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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..33f0e7c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #53213 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53213) diff --git a/old/53213-0.txt b/old/53213-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 79fe083..0000000 --- a/old/53213-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6371 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Marjorie Dean, Marvelous Manager, by Pauline Lester - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Marjorie Dean, Marvelous Manager - -Author: Pauline Lester - -Release Date: October 5, 2016 [EBook #53213] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARJORIE DEAN, MARVELOUS MANAGER *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[Illustration: Leslie had posted herself behind the barrier of leafy -green for the express purpose of watching the working out of a little -plan of her own.] - - (_Page 120_) (_Marjorie Dean, Marvelous Manager_) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - MARJORIE DEAN - MARVELOUS MANAGER - - BY PAULINE LESTER - - AUTHOR OF - - “The Marjorie Dean High School Series,” “The - Marjorie Dean College Series,” “The Marjorie - Dean Post-Graduate Series,” etc. - - [Illustration] - - A. L. BURT COMPANY - - Publishers New York - - Printed in U. S. A. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE MARJORIE DEAN - POST-GRADUATE SERIES - - A SERIES FOR GIRLS 12 TO 18 YEARS OF AGE - - BY PAULINE LESTER - - MARJORIE DEAN, POST-GRADUATE - MARJORIE DEAN, MARVELOUS MANAGER - MARJORIE DEAN AT HAMILTON ARMS - MARJORIE DEAN’S ROMANCE - - Copyright, 1925 - - By A. L. BURT COMPANY - - MARJORIE DEAN, MARVELOUS MANAGER - - Made in “U. S. A.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - MARJORIE DEAN - MARVELOUS MANAGER - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - ACROSS THE CAMPUS - - -“To go, or not to go?—that is the question,” paraphrased Marjorie Dean -glancing up from the open letter in her hand. She fixed her eyes on -Jerry Macy, her room-mate as though trying to read what was in her -chum’s mind. - - “Whether ’tis nobler to eat Baretti’s turk, - And circulate upon the campus drear; - Or to take luggage and be off for home - To roost four days upon the family tree.” - -Jerry aptly supplied. - -“Fine, Jeremiah. I certainly would love to roost on the Deans’ family -tree for four blessed days.” Marjorie’s voice rang with wistfulness. -“I’ve tried to persuade myself into believing that it won’t make much -difference to the dormitory girls if we decide we’d best go home for -Thanksgiving. But I’m not sure.” Marjorie knitted troubled brows. “This -is the tenth,” she reflected aloud. “Whether we go home, or whether we -stay on the campus over Thanksgiving, we’ve enough to do beforehand to -keep us hustling.” She sprang up from her chair as though animated anew -by the mere recollection of work yet to be done. - -“Why remind me, beautiful Bean? I’m sadly aware of the fact. What we -must do is organize the new Travelers’ sorority and let them see the -dormitory girls through Thanksgiving. If they do nicely,” Jerry -continued in patronizing tones, “their reward’ll be more work, and lots -of it. If they flivver—but they won’t. We old Travelers knew how to pick -out our successors. We’re safe to go home and leave our Thanksgiving -stunts to our little Traveler sisters to carry out. Ha; great -intellect!” Jerry admiringly patted one of her own plump shoulders. “You -always do suggest such brilliant ideas, Jeremiah,” she gushed. - -“How conceited you are! Still, there’s a grain of wisdom in your vain -remarks.” Marjorie patted Jerry’s other shoulder. “I hereby confer upon -you the high and noble order of the pat,” she declared in a deep pompous -voice. She accompanied her words with several pats, each one more -forceful than the last. - -“The hard and croo-il order of the whack, I’ll say.” Jerry caught the -conferring hand in time to save herself one last thump. “Now that I’ve -been initiated into this wonderful order what happens to me next?” - -“I’ll tell you in a minute. Let me think.” Marjorie fixed absent eyes on -Jerry as she considered the situation. “You’re to go downstairs and -telephone Kathie and Lillian to come over to dinner at the Hall this -evening. If they can’t come to dinner, then they must come afterward. -Tell them the time has come to open the box. That will bring them.” - -“You bet it will,” Jerry made slangy concurrence. - -“Then I’ll depend on you to hunt Leila, Vera, Ronny, Lucy and Muriel. -They’re not to dare think of another engagement.” - -“Yessum.” Jerry made a respectful, bobbing bow to Marjorie. “Please, -mum, may I ask what you’ll be doing, mum, about the same time I’m -rushing upstairs and down?” - -“I’m going over to Silverton Hall,” Marjorie returned as she crossed the -room to her dress closet and reached for coat and fur cap. “I’ll see -Robin, Phil and Barbara; bring them back to dinner, if I can. Thank -fortune Barbara is at Silverton Hall this year instead of Acasia House. -I’ll be back by five o’clock. It’s ten minutes to four now.” - -“Then you’ll have to go some,” Jerry said skeptically. “If you are back -here with those three girls by six o’clock I’ll give you a prize. -Remember, you can’t stay to dinner at Silverton Hall. We’ve Kathie and -Lillian to consider.” - -“The prize is as good as won. What are you going to give me?” Marjorie’s -inquiry was slyly coaxing. She sidled confidently up to Jerry. - -“Never mind now.” Jerry waved her away. “Come back at five o’clock and -ask me.” - -“I will. I’m going z-i-p-p across the campus. Just like that!” Marjorie -made a lightning forward pass with one arm. “I’m going to have a wind -sail. There’s a dandy stiff wind blowing today. Mary Raymond and I used -to take our school umbrellas when we were little girls and go out on a -windy day with them. It was a regular game. We named it ‘wind sails.’ -We’d let the wind blow us along. Sometimes the umbrellas would turn -inside out, or the wind would whisk them away from us and we’d have to -chase them a long way. Once mine blew into the river, and once a big boy -caught Mary’s umbrella and ran off with it. We never saw either of those -bumbershoots again.” - -Marjorie paused at the door to laugh at the recollection of childhood -adventures. “Oh, Jerry,” she changed the subject with sudden abruptness, -“we’ll have to dig up some eats for a spread. Whoever dreamed of -gathering in the Travelers without feeding them?” - -“I’ll ask Leila to run us into town for eats as soon as you come back. -That’s an incentive to hurry,” bribed Jerry. - -“There are times when I can’t help appreciating you, Jeremiah. Good-bye. -I’m in _such_ a hurry.” Marjorie breezily closed the door and made a -speedy descent of the stairs. - -She opened the massive front door of the Hall with the same gusty -energy, and went down the front steps at a frisky jump. The brisk -November wind caught her none too gently, blew a fluff of curls about -her sparkling face and a brighter color into her rosy cheeks. She paused -for an instant on the drive to inhale deeply the crisp, invigorating -November air, then she set off across the campus at her best hiking -stride. - -With the wind at her back, noisily urging her along, she laughed -enjoyingly, spread her arms wide in lieu of sails and ran with it. -Passing a little delegation of lingering robins, strung along a tree -limb, their feathers fluffed out, their red breasts making a bit of -autumn color against the brown limb, she whistled cheerily to them. - -“Naughty little fellows,” she playfully chided. “You should have started -for the land of flowers long before now. You’ll have to hurry if you -expect to get there in time to eat Thanksgiving dinner with your folks. -I ought to take that advice to myself.” - -Bump! Her eyes still lingering on the flock of birds, she collided -forcefully with a girl who had deliberately courted collision. Muriel -Harding, emerging from the library, had spied Marjorie from the library -steps. Her mischievous love of teasing always uppermost, she had -approached Marjorie unseen, bent on surprising her. - -“Uh-h-h!” Muriel pretended to stagger back. “Why don’t you look where -you’re going, lady?” she demanded gruffly. - -“Why don’t you?” The two girls faced each other, flushed and laughing. - -“I did. I decided to let you know I was near you,” confessed Muriel. “If -you had been moderately observing you might have averted the crash.” - -“I doubt it.” Marjorie looked her skepticism. - -“So do I,” Muriel agreed so amiably that the pair again broke into -laughter. - -“You’d best come with me,” Marjorie invited. “Jerry’s hunting for you, -but that’ll be all right. I’ve found you.” She went on to explain her -errand to Silverton Hall. “Forward, march,” she concluded, taking hold -of Muriel’s right arm. “Step lively. I’ve lost at least three precious -minutes exchanging mostly impolite remarks with you.” - -“I’ll hit up a pace,” Muriel slangily assured. “I’m nothing if not -obliging. It’s fortunate for you that you met me. I am always _so_ -helpful.” Her brown eyes danced roguishly. “You must _know_ that.” - -“I’ve heard you say so.” Marjorie was purposely vague. “If I had been -even moderately observing I might have noticed that you were. That is, -if you really——” - -“Why dwell on the subject? This is the way the wild wind goes.” She -began whisking Marjorie over the half frozen ground at a mad run. -Marjorie sturdily kept up with her. The two girls tore across the campus -toward their goal, shrieking with laughter, bubbling over with high -spirits. - -They were nearing Craig Hall, one of the campus houses which they had to -pass on their diagonal route to Silverton Hall, when the front door of -the house opened and two young women came out on the veranda, then -descended the steps. Evidently their ears caught the sounds of mirth -emanating from the pair of exuberant P. G.’s. Two pairs of eyes, one -pair coldly green, the other small, black and shrewd, immediately -fastened on Marjorie and Muriel. - -“Look who’s here. Keep right on going,” Muriel muttered in Marjorie’s -ear. She nodded to one of the two girls who had come from Craig Hall and -were now within a few feet of her and Marjorie. Her nod was courteous -rather than friendly. The response she received was a stiff inclination -from Doris Monroe’s golden head. - -Marjorie had obeyed Muriel’s muttered direction. For the barest instant -her clear, truthful gaze met, impersonally, the narrowing, hostile eyes -of Leslie Cairns. She then glanced serenely away from Leslie. She had -long since ceased to regard Leslie Cairns with personal displeasure. -This in spite of the ex-student’s treacherous attempt to frustrate her -and Robin Page’s plans in the matter of the buying of the dormitory -site. - -As for Doris Monroe, Marjorie had been rebuffed by chilling looks on -three different occasions when she had encountered and spoken to the -haughty sophomore. She now claimed the privilege of one repeatedly -ignored, to ignore in return. She had not given up the idea of carrying -out a certain gracious little plan she had in mind to further the -popularity of her beautiful “fairy-tale princess.” Marjorie was too -great of spirit to harbor resentment against Doris Monroe, simply -because Doris did not like her. Instead she found herself experiencing -the anxiety of one who had suddenly encountered a friend in a dangerous -position. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - A DISQUIETING REMINDER - - -“Br-r-r!” Muriel made a pretense of shivering. “Did you notice how the -Ice Queen scorned us? And what a noted person she had with her?” She -waited until they had put a few yards between themselves and the other -pair of girls before sarcastically launching the inquiries. - -“Yes, I saw,” Marjorie returned composedly. “I’m sorry. I knew Leslie -Cairns was living in the town of Hamilton. This is the first time I have -seen her since last summer.” - -“It’s the first time I’ve seen her since before she left college,” -Muriel replied. “She’s homelier than ever, but that cheviot sports suit -and hat she has on are dreams. What a splendid combination—the -Hob-goblin and the Ice Queen!” Muriel’s private pet name for Leslie -Cairns had always been the “Hob-goblin.” “Sounds like the title of a -fairy tale, doesn’t it?” - -“Exactly.” Marjorie nodded abstractedly. She had forgotten Muriel’s -uncomplimentary name for Leslie. With the return of it to memory came -her own imaginative fancy regarding Doris Monroe. Yes, Doris was truly -like an enchanted princess. Now Leslie Cairns had suddenly appeared, -bearing fanciful resemblance to a wicked wizard. Marjorie smiled to -herself at her own absurdity of thought. Still it made a certain -impression on her which time did not obliterate. - -“What are you thinking about, Marvelous Manager?” Muriel gave her chum’s -arm an emphatic tug. The two had kept up their swinging stride and were -now nearing Silverton Hall. “Come down out of the clouds.” - -“Wasn’t up in them,” Marjorie smilingly denied. “I was thinking about -Miss Monroe, and——” - -“And the fatal results of cultivating Leslie Cairns,” interrupted Muriel -mockingly. “Don’t worry, Marjorie. Trust the icy Ice Queen to look out -for her own interests. Greek has met Greek. I’ve roomed long enough with -the Ice Queen to know that she always pleases herself first. This being -Leslie Cairns’ motto, we may presently expect to find them on the outs.” - -“I hope so.” Marjorie was not sanguine. “I’ve learned by experience, -Muriel, not to under-rate Leslie Cairns’ capacity for making trouble.” - -“Oh, I know she’s a star trouble maker, even if she has never succeeded -in anything she tried to do to injure us,” Muriel readily admitted. “But -you stood so staunchly for the right, Marjorie Dean, in all the fusses -we had with her and the rest of the Sans, things simply had to turn out -O. K. at the last.” - -“I didn’t stand out more strongly for the right than any of the other -Travelers,” Marjorie hastily corrected, her reply bordering on vexation. - -“Certainly, you did, Modest Manager,” Muriel cheerfully contradicted. “I -have all the proofs of the case at my tongue’s end.” - -“Keep them there,” Marjorie told her with feigned displeasure. - -“Oh, very well.” Muriel was all amiability. “I may think of some other -sweet little thing about you later.” - -Readers of the “MARJORIE DEAN HIGH SCHOOL SERIES,” which comprises four -volumes, and the “MARJORIE DEAN COLLEGE SERIES,” also in four volumes, -are thoroughly at home with Marjorie Dean and her many friends. -“MARJORIE DEAN, COLLEGE POST GRADUATE,” forms the initial volume in the -“MARJORIE DEAN POST GRADUATE SERIES.” Returned to Hamilton College as a -post graduate Marjorie took up the work she had set her heart upon -doing. Surrounded by a devoted circle of girls who had kept pace with -her in college, Marjorie felt that her most momentous year of enterprise -and accomplishment had come. - -Lack of unity at Wayland Hall had distressed her not a little since her -return to the campus. She had dreamed rosy dreams of a unified Hamilton -which she had fondly hoped might come true that very year. Instead, -Wayland Hall, the house she loved best of all the campus houses, and her -own roof tree, was brimming with dissention. She was now reflecting -rather dispiritedly concerning this very thing. The encounter with -Leslie Cairns and Doris Monroe had brought it foremost to her mind. - -“I wonder how long Miss Monroe has known Miss Cairns?” she now mused -aloud. - -“Long enough to know better. There you go again, worrying over that -selfish iceberg,” Muriel cried impatiently. “I might beneficently warn -her against the snares of the Hob-goblin, but would she be grateful? Far -from it. No, no, Muriel. Never contemplate such folly.” Muriel answered -her own question in a prim, horrified tone. - -“I quite agree with Muriel,” Marjorie smiled faintly. - -“Some of the upper class girls may tell her a few things about Leslie -Cairns. They’d not forget her and the Sans in a hurry. If you had to -room with her you’d lose your crush on her. She’s exasperating.” - -“I can’t help admiring her. She is so beautiful,” Marjorie made frank -avowal. “I always have to stop and remember that she isn’t amiable. -There was one thing in particular that I noticed on the night last -summer when we invited her downstairs to Miss Remson’s spread. She was -truthful. She didn’t say she was too tired, or make any other excuses. -She said flatly that she _didn’t care to come downstairs_. Again, -afterward, when we were in Vera’s car and met her out walking one Sunday -afternoon, we asked her to ride with us. She refused our invitation in -the same scornful way. Still it was the _real_ way she felt. A girl who -wouldn’t bother to deceive others must have principle,” Marjorie -earnestly advanced. - -“Hum-m. That remains to be seen.” Muriel was not thus easily convinced. -“But will I be the one to see? At present the Ice Queen and I are as -intimate as the North and South Poles. We don’t even study at the same -table.” - -“Poor old Muriel. Was it lonesome?” Marjorie flung an arm across -Muriel’s shoulders. They were now turning in at the flagstone walk in -front of Silverton Hall. - -“Yes, it was,” grumbled Muriel. “But it’s my own fault. I took that half -a room to please myself. You girls ought to appreciate me and make a -fuss over me because I refused to be separated from the Sanfordites.” - -“I’ll call a special meeting after the Travelers go tonight and remind -the Sanfordites of their duty,” Marjorie teasingly promised as they went -up the steps of the Hall. - -The blended harmony of violin and piano outside Robin Page’s room halted -the visitors before the closed door. They had no more than willingly -paused to listen when the music stopped. - -“My last A string,” mourned a voice. “I’ll have to go clear to town for -another. How provoking!” - -Marjorie knocked three times in quick succession on the door, hers and -Robin’s particular rap. There was a scurry of light feet across the -floor then Robin joyfully opened the door. - -“What luck!” she exulted as she did a pleased little prance around the -callers. “I was coming over to Wayland Hall directly after dinner. I’ve -such a lot of things to get off my chest.” She sighed. “I’m fairly -stuffed with responsibility. Hello, Muriel Harding. I haven’t seen you -for as much as two days. Where have you been keeping yourself? I want -you for a singing number I’m going to have in our first show. We’re -going to open with a revue, you know.” - -“My A string just snapped,” Phyllis Moore was ruefully informing -Marjorie. “So aggravating. I was going to put in two hours of practice -this evening. The only store in Hamilton where I can get another string -closes at five o’clock. Goodness knows when I’ll be imbued again with -such a laudable desire to practice.” - -“You couldn’t practice tonight if you had fifty A strings,” Marjorie -told her. “The time has come to open the box, Phil.” - -“Oh, lovely!” Phyllis’ charming face lighted with pleasure. “Away with -practice.” She waved both arms outward with a buoyant releasing gesture. - -“You’re to come over to Wayland Hall now; you and Robin. Where’s -Barbara?” - -“In her room, stuck with a theme. Hope she’s struggled through it by -this time. If she hasn’t, I’ll make her leave it; just as though it was -a finished literary triumph. I’ll go for her now.” Phil dashed out the -door and down the hall to Barbara Severn’s room. - -She returned in an incredibly short space of time with Barbara, the -latter in outdoor attire. - -“Hello, Red Bird,” greeted Muriel. “Who so gay as you?” She shook -Barbara by both hands, then turned her around so as to inspect her coat -and cap of a wonderful shade of deep crimson, the gorgeous hue -accentuated by wide collar, cuffs and bandings of bear’s fur. “What a -love of a coat and cap!” - -“Isn’t it, though? I am always planning to waylay Barbara on the campus -some fine dark evening and strip her of that de luxe red coat and cap.” -Phil made threatening eyes at Barbara. - -“I’m safe. She doesn’t quite dare risk her dignity as president of the -senior class,” laughed Barbara. - -Robin had already donned her wraps. It took energetic Phil not more than -a minute to snatch her own smart coat of gray tweed from its accustomed -hanger. She pulled a black soft Tam-o’-shanter with its huge fluffy -black pom-pom down upon her crinkling yellow-brown hair at a truly -artistic angle. - -“Phil looks more like a wandering musician than ever in that Tam,” was -Marjorie’s admiring opinion. The individuality of Phyllis’ clothes and -the careless, artistic grace with which the tall, supple girl wore them -were a joy to Marjorie. - -Down the stairs and out of the house trooped the five friends, bent on -making as good time to Wayland Hall as they could. Robin, Phil and -Marjorie were anxious to have a talk before dinner about the program for -the coming revue and their entertainment plans for Thanksgiving. Muriel -had decided to go to town with Jerry and Leila in the car to help buy -the eats for the spread. Barbara was eager to see Lucy Warner and glean -from her certain biological pointers of which she stood in need. The -group sped across the campus, reaching the Hall at just five o’clock. - -“No mail for Muriel. What’s the matter with the population of Sanford -that I don’t get any letters?” Muriel demanded severely as she turned -away disappointedly from the Hall bulletin board. - -“I had no idea of your vast importance in Sanford,” giggled Barbara. -“You talk as though you were the mayor of the town.” - -“Not yet,” grinned Muriel. “I may be the mayoress of Sanford some -day—say in about a hundred years from now.” She duplicated Barbara’s -giggle. “Marjorie’s the scintillating social star of Sanford.” - -Marjorie said not a word as she picked several letters from the bulletin -board. Her eyes were glowing like stars at the harvest of mail. There -was a letter from General; another from Captain; a third in Mary -Raymond’s neat vertical script, had come from far-off Colorado. There -was a fourth from Constance Armitage. Fifth and last was a letter in the -sprawling childish writing of Charlie Stevens. She and Charlie, the -latter now grown into a tall sturdy youngster of thirteen, were regular -and enthusiastic correspondents. - -In the rack above her own mail she caught sight of two letters for -Jerry. One of them was in Helen Trent’s familiar hand. The other—A swift -blush overspread Marjorie’s cheeks as she took the two letters from the -board and placed them with her own. She knew only too well whose hand -had dashed the address across the envelope. - -Immersed as she had been in college matters she had given her old pal, -Hal Macy, scant thought since her return to Hamilton campus. Sight of -his letter to Jerry gave her pause; reminded her of something which -intruded itself upon her not quite agreeably. Hal had not answered the -latest letter she had written him. It had really been a long while since -she had heard from him. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - LOYAL TO NO ONE - - -In the dining-room at Wayland Hall that evening plenty of curious and -speculative glances were cast at the round dozen of Hamilton’s -staunchest children as they made merry at a special table which Miss -Remson had provided for them. - -From the next table to theirs the five Bertram girls exchanged -occasional laughing signals and remarks with the distinguished little -group of post graduates, seniors and one member of the faculty, the -youngest though she happened to be. Aside from the warm friendliness of -Gussie Forbes and her four chums there emanated from the other table of -girls a peculiarly chilling atmosphere. It hinted of displeasure; a -displeasure which stopped just this side of hostility. - -“The sophs and freshies in the house can’t see us for a minute,” Jerry -said to Leila in an undertone as they were awaiting the serving of the -dessert. “Feel the chill. Get me?” - -“Tell me nothing.” Leila cast a grim glance about the dining-room. -Suddenly her grimness vanished into a characteristic flash of white -teeth which always signified her utter amusement. “It is the Battle of -Wayland Hall we shall be fighting before spring with a number of -distinguished P. G. generals in the thick of the fray. It is the sophs -who are ready now to roar at us. The freshies here will but echo the -sophs’ roars.” - -“Wayland Hall has been a regular hot-bed of trouble since the soph -president was elected.” Jerry used the same guarded tones. “With Gus and -the disappointed Ice Queen under the same roof can you wonder?” - -“I cannot.” Leila’s shrug was eloquent. “I have not been so completely -disgusted with a set of girls since the bad days of the Sans.” - -“Bad days of the Sans?” Vera, seated at Leila’s left, had caught the -Irish girl’s words. She now repeated them inquiringly. “What tales of -ancient history am I hearing?” - -“Ancient history that is trying to repeat itself,” Leila returned with -dry sarcasm. “I have been muttering in Jeremiah’s ear that we are not -favorites at the Hall.” - -“It’s a case of top-lofty sophs and freshie-fresh freshmen.” Vera gave a -wise nod. “The traditional meek and lowly freshie is rapidly becoming an -almost extinct species.” - -“So it would appear this year,” Jerry agreed with an appraising survey -of the long dining-room. Her glance rested for a moment on Doris Monroe, -then traveled on to the students who sat at table with her. - -“There are the members of the trouble bureau,” she told Leila. “Look in -the direction I’m looking and you’ll know who I mean.” - -“I heard something about a trouble bureau.” Marjorie, next to Jerry on -Jerry’s right, bent a laughing face forward to her room-mate. “What?” - -“First time I ever head you commit a Cairns-ism. For further information -about the trouble bureau, find the Ice Queen,” Jerry directed not -without humor. - -“Oh; I understand. But I won’t look down at her. If she happened to see -us looking at her she would probably be offended, just as Gussie Forbes -was when she noticed us eyeing her the first time we saw her at -Baretti’s. I learned a lesson then. I don’t intend to make the same -mistake again.” Marjorie spoke with the utmost good humor. She was not -preaching to her chums, and they knew it. - -“Merely because you’re such an old friend of mine, Bean, to confide in -you doesn’t mean that I’m gossiping, I’ll say a word or two about the -trouble bureau. That tall soph with the straight black hair, black moon -eyes and pasty-white face is the chief disturber. She seems to be -directing the Ice Queen’s campaign. Muriel says she comes to see Miss -Monroe about every half hour until the ten-thirty bell puts the kibosh -on her visits.” - -Unlike Marjorie, Jerry could not refrain from voicing her disapproval of -Doris Monroe and her group of sophomore satellites living at Wayland -Hall. “The next agitator to Moon Eyes is the pudgy, red-haired soph with -the mechanical voice. Their real names happen to be Miss Peyton and Miss -Carter, but Muriel and I have made a few changes,” Jerry declared with a -whole-hearted grin. “Ahem! We call the pair the Prime Minister and the -Phonograph. So true to life! What?” - -Marjorie, Leila and Vera could not help laughing at the names Jerry and -Muriel had waggishly applied to the two sophs. Miss Carter’s speech had -a habit of clicking itself from her lips with the mechanical precision -of a phonograph. She had a wooden manner of carriage and walk which -further added to the impression she gave of something mechanical. As for -the name Muriel had picked for moon-eyed Miss Peyton, Muriel herself -probably best understood thus far its fitness as applied to the tall, -austere looking young woman. - -“The traditions of Hamilton say nothing about the naming habit.” Leila -shot a playful glance at Jerry. - -“Er-r—well, it’s remembering the stranger within our gate in a kind of -way,” Jerry defended. “Now that Muriel and I have named ’em specially we -can remember ’em so much the better.” - -“Such ignoble sentiments from a Hamilton P. G.! I am shocked!” Vera’s -small hands went up in simulated displeasure. - -“You’ll get over the shock if you don’t stop to think about it,” Jerry -assured her. “You may even learn to admire the Harding-Macy -classification.” - -“It’s certainly time the Travelers got together,” Leila said, now more -than half serious in her observation. “We must protect the Hall.” - -“I am with you in that, Leila,” Marjorie observed, the light of sudden, -unalterable purpose flaring strongly in her eyes. “We have Miss Remson -as well as the girls here to think of. We’ve been through a siege of a -house divided against itself once here. We must somehow not let that -calamity overtake the Hall again.” - -“How are we going to stop it, Marvelous Manager, with Gentleman Gus and -the Ice Queen all ready to challenge each other to a duel?” quizzed -Jerry. “I don’t say it can’t be done. I have great faith in you and your -works, Bean.” She beamed patronizingly. “I merely ask you: How is it -going to be done?” - -“I wish I knew,” Marjorie laughingly confessed. “The Travelers will have -to find a way to teach our freshies and sophs here to live up to the -Hymn of Hamilton. That means we’ll have to teach them without letting -them know they are being taught.” - -Jerry looked impishly impressed. “What a simple pleasant task!” she -exclaimed with pretended enthusiasm. “I should say we’d better cut out -dessert, go right upstairs and plan for it. What’s dessert? Nothing but -fresh cocoanut layer-cake and coffee gelatine slathered with whipped -cream. Who cares for any such trifles?” Jerry waved an airy hand. She -made no move to leave her chair, however. - -“Only you. The rest of us have no longing for sweet stuff. But we are so -kind as to keep you company while you eat,” Leila made bland assurance. - -When the dessert was served the Irish girl deftly abstracted Jerry’s -portion of cake and gelatine from under Jerry’s eyes and before the -waitress had more than placed the dishes on the table. Up the line went -the cake and gelatine until they reached Phil, who sat at the head of -the table. Phil welcomed them with effusion and grew tantalizing. She -gave a dozen flimsy reasons supposed to justify her claim to it. The -table rang with laughter so spontaneous and good-natured more than one -of the freshmen at the Hall felt a secret sympathy spring up within for -the girls whom they had heard characterized by Doris Monroe’s most -ardent supporters as “meddlers and hypocrites” and of having shown -marked favoritism. - -“If we were to make half the noise they are making Miss Remson would -call us to account for it,” sourly observed Julia Peyton to Clara -Carter. “I’ve spoken to her several times about the racket that goes on -every evening in Miss Forbes’ room and in that Miss Dean’s room, too. -It’s been worse since Miss Harding came to the Hall.” - -“I know it,” Miss Carter nodded an eager red head. “Doris says she -simply won’t allow Miss Harding to carry on in her room the way she does -when she’s with her own crowd. She’s generally to be found on the campus -with some of them, screaming and laughing. Doris met her and Miss Dean -when she was with that awfully rich Miss Cairns this very afternoon. She -said she felt so mortified at being obliged to speak to Miss Harding. -She doesn’t speak to Miss Dean at all. She told me she had good reasons -for ignoring _her_, but she preferred not to give them.” - -“Humph.” Julia cast a jealous glance at her companion as the two -sophomores rose to leave the table. Each girl was jealous of the -condescending friendship which Doris Monroe had chosen to give her -companion. She felt that she stood a trifle closer to Doris than the -other. - -Doris was fully aware of this state of affairs. When she had recovered -from the sweetness of her first triumph at being “rushed” she made up -her mind not to allow her soph and freshie admirers to fail in -allegiance to her banner. She soon learned that her selfish air of -indifference was one of her greatest assets. It added individuality to -her beauty. It impressed her worshippers with a high idea of the value -of her acquaintance. - -She had inherited this trait of indifference from her mother, whose -counterpart she was. She had, as Marjorie suspected, a strong -inclination to honesty, one of her father’s finest traits. Thus she -could not have pretended an indifference she did not feel. Since it was -in her soul to be this she accepted the benefits she received from it -with secret satisfaction. She was privately glad that she had no desire -to be impulsive and readily responsive. - -“_I_ heard that the Miss Cairns you mentioned was expelled from Hamilton -College,” Julia said disagreeably. She was desirous of over-topping -Clara’s boastful reference to “Doris” and the intimacy it implied. - -“Who told you?” Clara’s tone was challenging. - -“I’ll not say who. I heard it, and it came to me directly from someone -who knew,” Julia made mysterious response. - -“I—I—haven’t heard any such story as that. I don’t believe it’s true. -I’ll ask Doris. _She’ll_ tell me,” Clara ended, tossing her -flame-colored head. - -“You’re very foolish to think of asking Doris,” disapproved Julia, her -shaggy black brows drawing together. “She’ll set you down as -impertinent. Even if she should know she wouldn’t tell _you_.” She gave -a short, sarcastic laugh. - -“I’m not afraid to ask her,” Clara doggedly persisted. “_You_ may be, -but _I’m_ not.” - -This was the beginning of an angry discussion between the two sophomores -which lasted all the way upstairs and for several minutes after the door -of their room was slammed behind them by Clara. So vigorously did she -slam it that the sharp sound reached the bevy of Travelers as they came -trooping gaily upstairs. Robin was singing softly for them an old -plantation song: “Get you ready there’s a meetin’ here tonight,” and -Phil was patting her hands in time to it. - -“Bing, bang; who fired the first shot?” exclaimed Muriel. - -“It did sound almost like a shot, didn’t it? I haven’t heard such a -splendid imitation of banging a door since the Sans used to vent their -outraged feelings on the doors,” chuckled Vera. - -“That may have been the first shot fired in the Battle of Wayland Hall,” -Jerry gigglingly surmised to Leila. - -“Then it was wasted on us,” laughed Leila. “It will take more than the -banging of a few doors to rouse our ire to the point of battle. Though -make no mistake: ‘The air is full of knives,’ as we say in Ireland.” - -In the room occupied by Clara Carter and Julia Peyton the air was indeed -full of verbal knives. Both had voted for Doris Monroe for president of -the sophomore class. Both had pledged themselves, with certain other -girls at the Hall, to “boost” Doris and “down” Augusta Forbes. Now they -were squabbling fiercely over the lovely, indifferent object of their -girl devotion. In their jealous anger with each other they had blindly -overlooked the old saying: “In union there is strength.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - TESTING TWO TRAVELERS - - -“Remember, friends and fellow Travelers, this is a serious occasion.” -Ronny, as president of the original Five Travelers, stood facing her -companions who had disposed themselves four in a row on Jerry’s -couch-bed and on chairs in alignment with the couch. - -“It’s not very serious any of us are looking, nor our worthy president, -either,” Leila declared, throwing Ronny a twinkling glance. - -“Never judge by appearances—so very reckless, don’t you know,” Ronny -rebuked, her charming face full of mischief. - -“On with the meeting. No stops allowed for repartee. We’ve a lot to do, -and a spread to eat up afterward,” Jerry announced in her most judicial -tones. - -“Thank you for your delicate reminder that time is flying, Jeremiah.” -Ronny made Jerry a deep bow, meant to convey her humble gratitude. “As I -was about to say when I was interrupted”—Ronny stared hard at Leila—“we -are to pass upon the names written on slips in this box.” She held up a -small square box of ornamental brass. - -During their initial railway journey to Hamilton College more than four -years previous the quintette of Sanford chums had helped while away the -long hours on the train by banding themselves into a private, informal -club which they named the Five Travelers’ Club. They had found interest -in looking upon themselves as five travelers about to explore the -unknown country of College. - -The little association had flourished and been a comfort to them during -their freshman year. Every now and then, as the journey through the -country of college continued they had added a member to the group. When -Commencement and the end of their proscribed course came the still -informal club had become the Nineteen Travelers. - -It had become the earnest desire of the Nineteen Travelers to perpetuate -the club as a sorority. After much discussion it had been decided to -leave it as a parting gift to nineteen seniors. Due to the multiplicity -of duties which the original Nineteen Travelers had pledged themselves -to perform, the organization of the new sorority was left, -unfortunately, until the last minute. By that time several new-fledged -seniors, eligible to membership, had departed for their homes. - -It was Ronny who had then proposed that each Traveler should write on a -slip of paper her choice of senior to succeed her. The slips were to be -placed in a box, without having been examined, and the box placed in -Miss Remson’s care until the return the next fall of the post graduate -Travelers to Hamilton College. To them would be intrusted the forming of -the new sorority. - -“I feel confident,” Ronny continued, “that the seniors whose names are -in this box are the very girls we most wish to carry on our club. Still, -in the event that any one of you may have an objection to a name as read -out by me, I will count ten slowly after the reading of each name. -Anyone who may make objection must say ‘no’ within the count, and -afterward frankly state her reason for so doing.” - -With this preamble Ronny put a hand in the box, drew from it a slip and -solemnly read out: “Phyllis Moore.” The laughing gleam in her gray eyes -did not accord with her solemn face. “One, two——” she began. - -A chorus of laughter drowned her voice, mingled with cries of: “No; no, -indeed! I object.” - -“Mercy on us!” Up went Ronny’s hands. “Such strenuous objections! -Sh-h-h. Be calm and state our objections, one at a time.” - -“We can’t decide as to her qualifications for membership until she has -been put to the test,” boldly demanded Lillian Wenderblatt. - -“Very well,” Ronny agreed with the utmost amiability. - -“Poor me.” Phil groaned audibly. - -“I would suggest that action be suspended on the candidate to be tested -until the other names have been passed upon. In the event that there may -be other candidates for the test they may then be put to the ordeal -together.” Marjorie made this sly proviso, and with apparent innocence. - -“Other candidates!” exclaimed Barbara Severn. “I know only one other -besides Phil. Poor me!” - -“Barbara Severn.” Ronny promptly read out her name. Another burst of -vigorous, laughing “Noes” ascended. Barbara was also condemned to the -test. - -During the Nineteen Travelers’ senior year at Hamilton they had more -than once invited Phil and Barbara to become members of the club. Both -had refused the invitation, preferring to receive their election as a -parting gift from their elder sisters. They had been as invaluable to -the Travelers, however, as though they had been members. Now their -comrades proposed to show appreciation in their own peculiar fashion. -None of the seventeen other names which Ronny read out for the august -consideration of the Travelers were challenged. - -“I am sure you will be pleased to hear that Miss Mason and Jer—Miss Macy -will conduct the test,” Ronny purred to the hapless candidates. - -“That’s right, half call me Jeremiah. Everyone’s only about half -respectful to me,” grumbled Jerry. - -“Oh, we’re de-lighted,” Barbara and Phil together satirically responded. - -“So glad. As all appear to be pleased let the test begin,” Ronny smiled -encouragingly on the candidates. - -“Ahem-m! Candidates rise and come forward. Stand there; exactly in -line,” Jerry dictated grandly. “You will now listen to Miss Mason while -she explains to you the nature of the first test.” - -Vera came smilingly toward the two girls. “Here is a penny for each of -you,” she said generously. “You are not to spend it for candy. No, no.” -She shook a forbidding finger at them. “You are to get down on the floor -and each shove your penny to the door and”—she beamed beneficently on -her victims—“with your nose.” - -“Woof-f!” Phil made a despairing gesture. - -“I can never do it,” giggled Barbara, “but I’ll try.” - -“We are waiting.” Vera sweetly indicated the place on the rug on which -the unlucky candidates were to prostrate themselves. - -Phil was first to obey. Barbara paused to watch her and learn the way -such a feat was to be performed. It took Phil not more than a minute to -discover that creeping as a means of locomotion would not aid her -penny’s progress to the door. She was obliged to lie flat to the floor, -face downward, and wriggle very slowly toward the goal, aiming constant -dabs at the penny with her nose. - -Her gallant progress in spite of odds so entertained Barbara she had to -be reminded of her part in the test. She proved not nearly as skillful -as Phil in the art of penny-shoving. Meanwhile the room rang with -laughter. - -“The candidates will now be allowed a breathing spell while I consult -with my valued assistant and prepare the next degree,” was Jerry’s -gracious announcement after Phil had triumphantly pushed her penny the -required distance and Barbara had shoved hers over half way to the door. - -The next degree appeared in the form of two rows of potatoes, placed at -short distances apart. At one end of each row was a basket. Jerry handed -Phil and Barbara each a teaspoon and assigned them to a potato row. -“Start at this end. Pick up the potatoes on your teaspoon and carry them -to the basket,” was her next bland instruction. - -“That sounds easy,” sighed Barbara. “Oh, my nose,” she tenderly rubbed -it. - -To balance a good-sized potato on a teaspoon and carry it across a room -is a feat which requires practice. Phyllis and Barbara were novices at -it. They toiled patiently at the ridiculous task while the Travelers had -a hilarious time at their expense. Before either had succeeded in -placing more than two or three potatoes in their baskets Vera called -them off the job. - -“We’ll have to take your will for the deed,” she told them. “Your sense -of balance seems to be sadly lacking. Don’t be discouraged. Both of you -have splendid useful noses even if your potato carrying was wobbly. -You’ve done nobly. Now we are going to give you a feed. I hope you won’t -mind being blindfolded for a little while. It’s quite necessary. - -“Nothing could please us more,” Phil assured extravagantly. - -“Whoever heard of an initiation without the candidates were blindfolded? -Go as far as you like.” Barbara was equally gracious. - -Jerry proceeded to blindfold the two in her business-like way. Next she -motioned to Vera, who brought forward two bungalow aprons. She and Vera -politely assisted Phil and Barbara into the aprons. The pair were then -led to chairs and ordered to be seated. - -From the top shelf of her dress closet Jerry took a square pasteboard -box. Opened, two immense, shining cream puffs were revealed. Laughter -greeted the sight of them. The other Travelers recognized the puffs as -having come from a certain bakery in the town of Hamilton where the size -of the dainty and its extra-generous cream filling had popularized it -among the Hamilton College girls. - -“Here, Phyllis Marie Moore; you can’t say I never treated you. In the -absence of plates, hold out both hands.” Jerry lifted one of the huge -puffs from the box and carefully set it in Phil’s obediently -outstretched hands. She then went through the same performance with -Barbara as the recipient. “Eat them nicely,” she admonished with wicked -significance. - -“Eat them nicely,” mimicked Barbara. “I can’t eat a cream puff nicely -when I can see every bite I take of it. Blindfolded—good night!” - -“They’re awfully good anyway,” consoled Phil. She held the puff in one -hand and went cautiously over the humps and bumps of the big pastry -shell. She boldly attacked a corner which promised not to let out too -copiously the fairly thin cream filling. She did very well until she had -eaten away enough of the shell to court disaster. It would have been -hard enough to eat the puff daintily had she been able to see it. Minus -sight and a plate or paper napkin on which to place it she soon managed -to smear her face, hands and apron liberally with cream. She ate away -desperately but there appeared to be twice as much filling as should -have been. - -Barbara did far worse at puff eating than Phyllis. Her frantic efforts -to keep the cream within the bounds of its crisp brown shell sent her -companions into shrieks of laughter. Worse still for them, Jerry had -decreed that they could not wipe either hands or faces until she gave -the word. - -In the midst of the fun Marjorie obeyed a sudden impulse to leave the -room and stand in the hall outside the door for a moment. She slipped -away unnoticed, anxious to ascertain how plainly the laughter and talk -of her companies sounded from outside. She and Jerry had hung three -heavy portieres which Miss Remson had given them before the door leading -into the hall and before the doors of the two dress closets. The manager -had assured her that the portieres would serve to a great extent to -deaden sounds from within the room. - -She smiled her relieved satisfaction after she had listened intently for -three or four minutes. She could hear only faintly the sounds of -conversation mingled with laughter. She was of the opinion that such -sounds would not be disturbing to any student on the same floor. - -“Watchman, tell us of the night,” hailed Jerry as Marjorie again stepped -into the room. “I know what you’ve been doing. You’ve been listening to -how noisy we are.” - -“Right-o, Jeremiah. And we haven’t been disgracefully noisy, after all,” -Marjorie gaily assured. “While the girls were laughing loudest at -Barbara and Phil I stole out of here into the hall. I wanted to find -out, if I could, just how noisy we were. That heavy curtain we hung over -the door shuts the sound in beautifully. You can only hear it faintly -from the hall.” - -“Good work, Bean; good work.” Jerry patted Marjorie on the back. “We’ve -two more stunts to put Phil and Barbara through yet and the crowd is -getting hilariouser and hilariouser. Listen to them now.” - -A fresh gale of mirth testified to the truth of Jerry’s remarks. It -assaulted Marjorie’s critical ears with almost dismaying force. Reminded -of what she had just proven to her own satisfaction she grew reassured. -Since that day, early in the fall, when Doris Monroe had reported the -joyful little welcome party in Gussie Forbes’ room to Miss Remson as -disturbing to her peace Marjorie and Jerry had been expecting the same -dire fate would overtake them. Their room was the Travelers’ -headquarters as well as a favorite haunt of the five Bertram girls. -“It’s our positive good fortune that we escaped thus far,” Marjorie had -more than once told Jerry. - -In itself to have been reported to Miss Remson as disturbers would not -have troubled Marjorie and Jerry. Understanding between them and the -brisk little manager of the Hall was complete. It was their standing as -post graduates, their college honor which they prided themselves upon. -As post graduates they would be first to be weighed in the balance. They -ardently desired not to be found wanting even in small things. - -What Marjorie had not known when she returned to Room 15 after her brief -moment of listening in the hall was that she had been observed. Across -the hall from Room 15 two interested sophomores had kept diligent watch -since the Travelers had come upstairs from dinner. With their own door a -few stealthy inches ajar they had heard, or imagined they heard, what -they had been longing to hear—noise enough from “those tiresome, -interfering P.G.’s” to warrant prompt action on their part. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - A LEADING QUESTION - - -Action came while Phil and Barbara were engaged in removing at least a -third of the creamy contents of the puffs from faces, hands, necks and -even hair. They “cleaned up” amidst the laughter and gay raillery of -their friends. - -“How much more must we endure?” demanded Barbara as she dried her -cleansed features with a Turkish towel and began lightly powdering them -at the mirror. - -“Oh, not so much,” tantalized Jerry. “There are a few more little stunts -that——” Two imperative raps on the door sent Jerry hurrying to it. She -pushed the portiere to one side; swung open the door to confront the -tall, squarely-built sophomore whom she had nicknamed the Prime -Minister. - -“Good evening,” she said in level tones. Her keen eyes were missing -nothing. Her mind leaped at once to the nature of the other girl’s -intrusion, for such it was. - -“Good evening.” Her salutation was returned with haughty aggression. In -fact every line of the sophomore’s broad face and stiff, unyielding -figure spelled aggression. Her peculiarly round black eyes, blacker in -contrast to the unhealthy white of her skin, resentfully searched Jerry -up and down. - -“I wish to speak to Miss Dean at once,” she demanded. “I know she is -here.” She eyed Jerry belligerently, as though to forestall a denial on -her part. - -“Of course she is here. We are entertaining our friends.” Jerry’s -matter-of-fact reply brought a dull flush to Miss Peyton’s pale cheeks. -“Will you come in?” The concise invitation had a certain restraining -effect upon the frowning caller. - -“No, I will not,” she refused, her own inflexion rude. “Ask Miss Dean to -come to the door. I wish to speak to her, and to you.” - -“Very well.” Jerry appeared non-committal. “Just a moment.” She turned -away from the door and beckoned to Marjorie. - -Marjorie left Barbara and Phil, whom she had been assisting in the -removal of the sticky traces of the puff test, and walked quickly to the -door. In that brief second on the way to it a flash of dismay visited -her. It drove from her eyes the light of laughter occasioned by Phil’s -and Barbara’s complaining nonsense as they scrubbed faces and hands. - -“What is it, Jerry?” she asked as she reached her room-mate. - -Jerry opened the door wider and made room for Marjorie in the doorway -beside her. “Miss Peyton has something she wishes to say to us.” Jerry’s -round face was enigmatic. Marjorie had but to glance at it to read there -what others might not. - -Within the room the buzz of conversation had lessened to a mere murmur. -Muriel had been entertaining her chums with a flow of her funny -nonsense. Even she had run down suddenly, seized by the same surmise -which had occurred to her companions. Too courteous to stare boldly -toward the door, canny conjecture as to the caller’s errand temporarily -halted the will to talk. - -“Good evening, Miss Peyton.” Marjorie’s straight glance into the soph’s -smouldering eyes was courteously inquiring. Ordinarily she might have -followed the greeting with a pleasantry. What she read in Julia Peyton’s -face held her silent; waiting. - -“I have come to speak to you and Miss Macy about the noise you have been -making this evening,” blurted the sophomore, dropping all pretense of -courtesy. “It is not only tonight I speak of. Almost every other night -we have been annoyed by the noise in your room. It makes study -impossible. We have endured it without complaining, but we have had -every reason for reporting it. Tonight you and your friends have been -more annoying than usual. I decided the time had come to let you know -it.” - -Before she could say more Marjorie broke in evenly with: “It is true -that there is a larger party of girls than usual in our room tonight. We -have been conducting an informal meeting of a club of which we are -members. We spoke to Miss Remson beforehand, asking permission to hold -the meeting in our room. We——” - -“Oh, _Miss Remson_!” was the contemptuous exclamation. “She cannot be -depended upon for fairness. We understand where her sympathies lie. We -have spoken to her——” The sophomore stopped abruptly, caught in a -contradiction of her own previous statement of not having complained. - -“Pardon me. I understood you to say that you had not complained.” Jerry -could not resist a lightning opportunity to discomfit the other girl. - -“I should have said that we had not—that we—that we had not reported you -to President Matthews,” amended Miss Peyton, glancing angrily at Jerry. -Aggressive from the start she was fast losing her temper. - -“I cannot allow you to accuse Miss Remson of unfairness without offering -my strongest defense in her behalf.” Righteous indignation lent -sternness to Marjorie’s clear tones. “She is never unfair. She is always -dependable. Since you have said that you reported us to her, I must -believe you. She has not mentioned the matter to us. That means she does -not consider us at fault.” - -“Oh, certainly she doesn’t,” was the sarcastic retort accompanied by a -significant shrug of the square shoulders. “_That is precisely the -trouble._” - -“Please allow me to finish what I had begun to say to you.” Marjorie -made a dignified little gesture. “On the day when Miss Monroe reported -Miss Forbes and a few of us who were in her room welcoming her back to -college, we talked things over with Miss Remson. Since then we have been -more careful not to give offense to other students at the Hall than at -any time during our past four years at Hamilton. Miss Remson gave us -heavy portieres to hang before the doors when we expected to entertain a -number of girls. These deaden the sound. You can see for yourself how -heavy and closely-woven this one is.” Marjorie took hold of a fold of -the portiere. “I purposely went into the hall tonight and closed the -door after me to find out if we were too noisy. I was surprised at the -small amount of noise that came from our room.” - -“I am surprised to hear such statements from a post graduate.” Julia -Peyton gave a discomfited sarcastic laugh. “Frankly, Miss Dean, I have -been so disappointed in you. When first I came to Hamilton I had the -greatest respect for you. I regret that I should have been obliged to -change that opinion.” Julia believed she had said something extremely -telling. “Yes; and I do not approve of the way your post graduate -friends have tried to run Wayland Hall. It surely does not add to Miss -Langly’s credit as a member of the faculty,” she ended in malicious -triumph. She was inwardly furious at Marjorie’s and Jerry’s quiet but -determined defense of their own conduct. - -“Your harsh opinion of our friends is not justified.” Marjorie’s curt -proud tones contained censure. “Let me advise you to be careful and not -repeat such opinions on the campus. Our friends would not suffer as a -result. They are known to be true to the traditions of Hamilton. You -would merely succeed in creating unpleasantness for yourself.” - -“I don’t care for your advice.” Miss Peyton blazed into sudden wrath. -“You are only trying to frighten me into not reporting you and your -friends. You meant yourself, too, but you were clever enough not to -include yourself in your remarks. I shall report the whole affair to -President Matthews; not later than tomorrow morning.” She whirled -angrily; started across the hall. - -“Wait a minute.” Something in Jerry’s tone arrested the miffed soph’s -progress. “I’d like to ask you a question.” - -“Well?” Miss Peyton put untold frost into the interrogation. - -“Why”—Jerry paused—“if you and your room-mate were so greatly disturbed -by our noise, did you not close your door? That would have at least -helped considerably to shut out the noise.” - -“Our door was—” began the soph furiously. - -“Partly open,” supplied Jerry. “I am quite sure it was,” she continued -sweetly, “because I happened to go into the hall and saw for myself.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - LITTLE HOPE FOR P. G.’S - - -“Stung, and by the truth!” Jerry gave an exultant skip into their room -behind Marjorie and hastily closed the door. Miss Peyton, confronted by -unassailable truth, had no defense ready. She glared wrathfully at Jerry -and Marjorie and hurriedly disappeared into her room. - -“We can guess what it’s all about,” greeted Muriel Harding. “We ought to -be shocked and amazed, Marvelous Manager, at _you_ for fussing. We might -expect it of Jeremiah.” - -“You might; you bet you might. I’d have done all the fussing this time -if Marjorie hadn’t begun answering that trouble hunter first. Believe me -Leila, the first attack in the Battle of Wayland Hall was made right at -our door. I’m happy to announce that the enemy was sent fleeing across -the hall with one good hot shot fired by the Travelers’ friend, J. J. G. -Macy. _I’m the one._” Jerry proudly thumped her chest. - -“Could you hear what we were saying?” Marjorie glanced interestedly -about the half circle of girls, eagerly formed around her. “I know you -would try _not_ to listen.” - -“We could hear only a word now and then,” Vera made haste to answer. “Of -course it was a complaint about us. What is the matter with these sophs? -They weren’t so obstreperous last year as freshies?” - -“I took Miss Peyton to the freshman hop last year,” said Lillian -Wenderblatt. “As a Traveler in the midst of Travelers I may say she was -very ungracious to me. I accepted her rudeness as not having been -intentional; laid it to her natural manner. Since I’ve heard her rated -as the rudest student on the campus.” - -“Gussie Forbes says that the freshies who made life hard for her and her -pals last year are the sophs who are trying to do it again this year,” -said Phyllis Moore. - -“Gussie is a wise child. And with Muriel’s celebrated Ice Queen to add -to the snarl what hope is there for a few poor old P. G. ladies who had -hoped to live out their days in peace on the campus? Oh, wurra, wurra!” -Leila crossed her hands over her breast, clutched her shoulders with her -fingers, thrust out her chin and rocked herself to and fro with the -appearance of a mourning old woman. - -“What a dandy old woman you make, Leila. I’m going to cast you for an -old hag part in a melodrama, if I can find a good one. The campus is -howling for a truly lurid one with outlaws, an abducted child, a lost -heiress, an old hag and various other nice pleasant little characters.” -Robin was always on the lookout for features. “We can ask three dollars -a seat for a zipping old ‘dramer’ and crowd the gym.” - -“It’s a good deal more pleasant to talk of shows than fusses,” Marjorie -declared, smiling at Robin’s latest ambition. Glancing up at the wall -clock she gave a quick exclamation. “Jerry,” she cried, “we’ll have to -trot out the spread instanter!” - -“Don’t I know it. I’ve already begun.” Jerry made a dive toward her -closet. - -“What about those two stunts for the candidates?” Lucy Warner caught -Jerry by an arm. - -“Why, Luciferous, how you do like to see people get into trouble, don’t -you?” grinned Jerry. - -Lucy’s grave, studious face relaxed into the wide, utterly pleased smile -which Muriel and Jerry both enjoyed calling to it. She broke into the -funny little half giggle, half gurgle which was always productive of -laughter in others. - -“The _idea_, _Luciferous_, of your calling attention to poor Barbara and -me after all we’ve suffered!” Phil turned reproachful blue eyes on Lucy. - -“Oh, I’m not so mean as you think me,” Lucy’s odd greenish eyes flashed -warm lights of fun. “It was a case of either stunts or eats. It’s going -to be eats, so good night stunts.” - -“‘Good night stunts,’” repeated Muriel. “You never learned them words -from Prexy Matthews, Luciferous.” - -“I should hope not,” chuckled Lucy. “All the slang I know I learned from -you and Jeremiah. Kindly remember that.” - -“I wish to forget it immediately,” Muriel looked askance at the -accusation. - -With the hands of the clock pointing to ten minutes to ten Marjorie and -Jerry, with Leila’s and Vera’s help rushed the eatables for the spread -to the center table. Leila had furnished a box of Irish sweet crackers -and a case of imported ginger ale. The ginger ale had arrived only the -day before from across the ocean. Sweet pickles, stuffed olives, stuffed -dates, salted almonds and small fancy cakes comprised the lay-out. There -had been no time to make sandwiches. - -Supplied with paper napkins and paper plates the guests helped -themselves to the spread. They formed in an irregular group on each side -of Jerry’s couch which held its usual four of their number. Marjorie and -Jerry seated themselves on the floor in front of the couch bed. -Unintentionally they formed the center of the group. - -“At last you can tell us what was said at the door,” sighed Robin. “It -isn’t curious to want to know, since we are concerned in it, too.” - -“I wish you to know,” Marjorie reflectively bit into a maccaroon. “I’ll -try to repeat as exactly as I can what was said. Then you’ll understand -the situation better.” She recounted the conversation which had taken -place at the door between herself and Miss Peyton. - -“Report us to Prexy; the idea!” scoffed Lillian Wenderblatt. “She is an -ambitious trouble hunter. She’ll find plenty of troubles if she carries -any such tale to him.” - -“I should say as much!” was Vera’s indignant cry. “Imagine a soph -reporting P. G.’s and double P. G.’s and faculty and the P. G. daughter -of Professor Wenderblatt! Not to mention Prexy’s own indispensible -private secretary! And for what? No vestige of a reason.” - -“If she does report us, Prexy’s own indispensible private secretary will -take action,” threatened Lucy. “I’d be the first person the president -would ask about it. If Miss Peyton went to see him in person I’d hear of -it from him afterward; I’m sure. If she wrote him, I’d see the letter -and take the answer he dictated. I’d ask him if I might tell you girls -about it, too.” The light of devotion shone strongly in Lucy’s face. - -“Who’s Prexy? We’re not in awe of him with our Luciferous on the job,” -was Ronny’s confident declaration. “Long may she flourish.” She held up -her glass of ginger ale. The others followed her example, careful, -however, to “Drink her down” with repressed enthusiasm. - -“I ought to be ashamed to face my classes tomorrow with the sword of -Miss Peyton’s disapproval hanging over my head,” Kathie remarked in the -pleasant lull that followed the drinking of the toast to Lucy. - -“But are you?” quizzed Muriel. “I’m afraid from your tone that you -aren’t.” - -“Your fears are well grounded,” laughed Kathie. “The sophs and freshies -at the Hall, judging from accounts, seem to be positively childish,” she -continued in a more serious way. “They’re not snobs as the Sans were. -There’s some hope for them. I’ll venture to say that before next June -Marvelous Manager will have managed them.” Her prediction was one of -confident affection. - -“Such a foolish name; and you will say it,” scolded Marjorie and not -quite in jest. “A fine manager I am. I can’t even manage my own affairs. -I can’t decide whether to go home for Thanksgiving, or stay here,” she -added in self-derision. - -“One thing we _must_ decide before we separate,” Ronny said with energy. -“Where shall we meet tomorrow night? Remember we shall be twenty-nine -strong. We can’t hold the meeting in one of our rooms. We must have -plenty of space for our new Travelers. The living room down stairs isn’t -private enough. Has anyone a really brilliant suggestion. No other kind -is desired. Save your breath.” - -“I have. Hold the meeting in our library,” proposed Lillian Wenderblatt. -“I’ll put a sign on the library door before dinner tomorrow night: -‘Professor Wenderblatt: Keep Out,’ and lead Father to the door to look -at it. Then he won’t bolt into the room with maybe two or three other -professors in the middle of our meeting.” - -Lillian’s proposal was received with approbation and accepted with -alacrity. Leila, Vera, Robin and Lillian were chosen to notify the -fortunate seniors of the honor in store for them. The rest of the -details of the meeting were quickly arranged. Ten-thirty was not far -off. - -“Don’t imagine for a minute that you have seen the last of your -initiation,” Jerry informed Phil and Barbara, a threatening gleam in her -eye. “There are still those two degrees, you know.” - -“Oh, forget them. We shall,” Phil made untroubled return. - -“You may forget, but I—nevv-vur.” Jerry struck an attitude. - -“Nor I.” Muriel dramatically tapped her chest and glared at Phil. -“’Sdeath to all quitters,” she hissed. - -“Oh, glorious for my melodrama!” admired Robin. “You and Jeremiah shall -be the villains.” - -“I choose to be the principal, double-dyed scoundrel of the show,” -stipulated Muriel, “or else I’ll refuse to see your play. I spurn -anything and everything but complete villainy.” - -“Give me a better part than Muriel or I won’t act,” balked Jerry. - -“I’m going to fly before any more actors go on a strike,” Robin raised a -protesting hand. “I must look out for Page and Dean’s melodramer.” - -“Only birds, insects, aviators and ‘sich’ fly,” criticized Phil. “I -simply must get back at you for not giving me a cousinly warning of what -was in store for me tonight.” - -“Seniors, P. G.’s and faculty will add to the flying classification or -lose what shreds of reputation for integrity they have left,” laughed -Kathie. - -“An added word of warning:—Hotfoot it lightly.” Jerry’s forceful if -inelegant injunction sent the initiation party down the hall dutifully -smothering their easily summoned mirth. Jerry accompanied the party to -the head of the stairs. She returned to the room, keeping an alert watch -as she walked on a certain door across the hall. This time she noted -with satisfaction that it was tightly closed. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - JERRY SPEAKS HER MIND - - -“The ten-thirty rule will have to chase itself merrily around the -campus,” Jerry made airy disposition of that time-honored regulation as -she entered the room which Marjorie was already beginning to set to -rights. With her usual energy the stout girl gathered up the glasses, -tucking them one inside another and setting them in a compact row at one -end of the study table. - -“I agree with you, Jeremiah. I have letters to read that must be read, -ten-thirty rule or no.” Marjorie whisked an armful of crumpled paper -napkins and empty paper plates into the waste basket. “There;” she -cleared the table of crumbs; “that’ll do for tonight. Thank goodness, -all the eats were eaten.” - -“I can count on my fingers the times we’ve defied old ten-thirty,” Jerry -declared as she reached in the table drawer for her two letters. - -“Ten times in four years,” Marjorie commented. “That’s a good record.” - -“True, Bean, true. When we stop to consider the past—how wonderful we -are!” Jerry simpered self-appreciatively at Marjorie as she sat down -under the drop light with her letters. - -“How can I help but believe it when you say it like that?” rallied -Marjorie. “Anyway, you’re a gem, Jeremiah. I was never more agreeably -surprised than when you turned the tables on Miss Peyton tonight. I -hadn’t noticed that their door stood open. But you had, smart child. I -had no idea you’d been out in the hall on a tour of discovery.” - -“I went directly after you were out there. I had a hunch that the Ice -Queen would start something. So she did—through those two geese. They -had that room last year and didn’t appear to mind our occasional -soirees. But there’s still another and a chief disturber—Leslie Cairns. -She’s back of the Ice Queen.” - -“I think so, too,” Marjorie admitted with reluctance. “I have seen them -together several times. Leslie Cairns has other friends on the campus, -too. Muriel and I saw her and Miss Monroe coming out of Craig Hall this -afternoon.” - -“You did?” Jerry showed surprise. “I’ll investigate that. I may find out -something interesting. Miss Morris, that nice senior you’ve heard me -speak of, who came to the campus last fall from Vassar, says there are -only seniors and juniors at Craig Hall this year. Perhaps it was the Ice -Queen’s friends she and Leslie Cairns were calling upon.” - -“That may be,” Marjorie agreed. “I wonder if Miss Monroe likes Leslie -Cairns? Perhaps she cares more about cars and expensive clothes and -spending money than anything else. We don’t know her, so we can’t even -guess what sort of girl she is at heart.” - -“I know what will happen to her if she puts any dependence in Leslie -Cairns,” Jerry said grimly. “Don’t waste your sympathy on her, Marjorie. -She isn’t worthy of it.” - -“I don’t know why I feel so sorry about her, but I do,” Marjorie -confessed. “Whenever I see that beautiful face of hers I forget she’s -been so ungracious to us. She’s not a namby-pamby kind of pretty girl. -She has a high, royal kind of beauty. I’ve not given her up yet, -Jeremiah. I’m going to try popularity for her against Leslie Cairns’ -money. I’m going to put her in the first show we have. I’ll have Robin -ask her. I’ll stay in the background for awhile.” - -“Nil desperandum,” Jerry encouraged with an indulgent grin. “Mignon La -Salle reformed just to please Marvelous Manager. Why not others? Besides -there’s always the pleasant possibility that the Hob-goblin and the Ice -Queen may squabble and part.” - -“So Muriel says. I mean about those two girls disagreeing. You may make -fun of me all you please, Jerry. Just the same if we could win Miss -Monroe over to our side it would gradually put everything straight here -at the Hall. If Miss Monroe became our friend, she would probably become -friends with the Bertram five. She’s friends already with the other -sophs and freshies here. Things which are equal to the same thing are -equal to each other, you know. Leslie Cairns’ friendship cannot be -beneficial to her. I am sure of that. Yet to warn her against Miss -Cairns would be contemptible. Excuse me, Jeremiah, for keeping you from -your letters!” Marjorie exclaimed in sudden contrition. “It’ll be -midnight before I’ve read all these.” She flourished the handful of -letters before Jerry’s eyes. - -“Go to it, or it may be morning. Why waste precious time flaunting your -letters in my face? Why should your five to my two make you -vainglorious?” - -“Who’s vainglorious?” Marjorie made a half threatening move up from her -chair. She dropped back again, laughing, as Jerry nimbly put the length -of the table between them. - -“Lots of people are vainglorious.” Jerry wisely grew vague. “Don’t -bother me, Bean. I hope to read my letters in peace and quiet. Yes?” - -“_So do I_,” emphasized Marjorie. - -The chums exchanged good-humored smiles, born of perfect understanding -and settled down to the patiently deferred reading of their letters. - -Jerry read Helen’s letter first. She knew it would be long and -absorbing. Hal’s would be his usual brief note. It was his weekly -offering. Long since Jerry had made him promise to write once a week and -had pledged herself to do the same by him. A strong devotion lived -between brother and sister which had deepened year by year. Hal did not -pretend to understand Jerry from the standpoint of girlhood. To him she -was a good comrade; “the squarest kid going.” Jerry was of the private -belief that she knew Hal better than he knew himself. - -Her one sorrowful concern in life was the knowledge that Marjorie -“couldn’t see old Hal for a minute.” She would have tried to further -Hal’s unflourishing cause with Marjorie, but there seemed to be no way -of accomplishment. She knew only too well Marjorie’s utter lack of -sentimental interest in Hal; her rooted aloofness to “love” as Hal had -hoped she might experience it. “A regular stony heart,” Jerry had -secretly characterized her. - -Jerry had shrewdly divined for herself the true state of affairs between -the two. Neither had ever spoken intimately to her of the other. -Nevertheless when Marjorie had left Severn Beach for her midsummer -journey to Hamilton during the summer previous, Jerry had been convinced -that she had “turned Hal down.” She had wondered then, and since, how -Marjorie could fail to love her big, handsome brother—not because he had -been devoted to her since their first meeting—but for himself. - -The expression of good-natured amusement which had visited her face -during the reading of Helen’s letter remained until she had read Hal’s -note several times. Then concern replaced it, making her round face very -solemn. She shot a covert glance at Marjorie who was deep in Mary -Raymond’s letter. She had already devoured the contents of her General’s -and Captain’s letters. Both had been comparatively short and loving -inquiries as to whether they might hope for her “gracious presence at -Castle Dean over Thanksgiving.” Neither superior officer had made a -point of asking her to come home. Unselfishly, as ever, they deferred to -her judgment. - -Marjorie had gulped down her rising emotions as she had read and -realized afresh her father’s and mother’s breadth of spirit. She had -taken up Mary’s letter, feeling that she must go home at all events for -the holiday. Mary had the long and astonishing confidence to impart that -she had fallen in love, was engaged to be married the following -September and that her engagement was soon to be announced at a formal -luncheon to be given for her by her mother. - -“Oh, Jerry!” Marjorie looked up brightly from her letter. “Mary’s going -to be married. I’ll tell you all she writes about the great event while -we are getting ready for bed. I haven’t time now.” Her hands were busy -opening the letter from Constance as she spoke. Again she dropped into -silence and the perusal of Connie’s letter. “Isn’t it too bad?” she soon -cried out. “Connie and Laurie are not going to be in Sanford for -Thanksgiving. Laurie promised a composer friend of his to be present at -the first performance of his new opera ‘The Azure Butterfly.’ He and -Connie are going to New York.” - -“That settles it for me. There’ll be one distinguished mug missing on -the campus. I’m going home for Turkey Day.” Marjorie’s news concerning -Constance and Laurie had crystalized Jerry’s wavering resolve to go to -Sanford. “Poor old Hal! A fine time he’d have with all of us away!” - -A swift flood of crimson deepened the glow in Marjorie’s cheeks; rose -even to her white forehead. She stared self-consciously at Jerry for an -instant. Without a word she laid down Connie’s letter and took up the -envelope addressed to her in Charlie Stevens’ straggling hand. - -First exploration of its contents and she broke into a low amused laugh: -“Do listen to this, Jerry,” she begged. - -Jerry raised her eyes from Hal’s letter, at which she had been soberly -staring. She was provoked with herself for having mentioned Hal to -Marjorie as an object for sympathy. - -Occupied with the letter from Charlie, Marjorie did not notice Jerry’s -gloomy features. Mirthfully she read: - - “DEAR MARJORIE: - - “I think your last letter to me was a dandy. I read it twice and - I was going to read it again only I lost it. Maybe I lost it on - the football ground or in the street. But if anyone finds it - they’ll see your name on the end of it and guess that I am the - right Charlie it belongs to. Then I might get it again. I know - you won’t be mad cause I lost it. I couldn’t help it. - - “Connie is going to New York with Laurie for Thanksgiving. She - has to go because he is her husband. We are very sorry. I don’t - mean we are sorry because Laurie is her husband but because they - are going away. The band is coming to our house for a party on - Thanksgiving evening. I am going to play an awful hard piece on - my fiddle that Father Stevens composed just for me. You’d better - come home and then you can come to see us that night. I like - you, Marjorie, quite a bit better than Mary Raymond. Connie says - Mary is going to be married. I used to say when I was real - little that I was going to marry her. I don’t say it now. I - didn’t know any better then. - - “I hope there will be snow and ice on Thanksgiving. Will you go - skating on the pond with me if there is? I can skate fine and - make a figure eight and a double loop on the ice. Hal Macy took - me to the Sanford ice rink last Saturday afternoon. He showed me - how to make the figure eight. He is a dandy fellow, only he - doesn’t talk much. You ought to see him play basket ball. He has - all the Sanford fellows beat. I like him because he always goes - around with the fellows and not the girls. He thinks you are - quite nice. I let him read your letter before I lost it and he - said I was a lucky kid. I could write some more but I can’t - think just what to write. I will write some more some other - time. You had better come home soon. You and me and Hal Macy - will go skating. It is all right for you to go with him. He - would just as soon go any place with you because he has been to - your house lots of times to parties and you have been to his - house and that’s the way it is. I have to go and practice an - hour on my fiddle so good-bye Marjorie and I send you my love. - Hurry up home. - - “From your best friend, - “CHARLIE STEVENS.” - -“Good for that kid!” The cry of approbation came straight from Jerry’s -heart. “Old Hal has had a lonesome time in Sanford for the past two -years. He could have gone into business for himself in New York after he -was graduated from college, but he knew Father needed him in his -business.” Jerry checked herself with the reminder that Hal would not -wish her to glorify him, especially to Marjorie. - -“Hal is splendid.” Marjorie was always first to give Hal his due, -impersonally. “I know it has been lonesome for him in Sanford without -the old crowd and—and—he must miss you so, Jerry,” she finished rather -lamely. She meant it in all earnestness. She understood perfectly the -bond between Hal and Jerry. - -“Not half so much as I’m sure he misses you.” Jerry grew bold for once. -“This is what he has written me. You can see for yourself what a good -sport he is.” She did not look at Marjorie as she read: - - “DEAR JERRY: - - “Yours of last week appreciated. You haven’t yet said what you - are going to do about Thanksgiving. That I suppose will depend - on the way matters stand at Hamilton. If you don’t come home I - will keep Father and Mother busy looking after me so they won’t - miss you too much. Connie and Laurie will be in New York over - Thanksgiving so I must cheer up Charlie by taking him to the - football game between the Riverside Giants and the Sanford High - team. I have been coaching the Sanford fellows a little. It’s - going to be some game. Hope you’ll be on hand to see it. - - “Just remind Marjorie that I wrote her last. Tell her she can - square herself with me by coming home for Thanksgiving. Connie - told me yesterday she had written to Marjorie. Hard lines to - have Connie and Laurie away on the grand old day. Better try and - see what you can do for me. With love. Good night old kid. - - “HAL.” - -“Why, I don’t owe Hal a letter!” Marjorie regarded Jerry in surprise. -“He owes me one.” - -“He _does_?” Jerry showed more surprise than had Marjorie. “Well, I -believe both of you. It’s a plain case of ‘all have won.’ Meanwhile -where is that latest glowing proof of a flourishing correspondence?” - -“Lost in the mail, perhaps,” Marjorie guessed. She became silent for a -moment. “I’m doubly sorry about it. I shouldn’t care to have Hal think—” -Marjorie paused; looked away from Jerry’s keen blue eyes, so like Hal’s, -in confused embarrassment. - -“You know what to do.” Jerry kindly ignored the embarrassed slip. “Go -present him with your regrets in person. I’ll give a hop, and invite you -to it. Won’t that be nice? Old Hal won’t care if you are the only one -invited.” She could not refrain from a side-long glance at Marjorie. - -“Imagine Hal and me dancing solemnly around your big ball room together, -the only guests at your hop.” Marjorie forced a laughing tone of -raillery. - -“Nothing would please him better,” Jerry stoutly maintained. It was the -nearest to an opinion concerning Hal’s and Marjorie’s non-progressive -love affair that wary Jerry had ever ventured. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - TWO THINGS SHE KNEW ABOUT LOVE - - -This time the blue and brown eyes met squarely. Marjorie’s expression -was a mixture of tolerance, vexation and resignation. - -“I said it.” Jerry read the glance aright. “I’ll say it for myself, too. -Nothing would please _me_ better. You know the rest. It’s the first, -last and only appearance of Jeremiah as a buttinski. I knew that -someday, somehow, somewhere I’d say something about you and Hal. ’Scuse -me, Bean, ’scuse me.” Jerry’s apology was half joking, half earnest. - -“Why—I—why—Jerry!” Marjorie stammered. She grew rosy from white throat -to the roots of her curly hair. Concerning Hal’s avowal of love, her -captain had been her only confidant. Even Constance did not know the -circumstances of that bright summer afternoon which she had spent with -Hal aboard the Oriole. “Why—Jurry-miar!” She used Danny Seabrooke’s -nickname for Jerry, with a rather tremulous laugh. “Who—I never—” - -“Nope; of course not.” Jerry’s reply was comfortingly positive. “Both -you and Hal belong to the high inner order of the tight-shell clam. I -can only guess how you stand with each other. I know he loves you. Never -think he told me that. I knew it almost as soon as we first met you. -It’s the same true love, broadened and deepened, that he’s giving you -today. I wish you cared about him even one-half as much as he cares -about you. You’d be loving him some. But I’m afraid you don’t. And -that’s flat.” - -“No, Jerry I don’t, and it is a relief to be able to say it frankly to -you.” Marjorie’s recent confusion was clearing away. Her grave serenity -of tone robbed her candid confession of all harshness. - -“I’ve always hated to believe you didn’t for Hal’s sake. I was pretty -sure of it last summer at the beach,” was Jerry’s sober answer. - -“I’m _never_ going to marry, Jeremiah,” Marjorie informed her room-mate -with a kind of pessimistic solemnity. “If I couldn’t love Hal enough to -be his wife, knowing how splendid he is, surely I couldn’t marry any -other man. Don’t think me selfish because I put my work at Hamilton -above love. It is life to me—my highest, most complete ideal.” - -Jerry surveyed her chum’s lovely, but very dignified features for an -instant. She was divided between a desire to admire Marjorie’s lofty -purpose in life and shake her soundly for her deliberate repudiation of -Hal and his warm true love. - -“I—I’m not sorry you spoke to me of Hal. I’d like you to know that—that -we’re not betrothed—nor never will be.” Marjorie’s voice dropped on the -last four words. “Only Captain and General know. Not even Connie. I -don’t think I have the right to tell her. If Hal tells Laurie, he may -ask Laurie to tell Connie. I hope so.” - -“I know old Hal wouldn’t tell me.” Jerry’s voiced conviction was -emphatic. Jerry was more disturbed than she then realized by the -“wallop” which Marjorie had managed to “hand” old Hal somewhere along -the road of time from the date of Connie’s wedding. She was inwardly -convinced that the “turn-down” had come at the beach. - -“I shall tell him that I have told you, Jerry,” Marjorie quietly -announced. “It is Hal’s privilege to tell Laurie and your father and -mother. It was mine to tell either you or Connie as my closest girl -friend. I have chosen to tell you. You are as dear to me as Connie; but -not dearer. Only—in this you have the first right to know.” - -Marjorie smiled very tenderly on Jerry. Her plump, but not over-plump, -partner in the journey through the land of college sat abstractedly -scribbling on the back of one of her envelopes, head bent low. She was -not far from tears. Jerry loathed tears when, on rare occasions, she had -been what she termed “cry-baby” enough to shed them. - -“Much obliged.” She now spoke gruffly to hide her threatened flow of -emotion. “I—I wish you felt differently about Hal, Marjorie. I—I—always -looked forward to having you for my sister in that way.” Jerry absently -turned the envelope over and continued to write on its under side. - -“Oh, Jeremiah, you’re just as much my sister now as you would be if I -were—” Marjorie suddenly checked her impulsive assurance. Her honest -nature compelled her to desist. No; it was not the same. She knew that -no declaration of sisterhood to Jerry on her part could compare with the -delight which would be her chum’s were they to become sisters through -her marriage with Hal. - -“Not the same, Bean; not the same.” Jerry shook a positive head. - -“I know it isn’t. I knew it almost as soon as I said it,” Marjorie -admitted rather humbly. “I love you a lot, Jerry. Most of all because -you have always loved me and wanted me for your sister. I’m glad you -spoke to me about Hal. There’s one thing I can do for him. Go to Sanford -and help you give him a jolly Thanksgiving. We owe it to him to please -him; more than we do to please the dormitory girls. He’s the one most in -need of good cheer this Thanksgiving.” - -“Ha-a-a-a!” Jerry sat up very straight and drew a long relieved breath. -“You’re the best little sport, Marjorie Dean! I was afraid you might not -care to see poor old Hallelujah on account of having turned him down.” - -“I sha’n’t mind seeing Hal,” Marjorie said slowly, “for truly, Jerry, in -my own way I like him as well as ever. I haven’t changed toward Hal. My -attitude toward him is purely that of friendship. But he has changed. -We’re like two persons, standing on opposite banks of a broad river, -trying to call across to each other. Neither of us can understand the -other. I wonder why true friendship can’t content Hal. He wonders why I -can’t understand love.” She cast an almost mournful glance toward Jerry -which Jerry did not forget for many days afterward. - -“I only know two things surely about love,” Marjorie continued after a -brief silence. “One is that I have never been in love. The other is that -without love no marriage can be happy. And now let’s not talk of love -any more, _ever again_, Jeremiah,” she ended in a whimsical tone which -made Jerry smile. - -“All right. Anything to please you, Bean,” she replied. She was secretly -elated over Marjorie’s decision concerning Thanksgiving. Nothing could -please Hal more she was sure. “It’s midnight, anyway. Time we put a curb -on our talk fest.” She rose to begin preparations for sleep. She would -have liked to assure Marjorie of how glad “old Hal” would be, but had -agreed to Marjorie’s taboo. - -Marjorie gathered up her handful of letters from the table, a contented -little smile showing at the corners of her red mouth. She was glad that -she and Jerry were going home; that the momentous decision had been -made. Picking up the last envelope left on the table she saw it was not -one of hers, but Jerry’s. A fresh flood of scarlet flew to her cheeks as -she saw scribbled across the envelope in Jerry’s hand: “Marjorie Dean -Macy.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - MEETING HER MATCH - - -“Why won’t you go to New York over Thanksgiving, Leslie?” Doris Monroe’s -accustomed indifferent drawl quickened to longing exasperation, all but -ready to burst bounds. - -“Don’t choose to,” came with laconic self-will from Leslie Cairns. She -cast an insolent, inquiring glance toward Doris who was busy driving the -white car which Leslie had named the Dazzler and loaned Doris for her -own use. The pretty sophomore’s injured expression brought a faintly -mocking smile to Leslie’s loose-lipped mouth. - -“Oh, I know you don’t choose to,” declared Doris in a purposely weary -tone. She continued to keep her eyes steadily on the road ahead. “_Why_ -don’t you choose to?” she questioned, growing more pointed. - -“You ought to know without asking,” Leslie grumbled. “You are just like -Natalie Weyman, my New York pal. You can’t remember, or be taught to -remember, that business is business. Nat is as crazy to have me go to -the Weyman’s New York house for Thanksgiving as you are to have me go -with you to New York. I can’t see either of you when I have so much at -stake here.” - -“I beg your pardon.” Doris turned politely chilling. “I had no intention -of breaking in upon yours and Miss Weyman’s plans.” Her coolness arose -not from jealousy. Leslie’s rebuff had hurt her pride. She had more than -once suspected that Leslie’s frequent allusions to “my pal, Nat,” were -made simply to arouse her jealousy. - -Doris was too comfortably wrapped up in self to be jealous-hearted. She -had a private conviction that a girl who might prefer the friendship of -another girl above her own was of small consequence. - -Frowning, Leslie shot a second glance at Doris. Her shrewd dark eyes -read mainly in Doris’s lovely blonde profile supreme discontent at not -being able to have her own way. - -“You didn’t break into anything,” Leslie gruffly assured. “That is what -you and Nat Weyman seem possessed to try to do, though.” - -“What do you mean, Leslie?” Doris turned offended eyes for a brief -second on her companion. - -“I mean you two seem determined to wreck the promising business career -of Leslie Adoré Cairns,” Leslie retorted with grim humor. - -“Adoré!” Doris exclaimed irrelevantly. “What a darling name!” - -“Just suits me, doesn’t it?” Leslie threw back her head and indulged in -her silent hob-goblin laugh. - -“No, it doesn’t,” Doris said with amazing candor; “but it might.” - -“What?” For once Leslie’s pet monosyllable burst involuntarily from her -lips. - -“I said it might suit you,” calmly returned Doris, “if you would try to -make it suit you. You’ve loads of personality, Leslie; the kind that -would make people like you a lot if you cared to have them like you.” - -“I’m not keen on having people like me, even if I do happen to have a -foolish middle name.” From interest Leslie’s tone had quickly changed to -one of mild derision. “I mean I wouldn’t lift my finger in order to -stand well with a gang of girls. That’s the way Bean made herself -popular on the campus; pretending to be so kind and helpful; setting up -goody-goody standards and poking her inquisitive nose into a lot of -things that didn’t concern her. Then there was the Beauty contest. She -won that. It gave her a strong pull with the upper class girls. All -except the Sans.” Leslie’s displeasure against Marjorie rose with the -recital of past troubles. “They _knew_ the judges at the contest hadn’t -played fairly. Nat Weyman should have won the contest. Wish you’d been a -freshie that year. Bean wouldn’t have had a look-in.” - -“Oh, I’m not so sure of that,” disagreed Doris, with intent to be -provoking. “Miss Dean is really beautiful, Leslie. I’d hate to believe -that she is more beautiful than I. Sometimes I’m not sure but that she -is,” Doris gave a self-conscious, half rueful laugh. - -“What ails you?” Leslie demanded darkly. “I thought you said you had no -use for Bean and her crowd. Look where you’re going. You almost zipped -us into that limousine.” - -Doris’s honest, if reluctant, opinion of Marjorie fanned the flame of -Leslie’s too-ready ill humor. She immediately vented it upon Doris’s -driving. - -“_No_, I did _not_ almost run the car into that limousine,” was the -other girl’s flat contradiction. “What is the use in growing peevish -with me, Leslie? You know I detest Miss Dean and that Sanford crowd. The -only one of them who appears in the least interesting is Miss Harding. -She’s a barbarian, but she has individuality. I can’t forget she’s on -earth, you know, since I have her as a room-mate.” - -As she spoke Doris had slowed the speed of the car for a stop before the -Lotus, the tea room where they had decided to go for a Saturday -afternoon luncheon. - -“She’s a savage; so is Macy.” Leslie invariably referred to Muriel and -Jerry as “those two savages.” “She’s clever, too, that Muriel Harding. -The Sans would have taken up with her and Macy and Lynde when they came -to Hamilton if they hadn’t been so crazy about Bean. Macy’s father’s a -millionaire and Lynde’s father is a multi-million man. Harding would -have got across on her nerve. All three rallied round the Bean standard -and lost out with the Sans.” - -It was on Doris’s tongue to say: “Then they were lucky, after all, since -the Sans were expelled from college.” Instead she held her peace. She -intended to try once more to coax Leslie to re-consider her decision not -to go to New York. Such a remark from her now about the Sans would only -stir Leslie into fresh irritation. - -Doris sent a backward, lingering glance toward the shining white car as -the two girls started up the wide cement walk to the tea room. - -“Don’t worry. It’ll be there when we come back,” Leslie said with a half -mollified smile. Doris’s proud anxiety concerning the white car was not -lost on her. It suited Leslie to pose as a benefactor. - -“It’s such a dream,” sighed Doris. Her color heightened; her blue eyes -shone starry triumph of the smart white roadster. - -“I’ve engaged a Thanksgiving table already at the Colonial,” Leslie -announced, tucking her arm inside one of Doris’s. “I tried to get one at -Baretti’s but the dago is sore at me. His tables are always engaged -beforehand if I happen to want one on a holiday.” - -“Couldn’t we go to New York the day before Thanksgiving and come back to -Hamilton the day after?” Doris once more pleaded. “You won’t transact -any business here on Thanksgiving Day.” - -“That’s what you say,” Leslie made instant rejoinder. She laughed as -though she was in possession of a rich joke. “I’ve a special business -stunt to put over here on Thanksgiving Day. Get it straight this time, -Goldie. I am _not_ going to New York.” - -“Then I shall go there alone.” Doris stopped on the threshold of the -Lotus. She faced Leslie angrily as she made the stubborn announcement. -For an instant the two girls fairly glared at each other. - -“Go on inside, for goodness sake,” Leslie roughly requested. She had -turned incensed eyes from Doris in time to spy three Hamilton students -coming up the walk. Luckily their attention was focussed on the white -car. Two of them glanced back at it. It was apparently the topic they -were discussing. - -“I meant what I said,” Doris began haughtily the moment they had seated -themselves at a table. “You are so very queer. You seem to forget that I -know London and Paris. What is New York to me?” Doris snapped -contemptuous fingers. “Merely another large city.” - -“You’ll find it a handful, if you try to tackle it all by your -lonesome,” was Leslie’s satiric prediction. - -“I don’t need, necessarily, to go there alone. I know two sophs who -would be glad—” - -“Forget it,” Leslie interrupted with a gesture of dismissal. “The three -of you would have nothing on ‘Babes in the Wood,’ or any other of those -lost nursery kids. In New York, unless you’ve been born and brought up -there, you have to know the right sort of people, or you can’t have a -good time. I could give you a letter of introduction to Nat Weyman, if I -wanted to, but it wouldn’t do. She’d not like you, and you’d not like -her.” - -“I fail to understand why New York should be so—so different from London -and Paris.” Doris was still haughty, though she was somewhat impressed -by what Leslie had just said. “I don’t wish to meet Miss Weyman.” - -“Use your brain,” Leslie impatiently advised. “London and Paris are like -a couple of villages to you because you know ’em. New York would be a -howling wilderness to you. Why? Because you don’t know it. Simmer down, -Goldie. I’ll take you to New York with me the week after Christmas. Our -town house is closed this winter but I have an apartment in New York and -a chaperon whom I’ve taught to mind her own business. You can help me -here a good deal on Thanksgiving Day by wearing that new costume of -yours that matches the Dazzler. I want to make a splurge at the -Colonial, for reasons of my own.” - -“Of course I wish to help you, Leslie.” Doris was somewhat mollified by -the Christmas prospect. She flushed hotly at Leslie’s pointed reminder -concerning her new costume and the car. Leslie had presented her with -the white fur hat and coat, an exquisite white silk gold-embroidered -gown and slippers and hose which made up the “costume.” - -“Then look pleasant, and listen to me,” Leslie curtly directed, her eyes -fixed on the other girl’s rapidly clearing features. “Drive the Dazzler -to the Hamilton House for me at exactly eleven o’clock, on Thanksgiving -Day. We’ll go for a drive and stop at the Colonial at two o’clock for -dinner. After dinner we’ll go for another drive. Then back to supper at -the Colonial. There’s a good movie theatre in Hamilton. We might go to -it in the evening. You can easily run up to the campus and put the car -away before the ten-thirty bell rings.” - -“Why not go to Orchard Inn for supper instead of the Colonial? Since -there’s been so little snow the roads are fine.” Doris made a last -desperate effort to have matters arranged partly as she wished. - -“Too far away from the campus. My main idea is to be seen with you in -all your glory on Gobbler Day. I shan’t tell you why. Don’t ask me. -You’ve said you wanted to help me. Prove it by doing just as I tell you -when I ask you to do something for me.” Leslie leaned back in her chair -and surveyed Doris with the air of a dictator. She was giving a faithful -imitation of a favorite pose of her father. - -“Very well.” Doris relapsed into displeased silence. She allowed Leslie -to order the luncheon and continued mute after the waitress had left -them. - -Leslie pretended not to notice Doris’s frigidity. She busied herself -with the menu, hunting a dessert to her taste. When she had selected it -she cast the card on the table with impatient force. - -“Don’t meet me at all Thanksgiving Day, if it will be too much of a -strain,” she sarcastically told Doris. She knew that Doris was too -deeply obligated to her to make such a course of action probable. - -Doris viewed her with the cold, measuring glance which Leslie had more -than once privately admired in Goldie. - -“I don’t mind meeting you and doing as you ask me Thanksgiving Day, -Leslie,” she said coolly. “What I do mind is your dictatorial manner. -And sometimes you’re really insulting.” - -“Can’t help it. That’s the way my father is, and _that’s the way I’d -rather be_. You said I could make people like me if I tried. I wouldn’t -try. I’d rather have power; the kind that would make people do as I said -because they were afraid of me; afraid to do anything different. That’s -the kind my father has. He’s a great financier. Of course his money has -helped him climb to where he is, but he has an iron-strong will. His -father left him a fortune, but he’s made millions of dollars since -then.” - -Leslie’s voice vibrated with melancholy pride as she poured forth this -praise of her father. She had not told Doris of her estrangement from -him, nor did she purpose to tell her. She had long since arrived at the -conclusion that her father was not indifferent to her welfare. Mrs. -Gaylord had, in a fit of confidence, admitted to Leslie that she had -been engaged by Mr. Cairns to chaperon her. Accordingly the two had come -to amicable terms. Mrs. Gaylord had amiably consented to go visiting -among her many friends and relatives a large share of the time, thus -leaving Leslie free to her own devices. She had seen Leslie established -in Hamilton at the Hamilton House, had remained with her a week and gone -on to visit a friend with the usual understanding that the receipt of a -telegram from Leslie would insure her immediate return. - -“I should think you’d rather be in New York in business so that your -father could help you, since he’s such a wonderful financier.” Doris’s -practical and wholly innocent observation raised the red of -embarrassment in Leslie’s dark face. - -“My father is—” Leslie fought down the confusion into which her -companion’s remark had thrown her. “Didn’t you hear me say our town -house was closed?” she asked grumpily. “My father’s in Europe just now. -Besides, this garage business I’m in is to be a surprise for him. When -he finds I’ve made good he’ll be ready to let me into some of his high -finance deals.” - -Leslie’s pet dream was re-instatement into her father’s favor as a -result of her own daring brilliancy in business. Aside from the pleasure -of “making things hum for Bean” she thought well of her garage project. -It was the first step upward in the business career she had set her -heart upon. - -“There’s something I want you to do for me—not later than tomorrow,” -Leslie dictated, regardless of Doris’s protest against her dictatorial -manner. - -“What is it?” Doris again turned her measuring glance upon Leslie. - -“I want you to find out whether Bean’s going off the campus for -Thanksgiving. I must know. Find out the same about Page, too.” Leslie’s -rugged features were set with dogged purpose. Her usually loose lips -were now formed into a tight line. - -“I’m not certain I can find that out by tomorrow. I may not be able to -let you know before next Tuesday,” Doris replied with dignity. “Miss -Page’s and Miss Dean’s friends are not mine,” she reminded with irony. - -“That need make no difference. It’s important to me to know.” Leslie -tapped on the table with an authoritative index finger in further -emphasis of each word. “You promised to help me, Goldie. Is this the way -you keep your promise? And with all I’ve done for you!” - -“Don’t be so silly, Leslie. I’m not in the least afraid of you. You -can’t bully me even a tiny bit. I told you I’d help you, and I will. But -you must allow me to use my own judgment in some things. If that doesn’t -please you, take back all you’ve given me. I can get along nicely -without your further help. I don’t fancy gifts that have strings -attached to them.” Doris elevated her chin to a haughty angle. - -Leslie’s face lost its tensity and registered half a dozen varied -expressions while Doris was announcing her declaration of independence. -At the last a look of glum perplexity replaced the others. While she had -been leader of the Sans at Hamilton she had had many altercations with -her chums. She had never taken their angry protests against her tyranny -seriously. No one of them had actually defied her except Dulcie Vale, -and she had “begun” on Dulcie. - -Face to face with a girl who coolly ordered her not to be “silly,” and -declined to be bound by obligation further than she chose Leslie had -received the surprise of her life. - -“Let me know as soon as you can. Phone me at the hotel and I’ll meet -you.” The dessert she had ordered, untouched, Leslie rose from her -chair. She had determined to show Doris that she was deeply offended. - -Without saying good-bye she stalked sulkily from the tea room. On her -way to the door she demanded the check from the waitress and stopped at -the desk to pay it. She half hoped Doris would hurry after her and beg -her to go back. Instead Doris sat tranquilly at the table Leslie had -quitted and enjoyed her dessert of Nesselrode pudding. For once Leslie -had met her match. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - PLANNING FOR THANKSGIVING - - -“Truly, Robin, it is so selfish in me to be going home and leaving so -much for you to do.” Marjorie surveyed Robin Page with a troubled, -conscience-stricken air indicative of her feelings. - -“Oh, shucks!” exclaimed Robin blithely as she glanced up at Marjorie -from a list she was busily compiling. “Go home to Castle Dean and forget -for four days that Hamilton is on the map. Don’t be so conceited. We can -get along beautifully without you,” she teased. “Phil, Anna Towne, -Barbara and I are a splendiferous combination. You’ll hardly be missed.” - -“I don’t doubt that.” A good-humored smile touched Marjorie’s rosy lips. -“I know things will run along on wheels. What I’m thinking of is the -amount of extra effort your splendiferous combination will have to make. -You see I’m taking with me not only the Sanfordites but Leila, Vera and -Kathie as well. That leaves you and Lillian, the only original Travelers -to keep the new Nineteen Travelers going and manage the different -stunts.” - -“Most of the stunts we’ve planned will manage themselves,” was Robin’s -confident assurance. “Remember they are already planned and you did a -large share of the planning. So you see you haven’t been so much of a -quitter as you seem to think.” - -“You’re a perfect partner, Page,” Marjorie looked heart-felt -appreciation of the charming, boyish-faced girl who had never failed her -since the two had joined forces for democracy. - -“Glad you like me, Dean.” Robin answered the look with her bright, -piquant smile. It amused the two to address each other occasionally by -their family names. “Listen now while I read you the program I’ve jotted -down.” - -“Go ahead.” Marjorie hurriedly finished strapping the suitcase she had -just packed and seated herself in a chair to listen. - -It was Wednesday morning. She and Robin had respectively cut chemistry -and philology for the purpose of completing the Thanksgiving program to -be carried out on the campus during Marjorie’s and her chums’ absence by -Robin, with the assistance of Barbara Severn, Phyllis Moore and Anne -Towne, leader of the dormitory girls. - -“Tonight we’ve left free to the students to get up their own -jollifications,” Robin proceeded. “Most of the girls in the campus -houses have spreads, dinners, etc., planned for this evening. The -dormitory girls, as you know, are going to take in that illustrated -lecture on the South Sea Islands at the Hamilton Theatre. Tomorrow -morning there is to be a special service in chapel. I’m going to sing a -solo. So is Blanche Scott.” - -“Oh,” Marjorie cried out in delight. “You never told me Blanche Scott -was coming to Hamilton. How I’d love to see her.” - -“You’ll see her when you come back,” Robin assured. “I’ve been keeping -her coming as a surprise for you. She’s going to be at Silverton Hall -for two or three weeks after Thanksgiving. She promised me this visit -last summer. She’s to be married in April, you know.” - -“I received her betrothal announcement and that of one of my oldest -Sanford chums on the same day last summer. My Sanford chum, Irma Linton, -is to be married at Easter time. She is the girl who I used to tell you -Elaine Hunter was like,” commented Marjorie. “Blanche and Elaine two -loyal Silvertonites now on the road to matrimony,” she added musingly. - -“Yes; and Portia Graham is a third. She won’t care if _you_ know it, -Marvelous Manager. She’s engaged to a doctor. She ’fessed up in one of -her latest letters to me. But this isn’t on our regular program.” Robin -again fell to consulting the list she had written. - -“Next comes the dinner at Baretti’s for the dormitory girls. He hasn’t -told us yet what it will cost, but—” - -“Oh, goodness!” Marjorie bobbed up from her chair with the suddenness of -a jack-in-the-box. “I had so much to talk over with you I almost forgot -to show you Signor Baretti’s note. It came this morning.” She glanced -anxiously toward the wall clock. “He wants to see us at twelve today.” - -“I wonder why?” Robin appeared a trifle startled. “I hope our -Thanksgiving dinner arrangement with him isn’t going to flivver.” - -“He won’t fail us, I’m sure. Very likely it’s the cost of the dinner he -wishes to discuss with us. Such a funny little note.” She produced the -Italian’s letter from the top of her chiffonier and handed it to Robin. -The latter read aloud with amused emphasis: - - “DEAR MISS DEAN: - - “You pleas come to my restaurant at twelva the clock befor - afernoon on Wenesda. you tell Miss Page come to. I am not smart - to write much. you please come here I tell you evrythin. - - “Your frien, - “GUISEPPE BARETTI.” - -“All right, Guiseppe, we’ll be there at twelve,” smiled Robin as she -returned the letter to Marjorie. “I’ll go over the rest of this now, in -a hurry. This will be our only chance. We’ll bump into all our friends, -once we’re out on the campus. Any of them we don’t happen to meet there -will probably appear at the inn.” - -“Too true, Page; too true.” Marjorie agreed with a rueful shake of her -curly head. - -“Phil has managed to get up a basket ball game for Thanksgiving -afternoon between two picked teams, regardless of class. It’s to be held -in the gym, beginning at three-thirty. She has had her hands full, -making up the right sort of teams. Gussie Forbes is going to play center -on one team. Miss Walker is to play center on the other team. What do -you think of that?” Robin cast an inquiring look at Marjorie. She added, -without waiting for answer. “Phil had to arrange matters so in fairness -to Miss Walker. She is as fine a player as Gus.” - -“Phil is the goddess of fair play.” Warm admiration for invincible Phil -lighted Marjorie’s features. “It will do Gussie and Miss Walker good to -be pitted against each other. Each may discover something to admire in -the other before the game ends. It was a bold stroke; but exactly like -Phil to do it.” - -“She says it will turn out for the best. Here we are stopping to talk -again. Hm-m-m!” Robin importantly cleared her throat and went on. “The -dormitory girls are going to be hostesses at a dance in the gym on -Thanksgiving night. You know all about that, so I won’t have to stop to -explain. The rest of this list is made up of the stunts we’ve already -planned. As soon as we’ve seen Baretti I’m going to hurry to Silverton -Hall and letter a large card of announcement to put in the main bulletin -board.” - -Marjorie and Robin had been planning for two weeks a series of -amusements to be given during the holiday for the benefit of the -students left on the campus. There were to be paper chases and outdoor -gypsyings on Friday and Saturday if the weather was fine. The Travelers, -nineteen, new, and two, original, were to divide themselves into seven -groups, three in a group, and head the various picnickings to be held at -different points of the country surrounding Hamilton College. Campfires -were to be built for the purpose of roasting eggs, potatoes and -chestnuts. Bacon and marshmallows were to be toasted over the flames on -sticks, and coffee was to be made, the favorite campfire elixir the -world over. - -In case of a storm-bound Friday and Saturday a variety of campus-house -amusements would take the place of the outdoor jaunts. Each campus house -contingent had pledged itself to get up an impromptu entertainment on -short notice, if needed, for the amusement of its own household and that -of the off-campus students. Robin and Phil had arranged a concert for -Friday evening in the gymnasium at which to introduce a number of -talented girls who had been shyly lingering in the background. - -Saturday evening there was to be an old-fashioned costume party in the -gymnasium to which the whole college was invited. While the weather had -been moderately cold with brisk winds and no snow the Travelers had -plans made for coasting and skating fun should a swift freezing change -accompanied by enough snow visit the campus. - -It has taken diplomatic work to enlist the campus houses in the -entertainment campaign. There was a certain amount of ill-feeling in all -of them toward the post graduates. This was the result largely of the -two sophomore factions whose idols were respectively Doris Monroe and -Augusta Forbes. Only the double fact that they could not go home for -Thanksgiving and the inborn love of girlhood to get up shows and “be in -things” made Marjorie’s and Robin’s plans possible. Even haughty Doris -Monroe was looking complacently forward to playing the leading part in a -sketch which no less person than gloomy-visaged Miss Peyton had written. - -Ronny had quietly taken upon herself the furnishing of the orchestra and -a buffet collation of sweets, fruit punch and ices for the dormitory -girls’ dance. The old-fashioned hop on Saturday evening was a -half-dollar donation party, for the benefit of the Hamilton poor -families. Phil’s own orchestra would furnish the music. There would be -fruit lemonade only by way of refreshment. The admission fee was to be -dropped into a box with a slitted cover as the guests entered the ball -room. The box was to be in charge of a maid of long ago. - -Thus it befell that Marjorie discovered the very opportunity for which -she had been waiting. Doris Monroe, attired in a sleeveless, -high-waisted gown of baby blue, her golden hair massed high on her -lovely head would constitute a perfect custodian of the precious box. -After due consultation Page and Dean decided that Lillian Wenderblatt -should be chosen to tackle the delicate task of asking the haughty -sophomore to deign to make herself useful at the hop. - -“We’ve certainly done good work on that Thanksgiving program,” Robin -congratulated as the two girls presently left Wayland Hall to make their -call upon Baretti. “The best part of it is we’ve provided entertainment -for either good weather or bad. We’re becoming invincible. Nothing can -stop Page and Dean from ‘carrying on.’” She laughed at her own jesting -conceit. - -Marjorie smiled in sympathy of Robin’s optimistic view. “It looks to me -as though it might rain before night,” she predicted, scanning the gray -masses of clouds beginning to roll up in the west. “I hope those clouds -mean snow instead of rain. It’s hardly cold enough for snow. Anything -but a rainy Thanksgiving! Thanks to _you_, Robin Page, we can discount -the rain on the campus, if it should come. You’ve done a good deal more -than I on the program. And see how I’m going to leave you in the lurch,” -she added lightly. - -“I’ve _not_ done more on the program than you, and your presence will -hang over the campus whether you’re here or not,” Robin said with -positiveness. “In time to come the Page part of the firm of Page and -Dean may be forgotten, but the Dean part; never.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - A FRIEND INDEED - - -It was precisely noon when the partners entered the inn. The somber -beauty of the great square room always seemed to Marjorie to be more -like a continuation of Hamilton Arms than a restaurant. - -“You are here on the time, Miss Dean, Miss Page.” The friendly Italian -proprietor of the inn had been watching for them. He trotted forward, -his hand outstretched. “I write you the letter, then I afraid mebbe you -go home early thisa morn. You don’t get it. Then think, no—you don’t go -home when you give the dorm girls the dinner.” - -“I am going home, Signor Baretti, but Miss Page is going to remain on -the campus. Several of the girls with whom you see us generally are -going home, too. Miss Moore and Miss Severn are to help Miss Page with -the Thanksgiving dinner for the dormitory girls.” Marjorie smiled her -regard for the kindly little man as she made this explanation. - -“Ah, yes;” nodded the Italian. “Now you sit down; have the lunch with -me. It is ready; very special; all for you.” He conducted them to one of -the tables and bowed them into their chairs. “You are please have the -lunch with such a nobody Italiano?” he asked jokingly. There was, -however a touch of embarrassment in the inquiry. - -The instant warm affirmative from his guests seemed to delight him -immensely. He signaled to the Italian waitress who had been hovering -near waiting for his order. She nodded and hurried from the room -returning quickly with the soup. - -“Now I tell you,” he said as they began the soup. “You know I like the -dorm you build. I give this dorm a good present someday when I see what -the dorm need much. I know you want give the college young ladies who -used live where the dorm is the good time. I know they don’t have the -mona; not much.” He pursed his lips and shook his head in regret of the -dormitory girls’ moneyless estate. “You are the ones to make these -happa, because you do good for these. I am this to make them happa, too. -They don’t pay for the Thanksigivin’ dinner. You don’t pay. I give the -dorm girls the dinner. Then I am happa. It will be the fine dinner. You -do this for me. You tell the dorm young ladies come to the dinner at -one. I don’t close my restaurant, but I have only enough tables for the -dorm girls. I have already tell those freshmans, sophmans and studen’s -they can reserve the tables only after half past two of the clock. They -come here before, they must sit on the benches an’ watch the dorms eat.” -His eyes twinkled humorously as he sketched this dire prospect for the -girls who were pluming themselves upon having reserved tables at -Baretti’s. - -Marjorie and Robin could not refrain from laughing at his revelation. -They could picture the rows of exclusive but certain-to-be-very-hungry -girls meekly sitting watching the dormitory girls eat up the turkey for -which they were yearning. The pure democracy of the Italian’s plan -robbed them both temporarily of ready acknowledgment of his generosity. - -“I don’t know what to say. I’m simply flabbergasted!” Robin finally -exclaimed. - -“You don’t like?” The little man glanced anxiously from one girl to the -other. “I don’t un’erstan’ that word flab—flab—.” He gave a half -puzzled, half smiling shake of the head. - -“Indeed we do like your plan. By flabbergasted I mean that I am so -surprised and delighted. I’ll say the word slowly for you.” Robin -pronounced it by syllables. - -“So-o-o. I listen.” He made Robin say it over several times. “It is a -long word. I like the long words in American.” He repeated the word -until he appeared to know it. - -Marjorie had a shrewd suspicion that he had seized upon the strange word -as a means of hiding his embarrassment at his own generosity. - -“What you think, Miss Dean?” He suddenly fixed a pair of penetrating -black eyes upon her. “You like, too?” - -“Like your plan? I should say I did.” Marjorie bent her friendliest -smile upon the devoted adherent of the dormitory cause. - -“You couldn’t do anything that would bring more happiness to the -off-campus girls, Signor Baretti,” Robin told him. “They will feel so -proud and happy to be invited by you to a private Thanksgiving dinner. -But you mustn’t forget the campus girls. You know your restaurant is the -Hamilton girls’ favorite tea room. I simply have to put in a good word -for them, too,” she ended loyally. - -“Yes, yes; I un’erstan.’ I know what you mean,” the Italian assured. -“Oo-oo, many nice studen’s come here, don’t go another tea shop. All the -rest of the day after half past two is for them. My ten tables are all -reserve for after the dorm dinner. In my restaurant I can put more -tables. That is no good. Some studen’s come here I don’t like. They eat -here same time as dorm girls maybe they make the trouble. Miss Car-rins -ask me for the Thanksgivin’ table. I don’t give her one.” He waved a -prohibitive finger in the air. “She can start the trouble from nothin’. -You know now she lives in the town?” - -“Yes, we know it,” Marjorie’s response came in even tones. “Her business -interests keep her in Hamilton, I believe.” - -“Her business is too much to mind the business of others.” A fleeting -scowl passed over the Italian’s forehead. It lingered between his brows -as he said resentfully: “Once this Miss Car-rins say about me when she -is here in this room but verra mad at me: ‘Let the dago have his hash -house. I hope it burn down tonight.’ Never-r-r I forget that. I feel to -say to her when she come here again after long while: ‘You don’t come -here more.’ I cannot. This is the inn; for everybody who want come who -behave quiet. But never-r-r I let her have the special table. Naw!” The -inn keeper put great stress upon this resentful resolve. - -Neither Marjorie nor Robin hardly knew what to say. They had long since -heard the story Baretti had just told them from Vera. - -“I wouldn’t take anything Leslie Cairns said to heart, or ever let it -worry me for a minute, Signor Baretti,” Marjorie finally said in -soothing tones. She recognized the Italian’s right to comforting words. -She knew he could not forgive having been called a “dago.” Far more -humiliating it must then be to his pride to have heard his beloved -restaurant dubbed a “hash house.” - -“I think mebbe I don’t,” Baretti decided, his brooding features -brightening again. “Anyway I don’t have Miss Car-rins here when are the -dorm girls here. She might act verra mean. So some freshmans and -sophmans who have the tables here will act mean, too. Miss Car-rins -don’t like those who have no much mona. If she come here with the pretty -girl who have the proud face and the hair of gold I don’t say nothin’. -She can sty unless she makes the fun of me. She shall no do that. It is -my hash house.” He threw back his head and laughed. “In it I can do the -way I please. So Miss Car-rins come here someday, make the fun of me -again, I walk up to her, take her by the arm, very quiet, and make her -to walk out the door.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - PAGE MINUS DEAN - - -Thanksgiving Day dawned without the tiniest streak of sunlight to grace -it. Early in the morning heavily overcasted clouds began emptying their -cold dispiriting torrents of rain upon a brown and soggy earth. - -Safe within the cheerful walls of Castle Dean Marjorie’s delight in -being at home was dampened by the thought of how Robin Page and her -volunteer entertainment committee were battling against such a dreary -day. She could only hope that the steady persistency of the Sanford -downpour was not repeating itself at Hamilton. True she and Robin had -planned their program to cover that possible calamity. Bad weather could -not fail to make it harder for Robin, Phil and Barbara to keep things -moving with the energy and smoothness so necessary as a means toward -uniting the interests and the sympathies of the students of the various -campus houses with those of the dormitory girls. - -While Marjorie, Leila, Vera and Jerry were cosily ensconced in the -Deans’ living room lamenting over the bad weather, Robin Page, Phil -Moore and Barbara Severn were holding a serious consultation of three in -Robin’s room. - -“It’s after ten o’clock now Phil,” Robin was saying. “Really, I think -I’d better brave the rain, go over to the garage and run Vera’s car into -town. Anna said yesterday that there were only two busses running on the -new bus line. There were three, but one has been taken away to another -route. Seventy-two girls will crowd two busses. Suppose anything should -happen to either of the two? I told Anna to get the crowd to the inn by -half past twelve. It will take longer to run out from town in the -pouring rain. We mustn’t be a minute late at the inn.” - -“I’m very well aware of that, sweet coz,” Phil returned in her bantering -fashion. “Far be it from me to allow the gang to be late and disarrange -the well-laid plans of Guiseppe.” - -“If you intend to paddle out in this deluge and play duck, count me in,” -Barbara made valiant announcement. - -“You can’t lose me, either,” Phil decided. “Slave, bring me my raincoat, -my faithful Tam and my goloshes! Out in the tempest I must go!” She -struck a dramatic posture, held it a moment, then said disappointedly: -“I fail to see anyone around here who answers to the name of slave. I’ll -have to be it myself.” - -Ten minutes later the three, with raincoats buttoned to the chin, caps -drawn low, high-buckled goloshes on their feet, the largest umbrellas -they could find over their heads, were plodding through the rain to the -garage which housed Vera’s car. The latter had urged Robin to make use -of it during her absence. Leila’s, unfortunately, was laid up for -repairs. - -“Some of the dormitory girls were going to walk to the campus today. -Just imagine!” Phil said ironically to Barbara. The two, seated in the -tonneau of the car, watched the drenched landscape through the -half-opened curtains as the machine fled along the pike. - -“Wade would be more appropriate,” laughed Barbara. “But they’ve changed -their minds long before now. Deliver me from any more walks in this -flood. I don’t envy Robin her job of chauffeur.” - -“We’re making good time.” Phil inspected her wrist watch with a -satisfied nod. “We ought to be at the place on Linden Avenue where the -busses make their stand by ten minutes past eleven. What time are the -dormitory girls to be at the stand?” She leaned forward and called out -her question in Robin’s ear. - -“Half past eleven,” Robin raised her voice above the beat of the pelting -rain, but did not turn her head. - -“They’ll have to mob the corner drug store nearest the stand. They can’t -stay out on the walk with the rain coming down in cataracts,” commented -Phil. “Anna Towne can be depended upon to have them at the bus stand on -time. Such a horrible flivver for a holiday! I don’t dare stop to think -of it,” she grumbled. - -Her guess regarding their speedy arrival at the bus stand was an -accurate one. It was precisely ten minutes past eleven when Robin -brought the car to a stop before the drug store. The rain was still -driving down in misty sheets as the trio emerged from the automobile and -made a frantic dash across the sidewalk to the shelter of the drug -store. Immediately afterward Anna Towne and half a dozen of her intimate -friends arrived, radiant-faced in spite of the storm. - -“This _is_ a surprise,” Anna greeted. She shook hands with the three -hardy Travelers as though it had been a long time instead of only -yesterday since she had seen them. “The rest of the crowd will soon be -here. I managed to telephone all of them this morning to be at the stand -at eleven-fifteen instead of eleven-thirty. Then we’ll surely be ready -to start at exactly eleven-thirty. The bus drivers are so disobliging. -They are hired specially to bring us to and from the campus yet they -never want to wait a second beyond a certain time for us to assemble. -They’re not supposed to carry any passengers but us during those trips. -But they do. I say this, not by way of complaining, Robin, I object to -their unfairness. A great difference between those Italians and Signor -Baretti, isn’t there? I think he is wonderfully kind to remember the -off-campus girls in such a generous way.” Anna’s pale, interesting face -brightened with appreciation. - -“Signor Baretti has true college spirit,” Robin returned with -conviction. “I can’t imagine those two grumpy bus drivers as imbued with -any such noble quality; or that Italian, Sabani, the man they work for. -If those two kickers show any signs of grouchiness this morning I shall -read them a Thanksgiving lecture. It won’t be the kind to feel thankful -for, either. By the way, where are they? I ordered them to be here at -eleven and stay here until told to start for the inn.” - -Involuntarily the group of girls moved nearer one of the huge -plate-glass show windows to peer, bright-eyed, into the rain-swept -street. As far as they could see, up and down the street, there were no -signs of the large dark red busses with their flashy yellow trimmings. - -“It’s eighteen minutes past eleven,” Phil’s tones conveyed her -consternation. “Where _can_ those aggravating busses be?” - -“Not where they should be,” scolded Robin. “Here comes a big crowd of -the girls. The busses should be here so that they could step directly -into them. They’ll have to come into the drug store instead. Maybe the -druggist will object to sheltering us. There’ll be enough dripping -umbrellas to flood the store. Oh, dear what a mess! Why did it have to -go and rain on Thanksgiving Day? And where, oh, where, are those -miserable drivers and their busses?” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - AN EMERGENCY CALL - - -Mindful of past liberal patronage of the Hamilton College girl and with -a shrewed eye to the future the druggist himself ushered the arriving -party of merry girls into the store and obligingly supplied a couple of -large packing boxes in which to stand the dripping umbrellas. Despite -Robin’s despairing opinion that the store would not hold the -umbrella-laden brigade they managed to crowd into it. - -By eleven-thirty the last girl had arrived at the rendezvous. They were -a cheery, light-hearted, buoyant company regardless of their cramped -quarters. Their appreciation of Signor Baretti’s invitation to be his -guests at a Thanksgiving dinner showed itself in their bright faces, -spontaneous laughter and gay holiday air. - -“It’s one minute past eleven-thirty, and no busses. I’m going to find -out what is the matter.” Robin made the low-toned announcement to Phil -and Barbara with an air of desperation. “I’m going to ’phone Sabini’s -garage where the busses are kept. I can’t imagine what can have happened -to make them late. I wish you two would keep a sharp lookout for them. -If they should come while I am ’phoning you can hurry back to the ’phone -booth and let me know.” - -“Suppose they shouldn’t come. What then?” Barbara regarded Robin with -lively apprehension. - -“Don’t ask me.” Robin raised a hand as though to ward off such a -catastrophe. “Let’s not suppose anything quite so harrowing,” she added -in a more hopeful tone. - -Ten minutes later she emerged hastily from the telephone booth. Her -expression was one of acute dismay. She made hurried way, in and out -among the crowded company of girls, to where Phil and Barbara were -anxiously keeping up a watch at one of the big front windows. - -“One of the busses has broken down!” she cried excitedly. “The other bus -is out somewhere. The man at the garage who answered me doesn’t know -where. I tried to hire cars from the garage. There are _none_ to be had. -How are we going to land the dormitory girls at Baretti’s by one? And we -can’t ask Signor Baretti to serve the dinner later!” - -“What an _awful_ state of affairs!” Barbara echoed Robin’s -consternation. “We’ll have to do something very suddenly to offset it. -What about hiring the station taxicabs; all of them, if we can get -them.” was her quick suggestion. - -“We might do that,” Phil hailed the idea eagerly. “There are five or six -of them. With our car and Lillian Wenderblatt’s we could carry the gang -to the inn at one trip. Go ahead, Robin, and ’phone Mariani’s garage. -I’ll ’phone Lillian.” - -“You’re a wonder and a comfort to my distracted old age, Phil.” Robin -showed grateful relief. “Watch me start on the trail of those taxies. -Never mind the expense.” She darted back to the telephone booth she had -recently left. Phil followed her; slipped into an adjoining booth and -proceeded to call Lillian Wenderblatt on the telephone. - -Among the waiting company of girls a loud buzz of dismayed conversation -had now risen concerning the non-appearance of the busses. Anna Towne, -Florence Wyatt and Marian Barth, seniors and members of the new -Travelers’ sorority, were anxiously discussing the situation with a -group of their particular friends. - -At least a third of the off-campus students who had lived in the old -houses, which had been demolished to make place for the dormitory, now -in process of building, were seniors. While they, with the students of -the lower classes, had been familiarly termed by the Travelers among -themselves as the “dormitory girls,” they hardly hoped to have the -pleasure of living even a few weeks in the dormitory before their -graduation from college. Far from being disappointed at this prospect -they did not stop to consider themselves but showed only the utmost -satisfaction in the good fortune which would fall to the other -two-thirds of the off-campus contingent. - -In themselves the dormitory girls were the finest student element at -Hamilton. Originally brought together, and gradually welded into a -congenial, self-governing body by the efforts of Marjorie, Robin and the -Travelers, these earnest, capable girls were daily living up to the Hymn -to Hamilton. - -As president of the senior class sunny-faced, easy-going Phil Moore was -their idol, Barbara, as her chum and intrepid co-worker, was hardly less -worshiped. The moment Barbara left Phil to make her way back to the -window she was eagerly surrounded and plied with concerned questions. - -“Don’t give up this ship, children,” she gaily declared, raising her -voice above the flood of questions which assailed her. “Robin is -’phoning for taxies from the station and Phil is ’phoning for Miss -Wenderblatt and her car. We shall manage O. K. without the busses.” - -Barbara’s assurances were received with jubilant cries of acclamation -from the effervescently happy girls. While she was in the midst of them -she happened to glance toward the back of the store. Phil was just -emerging from the ’phone booth a pleased smile on her face. She paused -before the booth which held Robin and peered in through the glass panel. -Robin was still busy ’phoning, it appeared. Phil turned, saw Barbara -looking toward her and waved a re-assuring hand. It signified that her -part of the telephoning had been successful. - -A false alarm of: “Here comes a bus!” caused a surging of the crowd to -the window. Through the rain a large dark red milk truck had been -mistaken for one of the busses. When Barbara finally turned away from -the window it was to find Phil and Robin beside her. Phil was no longer -smiling. Her blue eyes were full of resentment. Robin’s face was a -mixture of dismay, indignation and perplexity. - -“What do you think?” she blazed forth to Barbara. “That miserable -Mariani person won’t let us have a single taxi! He claims they are all -in use and will be the rest of the day. He was so hateful to me. He -asked me very sarcastically why we did not use the busses today since we -used them every other day instead of his taxicabs.” - -“We certainly are in a pickle. Uh-h-h.” Barbara simulated collapse. “I’d -forgotten all about it, but someone told me long ago that those two -Italians, Mariani and Sabani have been at daggers drawn for years. -Sabani once had the station jitneys, and all to himself. Then came Tony -Mariani with a better looking lot of cars, and ran Sabani out. Then -Sabani built a garage and ran that, but he swore never to accommodate -anyone who patronized Mariani. The bus line belongs to Sabani. I suppose -he has registered the same vow against Mariani.” - -“Then we might as well count them both out,” was Robin’s dispirited -ultimatum. “Did you ever know worse luck? To have all our plans upset -because a couple of Italianos are ready to swear a vendetta!” - -“If only we could capture a truck. I’d drive it myself,” Phil valiantly -declared. “But it’s a holiday,” she added with a hopeless shrug of her -shoulders. - -“That milk truck is the only one I’ve seen today,” said Barbara -mournfully. - -“We’ll have to deliver the guests to Baretti in private cars,” was -Robin’s undaunted decision. “Thus far we have two; ours, and Lillian’s -is likely to be here any minute. I’ll start at once with seven girls. -You two stay here and start Lillian’s car back with seven more the -instant she comes. It’s twelve o’clock now. We have exactly one hour. -Phone Gussie Forbes and Calista Wilmot. They both have cars. They will -help us out. So will Laura Mead and Norma Buchanan. I almost forgot our -new Travelers. If those four girls can make one trip apiece, each taking -seven or eight girls to a car, Lillian and I can make a trip and a half -apiece in an hour. We simply must.” - -To think was to act with Robin. She had hardly finished sketching her -plan to her chums before she had begun to marshal seven of the dormitory -girls to the door. - -“Follow me,” she laughingly directed. “I’m going to make a rapid sprint -for my car. You do the same. Never mind your umbrellas. You’ve not time -to hunt them out now. I’ll bring them to the campus later in the car.” - -Across the walk she dashed, an intrepid little leader, and opened the -door of the car nearest to her. Her followers, close at her heels, -merrily stowed themselves into the automobile. A moment or two and Robin -was in the seat and had started the car. - -The palm-screened window of a florist’s shop across the street afforded -an excellent view of Robin and her party of girls to an interested -spectator. Leslie Cairns had gone to the pains of donning leather coat, -knickers, rubber hood and high-laced boots, and actually walking in the -downpour from the Hamilton House to the florist’s shop opposite the bus -stand. Her idea was not that of taking a rainy-day constitutional. -Leslie had posted herself behind the barrier of leafy green for the -express purpose of watching the working out of a little plan of her own. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - THE WILL AND THE WAY - - -While Phil hastily telephoned Wayland Hall and sent out her emergency -call for Gussie and Calista, Barbara busied herself with getting into -communication with Laura Mead and Norma Buchanan of Silverton Hall. Anna -Towne had been posted to watch at the window for Lillian. The latter -arrived shortly after Robin had gone. She quickly took on her load of -passengers and whizzed off as speedily as she had come. - -Arrived at the inn with her first installment of guests, Robin found -Signor Baretti a most sympathetic listener to the report of the calamity -which had overtaken the off-campus girls. Mindful of the fact that the -nationality of the two warring garage proprietors was the same as -Baretti’s she made her report a strictly impersonal one. - -“This is no way for Mariani an’ Sabani to do. Verra bad,” was the little -proprietor’s wrathful criticism of his countrymen. “I know these verra -well. They are the Italianos. But they are not much good. They are too -craza get the money. Each steal the business of the other. To get mad at -the people; that is the verra bad business. The people don’t ride, -Sabani an’ Mariani get no mona.” - -“It was very bad business for us,” Robin assured him with a rueful -smile. “I think now that we’ll be able to bring the girls to the inn -almost on time. We can’t avoid being a little late.” - -“You don’t speak of that. It is the all right,” protested Baretti. - -“Thank you so much, Signor Baretti. But we _must not_ delay your -Thanksgiving arrangements.” Robin made a movement as though about to -depart. - -“You listen one minute.” Up went one of the Italian’s hands for -attention. “You don’t worry about nothin’, Miss Page. Your frien’s come -pretty soon in the cars with the dorm girls. The dinner is a little -late, I don’t care. These frien’s who have the cars take the dorm girls -to town, to the campus, all the day when they need to go?” - -“Yes, the same girls will help us if they haven’t any special -engagements for the afternoon and evening. The dormitory girls are to -see the basket ball game in the gym this afternoon. Then they have to go -to town to get ready for a dance in the gym this evening. After the -dance they must be taken back to town again. We don’t wish to disappoint -them if we can help it.” A worried pucker appeared on Robin’s white -forehead. - -“I know what I do.” Baretti treated Robin to a brilliantly encouraging -smile. She had never before seen him look so utterly genial. “You -wait—you see.” He nodded at her mysteriously. - -“You’ve done so much for us already,” she demurred, answering the smile -with her own charming one. - -“I do more,” he promised heartily. He trotted along at her side as she -hurried to the door, repeatedly assuring her of his help. - -Robin had sprung hastily into her car and headed it for the town of -Hamilton when Lillian Wenderblatt drove up with a second load of girls. - -“Hurray! Never say die!” Lillian hailed triumphantly. “We’re here, -because we’re here!” - -The girls in the car took up the cry and shouted it joyfully. - -“You made quick time,” Robin said to Lillian with grateful warmth. -“Gussie, Calista, Laura Mead and Norma Buchanan have been phoned for. -Phil and Barbara are at that end of the job. Did you meet any of our -rescue motorists on the way?” - -“Yes; I passed Gus and Calista not far from the Arms. They were speeding -along, splashing up the water like sixty. They were having a race to see -which one could keep in the lead.” - -“Thank goodness for such glorious news!” exclaimed Robin energetically. -“Do you mind making another trip, Lillian?” - -“I’d love to. I’ll dump my cargo of dorms, as our friend Guiseppe likes -to call ’em, instanter. Then I’ll beat you back to town.” - -“Oh, no you won’t. Good-bye. I haven’t time to say much obliged.” Robin -promptly started her car and sped away through the fine misting rain -into which the heavier downpour had at last merged. - -“This is one way to spend Thanksgiving,” she reflected, a touch of -mockery in her smile, as she sent the car ahead at the highest speed she -dared employ. “I know three Silvertonites who are going to be away late -for dinner at the Hall, too. But it’s our traditional obligation to see -the dorms within Baretti’s hospitable gates first and consider our own -turkey dinner last. Just the same I hope there’ll be lots of turkey -left. I’m so hungry.” Robin sighed audibly. - -She forgot her hunger when she suddenly spied Gussie and Calista coming -up, a pair of highly enthusiastic, if somewhat reckless chauffeurs, each -driving a car filled with dinner guests. - -“You can always rely on the Bertram Taxi Company,” Gussie called at top -voice. She was in the lead and radiant with the opportunity which had -fallen to her to make herself useful. - -Robin rewarded Gussie with a gay salute. “Seen the others?” she cried. - -“Laura and Norma? Met them just as we turned out of Linden Avenue,” the -reply floated back to Robin’s gratified ears. - -When within a short distance of the bus stand she had the good luck to -encounter Laura and Norma. They had enthusiastically hailed the detail -as a fine opportunity to prove _their_ mettle as Travelers. They had -also pressed Adeline Raymond, another of the new Travelers, into service -with her car. Twenty-six passengers made up the jubilant aggregation of -the three cars which the trio of Travelers had brought to the emergency. - -Robin shouted and waved her encouragement of the overflowing carloads of -girls as the machines shot past her own. She did not attempt to stop the -three willing drivers who had responded so promptly to the call. She had -not more than reached the drug store and sprung from her car when -Lillian drove up, laughingly sounding her own praises as a high-speed -motorist. - -“We have met the obstacle and surmounted it,” Phil emphasized her joyful -boast with a flourish of the arm. She and Barbara had rushed out of the -drug store at sight of the returned pair of P. G.’s. “Only sixteen more -girls to go to the inn. Speed up, and you can get them there by a little -after one. Then you can come back for us. I’ve ’phoned Silverton Hall -that we may be late for dinner. It will be all right.” - -“You’re a collection of jewels, all of you.” Robin made an -affectionately inclusive gesture. “What about Thanksgiving dinner at -your house, Lillian?” she turned to her classmate. - -“Not until four o’clock. I’ve barrels of time to squander,” Lillian -declared extravagantly. - -“Come on, friends and fellow-citizens!” Robin was now beckoning briskly -to the sixteen girls of the dormitory group who had followed Phil and -Barbara outside the store. “Please accept my profound apologies for -having to pack you in, eight to a car. It will have to be done.” - -“Try to regard the experience from the stoical standpoint of a sardine,” -Phil advised comfortingly, but in a comfortless tone. - -Her advice was received with a buzz of retaliating sallies from the -giggling aspirants for sardine experience. Neither dark weather nor -mishaps can long suppress the exuberant spirit of youth. It bubbles up -like a magic spring at the first intimation of trouble ended and good -fortune nigh. What might have been a most vexatious disappointment had -been averted in the nick of time. In consequence, Baretti’s dinner -guests were in high feather at the triumph of Robin, Phil and Barbara -over calamitous circumstances. - -Robin’s heart responded to the rollicking happy disturbance the double -octette of girls were making as they piled themselves into the two -waiting cars. She did not know what the rest of the day might bring -forth but she was greatly inspirited by Signor Baretti’s promise to -help. - -“I must hurry away again, Signor Baretti. I must go back to town for -Miss Moore and Miss Severn,” Robin explained a little later to the -Italian as she saw the last of the dormitory girls ushered high and dry -into the inn. “I’ll stop here on my return trip with the girls’ -umbrellas. They’ll need them when they are ready to go over on the -campus. I don’t believe it will ever stop raining.” Standing in the open -door of the inn she made a grimace of mock despair. - -“It rain, oh, way late tonight, mebbe,” prophesied Baretti. “I have look -at the sky verra hard. Well, it is not that much to be sad to me if I -have not many more than the dorm girls for the dinner. After the dinner, -Pedro, my man, stay here at the restaurant. I am the one to go to the -town and see Sabani. I know him. I speak the verra cross words to him. -He knows how I can be verra mad. I make him send the busses to the -campus after the _ginnasio_ for the dorm girls.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - AN UNEXPECTED SHOWER - - -It seemed to Robin as though the road between Baretti’s and the town of -Hamilton was never ending. While she and Marjorie counted the odd little -inn-keeper as their friend and a sincere advocate of the dormitory -project, she was amazed at this latest proffer of friendship. She had -little doubt as to what would be the result of his call upon Sabani, a -fat, taciturn fellow with a surly, hang-dog manner. Among the sprinkling -of Italians who lived in or near the town of Hamilton, Guiseppe Baretti -was held in the light of an uncrowned monarch by his humbler countrymen. - -“Baretti’s,” as his restaurant was familiarly called, had been for years -the favorite rendezvous of the students of Hamilton College. Like the -inn, its silent, keen-eyed proprietor had found lasting favor with the -campus dwellers. From faculty to freshmen the little man was known and -liked. His interest in the Travelers and their ambitious plans for a -free dormitory had been awakened on the evening when Marjorie, Robin, -Phil and a group of their boon companions had, in a spirit of mischief, -serenaded him. Since that memorable evening, when he had entertained -them with a story of his own miseries as an emigrant in New York City, -his interest in their work and accomplishment had grown greater. The -Travelers now numbered him as one of their staunchest allies. - -“At last!” Robin exclaimed half aloud as the familiar turn into Linden -Avenue appeared, only a few rods ahead. She sent the car fleeing down -the wet avenue, bent on reaching the drug store at the earliest moment. -She had hardly begun slowing down as the car neared the store when Phil -and Barbara issued from it and ran down to the edge of the walk to meet -her. - -“You made dandy time,” Phil called out. “Are you sure you weren’t -speeding?” - -“It seemed as though I’d never reach here,” Robin declared. “I spun the -car along as fast as I dared. I’ve come for you and the girls’ -umbrellas.” Robin hopped agilely from the car and landed on the walk -between Phil and Barbara. “We must start back in about three minutes. -We’ll be late for dinner, but not too late. I’m famished. I left Lillian -at the inn, starving. She’s saving her appetite for Thanksgiving dinner -at home, and it won’t be served until four o’clock.” - -The three promoters of happiness swung gaily up the walk, oblivious to -the drizzling rain, entered the store and made an energetic onslaught -upon the two make-shift racks of damp umbrellas. With the help of the -proprietor and a ball of heavy twine the umbrellas were made into -several bundles and deposited on the floor of the car. Barbara -volunteered to keep them company on the back seat of the machine. - -“You may sit on the front seat, Phil. You’ve something to tell Robin. I -resign the place of honor in favor of you. I am too considerate to join -the front seat party by sitting on you. I’m going to roost among the -bumbershoots.” Barbara climbed in among the piles of umbrellas and -settled herself cosily on the back seat, her feet tucked under her. - -“Roosting among the bumbershoots,” laughed Phil. “That sounds almost -scientific; as though the bumbershoots might be a species of rare bird, -or maybe a savage tribe. Oh, but it’s good to be on the move again.” She -straightened in the seat and drew a deep breath of satisfaction. “Those -two hours of watchful waiting that Barbara and I put in will last us for -a long time to come. Weary watchful waiters waitfully watching the -weather. We weren’t the only waitful watchers, either.” Phil’s merry -tones gave place to a more forceful accent. - -“What do you mean, Phil?” Robin cast a quick, side-long glance toward -her cousin. - -“Leslie Cairns was across the street in the florist’s shop watching us. -She was standing at the back of the window that had the palms in it. She -had on a leather motor coat with a hood. The hood was drawn over her -head and she wore knickers and high-laced boots. She looked more like an -aviator than a motorist. I happened to get a good view of her. Most of -the time she kept out of sight behind the palms. I think she was there -for a purpose,” was Phil’s distrustful surmise. - -“Oh, she may only have happened in the shop, either to order flowers or -to hunt shelter from the rain,” Robin made charitable allowance. “Very -likely she has a dinner date with Miss Monroe or one of the Acasia House -girls. What possible interest could she have in the dormitory girls? You -know what a snob she used to be. I daresay she hasn’t changed.” - -“She has nerve,” grumbled Phil who had always detested Leslie Cairns -with the full strength of her democratic soul. “If I had been expelled -from Hamilton, even unjustly, I’d never set foot on the campus again. -The idea of trying to gain a social footing on Hamilton campus after the -hateful way she fought against everything fair, honest and ennobling!” - -Robin, busy guiding the car through the thin, gray mist, nodded her -sympathy of Phil’s impulsive outburst. “Did you see her leave the -florist’s shop,” she asked. - -“Yes; just before you came back this last time. She dodged out of the -store like a streak, jumped into a little black car she’d parked in -front of the shop, and away she drove like the wind.” - -“Hm-m. That sounds rather suspicious. She may have had some dark and -desperate motive.” Robin was half smiling. “More likely she simply -happened to go into the shop, saw the crowd across the street and -curiosity got the better of her.” - -“I don’t think so,” Phil frowned and shook a doubting head. “She had an -object in view. She isn’t half so much interested in getting ready to -build a garage on that property she snatched from you and Marjorie as -she might be. I believe she bought it purely for spite; as an excuse to -keep her near the campus. She’s rich in her own right, and a law unto -herself. It’s the old story of idle hands and mischief. She has no -worthy object in life. She’s the kind of person who has to have -something to hammer away at. So she’s settled herself near the campus to -see what she can do to tear down what Page and Dean have built up.” - -Phil’s voice rang out resentfully on the last sentence. She had felt -suspicion rise within her the instant she caught sight of Leslie Cairns. -“There!” she declared with some vehemence. “I’ve told you plainly what I -think of Leslie Cairns. You know I’ve never said much about her before -now. I don’t mean to be a back-biter. But I think she’s more likely to -try to make mischief now than ever. She’s vindictive. She’s shown that. -She likes to blame Marjorie, instead of herself, for the trouble she and -the Sans had that wound up their B. A. prospects at Hamilton. I won’t -forgive her for misjudging Marjorie purposely.” - -“I don’t blame you, old firecracker. I sympathize with your sputters,” -laughed Robin. “I’ve said as much as you about Leslie Cairns to -Marjorie. It’s just as Marvelous Manager says. We can’t judge her on -suspicion. If she should make us trouble, later, all we could do would -be repair the damage done and go on minding our own affairs. No one can -punish Leslie Cairns so effectively as Leslie Cairns herself.” - -“True enough, wise Robin.” Phil’s sunny smile broke from behind her -briefly clouded features. “Let’s leave her to her own downfall,” she -said lightly, “and consider instead our Thanksgiving thankfulnesses. I’m -thankful the weather’s growing better instead of worse, and doubly -thankful we decided to go to town and engineer the dinner movement.” - -“Without us the girls might have had hard work reaching the inn,” Robin -asserted. “They couldn’t have walked and look presentable after they -reached Baretti’s, and they would not have been able to hire any cars. -They’d have _had_ to telephone us, but they might have tried to help -themselves first. That would have taken time, and been a failure in the -end. By the time we had gone to their rescue it would have been late in -the afternoon.” - -“We managed to dodge a fine flivver all around,” observed Phil with a -self-congratulatory nod. - -Under Robin’s slender practiced hands the car had been swiftly eating up -the distance between town and the inn. The cousins hardly realized their -nearness to it, so earnestly were they talking, until the quaint low -structure appeared ahead of them, only a few rods distant, a welcome -sight. Robin slowed down with a deep breath of satisfaction. - -“You almost anchored our good ship Bubble in a mud hole, _mon -capitaine_,” teased Barbara. She scrambled from the tonneau, balanced -herself on the running board and nimbly leaped the shallow beginning of -a deep, wide roadside puddle, the greater spread of which was in front -of the car. Barbara flapped her arms and made a triumphant landing on -wet but solid ground. - -“No one is infallible,” chuckled Robin. “Thank your stars I didn’t -splash you. It’s your move, lady. Don’t be afraid to make it,” she -turned to Phil with the gruff tone of a traffic officer. She and Phil -both rose in the seat to leave the machine. Both beheld in the same -instant a small black car coming toward them at high speed. - -Swish; splatter; splash! The forward tires of the oncoming car struck -the wide puddle with a force that sent the muddy water of the puddle -upward in jets. In passing Robin’s car the other machine gave a violent -lurch toward it that threatened but did not precipitate a collision. On -down the road the black car shot, spattering the mud and water high as -it whizzed out of sight around a bend. - -“Whew! Faugh!” Phil dashed away a splash of soft mud that had struck her -squarely on the mouth. Face and clothing were liberally spattered with -it. Robin had been equally unfortunate. Phil suddenly burst out -laughing. “Oh, ha, ha!” she laughed. “My poor polka dot cousin. You’re a -P. D., Robin; instead of a P. G.” - -“Stop laughing,” ordered Robin, herself giggling immoderately at the -disaster which had overtaken them. “Your face looks even worse than -mine. And bouncing Bab escaped just in time. That last bounce saved -you,” she told grinning Barbara. - -“What did I tell you only a little while ago?” Phil glanced up the pike -in the direction in which the devastating car had disappeared. “She saw -us before we saw her. She put on speed and did that stunt simply to be -malicious. If we’d been half a second sooner in getting out of the car -we might have had the most wonderful mud shower bath! She took the risk -of smashing into our machine for the pleasure of spattering us. She’s -vindictive—just as I said.” - -“Leslie Cairns’ own variety of sport.” Barbara now hurried to where the -two victims of Leslie Cairns’ ill nature stood wiping the thin oozy mud -from their “polka dot” faces. “You should have seen the expression of -her face as her car zipped by ours. She looked delighted—a wicked, -hateful kind of delight. No wonder Muriel and Jerry call her the -Hob-goblin!” - -“I crowed too soon. A mud-splashing is something we didn’t dodge,” Phil -said ruefully. “I feel as though I had been swimming in the mud. Come -on, Barbara Severn, and get busy with these umbrellas. I can order you -about. You’re only a senior. Help from P. G.’s will also be appreciated. -I’m tired and hungry and muddy. Ah, there stands the guardian angel of -Hamilton!” Phil waved a gay hand to Signor Baretti who had just appeared -in the doorway of the inn. - -The little man responded to the wave. Then he disappeared as suddenly as -he had appeared. He returned at once with one of his olive-skinned -kitchen helpers and proceeded to busy himself with the care of the -umbrellas. - -“We’ll let the men carry the bumbershoots inside. If we go in there -we’ll not get away from the crowd for awhile,” Phil predicted cannily. -“Remember our own Thanksgiving feed. Meanwhile I am starving to death by -inches.” - -“We’re not going inside, Signor Baretti,” Robin told the smiling -“guardian angel” as the helper disappeared with the last of the -umbrellas. - -“I know,” the little man bobbed his head understandingly. “I know you -are in the hurry. I don’t see you till is done in the _ginnasio_ the -ball game you have tell me about. You say it is done, mebbe five the -clock. I go there. Wait for you. When I meet you I have for you the bus, -the taxi—something to ride in for the dorm girls. Now I don’t know which -these. But I find out.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE REASON WHY - - -“Oh, Marjorie Dean; dear old Marvelous Manager! I’m _so_ glad you’ve -come back to the campus. I feel like squealing for joy. I was never -before quite so glad to see anyone!” - -Marjorie, first off the train of her party, walked straight into Robin -Page’s welcoming, outstretched arms. The Sanford-bound party had left -the campus under rain-threatening skies. They were returning to find -Marjorie’s first Hamilton friend decorated with a carpet of soft cold -white. On Saturday the weather had grown colder. Sunday afternoon had -brought a mild snow storm. - -“Gracious; you must have missed me! This is surely a cordial reception, -Pagie dear.” Marjorie laughed her pleasure of re-union as she warmly -returned Robin’s hearty embrace. - -“I have; _I have_,” Robin’s tones rose in a mild wail. “Oh, you lucky -gang,” she cried, surveying fondly the eight returned Travelers. “I -drove your car down tonight, Vera. Leila’s hasn’t come home from the -repair shop yet.” - -Robin kept up a lively chatter as she was passed from one to another of -the octette. Her extreme charm of face and manner made her place in the -hearts of the little coterie of friends a very individual one. A less -sensible girl than Robin might easily have been spoiled by the knowledge -of her peculiar power to charm. - -“Phil and Barbara ought to be here, too.” Robin made a searching survey -of the white, drifted platform with her eyes. “They started out to see -if they could beg, borrow or steal a car. They wanted to come with me, -but I told them to go and hunt a car of their own. I said: ‘When you -find it you may bring it to me,’” laughed Robin. “I knew we’d need two -cars. I didn’t care to call a station taxi. Wait till you hear my reason -for cutting out those same taxies.” Robin’s delicate face hardened a -trifle. “It’s a very good——” - -A sharp little shout of welcome broke in upon what Robin was saying. -Phil, Barbara and Gussie Forbes suddenly appeared on the platform. Phil -and Barbara were escorting Gussie with a great show of respect. Each had -her by an arm. Both were endeavoring to look dignified. Gussie was -frankly giggling her enjoyment of the situation. - -“Captured a soph; tallest in captivity; absolutely primitive; untamed, -probably belongs to the cave dwellers union,” recited Phil, indicating -Gussie with an enthusiastic flourish. “She may even be a Celt.” Phil -arched significant brows at Leila. - -“May she, indeed?” Leila pretended deep surprise. - -“You heard me say she _might_ be,” Phil retorted grandly. “Anyway, she -has a car that’s not in the repair shop. That’s more important this -evening than being a Celt.” - -“Now where is the one who told you that?” Leila glared about her, as if -determined to hunt out the offender. - -“You mustn’t be _too_ personal.” Phil put her hand to her lips. -Shielding them cup-fashion she said in a loud whisper: “Keep quiet. She -mustn’t suspect the reason we invited her.” - -“I doubt if she ever finds out,” was Leila’s satirical assurance. - -“Poor, benighted soph.” Vera turned a pitying look on the primitive, -untamed soph who returned it with a bold wink. - -“She seems to understand a few things,” Muriel made equally sarcastic -comment. - -“I’ll guarantee not to ditch the car, even if I do have an untamed air,” -chuckled Gussie. “Come on, Travelers. No place like home when home’s a -good place. Six to a car. Come, choose your east. Come, choose your -west.” - -The Travelers obeyed the call, laughingly dividing themselves into two -groups. Robin, Marjorie, Muriel, Phil, Lucy and Vera took possession of -Vera’s car. Leila, Jerry, Kathie, Barbara, Ronny and Gussie fell to -Gussie’s big high-powered touring car. They were all in an uproariously -merry mood as their frequent peals of laughter went to testify. - -Phil magnanimously volunteered to forego the delights of re-union and -drive the car so that Robin could tell the girls the campus news. Lucy -elected to ride on the front seat beside her. “Such a noble act deserves -the reward of my company. Besides, I’ll hear the same news later. -There’ll be at least half a dozen editions of it,” she slyly prophesied. - -Marjorie’s first eager question: “How did everything go?” set Robin off -on an account of the calamity that had overtaken the dormitory girls on -Thanksgiving morning. She had just reached the point in her narrative -where she and Barbara and Phil had piled the umbrellas belonging to the -dormitory girls into the automobile and started for the inn when Phil -brought the car up in front of Wayland Hall and called out in stentorian -tones: “All out. Step lively.” - -“I’ll have to tell you the rest when we are settled again up in -Marjorie’s room. This is the Tragedy of Page minus Dean, in two acts. -Wait till you hear the sensational climax of Act One,” Robin animatedly -informed the absorbed listeners. - -The brightness of reunion had been gradually fading from Marjorie’s face -as she listened to Robin to give place to an expression of almost stern -gravity. Robin had not yet brought Leslie Cairns into the narrative. -Nevertheless her name had suddenly leaped into Marjorie’s mind. Why -Robin’s recital of her difficulties with two warring Italian garage -owners should have reminded Marjorie of Leslie Cairns she was -momentarily at a loss to understand. She conceived a swift, unbidden, -formless suspicion of Leslie which she instantly tried to dismiss as -unworthy. It continued to tantalize her brain until she recalled with -relief that it was the mention of the Italians as garage owners that had -brought Leslie to the fore in her mind. Leslie herself was a prospective -garage owner. - -Half an hour later when Robin had resumed her story to her interested -audience of chums Marjorie sat, chin on hand, staring in secret -bewilderment at Robin as the latter indignantly recounted the -sensational mud-spattering climax of Act One, with Leslie Cairns as the -villain. Her curious, flitting suspicion of Leslie had not then been -idle. She felt as she might have if she had suddenly reached up and -picked her conviction of Leslie’s treachery out of the atmosphere. - -“Phil insisted from the first that Leslie Cairns had an object in view -when she stood in the store watching us from behind the palms. I tried -to give her the benefit of the doubt. Afterward, when she _deliberately -ran her car through that mud puddle as hard as she could drive it, and -as close to our car as she dared_, I decided Phil was right,” Robin -asserted with an energetic bob of her head. - -“What do you think her object was, Phil? Leslie Cairns’, I mean?” Vera -voiced the curiosity of the others. “Do you think she heard about the -dinner to the off-campus girls from her friends?” - -“Of course. She must have. Hard to say what her object may have been. -She was probably hunting mischief. When she couldn’t find any to do, it -put her in a worse humor than ever with us and she vented her spite in a -mud-spattering act.” Phil accompanied her opinion with a contemptuous -shrug. - -“That ends the first act, ladies and Gentleman Gus,” announced Robin. -“The second act has nothing to do with Leslie Cairns. It features -Guiseppe Baretti, the hero of the hour and the knightly defender of the -dormitory girls.” She accompanied the announcement with flamboyant -gestures. - -“Thank you for special mention.” Gussie stood up and bowed. - -“You’re welcome,” beamed Robin. “I couldn’t resist including you. It -sounded well.” - -“It’s a poor way to do, to be calling attention to oneself in the middle -of a story,” grumbled Leila. “My fine old Irish manners tell me that.” - -“Ask them to tell you to practice the lost art of silence,” Muriel -blandly requested. “When you get the information pass it on to Gentleman -Gus. Whisper it so we can’t hear it. We’re anxious to hear the rest of -Robin’s tale.” - -“Ah, but you have an idea you are talking!” Leila exclaimed with -withering sarcasm. - -“_Taisez-vous._” Robin shook a playfully threatening finger at the merry -gabblers. “I’ll resume before you have time to interrupt me again. After -Phil, Barbara and I got our mud shower we hustled to Silverton Hall. We -were late for dinner; awfully late, but everybody was good to us and the -dinner was splendiferous. We started for the gym the minute we had -finished dinner. Gussie, you can tell the crowd about the game -afterward. I want to keep to the subject of my own troubles as a -promoter, minus a partner. It was a great game. I’ll say that much.” - -“Gentleman Gus is the best player I ever saw tackle a game,” Phil -praised. “That’s all. ’Scuse me for interrupting.” She cast a comical -glance at Robin, who returned it with a reproving one, then continued: - -“When the game was over I went outside the gym wondering if Signor -Baretti really had been able to reduce those provoking Italians to -reason. He was waiting just outside the double doors. I know by the way -he smiled that he had found some way of helping us. He told me he had -managed to make Mariani let him have four taxies and that he had his own -large car and a smaller one he used when making hurried business trips. -I still had Vera’s car. We had come over from Silverton Hall in it. His -big car would easily hold ten passengers, by having the taxies make a -second trip all the off-campus girls would be taken care of.” - -“Mariani himself was driving one of the taxies. You should have seen the -expression on his fat face! He was so peeved at Baretti he didn’t know -which way to look!” Phil interposed, laughing at the memory of the -miffed Italian’s grouchy face. - -“Baretti had the machines lined up on the branch drive east of the gym. -I asked him if the men could be depended to bring the girls back to the -campus after supper and come for them after the dance. He said: ‘Yes-s, -I tell again. Then sure.’” Robin imitated the inn-keeper briefly. “He -marched up to the first, then the others, and said about six words to -each; except Mariani. He and Guiseppe had quite an argument. I could -tell by the way they wagged their heads and shrugged their shoulders and -made gestures to go with almost every word they said. Finally Signor -Baretti came over to me and said very proudly that it was all right; to -tell the ‘dorm’ girls to get into the machines. Just about that time——” - -“We came along with our little chug wagons,” broke in Gussie -mischievously. “That’s all. Don’t forget to give us credit.” - -“Don’t worry. I never forget,” recklessly boasted Robin. “Yes; Gentleman -Gus, Calista, Norma and Laura came along again with their cars and the -taxies didn’t have to make a second trip. Lillian couldn’t come. Their -dinner was so late. Besides they were entertaining at her home in the -evening. Mariani furnished the same four taxies out to the campus in the -evening at the usual rate. After the dance he only sent two, and the -drivers said they couldn’t come back. I was positively green with rage. -I tried to catch Mariani on the ’phone, but he wouldn’t answer. The -girls helped out again and we managed to land the last ‘dorm’ on her own -doorstep a little after midnight.” - -“Did you tell Guiseppe of Mariani’s second flivver?” Vera asked. “If you -haven’t, you’d better. He will wish to know it. He’ll think you haven’t -much confidence in him if you don’t let him know.” - -“It was too late to bother him that night, and I was so busy Friday and -Saturday I didn’t have time to go and see him. I intend to tell him.” - -“Did the busses run again on Friday? Are they running now?” were -Marjorie’s questions, uttered in quick succession. - -“No, _sir_; they aren’t running yet. And Mariani isn’t giving good -service. I know of a number of different girls who have since then -’phoned for taxies, and have had no service. Whenever they’ve called on -the ’phone about it, no one at Mariani’s garage has seemed to know -anything,” Barbara finished disgustedly. - -“What did Signor Baretti say about the busses not running? Did he find -out what the trouble was?” Again it was Marjorie who questioned. - -“He hadn’t found out the reason when he came to the gym after the game -on Thursday. He said he would, though. I know he will. He is the -never-give-up kind. When he does find out we’ll hear from him.” Robin -said this with the utmost confidence. - -“And now, may a poor, timid Irish woman ask a question?” Leila had been -listening to Robin, an inscrutable smile touching her red lips. Her -bright blue eyes were alive with a cold sparkle which Jerry had once -declared looked like fire behind ice. - -“Do ask it.” Jerry had instantly marked the expression. She straightened -in her chair, the picture of expectation. Leila was about to say -something startling. - -“That I will.” Leila flashed Jerry a knowing smile. “What has Leslie -Cairns to do with the second act of the Tragedy of Page minus Dean?” - -“Now you have asked a question.” Ronny’s gray eyes gleamed shrewdly as -she brought out the crisp commendation. “When we fit an answer to that -very leading question we’ll probably know why the busses stopped -running.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - A QUEER JOKE - - -Leila’s frank assumption that Leslie Cairns had been a secret -Thanksgiving Day disturber could not fail to find lodgment in the minds -of the girls gathered in Marjorie’s room that snowy Sunday afternoon. -There was not one among them who did not know considerable about Leslie -Cairns’ underhanded methods of trouble-making. They knew, too, that she -had oftenest directed her spite against Marjorie. Marjorie was adored -for her beauty, as Leslie was disliked for her lack of it. Her unfair -treacherous ways made her unprepossessing features even more ugly in -their girlish eyes. - -Be it said to their credit they tried not to discuss Leslie any more -personally than could be helped under the circumstances. All of them -were of the same opinion. Leslie had not gotten over her grudge against -Marjorie. She had chosen to strike at a time when she knew Marjorie -would not be on the campus to guard her benevolent interests. - -“She’s as relentless as an Indian,” was Jerry’s opinion of the -ex-student. “It’s a good thing for Bean that she has me to protect her.” - -Marjorie did not take the indignant view of Leslie Cairns’ further -attempt to persecute her which her comrades entertained. Still she was -now more concerned about it within herself than she had been in her -earlier campus days when Commencement was a far-distant prospect. Now -she was a promoter. She smiled to herself whenever the word crossed her -brain. She was a promoter of democracy; a promoter of happiness. Before -she had gone through the gate of Commencement she feared that she had -been far more interested in _her_ welfare than she had that of others. -Now her work demanded the thought of others above her personal wishes -and inclinations. It became more than ever necessary that she should -make it her business to guard the interests of those who would benefit -by and through the efforts of Page and Dean. - -“Between you and me,” she said confidentially to Jerry the next -afternoon in the privacy of their room. “I wish Leslie Cairns would go -on an expedition to Alaska, Kamchatka, Bolivia, Tasmania or any other -far away point where she’d be neither seen nor even heard of for a long -time.” Marjorie’s tone was anything but vindictive. Her brown eyes -regarded Jerry somberly. - -“Your wish and your tone don’t harmonize,” criticized Jerry. “Why wish -your worst enemy almost off the face of the earth in such a mournful -tone? Which shall I believe?” - -“Either or neither. Suit yourself,” Marjorie stood before the mirror of -her dressing table adjusting a chic little green velvet hat to just the -right angle on her curly head. The hat placed to her satisfaction she -swung round from the mirror saying forcefully, “It makes me weary, -Jerry, even to have to think of Leslie Cairns. She isn’t my worst enemy. -She’s her own. I wish someone could make her understand that. But not -I.” - -“Who?” Jerry looked up in mock alarm from the translation into French -which she was in indifferent process of making. “I hope you didn’t mean -me, Bean.” - -“No, not you.” Marjorie’s merry laugh was heard. “I don’t know who. I -won’t allow myself to label Leslie Cairns as dangerous. In the past she -usually overreached herself every time she started trouble.” - -“You are living in the present, Bean,” Jerry staidly corrected, “and -Les, as her pals used to call her, is living in our village, too, and -right on the job. She’s like an epidemic. No one knows how or when she -may break out. Things were whizzing along on wheels when we went home at -Thanksgiving. Next day it rained and the busses all stopped running. -They aren’t running yet. Now we can’t blame Les for the rain, but what -about the busses?” - -“I’ll answer that question when I come back from Baretti’s. I’m sure -that is what Signor Baretti wishes to talk about.” Marjorie had that -morning received a note from the Italian asking her and Robin to come to -the restaurant at three o’clock that afternoon. “Bye, Jeremiah. See you -later. Truly I’ll be back to dinner.” - -She encountered Robin when within a few steps of the inn looking her -prettiest in a mink-trimmed suit of brown and the smartest of mink hats. - -“Such magnificence!” Marjorie exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me there -was to be a display of fashion on the campus this P. M.?” - -“Didn’t know it myself until I went over to the Hall after I left the -Biology laboratory this afternoon. There I found a big box on purpose -for Robin. I ordered this suit in New York just before I came back to -Hamilton. I had to write two hurry-up letters to the tailor about it, -but—here it is at last.” Robin took a jaunty step or two ahead of -Marjorie better to display her new costume. - -“It’s a work of art,” Marjorie smilingly told her with her ready -graciousness. “Guiseppe won’t realize that I’m present when you burst -upon him in all your glory.” - -“Well—not quite so bad as that,” Robin disagreed, chuckling. “He’ll -probably say, first thing, that if you had been here the busses wouldn’t -have stopped running.” - -“That’ll do. I think we’re even now.” Marjorie’s eyes were dancing. She -was a lovely picture of blooming girlhood, the dark green of her long -coat with its wide collar and bands of black fox bringing out more fully -the apple blossom tint of her rounded cheeks. - -“So, Miss Dean, you come back again. I am glad.” Baretti had hastened -from the far end of the room to greet his callers. “You have the nice -time at home? Your father and mother, they are well?” he asked with -polite interest. “I think I never know before two such nices ones as -your father, your mother.” The Italian had been introduced to Mr. and -Mrs. Dean during the previous June when they had come to Hamilton to -attend the Commencement exercises. - -“They are very well, thank you, Signor Baretti. I have brought back -their best wishes to you. They especially asked me to tell you that they -appreciated your message to them.” The innkeeper had sent them a message -of good will in his sincere, if broken English. - -“That is good; verra good for me. When you write the letter, perhaps you -have the time say my good wishes once more to them,” he asked, slightly -hesitant. “Now come, both of you. I have the fine maple mousse today. My -Italiano boys in the kitchen make. None can make better than these.” - -“We adore the maple mousse your boys make!” Robin assured Baretti. -Marjorie echoed her warm praise of the dainty. - -They obediently followed him to one of the vacant tables and seated -themselves in the chairs he pulled out for them. He stood for a moment -ceremoniously waiting for one or the other of them to ask him to join -them. - -“I hope you aren’t too busy to sit down at the table for a few minutes -and tell us about the busses,” Marjorie cordially paved the way. - -“What you think, Miss Page; Miss Dean?” the little proprietor leaned -earnestly forward. An apple-cheeked Italian waitress had been sent for -the maple mousse. “Sabani send me the word he don’t run the busses—not -if I say so hundred times. Ha, ha, ha!” Baretti threw back his head with -a derisive laugh. - -“How encouraging!” Marjorie exclaimed with light mockery. In spite of -the difficulties that had overtaken Page and Dean she could not resist -smiling over the child-like message of defiance Sabani had sent to -Baretti. - -The Italian understood her tone and said. “Now you only make the fun of -me, Miss Dean.” - -“What does Sabani intend to do about sending busses over the campus -route?” Robin asked anxiously. “Why has he cut the campus out? All the -answer we’ve ever received from him to those two questions is that two -of his busses are laid up for repairs and the third is running entirely -on the Bretan Hill route.” - -“A-a-ah; he only makes the talk. He don’t tell nothin’ true. Nev-ver-r -Sabani tell the truth. He say me the same he say you, Miss Page. I say -him: ‘Look you; this my eye.’ Put my finger to my eye like this. ‘I see -two your busses run in town yesterday.’ Then he is verra mad, but he -tell me verra smart: ‘Oh, yes; you see. That one bus make only one trip -to West Hamilton, then break down again.’ I tell him I am not foolish. I -know what I see. I say: ‘What is the matter you don’t want to give the -dorm girls the service?’” - -“That was straight from the shoulder.” Marjorie nodded her approbation. - -“Good for you, Signor Baretti.” Robin lightly clapped her hands. - -“He give me the verra queer look. Mebbe he is the little scared. I speak -to him verra quick—look me so mad.” Baretti straightened in his chair -and gave an illustration of his idea of stern, offended dignity. “Then -he say he don’t know what I mean. I tell him he will know soon, an’ he -won’t like. Then he is more scare. He say he tell me somethin’ verra -private. This is it. He don’t like take the dorm girls to the campus in -the bus for he is mad because they ride too much in Mariani’s taxies. -Mariani is the _nemico_ to him. That mean hate verra hard. I laugh at -him. I say him that is the mos’ bigges’ lie he tell yet.” - -“What an excuse!” Robin turned disgustedly to Marjorie. “It’s so flimsy -it hardly holds together in the telling. The dormitory girls hardly ever -patronize the taxies on account of the expense, Signor Baretti,” she -explained to their host. “Sabani appeared well pleased in the beginning -to have those seventy-two fares twice a day, not to mention the extra -campus traffic he received. I never trusted that man.” Robin shook a -disapproving head. - -“Naw.” Baretti forgot manners and indulged in his pet “Naw” by way of -expressing his contempt. “Well, I say him, ‘Nev-ver-r you min’, Sabani, -I know the way to do.’ I laugh and go way from him. I think of Floroni -who drive one the busses. I know he don’t like Sabani. I go in the -street watch for him. He is drive the bus to Breton Hill. I have to wait -long time for him. I drive my car out on the pike, wait for him there. I -say to him come to my restaurant tonight after he make last trip. That -is ten of the clock. He say he will.” - -“And did he keep his word?” Marjorie asked eagerly. Two pairs of bright -eyes fixed themselves upon the Italian. Neither girl had missed the note -of triumph which had sprung into his voice. - -“Yes, oo-h, yes,” was the instant reply. “Floroni is my frien’. Now he -is my driver for my truck. I give him this place. He tell me he don’ -want work mor’ for Sabani, for he is no good. He say he can’t give up -the place when he has the family to work for. Then I say him: ‘You don’t -like Sabani. You say me: Why he treat the dorm girls so bad; don’t give -them any service with the busses?’” - -Baretti made an eloquent pause as his black eyes sent a triumphant gleam -toward one then the other of his listeners. They watched him in -expectation. - -“Floroni say: ‘Yes, I tell you, Sabani don’t tell me nothin’. I see an’ -hear myself. Sabani get plenta mona becaus’ he don’t run the busses to -the campus.’” - -“Plenty of money because he doesn’t run the busses?” cried Robin her -eyes widening with surprise. “I can’t see how that——” - -“Yes-s;” the little proprietor interposed, a trace of excitement -ruffling his quick, stolid assent. “He get that mona becaus’ Miss -Car-rins give to him. She go to his garage two days before Thanksgiving; -talk to him there. It is in the morning verra early. Floroni and the -other drivers take out the busses. Floroni happen walk by her. He hear -her tell Sabani this: ‘What you care, an’ I make worth the time.’ He -don’t know then what she mean. Day befor’ Thanksgiving Sabani say him, -‘I give you holiday tomorrow; mebbe more days. Two the busses need the -repairs. I pay you jus’ same as when you drive but you stay in the -garage. You wash the cars; do such things.’ And so it is. He don’t like, -but he need the mona’.” The Italian spread his hands with a deprecating -gesture. “He say, Miss Car-rins make all the trouble.” - -Listening to Baretti’s information concerning the bus trouble it -occurred to both Robin and Marjorie in the same instant that they might -have expected to hear the name of Leslie Cairns as the real power of -malice. Robin’s flash of surprise at Baretti’s first accusation against -Sabani instantly died out. She knew that it was not the first time that -Leslie Cairns had bribed her way to her objectives. - -“Then there is no certainty as to when the busses will begin running -again,” Marjorie said, brows contracted in a reflective little frown. -“What ought we to do, Signor Baretti?” She glanced appealingly at the -little man. - -“Ah, that is the way I like! I am the one to help you. It is already -done. Tomorrow you see the busses run to the campus again with the dorm -girls.” Baretti made this promise almost gleefully. - -“Tomorrow!” two voices rose simultaneously. - -“Yes-s.” Baretti surveyed the amazed firm of Page and Dean with his -broadest, most beaming smile. “This morning I have go to Sabani. Aa-h-h, -but we have the fight; but not with the hand.” He doubled a fist and -shook his hand. “It was the fight talk. I scare him; make him think I -know all he say to Miss Car-rins; all she say him. Then I tell him I -will go to the mayor of Hamilton an’ tell the mayor what he have done. -The mayor will take away his license for the bus line. ‘I make you many -troubles, for you deserve, you don’t run the busses to the campus -tomorrow.’ After while he say he will do it. He say Miss Car-rins tell -him it was the joke she want play on the dorm girls. I say him it is the -poor joke, but not so bad as the joke I will play on him if he don’ run -the busses to the campus tomorrow.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - AN EVIL INSPIRATION - - -Due to the heavy rain storm on Thanksgiving Day, Leslie Cairns’ plans -had gone considerably “aglee.” To parade the Dazzler, the white car she -had loaned Doris, with Doris in it and clothed in expensive white furry -finery, had been an impossibility. In consequence a very much -disgruntled Leslie Cairns had telephoned Doris that “it was all off” and -to meet her instead at the Colonial at two o’clock. - -Before the two girls had reached their Thanksgiving dessert they had -come perilously near quarreling. Leslie was in bad humor because of the -inclement weather. She had the fierce hatred of being disappointed -common to utterly selfish persons. The news that Doris would grace the -hop on the Saturday evening following Thanksgiving Day and take charge -at the door of the admission fee to the frolic had not pleased Leslie. - -“You should have known better than to take that job, even though it does -give you a chance to show off your looks,” she had upbraided Doris in a -surly tone. “You say you can’t endure Bean and her crowd. Then—bing!—you -whirl about and let them make a silly of you. Page is Bean’s partner and -one of the celebrated Beanstalks. That didn’t hinder you from being as -sweet as cream to Page and saying, ‘yes,’ in a hurry when she asked you -to be a little pet donkey and collect the fees at the hop.” - -“Leslie!” Doris had said in a low, furious voice, “you shall not talk to -me in that tone, or call me a donkey. I won’t stand it. You are simply -in a rage with everything and everybody today because things didn’t go -to suit you. Besides, it was Miss Wenderblatt not Miss Page who asked -me. You are rude and boorish.” - -“I’ll say what I please. I’ve a perfect right to express an opinion.” -Leslie had flung back with equal fury. “What you’ll have to do is to go -and tell that smug Dutch prig, Wenderblatt, that you won’t be able to do -the tax-collection stunt Saturday night. You have another engagement. -You _have_, you know. One with _me_. We’ll go to the Lotus to dinner and -wander into that select rube recreation palace known as the Hamilton -Opera House.” - -“I do not intend to tell Miss Wenderblatt any such thing,” Doris had -retorted with belligerent independence. “Just remember she is Professor -Wenderblatt’s daughter. This stunt I am to do at the hop will boom me a -lot on the campus. I have a perfectly ducky dress to wear. Besides Miss -Peyton and Miss Barton are going to try to start a beauty contest at the -hop. There is no doubt but that I shall win it.” - -“Your chances _are_ fair since Bean’s taken her precious self to dear -Sanford, the place where Beans and Beanstocks grow,” Leslie had sneered. - -“You are so impossible today, Leslie. I sha’n’t lower myself by -quarreling with you,” had been Doris’s ultimatum, delivered in offended -haughtiness. - -“You’d never win a prize for amiability. You’re the most selfish -proposition, Doris Monroe, that I’ve ever met,” Leslie had retaliated. - -“Get acquainted with yourself,” Doris had sarcastically advised. - -The ending of their Thanksgiving dinner had been punctuated freely with -other similar pleasantries. The two self-willed girls had left the -Colonial hardly on speaking terms. It was nearing half past three -o’clock when they had stepped outside the tea room. The rain having -stopped Doris had sulkily announced her intention to walk to Wayland -Hall instead of allowing Leslie to run her there in the car. Leslie had -snapped back: “Don’t care what you do. You’re too selfish to consider -me. You know I counted on you to help me amuse myself tonight in that -dead dump of a town. Go to the dance. I hope you have a punk evening.” - -“In going to the hop I’m only doing what you asked me to do quite a -while ago. You told me then that you wanted me to make myself popular on -the campus. Well; this is the way to do it. Think it over. You’ll find -I’m right,” had been Doris’s parting shot as she separated from her -ill-humored companion. - -Determining to teach Doris a lesson, Leslie let the rest of the week go -by without holding any communication with the sophomore. She had spent a -lonely Thanksgiving evening and blamed Doris heavily because of it. She -was also dreadfully miffed at the partial failure of her contemptible -plot against the dormitory girls’ welfare. When she had awakened on -Thanksgiving morning, to see violently weeping skies that promised an -all-day deluge, she had smiled contentedly. She had effectually blocked -Bean’s plans for the day. And for a good many days to come! Such was her -belief, when, after having posted herself in the palm-screened window of -the florist’s shop to see that Sabani kept his word and ran no busses, -she had frowningly witnessed the arrival of Phil, Barbara and Robin on -the scene and what followed as a result of their timely arrival. - -When Leslie had had the galling experience of seeing the Thanksgiving -part of her plot far on the way to failure she had flung out of the -florist’s in a rage, jumped into her car and set off for the campus -without any definite reason whatever for going there. The main point had -been to keep “rag, tag and bob-tail,” as she had ironically named the -off-campus girls, from getting to the “free feed” at the “dago’s hash -house.” She had failed to do this. The “beggars” had managed to reach -Baretti’s in spite of the rain. They would return to town in the same -way that they had come. Leslie felt particularly spiteful toward Robin -Page. So very spiteful that she indulged her rancor in “splashing” Phil -and Robin when the opportunity chanced to offer itself. - -On the Sunday afternoon following Thanksgiving while the Travelers, old -and new, had gathered in Marjorie’s room in serious confab over the -momentous happenings of the Thanksgiving holiday, Leslie Cairns had sat -lazily stretched in an easy chair in her hotel room, eyes half closed, -her dark mind wholly concentrated on an idea which had just introduced -itself to her. It was an evil inspiration, born of a group of headlines -she had glanced at in one of the Sunday papers. - -“I wonder why I never thought of that before,” she had said half aloud -as she dipped a hand into a box of nut chocolates on the table beside -her and thoughtfully nibbled a cream nut. “I wish I dared ask _him_ to -help me. He could do what I want done as quickly as a wink. He couldn’t -kick, either, for he has handled more than one such stunt. I think I’ll -write him. ‘Nothing venture nothing have.’ I’ll wait a few days until I -see how the bus scheme works out, then I’ll write. I’ve never written -him since he—since he—.” Leslie’s voice had faltered. She had sat -staring into the ruddy embers of the open fire looking less like a -malicious mischief-maker and more like a sorrowful young woman than ever -before. There was only one person in the world who had ever commanded -Leslie’s respect and tenderness. That one was her father. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - A BUSY INVESTIGATOR - - -On Monday, Leslie, now elated by her newest plan, relented and called -Doris Monroe on the telephone. While she had been ready to condemn Doris -for going to the hop, nevertheless she had a thriving curiosity to know -what had happened at the dance. - -The two girls met by appointment at the Colonial and in a far pleasanter -frame of mind than that of the preceding Thursday. - -“I may go to New York,” Leslie announced, directly they had found a -table to suit their difficult fancy and seated themselves. “I’m -expecting a letter or a telegram from”—Leslie checked herself -abruptly—“from a dear friend,” she continued. “Even if I shouldn’t hear -from this friend I may go anyway.” - -“And, of course, I can’t get leave of absence to go with you.” Doris -spoke pettishly, dissatisfaction looming large on her perfect features. -“We made a mistake in not going there at Thanksgiving. You could have -gone. It rained too hard for you to attend to any business about your -garage site.” - -“That’s all you know about it,” Leslie indulged in one of her silent -laughs. “I was very busy in town on Thanksgiving morning. Don’t get New -Yorkitis, Goldie. We’ll go to little old N. Y. for the Easter vacation. -Maybe our house will be open then,” she predicted hopefully. She felt -signally cheered even by the remote prospect. - -Leslie had already begun the composition of a letter to her father. She -wrote, crossed out and re-wrote. She had not yet evolved from her labor -the letter she hoped would soften her father’s unforgiving heart. - -“When will you go to New York?” Doris showed signs of mollification. The -promise of an Easter vacation in New York with Leslie to show her the -metropolis was something to be gracious over. - -“Don’t know. Not for a week. Perhaps not for two.” Leslie donned her -most indifferent air. She had volunteered as much as she thought wise to -Doris concerning her New York trip. “Tell me about the hop,” she said -craftily, switching the subject from herself to her companion. - -“Oh, it was so, so.” Doris shrugged lightly. “My pale blue frock was -sweet. A lot of fuss was made over me. There wasn’t a Beauty contest.” -Her face registered disappointment. “Julia Peyton said she’d start one, -but she couldn’t make it go. The crowd was crazy to dance.” - -“She is a big bluff, and her pal, red-headed Miss Carter is a stupid. -Look out for both of them,” was Leslie’s succinct criticism. She had -been introduced to the two sophs by Doris and had mentally decided -against both. - -“They have been awfully sweet to me,” Doris returned half offended. She -did not enjoy having her admirers belittled. “So were Miss Page, Miss -Moore and the rest of that new sorority. Miss Page is charming. What a -pity she throws herself away on that horrid Sanford crowd. I was glad -they weren’t at the hop. I’d not have taken charge of the admission fee -if they had been.” - -“You would if it had happened to suit you,” Leslie coolly told her. Then -she laughed. “Don’t bristle and get ready to throw quills at me, Goldie. -I know you thoroughly. I must say I’m surprised to hear you raving over -Page when you know Page and Bean are my special abomination.” - -“You never said a word about Miss Page,” Doris flashed back. - -“She’s a Beanstalk. Wasn’t that enough to let you know what I thought of -her? Aren’t she and Bean always together?” - -“I’m not crazy about Miss Page,” Doris jerked out angrily. She purposely -avoided answering Leslie’s questions. - -“I’ll say you’re not. There’s only one person you are crazy about. -That’s Doris Monroe,” Leslie said with savage emphasis. - -“That’s not fair, nor true,” sputtered Doris. Unguardedly her clear cold -tones rose higher than she knew. “I’m not crazy about myself—or anyone -else. I’d like you best of all, Leslie, if you weren’t so awfully -bullying. I won’t be bullied. That’s all there is to it.” - -“So it would appear.” Leslie’s retort was grimly sarcastic. “Sorry you -had to tell the natives about it.” She made an angry movement of the -head toward the next table below them. Around it sat Gussie Forbes, -Calista Wilmot and Flossie Hart, placidly eating ices. - -“They couldn’t hear what I said,” Doris defended, half abashed, half -sulky. “I’m sure they couldn’t.” - -“You’re the one to worry, if they did,” shrugged Leslie. “It can’t do -one little bit of harm to me. Forget it. What do you know about this bus -trouble the bread and cheese priggies are having? Have the busses really -stopped running between town and the campus? I heard they stopped on -Thanksgiving Day. I haven’t seen you since then.” Leslie made a success -of looking innocent. - -She had not divulged to Doris, either before or on Thanksgiving Day, her -part in the bus trouble. Bitter experience with the Sans had taught her -the value of keeping her own counsel. She now listened to Doris’s vague -information concerning the non-running busses, an enigmatical smile -playing upon her lips. She was delighted to hear of the inconvenience -her scheme had caused and determined that it should continue -indefinitely. She had money. Sabani would do as she ordered so long as -plenty of money accompanied her orders. - -“Those two were certainly having a fuss,” commented Flossie Hart as the -three sophomores left the tea room, directly after Doris’s angry -outburst. - -“I’m going to tell Marjorie about it.” Gussie made the announcement with -great decision. - -“Telling tales is a bad practice,” laughingly rebuked Flossie. - -“I know why you’re going to.” Calista’s quick mind instantly jumped at a -certain conclusion. “I will, if you don’t.” - -“I’m still in the dark,” mourned Flossie. “Kindly enlighten me. Forgive -me for being so stupid. Doesn’t that sound just like Muriel?” - -“Yes, Floss. Muriel might think it was herself talking if she happened -to hear you.” Gussie favored her room-mate with a condescending smile. - -The three hurried along the street to the main campus gate. “Race you to -the Hall,” challenged Gussie the instant they set foot on the -snow-patched brown of the campus. A playful wind, not too penetrating, -frolicked with them as they ran, blowing added bloom into their cheeks. - -Aside from the one remark Flossie had made about Doris and Leslie Cairns -nothing else had been said. As members of the new Travelers the Bertram -girls were endeavoring to live up to one of the basic rules of their -code; never to discuss anyone for the interest derived from the -discussion. The discussion must come as necessary to the promotion of -welfare. - -“I hope Marjorie’s in.” Gussie was presently pounding vigorously on the -door of 15, a chum at each elbow. - -“Why not leave us the door?” blandly inquired Jerry as she opened it to -the vociferous demand for admission. “Is it really you, Gentleman Gus? I -haven’t seen you for as much as three hours. The last occasion was at -lunch.” Jerry smirked soulfully at her callers. - -“Where’s Marjorie?” Gussie peered over Jerry’s head and into the room. -“We’ve a bit of special information. You’re privileged to hear it too, -Jeremiah?” - -“She has gone to Baretti’s. She was to meet Robin and go there. They had -an appointment with Guiseppe. He wrote Marjorie one of his one-line -funny little notes. I think he has news for Page and Dean.” - -“Um-m.” Gussie looked undecided for a moment. “We’ll come back later.” -She looked first at her chums for conformation, then at Jerry. “Let us -know when she comes, Jerry. We love you dearly enough to hang around in -your room till Marjorie comes, but there’s a time for study, et cetera. -Only I don’t know when it will be if not now. You may pound on my door -as hard as I pounded on yours, but no harder.” - -“Suit yourself,” Jerry waved an affable hand. “I can live without you. I -have a letter to write. I’d enjoy perfect quiet.” - -The three sophomores went gaily down the hall. Jerry again shut herself -in her room to write a letter which she had for some time been searching -for an excuse to write. That very morning in the corridor of Hamilton -Hall she had found it. It had come in the shape of a particularly sheer, -dainty, hand-embroidered handkerchief, bearing the monogram L. M. W. -Instantly her mind had began to canvass among the initials of her -friends for L. M. W. Intending to place it in the students’ “Lost and -Found,” after class Jerry had tucked it away in her hand bag and hurried -to her recitation. - -During class her mind continued to revert to the initials L. M. W. Jerry -thoroughly enjoyed being baffled temporarily by a problem which she was -confident she would solve eventually. In the midst of her cogitations -she chanced to call to mind the name of a student whose initials were -surely L. M. W. Whereupon a beatific smile paused on Jerry’s face for a -second. She promptly forgot her surroundings to dwell triumphantly -instead upon the beauty of a certain stunt she determined to “put over” -as soon as she returned to her room. Nor did she visit the “Lost and -Found” on her way to the Hall. - -Seated at the study table Jerry eyed the dainty handkerchief -meditatively. Should she write to L. M. W., whom she hoped was Louise M. -Walker, merely asking the sophomore if she had lost the beautiful bit of -linen, or should she fold the handkerchief inside a note she would -write, asking Miss Walker to place the article in the “Lost and Found” -should it not belong to her? Jerry considered the problem owlishly, then -wrote: - - “DEAR MISS WALKER: - - “Have you lost a handkerchief? I am enclosing one I found, in - the corridor of Hamilton Hall, bearing your initials. If it is - not yours, will you kindly place it in the ‘Lost and Found’? - - “Sincerely, - “GERALDINE MACY.” - -“There! She’ll be an untutored savage if she ignores my kindly little -act,” Jerry decided with a grin. “If I wrote asking her if she’d lost -the handkerchief she might ’phone me, or come here. That’s not what I’m -after. She ought to write me a line of acknowledgment. If she -should—I’ll know one thing that I don’t know now.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - - MARJORIE FINDS A SUPPORTER - - -Marjorie returned from Baretti’s full of the glorious news of the little -proprietor’s triumph over Sabani in behalf of Page and Dean. Jerry was -equally elated and burst into one of what she had named “Joyful Jingles -to Bean.” She spouted them on special occasions. - - “Thanks to our faithful dago friend - The Goblin’s schemes fell through. - ’Tis plainly seen, oh, upright Bean - Such trouble’s not for you.” - -She did a fantastic polka step around Marjorie, keeping time with her -declamation. - -“You funny old goose!” Marjorie caught her and wrapped both arms about -her. “Yes, the Goblin’s scheme did fall through, and, oh, rapture, the -busses will begin running again tomorrow morning! What would we have -done without Signor Baretti’s help? He’s splendid in his interest in our -work here. He ranks with Miss Susanna, Prexy and Professor Wenderblatt -as our most loyal supporters. Now I must tell you what he did.” - -“Oh, save it till I go for Gus, Calista and Flossie. Let them hear it. -They’ve been looking for you. They’ve something on their minds. So has -Jeremiah. This is another wildly eventful day.” Jerry smiled warmly down -on Marjorie who had taken off her wraps and was now lounging in one of -the arm chairs. She reclined there, a graceful lissome figure in her -straight gown of pale jade broadcloth, with no trimming save that of her -superb young beauty to set it off. - -“All the days here are somehow wildly eventful,” Marjorie said with a -little devoted smile. “Something remarkable seems always to be -happening.” - -“Too true,” Jerry agreed with solemnity. “But some days are even more -eventful than that. I will mention as an example the day before we went -home for Thanksgiving.” Both girls began to laugh. “That was some day. -Muriel began it right by tipping her cup of coffee into my lap. Next. I -fell down three steps of the stairs. Next. I dropped a new library book -in the mud. Next. I went to the gym to see Gentleman Gus and got hit on -the nose with the ball. Next. I couldn’t find my suitcase in the trunk -room so I had to borrow one. Do you recall any other exciting -misfortunes of that particular day?” She turned innocently inquiring -eyes upon Marjorie. - -“Nope. You were a martyr that day, poor old Jeremiah.” - -“I need your sympathy, Bean,” Jerry rejoined brokenly. “It’s a hard -world for some folks. Still I’m glad I’ve survived.” - -“Cheer up. Here come the Bertramites.” Marjorie’s keen ears had caught -the sound of familiar voices. She went to the door and ushered in the -trio of sophs. - -“What’s the latest from Guiseppe, the defender?” Gussie immediately -clamored to know. The three girls surrounded Marjorie while Jerry made -an equally eager fourth member of the group. - -It did not take long to put them in possession of the good news. They -received it with enthusiasm, modified to keep within the limit of noise. -Since the evening when Marjorie and Jerry had been called to the door by -Miss Peyton on the head of being disturbers of quiet no more reports had -been made against them. Miss Peyton’s threat that she would place the -matter before President Matthews had evidently never been carried out. -Marjorie could only hope that it had not. The president’s cordiality to -her whenever they chanced to meet assured her of his regard. Still she -disliked the idea intensely of being reported to headquarters for -anything so utterly uncontrolled and childish. - -“What a strange, dreadful life for a girl to lead!” exclaimed Calista -Wilmot. She referred to Marjorie’s account of Leslie Cairns’ part in the -bus trouble. - -“Yes, it is.” Marjorie’s reply was spoken in all seriousness. “After -Signor Baretti had told us of what she had done Robin and I both thought -we ought not tell even you girls of it. Then we thought of the way Phil, -Barbara and the rest of you helped break up her plot by coming out with -your cars in the storm. We decided it was only fair to tell you the -exact circumstances. The Travelers, old and new, should be, and are, I’m -sure, trustworthy. None of them would circulate any of the private -business of the club about the campus.” - -“There’s another argument just as strong as to why Leslie Cairns’ -actions shouldn’t be kept secret from the club. She doesn’t deserve to -be shielded for what she did.” Gussie’s handsome, colorful face showed -shocked disapproval. “Why, she has acted just like a regular old -politician who goes around before election day and buys votes!” - -Gussie’s comparison raised a laugh in which Marjorie joined. Long ago -she and Robin had come to that conclusion. - -“Well, we won’t ever say a word about her outside the Travelers,” she -said, her face sobering. “Everything’s going nicely again. Now, -children, my tale’s told. Jerry says you have something on your minds. -Go sit on that couch, three in a row, and spout forth your news.” -Marjorie indicated her couch bed. “If you don’t care to sit there, why, -here is our assortment of chairs.” She grandly pointed them out. - -“Let Gus tell it. She began it,” declared Flossie. The three friends had -bumped themselves down on the couch, with much interference one with -another and little bursts of laughter. - -“Your fairy-tale Princess and Leslie Cairns had a fuss at the Colonial -today. They were together there when the three of us went into the place -for ices.” Gussie said in matter-of-fact tones. “Miss Monroe was ripping -mad. We heard her say that something wasn’t true, and that she wouldn’t -be bullied. She was so angry she talked louder than she intended. I -think she knew it for all in a minute she dropped her voice away down. I -wanted to be the one to tell you about this, Marjorie, for a certain -reason.” Her tone was flattering to Marjorie’s dignity. - -“Speak, Gentleman Gus,” laughed Marjorie, amused by the very solemn -expression of Gussie’s face. - -“Just because Miss Monroe was opposed to me at class election is no sign -that I should have any hard feeling toward her,” Gussie began. “I -haven’t. I know you think she’s going to—to—well, be more congenial some -day. She won’t be, though, if she keeps on associating with Miss Cairns. -She’ll begin to break rules, too. First thing she knows she’ll do -something serious and be expelled from Hamilton. I can’t forget how -sweet she looked the other night at the hop. I thought, since she seemed -to be peeved with Miss Cairns that maybe you could think of some way to -link her to Hamilton. So she’ll like the campus better than she does -Leslie Cairns.” - -“I have thought of a way, Gussie,” Marjorie’s eyes sparkled. At last she -had a supporter in the cause of the difficult fairy-tale princess. - -“We ought to forget there is any such person,” Calista said. “After the -way she reported us for being noisy on the day we got here. But you see -what forgiving natures we have.” She gave a whimsical little shrug and -smile. - -“I decided to forget that she reported us,” came from Gussie -magnanimously. “She’s awfully thorny and hard to approach. She doesn’t -seem to care much for Miss Peyton and Miss Carter. They make great -effort toward being chummy with her.” - -“Leila knows I’d like to have a Beauty contest; the kind of one she got -up when we were freshmen and she and Vera were sophs,” Marjorie told -them animatedly. “If we had one—” - -“Good old M. M. thinks the Ice Queen would win it. That would let M. M. -out of being the college beauty—so she innocently schemes,” translated -Jerry. “We’d still be privileged to our own opinion, Ahem.” She coughed -suggestively. Next instant she had gone to the door in answer to a -rapping on it. - -“You’re just in time,” she greeted, stepping back to allow Leila to -enter. - -“In time for what, may I ask?” Leila’s bright blue eyes roved -speculatively about the room. - -“For the Beauty contest,” returned Calista promptly. - -“Then I must have won it. I see no one half as beautiful as myself -here,” was Leila’s modest opinion. “But have you seen Vera? Midget is -gone, unless you may be hiding her away in some small corner.” - -“She went to town with Phil. Robin and I met them when we came from -Baretti’s.” Marjorie continued with a brief account of Robin’s and her -call at the inn. - -“Once more she has dropped her gold into the sea,” was Leila’s -thoroughly Irish comment. “It is the same old story, Beauty. She never -wins.” - -“Bean hopes to be Bean without beauty,” Jerry said briskly to Leila. -“Can it be done?” - -“I shall have to consult the stars.” Leila rolled her eyes mysteriously -at Marjorie. - -“Never mind me, Leila, won’t you please help me about the Beauty -contest. You know why I am so determined to have it. Gussie feels the -same as I do about Miss Monroe. So does Calista. I’ve two on my side.” - -“Count me in, Bean. Never forget your friend.” Jerry sprang to -Marjorie’s support. - -“And me,” echoed Flossie Hart. - -“I’m sorry, Beauty, but I can’t help you with the contest.” Leila pursed -her lips and shook her black head. “Now, why should you bother your head -about it?” - -“Because I think it is the one thing to do for Miss Monroe. I want to do -it, Leila. Why won’t you help me?” Marjorie sent Leila a puzzled, almost -hurt glance. - -“Why won’t I help you? Because—” Leila’s smile burst forth from her -sober face like sunlight through a cloud—“I shall be busy managing the -Beauty contest myself.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - NEWS FROM MISS SUSANNA - - -“I’m going out to mail a letter,” Jerry told Marjorie, when, later, the -girls had gone to their own rooms. - -“How nice. You may have the pleasure of mailing two for me,” Marjorie -reached in the table drawer for the letters. “I put them in the drawer -for safe keeping and went out without them, she explained. - -“Hand them over.” Jerry took them and was gone. She had decided to say -nothing to anyone about the letter she had written to Louise Walker -until she had seen the outcome. Like the sleuth she had laughingly vowed -to be, at the time when Marjorie had received the letter from Louise -Walker and also the one signed “Senior sports’ committee,” she preferred -to keep matters a secret until she had completed her case. - -On the way back across the campus from the nearest mail box she saw a -mail carrier leaving the Hall. In going out she had noted that the -bulletin board in the hall was empty of mail. Now a flock of letters -roosted in its alphabetical, shallow pockets. Near the top under D she -plucked one for Marjorie addressed in Miss Susanna Hamilton’s individual -hand. - -“You’re in luck,” Jerry said as she entered the room to find Marjorie -sitting at the table, elbows braced upon it, hands cupping her chin. A -rare old book on chemistry lay near her on the table. It had been given -her by Miss Hamilton during her senior year at Hamilton. She had brought -it from her bookshelf to read. Instead she had fallen into a reverie -concerning the giver of the book. Miss Susanna had told her that it was -the only copy of the work on chemistry known to be in the United States. -It had belonged to Mr. Brooke Hamilton. Marjorie could hardly believe at -times that she was actually in possession of a book that had belonged to -the founder of Hamilton College. - -“Why am I in luck?” Marjorie’s head was quickly raised from her hands. -“I never seem to be much out of it, Jeremiah. I have so much more of -happiness than I deserve.” - -“There’s a reason.” The envelope in Jerry’s hand dropped on the table in -front of Marjorie. - -“Oh-h-h!” Marjorie exultantly snatched up the letter. “I was just -thinking of her, Jerry. I’ve had only one letter from her since she has -been in New York. Doesn’t it seem odd to think of Miss Susanna as being -in New York? She’s been away from the Arms almost six weeks, too.” - -Marjorie’s hands were already busy with the envelope. She drew from it -the folded letter, spread it open and glanced eagerly at the headlines. -Then she read aloud to Jerry who had seated herself on one end of the -table, feet swinging free. - - “MY DEAREST CHILD: - - “I am still in this roaring, clattering, over-populated city - they call New York. I shall be glad to see the last of it. It - has changed a good deal since I visited it twenty years ago. - This is the day of motor vehicles, skyscrapers and crowded - streets filled with strange foreign faces. I long to be home to - that haven of peace, the Arms. - - “There is no use in attempting to tell you by letter of my stay - in the metropolis. I am coming home on Tuesday, December fourth. - Will you and Jerry come to the Arms to dinner on Wednesday - evening? I should have written you more often, but I have been - very busy by day and tired by night. At any rate I have seen the - New York of today. But I could never grow used to the - helter-skelter, rush-and-a-bounce way of living that appears to - prevail here. - - “Give my love to my girls with my fond devotion for yourself. - - “SUSANNA CRAIG HAMILTON.” - -“She’ll be home tomorrow. Oh, goody!” Marjorie sprang from her chair and -essayed a little prancing step about the room, looking like a delighted -youngster. Miss Susanna’s pet name of “child” was particularly -applicable. - -“And Wednesday we’ll see her!” Jerry contributed a few hops and skips to -the dance Marjorie had started. The two met, clasped each other and the -dance became wilder. Breathless and laughing, they landed with a bang -against the door. They managed for a moment to keep out Ronny who was at -the door, hand on the knob, when the dancers crashed against it. - -“I got in, even if you did try to hold the door against me,” she -asserted with twinkling eyes. - -“My, but you are suspicious!” Jerry accused. “That’s not the way we -treat our friends. Didn’t you know it?” - -“Am I really your friend?” Ronny asked with gushing sweetness. - -“You were, you are, but you won’t be long if you ask me any more such -foolish questions.” - -“Miss Susanna will be home tomorrow, Ronny,” Marjorie said happily. “She -sent her love to you girls. Here’s her letter. I’m sure she’d like you -to read it.” Marjorie was still holding the letter. She now handed it to -Ronny. - -Ronny took it and quickly read it. “Why did she go to New York, I -wonder, after having stayed so long away from it?” she questioned half -musingly. “It would take an especially strong reason to draw her away -from the Arms for six weeks.” - -“Whatever the reason may have been, we’ll probably know it tomorrow -evening,” Jerry commented. “It wouldn’t surprise me if she’d been -planning something for the dormitory and had had to go to New York to -find just what she wanted.” - -“We don’t wish her to do anything more for the dormitory,” Marjorie said -sturdily. “She has done too much for us already.” - -“Precisely my opinion. You won’t let me throw my money around in the -dormitory cause. Why should Miss Susanna be allowed to do what I’m not?” -Ronny propounded with one of her dazzling, patronizing smiles. - -“I call for a change of subject,” laughed Marjorie. - -“And my question not answered,” Ronny sighed plaintively. - -“The answer to your question is the road to argument.” Marjorie cannily -shook a finger at Veronica. - -“All right. You’ve suppressed me for the time being. Never fear. I’ll -bob up again on the finance question when you least expect it,” she made -cheerful prediction. - -“It’s a sweet, precious pet, and it sha’n’t be suppressed.” Marjorie -reached out and stroked Ronny’s arm. - -“That’s what you call Ruffle when you are trying to coax him to jump -through your arms. You can’t hope that I’ll be much impressed by such -blarney,” Ronny pointed out with hastily assumed dignity. “I’m going to -leave you now. I came here for a purpose, but I’ve forgotten what it -was. I’ll have to go back to our room and consult Luciferous. Luckily, I -confided in her before starting out.” Ronny flitted from the room in her -graceful, light-footed fashion. - -“I wish I could see fluffy old Ruffle and squabble with him and General -for our favorite chair.” Marjorie’s eyes grew suddenly wistful. “And, -Captain! I miss her most of all. More so this year than I did before I -was graduated.” - -“I miss Father and Mother sometimes, but Hal is the one I miss.” Jerry’s -color heightened a little as she mentioned her brother’s name to -Marjorie. “You know Hal and I were pally at home. Outside the house he -was always with the boys, but inside we spent many hours together. He -taught me to box, fence, swim and ride. And during the past two summers -at the beach you’ve seen for yourself how much we have been together.” - -During the short Thanksgiving vacation in Sanford Jerry had been faintly -encouraged by Marjorie’s warmly cordial manner to Hal. The strain -between them which her keen intuition had detected when at the beach had -vanished. As a matter of fact, Marjorie welcomed the four days of -pleasure and happiness at home as a release from responsibility. She -wished to think of nothing but home and its charms. She hailed Hal -frankly as her cavalier of old and treated him with all the gay -graciousness of her first acquaintance with him. - -Hal was too deeply in love with Marjorie not to understand her. He knew -that she was not behaving toward him according to some carefully laid -plan of her own. Her overflowing gaiety was spontaneous. She was like a -blithe, lovely child, full of the joy of living, who looked to him to be -her playmate. So Hal made a Herculean effort to crowd the love she did -not want into his heart and close the door upon it. He resolutely -forbade himself to think of her as other than his old-time “girl.” - -“Hal is the finest young man I ever met, or ever expect to meet,” -Marjorie said with an energy of enthusiasm far removed from love. “I -hope he will find a girl who is as splendid as he is, and marry her. I -wish Hal would fall in love with Ronny, and Ronny with Hal. They would -be worthy of each other.” - -Marjorie laughed as she caught the variety of expressions struggling for -place on Jerry’s round face. “You look so funny, Jeremiah.” - -“Can you wonder? Ronny never occurred to me in the light of a -sister-in-law.” Jerry’s variegated expression dissolved in a broad -smile. “You take my breath. I’ll have to mention it to her when she -comes in again. Her views on the subject might give me another shock.” - -“Jerry Macy, if you do, I’ll—I’ll—” Marjorie caught Jerry by her -well-cushioned shoulders and began to shake her with playful force. -“Don’t you dare, Jeremiah.” She emphasized her words with little shakes. -“Promise me you won’t.” - -“What do you take me for?” Jerry asked reproachfully. “I’d never have -the nerve to mention old Hal to Ronny. No, Marvelous Match Maker, you’ll -never be able to marry Hal off so easily as that. There are scads and -oodles and slathers of lovely girls in the world, but there’s one grand -reason why none of them will ever give me a glad hand as a -sister-in-law. Hal saw you first.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - HOME AGAIN - - -“Yes, little girls, I’m so glad to be home again! I’ve been outdoors -tramping around the estate since early this morning. Do give me another -cup of tea, Jerry.” Miss Susanna had ordered the dinner dessert served -in the tea room with tea as an after-dinner beverage instead of coffee. - -“Yours truly.” Jerry refilled the thin priceless cup, it belonged to the -famous Chinese tea set, and offered it to Miss Susanna. - -“It has seemed so strange without you, Miss Susanna.” Marjorie bent -affectionate eyes on the upright little figure in black silk. “Not to -see you for six weeks during the college year is a long time now.” - -“So it is; so it is,” nodded the old lady. “I had no intention of -leaving the Arms for that shrieking demon of noise, New York. The last -time you had tea with me, Marjorie, was just before Hallowe’en. I was -thinking then about having a Hallowe’en frolic for you girls. Then Jonas -brought me a letter from an old friend of mine who lives in New York. In -the letter he mentioned something so interesting that it set me to -thinking hard. The upshot of it was I told Jonas I intended to go to New -York. He nearly collapsed with amazement.” Miss Susanna chuckled at the -recollection of Jonas’s unbelieving surprise. “When I went on to tell -him why I was going he was as much pleased with my plan as I was.” - -Miss Hamilton paused. Her alert dark eyes were dancing with some secret -of her own which gave promise of being signally amusing. Jerry and -Marjorie knew the signs. Miss Susanna was on the verge of imparting to -them something in the nature of a pleasant surprise. Jerry’s surmise of -the afternoon that the last of the Hamiltons had gone to New York in the -interests of the dormitory flashed into the minds of both girls. - -“The odd feature of the whole affair is, Jonas has been elected to go to -New York, now that I’ve returned to the Arms.” Miss Susanna’s gleeful, -child-like chuckle was heard. “Poor Jonas. He looked so horrified when I -informed him of what I had in store for him.” - -“Shall we inquire what it’s all about?” Jerry flashed Marjorie the -pretense of a bewildered glance. - -“It’s the only way we’ll ever find out,” sighed Marjorie in an -exaggeratedly hopeless tone. “Unless we pounce upon Jonas in the hall -and bully him into telling us.” She turned the merest fraction of a -glance on Miss Hamilton as she proposed this violent means of obtaining -information. - -“A good plan,” heartily approved Jerry. “I’ll improve upon it. I suggest -that we rush him, or anyone else around here who may happen to know -something we don’t, but would like to know. Let’s begin now.” - -“Come on.” Marjorie rose and brandished two bare, smooth, dimpled arms -threateningly in Miss Susanna’s direction. Jerry followed suit, even -more menacing of gesture. Her ridiculous, desperado thrust of chin, the -slow, determined advance of the pair upon the little, bright-eyed figure -in the chair further added to the astonishment of Jonas as he suddenly -appeared in the tea room to refill the tea-pot. - -“I guess I got here just in time,” he slyly declared, his mouth drawing -into a humorous pucker as he picked up the tea-pot to refill it with -fresh tea. - -“In time to land yourself in difficulties; not to save me,” Miss Susanna -told him between chuckles. “We’re both threatened with attack, Jonas, -unless we stand and deliver our great secret.” - -Miss Susanna had thrown herself into the spirit of the bit of by-play -with the merry zest of a child. Since she had known Marjorie and the -light-hearted, fun-loving coterie of Hamilton girls she had appeared to -grow younger and younger. That particular, congenial galaxy of youth -Miss Susanna had taken to her heart as a charm against crabbed old age. - -“Maybe we’d better not make any resistance, Miss Susanna,” Jonas advised -with a timid air. It reduced the two desperadoes to a state of giggles -which utterly broke up their threatening aspect. - -“Maybe we hadn’t,” the old lady agreed with brisk amusement. “You sit -down at the table with us and have a cup of tea, Jonas. There’s safety -in numbers.” She graciously waved Jonas into the one vacant chair of the -four around the table. Had he been her elder brother instead of her -major-domo of many years she could not have treated him with more kindly -affection. - -“It’s mean in me to tease you children,” she said, flashing her guests -one of her bright smiles. “Forgive me. I’m really going to tell you all -about it now.” - -“The past is forgot,” Jerry moaned ungrammatically. - -“Thank you,” Miss Susanna responded gratefully. “I was hoping it might -be. Now for the tale of my adventures in New York. My lawyer, who was -young when I was, left Hamilton many years ago and established himself -in New York. His name is Richard Henry Garrett. He never married. During -our younger days we lost track of each other. Later we met again and -after Uncle Brooke’s death I engaged him to attend to the legalities of -the estate. Uncle Brooke’s lawyer died shortly after my great uncle’s -decease. - -“Since the laying of the dormitory corner stone last fall,” Miss Susanna -continued, “I have often wondered what I could give the girls who are to -live there that would be of use and benefit to all. When the dormitory -is completed I shall carry out a certain wish of Uncle Brooke’s of which -at present I prefer not to speak. What I was anxious to do was something -personal for the girls’ welfare. In the midst of my quandary I received -my old friend Richard’s letter. I had not finished reading it when the -very idea I was seeking came to me. Let me read you the paragraph of his -letter which furnished my inspiration.” - -Miss Susanna drew from an ornamental ruffled silk pocket of her skirt -the folded sheets of a letter. She unfolded them; hunted them for the -desired paragraph. She quickly found it and read in her brisk tones: - -“‘Since you used to be greatly interested in old and rare books you will -remember the Ellerton’s fine private library which I once took you to -see when you were in New York. It is to be sold soon, at auction, as a -whole. The elder Ellertons have died and the heirs to the Ellerton -estate prefer to convert the library into cash. It appears to be the -chief aim of the rising generation to convert everything of beauty and -worth, which has a monetary value, into dollars, regardless of -tradition. So that splendid monument to learning, Steven Ellerton’s -library, will come under the auctioneer’s hammer next month.’” - -“I’m sure the Ellerton library _couldn’t_ be finer than the Hamilton -Arms’ library,” Marjorie said in loyal defense of the remarkable -collection of volumes gathered together by Brooke Hamilton. - -“It is not as complete, if I remember rightly,” Miss Susanna said, -looking pleased at Marjorie’s staunch opinion. “Uncle Brooke has some -rare Chinese and Japanese books and a collection of Spanish incunabula -which I know the Ellerton library lacks, as well as a good many other -rare and curious books of which he possessed the only known copies.” - -Miss Susanna’s face broke into a little, amused smile as she glanced -from one to the other of the two girls. - -“You girls must surely understand by this time what my inspiration was. -You both look a trifle bewildered. Can’t you add two and two, children?” -she asked playfully. “You ought to know the result.” - -“But it’s such an overwhelming result, Miss Susanna!” Marjorie drew a -long breath. “Two, which stands for the dormitory girls, plus, two, -which stands for the Ellerton library make—” Marjorie paused. She gazed -at Miss Hamilton, her eyes bright as stars. “It’s too wonderful even to -think about;—until I grow more used to the idea. It’s too great a gift, -Miss Susanna, after all you’ve already done for the dormitory project.” - -“Nonsense. Nothing is too great for me to give, provided I have it to -give, and feel like giving it,” declared the old lady brusquely. “I like -the idea of the dormitory having its own library. I have only one -request to make concerning it. I’d like to have the library named the -Brooke Hamilton Dormitory Library.” - -“Just as though we _could_ give it another name!” Marjorie exclaimed -with fond fervor. “I’d say it ought to be named for you but I know you -would rather use Mr. Brooke’s name.” - -“Of course I should.” Miss Hamilton gave an emphatic little nod of the -head. “I shouldn’t like the ‘Susanna Hamilton Dormitory Library,’ as a -name. Should you, child?” - -“Yes; I should,” Marjorie disagreed with affectionate frankness. Jerry -echoed the opinion. - -“You’re a couple of nice children. I appreciate your loyal approval,” -Miss Susanna told them. Her tones took on an odd grimness as she added: -“My name shall not appear in connection with a Hamilton College -movement, however worthy it may be. In the case of his name, there’s a -difference. He had the right to hope that his name might be perpetuated -in the college his genius and benevolence raised up.” - -“‘The college his genius and benevolence raised up,’” Marjorie -meditatively repeated. “How beautiful that would be in a biography of -Mr. Brooke Hamilton.” She flushed, but looked bravely at Miss Susanna. -She had, in thus speaking, obeyed an irresistible impulse. - -Answering color signals displayed themselves in the old lady’s cheeks. A -frown sprang to her brows. It disappeared almost instantly. Her alert -dark eyes grew tender. “It was a fortunate day for Hamilton when a -certain curly-haired little girl first set foot on the campus. Why not -call the new dormitory the Marjorie Dean Dormitory? The dream dormitory -that Marjorie Dean’s unselfish work made a reality. That’s what Uncle -Brooke would say if he were here.” - -“How I love you for saying that, Miss Susanna, about Mr. Brooke -Hamilton!” Marjorie cried happily. “But I think Robin has done more hard -work than I to make the dormitory a reality. It should be named for -her.” - -“_Don’t you ever believe it_, Miss Susanna.” Jerry laid emphasis on each -word. “Marvelous Manager began it. Robin is a close second, though. The -‘dorm’ ought to be called the Page and Dean Dormitory. Sounds something -like a business directory, but it tells the story. And the great beauty -of it is this:—it includes both distinguished promoters.” Jerry directed -a refulgent smile at Marjorie, who promptly made a saucy mouth at her. - -“The Page and Dean Dormitory,” repeated Miss Susanna with a humorous -glance at Jerry. “I rather like the sound of the combination. You’re -right about it, Jerry. When one has two such retiring persons to deal -with as Marjorie and Robin it becomes necessary to drag them both to the -front. So be it. Now for Uncle Brooke’s study and our library -catalogues. Only a limited number of them were issued. I wish you had -been with me at the auction. There was some very brisk bidding at first. -There were perhaps a dozen wealthy New York men interested in the -auction. Richard Garrett represented me. I had nothing to do but keep -quiet and listen to the bidding.” - -Miss Hamilton continued to relate in her abrupt, lively way the -interesting circumstances of the auction as they left the Chinese room -and stepped into the lift which Jonas manipulated for them. - -“Send Selma to clear away the tea things, Jonas,” she ordered as she -stepped from the tiny elevator. “Then come to the study. You must go -over the catalogues with us. Nothing like familiarizing yourself with -the books you are going to pack.” - -Jonas disappeared with alacrity. He returned as speedily to the study, -an utterly pleased smile decorating his placid, old face. He was -immensely proud of being invited to make a fourth member of the group in -the study. - -The four friends sat at the massive, claw-legged library table and were -soon deep in exploring the copies of the auction catalogue with which -Miss Hamilton had supplied them. They read by snatches, browsing avidly -here and there among the descriptive pages; exclaiming exultantly over -one rare book or another which they discovered listed there. - -“I’m positively dizzy with pride and vanity over the dormitory’s wonder -of a present!” Marjorie’s eyes gleamed like stars. There was a wealth of -feeling in her gratefully gay utterance. Presently, she allowed the -catalogue to drop from her hands to the table. She sat gazing at the -erect little figure on the opposite side of the table with boundless -affection. “I’m sure _you_ must love the dream dormitory that you helped -make a reality as dearly as we Travelers do,” she said fervently. - -“We’ll say I have nothing against it,” Miss Susanna said dryly. “Why -should I? It’s not on the campus.” She cast a defiant glance about her. -“But we’ll not go into that subject. Back to our library. Having -acquired it, the next thing to do is to get it here.” The independent -donor declined to hear of her own generosity. “You’d best start for New -York in the morning, Jonas,” was her next terse remark. - -“What train, Miss Susanna?” Jonas inquired imperturbably. - -“An early morning train. One that will bring you into New York, it ought -to be called New Pandemonium Let Loose, while daylight lasts,” the old -lady pithily replied. - -Jerry and Marjorie were both smiling openly at the sudden imperative -order Miss Susanna had launched at Jonas, and its tranquil reception. - -“Yes, Jonas, for goodness sake don’t get lost in the wilds of New York -after dark,” Jerry warned with a chuckle. “I hope you know who’s who, -what’s what and where’s where in the metropolis.” - -“I don’t; but I suppose I’ll have to learn.” Jonas echoed the chuckle. -His highly cheerful expression evidenced the coming detail as being -quite to his taste. “New York’s not much like it was when I was a young -man and Mr. Brooke took me there with him once for a trip.” - -Two pairs of bright eyes were turned on Jonas with an expression which -bordered on reverence. It was something to marvel at—that this stately -old man with his crown of thick, snowy hair had been the chosen -traveling companion of Brooke Hamilton on a trip to New York. Miss -Susanna watched them understandingly, experiencing a secret happiness in -the unconscious girlish tribute offered her distinguished kinsman. - -“It won’t take Jonas long to find his bearings,” she confidently -predicted. “With the help of two or three workmen he can pack the -library in short order. It will have to be stored at the Arms when it -arrives, until the dormitory is completed. Jonas will see to having it -shipped to the Arms by motor van. That will save time and extra -handling. I want it here and off my mind before Christmas. I have -received an invitation from a dear friend to spend Christmas with her -and her family. I am thinking of accepting it.” - -Miss Susanna peered mysteriously over her glasses at Marjorie and Jerry. -She did not offer to divulge the name of the friend. Jonas raised a hand -to his mouth as though to brush away a smile that flickered briefly upon -his lips. - -“Truly, Miss Susanna?” Marjorie cried out her pleasure of the -announcement. Each year since she had come to know the old lady well she -had invited her to spend the Christmas holidays at Castle Dean. On each -occasion Miss Susanna had flatly refused to leave the Arms over the -holidays, declaring that she would not consider the idea of passing -Christmas Day away from her ancestral home. - -“Yes, truly. You won’t need to worry this Christmas about my being -lonely, child. I’m going back on my vow of years’ standing. I’ve found -something stronger even than my love for the Arms. I’ve found the love -of friends.” There was exultant triumph in Miss Hamilton’s forceful -speech. - -“I’m so glad,” Marjorie assured with hearty sincerity. Her cheery smile -further conveyed her unenvious spirit at the news. She could only be -glad because Miss Susanna had found such a boon. She surmised that -through the friendly offices of Richard Garrett Miss Hamilton had come -in touch again with the woman friend of whom she had just spoken. They -had of course met in New York. - -“Did you meet your friend in New York, Miss Susanna?” Jerry’s surprised -curiosity got the better of her. “I don’t mean to be an old curiosity -shop,” she instantly apologized, half laughing. “I scented an -interesting story. I thought you might have met a girl chum whom you -hadn’t seen for years and years.” - -“No, Jerry; I did not meet my friend in New York.” Miss Susanna tried -vainly to keep a sober face. The battery of bright, wondering eyes -turned upon her proved too much for her. She laughed; a high, joyful -little laugh in which Jonas’ deeper notes of amusement mingled. “I first -met my friend on the road to the Arms; not such a long while ago,” she -said with tender pride. “The interesting story of our friendship began -with a broken basket handle and a young girl’s gracious courtesy toward -a crusty old woman. I was very fortunate in meeting her. She turned out -to be a royal young person who lived in a castle in the far country of -Sanford. Since I’ve known her she’s often invited me to spend Christmas -at Castle Dean. I’ve stayed at the Arms when I might have been happy in -the royal palace of the King and Queen of Dean. I—” - -“Miss Susanna!” Marjorie and Jerry were now on their feet with a -concerted jubilant shriek. - -“Wait a second.” Miss Hamilton briefly warded off the impending, -tumultuous embrace of two energetic pairs of arms. “One more remark; -then you may hug me hard. Like all the rest of the world, I hope to be -happy at Christmas time. I know I shall be—at Castle Dean.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - A SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERY - - -“No, Beauty, I haven’t gone back on my word. How can you harbor such -suspicions against a fine old Irish gentleman like myself? Such a regard -as I have for you, yet you will doubt me.” Leila Harper rolled -reproachfully sentimental eyes at Marjorie. “Since it is a Beauty -contest you demand, your Celtic friend will rise to the occasion.” - -“I wish you’d rise soon then.” Marjorie met Leila’s effusive promise -with a coaxing smile. - -“Name the day and the hour.” Leila gave vent to a resigned groan, quite -at variance with her fulsome mood of the moment before. - -“There you go. One minute you blow hot; the next cold.” Marjorie shook -an arraigning finger before Leila’s face. “I’m going to take you at your -word and name the day and hour. The day will be next Friday. The hour, -eight P.M. The place, the gym, the promoters of the contest—” Marjorie -paused with a dubious, questioning look toward Leila. - -“Aye, Beauty; there’s the rub!” Leila exclaimed. “The contest ought to -be pulled off by either the sophs or freshies. We P. G.’s are beyond -such trifling vanities. So some would be pleased to say we should be. -Now we come to the reason why of things. I’m wisely in favor of letting -the sophs perpetrate the beauty walk.” - -“My own opinion,” Marjorie concurred. “How would you turn it over to -them and still manage it, Leila. I mean the details. Only _you_ know how -to manage a Beauty contest like the one you got up long ago.” - -“I’m going to be the power behind the throne and manage the contest -through the Bertram girls,” Leila made shrewd declaration. “They are -popular sophs. Besides they will do as I tell them. They’ll not spoil my -fine arrangements.” Leila favored Marjorie with a whimsical grin. “Let -me warn you, beforehand, Beauty. It will be dangerous for you to attend -the contest.” - -“Your warning is wasted. I shall sit in the gallery and watch the Beauty -parade. Not because I imagine for a minute that I—that I—” Marjorie -stammered, growing suddenly rosy with confusion. - -“That you would certainly win it if you appeared on the gym floor,” -Leila finished with mischievous affability. “No fair decorating the -gallery, Beauty. It’s a most important part you must play on the floor.” - -“No, designing villain. You dragged me into one Beauty contest; but -never again.” She wagged a decisive head at Leila who merely continued -to beam on her. - -“This time I have a fine plan for you,” Leila continued, unabashed. “You -are to be one of the judges. I’ll paint lines of age on your lovely -face; give you a snow-white frizzy wig and a shapeless brown bag of a -gown to wear. Even your captain could not pick you out as a Dean. Now -tell me, am I not your devoted Irish friend?” she demanded -ingratiatingly. - -“You’re a jewel, Leila Greatheart.” Marjorie’s face grew radiant. “The -very thing I’ll like best. I’d forgotten all about the judges. Their -were three of them at the other contest. It seems ages since that night, -doesn’t it?” - -Leila nodded. “Happy ages,” she said, a soft light shining from her -bright blue eyes. “And you were not pleased with me that night, Beauty, -for putting you in your rightful place on the campus.” - -“No, I wasn’t,” Marjorie replied with smiling candor. “I recall that I -was almost angry with you. I thought you did it merely to nettle the -Sans. I thought you were very clever, but I wasn’t sure whether or not I -truly liked you.” - -“Ah, but I have won dozens of golden opinions from you, Beauty, since -then. I will tell you something quite remarkable about myself. I am -never disliked by a person who likes me.” Leila made the statement with -due impressiveness. - -“I’ll tell you something else. You’re an affable old fake, and I’ve been -here just one-half hour longer than I intended to be.” Marjorie rose -from the chair she had been occupying in Leila’s and Vera’s room. “I -needed that half hour for a bout with a terrific bit of old French -poetry. Now it’s gone—the hour, I mean. I wish the poetry was nil, too! -And I’ve not opened my book! It’s almost dinner time, and after dinner -we’re due at Silverton Hall to help Robin rehearse that house play. You -hadn’t forgotten about it, had you?” - -“I never forget anything I happen to remember,” was the re-assuring -response. - -“Then keep on remembering the Beauty contest,” begged Marjorie laughing. -“This is Monday. I wish you _could_ arrange it for Friday night. I’m so -anxious for Miss Monroe to win it. It will strengthen her position on -the campus.” Her lovely face grew suddenly serious. “You know so well -the way I feel about her, Leila. I’d love to have her free herself from -Leslie Cairns’ influence; to help her raise up a pride in herself that -will place her above doing the contemptible things the Sans used to do.” - -As she talked Marjorie’s voice took on a wistful earnestness which Leila -found irresistible. She did not share Marjorie’s views concerning Doris -Monroe. Nevertheless, Marjorie’s appeal to Leila for help in the -difficult conquest of the more difficult sophomore was in itself -sufficient cause for co-operation on Leila’s part. - -“Watch the bulletin board tomorrow, and have no fears,” was Leila’s -parting advice as Marjorie reached the door. “We shall meet again,” she -added portentously. - -“In about ten minutes; at dinner. And in my room, after dinner; and -after that, on the campus; and still after that, at Silverton Hall,” -flung back Marjorie over a shoulder as she went out the door. She ran -lightly down the hall to her room, inspirited by Leila’s promise. She -swung open the door with a gay little fling and entered to find Jerry -deep in the perusal of a letter. - -“I’m going to be one of the judges at the Beauty contest,” she breezily -informed Jerry. “I forgot to ask Leila who she’d picked for the other -two judges.” - -“It’s a good thing for the Ice Queen that you are going to wear a -disguise; efface your face from the college map for the time being,” -Jerry commented, eyes still on her letter. “No judge rig-out for -Jeremiah, I shall appear in all my fatal beauty. But I don’t expect to -get a fair deal,” Jerry sighed loudly. “When is the momentous Beauty -gathering to grace the gym?” - -“Friday evening at eight.” Marjorie went on to recount hers and Leila’s -recent conversation. - -“You old politician. You’ve everything fixed for your candidate,” Jerry -humorously accused. “What _has_ become of the traditions of Hamilton? -Shocking!” - -“They’re _right in the foreground_, AS ALWAYS,” retorted Marjorie. “I’m -neither old, nor a politician. _Nothing_ has been fixed for my -candidate. Yes; I’ll admit I have one,” she declared in answer to -Jerry’s comically questioning glance. “Just the same, she can only -succeed on her own merits. Giving her a chance to do that isn’t pulling -strings for her.” - -“I get you, Bean. I humbly apologize for any dark suspicions I may have -entertained against you. You are a Bean of rare pulchritude, enterprise -and integrity. You are not the only enterprising person on the campus, -though. I hate to speak of myself, but—er-her-r, ahem!” Jerry loudly -cleared her throat. “I’m a credit to the noble profession of the -sleuth.” Her tone of raillery held an undernote of triumph. Her round -face wore a victorious expression which Marjorie did not miss. - -“What is it, Jeremiah? You’re brim full of something interesting. I know -you’re aching to tell me. Do go ahead.” - -“It’s about those two letters,” Jerry began abruptly. “I mean the two -that were sent to you in the fall when the sophs were warring among -themselves, and Gentleman Gus drew the class presidency.” - -“I haven’t forgotten them,” Marjorie said dryly. “You said you’d find -out all about them. Have you?” She gazed interestedly at Jerry. “Now I -begin to understand why you were praising yourself,” she tacked on, with -a teasing smile. “You’ll have just time to tell me before the dinner -gong sounds. Go to it.” She dropped easily down upon her couch bed, eyes -still intent on Jerry. - -“You know, and so do I, that the sports committee letter was a fake. We -decided that first thing. Well, I’ve not discovered who wrote it. I’m -still suspicious of three different sets of girls on the campus. But I -haven’t a shred of proof against any of them. Being an honorable sleuth -I don’t prowl ignobly about the campus after my quarry. I set legitimate -traps for ’em. I deduce in a scientific and marvelous manner. My methods -are above reproach, but they take time.” - -“So do your remarks,” Marjorie impolitely reminded. “The gong’s going to -ring very, very soon.” - -“Oh, is it? So glad you told me. My, but you are rude at times. This is -one of ’em. Back to my subject. I never believed that Miss Walker wrote -the letter to you signed with her name. I made up my mind to find out -whether the handwriting was hers, but I failed to capture a specimen of -her penmanship. I tried a half a dozen nice, lady-like little schemes. -Not one worked. One day luck was with Jeremiah. I picked up a fine and -fussy handkerchief, monogrammed, L.M.W.” - -With one eye on the clock Jerry hurriedly recounted the writing of the -note to Louise Walker and the subsequent mailing of it and the -handkerchief to the sophomore. - -“Here’s the answer. Found it in the bulletin board this P. M. Look at -it. Next cast your eyes over this piece of bunk.” Jerry laid two -unfolded letters on the study table for Marjorie to examine. - -Marjorie obediently left the couch where she had cosily disposed her -slim length. She reached Jerry’s side with one lithe bounce. Hastily she -picked up the letter Jerry indicated. Then she read: - - “DEAR MISS MACY: - - “How fortunate for me that you should have found my pet - handkerchief! I bought it in Europe last summer of one of those - wonderful Belgian lace makers. I prize it highly on account of - the beauty of the embroidery. Consequently I rarely carry it. - Broke my rule for once and lost it. I had no idea where. It is - my good luck, and quite remarkable, I think, that you should - have guessed the initials on it to be mine. Thank you for your - courtesy. Assuring you of my appreciation, - - “Yours very sincerely, - “LOUISE MAY WALKER.” - -As she finished reading Miss Walker’s impersonally friendly note of -thanks Marjorie s eyes immediately sought the other letter. It was the -hateful letter she had received directly after the sophomore election -from Miss Walker. She had read if enough times to know it by heart. - -“Why, Jerry!” she cried, letting the two letters flutter from her hand -to the table. “She—Miss Walker—never wrote that miserably mean letter to -me! It’s not written in the same hand as the note she wrote you about -the handkerchief. We feel quite positive she wrote that note. So she -couldn’t have written the other.” - -“Of course she didn’t write it,” Jerry asserted. “I’ve been keeping an -explorative P. G. eye on her since the basket ball season began. She has -some fine traits, Marjorie.” Jerry nodded her head in sober confirmation -of her opinion. - -“I’m glad she didn’t write this.” Marjorie touched the condemnatory -letter with the tip of a finger. She picked up both letters again and -proceeded to a critical examination of the handwriting of each. - -“I couldn’t be sure she had not until I had seen her handwriting. I -hadn’t the least excuse for writing her, and I didn’t care to ask the -girls to do it. I’d begun to harbor dark thoughts of waylaying her on -the campus in the misty twilight and appropriating her note-book. She -had a twice-a-week late trig period at Hamilton Hall. Then I found the -handkerchief in the main corridor. Maybe Jeremiah wasn’t pleased with -herself!” Jerry gave an elated little spin around on one heel. “I wrote -her and enclosed the hankey, and this is the reward of honesty plus -great forethought.” Jerry significantly tapped her forehead. - -“I’m glad,” Marjorie said again; “glad you are a great detective, -Jeremiah.” She smiled indulgently at Jerry. “But gladder still that Miss -Walker never wrote that spiteful letter. I’m gladdest of all that it is -more despicable even than if it were anonymous. It’s a forgery. A person -so unprincipled as to commit such a forgery is too unprincipled to be -dangerous.” - -“Pearls of truth and wisdom, Bean. I get you, and agree with you,” Jerry -returned the smile. “I hate to say it, but I know only one person who -could qualify under that head—Leslie Hob-goblin Cairns.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - HELPING THE GOOD WORK ALONG - - -The warning, brazen voice of the dinner gong, which Miss Remson rang but -once before each meal, broke in upon Jerry’s pertinent surmise. It was a -signal which called for postponing further conjecture in the matter. - -“I’ve thought of Leslie Cairns more than once, Jerry, in connection with -both those letters,” Marjorie confessed as Jerry took the letters -Marjorie had carefully examined, folded them and tucked them into a -small leather portfolio. “Perhaps it’s been unfair in me to judge her by -past performances.” - -“How could one help it? Come along, self-accusing Bean. I’m hungry -enough to eat all the dinner on our table, and give the rest of you not -a scrap. We’ll continue our amazing careers as private investigators -tonight after the ten-thirty bell is heard in the land and a grateful -hush has settled down on Room 15.” - -During the busy, merry evening spent with Robin, Phil and the cast of -Silverton Hall payers, Marjorie had neither inclination nor opportunity -to consider the guilt or non-guilt of Leslie Cairns. As stage manager -Leila Harper combined more than usual efficiency with a drollness of -speech and manner which kept the amateur thespians in a constant gale of -giggles. - -“Remember your cues and lines, or you’ll be walking into the middle -scenes where you’re neither expected nor wanted,” she warned her flock. - -The play, a two-act comedy entitled “The House Party,” was a bright, -snappy little production written by Eileen Potter, a promising Silverton -Hall sophomore. Phil had advocated the first production of it as a house -play. The sophomore class would be the guests of the Silverton Hall -sophs on the eventful evening. The living room was to be turned into a -theatre. Phil had enlisted Robin’s, Marjorie’s and Leila’s services in -rehearsing it. - -Her plan, into which Robin, Marjorie and Leila gladly entered, had a -triple motive. She was anxious that Eileen’s talent should be recognized -on the campus. She was determined that the unharmonious sophomore class -should be brought into harmony. She intended to hammer away at this plan -until she accomplished that harmony. Last of all, she liked giving house -plays. Phil had a soul even more bent on democracy than was that of -Marjorie, if such a condition could be. Robin often said to her: “Truly, -Phil, if you had lived in the days of ’76 you would have managed somehow -to annex your name to the Declaration of Independence.” - -After the rehearsal the hard-working actors, managers and prompters were -treated to frozen custard and sponge cake by Barbara Severn. She -declared Leila to be a slave-driver and that the custard and cake were -needed by the cast as nourishment. - -“If I am a slave-driver, why is it you are offering me custard and -cake?” Leila demanded, as Barbara presented her with a plate of the -frozen sweet. - -“Merely because you have worked harder than your slaves. You are what I -should call a unique slave-driver,” Barbara sweetly explained. - -“And you have far more good sense than you sometimes appear to have,” -Leila complimented. Whereupon the two beamed at each other and shook -hands. - -“Don’t fail to be here for another rehearsal Thursday night and the -dress rehearsal on Saturday night,” were Leila’s parting words to the -cast, delivered in the middle of the front walk to the actor group who -had followed her out on the veranda. - -She started across the campus in the pale winter moonlight with Marjorie -and Jerry, grumbling in pretended displeasure at the amount of things -she had to do during the next few days. - -“Don’t say a word!” Marjorie exclaimed. “Two more rehearsals this week, -the Beauty contest on Friday night, Muriel’s birthday’s next Monday. -Saturday afternoon we have to go into town to buy presents. Monday -afternoon we’ll have to go over to Baretti’s to trim the birthday table. -Sunday I have to write letters, study and do a dozen and one small -things. I can say now I have nothing special on hand after Monday, but -long before then I’ll have a new lot of stunts planned for the rest of -next week.” Her tone grew more despairing with each enumeration. - -“You have so much trouble, Beauty, I’ll say nothing of my own,” was -Leila’s commiserating return, delivered with an unsympathetic grin. “I -am like an Irish fish out of water without Midget. That much I will -say.” Vera had gone to New York for a few days’ visit with her father -before he sailed on an all-winter cruise on the Mediterranean. - -“I never saw an Irish fish. How does an Irish fish look?” Jerry -critically demanded. - -“Like me. Did you not just hear me say it?” Leila retorted. - -“I must go to the Arms to see Miss Susanna this week,” Marjorie observed -irrelevantly. No one appeared to be interested in her announcement. -Jerry and Leila were conducting a laughing argument which had to do with -Irish and non-Irish fishes. - -“I love to talk to myself,” she made plaintive complaint when Jerry and -Leila finally paused for breath. - -“And I had far rather talk to you, Beauty, than to some P. G.’s I know,” -Leila assured with deep meaning. - -“You may talk to _me_, Bean,” Jerry graciously permitted. “I am -appreciative.” - -During the remainder of the short hike across the campus Marjorie became -the laughing, but unimpressed, recipient of flattering attention. - -“Jerry,” she burst out abruptly, soon after the two girls were in their -own room, “it isn’t enough for us to say to each other that we are glad -Miss Walker didn’t write that letter. It is not fair to her not to tell -her the whole thing. Do you think it is?” - -Jerry cocked her head to one side and considered. “Nope,” she answered -after due deliberation. “I suppose she ought to be informed that she is -not the villain we took her to be. It may take marvelous managing by -Marvelous Manager to tell her the awful truth without rousing her ire. -According to Gentleman Gus she is anything but a lamb-like person when -she isn’t pleased.” - -“Would you be willing to go with me to see her?” Marjorie asked, her -brown eyes meditatively fixed on Jerry. “You are as——” - -“Deep in the mud as you are in the mire,” supplied Jerry humorously. - -“Something like that,” Marjorie agreed with a smile. “The letter was -sent to me in the first place, but the credit of the discovery that Miss -Walker didn’t write it belongs to you.” - -“I’m not likely to pick any bouquets in such a briar patch,” shrugged -Jerry. “Don’t want em. More likely she’ll get wrathful at us when she -finds, we have kept the forged letter so long without going to her and -having matters out. But Jeremiah is not afraid. Let us hope she behaves -like the letter she really wrote.” - -In the act of removing one of her slippers, Jerry took it by the strap. -Waving it jauntily she launched into a Bean jingle. - - “Upon the haughty soph we’ll call - To clear her tarnished name; - For we have seen, O, noble Bean, - That she was not to blame.” - -“That was an inspired jingle, Jeremiah,” Marjorie approved, her face -singularly sunny. “Miss Walker is not to blame. Since we know she isn’t, -we should be, if we didn’t hurry to tell her so.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - - “NEARER TO THE HEART’S DESIRE.” - - -Due to the numerous details Marjorie had on hand, on Saturday afternoon, -Marjorie and Jerry still found themselves facing the call upon Miss -Walker. They deplored the fact to each other as they made ready to go to -town with Leila, Ronny, Lucy and Katherine Langly to shop for Muriel’s -approaching birthday. Muriel had been left out of the shopping party. As -a consequence she had made dire threats to disappear on her birthday and -“spoil everything.” Jerry declared that no one was foolish enough to -believe she would. - -“I never realized how much work you put into that first Beauty contest, -Leila Greatheart, until I saw the working out of this last one,” -Marjorie confided to Leila on the way to town that afternoon. She was -occupying her usual place beside Leila on the front seat. “I felt so -differently about the one last night. I had a chance to hide away. I was -so glad not to be in it, and on parade. It was darling in you to give me -the judges’ last speech in the contest. And didn’t my fairy-tale -princess look beautiful when she came forward to receive the guerdon? -Those wonderful long-stemmed pink roses went so well with that -crystal-beaded white frock she wore.” - -“It was a dream of a dress,” Leila nodded. “At last we have a new Beauty -on the campus. Only I am glad I was not one of the judges. I should -never have displaced you for her. She is still too much the Ice Queen to -be to my taste.” - -“You are the loyalest of loyal old dears,” Marjorie’s hand came to rest -for a moment on Leila’s shoulder. “I know you went strictly against your -inclinations; just to please me. Someday you’ll see that there was -method in my madness. The enchantment will be broken and the freed -princess will yet prove herself a credit to Hamilton.” - -“I doubt if I shall be here to see it,” Leila made skeptical reply. “You -are feeling most optimistic because you have succeeded in wishing your -beauty reputation onto someone else.” - -Marjorie merely smiled. “I’m a venerable P. G. now. I’m beyond such vain -frivolousness.” - -“I see no signs of it,” Leila told her discouragingly. “I am sorry now -that I hid you on the judges’ stand.” - -“Too late,” Marjorie’s merry little laugh rippled out. Her mood was -decidedly optimistic as a result of the successful way in which clever -Leila had carried on the Beauty contest. - -As the president of the sophs, Augusta Forbes had signed the notice of -the coming contest which Leila had first posted on the main bulletin -board. This fact had appeared to point to the sophs as the promoters of -the Beauty contest. Privately directed by Leila, Gussie had next called -a class meeting for the express purpose of arousing sophomore interest -and had tactfully suggested that the contest should be held under -sophomore auspices. - -While the sophs were still divided into two factions, as a result of the -fall elections, basket ball had done something to mitigate their wrath -against one another. It seemed the irony of fate that Louise Walker and -Augusta Forbes, rival centers and unfriendly classmates, should have -each admired the other’s basket ball prowess. Such, however, was the -situation between them. More, they were hovering on the verge of -friendly acquaintance. - -This marvel Marjorie had already faintly divined by a curious mental -process of deduction which had developed within as a result of -long-patient working and waiting. She also saw signs which pointed to a -re-united sophomore class in the not far distant future. Her conviction -was borne out in this respect by the eager good-will with which the -sophs boosted the Beauty walk beforehand and confidently paraded -themselves around the gym for the judges’ inspection on the fateful -night. - -The girls of the other three classes were no less anxious to take part -in it. Even the dormitory girls made an extra trip from town so as to be -in the fun. Of the old Travelers only Ronny and Muriel competed. Vera -had not yet returned to Hamilton. As manager Leila had a good excuse for -staying out of it. Jerry demanded also to be a judge. She gave Leila -such a strenuous sample of the strength and volume of her tones that -Leila promptly accepted her. The senior class furnished the third judge; -a stentorian-voiced senior who often acted as referee at basket ball -games, and had developed amazing lung power as a result. - -While the Forbes faction of the sophs was supposedly hostile of attitude -toward Doris Monroe, its members had agreed among themselves that, as a -possible winner of the Beauty contest, she was “the sophs’ best bet.” In -consequence they suddenly began exhibiting toward her a new friendliness -which warmed with the near approach of the contest. This put Doris on -her mettle as nothing else could have done. She had been saving the -crystal-beaded frock for what she might deem a really great occasion. -She now felt the occasion had arrived. Her one disturbing thought was -that Marjorie Dean would undoubtedly enter the contest. She resolved -that she must, yes, she would completely outshine her. - -When the much-heralded contest was finally over and Doris stood -triumphant in front of the judges’ stand, the light gleaming on her wavy -golden hair, her strange green eyes dark with excitement, her white, -graceful arms laden with the long-stemmed pink roses, she might have -been posing as lovely summer in her early rose-decked beauty. The faint, -fascinating smile that came and went on her red lips gave no clue to -what was going on in her mind. Her slow, occasional careless glances -about the gymnasium were motivated by the distinct secret purpose of -locating Marjorie. Nor did she learn until long afterward that the -clear, vibrant voice of the judge who spoke the final charge to Beautye -brighte, reverence in its intonation, was that of the girl she affected -to despise. Having enjoyed the contest incognito Marjorie had -disappeared during the first congratulatory rush toward Doris. - -She found remembrance of last night’s contest lingering persistently in -her mind as she and her chums essayed the round of the shops. None of -the party knew what they wished to buy for Muriel. They were in a -wondrous merry mood and had difficulty in settling down to a selection -of gifts. As they trooped, chattering, out of the town’s one art store -with arms full of birthday bundles a familiar white car shot past them -down the street, disappearing into a side street. The occupants of the -white car were Doris Monroe and Leslie Cairns. - -Marjorie gave a kind of disappointed gulp as she glimpsed the stunning -white car and its passengers. It was the first time she had either seen -or heard of these two as having been together since before Thanksgiving. -Augusta Forbes and her two chums had later confidentially reported to -Marjorie the occasion at the Colonial when Leslie and Doris had -quarreled. Marjorie had hoped then that the breach between the two girls -might widen. Robin’s assurance that Doris had been “perfectly sweet” to -her at the old-fashioned hop was a hopeful sign. Freed from Leslie’s -pernicious influence, Doris’s college future was likely to be rosy. - -Now it appeared that Doris was not estranged, perhaps did not desire to -be free from Leslie. Marjorie felt chagrin and disappointment take hold -of her. She half concluded that her chums were correct in holding the -opinion that further effort to win over the ungracious and ungrateful -sophomore would be a useless expense of time and spirit. Should she, now -that through her private effort Doris had been acclaimed the college -beauty, allow Doris to continue her college journey without further -solicitude on her part? Her generous soul instantly rebelled against the -thought. She had the principle to consider in the peculiar task she had -whimsically set for herself. So far as she knew the work of moulding -beautiful Doris Monroe “nearer to the heart’s desire” had only begun. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - - SUNSHINE FROM SHADOW - - -“Look here!” Jerry, who had gone with Leila to the garage to put away -the car, bounced into the room flourishing two letters. - -“Why, _where_ did they come from? There wasn’t a sign of mail in our -divisions when I came upstairs. That was not more than half an hour ago. -Besides that was the last mail.” Marjorie’s eyes had opened to their -widest extent at sight of the letters. - -“Ah-h-h! There’s a reason; and it took yours truly to find it.” Jerry -gave a self-appreciative crow. “Here’s your letter.” She tendered one of -the two to Marjorie. She made no effort to open the other. - -Marjorie’s color heightened as she glanced at the writing on the -envelope. “It’s from Hal. You know that. Something unusual must be -happening in Sanford. This is the second letter I’ve had from him within -a week.” - -“When you open it kindly gaze at the post-mark,” Jerry directed with a -knowing smile. - -“Why, Jerry!” Marjorie had already obeyed the direction. “November -third! Where did it come from? This is another mysterious mystery.” She -read Hal’s brief letter, a puzzled frown knotting her forehead. “_This_ -is the letter Hal thought I did not answer. I had to explain to him when -I went home that I had not received it. Well, of all surprises.” - -“The end of them is not yet. Here’s another belated missive. I thought -I’d let you get over the shock of the first before handing you another -jolt.”’ - -“So kind in you, Jeremiah.” Marjorie’s gratitude was of a very casual -order. “You mean you wanted to be teasing. This is from Miss Susanna,” -she announced after a hasty inspection. “It was”—again her voice -achieved astonished height—“mailed _last Monday_. The time has come, -Jeremiah for you to prove your worth as a great investigator and throw -light upon this mystery.” - -“It was that _treacherous, deceiving old bulletin board_,” emphasized -Jerry, then giggled. “D is on the top row, you know. The back piece of -the board gapes away from the face of it a little, just at the D -section. One of the maids must have tucked Hal’s letter into the wrong -place and there it stayed. Another of the maids must have done the same -thing recently. I found both letters there. I was peeking and peering -disconsolately at that empty D space when through a tiny crack at the -back of it I saw a bit of white. I went fishing with a hat pin and -finally got hold of a corner of Miss Susanna’s letter. Pretty soon I had -fished up both of them. What I’m wondering is this. Did anyone cache -them for spite? I trust not.” Jerry put on a look of virtuous horror. “I -mean I wouldn’t be surprised if someone had.” - -“Suspicious old Jeremiah.” Marjorie raised a reproving finger at her -chum. Her ready smile contradicted intent to reprove. “Miss Susanna -wants to see me. In this note she asked me to dinner at the Arms on last -Wednesday evening. Here it is the Saturday after! What must she think of -me. I’ll hurry downstairs this instant and telephone her.” - -Marjorie darted from the room and took the stairs at what she used at -home to call a gallop. She blessed telephone service with all her heart -as she quickly got Jonas on the wire and asked him to call Miss Susanna -to the telephone. It was not a long conversation she presently exchanged -with the mistress of Hamilton Arms. Miss Susanna was not fond of talking -on the telephone. But it was a most happy little talk. Marjorie turned -from the ’phone wondering a little why Miss Susanna had laid stress on -inviting her alone of the Travelers to dinner at the Arms the next -evening. The mistress of the Arms had not said she wished to be alone -with Marjorie, but she had intimated it vaguely. - -Turning mechanically toward the stairs Marjorie crashed squarely against -a young woman who had just descended the last step. Both girls -apologized first; took stock of each other afterward. Marjorie drew a -quick breath. She was facing Louise Walker. Obeying an impulse she cried -out: - -“Oh, Miss Walker, I have been trying to see you for several days. Would -you be willing to come upstairs to Miss Macy’s and my room? We have -something to show you which is important to you.” - -“I—certainly I will come.” Miss Walker’s intonation was remarkably -gentle and friendly. “Will you lead the way? I am not often at Wayland -Hall and know very little about it.” She motioned Marjorie to precede -her up the stairs. “I had been calling on a sophomore, Miss Vinton.” - -“She is such a clever girl,” Marjorie said admiringly. “We have had many -interesting talks about chemistry experiments we have made.” Her winsome -smile drew an answering smile from Miss Walker. The sophomore was -wondering if Marjorie had heard any of the cutting remarks she had made -about her and Robin Page, early in the fall, when Page and Dean had -championed the cause of Augusta Forbes. She was astonished now to find -Marjorie so friendly. - -“For goodness sake!” In the act of nibbling a large three-cornered piece -of peanut brittle Jerry let it fall to the rug at sight of Marjorie and -her visitor. She bent to retrieve it, took an unintentional step forward -and planted one foot firmly upon it. Such a disaster called for mirth -which was quick in coming. Marjorie merrily seated the guest and offered -her peanut brittle from a box. Jerry loudly mourned the loss of “the -biggest, best bit of brittle in the brittle box,” as she gathered up the -sticky fragments of it from the rug. She made short work of the task. -She was eager to join the pair of girls on the other side of the room. - -Marjorie kept the conversation centered upon impersonal topics until -Jerry completed the trio. Then she began in her candid fashion: “Miss -Walker, we hope you will not feel, after you have heard what I am going -to tell you, that we have not been fair to you in not having told you -before. Will you please bring the letters, Jerry?” - -Jerry complied with alacrity. Meanwhile Marjorie had gone steadily on -with the account of the receipt of the first letter, bearing Miss -Walker’s signature. The latter sat listening in genuine mystification. -She stared in bewilderment at the outrageous letter which Jerry placed -in her hand. - -“Why, this is dreadful!” she cried as she read it, her fair skin -flooding with indignant red. “That’s not my writing! Why didn’t you come -to me and ask me about it?” - -“How could I?” Marjorie said rather sadly. She had expected the -question. “You see, I didn’t know your handwriting. I didn’t know— -Please let us not talk about that part of it. We were so glad when Jerry -received the letter from you about the handkerchief. Then we _knew_ you -had not written that hateful letter.” She pointed the tip of a scornful -finger at the forgery. “Since things have worked out so well, let’s be -thankful, and friends.” - -“I’d love to be,” Louise answered with sincerity. “First you must -forgive me for being so disagreeable last fall. I’ve been sorry for -quite a while, but there seemed no opportunity to tell you so. I -understand Miss Forbes now, too. I like her, but I’m afraid she doesn’t -like me; nor never will.” - -“Go and call on her very soon. She’d be so pleased. I’m sure she would. -She admires your basket ball playing.” This affably from Jerry who was -far more favorable impressed with the sophomore that she had expected to -be. - -“There’s one thing I believe I ought to tell you to clear my slate,” -Miss Walker said presently in a half hesitating tone. “It’s about Miss -Peyton and Miss Carter. I mention them frankly because I intend to tell -them that I have seen you, and of our talk.” Her voice strengthened into -one of resolution. “May I ask you? Has Professor Matthews ever -reprimanded you and Miss Macy for being unduly noisy in your room?” She -stared anxiously at Marjorie. - -“Why, _no_.” Marjorie cast an enigmatical glance at Jerry. Then the two -laughed. “Please pardon us for laughing,” she apologized. “Last fall -Miss Peyton threatened to report us to President Matthews. About two -weeks later a letter came to me in the president’s hand. It really took -courage to open it. Oh-h-h,” she drew a soft laughing breath, “it was an -invitation to dinner at his home to meet one of his nieces who had come -from the west to visit the Matthews. Jerry and I thought then that -perhaps Miss Peyton had decided against reporting us to him.” - -“I wish she had, but she didn’t. I advised her against such petty -spite,” Louise declared disgustedly. “I am glad President Matthews -ignored the report. She made it in person. She told me as much, but she -would not tell me what he said to her in the matter. I suspect Prexy was -very unsympathetic.” Louise’s gray, long-lashed eyes sparkled with quiet -humor. “Anyway, I’m free from that worry. I wanted to tell you that as -much as you wanted to tell me about the letter.” - -Frank confession from caller and guests banished the strain which had -marked the beginning of the interview. Presently Louise had been invited -to remain at the Hall to dinner and afterward hob-nob with the chums in -Ronny’s and Lucy’s room where a newly-arrived fruit cake sent Lucy by -her mother was to be the center of attraction at a jollification. - -The three girls were making rapid strides toward friendship when a knock -at the door revealed Gussie Forbes and Calista Wilmot as demanding the -hospitality of Room 15. It was the satisfying climax to a mutual -admiration society which had sprung up between Louise and Gussie on the -very field of battle. It was a case of when “soph meets soph.” The two -distinguished centers found so much in common to talk about they -blissfully forgot Marjorie, Jerry and Calista for the time being, -greatly to the delight of these three. - -Shortly before Louise Walker went to her own campus house she said to -Marjorie in a low tone: “Will you come with me now to your room. My -wraps are there. I will bring them in here, but I wish to say something -very quietly to you.” - -“We’re going into my room for a minute or so, gang,” Marjorie called to -the others as she and the sophomore went out the door. - -“It’s about Miss Monroe I wish to speak,” began Louise hurriedly. “Could -you—do you know what ought to be done to keep her away from that Miss -Cairns? The freshies seem to admire them as a stunning combination, plus -the white car. But the sophs are decidedly against Miss Cairns. A good -many stories about her dishonorable ways while she was a student at -Hamilton have drifted down to us from friends and older sisters who have -been graduated from here. We have been told that she was expelled from -Hamilton, together with a crowd of her chums. She was here when you -entered college, was she not?” Louise asked earnestly. - -“She was a sophomore when we were freshies. She was expelled from -Hamilton at the end of her junior year,” Marjorie said evenly. “I know -of a great many things she has done that she should not have done, yet -she is somewhat like another girl I know whose mother died when she was -a baby and who grew up believing she must always have her own way. The -girl I mention suddenly faced about and made herself over. Perhaps -Leslie Cairns will do the same. I think it would be far better if Miss -Monroe had nothing whatever to do with her. The trouble is—no one but -Miss Monroe can decide that. All we can do is to help her by our good -will.” - -“I understand. You mean if Miss Monroe has enough interests to keep her -occupied and happy on the campus she won’t turn to Miss Cairns for -entertainment.” - -“Yes,” Marjorie returned. “We Travelers have been watching over her. She -is not only beautiful. Her room-mate is Muriel Harding, you know. Muriel -says she is brilliant in her subjects. She can draw, paint, play the -piano and knows a good deal about outdoor sports. We can’t afford to -have such good material go to waste, can we?” - -“No, we can’t.” Louise’s hand reached for Marjorie’s. The two looked -into each other’s eyes and made a wordless compact which had to do with -the deliverance of the enchanted princess from the power of the wicked -wizard. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - - MARVELOUS MANAGER - - -While the discussion concerning herself was going on between Marjorie -and Louise Walker, the enchanted princess and the wicked wizard were -amicably eating dinner at the Colonial. Leslie was listening with acute -attention to Doris’s unemotional account of the Beauty contest related -in the drawling English diction which she had used since childhood. - -“You think you’re it, don’t you, Goldie?” she said with a slow grin when -Doris had finished her recital. - -“Yes; why shouldn’t I?” countered Doris, unruffled by the slangy -question. She was very desirous of going to New York with Leslie for the -Christmas holidays. She had no intention of quarreling with her and thus -defeating her own ends. - -“I’ve no objection,” Leslie amiably assured her. “You haven’t told me -where Bean was, though. Certainly she wasn’t in the gym or _you’d_ never -have got away with the prize. She must have purposely effaced herself. -She has it put all over every other girl I ever saw when it comes to -Beauty. I hate the ground she walks on, yet Bean is beautiful Bean. -Don’t let it worry you, though.” - -Doris smiled rather condescendingly at Leslie. “You know it doesn’t -worry me, Leslie. You are absurd. No, Miss Dean was not at the contest. -Some of her friends were, but she was no where to be seen. Don’t you -think the contest itself is very quaint? Miss Harper is really immensely -clever.” - -“Next to Bean, I hate _her_.” Leslie’s face lowered. “Don’t mention her -to me ever. Since Bean handed over the college beautyship to you, make -the most of it. You’d better give a dinner to some of the sophs who -belong to the best families. They’re the ones who count in college. They -can either make you or break you.” - -“I—I haven’t decided just what I’d best do after Christmas to keep up my -reputation as the college beauty.” Doris experienced a sudden violent -dislike for Leslie. She wished she had never seen her. She wished she -had not promised to go to New York with her. She had had a taste of real -girl happiness, spontaneous and free from the plotting and planning -which seemed ever to attend Leslie’s movements. Once again she was -hearing the quaint adjuration to Beautye “to say a prayer of -thankfulness at even for the gifte of Beautye by the grace of God.” Once -again that clear, resonant voice rang in her ears. Though her new, -unbidden mood soon left her, it would come again. The leaven had begun -to work. - -On the way up the main drive to Wayland Hall the following afternoon she -came face to face with Marjorie. She bowed with less coolness than was -her wont. “Good afternoon, Miss Monroe,” Marjorie said sedately, looking -neither smiling nor serious. She was on her way to Hamilton Arms to -spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with Miss Susanna. - -Doris had a faint impression of having known someone else whose voice -was like Marjorie’s. She could not recall any such person. She -grudgingly admitted to herself that Leslie’s rude appraisal of -Marjorie’s good looks was not without foundation. Doris was -fundamentally sound of judgment and honest enough not to deceive -herself. - -“You and I are going to have one of our old-fashioned heart to heart -talks this afternoon,” greeted Miss Susanna as she folded Marjorie in -her arms and kissed her on the forehead and both cheeks. “We’re going to -have a light tea now and dinner at seven. Tea will be in the study. I’m -going to ask you to help me this afternoon go over some of Uncle -Brooke’s papers. I’d like to arrange them in chronological order. A nice -sort of hostess I am, to invite you here to dine and then make you work -for your dinner,” chuckled the old lady. - -“You know there is nothing I’d rather do. You are a fraud.” Marjorie -swooped down on her, arms flying, mouth open, fingers curved into claws. -It was her favorite mode of onslaught upon her general when at home. -Miss Susanna squealed, dodged and giggled as the avenging bogie bore -down upon her. A merry tussle ensued in which Miss Susanna held her own. - -It was not until they had settled down at the study table with the tea -spread out upon it that they behaved with anything but hilarity. - -“I never treated you to such a tussle before.” Marjorie declared -blithely as she reached for the cup of tea Miss Susanna held out to her. -“Those are General’s and my favorite tactics at home. Oh, wait until we -get you there. We’ll have some grand family frolics at Castle Dean.” - -“I am looking forward to them with all my heart. This will be the first -Christmas I have spent away from the Arms since _he_ died. I am sure he -would wish me to go with you.” Miss Hamilton regarded Marjorie with deep -solemnity. “Now tell me about the girls. What have you all been busy -doing?” She switched the subject from herself with characteristic -abruptness. - -During the light meal Marjorie kept strictly to the subject of her -friends’ and her doings on the campus. Miss Susanna listened to the -lively recital with apparent pleasure. Now and then Marjorie would catch -the old lady’s eyes resting upon her with an expression of brooding -tenderness which she had never before seen in them. - -When Miss Susanna had rung for Jonas to come for the tea service she -straightened in her chair with a nervous kind of energy that Marjorie -had learned to construe as a sign that the last of the Hamilton’s was -about to make an important disclosure. It was an entirely different -attitude from that which she invariably adopted in giving a surprise. -Without a word she rose, and, walking to one end of the study turned the -key in a tall narrow mahogany cabinet which Marjorie had not seen before -in the study. - -“These are the most precious things in the world to me, Marjorie,” Miss -Susanna said as she turned a brass key that stood in the lock. “Come -here, child. Hold out your arms.” She swung open the door of the -cabinet, revealing shelf upon shelf of papers. They were, for the most -part, letters without envelopes, and documents. “This is his story, in -his own hand,” she continued musingly. She carefully lifted the pile of -papers from the top shelf and placed it upon Marjorie’s arms. The amazed -lieutenant’s arms were steady, but her heart was thumping wildly. - -“Miss Susanna,” she managed to gasp, “truly—are you going to _allow me -to look at them_?” - -“Truly, I am.” There was a tiny catch in Miss Susanna’s crisp voice. “No -one has touched them since I partially collated them and put them here -years ago. Bring them over to the table and lay them upon it. I have -something to say to you, Marjorie Dean. I’ve been wondering for a week -just how I’d like to say it to you. Well, the simplest way is best. I’ve -decided to give his story to the world. I’ve selected my biographer. I -can only hope that the one I wish to write the biography will not be too -modest to accept my offer. The person I have in mind will probably -declare that—” - -“If you feel you have chosen the right person, then you must have,” -Marjorie interrupted. “Oh, pardon me, Miss Susanna. I couldn’t wait to -say what I felt. You will have to _make_ the one you have chosen see -matters as you do.” Marjorie’s mind was already made up. Since Miss -Susanna had actually decided to permit Brooke Hamilton’s biography to be -written she must be encouraged and supported in her decision. There must -be no refusal of any sort to discourage her. - -“Yes, I am sure I have chosen the right person.” Again Marjorie caught -the divinely tender look in her friend’s eyes. “You have always seen -matters about him much as I have, Marvelous Manager. That is the reason -I have chosen _you_ to give a faithful presentation of _him_ to the -world.” - -“Miss Su-u-san-na. I—” With a little inarticulate murmur Marjorie’s -curly head went down on the table, her face hidden in the curve of her -arm. She did not raise it when she felt a hand rest lightly upon her -curls. Silence reigned in the study, a calm, stately silence over which -Brooke Hamilton himself seemed to preside. The impression of him was -borne to the two who had united to keep his memory green. Afterward Miss -Susanna and Marjorie both happily admitted to having had the same -impression of his immediate presence in the study. - -Presently, when the great emotional strain upon both women had lessened, -they commenced an eager discussion of plans concerning the best way of -writing Brooke Hamilton’s biography. - -“You fell into your own trap, young lady. You can’t back out,” Miss -Susanna told Marjorie with apparent relish. - -“I don’t wish to back out; _never; never_,” was the fervent assertion. -“It’s the greatest good fortune that has ever happened to me. I should -like to drop chemistry, French, the dormitory, welfare—” Marjorie -lightly waved away her enumeration of duties. “But I can’t.” - -“I wish you and Jerry would come and live at the Arms while you are in -process of writing the biography. Perhaps you may be able to manage it, -in the spring. You and I are to go to President Matthews with the news -tomorrow. I have already written him that we would call at his Hamilton -Hall office tomorrow afternoon at two o’clock. I have a curiosity to -walk across the campus. When we go to Castle Dean for Christmas we will -perfect all our plans. Shall we tell our girls now or wait until after -the holidays?” - -“Oh, please let us tell them soon,” pleaded Marjorie. “It will be the -most wonderful Christmas present for the old Travelers. ‘Peace on earth; -good will toward men.’” Marjorie hummed under her breath. Her eyes -luminous, she rose, went over to Miss Susanna. Standing behind her chair -she dropped her arms over the old lady’s shoulders. It was the special -caress she loved to give her captain. - -“Yes, ‘Peace on earth; good will toward men,’” Miss Susanna repeated, -her small face bright with love. “And the reason I can say it is because -I had the supreme good fortune to fall into the hands of Marvelous -Manager.” - -How Marjorie spent the remainder of her college post graduate year -between Hamilton College and Hamilton Arms will be found in: “MARJORIE -DEAN AT HAMILTON ARMS.” - -THE END. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Transcriber’s note: - -All instances of ‘Sandford’ have been changed to ‘Sanford.’ - -Page 14, opening double quote inserted before ‘Marjorie,’ “and the -“Marjorie Dean College” - -Page 16, ‘is’ struck following ‘She’s,’ “She’s exasperating” - -Page 22, opening double quote inserted before ‘Feel,’ ““Feel the chill” - -Page 23, ‘Leida’ changed to ‘Leila,’ “Leila cast a grim” - -Page 35, ‘promply’ changed to ‘promptly,’ “Ronny promptly read out” - -Page 50, closing double quote struck following ‘might,’ “you might. I’d” - -Page 50, opening double quote struck before ‘I’m,’ “J. J. G. Macy. I’m -the one” - -Page 51, ‘Phillys’ changed to ‘Phyllis,’ “said Phyllis Moore” - -Page 51, ‘two’ changed to ‘to,’ “herself to and fro” - -Page 52, double quotes changed to single quotes surrounding ‘dramer,’ -“old ‘dramer’ and” - -Page 57, ‘Deans’’ changed to ‘Dean’s,’ “and Dean’s melodramer” - -Page 61, full stop changed to comma following ‘Vassar,’ “fall from -Vassar, says” - -Page 61, ‘Carins’ changed to ‘Cairns,’ “against Leslie Cairns’” - -Page 68, ‘you’ changed to ‘your,’ “From your best friend” - -Page 70, ‘Jerrry’ changed to ‘Jerry,’ “Jerry showed more surprise” - -Page 77, opening single quote changed to opening double quote before -‘You,’ ““You ought to know” - -Page 84, comma inserted after ‘directed,’ “curtly directed, her eyes” - -Page 85, ‘relasped’ changed to ‘relapsed,’ “Doris relapsed into” - -Page 86, ‘melancholly’ changed to ‘melancholy,’ “with melancholy pride -as” - -Page 92, apostrophe inserted after ‘chums,’ “and her chums’ absence” - -Page 93, closing double quote struck after ‘Oh,’ “Oh, Marjorie cried -out” - -Page 93, opening double quote struck before ‘How,’ “How I’d love to” - -Page 93, ‘beeen’ changed to ‘been,’ “been keeping her coming” - -Page 93, ‘bethrothal’ changed to ‘betrothal,’ “her betrothal -announcement” - -Page 94, closing double quote inserted after ‘morning,’ “this morning.” -She glanced” - -Page 95, comma struck following ‘in,’ “now, in a hurry” - -Page 95, closing double quote inserted after ‘inn,’ “at the inn.”” - -Page 96, ‘it’ changed to ‘in,’ “a dance in the gym” - -Page 99, quotes regularized around ‘carrying on,’ “from ‘carrying on.’” -She” - -Page 103, opening double quote inserted before ‘I,’ ““I don’t -un’erstan’” - -Page 104, opening double quote struck before ‘I,’ “I simply have to” - -Page 108, closing double quote inserted after ‘in,’ “count me in,” -Barbara” - -Page 113, full stop inserted after ‘XIII,’ “CHAPTER XIII.” - -Page 116, ‘taxis’ changed to ‘taxies,’ “taxies from the station” - -Page 119, opening single quote struck before ‘Thus,’ ““Thus far we have” - -Page 119, ‘marshall’ changed to ‘marshal,’ “begun to marshal seven” - -Page 121, full stop changed to comma following ‘guests,’ “of guests, -Robin found” - -Page 123, opening double quote inserted before ‘Yes,’ ““Yes; I passed -Gus” - -Page 126, question mark changed to exclamation point following -‘citizens,’ “friends and fellow-citizens!” - -Page 127, ‘themslves’ changed to ‘themselves,’ “piled themselves into -the” - -Page 131, ‘Thankgiving’ changed to ‘Thanksgiving,’ “for Thanksgiving -dinner” - -Page 135, opening double quote inserted before ‘Let’s,’ ““Let’s leave -her to” - -Page 136, ‘beginnning’ changed to ‘beginning,’ “beginning of a deep” - -Page 138, opening double quote inserted before ‘Remember,’ ““Remember -our own” - -Page 145, ‘acompanied’ changed to ‘accompanied,’ “accompanied her -opinion with” - -Page 146, ‘promotor’ changed to ‘promoter,’ “troubles as a promoter” - -Page 148, ‘boastted’ changed to ‘boasted,’ “recklessly boasted Robin” - -Page 155, full stop inserted after ‘graciousness,’ “with her ready -graciousness.” - -Page 157, opening double quote changed to opening single quote before -‘Oh,’ “‘Oh, yes; you see” - -Page 157, closing double quote changed to closing single quote after -‘again,’ “break down again.’” - -Page 158, ‘Singor’ changed to ‘Signor,’ “expense, Signor Baretti” - -Page 160, closing single quote inserted after ‘campus,’ “busses to the -campus.’” - -Page 160, opening double quote struck before ‘a,’ “interposed, a trace -of” - -Page 167, ‘Thansksgiving’ changed to ‘Thanksgiving,’ “seeing the -Thanksgiving part” - -Page 180, ‘suits case’ changed to ‘suitcase,’ “find my suitcase” - -Page 181, ‘Cairn’s’ changed to ‘Cairns’,’ “of Leslie Cairns’ part” - -Page 191, ‘squestioned’ changed to ‘questioned,’ “she questioned half” - -Page 200, ‘year’ changed to ‘years,’ “Hamilton many years ago” - -Page 205, closing double quote inserted after ‘bidding,’ “to the -bidding.”” - -Page 207, opening double quote inserted before ‘I,’ ““I hope you know” - -Page 210, ‘tumultous’ changed to ‘tumultuous,’ “impending, tumultuous -embrace” - -Page 217, closing double quote struck after ‘Jeremiah,’ “Jeremiah? -You’re brim” - -Page 217, opening double quote struck before ‘I,’ “interesting. I know” - -Page 218, ‘monogramed’ changed to ‘monogrammed,’ “fussy handkerchief, -monogrammed” - -Page 218, ‘subequent’ changed to ‘subsequent,’ “and the subsequent -mailing” - -Page 222, full stop inserted after ‘performances,’ “by past -performances.” - -Page 226, comma changed to full stop following ‘retorted,’ “Leila -retorted.” - -Page 229, opening single quote changed to opening double quote before -‘NEARER,’ ““NEARER TO THE” - -Page 230, ‘sceptical’ changed to ‘skeptical,’ “made skeptical reply” - -Page 230, closing double quote inserted after ‘stand,’ “on the judges’ -stand.” - -Page 237, opening double quote inserted before ‘You,’ ““You mean you -wanted” - -Page 238, opening double quote inserted before ‘I,’ ““I mean I wouldn’t” - -Page 239, ‘decended’ changed to ‘descended,’ “just descended the last” - -Page 241, closing double quote inserted after ‘letter,’ “that hateful -letter.”” - -Page 246, ‘roommate’ changed to ‘room-mate,’ “Her room-mate is Muriel” - -Page 251, full stop changed to comma following ‘you,’ “to say to you, -Marjorie” - -Page 253, opening double quote inserted before ‘It’s,’ ““It’s the -greatest” - -Page 253, closing double quote inserted after ‘men,’ “will toward -men.’”” - -Page 254, ‘Majorie’ changed to ‘Marjorie,’ “Marjorie Dean at Hamilton -Arms.” - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Marjorie Dean, Marvelous Manager, by Pauline Lester - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARJORIE DEAN, MARVELOUS MANAGER *** - -***** This file should be named 53213-0.txt or 53213-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/2/1/53213/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Marjorie Dean, Marvelous Manager - -Author: Pauline Lester - -Release Date: October 5, 2016 [EBook #53213] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARJORIE DEAN, MARVELOUS MANAGER *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>Leslie had posted herself behind the barrier of leafy green for the express purpose of watching the working out of a little plan of her own.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>(<i>Page <a href='#Page_120'>120</a></i>) (<i>Marjorie Dean, Marvelous Manager</i>)</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div> - <h1 class='c001'>MARJORIE DEAN<br />MARVELOUS MANAGER</h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c000'> - <div><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'>By</span> PAULINE LESTER</span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>Author of</span></div> - <div class='c000'>“The Marjorie Dean High School Series,” “The</div> - <div>Marjorie Dean College Series,” “The Marjorie</div> - <div>Dean Post-Graduate Series,” etc.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/title-page.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>A. L. BURT COMPANY</div> - <div class='c000'>Publishers New York</div> - <div class='c000'>Printed in U. S. A.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>THE MARJORIE DEAN</div> - <div>POST-GRADUATE SERIES</div> - <div class='c000'>A SERIES FOR GIRLS 12 TO 18 YEARS OF AGE</div> - <div class='c000'><span class='sc'>By</span> PAULINE LESTER</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>MARJORIE DEAN, POST-GRADUATE</div> - <div class='line'>MARJORIE DEAN, MARVELOUS MANAGER</div> - <div class='line'>MARJORIE DEAN AT HAMILTON ARMS</div> - <div class='line'>MARJORIE DEAN’S ROMANCE</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>Copyright, 1925</div> - <div class='c000'>By A. L. BURT COMPANY</div> - <div class='c000'>MARJORIE DEAN, MARVELOUS MANAGER</div> - <div class='c000'>Made in “U. S. A.”</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span><span class='xxlarge'>MARJORIE DEAN</span></div> - <div><span class='xxlarge'>MARVELOUS MANAGER</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER I.<br /> <br />ACROSS THE CAMPUS</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“To go, or not to go?—that is the question,” -paraphrased Marjorie Dean glancing up from the -open letter in her hand. She fixed her eyes on -Jerry Macy, her room-mate as though trying to read -what was in her chum’s mind.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Whether ’tis nobler to eat Baretti’s turk,</div> - <div class='line in1'>And circulate upon the campus drear;</div> - <div class='line in1'>Or to take luggage and be off for home</div> - <div class='line in1'>To roost four days upon the family tree.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>Jerry aptly supplied.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Fine, Jeremiah. I certainly would love to -roost on the Deans’ family tree for four blessed -days.” Marjorie’s voice rang with wistfulness. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>“I’ve tried to persuade myself into believing that -it won’t make much difference to the dormitory -girls if we decide we’d best go home for Thanksgiving. -But I’m not sure.” Marjorie knitted -troubled brows. “This is the tenth,” she reflected -aloud. “Whether we go home, or whether we stay -on the campus over Thanksgiving, we’ve enough to -do beforehand to keep us hustling.” She sprang up -from her chair as though animated anew by the -mere recollection of work yet to be done.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why remind me, beautiful Bean? I’m sadly -aware of the fact. What we must do is organize -the new Travelers’ sorority and let them see the -dormitory girls through Thanksgiving. If they do -nicely,” Jerry continued in patronizing tones, “their -reward’ll be more work, and lots of it. If they -flivver—but they won’t. We old Travelers knew -how to pick out our successors. We’re safe to go -home and leave our Thanksgiving stunts to our little -Traveler sisters to carry out. Ha; great intellect!” -Jerry admiringly patted one of her own plump -shoulders. “You always do suggest such brilliant -ideas, Jeremiah,” she gushed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“How conceited you are! Still, there’s a grain -of wisdom in your vain remarks.” Marjorie patted -Jerry’s other shoulder. “I hereby confer upon you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>the high and noble order of the pat,” she declared -in a deep pompous voice. She accompanied her -words with several pats, each one more forceful -than the last.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The hard and croo-il order of the whack, I’ll -say.” Jerry caught the conferring hand in time to -save herself one last thump. “Now that I’ve been -initiated into this wonderful order what happens -to me next?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll tell you in a minute. Let me think.” Marjorie - fixed absent eyes on Jerry as she considered -the situation. “You’re to go downstairs and telephone -Kathie and Lillian to come over to dinner -at the Hall this evening. If they can’t come to dinner, -then they must come afterward. Tell them the -time has come to open the box. That will bring -them.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You bet it will,” Jerry made slangy concurrence.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Then I’ll depend on you to hunt Leila, Vera, -Ronny, Lucy and Muriel. They’re not to dare -think of another engagement.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yessum.” Jerry made a respectful, bobbing bow -to Marjorie. “Please, mum, may I ask what you’ll -be doing, mum, about the same time I’m rushing -upstairs and down?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m going over to Silverton Hall,” Marjorie returned -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>as she crossed the room to her dress closet -and reached for coat and fur cap. “I’ll see Robin, -Phil and Barbara; bring them back to dinner, if -I can. Thank fortune Barbara is at Silverton Hall -this year instead of Acasia House. I’ll be back by -five o’clock. It’s ten minutes to four now.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Then you’ll have to go some,” Jerry said skeptically. -“If you are back here with those three girls -by six o’clock I’ll give you a prize. Remember, -you can’t stay to dinner at Silverton Hall. We’ve -Kathie and Lillian to consider.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The prize is as good as won. What are you -going to give me?” Marjorie’s inquiry was slyly -coaxing. She sidled confidently up to Jerry.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Never mind now.” Jerry waved her away. -“Come back at five o’clock and ask me.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I will. I’m going z-i-p-p across the campus. -Just like that!” Marjorie made a lightning forward -pass with one arm. “I’m going to have a -wind sail. There’s a dandy stiff wind blowing today. -Mary Raymond and I used to take our school -umbrellas when we were little girls and go out on -a windy day with them. It was a regular game. -We named it ‘wind sails.’ We’d let the wind blow -us along. Sometimes the umbrellas would turn inside -out, or the wind would whisk them away from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>us and we’d have to chase them a long way. Once -mine blew into the river, and once a big boy caught -Mary’s umbrella and ran off with it. We never -saw either of those bumbershoots again.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie paused at the door to laugh at the recollection -of childhood adventures. “Oh, Jerry,” she -changed the subject with sudden abruptness, “we’ll -have to dig up some eats for a spread. Whoever -dreamed of gathering in the Travelers without feeding them?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll ask Leila to run us into town for eats as -soon as you come back. That’s an incentive to -hurry,” bribed Jerry.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“There are times when I can’t help appreciating -you, Jeremiah. Good-bye. I’m in <i>such</i> a hurry.” -Marjorie breezily closed the door and made a -speedy descent of the stairs.</p> - -<p class='c005'>She opened the massive front door of the Hall -with the same gusty energy, and went down the -front steps at a frisky jump. The brisk November -wind caught her none too gently, blew a fluff of -curls about her sparkling face and a brighter color -into her rosy cheeks. She paused for an instant on -the drive to inhale deeply the crisp, invigorating -November air, then she set off across the campus -at her best hiking stride.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>With the wind at her back, noisily urging her -along, she laughed enjoyingly, spread her arms wide -in lieu of sails and ran with it. Passing a little -delegation of lingering robins, strung along a tree -limb, their feathers fluffed out, their red breasts -making a bit of autumn color against the brown -limb, she whistled cheerily to them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Naughty little fellows,” she playfully chided. -“You should have started for the land of flowers -long before now. You’ll have to hurry if you expect -to get there in time to eat Thanksgiving dinner with -your folks. I ought to take that advice to myself.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Bump! Her eyes still lingering on the flock of -birds, she collided forcefully with a girl who had -deliberately courted collision. Muriel Harding, -emerging from the library, had spied Marjorie from -the library steps. Her mischievous love of teasing -always uppermost, she had approached Marjorie -unseen, bent on surprising her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Uh-h-h!” Muriel pretended to stagger back. -“Why don’t you look where you’re going, lady?” -she demanded gruffly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why don’t you?” The two girls faced each -other, flushed and laughing.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I did. I decided to let you know I was near -you,” confessed Muriel. “If you had been moderately -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>observing you might have averted the crash.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I doubt it.” Marjorie looked her skepticism.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“So do I,” Muriel agreed so amiably that the -pair again broke into laughter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’d best come with me,” Marjorie invited. -“Jerry’s hunting for you, but that’ll be all right. -I’ve found you.” She went on to explain her errand -to Silverton Hall. “Forward, march,” she -concluded, taking hold of Muriel’s right arm. “Step -lively. I’ve lost at least three precious minutes exchanging -mostly impolite remarks with you.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll hit up a pace,” Muriel slangily assured. -“I’m nothing if not obliging. It’s fortunate for -you that you met me. I am always <i>so</i> helpful.” -Her brown eyes danced roguishly. “You must -<i>know</i> that.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ve heard you say so.” Marjorie was purposely -vague. “If I had been even moderately observing -I might have noticed that you were. That is, -if you really——”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why dwell on the subject? This is the way the -wild wind goes.” She began whisking Marjorie -over the half frozen ground at a mad run. Marjorie -sturdily kept up with her. The two girls tore -across the campus toward their goal, shrieking with -laughter, bubbling over with high spirits.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>They were nearing Craig Hall, one of the campus -houses which they had to pass on their diagonal -route to Silverton Hall, when the front door -of the house opened and two young women came -out on the veranda, then descended the steps. Evidently -their ears caught the sounds of mirth emanating -from the pair of exuberant P. G.’s. Two -pairs of eyes, one pair coldly green, the other small, -black and shrewd, immediately fastened on Marjorie -and Muriel.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Look who’s here. Keep right on going,” Muriel -muttered in Marjorie’s ear. She nodded to one -of the two girls who had come from Craig Hall and -were now within a few feet of her and Marjorie. -Her nod was courteous rather than friendly. The -response she received was a stiff inclination from -Doris Monroe’s golden head.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie had obeyed Muriel’s muttered direction. -For the barest instant her clear, truthful gaze met, -impersonally, the narrowing, hostile eyes of Leslie -Cairns. She then glanced serenely away from Leslie. -She had long since ceased to regard Leslie -Cairns with personal displeasure. This in spite of -the ex-student’s treacherous attempt to frustrate -her and Robin Page’s plans in the matter of the -buying of the dormitory site.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>As for Doris Monroe, Marjorie had been rebuffed -by chilling looks on three different occasions when -she had encountered and spoken to the haughty -sophomore. She now claimed the privilege of one -repeatedly ignored, to ignore in return. She had -not given up the idea of carrying out a certain -gracious little plan she had in mind to further the -popularity of her beautiful “fairy-tale princess.” -Marjorie was too great of spirit to harbor resentment -against Doris Monroe, simply because Doris -did not like her. Instead she found herself experiencing -the anxiety of one who had suddenly encountered -a friend in a dangerous position.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER II.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>A DISQUIETING REMINDER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“Br-r-r!” Muriel made a pretense of shivering. -“Did you notice how the Ice Queen scorned us? -And what a noted person she had with her?” She -waited until they had put a few yards between -themselves and the other pair of girls before sarcastically -launching the inquiries.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, I saw,” Marjorie returned composedly. -“I’m sorry. I knew Leslie Cairns was living in the -town of Hamilton. This is the first time I have seen -her since last summer.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s the first time I’ve seen her since before she -left college,” Muriel replied. “She’s homelier than -ever, but that cheviot sports suit and hat she has on -are dreams. What a splendid combination—the -Hob-goblin and the Ice Queen!” Muriel’s private -pet name for Leslie Cairns had always been the -“Hob-goblin.” “Sounds like the title of a fairy -tale, doesn’t it?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Exactly.” Marjorie nodded abstractedly. She -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>had forgotten Muriel’s uncomplimentary name for -Leslie. With the return of it to memory came her -own imaginative fancy regarding Doris Monroe. -Yes, Doris was truly like an enchanted princess. -Now Leslie Cairns had suddenly appeared, bearing -fanciful resemblance to a wicked wizard. Marjorie -smiled to herself at her own absurdity of thought. -Still it made a certain impression on her which time -did not obliterate.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What are you thinking about, Marvelous Manager?” -Muriel gave her chum’s arm an emphatic -tug. The two had kept up their swinging stride and -were now nearing Silverton Hall. “Come down out -of the clouds.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Wasn’t up in them,” Marjorie smilingly denied. -“I was thinking about Miss Monroe, and——”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“And the fatal results of cultivating Leslie -Cairns,” interrupted Muriel mockingly. “Don’t -worry, Marjorie. Trust the icy Ice Queen to look -out for her own interests. Greek has met Greek. -I’ve roomed long enough with the Ice Queen to -know that she always pleases herself first. This being -Leslie Cairns’ motto, we may presently expect -to find them on the outs.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I hope so.” Marjorie was not sanguine. “I’ve -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>learned by experience, Muriel, not to under-rate -Leslie Cairns’ capacity for making trouble.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, I know she’s a star trouble maker, even if -she has never succeeded in anything she tried to -do to injure us,” Muriel readily admitted. “But -you stood so staunchly for the right, Marjorie Dean, -in all the fusses we had with her and the rest of -the Sans, things simply had to turn out O. K. at -the last.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I didn’t stand out more strongly for the right -than any of the other Travelers,” Marjorie hastily -corrected, her reply bordering on vexation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Certainly, you did, Modest Manager,” Muriel -cheerfully contradicted. “I have all the proofs of -the case at my tongue’s end.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Keep them there,” Marjorie told her with -feigned displeasure.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, very well.” Muriel was all amiability. “I -may think of some other sweet little thing about you -later.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Readers of the “<span class='sc'>Marjorie Dean High School -Series</span>,” which comprises four volumes, and the -“<span class='sc'>Marjorie Dean College Series</span>,” also in four -volumes, are thoroughly at home with Marjorie -Dean and her many friends. “<span class='sc'>Marjorie Dean, -College Post Graduate</span>,” forms the initial volume -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>in the “<span class='sc'>Marjorie Dean Post Graduate Series</span>.” -Returned to Hamilton College as a post graduate -Marjorie took up the work she had set her heart -upon doing. Surrounded by a devoted circle of -girls who had kept pace with her in college, Marjorie -felt that her most momentous year of enterprise and -accomplishment had come.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Lack of unity at Wayland Hall had distressed -her not a little since her return to the campus. She -had dreamed rosy dreams of a unified Hamilton -which she had fondly hoped might come true that -very year. Instead, Wayland Hall, the house she -loved best of all the campus houses, and her own -roof tree, was brimming with dissention. She was -now reflecting rather dispiritedly concerning this -very thing. The encounter with Leslie Cairns and -Doris Monroe had brought it foremost to her mind.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wonder how long Miss Monroe has known -Miss Cairns?” she now mused aloud.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Long enough to know better. There you go -again, worrying over that selfish iceberg,” Muriel -cried impatiently. “I might beneficently warn her -against the snares of the Hob-goblin, but would she -be grateful? Far from it. No, no, Muriel. Never -contemplate such folly.” Muriel answered her own -question in a prim, horrified tone.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>“I quite agree with Muriel,” Marjorie smiled -faintly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Some of the upper class girls may tell her a few -things about Leslie Cairns. They’d not forget her -and the Sans in a hurry. If you had to room with -her you’d lose your crush on her. She’s exasperating.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I can’t help admiring her. She is so beautiful,” -Marjorie made frank avowal. “I always have to -stop and remember that she isn’t amiable. There -was one thing in particular that I noticed on the -night last summer when we invited her downstairs -to Miss Remson’s spread. She was truthful. She -didn’t say she was too tired, or make any other excuses. -She said flatly that she <i>didn’t care to come -downstairs</i>. Again, afterward, when we were in -Vera’s car and met her out walking one Sunday -afternoon, we asked her to ride with us. She refused -our invitation in the same scornful way. Still it -was the <i>real</i> way she felt. A girl who wouldn’t -bother to deceive others must have principle,” Marjorie -earnestly advanced.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Hum-m. That remains to be seen.” Muriel -was not thus easily convinced. “But will I be the -one to see? At present the Ice Queen and I are -as intimate as the North and South Poles. We -don’t even study at the same table.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>“Poor old Muriel. Was it lonesome?” Marjorie -flung an arm across Muriel’s shoulders. They were -now turning in at the flagstone walk in front of -Silverton Hall.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, it was,” grumbled Muriel. “But it’s my -own fault. I took that half a room to please myself. -You girls ought to appreciate me and make -a fuss over me because I refused to be separated -from the Sanfordites.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll call a special meeting after the Travelers -go tonight and remind the Sanfordites of their -duty,” Marjorie teasingly promised as they went -up the steps of the Hall.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The blended harmony of violin and piano outside -Robin Page’s room halted the visitors before the -closed door. They had no more than willingly -paused to listen when the music stopped.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“My last A string,” mourned a voice. “I’ll have -to go clear to town for another. How provoking!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie knocked three times in quick succession -on the door, hers and Robin’s particular rap. There -was a scurry of light feet across the floor then -Robin joyfully opened the door.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What luck!” she exulted as she did a pleased -little prance around the callers. “I was coming -over to Wayland Hall directly after dinner. I’ve -such a lot of things to get off my chest.” She sighed. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>“I’m fairly stuffed with responsibility. Hello, Muriel -Harding. I haven’t seen you for as much as -two days. Where have you been keeping yourself? -I want you for a singing number I’m going to have -in our first show. We’re going to open with a revue, -you know.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“My A string just snapped,” Phyllis Moore was -ruefully informing Marjorie. “So aggravating. I -was going to put in two hours of practice this evening. -The only store in Hamilton where I can get -another string closes at five o’clock. Goodness -knows when I’ll be imbued again with such a laudable -desire to practice.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You couldn’t practice tonight if you had fifty A -strings,” Marjorie told her. “The time has come -to open the box, Phil.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, lovely!” Phyllis’ charming face lighted with -pleasure. “Away with practice.” She waved both -arms outward with a buoyant releasing gesture.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re to come over to Wayland Hall now; you -and Robin. Where’s Barbara?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In her room, stuck with a theme. Hope she’s -struggled through it by this time. If she hasn’t, -I’ll make her leave it; just as though it was a finished -literary triumph. I’ll go for her now.” Phil -dashed out the door and down the hall to Barbara -Severn’s room.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>She returned in an incredibly short space of time -with Barbara, the latter in outdoor attire.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Hello, Red Bird,” greeted Muriel. “Who so -gay as you?” She shook Barbara by both hands, -then turned her around so as to inspect her coat -and cap of a wonderful shade of deep crimson, the -gorgeous hue accentuated by wide collar, cuffs and -bandings of bear’s fur. “What a love of a coat -and cap!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Isn’t it, though? I am always planning to waylay -Barbara on the campus some fine dark evening -and strip her of that de luxe red coat and cap.” -Phil made threatening eyes at Barbara.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m safe. She doesn’t quite dare risk her dignity -as president of the senior class,” laughed Barbara.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robin had already donned her wraps. It took -energetic Phil not more than a minute to snatch her -own smart coat of gray tweed from its accustomed -hanger. She pulled a black soft Tam-o’-shanter -with its huge fluffy black pom-pom down upon her -crinkling yellow-brown hair at a truly artistic angle.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Phil looks more like a wandering musician than -ever in that Tam,” was Marjorie’s admiring opinion. -The individuality of Phyllis’ clothes and the -careless, artistic grace with which the tall, supple -girl wore them were a joy to Marjorie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Down the stairs and out of the house trooped the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>five friends, bent on making as good time to Wayland -Hall as they could. Robin, Phil and Marjorie -were anxious to have a talk before dinner about the -program for the coming revue and their entertainment -plans for Thanksgiving. Muriel had decided -to go to town with Jerry and Leila in the car to -help buy the eats for the spread. Barbara was eager -to see Lucy Warner and glean from her certain biological -pointers of which she stood in need. The -group sped across the campus, reaching the Hall -at just five o’clock.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No mail for Muriel. What’s the matter with -the population of Sanford that I don’t get any letters?” -Muriel demanded severely as she turned away -disappointedly from the Hall bulletin board.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I had no idea of your vast importance in Sanford,” -giggled Barbara. “You talk as though you -were the mayor of the town.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Not yet,” grinned Muriel. “I may be the mayoress -of Sanford some day—say in about a hundred -years from now.” She duplicated Barbara’s -giggle. “Marjorie’s the scintillating social star of -Sanford.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie said not a word as she picked several -letters from the bulletin board. Her eyes were glowing -like stars at the harvest of mail. There was a -letter from General; another from Captain; a third -<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>in Mary Raymond’s neat vertical script, had come -from far-off Colorado. There was a fourth from -Constance Armitage. Fifth and last was a letter -in the sprawling childish writing of Charlie Stevens. -She and Charlie, the latter now grown into a tall -sturdy youngster of thirteen, were regular and enthusiastic -correspondents.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the rack above her own mail she caught sight -of two letters for Jerry. One of them was in Helen -Trent’s familiar hand. The other—A swift blush -overspread Marjorie’s cheeks as she took the two -letters from the board and placed them with her -own. She knew only too well whose hand had -dashed the address across the envelope.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Immersed as she had been in college matters she -had given her old pal, Hal Macy, scant thought -since her return to Hamilton campus. Sight of his -letter to Jerry gave her pause; reminded her of -something which intruded itself upon her not quite -agreeably. Hal had not answered the latest letter -she had written him. It had really been a long -while since she had heard from him.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER III.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>LOYAL TO NO ONE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>In the dining-room at Wayland Hall that evening -plenty of curious and speculative glances were cast -at the round dozen of Hamilton’s staunchest children -as they made merry at a special table which -Miss Remson had provided for them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>From the next table to theirs the five Bertram -girls exchanged occasional laughing signals and remarks -with the distinguished little group of post -graduates, seniors and one member of the faculty, -the youngest though she happened to be. Aside -from the warm friendliness of Gussie Forbes and -her four chums there emanated from the other table -of girls a peculiarly chilling atmosphere. It hinted -of displeasure; a displeasure which stopped just -this side of hostility.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The sophs and freshies in the house can’t see us -for a minute,” Jerry said to Leila in an undertone -as they were awaiting the serving of the dessert. -“Feel the chill. Get me?”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>“Tell me nothing.” Leila cast a grim glance -about the dining-room. Suddenly her grimness vanished -into a characteristic flash of white teeth which -always signified her utter amusement. “It is the -Battle of Wayland Hall we shall be fighting before -spring with a number of distinguished P. G. generals -in the thick of the fray. It is the sophs who -are ready now to roar at us. The freshies here -will but echo the sophs’ roars.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Wayland Hall has been a regular hot-bed of -trouble since the soph president was elected.” Jerry -used the same guarded tones. “With Gus and the -disappointed Ice Queen under the same roof can -you wonder?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I cannot.” Leila’s shrug was eloquent. “I have -not been so completely disgusted with a set of girls -since the bad days of the Sans.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Bad days of the Sans?” Vera, seated at Leila’s -left, had caught the Irish girl’s words. She now -repeated them inquiringly. “What tales of ancient -history am I hearing?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Ancient history that is trying to repeat itself,” -Leila returned with dry sarcasm. “I have been -muttering in Jeremiah’s ear that we are not favorites -at the Hall.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s a case of top-lofty sophs and freshie-fresh -freshmen.” Vera gave a wise nod. “The traditional -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>meek and lowly freshie is rapidly becoming -an almost extinct species.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“So it would appear this year,” Jerry agreed with -an appraising survey of the long dining-room. Her -glance rested for a moment on Doris Monroe, then -traveled on to the students who sat at table with -her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“There are the members of the trouble bureau,” -she told Leila. “Look in the direction I’m looking -and you’ll know who I mean.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I heard something about a trouble bureau.” Marjorie, -next to Jerry on Jerry’s right, bent a laughing -face forward to her room-mate. “What?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“First time I ever head you commit a Cairns-ism. -For further information about the trouble -bureau, find the Ice Queen,” Jerry directed not without -humor.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh; I understand. But I won’t look down at -her. If she happened to see us looking at her she -would probably be offended, just as Gussie Forbes -was when she noticed us eyeing her the first time -we saw her at Baretti’s. I learned a lesson then. -I don’t intend to make the same mistake again.” -Marjorie spoke with the utmost good humor. She -was not preaching to her chums, and they knew it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Merely because you’re such an old friend of -mine, Bean, to confide in you doesn’t mean that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>I’m gossiping, I’ll say a word or two about the -trouble bureau. That tall soph with the straight -black hair, black moon eyes and pasty-white face is -the chief disturber. She seems to be directing the -Ice Queen’s campaign. Muriel says she comes to -see Miss Monroe about every half hour until the -ten-thirty bell puts the kibosh on her visits.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Unlike Marjorie, Jerry could not refrain from -voicing her disapproval of Doris Monroe and her -group of sophomore satellites living at Wayland -Hall. “The next agitator to Moon Eyes is the -pudgy, red-haired soph with the mechanical voice. -Their real names happen to be Miss Peyton and Miss -Carter, but Muriel and I have made a few changes,” -Jerry declared with a whole-hearted grin. “Ahem! -We call the pair the Prime Minister and the Phonograph. -So true to life! What?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie, Leila and Vera could not help laughing -at the names Jerry and Muriel had waggishly applied -to the two sophs. Miss Carter’s speech had -a habit of clicking itself from her lips with the mechanical -precision of a phonograph. She had a -wooden manner of carriage and walk which further -added to the impression she gave of something mechanical. As -for the name Muriel had picked for -moon-eyed Miss Peyton, Muriel herself probably -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>best understood thus far its fitness as applied to the -tall, austere looking young woman.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The traditions of Hamilton say nothing about -the naming habit.” Leila shot a playful glance at -Jerry.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Er-r—well, it’s remembering the stranger within -our gate in a kind of way,” Jerry defended. “Now -that Muriel and I have named ’em specially we can -remember ’em so much the better.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Such ignoble sentiments from a Hamilton P. G.! -I am shocked!” Vera’s small hands went up in simulated -displeasure.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’ll get over the shock if you don’t stop to -think about it,” Jerry assured her. “You may even -learn to admire the Harding-Macy classification.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s certainly time the Travelers got together,” -Leila said, now more than half serious in her observation. -“We must protect the Hall.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I am with you in that, Leila,” Marjorie observed, -the light of sudden, unalterable purpose flaring -strongly in her eyes. “We have Miss Remson as well -as the girls here to think of. We’ve been through -a siege of a house divided against itself once here. -We must somehow not let that calamity overtake -the Hall again.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“How are we going to stop it, Marvelous Manager, -with Gentleman Gus and the Ice Queen all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>ready to challenge each other to a duel?” quizzed -Jerry. “I don’t say it can’t be done. I have great -faith in you and your works, Bean.” She beamed -patronizingly. “I merely ask you: How is it going -to be done?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wish I knew,” Marjorie laughingly confessed. -“The Travelers will have to find a way to teach our -freshies and sophs here to live up to the Hymn of -Hamilton. That means we’ll have to teach them -without letting them know they are being taught.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Jerry looked impishly impressed. “What a simple -pleasant task!” she exclaimed with pretended -enthusiasm. “I should say we’d better cut out dessert, -go right upstairs and plan for it. What’s dessert? -Nothing but fresh cocoanut layer-cake and -coffee gelatine slathered with whipped cream. Who -cares for any such trifles?” Jerry waved an airy -hand. She made no move to leave her chair, however.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Only you. The rest of us have no longing for -sweet stuff. But we are so kind as to keep you company -while you eat,” Leila made bland assurance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When the dessert was served the Irish girl deftly -abstracted Jerry’s portion of cake and gelatine from -under Jerry’s eyes and before the waitress had more -than placed the dishes on the table. Up the line -went the cake and gelatine until they reached Phil, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>who sat at the head of the table. Phil welcomed -them with effusion and grew tantalizing. She gave a -dozen flimsy reasons supposed to justify her claim to -it. The table rang with laughter so spontaneous and -good-natured more than one of the freshmen at the -Hall felt a secret sympathy spring up within for the -girls whom they had heard characterized by Doris -Monroe’s most ardent supporters as “meddlers and -hypocrites” and of having shown marked favoritism.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“If we were to make half the noise they are making -Miss Remson would call us to account for it,” -sourly observed Julia Peyton to Clara Carter. “I’ve -spoken to her several times about the racket that -goes on every evening in Miss Forbes’ room and in -that Miss Dean’s room, too. It’s been worse since -Miss Harding came to the Hall.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I know it,” Miss Carter nodded an eager red -head. “Doris says she simply won’t allow Miss -Harding to carry on in her room the way she does -when she’s with her own crowd. She’s generally -to be found on the campus with some of them, -screaming and laughing. Doris met her and Miss -Dean when she was with that awfully rich Miss -Cairns this very afternoon. She said she felt so -mortified at being obliged to speak to Miss Harding. -She doesn’t speak to Miss Dean at all. She told -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>me she had good reasons for ignoring <i>her</i>, but she -preferred not to give them.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Humph.” Julia cast a jealous glance at her -companion as the two sophomores rose to leave the -table. Each girl was jealous of the condescending -friendship which Doris Monroe had chosen to give -her companion. She felt that she stood a trifle -closer to Doris than the other.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Doris was fully aware of this state of affairs. -When she had recovered from the sweetness of -her first triumph at being “rushed” she made up -her mind not to allow her soph and freshie admirers -to fail in allegiance to her banner. She soon learned -that her selfish air of indifference was one of her -greatest assets. It added individuality to her beauty. -It impressed her worshippers with a high idea of -the value of her acquaintance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>She had inherited this trait of indifference from -her mother, whose counterpart she was. She had, -as Marjorie suspected, a strong inclination to honesty, -one of her father’s finest traits. Thus she -could not have pretended an indifference she did -not feel. Since it was in her soul to be this she -accepted the benefits she received from it with secret -satisfaction. She was privately glad that she -had no desire to be impulsive and readily responsive.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>“<i>I</i> heard that the Miss Cairns you mentioned was -expelled from Hamilton College,” Julia said disagreeably. -She was desirous of over-topping -Clara’s boastful reference to “Doris” and the intimacy -it implied.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Who told you?” Clara’s tone was challenging.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll not say who. I heard it, and it came to me -directly from someone who knew,” Julia made mysterious -response.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I—I—haven’t heard any such story as that. I -don’t believe it’s true. I’ll ask Doris. <i>She’ll</i> tell -me,” Clara ended, tossing her flame-colored head.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re very foolish to think of asking Doris,” -disapproved Julia, her shaggy black brows drawing -together. “She’ll set you down as impertinent. -Even if she should know she wouldn’t tell <i>you</i>.” -She gave a short, sarcastic laugh.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m not afraid to ask her,” Clara doggedly persisted. -“<i>You</i> may be, but <i>I’m</i> not.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>This was the beginning of an angry discussion -between the two sophomores which lasted all the way -upstairs and for several minutes after the door of -their room was slammed behind them by Clara. So -vigorously did she slam it that the sharp sound -reached the bevy of Travelers as they came trooping -gaily upstairs. Robin was singing softly for them -an old plantation song: “Get you ready there’s a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>meetin’ here tonight,” and Phil was patting her -hands in time to it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Bing, bang; who fired the first shot?” exclaimed -Muriel.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It did sound almost like a shot, didn’t it? I -haven’t heard such a splendid imitation of banging -a door since the Sans used to vent their outraged -feelings on the doors,” chuckled Vera.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That may have been the first shot fired in the -Battle of Wayland Hall,” Jerry gigglingly surmised -to Leila.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Then it was wasted on us,” laughed Leila. “It -will take more than the banging of a few doors to -rouse our ire to the point of battle. Though make -no mistake: ‘The air is full of knives,’ as we say -in Ireland.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the room occupied by Clara Carter and Julia -Peyton the air was indeed full of verbal knives. -Both had voted for Doris Monroe for president of -the sophomore class. Both had pledged themselves, -with certain other girls at the Hall, to “boost” Doris -and “down” Augusta Forbes. Now they were -squabbling fiercely over the lovely, indifferent object -of their girl devotion. In their jealous anger -with each other they had blindly overlooked the old -saying: “In union there is strength.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER IV.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>TESTING TWO TRAVELERS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“Remember, friends and fellow Travelers, this is -a serious occasion.” Ronny, as president of the original -Five Travelers, stood facing her companions -who had disposed themselves four in a row on Jerry’s -couch-bed and on chairs in alignment with the couch.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s not very serious any of us are looking, nor -our worthy president, either,” Leila declared, throwing -Ronny a twinkling glance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Never judge by appearances—so very reckless, -don’t you know,” Ronny rebuked, her charming face -full of mischief.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“On with the meeting. No stops allowed for repartee. -We’ve a lot to do, and a spread to eat up -afterward,” Jerry announced in her most judicial -tones.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Thank you for your delicate reminder that time -is flying, Jeremiah.” Ronny made Jerry a deep bow, -meant to convey her humble gratitude. “As I was -about to say when I was interrupted”—Ronny -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>stared hard at Leila—“we are to pass upon the -names written on slips in this box.” She held up a -small square box of ornamental brass.</p> - -<p class='c005'>During their initial railway journey to Hamilton -College more than four years previous the quintette -of Sanford chums had helped while away the long -hours on the train by banding themselves into a -private, informal club which they named the Five -Travelers’ Club. They had found interest in looking -upon themselves as five travelers about to explore -the unknown country of College.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The little association had flourished and been a -comfort to them during their freshman year. Every -now and then, as the journey through the country of -college continued they had added a member to the -group. When Commencement and the end of their -proscribed course came the still informal club had -become the Nineteen Travelers.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It had become the earnest desire of the Nineteen -Travelers to perpetuate the club as a sorority. -After much discussion it had been decided to leave -it as a parting gift to nineteen seniors. Due to the -multiplicity of duties which the original Nineteen -Travelers had pledged themselves to perform, the -organization of the new sorority was left, unfortunately, -until the last minute. By that time several -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>new-fledged seniors, eligible to membership, had departed -for their homes.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It was Ronny who had then proposed that each -Traveler should write on a slip of paper her choice -of senior to succeed her. The slips were to be placed -in a box, without having been examined, and the box -placed in Miss Remson’s care until the return the -next fall of the post graduate Travelers to Hamilton -College. To them would be intrusted the forming -of the new sorority.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I feel confident,” Ronny continued, “that the seniors -whose names are in this box are the very girls -we most wish to carry on our club. Still, in the -event that any one of you may have an objection -to a name as read out by me, I will count ten slowly -after the reading of each name. Anyone who may -make objection must say ‘no’ within the count, and -afterward frankly state her reason for so doing.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>With this preamble Ronny put a hand in the box, -drew from it a slip and solemnly read out: “Phyllis -Moore.” The laughing gleam in her gray eyes did -not accord with her solemn face. “One, two——” -she began.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A chorus of laughter drowned her voice, mingled -with cries of: “No; no, indeed! I object.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Mercy on us!” Up went Ronny’s hands. “Such -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>strenuous objections! Sh-h-h. Be calm and state -our objections, one at a time.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We can’t decide as to her qualifications for membership -until she has been put to the test,” boldly demanded -Lillian Wenderblatt.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Very well,” Ronny agreed with the utmost amiability.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Poor me.” Phil groaned audibly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I would suggest that action be suspended on the -candidate to be tested until the other names have -been passed upon. In the event that there may be -other candidates for the test they may then be put -to the ordeal together.” Marjorie made this sly proviso, -and with apparent innocence.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Other candidates!” exclaimed Barbara Severn. -“I know only one other besides Phil. Poor me!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Barbara Severn.” Ronny promptly read out her -name. Another burst of vigorous, laughing “Noes” -ascended. Barbara was also condemned to the test.</p> - -<p class='c005'>During the Nineteen Travelers’ senior year at -Hamilton they had more than once invited Phil and -Barbara to become members of the club. Both had -refused the invitation, preferring to receive their -election as a parting gift from their elder sisters. -They had been as invaluable to the Travelers, however, -as though they had been members. Now their -comrades proposed to show appreciation in their own -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>peculiar fashion. None of the seventeen other names -which Ronny read out for the august consideration -of the Travelers were challenged.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I am sure you will be pleased to hear that Miss -Mason and Jer—Miss Macy will conduct the test,” -Ronny purred to the hapless candidates.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That’s right, half call me Jeremiah. Everyone’s -only about half respectful to me,” grumbled Jerry.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, we’re de-lighted,” Barbara and Phil together -satirically responded.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“So glad. As all appear to be pleased let the test -begin,” Ronny smiled encouragingly on the candidates.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Ahem-m! Candidates rise and come forward. -Stand there; exactly in line,” Jerry dictated grandly. -“You will now listen to Miss Mason while she explains -to you the nature of the first test.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Vera came smilingly toward the two girls. “Here -is a penny for each of you,” she said generously. -“You are not to spend it for candy. No, no.” She -shook a forbidding finger at them. “You are to get -down on the floor and each shove your penny to the -door and”—she beamed beneficently on her victims—“with -your nose.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Woof-f!” Phil made a despairing gesture.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I can never do it,” giggled Barbara, “but I’ll -try.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>“We are waiting.” Vera sweetly indicated the -place on the rug on which the unlucky candidates -were to prostrate themselves.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Phil was first to obey. Barbara paused to watch -her and learn the way such a feat was to be performed. -It took Phil not more than a minute to -discover that creeping as a means of locomotion -would not aid her penny’s progress to the door. She -was obliged to lie flat to the floor, face downward, -and wriggle very slowly toward the goal, aiming -constant dabs at the penny with her nose.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Her gallant progress in spite of odds so entertained -Barbara she had to be reminded of her part -in the test. She proved not nearly as skillful as Phil -in the art of penny-shoving. Meanwhile the room -rang with laughter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The candidates will now be allowed a breathing -spell while I consult with my valued assistant and -prepare the next degree,” was Jerry’s gracious announcement -after Phil had triumphantly pushed her -penny the required distance and Barbara had shoved -hers over half way to the door.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The next degree appeared in the form of two -rows of potatoes, placed at short distances apart. At -one end of each row was a basket. Jerry handed Phil -and Barbara each a teaspoon and assigned them to -a potato row. “Start at this end. Pick up the potatoes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>on your teaspoon and carry them to the basket,” -was her next bland instruction.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That sounds easy,” sighed Barbara. “Oh, my -nose,” she tenderly rubbed it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To balance a good-sized potato on a teaspoon and -carry it across a room is a feat which requires practice. -Phyllis and Barbara were novices at it. They -toiled patiently at the ridiculous task while the Travelers -had a hilarious time at their expense. Before -either had succeeded in placing more than two or -three potatoes in their baskets Vera called them off -the job.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We’ll have to take your will for the deed,” she -told them. “Your sense of balance seems to be -sadly lacking. Don’t be discouraged. Both of you -have splendid useful noses even if your potato -carrying was wobbly. You’ve done nobly. Now we -are going to give you a feed. I hope you won’t mind -being blindfolded for a little while. It’s quite necessary.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Nothing could please us more,” Phil assured extravagantly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Whoever heard of an initiation without the candidates -were blindfolded? Go as far as you like.” -Barbara was equally gracious.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Jerry proceeded to blindfold the two in her business-like way. -Next she motioned to Vera, who -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>brought forward two bungalow aprons. She and -Vera politely assisted Phil and Barbara into the -aprons. The pair were then led to chairs and ordered -to be seated.</p> - -<p class='c005'>From the top shelf of her dress closet Jerry took -a square pasteboard box. Opened, two immense, -shining cream puffs were revealed. Laughter greeted -the sight of them. The other Travelers recognized -the puffs as having come from a certain bakery -in the town of Hamilton where the size of the dainty -and its extra-generous cream filling had popularized -it among the Hamilton College girls.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Here, Phyllis Marie Moore; you can’t say I never -treated you. In the absence of plates, hold out both -hands.” Jerry lifted one of the huge puffs from -the box and carefully set it in Phil’s obediently outstretched -hands. She then went through the same -performance with Barbara as the recipient. “Eat -them nicely,” she admonished with wicked significance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Eat them nicely,” mimicked Barbara. “I can’t -eat a cream puff nicely when I can see every bite I -take of it. Blindfolded—good night!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“They’re awfully good anyway,” consoled Phil. -She held the puff in one hand and went cautiously -over the humps and bumps of the big pastry shell. -She boldly attacked a corner which promised not to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>let out too copiously the fairly thin cream filling. -She did very well until she had eaten away enough -of the shell to court disaster. It would have been -hard enough to eat the puff daintily had she been -able to see it. Minus sight and a plate or paper -napkin on which to place it she soon managed to -smear her face, hands and apron liberally with -cream. She ate away desperately but there appeared -to be twice as much filling as should have been.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Barbara did far worse at puff eating than Phyllis. -Her frantic efforts to keep the cream within the -bounds of its crisp brown shell sent her companions -into shrieks of laughter. Worse still for them, Jerry -had decreed that they could not wipe either hands -or faces until she gave the word.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the midst of the fun Marjorie obeyed a sudden -impulse to leave the room and stand in the hall outside -the door for a moment. She slipped away unnoticed, -anxious to ascertain how plainly the laughter -and talk of her companies sounded from outside. -She and Jerry had hung three heavy portieres which -Miss Remson had given them before the door leading -into the hall and before the doors of the two -dress closets. The manager had assured her that -the portieres would serve to a great extent to deaden -sounds from within the room.</p> - -<p class='c005'>She smiled her relieved satisfaction after she had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>listened intently for three or four minutes. She -could hear only faintly the sounds of conversation -mingled with laughter. She was of the opinion that -such sounds would not be disturbing to any student -on the same floor.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Watchman, tell us of the night,” hailed Jerry as -Marjorie again stepped into the room. “I know -what you’ve been doing. You’ve been listening to -how noisy we are.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Right-o, Jeremiah. And we haven’t been disgracefully -noisy, after all,” Marjorie gaily assured. -“While the girls were laughing loudest at Barbara -and Phil I stole out of here into the hall. I wanted -to find out, if I could, just how noisy we were. That -heavy curtain we hung over the door shuts the sound -in beautifully. You can only hear it faintly from -the hall.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Good work, Bean; good work.” Jerry patted -Marjorie on the back. “We’ve two more stunts to -put Phil and Barbara through yet and the crowd is -getting hilariouser and hilariouser. Listen to them -now.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>A fresh gale of mirth testified to the truth of -Jerry’s remarks. It assaulted Marjorie’s critical ears -with almost dismaying force. Reminded of what -she had just proven to her own satisfaction she grew -reassured. Since that day, early in the fall, when -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>Doris Monroe had reported the joyful little welcome -party in Gussie Forbes’ room to Miss Remson as -disturbing to her peace Marjorie and Jerry had been -expecting the same dire fate would overtake them. -Their room was the Travelers’ headquarters as well -as a favorite haunt of the five Bertram girls. “It’s -our positive good fortune that we escaped thus far,” -Marjorie had more than once told Jerry.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In itself to have been reported to Miss Remson as -disturbers would not have troubled Marjorie and -Jerry. Understanding between them and the brisk -little manager of the Hall was complete. It was -their standing as post graduates, their college honor -which they prided themselves upon. As post graduates -they would be first to be weighed in the balance. -They ardently desired not to be found wanting -even in small things.</p> - -<p class='c005'>What Marjorie had not known when she returned -to Room 15 after her brief moment of listening in -the hall was that she had been observed. Across the -hall from Room 15 two interested sophomores had -kept diligent watch since the Travelers had come upstairs -from dinner. With their own door a few -stealthy inches ajar they had heard, or imagined they -heard, what they had been longing to hear—noise -enough from “those tiresome, interfering P.G.’s” to -warrant prompt action on their part.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER V.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>A LEADING QUESTION</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Action came while Phil and Barbara were engaged -in removing at least a third of the creamy contents -of the puffs from faces, hands, necks and even -hair. They “cleaned up” amidst the laughter and -gay raillery of their friends.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“How much more must we endure?” demanded -Barbara as she dried her cleansed features with a -Turkish towel and began lightly powdering them at -the mirror.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, not so much,” tantalized Jerry. “There are -a few more little stunts that——” Two imperative -raps on the door sent Jerry hurrying to it. She -pushed the portiere to one side; swung open the door -to confront the tall, squarely-built sophomore whom -she had nicknamed the Prime Minister.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Good evening,” she said in level tones. Her keen -eyes were missing nothing. Her mind leaped at once -to the nature of the other girl’s intrusion, for such -it was.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>“Good evening.” Her salutation was returned -with haughty aggression. In fact every line of the -sophomore’s broad face and stiff, unyielding figure -spelled aggression. Her peculiarly round black eyes, -blacker in contrast to the unhealthy white of her -skin, resentfully searched Jerry up and down.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wish to speak to Miss Dean at once,” she demanded. -“I know she is here.” She eyed Jerry belligerently, -as though to forestall a denial on her -part.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Of course she is here. We are entertaining our -friends.” Jerry’s matter-of-fact reply brought a dull -flush to Miss Peyton’s pale cheeks. “Will you come -in?” The concise invitation had a certain restraining -effect upon the frowning caller.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No, I will not,” she refused, her own inflexion -rude. “Ask Miss Dean to come to the door. I wish -to speak to her, and to you.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Very well.” Jerry appeared non-committal. -“Just a moment.” She turned away from the door -and beckoned to Marjorie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie left Barbara and Phil, whom she had -been assisting in the removal of the sticky traces of -the puff test, and walked quickly to the door. In -that brief second on the way to it a flash of dismay -visited her. It drove from her eyes the light of -laughter occasioned by Phil’s and Barbara’s complaining -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>nonsense as they scrubbed faces and hands.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What is it, Jerry?” she asked as she reached her -room-mate.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Jerry opened the door wider and made room for -Marjorie in the doorway beside her. “Miss Peyton -has something she wishes to say to us.” Jerry’s -round face was enigmatic. Marjorie had but to -glance at it to read there what others might not.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Within the room the buzz of conversation had -lessened to a mere murmur. Muriel had been entertaining -her chums with a flow of her funny nonsense. -Even she had run down suddenly, seized by -the same surmise which had occurred to her companions. -Too courteous to stare boldly toward the -door, canny conjecture as to the caller’s errand temporarily -halted the will to talk.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Good evening, Miss Peyton.” Marjorie’s straight -glance into the soph’s smouldering eyes was courteously -inquiring. Ordinarily she might have followed -the greeting with a pleasantry. What she -read in Julia Peyton’s face held her silent; waiting.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I have come to speak to you and Miss Macy about -the noise you have been making this evening,” blurted -the sophomore, dropping all pretense of courtesy. -“It is not only tonight I speak of. Almost every -other night we have been annoyed by the noise in -your room. It makes study impossible. We have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>endured it without complaining, but we have had -every reason for reporting it. Tonight you and your -friends have been more annoying than usual. I decided -the time had come to let you know it.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Before she could say more Marjorie broke in -evenly with: “It is true that there is a larger party -of girls than usual in our room tonight. We have -been conducting an informal meeting of a club of -which we are members. We spoke to Miss Remson -beforehand, asking permission to hold the meeting -in our room. We——”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, <i>Miss Remson</i>!” was the contemptuous exclamation. -“She cannot be depended upon for fairness. -We understand where her sympathies lie. We -have spoken to her——” The sophomore stopped -abruptly, caught in a contradiction of her own previous -statement of not having complained.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Pardon me. I understood you to say that you -had not complained.” Jerry could not resist a lightning -opportunity to discomfit the other girl.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I should have said that we had not—that we—that -we had not reported you to President -Matthews,” amended Miss Peyton, glancing angrily -at Jerry. Aggressive from the start she was fast -losing her temper.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I cannot allow you to accuse Miss Remson of -unfairness without offering my strongest defense in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>her behalf.” Righteous indignation lent sternness -to Marjorie’s clear tones. “She is never unfair. She -is always dependable. Since you have said that you -reported us to her, I must believe you. She has not -mentioned the matter to us. That means she does -not consider us at fault.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, certainly she doesn’t,” was the sarcastic retort -accompanied by a significant shrug of the square -shoulders. “<i>That is precisely the trouble.</i>”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Please allow me to finish what I had begun to -say to you.” Marjorie made a dignified little gesture. -“On the day when Miss Monroe reported Miss -Forbes and a few of us who were in her room welcoming -her back to college, we talked things over -with Miss Remson. Since then we have been more -careful not to give offense to other students at the -Hall than at any time during our past four years at -Hamilton. Miss Remson gave us heavy portieres -to hang before the doors when we expected to entertain -a number of girls. These deaden the sound. -You can see for yourself how heavy and closely-woven -this one is.” Marjorie took hold of a fold of -the portiere. “I purposely went into the hall tonight -and closed the door after me to find out if we were -too noisy. I was surprised at the small amount of -noise that came from our room.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I am surprised to hear such statements from a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>post graduate.” Julia Peyton gave a discomfited -sarcastic laugh. “Frankly, Miss Dean, I have been -so disappointed in you. When first I came to Hamilton -I had the greatest respect for you. I regret -that I should have been obliged to change that opinion.” -Julia believed she had said something extremely -telling. “Yes; and I do not approve of the -way your post graduate friends have tried to run -Wayland Hall. It surely does not add to Miss Langly’s -credit as a member of the faculty,” she ended in -malicious triumph. She was inwardly furious at -Marjorie’s and Jerry’s quiet but determined defense -of their own conduct.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Your harsh opinion of our friends is not justified.” -Marjorie’s curt proud tones contained censure. -“Let me advise you to be careful and not repeat -such opinions on the campus. Our friends -would not suffer as a result. They are known to be -true to the traditions of Hamilton. You would -merely succeed in creating unpleasantness for yourself.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I don’t care for your advice.” Miss Peyton -blazed into sudden wrath. “You are only trying to -frighten me into not reporting you and your friends. -You meant yourself, too, but you were clever enough -not to include yourself in your remarks. I shall report -the whole affair to President Matthews; not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>later than tomorrow morning.” She whirled angrily; -started across the hall.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Wait a minute.” Something in Jerry’s tone -arrested the miffed soph’s progress. “I’d like to ask -you a question.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Well?” Miss Peyton put untold frost into the -interrogation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why”—Jerry paused—“if you and your room-mate -were so greatly disturbed by our noise, did you -not close your door? That would have at least -helped considerably to shut out the noise.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Our door was—” began the soph furiously.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Partly open,” supplied Jerry. “I am quite sure -it was,” she continued sweetly, “because I happened -to go into the hall and saw for myself.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER VI.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>LITTLE HOPE FOR P. G.’S</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“Stung, and by the truth!” Jerry gave an exultant -skip into their room behind Marjorie and hastily -closed the door. Miss Peyton, confronted by unassailable -truth, had no defense ready. She glared -wrathfully at Jerry and Marjorie and hurriedly disappeared -into her room.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We can guess what it’s all about,” greeted Muriel -Harding. “We ought to be shocked and amazed, -Marvelous Manager, at <i>you</i> for fussing. We might -expect it of Jeremiah.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You might; you bet you might. I’d have done -all the fussing this time if Marjorie hadn’t begun -answering that trouble hunter first. Believe me Leila, -the first attack in the Battle of Wayland Hall was -made right at our door. I’m happy to announce -that the enemy was sent fleeing across the hall with -one good hot shot fired by the Travelers’ friend, -J. J. G. Macy. <i>I’m the one.</i>” Jerry proudly -thumped her chest.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>“Could you hear what we were saying?” Marjorie -glanced interestedly about the half circle of -girls, eagerly formed around her. “I know you -would try <i>not</i> to listen.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We could hear only a word now and then,” Vera -made haste to answer. “Of course it was a complaint -about us. What is the matter with these -sophs? They weren’t so obstreperous last year as -freshies?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I took Miss Peyton to the freshman hop last -year,” said Lillian Wenderblatt. “As a Traveler in -the midst of Travelers I may say she was very ungracious -to me. I accepted her rudeness as not having -been intentional; laid it to her natural manner. -Since I’ve heard her rated as the rudest student on -the campus.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Gussie Forbes says that the freshies who made -life hard for her and her pals last year are the -sophs who are trying to do it again this year,” said -Phyllis Moore.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Gussie is a wise child. And with Muriel’s celebrated -Ice Queen to add to the snarl what hope is -there for a few poor old P. G. ladies who had hoped -to live out their days in peace on the campus? Oh, -wurra, wurra!” Leila crossed her hands over her -breast, clutched her shoulders with her fingers, -thrust out her chin and rocked herself to and fro -<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>with the appearance of a mourning old woman.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What a dandy old woman you make, Leila. I’m -going to cast you for an old hag part in a melodrama, -if I can find a good one. The campus is -howling for a truly lurid one with outlaws, an abducted -child, a lost heiress, an old hag and various -other nice pleasant little characters.” Robin was -always on the lookout for features. “We can ask -three dollars a seat for a zipping old ‘dramer’ and -crowd the gym.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s a good deal more pleasant to talk of shows -than fusses,” Marjorie declared, smiling at Robin’s -latest ambition. Glancing up at the wall clock she -gave a quick exclamation. “Jerry,” she cried, “we’ll -have to trot out the spread instanter!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t I know it. I’ve already begun.” Jerry -made a dive toward her closet.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What about those two stunts for the candidates?” -Lucy Warner caught Jerry by an arm.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why, Luciferous, how you do like to see people -get into trouble, don’t you?” grinned Jerry.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Lucy’s grave, studious face relaxed into the wide, -utterly pleased smile which Muriel and Jerry both -enjoyed calling to it. She broke into the funny little -half giggle, half gurgle which was always productive -of laughter in others.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The <i>idea</i>, <i>Luciferous</i>, of your calling attention -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>to poor Barbara and me after all we’ve suffered!” -Phil turned reproachful blue eyes on Lucy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, I’m not so mean as you think me,” Lucy’s -odd greenish eyes flashed warm lights of fun. “It -was a case of either stunts or eats. It’s going to -be eats, so good night stunts.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“‘Good night stunts,’” repeated Muriel. “You -never learned them words from Prexy Matthews, -Luciferous.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I should hope not,” chuckled Lucy. “All the -slang I know I learned from you and Jeremiah. -Kindly remember that.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wish to forget it immediately,” Muriel looked -askance at the accusation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>With the hands of the clock pointing to ten minutes -to ten Marjorie and Jerry, with Leila’s and -Vera’s help rushed the eatables for the spread to -the center table. Leila had furnished a box of Irish -sweet crackers and a case of imported ginger ale. -The ginger ale had arrived only the day before from -across the ocean. Sweet pickles, stuffed olives, -stuffed dates, salted almonds and small fancy cakes -comprised the lay-out. There had been no time to -make sandwiches.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Supplied with paper napkins and paper plates the -guests helped themselves to the spread. They formed -in an irregular group on each side of Jerry’s couch -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>which held its usual four of their number. Marjorie -and Jerry seated themselves on the floor in front -of the couch bed. Unintentionally they formed the -center of the group.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“At last you can tell us what was said at the -door,” sighed Robin. “It isn’t curious to want to -know, since we are concerned in it, too.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wish you to know,” Marjorie reflectively bit -into a maccaroon. “I’ll try to repeat as exactly as I -can what was said. Then you’ll understand the -situation better.” She recounted the conversation -which had taken place at the door between herself -and Miss Peyton.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Report us to Prexy; the idea!” scoffed Lillian -Wenderblatt. “She is an ambitious trouble hunter. -She’ll find plenty of troubles if she carries any such -tale to him.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I should say as much!” was Vera’s indignant -cry. “Imagine a soph reporting P. G.’s and double -P. G.’s and faculty and the P. G. daughter of Professor -Wenderblatt! Not to mention Prexy’s own -indispensible private secretary! And for what? No -vestige of a reason.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“If she does report us, Prexy’s own indispensible -private secretary will take action,” threatened Lucy. -“I’d be the first person the president would ask -about it. If Miss Peyton went to see him in person -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>I’d hear of it from him afterward; I’m sure. -If she wrote him, I’d see the letter and take the -answer he dictated. I’d ask him if I might tell you -girls about it, too.” The light of devotion shone -strongly in Lucy’s face.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Who’s Prexy? We’re not in awe of him with -our Luciferous on the job,” was Ronny’s confident -declaration. “Long may she flourish.” She held -up her glass of ginger ale. The others followed her -example, careful, however, to “Drink her down” -with repressed enthusiasm.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I ought to be ashamed to face my classes tomorrow -with the sword of Miss Peyton’s disapproval -hanging over my head,” Kathie remarked in the -pleasant lull that followed the drinking of the toast -to Lucy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“But are you?” quizzed Muriel. “I’m afraid from -your tone that you aren’t.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Your fears are well grounded,” laughed Kathie. -“The sophs and freshies at the Hall, judging from -accounts, seem to be positively childish,” she continued -in a more serious way. “They’re not snobs -as the Sans were. There’s some hope for them. I’ll -venture to say that before next June Marvelous -Manager will have managed them.” Her prediction -was one of confident affection.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Such a foolish name; and you will say it,” scolded -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>Marjorie and not quite in jest. “A fine manager -I am. I can’t even manage my own affairs. I can’t -decide whether to go home for Thanksgiving, or -stay here,” she added in self-derision.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“One thing we <i>must</i> decide before we separate,” -Ronny said with energy. “Where shall we meet -tomorrow night? Remember we shall be twenty-nine -strong. We can’t hold the meeting in one of -our rooms. We must have plenty of space for our -new Travelers. The living room down stairs isn’t -private enough. Has anyone a really brilliant suggestion. -No other kind is desired. Save your -breath.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I have. Hold the meeting in our library,” proposed -Lillian Wenderblatt. “I’ll put a sign on the -library door before dinner tomorrow night: ‘Professor -Wenderblatt: Keep Out,’ and lead Father to the -door to look at it. Then he won’t bolt into the -room with maybe two or three other professors in -the middle of our meeting.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Lillian’s proposal was received with approbation -and accepted with alacrity. Leila, Vera, Robin and -Lillian were chosen to notify the fortunate seniors of -the honor in store for them. The rest of the details -of the meeting were quickly arranged. Ten-thirty -was not far off.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t imagine for a minute that you have seen -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>the last of your initiation,” Jerry informed Phil and -Barbara, a threatening gleam in her eye. “There -are still those two degrees, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, forget them. We shall,” Phil made untroubled -return.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You may forget, but I—nevv-vur.” Jerry struck -an attitude.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Nor I.” Muriel dramatically tapped her chest -and glared at Phil. “’Sdeath to all quitters,” she -hissed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, glorious for my melodrama!” admired -Robin. “You and Jeremiah shall be the villains.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I choose to be the principal, double-dyed scoundrel -of the show,” stipulated Muriel, “or else I’ll refuse -to see your play. I spurn anything and everything -but complete villainy.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Give me a better part than Muriel or I won’t act,” -balked Jerry.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m going to fly before any more actors go on -a strike,” Robin raised a protesting hand. “I must -look out for Page and Dean’s melodramer.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Only birds, insects, aviators and ‘sich’ fly,” -criticized Phil. “I simply must get back at you for -not giving me a cousinly warning of what was in -store for me tonight.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Seniors, P. G.’s and faculty will add to the flying -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>classification or lose what shreds of reputation for -integrity they have left,” laughed Kathie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“An added word of warning:—Hotfoot it lightly.” -Jerry’s forceful if inelegant injunction sent the -initiation party down the hall dutifully smothering -their easily summoned mirth. Jerry accompanied -the party to the head of the stairs. She returned -to the room, keeping an alert watch as she walked -on a certain door across the hall. This time she -noted with satisfaction that it was tightly closed.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER VII.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>JERRY SPEAKS HER MIND</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“The ten-thirty rule will have to chase itself -merrily around the campus,” Jerry made airy disposition -of that time-honored regulation as she entered -the room which Marjorie was already beginning -to set to rights. With her usual energy the -stout girl gathered up the glasses, tucking them one -inside another and setting them in a compact row -at one end of the study table.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I agree with you, Jeremiah. I have letters to -read that must be read, ten-thirty rule or no.” Marjorie -whisked an armful of crumpled paper napkins -and empty paper plates into the waste basket. -“There;” she cleared the table of crumbs; “that’ll -do for tonight. Thank goodness, all the eats were -eaten.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I can count on my fingers the times we’ve defied -old ten-thirty,” Jerry declared as she reached -in the table drawer for her two letters.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>“Ten times in four years,” Marjorie commented. -“That’s a good record.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“True, Bean, true. When we stop to consider the -past—how wonderful we are!” Jerry simpered self-appreciatively -at Marjorie as she sat down under the -drop light with her letters.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“How can I help but believe it when you say it -like that?” rallied Marjorie. “Anyway, you’re a -gem, Jeremiah. I was never more agreeably surprised -than when you turned the tables on Miss -Peyton tonight. I hadn’t noticed that their door -stood open. But you had, smart child. I had no -idea you’d been out in the hall on a tour of discovery.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I went directly after you were out there. I had -a hunch that the Ice Queen would start something. -So she did—through those two geese. They had that -room last year and didn’t appear to mind our occasional -soirees. But there’s still another and a chief -disturber—Leslie Cairns. She’s back of the Ice -Queen.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I think so, too,” Marjorie admitted with reluctance. -“I have seen them together several times. -Leslie Cairns has other friends on the campus, too. -Muriel and I saw her and Miss Monroe coming out -of Craig Hall this afternoon.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You did?” Jerry showed surprise. “I’ll investigate -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>that. I may find out something interesting. -Miss Morris, that nice senior you’ve heard me speak -of, who came to the campus last fall from Vassar, -says there are only seniors and juniors at Craig Hall -this year. Perhaps it was the Ice Queen’s friends -she and Leslie Cairns were calling upon.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That may be,” Marjorie agreed. “I wonder if -Miss Monroe likes Leslie Cairns? Perhaps she -cares more about cars and expensive clothes and -spending money than anything else. We don’t know -her, so we can’t even guess what sort of girl she is -at heart.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I know what will happen to her if she puts any -dependence in Leslie Cairns,” Jerry said grimly. -“Don’t waste your sympathy on her, Marjorie. She -isn’t worthy of it.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I don’t know why I feel so sorry about her, but -I do,” Marjorie confessed. “Whenever I see that -beautiful face of hers I forget she’s been so ungracious -to us. She’s not a namby-pamby kind of pretty -girl. She has a high, royal kind of beauty. I’ve not -given her up yet, Jeremiah. I’m going to try popularity -for her against Leslie Cairns’ money. I’m going -to put her in the first show we have. I’ll have -Robin ask her. I’ll stay in the background for -awhile.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Nil desperandum,” Jerry encouraged with an indulgent -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>grin. “Mignon La Salle reformed just to -please Marvelous Manager. Why not others? Besides -there’s always the pleasant possibility that the -Hob-goblin and the Ice Queen may squabble and -part.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“So Muriel says. I mean about those two girls -disagreeing. You may make fun of me all you -please, Jerry. Just the same if we could win Miss -Monroe over to our side it would gradually put -everything straight here at the Hall. If Miss Monroe -became our friend, she would probably become -friends with the Bertram five. She’s friends already -with the other sophs and freshies here. Things which -are equal to the same thing are equal to each other, -you know. Leslie Cairns’ friendship cannot be beneficial -to her. I am sure of that. Yet to warn her -against Miss Cairns would be contemptible. Excuse -me, Jeremiah, for keeping you from your letters!” -Marjorie exclaimed in sudden contrition. -“It’ll be midnight before I’ve read all these.” She -flourished the handful of letters before Jerry’s eyes.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Go to it, or it may be morning. Why waste -precious time flaunting your letters in my face? -Why should your five to my two make you vainglorious?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Who’s vainglorious?” Marjorie made a half -threatening move up from her chair. She dropped -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>back again, laughing, as Jerry nimbly put the length -of the table between them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Lots of people are vainglorious.” Jerry wisely -grew vague. “Don’t bother me, Bean. I hope to -read my letters in peace and quiet. Yes?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“<i>So do I</i>,” emphasized Marjorie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The chums exchanged good-humored smiles, born -of perfect understanding and settled down to the -patiently deferred reading of their letters.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Jerry read Helen’s letter first. She knew it would -be long and absorbing. Hal’s would be his usual -brief note. It was his weekly offering. Long since -Jerry had made him promise to write once a week -and had pledged herself to do the same by him. A -strong devotion lived between brother and sister -which had deepened year by year. Hal did not pretend -to understand Jerry from the standpoint of -girlhood. To him she was a good comrade; “the -squarest kid going.” Jerry was of the private belief -that she knew Hal better than he knew himself.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Her one sorrowful concern in life was the knowledge -that Marjorie “couldn’t see old Hal for a -minute.” She would have tried to further Hal’s -unflourishing cause with Marjorie, but there seemed -to be no way of accomplishment. She knew only -too well Marjorie’s utter lack of sentimental interest -in Hal; her rooted aloofness to “love” as Hal had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>hoped she might experience it. “A regular stony -heart,” Jerry had secretly characterized her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Jerry had shrewdly divined for herself the true -state of affairs between the two. Neither had ever -spoken intimately to her of the other. Nevertheless -when Marjorie had left Severn Beach for her midsummer -journey to Hamilton during the summer -previous, Jerry had been convinced that she had -“turned Hal down.” She had wondered then, and -since, how Marjorie could fail to love her big, handsome -brother—not because he had been devoted to -her since their first meeting—but for himself.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The expression of good-natured amusement which -had visited her face during the reading of Helen’s -letter remained until she had read Hal’s note several -times. Then concern replaced it, making her round -face very solemn. She shot a covert glance at -Marjorie who was deep in Mary Raymond’s letter. -She had already devoured the contents of her -General’s and Captain’s letters. Both had been -comparatively short and loving inquiries as to -whether they might hope for her “gracious presence -at Castle Dean over Thanksgiving.” Neither superior -officer had made a point of asking her to -come home. Unselfishly, as ever, they deferred to -her judgment.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie had gulped down her rising emotions -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>as she had read and realized afresh her father’s and -mother’s breadth of spirit. She had taken up Mary’s -letter, feeling that she must go home at all events -for the holiday. Mary had the long and astonishing -confidence to impart that she had fallen in love, -was engaged to be married the following September -and that her engagement was soon to be announced -at a formal luncheon to be given for her by her -mother.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, Jerry!” Marjorie looked up brightly from -her letter. “Mary’s going to be married. I’ll tell -you all she writes about the great event while we -are getting ready for bed. I haven’t time now.” -Her hands were busy opening the letter from Constance -as she spoke. Again she dropped into silence -and the perusal of Connie’s letter. “Isn’t it too -bad?” she soon cried out. “Connie and Laurie are -not going to be in Sanford for Thanksgiving. Laurie -promised a composer friend of his to be present at -the first performance of his new opera ‘The Azure -Butterfly.’ He and Connie are going to New York.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That settles it for me. There’ll be one distinguished -mug missing on the campus. I’m going -home for Turkey Day.” Marjorie’s news concerning -Constance and Laurie had crystalized Jerry’s -wavering resolve to go to Sanford. “Poor old Hal! -A fine time he’d have with all of us away!”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>A swift flood of crimson deepened the glow in -Marjorie’s cheeks; rose even to her white forehead. -She stared self-consciously at Jerry for an instant. -Without a word she laid down Connie’s letter and -took up the envelope addressed to her in Charlie -Stevens’ straggling hand.</p> - -<p class='c005'>First exploration of its contents and she broke into -a low amused laugh: “Do listen to this, Jerry,” -she begged.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Jerry raised her eyes from Hal’s letter, at which -she had been soberly staring. She was provoked -with herself for having mentioned Hal to Marjorie -as an object for sympathy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Occupied with the letter from Charlie, Marjorie -did not notice Jerry’s gloomy features. Mirthfully -she read:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<span class='sc'>Dear Marjorie</span>:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I think your last letter to me was a dandy. I -read it twice and I was going to read it again only -I lost it. Maybe I lost it on the football ground or -in the street. But if anyone finds it they’ll see your -name on the end of it and guess that I am the right -Charlie it belongs to. Then I might get it again. -I know you won’t be mad cause I lost it. I couldn’t -help it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Connie is going to New York with Laurie for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>Thanksgiving. She has to go because he is her husband. -We are very sorry. I don’t mean we are -sorry because Laurie is her husband but because they -are going away. The band is coming to our house -for a party on Thanksgiving evening. I am going -to play an awful hard piece on my fiddle that Father -Stevens composed just for me. You’d better come -home and then you can come to see us that night. -I like you, Marjorie, quite a bit better than Mary -Raymond. Connie says Mary is going to be married. -I used to say when I was real little that I was -going to marry her. I don’t say it now. I didn’t -know any better then.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I hope there will be snow and ice on Thanksgiving. -Will you go skating on the pond with me -if there is? I can skate fine and make a figure eight -and a double loop on the ice. Hal Macy took me -to the Sanford ice rink last Saturday afternoon. -He showed me how to make the figure eight. He -is a dandy fellow, only he doesn’t talk much. You -ought to see him play basket ball. He has all the -Sanford fellows beat. I like him because he always -goes around with the fellows and not the girls. -He thinks you are quite nice. I let him read your -letter before I lost it and he said I was a lucky kid. -I could write some more but I can’t think just what -to write. I will write some more some other time. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>You had better come home soon. You and me and -Hal Macy will go skating. It is all right for you -to go with him. He would just as soon go any -place with you because he has been to your house -lots of times to parties and you have been to his -house and that’s the way it is. I have to go and -practice an hour on my fiddle so good-bye Marjorie -and I send you my love. Hurry up home.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c007'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“From your best friend,</div> - <div class='line'> “<span class='sc'>Charlie Stevens</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>“Good for that kid!” The cry of approbation -came straight from Jerry’s heart. “Old Hal has -had a lonesome time in Sanford for the past two -years. He could have gone into business for himself -in New York after he was graduated from college, -but he knew Father needed him in his business.” -Jerry checked herself with the reminder that -Hal would not wish her to glorify him, especially -to Marjorie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Hal is splendid.” Marjorie was always first to -give Hal his due, impersonally. “I know it has been -lonesome for him in Sanford without the old crowd -and—and—he must miss you so, Jerry,” she finished -rather lamely. She meant it in all earnestness. She -understood perfectly the bond between Hal and -Jerry.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>“Not half so much as I’m sure he misses you.” -Jerry grew bold for once. “This is what he has -written me. You can see for yourself what a good -sport he is.” She did not look at Marjorie as she -read:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<span class='sc'>Dear Jerry</span>:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Yours of last week appreciated. You haven’t -yet said what you are going to do about Thanksgiving. -That I suppose will depend on the way matters -stand at Hamilton. If you don’t come home I -will keep Father and Mother busy looking after me -so they won’t miss you too much. Connie and -Laurie will be in New York over Thanksgiving so -I must cheer up Charlie by taking him to the football -game between the Riverside Giants and the Sanford -High team. I have been coaching the Sanford -fellows a little. It’s going to be some game. Hope -you’ll be on hand to see it.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Just remind Marjorie that I wrote her last. Tell -her she can square herself with me by coming home -for Thanksgiving. Connie told me yesterday she -had written to Marjorie. Hard lines to have Connie -and Laurie away on the grand old day. Better try -and see what you can do for me. With love. Good -night old kid.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c007'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Hal.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>“Why, I don’t owe Hal a letter!” Marjorie regarded -Jerry in surprise. “He owes me one.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“He <i>does</i>?” Jerry showed more surprise than -had Marjorie. “Well, I believe both of you. It’s -a plain case of ‘all have won.’ Meanwhile where is -that latest glowing proof of a flourishing correspondence?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Lost in the mail, perhaps,” Marjorie guessed. -She became silent for a moment. “I’m doubly sorry -about it. I shouldn’t care to have Hal think—” -Marjorie paused; looked away from Jerry’s keen -blue eyes, so like Hal’s, in confused embarrassment.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You know what to do.” Jerry kindly ignored -the embarrassed slip. “Go present him with your -regrets in person. I’ll give a hop, and invite you to -it. Won’t that be nice? Old Hal won’t care if -you are the only one invited.” She could not refrain -from a side-long glance at Marjorie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Imagine Hal and me dancing solemnly around -your big ball room together, the only guests at your -hop.” Marjorie forced a laughing tone of raillery.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Nothing would please him better,” Jerry stoutly -maintained. It was the nearest to an opinion concerning -Hal’s and Marjorie’s non-progressive love -affair that wary Jerry had ever ventured.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>TWO THINGS SHE KNEW ABOUT LOVE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>This time the blue and brown eyes met squarely. -Marjorie’s expression was a mixture of tolerance, -vexation and resignation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I said it.” Jerry read the glance aright. “I’ll -say it for myself, too. Nothing would please <i>me</i> -better. You know the rest. It’s the first, last and -only appearance of Jeremiah as a buttinski. I knew -that someday, somehow, somewhere I’d say something -about you and Hal. ’Scuse me, Bean, ’scuse -me.” Jerry’s apology was half joking, half earnest.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why—I—why—Jerry!” Marjorie stammered. -She grew rosy from white throat to the roots of -her curly hair. Concerning Hal’s avowal of love, -her captain had been her only confidant. Even Constance -did not know the circumstances of that bright -summer afternoon which she had spent with Hal -aboard the Oriole. “Why—Jurry-miar!” She used -Danny Seabrooke’s nickname for Jerry, with a rather -tremulous laugh. “Who—I never—”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>“Nope; of course not.” Jerry’s reply was comfortingly -positive. “Both you and Hal belong to -the high inner order of the tight-shell clam. I can -only guess how you stand with each other. I know -he loves you. Never think he told me that. I knew -it almost as soon as we first met you. It’s the same -true love, broadened and deepened, that he’s giving -you today. I wish you cared about him even one-half -as much as he cares about you. You’d be loving -him some. But I’m afraid you don’t. And -that’s flat.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No, Jerry I don’t, and it is a relief to be able -to say it frankly to you.” Marjorie’s recent confusion -was clearing away. Her grave serenity of -tone robbed her candid confession of all harshness.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ve always hated to believe you didn’t for Hal’s -sake. I was pretty sure of it last summer at the -beach,” was Jerry’s sober answer.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m <i>never</i> going to marry, Jeremiah,” Marjorie -informed her room-mate with a kind of pessimistic -solemnity. “If I couldn’t love Hal enough to be -his wife, knowing how splendid he is, surely I -couldn’t marry any other man. Don’t think me -selfish because I put my work at Hamilton above -love. It is life to me—my highest, most complete -ideal.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Jerry surveyed her chum’s lovely, but very dignified -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>features for an instant. She was divided between -a desire to admire Marjorie’s lofty purpose -in life and shake her soundly for her deliberate repudiation -of Hal and his warm true love.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I—I’m not sorry you spoke to me of Hal. I’d -like you to know that—that we’re not betrothed—nor -never will be.” Marjorie’s voice dropped on the -last four words. “Only Captain and General know. -Not even Connie. I don’t think I have the right to -tell her. If Hal tells Laurie, he may ask Laurie to -tell Connie. I hope so.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I know old Hal wouldn’t tell me.” Jerry’s -voiced conviction was emphatic. Jerry was more -disturbed than she then realized by the “wallop” -which Marjorie had managed to “hand” old Hal -somewhere along the road of time from the date -of Connie’s wedding. She was inwardly convinced -that the “turn-down” had come at the beach.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I shall tell him that I have told you, Jerry,” -Marjorie quietly announced. “It is Hal’s privilege -to tell Laurie and your father and mother. It was -mine to tell either you or Connie as my closest girl -friend. I have chosen to tell you. You are as dear -to me as Connie; but not dearer. Only—in this you -have the first right to know.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie smiled very tenderly on Jerry. Her -plump, but not over-plump, partner in the journey -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>through the land of college sat abstractedly scribbling -on the back of one of her envelopes, head bent -low. She was not far from tears. Jerry loathed -tears when, on rare occasions, she had been what -she termed “cry-baby” enough to shed them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Much obliged.” She now spoke gruffly to hide -her threatened flow of emotion. “I—I wish you felt -differently about Hal, Marjorie. I—I—always -looked forward to having you for my sister in that -way.” Jerry absently turned the envelope over and -continued to write on its under side.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, Jeremiah, you’re just as much my sister -now as you would be if I were—” Marjorie suddenly -checked her impulsive assurance. Her honest -nature compelled her to desist. No; it was not the -same. She knew that no declaration of sisterhood -to Jerry on her part could compare with the delight -which would be her chum’s were they to become -sisters through her marriage with Hal.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Not the same, Bean; not the same.” Jerry shook -a positive head.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I know it isn’t. I knew it almost as soon as I -said it,” Marjorie admitted rather humbly. “I love -you a lot, Jerry. Most of all because you have always -loved me and wanted me for your sister. I’m -glad you spoke to me about Hal. There’s one thing -I can do for him. Go to Sanford and help you give -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>him a jolly Thanksgiving. We owe it to him to -please him; more than we do to please the dormitory -girls. He’s the one most in need of good cheer this -Thanksgiving.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Ha-a-a-a!” Jerry sat up very straight and drew -a long relieved breath. “You’re the best little sport, -Marjorie Dean! I was afraid you might not care -to see poor old Hallelujah on account of having -turned him down.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I sha’n’t mind seeing Hal,” Marjorie said slowly, -“for truly, Jerry, in my own way I like him as -well as ever. I haven’t changed toward Hal. My -attitude toward him is purely that of friendship. -But he has changed. We’re like two persons, standing -on opposite banks of a broad river, trying to -call across to each other. Neither of us can understand -the other. I wonder why true friendship can’t -content Hal. He wonders why I can’t understand -love.” She cast an almost mournful glance toward -Jerry which Jerry did not forget for many days -afterward.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I only know two things surely about love,” Marjorie -continued after a brief silence. “One is that -I have never been in love. The other is that without -love no marriage can be happy. And now let’s -not talk of love any more, <i>ever again</i>, Jeremiah,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>she ended in a whimsical tone which made Jerry -smile.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“All right. Anything to please you, Bean,” she -replied. She was secretly elated over Marjorie’s decision -concerning Thanksgiving. Nothing could -please Hal more she was sure. “It’s midnight, anyway. -Time we put a curb on our talk fest.” She -rose to begin preparations for sleep. She would -have liked to assure Marjorie of how glad “old -Hal” would be, but had agreed to Marjorie’s taboo.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie gathered up her handful of letters from -the table, a contented little smile showing at the corners -of her red mouth. She was glad that she and -Jerry were going home; that the momentous decision -had been made. Picking up the last envelope -left on the table she saw it was not one of hers, but -Jerry’s. A fresh flood of scarlet flew to her cheeks -as she saw scribbled across the envelope in Jerry’s -hand: “Marjorie Dean Macy.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER IX.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>MEETING HER MATCH</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“Why won’t you go to New York over Thanksgiving, -Leslie?” Doris Monroe’s accustomed indifferent -drawl quickened to longing exasperation, all -but ready to burst bounds.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t choose to,” came with laconic self-will -from Leslie Cairns. She cast an insolent, inquiring -glance toward Doris who was busy driving the -white car which Leslie had named the Dazzler and -loaned Doris for her own use. The pretty sophomore’s -injured expression brought a faintly mocking -smile to Leslie’s loose-lipped mouth.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, I know you don’t choose to,” declared Doris -in a purposely weary tone. She continued to keep -her eyes steadily on the road ahead. “<i>Why</i> don’t -you choose to?” she questioned, growing more -pointed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You ought to know without asking,” Leslie -grumbled. “You are just like Natalie Weyman, my -New York pal. You can’t remember, or be taught -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>to remember, that business is business. Nat is as -crazy to have me go to the Weyman’s New York -house for Thanksgiving as you are to have me go -with you to New York. I can’t see either of you -when I have so much at stake here.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I beg your pardon.” Doris turned politely chilling. -“I had no intention of breaking in upon yours -and Miss Weyman’s plans.” Her coolness arose -not from jealousy. Leslie’s rebuff had hurt her -pride. She had more than once suspected that Leslie’s -frequent allusions to “my pal, Nat,” were made -simply to arouse her jealousy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Doris was too comfortably wrapped up in self -to be jealous-hearted. She had a private conviction -that a girl who might prefer the friendship of another -girl above her own was of small consequence.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Frowning, Leslie shot a second glance at Doris. -Her shrewd dark eyes read mainly in Doris’s lovely -blonde profile supreme discontent at not being able -to have her own way.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You didn’t break into anything,” Leslie gruffly -assured. “That is what you and Nat Weyman seem -possessed to try to do, though.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What do you mean, Leslie?” Doris turned offended -eyes for a brief second on her companion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I mean you two seem determined to wreck the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>promising business career of Leslie Adoré Cairns,” -Leslie retorted with grim humor.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Adoré!” Doris exclaimed irrelevantly. “What a -darling name!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Just suits me, doesn’t it?” Leslie threw back her -head and indulged in her silent hob-goblin laugh.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No, it doesn’t,” Doris said with amazing candor; -“but it might.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What?” For once Leslie’s pet monosyllable -burst involuntarily from her lips.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I said it might suit you,” calmly returned Doris, -“if you would try to make it suit you. You’ve loads -of personality, Leslie; the kind that would make -people like you a lot if you cared to have them like -you.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m not keen on having people like me, even if -I do happen to have a foolish middle name.” From -interest Leslie’s tone had quickly changed to one -of mild derision. “I mean I wouldn’t lift my finger -in order to stand well with a gang of girls. That’s -the way Bean made herself popular on the campus; -pretending to be so kind and helpful; setting up -goody-goody standards and poking her inquisitive -nose into a lot of things that didn’t concern her. -Then there was the Beauty contest. She won that. -It gave her a strong pull with the upper class girls. -All except the Sans.” Leslie’s displeasure against -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>Marjorie rose with the recital of past troubles. -“They <i>knew</i> the judges at the contest hadn’t played -fairly. Nat Weyman should have won the contest. -Wish you’d been a freshie that year. Bean wouldn’t -have had a look-in.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, I’m not so sure of that,” disagreed Doris, -with intent to be provoking. “Miss Dean is really -beautiful, Leslie. I’d hate to believe that she is more -beautiful than I. Sometimes I’m not sure but that -she is,” Doris gave a self-conscious, half rueful -laugh.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What ails you?” Leslie demanded darkly. “I -thought you said you had no use for Bean and her -crowd. Look where you’re going. You almost -zipped us into that limousine.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Doris’s honest, if reluctant, opinion of Marjorie -fanned the flame of Leslie’s too-ready ill humor. -She immediately vented it upon Doris’s driving.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“<i>No</i>, I did <i>not</i> almost run the car into that limousine,” -was the other girl’s flat contradiction. -“What is the use in growing peevish with me, Leslie? -You know I detest Miss Dean and that Sanford -crowd. The only one of them who appears in -the least interesting is Miss Harding. She’s a barbarian, -but she has individuality. I can’t forget she’s -on earth, you know, since I have her as a room-mate.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>As she spoke Doris had slowed the speed of the -car for a stop before the Lotus, the tea room where -they had decided to go for a Saturday afternoon -luncheon.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“She’s a savage; so is Macy.” Leslie invariably -referred to Muriel and Jerry as “those two savages.” -“She’s clever, too, that Muriel Harding. The Sans -would have taken up with her and Macy and Lynde -when they came to Hamilton if they hadn’t been so -crazy about Bean. Macy’s father’s a millionaire -and Lynde’s father is a multi-million man. Harding -would have got across on her nerve. All three rallied -round the Bean standard and lost out with the -Sans.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>It was on Doris’s tongue to say: “Then they were -lucky, after all, since the Sans were expelled from -college.” Instead she held her peace. She intended -to try once more to coax Leslie to re-consider her -decision not to go to New York. Such a remark -from her now about the Sans would only stir Leslie -into fresh irritation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Doris sent a backward, lingering glance toward -the shining white car as the two girls started up the -wide cement walk to the tea room.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t worry. It’ll be there when we come back,” -Leslie said with a half mollified smile. Doris’s proud -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>anxiety concerning the white car was not lost on her. -It suited Leslie to pose as a benefactor.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s such a dream,” sighed Doris. Her color -heightened; her blue eyes shone starry triumph of -the smart white roadster.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ve engaged a Thanksgiving table already at the -Colonial,” Leslie announced, tucking her arm inside -one of Doris’s. “I tried to get one at Baretti’s -but the dago is sore at me. His tables are always -engaged beforehand if I happen to want one on a -holiday.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Couldn’t we go to New York the day before -Thanksgiving and come back to Hamilton the day -after?” Doris once more pleaded. “You won’t -transact any business here on Thanksgiving Day.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That’s what you say,” Leslie made instant rejoinder. -She laughed as though she was in possession -of a rich joke. “I’ve a special business stunt -to put over here on Thanksgiving Day. Get it -straight this time, Goldie. I am <i>not</i> going to New -York.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Then I shall go there alone.” Doris stopped on -the threshold of the Lotus. She faced Leslie angrily -as she made the stubborn announcement. For an -instant the two girls fairly glared at each other.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Go on inside, for goodness sake,” Leslie roughly -requested. She had turned incensed eyes from Doris -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>in time to spy three Hamilton students coming up the -walk. Luckily their attention was focussed on the -white car. Two of them glanced back at it. It -was apparently the topic they were discussing.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I meant what I said,” Doris began haughtily the -moment they had seated themselves at a table. “You -are so very queer. You seem to forget that I know -London and Paris. What is New York to me?” -Doris snapped contemptuous fingers. “Merely another -large city.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’ll find it a handful, if you try to tackle it all -by your lonesome,” was Leslie’s satiric prediction.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I don’t need, necessarily, to go there alone. I -know two sophs who would be glad—”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Forget it,” Leslie interrupted with a gesture of -dismissal. “The three of you would have nothing -on ‘Babes in the Wood,’ or any other of those lost -nursery kids. In New York, unless you’ve been -born and brought up there, you have to know the -right sort of people, or you can’t have a good time. -I could give you a letter of introduction to Nat -Weyman, if I wanted to, but it wouldn’t do. She’d -not like you, and you’d not like her.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I fail to understand why New York should be -so—so different from London and Paris.” Doris was -still haughty, though she was somewhat impressed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>by what Leslie had just said. “I don’t wish to meet -Miss Weyman.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Use your brain,” Leslie impatiently advised. -“London and Paris are like a couple of villages to -you because you know ’em. New York would be -a howling wilderness to you. Why? Because you -don’t know it. Simmer down, Goldie. I’ll take -you to New York with me the week after Christmas. -Our town house is closed this winter but I have an -apartment in New York and a chaperon whom I’ve -taught to mind her own business. You can help -me here a good deal on Thanksgiving Day by wearing -that new costume of yours that matches the -Dazzler. I want to make a splurge at the Colonial, -for reasons of my own.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Of course I wish to help you, Leslie.” Doris -was somewhat mollified by the Christmas prospect. -She flushed hotly at Leslie’s pointed reminder concerning -her new costume and the car. Leslie had -presented her with the white fur hat and coat, an -exquisite white silk gold-embroidered gown and -slippers and hose which made up the “costume.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Then look pleasant, and listen to me,” Leslie -curtly directed, her eyes fixed on the other girl’s -rapidly clearing features. “Drive the Dazzler to -the Hamilton House for me at exactly eleven o’clock, -on Thanksgiving Day. We’ll go for a drive and stop -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>at the Colonial at two o’clock for dinner. After -dinner we’ll go for another drive. Then back to -supper at the Colonial. There’s a good movie theatre -in Hamilton. We might go to it in the evening. -You can easily run up to the campus and put the -car away before the ten-thirty bell rings.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why not go to Orchard Inn for supper instead -of the Colonial? Since there’s been so little snow the -roads are fine.” Doris made a last desperate effort -to have matters arranged partly as she wished.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Too far away from the campus. My main idea -is to be seen with you in all your glory on Gobbler -Day. I shan’t tell you why. Don’t ask me. You’ve -said you wanted to help me. Prove it by doing just -as I tell you when I ask you to do something for -me.” Leslie leaned back in her chair and surveyed -Doris with the air of a dictator. She was giving a -faithful imitation of a favorite pose of her father.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Very well.” Doris relapsed into displeased -silence. She allowed Leslie to order the luncheon -and continued mute after the waitress had left them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Leslie pretended not to notice Doris’s frigidity. -She busied herself with the menu, hunting a dessert -to her taste. When she had selected it she cast the -card on the table with impatient force.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t meet me at all Thanksgiving Day, if it -will be too much of a strain,” she sarcastically told -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>Doris. She knew that Doris was too deeply obligated -to her to make such a course of action probable.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Doris viewed her with the cold, measuring glance -which Leslie had more than once privately admired -in Goldie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I don’t mind meeting you and doing as you ask -me Thanksgiving Day, Leslie,” she said coolly. -“What I do mind is your dictatorial manner. And -sometimes you’re really insulting.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Can’t help it. That’s the way my father is, -and <i>that’s the way I’d rather be</i>. You said I could -make people like me if I tried. I wouldn’t try. I’d -rather have power; the kind that would make people -do as I said because they were afraid of me; afraid -to do anything different. That’s the kind my father -has. He’s a great financier. Of course his money -has helped him climb to where he is, but he has an -iron-strong will. His father left him a fortune, -but he’s made millions of dollars since then.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Leslie’s voice vibrated with melancholy pride as -she poured forth this praise of her father. She had -not told Doris of her estrangement from him, nor -did she purpose to tell her. She had long since arrived -at the conclusion that her father was not indifferent -to her welfare. Mrs. Gaylord had, in a -fit of confidence, admitted to Leslie that she had -been engaged by Mr. Cairns to chaperon her. Accordingly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>the two had come to amicable terms. Mrs. -Gaylord had amiably consented to go visiting among -her many friends and relatives a large share of the -time, thus leaving Leslie free to her own devices. -She had seen Leslie established in Hamilton at the -Hamilton House, had remained with her a week -and gone on to visit a friend with the usual understanding -that the receipt of a telegram from Leslie -would insure her immediate return.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I should think you’d rather be in New York in -business so that your father could help you, since -he’s such a wonderful financier.” Doris’s practical -and wholly innocent observation raised the red of -embarrassment in Leslie’s dark face.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“My father is—” Leslie fought down the confusion -into which her companion’s remark had thrown -her. “Didn’t you hear me say our town house was -closed?” she asked grumpily. “My father’s in -Europe just now. Besides, this garage business -I’m in is to be a surprise for him. When he finds -I’ve made good he’ll be ready to let me into some -of his high finance deals.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Leslie’s pet dream was re-instatement into her -father’s favor as a result of her own daring brilliancy -in business. Aside from the pleasure of -“making things hum for Bean” she thought well -of her garage project. It was the first step upward -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>in the business career she had set her heart upon.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“There’s something I want you to do for me—not -later than tomorrow,” Leslie dictated, regardless -of Doris’s protest against her dictatorial manner.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What is it?” Doris again turned her measuring -glance upon Leslie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I want you to find out whether Bean’s going off -the campus for Thanksgiving. I must know. Find -out the same about Page, too.” Leslie’s rugged -features were set with dogged purpose. Her usually -loose lips were now formed into a tight line.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m not certain I can find that out by tomorrow. -I may not be able to let you know before next -Tuesday,” Doris replied with dignity. “Miss Page’s -and Miss Dean’s friends are not mine,” she reminded -with irony.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That need make no difference. It’s important -to me to know.” Leslie tapped on the table with an -authoritative index finger in further emphasis of each -word. “You promised to help me, Goldie. Is this -the way you keep your promise? And with all I’ve -done for you!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t be so silly, Leslie. I’m not in the least -afraid of you. You can’t bully me even a tiny bit. -I told you I’d help you, and I will. But you must -allow me to use my own judgment in some things. -If that doesn’t please you, take back all you’ve given -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>me. I can get along nicely without your further -help. I don’t fancy gifts that have strings attached -to them.” Doris elevated her chin to a haughty -angle.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Leslie’s face lost its tensity and registered half -a dozen varied expressions while Doris was announcing -her declaration of independence. At the last a -look of glum perplexity replaced the others. While -she had been leader of the Sans at Hamilton she had -had many altercations with her chums. She had -never taken their angry protests against her tyranny -seriously. No one of them had actually defied her -except Dulcie Vale, and she had “begun” on Dulcie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Face to face with a girl who coolly ordered her -not to be “silly,” and declined to be bound by obligation -further than she chose Leslie had received the -surprise of her life.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Let me know as soon as you can. Phone me at -the hotel and I’ll meet you.” The dessert she had -ordered, untouched, Leslie rose from her chair. She -had determined to show Doris that she was deeply -offended.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Without saying good-bye she stalked sulkily from -the tea room. On her way to the door she demanded -the check from the waitress and stopped at the desk -to pay it. She half hoped Doris would hurry after -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>her and beg her to go back. Instead Doris sat tranquilly -at the table Leslie had quitted and enjoyed -her dessert of Nesselrode pudding. For once Leslie -had met her match.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER X.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>PLANNING FOR THANKSGIVING</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“Truly, Robin, it is so selfish in me to be going -home and leaving so much for you to do.” Marjorie -surveyed Robin Page with a troubled, conscience-stricken -air indicative of her feelings.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, shucks!” exclaimed Robin blithely as she -glanced up at Marjorie from a list she was busily -compiling. “Go home to Castle Dean and forget for -four days that Hamilton is on the map. Don’t be -so conceited. We can get along beautifully without -you,” she teased. “Phil, Anna Towne, Barbara and -I are a splendiferous combination. You’ll hardly -be missed.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I don’t doubt that.” A good-humored smile -touched Marjorie’s rosy lips. “I know things will -run along on wheels. What I’m thinking of is the -amount of extra effort your splendiferous combination -will have to make. You see I’m taking with -me not only the Sanfordites but Leila, Vera and -Kathie as well. That leaves you and Lillian, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>only original Travelers to keep the new Nineteen -Travelers going and manage the different stunts.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Most of the stunts we’ve planned will manage -themselves,” was Robin’s confident assurance. “Remember -they are already planned and you did a -large share of the planning. So you see you haven’t -been so much of a quitter as you seem to think.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re a perfect partner, Page,” Marjorie looked -heart-felt appreciation of the charming, boyish-faced -girl who had never failed her since the two -had joined forces for democracy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Glad you like me, Dean.” Robin answered the -look with her bright, piquant smile. It amused the -two to address each other occasionally by their -family names. “Listen now while I read you the -program I’ve jotted down.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Go ahead.” Marjorie hurriedly finished strapping -the suitcase she had just packed and seated -herself in a chair to listen.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It was Wednesday morning. She and Robin had -respectively cut chemistry and philology for the purpose -of completing the Thanksgiving program to be -carried out on the campus during Marjorie’s and her -chums’ absence by Robin, with the assistance of -Barbara Severn, Phyllis Moore and Anne Towne, -leader of the dormitory girls.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Tonight we’ve left free to the students to get -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>up their own jollifications,” Robin proceeded. “Most -of the girls in the campus houses have spreads, -dinners, etc., planned for this evening. The dormitory -girls, as you know, are going to take in -that illustrated lecture on the South Sea Islands -at the Hamilton Theatre. Tomorrow morning there -is to be a special service in chapel. I’m going to -sing a solo. So is Blanche Scott.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh,” Marjorie cried out in delight. “You never -told me Blanche Scott was coming to Hamilton. -How I’d love to see her.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’ll see her when you come back,” Robin assured. -“I’ve been keeping her coming as a surprise -for you. She’s going to be at Silverton Hall for -two or three weeks after Thanksgiving. She promised -me this visit last summer. She’s to be married -in April, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I received her betrothal announcement and that -of one of my oldest Sanford chums on the same day -last summer. My Sanford chum, Irma Linton, is -to be married at Easter time. She is the girl who -I used to tell you Elaine Hunter was like,” commented -Marjorie. “Blanche and Elaine two loyal -Silvertonites now on the road to matrimony,” she -added musingly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes; and Portia Graham is a third. She won’t -care if <i>you</i> know it, Marvelous Manager. She’s engaged -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>to a doctor. She ’fessed up in one of her -latest letters to me. But this isn’t on our regular -program.” Robin again fell to consulting the list -she had written.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Next comes the dinner at Baretti’s for the dormitory -girls. He hasn’t told us yet what it will -cost, but—”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, goodness!” Marjorie bobbed up from her -chair with the suddenness of a jack-in-the-box. “I -had so much to talk over with you I almost forgot -to show you Signor Baretti’s note. It came this -morning.” She glanced anxiously toward the wall -clock. “He wants to see us at twelve today.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wonder why?” Robin appeared a trifle -startled. “I hope our Thanksgiving dinner arrangement -with him isn’t going to flivver.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“He won’t fail us, I’m sure. Very likely it’s the -cost of the dinner he wishes to discuss with us. -Such a funny little note.” She produced the -Italian’s letter from the top of her chiffonier and -handed it to Robin. The latter read aloud with -amused emphasis:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<span class='sc'>Dear Miss Dean:</span></p> - -<p class='c006'>“You pleas come to my restaurant at twelva the -clock befor afernoon on Wenesda. you tell Miss -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>Page come to. I am not smart to write much. -you please come here I tell you evrythin.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c007'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Your frien,</div> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Guiseppe Baretti.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>“All right, Guiseppe, we’ll be there at twelve,” -smiled Robin as she returned the letter to Marjorie. -“I’ll go over the rest of this now, in a -hurry. This will be our only chance. We’ll bump -into all our friends, once we’re out on the campus. -Any of them we don’t happen to meet there will -probably appear at the inn.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Too true, Page; too true.” Marjorie agreed -with a rueful shake of her curly head.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Phil has managed to get up a basket ball game -for Thanksgiving afternoon between two picked -teams, regardless of class. It’s to be held in the -gym, beginning at three-thirty. She has had her -hands full, making up the right sort of teams. -Gussie Forbes is going to play center on one team. -Miss Walker is to play center on the other team. -What do you think of that?” Robin cast an inquiring -look at Marjorie. She added, without -waiting for answer. “Phil had to arrange matters -so in fairness to Miss Walker. She is as fine a -player as Gus.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Phil is the goddess of fair play.” Warm admiration -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>for invincible Phil lighted Marjorie’s features. -“It will do Gussie and Miss Walker good -to be pitted against each other. Each may discover -something to admire in the other before the game -ends. It was a bold stroke; but exactly like Phil -to do it.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“She says it will turn out for the best. Here we -are stopping to talk again. Hm-m-m!” Robin importantly -cleared her throat and went on. “The -dormitory girls are going to be hostesses at a dance -in the gym on Thanksgiving night. You know all -about that, so I won’t have to stop to explain. The -rest of this list is made up of the stunts we’ve already -planned. As soon as we’ve seen Baretti I’m -going to hurry to Silverton Hall and letter a large -card of announcement to put in the main bulletin -board.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie and Robin had been planning for two -weeks a series of amusements to be given during -the holiday for the benefit of the students left on -the campus. There were to be paper chases and -outdoor gypsyings on Friday and Saturday if the -weather was fine. The Travelers, nineteen, new, -and two, original, were to divide themselves into -seven groups, three in a group, and head the various -picnickings to be held at different points of the -country surrounding Hamilton College. Campfires -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>were to be built for the purpose of roasting eggs, -potatoes and chestnuts. Bacon and marshmallows -were to be toasted over the flames on sticks, and -coffee was to be made, the favorite campfire elixir -the world over.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In case of a storm-bound Friday and Saturday -a variety of campus-house amusements would take -the place of the outdoor jaunts. Each campus house -contingent had pledged itself to get up an impromptu -entertainment on short notice, if needed, -for the amusement of its own household and that -of the off-campus students. Robin and Phil had -arranged a concert for Friday evening in the gymnasium -at which to introduce a number of talented -girls who had been shyly lingering in the background.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Saturday evening there was to be an old-fashioned -costume party in the gymnasium to which -the whole college was invited. While the weather -had been moderately cold with brisk winds and no -snow the Travelers had plans made for coasting -and skating fun should a swift freezing change accompanied -by enough snow visit the campus.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It has taken diplomatic work to enlist the campus -houses in the entertainment campaign. There was a -certain amount of ill-feeling in all of them toward -the post graduates. This was the result largely -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>of the two sophomore factions whose idols were -respectively Doris Monroe and Augusta Forbes. -Only the double fact that they could not go home -for Thanksgiving and the inborn love of girlhood -to get up shows and “be in things” made Marjorie’s -and Robin’s plans possible. Even haughty -Doris Monroe was looking complacently forward -to playing the leading part in a sketch which no -less person than gloomy-visaged Miss Peyton had -written.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Ronny had quietly taken upon herself the furnishing -of the orchestra and a buffet collation of -sweets, fruit punch and ices for the dormitory girls’ -dance. The old-fashioned hop on Saturday evening -was a half-dollar donation party, for the benefit -of the Hamilton poor families. Phil’s own -orchestra would furnish the music. There would -be fruit lemonade only by way of refreshment. The -admission fee was to be dropped into a box with -a slitted cover as the guests entered the ball room. -The box was to be in charge of a maid of long ago.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Thus it befell that Marjorie discovered the very -opportunity for which she had been waiting. Doris -Monroe, attired in a sleeveless, high-waisted gown -of baby blue, her golden hair massed high on her -lovely head would constitute a perfect custodian of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>the precious box. After due consultation Page and -Dean decided that Lillian Wenderblatt should be -chosen to tackle the delicate task of asking the -haughty sophomore to deign to make herself useful -at the hop.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We’ve certainly done good work on that -Thanksgiving program,” Robin congratulated as -the two girls presently left Wayland Hall to make -their call upon Baretti. “The best part of it is we’ve -provided entertainment for either good weather or -bad. We’re becoming invincible. Nothing can stop -Page and Dean from ‘carrying on.’” She laughed -at her own jesting conceit.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie smiled in sympathy of Robin’s optimistic -view. “It looks to me as though it might rain -before night,” she predicted, scanning the gray -masses of clouds beginning to roll up in the west. -“I hope those clouds mean snow instead of rain. -It’s hardly cold enough for snow. Anything but a -rainy Thanksgiving! Thanks to <i>you</i>, Robin Page, -we can discount the rain on the campus, if it should -come. You’ve done a good deal more than I on -the program. And see how I’m going to leave you -in the lurch,” she added lightly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ve <i>not</i> done more on the program than you, -and your presence will hang over the campus -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>whether you’re here or not,” Robin said with positiveness. -“In time to come the Page part of the firm -of Page and Dean may be forgotten, but the Dean -part; never.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XI.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>A FRIEND INDEED</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>It was precisely noon when the partners entered -the inn. The somber beauty of the great -square room always seemed to Marjorie to be more -like a continuation of Hamilton Arms than a restaurant.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You are here on the time, Miss Dean, Miss -Page.” The friendly Italian proprietor of the inn -had been watching for them. He trotted forward, -his hand outstretched. “I write you the letter, -then I afraid mebbe you go home early thisa morn. -You don’t get it. Then think, no—you don’t go -home when you give the dorm girls the dinner.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I am going home, Signor Baretti, but Miss Page -is going to remain on the campus. Several of the -girls with whom you see us generally are going -home, too. Miss Moore and Miss Severn are to -help Miss Page with the Thanksgiving dinner for -the dormitory girls.” Marjorie smiled her regard -for the kindly little man as she made this explanation.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>“Ah, yes;” nodded the Italian. “Now you sit -down; have the lunch with me. It is ready; very -special; all for you.” He conducted them to one -of the tables and bowed them into their chairs. -“You are please have the lunch with such a nobody -Italiano?” he asked jokingly. There was, however -a touch of embarrassment in the inquiry.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The instant warm affirmative from his guests -seemed to delight him immensely. He signaled to -the Italian waitress who had been hovering near -waiting for his order. She nodded and hurried -from the room returning quickly with the soup.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Now I tell you,” he said as they began the soup. -“You know I like the dorm you build. I give this -dorm a good present someday when I see what the -dorm need much. I know you want give the college -young ladies who used live where the dorm is -the good time. I know they don’t have the mona; -not much.” He pursed his lips and shook his head -in regret of the dormitory girls’ moneyless estate. -“You are the ones to make these happa, because -you do good for these. I am this to make them -happa, too. They don’t pay for the Thanksigivin’ -dinner. You don’t pay. I give the dorm girls the -dinner. Then I am happa. It will be the fine -dinner. You do this for me. You tell the dorm -young ladies come to the dinner at one. I don’t -<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>close my restaurant, but I have only enough tables -for the dorm girls. I have already tell those freshmans, -sophmans and studen’s they can reserve the -tables only after half past two of the clock. They -come here before, they must sit on the benches an’ -watch the dorms eat.” His eyes twinkled humorously -as he sketched this dire prospect for the girls -who were pluming themselves upon having reserved -tables at Baretti’s.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie and Robin could not refrain from laughing -at his revelation. They could picture the rows -of exclusive but certain-to-be-very-hungry girls -meekly sitting watching the dormitory girls eat up -the turkey for which they were yearning. The pure -democracy of the Italian’s plan robbed them both -temporarily of ready acknowledgment of his generosity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I don’t know what to say. I’m simply flabbergasted!” -Robin finally exclaimed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You don’t like?” The little man glanced anxiously -from one girl to the other. “I don’t un’erstan’ -that word flab—flab—.” He gave a half puzzled, -half smiling shake of the head.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Indeed we do like your plan. By flabbergasted -I mean that I am so surprised and delighted. I’ll -say the word slowly for you.” Robin pronounced -it by syllables.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>“So-o-o. I listen.” He made Robin say it over -several times. “It is a long word. I like the long -words in American.” He repeated the word until -he appeared to know it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie had a shrewd suspicion that he had -seized upon the strange word as a means of hiding -his embarrassment at his own generosity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What you think, Miss Dean?” He suddenly -fixed a pair of penetrating black eyes upon her. -“You like, too?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Like your plan? I should say I did.” Marjorie -bent her friendliest smile upon the devoted adherent -of the dormitory cause.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You couldn’t do anything that would bring more -happiness to the off-campus girls, Signor Baretti,” -Robin told him. “They will feel so proud and -happy to be invited by you to a private Thanksgiving -dinner. But you mustn’t forget the campus -girls. You know your restaurant is the Hamilton -girls’ favorite tea room. I simply have to put in -a good word for them, too,” she ended loyally.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, yes; I un’erstan.’ I know what you mean,” -the Italian assured. “Oo-oo, many nice studen’s -come here, don’t go another tea shop. All the rest -of the day after half past two is for them. My -ten tables are all reserve for after the dorm dinner. -In my restaurant I can put more tables. That is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>no good. Some studen’s come here I don’t like. -They eat here same time as dorm girls maybe they -make the trouble. Miss Car-rins ask me for the -Thanksgivin’ table. I don’t give her one.” He -waved a prohibitive finger in the air. “She can start -the trouble from nothin’. You know now she lives -in the town?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, we know it,” Marjorie’s response came in -even tones. “Her business interests keep her in -Hamilton, I believe.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Her business is too much to mind the business -of others.” A fleeting scowl passed over the Italian’s -forehead. It lingered between his brows as he said -resentfully: “Once this Miss Car-rins say about me -when she is here in this room but verra mad at -me: ‘Let the dago have his hash house. I hope it -burn down tonight.’ Never-r-r I forget that. I -feel to say to her when she come here again after -long while: ‘You don’t come here more.’ I cannot. -This is the inn; for everybody who want come -who behave quiet. But never-r-r I let her have the -special table. Naw!” The inn keeper put great -stress upon this resentful resolve.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Neither Marjorie nor Robin hardly knew what to -say. They had long since heard the story Baretti -had just told them from Vera.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wouldn’t take anything Leslie Cairns said to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>heart, or ever let it worry me for a minute, Signor -Baretti,” Marjorie finally said in soothing tones. -She recognized the Italian’s right to comforting -words. She knew he could not forgive having -been called a “dago.” Far more humiliating it -must then be to his pride to have heard his beloved -restaurant dubbed a “hash house.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I think mebbe I don’t,” Baretti decided, his -brooding features brightening again. “Anyway I -don’t have Miss Car-rins here when are the dorm -girls here. She might act verra mean. So some -freshmans and sophmans who have the tables here -will act mean, too. Miss Car-rins don’t like those -who have no much mona. If she come here with -the pretty girl who have the proud face and the hair -of gold I don’t say nothin’. She can sty unless she -makes the fun of me. She shall no do that. It is -my hash house.” He threw back his head and -laughed. “In it I can do the way I please. So -Miss Car-rins come here someday, make the fun -of me again, I walk up to her, take her by the arm, -very quiet, and make her to walk out the door.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XII.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>PAGE MINUS DEAN</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Thanksgiving Day dawned without the tiniest -streak of sunlight to grace it. Early in the morning -heavily overcasted clouds began emptying their -cold dispiriting torrents of rain upon a brown and -soggy earth.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Safe within the cheerful walls of Castle Dean -Marjorie’s delight in being at home was dampened -by the thought of how Robin Page and her volunteer -entertainment committee were battling against such -a dreary day. She could only hope that the steady -persistency of the Sanford downpour was not repeating -itself at Hamilton. True she and Robin -had planned their program to cover that possible -calamity. Bad weather could not fail to make it -harder for Robin, Phil and Barbara to keep things -moving with the energy and smoothness so necessary -as a means toward uniting the interests and -the sympathies of the students of the various campus -houses with those of the dormitory girls.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>While Marjorie, Leila, Vera and Jerry were -cosily ensconced in the Deans’ living room lamenting -over the bad weather, Robin Page, Phil Moore -and Barbara Severn were holding a serious consultation -of three in Robin’s room.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s after ten o’clock now Phil,” Robin was saying. -“Really, I think I’d better brave the rain, go -over to the garage and run Vera’s car into town. -Anna said yesterday that there were only two busses -running on the new bus line. There were three, -but one has been taken away to another route. -Seventy-two girls will crowd two busses. Suppose -anything should happen to either of the two? I -told Anna to get the crowd to the inn by half past -twelve. It will take longer to run out from town -in the pouring rain. We mustn’t be a minute late -at the inn.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m very well aware of that, sweet coz,” Phil -returned in her bantering fashion. “Far be it from -me to allow the gang to be late and disarrange the -well-laid plans of Guiseppe.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“If you intend to paddle out in this deluge and -play duck, count me in,” Barbara made valiant announcement.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You can’t lose me, either,” Phil decided. -“Slave, bring me my raincoat, my faithful Tam and -my goloshes! Out in the tempest I must go!” She -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>struck a dramatic posture, held it a moment, then -said disappointedly: “I fail to see anyone around -here who answers to the name of slave. I’ll have to -be it myself.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Ten minutes later the three, with raincoats buttoned -to the chin, caps drawn low, high-buckled -goloshes on their feet, the largest umbrellas they -could find over their heads, were plodding through -the rain to the garage which housed Vera’s car. -The latter had urged Robin to make use of it during -her absence. Leila’s, unfortunately, was laid up for -repairs.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Some of the dormitory girls were going to walk -to the campus today. Just imagine!” Phil said -ironically to Barbara. The two, seated in the tonneau -of the car, watched the drenched landscape -through the half-opened curtains as the machine -fled along the pike.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Wade would be more appropriate,” laughed -Barbara. “But they’ve changed their minds long -before now. Deliver me from any more walks in -this flood. I don’t envy Robin her job of chauffeur.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We’re making good time.” Phil inspected her -wrist watch with a satisfied nod. “We ought to be -at the place on Linden Avenue where the busses -make their stand by ten minutes past eleven. What -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>time are the dormitory girls to be at the stand?” -She leaned forward and called out her question in -Robin’s ear.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Half past eleven,” Robin raised her voice above -the beat of the pelting rain, but did not turn her -head.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“They’ll have to mob the corner drug store nearest -the stand. They can’t stay out on the walk with -the rain coming down in cataracts,” commented -Phil. “Anna Towne can be depended upon to have -them at the bus stand on time. Such a horrible -flivver for a holiday! I don’t dare stop to think -of it,” she grumbled.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Her guess regarding their speedy arrival at the -bus stand was an accurate one. It was precisely ten -minutes past eleven when Robin brought the car to -a stop before the drug store. The rain was still -driving down in misty sheets as the trio emerged -from the automobile and made a frantic dash across -the sidewalk to the shelter of the drug store. Immediately -afterward Anna Towne and half a dozen -of her intimate friends arrived, radiant-faced in -spite of the storm.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“This <i>is</i> a surprise,” Anna greeted. She shook -hands with the three hardy Travelers as though it -had been a long time instead of only yesterday -since she had seen them. “The rest of the crowd -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>will soon be here. I managed to telephone all of -them this morning to be at the stand at eleven-fifteen -instead of eleven-thirty. Then we’ll surely -be ready to start at exactly eleven-thirty. The bus -drivers are so disobliging. They are hired specially -to bring us to and from the campus yet they never -want to wait a second beyond a certain time for us -to assemble. They’re not supposed to carry any -passengers but us during those trips. But they do. -I say this, not by way of complaining, Robin, I object -to their unfairness. A great difference between -those Italians and Signor Baretti, isn’t there? I -think he is wonderfully kind to remember the off-campus -girls in such a generous way.” Anna’s pale, -interesting face brightened with appreciation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Signor Baretti has true college spirit,” Robin -returned with conviction. “I can’t imagine those -two grumpy bus drivers as imbued with any such -noble quality; or that Italian, Sabani, the man -they work for. If those two kickers show any signs -of grouchiness this morning I shall read them a -Thanksgiving lecture. It won’t be the kind to feel -thankful for, either. By the way, where are they? -I ordered them to be here at eleven and stay here -until told to start for the inn.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Involuntarily the group of girls moved nearer -one of the huge plate-glass show windows to peer, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>bright-eyed, into the rain-swept street. As far as -they could see, up and down the street, there were -no signs of the large dark red busses with their -flashy yellow trimmings.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s eighteen minutes past eleven,” Phil’s tones -conveyed her consternation. “Where <i>can</i> those aggravating -busses be?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Not where they should be,” scolded Robin. “Here -comes a big crowd of the girls. The busses should -be here so that they could step directly into them. -They’ll have to come into the drug store instead. -Maybe the druggist will object to sheltering us. -There’ll be enough dripping umbrellas to flood the -store. Oh, dear what a mess! Why did it have to -go and rain on Thanksgiving Day? And where, oh, -where, are those miserable drivers and their -busses?”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>AN EMERGENCY CALL</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Mindful of past liberal patronage of the Hamilton -College girl and with a shrewed eye to the -future the druggist himself ushered the arriving -party of merry girls into the store and obligingly -supplied a couple of large packing boxes in which -to stand the dripping umbrellas. Despite Robin’s -despairing opinion that the store would not hold the -umbrella-laden brigade they managed to crowd -into it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>By eleven-thirty the last girl had arrived at the -rendezvous. They were a cheery, light-hearted, -buoyant company regardless of their cramped quarters. -Their appreciation of Signor Baretti’s invitation -to be his guests at a Thanksgiving dinner -showed itself in their bright faces, spontaneous -laughter and gay holiday air.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s one minute past eleven-thirty, and no busses. -I’m going to find out what is the matter.” Robin -made the low-toned announcement to Phil and Barbara -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>with an air of desperation. “I’m going to -’phone Sabini’s garage where the busses are kept. -I can’t imagine what can have happened to make -them late. I wish you two would keep a sharp -lookout for them. If they should come while I -am ’phoning you can hurry back to the ’phone booth -and let me know.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Suppose they shouldn’t come. What then?” Barbara -regarded Robin with lively apprehension.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t ask me.” Robin raised a hand as though -to ward off such a catastrophe. “Let’s not suppose -anything quite so harrowing,” she added in a more -hopeful tone.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Ten minutes later she emerged hastily from the -telephone booth. Her expression was one of acute -dismay. She made hurried way, in and out among -the crowded company of girls, to where Phil and -Barbara were anxiously keeping up a watch at one -of the big front windows.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“One of the busses has broken down!” she cried -excitedly. “The other bus is out somewhere. The -man at the garage who answered me doesn’t know -where. I tried to hire cars from the garage. There -are <i>none</i> to be had. How are we going to land the -dormitory girls at Baretti’s by one? And we can’t -ask Signor Baretti to serve the dinner later!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What an <i>awful</i> state of affairs!” Barbara echoed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>Robin’s consternation. “We’ll have to do something -very suddenly to offset it. What about hiring -the station taxicabs; all of them, if we can get them.” -was her quick suggestion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We might do that,” Phil hailed the idea eagerly. -“There are five or six of them. With our car and -Lillian Wenderblatt’s we could carry the gang to -the inn at one trip. Go ahead, Robin, and ’phone -Mariani’s garage. I’ll ’phone Lillian.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re a wonder and a comfort to my distracted -old age, Phil.” Robin showed grateful relief. -“Watch me start on the trail of those taxies. -Never mind the expense.” She darted back to the -telephone booth she had recently left. Phil followed -her; slipped into an adjoining booth and -proceeded to call Lillian Wenderblatt on the telephone.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Among the waiting company of girls a loud buzz -of dismayed conversation had now risen concerning -the non-appearance of the busses. Anna Towne, -Florence Wyatt and Marian Barth, seniors and -members of the new Travelers’ sorority, were -anxiously discussing the situation with a group of -their particular friends.</p> - -<p class='c005'>At least a third of the off-campus students who -had lived in the old houses, which had been -demolished to make place for the dormitory, now -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>in process of building, were seniors. While they, -with the students of the lower classes, had been -familiarly termed by the Travelers among themselves -as the “dormitory girls,” they hardly hoped -to have the pleasure of living even a few weeks in -the dormitory before their graduation from college. -Far from being disappointed at this prospect they -did not stop to consider themselves but showed only -the utmost satisfaction in the good fortune which -would fall to the other two-thirds of the off-campus -contingent.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In themselves the dormitory girls were the finest -student element at Hamilton. Originally brought -together, and gradually welded into a congenial, -self-governing body by the efforts of Marjorie, -Robin and the Travelers, these earnest, capable girls -were daily living up to the Hymn to Hamilton.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As president of the senior class sunny-faced, easy-going -Phil Moore was their idol, Barbara, as her -chum and intrepid co-worker, was hardly less worshiped. -The moment Barbara left Phil to make her -way back to the window she was eagerly surrounded -and plied with concerned questions.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t give up this ship, children,” she gaily -declared, raising her voice above the flood of questions -which assailed her. “Robin is ’phoning for -taxies from the station and Phil is ’phoning for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>Miss Wenderblatt and her car. We shall manage -O. K. without the busses.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Barbara’s assurances were received with jubilant -cries of acclamation from the effervescently happy -girls. While she was in the midst of them she happened -to glance toward the back of the store. Phil -was just emerging from the ’phone booth a pleased -smile on her face. She paused before the booth -which held Robin and peered in through the glass -panel. Robin was still busy ’phoning, it appeared. -Phil turned, saw Barbara looking toward her and -waved a re-assuring hand. It signified that her -part of the telephoning had been successful.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A false alarm of: “Here comes a bus!” caused a -surging of the crowd to the window. Through the -rain a large dark red milk truck had been mistaken -for one of the busses. When Barbara finally -turned away from the window it was to find Phil -and Robin beside her. Phil was no longer smiling. -Her blue eyes were full of resentment. Robin’s -face was a mixture of dismay, indignation and -perplexity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What do you think?” she blazed forth to Barbara. -“That miserable Mariani person won’t let us -have a single taxi! He claims they are all in use -and will be the rest of the day. He was so hateful -to me. He asked me very sarcastically why we did -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>not use the busses today since we used them every -other day instead of his taxicabs.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We certainly are in a pickle. Uh-h-h.” Barbara -simulated collapse. “I’d forgotten all about -it, but someone told me long ago that those two -Italians, Mariani and Sabani have been at daggers -drawn for years. Sabani once had the station jitneys, -and all to himself. Then came Tony Mariani -with a better looking lot of cars, and ran Sabani -out. Then Sabani built a garage and ran that, but -he swore never to accommodate anyone who patronized -Mariani. The bus line belongs to Sabani. I -suppose he has registered the same vow against -Mariani.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Then we might as well count them both out,” -was Robin’s dispirited ultimatum. “Did you ever -know worse luck? To have all our plans upset because -a couple of Italianos are ready to swear a -vendetta!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“If only we could capture a truck. I’d drive it -myself,” Phil valiantly declared. “But it’s a holiday,” -she added with a hopeless shrug of her -shoulders.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That milk truck is the only one I’ve seen today,” -said Barbara mournfully.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We’ll have to deliver the guests to Baretti in -private cars,” was Robin’s undaunted decision. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>“Thus far we have two; ours, and Lillian’s is likely -to be here any minute. I’ll start at once with -seven girls. You two stay here and start Lillian’s -car back with seven more the instant she comes. -It’s twelve o’clock now. We have exactly one -hour. Phone Gussie Forbes and Calista Wilmot. -They both have cars. They will help us out. So -will Laura Mead and Norma Buchanan. I almost -forgot our new Travelers. If those four girls can -make one trip apiece, each taking seven or eight -girls to a car, Lillian and I can make a trip and a -half apiece in an hour. We simply must.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>To think was to act with Robin. She had hardly -finished sketching her plan to her chums before she -had begun to marshal seven of the dormitory girls -to the door.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Follow me,” she laughingly directed. “I’m going -to make a rapid sprint for my car. You do the -same. Never mind your umbrellas. You’ve not -time to hunt them out now. I’ll bring them to the -campus later in the car.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Across the walk she dashed, an intrepid little -leader, and opened the door of the car nearest to -her. Her followers, close at her heels, merrily -stowed themselves into the automobile. A moment -or two and Robin was in the seat and had started -the car.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>The palm-screened window of a florist’s shop -across the street afforded an excellent view of Robin -and her party of girls to an interested spectator. -Leslie Cairns had gone to the pains of donning -leather coat, knickers, rubber hood and high-laced -boots, and actually walking in the downpour from -the Hamilton House to the florist’s shop opposite -the bus stand. Her idea was not that of taking a -rainy-day constitutional. Leslie had posted herself -behind the barrier of leafy green for the express -purpose of watching the working out of a little plan -of her own.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>THE WILL AND THE WAY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>While Phil hastily telephoned Wayland Hall -and sent out her emergency call for Gussie and -Calista, Barbara busied herself with getting into -communication with Laura Mead and Norma Buchanan -of Silverton Hall. Anna Towne had been -posted to watch at the window for Lillian. The -latter arrived shortly after Robin had gone. She -quickly took on her load of passengers and whizzed -off as speedily as she had come.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Arrived at the inn with her first installment of -guests, Robin found Signor Baretti a most sympathetic -listener to the report of the calamity which -had overtaken the off-campus girls. Mindful of the -fact that the nationality of the two warring garage -proprietors was the same as Baretti’s she made her -report a strictly impersonal one.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“This is no way for Mariani an’ Sabani to do. -Verra bad,” was the little proprietor’s wrathful -criticism of his countrymen. “I know these verra -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>well. They are the Italianos. But they are not -much good. They are too craza get the money. -Each steal the business of the other. To get mad -at the people; that is the verra bad business. The -people don’t ride, Sabani an’ Mariani get no mona.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It was very bad business for us,” Robin assured -him with a rueful smile. “I think now that we’ll -be able to bring the girls to the inn almost on time. -We can’t avoid being a little late.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You don’t speak of that. It is the all right,” -protested Baretti.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Thank you so much, Signor Baretti. But we -<i>must not</i> delay your Thanksgiving arrangements.” -Robin made a movement as though about to depart.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You listen one minute.” Up went one of the -Italian’s hands for attention. “You don’t worry -about nothin’, Miss Page. Your frien’s come pretty -soon in the cars with the dorm girls. The dinner -is a little late, I don’t care. These frien’s who have -the cars take the dorm girls to town, to the campus, -all the day when they need to go?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, the same girls will help us if they haven’t -any special engagements for the afternoon and -evening. The dormitory girls are to see the basket -ball game in the gym this afternoon. Then they -have to go to town to get ready for a dance in -the gym this evening. After the dance they must -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>be taken back to town again. We don’t wish to -disappoint them if we can help it.” A worried -pucker appeared on Robin’s white forehead.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I know what I do.” Baretti treated Robin to -a brilliantly encouraging smile. She had never before -seen him look so utterly genial. “You wait—you -see.” He nodded at her mysteriously.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’ve done so much for us already,” she demurred, -answering the smile with her own charming -one.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I do more,” he promised heartily. He trotted -along at her side as she hurried to the door, repeatedly -assuring her of his help.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robin had sprung hastily into her car and headed -it for the town of Hamilton when Lillian Wenderblatt -drove up with a second load of girls.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Hurray! Never say die!” Lillian hailed triumphantly. -“We’re here, because we’re here!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>The girls in the car took up the cry and shouted -it joyfully.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You made quick time,” Robin said to Lillian -with grateful warmth. “Gussie, Calista, Laura -Mead and Norma Buchanan have been phoned for. -Phil and Barbara are at that end of the job. Did -you meet any of our rescue motorists on the way?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes; I passed Gus and Calista not far from the -Arms. They were speeding along, splashing up the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>water like sixty. They were having a race to see -which one could keep in the lead.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Thank goodness for such glorious news!” exclaimed -Robin energetically. “Do you mind making -another trip, Lillian?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’d love to. I’ll dump my cargo of dorms, as -our friend Guiseppe likes to call ’em, instanter. -Then I’ll beat you back to town.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, no you won’t. Good-bye. I haven’t time -to say much obliged.” Robin promptly started her -car and sped away through the fine misting rain into -which the heavier downpour had at last merged.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“This is one way to spend Thanksgiving,” she -reflected, a touch of mockery in her smile, as she -sent the car ahead at the highest speed she dared -employ. “I know three Silvertonites who are going -to be away late for dinner at the Hall, too. -But it’s our traditional obligation to see the dorms -within Baretti’s hospitable gates first and consider -our own turkey dinner last. Just the same I hope -there’ll be lots of turkey left. I’m so hungry.” -Robin sighed audibly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>She forgot her hunger when she suddenly spied -Gussie and Calista coming up, a pair of highly enthusiastic, -if somewhat reckless chauffeurs, each -driving a car filled with dinner guests.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You can always rely on the Bertram Taxi Company,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>Gussie called at top voice. She was in the -lead and radiant with the opportunity which had -fallen to her to make herself useful.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robin rewarded Gussie with a gay salute. “Seen -the others?” she cried.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Laura and Norma? Met them just as we turned -out of Linden Avenue,” the reply floated back to -Robin’s gratified ears.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When within a short distance of the bus stand -she had the good luck to encounter Laura and Norma. -They had enthusiastically hailed the detail as -a fine opportunity to prove <i>their</i> mettle as Travelers. -They had also pressed Adeline Raymond, -another of the new Travelers, into service with her -car. Twenty-six passengers made up the jubilant -aggregation of the three cars which the trio of -Travelers had brought to the emergency.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robin shouted and waved her encouragement of -the overflowing carloads of girls as the machines -shot past her own. She did not attempt to stop -the three willing drivers who had responded so -promptly to the call. She had not more than reached -the drug store and sprung from her car when Lillian -drove up, laughingly sounding her own praises -as a high-speed motorist.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We have met the obstacle and surmounted it,” -Phil emphasized her joyful boast with a flourish of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>the arm. She and Barbara had rushed out of the -drug store at sight of the returned pair of P. G.’s. -“Only sixteen more girls to go to the inn. Speed -up, and you can get them there by a little after one. -Then you can come back for us. I’ve ’phoned Silverton -Hall that we may be late for dinner. It will -be all right.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re a collection of jewels, all of you.” Robin -made an affectionately inclusive gesture. “What -about Thanksgiving dinner at your house, Lillian?” -she turned to her classmate.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Not until four o’clock. I’ve barrels of time to -squander,” Lillian declared extravagantly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Come on, friends and fellow-citizens!” Robin -was now beckoning briskly to the sixteen girls of -the dormitory group who had followed Phil and -Barbara outside the store. “Please accept my profound -apologies for having to pack you in, eight -to a car. It will have to be done.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Try to regard the experience from the stoical -standpoint of a sardine,” Phil advised comfortingly, -but in a comfortless tone.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Her advice was received with a buzz of retaliating -sallies from the giggling aspirants for sardine -experience. Neither dark weather nor mishaps can -long suppress the exuberant spirit of youth. It -bubbles up like a magic spring at the first intimation -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>of trouble ended and good fortune nigh. What -might have been a most vexatious disappointment -had been averted in the nick of time. In consequence, -Baretti’s dinner guests were in high feather -at the triumph of Robin, Phil and Barbara over -calamitous circumstances.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robin’s heart responded to the rollicking happy -disturbance the double octette of girls were making -as they piled themselves into the two waiting cars. -She did not know what the rest of the day might -bring forth but she was greatly inspirited by Signor -Baretti’s promise to help.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I must hurry away again, Signor Baretti. I -must go back to town for Miss Moore and Miss -Severn,” Robin explained a little later to the Italian -as she saw the last of the dormitory girls ushered -high and dry into the inn. “I’ll stop here on my -return trip with the girls’ umbrellas. They’ll need -them when they are ready to go over on the campus. -I don’t believe it will ever stop raining.” Standing -in the open door of the inn she made a grimace of -mock despair.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It rain, oh, way late tonight, mebbe,” prophesied -Baretti. “I have look at the sky verra hard. -Well, it is not that much to be sad to me if I have -not many more than the dorm girls for the dinner. -After the dinner, Pedro, my man, stay here at the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>restaurant. I am the one to go to the town and see -Sabani. I know him. I speak the verra cross -words to him. He knows how I can be verra mad. -I make him send the busses to the campus after the -<i>ginnasio</i> for the dorm girls.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XV.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>AN UNEXPECTED SHOWER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>It seemed to Robin as though the road between -Baretti’s and the town of Hamilton was never ending. -While she and Marjorie counted the odd little -inn-keeper as their friend and a sincere advocate -of the dormitory project, she was amazed at this -latest proffer of friendship. She had little doubt -as to what would be the result of his call upon Sabani, -a fat, taciturn fellow with a surly, hang-dog -manner. Among the sprinkling of Italians who -lived in or near the town of Hamilton, Guiseppe -Baretti was held in the light of an uncrowned monarch -by his humbler countrymen.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Baretti’s,” as his restaurant was familiarly -called, had been for years the favorite rendezvous -of the students of Hamilton College. Like the inn, -its silent, keen-eyed proprietor had found lasting -favor with the campus dwellers. From faculty to -freshmen the little man was known and liked. His -interest in the Travelers and their ambitious plans -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>for a free dormitory had been awakened on the -evening when Marjorie, Robin, Phil and a group -of their boon companions had, in a spirit of mischief, -serenaded him. Since that memorable evening, -when he had entertained them with a story -of his own miseries as an emigrant in New York -City, his interest in their work and accomplishment -had grown greater. The Travelers now numbered -him as one of their staunchest allies.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“At last!” Robin exclaimed half aloud as the -familiar turn into Linden Avenue appeared, only -a few rods ahead. She sent the car fleeing down -the wet avenue, bent on reaching the drug store at -the earliest moment. She had hardly begun slowing -down as the car neared the store when Phil and -Barbara issued from it and ran down to the edge -of the walk to meet her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You made dandy time,” Phil called out. “Are -you sure you weren’t speeding?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It seemed as though I’d never reach here,” -Robin declared. “I spun the car along as fast as -I dared. I’ve come for you and the girls’ umbrellas.” -Robin hopped agilely from the car and landed -on the walk between Phil and Barbara. “We -must start back in about three minutes. We’ll be -late for dinner, but not too late. I’m famished. I -left Lillian at the inn, starving. She’s saving her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>appetite for Thanksgiving dinner at home, and it -won’t be served until four o’clock.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>The three promoters of happiness swung gaily -up the walk, oblivious to the drizzling rain, entered -the store and made an energetic onslaught upon -the two make-shift racks of damp umbrellas. With -the help of the proprietor and a ball of heavy twine -the umbrellas were made into several bundles and -deposited on the floor of the car. Barbara volunteered -to keep them company on the back seat of -the machine.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You may sit on the front seat, Phil. You’ve -something to tell Robin. I resign the place of honor -in favor of you. I am too considerate to join the -front seat party by sitting on you. I’m going to -roost among the bumbershoots.” Barbara climbed -in among the piles of umbrellas and settled herself -cosily on the back seat, her feet tucked under her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Roosting among the bumbershoots,” laughed -Phil. “That sounds almost scientific; as though the -bumbershoots might be a species of rare bird, or -maybe a savage tribe. Oh, but it’s good to be on -the move again.” She straightened in the seat and -drew a deep breath of satisfaction. “Those two -hours of watchful waiting that Barbara and I put -in will last us for a long time to come. Weary -watchful waiters waitfully watching the weather. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>We weren’t the only waitful watchers, either.” -Phil’s merry tones gave place to a more forceful -accent.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What do you mean, Phil?” Robin cast a quick, -side-long glance toward her cousin.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Leslie Cairns was across the street in the florist’s -shop watching us. She was standing at the -back of the window that had the palms in it. She -had on a leather motor coat with a hood. The hood -was drawn over her head and she wore knickers and -high-laced boots. She looked more like an aviator -than a motorist. I happened to get a good view of -her. Most of the time she kept out of sight behind -the palms. I think she was there for a purpose,” -was Phil’s distrustful surmise.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, she may only have happened in the shop, -either to order flowers or to hunt shelter from the -rain,” Robin made charitable allowance. “Very -likely she has a dinner date with Miss Monroe or -one of the Acasia House girls. What possible interest -could she have in the dormitory girls? You -know what a snob she used to be. I daresay she -hasn’t changed.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“She has nerve,” grumbled Phil who had always -detested Leslie Cairns with the full strength of her -democratic soul. “If I had been expelled from -Hamilton, even unjustly, I’d never set foot on the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>campus again. The idea of trying to gain a social -footing on Hamilton campus after the hateful way -she fought against everything fair, honest and ennobling!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robin, busy guiding the car through the thin, -gray mist, nodded her sympathy of Phil’s impulsive -outburst. “Did you see her leave the florist’s shop,” -she asked.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes; just before you came back this last time. -She dodged out of the store like a streak, jumped -into a little black car she’d parked in front of the -shop, and away she drove like the wind.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Hm-m. That sounds rather suspicious. She -may have had some dark and desperate motive.” -Robin was half smiling. “More likely she simply -happened to go into the shop, saw the crowd across -the street and curiosity got the better of her.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I don’t think so,” Phil frowned and shook a -doubting head. “She had an object in view. She -isn’t half so much interested in getting ready to -build a garage on that property she snatched from -you and Marjorie as she might be. I believe she -bought it purely for spite; as an excuse to keep her -near the campus. She’s rich in her own right, and -a law unto herself. It’s the old story of idle hands -and mischief. She has no worthy object in life. -She’s the kind of person who has to have something -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>to hammer away at. So she’s settled herself near -the campus to see what she can do to tear down -what Page and Dean have built up.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Phil’s voice rang out resentfully on the last sentence. -She had felt suspicion rise within her the -instant she caught sight of Leslie Cairns. “There!” -she declared with some vehemence. “I’ve told you -plainly what I think of Leslie Cairns. You know -I’ve never said much about her before now. I don’t -mean to be a back-biter. But I think she’s more -likely to try to make mischief now than ever. She’s -vindictive. She’s shown that. She likes to blame -Marjorie, instead of herself, for the trouble she -and the Sans had that wound up their B. A. prospects -at Hamilton. I won’t forgive her for misjudging -Marjorie purposely.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I don’t blame you, old firecracker. I sympathize -with your sputters,” laughed Robin. “I’ve said -as much as you about Leslie Cairns to Marjorie. -It’s just as Marvelous Manager says. We can’t -judge her on suspicion. If she should make us -trouble, later, all we could do would be repair the -damage done and go on minding our own affairs. -No one can punish Leslie Cairns so effectively as -Leslie Cairns herself.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“True enough, wise Robin.” Phil’s sunny smile -broke from behind her briefly clouded features. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>“Let’s leave her to her own downfall,” she said -lightly, “and consider instead our Thanksgiving -thankfulnesses. I’m thankful the weather’s growing -better instead of worse, and doubly thankful we -decided to go to town and engineer the dinner movement.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Without us the girls might have had hard work -reaching the inn,” Robin asserted. “They couldn’t -have walked and look presentable after they -reached Baretti’s, and they would not have been -able to hire any cars. They’d have <i>had</i> to telephone -us, but they might have tried to help themselves -first. That would have taken time, and been -a failure in the end. By the time we had gone to -their rescue it would have been late in the afternoon.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We managed to dodge a fine flivver all around,” -observed Phil with a self-congratulatory nod.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Under Robin’s slender practiced hands the car -had been swiftly eating up the distance between -town and the inn. The cousins hardly realized -their nearness to it, so earnestly were they talking, -until the quaint low structure appeared ahead of -them, only a few rods distant, a welcome sight. -Robin slowed down with a deep breath of satisfaction.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You almost anchored our good ship Bubble in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>a mud hole, <i>mon capitaine</i>,” teased Barbara. She -scrambled from the tonneau, balanced herself on -the running board and nimbly leaped the shallow -beginning of a deep, wide roadside puddle, the -greater spread of which was in front of the car. -Barbara flapped her arms and made a triumphant -landing on wet but solid ground.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No one is infallible,” chuckled Robin. “Thank -your stars I didn’t splash you. It’s your move, lady. -Don’t be afraid to make it,” she turned to Phil -with the gruff tone of a traffic officer. She and Phil -both rose in the seat to leave the machine. Both -beheld in the same instant a small black car coming -toward them at high speed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Swish; splatter; splash! The forward tires of the -oncoming car struck the wide puddle with a force -that sent the muddy water of the puddle upward in -jets. In passing Robin’s car the other machine -gave a violent lurch toward it that threatened but -did not precipitate a collision. On down the road -the black car shot, spattering the mud and water -high as it whizzed out of sight around a bend.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Whew! Faugh!” Phil dashed away a splash of -soft mud that had struck her squarely on the mouth. -Face and clothing were liberally spattered with it. -Robin had been equally unfortunate. Phil suddenly -burst out laughing. “Oh, ha, ha!” she laughed. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>“My poor polka dot cousin. You’re a P. D., Robin; -instead of a P. G.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Stop laughing,” ordered Robin, herself giggling -immoderately at the disaster which had overtaken -them. “Your face looks even worse than mine. And -bouncing Bab escaped just in time. That last -bounce saved you,” she told grinning Barbara.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What did I tell you only a little while ago?” -Phil glanced up the pike in the direction in which -the devastating car had disappeared. “She saw us -before we saw her. She put on speed and did that -stunt simply to be malicious. If we’d been half a -second sooner in getting out of the car we might -have had the most wonderful mud shower bath! -She took the risk of smashing into our machine -for the pleasure of spattering us. She’s vindictive—just -as I said.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Leslie Cairns’ own variety of sport.” Barbara -now hurried to where the two victims of Leslie -Cairns’ ill nature stood wiping the thin oozy mud -from their “polka dot” faces. “You should have -seen the expression of her face as her car zipped -by ours. She looked delighted—a wicked, hateful -kind of delight. No wonder Muriel and Jerry call -her the Hob-goblin!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I crowed too soon. A mud-splashing is something -we didn’t dodge,” Phil said ruefully. “I feel -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>as though I had been swimming in the mud. Come -on, Barbara Severn, and get busy with these umbrellas. -I can order you about. You’re only a -senior. Help from P. G.’s will also be appreciated. -I’m tired and hungry and muddy. Ah, there stands -the guardian angel of Hamilton!” Phil waved a -gay hand to Signor Baretti who had just appeared -in the doorway of the inn.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The little man responded to the wave. Then he -disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared. He -returned at once with one of his olive-skinned -kitchen helpers and proceeded to busy himself with -the care of the umbrellas.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We’ll let the men carry the bumbershoots inside. -If we go in there we’ll not get away from the crowd -for awhile,” Phil predicted cannily. “Remember our -own Thanksgiving feed. Meanwhile I am starving -to death by inches.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We’re not going inside, Signor Baretti,” Robin -told the smiling “guardian angel” as the helper disappeared -with the last of the umbrellas.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I know,” the little man bobbed his head understandingly. -“I know you are in the hurry. I don’t -see you till is done in the <i>ginnasio</i> the ball game -you have tell me about. You say it is done, mebbe -five the clock. I go there. Wait for you. When -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>I meet you I have for you the bus, the taxi—something -to ride in for the dorm girls. Now I don’t -know which these. But I find out.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>THE REASON WHY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“Oh, Marjorie Dean; dear old Marvelous Manager! -I’m <i>so</i> glad you’ve come back to the campus. -I feel like squealing for joy. I was never -before quite so glad to see anyone!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie, first off the train of her party, walked -straight into Robin Page’s welcoming, outstretched -arms. The Sanford-bound party had left the campus -under rain-threatening skies. They were returning -to find Marjorie’s first Hamilton friend -decorated with a carpet of soft cold white. On Saturday -the weather had grown colder. Sunday afternoon -had brought a mild snow storm.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Gracious; you must have missed me! This is -surely a cordial reception, Pagie dear.” Marjorie -laughed her pleasure of re-union as she warmly returned -Robin’s hearty embrace.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I have; <i>I have</i>,” Robin’s tones rose in a mild -wail. “Oh, you lucky gang,” she cried, surveying -fondly the eight returned Travelers. “I drove your -<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>car down tonight, Vera. Leila’s hasn’t come home -from the repair shop yet.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Robin kept up a lively chatter as she was passed -from one to another of the octette. Her extreme -charm of face and manner made her place in the -hearts of the little coterie of friends a very individual -one. A less sensible girl than Robin might -easily have been spoiled by the knowledge of her -peculiar power to charm.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Phil and Barbara ought to be here, too.” Robin -made a searching survey of the white, drifted platform -with her eyes. “They started out to see if -they could beg, borrow or steal a car. They wanted -to come with me, but I told them to go and hunt -a car of their own. I said: ‘When you find it you -may bring it to me,’” laughed Robin. “I knew we’d -need two cars. I didn’t care to call a station taxi. -Wait till you hear my reason for cutting out those -same taxies.” Robin’s delicate face hardened a -trifle. “It’s a very good——”</p> - -<p class='c005'>A sharp little shout of welcome broke in upon -what Robin was saying. Phil, Barbara and Gussie -Forbes suddenly appeared on the platform. Phil -and Barbara were escorting Gussie with a great -show of respect. Each had her by an arm. Both -were endeavoring to look dignified. Gussie was -frankly giggling her enjoyment of the situation.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>“Captured a soph; tallest in captivity; absolutely -primitive; untamed, probably belongs to the cave -dwellers union,” recited Phil, indicating Gussie with -an enthusiastic flourish. “She may even be a Celt.” -Phil arched significant brows at Leila.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“May she, indeed?” Leila pretended deep surprise.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You heard me say she <i>might</i> be,” Phil retorted -grandly. “Anyway, she has a car that’s not in the -repair shop. That’s more important this evening -than being a Celt.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Now where is the one who told you that?” Leila -glared about her, as if determined to hunt out the -offender.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You mustn’t be <i>too</i> personal.” Phil put her -hand to her lips. Shielding them cup-fashion she -said in a loud whisper: “Keep quiet. She mustn’t -suspect the reason we invited her.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I doubt if she ever finds out,” was Leila’s satirical -assurance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Poor, benighted soph.” Vera turned a pitying -look on the primitive, untamed soph who returned -it with a bold wink.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“She seems to understand a few things,” Muriel -made equally sarcastic comment.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll guarantee not to ditch the car, even if I do -have an untamed air,” chuckled Gussie. “Come on, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>Travelers. No place like home when home’s a good -place. Six to a car. Come, choose your east. Come, -choose your west.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>The Travelers obeyed the call, laughingly dividing -themselves into two groups. Robin, Marjorie, -Muriel, Phil, Lucy and Vera took possession of -Vera’s car. Leila, Jerry, Kathie, Barbara, Ronny -and Gussie fell to Gussie’s big high-powered touring -car. They were all in an uproariously merry -mood as their frequent peals of laughter went to -testify.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Phil magnanimously volunteered to forego the -delights of re-union and drive the car so that Robin -could tell the girls the campus news. Lucy elected -to ride on the front seat beside her. “Such a noble -act deserves the reward of my company. Besides, -I’ll hear the same news later. There’ll be at least -half a dozen editions of it,” she slyly prophesied.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie’s first eager question: “How did everything -go?” set Robin off on an account of the calamity -that had overtaken the dormitory girls on -Thanksgiving morning. She had just reached the -point in her narrative where she and Barbara and -Phil had piled the umbrellas belonging to the dormitory -girls into the automobile and started for the -inn when Phil brought the car up in front of Wayland -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>Hall and called out in stentorian tones: “All -out. Step lively.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll have to tell you the rest when we are settled -again up in Marjorie’s room. This is the Tragedy -of Page minus Dean, in two acts. Wait till you -hear the sensational climax of Act One,” Robin -animatedly informed the absorbed listeners.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The brightness of reunion had been gradually -fading from Marjorie’s face as she listened to Robin -to give place to an expression of almost stern gravity. -Robin had not yet brought Leslie Cairns into -the narrative. Nevertheless her name had suddenly -leaped into Marjorie’s mind. Why Robin’s recital -of her difficulties with two warring Italian garage -owners should have reminded Marjorie of Leslie -Cairns she was momentarily at a loss to understand. -She conceived a swift, unbidden, formless -suspicion of Leslie which she instantly tried to dismiss -as unworthy. It continued to tantalize her -brain until she recalled with relief that it was the -mention of the Italians as garage owners that had -brought Leslie to the fore in her mind. Leslie herself -was a prospective garage owner.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Half an hour later when Robin had resumed her -story to her interested audience of chums Marjorie -sat, chin on hand, staring in secret bewilderment at -Robin as the latter indignantly recounted the sensational -<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>mud-spattering climax of Act One, with -Leslie Cairns as the villain. Her curious, flitting -suspicion of Leslie had not then been idle. She -felt as she might have if she had suddenly reached -up and picked her conviction of Leslie’s treachery -out of the atmosphere.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Phil insisted from the first that Leslie Cairns -had an object in view when she stood in the store -watching us from behind the palms. I tried to give -her the benefit of the doubt. Afterward, when she -<i>deliberately ran her car through that mud puddle -as hard as she could drive it, and as close to our -car as she dared</i>, I decided Phil was right,” Robin -asserted with an energetic bob of her head.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What do you think her object was, Phil? Leslie -Cairns’, I mean?” Vera voiced the curiosity of -the others. “Do you think she heard about the dinner -to the off-campus girls from her friends?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Of course. She must have. Hard to say what -her object may have been. She was probably hunting -mischief. When she couldn’t find any to do, it -put her in a worse humor than ever with us and -she vented her spite in a mud-spattering act.” Phil -accompanied her opinion with a contemptuous shrug.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That ends the first act, ladies and Gentleman -Gus,” announced Robin. “The second act has nothing -to do with Leslie Cairns. It features Guiseppe -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>Baretti, the hero of the hour and the knightly defender -of the dormitory girls.” She accompanied -the announcement with flamboyant gestures.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Thank you for special mention.” Gussie stood -up and bowed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re welcome,” beamed Robin. “I couldn’t -resist including you. It sounded well.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s a poor way to do, to be calling attention to -oneself in the middle of a story,” grumbled Leila. -“My fine old Irish manners tell me that.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Ask them to tell you to practice the lost art of -silence,” Muriel blandly requested. “When you get -the information pass it on to Gentleman Gus. -Whisper it so we can’t hear it. We’re anxious to -hear the rest of Robin’s tale.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Ah, but you have an idea you are talking!” -Leila exclaimed with withering sarcasm.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“<i>Taisez-vous.</i>” Robin shook a playfully threatening -finger at the merry gabblers. “I’ll resume before -you have time to interrupt me again. After -Phil, Barbara and I got our mud shower we hustled -to Silverton Hall. We were late for dinner; -awfully late, but everybody was good to us and the -dinner was splendiferous. We started for the gym -the minute we had finished dinner. Gussie, you can -tell the crowd about the game afterward. I want -to keep to the subject of my own troubles as a promoter, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>minus a partner. It was a great game. I’ll -say that much.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Gentleman Gus is the best player I ever saw -tackle a game,” Phil praised. “That’s all. ’Scuse -me for interrupting.” She cast a comical glance at -Robin, who returned it with a reproving one, then -continued:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“When the game was over I went outside the -gym wondering if Signor Baretti really had been -able to reduce those provoking Italians to reason. -He was waiting just outside the double doors. I -know by the way he smiled that he had found some -way of helping us. He told me he had managed -to make Mariani let him have four taxies and that -he had his own large car and a smaller one he used -when making hurried business trips. I still had -Vera’s car. We had come over from Silverton Hall -in it. His big car would easily hold ten passengers, -by having the taxies make a second trip all the off-campus -girls would be taken care of.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Mariani himself was driving one of the taxies. -You should have seen the expression on his fat face! -He was so peeved at Baretti he didn’t know which -way to look!” Phil interposed, laughing at the memory -of the miffed Italian’s grouchy face.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Baretti had the machines lined up on the branch -drive east of the gym. I asked him if the men -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>could be depended to bring the girls back to the -campus after supper and come for them after the -dance. He said: ‘Yes-s, I tell again. Then sure.’” -Robin imitated the inn-keeper briefly. “He marched -up to the first, then the others, and said about six -words to each; except Mariani. He and Guiseppe -had quite an argument. I could tell by the way they -wagged their heads and shrugged their shoulders -and made gestures to go with almost every word -they said. Finally Signor Baretti came over to me -and said very proudly that it was all right; to tell -the ‘dorm’ girls to get into the machines. Just about -that time——”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We came along with our little chug wagons,” -broke in Gussie mischievously. “That’s all. Don’t -forget to give us credit.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t worry. I never forget,” recklessly boasted -Robin. “Yes; Gentleman Gus, Calista, Norma -and Laura came along again with their cars and -the taxies didn’t have to make a second trip. Lillian -couldn’t come. Their dinner was so late. Besides -they were entertaining at her home in the -evening. Mariani furnished the same four taxies -out to the campus in the evening at the usual rate. -After the dance he only sent two, and the drivers -said they couldn’t come back. I was positively green -with rage. I tried to catch Mariani on the ’phone, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>but he wouldn’t answer. The girls helped out again -and we managed to land the last ‘dorm’ on her own -doorstep a little after midnight.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Did you tell Guiseppe of Mariani’s second flivver?” -Vera asked. “If you haven’t, you’d better. -He will wish to know it. He’ll think you haven’t -much confidence in him if you don’t let him know.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It was too late to bother him that night, and I -was so busy Friday and Saturday I didn’t have -time to go and see him. I intend to tell him.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Did the busses run again on Friday? Are they -running now?” were Marjorie’s questions, uttered -in quick succession.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No, <i>sir</i>; they aren’t running yet. And Mariani -isn’t giving good service. I know of a number of -different girls who have since then ’phoned for -taxies, and have had no service. Whenever they’ve -called on the ’phone about it, no one at Mariani’s -garage has seemed to know anything,” Barbara finished -disgustedly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What did Signor Baretti say about the busses -not running? Did he find out what the trouble -was?” Again it was Marjorie who questioned.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“He hadn’t found out the reason when he came -to the gym after the game on Thursday. He said -he would, though. I know he will. He is the never-give-up -kind. When he does find out we’ll hear -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>from him.” Robin said this with the utmost confidence.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“And now, may a poor, timid Irish woman ask -a question?” Leila had been listening to Robin, an -inscrutable smile touching her red lips. Her bright -blue eyes were alive with a cold sparkle which Jerry -had once declared looked like fire behind ice.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Do ask it.” Jerry had instantly marked the expression. -She straightened in her chair, the picture -of expectation. Leila was about to say something -startling.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That I will.” Leila flashed Jerry a knowing -smile. “What has Leslie Cairns to do with the second -act of the Tragedy of Page minus Dean?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Now you have asked a question.” Ronny’s gray -eyes gleamed shrewdly as she brought out the crisp -commendation. “When we fit an answer to that -very leading question we’ll probably know why the -busses stopped running.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>A QUEER JOKE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Leila’s frank assumption that Leslie Cairns had -been a secret Thanksgiving Day disturber could not -fail to find lodgment in the minds of the girls gathered -in Marjorie’s room that snowy Sunday afternoon. -There was not one among them who did not -know considerable about Leslie Cairns’ underhanded -methods of trouble-making. They knew, -too, that she had oftenest directed her spite against -Marjorie. Marjorie was adored for her beauty, as -Leslie was disliked for her lack of it. Her unfair -treacherous ways made her unprepossessing features -even more ugly in their girlish eyes.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Be it said to their credit they tried not to discuss -Leslie any more personally than could be helped -under the circumstances. All of them were of the -same opinion. Leslie had not gotten over her grudge -against Marjorie. She had chosen to strike at a -time when she knew Marjorie would not be on the -campus to guard her benevolent interests.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>“She’s as relentless as an Indian,” was Jerry’s -opinion of the ex-student. “It’s a good thing for -Bean that she has me to protect her.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie did not take the indignant view of Leslie -Cairns’ further attempt to persecute her which -her comrades entertained. Still she was now more -concerned about it within herself than she had been -in her earlier campus days when Commencement -was a far-distant prospect. Now she was a promoter. -She smiled to herself whenever the word -crossed her brain. She was a promoter of democracy; -a promoter of happiness. Before she had -gone through the gate of Commencement she feared -that she had been far more interested in <i>her</i> welfare -than she had that of others. Now her work -demanded the thought of others above her personal -wishes and inclinations. It became more than ever -necessary that she should make it her business to -guard the interests of those who would benefit by -and through the efforts of Page and Dean.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Between you and me,” she said confidentially -to Jerry the next afternoon in the privacy of their -room. “I wish Leslie Cairns would go on an expedition -to Alaska, Kamchatka, Bolivia, Tasmania or -any other far away point where she’d be neither -seen nor even heard of for a long time.” Marjorie’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>tone was anything but vindictive. Her brown eyes -regarded Jerry somberly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Your wish and your tone don’t harmonize,” -criticized Jerry. “Why wish your worst enemy almost -off the face of the earth in such a mournful -tone? Which shall I believe?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Either or neither. Suit yourself,” Marjorie -stood before the mirror of her dressing table adjusting -a chic little green velvet hat to just the right -angle on her curly head. The hat placed to her -satisfaction she swung round from the mirror saying -forcefully, “It makes me weary, Jerry, even to -have to think of Leslie Cairns. She isn’t my worst -enemy. She’s her own. I wish someone could -make her understand that. But not I.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Who?” Jerry looked up in mock alarm from -the translation into French which she was in indifferent -process of making. “I hope you didn’t mean -me, Bean.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No, not you.” Marjorie’s merry laugh was -heard. “I don’t know who. I won’t allow myself -to label Leslie Cairns as dangerous. In the past -she usually overreached herself every time she -started trouble.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You are living in the present, Bean,” Jerry -staidly corrected, “and Les, as her pals used to call -her, is living in our village, too, and right on the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>job. She’s like an epidemic. No one knows how -or when she may break out. Things were whizzing -along on wheels when we went home at Thanksgiving. -Next day it rained and the busses all stopped -running. They aren’t running yet. Now we can’t -blame Les for the rain, but what about the busses?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll answer that question when I come back from -Baretti’s. I’m sure that is what Signor Baretti -wishes to talk about.” Marjorie had that morning -received a note from the Italian asking her and -Robin to come to the restaurant at three o’clock that -afternoon. “Bye, Jeremiah. See you later. Truly -I’ll be back to dinner.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>She encountered Robin when within a few steps -of the inn looking her prettiest in a mink-trimmed -suit of brown and the smartest of mink hats.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Such magnificence!” Marjorie exclaimed. -“Why didn’t you tell me there was to be a display -of fashion on the campus this P. M.?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Didn’t know it myself until I went over to the -Hall after I left the Biology laboratory this afternoon. -There I found a big box on purpose for -Robin. I ordered this suit in New York just before -I came back to Hamilton. I had to write two -hurry-up letters to the tailor about it, but—here it -is at last.” Robin took a jaunty step or two ahead -of Marjorie better to display her new costume.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>“It’s a work of art,” Marjorie smilingly told her -with her ready graciousness. “Guiseppe won’t -realize that I’m present when you burst upon him -in all your glory.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Well—not quite so bad as that,” Robin disagreed, -chuckling. “He’ll probably say, first thing, -that if you had been here the busses wouldn’t have -stopped running.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That’ll do. I think we’re even now.” Marjorie’s -eyes were dancing. She was a lovely picture of -blooming girlhood, the dark green of her long coat -with its wide collar and bands of black fox bringing -out more fully the apple blossom tint of her rounded -cheeks.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“So, Miss Dean, you come back again. I am -glad.” Baretti had hastened from the far end of the -room to greet his callers. “You have the nice time -at home? Your father and mother, they are well?” -he asked with polite interest. “I think I never -know before two such nices ones as your father, -your mother.” The Italian had been introduced to -Mr. and Mrs. Dean during the previous June when -they had come to Hamilton to attend the Commencement -exercises.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“They are very well, thank you, Signor Baretti. -I have brought back their best wishes to you. They -especially asked me to tell you that they appreciated -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>your message to them.” The innkeeper had sent -them a message of good will in his sincere, if broken -English.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That is good; verra good for me. When you -write the letter, perhaps you have the time say my -good wishes once more to them,” he asked, slightly -hesitant. “Now come, both of you. I have the -fine maple mousse today. My Italiano boys in the -kitchen make. None can make better than these.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We adore the maple mousse your boys make!” -Robin assured Baretti. Marjorie echoed her warm -praise of the dainty.</p> - -<p class='c005'>They obediently followed him to one of the vacant -tables and seated themselves in the chairs he pulled -out for them. He stood for a moment ceremoniously -waiting for one or the other of them to ask -him to join them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I hope you aren’t too busy to sit down at the -table for a few minutes and tell us about the busses,” -Marjorie cordially paved the way.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What you think, Miss Page; Miss Dean?” the -little proprietor leaned earnestly forward. An -apple-cheeked Italian waitress had been sent for -the maple mousse. “Sabani send me the word he -don’t run the busses—not if I say so hundred times. -Ha, ha, ha!” Baretti threw back his head with a -derisive laugh.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>“How encouraging!” Marjorie exclaimed with -light mockery. In spite of the difficulties that had -overtaken Page and Dean she could not resist smiling -over the child-like message of defiance Sabani -had sent to Baretti.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The Italian understood her tone and said. “Now -you only make the fun of me, Miss Dean.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What does Sabani intend to do about sending -busses over the campus route?” Robin asked anxiously. -“Why has he cut the campus out? All the -answer we’ve ever received from him to those two -questions is that two of his busses are laid up for -repairs and the third is running entirely on the -Bretan Hill route.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“A-a-ah; he only makes the talk. He don’t tell -nothin’ true. Nev-ver-r Sabani tell the truth. He -say me the same he say you, Miss Page. I say him: -‘Look you; this my eye.’ Put my finger to my eye -like this. ‘I see two your busses run in town yesterday.’ -Then he is verra mad, but he tell me verra -smart: ‘Oh, yes; you see. That one bus make only -one trip to West Hamilton, then break down again.’ -I tell him I am not foolish. I know what I see. I -say: ‘What is the matter you don’t want to give the -dorm girls the service?’”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That was straight from the shoulder.” Marjorie -nodded her approbation.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>“Good for you, Signor Baretti.” Robin lightly -clapped her hands.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“He give me the verra queer look. Mebbe he is -the little scared. I speak to him verra quick—look -me so mad.” Baretti straightened in his chair and -gave an illustration of his idea of stern, offended -dignity. “Then he say he don’t know what I mean. -I tell him he will know soon, an’ he won’t like. -Then he is more scare. He say he tell me somethin’ -verra private. This is it. He don’t like take the -dorm girls to the campus in the bus for he is mad -because they ride too much in Mariani’s taxies. -Mariani is the <i>nemico</i> to him. That mean hate -verra hard. I laugh at him. I say him that is the -mos’ bigges’ lie he tell yet.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What an excuse!” Robin turned disgustedly to -Marjorie. “It’s so flimsy it hardly holds together -in the telling. The dormitory girls hardly ever -patronize the taxies on account of the expense, -Signor Baretti,” she explained to their host. “Sabani -appeared well pleased in the beginning to have -those seventy-two fares twice a day, not to mention -the extra campus traffic he received. I never trusted -that man.” Robin shook a disapproving head.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Naw.” Baretti forgot manners and indulged -in his pet “Naw” by way of expressing his contempt. -“Well, I say him, ‘Nev-ver-r you min’, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>Sabani, I know the way to do.’ I laugh and go -way from him. I think of Floroni who drive one -the busses. I know he don’t like Sabani. I go in -the street watch for him. He is drive the bus to -Breton Hill. I have to wait long time for him. I -drive my car out on the pike, wait for him there. -I say to him come to my restaurant tonight after -he make last trip. That is ten of the clock. He -say he will.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“And did he keep his word?” Marjorie asked -eagerly. Two pairs of bright eyes fixed themselves -upon the Italian. Neither girl had missed the note -of triumph which had sprung into his voice.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, oo-h, yes,” was the instant reply. “Floroni -is my frien’. Now he is my driver for my -truck. I give him this place. He tell me he don’ -want work mor’ for Sabani, for he is no good. He -say he can’t give up the place when he has the -family to work for. Then I say him: ‘You don’t -like Sabani. You say me: Why he treat the dorm -girls so bad; don’t give them any service with the -busses?’”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Baretti made an eloquent pause as his black eyes -sent a triumphant gleam toward one then the other -of his listeners. They watched him in expectation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Floroni say: ‘Yes, I tell you, Sabani don’t tell -me nothin’. I see an’ hear myself. Sabani get -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>plenta mona becaus’ he don’t run the busses to the -campus.’”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Plenty of money because he doesn’t run the -busses?” cried Robin her eyes widening with surprise. -“I can’t see how that——”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes-s;” the little proprietor interposed, a -trace of excitement ruffling his quick, stolid assent. -“He get that mona becaus’ Miss Car-rins give to -him. She go to his garage two days before -Thanksgiving; talk to him there. It is in the -morning verra early. Floroni and the other drivers -take out the busses. Floroni happen walk by her. -He hear her tell Sabani this: ‘What you care, an’ -I make worth the time.’ He don’t know then what -she mean. Day befor’ Thanksgiving Sabani say -him, ‘I give you holiday tomorrow; mebbe more -days. Two the busses need the repairs. I pay you -jus’ same as when you drive but you stay in the -garage. You wash the cars; do such things.’ And -so it is. He don’t like, but he need the mona’.” -The Italian spread his hands with a deprecating -gesture. “He say, Miss Car-rins make all the -trouble.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Listening to Baretti’s information concerning the -bus trouble it occurred to both Robin and Marjorie -in the same instant that they might have expected -to hear the name of Leslie Cairns as the real power -<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>of malice. Robin’s flash of surprise at Baretti’s -first accusation against Sabani instantly died out. -She knew that it was not the first time that Leslie -Cairns had bribed her way to her objectives.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Then there is no certainty as to when the busses -will begin running again,” Marjorie said, brows -contracted in a reflective little frown. “What ought -we to do, Signor Baretti?” She glanced appealingly -at the little man.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Ah, that is the way I like! I am the one to help -you. It is already done. Tomorrow you see the -busses run to the campus again with the dorm girls.” -Baretti made this promise almost gleefully.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Tomorrow!” two voices rose simultaneously.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes-s.” Baretti surveyed the amazed firm of -Page and Dean with his broadest, most beaming -smile. “This morning I have go to Sabani. Aa-h-h, -but we have the fight; but not with the hand.” He -doubled a fist and shook his hand. “It was the fight -talk. I scare him; make him think I know all he -say to Miss Car-rins; all she say him. Then I tell -him I will go to the mayor of Hamilton an’ tell -the mayor what he have done. The mayor will -take away his license for the bus line. ‘I make you -many troubles, for you deserve, you don’t run the -busses to the campus tomorrow.’ After while he -say he will do it. He say Miss Car-rins tell him -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>it was the joke she want play on the dorm girls. I -say him it is the poor joke, but not so bad as the -joke I will play on him if he don’ run the busses -to the campus tomorrow.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>AN EVIL INSPIRATION</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Due to the heavy rain storm on Thanksgiving -Day, Leslie Cairns’ plans had gone considerably -“aglee.” To parade the Dazzler, the white car she -had loaned Doris, with Doris in it and clothed in -expensive white furry finery, had been an impossibility. -In consequence a very much disgruntled -Leslie Cairns had telephoned Doris that “it was all -off” and to meet her instead at the Colonial at -two o’clock.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Before the two girls had reached their Thanksgiving -dessert they had come perilously near quarreling. -Leslie was in bad humor because of the inclement -weather. She had the fierce hatred of -being disappointed common to utterly selfish persons. -The news that Doris would grace the hop -on the Saturday evening following Thanksgiving -Day and take charge at the door of the admission -fee to the frolic had not pleased Leslie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You should have known better than to take that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>job, even though it does give you a chance to show -off your looks,” she had upbraided Doris in a surly -tone. “You say you can’t endure Bean and her -crowd. Then—bing!—you whirl about and let -them make a silly of you. Page is Bean’s partner -and one of the celebrated Beanstalks. That didn’t -hinder you from being as sweet as cream to Page -and saying, ‘yes,’ in a hurry when she asked you -to be a little pet donkey and collect the fees at the -hop.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Leslie!” Doris had said in a low, furious voice, -“you shall not talk to me in that tone, or call me -a donkey. I won’t stand it. You are simply in a rage -with everything and everybody today because things -didn’t go to suit you. Besides, it was Miss Wenderblatt -not Miss Page who asked me. You are rude -and boorish.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll say what I please. I’ve a perfect right to -express an opinion.” Leslie had flung back with -equal fury. “What you’ll have to do is to go and -tell that smug Dutch prig, Wenderblatt, that you -won’t be able to do the tax-collection stunt Saturday -night. You have another engagement. You -<i>have</i>, you know. One with <i>me</i>. We’ll go to the -Lotus to dinner and wander into that select rube -recreation palace known as the Hamilton Opera -House.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>“I do not intend to tell Miss Wenderblatt any -such thing,” Doris had retorted with belligerent independence. -“Just remember she is Professor -Wenderblatt’s daughter. This stunt I am to do at -the hop will boom me a lot on the campus. I have -a perfectly ducky dress to wear. Besides Miss -Peyton and Miss Barton are going to try to start a -beauty contest at the hop. There is no doubt but -that I shall win it.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Your chances <i>are</i> fair since Bean’s taken her -precious self to dear Sanford, the place where Beans -and Beanstocks grow,” Leslie had sneered.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You are so impossible today, Leslie. I sha’n’t -lower myself by quarreling with you,” had been -Doris’s ultimatum, delivered in offended haughtiness.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’d never win a prize for amiability. You’re -the most selfish proposition, Doris Monroe, that -I’ve ever met,” Leslie had retaliated.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Get acquainted with yourself,” Doris had sarcastically -advised.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The ending of their Thanksgiving dinner had -been punctuated freely with other similar pleasantries. -The two self-willed girls had left the Colonial -hardly on speaking terms. It was nearing half -past three o’clock when they had stepped outside -the tea room. The rain having stopped Doris had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>sulkily announced her intention to walk to Wayland -Hall instead of allowing Leslie to run her -there in the car. Leslie had snapped back: “Don’t -care what you do. You’re too selfish to consider -me. You know I counted on you to help me amuse -myself tonight in that dead dump of a town. Go -to the dance. I hope you have a punk evening.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In going to the hop I’m only doing what you -asked me to do quite a while ago. You told me -then that you wanted me to make myself popular -on the campus. Well; this is the way to do it. -Think it over. You’ll find I’m right,” had been -Doris’s parting shot as she separated from her ill-humored -companion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Determining to teach Doris a lesson, Leslie let -the rest of the week go by without holding any -communication with the sophomore. She had spent -a lonely Thanksgiving evening and blamed Doris -heavily because of it. She was also dreadfully -miffed at the partial failure of her contemptible -plot against the dormitory girls’ welfare. When -she had awakened on Thanksgiving morning, to see -violently weeping skies that promised an all-day -deluge, she had smiled contentedly. She had effectually -blocked Bean’s plans for the day. And -for a good many days to come! Such was her belief, -when, after having posted herself in the palm-screened -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>window of the florist’s shop to see that -Sabani kept his word and ran no busses, she had -frowningly witnessed the arrival of Phil, Barbara -and Robin on the scene and what followed as a -result of their timely arrival.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When Leslie had had the galling experience of -seeing the Thanksgiving part of her plot far on -the way to failure she had flung out of the florist’s -in a rage, jumped into her car and set off for the -campus without any definite reason whatever for -going there. The main point had been to keep -“rag, tag and bob-tail,” as she had ironically named -the off-campus girls, from getting to the “free -feed” at the “dago’s hash house.” She had failed -to do this. The “beggars” had managed to reach -Baretti’s in spite of the rain. They would return -to town in the same way that they had come. -Leslie felt particularly spiteful toward Robin Page. -So very spiteful that she indulged her rancor in -“splashing” Phil and Robin when the opportunity -chanced to offer itself.</p> - -<p class='c005'>On the Sunday afternoon following Thanksgiving -while the Travelers, old and new, had gathered in -Marjorie’s room in serious confab over the momentous -happenings of the Thanksgiving holiday, Leslie -Cairns had sat lazily stretched in an easy chair -in her hotel room, eyes half closed, her dark mind -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>wholly concentrated on an idea which had just introduced -itself to her. It was an evil inspiration, -born of a group of headlines she had glanced at in -one of the Sunday papers.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wonder why I never thought of that before,” -she had said half aloud as she dipped a hand into -a box of nut chocolates on the table beside her and -thoughtfully nibbled a cream nut. “I wish I dared -ask <i>him</i> to help me. He could do what I want done -as quickly as a wink. He couldn’t kick, either, for -he has handled more than one such stunt. I think -I’ll write him. ‘Nothing venture nothing have.’ I’ll -wait a few days until I see how the bus scheme -works out, then I’ll write. I’ve never written him -since he—since he—.” Leslie’s voice had faltered. -She had sat staring into the ruddy embers of the -open fire looking less like a malicious mischief-maker -and more like a sorrowful young woman -than ever before. There was only one person in -the world who had ever commanded Leslie’s respect -and tenderness. That one was her father.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>A BUSY INVESTIGATOR</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>On Monday, Leslie, now elated by her newest -plan, relented and called Doris Monroe on the telephone. -While she had been ready to condemn Doris -for going to the hop, nevertheless she had a -thriving curiosity to know what had happened at -the dance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The two girls met by appointment at the Colonial -and in a far pleasanter frame of mind than that -of the preceding Thursday.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I may go to New York,” Leslie announced, directly -they had found a table to suit their difficult -fancy and seated themselves. “I’m expecting a letter -or a telegram from”—Leslie checked herself -abruptly—“from a dear friend,” she continued. -“Even if I shouldn’t hear from this friend I may -go anyway.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“And, of course, I can’t get leave of absence -to go with you.” Doris spoke pettishly, dissatisfaction -looming large on her perfect features. “We -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>made a mistake in not going there at Thanksgiving. -You could have gone. It rained too hard for -you to attend to any business about your garage -site.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That’s all you know about it,” Leslie indulged -in one of her silent laughs. “I was very busy in -town on Thanksgiving morning. Don’t get New -Yorkitis, Goldie. We’ll go to little old N. Y. for -the Easter vacation. Maybe our house will be open -then,” she predicted hopefully. She felt signally -cheered even by the remote prospect.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Leslie had already begun the composition of a -letter to her father. She wrote, crossed out and re-wrote. -She had not yet evolved from her labor the -letter she hoped would soften her father’s unforgiving -heart.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“When will you go to New York?” Doris showed -signs of mollification. The promise of an Easter -vacation in New York with Leslie to show her the -metropolis was something to be gracious over.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t know. Not for a week. Perhaps not for -two.” Leslie donned her most indifferent air. She -had volunteered as much as she thought wise to -Doris concerning her New York trip. “Tell me -about the hop,” she said craftily, switching the -subject from herself to her companion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, it was so, so.” Doris shrugged lightly. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>“My pale blue frock was sweet. A lot of fuss was -made over me. There wasn’t a Beauty contest.” -Her face registered disappointment. “Julia Peyton -said she’d start one, but she couldn’t make it -go. The crowd was crazy to dance.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“She is a big bluff, and her pal, red-headed Miss -Carter is a stupid. Look out for both of them,” -was Leslie’s succinct criticism. She had been introduced -to the two sophs by Doris and had mentally -decided against both.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“They have been awfully sweet to me,” Doris returned -half offended. She did not enjoy having her -admirers belittled. “So were Miss Page, Miss -Moore and the rest of that new sorority. Miss Page -is charming. What a pity she throws herself away -on that horrid Sanford crowd. I was glad they -weren’t at the hop. I’d not have taken charge of -the admission fee if they had been.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You would if it had happened to suit you,” Leslie -coolly told her. Then she laughed. “Don’t -bristle and get ready to throw quills at me, Goldie. -I know you thoroughly. I must say I’m surprised -to hear you raving over Page when you know Page -and Bean are my special abomination.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You never said a word about Miss Page,” Doris -flashed back.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“She’s a Beanstalk. Wasn’t that enough to let -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>you know what I thought of her? Aren’t she and -Bean always together?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m not crazy about Miss Page,” Doris jerked -out angrily. She purposely avoided answering Leslie’s -questions.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll say you’re not. There’s only one person -you are crazy about. That’s Doris Monroe,” Leslie -said with savage emphasis.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That’s not fair, nor true,” sputtered Doris. Unguardedly -her clear cold tones rose higher than she -knew. “I’m not crazy about myself—or anyone -else. I’d like you best of all, Leslie, if you weren’t -so awfully bullying. I won’t be bullied. That’s all -there is to it.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“So it would appear.” Leslie’s retort was grimly -sarcastic. “Sorry you had to tell the natives -about it.” She made an angry movement of the -head toward the next table below them. Around it -sat Gussie Forbes, Calista Wilmot and Flossie -Hart, placidly eating ices.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“They couldn’t hear what I said,” Doris defended, -half abashed, half sulky. “I’m sure they -couldn’t.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re the one to worry, if they did,” shrugged -Leslie. “It can’t do one little bit of harm to me. -Forget it. What do you know about this bus trouble -the bread and cheese priggies are having? Have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>the busses really stopped running between town and -the campus? I heard they stopped on Thanksgiving -Day. I haven’t seen you since then.” Leslie made -a success of looking innocent.</p> - -<p class='c005'>She had not divulged to Doris, either before or -on Thanksgiving Day, her part in the bus trouble. -Bitter experience with the Sans had taught her the -value of keeping her own counsel. She now listened -to Doris’s vague information concerning the -non-running busses, an enigmatical smile playing -upon her lips. She was delighted to hear of the inconvenience -her scheme had caused and determined -that it should continue indefinitely. She had money. -Sabani would do as she ordered so long as plenty -of money accompanied her orders.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Those two were certainly having a fuss,” commented -Flossie Hart as the three sophomores left -the tea room, directly after Doris’s angry outburst.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m going to tell Marjorie about it.” Gussie -made the announcement with great decision.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Telling tales is a bad practice,” laughingly rebuked -Flossie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I know why you’re going to.” Calista’s quick -mind instantly jumped at a certain conclusion. “I -will, if you don’t.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m still in the dark,” mourned Flossie. “Kindly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>enlighten me. Forgive me for being so stupid. -Doesn’t that sound just like Muriel?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, Floss. Muriel might think it was herself -talking if she happened to hear you.” Gussie favored -her room-mate with a condescending smile.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The three hurried along the street to the main -campus gate. “Race you to the Hall,” challenged -Gussie the instant they set foot on the snow-patched -brown of the campus. A playful wind, not too penetrating, -frolicked with them as they ran, blowing -added bloom into their cheeks.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Aside from the one remark Flossie had made -about Doris and Leslie Cairns nothing else had been -said. As members of the new Travelers the Bertram -girls were endeavoring to live up to one of -the basic rules of their code; never to discuss anyone -for the interest derived from the discussion. The -discussion must come as necessary to the promotion -of welfare.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I hope Marjorie’s in.” Gussie was presently -pounding vigorously on the door of 15, a chum at -each elbow.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why not leave us the door?” blandly inquired -Jerry as she opened it to the vociferous demand for -admission. “Is it really you, Gentleman Gus? I -haven’t seen you for as much as three hours. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>last occasion was at lunch.” Jerry smirked soulfully -at her callers.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Where’s Marjorie?” Gussie peered over Jerry’s -head and into the room. “We’ve a bit of special -information. You’re privileged to hear it too, Jeremiah?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“She has gone to Baretti’s. She was to meet -Robin and go there. They had an appointment with -Guiseppe. He wrote Marjorie one of his one-line -funny little notes. I think he has news for Page -and Dean.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Um-m.” Gussie looked undecided for a moment. -“We’ll come back later.” She looked first -at her chums for conformation, then at Jerry. “Let -us know when she comes, Jerry. We love you -dearly enough to hang around in your room till -Marjorie comes, but there’s a time for study, et -cetera. Only I don’t know when it will be if not -now. You may pound on my door as hard as I -pounded on yours, but no harder.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Suit yourself,” Jerry waved an affable hand. -“I can live without you. I have a letter to write. -I’d enjoy perfect quiet.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>The three sophomores went gaily down the hall. -Jerry again shut herself in her room to write -a letter which she had for some time been searching -for an excuse to write. That very morning -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>in the corridor of Hamilton Hall she had found it. -It had come in the shape of a particularly sheer, -dainty, hand-embroidered handkerchief, bearing the -monogram L. M. W. Instantly her mind had began -to canvass among the initials of her friends for -L. M. W. Intending to place it in the students’ -“Lost and Found,” after class Jerry had tucked it -away in her hand bag and hurried to her recitation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>During class her mind continued to revert to the -initials L. M. W. Jerry thoroughly enjoyed being -baffled temporarily by a problem which she was -confident she would solve eventually. In the midst -of her cogitations she chanced to call to mind the -name of a student whose initials were surely L. M. -W. Whereupon a beatific smile paused on Jerry’s -face for a second. She promptly forgot her surroundings -to dwell triumphantly instead upon the -beauty of a certain stunt she determined to “put -over” as soon as she returned to her room. Nor -did she visit the “Lost and Found” on her way to -the Hall.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Seated at the study table Jerry eyed the dainty -handkerchief meditatively. Should she write to -L. M. W., whom she hoped was Louise M. Walker, -merely asking the sophomore if she had lost the -beautiful bit of linen, or should she fold the handkerchief -<span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>inside a note she would write, asking Miss -Walker to place the article in the “Lost and Found” -should it not belong to her? Jerry considered the -problem owlishly, then wrote:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<span class='sc'>Dear Miss Walker</span>:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Have you lost a handkerchief? I am enclosing -one I found, in the corridor of Hamilton Hall, bearing -your initials. If it is not yours, will you kindly -place it in the ‘Lost and Found’?</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c007'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Sincerely,</div> - <div class='line'> “<span class='sc'>Geraldine Macy</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>“There! She’ll be an untutored savage if she ignores -my kindly little act,” Jerry decided with a -grin. “If I wrote asking her if she’d lost the handkerchief -she might ’phone me, or come here. That’s -not what I’m after. She ought to write me a line -of acknowledgment. If she should—I’ll know one -thing that I don’t know now.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XX.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>MARJORIE FINDS A SUPPORTER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Marjorie returned from Baretti’s full of the glorious -news of the little proprietor’s triumph over -Sabani in behalf of Page and Dean. Jerry was -equally elated and burst into one of what she had -named “Joyful Jingles to Bean.” She spouted -them on special occasions.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Thanks to our faithful dago friend</div> - <div class='line in1'>The Goblin’s schemes fell through.</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis plainly seen, oh, upright Bean</div> - <div class='line in1'>Such trouble’s not for you.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>She did a fantastic polka step around Marjorie, -keeping time with her declamation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You funny old goose!” Marjorie caught her -and wrapped both arms about her. “Yes, the Goblin’s -scheme did fall through, and, oh, rapture, the -busses will begin running again tomorrow morning! -What would we have done without Signor -<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>Baretti’s help? He’s splendid in his interest in -our work here. He ranks with Miss Susanna, -Prexy and Professor Wenderblatt as our most -loyal supporters. Now I must tell you what he -did.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, save it till I go for Gus, Calista and Flossie. -Let them hear it. They’ve been looking for -you. They’ve something on their minds. So has -Jeremiah. This is another wildly eventful day.” -Jerry smiled warmly down on Marjorie who had -taken off her wraps and was now lounging in one -of the arm chairs. She reclined there, a graceful -lissome figure in her straight gown of pale jade -broadcloth, with no trimming save that of her -superb young beauty to set it off.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“All the days here are somehow wildly eventful,” -Marjorie said with a little devoted smile. -“Something remarkable seems always to be happening.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Too true,” Jerry agreed with solemnity. “But -some days are even more eventful than that. I will -mention as an example the day before we went -home for Thanksgiving.” Both girls began to -laugh. “That was some day. Muriel began it -right by tipping her cup of coffee into my lap. -Next. I fell down three steps of the stairs. Next. -I dropped a new library book in the mud. Next. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>I went to the gym to see Gentleman Gus and got -hit on the nose with the ball. Next. I couldn’t -find my suitcase in the trunk room so I had to -borrow one. Do you recall any other exciting misfortunes -of that particular day?” She turned innocently -inquiring eyes upon Marjorie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Nope. You were a martyr that day, poor old -Jeremiah.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I need your sympathy, Bean,” Jerry rejoined -brokenly. “It’s a hard world for some folks. Still -I’m glad I’ve survived.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Cheer up. Here come the Bertramites.” Marjorie’s -keen ears had caught the sound of familiar -voices. She went to the door and ushered in the -trio of sophs.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What’s the latest from Guiseppe, the defender?” -Gussie immediately clamored to know. The three -girls surrounded Marjorie while Jerry made an -equally eager fourth member of the group.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It did not take long to put them in possession -of the good news. They received it with enthusiasm, -modified to keep within the limit of noise. -Since the evening when Marjorie and Jerry had -been called to the door by Miss Peyton on the -head of being disturbers of quiet no more reports -had been made against them. Miss Peyton’s threat -that she would place the matter before President -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>Matthews had evidently never been carried out. -Marjorie could only hope that it had not. The -president’s cordiality to her whenever they chanced -to meet assured her of his regard. Still she disliked -the idea intensely of being reported to headquarters -for anything so utterly uncontrolled and -childish.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What a strange, dreadful life for a girl to -lead!” exclaimed Calista Wilmot. She referred to -Marjorie’s account of Leslie Cairns’ part in the -bus trouble.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, it is.” Marjorie’s reply was spoken in all -seriousness. “After Signor Baretti had told us -of what she had done Robin and I both thought we -ought not tell even you girls of it. Then we -thought of the way Phil, Barbara and the rest of -you helped break up her plot by coming out with -your cars in the storm. We decided it was only -fair to tell you the exact circumstances. The -Travelers, old and new, should be, and are, I’m -sure, trustworthy. None of them would circulate -any of the private business of the club about the -campus.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“There’s another argument just as strong as to -why Leslie Cairns’ actions shouldn’t be kept secret -from the club. She doesn’t deserve to be shielded -for what she did.” Gussie’s handsome, colorful face -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>showed shocked disapproval. “Why, she has acted -just like a regular old politician who goes around -before election day and buys votes!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Gussie’s comparison raised a laugh in which Marjorie -joined. Long ago she and Robin had come -to that conclusion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Well, we won’t ever say a word about her outside -the Travelers,” she said, her face sobering. -“Everything’s going nicely again. Now, children, -my tale’s told. Jerry says you have something on -your minds. Go sit on that couch, three in a row, -and spout forth your news.” Marjorie indicated -her couch bed. “If you don’t care to sit there, -why, here is our assortment of chairs.” She -grandly pointed them out.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Let Gus tell it. She began it,” declared Flossie. -The three friends had bumped themselves -down on the couch, with much interference one with -another and little bursts of laughter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Your fairy-tale Princess and Leslie Cairns had -a fuss at the Colonial today. They were together -there when the three of us went into the place for -ices.” Gussie said in matter-of-fact tones. “Miss -Monroe was ripping mad. We heard her say that -something wasn’t true, and that she wouldn’t be -bullied. She was so angry she talked louder than -she intended. I think she knew it for all in a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>minute she dropped her voice away down. I wanted -to be the one to tell you about this, Marjorie, for -a certain reason.” Her tone was flattering to Marjorie’s -dignity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Speak, Gentleman Gus,” laughed Marjorie, -amused by the very solemn expression of Gussie’s -face.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Just because Miss Monroe was opposed to me -at class election is no sign that I should have any -hard feeling toward her,” Gussie began. “I haven’t. -I know you think she’s going to—to—well, be more -congenial some day. She won’t be, though, if she -keeps on associating with Miss Cairns. She’ll begin -to break rules, too. First thing she knows -she’ll do something serious and be expelled from -Hamilton. I can’t forget how sweet she looked -the other night at the hop. I thought, since she -seemed to be peeved with Miss Cairns that maybe -you could think of some way to link her to Hamilton. -So she’ll like the campus better than she does -Leslie Cairns.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I have thought of a way, Gussie,” Marjorie’s -eyes sparkled. At last she had a supporter in the -cause of the difficult fairy-tale princess.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We ought to forget there is any such person,” -Calista said. “After the way she reported us for -being noisy on the day we got here. But you see -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>what forgiving natures we have.” She gave a -whimsical little shrug and smile.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I decided to forget that she reported us,” came -from Gussie magnanimously. “She’s awfully -thorny and hard to approach. She doesn’t seem -to care much for Miss Peyton and Miss Carter. -They make great effort toward being chummy -with her.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Leila knows I’d like to have a Beauty contest; -the kind of one she got up when we were freshmen -and she and Vera were sophs,” Marjorie -told them animatedly. “If we had one—”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Good old M. M. thinks the Ice Queen would -win it. That would let M. M. out of being the -college beauty—so she innocently schemes,” translated -Jerry. “We’d still be privileged to our own -opinion, Ahem.” She coughed suggestively. Next -instant she had gone to the door in answer to a -rapping on it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re just in time,” she greeted, stepping back -to allow Leila to enter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In time for what, may I ask?” Leila’s bright -blue eyes roved speculatively about the room.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“For the Beauty contest,” returned Calista -promptly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Then I must have won it. I see no one half as -beautiful as myself here,” was Leila’s modest opinion. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>“But have you seen Vera? Midget is gone, -unless you may be hiding her away in some small -corner.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“She went to town with Phil. Robin and I met -them when we came from Baretti’s.” Marjorie -continued with a brief account of Robin’s and her -call at the inn.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Once more she has dropped her gold into the -sea,” was Leila’s thoroughly Irish comment. “It -is the same old story, Beauty. She never wins.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Bean hopes to be Bean without beauty,” Jerry -said briskly to Leila. “Can it be done?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I shall have to consult the stars.” Leila rolled -her eyes mysteriously at Marjorie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Never mind me, Leila, won’t you please help -me about the Beauty contest. You know why I -am so determined to have it. Gussie feels the same -as I do about Miss Monroe. So does Calista. I’ve -two on my side.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Count me in, Bean. Never forget your friend.” -Jerry sprang to Marjorie’s support.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“And me,” echoed Flossie Hart.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m sorry, Beauty, but I can’t help you with -the contest.” Leila pursed her lips and shook her -black head. “Now, why should you bother your -head about it?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Because I think it is the one thing to do for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>Miss Monroe. I want to do it, Leila. Why won’t -you help me?” Marjorie sent Leila a puzzled, almost -hurt glance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why won’t I help you? Because—” Leila’s smile -burst forth from her sober face like sunlight -through a cloud—“I shall be busy managing the -Beauty contest myself.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XXI.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>NEWS FROM MISS SUSANNA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“I’m going out to mail a letter,” Jerry told Marjorie, -when, later, the girls had gone to their own -rooms.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“How nice. You may have the pleasure of mailing -two for me,” Marjorie reached in the table -drawer for the letters. “I put them in the drawer -for safe keeping and went out without them, she -explained.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Hand them over.” Jerry took them and was -gone. She had decided to say nothing to anyone -about the letter she had written to Louise Walker -until she had seen the outcome. Like the sleuth -she had laughingly vowed to be, at the time when -Marjorie had received the letter from Louise -Walker and also the one signed “Senior sports’ -committee,” she preferred to keep matters a secret -until she had completed her case.</p> - -<p class='c005'>On the way back across the campus from the -nearest mail box she saw a mail carrier leaving the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>Hall. In going out she had noted that the bulletin -board in the hall was empty of mail. Now a flock -of letters roosted in its alphabetical, shallow pockets. -Near the top under D she plucked one for Marjorie -addressed in Miss Susanna Hamilton’s individual -hand.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re in luck,” Jerry said as she entered the -room to find Marjorie sitting at the table, elbows -braced upon it, hands cupping her chin. A rare -old book on chemistry lay near her on the table. -It had been given her by Miss Hamilton during -her senior year at Hamilton. She had brought it -from her bookshelf to read. Instead she had fallen -into a reverie concerning the giver of the book. -Miss Susanna had told her that it was the only -copy of the work on chemistry known to be in the -United States. It had belonged to Mr. Brooke -Hamilton. Marjorie could hardly believe at times -that she was actually in possession of a book that -had belonged to the founder of Hamilton College.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why am I in luck?” Marjorie’s head was quickly -raised from her hands. “I never seem to be -much out of it, Jeremiah. I have so much more -of happiness than I deserve.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“There’s a reason.” The envelope in Jerry’s -hand dropped on the table in front of Marjorie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh-h-h!” Marjorie exultantly snatched up the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>letter. “I was just thinking of her, Jerry. I’ve -had only one letter from her since she has been -in New York. Doesn’t it seem odd to think of -Miss Susanna as being in New York? She’s been -away from the Arms almost six weeks, too.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie’s hands were already busy with the -envelope. She drew from it the folded letter, -spread it open and glanced eagerly at the headlines. -Then she read aloud to Jerry who had seated herself -on one end of the table, feet swinging free.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<span class='sc'>My Dearest Child</span>:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“I am still in this roaring, clattering, over-populated -city they call New York. I shall be glad to -see the last of it. It has changed a good deal since -I visited it twenty years ago. This is the day of -motor vehicles, skyscrapers and crowded streets -filled with strange foreign faces. I long to be home -to that haven of peace, the Arms.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“There is no use in attempting to tell you by -letter of my stay in the metropolis. I am coming -home on Tuesday, December fourth. Will you -and Jerry come to the Arms to dinner on Wednesday -evening? I should have written you more -often, but I have been very busy by day and tired -by night. At any rate I have seen the New York -of today. But I could never grow used to the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>helter-skelter, rush-and-a-bounce way of living that -appears to prevail here.</p> - -<p class='c006'>“Give my love to my girls with my fond devotion -for yourself.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c007'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Susanna Craig Hamilton.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>“She’ll be home tomorrow. Oh, goody!” Marjorie -sprang from her chair and essayed a little -prancing step about the room, looking like a delighted -youngster. Miss Susanna’s pet name of -“child” was particularly applicable.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“And Wednesday we’ll see her!” Jerry contributed -a few hops and skips to the dance Marjorie -had started. The two met, clasped each other and -the dance became wilder. Breathless and laughing, -they landed with a bang against the door. They -managed for a moment to keep out Ronny who was -at the door, hand on the knob, when the dancers -crashed against it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I got in, even if you did try to hold the door -against me,” she asserted with twinkling eyes.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“My, but you are suspicious!” Jerry accused. -“That’s not the way we treat our friends. Didn’t -you know it?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Am I really your friend?” Ronny asked with -gushing sweetness.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You were, you are, but you won’t be long if -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>you ask me any more such foolish questions.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Miss Susanna will be home tomorrow, Ronny,” -Marjorie said happily. “She sent her love to you -girls. Here’s her letter. I’m sure she’d like you -to read it.” Marjorie was still holding the letter. -She now handed it to Ronny.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Ronny took it and quickly read it. “Why did -she go to New York, I wonder, after having stayed -so long away from it?” she questioned half musingly. -“It would take an especially strong reason -to draw her away from the Arms for six weeks.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Whatever the reason may have been, we’ll probably -know it tomorrow evening,” Jerry commented. -“It wouldn’t surprise me if she’d been planning -something for the dormitory and had had to go to -New York to find just what she wanted.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We don’t wish her to do anything more for the -dormitory,” Marjorie said sturdily. “She has done -too much for us already.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Precisely my opinion. You won’t let me throw -my money around in the dormitory cause. Why -should Miss Susanna be allowed to do what I’m -not?” Ronny propounded with one of her dazzling, -patronizing smiles.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I call for a change of subject,” laughed Marjorie.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>“And my question not answered,” Ronny sighed -plaintively.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The answer to your question is the road to argument.” -Marjorie cannily shook a finger at Veronica.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“All right. You’ve suppressed me for the time -being. Never fear. I’ll bob up again on the finance -question when you least expect it,” she made -cheerful prediction.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s a sweet, precious pet, and it sha’n’t be suppressed.” -Marjorie reached out and stroked Ronny’s -arm.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“That’s what you call Ruffle when you are trying -to coax him to jump through your arms. You -can’t hope that I’ll be much impressed by such blarney,” -Ronny pointed out with hastily assumed dignity. -“I’m going to leave you now. I came here -for a purpose, but I’ve forgotten what it was. I’ll -have to go back to our room and consult Luciferous. -Luckily, I confided in her before starting out.” -Ronny flitted from the room in her graceful, light-footed -fashion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wish I could see fluffy old Ruffle and squabble -with him and General for our favorite chair.” Marjorie’s -eyes grew suddenly wistful. “And, Captain! -I miss her most of all. More so this year -than I did before I was graduated.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>“I miss Father and Mother sometimes, but Hal -is the one I miss.” Jerry’s color heightened a little -as she mentioned her brother’s name to Marjorie. -“You know Hal and I were pally at home. Outside -the house he was always with the boys, but inside -we spent many hours together. He taught me to -box, fence, swim and ride. And during the past -two summers at the beach you’ve seen for yourself -how much we have been together.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>During the short Thanksgiving vacation in Sanford -Jerry had been faintly encouraged by Marjorie’s -warmly cordial manner to Hal. The strain -between them which her keen intuition had detected -when at the beach had vanished. As a matter of -fact, Marjorie welcomed the four days of pleasure -and happiness at home as a release from responsibility. -She wished to think of nothing but -home and its charms. She hailed Hal frankly as -her cavalier of old and treated him with all the -gay graciousness of her first acquaintance with -him.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Hal was too deeply in love with Marjorie not to -understand her. He knew that she was not behaving -toward him according to some carefully laid -plan of her own. Her overflowing gaiety was -spontaneous. She was like a blithe, lovely child, -full of the joy of living, who looked to him to be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>her playmate. So Hal made a Herculean effort -to crowd the love she did not want into his heart -and close the door upon it. He resolutely forbade -himself to think of her as other than his old-time -“girl.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Hal is the finest young man I ever met, or ever -expect to meet,” Marjorie said with an energy of -enthusiasm far removed from love. “I hope he -will find a girl who is as splendid as he is, and -marry her. I wish Hal would fall in love with -Ronny, and Ronny with Hal. They would be -worthy of each other.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie laughed as she caught the variety of -expressions struggling for place on Jerry’s round -face. “You look so funny, Jeremiah.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Can you wonder? Ronny never occurred to me -in the light of a sister-in-law.” Jerry’s variegated -expression dissolved in a broad smile. “You take -my breath. I’ll have to mention it to her when -she comes in again. Her views on the subject -might give me another shock.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Jerry Macy, if you do, I’ll—I’ll—” Marjorie -caught Jerry by her well-cushioned shoulders and -began to shake her with playful force. “Don’t you -dare, Jeremiah.” She emphasized her words with -little shakes. “Promise me you won’t.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What do you take me for?” Jerry asked reproachfully. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>“I’d never have the nerve to mention -old Hal to Ronny. No, Marvelous Match Maker, -you’ll never be able to marry Hal off so easily as -that. There are scads and oodles and slathers of -lovely girls in the world, but there’s one grand reason -why none of them will ever give me a glad -hand as a sister-in-law. Hal saw you first.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XXII.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>HOME AGAIN</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“Yes, little girls, I’m so glad to be home again! -I’ve been outdoors tramping around the estate since -early this morning. Do give me another cup of -tea, Jerry.” Miss Susanna had ordered the dinner -dessert served in the tea room with tea as an -after-dinner beverage instead of coffee.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yours truly.” Jerry refilled the thin priceless -cup, it belonged to the famous Chinese tea set, and -offered it to Miss Susanna.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It has seemed so strange without you, Miss Susanna.” -Marjorie bent affectionate eyes on the upright -little figure in black silk. “Not to see you -for six weeks during the college year is a long -time now.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“So it is; so it is,” nodded the old lady. “I had -no intention of leaving the Arms for that shrieking -demon of noise, New York. The last time you had -tea with me, Marjorie, was just before Hallowe’en. -I was thinking then about having a Hallowe’en -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>frolic for you girls. Then Jonas brought me a -letter from an old friend of mine who lives in New -York. In the letter he mentioned something so interesting -that it set me to thinking hard. The upshot -of it was I told Jonas I intended to go to New -York. He nearly collapsed with amazement.” Miss -Susanna chuckled at the recollection of Jonas’s unbelieving -surprise. “When I went on to tell him -why I was going he was as much pleased with my -plan as I was.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Miss Hamilton paused. Her alert dark eyes were -dancing with some secret of her own which gave -promise of being signally amusing. Jerry and Marjorie -knew the signs. Miss Susanna was on the -verge of imparting to them something in the nature -of a pleasant surprise. Jerry’s surmise of the -afternoon that the last of the Hamiltons had gone -to New York in the interests of the dormitory -flashed into the minds of both girls.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The odd feature of the whole affair is, Jonas -has been elected to go to New York, now that I’ve -returned to the Arms.” Miss Susanna’s gleeful, -child-like chuckle was heard. “Poor Jonas. He -looked so horrified when I informed him of what -I had in store for him.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Shall we inquire what it’s all about?” Jerry -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>flashed Marjorie the pretense of a bewildered -glance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s the only way we’ll ever find out,” sighed -Marjorie in an exaggeratedly hopeless tone. “Unless -we pounce upon Jonas in the hall and bully -him into telling us.” She turned the merest fraction -of a glance on Miss Hamilton as she proposed -this violent means of obtaining information.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“A good plan,” heartily approved Jerry. “I’ll -improve upon it. I suggest that we rush him, or -anyone else around here who may happen to know -something we don’t, but would like to know. Let’s -begin now.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Come on.” Marjorie rose and brandished two -bare, smooth, dimpled arms threateningly in Miss -Susanna’s direction. Jerry followed suit, even -more menacing of gesture. Her ridiculous, desperado -thrust of chin, the slow, determined advance -of the pair upon the little, bright-eyed figure in the -chair further added to the astonishment of Jonas -as he suddenly appeared in the tea room to refill -the tea-pot.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I guess I got here just in time,” he slyly declared, -his mouth drawing into a humorous pucker -as he picked up the tea-pot to refill it with fresh -tea.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In time to land yourself in difficulties; not to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>save me,” Miss Susanna told him between chuckles. -“We’re both threatened with attack, Jonas, unless -we stand and deliver our great secret.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Miss Susanna had thrown herself into the spirit -of the bit of by-play with the merry zest of a child. -Since she had known Marjorie and the light-hearted, -fun-loving coterie of Hamilton girls she -had appeared to grow younger and younger. That -particular, congenial galaxy of youth Miss Susanna -had taken to her heart as a charm against crabbed -old age.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Maybe we’d better not make any resistance, -Miss Susanna,” Jonas advised with a timid air. -It reduced the two desperadoes to a state of giggles -which utterly broke up their threatening aspect.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Maybe we hadn’t,” the old lady agreed with -brisk amusement. “You sit down at the table with -us and have a cup of tea, Jonas. There’s safety in -numbers.” She graciously waved Jonas into the one -vacant chair of the four around the table. Had he -been her elder brother instead of her major-domo -of many years she could not have treated him with -more kindly affection.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s mean in me to tease you children,” she said, -flashing her guests one of her bright smiles. “Forgive -me. I’m really going to tell you all about it -now.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>“The past is forgot,” Jerry moaned ungrammatically.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Thank you,” Miss Susanna responded gratefully. -“I was hoping it might be. Now for the -tale of my adventures in New York. My lawyer, -who was young when I was, left Hamilton many -years ago and established himself in New York. -His name is Richard Henry Garrett. He never -married. During our younger days we lost track -of each other. Later we met again and after Uncle -Brooke’s death I engaged him to attend to the -legalities of the estate. Uncle Brooke’s lawyer -died shortly after my great uncle’s decease.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Since the laying of the dormitory corner stone -last fall,” Miss Susanna continued, “I have often -wondered what I could give the girls who are to -live there that would be of use and benefit to all. -When the dormitory is completed I shall carry out -a certain wish of Uncle Brooke’s of which at present -I prefer not to speak. What I was anxious to do -was something personal for the girls’ welfare. In -the midst of my quandary I received my old friend -Richard’s letter. I had not finished reading it when -the very idea I was seeking came to me. Let me -read you the paragraph of his letter which furnished -my inspiration.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Miss Susanna drew from an ornamental ruffled -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>silk pocket of her skirt the folded sheets of a letter. -She unfolded them; hunted them for the desired -paragraph. She quickly found it and read in her -brisk tones:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“‘Since you used to be greatly interested in old -and rare books you will remember the Ellerton’s -fine private library which I once took you to see -when you were in New York. It is to be sold soon, -at auction, as a whole. The elder Ellertons have -died and the heirs to the Ellerton estate prefer to -convert the library into cash. It appears to be the -chief aim of the rising generation to convert everything -of beauty and worth, which has a monetary -value, into dollars, regardless of tradition. So that -splendid monument to learning, Steven Ellerton’s -library, will come under the auctioneer’s hammer -next month.’”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m sure the Ellerton library <i>couldn’t</i> be finer -than the Hamilton Arms’ library,” Marjorie said -in loyal defense of the remarkable collection of -volumes gathered together by Brooke Hamilton.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It is not as complete, if I remember rightly,” -Miss Susanna said, looking pleased at Marjorie’s -staunch opinion. “Uncle Brooke has some rare -Chinese and Japanese books and a collection of -Spanish incunabula which I know the Ellerton -library lacks, as well as a good many other rare -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>and curious books of which he possessed the only -known copies.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Miss Susanna’s face broke into a little, amused -smile as she glanced from one to the other of the -two girls.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You girls must surely understand by this time -what my inspiration was. You both look a trifle -bewildered. Can’t you add two and two, children?” -she asked playfully. “You ought to know -the result.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“But it’s such an overwhelming result, Miss Susanna!” -Marjorie drew a long breath. “Two, -which stands for the dormitory girls, plus, two, -which stands for the Ellerton library make—” -Marjorie paused. She gazed at Miss Hamilton, her -eyes bright as stars. “It’s too wonderful even to -think about;—until I grow more used to the idea. -It’s too great a gift, Miss Susanna, after all you’ve -already done for the dormitory project.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Nonsense. Nothing is too great for me to give, -provided I have it to give, and feel like giving it,” -declared the old lady brusquely. “I like the idea -of the dormitory having its own library. I have -only one request to make concerning it. I’d like -to have the library named the Brooke Hamilton -Dormitory Library.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Just as though we <i>could</i> give it another name!” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>Marjorie exclaimed with fond fervor. “I’d say it -ought to be named for you but I know you would -rather use Mr. Brooke’s name.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Of course I should.” Miss Hamilton gave an -emphatic little nod of the head. “I shouldn’t like -the ‘Susanna Hamilton Dormitory Library,’ as a -name. Should you, child?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes; I should,” Marjorie disagreed with affectionate -frankness. Jerry echoed the opinion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re a couple of nice children. I appreciate -your loyal approval,” Miss Susanna told them. Her -tones took on an odd grimness as she added: “My -name shall not appear in connection with a Hamilton -College movement, however worthy it may be. -In the case of his name, there’s a difference. He -had the right to hope that his name might be perpetuated -in the college his genius and benevolence -raised up.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“‘The college his genius and benevolence raised -up,’” Marjorie meditatively repeated. “How beautiful -that would be in a biography of Mr. Brooke -Hamilton.” She flushed, but looked bravely at -Miss Susanna. She had, in thus speaking, obeyed -an irresistible impulse.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Answering color signals displayed themselves in -the old lady’s cheeks. A frown sprang to her brows. -It disappeared almost instantly. Her alert dark -<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>eyes grew tender. “It was a fortunate day for -Hamilton when a certain curly-haired little girl -first set foot on the campus. Why not call the -new dormitory the Marjorie Dean Dormitory? -The dream dormitory that Marjorie Dean’s unselfish -work made a reality. That’s what Uncle -Brooke would say if he were here.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“How I love you for saying that, Miss Susanna, -about Mr. Brooke Hamilton!” Marjorie cried happily. -“But I think Robin has done more hard work -than I to make the dormitory a reality. It should -be named for her.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“<i>Don’t you ever believe it</i>, Miss Susanna.” Jerry -laid emphasis on each word. “Marvelous Manager -began it. Robin is a close second, though. The -‘dorm’ ought to be called the Page and Dean Dormitory. -Sounds something like a business directory, -but it tells the story. And the great beauty -of it is this:—it includes both distinguished promoters.” -Jerry directed a refulgent smile at Marjorie, -who promptly made a saucy mouth at her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The Page and Dean Dormitory,” repeated Miss -Susanna with a humorous glance at Jerry. “I rather -like the sound of the combination. You’re right -about it, Jerry. When one has two such retiring -persons to deal with as Marjorie and Robin it becomes -necessary to drag them both to the front. So -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>be it. Now for Uncle Brooke’s study and our library -catalogues. Only a limited number of them -were issued. I wish you had been with me at the -auction. There was some very brisk bidding at -first. There were perhaps a dozen wealthy New -York men interested in the auction. Richard Garrett -represented me. I had nothing to do but keep -quiet and listen to the bidding.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Miss Hamilton continued to relate in her abrupt, -lively way the interesting circumstances of the auction -as they left the Chinese room and stepped into -the lift which Jonas manipulated for them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Send Selma to clear away the tea things, Jonas,” -she ordered as she stepped from the tiny elevator. -“Then come to the study. You must go over the -catalogues with us. Nothing like familiarizing -yourself with the books you are going to pack.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Jonas disappeared with alacrity. He returned -as speedily to the study, an utterly pleased smile -decorating his placid, old face. He was immensely -proud of being invited to make a fourth member -of the group in the study.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The four friends sat at the massive, claw-legged -library table and were soon deep in exploring the -copies of the auction catalogue with which Miss -Hamilton had supplied them. They read by -snatches, browsing avidly here and there among -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>the descriptive pages; exclaiming exultantly over -one rare book or another which they discovered -listed there.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m positively dizzy with pride and vanity over -the dormitory’s wonder of a present!” Marjorie’s -eyes gleamed like stars. There was a wealth of -feeling in her gratefully gay utterance. Presently, -she allowed the catalogue to drop from her hands -to the table. She sat gazing at the erect little figure -on the opposite side of the table with boundless -affection. “I’m sure <i>you</i> must love the dream dormitory -that you helped make a reality as dearly as -we Travelers do,” she said fervently.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We’ll say I have nothing against it,” Miss Susanna -said dryly. “Why should I? It’s not on the -campus.” She cast a defiant glance about her. “But -we’ll not go into that subject. Back to our library. -Having acquired it, the next thing to do is to get -it here.” The independent donor declined to hear -of her own generosity. “You’d best start for New -York in the morning, Jonas,” was her next terse -remark.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What train, Miss Susanna?” Jonas inquired imperturbably.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“An early morning train. One that will bring -you into New York, it ought to be called New -<span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>Pandemonium Let Loose, while daylight lasts,” the -old lady pithily replied.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Jerry and Marjorie were both smiling openly at -the sudden imperative order Miss Susanna had -launched at Jonas, and its tranquil reception.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, Jonas, for goodness sake don’t get lost in -the wilds of New York after dark,” Jerry warned -with a chuckle. “I hope you know who’s who, -what’s what and where’s where in the metropolis.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I don’t; but I suppose I’ll have to learn.” Jonas -echoed the chuckle. His highly cheerful expression -evidenced the coming detail as being quite to his -taste. “New York’s not much like it was when I -was a young man and Mr. Brooke took me there -with him once for a trip.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Two pairs of bright eyes were turned on Jonas -with an expression which bordered on reverence. -It was something to marvel at—that this stately -old man with his crown of thick, snowy hair had -been the chosen traveling companion of Brooke -Hamilton on a trip to New York. Miss Susanna -watched them understandingly, experiencing a secret -happiness in the unconscious girlish tribute offered -her distinguished kinsman.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It won’t take Jonas long to find his bearings,” -she confidently predicted. “With the help of two -or three workmen he can pack the library in short -<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>order. It will have to be stored at the Arms when -it arrives, until the dormitory is completed. Jonas -will see to having it shipped to the Arms by motor -van. That will save time and extra handling. I -want it here and off my mind before Christmas. -I have received an invitation from a dear friend to -spend Christmas with her and her family. I am -thinking of accepting it.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Miss Susanna peered mysteriously over her -glasses at Marjorie and Jerry. She did not offer -to divulge the name of the friend. Jonas raised a -hand to his mouth as though to brush away a smile -that flickered briefly upon his lips.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Truly, Miss Susanna?” Marjorie cried out her -pleasure of the announcement. Each year since -she had come to know the old lady well she had -invited her to spend the Christmas holidays at -Castle Dean. On each occasion Miss Susanna had -flatly refused to leave the Arms over the holidays, -declaring that she would not consider the idea of -passing Christmas Day away from her ancestral -home.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, truly. You won’t need to worry this -Christmas about my being lonely, child. I’m going -back on my vow of years’ standing. I’ve found -something stronger even than my love for the -Arms. I’ve found the love of friends.” There was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>exultant triumph in Miss Hamilton’s forceful -speech.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m so glad,” Marjorie assured with hearty -sincerity. Her cheery smile further conveyed her -unenvious spirit at the news. She could only be -glad because Miss Susanna had found such a boon. -She surmised that through the friendly offices of -Richard Garrett Miss Hamilton had come in touch -again with the woman friend of whom she had just -spoken. They had of course met in New York.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Did you meet your friend in New York, Miss -Susanna?” Jerry’s surprised curiosity got the better -of her. “I don’t mean to be an old curiosity -shop,” she instantly apologized, half laughing. “I -scented an interesting story. I thought you might -have met a girl chum whom you hadn’t seen for -years and years.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No, Jerry; I did not meet my friend in New -York.” Miss Susanna tried vainly to keep a sober -face. The battery of bright, wondering eyes turned -upon her proved too much for her. She laughed; -a high, joyful little laugh in which Jonas’ deeper -notes of amusement mingled. “I first met my -friend on the road to the Arms; not such a long -while ago,” she said with tender pride. “The interesting -story of our friendship began with a -broken basket handle and a young girl’s gracious -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>courtesy toward a crusty old woman. I was very -fortunate in meeting her. She turned out to be a -royal young person who lived in a castle in the -far country of Sanford. Since I’ve known her she’s -often invited me to spend Christmas at Castle Dean. -I’ve stayed at the Arms when I might have been -happy in the royal palace of the King and Queen -of Dean. I—”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Miss Susanna!” Marjorie and Jerry were now -on their feet with a concerted jubilant shriek.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Wait a second.” Miss Hamilton briefly warded -off the impending, tumultuous embrace of two energetic -pairs of arms. “One more remark; then you -may hug me hard. Like all the rest of the world, -I hope to be happy at Christmas time. I know I -shall be—at Castle Dean.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>A SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“No, Beauty, I haven’t gone back on my word. -How can you harbor such suspicions against a fine -old Irish gentleman like myself? Such a regard -as I have for you, yet you will doubt me.” Leila -Harper rolled reproachfully sentimental eyes at -Marjorie. “Since it is a Beauty contest you demand, -your Celtic friend will rise to the occasion.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wish you’d rise soon then.” Marjorie met -Leila’s effusive promise with a coaxing smile.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Name the day and the hour.” Leila gave vent -to a resigned groan, quite at variance with her fulsome -mood of the moment before.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“There you go. One minute you blow hot; the -next cold.” Marjorie shook an arraigning finger -before Leila’s face. “I’m going to take you at your -word and name the day and hour. The day will -be next Friday. The hour, eight P.M. The place, -the gym, the promoters of the contest—” Marjorie -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>paused with a dubious, questioning look toward -Leila.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Aye, Beauty; there’s the rub!” Leila exclaimed. -“The contest ought to be pulled off by either the -sophs or freshies. We P. G.’s are beyond such -trifling vanities. So some would be pleased to say -we should be. Now we come to the reason why of -things. I’m wisely in favor of letting the sophs -perpetrate the beauty walk.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“My own opinion,” Marjorie concurred. “How -would you turn it over to them and still manage -it, Leila. I mean the details. Only <i>you</i> know how -to manage a Beauty contest like the one you got -up long ago.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m going to be the power behind the throne -and manage the contest through the Bertram girls,” -Leila made shrewd declaration. “They are popular -sophs. Besides they will do as I tell them. They’ll -not spoil my fine arrangements.” Leila favored -Marjorie with a whimsical grin. “Let me warn -you, beforehand, Beauty. It will be dangerous for -you to attend the contest.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Your warning is wasted. I shall sit in the -gallery and watch the Beauty parade. Not because -I imagine for a minute that I—that I—” -Marjorie stammered, growing suddenly rosy with -confusion.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>“That you would certainly win it if you appeared -on the gym floor,” Leila finished with mischievous -affability. “No fair decorating the gallery, Beauty. -It’s a most important part you must play on the -floor.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No, designing villain. You dragged me into -one Beauty contest; but never again.” She wagged -a decisive head at Leila who merely continued to -beam on her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“This time I have a fine plan for you,” Leila -continued, unabashed. “You are to be one of the -judges. I’ll paint lines of age on your lovely -face; give you a snow-white frizzy wig and a shapeless -brown bag of a gown to wear. Even your -captain could not pick you out as a Dean. Now -tell me, am I not your devoted Irish friend?” she -demanded ingratiatingly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You’re a jewel, Leila Greatheart.” Marjorie’s -face grew radiant. “The very thing I’ll like best. -I’d forgotten all about the judges. Their were three -of them at the other contest. It seems ages since -that night, doesn’t it?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Leila nodded. “Happy ages,” she said, a soft -light shining from her bright blue eyes. “And you -were not pleased with me that night, Beauty, for -putting you in your rightful place on the campus.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No, I wasn’t,” Marjorie replied with smiling -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>candor. “I recall that I was almost angry with -you. I thought you did it merely to nettle the -Sans. I thought you were very clever, but I wasn’t -sure whether or not I truly liked you.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Ah, but I have won dozens of golden opinions -from you, Beauty, since then. I will tell you something -quite remarkable about myself. I am never -disliked by a person who likes me.” Leila made -the statement with due impressiveness.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ll tell you something else. You’re an affable -old fake, and I’ve been here just one-half hour longer -than I intended to be.” Marjorie rose from -the chair she had been occupying in Leila’s and -Vera’s room. “I needed that half hour for a bout -with a terrific bit of old French poetry. Now it’s -gone—the hour, I mean. I wish the poetry was nil, -too! And I’ve not opened my book! It’s almost -dinner time, and after dinner we’re due at Silverton -Hall to help Robin rehearse that house play. -You hadn’t forgotten about it, had you?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I never forget anything I happen to remember,” -was the re-assuring response.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Then keep on remembering the Beauty contest,” -begged Marjorie laughing. “This is Monday. I -wish you <i>could</i> arrange it for Friday night. I’m -so anxious for Miss Monroe to win it. It will -strengthen her position on the campus.” Her lovely -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>face grew suddenly serious. “You know so well -the way I feel about her, Leila. I’d love to have -her free herself from Leslie Cairns’ influence; to -help her raise up a pride in herself that will place -her above doing the contemptible things the Sans -used to do.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>As she talked Marjorie’s voice took on a wistful -earnestness which Leila found irresistible. She did -not share Marjorie’s views concerning Doris Monroe. -Nevertheless, Marjorie’s appeal to Leila for -help in the difficult conquest of the more difficult -sophomore was in itself sufficient cause for co-operation -on Leila’s part.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Watch the bulletin board tomorrow, and have -no fears,” was Leila’s parting advice as Marjorie -reached the door. “We shall meet again,” she added -portentously.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In about ten minutes; at dinner. And in my -room, after dinner; and after that, on the campus; -and still after that, at Silverton Hall,” flung back -Marjorie over a shoulder as she went out the door. -She ran lightly down the hall to her room, inspirited -by Leila’s promise. She swung open the door -with a gay little fling and entered to find Jerry deep -in the perusal of a letter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m going to be one of the judges at the Beauty -contest,” she breezily informed Jerry. “I forgot to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>ask Leila who she’d picked for the other two -judges.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s a good thing for the Ice Queen that you -are going to wear a disguise; efface your face from -the college map for the time being,” Jerry commented, -eyes still on her letter. “No judge rig-out -for Jeremiah, I shall appear in all my fatal beauty. -But I don’t expect to get a fair deal,” Jerry sighed -loudly. “When is the momentous Beauty gathering -to grace the gym?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Friday evening at eight.” Marjorie went on -to recount hers and Leila’s recent conversation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You old politician. You’ve everything fixed -for your candidate,” Jerry humorously accused. -“What <i>has</i> become of the traditions of Hamilton? -Shocking!”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“They’re <i>right in the foreground</i>, <span class='fss'>AS ALWAYS</span>,” -retorted Marjorie. “I’m neither old, nor a politician. -<i>Nothing</i> has been fixed for my candidate. -Yes; I’ll admit I have one,” she declared in answer -to Jerry’s comically questioning glance. “Just the -same, she can only succeed on her own merits. Giving -her a chance to do that isn’t pulling strings for -her.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I get you, Bean. I humbly apologize for any -dark suspicions I may have entertained against you. -You are a Bean of rare pulchritude, enterprise and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>integrity. You are not the only enterprising person -on the campus, though. I hate to speak of myself, -but—er-her-r, ahem!” Jerry loudly cleared her -throat. “I’m a credit to the noble profession of the -sleuth.” Her tone of raillery held an undernote of -triumph. Her round face wore a victorious expression -which Marjorie did not miss.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What is it, Jeremiah? You’re brim full of -something interesting. I know you’re aching to -tell me. Do go ahead.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s about those two letters,” Jerry began abruptly. -“I mean the two that were sent to you in -the fall when the sophs were warring among themselves, -and Gentleman Gus drew the class presidency.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I haven’t forgotten them,” Marjorie said dryly. -“You said you’d find out all about them. Have -you?” She gazed interestedly at Jerry. “Now I -begin to understand why you were praising yourself,” -she tacked on, with a teasing smile. “You’ll -have just time to tell me before the dinner gong -sounds. Go to it.” She dropped easily down upon -her couch bed, eyes still intent on Jerry.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You know, and so do I, that the sports committee -letter was a fake. We decided that first -thing. Well, I’ve not discovered who wrote it. -I’m still suspicious of three different sets of girls -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>on the campus. But I haven’t a shred of proof -against any of them. Being an honorable sleuth -I don’t prowl ignobly about the campus after my -quarry. I set legitimate traps for ’em. I deduce -in a scientific and marvelous manner. My methods -are above reproach, but they take time.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“So do your remarks,” Marjorie impolitely reminded. -“The gong’s going to ring very, very -soon.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, is it? So glad you told me. My, but you -are rude at times. This is one of ’em. Back to -my subject. I never believed that Miss Walker -wrote the letter to you signed with her name. I -made up my mind to find out whether the handwriting -was hers, but I failed to capture a specimen -of her penmanship. I tried a half a dozen nice, -lady-like little schemes. Not one worked. One day -luck was with Jeremiah. I picked up a fine and -fussy handkerchief, monogrammed, L.M.W.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>With one eye on the clock Jerry hurriedly recounted -the writing of the note to Louise Walker -and the subsequent mailing of it and the handkerchief -to the sophomore.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Here’s the answer. Found it in the bulletin -board this P. M. Look at it. Next cast your eyes -over this piece of bunk.” Jerry laid two unfolded -letters on the study table for Marjorie to examine.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>Marjorie obediently left the couch where she had -cosily disposed her slim length. She reached Jerry’s -side with one lithe bounce. Hastily she picked up -the letter Jerry indicated. Then she read:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“<span class='sc'>Dear Miss Macy</span>:</p> - -<p class='c006'>“How fortunate for me that you should have -found my pet handkerchief! I bought it in Europe -last summer of one of those wonderful Belgian lace -makers. I prize it highly on account of the beauty -of the embroidery. Consequently I rarely carry it. -Broke my rule for once and lost it. I had no idea -where. It is my good luck, and quite remarkable, -I think, that you should have guessed the initials -on it to be mine. Thank you for your courtesy. -Assuring you of my appreciation,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c007'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Yours very sincerely,</div> - <div class='line'> “<span class='sc'>Louise May Walker</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>As she finished reading Miss Walker’s impersonally -friendly note of thanks Marjorie s eyes immediately -sought the other letter. It was the hateful -letter she had received directly after the sophomore -election from Miss Walker. She had read if -enough times to know it by heart.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why, Jerry!” she cried, letting the two letters -flutter from her hand to the table. “She—Miss -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>Walker—never wrote that miserably mean letter to -me! It’s not written in the same hand as the note -she wrote you about the handkerchief. We feel -quite positive she wrote that note. So she couldn’t -have written the other.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Of course she didn’t write it,” Jerry asserted. -“I’ve been keeping an explorative P. G. eye on her -since the basket ball season began. She has some -fine traits, Marjorie.” Jerry nodded her head in -sober confirmation of her opinion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m glad she didn’t write this.” Marjorie -touched the condemnatory letter with the tip of a -finger. She picked up both letters again and proceeded -to a critical examination of the handwriting -of each.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I couldn’t be sure she had not until I had seen -her handwriting. I hadn’t the least excuse for writing -her, and I didn’t care to ask the girls to do it. -I’d begun to harbor dark thoughts of waylaying -her on the campus in the misty twilight and appropriating -her note-book. She had a twice-a-week -late trig period at Hamilton Hall. Then I found -the handkerchief in the main corridor. Maybe Jeremiah -wasn’t pleased with herself!” Jerry gave an -elated little spin around on one heel. “I wrote her -and enclosed the hankey, and this is the reward of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>honesty plus great forethought.” Jerry significantly -tapped her forehead.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m glad,” Marjorie said again; “glad you are -a great detective, Jeremiah.” She smiled indulgently -at Jerry. “But gladder still that Miss Walker -never wrote that spiteful letter. I’m gladdest of all -that it is more despicable even than if it were anonymous. -It’s a forgery. A person so unprincipled -as to commit such a forgery is too unprincipled to -be dangerous.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Pearls of truth and wisdom, Bean. I get you, -and agree with you,” Jerry returned the smile. “I -hate to say it, but I know only one person who -could qualify under that head—Leslie Hob-goblin -Cairns.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>HELPING THE GOOD WORK ALONG</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>The warning, brazen voice of the dinner gong, -which Miss Remson rang but once before each meal, -broke in upon Jerry’s pertinent surmise. It was a -signal which called for postponing further conjecture -in the matter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ve thought of Leslie Cairns more than once, -Jerry, in connection with both those letters,” Marjorie -confessed as Jerry took the letters Marjorie -had carefully examined, folded them and tucked -them into a small leather portfolio. “Perhaps it’s -been unfair in me to judge her by past performances.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“How could one help it? Come along, self-accusing -Bean. I’m hungry enough to eat all the -dinner on our table, and give the rest of you not a -scrap. We’ll continue our amazing careers as private -investigators tonight after the ten-thirty bell -is heard in the land and a grateful hush has settled -down on Room 15.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>During the busy, merry evening spent with -Robin, Phil and the cast of Silverton Hall payers, -Marjorie had neither inclination nor opportunity to -consider the guilt or non-guilt of Leslie Cairns. As -stage manager Leila Harper combined more than -usual efficiency with a drollness of speech and manner -which kept the amateur thespians in a constant -gale of giggles.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Remember your cues and lines, or you’ll be -walking into the middle scenes where you’re neither -expected nor wanted,” she warned her flock.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The play, a two-act comedy entitled “The House -Party,” was a bright, snappy little production written -by Eileen Potter, a promising Silverton Hall -sophomore. Phil had advocated the first production -of it as a house play. The sophomore class -would be the guests of the Silverton Hall sophs on -the eventful evening. The living room was to be -turned into a theatre. Phil had enlisted Robin’s, -Marjorie’s and Leila’s services in rehearsing it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Her plan, into which Robin, Marjorie and Leila -gladly entered, had a triple motive. She was anxious -that Eileen’s talent should be recognized on -the campus. She was determined that the unharmonious -sophomore class should be brought into -harmony. She intended to hammer away at this -plan until she accomplished that harmony. Last of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>all, she liked giving house plays. Phil had a soul -even more bent on democracy than was that of Marjorie, -if such a condition could be. Robin often -said to her: “Truly, Phil, if you had lived in the -days of ’76 you would have managed somehow to -annex your name to the Declaration of Independence.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>After the rehearsal the hard-working actors, managers -and prompters were treated to frozen custard -and sponge cake by Barbara Severn. She declared -Leila to be a slave-driver and that the custard and -cake were needed by the cast as nourishment.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“If I am a slave-driver, why is it you are offering -me custard and cake?” Leila demanded, as Barbara -presented her with a plate of the frozen sweet.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Merely because you have worked harder than -your slaves. You are what I should call a unique -slave-driver,” Barbara sweetly explained.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“And you have far more good sense than you -sometimes appear to have,” Leila complimented. -Whereupon the two beamed at each other and shook -hands.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t fail to be here for another rehearsal -Thursday night and the dress rehearsal on Saturday -night,” were Leila’s parting words to the cast, -delivered in the middle of the front walk to the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>actor group who had followed her out on the veranda.</p> - -<p class='c005'>She started across the campus in the pale winter -moonlight with Marjorie and Jerry, grumbling in -pretended displeasure at the amount of things she -had to do during the next few days.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Don’t say a word!” Marjorie exclaimed. “Two -more rehearsals this week, the Beauty contest on -Friday night, Muriel’s birthday’s next Monday. -Saturday afternoon we have to go into town to buy -presents. Monday afternoon we’ll have to go over -to Baretti’s to trim the birthday table. Sunday I -have to write letters, study and do a dozen and one -small things. I can say now I have nothing special -on hand after Monday, but long before then I’ll -have a new lot of stunts planned for the rest of next -week.” Her tone grew more despairing with each -enumeration.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You have so much trouble, Beauty, I’ll say nothing -of my own,” was Leila’s commiserating return, -delivered with an unsympathetic grin. “I am like -an Irish fish out of water without Midget. That -much I will say.” Vera had gone to New York -for a few days’ visit with her father before he sailed -on an all-winter cruise on the Mediterranean.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>“I never saw an Irish fish. How does an Irish -fish look?” Jerry critically demanded.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Like me. Did you not just hear me say it?” -Leila retorted.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I must go to the Arms to see Miss Susanna this -week,” Marjorie observed irrelevantly. No one appeared -to be interested in her announcement. Jerry -and Leila were conducting a laughing argument -which had to do with Irish and non-Irish fishes.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I love to talk to myself,” she made plaintive -complaint when Jerry and Leila finally paused for -breath.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“And I had far rather talk to you, Beauty, than -to some P. G.’s I know,” Leila assured with deep -meaning.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You may talk to <i>me</i>, Bean,” Jerry graciously -permitted. “I am appreciative.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>During the remainder of the short hike across -the campus Marjorie became the laughing, but unimpressed, -recipient of flattering attention.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Jerry,” she burst out abruptly, soon after the -two girls were in their own room, “it isn’t enough -for us to say to each other that we are glad Miss -Walker didn’t write that letter. It is not fair to -her not to tell her the whole thing. Do you think -it is?”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>Jerry cocked her head to one side and considered. -“Nope,” she answered after due deliberation. “I -suppose she ought to be informed that she is not -the villain we took her to be. It may take marvelous -managing by Marvelous Manager to tell her the -awful truth without rousing her ire. According to -Gentleman Gus she is anything but a lamb-like person -when she isn’t pleased.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Would you be willing to go with me to see her?” -Marjorie asked, her brown eyes meditatively fixed -on Jerry. “You are as——”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Deep in the mud as you are in the mire,” supplied -Jerry humorously.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Something like that,” Marjorie agreed with a -smile. “The letter was sent to me in the first place, -but the credit of the discovery that Miss Walker -didn’t write it belongs to you.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’m not likely to pick any bouquets in such a -briar patch,” shrugged Jerry. “Don’t want em. -More likely she’ll get wrathful at us when she finds, -we have kept the forged letter so long without going -to her and having matters out. But Jeremiah -is not afraid. Let us hope she behaves like the letter -she really wrote.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the act of removing one of her slippers, Jerry -took it by the strap. Waving it jauntily she -launched into a Bean jingle.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>“Upon the haughty soph we’ll call</div> - <div class='line in3'>To clear her tarnished name;</div> - <div class='line in1'>For we have seen, O, noble Bean,</div> - <div class='line in3'>That she was not to blame.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>“That was an inspired jingle, Jeremiah,” Marjorie -approved, her face singularly sunny. “Miss -Walker is not to blame. Since we know she isn’t, -we should be, if we didn’t hurry to tell her so.”</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XXV.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>“NEARER TO THE HEART’S DESIRE.”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>Due to the numerous details Marjorie had on -hand, on Saturday afternoon, Marjorie and Jerry -still found themselves facing the call upon Miss -Walker. They deplored the fact to each other as -they made ready to go to town with Leila, Ronny, -Lucy and Katherine Langly to shop for Muriel’s -approaching birthday. Muriel had been left out of -the shopping party. As a consequence she had -made dire threats to disappear on her birthday and -“spoil everything.” Jerry declared that no one was -foolish enough to believe she would.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I never realized how much work you put into -that first Beauty contest, Leila Greatheart, until I -saw the working out of this last one,” Marjorie confided -to Leila on the way to town that afternoon. -She was occupying her usual place beside Leila on -the front seat. “I felt so differently about the one -last night. I had a chance to hide away. I was so -glad not to be in it, and on parade. It was darling -<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>in you to give me the judges’ last speech in the contest. -And didn’t my fairy-tale princess look beautiful -when she came forward to receive the guerdon? -Those wonderful long-stemmed pink roses -went so well with that crystal-beaded white frock -she wore.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It was a dream of a dress,” Leila nodded. “At -last we have a new Beauty on the campus. Only -I am glad I was not one of the judges. I should -never have displaced you for her. She is still too -much the Ice Queen to be to my taste.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You are the loyalest of loyal old dears,” Marjorie’s -hand came to rest for a moment on Leila’s -shoulder. “I know you went strictly against your -inclinations; just to please me. Someday you’ll see -that there was method in my madness. The enchantment -will be broken and the freed princess -will yet prove herself a credit to Hamilton.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I doubt if I shall be here to see it,” Leila made -skeptical reply. “You are feeling most optimistic -because you have succeeded in wishing your beauty -reputation onto someone else.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie merely smiled. “I’m a venerable P. G. -now. I’m beyond such vain frivolousness.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I see no signs of it,” Leila told her discouragingly. -“I am sorry now that I hid you on the -judges’ stand.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>“Too late,” Marjorie’s merry little laugh rippled -out. Her mood was decidedly optimistic as a result -of the successful way in which clever Leila had -carried on the Beauty contest.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As the president of the sophs, Augusta Forbes -had signed the notice of the coming contest which -Leila had first posted on the main bulletin board. -This fact had appeared to point to the sophs as the -promoters of the Beauty contest. Privately directed -by Leila, Gussie had next called a class meeting -for the express purpose of arousing sophomore -interest and had tactfully suggested that the contest -should be held under sophomore auspices.</p> - -<p class='c005'>While the sophs were still divided into two factions, -as a result of the fall elections, basket ball -had done something to mitigate their wrath against -one another. It seemed the irony of fate that Louise -Walker and Augusta Forbes, rival centers and unfriendly -classmates, should have each admired the -other’s basket ball prowess. Such, however, was -the situation between them. More, they were hovering -on the verge of friendly acquaintance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This marvel Marjorie had already faintly divined -by a curious mental process of deduction which had -developed within as a result of long-patient working -and waiting. She also saw signs which pointed -to a re-united sophomore class in the not far distant -<span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>future. Her conviction was borne out in this -respect by the eager good-will with which the sophs -boosted the Beauty walk beforehand and confidently -paraded themselves around the gym for the -judges’ inspection on the fateful night.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The girls of the other three classes were no less -anxious to take part in it. Even the dormitory -girls made an extra trip from town so as to be in -the fun. Of the old Travelers only Ronny and -Muriel competed. Vera had not yet returned to -Hamilton. As manager Leila had a good excuse -for staying out of it. Jerry demanded also to be -a judge. She gave Leila such a strenuous sample -of the strength and volume of her tones that Leila -promptly accepted her. The senior class furnished -the third judge; a stentorian-voiced senior who -often acted as referee at basket ball games, and -had developed amazing lung power as a result.</p> - -<p class='c005'>While the Forbes faction of the sophs was supposedly -hostile of attitude toward Doris Monroe, -its members had agreed among themselves that, as -a possible winner of the Beauty contest, she was -“the sophs’ best bet.” In consequence they suddenly -began exhibiting toward her a new friendliness -which warmed with the near approach of the contest. -This put Doris on her mettle as nothing else -could have done. She had been saving the crystal-beaded -<span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>frock for what she might deem a really -great occasion. She now felt the occasion had arrived. -Her one disturbing thought was that Marjorie -Dean would undoubtedly enter the contest. -She resolved that she must, yes, she would completely -outshine her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When the much-heralded contest was finally over -and Doris stood triumphant in front of the judges’ -stand, the light gleaming on her wavy golden hair, -her strange green eyes dark with excitement, her -white, graceful arms laden with the long-stemmed -pink roses, she might have been posing as lovely -summer in her early rose-decked beauty. The faint, -fascinating smile that came and went on her red -lips gave no clue to what was going on in her mind. -Her slow, occasional careless glances about the gymnasium -were motivated by the distinct secret purpose -of locating Marjorie. Nor did she learn until -long afterward that the clear, vibrant voice of the -judge who spoke the final charge to Beautye -brighte, reverence in its intonation, was that of the -girl she affected to despise. Having enjoyed the -contest incognito Marjorie had disappeared during -the first congratulatory rush toward Doris.</p> - -<p class='c005'>She found remembrance of last night’s contest -lingering persistently in her mind as she and her -chums essayed the round of the shops. None of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>the party knew what they wished to buy for Muriel. -They were in a wondrous merry mood and had difficulty -in settling down to a selection of gifts. As -they trooped, chattering, out of the town’s one art -store with arms full of birthday bundles a familiar -white car shot past them down the street, disappearing -into a side street. The occupants of the -white car were Doris Monroe and Leslie Cairns.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie gave a kind of disappointed gulp as -she glimpsed the stunning white car and its passengers. -It was the first time she had either seen -or heard of these two as having been together since -before Thanksgiving. Augusta Forbes and her two -chums had later confidentially reported to Marjorie -the occasion at the Colonial when Leslie and Doris -had quarreled. Marjorie had hoped then that the -breach between the two girls might widen. Robin’s -assurance that Doris had been “perfectly sweet” to -her at the old-fashioned hop was a hopeful sign. -Freed from Leslie’s pernicious influence, Doris’s -college future was likely to be rosy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Now it appeared that Doris was not estranged, -perhaps did not desire to be free from Leslie. Marjorie -felt chagrin and disappointment take hold of -her. She half concluded that her chums were correct -in holding the opinion that further effort to -win over the ungracious and ungrateful sophomore -<span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>would be a useless expense of time and spirit. -Should she, now that through her private effort -Doris had been acclaimed the college beauty, allow -Doris to continue her college journey without further -solicitude on her part? Her generous soul instantly -rebelled against the thought. She had the -principle to consider in the peculiar task she had -whimsically set for herself. So far as she knew -the work of moulding beautiful Doris Monroe -“nearer to the heart’s desire” had only begun.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XXVI.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>SUNSHINE FROM SHADOW</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>“Look here!” Jerry, who had gone with Leila to -the garage to put away the car, bounced into the -room flourishing two letters.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why, <i>where</i> did they come from? There wasn’t -a sign of mail in our divisions when I came upstairs. -That was not more than half an hour ago. Besides -that was the last mail.” Marjorie’s eyes had opened -to their widest extent at sight of the letters.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Ah-h-h! There’s a reason; and it took yours -truly to find it.” Jerry gave a self-appreciative -crow. “Here’s your letter.” She tendered one of -the two to Marjorie. She made no effort to open -the other.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie’s color heightened as she glanced at the -writing on the envelope. “It’s from Hal. You -know that. Something unusual must be happening -in Sanford. This is the second letter I’ve had from -him within a week.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“When you open it kindly gaze at the post-mark,” -Jerry directed with a knowing smile.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>“Why, Jerry!” Marjorie had already obeyed the -direction. “November third! Where did it come -from? This is another mysterious mystery.” She -read Hal’s brief letter, a puzzled frown knotting -her forehead. “<i>This</i> is the letter Hal thought I did -not answer. I had to explain to him when I went -home that I had not received it. Well, of all surprises.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The end of them is not yet. Here’s another belated -missive. I thought I’d let you get over the -shock of the first before handing you another jolt.”’</p> - -<p class='c005'>“So kind in you, Jeremiah.” Marjorie’s gratitude -was of a very casual order. “You mean you wanted -to be teasing. This is from Miss Susanna,” she announced -after a hasty inspection. “It was”—again -her voice achieved astonished height—“mailed <i>last -Monday</i>. The time has come, Jeremiah for you to -prove your worth as a great investigator and throw -light upon this mystery.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It was that <i>treacherous, deceiving old bulletin -board</i>,” emphasized Jerry, then giggled. “D is on -the top row, you know. The back piece of the board -gapes away from the face of it a little, just at the -D section. One of the maids must have tucked Hal’s -letter into the wrong place and there it stayed. Another -of the maids must have done the same thing -recently. I found both letters there. I was peeking -<span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>and peering disconsolately at that empty D space -when through a tiny crack at the back of it I saw a -bit of white. I went fishing with a hat pin and finally -got hold of a corner of Miss Susanna’s letter. Pretty -soon I had fished up both of them. What I’m wondering -is this. Did anyone cache them for spite? -I trust not.” Jerry put on a look of virtuous horror. -“I mean I wouldn’t be surprised if someone had.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Suspicious old Jeremiah.” Marjorie raised a -reproving finger at her chum. Her ready smile contradicted -intent to reprove. “Miss Susanna wants -to see me. In this note she asked me to dinner at -the Arms on last Wednesday evening. Here it is -the Saturday after! What must she think of me. -I’ll hurry downstairs this instant and telephone her.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie darted from the room and took the stairs -at what she used at home to call a gallop. She -blessed telephone service with all her heart as she -quickly got Jonas on the wire and asked him to call -Miss Susanna to the telephone. It was not a long -conversation she presently exchanged with the mistress -of Hamilton Arms. Miss Susanna was not fond -of talking on the telephone. But it was a most happy -little talk. Marjorie turned from the ’phone wondering -a little why Miss Susanna had laid stress on -inviting her alone of the Travelers to dinner at the -Arms the next evening. The mistress of the Arms -<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>had not said she wished to be alone with Marjorie, -but she had intimated it vaguely.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Turning mechanically toward the stairs Marjorie -crashed squarely against a young woman who had -just descended the last step. Both girls apologized -first; took stock of each other afterward. Marjorie -drew a quick breath. She was facing Louise Walker. -Obeying an impulse she cried out:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, Miss Walker, I have been trying to see you -for several days. Would you be willing to come -upstairs to Miss Macy’s and my room? We have -something to show you which is important to you.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I—certainly I will come.” Miss Walker’s intonation -was remarkably gentle and friendly. “Will -you lead the way? I am not often at Wayland Hall -and know very little about it.” She motioned Marjorie -to precede her up the stairs. “I had been calling -on a sophomore, Miss Vinton.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“She is such a clever girl,” Marjorie said admiringly. -“We have had many interesting talks -about chemistry experiments we have made.” Her -winsome smile drew an answering smile from Miss -Walker. The sophomore was wondering if Marjorie -had heard any of the cutting remarks she had -made about her and Robin Page, early in the fall, -when Page and Dean had championed the cause of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>Augusta Forbes. She was astonished now to find -Marjorie so friendly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“For goodness sake!” In the act of nibbling a -large three-cornered piece of peanut brittle Jerry -let it fall to the rug at sight of Marjorie and her -visitor. She bent to retrieve it, took an unintentional -step forward and planted one foot firmly upon it. -Such a disaster called for mirth which was quick -in coming. Marjorie merrily seated the guest and -offered her peanut brittle from a box. Jerry loudly -mourned the loss of “the biggest, best bit of brittle -in the brittle box,” as she gathered up the sticky -fragments of it from the rug. She made short -work of the task. She was eager to join the pair of -girls on the other side of the room.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Marjorie kept the conversation centered upon impersonal -topics until Jerry completed the trio. Then -she began in her candid fashion: “Miss Walker, we -hope you will not feel, after you have heard what I -am going to tell you, that we have not been fair to -you in not having told you before. Will you please -bring the letters, Jerry?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Jerry complied with alacrity. Meanwhile Marjorie -had gone steadily on with the account of the -receipt of the first letter, bearing Miss Walker’s -signature. The latter sat listening in genuine mystification. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>She stared in bewilderment at the outrageous -letter which Jerry placed in her hand.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why, this is dreadful!” she cried as she read it, -her fair skin flooding with indignant red. “That’s -not my writing! Why didn’t you come to me and -ask me about it?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“How could I?” Marjorie said rather sadly. She -had expected the question. “You see, I didn’t know -your handwriting. I didn’t know— Please let us -not talk about that part of it. We were so glad -when Jerry received the letter from you about the -handkerchief. Then we <i>knew</i> you had not written -that hateful letter.” She pointed the tip of a scornful -finger at the forgery. “Since things have worked -out so well, let’s be thankful, and friends.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’d love to be,” Louise answered with sincerity. -“First you must forgive me for being so disagreeable -last fall. I’ve been sorry for quite a while, -but there seemed no opportunity to tell you so. I -understand Miss Forbes now, too. I like her, but -I’m afraid she doesn’t like me; nor never will.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Go and call on her very soon. She’d be so -pleased. I’m sure she would. She admires your -basket ball playing.” This affably from Jerry who -was far more favorable impressed with the sophomore -that she had expected to be.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“There’s one thing I believe I ought to tell you to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>clear my slate,” Miss Walker said presently in a half -hesitating tone. “It’s about Miss Peyton and Miss -Carter. I mention them frankly because I intend to -tell them that I have seen you, and of our talk.” -Her voice strengthened into one of resolution. “May -I ask you? Has Professor Matthews ever reprimanded -you and Miss Macy for being unduly noisy -in your room?” She stared anxiously at Marjorie.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Why, <i>no</i>.” Marjorie cast an enigmatical glance -at Jerry. Then the two laughed. “Please pardon -us for laughing,” she apologized. “Last fall Miss -Peyton threatened to report us to President Matthews. -About two weeks later a letter came to me -in the president’s hand. It really took courage to -open it. Oh-h-h,” she drew a soft laughing breath, -“it was an invitation to dinner at his home to meet -one of his nieces who had come from the west to -visit the Matthews. Jerry and I thought then that -perhaps Miss Peyton had decided against reporting -us to him.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wish she had, but she didn’t. I advised her -against such petty spite,” Louise declared disgustedly. -“I am glad President Matthews ignored the report. -She made it in person. She told me as much, -but she would not tell me what he said to her in the -matter. I suspect Prexy was very unsympathetic.” -Louise’s gray, long-lashed eyes sparkled with quiet -<span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>humor. “Anyway, I’m free from that worry. I -wanted to tell you that as much as you wanted to -tell me about the letter.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Frank confession from caller and guests banished -the strain which had marked the beginning of the -interview. Presently Louise had been invited to remain -at the Hall to dinner and afterward hob-nob -with the chums in Ronny’s and Lucy’s room where -a newly-arrived fruit cake sent Lucy by her mother -was to be the center of attraction at a jollification.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The three girls were making rapid strides toward -friendship when a knock at the door revealed Gussie -Forbes and Calista Wilmot as demanding the -hospitality of Room 15. It was the satisfying climax -to a mutual admiration society which had sprung -up between Louise and Gussie on the very field of -battle. It was a case of when “soph meets soph.” -The two distinguished centers found so much in -common to talk about they blissfully forgot Marjorie, -Jerry and Calista for the time being, greatly -to the delight of these three.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Shortly before Louise Walker went to her own -campus house she said to Marjorie in a low tone: -“Will you come with me now to your room. My -wraps are there. I will bring them in here, but I -wish to say something very quietly to you.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“We’re going into my room for a minute or so, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>gang,” Marjorie called to the others as she and the -sophomore went out the door.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It’s about Miss Monroe I wish to speak,” began -Louise hurriedly. “Could you—do you know what -ought to be done to keep her away from that Miss -Cairns? The freshies seem to admire them as a -stunning combination, plus the white car. But the -sophs are decidedly against Miss Cairns. A good -many stories about her dishonorable ways while she -was a student at Hamilton have drifted down to us -from friends and older sisters who have been graduated -from here. We have been told that she was -expelled from Hamilton, together with a crowd of -her chums. She was here when you entered college, -was she not?” Louise asked earnestly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“She was a sophomore when we were freshies. -She was expelled from Hamilton at the end of her -junior year,” Marjorie said evenly. “I know of a -great many things she has done that she should not -have done, yet she is somewhat like another girl I -know whose mother died when she was a baby and -who grew up believing she must always have her -own way. The girl I mention suddenly faced about -and made herself over. Perhaps Leslie Cairns will -do the same. I think it would be far better if Miss -Monroe had nothing whatever to do with her. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>trouble is—no one but Miss Monroe can decide that. -All we can do is to help her by our good will.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I understand. You mean if Miss Monroe has -enough interests to keep her occupied and happy on -the campus she won’t turn to Miss Cairns for entertainment.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes,” Marjorie returned. “We Travelers have -been watching over her. She is not only beautiful. -Her room-mate is Muriel Harding, you know. Muriel -says she is brilliant in her subjects. She can draw, -paint, play the piano and knows a good deal about -outdoor sports. We can’t afford to have such good -material go to waste, can we?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“No, we can’t.” Louise’s hand reached for Marjorie’s. -The two looked into each other’s eyes and -made a wordless compact which had to do with the -deliverance of the enchanted princess from the power -of the wicked wizard.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span> - <h2 class='c003'>CHAPTER XXVII.<br /> <br /><span class='small'>MARVELOUS MANAGER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>While the discussion concerning herself was going -on between Marjorie and Louise Walker, the -enchanted princess and the wicked wizard were -amicably eating dinner at the Colonial. Leslie was -listening with acute attention to Doris’s unemotional -account of the Beauty contest related in the drawling -English diction which she had used since childhood.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You think you’re it, don’t you, Goldie?” she said -with a slow grin when Doris had finished her recital.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes; why shouldn’t I?” countered Doris, unruffled -by the slangy question. She was very desirous -of going to New York with Leslie for the Christmas -holidays. She had no intention of quarreling -with her and thus defeating her own ends.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I’ve no objection,” Leslie amiably assured her. -“You haven’t told me where Bean was, though. Certainly -she wasn’t in the gym or <i>you’d</i> never have -got away with the prize. She must have purposely -effaced herself. She has it put all over every other -<span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>girl I ever saw when it comes to Beauty. I hate -the ground she walks on, yet Bean is beautiful -Bean. Don’t let it worry you, though.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Doris smiled rather condescendingly at Leslie. -“You know it doesn’t worry me, Leslie. You are -absurd. No, Miss Dean was not at the contest. -Some of her friends were, but she was no where -to be seen. Don’t you think the contest itself is very -quaint? Miss Harper is really immensely clever.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Next to Bean, I hate <i>her</i>.” Leslie’s face lowered. -“Don’t mention her to me ever. Since Bean handed -over the college beautyship to you, make the most of -it. You’d better give a dinner to some of the sophs -who belong to the best families. They’re the ones -who count in college. They can either make you -or break you.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I—I haven’t decided just what I’d best do after -Christmas to keep up my reputation as the college -beauty.” Doris experienced a sudden violent dislike -for Leslie. She wished she had never seen her. -She wished she had not promised to go to New York -with her. She had had a taste of real girl happiness, -spontaneous and free from the plotting and -planning which seemed ever to attend Leslie’s movements. -Once again she was hearing the quaint adjuration -to Beautye “to say a prayer of thankfulness -at even for the gifte of Beautye by the grace of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>God.” Once again that clear, resonant voice rang -in her ears. Though her new, unbidden mood soon -left her, it would come again. The leaven had begun -to work.</p> - -<p class='c005'>On the way up the main drive to Wayland Hall -the following afternoon she came face to face with -Marjorie. She bowed with less coolness than was -her wont. “Good afternoon, Miss Monroe,” Marjorie -said sedately, looking neither smiling nor serious. -She was on her way to Hamilton Arms to -spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with -Miss Susanna.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Doris had a faint impression of having known -someone else whose voice was like Marjorie’s. She -could not recall any such person. She grudgingly -admitted to herself that Leslie’s rude appraisal of -Marjorie’s good looks was not without foundation. -Doris was fundamentally sound of judgment and -honest enough not to deceive herself.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You and I are going to have one of our old-fashioned -heart to heart talks this afternoon,” greeted -Miss Susanna as she folded Marjorie in her arms -and kissed her on the forehead and both cheeks. -“We’re going to have a light tea now and dinner at -seven. Tea will be in the study. I’m going to ask -you to help me this afternoon go over some of -Uncle Brooke’s papers. I’d like to arrange them in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>chronological order. A nice sort of hostess I am, -to invite you here to dine and then make you work -for your dinner,” chuckled the old lady.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You know there is nothing I’d rather do. You -are a fraud.” Marjorie swooped down on her, arms -flying, mouth open, fingers curved into claws. It -was her favorite mode of onslaught upon her general -when at home. Miss Susanna squealed, dodged and -giggled as the avenging bogie bore down upon her. -A merry tussle ensued in which Miss Susanna held -her own.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It was not until they had settled down at the -study table with the tea spread out upon it that they -behaved with anything but hilarity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I never treated you to such a tussle before.” -Marjorie declared blithely as she reached for the -cup of tea Miss Susanna held out to her. “Those -are General’s and my favorite tactics at home. Oh, -wait until we get you there. We’ll have some grand -family frolics at Castle Dean.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I am looking forward to them with all my heart. -This will be the first Christmas I have spent away -from the Arms since <i>he</i> died. I am sure -he would wish me to go with you.” Miss -Hamilton regarded Marjorie with deep solemnity. -“Now tell me about the girls. What have you all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>been busy doing?” She switched the subject from -herself with characteristic abruptness.</p> - -<p class='c005'>During the light meal Marjorie kept strictly to -the subject of her friends’ and her doings on the -campus. Miss Susanna listened to the lively recital -with apparent pleasure. Now and then Marjorie -would catch the old lady’s eyes resting upon her -with an expression of brooding tenderness which -she had never before seen in them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When Miss Susanna had rung for Jonas to come -for the tea service she straightened in her chair with -a nervous kind of energy that Marjorie had learned -to construe as a sign that the last of the Hamilton’s -was about to make an important disclosure. It was -an entirely different attitude from that which she -invariably adopted in giving a surprise. Without a -word she rose, and, walking to one end of the study -turned the key in a tall narrow mahogany cabinet -which Marjorie had not seen before in the study.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“These are the most precious things in the world -to me, Marjorie,” Miss Susanna said as she turned -a brass key that stood in the lock. “Come here, -child. Hold out your arms.” She swung open the -door of the cabinet, revealing shelf upon shelf of -papers. They were, for the most part, letters without -envelopes, and documents. “This is his story, -in his own hand,” she continued musingly. She -<span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>carefully lifted the pile of papers from the top shelf -and placed it upon Marjorie’s arms. The amazed -lieutenant’s arms were steady, but her heart was -thumping wildly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Miss Susanna,” she managed to gasp, “truly—are -you going to <i>allow me to look at them</i>?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Truly, I am.” There was a tiny catch in Miss -Susanna’s crisp voice. “No one has touched them -since I partially collated them and put them here -years ago. Bring them over to the table and lay -them upon it. I have something to say to you, -Marjorie Dean. I’ve been wondering for a week -just how I’d like to say it to you. Well, the simplest -way is best. I’ve decided to give his story to -the world. I’ve selected my biographer. I can only -hope that the one I wish to write the biography will -not be too modest to accept my offer. The person -I have in mind will probably declare that—”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“If you feel you have chosen the right person, -then you must have,” Marjorie interrupted. “Oh, -pardon me, Miss Susanna. I couldn’t wait to say -what I felt. You will have to <i>make</i> the one you -have chosen see matters as you do.” Marjorie’s -mind was already made up. Since Miss Susanna -had actually decided to permit Brooke Hamilton’s -biography to be written she must be encouraged and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>supported in her decision. There must be no refusal -of any sort to discourage her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, I am sure I have chosen the right person.” -Again Marjorie caught the divinely tender look in -her friend’s eyes. “You have always seen matters -about him much as I have, Marvelous Manager. -That is the reason I have chosen <i>you</i> to give a faithful -presentation of <i>him</i> to the world.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Miss Su-u-san-na. I—” With a little inarticulate -murmur Marjorie’s curly head went down on -the table, her face hidden in the curve of her arm. -She did not raise it when she felt a hand rest lightly -upon her curls. Silence reigned in the study, a -calm, stately silence over which Brooke Hamilton -himself seemed to preside. The impression of him -was borne to the two who had united to keep his -memory green. Afterward Miss Susanna and Marjorie -both happily admitted to having had the -same impression of his immediate presence in the -study.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Presently, when the great emotional strain upon -both women had lessened, they commenced an eager -discussion of plans concerning the best way of writing -Brooke Hamilton’s biography.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You fell into your own trap, young lady. You -can’t back out,” Miss Susanna told Marjorie with -apparent relish.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>“I don’t wish to back out; <i>never; never</i>,” was the -fervent assertion. “It’s the greatest good fortune -that has ever happened to me. I should like to drop -chemistry, French, the dormitory, welfare—” Marjorie -lightly waved away her enumeration of duties. -“But I can’t.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I wish you and Jerry would come and live at -the Arms while you are in process of writing the -biography. Perhaps you may be able to manage it, -in the spring. You and I are to go to President -Matthews with the news tomorrow. I have already -written him that we would call at his Hamilton Hall -office tomorrow afternoon at two o’clock. I have a -curiosity to walk across the campus. When we go -to Castle Dean for Christmas we will perfect all our -plans. Shall we tell our girls now or wait until -after the holidays?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh, please let us tell them soon,” pleaded Marjorie. -“It will be the most wonderful Christmas -present for the old Travelers. ‘Peace on earth; good -will toward men.’” Marjorie hummed under her -breath. Her eyes luminous, she rose, went over to -Miss Susanna. Standing behind her chair she -dropped her arms over the old lady’s shoulders. It -was the special caress she loved to give her captain.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes, ‘Peace on earth; good will toward men,’” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>Miss Susanna repeated, her small face bright with -love. “And the reason I can say it is because I -had the supreme good fortune to fall into the hands -of Marvelous Manager.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>How Marjorie spent the remainder of her college -post graduate year between Hamilton College and -Hamilton Arms will be found in: “<span class='sc'>Marjorie Dean -at Hamilton Arms</span>.”</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='sc'>The End.</span></p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>Transcriber’s note:</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>All instances of ‘Sandford’ have been changed to ‘Sanford.’</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 14, opening double quote inserted before ‘Marjorie,’ “and the “Marjorie Dean College”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 16, ‘is’ struck following ‘She’s,’ “She’s exasperating”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 22, opening double quote inserted before ‘Feel,’ ““Feel the chill”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 23, ‘Leida’ changed to ‘Leila,’ “Leila cast a grim”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 35, ‘promply’ changed to ‘promptly,’ “Ronny promptly read out”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 50, closing double quote struck following ‘might,’ “you might. I’d”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 50, opening double quote struck before ‘I’m,’ “J. J. G. Macy. I’m the one”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 51, ‘Phillys’ changed to ‘Phyllis,’ “said Phyllis Moore”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 51, ‘two’ changed to ‘to,’ “herself to and fro”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 52, double quotes changed to single quotes surrounding ‘dramer,’ “old ‘dramer’ and”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 57, ‘Deans’’ changed to ‘Dean’s,’ “and Dean’s melodramer”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 61, full stop changed to comma following ‘Vassar,’ “fall from Vassar, says”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 61, ‘Carins’ changed to ‘Cairns,’ “against Leslie Cairns’”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 68, ‘you’ changed to ‘your,’ “From your best friend”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 70, ‘Jerrry’ changed to ‘Jerry,’ “Jerry showed more surprise”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 77, opening single quote changed to opening double quote before ‘You,’ ““You ought to know”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 84, comma inserted after ‘directed,’ “curtly directed, her eyes”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 85, ‘relasped’ changed to ‘relapsed,’ “Doris relapsed into”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 86, ‘melancholly’ changed to ‘melancholy,’ “with melancholy pride as”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 92, apostrophe inserted after ‘chums,’ “and her chums’ absence”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 93, closing double quote struck after ‘Oh,’ “Oh, Marjorie cried out”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 93, opening double quote struck before ‘How,’ “How I’d love to”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 93, ‘beeen’ changed to ‘been,’ “been keeping her coming”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 93, ‘bethrothal’ changed to ‘betrothal,’ “her betrothal announcement”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 94, closing double quote inserted after ‘morning,’ “this morning.” She glanced”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 95, comma struck following ‘in,’ “now, in a hurry”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 95, closing double quote inserted after ‘inn,’ “at the inn.””</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 96, ‘it’ changed to ‘in,’ “a dance in the gym”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 99, quotes regularized around ‘carrying on,’ “from ‘carrying on.’” She”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 103, opening double quote inserted before ‘I,’ ““I don’t un’erstan’”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 104, opening double quote struck before ‘I,’ “I simply have to”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 108, closing double quote inserted after ‘in,’ “count me in,” Barbara”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 113, full stop inserted after ‘XIII,’ “CHAPTER XIII.”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 116, ‘taxis’ changed to ‘taxies,’ “taxies from the station”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 119, opening single quote struck before ‘Thus,’ ““Thus far we have”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 119, ‘marshall’ changed to ‘marshal,’ “begun to marshal seven”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 121, full stop changed to comma following ‘guests,’ “of guests, Robin found”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 123, opening double quote inserted before ‘Yes,’ ““Yes; I passed Gus”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 126, question mark changed to exclamation point following ‘citizens,’ “friends and fellow-citizens!”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 127, ‘themslves’ changed to ‘themselves,’ “piled themselves into the”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 131, ‘Thankgiving’ changed to ‘Thanksgiving,’ “for Thanksgiving dinner”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 135, opening double quote inserted before ‘Let’s,’ ““Let’s leave her to”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 136, ‘beginnning’ changed to ‘beginning,’ “beginning of a deep”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 138, opening double quote inserted before ‘Remember,’ ““Remember our own”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 145, ‘acompanied’ changed to ‘accompanied,’ “accompanied her opinion with”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 146, ‘promotor’ changed to ‘promoter,’ “troubles as a promoter”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 148, ‘boastted’ changed to ‘boasted,’ “recklessly boasted Robin”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 155, full stop inserted after ‘graciousness,’ “with her ready graciousness.”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 157, opening double quote changed to opening single quote before ‘Oh,’ “‘Oh, yes; you see”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 157, closing double quote changed to closing single quote after ‘again,’ “break down again.’”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 158, ‘Singor’ changed to ‘Signor,’ “expense, Signor Baretti”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 160, closing single quote inserted after ‘campus,’ “busses to the campus.’”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 160, opening double quote struck before ‘a,’ “interposed, a trace of”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 167, ‘Thansksgiving’ changed to ‘Thanksgiving,’ “seeing the Thanksgiving part”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 180, ‘suits case’ changed to ‘suitcase,’ “find my suitcase”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 181, ‘Cairn’s’ changed to ‘Cairns’,’ “of Leslie Cairns’ part”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 191, ‘squestioned’ changed to ‘questioned,’ “she questioned half”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 200, ‘year’ changed to ‘years,’ “Hamilton many years ago”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 205, closing double quote inserted after ‘bidding,’ “to the bidding.””</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 207, opening double quote inserted before ‘I,’ ““I hope you know”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 210, ‘tumultous’ changed to ‘tumultuous,’ “impending, tumultuous embrace”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 217, closing double quote struck after ‘Jeremiah,’ “Jeremiah? You’re brim”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 217, opening double quote struck before ‘I,’ “interesting. I know”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 218, ‘monogramed’ changed to ‘monogrammed,’ “fussy handkerchief, monogrammed”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 218, ‘subequent’ changed to ‘subsequent,’ “and the subsequent mailing”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 222, full stop inserted after ‘performances,’ “by past performances.”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 226, comma changed to full stop following ‘retorted,’ “Leila retorted.”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 229, opening single quote changed to opening double quote before ‘NEARER,’ ““NEARER TO THE”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 230, ‘sceptical’ changed to ‘skeptical,’ “made skeptical reply”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 230, closing double quote inserted after ‘stand,’ “on the judges’ stand.”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 237, opening double quote inserted before ‘You,’ ““You mean you wanted”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 238, opening double quote inserted before ‘I,’ ““I mean I wouldn’t”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 239, ‘decended’ changed to ‘descended,’ “just descended the last”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 241, closing double quote inserted after ‘letter,’ “that hateful letter.””</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 246, ‘roommate’ changed to ‘room-mate,’ “Her room-mate is Muriel”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 251, full stop changed to comma following ‘you,’ “to say to you, Marjorie”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 253, opening double quote inserted before ‘It’s,’ ““It’s the greatest”</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 253, closing double quote inserted after ‘men,’ “will toward men.’””</p> - -<p class='c008'>Page 254, ‘Majorie’ changed to ‘Marjorie,’ “Marjorie Dean at Hamilton Arms.”</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Marjorie Dean, Marvelous Manager, by Pauline Lester - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARJORIE DEAN, MARVELOUS MANAGER *** - -***** This file should be named 53213-h.htm or 53213-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/2/1/53213/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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