some boning to do yet." - -"I don't see when you ever get any studying done; you're in classes all -morning as well as part of the afternoon, and on the athletic field until -dark." - -"It doesn't leave me much time, and I've just got to make good here." - -"You mean in order to keep on the team?" - -"Of course; but there's another reason too. You see, my dad isn't well -enough off to send me to Granard himself; and, well, when you're indebted -to somebody else for a big chance, why, you've just _got_ to make good." - -"I know just how that is; for I'm in the same position myself," replied -Patricia impulsively. - -"You are?" questioned Jack. "Then you would understand." - -"Good evening," said a smooth, low voice behind them, and they turned to -face Norman Young. - -"How are you?" replied Jack briefly, while Patricia murmured a response -to the newcomer's greeting. - -"Clarice in?" queried Norman as he turned and went up the walk toward the -house. - -"I don't know," replied Patricia. - -"I don't like that fellow," observed Jack, as the door closed upon Young. - -"You don't? Why?" - -"Queer acting guy. Never caught him in anything; in fact I don't know him -very well, but I don't trust him. Comes out and sits on the side lines to -watch practice quite often, and he gives me the jitters. You know him -well?" - -"No, I don't. I was introduced to him at Mrs. Brock's house. He's her -secretary." - -"Who's Mrs. Brock?" - -Briefly Patricia told him of their contact with the eccentric inhabitant -of Big House. - -"She must be crazy!" declared Jack, as she finished her story. "You'd -better not have anything to do with her. Say, what does she look like?" -as a sudden idea occurred to him. - -Patricia described her as well as she could. - -"The very same!" ejaculated the boy, when Patricia paused. - -"The same--what do you mean?" inquired the girl, looking at him with a -puzzled expression. - -"I was walking along Craig Street, right back of the campus, you know, -one day about two weeks ago, when I noticed a little woman ahead of me -drop a small bag. Apparently, she didn't notice her loss; for she kept -right on. I picked up the pocketbook, hurried on, and gave it to her. She -looked at me sharply with the most piercing brown eyes I have ever -seen--" - -"That's she!" interrupted Patricia. "Those eyes fasten themselves on you -just like tiny crabs." - -"I presented the bag and told her where I found it. She said curtly: 'So -you're really honest. I didn't think anybody was, any more.' It made me -mad, so I merely said: 'That is one of the things upon which I pride -myself,' bowed and hurried on. I wouldn't swear to it, but I thought I -heard her laugh. Must be cuckoo." - -"She's certainly queer, to say the least," agreed Patricia. "I think I'd -better go in, now. Thanks for the movie; I enjoyed it." - -"Wait a minute," urged the boy, laying a hand on her arm. "You're going -to see the Greystone game; aren't you?" - -"Yes; Frances and I are going to drive down together." - -"I'll get your tickets, then. I'd like you to be where you can get a good -view, since you've never been to a real big game before." - -"Thanks a lot," said Patricia gratefully, as she started up the steps. -"Good night." - -"Bring them to you in Shakespeare class Friday," called Jack, just as -Norman and Clarice came out onto the porch. - -Shortly after the street was again deserted, a masculine figure slipped -out of a thick clump of shrubbery near the dormitory, and, keeping well -in the heavy shadows which edged Arnold Hall on one side, slunk off into -the darkness. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - JACK OR TUT? - - -"Will somebody stop that bell!" called Patricia frantically one afternoon -a week later. - -She and Anne were in their room, trying to cram for a test in French. - -"No!" shouted Clarice and Hazel simultaneously. "We want to wear out the -battery before tonight; and the coast is clear now." - -Patricia gave her door a shove which made it close with a bang, and -stuffed her fingers into her ears, while Anne did likewise. Presently the -door flew open again to admit Mary. - -"What's the idea?" she exclaimed, viewing the two girls with alarm. - -"That awful bell!" replied Anne briefly, withdrawing her fingers from -ears. "What do you suppose Clarice and Hazel are up to?" - -"I'm not sure, but I think they're planning to step out tonight." - -"Rose Troy?" queried Anne. - -"I suppose so," said Mary anxiously. - -Rose Troy was not a student at Granard, but at one of the college affairs -to which outsiders were admitted, she had met Hazel and Clarice, taken a -fancy to them, and subsequently invited them to her home several times. -She entertained lavishly, and some of the girls were frankly envious of -the favored two; others strongly disapproved of the growing intimacy. - -"But what's the bell got to do with it?" inquired Patricia. - -"You poor innocent!" retorted Mary. "If the bell won't ring when the back -door is opened--and they find some way to have said back door opened for -them--Doll can never tell what time the girls come home." - -"I wish Hazel hadn't gotten so intimate with Clarice all of a sudden," -mused Anne. "I wonder how it happened." - -"Birds of a feather," began Mary. - -"Don't say that. Hazel is just like Clarice!" protested Anne vehemently. - -"Wait till I finish," countered Mary calmly. "I was going to say that -they both love a good time, and both let their studying go until the -eleventh hour; furthermore, Hazel is terribly restless this year. I can't -make out just what is the matter with her, and Clarice is a kind of -outlet." - -"Rose Troy's attentions are very bad for both of them, I think; and -perhaps partly explains their intimacy," said Anne. - -"How?" inquired Mary bluntly. - -"Well, they have a common interest in which the rest of us have no part, -and Rose's parties are somewhat stimulating, I imagine; more -sophisticated than ours. Rose has lots of boy friends, you know." - -"Ought we to do anything, about tonight, I wonder," mused Anne. - -"No!" replied Mary promptly. "What right have we to object if those two -silly kids want to run the risk of getting into trouble?" - -Suddenly the bell stopped ringing, and quiet settled down upon the house, -just as Mrs. Vincent entered the front door, with her shadow, Ivan Zahn. - -"But," persisted Patricia, still puzzled, "how will they manage to get in -without Dolly's knowledge?" - -"Oh, Clarice, on some pretext or other--she'll know how--will ask for -permission for both of them to stay out an hour later than usual. Doll -will give it, and go to bed at the regular time. Then, with the back door -key, which I suppose they will secure during the early evening, they will -be able to get in and go to bed without anyone being the wiser." - -"Clarice certainly has some stand-in with Dolly," observed Anne. - -"She works hard enough for it," retorted Mary. - -"What do you mean?" inquired Patricia. - -"Oh, Clarice is always sending Doll flowers, or candy, and naturally it -makes an 'imprint'; as of course it's intended to." - -About two o'clock next morning, Patricia was suddenly wakened by a flash -of light. Wide awake in an instant, she waited tensely for the peal of -thunder which she expected would accompany it--forgetting that the season -for such storms was over. Electric storms were Patricia's chief phobia; -but no sound disturbed the stillness. Then the flash was repeated; again -she waited, but again perfect quiet reigned. Just as she decided that one -of the street lights must be blinking, a third time the light played on -the wall, this time more slowly. With a fast-beating heart, she sat up, -reached for her bathrobe, and stole softly to the window. On the path -below, in the faint light from the street lamp, she could distinguish -Clarice and Hazel. Evidently they could not get in, and had used a flash -light to attract her attention. How to let them know that she saw them, -without making any noise, was a problem which she solved by passing a -handkerchief back and forth near the screen, hoping that its whiteness -would be visible against the dark background of the room. Frantic -gestures toward the back door answered her efforts. They must have -forgotten the key. Creeping noiselessly toward her door, Patricia -succeeded in opening it quietly and stealing down the hall without -arousing anyone. Fortunately, the door into the narrow passage leading to -the back entrance was open, and Patricia drew it carefully to behind her, -in order to keep any sounds from the front of the house. With her heart -in her throat, she turned the key, bit by bit, until the lock was -released. With the same care, she opened the door wide enough to admit -the two girls who were pressed close to its frame. As she was about to -close it again, she noticed a bright light in Big House--in the room -occupied by Norman Young. There was a slight jar as the door settled into -place again, and the three girls stood silent, shaking with nervous -chills, until they felt quite sure that no one had been wakened. Then, -without a word, they all crept to their rooms. - - -"Come on up to the Coffee Shoppe with me for lunch, Pat," begged Hazel -the following noon, as they left the house with the rest of the crowd for -Horton Hall. "I want to talk with you." - -In one of the cozy stalls at the back of the restaurant, after their -order was filled, Hazel began bluntly: - -"You're a good sport, Pat. It was darned white of you to let us in last -night, and never say a word about it." - -"Was the party worth the trouble?" asked Patricia, playing with the salt -cellar nervously, and not knowing exactly what to say. - -"To be frank, it was not. I never had such a fright in my life. Rose's -party was all right. We had fun, out, after the eats, one of the boys -proposed driving out to Kleg's--" - -"The _road_ house?" exclaimed Patricia. - -Hazel nodded. - -"Everybody seemed keen to go, so I wasn't going to be a spoilsport. When -we got there, we found a big crowd, and had trouble getting tables -together. Luckily Clarice and I, and a couple of fellows you don't know, -got places in a back corner near a side door, like this." - -Hazel placed a piece of roll and a match on the table to show the exact -relative location. - -"We hadn't been there half an hour when there was a raid--" - -"Hazel!" gasped Patricia, with horror in her eyes and voice. - -"While the first excitement was going on in the front room the two -fellows who were with us hustled us quietly out of the side door, into -Pete's car, and brought us home. And were we lucky!" - -"You don't know how lucky," said Patricia gravely. "Did you see this -morning's paper?" - -"No, don't tell me it was reported!" - -"It certainly was--" - -"Were our names in?" demanded Hazel breathlessly. - -"Not yours or Clarice's, but several of the men's, as well as Rose's and -her sister's. Only for a kind Providence, you and Clarice might have been -included," said Patricia severely, gazing sternly at the white-faced girl -opposite her. - -"I'm through!" declared Hazel finally. "This is the last time I'll break -the college rules; and--" - -"And what about Rose?" added Patricia. "She's not good for you, Hazel. -You haven't the time or money to go with anyone like that; and her ideals -and standards are different from ours." - -Hazel looked at her plate and was silent so long, that Patricia began to -feel as if she had been too frank. - -"You're right, I guess," she said finally. "I'll give her up, even though -I suppose she'll think I am an awful quitter." - -"Good for you!" commended Patricia heartily, beginning again on her -lunch. - -"Do you suppose, Pat," asked Hazel, after a short pause, "that the -college authorities will hear that Clarice and I were mixed up in the -affair?" - -"I don't imagine so; the others were all outsiders, weren't they?" - -"Yes, but, Pats; at Kleg's I saw Norman Young." - -"Did he see you?" inquired Patricia sharply, recalling Jack's impression -of the blond youth. - -"I don't think so; but you never can tell. He was at a table half way -down the room; and Pat, who do you suppose was with him?" - -"Couldn't guess." - -"Rhoda!" - -"_Our_ Rhoda?" repeated Patricia, unbelievingly. - -Hazel nodded. - -"Don't let's say anything about it to _any_body," proposed Patricia after -a minute's thought. "It's awfully queer, but since we can't understand -it, there's no object in creating talk and making things unpleasant for -Rhoda." - -"No, of course not. I like Rhoda." - -"We all do, and I guess she needs her job. She said something one day -about some one being dependent on her." - -"Do you suppose Norman goes with her?" continued Hazel, scraping up the -last of her chocolate pudding. - -"I haven't any idea. He's been out with Clarice quite often of late. I -hope she doesn't hear about Rhoda." - -"I don't think she saw them last night, and I didn't mention it. But -Clarice wouldn't care, as long as she had somebody to step out with. It's -a case of _some_ boy with her, not any particular one," replied Hazel, -getting up and dropping her purse just outside the stall. - -At the same moment a youth, leaving the next stall, picked up the purse -and handed it to her. - -"Thank you," murmured Hazel, glancing up at the man. - -To her amazement and distress, she looked full into the pale grey eyes of -Norman Young. - -"Going back to college?" he asked, looking first at Hazel and then at -Patricia, who had just slipped out of her seat. - -"Yes," replied Patricia briefly, when Hazel did not respond. - -"So am I. Guess I'll walk along with you, if you don't mind," continued -the boy, following them out of the shop. - -Once on the street, he began to talk about the Greystone game. - -"There's a lot of money up on that game," he remarked. "Not only among -the students, but also among the townsfolk. Greystone has a player almost -as famous as our Dunn, and the betting between the two factions is heavy. -If Dunn were to be out of the game for any reason--" - -"What would be likely to keep him out?" inquired Hazel sharply, while -Patricia listened breathlessly. - -"Oh, I don't know," laughed Norman; "probably nothing at all. I was only -mentioning an improbable chance of such a thing. But, if he were, the -Greystone supporters would be in line to win a heap of dough." - -"What kind of a place is Greystone?" asked Hazel. - -"About the size of Granard. People of the town are just as loyal to their -college as we are here. Maybe a little rougher crowd than ours." - -"Do you think Tut Miller has any chance of being put in for part of the -game?" asked Patricia anxiously, the conversation of the morning -recurring to her. - -"How should I know?" questioned the boy, looking straight into Patricia's -eyes with a peculiar, twisted smile. - -"You must know all the gridiron gossip," asserted Hazel. - -"Why should I? I'm neither coach nor manager." - -"No, but you watch practice a lot," said Patricia before Hazel could -reply. - -"How do you know?" he inquired curtly. - -Patricia laughed. "Did you ever know anything to be kept quiet in a -college community?" - -Norman looked searchingly at her for a moment, then replied gravely: -"Yes, a few things." - -They had reached Clinton Hall by that time, and the girls left Norman at -the steps with a hasty "We're going in here. Goodbye." - -"Pat!" gasped Hazel, clasping the other girl's arm in a frenzied grasp as -they hurried along the hall toward their classroom. "Do you suppose he -heard what we were talking about at lunch? He was evidently in the stall -next to us, all the time." - -"I hardly think so. We were talking very low," replied Patricia kindly, -pressing Hazel's cold fingers. - -"He acted very funny, I thought," chattered Hazel, trying to control the -nervous chills which shook her. - -"Pull yourself together," ordered Patricia sternly. "If he did, we can't -change it by getting wrought up over it; but I think we'll just take it -for granted that he didn't. Don't worry," she added, as they entered -Professor Donnell's classroom. - -Patricia gave good advice to others, but during the class which followed, -her mind dwelt persistently and anxiously on Norman's reference to Jack's -_possibly_ being out of the game. Had Joe some secret influence which -might, at the last minute, result in Tut getting his chance? Did Norman -have some inside information? Or was his supposition as casual as he -tried to make it sound. Ought she to tell Jack, or would that tend to -make things worse? - -"Mademoiselle Randall," Professor Donnell's smooth voice broke into her -reveries, "_de quoi avons nous lu?_" - -"_De foot balle_," replied Patricia promptly; then realized, too late, -what an absurd reply she had made. - -Everybody laughed and turned around to look at her. Crimson with -embarrassment, Patricia slid as low in her seat as she could, without -landing on the floor. - -"_Ce n'est pas etrange_," Professor Donnell smiled his oily smile as he -passed a long white hand over his star-like hair. "_Tout le monde parle, -et pense, et entende ne que de footballe._" - - - - - CHAPTER IX - A TOUGH PROPOSITION - - -"Now, boys," said Coach Tyler on Friday afternoon, at the close of a -meeting of the football team, "take the rest of the day off." - -Tyler did not believe in working a team up to the very last minute, and -never had his men on the field the day before a big game. - -"Take things easy," he went on. "Drop football out of your minds and -conversation. Stay out of doors as much as possible. Don't do anything -exciting, and get to bed early. The train leaves South Street Station at -8:30, and I want you here in the gym at eight sharp!" - -"Let's go for a little spin," suggested Tut Miller to Jack Dunn as they -strolled out onto the campus. "It's only half past one. Tyler is -certainly getting big-hearted." - -"I've got a paper to write for--" began Jack. - -"Oh, come on!" urged Tut, dragging him toward a yellow roadster parked on -the drive. "You'll have plenty of time to do that later. Some friends of -mine want to meet you." - -Reluctantly Jack got into the car, wondering a little at the unusual -request. Tut settled himself in the driver's seat, quickly swung the -machine out onto Grover Road, and headed for the country. Jack had never -been very chummy with this big blond Soph with the protruding jaw and -narrowed eyes which looked at you speculatively, as if you were a bug -under a microscope. He was always friendly, almost too friendly; one -sometimes wondered if he were laughing scornfully, away down inside of -him. - -Neither boy spoke until they had turned onto Route 8, one very little -traveled at that hour of the day; then Tut began smoothly: "These friends -of mine live about ten miles out on this road; some fellows I knew in -prep school. They're awfully keen on football, and like to be able to say -they've met this or that celebrity. Been at me for some time to bring you -out. They run a big roadside stand; have several cabins, and I guess -they're making a pretty good thing of it; always have plenty of dough to -spend." - -Jack, for all his popularity, was a modest fellow and hated being shown -off. If he had known where they were going, he would have managed to -evade the trip; but Tut had trapped him, fairly and squarely. Nothing for -it now but to get the meeting over with as quickly as possible. - -Tut drove rapidly, and before long drew up at a tourist camp in a grove -some feet back from the road. Three fellows a little older than the -Granard boys came out to greet them. They were husky, finely built -individuals, all with bright red hair, blue eyes, and a strong family -resemblance. - -"The Holm brothers," said Tut, with a wave of his hand. "I don't need to -tell you boys who this is!" slapping Jack on the back. "Everybody knows -him, at least by sight." - -"Mighty glad to meet you," said each in turn, as he grasped Jack's hand -in a vise-like grip. - -The five stood for a few minutes talking of various unimportant matters; -then Seldon, the oldest Holm, proposed showing Jack around the place. - -"Some of our cabins are pretty nice," he said; "and farther back in the -grove there is a stream beside which we have built ovens and tables." - -Bernard, the second brother, promptly moved to their side as Jack -murmured a polite assent to the proposal. - -"I'll stay here with Vin," said Tut, "and help keep store." - -After Seldon and Bernard had proudly displayed their property, of which -Jack was able to approve quite honestly, they stopped for a moment at a -rustic bridge which led back from the picnic grounds to a deep woods. - -"We've a proposition to make to you, Dunn," began Seldon abruptly, -"somewhat of a surprise to you, and probably not a very agreeable one; -but just keep cool and think it over a bit before you decide. Briefly, -it's this: we Huron Prep fellows always hang together, and let nothing -stand in the way of promoting the welfare and reputation of our school. -We want Tut to have his big chance in the Greystone game. Now, what will -you take to stay out of it?" - -For a fleeting second, Jack's impulse was to knock the fellow over into -the stream below; but some more cautious instinct immediately urged upon -him the wisdom of proceeding carefully. - -"Well," began Jack, as slowly as his fast-beating heart would allow, -"naturally, since I've never given a thought to such a question, I'm not -prepared to answer it on the spur of the moment." - -"Take your time," urged Bernard, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. - -Jack's brain fairly raced. If he refused, since they strongly outnumbered -him, they could readily keep him a prisoner until after the game. Yet to -accept was definitely out of the question; he'd be just a plain cur to -take a bribe. How could he get away from them without either definitely -accepting or refusing? That seemed to be his only chance. What an easy -mark he had been! - -"How long am I to have to decide?" he asked, finally. - -"Until Tut's ready to go back," replied Seldon, who, leaning against a -big oak tree, was watching Jack closely. - -"Let's go back to where the others are," suggested Jack; "I'd like to -talk to Tut before I decide." - -"No objection to that, I guess," replied Bernard, looking at his brother. -Not a chance of this fellow getting away when there were four of them to -prevent such a contingency. Much better for Dunn to accept the bribe (for -that meant Tut would have his place for the next two years, as well as at -the Greystone game) than it would be to have to keep him prisoner until -after Saturday. Why had the fellows urged Tut's being helped with his -course at Granard except so that Huron could have a representative on the -big team? Tut had played mighty good football at prep school, but this -upstart kept him from his rightful place here. Pity they hadn't gotten -rid of him before. It took the Greystone game to wake them all up. The -Greystone supporters would be glad to see Dunn out of the game; they -didn't know how good Tut was. - -"Now let's get down to business," said Seldon briskly, when they joined -the others who were standing at the edge of the grove. "Tut, Dunn wants -to talk over the proposition with you before he decides." - -Jack managed to get on the outside of the group, from which point he had -a straight and unobstructed path to the yellow car which was parked at -the farthest point of the Holm property and headed toward Granard. Tut -must have turned it around so as to be ready for a quick get-away if -necessary. The Holms probably had a car; but it was not in sight. -Wherever they kept it, it would take at least a few minutes to get it -started and out. True, Tut could have him arrested for going off with his -car, but he'd have to run the risk. - -"Well," Tut was saying, "spill it!" - -"If I should decide to take the money, how would you explain my absence?" - -"We thought you'd play up sick, and just stay at home," put in Seldon. - -"That would be sheer foolishness," retorted Jack. "Tyler would send Doc -to examine me, and he'd find me perfectly O. K. How would it do for me to -go to Greystone, just as if nothing had happened, and start the game; -then get hurt and have you put in in my place?" - -"That would seem more natural," answered Tut, looking at Seldon for -approval; but that sturdy individual frowned. - -"How could you fake that any better than being sick before you went?" he -growled. - -"Just this way. I'd make a run, stumble, fall, and lie still on the -field. When they picked me up, I'd go limp and not be able to stand at -all. I could fool anybody who'd never seen me do it before. Let me show -you what I mean, and then see if you don't think it would work out -perfectly. When I fall, you come and try to stand me up, Tut." - -Jack looked questioningly at the Holms for permission to stage his act. - -"Go ahead," replied Seldon curtly. - -Instead of making directly for the yellow roadster, as he had intended, -Jack cleverly ran about a bit, close enough to the others for them to -have been able to seize him any moment they chose. - -"This is just warming up a bit," he said, smiling, as he passed the group -for the second time. "In a minute or two I'll put on my act." - -Jack sensed, rather than saw, that the tenseness with which they had -watched his start relaxed somewhat as he continued to warm up. Then like -a catapult he hurled himself forward and sprinted to the car. With a -bound he was in the driver's seat, the ignition was on, the clutch was -thrown in, the car shot out onto the road. Wild shouts from those left -behind. - -Jack realized that it would be foolhardy to stay on Route 8; so at the -first crossroad he turned off into a road which he thought would bring -him out at Portersville, a suburb of Granard. The road was a winding one, -but he made good time and met no other cars. He kept close watch in the -mirror for his pursuers, but the road behind him basked quietly in the -afternoon sunshine. - -Just as he turned into the road leading into Portersville, a stretch of -heavily wooded highway, he saw a big blue car coming toward him. In it -were four big fellows wearing blue and green ribbons in their -buttonholes--Greystone colors. All this, Jack took in at a glance as he -sped onward. The blue car slowed down, turned around, stopped for a -moment, then came on with a burst of speed, passed him and swung sharply -across the road, directly in his path. It was so unexpected that Jack had -to jam on the brakes suddenly to avoid crashing into the larger car. - -"What--" he began angrily, when he noticed that the three individuals who -had tumbled out of the car and were coming toward him had handkerchiefs -tied over the lower part of their faces. - -"A hold-up!" thought Jack. "Foolhardy to try to resist them." - -Without a word they seized him, dragged him out of the yellow roadster, -then two of them hurried him over to the blue car while the third moved -the smaller car over onto the shoulder. A blindfold was tied tightly over -Jack's eyes, he was tumbled into the tonneau, and the big car started off -for--somewhere. - - - - - CHAPTER X - JACK IN DANGER - - -At first Jack was too stunned by the suddenness of the transfer to talk, -but after a few dizzy miles, he began: - -"Where are you taking me?" - -"Shut up!" ordered a harsh voice, accompanied by a dig in the ribs; and -he shut up. - -Not a word did any of his captors exchange, and mile after mile whirled -by in utter silence. Where he might be, he had no idea whatever. After -endless eons, so it seemed to Jack, the car began to move more slowly and -wind about, then came to a sudden stop. - -He was hustled out, run across some gravel, up a few steps. A door -slammed, footsteps on stone, then up stairs, and stairs, and more stairs. -A key turned protestingly. A door creaked; there was a blast of cool air; -he was pushed into some place. Then the door closed, and the key grated a -second time. The sound of footsteps on stairs sounded more and more -faintly; then silence, broken only by a peculiar grating sound from -somewhere above him. - -Where could he be? - -Pulling the bandage from his eyes he discovered that he was in a small -square room with slatted walls. It looked like a belfry. Yes, there was a -great bell just above his head, almost touching it. If that mass of metal -ever moved, it would put him out of business in short order all right. -What tower was this anyhow? He tried to peer out between the slats. The -only object within his narrow range of vision was the framework of some -new building. What big structure was going up now in town, or nearby? He -tried hard to think, but he still felt a little dazed. How stupid! Who -knew where he was now? They had been riding for a long time; he might be -miles and miles from Granard. Still, there was something annoyingly -familiar about that naked, orange-colored framework out there, with the -big 0032 in black on the top girder. Again he peered at it. It must -be--it was! The new forestry building at the University! Then this was -the tower of the old chapel. His captors had evidently entered the campus -from the alley gate at the back, where no one would be likely to see -them. That accounted for the gravel they had crossed. They had driven for -miles, first, to throw him off. But how strange of the gang to have -brought him here! Who were they, and what was their game anyhow? - -Game? Ah, that must be it! He remembered now; there was a lot of money up -on the Greystone struggle, not only on the campus but even in the town; -and if he were out of the contest, Granard stood to lose--so it was said. -Evidently those fellows were Greystone supporters. He remembered now they -had worn Greystone colors. Darned clever of them to put him where he -would have no evidence, when he got out, and where no one would ever -think to look for him. - -But how to get out; that was the question. - -"Good thing it's not Sunday, for that big fellow to knock me out!" he -thought, looking up at the bell. A horrible thought came to him. The boys -were going to have a rouser that night; everybody out in front of the gym -before dinner for songs and speeches. They'd ring that bell to call the -students together; and the janitor pulled the rope from a little room at -the foot of the stairs! What time was it now? Glancing at his wrist he -was shocked to find it bare. Where was his watch? Must have come -unfastened in the car. - -One, two, three, sounded the bell of a clock in the distance. The clock -on the college library. Breathlessly, Jack listened. Four. One hour--one -little hour of sixty minutes to devise a means of escape. Frantically he -shook the door. Only the flutter of wings, as some startled pigeons arose -from the roof, answered his plea. - -Panting for breath, he paused; then began to batter the slats of one -panel with his fists. They were stout, and withstood the blows of even a -husky football player. - -He must keep his head and work rationally. There were only two means of -exit: the door and the four slatted windows. Again he shook the door, not -wildly, but listening critically. Perhaps he could pick the lock. - -Eagerly he felt in his pockets for his knife and buttonhook. Only a -crumpled handkerchief, a pencil, a soft package of butterscotch, and a -ball of twine rewarded his efforts. The door was now out of the question. -What in heck had become of his knife? Had those fellows purposely -stripped him of everything so he couldn't possibly get out? To do them -justice, however, he supposed they didn't know about the ringing of the -bell for the rouser, and probably intended him to be secure until after -the game. - -One, two; one, two, chimed the library clock. Four-fifteen! Nothing -accomplished yet. - -"If I could get the slats broken, and then lean out of the window and -yell for help," he said, half aloud. - -A squeak on the stairs outside of the door caught his ear. "Wonder if -they left a guard around," he thought. "If I yelled, they would only come -in and gag me; and that would make things worse than they are now. My -only hope, a forlorn one at that, is to attract the attention of someone -in order to let the fellows know where I am, and come to rescue me." - -But how? - -Covering his face with his hands, he crouched on the floor, in deep -thought. - -One, chimed the library clock, marking the half hour. Anxiously Jack -glanced up at the heavy bell above him. Perhaps he could unfasten the -clapper, and flatten himself on the floor so that the bell would only -graze him as it swung to and fro. Then, when no sound came from the -belfry, somebody might investigate. But no; old Jake, who attended to the -bell ringing, was too lazy to climb all those stairs to repair the bell -for a mere rally. He'd just let it go until some time tomorrow. By that -time, the team would have left without him! - -The tickets he had promised Patricia were lying home on his desk. Wonder -what she thought when he failed to keep his promise to give them to her -in Shakespeare class. - -Tut's friends would probably pass around the word that Jack had taken the -bribe and disappeared. That would be his finish in athletics. Jack -groaned aloud, and pulled his handkerchief from his pocket to wipe off -the cold perspiration which dampened his face. Tut had always been -jealous of him; and since he had refused, a few weeks ago, to work for -Jim's election as Chairman of the Soph Hop, Tut had positively disliked -him. Jack did not approve of the bargaining for honors, which went on at -the college, but doggedly supported whatever man he thought best fitted -for the job, politics notwithstanding--a practice which had not made him -any too popular with certain ambitious ringleaders. - -The sight of his handkerchief gave him a sudden inspiration. Quickly -tearing it in half, he scrawled on one part of it, in large letters, -"HELP! QUICK!" Knotting one end of the ball of twine to it, he -painstakingly worked the bit of linen between the slats of the window -which faced the observatory, and played out the cord as far as it would -go. Fastening the end of it securely to one of the shutters, he took the -other half of the handkerchief, slipped it through between the slats, and -tied it about in the center of the window. - -"Now I've done all I can," he muttered. "It's on the laps of the gods, -for better or worse." - -The part of the campus on which the chapel stood was deserted during the -week. In a rather out-of-the-way place, beyond the other buildings, it -was in the least frequented corner of the campus. Jack's captors planned -all too well when they chose the belfry for his prison. - -One, two, one, two, chimed the library clock. A quarter to five! Would -_nobody_ find his message or see his poor little flag? If he could only -have stood up and tramped around a bit, it would have relieved Jack's -feelings somewhat; but the belfry was large enough only for the moving of -the single bell. Would he be safer flat on the floor, directly under the -bell, or as far to one side as he could get, when it began to swing? - -One, two, three, four, chimed the clock. A door slammed somewhere -downstairs; the bell rope trembled; the bell quivered; Jack stretched out -on the floor as flat as he could, and waited for the first blow of the -iron mass. - -Swift steps on the stairs, the turning of a key, hands dragging him -quickly out of the way, just as the first clang of the big bell sounded -deafeningly through the little room. Jack found himself in the hall with -Pat and Ted bending over him. - -"Just in the nick of time, old man!" cried Ted, grinning cheerfully. - -"Don't stop to talk!" ordered Patricia frantically. "Let's get out of -here right away!" - -Down the stairs they rushed, while the bell clanged and clanged overhead. -Pat's car, with all shades drawn, was waiting close to the doorway. - -"Get in back," directed Ted; "crawl behind those cartons and don't -breathe." - -For a second time that day, Jack was driven off, he knew not where. - -"Hi there, Ted," called Joe Leonard, as they stopped for lights at the -corner of College Avenue and Elizabeth Street. "Come on to the meeting!" - -"See you later," replied Ted; "got to deliver these fruit jars for my -mother first." - -"Wonder if he's onto us," whispered Patricia, as they started forward -with a jerk. - -Ted only shrugged his shoulders and drove as rapidly as possible to the -apartment he and his mother shared on Winton Street. At the side -entrance, where Mrs. Carter was waiting to admit them, Ted hustled Jack -into the house and up a back stairway to his own room; meanwhile, -Patricia drove her car farther back into the yard. - -"Going to keep you here tonight, old fellow," said Ted, slapping Jack on -the back. "Nobody'll ever think of looking for you here; and we'll see -you safe on the train in the morning. No college people in this house, -and we have a back apartment. We'll keep the shades drawn as an extra -precaution. Right across the hall from this room is the door to the -attic. If anybody comes tonight to call, just beat it for the loft and -slip in behind the big dresser which is near the chimney." - -"But--" began Jack. - -"Pat will tell you all about it later; for Mother asked her to stay to -dinner. Wash a bit if you want to, and then go out to the living room. -I'll have to show up at the meeting for a while, I suppose, in case Jim -takes a notion to look for me. Don't want to arouse any suspicions." - -Still in somewhat of a daze, Jack made himself tidy and then went out to -the living room. Aunt Betsy was busy in the kitchen, and Patricia sat -alone by the bay window which overhung the side door by which they had -entered. The girl smiled a bit shyly as Jack came in and crossed the room -to her side. - -"Have I you to thank for my rescue?" he asked, taking her hands in both -of his. - -"Well, partly," she admitted. "But Ted helped a lot. He's always been my -stand-by in moments of difficulty. - -"When you didn't show up in Shakespeare class," she continued, as Jack -dropped down at the other end of the davenport, "I knew right away -something must have happened. You see," her head dropped a bit, "I heard -something this morning about the possibility of your being out of the -game; and, oh, it seemed only a joking reference, but I was too stupid, I -guess, to have attached enough importance to it. I _did_ wonder if I -should say anything to you about it, put you on your guard; and now, oh, -how I wish I had!" - -"Don't get all steamed up over it," urged Jack; "it came out all right." - -"But it _mightn't_ have. If I hadn't happened to go to the observatory -perhaps nobody would have seen your flag; and--and then, if you'd been -struck by that old bell, it would have been all my fault!" - -"Nonsense!" cried Jack, laying his arm gently around her shoulders. He -was distressed beyond measure by the girl's self-accusation. "I was lying -so flat that the bell probably would only have grazed me." - -Determinedly Pat pulled herself together and sat up very straight, -winking hard and fast to keep back the tears which, much to her -embarrassment, had welled up in her eyes. - -"After Shakespeare class," she continued, "I got away from the rest of -the girls--I always want to be alone if I have anything to work out in my -mind--and wandered about the most deserted parts of the campus trying to -decide what to do. I don't know all the ins and outs of college affairs -yet, and I was afraid of telling my suspicions to the wrong person. As I -passed the observatory, I remembered having left my fountain pen in the -lecture room; so I ran up to get it. Nobody was in there, and I sat down -by the window thinking that was a good place to be quiet. The sun shone -full on the side of the chapel, and it was no time at all before I caught -sight of the white flag waving in the breeze. - -"I nearly broke all records running down the stairs and along the path -toward the chapel. Not far from the building, I found your appeal for -help. I felt sure it _was_ your appeal. I tore off the cloth, so nobody -else would find it, and ran for Ted. I knew he was in the library. I -hadn't thought about the meeting; but Ted did, right away, and realized -what danger you were in. Ted grabbed up a couple of empty cartons that -stood in the hall, ready to be thrown out, dumped them and ourselves into -my car (which, fortunately, was standing in front of the library) and we -just rushed to your rescue. Luckily, all the students were swarming over -the front campus, waiting for the meeting; so no one, so far as we know, -saw us." - -"But how did you get the key?" inquired Jack, still somewhat in the dark -as to details. - -"Oh, Ted has a master key. He has to get into Forestry Hall at all sorts -of odd times. He was sure his key could be used on the belfry door, and -he was right. If it hadn't fitted, he would have had to let Jake in on -the rescue, but it was better not; the fewer people knew about it, the -safer we were." - -"I wonder how I can get hold of those tickets for you. I might -telephone--" - -"Oh, no! No!" protested Patricia. - -"What the deuce does he want you to do, Pat?" inquired Ted, strolling in -just in time to hear his cousin's vigorous refusal. - -"Why, I could go over to your room in the morning and get them," offered -Ted, when Patricia had excitedly explained the subject of their -discussion; "after the train goes, that is, for I'm not letting you out -of my sight before that." - -"Dinner's ready," announced Mrs. Carter, appearing in the dining room -doorway. - -"And we're ready for it, Auntie," replied Patricia, jumping up. - -"It's no end good of you all to take me in like this," began Jack, as -they seated themselves at the little round table. - -"For dear old Granard, I'll live and die!" carolled Ted. "Now tell us all -about the great abduction." - -Jack was in the middle of the story of his capture, when the telephone -rang sharply. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - AUNT BETSY TO THE RESCUE - - -Ted sprang to answer the call. - -"Yes. Ted. Yes, she is. Who is it, please? Just a minute." - -He turned, putting his hand over the transmitter: "Pat, Norman Young -wants to speak to you." - -"Good Heavens!" responded his cousin, getting up so suddenly that her -chair toppled over backwards and fell to the floor with a loud crash. - -"He'll think I'm throwing you to the phone," commented Ted with a grin. - -"Hush! You wanted to speak to me? What? He is? Why, how should I know?" - -Pat was nervously clenching and unclenching her left hand as she talked, -and frowning heavily. - -"Certainly not! He's probably out for the evening, and I don't see that -you or anybody else has a right to meddle with his things." - -"Don't burn up, Pat," advised her cousin. - -"Well, perhaps," she admitted grudgingly to the man at the other end of -the telephone. "Certainly. No, you may not; my cousin will take me home. -Goodbye." - -Patricia hung up the receiver with a bang, threw herself into the chair -which Jack had meanwhile righted, leaned her elbows on the table and -announced explosively: "If there's anybody in this college whom I -cordially dislike, it's Norman Young!" - -"Why, what did he have to say?" inquired Ted, calmly helping himself to -another piece of beefsteak. - -"He told me that Jack was missing, and wanted to know if I knew where he -was. The nerve of him! Somebody sent him to Jack's room, looking for -Jack, and our smart Norman found an envelope on the desk addressed to -me." - -"The tickets," interpolated Jack. - -"And he wanted to know," went on Patricia, "if he should bring it to me!" - -"Quite a meddler," said Ted. - -"After I put him in his place, he apologized; and then wanted to know if -he couldn't call for me and take me home when I was ready to go. How did -he know I was here, anyhow?" - -"That fellow smells a rat!" announced Ted. - -"I'm terribly afraid so," admitted Patricia. "Still I think I had better -go back to the dorm right after we finish dinner--" - -"Oh," began Jack in protest. - -"I really think it's wiser," said Patricia, looking at him with a worried -expression. - -The telephone rang sharply a second time. - -"Don't tell me it's that pest again!" cried Patricia, as Ted took off the -receiver. - -"Yes. Oh, hello, Anne. Well, spill it. You heard what? The deuce he did! -Of all the rot I ever--To be sure it will. Thanks a lot for telling me. -I'll see what can be done right away. Goodbye." - -"Well, what's happened now?" demanded Patricia. - -"No use in my trying to break the news gently. Anne says there is a rumor -around college tonight that Jack was offered a big bribe to stay out of -the Greystone game; that he took it, and has disappeared. Can you beat -that?" - -Patricia, speechless with distress, simply twisted her napkin into a mere -rope. - -"The curs! The contemptible curs!" exploded Jack. "I might have known -they'd get even with me some way!" - -"Don't tell me there's a foundation for that rumor!" cried Ted sharply. - -"There is," replied Jack shortly. "I didn't mean to tell this; but -listen." Rapidly, yet omitting no important detail, he related the story -of the afternoon previous to his imprisonment in the belfry. "And the -worst of it is, I haven't a single witness. They can say pretty nearly -what they choose, and go unchallenged." - -"Tut's responsible for the rumor, of course," decided Ted; "if we could -only corner him some way." - -"We will!" declared Patricia, with vehemence. - -"And make him eat crow!" concluded her cousin. - -"But how?" asked Jack, with a short laugh. "Tut's pretty hard-boiled, and -who--" - -"I shall," announced Mrs. Carter firmly, getting up from the table. - -"Aunt Betsy!" - -"Mother!" - -"Mrs. Carter!" - -"No use objecting. I'm going to find him right now, and I'll promise you -to be back with his scalp before the evening's over. I won't give any of -you away. He doesn't know me from Adam." - -"Eve, you mean, Mother," laughed her son. - -"And, now where will I be most likely to find him?" she asked, slipping -on her coat and perching a hat on the back of her head. - -Jack looked at the clock. "Probably in his room at No. 9 Craig Street. -It's on the second floor, a single, right opposite the stairs; but at -least let one of us take you as far as the house." - -"I won't. You stay quietly here until I come back, all of you." With a -slam of the door, she was gone. - -The three young people looked at one another in speechless astonishment. -Finally, Ted laughed. - -"I feel kind of sorry for old Tut, much as I dislike him. Mother will -have the truth out of him if she has to stand him on his head. He'll do -what she says, or she'll know why." - -The tension was broken, and they all laughed. - -When the table was cleared, Ted announced that he was going to do the -dishes. - -"We'll help," said Patricia. - -"No, you won't. You two sit in the living room and chatter." - -Patricia shrugged her shoulders, and led the way into the next room; -extinguished all but one of the lamps, turned on the gas log, and sat -down before the fire. Jack threw himself on the hearth rug and propped -his back against the big chair in which Patricia was sitting. - -"Will--will this do you much harm, do you suppose?" she asked, after a -moment's silence. - -"Hard to tell. Of course if I can't be cleared, it will mean my finish as -far as sports are concerned--that's all Tut thinks of, naturally. But, as -I told you once before, I think, there is a special reason why I must -make good here; and if my reputation comes into question, well--" - -Jack broke off abruptly, and frowned at the fire. In a moment he -continued: - -"I haven't told anyone else about this, but I'd like you to know; and I'm -sure it won't go any farther." - -"Of course not." - -"On the tenth of last August, I received a special delivery letter," -began Jack slowly, gazing steadily at the fire. - -Patricia leaned forward, breathless with surprise. - -"In that letter," continued the boy, "was a cashier's check for One -Thousand Dollars; and on a slip of paper, the words, 'For John Dunn, to -be spent on a year at Granard College.' We tried in every way to find out -where it came from, but when all of our efforts were fruitless we decided -that the only thing to do was to use the money as requested. So you see -why I feel under such heavy obligations to make good." - -"Jack," whispered Patricia, with a little excited catch in her throat. -"I've never told anybody, either--not even my aunt or cousin; but that's -exactly what happened to me." - -"You mean," cried the boy, twisting around to look up into her face, -"that you got money that same way--to come here?" - -Patricia nodded. - -"How very, very queer!" - -The strangeness of the situation silenced them completely for a time. -Then Jack murmured: "This should make us better friends than ever, -shouldn't it?" - -Patricia smiled, but she did not withdraw the hand that Jack imprisoned -in both of his. - -"Doesn't it seem sometimes as if you just _must_ find out who sent the -check?" asked Jack, a moment later. - -"Yes; and sometimes I feel really nervous over it, as if somebody whom I -couldn't see were watching me all the time, to make sure that I behaved -properly." - -The door flew open at that moment, and Aunt Betsy darted into the room -just as Ted came in from the kitchen. - -"Well," she exclaimed, sinking down in a big chair and throwing off her -coat, "I've settled _his_ hash! He's going around now contradicting the -rumor he started, and he'll never bother _you_ again." - -"Hurrah for you, Mother!" cried Ted. "But tell us the whole story. How -did you ever--" - -"I knew that young man's father; used to go to school with him. Got him -out of an awful scrape once, and he promised he'd do anything I asked him -to pay up for it. Never had any occasion to before. Told the young fellow -about his dad's promise (though of course not the reason for it) and said -I was now about to ask him to redeem it. I said I knew what a -contemptible thing he was up to, and that I stood ready right now to -telephone the whole affair to his dad. Then I just lit into him, told him -what a cad and a coward he is. Told him I'd start a public investigation -and testify against him. Like all conceited blowbags, he collapsed when -under fire; asked what I wanted him to do, begged me not to tell his -father; for he'd take him out of college and put him to work in the -store. Made him tell me just where and to whom he'd told that abominable -lie, and told him I'd go with him while he corrected it. 'You can call it -a joke,' I said, 'if you must save your face.'" - -Aunt Betsy laughed contemptuously. - -"The boy fairly groveled, and swore he'd go; that it wouldn't be -necessary for me to accompany him. I waited while he put on his coat, and -started out with him. Watched him go to two places, and on his way to the -third before I left him." - -"Mrs. Carter," began Jack, "I don't know how to thank you." - -"Don't try. I hate to be thanked." - -"Aunt Betsy, you're just wonderful!" cried Patricia gleefully, while Ted -shook his mother's hand violently. - -Conversation for the rest of the evening was general, concerned -principally with the prospects of Granard in the morrow's game. Patricia -apparently forgot her resolution to leave right after dinner, for it was -half past nine when she drove back to the dorm alone, having decidedly -refused Ted's offer to go with her. - -"I'd feel lots better if you stayed home and kept guard," she whispered -to him as he protestingly let her out. "I'll be all right." - -She did not know that Norman Young had inspected the interior of the car -as it stood in the back yard; nor that, hidden behind a pillar on the -porch next to the apartment house, he had watched her come out alone and -start for Arnold Hall. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - ON DUTY - - -"Oh, come on, Pats!" urged Betty, impatiently. - -"It's heaps of fun to hear the tryouts," added Anne; "more than seeing -the plays themselves, sometimes." - -The football season was over. The Greystone game had resulted in a close -victory for Granard, in a hard-fought battle. Jack had covered himself -with glory and made the final score for his college in the last few -minutes of play. Tut had come down with a heavy cold--so it was said--and -had gone home for the Thanksgiving recess a few days early; so he was -absent not only from the line-up, but also from the game. All rumors -regarding Jack had died a natural death, and now were nearly forgotten; -so rapidly does one event follow another, and a fresh excitement take the -place of its predecessor, in college life. The present and the future are -the only tenses the college student knows anything about. - -Dramatics now held the center of the stage. - -The Alley Gang was standing on the corner of Wentworth Street and College -Avenue after leaving Horton Hall, and were discussing a coming production -of the dramatic club. - -"And we'll all go to 'Vans' afterward and get something decent to eat," -proposed Frances enthusiastically. "That dinner we just had was fierce!" - -"_Dinner_, did you say?" inquired Hazel scornfully. - -"Why won't you go, Pat?" asked Jane, clasping Patricia's arm -affectionately. - -"Because my theme for English III is due tomorrow, and--" - -"But not until afternoon," objected Hazel. "You'll have plenty of time -to--" - -"That's just what I won't have," contradicted Patricia. "French test and -History review both in the morning; and with Yates' lab period early in -the afternoon. I don't know when you people do all your work, I'm sure." - -"We don't do it," laughed Mary, shifting rapidly from one foot to the -other to keep warm; for the night was cold. - -"Well, let's go somewhere," grumbled Lucile, sinking her head deeper into -her big fur collar, "before we all freeze." - -Patricia bit her tongue to keep back an angry response to Lucile's -unpleasant tones. She and Lucile had never hit it off very well, and she -had wondered more than once how the other girls managed so nonchalantly -to put up with Lu's uncertain moods. Clarice, the "black sheep," was -noisy and indiscreet, but at least she was accommodating and -good-natured. - -"You'll be all alone in the alley, except for Clarice," warned Anne. -"It's her night on the Black Book." - -"I can work in peace and quiet, then," replied Patricia; "with all of you -'hyenas' out of the way." - -Dodging a threatened blow from Katharine's sturdy arm, Patricia ran -quickly down Wentworth Street, while the rest of the crowd started for -the auditorium. It was hard to leave the girls and go back alone to work -in the lonely dormitory; only a strong sense of obligation to her unknown -benefactor saved Patricia from giving in to the pleas of her pals and let -the theme slide. When she entered the hall she was surprised to find -Rhoda still on duty. - -"Why, where's Clarice?" she asked. - -"She hasn't come in yet," replied the maid, looking up from some fancy -work she was doing. - -"You'll be awfully late for your dinner, Rhoda. You'd better go. I'll -stay here until Clarice comes." - -"That's very kind of you," responded the girl gratefully, beginning to -fold up the long scarf and lay aside her silks. "The chef is always so -put out when the help come in late." - -"I suppose he wants to get his work finished, and go somewhere; we all -do. It is only stern necessity for work on an essay that brought me back -here tonight. The others have all gone to the tryouts." - -Patricia slipped into the chair which Rhoda vacated, and watched the maid -put on her hat and coat, thinking how little, after all, they really knew -about her in spite of their association with her, day after day. - -"Good night, and thank you," said the girl softly, as she opened the -door. - -"Good night, and you're welcome," laughed Patricia. - -A couple of minutes later, the telephone rang. - -"Yes?" answered Patricia. - -"Rhoda?" demanded a thin, sharp voice. - -"No; she has just gone. Is there any message?" - -"There is not," was the curt response, as the woman at the other end of -the line hung up noisily. - -"Now where in the name of fortune have I heard that voice before?" mused -Patricia aloud. "Those thin high tones sound oddly familiar. I know! It -was Mrs. Brock! But why should she telephone Rhoda?" - -Patricia was still puzzling over the question when the door opened to -admit Clarice in a dull rose dinner gown and a black fur jacket, followed -by Mrs. Vincent, closely wrapped in a long, grey coat, her face drawn -with pain. - -"Clarice," the chaperon was saying, as they paused to close the door, -"tell Ivan when he comes that I'm sorry to break my engagement with him, -but that I'm ill and have gone to bed." - -She hurried to her room, without even a glance at Patricia. - -"How gay you are tonight," observed Patricia, eyeing the rose-colored -gown admiringly as the girl came over to the table. - -"Isn't the dress darling?" inquired Clarice, opening her jacket to -display more fully the charms beneath it. "My father just sent it to me. -You see," perching on the corner of the table, and swinging her feet, -"he's just crazy for me to make good here, and graduate; and so long as I -manage to stick, he'll send me pretties every once in a while. On the -other hand, if I'm flunked out," with a careless laugh, "he threatens to -send me off into the country to live with some old maid cousin whom I've -never seen." - -While Patricia was searching for a suitable reply to this unusual -confidence, the doorbell rang, and Clarice flew to answer it. A short, -dark youth with bold black eyes, which were everywhere at once, stepped -familiarly in as soon as the door was opened. - -"Oh, Mr. Zahn," said Clarice, without preamble, "Mrs. Vincent is sorry; -but she has a bad tooth, and has gone to bed. So _she_ won't be able to -go out with you." - -There was the faintest accent on the word _she_, as Clarice smiled -mischievously upon the young man. Without a moment's hesitation, he -caught the suggestion and replied suavely: - -"Then perhaps you would take her place?" - -"Oh, I've got to work tonight," laughed Clarice, "unless--" turning to -glance inquiringly at Patricia, "are you going to be here all the -evening?" - -"Yes," was the brief reply, as Patricia turned over the pages of a -magazine, trying not to listen in on the conversation going on near the -door. - -"Then you wouldn't mind taking my place, would you?" begged Clarice, -clattering noisily across the polished floor on her high-heeled rose -slippers to lean on the table and smile coaxingly at Patricia. "I'll do -the same for you some time." - -"All right," replied Patricia, without enthusiasm, for she did not at all -approve of Clarice's going off with Mrs. Vincent's friend; yet did not -feel at liberty to try to dissuade the girl. - -"Thanks, darling!" was Clarice's grateful response. A hasty kiss on the -tip of Patricia's nose, a dash across the hall, the opening and closing -of a door, and they were gone. - -"I hope to goodness Mrs. Vincent doesn't come out and ask for Clarice! I -don't know what I'd ever tell her," said Patricia to herself, as she -settled down to work. - -An hour later when she went to her room for a note book, she paused to -look out of the window at the big snowflakes which were floating lazily -down from a partly clouded sky. To her intense surprise, she saw a man -slinking along the path beside the dormitory, glancing up at its windows -as he passed. A grey hat was pulled so far down on his head that she -could not get a good look at his face; but his size, clothing, and -general make-up led her to believe it was Norman Young. Since she had not -turned on her light, it was safe to watch the man until he crossed the -back yard and disappeared among the trees on Mrs. Brock's lawn. That -practically settled his identity. - -Catching up the note book from her desk, she hurried back to the hall. -What was Norman doing out there? Why did he look up at all the windows? -Was there any connection between his actions and the mysterious telephone -call earlier in the evening? No satisfactory answers presented -themselves; so Patricia tried to force the troublesome problem out of her -mind by settling to work in real earnest on the essay. - -Half an hour later the sound of a door knob turning made her jump so -violently that she knocked a big reference book onto the floor. Mrs. -Vincent had opened her door and was crossing the hall. - -"Now I'm in for it," thought Patricia, stooping to pick up the heavy -volume; but the chaperon seemed oblivious to the change of girls at the -Black Book. - -"My tooth is so bad," murmured Mrs. Vincent, pressing her hand to her -right cheek, "that I'm going over to my cousin's,--he's a dentist,--to -see what he can do for it. I'll be back as soon as I can." Without -waiting for a reply, she hurried out. - -"Well," thought Patricia, "now I certainly _am_ alone here. The girls on -the third floor are all up at Fine Arts making scenery for the play; and -those from the second are ushering at the concert--all except Tiny." - -A little black-haired girl, whose size and delicate features suggested -nothing so much as a lovely doll, had promptly been nicknamed by the -girls of Arnold Hall. Nobody ever thought of calling her by her right -name, Evelyn Stone. - -"Seems to me I heard someone say she was ill. If I get this finished in -time, I'll run up and see her. No, I can't either. I'll have to stay with -the Book and the telephone," thought Patricia, writing rapidly. - -Presently she stopped, sat up straight, and sniffed. - -"I smell smoke!" she said aloud, getting up from the table and walking -down the hall. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - A FIRE - - -Patricia thrust her head into each room on her way down the corridor, but -no trace of fire did she find until she reached the very end. There, in -the room occupied by Frances and Katharine, flames were flickering around -the window frames, apparently coming from outside. Quickly closing the -door again to prevent a draft, she dashed to the telephone and called the -Fire Department. Then she ran into her own room to look out of the window -and see how much space the fire covered. The side of the house below -Frances' window was ablaze, and tongues of flame were creeping steadily -up the frame building. - -"Tiny's room is directly over Frances'!" was the thought which flashed -through Patricia's brain. - -Darting back into the hall and up the stairs, two steps at a time, -Patricia burst into Evelyn's room crying: - -"Get up quickly!" She pulled the covers off of the astonished little -girl. "There's a fire." - -"I can't get up; I'm too weak!" whimpered Evelyn. - -"You've got to!" replied Patricia, snatching up a heavy bathrobe, pulling -the girl up from her pillows, and forcing her arms into the sleeves. "Now -come--_quick_." - -Still Evelyn hesitated; so Patricia literally dragged her out of bed, -and, grasping her firmly from behind, pushed the reluctant girl out to -the stairs. There, overcome by fright and weakness, Evelyn sat down on -the top step. Without wasting any more words, Patricia grabbed her by the -ankles, pulled her all the way down the long, straight flight of stairs, -and landed her on the rug at the foot of them just as the fire apparatus -clattered up to the house. Clutching Evelyn under the arms, Patricia -dragged her into the parlor, rolled her onto some cushions before the -fireplace, threw a rug over her, and ran out to consult with the Fire -Chief who was already in the hall. - -"Shall we have to get out?" inquired Patricia, somewhat breathlessly. - -"Hardly think so. Seems to be confined to back corner. Keep all doors -closed," was the man's curt reply, as he directed his assistants who were -bringing in extinguishers and hose. - -Immediately a huge crowd assembled and some policemen were trying to keep -the excited people far enough away from the house; even the students who -lived in the Hall were not allowed to enter it. Watching from the front -windows of the parlor, Patricia could see the Alley Gang on the edge of -one group; Jane, calm as usual; Frances crying and holding onto -Katharine; Hazel gesticulating wildly as she talked to Anne; and the -others dodging this way and that, trying to get closer to the house. Just -as Mrs. Vincent worked her way through the crowd to speak to one of the -firemen, she came face to face with Clarice and Ivan who had edged -through from the opposite side of the street. Patricia held her breath -for an instant, but after receiving the fireman's reply Mrs. Vincent -seemed to be chatting quite naturally with the couple. Probably she did -not realize that they had been out together. - -A grey coat and hat in the background caught Patricia's eye, and as a -sudden movement of their owner brought him fully into the light of a -street lamp, she recognized Norman Young. Like lightning her mind raced -from the skulking figure beside the dormitory earlier in the evening, to -the subsequent outbreak of fire. Surely there could be no connection. No -doubt an investigation of the fire would surely follow, to which, in all -probability, she would be summoned. What should she say? "I should hate -to tell a mere suspicion. I'm not really certain," she stated to herself. -"I wish I knew what to do about it." - -Evelyn, who had lain shivering and weeping just where Patricia had left -her, now raised up and inquired plaintively: "Do you suppose my room will -be burned? I just bought all my spring clothes; and if they're lost--I--" - -"I'm quite sure they must be getting the fire under control; otherwise, -they would have ordered us out," replied Patricia calmly. "I hardly think -the flames reached your room at all." - -"Thank goodness!" sighed Evelyn, collapsing again onto her pillows. - -Not a word of gratitude to the girl who had rescued her. People are -awfully queer, thought Patricia, gazing wonderingly at Tiny. Imagine, -thinking of her new clothes when she, herself, might have been trapped up -there, alone and sick! Turning again to the window, she was amused to see -her Aunt Betsy dash determinedly through the crowd only to be stopped by -a policeman. Patricia could imagine the things she was saying to the man -who dared block her way. Nearby stood Ted and John, scanning the crowd -anxiously. She wished she could in some way attract their attention so -they might know she was safe. Presently the crowd shifted a little, -bringing the two boys more directly in her range of vision. Ted's -restless eyes soon spied her; he said something to John, and they both -made grotesque gestures, which she interpreted as offers of rescue. Gaily -she shook her head, thereby causing Ted to shed imaginary tears into his -handkerchief, while Jack patted him on the back. - -Half an hour later sounded the welcome two gongs which indicated that the -fire was out. Then the crowd made a dash for the front steps; but a -couple of officers, with whom the Dean had been quietly conferring, took -their stand on the bottom step and refused admittance to all but Arnold -Hall students. Slowly the townspeople strolled away, while the excited -girls hurried in to see how much damage had been done. - -"Oh, Pat!" cried Anne, flinging both arms around her. "We were so worried -about you!" - -"Until we caught sight of you at the window, we were absolutely frantic," -added Jane. - -A loud burst of laughter from Clarice, who had just entered with Betty -and Hazel, made them all turn to see what had occasioned it. - -"Just look at Tiny!" cried Clarice. "How did you get down here?" - -"Patricia dragged me down!" retorted Evelyn in injured tones. "She burst -into my room, scared the life out of me, and literally pulled me down the -stairs--" - -"Pat to the rescue!" interrupted Hazel admiringly. - -"Our Pat's a heroine!" cried Anne, while the rest of the Gang pressed -closer. - -"Who sent in the alarm?" inquired Mrs. Vincent. - -"I did," acknowledged Patricia modestly. "I smelled smoke and discovered -the cause of it in Katharine's and Frances' room--" - -"She's a double heroine!" exulted Jane. - -"Have you any idea what started it?" continued Mrs. Vincent sharply. - -"I told you all I _know_ about it," replied Patricia, with a faint accent -on the word _know_, which was lost on the troubled chaperon. "I was on -the Black Book all the evening, except once when I went to my room for a -book and when I was looking for the fire--" - -"And when you were dragging me around," added Tiny, provoking a burst of -laughter. - -"At the Black Book?" repeated Mrs. Vincent. "It wasn't your turn. You had -it night before last. Who _was_ supposed to be on it?" looking accusingly -around the room. - -"I was," admitted Clarice; "but I had a date, so Pat relieved me." - -"You're altogether too fond of getting out of some of your obligations," -said Mrs. Vincent severely, while the girls stared in astonishment at her -rebuking thus publicly the favored Clarice. - -"Pat didn't mind," murmured Clarice. - -"That doesn't matter. Hereafter, if you wish to relieve one another, -you'll have to get my permission. I want that clearly understood." - -"Nice time we'll have finding her sometimes, to get permission," murmured -Hazel to Betty. - -"Must be dreadfully upset, or she'd never lay Clarice out like that," was -Anne's comment to Patricia. - -"There will be an investigation made," continued Mrs. Vincent. "Dean -Walters is very much disturbed. Morton College has recently had a regular -epidemic of fires of late, all apparently incendiary; and she--" - -"Mrs. Vincent," interrupted Mary, "Norman Young is at the front door and -wants to see you." - -The chaperon hurried out, and, quite shamelessly, the girls kept quiet -enough to hear what was said in the hall. - -"Mrs. Brock sent me over to inquire how much damage had been done, and -especially if anyone was injured," said Norman. "If necessary, she would -accommodate three or four of the girls tonight." - -"Tell Mrs. Brock that I am very grateful for her offer," replied Mrs. -Vincent, "but no one was harmed; and since the damage was confined -principally to one room, we shall be able to manage quite nicely without -sending anyone out." - -"Ah--" exclaimed Hazel, disappointedly. - -"What are you ah-ing for?" demanded Katharine. "We'd be the ones to go." - -"Did you lose much of your stuff?" asked Patricia, putting her arm around -Frances, whose face still showed traces of tears. - -"I don't know yet." - -"Now, girls," ordered Mrs. Vincent, coming briskly back to the parlor, -"let's get to bed. Some of you help Evelyn upstairs, and I'll get bedding -to put on the davenport. Katharine and Frances will have to sleep here -until we can get cleared up a little." - -It was a long time before silence settled down in the Hall. Even after -the lights were out, and she and Betty had stopped talking, Patricia lay -in her bed as wide awake as if it were noon. What was she going to say at -the investigation? Suppose Norman Young _was_ the man she had seen, what -possible object could he have had in setting fire to the Hall? It was -certainly bold of him, in that case, to come and inquire so coolly about -the damages. Yet it didn't seem as if a perfectly respectable secretary, -however much one might be inclined to dislike him, _could_ be a fire bug. - -After another hour of restless tossing, she decided to tell the whole -truth if questioned closely. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - AN INVESTIGATION - - -The official bulletin board was located near the head of the stairs which -led down to the dining room in Horton Hall. Space in front of it was at a -premium after meals; for everybody was anxious to keep in touch with -campus news. On the day following the fire, an even larger group of -students than usual crowded into the shallow ell where the board hung. - -"Look, Pat!" cried Anne, pointing to the top notice. "The following -students are requested to meet the Dean in her office at two o'clock: - - Patricia Randall - Frances Quinne - Katharine Weldon" - -Patricia read the notice slowly. Although she knew an investigation would -surely be made, nevertheless her heart sank to her very shoes when she -saw her fears realized quite so soon. Turning away abruptly, she pushed -out of the crowd and started for the door. - -"What's the matter?" demanded Anne, who followed and caught up with her -on the street. - -"Nothing," replied Patricia quickly; "or--that investigation." - -"But why get all 'het up' over that? Simply tell what you know." - -"But that's just it; I _don't_ know." - -"Know what?" questioned Anne, linking her arm through that of her friend, -and pressing close to her side. "Tell me all about it; you'll feel -better." - -"I'm not sure that I should," began Patricia doubtfully. - -"Oh, shucks! What's a friend for? I'll guess then. You know more about -the fire than you told Dolly?" hazarded Anne, watching Patricia intently. -"You don't need to admit it; I can tell just by looking at you. We'll -walk over to the park so no one will interrupt us, and then you can -unburden your mind. I'll bet you didn't sleep a wink last night. You look -like nobody's business." - -Up and down the deserted paths of the little park they paced briskly, for -the wind was cold, while Patricia told her story. - -"If I were you," said Anne, when Patricia had finished, "I wouldn't -advance any information; just answer the Dean's questions. If she doesn't -ask you whether you had any suspicions who the man was, you'll be all -right. In any case, don't worry about it." - -In spite of the comfort derived from confiding in Anne, the morning -seemed endless to Patricia, who alternately longed for and dreaded the -arrival of two o'clock. Promptly on the stroke of the hour, the three -girls from Arnold Hall were admitted to Dean Walters' sunny, spacious -office. Hardly were they seated in the chairs given them by Miss Jolly, -the Dean's secretary, when Mrs. Vincent walked in. - -"The Dean will be in in a few minutes," murmured Miss Jolly, placing -another chair for the latest arrival. As she spoke, the door to an inner -room opened, and a dignified, grey-haired woman crossed the room briskly -to seat herself behind a large flat-topped desk, facing her callers. - -"It is most distasteful to me," began the Dean without preamble, "to be -obliged to question you regarding last night's catastrophe. Arson is a -serious matter, and you will do much harm if you try to shield anyone, or -by withholding any detail which might help discover the culprit. So I ask -that you be perfectly frank with me, and regard what is said in here as -strictly confidential. Mrs. Vincent, I'll hear first whatever you can -tell me." - -Nervously the chaperon of Arnold Hall told the events of her evening, -passing rapidly over the fact that she had left Patricia practically -alone in the house, and dwelling at some length on her own indisposition. -The Dean's face betrayed no indication of her thoughts, nor did she make -any comment when Mrs. Vincent had finished her story. - -Little chills began to run up and down Patricia's spine as she awaited -her turn next; but Dean Walters turned slightly in her chair in order to -face Frances more directly, and began to question her rapidly as to her -whereabouts the previous evening; in what condition she had left her -room; whether she or Katharine ever smoked there; if her or her room -mate's clothing and belongings were insured, and so on. Patricia shivered -still more as she realized that the Dean intended to question them rather -than to listen to their stories. Frances was so frightened that she -stumbled and stuttered through her replies, and finally burst into -nervous tears. - -"There is no reason for you to be so disturbed, Miss Quinne," said the -Dean calmly; "I do not accuse or suspect any one of you; but I must -obtain all the information I possibly can, not only in order to apprehend -the culprit, if possible, but to satisfy the insurance inspectors. Miss -Weldon, can you add anything to the facts your room mate has just given -me?" - -"No, Dean Walters," replied Katharine promptly, "except that early in the -evening as we were dressing for dinner, our lights kept jumping, going -out and then coming on again, you know." - -"Did you try the bulbs to see if they were screwed in tight?" - -"No, we didn't, because it was late and we were in a great hurry." - -"Have the lights ever acted that way before?" inquired the Dean -thoughtfully, resting her chin in her hand, and fixing her keen blue eyes -on the girl's face. - -"A couple of times within the last week." - -"Why did you not report them?" The question came a bit sharply. - -"Just carelessness, I suppose," admitted Katharine frankly. "We never -bother about things until they are entirely out of commission. You see -we're always just getting back from somewhere, or going out to something; -so we really don't have much time." Katharine grinned in a friendly -manner at the stern woman behind the desk; nothing could disturb or -subdue Katharine. Dean Walters made a few notes on a small pad, then -turned to Patricia. - -"Tell me exactly where you were last night, and every detail of your -evening." - -Slowly and coherently Patricia furnished the desired information, and -then paused, hoping with all her heart that she would not be questioned -further. False hope. - -"You say you were in your room for a short time before the fire broke -out. Did you notice anything out of the ordinary then?" - -Patricia flushed up to the roots of her hair, opened her lips, and then -closed them again. - -"I see that you did," commented the Dean quickly. "Let me have all the -facts, please." - -Reluctantly Patricia told about the man she had seen, and his odd -actions. - -"Describe him," ordered Dean Walters, making notes rapidly. - -"I--I didn't see his face," began Patricia. - -"Do as well as you can, then, with his general appearance, clothing, -etc." - -As Patricia proceeded, hesitatingly, with the description, Frances gave a -little gasp which, though immediately suppressed, did not escape the -quick ear of the attentive woman. - -"Had you then, or have you now, any ideas as to the identity of that -man?" inquired the Dean. - -"I'd--really--rather not say," faltered the girl. - -"Neither the information nor your part in it will be made public. I am -waiting, Miss Randall," as poor Patricia still hesitated. - -"He looked to me like Mr. Young, Mrs. Brock's secretary; but it doesn't -seem possible for him to be mixed up in such an affair." - -A dead silence followed; then Dean Walters picked up her telephone. -"Assistant Registrar, please," she requested curtly, tapping nervously -with her pencil as she waited for the connection. "Mr. Billings? This is -Dean Walters. Please get in touch with Norman Young at once and send him -to my office." - -No one spoke or moved as all tensely awaited the arrival of the new -participant in the inquiry. In ten minutes Miss Jolly admitted the blond -youth, clad in his customary grey clothes, and carrying a soft grey hat. - -"Sit down, Mr. Young," directed the Dean, indicating a chair. "We are -trying to get some information regarding last night's fire at Arnold -Hall; and I wondered, since you live so near to it, if you could add -anything to the facts I already have. I understand you sometimes cut -through the yard to get to Mrs. Brock's house. Did you happen to do so -last evening?" - -"Yes, I did," replied the boy frankly, "about half past eight, or maybe -nine o'clock." - -Patricia trembled. So it _had_ been he. Quietly she wrapped her coat more -closely about her so no one would notice that she was shaking violently. - -"Where were you going?" inquired the Dean. - -"Home, to work on my assignments for today," answered Norman, letting his -glance travel along the row of girls at his left. No one of them, -however, met his eyes. - -"Did you notice anything unusual about the dormitory?" - -"Only that it was dark." - -"How did you happen to notice that?" - -"The path which is always well lighted from the windows on that side was -so dark that I involuntarily looked up to see what was the matter," -responded the youth glibly, gazing directly, and Patricia thought -somewhat defiantly, into the Dean's eyes. - -"Were you out again that night?" - -"Yes, Dean; I went over on an errand--for Mrs. Brock." - -"Through the dormitory yard?" - -"Yes." - -"And when did you return?" - -"I don't really know the exact time, but it was after the Fire Department -had reached the Hall; I could not get through the crowd to go home." - -"How, then, did Mrs. Brock get in touch with you to deliver her message -to Mrs. Vincent?" - -"After watching the firemen for a while, I went around the block and -entered Mrs. Brock's house just in time to prevent her going over to the -Hall herself." - -"Why didn't you want her to go?" demanded Dean Walters sharply. - -"Well, she is an old lady, and it was a cold night for her to be out, and -late for her to be out alone." - -"What was your 'errand' for Mrs. Brock, and where did it take you?" - -"That I am not at liberty to disclose; it is my employer's business," was -the decided response. - -Dean Walters opened her lips to speak, then abruptly closed them again. A -moment's silence followed; then, turning toward Mrs. Vincent and the -girls, she said curtly: "You may go. Your testimony was quite -satisfactory. Mr. Young will remain." - -Single file, like Indians, the four women left the office, descended a -short flight of stairs, passed through a doorway at the foot, and were -out upon the street. Then everybody drew a long breath of the frosty air -and began to speak. - -"Wasn't it terrible?" demanded Frances. "I acted like a fool." - -"Oh, forget it!" advised Katharine. "You were nervous; we all were." - -"Not you," contradicted Patricia. "I envy you your poise upon all -occasions." - -"What do you suppose the Dean will do about Norman Young, Mrs. Vincent?" -asked Frances. - -"I imagine she may get in touch with Mrs. Brock," replied the chaperon -somewhat irritably; for she felt she had not made the best of impressions -upon the Dean. It was advisable for her to have that lady's goodwill; for -the appointments as chaperon in the various dormitories were made yearly, -and Mrs. Vincent had reasons of her own for wishing to remain at Arnold -Hall at least two years longer. - -Several days passed, and the girls still gossiped among themselves about -the investigation; for the officials were strangely silent upon the -subject. No statement had been made public, and the students were -consumed with curiosity. - -"Mrs. Vincent," said Katharine one night when the chaperon came to her -room to borrow a hat, "what did the Dean find out about the fire? We're -dying to know." - -"I believe that upon the advice of Mrs. Brock, the whole affair has been -dropped," answered Mrs. Vincent, trying on Katharine's hat before the -mirror, her mind more upon what she was doing than upon what she was -saying. - -"What on earth--" began Katharine. - -"I don't know any more," interrupted the chaperon quickly. "I'm not sure -I should have told you that much. Don't quote me, please." - -"I won't," promised Katharine good-naturedly, "but may I tell the girls -without saying where I got the information? They're all wondering." - -"Perhaps it would be well to do so; then maybe they'll drop the subject." - -A couple of weeks later, the Dean announced in chapel one day that -defective wiring had evidently caused the fire in Arnold Hall, and asked -the girls in all dormitories to be very careful in their use of -electrical appliances. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - UNDER ARREST - - -Spring came early that year, and the hills around Granard were a lovely -haze of pale green. The woods were filled with delicate wild flowers, and -streams which would be mere threads later in the season, now swollen by -rapid thaws, were tumbling riotously along their rocky beds. Birds were -darting madly back and forth across the landscape, seeking mates and -places for cozy nests. - -"Pat," suggested Jack, on one of the warm, bright days, "the spring has -gotten into my blood. Let's cut Shakespeare this afternoon, and go for a -hike in the woods." - -"Jack, you shouldn't tempt me like that!" she cried reprovingly, stopping -beside the bench where they had had their first talk. "I wonder if he'll -say anything important in class." - -The boy laughed at her sudden change of tone and attitude. "I don't -believe so. He'll talk on the last act. We know that pretty well, don't -we?" grinning mischievously down into the girl's brown eyes. - -"We'll take a chance anyhow! When shall we start?" - -"Right now. Shall you be warm enough in that thing?" - -"'That thing!' I'd have you know this is a perfectly good leather jacket -which my father gave me for Christmas." - -"My error! It's good looking, anyhow." - -"You can't fix it up now." - -Laughing and joking, as gay as the spring all around them, they swung -briskly along the state road until they reached Tretton Woods; then they -plunged in among the feathered trees. - -"Oh!" cried Patricia. "Arbutus! The darlings!" Sinking down upon a bed of -last year's leaves, she tenderly plucked a couple of sprays. "It always -seems a pity to tear up a whole lot of it," she observed, handing one -piece to Jack, and fastening the other in her own buttonhole. - -A little deeper in the woods they came upon a merry little stream. - -"Look, Pat," exulted Jack, "at that brook. Let's make a dam--" - -"And a lake?" concluded Patricia, eagerly. - -Like two children they worked happily until a wide pond spread out in a -fern bordered hollow. - -"Isn't that lovely?" rejoiced Patricia, gazing proudly at the result of -their labor. - -"It sure is! Gosh, Pat, look!" holding out his watch. - -"Half past five? It _can't_ be. How I wish now I'd brought the car." - -"No, you don't, young lady!" contradicted Jack masterfully. "A hike's -made on two feet, not on four wheels." - -"We'll be late for dinner--" - -"Never mind. I'll take you somewhere to eat." - -"Like this?" looking down at her soiled hands and muddy skirt. - -"Sure." - -On the way out of the woods, Patricia's attention was caught by a cluster -of cup-like white flowers. "Aren't those pretty, Jack? Let's take them -home as a souvenir. We've lost our arbutus." - -Both stooped to gather a handful as quickly as possible. - -"Oh, the nasty things!" cried Patricia. "Their stems are just full of red -juice." - -"Looks for all the world like blood," commented the boy, dropping his -flowers into the stream, which quickly whirled them away, and wiping his -hands on his handkerchief. Patricia followed his example. - -"It's awful stuff to get off," complained Patricia, still rubbing her -hands vigorously, as they stepped out upon the state road almost under -the wheels of a motorcycle. - -"Good Heavens, girl! Watch your step. That was a narrow shave." - -"I'll say it was. Why, it's coming back," added Patricia, as the car -wheeled about and approached them again. - -"They're troopers," breathed Jack, as the car stopped beside them. - -Two young men gazed searchingly at the two disheveled figures before -them. - -"What have you been doing?" demanded the man in the side car. - -"Gathering wild flowers in the woods," replied the girl promptly. - -"Then where are they?" asked the other trooper, fixing his eyes on the -red-stained handkerchiefs. - -"Some we lost, and some we threw away," said Jack. - -"Give me those handkerchiefs," ordered the red-haired trooper, hopping -nimbly out of the side car. - -In speechless astonishment the hikers handed the crumpled rags to the -man, who took them to the driver of the motorcycle, and both troopers -examined them carefully. - -"Blood, without a doubt," stated the auburn-haired man. "Guess we've made -our catch. They certainly answer to the description of Crack Mayne and -his pal, Angel. You're under arrest," he continued, turning toward the -couple. - -"What utter nonsense!" exploded Jack angrily, but Patricia laid her hand -on his arm. - -"We got those stains from flower stems," she stated calmly. - -"You'll have to show us." - -"We can't, now." - -"Why not?" - -"Because we picked them all, and when we found that our hands were -stained we threw the flowers away." - -"Oh, yeah? Where did you throw them?" asked the driver, getting off and -starting towards the woods. - -"They've gone down the stream," giggled Patricia, her sense of humor -unwisely getting the upper hand. - -In later days, when Jack wanted to tease her, he always said that -Patricia's giggle sealed their fate. - -"Quite clear they've been up to something," muttered the red-haired -trooper; "maybe a murder. You take 'em in, and I'll poke about in there -to see what I can find. Send Murphy out for me as soon as you get in." - -Patricia and Jack were hustled into the side car, and rushed off toward -town. Soon Jack took from his pocket a pencil and an envelope. - -"Better give middle names at the station," he scribbled rather illegibly, -due to the motion of the car. "Keep college out of it." - -Patricia nodded; then Jack tore the envelope into little pieces, which -the wind eagerly snatched from his hand and bore away. - -At the station, they registered as Peter Dunn and Alice Randall. The -stained handkerchiefs were laid aside for expert examination, and the -charges recorded. - -"Now may we go?" asked Jack, with elaborate innocence. - -"Why, sure," replied the sergeant sarcastically. "Just walk right out." - -"Hullo, Mac," drawled an exceedingly tall, solemn-looking youth, letting -the street door close with a bang. "What have you for me tonight?" - -"Only a couple of--" he began. - -The newcomer took one look at the pair; then announced without a trace of -surprise: "You're Jack Dunn, the football player." - -"Twin cousin," corrected Jack gravely. - -"Oh, yeah!" - -"Haven't you ever seen cousins who looked just alike?" inquired Jack, -raising his eyebrows in astonishment. "I have." - -"That may be, but I didn't see you on the field and off of it last fall -for nothing. What's the racket?" - -Before Jack could reply, the sergeant irritably gave the desired -information, the last of which was drowned by a bark of laughter from the -human bean pole. - -"This is rich! This is just too rich!" he chortled. "Brave troopers -arrest couple of college students for gathering bloodroot. Oh! Oh!" - -"So that's what it was!" exclaimed Patricia. "I should have known." - -"You're a reporter," said Jack accusingly. "For the love of Pete don't -put us in the paper. We--" - -"Now listen, Bozo," interrupted Craig Denton, "don't kid yourself that -nobody will know this story unless he reads it in the paper. One of your -own fellows stopped in at the office before I came over here to say that -a couple of college students had just been taken into the police station. -That's how I happened to breeze in so early, Mac." - -"What did he look like?" demanded Jack. - -"Big blond; jaw sticks out like this; little bits of eyes." - -"Tut!" breathed Patricia. - -"How the devil did he get hold of it?" exploded Jack. - -"Saw you brought in," replied Craig, as he held the door open for them. -"I'm taking these birds home, Mac," he called to the sergeant. "So you -see," he continued, as they were out on the street, "you'd better let us -present the story truthfully. It's the best way." - -"Of course," replied Jack, ruefully, "you have us at your mercy." - -"What did the troopers look like?" asked Craig. - -"I couldn't describe them," declared Jack emphatically. - -"Nor I," agreed Patricia. "We were too much upset to notice details." - -"I wonder," mused the newspaper man, glancing from one to the other -suspiciously; but both met his eyes with well simulated innocence. - -"We're going somewhere to eat," announced Jack; "better come along." - -"Yes, we surely owe you something for your kind rescue," laughed -Patricia. - -"There's an old saying about two being company," began Craig. - -"Nonsense! Come along!" cried Jack, who had taken a liking to the grave -youth with his keen sense of humor. "Where shall we go, Pat?" - -"Wherever we won't meet anybody we know. We're both sketches." - -"No wonder we were regarded as suspicious characters," agreed Jack. -"Guess we'd better go downtown. Where's a good place?" turning to the -reporter. "We usually eat up on the hill." - -"The Exeter, on Field Street, is good. Got stalls; you wouldn't be -conspicuous." - -"Exeter for us," decided Patricia; "and let's hurry. I'm starved." - -After a good dinner, accompanied by much joking and laughter, Jack -escorted Patricia up toward College Hill, while Craig hurried back to the -office of the _Granard Herald_, after promising to spare the principals -as much as possible in his story. - -"Little did we think this noon what we were in for," said Jack, as he was -about to leave Patricia at the entrance of Arnold Hall. "I'm sorry to -have gotten you into such a jam." - -"You!" protested the girl. "Why, it was all my fault. If I hadn't picked -those flowers--bloodroot's certainly the right name for them." - -"But if I hadn't urged you to cut--" - -"Oh, Jack, we had a good time; and, as for the unpleasant part, well, it -didn't last long. And it was an unusual experience." - -"But it's not over yet; all the publicity, and talk. Of course, I could -stand it; but--" - -"You think I couldn't!" finished Patricia with a flash of anger in eyes -and voice. "I always try to be a good sport." - -"You are; and I didn't mean--" faltered Jack, distressed. - -"Listen!" said Patricia, her anger gone in a minute as she saw that he -was really disturbed. "Everybody will laugh and joke about it for a -while, and then--pouf! It's all out, just like a candle. Nothing lasts -very long." - -"What about our benefactors' opinion of the affair?" - -"Under the circumstances, he or she ought to take a sane view of the -matter. We have done nothing of which we should be ashamed. Don't worry -about it." - -With these words Patricia ran up the steps, and Jack strolled to the Frat -House thinking what a sensible girl Patricia was, and what a good pal. - -A most amusing account of their escapade came out in the morning's paper, -and the college world rocked with merriment. Patricia and Jack were -bombarded with jokes, questions, congratulations, and cartoons. - -The next day Jack and Patricia met on the stairs leading to their -Shakespeare classroom. - -"I got a queer note," began Patricia. - -"So did I." - -"What did yours say?" asked Patricia eagerly. - -"'Keep out of police stations in the future.'" - -"So did mine; but, some way, it didn't seem cross." - -"How could you tell that?" - -"I don't know; but I just felt that whoever sent the note was smiling as -he wrote it." - -"You have a wonderful imagination, Pat," said Jack, grinning down at her. -"I only hope it's a reliable one." - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - A PICNIC - - -"Could I hire any of you ladies to swim for me next Tuesday?" inquired -Clarice, popping out of the back door and perching on the porch railing. - -It was Saturday morning. Patricia, Anne, Frances, Katharine, and Betty -had washed their hair, and were strung along the sunny top steps drying -it, preparatory to going to town for a wave. - -"None of us were keen enough about that swimming exam to be looking for -chances to try it twice," replied Katharine decidedly. - -"You ought not to mind it," drawled Anne sleepily; "you're a regular -mer--maid," her last word cut short by a huge yawn. - -"Look out, Anne," cried Frances, grabbing her by the shoulders, "you'll -be sound asleep in a minute and roll down the steps." - -"It's this strong sunlight," said Anne, leaning comfortably back against -Frances' knees, and closing her eyes. - -"What's the matter with you doing your own swimming?" asked Betty, -glancing up at Clarice through a tangle of brown hair. - -"Can't. Don't know enough about it," replied the girl nonchalantly, -swinging one foot. "I hate it." - -"Do you mean to say that you've been in gym class all this year, and -don't know yet how to swim?" inquired Katharine bluntly. - -"Guilty!" - -"I should think Professor Wilson would have killed you off long ago," -remarked Frances. "He's such an irritable creature." - -"Yes," agreed Clarice, "and also so near-sighted that he doesn't know -half the time who's in the pool and who's out of it. Haven't you noticed -how dependent he is on his class books?" - -"Then can't you take a chance on his being too near-sighted to see that -you can't swim?" asked Betty. - -"No such luck! All women may look alike to him, but not all strokes in -swimming." - -"How did you manage all term?" inquired Patricia, shaking her yellow mop -of hair vigorously. - -"Oh, he was always hollering at me." - -There were two divisions of the Sophomore Gymnasium class. Clarice was in -the second, while all the rest of the Alley Gang were in the first. To be -able to swim was absolutely necessary for promotion to the Junior class -at the end of the year, and the second week in May had been assigned for -the final tests. Professor Wilson, a critical, quick-tempered little man, -was an excellent teacher, but he did not like women and never bothered to -get acquainted with the individual members of his classes, which did not -at all add to his popularity. - -"When I can swim out of doors by myself, I think I shall like it," -commented Anne, "but not while Professor Wilson dances around the rim of -the pool snapping like a turtle." - -"That's the way I feel about it," agreed Patricia. "Why don't we go out -to Green Lake some Saturday and try our skill?" - -"Let's go next Saturday," proposed Katharine enthusiastically. "We'll go -in the morning, and have a roast." - -"Who?" asked Betty. - -"Us and the rest of the Gang. Everybody willing, hold up the left foot," -directed Katharine. - -A laughing scramble ensued during which Clarice nearly fell off the -railing. When they had settled back into their former positions, Patricia -suggested hesitatingly, "Let's take Rhoda. She's so very nice to all of -us." - -"Good idea," agreed Katharine promptly. - -"But who'd take her place?" questioned Betty doubtfully. "Could she get -off for the whole day?" - -"I think so. That day she was ill, Sue Mason subbed for her; and she -probably would again. Sue doesn't have many dates," said Frances. - -"I wish we could invite her, too, then," said Patricia slowly. "It must -be pretty lonely to be among so many girls, and not be in on their good -times." - -"I know, but you can't start asking people from upstairs," protested -Anne. "If you do, there'll be no stopping place." - -"What's the matter with Sue, anyhow?" asked Patricia. - -"Mostly her queer ways," replied Clarice quickly. "Last year she was -always rapping on people's doors and asking them to keep quiet so she -could study. Then she complained to the Dean every so often about how -long some of the girls kept her out of the bathroom. She also felt it her -duty to report the maid several times for being late in distributing the -clean linen. In short, Sue just disapproved of the way everything was -run, and got herself in most awfully wrong. She belongs in some boarding -house, not in a dorm." - -"How did she happen to come back here, since she found so much fault with -the place?" inquired Patricia. - -"Don't know. Maybe she found out that she liked it after all. Hasn't -opened her mouth this year, so the girls upstairs say; but she queered -herself for good and all last year," replied Clarice carelessly. "But to -return to my original question, can't I interest any of you in helping me -out?" - -"I don't know what we could do," began Anne. - -"Go into the pool for me when my name is called," answered Clarice -boldly. "There's a ten in it for anybody who will." - -"You're surely not in earnest," said Patricia, pushing back her hair to -look directly at the girl on the railing above her. Patricia was so -easily embarrassed for others, frequently an embarrassment in which the -"others" took no part. - -"Why shouldn't I be?" retorted Clarice. - -"Why, Clarice!" cried Frances reprovingly. - -"I can't help it if you _are_ shocked. If it were as necessary for any of -you to be graduated from this institution as it is for me, you'd go the -limit, too!" Clarice's tone was defiant, but as she slid off of the -railing and hurried into the house, Patricia who was still watching her -saw sudden tears fill the girl's hard, black eyes. - -Anne shrugged her shoulders as the back door banged. Frances raised her -eyebrows and looked troubled. Betty and Katharine nonchalantly continued -the business of hair drying. Patricia sighed--"I wish we could help her -out," she said thoughtfully. "I know a little of what graduation means--" - -"Then why doesn't she work?" demanded Betty sharply. - -No one was able to answer that question, so after a moment they began to -discuss plans for the picnic. In the meantime a girl who had been sitting -quietly at an open window above the back porch left her room and went in -search of Clarice. - - -By four o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, the swimming tests were over and -the gym was filled with chattering girls discussing the probabilities of -success and failure. - -"I won't draw a full breath until I see the list posted," declared -Frances, as she left the building with Anne and Patricia. - -"I imagine we all passed," observed Anne placidly. - -"Wish I knew how poor Clarice came out," said Patricia. "Yet I hate to -ask her right out." - -"Haven't heard her mention the subject since Saturday morning," said -Frances. "Have you?" - -Both girls shook their heads. - -"Maybe she took some time to practice, and managed to pull through," -suggested Anne. "Clarice can do almost anything _if_ she tries." - -"I truly hope so," said Patricia fervently. - -That evening the Alley Gang was in such a furore over arrangements for -the picnic that the test was not even mentioned. - -"Isn't the water going to be awfully cold so early in the season?" -objected Jane, when the question of "eats" had been satisfactorily -settled, and that of bathing was under discussion. - -"If the day is fairly warm, and we go in where it's sunny, I think it -will be all right," replied Katharine. - -"All right for an out-door girl like you," retorted Betty, with a shiver, -"but it doesn't sound altogether attractive to me." - -"Then stay out of it," advised Katharine sensibly. - -"Yes; anybody who doesn't want to go in can get busy around the fireplace -and have a big feed all ready for us. We'll be starved." - -"Never saw you when you weren't, France," called Clarice, who just then -appeared in the doorway of Jane's room where the girls had congregated. - -"Know anybody who runs up to the Varsity Shoppe any oftener than you do?" -retorted Frances quickly. - -"Don't quarrel, children," admonished Jane. "We can all do our share when -it comes to eating." - -"By the way," inquired Anne, "what did Rhoda say when you asked her? Will -she go?" - -"She wasn't quite sure," replied Patricia, "but will let us know on -Friday." - -"Say," interrupted Frances, leaning forward to look at Patricia, "does -anybody know why she goes over to Mrs. Brock's early in the morning?" - -Patricia glanced at Jane and Ruth before she replied with a laugh, "I'm -sure I don't." - -"How do you know she _does_ go?" demanded Lucile quickly. - -"Saw her, this very morning." - -"What were _you_ doing, awake before the bell rang?" inquired Anne. - -"My shade was flapping; and if there's anything I can't stand, it's a -flapping shade. I got up to fix it." - -"What time was it?" queried Ruth. - -"Five o'clock." - -"You dreamed it," jeered Lucile. - -"I did _not_!" - -"Maybe she was just coming home from a party," suggested Mary's mild -voice. - -"I saw her one morning, too," admitted Hazel. "I got up at five to study, -wrapped a blanket around me, and was curled up in a chair beside the -window cramming French verbs--" - -"Now I know that you were asleep, too," interrupted Lucile. - -"When I saw Rhoda," continued Hazel, throwing a pillow at Lucile, "she -was coming out of the back door of Big House. When she passed our window, -I said 'Hello!' and she jumped a foot." - -"What did she say?" asked Jane. - -"Nothing; she just glanced up, put her finger on her lips, and hurried -into the Hall. She is always so smiling and good-natured, but she didn't -look at all pleased to see me." - -"How did she get in without ringing the bell?" inquired Clarice eagerly. - -Everybody laughed. - -"That interests you most, doesn't it?" inquired Lucile sweetly. - -"She went around to the laundry door," explained Hazel. "I think she has -a key for it." - -"That's an idea!" cried Clarice. "Why can't we borrow that key some night -when we want to go out?" - -Four stone steps led down from the path on the east side of the dormitory -to a small door which opened directly into the laundry, located under -Frances' and Katharine's room. - -"And spend the rest of the night in the laundry?" exclaimed Hazel. "An -ironing board for a bed doesn't appeal to me." - -"Why not come up?" inquired Anne idly. - -"Because, darling, Dolly herself locks that door at the head of the -stairs on her eleven o'clock round every night," replied Ruth. - -"Then I don't see how Rhoda gets up," said Frances, frowning in -perplexity. - -"Oh, bother Rhoda!" cried Hazel impatiently. "Let's plan how we're all of -us and our luggage going to get out to Green Lake and back, when we've -only two cars available." - -"Pat and I can take the eats and a couple of girls to guard them, and -then come back for the rest of you," proposed Mary, who owned the only -other car in the Gang. - -"That's a good idea," approved Anne; and so the matter was settled. - - -Saturday proved to be one of those warm, sunny days which often usher in -an early summer. - -"See that haze on the hills?" said Katharine, as they were packing the -cars in the driveway. "That means heat. We'll be able to swim after all. -Isn't it fine that we all passed the test, even Clarice?" - -"Didn't look much like a picnic at this time yesterday," observed -Patricia with a shiver at the recollection. "Wasn't it a cold, dismal -day?" - -"It sure was! Who's going on this load?" inquired Anne, turning to the -girls who were bossing the job of loading. - -"Katharine and Frances will go with Pat," responded Jane, "and I'll keep -Mary company. Don't any of the rest of you wander off and have us hunting -all over for you when we come back. All aboard who's going aboard!" - -By eleven o'clock the whole Gang, including Rhoda, was swarming over the -picnic grounds situated on a wooded hill overlooking Green Lake, an -oblong body of very deep water. At one end, the lake was bordered by -flat, treeless meadows, and the low shore line provided a fairly good -sandy beach. At the other end, heavily wooded land sloped down to the -water on all sides, giving it a gloomy, deep green cast. A rough path -followed the irregular stretch of water on the east side, and wound on up -the hill into the woods where a depression between two steep slopes -formed a small picnic ground. The few tables, benches, and stone ovens -which occupied the space were unclaimed today; so the girls had their -choice. They decided on a table from which they could look through an -opening in the trees, directly down onto the still, green water. - -"Swim first," announced Katharine, after the food had been placed upon -one table, and the extra wraps upon another. - -"Will our things be safe here alone?" inquired Betty doubtfully, when -they were ready to go down to the lower end of the lake. - -"I'll stay with it," offered Rhoda. - -"Oh, no," protested Anne. "Come on down with us and swim." - -"I can't swim," replied Rhoda, "and I don't care for bathing. I brought a -book along, and I'd just as soon as not stay here and read until you come -back." - -Seeing that the maid really meant what she said, Anne followed the rest -of the girls who were already half way down the hill. - -"Where's Rhoda?" asked Patricia, looking around, when they reached the -beach and were about to dive into the water. - -"I should think she'd like at least to come and watch us," said Patricia, -when Anne had explained. "I'll go up after a while and bring her down." - -Swimming in the open was very different from swimming in a tank, and -after fifteen minutes of strenuous exercise the girls came out to lie on -the sand in the warm sun for a little rest. - -"Lend me your cloak, Anne," requested Patricia, "and I'll run up for -Rhoda." - -"Don't believe she'll come," replied Anne, handing Patricia her woolly -bath cape. - -"I'll make her. The things will be all right. There isn't a soul here -today, except us." - -Wrapping the cape closely around her, Patricia started briskly along the -path toward the picnic grounds. Rhoda was sitting on a big stone, half -way down one of the sloping sides of the depression, in a pool of -sunlight which some broken branches let through. So deeply interested was -she in her book, that she did not see Patricia until the girl stood right -in front of her. - -"I came back to get you," panted Patricia. "We don't like to have you up -here all by yourself. That's no fun. Come on!" taking the book out of the -maid's hands. - -"I really don't mind," began Rhoda. - -"But we do," Patricia cut her short, putting out both hands to help her -up from the stone. - -Laughing a little in protest, Rhoda got up and the two started down the -hill. - -"Why, there's Clarice," said Patricia, stopping short in surprise, as she -caught sight of the girl, swinging carelessly along beside the lake just -below them. "She's all dressed. I thought she was with the rest of the -crowd. I wonder what happened." - -"She's too near the ragged edge," exclaimed Rhoda sharply. - -Hearing voices, Clarice looked up without checking her pace. Her foot -struck a hole in the bank beside the path, and with a cry she slid down -into the lake. Dropping Anne's cloak, Patricia dashed down the hill and -dove into the water. - -A treacherous current had immediately swept Clarice away from the bank -and was bearing her out toward the center of the lake. "No use to call -for help," thought Patricia; "the rest of the girls are too far away. -Lucky that Clarice learned to swim after all; for she'll be able to help -herself a little. She's gone down!" Striking out frantically, with legs -and arms, Patricia made what speed she could toward the place where she -had seen Clarice disappear. Fear and necessity gave her extra strength -and speed, so that she was near enough to Clarice when the girl came up -to seize her by the collar of her sweater. - -With the irresistible inclination of a drowning person, Clarice tried to -throw her arms around Patricia, who knew that meant disaster for both of -them. - -"Stop that!" she snapped. "Swim!" - -"I can't," moaned Clarice, frantic with fear. - -"You've got to! We'll both drown if you don't. Put your hand on my -shoulder and strike out as I do. If you try to grab me around the neck, -I'll leave you." - -Clarice pulled herself together and tried to obey. It seemed to Patricia -as if they made no progress at all, so weighed down was she with -Clarice's weight. Just one more stroke, she said to herself, when it -seemed as if she could go no farther. Now one more. That wasn't so bad. -Now another. Encouraging herself, straining each muscle to the utmost, -she at last reached the bank where Rhoda stood with one arm wound around -the tree trunk and the other extended to help them scramble up the rough -stones, slippery with moss. - -As soon as they were safe again, Clarice threw herself flat on the ground -and burst into a violent fit of tears. - -"Let her cry," advised Rhoda, as Patricia bent over the sobbing girl. -"She'll get over the shock more quickly." - -"But she'll take cold," objected Patricia, throwing Anne's cloak over the -prone figure. - -"And so will you," added Rhoda, removing her own coat, preparatory to -wrapping it around the shivering girl beside her. - -"You keep that. I'll get my own," protested Patricia, running up the hill -to where the wraps were piled on one of the tables. Pulling her long -brown coat from under several others, she wrapped it around her and -returned to Clarice and Rhoda. - -The former was still weeping with her face hidden in a bed of ferns. - -"Clarice, get up!" ordered Patricia sternly. "No sense in having -pneumonia just because you won't control yourself. Get up, I said." - -Taking her firmly by the arms, with Rhoda's help she raised the girl and -wrapped Anne's cape more closely around her. - -"It's a judgment on me!" quavered poor Clarice, as they led her up the -hill. - -"What's a judgment?" demanded Patricia rather sharply. - -"Being drowned because I cheated." - -"But you aren't drowned," objected Patricia, laughing in spite of -herself. Clarice was such a child! - -"I would have been, if it hadn't been for you. I'll never cheat again; -I'm sure of that." - -"How and when and where did you cheat?" inquired Patricia, puzzled. - -"Swimming test. A girl from upstairs went in when my name was called, -passed, and Professor Wilson never knew the difference. She's about my -size." - -Patricia was speechless. What should one say under such circumstances? -She shrank from the holier-than-thou attitude; yet to remain quiet might -be taken as approval. - -"What can we do about dry clothing for her, Miss Randall?" inquired -Rhoda, saving the situation. - -"I don't know," replied Patricia in a worried tone. "I guess I'd better -drive her home to get some. It won't take long." - -"I'd rather _stay_ home, if you don't mind," said Clarice, drying her -eyes. - -"Why?" - -"Oh, because." - -"It would be just as well if she'd take a hot bath and go right to bed," -advised Rhoda. "Shall I come, too, to help you?" - -"Oh, no," said Clarice quickly. "I'll be all right." - -"And you'll do as Rhoda suggests?" asked Patricia. - -Clarice nodded and went toward Patricia's car, while Patricia said to -Rhoda in a low tone: "If any of the girls come back while I'm gone, tell -them Clarice didn't feel very well and I took her home. No point in -letting them in on poor Clarice's story." - -"You're quite right," agreed Rhoda. - -"Patricia," said Clarice, when they were on their way out of the parking -section, "I don't know how to thank you." - -"Don't bother about it. I'm glad I happened to be there." - -"Should I tell about the test?" inquired Clarice slowly after being -silent for several minutes. "I've made up my mind to learn to swim before -college closes for the summer." - -"Good! Then under those circumstances, you'll be getting your promotion -fairly; and it seems to me that any revelation of your--your--" - -"My cheating," supplied Clarice frankly. - -"Would involve too many people. You see, Professor Wilson's -near-sightedness would be revealed, and perhaps cause his dismissal; the -girl who subbed for you would be drawn into it, and probably get into -trouble--perhaps even be dropped; then the girls in your section who know -about it--" - -"There aren't any." - -"How's that?" - -"We were called out of the dressing room one at a time, according to -numbered cards; and nobody paid any attention to who was out. It's such a -large section." - -"I see. Well, anyhow, since you're going to correct the wrong, as far as -possible, I can't see any object in broadcasting the story. That reminds -me, I asked Rhoda to tell the girls that you didn't feel very well and I -had taken you home. So the three of us will keep our own counsel." - -"Pat, you're just the best sport I ever knew!" - - -"What's the matter with Clarice?" inquired Hazel, an hour later, as they -all sat around the table disposing of steak, potatoes, sugared buns, -fried cakes, and coffee. - -"She had a chill," replied Patricia calmly, opening a box of -marshmallows; "but she attended to it in time, so I think she'll be all -right tomorrow." - -The subsequent devotion of the black sheep to swimming aroused much -comment among the members of the Alley Gang. Many were the theories -advanced, but the girl kept her own secret and worked doggedly until she -was as proficient as most of her companions. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - A ROBBERY - - -"Have you seen the paper this morning?" demanded Jane excitedly, waving -the _Granard Herald_ overhead as Pat was hurrying down the corridor to -her room after breakfast. - -"No, what's in it?" - -"Look!" Jane held out the front sheet and pointed to a headline in heavy -print: - - Daring Robbery. Thieves Make Big Haul. - - Victim of losses sits in library while men work in room above. No - clews. Mrs. Brock, owner of property, offers reward. - -"Why!" gasped Patricia. "How awful!" - -A clock somewhere in the Hall struck the quarter hour. - -"Oh, I'm going to be late," cried Patricia, dashing into her room, -seizing a couple of books, and running down the corridor. "Have to hear -the rest later," she called back to Jane. - -"Pat!" cried Anne, catching hold of her at the door. "Have you seen the -paper?" - -"Yes, Jane just showed it to me." - -"Isn't it exciting? All her jewelry, and a lot of money taken." - -"I'm late, Anne; let me go, please!" pulling away from the girl. - -At the corner of Wentworth Street, Ruth caught up with her. - -"Heard the news?" she panted. - -"Yes, but can't stop; most time for class." - -As Patricia sank, breathless, into a seat in French class, which had -already begun, Frances leaned forward from the row behind to whisper, -"Know about the robbery?" - -Patricia nodded. - -"The paper says nobody heard a thing," continued Frances. "Norman was in -his room right next to the one where the robbers were working. Isn't that -thrilling?" - -"How do you know?" traced Patricia's pencil on the margin of her note -book. - -"Clarice met him this morning, and he told her." - -"Mademoiselle Quinne, _continuez s'il vous plait_," requested the -Professor's smooth voice. - -It must be confessed that Patricia heard little of the French lesson that -day. Her mind was briskly working on the piecemeal information she had -received about the disaster at Big House. - -"Seems awfully queer," she commented to Jack later in the day, "that a -person or persons would break into a house early in the evening like -that. Why, Mrs. Brock or Norman might have walked in on them any minute." - -Jack smiled. "He probably had worked out, by direct observation, when his -chances of being undisturbed were greatest." - -"Direct observation?" repeated Patricia. - -"Yes; whoever it was knew the layout of the house, the habits of its -inmates, and where valuables were kept." - -"Why, Jack!" cried Patricia, her eyes dilating with a dawning suspicion. -"Who--" - -"Better not put anything into words, Pat," Jack said quickly; "probably -we're all wrong. I hope so. Let's try to forget all about it. The -authorities will take care of it; it's their business, not ours." - -In spite of Jack's good advice, Patricia could not keep from dwelling on -the subject rather constantly for the rest of the week, especially since -the robbery was the Gang's principal theme of conversation. - -"Mrs. Brock," announced Katharine on Thursday night, "is offering a large -reward for the return of her grandfather's watch alone. It's a valuable -heirloom, and she cares more for that than for the rest of the jewelry. -Don't I wish I could go out some morning, pick up the timepiece, and take -it over to her!" - -"I guess none of us would object to some extra money," laughed Anne. "If -you weren't going home this week end, Pat, we might organize a searching -party and beat Kath out." - -"Go ahead, anyway," advised Patricia, pulling out her bag and beginning -to pack it ready for an early start the next afternoon. "You'd better get -your things together, Jane; we won't have any time after lunch tomorrow." - -"Jane going with you?" inquired Anne somewhat wistfully. - -"Yes. Want to come, too?" - -"_Do_ I! You're a peach." Anne hugged Patricia, and departed for her own -room, stumbling over the doorstop as she went out. - -"Look out, Anne; you'll break your neck over my coach-and-four," called -Patricia. "She never fails to fall over that," she added to the girls. -"Kath, why don't you come with us?" - -"I'd love to, but what will your mother say to so many of us?" - -"She won't care. My room has twin beds, so I can have guests in comfort -whenever I want to; and then we have the regular guest room. You won't -have to sleep on the floor." - -"As if I'd care for that! I've done it at house parties." Katharine -departed to announce her good fortune to the rest of the Gang, and then -went to pack. - -"I envy you, Patricia," said Jane, the next afternoon, as they were -riding through a stretch of woods, "being able to take this lovely ride -home any week end you want to." - -"Not whenever I want to," corrected Pat, "but rather when I have money -enough for the gas, and when my work can be left for a couple of days. I -can't do any studying at home, of course." - -"Don't think I'd care for these woods in the dark," observed Anne. - -"Well, darling," said Katharine soothingly, "you won't be in them in the -dark." - -"Not a chance," agreed Patricia. "Dad always starts me back in good time -so I won't be on the road after nightfall. He's deadly afraid of a -hold-up." - -"Good place for wild flowers, I should think," continued Jane, peering in -between the tree trunks. "Don't you want to stop and gather some, Pat?" - -"I do not! I've had quite enough experience with wild flowers for a -while, anyhow." - -"Ever see your reporter-rescuer?" asked Katharine. - -"Once in a while. Jack likes him a lot, and Craig has asked us out a -couple of times." - -"Hasn't he a girl friend?" demanded Katharine. - -"I guess not; not a regular, anyhow. But why should you be interested? -Aren't you and the Professor good pals any more?" - -"Sure; but there are several nice girls in the Gang who haven't boy -friends. You see I'm being purely altruistic." - -"Maybe the man in question would prefer to manage his affairs himself," -said Jane practically. - -"Maybe; in fact, he may have made a selection already," suggested Anne, -smiling at Pat in the mirror. - -Patricia kept her eyes on the road ahead, and feigned ignorance of Anne's -meaning. Presently she changed the subject by asking what her guests -would like to do that evening. "The week end is so short that we have to -use every minute of it." - -"A movie," proposed Katharine. "I haven't seen a good one in a coon's -age." - -"And double sodas all around afterward," added Jane. "My treat." - -"Sounds good to me," agreed Anne, when Patricia looked inquiringly at -her. - -"All right, then. That's what we'll do. Guess I'll put on a little speed, -so we'll get home early enough to go to the first performance. This new -road certainly has meant a lot to me--it shortened the distance so much. -You know it's quite a trip by rail; this road through the woods cuts off -miles. Oh!" her remarks concluded with a shriek. - -"What's the matter?" demanded Anne, startled. - -"A bee!" exclaimed Patricia. "For pity's sake keep your eyes on him and -try to put him out. I'm always afraid of being stung when I'm at the -wheel." - -"You have some opinion of our eyes if you think they are capable of -putting out a full grown bee," remarked Katharine. "Mine don't even see -him, to say nothing of pushing him out the window." - -"Stop joking," begged Patricia, "and find him." - -"There he is!" cried Anne, drawing herself as far into the corner as she -could. - -"Where?" demanded Jane, turning around to look at the passengers in the -back seat. - -"Down on the floor," said Katharine. "You girls make me tired; all so -afraid of one poor little bee!" - -"Suppose you pick him up and throw him out, if there's nothing to be -afraid of," suggested Patricia. - -"No--o; but, there! I've set my bag on him. He'll be quite dead in a -minute, then I'll pick him up," offered Katharine. - -"Most any one of us would be willing to pick up a dead bee," offered -Jane. - -Presently Katharine lifted the bag; but the action was followed by a -squeal from Anne, who announced that he was just as much alive as ever. - -Katharine thumped her bag down again while Jane laughed breathlessly. - -Ten minutes later, Katharine again peered at her victim; and again he -showed very definite signs of life. - -"Talk about cats having nine lives," she commented. - -"Set that bag down," begged Anne, "and leave him alone. If he's not dead, -he's at least out of mischief." - -"Toughest bee I ever saw," commented Katharine, thumping the bag again on -the unlucky insect. "There you stay until we get to our destination." - - -Mrs. Randall was on the porch waiting for them when the car pulled up at -the steps. - -"I brought two extras, Mum!" cried Patricia, jumping out and hugging her -mother. - -"That's fine," replied Mrs. Randall, smiling at her guests. "It's pretty -lonesome around here now, and Pat's friends are always welcome." - -When the introductions were over, the irrepressible Katharine said to -their hostess, "One of our passengers is in there on the floor; where -shall I put him?" - -Mrs. Randall looked puzzled, while the girls laughed. - -"See?" said Katharine, taking Mrs. Randall by the arm, and showing her -the bee crawling along as if holding up heavy bags were just pastime for -him. - -"Oh," said Mrs. Randall, entering into the spirit of the fun. "Suppose -you leave the door open and let him select his own room." - -As she spoke, the big black and gold fellow spread his wings, blundered -about a moment, then sailed out past the girls who dodged him with little -shrieks and settled on a patch of lilies of the valley beside the porch. - -"Now that the stowaway is disposed of, let's go in," proposed Patricia, -following her mother up the steps. - -"Better go right upstairs and get ready for dinner, Pat," advised Mrs. -Randall. "Daddy's coming home a bit early, and I thought we would eat as -soon as he gets here, so you girls will have a long evening for anything -you want to do." - -"Your mother's a peach; isn't she?" remarked Anne, as the four girls went -up the long stairs together. - -"I think so," replied Patricia, smiling with gratification. "Now this is -my room, and the guest room is right opposite. We can divide up any way -you please." - -"Suppose we change around," proposed Anne. "Katharine and I will take the -guest room tonight; then tomorrow night we'll put Jane in with Katharine -and I'll go with you." - -"Ah--wa! Ah--wa!" lamented Katharine. - -"What on earth's the matter with you?" demanded Anne. - -"I don't have Pat at all, I don't!" - -"Oh, you sleep all the time; so what difference does it make?" laughed -Jane. - -"I'll set the alarm," offered Patricia in amusement; "and when the -night's half over, I'll go in, roll Anne out, send her over to my room, -and get in with you. How's that?" - -"I'll consider it," replied Katharine in her most dignified tones; "but I -think my feelings are irreparably damaged." - -"Oh, go on!" cried Anne, shoving Katharine ahead of her into the guest -room. "You'll never be ready for dinner." - -Mr. Randall loved company, and was always most entertaining whenever -Patricia had guests; so the dinner hour was prolonged to such an extent -that when the four girls reached the theater, the early performance was -well under way. - -"I like it over on the right," whispered Patricia, as they entered the -darkened house. "Just follow me," she added, ignoring the usher -completely and hurrying down a side aisle. She was a bit careless in -stepping up into a row of seats, and turned on her ankle. To save herself -a fall, she grabbed madly at the seat in front of her, which was occupied -by a very large and very dignified-looking man. Instead of grasping the -back of his seat, as she intended, her hand came down very forcibly on -the top of his bald head. - -"Ouch!" he cried out in astonishment and discomfort. - -Everybody within hearing turned around. Several people exclaimed in -annoyance. Some nearby, who had witnessed the incident, laughed aloud. In -the general disturbance, the girls managed to sink into their seats quite -overcome with embarrassment. Presently Anne hid her face in her hands and -began to quiver. - -"What is the matter?" whispered Patricia. - -Anne only shook her head, and Patricia realized that the girl was in a -paroxysm of laughter. It was contagious, and before long Pat and -Katharine were in the same state. - -"Stop that!" ordered Jane. "Think of something sad, and do it _quick_." - -With much effort and several relapses they finally succeeded in pulling -themselves together, and fixed their eyes determinedly on the screen, not -daring to glance at one another. - -"That was just terrible!" exclaimed Jane in mock anger, when they were -out upon the street again. "I'll never go to a movie with you again, -Patricia Randall!" - -"I'm--awfully--sorry," gasped Pat. - -"You certainly act as if you were, quite overcome with grief," said Anne. - -"Did you ever in your life hear anything so funny as the way that man -hollered--he fairly bellowed!" said Katharine. - -"You do get into more scrapes, Pat," commented Anne, "than anyone I ever -met." - -"Don't I?" - -"Never mind," said Jane soothingly, as they entered a confectionery -store, "you mean well." - -"I think," said Katharine, "that is about the worst thing one can say. -'Oh, he means well.' It seems like sort of damning with faint praise. Not -that Jane meant it that way." - -Everybody laughed. Katharine was so unconscious of her inconsistency. - -While they were waiting for their order, Patricia's eyes, which were -roving about the room in search of possible acquaintances, came to rest -on the back of a tall figure two tables beyond theirs. As if compelled by -her questioning gaze, the individual turned around, immediately jumped -up, and crossed the room in two strides. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - A WEEK END - - -"Craig!" exclaimed Patricia, smiling up at the lanky youth. "Fancy seeing -you here! And what are you doing?" - -"Here on business," was the brief response, as he shook Patricia's hand -enthusiastically. - -"These are my friends--Anne Ford, Jane Temple, and Katharine Weldon," -continued Patricia, "who are spending the week end with me." - -Acknowledging the introduction, Craig looked inquiringly at Patricia. -"May I sit down here and have my sweet with the Sweets." - -"We couldn't possibly refuse after such a 'sweet' compliment as that," -laughed Patricia. "How long are you going to be in town?" - -"Well, that depends. If I find what I'm looking for, I'll go back almost -immediately; if I don't, I'll go Sunday afternoon, anyhow." - -"How interesting and mysterious you sound!" remarked Katharine. - -"Reporting's a great game. Now tell me about yourselves," leaning both -elbows on the table and looking from one girl to another. With flattering -attention the boy listened to the story of their drive home; gave a -couple of short barks of amusement at their movie experience, then -inquired what they intended to do on the morrow. - -"Shop in the morning," replied Patricia. "I always do the Sunday -marketing when I'm home. I just love to poke around the stores and buy -things. In the afternoon--I really don't know yet." - -"How would it be if you all went to the ball game with me?" proposed -Craig, carefully rubbing a drop of chocolate sauce off of his tie. - -"Grand! But you'd be embarrassed to death escorting four females," -laughed Patricia. - -"Don't you believe it. I'd be the proudest fellow in the stand, and the -most envied. That's settled then," as all the girls manifested their -pleasure in the plan. "I'll call for you at two o'clock," he added, as -they rose to go. "I'd offer to see you home, but I suppose you have your -car?" - -"Yes; it's in a parking station. Why don't we meet you at the Park -tomorrow afternoon instead of your going way out to our house?" - -"Not a bad idea, especially as I haven't the least idea where you live." -Everybody laughed. - -"97 Minton Road, in case you ever need to know," said Patricia, smiling -frankly up into the brown eyes and serious face above her. - -"Thanks," he said, making a note of the address. "Wait a minute," he -added, taking hold of her arm and steering her toward a candy counter. -"Make up five pounds of the kinds selected," he directed the prim clerk -who came to take his order. Then, waving off the girls' thanks, he was -gone. - -"Shall we each choose our favorites, to make up one-quarter of the box?" -asked Patricia, turning to the other girls. - -"Fine; and in quarter-or half-pound lots, so as to get variety," said -Katharine; and they all assented. - -It was rather late when the girls finally reached home, but they settled -down before the living room fireplace with the box of candy, and regaled -Mr. and Mrs. Randall with chocolates and the story of their adventures. -Mr. Randall finally drove them off to bed shortly after midnight. - - -"I'm going to stay in the car," announced Katharine the next morning, -when Patricia drew up in front of a large department store in the grocery -department of which she intended to make several purchases. "I don't care -for marketing, and I do love to watch people hurrying along the streets." - -"As you like it," replied Patricia, getting out, followed by Anne and -Jane. - -"Can you park here?" inquired Jane in surprise, as Patricia slammed the -door. - -"Not really supposed to, but I won't be long; and I hardly think there'll -be any trouble." - -"I'll entertain the cop," offered Katharine magnanimously, "if he shows -up." - -She had been watching the crowd for about ten minutes, when she noticed a -big, red-faced policeman approaching, his eyes fixed indignantly upon the -car in which she was sitting. - -"Now I'm in for it!" she thought. "Why in time doesn't Patricia come? -She's been gone an age." - -"You can't park here, lady," said the officer sternly. "Can't you read?" -pointing to the No Parking sign. - -"No, sir," replied Katharine demurely. - -"You can't!" exclaimed the man in surprise - -"Not a word!" was the reply, and Katharine looked innocently at him. - -"What nationality are you?" - -"American, sir." - -The officer pushed back his hat in perplexity. He felt that something was -wrong, but could not quite put his finger on it. With all our money spent -on schools, and this young woman couldn't read. - -"Well, anyhow, whether you can read or not, you can't park here." - -"But this isn't my car, and I can't drive." - -"Where _is_ the owner?" - -"In there," pointing to the store. "She'll be out in just a minute. I -think she went in to buy--oranges." - -"Well, if she isn't out by the time I come around again, she gets a tag; -and that's flat!" - -Wrathfully the officer strode on, and Katharine sank back comfortably -against the cushions again. Five minutes passed; ten; and still no signs -of Patricia. Katharine began to fidget nervously and wish she had gone -into the store with the girls. Still, if she had, the car would have been -tagged at once; even now perhaps she could stave the man off again if he -came around before Pat got back. - -There he was, striding along as if he meant business! "I wish Pat and her -oranges were in Hades," thought Katharine, preparing to smile sweetly at -the irate officer. - -"She hasn't come yet," she said, leaning out of the window and speaking -confidentially. "Something must have happened to her. I'm _so_ worried. -What ought I to do, do you think?" - -Momentarily disarmed by the unexpected greeting, the man removed his hat -and scratched his head. Then suddenly realizing that he was being worked, -he snapped: - -"What _could_ happen to her except that, like all other women, she has no -notion of time! This car's been here half an hour now. I suppose she -can't read either!" - -"It's been here only twenty-five minutes, officer," corrected Katharine, -showing him her watch. - -"So you can tell time, even though you can't read," commented the -officer, rather admiring the girl's poise despite his annoyance. - -"Well, you see," began Katharine, resting both arms on the opened window, -"when I was a little girl--(if I can only keep him interested until Pat -comes!)--I was--" She broke off to gesticulate madly to her friends who -were just coming out of the store. - -The policeman wheeled sharply and saw three girls racing madly toward -him. Just as Pat reached the car, the bag she was carrying broke, and a -dozen oranges rolled in all directions. - -"There!" cried Katharine triumphantly. "Didn't I tell you she just went -in to get some oranges?" - -What could the man do but help gather up the fruit and toss it into the -car? Scarlet with exertion and embarrassment at the comments of -passers-by, he finally faced Patricia sternly. - -"Lady, you've been parked here half an hour, right under that sign. Can't -_you_ read either?" - -"Why, yes, a little," replied Patricia, with a suspicious glance at -Katharine. "But those signs are placed so high that if you're in a low -car, you really have an awful time seeing them at all. You can see for -yourself that this one is directly over the top of the car. Get in and -see." - -"Of course it is if you drive directly under it!" grumbled the man. "And -the next time I see this car where it doesn't belong, it gets a tag right -away; whether your passengers can't read, or you think the signs are too -high, or--or anything else." - -"Thanks for your patience, and assistance," replied Patricia, smiling at -him in such a friendly fashion that he had a hard time maintaining his -expression of outraged dignity. He was still a bit doubtful as to whether -or not the girls were making fun of him. These women! - -"Goodbye," called the irrepressible Katharine, as Patricia stepped into -the car and started the engine. "Hope I meet you again sometime." - -The officer strode away without comment, while Katharine reported her -encounter to the girls. - -"I'm an absolute wreck!" she declared in an injured tone, as her -companions laughed heartlessly. "I'll never keep car for you again." - -"Your own choice," retorted Patricia flippantly. "We wanted you to come -with us." - -"That's all the thanks I get," sighed Katharine, "for risking my life to -protect your property." - -"Policeman, spare this car; touch not an ancient wheel!" giggled Anne. - -"In youth it carried me," continued Jane. - -"And I'll protect it now," carolled the three. - -"I've a good mind to dump you all out," declared Patricia in mock -indignation. "I know it's not exactly a latest model, but it really isn't -so ancient as all that." - -"Never mind, Patsy," said Katharine. "We'll ride in it, even if it is -old." - -"There's where we're going this afternoon," remarked Patricia a few -minutes later, pointing down a side street; "you can see the baseball -park from here." - - -Long before the game started, they were in their seats watching the -crowds pour into the stands. - -Patricia, who sat beside Craig, soon noticed that he was scanning faces -with more than casual interest. When he pulled out a pair of opera -glasses with which to view the opposite stands, her curiosity got the -better of her. - -"Looking for someone special?" she inquired, making pleats in her -handkerchief. - -"Yes." He moved closer, put his head down, and spoke softly. "We got a -tip that the principal in the Brock affair might be around here, and my -chief sent me out to see what I could pick up. Keep it under your hat, -though." - -"Of course," breathed Patricia, quivering with excitement. - -"Come home to dinner with us?" asked Patricia, when the game was over and -they were headed for the parking station. - -Craig shook his head. "Like to a lot, but I want to look around a bit -more tonight; so I'll eat in a one-arm lunch that I know about where -perhaps I'll overhear something. Thanks a lot." - -"If you'd care to come, suppose you make it tomorrow instead. We have -dinner at one on Sundays." - -"I'll be glad to come then." - - -"Any luck?" Patricia inquired, as she met Craig in the hall of her own -home the next noon. - -"Not a bit," looking so dejected that Patricia could hardly keep from -smiling. - -"Too bad; but don't be quite so downcast." - -"Good advice; perhaps I'll run across something on the train. You get -into a conversation with strangers, and oftentimes a clew slips out." - -Dinner was a hilarious affair. Craig exerted himself to be entertaining, -and Katharine had a silly streak which kept the company in gales of -laughter. - -"Hate to break away," said Craig, looking at his watch after they -finished their coffee before the fireplace in the living room. - -The day had turned cool, and a wood fire was very welcome. "This is -awfully cozy," he went on; "but my train goes in twenty minutes." - -"Why don't you let Pat tuck you into her machine, and go back with the -girls?" suggested Mr. Randall. - -"Like nothing better," replied Craig, unfolding his long body slowly as -he rose reluctantly from a big easy chair; "but I have my return ticket, -and 'Waste not, want not' is one of my mottoes." - -"See you when you get back to town," were his last words to Patricia, -after taking leave of the rest of the party. - -"Very likely," she replied carelessly. - -Had she been wise in inviting the boy to her house? She wondered, closing -the door. He was inclined to be a bit possessive and might think she was -more interested in him than she really was. But the end of the college -year was fast approaching, and with it a breaking off of many Granard -associations. Her face was very sober as she rejoined the group in front -of the fire; for the fear of not being able to go back next fall was a -very poignant one. - -"What's the matter, Pat?" inquired Katharine bluntly. "You look as if -you'd just buried your last friend." - -"Haven't," replied the girl, perching on the arm of her father's chair, -and twisting his hair into a Kewpie knot. - -"Pat always looks like that when it's time to leave home," commented Mrs. -Randall, after a searching glance at her daughter. - -"I don't mean to appear inhospitable--" began Mr. Randall. - -"But you think we should be on our way," finished Patricia, "so as not to -be on the road long after dark." - -"Well, you know it always takes longer than you expect." - -"Yes, darling; we'll get started. Come, girls, get your things together." - -When they were about twenty-five miles from home, Patricia gazed -anxiously ahead at a bank of dark clouds, rapidly spreading all across -the sky. "Afraid we're going to run into a storm, girls." - -"As long as it isn't a thunder storm," began Anne, in a worried tone. - -"Safe enough in a car if you keep out from under trees," commented -Katharine. - -"Can't, if you happen to be in the woods," objected Jane, who was -watching the clouds gathering so rapidly. - -"We're not going to be in the woods," said Patricia. "We'll strike the -storm long before we reach them." - -As she spoke a wave of chill wind swept across the country as the -darkness shut down like the cover of a box, and huge hailstones began to -bounce off the hood and patter on the top of the car with such force that -it seemed as if they must break through. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - A WEIRD EXPERIENCE - - -"I'll have to pull off the road and stop for a while," declared Patricia. -"Trying to drive in this is too nerve racking." - -The shoulder was wide and smooth; so she had no difficulty in finding a -safe place to park. In fact, almost any place would have been safe, so -far as traffic was concerned; for nearly all drivers stopped to await the -end of the storm. For three-quarters of an hour the sky was dark, while -hailstones, big and little, pelted down covering the ground with an icy -white carpet; then they ceased almost as abruptly as they had begun. The -sun was trying to break through the clouds when Patricia started the -engine and turned out onto the road again. - -"We'll get as far as we can while it's pleasant," she said. - -"Why, are we going to have another?" inquired Anne nervously. - -"Can't tell for sure; but the sky looks pretty black ahead of us. Maybe -it's only rain though." - -She was right. Five miles farther on they struck rain which was falling -steadily as if it meant to continue indefinitely. The road was crowned -and slippery, which made careful driving advisable. - -"Good thing your father can't see us now," remarked Katharine, as -Patricia turned on her headlights. - -"Yes, isn't it? Going to be dark awfully early tonight. I don't like -night driving any better than he does." - -None of the girls liked the prospect of driving the rest of the way in -rain and darkness. The little party became a very silent one as time went -on, and even Katharine had almost nothing to say. Only the windshield -wiper squeaked regularly as it swept back and forth across the wet glass. -At Braggs Corners a couple of Boy Scouts stood in the middle of the road -directing traffic from Main to Pearl Streets. - -"What's the matter?" inquired Patricia, sticking her head out of the -window. - -"Bridge washed out. Have to go around by Millersville," replied the boy. - -"At least twenty miles longer than this route," groaned Patricia; "and -not so well traveled. But, no help for it, I guess." - -The new route was indeed a lonesome one--a country road through flat, -drenched farm lands, alternating with stretches of dripping woods. - -"What's the matter with the lights, Pat?" inquired Katharine, after they -had covered about ten miles. - -"Something, certainly, but I don't know what," was the worried reply. -"They keep going out. I'll just have to drive as fast as possible while -they're on, and slow down when they go off." - -"Hope they're on the job while we're in these woods we're coming to," -remarked Anne, eyeing the dark tree shapes ahead with no inconsiderable -apprehension. - -"They probably will," said Patricia encouragingly; "and I think -Millersville must be on the other side of them. I'll stop there and have -the lights fixed." - -The girls sat with bated breath as they plunged into the gloomy woods, -but all went well until they had nearly reached the last of the trees. -Suddenly the lights flickered out, and there was a terrific bump which -jarred startled cries out of all of the passengers. - -"What on earth was that?" demanded Jane, as Patricia slowed up. - -"A hole, I suppose," replied Patricia with feigned carelessness. - -"Then it must have been an out-growing hole," said Anne, rubbing her -elbow which had come into sharp contact with the window frame. "It felt -as if we went over an elephant." - -"More likely the limb of a tree," declared Katharine. - -"Well, whatever it was, it can stay there," declared Patricia. "I'm not -going back to see. There are lights ahead, and I'm quite sure we're -almost in Millersville." - -"Hurrah!" cried Katharine, clapping her hands. - -With great care Patricia drove her dark car into the little town, and -stopped at the first garage she came to. - -"Drive right in," directed the mechanic who came out to see what they -wanted. - -Inside the garage, the girls all got out of the car and walked around -while Patricia explained her difficulties. After a hasty examination, the -man stood up facing Patricia sternly. - -"Lady, there's blood and part of a man's clothing on your car! You must -have run over someone." - -"Of course I didn't!" began Patricia indignantly; then stopped short, -clutching the fender to steady herself. - -"Look here!" persisted the man. - -Patricia forced herself to walk around to the other side of the car, and -saw a strand of grey cloth twisted in the wheel, and stains on the body -of her car. They were partly washed off by the rain, but enough remained -to show that it was blood. - -"That awful bump," offered Anne incoherently. - -"Didn't feel big enough for a man," objected Katharine. - -"What shall I do?" cried Patricia, biting her lips to keep from crying. - -"Better report it at the station, and get an officer to go back with -you," advised the man. "I'll fix your lights; then you drive on one block -and you'll see the station." - -"Would you go up with us and tell your part of the story?" begged -Patricia, feeling very much in need of male support in such an emergency. - -"Sure," was the hearty response. "I'll walk up and be there as soon as -you are." - -"Never mind, Pat," said Katharine consolingly. "You've got to run over -somebody sometime, and now it's over." - -Patricia shivered. - -The mechanic was as good as his word, and when the frightened girls -entered the police station, he was leaning on the desk in earnest -conversation with the officer on duty. The few questions which were put -to Patricia and her friends were answered so promptly and frankly that -they made a most favorable impression; and in twenty minutes, Patricia, -was driving back to the woods with a pleasant young policeman sitting -beside her. The mechanic and the coroner followed in a small truck. - -"There _is_ something!" cried Katharine, as they approached the scene of -the jolting, and the headlights showed a dark bundle toward one side of -the road. Patricia shuddered as she saw that it was the figure of a man. -As soon as she had come to a stop, the policeman leaped out and bent over -the prone figure. With the help of the coroner he rolled the body onto -its back, and made a hasty examination while the white-faced, trembling -girls watched from the car. - -"You ran over him all right," called the officer. - -Patricia gave a frightened gasp and clutched the wheel tightly to save -herself from succumbing to a wave of dizziness which swept over her. - -"But," he continued, "you didn't kill him. Somebody evidently stabbed and -left him here. His partner, no doubt. Probably took whatever he had on -him, too." - -Patricia breathed a prayer of thanksgiving. - -"I thought so," continued the officer, as he hastily ran his fingers -through the pockets of the dead man, and found nothing. "Cleaned out." - -"We'd better get him on the truck and take him to the morgue," said the -coroner. "Give us a hand, Jones," to the mechanic. "Drive ahead a little, -lady, and give us more room." - -Patricia moved on a few feet and discovered that there was not space -enough in that particular spot to turn around; so she proceeded slowly -until she came to a place where the trees were a little farther back from -the road. - -"Think you can make it?" inquired Jane, lowering the window to watch the -tree trunks on her side of the car. - -"By going off the road a bit; it looks fairly level here." - -It took some maneuvering to get the car headed in the opposite direction, -and Patricia's arms ached before the feat was finally accomplished. -Suddenly she stopped the machine, opened the door, and jumped out. - -"What on earth is the matter now?" called Jane, sliding over the driver's -seat and sticking her head out of the open door. - -Patricia, who was stooping over something a few feet ahead, in the glare -of the headlights, made no reply. - -"Don't tell me there's another man!" wailed Anne, covering her face. - -"No, no!" assured Katharine, patting Anne soothingly. "Nothing so big as -that. What did you find, Pat?" as the girl ran back to her companions. - -"Look!" she cried, stumbling into her seat, and holding up a glistening -object. - -"A watch!" exclaimed the girls in chorus. - -"Yes, and it's Mrs. Brock's grandfather's watch!" Her words fairly -tumbled over one another in her excitement. "At least it answers to the -description given in the papers." - -"Oh, Pat, you lucky girl!" ejaculated Jane, hugging her. - -"It was right under the headlights. The man's pal must have dropped it!" - -"Heavens! Maybe he's still around here!" shuddered Anne, as a dire -thought occurred to her. - -"Never thought of that!" admitted Patricia, starting the car again. - -"Never fear!" asserted Katharine. "A criminal may return to the scene of -his crime, but he never stays there." - -"Better go back and tell the men, Pat," advised Jane sensibly. - -In a minute or two the girls were tumbling out of the car, all talking at -once to the officer who was standing in the road waiting for them to -return. The body had been placed in the truck, and the coroner and Jones -were ready to start off. - -"One at a time!" pleaded Policeman Tyne, covering his ears with his big -hands. - -The other three girls stopped immediately, and allowed Patricia to tell -the story without interruption. - -"Must have lost this when he dodged into the woods," remarked the -coroner, who, with Jones, had left the truck and rejoined the group. - -"Suppose perhaps he's keeping under cover not too far from here," said -the officer. - -"Going in the woods to look for him?" inquired the coroner. - -"Not the least use in the world," offered Jones promptly. "You'd never -find your way around in there at night. It's bad enough in the daytime. I -got lost in there once. You'd just be a target for him, officer," he -added, as Tyne hesitated. - -"He's probably miles away by now, anyhow. We have no means of knowing -when the crime was committed. We'll go back, I guess, and I'll make my -report; then all surrounding towns and roads will be watched. Ready, -girls?" - -"Congratulations, Pat!" said Anne, generously, as they started off. "I'm -awfully glad that you'll get the reward." - -"I don't know--" began Patricia doubtfully, watching the road closely. - -"You will," said the policeman. "You found it. Of course it will be held -up for a while until after the investigation, but then you can claim it. -Maybe there'll be a reward for that fellow, too," nodding toward the -truck. "I'm pretty sure he's Crack Mayne." - -"Oh!" exclaimed Patricia. "He's--" then stopped abruptly. - -"He's what?" demanded Frank Tyne suspiciously. - -Patricia forced an unsteady laugh, then told the story of Jack's and her -adventure in the woods. The man shook with amusement over the trooper's -mistake. - -"So they took you for 'Angel' and your friend for Crack!" he chuckled. -"Wait till I tell the boys that story." - -"Who on earth _is_ 'Crack' and what did he do?" demanded Katharine. - -"He's an A-1 burglar, Miss. Wanted for lots of jobs, but he's so d-- -blamed clever that nobody's been able to lay hands on him. They say he -comes of a good family; sort of black sheep, you know. Somebody said he -has a sister living in Granard; of course that may be just talk. He was -in town a couple of times last winter; that we know." - -"Lock up your class pin, Anne," laughed Jane, as Anne's eyes grew bigger -and bigger. - -"Yes, he might try the dorm next," giggled Patricia. - -"I have a horror of burglars. Imagine! Waking up to find one in your -room. Ugh!" shuddered Anne. - -"But he's dead, you geese!" Katharine reminded them. - -"That's so," sighed Anne with such evident relief that they all laughed. - -"I'll bet that's who Craig was looking for," thought Patricia, as she -made the turn into Millersville for the second time. - -"How much do you suppose it will be?" asked Katharine suddenly. - -"What?" - -"The reward, of course." - -The girls laughed a bit hysterically; for the events of the afternoon and -evening had been a severe strain on the nerves of everyone. The truck -turned down a side street, and as they reached the station the officer -got out without waiting for Patricia to come to a full stop. - -"Good luck, girls!" he cried, as he slammed the door. - -"I'm hoping," said Patricia soberly, as she put on speed, "that the -reward will be enough to help me come back here next year." - -"Why, you've just _got_ to come back!" declared Anne emphatically. "We -can't possibly get along without you." - -"I should say not!" agreed Katharine, reaching forward to pinch -Patricia's ear affectionately. - -"I do hope you'll get enough to be of considerable help," said Jane -earnestly. - -"Time will tell," replied Patricia, a bit shakily. - -It was wonderful of the girls to be so anxious to keep her in the dear -old Gang! She had known, of course, that they liked her; but she had -never realized how much until she saw how shocked they were at the -possibility of her not being able to return next September. - -The rain stopped, and traffic was light; so they were able to make good -time all the rest of the way. It was about eight-thirty when they drew up -in front of Arnold Hall. - -"Let's walk down to the Coffee Shoppe and get some supper before we go -in," proposed Katharine. "If the girls once get hold of us we'll never -get out again; and I'm starved." - -"A good idea," agreed Jane. - -"Are you going to tell the Gang all about our adventures?" inquired Anne, -as they walked the short distance down the street. - -"Why, I thought so," replied Patricia. "Why not?" - -"Just as well," counseled Jane. "They'll see it in the papers, or hear it -some way; and they would think it queer that we said nothing about it." - -"There's Rhoda!" exclaimed Katharine, as they entered the restaurant. -"Let's go and sit with her. She looks lonesome." - -"Hello, Rhoda," said Jane, sliding into the seat beside the surprised -maid, while the other three girls squeezed into the seat on the opposite -side of the table. "Haven't finished, have you?" - -"No; just beginning." - -"Good!" approved Anne. "Eat slowly until we get our supper." - -Rhoda obediently laid down her knife and fork, while the girls ordered; -then she asked: "Did you miss your supper at the Hall?" - -"I'll say we did!" said Katharine fervently. - -"We had the most exciting time!" cried Anne. - -"And Rhoda," interrupted Patricia, leaning across the table to whisper -confidentially--"Just think; I found Mrs. Brock's watch!" - -"Miss Randall!" gasped the maid. "Wherever--" - -"Listen!" And Patricia plunged into the story, aided by various comments -from her companions. Rhoda's eyes widened, and a deep flush crept across -her face as the tale reached the discovery of the dead man. - -"How--awful!" she faltered. "What--what did he look like?" - -"We didn't look at him," responded Katharine; "but the officer thought--" -she broke off abruptly, silenced by a sharp touch of Patricia's sturdy -shoe. - -"We were scared to death," interrupted Patricia hurriedly, "and glad to -have a chance to leave the scene for a few minutes. And wasn't it lucky -that I had to go farther on to turn around?" Rapidly, excitedly, she -proceeded to the finding of the watch. - -"Now let's eat," proposed Katharine, when Patricia paused for breath at -the end of the tale. - -Rhoda merely played with her food, and drank two cups of strong coffee, -while she waited for the girls to finish their meal. Then they all -strolled slowly back to the Hall together. The moon had come up, and was -shining through the lacy foliage of the trees, making delicate patterns -on the walks. - -"Why the kick?" whispered Katharine to Patricia as they fell back of the -others, to let some people pass in the opposite direction. - -"We don't know for sure who the man was," said Patricia; "and it seems to -me it's better not to mention names. Let that come out in the papers -first." - -"You're probably right, Miss Prudence," laughed Katharine; "but don't go -quite so heavy on the kicks hereafter." - -There was bedlam in Arnold Hall when the girls told their story to the -Alley Gang and Mrs. Vincent in the big parlor. Students from the second -floor hung over the stair railings to listen in; and before the subject -was exhausted, Ted Carter, Craig Denton, and Jack Dunn walked in. Then -everything had to be gone over again. - -Suddenly the outside door was flung open impatiently, and Mrs. Brock -walked in and stood viewing the crowd. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - THE REWARD - - -For an instant nobody spoke or moved; then Mrs. Vincent got up and -crossed the room to greet the unexpected visitor. - -"Won't you come in and sit down, Mrs. Brock?" she asked, pulling forward -a rocking chair which Katharine had just vacated. - -"Not going to stay, thank you," was the crisp response. "Just came after -my watch." - -"How the dickens did she know that it had been found?" whispered Anne to -Frances, who was standing beside her on the opposite side of the room. - -"Can't imagine," began Frances; then stopped short, as Jane, who had -heard the question, looked back and formed the one word "Rhoda" with her -lips. - -"Well, where is it?" demanded the old lady, looking at Patricia as if she -suspected her of having sold it for old gold. - -"It's at the police station in Millersville, Mrs. Brock," replied -Patricia. - -"That's fine!" commented the old lady sarcastically. "Whatever possessed -you to let it out of your hands?" - -"Why, I had to," faltered Patricia, somewhat timidly. This fierce old -lady was enough to intimidate a far bolder person than Patricia. - -"Had to! Had to!" began the caller, when Jack spoke up in order to shield -Patricia a little. - -"The police take charge of all articles until after a case is settled." - -"Oh, they do, do they? And who are you?" - -"Jack Dunn," replied the boy, flushing at the bluntness of the question. - -Mrs. Brock gazed at him fixedly for a full minute; then wheeled about and -started for the door. - -"Won't you stay a while, and have a cup of tea with us?" asked Mrs. -Vincent hospitably. - -"No, thanks," was the curt reply. "I get tea enough at home." - -The door opened and closed, and she was gone. - -"Did you ever!" exclaimed Katharine. - -"Never!" responded Jane promptly. - -"Not a word about the reward, either," lamented Anne. - -"Hope she doesn't forget all about it after she gets the watch back," -remarked Frances. - -"Why, Frances," interposed Patricia reprovingly. - -"Well, she's so queer, who can tell what she's likely to do." - -"Let's forget about her and have that tea you mentioned a minute ago, -Mrs. Vincent," suggested Ted. - -"And while you're getting it ready, we'll run out and get some cakes or -something to go with it," proposed Craig. "Come along, fellows." - -Mrs. Vincent good-naturedly waived the ten-thirty rule, and the rest of -the evening passed happily. So exhausted was everyone by excitement and -merriment, that heads were hardly on the pillows when their owners were -sound asleep. Only Rhoda tossed restlessly, and fearfully awaited the -morrow. - - -Monday morning's paper contained a full account of the discovery of -"Crack" Mayne on a lonely detour by several Granard students who were -returning to college after a week end out of town. - -"Bless his heart!" cried Patricia, as she read rapidly through the -article. - -"Whose!" inquired Anne. "Crack's?" - -"No; Craig's. I begged him to keep our names out of the paper, but I was -afraid he wouldn't. You know reporters just can't help using everything -they can get hold of." - -"He owed you something, I should think, for telephoning him the story -right away for his paper. He got a--what do they call it?" - -"Scoop!" said Patricia, smiling at the recollection of Craig's fervent, -"You darling girl!" when she had called him up from the Hall as soon as -they got in the night before. "He was especially sporting about it, since -he was on the trail of Crack himself when we met him at home." - -"He was? Now if he'd only come with us instead of going by train!" - -"That's what he said." - -The evening paper was not so considerate, and the names of all the girls -were mentioned, along with the finding of the famous watch by Patricia -Randall who would, the paper stated, receive the reward offered by Mrs. -Brock. All four girls would share in the $500 reward offered for the -capture of the burglar. - -"Capture is good!" jeered Katharine, as the Gang was poring over the -paper in Jane's room. "Anybody could capture a dead man." - -"Well," said Frances belligerently, "if Pat hadn't run over him you'd -never--" - -The rest of her remark was drowned by a burst of laughter; for Frances' -hostility was as funny as that of a small kitten who arches her back at -imaginary foes. - -A couple of days later, when the Gang came in from lunch, Rhoda handed -Patricia an envelope. - -"This was left for you this morning," she explained. - -"Thank you, Rhoda," said Patricia, smiling in her usual friendly fashion; -but there was no answering smile on the maid's grave face. - -"What's the matter with Rhoda?" asked Anne, as they went on down the hall -to Patricia's room. - -"I don't know; she isn't a bit like herself, and sometimes she looks as -if she'd been crying. I wish I knew what's troubling her." - -"Yes; perhaps we could do something." - -But what was disturbing Rhoda would never be revealed to the inmates of -Arnold Hall. Little did they suspect that "Crack" Mayne was their maid's -brother; that he had been the one to rob Mrs. Brock of her money and -jewelry; and that, maddened by his sister's refusal to give him access to -the Hall, he had, in a spirit of revenge, set fire to it. That was -information which Rhoda would keep strictly to herself. Sorrow for her -brother's violent death was tempered by relief that no longer need she -shiver with fear each night as she wondered where he was and what he was -doing. - - -"Open it quick," begged Anne, when they were safely inside Patricia's -room. - -Tearing open the envelope, she drew out a sheet of note paper upon which -was written in an old-fashioned cramped hand: "The promised reward for -finding my watch." Inside the double sheet were laid five ten dollar -bills. - -"Congratulations!" cried Anne, jumping up from the bed and flinging open -the door. "Girls," she called to the corridor at large, "Pat's got her -reward!" - -From all the rooms on that floor flocked various members of the Gang to -gather joyfully around Patricia, exclaiming over the crisp new bills as -happily as if they were the property of each individual there. - -"You'll have to go over and thank Mrs. Brock, Pat," declared Katharine -mischievously. - -"I shall express my gratitude in a very formal, but sincere, note," -replied Patricia, tucking the bills into her hand bag. - -"How are you going to spend it!" inquired Clarice, who was wandering -restlessly around the room, examining articles on dressers and desks. - -"I'm not sure. Probably lay it aside for a while." - -"You might donate it to the scholarship fund, and then this house -wouldn't have to take part in the annual entertainment to raise money for -it," suggested Lucile. - -"Don't you do it!" was Frances' prompt veto. "Spend it on yourself." - -"Speaking of our stunt for the 25th, we've got to have a meeting and -decide what we _are_ going to do," declared Jane firmly. - -"Let Pat and Jack do that dance they put on the other night," suggested -Anne. - -"The very thing! It could be part of a ballet," agreed Katharine. - -"Will you?" asked Jane, as Patricia looked doubtful. - -"If Jack will; but maybe he won't want to." - -"Why not?" demanded Betty. - -"I don't know; but you can never tell what ideas a fellow has about that -sort of thing." - -"Well, I hope he agrees to it; for you're both a peach of a dancer," -commented Katharine. - -"Kay! Your English!" objected Frances. - -"I don't care. You know what I mean." - -"Ask Jack today, will you, Pat?" asked Jane. "Then we can build up the -rest of our stunt around you two. We'll need some of the other boys, too; -so Jack need not fear being conspicuous." - -"I'll see him after Shakespeare class," promised Patricia. - -She was as good as her word, and reported to the committee that evening -that Jack had accepted, after much urging. Rehearsals began immediately -amid great secrecy; for each group tried to keep its contribution to the -entertainment a secret until the night it was presented. Besides -Patricia, only Anne, Katharine, Hazel and Frances of the Alley Gang were -to take part, with Jane as director of the Arnold Hall production. - -"There are loads of better actors than we are among the girls upstairs," -was Jane's reply to Frances' protest at not having all the Gang in the -affair. "And it's only right to use as many as we can. They think we're -too prominent in the house as it is, and it wouldn't look well to keep -the whole show to ourselves. They have exactly as much right to be in it -as we have." - -Frances pouted, flounced out of the room, and disappeared for the rest of -the evening. - -"What's the matter with her?" inquired Betty, who had collided with -Frances in the doorway. - -"Peeved because the whole Gang isn't to be used in our act." - -"I must confess I thought you had your nerve with you to leave Clarice -out," commented Betty, helping herself to a piece of candy from a box on -Jane's dresser. - -"I suppose I have brought down Mrs. Vincent's disapproval on myself; but -while I have nothing against Clarice personally, it seems to me hardly -fitting for a girl who is always behind in her studies, and who has been -quite so talked about, to represent Arnold Hall in the big entertainment -of the year." - -"Jane always stands by her guns," remarked Anne admiringly, as she shook -out the costume she was working on. - -"How well I know that," laughed Ruth. "I have yet to see her back down -from any stand she has taken." - -"Well, I hate people who are always changing their minds," admitted Jane, -gazing critically at a poster she was making for the entertainment. "Make -a decision, and then stick to it. That's my motto." - -Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, who the ancient Greeks believed -listened to the boasts of mortals and promptly punished them, must have -made a heavy mark against Jane's name just then. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - PAT'S SACRIFICE - - -"But, Dean Walters, she does not seem really bad." - -"There have been many complaints of her, Mrs. Vincent, and her actions -are causing most unfavorable comment outside as well as inside college -circles. It is not desirable for the institution to retain such a girl." - -"It seems to me that the crowd she was in with for a while is largely -responsible. I feel quite sure that Clarice was not entirely to blame in -that last affair." - -"Might it not have been better to have verified your suspicions at the -time, and brought them to my attention, instead of waiting until now to -mention them?" - -"Well--she--she naturally would not wish to betray her friends--and -I--I--" - -"Be that as it may, one more escapade will automatically sever Miss -Tyson's connections with Granard College. I leave it to you to make my -decision known to the young lady." - -Patricia drew a long breath of relief as the two women left the library -alcove next to the one in which she had been an unwilling eavesdropper. - -Not long ago, a noisy party on the top floor, one night when the chaperon -was at a concert, had brought a shower of complaints from private houses -surrounding Arnold Hall. Exactly who else beside Clarice had attended the -spread, no one knew; for she was the only one who owned up when the -matter had been made the object of a very solemn house meeting a couple -of days later. The affair had crystallized Clarice's standing in the -Hall; for the law-abiding students felt that the honor and reputation of -their house had been tarnished. Secretly they wished that the ringleader -might be sent to room elsewhere, but gossip whispered that the chaperon -was especially interested in Clarice by reason of a long-standing -friendship with one of the girl's relatives. - -Patricia was sure, however, that underneath the veneer of lawlessness, -the girl was fine and true. She was the only one who had "owned up" and -she wouldn't divulge the names of the other culprits. Too bad she got in -with that crowd of girls who roomed outside of the dormitories. They were -less hampered by rules and regulations, and gladly welcomed Clarice with -her generous allowance and her readiness for all kinds of fun. She was -always easily led by anyone who was friendly toward her, and on several -occasions she had been taken advantage of by the crowd. It was a pity -that a girl who was capable of doing good work, and possessed of -qualities which, if developed, would make her amount to something, should -be playing around with those idlers who had come to college principally -for a good time. Somebody really ought to rescue her. - -"I suppose I might undertake the job," thought Patricia reluctantly. -"Clarice responds to flattery and petting like a pussy cat. Yet even if I -wanted to (which I really don't) I haven't the time. It would mean -constant attention, and would probably ruin my standings." - -Patricia shook herself, as if to be rid of the whole troublesome -business, and resolutely opened her book. Next day's assignment was -difficult, and required perfect concentration. - -"One more escapade--sever connections--" - -Bother! Why need those relentless words ring in _her_ ears? It was the -duty of Mrs. Vincent, as chaperon, to advise and guard the girls under -her care. Inefficient little Dolly! The only methods she knew how to use -were reprimands and warnings, neither of which would do in this case. The -redemption of Clarice must be effected by one who would win and hold her -affection; who could, and would, detach her from the outside crowd, and -unite her to the girls from Arnold Hall. - -Patricia gave up further attempts to study, and sat arguing with herself -until a bell rang and the janitor came in to close the building. With a -start she packed up her books, hurried out, and walked briskly across the -campus in the direction of the Hall. The girls, unless special permission -had been granted, were expected to be in the house at ten o'clock, and it -was within a quarter of that hour. A passing automobile forced her to -pause at the corner where a street light clearly revealed the faces of -the occupants of the car: Clarice and Bert King! - -Quick anger filled Patricia's heart. How could anyone, with any sense at -all, go right out on top of a warning? She could not have obtained -permission, because all her privileges had been used up. Calender Street -led directly out to Driftwood Inn, where there was a dance every Thursday -night. Evidently that was their destination. No use bothering one's head -about a girl who was quite so reckless. A sheer waste of time and energy! - -Thursday night? This was the evening that the chaperons played bridge at -the Faculty Club. Possibly Mrs. Vincent had gone directly there from the -library. In that case, very likely she had not yet seen Clarice. That put -a different face on the matter. Poor Clarice! Rushing so gayly away to -the Inn for a good time, she would return to find herself expelled. -Hardly fair; yet the Dean had said distinctly that one more escapade, and -she always kept her word. In view of her recent reprimand, Mrs. Vincent -would not be likely to spare Clarice this time. - -Mechanically Patricia entered the Hall and walked down the empty corridor -to her own room. She was alone tonight; for Betty had gone home for the -week end a day early. Mechanically she undressed, her brain busy creating -and discarding ways and means of shielding the truant. - -There was little doubt about Clarice's ability to enter the house and get -to her room unseen and unheard. That she had accomplished before by -secret methods of her own. The greatest danger lay in room inspection, -recently inaugurated. Every night, now, Mrs. Vincent made a tour of rooms -about eleven o'clock to see if any of her charges were missing. In all -probability, after the Dean's recent hint that she had not been -sufficiently on the alert, tonight would be the time for greater -thoroughness than usual. - -If there were only someone who could be placed in Clarice's bed until -after the ceremony had been concluded. No one of the girls, of course, -would risk a demerit by absence from her own room, especially for -Clarice; they disapproved of her too strongly. - -Her own hair was almost exactly the shade of Clarice's. There seemed no -way except to sacrifice herself to the cause, and she rebelled against -it. - -"It is being deceitful, and that is wrong," admonished an inner voice. - -"It's being very charitable," contradicted another little voice. "By -doing this, you'll give Clarice a chance to complete her year's work." - -"And next year," came back the sneering suggestion, "she'll act just the -same as ever." - -"No such thing! You are going to help her keep away from undesirable -companions, and develop her real self." - -The fact that she might not be back next year herself was entirely lost -track of in the conflict between the opposing impulses. - - -When she was all ready for bed, Patricia opened her door quietly, paused -to listen, then slipped noiselessly along the corridor to Clarice's room. -Cautiously turning the knob, she slipped into the dark room. Safe so far. -Rolling herself in the bed clothes, she turned her face to the wall and -burrowed deep into the pillows. Shaking with excitement, and too much -disturbed to sleep, she lay listening to the trolley cars and automobiles -which passed and repassed on the busy street, and to the little movements -and noises inside. She heard Mrs. Vincent come in and go directly to her -own room. Finally the clock in the hall sounded its soft chimes, then -gave forth eleven measured strokes. Like a cuckoo, Mrs. Vincent promptly -emerged from her room and crossed the hall to the table where the -register lay. Presently, Patricia heard her put down the heavy book and -start along the corridor. Now she was at Lucile's door; now Anne's; then -Patricia's own. A pause. Quick step around the room. Return to the -register. Silence. Then the steps re-crossed the hall and stopped at -Clarice's door. The knob turned softly. Patricia held her breath. -Suppose, after all, she should be caught, and Clarice's absence -discovered! The ray of a little flash light wavered over her head, darted -about the room, and--disappeared. Half an hour later, Mrs. Vincent was in -bed, fast asleep; then Patricia crept noiselessly back to her own room. - - -The students had just returned from breakfast the following morning, when -Mrs. Vincent called Patricia into her room. - -"Miss Randall," she began, without preamble, "did you have permission to -go out last night?" - -"No, Mrs. Vincent." - -"You were not in your room at room inspection." - -Patricia was silent. The chaperon looked surprised. - -"Where were you?" she asked at last. - -"That I am not at liberty to tell you; but I can truthfully say that I -was not doing anything of which I should be ashamed." - -"You realize, of course, that I shall have to report this to the Dean?" - -"Yes, Mrs. Vincent." - -Baffled, rather annoyed, and wholly puzzled, the chaperon dismissed her. - - -By dinner time that evening the whole college seethed with the report -that Patricia Randall had been required to withdraw from participation in -the spring entertainment which was to be given the following Saturday. -Little groups were gathered here and there excitedly discussing the -astounding news. - -"My dear, Patricia was out without permission last night--" - -No one knew where! - -"Her room was empty at inspection." - -"Dean Walters and Mrs. Vincent are furious because they couldn't get her -to say where she was." - -"Jack Dunn's terribly upset, because they say she had one of the most -important dance numbers with him!" - -"Yes, and nobody else knows how to do it; and it's too late to coach -anyone." - -"It is a shame! That part will just have to be omitted." - -"What _do_ you suppose possessed Patricia, of all people, to start -breaking rules, and then be so secretive about it?" - - -In the little reception room of Arnold Hall sat the object of their -discussions. - -"I feel just as bad as you do, Jack," she was saying to the serious-faced -youth opposite her; "and I'd explain if I could; but I really can't. The -worst of it is cutting you out of the dance." - -"What about yourself?" - -"Oh, that doesn't matter--much." - -Patricia was examining the pleats in her skirt, laying each one carefully -into its exact crease. If only she wouldn't feel so like crying every -time she talked about the entertainment. She had never been in anything -as large as this before, and was looking forward to inviting some people -down from home. How glad she was that she had held up the invitations! - -"There _is_ a way," she continued, as soon as she could control her -voice, "that the dance could be given just the same, if you will only -agree." - -"I won't make a solo of it, because it would be a complete frost. Anyhow, -I don't want to go on without you. I need you for inspiration," he added, -with a mischievous grin. - -"It's nice of you to put it that way, but your desire to make the affair -a success should furnish enough 'inspiration.' The omission of that dance -leaves an awful gap in the performance." - -"Don't I know it?" gloomily. - -"Well, then, ask Clarice Tyson to take my place." - -As if shot, the boy sprang from his chair. If Patricia had hurled a bomb -at his head, he couldn't have been much more shocked. - -"Nothing doing!" he exclaimed violently. - -"Hush! Don't get so excited. Sit down and listen to me." - -The look of mingled astonishment and disgust on his face was so funny -that Patricia almost had to laugh. Just in time, she succeeded in choking -back her amusement. This was not a time for mirth; the case required -diplomatic handling. - -"In the first place, Clarice is perfectly familiar with that dance; and -since she is a born dancer, she won't embarrass you by ignorance and -awkwardness." - -"She'll not have a chance to," muttered the boy. - -"Don't say that," pleaded Patricia. "Jack, we've been good pals for some -time now; can't you do this for me, if we must put it on a purely -personal basis? There is a special reason why I very much want to place -Clarice before the public in a new role and under different auspices. -Your position in the college is so solid, your reputation so--so -irreproachable, that what you do or sponsor meets with the complete -approval of the Powers-that-Be." - -"Baloney; but I'm beginning, I think, to see through your scheme." - -"And you will do it?" Eagerly the girl leaned forward and waited for his -reply. - -"I can't take her by the hand and just drag her onto the stage with me -Saturday night," objected Jack irritably. - -"Of course not. Tell Jane you know a girl who is well able to take my -place, and ask if you may substitute her. Jane is so busy and worried -over the affair that she'll be delighted, and probably will ask no -questions." - -Jack considered the question gravely, while Patricia watched his face -hopefully. - -"Will you, Jack?" she begged. "Please say you will." - -"All right," he agreed gruffly. "I'm not at all keen, I must confess, at -appearing so publicly with the celebrated Clarice; but if you say so, it -must be done. Probably will cause a tempest in a teapot, but--" - -"I'll take care of that," cried Patricia joyfully; "and thanks a lot. -I'll do something big for you some day." - -Jack drew from his pocket a small note book and scribbled a few lines on -one of its pages. - -"What are you doing?" asked Patricia curiously. - -"Just making a note of that promise." - -At that moment the clock struck half past ten. - -"I must get out of here before I'm put out," said Jack, getting up and -starting for the hall. At the outside door, he paused. - -"By the way, Pat, how does Clarice happen to know that dance?" - -"I taught it to her this afternoon," was the startling reply, as Patricia -closed the door. - -On her way to her own room, she stuck her head into Jane's. - -"Jack knows a girl he can get to sub for me Saturday night," she said. -"Will it be all right?" - -Jane jumped up with a sigh of relief. "I'll say so!" she ejaculated. "Oh, -boy! How worried I've been at the idea of leaving out that dance!" - -"I'm so very sorry to have made all this trouble for everybody," faltered -Patricia, with tears in her eyes; "but I just couldn't help it." - -"Don't, dear!" whispered Jane, putting both arms around the girl. "The -Gang's back of you, whatever you do." - -"It's good of you to say that, especially when I can't clear myself." - -"Maybe later on something will happen to clear things up for you," -suggested Ruth. - -Pat looked at her quickly, wondering if the girl suspected anything; but -Ruth, who was placidly combing her hair, smiled at her in the mirror so -innocently that her fears were allayed. - - -"Pat's shielding some one," declared Ruth, after Patricia had gone. -"We'll have to find out who it is." - -"Oh, Ruthie," groaned Jane, distractedly, "don't suggest my doing -anything until after this blamed entertainment is over." - -Ruth said no more, but she made up her mind that Pat _must_ be cleared. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - CLARICE - - -Rehearsals for the ballet in which Jack and his partner were featured had -ended before Patricia was banned; so it was not until Saturday night that -Jane discovered who the sub was to be. - -"What is _she_ doing here?" whispered the harried director to Frances, -who had sufficiently recovered from her annoyance to help with the -make-up. - -"Who?" inquired Frances, busy laying out grease, paint, and powder. - -"Clarice. She's out there on the stage as large as life. We can't have -any unnecessary people back here." - -Just then Jack approached his partner, and as they practiced a couple of -difficult steps together, the awful truth dawned upon Jane. Though -usually slow to anger, her temper suddenly flared up at the trick which -had been played on her. - -"I think that's just contemptible!" she exclaimed, rapping a brush -sharply on the table. - -"What on earth is the matter?" inquired Ruth, who had just entered with -an armload of costumes. - -"For Pat and Jack to have given Clarice a part in the dance without -telling me." - -"But," said Ruth, "you didn't ask Pat who was to take her place. I -wondered at the time." - -"I never dreamed of its being Clarice! I thought it was some friend of -Jack's." - -"I have an idea," cried Frances. "It isn't for nothing Pat's turned over -her boy friend to Clarice. It's my opinion that it is Clarice Pat is -shielding." - -"What makes you think that?" asked Ruth. - -"I just have a hunch, and I'm going to ferret out the truth." - -"What's the use of that now?" asked Jane. - -"Lots of use; for it would restore Pat to the good graces of--" - -"But we couldn't go out and squeal on someone else," objected Jane. - -"For cats' sake, girls, stop talking and get busy," pleaded the harassed -director. "We'll never be ready for the curtain at eight-fifteen." - -It was not until the very end of the long program that the Arnold Hall -girls went on. A series of dances made up the scene, which was in a -forest. The dance specialty by Jack and Clarice was just over when little -Sylvia, the niece of Dean Walters--as a lost princess--danced to the -front of the stage. - -Excited by the crowd, she flung out her arms and fluffy skirts as she -came forward. A sudden whirl brought her up against a torch held by one -of the woodsmen, and in an instant she was ablaze. Like a flash, Clarice -upset a huge jar of daisies and rolled the child back and forth on the -soaked rug. While the curtain was hastily rung down, Clarice picked up -the child and tried to soothe her. The fluffy dress was a wet, charred -rag, but Sylvia was unharmed. - -"Darling," choked Dean Walters, snatching the child, "it was the -quickest--" she began. Then turning to Clarice, she said, "Come in to see -me tomorrow." - -"Isn't it lucky I had to give up the part!" said Pat to Jack. "I should -never have known what to do. And since the kiddie wasn't harmed, how -wonderfully it will help to reinstate Clarice." - -Frances, who was in the woodsmen's hut just back of them, heard no more; -but this much was enough. - -"Clarice," cried Mrs. Vincent, "are you burned at all?" - -"Not a bit," replied the girl, a bit shaky, now the excitement was over. - -"What ever could I have said to Albert--to your father--if any harm had -come to you!" - -"Well, none did," said Clarice, starting for the dressing room. - -"She's tired and excited," said Jane kindly, as the chaperon's lips -quivered and her troubled eyes followed the progress of her favorite -across the stage. - -"Did you ever know anybody to act so quickly?" demanded Mrs. Vincent -proudly. "Most people didn't know what had happened. I guess the Dean -won't be quite so ready to--" Realizing suddenly that she was saying too -much in her excitement, she stopped abruptly and hurried off the stage. - - -The following day, Jane, Anne, Frances, and Ruth were sitting on a bench -in Reservoir Park, facing the west. A beautiful sunset was dyeing the sky -a brilliant crimson and gold. They had gone for a walk after dinner, and -now were resting and discussing the events of the preceding evening. - -"It's very clear to me," Frances was saying emphatically, "that the Dean -must have decided upon something drastic regarding Clarice; that Pat knew -about it, and got into trouble helping her out." - -"And then thought it might show the Dean that the girls liked and trusted -the real Clarice if she had a big part in the show," continued Anne, -tracing a pattern in the dust of the path with a small twig. - -"I know that she, herself, taught Clarice that dance," contributed Ruth, -who was industriously pulling a daisy apart, meanwhile saying to herself, -"'He loves me; he loves me not.' Clarice told me so when I pressed the -question last night as to where she had learned it." - -Jane, who had been listening silently with thoughtfully knitted brows and -a puzzled expression in her honest grey eyes, now sprang up and faced the -three on the bench. - -"I think I have it!" - -"What?" demanded Ruth in alarm. "Not _measles_!" In one of the -dormitories there was a mild epidemic of that disease of childhood. - -"Oh, no," laughed Jane, "but listen! The night Pat was missing from her -room, I was in the bathroom between ten-thirty and eleven. You remember, -Ruthie, I told you that the salad we had at dinner made me feel sick?" - -Ruth nodded. - -"While I was in there, I heard someone cross the hall and go very softly -into Clarice's room--it's right next to the bathroom, you know. It didn't -sound like Clarice, for she puts her heels down so hard; and the person -was very quiet. At the time, I didn't pay much attention, or try to -figure it out; I was feeling pretty sick. But since you've been talking, -this suddenly all came back to me. Do you know what I think? I'll bet -that Pat discovered Clarice was out for a good time somewhere, and took -her room so her absence wouldn't be noticed. Their hair is about the same -shade, and in the dark it would be easy to--" - -"Jane! Jane!" cried Anne joyfully. "I believe you _have_ solved the -puzzle." - -"Listen," Frances broke in, "to what I overheard Pat say last night!" And -she repeated what she heard of Patricia's conversation with Jack. - -"I'll bet the Dean intended to drop Clarice if she got another demerit," -said Ruth, when Frances had finished. - -"And it fits right in with what Dolly started to say last night," said -Jane, nodding with satisfaction. - -"Now all we need to know is whether Clarice was out after hours last -Thursday," concluded Anne; "and when we get home, I'm going to ask her." - -"And if she was?" queried Jane. - -"Then--I think--" replied Anne slowly, "that I shall tell her what we -suspect. I was with Clarice quite a bit the first of last year, and got -to know her fairly well. There's more good in her than one would suspect, -and she's the last person who'd let anybody else take her punishments." - -"But, Anne," protested Jane, as they rose to go. The brilliant colors of -the sky had faded, and it was beginning to get dark. "Won't you be -undoing all that Pat tried to bring about?" - -"No, for the Dean had a long talk with Clarice this afternoon, and they -understand each other perfectly. I imagine that Clarice was quite frank -about herself, for she told me the Dean was just lovely to her, and -regretted their not having understood each other before. Clarice has -pretty much of a crush, and she'll do anything for a person she loves. -You see, Clarice's mother died a number of years ago, and Mr. Tyson has -lived in boarding houses and hotels ever since. He adored Clarice, and -simply spoiled her, until she became very headstrong. Then he decided to -send her to college in the hope that its discipline and associations -would sort of make her over--" - -"But, Anne," interrupted Jane; "if you knew all this, why didn't you tell -us before? We might have helped, instead of sitting in judgment on her so -often." - -"I didn't know _all_ of it until this morning, and you'd never guess who -told me. _Dolly._" - -"Dolly!" exclaimed the other girls simultaneously. - -"You remember the break she made last night about 'Albert'? Well, I think -she wanted to explain that a bit; so she waited for me after church, and -on the way home told me what I have just repeated to you. She met Mr. -Tyson and Clarice at the seashore, somewhere in Massachusetts, a couple -of years ago; and I guess, again last summer." - -"Then _that's_ why she's so fond of Clarice," remarked Frances; "and I'll -bet my last dollar she's fond of 'Albert' too. Where does he live?" - -"Boston." - -"Ah, ha! She gets a letter from Boston every week!" cried Frances -triumphantly. - -"How do you know?" demanded Jane. - -"Have you forgotten that I bring down the mail at noon every day?" - -Jane did not reply; for they were by that time at the door of Arnold -Hall. As soon as they entered, Anne went in search of Clarice; and nobody -saw either of them again that night. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - SOLUTIONS - - -The girls of Granard College had finished Monday night's dessert of -chocolate blanc mange, and were restlessly waiting for the signal to -leave the dining room, when Clarice, who was sitting at the end of the -Arnold Hall table, rose quietly and stood facing her companions. - -"I've got something to say, girls," she began abruptly, her big black -eyes turned on one after another of the members of the Alley Gang, and -coming to rest on Patricia. "Last Thursday night I stayed out after hours -without permission. Accidentally Pat found it out--also, what I didn't -know at the time, that if I got another demerit I'd be dropped from -college. Like the good sport she is, she occupied my bed until after -inspection that night. You all know what a jam she got into, but I was so -dumb that I didn't put two and two together until last night." Clarice's -fixed gaze here shifted from Patricia's flushed face to Anne's. The -friendly smile which flashed to her from Anne's red lips made her falter -for a moment. Quickly, however, she recovered her poise, and continued. -"I've seen the Dean, and explained the whole affair to her; as well as to -Mrs. Vincent. And, Pat's slate is clean." - -Clarice turned from the table, and before the astonished girls could -move, had darted out of a side door which was directly behind her. Then -pandemonium broke loose. - -"Three cheers for Clarice and Pat!" cried Katharine, waving her arms -excitedly. - -An immediate and hearty response centered the attention of the entire -dining room upon the Arnold Hall table; and as the girls left the -building they were besieged by the other students to know the cause of -the demonstration. - -Although examinations loomed in the near future, no one could study in -Arnold Hall that evening; everyone was too excited, and too happy, to -settle down. The members of the Alley Gang roamed restlessly in and out -of one another's rooms, talking incessantly, while sampling the "eats" -which had arrived in several boxes from home that day. Patricia had -managed to get Clarice for a few moments alone in order to say some -things which couldn't be said in public. - -"Please don't, Pat," protested the other girl. "I'm so far in debt to you -that--" - -"But, Clarice," interrupted Patricia, putting her hand forcibly over her -friend's mouth to check further talk about indebtedness, "I want to know -how things stand with you. You won't be dropped?" - -"No, everything's all right. The Dean was lovely, and from now on I'm -going to make good." - -"I'm so glad," began Patricia, "and I know that you can." - -Just then Anne appeared, and announced that Rhoda had a telephone message -for Patricia. - -Sliding off the porch railing, on which they had been perched, the two -girls followed Anne into the house. - -"Mrs. Brock would like you to come right over, Miss Randall," said Rhoda, -when the trio presented themselves before the Black Book table where the -maid was sitting. - -"How exciting!" cried Anne. "What do you think she wants?" - -"I'll have to go and find out, I suppose," sighed Patricia wearily. The -strain of the week was beginning to tell on even her sturdy constitution, -and she longed to go to bed. - -"Come back as soon as you can," begged Anne, going as far as the door -with her, "and tell us all about it. We won't have many more talkfests." - -"No; and it makes me just _sick_ to think of leaving here the last of -next week," whispered Patricia sadly, dashing away a couple of tears. - -"Never mind, old dear," said Anne. "Maybe something will turn up to bring -you back next fall." - - -When the maid at Big House ushered Patricia onto a large screened porch, -she was astonished to see Jack sitting beside a lamp whose soft light -illuminated the entire veranda. After brief greetings had been exchanged, -Mrs. Brock said abruptly: - -"I have a story to tell you children." - -Her visitors exchanged amused glances over the appellation. - -"I'll make it brief; for I know that the reminiscences of old people bore -the young. When I was a girl, about your age, I had two very dear chums: -one was Mary Pierce." - -Patricia leaned eagerly forward in her chair at the sound of her mother's -maiden name, but Mrs. Brock continued without appearing to notice the -girl's surprise. - -"The other," she went on, "was Gertrude Neal." - -Here Jack started up in astonishment, as he, too, recognized the name of -his mother. Again Mrs. Brock went on without a pause. - -"That surprises you, for I seem much older than your mothers. As a matter -of fact, I _was_ several years older than the other girls, and a long -illness a few years ago makes me appear much more ancient than I really -am. But to go on with my story. We were very congenial, and almost -inseparable." A smile at some memory flickered across the woman's face, -completely transforming the immobile features with which her listeners -were familiar. A look of regret and sadness almost immediately replaced -the smile, as she continued: - -"Unfortunately, it was too happy a friendship to last. We had a serious -misunderstanding, in which I was mostly to blame. In fact the affair was -the cause of considerable injustice being suffered by Mary and Gertrude. -I'm not going into details--it's over now, and they probably forgot all -about it; but anyhow, we separated, and I have never seen either of them -since. An aunt took me abroad, and one thing or another detained me there -until last year. My return revived old memories and affections; yet my -pride kept me from going directly to my friends. I felt, however, that I -wanted to do something to make up, at least in part, for the trouble I -had caused; so I decided to make you children a little gift and at the -same time find out what you were like. I bought Big House because it was -located so close to the college my father attended, then sent you the -money for the year's expenses. - -"Rhoda, my secretary and companion, I managed to place in Arnold Hall as -a maid, so she could give me all kinds of information about Patricia; and -I hired a private detective, Norman Young, to do my secretarial work and -at the same time spy on Jack. The game is played out now, and I hope the -year has been as satisfactory to you as it has to me. Wait a minute," as -Patricia again tried to speak. "I have an offer to make. I'm going to get -a car; for I find I cannot walk as much as I used to; and if Jack cares -to take the position as chauffeur in return for his next year's college -expenses, I fancy we can come to a satisfactory agreement. The hours -would not interfere at all with college work, and," she paused and looked -questioningly at the boy, "you won't have to live with me." - -"Mrs. Brock, I don't know what to say, except to thank you for all your -kindness to me, and to accept gratefully your most generous offer. I--" - -"All right then; that's settled," interrupted Mrs. Brock, turning toward -Patricia. "I need someone to look after my library and read to me. If you -could fit that work in with your college duties, I shall be responsible -for _your_ next year's expenses. Of course you'll live at Arnold Hall." - -"Mrs. Brock," began Patricia; then much to everyone's distress she burst -into tears. "If you only knew," she sobbed, "how much I wanted to come -back here, and how afraid I have been that I couldn't--" - -"Then I'll expect you both to report here on September 20," interrupted -Mrs. Brock, "four days before college opens. Don't try to tell me how -grateful you are. I guess I know. Good night." - -Patricia kissed the white face of the little woman, and Jack followed her -example. Neither spoke until they were out on the street. - -"Some fairy godmother!" exclaimed Jack. - -"Oh, Jack, isn't she wonderful?" - -"And the best of all," said Jack, "is that we'll be here together again. -You've become a sort of habit with me, I guess." - -Patricia smiled happily in the darkness. "And now," she exulted as they -reached Arnold Hall, "I must go in and tell the girls the joyful news." - - - The End - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Preserved the copyright notice from the printed edition, although this - book is in the public domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected a few typos (but left nonstandard spelling and - dialect as is). - ---Rearranged front matter to a more-logical streaming order and added a - Table of Contents. - ---In the text versions, delimited text in italics by _underscores_. - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Mystery of Arnold Hall, by Helen M. 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